Traveller T20: Tales of the Bray Keaven [Updated 12-20-05]

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XIV​

Date: 210-993
Location: Jarvis Nuuis' residence, Warne Highport, Kerin's Tyr

Dinner concludes with an odd dessert brought in with great fanfare by the chef, the serving staff, and four guards pressed into service as waiters. The dessert is some sort of ice cream cake surrounded by a very light frosting that has been partially caramelized and served with a fruit sauce. All of the Vargr companions and some of the business associates seem to be quite pleased to see the dessert, with one commenting that she understands that the dessert dates back to Ancient Terra, but no one remembers the named other than to call it the Baked Terran Dessert.

-----​

As everyone is enjoying the excellent dessert, Jarvis Nuuis says in a voice that projects across the room and commands attention, "Now, perhaps, we should get to business?

"What I have seen this evening fits well with what my outrunners have said about you, that your pack can be trusted and hunts well. In fact, I hope that the crew of the Bray Keaven and I will be able to pursue business opportunities together after our initial business is concluded.

"My understanding is that you were kind enough to transport my cousin’s gift to me as payment for a license for an ACR. Such a license is relatively easy for me to arrange, and I will send an associate of mine tomorrow morning to collect the necessary information from you. He will deliver the license to you in the afternoon."

Ian tenses slightly, looks at Jarvis and nods his approval.

-----​

Throughout dinner, Swann has been trying to subtly be alert for any changes that might indicate trouble. He belated realizes, as Jarvis is talking, that while the guards–cum–assistant waiters brought in the desserts and held them while the serving staff served the desserts, they never left with the chef and the serving staff. And all of the guards seem to have laser carbines at the ready.

A sinking feeling of impotence hits Swann. "Oh frell, here it comes," he thinks as he surreptitiously looks around the room. "No place to run and no place to hide."

-----​

After a slight wait for Ian’s approval, Jarvis continues. "There is another matter we need to deal with. You, Mr. McConnell, also killed one of my deceased sister’s sons, the one that I sent to Merkul to season a bit. Merkul says the pup was impulsive and choose his contract poorly. However, as my nephew, I will lose some sfik if I do not deal with this matter."

As he is talking, the original escort Vargr walks in with the wooden box — with the cover open — and shows the contents to Ian. There are a couple of flanking empty areas in the box (that probably held papers or some other materials), but the center contains two antique, but well–maintained, magnum revolvers.

​

-----

"By St. Elvis’ Blue Suede Shoes!" Martha swears mentally as she looks around nervously, seeking exits and defensible positions in case the group needs to make a run for it.

​

-----

"So, I offer you a choice. You may select one of Fidruuk’s pistols and face me in the dueling hall, or your crew may face me here now. In the dueling hall, we will face each other with one round apiece with only trousers on. Here, we face each other now; however we will all be armed. The choice is yours."

-----​

Swann tenses, ready to leap into action depending on Ian’s response. He mentally decides which Vargr he will target first, and shifts position slightly to make drawing his auto pistol easier.

But he also senses a slight thread of hope in Jarvis’ comments, and he grasps at it desperately. "We might get out of this without anyone having to die," he thinks.

-----​

Martha looks toward Ian, waiting to see his reaction, tears starting to well in her eyes. "One round . . . assuming there’s no hand–to–hand, there’s a chance he could make it, if the Doc hurries afterwards," she thinks wistfully.

-----​

"So, the nephews need uncles to avenge them," Vasilii thinks. "Some pack. Bunch of lightweight schoolyard bullies. Typical crooks, in other words. There is no honor among thieves, just fancy words for intimidation. This soph is no businessman."

Vasilii carefully refrains from giving the Vargr a disdainful look. No need to complicate things.

"The Vilani were dueling in starship corridors before the Vargr discovered the wheel," Vasilii thinks. Well, if this is one of those non-Vilani "satisfy honor" shams where each party is meant to fire over the other’s head, he hopes somebody tells Ian.

-----​

Ian glances at Swann with a slight half smile and an "I–told–ya–so!" look on his face. Turning to face Jarvis, his expression turns grim. "I had a feeling this issue would come up. Very unfortunate way to end a pleasant evening. I chose to face you. There is no reason to place the rest of the crew in harm’s way if I can deal with the situation myself. I would request, though, knowing by what set of rules will the contest be conducted?"

​

-----

When Ian accepts the offer, Martha exhales, not realizing until then she’d been holding her breath.

-----​

"I admit," Ian continues, "to being unfamiliar with the protocol and nuances involved, although I believe there is a crewmember who may assist me in this area." Ian looks at Aidan for affirmation. "I request sufficient time, say 30 minutes or so, to prepare."

Jarvis nods with a slight smile. "A wise choice on many levels. Yes, you may have 30 minutes to prepare."

Aidan draws himself up in full noble guise. "Mr. Nuuis, in the finest Imperial dueling tradition, may I know who will be your second at the duel? I will function as Mr. McConnell’s to ensure that honor is satisfied. May I inspect the dueling hall with your second immediately that we might finish this affair quickly?"

-----​

To the crew, this is a completely different Aidan, completely comfortable in the role of scion of a noble house and used to running with a pack of Imperial "wolves." His demeanor is cool, collected and, while not outwardly menacing, is full of naked steel. His tone makes it clear that honor is a VERY serious matter and that codes MUST be obeyed.

-----​

Jarvis looks briefly at Othulki, the business associate seated next to Aidan until Othulki nods before replying, "Ah, what a delight to have someone who understands how things are done. Othulki will be my second. As is traditional, you and he can determine the conventions and inspect the dueling hall together."

-----​

At the mention of dueling and "honor," Saro gets a distasteful look on his face. "Pheh. Honor, my ass. Nothing more than posturing and self-important puffery," he thinks.

He bites his tongue and refrains from spitting out some ill-advised comments. In fact, he remains pointedly tight-lipped, maintaining a dark glare and scowl.

-----​

Standing, Ian picks up the pistol on the left first. After examining it thoroughly, he places it back in its place, picks up the other and examines it as well. Both pistols look and feel identical.

-----​

While Aidan talks to the Vargrs about the duel’s ground rules, Swann walks over to talk to Ian. He clasps him on the shoulder and says with a grin, "Well, when you’re right, you’re right."

Then his face turns serious and he leans in close to whisper, "It sounds like this duel doesn’t have to be lethal. So try to ignore all of your combat training and don’t aim for his head."

Swann then steps back and says, "We’ll be waiting outside the dueling hall to take you back to the ship once this is over. Good luck."

Once Swann finishes, Kevon steps forward. "I only wish I had downed that whelp, so you wouldn’t have to do this," he says. "Do your honor proud, Mr. McConnell."

-----​

As some of his crewmembers gather around him, Ian says, "Aidan, tell me all you know about dueling. Vargas, what can you tell me about this guy? Do you think he is after my life or just some blood to help keep his sfik, or whatever he calls it? I figure it has something to do with his reputation."

Vargas ignores Ian’s questions. He is looking at Jarvis, obviously angry. He speaks to their host in Irilitok. "So Jarvis, you wish to force a duel by threatening the safety of your guests? I am Emile Vargas, adopted son of Gvourrdon and Racksha. I am Vargr in all but blood. As the son of a Vargr, I now challenge you for the position of pack leadership. We will handle this in true Vargr fashion, by fang and claw, no other weapons. We can meet in your dueling hall immediately and this issue will be resolved in a matter of a few minutes.

"If you lose, you shall become my servant, and if I lose then I shall become your servant. Do you accept this challenge?"

​

-----

The other crewmembers notice that Vargas is now standing fully erect and staring directly into the eyes of Jarvis.

​

-----

After Vargas makes his challenge, Jarvis’ eyes flash with annoyance. He snorts, and growls in Irilitok, "You think that you have enough sfik to challenge me? Perhaps you are a son of a Vargr, but you are a fool as well. Very well, I accept your challenge."

To Ian and Aidan, Jarvis says in Galanglic, "I have accepted your packmate’s challenge. We will settle our matter in 30 minutes, but, as is appropriate, we all go to the dueling hall now."

-----​

The dinner party, Bray Keaven crew included, troops off to the dueling hall. Jarvis’ guards accompany the crew and help array the observers along the walls of the dueling hall.

Along the way, Othulki comments to Aidan, "This challenge is between Jarvis and Vargas alone. It would be . . . unfortunate . . . to intervene. Normally, such a challenge is until one or the other submits, but if neither does, the challenge will be to the death."

-----​

At Swann’s glance at the guards, Jarvis comments, "You, unlike your packmate, may not know custom that you should not intervene. They will only stop you from intervening if your packmate refuses to accept his place."

Swann nods. "It’s between you and Vargas. I understand."

"But I don't have to like it," Swann thinks.

​

-----

The hall is about 20m by 10m with wood floors and weapons — both practice and lethal–looking — lining the wall.

-----​

Jarvis and Vargas both strip to just trousers and face each other at the center of the dueling hall. After a moment regarding each other, Vargas springs and attacks with a snarl. His first kick seems to catch Jarvis rather by surprise, and Vargas lands a decent blow on his shin, Surprisingly, Jarvis staggers into the blow.

Jarvis’ paws are a whirl as he slashes at Vargas as the Scout tries to follow up on his kick, and the Vargr manages to land good blows that leave Vargas bleeding across his left side and left arm.

Vargas tries to follow through with a kick to the groin, but Jarvis just manages to whirl around the detached Scout’s kick.

-----​

Swann cringes several times at the brutality of the duel.

​

-----

Jarvis strikes at Vargas’ leg as he avoids the kick, and the claws rake deeply into Vargas‘ thigh.

Without pausing, Jarvis continues his spin and lashes out for Vargas’ left side. The blow rakes across Vargas’ ribs. The blow is apparently too much for Vargas, and he drops to his knees. By shear will alone, Vargas barely manages to remain conscious.

-----​

Ian takes a half step toward the fighters, but catches himself and curses.

-----​

Jarvis, seeing that Vargas is on his knees, steps back and asks, in Irilitok, "Do you yield?"

Vargas, snarling and struggling to his feat, replies, "Never!"

Jarvis, shaking his head, waits for Vargas to steady himself. Once Vargas is somewhat steady on his feat, Jarvis arrogantly closes and, again, Vargas manages to catch the Vargr somewhat by surprise with a blow. The powerful punch lands squarely on the Vargr’s snout and knocks his head back a bit.

Jarvis staggers quite a bit from the blow, but recovers quickly, drops briefly to one knee, and slashes at Vargas’ midsection with his right forepaw. The claws leave deep furrows in Vargas’ abdomen.

Jarvis then moves to Vargas’ left side and slashes with his left forepaw. This blow rakes across Vargas’ powerful shoulders.

Rather than following through with a third strike, Jarvis simply steps away as Vargas topples over from his accumulated wounds.

Panting, Jarvis rumbles out, "Your friend, though still a fool, fought bravely and well. Save him if you can. Either way, he is mine now."

-----​

Muttering various curses just barely under his breath, Saro rushes to Vargas’ side with his first aid kit. Though Vargas is bleeding profusely from numerous claw wounds, Saro manages to stabilize the detached–duty Scout after a few frenzied minutes.

-----​

Martha watches the duel with baited breath, wincing with each strike against her crewmate, and stifling surprised gasps of elation with each of Vargas’ successful strikes. Her hand dances to her weapon as Jarvis strikes a blow against the fallen human, but does no more than touch the hilt. When Jarvis walks away, Martha runs up beside Saro to provide aid where she can.

-----​

"That was either the bravest thing I’ve ever seen, or the dumbest," Swann mumbles, looking at Vargas’ beaten and bleeding body.

"I’ll go with the latter assessment. Someone needs to teach him which battles are winnable," Kevon answers. "No matter the outcome of the proper duel of honor, we’ve now been put at a disadvantage with Mr. Jarvis. It may cost us too much to extricate Vargas from his servitude."

-----​

Still panting and watching Saro, Jarvis says to Ian, "We can proceed in 30 minutes if you still wish for time to prepare. I will have Bakolin bring a grav stretcher for Vargas. You may take him with you, and we will discuss his new status later."

"YES!" Ian growls. "I wish time to prepare, and to make sure my friend will survive." His face red with anger, the white scar tissue traces out a very strange and ugly design on the side of his head.

Ian walks over and stands beside Saro while the doctor feverishly works to save Vargas’ life.

-----​

Jarvis, two of his guards, the original Vargr escort, and almost all of the Vargr guests leave the Bray Keaven crew, Othulki, and two guards in the dueling hall while Saro and Martha tend to Vargas.

-----​

Swann walks over to Ian and steers him away from looking at Vargas. He puts an arm around the ex-Marine’s shoulder and says, "Well, if you stay away from those claws, you might have a chance."

Ian flashes an evil sneer. "I have no need to get that close to him." He bows his head a bit and covers his face with a hand briefly. "Dammit, I gotta get focused. Gotta put this aside and think clearly of the upcoming battle." He turns with Swann and walks from the gruesome scene on the floor.

Aidan, who has been standing with Ian through the challenge, says, "Yes, remember, this is an affair of honor, one shot. Jarvis is not likely to even try to kill you as the honor involved was small and he wants our services. Doubly so now that we have one of his new servants in our pack."

Aidan talks more intensely as he goes along and is clearly rather worked up about this. He collects himself, sighs, and speaks quietly just to Ian and Swann. "Well, Vargas’ challenge I feel no need to avenge — that he brought fully upon himself. But if Jarvis goes for death, Ian, then we’ll have more fighting."

Aidan then brightens. "It would be most amusing to drop this Vargr pack in among the Imperials. I’d love to see whose teeth are sharper."

Looking over at Aidan, Ian says, "Yes, it seems Vargas may have miscalculated his chances with Jarvis."

The scarred ex-Marine grimaces and shakes his head. "So, you think he means not to kill me?" Ian begins to think back to the dinner conversations. "Yes, before his talk of dueling and Vargas’ challenge, he WAS speaking of a desire to have a business relationship with us. He even spoke of sending an associate to the ship to get the necessary info for my ACR permit. Would be a non-issue if he intended to kill me in the duel."

Ian stops and looks at both Swann and Aidan. "So, what do you think. Should I not go for the kill shot? Maybe just wound him? That will be tough, considering what we just witnessed."

Swann briefly glances over Ian’s shoulder to where Saro is working on Vargas. Then he looks the ex-Marine squarely in the eye. "My emotions say ‘Go for the kill.’ But my head says that may create more problems than it solves."

He pauses a moment, then continues. "So my advice is to aim for his torso and let what happens, happen. If he dies, we’ll deal with those consequences then."

-----​

The original Vargr escort, Bakolin, returns a few minutes later with a grav stretcher and a TL–10 field medical kit. Saro pounces on the field medical kit and uses the contents to further stabilize Vargas and bind his wounds. After about 15 minutes, Saro and Martha feel that Vargas is stable enough to be moved, and the crew loads Vargas onto the stretcher.

Once Vargas is loaded on the stretcher, Bakolin leaves so that the Bray Keaven crew can help Ian prepare during the remaining 15 minutes. Kevon observes the two Vargr guards who remain in the hallway leading to the dueling hall. They seem to be alert, but avoiding being obtrusive.

-----​

Martha walks over to Ian and throws her arms around him. "Good luck," she sniffles into his right ear as she hugs him close. Then matter-of-factly she whispers, "Shoot him in the groin. It’s a wounding shot he’ll recover from, but it’s what he deserves."

Ian gladly accepts Martha's hug, and reciprocates in kind. "Thanks for the advice, I’ll have to take that in consideration," he replies with a mischievous grin.

-----​

Meanwhile, Aidan and Othulki discuss the dueling conventions to be used. Othulki favors Aidan with a look and asks, "So, would your companion prefer the Old Imperial Classic, Single Fire? Old Imperial Classic, Dead Fire? Anify Convention? Tarin Variant? Obviously, some of those may require more than one round."

• Old Imperial Classic, Single Fire: start standing back to back, take 20 paces, turn on command and fire one shot.
• Old Imperial Classic, Single Fire: start standing back to back, take 20 paces, turn on command, fire until one person is dead.
• Anify Convention: start at opposite ends of the hall, back to the wall. Fire simultaneously on command. If both miss, take one pace forward, stop, wait for command to fire again.
• Tarin Variant: start at opposite corners, blindfolded. Take 20 steps in any direction. On command, remove blindfolds and fire.

Aidan contemplates the question carefully. "Considering the honor lost by your principal, I would consider Old Imperial Classic, Single Fire is quite sufficient. If this had been other than an impetuous pup of the house then more would be appropriate. Besides, the elegance of the single shot makes one appreciate the seriousness of the occasion.

"Naturally, we will wish our doctor in attendance, but I would prefer to dispense with spectators — this is a serious affair, not a spectacle.

"And might I compliment you and your principal on the fine facilities. When honor is satisfied, I would appreciate a recounting of the stories of the weapons. And I shall, perhaps, honor the company with tales of my own." Aidan draws just the top inch of steel clear in his sword, clearly only making a reference to the weapon rather than drawing it.

"Now, let us gather the appropriate parties and do our duties as seconds."

Once the discussion is complete, Othulki leaves.

-----​

Aidan goes to Ian and speaks to him, quietly and formally at first. "Mr. McConnell, I have inspected the field of honor and it is acceptable. Dr. Talbek will accompany us to the field." He waves Saro over. "As this is a relatively minor affair of honor only a single shot will be fired. You will start with your back to Mr. Nuuis; each of you will take 20 paces, turn and fire one shot on command. Crouching or otherwise evading the shot is dishonorable. The classic stance is sideways with one hand used for firing. Please accompany me."

As they walk Aidan, gripping Ian on the shoulder, more quietly and emotionally says, "Good luck, Ian. I’ve fought a number of these. Remember that honor is deadly serious for these folks; you will gain a lot for yourself and all of us by following the ritual. Of course, if he kills you, I would be forced to consider my honor deeply harmed. It’s good having you on the crew and I’d like to keep you there."

-----​

Saro readies his medkit and stands stiffly to the side of where the immature, holovid melodrama–inspired concept of "honor" will be battled over.

 

[Shadowdancer]

"I’ll go with the latter assessment. Someone needs to teach him which battles are winnable," Kevon answers. "No matter the outcome of the proper duel of honor, we’ve now been put at a disadvantage with Mr. Jarvis. It may cost us too much to extricate Vargas from his servitude."

How prophetic. We still haven't settled Vargas' debt to Jarvis.

 

[River Tam]

I've finally caught up to the most recent posts! I'm ready for some more, please.

 

[vutpakdi]

How prophetic. We still haven't settled Vargas' debt to Jarvis.

Well, that is partly because the characters BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP and then BLEEP went and BLEEP BLEEP which caused a BLEEP while BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP. Otherwise, the story arc might have been over by now.



Ron

 

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XX​

Date: 210-993
Location: Jarvis Nuuis' residence, Warne Highport, Kerin's Tyr

As Martha and Doc Saro load Vargas onto the grav stretcher, the young engineer says softly, “Never knew that first aid course would come in handy so frequently around here. Thanks, Doc. That’s a great job with Vargas here.”

-----​

A short 15 minutes later, Jarvis, Bakolin, and Othulki return. Jarvis looks like he is a little better off than he was when he left, but he is noticeably limping. Othulki strides up to Aidan and asks, “Is Mr. McConnell ready?” Upon getting an affirmative answer, Othulki continues. “Then I would recommend that all but the two primaries, we two seconds, and your doctor wait in the dining hall.”

Curtly refusing Bakolin’s offer of aid, Martha and Swann take control of Vargas’ grav stretcher and lead Kevon and Vasilii to the dining hall. Saro, though torn about leaving his patient, stays for the duel.

-----​

“I hope they finish this quickly, and with no further serious injuries,” Swann says as he maneuvers the grav stretcher into position for the fastest possible exit from the dining hall.

-----​

After the others leave, Othulki announces, “As Mr. Nuuis’ second, I will officiate the duel. We will be using Old Imperial Classic, Single Fire conventions. Please remove all clothing, other than trousers, and any weapons.”

Once both Ian and Jarvis have complied, Othulki goes on. “I have two rounds here, one for each pistol.” The business associate shows two rounds in his left paw before continuing. “As the challenged party, Mr. McConnell, you may choose your round first.”

Ian walks up, decides that the rounds look identical, and chooses the round nearest to him. Jarvis then walks up and takes the remaining round.

“Please stand back to back on this line.” Jarvis and Ian both do so even though the floor is still slick with Vargas’ thickening blood.

“Please chamber your rounds now and then lower your pistols when ready.”

After Jarvis and Ian lower their weapons, Othulki holds up a fairly large gold coin and says, “I will count off your 20 paces. After the 20th pace, I will, within a minute, drop this coin. When the coin hits the ground, you may turn and fire. Are you ready?”

Once Jarvis and Ian both nod, Othulki begins counting off the paces. “1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . ”

-----​

“ . . . 19 . . . 20.” After the 20th pace, Othulki looks to Aidan who, after a moment, nods. When Aidan nods, Othulki drops the gold coin at his feet. The coin drops to the floor and clinks as it bounces.

Jarvis spins in a blur a beat after the coin clinks the first time, his revolver whipping around. The magnum revolver discharges a moment later and the round catches Ian in the left upper arm when the ex–Marine is still midway through his turn.

Ian hisses through clenched teeth. Though he is still able to finish his turn and fire, the impact of the heavy round throws his aim off, causing Ian to just barely miss Jarvis. Ian manages to remain standing, but after the sound of the double report dies away, his heavy and labored breathing is very audible.

-----​

Upon hearing the sounds of gunfire from the dueling hall, Swann briefly glances in that direction. He then turns to Martha and asks, “How’s Vargas doing? Still hanging in there?” in an effort to distract everyone from the duel.

“He’s doing good. The Doc does great work,” Martha says as she places her hand on Var-gas’. “I’m not sure, but I think Vargas here owes his life to the Doc. The damage was extensive. The Doc’s good, though . . . ” The engineer falls quiet as she watches the man left in her care.

-----​

As the echoes of the magnum revolvers’ reports fade, Aidan asks Jarvis, “As the challenger, has your honor been satisfied?”

“Yes, my sfik is preserved. Even enhanced slightly for continuing with the duel after your packmate’s challenge.”

“Then I declare that honor has been satisfied, and this matter concluded. Bakolin will collect the pistols now.”

Saro, shaking his head and muttering about this bad, stupid holovid melodrama, immediately goes to tend to Ian’s wound. Saro decides that the wound is quite serious, but the doctor quickly applies first aid to prevent any more damage through blood loss.

While Saro is working, Jarvis limps over to Ian and says, “You dueled bravely as well. I will have an associate stop by your ship’s berth to collect the particulars for your ACR permit. We will need to discuss the status of Emile Vargas once he recovers. Though your physician is a fine one, I do suggest that you may want to take him to Nateel Medical. I can arrange to have Dr. Talbek be given admittance and treatment privileges at that facility, though the facility will charge for a bed, supplies, and attendants.”

Ian grimaces through the pain as Saro works to dress the wound. “Your hospitality is . . . ,” he pauses, either from pain or something else, it's difficult to tell. “ . . . appreciated. I’m glad this is behind us. That frelling permit has been more trouble than it’s worth. If I’d known it was gonna cause all this I’d’ve just spaced the damn thing.”

His face becomes a bit more sincere. “Thanks for your help with the medical facilities for Vargas.”

As he works on Ian’s wound, Saro mutters angrily to himself, “Shall we duel over that ‘honor’ as well?”

Ignoring Saro’s reply, Jarvis continues. “Good night then. We have matters to discuss in the next day or two.” He then leaves with Othulki and Bakolin.

-----​

“C’mon, Doc. Wrap this up so we can get Vargas outta here!” Ian starts trying to head for the door before Saro is completely finished.

“Just stand still for a frellin’ second!” Saro snaps at Ian, tightening the bandage a bit more than necessary as he finishes. He starts to repack his medkit, every non–verbal cue exuding anger. “Between you and Vargas and that frellin’ furball . . . ,” he clamps his mouth shut cutting off the verbalization of his thoughts.

He turns away and stalks out of the room, cursing to himself, “I frellin’ swear . . . ”

Ian quietly follows Saro out of the room.

-----​

Saro stalks into the dining hall ahead of Ian and crosses the room to immediately check on Vargas’ condition. After ensuring that he is still stabilized Saro turns to face the rest of the crew.

“If you all decide to do business with this — Jarvis — keep me out of it. I want no part of anything to do with him. Split my share of the profits or whatever. I’ll not help you in any way whatsoever,” he snaps out angrily.

“If you want to deal with someone who forces folk into a duel for defending themselves against mangy, thieving cowards ambushing them, you just go ahead. I wouldn’t trust him not to twist his ‘honor’ to force another duel in order to get out of any payoff he promises you.”

Aidan looks mildly frustrated and says, “Think what you will Dr. Talbek, but as his honor is satisfied he will deal with us honorably in turn. As long as we watch him. But then, the same can be said of us.”

Aidan snorts. “Is this concept of honor any better than the frontier justice at the last space-port? Or on Alief? In other situations I would not have been surprised to be shot at the table. And, of course, at the Imperial court, I would have wanted a food taster. The machi-nations there make this look like the work of rank amateurs.”

Aidan shakes his head. “Or did you think that the position of ‘Imperial Poisoner’ was another vid drama concept. That’s not the title, but the position is, I assure you, quite real.”

Saro snorts in turn. “Yeah this whole deal has been extremely honorable. We get ambushed by a gang of thugs. That’s honorable. After being told by Markul that he was OK with our killing one of the thugs in self-defense, he sends us off with a package which sets us up. That’s honorable. Then we get wined and dined before being threatened and pressured into a duel to defend the honor of the thug. That’s honorable.

“Perhaps next time we get attacked, we should lay down and be massacred, because at least that way we won’t offend some frell–head’s ‘honor’ by staying alive.

“We frellin’ dealt honestly with Jarvis and Markul; I don’t think we can say the same on their part. If you want to deal with parties proven to lie, deceive and force conflict with their business partners, go to it. Like I said, I want nothing to do with it.”

Aidan shakes his head, but with mild humor. “No, no, laying down to be massacred would not increase our honor at all. Standing up to be massacred is what does that. Meanwhile, I think Vasilii should be brought to bear. If anyone can skin these folks — perhaps shear is a better word? The beauty of honor, Saro, is that if they make a deal, they’ll stick with it. And don’t you want to get a bit back from these folks? Swann and I will get some background on them, then Vasilii can start, errrm, working with them.”

-----​

As Saro, Ian and Aidan come out of the dueling hall, Swann walks over toward them. He passes the obviously angry Saro, who is on his way to check on Vargas.

“I see you’re at least still walking; that’s a good sign,” he says to Ian, looking at the ex-Marine’s bandaged arm. “Got you in your shooting arm, huh? What about your ‘dance partner.’ Did you step on his toes as well?”

He looks from Ian to Aidan and back, waiting for details on the outcome of the duel.

-----​

After he finishes his exchange with the Doctor, Aidan turns to Swann and says, “The duel was as I expected, honorably conducted, although Jarvis got off the first shot. Ian appears to have been a little slow off the mark on turning rather than Jarvis turning dishonorably before the coin dropped. If he had done so, I’m sure his second would have done the honorable thing and let it be known that Jarvis had dishonored himself. In the strictest cases, the second will then kill the cheating duelist.”

“Yeah, just a nice way to say he got the jump on me and kicked my ass,” Ian replies.

Aidan cracks a smile. “To say so seemed impolitic. But yes, I would agree. Perhaps some practice in a Wild West simulator would be in order before every punk kid out there tries to shoot you in the arm.”

Swann breaks into a grin and says, “That reminds me of an old joke about a Vargr out for revenge. ‘I'm looking for the man that shot my paw.’ ”

-----​

Bakolin returns to escort the Bray Keaven crew out of Jarvis’ quarters and to either Nateel Medical or the Bray Keaven.

“Just get us to Nateel Medical. Now.” Saro barks out. Pointing to Kevon, Saro tells him to operate and ‘drive' the grav stretcher as he stays by Vargas’ side to observe him. When Vargas is set to travel, Saro turns to give Bakolin a stormy “Well why aren’t we moving?” look.

-----​

Swann starts to speak, but turns at the sound of Saro’s angry outburst. He turns back to Ian, speaking in a soft voice. “I pity you having to be his patient right now; his bedside manner is going to be atrocious.”

Swann is torn between his concern for his wounded crewmates, and concern for the safety of the Bray Keaven. Figuring the wounded will be in good care with Saro in charge, and that he would just be in the way, Swann decides he will head back to the ship.

As Saro and Kevon get ready to transport the wounded to the medical center, Swann says to Ian, “I’m going to leave you in the Doc’s capable hands and head back to the ship — make sure we didn’t have any visitors during our absence. I’ll come see how you’re doing tomorrow, and challenge you to a game of WizWar. Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you just because you’ve been shot.”

Ian grins at Swann. “Thanks. Send word about how the ship has faired when you can.”

-----​

Martha, torn by her mutual concerns for both the ship and the wounded crewmates, finally decides to accompany Dr. Saro to the medical facility to make sure her friends are OK.

-----​

Seeing that the crew wants to split up, Barkolin directs one of the mauve–dressed Vargr guards to escort Swann, Aidan, and Vasilii to the Bray Keaven while he escorts the rest to Nateel Medical.

-----​

Nateel Medical is a small, private medical facility on Warne Highport that appears to be well equipped to handle emergency trauma and has a pair of armed Vargr guards (in mauve) outside the facility doors. The facilities human and Vargr staff is courteous and professional, and Saro can find no fault with their abilities, though the deference given to them, pre-sumably on Jarvis Nuuis’ behalf, itches at the back of his mind.

Vargas is set up in a private treatment-recovery room. Saro and the Nateel Medical clini-cians quickly set to working on completely arresting Vargas’ blood loss, providing blood, and treating his wounds with artificial skin grafts.

Ian, being in less dire straits, is seen by a Nateel Medical physician and her Vargr nurse in a treatment room. Both seem to be quite capable and seem to have considerable experience dealing with projectile–weapon wounds. After treatment, Ian is moved to a private recovery room across the hall from Vargas.

-----​

Ian tries to be the “perfect” patient so as not to distract Saro from tending Vargas. “Um, hey Doc. Uh, thanks for patching me up back there. You performed at least a couple mira-cles with Vargas. Just wanted you to know we sure appreciate you as a member of our crew. Thanks.”

-----​

After Barkolin makes introductions and spends some time talking to the duty director for the facility, Kevon catches him and asks to speak with him briefly. “As the captain of the Bray Keaven, I believe it is my position to discuss Mr. Vargas’ future disposition with your master,” he says. “I would appreciate it if you arrange it for me.”

Barkolin noncommittally replies, “I will speak to Jarvis about your request. He may want to deal with Vargas directly given that Vargas made the challenge.”

-----​

Meanwhile, Swann, Aidan, and Vasilii hurry back to the Bray Keaven’s berth with a very quiet Vargr guard leading the way. Swann notices that the fairly light traffic gives the guard a fairly wide berth, with some even pausing to let the Vargr and his charges pass before continuing on their way.

Arriving at the berth, Swann and Aidan note that there doesn’t appear to be anything unusual outside the berth or inside. The berth locks appear to be in place, and no alarm has been tripped. The berth log does not indicate any traffic into or out of the berth.

Entering the Bray Keaven with pistol drawn, Swann worriedly checks the security logs. Nothing seems to be amiss though he and Aidan spend the next hour searching the ship for anything odd anyway.

-----​

Swann follows up with an outside visual inspection of the ship and the docking berth. He decides not to go to bed until someone returns from the medical facility with an update on Ian and Vargas.

-----​

Vasilii starts reviewing the market for bulk freight and spec cargo that has been posted. The Vilani merchant wants off this orbital and out of this system ASAP. And he wants nothing more to do with that Vargr. He’s very grim, and not very talkative, for the rest of the evening.

Vasilii also decides he will ask Saro to recommend a tutorial on first aid.

-----​

After an hour or two of waiting with no word from the treatment room, Kevon and Martha finally ask one of the Nateel Medical nurses about Vargas’ condition. She goes in to check and reappears with word that Vargas is responding well and that Saro says, “Don’t interrupt me again in the middle of treatment.” Taking that as a hint, Kevon and Martha head back to the ship. On the way back, Martha comms Swann to ask about the security protocols.

-----​

Luckily for Swann, Kevon and Martha arrive just as Swann is about to buzz Saro for an update on Vargas’ condition.

-----​

When she arrives back at the Bray Keaven, Martha assists Swann in his inspections, updating him on the progress of the patients as they walk about the exterior of the ship. As she walks about the vessel, she looks for items of interest as an engineer in addition to the security check the two are providing.

-----​

Later that night, Swann starts a computer inquiry into Jarvis, which he continues the next day. He asks Aidan to assist him. “Let’s just see how much power old toilet-bowl breath really has around this starport.”

Aidan rubs his hands together. “I look forward to it, Swann. Let’s see what data sources we can suck dry.”

-----​

Everyone sleeps fitfully through the night except for Saro, who doesn’t get any sleep at all.

-----​

When Martha retires, she drifts off fairly quickly, as the entire evening has been quite an emotional drain on her. The next morning, she makes some notes in her encoded personal logs regarding her telling of the Alief events, to help her with her follow-up session with the shrink back on Sentry. Then she rises, eats a quick breakfast and takes a cup of piping hot bitterstouts to engineering, where she continues her maintenance work on the ship, loosing herself in the repair work. Occasionally she comms Vasilii to requisition a part, or answers an incoming call brusquely, but her focus remains on repairing the ship.

-----​

The next couple of days pass by fairly quickly for everyone involved. Martha and Kevon concentrate on getting the ship’s systems repaired. The repairs go very slowly since Martha appears to be fairly distracted by recent events.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Watching the TV footage of the helicopter rescues in New Orleans made me think of the Bray Keaven's rescues on Alief. I guess they could use a few far traders to haul supplies into New Orleans and survivors out.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I will be posting the next chapter in the morning. I may not get to do an update next weekend as I will be out of town attending the University of Texas-Ohio State University football game in Columbus.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XXI​

Date: 211 and 212-993
Location: Warne Highport, Kerin's Tyr

Swann and Aidan spend most of the day researching Jarvis Nuuis at a nearby diner with wire-less connections and public terminals. The picture available from the publicly available commercial databases appears to be of a successful Vargr businessman.

Jarvis Nuuis appears to have arrived at Warne Highport about 10 years ago and purchased a significant though non–contiguous portion of the highport. His publicly registered holdings include a specialty smallcraft yard — Muriel ILC, which makes armed pinnaces and cutters — several warehouses, and a 1200 dTon “residence” with a 600 dTon private berth. Jarvis ap-pears to have significant interests in an import/export company (Nuuis Import–Export) dealing with goods in and out of Kerin's Tyr, and a local protection/escort (ShieldWolf Ltd.) concern providing security guards (in mauve) and escort pinnaces for ships arriving/departing Warne Highport.

The news services databases show that Jarvis is a bit of a philanthropist locally and is fairly well thought of by the public. Several news stories have looked into him and his holdings, but the tone of most appear to be fairly positive though one does briefly question Jarvis’ sudden ap-pearance 10 years ago in Kerin’s Tyr and his fast rise to prominence. That same one also notes that Jarvis is known for being a shrewd and ruthless businessman with “go–for–the–jugular business instincts.”

There aren’t any publicly available stories about Jarvis and any criminal dealings of any sort. In fact, Jarvis seems to have been well thought of by the last three Warne Highport Administrators since there are a number of pictures of Jarvis and the administrators at various functions including their retirement parties.

Swann shakes his head, and then looks at Aidan, a grim look on his face. “This guy’s got plenty of juice around here. Trying to run some sort of game against this guy would take a lot of time and money to pull off. I’m not sure we have enough of either. It would require us staying in port for quite some time. I get the feeling most of the crew wants to leave here as soon as possible.”

-----​

Swann also spends a little bit of time chatting up the local spacers about Jarvis at the diner and later at a spacer bar. Most have a fairly positive impression of Jarvis and his businesses. The ShieldWolf folks have a fairly good reputation for as reliable guards and escorts, but a couple of the older spacers speak very quietly about stories of extremely high “aid” rates if a ship requests aid from a ShieldWolf pinnace during a fight without being previously contracted.

Late one evening a somewhat drunk, fairly unattractive and rotund, middle–aged female ship captain (Maggs), speaking with a bit of a slur while inching her hand up Swann’s thigh, says, “Yeah, Jarvis is awright as long as youse dunn cross ’im. Buts when hees fights, hees fights to kills nunlass youse oohsfall to ’im. Annway, lets alk bout youse an meese in mah berth.”

Swann considers the possibility of Maggs’ future usefulness as a contact, and reluctantly goes with her. He plans to continue plying her with alcohol, hoping she will pass out before anything intimate happens. If she does pass out, Swann will bluff her later into thinking the two shared a wild night together. But if she doesn’t pass out, he decides he will take one for the team and try to imagine he is back with Maureen. “Sex is sex,” he thinks philosophically.

The ex–belter bravely goes with Maggs to where her ship, the Musty Dusty, is berthed. The Musty Dusty turns out to be Elorica–class far trader that looks like it has been banging around the cluster for quite some time. While the passenger berth doors are opening, Maggs takes advantage of the opportunity to plant some sloppy, 90–proof kisses on Swann. After passing an ill–shaven crewmember in the hallway who just shakes his head, Swann and Maggs enter the ship and finally arrive at her quarters.

Unfortunately for Swann’s plan, Maggs apparently has an excellent constitution, and she doesn’t pass out. In fact, Maggs has considerable energy and stamina. Swann’s night is sur-prisingly enjoyable since although Maggs isn’t the most attractive of women, she is quite experienced and . . . lusty.

In the morning, Maggs finally lets Swann up, gives him a pat on the butt, and sends him stag-gering from the Musty Dusty’s berth with the parting comment of, “Damn pity we’re pulling out in a couple of hours. I’ll have to keep an eye out for the Bray Keaven around the cluster!”

-----​

When Swann comes staggering through the Bray Keaven’s lounge a bit later that morning, smelling of alcohol and sex, Vasilii vaguely wonders if there are any single Vilani women with good contacts and reasonable capital within 20 parsecs who wouldn’t run a kilometer when they looked into his background.

-----​

Vasilii spends most of the two days looking for cargo. There does appear to be a fairly good quantity of freight going to a number of destinations (mostly Sentry or out of the cluster), but, oddly, no speculative cargo seems to be currently available other than a load of fresh blood oranges from Harve. Vasilii doesn't contract anything yet given that he doesn't know the ship's plans though he does indicate a vague interest (though not commitment) in the blood oranges.

Also during this time Vasilii garners what information he can about Vargr customs and the whole pack mentality thing from normal sources (online, books). He wants to understand Vargas’ situation as best he can.

After checking with Saro, Vasilii also stops by the medical center to ask Vargas if he had some plan in mind when he challenged Jarvis. He figures no human (except maybe a serious martial artist) would challenge a Vargr who’s into dueling to an unarmed combat. Since Vargas is no fool, and knows more of Vargr than Vasilii, Vasilii wonders if he had some subtle motive.

“I’d never pick a fight with Jarvis. If I wanted to kill him I’d get out alive, then pay some dodgy star–mercs a quarter million to whack him. We can afford it. You must have had some plan in mind.”

-----​

During the stay at Nateel Medical Center, Saro makes note of the mauve–garbed Vargr that seem to encircle the crew everywhere they go. He gets a queasy feeling every time he sees them. “Fan-frellin’-tastic,” he thinks. “Nothing like constant ‘subtle’ intimidation to remind us who’s got the most guns if we don’t do what he wants.”

With deepening disgust and anger, Saro sourly gets about the business of tending to his pa-tients.

-----​

Vargas and Ian respond well to Saro’s (and Nateel Medical’s) good care. By the late afternoon, Vargas is conscious and somewhat surprised at not being dead. The two spend the rest of the day and the following day feeling sore and uncomfortable.

-----​

The morning after the duel, Barkolin reappears at Nateel Medical with an impish–looking, dark–skinned human female in tow. Barkolin introduces her to Ian as Alicia. Alicia smiles and asks to see Ian’s ID card for his permit. When Ian produces the card, Alicia runs it through some sort of scanner device attached to a tablet-comp and says, “Ah, very good. Ex–Marine. That’ll make things a bit easier. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

A few hours later, Alicia (minus Barkolin) returns to Nateel Medical and asks to see Ian’s ID again. She again inserts the ID card into the scanner. After a few seconds and a beep, she removes the card and shows it and an official looking plastic permit to Ian. The card and hard copy permit now indicate that Ian has a Category 4 license for ACRs (any single ACR) and heavy ACRs (any single heavy ACR) in addition to his previous license for his gauss pistol (specific to his old service pistol received while mustering out). When Ian looks Alicia with a questioning look, Alicia shrugs and replies, “Compliments of Mr. Nuuis who thought that you might find it useful. See ya!”

“Thanks!” Ian replies before Alicia zips out of the room. Then he mutters to no one in particular, “Still isn't worth it though,” as he shifts a bit with a pained look on his face. Ian repockets his ID card along with the new permit.

-----​

Upon sufficient recovery, Vargas turns to Ian and says, “Ian, I sincerely apologize to you for not sufficiently disabling Jarvis to prevent that stupid duel. My plan was to disable him sufficiently to cost him enough dexterity and slow him down enough to give you the best possible chance to come out of this unscathed. I obviously failed miserably. I thought that I had a fighting chance to actually win this challenge but I seriously underestimated Jarvis.”

“Well, we all wondered if you’d lost your mind or something,” Ian replies. “I appreciate your concern with my well being and trying to help my situation. I’m not sure if the cost was worth it though — those were some serious injuries you sustained. Also, you are a member of his pack now. Don’t exactly know what that means, but it makes me think that you are not your own person now and may be expected to place Jarvis’ interests above the interests of this crew and ship. We will have some serious issues to deal with if that is the case.” Ian ends with a serious look on his face.

-----​

Late in the afternoon of the second day at Nateel Medical, Vargas receives a short note written on real paper:

Emile,

Your challenge was brave and foolish, but you have gained some sfik in my eyes. I expect to meet with you tomorrow morning at 1000 to discuss your future. Presumably, your shipmates will want to participate. I will meet you at 1000 at Nateel Medical or on your ship if you decide to relocate.

Jarvis

-----​

By the end of the second day at Nateel Medical, Saro feels confident that moving both patients to the Bray Keaven would not result in a significant loss in care as long as others help, Ian and Vargas rest, and Saro takes the appropriate supplies. After a brief consultation with the others, Kevon, Swann, and Aidan come by in the late afternoon to help move Vargas and Ian. The Nateel Medical bill of Cr9,000 (for services and supplies) is billed to the ship’s port account.

-----​

On the evening of the 213th day of the year, most of the crew gathers in the lounge for dinner while Saro and Vargas eat from the improvised sick bay and link in from there.

-----​

Before the meeting, Martha runs a quick diagnostic to see how far along the repairs are, and what still needs to be done. At dinner she reports the current status on ship repairs.

After the status report, she changes the subject to the matter at hand. “So, it looks like we’re having company for breakfast tomorrow? Who’s cooking, because it certainly isn’t me?” Martha smiles.

“Seriously, I don’t think it’d be a good idea to have him onboard, but then again, it’d probably be a worse idea to not do so. He’s the kind of guy that would use any perceived insult as an opportunity to manipulate the situation. I don’t like it, not at all.”

-----​

Sitting in the medical cabin, Saro listens to the dinner conversation via the ship’s comms as he maintains a vigilant observation over Emile. When Martha voices her concerns about Jarvis, Saro nods to himself and mumbles, “Amen and hallelujah to that, sister.”

-----​

In preparation for the arrival of Jarvis, Vargas offers to order — at his personal expense — a catering service to provide a meal of favored Vargr food for his new pack leader.

Vargas eventually answers the question on the minds of most of the crew. “I had several rea-sons for issuing this challenge. The first, and most important, was to mitigate the danger to Ian in his duel. Vargr are very dexterous and typically are very good in the use of ranged weapons. Jarvis in particular has had a lot of practice in the art of dueling. I was hoping to disable him enough to stop this duel or give Ian an excellent chance to win.”

-----​

When Vargas starts to explain his motivation, Swann stops with a forkful of peas and mush-rooms just short of his open mouth. Incredulous over what he is hearing, he stays frozen in that comical pose for several seconds. Once he realizes that peas are falling off his fork and into his lap, Swann puts the fork back on his plate and closes his mouth.

Ian slowly shakes his head with a hard frown on his face.

Vasilii purses his lips.

-----​

“If I had won," the ex-Scout continues, "I had intended to leave Jarvis in charge in my absence and proceed with our journey. However, losing makes me a member of his pack. In any event, we would have the protection of a fairly powerful interstellar organization.”

-----​

Anyone watching Vasilii sees him almost start to blurt incredulously, but then clamp his mouth shut.

-----​

“Vargr tend to be very loyal to pack members. Since I am now a pack member, I will enjoy the protection of the pack. Since you are associated with me, you will also enjoy some protection of the pack. For the Bray Keaven, this will be a win–win situation.”

-----​

Vasilii’s eyes bulge.

-----​

“There is a down side to this arrangement in that I will be expected to give the same loyalty to the pack as they give to me.”

-----​

Vasilii slowly exhales.

“That loyalty, my fellow shipmates, is a potential problem in my opinion,” Ian says quietly.

-----​

“I am not sure as to what position I will hold in this pack but I suspect that Jarvis will want me to remain with the Bray Keaven as his representative. That we will have to wait to see.”

-----​

Vasilii sets his jaw.

-----​

“Another thing is that I am very curious about what this Imperial business is. What better way to find out then to be associated with an interstellar organization that has many sources of infor-mation. We now have access to that information.”

-----​

“Great,” thinks Vasilii, “First we agree to leave it alone and within a day we’re getting in fights to learn about it. Perfect. Bloody wonderful.” Bystanders may detect a certain annoyance on the merchant’s part.

-----​

“I hope this works out, if it does not, there is always the option of leaving me here and proceed-ing onward.”

-----​

Martha frowns, her forehead wrinkling as if she finds the thought unpleasant.

-----​

“I hope this will not be the case, but no matter what my reasons were, I did bring this down upon myself. It seems that my fate rests in several hands and a pair of paws.”

-----​

Vasilii looks very thoughtful.

-----​

“I suspect that this association with the pack may not be terribly long lived. Vargr society is very mobile and it is understood that if a member of the pack starts to lose sfik or charisma, they are expected to leave and seek their fortune elsewhere.

“Vasilii, I shall repay the ships account for my care at the hospital.”

“No need for that, Mr. Vargas. You were acting for the ship. I wouldn’t have done the same thing myself, but they’re legitimate ‘business expenses.’ ”

“I agree,” Ian says. “I think the expenses for the meal with Jarvis should be paid from the ship’s account as well.”

-----​

When Vargas makes his statement about repaying the ship’s account for his hospital care, Swann thinks, “Better save your credits for a good shrink.”

-----​

As several people interject to counter Vargas’ offer, Martha sits quietly, letting the others ex-press her thoughts for her. But eventually she asks, “Vargas, what do YOU want to do? Do you want to leave, or do you want to stay onboard? And if you stay onboard, what does that mean when push comes to shove, and it comes down to us or Jarvis?”

“Yes, how do you feel about it all Mr. Vargas?” Vasilii asks. “Whilst I really want nothing to do with these thugs, you are a member of our partnership and you got into this position trying to help us. So we should see what we can do to achieve a satisfactory conclusion.”

Swann takes a drink of his beverage and says, “The philosopher Wang Chung once said, ‘A sophont with two masters can serve neither.’ ”

-----​

Vargas sits and listens to the conversations following his assessment of the previous days’ actions. Finally he says, “I am a member of this crew and a shareholder. I naturally want to stay on board and continue with this crew and continue in my present position.

“As to my loyalties, I think that the scars I now bear speak more loudly than words as to where they lay. By the way Saro, I forgot to thank you for saving my life. You are one of the best. Thanks.

“Most of what we are talking about though is still conjecture. I need to see exactly what this Jarvis will expect of me. Judging from what he did for the ACR permit, he seems to have a sense of honor and his demands may be very light. This remains to be seen and I will have to wait for the results of our meeting in the morning before any real plans or decisions can be made.

“My first priority is the safety of this ship and its crew. I am not completely sure what position this Vargr family occupies but I am pretty sure that they are fairly high on the food chain. Having them as friends could be a benefit. As for myself, I will make it clear that I and I alone made the challenge and lost, and that I and I alone am under his control for the present time and that he cannot make demands on this crew or ship that will result in endangerment of the Bray Keaven, its crew, passengers, cargo, or profit. If push comes to shove, I will do what we all think is best for this ship and its crew.”

-----​

Martha pauses, then asks, “Vargas, what do I need to do to avoid being the target of Jarvis’ next dueling challenge? I don’t want to tick him off while he’s here, and suddenly find myself in a blazing gun battle at 20 paces.” She smiles lightly, though her eyes belie the tension she feels.

-----​

Vargas senses Martha’s tension and says, “Martha, sfik is a Vargr equivalent of social status. One of the quirks of Vargr society is that each Vargr tries to improve their status within a pack. That is why humans seem to think that the Vargr are constantly quarreling. Most humans do not have any sfik in the view of the Vargr so they usually just leave them alone.

“The place where most humans get into trouble with Vargr is that the Vargr are very easily insulted. This is especially true if there are any racial overtones to the insult. Most Vargr re-spond fairly quickly and with possible deadly results to repeated insults.

“The reason that Ian wound up in that duel was because a close member of Jarvis’ family had been killed and he would have lost sfik in the eyes of his subordinates. This required that he take, shall I say ‘revenge’ for the want of a better word. If he had not done this, he would have surly faced a challenge similar to mine from subordinate members of his pack.

“I got my thrashing because I issued a direct challenge to him. Unlike most humans, I appar-ently do have some sfik or he would have never accepted my challenge. The result is history.

“I do not think you are in any danger from this bunch as long as you do not make any insulting remarks about his race or business dealings. Also, do not stare directly into his eyes as this is interpreted as a threat. Just keep that in mind and you should not have any problems.”

-----​

Vasilii’s research pretty much confirmed what Vargas says: he will probably be considered a Vargr pack member though probably on some sort of probationary status. The association may be long, or it might be short depending on the new pack member’s prestige. Given that Vargas acted as if a Vargr, he is probably going to be considered a Vargr rather than a human em-ployee.

-----​

Aidan takes charge of arranging for a late morning meal for Jarvis after consulting with Vargas as to an appropriate spread of food to provide. The meeting is at 1000 hours, so Aidan opts for a mixture of morning and midday foods as well as a mixture of lighter and heavier fare. He spends about Cr450* for the spread.

Vasilii shakes his head when he receives the bill. “Can you actually buy food that expensive? I obviously move in the wrong circles.”

“Ahh my friend, the wine alone was half of that,” Aidan says. “One must have the proper bever-age with every meal.”

-----​

*For comparison, Cr450 is roughly equal to $1,350 in current U.S. dollars.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Interestingly enough, the posts I compiled for the most recent update occurred during the time leading up to and during Gen Con last year. So the story hour remains about a year behind our ongoing, online game.

D'oh! I was mistaken. Those posts were from June of last year. So we're only 10 months behind the current game. Catching up slowly but surely.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XXII

Date: 213-993
Location: Warne Highport, Kerin's Tyr

On the morning of the meeting with Jarvis, most of the crew of the Bray Keaven prepares to receive the Vargr businessman. Martha monitors from port engineering while Swann opts for his favored starboard turret fire control with the new anti–personnel pop–up laser warmed up, but not active.

Vasilii and Ian wait in the lounge looking a little longingly at the food.

Kevon and Aidan take charge of meeting Jarvis and his escort when he arrives at the berth. Jarvis appears to have three outriders: Barkolin and two of his guards. Interestingly, the two guards appear to be carrying laser carbines, which are usually not allowed for civilian use in Imperial starports. Jarvis and Barkolin both have gauss pistols on their hips and are wearing stylish garments of some weight.

When Kevon asks that only Barkolin accompany Jarvis onto the ship, Jarvis looks like he was expecting such a precaution. Aidan mentions that Vargas has arranged for some food for Jarvis, but, surprisingly, Jarvis this time says, “Thank you, but let us take care of business first this time.”

With that comment, Kevon and Aidan escort Jarvis and Barkolin to the improvised sickbay where Vargas and Saro wait.

-----​

Upon entering the sickbay, Jarvis slowly inspects Vargas from the door before saying, “Looks like Dr. Talbek and Nateel Medical have done a good job. That I am glad to see.”

Jarvis then strides into the room, glances at Saro who is steadfastly avoiding eye contact and sits in the chair next to Vargas.

“You fought well, and now you present a bit of a conundrum for me. On the one paw, you seem to be Vargr enough to recognize that we now have a relationship. On the other, you are obviously loyal enough to the crew of the Bray Keaven to be willing to die for one of them.

“You obviously can not be of two packs at the same time, and I choose not to test your loyalties. As such, I’m going to offer you several options.

“The first is to leave the Bray Keaven entirely and join one of my businesses. You have some small sfik in my eyes at this point, and you would be in a good position to earn more.”

-----​

“That’s the stick,” thinks Vasilii, who is listening to the conversation over the ship’s comm system with the others in the lounge.

-----​

“The second is bring me a gift for my collection. I have always fancied the sculptures of Farns Bootil of Sentry. I believe that, with the right introduction, he accepts commissions starting at a million credits.”

-----​

“That's the moonshot,” Vasilii thinks.

-----​

“The third is to perform a small delivery for me. I have 55 dTons of goods that need to be delivered to Shanape, and I don’t happen to have a crew of proven ability handy to deliver the goods. Naturally, I’ll provide documents from Acting Administrator Mixon as to the legality of the goods. I trust that you’ll show the same discretion and care for my goods as you showed for Merkul’s gift to me.”

-----​

“And that’s what he really wants,” Vasilii thinks.

-----​

“Naturally, I assume that you’ll want to discuss the matter with your current pack, so I will expect an answer by this evening. Now, shall we dine on whatever you’ve had prepared for me? I expect that your friends will bring you a proper plate.”

With that Jarvis looks at Aidan expectedly. Aidan and Kevon escort the two Vargr up to the lounge. Jarvis seems to enjoy the meal, but at times the conversation is a bit strained. Jarvis doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will towards the crew of the Bray Keaven and seems to expect the same in return.

After a relatively quick meal, Jarvis and Barkolin depart, leaving the crew to consider the presented options.

-----​

Vasilii laughs a bit and says, “Well, that saves looking for cargo. And it’s not like there’s any spec goods worth mentioning on the market at the moment. Which, incidentally, is pretty suspicious in itself.

“I think, if we have papers from Mixon, we’re not too badly off. By our previous standards, anyhow. And it puts us relatively clear of friend Jarvis. too. Shanape’s three jumps via Alief or four otherwise, as I recall.

“As for the statue — well, I think he never expected us to do that. But we could afford it, and remain a viable concern. It would be the cleanest way out, but very expensive.”

“I agree, Vasilii,” Aidan says. “I can’t imagine that the cargo could be any worse than others of recent memory. And I’ll hope that it’s not 55 dtons of a dueling weapon.”

Ian looks at Aidan. “I don’t think we’d survive that delivery!,” he says with a half grin.

Aidan grins back at Ian. “I just hope Vargas doesn’t want to try to wrestle it to the ground.”

“Sounds like the cargo route is the cheaper, but what is waiting for us on the other end?” Ian says. “I’m not opposed to it.”

“Can we complete the delivery before we are required to make a trip from Sentry to Alief?” Swann asks.

-----​

“Hmmpf. Perhaps this is the great karmic wheel turning,” Saro says over the comms from the sick bay, where he continues to monitor his patient. “Where we have previously gained a large sum of capital selling that which was not ours to sell, we now have the opportunity to balance the scales by divesting ourselves of another large sum.

“I for one am not displeased with the notion of doing something to scrub some of the stain out of our karmic fabric.”

“No, Doctor, I think it’s advantageous for us to deal with Jarvis on the cargo,” Kevon counters as he unfastens the top clasp of his undress uniform. “As Mr. Kugiikishshi mentioned, Alief should be on the way, and we can get our mandated cargo, killing two birds with one stone.”

“Doesn’t that work the other way?” Vasilii says. “We take cargo from Sentry to Alief? And we have to check in at Sentry once on a while to see if there is any to pick up? I think we’d visit Alief on the rebound, if there’s any cargo yet.

“Besides, this 55 dTon load is about our limit. We couldn’t take much more. It would be pretty much a straight run to Shanape, stopping for fuel and life support."

-----​

As Vargas listens to the discussion over the comm, he agrees to reject the statue offer.

“He said that the price STARTED at one million credits, and I do not think he will want the basic model. As to the cargo, the real question is can we deliver the cargo and meet our other commitments. If the crew is in agreement, that is a viable option and looks like the only way for me to stay aboard. I will leave the choice in the hands of the crew and will abide by their decision.”

-----​

Martha listens quietly to the crew as they discuss the plan. When faces start looking for her input, she nods, somewhat subdued. “We’ll miss our due date, but probably by less than a week. It usually takes at least two days, with red tape, to get in system, dock, refuel, restock on necessities, then head out system to a safe jump point. One delay at all, and we fall behind.”

In a softer voice, she mutters, more for herself than the others, “And we’re famous for delays.”

Speaking a little louder, she continues. “Still, I think it’s the safest route, assuming that Vargas wants to stay with us, that is.”

With that, she falls silent again, shaking her head a little at Vargas’ shirking of the choice of where he goes or stays onto the rest of the crew. “He can’t even say what his thoughts are on the matter,” she thinks. “No, he’s got to make us responsible for that. Men! They can never make a commitment on their own, unless it’s to beat someone else up and prove they’re a man! By St. Elvis, why are they so frustrating sometimes!?!” Similar thoughts continue to ruminate through Martha’s head as the conversation continues.

-----​

Swann rubs a hand across his face as he looks around the room at the others. “What if we found some young, starving artist — someone who has studied the works of this Farns Bootil — to make a fake; a sculpture in Bootil’s style? We give it to Jarvis, say it’s an original. We could even forge some documentation, make it look legit.”

“I thought we were trying to avoid trouble with these Vargr,” Vasilii says.

“Or has this Bootil taken any public commissions?” Swann continues. “Something that was on display, say, in a public park? Maybe we could ‘liberate’ it from the pigeons, give it a nice home where it will be appreciated.”

Vasilii grins at the thought of nabbing a five–ton statue on a 30–ton pedestal and getting away with it.

“Y’know, some of us are still official representatives of His Majesty’s Imperial Government,” Kevon states, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. “And those of us who still have that career option would like to keep it available. No theft. No swindling the Vargrs.”

Vargas says, “Jarvis probably knows the artist’s work very well and I am positive that a fake would be recognized immediately. Additionally, he would probably check on the payment of a commission. Judging from his reactions to the death of his nephew, I can just imagine what would happen with a deliberate insult like that. He has dealt honorably in the matter of my challenge and I, for one, will not stand for any deceit on his request of me.

“I think that we should take the cargo and meet his request. If we do well on this job, who knows — maybe it will lead to better profits.”

Swann smiles and says, “I’m not seriously suggesting we deceive Jarvis or commit a theft. I was just brainstorming out loud, considering the merits of all of our options.

“Yeah, taking his cargo to Shanape is our best choice.”

Grinning, Aidan says, “Well, a statue heist would have been fun in the process, but then we would have had to have sent pictures of it visiting all the different systems. That, and the law enforcement chasing us, would have been a bit of an issue.”

Turning to Vasilii, Swann continues. “As to our obligations to Alief, did we contract with ImpEx to carry four tons of cargo every quarter from Sentry to Alief? When do we have to make the first run on that?”

“Yes, I suppose they might have something for us by now,” Vasilii says. “Sentry to Alief is the other direction from here to Shanape, though, so it’s something we’d do on the way back.

“So, much as I’d like to patronize the arts, I think we’d be better off taking this cargo direct to Shanape then coming back to Sentry to check on goods for Alief.”

After a moment, Vasilii adds, “Didn’t our friend Mr. Salian with the frozen cows hail from Shanape? And he mentioned wanting a ride back. I think he just said Sentry, but he might have been aiming for Shanape eventually. Maybe we can sell him another freezer ride.”