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  "Capt. Mrantz, how nice of you to join us," a tall, silver-haired elf said as he walked over to join her and Aerith.

  "Dr. Thia, good to see you again. This is crewman Aerith Aymar, one of our trainees. Aerith, this is Dr. Thia, the head of the expedition we're hauling for."

  Aerith and the doctor shook hands. When they finished, the doctor said something in an unknown language while giving a slight bow. Aerith replied in the same language while returning the bow."

  "Ms. Aymar, your ancient Elf is flawless," the doctor commented. "Where did you learn it?"

  "My aunt taught me from an early age. I know the six primary dialects as well as several secondary ones."

  "Your aunt is a scholar of the old ways?"

  "Yes. Aunt Tannith is a professor at a large university on Ventos Prime."

  "It does my old heart good to hear young people keeping the old ways. What is your father's name? I may know of him."

  "Harmon Aymar," Aerith said with a smile filled with pride.

  The room went silent.

  "What's wrong, Doctor?" Kestra asked with growing alarm.

  The doctor held up his hand. "Your father is Prince Lucien Irithyl, lost brother to Queen Losira Irithyl, our people’s glorious leader."

  "Yes, but he really hates all the hoopla..."

  "Princess!" the doctor said as he and the other members of his team went down to one knee, leaving an amused Kestra, a mortified Aerith, and several confused crew members standing, wondering what to do next. Aerith looked at Kestra with eyes wide while silently mouthing, "Help me!"

  Kestra made a command decision. "Beat it!" she mouthed while hooking her thumb toward the exit.

  "Thanks," Aerith silently replied while beating a hasty exit. Once she was gone, Kestra knelt down and helped the Doctor to his feet. "Dr. Thia, a word please," she asked.

  "Of course," he replied while looking around for Aerith.

  "Doctor, I need to explain a few things. This ship is co-owned by me and Harmon Aymar. Aerith is here to train to one day follow in her father's footsteps and captain a freighter. The two of them prefer to keep the royalty thing on the QT, if you know what I mean. The Queen has given him special dispensation to continue to use the Aymar identity, except for official functions. Aerith really prefers just being Aerith, if you catch my drift."

  "I see. Please, tell the princess, I mean Ms. Aerith, that her secret is safe with us."

  "That is great. I tell you what, when this soiree is over, I'll have her give you a tour of the ship."

  "That would be wonderful, Captain. Thank you," he said as his tail danced around like a manic snake. Having been around Aerith for the last few weeks, Kestra realized that the dancing tail must be a universal affliction amongst the elves. She really needed to talk to Harmon about it.

  The rest of the night went quietly as the passengers settled in for their short journey.

  ###

  Kestra found Aerith in the Break Room where she was studying for her upcoming exams. In front of her were several textbooks while a large mug of tea sat close by. The young elfling was wearing headphones while her tail danced to the music she was listening to. Kestra grabbed a cup of tea before sitting down across from the young cadet. After a short wait, Aerith looked up. Seeing the captain, she pulled off the headphones while trying to jump up to attention. "Captain!"

  "Sit! That's an order. You kids get so jumpy. This isn't the Elf Marine Expeditionary Force, you know."

  "Sorry, ma’am. They're kinda strict about that sort of thing in the academy."

  "I wouldn't know. My family's been hauling merch from one star system to the next for at least five generations. Before that, we plied the seas of Lysecka in everything from wind-powered three-masters to nuclear-powered freighters. We learned the trade from the ground-up. You know what my first job aboard ship was?"

  "No, ma’am," Aerith said with wonder-filled eyes.

  "Dishwasher on the scow Henrietta. Fifty crew and tons of garbage. I worked staggered shifts behind the sink, washing dishes for the biggest bunch of dandies that ever plied the space ways. The captain demanded spotless uniforms and even cleaner dishes. Wonderful times, I tell you."

  "Captain, is there any position you never got a chance to fill?"

  "Aye, one. A fueler aboard a nuke-powered freighter. I lucked-out on that one."

  "Aye, ma’am," Aerith answered. She'd heard what happened to those crew and shuddered. Many died before the advent of the much safer FTL drives.

  "You really don't like the princess gig, do you?"

  "No, not really. Dad once told me the other name for famous smugglers," she said.

  "What's that?"

  "Dead. He likes to keep a low profile, especially after, you know..."

  "The Spindrift Incident, as they call it in the history books," Kestra said. "I still apologize to Harmon for what he went through."

  "If I may ask, Captain, why do you apologize? Thinking he had killed you and your crew set him on his current path. I was ten when mother and I left him, so I know what he was like before his transformation. I don't know where he would be right now if it wasn't for you and your actions that day. Kestra, have you seen how happy he is? He, hell, all of us, have you and your family to thank for that."

  Kestra tried to hide what she felt, but couldn't, so she took Aerith's hand and said, "Thank you for that. It means a lot to me and the others," she said before changing the subject. "Listen, I talked to the doc and he's agreed to put the adoration on hold, at least for now. You may have to put up with more of it when we get to our destination, though. This group seems to be a little too excited over your heritage."

  "Thanks. This is all new to me. Before Dad found his sister, I was mostly shunned by both my peoples. Now, I'm almost deified."

  "Shunned?"

  "Yeah. Elfling is a term of derision amongst some on Ventos Prime and Earth. A lot of elves and humans consider the other species to be a lower form of life, thus a half-human elf is something to scorn. That's why we've adopted the term 'elfling' as our own."

  "Sort of like sticking it to the man, or should I say the elf?"

  "Exactly. Take my adoptive grandmother. She never forgave Dad for marrying Mom. Now, she calls several times a day to get invites to court functions."

  "Families are like that. Since your dad came into my life, I've had relatives coming out of the woodwork that I never knew existed, all looking for work or money."

  "It's funny, even when the loneliness overtook him, all Dad wanted to do was raise a family."

  "This is probably an inappropriate question for a captain to ask, but is he really as smart as they say he is?"

  "You’ve met Roscoe, haven't you?"

  "Yeah. Sweetest AI I ever met, and that accent..."

  "Dad tinkered his system together from spare parts in less than forty-eight hours. Minutes after Dad threw the switch, Roscoe took up residence, which is a record I’ve been told. Most AIs take days, weeks, or months to find and inspect a new home before moving in. Dad's at his best when he's bored or under pressure. I heard they tried to give him an IQ test when he started work at the Cube. The docs gave up after three testing computers burnt out."

  "Damn. I'm glad he's on our side," Kestra commented. "Before we arrive tomorrow, I want to give our passengers a tour of the ship. You up for it?"

  "Of course," Aerith replied. "Standard tour from stern to bow?"

  "Aye. They've already had the life pod drill, but I'm trying to drum up more jobs like this one. I have a thing for scientists."

  Aerith laughed. "I won't let you down, Captain."

  "I know you won't. Try to get some sleep," Kestra said as she got up and put her cup in the washer. "Good night."

  "Good night, Captain," Aerith replied as she got back to her work.

  Chapter Four

  Two hours out from their destination, Merla gathered the passengers in the lounge for a tour of the Spindrift. "Hello, everyone, my name is Merla Mrantz, and I'm the fi
rst officer of the Spindrift," she said before launching into the history of the ship and its crew. "You've all met Crewman Aymar," she said. "She'll be leading the tour today. Aerith?"

  "Yes, ma’am. Everyone, please follow me to the engine room. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I promise I won't bite." This last bit got a chuckle out of everyone.

  The tour started in Engineering where Aerith explained the workings of the FTL drive and other ship's systems. "Ms. Aymar," one of the group asked, "I'm not familiar with the unit feeding into the FTL field generator. What does it do?"

  "Ah, you mean the box with the green elf doll head on it?"

  "Yes, that one."

  "It's a micro quantum field enhancer. It increases FTL strength by twenty percent with only a one percent increase in fuel consumption. We're testing it for the manufacturer."

  "I have not heard of this device before now. Who manufactures it?" the passenger asked.

  "It’s produced by Elven Industries Ltd. under license from my...father."

  "Ahh," the group said in unison.

  Brushing-off the creepy feeling she got from their response, Aerith continued the tour. An hour prior to landing, she and her brood came to the last stop on her tour. "Welcome to the Bridge of the Spindrift," Aerith said in her best tour guide voice. "Where Engineering is the heart of the ship, this is the brain. Here, the captain and the Bridge crew navigate the ship, communicate with the rest of the League, and monitor all ship’s systems."

  "Captain Mrantz, my compliments to your ship and crew," Dr. Thia said as he watched a planet come into view. "I see we've reached Mimbres."

  "Yes, our timing couldn't be better," Kestra replied. "We have much to do. Everyone. Please return to the lounge for landing. We'll let you know when we've touched-down."

  Kestra pulled Aerith aside while the passengers filed-out. "That went well. They seem to be a very subdued lot."

  "Yeah, once they tone-down the royal-worship. The only thing I found odd was the lack of discussion about their work. It was as if they deliberately avoided the subject. When I was in school, most of the academics wouldn't shut up about what they were working on. This group, on the other hand, is just dead silent."

  "Well, to each their own as long as we get paid. Why don't you stay up here and help with the landing?"

  "Thank you, ma’am. I ‘d like that a lot."

  The crew got busy with pre-landing chores as the ship slipped into orbit around Mimbres.

  ###

  When she walked in, Kestra found the lounge filled with a group of excited elves. The viewers were connected to external camera feeds, so passengers could watch the approach and landing. "Everyone! Listen-up! We have arrived. Please gather your things and disembark through the starboard hatch while my crew offloads your supplies. From my crew and myself, I want to thank you for using Mrantz Shipping, We hope you'll fly with us again."

  As people streamed out of the lounge, Kestra saw someone she did not recognize, hurry up to Dr. Thia and whisper into the aged elf's ear. In a heartbeat, the look on Thia's face went from anticipation to anger. He whispered something back as Kestra joined them."

  "Problem, Dr. Thia?"

  "You might say that," Thia said as he and the others pulled out weapons and aimed them at the Kestra and the crew, "but it's one which you can help solve."

  ###

  "Roscoe, what about using an M83 transverter from the primary source while using the third secondary stream as a control signal?"

  "Working, sir... No, the 0.010% mismatch would cause an explosion powerful enough to take out this quadrant."

  "Blast and damn! Who the hell thought wiring the Cube like a building was a good idea? It’s a spaceship, for heaven's sake, not a warehouse shopping club!"

  "Yes, sir. Perhaps we could perform real-time adjustments using a PID algorithm run by an AI daemon?"

  "Possibly. Damn, we've got a gigawatt power supply and no way to hook it to the building," Harm said, throwing down his pencil in frustration. In front of him was the object of his frustration: the quantum singularity drive core ejected from the Conquistador just prior to its destruction on Venecia. Normally used to augment a ship's FTL drive, Harm had the idea of using it as the Cube's primary power source, saving OffSec millions of credits in yearly power generation costs. The only problem was connecting the two disparate systems together while preventing a nova-sized explosion.

  "Sir, we have visitors," Roscoe said from the room’s sound system. Originally, the NAVComp for the Conquistador, Roscoe was now one of several artificial intelligences who called the Cube home.

  Harmon turned around just in time to see members of Cube, Elf, and Lyseckan security walk into the lab and line up on either side of the door followed by Cube Director Dr. Ciara Devlin, the Lyseckan ambassador to the League, and finally, his sister, Queen Losira, who strolled in and smiled at him. "Lucien!" she said, using his birth name.

  "Losi," he replied as he walked over to her and took her hand, instantly forming a twin-link.

  "Silly man, you just need to use a phase inverter to take the output from DC to three-phase. Any first-year student would see that," she said as she reviewed his work through the link.

  "What do you mean the Spindrift and her crew have been hijacked?" he replied as he stepped back to look first at his sister, then the Director. "Ciara, what the hell is going on?"

  "You two both know how much that twin-link thing creeps me out. I hate it when Gloria and Royce pull that shit."

  Harmon and Losira both shrugged in perfect unison, further adding to the creepy index.

  "Fill me in," Harmon said as he cleared the hologram of the core from the lab.

  "That was a hologram?" the Lyseckan ambassador asked, astounded. "It looked real?"

  "Yes. As a safety precaution, the core is on an asteroid several light minutes from here just in case it explodes."

  "This is what we've got so far," Ciara said as she brought up a hologram to replace the one of the core. This one was of a group of elves holding the crew of the Spindrift at gunpoint. The camera zoomed in on an older male elf holding a gun to Kestra's side. "My name is Dr. Thia and my people and I are going to borrow the Spindrift and her crew for a while. Do not follow us or interfere with us in any way or harm may come to the valiant crew of the Spindrift." The feed cut off, leaving a blank screen.

  "So they found this on an EPIRB dropped on Mimbres?" Harm asked.

  "How the hell did you know about the... Oh, right," Ciara said as she remembered the twin-link. "Yes, Starguard picked up an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon transmission a few hours ago. A cloaked, high-speed scout was sent to investigate when the Spindrift's dossier was found to have both a royal flag and an OffSec flag. This is what the scout found," Ciara said as she switched feeds. This time the view was of a high-speed pass along the length of a barren valley. At the center of the valley was a large ring-like structure. Anyone flying low along the valley would fly straight-through the ring. "The EPIRB is on this side of the ring, about thirty feet away. Our techs estimate the beacon was dropped from a height of thirty feet."

  Harm stared at the ring, his lips moving. "Lucien, what is it?" Losira asked.

  "Hmmm? Oh, the writing on the ring resembles ancient elf, possibly Atlantean. I need Tannith on this one. She's much better with the written language."

  "Where is she?" Ciara asked as she typed commands into the labs control console.

  "Rasathanar University on Ventos Prime. She's a professor now."

  "Got it. It'll take them a few minutes. What do you think that thing is? We've scanned the volume around the Mimbres system and find no trace of the Spindrift. It is as if the ship just disappeared."

  "I think the runes at the top are a warning, sort of 'Danger! Keep Out!" The rest of the writing is unfamiliar to me."

  "We've got Tannith on the line," Ciara said as she split the screen into two feeds—Tannith and the ring.

  "Harmon, Losira, I just got the news abo
ut the Spindrift. Who could have done this?"

  "Tannith, sister," Losira said, "we are doing everything we can to rescue the crew of the Spindrift and bring the kidnappers to justice, but we need your help."

  "Sure, anything."

  "Can you see an image of a large ring on your monitor?" Harm asked

  "Yes, I see it. The runes are Atlantean Elvish. The top is a warning while the rest refer to a prison and... By all that's holy. It refers to Nochmar the Unmerciful."

  "Who's Nochmar?" the Lyseckan ambassador asked.

  "Probably the worst creature to ever exist in this universe. Imagine if Adolf Hitler, Caligula, and Morta of Goranth had a love child. That abomination would only be a close approximation to Nochmar" Losira explained. "He was a general in the elven army prior to the destruction of Atlantis, which we think occurred around 1600 BCE. No one knows what happened to him or his companions."

  "Companions?"

  "Three wives and three lieutenants who never left his side," Tannith continued. “It's like with the elven diaspora from Earth. All we know is that elves used to live on Earth with humans, but the elves left and colonized Ventos Prime around the time of Atlantis’ destruction."

  "Tannith, anything else pertaining to the purpose of the ring?" Harm asked.

  "Yes, though the reference is vague. These three runes translate to 'Prison Gate.'"

  "What about the rune at the bottom. The smaller one which looks like an afterthought," Losira asked.

  "That's not a rune. It’s an inventory mark from a museum. Someone screwed up and marked the piece, probably thinking it was a support stone.

  "What museum?"

  "The Rasathanar University Museum, about a block from here. Wait a minute, I seem to remember something from about two years ago..." she said as she ducked off-camera. "Yeah, here it is. There was a robbery. About forty tons of artifacts were taken along with an ancient text. I checked and several similar robberies occurred around the League at about the same time. All the artifacts were stone segments of a large ring or arch."