 
Harness the Stars

By James Roberson

Copyright 2016 James Roberson

Smashwords Edition

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Chapter 1

As the members of the band Too Tall Jackie filed off the stage, the club announcer stepped up on top and walked toward the microphone positioned at the center.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special surprise for you here tonight at Wrasp. While Too Tall Jackie is taking a break, none other than Simmonhead Fred is going to treat us all to a song or two, hopefully something off their latest album."

A small roar erupted from the crowd in the tightly packed club.

Once the din died down enough, the announcer resumed. "They are leaving in a day or two to begin their latest galactic tour, so this is a rare treat. Okay everybody let's make them feel the love, Simmon! Head! Fred!"

The roar erupted again, but more pronounced and raucous than before.

Just as the announcer had begun his introduction of the band, Jackie Crumb, of Too Tall Jackie, reached the edge of the bar where Fred Ross and Thom Pinch of Simmonhead Fred were standing.

Just as Jackie made visual contact with Fred and Thom, Fred grabbed Tilley Lugg by the arm, quickly drew her in, and began to kiss her deeply, with copious tongue, as he clutched a handful of ass in one hand, and a handful of tit in the other.

Jackie immediately stopped in his tracks. He stood speechless with his jaw hanging open, staring at the two.

After approximately fifteen seconds, Fred pushed Tilley away from him with enough force to cause her to stumble a couple of steps backwards and land on a bar stool that was a few feet behind her. He then spun around, grinned largely, lightly punched Thom on the shoulder and proceeded toward the stage.

Thom, who was also standing wide-eyed and speechless, while watching Fred tongue Tilley, turned and followed Fred.

"What the fuck, bro? That's my girlfriend!" Jackie yelled at Fred, as he pointed over at Tilley. Tilley was still sitting on the bar stool in a slight daze, smiling, watching Fred walk off toward the stage.

Fred didn't stop or turn around. He continued to walk toward the stage in a confident fashion, still sporting his large grin.

"Yeah, what the fuck, bro?" Thom asked Fred as the two walked toward the stage.

Fred looked over at Thom, smiled largely with a devilish smile, and winked at him.

Thom stopped for a moment, smiled back at Fred, shook his head side to side and then proceeded.

It was only about ten feet to the stage from where the scene with Fred, Tilley, Thom, and Jackie occurred at the bar, so it took only a second or two for Fred and Thom to reach it. The two quickly hopped up the two steps to the top.

"So what are we going to play?" Hals asked Fred and Thom as the two picked up a guitar and a bass, respectively. Hals was already sitting at the drum set.

Abby was standing at the mic with one hand on her hip, and the other on the mic resting in its holder on the stand.

"Shit, I don't know. Just follow me in," Fred said as he quickly tuned the guitar down a step.

Fred stepped on a pedal, turned the volume knob on the guitar up completely, and strummed three bar-chords, letting the third one ring for a count of five or six. He slid his hand up the neck, strummed a Cma7 chord, gave an arpeggio of the E minor chord, and then muted.

The guys produced a hard bounce of three riffs, and then stopped. Thom produced a run on the bass and stopped. In timed unison, they started again with Abby vocalizing:

"In the days, before the time.

We bathed the Earth in simple rhyme

Now we've come to rock the stars

With heart, soul, and electric guitar

We leave the Earth to return

Bending time and space as ions burn"

"Come with me, on a journey, the galaxy's turning, the power is building,

I can see you're yielding"

"Horizon, Horizon, The dawn is arising"

"I can't shake this slumber, the spell that I'm under"

At this point, Fred began an instrumental bridge, but didn't follow the composition of the actual song they were playing. Instead, he weaved it into Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name of.

Thom, caught off guard, quickly looked at Hals, who had not missed a beat, and had followed Fred right into it. Thom quickly and seamlessly integrated into the song as well. Abby began to move about to the music since there were no lyrics to this part. They were all used to Fred doing this, but he usually let them know he was going to do something beforehand. This time Fred did not give any kind of a cue.

Everyone in the club was on their feet, pulsing their heads to the beat, or flailing around in some fashion. The energy in the club had grown exponentially over what it was while Too Tall Jackie was playing the previous set.

Jackie was still standing at the bar next to Tilley, scowling as he glowered at Fred.

The band reached the conclusion of the song, which is composed of hard, successive riffs. After pounding out three or four of these, Fred swung Jackie's guitar off his shoulder and raised it in the air by the neck. He subsequently brought it down on the floor hard, lifted it back up, and brought it down again.

Jackie's scowl quickly turned to an expression of shock, as he couldn't believe what had just taken place.

Fred lifted the guitar up, swung it around, knocking over a mic stand next to him. Hals and Thom had not slowed or stopped. They continued, completing the song as Fred thrashed the guitar about against the equipment on the stage. Abby had jumped off the front of the stage shortly after Fred had slammed the guitar on the floor the second time, and she was quickly scurrying toward the table where the rest of the band's group was sitting.

As he swung around, making a complete circle, Fred pounded the guitar against a large Vox amp, destroying the front of it. He spun around in the opposite direction, contacting the bass drum of the drum set, knocking it to one side, bursting the drumhead and contacting the high-hat on his follow through, causing the high-hat to tumble over.

No one in the club had stopped or slowed their rhythmic pulsation, and they were all bouncing with the beat Hals and Thom were maintaining, but that was soon to change. The destruction of the drum set brought the music to an abrupt halt.

Hals and Thom were now scrambling around and over the litter of destroyed equipment on the stage. Fred had successfully broken off the body of Jackie's guitar, knocked over several more pieces of the drum set, and shattered the top of the Vox amp, leaving it sparking and smoking.

Jackie finally overcame his shock, and leapt onto the stage as Fred was tossing the pieces of the destroyed guitar into the crowd. Jackie barreled toward Fred in nearly a full run with his arms out in order to grab him. Fred quickly and forcefully planted his fist in Jackie's chest just as Jackie began to close his arms around Fred. Jackie's forward momentum was immediately quashed. He let out a loud bellow as the air in his lungs rushed out. Jackie stumbled backwards and off the edge of the stage and into the crowd. He landed hard on a group of people, causing several of them to stumble about and fall to the ground under him. In the melee, some elbows were planted into the faces of some unsuspecting recipients. It was now on. Almost immediately, a brawl sprang into existence across the entire club.

Two other members of Too Tall Jackie sprang onto the stage, just as Jackie was flying off it. They both were heading toward Fred in a full run. Thom punched one of them in the back of the head with a hard hook as he went by, sending him forward in an out of control stumble, over a mic stand and head first into an amp stack. The amp on the bottom of the stack slid backwards, while the amp head tumbled off the top and down onto the guy lying on the floor below it.

Fred turned just in time to catch the other guy barreling toward him. At the right time, Fred crouched down to one side, and stuck out his leg. The dude was running too fast and was too close to Fred to react in time and he caught Fred's ankle with one of his feet. The guy went sailing into what was left of the drum set and rolled off behind it, toward the back of the stage.

Thom was already moving in Fred's direction as Fred was beginning to crouch down. Fred jumped back up right. Thom grabbed him by the arm, and the two jumped off the side of the stage. They landed between the end of the bar and the side of the stage at the beginning of a hallway leading to the back of the club. Thom looked to his left and saw the rest of their group clambering in their direction out of the crowd, which was now in a complete chaotic riot. Abby and Cassy were sandwiched between Ethan, Hals, and Greg. Thom motioned for them to follow him and Fred. The entire group ran down the hallway, turned a corner, and then pushed through a door leading into the alley behind the club. The door quickly closed behind them, as the last member of the group, Ethan Brood, exited it.

They all stopped to catch their breath.

Hals noticed Ethan's lip was swollen and bleeding. "What happened there?" he asked as he pointed toward Ethan's face. There was visible bruising on Ethan's forehead, and his cheek was red and very puffy below his left eye as well.

"Oh," Ethan started, as he smiled and touched his swollen lip. "You know me. I had to get in a little while the getting was good. Some guy backed into me and hit me in the mouth with his head."

"Oh, okay, was that it?" replied Hals, looking at the other marks on Ethan's face.

"No, I don't think he wasn't the one that busted my lip. He turned around, and I uppercut his chin, sending him back into the crowd. It really got me stoked, so I just started moving forward, swinging and clobbering anyone and everyone I could, as we pushed through the crowd. Out of nowhere someone pounded me in the mouth. I didn't see who it was, but I am sure I broke the nose of the guy who was next to me at the time. It might have been the wrong place at the wrong time for him. I don't recall getting hit in these other places," he said as he rubbed the swollen place under his eye. "Fists and arms and elbows where flying everywhere. I was so amped and into it, swinging at everything that jumped in front of me, I almost clocked this guy at one point during the fray," Ethan said as he pointed at Greg.

"And what in the hell was that all about, Fred?" Greg asked as he straightened up from leaning on his knees.

"I hate that prick Jackie," Fred replied. "I hate him with a blue passion. He is a first-rate dick, asshole, cunt, whatever."

"Yeah, but look what you've started. It's a freaking mob riot in there. They're going to have you arrested."

"Not if we get to the Spark, and get the fuck out of here."

"We're not scheduled to leave until tomorrow," Greg said as he looked at Fred with a disapproving look.

"So," Fred replied back with a look as though he didn't care. It was evident Fred was quite drunk. He pulled a beer out of his back pocket, twisted the cap off, and started guzzling it.

"Hey, where'd you get that?" Ethan asked.

Fred shrugged his shoulders.

"I agree. We should just get the fuck out of here," Hals added, smiling at Fred. "Just how blistered are you?" he asked him.

Fred shrugged his shoulders again, without removing the bottle of beer from his mouth. He emptied the bottle, pitched it at a pile of crates and boxes, and burped loudly.

Greg didn't say anything else. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against, and started toward the opening to the alleyway. After a couple of steps, he stopped and looked back, "let's go."

They all proceeded toward the street.

***

The Ion Spark was patiently waiting on the group when they arrived at the twelfth-street spaceport. Situated at the end of west Twelfth Street, at the edge of the West Village in Manhattan, along the Hudson River, is the Twelfth Street Spaceport. It is small by spaceport standards, but it has all the amenities found at larger spaceports, including a lift for getting you and your starship on and off of the planet.

Everyone boarded the spacious craft and went their respective ways. Abby, Cassy, and Hals started up a set of spiral stairs, which were a quick route to the cabins. Fred, Thom, and Ethan proceeded toward the lounge in order complete what amount of drinking needed to be wrapped up.

Greg walked toward an elevator down the hallway from where everyone entered the ship from the aft stairway. "I wanted to sleep-in in the morning you assholes!" he yelled loudly, as he pushed the elevator button. No one acknowledged if they heard him or not.

***

The Ion Spark, as viewed from Earth, appeared to be sitting motionless, floating at a point nearly equidistant between Earth and a very large black hole in Earth's galactic neighborhood. Of course, a galactic neighborhood is relative in scale, and doesn't necessarily mean the black hole is at all very near. One thing to note is not neither the Spark, Earth, nor any of the other planets in the solar system in any danger of being sucked across the event horizon of the very large black hole; at least not any time soon. None the less, the black hole in question is producing a large amount of gravity, which is distorting space in a manner that will allow the Ion Spark to plunge down a gravitational eddy, called a tube, and traverse immensely vast distances of space in a matter of just hours.

Actually, the Ion Spark is not floating, but traveling at an extremely high rate of speed and accelerating exponentially every second, as it has been doing for the better part of two days. It is moving blindingly fast toward an eddy caused by the black hole, mostly due to its dual quantum-gravity propulsion systems, and at this point, to a lesser extent by the gravity of the black hole.

It just seems as if the Spark is floating, motionless, much as a comet does, if you are peering up at it on its pass by Earth, along its lonesome journey around the sun. However, a quick look out of a window on the starship, at the blur of stars, would reveal the incredible velocity the starship is traveling.

The Ion Spark is a modest-sized starship, owned by the members of the Earth-based rock band Simmonhead Fred. The band has just left Earth, on their way to the planet Farel, where they will officially start their third galactic tour in support of their recently released album, Black Hole Surfing.

Greg Smith is at the helm of the Spark, and other than being the band's engineer and soundman, he carries out a variety of other duties, including piloting the Ion Spark. Sitting next to him in the pilot room is Hals Steinman, the drummer for the band. Hals knows absolutely nothing about piloting a starship, but loves to hang out in the pilot room when there is nothing more interesting that is going on. Scattered about the bowels of the ship are the rest of the band members and their inner circle.

Fred Ross, the lead guitarist, and the band's namesake, is in the galley, along with Thom Pinch, the band's bass player. The lead singer, Abby Smith, is watching television in the berth she shares with her husband, Greg, who is currently piloting the ship.

At the moment, Cassy, Hal's wife, is in the ship's study, researching her latest penchants in either psychology or anthropology.

The band's roadie, Ethan Brood, is asleep in his berth. Ethan is the childhood friend of Fred and Thom. The three of them have been an inseparable trio since a young age.

Greg was fiddling with the controls of the Spark, monitoring everything, which should be given at least a half-hearted looking over. "Hey Hals," he said without looking directly at Hals, "You ever noticed when you are looking straight ahead it doesn't seem like you are traveling very fast at all, but if you look out the side, or out the back, you get an altogether different sensation?"

"Hmm, what?" Hals replied as he looked up from his handheld device. Hals likes to hang out in the pilot room whenever they are leaving a planet or star system. Among other things, he likes the view. Plus, it gives him a chance to daydream without Fred or Thom aggravating him. Greg doesn't bother him too much when he daydreams, at least not when they are in the pilot room.

"I was asking if you ever noticed the difference in speed perception as you look out the different windows of the ship," Greg said as though he was slightly perturbed at Hals for not listening the first time.

"Sorry, man. I was reading about this emperor dude who has apparently had the crown jewels of his planet stolen, apparently by some female he was diddling," Hals said as he looked back down at his device.

"Man, there is no telling what something like that might be worth." Greg said as he continued to nonchalantly fiddle with the touch controls of the ship. "Where's this emperor from?"

"Brem", Hals replied

"Brem? Where the hell is Brem?"

"I don't know. Hold on, and I'll tell ya." Hals said, not looking up from his device. He tapped at the word Brem with his finger. "It looks like it is in the Dundin star system, about forty-thousand light-years from here."

"Forty-thousand? Shit, that's a long way away from here." Greg said as he twisted his face and touched a button on the control screen. "The computer says it is across the gap from here."

Hals looked up and silently stared forward with his mouth slightly agape. After a few seconds of silence, Greg looked over and noticed Hals staring out the front with his mouth hanging open. Greg pitched a wadded-up gum wrapper at him, "hey, what the fuck is wrong with you? Are you having a seizure or something?"

"Huh?" Hals replied as the gum wrapper bounced off the side of his head, jogging him out of his trance. "Oh, I was just thinking how this happened like yesterday, and here we are this far away and we are already reading about it."

"What are you reading it on anyway?" asked Greg.

"I'm reading stuff on InfoStar," replied Hals. "You know, the everything and anything news service. I don't usually read a whole news story, but I'll read something that catches my eye, though."

"But seriously?" Greg said as he looked over at Hals. "Getting quick info from across the galaxy is really not that big of thing, you know, at least it hasn't been for a thousand years. You should've learned all about that kind of stuff in college physics."

Hals lowered his handheld and looked over at Greg. "Dude, I studied music theory and composition. The only real science stuff I took was biology, and it was very little of that. We all don't have a master's in particle physics." Hals replied with a smirk.

"Its electrical field theory and acoustics. Abby is the particle physicist." Abby and Greg met at the university, while they were both studying physics. "Besides, you learn this crap in high school before you ever start university studies," Greg said in a slightly animated fashion.

"Well, I guess I burnt that shit right out of my brain, along with everything else the summer before starting university work." Hals replied as he leaned back with a big grin on his face, "but I've got a feeling you are about to try to put it back in," he remarked as he looked at Greg, still with the large grin on his face.

Hals could tell Greg was getting worked up, and it was evident he was about to get going on some theoretical rant.

"Dick-head," Greg said with a straight and serious face, "it wouldn't kill you to know a little something other than beating on drums and your meat." Greg said as he threw another wadded-up piece of paper at Hals' head.

"I'm just kidding, man." Hals said as he moved his head to the side to dodge the in-coming paper wad. "Go on, I really would like to know a little about how it all works, or at least maybe you will jog my memory, and I will remember something." Hals was actually being a bit sarcastic, but he really didn't mind Greg going on about physics stuff. He did learn a little each time this happened, plus he didn't pay very close attention as Greg talked anyway.

Greg looked at Hals while squinting his eyes. "I'll give you the fifty-cent lecture. That's probably all you can handle with what's left of your brain that's not in a smoked-up, burnt-out fog."

Hals turned his chair and gave Greg the finger. "You're not going to get all carried away, forget what you're doing, and run us into a star are you?" Hals said as he pointed out the front window.

"No, you dip-shit, I am not going to run us into a star, but instead, I should jettison you out of here toward that star over there," Greg replied as he pointed to a bright, blue dot out the front of the Spark.

"Humph," Hals breathed as he looked back down at his handheld. Something flashing on it caught his eye. He read the tag line. It wasn't very interesting, and he slipped into a short daydream. After just a few seconds, he was back to scanning the news headlines on his handheld.

Greg looked over at Hals and could tell he was deeply focused on whatever it was he was reading, and anything he said from this point on would go in one of Hals' ears and out the other. He was well-aware of Hals' half-listening approach to when they were talking about something technically oriented. Greg decided to just leave it at that, and he fixed his gaze on the star field ahead of them.

After a silent minute or two, Hals jumped up from the co-pilot seat, "whew, I have got to go piss," he said as he shoved his handheld into his back pocket and stepped around the seat.

"I hope everything works out alright," Greg said without taking his eyes off the star field in front of them.

***

Just a day or so earlier, around forty-thousand light-years across the galaxy from the Ion Spark, Emperor Chirod awoke with a huge smile on his face as he stretched his arms out and up over his head. "Damn," he said with a funny voice and a goofy smile as he continued to stretch. "What a night, and what a woman!" he thought.

The woman he was referring to is indeed very lovely, and a very beautiful young woman by the name of Mirra Lovich. Chirod had been courting her for the better part of two weeks, and in that time, he had become completely taken by her.

He rolled over and sat up on his elbow to look across the bed the two were lying on, to catch a glimpse of her. At first glance, he couldn't see her. There was only a mound of bed covers and pillows. It was a very large bed with a large set of covers and at least a dozen pillows scattered about, so she could be anywhere. He scooted over a little and pushed around on the mound, trying to feel her or see her.

"Where is she?" he muttered to himself as he pulled at the covers a little more aggressively.

By now, he had begun to throw the bed covers around to see if she was buried among them somewhere. She was not there.

"Mirra?" He said, hoping it would rouse her, and she would give up her location. It did not. It was now apparent to him she wasn't in the bed.

A quick, visual survey of the bedroom revealed she was not there either, as did a moment of silence to determine if she might be in the bathroom. Chirod jumped up in the bed, looked down, and grabbed his crotch.

"Shiiiiittt!" He yelled with a mixture of fear and anger on his face.

Chirod jumped down off the bed and began throwing clothes around that were lying on the floor. He quickly moved about the room, hastily rifling through the drawers and cabinets of his chambers, tossing clothing and various items out of the drawers and scattering them here and there.

"They're here, I know they're here, they're here somewhere, they have got to be here," he muttered to himself, as he repeatedly went through every drawer and cabinet pulling items out or shoving them aside. He moved to the cabinet where the item was kept while not in use. He pulled out the drawer completely, peered inside it, and inside the hole where the drawer slid into the cabinet.

"Why wouldn't I have put them back in their proper place? They are always in their proper place. I wouldn't have left them on. Surely I put them up, somewhere." He said, in an attempt to convince his self what he was looking for was safe some place in the room. He ran to the cabinet again and completed a quick but thorough search of every compartment and space contained in it. His final assessment determined it was indeed not there.

Chirod was looking for an item that was very valuable. I was valuable to him. It was valuable to his family, and it was valuable to his planet. The item's actual value was not marked in the price it would bring at auction nor the hefty sum it would fetch in a ransom. Its value was far greater in what it could do, and what it had accomplished, and how the citizens of Brem regarded the results of the item's accomplishments.

"I must inform the secret police that it must be stolen. No wait, not stolen we will say misplaced, yes, it must be misplaced, that's it," Chirod muttered to himself in a worrisome fashion as he rubbed his face. "This is not good, no, it's not good. Who would believe I misplaced them. That would be preposterous. This is not good. This is not good," he began to repeat in a low, worry-filled voice.

Misplaced might be easier to come to grips with than if he actually let someone steal the item. Chirod is not a stupid individual, nor is he a total screw-up like some of the citizens of Brem think of him. He is intelligent and responsible, most of the time. However, he does have a weak spot for women, all women, especially those he thinks are attractive, and those who will let him get into their pants. He has done some reckless things in the past where women are concerned, but it never jeopardized the Breman government, the planet, or more importantly, the monarchy.

The fact the Emperor was cavorting with a young woman he barely knew is not the major concern in this situation. He is not married, so it is not a matter of infidelity or certain aspects of properness. He is a widower, though. The Empress died a number of years ago of a genetic heart defect. However, his penchant for chasing the ladies does give many Bremans cause for concern. They feel it is a major distraction from state affairs, not to mention they feel the Emperor shouldn't be acting in such a manner anyway. After all, he does represent the planet from a diplomatic perspective. Emperor Chirod, on the other hand, feels his personal side-activities have no bearing or effect on his professional effectiveness, nor should they be the concern of anyone but himself. He has come to the rescue of Brem, regarding interplanetary state affairs countless times, but the general public would never be privy to the interworking of such state business, and would not be aware of Chirod's efforts or actual effectiveness.

By now, Chirod was beginning to have serious doubts about the efficacy of convincing people he misplaced the item, and he began to feel the effect of a mixture of emotions grow in the pit of his stomach. Fear and dread were beginning to get the best of him. The reality the item was in fact missing, alone, was enough to bring him to this point, but it was the chain of dominoes he knew would soon fall if the item were, in fact, gone, that tipped the scale.

It was the loud thud of Chirod's head hitting the top of a bureau, and the subsequent sound resembling someone tossing a one-hundred-pound sack of potatoes on the floor that summoned the curiosity of Chirod's butler. As the butler entered the Emperor's chambers, he noticed Chirod lying unconscious on the floor next to the bureau, and he hastily moved to Chirod's side.

"Emperor, Emperor!" the butler shouted as he shook Chirod. The butler quickly pressed the communicator on his shoulder and called for additional assistance. Within seconds several had arrived, and Chirod was placed in his bed. The palace physician was in full run toward Chirod's chambers.

***

Hals had returned to the pilot room and plopped back down into his chair. He quickly went back to scanning information on his handheld device.

Greg was still in a daydream he had begun after Hals had left. The motion and noise created by Hals snapped him out of it. He had been pondering interstellar travel, and Earth's impact on the galaxy due it being the first to accomplish the ability.

"Hey," Greg said without looking over at Hals.

"What?" Hals replied without looking up.

"As a whole, Earth's influence on the galaxy has really fucked things up, don't you think?"

"Huh? I don't know," Hals replied. "I haven't really thought about it, but yeah, there are definite signs, I guess. Although, if you do think about it, we're so used to Earth stuff because we're from Earth, we might not actually notice anything, but if you pay close attention to things, I am sure you would see a big influence. I mean the language and words used around the galaxy are mostly from Earth."

Greg rubbed his chin while keeping his focus on the stars. "You know, Abby says that Earth's discovery of interstellar travel gave it the opportunity to maintain its lust for colonization. Up to that point, Earth-bound colonizing efforts had reached an ultimate end. There was nothing else left on Earth for Earthlings to colonize."

"I suppose she is right," Hals said with an uninterested tone. He continued to flip through the headlines with his finger. He was sort of doing the half-listening thing. "Abby thinks too much sometimes. She's too hard core about some stuff," Hals said as he looked up from his handheld and peered out at the stars in thought. He wasn't thinking about Earth's lust for colonization. He was thinking how Abby did think too much, or too deeply about such things.

Greg didn't acknowledge Hals' remarks about Abby's mode of thinking. He went on with his current line of conversation. "She says that Earth has ruined the galaxy through a systematic destruction of native planetary cultures and customs, mostly to dominate the galaxy economically."

Hals didn't reply.

Greg looked over at Hals and realized he wasn't listening at all, or at least there was no evidence Hals was listening. He decided it was pointless to try and engage him with this conversation, so he decided to leave him alone. Greg looked down at the control panel. Everything was normal and operating properly, as it always was, and he looked back up out the front. It would be at least another day before the Spark entered a transect tube. Greg leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, and drifted back off into a daydream again.

Chapter 2

Brem is a planet situated almost completely on the other side of the galaxy from Earth. It is a planet-state that is divided into four municipalities corresponding to the four landmasses found on the planet. Like most planets in the galaxy, including Earth, Brem became a planet ruled by a single governing body. Years of arguing, warring, and strife pushed most planets to decide that if they were to keep going without total collapse, they had to come together on common grounds, especially after interstellar travel was worked out on Earth, and Earthlings were forcefully encroaching into every corner of the galaxy.

The prevailing notion had to do with the fact that a planet couldn't effectively defend itself against other planets, if they were in a state of chaos amongst themselves. However, there are a few young planets whose societies are still working out their individual socio-economic kinks. Brem is not one of those young planets. Brem is an old planet by galactic standards. It can boast about civilizations and cultures existing on its soil several thousands of years earlier than any that existed on Earth. In fact, Brem became a planet-state over a thousand years before the introduction of interstellar travel.

For nearly eleven hundred years, an Emperor has ruled Brem. For the first six or seven hundred years, the Emperor was the sole and ultimate ruler of the planet. By the time Kleck the Third came to power, the planet had been roiling with attempts to overthrow the emperor system in order to establish a more democratic ruling body. This was driven by the inequality of wealth distribution. If you were part of the ruling family, you had wealth, and if you weren't, you didn't.

Emperor Kleck saw this as an opportunity to establish a constitutional monarchy that would leave an emperor in place with guiding and advising power, and an elected body to run the day-to-day operation of the planet. In addition, the Emperor would serve as the principle ambassador for the planet. Of course, the Emperor would retain all his wealth and property. Kleck the Third, for his efforts and accomplishments, is considered to be Brem's greatest ruler.

However, an interesting provision was set in place during the restructuring of the planet's ruling system, much to Kleck's chagrin. This provision, enacted by law, states there can only be a male monarch, no empresses, and if a sitting emperor fails to produce a male heir as their first born, the monarchy will be abolished for good. For centuries, Bremans passionately defended this constitutional provision against rallies by the monarchy to have the constitution ratified to remove the provision. The emperorship has been viewed by a large percentage of the population as a drain on the planet's resources. Nevertheless, attempts to have the monarchy removed all together were always defeated because the emperors' diplomatic relationships kept Brem in a good position, economically and strategically, within their galactic neighborhood, as well as the rest of the galaxy. From either side of the coin, there was a 50-50 chance of either position prevailing in their desire with each new emperor who came into power, depending on whether they would produce a male child in their first attempt. In the five hundred years since the formation of the Breman constitution, no emperor has failed to produce a male heir, and moreover, has done so in their first attempt at pro-creation.

***

Cyrus Linde, Chief Inspector of the Brem National Police, is well known by many in various high and low-ranking government circles. He spends most of his days investigating crimes perpetrated against the governing bodies of the planet. He is rather intelligent, well read, well-traveled, and sports a dry, sarcastic, but mostly humorous personality, which most of his acquaintances enjoy. In fact, one of Linde's most endearing qualities, professed by his acquaintances, is his sense of humor. As one colleague puts it, he knows exactly when, where, and to what level to invoke it for maximum effect.

He doesn't work with a permanent partner. Instead, he chooses to work with new recruits, typically in pairs, who spend several months with him in a mentoring mode. This works well for Linde, but frequently he must tolerate a recruit who is lacking in mental sharpness; a quality he feels is a fundamental requirement for being a good BNP investigator. He currently is tolerating one such individual.

Linde approached the front gate of the royal palace of Brem along with his current cadet partners, Moss and Patel. Linde slowed his car down just enough for the guard to identify him visually. Linde gave a quick wave and a smile to the guard in the gatehouse as he approached it. The guard stood up and then quickly sat back down as he waved them on.

"Always be courteous, even if you are not in a good mood or particularly care for whomever you are encountering," Linde explained as he and the two cadets drove through the gate. "A good standing or just a good rapport will get you more mileage than anything else, believe me."

Looking out the car door window, Moss inquired, "So, do you need to try to be friends with everybody?"

"No, you just want to be courteous. Being friends has nothing to do with it. In fact, the last thing you want to be is a friend. You want to build a relationship you know is purely professional, whether the other person sees it this way or not," Linde answered as he parked the car at the front of the palace.

"I want you two to snoop around as much as you can, while making nice with everyone of course, but try to get some information while doing so; don't be overly obvious or pushy, just ask around nonchalantly. It should be obvious to you what to ask as you go along. Don't act like you are reading off some interview script either. Just try to be organic with it. I will go up and talk with Chirod. It might be a while, so poke around as much as you want or feel necessary. If you get tired or run out of people to approach, find somewhere to hang out or come back to the car, and don't forget to record your conversations."

***

The three entered the front door as a guard held the door open for them. It was obvious, as well as to be expected, that the guard in the gate house had radioed ahead to inform the palace who was approaching, given that the door swung open automatically as the three made their way up the front steps. The guard opening the door simply smiled and nodded. Linde quickly nodded in return to the guard as he passed through the door and hung a left out of the large foyer.

Moss breathed out through his nose loudly and said, "I guess he knows where he's going."

"I am sure he has been here many times for engagements or to talk with the Emperor. I would think the state's lead investigator would be the Emperor's go-to-man on a lot of things," Patel said as he pushed back his sport jacket, placed his hands on his hips, and began looking around in a studying fashion.

"Where should we start first?" Moss asked as he began looking around in an ape-like manner after noticing Patel looking around.

"I think we should toss a few questions at the guard that opened the front door," Patel said as he fixed his look toward the guard. He then started off in the guard's direction.

After closing the door behind the three once they had entered, the guard had walked to the other side of the foyer and sat down at a desk with a large monitor sitting on it. The foyer was large with a dome shaped ceiling and arched doorways opening in the three directions one could take after entering the palace's front entrance. The guard station was straight across from the door about twenty feet.

"Right, the guard." Moss said as he started off after Patel.

Patel approached the desk, which prompted the guard to look up.

"Mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" Patel asked the guard as he stopped in front of the desk.

"No, not at all." The guard replied.

"Did you happen to be in the palace the evening the jewels were stolen?"

"Uh, misplaced? No. I work during the day, and they were apparently misplaced sometime between the evening and the early morning before my shift begins."

"I noticed you started typing once you sat down at your desk. Do you keep a log of who comes and goes?" Patel asked as he pointed at the computer in front of the guard.

"Yes, we log the names and times of entry and exit for everyone who enters the palace," the guard replied.

"You didn't ask either of us our names." Patel remarked as he raised his eyebrows.

"There was no need. The two of you are on record as Inspector Linde's current partners, plus there are four high-definition cameras in this foyer that take continuous images and they send them to a database where your identification is confirmed through face recognition. You are Patel and your sidekick here is Moss," the guard said as he pointed first to Patel and then to Moss.

"So much for sleeping on the job, eh?" Moss said as he lightly elbowed Patel in the side and motioned his head toward one of the cameras recessed in the lower edge of one of the arched doorways. Patel ignored Moss' comment and elbow jab, but instead continued surveying the guard with a slightly skeptical look on his face.

Patel began to rub his chin. "I find it hard to believe that everyone would be so easily identified."

"They're not" the guard said as he shook his head. "You two, whether you realize it or not, are well known by the company that you keep. The guard at the gatehouse radioed me and informed me of Inspector Linde's arrival. I knew he would have others with him. He always has people with him when something big is going on."

"What if we weren't that well known?" Patel asked out of simple curiosity regarding the procedure involving the arrival of a stranger.

"Being with Inspector Linde, you are going to be well enough known. But if you were not known, I would have obviously asked you for identification." The guard replied in a matter of fact way, nuanced with an obvious "Duh!"

"I assume the log from the evening when the jewels were misplaced was reviewed, and the individuals on it were located for questioning?" Patel said as he placed his hands back on his hips.

"Yes it was," replied the guard as he purposefully met Patel's eyes, "and all the individuals on the log have made statements, and they all have confirmed alibis as to their whereabouts in the time period in which the jewels were misplaced. I would think you would have already reviewed that information. You can bet Inspector Linde has done it. Also, if you don't already know, the last front-entrance guest left before two in the afternoon, and the Emperor had plans to go out that evening around four or five, which he did."

"So," Moss chimed in as he fumbled with a display of nesting dolls arranged on a table sitting to one side in the foyer, "when the Emperor has Saturday night plans everyone has to be out by 2:00?"

Patel, still with his hands on his hips, rolled his eyes, and looked at the guard, "Do you want to tell him or shall I?"

"Go ahead" the guard replied as he made a hand gesture of approval.

"The crown jewels are kept in the Emperor's penthouse, and no one has access to the penthouse without the Emperor's approval first."

"Okay," Moss replied while looking at Patel as though he was processing the information. "Ah! The jewels were known to be secure after the last visitor had left, then."

"Bingo!" replied Patel.

"This does make it a bit more puzzling," Moss said as he began to bite on the nail of his index finger.

Patel turned back to the guard, "Where do the staff and everybody else hang out around here, when they are on break?"

The guard, having gone back to fiddling with something on the computer, looked up from the screen, "In the break lounge on the bottom floor, between the kitchen and the staff quarters."

"How can we get there?" asked Patel, as he turned to look down one of the corridors.

"Go straight down this hall," the guard said as he motioned over his left shoulder with his thumb, "and you will come to a stairwell, go through the door, take the stairs down to the bottom floor, and turn left as you exit the stairwell door. The lounge is the first door on your left."

"Thanks," said Patel as he looked over at Moss and gave him a head motion to follow him down the hallway.

***

Down the hall from the foyer where the three entered the palace, Linde opened a door leading to a set of stairs. He stepped through the door and began climbing the stairs. Linde quickly reached the top floor of the palace, and walked toward the double doors across the landing. Just as Moss had suspected. Linde did indeed know where he was going. He had visited the palace many times, thus corroborating Patel's observation.

The upper floor of the palace is a sprawling ten thousand square foot penthouse. It contains all the areas required for a lavish and comfortable living, including a library and a spa, except it does not contain an actual kitchen. The kitchen for the entire palace operation is located on the bottom floor of the building. However, there is a nicely equipped butler's pantry in the penthouse, supplied with anything the Emperor might want to eat or drink on a whim. Plus, Emperor Chirod likes to prepare his own coffee and tea, and this setup allows him the opportunity.

The bottom floors of the palace are for state business and are not suitable as a comfortable living environment, but at ten thousand square feet, the penthouse is ample enough to accommodate most anyone, even if he or she is not an Emperor.

Linde pushed a button on the communication console beside the door. The screen came to life as a voice said, "Yes?" Linde could see an individual sitting at a desk.

"I am Inspector Linde. I am here to see the Emperor at his request."

"Just a moment," the person stated with little emotion, sort of like how a robot would say it.

"I am expected," Linde offered in case the person didn't catch what he had said, to hopefully speed up the process.

"Okay, I am going to see if the Emperor is able to receive a visitor at the moment." This time the voice was more human-like.

Linde stuck his hand in the left pocket of his pants and began surveying the contents in it with his fingers. He knew his wait could either take just a few seconds or several minutes, depending on what Chirod was doing or even his mood. The bad part of it was there was nowhere to sit if it was going to take several minutes. Linde began to tap his foot. He wasn't an impatient person, but he didn't like to just stand around. Sitting, on the other hand, is a much better way to pass the time while waiting on someone. "Why wouldn't they have a bench or a chair or something like that here?" he said in a low, soft voice, as he looked around.

"Inspector Linde?" the voice chimed back in, ending Linde's daydream of having a comfortable place to sit.

Linde spun around to face the communicator. "Yes," he replied quickly.

"You can go on in now," the bodiless head said as a click sound came from the double doors.

Linde grabbed the handle, depressed the lever and pushed the door open. It opened into a large room resembling a large waiting area at a hospital or spaceport but a great deal more inviting. Windows that stretched from the ceiling to the floor lined one wall, and allowed a complete view out over the palace gardens. The city's skyline was easily seen from this angle as well. Linde had been in this room several times. All but a couple of the times were to speak with the Emperor regarding cases he was working on. The other times were when he attended state functions hosted by the Emperor.

Linde looked around the room. He had expected to find the Emperor sitting in one of the large comfortable chairs close to the windows. This is where the Emperor typically sat when Linde visited, but this time the Emperor was nowhere to be found.

A butler emerged from the far end of the room and addressed Linde, "Inspector, the Emperor will meet with you in his chambers."

Linde raised his eyebrows and walked toward the butler. Shortly before reaching the butler, the butler turned and started through the doorway, and Linde followed behind him. Meeting the Emperor in his chambers was out of the ordinary, and Linde surmised the Emperor must be deeply troubled over this whole issue. Linde had never been in the Emperor's chambers out of the dozen or so times he had been in the palace penthouse. This included the time he had to discuss a supposed scandal involving the Emperor and a princess from a nearby planet. That situation had become quickly involved and tense. Scandalous rumors were flying about on both planets. The situation had escalated to the point where hostilities between the two planets were beginning to rise, but thankfully to Linde's quick investigation and the Emperor's keen diplomatic skills, the situation was resolved in short order, with very favorable results.

Linde and the butler reached a set of double doors, and the butler tapped on them. "Yes, come" came the reply from behind the door. The butler opened the door and announced the Inspector's presence.

"Inspector Linde, it is good to see you, please sit down over here," the Emperor said without getting up, as he motioned to a comfortable looking sectional sofa across from where he was sitting in a large and equally comfortable looking chair.

The room was very spacious with a rather large bed. There was a sitting area, which housed the sofa and a couple of chairs arranged around a fireplace. There was a door to the right leading into a large walk-in closet. Next to the closet door was another door that opened into an oversized bathroom.

The Emperor was always congenial to Inspector Linde. The fact of the matter is Linde had not only solved several transgressions against the state, but he seemed to be able to always help get the Emperor out of the uncomfortable jams he easily got himself into regarding his lady friends, including the one involving the princess from the nearby planet. The Emperor was grateful to Linde for his willingness and ability to help him out in all the situations, even if they were not exactly within the jurisdiction of the BNP. In fact, Linde is in better graces with the Emperor than the Head Secretary of the BNP. Linde sat down on the sofa, and the Emperor got up from the chair where he was sitting, and sat down next to him.

The Emperor looked haggard to Linde, a state he had never seen him in, regardless of the situation. Chirod is a well-kept man of fifty-eight years. He is just shy of six feet tall with a medium build, and it is evident he exercises regularly. All in all, Chirod looks quite good for his age. However, upon more close inspection, his approach to sixty is evident. He sports well-established swaths of salt and pepper gray hair about the sides of his head and has an adequate amount of wrinkling at the corners of his eyes and mouth. This, however, has no impact on the young women Chirod gravitates towards. A young women's range of doable partners expands out considerably when a man carries the title of Emperor, and it doesn't hurt that Chirod is handsome to boot. Chirod knows this and takes advantage of both his position and attractiveness to parlay a good deal of tail.

Nonetheless, Linde could see a difference in the Emperor's poster and facial expressions that were not typical. He knew this matter was troubling him more than any other situation that had come up in the ten or so years Linde and Chirod had a partly professional and partly personal relationship.

Chirod began to rub his face with his hands. "You know why I have asked you here, so I am going to just get right to it. This situation has a far-reaching impact if we do not locate the item that is missing," he said as he turned toward Linde. His eyes were bloodshot and his face red from an obvious increase in his blood pressure.

Linde stood up and walked toward a large glass hexagon-shaped display case sitting on the other side of the chairs next to the fireplace. He stopped in front of it and peered inside.

"Emperor?" Linde said somewhat puzzled.

"Yes," Chirod replied as he looked away from the fire in the fireplace and toward Linde.

"It appears to me that all of the crown jewels are accounted for. There is not an empty place here in the case, as far as I can tell. The crown, the ring, the medallion, the scepter, they are all here. I don't understand. What's missing?"

"Come back and sit down," the Emperor said, "and I will explain it to you."

Linde walked back over and sat down on the sofa. Chirod began to stare at the fire in the fireplace again.

"You see, Linde," the Emperor said after a brief pause, "there is another item that belongs in that case, an item that is only known to a few. It doesn't reside on a stand next to the other things in plain view. There is a false cover plate at the bottom of the case that hides a secret drawer. The most valuable possession of the monarchy of Brem is kept in that hidden drawer, and it is now gone. Furthermore, I know who took it, but I don't know exactly who she is, well, I thought I knew who she was. Anyway, she has it, if that all makes sense to you."

Linde didn't respond for a few seconds but continued to look at Chirod in thought. "I think I understand what you are saying. You know who this woman is, as far as from what she told you, but you don't know who she is, her true identity, right? And you are certain she was using an alias."

"Oh yes, it would seem to reason now," the Emperor replied with a hand gesture.

"Emperor, I have to ask, what is this valuable but secret piece of the crown jewels?" Linde asked as he leaned forward and placed his arms on his legs and clasped his hands, looking toward the hexagon display case. "I am familiar with the crown jewels and just assumed, as everyone else has, that the crown or the royal ring is the item in question here."

"Linde, how long has it been since the monarchy failed to produce a male heir?"

"I don't know, five hundred years? What's that got to do with this?"

"Well, you are nearly right. In the time since the establishment of the constitutional mandates regarding the monarchy, which has been around five hundred years, there has always been a male heir produced by an emperor as their first-born. However, no sitting Emperor of Brem has failed to produce a son at all in over a thousand years, and believe it or not, it is all due to the object that is supposed to be in that secret drawer." Chirod replied as he pointed in the direction of the bottom of the case.

"What?"

"The object that is responsible for assuring the production of a first-born, male heir for the monarchy is missing," Chirod said to Linde as he looked at him with serious intensity. "You are aware of the ramifications of this?"

Linde sat for a second with a puzzled look on his face. The point Chirod was trying to impress upon him regarding not being able to produce a male heir as a first child was lost on him. Linde was caught up in trying to figure out how someone could purposefully create a male child with certainty.

"Yes, you have a son, so everything is good with that, but what object is there that will always ensure a person will father a male child?" Linde maintained his puzzled look as he began to think about all the tales of how to produce a male or female child. Things like having the man wear an ice pack around his testicles, conceiving the child while doing it doggy-style, or placing a pillow under the woman's hips during sex.

"Yes, I have a son, but if that item is not returned or found, there is no guarantee that my son will himself have a son. It will be a fifty-fifty chance at best, and smaller when considering it must be a first-born male. If he fails, the monarchy will be dissolved, and I am afraid of the results of that vacuum on Brem, and the surrounding planetary coalition. Not to mention how my legacy as Emperor will go down in history," Chirod said as he stared at Linde.

"Emperor," Linde said as he got up and walked toward the glass case again. "I need to know what this object is exactly, and how can it be used to make sure an emperor produces a son? I've got to tell you, I am at a loss here. Besides, there are Breman laws that prohibit the tampering with royal conception and birth processes. Nature has to take its course." Linde removed a pair of gloves from his jacket pocket and put them on. He crouched down to the bottom of the case and wiggled one of the panels on the base. It didn't move. He slid himself over and wiggled another one. This one jiggled a bit, and he pulled on it. It slid open to reveal a velvet-lined compartment with a drawer lined with velvet and padding under the velvet, slid into it. He removed a stylus from his pocket and began to poke around in the drawer.

"How old is this case?" Linde asked without turning around.

"Old," the Emperor said staring at the fire again, "and when I say old, I mean old. I don't know how old it is, really. It can be a thousand years old as easily as if it is a hundred. It has always been here. If you look at pictures of the crown jewels in the archives from five hundred or so years ago you will see them sitting in that case right there, or at least one that is exactly like it. Why, what has that got to do with anything? Besides, you are missing the main point here, Linde."

"Nothing, really, I was just curious, but don't worry, I understand what you are saying. I understand the importance of an emperor having a son on the first go and all. I am simply really curious about this missing thing that can make a male baby." Linde said as he slid the drawer back into the compartment, replaced the cover, stood up, and took his gloves off. "Emperor, I want to get back to this woman. Then we will return to the actual object that is missing." Linde decided he could get the specific details about the stolen object from the Emperor at any time, but he wanted to get a fresh description of the woman and the details of the events that took place, before they were eroded from Chirod's memory due to stress and time.

"Do you mind if I record the rest of our conversation? I want to make for certain I don't miss any details," Linde asked as he pointed to what looked like a lapel pin attached to his shirt collar.

"No, I don't, but on the condition you will guard the details of the recording and all of the information for as long as possible, and I think you know what I am implying. Plus, I want you to stop recording when I ask you to do so, and that will be when we come back to the object that is missing."

"Yes, I do, and I will," replied Linde as he sat back down on the sofa next to Chirod. Without the Emperor noticing, Linde touched the small communicator device on his collar, starting a recording function. "If you don't mind, why don't we start with some details regarding the woman and the events leading up to the disappearance of the item? We can come back to the specifics about the missing object later. I promise I will do whatever I can to protect the information about it. We should be able to certify that information as classified anyway, but to make sure, I won't record any of that discussion. Now, let us jump to the chase. Give me all of the particulars you can on this woman."

It was well known the Emperor liked the company of women, many women, of all different ages, nationalities, species, and persuasions. He was always careful and smart with what he was doing, as he went about his philandering exploits. There have been a few situations that had some very sticky moments, including the previously mentioned incident with the Princess from the nearby star system. In that case, Chirod maintained the position that the whole affair was not of his doing. He was simply a victim of circumstance in the matter. Many of the Emperor's benefactors believe it was an elaborate plot to undermine the monarchy, the planet, or both. Brem is the major ruling power both economically and militarily within its local planetary coalition. There are leaders of the other planets who would much prefer their planet to be the center of power.

Calculating the number of females Chirod has been associated with over the past several years would lead anyone to believe Chirod had to be jaded by now, but he showed no sign of easing up. Chirod is always willing to engage a prospect that strikes his fancy. In doing so, he enjoys visiting the trendiest nightspots on the planet, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, as does most everyone else. He knows the objects of his desires can be found at these places, more so than anywhere else. Young and the not so young frequent these establishments regularly. You could say it is sort of a social norm on Brem to go out on the weekends, no matter if you are single or part of a couple, and Chirod complies with social convention.

It is important to note Chirod does not have sex with a different person every night, as one might think, based on a quick analysis. He is not a one-night-stand type of person. In fact, he is always looking for 'the one', and prefers getting to know someone, along with enjoying their company, until he determines she is not the one, or at least until the new wears off her.

Chirod, staring back at the fire again, took a deep breath, "I thought for sure I had found the one, Linde. I first met her a few weeks back, at Club Aire. She is not like the gals I usually gravitate toward or who gravitate toward me. You know, basically they are very appealing, but not much substance to them. Don't get me wrong, she is indeed an amazing sight for sore eyes, even if your eyes aren't the least bit sore."

"A real looker, eh?" Linde said with a quick smile. He knew Chirod always chose to spend his time with women who would be classified as gorgeous by anybody's standards.

"Oh, in my opinion 'real looker' falls short of describing this gal, Linde. It's the kind of beauty that almost has no words. She will absolutely leave you speechless. It took me nearly two weeks of admiring her from a distance before I could finally approach her."

"You, Emperor, took a couple of weeks to advance on a woman? I find that hard to believe," Linde said as he grinned largely, cutting his eyes at the Emperor. Linde was comfortable enough with the Emperor to sarcastically jab with him. In any other situation, the Emperor would jab right back, but not this time.

Chirod acquired a very pensive look, "I wanted to be sure I was piquing her interest from more of an intellectual and personal perspective, not just because I am the Emperor. I can get anybody just because I am the Emperor. Position has its privileges, no matter where you are from, or even how you look, but this gal was different. She is not your run of the mill good looking woman you run up on, hump your brains out with a few times, and then drop her for the next one. She was different. She was special. She was simply breath-taking and not just purely from a physical stand point."

"Okay, noted, so what did she look like, exactly? I need a description, or even better, a picture." Linde asked as though he was getting a little impatient. Sure, she was good looking, Linde knew this. Chirod wouldn't hook up with someone who didn't have better than average good looks.

Chirod crinkled his forehead a little as he closed his eyes, "I don't have an actual picture of her, but the vision I have of her tattooed on my mind is almost as good. She has the most beautiful jet black hair set against a buttery alabaster skin, so smooth and so soft that if you touched it while your eyes were closed you would swear you were caressing silk," Chirod went on, still with his eyes closed. "It is as though she glows with a bright pale blue aura about her. She has these large, round eyes centered with crystal clear, steel blue jewels. They would glow as she stared at you, as though she was trying to penetrate your soul with a blue laser. Now that I think about it, her eyes are probably the source of her blue radiance."

Chirod looked over at Linde, who was sitting with his right arm slung over the back of the sofa, and his left arm on the sofa arm, looking at Chirod with a blank look on his face. "She really did glow, Linde," Chirod said with an expression of conviction. "I am not kidding when I say the room would brighten when she was in it, and all anyone could do was smile when they looked at her. You would get a sense of euphoria, as if you were drugged."

Linde took a deep breath and started to speak but paused as the statement 'as if you were drugged' registered in his mind. That would make perfect sense. This woman could have easily drugged Chirod at some point, Linde thought.

After a second or two of pause, Linde spoke, "Well, Emperor, your reaction and euphoria, is often experienced by people when they are in the presence of an object of deep affection. Experiencing heightened sensory episodes, in particular situations, certainly is not a strange and unheard phenomenon. It's actually very physiological in nature. In certain situations, such as encountering a very desirable object, your pupils will dilate to draw in more light to produce a more accurate visual picture of that object. In the case with you, it was this young woman. Your heart rate and blood pressure will increase. Your breathing will quicken and become shallower, causing a dizzying sensation that gives rise to a feeling of euphoria. Beauty, no matter how an individual interprets it, can have a varied effect on the body. All your senses will be heightened and finely tuned, not to mention a rush of endorphins to accompany everything else that is going on. In this sense, you were drugged Emperor, by your own body."

"Likely so, Linde, likely so," the Emperor said flatly, nodding his head up and down.

"I don't doubt what you say about her, Emperor," Linde said in all sincerity. "I would trust your opinion regarding a women's appearance and attributes over anyone's. So, is she a tall person?" Linde asked, slyly squeezing the height question into the conversation to try and get Chirod back on track, and to start giving him more specific, physical details, regarding the woman, instead of some poetic description of beauty and love as if Chirod were channeling William Shakespeare.

"Not just appearance and physical attributes, Linde. The whole package as it were," Chirod said, gesturing with his hands, "you know, beauty, intelligence, personality..."

"Okay, I completely understand, Emperor," Linde said slowly as he nodded his head up and down in a sign of affirmation. "Now, how tall is she, did you say?"

Chirod made a face as he tried to calculate the woman's height from a mental reference, "Well, she is not really that tall, I would say she is around five feet six inches. No, wait. Now that I think about it, she must be a little shorter than that. She did wear heels just about every time we were together, but not every time. Yes, it might be more appropriate to think she is a little shorter than that, say five-four or five-five," Chirod said with a slight smile.

Linde took a deep breath again and smiled too. His smile was a reflex response to seeing Chirod smile, "Okay, we have a woman in her late twenties, about five-five, black hair, grey-blue eyes, and would be considered very attractive."

"Yes, that sounds about right. Except, she is thirty-one," Chirod replied.

"Now, this brings us to the events that led up to the other evening, culminating with the time when the item went missing. By the way, what is her name?"

"Mirra Lovich," Chirod replied with wide eyes and a slight smile as he sank into half daydream, half recall mode again. "She is very intelligent, highly educated, and just real, if you know what I mean. I could tell, straight away, she more than likely had an advanced degree, but I couldn't get her to tell me if she did or didn't, or even where she might have studied. She would somehow change the subject each time. She could talk about anything and do it with knowledge and fact. We even had a couple of lengthy discussions on the science of intergalactic travel, Linde. She talked about how intergalactic travel could be worked out and described the mathematics associated with the probability. Where she had been reading about that stuff, I don't know, but she knew what she was talking about.

"Intergalactic travel, eh?" Linde said out loud with an obvious look and tone of suspicion. Linde was well-aware of Chirod's fascination with intergalactic space travel. Intersteller travel is old hat, but travel between galaxies is still the stuff of science fiction.

"I know what you are thinking. This gal was pulling out all the options on this massive play she was making, but I am not so stupid. I went over to the university and talked with our planet's expert on interstellar travel, Dr. Enthins. I even showed him the napkin with the mathematics Mirra had scribbled on it.

"Yeah, what did he say?" Linde said as he rubbed his chin.

"Well, he was impressed. He said obviously, on some other planet, they are making some strides, but it doesn't mean they are actually doing it.

"What did he do with the napkin with all the scribbling on it?" Linde said still rubbing his chin.

"Nothing, I have it, why?"

"No reason, just curious." Linde was thinking perhaps some of Mirra Lovich's DNA might be on the napkin. That might come in handy later. "Okay, well, back to where we were," Linde said. "How many times did you meet with her?"

"All total, let's see," Chirod said as he looked upward and closed his eyes again. "Hmm, let's see, over the last two weeks or so it was, I would say, fifteen or sixteen times."

"And all these meetings involved some sort of physical activities?" Linde asked half assuming the answer would be yes.

"Physical, as in sex?

Linde quickly nodded his head in affirmation.

"No. The evening the jewels went missing is the only time we got as far as taking our clothes off. Up to that point, I would pick her up at her hotel, and we would go eat, or go to a museum, or take a walk somewhere. We did get into some heavy petting a time or two. I was working up to things," Chirod said as he looked at Linde with an expression of authority.

Without making any notice of Chirod, Linde replied, "So, she was staying at a hotel? Was she visiting the capitol from somewhere else on Brem, or was she from another planet?"

"Oh, from another planet, Linde, without a doubt. This woman is indeed from somewhere else. She spoke with an accent, but I didn't recognize it. I have done a fair amount of traveling to other planets and have met many different people with many different accents, but I wasn't familiar with hers."

"During all of your conversations with her, did you find out anything, at all, about where she was from originally, or any other personal details?"

"No, not much, we always seemed to wind up talking about space travel, or origin theories, or something such as that. She did mention Earth several times, but that was regarding space travel, if I remember correctly. I assume you know Earth is where interstellar travel was developed?"

Linde nodded in affirmation, much as he had done several times thus far.

"All that I do know about her is that her name is Mirra Lovich, she is thirty-one, she is educated in some aspects of space travel, she has a couple of sisters, and she came to Brem for the Interstellar Space Travel Conference, which was held about a month ago. I met her during the final days of the conference. I was attending the conference too, and first spotted her at a mixer one evening. She was just riveting," Chirod began to smile again.

Linde immediately noticed the Emperor smile and couldn't help but think how smitten he had become with this woman in such a short time. "Shit, I have got to meet this gal," Linde thought to himself.

"At a mixer? I thought you said you met her at Aire?" Linde asked abruptly.

"I only saw her at the conference mixer. I didn't actually meet her until a day or two later at Aire. I had to plot out how I was going to approach her, and seeing her at Aire gave me an easy route. It was purely chance, luck, and serendipity all rolled into one." Chirod replied.

"So, that's all you can say about her identity, then," Linde said as he exhaled in slight disappointment. He was certain Mirra Lovich was not her actual name, but he would run it through the search engines anyway.

"Pretty much," Chirod said with an identically expressed exhale. "I had hoped she would have been around for many more weeks or months to come. I wanted to spend more time with her and really get to know her. I am deeply concerned about the missing item, but I am also saddened by her absence. At least I guess she is gone?"

"You can certainly bet on that, Emperor. She is probably half way across the galaxy by now, or at least she is on her way," Linde replied, pointing his stylus at Chirod. Linde had been jotting information he found very pertinent down in his handheld, even though he was recording the information. It would give him quick access to some of the information before the voice recording was transcribed.

Linde allowed for a short pause of a minute or so, and then cleared his throat and began, "If it is alright with you, Emperor, I would like to get some details of the events of the evening the jewels were stolen, and then I will leave you to rest."

"Certainly," replied Chirod. "We met for dinner around six. I had engagements earlier in the day. I still have my duties I have to attend to with full concentration and undivided attention, you see. We had planned to meet that evening for dinner the day before, while we were on a trip to the botanical gardens here in the capital. After dinner, we arrived back here at the palace around eight-thirty."

"Did you always come back to the palace together after being out?"

"No, most of the time we went back to her suite at her hotel. A couple of times we came to the palace during the day. In each of those instances, I would have one of the palace drivers take her back to the hotel later."

"Which hotel was it, by the way?"

"The Viertome, down town."

"I am familiar with it, yes, please go on."

"Umm, yes, we came up here to the penthouse and turned on the television in the media room and sat down on the sofa. I put my hand on her leg and then leaned in and kissed her on the neck and then on the lips. The memory is still vivid in my mind. I have gone over it several times now."

"After a few minutes she stood up and led me into the bedroom here. I sat down on the bed to take my shoes off. She began unbuttoning her blouse. I took off my shirt and stood up to take off my pants. By this time Mirra was slipping out of her skirt. She has the most perfect proportions, Linde. The curve of her hips is perfect and absolutely symmetrical with a hip to waist ratio that would be considered most desirable by any humanoid on any planet."

"Really?" Linde replied without much expression, simply to let Chirod know he was paying close attention to him.

"I sat back down on the bed, and she walked over to me. As she approached me, I moved my legs apart, embraced her and pulled her in to me. I began to explore her exquisite form with my hands. As I said earlier, her skin is as smooth as silk. I almost hated rubbing it with my rough hands, though. I didn't want to give her any discomfort, but I couldn't stop, nor did I want to stop. She began to rub my head and leaned down and kissed me. I couldn't resist her breasts any longer and my hands gravitated toward them. I would have been just fine to end it right there for the evening. It was satisfying enough for me at that point."

"Really? That's interesting," Linde replied flatly. He was jotting notes on his handheld.

"Amazing sensation, Linde," Chirod continued. "She then pushed on my shoulders for me to lay back, and she began rubbing my, uh, parts." Chirod made a couple of hand gestures as he looked at Linde, demonstrating what she had been doing and where she had been doing it. "I don't know why, but I decided to get the item out of the cabinet," Chirod pointed toward the cabinet. "I got up from the bed and walked over to get it out."

"Okay," thought Linde to himself, "we are finally going to get to this secretive object that no one knows anything about." Linde looked at the Emperor, "Exactly why did you decide to get it out? For what purpose were you going to use it? I thought it just did something to ensure the production of a male child?"

"It does," Chirod replied as he looked at Linde, "but it also confers a good deal of stamina, for some reason, for the wearer, and enhanced sensation for the female," Chirod said with a sideways grin.

"So, what is this thing?" Linde asked with anticipation that was not too obvious to Chirod.

"Well, it's sort of a harness, made out of gold and platinum braids, holding a variety of jewels together. Some of the jewels are rubies, and others are diamonds, but I don't have any idea of the identity of the majority of them."

"What does it harness?" Linde replied with a bit of confusion as he made a hand gesture as if he were cupping something in his hands.

"It holds your testicles in a pouch made from the jewels, connected by two jeweled chains coming from the top of the pouch on each side to a jeweled belt that goes around your waist and between your cheeks," Chirod explained as he stood up and motioned with his hands how it was worn. "So, I said to Mirra 'hold on a second', and I got up and went over to the case, as I was saying, and got it out and put it on. You have to have it on for about ten minutes to get the full effect of it. I then came back and sat down on the edge of the bed and went back to rubbing on her as I was doing before. After a couple of minutes, she then giggled impishly for some reason. She clasped my face in her hands to raise my head up from her breasts and asked me what the harness was for. I told her it was a sexual enhancement device, and she would not be disappointed. She just shrugged her shoulders and said 'okay' and pushed my face back into her chest.

"You resumed this activity for about ten more minutes, then?" Linde asked, assuming Chirod would be closely aware of how long he had the harness on to be able to get the maximum effect from the device.

"Yes, I was enjoying it immensely. I am not very certain how much longer I rubbed around on her, but it was certainly long enough. So, after a bit, she pushed my shoulders back again, and I scooted up in the bed to the pillows. She crawled across the bed and straddled on top of me, and..." Chirod stopped talking abruptly at this point and acquired a concerned look on his face. "This is the point where I don't really recall anything else about the evening. I think she might have rubbed herself against me a couple of times, but all I really do remember, in any detail, after she got on top of me was waking up the next morning."

"How much do you think you had to drink while the two of you were dining?" Linde asked.

"I didn't have anything to drink before, during, or after dinner. You know me, I don't drink that much." Chirod didn't drink very often or very much. He enjoyed an occasional brewed beverage, but ever since his father's death and becoming the emperor, Chirod was never observed to be under the influence of any intoxicating beverage or substance, not that it was a regular affair before that time either.

Linde was rubbing his chin again in thought, "So, you remember nothing after she got on top of you?"

"No, nothing at all. It is all just blank. I remember absolutely nothing after she got on top of me," Chirod repeated, shaking his head side to side slowly.

"Emperor," Linde said quickly, "I will need you to do something for me."

"Okay," Chirod replied with a little apprehension in his voice, "what is it?"

"I would like to get a blood sample from you?"

Chirod quickly looked over at Linde with a slightly confused look, "a blood sample? What do you want a blood sample for?"

"I have a suspicion, Emperor, that you were drugged." Earlier in their conversation Chirod had mentioned being drugged, but in a different context.

"Nonsense, my body guards would have caught it during their constant surveillance while eating or drinking."

"I don't think you were drugged during dinner. There was too much time between then and your last lucid moment. If you were, it was after you arrived back here at the penthouse."

"I did get a drink, but I walked to the butler's pantry, got the drink myself, and drank it in the pantry. I don't recall being stuck with a needle either. Besides, my physician took some blood for tests after I passed out and hit my head."

"Right, I forgot about your spill. I might just check those results instead. It may not be necessary to take another sample, then," Linde said as he got up and started toward the door. Whether Chirod was finished with his story or not, he felt he had enough information to get started. It took longer than he had hoped, but he was able to get some decent information from Chirod.

"Okay, whatever you think, Linde. What are you going to do next?"

Linde stopped as he placed his hand on the doorknob, "I am going to start piecing some things together. I will check with the palace guard to find out what analysis has been done, and then go from there. I will keep you apprised."

Unknowing to Linde, Chirod had pressed what looked like a button on his shirt, and the butler met Linde just as he pulled open the door.

"Have a good evening, Linde," Chirod said, looking toward Linde as he walked out of the room.

"You too, Emperor," Linde replied without looking back.

On the way down to the car, Linde convinced himself Chirod indeed had been drugged, but he would need to check the blood analysis results to be certain of anything. He wondered if any toxicology screening had been done that would include looking for drug derivatives and metabolites. Usually, a full blood analysis involved a toxicology report of some type, but he wasn't sure whether a drug profile would be standard in this case. In addition, he wondered how closely the Emperor's security team monitors things when Chirod is out with someone. Mirra could have easily slipped something into his food or drink when she leaned in to kiss the Emperor or say something in his ear, and no one would catch it. Linde did not just fall off the turnip truck yesterday, as it were. He had been an investigator with the BNP for over twenty years. He had solved some of the most difficult cases on the planet. Some of them even required him to visit other planets to conduct investigations. Linde knew, or was aware of just about every little trick in the book, and nothing surprised him or caught him off guard. Anything is possible, and when you least expect something, it turns out to be the case.

The guard at the palace entrance closed the door behind Linde as he stepped out onto the front landing. He noticed Moss and Patel sitting in the car. Moss was in the backseat, leaning against the window asleep, while Patel was sitting in the front passenger side doing something with his handheld device.

Linde opened the driver side door and got into the car. He pushed the start button and started the car. As he put the car in gear and started off, Linde looked over at Patel and asked, "What did you guys find out, anything useful?"

Patel took a deep breath, looked up from his device and then out the window, "It's interesting, everybody wants to make you think they know something, but in reality, they know nothing."

"Well, with this crowd, they are only going to give you the official story, even though they more than likely know the real story, or at the least, a bunch more than the official story provides. It's how they are trained. It's a culture; so, don't get too worked up about it. You just need to learn how to work with it and around it. Why do you think I had you two asking around?"

Chapter 3

The Ion Spark has more than adequate accommodations for the usual seven or eight people who make up the Simmonhead Fred touring group. It is a sizable ship with twelve private berths for up to twenty-four people, a large galley, private and communal entertainment areas, and storage for a month's worth of provisions. It is just short of a flying, interstellar hotel. When it comes to short stays on a planet, the band will usually use the ship as their base of operations. It is spacious and comfortable. However, the band's first stop on this year's tour is Farel. The gang will be on Farel for three to four weeks, depending on if they pick up any previously unscheduled gigs, which is not too uncommon. For a protracted stay, such as this one, they prefer to stay off ship and rent a house or condo. Coming and going from a spaceport becomes cumbersome, time consuming, and tiring, given all the security precautions. It is much easier for the members of the gang to get around when staying off-ship.

It took the gang a couple of hours to get their gear unloaded from the Spark and hauled over to the brownstone they had rented for their stay while on Farel. It was early evening by now, and they were all getting hungry and thirsty. Since they have played on Farel several times, they all know exactly where they are going to eat for their first meal out. They are going to Satchie's. It is a place that roasts and grills food over an open flame, and serves some of the best local brews, including the local galactic sector. They were standing out front of the brownstone waiting on the cab they had called to come pick them up.

"Last night I dreamt I was eating a whole, roasted squit." Fred said as he bounced up and down, rubbing his hands in what could be described as a small fit of delight.

Squit is an animal that is similar to pigs found on Earth, but generally smaller. The larger ones reach only about two hundred pounds. Satchie's slow roasts them over a fire while basting them with a broth heavily seasoned with herbs. It is served with a variety of different sauces to dip or pour onto the meat.

"Here comes the cab," said Cassy, "and stop bouncing around like a dimwit, Fred."

"I loves me some squit, Cass." Fred said as he bounced up close to Cassy and jutted his face into hers while making a snarky expression. "It's been a year since we were last here, and I am going to eat till I pop."

Cassy placed her hand squarely over Fred's face and pushed him with a forceful jerk. Since Fred was bouncing around, he was slightly unstable, and it caught him off guard. He stumbled to one side, slipped off the curb, and fell over the front of the cab, shortly after it came to a stop. The cab driver honked the horn. Fred sprang off the hood in a startled fit as quickly as he had landed on it. As soon as he got his footing, he shot Cassy a bird.

Cassy grinned largely in response and said, "Get in the car Fred, or you're going to miss out on that squit."

This was typical of the back and forth between the members of the gang. It was constant ribbing, but not in any malignant way. They all cared for each other a great deal, but other than the married counterparts, they interacted much like a group of siblings who were way too close in age. They never really fought or had outright arguments, but they would engage in heated discussions. For instance, whenever a disagreement arises between Fred and Thom, they enlist Abby or Cassy's advice to help them come to a resolution. All in all, the group gets along quite well for spending a great deal of time with each other. They are a bunch of best friends, and quite possibly the best of friends there ever could be found in the galaxy.

The cab ride to Satchie's was uneventful, as it should have been. They rode mostly silent, looking out the windows at the city, as they traveled to their destination. As Fred had said, it had been a year since they had last been there. They could tell nothing had changed in the year. There were no new buildings, nor did it seem as though any of the shopping and eating establishments had changed in the year interim. They usually stayed in the same area of Ligthe each time they visited Farel.

The gang took their time enjoying the food, drink, and easy conversation at Satchie's. It was getting along to eight in the evening by now. They had finished their food and were relaxing at the table. They were seated around the table along their typical lines and were engaged in separate sets of conversations.

Thom, Fred, and Ethan stood up at once and pushed in their chairs.

Hals looked at them as he yawned and rubbed his face. "Where are the three of you going?" he asked as he looked back and forth at all three of them. Being the three unmarried blokes in the crew, they were always on the prowl for whatever might be fun and exciting, and Hals knew the three of them had already laid out a plan for the rest of the evening that would last until the early morning. Hals knew what the three would most likely be doing; however, he didn't know where they were going, and he was interested in knowing.

"I'm ready to go back to the house and sleep until about noon tomorrow." Thom said as he picked up his beer mug to drain the remainder of its contents.

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Fred as he looked from Hals to Thom.

Hals looked at them with a puzzled look. "You mean that you guys aren't going to lay out all night trying to get a piece of ass or something?"

Ethan produced a big grin about the time Fred gave his approval to Thom's plan.

"What?" said Hals as he caught Ethan's large grin.

"Not me," Ethan said as he looked from Thom to Hals to Fred. "These two might be ready to call it a night, but I've got a date."

"What?" Fred, Hals, and Thom exclaimed in unison. The other three at the table stopped their conversation and turned their attention to Ethan.

Thom and Fred pulled their chairs out and sat back down.

"We've only been on the ground for a few hours, and we all have been together the whole time. How did you manage to get a date already?" Fred said with a little surprise.

Ethan produced a smug look on his face and replied, "Yep, I have a date. Surely you guys remember Syndie? You know, that gal I hooked up with the last time we were here. I spent the better part of the two weeks running around with her."

"Oh, Lord!" exclaimed Abby, "not that chick with her hair dyed red and the bad perm?"

"You remember her?" Hals said looking at Abby with a slight air of disbelief.

"Yes," Abby replied.

"I didn't think her hair looked bad," Ethan said as he sat back down and took a drink of what was left of his beer.

"Actually her hair was not the worst part about her. She was a little annoying. She didn't take anything serious. Cassy and I couldn't have a decent conversation whenever she was around. She is a total ditz." Abby said as she fidgeted with the straw in her drink.

Ethan narrowed his eyes as he looked toward Abby and Cassy, "Well, perhaps going on about existential bullshit constantly, just wasn't her thing? You know, there are some gals that are interested in just normal, everyday stuff; like cloths and food and such."

Ethan did have somewhat of a point. Abby tended to consider things a little too philosophically most of the time. It could be due to a mashing up of her upbringing in a family that was devout followers of a monotheist religion, centered on a god that created everything and provided for everything, and her training and understanding of particle physics and quantum mechanics. Thus, Abby viewed the universe as a place of infinite randomness that was guided by an inexplicable force. That force could be a 'god', but the jury was still out for her, because there was no hard, physical evidence to support it. Even though humans had come to understand the physics of interstellar travel, and a whole host of other secrets of the universe, there were still unanswered questions regarding the quantum realm, and its relationship to life itself. These unanswered questions are what dogged Abby when she couldn't sleep at night, or when she found herself deep in thought. Whenever she was with someone that would oblige her, she would use him or her as a sounding board to try to sort things out. Cassy, being her best friend naturally was her most willing participant. It also didn't hurt that Cassy was a trained psychologist with a Ph.D., and she found Abby's penchants and interpretations fascinating from a clinical perspective. Not to mention, Cassy could give an extremely informed view of most anything.

"Whatever." Abby said as she rolled her eyes and took a drink.

"Ethan, if you enjoy her company, then don't worry about it," Cassy said as she cut her eyes at Abby and gave her a quick but intense glare. She seemed to be constantly reminding Abby that the girls who Ethan, Thom, and Fred generally were attracted to were perfectly normal and fine, for the most part.

Hals leaned back in his chair and stretched out his arms. "Dude, sorry man, I don't remember her, but you know, I may not have even seen her or met her the last time we were here."

"Now that I think about it, you probably didn't," Ethan said as he slipped into retrospective thought.

"Where did you meet her?" Thom asked.

"It was the first night you all played at the Ten Toes here in Ligthe," Ethan replied. "I saw her just about every day after that for the entire two weeks. We had a lot of fun."

"I guess you got to know her pretty good, then," Thom said with an impish sideways grin as he elbowed Fred.

"We didn't screw the entire time, you dumbass. Most of the time we just hung out. She is really an interesting gal. She is doing graduate work in communications, so contrary to what someone might think, she is a pretty smart person," Ethan said as he stood back up and drank down the rest of his beer. He didn't look in Abby's direction, but he knew she heard him. He sat the glass down and pushed his chair in, "I will see you cats around the milk bowl," he said grinning, and started off.

Greg hollered after him, "Don't forget that we are going over to the Ten Toes tomorrow afternoon to figure out the setup."

"Gotcha," Ethan said as he raised his hand upward and wagged his finger in the air without turning around.

"You think she's got three tits?" Thom said as he leaned in so Abby and Cassy couldn't hear him. He didn't want either of their ridicule.

"Yeah, or maybe a clit shaped like an elephant's head and trunk," Fred said as he snickered a little bit.

"What are you two dumb shits talking about?" Hals said

"You know," said Fred with a large sheepish smile on his face, "just playing up that old alien chick stereotype."

"Honestly, have either of you ever nailed a gal with three tits?" Hals said as he finished his beer. Hals was very aware of the cliché the two were batting around. After all, he had batted it around with them more times than he could count.

"No," Thom and Fred said in unison.

"But I did nail this gal from Trupe who had a clit that sort of looked like an elephant's trunk. I tell you man, it and she were weird and wild for sure," Thom said as he opened his eyes wide and shook his head back and forth while whistling.

Alien women having three tits are indeed an old Earth cliché, and an altogether wrong one. Plus, most people in the galaxy these days know it. However, it was always fun to play it up when you could, especially for Earthlings. Many people were basically shocked when interstellar space travel put to rest the notion that weird forms of human-like and very much un-human-like people inhabited the planets in the galaxy. The diversity of humanoids turned out to be rather small, given the large number of habitable planets. There are hundreds of trillions of beings out there in the galaxy, and they all, for the most part, look pretty much like one another, including the people on Earth.

However, there exist some variations that are interesting as well as intriguing. Some of the distinct differences among the humanoids involve body shape, vocal sound, and reproduction. Differing shapes of the head and the various features of the face are what stand out most for Earthlings. Other than that, just some subtle differences exist, like out of proportion arms and legs and wrinkling of the skin in odd places, as well as variations in the color of skin. In addition, the ability to successfully interbreed between Earthlings and the humanoids of several planets turned out to be a shock to Earth scientists.

There are physical characteristics displayed by some that are very interesting but odd by Earth standards. One example can be found among the inhabitants of Knick. The Knickians have varying shades of iridescent green hair on both their heads and their bodies, including their pubic region. Their skin color has the same shade variations as Earthlings, but everyone has the brilliant metallic green hair. The significance of the green hair was figured out instantly. It is used in a type of photosynthesis. What makes this more interesting is Knickians have a functioning digestive tract that allows them to eat, as do other humanoids, but they can manufacture energy much like how plants on Earth can, due to the chlorophyll-like compounds found in their hair. An interesting side note about Knickian females is they are all extremely sexually appealing to most males in the galaxy, strikingly beautiful, actually. There isn't a male in the galaxy that wouldn't choose to be with a Knickian woman given the chance. The Knickian females' spectacular green pubes literally glow as they become aroused. The old Earth adage 'green with envy' lost most of its use and meaning, but the adage 'I am so horny I am green' became quite common. This was responsible for the quick evolution of green being associated with horniness throughout the galaxy, much like green M&M's® on Earth. It is believed the incorporation of the color green into mating rituals occurred on a couple of planets as a result of this association with the color green. In these instances, females will adorn a combination of green eye shadow, green fingernail polish, or wear certain green clothing to signal that they are interested in procreating, or at least going through the motions of procreating. Although, one can see the problems this might cause, out on the town at bars and clubs. The unfortunate misinterpretation of a female's use of green eye shadow or green lipstick has resulted in many nicely bruised balls.

***

The whole gang arrived at the Ten Toes Club around three in the afternoon. They had decided to rent a vehicle large enough to carry them and their equipment around, since they were going to be on Farel for a couple of weeks, and play at three different locations across the city. Unfortunately, the process of renting the vehicle took longer than they had anticipated, and it put them getting over to the venue an hour or so later than Greg planned. Greg wasn't very anal about time, but if it had been the day of the show, he would be quite perturbed about the whole thing. He doesn't like to be rushed with the final setup on the day of a gig, nor does he like to be late for no particular reason at all.

The Ten Toes Club is a large venue that can hold over a couple thousand people scattered around its bars, tables, booths, and dance areas. The stage area Simmonhead will be playing on is situated in the center of all the activity. The club has a smaller stage off to one side in a corner, but it is used for smaller, lesser known acts. The Ten Toes main stage is also equipped with an elaborate light system that Greg loves to work during the band's performances. It is one of the many reasons the band likes to play there.

Fred and Thom like to play entendre with the club's name. They refer to the club as T-T's. Abby regards this as just another example of Thom and Fred's childish nature. Fred and Thom just think it's fun, and they love how it aggravates Abby to no end when they refer to the club, or anything, in such a way.

The group had entered the club and stopped just in front of the bar.

"Hey, Abby," Fred said looking over at her, "You know what? I just love T-T's."

Abby rolled her eyes and shook her head a slight bit but did not give Fred the satisfaction of a verbal response.

"And you know what else?" he continued, "I really love getting right in the middle of big ole T-T's and playing around, fiddling with things," Fred said as he exaggerated the word love.

"You remember what happened last time you were all up in the middle of these big ole T-T's right here, don't ya? You puked all over the big ole T-T's, didn't you?" Abby said as she sat down in a booth, "and Dunn made you clean it all up. If I were him, I would have made you clean it up with your tongue. Then you could go around bragging about licking on some big ole T-T's."

This was enough to stop Fred's aggravating antics dead in their tracks, as the memory of that evening came back to him suddenly. "Don't remind me," Fred said as he held up his hand and quickly turned away, looking for a water fountain to ease the sudden uneasiness in his stomach. That night was a bad night for Fred or at least toward the end of it. For most of the time, the night had been a blast. It goes without saying that the next day was even worse for him.

Dunn, the club's proprietor, came walking out from somewhere in the back. "Ladies, and at least one gentleman," he said smiling at Thom and Fred. The sole gentleman he was actually referring to was Greg. Dunn liked Simmonhead Fred because they were smart, didn't cause too many problems, was not too wild, played great music, and drew heavy crowds. Dunn never hesitates telling anybody how much he likes Simmonhead Fred, and how well the group packs the house every time they are in town. A packed house equals a bunch of money for Dunn.

Simmonhead Fred indeed draws heavy crowds at most venues for several reasons. However, simply put, it is because they are legitimately good musicians. Their live playing is nearly flawless. They make very few flubs, and when they do they cover it quite well. The band plays an eclectic mix of classic Earth music mixed in with their original material, which has broad appeal across the galaxy.

The band has produced three original full-length albums, which have met with critical acclaim on several planets. In addition, they have experienced substantial sales in the parts of the galaxy they are most known. The band leans heavily on inspiration from classic rock groups from the twentieth century, such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Rush, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Metallica, Rolling Stones, and the list goes on and on. They play selections from these groups during live performances, as well as other great hits from the twentieth century. In addition, the group performs a few more recent hits. They have a couple of standard covers they always play when touring. However, each year they work on a complete new set of music to tour with, consisting mainly of their original stuff, interspersed with the selected covers.

Interestingly, musical instruments and musical styles are very similar across the galaxy. There is no mistaking the music exported by Earth during the twenty-second and twenty-third centuries had a substantial impact on music elsewhere in the galaxy. However, when one takes a closer look, they will see that no real difference exists between traditional music and musical culture from planet to planet. Rock and roll, born and bred on Earth, has very similar counterparts on just about every planet, but for all intents and purposes, Earth-style rock is the preferred genre everywhere in the galaxy.

Since the band had played the Ten Toes many times in the past, Greg knew what to expect regarding power requirements, space, lighting, how to setup the amps, and the overall stage configuration. Nevertheless, it has been over a year since their last gig at Ten Toes, and one never knows what minor changes might have been made, which can result in a big problem during setup.

"I guess everything is pretty much the same as it was since the last time we were here?" Greg asked, directing his question to Dunn, as he stood, scanning around the stage area.

"Yep," Dunn said as he shook his head. "I did have a couple more lasers installed, but they are integrated into the control board, so their use won't cause any problems or require any special training. It should be seamless. Other than that, it is business as usual."

"Okay, well, I guess we will carry all of our stuff in and setup. Will it be alright if we practice tomorrow, since we got here later than expected?" Greg asked Dunn.

"No problem with that. What time do you think you will be around?" Dunn asked.

"About midday," Greg replied as he shrugged his shoulders while non-verbally soliciting affirmations from the rest of the group. Everyone shook their heads in agreement.

"Okay, well, if I don't see you again before you leave, I will see you all tomorrow," Dunn said as he turned and walked toward the back of the building.

Greg turned back to the guys again, "Alright you pecker-heads, let's get the main equipment carried in and unpacked. We can do some full sound checks tomorrow before we start practicing."

***

Habitable planets in the galaxy, or at least ones inhabited by humanoids, all have the same general features and characteristics. They all orbit in the 'Goldilocks zone' around their suns, they all have endured the same geologic processes, and they all have oceans and continents. The differences lie in the distribution of landmasses about the globe, and whether they are orbiting a single star or a binary star system.

Farel, like all other planets, conforms to the standard planetary model. It consists of a single continuous continent that snakes around the planet, mostly at the equatorial latitudes with areas extending north and south for a thousand miles or so. Oceans cover the rest of the surface. The planet has large areas given over to agriculture, some very glorious mountain ranges, a couple of spectacular deserts, some large rainforests, and a sizeable population of around eight billion. It has seventeen cities with populations in an excess of twenty million, with the rest scattered about in smaller locales. With most of the landmass and the population concentrated at the equator, the weather on Farel is very pleasant year around.

The capital of the planet is Farel City, but it is more commonly referred to as the three sisters, or just the sisters. The city was originally three separate cities, which eventually grew together and are now the three boroughs of Farel City. The three individual boroughs are Ligthe, Strom, and Quie, with a combined population around forty million.

Strom is the 'low rent' area of the city where the plight of over population and urban decay are in full swing. Its skyscrapers are in disrepair for the most part, although an effort to renovate the skyline is underway. It can be dangerous in some areas of the borough. One must be aware of their location, especially after dark. There are times when crime in Strom increases dramatically, to the point of one or two murders every day, and the borough is used to the occasional, socio-economic infused riot. The Farel military is always on patrol in some capacity in the Strom borough.

Ligthe is the business district. The bulk of the commercial buildings and skyscrapers are found in Ligthe, at least most of the newer, larger, and taller ones. It is the financial district and the seat of the planet's government. The borough is trendy, modern, and is the denizen of the young, affluent, and upwardly mobile segment of the population.

Quie can be described as the garden district. Even though Quie has several tall buildings from its time as an independent city, it is mostly composed of townhouses, apartments, and a few small estates scattered about its edges. It is the suburban realm of Farel City and is often referred to as the bedroom borough.

The band is scheduled to play in all three boroughs of Farel City during their stay on the planet. They have two shows in Ligthe, two shows in Strom, and one show in Quie. Their temporary home, the brownstone apartment they have rented for their stay, is found in the borough of Ligthe. The band prefers the urban character and youthful vibe of Ligthe. Satchie's and the Ten Toes are both in Ligthe.

Their first gig is at the Ten Toes, next they are over at The Pit in Strom, back to Ligthe and the Ten Toes, then at Coozie in Quie, and finally they end up their schedule on Farel back at The Pit in Strom. These clubs are the norm for the type of venue Simmonhead Fred likes to play. These types of clubs typically house no more than two to three thousand people. Large stadium shows are not very common or popular, as they were on Earth during the 20th and 21st centuries. The appeal of large crowds at concerts grew and reached its peak during this time but waned dramatically mid-way through the 22nd century. It was the norm for concerts to top two hundred thousand for a single event in those days. However, people in this day and time prefer more intimate experiences. Large attendance shows became the haven for illicit activities that mostly included drugs, alcohol, and violence. It was not uncommon for three or four people to be killed at a show with a turnout of two hundred thousand plus concertgoers. Large venue shows are now what you find solely at special music festivals. Many planets host at least one music festival each year. These events are government sanctioned, and are heavily policed and controlled. During each tour, Simmonhead Fred plays the Life Festival on Savannah. It is a large five-day festival that draws a little over five hundred thousand people.

After playing on Farel, the band will be performing nine more shows in nine additional cities on nine other planets. The planets are scattered about the galaxy. Traveling around on any given planet is very inexpensive, but travel between planets is very costly, especially when you operate your own starship. Thanks to the band's good fortune of winning the lottery jackpot, interstellar travel is easily affordable for them. If not for their windfall, they would be confined to Earth and one or two other planets relatively close to Earth. For several years, the band has enjoyed enough celebrity to book shows on other planets throughout the galaxy, but until recently they have been limited by their finances.

The band doesn't enjoy enough celebrity, just yet, to entice a promoter to cover the basic costs of a galaxy-wide tour. For now, they must rely on their lottery winnings to cover the remainder of the outlay not covered by the funds generated by ticket and merchandise sales. The band's hope is to cover more cities on more planets to get more exposure to their original music to build an even larger fan-base, allowing them to expand even more, and hopefully enable them to pick up a prominent promoter. Their goal is not to become enormously famous galaxy-wide like a group such as Dragon Drone. Their ambition is to establish a sustainable career that produces a healthy cash flow, supports their efforts, and puts money in their bank accounts, so they would not need to depend on their lottery money. Not having to depend on their lottery money would mean they have achieved their goals and dreams as well known, commercial musicians.

The group is all too aware of the ills of total galactic stardom, and they want to stay just below that bar. Most performers who have gained galactic prominence in the last couple a hundred years has basically imploded at some point right about the peak of their careers, or exploded as did Dragon Drone. Dragon Drone's fate was an interesting one. There are several stories outlining, in detail, the events of their demise, but the exact events are not fully known, since no actual eyewitness survived the ordeal. Although there is in existence some sketchy video that was beamed from the starship to a social media site approximately four minutes before everything went south. Due to the video, all the stories have the same basic elements, but the account with the most supporting evidence, and rings true to their nature, starts out with the members of Dragon Drone on their way to a show on Spectin. Their planned route from their home planet Towlon 9 to the planet Spectin is a standard route, nothing special. In typical fashion for Dragon Drone, they took the trip as an opportunity to load up their starship with a bevy of females, alcohol, and a variety of legal and illegal drugs. Within a few hours of leaving Towlon 9, an orgy erupted that raged for two days. The orgy, per all versions of the story, reached such epic and legendary proportions, that it eventually drew in everyone on the ship, a total over fifty, including the pilot and crew. Because of the pilot's distraction, the ship became terribly off course. Out of just plain bad luck, the ship popped out of a transect tube, incorrectly selected due pilot distraction, and directly into the close vicinity of a star that happened to go supernova minutes after their arrival. The ship and everybody on board were vaporized instantly.

Hals like to describe such strange coincidences, such as the one involving Dragon Drone, as plots by big entertainment conglomerates to take acts out at the height of their fame to preserve their stardom and subsequent demand for many years to come. His hypothesis is supported by the evidence of such entertainers making more money after they have died, than while they were alive. Fred and Thom are convinced there is a curse at work. Abby quickly and sternly reminds Fred and Thom there are no such things as curses, and the reason Dragon Drone flew into an erupting supernova was due to a series of unfortunate events, very statistically unlikely events, precipitated by an out of control orgy. Abby has little patience with the discussion of voodoo and the overtly supernatural. "Lighten up," is Thom's patented response to Abby during such discussions.

***

The members of the group each have a ritual they follow in the days just before the first show of a tour. As would be expected, the band will practice as a group as many times or as much as they can. This is both out of discipline to their work ethic, and to make certain they have nailed down the particulars of the new music in their set lineups. As a rule, or just due to superstition, the band never practices as a full group on the day before their first show. Sometimes they knock off two or three days before the opening night, depending on what is going on, or where their first gig is located. If they happen to be on a planet or in a city with many options, they will take the two or three days before their first show to get out and do a few things. Farel happens to be one of those planets. Farel City, as well as the planet, together, offers many interesting activities.

Hals tries to relax and spend time with Cassy before things get kicked off. The two will usually find something to do as a couple they both enjoy doing and doing together. Even though the two are together most of the time, they don't necessarily do 'couple' things, and this is when they take the opportunity. Other than that, Hals will run around with Fred and Thom, while Cassy and Abby pal around shopping and doing whatever strikes their fancy.

Cassy always has a book or an article about cultural anthropology she wants to read when just hanging around doing nothing. Abby divides her time between keeping current with quantum physics and reading up on different philosophical perspectives, especially those aligned with Existentialism. Trips to university libraries and bookstores are always on Abby and Cassy's agenda.

Fred, Thom, Greg, Ethan, and Hals typically check out music shops on each planet they visit. Fred and Thom are avid guitar collectors, and they are always on the lookout for certain items for their collections. They are more into quality than quantity when it comes to their collections. With the spending power, they have now, each could easily have thousands of instruments, but they only have about twenty instruments between the two of them. One of Fred's gems in his collection is a 1960 Gibson Les Paul he acquired through an odd twist of fate involving a family inheritance. He had to buy it off a cousin for a princely ransom. One of Fred's first cousins received it through the inheritance of their grand parents' estate. The cousin doesn't know how to play a guitar and knew Fred would be very interested in acquiring it. The details of the transaction resulted in Fred acquiring the guitar plus the creation of a large rift in the family.

As expected, Hals spends his time checking out drums and a variety of percussion instruments. Hals is not a collector of vintage anything. Instead, he is always looking for new devices and different ways to make sounds. Greg has the same goals as Hals when shopping for musical instruments and gadgets. The two are continually exploring new devices and experimenting with new ways to produce different effects and sounds. Hals believes music should allow a person to develop an internal narrative to enhance their experience with it, and he looks for ways to push the boundaries. Hals is also deeply interested in the history of musical instruments as well as the underlying principles of their evolution and operation, regardless of their planet of origin.

Ethan is not a musician. He is a mathematician by education, but he can play the guitar, drums, harmonica, and didgeridoo all quite well. Like Hals, he doesn't collect anything but he loves to look. If anything strikes his fancy, he will buy it, but only after a fun bit of haggling with the seller. Ethan also claims his interest in music is mostly mathematical, but he has admitted many times how much he enjoys sitting around and jamming with Thom and Fred. Thom often informs Ethan he is in fact a musician, just not at Thom and Fred's level.

Fred, Thom, and Ethan also have another favorite pastime for when they are not setting up, rehearsing, or playing, and that pastime happens to be chasing after women. Since most of the planets and cities the band visits support healthy tourism industries, there is always a large number and variety of females from many different places, who they can fraternize with, not to mention all the local females as well. However, Thom tries his best to stay away from the local women. He constantly informs Fred of the necessity to minimize the connection. The band plays on the same planets and in the same cities each year. Due to heavy promotion of the band's shows, stalkers can be encountered too easily. Whenever Fred responds to Thom in disagreement, Thom reminds him about Gema. Roughly three years ago, Fred hooked up with a young woman, named Gema, while the band was playing on Wheng, who ultimately became an active stalker of Fred. While on Wheng, Fred hauled her around the planet to all of their shows, while enjoying her company. He usually doesn't latch onto a gal like in such a way, but she was all too eager to do anything he wanted to try in the sack and as often as he wanted to do it. Fred was absolutely having the most fun he ever had getting his rocks off, and Gema was falling in love, hard.

Fred and the rest of the gang found out later that highly active, sexual exploration among a couple is a traditional cultural phenomenon on Wheng. When a couple begins to engage in such explorations, it is the sign of a mutual connection, and signals the development of a strong bond between the two individuals. This works out great for other Whenglings who are looking to find a mate or spouse, but not for Earthlings who are simply interested in getting their jollies. Thus, every time the band played on Wheng, Gema was right in the middle of them, and Fred could not get rid of her. Whenever the band arrived on the planet, she immediately knew they were there, and where they were staying. Every restaurant or bar they visited, she was there when they arrived, etc., etc. After the third subsequent year of playing on Wheng, Cassy had to make a visit to the social and legal services division on the planet to request a restraining order against Gema. Due to her training and knowledge, Cassy could argue that the differences in social morays between Earth and Wheng was the root cause of the situation, and Gema needed to respect Fred's position in the matter as outlined by intergalactic law. In addition to that, Gemma was evaluated and deemed to be slightly mentally askew by the psychological board on Wheng.

Once the whole thing was cleared up, Cassy sat Fred down and read him the riot act about the multitude of ways in which he was an incorrigible scumbag who exploited women for his own pleasure, while ignoring their personal worth. The lecture was partly due to feelings of guilt because she feels somewhat responsible for Fred's actions. She had taught him how to read the physical and verbal cues females give when they are interested in a male. Fred has become very skilled and very effective at using this knowledge to his advantage; some would say too effectively. This weighs heavily on Cassy, after the fact, more so than she likes to admit.

Thom and Ethan are more cautious, not to mention more respectful of and to women. Out of the three, Ethan is the most reserved when it comes to prowling for women. He has a much different perspective about relationships than Fred or Thom. Thom is simply a throttled back version of Fred if the truth were known.

***

"Mmm, smells like bacon," Fred said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen with his arms stretched out wide, taking in a deep breath through his nose.

Cassy turned toward the voice as she lifted the meat out of the pan, "Morning Fred. Well, its Farel's version of bacon."

"I don't care. It tastes just like bacon to me, and that's all that matters," Fred said with a big smile as he picked up a piece and bit half of it off into his mouth. "Where's Hals?"

"I think he is out on the porch," Cassy replied as she placed more of the bacon-like material into the frying pan.

At that moment, Hals walked into the kitchen followed by Greg, Thom, and Ethan.

"Morning all," Greg said as he walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of coffee.

Greg took a sip of his coffee as he turned toward Cassy; "I suppose you and Abby are off to the university today, huh Cass?"

"Yep, we are going there first thing this morning. I have a couple of things I want to see about getting from the library, and I am sure Abby has something she wants to thumb through. Then we are going to do some shopping." Due to being a member of the Interplanetary Scholar Society, Cassy has library privileges at nearly every university on every planet. A Ph.D. does have its perks, sometimes.

"Morning, babe," Greg said as Abby walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," Abby said as she gave Greg a quick kiss, "you lads going to hit the town today?"

Greg took another large sip of his coffee, "Yep, we are going to hit the music shops to see if we can find anything interesting, and then we are going to check out a few pawn shops over in Strom."

Cassy sat down at the table and began fixing a plate for herself, "Strom? Not much to do there, I am sure. I would be cautious of what I got into over there." No one paid any attention to what she said. They were all sitting at the table by then, too busy eating on the full breakfast Cassy had prepared.

"When are you guys taking off?" Abby said to Greg as she got up from the table with her empty plate and placed it in the dishwasher.

"Just as soon as dickhead here gets his clothes on," Greg said as he pointed at Fred with the piece of bacon he had in his hand. Everyone else had already showered before they came down to breakfast, and was ready to go.

Fred made a face while rolling his eyes, "I was in the company of a lovely female until the wee hours of the morning, thank you," he added as he produced a devilish grin.

"Oh, please," Abby said as she picked up Greg's empty plate off the table to take to the dishwasher, "tell me you are not going to make this tour an odyssey of sexual exploits."

"I do what I do," Fred said as he got up to put his dishes in the dishwasher.

"Trust me," Hals said as he downed the last of his drink, "he doesn't get as much trim on these trips as you might think he does, or he lets on about."

"You can believe what you want, but I do as much as I want to do," Fred commented.

"What does that mean?" Hals said with a small laugh.

"I will admit, I have to concede the top spot on trim quantity to someone else in the room," Fred said as he walked out of the kitchen, raising his voice from the other room, "I haven't porked anyone on the deck yet since we've been here."

Cassy quickly glanced over at Hals with her eyes wide and an obvious blush on her face. Hals returned the glance with a broad smile and less of a blush.

Fred was right. He indeed was not the one having most of the sex out of the guys in the group. That honor goes to Hals. Hals and Cassy enjoy a very healthy sex life. They are very sexually active in the traditional sense, but they also love to experiment a great deal with toys, devices, and locations. It was just the previous night they decided to take a romp out on the deck. Hals figured out the deck furniture would allow them to try a variety of sexual positions, and being outside is an added element to the experience. For the two of them, there is a spatial element to the excitement and thrill. As Hals explained to the other guys once, doggy-style outside of the bedroom is on a higher plane than doggy-style in the bedroom. It's not a very philosophical statement, but he makes his point.

Hals started out of the kitchen, and Cassy followed quickly behind him. Abby looked over at Greg and saw that he had a large grin on his face.

"What?" Abby said with an inquisitive look.

Greg leaned forward toward Abby, Thom, and Ethan as to keep his voice low enough where Cassy and Hals couldn't hear him, "on our way here to Farel I accidentally walked in on them doing it."

"What? Where?" Abby said in quick succession in a hoarse whisper.

"In the pilot room," Greg replied.

"No way," Thom said, "okay, give us the details."

"Yes, details," Abby said, raising her eyebrows and nodding her head up and down quickly.

Greg looked around to make sure Hals and Cassy were indeed out of earshot, "Well, it was the second night out, and I couldn't sleep. I think I had too much caffeine or something, but that doesn't matter. So, I thought I would stare at the star field from the pilot room and maybe read or something. I swung by the galley and got me a little snack first."

"What'd you get?" Thom asked.

"Huh?" Greg replied.

"What snack did you get?"

"Shut up," Abby said looking at Thom with a stern look so he could get him to shut up about the snack. "Did you just walk right in on them?" Abby asked to get back to the story.

"No, not quite. I was walking down the hallway toward the helm, and I hear this strange noise."

"What did it sound like?" Thom asked quickly. Abby gave Thom a stern glance again. Thom has a way of hanging onto story details that are sometimes insignificant, and it annoys Abby a little. Thom gave Abby an expression of 'what?'

Greg wasn't distracted by Thom's question and kept on going. "Well, I stopped because the sound startled me at first, but then I tried to listen to it more closely too. You know how it is when you hear a weird noise, and you stop moving so you can maybe hear it better. That's what I did. I couldn't really tell what it was, but I definitely heard a buzzing noise that would get loud and then get low. There were some squeaking noises mixed in with a different odd sound. It all had a rhythm to it, like it was all in time, but I couldn't make out what the noises were really all about. It was like listening to a band whose instruments were all out of tune. I realized later, after the fact, that some of it was grunting sounds. Anyway, you know, usually a buzzing noise in a pilot room is a warning of some sort, but they are constant in level. This buzz was rising and falling."

"Grunting?" Thom said with a look of confusion, "Like a pig grunting?"

"No, not like a pig grunting; it was softer, like when you exhale hard, sort of hoarse-like. I am sure now they were both doing it," Greg said with a pensive look as he recalled the scene.

"Go on," Abby said with a frustrated look directed at Thom again. Thom wasn't paying attention to Abby, nor did he care if she was getting annoyed.

"Okay, so I slowly stick my head into room, but I can't see anything because all of the lights are out except for the ones on the control panel. The panel lights are not bright enough to light up the room any at all. It just produces a reddish glow in the room. So, I reach in and hit the red overhead lights, and as they come on, Cassy yells "oh, shit!" and stands up quickly. About the time her head comes up over the back of the pilot seat, a vibrator hits the floor; hence the buzzing. She immediately drops down behind the front of the chair just as quickly as she stood up. The vibrator is just lying there on the floor buzzing away. Hals then yells 'Dammit man, we were almost there!"

"What did Cassy do?" Abby asked.

"Did you see her tits?" Thom asked quickly with a big smile. Abby smacked him in the shoulder hard.

"What? No, I don't know, I can't remember. I wasn't focused on seeing her tits."

"Don't pay attention to him," Abby said gruffly as she pointed at Thom with her thumb.

"Okay, okay. So, she just kept saying 'oh, god' from down in front of the chair."

"What were they doing with the vibrator?" asked Thom with a wide open-mouth smile on his face.

"I don't know," Greg said as he as he leaned back in his chair looking down the hall again to make sure neither Cassy nor Hals were coming back toward the kitchen or were in potential earshot, "I didn't hang around to find out. I just blurted out something and ran back out of the room."

Ethan, who hadn't said a thing the whole time, but was sitting there listening, leaned back in his chair and took a slow deep breath, "Well, I think it's great. The two of them have a very healthy relationship both physically and mentally. I think it's what everyone should want."

"I am not downing them about any of it," Greg said, "I just think they should come up for air every once in a while. They have been married for several years now, and they still do it constantly, not to mention they should maybe try and be a little more discreet about it; at least lock a door, you know."

Abby shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, I guess it is a good thing, but they are indeed both major horn-dogs." She was well-aware of the insatiable desire for men to have sex, but she was convinced Cassy was a dyed in the wool nymphomaniac.

"So I take it, based on your reactions you two have a once a month scheduled interlude, then, as the preferred alternative?" Thom said pointing back and forth from Greg to Abby.

"No!" Greg and Abby both said in unison.

"You will understand what we are talking about after you have been married for a few years. Until then, you cannot fully understand or cast any judgment," Abby said.

Abby paused for a moment in introspection. She and Greg have a fantastic relationship; at least as good as Cassy and Hals. They love and care for each other very much. They have regular and frequent sex, plus they have a deep friendship. They have a strong bond that doesn't require daily sex, not that Cassy and Hals do it every day, they just enjoy more sexual exploration, maybe an unhealthy level of exploration, though, Abby thought. Perhaps Cassy and Hals both have a clinical problem regarding sex; maybe they are addicts even.

At that moment, Fred walked back into the kitchen. He looked at the four sitting at the table and could tell they had been in a very interesting conversation, "What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"Hals' and Cassy's need to constantly bump each other's uglies," Ethan said as he got up from the table.

"Nothing wrong with that," Fred said smiling, "I wish I could bump someone's ugly every day, especially if it's a different ugly each day."

"That is exactly the point Greg and I were trying to make, a strong relationship is not solely dependent upon daily sex. Fred, your position is not in any way conducive to developing a strong relationship, hopping from girl to girl, so it has no relevancy here," Abby stated as she sat with her arms crossed.

"It certainly couldn't hurt. Besides, who said I wanted a strong relationship?" Fred said as he made a face. Fred grabbed a soda out of the refrigerator and walked back out of the kitchen. Ethan and Thom followed him.

"Greg," Abby said after the three had left the kitchen, "Do you think Cassy is a nymphomaniac?"

"Do you think Hals is one?" Greg asked in return.

"What?" Abby said as she realized what Greg just asked. "Men can't be labeled as being a nympho? It's what they do," Abby said with a 'you should know that' look directed at him. "Men are hardwired to want to have sex all the time. It's just the way they are made. Why do you think they masturbate all the time, even when they are getting it regularly? But, do you think she is an aberration when it comes to females and sex? I mean, I really do love and enjoy sex, but not all the time. There are limits, you know."

Greg sat for a moment with the same pensive look on his face as before and then replied. "Everyone expresses themselves a little differently, and sexual expression is part of that total aspect. She could be doing it to satisfy Hals desires mostly, though. Besides, they don't do it every day. It's more like a couple to three times a week. It's just the way they go about it that makes you think they are always at it."

"How do you know they don't do it every day?" Abby said knowing he was right, but she didn't want to reveal she and Cassy had regular discussions about each other's sex lives. "Trust me though, she loves and wants it every bit as much as Hals."

Greg smiled a bit, "Hals and I are together a lot. What do you think we talk about? We aren't always talking about music."

Abby rolled her eyes slightly but smiled a bit as she did. "Men and their comparing of notes." She and Cassy were just as guilty of comparing notes as Greg and Hals, but she wasn't going to reveal that nugget. She got up from the table and ran her hand through Greg's hair tousling it up a bit as she walked past him. Greg enlarged his smile as her hand slid through his hair.

***

So far, everything had gone to plan since the group arrived on Farel, which is the way they like it, especially Greg. Greg always has a well worked out plan and a schedule that leaves plenty of free time for everyone in between work, but keeps them all in order. The day of a show, the band usually relaxes around their temporary home or finds something leisurely to do that does not take a great deal of effort. The brownstone they are renting has a large deck off the living room, and all seven of them were lounging around on it. They all had just eaten lunch.

Thom was relaxing on a chaise lounge and sat up quickly, "I think I am going to go down the street to that big arcade," he said looking in the direction of the arcade even though he couldn't actually see it. "We don't have to be at Ten Toes until about seven, right?" Thom said.

"That's right," Greg replied not moving from the reclining position he was in on his chaise lounge. "You guys go on at eight."

"Okay," Thom said as he stood up. "I think I will go play a few games, and then come back and take a couple-hour nap before getting ready to go to the show."

"I think I will go with you," Ethan said standing up.

"Me too," Fred chimed in as he stood up too, "might be a couple of hot chickies hanging around the place."

***

The group pulled into the parking lot of Ten Toes just a little after six-thirty. Since they had set up all their equipment a couple of days before and practiced a couple of times, all they needed to do to get ready was to plug in and do a final sound check.

"Man, it looks packed," Thom said, as he scanned around the parking lot from the window in the van.

"It probably is or at least will be by the time you guys go on," Greg said as he drove around to the back of the club. "I talked with Dunn earlier, and he said they were expecting a heavy crowd. They did a lot of promoting; more than they did the last time we were here. He said more people know about the band these days since the success of last year's tour, plus the album has had very good sales here on Farel."

This tour is the third full galactic tour the group has been on since their cash windfall from the lottery, which occurred a little over four years ago. To date, the band has produced three official albums under contract, which have been the basis of their tours. They have recorded three previous albums, which were initially distributed only on Earth and on a couple of nearby planets. The first three albums now have a galactic distribution via Galactic Gig, a large, self-publishing network their record company, Crystal Press, uses as a secondary outlet. The first of the latest three albums is entitled Strong Forces, the second is Exergonica, and the third, which they are touring on now, is called Black Hole Surfing. The band took a more serious stand on naming the first two albums in relation to the music they produced for each of them. For this third album, they decided to go with a little more whimsy, using the Earth-based slang for inter-stellar flight, and some entendre play on the guys' favorite pastime. But as always, they produced some seriously tight music.

Thom was partially standing on his feet looking out at the people in the parking lot as Greg continued to work the van around to the back of the club.

"Yeah, it looks like Farel City is ready for some rockin', black hole surfing," Thom said with a big smile on his face.

Fred was in the seat next to Thom, looking out the window as well. Fred made a high-pitched whistling noise, "man I was doing some black hole surfing just the other night."

"What?" Thom said in response. He wasn't listening to Fred at the moment, but was gazing out the window in thought.

"Yeah, you know that gal I met at that outdoor café a couple of days ago. You know, where we got lunch when we were looking around at guitars and shit, the little gal, about this tall." Fred made a gesture holding his right hand up against his left arm about an inch or so below the top of his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, the waitress," Thom said as an expression of understanding came over his face, "pretty loose, eh?"

"Yeah, I had to shift over and rub it against one side just to feel anything. She was a dynamite gal and all, but that just kind of kills it for me, you know, when a gal is really loose. It's like fucking a warm glass of water. And to beat all, you would think that a gal that little would have been as tight as a mouse's ear."

"Yeah, you know what, she's probably telling one of her best friends right now about the dude she did the other night that had an incredibly small dick, and how she had to shift to one side just to feel anything rubbing against her," Thom said still looking out the window.

Fred shoved Thom, causing him to lose his balance, "Shit, it aint small, asshole." Fred was right, he doesn't have small one. Basically, his penis is normal in size for an Earthling, which can vary in size anyway. On that same token, penis sizes for males vary across the galaxy, but some planet-specific situations are way out there on the edge of extreme. It is well known that males from Watem, on average, have the largest penises in the galaxy. For Watemites, the small end of the scale is around twelve inches, but can reach lengths of twenty inches or more; 'and thick too' as the accompanying expression usually goes. Most females of the galaxy, other than Watemite females, don't usually fraternize with Watemite men for obvious reasons. However, many of the men enjoy galactic stardom as porn stars, as one could probably guess.

"You know, they are doing wonders with penis enlargement these days," Thom said as he sat back down in his seat.

Greg put the van in park and quickly got out.

Fred shot Thom a bird and started gathering up his stuff from the seat.

Everyone pilled out of the van and headed into the back door of the club. Greg held the door open as each went through. Just as Fred started in the door, Greg smiled at him, "I got a roll of quarters if you want to put them in your pants, Fred. You know, so it will look like you got somewhat of a tool."

"Hah," Fred said as he shoved his middle finger in Greg's face and went in.

Greg and Thom shared a laugh as they entered the club together.

***

The Ten Toes was indeed packed. Dunn, the club owner, met the group as they came into the kitchen from the back.

"It looks like about twenty-five hundred tonight guys," Dunn said as he leaned on a counter, "and they all seem in good spirits; a lot of laughter and talk going on everywhere in the joint. I have been milling around for about thirty minutes."

"Great!" Abby said with a glowing smile. "I love a big, jovial, crowd. It makes for a good show when everyone is in a good mood."

Greg was shaking his head in a yes fashion and added, "Yep, I just hope they don't get too lubricated, though. Good moods turn into rowdy, crazy moods sometimes when inhibitions get loosened, and that goes for you too, Ethan," Greg said looking over at Ethan with a look a father would give a teenager as they were leaving the house to go out with friends.

"I can't promise anything, man," Ethan said with a smile as he held up his hands. "Anyhow, Syndie will be here tonight, and I plan on being really close to her most of the time," he said with an impish smile. "Besides, it isn't me that causes any problems, it's always someone else who starts stuff," Ethan said with an innocent look on his face.

Ethan was mostly right. He almost never started anything, nor was he the cause of any trouble whenever it did happen. However, he does tend to get a little crazy after he passes the heavy buzz state, especially if he has added a little extra mind altering substances to the mix. Not to mention his sort of out of body experiences he has when the band plays the song I Summon Thee after he has crossed a critical threshold. The song is not meant to invoke such a reaction in anyone, nor is it overtly sinister in nature. The hard, melodic rhythm just seems to push Ethan over the edge when he is teetering on it anyway.

The song was written by Abby and Fred and refers to the summoning of a lover. It is played a half-step down. It possesses a hard driving riff that is not too fast. The bridge, or pre-chorus, and the solo are reminiscent of an amalgam of influences by bands from the twentieth century, such as Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin. A few years back, while the band was playing the song at a small, seedy club on the mining planet Cordos, Ethan was tripping and dancing around in the pit in front of the stage, when a guy rushed up and cut Ethan's arm off at the elbow with a plasma knife. As usual, Ethan was not the initial cause of the trouble. Apparently, the dude was tripping a great deal more than Ethan, and the song was creating some sort of cross between a hallucinogenic episode and an out of body effect, but intensely magnified. Ethan has several tattoos, and at the time had a dragon-like serpent on his right arm. The dude later said he thought the dragon was breathing fire at him and was going to get him, so he decided to kill it. Now, Ethan has a very nice cybernetic arm from the elbow down, with a dragon-like serpent on it.

Greg looked around at everyone and said, "Okay, well, let's go get the sound check done and have a couple of beers before we start."

"I have a table reserved toward the main entrance about two-thirds back from the stage for you all. It's up on one of the risers in a good spot to see everything." Dunn said as he followed Greg and the rest of the gang out.

"Thanks, Dunn," Cassy said looking back at Dunn as the group exited through the kitchen door, single file, into the club.

The group wove their way through the crowd of people and tables, stopping to talk briefly with anyone that addressed them. They reached the stage and began to get plugged up. The stage sits in the middle of the club and slowly turns so that the band faces every direction at some point. There is a set of railings encircling it that lie four feet in front of it to keep people off of the stage or from getting up against it. From the front of the stage to about thirty feet out, all the way around, there is a cleared area for dancing and pit antics. The drum stage is elevated in the center. When looking at the stage when the club is empty, it looks like a double-tiered wedding cake.

After about fifteen minutes, the sound check was completed and the group was all at their reserved table having a beer, except for Cassy; she was having a mixed drink of some sort. At a few minutes before eight, Dunn approached their table. "You guys ready?" Dunn asked.

Fred turned up his glass and swallowed down what was left of his beer, belched real big and replied, "Let's do it."

"Break a leg," Dunn hollered as Fred walked off.

Fred raised his hand with a thumbs-up gesture without looking back at Dunn.

Thom and Abby followed Fred as he headed off toward the stage. Hals leaned down and gave Cassy a kiss and fell in behind everyone else. Ethan and Cassy stayed at the table. Syndie, who showed up just as the sound check was finished, was sitting next to Ethan.

The band climbed up the steps to the stage floor, the stairs retracted, and the stage began to slowly revolve at a nearly imperceptible pace. Hals stepped up onto the drum platform and situated himself at his drum set. Fred and Thom plugged in their guitars to their wireless transmitters.

Greg had gone off in a different direction to the control room. Once there, he positioned himself at the soundboard and then turned the lights down when he saw that everyone was pretty much ready. The entire club went dark except for a few neon lights scattered about and the lights on the amps and pedals on the stage. The club became eerily quiet.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Hals tapped out on his bass drum. "I am Iron Man," Abby began, and then Fred and Thom started in on the riffs. A gold light bathed the stage on and off in time with the beat. The crowd rushed into the pit area and the show was on.

The band doesn't often start their shows with a classic, but when they do, they do it with a well-liked heavy metal selection to get the crowd in a jamming mood, but heavy metal is not the only genre they play nor is their original music just strictly heavy metal in character. Their sets are interspersed with original compositions and popular music from the last one thousand years. From the late nineteen hundred and the beginning of the last millennium, they select songs from performers such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Maroon 5, Adele, Offspring, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Lit, Metallica, and so on. From just the last two or three hundred years, they select from acts such as Static, Jones Spivek, Mortimer, Father Hinge, Kryer Kemp, and Blood Bounty.

***

The first set ended with the total crowd in agreement that the show was "fucking kicking it!" as a well-satisfied patron yelled at them as they were leaving the stage. Fred busted it to the bathroom to take a piss, while the others stopped by the band's table first. After five minutes or so, Fred walked up to the table.

"Thom, I am going to go over to the main bar. There is a chick sitting over there that is incredible looking, and she is sitting by herself from the best I can tell. You need to come over and check her out," Fred said as he picked up the beer Cassy had ordered for him. She knew a beer would be what he wanted.

Thom was taking a swig of his beer. After he sat it down, he replied, "Okay, sure. I am going to finish this and then go out back to cool off for a bit. I will swing by the bar on my way to the back and take a gander of her." Thom wasn't too eager to get over to the bar to see this gal. Every gal that catches Fred's eye, and prompts him to decide he wants to hook up with her, is always incredible looking according to Fred.

"Okay, well, I might be out there in a minute too. It depends on how quickly I get shot down." Fred replied with a big smile.

Fred, with his beer in hand, headed over to the bar while the others started to get up and head toward the kitchen to go out back.

Fred walked up to the bar and leaned against it next to where the young woman was sitting. "How's it going tonight?" Fred said as soon as she turned toward him. In that instant, he realized she was indeed extremely attractive. From a little bit of a distance and with subdued lighting in a club, it can be difficult to get a good look at someone. He could tell she was attractive when he first passed through on his way to and from the bathroom, but he didn't nor couldn't tell to what extent. He was almost mesmerized to the point he almost didn't hear what she said when she replied to his question.

"Pretty good. You're the guitar player up there aren't you?" she said as she gestured toward the stage.

"Uh, yep," was all Fred could muster as he tried to jolt himself out of his trance. After a moment of silence with a dumb smile on his face, he brought himself back. He took a quick drink of his beer. "Are you enjoying the show?" he asked still smiling like a kid at Christmas.

"Yes, I am," she replied smiling as well. "I came out with some of my friends. One of them has all of your albums and said we had to come see you guys. I like good music and a good show, so I thought what the heck, I will see if she is right."

Fred knew from the 'with some friends' comment she was more than likely off the market, at least for the evening, but he could tell she was not completely uninterested in him. Fred knows how to read the cues women give that show they are interested in a guy, even if the interest is a small degree. Cassy had instructed him on picking up such clues and interpreting them. Ever since, he would watch for them, and true to form, he was making note of them with this gal. Fred noticed that started her conversation off smiling, and that she still was still smiling after some back and forth banter. That is the first cue.

"Where are your friends?" Fred asked.

The gal stirred her drink with the little plastic sword in it containing two small pieces of fruit on it, and then took a sip. She sat the drink back down and replied, "They are in the bathroom, I think. At least that is where they said they were going."

Fred noticed she cocked her head to the side a bit and pushed her hair behind her ear when she replied. That was cue two and three. He turned up his beer and drank what was left in the glass and sat it down on the bar. "Well," he said, "we're about to go back on. Could I get your name? I'm Fred Ross by the way."

She averted her eyes for a second and said, "Sure." She licked her lips somewhat slowly, smiled, and said, "My name is Ashley, Ashley Bunt."

"Nice to meet you Ashley," Fred said as he stuck out his hand.

Ashley shook Fred's hand. "Nice to meet you too."

"Well, I've got to run. Maybe I can chat with you later?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, maybe, that would be nice," Ashley said with a sparkling smile and big bright eyes.

Fred let go of her hand and walked back toward the band's table. About ten feet out, he turned and looked back at her. She was watching him walk away, still with the smile on her face. Fred began to go over his cue inventory. "Well" he said to himself. "She smiled the whole time, including after I left, she cocked her head, played with her hair, revealed her neck, and licked her lips several times. Yep, she indeed likes what she saw." He continued walking toward the band's table, but with a bit more pep and a goofy, smile-dominated look on his face.

Fred approached the table with his hands in his pockets, his dumb grin, and a far off look on his face.

"What the fuck are you grinning so big for?" Hals asked Fred as he reached the table.

"Huh?" Fred replied.

"We watched you walk across there with a big ole goofy, fucking grin on your face the whole way," Hals said while pointing in the direction from where Fred had just come.

"Oh, I was just chatting with this gal over at the bar," Fred said as he snapped out of his deep thoughts.

"Well from the way you walked over here, she must have jerked you off right there at the bar or something," Hals said looking over at the others at the table.

"Hals Steinman!" Cassy said abruptly. "Show a little tact."

"What?" Hals replied innocently, as he turned toward Cassy. "I am just knocking him around a bit. I mean, look at him," Hals said pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Fred.

Fred was standing where he had stopped by the table, looking down in deep thought again with his bottom lip pinched between his thumb and index finger. He was going over the entire encounter with Ashley again.

Abby stood up and said, "Okay, let's get back at it."

The group dispersed from the table as they did earlier.

As they were walking up the steps to the stage, Thom tapped Fred and asked, "So, how was she, man?"

Fred looked over his shoulder back at Thom and replied, "Fucking amazing dude. I don't think I have ever seen a gal that good looking. Plus, she didn't blow me off straight away. She actually showed some interest."

"No shit?" Thom said in slight amazement but also with a hint of sarcasm, "Really?"

"No shit. I am not exaggerating," Fred said. "I will tell you about her later."

"Hmph," Thom said as he thought about it for a second, "I wish I had seen her now," he said as he looked across the club toward the bar, but he couldn't catch any sort of a glimpse of her. It was too dark and the bar was too far away. All he could see at that point were the glowing droplets of the earrings that most of the females and some males in the club were wearing. They are the latest fad across the galaxy; luminescent jewelry made with high intensity LED's.

***

The second set went off without a hitch. The crowd was still enjoying the show immensely. The pit area remained full of people dancing and carrying on to the music. The crowd in the table areas was showing the same amount of positive response as best they could, while sitting at a table.

Immediately, as he got off the stage at the end of the set, Fred made straight for the main bar area to see if Ashley Bunt was there, but he couldn't find her. He began to scan around the bar. He had watched her from the stage for a bit at first, after they started playing the second set. However, he became caught up in his playing, and she left his mind. After all, Fred is a professional and stays true to his music, as well as entertaining the people that have come to see the band. He walked back up onto the stage and scanned the crowd from the higher vantage, but he still didn't see her. "Damn it!" he thought. "Why didn't I get a number or something when I had the chance?"

***

The last set of the show was going well. Thom had noted to Fred he thought hardly anyone had left. Fred agreed. The pit area was still packed with people dancing.

About half way through the set, a commotion started among a small group of people in the pit. Apparently, a young woman was dancing around flailing her arms about, and hit another gal who was dancing close to her. Shoving and name-calling ensued, and it quickly expanded in number, as each girl's respective friends became involved. Suddenly, a gal sitting at a table at the edge of the dance floor jumped up and came charging into the pit where the girls were shoving each other about. She was carrying a half full, liter-sized bottle of water. She reared back and started to either throw it at the girl who had been flailing her arms in the beginning, or at least hit her with it. Either way, someone caught her arm at the right moment, and the bottle launched out of her hand prematurely and went flying up toward the stage. Fred saw the bottle coming and stepped sideways so it wouldn't hit him. The bottle, however, had enough speed and height to its path to hit Hals in the chest under his chin. He didn't see it coming, and it caught him terribly off guard. He jerked backwards, mostly due to reflex, and his stool tipped over, sending him off the drum platform onto the stage. The music stopped abruptly as did most of the din in the club.

The bouncers were on the scene in seconds working to disperse the crowd and apprehend all the individuals involved. The gal who pitched the bottle had slipped back into the crowded area before the bouncers arrived, and was working her way through the crowd unnoticed, which quickly assembled in the immediate area.

Hals was not injured, but shaken up a bit from his tumble. He got back up on the platform, sat down at his drums and counted in the next song.

The water bottle culprit finally made it through the throng around the pit and was storming for the door. It just so happened Cassy was watching the tussle going on in the pit from the band's table and saw exactly who threw the bottle. As the girl approached the area where the band's table was located, Cassy got up and stepped down off the platform the table was sitting on. As the girl passed by, Cassy reached out and grabbed her by the hair. The girl reached over her head and grabbed at Cassy's hand, turned just a bit, and took a slight step back toward Cassy to relieve the large amount of tension Cassy was applying as she forcefully pulled on her hair. Cassy had already cocked her fist back. Just as the girl's face came around square, Cassy pounded her fist into the girl's face, breaking her nose and starting a gush of blood that quickly covered the girl's face. The girl fell to the floor in a daze as Cassy let go of her hair. Another throng assembled immediately around Cassy and the girl, who was now sitting on the floor holding her face. This time it was Cassy who created the commotion, thus upholding Ethan's assertion. The band continued to play, mostly because they didn't know Cassy was the cause of what was now going on, but also because they very rarely stopped playing when a commotion erupted, unless they were instructed to stop.

By now, the girl had positioned herself onto her hands and knees and was crawling around yelling, "That bitch punched me in the face! That fucking, bitch punched me in the face!"

Cassy quickly squeezed her way through the crowd, stepped back up to the table and sat down.

Ethan looked over at Syndie and then to Cassy and said, "Well, at least this time I am not the one in the middle of the melee, but like I said, I don't start them."

Cassy looked at Ethan with a straight face that still showed a slight bit of anger, but she didn't say a word.

Dunn walked up to the table and sat down. "Miss Cassy," he said. "You are going to have to go outside with me to straighten all this out."

"Okay," Cassy said somewhat red-faced, getting up from the table.

Once they all got outside, it was obvious the girl who had thrown the water bottle was very drunk.

"Miss," Dunn said to the girl. Dunn always addressed the women who visited the Ten Toes as 'miss'. "Miss, you are obviously way too drunk, you have caused some damage to the club, and caused a commotion. It is in your best interest to call it a night and get one of your friends to take you home."

"Fuck you!" the girl yelled.

Dunn looked over at one of his bouncers with a smirk. As he turned back to say something to the girl, she quickly punched him square in the face, bursting his bottom lip.

One of the bouncers quickly grabbed the girl from behind and twisted her arm into submission.

Dunn rubbed his lip with the back of his hand and turned to one of the bouncers. "Call the cops and get this bitch out of here. Come on back inside with me Miss Cassy. As far as your part in this is concerned, it is resolved."

Chapter 4

"Where is she, Eliza?" Klars asked in an agitated tone, tapping a quarter-credit piece on the table.

"I don't know Klars," Eliza replied with a sense of worry on her face, and in her voice.

"Did she not say she would contact us in three days? It has been over a week now. I know the Breman police have not detained her. I would have received word through the grape-vine that someone had been apprehended in the matter, not to mention it all would be on the news by now." Klars stated, as he began to stare off over Eliza's head.

"Nonetheless, Klars, the jewels are out of the possession of the royalty. That fact should be somewhat comforting, don't you think," Eliza offered, in an attempt to console Klars.

"Yes, you would think, but there is too much at stake, and too much to chance. I would be a great deal more relieved if I knew where the jewels were, that they were safe, and that I could get my hands on them quickly if needed." Klars said emphatically, as he tapped the coin on the table for each point he made as though he were specifying demands.

Eliza reached across the table and clasped Klars' hands. "She may have had some difficulties leaving the planet, and is being as cautious as she can." She said in a reassuring tone.

The woman Eliza and Klars were talking about was Mirra Lovich, and the truth be known, she did not have the least bit of trouble getting off Brem and away from the planet. She had slipped from the planet with the slightest of difficulty, and was nearly clear across the galaxy, enjoying herself as the two were speaking. She had not forgotten to contact Klars and Eliza within the three days they had agreed upon, but instead she purposefully chose not to contact them.

***

Klars Algud is not a petty thief nor is he a member of a large crime organization that has plotted to steal the crown jewels of Brem. He is a member of the Breman Parliament, and has been for over twenty years. Klars is a member of the Labor Party and has had a stellar political career, at least up to this point. He has been the driving force in several policies that pushed Brem out of a three-decade long recession and grew their economy in a way that has hurdled the planet into an economic boom for nearly a decade. He is well known, well liked, and held in high regard by many.

However, it must be noted that Klars is in strong favor of dissolving Brem's constitutional monarchy and removing any power the Emperor has in state affairs. Much to his chagrin, he has failed in developing enough of a consensus for eliminating the Emperorship, to date, on any grounds. Klars is very outspoken regarding the Emperor, and the supposed drain the monarchy has on the planet. Some refer to Klars as a firebrand, but he actually hasn't gone that far in his efforts, until now. He is not alone in his thinking, there are many within Parliament, many among his constituency, and many others across the planet who hold his same passions. There are those out there that are indeed firebrands regarding this issue.

Eliza Algud is Klars' second wife. The two have been married for almost three years. His first wife died of a pulmonary embolism two years prior to him meeting Eliza. Eliza is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Skrip University located in Capital City on Brem. Her area of expertise is ancient cultural rituals, not just on Brem, but on other planets as well. Eliza is well traveled, having visited over two hundred planets in her academic efforts to study the variety of different ancient rituals that have existed in some form over the tens of thousands of years since the first recorded cultures.

The two first met in a coffee shop just off the campus of Eliza's university, which caters to students and faculty, as well as anyone who enjoys a venue for good discussion on a variety of scholarly and political topics. Straight away they began meeting regularly at the coffee shop once or twice a week, and did so for a couple of weeks before increasing their meetings to every day. They have mutual interests regarding many items and issues, but for Klars the most important interest they have in common is the elimination of the Emperorship. This was simply the icing on the cake that pushed Klars over the edge, and deeply into love with Eliza.

From the very beginning of their affair, conversations began with a discussion of current topics or something Eliza was working on, but at some point, they would find their way to talking about the Emperor. Klars holds many issues regarding the Emperor and his position in politics on the planet, but the fact that for the last five hundred years every emperor's first born was a male, simply baffled him. What was even more baffling to him was how the Emperors enjoyed an eighty percent male birth rate overall, when the rest of the planet, and the galaxy for that matter, experienced a birth rate somewhere between forty to fifty percent. At every chance, no matter who he was talking to regarding the Emperor, Klars would bring up something about the unfaltering production of male heirs.

Early one evening while Klars and Eliza were discussing several things about the Emperor, including the unnatural frequency of male heir production, Klars leaned across the table to get close to Eliza, to make sure no one could hear what he was about to say. "You know," Klars said with a slight smile, "rumor has it that the Emperors use a device that ensures the conception of a male."

"A device?" Eliza said a little bit skeptically. "What kind of device?"

"I am not certain exactly, but the wearer puts it on and uses it during intercourse." Klars replied.

"Seriously?" Eliza replied. After a brief period of thought, she resumed, "you know, from what I have learned over the years, such devices are based on superstition and don't actually work at all."

"Yes, that may be true, but my source for the information is extremely reliable," Klars said emphasizing the word extremely.

Eliza sunk into deep thought for a moment, staring wide-eyed off over Klars' shoulder.

Klars was well-aware of Eliza's stand on the Emperor. Early on during their dating, Eliza had told him how her family's land, almost two thousand acres, had been annexed as part of the establishment of the royal retreat in the highlands area of Brem. It was Chirod's grandfather who had established the retreat just a few years after he ascended to the position of Emperor. The retreat was formed by the incorporation of approximately fifteen thousand acres through an eminent domain process. Every landowner, including Eliza's family, received only a small fraction of their land's actual worth.

Klars didn't say anything in response to Eliza. He sat there for a moment just looking at her and admiring her beauty. Klars knew the annexation situation had established a deep dislike for the Emperor in Eliza. Even though he was drawn to Eliza for several reasons, their mutual dislike for the Emperor and everything related to the Emperor's position on Brem deepened his attraction and feelings toward her. It was at this point he realized what Eliza was probably thinking, and his heartbeat quickened as a result.

Eliza took a quick deep breath and broke her stare as she addressed Klars, "Who is this source of yours, and how many people know about this device?" Eliza asked.

Klars smiled. He was right. He did know what she was thinking. He replied to her question with a slanted grin, "Other than the royal family, there probably aren't more than a dozen people who know anything about it, including me, and now you."

"Who told you about this?" Eliza said slightly anxiously.

"The royal historian did."

"Stan Chordal?" Eliza replied, partly as a question, not certain if she was correct.

"Yep. He is a very good friend of mine. He has my strictest confidence, and I have his."

Klars had known Stan Chordal for most of his life. They became friends around their tenth year of school. They wound up going to the same university and roomed together the whole time, all the way through their undergraduate and graduate trainings. Not surprisingly, Stan's position regarding the monarchy is parallel to Klars and Eliza's position. It was Stan's feelings toward the emperorship that stimulated his deep interest in Brem and the royal family's historical aspects.

"So, what is this device exactly, and how does it work?" Eliza asked with an expression of deep interest on her face, but she was still a little skeptical.

Klars took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. "Stan explained that it is something the man wears while having sex, but that is all the detail he has about the device's operation. He also said it is old, very old, ancient in fact, and it has been in the possession of the Breman monarchy for probably a thousand years."

Eliza was listening intently to what Klars was saying about the object. "It sounds like it could be a harness of some sort for his testicles or his penis. What does the device look like?"

"Well," Klars started as he took a moment to scan his memory. "He has never really described the device in detail, but he did say it was made of several different kinds of jewels, strung together with braided wires. It would make sense that if it was an object that ensured the conception of a male son, it would have to do something in relation to the man's penis and testicles."

"Yeah," Eliza said, "a ball harness or sling. It would have a pouch or something that cradles his balls and probably attaches around his cock somehow."

Klars' face reddened a little bit as he listened to Eliza explain how the device might be attached to the wearer's body. Klars is not a prude. He is just proper, for the most part. He doesn't broach topics such as cocks and balls while around women, especially in public. Eliza, on the other hand, is a little coarser than Klars. She is educated, yes, and knows full well all the proper professional and social conventions, but when she is in her everyday element, she is true to herself, and that includes saying things as plain and simple as she can.

"You are probably right, Eliza." Klars said, still a little red in the face. Have you encountered such things in your studies?"

"Ball harnesses?" Eliza said as she chuckled a bit. "There is only a couple that I can recall, but I have certainly come across many different cock rings. Harnesses and cock rings are not ancient, forgotten objects that are no longer around, you know. Those sorts of things are still quite contemporary." She could tell by the expression on Klars' face that he was not very knowledgeable regarding such devices. "I see I am going to have fun teaching you a thing or two about cock rings and ball harnesses, Klars my love." She said with a devilish smile.

Klars' face reddened deeply as he produced a broad grin to match hers. "I am a willing pupil." He said as he looked intently into her eyes.

***

Eliza's position as a researcher of ancient rituals, under normal circumstances, should not have provided the opportunity for her to come to know people in high positions, or with special powers who could provide the wherewithal to hatch a scheme to undermine a planetary monarchy. However, in order to gain access to ruins and ancient artifacts on a multitude of planets, she had to 'work the system' as it were, and it was exactly the way Eliza worked the system that gained her prominence with many governmental officials and wealthy benefactors scattered about the galaxy. Eliza didn't have any qualms about playing what she called the 'ass card' whenever she needed to. Eliza has a physical form that would be very desirable to most of the males in the galaxy, and at forty years old she has perfected the most effective way to use it to get what she wants. It all worked very well on Klars too. She has stated to her friends several times that she has screwed her way into more ancient sites and ruins than anyone else in the galaxy. Some might call her a slut or a whore for her efforts, but the practice has served her well over the years. Eliza defends the practice by pointing out the fact that men would literally play the ass card as a matter of daily ritual, if it were in their power to do so. There are never any double standards as far as Eliza is concerned.

***

Klars and Eliza were still sitting in the coffee shop. Klars had been staring off in deep thought for a moment or two before breaking the period of silence, "You said she was highly recommended for the job," Klars said in a slight accusing tone.

"She was," Eliza replied sternly, in a way that was visible she was aware of the tone in his remarks.

Klars picked up on Eliza's demeanor, leaned his head down, and placed his forehead against his hand. "I am sorry, Eliza. This is so very critical. Literally everything is essentially at stake here, everything."

"You think I don't know that?" Eliza said with a look of incredulity.

Klars shook his head, "I'm sorry, Eliza. I'm sorry. I am a worrier. You know that. Please forgive me."

"I know, Klars, but you don't need to let it get the best of you. It will be impossible at this point to tie us to the device's disappearance. If she had been detained while on the planet, then maybe we would really need to worry, but as you noted, she hasn't."

Klars looked up at Eliza, "You don't think she is still on Brem somewhere, do you?"

"You said yourself she has not been arrested or detained."

"Yes, but what if she is hiding out here on the planet?"

Eliza shook her head side to side, "why would she do that? It would be too risky to stay here. I am certain, knowing whom she is, and what she does she would not have stayed on the planet. You can rest assured, Klars, she is gone."

At that moment Eliza's handheld device lit up and began to buzz. Eliza looked down at it and picked it up. She looked up at Klars with wide eyes. "It's Mirra," she said with a surprised look.

"See what she has to say," Klars said with a combination of anxiety and excitement as his mood and expression rapidly changed.

"It is not a call. She sent a video note." Eliza tapped the screen on her handheld and opened Mirra's note.

"Hi Eliza," Mirra began with a smile. "I have been tied up for a few days. I ran into some old college friends and lost track of time. All is well, though. I think I am going to need to look for a job around here. My money is getting a little thin, if you know what I mean. I hope to talk with you soon."

The video message ended, and Eliza laid the handheld back down on the table.

"Well, at least it's confirmed. She is indeed away and safe," Klars said. "Why was she going on about getting a job? What was that all about?" Klars asked, with a confused look on his face.

Eliza looked over at Klars. "She wants her money we all agreed to pay her. It was her way of saying it without coming right out and saying it. You need to notify Panel that she has contacted us, so he can proceed with the wire transfer of the funds."

"I think we should wait a few days or even maybe a week before doing so. Make her sweat a little, like she has done to us, or better yet, send half of it and renegotiate a reduction in the rest. After all, she is the one that waited a week to contact us." Klars said poking the table with his index finger.

"She has the upper hand, Klars," Eliza replied, as she looked gravely at him. "Don't be stupid. You do either of those suggestions, and that thing will be back in the palace in two days or less, along with yours, mine, and everybody else's asses."

"Dammit!" Klars said gruffly, as he snapped quickly back to reason. "You're right. You are always right." Klars sat for a few moments brooding over the fact he couldn't enact an equal or worse retaliation on Mirra for her blatant disregard of the details of the plan. But, the plan has been working without any hitch, up to this point, and he should be thankful for that. It could have blown up completely, and what position would he be in? What position would Eliza be in? What position would they all be in?

***

It took several months to put the plan together, and several more to ultimately put it into action. The idea itself had been batted around by Klars and Eliza, so to speak, for over a year. It just lacked details and logistics. Klars and Eliza had talked about the Emperors' secret conception device many times over the months preceding the actual design phase of the plan; one could say it was the only thing they talked about, but neither had actually gone as far as explicitly stating what needed to be carried out.

One evening while Klars and Eliza were preparing their supper, the topic came up as usual. Eliza, as well as Klars, had skated around the issue many times in their conversations, but it was always the elephant in the room.

Eliza finally opened the proverbial can as she was absent-mindedly chopping some sort of root vegetable to go along with their supper. "The device just needs to disappear and disappear for good, and soon, before Prince Tamud marries and proceeds to produce children." Prince Tamud is Emperor Chirod's son. The Prince is twenty-two years old, and he is becoming a well-known playboy, just like his father. As of late, he has been pressured by the Emperor to settle down and start thinking about marriage, mostly to avoid any illegitimate children who might be the result of his playboy ways.

Klars looked at Eliza with an eyebrow raised and replied, "You obviously have been reading my mind, dear. I have been mulling the same thought around for weeks now, but an operation such as this is beyond my intelligence and capacity, or nerve. I am not sure I can stomach the consequences, or even the thought of the consequences if we were to get caught in such a scheme."

As Klars was voicing his agreement with Eliza, he also began to run the list of such consequences through his mind. What exactly would be the consequences, he thought. At the worst, a charge of treason and execution. At the least, a trial, public humiliation, and expulsion from the planet with exile to the other side of the galaxy. On the other hand, the details of such an operation might not ever be discovered. Regardless of any of the outcomes, Klars thought, if the fact about the device is true, there would be a fifty-fifty chance of removing the royal family in this generation, and the chance of not having a male heir would only increase with each successive generation. Klars knew if the device were in fact responsible for the high frequency of male heirs, the removal of it would bring about the inevitable dissolution of the Emperorship. Whether it occurred in his lifetime or thereafter, Klars figured the only chance of removing the Emperor was to eliminate the device, and therefore it must be done.

Eliza's face brightened as a thought occurred to her, "Klars, dear, we can form a coalition among allies. There are many others with unlimited resources who want the Emperorship gone, gone now, and gone for good, such as we do. Besides, don't sell yourself short. You are a very resourceful and capable individual." Eliza's mind was racing at the prospects. She had thought many times about removing the device from the Emperor's possession and knew Klars had to be one hundred percent on board with the idea in order to carry anything out. After all, he has all the pertinent contacts within the government, as well as any other wherewithal that might be required to pull it off. He could effectively manage the design and implementation of such a scheme.

"Eliza," Klars said as he caught Eliza's eyes from across the kitchen island, "this is stealing, stealing from the monarchy, and as a fact, stealing from the state. You do realize that there could be some very stern consequences?"

Not breaking eye contact with Klars, Eliza replied, "maybe so, but it would be a patriotic gesture in my opinion. We would be doing it for Brem and for the Breman people, not for our gain in any fashion. You have said before, the amount of money wasted each year by the Emperorship would raise half of the people who live in poverty on this planet out of it. What about improvements in infrastructure that could be made too?" At this point, Eliza was basically pleading the case, and she was doing it quite convincingly. She could tell Klars was indeed seriously considering exploring the possibilities.

"You're right, I want to do it. I have wanted to do it from the very moment I found out about the device, but I just don't know." Klars looked at Eliza, she captivated him in every way. He could not resist any of her requests, ever. "Okay, I will talk to a few people, but I can't promise anything at this point, other than just conversation."

Eliza walked around the island and clasped Klars' face in her hands and drew it down to hers so she could kiss him. Klars reached around and clutched her ass in his hands. Eliza jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Klars carried her into the bedroom and dropped her on the bed. Eliza slipped her skirt and panties off and then subsequently sealed the deal, as far as she was concerned.

***

About a week later, Klars had arranged for a few well-chosen individuals to meet with him and Eliza in their home. The pretext was to just talk about politics, and anything else that came up. However, Klars and Eliza, unknowing to their guests, had a more specific agenda to cover. Three of the guests who were invited are members of the Breman Parliament; Ryck Jonas, Mack Hamm, and Tred Ashtin. The fourth guest, Panel Gatwin, is a well-known and respected activist and philanthropist. It goes without saying that each of these individuals very strongly opposes the Emperorship, as do Klars and Eliza.

After he had let the four guests in, Klars stood in the foyer alone for a moment. He began to wonder if this meeting might seem a little suspicious, and possibly draw the attention of an unknown adversary. It might compel someone to start asking around, trying to find out what transpired. Klars stood silently staring at the floor with his hand on the doorknob of the closed door. After an additional moment, he shook himself back to the present. "What am I thinking?" he said out loud softly. "These are all members of my political party and personal friends. We have met in private many times before. I am being silly, or more accurately, paranoid." Klars broke out of his fretting, turned and walked into the dining room to join the others.

Eliza brought drinks into the dining room and sat down at the table with Klars and the others. "Don't be shy," she said motioning toward the food on the table.

The group ate on the dips and snacks while engaging in polite conversation about their work and their constituencies. This idle chatting went on for nearly thirty minutes.

Panel Gatwin, the activist, addressed Eliza, "how is your work going, Eliza? Have you run across any interesting rituals lately?"

"No, I have not been out exploring as of late. I have been concentrating on data I collected some time ago. One of the things I am doing is looking at the similarities of sexual rituals found among several ancient civilizations from several different planets scattered about the entire galaxy," Eliza replied as she broke a chip and dipped it into one of the dips.

"What sort of sexual rituals?" Panel asked smiling.

Eliza dipped the last piece of her chip she had broken in two and placed it into her mouth, "Well, typical stuff really."

"What's typical?" Ryck Jonas asked. Ryck Jonas serves the eighth district of Brem, which includes the major city of Boxem.

"Hmm," Eliza replied as she grasped her chin. "I don't guess you all would really know what typical is, now would you? One of my foci is on rituals that are directly connected with conceiving a healthy child or a child of a particular sex, but I know what you are thinking. I can tell by the looks on your faces. Trust me, most rituals generally have nothing to do with generating amazing sexual experiences or bringing about overt pleasure for the participants. If you want to know something on that, all you have to do is look at something like the Kama Sutra from ancient Earth." Eliza looked over at Klars and noticed he was blushing slightly. She couldn't resist giving him a wink and a small grin. His blush deepened.

"Are there many such ceremonies or rituals out there?" Ryck asked as he made a hand gesture above his head.

"Tons," Eliza replied. "They seem to be the most abundant and fundamental type when you begin to break them all down and analyze them."

Ryck shifted around in his chair to where he could see Eliza better, "What sort of things would take place during one of these rituals?" He asked with a genuinely inquisitive look.

"Probably not what you are thinking," Eliza said smiling. "Usually they involve a choreography of prayers, anointing of bodies with substances, and dances that are all timed with a moon phase or a certain cyclical sunset-sunrise, or a seasonal solstice."

"Yep, sounds pretty typical to me," Ryck replied smiling.

"You know, there is a ritual here on Brem as well," Eliza said as she dipped another chip.

"Really?" Panel replied looking puzzled. "I don't remember learning anything about a ritual of this sort when I was in school."

"This ritual is a highly guarded secret. Most rituals are known by the general populace, but there are extremely special ones that are only known by a few, especially those that are reserved for special circumstances," she said as she bit into the chip and looked over at Klars again. Except this time, it was for a different reason.

Klars was looking straight at Eliza with wide eyes. He had been trying to figure out how to start the specific conversation that was the whole reason for the meeting. It was brilliant how Eliza seemed to be segueing into it, he thought, and he was glad of it. Klars was well-aware of Eliza's adept ability to lead a conversation, as well as her boldness. It was a few of the many things he absolutely loved about her. However, he knew she was going to throw the topic over to him at any minute. He needed to be calm and cool when he got the cue. He shifted his frame of thinking so he could collect his thoughts. He didn't want to talk too fast or seem too anxious either.

"Secret?" all four of the guests said in unison.

"What do you mean secret?" Ryck replied with a baffled look on his face.

"Secret," Eliza said emphatically. "As in no one or only a select few know about it. It's in that vein."

Mack looked over at Klars with the same baffled look as Ryck, "What is she talking about? Do you know anything about this?"

Klars knew it was just a matter of minutes before he was brought into the conversation, and the time had come. He cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up. "Actually, she first learned about this ritual from me. Although, I don't know if you can actually call it an outright ritual." Klars paused for a second to search for the operative words, or what he thought would be the operative words. "It is more akin to just a procedure than a ritual."

"A procedure," Panel said as he raised his voice. "Are you implying what I think you are implying?"

"What, what are you implying?" Ryck blurted out as he sat up straight in his chair, glaring at Panel.

"The male heirs of the Emperors, they have been stacking the deck, haven't they? They have been doing something. What is it? Sperm selection or genetic engineering to make sure they get a son on the first go at it?" Panel's voice was even louder at this point. His dislike for the Emperorship was more deep and true than anyone's. A sizable amount of his family's fortune had been seized when the mineral rights of his grandfather's mining company were forcefully taken by an executive order under the guise of national security. If there had been inappropriate actions to ensure the perpetuation of the Emperorship, he was sure he would see to it that there was going to be hell to pay.

Klars raised his hands in a gesture to slow the conversation and the excitement down. "No, no, it's not that. Something like that is not permitted under the constitution. It would be illegal and the monarchy would be dissolved shortly after its exposure."

"Who's to say they haven't been doing something of the sort?" Mack said calmly, "I think we all know there has always been a tacit position of being above the law by the monarchy."

"Because someone would have caught wind of the practice by now," Klars replied. "Too many people pay too close attention to certain things, not to mention such activities would eventually give rise to blackmail or something of the sort."

"Then what in the hell are the two of you talking about, Klars?" Panel said.

Klars pushed his glasses up again and shifted around in his chair. "Well, supposedly there is some device the Emperor wears during sex that greatly increases the probability of conceiving a male child."

"What kind of bullshit is this?" Tred remarked in a disbelieving tone as he rolled his eyes, finally entering the conversation. Up to this point, he had been sitting silently dipping chips and putting them into his mouth; all the while, turning his head back and forth to each person who was talking, as if he were watching a tennis match.

"According to my source, there is indeed a device that is used. Now whether it works or not is another story," Klars said with confidence, "but the Emperors have had an amazing run of luck if you think about it."

"Who's your source?" Panel said a little skeptically.

"He is bona fide. You can rest assured of that," Klars replied.

Ryck leaned forward and tapped his finger on the table, "well I would think that Stan Chordal would know something about this device if it existed."

Klars' face reddened slightly as he made a quick glance over at Eliza.

"Ah, Stan is your source," Panel stated as he made a pointing gesture toward Klars. It was obvious that Panel had been keenly engrossed in the conversation and was taking in every word, every facial expression, and every hint of body language.

"I didn't say that," Klars said as he looked down at the table.

"Don't worry," said Mack. "This is a closed room."

Tred, still with a baffled look on his face looked at each person at the table and asked, "What is this thing, and how could something be used to tip the tables in favor of producing a male child that wouldn't be considered an unconstitutional act?"

Klars looked at Eliza. Eliza leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table and cleared her throat. "From what we understand, it is, in its simplicity, a ball harness."

It was obvious by the expressions on everyone's faces, except for Klars and Panel, that they had no clue the existence or nature of a ball harness.

"Exactly what is a ball harness, might I ask?" Tred asked.

"It is a sexual device that cradles a man's testicles and connects around his penis. They are typically used along with or as part of a cock ring apparatus." Eliza replied.

"And what exactly does it do?" Tred asked.

"Generally the harness is used to hold the testicles down, keeping them from rising up into position. Seconds before orgasm, the testicles rise up close to the body in order to eject sperm into the seminal vesicles," Eliza explained.

Eliza noticed a couple of faces turning red around the table as she gave her explanation. She couldn't resist the opportunity. "Haven't you noticed that when you start into foreplay with your partner that those knobs are hanging low, but by the time you are ready to go, as it were, it's as if they have disappeared? By holding the testicles down, it delays the orgasm. You can last longer, or at least that is the consensus among expert users. The jury is still out on the actual efficacy of such a device."

Panel's face wasn't nearly as red as Ryck's or Mack's. For one thing, he wasn't a shy person, and for another, knowing him, he probably had used a harness before. "So, how does a ball harness increase the chance of a male child?" he asked. "If delaying an orgasm is all you need to conceive a male; then wouldn't any manner of sexual accouterments be sufficient?"

Eliza cocked her head to the side in thought. "I don't know," she said. "Really, it shouldn't do anything at all in those regards, so you are right. A delayed orgasm has nothing to do with increasing the chances of producing one sex of child over the other. I really hadn't thought about it until now, perhaps it is of special origin and design?"

"And what is that, exactly?" asked Ryck.

"We have been told it is made of a variety of jewels strung on some sort of braided wire," Eliza replied. "But, you do know that as far as ball harnesses and cock rings go, you can buy them at any sex shop?"

Klars was no longer blushing when he broke into the conversation again. "Nevertheless, privately, the Monarchy strongly believes the use of this harness is what is responsible for producing male heirs, and they have been very successful at it. My source..."

"Stan?" Panel interrupted.

"Yes, Stan. Stan has done some calculations and says the frequency of male children being born among the Emperors is statistically impossible. As such, he is completely convinced this device has to be responsible. He has no other explanation."

"Just dumb luck?" Ryck said.

"No, their success is well higher than can be explained by even dumb luck," Klars replied.

"Well it's settled then, if this device is real and functions as you say, then it has to be removed or destroyed," Panel said as he sat back in his chair.

"Hold on a minute," Tred said holding his finger up. "Now, we aren't one hundred percent sure this thing does what it is believed to do. Plus, who's to say they won't just get another one?"

Klars spoke up, "As I said, Tred, the Emperors are completely convinced that it does produce a male child every time it is used, and if something were to happen to this one device, they can't get another one. Stan says this one is well over a thousand years old. It is ancient by anyone's standards. Also, Eliza says that harnesses are typically made from leather or some type of elastic or rubber-like material. She has never seen one that is quite like the description of this one. This one, gentlemen, is one of a kind. There is no other one to acquire."

Eliza sat up straight in her chair and smiled slightly. "It is intriguing isn't it gentlemen, the prospect of the Emperorship being dissolved in a generation or two?"

"Well, I am all for discussing how the removal of this device could take place," Panel said as he lounged back in his chair, "but Klars, why have you chosen the four of us to share this with?"

"The reasons are two-fold, and I think you know the first, which are our mutual views toward the Emperor. The second involves the availability of money and certain contacts," Klars replied.

"I will give assistance any way I can, but you do realize something like this might not end well. There could be grave consequences for anyone involved in such a scheme. There has to be a fool-proof plan," Tred said with a solemn expression, "not to mention a contingency plan in the event it is all thwarted."

The group was well-aware of the potential consequences. However, they all had legitimate reasons for wanting the Emperorship dissolved, and they have had a lifetime to mull those reasons over. For each of them, it would be considered absolute justice in some form if the Emperor were removed for good, especially by their own doing.

Klars nodded his head in a gesture to let Tred know he has already considered the consequences. Klars began again, "right, so Eliza and I have had a few discussions on this matter, and here is what we have initially formulated. Of course, this is by no means something that is set in stone. It is just an idea of how the device could possibly be removed from the palace and subsequently disappear for good."

***

The basics of the plan initially worked out by Klars and Eliza, involve introducing someone into Chirod's inner circle. This person would setup a situation, which would prompt Chirod to reveal the device. Everyone is completely aware of the Emperor's penchant for beautiful and intelligent women. Since the device is used during sexual activities, it is only fitting the group orchestrate a ruse involving Chirod's proclivities toward bedding women with these specific characteristics.

"On its surface, it is very simple. We secure the services of a woman that can catch Chirod's eye. She then proceeds to seduce him, bring him to want to either reveal or even use the device during sex, and then she ultimately makes off with it," Eliza explained to the group still sitting around the dining table.

"That sounds way too simple," Panel remarked. "You mean that some young gal you find will be able to gain entrance into Chirod's penthouse and then walk off with the device as simple as that?" Panel replied with a very skeptical look on his face.

"It only appears to be overtly simple from just a basic explanation, but hear Eliza out," Klars said in a reassuring tone.

"We know what Chirod goes for in a woman. All we have to do is find the perfect individual that has the additional skills to achieve our end goal," Eliza continued.

"Is there such a thing, or such a person? Have you started searching around the planet already?" Panel asked, still quite skeptical, but he was now wondering if they have been inquiring, or if they were simply going on generalizations. "I wouldn't think there is a large pool of females around here with the preferred qualifications."

"No, there isn't, and we are all aware of the fact, Panel. Besides, we wouldn't want to enlist someone from Brem. It is too close to home, as it were. As Klars and I said earlier, we have thought about and discussed this topic quite a bit over the last several months. In my research field trips over the years, I have made many close friends and alliances. Several include intelligence agents on a variety of planets, including some that are always looking for an interesting angle. I know you are probably thinking why I would have the occasion to become involved with an intelligence agent or two. Well, many ancient sites and objects are regarded as national treasures or are very holy. On some planets, these things are highly regarded and under the protection of the planet's highest level of service," Eliza elaborated. "You have to make certain kinds of friends in certain situations. That's all I am going to say on that right now, but rest assured, I am legitimate on this."

During Eliza's discussion, Klars silently surveyed the other individuals around the table. He knew that facial expressions and body language would give clues to whether the others were buying into the plan, or if they were just not buying it at all. Up to this point, Klars surmised the verdict appeared to be mixed.

Eliza continued, "I have gained the respect and confidence of several individuals and vice versa. I know just the right individuals to contact to inquire about a candidate for such a mission. I will explain to them what and who we need, along with just the basic information regarding the object that we want the individual to remove from the palace, as well as the circumstance of the object's use; that it's a sexual device, but that is all I will tell them."

Tred cleared his throat, "Exactly who is this person you will contact?" he asked dryly.

"I have two, perhaps three individuals that come to mind who would be able to offer some assistance in this matter, although, I am not inclined to reveal their identities. I am sure you can understand why. If you are wondering, they are not from Brem," Eliza said as she made somewhat of a pleading gesture.

"You are talking about spies, then?" Ryck asked as though he was not sure if they were spies.

"Yes, I guess you could call them spies. Although, perhaps 'agents' would be a more applicable description," Eliza said as she slowly nodded her head up and down.

Panel was sitting with his legs crossed. He had propped his head up with his arm and index finger on the table. He began to smile slyly, "Interplanetary espionage...I am completely intrigued, and really I don't know why. Honestly this all seems quite crazy, but on the other hand it seems practical, too, from certain perspectives."

Klars had been continually surveying the room. By this time, he could tell from their facial expressions they all had begun to do an analysis of the basic plan. "There's a simple explanation, Panel. You have a long-standing desire, as do the rest of us, which might possibly be fulfilled. So, you see gentleman," Klars said as he made a gesture with his hand and a raised index finger. "The idea of bringing someone in from the outside, very outside, makes perfect sense from several angles. In the event the agent is not able to gain the trust of the Emperor, or feels the operation is not proceeding, as it should, she can simply leave the planet. No one will ever be the wiser. In fact, we can even plan the operation as if it were a pilot-run just to see if there is a possibility we could insert someone into the palace in such a manner that will give the Emperor cause to produce the device."

"I think we should plan something in stages, then. We evaluate the progress at predetermined stages to see if it would be prudent to proceed to the next stage. At any stage, if it looks as though the operation might be compromised, our agent can be instructed to leave," Eliza said as she looked from one person to another around the table.

Everyone sat without speaking or eating or anything. Each was in deep thought for the moment, weighing the validity of this potential plan, as well as the consequences if the plan were revealed or foiled.

"Let me make some inquiries and gather some information, and then we can proceed from there," Eliza said breaking the silence after a moment.

"That sounds like a good place to start to me," Ryck said.

"Me too," said Tred as Mack and Panel nodded their heads in agreement.

The party adjourned and Klars saw the men to the door as Eliza gathered up the remaining food and dishes from the table.

Everyone had departed quickly except Panel. The two were standing in the foyer.

"What are your feelings here, Klars?" Panel asked Klars as he put on his jacket.

"I trust Eliza's direction. We are just at an early planning stage. She said if it looks like we can't organize anything, then we drop it where it is. It would be a clean break and everyone walks away."

Panel buttoned the last button on his jacket, "you know, if Eliza wasn't who she is and hadn't done all that she has done, then I don't think anyone here tonight would have even entertained any aspect of such an idea. You do realize we all must come up with personal contingency plans in case something gets revealed. I am not too concerned. I always have one, but I am sure the rest of you do not. In the meantime, we shall see what she finds out. It is indeed a tantalizing idea, you know, bringing an end to the Emperors." Panel turned and walked out the door shaking his head side to side and smiling.

Klars closed the door and stood in the foyer once again, as he had at the beginning of the evening. Yes, he thought, bringing an end to Emperors is indeed a tantalizing notion, and if exile or even death were the result of a failed effort, then so be it. He trusted Eliza. He knew she was more than capable of organizing an operation of this magnitude and scale. She had used subterfuge and deceit a few times before in her efforts to achieve her research goals, or at least he guessed they were research goals. He had never thought about it before in any detail. Dealing with foreign planets and their governments was a heady affair, and Eliza had done it more times than you could count on your fingers. Klars was sure Eliza could teach the Breman intelligence a thing or two; based on some of the stories she had told him. Klars shrugged his shoulders and turned and headed off toward the kitchen to help Eliza take care of the mess left from the evening's activities.

Chapter 5

Inspector Linde stood leaning against a lab bench as he chewed at the skin next to the nail on the index finger of his right hand. He was mulling over the details Emperor Chirod had given him regarding the theft of the jeweled harness. He was certain that at some point the Emperor had been drugged, but exactly when and how remained to be determined. He knows the Emperors food and drink are closely monitored, especially when he is eating or drinking at locations outside of the palace. But, that doesn't mean there never is the opportunity for someone to slip something into his food or drink. In the privacy of the Emperor's penthouse might be another matter. Linde was sure the woman, Mirra Lovich, slipped the Emperor something, even though the Emperor denies it could have been done, or that she would possibly had any motive to do so.

Linde had requested an additional review of the toxicology reports from the morning after the incidence, along with any additional tests that could be run on the blood samples taken from the Emperor that very day.

Hearing a noise come from the other end of the lab, Linde looked up from chewing on his finger. A laboratory technician was walking toward him with a folder in his hand and a blank look on his face.

"Inspector Linde," the person in the lab coat said as he approached Linde.

"Yes," Linde replied.

"I am doctor Skurt. I am the director of the lab. After your special request came in, I thought it would be more appropriate if I reviewed and handled the results." Skurt said holding out his hand.

Linde took Skurt's hand and shook it, "I appreciate you taking the interest."

"Well, you know, understanding who and what this involves, I felt a higher level of attention was probably the proper way to go." Skurt replied.

"Yes, well, what is your verdict regarding the results?" Linde asked anxiously.

Skurt took a deep breath, "Well, other than the Emperor's cholesterol and triglycerides being a little high and slightly elevated melatonin, I could not find anything out of the ordinary, nor were there any metabolites of any drugs or any other elevated substances normally found in the body. He is basically squeaky clean from the toxicology end of things."

"What? Nothing?" Linde asked as though he was a little shocked and confused.

"Nothing," Skurt replied flatly.

"Are you sure?" Linde asked, still with an air of disbelief. Linde did not expect a clean result. There had to be something. The Emperor had to have been drugged. It was the only logical explanation Linde could devise as to why the Emperor has no memory of the events that took place after he and Mirra returned to his penthouse.

"One hundred percent, Inspector Linde," Skurt replied without any added emotion, as he looked squarely at Linde. He could tell that Linde was not fully listening to him, but running something through his mind at this point.

"What are the chances the blood samples were degraded by the time the tests were run?" Linde asked, now staring at the floor with his hands on his hips. He was trying to generate possibilities or scenarios.

"Not very likely, there was less than an hour lag time from when the samples were taken to when the analyses were started. During that time, the samples were properly stored and transported." Skurt answered.

"What about something like a drug of some kind that could not be detected? Could that be possible?" Linde asked, still staring at the floor.

Skurt rubbed his chin. "Hmmm, in the short time from when the Emperor would have been drugged to when the blood was taken, it is improbable there would be something that would not show up, even if it were something we did not know about, or was not in our substance library. It would still produce a marker, an unknown marker, but it would be there."

"This is puzzling," Linde replied in a low tone still looking at the floor. He began to rub his temples with the fingers of his right hand. "No drugs, huh, well fuck me running," he said out loud but at a level where Skurt couldn't hear him. Linde would have bet the farm that something was in Chirod's system, but had initially gone unnoticed upon first inspection.

Skurt broke the momentary silence, "if there were something that could be completely cleared from a person's system in just a couple of hours or less, then it might not show up at all, but there is nothing we know of that can clear a person's system completely in much less than twenty-four hours." Skurt explained as he continued to rub his chin and consider what Linde might be thinking to ask next.

"Okay, then, nothing at all," Linde replied in a disappointed tone. "Are those mine?" Linde asked as he pointed to the folder that contained the reports.

"Yes," Skurt said as he handed the folder to Linde. "These are your copies."

Linde took the folder, turned, and headed toward the door. "Thanks for your help Dr. Skurt," he said as he reached for the doorknob on the laboratory door.

"No problem, I am glad to help," Skurt replied as he started to walk back in the direction from where he initially came.

Once outside, Linde stopped and stood on the steps to the lab entrance, put his hand in his pocket and fumbled around for his car fob. It just doesn't make sense, Linde thought. There should have been something. A person just doesn't fall asleep in the middle of screwing someone, or at least anyone normal doesn't. Especially if you are with someone you think is the best-looking thing you have ever seen. Well, of course, there are the Fainting Thaslins, Linde recalled. Perhaps Chirod has some Thaslin blood in him he said out loud in a facetious way.

Thaslin men are afflicted with a condition, which is purely part of their reproductive mechanism that causes them to fall catatonic a few seconds before they ejaculate during sex. They experience a form of tetany that leaves them as stiff as their dicks. Their arms and legs are unbendable, and they have no detectable heartbeat or breathing, as though rigor mortis has set in. Unfortunately, they remain this way from anywhere between thirty minutes to a couple of hours afterwards, depending on the magnitude of their orgasm. They are completely incapacitated. They don't remember anything at the point at which they fall stiff until a few seconds after they reawaken. Fortunately, they do experience a strong sense of pleasure and euphoria in the minutes leading up to it that they do remember. So, with that knowledge, it is safe to say the preferred sexual position on Thaslin is 'cowgirl up', with the 'reverse cowgirl' as a variation. These positions eliminate the necessity for Thaslin women to have to somehow push a man off them after the action comes to a sudden halt. Plus, it eliminates a great deal of head trauma for the men. Thaslin porn is often very humorous to watch for people from other worlds. Linde remembered viewing some Thaslin porn for a case he was working on a few years back where the couple in a scene was doing it doggy-style. A few minutes in, the man made an "eeeech" noise, went stiff, and fell backwards.

Linde shook himself out of the flashback of the porn scene and started down the steps toward his car with a big smile on his face. "Damn, I need to get laid more," he said as he shook his head. He took a few more steps and came to a stop at his car. "Shit, that was random," he said as he opened the car door.

***

Linde walked into the offices of the BNP, still in deep thought. He didn't have any worry about walking absentmindedly through the office and slamming into a desk or a filing cabinet. He had walked through the office in such a way hundreds of times before and could probably do it in pitch-black darkness without the risk of run into anything. He walked across the large area of desks and cubicles, into his office without acknowledging anyone. Patel and Moss, his training partners, followed in behind him. Linde walked around his desk to the backside and looked up at Moss and Patel.

"Nothing," he said as he dropped the file with the toxicology reports in it down on his desk.

"Nothing?" Patel and Moss said almost in perfect synchronization.

"Yep, not a trace of anything in his blood," Linde said with his hands on his hips, looking back and forth at the two. "They ran dozens of tests, and they did not show any traces of drugs or anything of any kind, nor was anything really out of the ordinary. I was certain something would have shown up," he said with an exasperated tone.

"Do you think maybe they had cleared his system, and that's why nothing showed up?" Patel asked.

Linde started shaking his head back and forth before he spoke. "No, I had that very conversation with the guy over at the lab, and he said there is no drug of any kind they know of that can be cleared of all traces form a person's system in less than twenty-four hours."

"What about ones they don't know about?" Patel asked in complete sincerity.

Moss blurted out in a laugh. "That doesn't make any sense. How could they know about something they don't know about?"

"No, wait Moss, that has some merit," Linde said as he raised his hand and pointed at him. "Patel, that is a good idea," Linde said as he looked toward Patel. "There could be drugs being developed on other planets that might get out of the body extremely quickly, that aren't know by anyone outside the particular planet," Linde quickly drifted off into deep thought as he began to pace back and forth behind his desk. After a couple of back and forth laps, he stopped and looked up at the two, "we need to start searching different databases first, and then contact people on other planets to see if anything has been advanced that has a clearance rate of less than twelve hours."

Linde sat down in his chair. "Do you guys think you can work on something like that?" Linde asked Patel and Moss.

Patel nodded his head. "Sure thing, boss, we certainly can."

"Who would we contact?" Moss asked with his hands out.

"The forensic specialists for a planet's national police would be a good place to start," Linde said shrugging his shoulders with a sarcastic look on his face.

Patel turned and walked out of Linde's office. Moss followed closely behind him.

"Shut the door please," Linde hollered as Moss exited through it. Moss obliged. Linde sat at his desk staring in deep thought. "There has got to be something," he said out loud. At that moment, he remembered what he had asked Patel and Moss to do while he was at the laboratory meeting with Skurt.

Linde got up from his desk and stepped out of his office and walked over to where the two were working. "Hey, what did you guys find out over at the spaceport?" Linde asked.

"We learned that a bunch of people come and go on this planet, that's for sure," Moss said as he leaned back in his chair. Linde acted like he didn't hear what Moss said.

Patel clicked something on his computer with his mouse and looked up at Linde. "Well, there was no Mirra Lovich booked on any flight off the planet from a couple of weeks ago up to today. However, there is an arrival booking from several weeks prior to that."

"I wasn't certain you would find when she arrived, however I was definitely certain you wouldn't find anything about her departure. There is also the slight possibility of her still being on the planet, but I find that highly unlikely," Linde said.

"So," Patel started as he leaned back in his chair. "I thought, well, if the Emperor says this gal is the best-looking thing he has ever seen, then someone else might think the same thing too. I started asking male ticket and boarding agents if they had recently seen an extremely good-looking young woman with black hair, about so tall," Patel raised his hand up, "come through on her way off the planet. I probably asked twenty or thirty of them before I finally talked with one that remembered or thought he remembered seeing a gal he thought was exceptionally good looking. I described her in a little more detail, and at that point he was sure he had seen her. He works for Stratus Aire, by the way."

"Good, good, any more detail from him?" Linde asked as he sat down on the edge of Patel's desk.

"The time-frame matches that of the morning of the disappearance of the item," Patel said with a little smile on his face.

"Are you sure on that?" Linde asked.

"Well, I can't be one hundred percent sure, but he said it was about a couple of days ago. He did remember that it was in the morning, too."

Moss was listening to the conversation between Linde and Patel, as he remained in a reclining position in his chair with his hands behind his head. He hadn't done much inquiring with anyone while he and Patel were at the spaceport. He mostly followed Patel around while watching people milling about in the terminal.

"Early morning?" Linde asked.

"Yep," Patel replied. "He said she boarded one of the early morning flights out. I think he said it was around six or six-thirty. I can check my notes," Patel said as he leaned up and moved some papers around on his desk as he looked for his handheld.

"That's okay," Linde said as he waved his hand at Patel. "Where was the flight going?" Linde asked.

"Drang," Patel replied as he sat back in his chair again.

"You can bet she is not there," Moss said, as he fiddled with his handheld that he picked up after Patel had started looking for his.

"You're right about that," Linde said as he looked over at Moss.

Patel leaned up again and lifted a folder up and picked up his handheld. He tapped through a few screens, "I asked the boarding agent, his name is Price by the way, if we could look over the passenger lists for anyone that might have purchased a ticket just before a flight on the morning of the theft."

"Yes, what did you find out?" Linde asked a little excitedly.

"Well, it just so happens that a female by the name of Sary Collins purchased a ticket the very morning of the theft for the six-a.m. flight on Stratus Aire to Drang, approximately two hours before the flight was scheduled to leave," Patel said as he used his finger to scroll through the pages of his notes.

"What would be so special about Drang?" Moss asked as he continued to fiddle around with his device. "We know she wasn't going there to stay, or even going there at all probably."

"Drang is one of five interstellar travel hubs that are arranged in a star pattern around the galaxy's central black hole. Several threads intersect around Drang," Linde explained. Linde made an "Hmm" sound as he looked down at the floor.

"What?" Patel asked.

"That's interesting," Linde replied, still looking at the floor. "Drang is not the closest hub to Brem. If I was going to jump off a planet and then try to quickly throw someone off my trail, I might would hit more than one hub, but it would be just as logical to use a closer hub as your first stop and then bounce out or something. Drang is across the gap. I wonder if she went there to meet someone?" Linde paused for a moment. "Well, at this point it doesn't really matter, I guess, if she indeed was meeting someone. She is certainly not there, but perhaps she was meeting someone to hand the item off to them. I am sure she used a different name when she got there. With the large number of people crossing through hubs, it would take some time sorting through all the passenger lists trying to find which flight she took from there. Plus, she could have hopped onto a private ship. Nonetheless Patel, your Sary Collins is probably, in fact, our gal. Good work. You didn't happen to start looking through those lists yet, have you?" Linde asked. He remained sitting on the edge of Patel's desk for a second, rubbing his chin in thought.

"I've started, but I have several more queries to run and sort," Patel replied.

Chapter 6

Klars turned up his glass of whiskey and drank it down in one gulp. "Farel!" He said loudly as he sat the glass down with a loud clacking noise. "What is she doing on Farel? I thought it was agreed she would go to a planet in the neighborhood here, and lay low for a while. Farel is clear across the damn galaxy," Klars poured his glass full of whiskey again.

"I don't know what she is doing on Farel, Klars," Eliza said in a consoling tone. "Did we actually have a conversation about where she would go and wait, anyway?" Eliza asked as she tried to recall some of the planning conversations they all had in the days running up to the execution of what was supposed to be a pilot-run of the plan in the first place. "Like I said, it doesn't matter where she is, Klars. The fact is she has the harness, and it and she are gone from Brem. Anywhere in the galaxy is no more than a few days away from anywhere else, so why would it make a difference?"

"I can't remember if we actually said where she should go. I guess I thought it was implied that she would stay local," Klars said in an exasperated way as he lifted his glass to take a drink. "Regardless of the fact of where she is, I want easy access to that harness. No, I want the thing in my possession, and if I can't have that, then at least where I have primary control of it, not someone else."

"Why?" Eliza asked with an air of concern on her face. "It surely doesn't need to be on this planet."

"Leverage," Klars said as he took a healthy sip of his whisky.

"Leverage for what?" Eliza asked a little bit puzzled.

"If something were to go down, and we are called onto the carpet, we need that thing in our possession for bargaining power," Klars said, as he took a couple of small sips from his glass and began to stare in silence.

Eliza was standing looking at him with her arms crossed. She could tell he was calculating and thinking about something. "I see your point dear. It would be beneficial in those respects, but we don't want her back on Brem for whatever reason. Perhaps we can instruct her to put it somewhere, maybe in a safety deposit box at a bank, or in a locker somewhere," Eliza said as she began to calculate on the issue as well.

"No, I want it. I don't trust her. Who knows what she might try to pull," Klars said as he finished his second glass of whisky.

"I guess she could try and sell it, but you said Stan said it wasn't worth any more than what the few jewels on it were worth, less than a hundred thousand credits. She has been compensated a thousand times more than that just for taking it," Eliza said as she watched Klars fill his glass with whisky for a third time.

"No, she is savvy. My guess is she would be more inclined to initiate some type of ransom situation with the Emperor, or try to blackmail us for more money, or maybe even blackmail the Emperor," Klars replied as he took a large sip of his drink.

"I don't think we have to worry about that, Klars, due to the nature of what she is, and who she is. Double agents don't like to draw too much attention to their selves. If she were to try to negotiate with the Emperor, then too much light will be placed on her. Plus, the individual that put us in contact with her said she was the type that completed a job and then disappeared for good. I think he called her a vapor or said they call her the vapor or something like that, and I fully trust my source. He has helped me out with some really interestingly tight situations in the past."

"Be that as it may," Klars said emphatically. "We are going to Farel to get the harness. We don't have to bring it back here if you feel we shouldn't. I went ahead and notified my staff yesterday that I would be out of the office for several days. You contact her and tell her that we will be there in a few days. I am getting that damn thing," Klars said just before turning up his glass and finishing his drink. He sat the glass down and looked Eliza directly in the eyes.

Eliza was looking back at Klars with an expression of uneasiness. In the beginning of the conversation, she suspected this was where the conversation was going; that he had already made up his mind and was going to go get the harness from Mirra. Eliza knew this was not a good idea. There were too many things that could go wrong, not to mention the fact that someone would wonder why the two of them just up and went off to a planet all the way across the galaxy.

"Klars, don't you think going to confront her might be a little risky, not to mention raising someone's eyebrows as to why we just took off to Farel?" Eliza asked with visible concern.

"We go off on whims all the time, Eliza, at least twice a year we just take off. I am not worried about that. All you need to do is to come up with something you want to check out on Farel, and no one will question any of it," Klars replied nonchalantly. "Frankly, no one will care anyway. Besides, that's the least of my worries right now."

Eliza thought for a moment, "I guess you're right. I didn't think about that. Okay, well, I will let my secretary know in the morning, she said in a less than relieved tone. She still had a sense of uneasiness, even after Klars' explanation.

Klars had always been a traveler even before he met Eliza. Eliza's reputation as a galaxy trotter was well known as well. In the three years since the two had first started seeing each other, they had made several on the spur excursions around the galaxy. Klars would read something about a place, a city, a monument, or a natural wonder in which he would become interested in, and they would be off to see it within the next day or two. Eliza would always find something pertinent pertaining to her research she could check out on most of the planets they visited. In these respects, Klars was right. Taking off to Farel on a day's notice would not raise anyone's suspicion. In fact, no one would probably even give a second thought to it, as he pointed out.

***

Klars and Eliza's trip to Farel was uneventful, much like the thousands of flights across the galaxy, which take place in a galactic day. The trip had given them time to relax and enjoy each other's company. The stress of planning the heist and carrying it out had been weighing on them for a couple of months, and it was good to be away from Brem, and to leave that stress behind for at least a short bit. Not being on the planet gave them a sense of detachment and afforded them a chance to clear their minds to some degree.

While on the starship, they took advantage of a private antigravity room to partake in a little sexual exploration. Without the oppression of gravity, you could get into some interesting contortions and arrangements while enjoying the company of one another. However, you had to be somewhat familiar with Newton's laws of motion, and how to manipulate them to your advantage in an antigravity room. Otherwise, you would spend most of your time floating around naked playing the type of grab-ass that got you nowhere. There are several different types of connecting devices, swings, and harnesses that can be purchased, and are specifically designed for use during sex in an anti-gravity room. Sex exploration in an anti-gravity room is so popular, large starships typically have such devices for sale in one of their shops. The one definite thing about sex in an antigravity room is that it only works effectively for two or three people at the most. Any more than that, and things can get a little chaotic. Orgies in an antigravity room can be likened to a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert, except everyone is naked and moving about in all three dimensions. With more than three people in the fray, it turns out to be all assholes and elbows, with no one getting anywhere with anyone.

Eliza had done her fair share of screwing in antigravity rooms during the time before she met Klars. She had developed the skills for effectively using antigravity for maximum pleasure for both her and her partner at the time. Spending time in an antigravity room had become one of Klars' favorite things about traveling with Eliza, from their very first trip as a couple. It has almost become the thing he enjoys the most about all the trips they take together.

***

Once on Farel, Klars and Eliza settled into their hotel room in Ligthe. They were lying on the bed watching the television.

Klars had his arm around Eliza's shoulder as she lay against him on the bed. "Why don't you see if you can get Mirra on the phone?" Klars asked Eliza.

"I sent her a text while we were down stairs in the lobby checking in, but she never did text back," Eliza replied.

"Give her a call."

"Okay," Eliza said as she sat up in the bed and grabbed her handheld from the side table next to the bed. Within one or two rings, Mirra answered Eliza's call.

"Hi Eliza," Mirra said without any added emotion.

"Hello Mirra. Did you get my text earlier?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah, I saw it about fifteen minutes after it had come in, and figured you would probably call at some point anyway," Mirra replied.

Eliza looked over at Klars. "We would like to meet you for dinner somewhere, maybe around seven or eight, if that would work for you," Eliza looked at Klars. He nodded his head in agreement.

"Umm, sure, seven would be fine. How about we meet at Kempt? It's here in Ligthe and shouldn't be too far from your hotel if you are staying downtown somewhere. Any taxi driver will know exactly where it is," Mirra replied with a little bounce in her voice.

"Sounds good, we will see you at seven then. Bye," replied Eliza.

"Okay, bye,"

Eliza placed her handheld back on the bedside table. "That was easy enough," she said as she got up and went over to the window.

Ligthe is a picturesque city with many trees and gardens, mingled around the buildings and structures. Eliza was admiring the view.

"Is this gal from Farel?" Klars asked.

"No, I don't think so. I don't know where she is from, nor do I know why she picked to come here after she left Brem. She's probably working on another job or something," Eliza said as she stared out the window.

"Well, she made enough money off us to give it up for a while if she wanted. She might be looking to retire here. Farel is an attractive planet to retire on." Klars stopped talking abruptly. "Huh, that's interesting."

"What?"

"I had forgotten about this, but I actually considered buying a place here about five or six years back as a place to eventually retire. For some reason, I had completely forgotten about it until just now. Kind of a strange coincidence, now that I think about it," Klars said as he stared off in thought.

"I am sure it is just that, a strange coincidence," Eliza said as she walked back over to the bed. "I think I am going to take a nap. Do you want to join me?"

"Sounds like a good idea, love," Klars said as he stood up from the bed to take off his cloths.

***

Klars and Eliza took the car service provided by the hotel over to the restaurant. They arrived around ten minutes before seven. Mirra had not arrived yet, and Klars and Eliza took a booth and ordered a drink.

At about five minutes or so after seven, Klars looked at his watch and back up at Eliza, "This gal must believe in being fashionably late," Klars said as he fiddled with his glass.

"Typical of young thirty-somethings, Klars. Arriving early to an engagement seems just odd to them," Eliza replied.

About the time Eliza finished her statement, Mirra walked up to the table. "Evening," she said with a big smile on her face.

Klars, somewhat surprised by her sudden appearance, abruptly stood up to greet her, "Good evening Mirra." She is indeed an amazingly attractive woman, Klars thought to himself as he motioned for her to sit down. Eliza had slid farther into the booth to allow Mirra room to sit.

"Would you care for a drink?" Klars asked her.

"Yes, a cosmopolitan, please," Mirra replied.

The waiter had appeared at the table. Klars looked up at the waiter, "The young lady will have a cosmopolitan, please."

"Certainly, sir," the waiter replied as he turned to fetch the drink.

The three engaged in pleasant conversation as they enjoyed their drinks and waited on their dinner orders. The subject of the harness was not approached, but they all knew it would be at some point. Mirra was not going to take the first step in that conversation. She figured Klars and Eliza would get to it when they were ready. She didn't care anyway. She had done what they had enlisted her to do and was paid handsomely to do it. In addition, they specifically didn't say anything about giving the harness to anyone. Her instructions were to initially figure out a way to seduce Emperor Chirod and hopefully gain access to the harness in a pilot run of the plan. Once all the fine details were considered, full implementation would take place. Much to everyone's surprise, she slam-dunked the whole thing right out of the gate. From the start, Mirra didn't think it would have been as easily or as quickly accomplished. Because of the whole thing being executed perfectly, Mirra figured she had the upper hand, if she needed to play it. Their meals came, and they all began to eat while continuing their conversation of small-talk and non-specific topics.

Klars was almost finished with his meal when he decided it was time to move the conversation. He took a drink of his water and sat the glass back down. "Well, Mirra, I am sure you know why we are here."

"I have a really good idea," Mirra said smiling, "and I really don't think it is to treat me to a lovely meal."

The three of them laughed a little.

"You are correct for the most part. It is not just to treat you to a nice meal, but it has been a nice one," Klars said smiling slightly. "It is really all about the item, you know, the harness," Klars said with a comforting look on his face.

"That's what I thought," Mirra replied with a pensive look.

"I trust you still have it," Klars said smiling again.

"Yes," Mirra said nodding her head up and down. "It's in a safe location. Since no one mentioned anything about what I should do with it, I put it away for safekeeping. After all, it's not worth much on the market. At least that's what one fellow in your group said. It really only has any great value on Brem, and I am not going to try to sell it there, now am I," Mirra said as she continued to finish her meal.

Klars began to feel a little anxious at this point. So, she had given some thought to possibly selling it, he thought to himself. "Mirra, I know we didn't discuss anything specific about what you should do with the item, and that was an oversight on our part. However, we thought it was implied that you were to acquire it and then at some point turn it over to us."

"I see, but it does have some rather pretty jewels on it that would make a beautiful necklace and bracelet," Mirra said nonchalantly.

Is she toying with me, Klars thought? "I guess it would, but we don't want to go and do something like that." Klars said with a little chuckle as his face turned little red.

Eliza could see that Klars' temper was beginning to rise. She didn't want things to escalate, if she could help it. "Mirra, yes, the item doesn't really have any value anywhere else, but is has a good deal of value to us personally."

"I thought the real value in it was that it was no longer on Brem?" Mirra stated, feigning confusion.

"It's not a monetary value we are talking about here," Klars said as his face continued to redden.

"What is it then? Does it hold some sentimental value, or some crazy social value? It's not a religious relic, is it?" Mirra said as though she might in fact be confused about the whole situation.

"The value to us lies in the items ability to provide us with some degree of leverage should we need to use it," Klars said as he leaned forward to state his point.

"Oh, I see," Mirra said as she opened her eyes wide. "Perhaps I might need a little leverage myself."

Klars was still leaning forward against the table. "Listen Mirra, the harness is ours. We paid you very well to get it for us, and you should give it to us," he said as he poked the table with his finger. "Besides, you have no need for any kind of leverage. You will never be connected, especially if we have the harness."

"I don't know Klars," Mirra said as she studied his face.

"What benefit is the harness to you at this point, Mirra?" Eliza asked her in a slightly pleading tone.

Klars had leaned back in the booth and was rubbing his face with his hand. He took a deep breath, "what do you want, more money?" Klars asked Mirra.

The waiter approached the table. "Can I remove these plates and things for you?"

"Yes, please," Klars replied.

While the waiter was completing his tasks, Mirra was studying Klars, while absently running her finger around the rim of her drink glass trying to get it to vibrate as to produce a ringing sound.

The waiter picked up most of the dishes. "Would you like any dessert?"

"No." was the reply from all three.

"Okay, I will bring your check in just a couple of minutes," the waiter said and turned and walked off.

"Look, Mr. Algud, I did exactly what I was asked to do, and yes, I have already been compensated for it. However, I was never instructed regarding what to do with it, so I am under no obligation to give you anything," Mirra said as she stared at Klars with a stern expression.

"I guess there truly is no honor among thieves is there?" Klars stated flatly. "We had no idea you would be able to get it so quickly and so easily. We thought we still had some planning to do. You knew that. We told you as much. The full details were yet to come."

"I am very good at what I do," Mirra said with a big smile, "but let me break it down for you Mr. Algud," Mirra began as she poked her finger on the table as Klars was doing before. "I did what I was retained to do and disappeared. I believe that is what you all wished for me to do. I have no idea what other instructions you might have provided to me. I am certain the authorities on Brem are at a loss and have no leads or traces regarding the harness' disappearance, and probably never will. But, you had to go and freak out, right out of the blue, and haul your ass all the way across the galaxy here to Farel. Farel is an out of the way place. What were you thinking? Do you know if someone followed you?" Mirra exclaimed with frustration. "And you," Mirra said as she turned to address Eliza. "You seemed like the most knowledgeable one in the bunch. You had all the contacts. Couldn't you talk some sense into his thick head?" Mirra was playing Klars just for fun and was laying it on a little thick.

"Look," Eliza said as she raised her voice a little. "Things were discussed, and we decided it would be prudent to take possession of the harness."

"Yes, and besides, no one would be suspicious of us coming here to Farel," Klars said, more red-faced now than before.

"Oh, please," Mirra said as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Are you two that naïve? If this thing is as precious to the Emperor as you say, all movement on and off that planet is being watched. You two might have compromised things a bit, at least for yourselves." Mirra looked away across the restaurant in thought for a moment. She was finished with her meal and her conversation with Klars and Eliza. "Okay look, give me a few days to do some thinking and calculating, and I will get back to you on what a next move should be. I trust you guys planned to stay for a few days?"

"Yes, we did," Eliza replied.

Mirra got up to leave.

"Mirra, two days, please don't be as aloof as you have been," Klars said to her with a soft expression on his face. She nodded, smiled and turned and left.

Klars paid the check, and he and Eliza walked out of the restaurant. The night sky was clear, and there was a slight, cool breeze. Klars looked up at the sky and admired the stars. The car from the hotel pulled up on the opposite side of the street. Klars and Eliza walked across to it. As they strolled across, Klars looked over at Eliza. "Do you think she is right?" Klars asked.

"Right about what?" Eliza replied.

"That someone is probably looking into why we took off to Farel."

"I don't think so. Why would we raise any suspicion? You said so yourself," Eliza said as they walked across the street with her arm in Klars'.

Klars and Eliza got in the back seat of the car, and the driver started off. After about a block, Klars leaned over and began looking out his window at the sky. "I don't trust her, you know," Klars said.

"I know, you have said as much a few times now," Eliza said flatly. "She is acting in a manner that would breed distrust in anybody working with her."

"We are probably going to have to do something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but I bet we don't hear from her in two days," Klars said as he continued to look out the window. "I wish I knew what she was up to here. I am afraid she is trying to figure out how to double-cross us on the harness or squeeze more money out of us. I just know it."

After a minute or two of silence, Klars leaned back over from looking out the window. As he positioned himself up square against the back of the seat, Eliza reached over quickly and pressed an electropen against Klars' chest. It made a muffled 'Crack!' as she pushed the button on the end with her thumb and it made solid contact with his chest. The electropen sent an extremely high voltage shock directly to the neural control system of Klars' heart. Klars jerked slightly under the jolt, and then sank down in his seat as though had fallen asleep. He didn't feel a thing as his heart stopped immediately. Eliza lifted his hand to where she could see it and spun the mediband on his wrist around where she could see it. The green, glowing light within was blinking slowly. After three blinks, it dimmed and then began to glow a bright red without flashing. Klars was dead.

Eliza sat back in her seat, and looked out her window. "Can you believe it, Chet? Five years of work almost ruined because this guy got a little antsy about needing some freaking leverage of some sort. The sad reality is it wouldn't have made any difference, but of course he didn't know that," Eliza said to the driver of the car.

"Sometimes they buckle under the pressure of the situation. Some people are weak in that way," Chet said as he continued to look out the front window as he drove down the street.

"It was too bad. He was really a nice guy." Eliza said, as she looked over at Klars sitting lifeless in the seat. "I didn't think he was all that weak, though. The best thing about him was his eagerness to always please me, regardless of whatever I wanted. I could tell him to do anything, how to do it, and how long, and he was more than willing, if you know what I mean. We need a whole bunch like him on Zothos. We've got too many like you, Chet."

"You don't know how I am. Besides, I am sure he was not all that great, and for your information I can completely satisfy a woman. Yes, I knew what you were talking about. It isn't always all about sex, Eliza," Chet said as he pulled the car up to a curb and put it in park.

"I wasn't talking about just sex, but can you Chet really? Can you completely satisfy a woman? You are a looker, you know," Eliza said with a wry grin.

After a couple of minutes, the front passenger door of the car opened. Mirra Lovich stepped in and sat down in the seat next to Chet, and closed the door.

"Chet, drive around a couple of blocks while we talk," Eliza instructed.

"Sure thing," Chet replied as he pulled the car away from the curb, and they headed down the street.

Mirra looked in the back seat. Eliza was sitting back in her seat, slightly leaning against her door. Klars was sitting slumped down in his seat, motionless.

"What a fucking dumbass," Mirra said as she slowly shook her head back and forth.

"He broke under the pressure," Eliza replied. "It happens. The poor bastard never could realize the plan had gone off with textbook precision. I tried to get him to take a few breaths and go on about his business. But, he never knew what the real plan was, now did he?" Eliza said with a smile. "And what was all that bullshit you were spouting back there at the restaurant?"

Chet chuckled in response to Eliza's comments as he turned the car down another street. Eliza sat for a few seconds looking at Mirra. Mirra was smiling. "Never the less, the two days still stand, Mirra," Eliza said with a straight face as she looked directly at Mirra, catching her eyes. "We need to get back to Zothos."

"There might be a problem with the two-day time frame," Mirra replied. "The item is not on Farel, so I will have to go get it."

Eliza's face reddened slightly. "Why is it not with you?" Eliza asked as she continued to hold Mirra's eyes.

"Security," Mirra replied nonchalantly. "If something were to have happened to me, then the item would be safe. Plus, I knew he was going to pull something, I just didn't know what it might be," Mirra replied as she pointed at Klars with her thumb. "There is another person that knows where it is, but they can't actually retrieve it. Just in case something did happen, you would have been notified on where the thing is located and how to get it." Mirra could tell Eliza was not too happy about the situation, and decided she better change the subject a little. "He almost stirred up some shit though, didn't he," Mirra said as she pointed at Klars again.

Eliza crossed her arms and looked out her window for a few seconds and then turned to face Mirra. "Okay, Mirra, but no more than four days, tops. You know if we don't get back home soon, they are going to come looking for us."

"Definitely, no problem there," Mirra replied in a bouncy tone with a smile.

"Just stop up here, Chet, and let her out."

"Will do," Chet said as he pulled the car to the curb and stopped. Mirra opened the door, got out, and closed the door. Chet pulled away from the curb and headed down the street.

Eliza stared out her window. Everything was working out just fine, except for the part with Klars, she thought. If only he had taken her advice back on Brem and just relaxed, he would not be dead right now. She would have simply disappeared without a trace.

Eliza was not in love with him, but she did grow fond of him in the couple of years she was with him. He was a nice, caring, gentleman. He apparently just wasn't cut out for intrigue, but she had no way of knowing this fact. Having to eliminate Klars was never a primary component of her plan, but she knew in an operation such as this, things happened. The logistics of an operation were dynamic and always evolving and changing. Sometimes someone wound up having to be eliminated. When the plan reached its most critical stages, he quickly became a liability by his own doing. Unfortunately, liabilities need to be removed.

"I don't know about her, Chet," Eliza said as Chet drove the car onto the turnpike.

"How's that?" Chet replied. He had drifted off in his own daydream during the momentary silence.

"She's a loose cannon sometimes. If she wasn't one of us, I would think she is playing us, like she was playing Klars here." Eliza pointed at Klars with her thumb.

"Well, I have worked a couple other operations with her, and she seems to have a little bit of her own agenda. She doesn't try or do anything to jeopardize things, but it's as though she is putting her own little twist on things. Maybe she is an adrenaline junkie or a control freak."

"Yeah, well that kind of perspective can back fire on you."

"She is effective though. Every operation she has had a major part in has gone smoothly, almost too smoothly, but that's why the agency doesn't bust her chops too much about her improvising and screwing around with some of the logistics. I have heard the Chief say several times that she is a natural, and you know how often the Chief is right about things."

"Yeah, I know," Eliza said, as she looked out her window again.

Chet navigated the car across the river toward the borough of Strom. "Sometimes I think her skills and ability are due more to her looks than anything else. Everyone becomes mesmerized by her beauty and lose all sense of logic."

Chapter 7

The night was clear and warm. The sky was littered with stars, and a dense portion of one of the Milky Way's spiral arms was easily seen stretched across Farel's sky. There is very little light pollution where the band's rented house is located on the outskirts of the borough of Ligthe. Of course, this made stargazing easier than if you were in the town center. Hals and Cassy had crawled out of the window of their third-floor bedroom onto the roof that was situated over a second-floor balcony. The roof had a low pitch, so there wasn't any difficulty in walking or sitting on it, nor was there any real danger of sliding off it. They had carried a large, heavy comforter out with them to lie on.

Both were completely naked of course, and lying on the blanket. Cassy was lying on top of Hals, and he was slowly rubbing up and down her back, squeezing her butt cheeks each time his hands made their way back around to them. Cassy was kissing Hals deeply while running her hands through his hair.

Suddenly, Cassy stopping kissing Hals and pulled her hands away from his head, "You don't think anyone is on the balcony below us, do you?" She said in a slightly startled state, as though the thought had just occurred to her.

"No. Everyone is in the kitchen playing poker, except Abby, and she is probably reading something or asleep. They'll all be playing cards for quite a while. There is nothing to worry about, Cass," Hals replied as he continued his rubbing regimen.

Cassy leaned back down and began kissing Hals again.

Hals rubbed his hands across Cassy's cheeks and then he pressed them together as he squeezed them. "God, I love your ass!" He exclaimed. Cassy raised herself slightly and smiled at Hals.

Hals and Cassy is a couple that is not only just married, but deeply into one another physically. Hals has said many times that he is addicted to Cassy, and he is probably right. Cassy says he is just addicted to what is between her legs, and she is probably more right about that fact. He usually just grins when she says it. They are also a couple that simply goes well together. Both are equally attractive, although Hals contends that Cassy is the good-looking one of the two, and truthfully, that is the case. Even though Hals considers the guys in the band as his best friends, to him Cassy is his ultimate best friend. She always comes first, even over the band, as well as everyone and everything else.

"Mmmmm," Hals sounded as he continued to rub on Cassy's body. About the same time Hals started making sounds of overt pleasure, a loud commotion came from down in the kitchen. Cassy stopped kissing Hals, and quickly straightened herself with her eyes wide and a concerned look. Hals stopped rubbing on Cassy.

"What? They are just carrying on down there, Cass. They have no idea we are out here," Hals said in a reassuring tone. "One of them probably bluffed badly, or someone is talking smack, or something. Roll over," Hals said as he lightly smacked Cassy on the ass. Cassy rolled off Hals and onto her back. Hals positioned himself over her. He leaned down and kissed her. When he raised his head back up, he was smiling largely.

"What are you smiling so big about?" Cassy said catching him smiling as she looked up at him.

"You know what I like about screwing outside?"

"I am afraid to ask, but no, what?"

"I like how the breeze blows around my balls and makes them tingle."

"You're not right," Cassy said as she reached up and pinched one of his nipples.

Another commotion could be heard from the kitchen again. This time neither Cassy nor Hals took any notice, or acknowledged that they even heard it. Hals smiled, leaned down, and started kissing her lips softly.

***

Greg, Thom, Fred, and Ethan were playing nickel-ante poker, as they typically did, when there was nothing they needed to do of any importance, and no one felt like going out. Hals usually plays with them, but he was currently engaged in things he much preferred to do instead of poker.

Ethan was dealing the cards for seven-card stud. He stopped as he got to Fred. "You know man, you really do suck at playing cards," he said as he tossed Fred's card to him.

"I'm a lover, not a gambler," Fred replied as he picked up the hold card Ethan had just dealt him. "Besides, I am holding my own. I have as much money in my pile as you do, dick head, and I think it looks like I have more than you. You aren't really any better than I am," Fred replied as he visually assessed the value of his and Ethan's money piles.

"I'm just playing you suckers along. I am about to thump your asses, then we will see who is walking out of here with full pockets, and who is walking out with empty ones."

Ethan continued dealing the cards as the betting proceeded. Ethan wound up with nothing, Fred pulled a pair of tens, Greg ended with a pair as well, but smaller, while Thom was dealt a straight.

"I only have to be better than you two," Thom said referring to Fred and Ethan, as he raked the pot in from the middle of the table.

"Unless you are counting cards or cheating, it is all just luck anyway, since no one here truly knows how to bluff effectively," Greg said as he began to shuffle the cards.

Ethan took a drink of his beer and sat the glass down. "Did anyone ask Hals if he wanted to play?"

"He knew we were planning on playing," Greg said as he started dealing the cards. "Straight five-card draw, nothing wild, open on anything."

Thom picked up his cards. "No, he is playing poker too, if you know what I mean. You all know how he two of them have an indefinite desire to pork each other."

"I'll open for a nickel," Ethan said.

"Don't you mean insatiable desire?" Greg said as he began to deal out the cards. "How many cards do you want, Fred?"

"Three," Fred replied.

"What do you mean insatiable desire?" Thom replied.

"Insatiable would be more appropriate than indefinite. I am in too, and I will take two cards," Greg replied as he dealt himself the cards.

"Oh," Thom said as he rearranged the cards in his hand, "I guess you are right, ha, ha. That's what I meant," he said as he laughed. "You know I am more of a cunilinguist than an actual linguist."

"I'm in. Hey," Fred said with a smile while trying to get everyone's attention. "You know what the definition of indefinitely is?"

"I call," said Ethan.

"Ask Greg, he knows," Thom said as he threw his cards down, signaling that he folded.

"When your balls smack up against her ass, you are in – Definitely," Fred said as he threw a nickel into the pot. "I raise it a nickel."

Everyone around the table chuckled largely.

"Shit, that's bad, man," Thom said as he got up and walked over to the refrigerator to get something to drink.

Greg leaned back in his chair and began to yawn and stretch. It was around midnight at this point, and the guys had been playing cards for about two hours.

"I think I am going to head to bed," Greg said as he pushed his chair back from the table. "We've got the show in Strom tomorrow night. We start at nine, so we need to get there no later than seven-thirty to get everything set up."

"I don't really care for Strom," Fred said as he made a face of disapproval. "You never know what's going to happen in that part of town. Someone gets killed over there every night it seems like."

"Well, it will be crowded at The Pit. I think something like around a thousand or so people. The manager said they had nearly sold about that many tickets already and will probably sell several more at the door," Greg said as he stood leaning on the back of his chair.

"A thousand ruffians and a shit load of alcohol. I bet it will be interesting. We ought to play as loudly as we can just for the hell of it," Thom said as he stood drinking the soda he just got out of the refrigerator. "You know, so loud it almost knocks them off their feet."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Fred said as he stacked up the nickels in his pile into columns. "I think I am just going to focus on my playing and really get into it. If you remember, the last time we were there, I was kind of playing to the crowd some, and some dude thought I was coming on to his chick for some reason. He got really ticked about it. It took me fifteen minutes to convince him I was just trying to be entertaining and wasn't trying to hook up with her. At one point, I thought he might bash my guitar over my head."

Ethan reached over and knocked Fred's stacks of nickels over.

"You shit head," Fred yelled at him, as he tried to block Ethan's hand.

"The people over in Strom are not that bad. You just need to know where they are coming from, look at things from their perspective, and don't try to pick up their girlfriends. In fact, I wouldn't try to pick up any gal over in Strom. They typically have too much baggage anyway," Ethan commented.

"Ethan's right," Greg replied. "We just need to play a good show, get our money and get the hell out of there."

"Yeah, but we've got two shows over there while we are here," Thom said.

"Okay, so just don't start any shit tomorrow night that will get carried over to when we have to go back over there after the show in Quie," Greg instructed, as he held out his arms.

"I don't ever start any shit, anywhere," Thom replied.

Fred looked up and noticed everyone was looking at him. "Hey, I don't do anything on purpose. Besides, like I said, I am just going to focus on my playing. I plan on playing good and loud, and I promise I won't try to pick up any girls."

Fred was right. He never started any trouble on his own purposefully. Trouble just seemed to find him, or better yet, if something odd was going to happen to anyone in the group, it was going to happen to him. Interestingly, it always has something to do with a female, or at least a female is usually involved somehow.

"Good night guys," Greg said as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Are you bringing Syndie tomorrow night?" Fred asked Ethan.

"No, she doesn't go over to Strom. She said the only time she ever went to Strom, a fight broke out in the club they were in, and somebody got shot. She said after that, she would never go back." Ethan replied.

"I don't blame her," Thom said. "At least nothing like that has ever happened while we were over there. I really don't want to go, but you gotta do what you gotta do."

"Grow a pair," Greg said as he walked out of the kitchen.

"A pair of what?" Thom yelled. "A pair of plasma pistols? Because balls won't do you any good, when a half dozen drunk crazies are piled up on you."

Greg didn't reply to the others. He just kept walking down the hallway, shaking his head.

***

The gang arrived at The Pit at around seven-thirty, just as they had planned. There was a decent sized crowd that had already gathered around the club, waiting to get in. Greg drove the van around the side of the building and up the alley between The Pit and the building next to it.

"Let's see, if I am remembering correctly, the service entrance for the place is back here," Greg said as he was leaning forward peering down the alley. He could see a small sign hanging on the back corner of the building to their right. The sign said 'The Pit' and had a red arrow pointing to the right.

The alley seemed long as they continued to slowly drive down it. As they reached the back corner of the building, Greg had the option to either turn left onto another alleyway or turn right. The back entrance to The Pit was to their right, but the alley they were in continued further in front of them.

"Dude, why don't you turn left right here, and back this bitch down the alley to the door? That way it will be easier for us to unload our shit." Fred said as he leaned up next to Greg.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Greg said as he started to turn the van down the alley to the left.

Greg backed the van down the alley and stopped just short of the service door about ten or fifteen feet in front of a trash dumpster. The gang piled out of the van. Fred walked to the back of the van and opened the door. The others came around and began unloading the equipment. Fred grabbed his amp and slid it out and sat it on the ground, he then reached in and grabbed his guitars and started toward the door. Ethan picked up Fred's amp and started in behind him

"Just two guitars, Fred?" Ethan asked him. Fred usually brought four guitars to a show. An extra one for backup in case his main guitar malfunctioned, and the others to add some variety or novelty if he felt like it.

"Yeah, I figured if something were to happen, the most I would lose would be two guitars instead of four. You never know, some dude might freak out and bash one over my head or something," Fred said as he and Ethan went through the back door.

"Are you expecting something to happen?" Ethan asked.

"Well, if you remember last time, a fight broke out too, and things got knocked around. I just thought I would err on the side of caution." Fred answered as they all made their way through the kitchen single file.

"I don't remember any of the equipment getting messed up," Ethan replied.

"It didn't. I am just being cautious."

The Pit is housed in a two-story warehouse on the edge of the downtown area of Strom. It has an open floor plan, with the second story being mostly a balcony that extends around three of the four walls. There is a square-shaped bar that is nearly half as wide as the building and sits about ten feet in from the main entrance, centered between the two adjacent walls. The stage sits against the back wall. There is not any part of the second-floor balcony that extends over the stage. The lights for the stage hang just above the height of the second floor. The kitchen area is behind the stage, and there are two doors, one off to each side of the stage that lead in and out of the kitchen. There is a large dance floor, the pit, which is recessed down about four feet from the rest of the surrounding floor area in the bar. The pit has railings around the sides and partway along the back where people enter the area. The floor is pitched downward at the pit's entrance, creating a ramp for easier entrance and exit.

The club gets its name, The Pit, from this large pit, which can accommodate several hundred-people packed into it. With this architecture, the stage is raised approximately two feet above the heads of the people in the pit, and with the pit recessed downward, the band is in full view by everyone on the main level of the club, and of course on the second level.

The band finished carrying all their equipment in and onto the stage, and then started setting up. The control room for the stage, containing the control boards for the sound and lights, is on the second floor directly in front of the stage on the other side of the building above the entrance.

"I am going to go up to the board now," Greg said as he finished plugging everything into the grid panel behind the drum platform. "There are some wireless handsets here that we can use to communicate with each other as we get set up," he said as he handed one of the handsets to Hals and then stuffed the other one in his back pocket. He stepped off the stage and proceeded directly toward the staircase leading up to the balcony.

Everything was set up and ready to go by a little after eight. The sound check went flawlessly, so all they needed to do was a final check right before they start playing. This is to make sure nothing went on the fritz in the time they were waiting to begin. Something fritzing out for no apparent reason happens more often than one would expect.

Fred, Ethan, and Thom planted themselves at the bar on stools that would allow them to see the people as they entered the building. There were already more than a hundred people in the club at that point. The club is rated for around fifteen hundred, but there are times when there are many more than that packed into the place.

The three had been hitting the beer hard in the short time since they took their places at the bar. Greg walked up behind the three of them and put his arms around Fred and Ethan. He leaned in a little. "I thought you were going to just focus on your playing tonight, Fred?" Greg said with a big smile on his face.

"What? Man, I am just loosening up a bit. You know, pre-show jitters, I've got to try and calm them down," Fred said as he turned his beer up and drank down the last quarter of it in two large gulps. "Look," Fred said as he held up his hand and shook it as if it were trembling.

"Shit!" Greg said still with his arms around the two of them. "You haven't had pre-show jitters since you were sixteen, pecker head."

Fred smiled back at Greg as he picked up the fresh mug of beer the bartender had just sat down in front of him. "Cheers," Fred said as he turned the mug up.

At that point, Greg turned toward Ethan, "and what about you?"

Ethan sat the mug he had just emptied back down on the bar and turned toward Greg. "I figured people watching would be better enjoyed if I lubricated my mind a little." Ethan smiled as he motioned around his head with his hands.

Greg grinned and nodded his head up and down. "I am going to go hang out with the gals until time to start the show," he said as he patted Ethan and Fred on the back. Greg pointed at Thom, "He dude, don't let them corrupt you." Greg turned and headed over to the table where Abby and Cassy were sitting.

"I think it's too late," Thom hollered as Greg walked off.

About the time Ethan, Fred, and Thom had finished off another round, an oddly dressed but somewhat attractive women walked up and sat down next to Fred. Fred looked over at her and made a hello nodding gesture. He elbowed Ethan without looking at him as to get him to look over at the young woman. Upon closer inspection, Fred decided there was something different about her. Truthfully, he thought she sort of looked more like a dude dressed up like a woman because she had manly attributes about her. She had beautiful, long, curly hair that was hers and not a wig, but she didn't have a large Adam's apple. He inspected her up and down and determined that she had a very female-like figure, a very nice female figure, but she had definite male facial features regarding the shape of her jaw, etc. She had a small build; perhaps about five foot five, but she had large arms and hands for a woman of her petite stature. Nonetheless, Fred did note that she was an attractive young woman, which is the most important aspect to him.

"I don't think I have seen you guys around here before," the woman said to Fred.

"We are in the band playing tonight, but we have been here before. We get over her about once a year," Fred replied not really wanting to get into a conversation with her. "In fact, we have to head over to the stage in a minute and finish getting ready."

"Okay, maybe later we can chat or something," she said as she got up from her bar stool.

"Sure, maybe," Fred replied as he looked at her with a sideways glance.

After she was out of earshot, Fred elbowed Ethan again, "Sure, I'm gonna chat her up later," Fred said as he rolled his eyes and proceeded to finish his beer. "Like I said, I am not messing with any women in this place tonight." The bartender sat another beer down in front of Fred. Fred grabbed it and slid it to him as he looked up at the bartender. "Hey, do you know what the story is on that one who was just sitting here?" Fred asked him.

"Who, Chennell?" The bartender said pointing in the direction the girl had walked away. She had stopped at a table several feet from the bar.

Fred turned to look to see if it was her he was referring to, "yeah, her, by that table," Fred said pointing at her.

"Yeah, she's from Botem," the bartender replied.

"Botem, where the hell is that?" Fred asked.

"It's a planet not too far from here. It's close enough that you don't have to take a tube to get there, but I know what you are getting at. Botemites are all hermaphroditic or intersexual, whichever way you like to describe it. Some look more like women and some look more like men. The women-like, as they are called, are feminine in the sense of things, while the men-like are masculine. We have a lot of Botemites on Farel, although, not a great deal of them are around in Farel City. The majority is here in Strom." The bartender explained.

"Whew, I bet Botemite porn is really interesting to watch," Fred said as he raised his mug to take a drink.

"Having actual sex with them would be even more interesting," Ethan replied.

"Indeed," Fred said as he sat the mug back down on the bar, "but I am not going to find out, now am I."

"How do you think the genetics worked out on Botem? I mean with the sex chromosomes?" Ethan said.

"Genetics?" Fred asked as he twisted his face up.

Thom had spun around on his bar stool and was looking over at Chennel. "I wouldn't think they would have the typical X and y chromosomes Earthlings have. Even though humanoids around the galaxy basically all look pretty much the same, there are substantial differences in genetic makeup that are major in their sequences and actions. Not to mention there is a good deal of reproductive isolation. Parts seem to match up, at least well enough for screwing, but it doesn't necessarily mean that effective interbreeding will happen." Thom said as he was studying Chennel from a distance, not looking at Ethan or Fred.

"As I said, I am not going to find out anything about it personally," Fred said as he got up from his bar stool. "I am just going to focus on my playing tonight, and that is it."

As the three walked toward the stage, Thom put his arm around Ethan's neck and got close to his ear, "I don't know about you, but I think it would be cool to find out just how things actually do match up, if I say so myself."

"Yep, me too my man," Ethan replied as he smiled at Thom.

***

The first two sets went very well. The club was completely packed, including the pit area. The crowd was enjoying the music, and a survey of the crowd would conclude they were all having a very good time. The band was tight, and Fred was trying to keep as focused as he could on his playing. However, by the beginning of the second set, Chennell had found her way right up to the front of the stage in front of Fred. She watched him closely, and he knew she was watching him. Every now and then he would look over to see if she was still there, and she was. Occasionally she would kiss at him, lick her lips, and then wink at him, or point at him and then point at herself while nodding her head up and down. At one point, a pair of panties came whizzing right by Fred's head. He had to shift his head to one side just so they wouldn't smack him right in his face. He hadn't seen where they came from, nor did he acknowledge they had nearly landed on his head, but he was certain she had pitched them at him. During one of the songs, a cover by Adele, a 21st century artist, called Rumor Has It, Fred walked over to Thom and said, "I think I have a stalker."

Thom laughed slightly, and offered some advice, "Just have some fun with it, man. Work her from the stage here, and then you can bust out of here when we are done."

"Yeah, right, man and when we come back next week, she will be waiting to ambush me," Fred said shaking his head quickly back and forth. "I might just smile at her a time or two and that's it." Fred thought by throwing her a smile every occasionally, would ease the cold-shoulder factor. Deep down, Fred was a nice guy, contrary to how Abby described how his objectives with women made him "not nice". He wasn't one to purposefully hurt someone's feelings. He always made it a point to let a gal know he wasn't looking for a serious long-term relationship. In this case, Chennel simply wasn't his type, and he wasn't going to work it any more than smiling, no matter what Thom thought he should do, just to have a little fun.

Ethan had continued drinking after the show had started and continued through the second set. He was the type of drinker, who after a point, even though he did not plan too, would keep on drinking as though he couldn't stop. He was feeling the full effect of all the alcohol he had consumed, and had been dancing around in the crowded pit with whoever would dance with him, and thoroughly enjoying himself for the last hour.

Shortly before the third set started up, one of the gals in a group of people Ethan had been dancing with asked him if he would be interested in smoking some lieling. Lieling is a plant that is native to Farel, which has very similar properties to marijuana. Lieling is a legal substance, just like alcohol, and had been for most of Farel's history. For a brief period, several hundred years ago it was illegal, but only because they couldn't figure out how to tax it properly, so they made it illegal to grow and sell so governments could control the economic aspects of it. The government finally got it all worked out, and it is now a major domestic and export industry for the planet that brings in billions. Ethan eagerly accepted the offer.

Since smoking is not permitted in any public buildings, eateries, bars, and clubs on Farel, Ethan stepped outside with several individuals to partake of the lieling. After about ten minutes, the group came back into the bar. The band was back on stage, about to crank it back up, so they all headed back down into the pit.

As the band made it to nearly the halfway point of the set, Ethan began to react to the lieling and all the alcohol he had drank. He began to see tracers following the movement of everybody and everything. As he reached this altered state of consciousness, he began to zone out everything but the music the band was playing. He began to dance and move almost in slow motion. The gal dancing with him matched his dancing style, even though she wasn't tripping quite like he was at all. It seemed to be perfect timing, as Ethan became switched-on, the band began playing their deep riffing song, I Summon Thee; the one song Ethan reacts to in odd ways, regardless of his mental state.

Half of the way into the song, Thom walked over toward Fred and extended his foot out and tapped Fred on the back of the leg. Fred turned toward Thom, and Thom motioned out into the pit area with his head. Fred looked in the direction Thom was motioning, smiled and shook his head side to side. A circle of people had formed around Ethan and the gal, giving them ample room, and they were dancing and moving about in a uncoordinated, tripped out, slow motion lambada-style dancing. Fred looked back toward Thom and yelled, "Devils! Devils!" This time Thom shook his head and smiled, although Ethan never did begin to see devils at any point.

The band segued from there into a Rage Against the Machine hit. The pit went wild, and so did Ethan. He began screaming and pulling at his hair, while somehow keeping perfect time with the music, as he danced about, kicking his knees up and throwing his arms side to side. He was running into people and knocking them to one side and the other. The girl he had been dancing with was flailing around still trying to keep up with him. She had no clue Ethan was tripped out of his gourd. Most of the other people in the pit were just trying to get out of his way. He screamed and thrashed his way over to one side of the pit half running and half dancing. Once he reached the other side, he flung himself up next to the railing and grabbed on. He then spun around, backed up against it and threw his arms up over the rails. He started singing along with the song, screaming after every couple of words. The gal reached up and grabbed his face in her hands and started kissing him hard and deep. He broke away long enough to get out another scream, and she planted her face back into his. He reached around and grabbed her ass in his and squeezed it hard. She pressed her pelvis firmly up against his and kissed him deeper.

Fred and Thom had been watching the whole event play out as they stood next to one another on stage. Fred turned to face Thom and played a couple of riffs. He leaned in to where Thom could hear him, "I hope they don't start screwing right there. It'll be pandemonium if they do."

"You're just worried it will take all the attention away from you," Thom said as he smiled at Fred and played a few more notes. "Besides, he's so fucked up he probably couldn't get a hard-on anyway," he said as he continued to play along with Fred.

The band ended the third set a couple of songs later. By now, Ethan was rolling around in the floor of the pit making growling noises while the gal was rolling around on top of him.

Thom sat his guitar down and walked over to Fred. "We had better go get him and take him outside. We might need to splash some water in his face or something to get him to come around."

"Yeah, he is liable to start some serious shit if we don't do something," Fred said as he followed Thom off the stage.

By the time Thom and Fred got Ethan out into the alley where the van was, Greg, Abby, and Cassy were already there.

Greg started laughing as Ethan sat down on the bumper of the van. "I sure wish someone was videoing all that. Did you see him, he was rolling all around down there," Greg said as he continued to hold his stomach and laugh deeply.

"At least nothing got started. He could have easily smacked up against the wrong person and set off a melee, or even worse, he could have lost another arm," Hals said as he leaned up against the building.

Ethan leaned his head back against the door on the van and started to moan slightly. The coolness of the metal felt good to him. He turned his head so that his cheek lay against the cool metal, and he started making humming sounds.

"I have got to take a piss," Hals said as he started to walk over toward the trash dumpster, while unzipping his pants.

"Well, one more hour and we will be finished up," Greg said as he looked at Ethan who was still sitting with his face against the van.

"What are we going to do with him?" Thom asked.

"I think we will..." Greg started to reply but was cut off by Hals yelling.

"Ahhh! Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck!" Halls yelled, as he tried to run back toward the group, and unsuccessfully trying to zip up his pants at the same time.

"What is it?" Cassy exclaimed as she ran toward Hals.

"There is a fucking foot back there by the dumpster," Hals said as he danced around making facial expressions as though he were in pain or something close to it. He got his pants zipped up as he spun in a tight circle on the tips of his toes.

"What do you mean a foot?" Cassy asked with visible concern as she tried to get him to stop spinning.

"A foot, somebody's foot. I almost pissed on it," Hals said as he began to dance around this time as though he were covered in bugs.

"Was it attached to someone?" Greg asked flatly.

"Shit I don't know man. I ran the hell back over here when I saw it," Hals said, almost whining.

Greg walked over toward the dumpster. As he approached it, he yelled back to Hals, "Which side?"

"The left side," Hals said as he sat down on the bumper of the van next to Ethan.

Abby joined Greg at the dumpster. "There it is," Greg said as he pointed at it. "It is definitely someone's foot." The foot was sticking out from under some newspapers and several bags of trash that had tumbled off the mound of bags that were piled up over the top of the dumpster. Greg used his foot to push on it to see if it was still attached to a body or loose. He could tell by the resistance it was indeed attached to something. Greg noticed a shoe sticking up from between some of the other bags of trash.

"It's attached to something all right. I think that is the other one," Greg said to Abby as he pointed to the visible shoe. "We had better get the manager and call the police."

The group filed back in through the club's back door. Greg found a stool and planted Ethan on it, and instructed Thom and Fred to stay with him. The others went to look for the manager.

***

By now it was a typical scene you might see in an alley, in a less than completely safe part of a large city. Blue lights were flashing all around, and a crowd of people had formed at one end that was being held back by a couple of police officers. Yellow police tape had been strung around the dumpster area to cordon off the area where the body was lying. The gang was standing in a huddle in front of the back of the van in full view of the dumpster and the body. A police officer approached the group. "Which one of you found the body?" the officer asked as he pointed his stylus in the general direction of everyone.

"I did, sir," Hals said as he raised his hand.

"Okay, can you tell me how you found him?"

"Well, we were standing at the back of the van, and I needed to pee. I thought over beside the dumpster would be as good a place as any."

"You didn't think the bathroom might be a more appropriate place?" The officer asked sarcastically.

Hals looked at him with a sideways grin, "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

"Okay, go on."

"Well, I pulled it out and started peeing. After a sec, I looked down, and there was this foot sticking out from the mound of trash bags."

"What did you do then?" the officer asked as he tapped an icon on his handheld with his finger. It was obvious he was recording the conversation with Hals.

"I ran back over to the van."

"Okay, and after you got back to the van, what happened next?"

"Well, these two walked over to check it out," Hals said as he pointed at Greg and Abby.

Greg raised his hand, "I walked over to see if it actually was someone's foot, and I could tell that it was. I then pushed the foot a little bit with my foot to see if it was attached to something. I could tell it definitely was attached to something," Greg said. "We then went back inside to get the manager."

"When you guys first arrived here in the van, you didn't happen to see anything or notice anything potentially out of the ordinary around the dumpster, did you? No one standing around?" the officer asked.

"No." They all replied almost synchronously.

"I didn't think you would have, but it doesn't hurt to ask. The body has obviously been here a couple of days. Alright, if you would, please give me a number and an address in case we need to reach you for any other questions."

Greg gave the officer their numbers and the address to the brownstone where they were staying. The officer then walked back over toward the dumpster and the other officers.

Greg turned to the group, "Let's get our stuff loaded up and get home."

"That's a good idea," Cassy said. "We need to go home and have a nice, long, night's sleep, and we can talk about all this tomorrow if we feel we need to."

The group started back into the club to round up their equipment.

"Yes, Dr. Cassy will want us to tell her how we are feeling about the whole thing. Well I can tell you now, I don't have feelings one way or the other," Fred said.

Abby glared at Fred, "People don't just die or get murdered for no reason, Fred. There is always an underlying premise. Plus, I am sure he has family somewhere who are wondering where he is or what has happened to him."

Fred shrugged his shoulders and made a face at Abby.

"I told you, something always happens when we come to Strom," Thom said as he shook his head back and forth.

Ethan, still in a daze from the lieling, looked like a zombie following behind, dragging his feet and sporting a funny gaze. He wouldn't be much help loading up the gear tonight, that's for sure.

Chapter 8

Inspector Linde sat his handheld back down on his desk and stood up. "Patel, Moss, get in here," he yelled through the open door of his office. He walked over to the window and stood looking out of it with his hands on his hips.

"Yes sir," Patel said as the two entered the office.

Linde did not turn around but continued to look out the window. "I have to go to Farel."

"Farel?" Moss asked. "I've never heard of any place on Brem called Farel," he said with a slightly confused look.

"Farel is not a place on Brem, man, it is a planet. You are talking about the planet aren't you sir?" Patel asked as he bumped Moss' shoulder with the back of his hand.

"Oh, okay – really?" Moss replied.

"Yes," Linde said as he turned around. "It's a planet that is nearly all the way across the galaxy from here."

Patel produced a confused look on his face, "All the way across the galaxy? Does this have something to do with the case we are working on, sir?"

"Well, I am not certain, but I intend to explore all avenues and find out. The primary reason I am going is, it appears, one of our parliamentarians, Klars Algud, has been found dead on Farel." Linde expressed this with a little smile on his face. His smile was more than likely generated by one or two points, or by the combination of both. The first point deals with political positions. Klars is a well-known anti-imperialist. Linde, on the other hand is not, and thinks well of the Emperor and the emperorship. Linde and Klars have had words about the emperorship in the past, typically during an investigation involving Emperor Chirod. Their division over the Emperor has put them at odds a few times. The second point involves the case of the missing crown jewels. Linde had yet to voice any concern to anyone, especially the Emperor, but he knew he had run into a dead end on the case. The tips and clues had run into dead ends, and all aspects of the case were running very cold, very fast. All the leads he had on anything about the case had come up either short or useless, and there weren't any more to go on. This new development might just be the break that was needed. In fact, he has a strong gut feeling about it. It just seems too coincidental to him.

About the time Linde started to open his mouth to start talking again, the stack of books on Linde's desk, which Moss was leaning against, slid off the edge and made a disturbing racket. Linde closed his mouth and watched Moss stumble around and then start scrambling to pick the books up.

"Sheesh, Moss!" Patel exclaimed, and stooped down to help Moss pick up the books. Linde dropped his head and shook it side to side as he grinned.

After Patel and Moss had picked up the books and placed them back on the desk, Patel straightened himself up, "As you were saying, sir."

"Oh yes," Linde started as his face brightened. "I am not one hundred percent certain, yet, if this is related to our case or not, but I certainly hope to find out as I get all the particulars on Algud's death. But, if I were a betting man, I would put a little money down that it is related somehow."

"How did he die? Was it natural causes?" Patel asked.

"He was found under a pile of garbage behind a dumpster in a seedy area of Farel City. Usually when you die of natural causes you aren't found under a pile of garbage," Linde said with a wry smile. He sat down in his chair at his desk. Patel and Moss sat down in the chairs in front of the desk. "I haven't received much detail about his death just yet."

"What was he doing on Farel? Should that be of a concern?" Patel asked.

Linde did not reply right away but sat for a moment in thought, with his thumbs under his chin, tapping his top lip with his index fingers. "You know, that is a good question. I made a couple of calls trying to find out why he would be on Farel. It turns out that he and his wife are avid planet-hoppers. They take three or four trips off the planet each year, most of which are kind of on the spur of the moment from what I gathered. There might have been some legitimate reason why they just up and went to Farel. We will certainly find out."

"Well, I guess if they are avid travelers, then that might be legitimate enough for them to be there," Patel said while Moss played with an item he had picked up from the top of Linde's desk. Patel gave Moss a look of disapproval and gestured with his head for Moss to put the item back on the desk.

"You might be right," Linde said nodding his head up and down. "I also found out that Algud had looked at buying a retirement place on Farel several years ago. They might have gone for something about that, but to wind up murdered does seem out of place."

"Random?" Patel replied.

"I don't know, I guess. Random things happen all the time," Linde said with a very skeptical look on his face. "Wrong place at the wrong time, maybe."

"What about his wife?" Patel asked.

"Yeah, she probably did it. He probably had a big insurance policy on him, and she was looking to cash in on it," Moss replied absently as he fumbled around with a different item he had taken from Linde's desk.

"That's probably not the case. She has more money than he does," Linde replied, "but there has been no mention of his wife in any of the communiqués I have received from Farel."

"Yeah, really? She has all of the money?" Moss said as he looked up at Linde.

"Yes, old money," Linde said flatly.

"Oooo, back on the market now, eh," Moss said as he looked over at Patel, bouncing his eyebrows up and down while smiling. Patel didn't acknowledge the gesture.

"Under any other circumstances, I would just let the authorities on Farel try to work this one out, and wait to see if I actually need to go there. However, given that Algud was very much against the Emperor, and we just had the theft of the crown jewels, I feel it is necessary for me to gather as many first-hand facts as I can." Linde had sat up straight in his chair. "I am leaving first thing in the morning. It takes a few days to get there. I want the two of you to do two or three things for me while I am traveling. First, I want you to find out as much information as you can about Algud's wife, Eliza. Second, I want you to dig around for any information on Algud that might be pertinent, and third, see if you can find out who the two of them ran around with here on Brem."

"We will get on it," Patel said as he stood up. As Patel turned to walk out, Moss realized the conversation was over and jumped up. He tried to gingerly place the object he had been playing with back on the desk, but it didn't work out. The object bounced around on the desk, making a loud noise. Moss scrambled around trying to catch the object, knocking things over and off the desk. Linde simply looked up at Moss with a blank face as Moss was trying to catch the object.

"Come on man," Patel said with a little frustration in his voice.

"Coming," Moss replied as he quickly shuffled out of Linde's office. The object had quit bouncing and was now just rolling around on the desk like a pinball. Linde reached down and snatched the object up, ending its raucous stroll around the top of his desk.

***

Back on Farel, the band was getting ready to play their second show at The Ten Toes in Ligthe. This is a weekday show, but Simmonhead Fred generally turns out a good crowd anywhere they play on Farel no matter if it is on a weekday night or a weekend night. On the upcoming Friday night, they play at Coozie, over in Quie, and then finish up Saturday night at the Pit in Strom. Their stay on Farel ends a little more hectically; in contrast to the laid-back nature of when they first arrived. This is the result of scheduling shows, and nothing more. They didn't want to leave and come back to Farel two or three times, so they opted to just hang around on the planet in the beginning. After leaving Farel, their next show is on Savannah at the Life Festival, but there are several days between their last show on Farel and the festival. In the interim, the band plans on spending a few days on the resort planet of Crymeon. The Crymeon visit has become somewhat of a tradition, and Greg schedules everything accordingly. Plus, it is not out of the way.

Ethan, Thom, and Hals were in the kitchen of the brownstone talking about what they were going to do after the show in Strom on the upcoming Saturday night.

Greg walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and removed a soda. "What are you three pecker-heads doing?" he asked as he twisted the top from the bottle of soda.

"We're just talking about the after-party on Saturday night, after we get done at The Pit," Thom replied.

"After-party?" Greg said as though he were confused, but knew quite well what they were talking about. At the end of every planetary set of shows, the band hosts an after party for themselves, old friends from the host planet, and anyone they had recently met during their current visit. These parties were never out of control bashes that left everything in a complete shamble, but were usually laid back opportunities to hang out with old and new friends for one last time before they left the planet. After all, it would be at least a year before they returned to Farel.

"Yes, the after-party you dumb-shit. We have to celebrate how well we rocked Farel," Thom explained with an expression of 'duh'.

"If my memory serves me right, you jerks celebrate everything you do in this way, don't you? So how is this any different?" Greg replied with his own 'duh' expression.

"Hell yeah!" Hals said loudly, as he bumped fists with Ethan and Thom.

"Whatever," Greg replied. "Remember, we are leaving on Monday so don't work up some wild kegger that requires having to smooth something over with the authorities, or worse yet, an insanely jealous boyfriend."

"Yeah, and that will give us a day and a half to recuperate," Thom said with a quick nod of his head. "Besides, you will be right in the middle of it just as much as the rest of us, so don't go acting all mature and grown up like. Okay Dad?" he added as he made a marching motion with his arms.

"A day and a half? Shit-head, we are leaving on Monday. We won't get home from The Pit until early Sunday morning. Don't you know the days of the week? You must have smoked your brain up like swizzle-stick here," Greg said, gesturing at Hals.

"Oh, yeah. I was thinking we were playing there Friday night or something," Thom replied with a silly grin.

"We have to get going over to Quie in a couple of hours to set up. Abby and Cassy want to try a seafood joint out over there for dinner that someone told them about, if that is all right with you guys. We don't want to dilly-dally around too much," Greg said as he leaned against the counter.

"Fine with us," Hals replied as he looked at Ethan and Thom, who were gesturing their approval as well.

Greg left the kitchen and the three went back to discussing the party on Saturday night.

Thom looked over at Ethan, "Hey, are you bringing Syndie, or are you going to try to hook up with that girl you tripped out with at The Pit the other night?"

"Syndie doesn't go to Strom, remember, but I told her we would more than likely have a party, and she was more than welcome to show up when we got back," Ethan said. "Although, that group I met that night would be a fun one to invite over. They are an all right bunch. They are all from Quie, but they like the scene over in Strom better for some reason. I guess it's a little more raw and edgy for them."

Thom didn't say anything in response to Ethan, but began to grin largely. Both Hals and Ethan couldn't help but notice.

"What the fuck are you grinning so big for," Hals asked, with a look as though he knew Thom was up to something.

"I am going to invite that Botemite gal to the party. I thought it might be interesting to see if Fred changes his mind about her."

Ethan narrowed his eyes a bit and grinned, "Yeah, I think you want to see what that might be like for yourself."

"One never knows, now do they, besides, she might not want to have anything to do with me," Thom said, still with the big grin. "See what you are missing out on, Hals. There is more strange out there than you can imagine, and strange just doesn't mean a different person that you screw in a typical fashion. There really are some strange opportunities out there in the galaxy when it comes to people and sex." Thom hadn't found himself in as many different odd situations as Fred had, nor had he had the sheer quantity of sex that Hals had, but he has had more than his fare-share by anyone's standards. Thom, if one uses the expression a little loosely, is picky about his encounters. He is unlike Fred, who, which everyone in the band has agreed upon, would screw anything with two legs and the anatomical equivalent of a pussy.

Hals made a smirk-like expression, "I am perfectly content. Cassy and I can create strangeness in our experiences. We don't need the strangeness of different people. What we do, and how we do it, is just as satisfying to us as doing someone different each week like you guys try to do. You can trust me on that."

"Yeah, yeah, doggy-style by any other name is still doggy-style, right?" Thom replied.

"What the fuck does that mean," Hals asked.

"Isn't that what you say?"

"No."

"I think he says something like doggy-style in different places is as good as having sex with different people, right," Ethan said as he looked over at Hals.

"You're close," Hals replied to Ethan.

"I don't quite see it," Thom said shaking his head side to side.

***

The trip to Farel would be a good opportunity for Linde to relax a little, just like it had been for Klars and Eliza, but instead of screwing in an anti-gravity room, it will give him some time to consider all the latest developments in a relaxed fashion. Deep down he knew Klars Algud's death was in some way tied to the disappearance of the Emperor's harness. How his death tied in with it, he did not know at this point, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed a connection would be logical. He concluded there were several, real facts that would make a connection very likely.

Klars disliked the Emperor and the position greatly, and that was fact one. Linde knew that whoever took the item would get as far away from Brem as they could. Farel was clear across the galaxy, and that was fact two. A Breman official has wound up dead under suspicious means and circumstances on a faraway world, which by the way, happens to be the person in question regarding fact one, and that is fact three. Even with the little information Linde had thus far, and even though his current list of facts is only circumstantial evidence, Klars' death didn't seem random or disconnected. He was certain none of it was coincidental.

Klars Algud is considered by many to be a model citizen, or at least he appeared to be one. Klars was well known, and well respected by many among the political parties on Brem. In addition, the Emperor had spoken well of Klars on more than one occasion, irrespective of the Emperor knowing his feelings toward him.

Nevertheless, Linde would have to wait until he reached Farel, before he could make certain Klars was connected to the theft. For now, he would just enjoy the rest of the trip, and maybe get in a little light reading.

Late in the second day of his trip, roughly an hour before the starship was to start its surf down a tube, Linde received a call from Patel. Linde had instructed Patel and Moss to contact him right away, if they had found anything that might be of interest, no matter how slight. When his handheld began to ring, and he saw it was Patel, his eyes widened.

"Hello," Linde said in a calm tone as he answered his phone.

"Inspector Linde," Patel replied in response.

"Yes, what's going on? Did you run across something?" Linde asked still in a calm tone, even though he was a little excited to find out what information Patel had for him. He knew Patel was a very capable investigator, and probably came across a solid lead of some sort, or some vital information. Moss on the other hand had many shortcomings, and Linde knew he just wasn't' contributing anything good to the investigation. He would probably make a decent street cop, but Moss just didn't have the savvy to be an investigator. However, this was an issue he would have to deal with later, after he returned.

"Yes, I did sir. It's about Klars Algud's wife, Eliza," Patel replied.

"Really?" Linde said with keen interest.

"Yes, there seems to be some discrepancies about her."

"In what regards?" Linde asked, a little puzzled. "The Router family is a well-known family, at least from years past. I know they are considered old money, that goes back almost two hundred years. I did a little digging myself on Algud and his wife before I left. The Routers were caught in one of the imminent domain scandals involving Chirod's grandfather about a hundred or so years ago. It would make sense to me that she and Klars would find common ground on that point, but...Sorry, Patel, I am thinking out loud, please go on."

"Well, yes, you are right about all that, but there is something that doesn't add up about Eliza Router."

"Okay, elaborate."

"Yes, as you said, the Routers were affected by one of the imminent domain situations in which they lost their long-held family estate. Due to these circumstances, the family basically scattered among their other property holdings around the planet. Over the years, they fractured even more. They weren't a very close group to begin with from what I could find out. Soon after scattering, they divided what capital was left in the family trust and all other family assets. From there, they all went about their own business, separate from one another. For the last several decades, they have remained scattered and disparate, without any meaningful contact between any members, except though their lawyers."

"Okay, so as a family they don't have anything to do with one another. That's not out of the ordinary," Linde said as though he were a little disappointed with the information.

"That's not the meat of it all, sir. That's just some background information to get you up to speed," Patel replied, sensing the tone of Linde's reply.

"Oh, okay, go on then," Linde said, as he perked back up a bit.

"Eliza Router is in fact a real person and is a member of the Router family. She is part of the Routers that moved to a large, family farm outside of Stins. She was an only child. After she finished secondary school, she left Brem to complete her college education."

"Well, I don't think that would be terribly out of the ordinary, but again, please go on," Linde stated. "Again, I am thinking out loud."

"Right, but she left over fifty years ago," Patel continued, with an emphasis on fifty years.

"Fifty years?" Linde said puzzled.

"Yes, fifty years, and the current age of Eliza Algud or, Router, is purportedly forty-five. If she left over fifty years ago at the age of eighteen, then she would have to be at least almost seventy, if the dates are accurate, so it essentially doesn't add up."

"Man, she sure looks good for her age, then," Linde said out loud but was obviously in deep thought, and thinking out loud again as he said it.

"What?" Patel replied with a little surprise. "The current Eliza Algud is not seventy, sir."

"I know that," Linde said petulantly. "I was just free associating as I was thinking." His comment embarrassed him slightly. He obviously didn't mean to say it out loud.

"That's not all," Patel continued without noticing or acknowledging Linde's snarky reply. "She returned for visits periodically during the first couple of years she was off at university, but sometime after that she quit coming back to visit at all. A couple of years after her last visit while in college, her father passed away, and I couldn't find out anything on what exactly happened to her mother. Eliza seemed to simply disappear. She didn't even come home for her father's funeral, as best I can tell, from all of the passenger list records in the databases."

"This is juicy stuff, indeed," Linde said as he smiled, although Patel couldn't tell he was smiling, since they were merely talking and not video chatting. "Yes, this is great stuff, Patel. Please keep digging if you don't mind."

"Well, I went ahead and kept digging farther, sir."

"Okay, great, what did you find out, then?" Linde's smile grew larger.

"I called a couple of Router family members to ask them about Eliza Router. One of them had never even heard of her, but knew that some of the family did become farmers. The other was familiar with the name and knew Eliza's family was from Stins. Also, she was certain Eliza Router and Eliza Algud were one in the same. However, I checked into the birth records along with everything else and the only Eliza Router I have come across would in fact be the individual who is indeed over seventy years old. So, this just corroborates all the dates pointing to the fact it doesn't add up. This Eliza Router Algud cannot be the real Eliza Router."

"Well, I think you have in fact uncovered some major information, Patel. This just might be what will allow us to make the definite connections between her, Klars, and the jewels. You are doing some very good, thorough work Patel. You have indeed turned up some outstanding information; keep digging around for more if possible. How is Moss coming along?"

"He's helping and getting in there," Patel replied quickly.

"Well, we are getting ready to hit the tube. I had better get off here because I will lose you anyway. Thanks for the info. I will call you sometime after I get on Farel." Linde knew Patel was covering for Moss, and keeping company with Patel was all he was more than likely mustering up.

"Okay, bye sir," Patel said.

"Bye."

Linde laid his handheld down on the table and sank down into his chair. This is great information, he thought to himself, but it puts a kink in my earlier analysis. I can certainly see a motive from Algud's perspective, but this development with Eliza, or whoever she is, is very interesting. This will take some cogitating to sort out, as well as more details to fill in the big gaps. If this woman is not the real Eliza Router, then what is she up to, and how does she figure into the disappearance of the crown jewels?

Linde pushed the footrest out on the chair, reclined back, and closed his eyes. A woman's voice came over the ship's intercom system. "The ship will be entering the specified transect tube in approximately fifteen minutes." Linde didn't open his eyes. He was hoping to maybe fall asleep and get in a nice, little nap. Travel through a tube went unnoticed physically. You would get a weird sensation if you were looking out of a window at the star field because it would shift quickly in short skips from where you were, in relation to your destination. Some people described the sensation as being similar to an acute case of momentary vertigo. Everything would seem to turn upside down and back again in a quick instant for some. However, if you weren't looking out of a window, you would never know for certain anything occurred.

As a starship exits a tube, it possesses a great deal more velocity than it did when it entered a tube. This is a paradox that is not fully understood, but the best calculations describe the phenomenon as being close to what happens when you crack a whip. Never the less, it only takes a few hours to a day to reach your destination planet once you come out of a tube. Most of the time is spent breaking the starship to slow it down, otherwise it would shoot past the planet. If that happened, it would take several days to get back the planet. None of this, however, concerned Linde one bit, he just wanted to take about an hour or two nap, something he rarely did or even had the opportunity to do, under normal circumstances.

***

The Ten Toes was completely packed when the band arrived about an hour before the show was scheduled to start. Greg drove the van around behind the club, as he always did. Everyone piled out and started carrying in gear. As with just about anywhere they played, the band entered in through the back entrance. The Ten Toes was a quick setup, so it gave the gang the opportunity of about half an hour or more to do whatever they wanted to do before the band had to be on the stage. Fred, Thom, and Ethan always liked to have a cold beer or two before each show. It was one of those ritual types of things. The three of them headed off to the bar. The rest of the gang found the table that had been reserved for the band, and they sat down and ordered drinks when the waitress stopped by. Before their drinks arrived, Dunn, the club owner, came over to the table and talked with Greg for a couple of minutes about the details of the show and the evening. Greg sat back down after talking with him, and Dunn started walking off.

Dunn took a couple of steps and then stopped and turned around. "Am I going to have to station a bouncer at the group's table this evening, Miss Cassy?" he asked with a big smile.

Cassy cut her eyes over at him and with an impish smile replied, "You just might need to do that, Dunn."

"Well, on second thought, I think we will just wait and see how the night goes. How about that?" Dunn said with a smile as he turned and walked away.

Fred, Thom, and Ethan approached the bar and spotted three empty stools. Fred elbowed Thom as they were sitting down. "Look down there," Fred said to Thom.

"What is it?" Thom replied looking in the direction Fred had motioned.

"It's that black haired gal I met here the last time we were here," Fred said as he fixed his gaze on her. "She said her name was Ashley," Fred said as he craned his neck to see her better.

"Oh, yeah, the one you talked about for two days. The amazingly good looking one," Thom said as his memory came to him.

"Yeah, I will be back in a minute," Fred said as he strolled off in the woman's direction.

"Well, there he goes," Thom said as he got Ethan's attention by hitting him in the shoulder with his forearm.

"Yep, that one is always on the lookout," Ethan said as he took a sip of the beer that had been placed in front of him. He had ordered Thom and Fred one too while they were discussing the gal down the bar, and their beers had been placed on the bar in front of them, or at least where Fred should have been sitting. "She is definitely a really good looking gal. I don't blame him for his ambition, but I don't see her going for him."

Thom reached and picked up the beer. "Thanks for the beer, man."

"No problem, you can get the next one," Ethan said as he sat his beer down and slapped Thom on the back.

Ashley was sitting one stool in from the corner of the bar as it made a turn down toward the wall. She looked up and saw Fred coming along the bar, and she began to smile. Fred hadn't taken his eyes off her, and they immediately made eye contact. Fred returned a corresponding grin. "Hey, how's it going?" Fred said when he was at the point where she could hear him. "Ashley, right?" he said before she had a chance to answer his first question.

"Yep, that's right, you're the guitar player from the band," Ashley said as she pointed toward the stage.

"Yep, that's me, I'm Fred if you don't remember," he said as he sat down on the stool next to her.

Ashley didn't let on whether she could remember his name or not, and Fred couldn't tell one way or another, nor did he care. He was elated enough that she had at least remembered they had met a few nights before. Ashley indeed had remembered his name, but not because she thought he was anything amazingly spectacular, or because he was a phenomenal musician. She had thought he was just someone interesting. She hasn't had much chance to interact with many people from Earth, and anytime she did, she loved talking with them in to learn as much as she could about the planet. Fred was the first Earthling she had met that was in her same age range. All the others she had ever met from Earth were much older. When she had first met Fred, and confirmed he was from Earth, she quickly thought it would be entertaining to talk with him to get a perspective of Earth from someone she could identify with.

However, she knew Fred's type. Ashley knew what he saw in her was merely physical. She also knew that she was extremely desirable to most males, so putting two and two together, she was certain she knew what Fred was after, regardless of what she did or who she was as a true individual. Essentially, she is an intellectual, and men stimulate her more cognitively, than through any physical attributes, which is quite the opposite of what most males think would stimulate her.

She hadn't spent enough time with Fred, yet, to know if he was simply a guy whose personal prowess stemmed solely from his good looks and ego, rather than else. Unfortunately for Fred, neither good looks nor ego had any primary effect on her, but he didn't know that. But, lucky for Fred, being from Earth was a major plus in his favor. Plus, if he had any chance in winning her over, he would have to appeal somewhat to her intellectual side as well, and he was not aware of that necessity. In those respects, he was flying blind.

"I have to go on in about fifteen minutes. Are you here with anyone tonight?" Fred asked coolly.

Ashley was stirring the ice in her drink with the little stirring stick that had come with it. "No, not really, a couple of my friends said they would probably come to see you guys tonight. I wanted to get out and do something, so I thought I would meet them here. I haven't seen them, though."

"Okay, well, if you don't mind, I would love to chat with you between sets. You know, to get to know you a little better." Fred didn't know this was the perfect lead-in with Ashley. It was exactly what she was interested in doing, to chat with him to find out more about Earth.

"That sounds great. I would love to get to know you more and hear about Earth. I have never been there," Ashley said smiling.

Fred was visibly pleased with her agreement to talk later. "Sure, no problem, I know a fair bit about the place, I have lived there all my life. It's not a bad place, it's just crowded." Fred realized at that point that it was about five minutes before the band was to go on, and he hadn't drunk his pre-show beer as he ritually does before every show. "I've got to get going, but I will search you out, just as soon as the first set is over."

"Okay," Ashley said smiling.

Fred turned and headed back down the bar toward Thom and Ethan. As he got within earshot, he said, "I need a beer."

"You better hurry," Ethan said, "I drank the one I ordered for you before you took off."

The bar tender just happened to be walking by as Fred stopped next to Thom, "Hey man, can I get something amber, on draft?" Fred asked the bartender.

"Sure thing," the bartender replied over his shoulder as he continued down the bar.

In a matter of seconds, the bar tender sat a mug of some type of amber beer down in front of Fred. Fred picked it up and drank it down as fast as he could. He sat the mug down and burped loudly. He got the bar tender's attention, and motioned for another one. Thom and Ethan had started toward the stage when the bar tender placed another mug of beer in front of him. Fred picked it up and hurried off after the other two.

Fred was trying to drink his beer and scurry across the club to the stage. At the same time, he was trying to think of what he would talk with Ashley about regarding Earth. Earth was Earth, as far as he was concerned. It is the governing planet of the galaxy, yes, but nothing much more than that. Something was always happening on Earth, which was in the galactic news. I guess I can just tell her about growing up there, go for the quaint angle or something, he thought.

By the time Fred had reached the stairs to the stage, he had managed to drink about half of his beer, but that was accomplished by stopping a couple of times just long enough to take large swigs. Fred climbed the short staircase and stopped once he reached the top of the stage, and drank down the rest of his beer. He sat the mug down on an amp and wiped his mouth with his hand. "Not a bad crowd tonight, not as packed as last time, but still not too bad," Fred said to Thom as he picked up his guitar and slung it over his shoulder.

"So, how did it go with that gal?" Thom asked smiling.

"Well, she at least agreed to hang out and talk during set breaks. Last time she disappeared straight away and that was it."

"It sounds a bit more positive than the last time, that's for sure."

"Yep, but I don't expect to hit it tonight or anything like that. I am sure I am not actually on her radar. I think she is only interested in me because I am from Earth."

"What makes you say that?"

"She made some comment about me being from Earth and she is interested in hearing all about the place, whatever that means. Most gals don't ever care one way or another that I am from Earth. They are usually more into me because of the music."

"Maybe it's some novelty of hers that she wants to screw a guy from every planet, and you are the lucky shit from Earth."

"That would be the luck, now wouldn't it?" Fred said as he shook his head back and forth, "and I would be more than happy to fill that spot." He stepped on a button on one of his pedals and checked his guitar for tune.

Everyone was on stage and ready. The lights went down and the club quieted in response. Hals counted in and began by beating out a quick riff and then Fred came in with his opening licks in a cadence aligned with Hals. Lasers beamed off and on in time with Hals, in the dark club as he and Fred followed in with the rhythm. Abby stepped to her mic and began to sing. As she did, the stage lights lit up in time with the music. The band had opened this show with an original called Strong Forces. It is the title track on their first album by the same name. The song has drum elements in the stylings of music by a twentieth century band called Rush, but with their own flair and amalgamation of several other influences, such as Evanescence. Abby often gives Amy Lee of Evanescence as one of her biggest influences, along with Joan Osborne and Adele.

The band tries to tailor their set selections to the club where they are performing. They have an extensive repertoire of selections they play or can play, so they design sets in accord with the interests of the clientele that visit the club where they are playing. For example, they play much harder rock and metal at The Pit in Strom than they do here at the Ten Toes. However, there are several songs they play at every show for each tour. These include all their most popular originals, along with some very popular covers.

A large crowd, consisting of a several hundred, was gathered around the stage and dancing in time with the music. The copious stage lights were flashing and dancing in an articulated rhythm. It appeared as if each individual color ribbon of the rainbow were present, dancing about, individually affected by the music. Multi colored lasers flashed in time with the bass and drum lines. Everyone in the club was moving in some way in a concerted fashion to the music. If one were to look across the Ten Toes at the crowd, it would seem as if everyone had transcended from their current place and time. They were elevated in their spirits. It would seem the cares of their lives were non-existent, at least for the moment. The only thing that mattered to them was the pulsing rhythm of the music.

Music can move people to bliss and serenity, to sadness and tears, to disturbance and aggression. Simmonhead Fred preferred to write and perform music that moved people to bliss and serenity. However, bliss and serenity are interpreted differently for every individual. Bliss can be found in the raucous guitar riffs of AC/DC or Black Sabbath, as well as rhythmic harmonic chants of Clanaad, or the soothing transcendental melodies of Liquid Mind.

Chapter 9

Before he left Brem, Inspector Linde had contacted the Breman embassy on Farel to notify them he was indeed coming. In turn, the embassy notified Farel's State Department of Linde's pending arrival on the planet. This was standard procedure for such situations, regardless of the planets involved, regardless of the persons involved, or regardless of the nature of the situation. With all of the particulars worked out before he left Brem, all Inspector Linde had to do was contact the Breman embassy once he arrived on Farel, and Farel's officials would connect him with the appropriate individual or individuals handling the case.

Linde checked into his hotel late in the afternoon, on the day before he was scheduled to meet with any officials on Farel. The following morning, he slept later than he normally would on any given morning back on Brem. This morning he knew there was no need in getting up early, since he wouldn't be able to immediately get cracking on the case. He was on Farel's time, or in other words, he was at the mercy of the Farel officials.

Linde got dressed and left his room. He went down to the hotel restaurant, where he read the local paper and ate a leisurely breakfast. After finishing, Linde returned to his room and sat down at the desk. He picked up his handheld and dialed the Breman embassy.

The phone was ringing. "Good morning, you have reached them Breman embassy," the person said with a flinty voice when they answered.

"Yes, this is Inspector Cyrus Linde from Brem. May I speak to Ben Framer, please?"

"Just one moment, please," the person replied.

Linde tapped on the desk with his stylus to the rhythm of the music coming over the phone. He had picked up the stylus so he could write down any pertinent information Ben Framer might give him. Ben Framer is the Breman ambassador to Farel. He had been the ambassador for several years. Linde was acquainted with him through the Emperor, and had talked with him a few times at a couple of state functions. It just so happens, the two of them share a common interest in a certain type of automobile manufactured on Brem. They have had one or two lengthy conversations about the virtues of the specific model of car, which is the Square Shod. If it wasn't for this, Linde probably would have never known anything about the ambassador to Farel, other than by name, much less have ever spoken with him.

Every planet in the galaxy has an ambassador to each planet in which they are engaged with in trade or for any other reasons that require diplomatic purview. It is not uncommon for a planet to have several thousand ambassadors scattered about the galaxy. Farel is a tourist destination, plus a haven for retirees. The planet has quite a few foreign dignitaries on its soil from all corners of the galaxy.

After a few seconds, a voice came over the phone, "Inspector Linde!"

"Ben, yes, this is Cyrus," Ben Framer's voice startled Linde slightly. He had begun to drift off in a daydream.

"How are you doing, my good friend?"

"I am doing well."

"How was your trip?"

"Not bad, I caught up on some rest and a little reading."

"Good, good, it's been a while since we last saw one another."

"Yep, I think a little over two years. Was that the last time you were back on Brem?" Linde asked.

"Oh, no, I come home at least once a year. It is a requirement of all Breman ambassadors to be back on the planet at least once a year, sometimes more. It just depends on what might be going on," Ben answered.

"Well, I guess you know why I am calling," Linde said, wanting to speed things up a little. He doesn't mind engaging in small talk; he just doesn't like to make small talk on the phone. Texting and video notes were his preferred form of communicating in such situations, if a face-to-face meeting was not possible.

"Most certainly I do, this situation is a tragedy. Klars Algud was a respected and an all-around liked citizen. I know he had visited Farel several times in the past, just for pleasure. At one time, he seriously considered retiring here on Farel. It is an unfortunate tragedy," Ben said with melancholy and sympathy.

"True, true, it is an unfortunate situation," Linde replied with only a hint of sympathy in his voice, and that hint was mostly contrived. Linde is a man of the Emperor and Klars was not. Ben Framer was probably aware of his and Klars' opposite positions on the Emperor, but Linde wasn't sure. He didn't care any at all whether Ben Framer did or didn't know of his and Klars' disagreements, or what he might think about it.

"Well, I won't keep you. I am sure you want to get right to work," Ben said.

"Thank you and yes, I would love to get right at it," Linde replied.

"To get started, you need to contact Inspector Chert of the Farel National Police. In fact, I will have my secretary connect you with him when we are finished talking. I haven't spoken with him any at all, regarding any specifics of the investigation. He has given me only scant details. As soon as I was notified you were on the way, I thought it would be best to let you be the official liaison for the case. I informed Chert you would be here in a few days, and I left it at that."

"Okay, that sounds good. Thanks." Linde jotted down the name, Inspector Chert, on his note pad. "I will keep you informed of everything as it proceeds, Ben, and you can then relay information back to Brem." This was just the way Linde liked it. He didn't care much for keeping everyone notified of developments personally, nor did he care for any of the annoying details that went along with it, especially anything involving the press. "I will give you a call later today to let you know what I find out concerning things up to this point," Linde said with a hint of false enthusiasm. He just as soon carry-out his investigation and then release all the information when the case was solved, but he knew that Ben wouldn't want it that way nor would the Emperor.

"Sounds good, hold on a second, and I will get you connected with Chert." Ben placed Linde on hold while he buzzed his secretary so she could connect Linde with Chert.

As soon as Ben stopped talking, the music began again. It was a catchy, jazzy tune, something you would hear on an electronica channel. Linde found himself tapping his finger on the desk to the tune of the song, as he had been doing when he first called Ben. Linde heard two clicks, and then the music stopped abruptly.

A voice quickly beamed in over the phone, "Inspector Linde."

"Yes!" Linde said in a loud, short, manner due to being startled by the person's voice. He had begun to daydream as he was enjoying the music.

"Inspector Chert is in a meeting right now and should be getting out shortly. I can have him call you as soon as he gets out."

"Okay, yes, that will be fine."

"Would it be alright for him to contact you on your handheld communicator, or is there another contact mode that you would prefer?" Chert's assistant asked.

"Yes, please have him call my handheld."

"Certainly then, have a good day Inspector Linde."

"Thank you and you too." Linde said as he ended the call and laid his handheld down on the desk. He produced a big sigh. "Fuck me running!" He said out loud in frustration.

Linde wanted to get started doing something, anything, with this case. He hated sitting around waiting on people. The case regarding the jewels had reached a dead end quickly, and now this whole situation with Algud getting thrown into the mix had heated the case back up dramatically. Linde was very excited about finding out how the two were connected. Linde knew where he wanted to start. He wanted to locate Eliza so he could pump as much information out of her as he could. The information Patel had provided about her questionable identity intensified the light of suspicion on her in the whole affair. Linde knows there is much more to this than meets the eye, but he was lacking a good deal of pertinent information, and now he was going to have to sit around his hotel room for who knows how long, waiting on Chert. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it, and it made him very anxious.

To keep himself from stewing and getting aggravated any more than he already was, he decided to quietly go over what he knew about both situations, and how they might be connected. Perhaps he might have a revelation or something. First, the crown jewels were taken, jewels that are closely tied to the ability of the monarchy to maintain their position on the planet. Second, a Breman government official who has openly opposed the position of the Emperor, leaves Brem within a few days of the jewels' disappearance and is murdered on a distant planet. Third, the wife of the dead official turns out to have a very questionable background and identity.

Algud might have gotten himself deeply wrapped up into something and with someone, and whoever it was must have decided they wanted the spoils all to themselves, Linde mused. "Hmph," Linde said out loud, "That poor bastard probably never even knew what was going on from the very beginning."

"Eliza is going to be the key, though, I know it," he said as he continued to wrestle with the information he had just gone over. As he thought about it more, he realized Ben Framer didn't mention anything about Algud's wife. Did Framer not think it was necessary to say something about a slain diplomat's wife, where she was, or what she was doing? Perhaps it was customary not to discuss these matters, Linde thought. After all, he had never dealt with the murder of a Breman diplomat on another planet. Perhaps that was the custom here on Farel?

Linde began to pace back and forth across his room. If there was just someone I could go ahead and call or meet, he thought to himself. He stopped pacing and sat down on the foot of the bed. He knew he couldn't just strike out on his own, following leads, asking people questions, or rooting around. He was sure anyone he confronted would simply tell him to fuck off, once he couldn't produce any Farelian credentials. He sighed again. He would just have to wait on Chert.

***

To Linde, it seemed like an eternity had passed as he rambled around in his room waiting for Chert to return his call, but it had only been little more than an hour when his handheld rang.

"Hello!" Linde said, slightly in a frantic, excited way, as he fumbled with his handheld, trying to get it to his ear.

"Inspector Linde, this is Grayl Chert, sorry to have kept you waiting, but you know how this stuff goes."

"Oh, no problem Inspector Chert, I completely understand. The short bit gave me time to collect my thoughts and to try sort some things out." Of course, Linde was putting on. The hour wait seemed about three times longer than it had actually been, or that he thought it should have been.

"I am sure you are eager to get started, so I will be around to pick you up in about ten to fifteen minutes, and by the way, please call me Grayl. There is no need for the Inspector formalities."

"Certainly and likewise, you can call me Cyrus."

"Okay then, well, I will see you in a few minutes."

Linde pushed the button on his handheld to end the call, and slipped it in the case on his belt. He picked up the rest of the things he wanted to take with him and headed down stairs to wait for Chert.

When Chert entered the lobby of the hotel, Linde was leaning against a column and staring off into the distance as he ran the stylus to his handheld through his thumb and middle finger, flipping it around to send it back through again and again.

Chert didn't know what Linde looked like, but Linde had the typical look about him that most government officials had; clean cut, black suit, and a white button-up shirt. Plus, he was the only one in the lobby that was not in the company of someone else.

At a respectable distance from the person he assumed, correctly, was Linde, Chert called out Linde's name, "Cyrus."

Linde broke his stare and looked in the direction of the voice. He stopped flipping his stylus and took a step toward Chert. "Yes, Grayl, how are you doing?" Linde said as he stuck out his hand to the approaching Grayl Chert. Grayl was a stocky man of around six feet tall with black hair that was beginning to lighten with age. He was wearing the same outfit as Linde, probably another reason why he so easily picked Linde out from the dozen or so people in the lobby.

"Doing good, doing good," Grayl said, "it is nice to meet you Cyrus."

"Yes, indeed, it is nice to finally meet you." Linde unconsciously emphasized 'finally', but not so much that Chert picked up on it.

"Well let's get going," Chert said as he motioned toward the door with his thumb.

Chert turned and headed back toward the door. Linde followed along closely. Once out the door, Chert started around the car that was sitting right in front.

"Here we are Cyrus," Chert said as he motioned to the car.

Linde opened the door and got into the car. After he fastened his seat belt, Chert started off.

Chert turned out onto the street and headed in what seemed like a determined direction. "So where or how do you want to start, Cyrus? I am sure at some point you will want to see all of the official reports that have been generated up to now."

"Yes, that is right, I do want to see them, but I will get to them in due time. I read the brief synopsis on the trip here, and there are a couple of things I am interested to hear about in more detail. However, I want to first ask you about Algud's wife, Eliza," Linde said as he looked forward out the front windshield at the buildings.

"Okay," Chert said slowly with a puzzled look on his face, "and what is it you want to know from me? I would think you would know more about her than me, since she is from your planet."

"No, no, what details has she provided. I didn't see anything regarding any statements she made, or anything for that matter, in the synopsis. She has been interviewed, hasn't she?

Chert still had the puzzled look on his face as he turned to reply to Linde. "Uh, well, there was no wife to interrogate, and from all of the evidence we have collected thus far, it was determined that Algud was by himself here on Farel."

"What?" Linde said loudly as he looked at Chert.

"Was his wife supposed to have been with him?"

"Yes, they left Brem together. Therefore, one would assume that she accompanied him here." Linde replied, visibly surprised.

"Well, I guess one would, now wouldn't they?" Chert said as he looked forward and puzzled.

"I would like to go to the hotel where he was staying."

"Certainly," Chert said, as he abruptly steered the car into a left turning lane and then turned as they went through the next intersection.

"Well, fuck me running!" Linde mouthed as he turned his head to look out the car door window.

***

Chert pulled the car up to the front door of the hotel where Klars and Eliza had been staying. The two got out of the car and entered through the front entrance. Once inside, they headed straight for the front desk.

"Good morning, gentleman," the desk clerk said with a smile as the two approached.

"Morning," Chert replied, "Inspector Chert and this is Inspector Linde," Chert said as he produced some form of identification for the desk clerk to see.

"Yes sir, certainly, sir," the clerk said as he straightened himself up for some reason, as though he were standing at attention.

"We would like to ask you some questions regarding the recent murder of one of your guests," Chert said as he placed his identification back into his pocket.

"Of course. The Breman diplomat, right?"

"Yes, that is correct. The Breman diplomat, Klars Algud," Chert replied as he looked over at Linde and made a head motion toward the clerk as to let Linde know he was free to start asking questions.

Linde placed his hands on the desktop and took a quick look at the clerk's name badge that appeared to be glowing with the clerk's name in a bright bluish light. The glowing name badge did not surprise Linde. He knew it was a low-voltage organic electroluminescent device. OEL devices were found galaxy-wide, and used in all sorts of devices, jewelry, etc. He looked at it to catch the clerk's name. Using a person's name was one of his many questioning tactics he employed to get people to relax a little, and maybe be a little more liberal with information, although, Linde was not the most skilled at interviewing people, and he knew it.

"Gouse, how many people were registered into the room, or was anyone with Algud when he checked into the hotel?" Linde asked as he made eye contact with the clerk.

Gouse picked up Linde's accent right away and knew he was from Brem. "Well, I was actually working the front desk when Mr. Algud checked in. There wasn't anyone with him that I saw, or that I recall, nor was there anyone else registered to the room."

"Did you see him come or go with anyone?"

"You know, no, I generally don't pay attention to guests as they go in and out of the hotel," Gouse said as he moved his head side to side. He briefly stared off as he scanned his memory.

Linde stood for a moment in thought, as well, with his hands still on the desk. "I need to call Patel," he said to himself. He looked up at Gouse. Was the room been messed with or cleaned by hotel personnel before the police entered?"

"No," Gouse replied shortly, "a lockout order by the national police has been placed on the room. No one is to enter the room until the investigation has been completed. In fact, no one has been in the room since before Mr. Algud left the day of his murder, other than the local police and the FNP. The timing of everything would have been such that housekeeping would not have been back in the room either."

Linde turned to Chert, "what have your people done with the room thus far?"

"The only thing we have done is image the entire room in extreme detail, and collected a few pieces of evidence," Chert said in response.

Linde turned back to Gouse, "I want to look in the room, if that is possible, given the lockout order."

Gouse looked at Chert. Chert looked at Linde and then back at Gouse. "Absolutely," Chert said, "the order does not apply to anyone on official police business."

Chert and Linde both looked at Gouse.

"Okay, then," Gouse said, "I will have to get a print from one of you for the door lock."

Chert placed his thumb on the thermal pad on the desk and Gouse tapped on his computer display screen.

"All right, you are set to go."

Chert raised his eyebrows and asked, "Which room?"

"Oh, room 614, sorry," Gouse replied as he blushed a little.

"No problem," Chert said as the two men turned and started off toward the elevator.

"Anything particular you are going to look for in the room?" Chert asked Linde as they stepped into the elevator.

"Well, I want to see if there is any evidence of more than one person being in the room, or if there is any indication of a female present at any time. Females leave subtle clues behind, like tissue in the waste basket with a little makeup on it."

"I haven't viewed any of the room images personally, so I cannot give you any information in those regards. However, I am sure the chief investigator on the case will be able to tell you what evidence has been collected from the room."

Chert stuck his thumb on the scanner pad on the door, and the lock slid open. The two entered the room one after the other. Linde stopped in the middle of the room and placed his hands on his hips as he scanned around the room. He pivoted on the heel of one foot as he slowly rotated a complete three hundred and sixty degrees, scanning the room intently, making a mental picture of everything. There was a large king-sized bed in the middle of the room with tables on each side, a small sofa, a small table with two chairs, a small desk, and a large video monitor on a stand.

"It looks as though someone had lain on the bed," Linde said as he pointed to the slightly disheveled covers, "but there is no indication of how many. He continued to scan around the room. There was nothing that indicated two people had occupied the room. There was only one set of luggage. He walked to the closet and peered in. There were only men's cloths hanging in it. He walked into the bathroom and looked around. There were no toiletries specific to a female. He checked the wastebasket, but there was nothing in it. He stepped back into the main part of the room and stood for a moment staring at the floor as he pinched his bottom lip with his thumb and index finger. "She came back and cleaned out the room," he said in a volume too low for anyone to hear but himself.

Linde turned and pointed at Chert. "Do the door lock mechanisms keep a record of being opened?" Linde said a bit loudly and quickly.

Chert was caught by surprise by the sudden burst of words. "Uh, I don't know for certain, but I am sure they do. We can ask the desk clerk."

Realizing the room was essentially a dead end, Linde started toward the door at Chert's suggestion of asking the desk clerk, Gouse, about the door lock. Chert quickly followed in behind Linde.

Linde popped out of the elevator just as soon as the doors were opened enough to let him pass through them. He hurriedly made his way over to the front desk.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gouse caught Linde heading straight for him, and he stepped up to the desk to greet him. "Yes, Inspector?"

Linde placed both his hands on the desk as before. "Is there a record kept of when and who unlocks a room door?" he asked Gouse with a look on his face that he was sure he was on to something.

"Yes they do," Gouse replied.

"Can I see a report of room 614, then?" Linde asked.

"Yes you can," Gouse said as he touched his computer screen. He reached below the counter and produced a sheet of paper and gave it to Linde.

Linde quickly scanned over the piece of paper. "Fuck me running," he mumbled with slight lip movement. He laid the piece of paper down on the desktop. "This just shows that Klars unlocked the door each time someone entered the room," Linde said with a slightly frustrated look on his face, as though Gouse had given him a report for the wrong room door.

"It would seem to reason," Gouse said.

"Why is that?" Linde replied.

"There was only a print key established for Mr. Algud for room 614."

Linde stood there for a moment staring at Gouse without saying a word. Gouse looked back at Linde with a smile and then looked at Chert with an expression of "well?"

Chert stepped toward the desk. "Okay, thank you Gouse."

"Certainly," Gouse said, and then turned and walked away.

Linde was jogged out of his daze by Chert's and Gouse's exchange. "Fuck me running," he said again, but this time completely to himself. He was certain there would be lock entry data showing Eliza Algud had opened the door, especially the last time it was opened sometime during the day or evening that Klars was murdered. The fact there wasn't any entry for Eliza stumped him, and it left him momentarily in a daze.

Linde turned and started to take a step. "Hey, wait, Gouse," Linde said as he turned back around to the desk.

"Yes, sir," Gouse said as he stopped.

"Was an Eliza Algud registered to a room?" Linde asked.

Gouse tapped on the computer monitor," it doesn't appear she was registered to another room.

"Okay, thanks. I need to make a call," Linde said to Chert as he turned and looked toward the lobby door.

Chert could tell Linde was deep in thought about something, but of course there was no way of knowing exactly what Linde was mulling over. However, Linde's blank expression was the giveaway.

"Yes, of course," Chert replied to Linde as Linde started walking toward the door. Chert went over to a comfortable looking chair and sat down.

Linde exited the hotel and walked over toward a shady area. As he made his way, he took his handheld out of its case and began to dial a number.

"Hello," came the voice on the other end of the call.

"Patel," Linde said flatly

"Yes, Inspector, how are things going?"

"Uh, well, they're going, but not anywhere fast. I need you to look something up for me."

"Definitely. No problem Inspector," Patel replied quickly.

"I want you to find out the identity of everyone on all of the connecting flights Klars Algud made on his trip here to Farel. As soon as you get it, send me a copy of the lists. Also, look it over and see if anyone stands out for any reason, any reason at all.

"I am on it. I will send you the lists immediately and then go through the passengers."

"Sounds good, oh, what is Moss up to?"

"Tagging along, sir," Patel said with a slightly detectable sigh in his voice.

"Okay, let me know something as soon as you can." Linde ended the call and placed his handheld back in its case. He looked around for Chert but didn't see him. He walked over to the door and looked in. Chert was still sitting in the large chair he had sat down in when Linde walked outside. Linde stepped inside the door. Chert stood up when he saw Linde walking inside the hotel. The two met halfway between the chair and the door.

"Yes, Cyrus, what do you have in mind?" Chert asked as he straightened out his suit coat.

"Can we head over to the scene where Klars' body was found?" Linde asked as he made a gesture with his head.

"Yes, indeed, let's go."

Once in the car, Chert directed it onto the expressway over toward Strom. For the first couple of miles, the two sat silently in the car.

Linde broke the silence, "so, what are the details regarding the scene, and the body, and so forth?" Lind asked.

"Well, the body was found behind a club over here in Strom," Chert said as he pointed toward the skyline of Strom. "He was behind a trash receptacle, pretty much completely covered by overflowing trash. A member of a band that was playing at the club that night discovered the body. In fact, he almost pissed on him."

Linde couldn't help but smile as he envisioned Klars getting pissed on. There truly is no love lost on Klars from Linde's perspective. What a fitting memorial, he thought to himself as he smiled larger. He realized he was smiling and turned his head so Chert couldn't see his expression.

"The fellow, this band member, went over by the dumpster to relieve himself. As he was spraying piss around on the bags of trash, he notices Klars' foot sticking out from under the mound of trash. Once the body was brought in, the coroner knew right away that he had died from an electropen blast to the chest. Such a jolt would have stopped his heart instantly. You know, electropens leave tell-tell signs. You can examine the body as well if you like," Chert said as he looked over at Linde.

Linde was still looking out the window, but had stopped smiling. He had sunk into thought, and suddenly realized what Chert had just said. "No, no, that's not necessary." Linde knew Eliza was the key, as well as the primary culprit, but what he didn't know was exactly how she was tied to it, and for what reasons. Surely she wasn't in it for some monetary gain, he thought. The harness couldn't fetch enough money to justify murdering a planetary official.

Linde looked over at Chert. "Do you know he has a wife?"

"Yes, you inquired about her earlier, plus one would have assumed as much. He was wearing a wedding ring when he was found," Chert said looking forward out the front windshield as he drove.

"Yes, that's right. Well, from what we can ascertain at the moment, she accompanied him on his trip here to Farel, even though evidence would suggest otherwise," Linde said, still looking a Chert.

Chert made a facial gesture of agreement, "indeed, from all the information we have gathered so far, it does appear as though he was alone on this trip."

"Yeah, well, I am quite certain he wasn't, and that is what we need to figure out; not to mention figuring out where his companion is located."

***

Linde stood next to the trash receptacle with his hands in his pockets, as he kicked a piece of trash around with his foot. Chert was standing over by the back door of The Pit, talking with the club's owner. Linde really wasn't concerned, anymore, with any of the actual, physical evidence regarding Klars' murder. The details of Klars' death were no longer important to solving the case with the jewels specifically. In his opinion, the piece of trash he was kicking around had as much pertinent information about Klars and the jewels as did anything else lying in the alley. He knew any extra information from this aspect wouldn't help shed any light on anything about the case, or bring about any great break regarding the jewels, but he knew for certain he needed to find Eliza Algud. She is indeed the one person who knows all the details and has all of the answers. Once Patel gets back to him regarding the information he had requested, he could move forward with greater effort.

Once he had finished talking with the club owner, Chert walked over to Linde. "You know, a dead body behind a trash receptacle in Strom is actually not an unusual thing," Chert said as he looked down to watch Linde scooting the piece of trash around. "There are one or two murders over here each week on average, unfortunately. Most involve drugs or some sort of organized crime. This case, however, is an altogether strange and different one."

Linde looked up from kicking the piece of trash with a grin on his face, "well, I think this one is going to get a great deal more strange and different as it goes along."

"They often do," Chert said as he rubbed his chin.

"This one here," Linde began to say in response to Chert, when his handheld began to ring. "Excuse me," Linde said to Chert as he started to take his handheld out of its holder on his belt.

"Certainly," Chert replied.

Linde walked away from where he and Chert had been standing. "This is Inspector Linde," he said when he answered, although he knew exactly who it was because he looked at the screen on the device just before answering it. It was Patel.

"Inspector," Patel said.

"What've you got?" Linde said quickly before Patel had the chance to say anything other than inspector.

"Well, I have the passenger lists of the flights that Klars Algud was on as he traveled to Farel," Patel said.

"Was Eliza Algud on those flights as well?" Linde asked, knowing for certain that Patel would say yes.

"Yes she was."

"I knew she would be," Linde said with a large smile.

"Yes, but there is one very interesting thing."

"And what is that?" Linde asked again anxiously, cutting off Patel.

"There is no record of Eliza Algud on the connecting flight to Farel from the interstellar hub they passed through."

"Which hub did they use?" Linde asked. He was wondering if they stopped at Drang, where Mirra Lovich, aka Sary Collins, had possibly stopped. If so, this would provide a definite link between the missing jewels, the Alguds, and Lovich up to this point.

"Greib," Patel replied

"Greib," Linde parroted back. Damn, he thought. Why couldn't it have been Drang? "Well, that makes sense. It is the most logical hub to use to get from Brem to Farel. I stopped there myself on my way over here," Linde said, somewhat deflated as he sighed. "But you say she was not on the flight from Greib to Farel?" Linde had let that bit of information fly in and out before he actually processed it. His face brightened. The fact that Klars and Eliza didn't go through Drang did not separate them from the theft of the jewels, but the fact that Eliza was not registered on the flight to Farel added another piece to the seemingly disarticulated puzzle that continued to point straight to their involvement with the theft.

"That's correct. She was not registered on the flight."

"Was she on any flight leaving Greib?"

"No. There was no Eliza Algud listed on any flight leaving Greib, neither on that day, nor on the next day either. Do you think she is still there on Greib, waiting?"

"No," Linde replied flatly. "She is here on Farel somewhere, and boy do I really want to find her," Linde said with large eyes.

"Do the officials there on Farel know anything about her whereabouts?"

Linde turned and looked over at Chert. Chert had walked back over to the car and was leaning up against it. "No, they didn't even have a clue that Klars had come to Farel with anyone, but you can't blame them, I guess. From the information, we have gained so far, you would not have known it. In fact, I haven't even been able to find any evidence that Eliza was with him once he got here on Farel," Linde said as he smirked a little.

"You haven't?" Patel said, surprised by the fact.

"No, not a clue. She has completely disappeared, and now this information you have just given me makes me believe, without any doubt, that Eliza is responsible for Klars' death, and the disappearance of the jewels. Klars might have just been an innocent bystander of sorts, and didn't know anything going on."

"Indeed, you say?" Patel said with a sense of shock in his voice.

"Yes, now, not only do we have the crown jewel case, and a murder investigation going on, but we have a missing person case that needs to be solved quickly for obvious reasons, and damn if all three things aren't intimately tied together and to Eliza." Linde began to chew on a fingernail in thought for a moment, leaving Patel to hang on the line in silence. "Patel, thanks for the info and keep nosing around on anything that comes to mind or presents itself as seeming like it might be pertinent, no matter how insignificant or trivial. If you stumble onto anything, let me know straight away."

"I certainly will, sir.'

Linde ended the call and placed his handheld in its holder. He stood for a moment looking over at Chert leaning against the car door. Chert was staring down at the ground as though he was in a daydream.

"Can we go to your office?" Linde asked, as he sort of yelled over at Chert.

"Sure, no problem," Chert replied, slightly startled, as he pushed himself off of the car and opened the driver's door to get in.

Chert turned out of the alley from behind The Pit, onto the street and headed toward the expressway back toward Ligthe.

"So what are you thinking, Cyrus?" Chert asked. "I assume you received some valuable information from your call."

"Yes I did. We need to locate Klars' wife, Eliza. She indeed left Brem with him, but there are no records of her leaving the transfer hub on the same flight Klars took to get to Farel, nor any other flight for that matter." Linde was looking out his door window the whole time while he was talking.

"Okay," Chert replied. "We will initiate an alert when we get to headquarters."

"That will be great, but I don't think it will do much good. My gut is telling me she is probably no longer on Farel. If I were her, I wouldn't be." Linde continued to look out his window. "I should have had Patel check passenger lists for people that have left Farel in the last few days that match those who arrived from Greib just a couple days before. I'll call him later," he thought to himself.

"You just might be right, Linde."

"Well, I think, no, I know, what we are looking at involves more than just the murder, but involves a very recent high-profile theft back on Brem."

"Really?" Chert said with a little surprise, however he wasn't too surprised. He knew murders typically had a twist or two associated with them, especially when it had an inter-planet component to it.

"We have recently had the misappropriation of some vitally important state items, and from the evidence I have acquired in the last couple of days, I am lead to believe that Klars and Eliza Algud are connected to the misappropriation, although I am not too certain if Klars was aware of everything going on with Eliza." Linde was still looking out his door window as he was talking.

"What sort of state items are we talking about?" Chert asked.

"I am not at liberty to say exactly," Linde said as he looked at Chert, "but let's just say they are extremely valuable and vital, plus they have relevancy to the monarchy of Brem."

Chert had looked over at Linde at the same time and caught Linde's eyes. From the expression on Linde's face, Chert could tell whatever these "state items" were, they were indeed extremely important. "I understand," Chert replied.

Chapter 10

It was a bright, sunny morning in Farel City. The brownstone in the borough of Ligthe where the gang was staying was quiet and peaceful. The band had played to a sold-out crowd at Coozies in Quie the night before. Quie is a bedroom community for the families of upwardly mobile twenty and thirty-somethings that don't want to live in the more urban environ of Ligthe. Quie has a picturesque skyline, but it is left over from the days when Farel City was not an aggregate made up of the three boroughs. The skyscrapers are no longer offices and banks but rather apartments, hospitals, and multi-level shopping centers.

The crowds that congregate in the clubs and bars in Quie are usually laid back and mellow. They tend to enjoy the experience of the music, rather than partaking in an active scene of socializing and carrying on. Most of the people who frequent the band's shows in Quie are married or attached in some way, although there is an ample number of singles in the borough as well. Also, they tend to not get too rowdy or drink too much, but there are always a couple people who like to get a little ripped, as is the case no matter where the band plays, where alcohol is served. It should be noted there is a thriving lieling subculture in Quie. After all, it is legal and there are several smoke houses and bars that cater to lieling use, but as with other venues in the borough, they too are laid back and mellow.

Just about everyone in the gang was stirring around in the brownstone, much earlier than was typical. They had played until about two in the morning at Coozies, but it was straight home and in the bed for all of them.

"You seem to be in a good mood this morning," Abby said to Fred as he walked into the kitchen with a big smile on his face.

"What? I can't smile?" Fred said as he gestured with his hands out to his side.

"He's been talking on the phone with that Ashley chick he met at Ten Toes," Thom offered up quickly.

"She's stringing you along, Fred. She's way out of your league," Abby said as she opened the refrigerator to get something out of it.

"What? Bullshit, she's not out of my league."

"I've seen her, numb-nuts. She was just using you the other night to get a free buzz."

"Yeah, I bought her a couple of drinks, but I was being courteous. She didn't ask for me to buy them."

"Oh, she asked, but not in a way that you were aware of," Abby replied, grinning, without looking at Fred.

"Oh yeah, I will have you know she is going to be at The Pit tonight. If she was just using me to get a free buzz, then why would she come all the way over to meet me at The Pit, and in Strom to boot?" Fred was taking offense to Abby's assertion that Ashley was out of his league. In his opinion, yes, she was probably the best-looking woman he had ever seen in person, but he was a good-looking guy himself. Plus, there were plenty of good-looking guys at the Ten Toes she could have went after, so there was something else that drew her to him, he thought to himself. "Hmm," Fred said out loud.

"What?" Abby and Thom said at the same time.

"Huh? Nothing," Fred replied. He remembered Ashley had made a big deal about him being from Earth. Perhaps that novelty was the only reason she had any interest in him, he thought. Other than the rest of the guys in the group, he was the only other guy in the club from Earth. Oh well, we will find out tonight perhaps, he continued thinking to himself.

"Well, if she shows up at The Pit tonight, I will pay your tab and carry your gear out to the van after the next show," Abby said as she closed the refrigerator door.

"You're on!" Fred said quickly and sort of loudly as he pointed at Abby.

Abby and Fred both know carrying his gear and paying his tab are not the issue. The issue at hand is Fred's ego. Abby knows Fred's ego can be a little fragile at times, especially when a good-looking woman dents it. It's not that Abby is sadistic or just mean, nor is she jealous or vengeful. She just feels Fred needs to be brought back down to Earth, or whatever planet they happen to be on, every now and then to keep him grounded, and for him to maintain a decent perspective on women and things related. To her he seems to stay just a little above where he should be. Abby is a grounded individual herself, and knows Fred gets a little too full of himself sometimes, and when he does, it affects everyone in the group. Opportunities that allow her to control him in this way, without him realizing what is going on, are too hard for her to pass up. If a woman strikes him down, and no one witnesses it, or knows what occurred, then it is as if it never happened. However, in a case like this, everyone knows what is going on, and everyone is watching to see what happens.

"So what's going on this morning?" Greg asked as he entered the kitchen after being outside.

Thom piped in quickly, "Abby is trying to make Fred realize he is not as good as he thinks he is when it comes to bagging hot women." Thom knows how Abby operates and was purposefully trying to stir the pot up.

Abby cut her eyes at Thom quickly, "I was just pointing out to Fred that the girl at the Ten Toes the other night was just working him for drinks, and that was all." She didn't know if Thom was completely wise to her ways, or knew her motives, or if it just appeared as though he did. In her opinion, Fred, Thom, and Ethan are always too preoccupied with trying to hook-up with females that they are oblivious to everything else.

"Huh?" Greg said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe she was, and maybe she wasn't. I guess we will never know."

"Yeah, but we will know. She will be at the Pit tonight," Fred said with an expression of 'how's that for you'.

"She said she would be at the Pit tonight, but that doesn't mean she will show up," Abby added looking at Fred with her finger in the air as though she were making a profound point.

"I love doing shows at Coozies," Greg said, trying to change the topic of conversation as he glanced over at Abby. Greg was fully aware of Abby's efforts in this matter, and he preferred to stay out of it. He didn't care that she manipulated Fred to some degree. She manipulated Thom and Ethan as well, but to a much lesser extent, and he knew that too. In Abby's opinion, they were more refined or mature than Fred and needed a great deal less guidance.

"The crowd is always hyper-aware and fully focused on the music at shows in Quie. It's not like we are the backdrop to the more pertinent tasks at hand; which is everyone trying to get ripped or get laid," Greg said with a fully animated expression, hands and all, for some reason.

"What are you so giddy and chipper about?" Fred asked.

"I was outside reading over some news feeds and posts on Info Link, and there were several about the show last night."

"Yeah, what did they say?" Fred asked with genuine interest.

"They were all very positive. One said it was 'an incredible show, the best reviewer had seen in some time'." Greg said smiling largely. "Also, I am glad tonight is our last show here on Farel. I am ready to get going. Monday will not come too soon for me. The rest of the shows for this tour are scattered, and we are only on each of the planets for a couple of days. I don't mind a couple of days, but you know after a couple of weeks it becomes tiresome. Besides, if I am going to stay somewhere for an extended period, I want it to be a vacation or at home," Greg said, much less animated than before, standing with his hands on his hips.

"What about the Life festival on Savannah? We will be there three or four days," Thom reminded him. "Can you handle that length of time, or will you get stir crazy and pop a cork?"

"Yeah, I'll pop a cork," Greg said with a smirk, "you know what I mean. Hey, where are Ethan and Hals?"

"They are still in bed, I think. Plus, there will be about a million people there. That won't screw with you, will it?"

"When they get up, we need to talk about the show tonight, and no, you know I don't have a problem with crowds."

"Sure thing, I will let them know," Thom replied.

Fred leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, "Yep, I plan on playing hard and loud tonight."

"Going to put on a show for her, eh?" Thom said with a sideways grin as he looked at Fred. Thom knew Fred went all out when he wanted to do his best to either impress or attract a woman he had his eyes on.

It didn't always work, however. Most of the women Fred chases after are never overly impressed with his guitar playing, or anyone's guitar playing. Even though Fred is very good, his playing didn't weigh as much in their attraction toward him as he thought. They were more often drawn to him because he was cute, a little quirky, and interesting to listen to, due to all of his galactic travel experiences.

"No, I feel good, and I am in the mood to tear it up," Fred replied as he put his chair back down on the floor. Deep down he knew it was also for Ashley's benefit, but he wouldn't admit it.

"Yeah, right...well look what the cat dragged in," Thom said pointing at Ethan as he stepped into the kitchen doorway.

Ethan came walking into the kitchen rubbing his head and yawning. He stopped after entering the kitchen a few steps. "What's going on?" he said slightly incoherently as he finished up his yawn. It was clearly visible Ethan was still partially asleep as he stood in the doorway in a pair of pajama pants, slippers, and no shirt on. His hair was standing up in all directions and he had red marks and blotches all over his chest and shoulders. His bottom lip was swollen, and the skin was broken and red.

"Shit, that's the same thing he said when he walked in here," Thom said with a little laugh as he pointed at Greg.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the refrigerator scooting his feet on the floor as if he were too tired or too weak to lift them up.

"What the fuck happened to you? You look like shit," Fred asked.

"Nothing happened to me," Ethan said stressing 'happened', "it has been a long night."

"Did you tie a big one on?" Greg asked.

"No. In fact, I only had a couple of beers."

"Did someone spike them or something," Fred asked.

"No," Ethan said as he took a large drink from the glass of orange juice he had poured for himself. He lowered the glass. "Apparently, lieling makes some Farel women extremely horny, like horny in a physical way."

"Yeah," Thom replied with a short laugh and a large smile.

"Yeah," Ethan replied, nodding his head up and down slowly. "A couple of Syndie's friends showed up last night with some, and we burnt it up. It wasn't much or didn't seem like much. I barely got a buzz from it this time, but it turned Syndie on something fierce. I was finally able to ring her bell around four-thirty this morning, and she literally passed out shortly after, as if I had hit her in the head with a hammer or something."

"Well, you did hit her with a hammer, so to speak, right," Fred said with a large grin. He had leaned back in his chair again.

Abby rolled her eyes, "and how old are you again?"

"It looks like she beat the shit out of you or something," Thom said as he pointed to Ethan's face.

"Oh that," Ethan said as he rubbed his lip with his fingers, "no, she didn't hit me, she bit me. She also bit me in a couple of other places," he said as he inspected his chest for the evidence to show them, but the marks were easily visible. Everyone could to see them without any problem. "She was really a charged-up tiger last night."

"Well, when you get woke up, we can all get together and figure everything out for tonight," Greg said, looking at the bite marks on Ethan's chest.

"Sure thing, boss," Ethan said as he yawned again.

Everyone knew what Greg meant by "figure everything out". It meant determining when they would set up at The Pit, do a sound check, and what they would do about eating prior to the show. Greg liked to have all the pertinent details worked out. He wasn't anal about planning and details, nor was he the type of person who liked to simply go with the flow, and let everything happen as it happened. In his opinion, things ran more smoothly when as many of the details were worked out to some degree beforehand.

***

Linde lay in his hotel bed. He didn't typically remain in bed much past six, but it was Saturday, he was on another planet, and there wasn't anything he had to do. Chert wouldn't be coming around today since it was the weekend. He was watching an adult channel on the television. He had finished watching one video and was working on a second one. He began to wonder how long it had been since he had even been on a date with someone. "What was it, ten months, twelve months, fourteen months?" he thought to himself. He decided it had been at least a year, and that a year was entirely too long to go without any kind of companionship. He wasn't a one-night-stand type of person. He could have as many of those as he wanted, but that was not what he desired. Unfortunately, his work kept him busy, too busy to get something going with someone. Work seemed to always get in the way, or at least that was his excuse.

Things had come to a climax with the video and he was effectively finished watching it. As he tried to remember the details of the last date he had been on, he drifted off into a sleep-like state. After about ten minutes, Linde jogged himself awake and got up to get himself cleaned up. He entered the bathroom and turned on the shower to warm up the water. He returned to the main area of the room, picked up the phone, and ordered breakfast to be delivered. He knew it would be at least twenty minutes before his food arrived, so he stepped into the shower.

As he ate his breakfast, Linde began to go over all the information he had compiled thus far regarding the missing jewels, Klars' murder, and the missing Eliza Algud. He came to the sad realization that he had little information on all three of them individually, and not enough information between them to come to any specific conclusions about any of it. Everything was circumstantial. He had very little physical evidence, other than Klars' body. He had nothing of substantial relevance that would allow him to proceed any farther forward. It was like trying to put a puzzle together with pieces from three different puzzles. The pieces appeared to fit together, but the result revealed nothing about the actual picture.

The Farellian National Police had been actively looking for Eliza for two days, and they had turned up nothing. Likewise, in the week since Klars was killed, the only clue or lead in that case was the suspicious disappearance of his wife, Eliza. All signs pointed to Eliza, she was the key, and yet she was nowhere to be found.

Linde took a bite of food and sighed deeply. He was now frustrated but couldn't stop thinking about it. He had instructed Patel to do some inquiring into Klars' and Eliza's social circle, but Patel had not found anything that was out of the ordinary or was already widely known, and from the message Patel had sent him it appeared he probably wouldn't find out anything any time soon.

Linde sat for a moment staring out his room window with the bite of food he took sitting in his cheek. He slowly began to chew. "Well," he said to himself with a shrug, "at least I had a really good orgasm while watching that porn." Out of nowhere, he suddenly remembered Chert had arranged for him to ride with a patrol officer that evening. Knowing Linde would be stuck in the hotel all weekend with nothing to do, Chert thought this would exacerbate Linde's not so jovial disposition. So, he arranged for him to get out and do something he knew Linde would enjoy or at least find appealing. With this thought, Linde finished his breakfast with a little more enthusiasm than he had when he started it.

***

Everyone fell silent as Greg turned the van from the main street they were traveling on and down the alley beside The Pit, leading to the alley at the back of the club. After all, it was just the week before when they found Klars' dead body behind the trash dumpster at the back of The Pit. No one had said much of anything over the past week about it, and they were all still in a little shock about the whole thing. Klars wasn't grotesquely disfigured, nor was he someone they knew personally, but unexpectedly finding a dead person in an alley under a shit load of trash can work on your psyche.

Greg stopped the van in about the same place as he did the last time the band arrived at The Pit. He backed the van down the alley just as he had before. He put the van in park and shut off the engine. Everyone sat in silence looking back toward the dumpster.

"I am not going anywhere near that thing tonight, no matter how badly I need to piss," Hals said as they all continued to look at the large brown metal object. There was considerably less trash in and around the dumpster this time.

"The odds of finding another dead body behind that thing are astronomically huge against it," Greg said as he continued to stare at the receptacle, along with the others, "besides, there is not near enough trash over there to hide a body."

Everyone turned to look at Greg. He was sitting sideways in his seat with an impish grin on his face. Abby gave him a stern stare. "What?" Greg said still smiling. "I was just making a factual observation."

"Well, I don't care," Hals said, "the odds of us winning the lottery were astronomically huge against us, but we won that didn't we."

"Well, you've got a point there," Greg admitted.

Hals got up and started out the van. The rest followed suit. As Fred passed by Abby, she smiled at him, and Fred rolled his eyes. Abby knew Ashley was not going to show up tonight to watch the show, and meet up with Fred. If they had been playing somewhere in Ligthe or Quie, then there might be a slight chance she would show up, but not at a show in Strom. Most people that didn't live or work in Strom stayed out of Strom, and everyone in the band knew it. Fred's a nice guy and fairly cute, but it pretty much stops there, according to Abby. If he hadn't gotten her by now, then he wasn't going to be getting her. After all, he already played the guitar genius and rock god angle to virtually no success with her. What other arrows does he think he has in his quiver?

Abby loves to be right. She doesn't get upset when she is wrong, but she rather prefers to be right, especially when she is into it with Fred, Thom, or Hals about something. Ethan is strong intellectually and so is Greg, so she views them differently. She loves the serious conversations she has with Ethan and Greg, but the other three are just so sophomoric most of the time. She refers to them as the Three Stooges. Yes, the Three Stooges are still well known roughly fifteen hundred years after their hey-day. Abby is certain she has absolutely pegged the situation with Ashley, dead on.

***

Linde was waiting out front of the hotel when detective Bens pulled his car up to the front. Bens stopped next to where Linde was sitting on a short retaining wall, and let down the passenger side window. "Inspector Linde?" Bens said as he leaned over to get a better view of Linde sitting on the wall.

"Yes," Linde said as he jumped down off the wall and walked toward the car.

"Well, it looks like you are ready to go, get on in," Bens said as he motioned to the front passenger seat area.

Linde opened the door and got into the car. Bens put the car in gear and pulled out into the street.

"I am Detective Bens, it is nice to meet you Inspector Linde," Bens said holding his hand out.

Linde took his hand and shook it, "It is good to meet you too, Bens."

"I hope it is not too late for you. My patrol starts at nine and Inspector Chert asked me to pick you up at ten. I thought it seemed a little late. I figured you might be more interested in the afternoon duty," Bens said as he drove down the street.

"No, no," Linde said shaking his head slightly. "When Chert asked if I would be interested in going on a patrol, I asked him if I could go along on one at night. Since it is Saturday night, I thought it might be more interesting than going out during the middle of the day."

"Well, yes, there is definitely more stuff happening on Saturday night than during the day."

"I did the graveyard patrol for nearly a year, back when I was a patrol officer. It was definitely a lot more interesting than the patrols during the day," Linde said as he nodded his head up and down.

Linde didn't know if Bens would prefer to talk shop or just talk about anything. He thought for minute and decided he personally didn't feel too much like talking about police work, and decided he would just start talking about something in general. Linde knew Bens probably wouldn't initiate any conversation outside of police work, given that Linde was an Inspector, so he would have to pick the topic and start it off.

"Are you married, Bens?" Linde asked. He decided this question would start an open-ended conversation, which could go anywhere. Plus, he had been doing quite a bit of thinking the last couple of days about his own lack of companionship. This might have been a Freudian slip of some sort.

"Yep, a little over eight years, we were married shortly after I finished the academy and started with the National Police," Bens replied.

"How does she like you working the graveyard shift?"

"She's not too crazy about it, but I only have to do it for three months out of the year. We rotate schedules, so it's not a permanent thing, and she deals with it okay."

"Eh, doesn't sound like too bad of a setup. On Brem we keep a schedule for a year at a time. If you didn't like it, too bad, you are stuck with it for a year."

"Are you married, Inspector?" Bens asked.

"Oh no, and if I were, it probably wouldn't be going well. I spend too much time on business. I guess you could say I am married to the force."

"You can't do that all the time. You know, you need some 'me' time stuck in there a little."

"Tell me about it, but I can't seem to make it work," Linde said as he looked out the window thinking about his musings earlier that day. He quickly faded into a daydream. "I have got to try to make some changes," he thought to himself.

"Inspector, Inspector?"

Linde didn't realize he had drifted off into a daydream, or that he was also slowly moving his head side to side. Ben's voice brought him back to consciousness.

"Huh, what? Oh, sorry Bens. I began to think about the case and drifted off," Linde said, a little red-faced, although Bens couldn't tell since it was dark. He wasn't thinking about the case, but he wasn't going to tell Bens exactly what he was thinking about.

"Are you satisfied with your arrangement, then?" Bens asked wondering if a situation like Linde's was forced upon him or if it was by choice.

"Well, for the most part. I have achieved what I wanted from a career standpoint, but I have had to make a few exchanges and sacrifices." Linde was looking out his window at the people walking down the sidewalk. His plan was to start a simple, organic conversation, and that was what he was getting, but it wasn't going in the topical direction he wanted it to go.

"I know what you mean. If a person is satisfied, then I guess it is all worth it to them." Bens was picking up a sense of a little dissatisfaction and melancholy in Linde's voice, and he thought it would be better to change the subject.

"Yeah," Linde replied with an overtly obvious sigh. It wasn't that he felt he needed a wife or even a very long-term girlfriend, but he did long for more physical contact, not to mention someone to hang out with and talk with or do whatever. A couple of short-term associations a year would be fine with him.

"Well, tonight, here in Ligthe, we will encounter several situations with prostitutes, public drunkenness, and general rowdy behavior," Bens said in his attempt to change the subject, before it became a very uncomfortable scene for them both.

"I thought Ligthe was the classy region of Farel City, you know, not that much of the seedy underbelly stuff going on here."

"Many think that, including those that live here, but there is a lot that goes on that most don't actually know about. It appears to be a sleepy metropolis, but it's not at all. If most knew what all went on here in Ligthe they would be shocked and maybe even appalled. Now over in Strom, yeah, you expect it all there, and it is there, and it is very blatant, but you know what they say, when the sun goes down, the freaks come out to play."

"Yeah, you are definitely right. So, why do officers from the National Police force conduct local patrols?" Linde asked, picking up on the shift in conversation, and welcoming it wholeheartedly.

"Well, we don't actually patrol. We just are supposed to make ourselves easily available. There is a planet-wide policy that mandates that an F.N.P. officer must be on the scene of any incidence, except for minor things like traffic violations. Although, most of the time we will show up at wreck scenes and other minor happenings, something to do, you know, at two in the morning."

"I understand. Why is it mandated?" Linde asked, as he tried to think of a logical reason why.

"We had a long period of extreme corruption in the local police forces many years ago. Things like running prostitution rings, racketeering, protection schemes, and even murder for hire, so we come onto the scene to ensure procedures are followed properly. It has a cost in taxes, but the people like it now that there is a double layer of accountability, as well as police protection." Bens looked over at Linde with a grin.

"Nothing like that takes place on Brem. I mean, no B.N.P officer responds to an incidence handled by a local patrol, unless they are requested, but corruption might be a different thing all together. It hasn't been much of a problem." Linde said with a facial and hand gesture that Bens completely understood. Given the recent events, Linde was certain, although he had a strong suspicion for many years, that corruption and conspiracy was alive and well on Brem, but he had never encountered any personally, on any grand scale in the B.N.P. It would be nice to get to the bottom of the latest events to determine what layers of corruption exist at the higher level of the government on Brem. He was very interested in finding out what twists and surprises he would find.

***

Despite the dour mood upon their arrival at The Pit, the group seems to be in a very upbeat and energetic mood this evening. The Pit draws in an interesting clientele, especially on Saturday night, plus the group is in high spirits because they will be leaving the planet, on to their next stop, in a couple of days. They all like Farel well enough, but they have been on the planet a couple of weeks now, and much like Greg expressed, they are all ready to move on.

Fred is jazzed up for a different reason altogether. His mood is generated mostly by his anticipation of spending the evening and hopefully the next day with Ashley Blunt. His hope is he will be able to spend all of Sunday with her. The band plays Farel City each year, and if he could nail down this gal, as a regular, while they are here each time, then he has hit the jackpot again.

It didn't take the band too long to get things set up for the show. Since they had already played at The Pit in the last week, they knew what they needed to do and how to go about getting things done and ready. This gave the group the time to sit, relax, and share a drink or two before the show started. However, sitting and relaxing was going to involve a fair amount of good-natured ribbing of one another, and everyone expected it.

The whole group, all seven of them, were sitting around a large table off to one side of the stage. Each had already consumed at least one drink and was munching on some appetizers. The guys typically prefer a few cold beers, but sometimes they throw a shot or two in for good measure. Abby likes beer, but not all the time. She will go for a mixed drink of some sort, but generally she doesn't drink much at all before a show. This is not the case for the guys. They start drinking and just keep on going. It's okay, though, they never go so far as to affect their playing...well, most of the time. Cassy doesn't care for beer at all, and either has a mixed drink or wine. Regardless of their preferences of drink, the desired effect of relaxation or whatever each is striving is ultimately achieved for each.

It doesn't take long when the gang is together, such as this, until the chiding begins. Thom finished off his first beer, sat the glass on the table and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Are you going to hit the lieling tonight Ethan?" Thom asked as he dipped a tortilla-like chip in the bowl of sauce sitting next to the chips.

"I don't know. Tonight is a special night of sorts."

"How's that?" Thom asked.

"You know that Syndie doesn't come over to Strom, right," Ethan said as he began dipping chips into the sauce too.

"Right," Thom replied.

"Well, this past week, she and I got together a couple of times with that gang from Quie that I tripped out with the last time we were over here. They come over here to a couple of places in Strom regularly because lieling is more accepted over here than in Quie, or at least it is more out in the open over here. They convinced her everything would be cool, and she didn't have anything to worry about. She finally agreed to come, and they are bringing her over with them when they come. It's going to be a fun evening."

"Hey, so, how does Syndie feel about you messing around the other night with one of the gals in that bunch?" Fred asked Ethan with a feigned puzzled look on his face.

Ethan stuck the chip in his mouth he had just dipped in the sauce, and wiped his hands together to knock the crumbs and salt off. "Well, Syndie and I are not committed to each other. Plus, that gal and I didn't do anything but make out heavily, and besides, I was extremely well roasted and oblivious to the whole thing. In a way, the gal was taking advantage of me. I told Syndie all about it, and she thought it was all hilarious."

"The 'I was taken advantage of" angle, how the hell did you get her to go for that," Fred said as he rolled his eyes.

"Hmm," Thom sounded, nodding his head in agreement to what all Ethan and Fred were talking about. He had just turned up and was taking a drink of the fresh mug of beer the waitperson had sat down in front of him, and he was unable to say anything. He sat his beer down and swallowed his mouth full of beer, "cool, oh, hold on." Thom jumped up and took off across the club.

"What the hell," Greg blurted out quickly, as if Thom's quick motions startled him. Everyone turned to see where Thom had darted off.

"Oh, I see what it is," Fred said craning his neck to get a better look.

"What is it," Abby asked as she looked in the direction Fred was looking.

"It's that odd gal we met the last time we were here."

"What odd gal?" Abby asked again.

"That one," Fred replied as he pointed toward the girl.

"She is not odd. She is just different. She is from another planet, for Christ's sake. By default, she is going to be different," Ethan replied with his hands out.

"Oh, okay. I see her," Abby remarked.

"What's he doing going after her?" Fred said with a puzzled look on his face, as he turned his attention back to his beer and the snacks.

Thom had reached Chennel by this point, and was talking with her. The whole gang, except Fred, continued to watch the interaction. After what appeared to be a few back and forth exchanges between Thom and Chennel, she produced a very large smile and gave Thom an enthusiastic hug. At that point, it was evident their conversation was over, and Thom turned and started walking back toward the table. Abby, Casey, and Greg quickly turned back around in their seats as if to appear as though they had not been watching. The other two, Hals, and Ethan, didn't move and kept their gaze on Thom as he approached the table.

"What the hell was that all about," Fred said to Thom just as Thom started to sit back down.

"Uh, well, I invited her back to the house after the show tonight."

"From her reaction I take it she accepted," Fred said nodding his head up and down slowly, making eye expressions at Thom signaling he knew what Thom was working up with her.

"Yep, is that a problem, and what are you getting at?"

"No, no problem at all. Are you going to entertain her for the evening?"

"No, he doesn't care if she comes over or not," Abby chimed in, "he's going to be busy entertaining Ashley all evening," she said sarcastically, with a big smile on her face.

Fred acted as though he didn't hear what Abby had just said. In fact, he didn't even look at her when she spoke. Something across the club appeared to have caught his attention, and he was moving his head around to try to see around the people between him and the door to the club.

"I don't know," Thom shrugged, "she will be entertained in whatever way she wants to be entertained, I guess."

At that moment, Fred quickly and loudly sat his beer down on the table, "oh shit!" he exclaimed. Everyone quickly turned to look at him. Fred was sitting there with a huge smile on his face and looking off in the direction of the main entrance to the club. Everyone turned to look in the direction Fred was looking. Standing about ten feet in from the door was Ashley Blunt, scanning around as though she were looking for someone. Fred pointed in the direction of Ashley, turned to look at everyone at the table, and began to smile with wide eyes.

"Dammit," Abby said just barely audible as she looked at Thom and Ethan, both of whom heard her clearly and both of whom were smiling at her.

Thom chuckled a little bit. "I have to be perfectly honest, Abby. I didn't think she would show up either. I mean, look at her. I know Fred does better than average in the chick department, but I didn't think he stood a chance with her. I figured she was playing him for some reason, just like you thought, Abby. I wasn't going to admit it, at least not to him. It does make you think, doesn't it?"

Abby crossed her arms and took on a stern look, "well, just because she showed up doesn't mean it will go any farther. You can't just assume he is going to get it from her tonight."

"I would say his odds just increased, though," Ethan said, still smiling. Abby hardened her look at him.

Cassy looked back and forth from Thom to Ethan to Abby, "what's this all about?" she asked. A minute or two before this conversation had started she had gone to the bathroom and then stopped by the bar on her way back, so she had missed the entire beginning.

"You really don't want to get into it, trust me. They're all giving Fred a hard time about that gal," Greg said as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb toward Fred and Ashley. "Don't let them suck you into it too."

Cassy leaned around Greg to get a look in the direction he had just pointed. "No, really, what is it?" Cassy asked.

Greg produced a slight sigh, "they all think this gal Fred has become infatuated with is just playing him for some reason, but we can't figure out what it might be about. Thom thinks she is a crazy Earthophile, and she is interested in him solely for that reason. Fred thinks she is into him because he is a hot rock and roll god, and he is going to reap the benefits, if you know what I mean. What was the other reason you said she was into him, Thom?" Greg asked.

Thom twisted up his face, furrowing his brow as he tried to remember what he had said, "oh yeah, I said she could be one of those gals who is working on screwing a guy from as many different planets as she can," Thom answered with a grin.

"Why do you all think she is playing him?" Cassy asked.

"Well, first off, look at her," Thom said as he pointed in the direction of Fred and Ashley. "Fred usually doesn't fair well with women of that caliber. He has tried many times, but for some reason he never has any luck, and this one is the cream of the cream. Plus, she is apparently very smart. That usually kills it right there; a double-whammy in this case. Smart women get bored with Fred very quickly. He knows what is going on about music and guitars and crap like that. No one can match him, but when you stray too far away from that stuff, he is almost a complete vacuum. You all know that," Thom explained as he made a hand gesture toward all of them.

"Hey, Fred isn't that bad, give him some credit," Cassy said in Fred's defense.

"Oh yeah, ask him who's the president of the Galactic Federation. He's liable to tell you Barney Rubble...and believe it." Thom picked up his beer and took a long drink of it.

Fred absolutely loves cartoons of all types and from all generations. He likes both the classics and recent works. Thom is right, though. Often when someone asks Fred who holds a position in the government or some other official position, he will answer with a cartoon character, much like in the case of 'who is the president of the Galactic Federation', mostly because he actually doesn't know. Also, he has figured out that people think he is being funny or facetious, and he can work that to his advantage.

Thom sat his beer down, "that's why he and Hals get along so well, you know, the same mind," Thom said with a mean grin on his face as he looked at Hals.

"Hey, fuck you!" Hals exclaimed as he pointed at Thom. "I thought we were giving it to Fred here? Why are you jumping on me?"

"Oh yeah, well, who's the president of the Galactic Federation, then, Hals?" Thom asked, still sporting the same grin.

"Barney fucking Rubble," Hals said as he picked up his beer to take a drink.

"Told you," Greg said to Cassy as he looked at her with a smug look on his face, "I would have thought you would have known by now, when someone warns you to stay out of their crazy shit, you stay out of their crazy shit."

"Your wife started it," Thom said to Greg as he pointed at him emphatically.

"Yeah, I know," Greg said with a big smile on his face, "and she gets so much pleasure from it, and to be honest, so do I."

"Well she's got to get some pleasure from somewhere, because she sure ain't getting it in the sack," Thom fired back as he raised his hand to get a high-five from Ethan. Ethan quickly reciprocated, laughing boisterously, as the two slapped hands.

"Oh, hell," Greg said as he slowly shook his head back and forth while looking at Cassy, "now they have drawn me into this crazy shit too."

***

Linde found riding on patrol with Bens to be enjoyable. It took his mind away from the dead ends he had encountered with the cases he was working on. The conversations had been enjoyable, once they moved away from their initial topic. However not much action had been going on in the way of exciting incidences, or at least not as much as Linde had hoped for on a Saturday night. They had worked a couple of traffic accidents and a couple of public drunkenness situations that had some interesting elements to them.

They responded to a solicitation call that turned out to be juicy and entertaining. It appeared that a client of the prostitute involved wasn't satisfied with the services he had received for the evening, and refused to either pay or pay the full price for what was services were rendered during their meeting. The escort then proceeded back into the client's bedroom, climbed up onto the client's bed and pissed all over his pillows. This angered the client, and he forcefully removed the escort from his dwelling. The escort returned a short bit later with her manager and couple of his customer service associates, and they initiated a campaign to persuade the client to remit the fees owed to the escort for her services. Unfortunately for the manager and the customer service associates, the client had a much more skilled and forceful argument as to why he shouldn't have to pay the fees, and left the manager and his associates in a position where they were unable to negotiate any more for the evening. At some point during the negotiations, someone notified the authorities to the situation.

Linde and Bens had been on the solicitation and assault scene for over an hour. When Bens had finished his required duties, the two left to get something to drink.

"Is this a slow Saturday evening or about normal?" Linde asked Bens as he twisted the cap off the bottle of juice he had just purchased.

"Umm, well, it's about normal, but we will start to get more calls now that it is about eleven. Things tend to heat up as it approaches midnight and beyond."

"That makes sense."

"I am pretty certain there won't be any grisly murder cases. We rarely get that here in Ligthe, but there should be at least one drunken fight and a couple more solicitation incidences, you can be sure of that."

Linde leaned against the car and drank his juice. He stared at the ground in silence. As he did, he slid into deep thought. Without purposely meaning to, his thoughts quickly moved to the crown jewels and Eliza Algud. "I am pretty sure she is not here anymore," he thought to himself. "She has left the planet. There is really no reason for me to stay here much longer," he said to himself in a low, slightly audible level. "I can be just as effective working from Brem."

"What's that," Bens asked in response to the mumbling sound Linde had just made. Bens had been leaning against the car too, next to Linde, but he was looking up at the stars while drinking his drink.

"Oh, nothing," Linde replied, "I was just thinking about something and started talking to myself out loud."

"Are you ready to go?" Bens asked as he twisted the cap back onto his empty bottle and tossed it into a garbage container.

"Yep," Linde said as he pushed himself off the car and opened his car door.

***

By the time the band finished their first set at The Pit, the club had filled up and was very crowded. At the beginning of the first set, the club was essentially empty by anyone's standards, but this is not an uncommon situation. People usually have a circuit of places and people they visit on Friday and Saturday nights, and tend to make the rounds before getting to their main locale for the evening.

Once the guys had situated their instruments and things on the stage, as they wanted them, the band members scattered as they left the stage area. Hals bolted off toward the bathroom, because he needed to take a wicked piss, as he said to Thom as he passed by him. When Thom got to where Ethan could see him, he motioned for Ethan to meet him at the bar. Ethan nodded his head in acknowledgement. Fred took off toward the bar as well, but he wasn't going to meet up with Thom and Ethan as usual. Ashley was sitting at the bar and had been since the beginning of the band's opening set. Fred did not want to waste any time doing anything else other than spending it with Ashley tonight. Abby made her way over to the band's table to meet up with Greg and Cassy, and eventually Hals.

Fred made it to the bar in record time. He leaned up against the bar next to Ashley, "Hey, are you bored?" Fred asked her, knowing she usually went to clubs with a small group of friends, but it appeared she had come to The Pit by herself.

"No, not at all, you guys sound really great tonight, but you have sounded great each time I have seen you," Ashley replied as she placed her hand on Fred's leg, "how long is your break?"

Fred immediately focused on the fact that her hand was on his leg. This was the first time she had touched him, and she was touching him in a way that was not at all like a handshake, or a gesture of friendliness, but more in a flirting, affectionate kind of way.

Cassy's instruction of Fred involving how to pick up on the signs and cues given off by a female when they were interested in a male, were a boon to Fred, but a point of contention for Abby. Abby was not happy that Cassy had educated Fred in such a way. She said it was like giving an alcoholic the combination to the lock on a liquor cabinet. Cassy didn't care. She didn't think it would hurt anything in the long run. Cassy, more than once, has pointed out to Abby that Fred's philandering is a two-way street. Cassy's take is that Fred is a grown person, and the women he runs after are grown too, so they all know what the game is all about. No actual harm or foul has been perpetrated in this case.

"About fifteen minutes," Fred replied as his heart rate elevated slightly due to the presence of Ashley's hand.

"So, where on Earth are you from?" Ashley asked him, not as a general statement of inquiry into some unknown locale, but specifically where on Earth.

Fred paused for a moment. Ashley's question struck him funny, due to it being an expression of general location often used on Earth. The Earth thing, Fred thought to himself. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe she was only interested in me because I am from Earth and nothing more. I might as well humor her. It might at least have a nice little payday. "Uh, well, I am from one of the smaller cities on Earth called Longbranch."

"How small is it?"

"It's actually pretty small, only about ten thousand people. It's in a rural area about mid-way between two very large cities. One of the cities is Nashville, it's quite big, several million people, and you can get to it in about thirty minutes or less by high-speed transport."

"What's it like there, the area where you are from?" Ashley asked with real interest.

Fred could tell by the look on her face she was in fact interested for some reason. "It's, you know, in the country. There aren't any high-rise buildings or skyscrapers or anything like that. There are a lot of trees and it's hilly," Fred described as he made hand gestures for trees and large, rolling hills.

Ashley propped her chin on her hand on the bar and smiled at Fred, "it sounds lovely, almost bucolic."

"Yeah, well it might be bucolic, but not a lot goes on there." Fred wasn't exactly certain what bucolic meant.

"Is everyone in the band from Longbranch?"

"Everyone is except Greg. Abby, the band's singer met him in college. He's from Atlanta or somewhere around there. Now, that's a really big city."

Ashley was still leaning on the bar as before, listening to Fred and grinning slightly. Fred was still a little uncertain at why she was so interested in Earth, or him, or both exactly.

"So, where are you from," Fred asked her in the hope he might get her off the subject of Earth and on to something else.

She sighed deeply, "I am from a very non-interesting place. I am sure you have never heard of it. It's called Prosimea. If you think nothing ever goes on in the city you are from, well nothing ever happens on the whole planet where I am from."

"What's it like there?"

"Rural, very rural, country doesn't even describe Prosimea very well. It's beyond country. It's lush and green and sparsely populated."

Fred was listening very closely to what Ashley was saying at this point. She had become very animated as she described Prosimea, and he thought it made her even more attractive. It was apparent to him she has deep feelings for her home planet, but what he doesn't know is that they aren't good feelings at all.

"What city are you from?" Fred asked her to keep her going.

Ashley crinkled her nose slightly and cocked her head to one side, "we really don't have cities on Prosimea. They are more like areas, big areas referred to as regions, with very few people scattered about and almost no buildings."

"It sounds like an interesting place."

"Oh, yeah, it's interesting all right, so interesting that you wake up and cry every morning because you can't decide what to do that day," Ashley said with visible sarcasm as she rolled her eyes and made a funny face.

Ashley continued talking, regarding specific things people could do on Prosimia, while Fred interjected common talking points when he could. He was enjoying the conversation immensely, partly because he wasn't being required to take the lead coming up with much of the conversation, but more so because Ashley appeared to be very much into what they were doing and not bored. She was talking with full expression, making eye contact, and smiling. He didn't know if it was the alcohol she had been drinking, or if she was just feeling a little more comfortable with him. Whatever the reason, he liked it. She was letting her guard down, so to speak, and it was allowing him to try and find some common ground with her. This was another tactic Casey had explained to Fred; find a mutual point with someone you are interested, and it can be used to form a bond of sorts, or at least strengthen the interest.

Thom and Ethan sat down at the bar and started drinking beer. Shortly after getting their first beers, Chennel walked up and sat down next to Thom.

"Great music guys," she said as she smiled largely at the two of them.

"Thanks," Thom said as he smiled back at her.

"Are you coming over this evening after the show?" Ethan asked Chennel.

"Well, I don't know exactly where it is," she said with a sly grin.

"If you want to come, you can ride over with us. We have plenty of room in the van," Thom replied.

Ethan turned up his beer and then sat the empty mug back down on the bar. He licked his lips, "I am going to head over and talk with Syndie for a few minutes before you guys go back on. Greg wants me to hang with him at the control boards. He said he might have to switch some stuff during the next set if it continues to act up."

"Okay," Thom replied.

Ethan headed off to meet Syndie. She was hanging out with the gang from Quie. When he had made it about halfway to Syndie, he turned to look back at Thom. Chennel had scooted her stool closer to Thom, and Thom was leaning in so he could hear whatever it was she was saying to him. Ethan grinned and shook his head back and forth, as he continued toward where he was going. He was well-aware of Thom's motive at this point, and it wasn't to try to pull something on Fred. That whole argument was a thin ruse.

Chapter 11

The gig went extremely well that evening, considering the venue and its locale. The Pit had been packed to capacity until about a half an hour before the band finished up. No major technical difficulties occurred, and nothing out of the ordinary happened; which was much different than the last time they played The Pit. Throughout the evening, the band received countless accolades from the crowd. For instance, as the band was trying to break down the set, a group of attendees came up and excitedly exclaimed how the band had "put on a kickass, fucking show!"

Understandably, everyone in the group was in a very upbeat mood. The show had gone well, the crowd had been in a very amiable mood, and were very receptive of the band. Another reason the gang was in such a good mood was due to the fact they had successfully kicked off the tour. All the reviews of the past couple of weeks were extremely positive, and the great reviews had even made it onto InfoStar, one of the main galaxy-wide news and information services. Now, they were more than ready to get on to somewhere else and see how things would go. Greg, being the type of manager he was, had been sending the reviews to the venues on the other planets they were scheduled to play, so they could aide in their promotion and increase enthusiasm toward seeing the band play.

Being upbeat and energized always translated into a quick set break down for the gang. Ethan placed the last of the cables in the back of the van and Greg closed the door and locked it. There were about fourteen or fifteen people standing around the van in the alley behind The Pit. Greg walked toward the front of the van as he fetched the key out of his pocket. As he made it to the front of the van, he announced, "Whoever is riding with me better get in," in a voice loud enough to be heard over everyone talking. People started climbing into the van.

Fred was standing beside the van with Ashley. "Hey," Fred said in sort of a hoarse whisper with a hand gesture to get Greg's attention, "I am going with Ashley. I will be around the house sometime later in the morning probably."

"Probably? Don't be too late in the day getting in. We are going to start hauling stuff over to the Spark." Greg reached to open the van door and paused. He turned back toward Fred, "hey, and stay out of trouble," He replied, as he opened the door.

Fred didn't say anything, but impishly smiled at Greg as he looked back at him.

"Syndie and I are going to ride back over with the gang from Quie," Ethan said as he pointed to a small group standing in a huddle. "That way if we get separated, I can get them to the house.

"Okay," Greg replied. He climbed into the driver seat, and everyone riding with him climbed into the van as well.

Greg turned out of the alley onto the main street in the direction of Ligthe. The large sport utility-like vehicle with Ethan, Syndie, and the others from Quie followed close behind the band's van, and before they were a mile down the road, a lieling pipe was fired up and making the rounds in the back seats of the SUV.

It took about thirty minutes to get back to the brownstone. Everyone piled out of the automobiles, still in a very jovial mood. The group Ethan was with was especially jovial for all the obvious reasons. They all started up the steps to the front door. Greg hopped out and locked up the van with everything remaining in it. There was no need to unload the gear from the van, just to have to load it back up in the morning to take over to the Ion Spark at the spaceport; everyone knew this, so no one lingered about the van to lend a hand carrying something.

Everyone was eager to get inside to start the remainder of the evening's activities. Simmonhead Fred's after-parties are not major bashes, where things go crazy or became way out of hand. Very rarely is anything broken or destroyed, nor do the police ever need to show up to calm things down or drag off any out of control party goers. The after-parties are usually reserved for winding down, mellowing out, and relaxing. There is always good music playing, good food to snack on, and good cold drinks to enjoy. Laughing is usually the most common sound heard coming during a Simmonhead Fred after-party. This is quite the opposite to the parties that get thrown during the weeks running up to a galactic tour. Putting all the details together for a tour winds Fred, Thom, Hals, and Ethan up tightly, but they haven't figured out how to release the tension in a relaxed and reserved manner. They do it much as you would release the tension from a rubber band tightly wound and twisted up, with a snip that releases the ends in an explosive fray.

Simmonhead Fred after-parties are quite the contrary to after-parties by most other bands. There are a few bands that have what can be described through a series of unrelated adjectives; epic, legendary, out of control, dangerous, nefarious, and even evil. One band that is regarded as being as famous for their after-parties as for their music is Three Knobs. Three Knobs is a three-piece band of single guys. They conduct after-parties that are always described using the series of unrelated adjectives. Most people, especially the groupies, who follow the band around, do so more for the parties than the actual shows or their music. An after-party following a large Three Knobs' show typically results in two to four impregnations, at least eight broken bones, one small fire and one large fire, always at least one near death experience, occasionally an actual death, no less than on hundred thousand credits in construction damage, twenty-three arrests, and a sizable protest event by local religious groups. Three Knobs after-parties can grow in scale to the point where local authorities will start satellite or back-parties to contain the melee of the primary party. Until last year, a reality show aired on one of InfoStar's sister networks. The show required the contestants to survive a full galactic tour's worth of Three Knobs' shows and after-parties, without anything happening to them. It is safe to say that no one ever made it. Before the halfway point through the only two seasons the show ran, the beginning group of six contestants was eliminated for a variety of reasons ranging from physical to psychological trauma, and a new set of six contestants would have to be brought on. At the end of the second season, it was decided to cancel the show due to legal concerns.

An hour and a half or so after getting in, Greg, Abby, Hals, and Cassy were sitting on the patio drinking and discussing where they were off to next on the tour. The band's next gig is scheduled at the Life Festival on Savannah. The Life festival has always been a fun excursion for the group, and the consensus is this next time will be no different. It is the only large venue they prefer to play. The festival consists of arts, crafts, and music, and draws an attendance of around one million. They are not expected on Savannah for ten days, so this will give them the opportunity to visit their favorite resort planet Crymeon. The gang tries their best to visit Crymeon at least once while they are out on a galactic tour. It's an easy jaunt from Farel, and just as easy of one from Crymeon to Savannah.

Thom and Chennel had walked to the back of the yard past the patio. They were very close to each other and engaged in a conversation that put large smiles on both of their faces. They were out of earshot from the others sitting on the patio. Thom was enjoying the interaction with Chennel. Her physique is impeccable in his opinion, regardless of the fact she is an intersexual species with some interestingly pronounced features. At the base of it, Thom finds Chennel intriguing and exotic. He has never had a problem with such things as intersexuality.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Hals said with a grin as he pointed toward Thom and Chennel.

"Whatever it is, they are both certainly enjoying it," Abby said as she leaned up to get a better look in their direction.

It was visible that Thom and Chennel were laughing out loud at this point. Thom leaned in and kissed Chennel. She responded by stretching out her arms and putting them around his neck.

"Regardless of what it is, I know where it's headed," Greg said, looking over at Hals with a smile on his face. He knew where Hals was going with his comment.

"You see," Abby started, "Fred needs to be more like Thom. He complains that he can't find a good steady girlfriend, but he dismisses women too quickly for very stupid reasons. I have asked him several times if he really does want a steady girlfriend as he claims, or is he just saying it for some odd psychological reason."

"I don't know," Greg replied, "not being interested in someone because they are intersexual doesn't seem to be a stupid reason to me. It's a matter of preference. I could as easily say I am not into women with black hair."

"I am not referring to this girl. You know what he does," Abby said rolling her eyes and slapping Greg on the arm. "I mean like a few months ago, when he was dating that beautiful young girl back home. She was nice, sweet, smart, and just lovely, but it seemed her teeth were not quite white enough for Fred, or at least that's what he said was why he quit seeing her. Huh, teeth not white enough, really? He should look at his own teeth sometime," Abby said as she lifted her cocktail to take a drink.

Hals made a short laughing sound, "That's nothing. He dumped this gal once because she wore bad shoes, whatever that meant," he added with a pleading motion with his hands. "And, then there was this gal that her nose whistled too much when she breathed through it."

"He does have some issues," Cassy remarked, "but most of all, Fred just doesn't know what he wants. He's too wrapped up in music and playing the guitar. If he would evaluate other things, as seriously as he does that stuff, he wouldn't get caught up in the situations that he does. Plus, he might be able to find someone that can hold his interest for more than a week."

Abby made a face and shook her head back and forth, "yeah, well, that's probably not going to happen. I don't think it's a real priority with him. He seems to be very much taken with this Ashley, but the shine will wear off her and the situation just as quick as it has done for the others. It will be a perfect setup for him if she feels the same way; see each other a couple of weeks a year. By the way, where are they?"

Greg put his glass down from taking a long drink, "He said they were going to her place. It's somewhere here in Ligthe."

"Oh," Abby replied.

"Hey, did you pay his tab?" Hals asked.

"No, he was so starry-eyed about her asking him back to her place, he was clueless about everything going on right before we left. I will give him the money if he ever thinks about it and asks."

Ethan, Syndie, and the group from Quie had all retired to the den. The den was the largest room in the house, so it easily accommodated the seven of them. They continued to partake in the lieling, accompanied by cocktails and other drinks. They were listening to a fusion of electronica and contemporary jazz that inspires one to be calm and low-key. It was indeed working, because they were all very relaxed and very mellow.

An hour or so later, Hals and Cassy were the only two of the group left outside on the patio. Abby and Greg had decided to go to bed after a little bit of not so inconspicuous head and eye signals. Cassy and Hals were reclining on chaise lounge chairs looking at the stars and holding each other's hand.

"Do you want to go in?" Cassy asked Hals in a voice that Hals knew meant she was in the mood for some type of diddling.

Hals smiled and looked over at her, "you bet ya."

They got up and stepped into the house and turned down the hall towards the stairs. As they reached the door to the den, they could hear the music and some low volume laughing. Hals reached and slowly slid the door open so he could peek inside. He didn't want to startle anyone. The lighting was dim but he could easily make out what was going on.

"Oh!" Hals exclaimed in a low voice but with a look of both surprise and delight on his face.

"What is it?" Cassy whispered.

"It looks like they're having an orgy."

"A what?" Cassy said in a loud, hoarse-whispered surprise.

"An orgy. There is a lot of business going on in there." Hals quietly slid the door closed and stood facing the door for a moment. He turned to Cassy with a big grin, "lets join them?"

"What!?" Cassy exclaimed again in the hoarse whisper, but this time it was a little louder.

"I don't mean swap out or anything like that, but get naked and go in there and just do it with a group of other people doing it."

Cassy stood and looked at Hals for a few seconds without any expression on her face. Slowly she began to grin and then a big smile came over her face. "Why not? Let's do it."

They quickly but quietly ran up the stairs to their room. They removed their cloths as fast as they could, threw on bathrobes, and headed back down to the den. Hals slid the door open as quietly as he had done before, and the two sneakily slipped into the room. They found an open space off to one side and Hals grabbed the cushions from one of the large sofas and laid them on the floor. Cassy took off her robe and lay down on the cushions. Hals took his robe off and flopped down between Cassy's legs. No one had taken notice the two of them had come into the room.

***

Ashley pulled her car into the garage of her apartment building. As she did, she looked over at Fred and said with a big smile, "well, we're here."

"Cool," Fred replied, "this looks like a really nice place."

"Yep, I think it is. This is a very nice part of town. Everything is relatively new and most of the people who live around here make a good amount of money, you know, no riffraff or anything like that."

She turned the car off and opened the door to get out. Fred opened his door and stepped out as well. They walked over to the elevator. As they did, Ashley reached over and clasped Fred's hand. Fred began to grin as he interlaced his fingers with hers. They entered the elevator and the door closed. Ashley pushed button number nine. As he watched her press the button to select the floor, 'cloud nine' flashed through his mind. He automatically smiled again.

"What are you smiling so big about," Ashley said as she turned and faced him. She reached out and grabbed the buckle on his belt and pulled him closer to her.

"Nothing really, just in a good mood," he replied as he blushed slightly. He didn't know how she would react if he had said, 'cloud nine'. She might think it was childish or silly.

She pulled him a little closer and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Well maybe I can make that smile get even bigger," she said as she kissed him deeper.

Fred increased the size of his smile, but didn't say anything in response. Ashley probably would find what ran through his mind that time to be sophomoric at best...the notion of something getting bigger. He couldn't help recalling the old joke about the Scotsman convincing a young woman to reach up under his kilt. After doing so, she exclaimed "gruesome". The Scotsman's reply was, "feel again, it grew some more".

The elevator dinged and the door opened. Ashley led Fred out of the elevator by his belt buckle, and they walked down the hallway. The two reached her apartment door, and she placed her thumb on the lock scanner, and the door lock clicked open.

The two walked in, and Fred closed the door behind them. However, Fred didn't push the door hard enough for it to latch completely, but neither was aware of this.

"There are things to drink in the refrigerator, help yourself," Ashley said as she took off her shoes and walked toward the bedroom. "What kind of music do you want to listen to?" She asked from the bedroom.

"I don't know, maybe something relaxing and chill."

Within a few seconds, music reminiscent of that produced by Liquid Mind from the twentieth century was floating through the apartment.

Fred went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He didn't want anything alcoholic. It was too late for that, he thought. There was a nice selection of carbonated beverages. He picked one that was very much like the soda Dr. Pepper® found on Earth, closed the door, walked back into the living room, and sat down on the couch.

A couple of minutes later, Ashley came walking back into the living room. She had changed into a snug pair of lounging pants and a form-fitting tee shirt. Fred sat his drink down on the end table next to the couch. Ashley sat down on Fred's lap, straddling his legs while facing him. She put her arms around his neck, leaned in and kissed him. She started unbuttoning his shirt and kissed him each time she opened a button. Fred slid his hands down from where he had them on her waist, and grasped a sizable amount of ass cheek in each one of his hands about the same time she got the third button open. Fred's eyes rolled back into his head. He was certain she could feel his tool swelling up in his pants. Usually he has good control, but he was already half erect from the heavy petting going on before they ever got into the apartment.

She had finished unbuttoning his shirt and was rubbing his chest as they kissed. Fred was still concentrating on her ass. Ashley slid off his lap, stood up and took his hand, pulled him up to a standing position, and proceeded to lead him to the bedroom. The bedroom was not very large. A queen-sized bed took up most of the space. A small bedside lamp was the only light on in the room.

Once they were in the bedroom, she unbuckled his belt and unfastened his jeans. Fred took the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. She shimmied out of her lounging pants, and Fred took off his shirt. She reached and pushed his pants and underwear down, and he finished removing them as he kicked his shoes and socks off. Ashley wasn't wearing any underwear or a bra and thus was naked at this point as well. Fred took a moment to soak in Ashley's naked body. She was perfectly proportioned in his opinion. He was a little mesmerized and was just standing, looking at her with an easy smile. Ashley wasn't aware Fred was in a slight trance, induced by the site of what Fred was now certain to be the most perfect body he had ever seen.

She reached up and pinched his nipple in a playful way, "What?" she asked in a soft giggle. Fred snapped out of his trance, and he responded by giggling slightly. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her in to him, and he kissed her deeply.

"Wait a minute," Ashley said as she opened her eyes wide. She turned and walked over to the closet.

Fred just couldn't help admiring her naked body as she walked toward the closet door.

Ashley rummaged around in the closet for a second and brought something out. Fred couldn't see what it was in the dim light from the small bedside lamp, until she was nearly back to him.

"I want you to put this on," she said as she was walking back over to him, holding the item up.

"What is it?" he asked hoping it wasn't handcuffs. All the blood left his crotch area in an instant. He just couldn't do handcuffs. It had something to do with the inability to have control and take care of one's self if the need arose. When you are in handcuffs, you are completely helpless. The first and last time Fred was ever handcuffed during sex, it did not go too well. He was very much enjoying the experience initially. His hands were cuffed to the headboard of the bed, and the gal he was with was giving him the business really good. About the time he was about to explode, the gal's live-in girlfriend came in on them. Fred was completely unaware this woman was attached to anyone. Unfortunately, the girlfriend was the insanely jealous type. Simultaneously, she pushed the gal off Fred, jumped on him, and started to slap and punch him about the face and chest. The worst part of it was, as she came down on him, her knee landed squarely on his crotch and his erect tool and balls bore her complete weight. Had he not been shackled to the bed, he could have averted the assault and the weeklong pain in his groin region, which prevented him from engaging in the sort of thing that resulted in the injuries in the first place.

"It's a harness," she replied. By now she had reached him, and Fred got a better look at the thing. To him it looked like a tangled-up necklace of jewels strung on some type of cord or wire.

"What does it harness?" Fred asked with an apprehensive look on his face.

"Your balls, silly," Ashley said rolling her eyes.

"What does it do?" Fred asked, still with a skeptical look on his face. Situations like this usually bring the painful handcuff memories back to him.

"It is supposed to make sex really amazing, I think. At least that is what I was told it was supposed to do by the person I got it from," Ashley said smiling. Of course, she wasn't going to tell him the person she got it from didn't actually give it to her. "Here, put it on," she said as she thrust it toward Fred.

"Okay, but you are going to have to help me with it. I have never used nor seen anything like this before," Fred said as he worked it around in his hands trying to figure out just how it was supposed to go on.

Ashley took it back, straightened it out, and assisted Fred in putting it on, without any trouble. She had watched Chirod put it on, so she knew exactly how it worked. A single string of jewels went around his waist, with a string portion that slipped down between his ass cheeks. His tool went through a loop in the front, and his balls slipped into the jeweled basket apparatus. There was a small ring looped through the cord on the left hip where the cord doubled back through. This was the adjustment system that allowed for tightening and loosening of the harness. Ashley fiddled with it for a couple of seconds, adjusting it so it fit snugly. "There, how does it feel? Comfortable?" Ashley asked.

"Well, I can't really feel it at all," Fred said standing with his feet together and his arms stretched out to his side. It seemed to fit him very well. "I was afraid the jewels would poke into me, but they don't, so yeah, it's comfortable."

"Good," Ashley replied. She grabbed his hips and pulled him to her and pressed him up against her, squeezing his hips, while kissing his neck. He sprang back to life almost immediately. After a couple of seconds, she pushed Fred toward the bed. He sat down on the edge. She crawled around him onto the bed, and he slid over and lay down, slightly propped up on a stack of pillows lying up against the headboard. Ashley rolled over partly onto him and began to kiss his neck again. Fred closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the pillows.

After about a minute, Ashley positioned herself on top of him, and planted herself firmly on his lap. Fred's body jerked hard in a full-body twitch. The jerk was a reflex, like when you unknowingly get poked with something. He giggled slightly after he caught his breath.

"What?" Ashley asked, slightly startled in response to Fred's jerking giggle.

"My balls feel like they're buzzing." It was the sudden buzz that startled Fred and made him involuntarily jerk.

"Buzzing?"

"Yeah, like you've got a hand vibrator or something on them."

Ashley brought her torso up and then back down again. This time she pressed down more firmly on Fred and wiggled side to side a little. "Oh!" she said, as she quickly lifted herself slightly.

"What?" Fred said a bit startled.

"I can feel it too."

They both started to laugh. Ashley leaned down and gave Fred a deep kiss. Fred slid his hands around on her, rubbing on her body. Ashley wiggled around on Fred in a grinding motion and the buzzing sensation they were both feeling became more intense. She leaned back upright and oscillated up and down slowly a few times while Fred continued to explore her body with his hands.

Ashley began to rock upward and downward on Fred in a rhythmic cycle. Without any notice, the bedroom door, that Ashley had pushed almost closed after the two had initially entered the bedroom, swung open violently and hit the wall with a loud banging noise. Both Ashley and Fred stopped what they were doing and quickly positioned themselves to be able to see where the noise came from.

"You bitch!" Yelled the person who had just kicked the door open, in a loud, gravelly voice. Without anytime to respond, the room lit up with a bright light and a cracking noise. Ashley lurched upward as the light pulse hit her in the back. The force knocked her off the top of Fred, and she tumbled onto the floor between the bed and wall. Simultaneously, the person who fired the plasma pistol hurtled backwards into the door facing, hitting her head and knocking her just out into the living room.

"What the fuck!" Fred exclaimed in a loud, excited voice, as he jumped up and scrambled off the bed. He could see the intruder lying in the living room just outside the bedroom door. There wasn't enough light for him to get a good look at the person, but he could tell they were unconscious.

He scrambled around to the other side of the bed and saw Ashley wedged between the wall and bed frame, lying motionless. "Oh shit, oh shit," he started repeating in a low voice, as he quickly looked back and forth between the two unconscious individuals. He scrambled back around the bed, and began grabbing up his clothes. He hurriedly put on his pants while hopping around still mumbling 'oh shit'. He slipped on his shoes. No tying was required because they were, to his luck, slip-ons. He snatched up his socks and shirt and started out the bedroom.

"Aww Fuck!" he exclaimed as he passed through the bedroom door and got a good look at the person who had fired the plasma gun. He put his clenched hands up to the sides of his head in exasperation. He couldn't believe who was lying there. It was the stalker, Gema, from Wheng. In a panic, and without thinking, he rushed out of the apartment and headed down the stairs. He knew he didn't want to wait on the elevator. All he wanted to do was get out of there. He didn't know why, so he began to run faster down the stairs. 'Fight or flight' had indeed kicked in, and it was now all about flight for him with no regard to fight. He managed to get his shirt on and half of the buttons fastened before he got to the main floor. He had shoved his socks in his pants' pockets. Once he exited the stairwell on the main floor, he ran across the lobby. As he quickly stepped outside, he stopped for a second, and quickly looked up and down the street a couple of times. To his left, he could see a large intersection with what appeared to be a store and some restaurants. He took off in that direction.

Unknown to Ashley, Eliza and Chet had been following her for several days now, and the two were sitting in a car parked just out of the glow of the building and street lights. Ashley had not given the harness over to Eliza yet, for whatever reason, and Eliza was not happy about it, so in the interim, Eliza decided to tail her. Ashley liked pushing Eliza's buttons a little and did so at every chance she could. Most of the time Ashley liked pushing everyone's buttons a little.

Chet noticed Fred as he came bolting out of the apartment lobby, stopping to look up and down the street in a frantic way. "What's this?" Chet said nudging Eliza's arm, trying to get her attention.

"What?" Eliza turned to look in the direction Chet was indicating. "Oh, that's the guy Mirra came in with from the club," Eliza said as she squinted to focus her eyes, and get a better look at Fred.

"Well, he's leaving in a terrible hurry," Chet said as they watched Fred run off down the street as fast as he could run. "Do you think I should go after him?"

"No, I am sure he will be easy to find if we need to get to him later. We had better get up to her apartment first, to see why he left in such a crazy hurry."

Eliza jumped out of the car and headed over to the apartment building. Chet followed closely behind her. The two rode the elevator up to the ninth floor. Ashley, or more accurately Mirra's, apartment door was closed. Eliza reached out and turned the doorknob. To her surprise, the door opened. It did not completely latch behind Fred as he tore out of the apartment. Eliza and Chet entered Mirra's apartment. A small amount of light was coming from the kitchen as well as the bedroom. They looked around as they stood just inside the door.

"Uh-oh," Chet said as he pointed toward the body lying just outside the bedroom door.

The two walked over to where the body was lying on the floor. As they approached it, they could tell it was not Mirra.

"Who's this?" Chet asked slightly surprised as he pointed at Gema lying on the floor.

"I don't know," Eliza replied as she stepped into the bedroom and began to look around. She immediately noticed that the bedclothes were in complete shambles. She also noticed the lounging pants and shirt lying on the floor. She walked around to the other side of the bed and saw Mirra lying between the wall and the bed, unconscious and completely naked.

"I found Mirra," Eliza said to Chet.

"This one over here is alive," Chet said as he walked into the bedroom, pointing back at Gema lying unconscious on the floor. He had lifted her arm to get a look at her mediband on her wrist. "Her band is solid green, plus she looks like she is breathing fine."

Eliza leaned down so she could reach Mirra's wrist to check her mediband. She paused for a moment. "Mirra's is solid green too," she said as she leaned back up.

Chet surveyed everything for a moment. "It looks like this gal here came in and blasted Mirra with this plasma gun lying here," he explained with pointing gestures. The gun had landed in the living room just a few feet off to one side of the unconscious Gema.

"Yeah, but why? Do you know her?" Eliza asked as she pointed toward Gema.

"Nope, never seen her before."

"Well, me neither."

Chet was looking around in the bedroom. "Looks like someone might have been in the closet, looking for something," Chet said as he walked over to the closet to look in. He pushed aside the cloths hanging on the closet rod, to get a better look at everything. He saw a brown box with its lid lying to one side of it. He scooted the box and the lid around with his foot to see if anything was lying on the floor beside it.

Eliza started over to the closet, "what is...?" she began to say but stopped in mid-sentence. She could hear sirens.

Chet had crouched down to get a better look at the box and inside it, "whatever was in here is gone now," he said as he lifted a hand towel that was lying in the box, with a clothes hanger he had picked up from the floor.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean the harness was the thing that was in the box, if that is what you are getting at. We had better get out of here. I am sure someone has reported a gun blast," Eliza said.

"Yep, you're probably right."

The two quickly left the apartment and started off down the stairs.

Eliza was right, a gun blast had been reported, but not by someone hearing the sound or because of the flash of light it produced. The report came in from a signal being transmitted by the gun. Gema had been through a full psychiatric profile due to the restraining order filed against her by Fred and the band. From the profile, she was deemed to be somewhat unstable. She was placed on a galactic registry of psychologically unstable people. The registry included many things about an individual, including their DNA fingerprint. For nearly a thousand years, guns had the ability to read the DNA of whomever it was that fired them. Since Gema was certified unstable, three things happened when she fired the plasma pistol. First, it automatically reduced the intensity of the gun to a level that just stunned Mirra, knocking her unconscious. Second, the pistol produced a reverse blast to stun Gema, and third, it transmitted a location signal that is received by local authorities. The pistol does not transmit location information unless the gun is fired. A certified unstable person can handle a gun without any problem, however when they fire it, it is a different matter.

***

Linde and Bens where still on patrol when they received the dispatch regarding the unlawful discharge of a plasma pistol. Things had begun to quiet down, so it was decided Bens would take Linde back to his hotel and drop him off after they stopped by the scene for Bens to make a report.

"Are you sure you want to go on this call with me? It might take a while if someone has been shot. There again, someone might have been firing at a rat or something too, and it will just be a citation and a quick report," Bens asked Linde after he made a note of the address. "It's no problem for me to drop you off and then head over there. We are not too far from your hotel, and the location of the incidence is just right up here," Bens pointed forward.

"Aw, what the hell, I will go with you. I am just going to lie around all day today anyway."

Bens put the car in gear and sped off toward Mirra's apartment. Since they were so close, they arrived at the apartment building before any of the local police. Bens stopped the car along the street in a parking spot that was four spaces down from the entrance of the building. There were cars in the three spaces in front of them. Bens touched his communicator and radioed the dispatch that they had arrived at the apartment.

"Well, fuck me running," Linde said in a low voice that had a hint of disbelief in it.

"What?" Bens replied, looking at Linde.

Linde raised his hand and pointed at two people who had just exited the building.

"What, who is it?" Bens said again.

"I, I don't believe it, it's Eliza Algud," Linde replied with a shocked look on his face as he continued to point at the two. He would have bet all the money on Brem that Eliza Algud was on any other planet than Farel. He had already made his plans to return to Brem on Monday because the Farel National Police had no leads on Klars' death, and was no longer treating it as their number one priority.

Linde quickly came to his senses and jumped out of the car without closing his door. Bens followed quickly behind him. Linde was almost in a run as he sprinted around the front of the car, heading directly toward Eliza and Chet.

"Eliza!" Linde said in a stern voice.

Eliza and Chet stopped. They were over halfway to their car from the apartment entrance.

Eliza turned around and took a second to see whom it was, calling out her name. She knew exactly who it was as soon as she caught sight of him. "Inspector Linde, I am surprised to see you," she said in a calm voice as she placed her hands on her hips. In fact, she was very surprised to see him. She knew someone would come to Farel from Brem after the news of Klars' death reached back to the planet, but she didn't think they would send the Chief Inspector.

"Do you want me to burn him?" Chet asked Eliza as he started to lift the tail of his shirt to gain access to his gun.

"No," Eliza replied, putting her hand on his arm.

Chet released his shirttail.

Bens had caught up with Linde and was standing next to him with his gun in his hand at his side. At that same moment, a couple of police cruisers pulled up to the front of the apartment building with their lights and sirens on.

"Is this the woman you have been looking for?" Bens asked, somewhat in disbelief.

"Yep, it sure is," Linde replied, without taking his eyes off her.

Eliza was still standing with her hands on her hips, looking at Linde, "so, what are we going to do now, Inspector Linde?"

"You are going to come with me, Eliza. I have a lot of questions that I want to ask you."

"I would figure that you might," Eliza said with a large grin on her face.

"Let's put some cuffs on them, Bens, and put them in the car."

Linde and Bens placed cuffs on Eliza and Chet and led them over to Ben's car and put them in the back seat.

"Get some officers to watch them while we go up to see what's going on up there. I don't think anyone was shooting at some rats in this case. Unless they were shooting at those two rats," Linde said to Bens, as he pointed back at Eliza and Chet sitting in the car.

"Yeah, I bet you are right," Bens replied.

After two officers stationed themselves at Bens' car, Linde and Bens headed up to Mirra's apartment. By the time the two reached the apartment, there were three patrol officers and two detectives already inside assessing the situation. Linde noticed everyone gathered over by the bedroom door, so he walked over.

As Linde approached the opening to the bedroom, he noticed a person lying on the floor. He moved closer to get a look at her. He didn't recognize her, and there was no reason he would have.

"Who is she?" he asked, as he looked toward the other officers in the room. The three officers looked up at Linde and Bens at the same time. They all knew Bens, but did not know Linde, so neither of them responded.

Bens caught the three officers' long glance at Linde. "This is Inspector Linde of the Breman National Police, Chief Inspector of the Breman National Police," Bens said quickly as he noticed the looks the patrol officers where continuing to give Linde.

After a brief pause, allowing time for all of them to register Bens' introduction, one of the officers replied, "Her name is Gema Standsen."

"What's her status?" Linde asked.

"Unconscious, sir. We have called for an ambulance. We don't have an identification on that one in there. Nothing came up on her," the same officer said as he pointed into the bedroom with the stylus he was using to jot down notes on his handheld.

Linde stepped into the bedroom and looked around.

"Over there," one of the detectives in the bedroom said, motioning toward the other side of the bed.

Linde walked around the bed and saw a woman lying naked and stretched out on her side up against the wall. He immediately knew who she was. "Fuck me running," Linde said in a low voice. He stood for a moment looking at Mirra. He couldn't help it. Chirod was right. Mirra was an amazingly attractive woman. "What's her status?" Linde said to no one in particular, as he pointed down at Mirra.

"Also unconscious, but otherwise fine," replied the same officer that had given him the status on Gema.

"I know who she is, or at least I know one of her aliases. It's Mirra Lovich," Linde said, loud enough for everyone to hear him. He reached and pulled the comforter off the bed and covered Mirra's naked body with it.

Bens had walked into the bedroom, and was talking to one of the officers.

"I guess I've seen all I need to see here, Bens. I trust she will be taken into custody?" Linde asked, pointing down at Mirra.

"Well, she will need to go to the hospital first. It is standard procedure, but there will be police presence while she is there. I suppose this is the other female you have been looking for?" Bens replied.

"Yes, she's the other one. Do you need to do anything else?" Linde asked.

"No, I spoke briefly with an officer and one of the detectives. I've seen enough to complete a report."

"Wait, could you possibly do one thing for me?" Linde asked.

"Perhaps, what is it?" Bens replied.

"Could you have them search the place for a piece of jewelry? It looks sort of like a long, interconnected necklace made with several jewels." The crown jewels had momentarily slipped Linde's mind due to unnoticeable elation he was experiencing upon finding the two people he wanted to find the most in the whole galaxy.

"I suppose I could."

"If you could, have them look really good. I can't tell you all the details, but it is the primary piece of evidence that ties all these people together in these cases I am working, which includes Klars Algud's death. If it is here, it will be the smoking gun for it all."

"Okay, I don't think it will be a problem." Bens walked over to one of the detectives and spoke with him for a moment. Linde watched Bens as he made a gesture with his hands like he was describing a necklace.

"It's done," Bens said as he walked over to Linde.

"Thanks," Linde replied. He was visibly smiling at this point, but Bens did not notice.

Linde and Bens headed back down to the car.

"We will need to take the two of them to the local police headquarters, not FNP," Bens said, referring to Eliza and Chet, as the two approached the car. "Again, it's a standard procedure," Bens explained to Linde as the two of them got into the car.

"That's fine," Linde said, "It doesn't matter which station we go to, as long as we get her into one, so I can question her appropriately."

"Okay," Bens replied as he put the car in gear and headed off to the police headquarters.

It was a quiet ride to the police station. Linde and Bens didn't say anything to each other, Eliza and Chet didn't say anything to each other either, nor did the occupants in the front seat say anything to the ones in the back seat.

The drive to the station only took about ten minutes. Bens pulled the car around to the back and into a carport area that was setup to receive people. Linde and Bens got out of the car.

"Put them in separate rooms, if you don't mind," Linde said as he opened the door on his side to let Chet out.

"No problem," Bens replied, "I will start processing them as suspects for questioning once we get inside."

"That would be great. Can I go ahead and talk with her?" Linde asked, pointing at Eliza.

"Sure, just as soon as I register you and get you a visiting investigator tag. It will only take about two minutes, at the most," Bens responded.

The four entered the door to the station. It led into a short hallway. At the end of the hallway Bens turned to his left. "I will put her in this one, and we will put him in that one," he said as he pointed to a door down the right side of the hallway.

***

Linde entered Eliza's holding room. She was sitting at a table on the opposite side from the door. She looked very relaxed and comfortable to Linde, or at least more so than she should have been, he thought, considering all the circumstances involved. He sat down at the table in front of her. Eliza was sitting with the chair pushed away from the table, and her legs crossed. He began to smile at her. She smiled back at him. She did seem to be more at ease than he would have expected given the gravity of the situation.

After a short moment of smiling, Linde broke the ice, "you're not Eliza Router Algud are you?"

Eliza began to chuckle lightly. "No, Inspector Linde, I am not Eliza Router Algud."

"Would you mind telling me exactly who you are, then?"

She didn't see any harm in telling Linde her real name at this point. He would find it out eventually. Besides, names didn't matter. "Sure, my name is Tam Brindle."

"Brindle, Brindle," Linde repeated in a low voice as he thought to himself. "What state are you from on Farel?"

Tam, chuckled again, "I am from everywhere," she replied as she made a gesture with her hand, continuing to smile, penetrating him with her bright eyes.

Linde was caught for a moment in her vexing stare. Shaking her stare, "Ah," Linde blurted out, as got up from his chair, "so, where are the jewels?"

"I don't have the slightest idea where any jewels are," Tam answered gesturing with her hands out to her side. She was telling the truth. She didn't know where the jewels were at the present. She had known where they were until earlier that evening, or at least she thought she knew. Mirra had them, somewhere, but Eliza did not know where she had stashed them. For all she knew, Mirra might not even have them in her physical possession at this point.

"Okay, well, never the less, I think I know what has transpired here. You thought you and Mirra Lovich could make a sizable payday by swiping the jewels from Brem, and you got Klars Algud tied up into it because of his substantial connections. So, is the burley guy down the hall your muscle?"

Tam began to laugh out loud. Cashing the jewels in on a sizable payday was not even remotely close to why Tam had orchestrated the plan to obtain them, but Linde had no way of knowing. She leaned forward in her chair and propped her chin up on the back of her hand on the table. A large smile came across her face, "Inspector Linde, I am absolutely certain you don't even have the slightest idea of what has transpired," she said in a calm, almost sultry voice.

Linde didn't say anything. He stood looking at her. She was a very beautiful and desirable woman, he thought to himself. He could indeed see what Klars saw in her, and how she easily manipulated him.

The door to the room opened, and the noise jogged Linde out of his little trance. Bens stuck his head into the room, "could I speak with you for a moment?"

Linde stepped out into the hallway with Bens.

"We found an electropen in her purse."

"Okay," Linde said flatly.

"Klars was killed by a shock from an electropen to the chest, according to the autopsy."

"Oh, that's right, and she had one in her purse, did she?" Linde said as he raised his eyebrows and smiled at Bens. He knew Tam was going to play cat and mouse, and do it effectively for as long as she could because they didn't have any hard evidence against her. Now, Linde did have a bit of hard evidence, which would surely turn the tone of the conversation in his favor. He had something he could use to get the upper hand, and force her to reveal some pertinent information. He was very excited about this, but one would not have known from his expressions. Truth be known, Linde was not a very good interrogator. He was one of the best on Brem when it came to piecing together evidence and clues, but questioning someone wasn't his strong suit, and he did very little of it by his own choosing. Having the electropen information would certainly help him.

Linde walked back into the room and sat down. He leaned forward with his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. "Do you know how Klars died?"

"Who?" Tam replied as though she had never heard the name.

"Klars, the man you have been married to and shared a life with on Brem for the past few years. You can't deny it Eliza, or Tam, whichever. We can solidly confirm who you are in those regards. I am not going to play this game with you," Linde said smiling.

"I didn't know he was dead," she said with a look of concern on her face. Tam knew she had the upper hand, regardless of what Linde thought, and she was going to play whatever game she wanted, however she wanted to play it. She also knew Klars was quite dead. After all, she was the one who killed him.

"Well, he was killed with an electropen just like the one found in your purse," Linde said with a hard, straight face.

The softness left Tam's face and her expression became a little harder and somewhat cold. She sat with a blank face, looking at Linde. "Well," she thought to herself, "I guess I am going to have to play a different game."

***

The sun had barely risen, and Greg was sitting in the kitchen at the table waiting on the coffee to brew. Thom came walking in, scooting his feet as though he were still asleep.

"You're up early," Thom said as he yawned.

"You know me, no matter what time I go to bed, I am awake at dawn."

"Shit, that's a terrible character flaw." Thom said as he opened the refrigerator and peered inside.

"Where's Chennel?" Greg asked.

"She's upstairs, asleep." Thom walked over and sat down at the table.

"Oh, I thought maybe she went home or something. What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep for some reason."

"So how did it go, you know?" Greg asked with a slight grin as he made an upward pointing motion indicating Thom's bedroom upstairs, and the gal still in it. He was interested in how things lined up and worked out between Thom and Chennel. Truthfully, who wouldn't be?

"Whew," Thom sighed, "she's a little dynamo. At one point, I had to sit out and take a break, but she kept on going, if you know what I mean. It was wild stuff."

"How was everything, you know, arranged, if you know what I mean?" Greg asked, as he made gestures with his hands.

"It was a standard arrangement, really, as far as females go, but very nice," Thom said with a blank stare and a smile.

Thom yawned again while rubbing his face. Ethan came walking into the kitchen wearing just his boxer shorts, scooting his feet in the exact same way Thom had been doing when he came into the kitchen. Ethan went directly to the refrigerator without saying anything to Greg or Thom. He opened the door and leaned in to look around. He took out a bottle of water and closed the door. He twisted off the cap and took a long drink.

Ethan lowered the bottle, "something is rumbling around in my stomach in a terrible way," he said as he started to rub his stomach. Before and during the show at The Pit, he had eaten a good deal of the chips and sauce, along with a variety of other foods. It was obviously not at all agreeing with him.

"You've probably got some sort of demon in ya there, rooting around doing evil things," Thom said as he pointed toward Ethan's stomach.

This was the wrong thing to say. Apparently, Ethan was still heavily under the influence of all the lieling he had smoked, even though it seemed he was completely sober. Thom no more got the word demon out, when Ethan tripped out. He slammed himself back up against the refrigerator with his arms outstretched, grasping it as though he was trying to cling to a spinning object, trying not to fall off. He began to quickly turn his head side to side with a wild look in his eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey calm down man," Thom said, as he quickly stood up from his chair. "I was only joking around."

Greg stood up as well.

Ethan bolted out of the kitchen, and Greg and Thom followed behind him in a run. Ethan ran up the stairs, into a bathroom, and slammed the door shut. Thom grabbed the knob and turned it, but it had locked when Ethan slammed it closed.

Thom jiggled the doorknob, "Ethan, come on man, open the door."

"You had to say demon didn't you," Greg said to Thom in a low, sarcastic voice.

"How was I supposed to know he was still stoned and was going to trip out? He looked perfectly sober to me when he walked into the kitchen."

Thom grabbed the knob again to give it a jiggle, but just as he did, a loud boom erupted from the bathroom that rattled the door. Thom jerked his hand off the knob. He immediately grabbed it again and violently shoot the door, yelling, "Ethan? What was that, you alright?"

Thom stopped jiggling the knob, he and Greg stood silent for a second. They could hear Ethan moaning in a low voice. The boom, along with all the commotion, was loud enough to wake up everyone on the second and third floors, and they came out to see what was going on. Thom started rattling the doorknob again and hollering Ethan's name.

"What was that," Abby said as she came toward the bathroom tying her robe.

"We don't know exactly," Greg said.

Ethan's moaning had gotten louder.

"We had better call the emergency number," Abby said.

"Good idea," Greg replied.

***

Fred didn't stop running until he had rounded down the street by one of the restaurants at the intersection down from Ashley's apartment. He leaned over onto his knees, breathing hard, trying to catch his breath. After several deep breaths, he righted himself and spotted a taxi parked on the street in front of the restaurant. He ran over to it.

"Are you available?" Fred yelled at the driver as he approached.

The driver pointed to the top of his car and replied, "What do you think?"

Fred looked at the top of the car and saw that the green light was on. He quickly opened the door and jumped into the backseat. He blurted out the address to the brownstone as he closed the door.

The cab ride gave Fred the opportunity to continue to mull over what had just happened back at Ashley's apartment. Periodically, he would mumble "what am I gonna do" out loud a couple of times in a row and then go silent. The main thing that kept popping up was the fact he shouldn't have left. After all, he didn't do anything wrong. "I was just having consensual sex with someone", he explained to himself in a low voice. "It was the gal from Wheng, she's the one in trouble here. I shouldn't have left, but I can't go back now. I could be in trouble for leaving", he said softly, as continued to work over the events.

As the taxi approached within eyeshot of the brownstone, Fred could see emergency lights from an ambulance. Within a few seconds, he could tell it was sitting right in front of the brownstone. He could also see a small crowd of people standing out front. A vision flashed through Fred's head that made his heart sink, and he immediately felt sick. The vision involved Gema entering the brownstone and shooting everyone she could find. As far as he knew, Ashley was dead, and there was no telling who else was dead here at the brownstone.

"Oh, shit," Fred said in a low voice as the taxi stopped just in front of the ambulance. He couldn't see any of the crowd of people. The ambulance was blocking them from view. Fred quickly slid a twenty-credit bill into the pay slot and pushed the no change button on the touch screen and jumped out of the car.

Fred quickly walked around the ambulance and saw the crowd. They were huddled close together, and were close-talking with each other. He spotted Abby, Greg, and Cassy and shot directly toward them.

"What's going on?" Fred asked in a loud, frantic way, as he came screeching to a halt in front of them.

Before any of them could answer Fred, the emergency technicians started out the front door with Ethan on a gurney. Everyone stopped talking and watched him emerge, carried down the steps, and placed in the back of the vehicle. He was not exactly conscious or unconscious. He was moaning and rolling his head slowly back and forth. He was hooked to a couple of different devices that no one in the crowd had any clue what they were for. They put Ethan in the back of the ambulance.

One of the emergency technicians climbed into the back of the ambulance with Ethan. The other one closed the doors and walked around front to get in and drive.

Greg took a deep breath through his nose and turned toward Fred, "well, it appears Ethan tried to light his gas, and he suffered a back flash that resulted in exploding his guts," Greg said flatly, answering Fred's question.

"What? What gas? How?" Was all that Fred could get out.

"A fart," Greg said as he stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the ambulance as it began to pull away. "When he went to light his fart, there wasn't sufficient pressure on the gas coming out of his ass, so the flame ran up inside, ignited a gas bubble in his colon, and it exploded. I am sure his guts are ruined," Greg replied, slowly moving his head side to side.

"Not to mention the bathroom," Hals said with a slight grin.

Cassy slapped Hals on the shoulder with the back of her hand.

"What? I am only trying to lighten the mood a little. Besides, the ambulance guy said he was going to most likely be alright," Hals said as he rubbed his shoulder a little.

"Why was he trying to light a fart?" Fred asked with a confused look.

"Well, Thom here," Greg said pointing over at Thom, "made the mistake of implying a demon was in Ethan's stomach, and he freaked out, ran upstairs, locked himself in the bathroom. The best we can guess is he was going to try to burn the demon out or something. We don't know for sure. Like I said, it's just a guess. Who knows what he was thinking. He seemed to have tripped out pretty heavily."

For some reason, everyone looked at Thom at this point.

"Hey, I didn't know he was still high on that lieling stuff and was going to freak out like he did. I thought he was straight up. I am innocent here," Thom said shrugging his shoulders with his palms turned upward in a display of innocence.

"Yeah, you're innocent alright. It doesn't matter at this point anyway. He did what he did. No one is blaming you, Thom."

Everyone in the group made expressions of agreement with Greg.

"I guess we need to get to the hospital," Greg said as he walked over to the van to unlock it. The gang began to climb into the vehicle.

Cassy walked up the steps and locked the front door to the brownstone as the last of the group from Quie exited. They had run back inside and gathered up their stuff. Cassy trotted back over to the van and got in. Just as Cassy closed her door, Greg put the van in gear and drove off down the street toward the hospital.

Fred pulled his socks out of his pocket and kicked off his shoes. He bent down to slip a sock on one of his feet. As he did, his shirt rode up his back several inches.

"Dude, are you wearing a beaded thong?" Hals asked in a laughing voice as he pointed to the exposed chain of jewels that wrapped around Fred's waist and dove down the crack of his ass.

In all the commotion between what happened at Ashley's apartment and what was going on with Ethan, Fred had completely forgotten he still had the jeweled harness on.

Fred leaned up, and his face went blank and pale. For the moment, he had forgotten about Ashley Blunt.

"What's the matter?" Cassy asked him.

Fred buried his face in his hands. "Oh, shit," he said calmly. "I am in big trouble."

"What do you mean?" Cassy asked.

Fred lifted his face up out of his hands. "You're not going to believe this, but Ashley and I had just started doing it, when that stalker chick from Wheng, Gema, somehow burst into the apartment and shot Ashley with a plasma gun. I saw Ashley lying there dead, and I just freaked out and got the hell out of there."

"What did the stalker do as you ran out?" Hals asked.

"She got knocked out somehow when she fired the gun."

"Fred, unless Gema got up and clobbered Ashley with something after you left, she can't possibly be dead from the plasma gun," Cassy replied.

"How's that?" Fred asked as he looked at Cassy in a disbelieving way.

"Gema has been certified unstable, so any gun she tries to shoot will not kill anyone. It might just stun them or knock them out. I also suspect that the gun probably knocked her out too to incapacitate her."

"Really?" Fred replied as though he didn't believe her.

"Yes, I am certain no one's dead. Plus, I think the gun sends out a signal that someone unstable has shot it, so I am sure the police are at Ashley's right now. You really shouldn't have left, though. You wouldn't have been in any trouble."

"I know, I know. I just freaked out and got the hell out of there. I don't know what I was thinking." Fred said shaking his head side to side. "Hopefully I didn't leave a trail. Maybe they won't even know I was there, and that will be the end of it."

"Don't bet on it," Cassy said as she sat looking at Fred with a motherly look. "If they check things out thorough enough, your name will pop up as they dig into Gema's files. They will find out who filed a complaint against her that brought her to be certified and listed, and that was you."

"Uhhh," Fred exclaimed softly as he buried his face back in his hands.

"Were you so freaked out that you grabbed her thong by mistake and put it on or something?" Hals asked jokingly as he reached and hooked his finger in the string of jewels that went around Fred's waist, and gave it a tug.

"No. I didn't put on her thong. It's a harness," he said in an annoyed voice as he looked up at Hals from his hands. "She had me put it on. I completely forgot I was wearing it," He went back to putting his socks on.

Hals knew exactly what kind of harness Fred was talking about. After all, Hals and Cassy are very adventurous sexually, and they are well educated on most things associated with sex, or at least they try to be.

The rest of the ride to the hospital was a silent one. Everyone was tired, plus they were taking this opportunity for personal reflection. Greg dropped everyone off at the emergency receiving entrance and parked the van. After waiting in the emergency waiting room for over half an hour, a physician came out from the back to brief the gang on Ethan.

"He's stable, and we have him hooked up to a couple of devices to maintain him until we can get him into surgery in about an hour," the physician explained.

"Hey, that's a switch," Hals said, "he's usually the one hooking up the devices." No one acted as if they heard what he said, except Thom. Thom gave him a big smile and a nod of his head in response.

"What's going to happen in surgery?" Cassy asked the physician.

"Well, we are going to have to clean him up on the inside and then fix what is destroyed, and support what is damaged so it can heal properly. He is pretty well torn up on the inside. Luckily it looks like no vital organs were injured, so we don't have to contend with that. We will get him into surgery to assess what we will need to do next."

"How long will it take?" Greg asked.

"Several hours; it depends on the extent of damage. Someone will notify you when he is out."

The physician turned and headed back into the emergency treatment area from where he had come out. The group stood and looked at each other in silence.

After a moment, the silence was broken. "You want to find the cafeteria?" Greg asked.

"Yes," they all replied in unison.

Greg turned and walked toward an elevator, and the others followed behind him. "There has to be a directory somewhere around close," he said as he looked side to side.

***

An older, somewhat distinguished looking man walked into the front lobby of the police station. It was evident he had been fast asleep only a short time before arriving at the station. The gentleman walked up to the officer sitting at a high bench behind what one would assume to be blast proof glass.

"May I help you?" the officer asked him just as the gentleman reached the counter.

"Yes, I am here to see Detective Bens. He is expecting me," the man said with a smile.

"Certainly sir," the officer replied and picked up a handheld communicator. "Detective Bens," the officer said as he spoke into the communication device.

"Yes," Bens' voice came through the speaker.

"The person you are expecting is here."

"Thanks. Please send him through, and I will greet him."

"You can step through this door, sir," the officer said to the man as he motioned in the direction of the door with his head, while simultaneously pressing a button on a touchscreen in front of him. The door unlocked with an audible clicking sound.

The man exited the reception area and entered a hallway lined with what appeared to be doors to offices. No sooner than the door clicked closed behind the man, and Bens turned the corner at the end of the hallway.

"Ambassador Rhiel, it is nice to meet you," Bens said as he approached the man with his hand extended. "I am detective Bens."

"Yes, yes, it is nice to meet you as well Detective Bens. I just wish it were under more favorable and better circumstances," the Ambassador said as he took Bens' hand and firmly shook it. "But, there is no need to fuss about such things. I am here to collect my citizens, nonetheless."

"Certainly Ambassador, it will only be just a few minutes as we finish up with processing the paperwork."

"Yes, indeed, we do have to have all of the appropriate paperwork in order." Rhiel was not being sarcastic, just agreeing with the necessity of completing required paperwork.

"Would you like to wait in our lounge? It is more comfortable in there," Bens asked as he stretched his arm out in the direction down the hall in a gesture for the Ambassador to head in that way.

"That would be wonderful," the Ambassador replied.

The Ambassador started off in the direction Bens was indicating, and Bens followed behind him.

***

After a few brief moments of uncomfortable silence, Tam's face began to soften, and a smile slowly appeared on her face again. Linde had taken notice of the brief change in Tam's expression for that moment and knew the tone, and most likely, the direction of the conversation was about to change.

"Electropen, eh?" Tam said still smiling. "There are many reasons why someone would have an electropen, I am certain, other than to kill someone. Archeologists, such as myself, use them for non-destructive ionization of surface atoms on an artifact for analysis by a pocket mass-spectrophotometer. I think it would be perfectly legitimate for me to have one. I am sure there are a couple archeologists at the university here in Ligthe that carry one. You can give them a call and confirm what I am saying. Did you not find the pocket mass-spec in my bag as well? Surely you wouldn't have missed that."

"Yes, but Eliza Algud is the archeologist," Linde said as he produced quote-fingers when he got to the word archeologist, "you are not. What does Tam Brindle do?" Linde asked boldly, accentuating the word does.

Tam leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs and her arms and chuckled briefly. "Oh, on the contrary, Inspector Linde, Tam Brindle is an archeologist, and she is an expert on ancient artifacts too. You can confirm this by contacting my home planet, or you could simply do a quick article search in the research databases. I think you will easily find many articles I have authored on ancient artifacts; some as far back as twenty-five years ago."

Linde sat silently looking at her with a blank face as he considered whether her statements were legitimate. All he had been told on the entire theft matter and individual knowledge of things was almost no one knew anything about the harness. Perhaps she was an archeologist. The harness might be an esoteric object that was known only to a few in certain archeological circles other than those on Brem, but then again, someone could have just told her about it, and viola their plan was hatched. Yes, the direction of the conversation changed, but not necessarily in the direction he had hoped.

Tam was looking back at Linde with an equally blank face. She still had her arms and legs crossed, shaking her foot slowly side to side.

"I think I have humored him long enough," Tam thought to herself. She took a short breath, "I believe I have the right to make a call, don't I?" she said to Linde without changing anything else regarding her expression or position.

Linde gave out a large sighed, and began to scratch his forehead, "Yes," he said. He got up and walked out of the room. After a couple of minutes, he came back in and laid a handheld down on the table in front of Tam. She looked down at it, and then back up at Linde. Linde turned and left the room again.

Linde shut the door and took a couple of steps toward the other room where Chet was being held. Before he could take another step, Bens rounded the corner from the main hallway as it intersected the hallway where the rooms were located.

"Ah, Inspector," Bens said as he came to an abrupt stop.

"Yes," Linde replied without any added emotion.

"It looks like we have a problem."

"And that is?" Linde asked as he furrowed his brow in a concerned look. He never liked hearing the words 'we have a problem' in the early stages of an interrogation.

"These two here," Bens said as he made a pointing gesture up and down the hall, "and the unconscious naked gal back at the apartment happen to be from Zothos."

"Zothos?" Linde said puzzled. Linde had heard of Zothos. He knows it is an old planet, or more specifically a planet with a very old civilization. In fact, many feel Zothos is the cradle of civilization in the galaxy. The very first planet where humanoids evolved, but that topic is still under considerable debate. He also knows Zothos is one of the ruling planets of the Galactic Federation. Other than that, nothing quickly came to Linde's mind that would be a problem, solely because these three happen to be from Zothos.

"Okay, and what makes this a problem?" Linde asked completely innocently.

"I don't want to get into a big lesson in our history, but due to certain events in the past between Farel and Zothos, Zothians have pure and complete diplomatic immunity from all Farel laws if the government of Zothos specifies this status for an individual." Bens emphasized the word 'if'. "Farel has no options or recourse in the matter and has to comply completely."

Linde thought for a moment. He knew Zothos was more than likely to be militarily superior to Farel, but those types of things rarely came into play since the Galactic Federation rose to its prominence. Must be a treaty thing, he thought. "Well, what's the problem exactly?"

"So, the first thing out of this guys' mouth was bring me a communicator," Bens said pointing over his shoulder down the hall to the room where Chet was being held. "He wasn't on the device but for two seconds I bet. Twenty minutes later, the Zothian ambassador, Rhiel, is walking in the front door of the station here. He's sitting in the staff lounge as we speak waiting on these two."

"Oh," Linde said, not fully understanding the full gravity of what Bens was getting at.

"They're out of here, Linde, no questions asked. He has asked for their release into his custody, immediately," Bens said as he put his hands on his hips. "Oh, I also heard from the detective. They searched the apartment very thoroughly and didn't find the necklace-like piece of jewelry you asked about. In fact, he said they found very little jewelry, only a couple of pairs of earrings."

Linde stood rubbing his chin for a moment. He had a grimace on his face as though he had just had a strong, cramping sensation in his gut and was trying to deal with the pain. Truthfully, he did have a cramping pain. He felt as though he had just been punched, forcefully in the gut.

"Hey, what if I can prove they are intimately tied to the death of a Breman official, and the theft of Breman State property, I could request for their extradition to Brem."

"I don't know how you are going to do that exactly. The electropen can easily be regarded as circumstantial, and you didn't retrieve the harness from either of them. No judge around here is going to just trust your word on it, especially when Zothians are involved. Besides, we don't have any kind of extradition agreement with Brem. I checked on a whim, shortly after we got here. I thought you might come to that regardless, and I wanted to have some info for you. Besides, Zothos' decisions would trump anything anyway. Sorry." Bens gestured with his hands out to his side.

"Well fuck me running," Linde said quite audibly and sternly as he turned and leaned against the wall. He began to chew on the nail of his index finger. He couldn't help but to feel a rush of defeat well up inside of him, along with a good amount of anger. He suddenly had the irresistible urge to go back into the room and put his gun to Tam's head and tell her to spill it all, or he was going to spill her brains. What did he have to lose, he thought. Linde sprouted an evil grin at the thought, but it only lasted for a second. His grin subsided as he snapped back to reality. He knew he personally could never do anything like that. He didn't have it in him. He has shot people before, but it was in self-defense. Cold-blooded killing, as it would be in this case, now that wasn't him, but he had never left a case open. He had solved every case where he had been the lead investigator, and perhaps why he was elevated to the Chief Inspector of the Breman National Police. The sting of it all was becoming more intense.

Linde let out a large sigh. "I guess there's a first for everything." Reasoning and logic had returned to him.

"What?" Bens asked.

"Huh, nothing," Linde said. He had completely forgotten Bens was still standing next to him. Without saying anything further, he pushed himself away from the wall and started walking down the hall with his head hung in thought. Bens stood with his hands on his hips watching Linde as he walked away, turning down the hall toward the front of the station.

***

Ethan's surgery went off without any difficulties. It took around four hours to complete the whole thing, and for him to come out of recovery. He had to have a complete cybernetic bowel installation, and one of his kidneys wound up having to be removed and replaced with a MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) device. It had suffered massive bruising that wasn't initially evident on the CT scan. The cybernetic bowel mechanism is, for lack of any better way of describing it, a robotic colon constructed of both living tissue and mechanical elements. MEMS devices and cybernetic components had been around for a long time. In fact, several different organs and tissues in the body can be replaced with a cybernetic organ or a MEMS device. If you have something go bad or quit working properly, such as the kidneys, the liver, the spleen, and even some glands in the body, they can be replaced with a cybernetic MEMS device.

Ethan already has a cybernetic/robotic arm from an earlier mishap. The only problem with cybernetic MEMS devices is they are all extremely expensive. The masses could not even come close to purchasing any of these things. If you have a kidney to go down and you can't get a living transplant, then you are out of luck. Of course, money is not a problem for the group. They essentially have an endless supply due to their lottery winnings, so whatever tens of millions of credits Ethan's bill is going to be in this situation, they have it covered with no problem.

The gang was heading back over to the brownstone to get some well-needed rest, plus, they had to finish packing up that evening. If they were to stay on their planned tour schedule, they needed to leave sometime the next day. The rental lease on the brownstone is up the next day as well.

"How long did the doctor say Ethan will be in the hospital," Abby asked, as she looked at the others.

"He will be there for most of this week," Greg answered. "He has to heal up enough to a point where they will let him go. Plus, they need to install a new microprocessor to control all his new stuff. The one he has for his arm isn't big enough to control everything, or at least it doesn't have enough memory."

"Are we still leaving tomorrow?" Fred asked. All he had on his mind was getting off Farel and a trillion miles away. He figured the quicker he left, and the farther away he was, any heat there might be from the situation with Ashley would cool quickly. However, he had no way of knowing the situation was being completely resolved due to circumstances unknown to him, and his presence at her apartment at the time of the incidence was insignificant to the whole issue. One might say his status is no more than that of an innocent bystander of sorts, who was caught up in the rip current stirred up more by Gema's actions than anything else. In fact, before Ethan had come out of surgery, both the Farel local authorities and the FNP had closed the case. Tam, and Chet had been released from custody, and were at the Zothian embassy. Ashley had been officially released from custody as well, but was still in the hospital. A plasma blast to the back, even though it was a low power blast, was quite substantial. Plus, she suffered a concussion when she hit her head on the wall as she flew off and down beside the bed. Gema was also still in the hospital with a concussion, but had been turned over to psychiatric services.

"Yeah, I guess we should go ahead and go on. We have the reservations on Crymeon. Ethan will just be resting the whole time he is in the hospital. Just as soon as he gets out, he can hop on a transport. Syndie will be around to keep him company," Fred offered to try to get everyone thinking on the same page as he, which was all about getting the hell off Farel and nothing more.

"Oh, yeah. We can't cancel out on going to Crymeon," Hals said in a pleading way. He had forgotten about their next port of call until Fred mentioned it. He knew Abby and Cassy would try to argue why they shouldn't leave Ethan. Regardless, he agreed with Fred's argument over the alternative.

Crymeon is a small resort planet stuck in a continual party, which has been going on for almost four years, and party in this sense means party in the strictest sense, not like Las Vegas on Earth where everyone goes to bed around three in the morning, and the place takes a breath. Crymeon is like a merry-go-round spinning at top speed. You jump on, hold on for however long you want, and then you jump off, and it keeps on spinning without letting up.

New York on Earth has forever been known as the city that never sleeps, well Crymeon is known as the planet that never sleeps. Its largest land mass is about a hundred miles wide and six hundred miles long and rests just slightly above the planet's equator. It has a little over one thousand miles of the most beautiful tropical beaches you will find anywhere in the galaxy, and they are lined with resorts, hotels, restaurants, clubs, and shopping. It's the perfect combination of elements that spun it into its perpetual party, but no one knows the details of how started.

"I tell you what," Greg said, "We will see how Ethan is doing in the morning. If he is doing well enough, then we will ask him if he wants us to wait on him to get out of the hospital before we leave. If he does, then we will wait. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough," they all replied, even Fred, although Fred's response was less than enthusiastic to say the least.

As they approached the brownstone, Fred craned around to see if there were any police cars in the area, parked nearby, or if any police officers were out walking around. Thankfully, he didn't notice any vehicles or anybody that resembled a police officer. Before he exited the van, he looked around for cars that looked like they might be ones used by detectives or something much like unmarked cars, which everyone knows are police cars. Again, he didn't notice anything. His heart slowed down a little bit. He figured by now they would have found out he had been in Ashley's apartment, and they would be looking for him. All he needs to do now is get on the Ion Spark tomorrow without getting stopped, and he is home free. He took a slow, deep breath and then produced an equally big sigh.

Chapter 12

Monday morning came quick enough for Linde. He didn't do anything the rest of the day on Sunday other than to notify Patel of the latest events, and write up a very short report, which he sent to Emperor Chirod. The report was brief, but he ended it with a promise he would give him all the intricate details when he got back to Brem.

His flight off Farel was scheduled in the late afternoon, so he wasn't in any hurry to get out of bed. It was early still. As he lay in bed, he worked over the details of the whole affair in his mind. He began to fixate on the fact that he didn't solve the case as it was, and that bothered him terribly. Moreover, the main point was he didn't have the harness back in his or Brem's possession. The Emperor had emphasized quite emphatically the most important thing over anything else, was to get the harness back, period.

Linde closed his eyes briefly and then he popped them back open. A thought had just occurred to him. He did solve the case. He knows who took the harness, Mirra Lovich. He knows who completely orchestrated the theft of the jewels and killed Klars, Eliza Algud, aka Tam Brindle, or at least he is very certain she killed Klars. There was no solid confirmation on that though. It could have been Chet who killed Klars, but at the least, someone in the group killed him. The only thing was he didn't retrieve the harness. Everything else was in place.

"Eliza, or Tam, knows the location of the harness," Linde said out loud. "She, or they, either have it stashed somewhere, or they have sold it to someone, but they know its location for sure," he said emphatically, gesturing with his hands as he lay on his back in the bed.

After a few moments of further reflection an idea came to Linde. He jumped up out of bed and walked into the bathroom. He had a strong hunger pang and decided he would get a good breakfast. He felt a little better about the whole thing, since he could reasonably argue he had pretty much solved most of the case, and thus his record probably will not be tainted, completely, in those regards. He will just wait and see how Emperor Chirod reacts to the whole thing, including not actually having the harness; although, the last part does worries him a little.

Linde took a healthy piss and turned on the shower. Inspector Chert had made arrangements to pick him up and take him to the spaceport. Chert planned to pick Linde up around ten. This gave Linde plenty of time to get cleaned up, pack up his stuff, and have a nice breakfast. He now had a favor to ask Chert, which he hoped Chert would do for him. Linde was feeling more upbeat. He slid off his underwear and stepped into the shower.

***

Inspector Chert arrived at Linde's hotel almost exactly at ten. Chert walked over to the courtesy phone and picked it up.

"What room, sir?" the voice on the other end said.

"Inspector Cyrus Linde's room, please."

"Thank you, sir."

A few minutes later, Linde exited the elevator and walked over to where Chert was sitting in a large, soft chair.

"Inspector Chert," Linde said as he walked up beside Chert's chair.

Chert looked up from his handheld. He was reading some news feeds, "Ah, Inspector Linde. How are you?"

"I am good, and you?"

"Doing well, thank you. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I checked out using the console in the room," Linde replied.

The two exited the hotel, and walked to Chert's car. Linde placed his suitcase in the backseat of the car and got into the front passenger seat. Chert started the car and pulled out from the hotel.

Chert began to talk about everyday things; such as the very nice weather. Linde wasn't paying attention to him, but was in deep thought about the harness.

"Do you know where Eliza, uh Tam Brindle, is right now?" Linde blurted out, interrupting Chert in mid-sentence about the fantastic temperatures Farel had been experiencing as of late.

Chert was caught off guard a little and stammered, "uh, well, no, but I can find out. Why?"

"If it is at all possible, I would like to talk to her if I could." This was the idea Linde formulated earlier while lying in bed, and the favor he needed to ask of Chert.

"Well," Chert started as he cleared his throat, "as far as we are concerned, here on Farel, that whole situation has been resolved."

"I know. It's not an interrogation or anything like that. I just want to ask her one question, no harm."

"Well, if she has no objections, then I don't see why you couldn't. We need to check with her to see if she is willing to see you."

"That's fine. If she refuses, then we will go immediately to the spaceport."

Chert pulled the car into a street-side parking spot and got his handheld out. He called someone at FNP headquarters, and had a brief conversation with them.

"She is staying at a hotel that just happens to be next to the spaceport. I am sure the Zothians will be departing Farel in a few short days," Chert explained to Linde. "One of them is still in the hospital. The one who was shot with the plasma gun."

"So, can we stop by her hotel?" Linde asked looking at Chert.

"Yes, but we have to respect her decision. If she does not want to speak with you, then that is that."

The two did not talk the ten minutes it took for them to get to Tam's hotel. Chert steered the car into the hotel parking lot and stopped in front of the building entrance. "I will wait in the car for you," he said to Linde.

"Okay," Linde replied as he opened his door and stepped out. He entered and went over to the courtesy phone and picked it up. It was the standard conversation between Linde and the operator.

"Hello," Tam said answering the phone in her room.

"Tam, hi, this is Cyrus Linde from Brem."

"Yes, I recognized the voice, Inspector Linde."

"Would you mind if I ask you a question? I promise I won't try to interrogate you or anything of the sort. I just have to know the answer to one question, if you will oblige me."

Tam could sense the pleading in Linde's voice. He is harmless, she thought. It wouldn't hurt to humor him a little. After all, she knew what he was going to ask her, and it was the whereabouts of the harness. "Okay, I will answer your one question. What is it?"

"Can I come up? I don't have a lot of time. My ship leaves in a few hours. Inspector Chert is waiting for me in the car outside, so I won't bother you long."

Tam rolled her eyes, but of course she was the only one that was aware of it. "I suppose," she answered with a hint of aggravation in her voice.

Linde stepped out of the elevator on Tam's floor. He consulted a sign on the wall to help determine the direction of her room. He paused for a moment at her door and took a couple of deep breaths before knocking. He made three sharp raps on the door. He could hear movement coming from inside.

The door opened. "Come in, Inspector," Tam said. She turned and walked over toward the window, the curtains where open and the skyline of Ligthe was in full view. The skyline of Strom could be seen in the distance as well. Linde stepped in and the door closed behind him.

Tam turned from facing the window with her arms crossed. She was wearing a pair of snug fitting yoga pants and a short tee shirt. Linde couldn't help but notice her physique. His mind drifted for a moment. She was perfectly proportioned in his opinion, and the clothes she was wearing clung very tightly to her body, revealing every line and curve. It was all most appealing to him.

"So, what is this question you have?" Tam asked Linde. She noticed he was staring down at about her hips. She couldn't help smiling slightly at the fact. The truth be known, she enjoyed her ability to mesmerize males, especially those that carry a certain degree of authority and power. It confers power to her over them.

"Yeah, uh," Linde started as he snapped back. "You know, well we all know Mirra took the harness, and I guess gave it to you at some point," he said as he scratched his forehead.

"Those are statements, not a question Inspector," Tam said without altering from her initial position in front of the window.

"Okay, okay. I will get straight to the point. Where's the harness? If you would tell me who you sold it to, then I can go and get it from them. I know you have a great deal of protection from prosecution in this case, but I don't care about that anymore. I just want the harness back. Hell, I don't even care about Klars. In fact, I don't give a gnat's nuts about any other part of this whole situation. The harness is what is vitally important to me." Linde had a dogged look on his face, which was very evident.

Linde's pleading, almost begging demeanor must have affected Tam a little. Her expression noticeably softened some. "I didn't lie to you yesterday, Inspector. I don't know where the harness is."

"How can that be?" Linde asked incredulously with his hands out to his sides.

"I will be perfectly frank and honest with you Inspector. There has been a logistical mishap with the harness, and presently, it has escaped us."

Linde began to grin a little, "Oh, you are sly, Tam."

"It's the truth. Why would I lie about it? I could tell you I have it right here in this room, and there is nothing you could do about it. I know that, and you know that. So, when I say I don't know where it is, I truly don't know where it is," Tam said with her hands out to her side this time.

Linde's grin had gone away. "So, somewhere in the process of transferring it to your buyer it has gone missing? Is that what you are saying?"

Tam walked over to a table where a soft drink was sitting, and picked it up. She took a drink, and sat the bottle back down. She stood silent for a moment looking at Linde. Linde's assumption was completely wrong, but the reality was she didn't know all the correct details herself, but she did know most of them. She would have to wait and talk to Mirra to obtain them, and she wasn't going to let Linde in on that little secret. "Inspector Linde, you really don't have a clue regarding the whole situation surrounding the harness." She said as she walked over to Linde and stood in front of him. "But you know what?" she said as she grasped his chin in her hand, "you've got a nice face. I like that, and I am going to fill you in, at least a little." She released his chin and slapped his cheek gently.

Linde was a little confused, and a little angry at the same time, but what popped up in his mind for a split second for some reason was the 'nice face' comment. We will have to come back to that later, he thought. "What exactly are you getting at?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Tam turned and sat down on the window seat. "Are you aware Brem illegally acquired the harness in the first place?"

"What do you mean? The harness has been Breman property since the beginning of time, part of the monarchy's crown jewels. They are not second hand."

"I will agree that they have been on Brem for a long time, a little over six hundred years actually, but not since the beginning of time, and they were not the property of Brem originally. They are indeed second hand, probably third hand, maybe even more so. One of your past emperors claims to have won it in a friendly game of poker with the ruler of the planet Shelty, but it was actually acquired through theft during a bloody coup that overthrew Shelty's ruler. It's even rumored the emperor of Brem orchestrated the coup through a puppet process so he could get his hands on the harness."

"What? Now," Linde was a little lost for words at this point.

"It's true inspector. What little I told you at the police station was all completely true. I am an archeologist. I am a well-known archeologist, at least in this part of the galaxy, and I do study ancient artifacts. Did you not try to look me up as I suggested?"

"But you are from Zothos, not Shelty, so retaliation would not be the reason to take the harness, and you make it seem as though it was not taken for monetary gain. Is it because it's a very old artifact, and you wanted it for that reason?" Linde was visibly confused. "I am confused," he confessed, lending credence to the expression on his face.

"Do you know much about Zothos, Inspector?"

"I know it's one of the oldest of the oldest, and it is a high power in the Galactic Federation. Other than that, I don't know much more. It's all the way across the galaxy from Brem, so we just didn't learn much about it in school. I do know it's in the neighborhood here."

"Yes, it's not too far away, but let's get to the old part. Zothos is old. The people on Zothos evolved into their present state a long time ago. I am sure what little you know about the planet is that we are probably the oldest civilization in the galaxy. Zothians are hundreds of millions of years old. When dinosaurs were walking the face of planet Earth, we were forging iron, if that can put it into perspective for you. You know, everyone knows the history of Earth, so you should be able to put it all in perspective."

"So Shelty stole the harness from Zothos," Linde blurted out loudly and quickly as he came to the epiphany.

"No, Shelty didn't steal the harness from us. Do you want to know anything before you have to leave, Einstein?"

"Yes," Linde replied like a ten-year-old.

"Then let me talk." Tam had placed her hands on her hips in a sign of authoritative position.

Linde didn't say anything else at this point. He looked like a puppy that had just been scolded for peeing on the floor.

"Zothians are suffering a genetic fate that all humanoids will eventually face, no matter their home planet, including Bremans, and that is the loss of the Y-chromosome."

"The Y-chromosome?" Linde said with an odd look on his face that reverted to a blank one, and then one of surprise. He suddenly remembered what Chirod had said was the main purpose of the harness. At the same time, he remembered the Y-chromosome was the determiner of genetic maleness.

Tam caught Linde's facial expressions. "I see the light has come on for you."

"So you don't have any males?" He said with a little confusion. Isn't the burley fellow that's with you from Zothos too?" Linde said as he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder as though Chet were standing behind him in the room.

"Yes, Chet is Zothian, and yes we have males," Tam said with a bit of exhaustion in her voice.

"Then what's the immediate problem?"

"There are several things that can happen as the male chromosome leaves a gene pool. In our case, we have a severe decline in the number of males being born. It is somewhere around one in every one thousand births. Plus, about half of those males that are born are not reproductively viable. They are sterile or impotent."

Linde began to scratch his head, "why not genetic engineering or cloning?"

"Cloning just doesn't work as it should. The offspring barely make it to adulthood. You should know that. They have been trying to work the bugs out of it for a thousand years, and genetic engineering is proving to be a very slow process, with very few good results."

"Hmm," Linde replied as he processed everything Tam had said. "I guess I can see why you went through such an effort. Tam Brindle saves the Zothian civilization from extinction. That would be a fabulous achievement, which would propel you into national prominence, at least more than Tam Brindle finds an old ball harness." Linde said the last part with a big smile on his face.

Tam was now standing with her arms crossed. She didn't find Linde's last comment too humorous, but she couldn't help producing a slight smile too. "Zothos, as we know it, is dying, Inspector, and it's dying quickly for all intents and purposes. I assure you all of my efforts were not merely orchestrated for my personal gain. The acquisition of the harness involved many levels. This situation is a national priority, the primary national priority. If the harness does what it is claimed to be able to do, then we could potentially reverse the current trend."

"Well, I'll tell ya Tam, it does on Brem. Every time an Emperor impregnates a woman with it on, cha-ching, a male child is born, every time, and it has done so for over five hundred years.

Linde happened to glance over at the clock sitting on the table next to the bed and realized that he probably should be getting to the spaceport. He looked back at Tam with a blank face. "Thank you for your time, Tam," Linde said to her, and he turned to walk out.

Tam did not move from her position. She remained standing with her arms crossed.

Linde took two steps, stopped, and turned around.

"I don't know where the harness is, honest," Tam said, still standing, as she was when Linde first turned and walked away.

"No, that's not it. If you are such a well-known archeologist as Tam Brindle, then how did you pull off being such a well-known archeologist as Eliza Algud?

Tam began to grin slightly. "You have a ship to catch, Inspector."

Linde looked at her and smiled, then turned and walked out the door.

***

The gang arrived at the spaceport around mid-day. They had been by the hospital to see Ethan prior to going to the spaceport. The agreement was if Ethan wanted them to wait on him, they would. They would load everything up on the Spark, and hang around until he was released from the hospital and cleared for space travel. The Spark rivals any five-star hotel, so it would not be a problem staying there until Ethan was released. Ethan knew how everyone enjoyed Crymeon. He enjoyed it himself, immensely, plus it was on the way to Savannah from Farel, so it wasn't even out of the way for them to stop there.

The Crymeon trip has been their relaxation destination between gigs since they started touring in this sector of the galaxy. Ethan couldn't begrudge them for wanting to go. After all, it wasn't any of their faults he blew his own guts up. He assured them he would be perfectly fine. Syndie would be around to keep him company, as well as his friends from Quie. Ultimately, the plan was for him to meet them on Crymeon as soon as he got out of the hospital. At least he would be able to get in a couple of days there to relax, if he got out of the hospital in time.

After an hour of Ethan reassuring everyone he would be perfectly fine, the gang decided to go ahead as planned. Fred was visibly relieved at the decision. He didn't think he could take the stress of hanging around for three or four more days, waiting to see if the Farel police was going to pick him up. He figured he would probably shit his pants every time someone knocked on the door.

They had finally moved their gear and belongings back into the Ion Spark. They hopped a shuttle over to the main terminal to order provisions for the two-day trip to Crymeon, and to get something to eat before they left.

***

Chert dropped Linde off at the main terminal at the spaceport. They didn't talk much on their way from Tam's hotel to the spaceport. It was only a five-minute drive. Shortly after getting into the car at Tam's hotel, Chert had asked Linde if she had answered his question. Linde told him yes and no, but it was good enough for now. Chert left it at that, and they didn't say anything else.

Linde dropped his luggage off at the check-in counter, and made sure his boarding assignment in order. He wasn't looking forward to the trip at all. He wanted to get back home, but he didn't know how the Emperor was going to react to the fact he was unable to get the jewels back, even though he knows who took them, but only a paltry amount of the details involving the theft. Tam didn't reveal any of their accomplices on Brem who helped with the whole scheme, nor did she reveal any of the process.

After going through the security checkpoint, he walked down toward the area where the shops and eateries are located. He stopped and surveyed the choices. He wasn't hungry at all, but he wanted a good hard drink, or two, or three. He spied a restaurant that had a large bar in it, and he headed in that direction.

Linde walked up to the entrance. The hostess greeted him. "I want to sit at the bar," he said to the young woman as he pointed toward the bar.

"Certainly," the young woman said, as she gestured for Linde to proceed toward the bar.

Linde sat down on the side of the bar that faced into the dining area of the restaurant. There were only two other people sitting around the bar along with him. He ordered a favorite whisky drink of his. The bartender brought the drink to him, and he turned it up and drank it in one gulp before the bartender had the chance to walk away. He sat the glass down. The glass made a clunking sound, and the bartender looked down at the glass and up again. Linde pointed down at the glass, and the bartended turned and then quickly showed back up with another one.

As he nursed this second drink instead of gulping it down like the first one, he looked around the restaurant. There weren't many people dining either. There were a few tables with couples sitting at them. They were all just eating, not engaged in any conversation, that he could tell. A family of four was sitting at a table at the other end of the restaurant. They probably wanted to get as far away from the bar as they could, he thought. He noticed a table of six people sitting by one of the large windows, looking out over the lifts in the spaceport field. They seemed, to Linde, to be enjoying themselves. The group was actively engaged in conversation. A couple of them were smiling, and it looked as if one of them was telling a story by the animated way he was talking and gesturing.

***

The gang had finished eating and was carrying on two separate conversations at the table. Hals, Thom, and Greg were talking about what they were going to do while they were on Crymeon. Thom was giving a detailed explanation of a club he and Fred visited the last time they were there. It was supposedly the largest one in that part of the galaxy. Fred, Abby, and Cassy were talking about what had occurred over the last couple of days.

"What did you do with that harness thing," Abby asked Fred.

"It's in my luggage on the Spark."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I don't know."

"You really should have tried to contact Ashley, Fred," Cassy said in a way that reminded him of his mother chastising him for something he did or at least should have done.

"I know, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

"You're a chicken-shit, Fred," Abby remarked.

"I'm not a chicken-shit. I just didn't want to draw any attention to myself. Besides, Cassy assured me she was not killed by Gema, so I figured that was that." Fred hadn't completely convinced himself anything bad had happened to Ashley or Gema until just a few hours earlier. Ever since Sunday morning, he has watched the local news and scoured the news feeds for anything about a murder in Ligthe. There was a murder reported in Strom, but not one in Ligthe. No news is good news, he said to himself.

"Well, the way I see it, that girl is probably going to want that thing back. Those jewels looked like they might be worth something," Abby stated.

"I don't know," Fred said, "she said it was just something to make sex more fun. I am sure you can buy it, or something like it at any sex shop. What do you think, Cassy? You and Hals know all about different kinds of freaky sex toys and shit. Besides, she knows who I am. Unless she suffers some sort of amnesia or short-term memory loss from the gun blast, she can probably find me. Hell, that crazy chick from Wheng found me. She always seems to find me."

Cassy quickly sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her face turned a bright shade of pink due to Fred's remark about sex toys. She looked back and forth at Fred and Abby.

"The thing could be her favorite device. People get attached to things like that," Abby said, as she smiled and nodded her head slowly. "You know, now you're gonna have two chicks stalking after ya, and this new one hasn't been certified crazy, yet. Her plasma gun will work just fine."

Fred dropped his head to the table and covered it with his arms. Abby laughed out loud.

"Well, did it make the sex more fun?" Cassy asked, still a little red-faced.

Fred lifted his head from the table. "It was getting really interesting, but we had only just started."

"I don't want to hear about it," Abby said as she placed her hands over her ears.

Fred chuckled slightly and looked at Cassy as he pointed at Abby, "what's with little miss goodie two-shoes?"

The whole time the gang was engaged in their lively conversations, Linde sat at the bar watching them and turning up drinks. He was filled with envy at the site of the group having what appeared to be a fun conversation, and visibly enjoying each other's company. He hadn't experienced times like that since he was in college. Deep down, he longed for such interaction again. This trip, he thought, has certainly given him the opportunity to evaluate his life to some degree, and he has come to the decision that some things indeed need and must change.

Greg picked up and emptied his soft drink, and then sat the glass back down. "Okay, people we need to get going. Our lift time is about an hour away."

They all got up at the same time and gathered up their belongings. Greg had already started for the door. Fred and Cassy brought up the rear.

"You know, I ought to just dump that harness thing somewhere, maybe out in space, or give it to someone."

"Who would want that thing, especially since they wouldn't know what to do with it?"

"I don't know, maybe if I had it on me right now, I could just give it to this drunk fucker right here. He could sell it for the jewels on it," Fred said pointing at Linde who was still sitting at the bar as they passed by him. Linde was out of earshot and had no idea what Fred and Cassy were saying, nor did he see Fred pointing at him. He was still deep in introspection about his life, and indeed quite smashed, as Fred had noted.

"I doubt he would want it. You know, you could give it to me," Cassy said with slight coyness. "I will put it up for safe keeping. You never know, you might need it for some reason." Truthfully, she wanted to try it out to see if it indeed made sex better.

"It's yours," Fred said without any hesitation.

***

About forty-five minutes after getting back to the ship, the Ion Spark was situated on the space lift, and starting its ascent right on time. Space lifts had been in use for several hundred years as the primary means of lifting spacecraft off planets. Rocket propulsion was too costly, too violent, and just too dangerous, given the number of lift offs per day on any given planet. The mechanism of a space lift was very much like a cable elevator. The spacecraft was placed on a platform and hoisted into orbit. Once in orbit, the spaceship would be nudged off of the platform by its ion drives. The ship would pulse out until it was a thousand miles or so, and then power up to full.

The lift off Farel was going to take a little more than an hour. Greg was at the helm as always, even though the computer did most of the work. Abby was in the pilot room sitting next to him keeping him company. She was singing an Evanescence song in a soft voice, while running her fingers through Greg's hair. Greg liked it when she messed with his hair. It felt good, and it was usually a cue that Abby was feeling frisky.

Thom was in his room listening to music. Lately, he had become very interested in the twentieth century band Rush. He very much liked the musical styling of their bassist Geddy Lee. He was digging through sheet music in the digital archives and watching video clips of Rush playing live.

While they were all in the galley of the Spark before the lift started, Hals announced he was probably going to take a nap. He said he wanted to catch up on his sleep before they got to Crymeon. Everybody knew there wasn't going to be any napping going on, or at least not for about a half hour or so. Taking a nap was Hals and Cassy's code for having sex during the daytime. They weren't fooling anybody, but they always thought they were, and it was exactly what they were doing right now, having sex...not fooling anyone.

Fred was in his room. He was holding the harness and slipping it through his fingers, much like one would a large chain of worry beads, as he looked out the window down at the planet. He could see Farel slowly slipping away as the lift rose higher and higher. He wondered if he would ever see Ashley again. Maybe Abby was right, he thought. Perhaps she would come after the harness; at least he would get to see her again. That didn't matter, though. He was still going to give it to Cassy. He grinned at the thought of seeing Ashley again. Maybe she wouldn't be too mad that he bolted out of her apartment the way he did. "Yeah, she won't care" he said out loud, "She'll probably just bust one of my guitars over my head, and then shoot me with a plasma gun."

The Spark reached orbit and was gingerly jettisoned from the platform. Greg ramped up the engines and keyed a pulse cycle into the computer controls. The ship began a forceful push that everyone could feel. Greg tapped around on several of the symbols on the touchscreen. The computer was now fully in charge and operating the ship on autopilot. Greg leaned over and kissed Abby. Even though the ship was on autopilot, Greg wouldn't leave the pilot room until they were far enough away from the planet where there wouldn't be any other ships close by to worry about. Abby got up and walked over to the door. Greg watched her as she walked toward the pilot room door. She closed and locked it. Greg began to smile.

Fred was still looking out his porthole window down at Farel. Boy, he dodged a bullet this time, he thought. Of course, this wasn't this first time things got a little sticky in his pursuit of what he thought was an exceptional piece of tail. Something sort of crazy seems to happen every tour, due to his rampant womanizing, but this time takes the cake. Maybe Abby and Cassy are right, he thought. Maybe he should start thinking more seriously about women than he currently does. Perhaps he should start looking for the "one", like Ethan and Thom are but don't actually admit to it, and end his seemingly insatiable need to continually engage in meaningless sex with as many strange and exotic women as he can manage. "Naaaah!" he said out loud as he turned and walked over to his bed and laid down on it. He had been listening to some electro-jazz fusion and decided to relax and soak it in. It wasn't but a few minutes and Fred drifted off to sleep.

The Ion Spark continued to accelerate exponentially as it zipped farther and farther from Farel. Little did Fred know, but he would never land on Farel again. However, he would in fact be seeing Ashley Blunt, a.k.a. Mirra Lovich, again, and soon.

###

The End Material

Thank you for reading the story, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you liked it, please leave me a review at wherever you downloaded the book. I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks again!

James Roberson

You can catch up with the band and everyone else at the end of 2016 as the tour continues in the next installment. Be sure to watch for it at your favorite eBook provider.

About James Roberson

James lives with his family in Tennessee where he works as a research and development chemist. He holds a B.S., M.S., and PhD. James has been a researcher for over twenty-five years, working on topics ranging from the feeding habits of woodland salamanders to the processing of polymers for commercial applications. In and amongst those years of research, James taught basic and advanced courses in biology and chemistry in higher education.

Connect with James Roberson

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Follow me on Twitter: @JamesHRoberson

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