Chapter 4

Now safely ensconced in FS-1 both men let loose a sigh, took off their packs and dropped into the two command chairs. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments as each worked on collecting his thoughts regarding their recent experience.

"Well Lee, what do you think of our hosts?" Harri asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm not sure, I'm still feeling very much like Alice coming to grips with having fallen down the rabbit hole," Lee replied as he shook his head. "I have no idea what passes for normal right now."

Harri laughed and nodded in agreement. "I have to admit I'm feeling very much like Alice as well. This was the last thing I expected when we left for home this morning."

"As far as our hosts, I haven't the slightest idea what to believe. They seem amiable enough, but I'm a bit dubious that they're only out here looking for customers. We are definitely on the shallow end of their trading pool."

Harri nodded his agreement once more. "I have those same reservations. I'm just hoping that they make good their promise to restore our fuel and send us home. Can you imagine the furor they would cause if they popped out and said "We're here!" to the general populace? The chaos and panic would be uncontrollable and would most likely spark some stupid reaction from the politicians in charge as they fought to control access to them."

"That's a given. I think we should try to convince them to not disclose their existence and if possible bypass our backwater of a planet for the time being," Lee replied with a faint smile.

"I concur, lad."

"Don't you consider it a little odd that there only seems to be the three Odejaians here? I mean if they are so consumed with trading, I would think that there would be a greater presence here carrying out operations. I can't believe this transport chamber isn't an expensive bit of engineering. Something about this operation here doesn't feel right, as though they're trying to hide something and not just from us."

"Now that you mention it, you're right," Harri replied. "Something else to ask our hosts I suppose." He smiled slightly, always appreciative of Lee's paranoia or over-developed sixth sense which effectively worked to keep him alive.

Lee pushed up wearily from his seat and walked to an aft locker. "Would you like something to drink or eat, sir?"

"I would kill for a shot of the family label, but I polished the last of that off last night with Gregory. I suppose I could go for a bottle of water."

Lee rustled around a bit in the locker, then pulled out two paper cups. After a moment he turned around and passed one of the cups to Harri. Nelson looked down into the cup and just smiled. "Where the hell did you get this?" he asked as he deeply inhaled the aroma of the amber liquid.

"It's actually your birthday present," Lee responded. "I found a store in Sydney that specializes in well-aged scotch. This one's supposedly been improving for the last 70 years."

Harri looked up in surprise, deeply touched by his son's thoughtful, extravagant, and decadent gift. "I must be paying you way too much if you can afford something like this," Harri said with a laugh. Lee smirked at him and then laughed as well. "Thank you son this is an incredible gift. Well then let's toast our return to Earth in one piece," he said as he raised his cup towards Lee.

"To home in one piece," Lee echoed and then they both took a sip and savored the smooth and potent potable that trickled down their throats.

(ooloo)

As they entered their quarters, Kolmar turned and faced its partner. "Well what do you think?"

Demari smiled and plopped into the chair at the far end of the room. "I think we just hit the jackpot. This planet is made to order and it will be exceedingly easy to operate without tipping off a soul to our existence. Think of it, 7 billion humans to choose from. We can supply our customers for hundreds of years to come. The only thing left to do is determine what their tolerances and physiological limits are and we can provide slaves and soldiers to any number of our partners."

Kolmar purred at the thought of what kind of returns they would reap trading in humans. "So how do we approach this? Should we keep the two we have and move in, or should we see if we can enlist their aid in paring down their population? Listening to Harriman's description of their race, I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to get him to turn over his enemies and identify the best ways to pirate them away."

"I think that last option sounds the best. Although I definitely want to know what they're capable of withstanding before we start delivering them across the galaxy. Last thing we need is some organism too frail to withstand anything but their own particular environment. You remember the problems we had with the Cataxians. They started going belly up as soon as they were put into service."

"Concur. Of the two we have, Lee seems to be the youngest and the one most physically fit. And since Harriman commands him, we can make a deal with him to give us Lee so we can discover their physical limits in exchange for a technological advance that would set him up as savior of his planet, and make him extremely rich. I get the impression he is the more intelligent of the two, and such an advance would be an easy thing for him to sell back on Earth."

"What if he won't take the deal?" Demari asked.

"Well then we will derive human limits from two subjects. I would however truly wish to have Harriman's assistance to help us locate a suitable base for our collection and transport activities. The fact he says that he is exploring and working in their oceans means he will have a good feel for suitable sites around their planet."

"So what do you think our chances will be of convincing him to give us Lee? I have been unable to really read their feelings towards each other. Although I suspect that with Harriman, being the senior and higher ranking individual they're probably not that emotionally attached."

"I think you're right. We have seen similar patterns across the galaxy, especially with the warrior class. I don't think it will take much convincing to have him hand his subordinate over to us," Kolmar replied.

"Once we reconvene we can split them up. I can take Lee to their ship and see to its refueling, while you set Harriman up on a workstation to look at the plans for a fusion reactor. You will then lay out our offer and make him an offer he can't refuse," Demari said and both began to laugh.

(ooloo)

Precisely two hours after Pradjic had delivered Nelson and Crane to FS-1, it returned and tapped lightly on the craft. Lee responded by opening the hatch and regarded the Odejaian for a moment waiting for it to speak. It remained mute but motioned to the door across the chamber.

"I guess it's time for us to reconvene," Lee said to Nelson as he tossed his cup into the trash bag.

Pradjic turned and began moving towards the chamber door with Lee and Harri in tow. "Not the chattiest of guides," Harri noted as they walked behind it.

"They said that their servant class was mute. I wonder if Pradjic is of that class?" Lee replied. Pradjic made no effort to respond, even if it comprehended what they had said.

It led them down a series of hallways, again devoid of any other Odejaians and stopped outside a large door. It manipulated a small box on its belt and the door slid open revealing what appeared to be a generator or power plant for the facility.

"Ah, Harriman, Lee, please come in," Kolmar called out. Harri and Lee entered and as they did Pradjic immediately departed. The two men regarded the huge machines that hummed quietly in the room.

"We scanned your vessel and have determined the type of fuel required to power your return to your planet. Demari is charging a number of fuel cells to replenish what you expended in your jump to our world."

"That's most appreciated; we're definitely thankful for your assistance in getting back to our home planet," Nelson replied.

"Think nothing of it, we have more than enough fuel to sufficiently power your small craft," Kolmar responded. "Since you have expressed an interest in our trading area and our technology, I was thinking you could accompany me to our control center while Lee works with Demari to refuel your craft. Would that be satisfactory to you?"

Harri shot a quick look at Lee and received a slight nod of agreement. "Yes Kolmar, that would be more than satisfactory. Lee is quite fussy about his FS-1 and he can assure himself that everything is in order while I satisfy my scientific curiosity." Lee nodded emphatically and smiled.

Kolmar nearly purred at Nelson's agreement to splitting them up. "Excellent. Demari, how are you coming with those fuel rods?"

"I need about 30 minutes more. Why don't you and Harriman head to the control center and I can go over things here with Lee to ensure he is comfortable with the refueling of their vessel," Demari answered as it exited a chamber located on the far side of one of the generators.

"Very good. If you would accompany me Harriman, I will attempt to satisfy your curiosity as best I can."

"Lead the way Kolmar," Nelson responded. "I'll see you in a bit Lee."

"Aye, sir," Lee answered, then turned his attention to Demari who indicated he should accompany it into the chamber. Once inside it showed him the fuel rods it was processing in their reactor. The rods looked to be the appropriate size and shape to fit in FS-1's reactor.

"How many of these will be needed?" Demari inquired.

"We should only need two, FS-1 isn't a large boat," Lee replied.

Demari seemed to nod and struggled to pull one cylinder out of the chamber and put it on the small cart stationed next to it. Lee reached over and easily picked up a second rod and placed it on the cart as well. The Odejaian stared at him for a moment, surprised at how effortlessly he moved the 'heavy' cylinder. This was looking to be a very promising species, it thought to itself. Brute strength was always a highly sought after capability in slave stock.

"Come, we will take these to your ship and you can install them. Once finished with that we can join Kolmar and Harriman in the command center," Demari said.

"Sounds like a plan," Lee responded. "Lead the way."

(ooloo)

Kolmar led Nelson to their control center and triggered a 3-D virtual projection of the galaxy. They moved to the center of the room and Kolmar pointed to a bright purplish planet towards the center. "This is Odeja. This is where we are now." It waved its arms slightly and the image rotated and focused in on the opposite side of the galaxy. "And here is your planet Earth, just over 6,500 light years away," it said as it focused in on a small blue marble of a planet.

Nelson examined the display in earnest; his curiosity more than piqued. Kolmar waved its arm once more and thousands of small points of light grew brighter in the display. "You can now see all the planets and civilizations we trade with or are in contact with. As you can see, we have a wide area of activity."

Harri nodded in agreement with that statement as the lights blanketed a large portion of the display. "That is truly amazing. So every one of those planets has an atmosphere that supports liquid water?"

"Yes."

"That's a surprising number of planets." Harri replied.

"There are many more that our people have visited, but if there aren't resources of interest or potential trading partners, we don't establish contact," Kolmar added.

"Amazing," Harri commented. "Kolmar, I have another question, why are there so few working here in the complex? I would think with the vast trading operation you have described you would need a veritable army to process orders and transport goods. I think we've only seen three of you total."

Kolmar stared at Nelson for a moment and seemed to fidget. "Ah, we have multiple facilities and this one is primarily used for our exploration efforts. As such we require much fewer support staff to keep it operating. Later on I will escort you up to the higher levels so that you may see more of our operations and actually see the surface of our planet."

"I see," Harri replied, not totally buying the reasoning behind the lack of personnel. He got the distinct impression that it was hiding something. Score one for Lee's quiet little voice.

Needing desperately to redirect Nelson's attention, Kolmar shut off the hologram and moved back towards the door. "So Harriman, as a goodwill gesture we would like to make available to you a technology I think would be appropriate for your planet. If you are interested, we would like to give you the plans to a cold fusion reactor."

Harri stared somewhat dumbfounded at the Odejaian offer. That would be a monumental leap forward in human technological development that would go a long way towards eliminating environmental pollution, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and advancing third world resource-poor countries.

"That is an astounding offer. You say you want to give it to us, no strings attached?" Harri finally got out.

"Well give probably isn't the best term to use," Kolmar responded. "We would provide this technology in exchange for your assistance."

"My assistance? What kind of assistance are you interested in me providing?"

"First we would like you to escort us to your planet so that we can surreptitiously explore it to determine if it would be a candidate for contact, and if there are items of interest that could be traded."

"And?"

"If contact and trade are warranted, we would like your assistance in establishing a base somewhere on your planet to conduct our activities, and making introductions to appropriate individuals representing your various tribes," Kolmar added.

"And?" Harri inquired again, as he sensed the real reason for their offer of the technology was still lurking.

"And based on your description of your societies and the interactions between your tribes, we would be interested in collecting some of your species, primarily those you deem to be enemies or less desirable, for use among our other trading partners," Kolmar replied.

"Use? In what way?" Harri asked warily. He felt a sudden sense of dread wash over him as he caught on to the Odejaian's true interest.

"Many ways. Servants, laborers, warriors; your species seems well suited to such tasks."

"You're talking about selling my fellow humans into slavery, aren't you?"

"Basically, yes. I assure you there would be a wide market for your kind. You would become incredibly wealthy for your 'discovery' of the reactor and the subsequent sale of that technology, and we would compensate you handsomely for each shipment of humans we exported," Kolmar replied.

Harri stood there shocked and appalled by Kolmar's proposition. "What makes you think I would willingly aid you in establishing a slave trade on my planet? There's no way in hell I would help you with that regardless of the payment or technological advancements you offer."

The Odejaian seemed to growl in irritation and disappointment. "In all honesty Harriman, we don't have to have your assistance. We have the technology and capabilities to carry this out regardless of your input. The only reason we make this offer is so that you can control to some degree who is selected and who benefits from the items we can offer in trade. As I said, we have no interest in conquering your planet, we only wish to harvest a few of your less desirable beings for trade. With over 7 billion humans on your planet, our activities will probably occur unnoticed."

"Anything else you want from me?" Harri asked coldly.

"Just one more thing. We want Lee Crane."

"What?! What do you want Lee for?"

"Before we can begin our new trading venture, we need to understand the limits and capabilities of the stock. We need Lee to help us define the human physiological and psychological capabilities and limits. We want you to command him to participate in our evaluation."

"Not only no, but HELL NO!" Harri fired back. "I will not serve up my captain for use as your human guinea pig."

"Again Harriman, we really don't need your permission or agreement, we can take him at any time. We can take you as well. We make this offer so only one is used. Since you appear to be fond of Lee, we will sweeten the deal with another technology of your choosing."

Harri's mind began to race. He knew he was in a no-win situation and the only way he could even attempt to rescue them and hope to escape, would be to agree to their proposition and consign Lee to hell until he figured a way out. He had no doubt that they would not hesitate to take him as well, and if he didn't step in and direct their activities, should he not be able to come up with a way to stop them here, they would return to Earth anyway and seek out another trading partner. The thought of them returning and choosing to deal with the People's Republic or one of the other nations in the world with less than stellar human rights practices frightened him. There was no doubt in his mind who they would sell out first.

"If you can take either of us at will, why do you need my permission to take Lee?"

"Let's call it your buy in for this partnership. By providing your subordinate, you seal the deal and become vested in our joint venture," Kolmar answered.

Harri fidgeted uncomfortably. He was truly screwed regardless of his actions. If he chose to take the high road and refuse to abet them in their hideous plan, there would be no opportunity to try and stop them, and both he and Lee would be dead. In agreeing to participate willingly he offered up his son for who knows what type of torture as they determined human capabilities. If he couldn't figure out a way to stop them, he also offered up the human race to intergalactic slavers and if his complicity ever came to light his life wouldn't be worth a damn.

He was damned no matter what course of action he took. After playing through the multiple scenarios given the options presented him, Nelson finally came to an agonizing decision. "I accept your offer," he replied disgustedly. "You leave me no real choice."

"Excellent Harriman. We had both suspected you were the more intelligent being. So you agree to our terms and you give us rights to your captain, Lee Crane?" Kolmar replied, the excitement for once evident in its voice.

"Yes, I accept you as my partners and give you Lee Crane to do with as you want." Harri fought the urge to become physically ill, knowing he may have just condemned Lee to an agonizing death along with possibly millions of others on Earth.

(ooloo)