In full Shrike armor, Berret dropped through the Wraith's forward troop deployment hatch just as the inner hanger door cycled open. Scorpius entered the bay with an escort of armed Peacekeeper troopers as Berret began to move forward to meet them.
"Ah, I'm so glad you could make it, Berret. I trust there wasn't any trouble," said the half Scarren slickly.
"Nothing worth mentioning," replied the Shrike in a dispassionate tone.
"Very good," said Scorpius. Turning to the troop commander he continued, "Send a detachment of men to search our visitor's ship for unwanted company."
The Commander waved several men forward to carry out the orders. As the men advanced toward the Shrike and his ship, the craft lowered itself on its forward landing gear and the missile rack dropped into firing position with a heavy thud. The forward gun ports whirled and a line of test-level pulse bolts chewed into the deck between Berret and the advancing men, not causing any real damage but making a lot of noise in the tight confines of the landing bay. The troopers scattered for cover but neither Scorpius or the Shrike budged from their places.
"What the frell was that?" exclaimed one trooper from behind cover.
"That was the first and only warning shot at test level," explained Berret. "The guns have now reset themselves to full power and the missiles are now armed. Any attempt to enter my Wraith will be met with force."
"It's the L-49 series with the Artificial Intelligence Unit, most impressive. Though I don't recognize the manner of pulse guns it's armed with," said Scorpius.
"You should also be aware that any attempt to scan or deactivate the AI by electronic means will result in the guns and missiles firing on a preprogrammed order. I don't believe your Command Carrier will survive the detonation of all its armament inside the hanger bay," Berret warned, ignoring the half Scarren's enquiry about the craft's armament.
Scorpius gave the man his best disarming smile as he moved over to meet him.
"Come now, Berret. We are all friends here, are we not?" Berret didn't answer as the Peacekeeper commander draped one arm over the Shrike's shoulder. "We are working together now for the same goal," he added. Berret stepped away from the half-Scarren's arm with a look of undisguised distaste.
"If you think I am going to let you anywhere near my ship, you are gravely mistaken. I don't trust you and we are not friends. We have a mutually beneficial business agreement and that is all," said the Shrike.
Scorpius made a show of sighing as if heavily wounded at the other's distrust.
"Very well, though I am very sorry you feel that way. Our partnership could have been very profitable for both of us," he replied. He turned back to the commander of the troop detachment. "Seal this bay. No one is to approach or scan our friend's craft," Scorpius ordered. Returning his attention back to Berret he asked, "I trust that meets with your approval?"
"That is acceptable," answered the ex-assassin.
"Good, then lets us get down to business then, shall we?"
Berret nodded as Scorpius held out a hand to lead the way out of the hanger bay.
As the bay doors dropped closed behind them, Berret turned to Scorpius and asked,
"Where is Val'Cirrus?"
Scorpius gave the Shrike a nasty unpleasant smile that showed his unpleasantly pointed Scarren teeth.
"You needn't fear the Master Shrike. She is... how shall I say... 'detained'," he replied.
Berret frowned at the half Scarren. "You would do well not to underestimate her."
An annoyed look slipped over Scorpius' face at the Shrike's warning for a split microt, but a calm facade quickly replaced it.
"I assure you, where she is... she cannot get out unless I wish it," he promised.
They continued walking until they came to Scorpius' private personal chambers. The armed escort remained stationed outside while Berret accompanied Scorpius and his first lieutenant into the chamber. The room was huge and plush. As Berret looked around he thought it a strange decor for someone as venomous as the Scarren half-breed. His gaze stopped as he scanned the room when it fell upon a Delvian servant. The man was old and bent. His blue hands shook as he straightened up some furniture and fixtures about the room. The man wore a Delvian head-wrap loosely draped over his head and shoulders. Berret almost choked when he finally recognized the old man as Shenna.
Scorpius turned his attention to the old man and said, "Leave us."
The Delvian made what looked like a painful bow and picked up his walking stick. Berret knew that the stick actually held a deadly secret in the form of a Bat'Rellite blade. Just as his own wrist blades, the weapon could shear through most inferior metals except for Qualta. The Grandmaster's face was altered somehow to seem more wrinkled then before, if Berret had not recognized the walking staff; he might not have given the man a second look. Berret hoped that Scorpius had remembered to remove Val'Cirrus' boots as they held similar blades as his and Shenna's inside them. If he hadn't, then she probably had already kicked her way free of wherever he had her imprisoned. Shenna slowly hobbled his way passed the group of men. He nodded his head in respect to Scorpius as he passed by but gave no indication that he had noticed anyone else in the room. The lieutenant also left the room with Shenna, the younger Sebacean officer leading the old man out. Berret must have given something away; possibly he had not masked the look of surprise on his face at the sight of the Grandmaster as well as he thought he had. Scorpius caught it and explained,
"I much rather prefer Delvian caretakers for my personal quarters. Being floral based creatures they don't carry the 'scent' that humanoid species do."
Berret nodded his head as if that explained what he had been thinking about when he first seen the old Delvian. Scorpius indicated that Berret should take a seat as he himself settled down on a plush chair. Berret ignored the offer and instead made a show of wandering around and idly examining items in the room as if he had all the time in the universe. The half Scarren smirked at the Shrike's ploy.
"Now, where is Crichton?" Scorpius asked, finally getting down to business.
Berret picked up a clear vase that appeared to have something's internal organs floating around in it and inspected it for a few microts before answering.
"He is close-by."
Scorpius sat up straight with a hiss, "That was not our deal! You were to deliver John Crichton to me. Don't play with me Shrike or you will live to regret it... deeply!" he growled.
Berret paused for a microt... and then crushed the vase in his hand. Before the pieces had all hit the floor he was across the room and a set of Bat'Rellite blades were micro-hentas from the hooked tip of Scorpius' nose.
"Don't threaten me, half-breed," the Shrike said in his own growling voice, " ...or we will find out which of us is the more deadly creature."
Scorpius didn't appear very impressed, but still, he didn't push the man. Instead he coolly said,
"Put away your claws, assassin... and tell me why Crichton is not here before me now."
Berret eased away from the Peacekeeper leader and his blades slowly slide back inside his gauntlet. The metal making a slick hiss as they did.
"You want Crichton undamaged, these things take time. If I push too hard for Crichton to leave the ship with me, then he and others will become suspicious. As you can imagine, being an Enforcer for the Syndicate does not lend well to being trusted with this crew. I need a reason for him to accompany me away from the Leviathan... that is unless of course you don't mind me bashing his skull in to get his cooperation?" said the Shrike offhandedly.
"No, that would not be acceptable," said Scorpius. "The information I want is much too vital to risk damaging Crichton's brain. Tell me, have you thought of a reason to lure him away yet?"
Berret gave the creature an evil grin. "Yes, but I will need your help with providing the bait."
"I see... and what will that entail?"
"The others think I'm on a recon patrol searching for a commerce planet where we can take on food items. What if I found such a planet that had not only food items but also a mysterious vender who had information and Star-charts concerning wormholes? Would that not be enough incentive for Crichton to investigate?" explained Berret.
Scorpius revealed a toothy grin, "I do believe it would spark young John's interest."
"Good," said the Shrike. "What I need from you then is enough odds and end data about wormholes to wet his appetite... and some food stores to make to make the story plausible."
Andar looked out the Wraith's black tinted cockpit screen. "They're gone now," he told the Delvian behind him. Malika turned from the sensor board she had been studying.
"They haven't scanned us. The Shrike's bluff must have worked," she reported.
"What bluff?" ask the Sebacean.
"The one about the ship being bobby trapped."
"Ummm..." Andar started and then pointed to a lit control panel, "It wasn't a bluff."
Malika looked shocked for a microt. "You mean that maniac would have blown up the Command Carrier and killed us all?" she exclaimed.
"Would you preferred being captured by the Peacekeepers and being tortured to death?" asked Andar.
The Delvian girl thought for a moment and then said, "Good point." She turned back to her panel and said,
"Wraith, report mission status."
The machine voice responded instantly to her command.
"Online, Specialist Malika Phatan. We are secured in the Command Carrier hanger bay. No attempts have been made to violate security perimeters. No activate or passive scans detected. Stealth systems operational and functioning at 100%. Weapons systems armed and on standby. Specialists Malika Phatan and Andar's life scans undetectable beyond stealth system perimeter. Engines off and not at idle, engine power core on standby and ready to power up. Life support at..."
Malika cut the AI's report off as Andar asked, "Why does this machine refer to you as Specialist Malika Phatan and to me as just Specialist Andar? How come it give you a full name along with a title while I'm just Andar?"
The Delvian smiled impishly, "Maybe it got tired of having to say 'Specialist Andar of the House of Murdough' all the time." Turning back to her board she inquired, "Wraith, status on homing beacon?"
"Beacon not activated."
Andar looked down at the seated Delvian. "That means Berret hasn't found where Scorpius has the codes stored yet," he said in thought. "Are you sure you'll be able to break into whatever place they have them secured at?"
Malika smiled and then patted the hand size case on the thin belt around her waist.
"I'm willing to bet I'm as good as that Nebari thief back on Moya. I know my way around Peacekeeper security. You don't spend as many cycles as I have as a PK servant without learning a few ways to get around a locked door." Andar nodded nervously and the Delvian girl added mischievously, "The question should be whether you're a good enough actor to get me to the door so I can do my job."
The Sebacean man lifted an eyebrow in mock insult.
"My dear Delvian Pa'u, " he began in a deeply cultured voice. "I'll have you know that I have studied the greatest literature classics of my culture. I am a student and teacher of the arts. It will be a cold day in hezmana when I cannot browbeat and outclass a poorly educated PK grunt. I will have them believing that they are in the presence of the greatest Peacekeeper general to strode the decks of this antiquated bucket of rusted bolts." He ended with a sly smile and a low bow to the woman.
Malika smirked with him and raised her eyebrow in turn at his antics.
"Besides..." he added, "They'll be too busy looking at you to notice me anyway."
Malika frowned and stuck out her tongue good-naturedly at the man. "Maybe we should have brought the Dominar instead of you," she teased.
"With you dressed like that?" Andar said with a shake of his head, "He wouldn't have been as much a gentleman as I am."
"This is my private sanctum," announced Scorpius as he led Berret through the security door. "This is where I keep all the important research and data on wormholes. Myself, and no one else can access this computer data bank. It has several levels of security with the wormhole technology being stored at the highest level. I designed the entire system myself," said Scorpius proudly.
Berret rolled his eyes as if bored and said, "I care little for your wormholes or your toys. Just give me something that Crichton will believe and let's be done with it."
Scorpius looked slightly disappointed that the Shrike didn't find the same pleasure in the subject of wormholes or his brilliantly designed private computer bank. "Give me a micron to find just the right information," he finally said. "I don't want to hand over anything too classified for your ruse."
Berret waved a causal hand in dismissal as he began to inspect the room. "You spend all your time in this dreary little alcove?" he asked.
"This is the most secured room on the carrier. All my import work is stored here," replied the half-breed.
Berret made a sound of disgust, "No wonder you're pale, and of a nasty disposition," he commented bluntly. The Shrike gave an involuntary shiver. "Arckatius kept us in small dark rooms such as this when he didn't send us out to kill. One day soon I will pay him back for that imprisonment."
Scorpius grinned, as he perceived what was a weakness in the man he could make use of.
"And you shall, my friend," he said. "With the information I give you when you hand over Crichton, you will be able to make Arckatius suffer for as long as you like."
As if lost in a dream, Berret answered, "I'd like that."
The Shrike shook his head in the next instant as if to clear it from the visions of the Scarren crime lord's torture. "We'll see if you keep your side of the bargain, Scorpius," Berret told him after seeming to notice his smile. He began to pick up objects at random as Scorpius finished printing out a set of star maps to use as bait. The Peacekeeper commander walked over to Berret as he started to carelessly play with an instrument that's use he had no idea was. Scorpius scowled as he removed the device from the Shrike's possession and placed it back on the self where it had came from. While his back was turned, Berret pulled a small homing device out from behind his belt buckle. The Shrike activated the device before placing it under the edge of a nearby metal work table, the magnetic backing securing it out of sight.
Scorpius turned back to the man waving the star map printouts.
"These will wet Crichton's curiosity. Just enough information to be tempting."
"Good enough," said Berret sounding bored while taking the carts without looking at them and folding them up to place inside a pocket.
"We will arrive at a commerce planet in a few arns. I'll see to it that you are able to procure whatever supplies you wish from there. It wouldn't do to show back up at the Leviathan with Peacekeeper rations now would it?" Scorpius said.
"No, it would not. I had not considered that," admitted the Shrike.
Scorpius smiled to himself. The man was not as smart as he thought he was. He will be easy to use he thought to himself.
"No matter, Berret. I will take care of the small details. You just worry about bringing me Crichton," he said with a sly smile. "Speaking of details, have you considered what will happen when the others aboard the Leviathan discover you have absconded with John? You didn't think they would just let you go, did you?"
Berret looked dumbfounded for a few microts. "I had not thought that far ahead either. I suppose you are correct, they will not let us go easily."
The Shrike appeared to be thinking hard about the situation, "It would not be possible to eliminate them before hand. If I killed them all out right, John will not accompany me willingly. Perhaps we need to postpone our arrangement until we find a solution to this new problem?"
Scorpius silently jumped for joy, the man was casually talking of murdering his shipmates as if he were discussing what to have for evening meal. Here was a most useful tool indeed.
"I already have a solution," he said holding up a hand to halt the Shrike from further considering waiting on completing the deal. "Since it is agreed that the others are unimportant in our arrangement, I will supply you with a explosive device with a delayed timer. It will be undetectable to the Leviathan's internal scans. You need simply set it and after you're out of range the Leviathan and all aboard her will be destroyed. No messy lose ends, no one to hunt you down afterwards. We will be rid of them all, every last one."
"Not Chiana," demanded Berret. "You said you would include her in our deal. Safe passage for her also."
"Of course, you may have your little Nebari tralk. Though I don't see why you'd want to bother with her. With the reward I'll give you and after you have killed Arckatius, you'll be able to buy a hundred Nebari tramps just like her."
"She's mine... I'm not finished with her yet," said the Shrike dangerously.
Not only stupid, but he also lets other parts of his body do the thinking for him, thought the half-Scarren. Lust can be such a useful tool to use against someone.
"As you wish, that is... how shall we say, your business," replied Scorpius with an affirming nod.
Berret nodded as if satisfied with the deal, making sure to show a slight contemptuous smirk on his face.
He was rewarded as the sly look in Scorpius eyes deepened. It was a case of who was leading whom around by the nose. Berret hoped he'd come off as a simpleton only interested in revenge, money, and his own pleasure.
"Ah, I'm so glad you could make it, Berret. I trust there wasn't any trouble," said the half Scarren slickly.
"Nothing worth mentioning," replied the Shrike in a dispassionate tone.
"Very good," said Scorpius. Turning to the troop commander he continued, "Send a detachment of men to search our visitor's ship for unwanted company."
The Commander waved several men forward to carry out the orders. As the men advanced toward the Shrike and his ship, the craft lowered itself on its forward landing gear and the missile rack dropped into firing position with a heavy thud. The forward gun ports whirled and a line of test-level pulse bolts chewed into the deck between Berret and the advancing men, not causing any real damage but making a lot of noise in the tight confines of the landing bay. The troopers scattered for cover but neither Scorpius or the Shrike budged from their places.
"What the frell was that?" exclaimed one trooper from behind cover.
"That was the first and only warning shot at test level," explained Berret. "The guns have now reset themselves to full power and the missiles are now armed. Any attempt to enter my Wraith will be met with force."
"It's the L-49 series with the Artificial Intelligence Unit, most impressive. Though I don't recognize the manner of pulse guns it's armed with," said Scorpius.
"You should also be aware that any attempt to scan or deactivate the AI by electronic means will result in the guns and missiles firing on a preprogrammed order. I don't believe your Command Carrier will survive the detonation of all its armament inside the hanger bay," Berret warned, ignoring the half Scarren's enquiry about the craft's armament.
Scorpius gave the man his best disarming smile as he moved over to meet him.
"Come now, Berret. We are all friends here, are we not?" Berret didn't answer as the Peacekeeper commander draped one arm over the Shrike's shoulder. "We are working together now for the same goal," he added. Berret stepped away from the half-Scarren's arm with a look of undisguised distaste.
"If you think I am going to let you anywhere near my ship, you are gravely mistaken. I don't trust you and we are not friends. We have a mutually beneficial business agreement and that is all," said the Shrike.
Scorpius made a show of sighing as if heavily wounded at the other's distrust.
"Very well, though I am very sorry you feel that way. Our partnership could have been very profitable for both of us," he replied. He turned back to the commander of the troop detachment. "Seal this bay. No one is to approach or scan our friend's craft," Scorpius ordered. Returning his attention back to Berret he asked, "I trust that meets with your approval?"
"That is acceptable," answered the ex-assassin.
"Good, then lets us get down to business then, shall we?"
Berret nodded as Scorpius held out a hand to lead the way out of the hanger bay.
As the bay doors dropped closed behind them, Berret turned to Scorpius and asked,
"Where is Val'Cirrus?"
Scorpius gave the Shrike a nasty unpleasant smile that showed his unpleasantly pointed Scarren teeth.
"You needn't fear the Master Shrike. She is... how shall I say... 'detained'," he replied.
Berret frowned at the half Scarren. "You would do well not to underestimate her."
An annoyed look slipped over Scorpius' face at the Shrike's warning for a split microt, but a calm facade quickly replaced it.
"I assure you, where she is... she cannot get out unless I wish it," he promised.
They continued walking until they came to Scorpius' private personal chambers. The armed escort remained stationed outside while Berret accompanied Scorpius and his first lieutenant into the chamber. The room was huge and plush. As Berret looked around he thought it a strange decor for someone as venomous as the Scarren half-breed. His gaze stopped as he scanned the room when it fell upon a Delvian servant. The man was old and bent. His blue hands shook as he straightened up some furniture and fixtures about the room. The man wore a Delvian head-wrap loosely draped over his head and shoulders. Berret almost choked when he finally recognized the old man as Shenna.
Scorpius turned his attention to the old man and said, "Leave us."
The Delvian made what looked like a painful bow and picked up his walking stick. Berret knew that the stick actually held a deadly secret in the form of a Bat'Rellite blade. Just as his own wrist blades, the weapon could shear through most inferior metals except for Qualta. The Grandmaster's face was altered somehow to seem more wrinkled then before, if Berret had not recognized the walking staff; he might not have given the man a second look. Berret hoped that Scorpius had remembered to remove Val'Cirrus' boots as they held similar blades as his and Shenna's inside them. If he hadn't, then she probably had already kicked her way free of wherever he had her imprisoned. Shenna slowly hobbled his way passed the group of men. He nodded his head in respect to Scorpius as he passed by but gave no indication that he had noticed anyone else in the room. The lieutenant also left the room with Shenna, the younger Sebacean officer leading the old man out. Berret must have given something away; possibly he had not masked the look of surprise on his face at the sight of the Grandmaster as well as he thought he had. Scorpius caught it and explained,
"I much rather prefer Delvian caretakers for my personal quarters. Being floral based creatures they don't carry the 'scent' that humanoid species do."
Berret nodded his head as if that explained what he had been thinking about when he first seen the old Delvian. Scorpius indicated that Berret should take a seat as he himself settled down on a plush chair. Berret ignored the offer and instead made a show of wandering around and idly examining items in the room as if he had all the time in the universe. The half Scarren smirked at the Shrike's ploy.
"Now, where is Crichton?" Scorpius asked, finally getting down to business.
Berret picked up a clear vase that appeared to have something's internal organs floating around in it and inspected it for a few microts before answering.
"He is close-by."
Scorpius sat up straight with a hiss, "That was not our deal! You were to deliver John Crichton to me. Don't play with me Shrike or you will live to regret it... deeply!" he growled.
Berret paused for a microt... and then crushed the vase in his hand. Before the pieces had all hit the floor he was across the room and a set of Bat'Rellite blades were micro-hentas from the hooked tip of Scorpius' nose.
"Don't threaten me, half-breed," the Shrike said in his own growling voice, " ...or we will find out which of us is the more deadly creature."
Scorpius didn't appear very impressed, but still, he didn't push the man. Instead he coolly said,
"Put away your claws, assassin... and tell me why Crichton is not here before me now."
Berret eased away from the Peacekeeper leader and his blades slowly slide back inside his gauntlet. The metal making a slick hiss as they did.
"You want Crichton undamaged, these things take time. If I push too hard for Crichton to leave the ship with me, then he and others will become suspicious. As you can imagine, being an Enforcer for the Syndicate does not lend well to being trusted with this crew. I need a reason for him to accompany me away from the Leviathan... that is unless of course you don't mind me bashing his skull in to get his cooperation?" said the Shrike offhandedly.
"No, that would not be acceptable," said Scorpius. "The information I want is much too vital to risk damaging Crichton's brain. Tell me, have you thought of a reason to lure him away yet?"
Berret gave the creature an evil grin. "Yes, but I will need your help with providing the bait."
"I see... and what will that entail?"
"The others think I'm on a recon patrol searching for a commerce planet where we can take on food items. What if I found such a planet that had not only food items but also a mysterious vender who had information and Star-charts concerning wormholes? Would that not be enough incentive for Crichton to investigate?" explained Berret.
Scorpius revealed a toothy grin, "I do believe it would spark young John's interest."
"Good," said the Shrike. "What I need from you then is enough odds and end data about wormholes to wet his appetite... and some food stores to make to make the story plausible."
Andar looked out the Wraith's black tinted cockpit screen. "They're gone now," he told the Delvian behind him. Malika turned from the sensor board she had been studying.
"They haven't scanned us. The Shrike's bluff must have worked," she reported.
"What bluff?" ask the Sebacean.
"The one about the ship being bobby trapped."
"Ummm..." Andar started and then pointed to a lit control panel, "It wasn't a bluff."
Malika looked shocked for a microt. "You mean that maniac would have blown up the Command Carrier and killed us all?" she exclaimed.
"Would you preferred being captured by the Peacekeepers and being tortured to death?" asked Andar.
The Delvian girl thought for a moment and then said, "Good point." She turned back to her panel and said,
"Wraith, report mission status."
The machine voice responded instantly to her command.
"Online, Specialist Malika Phatan. We are secured in the Command Carrier hanger bay. No attempts have been made to violate security perimeters. No activate or passive scans detected. Stealth systems operational and functioning at 100%. Weapons systems armed and on standby. Specialists Malika Phatan and Andar's life scans undetectable beyond stealth system perimeter. Engines off and not at idle, engine power core on standby and ready to power up. Life support at..."
Malika cut the AI's report off as Andar asked, "Why does this machine refer to you as Specialist Malika Phatan and to me as just Specialist Andar? How come it give you a full name along with a title while I'm just Andar?"
The Delvian smiled impishly, "Maybe it got tired of having to say 'Specialist Andar of the House of Murdough' all the time." Turning back to her board she inquired, "Wraith, status on homing beacon?"
"Beacon not activated."
Andar looked down at the seated Delvian. "That means Berret hasn't found where Scorpius has the codes stored yet," he said in thought. "Are you sure you'll be able to break into whatever place they have them secured at?"
Malika smiled and then patted the hand size case on the thin belt around her waist.
"I'm willing to bet I'm as good as that Nebari thief back on Moya. I know my way around Peacekeeper security. You don't spend as many cycles as I have as a PK servant without learning a few ways to get around a locked door." Andar nodded nervously and the Delvian girl added mischievously, "The question should be whether you're a good enough actor to get me to the door so I can do my job."
The Sebacean man lifted an eyebrow in mock insult.
"My dear Delvian Pa'u, " he began in a deeply cultured voice. "I'll have you know that I have studied the greatest literature classics of my culture. I am a student and teacher of the arts. It will be a cold day in hezmana when I cannot browbeat and outclass a poorly educated PK grunt. I will have them believing that they are in the presence of the greatest Peacekeeper general to strode the decks of this antiquated bucket of rusted bolts." He ended with a sly smile and a low bow to the woman.
Malika smirked with him and raised her eyebrow in turn at his antics.
"Besides..." he added, "They'll be too busy looking at you to notice me anyway."
Malika frowned and stuck out her tongue good-naturedly at the man. "Maybe we should have brought the Dominar instead of you," she teased.
"With you dressed like that?" Andar said with a shake of his head, "He wouldn't have been as much a gentleman as I am."
"This is my private sanctum," announced Scorpius as he led Berret through the security door. "This is where I keep all the important research and data on wormholes. Myself, and no one else can access this computer data bank. It has several levels of security with the wormhole technology being stored at the highest level. I designed the entire system myself," said Scorpius proudly.
Berret rolled his eyes as if bored and said, "I care little for your wormholes or your toys. Just give me something that Crichton will believe and let's be done with it."
Scorpius looked slightly disappointed that the Shrike didn't find the same pleasure in the subject of wormholes or his brilliantly designed private computer bank. "Give me a micron to find just the right information," he finally said. "I don't want to hand over anything too classified for your ruse."
Berret waved a causal hand in dismissal as he began to inspect the room. "You spend all your time in this dreary little alcove?" he asked.
"This is the most secured room on the carrier. All my import work is stored here," replied the half-breed.
Berret made a sound of disgust, "No wonder you're pale, and of a nasty disposition," he commented bluntly. The Shrike gave an involuntary shiver. "Arckatius kept us in small dark rooms such as this when he didn't send us out to kill. One day soon I will pay him back for that imprisonment."
Scorpius grinned, as he perceived what was a weakness in the man he could make use of.
"And you shall, my friend," he said. "With the information I give you when you hand over Crichton, you will be able to make Arckatius suffer for as long as you like."
As if lost in a dream, Berret answered, "I'd like that."
The Shrike shook his head in the next instant as if to clear it from the visions of the Scarren crime lord's torture. "We'll see if you keep your side of the bargain, Scorpius," Berret told him after seeming to notice his smile. He began to pick up objects at random as Scorpius finished printing out a set of star maps to use as bait. The Peacekeeper commander walked over to Berret as he started to carelessly play with an instrument that's use he had no idea was. Scorpius scowled as he removed the device from the Shrike's possession and placed it back on the self where it had came from. While his back was turned, Berret pulled a small homing device out from behind his belt buckle. The Shrike activated the device before placing it under the edge of a nearby metal work table, the magnetic backing securing it out of sight.
Scorpius turned back to the man waving the star map printouts.
"These will wet Crichton's curiosity. Just enough information to be tempting."
"Good enough," said Berret sounding bored while taking the carts without looking at them and folding them up to place inside a pocket.
"We will arrive at a commerce planet in a few arns. I'll see to it that you are able to procure whatever supplies you wish from there. It wouldn't do to show back up at the Leviathan with Peacekeeper rations now would it?" Scorpius said.
"No, it would not. I had not considered that," admitted the Shrike.
Scorpius smiled to himself. The man was not as smart as he thought he was. He will be easy to use he thought to himself.
"No matter, Berret. I will take care of the small details. You just worry about bringing me Crichton," he said with a sly smile. "Speaking of details, have you considered what will happen when the others aboard the Leviathan discover you have absconded with John? You didn't think they would just let you go, did you?"
Berret looked dumbfounded for a few microts. "I had not thought that far ahead either. I suppose you are correct, they will not let us go easily."
The Shrike appeared to be thinking hard about the situation, "It would not be possible to eliminate them before hand. If I killed them all out right, John will not accompany me willingly. Perhaps we need to postpone our arrangement until we find a solution to this new problem?"
Scorpius silently jumped for joy, the man was casually talking of murdering his shipmates as if he were discussing what to have for evening meal. Here was a most useful tool indeed.
"I already have a solution," he said holding up a hand to halt the Shrike from further considering waiting on completing the deal. "Since it is agreed that the others are unimportant in our arrangement, I will supply you with a explosive device with a delayed timer. It will be undetectable to the Leviathan's internal scans. You need simply set it and after you're out of range the Leviathan and all aboard her will be destroyed. No messy lose ends, no one to hunt you down afterwards. We will be rid of them all, every last one."
"Not Chiana," demanded Berret. "You said you would include her in our deal. Safe passage for her also."
"Of course, you may have your little Nebari tralk. Though I don't see why you'd want to bother with her. With the reward I'll give you and after you have killed Arckatius, you'll be able to buy a hundred Nebari tramps just like her."
"She's mine... I'm not finished with her yet," said the Shrike dangerously.
Not only stupid, but he also lets other parts of his body do the thinking for him, thought the half-Scarren. Lust can be such a useful tool to use against someone.
"As you wish, that is... how shall we say, your business," replied Scorpius with an affirming nod.
Berret nodded as if satisfied with the deal, making sure to show a slight contemptuous smirk on his face.
He was rewarded as the sly look in Scorpius eyes deepened. It was a case of who was leading whom around by the nose. Berret hoped he'd come off as a simpleton only interested in revenge, money, and his own pleasure.