The Grey Veliar

Once clearance for departure came through, she began carefully guiding the ship out of the Station. Preparing the engines for the jump, she switched on the autopilot. She never much liked piloting manually or meticulously overseeing all the in-flight processes – though she could do it almost flawlessly. In Iida’s own opinion, the ship’s hull being «almost without a single scratch» was proof enough of that.

The technicians on Ilium, however, didn’t always share her view. They could never understand how anyone could so carelessly drift through asteroid clouds or dense dust fields on autopilot, once again adjusting the misaligned engines packed to the brim with every kind of junk imaginable.

Chapter 4

The next day, Iida woke up rather late and, feeling ravenously hungry, quickly washed up and rushed to the galley.

In the common compartment sat the smorg, quiet and calm, who had been awake for some time and had patiently waited for her all this while. A faint pang of guilt pricked Iida – who would’ve thought that this smorg would turn out to be so polite and considerate that he’d sooner starve than rummage through the ship’s stores in search of food!

«Well then, start talking», Iida said, busily demolishing her breakfast. «How did you end up in the hands of those Kvaon bloodhounds? What’s your name, and where are you from? The last time I saw smorgs was, what, a hundred years ago – back when I was still studying at the academy on Vriin, and since then – only in unpleasant reports…»

Despite his rather unappealing appearance at first glance, the smorg ate gracefully, moderately, and with a certain sense of aesthetics, using a whole set of different table utensils – most of which had remained untouched since Iida had first come aboard the ship.

«I was born on one of our surviving orbital stations», the smorg began quietly, managing to eat with dignity and speak distinctly at the same time. «For quite some time, I saw nothing beyond that station. Since the Genomode destroyed our system, many generations have passed. Almost all of my compatriots gradually left – some went to other worlds, others tried to return to our home planet when it finally seemed possible. And after the reactor accident in one of the technical sections, I was left completely alone.»

He fell silent, lost in thought, as if sinking into a distant past, and judging by his sorrowful, unfocused gaze, it was clear that the memories did not come easily.

«Why did you stay there and never leave?» Iida asked. «Your planets are safe now, aren’t they? And scientists like you are valued in the most… mm… let’s say, different worlds.» She hesitated, vividly imagining what kind of «different worlds» might actually value smorgs.

The smorg seemed to understand her hesitation perfectly.

«Yes», he said, «we’re not welcome in many places. And I very much doubt that those who left ever found happiness elsewhere. As for those who returned to our home planets, now nothing more than vast graveyards of our civilization, they were never heard from again. There are so few of us left that the very word smorg already sounds like a name. And I haven’t called myself anything else for a long time.»

«Tell me one thing», Iida said after a brief pause. «The people of Kvaon found a modified genome virus on one of your planets. I need to know – was it you who helped them?»

«I’ve never been to our home planets», the smorg said quietly. «I have no idea what’s happening there now. They stumbled upon my station only after they’d thoroughly looted an old storage facility where concentrated Genomode capsules had been kept. The capsules had lain there for ages and had become extremely unstable.»

He paused for a moment, recalling those past events, and then went on.

«But they had no idea – not until, during a cruiser’s ascent from the planet, one of those capsules broke apart in the turbulence of the upper atmosphere, killing the entire crew instantly. On the remaining two ships, some of the dissatisfied were ready to start a mutiny. I saw how mercilessly that unrest was crushed, and I realized who I was dealing with.»

As he spoke, his voice grew steadier, acquiring a deeper, almost pleasant resonance, as though each word helped him remember how to talk again. His gaze drifted somewhere far away, into the distant corridors of memory.

Iida felt a sincere pity for the unfortunate smorg. He had lived alone for so many years that words had become foreign to him, almost like forgotten tools, yet now, at last, he was using them again.

«I’m very glad you weren’t involved in this», Iida said, feeling the weight lift from her chest. «My task is to find and punish everyone guilty and implicated. In this matter you could be one of the key witnesses!»

She paused for a moment, then went on, «You’ve nowhere to go anyway, so I suggest you keep me company until this tangled business is finished. After that we’ll see.»

A faint glimmer of hope passed across the smorg’s hunted, resigned face, and he looked at Iida in astonishment.

«I could brew you elixirs», he said at last. «They’d make you faster, tougher, stronger. I only need certain ingredients and the opportunity to test them on identical specimens…»

«Elixirs?» Iida echoed, suspicious and wary. «You’re not going to turn this ship into some kind of killer virus drifting alone through the galaxy, are you?»

«Far from it», the smorg snorted, offended. «It’s nothing to do with viruses, nor with the sort of chemicals that have intergalactic crooks and bandits drooling to drag us into their labs. Don’t forget how far we’ve come in genetic engineering. The effects are short-lived, but they can help you survive a dangerous scrap which, with your… mm… over-active way of life, is only a matter of time.»

«All right, thanks for the concern», Iida smiled. «Forgive my doubts and don’t take them to heart. I promise that as soon as you brew your potions, we’ll test them.»

«And judging by the scanners, we’ll have more than enough specimens for that soon», she said, then let out a loud curse. «A small unmarked ship is tailing us! Who else could it be if not our mutual ‘friends’?» she asked rhetorically, tracing a detailed perimeter of the nearby space on the holographic chart.

«The smorg would not wish to fall into their hands again», the smorg said. Nervous, he began to speak of himself in the third person. «And he will do his utmost to be useful, so that it never happens again!»

«That’s good», Iida replied. «You can take the laboratory and the adjoining cabin – it’ll be more comfortable for you there. And don’t wait for me next time to eat. From now on, you’re a full member of the crew, and you can do it whenever you like. And I’ll call you Smorg, since you seem to like it so much.»

Smorg nodded solemnly, his gratitude obvious, and shuffled off toward the laboratory, wringing his hands in anticipation as he went. Iida, meanwhile, began preparing for the exit from hyperspace, opening more than half the lockers with her gear. She had no intention of being caught off guard again and was feeling decidedly resolute as she pulled out the racks of serious weaponry – the kind you couldn’t find in ordinary arms shops. This time she intended to plan her equipment down to the smallest detail.

Chapter 5

As the ship approached the planet, Iida disengaged the autopilot and took control herself.

The object known as DL-254 – that was how the planet appeared on every known chart, had two suns, perfectly equidistant from its orbit. Their light fell softly upon the golden-gray clouds that wrapped the world in a dense shroud, beneath which stretched endless jungles and towering mountain ranges.

Most of the largest mountains had long been hollow within, interconnected by a vast network of underground transport routes. These «mountains» served as immense trading hubs – some belonging to private clans, corporations, or powerful merchant guilds.

For most of the year, DL-254 was drenched in heavy rains. Iida looked at the meteorological readings with distaste, then at the thick storm clouds. From above they looked spectacular, shimmering with a magical palette of soft golden hues, but below, they turned into grimy gray masses, and she loathed dampness.

Recalling the description, she’d read in the ship’s library, where the planet had been portrayed as golden-green, Iida thought with a wry smile that someone had simply been absurdly lucky to catch a few cloudless days and chose that very moment for their cosmic aerial photography.

Judging by the coordinates, she was to land on a platform near an enormous mountain of pale stone. Before long, she spotted a tunnel carved into its side – wide enough for even large transports to pass through. Iida guided her ship inside and was immediately struck by the sharp contrast: for all the untouched, almost primeval look of the exterior, the interior of the vast hangar was astonishingly advanced and technological.

Everything here was robotic, automated, and intuitively arranged. Green lights flared up along the floor, marking the path toward an open landing platform that glowed bright emerald even from a distance. Getting lost here would have been quite a challenge.

Iida donned a light but functional combat suit and, after giving the smorg clear instructions, stepped out of the ship onto the soft-landing surface. Almost at once, a sleek, streamlined lift capsule slid out from the corner of the platform.

It carried her through several levels, each alive with activity. Everywhere she looked, adventurers from across the neighboring galaxies bustled about, bartering, shouting, and hurrying on their own mysterious errands.

Soon the lift came to a halt, and her wristband began to glow and emit a soft signal, indicating she had arrived at her designated point. The room she stepped into was enormous. The lighting was dim, almost dusk-like, and unevenly spread across the vast space. Rows of containers of every conceivable shape, size, and color stood neatly arranged, their surfaces marked with inscriptions in dozens of alien tongues.

Along the nearest wall loomed a collection of heavy planetary rovers with massive wheels, some of them clearly battle-modified, their gun turrets gleaming faintly in the low light. At the far end of the hall, a bright glow marked several huge exits. Iida made her way toward them, activated her scanner, and paused, wondering what her next move should be.

Suddenly, there was a noise behind her. It grew louder, swelling into a distinct rumble – the heavy thud of many magnetic boots striking the metal floor.

Iida hesitated. If she activated her defense systems now, she’d stand out like a flare. Instead, she moved closer to the rows of containers for cover. Her scanner lit up with nearly twenty fast-approaching heat signatures, and judging by their spectral colors, they were heavily armed.

«Damn it», she thought irritably. «Tiavrans! Why are there always so many of them?»

«We know you’re here!» a loud voice shouted in Galacton as the squad stopped not far from her position. «Come out peacefully, and we’ll spare you!»

«As you wish», the same voice called again moments later, its tone turning harsher. «Then it’ll be the hard way!»

«Move in, all of you!» barked another commanding voice, and the squad began advancing, spreading out to encircle Iida.

Suddenly she sensed movement behind her, but had no time to turn. Something powerful detonated nearby; she felt the shockwave but heard no usual explosion. Instead, the world seemed to dissolve around her – weight vanished, and Iida found herself suspended in midair. Everyone else in the hall had also lost orientation, drifting helplessly upward.

«A vacuum grenade», she realized, trying not to make any sharp movements though that did little good. She hung in the air, struggling to twist around and catch sight of whoever had «hung» her there.

Then that someone threw a magnetic lasso that coiled tightly around her, yanking her out of the zero-gravity field with a few powerful pulls. In the next instant, strong arms caught her around the waist and set her back on the ground.

While she was still catching her breath, her rescuer snatched the shoulder weapon she’d brought for emergencies and fired at one of the floating soldiers.

The result was beyond anything he’d expected – the powerful energy beam didn’t just tear the Tiavran into glittering fragments but jumped to the others, then to the containers, until within seconds there was nothing left within the zero-gravity zone – no movement, no shapes, no trace of anyone or anything at all.

«Good heavens, Draam! You’re a walking massacre!» came Kane’s astonished yet admiring voice as he stepped out of the dark corridor just as the blast faded.

The huge Vriinian turned the weapon over in his hands with genuine awe. «I’ve never seen anything like this before…»

Iida realized she had finally found the ones she’d been searching for. Despite the immense relief and sudden joy she felt, this hardly seemed the right moment for emotional outbursts. She simply walked up to Draam and carefully took her weapon back from his hands.

«It’s called a disintegrator», she said sternly. «An extremely dangerous thing. And zero gravity amplifies its power tenfold.»

«More than half of them were Tiavrans», Kane declared with mock solemnity. «And those, as you know, are our least favorite enemies. But now that we’ve finally met, allow me to introduce the mighty Draam! And I’m Kane – from Earth.»

«I know perfectly well who you are», Iida replied, a trace of irritation in her voice. «Now tell me – where are the others? And for the record, I could’ve handled it just fine without your help!»

At that moment Tarion and John emerged from the nearest passage, and a little later Maarv appeared behind them. When he saw the girl, he went pale with emotion. As, in truth, did she.

«I recognize our independent Iida», Tarion exclaimed with evident relief, greeting her with a graceful bow. «But against those creatures, believe me, a little help was the very thing you needed!»

Iida returned his bow politely. Unlike the others, she had never accepted his informal manner and always maintained a formal, composed tone.

«I’m glad you’re all alive and well», she said, addressing them all at once. «This isn’t the place for talk, but could you briefly explain what you’re doing here?»

«You’ve got that right», Tarion smiled. «Not the best place for talk. So, I suggest we clear out of here at once – I’m not sure we’ve accounted for every hunter, so it’s better to be safe. We’ll head for the Armaon, and we’ll send your little craft back to the Station on autopilot to my private dock – I’ll transmit all the necessary codes to you now.»

«All set», came Arma’s soft voice. «One life form detected on board – neither Vriinian nor…»

«That’s my smorg», Iida said, cutting Arma off. «We need him as a witness. And besides – he’s good», she added quickly when she noticed the astonished looks the others exchanged.

«Where did you find a smorg?!» Draam asked in disbelief. «I thought they’d gone extinct ages ago!»

«Save it for later», Tarion cut in sharply. «Don’t your instincts or your survival reflexes tell you we should be getting the hell out of here? Or am I just getting old and overly jumpy?»

«Hell, no, Tarion», John replied cheerfully. «Your intuition shields us like a trusty force field, protecting us from every cruel twist of fate!»

«And those… containers?» Draam asked, puzzled, glancing toward Iida. «Can they be brought back somehow?»

Iida frowned and fixed him with a stern look. «I’d really like to know how you’re supposed to bring back something that’s completely gone?!» she said with biting irony, shooting a quick glance at the pensive Maarv nearby. «First they shoot, then they think!»

Tarion smoothly stepped between them, gently taking Iida by the elbow and steering her toward one of the corridors.

«You know», he said in a conciliatory tone, «we’d better head for the ships. It’s never wise to argue with Draam, especially when he’s hungry.» He cast a quick, conspiratorial look over his shoulder at the grinning Draam and gave him a playful wink.

Approaching Iida’s ship, they found two unconscious Tiavrans lying on the ground. Standing beside them was the smorg, watching them closely.

«Well, allow me to introduce», Iida said, «my companion – Smorg! Smorg, these are our friends, the ones we’ve been looking for.»

Smorg bowed politely, entirely unfazed by the silent astonishment of the others – he’d long grown used to such reactions and paid them no mind.

«These ones», he said, pointing toward the unconscious Tiavrans, «wanted to get on the ship. So… I let them in. For safety, I thought it wise to neutralize them a little, and I released some paralytic gas. But it really shouldn’t have had that effect», he added, sounding both surprised and faintly guilty. «Fortunately, they crawled out on their own and only collapsed here – they’re terribly heavy, you know! And, well…» the smorg went on, visibly embarrassed, «since they are… mm… already lying here, I thought perhaps I might test one small formula – the base compound for the elixirs of speed and strength.»

«You’re a real genius!» Draam exclaimed. «Go ahead, I don’t mind! If everything I’ve heard about your kind is true, those two don’t stand a chance anyway!»

The smorg snorted indignantly but wisely decided not to argue with the massive Vriinian. Leaning over one of the Tiavrans, he injected the contents of a capsule he was carefully holding into the creature’s neck.

For a while, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the Tiavran’s eyes snapped wide open, and with a terrifying roar he lurched to his feet, clutching his throat as if choking. He knocked the smorg off his feet, stumbled forward, and, after a few frantic steps, slammed full-force into the wall. In an instant he was up again, darted toward the edge of the platform with unnatural speed and leapt straight into the abyss below.

«Yeah… impressive. That was really fast», Kane muttered, still stunned.

«No kidding», John agreed, eyeing the dents in the wall where the Tiavran had struck. «And definitely hard!»

«You’ve got another capsule left, don’t you?» Draam said in a mock-pious tone, giving the smorg a friendly wink. «And don’t let a little setback bother you! Experiments are always like that!»

The smorg obediently approached the second Tiavran and injected him with the second capsule before the stunned Iida could stop him. This time, he wisely stepped back.

The reaction came even faster. The Tiavran sprang to his feet almost instantly, a feral snarl twisting his face and madness blazing in his eyes. He lunged straight at Draam, who happened to be the closest.

The Vriinian didn’t hesitate – he swung his massive fist and slammed it into the creature’s bestial face with full force. But the usual effect didn’t follow. The serum seemed to have multiplied the Tiavran’s strength many times over; he simply knocked Draam off his feet and then leapt on him again, jaws bared, aiming for his throat.

At first bewildered by what was happening, Maarv and Tarion finally snapped out of it and rushed toward the Tiavran, trying to pull him off, but he shook them off with ease. The next moment he lunged at Maarv, who managed to fire, yet even the large-caliber, high-energy light blast didn’t stop the creature.

Maarv took a crushing blow to the face and was hurled across the hall, slamming into the far wall. Tarion launched himself into an acrobatic spin and kicked the Tiavran with both legs – it did no real harm, but bought a few precious seconds.

In that brief moment, Iida dragged the still-dazed Maarv farther away and tried to bring him around, while Kane and John were doing the same with Draam, too wary to use their weapons – everything was happening so fast that taking proper aim was nearly impossible.

Suddenly, the Tiavran froze in place. Just like the first hunter, he clutched his throat with both hands, his eyes rolling back as he began to wheeze and choke. His head began to swell, growing larger and larger until it suddenly burst, splattering everything around with blue shreds. The headless body collapsed to the floor with a wet thud.

«Well», said Kane, the first to come to his senses, «I think I’m actually starting to get used to this!»

He helped Draam to his feet and, carefully stepping around what was left of the Tiavran, walked over to Maarv, who shook his head and said warily, «I’m not letting that smorg into my lab! If he doesn’t kill us with one of his miracle concoctions, he’ll come up with something else!»

The smorg, who had been watching the whole scene in astonishment, merely spread his hands. «There weren’t enough components!» he said simply. «I should’ve added inhibitor blocks for the amplifying chains, but they weren’t there!»

Maarv groaned as he got to his feet and looked at Iida. «Thanks for the help! It was supposed to be the other way around!»

«In what way, may I ask?» she smiled. «You mean I was the one who was supposed to get thrown into the wall?

«I got it, got it!» she said hurriedly, noticing that thinking straight was still a bit of a struggle for him. Or perhaps he was just putting it on, looking awkward and sheepish. «You’re welcome», Iida added. «And by the way, I’m glad to see you too. You haven’t changed a bit since the last time we met.»

Chapter 6

Iida took everything she needed from her ship, set the autopilot on course for the Station, and, together with the Smorg, transferred to the Armaon. Maarv gave each of them a separate cabin and arranged a tour. Iida’s eyes widened in astonishment when she saw several enormous pallets of Galactic Credits in the storage bay. Such an amount of cash was almost beyond imagination.

«Did you rob some intergalactic bank?» she asked Maarv, reaching up and trying to touch the top.

«We’ll tell you everything and explain», said Maarv. «You and your unlucky chemist, who now can’t be dragged out of my laboratory!»

Smorg was utterly delighted with the Armaon’s laboratory and gazed at Maarv with such pleading eyes that he simply couldn’t refuse, though he gave Arma the strictest order to keep a close watch on everything happening there.

After some time, everyone gathered in the cozy and spacious wardroom to discuss their next steps and bring Iida and the Smorg up to speed.

«You can probably guess», Tarion began, «after we quite literally tore the Blue Planet from Kvaon’s claws and set in motion the official process of Earth’s admission into the Galactic Union, life has become rather unsafe for all of us, especially on the Station, which now swarms with his spies. After several incidents that nearly cost some of us our lives, we decided to act ahead of him and came here, to this intergalactic marketplace, where everything can be bought and sold.»

«At first, we wanted to wait for you», Maarv went on, leaning back slightly. «But not long ago, we received an anonymous message. It said that a certain influential figure was extremely displeased with our actions and advised us to vanish from sight quickly and find him a planet no worse than Fraal.»

He paused for a moment, glancing at Tarion, then continued in a quieter voice:

«We were ordered to begin immediately, or else we might soon ‘feel the unbearable burden of being.’ And just so we wouldn’t waste too much time thinking about who sent it, someone planted an explosive device in Tarion’s conference hall. Draam was there when it went off – he was almost blown into open space. He managed to grab onto the bulkheads and hung there by sheer miracle until help arrived.»

«Maarv and Draam had no intention of indulging his imperial ambitions», Tarion said with his usual hint of irony. He also leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming lightly on the armrest. «And his rude tone, combined with that vulgar manner of speech, struck a nerve with all of us.»

The corners of his mouth twitched in something between amusement and fatigue.

«Abuun confided that the Station’s leadership is under serious pressure from certain mysterious Vriinian senators. They were hinting at our involvement in the explosion and demanding that we all be detained until the circumstances are clarified. So we decided it would be best not to linger on the Station.»