Pursue the Past: Samair in Argos: Book 1 by Michael Kotcher Page A
Authors: Michael Kotcher
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minutes.
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the clock.
“Time remaining until the new item is completed. I put a pair of full toolkits in, because I know I need one, and I want to make sure the assistant chief engineer has a complete set as well.” She smiled at him again. “I don’t want to insult you, but I also don’t want to slow things down by having to make new tools for you while we’re working.” The timer took forever to run down while they stood there, awkwardly.
Finally, Ka’Xarian asked. “So who were you? In your former life, I mean. It isn’t just anyone who can access replicators with their hand and a datapad.”
She hesitated. “What do you think of the Republic?”
“They’re a bunch of crooks,” he said bluntly. “Bloody pirates, but thankfully, they don’t venture too far from their borders anymore.”
“Pirates?” She was getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Yes. About a year ago, one of their finest, an Admiral Tandred, took his battle squadron out to Bidexia System. Apparently, the Republic Navy was running low on resources, so they excised a tax.” Ka’Xarian spoke in a clipped voice, clearly he was upset about this. “From the bridge of his battleship, he destroyed a few hundred million credits in orbital platforms, and then stole a few hundred million more when he sent shuttles and troops down to the planet and liberated a number of warehouses full of foodstuffs, raw materials, and items of wealth. And on the way out, they killed a number of citizens on the planet. A few of my relatives were living on one of those orbital platforms.” His antennae were quivering in rage. “The worst part was when weeks later, I got video messages from them, from a few days before Tandred’s attack. All filled with happiness and humming. No way of knowing that only days later they would be dead. Slaughtered to line an Admiral’s coffers. So my thoughts on the Republic? I think it should burn.”
She couldn’t catch her breath. She held her hands up, palms out in a supplicating gesture. “You need to understand something. I’m two hundred and fifty years out of time. Things were much different back then.”
“You were Republic?” he asked tonelessly.
“I was,” she said, holding up her left arm, where the Republic starburst symbol was embroidered on the sleeve. “I am a Commander in the Navy, second in command of the Hudora Shipyards.” Tamara stood, uncertain, as the zheen just stared at her through those huge compound eyes. She didn’t know how he was going to react.
“How did you end up in the escape pod?” His voice hadn’t changed at all in pitch.
She sighed. “I was set up. Two of my fellow officers, my superior and his subordinate were involved in a smuggling scheme and they set me up to take the fall for it. I was arrested and court-martialed. If the system hadn’t come under attack by Federation forces, I would have been found guilty and sent to prison. Luckily, I suppose, the attack came in just before the verdict did. I was able to break out of my cell in the confusion of the battle, but my subordinate caught me trying to escape and shot me and launched me out into space. After shooting up the inside of the pod.”
He nodded. “I noticed that.”
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am about your family,” she went on, her words coming out in a rush. “I can’t believe that the Republic could have fallen so far. I won’t make excuses, but I just want to say that I had nothing to do with
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the clock.
“Time remaining until the new item is completed. I put a pair of full toolkits in, because I know I need one, and I want to make sure the assistant chief engineer has a complete set as well.” She smiled at him again. “I don’t want to insult you, but I also don’t want to slow things down by having to make new tools for you while we’re working.” The timer took forever to run down while they stood there, awkwardly.
Finally, Ka’Xarian asked. “So who were you? In your former life, I mean. It isn’t just anyone who can access replicators with their hand and a datapad.”
She hesitated. “What do you think of the Republic?”
“They’re a bunch of crooks,” he said bluntly. “Bloody pirates, but thankfully, they don’t venture too far from their borders anymore.”
“Pirates?” She was getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Yes. About a year ago, one of their finest, an Admiral Tandred, took his battle squadron out to Bidexia System. Apparently, the Republic Navy was running low on resources, so they excised a tax.” Ka’Xarian spoke in a clipped voice, clearly he was upset about this. “From the bridge of his battleship, he destroyed a few hundred million credits in orbital platforms, and then stole a few hundred million more when he sent shuttles and troops down to the planet and liberated a number of warehouses full of foodstuffs, raw materials, and items of wealth. And on the way out, they killed a number of citizens on the planet. A few of my relatives were living on one of those orbital platforms.” His antennae were quivering in rage. “The worst part was when weeks later, I got video messages from them, from a few days before Tandred’s attack. All filled with happiness and humming. No way of knowing that only days later they would be dead. Slaughtered to line an Admiral’s coffers. So my thoughts on the Republic? I think it should burn.”
She couldn’t catch her breath. She held her hands up, palms out in a supplicating gesture. “You need to understand something. I’m two hundred and fifty years out of time. Things were much different back then.”
“You were Republic?” he asked tonelessly.
“I was,” she said, holding up her left arm, where the Republic starburst symbol was embroidered on the sleeve. “I am a Commander in the Navy, second in command of the Hudora Shipyards.” Tamara stood, uncertain, as the zheen just stared at her through those huge compound eyes. She didn’t know how he was going to react.
“How did you end up in the escape pod?” His voice hadn’t changed at all in pitch.
She sighed. “I was set up. Two of my fellow officers, my superior and his subordinate were involved in a smuggling scheme and they set me up to take the fall for it. I was arrested and court-martialed. If the system hadn’t come under attack by Federation forces, I would have been found guilty and sent to prison. Luckily, I suppose, the attack came in just before the verdict did. I was able to break out of my cell in the confusion of the battle, but my subordinate caught me trying to escape and shot me and launched me out into space. After shooting up the inside of the pod.”
He nodded. “I noticed that.”
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am about your family,” she went on, her words coming out in a rush. “I can’t believe that the Republic could have fallen so far. I won’t make excuses, but I just want to say that I had nothing to do with
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