The Star Cross by Raymond L. Weil Page B

gold,
platinum, and jewels they had taken from Earth to bring his fleet up to full strength
and hire the mercenaries.
    “Three
battlecruisers and six escorts,” groaned Lantz.
    Yes, Creed was
also concerned about the costs, not just to replace the ships. The families of
the lost crews would have to be paid their share of the bounty brought back, plus
sign-on bonuses were necessary for the replacement crews to override their fear
of death. In all it would be very expensive but necessary.
    “A drop in the
bucket if we can spend ninety days gleaning all the treasures on Earth.” Creed
spoke with a light now in his large eyes, strongly suspecting they had only
touched a smidgen of the gold and other treasures available on that planet. “We
can pay for a new fleet, larger and far more powerful than our current one, and
still have a huge reserve of credits for future expenditures. We’ll never have
to worry about the Kubitz Controllers again.”
    “Our cargo
ships and slave detainee ships are in orbit, waiting further orders,” Third
Profiteer Bixt reported from his sensor console.
    The ships had
arrived a few days ago, before Creed and his fleet’s return to the planet. On
the ship’s main sensor screen, hundreds of icons were visible, representing the
massive amount of vessels in orbit around the planet Kubitz. Some were other
raiders, like the Ascendant Destruction , while some were passenger ships
and cargo vessels.
    “We need to
repair our battle damage and then return to the human system,” Creed announced.
The holds of several of his ships were packed with gold, and he was anxious to
return for more. That precious yellow metal meant financial freedom for his
fleet.
    “Clan Leader
Jarls has come aboard,” reported Third Profiteer Lukon from Communications.
    “Excellent,”
Creed said, pleased that the Dacroni mercenary leader had accepted Creed’s
invitation to meet. “Have him escorted to the main briefing room on the command
deck.”
    “He’ll be expensive,”
reiterated Lantz, shaking his head. “Hiring these mercenaries will cut into the
profits from this trip.”
    “But they’re
the best,” Creed answered. Fortunately they had taken more than one thousand
gold bars from several underground vaults on the human planet. He took a deep
fortifying breath, as he strolled purposely from the Command Center to meet Clan Leader Jarls.
    -
    A few moments
later Jarls was escorted into the briefing room. His humanoid form—with his bulky
legs, torso, and arms—were the result of living on a heavy-gravity world, and
his powerful muscles were evident in his every step. His face was similar to a
human’s but rounder and chunkier. Even his neck seemed to be shorter and
thicker, with his head almost resting on his torso.
    “Greetings,
Clan Leader Jarls.” High Profiteer Creed gestured for the Dacronian to have a
seat.
    Jarls’s eyes
lit up seeing the four bars of gold stacked prominently on the conference table
directly in front of him. Creed probably thought the presence of the yellow
gold bars would serve as a distraction during their meeting, to get every advantage
possible.
    “Greetings,
High Profiteer Creed,” Jarls replied, his eyes never leaving the gold. “I have
heard that you need assistance in dealing with a rebellious alien race you’ve
discovered.”
    “Yes,” replied
Creed.
    The Dacronians
had a reputation for garnering these contracts, even though their fees were exorbitant.
Jarls knew of Creed’s need for his powerful Draconian ships. Rumors of what had
happened to Creed’s fleet were already flying around Marsten and Kubitz.
    “We’ve discovered
a rich world to plunder in one of the backwater regions of unexplored space,” began
Creed, keeping his voice calm. “We thought we had eliminated their primitive
space fleet, but another fleet we knew nothing about jumped in. My fleet was
unprepared for such an unexpected attack, and we lost a number of ships before
we could raise our