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    Chartura
    Chartura
    Chartura
    Ebook317 pages5 hours

    Chartura

    By Terry Compton

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    About this ebook

    Volume 4 in the Alcantaran series.

    Elevin Shi was tasked with an impossible job. He had to find some answers on a distant backward planet but there was trouble in the Charter Alliance Intelligence Service. He couldn't even get a decent briefing. He had to turn to his personal network of spies for help. This trouble could spell the end of the Charter Alliance but could they get the answers in time? Would they live through it?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTerry Compton
    Release dateNov 22, 2011
    ISBN9781465857835
    Chartura
    Author

    Terry Compton

    Terry Compton has raced stock cars, rode horses across the Scapegoat Wilderness, fished and hunted most of his adult life while working at several different jobs. He is an Air Force veteran and served in the Air National Guard for several years. He is currently retired from being the owner, chief welder and installer for an ornamental iron business where he has made several award winning metal creations and is now turning this creativity to writing.Terry loves to read science fiction, westerns and mystery stories. Some of his favorite authors are Clive Cussler, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Andre Norton, Poul Anderson, Robert Heinlein, Louie L'Amour, Zane Grey and Anne McCaffery. He is currently learning about 'indie' authors who are publishing e-books.Terry currently lives in Montana with his wife and a dog who thinks she is a short furry people.

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      Book preview

      Chartura - Terry Compton

      Chartura

      Terry Compton

      Published by Terry Compton at Smashwords

      Copyright 2011 Terry Compton

      Cover images courtesy of NASA/Hubble

      Cover by Terry Compton

      Elevin Shi couldn't see what was so important about Chartura, another backward planet on a far galaxy. Then he found out that they had gone from sailing ships to spaceships in ten years with engines that were better than many modern craft. How did that happen? Trouble within the Charter Alliance Intelligence Service hindered the investigation and threatened his life while Galactic war loomed.

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      This is a work of fiction. All characters or incidents are a figment of the author's imagination and any resemblance to any incident or any person living or dead is purely coincidental.

      Chapter 1

      Elevin Shi walked out of the Charter Alliance Intelligence Service Director's office thoroughly disgusted and angry. The Director brought me all the way here to Zeta Ophiuchi, why? He could have just called or sent a message instead of making me waste days of travel to get here and then more days getting to Chartura. What was so important about this planet that had everyone stirred up?

      Knowing he needed some basic research before he took off for Chartura, Elevin Shi stomped toward the computer room. He had about twelve hours to do research and pack before the old space freighter Polonium Lightproof would be taking off.

      The ride on the old space freighter created another burr for him, also. Why can't I just use a CAIS spaceship or one of the passenger ships to go to Chartura? Something just didn't seem right here.

      The Director had been pretty sparse with details of what had happened to trigger this assignment. He just said that people and important technology were disappearing and Elevin Shi's assignment was to find these people and the technology.

      The Director hadn't even mentioned finding out who was doing this. Maybe he knew or he figured if Elevin Shi found the people, he would know who was doing it. The Director said he would have a package delivered to the Polonium Lightproof that explained more and would contain most of the equipment and information he would need. Elevin Shi rode the escalator down to the computer area. He might as well get started checking on facts.

      Elevin Shi worked his way to a terminal and eased into the seat. He logged into the computer and posed his first question. The computer was silent for a few seconds and then said, Elevin Shi, you are blocked from this information. Please try a different question.

      Elevin Shi's mouth flew open in surprise. The Director would normally have had a briefing all ready for him with this information. Not only was he missing a briefing, but now, he couldn't even query the CAIS computer. Elevin Shi tried two more questions about Chartura and was blocked both times. Trying a question about Sabyst, the computer answered that question. He tried another question about another galaxy and got an answer.

      Elevin Shi shook his head in puzzlement because something was not right here. He stood up to go back to see the Director and demand an explanation, but then he stopped. The Director was trying to tell him something and he just needed to figure out what it was.

      Let's see, no call, but had to come to headquarters to talk face to face. No briefing, very few details on the mission and locked out of the computer when I asked anything about Chartura. I'm supposed to travel to Chartura in an old space freighter. No travel vouchers issued either. I'm supposed to sneak in there! The Director thought there was a leak here in CAIS and this assignment probably affected the Charter Alliance, too. This has to be interagency politics at their worst or maybe even a plot against the Charter Alliance itself.

      Elevin Shi didn't hesitate any longer. He quickly left the headquarters building by the underground moving sidewalk. He moved from section to section until he was in the middle of town. All of his senses were alert as he watched for a tail. There she was. Elevin Shi kept moving and saw that the lady dropped off and a man picked him up. Elevin Shi kept looking and, sure enough, he spotted another pair on the opposite side of the walkways. There was probably someone monitoring the surveillance cameras, also.

      It was time to make someone earn their money. He headed toward the section of town that was closest to the spaceport. This was an area not recommended for tourists. Elevin Shi didn't check his weapons but he knew they were there and ready for use and he wondered if his tails were armed.

      The moving sidewalk was blocked several miles from the spaceport. The rougher elements in that section of town were just too dangerous to allow them free access to the public transportation. It also stopped unwary tourists before they got too deep in that area of town.

      Elevin Shi headed for the surface to try to find some transportation. Most cabs wouldn't take you in that part of town if they could help it. It was just too dangerous. They would use the limited access freeways to go to the spaceport but they always bypassed this area. Elevin Shi spotted a rental place which had ground vehicles and gyro-cycles that would automatically return when the renter was through with them.

      The gyro-cycles didn't have wheels and rode on a cushion of anti-gravity. They flew but were limited in how high they would lift and this suited his purposes just fine. He rented a gyro-cycle and bought a helmet. He just didn't trust the rental ones. Who knew what the last renters had growing on their head. Elevin Shi put on the helmet and climbed aboard to find out how organized his tail was.

      Elevin Shi gave the gyro-cycle full throttle for a few seconds until he was traveling just over the speed limit. Most police wouldn't bother him at this speed, but anyone behind him trying to keep up would have to draw attention to themselves. Elevin Shi watched in his mirrors as he turned down several different streets until he came to the one he wanted. He drove under some of the tall purple shade trees. Their branches hung densely over the street and blocked clear surveillance from the sky.

      Spotting two gyro-cycles ahead, he sped up to join them. Elevin Shi pulled a device out of his jacket pocket and flipped it with a concealed move at the rear gyro-cycle. He grinned as he saw it stick to the gyro-cycle.

      Now to add some confusion. He pushed a button on his comm unit on his wrist which activated the device and also blocked the locator signal from his gyro-cycle. To an overhead surveillance unit, the device would make it look like his cycle was right behind the other two while the one he was riding would disappear.

      Seeing the quiet street he was looking for, he quickly turned into it. Driving two blocks as he watched for pursuit from behind, he came to the restaurant nestled in the middle of the business area. It had numerous gyro-cycles and other vehicles parked in front and along the sides. This was a regular meeting place for some of the rougher elements around the spaceport.

      There would be people in here from different galaxies and Elevin Shi knew illegal trades and barters happened here all the time. He had been involved with some of those transactions himself. If a restaurant like this had a star rating, it would be a minus five star. It was no place for tourists but it was the perfect place for what he had in mind.

      Elevin Shi parked next to the biggest bunch of the gyro-cycles. Quickly checking his wrist comm unit, he saw several of the gyro-cycles had their locators disabled. He disabled all of the others before he entered the restaurant.

      He stepped into the men's restroom and went to a stall. Pulling off his jacket, he turned the reversible jacket inside out. That changed the color and he pulled a cap out of a pocket. Jamming the cap down on his head, he moved back into the waiting area. As he looked around, he spotted an empty table in the rear of the eating area. The table was jammed in between a group of other patrons.

      Elevin Shi guessed there were close to fifty people in the area. He limped back to the empty table while he kept his head down so he wouldn't make eye contact with any of the people in there. As he walked, he let his eyes covertly wander over the patrons. He picked the seat where he could monitor the front and back door. Would his tails cover both doors? Have I lost them with this little trick?

      A waiter came and he ordered spicer, the warm tangy drink without drugs in it. While he waited for his spicer, he sent a coded message. His spicer came and he sat sipping on it. He had been there almost twenty-five minutes when he saw one his tails standing at the front door. Noticing the tail looking toward the kitchen, he saw one from the second group there. Whispering just loud enough for the two tables next to him to hear, he said, Charter Agents! They're here to take someone down!

      Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the reaction. In seconds, his whole side of the room was warily studying the two sets of tails without seeming to. Elevin Shi could feel the tension building. How many of the restaurant patrons had something on their person they didn't want found? How many had a guilty conscience? The tails were searching for him but the change of his coat's color and the cap threw them off for a few seconds.

      Elevin Shi waited until they had him spotted and then he snuck his blaster out of its holster. Before his tails could move towards him, he fired two quick shots into the ceiling and screamed, Charter Agents! They're here to get you!

      He had fired his shots over two of the most nervous patrons and the results were instantaneous and spectacular. The shots only created some noise and smoke but the two patrons and their table companions instantly drew weapons and opened fire on the tails. The tails had shields activated but the amount of shots hitting the shields still knocked them down.

      Pandemonium broke out. The tails tried to fire back at some of their attackers and all they succeeded in doing was to anger and terrify the entire restaurant. Patrons were tipping over tables and opening fire on the tails and others were trying to find a means of escape.

      The tails' partners rushed in and were immediately drawn into the gun battle. Someone blasted one of the windows at the front of the restaurant and patrons were leaping out the window. One of the tail's shield imploded from all the hits it was taking and he died in a withering blast of gun fire. The other tails were forced out of the room by the weapons fire with the patrons in hot pursuit. The patrons wanted out of here and those Agents were blocking their way.

      The Agents backed out under a hail of gunfire from blasters and other weapons as they worked their way to their vehicles. Returning the patron's gunfire made them redouble their efforts. They hammered the tails and their vehicles until the vehicles exploded from the damage.

      The patrons didn't give the tails time to call in any reinforcements. Some of the roughest looking characters from the restaurant were getting on the gyro-cycles and escaping while they could.

      Elevin Shi slipped out the broken window and found a parked vehicle. Using some special tools he always carried, he slipped into the back. As he settled in, he felt the front doors jerk open and two people jumped in.

      The vehicle roared to life and was soon on its way at high speed. Elevin Shi could see they were headed in the direction he wanted to go. After a few minutes, he sat up in the backseat. The driver looked in the mirror and almost wrecked the vehicle when he spotted him. Elevin Shi slid his blaster over the back of the seat when the passenger started to turn with his weapon.

      I am just a passenger who wished to avoid talking to the Charter Agents, too. There is a bar not too far from here you can drop me at and then you can continue on your way.

      How did you get in here?

      You were careless when you shut your rear door. It was just too inviting when the Agents started firing. Pull over here.

      Elevin Shi collected their weapons and shoved them down into the crack in the back seat. He said, If I were you, I would high tail it out of here and hide this vehicle. The Charter Agents will want to talk to anyone in that restaurant. I'm sure they have video of your vehicle leaving.

      The driver hadn't thought of that. He had seen the supposed Agent go down and he was pretty sure the Agent was dead. Things were going to get hot around this area of town, so the stranger from the back seat was giving good advice. How many minutes would he have to ditch the vehicle and get lost?

      Elevin Shi climbed out of the car and just barely got the door shut before it roared on down the street. He made sure his blaster was hidden when he got out of the car and now slipped it in its holster as he moved in a slow shuffle down the street. Deciding he needed to change clothes and fix some sort of disguise, he looked for a store. Spotting a used clothing store, he headed for it.

      Once inside, he found several sets of good serviceable work clothes. If he was going on the old space freighter, maybe he could go as a crewman or stay hidden in a laborer's clothes. Finding work boots, two hats, a small travel bag, as well as, some sunglasses from another galaxy, he paid for all of his purchases with a credit unit that couldn't be traced back to him.

      The store put the clothes in his new travel bag and he left to find a place to change. He saw the bar he was looking for and went inside. Moving to the rear, he sat down in a booth. Ordering the non-drug spicer, he waited for a bit.

      When he felt all interest in him had died, he took the bag to the restroom. Looking around to make sure there wasn't any surveillance, he then quickly changed. Dressed in the work clothes, he made some adjustments to the clothes and his hat. Checking in a mirror, he saw an older crewman looking back at him.

      The sunglasses were adjustable for the amount of light they let through, so he adjusted them to be able to wear inside. Putting his other clothes in the travel bag, Elevin Shi adopted the shuffle and stoop of an overworked, older crewman as he left the restroom. None of the bar's patrons even noticed as he shuffled out.

      Elevin Shi didn't see the person he was looking for in the bar. Cautiously sneaking looks at the other patrons, he didn't want anyone to remember him or think he was staring at them. He shuffled out the door looking for a fast way to get farther from this area. Spotting a pimp looking for marks, he added a little stagger to his gait.

      The pimp spotted the stagger and the travel bag at the same time. Elevin Shi could tell the pimp wanted a look inside the travel bag. The pimp knew some of the crewmen smuggled in valuable artifacts from other planets. He wanted to see if there was something valuable in Elevin Shi's travel bag.

      The pimp said, Hey, buddy. Come on over here. I have some of the finest women in the galaxy. Let me show you some of their pictures. They can show you a terrific time.

      Elevin Shi could see the pimp messing with his ring and guessed he had some sort of drug needle in it. If a normal crewman stepped up to the vehicle, the pimp would use the ring to inject a drug and the crewman would lose any valuables he had. Elevin Shi let the pimp draw him over to the vehicle. Seeing the pimp was working alone today, he knew he had found his fast get away.

      As the pimp reached over to inject the drug into his shoulder, Elevin Shi made a movement that would be almost unnoticeable to a casual observer. Pulling the pimp's arm down, he jammed the drug needle into his own leg.

      The pimp slumped against Elevin Shi. Elevin Shi quickly shoved him into the front seat and climbed in over him. Sliding into the driver's seat, Elevin Shi looked for the identification key to start the vehicle.

      The pimp still used an old fashioned hand scan, so Elevin Shi held the pimp's left hand to the screen. He figured the pimp might try a little trick to keep someone from doing just what he was doing. You would get one try and then have to wait five or ten minutes. The pimp probably had a sequence to go through to get the vehicle started after that. He guessed correctly and the vehicle came to life.

      Elevin Shi pulled out from the curb and rapidly moved out of the area. He drove across town toward the spaceport and found an old abandoned warehouse. Driving through a door-less opening, he stopped.

      Checking to make certain no one was around, he opened the vehicle door and walked around to the other side. Searching the pimp, he found three more weapons besides the drug needle in the ring, all of which he slipped into his pockets.

      Elevin Shi searched the rest of the pimp's pockets to see if he had anything else that might be useful. He didn't have much time before he needed to be heading for the spaceport to board Polonium Lightproof and he needed all the help he could get. This assignment was not starting off on the right foot.

      As Elevin Shi was searching the pimp, he bumped the dash of the vehicle. A small door folded down. There were several switches and knobs on the back side of the door. Elevin Shi studied the door carefully. One of the knobs had a pointer that covered colors. He moved it just a little and the interior of the vehicle changed colors. Elevin Shi almost jumped when he saw the change.

      He looked and saw one of the switches said interior and exterior. It was set on interior, so Elevin Shi switched it to exterior. He moved the color knob and looked at the hood of the vehicle. It had changed colors. Elevin Shi grinned as he thought, "This might prove to be a very fortunate meeting." Elevin Shi changed the exterior color to a non-descript green that was the rage this year; consequently, the vehicle would now blend in with a thousand others on the roads.

      Now he had some transportation, but what could he do with the pimp? He didn't really want to kill him but he couldn't just leave him here. The pimp would sound the alarm before he was safely off on Polonium Lightproof.

      Elevin Shi wouldn't mind killing him if he were being threatened but the pimp was no threat now. The pimp had already demonstrated that he was ruthless enough to use drugs on unsuspecting crewmen. The dose might even be enough to kill some of the crewmen he used them on but Elevin Shi didn't want to be judge, jury and executioner, so he settled on a different course of action. He had no idea how long the pimp would be out, so he decided to take action and then get out of the warehouse before he did have to kill the pimp.

      Once Elevin Shi made up his mind, he used his comm unit to read the owner's chip on the vehicle. He saw how to change the hand print to control the vehicle and made the change to his hand print. Then he started stripping the clothes off of the unconscious pimp.

      When the pimp was naked, he pulled him to a corner of the abandoned warehouse where he found some old rags and cardboard to cover him up. Being naked ought to slow the pimp down for awhile, which would allow Elevin Shi to board Polonium Lightproof. By the time the pimp got any sort of help the old freighter should be in space. Maybe getting a taste of what he did to crewmen would change the pimp's mode of operation. If not, it would at least make him a lot more cautious about who he picked on.

      Elevin Shi carefully turned the vehicle around, pulled out of the warehouse and drove to an area of town which had a cluster of eating places. Easing into a parking spot beside one of them, he checked out his vehicle and saw it had a computer system that could hook into the local library. Searching for Chartura to see what their claim to fame was, he saw it was located in the Brasilin Galaxy. A planet on the edge of nowhere.

      They were almost out of the Charter Alliance sphere of influence but they were the leading manufacturer of spaceship engines for the developing planets. Their designs were actually pretty sophisticated for being so new to space flight. Elevin Shi found some news announcements saying that Chartura manufacturers had a new, improved model engine and even some of the more modern spaceships were taking a look at the engine. It delivered more power and speed with less fuel.

      Elevin Shi's spy senses came alert. Here could be the technology that was disappearing. If the scientists who discovered this technology were also disappearing, that could have been the trigger for the assignment -- especially if the wrong planets were behind the kidnappings and theft. A shift of technology like this could create troubles for the Charter Alliance.

      Elevin Shi didn't find anything to indicate how the engine scientists had advanced their technology so quickly. He read a little more about the planet and discovered almost half the planet was still unexplored. One southern continent had only been touched by a few explorers from the sea. Satellites and spaceships couldn't take clear pictures of it and over flights by aircraft had resulted in most of them crashing with no survivors.

      For now, other continents were much more hospitable and profitable. Explorers were discovering raw materials on these unexplored continents that were making them insanely rich, so the big push was toward all of the other safer continents. Elevin Shi wondered about this continent and what was hidden there. What had made the aircraft crash? What would block satellite and spaceship pictures? The questions would have to wait, for now he needed to concentrate on just getting aboard an old space freighter to get there.

      Chapter 2

      Elevin Shi's comm unit buzzed his arm and he looked at it to see his coded message had got through. He answered, Hi, Mikdo. How do you feel about a trip to a far off, exotic planet?

      Is this a proposal, darling?

      More of a proposition, I'd say. I have an assignment on Chartura and I need some help.

      Will this be one of those dangerous, dirty assignments where people are shooting at you and trying to keep you from sending your findings back to the CAIS?

      I'm afraid it will be. They've already put a tail on me and I think I've given them the slip for now.

      Well, in that case, count me in. Where do we meet and where are we going? Tell me all the details…

      Elevin Shi told her he didn't have all the details yet. He explained he was shut out of the CAIS computers and the Director hadn't given him any briefing yet. He was supposed to have a package waiting at the Polonium Lightproof when he got there. As they were talking, Elevin Shi received a coded message.

      Wait a minute, Mikdo. I've just received a message. Let me check it out and maybe I'll have some more information.

      Elevin Shi didn't recognize the number but he did recognize the code. It was from the Director. The message told him where to pick up travel papers, a credit unit and more information. He told Mikdo and she said she would meet him there.

      Elevin Shi was the last to arrive because he very carefully checked for a tail. He pulled into the parking lot of the HoldIt store that catered to space crews. They would send packages to other planets and would hold packages for crews who were supposed to land on Zeta Ophiuchi. Everything was supposed to be x-rayed for contraband but the Charter Alliance knew sometimes the company completed a transaction without the x-ray. This would be one time that x-rays didn't matter. The items showing up in the x-ray wouldn't match up with the useful contents.

      Elevin Shi spotted Mikdo sitting in her vehicle but he didn't acknowledge her. She had already been inside to check for any packages for her. He went into the store and picked up his package. Elevin Shi climbed back into his vehicle and drove to a parking garage. As he drove, he spotted Mikdo pulling out of the HoldIt parking lot and heading in the opposite direction but he knew they would meet shortly.

      Elevin Shi gathered what he needed from the vehicle and then wiped out his handprint lock. Whoever opened the vehicle could now start it and take off with it. He marked the location so he could have someone pick up the vehicle and move it to another area to confuse anyone trying to track its movement.

      He had just finished when Mikdo stopped right behind his vehicle. Climbing into her vehicle, she took off. Elevin Shi looked at his driver and marveled at how good she looked.

      She was a seven-foot tall, slender-built woman with pale blue skin and dark hair. Elevin Shi knew from past experience when she walked, she moved with a willowy grace much like some of the races that trained in unarmed combat and she could take care of herself in most situations. Elevin Shi knew his six-foot six-inch height didn't bother

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