By Jane Carver

The attack had been well planned. Captain Merlo and his first mate, Mr. Honess, were not aboard. They attended a meeting with the harbormaster in preparation for leaving. Minimal guards had been posted at the plank since the Cabrillans proved friendly. No one suspected the greatest threat to those aboard the Fenix would be from its own passengers.

Gambrel boarded amid panic. Two sailors, Stavin and Nhortin, appeared more than happy to see him. Captain Merlo had not returned yet but was on the way.

“They caught us by surprise,” Stavin reported. “Too many to count in the first confusion. I were knocked mindless and left on deck tied up. I counted at least eight men later. Rough types. Locals from their dress.” He helped another man sit while one of the women dressed the cut on his head. “I slipped my ties when I came to then searched for others. I discovered Nhortin first then we found the others.”

Nhortin swallowed hard and finished Stavin’s tale. “All were mindless except for Mistress Chiffro. They beat her to death, sire.” The young sailor lost his composure for a moment but wiped his face clean as Gambrel maintained a stony expression. “Were no call for such. And why her alone? She clutched a piece of paper, and lines marked around her neck as if something were ripped off. Stavin found a chain covered in blood thrown down among the folds of her skirt.”

Before Gambrel could question the men further or explore the ship for clues, Captain Merlo appeared at his elbow, shaken more than he had ever seen. “Murder aboard my ship. What is to become of us?”

Stavin and Nhortin repeated their stories then added, “Some of our folks be missing, Captain.” When they recited the list, Merlo appeared stunned.

“Why these and no others? Why take any? Why not all?”

“Because of me.” Gambrel stood with hands at his side, feet braced, and leveled a hard stare at Merlo. “These folk are dear to me. This is the work of a man named Haggin. In the past, his name was Handid. He’s a murderer. He recognized me at your gathering several nights ago. He knows why I am here.”

Merlo asked the expected question. “And why is that?”

“I have tracked this man and his followers for fifteen twelve-months and killed each one. The only one left is Haggin. His second-in-command, a man named Walys, I thought dead already. I discovered he lives.”

“But why?” Incredibility showed clearly on Merlo’s face in his wide eyes.

“Haggin and his men killed my daughter. I swore vengeance then and have not changed my mind since.”

“And you dragged the Fenix and Vangee into your plot?” Merlo seethed with an easy-to-see anger.

“I did not think to include anyone in my scheme. I planned to disappear after the deed was completed this eventide. However, I suspect Haggin sent locals to take Vangee and others. Warn me away. Or lure me to my death.” He took a deep breath and stood straighter. “I will examine the ship then contact Pessios through Canfanto. Perhaps Haggin led him to those who are missing.” Not for the world would he say “those whom I love.” Saying the words would be to admit a loss greater than his life if anything happened to them.

At his name, Canfanto appeared at Gambrel’s side. “Sire, Pessios says Haggin went into a warehouse. Others move inside. He can not make out who.” Everyone near the men knew who abided in the darkness. Vangee and the other passengers.

“Lead me there, Canfanto.” When he turned to leave the ship, Merlo stepped into his path.

“You need help.”

“Not so, Captain. This I do by myself. Haggin begs killing, and I alone will be responsible. You and the others may leave Cabrilla under no restraints.” Gambrel glanced around. “Besides, sire, you are needed. Your place is here, and these are your people. Take care of them.” He offered his arm in friendship. And farewell.

* * * *

Canfanto led Gambrel through familiar streets to a large warehouse set far back on a plane of green. Little greenery shaded the area. Getting closer proved difficult but not impossible. They met Pessios who hid among boxes stored at the edge of the building.

“When I arrived, I heard voices. A man entered the building followed by some local justice breakers. I think I saw Thacton.” Pessios glanced over his shoulder. “An entrance in the front and one at the back are guarded. The windows are high, and there is nothing light or sturdy enough to stack and climb on. Even these boxes are too heavy.” To prove his point, Pessios shoved against one and got a bruised shoulder for his efforts.

“A diversion is needed. Misdirection. Lure the guard away from the door.” Gambrel craned his neck around the corner enough to see the burly man standing there. He held a large blaster across his chest, and his feet were braced. The man expected problems.

Suddenly weapons fire sounded inside the building.

“Trouble!” Not waiting for Pessios and Canfanto to follow, Gambrel pulled his double blasters, bellowed a war cry, and charged, brilliant bursts of energy killing the guard on contact.

No need for surprise now.

The door held until Gambrel put a huge shoulder to the panel and busted through. Once inside however, he knelt in the shadows while Pessios took the other side. Canfanto squatted behind him. After the brief noise inside and out, the profound quiet inside seemed complete and ominous.

A gesture and Pessios glided forward. Motioning Canfanto to one side, Gambrel followed. Like a well-oiled machine, the three slid into the building’s darkness in total silence. Eyes scanned shadows in case someone else moved besides them. Ears listened for odd sounds or footfalls. Pessios flicked out his tongue, tasted the air.

The smaller man motioned Gambrel to him. “I detect the scents of Gastrojan and Pharlie. Haggin’s scent drifts to me as well.”

A sense of everything coming together settled in Gambrel’s heart. As he feared, Gastrojan ran with Haggin. Whether their partnership developed from a mutual hatred of him or whether the men knew each other through past business ventures was only a guess. How they met did not matter once they all died.

Nothing disturbed the silence of the space where the three men hid among crates and bundles. The quietness warned Gambrel. Wrong. Something was not right. A squeak, like a dry hinge, echoed beyond their position. Pessios moved toward the sound. Another door stood cracked open a slit farther down the vastness. The lack of light around the doorframe indicated it did not lead outside. Pessios reached the door first and ducked into the room.

Immediately Canfanto and Gambrel surged forward, intent on following him. However, before either entered the room, Pessios returned, his demeanor one of great illness.

“Wait.” The man sounded sick. That alone stopped Gambrel. Pessios’ face scared him.

“No.” One word. A fear too overwhelming to consider.

“Gambrel, don’t.” Pessios tried to spare the other man, but nothing stopped him.

Beyond the door lay a reality far worse than anything he could imagine. The reek of blood hit his nose before he entered the dimly lit room, a sweetish-sour smell that clung to skin and clothes. Before his eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness, he found the bodies. Ungainly carcasses tossed into a heap. Some tried to protect others from death. Arms stretched in unnatural positions tangled with legs bent up and back. Great swathes of blood and gore splattered the walls. So many in such a small room. But not a sound.

“There should be sound,” Gambrel muttered as he moved forward, his senses overcome by the sight. The blonde youth, Herion, lay nearest the door, his head almost detached. Flustos, his best friend, fell at his side, one arm completely shot off. Like a river, blood still drained from the massive wound.

Old Domas lay stretched out on his face as if he rushed his attackers. Gambrel knelt and gently turned over the elder. A hole in his chest took him down but not before he caught and strangled a justice breaker. One of Walys’ companions lay wrapped in the man’s dead embrace.

Jacon, his first friend aboard the Fenix, lay twisted like a cloth in the wind beside Domas. He’d taken several phaser blasts, but managed to kill two attackers. Gambrel didn’t want to tell his family how the man died.

Further into the room, he found Thacton. The dead man practically lay on top of Effie. Sweet Effie, who cherished her daughter and was learning to love again. As Gambrel squatted beside the lovely woman, he brushed matted hair back from her face. Blood made it sticky and showed the killing wound in her scalp.

“Dara.” Pessios stood in the doorway. “Where is Dara?”

“Perhaps she isn’t here. Maybe they left her behind, and we missed her. Effie would keep her safe.” Once more, a gentle hand brushed away a single tear lying on the woman’s pale face.

A sudden spasm caught Gambrel. He knew where Dara was. Effie would try to keep her safe, by shielding the child with her own body.

Tenderly he lifted Thacton away from Effie. She lay on her side, curled around…

Dara.

Blood coated her petite face and darkened the flaming orange hair. The sight of the tiny one clutched in her dead mother’s embrace broke Gambrel’s spirit.

“No.” His wail began softly and progressed to a massive bellow as he picked up Dara in huge arms and cradled her to his chest. Rocking like a Sartarian professional mourner, he swayed back and forth, his tears watering the child’s tunic. Behind him, he vaguely recognized the sounds of someone being sick.

Long minutes he held her body, vowing revenge for both she and Lindan.

“Lay her down, Gambrel. We are not finished here.” The big man did not hear. He clutched the child as if hope were gone. Would his world ever be right again? “Put her down. You can do nothing for her now. We must find Vangee.”

“Vangee?” Like a magic spell broken, Gambrel aroused to the name of his beloved. Tenderly he laid the child in her mother’s arms. When he rose, he put aside the sweetness that once was these people. His mission needed completion.

Time for retribution.

“I found this.” Pessios held up a green clock. A few drops of blood lay on the breast of the garment. “I do not think she died here. They use her as a lure, to bring you to their trap.” Both men cautiously approached the back entrance in case a guard still watched. When no one appeared outside, they scouted around for signs that Vangee might have been taken away. Tracks led around the building back in the direction of the city center. “Could they be headed to the docks again?”

* * * *

As suspected, the trail of half a dozen men and one woman led to the docks, straight to the Unseen. But the ship no longer lay anchored there. Bodies floated in the deep turquoise-colored water. Passengers and crew. A few in the water, as well as on the dock, were Cabrillan shipbuilders evidently caught in the massacre.

Gambrel sent Canfanto for Captain Merlo and Pessios to seek a Cabrillan enforcement official. In the meantime, he lowered a small boat with the help of others. Together they fished the bodies out of their watery grave. He feared each woman’s body might be Vangee’s.

By the time Merlo and the officials arrived, Gambrel stood on shore again, leaving the last of the burial detail to their task. Vangee was not among the dead.

“Gambrel, what happened?” Merlo looked sick.

The shock of Dara’s death and Vangee’s disappearance was wearing off, and Gambrel was thinking clearly again. “Haggin took my friends in order to draw me out. He killed all but Vangee. We think he took her aboard the Unseen. But the purpose of taking her and killing all these people, this I do not understand.”

Merlo walked among the dead. Cabrillans had laid them on the dock. “Here, Gambrel.” He pointed to a pretty woman with light pink hair. “Haggin’s mate. He introduced her the night they visited the Fenix.” The captain raised shocked eyes. “He killed his own wife to escape justice?”

Clearly the captain did not understand the criminal mind. Haggin would do anything to make good his flight. Leave no one behind who might tell where he went. Take no one who might prove to be a burden in the long run.

“I suspect Haggin, his second-in-command Walys, Gastrojan…” At that, Gambrel nodded to Merlo. “Yes, Gastrojan and Pharlie—we don’t know about Lycol—took part in this plan. At least six to ten locals joined them aboard the Unseen. I’d also hazard a guess that they left no forwarding plans with the harbormaster.”

Canfanto reported the ship sailed within the last sixty-brace.

“I must find a space ship, one enclosed and ready to leave immediately. And I need a pilot willing to guide me wherever the Unseen leads. I have no idea how long I will be gone, but I will return Vangee to you. I promise.” Gambrel stood at attention as if addressing a senior officer.

“I do not doubt your word regarding Vangee, Gambrel, but I wonder you will not return as well.”

“I will be unwelcome by my fellow passengers, Captain, after I murder these men. We both know that.”

Merlo shook his head, prepared to refute the man’s words, but didn’t get a chance because Gambrel began speaking to Pessios and Canfanto.

“Help me find a ship? Small, fast, and ready to leave.” For the first time in his life, Gambrel Sarjean asked for assistance. His need was urgent, and these men would willingly work for him.

“I will find a craft at the Cabrillan air field. Meet me back here in a sixty-brace.” Pessios nodded then punched Canfanto on the shoulder.

 “I ask little of you, Merlo, except good wishes.” He did not want to leave this man thinking he contributed nothing to Vangee’s rescue.

“Meet with me when you get your bundle. Make your farewell before going,” the captain asked.

* * * *

Merlo handed Gambrel a pack. “I included extra coins as well as clothes. Maps and vid-squares of this sector of space too.”

Pessios and Canfanto had reported back earlier. Canfanto had located a small spacer not far from the heart of the city and paid credits to have it ready when Gambrel showed up.

Merlo and Gambrel stood at the bottom of the stairs. The helmsman hung one arm on the big wheel as if seeking comfort from its dark slick wood. Other passengers gathered behind, but he refused to acknowledge them. Better to say farewell to Merlo, Pessios, and Canfanto than endure the stares of those who lost loved ones because of him. They would blame him.

He imagined their hate beating against his back. Hate—the emotion that balanced love. Did they wish him dead like those they lost? Friends lost friends. Parents their children. Young ones lost mothers and fathers. Intense, all-consuming loathing, like a fire, burned all the fuel and left nothing but ashes.

He kept his mind intentionally blank, pushing even rancor aside. Walk away from these people without feeling what they did. Would they think his leaving an escape? Or in their moments of deepest despair realize he did this for them? Because of him, they suffered. He alone could relieve the grief. But would they understand?

A nod and firm arm clasp, Gambrel bid Merlo a silent farewell. He turned reluctantly to Pessios, Canfanto at his side. This leave-taking was harder, for these men suffered with him at the moment of greatest loss.

“Goodbye, friends. I will bring Vangee back to the Fenix as soon as I find her.” He did not add she would return when those who took her died. A solemn arm clasp with Canfanto then he turned to Pessios. Emotions overwhelmed his heart, but words sounded inadequate.

“Pessios…” he began.

“No need, my friend.” Pessios accepted a pack from the other Lizzardian. “I act as your pilot. Canfanto remains here. We can communicate across distances though I suspect this trip will test our limits.”

Gambrel wanted to argue the man’s arbitrary decision but stopped. To be truthful, he welcomed the other man’s company.

With few words, Pessios bid Captain Merlo goodbye. He clasped Canfanto to him in a tight embrace, slung his pack over his shoulder, and strode to the away plank where he waited.

Too stunned to argue, Gambrel turned as well. In doing so he faced Mirril, Jacon’s wife. What to say?

No hatred marred Mirril’s face though grief laid heavy on her features. She put out her hand to stop him. “Jacon once told me love mattered above all. Love lasted forever even when we no longer saw the face of the one we cherished most. We grow old, he said, and one goes before the other. At that moment, he whispered, remember how much I love you.” Her soft yellow scarf fluttered around her head, highlighting her unusually pale complexion and the redness of crying eyes. She moved with slow and almost painful-like steps as if going on might be unmanageable.

“Bring her back, and make a new home. You are one of us.”

At one time, Gambrel would have given his soul to hear such words. But that was before Dara and Jacon and the others died, and Vangee disappeared into the blankness of space.

Home was Vangee. But she would leave him after he murdered. The thought burned away all others.

He accepted Mirril’s wishes for a speedy trip and cast one last glance at Captain Merlo then left. Down the plank he walked, Pessios at his side.