Ball of Silence

Ball of Silence - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

         After five days of searching, I finally find cargo to Shuslam, and what an interesting one it is. The local Shuslam government has decided to introduce an alien insect to Shuslam. They have a problem with a non-native weed that some idiot has brought with their person. The weed has no natural enemies on the planet. It spread and is now threatening the crops. The Shuslam government decided to introduce the natural enemy of that plant, a leaf-eating bug that eats that plant and nothing else. The Shuslam authorities ignore my red flag. Even if they have noticed it, they probably think I won't bother stealing bugs.

         We have forty huge crates of life-bugs standing in our cargo hold. The four of us eye them with quite a bit of apprehension. For the first time in my life, I have goose bumps covering my entire body. I can hear all those millions of bugs crawling inside their crates....

         The crystal drones anxiously.

         "I hope none of these crates has a leak," Sina says, voicing our worries.

         "Let's jump quickly and get rid of them," Priar says.

         "No objection." Sina takes me by the hand to go to the bridge.

"Get ready to jump," I announce. Flin and Priar shout "Aye, Captain". Half an hour later, we arrive in Shuslam's orbit, without any sign of a credit-demanding thug at Celam.

Sina retreats as usual. I let the ship dock at Shuslam's station, one of the smallest space stations I have ever visited. It looks pretty with only minimal upgrades and its original design intact. Shuslam is a border planet, the nearest inhabited system to Conlam, the edge of the human part of the galaxy.

The same afternoon, a government planet-to-station ferry relieves us of the bugs. So far, none have escaped.

I retreat to my cabin and log myself into Shuslam's planetary network. I search for any news about its Rel guests, studying the pages of the University of Shuslam, but I find none.

I decide against calling the university. They'll have a harder time giving me the brush-off if I arrive in person.

The Rel crystal on my desk hums as usual. It feels no Rel presence close by. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether the ball would actually respond to a Rel's presence.

When I caress the ball, it answers with a warm change of melody. For the hundredth time, I think the thing is "alive" in some strange way.

#

         "I searched the entire ship, found only two bugs and killed them," Flin says during dinner.

Sina pales. "You found two bugs?"

"Yeah. They're dead now, don't worry." Flin grins.

"They probably didn't come from the crates. I bet they were some other bugs," Priar says.

"Yes, giant space bugs," I say, and we all laugh. I can stand loud laughter now without pain, thanks to the most wonderful crystal in the universe.

"Speaking of bugs," I say, "I found no mention of the Rel guests anywhere on the Shuslam sites. The University of Shuslam has, of course, many departments; the Rel could be anywhere. I suggest we start at the capital tomorrow and ask where we need to go."

"And do some sightseeing along the way," Sina says.

"Sure," Flin says, grinning with anticipation.

#

         The next morning, we seal the ship hermetically so Priar can join us. To be more flexible, we use the Voice's shuttle to fly down to the spaceport. The shuttle is a mini version of the Voice: a teardrop shape with the cockpit at the thin end and the entry port at the thick end. It looks less worn than the Voice because it has seen fewer flight hours than its mothership.