"Yes. I'll take care of the hand-off." Micah stood up. When Darinda started to rise also, he shook his head. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Stay and watch them. You have my back."

  Nodding, she turned and watched him leave. Darinda had to wonder what the hell she could do to help him if the guards did anything to him. What she could do was turn on some of the ship's cameras and watch that side exit.

  Overriding the safeties because there was air in the bay where they had landed, Micah got both doors of the airlock to open. Keeping his hands out in plain sight, he held out the small chip from his necklace in a thumb and finger and offered it to the armed guards.

  One armored person stepped forward with a tray, and Micah dropped the chip on it. The entire group began to back up, facing him with weapons on alert. They never turned until they backed into the door that swung open to receive them and slid close with a slam.

  Wow, thought Micah, these are very scary people who take no chances. He closed the airlock and made his way back up to the bridge. There from his seat next to Darinda, they watched the two large heads on the big screen look at the message. They saw the shock on the faces that they had seen on others because this was a message against everyone.

  The woman who was Brenna Gunva, looked up and nodded. "Okay, I know my head of security, Zander, will agree to help you, but it will cost you. The Gunva Corporation does not do free service, so get out your credit slips."

  To say Micah was shocked would be an understatement.

  Chapter Eight

  "I don't understand." That was the truth, as none of the Veldan Warriors that Micah had contacted had hesitated to agree to the call to message from the Elders.

  "It's very simple." Brenna frowned; she spoke as if even a child would understand what she was talking about. "The head of my security, Warrior Zander, is my most important and prized weapon. To lose such an important person to our corporation would be a desolation and personal despair. For Gunva Corporation to agree to let such a person leave and join a league of his fellow Warriors, we would need a guarantee of funds."

  Reaching over with a hand, Darinda pushed Micah’s mouth shut and looked out at the businesswoman. Now they were in her realm.

  “How much of a guarantee would the Gunva Corporation find acceptable, madam?” In a voice equal to Brenna’s, Darinda squared her shoulders and had a face without any emotion. It would have been great in a game of chance, which this had turned into.

  “I think perhaps two times general bank lot would be suitable.” The woman in a uniform stated as if asking for cream in her tea.

  “You can’t be for real. That is ten times the normal man’s yearly wages.” Micah mumbled as he sank back against his seat.

  "Wait one moment," Darinda nodded and jumped up to run through the door lock. Micah, in his confusion, could hear her running back to her cabin. What the hell could she possibly be doing? He could hear her, as she never was a quiet person. Then there were her steps when she was running back up to where he was waiting along with the big faces of the people on the screen.

  The big figure of Zander was pacing behind Brenna, and Micah knew the Warrior was angry. Perhaps Zander was angry at Brenna for asking for something when he was willing to answer the Elders’ summons.

  Darinda rushed into the room and slammed a small silver sliver against the small accurate viewer. "This will more than cover the amount you need. Copy it, and I will sign."

  Looking at what was being enlarged, Micah realized it was a fund card in the name of Boetcherwaylander Holdings. Below it had the name of Darinda Boetcherwaylander on it as the authorizer. He realized that one platinum sliver had to be worth enough to buy the entire Gunva Station.

  There was silence on the other end while the woman looked down and then over her shoulder at the pacing male behind her. Now Micah understood. Brenna had hoped that the guarantee would not be met and he would stay with her out of harm's way. But she was honest, and she nodded and turned back and hit some keys that accepted the payment. She immediately sent over the contract for a thumbprint from Darinda.

  It was over, and all Zander could tell Micah about Teve was that the Warrior had returned to Veld for a short time with Sergeant Charlene McDonald for the short war that the Veld had fought with the Trio or Wisoosio that had been wiped from existence. After the war that left no harm to Veld and its hidden people, Teve and Sgt. McDonald left, perhaps to serve among her military people.

  So, Teve was the next Warrior that Micah needed to enroll, and his first hunt would be among the military out in the colonized universe. His best hint was anything tied to the old Earth troops.

  Sitting in the galley, Micah had set the limited AI to hunt for jump gates and let the navigator take them forward. He had word from Veld that the first vessel was done, and the second one was being erected in the orbiting construction site. Time was against him, and they still haven't given him a target. He had seven Warriors to back him up, and with some luck, he might find two more. But he had to admit to himself he was tired. He was running this ship by himself and had been in several skirmishes. Micah had not found time for long sleep in a bunk, just catching naps between jump gates.

  Suddenly, the feel of warm hands on his shoulders made him raise his head. His own protective senses were even worn down, and he had not felt Darinda's approach. He needed to feel mother earth to regain some inner strength. How could he possibly lead these Warriors against this unknown foe while he was in this shape?

  “What cha’ doing, big guy?” Darinda moved past him to get herself a cup of coffee.

  “Lunch,” muttered Micah.

  “Hmmm, yes. That looks really filling.” She sat her mug of coffee down and looked at his. “Tell you what. How about I make us up a couple of sandwiches.”

  Sitting in his own problems and watching his coffee grow cold, Micah heard the young woman work around him in the galley. Before long, Darinda sat a plate in front of him, and even though he thought he wasn't hungry, the smell of real meat and fresh lettuce got his attention.

  "So, where are we going?" Darinda spoke with a mouth full. She even pushed a small piece of meat from the side of her lip inside with a finger.

  With two large bites, he had the first half down and was reaching for the second on the plate when he stopped and lifted the bread. "Where did you get fresh lettuce from out here?"

  "There is a small garden on the ship. I guess the ship is bigger than you think, and you haven't visited all the bays." Darinda took a sip from a juice bulb and then another bite from her large sandwich. She had made large ones for both of them.

  "Wait," Micah lifted the lettuce leaf from his second sandwich. "Is your ship's garden hydroponics?"

  “Some,” Darinda chewed and nodded. “But the lettuce came from the ground unit.”

  Stuffing the entire rest of the food into his mouth, Micah stood up and grabbed Darinda by her upper arm.

  “Hey.”

  “Show me the garden,” Micah spoke around the meat as he pulled her through the wide galley doors.

  "Geez, Micah. All ya' had to do was ask. It is only down through here and beside the small engines." Leading the way, Darinda jumped down a couple of steps and then turned in the big bay to open a couple of safe doors to enter a long room tucked in along one side of the ship. There was moisture in the air, and the light from various points that reflected and were probably in the UV range. Here there were rows of plants from the floor to hanging racks all the way to the ceiling.

  There were several automatic units tending the racks, and an automated watering system was providing a mist in a few places. Micah could see the lettuce on a distant rack and even some small green tomatoes. But more important was mother earth. As Darinda entered and began to walk down past the planting area, Micah approached the first ones and knelt. With a sigh, he carefully placed both hands flat in the dirt beside some plants, not disturbing them. Immediately he felt peace and strength flow into his body.

  Turning at the sound and a tiny burst of light that was instantly gone, Darinda was surprised to see the tall guy with such a look of pleasure on his strong face while he pressed his hands around one of the plants.

  "What happened? Did you get a shock of electricity or something?" She approached him slowly, wanting to make sure he was okay but not wanting to get hit by a loose wire or something.

  Standing up, Micah looked down at her with one of his rare smiles. "I'm great now. Let's see if you can make me another one of those sandwiches. They were good." He turned and walked out of the double doors as she stood for a moment, confused. She decided that he almost looked taller and had such a look on his face as if he had almost had an orgasm. What the hell had happened when he touched the soil? She looked down and decided it must have been an electric shock of some kind. She had to jog to catch up with the crazy guy. He ate two more sandwiches.

  For the rest of the day, he was alert, working at the dashboard and bringing up sky chart after sky chart.

  “Looking for anything special?” Darinda again had her feet up on the seat and was hugging her knees.

  “Yes, I am. I’m looking for small battles where people would go in to help honest workers who are being taken advantage of by some crime lord or ruler who is unjust.” He had one screen that he seemed interested in and was enlarging it to bring up the solar system.

  “You can’t stay away from a fight, can you?” Darinda laughed.

  "Actually, the small Earth military and the two male Warriors I'm looking for can't resist getting involved in someone else's problems."

  She made a funny noise in her throat. "So, they are out to save the little guy. Well, hell, there are a lot of those all over the universe, and it is a really big place, at least the part that is colonized."

  “Yes,” Micah enlarged the screen even more and showed some spaceships in a battle. “But maybe we can narrow it down a bit. See the marking on that ship?”

  The screen that Micah was operating had zoomed in on a military ship and froze the vid of the side. It had a strange emblem on it. A circle of leaves with a crown over what looked to be a planet. That planet was hard to distinguish on the curve of the ship, but Micah smiled.

  “That could be a representation of either Earth or my planet Veld.” Micah put a finger on the screen.

  “Or a hundred other Goldilocks planets. By the way, what does that name Goldilocks mean anyways?” Darinda slid her feet down to the floor.

  “It is an old Earth story, like a myth.” Now Micah was busy working with the limited AI and navigator.

  “What, are you taking us into another battle?”

  Micah nodded and finished on the keyboard that was only floating keys in front of his hands. Most of the dashboard was full of units that floated and disappeared or could be moved around to suit the operator. There was even a headset that would allow the pilot to operate everything from his mind.

  "So like Earth isn't a myth but proves to be real, Goldilocks is real, and that is why everyone hunts for Goldilocks planets?" Now Darinda had wrinkles on her forehead.

  "It is an old name everyone used to call a planet that is ideal for human life. That includes its star and its location to that star, its content of water and land and atmosphere." They had reached a jump gate, and there was a funny feeling as they went through to the next position in the universe.

  “Where are we?” The young woman looked out but saw nothing.

  "This is a stop between jumps. I'll put in the next location and let the ship move to the gate for the next jump." He worked for a moment and looked up. "How about a couple more of those sandwiches?"

  "Race you." With those words, she was out of the seat and running towards the door lock to get down the hallway. With the strength he had in him, he could beat her easily, but he took his time and laughed when she danced in a circle in the galley.

  “I win, so you have to make the sandwiches.”

  Micah didn’t mind, as it was nice for them to relax together. He was so glad that there was peace between the two of them. He really did intend to give her back the ship when his battle was done.

  “By the way, my friends call me Dari. Please use that instead of the long name my father gave me.” She looked up at him through her long eyelashes as she spoke.

  Giving a slight chuckle, Micah sat out the food and took a chair across from her. "Okay, I like the shorter version. It matches you when you smile."

  “Thanks, and I’m going to call you Mic.”

  Micah stopped chewing and swallowed. “Mic doesn’t even sound like part of Micah.”

  "Yep, that's part of the fun. You have the letters from your name, but the sound is a little different. It is my special name for us together. Pass the salt, Mic." So they ate and made a couple of more jumps and talked to each other.

  They did share some things about themselves, but both held back secrets because both had something that could get the other into dangerous areas.

  They were back on the bridge, and Dari was laughing about a story Mic had told when he was a little boy. He had wanted to swim but fell into a mud hole instead of a pool. Suddenly, as they came out of a jump, alarms went off. Not one alarm of close contact, but besides that one, an alarm for shielding to come up and one of incoming munitions.

  Chapter Nine

  With lightning-fast reactions, Mic hit several buttons and yelled at Dari to strap herself into her seat. Taking manual control, he dropped the nose of the Es Mio down in the track they were taking to be under the missile heading for the exit they had taken. It would hit the jump gate and blow itself up.

  "Dari, hit the two red buttons on your left." Instructing the woman strapped into the seat beside him, Micah, or Mic as she called him, took over the ship, and they were soon below the melee that was taking place right at the jump gate.

  Once Dari hit those buttons, it got nice and quiet in the ship when the last of the alarms were now shut down. Micah brought all the engines to full power, something that was not done often. There was a lot of power in this moderate yacht, and it soon was away from the fracas that was hitting anything coming through the jump gate. It was also stopping others from approaching and leaving.

  Once they were in a safe place, Micah ran some scans and saw a lot of passive ships off in the distance, trying to hide or turning and leaving from another gate. It was probably the one they had entered, as this system did not have any planets or stations. It was just a pass-through.

  "Whew, that was close. But at least we can go on to the next jump and let these idiots fight until someone wins." Dari was looking at the screen showing the reflections of weird blasts in space that flickered and went out fast.

  On another screen, Micah was bringing up vids of the few ships involved in the skirmish.

  “What cha’ doing, Mic?”

  "I think one of those small ships has that Earth military symbol on it, and I'm checking it out."

  Now he threw the view he was looking at up on one of the big overhead screens and enlarged it even more. Suddenly, to Dari's surprise, Micah threw power again to the engines and, guiding the ship from his position at the dashboard, began to return.

  “What the hell are you doing? Damn, you can’t resist a fight. Now you are back to being the asshole when we first met.” Dari was mad but stayed in her seat with the belts tight. With her head tilted back, she had her eyes glued on the big screen and the one ship that was enlarged in the vid. There was something very strange about it, about the way it was moving.

  Okay, Dari knew she wasn't a pilot, but damn it, she knew that spaceships in the middle of battles didn't start going sideways away from the commotion. In fact, as she looked back at the small screen, it looked like the skirmish was breaking up with only a couple of ships still in the conflict.

  It was at this time that she realized that they were approaching the ship that was moving in a strange direction. Looking over at Mic, she watched him setting up some instructions to the limited AI but not the navigator. He then jumped up, and his long legs took him off the bridge before she could get the belts unbuckled.

  She was after him as fast as possible, but Dari knew she was seconds behind him, stopping to glance in the galley that was empty. That cost her time, so by the time she reached the side exit, the inside door was locked, and Mic was without an off-ship suit, starting the process to open the outside door.

  "Damn, Mic. Stop; you will die. What the hell are you doing?" She watched him do two amazing and unexplainable things. He took off his jacket, pants, and boots, and when the outside door was opening, he grabbed the fire extinguisher. There he was with one of the tee shirts that had the name of her ship on it. It had belonged to one of the workers that he had sent off the ship when he first stole the Es Mio and didn’t realize she was in her cabin.

  "OMG," were the letters she mumbled, thinking he had committed suicide for some reason and left her on the ship that she couldn't pilot. Then there was a small burst of white light around him. Mic had disappeared and in his place was a much larger monster. It turned and looked back at her, nodded, and let go of a hiss from the extinguisher that pushed it quickly away. On its chest flapped a piece of material that still contained her ships logo. "Oh. My. God."

  All she could do was slide down and lean against the door lock. There was no way that she could comprehend what had happened. Now she thought about all the myths that were becoming real. There was an Earth, and perhaps most humans could trace their DNA back to that planet. The word Goldilocks was a myth that was real, based on the fact that there were real ideal planets out there. There were also some that were not quite in the best of condition for settlements, but human ingenuity found ways to live on them. Humans lived on moons and planets and asteroids that didn't even have air.

  Dari's mind was in total chaos as she was still trying to process what she had seen of Mic through the small window of the exit. She thought Mic was going to die, and then a bright flash and a monster appeared who was using the fire extinguisher to begin moving over to the other ship. From her angle, she could not see the thing that was trying to push the other vessel away from the missiles.

 

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