Webber Martin

“ Another man might have been stirred by the imposing sight; Herndon merely felt an upwelling of anger. Once his family had lived in a palace too: not of this size, to be sure, for the people of Zonnigog were modest and unpretentious in their desires. But it had been a palace all the same, until the armies of Krellig razed it.
He dismounted from his carriage and presented his invitation to the haughty Seigneurial guards on duty. They admitted him, after checking to see that he carried no concealed weapons, and he was conducted to an antechamber in which he found the Lord Moaris. ”

“ Benjin said. "We'll cable Brennt to have another shipment ready for you."
This time he travelled to Vyapore aboard a transport freighter, since there were no free tours with noblemen to be had at this season. He reached the jungle world a little less than a month later. Brennt had thirty-two jewels waiting for him. Thirty-two glittering little starstones, each in its protective sheath, each longing to rob some man's mind away with its beckoning dreams.
Herndon gathered them up and arranged a transfer of funds to the amount of two hundred fifty-six thousand stellors. ”

“ Herndon had proven himself strong. The sort of man who could slay a newly-purchased slave could look up from a starstone.
He said, "What are the terms?"
"Full bonding," Benjin said. "Including surgical implantation of a safety device."
"I don't like that."
"We all wear them," Oversk said. "Even myself."
"If all of you wear them," Herndon said, "To whom are you responsible?"
"There is joint control. I handle the outworld contacts; Oversk, here, locates prospective patrons. Dorgel and Razumod are expediters who deal in collection problems and protection. We control each other." ”

“ Benjin added. "Your wage would be five thousand stellors per month, plus a full voice in the organization."
Herndon considered. The starstone trade was the most vicious in the galaxy; the hypnotic gems rapidly became compulsive, and within a year after being exposed to one constantly a man lost his mind and became a drooling idiot, able only to contemplate the kaleidoscopic wonders locked within his stone.
The way to addiction was easy. Only a strong man could voluntarily rip his eyes from a starstone, once he had glimpsed it. ”

“ But he did not care to have his body invaded by safety devices. He knew how those worked; if he were to cheat against the organization, betray it, attempt to leave it without due cause, whoever operated the master-control could reduce him to a grovelling pain-racked slave instantly. The safety-device could only be removed by the surgeon who had installed it.
It meant accepting the yoke of this group of starstone smugglers. But there was a higher purpose in mind for Herndon. ”

“ It was an old-fashioned unitube ship that rattled when it blasted off, shivered when it translated to nullspace, and quivered all the week-long journey from Molleccogg to Vyapore. It was indeed a third-class ship. Its cargo was hardware: seventy-five thousand dry-strainers, eighty thousand pressors, sixty thousand multiple fuse-screens, guarded by a supercargo team of eight taciturn Ludvuri. Herndon was the only human aboard. Humans did not often get visas to Vyapore. ”

“ They reached Vyapore seven days and a half after setting out from Molleccogg. Ground temperature as they disembarked was well over a hundred. Humidity was overpowering. Herndon knew about Vyapore: it held perhaps five hundred humans, one spaceport, infinite varieties of deadly local life, and several thousand non-humans of all descriptions, some of them hiding, some of them doing business, some of them searching for starstones. ”

“ Even on Deck C, in his steward's quarters, Herndon rated a full-grav room with synthik drapery and built-in chromichron; he had never lived so well even at his parents' home, and they had been among the first people of Zonnigog at one time.
His duties called for him to pay court upon the nobles each evening, so that they might seem more resplendent in comparison with the other aristocrats travelling aboard. The Moarises had brought the largest entourage with them, over a hundred people including valets, stewards, cooks, and paid sycophants. ”

“ He sat stiffly upright on his throne, gripping the armrests of the carven chair as if he were afraid of floating off toward the ceiling. In the air before him shimmered the barely perceptible haze of a neutralizer field designed to protect him from the shots of a possible assassin. ”

“ What do you care? You're getting paid, aren't you?"
"And so are you," snapped Mardlin. "It isn't like Benjin to pay two men to do the same job. And I don't like you, Rogue."
"Mutual," Herndon responded heartily. He stood up. "My orders say I'm to take the freighter Dawnlight back to Borlaam tomorrow evening. I'll meet you here one hour before to examine the merchandise."
He made one other stop that day. It was a visit with Brennt, a jewelmonger of Vyapore who served as the funnel between the native starstone-miners and Benjin's courier, Mardlin. ”

“ Brennt said.
Scowling, Herndon said, "You and Mardlin are probably in league. We have to take his word for what he brings us—but always, three or four of the stones are defective. We believe he buys, say, forty stones from you, pays the three hundred twenty thousand stellors over to you from the account we provide, and then takes three or four from the batch and replaces them with identical but defective stones worth a hundred stellors or so apiece. The profit to him is better than twenty thousand stellors a voyage. ”

“ The Agozlid handed Herndon a bright planchet of burnished copper with a nine-digit number inscribed on it. "This is the code key. In case you lose your slave, take this to Borlaam Central and they'll trace it for you." He took from his pocket a tiny projector and slid it across the desk. "And here's your resonator. It's tuned to a mesh network installed in the proteus on the submolecular level—it can't change to affect it. You don't like the way the beast behaves, just twitch the resonator. It's essential for proper discipline of slaves." ”

“ Herndon was astonished by her youth. No doubt the nobles had means of restoring lost freshness to a woman's face, but there was no way of recreating the youthful bloom so convincingly. The Lady Moaris could not have been more than twenty-three or twenty-five. ”

“ I get five hundred stellors per stone for keeping quiet."
"You've kept very quiet today," Herndon said. "Thanks very much for the information, Brennt. I really should kill you—but you're much too valuable to us for that. We'll let you live, but we're changing the terms of our agreement. From now on we pay you only for actual functioning starstones, not for an entire consignment. Do you like that setup?"
"No," Brennt said.
"At least you speak truthfully now. But you're stuck with it. Mardlin is no longer courier, by the way. We can't afford a man of his tastes in our organization. ”

“ He was led to an inner room where three men and a woman sat around a wooden conference table. He eyed the foursome curiously. The men comprised an odd mixture: one had the unmistakable stamp of noble birth on his face, while the other two had the coarseness of clay. As for the woman, she was hardly worth a second-look: slovenly, big-breasted, and raw-faced she was undoubtedly the mistress of one or more of the others.
Herndon stepped toward them.
Benjin said, "This is Barr Herndon, free spacerogue. I met him at the market. He had just bought a proteus at auction for nearly a thousand stellors. ”

“ Herndon stared at Razumod's sweaty bulk a moment and gave ground, quivering with tension.
"You might have warned me," he said.
Benjin smiled apologetically. "It would have ruined the test. We must have strong men in our organization. Oversk, what do you think?"
"He threw down the stone," Heitman Oversk said heavily. "It's a good sign. I think I like him."
"Razumod?"
The commoner gave an assenting grunt, as did Dorgel. Herndon tapped the table and said, "So you're dealing in starstones? And you gave me one without warning? What if I'd succumbed?" ”

“ Herndon shrugged. "His lady beckoned him in the middle of the auction, and he left. Otherwise the proteus would have been his, and I'd have nine hundred stellors more in my pocket right now."
"These two," Benjin said, indicating the commoners, "are named Dorgel and Razumod. They have full voice in our organization; we know no social distinctions. And this—" gesturing to the girl—"is Marya. She belongs to Dorgel, who does not object to making short-term loans." ”

“ Instantly two Toppidan slaves emerged from the corners of the throneroom and jerked simultaneously on heavy cords that controlled the curtain over the cage. Slowly the thick folds of velvet lifted, revealing, as Herndon had suspected, a cage. ”

“ Herndon protested. "Who is that?"
"It rotates from month to month. I hold them this month," Benjin said. "Next month it is Oversk's turn."
Herndon paced agitatedly up and down in the darkened room. It was a tempting offer; five thousand a month could allow him to live on high scales. And Oversk was the brother of Lord Moaris, who was known to be the Seigneur's confidante.
And Lord Moaris' lady controlled Lord Moaris. Herndon saw a pattern taking shape, a pattern that ultimately would put the Seigneur Krellig within his reach. ”

“ Herndon knew that Brennt would probably notify Mardlin that the game was up immediately, so the Vonnimooro could attempt to get away. Herndon was not particularly worried about Mardlin escaping, since he had a weapon that would work on the jackal-creature at any distance whatever.
But he had sworn an oath to safeguard the combine's interests, and Herndon was a man of his oath. Mardlin was in possession of thirty-nine starstones for which the combine had paid. He did not want the Vonnimooro to take those with him. ”

“ Transfer of fealty was a common thing. By the terms of Benjin's agreement, Herndon now was a sworn vassal of the Seigneur.
If he killed Krellig, that would violate his bond. If he served the Seigneur in all faith, he would break trust with himself and leave home and parents unavenged. It was an impossible dilemma. He quivered with the strain of resolving it.
"The spacerogue doesn't look happy about the deal," Oversk commented. "Or are you sick, Herndon?"
"I'm all right," Herndon said stonily. "It's the cold outside, that's all. Chills a man." ”

“ Benjin said, "A consignment of starstones has been mined for us on our source-world, and is soon to be shipped. We want you to travel to that world and accompany the shipment through space to Borlaam. We lose much by way of thievery on each shipment—and there is no way of insuring starstones against loss."
"We know who our thief is," Oversk said. "You would be responsible for finding him in the act and killing him."
"I'm not a murderer," Herndon said quietly.
"You wear the garb of a spacerogue. That doesn't speak of a very high moral caliber," Oversk said. ”

“ Benjin agreed. "You're a valuable man, and we have the money to spare."
He handed over a draft for ten thousand stellors. Herndon thanked him gravely, promised to contact him when it was time for him to make the journey to Vyapore and left.
That night he departed for Meld XVII, where he sought out the surgeon who had altered his features after his flight from sacked Zonnigog. He requested certain internal modifications. The surgeon was reluctant, saying the operation was a risky one, very difficult, and entailed a fifty per cent chance of total failure, but Herndon was stubborn. ”

“ Heitman Oversk said, "Our trade is to bring starstones in from the Rim worlds where they are mined, and sell them to those who can afford our price. The price, incidentally, is fifty thousand stellors. We pay eight thousand for them, and are responsible for shipping them ourselves. We need a supervisor to control the flow of starstones from our source-world to Borlaam. ”