was ten years out of date and well worn, though clean.
In all, Cale assessed him as being from a rural or frontier area or planet, forced to come to Angeles City for unknown reasons, and possibly stranded here, short of funds.
'So,' Dee asked once they were seated, 'Do you get to Angeles often?'
Zant shook his head. 'Nope. First time. And maybe my last.'
'You don't like it?'
He shrugged. 'Angeles City's a nice enough town, if you have crowns. It's not nearly as nice if you're broke.'
Having just eaten, they just ordered drinks while they introduced themselves and expressed their appreciation. Zant just shrugged it off. “People need help, ya help ‘em,” he said. “Least, that’s how we feel on Selfa.”
As they chatted, Cale began to notice how Zant’s eyes followed the trays of food going by. He insisted on ordering the man a sizable dinner, despite his rather weak protests. “You’re hungry. ‘People need help, you help ‘em’” he mimicked Zant’s tone.
The big man laughed aloud. “I reckon things are gettin’ a leetle tight right now,”
Cale grinned. 'I sense a story.'
Zant shrugged and grinned. 'Nothing too uncommon. I wander around a lot. About eight years ago, I landed on Selfa. The whole planet is mostly a thick forest of giant trees that pretty much covers everything except the poles and a dozen or so small seas. The early settlers were the kinds of ne’er do wells that try to stay well ahead of civilization. We were a frontier, with just a few woods rats and fur hunters, an’ a small settlement that wasn’t much more than a few small shops, tradin’ posts, bars, an’ whorehouses for the boys to cut loose.
'But then city dwellers started takin’ control of more and more planets in the sector, an’ pushin’ the folks that liked open territory out. When Diego and Sanfran began seizing farms and ranches and giving 'em to slum dwellers they were forcin’ out of the cities, a lot of the rural people got together and chartered ships to take ‘em elsewhere; and Selfa looked pretty empty.
“Well, when all these civilized folks started comin’, some o’ the boys lit out and others did the hermit thing, but most of us liked a little civilization, not to mention havin’ honest-to-god women around. After awhile, though, they started growin' towns, and the towns became cities. Well, one city. But it was enough to bring the city dwellers, with their laws an' taxes.'
Zant paused while his dinner was delivered. He immediately dug in, continuing to talk around mouthfuls. 'Anyway,' he said, 'when they decided to put a tax on furs bein' sold to the free traders, me an' some of the boys figured it was time to cash in and move on. Six of us collected our years' take and chipped in for one ticket to Angeles. We figured that instead of sellin' our furs to one of the free traders and payin' them city dwellers a big percentage they hadn't earned, one of us would take the whole shebang to Angeles, direct to the importers. The take would be bigger without the traders gettin' their cut, an' we wouldn't have to pay them damned taxes on the sale. Then we would all have a stake to move on with.
'Well, we drew lots, an' I won. We were right, too. Even subtractin' out the cost of the ticket, the importers paid us almost twice as much as the traders ever did.
'But then I had a bad attack of stupid. I was leavin' the next day. I didn't plan to be here long enough to open a bank account, and some fella told me I shouldn't trust a hotel safe in Angeles. He said I should buy a money belt. That way my letter of credit couldn't go anywhere without me knowin' about it.'
Zant paused between bites for a massive sigh. 'Well,' he continued, 'I knew about it, all right. It got a little drunk out that night, but I knew it, kinda, when I got pushed into an alley and sapped. And I even knew it when that same fella's voice told somebody, 'he's got a money belt'. And I damn sure knew it when they took the damned thing, 'cause I tried to fight an' damn near got killed.
'Oh, everybody was real sympathetic, but there was always 'nothin' they could do'; and since my ticket home was in the money belt too, I couldn't even leave.' he frowned. 'I guess my partners think I skinned out with their shares. That hurts even worse than losing the credits.'
Cale and Dee commiserated with their new friend. He had been trying to sign on as crew on an outbound ship, but all his certifications were at least ten years old, and he wasn't having any luck.
They tried to press money on him, calling it a 'reward', but Zant's pride wouldn't let him accept it.
'I'd offer you a lift,' Cale said, 'but I really don't know where we're going.' He explained that once they were free to leave, he'd promised Dee to deliver her to any planet of her choice within two jumps. 'Actually, though, I've invited her to stay with me as long as she cares to, and offered to take her anywhere she wishes.'
Zant grinned. 'I can certainly understand that!' he said emphatically, causing Dee to blush to the roots of her hair. 'But where do you plan to head if she doesn't choose, or if you drop her off?'
Cale frowned. 'I'm not sure. I'll probably head for Ilocan. I have a home there. Or, at least I think I do.'
Zant said nothing, merely cocking an eyebrow. Cale felt his face warming. 'Well, I've been kind of buying a place by mail.' He explained the arrangement. 'Actually, though,' he concluded, 'I've never seen anything but holos. The place may not even exist.'
Dee clapped her hands. 'Let's go see!' she exclaimed excitedly.
But Zant's broad face had settled into a deep frown. 'Ilocan… Ilocan. I've heard something about Ilocan recently.'
Cale turned to him. 'What? What have you heard?'
'I'm not sure,' came the reply. 'But I don't think it was good news. It'll come to me.'
They resumed chatting. 'You surprise me, Captain,' Dee said. 'I've been thinking of you as some nomad of the spaceways, wandering aimlessly among the stars.'
Cale chuckled. 'I'm afraid very few people could afford to do that, even if they wanted to. Even in the glory days of the Empire, very few people had private yachts, and those that did have them were very rich. Provisioning, fueling, life support supplies, even air can be very expensive. Then there are docking fees, port fees, visa fees, servicing fees, air taxes and a thousand other things. It takes a lot of money to wander aimlessly among the stars.'
Her smile remained, but suddenly her eyes narrowed. 'But you do it,' she said. 'When I asked Tess where you were going next, she said you hadn't decided.'
Suddenly Zant was very attentive, though he said nothing.
Cale knew he had to be careful. He most emphatically did not want to lie to Dee, or to Zant, for that matter. Nevertheless, the wrong answer was very likely to come back to haunt him.
'Tess told you the truth, as she knew it,' he replied with a shrug. 'I had not yet made up my mind whether to go to Ilocan, or to pursue courier contracts and stay in space. But frankly, with all the pirate activity I've been hearing about, running high-value shipments suddenly doesn't seem so appealing.'
Zant nodded. 'I can understand that. But your ship's pretty fast, isn't it?'
'Yes, and she's armed,' Cale replied. 'But no matter how fast we are, sooner or later word would get out about a contract rich enough for them to find a way to mousetrap us.'
He turned to face Dee. 'I have dealt with all the pirates I ever hope to meet,' he continued. 'If I never see another pirate, I will be perfectly happy. Could I live as a groundhog? You had better believe it. I have no intention of becoming some kind of Flying Dutchman, endlessly cruising the stars.'
'What's a 'dutchman'?' Zant asked.
Cale shrugged, relieved at the distraction. 'Damned if I know. It's an old story, supposed to even predate spaceflight. This 'dutchman' was captain of a wind-powered ship making a difficult passage. During a terrible storm, he cursed God and swore he'd make the passage if it took forever. Supposedly he's still trying.'
Dee shuddered. 'We have wind-powered ships on Faith. We also have a lot of sailing stories. I think I may have heard one like that.'
'I wouldn't be surprised,' Zant replied. 'Legends tend to get around.'
'At any rate,' Cale said, 'I have no desire to emulate him, no matter what a 'dutchman' is!'
The next morning, Cale received a call from Sana Archuk, the investigator for the pirate case, asking him and Dee to come to his office.
The investigator welcomed them with a grin and a friendly wave. After seating them and offering refreshment, he said, “You had a bit of trouble last evening,” It was a statement, not a question.
Cale frowned. “Then you haven’t heard from S amp;R?”
