Return to Bermudas Index
by wordboy
APPARITARUS – A COMMERCE PLANET
“Your male is coming.”
Aeryn turned quickly, hoping that Tianza’s hologram form didn’t notice the floor panels she had managed to pry up. “Really,” she said, hoping she sounded relaxed. “I thought you said he was going to be dead within a day.”
“A day hasn’t past yet. Rest assured; Crichton may arrive here in a transport pod, but he’ll leave with the garbage.”
“John would probably say you’re sounding overly melodramatic, whatever the frell that means. So he’s on his way?”
Tianza nodded. “Yes. He said he had something he wanted to offer as a trade for you. He called it the One Ring of Power. Can you tell me anything about it?”
Even as she tried to keep her face neutral, Aeryn’s mind began to race. One Ring of Power? John, what are you doing? “I think he mentioned it once when he first arrived here from his world. He never mentioned how he came to possess such a powerful artifact. He did keep it with him at all times.”
“Have you seen it?”
“Once, two cycles ago. It wasn’t much to look at. Gold, I think.”
Tianza nodded. “I see. You must be important to him, if he’s willing to trade this Ring for you.”
Aeryn shrugged. “John doesn’t always think with his head.”
Tianza looked to one side and seemed to listen to something only he could hear. He nodded and turned back to Aeryn. “He’s here. If you’re lucky, maybe I’ll let you witness his execution.”
As Tianza’s hologram faded, Aeryn said, “I’ll be counting the microts.” Quickly, Aeryn turned back to the floor panels she had been working on.
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The first thing John noticed when he stepped into the chamber was that it was hot.
He felt sweat begin to bead on his forehead as he paced around the plainly furnished room that looked to be the size of a banquet hall. “Man, it’s like an oven in here.” John turned back toward the door, where Ixa quietly stood. “He always keep it this hot? Sebaceans can’t handle high temperatures.”
As Ixa nodded, Tianza’s voice came from a far corner. “I prefer the higher temperatures. At any rate, the temperature would have to climb much higher for the Living Death to set in.”
John turned. A panel had slid aside, revealing a darkened room. Beyond the door stood Tianza. Even though he tried not to react, John couldn’t keep from wincing when he saw the scarred side of Tianza’s face. “Twelve cycles ago, I was in an accident on a commercial transport. It crashed while on approach to Apparitarus’s main field. I was one of the few survivors. I found myself horribly scarred and shunned by society.”
“Ah, life in high society. It’s all so superficial.”
“Indeed.” Tianza looked at Ixa. “Still trying to take my property, Ixa?”
“I just want what’s mine,” she said.
The living side of Tianza’s face smiled. “Of course. Why don’t we step into my office so we can negotiate in comfort?”
John didn’t move. “I want to make sure Aeryn’s all right.”
“Don’t you trust me, Crichton?”
“I haven’t trusted anyone since the Carter administration.”
Tianza nodded slowly. “Yes, of course. At the moment, she’s trying to rip up the floorboards in a pointless attempt at escape. She’ll soon find that it’s a waste of her time.” He stepped into the office, and John could see him tapping something on a desk.
With a quiet hum, part of the ceiling began to lower. What looked like a large box, the size of an average hotel room, dropped down, though John couldn’t see what was lowering the box. He stopped wondering about it as soon as he saw the clear walls, furniture and Aeryn wearing nothing more than a sheet.
“You sick son of a bitch,” he whispered.
“Careful, Crichton. It’s not good to insult someone you’re going to negotiate with. If you’ll follow me?”
Shaking his head, John walked up to the cage. Aeryn was saying something, but no sound escaped the box. “I want to talk to her. In private. Or, as much privacy as a bugged room can have.”
John turned back to Ixa. “Go back to the transport pod. Get some of Aeryn’s clothes, her pulse pistol and her comm.” Ixa hesitated for a microt, then nodded and left the room.
Tianza tapped more instructions into his desk. A narrow door opened in one side of the box. John threw an angry look toward Tianza and stepped in. “Are you all right, Aeryn?”
“You mean aside from being treated like a prize Tronkan shrill singer? Oh fine. I was just contemplating the way you constantly get me into trouble without even trying.”
“It’s a knack. By the way, Tianza knows you’re trying to get through the floor. According to him, it’s pointless.”
“I hope you won’t be too upset if I keep trying. Unless this plan of yours by some miracle actually works.” In response to John’s questioning look, Aeryn said, “Tianza told me you were coming to trade something called the One Ring of Power for my freedom. If this fails, I assume you have a back-up?”
“Actually, Aeryn, I’m just wingin’ it. Keep working on the floor. One way or another, this’ll be over soon and we’ll be back on Talyn in time for cappuccino.” He kissed her once and held her close. “Although, I have to say, this is a good look for you.” Aeryn jabbed him once in the stomach. “Right. One thing at a time.” John kissed her again and stepped out of the cage. The door closed up almost immediately.
“Now, Crichton, if you’ll step into my office.” John glanced again at Aeryn, then stepped into Tianza’s office.
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Ixa checked the satchel one last time, making sure she had everything John had asked for. She quickly looked around the inside of the transport pod, hoping to find something that neither John nor Aeryn would miss. Seeing nothing that attracted her attention, Ixa sighed and started out of the pod.
At the base of the ramp, Ixa saw the large, hulking form of a Sheyang. “What the frell do you want, Tirim’bella?”
“I am making sure Master Tianza’s interests are protected. I am, after all, the only law in this system.” Tirim’bella glanced at the satchel. “What is that?”
“Clothes, a pulse pistol and a comm. Apparently, Crichton thinks he’s going to out-maneuver Tianza.”
“Foolish of him. And you? He doesn’t suspect you?”
“No, I don’t think so. He still thinks I’m helping him in order to get my own property back.”
Tirim’bella nodded and took a step closer to Ixa. “Do not forget your place, little one. I would not hesitate should you decide to actually help Crichton.” To drive home his point, the Sheyang raised his head, inhaled deeply and let fly a fireball that detonated against the ceiling of the hanger. “Remember, I do not need a weapon to kill you.”
“I don’t forget anything, Sheyang. Don’t you forget that it was your muscle that failed to kill Crichton the first time around.”
“That is none of your concern, Ixa. At any rate, Somrela killed Treslen, and Somrela himself has been dealt with. Just remember your role.” Tirim’bella turned slowly and began to shuffle away.
Ixa watched the Sheyang for a microt then started for the elevators, shaking her head and muttering under her breath.
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Tianza waved John to a chair and slipped behind his desk. “Please tell me more about the history of this Ring you’re offering.”
John watched Tianza for a moment, getting his thoughts together. “In the past, no one’s sure how long ago, nineteen rings were created and given to the three major races. Three were given to the Elves, seven were given to the Dwarves, and nine were given to the Men. This ring was later created to control them all.”
“Did it work? Were the others controlled?”
“For a time. There was a great war to overthrow the warlord who owned this ring. Through one last, desperate act, the warlord was overthrown. It’s been passed down through the generations until it reached my family. My cousin, Bilbo, passed it on to me. I was on my way to pass it on to another cousin, Frodo, when I accidentally entered a wormhole and ended up here.”
“I see. May I see it?”
Slowly, John reached into a pocket of his black duster and took out a small, unadorned box. He opened it carefully and handed it to Tianza. He half expected the dejected look on the Sebacean’s face. “This is it?”
“I told you it was beautiful in its simplicity. Think of it; that ring can give you control over the entire population of the planet Earth. With that kind of power, anything else would be ostentatious.”
“I suppose it would.” Tianza lifted the ring from the box and examined it closely. “What are these markings?”
“That’s an older form of the Elven language.” Or at least as close as a series of random curlicues can be, John thought. “It says, ‘One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.’ It’s the language of Mordor, where the ring was forged.”
Tianza nodded and continued to examine the ring. “Would you mind if I had my labs examine the ring?”
“You won’t pick anything up. The ring has a will of its own. If it wants to look like an ordinary gold band, then that’s all you’re scientists are going to find.”
“The ring is sentient?”
“Let’s just say it knows what it wants and it knows how to get it. But go ahead, feel free to have your people study it.”
Tianza stood and started for the door. “Please help yourself to the bar. I won’t be long.”
John watched him leave, then leaned over and started out the door. Where the hell is Ixa? As soon as Tianza’s people figure out that the ring was made last night, this whole things gonna go south. I need to get Aeryn out of that goldfish bowl before…
The sound of another door opening followed by heavy footsteps and heavier breathing cut off his train of thought. In the cage, John could see Aeryn frantically waving her hands and pointing at him. Slowly, he turned and saw a Sheyang entering the office through another door.
John stood slowly, and his hand drifted to his pulse pistol. “Oh, hi. Are you here to entertain me while I wait for Tianza to come back?”
“No. I am Tirim’bella. I am the law in this system. And since my two operatives failed in their task, I am here to kill you.” The Sheyang inhaled and released a fireball in John’s direction.
John dove out of the way. As the fireball exploded against the wall, he muttered, “Why can’t anything ever be easy?”
