contact him; communications in that system are deliberately kept primitive."
"If I may be so bold, Mr. Brimstone, how does one go about enlisting this individual for his services?"
"That's a very good question, Barsoom. He didn't charge me anything, though I must admit that he and I did not part on the best of terms. He may require some convincing."
The last was a bit of an understatement. Brimstone had not only lied to Caleb Jordan about the mission that the Brotherhood needed him for, he had almost gotten Jordan and his wife, Hanna, killed. In fact both of the Jordans had wound up escaping from Brimstone's group and their support had been vital for the success of the Federation Naval counterattack during the "Scrapyard Incident" in the New Ceylon system.
"And what about the location of the weapons?" asked the Sheik.
Brimstone paused for another long moment before replying. "There is also the matter of the ten thousand credits that you claim must be repaid," he said.
The Sheik took a long moment to make sure he had control of his anger before replying. "I am prepared to forgive the debt as well," he said through clenched teeth, "as long as you provide the information I need."
"Very good!" said Brimstone. " The answer is simple, there is a wrecked Succession War cruiser on one of the moons in the Heard's World system. Caleb Jordan knows where to find it. He helped us dismount and install weapons from that ship onto our cargo vessels."
"Ah yes," said the Sheik. "We have heard rumors of a wrecked ship."
" The rumors are true," said Brimstone. "There is one more thing, something you may find useful."
"And that would be...?"
"Jordan seldom goes anywhere without his wife, Hanna," said Brimstone, "and she is actually a very competent medic."
"A medic you say?" said the Sheik. "Perhaps that could be useful."
"Was there anything else?" asked Brimstone.
"Not for the moment," said the Sheik. " Consider yourself very fortunate, Mr. Brimstone. I am not one who forgives easily. If we find this Jordan and get access to the weapons we need, then you and I are even. Perhaps we shall meet again?"
"I look forward to it," said Brimstone with a slight bow. "Until then , Brimstone out."
The Sheik of Barsoom , along with his yacht and his disabled destroyer, set course for the Heard's World Star System. They anticipated little difficulty in finding the planet and the village where their quarry lived. The hard part would be figuring out a way to get Caleb Jordan to help them.
Perhaps a little leverage of some kind would provide the necessary incentive?
***
Somewhere on the Santana Nexus Station , December 1, 2598.
Ezra Hellfire Brimstone, aka Lester Dobbins, came away from his conversation with the Sheik of Barsoom feeling a great deal better than he had for several weeks. Contact with Brimstone, initiated by the Sheik himself, meant that maybe, just maybe, the Sheik was no longer actively hunting him down. That still left the United Terran Federation Navy looking for him but even a modest easement of the pressure on him was most welcome.
Brimstone and his remaining cadre of cronies had been l ying low, easily blending in with the huge population of the Santana Nexus, but that didn't mean that they hadn't been keeping up with current events. Hell was breaking loose all over the Quadrant as pent up angers and frustrations boiled over and just about every malcontent with an axe to grind decided the time was ripe to make some kind of a move. What Brimstone hadn't figured out yet was whether he should ally himself and his remaining men with some other faction or just look for someone who would give him the most credits for the valuable and unique merchandise he had on hand.
During his nearly successful attempt to take the Meridian Ambassador hostage, Brimstone and his group had managed to get their hands on two stolen cargo ships, arm these same ships with extremely powerful beam weapons salvaged from the wreck of the old
"If I may be so bold, Mr. Brimstone, how does one go about enlisting this individual for his services?"
"That's a very good question, Barsoom. He didn't charge me anything, though I must admit that he and I did not part on the best of terms. He may require some convincing."
The last was a bit of an understatement. Brimstone had not only lied to Caleb Jordan about the mission that the Brotherhood needed him for, he had almost gotten Jordan and his wife, Hanna, killed. In fact both of the Jordans had wound up escaping from Brimstone's group and their support had been vital for the success of the Federation Naval counterattack during the "Scrapyard Incident" in the New Ceylon system.
"And what about the location of the weapons?" asked the Sheik.
Brimstone paused for another long moment before replying. "There is also the matter of the ten thousand credits that you claim must be repaid," he said.
The Sheik took a long moment to make sure he had control of his anger before replying. "I am prepared to forgive the debt as well," he said through clenched teeth, "as long as you provide the information I need."
"Very good!" said Brimstone. " The answer is simple, there is a wrecked Succession War cruiser on one of the moons in the Heard's World system. Caleb Jordan knows where to find it. He helped us dismount and install weapons from that ship onto our cargo vessels."
"Ah yes," said the Sheik. "We have heard rumors of a wrecked ship."
" The rumors are true," said Brimstone. "There is one more thing, something you may find useful."
"And that would be...?"
"Jordan seldom goes anywhere without his wife, Hanna," said Brimstone, "and she is actually a very competent medic."
"A medic you say?" said the Sheik. "Perhaps that could be useful."
"Was there anything else?" asked Brimstone.
"Not for the moment," said the Sheik. " Consider yourself very fortunate, Mr. Brimstone. I am not one who forgives easily. If we find this Jordan and get access to the weapons we need, then you and I are even. Perhaps we shall meet again?"
"I look forward to it," said Brimstone with a slight bow. "Until then , Brimstone out."
The Sheik of Barsoom , along with his yacht and his disabled destroyer, set course for the Heard's World Star System. They anticipated little difficulty in finding the planet and the village where their quarry lived. The hard part would be figuring out a way to get Caleb Jordan to help them.
Perhaps a little leverage of some kind would provide the necessary incentive?
***
Somewhere on the Santana Nexus Station , December 1, 2598.
Ezra Hellfire Brimstone, aka Lester Dobbins, came away from his conversation with the Sheik of Barsoom feeling a great deal better than he had for several weeks. Contact with Brimstone, initiated by the Sheik himself, meant that maybe, just maybe, the Sheik was no longer actively hunting him down. That still left the United Terran Federation Navy looking for him but even a modest easement of the pressure on him was most welcome.
Brimstone and his remaining cadre of cronies had been l ying low, easily blending in with the huge population of the Santana Nexus, but that didn't mean that they hadn't been keeping up with current events. Hell was breaking loose all over the Quadrant as pent up angers and frustrations boiled over and just about every malcontent with an axe to grind decided the time was ripe to make some kind of a move. What Brimstone hadn't figured out yet was whether he should ally himself and his remaining men with some other faction or just look for someone who would give him the most credits for the valuable and unique merchandise he had on hand.
During his nearly successful attempt to take the Meridian Ambassador hostage, Brimstone and his group had managed to get their hands on two stolen cargo ships, arm these same ships with extremely powerful beam weapons salvaged from the wreck of the old
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