Manutaai was feeling very pleased with himself, but knew time was against him.
Talokta was no fool, and Manutaai was not going to take any more chances than was necessary. He knew if he got caught, he would either be flayed alive, executed, or worse, sent to the dreaded mines. He had never planned to betray Talokta, but at the same token, he had a feeling in the back of his mind he was being used. One detail made him come to that conclusion. Now that he had been exposed to Kate Willard, it would look more than strange for him to be inside Kalvich’s elite circle after being tied up in the Cantal rebellion for so long. That got him nervous. But he realized the answer to his problem lay with the stone she had so trustingly given him. He saw freedom, freedom from taking orders forever. Spending time with the Cantals gave him extensive knowledge of hiding places he could head to and keep out of trouble. Plus he saw an opportunity to get rid of Sataal whom he had an obsessive jealous hatred for and perhaps even turn two Trimadian masters against each other.
His plan to get away from Talokta and hitch a ride was devilishly simple.
As soon as he reached the Cantal’s camp, he sent his coded message on a disused frequency via his com ring, knowing it would not be picked up by the Sotoid ship’s sensors. It was nothing short of ingenious.
He had kept the message succinct, “Two gifts in exchange for your original bounty. One is the Lae Tu, the other, a small but deadly weapon, let’s say, will give great leverage over virtually any enemy including all other masters. Please respond.”
The respondent, the Empyream’s fleet leader Lord Marone was delighted and promised him that the original bounty, including a small ship, would be all his once Sataal was delivered, alive of course. He told Manutaai he would make sure one of his ships would be close by and as a form of distraction, he would demand Talokta hand Sataal over, that he would deliver the Lae Tu to Kalvich himself. After all, Sataal was part of his fleet.
Now, under normal circumstances, handing over the ex Empyream scientist was the honorable unwritten law between Trimadian masters. But Marone, knowing Talokta and his ego, would naturally refuse. Marone would ensure a confrontation would take place allowing for Manutaai to kidnap Sataal and hightail it to his ship. What Manutaai also asked in return was a ride to Malontide, a city on the planet Zhesta in the far reaches of the Quelain Galaxy. Though Zhesta was in the same galaxy as Ahmadeus, the ship awarded to Manutaai was only designed for short range trips. Marone had no problem with that.
The city of Malontide was an exciting, dangerous playground for the decadent and extremely rich. Alongside that, it also shared a dark, dangerous reputation for underworld black market type wheeling and dealing amongst the unscrupulous, which also included the decadent and extremely rich. Manutaai had ties there and could keep his head down until things cooled off. Being in possession of a Zymergy powered ship filled with Zimmies would have the dealers at his mercy. He was secretly addicted to Zimmies and luckily, Talokta’s elixir that cloaked his Cathexistome, which had almost dissipated, had kept his cravings to a minimum. It was imperative to get off this ship ASAP.
Manutaai grinned. He would be rid of Sataal and get a little something for his trouble and taste true freedom.
Under normal circumstances, the ring he used would have a designated triangle symbol stating which Trimadian fleet the operator belonged to. On any covert mission, the ring was plain so as not to arouse suspicion if found by an enemy. In Manutaai’s case, it was only designed to signal Talokta’s domain ship, but he had modified it so he could contact anyone he wanted. Sataal did not have all the brains!
When he was back on board Talokta’s ship, the ring would be simply readjusted back to its original settings, and he would return it to the ship’s communications center, as being standard protocol.
All his plans were water tight, except for the fact Marone had not shown up.
Manutaai was debating whether or not to use the ring again before the Communications Center got suspicious. Telling them he had lost the ring would not look good.
“Must stay focused,” Manutaai said to himself as he packed a small knapsack. He looked in the side pocket, just to make sure the stone was there. The last hour or so, it had glowed various colors. He did not like it.