“Really?” Gotu said slowly, but already he could see Björn stiffen. “How much different are they?”
“Their skin is black across their entire bodies, even the eyes. And they have several pupils that move constantly,” the Sorvani said, and Gotu knew who they were. The third descendant race of Axull Darr. His eyes were the same, or rather, his secondary eyelids were. He didn’t have them closed now, as he didn’t need them, so his eyes looked similar to those of a human—a single pupil and iris.
“We are not aware of any other race that looks like us. We were very surprised when we encountered each other,” Björn interjected. “What is the name of this race?”
“They are called the Shara Daim,” the Sorvani answered.
“Are there any here? We would be very much interested in talking to them; our scientists have several theories about why humans and Nel look so much alike. They might provide more insight into the topic,” Gotu suggested.
“No, the Shara Daim do not do trade with the Erasi in this sector. They rarely interact with most races peacefully, and only tolerate others if they are strong,” the alien on the left said.
“We would be interested in anything you can share about them,” Björn persisted.
“There is some data on them on the net, but if you want to know more, you will need to purchase that information,” the Ssarath said.
“Of course,” Gotu said.
“Now, if you will follow me, we will take you to the information center, where we will make a record of your people,” the Sorvani said as it gestured towards the hallway leading deeper into the station.
Veritas
“Shara Daim?” Adrian asked.
“Yes, Lord Sentinel,” Björn answered.
“And how sure are you that they are the third race?” Adrian asked.
“Very,” Gotu answered. “We checked the net and got images. There is no doubt. They have the same features that the both the Nel and humans inherited from the People.”
“Do we know anything else about them?” Adrian asked.
“The public nets don’t have comprehensive data; we would need to go to an information broker for more in-depth data. But we know that their territory is some seven hundred light years from here, that they hold a large area of territory, almost the size of the Erasi, and that other races stay out of their way,” Björn answered.
“So we have finally found our last siblings,” Adrian commented.
“Should we try and make contact?” Aileen asked.
“Yes, but not yet. We need to let the Emperor know, and let him decide when and how to approach them. In the meantime, we have a different task: finding the Ra’a’zani,” Adrian said. “Any news on that front?”
“Sadly, no. There is no mention of them in the net. But the net holds information only about races that have dealings with the Erasi. Our best bet is to deal with the information brokers,” Björn said. “The only problem is getting to them. They don’t just allow anyone to come and seek information. You need to either pay an incredible amount, or have something to offer them in return.”
“Hm… I think that we need to learn a bit more about how things work here,” Adrian said, a plan forming in his mind. He turned to look at Gotu. “Do we know where we are most likely to get what we need?”
“There are several information-dealing brokers. Most contend with matters inside the Erasi and concerning their trading partners. The ones that would be able to help us are those large enough to have nets all over, and who look beyond the Erasi borders, which means we need to go to the largest information brokers. On Tarabat, that means Loksi Corporation; they are the largest in this system. But I doubt that the funds we’ll get from what we sell will be enough to get us inside.”
“Then we will need to improvise,” Adrian said. “For when did you schedule the meetings with the trading guilds?”
“We are scheduled to meet at their guild in about four hours,” Gotu said.
“Then that is our next move. We get funds, then we will start setting up connections. See if there is something we can offer them that will get us enough funds to get an audience with the brokers. If not, we will need to grab their attention in other ways,” Adrian said.
“As you say, Lord Sentinel. Björn and I will go down to the planet and set everything up,” Gotu said.
“Aileen and I will accompany you,” Adrian added.
“Uh… Lord Sentinel, I don’t think that would be wise,” Björn said slowly.
“I don’t need to be protected, Björn, and neither does Aileen. If anything, we will be protecting you. I want to see how things work down there with my own eyes. In the future, this will be the job that Sentinels will carry out. And we were given five translators, right? We have enough for the four of us and one for study,” Adrian said.
Gotu, knowing that there wasn’t anything he could say to change Adrian’s mind, agreed. “As you wish, Lord Sentinel.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Tarabat
Aileen walked down the streets of an alien world. All around her walked strange creatures, and her senses of smell and sound were bombarded with unfamiliar things. They were several levels above ground level, on streets connecting the buildings. Above them flew small shuttles or transport vehicles. It was a strange sight.
She wore her Sentinel suit, though not in the battle mode; she only had the plate over her chest and the leg parts. The rest of her was covered with her skin-suit. Beside her walked Björn wearing his Warpath suit, and in front of her were Adrian in his own Sentinel suit, his two wolions, and Gotu.
They had landed on the planet in a dropship—Adrian didn’t want to use the shuttle, as it wasn’t as armored—and their landing place was close to where they needed to be. And after a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at their destination.
“This should be it,” Gotu said.
As they approached the tall building, an alien standing in front of it noticed them.
“Ah, you must be the newcomers. Come, we have been expecting you,” it said. It glanced at the wolions but didn’t comment, and then it led them inside.
They were shown into a big room and asked to take seats on strange but useful chairs that had no backs and stood on five legs. The chairs would grow or shrink, depending on the need, in order accomodate the size of the person sitting on it. As they took their seats, the doors on the other side of the room opened and three new aliens entered. One was a Ssarath, and the other two Sorvani.
“Welcome. I am Trader Reshe. I will be conducting business with you today,” the Ssarath said.
“It is a pleasure meeting you, I am called Adrian. I hope that we can do some business today,” Adrian said.
“Your people said that you wish to trade? Materials for credits, yes?” Reshe said.
“That is correct,” Adrian said.
“I assume that you have brought a list of things you have available?”
Adrian glanced at Gotu, and he took out a small datachip from his pocket. The Erasi had provided them with the software that allowed them to convert Empire means of data storage to that of the Erasi, which used the same system based on zeros and ones, only in a different “language”.
Reshe took the small datachip, studied it for a moment, then placed it in a round box-like device that one of the Sorvani had placed on the table. After about a moment, data from the chip was read and it appeared above the table, translated into their language as a hologram, in a similar manner as what the Empire used.
Reshe studied the list for a few long minutes before speaking. “These materials are very common in here. I am afraid that they will not get you anything more than a couple hundred credits, at least in these quantities.”