MENTAL ESSENCE PAGE 51 |
Ventan and his associates made their way to the transports just
outside one of the doors in the room. They stepped over the bodies in their
way. "Clean up this mess," Ventan yelled from the doorway. Within a few minutes, Ventan was sitting in Hirets chair giving close examination to Trents link device. "This thing must have some kind of instruction book. Find it," Ventan commanded. Trent was searching for a method of contacting authorities, not under the influence of Ventan Siel, or his associates. Plus, the fastest way back to Loma Dena. Trent knew that once he made it to the outer most probe, he could accelerate to several hundred times light speed. The question was, how long would it take to find one given the distance they had travel inside the Great Corridor. Ventan and his empire might turn to dust in the time that might take. "Check the data base for the identification markings on it," Ventan said. as he handed the link box to one of his associates. "There is a lot of gold and some other metal coins back here," said one of Ventans associates. "If it looks valuable, pack it up. Get all these gadgets while you're at it. This technology is probably worth a more than anything else," Ventan said. "The info on this link case says it's a premium model," but nothing about Mr. Trent," said the associate. Ventan picked up the link case, and threw it against the wall. He then drew his weapon, and shot it several times. "Download as much info as you can from the main banks. Oh. Runter. See to it this transport has a fiery demise with a star. Make sure the military knows who's on it. You know the story," Ventan said to Runter. Ventan stormed out of the transport. "He's not to happy," said Runter. "The only time I've seen him happy, is when he's killing something," said one of the remaining thugs. "Something else. We've only been working for him for a year. What happened to whoever was here before us?" asked another. That question levied a profound silence. "How far and how fast can this thing go?" Runter asked. Runter and the others worked as fast as they could to get the transport up and, on its way, to anywhere. Ventan sat in his ship monitoring the progress of his band of thugs. As the ship was just outside the solar system, he pressed the on button which detonated a small device he had attached to main portal just above Hirets control panel. The resulting catastrophic reaction turned the ship into a large debris field. Ventan thought to himself, "So predictable. So very expendable." "Hello," said a crusty voice, "This is Ventan. Shut down all electronic information. I have a feeling we will be monitored from every direction. Beginning now," Ventan quickly disconnected with a tight grip on the communicator and clenched teeth. Ventan returned to his villa, and summand his legal representative. "Whatever this Mr. Trent is, it can apparently enter electronic systems. I suspect it will have alerted the local authorities. In which case there is nothing to worry about. If it went the military, I will be visited shortly by some very happy soldiers. Especially Lt. Boggs, he's been a thorn in my side for a long time," Ventan said as he finished a glass of some type of beverage containing something alive. "I'll get right on it. You should take an extended vacation," the legal representative said as she left dodging between the servants, some of whom had blood on the their clothing. "Mrs. Hidle. I will be leaving for a while. Keep these servants in line. If you have any problems, Mr. Ucknum will provide you with any assistance you may require. Oh, and gather up any of the help who may have seen this unfortunate activity, and send them to Mr. Ucknum." Ventan grabbed a bottle of liquor from the cabinet, and walked through door leading to the landing lot. Trent was making slow progress passing from electrical system to electrical system in search of the fastest way out of the Great Corridor. As he connected from device to device to grid, he picked up information on Ventan Siel and his net work of thieves, killers, and conartists. There was also a great deal of information on Ventans legal enterprises. The question for Trent was, why would someone with so much legal wealth be involved in anything illegal? Two years later, Trent connected to a Elwegian freighter with hyper light speed communication. The beam was small, and had a maximum transmission speed of only three times the speed of light. Still, it was a substantial improvement. It would be another two years before Trent connected to a Ree probe. It then took Trent only minutes to reach the lab making his physical body on Loma Dena. "I would like to speak to the being in charge please," Trent said over the speaker on the control panel. "I am Mr. Ebby. Who are you?" Mr. Ebby asked. "I am Trent. I am afraid I have brought serious news," Trent replied. "Trent? I thought you and the others were in some place called the Great Corridor. What do you mean by serious news?" Mr. Ebby asked. "Yes. We were in the Great Corridor. The serious news is for the relatives of Cree, Hiret, MB, Semma, and Emmer. Could you arrange a meeting with their next of kin?" asked Trent. "Next of kin? Are you saying they are dead?" asked Mr. Ebby. "I feel it is my duty to my friends to speak to their next of kin, and let the know the circumstances under which they died," Trent replied. |