Carinae Sector: 01 - Traders' Scourge - Part 3 - New Shores Read Online Free

frigate directly into the forming hyper space window. Omerio gave a sigh of relief before opening a communications line to talk to the strange alien ship.
    ‘Thank you for your assistance. Please know that I mean you no harm and value you assistance. So what race are you?’
    There was a moment's silence and Omerio was starting to consider the possibility that alien could turn on him now. However the strangely accented Barus voice again spoke through his speakers.
    ‘My name is Altarebe and you must not make a recording of my presence, as it will surely lead to the Vorinne killing you. I am an Ancient and I am the ship you see in front of you. I have been seeking others of my kind for many centuries via mutual friends. I wish only to repair my cloak and leave peacefully.’
    Omerio was stunned by what he had just heard and it showed in his reply to the ancient.
    ‘But your race is supposed to be extinct, at least in this galaxy. Also you are supposed to be dangerous to all vassal races and not be capable of being dealt with peacefully.’
    Polite amusement was evident as Altarebe replied.
    ‘Omerio, I admit our larger females can occasionally be quick to fight, not that I have seen any for many years. The rumors of our warlike nature are just an effort by the Zronte and Vorinne to describe us in a negative manner to their benefit. I myself was looking forward to an academic career before I started this search.’
    Omerio now considered the status of his own ship as he continued to speak with Altarebe.
    ‘I will need several days to repair the power conduit fault affecting my ship. Unfortunately the power conduit runs externally immediately forward of the third engine and I will have to make a space walk to repair the damage.’
    The speakers on his ship radio were silent for several seconds as Altarebe considered the information and scanned Omerio’s ship.
    ‘Omerio, I can do better than that, I will help you repair your conduit using my manipulators, as I can see the damaged locations. Can you ensure you drop all power to the conduit? Also can you tell me exactly why the Tilmud were seeking to destroy you?’
    In moments Omerio had the power conduit isolated and proceeded to tell Altarebe of his mission tracking the three Tilmud ships. He supplied navigation data of the course the three ships had taken, and the ancient asked several questions about any stops the three ships might have made. Altarebe then asked how Omerio happened to first discover the malicious actions of the Tilmud, and the Barus Trader had no hesitation with trusting the ancient as he replied.
    ‘Altarebe, I have direct knowledge that the Tilmud instigated Voorde infestation led to both a Jerecab lifter and a Trader ship being infested. The Jerecab ship was later destroyed, apparently by the Tilmud, and the Trader lifting wing landed on an ocean planet in an attempt to eliminate the Voorde.’
    Omerio was aware that the ancient’s efforts to fix his ship had stopped momentarily, before the voice in his speakers calmly spoke again.
    ‘It is a pity the Jerecab ship was destroyed, as they once showed so much promise so I am told. Now you are sure that the Trader ship is one of their heavy armed freighters with sneak ships? Also have you encountered any Maveen recently?’
    Omerio considered the question with interest as he gave a lengthy reply.
    ‘The Trader ship is indeed one of their massive armed lifting wings. I know nothing of any Maveen in this area of space. I was actually on my way to the Dradfer research mission to join other Barus ships to report the actions of the Tilmud ships before I then head to Earth. I surmise we will attempt to get the Traders to surrender as they have landed on a haven world populated by a race nearly ready for galactic contact. However there is a complication caused by one of our own research ships earlier.’
    After several further probing questions Altarebe was aware of the inadvertent epidemic unleashed by