Escaping the Hychen Cloud, Earl made his way to planet Ragoult where, again without money and always needing to keep moving
to avoid the Cyclan, he signed up as a mercenary. He fought on the losing side on Hoghan and was captured. Major Kan Lofoten, who interrogated him,
apparently knew the Cyclan would pay well to obtain Earl, but offered Earl an escape if he helped in a little organized looting.
Lofoten's partner in crime was a high level, auburn-haired courtesan name Dephine who apparently started life in a powerful family on a distant world but had taken to traveling and fallen on hard times.The job was looting a warehouse of valuables stored for safekeeping by locals. Earl and Dephine made a plan, and Earl went to the warehouse disguised as an officer. He loaded most of crates on the Verden, the ship they had chosen. They were joined by Lofoten who sought to renege and betray them. Earl deftly put Lofoten off the ship and into the vengeful hands of the comrades he had tried to cheat, and the Verden took off. The crates contained some valuables, jewelry mostly, but were largely just bodies of Chelha plague victims. Infected, the crew and passengers began to sicken and die. Finally Earl fell ill, but miraculously, Dephine was immune to Chelha and used fluid from blisters she burned on her thighs to provide antibodies for Earl during the crisis (OK I am not positive that would work but this is outer space after all). Captain Remille of the Verden had programmed the ship to reach Shallah and there Dephine used some of the loot for Earl's cure.
In return, she demanded that Earl take her to her home world Emijar. When young, she had apparently left under dishonourable circumstances and she needed a champion protect her when she returned. Grateful for her having saved him (and they were already lovers), Earl agreed. When they arrived, they were met by an elder of their house, Dephine’s uncle, Hendaza de Monterale Keturah (this was also Dephine’s surname). He was very polite to Earl and apparently both affectionate toward and concerned for Dephine (she had been lively but had had a bit of an antisocial streak since childhood). Hendaza also introduced Earl to Navalok, his nephew, crippled on an outing with his father – his father had died. Navalok should have been in line for
capo of the
familia but his injury made it unlikely that he would ever manage the
rite of passage – killing and bringing to the family temple the carcass of a vicious creature called an olcept. When one had killed an olcept, one won the right to wear a gun and without a gun one could not duel and by extension defend one’s honor as a man. (Women apparently dueled also though they could take champions and did not need to win olcept trophies.)
Navalok, seemingly excluded from participating in it by fate, was infatuated with the history of the cult of honor and took Earl into the Keturah temple showing him various ancient relics. Earl realized they might contain scraps on information about Earth. Navalok told Earl of an even more ancient temple, one he and his father had found the day of his accident.
Meanwhile, Dephine, who did not like Earl’s new interest in Navalok, had been challenged by an old rejected suitor, Glabana, and called on Earl to act her champion in a duel to death with bare hands. Glabanna was very good and almost defeated Earl but just when Earl had gotten the upper hand, Dephine killed Glabanna with a dart that only Earl was aware of. Suspicious (and having kept his promise to Dephine) Earl began to make arrangements with a Hausi merchant for his passage and arranged with Navalok to teach him to shoot in exchange for and as cover for a trip to the old temple.
They found the old temple in a cave in the mountains and Earl found there the spectrum of Sol, earth’s sun, on a diffraction grating. He took it and left the cave to find Navalok attacked by an olcept. Navalok was knocked unconscious and Earl with great difficulty, killed the beast. He woke Navalok, told him Navalok had killed it with a fortunate shot and he and Navalok brought it to the Keturah temple, Navalok attained adulthood, honor and status and Earl prepared to leave. Dephine sought to prevent him and Earl discovered she had learned of his secret, Kalin’s symbiotes, and had sold him to the Cyclan. The Cyclan were delayed so Dephine used Lekhard, a sadistic, jealous young Keturah to hold Earl. Earl killed him and Lekhard’s stray shot killed Dephine. Navalok took Earl to the spaceport and Earl continued his search for Earth.
This appears to be the first time Earl worked as a mercenary. He obviously had long been familiar with mercenary practices: he successfully impersonated a Samallian mercenary commander during the war on Chard (Zenya). And he did learn martial arts from Hsi Wei (Child of Earth) after the death of captain Deralta who had raised him.