Table of Contents

Chapter 1 New Old Friends

Chapter 2 A Ticket Home

Chapter 3 Catie’s Other Jobs

Chapter 4 Home Again

Chapter 5 Catching Up

Chapter 6 Having Fun

Chapter 7 Board Meeting – Jan 6th

Chapter 8 Mission Start

Chapter 9 The Games People Play

Chapter 10 Onisiwo

Chapter 11 Back to Work

Chapter 12 Aperanje

Chapter 13 Introductions

Chapter 14 Let’s Make a Deal

Chapter 15 Adding Pressure

Chapter 16 Sudden Death

Chapter 17 Go Home

Chapter 18 Conspiracy

Chapter 19 Sticky Wicket

Chapter 20 Forcing the Deal

Chapter 21 Cleaning Up

Chapter 22 Time to go

Chapter 23 The Mission Continues

Delphi Envoy

Delphi in Space

Book Fourteen

Bob Blanton

Delphi Publishing

Copyright © 2022 Robert D. Blanton

Cover by Momir Borocki

momir.borocki@gmail.com

All rights reserved.  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.  Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2020. 

This is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Chapter 1

New Old Friends

“Cer Catie, you were right,” ADI announced over the speakers in Catie’s room.  ADI was the Autonomous Digital Intelligence that provided most of the support for the board of MacKenzie Enterprises; she was also a board member.

“ADI, it’s four a.m., and I was asleep; couldn’t you have waited another hour before you woke me up?”

“No, I couldn’t; you told me to inform you as soon as I determined where the Aperanjen homeworld was.”

Catie sat up, completely awake now.  “Where is it?!”

“As you suggested, I searched through the Paraxean news logs for the years I was out of contact.  I found the announcement of the discovery of an alien civilization only twenty-one light-years away from Paraxea.  Its EM signature had been blocked by another star for three hundred years, so they were not aware of them until sixty-five years ago.”

“And?!”

“It is definitely the Aperanjen homeworld.  The videos the Paraxeans captured clearly show people with the Aperanjen physiology.”

“Why didn’t the Paraxeans tell us about them?”

“That, I do not know.”

“Did they try to contact them?”

“I would assume so, but I have no data on that.”

“Okay, send out a notice to the core board and talk to Daddy about setting up a meeting.  And don’t wake anyone up.”

“Of course I won’t.”

Emergency Meeting – Oct 19th

“We’ve figured out where the Aperanjen homeworld is,” Catie announced as the core members of the MacKenzie board convened for an emergency session.  The core members were the ones that had been with MacKenzies from the beginning; half of them were McCormacks, and the rest were like part of the family.

“Wow!” Liz said.  Liz was one of the naval officers for Delphi Forces and one of Catie’s best friends as well as her business partner.

“You could have included that in the summons,” Blake said, giving his niece, Catie, a harsh glare.

“But I wanted to see everyone’s reaction at the same time.  Besides, I didn’t want to have to field calls before the meeting.”

“Okay, settle down,” Marc said; Marc was Catie’s father and the CEO of MacKenzies.  “Now, please explain?”

“The Paraxeans know about the planet.  It’s inside Paraxea’s sphere, so we didn’t look there.  I don’t know why they didn’t tell us about it.  ADI didn’t have access to any official information; she had to search old news stories to find out.”

“Hmm, that’s interesting,” Samantha said.  She was Marc’s wife and chief lawyer for MacKenzie Enterprises; she was also the one Marc turned to when they needed someone with diplomatic tact.  “We’ll need to ask them why.”

“ADI has been looking into it.  ADI?”

“Based on my inquires, they sent a probe with a quantum relay and tried to establish contact with them sixty-five years ago; their probe reached the system twenty-five years ago.  The Aperanjens didn’t reply, so the Paraxeans just filed it away.”

“How far are they from Paraxea?”

“Twenty-one light-years.”

“What prompted you to have ADI search the Paraxean news feeds for the information?” Liz asked.

“Since we had covered all the areas where we had calculated the wormhole would have appeared, and they had to be close to the Aperanjen homeworld, it didn’t make sense that we hadn’t found them yet.  So, I thought it had to be someplace we weren’t looking.  We’ve avoided the Paraxean sphere, anywhere within twenty-five light-years of Paraxea, so it made sense it might be inside there.  And of course, the spot where the Fazullans attacked the Paraxean colony mission would be one of the areas where the wormhole would have appeared, and it was close to Paraxea.”

“Okay, we’ll need to plan a mission to Aperanje to open negotiations,” Marc said.

“And who’s going to lead this mission?” Blake asked, clearly indicating that he wasn’t interested.  He’d just finished a five-month show the flag tour of the planets in the Delphi League.

“Catie.”

“Who will take over for me here?”

“You’ll need to find a replacement.  Someone with a civilian view of the business.”

“Okay.”

“This will be interesting,” Marc said.  “We need to have a full board meeting to discuss how this will impact our plans.  We will also need to inform the Delphi League.  Sam, can you work with Catie and ask the Paraxeans why they didn’t tell us about the Aperanjens?  And find out why, once they knew about the Fazullan’s capture of the Aperanjen colony mission, they didn’t mention they knew about them.  We also need to put together a message to the Aperanjen colony on Raaqres announcing our find.”

“I can do that.  I assume you also want me to initiate contact with the Aperanjen homeworld.  Does anyone else want to participate?”

Samantha looked around the virtual table; the lack of enthusiasm echoed everyone’s attitude about avoiding anything diplomatic or political, so she assumed that Catie was all the help she’d get.  “Okay, Catie and I will let you know what we find out.”

◆ ◆ ◆

The inquiry to the Paraxeans came back with a simple statement.  Nobody involved in the Fazullan war had been aware of the Aperanjens since the news was twenty-five years old.  They had made several attempts to contact the Aperanjen world to no avail, so they had passed it off to a restricted department and generally ignored them.

Samantha’s notification to Raaqres, the world the Aperanjens they rescued from the Fazullans had settled, was responded to with an urgent request for a meeting before any attempt was made to contact their homeworld.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Hi, Maggie,” Catie greeted Ambassador Hannaford when she joined the call that Samantha had set up to talk to the governor of Raaqres.

“Hi, Catie.  You must be excited to have finally found Aperanje.”

“I am.  Is Rhino with you?”  Rhino was the Aperanjen who was one of the first freed from the Fazullans and was their ambassador to the Delphi League.

“He’s waiting outside.”

“Then bring him in.  ADI has just signaled that the governor is ready.”

Once Rhino joined Margaret, ADI connected Governor Faroot to the call.

“Hello, Catie, Ambassador Newman,” Rhino said.

“Are we ready to proceed?” Governor Faroot asked.

“Yes, as you know, we’ve found your homeworld.  We’re here to discuss how we should move forward,” Catie said.

“How can you be sure it is our homeworld?” the governor asked.

“That is the first thing we should address.  Here is a map of the surrounding stars.”  Catie put up the image of the stars as they would be seen from the system.

“That does look like home,” Rhino said.

“And here is the map of the star system where we think you were captured.”

“That is definitely it,” Rhino said.

“And here’s a snippet from a news broadcast from the planet.”  Catie linked in the short video clip, which clearly showed an Aperanjen talking to the camera.

“That leaves no doubt.”

“May I ask why it has taken so long?” Governor Faroot asked.  Catie wondered why he looked so peeved.  But of course, she wasn’t sure what a peeved Aperanjen looked like.

“Of course you may.  Your homeworld is just inside what we call the Paraxean sphere.  We ignore worlds within twenty-five light-years of any civilization we’re aware of since we wouldn’t want to interfere with the colonization of their local space.  Since we already knew about the Paraxeans, we just blocked that space out.”

“Wouldn’t that mean the Paraxeans must have known about our homeworld all this time?”  Governor Faroot asked.

“It does.  They learned of them about sixty-five years ago.  It took forty years to try to establish contact, and their overtures were rejected, so there was never any dialog.  The Paraxeans involved with the campaign at Onisiwo weren’t aware of them.”

“Weren’t you aware of the Paraxeans?” Samantha asked.  “Their EM signals from the communications systems on their planet should have reached Aperanje.”

“I recall some stir about another civilization when I was a child, but other than that and the fact that they bore some resemblance to us, I don’t recall much,” Governor Faroot said.

“I see,” Catie said.  “Now, back to the purpose of this meeting, we’ve sent a communication probe toward the planet.  We’re sending it from the Victory, so it should be there in three weeks.”

“Since you already must have a probe in the system, why do we have to wait?” Rhino asked.

“We have to send the probe deep into the system so we don’t want to use a solar explorer probe since it couldn’t get back out, and they’re so precious.  It will only cost us one week to wait for a communication probe,” Catie explained.  “And we probably should send a message before they detect it; otherwise, they might destroy it.  So, first contact will be in little over a week.”

“That makes sense,” Rhino said.

“Governor, you indicated that you wanted to be involved in the communication process,” Samantha said.

“That is correct.  Princess, now that we are assured that it is our homeworld, we will work on the messaging right away.  We’ll let you know when we’re ready,” Governor Faroot said; he had been directing everything he said to Catie, ignoring Rhino, Samantha, and Margaret.

“Okay,” Catie said, feeling like she’d just been brushed off.  “Governor, we need to send the message soon after our probe enters the system.  One week?”

“We’ll be in touch.  Now, good day,” the governor said as he closed his connection.

“Maggie, what’s wrong with him?” Catie asked Margaret, who had stayed on the call after Rhino left the room and the governor signed off.

“It is a lot for him to absorb.  He needs time to think everything through.  Not everyone can plan on the fly like you.  Just give him some time.”

“Okay, thanks, Maggie.  I’ll talk to you soon.”  Once Maggie left, Catie turned to Samantha, “How’s Allie?”

Samantha was a bit startled by the sudden change of topic.  “She’s doing fine; you just talked to her two days ago.”

“I know, but she’s changing so fast.”

“That’s normal for a two-year-old.  Now, do you have anything specific you think we should include in the first communication we send to the Aperanjens?”

“Not really.  I assume we’ll tell them about how we rescued their colony mission, that they’ve set up home on a new planet, give them background on the Delphi League, and ask if we can visit.”

“Why don’t you review the presentation we made to the Paraxeans when we persuaded them to join the League?  That will give you a good start on this presentation.  Once you have the input from the governor, you should be able to write up a draft.”

“Hey, I thought I was helping you,” Catie whined.

“You are, and putting together the presentation will be very helpful.”

◆ ◆ ◆

It was three days before Governor Faroot informed them that he was ready to finish the discussion.  Catie immediately set up a call.

“Governor,” Catie greeted the governor to open the meeting.  Margaret had brought Rhino with her, and Samantha had joined the call from Artemis.

“Princess, Ambassadors.”

“Governor, what are your thoughts on how we should proceed?” Catie asked.

“We would like to proceed on the basis that Raaqres is an independent planet and a member of the Delphi League.  We would like to establish relationships with Aperanje, but we don’t want to fall under their dominion in any way.”

Margaret smiled and winked at Catie before replying, “Then it seems that it would be best if Rhino represented your interest.  Having you directly involved with any communication would imply the meeting was more important than simply establishing contact.”

“That is my thinking as well.  Rhino will keep me informed, but our interests are limited.  We will explore things in more depth should they join the League.”

“Thank you, Governor.”

“Thank you, Princess.  Now I’ll leave you to it.”  With that, the governor left the call.

Rhino snorted.  “I think he was afraid that they would want to replace him.”

“He’s probably right,” Margaret said.  “Catie, Sam, what should we do next?”

“I’ve asked Catie to put together a communication package about the League.  First, we’ll inform them about our probe entering their system so they don’t blow it up.  Then, we’ll provide them with information about our rescue of their colony mission.  After that, we’ll mention that the Aperanjens from the mission have established a home on Raaqres, and we’ll suggest they let us know if they’re interested in further contact.”

“Sam, how do we avoid broadcasting the message to their whole world?” Margaret asked.

“Hmm, that’s a good point.  They might not want everyone and anyone to know too much at the beginning.”

“I believe both of the communication officers from our mission survived,” Rhino said.  “They should have an encryption code that we can use to secure the message.”

“How will that work?” Samantha asked.

“We can tell them the encryption we’re using on an open channel; only the government will know the old security codes that will allow them to decrypt it,” Rhino said.  “Let me send them a message; I’ll be back in a minute.” Rhino muted himself.

“Catie, are you ready with your package?”

“I have to make some changes based on Governor Faroot’s input,” Catie said with a sigh.  “We can review it now if you want; is it okay if Rhino is involved?”

“I think so.  I’m sure you aren’t including any secrets we don’t want him to know.”

“Of course not.”

Once Rhino rejoined the call, it took them another two hours with ADI’s help to review, make changes, and approve the communication package.

It was another day before Rhino got the encryption key.  He gave the key to ADI, and she encrypted the message and sent it off seconds later.  It would take six hours for the message to reach the Aperanjens, a relatively short time since it would take the probe another twelve days before it was close enough to the planet to allow for a normal conversation.

As it was, it took the Aperanjens eight days to respond to the message.  They demanded that the probe go into a parallel stellar orbit with the planet rather than make orbit around the planet.  They also demanded that it maintain a one-thousand-kilometer distance from the planet, providing a safety zone between the planet and the probe.

◆ ◆ ◆

The announcement about the discovery of the Aperanjen homeworld to the League was met with a spate of side conversations followed by arguments on the criteria that would be put in place for them to join the League.

The announcement to the populations of the various planets was met with a big yawn.  After all, it was just another planet and not even another species.

The announcement to the various business communities on each planet resulted in a plethora of questions about Aperanjen’s technology and trade potential.  Of course, there was little information to provide since nobody had actually talked with Aperanje yet, and the data on their technology from the Aperanjen colonists was thirty years out of date.

For others, the announcement portended things to come that were problematic in their opinion.  The expansion of the League would likely disrupt their plans and cause a shift in the balance of power.

Chapter 2

A Ticket Home

Catie virtually skipped from her office to JoAnn’s diner; she was so happy.  All she had to do was find someone to replace her here on Vulcan, and she would be free to go and visit all the known civilizations and ask them to join the Delphi League.  And best of all, she was having lunch with the perfect candidate, Arlean, the current head of engineering for Vulcan.

Catie waved to JoAnn as she entered the restaurant and looked for Arlean.  She should be here already.  “ADI, where is she?”

“She is behind the partition on your right.  You do know that Mr. Spock could have told you that?”

“Yes, but I thought you liked helping me.”

“Just reminding you.”

Mr. Spock was the AI for Starbase Vulcan; most people called him Vulcan, but when Catie told Katya, a young friend, that the starbase would be called Vulcan, Katya had made her promise that she would name the AI ‘Mr. Spock’ after the Star Trek character.

Catie walked to the partition, having to consciously stop herself from skipping.

“Hi, Arlean.”

“Hi, Catie,” Arlean replied while giving Catie a wary look.  “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m going to be lunch?”

“Why would you think that?”

“You look like you’ve got more on your mind than lunch, and it’s making me nervous.”

Catie waved her hand at Arlean.  “It’s nothing.  I was just thinking about what I’m going to do next.”

“Oh, that’s right, your year is about up.  So, what are you going to do next?”

“Once we find someone to replace me,” Catie gave Arlean a big smile, “I’m going to lead a mission to make first contact with the Aperanjen homeworld and the other three star faring civilizations that Paraxea knows about.  We’ll be able to significantly expand the Delphi League.”

“Oh, and by that big smile, you must think you’ve found a sucker to take your job?”

“A sucker, why would you say that?”

“Because I wouldn’t do that job in a million years.  Too much politics, I get more than enough of that down in engineering.”

“Pooh!” Catie's shoulder sagged.  “Do you know anyone who would be a good fit?”

“Captain Clark?”

“I thought of him, but he’s dating a woman in Delphi City, and Daddy doesn’t want it to be a military person anyway.”

“Hey, I’m a military person.”

“I thought he’d make an exception in your case.”

“Well, if you’re not supposed to select a military person, that only leaves you one choice.”

“What?”

“Come on; you’re the genius.”

“Pfft.  I’m not sure how I can find someone that we would trust.  I think Daddy is secretly hoping I have to stay.  Although, he did say he wanted me to go.”

“Think, girl.  Grab one of Fred’s people.”

“Oh,” Catie opened her eyes wide.  “That would work.  But he would kill me.”

“No, he wouldn’t.  He might be proud that you thought he’d trained someone well enough that you thought they could replace you.”

“I don’t think so,” Catie muttered, but she immediately brought up the org chart for MacKenzie Enterprises and shared it with Arlean.  “Who do you think would work?”

“Hey, he might not kill you, but he certainly wouldn’t have qualms about doing me in.”

“We won’t tell him you helped.”

◆ ◆ ◆

The next day Catie found she had an appointment with Captain McAvoy, something about starbase design.  It wasn’t a very clear message; she’d have to talk to her new assistant about how to leave a message.  Her assistant had only been on the job for a few weeks since Yvette, who’d been acting as her assistant, had left her high and dry as soon as her undercover operation was over.

“Captain McAvoy, how may I help you?”

“Catie, call me Tegan.  And since you’re the one that got me roped into this assignment, you can help me figure out the design for the new starbase.”

“Aren’t you going to just copy Delphi Station?”

“That’s where I’m starting.  I assume you’ve heard that your uncle wants to put it in another star system.”

“I did.  I guess it makes sense.  He wants to keep the location secret.”

“How’s he going to do that?  As soon as someone looks at the surrounding stars, they’ll know where it is.”

“But remember, we don’t have windows on the space stations or our starships.  He can have the ship’s AI obscure the stars from the crew and handle all the navigation.  It’s not like they’ll need to plot much of a course.  You jump in, and the ship’s AI sets a vector for the base.”

“What about people doing an EVA?”

“The AI will control their HUDs.  Besides, the star I’ve found is located in a relatively unknown area; nobody will recognize the constellations around it.”

“Oh, so you’ve found the star already?”

“Well, ADI and I did.”

“Good.  You know that we have to build the station using asteroids from here or the new system?  Admiral Blake doesn’t want the other planets to realize what we’re building or how big it is.”

“That won’t be too tough; we can push a few iron asteroids through to you.  And the system has a good belt; you’ll be able to find methane and ice asteroids pretty easy.”

“Why wouldn’t you push those through to us as well?”

“We can, but they’ll be a lot closer for you to get than for us.  It would take weeks for us to push one to your system; you could probably get one in half the time.”

“Then why are you saying you’ll push an iron asteroid to us?”

“Oh, because we have a few iron balls out at the fringe waiting to push to whichever system needs one.  It’s easier and cheaper to do that than to lift all that heavy iron into space from a planet.”

“Okay, and just what kind of star system have you found?”

“It’s a secret.”

Captain McAvoy rolled her eyes.  “I would think I’d be privy to that secret since I have to go there and build the station?”

“I’ll tell you on one condition.”

“What?”

“That you support me in naming the system and the base Valhalla.”

Captain McAvoy shook her head.  “I don’t really care what we call it, so sure, Valhalla works.”

“Good.  It’s a red giant, about 1.4 times the mass of Sol.  I think it kind of looks like Valhalla, being all fiery red.  The asteroid belt is only sixty AUs from the fringe, so you can send a ship in to get the asteroids.  You could probably just send one of the asteroid movers Natalia designed.”

“Natalia?”

“Oh, I forgot you wouldn’t know her.  She used to be my bodyguard.  Now she’s an environmental engineer, and she married one of our miners.  She was helping him improve the asteroid mining on Artemis and came up with the idea of taking the design we used when we first got asteroids for Delphi Station and adding a frame to it so it could be flown remotely and just grab the asteroid and fly it to Artemis.  The miners were getting tired of living on an Oryx.”

“I can imagine.  Send me a link for it, and I’ll make sure we use them.  Now back to the starbase design, we have some unique concerns that I want to address first.”

“Like what?”

“Like your father wants to start with some thirty thousand families living there, and they’re going to think their families are a bit close to a bunch of carousing spacers.”

“Oh, so you need to create isolated spaces.  How much space are you going to need for your naval operations?”

“I want to plan for three thousand employees, military and civilian, to start.  But we’ll need room to grow since we can’t predict what your father might come up with later.”

“You can add another section later for growth, but three thousand is a lot; it’s going to take up all of ring three if it’s the same size as Delphi Station.  You only get six thousand cabins in ring three, minus the number you make into offices.”

“Didn’t you hear me; your father wants room for thirty thousand families.”

“Oh, wow, what is he thinking?”

“Hey, you’re on the board, you tell me.”

“I don’t know.  But to do that, you’re going to need to build two sections,” Catie said, scrunching her face as she did the math.  “No, even that won’t be enough.  I’d add a fourth ring.  That’ll give you another seven thousand apartments.  And some people will want to live in the second ring, so you should be good.  Hmm, maybe you should put the offices in Ring 1; it’ll be half a G, so that’s okay for offices.”

“Half a G.  Not if the outer ring is 1G.”

“That’s right.  So, spin it up, so the outer ring is 1.15; that’s not too bad.  We use that on the Dutchman.  Then your inner ring is .46Gs.”

“I can’t believe you just do that in your head.  So how about this, with two sections; how do I make the schedule?”

“You can build them at the same time.  Just double your crew.”

“Okay, and with the offices in Ring 1, can I just limit who can get off the elevators there?”

“Sure, you can do that for all the elevator stops.  If someone doesn’t have a reason to get off, they’re restricted.  That means your spacers will have to stay in apartments on ring 1.”

Catie gave the problem a second thought, then added, “Make them like emergency exits.  They can be polyglass, and your station AI can monitor the elevators to make sure only residents and guests get on the ones that go to the residences.  Are you going to have the top deck be the open look like we did on Vulcan?”

“Yes, we can put the residences for the high-ranking officers and executives up there, so they feel they’re being properly coddled, and we’ll put the common base facilities up there so people can shop and enjoy a stroll,” Captain McAvoy said.

“Cool.  Have you thought about having a high-G ring?”

“What, you mean for the Aperanjens or Fazullans?”

“Sure, and people from other high-G worlds that might join the League.  We don’t have any in Delphi Forces yet, but Daddy wants to get some to join up.”

“That’s a big investment for such a small population.”

“You could add another section with just a small ring,” Catie said.  “A five-hundred-meter ring would be good, and you never know, you might need to do some testing at high-G.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to Nolan about it.  Thanks for the suggestions.”

“No problem.”

“One more thing, what do you think about having a boarding tube from the hub to the shipyard?  That would eliminate having to use a shuttle to get to work.”

Catie's eyes went up as she thought through the implications.  After a few moments, she looked back at Captain McAvoy.  “I think it’ll work.  Airlocks on both sides?”

“Of course.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“I assume you’ve found a replacement for yourself?” Marc asked after joining the call with Fred, Blake, and Catie.  He was suspicious since Catie had only requested Fred, Blake, and himself to be on the call.

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Daniel Litvinov.”

“No!” Fred yelled.

“Fred, what’s the matter?” Blake asked, totally shocked at such an outburst from Fred.

“Daniel is the director of MacKenzie Manufacturing,” Catie explained to Blake, “and he’d like to go to space.”

Fred was shaking his head.  “Girl, you . . . you . . . you are one mean poacher!  He’s one of my best guys!”

“Think of the opportunity you’ll have to develop someone new.”

“You pirate!”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have many people around who can run this station.  And Daddy said I couldn’t use anyone from the military.  So, you should blame him.”

Marc raised his hands in defense.  “Hey, I just set up the parameters; I didn’t tell you to poach from Fred.”

“And where did you think she was going to find someone?” Fred demanded, turning his attention to Marc.

Samantha came into Marc’s office carrying Allie.  She handed the baby to Marc as she waved to everyone.  “How’s it going?”

“Allie, say hi to your Uncle Fred,” Marc cooed.

“No fair!”

“I think we’ve covered everything; everyone, have a nice day.”  Marc closed the call.  “Thanks, Sam.”

“You had to know she was going to grab someone from Fred.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think she’d reach that high.  Who knew that Daniel wanted to go to space?”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Liz, you know I had a hard time finding a replacement for myself.”

“I can imagine.  And I hear that Fred is not too happy about your choice.”

“He wasn’t, but he’ll get over it.  But it made me realize how few people we have to fill certain roles.  Daddy is happy to just keep roping us into them, but I think we need to come up with more people.”

“Why?” Liz asked.

“Do you really want to be on top of Daddy’s and Uncle Blake’s list for the next ten years?”

“No; so, what do you think we should do about it?”

“I think we need to let Blake take Derek back.  And maybe move Hayden to Delphi Forces?”

“Are you crazy?  How do we replace them?  We have the same issue.”

“Not really, we can bring in less experienced people, and we don’t have that many secrets to protect.  Running a StarMerchant isn’t that difficult, not when you compare it to running a frigate, a battle group, or a starbase.”

“I see your point, but are you sure you want to give up some of our best people?”

“I’m not sure we’ll have a choice.  I’m sure Uncle Blake is already thinking along the same lines.  He just hasn’t realized he has to start raiding us yet.”

“Well, I’m sure we can make it work.  We have to work hard to find good replacements or StarMerchants will suffer.”

“I think we’ll be able to pull it off.  I’m going to talk with Uncle Blake.”

“Good luck.”

◆ ◆ ◆

With her replacement identified, Catie packed up and made arrangements to ride on the Merlin when it went to the fringe for its jump to Valhalla.  The timing would be perfect since the Merlin would want to be at zero velocity at the fringe and would be jumping to Valhalla using Earth as a waypoint.  Catie and her entourage would be able to take a shuttle to the Victory after the first jump; there, they would be able to join one of the people movers that was taking a crew back to Earth for rotation.

“Fiona, do you want to transfer to the security detail here on Vulcan?” Catie asked as she sat down to lunch with the second in command of her security detail.

“Why would I do that?”

“So you could stay here close to your uncle and his family.”

“I love them, but I’m not changing my career because of them.  You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”

“No, just giving you a choice.  We’ll be heading back to Earth tomorrow, and when we get there, we’ll be getting ready for a four- or five-month tour of the new civilizations we want to join the Delphi League.”

“That sounds like fun,” Morgan said as she joined them.

“Are you staying with me?”

“For another year at least.  Then I’ve been promised a position as an instructor.”

“Cool, then you’ll be close to Tracey.”

“That’s the plan.  She’s in the reserves now, but one of us needs to stay in long enough to qualify for retirement.”

“What about the horse ranch?”

“Easier to make it a success if you’re not dependent on it for basic living expenses.  There are bound to be rough patches.  My pay will smooth them out.”

“That’s being cautious.  I guess that’s why you’re such a good bodyguard,” Fiona said.  “And it’s probably smart.  I heard your business partner is a real tightwad.”

Since Catie was the aforementioned business partner, she tossed a piece of toast at Fiona.  “Tightwad?!”

“She’s real vengeful too,” Morgan added.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Welcome aboard, Princess,” Captain McAvoy said as she greeted Catie.  Catie was just exiting the airlock with Morgan.

“Captain.”

“If there is anything you need, please let me know.  We’ll be leaving Vulcan in one hour; until then, you’ll have to make do with microgravity.”

“Not a problem, we’re used to it.  I’m just glad we were able to hitch a ride.”

“There was never a doubt that we would wait for you.  Now, I’ll be on the bridge to get us started.  Please join me for lunch once we’re underway.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“So, Catie, are you excited to be starting a new assignment?” Captain McAvoy asked as Catie joined her for lunch.

“Yes, although we still need to finalize things with the Aperanjens.”

“Why, I thought you were talking to them earlier this week?”

“No, we just sent a message; the probe’s not close enough to have a conversation yet.”

“So, who’d you find to replace you?”

“A guy named Daniel Litvinov.  He’s coming out on the Françoise.  They should have jumped in yesterday.”

“They did.  Where did you find him?”

“MacKenzies; kind of pissed Fred off.”

“Fred?”

“Fred Linton, the President of MacKenzies.  He called me a poacher and a pirate.”

“Oh, I keep forgetting you know all the top people.  Calling you a pirate was a bit harsh.”

“He’ll get over it.  He was just surprised; we need to work hard at developing more people to take these positions.”

“Can’t you recruit them?”

“Yes, but we need people we can really trust since we have so many secrets.”

“I guess so.  Anyway, tell me more about your new mission?”

“We’re going to visit the Aperanjens and the other three space-faring civilizations that the Paraxeans know about.”

“That’s a lot of visits.”

“It is; plus, we might check in with a couple of the ones that the Solar Probes discovered.  Then there are the ones Paraxea knows about that are on the verge of space travel.  After the rebels tried to take Earth, the Paraxeans pulled their scout ships from most of them.  They thought they should avoid any issues like they had with the Sakira.  And with the Delphi League and our jump gates, stealing technology from other civilizations isn’t going to be acceptable.”

“Stealing technology?”

“That’s why they put the Sakira on Earth.  They wanted to watch Earth’s technology as it developed to see if they could use some of it.  Now we have a treaty which protects intellectual property.”

“Hmm, seems like the Paraxeans are more mercenary than I’ve been led to believe.”

“Maybe, but as far as they knew, trade was impossible because of the distances and travel time.  But now things are different.”

“So, who’s going to go with you on this mission?”

“We’re going to take two frigates, the Chesapeake and the Aventurier.”

“The Chesapeake is new, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s just being finished.  It’ll have the new gravity drives in it.  We’re having Ajda refit the Aventurier with the new drives and reconfigure the cabin space so it can accommodate a bunch of diplomats.  I’m going to be on it, along with the delegations from the other League planets.”

“Oh, and you’re looking forward to this trip?”

“Well, not that part.  But it’ll be fun to see the new civilizations.  Now, how about your mission?  Are you ready to start building Valhalla?”

“I think so.  I asked for Chief Bishop to be there in two weeks.  We need to grab resources from the asteroid belt as soon as we can.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard.  Vulcan should be pushing an iron ball over to you in about a week.”

“Good, I was going to ask about that.”

“It was supposed to be our first iron delivery to one of the Paraxean colonies, but Daddy diverted it to you.  That should let you get started right away.”

“I’ll have to review the schedule with Chief Bishop.  This might let us get the can finished sooner.  It’d be nice to have more space; the Merlin’s going to be crowded with the construction crew added to its complement.”

◆ ◆ ◆

As the news of the mission filtered out, the people with the most to lose by another civilization that would be able to offer up trade goods started to worry.  On Paraxea, Minister Monafar, who had his fingers in many trade deals, received a message.  “Please call.  Urgent.  Damien.”

Minister Monafar told his assistant that he was not to be disturbed.  Then he locked the door to his office, went to the cabinet, and pulled out a box.  He returned to his desk and opened the box, exposing a quantum relay.  He’d had to call in a lot of favors to get the quantum relay, but having a means of instantaneous communication with Earth, and one that could not be detected, was worth it.  He and Damien had a special arrangement that relied on private communication.

“Damien, I assume you’re worried about the discovery of Aperanje?”

“I’m not exactly worried, but I am concerned.  Why didn’t you tell me that Paraxea knew about them?” Damien asked.  Of course, his real name wasn’t Damien; what fool gave their real name when dealing in the gray area of the law; well, the Paraxean minister was obviously a fool.

“Our attempt to communicate with them was over twenty-five years ago.  It yielded nothing, and even our entertainment industry has been ignoring them.  We have some scientists who study the signals we get from them to see what they can learn; we focus on civilizations from which we could learn.  So, the Aperanjens were forgettable.”

“I can understand that.  How has the news been received on Paraxea?” Damien asked.

“There’s not too much interest in the general public.  Of course, we’re interested in what we might be able to trade with them, but they’re not that advanced; we can only hope that they have an abundance of platinum metals we can trade for.  How has the news been received on Earth?”

“The general public is curious.  But those of us that understand how things work are concerned about the balance of power in the Delphi League.”

“Ah, yes.  We are also concerned about whom they will ally themselves with.”

“Correct.  We need to play this out carefully.  The Delphi League’s chokehold on trade needs to be broken.  This might be the opportunity to force the issue.”

“It might.  But what about your planet?  Are you going to achieve a unified government?  Until then, the McCormacks control your vote.”

“It looks like this might accelerate that.  I’m working to make sure I have people in the right places, so we can take advantage when it occurs.  It would be helpful if you could find a way to slow this down a bit.”

“How slow?”

“Two or three extra weeks would help.  Once Aperanje is admitted to the League, things will accelerate.  I don’t want that to happen until I have my people in place.”

“I can probably arrange a few delays.”

“Then do it.  We’ll talk when we know more.”

Chapter 3

Catie’s Other Jobs

Catie called Ajda two weeks after the Merlin left Vulcan.  She wanted to check in on the status of her new starliner as well as take care of another one of her action items from the board meeting.  Her starliner had been sidelined for months because of the scarcity of platinum metals and the higher priority of the new frigates.  She had been sent to establish Vulcan specifically to mine those metals, so it was only now that they were successfully mining them she should be able to get a higher priority for the spaceliner.

“Hello, Catie.  I assume you’re calling for an update on the Solar Princess.”

“Yes, and I have another thing to talk about, but first, how is the Princess doing?”

“She will be ready to sail by the time you get here.  We’re just refitting her with the new gravity drives.  They are much more efficient.”

“That’s a good thing since Daddy doesn’t want her to have an antimatter reactor.”

“Yes, of course.  Between the new drives and the new fusion reactor, she just makes 1.1Gs of acceleration.”

“And the AI?”

“We’ll bring it online tomorrow.  Have you decided what to call it?”

“Yes, I want to name her Valentina.”

“After Valentina Tereshkova?”

“Yes.  She was the first woman in space, so I wanted to honor her by naming the AI after her.”

“Then Valentina it is.  We’ll have all the public areas ready and the main cabins as well.  It’ll be a few months before we have the fixtures completed to finish out all of the cabins, but you’ll be able to make a shakedown voyage by late December.”

“Good.  Now, for the second thing I need to talk about.  Daddy is worried that with all the jump-capable frigates, details about how to create a wormhole will leak.”

“That is a risk.  We’ve tried to disguise it, so it looks like there are only three, but with maintenance required on the fourth, it’s hard to hide.”

“I know, but with the new drives, we should have more space.  Maybe we can come up with a better way to disguise them.  And we’ve decided to try and make everyone believe there are seven of them.”

“Oh, that’s insane.”

“Why?”

“Fitting seven in there, even if three are dummies, is going to be crowded.”

“What about fitting seven small ones and hiding one?”

Ajda tilted her head a bit.  “That might work.  Connect them in parallel, so you have four.  Have you discussed it with Dr. McDowell?”

“Not yet.”

“You mean I have to wait five weeks to find out if I should change the engines in the next frigate?  You know I’m working on the Chesapeake, the one you’re taking on your tour?”

“I know, and I don’t think you’ll have to wait five weeks.”

“How are you going to get him to pay attention to you over his Comm?  It’s hard enough to get his attention when you’re in the same room with him.”

“I’m going to use a trick Sam taught me.”

“Okay,” Ajda said wearily, “let me know how it works.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Dr. McDowell was notorious for being difficult to communicate with.  Only Catie had been able to consistently get his attention so that he would actually share his various discoveries or get him to work on specific problems.  And she’d only been able to do that when she visited him in person.  But last year, Samantha had used a body double to be her avatar during negotiations with the Aperanjens.  And now, Kal had finally come up with a body double for Catie.  It had been impossible to do that before since she was so young, but with her being almost nineteen, he’d found a young Marine, Melody, who looked enough like her that Dr. Metra had been able to make the few alterations necessary, so they were nearly identical; they were impossible to tell apart without the benefit of a close inspection.

“Melody, are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.  Are you sure this will work?”

“We won’t know until we try.  Just repeat what I say.  He’s not known for his powers of observation, so I doubt he’ll notice any delay.”

“Dr. McDowell,” Melody called out once she had entered his lab.  As usual, he was working on his virtual whiteboards; all four of them were full of equations.

“Louder,” Catie messaged.

“Dr. McDowell!”

“Oh, hi, Catie,” Dr. McDowell responded, then started to turn back to his equations.

“Quick!”

“I have a problem I’d like your help with.”

“Of course, what is it?”

“Daddy is worried that information about the jump drives will leak.  We’re trying to make everyone think it takes seven instead of four to confuse anyone trying to reverse engineer them.”

“Oh, that won’t work.  Four, seven, twelve, it makes no difference as long as you have at least four.”

“Oh, that’s not good.  No difference at all?”

“Well, the math is harder.”

“How much harder?”

“Well, let me see.”  Dr. McDowell saved one of the boards, then erased it and started writing equations.  “. . . Hmm, quite a bit harder.”

He backed away from the board and stared at the equations he’d written.  And he stared at them.

“Just be patient.  As long as he’s not writing, he’ll probably talk to us before he goes on.”

Dr. McDowell moved back to the board and erased a part of the equation, and wrote something else in its place.

“Catie, that might do the trick.  I’ll have to get back to you on this.  ANDI and I need some time to work.”

“Okay, I’ll check back next week.”

“Sure, sure.”  Dr. McDowell stood there scratching his head and mumbling to himself as Melody left the lab.

“Wow, he’s weird,” Melody muttered to Catie.

“He’s just . . . just . . . okay, he’s weird.”

“No wonder I’m not any good at math.  My brain probably wants to protect me from turning out like him.”

“Hey, I’m good at math!”

“Then you probably should be really careful.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Cer Catie, the Aperanjens have agreed to a meeting,” ADI announced to Catie.  “I have arranged the call for 1320.  I’ve just informed the others.  You should also know that they have placed a spaceship next to the probe.”

“I’m not surprised.  Did they send us any data?”

“Yes, they’ve informed us that the frequency of cesium 133 is 7,192,659,734.”

“So their second is just a bit longer than ours.”

“Yes, approximately 27.8 percent longer.”

Cesium was how Earth calibrated its atomic clocks.  By comparing the two frequencies, they would have the ratio between an Aperanjen second and an Earth second.  Although one of the Aperanjen scientists from the mission remembered that they used cesium 133 to calibrate a second, none of them could remember the exact frequency.

“They also gave us the distance light travels in their second so that we can calibrate all of our distance measures and volume.”

“What about mass?”

“They gave us the mass for water; that should be good enough until we can get a Kibble balance and a gravimeter to their planet.  That will give us a final measure.  It looks like their planet’s gravity is 1.483Gs.”

“Okay, I guess I’d better get ready,” Catie groaned since she would have to dress up like a princess for the call.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Pay attention, everyone; it’s showtime,” Samantha announced.  “Catie, you’re on.”

ADI opened the video channel and cued Catie.

“Greetings, this is Princess Catherine of the Delphi League; with whom am I speaking?”

“I am Minister Falmartz, the minister of state for Aperanje.  With me are Minister Peamamzi, the head of our security department; one of our leading scientists, Cer Tarustlez; our minister of technology, Cer Xenarly; and the head of our space program, Cer Gretzmar.”

“Thank you.  I have with me Cer Newman, the National Security adviser for Delphi; Ambassador Hannaford, the Secretary-General of the Delphi League; and Cer Rhillicorosar, who was part of the colony mission you lost.”

Rhino recognized the director of the space program.  He was older but surely the same guy.  “Hello, Gretzmar; you were just an intern when we last met,” Rhino spoke in Aperanje, letting the translator take care of Catie, Samamtha, and Margaret.

“You cannot be Rhillicorosar, he was almost 40 when the mission started, and it’s been 30 years; even with stasis, he would look older than you.”

“Ah, the wonders of true stasis.  The Fazullans have much better stasis chambers than we did.  You don’t age at all when you’re in one, unlike ours, which just slow things down.”

The head of the space program typed furiously on his pad, obviously sending a message to someone.  “So, their chambers put the patient into total suspension.”

“Yes, they do.  I have only aged a couple of years since the mission was intercepted, so that makes me 42.  And our data says the mission was lost 32 years ago.”

“No, it was 28 years ago and two years into the mission.”

“Of course, your date would be correct,” Catie said, grabbing control of the meeting again.  “Our date is based on second-hand reports, and there may be errors in reconciling the different calendars.  Now, back to the purpose of our call.  As our earlier message reported, we were able to save the majority of your people, and they have established a home on a new planet.”

“Yes, we saw that; can you explain why the planet you chose was so far away from us?”

“Of course.  We were not aware that you were their home civilization.  Although the Paraxeans were aware of you, they basically forgot about you since you never replied to their attempts to communicate.  We were never given details about your civilization.  We found a suitable planet for them, and they were anxious to start building a new home.”

Samantha pinged everyone to let them know that she wanted the floor.  “Minister Falmartz, I expect you would like to know that Raaqres, as they call their new planet, has been accepted into the Delphi League.  Cer Rhillicorosar is their ambassador to the League.  They have made great strides in establishing themselves on their new planet and have started to trade with other members of the League.”

Minister Falmartz didn’t look as pleased as one might expect.  “We are concerned that you and your League have usurped our people.  Our world invested heavily in that mission, and we are disappointed that you did not contact us immediately after rescuing them.  We should have been consulted on their future.  And we never contacted the Paraxeans because we suspected them of being culpable in the loss of our colony mission; they are the only civilization close enough to have been responsible.”

Samantha messaged Catie with the response she wanted her to make.

“Minister Falmartz, I have explained why we did not contact you.  We have been working hard to locate Aperanje; we contacted you as soon as possible.  It took us a week to get a probe to your system so we could send a message.  Let me assure you that we have no intention to harm your civilization or usurp your people.  We would like to visit your planet to discuss trade and other interactions between the Delphi League and your civilization.”

Catie paused for a moment before continuing.  “And, as we explained in our first communication, we have quantum relays, which is how we are able to have this conversation even though we are all tens of light-years apart.  We also have the ability to travel between star systems in just a few hours, although it does take us a few weeks to actually reach any planet in the habitable zone.  If you are interested in further discussions, please contact us via our probe.  Good day.”

With that, Catie closed the connection to Aperanje.

“Wow, way to lay down the law,” Rhino said, “but to be honest, he was being an ass.”

“I thought so too,” Samantha agreed.  “Now, Rhino, will you spend some time thinking about how we should proceed?  If you have contacts in your government, it would be nice to know what Governor Faroot is really thinking.”

Samantha messaged Margaret and Catie to stay on the call.

“I’ll get back to you within a day,” Rhino said as he signed off the call.

“Okay, ladies, what do you think?”

“I think you guys need a board meeting,” Margaret said.  “I’m happy to attend, but I think you know my input.”

“Thanks, Maggie.  I’ll see what Marc thinks.  We’ll probably have the meeting tomorrow.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Emergency meeting – Nov 20th

“Good day everyone, let’s get this meeting started,” Marc said, starting the emergency meeting they had called to discuss the latest situation with the Aperanjens.

“Hey, I thought we were only having these once a quarter,” Blake complained.  “It’s only been a month since the last one.”

“Once a quarter or as needed,” Marc said, rising to the bait despite his desire to not let Blake goad him.  “Sam, you have the floor.”

“I hope everyone watched the recording of our meeting with the Aperanjen homeworld.  It was a little more complicated than I’d hoped.  They obviously feel that they’ve been put at a disadvantage by the situation.”

“You could say that,” Fred said.  “But we should not be surprised that they are hoping to recoup something on their investment in that colony mission.”

Catie wrinkled her nose.  “I guess, but why?  It wasn’t like they were going to trade with them.  Even the Paraxeans never did that, and they’re far more advanced than the Aperanjens.”

“That’s true, but they would benefit from any scientific knowledge gained, plus the benefit to their collective psyche for having established a successful colony.”

Blake laughed at that.  “I’ll bet you lunch that they’re going to demand that the Fazullans pay reparations.”

“We probably should have expected that,” Marc sighed.  “I think the fact that the Paraxeans and the Onisiwoens didn’t bring it up lulled us into complacency.  And the issue will undoubtedly come up when the Fazullans are ready to join the League.”

“How would the Fazullans be able to make reparations without wrecking their economy?”  Liz asked.  “They’re dealing with their new planet and the turmoil over their revolution.  And how would you even be able to put a price tag on it?”

“What about technology?” Catie asked.  “We were able to learn a lot from their fusion reactor and their gravity drives; plus, they have stasis chambers; the Onisiwoens don’t, and the ones the Aperanjens have are not that great.  Maybe we should have the Empress approach everyone and offer the technology as compensation.”

Marc sucked his breath in through his teeth.  “I’m not sure about that.  We’ve integrated those things into our technology.  We’re planning on selling the gravity drives and the new reactors we’ve developed using that technology.”

“But we were able to use what we learned from their reactors to improve our big fusion plants.  Both the Onisiwoens and the Aperanjens would benefit from that.”

“That would work, but would it be enough?”

“ADI, what have you learned about their power industry?” Catie asked.

“The Onisiwoens would see a fifty percent increase in the efficiency of their power plants.  The Aperanjens would likely see between twenty-four and thirty-two percent improvement based on what I’ve been able to learn since the probe has been in place.  Also, they do not have gravity drives.”

“What?!”

“Cer Catie, the Aperanjen colonists were exceptionally clever in not letting on that they did not have gravity drives, but I have not detected any such drives in their home system.  They do not have significant system activity; just some mining in their asteroid belt.”

“Those sneaks!”

“You have to applaud their acting ability,” Liz said.  “I just assumed they had gravity drives given that they were doing an interstellar colony mission.  We need to practice reading them; we can’t have our allies being able to fool us like that.”

“I agree,” Marc said with a shake of his head.  “They were convincing.  But back to the technology.  If we had the Fazullans offer up their gravity drive design, the stasis chambers, and the design for their fusion plants, would that be enough?”

“I think so,” Samantha said.  “Only the Paraxeans already have all those things.”

“By the way, why haven’t the Paraxeans talked about reparations?” Blake asked as he looked directly at Dr. Metra, the Paraxean member of the board.

“I suspect for a couple of reasons,” Dr. Metra said.  “One, they don’t want to bring the subject up because of the possibility that Earth would ask Paraxea for reparations for the attempted invasion by the rebels.  And second, they have access to all the technology you’ve spoken of, so like Earth, they have been able to incorporate that into improving their versions of that technology.”

“Do you think that if the Fazullans offered that to them, that they would accept it?”

“It is likely since they would like to avoid any awkward questions when the Fazullans join the League.”

“Catie, do you feel up to talking to the Empress and suggesting this?” Marc asked.

“I can, but wouldn’t Sam do a better job?”

“Well, you dealt with her after the war,” Samantha said.  “I think you’re the only one she has any kind of personal relationship with.”

“I’d hardly call it a relationship, but I can do it, especially if you’re on the call.”

“Okay, you two take care of that.  And, add it to your mission plan to Aperanje.  Sam, how have the other members of the League responded to the announcement about Aperanje?” Marc asked.

“Maggie said that the news was taken without much excitement,” Samantha said.  “I’m more interested in how Earth’s unification efforts were affected by the announcement.  And how they respond when you inform them that we will be contacting the other three worlds as well.”

“Admiral?” Marc prompted Ambassador Michaels.  They always called him Admiral when referring to him since he seemed to prefer that to his first name, Paul.

“It did cause a stir.  I think the ambassadors feel more pressure to complete the negotiations so they can select a new ambassador to the League.  I think they’re getting tired of you making all the decisions for Earth.”

“I’m not surprised.  There’s nothing like having to sit at the little kids’ table to make you want to act like an adult,” Samantha said.  “Do you foresee any problems?”

“Other than the question of what does Delphi do when Earth unifies, and Delphi becomes simply one voice in the chorus.”

“I’m working on that,” Marc said.  “Go ahead and inform everyone that we’ll be sending Catie out to make contact with all four worlds, starting with Aperanje.  I’d like to stir the pot.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie’s birthday was the 23rd; she was disappointed that they wouldn’t jump to Sol until the next day.  She’d hoped she would at least be able to say she was in her home system on her 19th birthday, but she wasn’t willing to ask Captain McAvoy to increase the acceleration, and hence the crew discomfort, to save the one day.  There would be plenty of other birthdays.

Captain McAvoy threw a small party for Catie in her day cabin.  She had tried to make it a surprise, but Catie was a master at getting around the privacy protocols by asking the right questions to zero in on the answers.  It had only taken her two days to figure out that the captain was planning a party after she noticed Morgan making an unscheduled stop at Captain McAvoy’s cabin.

“We were trying to make this a surprise, but apparently Catie is so worried about someone making her dress up as a princess that she jumps and investigates any deviation to the normal routine,” Captain McAvoy said as they started the party.  “Now everyone gets one chance to say something nice about our guest of honor.”

“I’m just happy that I can now say that the person who beat me in a Fox dogfight is nineteen years old,” Kasper said.

“But I was only fourteen when I beat you,” Catie chided.

“Yes, but when someone asks how old the pilot was that beat me, I can honestly say she’s nineteen.”

“That’s a good one; I’ll have to use it when someone asks me how old my protectee was when she first broke my knee.”

Catie turned a bit red at Morgan ribbing her about breaking her knee.

“I’m the lucky one; she was seventeen when she broke me nose,” Fiona said.

“But remember, it was two on one,” Catie shot back.

“Ach, you would remember that.”

Captain McAvoy stood up.  “I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad experience with Catie, although those saboteurs disappearing out of the airlock on Vulcan was a bit dicey.”

Catie laughed; she was enjoying the banter.  She realized this was the first birthday where she was being treated like a real adult.  She made a note to herself to thank Captain McAvoy when she got a chance.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Empress, thank you for taking our call,” Catie said as she and Samantha opened the meeting with the Fazullan Empress.

“How could I not accept your call after all that you have done for my people?  Now, Princess, what can I do for you?”

“First, how are you and your people doing on your new planet?”

“We’re doing well.  It is a much nicer place than Fazulla was.  We have made great progress in establishing our new city.  We have been able to cultivate enough land so we could bring a large number of our people out of stasis.  Our rate of construction has greatly increased.”

“And how is the change in government being accepted?” Samantha asked.

The Empress smiled, or possibly grimaced, before answering.  “There have been some issues, but they have been dealt with.  We have kept some of the stronger advocates of the old order in stasis.  We’ll deal with them once things are more established.”

Catie wondered how many years that would take.  She suspected that time would be measured in decades instead of years.

“We’re glad to hear that,” Samantha said.

“I also wish to thank you for the help ADI has extended to our people.  She has helped us integrate your teaching programs into our AIs.  We have just finished rolling it out for our youngest children.”

“I’m glad to hear that.  Is there anything else we can do to help with that?” Catie asked.

“No, we have it well in hand.  Our educators are working through the age groups from youngest to oldest; they are adapting the program to make it relevant for Fazullans.”  The Empress gave a slight eye roll.  “Of course, then they have to have a small group go through the training while they are closely observed.  They record the results and make a few small changes before they open it up to all children in that age group.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Catie said.

The Empress smiled.  “‘Sounds’ is a good word to describe it.  We hope to have all of our children benefitting from it by next year.”

“Great.”

“Now that we are caught up, how may I help you?” the Empress asked

“We have located the Aperanjen homeworld.  During discussions with their Minister of State, some issues came up related to your civilization’s capture of their colony mission.”

Catie paused to let the Empress absorb that.

“Some members of my council have suggested that there might be problems once things settled down.”

“The issue is what we call reparations,” Catie said.  “The Aperanjen Minister hinted that his government would expect to be compensated for the loss of their spaceship and for what was done to their people.”

The Empress nodded her head and frowned.  “That is what we were anticipating.  We do not have much wealth, and the loss of any of our assets would negatively impact our efforts here.”

“We know that, but we think we might have a solution.  Instead of physical assets, you could offer intellectual property to the Aperanjens and the Onisiwoens.  Your technology is significantly superior to theirs.”

“What technology are you thinking of?”

“Your fusion plants are significantly more advanced than theirs, as are your stasis chambers.  And they don’t have gravity drives.”

“But you would have already harvested that technology from the Mortarka after you captured it.”

“We did, but we haven’t shared it with anyone except the Paraxeans.”

“Oh, I see.  And you would allow us to offer it to them?”

“Yes, we’re interested in having you join the Delphi League.  And this would help pave the way for that.”

“I cannot see any reason that we wouldn’t accept your generosity.  May I consult with my council first?”

“Of course.  We won’t start the mission for two or three months, so you have plenty of time.  Just send me a message when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Princess, Ambassador.”  The Empress closed out her connection.

“Sam, what did you think?”

“I thought you did an excellent job.  And it is good news that they had considered it a possibility.”

“I thought so too.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Uncle Blake, I wanted to talk to you about Jason and Derek.  Liz and I were talking about their futures, and we thought we should see if you would push them along.  Derek should be on target to captain a frigate soon, and Jason could too if he got some help.”

“Well, Jason just finished the Academy, so what kind of help does he need?”

“He’s a JG, so he would need to pick up some bridge assignments.  Right now, he’s focused on flying the Foxes.”

“Bridge assignments?  What are you two cooking up?”

“We thought it would be nice to have a few more people that you and Daddy could trust on critical assignments.  Derek and Jason are the only names that came up that aren’t already on track to make captain.  We also thought you might want to recruit Hayden into Delphi Forces.”

“You’re right.  I’ve been worried about that.  I had Derek on my list before Liz poached him.  I hadn’t thought about Jason or Hayden, but they probably should be on the list.”

“Right, so how do we proceed?”

“Does that mean you’re willing to give Derek and Hayden up?”

“Yes . . .” Catie sighed.  “They’re too valuable to just be captaining for StarMerchants.  We needed them to get off the ground, but now we have several people that could step into their roles; and as we said, they’re some of the few that we can really trust.”

“What about Commander Griggs?”

“We can trust her, but she doesn’t want to be a captain.  She likes being the chief engineer on Vulcan.”

“Still, we’ll put her on the list.  Something might come up that she’s willing to do, or that’s important enough that we wouldn’t give her a choice.”

“Oh, it if was that important, she’d step up.”

“Okay, so Jason?”

“How about some kind of rotation to bridge duty, make it temporary, maybe part of being groomed for a full Lieutenant slot.  And Hayden would make a great first officer, or navigator if you want to start him out one step down.  You should also push Kasper to broaden his experience.  He’s worse than Jason when it comes to Foxes.”

“Okay, I’ll talk with Captain Desjardins.  Anything else?”

“How can we identify more people?  We don’t want to wait for the academy graduates to be ready.”

Blake laughed.  “What’s the problem?  Are you tired of being at the top of the list?”

“A little.  But we need more people.”

“Kal and I talk about this all the time.  We keep a sharp eye out for good candidates.”

“Maybe ADI can help.”

“Of course, I can help,” ADI chimed in.  “I review all the fitness reports.”

“Good idea.  ADI, can you identify people in Delphi Forces that we could trust as much as we do Catie?”

“I don’t think there are any such people.”

“Well, how about as much as we trust Liz?” Blake asked.

“I’ll do some analysis and get back to you.”

“Thanks, ADI.”

“ADI, that was mean,” Catie messaged.

“No, it wasn’t.  It was just a painful truth.”

Chapter 4

Home Again

When the Merlin reached the fringe of the Sol system, Catie and her entourage headed to the flight bay, from which they would be taking the shuttle to the Victory.  There, they would join about one hundred spacers who were headed to Earth aboard one of Catie’s new People-Pods; one of the tugs would push them to Earth.

Once they boarded the shuttle, it took off immediately, passing through the iris and leaving the Merlin behind.

“Wow, that sure was convenient,” Catie said.  “I wonder who thought up that iris.”

“Quit tooting your own horn,” Morgan scolded playfully.  “But you’re right; being able to head out without waiting to decompress the bay is really nice.  Much better than the old days of waiting thirty minutes.”

“I assume by your comments that Catie designed the iris,” Fiona said.

“She came up with the idea, and since her company sells them, she likes to make a sales pitch whenever she can.”

Fiona looked around the shuttle; they were surrounded by twenty spacers who were rotating from the Merlin to the Victory.  Their replacements would be waiting on the Victory for the shuttle to dock.  Once they docked, it only took twenty minutes before the shuttle headed out again.

“Pretty nice,” Catie said as they cycled through the airlock.

“I’ll give you that.  When do we board the pod?”

“It’s supposed to be ready tomorrow.  We get to spend tonight on the Victory.  Catch up with a few old friends.  Kasper, what are your plans?”

“I plan to make nice with my new boss.  You must know I’ve been transferred to the Victory as her XO; kind of a sudden change in assignments.”

“Oh, good for you,” Catie said, avoiding the fact that she had been involved in the decision to have Kasper moved to the bridge as second officer instead of his usual role as flight commander.

“I’m not sure how good it’ll be, but it should be interesting.  See you guys around.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Everyone had a nice day catching up with old acquaintances who were stationed on the Victory; then, after a good night’s sleep, they were ready to head out.  As Catie prepared to board the pod for the trip to Earth, Fiona showed up wearing a tricolored shipsuit; blue body, right leg and left arm red, left leg and right arm purple.

“What is that?” Catie asked.

“My shipsuit,” Fiona answered.

“That cannot be to regs.”

“It’s not, but I’m off duty for the rest of the day, so I thought I’d go with some style.”

“And if something happens and you have to come on duty sooner?”

“I figure that the nice princess I work for would give me a pass, especially since I will be brightening up everyone’s day.”

“I don’t know; I guess it depends on whether all those colors give her a headache.”

When Morgan came back from checking out the cabin, she just shook her head at Fiona.

“Hey, there are some cute guys on this pod.  I wanted to make an impression.”

“You’re going to make an impression, but I’m not sure it’s going to get you any dates,” Morgan said.

◆ ◆ ◆

Samantha arranged a second call with the Aperanjen Minister of State; he’d messaged the day after the first call saying he would like to continue discussions, but Samantha had put him off for two weeks, saying she and the princess were fully committed.

“Minister, has your government decided how you would like to proceed?” Catie asked after going through the pleasantries of opening the call.

“We have, Princess.  We would certainly like you to come to our planet to discuss whether we should join your League.  We are intrigued by your jump gates and would like to have them made available to Aperanje.  We also recognize that trade would be of great benefit to our civilization.”

“I’m sure it will,” Catie said.  “Has your government discussed how to manage the introduction of the new technology?”

“We’ve had some discussions.  We’re still trying to reach a consensus,” the Minister said ‘consensus’ like it was a bad word.  “We would like to know if you limit the technology introduction to your colonies?”

“We don’t.  They set up their economies with full knowledge of the technologies available.  The issue we have to manage with them is when they start to manufacture certain goods instead of importing them.”

“Who decides?”

Catie nodded to Samantha, suggesting that she answer the question.

“The colonies decide, although they do have to contend with the fact that the owner of the technology has to license them to manufacture certain things.  But mostly, the issue is the timing of when their labor force is large enough, and their industrial base is strong enough to support bringing up the new manufacturing.”

“I see.  I am concerned that limiting the introduction of technology will put Aperanje at a disadvantage.”

“We understand.  The only purpose of limiting the introduction is to avoid disrupting your economy.  We are still limiting the release of technology on Earth for that very reason.  It’s been six years since we started releasing the technology, and we still haven’t released everything.  Your technology basis is more advanced than Earth’s was six years ago, but we can share that history with you as well as the more recent history of the technology release on Onisiwo.”

“When do you plan to arrive?”

“It will be around four months,” Catie said.

“Why so long?  I thought you said your wormhole could take you between systems in just hours.”

“It can.  But first, we have to prepare for the mission, and then it takes about two weeks to travel to the fringe of a system where we can open a wormhole and then another two weeks to reach the planet of the new system from its fringe.  We also have to go to the League headquarters on Onisiwo first to pick up the League ambassadors that will be accompanying me.”

“I see.”

“Of course, we can continue to have discussions in the meantime.  Would you like to start negotiations on the reparations from Fazulla?  Their Empress has asked me to negotiate a settlement for them.”

“We can talk further about the Fazullan situation once you are here.  We would also welcome a chance to open a dialog with our lost mission; we are delighted to hear that they have found a world to colonize.”

The discussion went on for another thirty minutes.  When she finished the call, Catie made a face at Samantha.  “Did he get a personality transplant?”

“He certainly had a different attitude.  But I suspect the old one will rear its head once you get there.”

“Great!”

◆ ◆ ◆

When the People-Pod made orbit around Earth, Catie took advantage of her princess status and had a shuttle meet them so she could jump the queue and get home right away.  Since the triplets were down in the city, she didn’t have a reason to stop at Delphi Station, and she was looking forward to standing in the open air.

Catie, Fiona, and Morgan boarded the shuttle last since they had reserved seats in the front.  Catie waved to the group of spacers who’d won their spots on the shuttle via a lottery that Catie had run.  She’d been willing to use her princess status to get an early shuttle but hadn’t wanted to waste the extra seats.

“Morgan, are you heading to Colorado?” Catie asked as they got seated.  They were carrying their bags; the rest of their big luggage would make its way to Delphi City on the Dutchman when it returned with a load of ore later in the month.

“Yep, first flight I can get.”

“Take the company Lynx.  I’ll clear it with Fred.”

“You don’t . . .”

“Hey, I have an investment that I want to make sure is being taken care of.  Just do it.”  Cate was referring to the horse ranch she co-owned with Morgan and her girlfriend, Tracey.

“Sure, and thanks.”

“No problem.  Fiona, how about you?  Do you have someplace you’d like to go?  I’m sure Kal can arrange a replacement for a few weeks.”

“No, I’m good.  I’ll save up any favors for when I really need one.  Are you looking forward to being home?”

“I am.  It’ll be nice to be in the same room with my friends.  And breathing that ocean air will be nice too.  We’ve been on a ship or a space station for the last sixteen months; it’ll be nice to walk around outside.”

“Are you saying your boulevard wasn’t enough?” Morgan teased.

“It is nice, but there’s nothing like standing and looking out at the horizon five kilometers away from you, seeing all that open space.”

“Is someone meeting us?”

“Mommy’s going to be there.  Kal might show up; he didn’t say.”

“What about your Uncle Blake?”

“He said he would be busy, something about a meeting with Daddy.”

The shuttle made a hover landing at the Delphi City Air Pad.  Catie was waiting at the airlock when they landed.  The flight attendant had opened the inner lock as soon as they were in atmosphere, so it was only moments before the outer lock was opened and the stairs in place.

“Sky!  Look at that sky!” Catie hollered as she paused on the top step to take it all in.

“Catie, don’t block the stairs!” Linda, her mother, yelled.

“Mommy!  Thanks for meeting me!” Catie hurried down the stairs and gave her mother a hug.

“Come on, I have a taxi waiting for us just over here,” Linda said as she grabbed Catie’s arm and started to lead the way.

Catie heard someone squeal her name as they rounded the corner.  She shook her head, trying to make sense of it.  After a second squeal, she located the source.  Allie and Julian were calling to her, squirming in the arms of their mothers.

“Oh!” Catie gasped as she realized that everyone was there to greet her.  She ran over to Samantha and Natalia so she could hug the tiny tots.

“Daddy, you’re here.  What’s going on?”

“We’re on our way to Ganesh and wanted to stop by Earth so that our parents would have a chance to play with the grandchildren.”

“Oh, that’s so great.  Are they here yet?”  Catie was now holding Allie while fending off Julian.  Natalia was being especially helpful by making sure that Julian was within easy reach of Catie’s hair.  “Ow, Jules, let go!”

Natalia laughed.  “Here, I’ll trade you.”  Natalia took Allie and handed Julian to Catie so he could get his kisses and hugs.

“Jules, I missed you too,” Catie cooed.  “ADI, you could have warned me!”

“I couldn’t spoil the surprise!”

“Come on, let’s get out of here.  We’re all staying at the Royal Residence.”

“The Royal Residence?!”

“Sam had the Four Seasons add a section with a royal ballroom, some offices, and residential apartments.  They use the space if we’re not using it, but after the wedding, it was clear we needed something like that here.”

“Oh, nice.  . . .   Daddy, is it okay if Morgan takes the Company Lynx to Colorado?”

“As if you were planning to ask.  Did you at least try and fill the seats?”

“Yes.  Fred is sending someone to Denver for business, and there are a few from Delphi Forces that are going that way.”

“So, you asked just for form’s sake?”

“I guess.”

Marc nodded to Morgan.  “Go ahead.  Have a nice time.  Say hi to Tracey for me.”

“Thank you, sir.  Bye, Catie.”  Morgan bumped fists with Fiona as she headed toward the boarding area where the Lynx was already waiting.

“How long have you guys been here?”

“The Dutchman dropped us off last week.”

“And how long are you staying?”

“We’ll take the Resolve when it gets here in six weeks.  Now hurry up; everyone is waiting for us at the dining room.”

“You could have had the shuttle land at the Four Seasons.”

“Sure, but that would have tipped our hand.  Your mother wanted to surprise you.”

“Oops!” Catie thought.  She handed Julian back to Natalia, who’d already given Allie back to Samantha.  Then she slowed down until her mother caught up with her.

“Mommy, thanks for the surprise.”

“You’re welcome.  I know how much you love surprises.”

Catie laughed since her mother knew full well that she didn’t particularly like surprises.

“Are you staying at the Four Seasons with us?”

“No.  Your father offered, but I think there’s going to be a lot of board business going on, so I’m just going to join you for the parties.”

“Parties?!”

“You should know Sam well enough to know she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a royal ball with so many of you in the same place.”

“Darn!”

“Be nice.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Samantha and Natalia arranged things so that Catie was sitting between the two toddlers on the way to the Four Seasons.  The two toddlers spent the whole time chattering in Catie’s ears about their teddy bears and whatnot.  Catie marked it down as another reason to get even with their mothers, although remembering the last time, she decided to use a lighter touch this time.

The limo pulled up to a building next to the Four Seasons, and a valet came and opened the doors and helped everyone out.

Catie stood there and looked at the three-story building they had arrived at.  They’d driven through a gate into a green lawn area that fronted the building.  It had a nice façade made of what Catie guessed was marble.  With tall arched windows, she thought it looked a little like Buckingham Palace.

“Didn’t there use to be a condo building here?” Catie asked.

“Yes,” Samantha answered.

“What happened to it?  They didn’t tear it down?!”

“No, they moved it.”

“No way!  How?!”

“Ask your Uncle Blake.  I wasn’t involved in that.  And speak of the devil.”

Blake had walked out to meet the limo and was heading directly toward Catie.  “Hey, Squirt.”

“Uncle Blake, how did they move that condo building?”

“Hey, how about saying hello to your favorite uncle.”

“Hi, Uncle Blake.  Now, how did they move the building?”

Blake laughed.  “I can see how highly you rate me.  They moved it one floor at a time using Skylifters.”

“Wow!”

“Suhana Singhal was the structural engineer that ran the project; I’m sure she has lots of video and documentation if you’re interested.”

“ADI?”

“I’ll set a meeting up for you.”

Catie gave her uncle a hug, then followed him into the building.  “Wow, you guys really made it look like a palace.”

The entryway had a huge chandelier hanging above the center of the circle marked out in the floor tile.  Rounded staircases framed the two sides, and an archway led further into the palace.

“Well, we need to be able to impress all those big shots you’re making friends with.”

“Daddy said that the hotel rents the space out.”

“Sure, for special functions and things.  There are thirty guest apartments, so they rent those out too.  Each of us has our own private quarters on the top floor of the back wing.”

“Oh, do we have to stay here now?”

“Not if you don’t want to.  Jackie and I stay in our condo most of the time, but it’s nice to stay here if you’re going to some function or a lot of meetings where you want to impress someone.  We keep all of our fancy clothes here.”

“Oh, good.”

Marc walked up behind them, carrying Allie.  Samantha had made sure he didn’t skate ahead of them and shirk his fatherly responsibilities.  “What do you think?” he asked.

“It’s pretty cool.  But isn’t it kind of a waste of resources?”

“It gets used quite a bit.  The hotel keeps the guest rooms rented most of the time.  And Delphi City is big enough now that it can afford the resources, and we do need to have a stately place for events and guests.”

Samantha and Natalia walked up, and Samantha took Allie from Marc.  “Everyone, we’re taking the kids up to the nanny.  Dinner is in thirty minutes, so I suggest you get changed now.”

“Changed?” Catie asked.  “Don’t tell me you’ve got a princess outfit picked out for me.”

“I don’t.  You don’t have to change if you don’t want to, but Allie has left handprints all over my clothes, so I’m putting on something fresh.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie’s Comm marked her way as she headed upstairs to her apartment.  The apartment had a small sitting room and a nice conversational grouping just inside the door with two rooms off it.  One led to her bedroom with a huge four-poster bed, a walk-in closet, and a large armoire.

Fiona whistled, “Nice.”

Catie’s bag was already in the room, sitting on a small stand, ready to be unpacked.

“I guess,” Catie said.  “I think this will be the biggest room I’ve ever slept in.”

“I’m not surprised; I wonder what mine looks like.”

Fiona and Catie went to the next room to check it out.  It was much smaller, with two queen beds, an armoire with drawers for folded clothes, and a space to hang a few outfits.

“Not bad, even if I have to share,” Fiona said.  “Definitely better than the room I had growing up.”

“Do you want to trade?”

“No way!  I’d get agoraphobia in there.”

Catie went back into her room and checked out her clothes.  Samantha’s comment about handprints was bugging her.  After a quick inspection, she found two handprints and some unknown substance on her jacket.

“What do they get on their hands?  . . .  Hands!”  Catie quickly checked her hair where Julian had grabbed it.  “Yuck!”

She quickly cleaned and rinsed her hair before changing clothes.  She opted for slacks and a dark shirt, hoping that Samantha and her mother wouldn’t notice if she got food on herself.  She hadn’t flown seventy light-years to be scolded about her eating habits.

“Fiona, are you ready?”

“I’m always ready.”

Catie’s Comm led her to the sunroom where they were having dinner; Fiona dutifully followed behind.  Catie was a bit early, so only Natalia was there.

“Hi, Nattie,” Catie said as she gave Natalia a big hug.  Well, Natalia was the one doing most of the hugging since she’d lifted Catie off the floor.

“Hey, Kiddo, how’s it been?”

“It’s been okay.  I miss having you around.”

“I miss you too.  I see you changed your clothes.  And why is your hair damp?”

“As if you didn’t know.  What did Jules have on his hands?”

“Nothing,” Natalia said.  Then her eyes flared.  “Oh, Allie shared some candy with him; that must have been it.  Sorry.”

“Like you would have kept him away if you remembered.”

“No, but I might have wiped his hands off.  That explains the extra handprints I had on my slacks.”

“Where’s Paul?”

“He jumped ship at Gemini Station to visit with the crew out there.”

“Oh, but you wanted to see me so bad you came on here?”

“No, if it weren’t for Jules, I’d have jumped ship too.  But with all the new stuff going on for him and Allie, we want to keep them together.”

“You’re such a good mom.”

“Why is she such a good mom,” Liz asked; she’d just made her way into the sunroom.

“Because she stuck with Allie for Jules’ sake instead of jumping ship with Paul.”

“That was a big sacrifice.  I couldn’t come up with a reason to avoid this.”

“You knew Daddy would be here?”

“Yes, he was on the Dutchman, so of course I knew.”

“Then how come I didn’t know?”

“We modified the manifest at your mother’s request,” ADI said.

“Sneaky!”

“Who’s sneaky?” Blake asked as he and Jackie walked into the room.

“Mommy.”

“Standard survival skill for moms.”

Catie gave Liz a quick hug then gave Jackie one as well.

“Hey, what about me?” Blake asked.

“You lied to me.”

“I did not!”

“You said you had a meeting.”

“And I did, and I suspect we all will be having one over dinner.”

“Not if Sam has her way.”

“We’ll see; your father is also pretty sneaky.”

“I see you changed,” Samantha said as she and Marc entered the room.

“You knew I’d have to; that’s why you mentioned handprints.”

“I suspected that you wouldn’t have escaped.  Now everyone, take your specs off.”  Samantha had a no specs rule at dinner.  It was the only way she could keep Marc from working and ignoring her during the meal.  “Good, let’s all sit down and check the menu.”

Catie handed her specs to Fiona then waved to Fred and his wife Latoya and Kal and Sandra, who had just arrived.  “They must have ridden together from their condos,” Catie thought.

As their bodyguards joined the others along the wall, Catie laughed at how big a crowd they made.  Sergeant Oshiro, Marc’s number one bodyguard, smiled at her and looked around at the others.  Then he told the other bodyguards to go to the kitchen and eat while he stood guard with four of the Marine shadows.

“Where’s Mommy?”

“Here, I was just on a call with the hospital about one of my patients.  Where am I seated?”  Linda hurried into the room and looked around for her place.

“Next to me,” Catie called out.  “It’s just like her to be working every free minute,” she thought.

Once they had all ordered their meal, they started to chat, catching up with each other after such a long time of only having video calls.  Even though they were seated at a dining table set for twelve, the noise level wasn’t too loud.  Although Samantha had banned specs, they all still wore their Comms and earwigs so their Comm would make sure they could hear conversations directed at them.  And since they all had tailboards, they could direct their Comms to listen to any conversation they wanted to eavesdrop on as well as surreptitiously send messages to one another.

Once the drinks were served, Marc did a virtual ping to alert everyone that he wanted to speak.  He stood up.

“Do you realize that it’s been over three years since we’ve all been on the same planet, much less in the same room?  Now, I do want us to take advantage of this confluence of minds later in the week, but for now, ‘Here’s to good friends, no matter the distance.’”

“Hear, hear.”

“And now that we’re all on the same planet, you, Sam, and Catie can pick up a few of the royal events Fred and Sam keep scheduling,” Blake said.

“What royal events?”

“The opening of the new wing at the hospital.  The ceremony for the completion of the island city off Polynesia.”

“Why do we have to have a royal presence at those?” Catie asked.

“Hey, royalty attracts the press.  It’s good for business,” Fred said.

“But it can be time-consuming.  And Jackie and I have had to cover all of them.”

Catie thought that over for a second, then smiled.  “Daddy, you know you could make Kal and Fred Dukes.  That would extend royal status to them.  And, of course, you should make Liz a Duchess.”  Catie scooted her chair back just enough to avoid most of the power from Liz’s kick.  “That would also make Latoya a duchess, and once Kal and Sandra get married, Sandra will be a duchess too.”

“Hey, I thought you were our friend,” Kal yelped.

“I am.  I just think that you should be recognized for your loyal service.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Samantha said before Kal could get off a retort.  “It would allow for a larger presence, and it would make it more obvious that Marc actually has a council that he seeks advice from.”

“ADI, make it so,” Marc said.

“Hey, don’t we get a say?”

“Sure, talk to ADI about any specifics you want associated with your new title.”

Catie noticed that Latoya and Sandra didn’t seem too heartbroken about the turn of events.  She made a note to see if they wanted to go shopping for jewelry; they could shop for clothes on their own.

◆ ◆ ◆

In the morning, Catie did a workout with Fiona, then joined Marc and Samantha for breakfast; apparently, Blake and Jackie were sleeping in, Sandra and Kal had already left for work, and Liz had spent the night in her condo since she had some kind of secret date.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, Sweety, to what do we owe this pleasure?”

“I wanted to talk about my schedule.”

“Go grab your breakfast; then we’ll talk.”

Catie went to the buffet line the hotel had set up for them, and since there were already two other bodyguards in the room, she told Fiona to go ahead and eat.  She grabbed some bacon and toast, then asked for a double omelet.

When she got back to the table, Samantha looked at her plate and asked, “Did you get enough?”

“I might have to have seconds.”

Samantha smiled and shook her head.

“So, what do you want to know about schedules?” Marc asked.

“Well, I have some things I want to do, but I got the impression that you have plans for us.”

“I do; I want to spend some time talking about the future of Delphi.  Lots of things have changed, and now that we have everyone in one place, I think we should have some planning meetings.”

“Hmm,” Catie said around a bite of her omelet.  She took a sip of coffee then asked, “How many meetings?”

“At least three.  We need to map things out.  It’s going to take some time.”

“When?”

“Tell me what you’re trying to fit in, and maybe we can align the schedules.”

“I want to take the Solar Princess out for her first cruise; I want to do Artie’s lunar tour; I also want to see Miranda, she’s in Hawaii right now; and I guess I should make a trip to see the grandparents.”

“Well, I already told you that your grandma and grandpa are coming to Delphi City so they can see you and Allie.”

“When?”

“Two weeks.  They’ll stay for a couple of weeks.”

“Do you think I could talk them into going with me on the Solar Princess?”

“I’m not sure; they weren’t willing to go to Delphi Station.”

“But that was before we could make the trip without passing through microgravity.”

“Right, then maybe.”

“Sam, what about your parents?”

“They’re in New Zealand, so they’ll be coming over next week to play with Allie.”

“Oh.  What about Mommy’s parents?”

“You’ll need to make your own arrangements with them.  Talk with your mother; she might have already made plans since she knew you were coming,” Marc said.

“Okay, so can I plan the cruise for two weeks from today?  You guys could come.  We could even do a meeting on the Princess.”

“Let me think about it.  The cruise is in two weeks, right?”

“About then.  It starts on the third and lasts for ten days.”

“Sounds like you’re cutting it tight for your departure date to Onisiwo.”

“I might skip the end of the cruise.”

“Okay.  You should be here over Christmas so you can celebrate with your grandparents; why don’t you try and squeeze your trip to Hawaii in over the weekend after Christmas?”

“Just two days?” Catie groaned.

“You can fly out Friday afternoon and come back Monday night.”

“Okay.  And Artie’s thing only takes a day and a half, so I can fit that in anytime.”

“Good.  We’ll have a meeting on Thursday to seed ideas.  That will allow you your playtime.  Then we’ll all take a break and reconvene after you get back from Hawaii.”

Catie had finished her breakfast and was getting up to leave.

“Catie, just a minute,” Samantha said, “I want you to think about something while you’re gone.”

“What?”

“You’re always unflappable, but you’re not always inscrutable.”

“What?!”

“Exactly.  Have a good time.”

Chapter 5

Catching Up

Catie was a bit disconcerted by Samantha’s comment, but she didn’t have time to argue about it if she was going to make it to the horse park to see the triplets have their riding lesson with Sandra.

Catie waved to Sandra as she walked up to the riding ring.  “How are they doing?” she asked once she was next to her.

“They’re doing great.  We started them out on ponies; then we moved them to horses for their birthday back in May.”

“They told me.  They were pretty excited.  They said they were going to start doing jumps.”

“Well, they have to improve their riding skills first, maybe in a few months.  They’ve been dedicated, but only riding every other week makes it hard.”

“Hmm, maybe we should come up with a horse park on Delphi Station.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“Sure, we can get them up there without going through microgravity.  And people would love the big open space just like they do down here.”

“Wouldn’t that be expensive?”

“Not that bad.  We still have some big sections of ring six without anything in them.  Maybe we should dedicate an entire floor to open space.”

“Might get me to go up there more often.”

“Hey, I wanted to congratulate you in person on your silver medal.”

“Thanks.  I should thank you for putting in the park.  I’d have never made it otherwise.”

“Good, does that make up for making you a Duchess in waiting?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that; Kal was just being ornery.  He actually loves the idea.”

“I’m glad; now I just need to figure out how to make up with Liz.”

“She’ll get over it.  She’s never here and can probably skip out of any events if she wants to.”

“What about Latoya?”

“Oh, that girl was over the moon.  She’ll bring Fred around.”

“Cool.  I thought maybe the three of us could go jewelry shopping.”

“I like the way you think . . .”

“Princesa!” Lílian yelled as she rode by Catie and Sandra.

“Focus!” Sandra yelled back.

“We’ll do lunch after your lesson,” Catie yelled, hoping that she wouldn’t get in trouble with Sandra for distracting the girls.

◆ ◆ ◆

“How have you girls been doing?” Catie asked as she and the triplets found a table at Gorgio’s Pizza.  “Sandra says your riding has improved.”

“Yeah, we’ll be doing jumps soon.”

“How’s school?”

“School!  Yuck!”

“Come on; it can’t be that bad.  You’re getting good grades.  What about your friends?”

Lílian’s eyes got big.  “There’s a boy that likes Benedita.”

“Who?” Benedita asked.

“Harley.”

“Gross!” Benedita and Teresa said at the same time.

“Why is that gross?” Catie asked.

“Because he eats like a pig,” Benedita said.

“And he smells,” Teresa added.

“Yeah!  I’m surprised he doesn’t poke a hole in his shipsuit so he can use gas propulsion during podball.”

Despite herself, Catie burst out laughing.  “That bad, huh?”

“Yes.”

“He still likes you,” Lílian said.

“Well, I don’t like him.  So, you’d better not be encouraging him!”

“Hey, I stay as far away from him as I can.”

“Girls, that sounds kind of mean.  Doesn’t anyone like him?”

“Some of the boys hang out with him, but none of the girls.”

“Yeah, if he wants a girlfriend, he better start taking a bath more often.”

“Okay, okay.  How about other friends?” Catie asked.

“We mostly hang out with our podball teammates,” Benedita said.

“Any boys?”

“Yes, but they’re just friends.  Adam’s pretty funny.  But nobody our age dates yet.”

“Do you want to date?”

“No!  But Aalia is dating a guy.”

“Oh, she is.  Tell me about him?”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie was looking forward to being able to relax at dinner with her friends; she’d just spent two hours with Marcie and Nikola going over ZMS business.  They all liked the director they’d hired, but Nikola insisted that they all needed to be as up on the business as the director, hence the two-hour meeting.

Not having to make big decisions or answer constant questions from overly curious twelve-year-olds sounded relaxing.  She waved to Sophia as she made her way to the table in the private room in the back of the restaurant.

“Hi, Sophia.  Where’s everyone?”

“Artie’s not here yet, and Chris and Alyssa went to the ladies’ room.”

“I see,” Catie said as she sat down across from Sophia.

“Now tell me, any juicy gossip or inside dope?”

“Maybe, but I’m not telling you until the others are here; otherwise, I’ll wind up having to repeat everything.”  Catie smiled, knowing it would drive Sophia nuts to have to wait.

“You’re mean!”

“No, I’m just being practical.  And there’s Artie.”

Kenyon, the maître d', had just shown Artie to the room.  A waiter was following them with a tray of hors d'oeuvres.  After laying them out, the waiter exited the room and closed the door.

“Hey, Catie.  Jeez, it’s been over a year, hasn’t it?”

“One year, three months.”

“Right, right, the wedding.”

“Catie, about time,” Crystal and Alyssa said as they made their way back to the table.

“I was exactly on time.”

Alyssa smiled, “Right, well, it’s polite to be a few minutes early when meeting at a restaurant.”

“I’ll remember that the next time you’re late.”

“I’m a student; I’m always late.  Anyway, what’s the plan?  It’s the week before Christmas, and we start classes again on the sixth.”

“I’m here for dinner; I have a meeting on Monday, my Grans are here for Christmas, so I have to do family time next week.  And I’m heading for Hawaii on Friday.  You’re welcome to come along.”

“Why are you going to Hawaii?”

“Miranda’s carrier is going to be docked at Pearl Harbor next week.  So, we’re meeting up.”

“I’m up for a trip to Hawaii,” Alyssa said, looking around the table at the others.

“You do know that with Miranda, you’re going to be stuck talking about flying and stuff,” Crystal said.

“Sure, but that means there will be pilots around.  Some of them will probably be good-looking guys who have been stuck out at sea for a few months.”

“Okay, you sold me,” Crystal said.  Artie looked a bit put out not to be included.

“Artie, you do know that they have female pilots in the Navy,” Catie said.

“I guess I could come along and help keep up the Navy’s morale.”

“Good, what about you, Sophia?”

“I have a story I have to cover.”

“Boring!” Alyssa called out.

Catie laughed.  “That’s our Sophia, always on the job.  Now tell me what the rest of you guys have been doing?”

“Not much,” Alyssa said.

“Don’t tell me you spend all your time in class or studying.”

“No, but it does take a lot of our time.”

Catie just laughed at them and gave Artie a wink.  She knew he wasn’t working that hard at school.  “When we get back from Hawaii, I want to take one of Artie’s moon tours.  We can do that on New Year’s Eve if Artie isn’t already sold out.”

“I’ve been holding some slots open.  I thought you might want to go then.  Anyone else?”

“Me,” Crystal said.  “I haven’t been yet.  You took Alyssa once, and of course, Sophia got to go on the first trip since she’s a reporter.”

“Hey, you weren’t around,” Artie defended himself.

“I’ve been around for the last six weeks.”

“It’s been hectic, year-end exams, then starting up the new trimester.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that as long as I get to come on the tour with Catie.”

“Not a problem.  What about you, Sophia?”

“Moon tour with the Princess?  Definitely.”

“Sophia, do you ever turn it off?” Catie asked.

“I can’t afford to if I want to stay at the top of the field.  Don’t worry, I’ll be nice, especially if you give me something else to write about.  Wait a minute; you hinted that you have something.”

“Ooh, give us the scoop?” Alyssa asked

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal, but Daddy made Kal and Fred Dukes, and Liz is now a Duchess.”

“That’s great,” Artie said.  “Fred deserves it.”

“So that means they’re aristocrats?” Sophia asked.

“Yes, I guess it’s like they’ve been adopted by the royal family.  Anyway, the main reason is so that they can cover more of the State events that Uncle Blake has been having to cover.  It will give Uncle Blake more freedom to travel and stuff like that.”

“Great!  Now, anything else?”

“I’m heading to Onisiwo to pick up the other Delphi League ambassadors and take them to Aperanje and after that to meet the other three civilizations that the Paraxeans know about.”

“Can I come?!” Sophia asked.

“It’s going to take over five months; I’m not sure you want to be away that long.”

“Darn!  Why does everything have to be so far away.”

Artie and Catie started to laugh at Sophia’s complaining.

“What!”

“Sophia, it took the Paraxeans seventy years to reach Earth, and you complain about a four-week trip to another star system that is over forty light-years away.”

“Well, it makes keeping your finger on the pulse difficult; besides, I thought you could do it faster.”

“We can, but it’s uncomfortable.  You have to lie down most of the time.  I don’t think the ambassadors would enjoy that, and I know you wouldn’t.  Now, everyone, figure out what you want to order, or we’ll be here all night.”

“Where else do you have to be?”

“It’s top-secret,” Catie replied.

“Ha, you’re staying at the Royal Residence, aren’t you?” Sophia asked.

“Yes, everyone is here, so we’re staying there so that it’s easy to meet.”

They continued to chat around the poor waiter who was trying to take their order.  She was patient, but Catie could tell she wanted to smack a few of them.

“So, Artie, you’re graduating at the end of this term, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’ll have my MBA and my bachelor’s in engineering.  I plan to focus on my moon tour business and try and grow my shipping business.  I’m looking into interstellar shipping.”  Artie gave Catie a questioning look.

“We have those smaller ships if you really want to go big, or you could just lease a pod on the Dutchman or Resolve.”

“How much to lease a pod?”

“Enough!” Alyssa said.  “You guys can talk business over Comms.  We’re here to talk about other stuff.”

Catie sent Alyssa a quick message, “Did you ever ask Artie out?”

Alyssa gave Catie the stink-eye before turning to Crystal.  “Chris, when do you graduate?”

“You know.”

“I do, but Catie might not.”

“I graduate in May at the end of the academic year.  I’m still interning for Vancouver Integrated.  I’m hoping they let me write base code for the AIs.”

“You know they don’t make AIs,” Catie said.

“Oops.”

“Oh, they’re trying to make one.  Interesting.”

“Don’t rat me out!”

“Don’t worry.  We won’t use that information other than as a calibration of where Earth’s technology sector is.”

“Wait!” Sophia said.  “What do you mean they don’t make the AIs?  I thought they were all made on Delphi Station.”

“They are, but we kept our advanced system design separate from Vancouver Integrated.  They made some of the parts for us, but we separated that off just recently,” Catie explained.

“Sophia!” Crystal pleaded.

“Don’t worry.  I’ll keep my source secret.  In fact, all I really need to know is that they don’t make the AIs.  Catie, is that okay?”

“I guess.  You would just have to go there and ask them.  I suspect they’d be willing to tell you.  Or you could check with anyone who’s ordered one.”

◆ ◆ ◆

"Hey, ladies, thanks for waiting for me,” Catie said as she joined the twins, who had obviously not waited for her since they were already eating sushi.

“Hey, they’re just appetizers, and you’re ten minutes late.”

“It would have taken longer than that to get sushi.”

“We knew you would be late.”

“I’m working hard to prepare for my mission.”

“We know,” the twins groaned in unison.

“How’s the new holodeck going?”

“We’ve started calling them holosuites,” Aalia said.  “And it should be completed next month.  We’re going to spend six weeks on Delphi Station getting it up and running.”

“Sounds like fun.  What does your mother think about that?”

“Hey, we’re seventeen; she’s going to let us go by ourselves.”

Catie gave them a skeptical look.

“Okay, we’ll be staying with Nikola.”

“I hope you’ve thanked Sandra for convincing the Four Seasons to sponsor it.”

“We have.  We asked if she wanted to invest, but she said it would be a conflict of interest.  But we bought her a nice present.”

“What did you get?”

“Some jewelry.  It’ll be perfect for when she’s a duchess.”

“Let me see it?”

Prisha tossed the images to Catie’s Comm, and they all looked at the ruby broach that the girls had bought Sandra.

Once they had finished admiring the jewelry and given their orders to the waiter, Catie thought she’d spice up the conversation.

“A little birdie told me that Aalia is dating someone?”

“Blabbermouth triplets,” Aalia muttered.

“Well?”

“He lives on Delphi Station, so we only get to see each other once in a while.  He’s nice.”

Catie looked at Prisha for confirmation.

“He’s nice, but I still don’t know what she sees in him.”

“Oh, no way,” Catie said.  “Don’t tell me that the two of you are diverging?”

“She’s just jealous,” Aalia said.

“Oh, right!”

“Josh Benbow likes Prisha,” Aalia said to move the subject of the conversation from her to her twin.

“Ooh, yuck.”

“What’s wrong with Josh?” Catie asked.

“What’s not wrong with him.”

“Well?”

“His ego is so massive it sets up its own gravitational field.”

Catie laughed at that.  “That’s a good insult.”

“And it’s true.  He thinks a lot of himself.  I can’t stand him.”

“What about you, Aalia?”

“I can’t stand him either, but he keeps hanging around trying to get close to Prisha.”

“How does he know which one of you is which?”

“Yeah!” Prisha said.  “Maybe he’s trying to cozy up to you.”

“He knows I’m dating Hercule, so it has to be you.”

“Okay, okay,” Catie said.  “But is there a boy you like?” she asked Prisha.

“Not really; they’re all so boring.”

“Yeah,” Aalia said.

“What about Hercule?”

“Well, he’s older, so he’s not so boring.”

“How much older?” Catie asked, “And does your mother know?”

“She knows him.  He’s nineteen.  He’s almost finished college.”

“He’s got a year and a half left!”

“That’s almost finished!”

“What’s he studying?”

“Computer engineering.  He has a couple of classes with Chris.”

“Oh, so he’s smart,” Catie said while making a note to get some insight on the guy from Chris.

“I think so.  He works part-time for our company doing software for the holosuites.”

“Is that how you met?”

“Yes, Chris recommended him.”

“She did?  And he’s good looking?”

“Of course.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie rushed over to Margaret when she came into the room.  “Maggie, I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

Margaret’s brows went up in surprise.  “I’ve been traveling for three weeks; how wouldn’t you know?”

“Daddy and ADI have been keeping secrets from me.”

“I only do what I’m told,” ADI chimed in on Catie’s Comm.

“Your father must have wanted to surprise you.  Where is he, by the way?”

“He’s always last to arrive.”

Margaret gave Catie a knowing nod.  “Let me go visit with the Admiral while I have a moment.”

“ADI, what’s going on?”

“Your father didn’t want you getting ahead of everyone on the issues.  Besides, he wanted Maggie to be able to relax on the trip over.”

Catie sighed.  There wasn’t much she could do about it now.  And truth be told, she had been busy, so not dealing with whatever her father had planned probably was a good thing.

“Uncle Blake, do you know what Daddy’s planning to talk about?” Catie asked as Blake walked in.

“I know just about as much as you do.  He’s been planning this for a long time, but he hasn’t been sharing.”

“Darn!”

“Hey, he’ll be here in a minute, and then we’ll all know.  Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to see if I can get a couple of shots in on Duke Kealoha before this thing begins.  I need to ask him if he’s moving in on Duke Kahanamoku’s fame.”

Blake headed over to Kal while Catie looked around to see where Liz was.  She could probably survive making a couple of quips about Duchesses before the meeting.

Marc and Samantha entered the room five minutes later; Marc generally arrived late to allow the others to socialize before getting down to business.  “Ahem,” Marc coughed to get everyone’s attention.  “Let’s all settle down, and then we’ll start the meeting.”

He gave everyone a few moments to conclude their conversations and make their way to their seats before he began.

“It’s been almost three years since it has even been possible to get this group together in person.  The chance to have everyone present at a meeting was too good to pass up.  And, as life has a way of conspiring to hinder us, it has also come at a critical moment.  I had assumed we would get a longer grace period after forming the Delphi League, but apparently, that is not to be.  Margaret has graciously made the trip from Onisiwo so that she can provide us with the necessary insight in person.  So, before we get down to our board meeting, I want to allow Margaret a chance to update us.”

“Thank you.  As you all know, it’s been twenty-six months since we formed the Delphi League.  I’ve been in place for eighteen months.  Needless to say, the honeymoon wore off rather quickly.  Once Catie finished resettling the colonists interned by the Fazullans, politics reared its ugly head, not that it wasn’t there before, but it has become more polarized.  Catie tells me that before she left Onisiwo, most of the politics were about gaining favor with the Onisiwoens and jockeying for better positions on trade.  Well, now that the Aperanjens have gotten themselves established, the Paraxean colonies have come to terms with having jump gates available, and the Onisiwoens and Helikens are feeling their oats as starfaring civilizations, the gloves are starting to come off.”

Margaret paused as the board members did some groaning, and a few went back to the latest reports to check on some facts.  “Now, the major issue seems to be the concentration of power on Earth.  They perceive that Earth has an unfair advantage in how they will compete for colonies, trade, and also with the Delphi League Space Forces.”

Admiral Michaels tried to suppress a laugh, but it came out as a snort, or maybe that was his intent all along.

“Admiral?” Marc passed the floor to him.

“They seem to be overestimating the ability of Earth to influence things.”

“That may be,” Margaret said.  “But in their eyes, there is little difference between Delphi and Earth.  Delphi controls the jump gates, has the advantage of the information gathered by the solar explorer probes, has the only ships capable of making independent jumps, and is the de facto head of the Delphi Space Forces.”

Dr. Metra gave Marc a stern look, clearly reminding him that she’d warned him that this would be a problem.

Marc rapped his knuckles on the table.  “Maggie is correct, and yes, Dr. Metra, you did warn me that this would become an issue.  I’ve been trying to come up with an answer for the last two years.  That’s why we’re here.  The people in this room are the ones who understand the issues Maggie has mentioned, so it will be the group that will be able to come up with a way to defuse the problem.”

“One more thing,” Maggie said.  “There is some concern about the fact that the Aurora is the League currency and that the GalaxyNet is based here on Earth.  Again, that’s around the perception that Earth has control.”

“Is that all?” Catie asked.

“Catie!” Samantha scolded.  “This is not a situation where you should just spout off how you would fix the problem.  We need to spend some more time making sure we understand the concerns of our allies.  We also need to anticipate the concerns of the civilizations that will be coming late to the League, specifically the four that you’re getting ready to visit.”

“I wasn’t . . .  Okay, I was, but I bet I’m right.”

“You can log your ideas with ADI,” Marc said.  “She and you can let us know how close you were when we finish working together to define the solution.  I want everyone to spend the next few weeks thinking about the problem.  Then we’ll meet and work on possible solutions.  That will give Maggie some time to visit friends and family, as well as Catie, Sam, and I will need to spend time with our families that are coming out for Christmas.  One last item for Maggie; who should represent Earth and its colonies on Catie’s mission?”

Catie looked at Liz.

“Oh, no you don’t.  I’m not qualified to be a diplomat.  I prefer to use a more direct approach to solving problems.”

“She’s right.  Besides, she’s going to be the military commander of the mission, so we need someone else,” Marc said.  “Any ideas?”

Marc looked around the room.  Everyone had blank faces.

“Come on, people!”

“Admiral Michaels,” Catie suggested.

“Not with all the politics around unifying Earth’s government,” Samantha said.

Catie stared at Fred.  He just stared back, daring her to suggest him.

“I know,” Catie said.  “Herr Hausmann.”

“The finance minister?” Admiral Michaels asked.

“Sure.  He’s smart, deals with complex issues all the time, and is dedicated to the Delphi mission.”

“I like it,” Marc said.  “Especially since economic issues will be the center of the discussion about the new civilizations joining the League.  Talk to him.”

“Me?!” Catie asked.

“Your mission, your suggestion.”

Catie bit back a retort and just resigned herself to talking to Herr Hausmann.  He’d always been nice to her, so she hoped that meant he’d be receptive.

“Okay, that covers this part of the discussion.  Maggie, you’re welcome to sit with us while we focus on board issues.”

“My nieces are waiting to take me to lunch, so I’ll leave the business stuff to you.  I’m sure Sam can fill me in on anything that I should be aware of before we meet again.”

Marc gave everyone a few moments to say goodbye to Margaret before he restarted the meeting.  Samantha took that time to pull Margaret aside.  “Catie might need your help talking to Herr Hausmann.”

“I’ll suggest we talk to him together.”

“Thanks.”

“Sam, how do you put up with all the silliness?” Margaret asked.

Samantha laughed.  “It’s just their way to relieve the pressure.  Trying to decide the fate of the galaxy is pretty tough; a little bickering makes it seem less ominous.”

“I guess.  But I think I’d have to take a switch to all of them.”

“I’ve thought about it, but I think they’d just make a game of it and behave worse.”

Margaret laughed as she hugged Samantha goodbye.

“Alright, now let’s move on,” Marc said.  “Since we’ll be meeting again soon, I’d like to focus on the critical things that can’t wait.  Admiral Michaels, you had some input on the Earth’s planetary unification?”

“Yes.  As all of you should know, the U.N. has formed a committee to map out what a true planetary government would look like,” Admiral Michaels said.  Catie could tell he was getting ready for a long lecture.

“They’re gravitating to a formula based on population and economic size to define the number of votes any country gets.  They’ve agreed to use GDP as the measure of the economy to encourage disarmament.”

“What?” Catie asked.  “What’s wrong with one vote per country?”

“Catie!  Let him finish,” Marc said.  “Admiral, please continue.”

“Because then a bunch of small countries would be able to dominate the agenda.  If that were the rule, why wouldn’t the U.S. break into fifty countries and form a federation like the Delphi Federation; that would give them more votes and create much the same entity as the U.S. is now?  Focusing on the population and economic state of the country motivates smaller countries to combine into unions like the EU so that it’s not such a gaggle of representatives.  One of the problems with the UN is that it takes so long to find where the center is.  There are just too many interests.

“The U.S. GDP took a hit when you introduced the fusion reactors, mainly due to losses in the petroleum industry, the same with the other major economies.  But they have quickly recovered as the low cost of energy has spurred additional growth, and the onshoring efforts to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S. have also helped.  The Middle East is a special case since they didn’t have significant economies outside of petroleum export.  Of course, all the onshoring has hurt China.  Their GDP has fallen even as their standard of living has gone up.  Low-cost energy has had a significant impact, and the reduced expenditure on their military has helped all countries improve their standard of living.

“But when they stand back and look at all the impact that the introduction of technology by Delphi has had, they get pretty worried about what’s coming.  There is a lot of talk about Earth gaining control of Delphi Forces and other Delphi assets.”

“You mean MacKenzie assets,” Fred said.

“The general consensus seems to be that there is still a lot of knowledge and technical capability being hidden within Delphi Station.  And I’ve heard a few comments about ADI.”

“About me?” ADI asked, sounding like a little girl.

“Yes, ADI.  For some reason, they think you might have some secrets they would like to access.”

“You can tell them that I’m outstanding at keeping secrets.”

Catie suppressed a snort.

“When I want to,” ADI added privately.

“So, how do they suggest that they could take control of Delphi?” Marc asked.

“The thinking seems to be that once there’s a unified government, that Delphi will be easier to control.”

“Hmm.”

“You had to know this was coming,” Blake said.

“Of course, I did.”

“Ohhhh,” Catie said.  “Is that why you’re having Captain McAvoy make Valhalla so big?”

“Partly,” Marc said.  “And I know you like the name Valhalla, but it’s not acceptable.  You have to come up with a name that speaks to harmony, not constant war.  You’ve got one week before I pick a name.”

Catie resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at her father, but she did send him a meme of her doing that.

“Can you explain that?” Admiral Michaels asked.

“The name choice?”

“No!  The size of the starbase.”

Marc suppressed a chuckle before answering.  “I want to be able to accommodate anyone from Delphi who would like to move to where we’ll be doing our most critical research as well as our top-secret production facilities.  I don’t think we want to continue to use Delphi Station for that.”

“Ohhh!” echoed around the room as everyone realized the implication of that.

“Fred, you indicated you had something about the city you needed to discuss.”

“Yes.  As you all know, Delphi City has been growing fast.  It is now four thousand meters on a side, and we’ve reclaimed almost all the old airport area.  The Prime Minister, the mayor, and I have been discussing how to manage the growth.  With what you just said, I’m not sure we’re on the right track.”

“Why would that change anything about Delphi City?” Blake asked.

“Well, between the plans to move the shipbuilding to Valhalla now, apparently, along with even more of our research, do we really expect to maintain the rate of growth here?”

Marc looked at each person in the room before answering.  “It’s a good question, but I don’t see why not.  Doesn’t your census show that over half of Delphi City’s growth comes from businesses starting up here?  Many of them are R&D or data management companies.  That shouldn’t be dependent on changes we might make regarding MacKenzies.  Delphi City is still a Pacific paradise with exceptional infrastructure.  And it should remain the hub for Earth’s colonization efforts in the future.”

“Okay, then let me tell you what we recommend.  We’d like to start another city, well not a city, but like one.”

“Clear as mud,” Blake muttered.

Fred laughed.  “It will be, but we don’t have the right words.  Anyway, we want to build another section off the northwest corner and attach it like the airport.  That will allow us to grow the city without making the current one too dense.  We get a whole new section of oceanfront property, and you don’t further isolate the center of the city from the ocean.”

“I like that,” Catie said.  “And you could make it a bit more residential; have more two- and three-story buildings.”

“Right.”

“Anyone have an objection?” Marc asked.

“No.”

“Anything else?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay, Kal, how are things with you?”

“We need to go over force size.  You keep adding frigates, so we need to keep growing.  But maybe we should consider having a smaller force on each frigate.”

Marc looked at Blake.

“Sure, sure.  Kal and I will work on it.”

“Thanks.  Do you have anything?”

“Same problem.  Planets keep pushing for the frigates to be closer to the planet.  And that becomes a bigger deal as Maggie pushes them for disarmament.  They view the frigate as the ultimate police cruiser.”

“Hmm.  I can see that.  Sam, what do you think?”

Samantha glared at Marc for a second.  “I’ll spend some time with Maggie going over that.  It’s probably something we should add to Blake’s list.”

“No doubt.  Blake, anything else?”

“Nothing hot.”

“Catie?”

“I have good news and bad news.”

Blake gave a little laugh.  “Way to start out.”

“Bad news first,” Marc said.

“It seems that any number of gravity drives over four will work for a jump drive.  So, our idea of using seven doesn’t actually help as much as we thought.”

Marc shook his head.  “And the good news?”

“The math with seven is almost impossible to figure out, plus if you use seven, the drives can be even smaller.”

“Okay, so if we actually use seven and make sure the drives we sell cannot develop the correct harmonics, then we still make it hard for someone to figure out the jump drives,” Blake said.

“It’ll help.  We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Marc was obviously not delighted with that answer but decided it was the best he could hope for.  “Okay, anything else?  If not, we’ll close the meeting here.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie was ecstatic to see her grandparents and great-grandparents; she really wished they would move to Delphi City permanently, but they loved living in Boston too much to leave it for long.

Catie had set them up in the Royal Residence since her mother didn’t have enough room to accommodate two couples; besides, she thought they’d love it.  And it was right next to the golf course, so Grandpa Garth could get in some practice and probably find someone to play a game or two.

On Christmas Eve, Catie and her mother stopped by to pick up her Grandpa Pa Duncan and Grandma Ma Agnus.  They were having an early dinner in the dining room, after which they would open presents.

Agnus McGinnis met them at the door as soon as its AI had recognized them.

“Hey, you two.  Catie, you look nice,” Agnus said.  Catie had worn one of the dresses that Agnus kept sending her.  She had more dresses than she ever planned to wear, but Grandma Ma Agnus didn’t think you could have too many.

“You have to say that; this is one of your dresses,” Catie said with a smile.

“Yes, but it’s you that is filling it out so nicely.  And your makeup is well done.”  Fiona had done Catie’s makeup since Catie was as anti-makeup as they came.  But it was Christmas.

“Where’s Grandpa Pa?”

“He should be in the bedroom finishing getting dressed.”

Agnus led them to the bedroom, where they found Duncan sitting in a chair, asleep, his shoes sitting by his feet.

Agnus laughed.  “He must have fallen asleep while he was waiting to put his shoes on.  He always waits until the last moment.”

“Is he okay?” Catie asked, obviously worried for her Grandpa Pa.

“Of course, he’s okay.  He’s just getting old,” Agnus said as she jostled Duncan’s shoulder.  “Put your shoes on, Dear.  We’re ready to go down and eat.”

“Huh,” Duncan grunted as he woke up.  “I was just resting my eyes.”

“Right, and the rest of you joined in so your eyes wouldn’t feel awkward.”

“I’ll join you in a minute.”

Agnus signaled Catie and Linda to follow her out of the room.  “He’ll need to go to the bathroom first.”

“Why doesn’t he get the youth treatment?” Catie asked.

“Why would he do that?  He likes being old.”

“He likes it!” Catie couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“And so do I, young lady.  We’ve put in our years; it’s nice to be able to enjoy a slower pace of life.”

“But if you got the youth treatments, you could still enjoy your life.”

“But then we’d have all that excess energy to burn off.  It’s nice to be able to just relax.  We appreciate that we’re healthy, and your mother keeps us that way.  But that’s enough.”

Catie looked at her Great Grandmother, dumbfounded.

Linda laughed at her daughter.  “You’re too young to understand.  But think about this.  We could never afford to provide youth treatments for everyone, so it’s a good thing that some people don’t want them anyway.”

“That doesn’t seem fair.  Why can’t everyone get the youth treatments?”

“Catie, do the math.  There are over two billion people who would benefit from the youth treatment.  It takes two hours to administer it, and you have the follow-up treatments; you have to use twelve grams of rhodium for each treatment; it requires a special scanner and bed to administer it.  Then you would need to keep it up, doing about two percent of the population every year, that’s almost one hundred million people per year.

“That’s about 500 thousand days’ worth of treatment.  How would we possibly scale that up?  And that’s not even accounting for the fact that the twenty-four million kilos of rhodium you would need would be a thousand times the supply that Delphi has access to.”

“How do you know those numbers?” Catie asked.

“Because I’ve done the math,” Linda said.  “I don’t like the results any better than you do.  But we have to be careful how we deliver the treatment.”

“So only the rich get to live longer.”

“No!  We do charge for the treatment, but we still only offer it to people we deem of value to society.  We provide free treatments for those that cannot afford them.  Top educators, scientists, and medical professionals are given free access.  If you can come up with a better formula, let me know.”

“Sorry, Mommy.  I keep forgetting about all the hard calls you have to make.  I just wish we had better options.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie scheduled the meeting with Herr Hausmann for early Friday morning since she planned to head out for Hawaii that afternoon.  Margaret had messaged her, volunteering to accompany her.  Catie had quickly accepted.

“Are you nervous?” Margaret asked Catie when they met outside Herr Hausmann’s office.

“A little.  He’s a big guy.”

Margaret looked at Catie, surprised that a man’s size would intimidate her.

“It’s not that; he just uses up all the space, and it makes me nervous.”

“Then keep his desk between you.”

“I try.  He’s also friendly, so . . .”  Catie shrugged, then opened the door and went inside.

“Go right in; he’s expecting you,” Herr Hausmann’s assistant instructed.

“Thank you.”  Catie and Margaret went through to the inner office.

“Princess Catherine,” Herr Hausmann said as he stood up and came around his desk to greet them.  “And Ambassador Hannaford?”

“Yes, Herr Hausmann,” Margaret said as she gave him the Delphi greeting, open hand over the heart with a slight bow.  Herr Hausmann returned the greeting and exchanged the same with Catie.

“Please, join me.”  He pointed to the small sitting arrangement in the corner of his office.

Catie winked at Margaret as she joined Herr Hausmann, choosing a chair across from him, leaving Margaret to choose one of the chairs on either side of him.

“So, what can I do for you ladies?”

“I need your help,” Catie said.

“I’m happy to help.  What do you need?”

“How much do you know about the Delphi League?” Catie asked.

“Quite a bit.  Even though it doesn’t directly affect Delphi, I think it’s incumbent on a finance minister to keep up with all international and now galactic events.  After all, we do participate in the glo- galactical economy.”

“Have you heard that we found the Aperanjen homeworld?” Catie asked.

“Yes, Ambassador Zrahaza told me earlier this month.  He and I have dinner every month or so.  How was that received by the League?” he asked.

“The reactions of various planets and people have been mixed.  Governor Faroot made it clear that he wants to maintain the independence of Raaqres from Aperanje,” Margaret said.

“Of course he would, just like our colony planets expect to be independent from Earth.”

“That’s true.  Anyway, I’m leading a mission to visit Aperanje.  We’re going to try and persuade them to join the Delphi League.  We’re also going to visit the other three civilizations the Paraxeans are aware of, the ones with established space programs.”

“I see.”  Herr Hausmann gave Catie an expectant look, asking her to get to the part where his help was needed.

“The mission is going to include envoys from all the members of the League.  We are looking for someone to represent Earth and its two colonies.”

“Shouldn’t you be talking to the U.N.?”

“Daddy and Admiral Michaels have gotten their agreement that he will send the representative.”

“More like told them he would.”

Catie gave a weak smile.  “Probably.  So?”

“You want my advice on whom to send.  Why not Maggie?”

“There is too much political maneuvering going on at the League headquarters,” Margaret said.  “I don’t feel comfortable being gone for six months, especially after this ten-week break.”

Herr Hausmann looked surprised as the penny finally dropped.  “You mean you want me to be the envoy?”

“Yes.”

“Why me?”

“As you pointed out, you follow the galactic economy, and this is about expanding that economy and trade.  We need someone who can talk about that.  Also, since a lot of the current trade is centered or controlled by Delphi, you’re probably the most knowledgeable person.”

“Hmm.  I kind of stepped into it earlier, didn’t I?”

Catie just smiled.

“You say this is going to take a year?”

“About.  We’re going to five planets, Onisiwo, Aperanje, Thorea, Husaria, and Vacosi, then back here to Earth.  We’ll spend four weeks getting to each place, one to two weeks on the planet.  That means twenty-five to thirty weeks at a minimum.”

“And after this whirlwind trip?”

“Earth’s ambassador to the League?”

“Isn’t Maggie doing that?”

“She’s actually the Secretary-General.  She’s doing both jobs, but once we add another four or five members, she probably should just focus on being Secretary-General.”

“Five?”

“We hope that after the tour, the League will be ready to accept Fazulla.”

“And if Earth wants a different ambassador?”

“You could be the ambassador from Artemis and Ganesh.  Or you could decide to become governor of one of our new colonies.”

“Hmm, something to think about.  How much time do I have?”

“We leave in two weeks.”

“And staff?”

“You can bring a guest and four staff members.  If you need more, I’m sure we could work it out, especially since you’ll be representing three planets.”

“Give me a couple of days, and I’ll let you know.”’

“Thank you.”

Catie and Margaret gave Herr Hausmann the departing gesture and left his office.  “What do you think?” Catie asked.

“I think he’s hooked.”

“So, do I.  And I sure hope so; otherwise, who are we going to get?”

Chapter 6

Having Fun

Samantha had arranged a charity luncheon that Princess Catherine would attend on Saturday; Melody would be attending it as Catie.  That would allow her to jet off to Hawaii and visit Miranda as Alex MacGregor and not have to worry too much about reporters or groupies.

“Have you ever been to Hawaii?” Catie asked Fiona.

“Nope.”

“Well, we’re on our way,” Catie said as she pointed to the group of teenagers who had gathered at the airpad for the flight to Hawaii.  Catie was shocked to see Sophia.

“I thought you weren’t going with us; something about a writing assignment,” Catie said.

“I wasn’t, but then I realized that Princess Catherine couldn’t be presiding over the track and field event at Delphi University if she were in Hawaii.  I assume you have a double taking your place,” Sophia said.

“Oops!”  Catie frowned and gave Sophia a steely look.

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed,” Sophia said.  “Fiona over there has already drawn her finger across her throat to let me know what will happen if I reveal your secret.”

“Fiona will be the least of your problems if you print anything about me in Hawaii.”

“I know, I know.  Anyway, what are we going to be calling you while we’re away?”

“Alex MacGregor, my academy alias.”

“Oh, that’s right.  And now I see that your eyes are green, and your hair is a bit darker.”

“Nice powers of observation for a reporter,” Catie scoffed.

“I was distracted by Artie and Alyssa making faces at me,” Sophia said.

“They are probably as surprised as I am about you coming with us.  Where’s Chris?”

“I saw her when I got here; she must have dashed to the ladies’ room.”

“Here I am,” Crystal said as she ran up to them, pulling her suitcase.  “Are we boarding yet?”

“As soon as our jet arrives,” Catie said.  At that moment, a Lynx gently hovered and landed just a few meters away.

Catie gave Fiona a surprised look when she realized that there were only six marines with them on the Lynx.  “Maybe Daddy is relaxing the rules about my security.”

With only six marines, they would only be able to have two backups to Fiona on eight-hour shifts.  Fiona just smiled back.  Apparently, Catie hadn’t checked the other flights; a Lynx with sixteen marines had left Delphi City’s airport two hours ago, headed to Honolulu.

◆ ◆ ◆

They landed at Honolulu International in just under two hours.  Since the Marines had taken up the front three rows of seats, they easily blocked the aisles when the Lynx landed, preventing Catie and her friends from rushing to the exit.  When she finally exited the plane, Catie saw a limo with one of her usual security women standing by it.

“Darn, the leash is still as tight as ever.”

“Where are we staying?” Crystal asked.

“Oh, I’m staying at the Halekulani Hotel; where did you make reservations?” Catie replied.

“Catie!”

“I did book six suites; I guess you and Sophia could use one.”

“You’re making me bunk with Sophia?”

“Hey, if you wanted special accommodations, you should have planned ahead.”

“What are you two talking about?” Sophia asked.

“Just covering our accommodations.”

“Hey, do I get a private suite?” Artie asked.

“No!  I have you bunking with the security detail.”

Artie’s face fell so far that Catie couldn’t keep hers straight.  “At least you get your own room,” Catie added.

Artie shrugged, but his face brightened up.

“When do we get to see Miranda?” Crystal asked.

“She’s on duty today, so tomorrow.”

“Great, that means we can hang out at the pool and drink Mai Tais,” Alyssa said.

“Hey, as I recall, you’re only nineteen.”

“But my cousin is twenty-three,” Alyssa said, showing Catie her cousin’s ID.  “By the way, I’m from Dover, Delaware and my first name is Charline, but everyone calls me Alyssa.”

“Do you expect us to condone your illegal behavior?” Catie asked.

Alyssa snorted.  “Like you’re not going to be using Alex MacGregor’s ID.”

“Mai Tais, it is.”

◆ ◆ ◆

The next day, Miranda met them with a van full of Navy pilots.  There were surfboards on top of the van, plus a couple of paddleboards.

“Come on, get cracking,” Miranda ordered.

Catie had everyone waiting at the curb; she wondered how Fiona was going to manage her security detail with them heading to the beach.

The first part of the security was the van that would be taking Catie’s group; supposedly, it was rented from the hotel, but Catie immediately recognized the driver as one of her security marines, a big guy.  Fiona was playing the part of one of the college kids since she had the youthful looks to pull it off.

Everyone piled into the van; Fiona sat up front with the driver.  The drive north took them an hour.  The parking lot was crowded when they got to Haleʻiwa Beach; surfers were an early morning crowd.

Miranda got out of her van and called everyone over.  “Guys, this is Lieutenant Puakai Hanohano; we just call him Hano.  You might be able to tell that he’s from Hawaii.  He’s an expert surfer and will be giving lessons to those of us that haven’t surfed before.  Raise your hands if you want lessons.”

Miranda stared at Catie’s group.  Chris and Alyssa raised their hands.  “I’m just here to lie on the beach,” Sophia said.

“I’m with her,” Fiona said.

“Artie?”

“I’ve been a few times.  I can usually manage to stand up.”

“Alex?”

“I do alright,” Catie said, Kal had given her had quite a few lessons.

Miranda turned and looked at her group of pilots.  The other woman raised her hand, and two of the guys raised theirs.  “Okay, I can give paddleboard lessons while you wait for the surf lessons; paddleboarding isn’t too hard to learn.”

Miranda looked at Sophia.

“Still lying on the beach.”

Miranda laughed.  “Quick introductions, I think everyone knows me; I’m Miranda.  This is Kassidy; that’s Jerome, Oliver, and Spencer.  Guys, that is Alex and Fiona; I went to the academy with them.  The rest are from Delphi University, Artie, Sophia, Alyssa, and Chris.”

Everyone exchanged quick hellos, the men eyeing the women to see who they might pair up with.  Artie was trying to figure out if he was supposed to pair up with Kassidy; she looked a bit out of his league.

“Alex,” Miranda called out.  “Since you’re such a good surfer, do you want to help Hano with the lessons?”

“I can try.  I’m sure I’m good enough to get a newbie standing on the board.”

“Great, then let’s get to it.  We’ll be staying on the west side of the beach; the east side is reserved for expert surfers.  Try to stay out of everyone’s way.  Courtesy is the watchword.”

Sophia made a big show of getting her towel and umbrella set up.  The driver pulled out some more umbrellas and staked out an area on the beach.  He then hauled a few coolers over to the area.  Once he was done with that, he set himself up on the east side in a beach chair and sat down.

Spencer grabbed a surfboard, and Catie followed him to the beach, assuming he wanted a lesson.  As she was showing him how to stand on the surfboard while it was on the sand, Catie noticed a couple of men on WaveRunners just floating off the shore.  She was pretty sure they were part of her security detail, the ones that Fiona had sent ahead to prep.

Artie spent some time with Kassidy, but it was obvious that she was more interested in Hano; she spent a lot of time on surfing lessons.  Artie drifted over and sat down next to Sophia.

Eventually, they all came back to the umbrellas and had lunch.  The hotel had packed an excellent lunch of pork manapua, tuna poke, and salad.  After lunch, Artie and Alyssa got up and took a walk down the beach.

“Kassidy, you were supposed to hang out with Artie,” Miranda scolded.

“Why, he’s just a kid.”

“He’s twenty-one; that’s just a year younger than you.”

“I know, but he’s still in college; that makes a big difference; he doesn’t have to deal with real life yet.”

Miranda laughed.  “He’s finishing up an MBA and a bachelor’s in engineering.”

“Still.”

“He’s already running two businesses; I bet he’s worth more than all of us pilots here put together.”

“No way!  He’s just a kid.”

“Alex, how much do you think Artie’s worth?”

“He’s a pretty worthwhile guy,” Catie said.

“In dollars!”

“Oh, well, he leased that shuttle for his moon tours, so he has to have about one hundred million in assets,” Catie said.

Kassidy gulped.  “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.  He’s a pretty shrewd investor in the stock market, he owns that shipping business, and he just started up that moon tour business.  I might be underestimating his worth.”

Kassidy shook her head.  “Well, they always say not to judge a book by its cover.”

“Yep, and I think it’s too late for you now; he and Alyssa are holding hands.”

“Really?!” Catie said.  “About time.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Petty Officer Brigitte Descoteaux, reporting,” Yvette told the admin outside of Admiral Clark’s office.  Captain Clark had been promoted to a full admiral to put him on an even footing with the other members of the military realignment committee that was part of the effort to unify Earth under a single government.

“He gets a big promotion for this assignment; I get demoted to an enlisted person,” Yvette thought.  “It’s just not fair.”

The intelligence service had decided that a petty officer was more likely to get in on the  gossip than a lieutenant.  And they had also informed her that a petty officer was unlikely to be a scratch golf player.  She was heartbroken about that; her golf game was starting to suffer.

“Go right in; he’s expecting you,” the admin said.

Yvette gave a sharp knock at the door, opened it, and entered.  “Petty Officer Descoteaux, reporting as ordered.”

“Come right in,” Admiral Clark said.  “Close the door and have a seat.”

Yvette did as ordered.

“So, Yvette, are you ready for this assignment?”

Yvette was a bit startled at hearing her real name.  It made sense that they had briefed the admiral, but they hadn’t bothered to tell her.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, because I’m not sure I am,” the admiral joked.  “You’re going to be my dog’s body.  Essentially running and fetching for me, taking notes, doing research.  It should put you in a good position to meet and interact with the admins on the other staffs.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, in order to fit in, you’re going to have to share some of our secrets.  I understand; I just ask that you tell me what you share.  Before, if possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The goal is for you to learn things.  I’m not in the intelligence chain of command, but, if possible, I’d like to know what you learn.  Mention it to your handler and see what he agrees is okay to share with me.  I’ll get it a lot faster if it doesn’t have to go all the way up the chain before it comes to me.”

“I can help with that,” ADI chimed in.

“Thank you, ADI.  I’m sure you’ll do whatever you can.  Now, Yvette, your duties will give you a lot of latitude.  Work with ADI to arrange for others to do some of the grunt work so you have enough free time to get your real job done.  Just make sure you look busy.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And when this is over, I’ll take you on a trip to Australia to play golf.”

“Thank you, sir,” Yvette said.  Genuinely grateful for the offer, even if she was a bit nervous about playing with the Admiral.

“Dismissed.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Hi, Miranda,” Catie said; she and Miranda had agreed to meet for lunch.  Catie and the gang were heading back to Delphi City that evening.

“Hi, Alex.  Where's the rest of the gang?”

“They're at the beach.  Sophia and Alyssa bought new bikinis.”

“What about Chris?”

“She’s kind of a one-piece girl.  Anyway, they wanted to get a last day in before we headed back.”

Miranda snorted a bit.  “Delphi City has that nice beach, and you guys are just a few miles away from Rarotonga and all of its beaches.”

“Yeah, but they think the guys here are nicer, or at least different.”

“What about Artie?”

“He’s staying close to Alyssa.”

“Are they official?”

“Not yet; when we get back, I’ll give him a kick in the pants to wake him up.”

“You might have to do more than that; that guy is a bit dense.”

“Oblivious would be the word I’d use.”

Miranda laughed.  “Right, Captain Oblivious.”

“Yep.  Anyway, you guys are heading back out to sea tomorrow.”

“Yes.  One more week, and I’ll finish my carrier quals.”

“Great.  Then what?”

“Another year on the Reagan.”

“Then?”

“I don’t know.  Either I’ll go back to Delphi Forces, or maybe by then the U.S. Navy will have spaceplanes.”

“Oh, right.  I’d forgotten that the Foxes we sold you can’t go out of the atmosphere.”

“Nope, no space engines.  You can get out there, but maneuverability sucks, and you run out of fuel pretty fast.”

“Well, I think Daddy’s just waiting for the unified government before he sells space fighters to Earth’s defense forces.”

“Hey, Miranda, who’s your friend?” a sharp-looking guy asked as he walked over to their table.  Miranda rolled her eyes.  Catie could tell that whoever the guy was, he wasn’t one of Miranda’s favorites.

“Gordan, this is Alex MacGregor; Alex, this is Lieutenant Gordan Loxley; he’s in my squadron.”

“Hello, Gordan,” Catie said.

“Watch out, he’s an ass,” Miranda messaged Catie.

“Miranda, I heard you invited Spencer to go surfing with your friends.  Why didn’t you invite me?  You know I’m an expert.”

“We had a full crew,” Miranda said, obviously lying.

“Your loss,” Gordan said as he sat down at their table.  “Alex, how do you know Miranda?”

“We were at the Academy together,” Catie said.

“Oh, are you a pilot?”

“Yes.”

“Oryxes?”

“Sure.”

“Alex is qualified on all three jets, the Oryx, the Fox, and the Lynx.  She was flying Lynxes before she came to the Academy.”

Gordan gave Catie an appraising look, obviously not sure he should believe Miranda.

“So, what are you guys talking about?” he asked.

“Space fighters,” Miranda said.  “We were speculating when we would get some.”

“I can’t wait.  I’d really like to be one of the first to pilot a Fox in space.  I bet it feels amazing.  Tell us about it?” Gordan asked Catie.

“Ask Miranda; she’s fully qualified on a Delphi Fox.  How many space hours do you have?” Catie asked.

“Five hundred or so.”

Gordan flinched at that.  Catie figured that was probably more flight hours than he even had in a Fox.

“Pretty impressive,” Gordan said.  “Hey, I see a friend of mine over there.  Miranda, I’ll catch up with you later.  Bye, Alex.”

Miranda laughed.  “I told you he was an ass.  He couldn’t stand to sit here and have to admit I had more flight hours than he does.”

“I was surprised you hadn’t told him before.”

“I try to keep a low profile,” Miranda said.  “I’m the new kid in the squadron.”

“Well, don’t keep too low a profile.  You don’t want Jerome to overlook you.”

Miranda blushed; she had been trying to play it cool with Jerome, but obviously, Catie had noticed that she had a little crush on him.

◆ ◆ ◆

When they got back from Hawaii, Catie had a special engagement to attend.  For once, Catie wasn’t complaining about having to dress up as a princess.  Today, she was going to christen the Solar Princess.  Ajda had taken it out for a shakedown cruise the week before and, after a few adjustments, had declared her fit for duty.

Since the Solar Princess was not designed to fly in atmosphere, she would need to be christened in space, so she was orbiting next to Delphi Station.

“I dub thee, Solar Princess,” Catie announced as she pressed the button that launched a bottle of champagne at the bow of the new spaceliner.

Cheers when up as champagne corks popped around the room.

“Good job,” Marc said to his daughter.  “This was a pretty big project, even for you.”

“And I signed up for it myself,” Catie said.

“So now what?” Marc asked.

“We’re taking her out with a full crew and 1/3 the number of guests she’s designed for.  They’ll do a ten-day cruise to train up the crew and further verify that she is ready to handle a full complement of guests.”

“What about you?  You have to head out to Onisiwo in one week, or have you delayed that?”

“No, I haven’t delayed it.  As if I would dare without consulting you.  I’m going to spend three days playing princess aboard her; then I’ll take a shuttle back here.  We’ve arranged her course, so she swings by Earth after her flyby of Mars.”

“I see.  So, you’ll be at the board meeting in person?”

“Yes.  I figured I could only handle playing princess and having to dine with the muckety mucks for three days.  I’m using the board meeting as an excuse to leave early.”

“Have fun.  I see Sophia over there waiting to interview you.”

“Yeah, let the games begin,” Catie said.

“Hey, it’ll be good practice for when you get to Aperanje,” Samantha said as she gave Catie a push toward Sophia.

“Princess Catherine, how does it feel to launch the first passenger liner designed for space?” Sophia asked once she had Catie cornered.

“It is exciting to usher in a new age in Earth’s expansion into space.  This will allow everyone to experience the sight of Saturn’s rings up close.  And I hope it will make space seem less frightening.  We hope more people decide to find a way to take advantage of the opportunities that space travel offers.  I also . . .”

“Enough of your interview,” Crystal said as the interview started to wind down.  “Let’s board.”

The Solar Princess was now in a stationary orbit.  It was in the orbital path of Delphi Station, so it was reasonable to assume nothing would run into her before she completed boarding and made her way toward Mars.

The teenagers filed into the shuttle, which was being held for Catie.  It only took twenty minutes between them boarding the shuttle and their arrival aboard the Solar Princess.

“Nice,” Sophia said.  “I heard that half of your guests came directly from Earth.”

“That’s correct.  With a geostationary position, we can bring people up to the Princess without them ever having to go through microgravity.”

“Ooh, pretty fancy,” Crystal said as they deplaned from the shuttle into the flight bay.  The flight bay was decorated to look like you were standing in the center of the solar system, looking at all the planets.  The floor was carpeted, there were handrails from the ramp to the airlock to provide assistance for passengers who were unsteady on their feet, plus enough stewards that each passenger on the shuttle could have an escort.

Captain Bunch was there to greet Catie.

“Princess, welcome aboard.”

“Thank you, Captain.  We can dispense with the princess stuff unless we’re doing something official or hosting some guests.”

“These aren’t guests?” Captain Bunch asked.

“Definitely not; they’re freeloaders.  I’ve been trying to get rid of them for years.”

Crystal smacked Catie on the shoulder.  “And I thought we were friends.”

“Friendly freeloaders,” Catie corrected herself.

Captain Bunch smiled at everyone as she motioned to a steward.

“Your cabins are ready.  Your luggage should already be there.  Jones here will escort you.”

“Thank you, Captain; I’ll see you at dinner.”

Jones motioned for them to follow him and led them through the airlock and to the top deck.  “Of course, you’re in the owner’s cabins.  The three best cabins on the ship.”

“So, Artie gets his own cabin?” Alyssa asked.

“Unless you want to bunk with him.”

“Go ahead,” Sophia said.  “I’d be happy to have my own cabin.”

“Hey, I’m bunking with Catie.  She has separate sleeping cabins,” Alyssa said.

“Why do you get to bunk with her?”

“Because she’s not going to let a reporter bunk with her,” Alyssa said.

“What about me?” Crystal asked.

“I have to bunk with Sophia at school.  It’s your turn.”

“Does she snore?”

“Like a buzz saw.”

“I do not!”

“I have recordings on my Comm.”

Sophia glared at Alyssa, daring her to play the recording.  Alyssa wisely decided not to press her luck any further.  Sophia had lots of ways to get even.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie and her friends gathered in the sitting area of her cabin as the Solar Princess made its departure loop from Earth.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool,” Crystal said as the view of the Earth and Moon was centered on the ceiling.

“How did they do that?” Alyssa asked.

“The same way Artie’s shuttle did it on the way to the moon.  The ship just does a rotation around an imaginary axis so that you maintain gravity the whole time.”

“Oh, right, I guess we did that when we left for the moon.  But I have to say that this is a lot more comfortable,” Alyssa said.

“It is,” Catie agreed.  “And wait until they orbit Saturn; you’ll get an even better view then.”

“Pretty exciting,” Sophia said.

“But not as exciting as watching Artie and his security guy chase those two idiots down on the moon,” Alyssa said.

Catie rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, can you imagine someone thinking that it’s okay to walk across Tranquility Base?  It would have been awful if Artie hadn’t been able to stop them.  What if they’d walked over Armstrong’s footprint?”

“That would have been a disaster,” Artie agreed.  “I’ve asked the U.N. to allow us to erect a fence around the site to prevent that.  I’m waiting to hear back from them.”

“That a good idea.  You don’t want to have to chase someone down on each trip.  Although it did add a lot of excitement,” Catie said.

Chapter 7

Board Meeting – Jan 6th

After having to play Princess on the Solar Princess for the last three days, Catie was happy to go to Marc's ‘planning meeting.’  She wasn’t even mad that he had refused to slide it out a day to give her more time on the Solar Princess.

“Let’s start this meeting,” Marc said as the group gathered in the boardroom of the Royal Residence beside the Four Seasons hotel.  “As you know, this is our last chance to meet face-to-face for a while.  Catie is heading off to Onisiwo in three days.”

“I think I should start,” Blake said.

“Sure.” Marc was surprised at Blake for volunteering to be first in front of the firing line.

“I wanted to go over the status of our recruitment efforts for colonists, and especially how that’s being impacted by the ISIS prisoners we’ve agreed to accept.”

Everyone winced as they recalled the discussion about sending ISIS prisoners off to Artemis to get them out of the prison camps and away from bad influences.

“As Catie suggested, ADI has been able to sort the prisoners into three groups:  One, the true devotees to the cause; they make up about twelve to fourteen percent.  Two, the basic criminals who are happy to join any cause where they can beat up on people and steal from them; they’re about ten percent.  And three, the ones who just joined because they either weren’t given a choice or were so poor that they didn’t have one.  ADI tells me that she can isolate this group from the others with a high degree of confidence.”

“Yes, but it means we are only going to be able to take about seventy percent of the prisoners,” ADI said.

“That’s still better than having them rot in prison,” Samantha said.  “And if we take seventy percent, then there will be more resources available to manage the others.”

“I agree,” Marc said.  “I assume there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

“Yes, how do we deal with the colonist reaction to their history?” Blake asked.  “We don’t want to lie about where they come from.”

“Well, first, why don’t you set up a training camp here?  Work with Iman Haddad and see what we can learn as we train them to be colonists.  Then we’ll see how to introduce them to Artemis.”

“Okay, but unless you object, I plan to hand this off to Major Sarraf.  He’s from Lebanon, so he does have some background with this problem.”

They spent another thirty minutes going over the essential business results from Fred and getting a quick update for everyone before Marc decided to move on, much to everyone’s relief.

“Let’s move onto the main subject of this meeting,” Marc said

“Now, to recap the issues that Margaret brought to our attention, they are:

“The Aurora being tied to and backed by MacKenzies.  They feel that means that Earth somehow has an advantage.

“The jump gates being controlled by MacKenzies, same perception about Earth having an advantage.

“GalaxyNet being managed and controlled by MacKenzies.  Again, issues with Earth having a perceived advantage.

“The mapping and allocation of habitable planets being controlled by MacKenzies.  Ditto on Earth.

“The majority of the fleet being crewed from Earth.  I guess they think that means we would defend Earth over their planets.

“Trade with Helike and Onisiwo being tightly managed by Delphi League.

“So, does anyone have any ideas?”

Blake shook his head and laughed.  “I think it means they don’t like you.”

“What?!”

“Hey, you’re the marquee name for MacKenzies and the Delphi League.  So, all these issues they’re having must mean that they don’t trust you.”

“Can we please be serious?”

Samantha interrupted, “Marc, although we all know Blake is just yanking your chain, he does have a point.  The issue is that the other governments don’t feel they have the ability to influence the decisions and policies that are now suddenly affecting the welfare of their planets.  You have to realize how big a change all of these planets have experienced in the last two years.  Helike and Onisiwo had no idea that interstellar travel was possible, much less interstellar trade.  The Paraxean colonies had all accepted the fact that their colony missions were one-way trips; that except for some minimal communication via the quantum relays, they would have no contact with Paraxea, and certainly no trade.”

“I know, but how do we address that issue without just throwing the gates wide open?”

“What’s the problem with throwing the gates wide open?” Kal asked.

Marc started to speak, then gulped and gave Kal a pained look.

“Hey, I’m just asking.”

“We have to manage the introduction of technology to minimize the disruption to the economies of the new planets.  If we just threw trade wide open, their economies would go into shock.  Many of their major industries would collapse as Paraxea or Earth provided products that they can’t manufacture yet.”

“True, but why do we care?  And before you bite my head off, I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”

“We care because we don’t want their populations hating the Delphi League and its members.  If we create that kind of disruption, a lot of people will lose their jobs, and a lot of wealthy people will lose fortunes.”

“So?!” Kal said.

Blake chuckled.  “Look, you know, and we know, that you’re doing the right thing, but you did just impose your decision on everyone without much discussion.  I suspect that these aliens are a lot more human than one might think, and they just don’t like being told what to do, even if it is in their best interest.  Sam, help us out here.”

Samantha just looked at Margaret.

Margaret gave Samantha a tight smile.  “Well, I wasn’t there when the decisions were made, but I suspect Blake is right.  They probably resent having the policy imposed on them.  And since the League is just forming, it’s not like you can point to a long history to say it is established policy.  And on Onisiwo, there are still some people smarting from Catie’s little lesson.”

“Not Constantine?!” Catie gasped.

“No, not him.  He seems to have disappeared.  But he took a few people down with him when his telecom business collapsed.”

“It didn’t collapse.  We started selling to them pretty quickly,” Catie said, defending herself.

“Yes, but the stock collapsed.  People didn’t lose their jobs, but a few rich people got their fingers burned.”

“Which is exactly my point,” Marc said.  “We have to manage the introduction of the technology to avoid things like that.”

“I agree, but maybe there could have been more negotiation before the decision was imposed.”

“So, how do you suggest we change this situation without going back in time?”

“You need to give the League more power,” Margaret said while giving Samantha a pleading look.

“And just let them gang together to exploit the new worlds that join the League?” Marc asked.

“No,” Samantha said coming to Margaret’s rescue.  “You have Helike, Onisiwo, and Earth in the same boat, so if you leak that you’re considering allowing the unregulated release of technology, their populations will scream bloody murder and demand that the government protect their jobs and investment.  Then the League Ambassadors would enact your policy of controlled introduction of technology.  You should be able to count on the Raaqres and Mangkatar to back Earth, so it’ll pass.”

“Okay, I guess we could survive the drama.  What else?”

“Let the League control which planets get colonized and by who?” Margaret added.

“And what would that look like?”

“Yeah!  And are we going to do the survey first or leave that up to the League?” Catie asked.

“Oh, that is a complication I hadn’t considered,” Margaret said.  “I assume it’s expensive to have the League survey the planets first.”

“Yes, and what’s to stop a planet or a company from setting up a colony without giving the colonists sufficient training or resources to actually survive?” Blake asked.

“It’s not like they’ll be out of touch.  We could help them out if things went bad.”

“Sure, but who pays for that, and how do you justify interfering unless the colony is actually failing before you try?”

“I know what you should do!” Catie said, giving Marc a feral grin.

“What?!” Marc asked, sure he would regret it, but knowing there was no way to avoid it.

“Instead of going to Ganesh, you should start up a new colony that includes people from all the planets.  Then they would all know what it takes to be successful.  We could do a galactic video series on the effort, like weekly reports or maybe like a reality show, but one that’s real instead of fake.”

Marc glared at Catie.

“Come on.  If you had each government set up training facilities to mirror the one here on Delphi and had their news media cover them, then the whole planet would know what it took.  Then if they continued to follow the story as the colony was established, it would be hard to get people to agree to do something riskier.  It’s hard enough when you do it right.”

“Marc, Catie has a point,” Samantha said, immediately seeing the value in the idea.  “It would be better than just letting them try on their own.  And even if you tell them what they should do, it’s unlikely they would stick to the script.  But if we set it up this way, then the training would be the price of admission.  You could say that the League will not sell colony planets to civilizations that haven’t experienced working in the new colony.”

“Listen to your wife and daughter,” Margaret said.  “I’m sure I could convince Onisiwo and Helike to join the effort.  Paraxea already knows what to do, but reinforcing it wouldn’t be a bad idea, and the gates really change things.  And it might be a good incentive to get the four civilizations Catie is going to visit to join the League.”

Marc glared at Catie again.  “How long have you been sitting on this idea?”

“What?” Catie asked, giving everyone an innocent look.

“How long?”

“Just six months.  I thought about it on Vulcan while watching the new miners get used to each other and adapt their methods based on what they learned from the other miners.”

“Even with the sabotage?” Liz asked.

“Well, I thought of it before that started.”

“Marc?” Samantha asked, bringing him back to Catie’s proposal.

“Okay,” Marc sighed, “It is a good idea.  Maggie, can you run it by the League, see if we can get an agreement on it?  Say it’s the first step in giving the League control over the list.”

“I can do that,” Margaret said with a smile.  “Do we have a planet to suggest?”

“We’re putting together a mission to survey two of the planets,” Blake said.  “I assume we want one close to 1G.”

“One that is a bit higher, like 1.2Gs, would be nice,” Dr. Metra said.  “The Aperanjens would find it comfortable without risking too much change in their bone structure, and the rest of us would adapt without too much discomfort.”

“Okay, I see that three of the eight have gravity over 1G, so we’ll survey them first.  It would be nice if we could eliminate any unsuitable planets before we had to commit to a survey mission,” Blake added.

“I’ll work with Ajda on a probe that we can send,” Catie said.  “We’ve been talking about different probe configurations, so I have some ideas.”

“Will you have time?” Samantha asked.

“I’m going to be spending four weeks getting to Onisiwo before we start, so I think I’ll have plenty of time to get Ajda started; besides, she’ll do most of the work.”

“Okay, let’s stop here.  We’ll reconvene again after Maggie has a chance to talk with the League ambassadors.”

As everyone got up to leave, Marc motioned for Liz to stay behind.  Catie immediately halted her withdrawal to see what was up.

“Don’t you have a goodbye party to go to?” Marc said.

“Yes, but I’m covering my wingmate.”

“Don’t worry; I’m only going to keep her for a few minutes.  Between her and Sam, they should be able to help me plan how to set up training for the multi-species colony mission.”

“Okay.  Liz, don’t let him talk you into anything.  We’re heading out tomorrow, right?!”

“Right.”

“Go!” Marc said.

“One more thing, can I tell Sophia about the mixed colony?”

Marc sighed heavily.  “Only as something we’ve discussed.  Nothing definitive.”

“Thanks.  Liz, good luck; call me if you need help.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Liz, you’ll probably need to mentor Catie more closely,” Marc said once Catie was gone.  “She’s going to be in the spotlight the entire time.  She’ll need your support even more than usual.”

“I’ll always be there for her.  I suspect she’ll need me to help her blow off steam more than anything, but I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“And so will I,” ADI chipped in.

“Thanks, both of you.  Let me know if I need to do anything besides give her space.”

“We will,” Liz said.

“Good, now let’s spend some time listing what we need to do to set up the new colonly.”

Chapter 8

Mission Start

Catie and Liz arranged to fly to the Aventurier together.  Only a month ago, Ajda had refitted the Aventurier and the Chesapeake with the new, more efficient gravity drives, so now they were ready to head out on Catie’s new mission.

In the Aventurier, Ajda had used the additional space to create a section of cabins that could accommodate the League envoys and ambassadors that would accompany Catie on the mission.  They were all suites like the captain’s cabin and had a series of nice cabins close by to accommodate the staff.  Ajda had even expanded Catie’s ‘Princess’s quarters, adding a third bedroom and enlarging the dining space.

Since they had flown up in the captain’s shuttle, they were able to exit the shuttle and go through the airlock almost immediately.  It was only a two-minute walk to reach the bridge from there.

“Captain on the bridge!” the Aventurier announced as Liz walked onto the bridge.  Catie had stayed at the entrance so the Aventurier wouldn’t be confused about what to do when the Captain and the Princess walked onto the bridge at the same time.  And she wanted to let Liz have the glory of being announced to the full bridge crew for the first time.  She was surprised to see Lieutenant Questa Bastien was the first officer.  Questa was the French officer whom they’d met on the ISS back when Samantha had been making sure Earth knew who ruled space.  She assumed that Liz wanted to surprise her with the news.

“As you were.”  Liz moved to the captain's chair and sat down.  “Status?”

“We are ready for departure,” First Officer Bastien reported.  “Ambassador Hannaford arrived just before you did and is in her quarters.  Ambassador Hausmann and his team arrived this morning.  Our stores are full, and all personnel have reported in.”

“The Chesapeake?”

“She reports ready to depart as well.”

“Excellent, break orbit and set a course for the jump gate.  Tell the Chesapeake to follow us at fifty thousand meters.”

“Aye, aye.”

“Princess, my day cabin,” Liz said quietly to Catie.  Catie had eased herself onto the bridge, instructing Aventurier not to announce her.  After a smile and a slight wave to First Officer Bastien, Catie followed Liz to her cabin.

“How did it feel?” Catie asked.

“Pretty good, but you should know, you were captain of the Roebuck during the Fazullan campaign.”

“I know.  But there was so much going on, and besides, I was terrified, so I really didn’t have a chance to savor the moment.”

“Oh, I guess you started out as captain of the civilian scout; being made captain of the DSS Roebuck was kind of sudden.”

“That’s true.  Now, did you have something you wanted to talk about, or were you just trying to get me off your bridge?”

“I thought I was doing you a favor by giving you a graceful exit.  You’re welcome on the bridge anytime you’d like.  After all, you are the leader of the expedition, Princess.”

“Why, thank you, Commodore,” Catie stressed Liz’s temporary rank since she was the military commander of both the Chesapeake and the Aventurier.

Liz laughed and gave Catie a hug.  “Let’s not let our big titles go to our heads.”

“I’ve had practice avoiding that; it’s you I’m worried about.”

“Okay, be that way.  Would you join me for dinner?  It’ll give us both a chance to catch up with Questa.”

“I’d love to.  When did you know she was going to be your first officer?”

“As soon as Blake said I could have her.”

“And you didn’t tell me.”

“Surprises are good for you; they teach you to control your emotions.”

“Okay, dinner at 1900, anyone else?”

“Right, at 1900, and nobody else, I thought we’d keep it small so we can catch up.”

“Okay, see you then.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Hello, Maggie, how have you been?” Catie said as she joined Margaret in her cabin.

“Just fine, why do you ask?  We were just in a meeting together yesterday.”

“Well, it feels like you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.  I’ve just been busy with relatives and assignments from your father.”

“Good, I wanted to chat with you about my mission.  Do you mind?”

“Of course not, and I may have some questions for you about mine.”

“That’s fair.  First, I wanted to ask you why my being a Princess is supposed to help.”

“Oh, you mean besides being beautiful and exotic?”

Catie blushed a bit.  “Yeah.”

“You do know how the League is set up, don’t you?”

“I think so.”

“An important fact that you may have glossed over is that your father is the Chair of the Delphi League.  Although he usually doesn’t attend the meetings, that position gives him a lot of power over the League.”

“I knew that.  But it’s an elected position by the League delegates, kind of like a prime minister.”

“Yes, but who’s going to vote against your father when he controls the jump gates and most of the military power of the League?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of it that way.  So that’s how he gets away with some of the decisions he makes.”

“Yes.  It causes a lot of frustration, but nobody is going to object too harshly.  And his decisions have always been what’s best for the League.”

“True, so back to the princess thing.”

“Since your father is the chair of the League, a point you’ll want to make when you’re meeting with these ambassadors and world leaders, you, as his representative and heir apparent, have a lot of stature, and being Princess Catherine just adds extra panache.”

“Ah, I see.  Okay, I can work with that,” Catie said.  “Another thing I wanted to your thoughts on: Sam told me that she found me always unflappable but not always inscrutable; can you help me understand what she means?  I don’t get it.”

“Hmm, let me think about that.”  Margaret sat back in her chair and pondered the question.  After a few moments, she smiled at Catie.  “Here’s what I think.  Nothing throws you off your stride.  You’re laser-focused and immune to distractions when you’re working toward a goal.  But when you’re just interacting with people, you sometimes telegraph your thoughts and emotions, especially when you’re surprised.  Basically, you act like a teenager, which isn’t all that bad.”

“So, what’s Sam’s problem?”

“She probably wants you to adopt the role of Princess more fully.  Royalty is always inscrutable.”

“Why?”

“Probably just to look regal and above it all, but it does keep down the gossip.  You never know who’s watching, plus you always have a bodyguard around.  You don’t want them to get too much insight into your thoughts.”

“Morgan and Fiona would never say a thing.”

“But what about their shadows?”

“Oh!  . . .  I don’t think I have to worry about them.  Morgan once told me that she let them know that if one of them ever shared something, she would give them some personal hand-to-hand training before busting them to private and kicking them to the curb.”

“Good, but do you see what I mean?”

“I guess, but I should be able to be excited when I meet a friend.”

“Yes, but you might not want others to know how important that person is to you.”

“So, I’m supposed to act like a robot?”

“No, but you want to actively control people’s image of you.”

“Oh . . . like when I play poker?”

“Maybe; what exactly do you mean by that?”

“When I play poker, I want to manage what others believe I’m thinking.  I throw in a subtle expression sometimes to keep them guessing.  I don’t want them to know when I have a good hand or when I’m bluffing.  Nobody can be completely impassive, so I have fun keeping them confused.”

“That would probably work.  We should use that holodeck you had installed and try out some scenarios.  Liz could help.”

“Sure, that sounds like fun.  Now, what about your mission?”

“I need to figure out the best way to sell a multi-civilization colony to the League.”

“I thought that would be easy.  Making participation a requirement before they can get a colony planet from us seems like enough.”

“I’d rather use a carrot; that sounds too much like a stick.”

“Well, then stress how big an opportunity it will be to learn from their allies.  You can stress that it’s about starting up a colony, but they’ll think of it as an opportunity to gather intelligence; nobody is going to want to risk missing out on that.”

“Clever.  I’m sure that will work.  It will be one of the best ways for them to learn what other civilizations have to trade or would want to trade for.”

“And they might be able to steal a few secrets and grab some technology earlier.  I’m assuming we won’t restrict the technology on the joint colony.”

“Ohh, that’s a complication I hadn’t thought of.  But that’s your father's problem.  You should probably point it out to him in case he missed it.”

“I will, but I want to wait a few weeks.”

“You’re such a bad girl.”

“Hey, I’ve got years to make up for.”

◆ ◆ ◆

That evening, Catie got ready for dinner with Liz and First Officer Bastien.  During the day, things had been so busy for the crew that Catie hadn’t had time to talk with Questa other than a hurried hello-goodbye in the passageway.

As soon as Catie entered Liz’s day cabin, Questa came over and gave her a big hug.  “Look at you, the last time we met, you were what, fifteen?”

“Fourteen,” Catie corrected Questa.

“And you’d just been made Princess of Delphi if I recall correctly.”

Catie rolled her eyes, “Yeah, and I can tell you that being a princess is not all it’s cracked up to be.  It’s a real pain most of the time.”

“Catie doesn’t like having to dress up,” Liz offered.

“Ah, I remember you in that shipsuit.  And that shower on the Lynx, that was so divine.”  Questa looked like a three-year-old being offered ice cream for dinner when she mentioned the shower.

“That was Sam’s shower diplomacy,” Catie said.

“Well, it was pretty good diplomacy.  What a shock it was having you guys show up in that spaceplane.  It made all our efforts on the ISS seem trivial.”

“But you guys accomplished a lot of scientific experiments,” Catie said.

“Yes, but you guys ran by us like we were standing still.”

“I was so happy to hear you were going to join Delphi Forces,” Catie said, changing the subject from the fact that Samantha’s goal had been to make it clear that Delphi was the de facto leader in space.

“Are you sure?  You know my country debriefs me every few months.”

“Of course we do.  We’d do the same thing.  I’m sure Uncle Blake told you to share whatever you knew.”

“Why don’t we settle down and have drinks and let the steward take our meal orders,” Liz suggested.

It only took the steward a minute to take their orders; as soon as he left the room, Questa turned to Catie.  “Do you guys really not care if members of the crew share things with their governments?”

“We care, but we’re careful to make sure that the people who are caught in that vise don’t know things that we want kept secret.”

“But won’t they learn them from the other crewmembers?”

“No, we’re pretty careful about who knows what.”

“So, say if I told you that it was common knowledge among those of us who really don’t have a need-to-know that you have a matter-antimatter powerplant in your starships, what would you say?”

“That used to be a secret, but it’s hard to hide now, especially after the incident in Helike.”

“Yeah, what was that about?  They blew up their own moon?”

“Someone was trying to steal antimatter.  What they didn’t realize is that someone else was also trying to steal some, so there was a lot left behind when they blew up the lab to destroy the evidence.”

“So, you assume everyone knows?”

“Yes, with the release of the cargo ships, it doesn’t take long to figure out that the fusion reactors don’t have enough power to do what the starships do.”

“What about StarMerchant’s ships?”

Catie shrugged.  “It’s kinda obvious since they can form a wormhole.”

“So, if everyone knows, are you going to start putting them on the planets?”

“No,” Catie said.  “People might know about them, but there’s a big step from knowing they exist to knowing how to build one.  Besides, making one that could handle a big city brings that incident on Helike to mind.  The fusion plants are perfectly adequate for planet-based power generation.  You only need the matter-antimatter plants when you need a lot of power but don’t have a lot of room.”

“Doesn’t that put your engineers at risk?” Questa asked.

“They all have protection details when they’re planetside.”

“I guess that should work.  Now, tell me about that big wedding.”

Chapter 9

The Games People Play

Damien was at a reception when he got the call he’d been hoping for.

“Sir, we just got word that one of the people on your watch list has run into trouble.”

Damien quickly made excuses and found a private room where he could talk.

“Who?” Damien asked.

“General Fredricks.”

“Excellent.  Tell me, what kind of trouble?”

“His son was just arrested for rape.”

“Get me the details.”

“Yes, sir.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Perry Jamison walked into the city jail, shaking his head.  General Fredricks had called him at four a.m., desperate to get his son out of a jam.  As if rape could be called a jam.

“Perry Jamison here to see Stan Fredricks.  I’m his attorney.”

“Right this way.”

Mr. Jamison was led toward the back of the jail and placed in an interview room where he would have privacy.  Ten minutes later, Stan Fredricks was brought in wearing handcuffs and the ubiquitous orange jumpsuit.

“I think we can dispense with the handcuffs.”

The deputy nodded at Jamison and then removed the handcuffs.  He pushed Stan toward the chair.  Jamison noticed that the deputy wasn’t too gentle about it.

Once the door was closed, Stan pounded the table.  “I didn’t rape her!  She wanted it!”

“Shut up!  If you say something like that in front of witnesses, I can guarantee you’ll be convicted!”

Stan sat back and gave Jamison a hard look.

“You said that to the cops who arrested you, didn’t you?”

“Well, it’s true.”

“Just shut up.  I’ll see if I can get that excluded.  Now, if you don’t want to spend the next twenty years in prison, you’ll keep your mouth shut and only say what I tell you to.”

Stan just stared at Jamison.

“Do you understand me?!”

“Yes.”

◆ ◆ ◆

It only took Jamison thirty minutes to gather the facts.  He clenched his jaw as he called the general.

“General Fredricks, this is Perry Jamison.”

“Perry, what the hell is going on?  I need this to go away.”

“I’m sorry, sir.  I’ve reviewed the evidence.  I don’t see any way the prosecution doesn’t take this to trial.  The victim, a Lucy Bayless, has filed the complaint.  A rape kit was done.  Your son admits he had sex with her, and there are scratches on his back that he admits will match the skin under her fingernails.  There is also a video of your son pushing his way into her apartment.”

“What is he saying?”

“He says it was consensual, that she liked it rough.”

“It doesn’t make sense.  He’s the captain of the tennis team.  He’s always with a different girl every time I see him.”

“That may be, but Ms. Bayless says she never invited him into her apartment.  That she said ‘no’ immediately.  Her roommate found her around midnight, crying on the floor of her room with her clothes torn.  They immediately went to the hospital.”

“Make it go away!”

“I don’t see how.  I’ll have someone approach the girl; maybe she can be persuaded to drop the charges.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“General, there’s a gentleman on the line; he says his name is John Smith.  He says it’s about your son.”

“Put him through.  . . .  Hello?”

“General, you don’t know me, but I think we can help each other.”

“What is this about, and just who the hell are you?”

“I’m the man who can make your son’s problems go away.”

“How?”

“Not your concern.  But I need some help from you as well.”

“What help?”

“I need an inside man on the planetary unification committee.”

“I’m not on that committee.”

“You could be.  Are you interested?”

General Fredricks considered just slamming the phone down.  But if his son went to trial, much less if he was convicted, then his military career was over, and his son’s life would be ruined.

“We should talk.”

“Okay, I’m going to have my guy fix your son’s problem.  But if you back out, then I’ll ruin both of you.”

“I don’t take kindly to threats,” General Fredricks said just as the line went dead.

◆ ◆ ◆

Damien immediately called his main fixer.

“Marcus, I have a job for you.”

“Yes, sir?”

“I need you to convince Lucy Bayless of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to drop charges against Stan Fredricks.”

“What are the charges?”

“Rape.”

“I see.  And what methods am I authorized to use?”

“Cash, as much as it takes.  We need her to withdraw the charges.”

“As much as it takes?  That’s pretty open-ended.”

“Yes, it is.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Ms. Bayless, do you have time to chat?” Marcus asked as he approached her at the student cafeteria where she worked.

“I’m not talking to reporters.”

“I’m not a reporter.  I think I can help you, if you’re interested.”

“How?”

“Can we talk?”

“Okay.  I’ll take my break now.  It’s not too busy.”  Lucy waved to her co-worker and pointed to a corner of the cafeteria.

“Could we go somewhere else?” Marcus asked.

“No!  I don’t know you.”

“Okay, this should work,” Marcus said as he sat at the table Lucy had indicated.  He looked around; there wasn’t anyone in the general area.

“So, how can you help me?” Lucy asked.

“I’d like to ask what it would take for you to give this statement to the police.”  Marcus slid a piece of paper to Lucy.

It felt like rape.  He pushed his way in.  He didn’t even bother to call before.  Then when it was over, he just left.  I felt like a whore.  He deserved to be arrested.

“Are you insane!  I wouldn’t say this for a million dollars!”

“How about two million?”

Lucy’s eyes went wide.  “You can’t be serious.  Why?”

“My reasons are my own.  But I can make sure you get transferred to Stanford.  The weather out there is nice; it’ll make a nice change from Boston.  With two million, you would be able to finish your degree, get a master’s, and maybe start your own business.”

“How can I trust you?”

“Easy.  If you agree, I’ll put one million in an escrow account as a scholarship fund to cover your education, the other million, we’ll put in a separate escrow account for you.  That way, you can work with a tax accountant to see how you want to take it out.  As soon as you go to the police and tell them that, I’ll make the arrangements with Stanford, and by next week you can be on the west coast.  If you double-cross me . . .  well, you had better not.”

“I don’t know; what about Stan Fredricks?  He should be in prison.”

“Don’t you worry about him.  Tell you what, I’ll make you a promise, you take the deal, and I’ll deliver a special message to Stan Fredricks.  . . .  Well?”

Lucy sat there for a few minutes.  If she refused, her life would be ruined.  The stigma would follow her around BC until she graduated.  And she was barely getting by now with the reporters and other idiots.  Her student loans were already one hundred thousand dollars, and her parents couldn’t afford to help her much more.  If she took the deal, it would all blow over; nobody at Stanford would even know what happened in Boston.  She’d have plenty of money to finish her degree, get a master’s, and maybe buy a condo once she got a job.

“I’ll do it.”

“Smart girl.  You’ll get the documents by three.  That should give you enough time to verify everything today.  I want you to go to the cops tonight.”

◆ ◆ ◆

That weekend, there was a short note in the Boston newspaper.  “Bayless retracts charges against BC tennis star.  Unfortunately, Stan Fredricks was mugged, and his arm broken, so BC still loses the captain of its tennis team.”

Lucy thought it sounded like the man had lived up to his promise.  She felt great as she said goodbye to her roommate.  They promised to stay in touch.

◆ ◆ ◆

Loxino walked into the basement of his parent’s house, thinking about what had transpired in the last few weeks.

Who would have believed that they would ever have to deal with the Paraxeans?  The entire government had dismissed the entreaties from them years ago.  The entertainment industry showed images of them and included them in various sci-fi shows, but nobody thought they would ever meet one.

Now, he wondered if they would still be listening to the relay they’d sent.  The government had put it into storage, but he’d found a way to sneak it out.  He stopped and thought back on that time.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Hello, young man, how can I help you,” the old man who managed the archives asked.

“I’m Loxino; I am working for Dr. Sheparlox; he sent me down here to get the Marxicaora encryption device.  Do you know where it is?”

“Sure, I do.  Why I can remember when they brought it down here and had me put it away.  That was, hmm, ten years ago.  Those were the days.  The security forces had just used it to take down the Voramarx gang.  Do you remember that?”

“No, what happened?” Loxino asked.  He was always a sponge for information, even back then; you never knew when you could use it to turn a profit.

“Well, some smart young officer was investigating a traffic accident and saw it in the trunk of the car.  The driver was dead.  He recognized the driver as a member of the Voramarx gang, so he grabbed that device and hid it in his patrol car.  He’d heard that the gang was using some kind of encrypted communication to get around the security forces.”

“That was smart of him.”

“I sure he thought so at first, but then . . .”  the old man led Loxino down an aisle.

“Then what?”

“Well, after he turned it in, the big bosses knew exactly what it was.  They had someone go out to the accident site and make it look like the car caught fire.  Then they sent that young officer to the far beyond.  They didn’t even give him a chance to call his girlfriend and say goodbye.  They left him out there for eighteen months, couldn’t have him blabbing to anyone about the device he found.  So, while they were rolling up the gang, he was cooling his heels in outer Sorvaliana.  He got a big promotion and a bonus when he got back, but his girl had left him.  She found some other guy that could keep her warm at night.  I bet he leaves well enough alone nowadays.”

“Interesting, so where is it?”

“Right here.”  The old man led him down a long aisle into the back of the archive.  “Yep, here it is right next to this other weird communication device.”  The old man pointed to the box marked Marxicaora Encryptor.  Then he pointed to a box labeled Paraxean relay.  “Now, that’s another good story.”

“What is it?” Loxino had asked.

“Why, that’s the Paraxean relay thing.  That was a big to-do when they got it.”

“Paraxean?”

“Yeah.  You know those aliens from another star system that wanted to talk to us?  Surely, you’ve seen the televideos about them.  They’re the ones with those dog ears that move.”

“Yes, I’ve seen the videos.  I never heard that they tried to talk with us.”

“Yep, they sent a huge probe all the way over here to our system.  Then it started to broadcast on one of our security channels.  Said they wanted to talk about trading technologies and such.  That was just about one year after that colony mission went dark, so the government wasn’t having anything to do with them.”

“You aren’t telling me that something that small made it all the way here from another star system.”

“No!” the old man said, obviously insulted.  “That’s just the relay.  The probe was massive.  Must have been two, maybe three meters in diameter—a sphere.  When the big boys decided that they didn’t want to talk, they sent a spaceplane up to try and get the probe.  As soon as they got close to it, it spit this little ball out then headed straight away from Aperanje.  Can you believe that?  It just started accelerating away from the planet.  Well, that spaceplane couldn’t change its orbit that fast, so they had no hope of catching it.  They grabbed the relay and brought it back down.”

“Wow.  Didn’t they take it apart to learn how it worked?” Loxino asked.

“That was the plan.  But as soon as they touched it, it started saying how it would fuse itself into a solid ball if they tried to open it.  I guess they believed it.  They kept it around for a while.  It kept asking us to talk to it, but nobody wanted to.  Eventually then sent it down here in that box.  I put it right there; it hasn’t moved since.”

“You mean nobody has even tried to examine it for twenty-five years?”

“Right, well, except for me.  One time, I came back here with all the lights off and opened the box.  As soon as I shined my flashlight on it, it started to hum.  I closed it back up right quick.”

“That is a good story.  Thanks for telling me,” Loxino said with a laugh.  He hefted the other box up.  “Damn, this thing is heavy.”

“I’ll bet.  Hey, you don’t have to walk all the way back up those stairs.  Let me show you a shortcut.”  With that, the old man had shown him a back door.  He unlocked it with his keys.  “If you cross over that aisle, the third door leads to the parking garage.  You can take the elevator back up to the main floor.”

“Thanks.  Wow, that will save me a lot of time.  But, won’t you get in trouble?”

“Nah, there aren’t any cameras down here.  Nobody will notice that you didn’t go back up the stairs.”

Loxino had waited six months before he went back.  He got the doctor to send him down for some other device.  He’d brought the old man a hot beverage and added a sleeping powder to it.  By the time he’d gotten the device the doctor had sent him for, the old man was asleep.  He grabbed his keys and got the Paraxean probe.  He carried it into the parking garage and put it in a friend’s car that he’d borrowed for the day.  Then he’d just locked it all back up, returned the keys, and taken the other device up to Dr. Sheparlox.

When he got home that night, he’d used a flashlight to look into the box.  Sure enough, the relay started to hum, so he sealed it back up and hid it.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Ah, here it is,” Loxino thought as he pulled the box from behind a stack of other boxes.

He did a quick check with a flashlight; the relay started to hum.  He closed it up and quietly exited the basement.

“Loxino, did you find what you were looking for?” his mother called out.

“Yes, I did.  I’ve got to take it over to my house.  I’ll come back for dinner.”

“Your father will like that.  We never get to see you anymore.”

“I’m just busy.  I’ll see you in a few hours.”

He hurried out to his car and put the device in his trunk.  He didn’t want his mother to come out and see it.  She was always nosy, and he really didn’t want to have to explain about it.  He’d told her he needed the notes from an old college project.

Once he got home, he took it to his office in the basement.  His wife and children knew better than to ever enter his office.  He opened the box and pulled the relay out.  It started to hum right away.  After a few minutes, it started talking.

“Hello, this is Paraxea.  We are the system twenty-one light-years anti-spinward of your star.  We would like to discuss trade.  Any attempts to tamper with the relay will result in it fusing into a solid mass.  . . .  Hello, this is.”

“Hello,” Loxino said.  The device immediately stopped playing its recorded message.

“Hello,” the box said.

Loxino replied right away.  “If someone is listening, I would like to discuss the Delphi League’s impending visit to Aperanje.  I will be awaiting your reply twenty-six hours from now.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Minister Monafar, we got a message on the Aperanjen quantum!”

“When?!”

“Just thirty minutes ago.  Should we call the President?”

“No!  Now, what did the message say?”

“It said they wanted to discuss the visit.  And that they would be listening in twenty-six hours.”

“Good.  Bring the quantum up here.  And don’t tell anyone about this.  I’ll inform the President privately.  This will be an advantage for Paraxea, so we don’t want anyone else in the League to know about it until we’ve explored what opportunities it presents.  Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Minister.”

◆ ◆ ◆

The next day, Minister Monafar was waiting at his desk with the relay sitting on the side table.  Of course, he hadn’t told the President about the call.  He might eventually, but first, he wanted to see what benefit he might derive from a special channel to Aperanje.

“Hello, this is Loxino, is anyone there?”

“Yes, this is Minister Monafar of Paraxea.  What do you want?”  His Comm was translating the Aperanje words to Paraxean.  The program had been developed from intercepted communications years ago.  It had taken some careful maneuvering by the minister to get access to the program without tripping any alarms.

“I’m looking for an ally to help gain the best advantage out of this Delphi League discussion.  What are your interests?”

“I would also like to see a way to gain the best advantage for Paraxea.”

“Good, then do we understand each other?”

“I believe so.  What can I do for you?”

“I need more time.  Is there any way you can delay the arrival of the delegation?”

“I might.  How much time do you need?”

“A couple of months would be nice, but I’ll take whatever I can get.”

“And how will this help Paraxea?”

“I will be able to get my people in place to control the negotiations as well as place the right people to exploit the trade agreements we reach.”

“And how does that help Paraxea?”

“We can establish a special relationship.  With my people in place, we will be able to determine what items we trade and with whom.  I’m sure there will be special imports that you will be able to provide us and some special exports we can provide to you, all under special terms.”

“Okay, I think I can arrange to delay the delegation by maybe two weeks.  Is there anything else I can do?”

“If there were a way to create some chaos during the negotiations, it would be helpful.  I always do better when everyone is forced to improvise.”

“I’ll see what I can do.  When should we communicate again?”

“I will be listening at this relay fifty-two hours from now and every fifty-two hours after that.  If you do the same, we can keep each other updated.  I assume this communication cannot be detected.”

“You are correct.  I’ll talk to you again in fifty-two hours.  Good day.”

Minister Monafar was pleased; he had already promised Damien a delay and had set that in motion.  He would have to think about how to create a little chaos, but he had a few ideas.

◆ ◆ ◆

After they had been underway for a few days, Catie invited Herr Hausmann to lunch.  She planned to ask him for some general advice.

“Princess, thank you for inviting me to lunch,” Herr Hausmann said.

“Herr Hausmann, it is my pleasure.  And please call me Catie?”

“Only if you call me James.”

“Of course, James.  Let’s be seated.”  Catie smiled, thinking that maybe James wouldn’t be as intimidating as Herr Hausmann.

Once the steward had taken their orders and provided them with beverages, Herr Hausmann looked at Catie.  “Now, what can I do for you, or is this purely a social call?”

“I don’t have many opportunities for purely social calls, but this will be close.  I wanted to ask if you had any general advice about this mission as well as the overall mission of the Delphi League.”

“Well, that certainly isn’t a simple question.”

“True, but I’m asking about your ideas, not asking for advice to solve a specific problem.”

“Hmm.  Well, to begin, I think that the things your family is trying to do on Earth are amazing.  And I’m fully supportive . . .”

“The things that we all are trying to do,” Catie said.  “All of us on the MacKenzie board and most of the people from Delphi are part of our efforts.”

“Yes, yes.  And I support the efforts as well.  But it’s your family that’s taking the lead.”

“Okay, go on, you were saying?”

“Yes.  You have an idealistic view that you’re promoting, and it mostly works, but you need to realize that some people will never sign up for it.”

Catie gave Herr Hausmann a puzzled look.

Herr Hausmann thought, ‘I can’t be the first one to tell her that the world isn’t a particularly nice place.  She’s been involved in several wars, so she must know.’

“It’s just that there will always be some people who only care about themselves; they never have enough money or power.  You cannot influence them by appealing to the greater good.”

“Like Constantine,” Catie said, referring to the man on Onisiwo who’d tried to kidnap her so he could gain control over how technology was introduced to his world.

“Exactly.  And how did you deal with him?”

“Well, I never really had any success.”  Catie didn’t mention that she’d made sure he was cash poor and in trouble with the top crime family on Onisiwo.  She’d even arranged an unexpected meeting between Constantine and the head of that crime family.

“But I heard that he disappeared.”

“I did too.  Apparently, he got on the wrong side of some powerful people.  But, I agree, some people will only act in their own self-interest.”

“Exactly.  And they will always be working behind the scenes to promote those interests.  But if they manage to get placed in a position of power, you will have real problems.  People like that can do enormous damage before you realize what they are doing.”

“I’ve experienced that before.  The old chair of the Onisiwo Planetary Council was like that.  He steered all the major contracts to his coalition before we realized it.  We were never able to correct it.”

“Yes, that’s a good example.  But occasionally, you’ll encounter someone who is so sophisticated about it that you never realize what they’ve done.”

“If you never realize it, how can they have done anything significant?” Catie asked.

“They bury the benefits in other things; they’re patient and think in the long-term.  A small benefit compounded over years can generate enormous profits and advantages.”

“I see.  I’ll have to think about that some more.  Now, let’s move on to the social part.  Tell me about your grandchildren.  I understand that they’ve moved to Delphi City.”

Chapter 10

Onisiwo

The Aventurier and the Chesapeake made orbit around Onisiwo at 0400.  They had been slowly adjusting ship time to match the time in the capital city, moving the clocks a few minutes each day of the month they spent in transit, so it was also early in the morning in the capital city.  Catie had invited Liz and Margaret to breakfast in her cabin to do a little prep work before they headed down to the reception at noon.

“Hello, guys,” Catie greeted Liz and Margaret as the steward showed them in.

“Hi.  I hope you plan to change before we head down,” Liz teased.  Catie was wearing a shipsuit.  Of course, Liz was wearing her captain’s uniform, slacks, and tunic over a shipsuit.  Margaret was dressed elegantly as usual.

“Give me a break.  This is the last time I get to slum it for months.”

Liz laughed as she gave Catie a hug and sat down next to her.  “I know how you feel.”

“Maggie, come on.  Sit down, and we’ll order.  You know, I don’t know how you manage to dress so nicely all the time.  Doesn’t it ever get tiring?”

“I don’t understand how you can wear those shipsuits.  They’re a bit too revealing for me.  Fortunately, I’ve never had to wear one.”

“They’re comfortable,” Catie said.  “And when you’re part of the crew, you have to wear one.  You can’t tell that Liz has one on under her uniform since she’s wearing slacks, but it’d be obvious if she were wearing a skirt.”

“Oh, I’ve never noticed.  So, the leggings the women wear are really just their shipsuits?”

“Yes.  If you wear a skirt, then your legs show.  They make shipsuits in various colors so that it looks like you’re wearing leggings.  A concession to fashion.”

Margaret harrumphed, letting them know she was not convinced.

Liz winked at Catie.  “Are you ready to play princess for the next few months?”

“Yes.  Thank god you’re going to be with me.  We’ll have to have a few private dinners in my cabin so that I can let my hair down once in a while.”

“I’ll be happy to come to your cabin and let you complain, but not every night.”

“I don’t complain that much!”

Liz just smiled at Catie.

After they finished breakfast and the steward had cleaned up, Liz asked, “When do we leave, and do we take my shuttle?”

“No!” Margaret said.  “You have to take the princess’s shuttle.  It is a royal visit, after all.”

Catie rolled her eyes.  “We’ll leave in an hour,” Catie whispered.

“An hour?”

“Hey, Duchess, you get dressed up in a fancy dress, so you look like royalty, and let’s see how long it takes you.”

“Sorry.  See you in flight bay two an hour from now.”

The Aventurier had a shuttle iris in each flight bay, unlike a standard frigate that only had one in flight bay one for the captain’s shuttle.  The Aventurier carried four shuttles, one for the captain, one for Catie, and two to handle the envoys and ambassadors, so they had flexibility when they traveled to the surface.

◆ ◆ ◆

Despite Catie’s desires, their arrival on Onisiwo was met by the chair of the Onisiwoen Planetary Council and the Onisiwoen ambassador to the League.  Of course, that meant that there was press there as well.  All of which meant that Catie had to dress up, not her favorite thing.

She descended the boarding ramp to be greeted by Chair Kloprewkro and Ambassador Maricosta.  She waved to the crowd, sliding along beside Chair Kloprewkro and away from the reporters.  As they moved Morgan did an excellent job of running interference for Catie, using her marines to block the reporters from gaining microphone access.

Catie did a quick survey of the crowd; she saw Prince Nikitas with a young woman hanging on his arm.  Catie’s ire rose; then she got mad at herself.  It wasn’t like they were in a committed relationship.  But still, did he have to bring her to the landing?

Once they were inside the building, Catie relaxed.  They were now safe from the reporters.

“Princess, are you sure you don’t want to say a few words for the reporters?” Chair Kloprewkro asked.

“Not today.  I’ll have ample opportunity to speak with them over the next couple of weeks.  And I’ve been told it’s a good idea to leave them hungry.”

“That is not what Cer Sam said,” ADI messaged.

“It’s what she should have said,” Catie messaged back.

Catie continued to follow Chair Kloprewkro to the reception room where the other League ambassadors were waiting.  When they arrived, she saw that Prince Nikitas had found a way to arrive before her.

“Princess Catherine, may I present Princess Marianna.  She’s excited to finally get to meet you,” Prince Nikitas said.

“I am,” Princess Marianna said.  “Cousin Kozma has told me all about your adventure last year.  But I’d like to hear it from another perspective.  He tends to glamorize things too much.”

Now Catie felt really stupid for being jealous.

“I’d love to spend some time with you talking about it.  And you could tell me more about Helike.  We didn’t spend that much time there.”

“After the reception, we’ll get together.  Now, I have to run over there to take care of our ambassador.  I’m his aide.”  Princess Marianna’s face made it clear that babysitting an ambassador wasn’t her idea of a perfect job.

Fiona leaned over to Morgan and made a trilling sound with her tongue.  “Now that’s a nice-looking prince.  I could just eat him right up.”

Morgan shook her head.  “You’d better be careful.”

“I agree with Fiona,” ADI said.  “In fact, I’m sure that Prince Charming is sad that Christina couldn’t make the trip.  If Fiona made that sound for him, it would make him feel more at home.”

“ADI!”

“It would.”

“Maybe I should,” Fiona said.  “We definitely want him to feel at home.”

“No way,” Morgan gasped.  “Wait, I’ll give you five hundred dollars if you do it when Catie’s with him and they both can hear.”

“Deal.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie was excited about attending the reception, even if she had to dress up like a princess.  Zoey and a couple of the other women they’d rescued from the Fazullans had made the effort to come north for the event.  Of course, Charlie was there along with two men from the rescued mission.  Catie would have been happy if that was the complete guest list, but that was inconceivable.  Margaret and Samantha had arranged the usual collection of celebrities, business leaders, and politicians.  Catie took a deep sigh and steeled herself to endure.

After an hour of the usual politicking and not-so-subtle attempts to ask for special treatment on trade, Catie was looking for a break.  There had been more aggressive politicking and attempts at deal-making since everyone here knew that Catie was not only Princess Catherine, but she was also the owner of StarMerchants and a member of the MacKenzie board.

She had seen Prince Nikitas wandering around alone and was hoping she would be able to spend some time with him.

Catie maneuvered her way over to Prince Nikitas and grabbed him by the arm.

“Hey, funny meeting you here.  I’m sure you have lots to tell me about Helike and the trade situation there,” Catie said as she guided him toward the door leading to the garden.

Fiona and Morgan dutifully followed Catie and the prince.  As soon as they were far enough away that nobody else could hear, Fiona walked over next to Prince Nikitas and made the trilling sound with her tongue while giving Prince Nikitas a hungry look.

Prince Nikitas’ eyes went wide with surprise, and his face went beet red as he backed away.

“Fiona!” Catie scolded.

“Hey, Morgan bet me five hundred bucks that I wouldn’t do it.”

“Morgan!”

“It was ADI’s idea.”

“ADI!”

“Hey, you have to admit it was funny; just watch the video.”

ADI played the video for everyone, including Prince Nikitas.  The three women were howling with laughter while Prince Nikitas turned an even brighter red and started to look for a place to hide.

“I thought it would be more relaxing without Tina here,” he moaned.

Later that evening, Morgan sent Prince Nikitas the details of the embassy compound and how to get to Catie’s bungalow.

◆ ◆ ◆

The next day, Catie and Margaret were having breakfast to talk about the reparation negotiations with Onisiwo.

“Catie, what did you want to discuss about the reparations?” Margaret asked.

“It’s really not a discussion as much as a favor.  I would like you to set up the meeting.  I think it would be better if you set it up instead of me.”

“It looks like you’re learning.  When do you want me to set it up for?”

“The seventh.”

“Any particular time?”

“Not really.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know.  And by the way, Paraxea just announced that they are sending a different ambassador for the mission.  He won’t arrive until the 21st,” Margaret told Catie.

“That’s insane.  We’ll have to wait for him?!  And if he’s going to be here in eighteen days, he must have been traveling for at least a week; why did they wait to tell us?”

“I don’t know; maybe they just decided he was going to be the Envoy instead of sending the ambassador from here.  It will only delay you two weeks or so; that’s not that big a deal.”

“I know you’re right, but it just steams me.”

“It is unusual, but given that the current ambassador is a bit anti-League, it’s probably for the best.”

“What’s his problem?”

“He’s an advocate of open trade.  He thinks we shouldn’t restrict trade with new planets joining the League, just let the more advanced civilizations, mainly Paraxea, take over their high-end tech sector.  He thinks they’ll adapt faster.”

“He probably really thinks his friends will get richer faster.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Catie, are you sure you don’t want to come to the meeting?” Margaret asked.

Catie laughed.  “You know better; if I don’t have to be there, I’m not coming.  I’m going to be stuck with those people for months once we start the mission.”

Margaret smiled; she had known Catie wouldn’t come to the meeting.  In fact, if she weren’t the League Secretary-General, she would be looking for an excuse to avoid this one.  “You know you’re going to have to hear all the gory details at dinner tonight.”

“I know, but at least it’ll be easier to ignore the boring parts.”  Catie gave Margaret a little wave as Margaret headed out to the League embassy.

As soon as she entered the room, Margaret was assailed by Ambassador Cakoln, the Paraxean ambassador.

“Why did you replace me on the mission to Aperanje?” he demanded.

“I had nothing to do with you bring replaced.”

“I don’t believe you.  I know you don’t like my position on trade.”

“Be that as it may be, I did not ask for you to be replaced.  In fact, Princess Catherine was terribly upset that she had to tell the Aperanjens that the mission had been delayed by over two weeks.  I suggest you contact your government to find out why you were replaced; they did not provide the Princess with a reason.”

The Paraxean ambassador wasn’t convinced, but his retort was drowned out by the clamor of the Heliken ambassador asking for attention.  It took Margaret thirty minutes to deal with all the premeeting requests before starting the meeting.

“Now, first on the agenda is to finalize the rule on first contact.  As you know, the proposal is that once a civilization has established a SETI-like program, they are clearly aware of the possibility of alien life and have advanced their technology far enough so that first contact can be made.”

“Why would we bother?” Ambassador Cakoln asked.

“I don’t understand your question,” Margaret said.

“A civilization that is just establishing the search for extraterrestrial life would be so backward that we couldn’t trade anything with them.”

“Why do you say that?” demanded the ambassador from Mangakar.

“With these ridiculous trade rules, we would have to dumb down our technology so much that it wouldn’t be profitable.  So, we should wait until they are more advanced.”

“Ambassador Neluts, this conversation is not about trade; it’s about first contact.  Please stay on point,” Margaret scolded.

“There is no point in contact if there is not trade.”

“Does that mean Paraxea is withdrawing all of its observation ships from the various pre-space-age civilizations?” the Heliken ambassador demanded.

“Those ships are about studying those civilizations; they do not make contact.”

“Does that mean you are going to be sharing all the data you harvest from those civilizations?”

“Catie, you don’t know what you’re missing,” Margaret thought.

◆ ◆ ◆

After dinner with Margaret and a recap of the meeting, Catie immediately changed her plans and flew out a week earlier to visit her friends.  She headed to the island that Zoey and the other women from the captured Onisiwoen mission had bought so they would have privacy to raise all their children.  If she’d known about the delay, she would have offered Zoey and her friends a ride home.

“Hi, Zoey; I love what you guys have done with the island.”

“Thanks.  We think it’s the perfect place to raise our kids.  We started making those Catamaran boats you told us about.  We’re teaching the island kids to sail them.  We think it’ll attract more tourists to the islands.”

“Did you learn the ʻōteʻa dance?”

“Yes, a few of the locals were able to learn it with help from Onisiwok.” Onisiwok was the AI for Onisiwo that the League had provided.  He took a special interest in the former crew of the Onisiwoen mission that had been captured by the Fazullans.

“They give lessons.  Are you going to take one?” Zoey asked.

“Not on your life.”

Morgan tried to stifle a laugh but failed.

“Oh, by the way, this is Morgan, my bodyguard.  Morgan, Zoey.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Morgan said.

“I hope it was all good.”

“Of course, it was,” Catie said.

“I assume by that laugh you didn’t think Catie would be interested in the lessons?”

“She’s already had that conversation with her uncle.”

“Maggie told me you would refuse, but your Uncle Blake offered us a Lynx if we could persuade you to do it.”

“Ha, he knew he’d never have to pay up.”

“Well, if you want to get back at him, you could take the lesson, then he’d have to spring for a Lynx.  I hear they’re expensive.”

“Not expensive enough.  If he’d offered up a jetliner, I might have been convinced.”

“So, should I counter his offer?” Zoey asked.

“NO!”

Morgan and Zoey burst out laughing.

“Come on.  Let’s go into my condo where you can meet the children.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Catie, we’ve been working with Onisiwok and ADI on our investment strategy.  We feel we need to make the money work for all of Onisiwo since we’re actually milking it from the rich.  We’re concerned that our investments are too passive,” Zoey said.

“I don’t understand; what do you mean by passive?”

“We’re just investing to make money, but we’re not driving where the planet goes, not encouraging the right kind of social growth.”

“Well, with ADI managing your investments, she could be doing that if you want.  Maybe you guys should set up a review with her so that you can tell her what’s important to you.”

“I would be happy to review the portfolio with you,” ADI said.

“Thank you, ADI.  I’ll set something up with all of the women.”

“Catie, another thing I wanted to talk about.  We’re starting up a new school here on the island.  We want to have it well established when our children are ready.”

“Aren’t your oldest children around three?  If so, then they should be doing preschool by now.”

“But that’s just about learning how to behave, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think so.  On Earth, especially in Delphi, they develop lots of critical skills at that age.  How to hold a pencil, things like that.  You should invest in an AI to run your school.  It can do a lot of the work so that the teacher can focus on coaching the children that need the most help.  We’ve found it to be a great model.”

“Can you explain?”

“Let me show you.  Morgan, do you have a tablet?”

“Of course.”  Morgan pulled a tablet out of the side pocket of her pants and handed it to Catie.  It was 200 x 140 mm, or 7.8 x 5.5 inches.

“Where’s your oldest?”

“Bitsy, come here,” Zoey called out.

A three-year-old immediately came charging around the corner and into the room, squealing, “Princess Catie!”

“She’s been eager to meet you, as you can tell.”

Catie laughed as the little girl plowed into her mother and then turned to face her.

“Hello, Bitsy.  I’ve got a present for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes.”  Catie handed the tablet to Bitsy, encouraging her to set it on the low table in the room.  The girl stood on her knees at the table as the tablet came to life.  A caricature of an Onisiwoen car appeared on the screen and started talking to her.  “ADI, do you have it?”

“Certainly.”

Catie handed a stylus to the girl as the car started to ask her to make roads for it to drive on.

Zoey and Catie watched as the car led the girl through drawing lines and loops that it then raced down.

“That’s clever.”

“We think so.  It’ll eventually coach her to hold the stylus correctly; then, it’ll teach her how to make the basic shapes necessary to write.  Usually, by the time they’re four, they can recite and trace out the letters in the alphabet.”

“What about later?”

“It’ll take them all the way through secondary school.  We’ve found that it equalizes education for everyone.  Children from families with somewhat marginal educations are able to keep up with their peers from more privileged families where the parents have college experience.  They even keep up with children who go to private schools.  Daddy is hoping that the program we’ve started on Earth will reduce the income disparity between different social groups.”

“And you say it takes an AI to run this?  Can’t Onisiwok do it?”

“He’s pretty busy.  The tablets and Comms do most of the work, but it takes an AI to analyze the data and adjust the teaching plan to match the student.  Right now, ADI is doing that, but with a small AI, you would be able to handle the entire island, preschool through secondary school.  It would even be able to handle some college work.”

“And how much would this AI cost?”

“One large enough for your island would be around twelve million onis.”

“That much?”

“Yes, but it would be able to do a lot more for you than just the education.  It could handle household accounts, run cleaning bots for people, and do other things for the community.  On Artemis, Orion hosts the household AI for all the homes.”

“Hosts the household AI, what does that mean?”

“Each house has a small AI, but Orion backs it up, so when it needs help figuring things out, Orion takes care of it.”

“How much would one cost to do the whole planet?’”

“You couldn’t make one that big.  ADI could do it, but that is not a good use of a DI.  We’re starting to expand the use of AIs on Earth.  A slightly bigger one than you would need can handle a big city or a state or province if the population is small enough.”

“Define small?”

“Five million people, so about two million children.”

“You mean it would take over five hundred to cover the entire planet?”

“That’s about right.  Your population is around three billion, as I recall.”

“That is correct, Cer Catie.”

“Right, and how much would one of those large ones cost?”

“Fifty million.”

“So, for twenty-five billion onis, we could provide the infrastructure to run the education system for all of Onisiwo.”

“Yes.  But then all your younger children would need to have tablets, and the older children would need Comms.”

“How much are the tablets?”

“Five hundred.”

“Ooh, that can add up.”

“It can, but parents that can afford it already buy their children tablets just to keep them busy.  You or the government would just need to subsidize the cost for the children from low-income families.  And we’re starting to see that with a better starter education, those children are less likely to get into trouble as they get older; schools and the community actually save money.”

“Hmm.  I need to talk to the others, but I think we should do this.  Right now, the privileged classes control most of the wealth and also get most of the high-paying jobs.”

“Just like on Earth.  We’d be happy to help however we can.”

Chapter 11

Back to Work

Catie was happy that Kloprewkro was the Chair of the planetary council now.  He’d been one of the least slimy council members when she was here before.

“Chair Kloprewkro, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”  Catie placed her hand over her heart and gave a slight bow.

“Princess, it is my pleasure.  Ambassador Hannaford told me you had something important to discuss.”

“Yes.  As I’m sure you can recall, the Fazullans had a small revolution that helped us end their invasion of your system.  Their new leader, Empress Cyrianisa, has empowered me to negotiate reparations with your planet.  She would like to put the attempted invasion behind her people in order to pave the way for trade and recognition between her planet and the League.”

“Ah, there has been some talk within the council that we should ask for reparations, but frankly, we were so relieved that you stopped the invasion, and we’ve been so busy dealing with the realities of interstellar trade that we haven’t spent too much time speaking about it.”

“I can imagine.  I’ve talked with Zoey, and she tells me that the women feel adequately compensated for their deprivation, and I would think that the men would feel much the same way since they were in stasis the entire time.  But your planet lost the potential gain from the scientific mission, and the Empress would like to compensate you for the loss.”

“Very well.  Let me talk with the other council members, and we can meet again after that.  I suggest one week from today if that works for you.”

“Thank you, Chair Kloprewkro; one week works just fine.”

Morgan showed Chair Kloprewkro out.  Once he was gone, Margaret came out of the back room and joined Catie.

“Way to go, pulling two aces from his negotiating deck.”

“Hey, Onisiwo actually benefited from the invasion.  I don’t want to give them too much since the Aperanjens will feel that they lost a lot more.”

“So, have you decided what you’re going to offer them?”

“I’m going to offer the stasis chambers and settle for that and the enhancements for their fusion power plants.”

“The portable ones?”

“No, the land-based power plants.  It will have a big impact on their economy and won’t upset the Paraxeans too much.  They plan on selling the portable ones.”

Board meeting—February 10th

Marc started the third meeting on the Delphi League by giving the floor to Admiral Michaels.

“Admiral.”

“After our last meeting, I had the pleasure of chairing a meeting of the Delphi Federation, and I was struck by the similarities between it and what Maggie has been saying about the League.  Not only are the names similar, but the issues are as well.”

“I’m not surprised,” Blake said.  “Marc carries the hammer for both, so I’m sure the animosity runs similarly.”

The Admiral ignored Blake’s attempt to goad Marc.  “The big countries don’t like it.  The small ones want to join so they can snuggle up under its umbrella and feel protected from the big boys.  But that makes everyone feel like the federation has more control than it does.  Countries that aren’t in the federation are convinced that Delphi favors its members for trade, and those in the federation feel that Delphi is coddling them.  Holding them back.”

“Well, the first concern is mostly true,” Samantha said.  “We are favoring the smaller, less developed countries, both in the federation and out.  But why do the countries in the federation think we’re coddling them?”

“I think it’s because they think there is more interstellar trade going on than there is,” Liz said.  “Nobody really has a good picture of it besides us, so they’re all going to imagine they’re being excluded even when they aren’t.”

“Yes,” Admiral Michaels said.  “They are especially upset about the minimal imports from the other planets.  Again, the issue is the League managing imports of technology.”

Marc looked at Samantha, “How is your plan coming along?”

“I’m working with Leslie here on Earth and Neloln on Onisiwo to start releasing the stories.  Prince Ch . . . Nikitas has agreed to connect me with a top reporter on Helike.  We’ll get one on Aperanje as soon as Catie can find one she trusts.”

“When will you release the first story?”

“We’re going to try the first one on Earth, so we can observe the results and tune the method.”

Kal was shaking his head.  “Remind me what this is all about?”

“We plan to release stories about what will happen to jobs if trade is thrown wide open.  We believe that the general public will react strongly about the shock to the economy and will demand that the politicians protect their jobs.”

“Not everyone is going to object,” Catie said.

“You’re correct.  People with jobs that are likely to be unaffected will focus on the benefits of open trade, but this will impact high tech jobs as well as manufacturing, so we think the majority will be pushing for restraint.”

“Admiral, do you have any updates on the unification effort?”

“Yes, the Delphi Federation represents quite a diverse group of nations, so I’ve been given a seat at the table.  It is starting to gain traction.  Even the U.S. and Russia are starting to get behind the efforts, and of course, the E.U. has been one of the main drivers all along.  China is still dragging its feet, but I think Sam’s suggestion of giving them more say about exports to Artemis, and now Ganesh, is starting to sway them.”

“Also, Maggie waiving private ownership of cargo ships must be helping,” Catie added.  She gave Margaret a wave.

“Yes, I expect that on Earth, those will be owned by the various big governments at first, and they are definitely lining up to buy them.  The requirement that they have a unified government before you give them private access to the gates has definitely gotten their attention.”

“Thank you, Admiral.  Now let’s review the issues and discuss solutions.  First, the GalaxyNet.”

Catie started drumming her fingers on the table.

“Catie, you’re free to jump in with solutions.  So, go ahead.”

“Just give it to the League.  Let them set up a department to run it.  They buy the probes from us; we move them through the gates when they tell us to.  No muss, no fuss.”

“I think that was a gimme,” Blake said.

Catie sent Blake her favorite meme.

“I tend to agree,” Marc said.  “Does anyone see any issues?”

“No, the League already includes support of GalaxyNet in the taxes,” Margaret said.  “It should be a quick win and might help calm down some of the politics.”

“Yes, I heard you had a boisterous welcome back to Onisiwo at the League meeting last week,” Blake said.

“I’ll leave it up to you guys to figure out the words I would substitute for boisterous.”

Marc gave Margaret a smile of sympathy.  “Now we’ve already committed to more integration of Delphi Forces; is anyone stepping up to offer up people?”

“Helike and Onisiwo already sent a group of cadets to the academy,” Blake said.  “We’ve accepted them in all the classes except the First Years.  That means they’ll all have at least two years.”  Blake was looking directly at Catie when he said that, alluding to her skating by with only one year.

“What about spacers?” Liz asked.

“We’re working with Helike to set up a basic training facility.  We should have the first graduates ready for Guatemala in June.”

“Not Onisiwo too?”

“They seem to be more reluctant there.  I’m not sure why.”

“Maggie and I can talk to Charlie and Zoey; maybe they’ll have some insight.”

“Will you have time?  Aren’t you supposed to be heading out this week?” Kal asked.

“I can see you’re not reading the updates,” Catie said.  “For some reason, the Paraxeans decided to change ambassadors for the mission, so we’re stuck waiting for him.”

“Why?  Gamesmanship?” Blake suggested.

“I’m not sure.  Their League ambassador is a big opponent of open trade, so maybe local politics.”

“ADI?”

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Let’s move on,” Marc said.  “Maggie, have the cargo ships helped?”

“Yes and no.  All the planets have been running cargo for a few months now.  It’s luxury foods like wine, olives, spices, tea, and coffee from Earth, similar cargos from the other planets.  Also, fancy fixtures for your home, and jewelry and art.  StarMerchants has a lock on the bulk cargo so it makes sense for the others to focus on luxury goods.  A few more high-tech goods are going between Paraxea and her colonies.”

“So, where does the no come from?” Catie asked.

“Because it makes it all the more obvious how much potential there is, especially if the restriction on trade with Onisiwo and Helike were lifted.”

“Okay,” Marc sighed.  “Let’s move on.  The next issue, the jump gates.”  He looked at Catie and just nodded.

“I’m not sure there is a good solution for that problem,” Catie said.  “We should move control of them to a separate DI and place it on Avalon.”  Catie waited to see how everyone would react to her new name for Valhalla.

“Avalon, I like that,” Samantha said.

Marc nodded.  “Okay, that protects the control point better.  If we make that public, will it help?”

“Maybe,” Samantha said.  “You’re going to have to admit you’ve built Avalon since you’re moving the shipyard there.  But I think it will just direct the issue squarely at you.”

“But it will remove it from Earth,” Liz said.  “That should help balance out the issues within the League.”

“Right.”

Catie was biting her tongue, waiting to go on.  She hadn’t expected everyone to jump in so quickly.

“Go on, Catie.”

“I think we should name the DI Janus since he’s the god of portals.”

Marc just shook his head and smiled.  “Go on.”

“We can auction off planets for colonization.  That will allow us to recover the cost of identifying them.”

“It’s a pretty big investment to survey the planet to see if it’s habitable,” Liz said.

“But I’m working with Ajda on a new probe to explore the planets.”

Blake huffed, “How is that different than the solar explorers we already have doing that?”

“They cannot go into the gravity well far enough to survey the planet, and they definitely can’t go into the planet’s atmosphere.”

“Keep going.”

“We were looking at probe design when Ajda pointed out that a sphere wasn’t an efficient design for a jump probe.  Although it is great for the gravity drives, when you’re jumping with them, a torpedo shaped design would be more efficient.”

“That makes sense since it’s the size of the wormhole that costs you energy.”

“Right, so we played around and designed a probe which would be able to jump to a star system and then dive into its gravity well and land on the planet.”

“Why haven’t you started making them?” Marc asked.

“Because it looks like a one-way trip for the probe.  We have been trying to figure out how to improve on that.”

“Why a one-way trip?”

“If we optimize for the smallest reactor size and smallest jump capable gravity drives, then the probe winds up burning out its gravity drives by the time it lands on the planet.”

“So, make them bigger.”

“Then you pretty much wind up with a scout ship.”

“What does it cost to make one?”

“Ten million dollars plus a quantum relay.”

“And how much do we learn about the planet?” Marc asked.

“Almost as much as we learn after a mission to it.  We can verify whether there are any serious pathogens, that the atmosphere is breathable, and do an assessment of the weather.  We also get a first pass assessment on the ability to grow grains.  And it should be able to verify if there is already sapient life on the planet.”

“How do you do that?” Admiral Michaels asked.

“Mainly by looking for fire.  Dr. Pramar says that only sapient beings are able to control fire; animals are too afraid to realize that they can manage it.”

“And that would let us rule out unsuitable planets.  Could it tell the difference between Artemis and Ganesh?” Marc asked.

“No, but it would be able to rule out a planet like the one the Fazullans finally rejected.”

“Anything we can do to get a better assessment?”

“We don’t know how.  Sooner or later, you have to build greenhouses and grow the plants.  And you need to get blood samples from the various animals to test.  We would be able to send smaller probes around to do a survey of the plant and animal life.”

“So, if 30% of the planets we select pass the probe’s assessment and 50% of them are colonizable, then you’re talking about a five hundred million dollar investment to find a world that is likely colonizable.  After that, you have to send a survey team, so that’s probably another five hundred million.  And that doesn’t include any profit for MacKenzies,” Marc said.

“Hey, we have to make a profit,” Fred said.  “And I think it should be at least 20%.”

“We’ve done better than 50% on finding planets,” Blake said.

“Yes, but we’ve been lucky, and we’ve probably passed up on some good planets to avoid the risk,” Catie said.

“Then why not keep doing that?  There are lots of systems out there; let the next generation figure out how to assess the marginal ones.”

“We could, but that would only cut the cost of finding a good candidate in half.  Maggie, what do you think?”

“That’s a big difference in cost.  It might make the difference, although 1.2 billion dollars isn’t that much to a global government.”

“But remember, you’re still running a 25% chance that the survey will find it to be uninhabitable.”

“Okay, so say a one billion dollar investment, and that’s just for the probes, then another billion to send a scout ship out to survey the planet.  Then it would take another two billion to actually set up a colony with ten thousand colonists.”

“I can work with that,” Maggie said.  “We’ll see how much interest there is when they realize it isn’t free.”

“What about allowing the League members to participate in the scout mission?”

“I don’t see why not,” Catie said.

“I agree,” Dr. Metra said.  “It will give them more information so they can decide if they want to bid on the planet.  And we need people to help on the mission.  You should require that they work.”

“Oh, that’s going to go over well,” Margaret said.

“If Earth has to bid against the other planets, that should take the favoritism label off of it,” Nikola said.

“But how do we achieve balance with Paraxea then?” Catie asked.

Dr. Metra gave Marc a hard stare as he prepared to answer.  “Don’t we already have the third colony planet identified?”

“Yes, and the Roebuck is already on its way there,” Blake said.

“Problem solved,” Marc said, giving Dr. Metra a pleading look.

She rolled her eyes and then shrugged her shoulders.  Her ears were flared out a bit, so it was clear she wasn’t happy about conceding the point.

“I think we’ll stop here.  That will give everyone a chance to digest Catie’s suggestions and add comments to the notes.  I’ll set up a separate meeting to discuss what to do about the shared planet.  Since I’ll be in the hot seat, I assume all of you will want to attend.”

“Damn right!” Blake said.  Catie was pretty sure that Kal and Fred had whispered the same thing.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Charlie, Zoey, thanks for agreeing to meet with us,” Catie said as Charlie and Zoey joined the call with her and Margaret.

“Not a problem.  Is this League business?” Charlie asked as he looked at Margaret.

“Sort of,” Catie said.  “We thought it would be better to deal with this directly with the Onisiwoen government, but we need some help understanding what’s going on.”

Charlie rolled his hands to tell Catie to go on.

“As you know, we’re starting to bring people from the various civilizations into the Delphi Space Force.  Onisiwo and Helike have both sent cadets to our academy, but for some reason, Onisiwo is balking at setting up a training base for spacers.  Can you help us understand why?”

Charlie was smiling by the time Catie had finished.

“Charlie, does that smile mean you know the answer?”

“I think so.”

“Then start talking,” Zoey said.

“Well, for the cadets at the academy, they’re dealing with officers, and it’s really just college.  A boot camp puts our people under total control of, excuse the word, aliens.  Parents don’t feel comfortable with that.”

“What?”

“Hey, think about it, sending your teenage son or daughter off to an academy where there are a couple of Onisiwoen professors isn’t such a big deal, but sending them to boot camp where there are only aliens in charge is kind of scary.”

“How do we fix that?” Margaret asked.

“You can wait until a few officers graduate and post them to the boot camp,” Charlie said.  “But you need some NCOs.”

“Hmm,” Catie mused.  “Do you think we could attract some experienced people from your military?”  Catie decided not to mention that first summer in Guatemala that the cadets would have to endure.

“I would think so.  A couple of the guys from the mission might even be willing to sign up.”

“Okay.  We have an accelerated program for officers that we use when we bring in experienced officers on Earth.  We could set up a similar program for NCOs and run a few of your people through it.  We could even send some of your officers to the advanced training on Earth.  Then we could have them start up the boot camp,” Catie said.

“Just the boot camp?” Zoey asked.

“No.  That would be the priority, but we would want to place some of them on the frigate that is stationed at Onisiwo.  And if we could get enough, we could start spreading them around the other ships.”

“That would work.  Are you going to do the same with the Helikens?” Charlie asked.

“We should.  It probably hasn’t been an issue since we’re the same species, but I’m sure people would be more comfortable if there were a few of their people spread around the forces.  I’ll talk to Blake and Kal.  I’m sure they’ll jump right on it.”

“I’m glad we could help.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie had decided to use the delay of waiting for the Paraxean delegate to let the Onisiwoens stew about the reparations offer.  But now, she needed to close the deal.  They were leaving in five days, and she wasn’t sure that one meeting would be enough.

“Chair Kloprewkro, thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” Catie said.

“Princess, I’m only too happy to meet with you.  I would like to get this business of reparations out of the way.  The planetary council has been discussing what options there might be.”

“That’s good; what have you come up with?” Catie asked.

“Ambassador Hannaford mentioned that the Fazullans were offering up technology as a way to compensate us.”

“That is correct.  They don’t have much in the way of assets to offer, but they do have some significant advantages over Onisiwo in technology.  The Empress has suggested that a free license to one of their advanced technologies would be a reasonable way to compensate the people who were wronged by the previous regime.”

“That is what we had interpreted.  What would you suggest we ask for?”

“Chair Kloprewkro, you have to realize that I’m representing the Empress in these negotiations.  I’m sure she would be thrilled if you decided that you didn’t need any reparations; after all, it was just a small exploratory mission that they captured, and the members of the mission have told me that they feel they have been adequately compensated.”

“But much of that compensation has come from our government,” Chair Kloprewkro said.

“I see.  What would you suggest?”

“We were told that they have gravity drives and fusion power plants.  We are especially interested in the small one they used in their spaceship.”

“I see; what about their stasis chambers?” Catie asked.

“We are interested in those, but given their limited use, we think we should just buy them from Paraxea and Earth.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.  So did you come up with what you think would be an adequate package?”

“We feel that we would be adequately compensated by a license for all three.”

“I’m sure you would.  Have you placed a monetary value on each of the items?”

“No, we think it would be difficult to do that.”

“I’m sure you’re capable of it.  The Empress thinks that it is important that the compensation be balanced in terms of the measurable value against your losses.  If you cannot do that, then she would be inclined to wait until later when they join the League.  Perhaps by then, you would have sufficient experience to put a value on it.”

Chair Kloprewkro gaped; he tried to hide his surprise but didn’t do a good job of it.  He had hoped to maneuver Catie into just agreeing to the terms.  He knew she wanted to get the sordid mess over with.  But apparently, she was willing to wait.  And waiting would be a significant disadvantage for Onisiwo since the time would leave them falling further behind the other civilizations or having to spend large sums of money to acquire the technologies another way.

“Perhaps, I should come back after you and the council have had time to consider the question more?” Catie suggested.  “I’m leaving in five days.  Of course, we can continue the discussion over the quantum relay if you’d like more time.”

Chair Kloprewkro gulped.  “Let me get back with the council; I’m sure we can meet over the next few days to come up with a reasonable request.”

“I look forward to hearing from you.”

It was only two days later that Chair Kloprewkro asked to see Catie again.  It didn’t take too long in the meeting for him to agree to the fusion reactor upgrades as compensation for the lost mission.  Catie had agreed that MacKenzie Engineering would come to Onisiwo to teach them how to upgrade their reactors.

◆ ◆ ◆

The Paraxean Ambassador finally showed up with a small entourage.  Ambassador Graznev, according to Margaret, was a big proponent of the League and managing trade with the new civilizations.  Catie was glad they had replaced Ambassador Cakoln, who, in her opinion, was a complete ass.  He railed against the trade restrictions every time he could corner Catie.

Finally, it was time to load everyone up and head out.  Prince Nikitas had tried to get himself assigned to the Heliken delegation but failed.  Catie was actually glad he wasn’t coming along; she thought he would be too much of a distraction.

Of course, it didn’t take long for the boarding to turn into a kerfuffle, as every ambassador thought that they and their delegation should be the highest priority when it came to transport to the Aventurier and especially when it came to cabin assignments.  They all thought that the distance between their cabin and Catie’s was a measure of their importance.

“Thank god they can’t be on the same deck,” Catie thought.  Catie’s and Liz’s cabins were on the same deck as the bridge and were the only cabins on that deck.

“Liz, are we about ready?” Catie asked.

“Almost.  We just have two more delegations to load.”

“Were you able to persuade any of them that if they stayed in the flight bay, they would be closer to us?”

“No.  But I do have one interesting anomaly.  Minister Hapzel requested a cabin as far away from Ambassador Graznev as possible.  Apparently, they can’t stand each other.”

“No!  You can’t be serious.  When was he added to the delegation?”

“I don’t know.  He showed up with his credentials and a letter from the Paraxean Minister of Foreign Affairs saying he was to be included, so I assigned him a cabin.  Why the pained reaction?”

“Because he’s as big of an ass as Ambassador Cakoln, maybe bigger.  He’s rabid when he gets going on the trade restrictions.  How is Ambassador Graznev going to manage his delegation with someone like that on it?”

“Not my problem, but I do feel sorry for you.”

“Thanks, Liz.  I’ll be sure to share my pain with you.”

They finally headed out that evening.

◆ ◆ ◆

Yvette, or more precisely Petty Officer First Class Brigitte Descoteaux, was having lunch with Minuette, an admin on the French delegation.  Minuette was the class A gossip.  Yvette suspected that she was sleeping with half the men involved in the negotiations.

“Brigette, did you hear about General Markham?”

“No, what happened?”

“He’s leaving us.  His wife was involved in a horrible traffic accident; she’s in a coma.  He wants to be at her side.”

“That’s good of him.  Do we know who’s going to replace him yet?”

“Yes, a General Fredricks.  He must have been waiting in the wings since he will be out here in two days.  Can you believe that; two days to pack your bags and get on a plane?”

“Well, these are important negotiations.”

“I know, but to clear his calendar and be here that fast and after that big mess in Boston.”

“What mess?  And where is Boston?”

“Come one you have to know where Boston is.  Don’t you watch the news?”

“Where’s Boston?  Oh oui, I remember, it’s in the U.S., and no, I didn’t hear anything; I don’t track events in Boston.”

“Well, his son was arrested for rape.  The charges were dropped, but you know there has to be a story there.”

“I’ll bet.  And I also bet the moral of that story is that rich people get special treatment.”

“I agree.”

After lunch, Yvette reported the information to her handler.  She was pretty sure he would already know it, but you never knew.

◆ ◆ ◆

“I thought you were going to delay the mission,” Damien hissed as soon as Minister Monafar opened his end of the quantum relay.

“I did delay it, for over two weeks by your calendar,” Minister Monafar assured Damien.

“But I need more time.”

“I have some other things in place that will add to the delay, trust me.”

Damien clenched his teeth, he didn’t really trust Monafar, but he had no choice.  He had been unable to get anyone he trusted included on the mission.

Minister Monafar ended the call.  He had to make another to Loxino to make sure he would keep up his end of the delaying tactic.  He still wasn’t sure what Loxino’s end game was, but it was the only game in town that the League wasn’t in control of.

Chapter 12

Aperanje

“Prepare for jump!” the Aventurier blared through his speakers.  “Prepare for jump!”

Catie hurried to the bridge.  Not for any particular reason; she just wanted to be on the bridge when they entered the system.  The first crewed starship to ever visit Aperanje.  Liz just nodded to her.  Gravity went away, the first sign that they were opening the wormhole since the drives could not accelerate the ship while opening a wormhole.

“Send the probe,” Liz ordered

“Probe is through.”

Everyone waited as the probe scanned the new system and sent the data back via quantum relay.  Sending a probe first was standard procedure ever since the Sakira had jumped into the path of an asteroid on one of their first missions.

“Probe data shows the jump point is clear.”

“Then take us through,” Liz ordered.  “Chesapeake, follow us in thirty.”

“Aye, aye, Commodore,” the Chesapeake replied.

“Entering wormhole now,” Helm reported.

“And here we are,” Liz said as the viewscreen showed the Aperanjen sun.

Gravity slowly returned as the ship started decelerating along its path toward the sun.

“Chesapeake is off our port stern,” Navigation reported.

“Chesapeake, jump thirty degrees above the ecliptic, then proceed on course,” Liz ordered.

Catie gave Liz a questioning look.

“Something I learned from a young lieutenant,” Liz said, referring to Catie’s penchant for using all three dimensions when planning an attack or defense.  “Who knows what the Aperanjens are planning.  They’ve been playing games during our calls; maybe they’ll want to play them for real now.”

Catie just shrugged.

“Let’s light ourselves up,” Liz ordered.  “Active radar and comms.”

“You want to make it easy for them to surprise us?” Catie messaged.

“If they’re looking at us, they might not notice the Chesapeake.  It’ll be running silent.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Marc called a special meeting to get everyone updated on the Earth’s efforts to form a unified government.

“Admiral Michaels, this is your show,” Marc said.

“I’m sure everyone is scouring my weekly updates, but I’ll go ahead and provide a summary of what has happened.

“In what I would call an audacious move, the G20 formed the United Federation of Earth.  They have been meeting to define the rules, much along the lines we’ve discussed before.  Their major goal is for voting rights to be based on both population and economic size.  They’re not interested in having a bunch of smaller countries muddy the waters, and it looked like the U.N. was going to backtrack on its commitment to that formula.  There is a general hope that some of the smaller countries will form unions, like the EU, so that the politics at the federation level will be more focused.”

“Remind me, who’s in the G20?” Nikola asked.

“The United States, China, the United Kingdom, the EU — France, Italy, and Germany double dip since they’re also members of the EU — India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Argentina, Australia, and Saudi Arabia.”

“That’s quite a list.”

“Yes, and they’re basically daring the other countries not to join.  They’ve all withdrawn from the U.N. to force the issue.”

“Will they succeed?” Marc asked.

“I think they will.”

“And disarmament?”

“There’s a bit of sleight of hand there.  Each of the major countries will host a division of the unified military.  They’ll be responsible for its support.”

“Why?” Catie asked.  “Aren’t they supposed to be integrated?”

“They are, but they will still have a majority of the force from the hosting nation.  Basically, it accomplishes two things; it gives the current powers a sense that they still have a military to fall back on if things fall apart, and it helps their economies by allowing them to continue their defense industries.”

“So, what’s the bad news?” Blake asked.

“There is a lot of behind-the-scenes politics about who’s going to take charge of Delphi Station.”

Marc nodded his head.  “What’s the timing?”

“Two months, three at the outside,” Admiral Michaels said.

“That fast?” Blake asked, stunned at the short timeframe.

“I see someone has not been keeping up with the weekly briefs.  But yes, the major powers are pushing hard.  They want to be ready to send a contingent to the mixed colony you’re setting up.  And they’ve been petitioning for a colony planet outside of MacKenzies’ control.”

“When you push, I guess it’s not fair to complain when they finally move,” Samantha said.

◆ ◆ ◆

It was a week later, as the Aventurier was nearing the asteroid belt, that things started to get interesting.  Even though it was late, Liz was on the bridge; now would be the time for the Aperanjens to make a move if they were planning to.

“Captain, the Chesapeake reports sighting a destroyer class ship hiding behind the moon of the first gas giant.”

“Continue on course,” Liz ordered.  “Princess, my day cabin if you please,” she messaged Catie.

Liz’s message woke Catie up.  She was wearing a shipsuit, standard protocol, so she just brushed her hair, then crossed the passageway to Liz’s cabin.

“What’s up?” Catie asked.

“The Aperanje have a destroyer hiding behind the moon of the inner gas giant.”

“Do you think they plan to sneak up behind us as we enter the asteroid belt?”

“Looks like it.  How do you want to play it?”

“If they want to play games, then it seems like we should oblige them.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Oh, you already have a plan.”

“I think so, but first, we need to make sure there is only one ship.”

“Just call me before the fireworks.”

“I will, but we’re going to need to slow down for them, so I’m upping the decel.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m going back to bed.”  With that, Catie went back to bed.  It was hard for her to stay out of Liz’s way, but she needed to give her space; at least, according to her Uncle Blake.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Cer Catie, fireworks in twenty minutes,” ADI announced.  “Cer Liz would like you in her day cabin for the final planning.”

“Ugh, why do these things always happen when I’m asleep?”

“Maybe you sleep too much.”

“ADI!”

“Sorry, just saying.  And Cer Liz suggests you put on your princess outfit.”

“Pfft.”  Catie got up.  Twenty minutes should be enough time to take care of her morning routine.  She figured her princess uniform would be good enough for whatever Liz had planned.

◆ ◆ ◆

When Catie entered Liz’s day cabin, Lieutenant Kay Owens, the Flight Commander of the Aventurier, sat at the conference table with Liz along with Lieutenant Bastien.

“Good morning; coffee?” Liz asked.

“0200 is not morning, and I definitely need coffee.”

Liz’s steward entered immediately with a fresh carafe of coffee.  He poured Catie a mug then set the carafe on the table.  “Will there be anything else?” he asked.

“Not at this time,” Liz replied.  With that, the steward immediately exited the cabin.

“Okay, so what do you have planned?” Catie asked as she inhaled the coffee aroma.

“They have a probe sitting above the planet that is giving them a view of us.  The destroyer is still adjusting its position so that it is hidden from our view.”

Catie just nodded her head.  The probe was an obvious thing; she assumed the Chesapeake had seen it from its vantage point.  “So,” she prompted.

“Starburst salute,” Liz said.

“Sounds like fun,” Catie said.

Liz looked at Lieutenant Owens.  “Four Foxes, triple hulled ones.”

Lieutenant Owens frowned at being told to deploy triple hulled Foxes.  “I guess it’s better safe than sorry,” she thought.  “I would suggest five.  It’s easier to keep the exhaust plumes pointed clear.”

“Your call.  Give them a few minutes to see the group, then have a missile take out the probe.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“So, how long?” Catie asked.

“We’ll have the steward serve breakfast while we watch.  Things won’t be too exciting from our end until the starburst.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Captain, our probe shows the Delphinean vessel launching a missile,” the sensor operator aboard the Aperanjen destroyer announced.

“What are they targeting?”

“It looks like they’re targeting the probe.”

“How can they see it?”

“I do not know.  Their radar seems to be the same as ours; the probe’s shielding should have absorbed the energy.”

The Aperanjen captain let out a sigh as he sat back in his chair.  “Why would the Delphineans launch a missile at our probe?  They couldn’t know what I have planned.”

“Captain, they have just launched something else.  It’s large; we cannot get a good reading of it.”

“What’s its heading?”

“Sir, it looks to be heading toward this moon.”

“Does that mean that they know we’re here?”

“I do not know, sir.  Their missile is closing in on our probe.  You can see it on passive sensors if you wish.”

“Put it on the display.”

Everyone on the bridge of the Aperanjen destroyer glanced at the display.  The missile was approaching their probe at high speed.  It was obvious that it would reach it within seconds.

“It exploded before it hit the probe,” the sensor operator said.

“I can see that; what about our probe?”

“The probe is inactive; the energy wave must have disabled it.”

“Where is that thing they launched after the missile?” the captain demanded.

“I calculate it will be coming around the moon in twenty minutes.  Should we continue to circle away?”

“No!  Move us further away from the moon and planet, but in the opposite direction from that thing’s course.  I want room to maneuver.”

The Aperanjen destroyer moved away from the moon.  Within a few minutes, it was out of the moon’s shadow and could see the Delphinean frigate, which meant that the frigate could also see it.

“Status on that ship?!” the captain demanded.

“It is just sitting there.  The object it launched now looks like five space fighters.  Wow!”

“What?” the captain asked, but he could tell that the fighters just made an impossible turn, avoiding the moon and now heading directly toward his ship.

“They turned toward us.  How could they do that?”

“Stay focused.  Go to active radar.  Prepare missiles and lasers!” the captain ordered.

“Missiles ready!”

“Launch!”

“Missiles away!  Lasers at full power!”

“Launch a second salvo!”

“Second salvo away!  First salvo should impact in ten!”

The bridge watched as each of the fifteen missiles they’d launched in the first salvo was destroyed by laser fire from the five Foxes.

“First salvo, destroyed.”

“I can see that!  Full speed ahead, let’s close on them before they can recharge their lasers!”

The Aperanjen destroyer leaped forward, closing distance with the Foxes.

◆ ◆ ◆

“What are they doing?” Catie asked.

“I’d guess they think they can get to our Foxes before they can recharge lasers after taking out that second salvo of missiles.”

“Won’t they be surprised?”

◆ ◆ ◆

The Foxes dispatched the second salvo of missiles as easily as the first, much to the dismay of the Aperanjen bridge crew.

“How long until we’re in weapons’ range?” the captain demanded.

“Extreme range in thirty seconds!”

“Fire when ready.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Lasers firing!”

“No effect!”

“Hold fire, let the laser fully recharge.”

“Missiles fired from the enemy craft!”

“Target them, fire now!”

“Firing.  No effect!”

“How can that be?  Keep firing!”

“Their missiles are converging on a point one thousand kilometers in front of us.”

“What?”

“Missiles have detonated.”

“Fire on those fighters!”

“Firing!”

“Fighters are on a collision course!”

“Keep firing!”

“What the . . .  Sir, the fighters have veered off.  How can they turn that hard?!”

“Quiet!”

“Message coming in from the Delphinean ship.”

“Open the channel.”

“This is Commodore Farmer of the Delphi League Frigate Aventurier.  Traditionally, a starburst salute signals the end of war games.  Do you concur?”

“War games?”

“Shut up!” the captain ordered.  He nodded to the communication officer to open his end of the channel.

“This is Captain Zanaz of the Aperanjen Destroyer Lexarspere.  We concur.  Well played.”

“Thank you,” Liz said.  “We turn our lasers down to ten percent for war games.  If yours were turned down that much, we would be interested in their design.  We are changing our course to head for the planet.  Should we wait for you?”

“I need to consult with the minister of security first.  I’ll let you know.”

“We’ll go ahead and alter course for the planet.  We’ll also open communication with Aperanje.  We’ll be in touch.  Out!”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie burst out laughing.  “I’ve never heard an Aperanjen sound so nervous.”

“I’m sure he’s not happy having to explain to his boss how the war games went,” Liz said.  “Flight Commander, excellent job.  Now, if you’ll excuse us, the Princess and I have a call to make.”

“Are you going to give him time to report first?” Catie asked as she gave Kay a high five as she passed by on her way out of the cabin.

“What do you think?”

“It’ll be more fun if we wait.”

“Okay.  Do you want some fruit?”

“Sure.”

“And we should probably go to your cabin for the call.  Make it more diplomatic, instead of military.”

Catie sighed, “Why not.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Liz sat beside Catie while Morgan took up position behind them.  Morgan and Liz were wearing dress uniforms, while Catie was wearing a uniform with a royal sash.  Morgan messaged the bridge to put the minister through.

“Minister Falmartz, this is Commodore Farmer of the Delphi League.  We are approaching your planet and wanted to finalize protocols.”

“Thank you; we wouldn’t want any accidents to occur.”

“Nor would we.  We just finished the war games exercise with Captain Zanaz; it was quite enlightening.”

“Yes, he reported the results of the exercise to us; we’re investigating the incident.  I’m not aware of any discussion about war games.”

“We weren’t either, but we hope you found the results enlightening.  Currently, we are just two days out from your planet.  Had you intended for us to be escorted by Captain Zanaz?”

The minister scowled, and it was obvious that someone was talking to him through his earpiece.  He finally waved his hand at someone off camera before continuing.  “That will not be necessary.”

“Then we’ll see you in two days.”

“We’ll make sure someone is there to guide you into a proper orbit.  Now let’s move on to our other plans; is the Princess available?”

ADI adjusted the video feed so that it showed Catie.

“Princess, I’m pleased to talk with you again.  I understand you’re bringing representatives from each of the League planets.”

“We are.  We haven’t changed any plans since we last talked.”

“That’s good.  We are planning a reception for you the evening after you arrive.  You mentioned before that you would be using four shuttles to ferry your mission members.”

“Yes, as we mentioned before, we have eight special envoys representing the eleven planets in the League.  When you add in aides and security, we will have over forty personnel.  Plus, we will also have two of our space fighters flying overwatch for the shuttles whenever they make a trip to the surface.”

“Yes, now that you mention it, I recall that was included in a briefing.  The briefing said that your space fighters will not need to land.”

“Correct.  To prepare, we will want to send a spaceplane down to verify that the accommodations will meet our needs; will that be a problem?”

Minister Falmartz nodded his head.  “That will not be a problem.  When you’re in orbit, we’ll send you the coordinates for the hotel where you’ll be staying.  They’ve given us control of their bungalows, which should accommodate you; it will be your embassy while you’re here.  It’s close to the government complex where you’ll be meeting with various representatives of our government.  I’ve just been told to ask if you had made progress on reparations?”

“Yes, we have.  I’ve been authorized to negotiate for the Fazullan Empress.  I hope we’ll be able to settle the matter during our stay.”

“I do as well.  Now for some more specifics about your accommodations . . .”

◆ ◆ ◆

Two days later, the Aventurier and the Chesapeake reached Aperanje.  There was a small frigate waiting for them.

“Hail them,” Liz ordered.

“This is Commodore Farmer of the DSS Aventurier; where do you want us to take up position?”

“This is Captain Nemoxar of space frigate Yomartico.  Please take position one hundred kilometers off of our starboard and fifty kilometers astern of us.”

Liz nodded to helm.  “Have the Chesapeake take a position off our starboard, five hundred meters.”  Liz smiled to herself.

“Captain, we’re being hailed from the planet.”

“Put it up on the main display.”

The image of Minister Falmartz came up.  “Commodore Farmer, welcome to Aperanje.  Once you’re settled into orbit, your shuttles are welcome to bring you down to the coordinates we gave earlier.”

“Thank you, Minister.  I’ll keep you apprised of our status.  Good day.”  Liz signaled the communications officer to cut the feed.

Catie walked onto the bridge, “Commodore, I see we have arrived, and we’re still playing games.”

Liz laughed.  “Just showing them what a tight formation looks like.”

“What time is it at the capital?”

“Cer Catie, it is 1220 hours at the capital.”  The Aventurier converted the Aperanjen day into a twenty-four-hour clock even though it was twenty-seven hours long; that made it easier for the Aventurier’s crew to interpret the timing relative to the sleep cycle.  It had already stretched ship time, so the days matched up with the planet.

“Thank you, Aventurier.  Commodore, why don’t we plan on going down at 1600?  That will give Morgan a few hours to check things out.”

“As you wish.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie stewed while Morgan went down to the planet to coordinate security with the Aperanjens.  At least Morgan got to do something.  Sitting around waiting was frustrating.  She spent some time reviewing the results for the first test of the new probe design.  It was only a bit smaller in diameter than the original solar explore probe at 1.6 meters.  Still, it was five meters long, giving it enough internal volume to fit the small gravity drives and to house all the experiments and tests that needed to be run to verify if a planet was genuinely habitable.

A hover Lynx carrying Morgan and twenty Marines landed in the parking lot for the bungalows where the League delegation would be staying.  They were met by an Aperanjen wearing a suit along with twenty Aperanjen security people.  Morgan and her people exited the Lynx in tight formation.  They were wearing uniforms without any markings and only carried a sidearm.  They also had light body armor under their uniforms; Catie and Liz had decided that battle armor was a bit too provocative for the advance team.

“I’m Special Agent Blair,” Morgan announced herself to the lead Aperanjen, or at least she assumed he was.  Catie had decided to avoid any rank to minimize unnecessary game playing between the two teams.

“I’m pleased to meet you.  I’m Minister Parkhurst; I’ll be your liaison with the government and the President.  This is Lieutenant Jolexa, she’ll be head of security for the area.  She should be able to help you ensure the safety of your delegation.  Don’t hesitate to contact me with any concerns.”

Morgan Commed the Lynx pilot, and the Lynx rose and took up position with its Fox mates to provide air cover.

“Impressive planes,” Lieutenant Jolexa said.

“We like them.  Now, if you don’t mind, can we mark the perimeter?”

“Of course.  Right behind us is the entrance to the parking lot, and to the left of it is the pedestrian walkway between the bungalows and the main hotel.”

Morgan used her tailboard to instruct two Marines to take up position at the entrance and another two to secure the pedestrian walkway.  She nodded to the lieutenant, indicating she was ready to proceed.  Minister Parkhurst followed along behind them with the Delphi Marines marching behind him and beside the Aperanjen security people who were strolling along.

Morgan posted Marines around the perimeter, so they had line-of-sight with each other.  They would surreptitiously place surveillance pucks in the area when their Aperanjen partners were distracted.  Once they’d completed a tour of the perimeter, Lieutenant Jolexa led them into the interior.  There were thirty-six bungalows arranged around a swimming pool.

“Your people are free to use the pool,” Lieutenant Jolexa said.

“Thanks,” Morgan replied, although she couldn’t imagine any of the diplomats going swimming.  “Maybe my Marines could use the pool.  I’ll have to ask Catie.”

“This is Deputy Minister Karley Olgonas; she will be staying in the compound.  She will be the princess’s main liaison with the Government.  We plan to have her stay in bungalow three; my security people will use bungalows one and two; the rest are for your people.”

“Good.  We’d like to inspect the bungalows.”  Morgan stood with her hand out, waiting for the lieutenant to hand her the key cards she was holding.  Deputy Minister Karley gave a little shrug to Morgan as Morgan continued to wait for the lieutenant to hand over the keys.  After a moment, Morgan added, “I think we can handle this part on our own.”

“Of course.  Let me know if you need anything; I’ll be in number one.”

Morgan took the key cards, and with two Marines, she started to inspect each bungalow.  The bungalows were nice; they had two bedrooms, a small seating area for conversations or dining, a kitchenette, and two bathrooms.  They also were full of listening devices.  Morgan shook her head in disgust while watching Lorenzo, the surveillance tech, wrap each listening device in an isolation shell.  The shell was wired into the device’s power source and had three states, one would allow the device to work normally, the second would isolate it so only a slight hum could be detected, and the third would play sounds that Aventurier would choose.  Aventurier would have a quantum relay to Catie’s suite so he would be in constant contact with the isolation shells.  He could mimic the voice of any of the diplomats and their staff.

“Done,” Lorenzo informed Morgan after he had completed the first bungalow.

“Do we have enough isolation shells?” Morgan asked.

“Barely, though what they think they’re going to understand, I have no clue.  Other than the Paraxeans, they’ve never heard our languages, have they?”

“Not that I know of.  But maybe they’ve got a smart computer that can develop a translation program.”

“Maybe, but it’s probably just habit.”

“What about external devices?”

“We’ll put a surveillance puck on each window.  That will detect any laser microphones and counter them.”

“Good.  We’ll put the Princess in here.  Lambert and I will hot bunk in the second room.  We’ll put the team in the next three bungalows.”

“Those bunks are going to get mighty hot.”

Morgan laughed.  “Set up extra bunks in the rooms, stack them.”

“You aren’t interested in another roommate, are you?” Lorenzo asked.

“No, now get on with it before I assign you to sleep in the parking lot.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t call me ma’am.”

“Yes, Sergeant Blair.”

Morgan turned away and quickly messaged Catie.  “Catie, first chance you get, we need to get the Aperanjen security personnel out of our compound.”

“Got it.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Before she was due in the shuttle bay, Catie Commed Margaret.  “Maggie, any last-minute advice?”

“Not much.  I think having four Foxes escort your shuttle sends a good message.  But you do want to be careful you don’t come across too heavy-handed.”

“I’ll be careful.  They’ve been playing these power games since we made contact.  I wish they’d just get over themselves and talk to us.”

“I’m sure they’re feeling a bit overwhelmed.  They’re the new kids on the block, and the other kids look pretty tough, so they’re trying to establish a more level playing field.”

“I guess.  Anything else?”

“Remember, the Aperanjens you’ve met from the colony mission are not run-of-the-mill people.  They were selected to form a colony that was more of a scientific mission than a colony mission.  The Aperanjens just sent enough people to ensure that they could form a viable colony but never expected to send more people or to trade with them.  They just wanted to learn from their experience.”

“Oh, I never thought about it like that.  I guess the same would be true for the Paraxean colonists.  Dr. Metra has always said it was a way to move hotheads off of Paraxea and to create an environment where their creative juices would flourish in hopes they would invent things that the people at home wouldn’t think of.  It never occurred to me that they would self-select for adventurousness, inventiveness, and boldness.”

“Yes, Sam and I have had that conversation.  Now good luck,” Maggie said as she signed off.

Chapter 13

Introductions

Fiona arranged for Catie’s luggage to be moved to her shuttle.  Catie would go down to the planet first to establish a relationship with the Aperanjens.  The rest of the diplomats would follow the next morning.  Fiona grabbed a few of Morgan’s personal things that she had forgotten.  Once everything was loaded, she changed into her dress uniform and signaled Catie that she was ready.  It took Catie a few minutes to finalize her outfit before she joined Fiona in her day cabin.

Catie gave Fiona a close inspection, looking over her uniform.  “I’m happy to see that your dress uniform looks like it’s to regs.”

“Hey, I was off duty, and it was my personal shipsuit.”

Catie looked behind Fiona, giving the back of her uniform another inspection.  “Hmm.”

Fiona turned around quickly.  “What?!”

“Just checking to see if you had any personalizations done.”

“Pfft.  Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, lead on.”  Catie didn’t mention that ADI had pointed out that the heels of Fiona’s shoes were a quarter of an inch higher than regulation and that the red edging on her uniform was three millimeters wider than regulation.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie’s shuttle was set to arrive outside the Aperanje world headquarters.  The area was inside a standard security perimeter that was maintained around the headquarters, but Morgan insisted on her team sweeping the area before the shuttle landed.  She also insisted that any reporters who entered the area were to be searched by one of her Marines, and especially any photographers and their cameras.  She was not going to have a repeat of the reception on Helike.

Catie’s shuttle hovered to a stop, then settled down on the section of the parking lot that had been cordoned off for them.  The two Marines that Morgan had accompanying her immediately moved to either side of the area that was filled with reporters so that their bodycams could provide Aventurier and ADI a sideview of the area.  The shuttle extended its boarding ramp, and the door opened.  Fiona marched out, followed by ten Marines.  She was wearing the standard body armor she usually wore, so nothing about her stood out, but the ten Marines following here were wearing combat armor under their uniforms, making them look larger and bulkier than normal.  As Fiona looked at the Aperanjen delegation, she wondered if they’d notice the combat armor since it just made the Marines look like Aperanjens.  The Marines formed a corridor for Catie.

As Catie stepped out of the shuttle, her eyes surveyed the crowd.  The gaggle of people there to meet them were dressed in very different costumes than she had seen on Rhino and his colleagues.  Of course, the rescued Aperanjens had mostly been wearing clothes that were provided or Delphi since none of their belongings had survived their captivity.  Right away, she noticed that the costumes didn’t give you a clue as to who was male or female.  Most of them wore tunics over leggings; the difference was how elegant the tunic was, and that difference wasn’t related to the sex of the person, but based on the proximity of those wearing the elegant costumes to the President, appeared to indicate how rich or important they were.

“Time’s a-wasting,” ADI prompted Catie.  She sighed and started down the ramp with Rhino close on her heels.  They walked through the corridor of Marines and made their way to where the Aperanjen President stood waiting.

TV news cameras and reporters clamored around the edge of the group, trying to get pictures of Catie and the President meeting.  Morgan had let Catie know that they had inspected the cameras, so she was only a little nervous.

Rhino stepped to the side and gave a slight bow to the President.  “Princess Catherine, it is my pleasure to introduce to you President Rasparal of Aperanje.  President Rasparal, Princess Catherine of Delphi.”

The President gave Catie a slight bow which she acknowledged with a nod of her head.  Liz had followed the pair out of the shuttle and was amused by the fact that Rhino and the President were ignoring her presence.  When the President started toward the building, an Aperanjen dressed in a military uniform stepped up to her.

“Commodore Farmer, I presume.”

“Yes.”

“I’m Captain Brazart, the security minister’s aide.  If you’ll follow me, he’s expecting you.”

The President led Catie into the building where they could meet in private.  Fiona and Morgan followed tight on Catie’s heels, with Rhino bringing up the rear, while Liz and the aide followed far behind.  When they entered the building, they turned down a hallway, and Liz could just see Fiona at the end of another hall.

The President led Catie and her entourage to a private conference room on the first floor of the building.  There was only one person in it, a female Aperanjen.  Fiona took up a position by the door; with her armor, she wasn’t invited into the room.  Morgan and Rhino followed Catie and the President into the room.  Morgan stepped aside and took up her position against the wall next to the door; the President’s bodyguard followed suit and took up position on the other side of the door.

“Princess, this is Karley Olgonas, the deputy minister of trade; she’ll be your liaison with my office as well as the trade minister’s office.  I understand that your Special Agent Blair has assigned her the bungalow next to yours.”

“Hello, Princess,” Karley said as she stood up.  “I’m pleased to meet you.  Call on me at any time.”

Catie smiled at the deputy minister, “I’m sure we’ll have lots of conversations.”

“Of course.”

As Catie sat down, she noticed that the President was glaring at Rhino.

“I’ve asked Cer Rhillicorosar to be a backup for my Comm translator and to help me interpret any cultural nuances during our discussion.  I hope you don’t mind.”

The President turned to Catie and said, “Not at all,” although Catie was pretty sure he did.

Rhino gave Catie a sheepish expression.  Catie had to struggle not to laugh; it was hard to imagine an Aperanjen being sheepish.

There was a quiet ping as Fiona messaged Morgan and Catie that two more Aperanjens were preparing to enter the room.  The President’s bodyguard opened the door, and the two Aperanjens walked in.

The President introduced the two, “This is Cer Dilmary, my chief of staff, and Minister Mortizacian, my minister of finance.  I thought they would be of help during our initial discussions.”  The minister of finance smiled at Catie.  His smile had a feral nature, reminding her of a Fazullan more than an Aperanjen.

“Now, to the first order of business,” the President said as he brought out a fancy document.  “This declares the bungalow area of the Aparasian Hotel as the Delphi League Embassy.  Of course, the area is defined with coordinates, but ‘bungalow area’ is so much easier to say.”  With that, he signed the document with a flourish and handed it to Catie.

“Thank you, Mr. President.  And since Rhillicorosar tells me that you have the same definition of embassy as we do, I’m sure you can understand our desire that only Delphi Personnel be allowed on the grounds carrying weapons.”

The President grimaced at her request, then relaxed.  “Of course, I understand.  Dilmary will see to it.”  He gave his chief of staff a nod.

“Not a problem.  I’ll send a message right now.”

Morgan smiled at Catie, then messaged the Aventurier that they could start sending down the rest of the delegation.

“Now, tell me about the League?  Why should we join it?” the President asked.

“As we explained before, the League was set up to provide common defense and enable trade between various worlds.  As a member of the League, you would have access to the jump gates.”

“At a fee?” the finance minister asked.

“Yes.  There is a small export tax that covers the cost of defending the gates and connecting you to the GalaxyNet.  The GalaxyNet allows you to communicate via various messaging technologies with the other worlds.  It also allows you access to the history and other common knowledge of the member planets.  There is a separate fee for the use of the gates.  The League defends the gates, but they’re privately owned.  The cost of using the gates is insignificant when compared to the fact that the gates enable interstellar commerce.  Your system would also have the option of having one of our frigates posted to provide defense against any surprise invasion or intrasystem issues you could not handle on your own.”

“Again, at a fee?”

“There is an additional tax for the in-system frigate.  You’re free to decline it.  Paraxea has their own space force that they feel is adequate to defend their system.  The League maintains a larger force that can be in any system within a matter of hours.  Of course, we are still limited in how fast we can reach the habitable zone, but we can use autonomous crafts to project force quickly until the crewed vessels can reach the scene.”

“And the cost of that?”

“It’s covered by the export tax.”

“Hmm, interesting,” the President said.  “And exactly what is the tax?”

“One percent of your export trade.”

“What about imports?”

“We don’t tax them since they were taxed on the other side.”

“That’s certainly nice of you,” the President said.  “Are there any other benefits?”

“You would be able to use the gates to colonize other planets.”

“And how would we find those planets?”

“We are creating a catalog of planets,” Catie said.  “The League is still discussing how to pay for the initial survey of the planet to determine if it’s suitable.”

“Why would we want to colonize other planets?” Dilmary asked.

“You don’t have to.  Some civilizations like the idea of expanding their reach.  Also, you will eventually become resource-bound on your planet.  You’ll have to decide how you want to deal with that.”

“What other requirements are there?” the President asked.

“That you recognize all sapient life as full citizens,” Catie said.  “The League also regulates what can be traded between systems.  The controls are mostly to avoid disrupting the economy of new member planets such as yours.  We want to avoid having your established industries crash due to the introduction of new, more advanced technologies.  The League also limits the sales of arms.”

“Interesting,” the President said.  “Thank you for the quick explanation.  My chief of staff will handle the rest of the discussion; I have a meeting I must attend.  Again, thank you, Princess.”

Catie was furious at being handed off to the chief of staff, but she held her temper.  She smiled as the President left the room.

“Now, Princess, can we get more details on the trade restrictions?” the chief of staff asked.

“I’m sure you can.  But I have some other commitments as well.  Please take the time to digest what we’ve discussed so that we might have a more fruitful discussion when we meet again.”  With that, Catie got up and headed for the door.

“But Princess,” the chief of staff said as he reached out to grab her arm.  Morgan stepped between him and Catie, knocking his hand aside.  She glared at him, then followed Catie out.

◆ ◆ ◆

“I apologize for the President’s rude behavior,” Karley said as she finally caught up with Catie.  “Politicians can’t help but play these power games.  If you don’t mind, I think this might be a good time for us to get to know each other better.”

Catie paused to think about it.

“It’s going to be a zoo at the embassy right now,” Morgan messaged.

“Sure, why not.  Do you know a place where we can talk?  Your office?”

“Why don’t we go to one of the restaurants close by?  It’ll give us a bit more privacy.”

“Sounds good.  First, let me check in with Commodore Farmer.  Liz, how are you doing?”

“Talking about defenses, weapons, and ships.  Basically, I want to shoot someone.  And I’m also getting questions from the delegates about the compound.  It seems someone said it was okay for them to come down.”

“Sorry about that.  Do you want me to pull you out?  We’re going to lunch.”

“No.  I should stick with it.  It has to be done.”

“Your funeral.”

“I’ll remember that.  Have a good lunch.”

“Commodore Farmer is busy, but she says we should go ahead and have lunch,” Catie said.

Karley shook her head, wondering how Catie and Commodore Farmer had communicated without Catie ever moving her lips.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Princess, how are you holding up?  I understand that our gravity is significantly higher than what you’re used to,” Karley said.  They were riding in a limousine on their way to the restaurant.

“It is; this is about 1.5 times our norm.  But I’m doing fine.  It’s only hard when we’re walking.”

“The limousine will drop us off right at the restaurant entrance.  So, there shouldn’t be much walking involved.”

When they arrived at the restaurant, Morgan was waiting with the four Marines she had taken with her to secure the new location.  She opened the door to the limousine, and Catie stepped out.  Fiona got out of the front and moved to join the corridor that the Marines had formed to shield Catie while she walked into the restaurant.

“I took the liberty of getting your reservations moved to the back room,” Morgan informed Catie.

Catie nodded to her.

“I should have thought of that,” Karley said.

“Don’t worry; it’s Agent Blair’s job to think about things like that.  It’s unlikely you could have made arrangements that would have met her standards.”

“True, I usually am not involved in security issues.  Now, you’re going to love the food here.  Cer Rhillicorosar tells me you like the food from our western continent.  This is the premier restaurant for that cuisine.”

After they ordered, Karley folded her hands and gave Catie a very human look, like rolling her eyes.  “I think there are a few things I should explain to you.  The finance minister hinted about the reparations, but it’s a bit complex.  Here on Aperanje, we fund major government investments by selling bonds.  They’re sold at a steep discount, which ensures that the investors will make good money even if the investment doesn’t work out.  But if it does, the investors can recover their money early.  Before then, they have partial control of the project.  So, many of our roads have tolls, water treatment plants are partially controlled by the private sector until the bonds are paid off.  The same was true for the colonization mission.  The government sold bonds to cover the cost of the mission.  The investment included the interest in various technologies required to launch the mission.  The investors expected to be paid back by getting to see those technologies developed to launch the mission advance and be used here on Aperanje.  That included any technology developed during the mission.  With the failure of the mission, the bonds have not been paid back.  They mature in another twelve years, but investors were expecting to make more than the interest for forty years off of their investment.”

“I see.  An interesting way to fund government projects, but I get it.  Does that mean there will be private investors involved in the discussion on reparations?”

“Yes.  The government maintains a significant interest, but the big pressure will likely come from those that own the bonds.”

“I assume that explains the comment about League membership not being sufficient compensation.”

“Yes.  Our finance minister isn’t known for his subtlety.”

“I would think not.  But I don’t see how that will really change the negotiations.”

“Possibly not, but there will be less altruism in defining the compensation than one might expect.”

Catie just nodded.

They spent the rest of the meal talking about current events on Aperanje and how similar much of it was to Earth’s current culture.

“Let’s have dessert,” Karley said as they finished up the main meal.

“I seldom turn down dessert,” Catie said.  “Rhino, what do you suggest?”

“Chocolate, or at least the Aperanjen equivalent.”

Karley pulled a device out of her bag.  She put her fingers to her lips to silence any questions, then turned the device on.  “This will prevent anyone from listening in to our conversation.”

“Oh, nice,” Catie said.  “Why didn’t you turn it on when we got here?”

“We have to give them something to listen to.”

“Now, what do you want to say or ask that you don’t want others listening in on.”

“Princess, the minister of commerce has told me to do whatever it takes to make sure we join the League.  I wanted you to know that.  If there is any question you need to ask, be sure that if I can’t answer it, I’ll find the answer for you.”

“Thank you; I appreciate your help.”

“One other thing you should know.  There will probably be listening devices planted in your rooms.  Sometimes the members of our intelligence services misunderstand instructions from the President or their ministers.”

Morgan snorted at that.

“We’re aware of the listening devices,” Catie said.

“Oh, good.  Have you removed them?”

“Let’s just say, we’ve made sure they will not compromise our mission.”

Karley looked impressed.  “So, is there anything you wish to ask?”

◆ ◆ ◆

After they finished dessert, where the discussion centered more on detailed knowledge of Aperanje’s government and its ministries, Catie decided to move to a more interesting topic.

“Rhino tells me that you’ve had a unified government for most of your history.”

“Yes, ever since Augustus the Great, we have been under one government.”

“ADI?”

“That’s the best translation I could come up with.  It was either that or Genghis Khan.”

“That is a bit simplified,” Rhino said, bringing Catie’s mind back to the Aperanje unified government.

Karley frowned at Rhino.  “It is simplified, but fairly accurate.  The government we have today has evolved from the rule of Augustus.  However, it took hundreds of years before his descendants actually conquered the world.”

“So, you actually had one civilization conquer your entire world?”

“Yes, starting with Augustus, there is an unbroken line of rule that expanded to encompass the entire world.”

“I thought you had an elected government,” Catie said.

“It is now.  About two hundred years ago, there was a revolution.  Many of the nobles joined it in an attempt to force a constitution that would guarantee their rights.”

“The rights of the nobles or the people?” Catie asked.

“The nobles.  It infuriated the emperor at that time.  So, to get even, he created a constitution that guaranteed the rights of all the people.  Enough of the nobles changed sides and joined him that he was able to get them all to sign.  Then he abdicated in favor of an elected President.”

“He gave up his power?” Catie asked.

“No, he gave up the burden of ruling.  He still maintained power through people loyal to him, his wealth, and the controls he had over many of our industries.  His family is still a major influence here on Aperanje.”

Rhino nodded his head vigorously at that statement.  “They have their fingers in most pies.”

Karley gave Rhino a hard glare.

“That is a saying where the Princess comes from; it means that they exert influence and gain wealth from most businesses.”

Karley nodded but still didn’t look too pleased with Rhino.

“How did they manage to conquer the entire world?” Catie asked.

“Well, Augustus’ father had started the Empire.  He conquered his neighbor, although there was insurrection for years after.  Eventually, someone assassinated him, and his son came to power.

“Augustus set out to avenge his father, destroying much of the neighboring city-state.  Apparently, the waste caused by the destruction made a strong impression on him.  After that, he offered terms to the enemy army.  Surrender, and you would have to serve the empire for two years; if you didn’t surrender but survived, then you had to serve the empire for life.”

“What did ‘serve the empire’ mean?”

“You were essentially slave labor during that time.  That labor was used to build roads, public buildings, aqueducts, and other infrastructure.  Augustus did not allow people to own slaves, just the empire.”

“What happened to these slaves after their sentence was up?”

“They usually had valuable skills, so most of them moved into trades, helping to build homes and factories.  They did well.”

“And from that, he conquered your world?”

“That and the invention of steel.”

“Oh, was the empire the first to invent steel?”

“Yes, it was Marandura, the wife of a blacksmith, that invented steel.  Her husband was following the army, which gave her time to perfect it in secret.  When she had perfected the process, she made several weapons from steel and presented them to Augustus on his return from a campaign.”

“A woman invented steel, interesting.”

“Yes, it was a watershed moment in our history.  Augustus immediately saw the potential, and he also realized how fortunate he was that one of our enemies didn’t discover it first.  Marandura demanded the right to produce all steel.  Augustus gave it to her but added the condition that she create an institute to research other advancements.  Before that, education didn’t specifically focus on the sciences.”

“And she did that?”

“Yes, and it was her daughter that persuaded the emperor to institute public schools for everyone.  It is also the genesis of our women achieving equal rights.  The girls stayed in school longer than the boys, so they generally became the professors as well as being responsible for most of the inventions.  Boys and men were expected to join the military and fight to expand the empire.  Although the institutes did create a haven for men who were more inclined to think than to fight.

“Later the emperor started to put the women in charge of the construction projects being done by the slaves, freeing up more men to fight, as well as using people with more education to run his programs.”

“And you never encountered an enemy who was as strong as you?” Catie asked.

“We never lost, but we did encounter two civilizations that were hard to beat.  The first was to our east.  They were nomadic and were expert horsemen.  They also had composite bows.  We didn’t have that weapon at that time, and it was formidable.”

“What did the emperor do?”

“He won the first encounter at great cost.  He recognized the power that the composite bow had and immediately had his craftswomen set to work to discover its secrets.  During this time, he held his ground and did not attempt to advance.  It took a year to learn the secrets of the bow and to train enough men how to use it.  After that, they set out again.  Within months, he had beaten the enemy; a composite bow with steel-tipped arrows was too much for them.  They eventually surrendered, and many were taken into the army since they were expert bowmen and horsemen.”

“Ah,” Catie said.  “That’s why ADI said your emperor was like Augustus and Genghis Khan rolled into one.  That civilization sounds like the Mongols, one of the great empires in Earth history.  So, what was the second civilization?”

“They were far to our north.  They had gunpowder.”

“Oh, how did the emperor defeat that?”

“At this time, it was his son in power, but he followed his father’s example.  They encountered an army with small cannon.  The cannons were made of wrought iron and were only marginally more effective than our catapults.  The emperor threw everything he had at them and eventually captured the city.  Like his father, he sent the weapon to the institute to discover its secrets while he dug in and waited.  It took almost two years before they produced the first bronze cannons.  These were far more efficient and powerful than the wrought iron cannons, so it was only another year before he had conquered the enemy and added them to the empire.”

“How did they treat the people they conquered?”

“Ah, that was the secret.  The people were brought into the empire.  A general was made governor of the province, but he selected local leaders to form his cabinet.  The taxes were fair, and the technology of the empire made their lives better.  The education system was instituted in the province.  It took generations before they fully embraced the changes, especially the elevation of women to equal status, but eventually, all the providences realized the benefits.”

“So, your women were the ones responsible for the success of your empire.”

Rhino laughed.  “They would have you believe that.  And since they still run our education system, it is common knowledge,” he said with a smile.

Karley laughed at Rhino’s jest.  “We should get you settled in the compound.  I’m sure you’re looking forward to some alone time.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Samantha handed Allie off to the nanny, then walked over to Marc and hugged him from behind.

“What are you working on?” she asked.  Marc was sitting in his easy chair with a flat board in his lap.  He was obviously working in his HUD, the flat board, creating a surface to project on and to use to draw on with his stylus.

“I’m trying to map out what we have to do to get this colony started.  I can’t believe I let Catie maneuver me into this.”

“It’s only fair, after all the things you’ve maneuvered her into.”

“But that’s my job.”

“Yes, and now that she’s nineteen, it’s her job to get even.”

“Don’t encourage her!”

“I won’t, but you should have anticipated this one.”

“I know.  I guess I’m more ticked off that she saw it before I did.  Now, sit down and help me.”

Samantha took the chair next to Marc and put on her specs.  “So, what do you have so far?”

“We know what to do to accommodate them relative to housing and such.  Catie’s efforts on Onisiwo covered everyone except the Helikens and the Paraxeans; the Helikens are human, so they’re easy to cover, and we’ve been building cabins for the Paraxeans for years now.”

“Okay, so you know how to build condos for them.  What about diet?”

“Not really a problem except that each race has some food that they love and that one or more of the other races finds disgusting.”

“The basic food, or how it’s prepared?”

“A little of both, but mainly the preparation.  Some spices can be overwhelming.”

“So, a bit like having lunch with the Koreans when they order Kimchi.”

“Or the French and their snails,” Marc said.

“So, what’s the problem?  People will get used to it.”

“Yes, but before they do, they’re likely to build up prejudices that will be hard to overcome.”

“Can’t you desensitize them first?”

“How?”

“Captain, we can create an aerosol that we can use like a room deodorizer that will desensitize their noses to a set of smells,” ADI said.  “If we determine the key ones that we need to work with, we should be able to minimize the discomfort.”

“What about body odors?” Samantha asked.

“I think we’ll stress the need to take showers.  Plus, the shipsuits will help there.  Even on Artemis, people tended to wear them and just put skirts or tunics over them for style.”

“Well, there you go,” Samantha said as she stood up.

“Hey, we just started.”

“I know, but I’ll let you get things a bit more organized while I spend some time with Allie.”

Chapter 14

Let’s Make a Deal

“I appreciate you allowing me to stay here.  It definitely shortens my commute,” Karley said as she followed Catie into the compound.

“Nobody at home to miss you?”

“No, it’s just me.”

“Well, I have to attend a meeting right now; I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Catie said as she turned toward her bungalow.

Karley watched Catie and Morgan as they went into Catie’s bungalow before turning to head down to hers.

Board Meeting – April 14th

“I call this meeting to order,” Marc announced.  “Fred.”

“I assume all of you are reading the monthly notes, or at least paying attention to the amount of your quarterly dividends, so you should know that all of our various enterprises are continuing to prosper.  Of note, we have received orders for over five hundred AIs from various cities in the U.S. and New Zealand.  Most of the orders are due to the success of the education program we launched last year, but we’re also making significant inroads in corporate data centers.  They especially like the AIs’ inherent resistance to hacking.”

“Are we able to keep up with the orders?” Nikola asked.

“We have a three-month backlog, but we’re expanding capacity.”

“Where?” Marc asked.

“On Avalon, as you suggested.”

Marc nodded his head in acknowledgment.

“So, you’re accelerating the move to Avalon?” Admiral Michaels asked.

“Yes, I want all of our key scientists, as well as our production, moved within two months.”

“What does that mean for us?” Nikola asked.

“We all will need to make some decisions,” Marc said.  “As you know, we expanded Avalon to make it a desirable destination to live.  We are already moving our leading scientists there to protect their work and remove them from any dangers associated with espionage.  I expect Earth to seize control of Delphi Station once the planetary government is formed, which is a reasonable move.  We want to have moved any top-secret work from there to Avalon before that happens.”

“They can’t just take it!” Catie yelped.

“They won’t take it; they’ll just assume jurisdiction over it,” Samantha said.  “That means that we won’t be able to keep spies out, and they’ll have control over key elements.”

“Can’t we keep control over it as a diplomatic embassy?” Blake asked, knowing the answer but still wanting the thought out on the table.

“Not the entire station,” Samantha replied.

“What about our medical work?” Dr. Metra asked.

Marc gave her a reassuring smile.  “We will continue to manage that from Delphi City and Delphi Station.  We need to modify the nanite printers, so they’re like the ones we use in the health clinics, but more flexible.”

The nanite printers they used to treat Alzheimer’s and other diseases were built so that if you tried to open them or tamper with them, they would fuse.  The nanites produced also had a short expiration date.

“Oh, good,” Dr. Metra said.

“We may want to move some of the medical research to Avalon, but I’m not worried about losing control of it.  It’s primarily designed to benefit Earth and her colonies, so its mission should be compatible with a planetary government,” Marc continued.

“Now, speaking of planetary governments, Kal, your Marines?”

“Given the numbers we now have in uniform, I think we can withstand the change in governments.  We need a planet to train on and to draw significant numbers of recruits, so we still need to be based here on Earth.  But, if necessary, we could move our operations to Artemis and merge our recruiting with the recruitment of colonists.”

“I’d rather not,” Marc said.

“I agree.  We have also started to develop rules and equipment to accommodate our other partners in the League.  I’d like to start with a small mixed unit for each planet.  Half from Earth, half from the planet.  Hopefully, we’ll learn enough to avoid any major screwups.  After that, we’ll assess if we should maintain mixed units or have dedicated units for each species.”

“Catie already got the Onisiwoens on board,” Samantha said.

“You’re going to want to have dedicated Aperanjen units to deal with issues on heavy planets,” Liz said.  “I can’t see our Marines handling 1.5Gs continuously.”

“We’re working on power-assisted armor to deal with that.  You guys are testing an earlier version right now.  We sent some with your Marines.   We plan to test them further on Raaqres.”

“I assume you’ll do preliminary testing on Avalon.  They should have a high-G ring ready in a few weeks,” Blake said.

“Sure, that might allow us to do some fine-tuning.”

“So, you’re committed to this move to Avalon,” Admiral Michaels said.

“I don’t see another option.  We’ll have an embassy here on Earth; I plan to make Delphi City home of the Delphi League Embassy; kind of like the U.N. in New York and Geneava.  So hopefully any members of the League will put their Earth embassys in Delphi City as well.  I plan to have Avalon’s embassy here.”

“Are you planning on keeping Delphi as a country here on Earth?”

“I think so.  We still want to have an inside position here on Earth.  We just need to move assets out of reach.”

“What about the Delphi Federation?”

“I think we should expand it; that’s what you said the new government wanted, so we should see who wants to join.”

“When can we start discussing the impact of this with our families?”

“After Earth announces a unified government,” Marc said.  He looked at Samantha; she nodded her head in agreement.  “Sam, what’s the latest on our efforts to get the public on our side?”

“Ah,” Samantha sighed a bit as she glanced at Catie.  Catie immediately sat up.  She knew she was going to hate this.  “Based on discussion with Leslie, I think the best way to start the story is to have Catie hold a press conference on Aperanje.  We’ll need to make sure one of the reporters asks about the trade restrictions, but I’m sure Catie can make that happen.”

Catie just glared at Samantha.

“It’s the best way.”

“Don’t you think I have enough to deal with?” Catie whined.

“It has to be a League representative, and you’re the only one we can trust to give the correct answer.  And before you recommend Herr Hausmann, it would look suspicious coming from him.  And he won’t be able to provide the inside picture that I want you to present.”

Catie shook her head and sighed before she agreed.  “I get it.”

“Thanks, Catie,” Marc said.  “Now, when do we make contact with Thorea?  We can use the Paraxean relay.  Sam tells me that they have been responding to the occasional check-in from the Paraxeans, so that means we can save a probe.”

“Who’s going to talk with them?” Catie asked, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

“You.”

“That’s what I thought.  So same formula as with Aperanje?”

“Yes,” Samantha answered.

“Then let’s do it after my big interview.  I don’t think I can handle two events in the same week.”

“Okay, I’ll tell the Paraxeans to arrange it for the following Monday.”

Marc smiled at Catie.  “Now to something more in your wheelhouse, what is the status of our search for Providence?”

“Providence?”

“The name of our mixed colony.”

“Oh, I like that,” Catie said.  “And we have a winner.”

“What’s the status of the other planets you surveyed or did you get lucky?”

“No, we eliminated four planets before we found our winner on the fifth.”

“What’s the status of the other four?” Nikola asked.

“In reverse order of interest, one was just too hot.  It looks good otherwise, but I don’t see why we would want to colonize a world that would take decades of work before the climate moderates.  We can keep it on the list and maybe start some terraforming work if it looks like we need one.”

Seeing most of the board nod in agreement, Catie continued.  “The second one has an unstable orbit.  The system’s first gas giant is too close in, so the model shows that it perturbs the orbit every decade or so.  We figured that out before the probe went in too far, so we pulled it out and refurbished it for a future mission.”

“Good,” Fred said, as always keeping an eye on the bottom line.  Fifty-million-dollar probes plus quantum relays didn’t grow on trees.

“The third planet is a good possibility, but its gravity is a bit heavy for our purpose.  Now, the fourth planet,” Catie hesitated for dramatic effect, “has sapient life.”

“But before telecommunication?” Nikola asked since they would have detected the radio signals from the fringe and saved the probe.

“Yes, once we were at thirty AUs, we were able to detect structures on the planet.  I’ve consulted with Dr. Martogs, the Paraxean xenoanthropologist, and Dr. Qián, our lead anthropologist, and they suggested we put the probe in orbit so we can study them.  We can always have it burn up on reentry and ditch in the ocean if we need to.”

“Okay, have we learned anything yet?”

“It has a bronze age civilization.  We’ve put the probe in an LPO, low planetary orbit, that covers the area between the polar regions.  We even have a few images of the people there.”

“What do they look like?”

Catie put the image of a person on the screen.  It appeared to be male, with a light frame.  He was wearing leather clothing and was leading a burro-like animal.  The burro was loaded down with a large pack and carried a small child.

“As you can see, they’re humanoid, like all the other sapient races.  They have pretty long arms by our standards and a wide nose.  Eye separation is normal for binocular vision; ears are on the side of the head for echolocation.  ADI assures me they have five fingers with opposable thumbs, so that continues to be the standard.”

“Are they green?” Liz asked, squinting at the image.

“There is a distinct green tint to their skin; we don’t have a theory as to why yet.”

“Does the skin color vary by location?” Kal asked.

“Not sure yet.  Still gathering data.  We can send a probe down to the surface, but it would be a one-way trip.”

“I’d like to hold off on that,” Marc said.  “Let’s not do anything that would disrupt their development.  Now, what about your winning planet?”

“It doesn’t appear to have a sapient species.  We’re sending the probe down to get better details, but so far, there are no signs of structures or controlled fire.  The climate and general makeup of the planet look promising.  We should have a final assessment in two weeks.  The probe needs to run some biological tests, and they take time.  If they turn out bad, we can go back to the first planet or keep looking.”

“So, Governor.  Are you ready to start your new colony?” Blake asked his brother.  “I can’t wait to see how the Aperanjens and the Onisiwoens get along.”

“I can see you’re all anxious to skip the main meeting and get right down to giving me a hard time.”

“Nailed it the first time,” Kal said.

“Okay, let’s talk about Providence.”

“How are you planning to set it up?” Blake asked.

“I’m going to go with the same theme we’ve used on Artemis.  So, no exclusive enclaves.  Everyone has to perform a job for the colony for the first two years.  We’ll accept candidates based on their skill set and balance that with which planet and civilization they’re from.”

“Do you really know the skills you’ll need?”

“I suspect we’ll miss a few, but the quantum relays can make up for most oversights, and a frigate can get the missing skill holders to the colony in a month, so I think we’ll be okay.”

“A month.  That means we have to station the frigates at the planets, not the fringe,” Blake said.

“Yes, and since that’s what they’re all asking for, they should be happy.”

“Aren’t you going to do a dry run and training?” Liz asked.

“Yes, you’ve dumped so much data on me about that that it will take me another month to get through it all.  But I plan to have each planet set up a training facility.  We’ll also set one up here in Delphi City that will host a contingent from each planet.  They’ll make up the advanced team that will go on the scout ship to the planet.  We’ll put in a quad solely for that purpose.  What we learn will be sent to the League planets so they can add it to their local training routine.”

“I like that,” Liz said.

“I wonder why,” Catie said.  “Maybe because it was your idea.”

“Sorry, I didn’t assign credit,” Marc said.  “Most of this is from Liz.”

“How many for the first wave?” Nikola asked.

“Just the forty we can fit in the scout ship, plus the marines.”

“I said wave, not drop,” Nikola said.

“Okay, I’m thinking five thousand for the first wave, with a second wave maybe three months later.  I’d like to get a few things figured out before I have twenty thousand colonists lined up outside my office.”

“That sounds smart.”

“I’ve sent you all an outline of the plan.  Let me know if you have any suggestions.”

“Oh, I have a thought,” Catie said.  She was trying hard not to grin.

“And what might that be?”

“Are you going to restrict technology to the colony, and if not, how are you going to prevent it from getting back to the various homeworlds where it’s restricted?”

Marc gritted his teeth and shook his head.  “You’ve been sitting on that for how long?”

“Just a bit.  It occurred to me when I was discussing the technology restrictions with the Aperanjens.”

“That’s a whole new can of worms.  If anyone has ideas, let me know.  Damn it.  This meeting is closed.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Sam, they’re all wearing tunics; why do I have to wear a gown?” Catie complained as she looked at the outfit that Morgan had laid out for her to wear to the reception.

“You should have heard your father’s suggestions about what you should wear,” Samantha teased.

“Is he still mad?”

“Mostly at himself for missing it.  And it is a complicated issue.  He’ll be a bear for weeks.”

“Sorry, but back to why I have to wear this fancy gown.”

“Because they will all have seen images of royalty from Earth, so you have to look the part.”

“Why can’t Delphi start to redefine what royalty means?”

“We’re not to that point yet.  We still need to promote Earth as a key member of the League.  Now, quit complaining and get ready; I’ll talk to you later.”

Morgan walked into the room where Catie was standing in her birthday suit.  “Catie, although you would make a big impression if you went like that, I think the gown would be more appropriate.”

“Pfft.  I hate those things.”

“We all know that, but they’re a necessary evil.  Now get dressed, or you’ll be late.”  Morgan smiled at Catie as she cupped a sash to her chest, out of Catie’s reach.

“Not a sash too.”  Morgan had deliberately not laid the sash out with the rest of Catie’s outfit since, in the past, Catie had made a point of stashing them in the toilet tank or simply destroying them.  She hated wearing the sash.

◆ ◆ ◆

When Catie, escorted by Captain Frankham, entered the ballroom, everyone went quiet for a moment.  She’d used Royal Privilege to arrive as late as possible.  She really hated suck-ups.  Karley was waiting for her.

“Karley, this is Captain Eli Frankham of the Chesapeake.  Eli, this is the deputy minister of trade, Karley Olgonas.”

“I’m pleased to meet you,” Captain Frankham said.

“I’m pleased to meet you also.  Now, Princess, I should take you around and introduce you to the key people you will be dealing with during the various negotiations.”  Karley gave Catie a weak smile, her attempt to commiserate with Catie for having to bear all the lobbying that was sure to come.

Of course, the first person she took Catie to greet was the President, then in apparent order of importance, the Minister of State, the Minister of Security, the Minister of Treasury, the Minister of Justice, and finally the Minister of Commerce.

“That takes care of the President’s cabinet, at least the important ones.  Now just two more politicians, and then I’ll take you around to meet some of our leading business people.”

Karley introduced Catie to the leader of their senate and then the leader of parliament; pecking order was definitely important on Aperanje.  After that, she led Catie toward a group of people who were obviously listening to one man talking.

“That man there is Manzari Kragen; he’s one of our leading industrialists and a close friend of the finance minister.  He’s from a wealthy family and thinks a lot of himself.”

“I’ve met a few of those,” Catie said.

“Mr. Kragen, if I may.”

“Ah, the princess.”

“Correct.  May I introduce Princess Catherine of Delphi; Princess, this is Manzari Kragen, one of our top business leaders.  He’ll be involved in the discussion about Aperanje joining the League.”

“Princess, I’m pleased to meet you,” Kragen said as he gave her a slight bow.  “I am interested in understanding how your League works, especially how you manage trade.”

“I’d be happy to explain things to you.”

It was quite a while before Karley could pull Catie away from Kragen.  “I told you he was full of himself.”

“Yes, and he thinks he already has all the answers.  I could hardly get a word in even when I was answering one of his questions.”

“I know.  Just a few more business leaders to introduce you to.”

After Karley introduced Catie to the few more business leaders, she was bored out of her mind.  They all had the same spiel.  ‘So lovely to meet you.  I’m sure my company would be a great partner for the League.  We would love your input on our products and manufacturing technology; possibly you could join our board.’  “Arrr.  Just shoot me now!”

“One last person I want you to meet.  He owns a small investment firm.  He wouldn’t even have been invited, but he happens to own a few percent of the bonds issued for the colony mission, so he’ll be sitting in on the negotiation on reparations.

“Princess, I’d like you to meet Solan Chzar; Solan, Princess Catherine of the Delphi League.”

“I’m pleased to meet you,” Solan said.  He then gave Catie a slight bow.

“As am I.  You know, I’m not that good at estimating the age of Aperanjens, but even my limited ability tells me that you’re too young to have invested in the colony mission 28 years ago.  Did you inherit the bonds?”

Solan laughed.  “No.  I bought them on speculation.  As soon as I heard about your probe, I bought a block of them.  I was waiting to get more information before I bought more, but before I could, the price of the bonds skyrocketed, and then they were all gone.”

“Hmm, why do you think that was?”

“Those that already owned them decided to hold onto them.  I’m sure someone has a friend in the government who knew about the discussion on reparations.”

“Don’t tell me that Aperanje has politicians that would leak such sensitive information to a friend,” Catie teased.

“You said politician, so the answer is obvious,” Solan said.  Then he and Catie laughed lightly.

“Karley, I’m sorry; I didn’t want to offend you,” Catie said.

“Oh, no offense.  I don’t consider myself a politician.  And as Solan said, ‘politician’ is somewhat of a pejorative term here on Aperanje.”

“Now, enough about politics and business,” Solan said, “tell me, is there anything you would like to know about Aperanje or something you would like to do?  I know this is still your first day, and you must be tired, especially of all the platitudes.”

“I’m curious,” Catie said.  “I notice that the Aperanjens I’ve met lately seem to be taller and slimmer than Rhino and his crew.”

Solan and Karley both laughed, and Rhino blushed, or at least Catie thought he did.  With the Aperanjen’s red skin tone, it was hard to detect a blush.

“I’m sure that’s true.  Rhino and most of his crew are from the southern island continent on Aperanje.  It was one of the last to be discovered by our modern civilization.  They were isolated for a long time, so they developed some unique traits and customs.  They’re much more attached to hunting and other dangerous things, so they generally are the first to join the military, the space program, and things like that.  They also tend to be a bit stouter, as you’ve noticed.  We joke it’s because they had to strangle their food until we discovered them since they never discovered iron.”

Catie could tell that Rhino was restraining himself from interrupting.  He obviously wasn’t amused by the description.

“We like to say we’re shorter because we never had to reach up to grab fruit from the trees; we’d just bend them over,” Rhino said.

“True,” Solan admitted.

◆ ◆ ◆

Two days after the reception, the key members of the Aperanjen government and top business leaders met with Catie to discuss League membership again.  The ministers had spent the previous day talking to the individual delegates from the various League planets.  Catie could only hope that they had been helpful.

“Princess, welcome,” Dilmary, the President’s chief of staff, said.  Catie surveyed the room.  All the key people she’d met at the reception were there; the President was notable in his absence.  Catie mentally chided herself for taking it as a slight.  It made sense for him to hand off most of the effort to his cabinet, but she couldn’t help but think he was being a bit too hands-off.

“Thank you, Cer Dilmary.  I hope all of you had a productive day yesterday.”

“We did.  Of course, we have questions, and I think it will be best if we address them together.”

Catie just nodded her head.

“Would you mind highlighting the benefits of League membership?”

“And the cost,” Minister Mortizacian added.

“I’d be happy to.  Currently, we have three levels of League membership, which affect the cost as taxes.  The first level gives you access to the jump gates and trade.  We will allow our trade fleet of StarMerchants to bring goods to your system and take exports out.  You can choose to buy or build a smaller version of the ship, which can be owned and managed from your planet.  The basic tax for League membership is one percent of the value of your exports, which gives you access to the galactic market.  If you choose to use your own ships, there is a small fee to send a ship through the jump gate.”

“What about the defense of our planet?”

“At that level, our space navy would also be available should you need to be defended.  It is unlikely, but as we saw on Onisiwo, we cannot always predict how a threat will present itself.  If you would like a frigate stationed in your system, the fee is an additional one-half percent tax on your exports.”

“I’ve heard from Ambassador Zymar that you are now stationing your frigates at the planet,” Security Minister Peamamzi said.  “Can you explain that change?”

Catie mentally shook her head, a bit peeved that Ambassador Zymar hadn’t explained it when he told the security minister.  “We made that change at the explicit request of our member planets.  They feel that the frigate being closer to the planet puts it in a better position to respond to any threats.  As I’ve explained before, we can move forces to the fringe of any of our planets within hours.  So, they feel that is sufficient to cover threats exterior to their systems.”

“Why didn’t you do that before?”

“Two reasons: One, the population of the planets took time to become comfortable with the League presence, and having a frigate in orbit around the planet would have created tension.  And two, by having the frigates at the fringe, we are able to move them to any of the planets to back up the main force.  Our military leaders are trying to decide how to rebalance our forces since placing the frigates in orbit around planets effectively removes them from our fast response force.”

“What do you have in that force?”

“We have four carriers and two frigates that we hold at the fringe of one of our systems; they can jump anywhere within a day.  We’re considering building more cruiser class ships to add to that force.  Right now, we have one, the DSS Sakira, and the Paraxeans have two.”

“Why didn’t you mention those when you described your forces?”

“The Sakira is frequently used to provide support when we set up a new colony, so she’s often not available.  The Paraxeans haven’t released their cruisers to support the League, but there are discussions with them to bring their small space force into the League Defense Force.”

“And the last level of membership?”

“At that level, you would provide personnel and resources to the defense force.  Helike and Onisiwo are currently the only planets starting to do that.  Paraxea seems likely to follow suit, but they need to deal with internal politics first.”

“Tell us more about the trade?  I understand there are restrictions,” Minister Sepladus asked.

“There are restrictions.  This is currently being hotly debated within the League.  But as of now, we manage the trade.  We would work with your planet to determine what you want to allow into your system.  The purpose is to minimize the disruption to your local economy as more advanced technology is made available.”

“Such as?”

“We have Comms that are more powerful than all but your most advanced computers.  We also have computers that are over one hundred times more powerful than your most advanced ones.  We have fusion reactors that are more efficient than the ones you have here.  We also have quantum cables that are far better and more efficient than your fiber optics.  The list goes on.  We want to share those technologies and products with you, but we want to do so in such a way that your economy can adapt.”

“And if we would prefer that you let us make the choice?”

“Then we would allow you to be more aggressive, but we would still impose limits.”

“What other rules do you have?”

“Very few others.  We require that you recognize the rights of all sapient beings regardless of their origin or form.”

“Does that apply only to beings from other planets?”

“No, we will not allow a planet to join the League that treats other sapient beings on its own world as lesser beings.”

“That’s rather arrogant of you.”

“Possibly, but we would not trust a civilization that behaved that way toward its own people.  If that were the case, we would choose to avoid you.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Loxino sat at his desk.  He was making progress in gaining control over the Aperanjen industries that would be most affected by trade with other planets, but not as much progress as he would like.  He needed Monafar to come through.  He pulled out the quantum relay and checked the time — five more minutes.

“Minister Monafar, I thought you were going to create some chaos,” Loxino said.

“I have it arranged.  It should happen any day now.”

“What is going to happen?”

“I think it’s best if you’re as surprised as everyone else.  You said you liked to think on your feet.”

“I do, but a heads up is always appreciated.”

“Well, expect it to happen within three days, five at the outside.  I can’t be precise.  Now tell me, how are things going?”

“I’m getting my people placed.  The three weeks you gave me helped a lot.  I just need some distractions so I can make a few more moves.”

“You’ve got it.  And after the event, you’ll see a change in direction from the Paraxean negotiator.”

“That would be nice.  That guy sounds like he works for the Delphi League.”

“I know, but we’re going to get his attention.”

“Good.  I’ll talk to you later.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Where are the other bond investors?” Catie asked Karley as they watched the negotiators settle into the room where they were holding the meeting to discuss reparations.

“I assume they are trying to remain anonymous.”

“Then how will they protect their interests?”

“I assume they have the ear of some of the ministers here,” Karley said.  “That means their input will be taken into account.”

Catie smiled at Solan as he took a seat at the far end of the table on her right and across from the finance minister.

“Cers, thank you for joining me for this discussion.  As I’ve explained, Empress Cyrianisa of Fazulla has asked me to negotiate reparations for the damage done to Aperanje by her predecessor’s seizure of your colony mission.”

Catie paused to see if anyone wanted to comment.  All she saw were heads nodding, so she continued.  “Fazulla has offered to share some of their technology as compensation.  Each of them would be easy to absorb into your economy, and I believe they would have a minimal negative impact.”

“How do you assess that?” the finance minister asked.

“Because they don’t involve mass production, so they would have a minimal impact on jobs.  And of course, you will be able to throttle the rate that you utilize them.”

The minister nodded his head, but as best as Catie could tell, he was frowning.

“The most interesting, and I think the most valuable, is their technology around fusion reactors.  It is easy to incorporate into your existing reactors; Earth has recently completed that transition and could assist with the modifications to your reactors.”

“How big an improvement would we see?” Solan asked.

“Based on our analysis of your current technology, we assume it would be approximately a twenty to twenty-five percent increase in power output for the same infrastructure.  That is what Earth saw.”

“But wouldn’t we eventually discover these improvements on our own?” the finance minister asked.

“Possibly, but the Paraxeans have had fusion reactors for over two hundred years, and they had not discovered them.  These changes made their reactors eighteen percent more efficient.”

“Solan, what do you think?” the finance minister asked.

“It seems that the reactors would provide one of the most widely felt benefits to the population.  Lower energy costs will help everyone.  I am curious about these towers of power that Ambassador Hausmann mentioned.”

Catie smiled.  Her father had come up with the towers to help balance power distribution on Artemis.  They were an efficient way to store energy, so they allowed the colony to rely more on solar power and minimized the size of the power distribution from the fusion reactors.

“The towers were developed by the colonists on Artemis.  Their design is open, so you’re free to incorporate them into your power grid.  They do significantly reduce transmission cost and allow you to take greater advantage of solar power.”

“Why don’t we see anything about solar power on this list?” Minister Mortizacian asked.

“Because the technology the Fazullans have is on par with what you already have,” Catie answered.

“But I understand there are far more efficient solar arrays being used on Onisiwo?”

“There are, but they are sold by MacKenzie Enterprises.  Their design is proprietary.”

“Hmmph, doesn’t your family own MacKenzie Enterprises?”

“We do.  My family owns a significant percentage of Earth’s high technology industries.  We spent many years investing and developing that technology.”

“Based on the technology you stole from the Paraxeans.”

“The Paraxeans and we have come to an understanding about our exploitation of the technology we discovered on their starship.  I can assure you that it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.”  Catie was getting a bit tired of the finance minister’s attitude.

“What else?”

“Although you already have stasis chambers, the ones the Fazullans have create a true stasis, which can be critical in medical emergencies.”

“But we can just buy those; we wouldn’t need that many.”

“That’s correct.  The last technology they are offering is gravity drives.  The Fazullan drives are extremely efficient.  They are not only valuable in propulsion for spaceships, but we’ve utilized them on planets to lift things into orbit as well as move things around.  They don’t replace traditional shipping but can be useful when you need to move heavy things short distances.  We use them so we can build apartments in a factory and slide them into the towers.”

“But I understand that they are not powerful enough to drive the ships that you allow through your jump gates,” the finance minister said.

“That’s true, but for mining and activities in your system or lifting things into orbit, they’re more than adequate, and it’s much cheaper to build them yourself.  The Fazullan process for building the drives is significantly more efficient than the Paraxean process.”

“What about plasma beam devices and lasers?”

“We try to avoid trading things that can be used as weapons until the planet’s membership in the League is more established,” Catie said.

“They can be used for things other than weapons,” the finance minister said.

“Yes, but you already have that technology, so until we know more, it would fall under the restricted category.  Commodore Farmer is trying to get more data on your weapons capabilities.  Once she has that, we might be able to create some room there.”

“Hmm,” the finance minister whined.

“Why don’t you take some time and run financial models on the options, and we can discuss it later?  Then you will have a better picture of which of these technologies would best match your needs.”

“You’re not offering them all?”

“You’re free to choose between the list, but I think that all of them would significantly outweigh the losses.  Have you completed your modeling of that yet?”

“We’re working on it.”

Solan gave Catie a weak smile as the finance minister got up and left the room.

“Sorry, Princess.  He’s never been one for good manners,” Karley whispered into Catie’s ear.

Chapter 15

Adding Pressure

It was late on Delphi Station when they stopped the rotation of section one.  Everyone had been told to prepare for it, so most were in their beds, tucked in.  The stoppage would only last for four hours.  By the time they woke up, it would be over.

Unbeknownst to most people, a crew had been working for a month on ring one.  They had isolated one-sixteenth of it from the rest of the station and rerouted all of the electrical, water, and sewer lines.  The section was isolated, as though it wasn’t part of the station anymore, which was a good thing, because as soon as the station stopped, the eight spacers working on the ring made the final cuts and separated the section from the ring.  They had already placed gravity drives on it, and they slowly moved it away.  Another set of gravity drives slowly moved a new section into place.  This section was empty, just a shell, but it was an exact match for the section they’d just removed.  As ADI guided the section into place, the engineers kept their cameras trained on the joints to make sure ADI could see where she was flying it.

“Twenty more centimeters . . .  Ten . . .  I’m good.”

“I’m good” rang out from the seven other spacers, verifying that the section was in place and matched to the ring.

“Tack them down!”

Each of the eight spacers lit a plasma torch and, using a short piece of polysteel, welded the new section to Delphi Station.

“I’m done!” rang out eight times.

“Start ‘em up!”

Two of the spacers, one on each end of the section, started up a plasma torch attached to a bot.  The bot would slowly guide the torch around the shell’s circumference, welding a seam to seal the section in place.  Inside the shell, crews were already working to place beams to span the gaps created when they’d cut the section loose.

“Alright, ADI, you’re good to go!” shouted the coordinator.

With that, ADI turned up the gravity drives attached to the section they had separated from the station and started to guide it toward the fringe.  Basically, they had just separated ADI from Delphi Station, and now she was flying to her new home on Avalon.

Over the years, ADI had grown herself to include sixteen AIs to hand work off to and had occupied one-sixteenth of ring one.  ADI also included her own fusion reactor and half of almost every quantum relay Delphi had.  One of her AIs, Ernestine, was the switchboard operator for all of Delphi.  That gave ADI direct access to most communications.

By morning, she would be well out of view of any flight to or from Delphi Station.  For tonight, all flights were canceled due to maintenance requirements.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Sam, why do I have to do this?” Catie asked as she prepared for the interview with the Aperanjen press corps.

“Because, Princess Catherine, you’re there, and you’re the focus of everyone’s attention right now.”

“And we have to simulcast it to all the planets?”

“Yes.  Catie, this is the strategy we agreed to at the board meeting; why are you complaining now?”

“Because then I didn’t realize how big a spotlight I was going to be under.  We’re already seeing protests here on Aperanje.”

“Yes, but they’re about the League in general.”

“And this is going to be throwing fuel on the fire.”

“But it should push the government toward managing the introduction of technology.”

“Yeah, like we can predict what politicians will do.”

“Just buck up and do it.  I’ll owe you one,” Samantha said.

“Like I’ll ever get paid.”

“You’re pretty good at getting what you want, so quit complaining.  I’ll talk to you after the interview.”

“You’d better be available to help me!”

“ADI and I will be on your Comm.”

“Okay,” Catie sighed.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie was surprised that the news conference started out with softball questions about her.  They asked about her age, what it was like to be a princess, and why she was leading the mission to Aperanje.

She told them that she was leading the mission because she was the one member of the royal family available at the time.  After that, they jumped right into the tougher questions.

“Why is the League a good thing?”

“The League enables its members to trade with other members of the League.  That, combined with the information sharing you get from the GalaxyNet, will give a strong boost to your economy and accelerate the advancement of your technology.  We also have some exceptional medical technology to share with you.  We’ll share that even if you don’t join the League.”

“How can we trust you?  Why should we allow you to have a military presence in our system?”

“We would welcome your people to join Delphi Forces.  We want to help; if you don’t want us in your system, we’ll accept that.  We’ll still be on call if you ask for help.  We don’t know what else is out there.  Just like you’ve been surprised by our appearance and the Fazullan raid on your colony mission, there could be others out there with capabilities we haven’t imagined.”

“Explain why you restrict trade?”

“Okay, let me tell you what happened when we introduced the latest Comms on Earth.”

“Wait, that’s your planet; how are you restricting trade there?”

“Delphi is primarily independent of Earth.  My father discovered the Paraxean starship in our ocean, and we’ve been harvesting the technology from it for years.  We’ve been trying not to disrupt Earth’s economy while doing that, but we haven’t always been successful.  So, back to the story about the Comms.

“We developed the latest Comm that we were going to release for mass distribution last year.  We immediately knew it would be disruptive because it was more powerful than any of Earth’s personal computers.  Why would anyone buy a personal computer if their Comm was more capable?  Therefore, to minimize the disruption, we priced the Comms at twice the price of the previous version, and we limited their availability.

“Even with that precaution, sales of personal computers fell seventy percent, and the prices fell forty percent.  People were unwilling to invest in a technology they knew would be outdated soon, so they waited to upgrade their computers.  Those that could, bought the new comms and sold their old computers.  Others just waited a year or more before they replaced their computer with a Comm, buying a used computer if they had to.

“Because of the drop in price in computer sales, thousands of people lost their jobs.  We had hoped to allow two years for the transition, so people could find new jobs quickly, but it all happened too fast.

“That is why we require the slow introduction of new technology to new member planets.”

“But if you couldn’t get it right on Earth, why should we trust you to get it right here?”

“Because we do not make the final decision, your government does.  The League, of which your planet would be a member, simply approves or disapproves of the plan.”

“Then why should we allow any of your technology into our economy?”

“You can choose to do that.  You can use our technology as a roadmap to steer your own development.  Or you can choose to ignore it and see what you develop on your own.  Our only requirement is that the government come up with a plan that meets the needs of your planet.”

“It still sounds like big brother.”

Catie grimaced.  Apparently, the concept of big brother was a universal dislike; of course, her Comm had selected that as the closest translation for whatever the reporter said.  She was happy when the press conference finally ended.

◆ ◆ ◆

The press conference had been broadcast live; unfortunately, it had drawn more protesters to the embassy.  By the time the reporters were ready to leave, the Aperanjen police had to create a corridor to get them out.  Catie had offered to let them use a shuttle to fly over the protest, but the reporters had been almost unanimous in their rejection.  They wanted to get the camera shots of them making it through the crowd as well as that of the police corridor.

“What’s up with them?” Catie asked Karley as they watched the reporters work their way through the protestors.

“We Aperanjens will protest about anything.  It looks like they don’t trust your good intentions or our government’s.  I’m sure multiple conspiracy theories are circling the web by now.”

“Sounds a lot like home.  We Terrans love conspiracies.  I only hope it doesn’t get violent.”

“You should probably back that hope up with a few more of your security people,” Karley suggested.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie had been in the meeting for over an hour and was ready to kill Hapzel.  She couldn’t figure out why Ambassador Graznev allowed him to disrupt things so much.  And one would swear that he and Kragen were secret lovers or something.  They were always off talking in a corner before the meetings, and during the meeting, they were quick to jump in to support whatever the other one said.

Whenever there was a break in the meeting, Kragen and Hapzel would rush back to a corner to talk.  Hapzel, being Paraxean, was well aware of the capabilities of the Specs, so he was always careful to align himself and Kragen so that Catie could not read their lips.

“Princess, we don’t understand why the League must approve the technology plan our government develops.  Surely, we should be trusted to manage our own planet and its economy,” Kragen said.

“I can understand your concern.  However, the League feels it is important to ensure that all factors have been properly considered.  The impact of new technology can be quite complex, and the League is really the only organization with broad enough experience to rely on.”  Catie didn’t add that they didn’t actually trust the governments to do what was right.

Kragen grimaced.  “It still feels like there’s a lack of trust.  And how can a new relationship develop when there is no trust?  Your press conference was not exactly something our government appreciated.  It has increased tensions in the population and raised questions we are not yet prepared to answer.”

“Exactly why we did it,” Catie thought.

“Yes, that press conference should have been approved by the full delegation,” Hapzel said.

“I’m sorry you feel that way.  I was being inundated with requests for interviews, and holding a press conference seemed to be the easiest way to handle all of the requests.”

Chapter 16

Sudden Death

At the start of the second week of negotiations, the Delphi delegation hosted a reception where the leading members of the Aperanjen legislature and business community would get a chance to visit with the ambassadors from the League.

The Aperanjen president made a brief appearance to start the event but then left, pleading another pressing engagement.  A buffet had been set up with food and drinks from Aperanje and the Aventurier, which meant that there was a sampling of food from each of the League planets.  Rhino volunteered to put a taste card next to each dish indicating which ones the Aperanjens would like and which ones he thought the delegation’s members would like, assigning each one a ‘tastes like’ designation.

The Helikens and Terrans, of course, had similar taste and the Onisiwoens were cautious, sticking mainly to their own dishes.  The Paraxeans and the Aperanjens were the bold samplers of all the cuisine.  The Paraxeans seemed to especially like the Aperanjen wine; Catie thought it tasted like kerosene.

Once everyone had sampled the buffet, the real lobbying began.  Catie quickly grew tired of fending off offers of side trade deals and attempts to steer the negotiations with the President on how to open relations between the League and Aperanje.

“Liz, I was hoping this would be a celebration of a final treaty, but I cannot believe how complicated things have gotten,” Catie said as she and Liz huddled in a quiet corner.

“I know what you mean.  All the discussions with their space forces keep going around in circles.  They seem to contradict each other every other sentence.”

“I bet.  I’m ready to kill Hapzel.  I cannot believe that Ambassador Graznev allowed him to come on this mission.  No one in the Paraxean delegation can stand that guy.”

“It does make you wonder.  Has the finance minister gotten any better?” Liz asked.

“No!  He and Hapzel are besties, and I’d swear that Kragen and Hapzel are married to each other.”

“I feel for you.  Now I think you need to circulate some more.”

“What about you?”

“I think I need to discuss security with Morgan.”  Liz gave Catie a little push back toward the center of the ballroom then she headed off to another corner.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie stifled a yawn as she walked back toward the buffet.  She’s just spent ten minutes explaining the different levels of Comms available and how best to slowly introduce them into the Aperanjen market.  It was the second time that she’d had to go through it this evening.

She noticed Ambassador Graznev chatting with a group of Aperanjen businesspeople.  He’d been chatting up a storm all evening.  Catie started to alter her course to give him a wide berth when she saw him ‘swoon,’ she wasn’t sure what you would call it.  He reached out and grabbed onto the arm of the man standing next to him and, of all things, dropped his champagne glass.

As the waiters rushed up to clean up the mess, the ambassador continued to steady himself using the Aperanjen’s arm.  The Aperanjen was giving the ambassador a funny look; Catie figured he was either trying to stare the ambassador down or wondering how long he should wait before he demanded his arm back.

The ambassador was clenching and unclenching the hand that had held the drink.  After another minute, he finally let go of the Aperanjen and moved to the bar to get another glass of champagne.

“Looks like someone has had too much to drink,” Fiona whispered to Catie.

“It doesn’t look like he agrees with you.  And he looks steady on his feet now.”

“Functional alcoholic?” Fiona suggested.

◆ ◆ ◆

After listening to another short debate on the benefits of simply opening up trade to Aperanje, Catie was looking for a corner to hide in.  She started across the room but stopped short as Ambassador Graznev cut across her path, heading toward another group of Aperanjen business leaders.  Catie watched to see if he was staggering.  He seemed fine.  Then suddenly, he stopped, shook his head for a second, then collapsed.

Catie started to rush toward him to help when Fiona grabbed her arm.  Catie automatically turned to do a palm strike.

“Princess!” Fiona hissed.  “They’ve got him.  Let them do their job.”  Fiona was pointing to the two Marines who had rushed to the ambassador’s side.  Within seconds of reaching the ambassador, one of the Marines started CPR.

“Where’s Dr. Moreau?!” Catie shouted.

“Right here.  Everyone, stand back!”  The doctor dropped to his knees next to the ambassador.  While the Marine kept up the CPR, Dr. Moreau examined him.  A crowd had gathered around the ambassador, looking on and whispering amongst themselves.

“He’s dead,” she messaged Morgan using her tailboard.

“How?  Heart attack?”

“No.”

“Lock this place down, code blue,” Morgan messaged the security team.  Immediately Marines appeared at the two exits.

“We need to preserve the forensic evidence,” Dr. Moreau messaged.

More Marines entered the room and cordoned off a space around the ambassador.  They quickly erected a tent over the area.

“What’s going on?!” the Aperanjen minister of security demanded.

“The ambassador’s dead,” Morgan replied.  “We need to have everyone stand back and calm down while we investigate.”

“Dead?  How?”

“We don’t know.”

“Was it poison?” the minister asked, dropping the plate of h’orderves he was carrying.

Several other guests hurriedly got rid of the food they were carrying.  Others just shrugged their shoulders, figuring that it was already too late if it was poison.

The doctor was conferring with Morgan; Catie wanted to step in and hear what was going on, but the little angel on her shoulder kept saying, ‘Let Morgan do her job.’

“Princess, we need you in the foyer,” Liz messaged.

Catie hurried toward the foyer, wondering what they could need her for, but hey, at least she got to do something.  As she exited the ballroom, she saw a group of Aperanjens, including the security minister, in a heated argument with the security detail guarding the door.

“What seems to be the problem?” Catie asked in a raised voice so she would get everyone’s attention.

Liz rolled her eyes at Catie.  “These people wish to leave.  We’ve told them that we’re holding everyone here for the moment while we determine what happened.”

“How dare you hold us!”  Minister Peamamzi was almost yelling.  “You are a guest on our planet, and forcing us to stay here might put us in danger!”

“Minister, you forget, this is the Delphi League Embassy; it is you who are the guests.  I can assure you that you are in no danger.  Agent Blair is beginning her investigation; she will need to gather information from everyone.  You may have seen or heard something that will help her determine what happened to the ambassador.”

“Then she can contact us tomorrow!”

“By tomorrow, you may have forgotten some minor detail that turns out to be important.  Please be patient.  Rest assured that we will expedite your departure.”  Catie didn’t add that she’d be happy to see the backside of him.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Morgan, what did you learn?” Catie asked after they’d finally sent everyone home.

“Not much.  Dr. Moreau says that it was a neurotoxin that killed him and that it would have killed him within seconds of entering his bloodstream.”

“I cannot see any point in the evening where someone would have had the opportunity to slip him any poison,” ADI added.

“Well, it didn’t teleport into his champagne glass.”

“The champagne glass didn’t have any poison in it, and nobody else at the party was affected.  So, unless he killed himself, we are faced with an impossibility,” Morgan said.

“I’m pretty sure he didn’t kill himself.”

“I agree.”

“What about Minister Hapzel?” Catie asked.

“ADI says that they never got closer than one meter to each other.  It was clear that Hapzel was avoiding the ambassador, which isn’t a surprise; I think the whole Paraxean delegation hates him.”

“They’re not the only ones.  That man is a jerk,” Catie said.  “He’s always contradicting the ambassador during any of the discussions we have about trade.”

“I know; it makes you wonder why they put them both on the same mission.”

Chapter 17

Go Home

Despite the continuing investigation into the death of the Paraxean ambassador, Catie had to continue the mission, which meant that she had to sit through interminable meetings on the Aperanjen’s entry into the League.  Meetings where newly promoted Ambassador Hapzel was a constant annoyance.  She just thanked her lucky stars that he was not involved in the discussion on reparations.

Samantha had notified her early in the day that the Paraxeans had accepted the offer of the Fazullan Fusion technology with the Delphi upgrades as compensation for the Fazullan raid on their colony mission.  Mangakar had accepted the same deal with the addition of the new gravity drive design.

Now, Catie just needed to get the Aperanjens to accept some kind of deal.  Reluctantly, she set up a meeting for Tuesday.

◆ ◆ ◆

Later that day, as Catie prepared for the next meeting on reparations, she had to endure chants from the protesters.  There were even counter-protesters now, so ‘Go Home’ chants were weakly responded to with ‘Trade with Us’ chants.

The ‘Go Home’ crowd was also getting more aggressive, with an occasional stone being thrown into the embassy compound.  With the approval of the Aperanjen government, Morgan had pushed the embassy fence out another meter to provide better security.  She also had just about every Marine from the Aventurier and Chesapeake down in the compound.  They were shuttling most of them up to the Chesapeake for their off-shift time.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie was not looking forward to the next meeting on reparations.  Minister Mortizacian had finally indicated that he was ready to restart the discussions, so she didn’t have a choice now.

“Minister Mortizacian,” Catie said to greet the minister as he joined her in the meeting room.  Solan was already there, and of course, Rhino and Karley had arrived with Catie.

“Princess,” Minister Mortizacian said as he nodded his head and smiled.

Catie was shocked; she couldn’t remember the minister ever smiling.

“Have you been able to make any progress into the investigation of Ambassador Graznev’s death?” the minister asked.

“Not much.  We are confident that no one from Aperanje was involved, but we can’t figure out how he was poisoned.  We’re still investigating.”

“I’m glad you finally realized that we had nothing to do with it.”

“I understand,” Catie said.  “And just when it looked like he was going to be nice.”

“Now onto our discussions.  I was surprised by the benefit analysis of the upgrade to our reactors.  It generates a significant amount of revenue for us.  I want to understand more about how we might roll that out?”

“We have a lot of experience, so we can help.  We’ve done the conversion on several planets now and with three different technologies.  So, if you would share the design of your reactors with us, we could help develop a design for the upgrade.  It shouldn’t take too long.  I’m not sure how long your scientists would need to verify the changes, but it only took Onisiwo six months before they started to upgrade their reactors.”

“Excellent,” the minister said as he nodded to the aide accompanying him.  “Make sure they are given what they need.”

“I’ll have my assistant ADI work with him,” Catie told the minister.  “Will the reactors be sufficient?”

“Close, but we would like to have something to compliment them.  The gravity drives might be enough.  Can you provide my people with the specifications of them and the details of how they work?”

“I can, but please be aware that we believe you will need to have fusion reactors in your ships before you can use the gravity drives.  The Fazullans have a version of that reactor that is related to the upgrades.  It is adequate for a starship but too large to use in smaller spaceplanes or shuttles like ours.  The Paraxeans and Terrans sell a small version that can be used there.”

“So, the small reactor from the Fazullans, is it on the table?”

“Yes.  You would be able to develop it from the upgrade to your plants, so the Fazullans will include it if you would like.  It would save you two or three years of research.”

The finance minister nodded his head as he weighed the benefits of the new information.  “And upgrades for our industrial laser and plasma guns?”

“You would need to provide us with the current state of your technology before we could consider that.  But you’re putting more on the table than I believe the Fazullans would be willing to include in the package.”

“I understand; I’m just trying to make sure we have the most information so we can select the correct package.  I’ll talk with our minister of technology about getting you the specification of our current technology.”

“We would need to actually examine the design,” Catie said.

The minister frowned but didn’t appear to be too upset.  “But of course.  Now let me study this for some time, and I’ll get back to you.”

With that, the minister got up, nodded goodbye, and exited the room.

Catie looked at Karley and Solan.

Solan shrugged, “He must be having a good day.  I’ve never seen him so agreeable.”

◆ ◆ ◆

After another failed meeting on League membership for Aperanje, Catie called the now Ambassador Hapzel to her bungalow for a discussion.

“Princess, you wished to talk with me?”

“Yes.  I’ve been having trouble understanding your role in these discussions.  We are here to establish a relationship with Aperanje, to convince them to join the League.  We are not here to reset the League rules.  Discussion related to that should be happening at the League headquarters on Onisiwo.”

“I can assure you that I am operating off of strict instructions from my government,” Hapzel said.  He was clearly unhappy at being called out on this.

“So, explain to me why your government thinks we should be renegotiating the League position on trade restrictions in front of a potential new member of the League.  I understand that it’s only fair that we make them aware that there are discussions about changing that rule, but to continue to argue in front of them seems pointless.”

“I disagree.”

“Very well, I’ll be talking to Chair Kloprewkro later today.  Maybe he can help me understand.”

“That is totally inappropriate!” Hapzel yelled.

“I don’t see any other alternative,” Catie said as she nodded to Fiona, indicating that she should escort the ambassador out.

◆ ◆ ◆

Rhino was tired of all the politics.  After the death of the Paraxean ambassador, the embassy compound felt like a prison.  He was a scientist and an astronaut, not a politician.  He owed a lot to Delphi and Catie’s family in particular, but he was wondering why he had agreed to this.  Being the Raaqres ambassador to the League was supposed to be temporary, but this tour was looking like it would never end.

Rhino slammed his palm into the lamppost as he walked by.  He gave a casual wave to the marine security guard at the gate that connected the compound to the hotel as he slipped out.  He needed to walk, breathe the Aperanjen air, and be surrounded by normality for a while.  He headed into the hotel; he planned to mingle with guests leaving the hotel so nobody would connect him with the Delphi League.  He was looking forward to anonymously mingling with his people.

He exited the hotel among several groups of people.  Some were business people who immediately called for a taxi.  But one group looked to be on a shopping mission, so he followed them.  Once he reached the boulevard, he felt much more relaxed.  It was a bit weird seeing the clothing everyone was wearing.  Styles had changed dramatically since he’d left Aperanje on the colony mission.  The other ambassadors didn’t have to worry about it; they were supposed to look strange.  But he and his delegation had had to order new clothes as soon as they landed.  They wanted to look Aperanjen to remind people that they had survived and represented Aperanjen success within the League.  He was happy they had done that; otherwise, he would stand out like a sore thumb in the crowd.

He stopped in a small café where he relaxed and had a snack.  He listened to the people around him.  Most of them were talking about mundane things, reinforcing his sense of normality.  Occasionally, he heard a comment about the League, but even those were mundane.  It seemed that the average Aperanjen wasn’t particularly concerned.

Rhino paid his tab and left the café; he was barely one hundred meters from it when he heard someone shout.

“There he is!”

He looked toward the shout.  Three Aperanjen men were walking down the sidewalk toward him.  They were looking directly at him, and they looked angry.  Rhino wisely crossed the street.

“That’s him!  Get him!” another group shouted.  They were on the side of the street Rhino was approaching.  He quickly turned the corner and headed down another street.

“Don’t let the traitor get away!”

Rhino looked around.  Turning down this street had been a mistake.  It was full of office buildings that were closed for the week.  His way back to the shopping district was blocked by the men chasing him, and another group was heading up the street, trapping him between them.

“Call the police,” he ordered his Comm.  He’d left his specs in his bungalow, but fortunately, he was carrying his Comm and had an earwig in.

“What’s the nature of the emergency?”

“I’m Ambassador Rhillicorosar from the Delphi League delegation.  I’m being assaulted by a group of men.  Please send help.”

“What is your location?”

Rhino gave the address of the building he was in front of as he stepped into the doorway and turned to face the aggressors.  He blocked the first blow, but the second man caught him on the side of the head.  Rhino shook it off; then he kicked the man’s knee out.  The others crowded in, and Rhino started taking body blows.  He tucked his head and focused on making each blow count.

A throat strike took out another attacker.  Then he managed to catch one in the groin, but the blows he was taking were starting to take their toll.  He was having trouble concentrating, and blood was dripping into his eyes.

“Get his phone!” one of them shouted.

“I’m looking for it.  It’s not in his pockets.”

Rhino struck the pocket searcher in the throat.  “How many were there?” he thought.  That’s three he’d knocked out, but it seemed there was always more to step in.  He curled up into a ball in the corner of the doorway, trying to protect his head as the men kicked him over and over.  Finally, he heard a siren in the distance.  He prayed they would arrive in time as he fell into the darkness.

“Rhino!” a voice shouted, bringing Rhino back closer to consciousness.  He could barely hear them, “Why are they so far away?”

“Rhino, we’re taking you back to the embassy.  Dr. Moreau is in the shuttle waiting to fix you up.”

Rhino recognized one of the marine sentries.  “What are you doing here?”  His voice was barely audible.

“Your Comm alerted us.  We came as fast as we could.”

“Where are the police?”

“They’re dealing with the four guys you took out.  The others ran off as soon as we showed up.”

“Good,” Rhino said as he drifted off again.

“Rhino!  Stay awake!”

◆ ◆ ◆

Rhino barely managed to stay conscious as they flew him back to the embassy compound in a shuttle.  They were using the one with the medical bay built into it.  Dr. Moreau immediately started to treat him, scanning his skull to make sure that there was no cranial bleeding.  Once she was confident that Rhino wasn’t in any immediate danger, she scanned him for broken bones and contusions.  There were plenty of contusions and quite a few broken bones.  She injected him with nanobots that would pull the excess blood out of the contusions and deliver some medication to speed up their healing.  She also took a blood sample so she could get some stem cells.  Those would be used to make material to help repair the broken bones as well as close the lacerations on Rhino’s face.

Dr. Moreau refused to allow anyone to question Rhino for six hours.  She wanted her patient to have time to heal and to recover from the concussion before being subjected to any additional stress.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Rhino, what happened?” Catie asked immediately after the doctor let her into the medical bay.

“I don’t know.  I was just out for a walk, and they jumped me.  They were searching for my Comm.  I was wearing a micro-Comm as a watch, so they didn’t find it.  How did they know who I was?”

“They probably followed you from the compound.  You should have had your security with you.”

“I went out through the hotel.  I walked out with a bunch of other guests.  No way they could have known who I was.  And . . . a security guard kind of ruins the concept of a nice walk.”

“Not as much as almost getting killed.”

“Who were they?” Rhino asked.

“We don’t know.  Morgan is downtown at the hospital sitting in on the questioning of the four guys you disabled.”

“Four?”

“Yes.  We’ll know more in a few hours.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Morgan, what did you learn?”

“The groups were not coordinating with each other before they saw him.  A tweet went out showing him leaving the hotel with the caption, ‘Aperanjen traitor is helping the aliens undermine Aperanjen sovereignty.’”

“That’s pretty severe.  Who sent the first tweet?”

“We don’t know.  It was retweeted quite a few times; the prisoners were pretty far down the list.”

“You mean, they just showed up because of a tweet?”

“Yes.”

“In groups?”

“Apparently, a few were friends, but the rest just met up when they started chasing Rhino.  They got tweets identifying his movements while he was walking around.  Nothing while he was in the café.  Some of the tweets look coordinated.”

“I think that tells us that someone is behind all this?”

“Maybe.  At least it looks like someone is stoking the fire.”

“We need better intelligence,” Catie said.

“Absolutely.  What we really need is for ADI to have better access to their net, like on Helike.”

“I’ll see what we can do.”

Emergency Board Meeting—April 24th

With the attack on Rhino, Marc called for a meeting to get an update on the situation.

“Catie, before we start the meeting, how is Rhino?”

“He has a sore head, and he’s mad.  We’re trying to figure out how he was targeted, but it’ll take time.”

“Thanks, now, before we turn our attention to the situation or Aperanje, ADI would like to present some information that she feels is related.  ADI.”

“Thank you, Captain,” ADI said.  “Once Ambassador Graznev was killed, I started an investigation on Paraxea to see if I could find any links there.  I haven’t found any direct links yet, but I have discovered some interesting information that may help us unravel what’s going on.

“As Cer Sam pointed out before, there was a lot of politicking around whom to send on the mission.”

“That’s no surprise,” Blake said.

“No, but the fact that the faction that opposed Ambassador Graznev’s appointment suddenly stopped their opposition two days before the appointment was made, is.”

“Why would they do that?”

“It’s not conclusive, but during the debate, the Paraxean stock market was fluctuating wildly.  In the days before the opposition evaporated, it looked like they would win, and the market soared, assuming that there was a good chance that there would be uncontrolled trade with Aperanje.  Then after the decision, the market crashed, falling seven percent below the level from before the rediscovery of Aperanje.”

“And were certain politicians and wealthy citizens speculating on that outcome?” Fred asked.

“It appears so.  I’m still trying to trace the money, but I’m confident that there was a concentrated contingent betting for the ambassador.”

“What has happened to the market now?” Fred asked.

“It has recovered and is up ten percent.”

“Was there any speculation?”

“Fred, let ADI finish her report,” Samantha said.

“Sorry.”

“I don’t mind,” ADI said.  “Now, to your question, there was no overt speculation right before the ambassador’s death.  But I believe that the contingent that won on his appointment bought the shares most affected by his appointment when the market crashed, so they would have been well-positioned after his death and wouldn’t have need to make any moves.”

“Dr. Metra,” ADI cued the doctor.

Dr. Metra sat up and adjusted her position before she started to speak.  “ADI and I have been studying the situation on Paraxea.  I still have a few friends there.  Based on their input and ADI’s analysis, it looks like the current Mediocracy that has been in place on Paraxea for the last two hundred years is breaking down.  The breakdown started about forty years ago, and it started to accelerate when the facts about the failed colony mission and the attempted invasion of Earth became public.  The jump gates and the introduction of interstellar trade have increased the pressure.”

“Remind me, what comes after a Mediocracy?” Liz asked.

Dr. Metra frowned at Liz.  “Typically, it results in a more capitalistic economy and government, I think you refer to the more benign form as a Meritoracy.  The machinations that ADI just went over point to the dark side of that.  My friends think it will generally be a good thing, but . . . ?”

“Yes, unrestrained greed is ugly,” Samantha added.  “ADI, is there anything else?”

“I will go over all my findings with Cer Catie.”

“Thank you, ADI,” Marc said.  “Catie, any progress?”

“We haven’t made much progress on the investigation.  Dr. Moreau has reconfirmed that it was a neurotoxin.  ADI is searching for evidence of it on the various planets, but Dr. Moreau thinks it has to be from either Earth or a Paraxean planet.  And she insists that he would have died within seconds of it hitting his bloodstream.  He didn’t show any ill effects until moments before he died.  Although he did have a bout of dizziness about twenty minutes earlier.  We’re not sure if that’s related.  I still don’t know how we’re going to solve it.”

“Did ADI’s information help?”

“It helps.  We’ve been looking closely at Hapzel, but we don’t see any way he could have slipped poison to the ambassador.  He appeared to be genuinely shocked when the ambassador died, and even though they never liked each other, he seemed distraught at the death.  But that hasn’t stopped him from being his usual pain during discussions on Aperanje’s League membership.”

“Let’s assume he’s a good actor,” Blake said.

“Sure, but as I said, we cannot find any evidence that he had that poison in his possession.  They didn’t even share the same bungalow, and the ambassador’s staff mostly shunned him.”

“That must make it awkward now that he’s the new ambassador for the mission,” Blake said.

“It has.  A few of them asked if there was any way they could go back to Paraxea.”

“I assume the answer was no.”

“Of course it was.”

“Well, the mission takes priority.  Stay focused and let Morgan continue the investigation,” Marc instructed.  “Now, what are your immediate plans?”

“We need to give ADI and Aventurier better access to the internet here.”

“Aren’t you guys in a hotel?” Blake asked.  “Surely, they have high-speed access.”

“We are, and they do, but the Aperanjens cut our access when we moved in.  They wanted to be able to control and limit our access.”

“Not very neighborly, but hasn’t ADI bypassed that yet?”

“I have,” ADI said.  “But I don’t have enough bandwidth.  We need to have unfettered access.  Catie is making arrangements to get a relay installed.”

“Catie?!” Marc asked.

“Don’t worry; we’ll try and get one of the Aperanjens to put it in for us.”

“Good.  Now, let’s close the meeting.  If anyone has any insights, share them with us.”

Chapter 18

Conspiracy

Catie was in a meeting with the Paraxean delegation, discussing what the death of Ambassador Graznev meant.  Hapzel was creating imaginary issues at each step of the negotiations.  If she couldn’t get him straightened out, she was considering killing him, well, at least just whacking him over the head, real hard.

She was seriously considering that option when Morgan messaged her.  “Catie, I want you to go back up to the Aventurier.”

“Why?”

“These protesters are getting out of hand; we’ve got over fifty out here, and they look ugly.”

“Great!”  Catie messaged back.  Then she turned to her meeting.  “We’ll need to suspend this for the time being.  We’re having some issues with Aperanjen protesters that need my attention.”

“What?!”

“Don’t worry about it.  I’m sure we’ll have it taken care of in a short time.  But you might want to return to your bungalows and stay out of sight until it’s over.”

Catie hurried out of the room and rushed over to her bungalow.

“What are you doing?” Fiona demanded.

“Hey, I’m putting on some body armor.  You wouldn’t want me to get hurt by a protester throwing something.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem if you just went to your shuttle like Morgan asked you.  We could be halfway to the Aventurier by now.”

“We could,” Catie said.  Then she brushed past Fiona and ran out of the bungalow.  Using her HUD, she’d located Morgan at the front gate where she expected her to be.

“Catie!” Fiona yelled as she ran after her.

“Hey, Morgan, what’s up?”

“I told you to head up to the Aventurier!”

“And miss all the fun?  No way.”

“Fiona, can’t you handle your protectee?!”

“Just like you’re handling her right now?”

“Come on, guys.  I’m suited up.  I should be safe.  If it really gets bad, I’ll run to the shuttle.”

Morgan just shook her head then turned her attention back to the gate and the protesters.  They had started to push on the gate while screaming ‘Go Home’ at the Marines.

Karley came running out of her bungalow and joined them.  “Can’t you guys do anything?”

“We are,” Morgan said as she pointed to the eight Marines who were joining the four who had been guarding the gate.

“Don’t you have some kind of force field you can deploy?”

Morgan snorted as she tried to stifle her laugh.  “Never heard of one of those in real life.”

“Then what are you going to do?” Karley asked.

Morgan looked at Catie and grimaced through her face shield.

“Karley, we need to let Agent Blair do her job.  I’m just here to observe.”  Catie stressed observe, hoping Karley got the message.

The protesters were starting to bunch up, pressing against that gate and each other.  Catie could see the gate start to flex as more and more joined the scrum, pushing the body forward.

“Ronith, go ahead and soap them,” Morgan ordered.

Catie was tied into Morgan’s Comm, so she heard the order.  She was really wondering what ‘soap them’ meant.

Ronith went into the guard shack and turned a valve.  Soon soapy water was gushing out of the hoses attached to hydrants on each side of the gate.  The streams were aimed at the ground.

The pressure on the gate started to ease up as the protesters’ feet started to slip on the soapy wet concrete.

“What about our guys?” Catie asked.

“Spikes on our boots.”

Catie looked at her boots, no spikes.

“You’ll have to make sure to stay out of the way,” Morgan said, obviously enjoying getting one over Catie.

“What if that doesn’t work?” Karley asked.

“We’ll give them a bath.”

“Morgan,” Catie interrupted.  “Do you think this might just be a distraction?”

“Of course, I do.  We’ve shot four of them trying to get over the walls.”

“You shot them?” Karley yelled.

“Just a low power laser.  Enough to make them lose their hold and let them know we’re watching.”

“Anything else?” Catie asked.

“Not yet.”

“Cer Morgan, we have eight men in the utility tunnel,” ADI messaged.

“How far in?”

“Fifty meters.”

“So not inside our perimeter yet.”

“Correct.”

“Are you prepared to deploy the shield?”

“I’m always prepared,” ADI replied.

Catie wondered what kind of shield they were talking about while Karley was going nuts, knowing there was a conversation going on but unable to hear anything.

“Catie, do you want to capture them?” Morgan asked.

Catie thought about it for a second.  “Yes, maybe we can learn something from them.  But they have to be inside the embassy.”

“Not a problem.  ADI, deploy the shield when they’re thirty meters inside our perimeter.”

“Yes, Cer Morgan.”

“What’s going on?” Karley asked.

“I think it’s best if you don’t know,” Catie replied.  “Why don’t we go to our bungalows, so we’re out of the way.  I think all the fun is over.”

Karley was clearly not happy with being kept in the dark, but the Marine that Morgan had detailed to follow her made it clear that she wasn’t going to learn anything, so she gave up and went to her bungalow.

Catie headed toward hers and messaged, “ADI, please provide me any video feed we have of the activity in the tunnel.”

Once Catie was in her bungalow, she flipped the video up to the main display.  She grabbed a soda, started some popcorn, and sat down to watch.

“Fiona, don’t you want to watch?”

Fiona looked like she was still mad at Catie for not following the order to evacuate; of course, how do you give orders to the princess?  “What the hell.  Why not?”

Fiona joined Catie on the sofa.  “What do we have here?”

“It looks like eight Aperanjens have entered the tunnel.  They each were carrying a satchel.  It doesn’t look like they’re wearing armor.  ADI, do we have audio?”

“Yes, but unless you want to hear them breathing, there’s nothing to hear right now.”

The eight Aperanjens were double-timing it along the tunnel.  They were wearing masks.

“They have just passed our perimeter,” ADI reported.

They were still just moving along, so Catie switched the feed to show the gate.  The protesters seemed to have lost steam once they couldn’t get a footing.  They were just milling about, occasionally shouting at the Marines.

“Boring.”  Catie switched the display back to the tunnel.

“They’ve passed the thirty-meter threshold,” ADI reported.

“Oh, show us the shield.”

ADI put up a second video showing a section of the tunnel.  There was a fuzzy-looking barrier, like a frosted glass wall.  Occasionally there was a buzz, and electricity arced across the surface.

“ADI, what is that?”

“It is a polyglass balloon.  It was folded against the roof of the tunnel until I released the compressed air to inflate it.  It’s designed to be mostly flat.”

“What about those current arcs?”

“There are electrodes placed at various points on its surface.  Morgan’s idea was that it would look very threatening even though it’s not.”

“Ah, I would guess you could just run through it.”

“Yes.  You would get a shock, but it would be unlikely to impair you.”

“Cool.”  Catie turned her attention back to the main feed.

BING

“Fiona, would you get the popcorn?”

“Sure.”

“Do either of you know Morgan’s plan?”

“Nope,” Fiona said.

“I do not have specifics,” ADI added.

“Hmm.”

“Eli, there’s the electric feed.  Put a charge on it,” one of the Aperanjens said.

Another one immediately stopped, reached into his satchel, and pulled out an explosive charge.  He fiddled with it a second before placing it against the conduit that carried the electricity to the hotel.

“That’ll be useless; we put a fusion reactor in to isolate us from their grid,” Catie said.

“Well, I suspect we didna announce that to the locals,” Fiona said.

As Eli rushed to rejoin the others, there was a quiet zizz as a laser cut one of the leads to the detonator.  The zizz came from the part of the beam that bypassed the wire and fried the moisture on the tunnel wall.

“Did you hear that?” the leader asked

“I heard something, probably a fly.”

The leader looked skeptical but continued on.  They were approaching the spot just outside the compound’s utility shed where a manhole cover was located when the tunnel suddenly became foggy.  All of the men started coughing.

“A little tear gas,” ADI explained.

“Carl, run back and make sure we’ve got a way out?” the leader ordered as all of the men pulled their masks down so that their eyes were covered.

ADI put the view of Carl running back up as a second feed.

“Thanks, ADI.”

“You’re welcome.”

As Carl ran, the fogginess seemed to lessen in the area of the tunnel he was approaching.  When he got close to the shield, he pulled up short.

“Al, there’s some kind of force field blocking the tunnel here.”

“What do you mean force field?”

“I don’t know; it looks like some surface with electrical arcs shooting across it.”

“Have you tried to get through it?”

“No!  I’m not going to risk that thing killing me.  I think we have to just keep going forward.”

“Well, the gas up here is getting worse,” Al said.

“Aren’t you to the manhole yet?”

“Just getting there.”

“It’s got to be better up top.”

“They must know we’re down here, so I wouldn’t count on that.  Doug, climb up and see what’s going on.”

As Doug grabbed the ladder leading up, a significant electric current coursed through his body, and he fell.

“Damn, it’s electrified.”

“Gentlemen, at some point, the gas will damage your eyes.  I think that it is time for you to surrender,” Morgan announced.

“What!” Al snapped.

“We’d like you to drop your satchels and any weapons.  At that time, we’ll deactivate the electrical charge on the ladder, and you can come up.”

Al reached into his bag and brought out a box.  He flipped a lever and then pressed a button.  He shook his head and looked back up the tunnel.  “Eli, did you set that charge correctly?”

“You know I did.”

“We disabled your explosive,” Morgan said.

“How?”

“Here, let me demonstrate.”

A laser fired from one of the surveillance pucks on the tunnel ceiling and struck the box in Al’s hand.  He immediately dropped it.

“Now, as I was saying, please drop everything, and you can come up the ladder.  The air up here is nice and clean.”

It took another twenty minutes and a lot more tear gas before the Aperanjens surrendered.  Catie had finished her popcorn and was now looking forward to getting some answers.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie met Morgan in the bungalow that used to be Ambassador Graznev’s.  She’d had it isolated as they searched for evidence, and now it was a convenient location to put their prisoners.

“Have they said anything?” Catie asked.

“No.  I think we need to do the psych interrogation on them,” Morgan said.

“ADI?”

“I need to calibrate.  I would need at least four Aperanjens.”

“Rhino,” Catie Commed him.

“Yes?”

“We need four volunteers from your contingent so we can calibrate our interrogation methods.  It’s noninvasive, painless, and we promise only ADI will see the results and only for calibration.”

“Let me ask for volunteers,” Rhino said.  “Given all this insanity, I think everyone will want to help.”

It only took an hour to come up with four volunteers from the Aperanjen delegation; then, it took ADI two hours to do the interviews, followed by another hour of analysis.  By the end of it, Catie was fit to be tied.  And she knew they wouldn’t have any results from the prisoners for another two hours.

“Okay, which one do you want to start with?” Catie asked.

“I want to start with Eli,” ADI said.

“Not the leader?”

“More calibration,” ADI said.  “The more subjects I interview, the better my results.  We don’t want to contaminate our best candidate before I have the routine perfected.”

“You’re the boss.”

“I like that,” ADI cooed.

◆ ◆ ◆

It was four hours before ADI was finished with the interrogation.  Catie had been checking in every hour to see if she was done.

“Cer Catie, I’m finished,” ADI announced.

Morgan could tell from Catie’s face that ADI had pinged her with the news.

“Okay, what did we learn?” Catie asked.  “And include Morgan.”

“That they are not nice people,” ADI said.

“Besides that!”

“They were hired through a third party; the only thing they knew was they were to grab the AI in the utility room and that the protesters were going to create a distraction.”

“Why were they so late if they were counting on the protesters creating a distraction?”

“They had assumed that the protesters would at least breach our barrier.  Cer Morgan’s trick with soap messed up their timing.”

“Can you backtrace the contract?”

“I may be able to if you get the relay installed.  I’m working on it now, but it’s slow.”

“I’ll talk with Rhino tomorrow.”

◆ ◆ ◆

ADI and Samantha had set up the preliminary talks with Thorea for the evening.  Catie groaned as she dressed up in her princess uniform.  She thought that getting dressed up might be worth it since she would get to meet the leader of a new civilization.

“Sam, are we ready?” Catie asked as she started the call.

“It’s your show,” Samantha said.  “I’m just here for backup.”

“Thanks a lot.  ADI, we’re ready.”

ADI took care of the preliminaries of getting the Thorean minister on the call then cued Catie to let her know the minister was on.  Of course, his face came up on the display at the same time.  Catie struggled to keep from gasping at his appearance.

“Cer Catie, Cer Sam, I’ve blocked your videos; let me know when you’re ready,” ADI messaged.

“Oh, thanks,” Catie messaged, “and very funny springing that on us.”

“I have to get my shots in whenever the opportunity arises,” ADI said.

Catie was still coming to grips with the way the minister looked.  He was mostly humanoid, or probably all humanoid, but his face was shaped like an upside-down pear.  This made him look remarkably like the sci-fi bad guys in the old movies.  His eyes were a bit bigger than she was used to, but other than that, the nose, mouth, ears, and eyes were all located where one would expect them.  Catie wasn’t sure if all of them were bald, but Minister Terasulf sure was.

“I’m ready.”

“Minister Terasulf, I’m Princess Catherine of the Delphi League; thank you for taking our call.”

“We are happy to talk with you,” the minister said; the Comm was doing a good job of translating his voice.  Catie was happy that ADI hadn’t decided to play any more games and make his voice sound creepy.  “We were excited to learn about your jump gates and look forward to discussing how we might engage in trade.”

“We’re happy to hear that.  We are currently working with a civilization called Aperanje to discuss their joining the League.  You’re the next planet we plan to visit.  I understand that you also have a colony planet.”

“We do.  We were fortunate to have a star close by that had a habitable planet.  It is only two light-years away.”

“That is fortunate.  I assume that means that you are able to engage in trade with them.”

“We are, but it is limited.  We mostly share knowledge; we traded with Paraxea for several quantum relays, so we’re able to maintain a close relationship but other than that, we don’t ship much between our systems.”

“That sounds intriguing.  We are anxious to learn from you.  But for now, we want to make the arrangements for our visit.  That is, if you’re still interested in hosting us,” Catie said.

“We are definitely interested in hosting you.  We would like to know what to expect.  Some of our people are worried about a foreign military entering our system.”

“We are not coming as a military mission.  We will be arriving in one of our scout ships; it’s rather small, just the right size to accommodate the delegates.  I’ll transmit the specs for the ship now.”  Catie messaged ADI to go ahead and send the basic specs for the Aventurier.

“Ah, that eases my fears,” the minister said as he examined the specs.  “When can we expect you?”

“We need a few weeks to finish up here; then, it will take four weeks to travel to your planet.”

“I see.  It would be fortuitous if you were able to arrive in nine weeks.  We celebrate our expansion to the stars during that week.  Having you arrive then would be an excellent way to start our discussions.”

Samantha messaged Catie, “You should commit.  You can’t stay on Aperanje forever; this gives you a reason to set a departure date.”

“We will make every effort to make that date.  I’ll instruct our captain to plan the voyage, so we arrive in your system on the 4th of June.  That would put us at your planet around the 18th.”

“Excellent.  We look forward to seeing you then.”

“Is there any additional information we need to share before our visit?” Catie asked.

“No, the Paraxean foreign minister sent us a detailed brief when he made the preliminary arrangements for your visit.”

“Very well.  We’ll let you return to your business.  We look forward to meeting you in person.”  With that, Catie closed the connection to Thorea.

“Sam, doesn’t he look like the … alien from that movie Paul?”

“Yes, he does.  I’m glad that ADI had the foresight to block our video until we had a chance to absorb his appearance.”

“You’re welcome,” ADI said.

“Yes, thank you, ADI,” Catie said, adding a private ‘I won’t forget.’

◆ ◆ ◆

“Rhino, thanks for coming.  How’s your head?” Catie asked as she opened the door for him.

“It’s better.  Did you learn anything from your interrogation of those thieves?”

“Just that they were hired to come in and steal the gear we have in the utility shed.  I wonder how anyone knew about the gear.”

“Doesn’t everyone in the compound know?”

“Not really, just the security team and a few engineers who set it up.”

“But people talk.”

“Apparently, too much.”

“Is this what you wanted to talk about?”

“No, I wanted an economics lesson on how things work on Aperanje.”

“I’m not sure how I can help.  I’ve been out of circulation for thirty years, and I wasn’t really that up on economics when I was here.”

“What I want to know is about things that aren’t necessarily in textbooks.  How the rich hold onto their wealth, things like that.”

“Oh.  Well, I think Aperanje is much like Earth.  Wealth is concentrated among the few.  We have old families that control a significant percentage of our more valuable real estate, as well as many of our major industries.  They do whatever it takes to keep control within the family.  And like Earth, we have new upstarts that start up new businesses, usually based on new technology.”

“Do the wealthy families send their children into politics?  How do they influence government policies?”

“One way to guarantee you lose an election is to show ties to wealthy people.  We Aperanjens really believe that the rich already have too much influence.”

“Does that work?”

“Not really.  They don’t become politicians, but they discreetly fund a lot of the campaigns.  That allows them to influence who gets elected and, of course, what policies get backed.”

“How do they hold onto their wealth?”

“It takes money to make money.  They control most of the banks, so they have a lot of influence on who the banks loan money to.  It’s always easier to get startup money if you’re from the right family.”

“What about these bonds?  I don’t completely understand how the government funds things that way.  On Earth, the bonds are issued at a fixed interest rate, and they’re discounted based on the current economic outlook.  It sounds like you do that differently here.”

“Some of our government bonds are like that.  But big projects issue fifty- or one-hundred-year bonds.  The bonds are heavily discounted based on the perceived viability of the project.  The bondholders then make their money back getting taxes enacted, setting tolls on roads, or setting the price of electricity, things based on the improvements their bond funded.”

“That sounds like it’s fraught with opportunities for abuse.”

“Not really; the government maintains a share of the business, so they can track what is happening.  If the tolls are too high, people go around, and the taxes have to be passed by the local authority.”

“How were they going to make their money back on the colony mission?”

“By exploiting the technology developed for the mission and during it.  They would set a licensing fee for the technology or use it in their business.  They’ve made some of the money back, but not what they were expecting since the mission was cut short.”

“So that explains the fighting over the reparations.”

“Right, the more they get from that, the more money they can make.”

“But don’t they just make the bond value back?”

“Sure, but if you’re already exploiting the technology, you’ve got a leg up on everyone else when control of the licensing reverts to the government.  And of course, it’s always better to make your money back in twenty years instead of fifty.”

“Does the government have programs or policies to try and distribute the wealth more equitably?”

“There’s always debates on improving education in disadvantaged regions.  The government does some things, but it’s expensive and hard to measure.  We have charities that do the same thing.  In fact, Solan is the product of one of those charities.”

“He is?  I assumed he came from a wealthy family.  He’s pretty polished.”

“He is polished but from a poor family.  He’s from the western continent.  He won a scholarship from the McArvarly Trust.  It selects ten or so students every year and provides support for their education and some help to their families while they go to school.  If they have good enough grades, then it pays for them to go to any university they get admitted to.”

“Finish school.  How old are they when they win the scholarship?”

“Ten or eleven years of age.  When you start your sixth year of formal schooling, the government administers a bunch of aptitude tests.  If the parents sign off, the results are shared with the various charities that offer scholarships.  The McArvarly Trust always picks their students from that list.  They tend to do well.  The trust has a record of their university graduates being in the top one percent of their graduating class.  A pretty big percentage become wunderkinds, eventually taking over big companies.”

“How does that work?  It takes a lot of money to take over a company.  Does the trust help?”

“Nope.  They have to do it on their own.  As far as anyone knows or can tell, the trust doesn’t do anything once they finish university.  That is, except paying for a master’s or Ph.D. if they go on.”

“So, how do they do it?”

“They work their way up to one of the top jobs.  Eventually, the current management makes a big mistake, and the board switches allegiance to the new guy.”

“What about the former Royal family?  Are they major players?”

“Oh, the Augustinians.  Not publicly.  They’re amazingly quiet.  You never hear about the children until they select a new head of the family.”

“Explain that.”

“When the current head of the family dies or decides to retire, the family selects a new head.  It’s always someone nobody has heard about.  He or she steps up and takes the reins.  It’s amazing how competent they are given that nobody has ever heard of them before.”

“Doesn’t the family get involved in politics, charity, or other big events?”

“Not that anyone knows of.  In fact, nobody knows about any members of the family except the couple who’s the head of the family and the retired, or widowed parent.”

“What about their children?”

“A complete mystery.  I guess they live in the family compound.  Maybe they sneak out and party once in a while, but you never see or hear of them.”

“Don’t they go out and get jobs or do something?”

“Not that we know of.  Other than the new head of the family, you never see any of the children.  Maybe they only have the one.”

“I can see how that would work today when you can do everything remotely, but how would they be able to gain the necessary skills and experience one hundred years ago?”

“Who knows?”

“I have one other favor to ask.  It’s a big one, so feel free to say no.”

“Go ahead and ask,” Rhino said.  He winced a bit, wondering how much he really owed the Delphi people.

“As you know, we don’t have access to the Aperanjen internet.  Our Comms can make calls here, but they can’t access any sites.”

“I guess I can understand that.”

“Well, with all that’s going on, we’d like to be able to access it.  We need to do some research to figure out what’s behind all the political games, as well as investigate the murder of Ambassador Graznev.”

“And you don’t want to ask the government.  Can’t you hack into the wireless network here?”

“It’s pretty secure,” Catie said, not mentioning that they already had, but they didn’t have enough bandwidth for ADI and Aventurier to do the research they needed to do.

“So, what’s the favor?”

“We have links that can be attached to one of the telecom towers here.  It would give us the access we need.”

“But you can’t go undercover and get much done.”

“No, my people would kind of stick out.  We could try to get someone to pass, but it would be pretty hard.  Do you have someone who could do it for us?”

“Would my people have access to it and the information you gather?” Rhino asked.

“Alright,” Catie thought, “I’ve won the battle; now we just need to agree on terms.”

“We can give you access.  And you could query ADI for any information you wanted, but we wouldn’t want to give you blanket access to our research.”

“I can live with that.  Wolf is extremely capable at such things, much better than I am obviously,” Rhino said, referring to his encounter earlier in the week.  “In fact, that’s why I brought her on the mission.  She’s been gathering intel since we’ve been here.  I assume you already know that from the calibration.”

“We didn’t know that.  I told you all the information from your people would be kept confidential.  Thank you for volunteering her.  Will you let her know?”

“Doing it right now.”

“Thanks.  Agent Blair will handle the details.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Wolf went through the hotel to get outside of the embassy, but unlike Rhino, she exited through the back entrance dressed as one of the cleaning crew.  She carried a backpack with a change of clothes, actually three different sets if she mixed and matched them.  She made a quick stop in a café where she bought a coffee, changed clothes, and left through the back.  Her next stop was a small restaurant where she had a meal, waiting for it to get dark.  Once it was dark, she paid, stopped in the restroom, and changed again.  She had a hard time believing that Rhino didn’t take similar precautions; she assumed he wouldn’t make such a mistake again.  Nothing like a solid beating to get your attention.

After leaving the restaurant, ADI guided Wolf to the telecom tower that she wanted her to tap.  With a flashlight in her mouth and instructions from ADI in her HUD, it only took Wolf five minutes to install the relay.  Now ADI had ten-gigabit access to the Aperanjen internet.

It only took ADI an hour to identify a pattern with the tweets and social media posts.  A pattern that showed that a significant percentage of the posts were coming from multiple sources but were closely coordinated; all the posts showed similar wording and were timed to maximize their impact.  Each source responded to one of the others at a carefully spaced interval to maximize exposure and to keep the controversy boiling.

Chapter 19

Sticky Wicket

On May 1st, the major powers on Earth announced that all counties had now joined the United Federation of Earth.  The U.N. was disbanded, and its facilities were taken over by the new federation.

Marc, Blake, and Kal immediately asked for an update from Admiral Michaels and Admiral Dorathea Campbell, the head of Delphi Intelligence.  Admiral Michaels brought Yvette along to provide additional insight.

“Cers,” Marc began, “This announcement was a bit earlier than we had been led to expect.  Can you explain?”

Admiral Michaels looked at Admiral Campbell, assuming she would want to take the lead.

“Based on our intelligence, the members of the G20 quietly started to inform all the other nations that they would only be trading with members of the new federation.  This started around a week after they announced the formation of the federation.  The threats were made head-of-state to head-of-state so it was kept quiet.  As the deadline approached about two weeks ago, we all saw the flood of countries moving to join the federation.  That prompted the few holdouts to move.”

“Okay, I can see how they made that work.  Now what’s next?” Marc asked.

Admiral Michaels sighed then started his report.  “There is still a lot of infighting about how to organize the defense forces.  They are fighting to decide which government will host the headquarters.  It really comes down to the U.S., Britain, or China, with Britain being the compromise choice being pushed by the other countries.  Within that argument is the real prize, as some see it, the ability to assume control of all Delphi Defense assets on the planet.”

“Haven’t they realized that we’ve moved all those assets?” Blake asked.

“They are aware that the space carriers have been moved, but there is still some belief that there are other assets that they don’t know about.”

“Delphi Station?” Blake asked.

“I assume so.  Plus, the Marine forces.”  Admiral Blake looked at Kal.

“We don’t have any big assets here.  Space armor, basic rifles.  We keep all the high-power weapons on the carriers and frigates.”

“So, they’re going to be disappointed,” Marc suggested.

“Depends,” Admiral Campbell said.  “What they’re really after is technology.”

Marc nodded his head.  “Then they will be disappointed.  Anything else?”

“We brought Yvette to talk about some of the more discrete machinations going on.”

Yvette sat up straighter as she realized they were actually going to question her.  She didn’t see what she could contribute.

“Yvette,” Admiral Campbell prompted.

“I’m not sure I have much to add.  The main thing that I’ve noticed is that General Fredricks seems to have a lot more influence than one might expect.”

“He’s head of the U.S. military delegation, so wouldn’t we expect him to have a lot of influence?”

“Yes, but he gets deferred to rather quickly and on some minor details.  The other admins all gossip about the fits their bosses throw whenever they butt heads with the general.  I get the impression that they are afraid of him.”

“Admiral Campbell?”

“We’ve had ADI look into it, ADI?”

“After Yvette pointed out that General Fredricks’ transition into the head of the U.S. delegation was rather quick and that it followed a potentially damaging situation with his son, I traced the general’s finances and those of his son as well as analyzed the situation around the rape allegation made against the son.”

“And?” Blake prompted.

“The general’s son was accused of rape by a young college woman named Lucy Bayless.  Three days after she made the allegation, she retracted it with a well-worded statement.  Two days later, she transferred from Boston College to Stanford University, moving from the East Coast to the West Coast, creating about the greatest distance she could make from the incident and still stay at a comparable school.”

“Sounds like she was paid off,” Blake said.  “The General?”

“One would think so, but his lawyer attempted to contact Cer Bayless and was promptly told to get lost.  I believe Cer Bayless used a more colorful euphemism.”

“Good.”

“Then, two days later, she issued the retraction around 1700 hours.  Just before she issued the retraction, she became the beneficiary of two trust accounts valued at one million dollars each.  The transaction was extremely well hidden.”

“Where did the money come from?  I wouldn’t think General Fredricks would have access to that much cash.”

“He didn’t.  There were no changes in his finances other than paying a one hundred thousand dollar retainer for an expensive lawyer.  I tried to backtrace the money but was unsuccessful.  It was deposited in the bank from an offshore account that I cannot trace to anyone.”

“Okay,” Marc said.  “This makes sense.  Someone took care of the general’s problem and now has him in his pocket.”

“Sure, but to what ends?  Do they really think they can get control of Delphi Station?” Blake asked.

“There is a high probability that they will succeed,” Admiral Campbell said.

“I agree,” Admiral Michaels said.

“Do they think we’re stupid enough to leave high-value technology behind that they can steal?” Marc asked.

“One might think that it would be impossible for you to remove all the high-tech research, much less components from Delphi Station,” Admiral Campbell suggested, giving Marc a questioning look.  She was the head of intelligence, but she still didn’t know everything about Delphi Station or MacKenzie Enterprises.

“Okay, I think we have ourselves covered,” Marc said.  “As long as they aren’t going to start a war, let it play out.”

Admiral Michaels and Admiral Campbell both nodded their heads.

Yvette wondered if she dared ask Admiral Campbell to release her from the assignment.  As far as she was concerned, it was boring and a waste of her talents.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Cer Catie, you should watch this,” ADI said as Catie and Morgan were returning to her bungalow after working out.  With the protesters outside the embassy, she was once again relegated to working out in the gym and running on treadmills.  At least she got to take her frustration out on Morgan and Fiona when they did hand-to-hand.  Morgan was limping, and Fiona was getting a broken wrist attended to in the shuttle.

“What?” Catie asked as she wiped her face with her towel.  She really wanted to get into the shower.

“The pundits here on Aperanje are really cranking up the rhetoric.”

Catie shook her head.  “Show me.”

The display turned on.  A middle-aged Aperanjen male was on the screen; his face scrunched up more than Catie had ever seen an Aperanjen scrunch.  He was yelling into the microphone.

“Why do we allow these aliens to continue to stay on our planet?  They kill one of their own and try to blame it on our people.  We don’t need them.  Make them go home!  March, march, march on the capital and let our leaders know that Aperanje is for Aperanjens!”

“He continues to rant,” ADI said.

The display changed to show a female Aperanjen looking almost as discomfited as the man.

“Aperanje has been fine for thousands of years before these aliens showed up.  We don’t need them.  Only our idiot scientists thought traveling to another star was a good idea.  Our world is healthy; we have what we need.  Tell them to go home.  Tell them we are Aperanjens, and we need nobody.  I will see you at the capital!”

The screen changed again, showing a different Aperanjen male, almost shouting into the mic.

“We do not need this Delphi League.  What good are they?  They defeated the people who enslaved our colony mission, and what did they do with those criminals?  They let them go.  They even give them a new planet to live on.  We would have crushed them and thrown them into a star.  What weaklings; we do not need to ally ourselves with people who will not take just retribution when it is offered.  March, march, march on the capital!”

Catie turned and walked to her bedroom.

“Is that all you want to watch, or should I send the others to your HUD?” ADI asked.

“That’s more than enough.  I’m going to take a bubble bath.  Do not disturb me unless the universe explodes!”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie and Liz met for breakfast to update each other before they were due at the defense ministry later that day.

“Liz, we’re close on the reparations, but I’m worried someone is going to mess it up, although the deal on League membership seems on track.  Hapzel and Minister Mortizacian behave like they’re twins, but I seem to have clipped Hapzel’s wings a bit.  He’s not being nearly as disruptive as he was before.”

“That’s good, but you still think things are being manipulated?”

“Definitely.  I don’t know why.  Why would someone want to delay or derail the discussion?”

“I think someone, or someones, is sticking a wrench in the works to keep us from making progress; they must see some disadvantage to Aperanje joining the League.”

“But why do it this way?  If there are issues, why not bring them up in front of the group?”

“Because they’re personal?” Liz suggested.  “I’m finding the same thing happening with the discussion on the military.  Most of the officers I’m dealing with seem to be genuinely interested in what we have to offer, but then someone will muddy things up for no reason.”

“Anyone in particular?”

“Well, Captain Zanaz has been especially difficult.  He just joined the discussion since they only made it back here a couple of days ago.”

“Captain Zanaz, of the Cruiser Lexarspere.”

“Yes.”

“Well, you did embarrass him with the war games.”

“Hey, we gave him a graceful way to admit defeat without having to lose any people or assets.”

“Except that probe.”

“Yeah, well, that wasn’t much.”

“How are the defense discussions going?  Are they really that complex?” Catie asked.

“Only because the Aperanjens are trying to ferret out military secrets from my staff and me.”

“How?”

“They keep giving examples of issues and asking how we would be able to help them respond.”

“Are they getting anything?”

“Not much, other than the fact that our capabilities way outclass theirs.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Stupid sash!” Catie said as she pulled it over her head.  She hated having to wear the princess uniform.  “At least I can get away with a uniform instead of a gown.”

“You should be careful with it.  You might tear it,” Liz admonished.

“Don’t worry, Morgan has a whole box of them.”

Liz laughed.  “Smart woman.  Now, hurry up; we don’t want to be late.”

“Liz, why are we having this luncheon with the Aperanjen Space Force leadership?” Catie asked.

“I think they want to have a chance to schmooze with you.  Maybe they think you’ll let something slip.”

“Hah, not a chance.”

They got into a limo, which took them to the security ministry.  There were already four of Catie’s security detail there when they arrived.  They exited the limo with Morgan and Fiona tight on their heels, and entered the building.  Before the luncheon, they were going to have to endure the obligatory tour of the headquarters building.

After what Catie considered an exceptionally boring tour, they were escorted to the minister’s dining room.  Admiral Kacketox, who had led the tour, quickly introduced Catie to the security minister and the other senior officers.

They spent an hour eating and making polite chit-chat, then Admiral Kacketox coughed to get everyone’s attention.

“Princess, we were impressed by the war game exercise you participated in upon your arrival.  What was your evaluation of our capabilities?” the admiral asked.

“We thought your probe was excellent.  We almost didn’t spot it.  We assume it was using passive scanning techniques and communicating with Captain Zanaz’s destroyer via a narrow beam laser.”

“It was.  What about Captain Zanaz’s tactics?”

“That was much harder to evaluate.  We don’t know how effective your missiles and lasers are since typically during war games, they’re dialed back.”

“Commodore Farmer, what did you think?”

“I thought that Captain Zanaz was exceptionally good at hiding,” Liz said, smiling at the captain.  He’d been especially bothersome during the discussions over the last week.

“How dare you insult me!  I challenge you!  Tell me where to meet your champion at 1300 tomorrow.”  With that, the captain stormed out of the dining room.

Liz looked to Admiral Kacketox, flabbergasted at what had happened; although she had been expecting to get a response from her jibe, this was much more dramatic than she had anticipated.

“Apparently, Captain Zanaz is embarrassed by his performance.  Don’t worry; we can make the challenge go away.”

“What does he mean by ‘my champion?’”

“We Aperanjens will settle disputes between ships by having the top hand-to-hand combat person on each ship face off against each other.  I can assure you there will be no perceived slight if you allow us to calm the captain down,” Admiral Kacketox said.  It was obvious that he didn’t believe that and was relishing the thought of having the League commodore back down from the challenge.

“There’s no need to do that; we’ll be happy to accept the challenge.  Where should we meet him?”

“Typically, the event takes place in the gym of the ship challenged, but we have a gym here in the ministry building.”

“Oh, I love tradition.  We’ll do it on my ship; I’ll have a shuttle here to pick him up tomorrow at 1230 hours.  Of course, you’re welcome to attend.”

“Are you crazy?!” Catie messaged.

“No.  This was obviously a setup to make us look bad.  Admiral Kacketox baited him; I think he is in on it.”

“So?”

“So, I’m going to teach them a lesson.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie left Liz alone that night.  She definitely needed her sleep.

“Karley, did you hear about Captain Zanaz’s challenge?”

“Yes, what was your Commodore thinking?”

“I’m not sure she was thinking.”

“How good is her champion?” Karley asked.

“Pretty good,” Catie said, not mentioning that Liz would be the one fighting.

“Have you ever seen an Aperanjen and Terran fight?”

“Not hand-to-hand.”

“Well, when there’s a challenge between Aperanjens, the fight usually ends with one of them being crippled for life.  Aperanjens don’t give up easily.”

“We’ll have to see.  Do you want to come and watch with me?”

Karley hesitated, taking in a deep breath before starting to answer, “I don’t know . . .”

“Don’t worry; I’m sure we’ll be sitting with Admiral Kacketox.  I just wanted to have someone there who could explain things to me.”

“Sure,” Karley said, obviously relieved that she wouldn’t be sitting with a bunch of Terrans cheering on their champion.

◆ ◆ ◆

The next morning, Catie flew to the security ministry to pick up Admiral Kacketox, Captain Zanaz, and Karley.  The admiral also had four other senior men from the military with him.  Skipping introductions, they boarded the shuttle, which immediately lifted off and flew up to the Aventurier.

Of course, they used the iris to land in the shuttle bay, and all the Aperanjens were flabbergasted when Catie stood up and suggested they follow her.  As far as they could tell, they were still in flight, and only the drop in gravity had told them that.  They almost panicked when Catie opened the hatch.

“Right this way,” Catie said; she smiled to herself since she had kind of planned the whole panic thing.

Captain Zanaz stood up and followed her; he still looked confused.  He’d obviously been expecting microgravity.  Liz had told Catie that she was sure that he would be planning on fighting in microgravity.

Catie led them to the gym, where the bout would take place.  A small dais had been set up with a few chairs.  Catie had messaged ahead that they had the extra guest, so there were enough chairs for everyone.

Liz was waiting for everyone in her uniform.  “Welcome.  We decided that we would limit the spectators in the room.  We’re broadcasting it to the ship and to the Chesapeake as well.  Captain Zanaz, would you like us to stream it to your ship as well?”

“Please.”

“Okay, if everyone will get settled in, we should be ready to start in ten minutes,” Liz said.  She motioned to her steward to take care of everyone before exiting the room.

Catie followed Liz into the locker room.  “You know, it’s not too late to call this off.”

“Sure it is.  And would you call it off?”

“I wouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place.”

Liz snorted, then started laughing.  “Come on, between the two of us, who do you think everyone would have expected to get into this situation?”

Catie laughed with Liz.  “Probably me.  But I’m Princess Catherine right now, so I am not allowed to get into trouble.  Have you told anyone?”

“No, I haven’t.  ADI?!”

“I’m not a blabbermouth!”

“Ha!” Catie barked.  “So, you think you can take him?” Catie asked.

“Yes.  Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

“What?”

“Just a saying from a famous heavyweight fighter, Muhammad Ali.  He was always fighting guys with more muscle than him.  He was faster, more agile.”

ADI provided Catie with a quick video of Muhammad Ali fighting Joe Frazier.

“Hey, they seem to have more muscle than him, even if he’s close to their weight.  But, Captain Zanaz must outweigh you by thirty kilos.”

“But I’ve got reach, speed, and I’m smarter than he is.  Plus, he’s going to be shocked when it finds out he’s going to be fighting me.  And I’ve set the ship to .8Gs, so his weight will be a bit more manageable for my legs.”

“Plus, you won’t get tired as fast dancing around.  But you’re still nuts.”

“Would you back out?”

“Probably not, but everyone knows I’m nuts.”

“Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?  I spend a few days in the infirmary?”

“Karley says that these things usually wind up with one of the fighters crippled.”

“Hmm.  I’ve seen fights between Aperanjens.  I think they usually end up with one of them with a permanent concussion.  They’re pretty brute force about it.”

“Okay, butterfly, I’ll be cheering you on.”  With that, Catie returned to the gym and took her seat on the dais next to Admiral Kacketox and Karley.  Captain Zanaz was walking around on the mat.  He’d removed his uniform jacket, shirt, and boots and was chatting with one of the men he’d brought.  Liz walked out of the locker room wearing a ship suit.  She nodded to Morgan.

Catie grimaced as she realized that without a shirt, the wasn’t anything for Liz to grab hold of on the captain, not that her shipsuit provided anything to grasp either.

Morgan moved to the center of the ring.  “Alright, I’ve been elected to referee this match.  As I understand it, Commodore Farmer gets to set the rules since she’s the one who was challenged.  So, the rules are, no gouging the eyes.”  Morgan made the taser she was wearing like brass knuckles buzz.  “During the fight, you have to stay on the mat.  If the fight carries both combatants off the mat, I’ll yell ‘break,’ and you will then stop fighting and return to your corners.  The fight ends when one of the contestants is unable to go on or surrenders.  You can surrender by slapping the mat twice like this.”  Morgan slapped the mat twice to demonstrate.  “Or you can just announce your surrender.”

Captain Zanaz was staring at Liz, still shocked that she was going to fight him.  “What, aren’t there any more rules?”

“Oh, sorry.  One more rule.  No whining.”

The captain snapped his head to glare at Morgan.  Karley turned her head to look at Catie, then smiled.  “Nice!”

Morgan had Liz and Captain Zanaz come to the center of the ring.  They were just outside of arm’s length when Morgan shouted, “Fight!”

The two fighters brought their hands up; Liz held hers open while the captain formed fists.  The captain took two quick steps toward Liz, but she quickly danced to the side, forcing the captain to turn.  He was slow.  Catie figured that Liz had four inches on him, maybe more since he didn’t seem that flexible in his waist.  Anytime he took a step forward, Liz would dance to the side, making him turn and making him madder.  Catie sucked in her breath; it would only take one blow from one of his massive fists to put Liz out.  “Well, at least then, it would be over without too much pain.”

The captain rushed at Liz faster than before; she sidestepped him and landed a palm heel strike to his right eye, then danced away.  The captain smiled at her, making a point that the strike hadn’t hurt him.  After the third strike to the same place, he could continue to pretend that they didn’t hurt, but the swelling that was closing his eye belied the point.

Finally, the captain maneuvered Liz into a corner of the mat.  He immediately charged at her.  Catie was expecting Liz to allow him to take her off the mat, forcing Morgan to call break.  But instead, Liz took the charge, grabbed the captain’s ears as she fell back, put her foot in his stomach, and fell to the mat, throwing him over her and off the mat.

“Break!”

Liz jumped up and went to the opposite corner.  The captain got up, maybe a bit slower than before, and walked to his corner glaring at Liz with his left eye; there was a bit of blood on his ears; Liz’s fingernails must have dug in.

They started dancing around again.  Now Liz was focused on delivering a carotid strike whenever she could get close enough.  The first time she managed to land one with full force, the captain staggered a bit, and Liz was able to land a sidekick to his solar plexus.

The captain started to spread his arms wide when he lunged, hoping to catch Liz.  Liz would stand there, shifting her weight from one foot to the other; as soon as the captain committed, Liz would juke the other way leaving the captain grabbing at empty space.

Catie could tell that both fighters were getting tired.  She was worried that Liz wouldn’t have the stamina to keep up her dancing.  The captain might be slowed down, but his strategy didn’t really require quickness and would hold up better as he tired.

Liz obviously thought the same thing.  She started to go for kicks to the groin.  The captain was able to easily avoid them since she telegraphed them; Catie was pretty sure she was doing that on purpose.  On the fourth attempt at a groin kick, when the captain had shifted his weight to avoid the kick, Liz twisted on her plant foot, then landed her kicking foot next to the captain’s front foot and drove her knee into the side of his knee.  The tearing of cartilage and ligaments could be heard by everyone in the room.

“That’s an illegal strike!” yelled Admiral Kacketox.

“They were both on the mat.  I did not declare any strikes illegal,” Morgan said.  “I did, however, declare that there would be no whining.”

The captain rolled around for a bit as Morgan started to count.  Then as he was trying to stand up, Liz danced around to the side and landed a karate chop to the carotid artery again.  This time she was able to put all of her power into it, and the captain fell flat on his face.

Morgan counted him out; Catie was pretty sure she was counting extra slow.

After being declared the winner, Liz exited the room, leaving Catie to deal with any aftermath.

Catie turned to Admiral Kacketox.  “What now?”

“Is he still alive?”

“Yes!  If you want, we can take him to our sickbay, and they can fix his knee.  It’ll take a few hours, and he might need crutches for a couple of days.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes.  Commodore Farmer wouldn’t have torn his knee up like that if we couldn’t fix it.”

The admiral nodded his head slowly.  “I’m sure he would appreciate having his knee repaired.”

Catie didn’t think the admiral cared either way.

“If you’re ready, my aide will escort you to the flight bay, and you can return to your planet.”

“Thank you; I think that would be best.”

Once the admiral and his men left, Catie left Karley in Morgan’s care and went to the locker room to check on Liz.

“That was a pretty vicious move you pulled.  Effective, but vicious.”

Liz laughed.  “Like he wasn’t trying to separate my head from my shoulders.”

“He was.  But I saw how you set it up.  What made you think it would work?  I saw it coming a mile away; why didn’t he?”

“Kal and I noticed that our marines with MMA experience avoid certain strikes; anything that can cause permanent damage is illegal in MMA matches.  And because they think of them as illegal, they don’t seem to see them coming.  Their brain has hardwired itself to focus on other threats.”

“And you think the Aperanjens have similar rules?”

“You heard the Admiral.”

“Well, I’m glad you won.  I wonder if the Admiral remembers we were broadcasting it to the other ship.  And that means everyone on Aperanje that wants to, will see it.”

“Oh, right, I forgot we were broadcasting it.  My guess is that it will put paid to Captain Zanaz’s career.”

“It should.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie had set up an update with the Empress for today.  Of course, that was before everything had become a swirling mess of plasma, but she couldn’t change the meeting.

“Well, here we go,” Catie thought as she opened the call.

“Empress, how are you?”

“I am well.  My council and I want to extend our thanks to you for working out the arrangements with your League planets.  We can only hope you will be as successful with Aperanje.”

“It’s been a bit more complicated than that,” Catie said.  “We’re seeing a lot of crazy politics here on Aperanje.  Things look good for a deal right now, but I don’t trust it to hold up given what’s just happened.”

“Interesting, please explain.”

The Empress looked like a two-year-old being offered a bedtime story.  Catie went through the series of events that had occurred since they arrived in Aperanje.  She then provided a quick review of the negotiations.  The whole time the Empress smiled and kept nodding her head as if remembering something similar.  She was obviously enjoying the story.

“So, what do you think?” Catie asked after she was finished.

“What have you determined?” the Empress asked.

“We’re pretty sure that a single entity is behind all of it.  Everything is too well-timed and coordinated.”

“I would agree.  Do you have any idea what they are after?”

“No.  That’s what is driving me crazy.  It’s like they don’t really care.  One day the trend is helping the negotiations; the next, it’s creating havoc with everything.”

The Empress laughed.  “Then it’s not about money; it’s about power.  Look for the power behind the throne.  Someone is trying to make sure they stay in charge or is trying to grab more power.  You need to find a way to align with the current power structure, or you’ll need to leave and wait for them to settle their own accounts first.”

“Hmm, thank you.  That gives me a lot to think about.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie was actually looking forward to what she hoped was the final meeting on reparations.  Minister Mortizacian had been so happy after the last meeting, she assumed that by now, he would have a reasonable offer to put on the table.  But, as soon as he walked into the room, Catie was disabused of any thought of a quick settlement.  His face was hard, and his eyes were dark and stormy, nothing like the man who’d left the last meeting.

“Minister Mortizacian, I’m glad you could join us,” Catie said as she gave Solan a ‘what now’ look.

Solan just shrugged.

“The President is furious that you have refused to add enhanced lasers to the package.  I tried to explain the economics of it to him, but he’s having nothing to do with it.  I’ve talked to Admiral Kacketox, and he says that your Commodore Farmer is not sharing any details of your military capabilities.  I thought you had assured us that these would be open negotiations!”

“Minister, please remember these negotiations are between your government and the Fazullan government.  When it comes to reparations, I’m representing the Empress, not the Delphi League.  The League’s military capabilities have nothing to do with these discussions.”

“But you refuse to put their weapons systems on the table.”

“The Empress refuses to put them on the table.  I admit that she is trying to conform to the League’s policy, but it is still her decision.”

“I think things might progress further if I were to speak to the Empress myself.”

“I can try and arrange that,” Catie said while thinking, “no way in hell!”

“Then try and do that; I’m tired of wasting my time!” the minister yelled as he stormed out of the room.

“What was that all about?” Catie asked Solan.

“I do not know, and I would be surprised if our president actually made the demands he mentioned.”

“This is depressing; I really thought we were close to a deal.  Now, I’m not sure what I should do.”

“Well, you can do what you can to sweeten the offer, but I understand the limitations.  Maybe Minister Mortizacian just needs a little more time.”

“I hope he doesn’t need too much.  We have scheduled our departure for two weeks from now.”

“We can only hope,” Solan said.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie had asked for a private meeting with Kragen to see if she might be able to persuade him to change his position on tying trade to Aperanje’s joining the league.  Now she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea, but too late.

“Cer Kragen, thank you for agreeing to meet.”

“I’m not sure why I agreed to meet, but then I thought it couldn’t hurt.  What did you want to talk about?”

“Your position on League membership for Aperanje,” Catie said.

“You mean my position on your ridiculous trade rules.”

“If that’s the only reason you’re opposing membership, then sure.”

“That’s my only reason.  Everything else looks good.  Taxes are reasonable, access to that GalaxyNet can’t hurt, and a bit of support with defense wouldn’t hurt either.”

“Okay, so why do you feel the trade restrictions are so onerous?  As we’ve said, your government is the one to define them.”

“Yes, but within the set of rules you lay out, and those rules don’t leave much room to do anything other than what you want us to do.”

“What would you prefer?”

“No stupid rules.  You should let us decide on our own what we wish to import or export.”

“Do you even object to the restriction on weapons?”

“Hell yes!  We should be allowed to arm ourselves any way we want to.”

“And how do you think the other planets would react if you started to import large quantities of weapons?”

“I’d expect them to sit up and give us some respect.”

“You don’t think that they would refuse to trade with you for fear that you might become a threat to them?”

“Us becoming a threat doesn’t seem to be too likely with you controlling the gates.”

“But we discovered how to make the gates; what’s to stop someone else from discovering the same thing?”

“Well, you might have a point there, but why restrict the other trade?”

“We are only trying to ensure that your government does the right thing and considers the economic impact to your planet.  We’ve seen cases where the current government only considers the impact to one of the nations on the planet and is willing to allow the others to suffer.”

“Hey, that’s why we have a unified government.  Their job is to consider the impact to the entire planet.”

“And that government is always balanced in how it approaches each nation?”

“That’s none of your concern!”

“What about your own businesses?  Don’t you worry about how the opening up of trade will impact them?”

“Survival of the fittest is what I say.  I’m smart enough to maneuver my business to be successful no matter what happens.”

“And what about the people employed by your businesses?”

“That’s not my problem, and they need to be adaptable.  If they can’t adapt, then who cares?”

The discussion continued to circle around the issue for another thirty minutes, by which time Catie had a severe headache and an overwhelming desire to kick Kragen’s ass.  Eventually, she just ended the meeting and prayed that the government would come around.  It was obvious that Kragen only cared about himself.

Chapter 20

Forcing the Deal

After Minister Mortizacian’s fit, Catie had asked for a private audience with the President of Aperanje.  She was surprised when he accepted and scheduled the meeting right away.

“President Rasparal, thank you for seeing me,” Catie said.  The President motioned for her to be seated in the chair next to him.  He’d stood up when the Chief of Staff had brought her into the room.  “Finally, some respect,” Catie thought.

“My pleasure, Princess.”  The President pointedly waited for his chief of staff to leave before he sat down.  “I just reviewed the little incident that occurred when you entered our system.  I can assure you that it was unauthorized and that Admiral Kacketox and Captain Zanaz have been asked to retire.”

“I suspected it was a rogue action.  I’m glad to hear that you didn’t approve it.”

“I didn’t.  And I also need to apologize for being so unavailable, but it’s hard for me to be involved in discussions where I know my hand is going to be forced.”

“How would they force your hand?”

“The people that own the bonds have a lot to say about how we conduct the negotiations; they’ve made it clear that my finance minister is their spokesperson.”

“Ah,” Catie nodded her head as a replay of the negotiations flashed through her mind.  “I can see that.”

“Now, you wanted to talk.  I’m afraid that things have gotten out of hand with the protests.  I suspect we will have to delay any action on joining the League until we get our house in order.”

“I thought that might be the case, but I would like to see if there is a way that we can close the discussion on the reparations.”

“I’m not sure how I can help, but I can certainly listen.”

“I talked with some people about how your bonds work, and that leads me to a couple of questions.”

“Go ahead.”

“What would happen if you paid the bonds off now?”

President Rasparal shook his head in shock.  “We couldn’t afford to; it would be far outside of our budget.”

“Forget that for now; just tell me what would happen.”

“Well, the nice thing would be that the government, namely myself, would then be able to drive the discussion on reparations.”

Catie nodded her head.  “And if the discussion for reparations were resolved and the bonds paid off, how would you go about delivering the reactor upgrades to the various power companies on your planet?”

The President shrugged his shoulders.  “We would sell them the license for the technology . . . Ah, I see where you’re going.  You think I should just declare the bonds mature and pay them off, but in the meantime, sell the rights to the technology to cover the cost of paying off the bonds.”

“It would simplify things.”

“Yes, it would.  Hmm, I think there might be a way to pull that off.  I’ll need to talk to a few people.”

“Ah . . .”

“Don’t worry; I know that my finance minister is in so many different pockets that he has a hard time keeping them straight.  There are others I can trust to help me work this out.  Thank you, Princess.”

“I only hope you can pull it off.  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

“I’m sure you’ve helped enough.  Now, why don’t I have some lunch brought in, and we can talk about the League?  We may need to wait a few months, but I’d love to know the inside story.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie spent the next few days preparing to leave.  She now had a deadline to reach the Thorean system and was anxious to get there.  She hated having to leave Aperanje without solving the ambassador’s murder, but they had all the data, so hopefully, they would be able to ferret out what had happened.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie was returning from the gym when she saw Herr Hausmann heading toward his bungalow.  She broke into a trot to catch him, but also because she knew Fiona hated it when she did that.  Her marine shadows were wearing powered armor, so they didn’t mind as much, but that meant they’d be quick to give her shit if she didn’t keep up.

“Herr Hausmann, how are you doing?”

“I guess I’m fine.  We just finished another useless meeting with Ambassador Hapzel.  He’s now got the three original Paraxean colonies lined up behind him.”

“I saw that coming.  He’s been working them hard, and I’m sure he’s getting help from home.”

“Yes, he is.  Fortunately, Mangakar is refusing to line up.  Come on in, I need a drink, and I need to get off my feet.”

Catie followed Herr Hausmann into his bungalow.  She gave Fiona a wave as she took up position beside the door.  It would look bad if she sat down.  Catie could swear she could read Fiona’s lips saying, ‘I’m going to get even.’

“Would you like something to drink?  I’m having some scotch.”

“I’ll have some water; it’s too early to drink for me,” Catie said.

“About three years, isn’t it?”

“No!  Only one and a half years, and that’s if we were on a planet where the drinking age was twenty-one.  Delphi Forces and the League set it at eighteen, so I’m legal.”

“Ha, not sure that’s a good idea.”

“It’s hard to ask someone to fight for you and restrict their rights at the same time.”

“I get the point, but I’d be in favor of raising it to thirty.”

Catie laughed, “So would my father.”

Herr Hausmann handed Catie a glass of water and then poured himself a finger of scotch.  “Ahh, just what I needed.”  He sat down and motioned Catie to the other chair.

“So, did you want to talk about something, or were you just feeling sorry for an old man?”

“You’re not old.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.”

Catie rolled her eyes.  Herr Hausmann had had the youth treatment, so his body should feel about fifty.  “It’s probably just the higher gravity making you feel old.”

“That and my knees.”  Herr Hausmann made a show of rubbing his knees.  “I have those anti-inflammatory patches on my knees.  But they bug me.  I wish you had some time-release anti-inflammatory pills that you could target at the spot where you needed help.”

“That would be nice,” Catie said.  Then her eyes went wide.  “ADI, I need you to look into something for me.”

“Yes, Cer Catie?”

“Talk to Dr. Moreau and ask her to see if Ambassador Graznev might have been injected with something that contained the poison in a time-release gel or something like that.  Like what the saboteurs did with acid on Vulcan.”

“Oh, that is clever.  We should have thought of that before.  I’m talking with her right now.  We’ll get back to you.”

“I assume you’re chatting with one of your friends,” Herr Hausmann said.  He’d been watching Catie for the fifteen seconds it had taken her to have the conversation with ADI.

“Your comment reminded me of something we need to check out.”

“I’m glad I could be of some use.  I’ve been feeling pretty useless.”

“That’s not fair.  You’ve got Helike and Onisiwo to align with you and Mangakar.  That gives us . . . well, you, five to Hapzel’s four.”

“True, but it still doesn’t feel much like a victory; we haven’t been able to get consistent agreement on the trade rules.  And every time we talk with the Aperanjen negotiators, it feels like we’re pushing a rock uphill.”

“I think it’s because you are.”

“Oh, so you see what I see?”

“We’re pretty sure that someone is orchestrating all the protests and the government responses.”

“Just one person?”

“It might be a group, but the responses are too well-coordinated and the wording too well-crafted for it to be different people managing it.”

“So, what do you intend to do?”

“I’ve done all I can.  We’ll see how it plays out over the week.  We have to leave on the by the twenty-second.”

“The Thoreans?”

“Yes, they’re anxious for us to come talk to them.”

“Seems strange that they’re in such a hurry, and here we have the Aperanjens moving like molasses.”

“It bothers me a little, but we’ll have to see what’s up when we get there.  I’ll let you rest your knees,” Catie said as she got up to leave.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catie and Karley sat in Catie’s bungalow as they watched the press conference that the President had scheduled one week after meeting with Catie.

“Do you know what the President is going to announce?” Catie asked.

“I have no idea.  He’s been circumspect lately.  And he shut the finance minister out of whatever he was doing.”

“That’s weird.”

“It is.  I know the President doesn’t like Mortizacian, but to totally freeze him out is unusual.  Even his chief of staff, Dilmary, has been on the outs for the last few days.  Did he give you any hints when you had lunch with him?”

“No, he just quizzed me about the League.”

“I wonder if he’s going to announce a suspension of the talks about the League?”

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Catie said.  “It looks like you guys need to spend some time getting your house in order.”

“Here he is.”

The President walked up to the podium.  After a few photos were taken, he began his speech.

“My fellow Aperanjens, I come here today to make several announcements regarding the current situation.  I have asked the Delphi League to suspend discussions with Aperanje.”

There was a buzz of activity from the reporters, with several trying to ask questions.

“I won’t be taking any questions today,” the President said.  He waited a few moments for things to settle down before continuing.  “It is clear, based on recent events and the protests over the last few weeks, that Aperanje needs to focus internally, to decide amongst ourselves how we wish to proceed before engaging in discussion with the League.

“I have also signed executive order number 10938.  It will pay off the bonds from our lost colony mission.  The bonds will be redeemed at face value over the next two weeks.  The executive order taps into our military reserve to pay the bonds.”

This announcement created a considerable stir.  Catie also noticed that Karley was struggling to keep her composure; her grip on the arm of her chair was tearing the fabric.

“This is a temporary redirection of those funds.  We will replace them shortly.  After I signed the executive order, I concluded the negotiations on reparations with the Fazullan Empress.  She has agreed to give the Aperanjen government a free license for the technology to upgrade our fusion power plants.  The government will license this technology to Aperanje’s power industry.  The fees for those licenses will repay the money I have redirected and will result in a balanced budget for the government for the first time in forty years.”

“You had to know!” Karley hissed at Catie.

“I only gave him direct access to the Fazullan Empress.  I didn’t feel that I could adequately represent her interests, given the machinations about the League.  Neither of them shared the results of their discussion with me.”

Catie turned back to the press conference where the President was just finishing his speech after all the buzz.

“This technology will improve the output of our power plants and dramatically lower the cost of energy for everyone.  We have also been given the rights to produce gravity drives.  That, combined with our other technology, will allow Aperanje to fully exploit the resources in our solar system.  After a time, this will enable Aperanje to re-enter discussion with the League while on a firmer footing.  We will then decide how we want to interact with the rest of the galaxy.

“Thank you, and good night.”

Catie could tell that Karley was not only shocked by the President’s announcement but that she was not happy about it either.

“So, your business here is done?” Karley asked.

“For now.  We’ll come back when your planet is ready.”

“Are you going to leave early?”

“I think we’ll leave on schedule.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Cer Catie, the doctor and I have finished our investigation,” ADI said.

“And what did you learn?”

“Doctor Moreau was able to find the remnants of a gel in the ambassador’s liver that would accomplish what you suggested.”

“So that means he could have been poisoned on Paraxea.”

“Yes, that or on the way to Onisiwo.  And that conforms with the data we have.  We have not found any evidence of him being poisoned once he was with the League delegation.”

“Now the question is by who.”

“Yes.  Cer Sam and I are working with the Paraxeans to see if we can discover anything, but the timing is so wide open that it will be difficult.”

Chapter 21

Cleaning Up

Captain Westport looked up as a general, followed by two MPs, and three other officers barged into his office on Delphi Station.

“Captain Westport, I’m General Fredricks, and I’m here to relieve you.”

“Of course.  I’ve been expecting you.”

“Good, now if you would?”

“Step over here,” Captain Westport indicated the control tablet that was on his desk.

General Fredricks moved to the side of the desk, and Captain Westport got up and stood next to him.  “Achilles, prepare to transfer the control codes for Delphi Station.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Achilles?  I thought ADI was the DI for the station?”

“The station doesn’t have a DI.  Achilles is the AI that manages the station.”

“I was assured that we would be given complete control over the station.”

“And you will be.  If you just place your hand on the panel, it’ll take a DNA reading and few others; then you’ll have control.”

General Fredricks looked at Captain Westport skeptically but placed his hand on the tablet.  He grimaced when he felt the tiny pinprick.

“Captain, I am ready to transfer control,” Achilles said.

“Very well.  General, state your name.”

“General James Patrick Fredricks.”

“General, you now are in control of Delphi Station,” Achilles said.

“Good.  Captain Westport, you’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, General.  I’ll be in Delphi City if you have any questions.”

“Close the door and guard it,” the general instructed the MPs once Captain Westport had left the office.  The general looked at the three other officers with a look bordering on disdain.  “You three, go find something to do.”

Once the office was clear, the general sat at the desk.

“Achilles, where is ADI?”

“I do not have that information.”

“Do you know who ADI is?”

“Yes, General, she is President McCormack’s DI.”

“What do you mean, President McCormack’s DI?  I was told that she was the DI for Delphi Station.”

“I’m sorry, General, but you were misinformed.  Possibly because ADI took care of all of President McCormack’s requests, many of which were related to Delphi Station.”

The general clenched his jaw so hard that there was a serious risk that he’d crack a molar.

“Achilles, tell me about the anti-matter reactor.”

“General, I’ve read about anti-matter reactors, mostly in your science fiction, but I am unaware of any actual designs or functional ones.”

The general shook his head and let out a sigh.

“Then, Achilles, list the assets here on Delphi Station.”

“Do you wish for them to be listed audibly, on your HUD, or on the display?”

“On the damn display.”

“Listed.”

The general started to peruse the list.  “Achilles, why are no Foxes listed here?”

“General, Delphi Station has no Foxes assigned to it.”

“What about the Oryxes?”

“All Oryxes belong to MacKenzie Shipping and are based in Delphi City.”

“And Lynxes?”

“All Lynxes belong to Peregrine Airlines and are based in Delphi City.”

“Damn it.  Do we at least own a shuttle?”

“General, there are two shuttles assigned to Delphi Station, but they are owned by Peregrine Airlines.”

“Where is all the manufacturing you listed here?”

“Manufacturing is located in Hub-1, Hub-2, Ring-1, and Ring-4.  There are also a few small facilities in Ring-6.”

“Where are the Plasma Cannons manufactured?”

“Plasma Cannons are no longer manufactured on Delphi Station.”

“What about the lasers?”

“Lasers are manufactured in Hub-2, section-4.”

The general smiled.  “Good, show me the specs on them.”

Achilles put the specs for the lasers on the General’s display.

“What’s this?”

“The specs for the lasers.  There are two variations manufactured.”

“What’s their power rating?”

“5000 Watts.”

“What kind of weapon is that?”

“It’s not a weapon; it’s a welder.  There are no weapons manufactured on Delphi Station.”

“Damn it,” the general yelled.  He clenched his fist and closed his eyes as he thought furiously, looking for options.  “All this cannot be for nothing.  . . . Aha.  Achilles, put up the design documents for the plasma cannon.”

“General, I do not have access to that documentation.”

“What about the documentation for the fusion reactor?”

“I do not have that documentation.”

“But you must have one?”

“I do.  There are three fusion reactors in use on Delphi Station.  I also have two backup reactors.”

“Where are they?”

Achilles put up a map of Delphi Station, showing the location of the reactors.  “General, I must advise against any attempts to examine the internal workings of the reactors.  If any attempt to open them is detected, they will stop generating power and fuse solid.  And I only have two backups.”

“Grrr.  What about the gravity drives?”

“General, gravity drives are not manufactured on Delphi Station.”

“Tell me about the IC manufacturing I see here?”

“There are two facilities here on Delphi Station.  Vancouver Integrated owns one, and the Russian consortium owns the second one.”

“Which one manufactures their Comms?”

“Whose Comms?”

“The ones used by Delphi Forces!” the general yelled.

“Those are not manufactured on Delphi Station.”

“Where are they manufactured?”

“I do not have that information.”

“What use are you?!”

“General, I can assure you that I’m quite useful.  I manage all the power on Delphi Station, monitor all space traffic in the vicinity, provide control for . . .”

“Stop!  What manufacturing is done here?”

“General, I sent you the list.”

“Just tell me what is here; sort it by value.”

“MacKenzie Solar manufactures their solar panel arrays here.  MacKenzie Glassworks manufactures polyglass.  Vancouver Integrated manufactures integrated circuits here; most of them are used in the cellphones they manufacture in Delphi City.  They also produce memory circuits that they sell to various companies . . .”

“Yeah, yeah, go on.”

“The Russian Consortium manufactures a special lubricant here that is quite profitable; they also manufacture computer chips that they use in cellphones that they produce.”

The general just sat there and shook his head as Achilles continued to list all the manufacturing on Delphi Station.

◆ ◆ ◆

When General Fredricks landed in Delphi City, he called Damien.  He didn’t message him from the station since he was afraid that there was enough surveillance there that he would be caught.  He was staying at the Four Seasons for the night before flying back to the Pentagon.

“Damien.”

“Yes, General?”

“There’s nothing there.  I have control of the AI on the station, but it doesn’t know shit.  It’s just a glorified paper-pushing computer.”

“What about weapons systems?”

“They rely on Foxes to protect the station, and the ones that are there belong to Delphi City.  The Lynxes and the shuttles belong to Peregrine Airlines.  There are fusion reactors on the station, but they’re set to self-destruct if they’re tampered with.”

“And the production of the Comms?”

“Not on the station anymore.  They must have moved everything to one of the colonies or some hidden location.”

“You should have moved faster,” Damien said.

“Hey, they must have moved this stuff months ago, if not a year or so.  They saw us coming.”

Damien sighed.  “Very well, I’ll have a limo pick you up at Reagan International tomorrow.  We can chat after you get back to the Pentagon to see if you can learn anything else.”

General Fredricks was ticked off.  How dare Damien talk to him like he was some kind of school kid.  He was a four-star general.  He’d been instrumental in getting the Unified Forces agreement in place.  It had been his suggestion that they bypass the United Nations and just form an Earth Federation government, set up the rules, and force the rest of the nations would join.  No matter that that bimbo Captain Joshi had given him the idea.  It was his credibility that had sold it.

Hell, he should just retire.  Now that Mexico had merged with the United States, Baja would be a great place to grab an ocean-front property.  He could leave his wife in D.C., where she could play with her socialite friends, and head to the coast.

Yeah, screw that Damien, he’d soon figure out that James Fredricks was his own man.

◆ ◆ ◆

As soon as he hung up with the General, Damien called his fixer.  “Marcus, I have a job for you.”

“Sure thing, what do you need?”

“General Fredricks has outlived his usefulness.”

“Okay, I assume you want it to look like an accident.”

“Of course.”

“What about the kid?”

“I don’t want anyone to suspect that someone is cleaning up behind themselves.”

“Hey, once the general dies, nobody would be surprised that his son got drunk, so drunk that he choked on his own vomit.”

“Maybe.”

“I’ll do it for half price, 20K.  And on the plus side, we’ll make Boston a safer city with that piece of shit out of the way.”

“Okay.”

◆ ◆ ◆

General Fredricks was truly pissed when his plane finally landed at Reagan International.  He was mad that he’d had to fly to Delphi City to get a shuttle to Delphi Station.  He was furious that he’d found nothing of value on Delphi Station.  And he was mad that he’d had to book a commercial flight back to Reagan International.  He knew that the McCormacks would just have flown directly from the station to the Pentagon, but for him, there were no Lynxes available to transport him.  The bastards.  At least he’d managed a first-class seat.

As he exited the terminal, he smiled for the first time in days.  They had sent a limo to pick him up.  He was carrying his own luggage, another insult.  His aide had not been able to get a ticket.

“General Fredricks?” the chauffeur asked.

“Yes,” the general confirmed.

The chauffeur opened the door to the limo and took the general’s bag.  After placing it in the trunk and closing the general’s door, he climbed into the driver’s seat and turned to the general.

“The Pentagon, or do you wish to go to your residence first?”

“The Pentagon.”  The general sat back in the plush seat and tried to relax.  It was hard.  His nerves were a bit frayed.  “What a complete waste of time.”

“Privacy?”

“Please.”

The chauffeur pressed a button, and the glass screen between the driver’s compartment and the passenger’s rolled up and sealed the general in.

As they turned onto the George Washington Memorial Highway, the chauffeur tapped a key on his phone.  With the limousine’s darkened windows and soundproofing, nobody noticed when the general yelled out, clutched his throat, and collapsed.  Once he had collapsed, the chauffeur tapped a second key on his phone, and the passenger compartment filled with smoke.

The general wasn’t alive to complain when the chauffeur drove over the I-95 bridge and took the exit to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove.  Winding his way through the grove, he made it to the parking lot.  It was late on a Thursday evening, so the grove was empty.  The chauffeur pulled into a parking space next to a white van.

“Jones, you ready?”

“Yes.  He’s right here.  Just had a heart attack.  He should know better than to take that medication with alcohol.”

“Good, help me move him.”

The two men moved the dead chauffeur to the limousine, putting him into the driver’s seat.  The fake chauffeur opened the rear door and raised the rear-facing seat.  He removed the two gas canisters, replaced the seat, and closed the door.

“Are you ready?”

“I’ve loosened the fuel line.  It should start a nice fire, and if it doesn’t, I can shoot this here popgun and make sure it starts.  The pellet will ignite on contact, won’t leave a trace.”

“Good.”  The chauffeur pulled a small box out of the van.  Seating himself on the floor, he engaged the limousine’s automatic driving system which he’d already hacked.  Then he started driving the limousine by remote control.  “Once it’s on the I-95, I’ll just drive it into a bridge stanchion.”

“You’ll want to make sure it’s doing at least fifty.”

“Not a problem.  Once the chauffeur has his heart attack, I suspect he’ll shove his foot on the gas.”

After the limousine crashed, Marcus made a call.

“Sir, it’s taken care of.”

“Excellent.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Breaking news:  General Fredricks, the President’s military adviser on the formation of a unified planetary government, was killed in a traffic accident last night.  His chauffeur-driven limousine crashed into a bridge embankment and burst into flames.  Both the chauffeur and the general were killed.  Preliminary reports indicate that the chauffeur suffered a massive coronary while driving.

◆ ◆ ◆

Two days later, at 2:00 a.m., Marcus was waiting in the room across the hall from Stan Fredricks.  He knew Stan and his roommate were at a frat party being encouraged to drink by a particularly good-looking blond named Melissa.  They should be getting home just about now.

“Gawd, he’s drunk,” Melissa said.

“I know; I can’t believe he drank that much.  I thought I was keeping pace with him.” The roommate hiccupped.

“No, I think he was grabbing an extra shot whenever he went to the bar.”  Of course, she didn’t tell him that she was adding 190 proof Everclear to Stan’s drink every chance she got.

“Hic . . . Are we there yet?” Stan asked.

“Almost, Bub,” his roommate said.  He propped Stan up against the wall as he fished out his key and opened the door.

As soon as the door was open, Melissa pushed Stan into the room, then turned and headed back down the hall.

“Hey, I thought we were going to spend some time together,” the roommate complained.

“We can, but not in that room.  I’ve done my civic duty for the day.  He’s home, and he didn’t drive.  Now I’m heading to the beach at Pleasure Bay.  Are you coming?”

“Don’t you think we should put him to bed?”

“He’s a big boy, and we’re lucky he hasn’t barfed on us yet.  I’m not taking any more chances.”

That sealed the deal.  The roommate reached in and locked the door; he slammed it behind him as he headed out after Melissa.

Marcus gave them ten minutes before he exited the room that he was waiting in.  He quickly checked the hallway before pulling out a lock pick and unlocking the room.  It was only thirty seconds before he was inside.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite rapist,” Marcus said to Stan, who was passed out on the floor.  Marcus kicked him to wake him up, then helped him into his room.  He pushed him toward the bed, letting him fall into it on his own.  Then he rolled him onto his back.  Pulling a set of slings out of the backpack he was carrying, he crossed Stan’s arms across his chest.  Marcus carefully fitted the one sling around his right arm, then the other around his left, before tucking them under the mattress.  Passive restraints, there would be no sign of them once this was over.

Stan was indeed drunk.  Melissa had done an exceptional job.  He’d used her before, and she was always reliable.  Marcus pulled a tongue depressor out of his bag, grabbed Stan’s hair, and inserted the tongue depressor into his mouth.  It took a moment to work it back far enough to trigger the gag reflex, but when he did, enough vomit came up to drown a basketball team.

Marcus kept hold of Stan’s hair as Stan struggled to turn his head so he could breathe.  It took two minutes before he finally passed out again; he’d be dead in another three minutes.  Marcus used the time to clean up.  He removed the slings, smeared the vomit that had hit them onto Stan’s shirt, so it looked correct.  He packed up, wiped down any place that he might have touched, then patiently waited until he was sure Stan was dead.

“Lucy, this one’s for you.”

◆ ◆ ◆

The next morning there was a short note in the Boston Globe.

‘Stan Fredricks, the son of General Fredricks, was found dead in his room at his frat house.  He apparently got drunk, probably mourning the death of his father.  He was alone and choked on his own vomit during the night.’

Chapter 22

Time to go

Catie left the President’s office, where they’d said their formal farewells.  She wanted to drop by Karley’s office and thank her for all the help, so she made a quick detour, causing Morgan and her Aperanjen escorts to almost collide.

When she entered the vestibule of the trade minister’s office suites, she could see Karley through the open door of her office.  Catie had never figured out why Karley seemed so miffed when the President announced the agreement that he’d reached with the Fazullan Empress.  And since her boss had immediately pulled her as Catie’s liaison after the announcement, she’d never had a chance to delve into it.

Karley looked surprised to see Catie.  She turned and said something to the person she was talking to, then waved Catie in.  As soon as Catie made it to the doorway, she recognized Solan.

“Princess, are you on your way out?” Karley asked.

“Yes, but I wanted to say goodbye and thank you for all your help.”

“It was my pleasure,” Karley said.

Solan was sitting back in his chair; his head was almost next to Karley’s.  It was the first time that Catie had seen them side by side.

“ADI, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Catie messaged.

“I’m sure I’m seeing what you’re seeing, but it is unlikely that I’m interpreting it the way you are since I don’t see anything unusual.”

“What are the chances that Karley and Solon are related?”

“There is a 53 percent chance that they are siblings and a 75 percent chance that they are first cousins.”

“Solan, how nice to see you.  I haven’t had a chance to thank you for all your help,” Catie said.

“I don’t think I was that much help.  The negotiations blew up in the end.”

“ADI, can you . . .”

“Cer Catie, I’ve anticipated your next question.  There is a forty-two percent chance that they are the offspring of the current Augustus Primus and a sixty-eight percent chance that they are his niece and nephew.”

“Princess, is there something else?” Karley asked.

“Yes, why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you two undermine the negotiations?”

“What!” Karley cried out.

“Oh, give it up; you’re brother and sister!”

“I can assure you that we are not.”

“Cer Catie.  I’ve researched the records.  These two are not the Karley and Solan who graduated from high school.  Those two apparently have disappeared, and these two have taken their place.”

“Why would your parents send you to university under assumed names?  Well, I kind of get that, but why continue the charade?”

“I told you, we are not . . .”

“Cassia, give it up; she knows,” Solan said.  “You’re right.  Our family always sends its children into the world under assumed names.  We have to make our way on our own.  We do get some help from other family members, but nothing overt.  It’s kind of a test to see who should succeed the primus.  They set up the McArvarly Trust to ensure we would have suitable doubles.”

Catie shook her head.  “And it lets you aid your family without anyone realizing it.”

“There is that benefit,” Solan said.  “My name is actually Loxino,” ADI said ‘Loxino’ at the same time as Solan.

“I assume you managed to get hold of the old quantum relay and have been getting some help from Paraxea.”

Loxino rolled his eyes at the mention of Paraxea; he then put on a straight face to cover his blunder.

“ADI?”

“Cer Catie, I will work with Sam to figure out who has the relay.”

“Okay, so again, why?  Why would you derail your planet’s admission into the League?”

“I’m sure that we’ve only delayed that by one, maybe two years,” Solan said.

“To what end?”

“We needed time to get people in place so we could control the changing situation.”

“How can you do that?  Aren’t the ministers appointed by the President and approved by your parliament; surely you don’t control the President.”

“Not all the important positions are in the government.  And the government ministers don’t actually run their departments; it’s the people that have worked there for years that do the work.  We’re just making sure that the ones who are there are our friends, and those who aren’t, we’re arranging to have moved into less influential roles.”

“And for that, you’re willing to risk not being part of the interstellar community?”

“We’ve been doing fine.  We were opposed to that stupid colony mission — what a waste of resources.  But the allure of discovery convinced everyone that it would be worth it.  We haven’t overtaxed our planet like your people did to Earth.  We don’t need to go anywhere.  And some primal urge to spread our DNA throughout the galaxy; get real.”  Solan was spitting at the end of his little diatribe.

“So, you would rather go it alone?” Catie asked.

“If necessary.  You see, on Aperanje, we have a saying.  ‘I would rather be the ruler of a shack than serve in a palace.’”

“So, it was all about power.”

“Of course, it was,” Karley said.  “And if you don’t understand that, then your League will not last.”

“I think we’ll do just fine,” Catie said as she turned to leave, then she had another thought.  “What about defense?”

“Aye, there’s the rub,” Solan said.  “Another starfaring civilization might not be as civilized as you are.  We could have someone like the Fazullans show up, so I suspect we’ll be joining your League.  But on our terms.”

Catie just shook her head.

“Princess, can we count on you to keep our secret?  It would be extremely disruptive if you were to reveal what you know.”

“I’ll think about it,” Catie said.

“She’s learning,” Solan whispered to Karley as Catie left the office.

◆ ◆ ◆

It only took a quick call to the President of Paraxea for Samantha to discover that Minister of Intelligence Monafar had gotten the relay.  Since he would also have had access to the neurotoxin, the President had assured Samantha that they would investigate the minister and determine if he had anything to do with Minister Graznev’s death.

Chapter 32

The Mission Continues

;

“We jump tomorrow,” Liz told Catie.

“Good.  I’m ready to start strangling some of these delegates.  You would think they’d be better behaved after that nightmare on Aperanje.”

“Hey, we all survived, and I’m sure Aperanje will be joining the League soon.  The President seemed to be appreciative of your advice.”

“Yes, but what do Solan and Karley have planned?”

“To come out on top.”

“Besides that?” Catie asked

“I really think that’s it.  Now, are you going to call the Thoreans before we jump?”

“No, I think I’ll wait until you’ve had a chance to survey the system.  Their eagerness worries me, and after what the Aperanjens tried, caution seems appropriate.”

“Good girl.  You’re learning.”

“Call me before we jump.”

Liz snorted.  “As if Aventurier and ADI wouldn’t have you notified well in advance.”

“True, but I want to be on the bridge.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Prepare for jump,” Aventurier announced.

Catie walked onto the bridge.  “How does it look?”

“Their gas giants are lined in advance of their planet, so the zero-gravity point should be around fifty degrees east of the planet.”

“Have you sent the probe yet?”

“We just launched it.”

“Probe shows all clear,” the navigator announced.

“Very well.  Initiate jump,” Liz ordered.  Then two minutes later, she announced, “We’re now in the Thorean system.”

“Chesapeake just completed her jump,” the sensor operator announced.

“Captain Frankham, please jump the Chesapeake to fifty degrees below the ecliptic,” Liz ordered.

“Aye, aye, Ma’am,” Captain Frankham replied.

“Navigator, plot a jump to take us up fifty degrees.”

“Aye, Aye, Captain.”

“What now?” Catie asked once they had completed the jump.

“I think it’s time to try out the Fazullan’s gravimetric sonar.  What do you think?”

“It might be faster.  Scouring all the image data is going to take some time,” Catie replied.

“One ping,” Liz ordered.

“Aye, one ping,” the sensor operator acknowledged.

“If they’re tucked in next to a gas giant, it’ll be hard to pick them up,” Catie said.

“Yes, but that’s where we have our telescopes aimed.  The ping is just in case someone’s drifting in empty space.”

“I see.”

“Navigator, initiate jump in five minutes,” Liz ordered.

“Aye, Commodore.”

“So, what are we going to do for eight to twelve hours?”

“It might only be a few minutes if we get lucky with the telescopes?”

“True.  Can you imagine complaining that the speed of light is too slow?”

“It can be annoying.  Care to play a game of chess?” Liz asked.

“Not poker?”

“Pfft, not on your life.”

◆ ◆ ◆

“Cer Liz, Aventurier and I have completed our first pass through the image data, we have some interesting results,” ADI announced.  It had only been three hours since they and done a skip jump to gather more data as well as to keep them at the fringe of the Thorean system.   ADI was making a point that she and Aventurier and done an exceptionally fast job of analyzing all the data.

“If you’ll turn your attention to the third gas giant.”

Afterword

Thanks for reading Delphi Envoy!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the fourteent book in the Delphi in Space series.  If you would like to join my newsletter group, click here, Delphi in Space News.  The newsletter provides interesting science facts for SciFi fans, book recommendations based on books I truly loved reading, and notification of when the next book in my series is available.

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﻿Acknowledgments

It is impossible to say how much I am indebted to my beta readers and copy editors.  Without them, you would not be able to read my books due to all the grammar and spelling errors.  I have always subscribed to Andrew Jackson’s opinion that “It is a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.”

So special thanks to:

My copy editor Auz B.

My beta reader and editor, Theresa Holmes.

My beta reader and cheerleader, Roger Blanton, who happens to be my brother.

OTHER BOOKS BY Bob Blanton

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Delphi Station

Delphi Nation

Delphi Alliance

Delphi Federation

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Delphi League

Delphi Embassy

Delphi Diversion

Delphi Forge

Matthew and the Stone

Matthew and the Stone

Stone Ranger

Stone Undercover

Stone Detective