by S. H. Jucha
Jess’s comment invited laughter, and he took the moment to make his escape, with Lucia in tow.
Jess replied.
Lucia glanced at Jess and smiled.
Instead of making for the exit, Jess had approached the building’s lift bank. Jess sent.
Exiting the lift, the outpost leaders marched side by side down the hallway and past the receptionist.
Leslie was speaking to several advisors, and she halted in mid-sentence when Jess and Lucia appeared in her open doorway. “Give me the room,” she said to her advisors.
Jess and Lucia stepped aside to let the Pyreans pass. Then Jess approached Leslie’s desk, and Lucia blocked the doorway.
“Well played,” Leslie offered quietly, so as not to be overheard. She leaned back in her chair to reduce the impact of Jess looming above her desk.
Jess stared and waited. Then Leslie belatedly added, “Commander.”
“This can’t happen again, Madam President,” Jess said in a controlled but forceful tone. “I wish to have a good relationship with Pyre. That starts with you respecting this uniform. The outpost might be in Pyrean space, but it’s independent of this planet’s government. Think of us as a separate home world. Good day, Madam President.”
Jess spun on his heels and left the office before Leslie could reply.
As the couple exited the building, they were inundated by the emotions of their reception committee — Ophelia and Kasie.
Kasie sailed into her brother’s arms and fiercely hugged him. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered in his ear. Then she turned to Lucia, held her arms wide, and said, “May I?”
Lucia grinned and replied, “You better,” and Kasie gleefully accepted the invitation.
“Okay, you two need to shut down your gates, or we’ll look like grinning fools for the rest of the day,” Jess warned.
“Speak for yourself,” Lucia retorted. She was enjoying the emotions sweeping through her mind. They amplified the way she felt after their successful presentation.
Reluctantly, the two empaths relented.
“Thank you,” said Jess, when he was able to focus again.
“Commander, you were delayed exiting the building,” Ophelia said. “By any chance, did you stop and speak with the president?”
“He did,” Lucia replied, “and let me tell you about it over a meal.”
“I’d love to have heard that exchange,” Kasie opined. “Where would you two like to go?”
“Kasie, we haven’t lived here for nearly a decade,” Jess reminded his sister.
“Somewhere idyllic,” Lucia requested, and Ophelia replied, “I know just the place.”
Sharon followed Ophelia’s directions, navigating via the surface’s transit lanes. When she reached the final marker, she sent,
Jess listened to Ophelia, scanned the area via the ship’s sensors, and marked a spot for Sharon.
Sharon landed the traveler and was pleased to be invited to lunch.
The group made a path through knee-high grass. Then they entered a grove of birch trees.
The seeds of the grasses and the trees had lain in storage aboard the Honora Belle, Earth’s colony ship, for centuries. When Pyre’s noxious atmosphere was cleansed, it opened the planet to soil rehabilitation and planting.
Ophelia noted with sadness that Jess and Lucia constantly scanned the trees, low and high, and their hands flexed, as if they were seeking weapons.
Breaking out of the grove, the individuals following Ophelia stopped in their tracks.
“Oh, this is wonderful,” Kasie remarked, and her joy flooded through the others.
“Kasie,” Jess reminded his sister.
“Sorry,” Kasie replied, shutting her gates.
“Understandable, Kasie,” Lucia said. “Ophelia, this place is beautiful.”
A small lake was bordered by many varieties of trees and low rocky outcrops, perfect for sitting and enjoying the view. Fish splashed the lake’s surface in search of insect meals.
“Come,” Ophelia said, waving the group onward. “This is a fairly well-kept secret. It’s run by an ex-security major, a friend of mine.”
They walked along a trodden dirt path that wandered around the lake.
Hidden among the trees were simple folding tables and chairs, which could be easily transported. Beyond those, a small portable kitchen was operated by a man with a gray beard. A woman hustled between the kitchen and the tables.
“The spaces are all taken,” Kasie lamented.
Ophelia chuckled and said, “Follow me.” Then she led them to the side of the kitchen, exchanging quick nods with her friend, the cook. “This is a do-it-yourself operation,” she said grabbing a chair. While others snatched chairs, Jess hoisted a table and followed the others.
As they set up their table and chairs, Lucia asked, “What’s good to eat?”
“Sorry, fixed menu,” Ophelia replied. “You get what’s served.”
Sharon looked around at the customers. “How did these people get here?” she asked. “From the direction we came there was nothing but fields for the final kilometers.”
“This is a nature preserve,” Ophelia replied. “These people take transports to the eastern edge of the preserve. Then they hike here. My friend only opens his lakeside diner for the midday meal.”
Soon the woman delivered plates of food and cups with two pitchers. Briefly, she hugged Ophelia and hurried to serve others.
“Water and what? Beer?” Sharon asked, eyeing the pitchers.
“It’s a brewed liquid but it’s nonalcoholic,” Ophelia said, as she poured cups for everyone.
Quiet descended as the group ate, drank, and admired the scenery.
Ophelia and Kasie felt the veterans’ edginess fade to be replaced by a sense of peace, and they smiled softly at each other.
Ophelia waited until the cups, plates, and pitchers were cleared. She glanced at her comm sleeve and paid the tab.
“What did you want to discuss, Commandant?”
The others looked at Ophelia in surprise.
“Kasie, why don’t you and I take a walk?” Sharon offered, and Kasie accepted.
“Your intuition serves you well, Commander,” Ophelia replied, adopting Jess’s formal tone. “I want to ask about the outpost’s security needs.”
“Admiral Cordelia took care of the carriers,” Lucia replied. “The Earther crews have internal security teams, which we’ll train to Omnian standards.”
“And the station?” Ophelia inquired.
“Good question. I haven’t gotten that far,” Jess admitted. “What is it that you want to say?”
“I’m offering our services, Commander,” Ophelia replied. “We’ve access to every alliance race’s security records.”
“H
ow much risk is there from rogue elements within alliance races?” Lucia asked.
“The days of overt criminality are mostly past us,” Ophelia replied. “Young individuals who show those kinds of tendencies are easily caught and corrected. It’s the intelligent ones, who have financial backing capable of manipulating systems, who must be intercepted.”
“They’ll see the growing outpost as an opportunity,” Lucia surmised.
“In what way?” Jess asked.
“You’ll need vendors for such things as Loopah weapons, with darts and drums,” Ophelia explained.
“She’s right,” Lucia interjected. “We’ll have a long list of supply needs on a continuing basis.”
“And that’s where manipulators enter the supply chain,” Ophelia said. “Our security service can work with the outpost to vet your suppliers from material origins to manufacturers to distributors.”
“I’ll have the SADEs work up a contract for you, Commandant,” Jess said, reaching a hand to Ophelia. “Thank you for your help and for providing a wonderful meal complete with scenery.”
34: Black and Gold
On the return trip to the Freedom, Jess made one call.
Suddenly, Jess flinched.
“What is it?” Lucia asked.
“The outpost is an Omnian construction,” Jess said. “How, for the love of Pyre, are we supposed to maintain and supply it?”
“For now, you order the infrastructure needs from the SADEs and Crocians on Pimbor,” Lucia explained. “Eventually, the tech will spread, and others will compete to be the suppliers.”
“What about implants?” Jess asked, voicing his primary concern.
“I checked with Cordelia when the carriers arrived in system. The Earthers have implants,” Lucia replied.
“What about the outpost’s needs?” Jess inquired.
“After our tour with Mickey, I spent some time studying the station’s department organization,” Lucia replied. “There’s a medical suite, and it includes the capability to install implants. Remember, it was Mickey’s engineering teams, which include SADEs, who designed the station. They’ll have thought of everything.”
“Actually, I was referring to the alliance members we hire,” Jess said. “Each of them will have to accept an implant, and some of them could be new races.”
“You’re right about the challenge,” Lucia acknowledged. “New races will have to undergo testing, and any hire must agree to accept the implant.”
“Which means not only job training but implant training too,” Jess pointed out. “What have I done? I’m not an administrator,” he moaned. He shook his head at the enormous challenge he’d accepted.
“You think you’re going to do this job alone. You aren’t,” Lucia declared. “First of all, you have me.” Then she flashed an inordinately wide grin, which made Jess chuckle. “Second, I expect a good many Omnian engineers, techs, and SADEs will remain behind when the fleet sails.”
“Will you miss them?” Jess asked.
“Yes, of course, I will,” Lucia replied. Then she grasped Jess’s hand tightly. “But I don’t regret my decision.”
“I’ve a question about Alex,” Jess said, switching subjects. “He’s sure the fleet will sail soon. Why?”
“It’s not a subject often discussed,” Lucia said.
The focused stare Jess received made him say, “I’ll only talk with you about it.”
With a short nod, Lucia accepted Jess’s promise. Then she said, “Alex has dreams ... some waking and some not. He sees things that he can’t understand until events get closer. Then he acts on what he finally comprehends.”
Jess’s mouth hung open, and Lucia gently closed it.
“I guess my problems aren’t as tough as those of others,” Jess finally said, and Lucia laughed at what was a most ironic comment.
When the traveler made the Freedom, Jess and Lucia sought Alex. He was in the owner’s suite with Renée and Julien.
“How did your meeting with the president go?” Alex asked.
Jess remained silent, not wanting to diminish the president’s reputation, but Lucia felt no such restrictions. She laid out her account of the events, which ended with the wonderful meal they had at the lake.
“That sounds like a place I’d like to visit,” Renée opined.
“Will Leslie be an impediment to the outpost?” Alex asked.
Lucia laughed. “I doubt it after our performance in front of the representatives.”
“The admiral won many friends,” Jess admitted.
“And Jess won their admiration,” Lucia added.
Renée regarded Lucia. Then she sent privately to her,
Alex had kept his attention on Jess, and he sent privately,
Alex noted that a thought started to form in Jess’s implant, but the commander curtailed it, and Alex chose not to pry.
“Then we’re headed for Hyronzy Station,” Alex said. “We’ve a choice of arriving aboard the Freedom, a carrier, a liner, or via the domes, Jess. Which would you think would be most appropriate in the Tsargit membership’s view?”
“I think our announcements will cause some races consternation, but I expect the six of us will garner the majority’s support. However, the fewer the personalities we ruffle the better.”
“Then the domes would be best,” Alex surmised.
“I would agree,” Jess said.
“We’ll leave when your team is ready,” Alex said.
“Tomorrow morning,” Jess replied.
When Jess and Lucia left the owner’s suite, he said, “We need the SADEs to organize the steps we must follow to bring the outpost to a full operational status.”
“You mean something like this?” Lucia asked.
Jess received a link, and he accessed the file.
Lucia guided Jess to the side of the corridor to allow others to pass. Individuals smiled at Lucia, recognizing she was supporting a non-Omnian, who’d adopted an implant as a mature adult.
Jess perused a calendar. Links within the days connected to decision trees of projects to start and maintain. Within those notes were links to the detailed operational guides.
“Tell me again that some of the SADEs will stay with us when the fleet sails,” Jess said, focusing on Lucia.
“More than likely,” Lucia replied. “We’ve time to entice them.”
“Z said the key to enlisting their support is to offer a challenge. He pointed to the secrets of the domes,” Jess said.
“Then we need to establish bases on a pair of non-alliance moons nearby,” Lucia offered. “The yellow-designated domes they’re presently at are too far away from Pyre.”
“I’ll have the alliance races deliver whatever the SADEs require to investigate the domes ... and
what’s underneath them,” Jess said.
* * * * *
In the morning, a traveler exited the Freedom and made for Triton. It landed in one of the new surface bays. Then the passengers disembarked. They rode a grav vehicle through the surface tunnel to the lift that delivered them to the connecting ring.
“This is much easier than the way we’ve been assaulting domes,” Aputi remarked.
“We couldn’t have you getting your new uniform spoiled,” Lucia said.
“I do look good in this, don’t I?” Aputi announced, preening.
“Enjoy it while it’s pristine,” Tacnock said.
“What do you mean?” Aputi asked.
“New regulations,” Sastisona interjected. “Didn’t you read them?”
“No, what regulations?” Aputi asked, in consternation.
“We regret to inform you, Aputi, that you’ll be required to wear your uniform at all times,” Homsaff added.
“Aboard the ships and the station, I understand,” Aputi replied, “but certainly not while hunting.”
“All the time,” Tacnock said seriously.
Aputi made a silent appeal to Jess and then Lucia. She managed a concerned look, but Jess erupted into laughter — and so did the others.
Alex smiled at Renée. They’d enjoyed the banter. To the Omnian co-leaders, it was a signal that the outpost had a good chance of succeeding.
The journey from Triton to Hyronzy Station went smoothly and swiftly. Every dome administrator recognized Alex and Renée, and they expedited the group’s passage through their domes.
Fistonia received a warning from the Hyronzy dome of the nine arrivals. Immediately, he notified Jarmonin’s staff. Moments later, the lead councilor contacted the station director.
“Fistonia, install Leader Racine and his companions in the same suites as their last visit,” Jarmonin said. “Determine if he wishes to address the council or the membership. Then inform me. Mention Racine to my staff, and they’ll transfer your call to me.”
Fistonia was alerted when the shuttle carrying his visitors neared the station, and he was present to greet them.
