“Miss Aragón—Cygni, may I call you that?” Baron Revenant asked.
“Of course.” There really was no other answer.
“Cygni, this is Doctor Suman Rega.” He gestured to the slightly taller man over his shoulder. “Doctor Rega is the bright mind that handed me the galaxy on a plate. He is the one who unlocked the ancient technology of the Cephalon Spheres.”
“A pleasure,” the man said in a nasal voice.
“Doctor Rega will be at your disposal to answer any questions you might have about Fast Mercury. As my public representative on the project, I expect you to know it in intimate detail.”
Rega moved around the baron and extended his hand, splashing water up her legs in the process. His grip was boney and squeezed her hand to the verge of pain.
“A pleasure,” she said through gritted teeth. She was relieved when he let go and stepped to the side, bringing Baron Revenant back into her field of view. “What is Fast Mercury exactly? Does it have to do with your proposed system of instantaneous travel and communication through the Spur?”
The baron’s smile twinkled in his blue eyes. “Naturally, yes. Fast Mercury is the name of the project that will connect every world in the Confederation with the new Cosmos Corporation Transit and Communications Network—the CCTCN. I am happy to say that it has already begun on a dozen worlds, but that doesn’t mean you can’t catch up.”
“That doesn’t sound like so many.” She set her implant to record the feed from her senses.
“More will come.” Baron Revenant moved over to the edge of the water by the glass. “The ancient Cephalon left us a wealth of spheres across a wide network to use. They are spread throughout the Orion side of the Confederation and extend through the Broghite Commonwealth.”
“They do? Doesn’t that mean we could send a fleet of ships instantaneously into Broghite territory? Maybe, we could take them by surprise and win the war?” This war had gone on too long already. People were sick of it, and its end would bring the baron unprecedented popularity.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. The system isn’t quite ready for that, yet. Concentrate on the civilian applications.”
She frowned. “If it could be done, why wouldn’t you authorize it? Millions are dying.”
Baron Revenant locked eyes with her. “Drop it, Miss Aragón.”
She shuddered as she remembered who she was talking to. “I’m sorry, Baron. What are the civilian applications?”
“The communication capabilities we have in mind is a two-fold system. The spheres themselves can be used to send messages, but only to other spheres. Doctor Rega?”
“Systems without spheres will need to have drones sent to them to relay messages. I can configure the system to recall the drones to the nearest sphere once the message is delivered. The delay will only be minutes if the proper communications protocols are used. The real challenge is not in simple messages, but in connecting the Cyberweb between the stars.” Doctor Rega’s voice resonated with passion as he rolled his R’s.
“I thought the Cyberweb couldn’t be connected across light years; the communications delay is too long to make it practical,” she said.
“And that is why every system has its own Cyberweb, at least for live messaging and immersion, yes—but that is about to change. In the galaxy I am building, isolation will be a thing of the past.” Baron Revenant folded his arms behind his back and puffed his chest out.
“That would be amazing,” She meant it. A Spur connected so intimately, like the Earth once was with the invention of human flight, would be nothing short of a miraculous technological achievement. She was at the forefront to record and report it all. She could almost hear her Kaizan Award speech in her mind.
“The messenger drones would not be enough to carry the Cyberweb signal, the bandwidth is too small, and there would still be a several minute delay. In order to bring the Cyberweb to the systems without a sphere we have to learn how they work—learn how to build them ourselves,” Doctor Rega said.
“So we’re using a technology we don’t fully understand?”
“And what of it? We understand enough to take the first steps, the rest will follow in due time.” Baron Revenant turned on his heel to face her, sending a ripple of water across her shins.
She took a deep breath and addressed Doctor Rega. “Okay, so I got the overview. Where is the project now? You mentioned a dozen or so worlds already involved?”
“A dozen already have Fast Mercury stations constructed on them. They are not yet fully operational, but we’re close. We’ll be opening a dozen more stations soon,” the doctor said.
“The details will be in your inbox shortly. For now, I need you to go down to the Elthroa Staffing Corporation and hire yourself some personal staff,” Baron Revenant said.
“Elthroa?” She blinked, that was Baroness Sophiathena Cronus’ company, and though she was his daughter, he disowned her in the public record years ago. It was thought that she would vanish one night like so many of Baron Revenant’s enemies did.
“I have my reasons.” He looked out at the skyline.
She swallowed. “Point taken. Who am I looking for?”
“A personal assistant and a handful of staffers to serve as your secretaries, sub-liaisons, and so forth. You are authorized to hire five in total, but they must all be from Elthroa.”
That was interesting. “All right, I’ll do that after this meeting. Will I have space to put them in?”
Baron Revenant chuckled. “Doctor Rega is the lead scientist on the Fast Mercury project. You will share the floor with him in the south-east tower on the hundred and ninetieth level. Your office is being set up as we speak. It will be ready by your return.”
She nodded. “Thank you, Baron.”
He smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Now, you should get started. I expect this done by tomorrow, then we’ll discuss the next step.” He nodded, not waiting for an actual acknowledgment, and moved around the curve of the room to the sound of splashing.
She looked at Doctor Rega.
“I’ve noticed he’s like that.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. What I’m about to do will change the Spur forever.”
“Regardless of that, he can be whatever he wants. He is a baron—he’s the baron.”
“Oh?” Rega shifted his weight. “Well, they all tend to think that, don’t they? But in the end, they’re all just rotting meat like the rest of us.” He snorted.
She frowned, staring at the man and wondering if he was as big a fool as he sounded or just too egotistical to realize he wasn’t the master here.
The Elthroa Staffing Corporation was housed in a traditional Isinari corporate structure; a poly-glass building that looked like it used to crawl across the bottom of the sea. The park surrounding it was well manicured and had a pleasant minty smell from the bani trees lining the paths. It was one of the places Shkur took her when they first started dating. He said that the tree smell made him feel peaceful inside, and it had the same effect on her, or at least it had at the time. Today it failed to calm her nerves. Perhaps it was the knowledge that the baroness here was Sophiathena Cronus, the young woman who smiled at her own stepfather’s death. Perhaps it was her gut feeling that the baroness was involved in what she believed was Baron Mitsugawa Yoji’s murder. It was entirely possible that the new Baroness Cronus was as ruthless as her father, and that thought made Cygni’s first official act as Fast Mercury’s Chief of Public Relations into a battle between her gut and her nerves.
Courage, Cygni. You didn’t get this far by letting yourself be intimidated by a little murder, or a VoQuana, or—she stopped herself and summoned her strength. For whatever mysterious reason Baron Revenant had for recruiting staff from his estranged daughter’s company, this had to be done. Maybe they’re in league together, she thought as a joke to herself—but what if she was right?
She shuddered.
Within the building the hairless and cartilage-crested Isinari bu
zzed about their business in blue and white suits. She walked through the array of columns right up to a reception desk that was entirely too tall for her liking; her shoulders barely cleared its lip. She cocked her head up and scanned the faces of the three green-skinned Isinari behind it. It took a moment for her to catch an eye.
“Hey, I’m Cygni Aragón. I have an appointment with someone named Clearach’Kul’tearae.”
One of the receptionists blinked, then raised a delicate hand to niur mouth and cleared niur throat. Cygni’s implant notified her she’d been pinged for an ID.
“Ah, Miss Lau-Aragun—”
“It’s pronounced, Aragón,” she said.
The Isinari, a very female looking one with gentle body curves and moderate skull-crest, did a wonderful impression of a mortified human.
“I am sorry, Miss Aragón. Please forgive me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Done. Now, about my appointment?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll notify Haem Kul’tearae immediately.”
“Thank you,” she said.
The Isinari’s eyes glazed over for a moment. “Haem Kul’tearae will see you now. Please proceed to the lifts and take them to niur office. The central computer will guide you with your implant.”
“Thank you.” She nodded and headed for the bank of lifts behind the receptionists’ desk.
The doors opened just as she arrived, which put a smile on her face. She had one foot inside when something hit her from behind, and she stumbled into the car’s back wall. Cygni spun around as soon as she regained her footing and saw an Isinari a little taller than she was in company attire. Niu had wide, green-within-green eyes and an unusual skull-crest that split soon after rising from the top of the convex bridge of niur nose. The twin ridges ran up niur forehead, crossed half the scalp, and trailed down to the crenellated cartilage formations of niur ears on either side. She had never seen an Isinari with that kind of a crest before, and the strangeness of it replaced her ire with curiosity.
“I am very sorry, Haem,” the Isinari said, breathing hard. “I am late for a meeting and I was rushing. I tripped.”
“It’s all right, shit happens. What’s your floor?” She looked nium over, noting the leaf-green skin, broad shoulders, curved hips and breasts resembling a Solan female. It dawned on her then that the vast majority of Isinari she had seen in the company building resembled females more than not. It was strange, since her experience with the species’ appearance in other parts of the Spur was more evenly split between masculine and feminine likeness.
“Ninety-ninth,” niu answered.
“Funny, we’re going to the same place.” She signaled the lift to start moving.
“We are? Are you Haem Lau-Aragón of Cosmos Corporation?”
She nodded.
“Then I guess I’m not that late. I am Aratiach’Ila’Anaeriae.”
“Pleased to meet you.” She initiated a handshake. Haem Ila’Anaeriae tolerated the custom for a moment, then grasped her other arm and slid her fingers down both of them from elbow to wrist—the Isinari equivalent.
“The pleasure is mine. I am one of the employees selected to participate in today’s meeting with you. We received your staff request a few hours ago, and I would be honored to serve on your team. I assure you my qualifications are in order. I have worked with Solans before, including on communications systems and—” niu ceased speaking as though someone hit her “stop” button when the lift came to rest. The halt in conversation was so abrupt Cygni felt disoriented for a moment.
“And?” she asked, but the doors of the lift opened, and with a gesture Haem Ila’Anaeriae led her down a short corridor carpeted in powder-blue without answering. They passed several doors labeled in Isinaru that her implant translated into the names and positions of managers and department heads. The door at the end of the hallway was marked with the words, “Clearach’Kul’tearae, Executive Assistant to the Baroness Cronus” on it in holographic letters.
“After you,” Haem Ila’Anaeriae said.
“Thank you.” She stepped towards the door and rang its bell with her implant. A moment later it opened and she entered the spacious office.
Following the spiral construction of the building, the far wall of the chamber was a concave ripple of poly-glass through which she could see the glossy forest of office towers surrounding the Elthroa grounds. By comparison to the view from the top of Revenant Tower, this one was claustrophobic. It left little doubt that, although high up, one was not on top of the city. The floor was carpeted in white with the blue, multi-lingual symbol of the barony marked in its surface. On it rested a wide desk without any sign of sentiment or clutter on its smooth surface. An Isinari with a large crest rose from the seat behind it and gave a brief nod of niur head.
“Haem Kul’tearae, it’s good to meet you,” she said.
“Welcome, Miss Lau-Aragón.” Haem Kul’tearae met her gaze with a pair of red eyes.
“Thank you. I appreciate you responding to my request so quickly.” She glanced to her left, noting a group of anxious-looking, green-skinned Isinari clustered three meters from her on one side of the room.
“We pride ourselves on a quick response. I see you have already met Haem Ila’Anaeriae.”
Her elevator partner moved out from behind her and headed over to the cluster with niur head down.
“Yes, niu was quite pleasant on the trip up.” She knew that the Isinari, though reputed to be some of the biggest hedonists in the Spur, had a strict work ethic with draconian punishments. She decided to watch what she said in reference to Haem Ila’Anaeriae, lest she get nium in trouble without cause.
“That is good. Niu is one of our best managers.” Haem Kul’tearae followed Haem Ila’Anaeriae with niur crimson gaze until niu was standing among the others. Niu then moved around the desk and walked up to Cygni for the traditional forearm caress.
“I’ve had experience with your species before,” she said.
“I am aware. Your piece on the struggle of Isinari immigrants in the human-dominated worlds was moving. I looked at your Cyberweb stream archive when I found out you were hired by Cosmos Corporation.”
“You’re well informed.”
“My baroness was on the same cruise as you were. The news about your new position was quiet, but still present. I believe your former publication, the Spur Herald, streamed a minor announcement.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t been in touch with her editor—former editor?—since she got back and became preoccupied with tracing the biodome lead. Technically, Haem Kul’tearae was right, she didn’t actually work for Ax’xoa anymore, but it was strange that he hadn’t tried to contact her about it yet. He’s just letting me go without so much as a goodbye, she thought.
“I am aware that you are well versed in many non-Solan customs. I believe you speak fluent Nyangari as well. That’s quite rare in the Confederation. If you didn’t already work for Baron Revenant I would offer you a place here.” The pale-skinned Isinari crossed niur arms before niur chest.
That would be interesting, she thought. She’d be working for Baroness Sophiathena, which would put her in much the same position she was in already if her thought about father and daughter working together behind the scenes was correct. It was too bad she hadn’t had the opportunity to interview the baroness on the Queen Gaia.
“You do your homework well.”
“My job is to keep my baroness informed.”
“I trust your staffers are as efficient at their jobs?” She realized she was just making conversation while her mind chewed over the new thoughts racing through it. Could there be a way to get at Baroness Sophiathena for an interview? Would she want to?
“You’ll find that they are,” Haem Kul’tearae said.
Cygni refocused. She had a job to do, after all, and going after Baroness Sophiathena now would be stupid.
“I understand Haem Ila’Anaeriae has experience with communications?” The Isinari seemed pleasant enough in the lift, a
nd knowing nothing about the others, she figured she should try and probe Haem Ila’Anaeriae’s qualifications. A glance confirmed that niu had eyes on her.
“Yes, niu does. Haem Ila’Anaeriae is also well versed in technical matters, which is a qualification you will no doubt need. We are aware that Baron Revenant is expanding his operations in the Spur to coincide with his new transport system. As I am sure you know, we have several staff working for his new offices already.” Haem Kul’tearae leaned back against niur desk.
“I am,” she said. With this Isinari’s thoroughness she had to wonder how much niu actually knew. Temporary staff, like the type Elthroa offered, could very easily be turned into corporate spies. If father and daughter weren’t working together, she had to wonder why Baron Revenant had specifically told her to hire some from this barony instead of getting permanent people who could be better controlled. It was a mystery she would have to probe when she got the chance, though her plate was already pretty full as it was.
“And I am sure Haem Lau-Aragón is aware of Elthroa’s sterling reputation for discretion.”
“I’m sure Baron Revenant would not have chosen you if it were other than the case,” or so she hoped. She didn’t want to be responsible for information leaks unless she was the cause. “My office will have a lot of contact with other baronies, the public, the media—are your staffers up for that?”
“Of course, they have extensive training. You will find Haem Ila’Anaeriae skilled in that department as well.”
“Then Haem Ila’Anaeriae is on the team. You seem familiar with what I need. Four more staffers will complete the set.” She watched Haem Kul’tearae consider.
“Haem Nyal’klin, Ich’Tilla, Ka’drilae, and Ri’clys, step forward with Haem Ila’Anaeriae.” At Haem Kul’tearae’s command all five Isinari stepped forward—half the assembled group. “Is this to your satisfaction?”
Keltan's Gambit: Chronicles of the Orion Spur Book 2 Page 13
