There was a scattering of laughter. Fred made a note of just how widely Snark was known in this chamber.
"Is he alright?" asked the dog.
"He was wearing the same armour I am," said Fred. "He's fine."
"It would appear you have five warships in our space," said a voice near the back, bringing them back on topic.
"No. Only one. The Battleship Warspite is the big one. The three Cruiser sized ships are long range traders. Most of their internal space is cargo holds. The smaller Destroyer class ship was our civilian expedition. Given the escalation of hostilities against our civilians and cat friends in recent times, Queen Jane sent Warspite in case things became worse."
"Apparently they did," said the cat.
"So it would seem. Before anyone comments, the three traders and the civilian are all ex-military ships, retaining their original armaments. When they left our space, we had little idea of what they would find out here, and it's not normal for us to assume everywhere we go is safe."
"We demand reparations," said the valderian.
"Actually," interjected the bear, "it's we and the beetles who will be demanding reparations from you for our lost ships. You have committed an act of war against both of our people."
"You'll be requiring…" started the mediator lemur.
"Yes," said the bear and the beetle together.
"Over my dead body," said the valderian.
"I can arrange that," said Fred.
Silence.
"Joke!" he went on, grinning wildly, before making his face serious again. "Anyway, you are now aware of our warship in your space. Which brings me to this, which happened only a few short hours ago."
He pressed another button, and the battle with the pirates played on the wall.
"Where was that?" asked the bear.
"An uninhabited system about halfway between Scylla and the Cat World."
"Who were they?" asked the beetle.
"As far as we know so far, they were mainly pirates from both the Badlands of sector nine, and from various areas of sector eight. I'm assuming the Brotherhood had a backup plan in place for if they lost at Scylla, had put a bounty on the capture of Seasprite, and leaked where she was most vulnerable to ambush."
"It looked like your people knew they were there," said the bear.
"They did." Fred didn't wait for further comment. "My second purpose for being here is to request permission from this council to allow further Kingdom warships into sector eight. Our civilian expedition has not completed its work yet, and we need to ensure its safety. We also have a small fleet securing our assets on the Cat Homeworld, as per a recently signed treaty with them."
"What is the nature of the expedition?" asked the dog.
"Recovery of a stolen artefact, which dates back almost a millennium."
"Rumour has it," said the hippo, "the artefact, as you call it, is a stone of great power."
"Rumours," snorted Fred. "Since when does anyone intelligent pay any attention to them."
"Well a lot those about you humans seem to be coming true," said the stick insect.
"I can't help that. As far as the artefact goes, it's a stone which goes in a necklace, which hangs around the neck of a princess. If it was me, it wouldn't be worth the time or effort to find. But it is worth it to the princess in question, so there you are. Private expedition. Do we have permission to protect our expedition with warships?"
"Vote now."
The numbers appeared on the wall a short time later. It was close.
"Motion carries. The Kingdom of Hunter's Run may use the jump points in sector eight for the protection of their citizens." The number one chair paused for a moment. "You are however required to give notice of intention to approach any inhabited planet, and to seek local permission to do so. Failure to do so will result in you being required to leave the sector completely."
"Understood and acceptable. Thank you all."
"Do you have any other business for us?"
"Two things. First, the Kingdom has a diplomatic mission being set up on the Cat Homeworld. It is available for any species to contact us through. We are interested in trade with everyone. Our communications network is being extended across the sector, and we invite all governments who wish rapid communications, to rent bandwidth from us. Instead of days to weeks, emails will take seconds to minutes."
There was a major stir, as everyone absorbed the difference.
"And your last matter?" asked number one chair.
"Queen Jane formally asks you to send a delegation to the sector ten council for talks of mutual interest to both sectors. We have the same enemies, and the same problems. We should be talking about how to counter them together. Which includes the possibility of joint military operations."
"Sounds like a good idea," said the stick insect. "They did just solve a lot of our pirate problems for us."
"How long are you here for ambassador?" asked number one seat.
"We'll be leaving for the sector nine council tomorrow."
"You'll have an answer before you leave. Should it be yes, will you offer transportation, and guarantee the delegations safety? I'm sure the Brotherhood would wish to ensure our delegates failed to arrive."
"We can."
"Thank you ambassador. We'll be in touch."
Fred did a slight bow of his head, unlocked his suit, and left the room, Lyana behind him. Neither spoke until they were back aboard Justine's Pride.
"Fuck that hurt!" yelled Fred.
Three
Jane viewed the vid sent to her from herself on Justine's Pride.
She laughed at Fred's outburst when he returned to the ship. He hadn't been injured, since he'd been wearing a suit over his normal suit in case of something exactly like this happening. But all the same, he was still bruised where the shell had hit him. He'd need a few hours in a care unit.
He'd done a very good job. At the last minute she'd decided to let him handle it all himself, instead of just being the barer of her vids. Pulling it off gave him more stature in the eyes of the sector eight council. It also gave him the experience.
Decent diplomatic experience was at a premium in the Kingdom. Sarah was learning as fast as she could, but with a young child, she begrudged every minute away from him. Jane had been trying to get some of the Hunter elders involved, but without any luck.
She turned her attention to fleet requirements. Warspite was going to need reinforcements for the next phase of the expedition. She'd need ships to go to the sector eight council if they decided to take up her offer. Best to start getting them ready now. She pulled Jodie Foster into AI mode.
"You up for a trip to the sector eight council?"
"Sure. When, and with what?"
"Bring your Pocket Battleship into the yard. It'll need crew quarters refitted to diplomatic levels of comfort. Leave a set of officer's quarters, including the captain and XO's suites, to give the illusion you have a crew. But the rest can be fitted out to cater for any species in high comfort for them. Better take a full contingent of security droids emulating security officers, and at least a platoon of combat droids. Not to mention more butler droids than you think you'll need."
"Escort?"
"You can take a couple of the older Cruisers as well. You shouldn't need more."
"When do I leave?"
"As soon as the outfitting is complete, and assuming we have a yes."
"Why aren't you sending the liner for them?"
"It's already on its way to the mediator lemur world."
"Who wangled that job?"
"Patrick Stewart."
Jodie laughed.
"I wondered why he looked so smug."
"Yes. As soon as he saw the vids from the mediator world, he came to me and proposed a mission. His PB and the liner left with a couple of old Destroyers for escort, the moment we received word they wanted to form both an embassy, and a mediation business here."
"I'm glad you thought of me for this job.
I've been going stir crazy lately, even with everything we're doing to prepare for Human Federation traders pouring through here."
"Make a name for yourself as a diplomatic courier, and you might have a permanent job."
"I'll work on that."
AI mode ended, and Jane pondered what Warspite might be needing soon. She sent him a vid asking him.
They'd actually found the Destiny Stone. And instead of ending the quest, there was now an amulet to find, and together they supposedly formed a talisman. She'd gone along with the quest because it was Snark, and because it was forcing otherwise covert types who were more dangerous in the shadows, out into the open. It was a success for her and the sector, simply because of its role as agent provocateur.
But what if the Stone was powerful? It was going to require serious protection in the future. And most of that protection would need to be invisible to Anna. By the time Seasprite returned from the completed quest, successful or not, she needed to have that protection in place. It needed a lot more thought and planning.
Warspite's answer was predictable. He really was taking on his Admiral role seriously. She sent him a short reply with no detail, and made mental notes on who she needed to talk to next.
The other worry was this cold evil presence three Sears had all reported now. Having been with Jon through all his visions, time travel, and other strange happenings, she took such things seriously. But there was nothing there she could work with. All she could do was plan to have enough protection in place for Seasprite, if they found the cold evil instead of the amulet.
A movement on the other side of her desk made her look up.
"Oh hell no," she exclaimed. "What curve ball are you going to throw at me now?"
Ganesha's laughter boomed through her office.
Four
Warspite, Tranquil, Neep, and the team, sat in Seasprite's lounge. Warspite was reporting on the interrogation of the survivors. No one was calling them prisoners, even though they were in Seasprite's cells.
"The ships we encountered were a number of loose coalitions of pirates, smugglers, gun-runners, and other associated individual 'operators', who learned the Seasprite was returning through this system. News of our victory at the Scylla system, and the fact we have the Destiny Stone, has moved fast throughout the sector. My first thought was the Brotherhood set this up as a fall-back if they lost in Scylla, and did it by offering a huge bounty on Seasprite, and leaking a likely ambush point on the assumption we'd be coming this way. This was more or less confirmed by a number of different sources. So this loose coalition formed quickly, and chanced their luck to ambush us, steal the stone, and capture the ships. Of course, they didn't factor in the power of our ships, or the ability of our ship captains, counting on the element of surprise to defeat us before we'd even had a chance to coordinate a response. No-one told them we didn't surprise easily. In fact, they were told almost nothing. Just given a huge incentive to activate their greed."
"We're obviously even more of a target for every chancer in every sector between here and Hunter's Run," said Anna, "than we thought we were. How did the news get out so fast?"
"This kind of news travels fast," replied Snark. "We'd created all sorts of rumours when we started out on this quest, so the search for the Destiny Stone has become well known, even if no one really knows what the Stone is."
"And rumours will have exaggerated its value, at least in monetary terms," suggested Patters.
"And in the eyes of Pirates," added Warspite.
"As for confirmation we have the Stone," said Tranquil, "I think we goofed. An expedition only turns back when they find what they're looking for, or something forces them to. But we won the battle in Scylla, and instead of moving on to the next system as if we were still looking, we're heading back to the Cat World. Dead giveaway we found what we were looking for."
"Bugger," said Snark quietly.
Anna nodded, almost to herself. While she didn't know how to use the power of the Destiny Stone yet, she certainly could feel its power. When she held it, and it glowed with its strange luminescence, she felt she could achieve anything. It was addictive, the need to hold it, and feel the powerful sense of superiority. Now she knew what had driven Vasily. She just didn't know how to harness it, apart from experiencing the magnified feeling of self-confidence.
Was it worth it? Everything they'd gone through, and the beings who'd died? Was it worth losing Jamie? The feeling of loss speared through her again. Would she ever stop feeling this all-encompassing grief? Snark was speaking, so she tuned back into the conversation.
"…Tranquil's ships."
"It's obvious we need to be travelling in convoy," said Warspite. "I've discussed it with Jane. Duke Fred obtained permission for the Kingdom to send warships through sector eight space, and she's sending reinforcements to meet us at the Cat Homeworld."
Snark bristled. Anna could see he was annoyed, when his ears were pinned back, and his tail swished. She was sure Warspite taking control was bothering him. Warspite, like his name, was all military. He took command naturally, but it did rankle with the more democratic Seasprite team, and Snark in particular. Probably challenged his male ego.
"We should consult further with Jane, and have a conference with the Grand Mother when we get there, and plan next steps," suggested Anna.
She'd learned a great deal from Neep, who was adept at sensing all sides of a situation, and helping others to see and take the best outcome for all. She'd developed a great deal, watching how the lemur-like being brought insight to relationships, and he'd helped her develop her own self-awareness as a result. Neep smiled at her encouragingly.
"Good idea," humphed Snark.
Patters agreed. Sissness and Mouse nodded.
Warspite kept his opinion to himself. Tranquil was smiling, but remained silent.
Anna rose, and went to make some snacks for them to eat. They all missed Brindle, the Cat of the Plains who was an accomplished chef, and had kept them all well-fed on their travels. She was now in a goal on the bear world, having betrayed them to the Brotherhood, and tried to steal the Stone to sell it to the highest bidder. Brindle had been close to Snark, and Anna knew it was a sore spot for him. He hadn't realised she was an agent, and he'd been taken in by her charming but wilful ways. Anna knew Sissness hadn't been taken in at all, and had saved her life. She sighed, and prepared some crackers and dips to take in to the others.
When she returned, they were discussing immediate next steps, including a possible stop at Elothera's Homeworld. Anna would like to stop and spend some time there, and she would also like to explain to the Queen what had happened in the Hall of Truth, the place of no time, where she'd come face to face with Anastasia, her ancestor, and Vasily, Anastasia's cruel husband, who had been the architect of a massacre of Elothera's kind almost three centuries before.
"The Stone's too valuable to risk," stated Warspite forcefully. "We should return to the Cat Homeworld as soon as possible, and plan next steps from there."
Snark reluctantly agreed.
"Once we meet up with reinforcements though, we shouldn't waste any time."
Patters nodded, and Anna sighed. She felt a great weight of responsibility for everything, and now for the safety of the Stone. 'Stone' was a good description, as it felt like a heavy burden. She needed to rest, as she was worn out. Worn out with travel, searching, fighting, and grief. Just so tired.
"We should off-load our prisoners at the nearest station with a reasonable law enforcement contingent," suggested Patters.
She was uncomfortable with having them on board.
"There's one in the next system. We can get rid of them there," said Warspite.
Patters and Neep winced, but Warspite didn't notice. He continued.
"Then we can get on back to the Cat Homeworld as soon as possible."
They sat, everyone but Warspite and Tranquil nibbling biscuits and dip, and contemplating what else needed to be dealt with immediately. Warspite t
urned his nose up at the selection, since most of the options were rodent based for cats, and suggested they needed to find another chef. Tranquil just shook her head, and kept on smiling.
Sissness looked across at Anna, and Anna saw the empathy in her eyes. Sissness of all of them, knew how she felt about leaving Jamie behind.
The meeting broke up, with beings leaving to take up tasks, or conversing further. Warspite and Tranquil took shuttles back to their ships.
Anna walked slowly to her cabin. Alone, she could think things out for herself. Rest on the Cat Homeworld, talk with the Grand Mother, and Snettle, the Councillor lioness. And just stop for a time, not have to think of every step to take, every hardship to overcome. She sighed. It wouldn't be for long. It couldn't be for long. They had to find the amulet, and she had to find Jamie.
He couldn't be dead, she felt it, knew it. When her hand had been pulled out of his by the strange force, they'd gone in different directions in the bright light of the void. She'd come to, in the caves on Scylla Prime. Jamie had ended up somewhere else. She hoped it wasn't some time else. She knew he was alive, and had to find him, it was that simple. She had to convince the others of this as well. But where to start, where to look? They'd searched the caves at Scylla as thoroughly as possible. Where could he be?
She lay on her bed and closed her eyes. She knew it would come to her, given time. What if Jamie didn't have time? She had to believe they'd be together again. There was no other way forward.
She wrestled with it for a while, and exhausted, fell asleep.
Five
Arriving back at the Cat Homeworld, Fitzy, Snettle, and the Grand Mother herself were there at the Spaceport to greet their shuttle when it arrived. It felt to Anna like a real homecoming, and she felt better immediately. These cats had become like family, just as she considered her friends on Seasprite to be.
She was also looking forward to meeting some of the humans now here, such as the medical team members still on the Cat Homeworld, who had been part of Duke Fred's delegation. She missed Jamie like a part of her was missing, but she hadn't realised as well, how much she missed human contact.
A.I. Destiny 5 Talisman of Tomorrow Page 2
