A Hop, Skip and a Jump (Family Law Book 4)

by Mackey Chandler

  "So we felt, or we wouldn't have left," Vic said. "California was nice before it 'recovered'. They pretty much messed it up again in new ways, once a bunch of new people flooded in from the other states."

  "Is that a story you tell?" Lee asked, "or is it private?"

  "Most of it can be told, but it's a long story, and Victor hates to abbreviate it at all. You may regret asking," Eileen worried.

  "I want the long version," Lee protested. "Do you want to make a start on it?"

  "OK. The key event that removed the old way of life in the state was when April bombarded a missile base on the California coast."

  "In fairness, you should tell her why she did that," Victor interrupted.

  "Do you see why it's going to be such a long story? In the beginning," Eileen started again in an odd theatrical voice Lee took to be a quote.

  "Not quite that far back," Victor insisted, in mock irritation, because he was smiling. "Jeff had a ship converted to a floating landing pad, and was dropping to make his first inspection visit after it was in service. Take it from there," Victor invited his wife.

  Eileen nodded. "This was out in the South Pacific . . . " she picked the tale back up.

  When they were past the saddle by the old fortress and getting down near the flat land around the clan Keep, Eileen was beyond the electricity going out, the ground wave passing that was unlike any earthquake in her story, and her family was starting the long hard trip north. "I'm talked out for now," Eileen said. "The next episode will have to wait a bit."

  "Thank you," Lee said. She hadn't asked permission, but was recording this oral history.

  Victor didn't offer to pick the tale up, and Lee decided not to ask.

  "I expected Red Tree would actually have red trees," Victor said, slightly disappointed.

  "It does, off to the west and north. It used to have a fair number right here but the nuke killed them all during the war," Lee said.

  "North America bombarded here?" Victor asked looking confused.

  "They really didn't give you much background before sending you here," Lee complained.

  "I don't think they had much with which to brief us. Nor much time. You were not as big a concern to The Three just a couple months ago. If you didn't gift them with your own records of the war where would they get the details?" Vic asked. "Not from the Earthies for sure!"

  "OK, that makes sense. You got bits and pieces, like the negotiations that ended the war and the fact we'd have bombarded them if all else failed. Not every battle and action."

  "We got details from Fargone about one battle," Vic said, "and the attack on the shipyard in Earth orbit we knew about obviously. But lots of things that happened off in other systems, sometimes uninhabited systems, we don't know at all."

  "I was stuck on Earth and missed a lot of it myself, but got told most of it when I was repatriated. I'll see if Gordon will agree to create an accurate history of it, reconstructed from the logs. But no, the North Americans didn't nuke the Keep here. Red Tree did it themselves. There were four troop shuttles grounded here to take over, and the Great Champion of Red Tree detonated a radiation enhanced weapon over them all when they refused to surrender, and took the lot of them out. Himself too," Lee added in as even a voice as she could manage. "The trees are near as sensitive to radiation as people, so it killed them as well, out several kilometers from the air burst. That very light green color you see on the level ground is from the new ones planted. You'll see the small individual trees when we're much closer. It's mostly the bark that is red. They're very similar to Earth pine trees or other evergreens."

  "I am instructed," Victor said in a very serious tone of voice, "that I am dealing with a people who will nuke themselves to kill me."

  "To negotiate and accept a surrender was a new thing for them," Lee said, again. "An accommodation I'm afraid the Earthies don't appreciate. The long standing norm among their own was to fight until one side was annihilated and removed from the gene pool, their name gone, and their land taken. But I got the impression it served to reduce wars of adventure or for trivial reasons."

  "There's no vehicular traffic," Eileen noticed.

  "They own a few vehicles, but everything is arranged for proximity. There are paved paths but they use some pull wagons and a lot of wheelbarrows. It works very well. There isn't enough commerce with the outside world to need trucks. The Keep goes way down and spreads out. This surface building you see is nothing. But almost everything is centralized in it."

  "Heh . . . Just like home that way," Vic said.

  That surprised Lee, she hadn't thought how similar it was to Central's tunneling.

  Garrett was standing outside the main entry in full ceremonial gear, his best enameled armor without modern weapons. Lee was sure that was a special effort for their guests. She was glad she called ahead to tell the Mothers they were coming if it got that treat for them. Garrett didn't pick her up like a doll the way William had, but then he was still growing and had a good two hundred kilo and a few centimeters to catch up, if he ever did. It still choked Lee up to think of William. Garrett did gently take both her hands in his and lean over and not exactly kiss, but give her ear a small nuzzle. That was new too, and welcome. She leaned into it.

  "The Mothers are working, but expecting you. Go in and make yourselves welcome," Garrett encouraged them.

  That was good. His manner said the Mothers were in a good humor, so they must not have heard anything that displeased them off the news services. By now they should have heard something about Heather's news release. Surely their clipping service forwarded it.

  The Mothers were lined up backs to the hearth at the middle table. The First Mum giving an unfortunate Derf a lecture about something while stabbing a single claw into the poor abused table in front of her. By the cant of his ears he was taking it to heart. The Second Mother was just listening to the First dress the fellow down, and the Third Mother was intent on a tablet while someone stood at her elbow waiting for her attention.

  The First Mother looked up and seemed happy to see them.

  "I've told you three different ways," the First Mother informed the fellow standing before her. "If none of them made any sense to you I'm out of analogies and patience. If you can't make it work, send your assistant to me, because I have some good news for him," she said, making a shooing motion with a true hand to dismiss him.

  "Ah, good to have you back. Sit, and introduce your people," she invited with a sweep of the same hand. "We have some time to talk. What can we offer you for refreshment?"

  "Thank you, a beer would be nice. It's dark and slightly sweet, but lacks the hops most Human style beers have," Lee informed the Foys.

  "I'd like to try that, thanks," Vic said.

  "Something hot for me please," Eileen said. It was cool in the room and she had no fur.

  Lee introduced Eileen first, drew attention to her ring as a symbol of her authority, and explained what it meant to be a peer. Victor, Lee introduced as Eileen's aide at Derfhome first, and then as her husband. She suggested they address The Mothers by rank and title rather than their long full name, just as most clan members did for convenience sake. She explained they were originally from California in North America but had emigrated to Home and then Central.

  "The area in which they lived had a huge upheaval and loss of population after an incident with an armed Home vessel and a missile base on their coast was bombarded. They lived through that and the subsequent loss of order and recovery as a semi-autonomous area. They just made a start on telling me the story in detail on our walk in from your mailbox."

  "And you are welcome to tell the tale to us as much as pleases you," the First Mother invited. "We have seen the press release your sovereign put out and welcome your posting. Since you will be here some time, we hope you will visit us regularly so we know each other and can feel more confident how to address each other if difficult questions arise.

  "It's interesting. The press release was sent to u
s directly by Heather, but the same ship mail carried clips of its release by our agency. They had copies from Europe and Asia as well as Brazil and Chile, and the Lunar Republic, but nothing from North America or China. They seem to be censoring it from their populations, as Lee told us," the Mother speculated.

  "This is common," Vic acknowledged. A young Derf sat a mug in front of him and another for Lee. They were a smallish Derf mug and only half full, but still at least a full liter.

  "It might signal they don't accept it, but yes, they simply ignore a lot of our statements without actively opposing them," Eileen agreed. "Wait until the Martian Republic gets around to commenting on the release. They are taking their time incorporating the maximum nastiness they can compose and waiting for anybody else to accept it so they can denounce them as race traitors at the same time."

  "We've read some of their . . . statements. If we thought they had any way to implement their policies it would have been an imperative to use all the resources of our nation to destroy them," the First Mother said.

  "I've been told by Heather and her peers that neither Fargone nor New Japan will sell them weapons. They have no law against doing so, but recognize they are crazies," Eileen said. A steaming mug of coffee was put at her elbow and she thanked the server.

  "So they've tried?" the First Mum asked.

  "Oh yes, and they tried to buy from Fargone secretly through third parties," Eileen revealed. "They were told in the usual blunt Fargoner manner that the next attempt would result in a free sample, ballistically delivered. When you have eighty percent of your population in one small city that's not something to risk."

  "Yes, we've noticed the Fargoers have an economy of expression that is almost an art form," the First Mother said with a smile. To their credit the Foys didn't flinch.

  "We shall be adding our voice of approval in regard to your presence," the First Mother assured the Foys. "Let us know any way we can make your task easier. We gave the Badger and Bill embassy a plaque for public display in case the city folk had a problem with them."

  "We saw," Eileen said. "We had lunch with Singer already, and although he didn't point it out, it was very prominent. That would be a great kindness if you want to do the same for us."

  "Bah! Great kindness? It's a small gesture compared to your own," the First Mother said. "The press release said everything of importance, but I'm sure we would find interest in the behind the scene details of how Lee accomplished this agreement."

  "I'm sure Lee has a recording of the negotiations with Heather. It comes down to the fact she decided, or was convinced, it was in our own best interests too," Eileen said.

  "I do," Lee confirmed. "I have it on my pad and will transfer you a copy. You might find it worth taking the time to watch it. Some of the things revealed answer questions that were mysteries to us. Especially, why the Earthies backed off harassing them. I need to give this back to you too," Lee stood, and stretched over the table, returning the Mother's seal.

  "This is a hard copy of the agreement with Central," Lee offered next. "I believe it treats you with respect. All the provisions apply to all the signatories equally. It is much better than an agreement to ignore each other. It also binds us not to release the details of their kind of drive, but applies to them releasing it equally," Lee said, putting copies beside the seal.

  "Us?" The Third Mother asked quickly. She was sharp and fast.

  "Heather is convinced my researchers are going to breach their secret, and containing that was the principal thing she wanted. So it was necessary to bind myself to this agreement to get it for all of us," Lee answered, and held her breathe.

  The Third Mother thought on that briefly, and nodded without saying anything.

  "Very good," the First Mother said, ending any opening for discussion on the matter, and making the little stamp disappear. "We consider this duty we laid upon you successfully completed, Daughter." The other Mothers nodded in agreement. "We have confidence in you, and would call on you again," she assured Lee.

  Lee just nodded her own thanks, surprised she didn't immediately open and read the document, sharing it with the other Mothers, since they were bound by it. Lee could not have waited to read it at her leisure. Lee also didn't say aloud that it wouldn't hurt her feeling if they didn't find some other grand quest to send her off on right away.

  Eileen's pad emitted a loud electronic chirp, right at the quiet pause in conversation. Lee was embarrassed they didn't have it turned off while speaking with the Mothers. If it had gone off during dinner it would have been an even bigger breach of custom.

  "Your pardon," Eileen begged of the shocked Mothers, "but this is your business that is interrupting us. The only thing that would alert us is a possible military vessel entering your system. I'd best review what our drones, serving as buoys on your system edge, have sighted."

  "Sometimes necessity intrudes," the Third Mum acknowledged. "If you are attending to our safety you have our thanks, not unreasoning offense."

  The Third Mother was just a little more modern and attuned to dealing with electronic intrusions than the other Mothers, but they quickly nodded agreement. They brought her into the governance just for those talents, not to sit meekly and never speak up.

  "Is this information from the system scan our station maintains?" the First Mother asked, uncertain about their talk of drones.

  "No, as you will see if you watch Lee's video, we have the ability to make much shorter quantum transitions, jumps, than between stars. Both our ships, and some very useful robotic drones," Eileen said. "We scattered a number of these helpers on your system edge at the likely entry vectors from stars with a reasonable jump probability for Earth tech vessels. One of our drones detected an entry from the direction of Fargone, but I doubt it is from there. That system is closed to Earth vessels now, and this one has hailed the system scan and traffic control already, that it is the USNA Heavy Cruiser Albany."

  "So, they test you," the Second Mother deduced.

  "I'm afraid so," Eileen said. "They announced their intention to orbit Derfhome. Of course with speed of light lag they likely don't expect us to receive that message for several hours. Our drone makes a rather light emission of jump radiation compared to a ship, and that will have occurred behind them, so it may have escaped their attention."

  "We shall still alert our own armed vessels as backup," the First Mother said, and looked at the Third Mother who nodded and looked to her pad to make it happen.

  Lee was frowning at her own pad. "I don't see a new vessel christened the Albany," she protested. "My navigational data is kept up to date. The old Albany was removed from active service and mothballed a decade ago. This doesn't make sense."

  "It does to me," Victor said. "They are still short of ships from the war, they want to push back at us over this. If we fall for this bait and destroy the ship they will use it for a huge propaganda coup. The politics of victimhood is still very popular in North America."

  "I want to intercept them before they expect an answer back from Derfhome station. May I ask your permission to have our vessel in orbit drop to the edge of your lands, the other side of the old fortress we walked past coming in?" Eileen asked the Mothers. "It will be loud enough to be a disruption even at that distance I'm afraid."

  "It's an atmospheric lander too?" Lee asked surprised.

  "Most of our ships are. I beg your pardon, if we seem needlessly secretive. It is a hard habit to break, and having . . . allies, is a new thing," Eileen explained.

  "It can land with that big freight module grappled?" Lee persisted, questioning them.

  "No, I'd rather not try that. It would be tricky," Eileen admitted. "But it can detach from it and leave it in orbit for right now."

  "No need to take the time to trek out beyond the watchtower," the First Mother insisted. "You are welcome to set it down and board from the open area in front of the Keep that has not been replanted in trees. Watch that you don't have trouble with the stone pillar tha
t the people have erected as a monument."

  "Thank you. That will be so much easier," Eileen said.

  The First Mother called a youngster over and gave instructions. He left moving faster than they were used to seeing Derf move.

  "I sent instructions to clear the area. It should be safe to land within ten or fifteen minutes," the First Mum promised. "Since you will miss lunch with us I am having the kitchen send a couple box lunches out for you."

  Eileen almost protested they wouldn't have time to eat them. But why turn down a kind gesture already set in motion? She nodded a deep nod, almost a bow of thanks. When she checked her pad the ship was far enough away around the planet it would take near a half hour to land anyway. She announced as much.

  "Correct me if I lack understanding, but if this is a . . . disposable vessel, an old one they would trade for a chance to look ill treated, how did they get a crew to fly it? Do they not realize they are sent on a suicide mission? That they also are disposable?" the Third Mother asked.

  "When you control everything people hear, and punish those who listen to unapproved news sources, it's amazing what you can get people to believe. They undoubtedly have a number of officers who believe the spacers are evil and bent on dominating Earth for their own enrichment and power. To some degree that's true. We do see to our own interests over theirs. But what they would never believe is we do it to keep from being crushed by their masters.

  "They believe we do everything we can to deny them their rightful position. Which always seems to be over us. It helps build belief that they paint us gene modified monsters and wholly immoral and selfish people. The crew or at least the officers probably believe to their core that they represent everything that is just and right," Eileen said.

  "I'm thinking, if your vision is correct, they will have been ordered to force us to fire on them," Vic decided. "They want an incident. They won't follow any orders to stop or divert."

  "Worse than that," Eileen said, "they pulled this ship out of storage just a few days ago. It had to be fueled and brought up to temperature. They had to stock water and air. They may not even have started the air scrubber cultures and full environmental suite. I'd bet anything they didn't even load missiles. That's a fairly slow delicate process."