The Lonoki Solution

by Sharon L Reddy

"What?"

  "He says that a lot, Kiev."

  "I've noticed that too, Yan."

  "Kiev, captain's papers?"

  "We build spaceships, Dane. I intend to have one. You will be its captain."

  "Why won't you be its captain?"

  "Silly question. Because I'll be the owner. I've about got mine, Dane. I want you to have yours and at least two of you to get executive officer's papers and two of you to pick up engineer's papers."

  "You're right, Dane. She's going to go out and sell ships. Now's the time to tell her you think we should learn the human language."

  "I think you already did, Yan."

  Dane explained the idea for getting a teacher as far as they'd worked it out while he drove to the flyer field. He checked with Kano twice to see if they were getting cold in the back and was even more pleased with his new car, when he told him they were getting less wind than he'd expected and plenty of heat to compensate for the chill of what they did get. The first spatter of rain hit the car just as Dane drove up to the door of the Freedom Wings Flyer Sales hanger. He yelled at Yan to sit still until he got the top up and Kiev giggled. She'd been about to jump out and dash for the door right behind Yan.

  They all got inside before it really started to rain. Kiev pulled Dane away from the door and told him the rain wouldn't hurt his new car. He said he knew that consciously, but had the feeling he should be out there holding a canopy over it. She laughed and steered him toward a gorgeous ruby-red four-passenger flyer with glide wings. He told the person who came out of the office she'd take it and left her standing there laughing, while he walked around the big hanger with the others.

  Dane didn't know much about flyers, but Mal and Kano did. They explained why most of the smaller flyers had glide wings and most of the bigger ones didn't. Dane said he didn't plan on making many landings without anti-gravity assist, but liked the idea of the glide wings in case he ever needed them. Both of them agreed. He smiled when he saw the sapphire-blue, six-passenger Cloud Runner and Yan yelled.

  "He found one, Kiev!"

  "Yan, all I know about it is it's pretty, holds six and it has glide wings."

  "It's actually a very good choice, Dane. The Cloud Runner line is well-designed and dependable, this model in particular. The green twelve-passenger behind it is also a Cloud Runner. I'd recommend either of them. They're the two best of the line."

  "What about the red one Kiev picked, Kano?"

  "It's a custom. We'll look it over, but my first impression was it was someone's favorite toy and is probably the best-built flyer in the hanger."

  "I noticed it had Talad thrusters and a Yomond disk, Dane. They're the best."

  "Thanks, Mal."

  "What did you pick, Dane?"

  "The blue Cloud Runner, Kiev. Kano says it's a good choice. How many passengers do we want the communal flyer to hold?"

  "Good question. Obviously at least six. Your thought?'

  "I borrowed it from Kano. He said that green twelve-passenger is a good flyer."

  "I hadn't really thought of one that big, but it makes sense to have one that will carry more than just us. Let's see what kind of a deal I get on three in graduated sizes."

  The salesperson had to check with his boss to make a really good deal on the three flyers, but it was approved. Kiev checked with her uncle before she approved it. She put Kano on the comm and he told him makes, styles and year of the two Cloud Runners and gave a brief description of the equipment on the custom.

  Tarun told Kiev it was a good deal and asked to borrow the custom. She laughed and told him she got to fly it first, but he was welcome to "borrow" it after that. Kiev signed the contracts and made arrangements for the flyers to be delivered the next day.

  When they got to the car, Kiev said she felt like dancing and directed Dane to the club Jarun had been recommending for more than two years. She liked the look and feel of it as soon as they walked in. So did Dane. Yan definitely did. There were a lot of lovely women in it. Dane informed him neither of them would be drinking alcohol and Yan sighed, but agreed. He knew he was far less likely to be asked his age if he didn't order it and he was a few days too young to be there.

  Dane smiled and asked Kiev to dance. He told Yan to order him a nice tea and she specified a wine, then he led her to the area set aside for dancing. Yan grabbed Taral and turned him to watch. Kano and Mal already were. They found out Dane had a skill he'd never mentioned. He was the best dancer any of them had ever seen. Kiev was rather stunned.

  "Where did you learn to dance, Dane?"

  "One of the businesses my mother's master owns is a dance studio. I was tall enough for two of the instructors to use for a practice partner by the time I was ten. Want to try a human dance style? The music is suitable. It's not difficult and I like the way they dance."

  "Where did you learn a human style of dance?"

  "Same place. The instructors had a trader bring them several disks of human dances. Want to try?"

  "Is there a reason?"

  "They hold each other closely and step together in several of the styles. The basic steps are simple. You'll be able to feel the step I'm going to make. I'll tell you with my body and my hand on your back."

  "I'll try."

  "This hand here. This one in mine. Now I put my hand on your back and we... start. This is called a two step. It's extremely old and about the simplest I learned."

  "I can feel what you're going to do!"

  "It's called 'leading.' One of the disks was instructional. We couldn't understand the dialog, but the demonstration was very good and very clear. I'm about to make it look complicated. It isn't, but it looks that way from out there. Just feel what I'm guiding you to do and trust me."

  "Trust you?"

  "I promise I won't drop you."

  "Drop me? Oh!"

  "See? Easy, and I didn't drop you. That movement is called a 'dip.' Fun?"

  "Yes! I like it."

  "I've wanted to dance with you like this since the day you bought me. This was the surprise I saved for you. I love you. I'm in love with you."

  "I'm in love with you too. Oh, I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives together so much, Dane."

  "So am I, Master. I know. I chose to use it. I am yours, Kiev. No other will ever be yours in the way I am and I know it. It's the way that is only mine."

  The crowd applauded the dance and one of the musicians asked about it. Dane explained what it was and where it came from. He laughed when he got back to the table and four begged to be taught. He promised he would, but told them it would be better if all had practice partners. He sighed and Kiev laughed when all four left the table to find partners. He hadn't planned on starting the teaching that evening. It turned out to be great fun, and soon, the entire crowd was in on the lesson.

  Dane whispered to Kiev that it hadn't occurred to him to use it as a way to keep her as his partner all evening, but it had worked well and he'd definitely remember it. She laughed and told him he'd spoken a bit too soon when all four of the others asked her to dance because she'd know if they had learned it right.

  When they went home, Dane proudly pulled his new car into the huge family garage and grinned widely when he saw his name was on the parking space next to Kiev's. Yan whooped and pointed out they all had parking places. Kiev smiled. Uncle Tarun had been busy. That night the four chose places to sleep in other rooms of the apartment, so Dane and Kiev could be alone. She smiled when he cried out and lost consciousness when he came. She didn't think he'd reach completion the first time every time they made love, but with Dane one couldn't be sure. When he awoke, they loved long into the night.

  Chapter Six

  Dane wasn't tired when he arose early in the morning. He fixed breakfast for them all and took his and Kiev's to the sleeping platform. The others followed with theirs. They talked about what needed to be done and how they would handle it. A conference by comm, with Tarun, Iliev, Jarun, Membis, Wren and the two attorneys in the family, help
ed them figure out how to deal with the legalities and the probable publicity which would arise.

  Membis and Wren quizzed Yan and Taral a bit about what they'd done so far and Iliev told Dane what to wear. The family was ready to back him up with the university director and board. He felt very good about it and quite proud of the responsibility he'd been given to carry in his name, not Kiev's.

  Dane didn't expect to lose his temper that morning, but the receptionist in the University Director's office relayed the message that the director was busy. Students were directed to speak with advisors, who would speak with department heads, who would speak with the receptionist and arrange an appointment with the director, if really necessary. Dane shouted he was Kiev Dane of the Evrun family and required no one to assure he didn't bother the director with trivial matters, then stormed past the receptionist and into his office. The director came up out of his chair angrily when he slammed the door behind him.

  "Sit down! We will talk now. I know I'm busier than you are and this is important enough to interrupt my schedule and those of the masters of the family Evrun. I am Kiev Dane of the Evrun family. Three of us enrolled yesterday. Not long after doing so, the family learned two of us do not need to be here. However, they do need the credentials the university awards. Yan, of family Evrun, is enrolled in the advanced physics and mathematics ranking program. Taral, of family Evrun, is enrolled in the advanced spaceship engineering and systems design programs. Yan has nearly completed the solution of the complete set of the Holoss equations with a higher constant value and Taral has about completed the design of a ship drive capable of using them. They don't need to be here."

  "They've what?"

  "Made the galaxy smaller. The work of both is documented. It has been assessed by Evrun Ship Builders research and development director Membis and space dock chief engineer Wren Taylo. The equations are correct and the power conversion design will work. I'm here to arrange credit for their work to date and get them out of classes they obviously don't need. It is understood there are class requirements which must still be fulfilled for rankings to be awarded, most notably physical education. Now, I think you'll agree, I am not wasting your time. I suggest we get busy and get this done, so that I'm not wasting mine."

  "You said you learned this yesterday?"

  "Director, Yan is not quite nineteen. He hadn't mentioned it because he wasn't done. It came up because the physical education requirements were going to take so much of his time. He was rather disappointed he wasn't going to finish as soon as he'd thought."

  "Nineteen is the lower age limit for enrollment in the advanced ranking program."

  "He was admitted because he lacks only a few days and his academic record is superb. Taral is about two years older, but has been rather sheltered. His work came to light when Yan explained he hadn't planned on using the equations as his research project. He had hopes that the three of us could team to build Taral's system design, to fulfill all of our scientific project requirements. I rather wish we would be doing so. Combining the computer programming, engineering, mathematics and physics project requirements would free time for the music and business projects."

  "You're enrolled in six ranking programs?"

  "No, I am enrolled in six advanced ranking programs. Advanced rankings in the other five fields, in which I now hold basic rankings, would require more than the two years I have available to complete my studies. If the credentials were not important, I would work in various departments of the family company to gain the laboratory skills needed and finish in one year."

  "You're actually quite sure of all this."

  "Director, I'm the slave the breeding council demanded father eighty children. My master was not pleased, as she had carefully planned the time available for me to father thirty, ten within the family. There are currently forty-five females pregnant with my children, most having been brought from other continents to join with me. They brought females for Yan, Taral and the other two of my master's slaves as well, though not forty each. Our master and we five completed the task in the time she had allotted for fifteen for me and nine each for them because there was no more time. It would be pleasant if I did not have to spend two years attending a great many classes I don't need as well."

  "I need to call some people."

  "I request you begin with the Evrun family and staff. They have work to do too and are currently waiting for your call, so they can verify my statements and get back to their work."

  Once he got organized and got started, the director worked fast. Dane smiled when he told Tarun he planned on sitting down and giggling when he had time and Tarun said he'd spent about three units laying on the floor, laughing.

  Dane sat quietly as people rushed into the director's office until the noise of disbelief rose to an uncomfortable level, then he stood and shouted for quiet and told them to behave like the professional educators and scientists they were and not a group of unruly children. The director smiled and thanked him. The noisy group embarrassedly stopped shouting and got to work. It still wasn't accomplished quickly.

  When Dane realized how long it was going to take, he counted and instructed the receptionist to have a working lunch prepared for them, set up as nearby as possible, and to have a few extra meals and settings included, in case the group continued to grow. He told her to have it billed to his household and make sure the room where lunch was served was available for use the rest of the day, if necessary. She asked what was happening and he smiled and told her he'd set off a bomb that was shrinking the galaxy and making distant acquaintances close neighbors.

  Dane smiled when the surprised group was escorted to lunch and the director dropped back to thank him. He told him he thought better if his stomach wasn't yelling for attention and assumed most others were the same. He didn't tell him he had decided more work space was needed and arranged it, nor that he planned on taking over and getting things organized. The director figured it out when he saw the clustered comp stations on the long table and Dane took the chair at the opposite end of the table from him. He grinned and nodded, when Dane stated there was no need to rush because the room had been reserved for their use the rest of the day, if needed that long. He called five more people to join them for lunch and work. Dane had assured there was room for them and there hadn't been in his office.

  Once Dane and the director began teaming, things started moving much faster. The director was quite pleased. The five he'd called took careful note, when he quietly told them Dane had arranged the lunch and they'd accomplished more in the last unit than the ten preceding. They also noted when Dane quietly cleared table service from in front of persons obviously finished and placed it conveniently for the service staff to remove. He was seeing to it that those working were not disturbed. He also saw to it that beverage pitchers weren't empty when they reached for them. It was the type of thing that made the difference between a good business manager and a great one.

  When one of the professors pounded a comp terminal in frustration, Dane got on one fast to aid and two people quietly walked to a place behind him and watched. Dane stated he quite agreed with the professor and spent two units reprogramming the "stubborn" section of the registration file retrieval and update program. He grinned when the receptionist stuck her head in the door and said the registration staff had sent a message of heaped blessings upon whoever had just cured their biggest headache. The two smiled at each other, took their places at the table, pulled a comp terminal over and went to work. They began by sticking a stubborn spot in another place for some exceptionally bright student to find and correct. They didn't expect the student to correct it in two units though. Their stubborn spots usually required about fifty to eighty units of work. The one Dane had corrected should have and both knew it.

  Dane had no idea he'd just passed an exam with the highest marks ever. The director did. One of the two nodded. They'd agreed Dane didn't need to spend two years sitting through a large number of courses he didn't need eit
her. He nodded to three other professors and they 'borrowed' Dane's assistance.

  They wanted to at least partially solve one of the Holoss equations with Yan's value to place in his file "as justification" for recommending he receive credit for ranking requirements on work outside the courses. Dane sighed when they said they didn't care which one and chose one of the simpler ones. He'd passed the first question on the exam. He hadn't needed to look up the Holoss equations to choose one. The three followed his work, as he solved it, and smiled. The value worked and Dane didn't consider himself on Yan's level in math or physics. One quietly noted they should perhaps see if they could enroll in Dane's classes and the other two nodded and chuckled.

  When Dane finished solving one of the equations, the director called for a stretch break. Dane smiled. He thought it was needed too. He was pleased when the two fine arts and philosophies professors struck up a conversation with him. They, of course, had to be there to approve Yan's and Taral's past work in their fields, as being all that was needed for their ranking requirements. He was quite pleased to talk about music, art, dance, philosophy and history for awhile instead of engineering, physics and math. He told them about teaching the crowd at the club a human dance the night before and laughed when the female held up her arms in the proper position and smiled.

  Dane danced a few steps of several dances with her and was delighted. She knew a number of the human dances he'd learned. She told him he was better at them than any of her students and he explained how he'd learned. She said she knew both instructors and the discussion wandered to the way the society and culture had developed out of the necessity to adapt to survive. Another professor joined them quickly, when Dane expressed the opinion it was about to undergo a series of rapid changes and young people felt it and were developing a way to deal with them. The break ended when he finished explaining his statement and the part he believed the breeding council and many caring masters had played in initiating the changes. He'd passed several more exams.