Prisoner

by Gilbert M. Stack

  “Spy,” Jewel muttered. She didn’t even try to censor the bitterness in her voice.

  “I’m sorry?”

  Jewel tapped the bioware chips embedded on the side of her head. “The spy in my head ratted me out before the Armenites deactivated it. I really hate this thing.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you do,” Nefer acknowledged. “Many of our children and majorus minor family members resent the chaperoning functions of the bioware. But in this case you should try and remember that the bioware twice saved your life—once, apparently, by piloting your unconscious body back to the surface of the Northern Sea, and then by alerting the Armenites to your presence on that old colonizer ship, Genesis, so that they didn’t simply blow the vessel out of space.”

  Jewel was unimpressed with the woman’s arguments. “I think it’s unethical to put these chips in children’s brains, make them dependent on them from the earliest days, and then use them to report on all of their activities.”

  Nefer shrugged. “Perhaps when you and Kole have children you will change your opinion. It’s not an easy thing to be a parent and the bioware is a tremendous asset in protecting young ones from harm.”

  “That’s certainly true,” Jewel agreed, “but that isn’t the feature I was complaining about.”

  “Let’s move back to the issue of your actions on Valkyrie,” Nefer suggested. “I am given to understand that you lost contact with your miners under the water at approximately the same time the Armenites entered the Valkyrie system. You knew there was a strong likelihood that the Armenites would respond violently to your presence, but you risked not only their wrath, but also the dangers of the deep in a faulty all-environment suit to—”

  The door to Jewel’s cabin opened, revealing Justiciar General Farl. “I am ready to conclude our negotiations,” he announced.

  Chapter Nine

  It’s Built on Blood

  Jewel immediately rose to her feet and nodded to the Empyreal.

  Nefer Reneb did not. “Forgive me,” she said, “but I am not familiar with any negotiations currently on the table between Khaba and the Houses of the Hegemony.”

  The justiciar general entered the room, his face difficult to read beneath his swirling tattoos. “That is because there are no more negotiations to be carried out between us until the marriage is completed. This is a discussion between the betrothed of Kole Delling and the Hegemony.”

  The Hegemony, Jewel thought, not the House of Delling. Was that a good or a bad thing?

  “And yet,” Nefer pointed out, “Ms. Sapphira is a majorus minor member of a leading family in the Khaba Cartel. Under Cartelite law, she cannot legally represent herself.”

  “That may be so,” the Justiciar General agreed, “but Cartelite law is not the operative force here. You are in Hegemonic territory now.”

  “Irrelevant,” Nefer countered. “As under the terms of the Sapphira-Delling accord, all binding commitments between our two polities must be agreed to by the head of the Family and/or House or their duly appointed representatives. Amon Sapphira appointed the Khaba Cartel as his official representative and I represent the cartel here. So I ask you again, what business do you have with a majorus minor member of the Sapphira family?”

  Farl refused to give an inch. “I am not representing Delling interests here, but those of the Hegemony.”

  “In which case this child of my House has the right to legal representation for which I am happily available.”

  Jewel had had enough. “You two can keep talking like this for forever if you want to, but wouldn’t it make more sense to just tell me what’s going on? We can worry about such issues as who’s representing whom if it becomes important.”

  Neither Nefer nor Farl appeared happy with Jewel’s intervention. “Say the word,” Farl told Jewel, “and I will have this woman removed from the room.”

  “But I don’t want her removed,” Jewel told him. “Ms. Reneb is a valued colleague. She’s welcome to stay if she wishes. This way she will not have to eavesdrop on our conversation via the listening devices she’s doubtless planted since entering the room.”

  Farl looked scandalized by Jewel’s suggestion which was probably a good emotion for him to experience.

  For her part, Nefer smoothed out her dress and settled more comfortably in her unforgiving chair, clearly waiting for the Empyreal to begin addressing the subject that brought him here.

  Farl did not look happy to be doing so, but he stood before the two women, hands behind his back in an at rest position, and stated his business. “Ms. Sapphia, you added a condition on the government of the Hegemony which must be fulfilled if the marriage between you and Kole Delling is to be solemnized.”

  Nefer Reneb twisted about in her seat to give Jewel her full attention. She said nothing, but Jewel knew what she was thinking and it started with the words: You did what?

  “That’s not precisely accurate, Justiciar General,” she said. “I actually have put certain conditions—plural—on the government if I am to solemnize the marriage. Unfortunately, our last discussion deteriorated to such an extent that I was unable to finish listing my demands.”

  “Jewel,” Nefer interrupted. “Are you quite certain this is wise? You are being quite generously compensated for your service here. Too much greed could prove costly to all concerned.”

  And Farl had evidently worried that Nefer would join with Jewel to double team him. Jewel wondered if he were pleased now that he’d allowed the negotiator to remain with them.

  “I don’t think this could legitimately be considered greedy, but you’re welcome to make up your own mind if you’d like to. What have you decided, Justiciar General?”

  “Perhaps it would be better if you told me all of your demands before I tip my hand,” the Empyreal suggested.

  “Everything I want depends on you granting my first request, so there’s really no point in considering anything else if you’re not willing to yield on this first point.”

  Nefer Reneb began to look truly concerned. “Let’s not act hastily. I’m certain there is room to find common ground.”

  “No, there really isn’t,” Jewel corrected her. “The Armenite’s have a philosophy that states that they own all the armenium in the universe and anyone trying to develop armenium on their own is a criminal.”

  Nefer Reneb’s eyes widened in shock as if she truly couldn’t comprehend that anyone could hold such a bizarre notion. “Surely not.”

  “I’m trying to convince them that there are other strategies to maintain their dominance in armenium extraction that don’t involve going to war with the entire civilized galaxy.”

  “No, you’re attempting to convince me to drop criminal charges against your crewmates from the Euripides,” Farl corrected her.

  “That too is true,” Jewel agreed. “Your charges against them are false. The Hegemony should be brought before the Galactic Court on Human Rights Abuses for even considering prosecuting my friends in this fashion.”

  The justiciar general snorted, revealing the contempt that the Armenites, and to be fair, the Cartelites as well, held for the powerless international body.

  Jewel continued without letting Farl distract her. “Both things are irrelevant to my point. At this very moment a conservative guess would state that more than one hundred major galactic corporations in places like the League, the Confederacy and even the Cartel Worlds, not to mention thousands of smaller corporate bodies, are searching for new sources of armenium ore. Some may have found it already. We all know Ymir pulled this off more than thirty years ago. If no one else has done it yet, it’s only a matter of time until they do.

  “If Armen and the Hegemony wish to maintain their market dominance, they need to harness the power of those hundreds of endeavors by providing incentives that will bring those companies to the Hegemony to develop their finds. You could do this easily, offering ongoing rewards such as a cash incentive of a few billion solars plus two-to-three percent of the net proceeds of t
he mine either in perpetuity or for a significant period of time such as the first hundred years the mine is active. And you could use my friends from the Euripides to announce to the universe that this is your new policy. Armenium production discoveries will multiply exponentially. Even nations that already claim territory where armenium has been secretly discovered would be willing to contract with the undisputed extraction experts in order to most quickly and expeditiously profit from their riches. Your allies in the Cartel Worlds would also benefit as you would still need our expertise in refining and distribution. And every planet in the known galaxy would enjoy lower fuel prices which would spark further economic and geographic expansion. It is literally a policy by which everyone involved wins. What do you say, Justiciar General? Will you release them? And will you pay a finder’s fee for their efforts in bringing the ore to the attention of the galaxy?”

  Nefer Reneb looked like a proud aunt at her niece’s graduation. She sat back in her chair and beamed with pleasure.

  Justiciar-General Farl was more cautious in expressing his approval of the concept. “So this is your second demand? You want the survivors of the Euripides, yourself included, presumably, to be paid for the armenium we extract from the Valkyrie System?”

  Jewel sensed that she had created a genuine opening in the Empyreal’s defenses. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for Armen to create a broad incentive to keep the armenium monopoly in your hands while doing justice to people you hounded across the galaxy without cause.”

  “And are there other demands?”

  Jewel shook her head. “Nothing substantive, I want you to do right by these people—nothing more and nothing less.”

  Farl considered her words for a full minute without speaking, his thoughts masked by the swirling tribal lines on his face. “This idea of yours is intriguing,” he said at last. “It’s a high policy matter—one which I will personally present to the Council of Elders for their consideration. I cannot be certain how they will respond, but it does present a nonmilitary option to achieve our ends—offering a carrot to complement the tools of military intimidation and domination. Implementing this policy would have wide ranging political ramifications throughout the Hegemony, but it may well be that they will adopt your idea.”

  “And my friends…” Jewel asked.

  “Hmmmm,” the Justiciar General mused. “That depends. Are you truly going to be satisfied with these final two demands or are you following the irritating strategy of your parents and preparing to remember one more item you need to discuss just as we are wrapping up our negotiations.”

  “Let me think about that for a moment,” Jewel told him. “We’ve resolved, at least for the short term, the legal guardianship and education of my children, my need to maintain my financial and physical independence, and the tax issues and investment opportunities which concern me. So yes, these are the last two significant issues I wish to discuss.” She took a deep breath and tried to push the image of her blue-eyed lover out of her mind. “Nothing else that I’m aware of would obstruct the wedding so long as we all agree that future subjects of contention will be negotiated in good faith.”

  There. She had done it. She’d just formally agreed to marry Kole if they would do right by the survivors of the Euripides.

  She wondered if Erik would ever forgive her.

  Farl nodded in response to her statement. “Very well, then, I’m prepared to offer you a compromise on the issue of the Euripides crew. This is my best offer. I will not bend any further. If you do not accept it, there will be no wedding.”

  Jewel felt a churning nervousness in the pit of her stomach as she waited to learn what the Justiciar General was willing to concede. She leaned forward from her seat on the bed even as an equally concerned Nefer Reneb also leaned closer to the Empyreal.

  “The Armenite Hegemony will formally charge your former crewmates with piracy, but suspend sentence for the entire group if they are willing to take the oath of loyalty and become thetes—citizens of the Hegemony who are in violation of the civil code and have been placed under the direct authority and guardianship of a Hegemonic citizen. In this case, that citizen will be Kole Delling which will give you some opportunity to monitor the wellbeing of these miscreants. The thetes and Lieutenant Delling will be collectively responsible for their good behavior. Your former crewmates will have a degree of freedom so long as their behavior remains acceptable.”

  Jewel’s surge of hope began to crash on the shores of reality. That didn’t sound very good at all, did it? “What does all of that mean?” she asked.

  Farl appeared irritated by her question, barking out his response. “It means they won’t be imprisoned and they won’t be executed.”

  “But…”

  “But they have to voluntarily place themselves under the law of the Hegemony and the guardianship of your fiancé.”

  Nefer chose that moment to reenter the conversation. “You have an interesting view of voluntary, Justiciar General.”

  “I do not comprehend the nature of your complaint,” Farl told her.

  “I’m not complaining, just trying to understand your rationalization. What exactly is the choice in all of this?”

  “The prisoners choose whether or not to accept my offer,” Farl snapped.

  “And if they say no you either kill or imprison them,” Nefer snapped back.

  Farl was definitely getting angry. “Yes, that is their choice.”

  “It’s not a choice at all,” Nefer responded.

  “And why do you care about them anyway?”

  “I don’t. I care that you’re using them to pressure a shareholder in my cartel.”

  “So let me get this straight,” Jewel interrupted the two of them. She was truly surprised that Nefer seemed to be supporting her, and a little bit wary of it at the same time. “You’re willing to keep my friends out of prison and give them some measure of freedom, if they swear loyalty oaths to you and become Kole’s dependents.”

  Farl calmed down a little. “Dependent isn’t the proper definition of thete. Hegemonic society is built upon patron-client relationships. There are mutual responsibilities. The closest equivalent that I am aware of in your society is that of the bonded employee, although that relationship is weaker and less encompassing than this one.”

  Jewel cringed. Bonded employees were just a step or two above slavery. They were outlawed in the League and the Confederacy and even the Cartel Worlds had protected their citizens from bonded status. “You want to make them indentured servants?”

  “They will not be indentured servants,” Farl corrected her. He still sounded quite testy, as if he were struggling to keep from shouting at her. “That is a short term, purely economic, relationship.”

  “Then I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking them to commit to,” Jewel said.

  “I do,” Nefer told her. “Your former crewmates will become something similar to personal retainers—presumably permanent ones. Your husband, Kole, will be responsible for their behavior, and enjoy wide ranging police powers over them to make certain they act in an appropriate fashion. It’s almost as if you’ll become their parole officers.”

  “Parole officers?” This kept getting worse and worse. “And what if Kole doesn’t like the way they’re acting?”

  “Then he’ll have the duty to take effective action to terminate the inappropriate behavior,” the justiciar general said.

  “Terminate it?” If Jewel had thought she’d been astounded before, that was nothing compared to what she felt now. With absolute dread, she asked the obvious question. “What exactly does that mean?”

  Farl answered her in completely matter of fact tones. “It means that Lieutenant Delling will enjoy a wide range of punitive powers to enforce compliance with the oaths. These powers include, but are not limited to, fines, corporeal punishment, imprisonment and execution.”

  “Execution?” Jewel could no longer believe that they were having this conversation. “What ever
happened to civil rights?”

  “The prisoners will surrender them when they take the oath of loyalty and accept this arrangement,” Farl told her.

  Jewel shook her head in amazement. “I can’t believe this is happening. Why would anyone accept this offer?”

  “Because their alternative,” Nefer noted, “is immediate imprisonment or execution. This is a chance to get their lives back to some extent.”

  “And it lasts forever?” Jewel asked.

  The Justiciar General offered the one ray of hope in the sentence. “It is not unusual after a substantial period of successful rehabilitative service for a guardian to recommend his charges for commutation of their status to that of loyalist.”

  Jewel considered that. She wanted to be hopeful but couldn’t overcome her skepticism. “How long a period are we talking about?”

  “For charges such as this? I’d think we are speaking of a minimum of twenty years.”

  “Twenty years?” Jewel repeated.

  “At a minimum,” Farl clarified.

  Jewel continued to shake her head. “I don’t know. I can’t see Erik ever agreeing to an arrangement like this. Maybe the others will, but—”

  “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear,” Farl interrupted her. “This is an all or nothing offer. Either all of your former crewmates accept the plea bargain or it will be extended to none of them.”

  Could things get any more terrible? Jewel wondered. “That’s just not fair. Why would you make unanimous agreement a condition of the offer?”

  Nefer once again offered her insights. “Because in their primitive way, the Armenites are trying to address public opinion in the larger galaxy. By getting the accused to become citizens of the Hegemony who voluntarily enter this plea agreement, they make this an internal Hegemonic affair which no one else has the right to examine or question.”

  This was simply too terrible to fully fathom at such short notice. How was Jewel going to even tell the others about this offer? They were just exchanging one sort of hell for another one with longer shackles leading out of the fire.