by S. H. Jucha
“They’re huge,” Darryl whispered, leaning forward for a better view.
“According to our Haraken Swei Swee, who reside aboard the Sojourn, the sea life here is extremely dangerous. It ensures only the strong survive,” Alex replied.
Alex spent the next hour detailing recent events — the Sojourn’s journey, the capture of Harakens by the Dischnya, the plight of the four Haraken Swei Swee, the arrival of the Rêveur and the Tanaka, the recovery of the captives, Alex’s return to Haraken, his purchase and refit of the first city-ship, the rescue of the Independents, his peace negotiations with the Dischnya and Swei Swee, gaining the rights of humans and SADEs to settle here, a quick overview of the construction projects, and the arrival of his second city-ship.
“I knew I should have immigrated to Haraken. I’m missing out on all the excitement. I could have been part of this,” Darryl lamented, when Alex finished with his summary.
“The part of this story that I like the best, so far, is stealing the Independents away from the Confederation, again. Well done, Alex,” Maria said, clapping softly.
“We appreciate that part too,” Perrin added, with a smile, pointing alternately at Ophelia and himself.
“You’re Daelon Independents?” Darryl asked.
“We were,” Ophelia emphasized. “Now we and more than eighteen thousand Méridiens work for Alex.
“Wait one,” Maria said, directing everyone’s attention to her. “Alex, you buy not one but two city-ships, you employ thousands of ex-Independents and a few hundred SADEs, and you’re running massive construction projects. Where are the credits coming from? Are you that wealthy?”
“Hardly, Maria. The credits are courtesy of various arrangements with several financial institutions … Haraken Exchange, Confederation SIF, and Bank of Omnia. Incidentally, these are all SADE owned.”
“I know you’re a friend of the SADEs, Alex. But are these financial decisions made on sound business judgments? I don’t wish to impugn the intelligence of the SADEs present,” Maria said, glancing around the room, “but why would any intelligent entity advance you that many credits?”
Maria expected a retort, of some sort, from Alex. She had an agenda, but what she had found at Omnia had totally disrupted it. Now, she needed to dig under the surface to understand what was taking place politically and financially. Instead, Alex leaned back in his chair and grinned enigmatically at her. That was her Alex, and Maria smiled in return, anticipating with pleasure the days to come.
“You’ve heard our story, as much as we can tell you, Maria. I’d like to know what brings you here. It’s not like it’s on the way to anywhere,” Alex said, and his people leaned forward in anticipation.
“It started with a change in the Assembly’s mood, and, believe it or not, in Will Drake. Seems after you left us alone for a few years, the general consensus became that New Terra needed a defensive force of its own. Naturally, President Drake chose …”
“Chose not to go to Haraken,” Darryl finished bluntly and bitterly.
“Yes, exactly,” Maria continued. “Instead, President Drake, Darryl, and I took a trip to visit the Confederation’s Council Leaders.”
“And what was your role in all this, Maria?”
Maria sat upright in her chair and adopted a smirk. “Why, Alex, I’m New Terra’s special envoy.”
“Congratulations, Maria!” Renée said excitedly, pleased for her long-time friend.
“Back up one minute, Maria,” said Alex, a finger to his temple to help him focus his thoughts. “You said the Assembly and the president had a change of heart about defense agreements between worlds. Based on our last trip to your system, I would have thought a millennium or two would have had to pass before that attitude came about.”
Darryl jumped into the discussion. “Alex, last time you were in our system, you were busy with gangs, courts, and politics. You didn’t get an opportunity to see the changes that have been going on, changes you started.”
“You’re referring to the pact,” Alex said.
“Yes, sure the pact started things off, but Downing and his cronies stole that progress for themselves,” Darryl replied. “No, what I’m referring to is the second wave of Méridien tech. You remember those small banks and companies you contracted with to complete the buildout of the Our People?”
“Yes, certainly,” Alex replied.
“Well, they've done quite well for themselves with the Méridien tech you gave them in exchange for their services. In fact, the company owners and the banks that lent them the funds have done extremely well. Most of the owners, by the way, offered profit sharing to their employees who worked on the city-ship. Alex, you’ve made a lot of them wealthy!”
“So?” Alex asked, confused where this was going.
“Those people, who Darryl’s referring to, tended to stay out of politics, while they quietly started a tech revolution on New Terra,” Maria explained. “Now, they employ tens of thousands of people and service many times that number with their products. Well, after your last visit, which exposed some of our darker side, they’ve formed a sort of club.”
“What sort of club?” Alex asked, scowling.
“Don’t get that look on your face, Alex,” Maria scolded. “It's nothing sinister. They simply have a strategic agenda, and they're not afraid to push it. They want to expand relations among New Terra, Haraken, and the Confederation. They believe an isolationist policy is short-sighted, if not dangerous, to New Terra’s future.
“Ah, an anti-Clayton Downing agenda,” Julien said.
Darryl grinned at Julien and touched the back of the SADE’s hand in appreciation for the sentiment. He leaned over to Julien and whispered, “The man’s still incarcerated, and his lawyers can’t seem to get his sentence reduced.” Immediately, Darryl glanced around the room with a conspiratorial grin. He knew Julien would share his whisper, and he enjoyed seeing smiles form on the faces of Alex’s people. I can’t wait to have an implant, Darryl thought for the umpteenth time.
“Okay, so there’s pressure on Will and the Assembly to get off their butts and start communicating with other world leaders. So, you journey to Méridien, but for what purpose, Maria?” Alex asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Darryl leaning back in his chair with a sullen face.
“President Drake felt our first trip to the Confederation should be two-fold. One part was to seek the support of freed SADEs to come to New Terra and help our technological development. In this regard, we were quite successful,” Maria replied, nodding toward Frederick, who tipped his head in reply.
“And the second part?” Alex queried.
“Will Drake sought to obtain a mutual defense agreement with the Confederation,” Maria said, her lips twisting in a grimace.
Alex stared incredulously at Maria, and then he burst into unbridled laughter, pounding the table with a fist. When he could catch his breath, he held up a hand to forestall Maria’s retort. “Apologies, Maria. That wasn’t meant to be a comment about your efforts. I’ve a good relationship with Council Leader Gino Diamanté and several other influential Leaders, and, for the past twenty years, I’ve continually broached this subject and gotten nowhere. Now, Will thinks he’s going to traipse over to Méridien, dash off an agreement to build warships, and zip back home?”
Alex smothered his mouth with a hand, as he leaned back in his chair. He’d given Will Drake much more credence for his astuteness. This didn’t sound at all like him. Alex’s eyes narrowed and he said, “The man really doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, does he?”
“Well, Maria and I did warn Will that a mutual defense agreement pact with the Confederation wasn’t a good idea to propose. But he thought it was worth trying,” Darryl said.
Alex regarded Frederick, and the SADE stared back quietly. Turning to Maria, Alex asked, “Did you contract with the SADEs before you met with the Council?”
“Yes, why?” Maria asked.
“Did you ask your consultant for
his opinion before you approached the Council of Leaders?” Alex asked, tipping his head toward Frederick. When he caught the awkward glance between Maria and Darryl, he added, “Guess not.”
“What would you have suggested as the best course of action, Frederick?” Maria asked.
“The probability of a successful introduction of a defense pact to the Council would have been as close to zero as one could calculate,” Frederick replied. “At best, a private meeting with Council Leader Diamanté to present the subject and ask how your president might proceed, in the future, would have provided an optimum advantage. Now, the Council will be reticent to hear another word from your president.”
Alex held out his hands to his sides to indicate his point was made by their own consultant.
“Well, one good thing came out of the meeting,” Maria said. “When we returned home, the Assembly was none too pleased with Will’s failure. Due to the political pressure, Will turned around and tasked me to meet with you and propose the same thing. That’s when I learned from Frederick that you weren’t on Haraken, and a new world had been discovered. So, we came here. But, this trip looks to be a bust too.”
“Why’s that, Maria?”
“Well it’s nice, Alex, that you have a generous flow of credits and all that. But, you aren’t Haraken, which means you can’t influence your Assembly to form a defense pact with us. One thing doesn’t fit with all I’ve heard though.”
“What’s that, Maria?” Alex asked, a grin spreading across his face.
Maria recognized that smile, and she displayed her own predatory expression. “You’re out here seemingly on a little upstart planet, but you have all these resources and credits at your disposal. What do these individuals know that we don’t know?”
“Admiral, I’d like you to take our three guests on a tour, please,” Alex requested.
“It’s time for midday meal. Join us, if you would be so kind,” Alex offered, “and Tatia can start your tour afterwards. It will probably take you a few days to complete.”
Everyone rose to follow Renée, who headed out of the conference room first.
Alex waited until Frederick drew near before he signaled the SADE. “SADEs join us for meal time, Frederick. It might sound absurd, but it’s meant to show that we are one. Please accompany us.”
“I would be honored, Ser,” Frederick replied, and received a hearty slap on the back from Alex. It was his first personal contact from a human, and he was disturbed by its meaning.
* * *
Three days later, the Omnians and the New Terrans convened again aboard the Freedom in the same conference room.
Alex seemed disinclined to start the conversation, so Maria began, “Well, I’ve had a great many tours in my lifetime, but none compared to this one. We received one shock after another, and I’m sure that between Tatia and you, it was designed to do exactly that.”
“Well then, Special Envoy Maria Gonzalez, what can I help you with?” Alex asked magnanimously.
“As President Drake’s envoy, I’m authorized to begin negotiations on a defense pact with whoever is interested. I’d like to think you’re interested, Alex, but I understand you haven’t a formal government and personally won’t even be a part of it.”
“Let’s take first things first, Maria,” Alex replied. “You’ve seen our warship designs and know that we’re capable of laying up frames and shells in short order without Swei Swee.”
“True, Alex, and you have a nice little operation going. You make traveler hulls and ship them in the Our People to Haraken where they’re completed. There’s a demand for the little beauties, and, eventually, you’ll reap a nice pile of credits. Not a bad scenario, but I see a few obstacles ahead.”
“Obstacles?” Alex repeated.
“Perhaps, not obstacles, but delays in your grand plan.”
“I have a grand plan?”
“Now, you’re being cute, Alex. It doesn’t suit you,” Maria said firmly, slipping into her command voice. “You’re designing warships, and you have Tatia and five top commanders, licking their chops in anticipation.”
“I do not lick my chops,” Tatia said, defensively. “Perhaps salivate a bit,” she added with a grin.
“My point, Alex, is that your ultimate scheme swirls around those dark travelers and the Nua’ll sphere. You’re going hunting, and you need heavy firepower. How am I doing so far?”
“Doing fine, Special Envoy, keep going,” Alex replied.
“What were the items you noted, Darryl?” Maria asked.
Darryl pulled up his reader and worked through a list of manufacturing facilities and equipment he didn’t see on the tour. It included, first and foremost, no sites for the dangerous growth of crystals or the manufacture of the hardened metal alloys needed for engines.
“Here’s what I think, Alex,” Maria said. “You can ship all the travelers to Haraken you want, but come time to complete those warships or that orbital station, you’ll have to wait until you buildout these sites that Darryl mentioned and manufacture the more sophisticated parts you need. That will take time and it will take credits, which you’ll get after Haraken delivers the completed travelers to customers. It’s good that you’re a patient man. We estimate that you’ll need to wait for a year or so before you get to that start point.”
That last comment had Alex’s people chuckling and snickering. Patience was not Alex’s best attribute. But Maria didn’t intend to let the laughter get under Alex’s skin. She needed him, and she wanted him to know that he needed her.
“Or,” Maria added, in a strong voice, which quieted the group, “as I see it, those warships are too big to be carried anywhere. You’ll have to complete them at your orbital station. So the timeline goes … build travelers, deliver them, wait for their completion, credits to you, equipment and supplies purchased from Haraken, construction of your manufacturing base, and, finally, the completion of the station. All this before you get to build your warships. Am I getting warm?” Maria asked.
Alex smiled and nodded, which encouraged Maria.
“But, I ask, why wait, Alex? You’ve cut a deal with the Harakens to speed up the travelers’ construction. Is it possible that you’d be willing to do the same for your warships?” When Maria saw the slightest narrowing of Alex’s eyes, she knew she had her opening.
Julien witnessed Alex’s subtle reaction and kept a smile off his face. It was a technique his friend used during poker hands when he wished to encourage his opponent’s confidence.
“Alex, consider the huge manufacturing reserves we have on New Terra to construct all things Méridien,” Maria urged. “We have the people, the equipment, and the shipping capability to deliver everything here at Omnia.”
“Do you have crystal-growing facilities, Alex?” Darryl asked. “Was it possible we didn’t get the full tour?” He wanted to be sure that Maria’s negotiations logic was solid, as it was based on his suspicio
ns.
“Not at this time, Darryl,” Alex replied. “But, Maria, these warships will be expensive,” Alex warned. “It won’t be enough to provide a few internal parts and request a significant share of the ships, if that’s what you’re angling to propose.”
“Nice opening bid, Alex,” Maria replied. “Let’s talk numbers later. Darryl, you were the one who brought this to my attention. Why don’t you tell Alex?”
“What’s not well known, Alex, is that it appears we’re more inventive with Confederation technology than the Méridiens. Our people have been making improvements in everything from crystal production to control circuitry to assembly processes, and we’ve been selling or leasing the rights to the Confederation. It’s resulted in an influx of credits to New Terra that has grown quarter by quarter. Not only have our citizens been reaping the rewards, but so has the government. Our coffers are full, so to speak, and we can afford to finance our end of a mutual defense agreement. And pardon me for saying so, Alex, but, from my viewpoint, except for that sting ship in orbit, which I understand belongs to the Harakens, it would appear to me that you can use New Terra’s support.”
“We created an exchange pact once before, Alex, if you’ll recall,” Maria said, smiling. She was referring to the original agreement that Alex and Renée engineered with the Assembly when Maria was a Terran Securities Forces general. “I don’t see why we can’t do it again.”
“I’m interested in hearing your proposal,” Alex said cautiously.
Maria wanted to stand up and cheer, but she stayed relaxed in her chair, her mind whirling. She’d desperately wanted to bring home a win to Drake, but she had imagined something entirely different when the Rover set out for Omnia. Unexpectedly, it had turned into a stroke of fortune. “First big question, Alex. Are you willing to share your shell technology with us?”
“Not at this time, Maria. You can probably understand why.”
