by E. M. Foner
Party Night on Union Station
Book Ten of EarthCent Ambassador
Copyright 2016 by E. M. Foner
In response to reader requests, a character and plot synopsis to bring readers up to date for Book Ten is now available free on the author’s website:
www.ifitbreaks.com/cast.htm
One
“In conclusion, while I will be attending the first ever Conference of EarthCent Ambassadors at the end of the month, I was deeply disappointed to find that the travel reimbursement has not been extended to immediate family members, and unless the hotel providing rooms for ambassadors agrees to supply a cot for my son, I will not be available to chair the panel discussion titled, ‘Grenouthian Documentaries – Why The Aliens All Laugh At Humanity,’ on the fifth and final day.”
The ambassador pushed back from her display desk and flashed a triumphant smile at Donna, who appeared to be more puzzled than impressed by Kelly’s latest attempt to drive a hard bargain.
“You do realize that you aren’t actually poor anymore, don’t you?” Donna asked. “I remember when you couldn’t pay your rent and you had to bring your furniture to the office to keep it from getting seized, but that was more than twenty years ago.”
“We don’t refer to my LoveU massaging recliner as ‘furniture,’ and besides, it’s the principle of the thing,” the ambassador retorted, feeling somewhat let down by the embassy manager’s response. “EarthCent needs to start paying attention to the little things that make the difference between a professional diplomatic service and, well, whatever you call us.”
“And you don’t think that this conference is another step in the right direction? I asked around, and it turns out that all of the aliens hold conferences for their ambassadors on their homeworlds. For some of them, like the Verlocks and the Dollnicks, it’s celebrated as a planet-wide holiday.”
“What do you think, Libby?” Kelly asked the ever-present Stryx librarian, glancing reflexively towards the ceiling as she spoke.
“I think that somebody might be jealous that she didn’t think of hosting a conference for all of the EarthCent ambassadors herself,” Libby replied gently.
“That’s not it at all,” Kelly protested. “In fact, I suggested the conference to the president years ago, but he said there wasn’t enough money in the budget to pay for it unless we could find a sponsor. Speaking of which, where did they get the money? Is the president pushing diplomatic uniforms with advertising space again? After that last fiasco, I’m staying on the sidelines this time.”
“Chastity worked very hard on that advertising deal, and she was quite disappointed when it fell through,” Donna reminded her best friend. “If your fellow ambassadors hadn’t voted against sewing a Galactic Free Press logo on their sleeves, you wouldn’t be complaining about having to buy tickets for Joe and Samuel out of your own pocket.”
“Well, I outsmarted them all this time,” Kelly declared. She fished in her purse and drew out three rectangular green tiles. “See these?”
“They look like nonrefundable Vergallian travel vouchers.”
“Are they nonrefundable? It doesn’t matter. It’s not like we’re going to change our minds. The point is that they didn’t cost me a single cred.”
“I don’t think that the travel agent I sent you to deals in nonrefundable tickets,” Donna said slowly. “I hope you at least checked the details with Libby.”
“I went to the agent you suggested, the one next to the Hole Universe donut shop, but even with trading in my first-class ticket from EarthCent, she wanted four thousand creds for three round-trip tickets to Earth,” Kelly replied indignantly. “Luckily, I saw an ad on a corridor display panel for this Vergallian discount travel agency that just started selling to humans. Exchanging my first class ticket covered three direct roundtrips, and I even got two hundred creds change.”
“Direct or nonstop?” Donna asked.
“What’s the difference? We board the ship on Union Station and we disembark at Earth.”
“Let me see one of those tickets.” Donna took the proffered green tile from Kelly, examined it, and then placed it on the ambassador’s display desk. “Libby? Can you read off the information?”
“Of course,” the station librarian replied. “This is a perfectly legitimate round-trip ticket issued through the Vergallian shipping guild. The ambassador will depart Union Station Monday morning and arrive at Earth on Friday afternoon, with a short stop in orbit around Thuri Minor.”
“The first class ticket was only half a day faster,” Kelly interjected.
“I thought that the Vergallians had a tourist guild that handled passenger liner bookings,” Donna ventured cautiously.
“The ambassador and her family will be traveling on freighters,” Libby explained. “I would recommend packing food in case the Vergallians aren’t prepared for human passengers.”
“Well, I can buy enough food for two weeks with the extra money I got back,” Kelly said, sounding a bit uncertain for the first time. “As long as we can drink the water.”
“The return trip is three days longer, including multiple off-tunnel jumps between Vergallian colony worlds,” Libby continued. “But it is a direct flight, so you shouldn’t have to exit the ship or go through alien immigration at any of the stops. I think it will be a good experience for Samuel.”
“All the same, I’m going to drop by the off-world betting parlor and buy you some travel insurance from the Thark bookies,” Donna said. “Even though you’ve cashed in the EarthCent ticket, I think the insurance should be covered by the embassy budget. Isn’t that right, Libby?”
“We don’t need any travel insurance,” Kelly said dismissively. “Everybody knows that the Tharks only sell it because nobody ever uses it.”
“The Tharks dominate the insurance business through their underwriting acumen and loss-prevention expertise,” Libby informed them. “They have millions of years of experience in odds-making, and the other species bet with them because they usually offer a better price than the native bookies. Undercutting Thark pricing is actually seen as a red flag in the insurance industry, a sign that the underwriters are taking on undue risk.”
“I still don’t want it,” Kelly retorted. “Buying travel insurance is like begging for something to go wrong.” Neither of her friends said anything in response to this latest statement. “Promise me you won’t buy travel insurance on the sly, Donna, and let me see your hands.”
“Oh, all right,” the embassy manager said, unable to hide her frustration that she couldn’t void the pledge by crossing her fingers. “Are you coming into the office Monday, or are you going to be home packing at the last minute?”
“I’ll stop by the embassy Monday morning on our way to the ship, but I asked you to stay late today just to make sure we had a chance to go over everything. Between the travel time, the conference, and visiting my family, we’re going to be gone for nearly a month. I asked Clive to let Lynx work out of the embassy while I’m away, so she’ll be available to help you and Daniel. After all, she is officially our cultural attaché, even though EarthCent Intelligence pays her salary.”
“Is she going to take your office or Daniel’s?”
“Daniel was surprisingly diplomatic about it,” Kelly replied. “Lynx has seniority, if you go by age or organizational pecking order. And he said it’s not worth moving his stuff for just a month, so she’ll take this office.”
“He’s going to be pretty busy planning the eighth Sovereign Human Communities Conference in any case. I can’t believe how it’s grown.”
“And Daniel
has grown with it. I was shocked when he turned down the ambassadorial appointment to Nova Station. At first I assumed that it was his wife’s doing, that she wanted to stay close to her family, but her father said that Shaina encouraged him to take it.”
“When I asked, Daniel said he was holding out for your posting,” Donna said with a smile.
“He can have it. We’re both getting too old for allergic reactions to skin-shedding alien visitors. After thinking about it, I realized that Daniel turned down the promotion because he knew he wouldn’t have the time to run the Sovereign Human Communities Conference if he became an ambassador, not to mention missing out on traveling to all of those worlds on fact-finding missions. Hey, how come EarthCent pays for Shaina and the children to go gallivanting all over the galaxy with Daniel, but I can’t take Joe and Samuel on one measly trip to Earth?”
“You’ve forgotten that the conference has been a money-maker for years. You wouldn’t believe how much they get for the ad space in their program. Chastity was complaining just last week that Daniel wants a hundred creds per table for the privilege of paying for the lunch catering and printing the Galactic Free Press headlines on the placemats.”
“That does seem a bit excessive,” Kelly commiserated.
“They settled on a barter deal in the end. The paper gets to sponsor the conference in return for advance advertising for the conference in the paper.”
“Barter is better,” Libby chipped in.
“I don’t know how I’m going to get through a month without the two of you,” Kelly said suddenly. “Are you sure you can’t do some magic upgrade to my implant so we can at least talk, Libby?”
“It will be good for you to get a break from us,” the Stryx librarian replied in a soothing voice. “Besides, I’m afraid your implant has really encouraged your bad habit of multi-tasking. During the week you spend with your family on Earth, it will be good to give them your undivided attention.”
“You took the words out of my mouth, Libby,” Donna said. “Just because you’re going for the EarthCent conference, Kelly, don’t forget that the other week is pure vacation. I expect you to come back here refreshed and ready to work for at least another two decades.”
“I thought we could retire at sixty-eight.”
“EarthCent changed that when they started taking over some of the human resources responsibilities from the Stryx,” Donna informed her. “I think it’s up to seventy-three now, but I haven’t asked lately. They make changes pretty regularly.”
Kelly groaned. “No wonder Joe looks at me funny whenever I bring up retirement. He probably checked into the rules and didn’t tell me so I wouldn’t get depressed.”
“Speaking of Joe, you asked me to remind you that it’s your turn to make dinner tonight,” Libby prompted her.
“Drat! Looks like I’ll be cooking with creds again,” Kelly said, using the station euphemism for ordering takeout. “What are you and Stanley having, Donna?”
“That depends on whether you invite us, or whether I have to come up with a meal myself,” the embassy manager replied.
“Not having the kids over for your usual Friday night get-together?”
“Chastity and Marcus are going to an awards dinner put on by the local Grenouthian League of Reporters. It seems that the higher the Galactic Free Press circulation rises, the more the Grenouthians feel they have to get Chastity involved in their events so they can treat her like an inferior. She goes because they always end up giving away a scoop to prove how much better informed they are.”
“How about Blythe?”
“Clive took Jonah asteroid hunting for the weekend, some sort of male bonding thing. And Blythe is picking up Vivian after dance practice to take her to a Vergallian fashion show.” Donna laughed. “Can you believe it’s already been six years that your son and my granddaughter are dancing together?”
“As long as it keeps him from getting interested in fighting,” Kelly said. “Joe has always been careful about that. I’ve never heard him say one positive thing about his career as a mercenary in Samuel’s hearing, and Woojin and Clive are the same. Samuel plays some of those war games with Paul, of course, and he still likes flying in the Physics Ride, which I wish didn’t include all of that shooting.”
“Boys will be boys,” Libby remarked. “I wish I could get Jeeves to care more about multiverse mathematics, but he’s only interested in business, and I’m embarrassed to say, blowing things up. Very un-Stryx-like.”
“Which makes it all the more ironic that he’s in business with five women,” Donna pointed out. “Daniel says that Shaina is working more hours for SBJ Fashions than she ever did in the auction business.”
“I really didn’t think that Dorothy would stick with fashion design,” Kelly admitted. “I was never that interested in clothes when I was a girl, and Joe’s idea of high fashion is anything freshly laundered. She must take after my mother.”
“How is Marge holding up?”
“I must have told you that she bought a place near my sister after Dad passed away. She sounds great when I talk to her, and my brother and sister say that she’s doing really well.”
“Knock-knock,” said a voice at the door.
“Come in, Aisha. Is something wrong?” Kelly asked.
Paul’s wife entered the office with her daughter in tow, and Fenna immediately started searching for where toys might be hidden.
“No, nothing is wrong, exactly,” Aisha replied, looking self-conscious. “I have a sort of a work question, so I didn’t want to talk about it at home.”
“That’s a very wise policy on your part,” the Stryx librarian spoke up. “It’s a shame that most people have so much trouble setting limits.”
“It sort of involves you as well, Libby,” Aisha continued, looking more uncomfortable by the second. “It’s just that ever since President Beyer was on my show and asked why we didn’t have a little Stryx in the cast, I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity. Shaina’s boy is turning six next week, and he’s going to join for the next cast rotation. I thought since he’s already started at your school, he might bring his Stryx friend on the show.”
“I see,” Libby replied. “I just checked with his parent, and Yurpe doesn’t have a problem with it. Have you asked Mike and Spinner yet?”
“Spinner?”
“The young Stryx who is Mike’s work/play assignment. He tends to spin around when he gets excited.”
“Would that be dangerous?” Aisha asked nervously.
“Oh no, he’s not out of control or anything like that. Just a little bit more exuberant than our typical youngster.”
“Great. I haven’t asked Mike and Spinner yet because I wanted to check with you and Kelly first.”
“I understand why you’d clear it with Libby, but why me?” the ambassador asked.
“You know that most of the aliens still see us as Stryx pets,” Aisha replied. “I like to think that my show has helped our audience realize that humans are the same as any other sentients, aside from the differences, I mean. But maybe if they see Mike and Spinner together on the show, they’ll start thinking that humans can’t do anything without the Stryx.”
“I think you may be overestimating young Spinner’s social skills,” Libby said. “It would be different if ‘Let’s Make Friends’ was all about solving mathematical puzzles, but you’re going to have your work cut out for you helping Spinner understand how the children interact.”
“Don’t you remember when Samuel first started bringing Banger home from school?” Kelly asked her daughter-in-law. “We had to teach him about all of the things that biologicals have to do to get through the day. The first night Banger slept over, he was afraid that Samuel had shut himself off, and kept waking me up to come and check. It was kind of endearing, the first two or three times, anyway.”
“I think that was just when my show was really taking off, and I barely knew what was going on around me those days,” Aisha replied. “So you are
n’t worried that having a little Stryx on the show with a human child could backfire?”
“I don’t see any problem with it. Besides, in my experience the aliens have more preconceptions about the Stryx than they do about humans. The other ambassadors don’t even see the Stryx as human. I mean, as fellow biologicals. I mean, you know what I mean. Seeing a little Stryx learning on your show could make a positive difference,” Kelly concluded enthusiastically.
“You really think of us as human?” Libby asked, sounding touched.
“I can’t help it,” Kelly admitted. “It’s not that I forget about you being all-wise and all-powerful, but how else can I see you? I sort of think of all of my alien friends as humans as well.”
“Aunty Libby IS human,” Fenna piped up. “Uncle Dring IS human. Uncle Bork IS human. Uncle Czeros IS human.”
“Aunt Libby is a Stryx, Uncle Dring is a Maker, Uncle Bork is a Drazen, and Uncle Czeros is a Frunge,” Aisha corrected her daughter.
Fenna shook her head energetically in denial. “Aunty Libby is a Stryx AND human,” she insisted. “Uncle Dring is a Maker AND human. Uncle Bork is a Drazen AND human. Uncle Czeros is a tree,” she concluded with a giggle.
“How about Jeeves?” Kelly asked the girl.
“Jeeves is a troublemaker,” Fenna declared, with the all certainty of a five-year-old going on six. “But he’s friends with Daddy, so I like him.”
“That settles it,” Donna said. “How about going out for dinner for a change rather than getting takeout? We could ping the men and have them all meet us at Pub Haggis.”
“You’re forgetting Dorothy,” Kelly reminded her.
“Oh, actually I’m the one who forgot Dorothy,” Aisha said. “She asked me to make her excuses for tonight because she’s having an important meeting with Flazint and Affie. Apparently they had a hot tip about a Dollnick engineer who has experience in designing high heels, and they’re trying to recruit him.”
Two
