Admiral Swybar had managed to get him into the Academy by bypassing much of the initial testing and he made sure he got an easy ride through the first year.
The Admiral, however, suddenly stopped contacting him and all his efforts to reach Admiral Swybar were unsuccessful.
Only after he had returned home after his first Academy year did he learn why his father wanted him in as an officer in the Fleet.
In order to save the Suppor clan clan and make it rich, his father did business with the Worm!
For the first time in his life, Namamir respected his father for a decision the old man made.
The Suppors had fallen into disfavor with Emperor Soron the Third.
The Emperor had married his grandfather's sister but then had her charged with high treason and executed her so he could marry someone else.
This incident caused bad blood and the Emperor banished the Suppor House from Court. Many rulings and decisions had been made since then by jealous enemies, and his family, once of utmost importance and great wealth, had become a mere shadow of past glories.
Now Namamir had one true goal in his life and that was to become the next Emperor of the Thauran Nation and all of its 17 planets.
He had no clear idea how to accomplish this but he was certain he would eventually succeed. As an officer in the Fleet he was valuable to the Worm, and in return he expected them to help him in his quest.
That the Worm was on his side and could get things accomplished even on the Devastator was evident by the arrest of the fool, Lt. Merkus.
He was so close to the Emperor and yet as a Suppor he could not simply walk up and introduce himself. There on the table of the Thauran Emperor, were the Kings and Princes of seven of the Thauran worlds as well as high-ranking nobles of the 11 planet kingdoms of New Siam. There always had been a high level of rivalry between Thauran and New Siam, but it never escalated to open conflict as this would have brought in the Union, and the Fleet would end any hostility fast and heavy handedly.
Just as he was about to give up he was spotted by the First Minister of the realm, the man who was considered the right hand of the Emperor and the most trusted advisor.
The First Minister Voluur got up and approached him.
Duke Voluur of the Tammors looked like a blue version of a Dai-Than pirate. He had black, oil slick hair, combed back in a stern manner. His eyebrows arched in a sinister way above dark blue eyes.
Namamir bowed only slightly, he wanted to show his devotion but also that he was from an old family. "It is an honor, your Grace!"
"I was surprised to see a Thauran noble among the guests of the Diamond Ball and now I recognize the seal of a house that has not been spoken of in many years. It appears you are an officer of the Fleet and I noticed earlier you have shared the table with the Captain of the Devastator. His Majesty the Emperor has expressed interest in you and wishes to see you at the table."
Namamir's heart missed a beat and in silent triumph he declined his head. "Your Grace, I am Namamir of the Suppor clan. I most humbly accept His Majesty's most gracious invitation."
He followed the Minister and the Duke pointed at a chair on the Thauran side. The Emperor's first advisor even introduced him. "Namamir of the Suppor clan and now Union Fleet Midshipman, serving aboard the mighty Devastator."
The Emperor nodded gracefully and motioned with his hand that further formalities were not needed and for Namamir to take a seat. Emperor Soron the Fifth had the weak chin line and the hook-like nose characteristic of all of his line. Despite his less than favorable looks, Namamir did not take the Emperor for a fool. He had been perhaps the most scheming, ruthless and power hungry Emperor on the throne for over 500 years, all qualities that Namamir greatly respected.
Namamir dismissed Clusen with a hand wave. "Find your proper place behind me and be silent!"
The Emperor said, "It pleases us that a Thauran of noble origin managed to be selected by the Captain of that famous ship to attend this event. We know of the tradition that only the best are invited."
Namamir did not blink an eye as he lied to his Sovereign. "Your Majesty humbles me with such praise, but I am of old Thauran blood and to excel above others of simple heritage is no real contest. This servant of mine, Lt. Clusen behind me, happens to be the Chief Instructor aboard the ship and has been witness to my deeds and excellence from day one."
"Of course, Son of the House Suppor, and it is that we will need your expertise on certain subjects of military matter later on. For now, however, the princes of New Siam and we are discussing a new area of cooperation in the marketing of minerals and products of our respective realms."
The men of New Siam looked very princely in deep yellow suits, richly adorned with golden ornamental embroidery. Even though they were of human Terran descent and showed no obvious non-human features, Namamir felt as if he was looking at large cold-blooded snakes. It was the way they stared at him, without the slightest emotion showing in their smooth faces.
After they had stared at him for almost a minute, one of them said, "I am Prince Aawut, sixth son of his most honorable King of New Siam, and knowing things about our mighty Fleet has always been a hobby of mine. It is proper to have your commanding officer stay like a servant behind you?"
The Prince invited Clusen with a gesture. "Then let New Siam give you the courtesy of a seat. Please join us and partake in food and drink."
At first the conversation was nothing but jovial small talk, but then Prince Aawut said to Namamir, "I am deeply impressed what your father managed to do, with so little support from the Emperor. Holding an old family together against all odds, such skill has been noticed by us."
Namamir had to be careful now. Sandcastle, the traditional home planet of the Suppor clan never had been a rich world, as it consisted mainly of dry deserts and oceans so salty nothing but a few microbes and algae could live in it. It had a few green spots here and there, to support the three houses sharing the world.
Terra forming was being done in small steps for the last thousand years and with the current state of finances it would take at least another thousand to make it a somewhat hospitable world. Sandcastle also happened to be the closest Thauran world to the Siam Eleven World Kingdom. It came as no surprise to Namamir that the Prince knew about his family, but his words also had been critical of the Emperor.
Namamir said, "Our Emperor is beloved by all Thauran and the Suppor are no exception. Everyone on Sandcastle is grateful for his rule and forever abides by his will. It has brought much prosperity and stability to all Thauran worlds."
The Emperor stroked his chin. "Perhaps it is time for the House of Suppor to return to the court. It seems old judgments and perceptions need to be revised."
Hot flashes ran through Namamir as he heard that. With a few words he had achieved much already, but still, he had to be careful.
Again the conversation drifted to general topics about the Union, the Nul and Kermac. The princes of New Siam got up after another hour, claiming to be tired. Aawut showed an emotion for the first time and it was a faint cold smile. "Maybe we will meet again, Midshipman Suppor."
After they had gone the Emperor said, "Your father and I had a friend; his name was Swynon Swybar, Admiral in our fleet. Did you know I became the ward of his son Swybin after they executed the Admiral, his father? Your fleet has had a court martial and executed a Thauran Admiral. We were not pleased by that at all."
Namamir and Ademan gasped almost simultaneously. "He was executed?"
The Emperor used a napkin to dab his lips. "Indeed he was. It appears Fleet Command did not find it proper to make his trial or the reasons for his punishment a public affair and kept it all under the proverbial carpet."
Namamir suspected that maybe not only his father but the Admiral too had dealings with the Worm. He responded by saying, "It explains why I have lately been unable to reach the Admiral!"
The Thauran Emperor said, with displeasure painting the tone of his voice, "We have
managed to obtain a transcript of parts of the court proceedings; former Commander Hammashannu was so kind and provided us with some of the details. He was the defense counselor in that case and was demoted and reassigned after that case as well."
Duke Voluur leaned forward. "There are associates of ours who are not pleased about this. I am sure you will understand the reason, as it could take many years to replace such a valuable asset."
Voluur raised one of his eyebrows and then addressed Clusen instead of Namamir. "We know of your peculiar position of course, but I want you to speak freely, forget your social position for the moment. You are also an Officer of the Fleet and your opinion is quite valuable."
Ademan cleared his throat. "I can read between the lines, Your Highness. There are only a few offenses that call for the execution of an Admiral. Since it was done, as you say, without much publicity, it usually involves treason or perhaps the association with certain groups.
"Replacing such an asset as you say, might be impossible now, as perhaps you heard about the Psi Corps increasing its numbers not only with more Saresii and Blue but also with several Narth. In conjunction with this there are well-founded rumors that the Fleet Omnitronic Nelson is upgraded by Mothermachine and it will be completed within the next two years."
Voluur had completely taken over the conversation and he nodded. "You are quite correct. Our associates are quite aware of these complications, so let us quit talking around the issue."
The Emperor sighed and nodded. "We see no reason why the Thauran Empire should remain a small insignificant part of this Union, but since the more traditional methods of expansion are quite impossible with that watchful Fleet of ours, we decided to accept the assistance of a group we like to call our special friends."
The Ruler of the 17 Blue Worlds laughed silently as he said that and then added, "You witnessed their influence tonight; as the King of New Siam had to send his sons. He accepted many suggestions of ours that he would have dismissed as insults only a few years ago."
After he had said this he looked straight at the two Fleet officers. "Of course, such help does not come without its price and we must in turn assist these special friends."
Count Voluur smiled coldly. "The Kermac had the right idea, but failed even with our help. Now we too think it is important that we obtain a Narth, so we can study this life form. It is long overdue that one of them is properly dissected and analyzed. This will help to devise strategies and ensures that our business can continue despite recent setbacks and future complications. I am sure you understand."
Before Namamir could say something, Clusen simply spoke without permission. "Is it wise to speak of such things right here, Your Highness?"
"Oh there is no better place; these tables are rigged with the finest Saresii Psionic Nullifiers and the best SII anti-surveillance technology. It is to ensure that the VIPs can speak of important things uninhibited. That is the real reason for the Diamond Ball of course. It has long become a neutral meeting ground of those in power. While the Assembly deals with the external and the obvious things, right here is where the Union's more intimate and internal affairs are discussed; in a nice relaxed atmosphere and over good food and drink."
The Count had no inhibitions, so simply cut into the words of his liege and changed the subject. "How well do you know the Midshipman Olafson?"
Namamir's hand cramped around his glass and he answered, "He is a shipmate of mine. Lt. Clusen can get you any information about this brute."
"Don't boast about things you cannot deliver. Besides, we already obtained his personal file, however a large portion of it is classified and unobtainable as it is beyond the level of any of our associates within the system."
Clusen nodded. "I tried to access it myself and it is classified Blue-Blue-Red, there are less than a thousand individuals within the Union Fleet with a clearance that high and I am not one of them."
With a gesture of his hand, the Count motioned to Namamir. "You are his shipmate, tell me about him."
"He is an average uncut brute from an unimportant ice planet. Not enough intellect to compete with the lowest peon on any Thauran world. I am sure someone helped him to pass the entry exams to the Academy. He is not worth your attention, Your Highness. I personally wish him and those friends of his to be dead."
Clusen sighed almost inaudibly and the Count lost the last traces of friendliness in his face and voice. "Is that why our associates had to help you kill and frame shipmates of yours, so you could attend? Who do you think those who helped you work for? It was the testimony of this Olafson that was instrumental in the Admiral's execution and my associates, those special friends I mentioned, want him dead."
Suppor whispered. "I want that too!"
Clusen did not look so happy. "This might not be easy Your Highness, not only has security increased, but Olafson is indeed a brute, Sir. He bested a Dai in blade fighting; a Dai that did not need more than 10 seconds to overcome a Petharian. According to his files, Eric received extensive extra circular training and high praise from Master Alameda at Camp Idyllic. Master Alameda is one of the best martial arts teachers the Fleet has, being one of the best in an organization as big as the Union Fleet is quite an accolade, I assure you."
Both the Emperor and the Minister nodded and it was the Emperor's advisor who said, "We heard of this weird Saresii transvestite. His reputation of being one of the deadliest and most skilled martial artists reaches far beyond the Union Fleet, but do go on!"
Clusen bowed and said, "The biggest obstacle in assassinating this Midshipman would be Admiral Stahl, he appears to have a special interest in him and that means the Immortal is watching."
That comment clouded the faces of both the Thauran high nobles and the Minister.
Clusen went on and said, "Even an accident, even if successful, would start an investigation headed by the Immortal himself."
"We have similar information, but if you accomplish this, you would not need to stay in the shadow of the Suppor, after all, the man on the Azure Throne obeys His Majesty the Emperor."
Clusen was thinking for a moment and then said, "The Field Challenge is coming up and the Midshipmen teams are sent on missions. Maybe it can be arranged to send them to Yuri's World, Skull Sphere or Quagmire Bog, no one has ever returned from any of these worlds."
"Our associates aboard will assist you if needed," the Count said.
To recover as much ground as he could, Namamir said, "I will assist as well, of course!"
The Count nodded. "With the Olafson Gang out of the way, you will have no problems with becoming the best Midshipman possible and, as you might know, the best are sent to Newport.We are certain this is where the Narth will go. We have friends at Newport arranging your transfer as soon as possible and they will also request the Narth. You will then become the Narth's friend and deliver him to us as soon as we devised a plan."
"I will do that, but how can I fool a telepath?"
"You will have a little surgery tonight. Our Kermac friends agreed to give you the finest Kermac Psi shielding there is. The Kermac might be an arrogant bunch, but they do know Psionics."
***
A week had passed since the big event on Pluribus and Union Week was over. I was glad we were back on the ship. While I enjoyed meeting my family and was thrilled to see Narth again, the big party was not really my cup of tea.
Lt. Merkus was still gone and not even the ship's rumor mill had any details as to what happened to him. Lt. Clusen acted strangely as he tried to be friendly and did not, as usual, try to find something unpleasant for us to do.
It was late Friday evening as Har-Hi and I returned to deck. We had just finished a shift in the engineering department where we received training in damage control procedures.
To our surprise, the others were still up.
Wetmouth sat in the lotus position on her bed and was deeply focused reading something on her PDD. Mao and Krabbel were playing chess at the table. Cirruit was in his bed, but
for a change, he was not sleeping. Instead, he was watching some GalNet program on his PDD. Knowing him, I was certain it was one of the many shopping channels.
Elfi stood behind Shaka, who was sitting on a chair and she was doing something with his hair.
Only Hans was absent but we heard him singing in the showers as he always did, ‘ancient German opera’ as he called it.
"Why is everyone still up?" Har-Hi asked. "Isn't it late to still be awake?"
Elfi put the brush down she was holding. "I guess you didn't check the schedule board yet. We all got a day of R&R, so we can relax before we have our field evaluation test. It is an important test and they commence it the day after tomorrow."
"This is the first time I've heard about this. What kind of test?" I asked.
Elfi answered, "I don't know exactly what it entails, but Lt. Clusen said every group is leaving the ship and has to solve a field challenge."
Wetmouth looked up and added, "I was just reading logs of past field challenges, the tasks vary greatly. One group last year had to observe a primitive pre-space flight culture without being spotted and deliver a detailed report on that culture. Another group had to survive for a week on a desert planet. Yet another was tasked with surveying a star system using a Sturgeon class ship. It seems our instructors go to great lengths to prepare these tests and there seems to be no real pattern, but it appears as if survival challenges occur more often."
I got lemonade from the serv-matic and sat down. "Well, I guess we will know more tomorrow. Surviving on some extreme planet might not be very pleasant, but I am certain we will make it."
Har-Hi leaned forward. "I find this game of chess very intriguing. Who is winning?"
Mao smirked. "Krabbel as usual."
"That is not true. You had me checkmate twice tonight!" Krabbel protested.
"Yes, but once I was certain you let me win on purpose and the other time you were distracted watching GalNet with Cirruit."
Wetmouth had left her bed and looked over the board from behind our tattooed friend. "Mao, your defeat is by no means certain. I see 11 ways to defeat Krabbel."
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 37
