by S. H. Jucha
Alex paused to consider his timeline again before he continued.
Alex reviewed his message and sent it to Cordelia.
After a brief consultation with Julien, Cordelia sent the message to Hector.
“An admirable arrangement,” Julien said to Cordelia. The SADEs were sharing some quiet time, gazing at the stars.
“An intelligent use of assets,” Cordelia acknowledged.
* * *
The Our People was in orbit over Haraken, unloading traveler shells to one of the orbital stations responsible for ship building, when Hector received Alex’s message. It was one of the rare times when he failed to keep his appearance algorithms running while he reviewed the message, which caused some of his crew to exchange concerned glances.
Hector dearly regretted he didn’t have an opportunity to consult in real time with his partner, Trixie, but returning to Omnia or sending messages over the long distance would only waste time. Some of Alex’s greatest supporters were down below, and he decided to start there.
Soon after evening meal, Hector’s traveler set down on the grounds surrounding the home of Terese and her partner, Tomas Monti. He was greeted graciously and the threesome settled into the main room’s chairs.
Hector sent Alex’s message to them. He’d edited out certain elements — the offer of the shell licensing, the financial disclosures, and transit information. Hector watched confusion slowly overtake their expressions, realizing they must be playing the message a number of times and coming up with a host of questions.
“Where is this system?” Tomas asked.
“Deep in federacy space,” Hector replied.
“How can Alex have found humans there?” Terese asked.
“Alex didn’t explain, Ser President. I would estimate that the expedition has seen and dealt with much since they left, and one can only wonder what they’ve encountered.”
“At least the fleet has rescued the children there,” Tomas noted.
“But not thousands of adults,” Terese added. She regarded Hector, for a moment, and then said, “There was more in the message, wasn’t there?”
Hector nodded and said, “There was a great battle, and an alien fleet was defeated.”
“Were these the masters?” Terese asked.
“From what Alex said, it wasn’t. His plan to divide a race away from the masters is ongoing. I can only surmise that the alien fighter fleet was a momentary impediment,” Hector replied.
“What brings you to our house tonight?” Terese asked.
Years ago, Hector had made the transition from a SADE, who was devoted to serving a Confederation House, to becoming his own individual. Alex had awarded him the captaincy of the city-ship he commanded, and Hector had learned to conduct business in the Omnian fashion. To be more exact, he learned to conduct business in Alex’s fashion. In Hector’s estimation, Alex needed ships, not credits, and offering licensing agreements would only gather the latter.
“Omnian Ships is prepared to license to you the right to manufacture your own traveler shells,” Hector announced.
“It’s about time,” Tomas declared.
“What’s the fee?” Terese asked.
“I require an advance on the fee for the first one hundred licenses,” Hector replied, “and I’m willing to take the payment in trade.”
Tomas was taken aback, but Terese laughed out loud and said, “Ah, Hector, Alex would be proud of you. What does Alex need?”
“Travelers and pilots to join the expedition,” Hector replied.
Terese connected with two SADEs who worked for the Assembly and knew the contractual arrangements with Omnia Ships. “Let’s bargain,” Terese said with a grin, linking to Hector.
Much to Hector’s appreciation, Haraken had a number of young, well-trained fighter pilots, who were anxious to join the expedition, and he collected twelve travelers in lieu of the fee advance.
“Satisfied?” asked Terese, when the negotiations were complete.
“Partially,” Hector replied. “Now, we should discuss the number of Tridents and travelers you’ve produced and the quantity that will be added to the expedition.”
“Oh, you are a student of Alex,” Tomas said. “We should have seen this coming,” he added, looking at his partner.
“Yes, we should have,” Terese said. “Hector, we didn’t anticipate Alex would call for more warships, which means that they weren’t our primary focus in ship construction. That being said, Haraken can potentially contribute two squadrons. However, I’ll need Assembly approval.”
Hector regarded the couple for a moment. Many possible responses ran through his kernel.
“You’re disappointed,” Tomas suggested.
“Mildly,” Hector replied. “I’m at a loss to understand how you can have come to the conclusion that Haraken was, once again, safe. You received no word from Alex of a victory or assurances that the master race wouldn’t pursue its expansionist policies in our direction.”
“That’s human nature, Hector,” Terese replied. “Given time, humans can forget about anything, even their own history. In this case, the Assembly apportioned fewer funds each year to the building of warships.”
“It does make one wonder how the human race survives,” Hector replied. He meant it as a simple musing, but saw that his comment had hurt the couple. “My apologies,” he quickly said. “That was an insensitive remark to make. I’ll take my leave of you. We’ll maintain orbit until arrangements can be made to transfer the twelve travelers to the Our People. After that, we’ll be setting sail.”
Hector said good night and quickly left, regretting his comm slip.
“What Hector said was true, even though it hurt,” Tomas suggested.
“That’s not what bothers me,” Terese said, one hand balling into a fist. “Our best friends are out there, fighting for us, and I feel like I’ve let them down. I didn’t fight the Assembly, when the representatives curtailed the military budget.”
“How were you to know?” Tomas asked. He knew it was a weak comment the moment he said it, and the sour expression on Terese’s face confirmed it.
“It was as Hector said. We didn’t receive any news that told us we could cease ship production and cu
rtail naval training,” Terese replied.
Within two days, Hector received the twelve travelers that Terese promised. The Assembly was in a fierce debate whether it could afford to send more warships Alex’s way, and Hector decided not to wait. Rather than return to Omnia, he made for Méridien, broadcasting a request to meet with Council Leader Gino Diamanté.
During the trip, Hector met with the twelve Haraken fighter pilots.
“Are your accommodations satisfactory?” Hector asked the assembled lieutenants, which created a round of laughter.
“Captain Hector, during training and after graduation, we’ve been living in naval academy dormitories. The cabins we have now are so much more comfortable, and they’re private!” a female lieutenant declared.
The group chuckled, and the others were busy nodding their heads in agreement.
“We’ve been told that we’ll be transferring to the Freedom, is that correct?” Hector was asked.
“You’ll be joining the expedition, Lieutenant,” Hector replied. “Whether you’re assigned to the city-ship or a Trident will be determined by Alex’s admirals.”
“We’re replacements for fleet losses, aren’t we?” another pilot asked.
“Yes,” Hector replied, watching the faces of the young pilots. He didn’t observe overt concern. Instead, they appeared excited at the prospect of engaging their travelers in combat. Youth, Hector thought, with chagrin.
“Too bad you don’t have more fighters, Captain,” a pilot remarked.
“Why is that?” asked Hector, his interest piqued.
“There was a huge mêlée to get these twelve appointments, Captain,” the pilot replied. “There must have been over a hundred pilots fighting for these appointments, and we won.”
Hector gazed at the broad smiles, adorning the young faces. They were proud to have been selected and given an opportunity to fight for their world. He carefully stored the news that there were other Haraken pilots who wanted to fight.
En route to Méridien, Hector learned that Gino Diamanté was at Bellamonde, the Confederation’s warship construction location and the planet, which was the site of the naval training center. He diverted the city-ship to meet with the Council Leader.
When Hector arrived at Bellamonde, he met with Gino and his partner, Leader Katrina Pasko, aboard the prestigious liner, Il Piacere.
“Greetings, Sers,” Hector said politely, returning a Leader’s salute to the couple when he entered their salon. He noted that neither of the Leaders had bothered to meet him at the ship’s bay when he landed. It occurred to him that perhaps they thought he wasn’t deserving of their attention.
“Congratulations, Senior Captain Hector,” Gino said graciously. “Please, sit and tell us what you came to discuss.”
Hector’s pitch was nearly identical to the one he gave Terese and Tomas, but he quickly ran into complications with the Méridien leaders.
“Captain,” Katrina interrupted. “We’re here at Bellamonde to speak with the naval training commanders because problems have come to light. We acknowledge what’s owed Omnia Ships, essentially what’s owed Alex’s expedition, and we’ve built the number of Tridents and travelers required by the agreement.”
When Katrina paused, seemingly unable to finish, Hector regarded Gino.
“With regret, Captain, we don’t have the people, officers and crew, for anywhere near the number of warships we’ve produced,” Gino said.
“With the Confederation’s enormous population, how is that possible?” Hector asked.
“Several reasons, Captain. The Independents were the vast majority of people who volunteered to join Alex’s fleet,” Gino explained. “Soon after Alex sailed, it was argued before the Council that the future safety of the Confederation lay in the hands of Independents, and they deserved to be recognized for their courage. The majority of Leaders were swayed, and the Council has abolished many of the statutes under which a Méridien can be declared an Independent. You’d have my appreciation if, when you see Alex, you let him know that the Independents of his fleet will be reinstated as citizens, when they return.
Hector wanted to say that, despite the attitudes and declarations of the Leaders, the SADEs and Independents had always considered themselves Méridien citizens.
“Another reason for our lack of progress,” Katrina added, “were the more intense training regimens introduced by Admiral Tachenko. Many Méridiens don’t measure up to the … the intensity required.”
“The naval training facility is fully staffed, but —” Gino started to say.
“But Méridiens would rather not fight,” Hector finished for Gino.
When the two leaders nodded in embarrassment, Hector added, “They’d rather die in horrendous numbers, if and when the next Nua’ll sphere visits their world.”
“That’s unkind,” Katrina bristled.
“Perhaps, but it’s also true,” Hector replied. “Well, to business then.”
Hector negotiated for travelers in lieu of an advance on the shell licensing. He drove a particularly hard bargain, and the Leaders, disconcerted by their inability to crew their warships, gave in to Hector’s demands. He gained seventy-one fighters for his efforts.
Bellamonde had five Trident crews, including fighter pilots, who had passed the strenuous training regimens. Actually, it was closer to four-and-a-half crews, but Hector accepted them and the warships.
Within three days, the Our People sailed for New Terra by way of Haraken. During the passage, Hector received word that the Haraken Assembly hadn’t approved the deployment of the two Tridents. It was argued by the majority of representatives that the agreement with Omnia Ships didn’t stipulate that warships would continue to be supplied to the expedition after it sailed.
Hector decided to end his transit and cruise past the Haraken system’s outer orbit, while he communicated with Terese and Admiral Sheila Reynard.
Terese stared at Sheila, who nodded enthusiastically to her.
Sheila reviewed the telemetry data on the city-ship and sent,
Hector ordered the fleet to transit to New Terra.
Behind him, Sheila watched Terese’s shoulders slump in relief.
“Feel better?” Sheila asked.
“In some respects, yes, but in other ways, I feel like a fool,” Terese replied.
“How so?” Sheila asked.
“Why didn’t I see this coming, when the Assembly began griping about costs and arguing over the Omnian agreement?” Terese moaned.
“Many of our representatives might not have the brains to see what must be done, but plenty of our people do,” Sheila assured her.
Terese regarded her admiral, her gaze intense. She said, “One thing for sure, when I meet with Gino, we’re going to talk about combining our efforts … their construction power and our naval personnel’s
willpower.”
* * *
The Our People and five Confederation Tridents entered New Terran space. Before Hector could make a call, he received one.
There were a few ticks of silence, during which both SADEs recalled their past Méridien lives. Oliver served the House of Leader Lemoyne, and Oliver supplied the same role for Leader Ganesh. To say that neither Leader was pleasant to serve was a horrendous understatement.
The two SADEs exchanged a great deal of information about the events that had occurred within their orbits. Typical of their species, they compartmentalized much of it until it was approved for release either by the giver of the information or by changing circumstances, which made the privacy moot.
While the fleet journeyed inward to New Terra, Hector shared naval drills with the Méridien commodore that he’d observed Omnian forces execute and requested he exercise his crews.
Hector kept the commodore talking for another half hour, engaging him in a discussion about readiness and impromptu drills, while he prepared a surprise. When he was ready, he sent,
