External Relations

by Pam Uphoff

  "Elves?" Three voices.

  "They had dimensional gates. We encountered, I think, a policeman searching for two kidnapped children, I think, his own, whom we had rescued." Ebsa snickered, probably at their expressions. "Why yes, we have been writing reports, while waiting to be rescued. As soon as I get a nice cool shower, drink a couple of gallons of water and . . . " Ebsa sighed. "Yes. Senior Administrator, I'll get right on it."

  Ajha and Izzo swapped glances.

  "Umm, it's been a busy few months, on our side. Ajki is now Director of Interior, Izzo is Director of External Relations, and I'm subdirector of Exploration. Do you know Kael Withione? She is subdirector of Action."

  Paer and Ebsa both started grinning.

  "Excellent." Paer looked around. "Empty World? Good. She pulled a metal bar out of her pocket. "So, where do you want a slab of concrete with a dozen squishies, and a hundred and twelve people? Twenty of them with critical burn injuries." She sobered. "We have thirteen fatalities, and I'm not sure some of the burn victims are going to make it. Or want to."

  Ajha blinked. Pointed. "We'll put them right there. But wait until we get medical staff and a field hospital set up. Director? I think I'd better call for a biological inspection team and then find some transportation, and . . . "

  "Ajha, you're the subdirector. Step through the corridors and tell your underlings to get it done."

  Ajha nodded. "Right. Q? Xen? I'd kiss your feet but I'll bet that'd get me into even more trouble than leaping to do the scut work. Ra'd? Are you still working for intel? Yes? Well, my advice is intel the hell out of this, especially the part about the Elf policeman. Please try to remain uncontaminated so you can carry reports through to us. Paer? I'll send . . . I'll delegate someone to send medical, transport, supplies and so forth."

  The sober Paer nodded. "The worst injured are in a second bubble. I'll open up the first one now."

  He marched determinedly away, hearing Kael explain that she'd stay to talk to the Action Leader and Project Manager. Damn, I should have thought of that.

  Ajha glanced back to see Izzo shaking hands with Q then striding toward him. Right. Directors get to have even less fun. He waited. They walked back together.

  "I wonder how many other little surprises we're going to find, as we go through the traitors' records."

  Izzo sighed. "Lots. One save me."

  Chapter Thirty-two

  26 July 3523 ce

  Unclaimed World

  "Hurry!"

  Jack nodded and punched in the last codes and sent the "Doomsday" signal. "Right, that's done it." He looked around the clearing, emptier than ever, with the big scoop out of the middle. "Are you sure you can take the whole fort through the gate? In one piece?"

  "Yes. But why did you want it?"

  "It's got the only physical evidence of my involvement with the Oners. Not that I can ever go back, but with minimal physical evidence, they may not try to find me very hard. So let's go."

  Arrow walked through the gate, and Jack drove his gyp after her. He pulled over and got out to wait while she closed the gate.

  It was a beautiful world, grass, trees, almost recognizable animals. And now the weirdly morphed animal-people.

  Down the hill, the dogs were lying around in the shade. The purple bunnies, the goats, and the ponies were grazing. Half the bloody Action Teams!

  Arrow walked up and shook her head. "I'd change them back, but they are all men. I really don't care to be the sole woman on the planet. So, what was that computer program?"

  "It fired everyone who works for me and triggered the cash payout options on their employee savings and pension accounts and transferred it all to their non-company bank accounts. Or will if I got it right and the Earth authorities are slow to freeze the company accounts. I tried to hide it, to make it look as if I raided all the investments and disappeared with it. So they don't try to take it back from all the poor idiots who worked for me.

  "I'll probably never find out if it worked, but I feel a lot less guilty for having tried."

  Arrow shook her head. "You're too damned honest for a life of crime. But I'd recommend staying away from Earth for several years.

  "So . . . where would you like me to put your fully stocked and heavily armed fort?"

  Excerpt from an upcoming release

  Scrambled

  Pam Uphoff

  Chapter One

  5 Yusef 1411 yp

  Ebsa eyed the new files on his comp. "Two Empires of the One? Does the Multiverse deserve that?"

  "Probably not. The other one was discovered by Disco, but they decided against exploring it themselves. They just asked all sweet and innocently if we'd like to check out a world recently split off from us." Director Izzo drummed his fingers. "Q said there was something weird going on, and that she'd check the other side of the weirdness."

  "And she didn't specify?"

  "Several membranes orbiting each other, she said. Caught in a whirlpool and getting pulled in deeper. The other One World is in deepest, with a recent spit from Earth as well, and several other worlds pulled in more recently. Whole membranes actually. We're not, Thank the One, talking about cannibal miniverses, here." Izzo grimaced. "We'll wait for the in-depth study, until Q has something to show us. But right now all we have is forty-eight hours of vid broadcasts and two days’ worth of newspaper downloads. All now on your comp.

  "I want you to take a good hard look at what we have, then pop across and see . . . well, basically if we should ignore them or contact them. But just a few days, until we learn about the weirdness. I hope to Hell it's not a disaster in progress, or a third One World."

  Ebsa grinned. "Now that would be bad. One more One will be quite enough of a challenge. I wonder if any of my electronics will work there? Or cash cards. Guess it depends on when the split was."

  "Have fun. Let me know when you're leaving and who's going with you."

  ***

  A smelly alley. A big metal dumpster crowded the gate on one side, a puddle of oily water to the other. A persistent illusion concealed the permanent gate on the wall between them.

  The tiny antennae and laser rely in the corner were unobtrusive. Azko was on the far side, an Empty World, with the crawler, recording broadcast news and entertainment. In theory the wiz kid electronics expert could come rescue Ebsa if he really fouled up.

  Ebsa eyed the dimensions of the alley and doubted the crawler could make the turn. Although he's getting a lot better at slewing the whole thing around.

  Ebsa stepped carefully around detritus and looked both ways. Busy street to the right. He headed that direction. He was a bit overdressed for the neighborhood. He unbuttoned the suit coat and spotting tall buildings, headed that direction.

  The looks he got were of a predatory nature, but no one approached him. I guess I've got the "move confidently and no one will bother you" thing down.

  A corner vendo. He fished out a cash card and slid it in. Wrinkled his nose at the nasty selection and chose a pack of gum. The machine kicked it out to him and returned the card.

  Excellent. Now I just need to sit down somewhere quiet and see if the comp will mesh.

  A few miles further on he was just one more man in a suit. And as the lunch crowd thinned, he found an auto café and settled down for lunch and research.

  I need to narrow down the time frame of the split. A hundred and seventy years covers too much . . . perhaps . . .

  He opened his comp and turned it on. It searched for a bit, flicked through several error screens, then settled down to download an updated grid connection program.

  And once ongrid, there weren't many changes. It was easy enough to hunt down census data.

  South American Region, Uruguay Division, Montevideo District . . . no Ebsa Clostuone Castellanos Montevideo . . . Taix Castellanos on the other hand was registered with her two daughters.

  Well, that worked. Whatever happened, happened between mom's birth and mine. 1354 to 1382 .

  1354? T
he main things that happened after that would be . . . the loss of the Granite Peak Colony. Just a year or so after Mom was born . . .

  He tapped away.

  Granite Peak produced a load of hits, and a quick scan of the titles . . . he tapped the one about the nuclear weapon . . .

  "Holy One. They didn't get the gate closed in time. The Earther's captured the gate complex." Ebsa gulped and shut his mouth before someone heard him.

  We nuked our own city to stop them.

  "Well . . . that certainly changed everything." He tried to not hyperventilate, thinking about how desperate they must have been . . .

  Who was born before 1355? He checked the date. Before Ramadan.

  Not my generation, nor the next. But Ajha and Xiat. Izzo . . . but was he still on Homestead?

  Ebsa checked the status of the colonies . . . "Nothing. Holy One. Surely they have a gate working. It's been fifty years. Except, the colonies didn't split . . . probably . . . "

  He went back to looking for people.

  The President—my President Orde . . . a district representative in the Eastern Europe Regional Council.

  He sat back, blinked and focused on a familiar figure walking through the door. Huffed in relief.

  Ra'd stepped over and eyed him.

  A bit more tanned and weathered, an old nick in one ear. Whipcord muscles, sharp cheekbones in an underfed face.

  And of course anyone stuck in a bubble wouldn't have been affected by the events of the split.

  Absolutely no sign of recognition, scrutiny turning into a decision . . . and not a passive or friendly decision.

  "Afternoon, Ra'd. Join me for lunch?" I wonder how many guns or knives he's carrying? And which he's planning on using?

  A pause. "So your people can get here?" A soft quiet voice.

  "I . . . don't have any people handy . . . and why . . . " Ebsa sat back and . . . kept his hands in plain sight. "I . . . take it you're in trouble? Of the legal or criminal variety?"

  Ra'd studied him for a longer moment. "You know my name. Why don't you know the rest?"

  He was standing balanced, the relaxed pose of man prepared to kill him.

  Coming Soon!

  Email pamuphoff@gmail.com to join the mailing list for notifications of new releases, or follow me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pam.uphoff

  About the Author

  I was born and raised in California, and have lived more than half my life, now, in Texas.

  Wonderful place. I caught almost the first bachelor I met here, and we’re coming up on our thirty-seventh anniversary.

  My degree's in Geology. After working for an oil company for almost ten years as a geophysicist, I “retired” to raise children. As they grew, I added oil painting, sculpting and throwing clay, breeding horses, volunteering in libraries and for the Boy Scouts, and treasurer for a friend’s political campaign. Sometime in those busy years, I turned a love of science fiction into a part time job reading slush (Mom? Someone is paying you to read??!!)

  I've always written, published a few short stories. But now that the kids have flown the nest, I'm calling writing a full time job.

  External Relations is the ninth story in the Directorate series universe. Several more novels, starting with Scrambled—as well as three or four short stories before that—are planned for this year.

  I also have some unrelated work in progress . . . The first Marshal to the wild frontier of the Asteroid Belt, and an orphaned werewolf raised by very nice (and very tolerant) foster parents who goes off to seek his blood relatives—and might live to regret it.

  Email pamuphoff@gmail.com to join the mailing list for notifications of new releases, or follow me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pam.uphoff

  Other Titles by Pam Uphoff

  Wine of the Gods Series:

  Outcasts and Gods

  Exiles and Gods (Three Novellas)

  The Black Goats

  Explorers

  Spy Wars

  One Alone

  Comet Fall

  A Taste of Wine (Seven Tales)

  Dark Lady

  Growing Up Magic (Four Novellas)

  Young Warriors

  God of Assassins

  Heirs of Crown and Spear

  The Fiend

  Empire of the One

  Warriors of the One

  Dancer

  Earth Gate

  Mages at Large

  Art Theft

  Triplets

  Sea Wolves

  Bad Karma

  Dark Side of the Moon

  Cascades

  Olympian

  Embassy

  Rael

  On the Run

  God of the Sun

  Cannibal World

  No Confidence

  Pure Poison

  Flying

  Last Merge

  Nowhere Man

  Black Point Clan

  Mall Santa

  Saturday Night

  The Directorate Series:

  Directorate School

  A Tale of Three Interns

  Trouble in Paradise

  First Posting

  Surveillance

  Fort Dinosaur

  Shadow Zone

  Project Dystopia

  Fractured Loyalties

  The Lawyers of Mars

  Fancy Free

  Time Loop

  In the Rift

  Writing as Zoey Ivers

  YA Cyberpunk Adventures:

  The Barton Street Gym

  Chicago

  Atlantis+

  Fantasy:

  Demi God