* * *
Planet Regis, the Palace Council
Arrival on Regis wasn't the triumphal entrance they were used to, but nevertheless they made progress. Confirmation that Maynard had conspired to take out the Regis leadership was enough to see him clapped in irons and not surprisingly the reception for young Perin was little better. Even though he was effectively only a pawn in Maynard's game he was a co-conspirator after all, and in a plot that wiped out the delegation. There were few redeeming factors in his defense; he knew that deaths would result and he did nothing. Only Regan's appeal for mercy saw him receive a lighter sentence than Maynard and he was extremely grateful. He promised to preach the word even from behind bars.
The data provided by Ham clearly showed there had been no attack from Rexis and although there was considerable unrest as a result of the strike against the palace the remaining senate leaders accepted the reasons for it. This did not mean they would embrace technology and in that regard they remained steadfast in their beliefs. As Maynard had clearly intended to strike against Rexis they had little choice but to agree not to pursue reparations and the best Regan could hope for was achieved. In future they would meet more regularly with the new regime in Rexis and seek to open trade routes soon.
Young Perin's prison term would be short, certainly shorter than he deserved, plus he would lose his seat and all privileges of the Senate. Any hopes he had of formal leadership was gone, a fact that did not seem to bother him and one that Ham also seemed delighted with.
"After all Regan," Ham had pointed out, "the man is a convert now, he's seen the future and it's much better to have him preaching from prison and in the streets in an unofficial capacity than from the corridors of power. Just you watch, by the time we come back here Reganism will be thriving, you mark my words."
"Ham, that is not what we should be trying to do, you know how I feel about this sort of thing, it's dangerous."
"Regan, explosives are dangerous too but if we handle them carefully they can be a lot of fun."
She had looked at him doubtfully then and he continued quickly. "Well, you have to admit Reganism has proved quite useful."
"I'm not sure that it has Ham, or at least I'm not sure it will be in the long term. I'm not going to be around forever for one thing."
As they prepared to enter the portal for the first jump to Gliese Regan reviewed the path and the timing. It would be a convoluted route, taking the first of the portals back toward Earth then diverting off, and jumping their own wave for a lightning fast trip to connect with the second of the Gliese portals. That stage would be the longest of their trip, nine days on the crest before dropping out and haring through the second Gliese gate. They would be slightly longer reaching the Gliese system than the three weeks she had for hoped but they would still get there in good time.
And it was good to be back on the STEIN Traveler on a real mission. This ship was home and while the three of them would rattle around in the acres of space provided it occurred to her that this was their first trip away alone as a family; just she, Ham and Jared . . . oh - and the mostly silent Mori. Still she smiled, comparing this with the family road trips of her youth.
She reached across to Jared sitting comfortably in Leah's chair beside her. Just the thought of Leah's absence brought a fresh ache, but the squeeze he returned felt good and it occurred to her that this was a rare contact these days, flesh to flesh. Before she could dwell on that thought they were through the portal, Gliese bound at last.
* * *
Reubus Orbital
Five Reubus androids sat around a circular table, and with some dissension in the ranks.
"I have doubts about our planned course of action, don't we all?" One of the males asked.
Another shot back. "You worry too much, everything is in hand and we continue to operate within the law."
"What specifically are your concerns?" The female figure prompted gently.
"We all know what our concerns are, but we push them away. We know we have grown too dominant and it was always going to attract attention, if not outright concern. Oh yes, we could always do whatever we wanted on our own Orbital, but dominating another, that was always going to be trouble, so why did we push so hard?"
"On come on," said another of the males, "we're simply good at what we do, no one can complain about that. They can be envious maybe, but what is there to complain about?"
The female snorted. "Well for one thing they can complain about the energy prices we're charging and what about the default penalty rates on late payments?"
Two of the males laughed with delight just at the thought before there seemed to be a collective reining in of the enthusiasm.
"Seriously," the first male continued, "I do wonder whether a more conservative, collaborative approach might have seen us in a stronger position; after all, we seem to be making a lot of enemies. And why have we avoided taking outside advice, I mean, how can we be sure we're acting wisely without drawing on the expertise of others? Granted there aren't many who have experience on this scale but maybe if we'd consulted others, Hilary for instance, or even Regan?"
"Didn't we try with Regan? And anyway, who is better at business in this system than us, around this room we have gathered the finest business minds in the system."
"Yes but that's the point, brethren, we are consulting with ourselves, and we are only one Mind." He thumped his fist to his palm. "We are only taking our own advice."
"And it is good advice." Said the last male with finality, he was the dominant first. "Now enough of this, we have much to discuss, Hilary has called a special meeting of the Inter Orbital Council. We sense it has something to do with us but she is playing her cards close to her ample chest." They laughed uproariously.
"She would not call such a meeting without Regan's word; the question we should be asking is; what is Regan up to?"
The female stood and stretched sensuously at the mention of Regan's name. "Isn't the reason obvious? Calling the Inter Orbital Council together means she wants to get something done, something that could only be achieved with a collective council vote and what is it that makes her feel that by bringing everyone together in person, maximizes her chance of success?" As she spoke the words she twirled and sensuously peeled the skimpy suit from her android body. It drew a collective gasp from the males who all stood and spoke together as the reason was released to them.
"She is coming to the Gliese system in person!"
"Yes - because in person she has maximum influence with both humanoids and the Minds." She smiled, "Aren't we good? And once finished with this meeting, we will need to get ready." She then turned to the table; leaned forward and braced her powerful hands on the edge, knowing the four males would be readying behind her.
* * *
Tihan was intrigued but naive. As Fifino Orbital Mind he somewhat enjoyed involvement in a secret mission but to Ham's disgust he seemed unable to grasp the import of what was happening and seemed to treat it like a game.
"A child!" He complained to Regan. "How did he ever become the Mind for an Orbital?"
"Ham," she pointed out, "he is a good administrator and you have to admit his eagerness to please has served you well. Having said that he could do with some mentoring, of that there is no doubt; I might even suggest it to him."
"Hilary?" Ham suggested.
"No question, in some ways she's doing it already without him knowing it, but we need to make it formal otherwise there'll be more of these Leith compounds everywhere. He'll end up harboring the gangs of Gliese."
"Well, at least he's managed to facilitate space for us to build. We should have the unit ready in another day and then we can test it. I'm almost sure there will be no problems but you never know. We'll find something to send somewhere for a test. Regan, you do realize we've had to cannibalize the Transport to do this; our ability to displace to or from the Saucer is severely compromised."
"We just need to get them out of that compound Ham, a
nd then we'll bring Tihan into our confidence to get them to the flight decks for pick up. Once we have them safe it doesn't matter if anyone knows we're here on the orbital. Hopefully we won't need to be doing any displacing of bodies beyond that."
Leah was bored. Too short to blend in with the populace of Fifino they had decided she might draw too much attention and so she was stuck on the Transport as Marin and Ham gathered the materials required to build the portable displacer. Apart from those moments helping when they removed the displacer from the Saucer she was largely idle. There would be some opportunity later to participate but for now it was felt best she stay out of sight.
The Saucer was a small area to be confined to, especially with only Regan's android for company. While she knew Ham was a constant cyber presence, sheer loneliness drove her at times to climb onto the android lap, to touch it as she passed and to engage it in long conversations as if Regan were there. Only when Ham began to rib her mercilessly did she stop. For days at a time Regan was away, working the diplomatic circuit, lobbying behind the scenes with the Premier of Dahlia Orbital, Marin's sister Sindali, as they gathered support for an anti monopoly policy in the system. If they were successful Reubus would be forced to divest large portions of his business empire in the interests of open competition, something he would fight against for all he was worth. Leah understood the need for the steps but nevertheless was going crazy stuck here on her own. And whenever Regan was present things felt not much better; something had changed. In one of the few moments they were together and alone she decided to address it.
"Regan, what's up, you don't seem yourself?"
"There's nothing babe, I'm just busy with all of this, and things are heating up, that's all. So far we seem to have avoided Reubus's attention but he'll catch on soon enough and then I expect he'll start lobbying of his own. I want to get things ready so that when the STEIN Traveler gets here we can really deliver the coup de grace, a personal appeal to the council. If I can get enough support now I'm sure they won't back down when I'm here in the flesh." The android was amazingly advanced and responded to Regan's every emotion in a way that was incredibly lifelike. As a consequence Leah wasn't fooled by the reply.
"That's not what I'm talking about babe; I'm asking are you and I all right? You've hardly touched me since we've been here together."
Regan looked away guiltily. "Leah, I'm just distracted that's all, and I'm having some problems with this android; I'm not on song I know; you and Marin are okay though aren't you?"
"Yeah, yeah we are, I just wondered, we don't see you so much and I wondered if you were okay with us, you know . . ."
"Oh yeah, no problem babe, I'm not around so much and I'm glad you two can look after each other, shit look at me here, I'm flat out with all this diplomatic stuff, you know . . ."
Leah walked to her and they embraced. "Regan, you know we miss you?"
Regan smiled and stepped away, holding Leah at arm's length. "Of course babe, my stars do I miss you guys too." She looked uncomfortable and then jerked away. "Shit I'm sorry, but I've got to leave you again, I won't be long, just a short meeting with Hilary and I'll be back. We'll talk then, okay?"
Regan shifted quickly to the command chair and hastily settled back. It was suspiciously quick she knew but didn't wait and before Leah could protest, she was gone.
Concerned and confused, Leah remained standing there for several minutes, staring at the vacant android and thinking.
What is going on, she's not okay - I know it.
* * *
Tihan, presented today as the young soldier, a look he felt was quite appropriate for a 'mission'. He looked with obvious disappointment at the tube car they had unveiled, noting with surprise that Ham and Marin were clearly impressed with their workmanship; the reasons for this quite escaping him.
"A tube car . . .?" He let the implied question hang.
"Yes Tihan, and if you recognize it as such, we have succeeded." Mysteriously Ham actually sounded pleased.
"You know we have plenty of tube cars Ham, I can understand someone building one as a hobby but really?"
Marin laughed. "Tihan, this tube car has a special purpose and you my friend have a special role; Ham, isn't it time we took Tihan into our confidence?"
"Not yet Marin, Tihan's role is so important if he accidentally let slip something it would spoil everything and I'd have to dispatch him. I think you're aiming to live a little longer, aren't you Tihan."
"Oh yes, of course," he laughed nervously, "so, what is my role?"
Ham looked at him disdainfully. "Tihan, I'll tell you tomorrow, I really don't want to dispatch you."
Marin laughed uproariously and resumed polishing the surface of the car proudly. Everything was ready now; all they needed to do was the final test of the displacer. Regan will be pleased, he thought, and smiled broadly.
* * *
Reubus Orbital
The council of Reubus was in session. Five android Mind clones gathered around the small circular table, their demeanor for once serious and concerned. A lot, perhaps everything, was at stake and they would leave nothing to chance. After several days gathering intelligence from throughout the system they were clear on only two things. First, they had confirmed a Regan Mind was indeed active with Sindali of Dahlia Orbital. As a pair they wielded considerable influence among the system populace, holding the respect of both humanoids and Minds alike. Second, it seemed their lobbying was indeed for new system wide business restrictions, moves that would be catastrophic for Reubus's ambitions and had wider implications for galactic expansion.
"What do we think of her prospects for success?"
"She might not have the numbers; we have made enemies yes, but we have plenty of friends and many more who owe us something; we have room to move."
"We must be careful not to convince ourselves everything is all right when it is not; better to be safe than sorry."
"So what are the voting numbers; do we have them in our favor or not?"
"At the moment the numbers are slightly in favor of change; not good for us, but we have only just begun to lobby and pressure."
"We don't have much time, less than a period in fact, and there is a lot of ground to make up."
"And what if our other fears prove correct, that she is coming here in person, we know that could push the balance in her favor. She already has the other Minds behind her, being here most certainly will convince the populace."
"So if she doesn't arrive, we have a chance of lobbying and pressuring for a win, or at least postponement. But if she is really here we fear we are lost?"
"That's about it, so what are we to do?"
"We need to talk to her before anyone else."
"We could talk to her now; her digital persona is already in the system."
"No; we need to talk to her, in person."
A thought, the seed of an idea flashed through the group and they all nodded in unison.
"We need to get to her first with an invitation, soon after they exit the portal; I'm sure she will agree."
"Then we need a probe waiting at the portal to ensure ours is the first message she receives."
"It shall be done."
"And we need to make suitable preparations at the venue."
"Yes, of course, and there is no time for delay, are we all agreed?"
It was a pointless exercise they being of one Mind anyway; nevertheless all dutifully raised their hands and felt the better for it.
The course was set.
* * *
Fifino Orbital
Regan materialized without fanfare with the sleeping couple unaware of her arrival. For a moment she enjoyed the sight of their comfortable embrace before it sparked an inexplicable personal ache which prompted her to move. Leaning forward she whispered over the bed.
"Aaron, Moriah, It's me, Regan."
Moriah was first to respond, one eye flicking eerily open as if she hadn't been asleep at all. She squeezed Aaron's arm and
he too jerked awake.
"Aaron, it's time to engage our plan. Have you said anything to Leith?"
He sat up quickly, instantly awake, and made himself comfortable against the back wall. "Only what we agreed Regan, I implied that seeing Ruben was important, even a bottom line, and Leith agreed as long as I sign."
Moriah shook her head doubtfully. "But I think he's going to renege Regan, I could tell, I think he will renege and hold Ruben to make Aaron work for him, I'm so sorry."
"He is a bad man Moriah, you can be sure of that, but don't worry, we'll have you out of here by then."
"So what is the timing Regan?" Aaron asked.
"Tomorrow night everything will be ready. Speak to Leith today, and tell him you will sign, but you definitely want Ruben with you from then on in these quarters."
"Okay, I'll do it; please god may this work out for all of us."
She smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, Ham is the conductor of this orchestra, everything will work - almost certainly."
Aaron laughed at the reference, knowing Ham only too well. He also knew that all he needed to do was succeed in his part and Ham would get them out.
"Sleep well," Regan slowly dissolved before them, "until tomorrow . . ."
* * *
Leith stood over Aaron as Moriah hustled Ruben from the room, the boy so tightly in her grasp nothing could now have prised him from her. The reunion had seen tears and joy, with the slap of Leith’s face by Moriah the only blot on proceedings and Aaron had been quick to step in, redirecting Leith to the business at hand. As Leith rubbed furiously at his cheek Aaron took his time studying the documents on screen, legal points far too detailed to take in at a glance and anyway beyond his area of expertise. Still, he pretended expertise and scrolled through them taking his time. The truth was he had no idea what he would be signing.
Regan's Reach 4: Avarice Page 29
