While I thought it a good thing the genocide had a nice long pause, it also had the dubious effect of allowing the Bugs to finish building a few of their new ships. Unfortunately, outside of their considerable upgrade to the power systems, the fact that it was four times the size, and had two more plasma turrets making four, I was unable to determine what else was a part of the new model. We had a detailed scan of the ship from subspace, but without a model in the real world to compare it to, there was no way to know what it did. Maybe if I’d still had access to Stealth net, or a more complete database, I’d have a better idea by comparison.
The only real change in the company was that the second medical trial for Cindy’s memory device was going well. Amy was also slightly improved with her facial muscles and micro expressions, but ironically it just made her creepier. I imagined that trend would continue until it was perfected, if it could be perfected. Still, a month was a relatively short time for both of those projects.
Al cleared his throat, and then started to speak when he detected I was open to the idea of getting an update on things. The thought control thing seemed to be working well so far. For instance, the White house was still there and everything.
Al said, “The fifteen worlds that pulled out of the treaty have formed their own which is almost identical to the original, with the additional addendum which spells out that genocide is unacceptable. They also managed to pull in the last ten worlds that were still on the fence about the original treaty. Which makes twenty-five worlds in the new treaty, twenty-four in the old, and the last three who are prohibited from joining either treaty until they behave for the next fifty years because of their attack on the Knomen home world.
“They chose Athiren to host the representatives from the twenty-five worlds, for the purpose of trade discussions, which has made the original treaty holders nervous since that’s a Knomen colony world. Five suggested immediate action against this new group of worlds, which they perceived as a threat, but they were quickly overruled by the others.”
Thank god for that. The whole point of the treaty was to only quarantine attackers, encourage free trade, and to be free to otherwise pursue their own goals. It was not to attack anyone that made them nervous. I found the idea that five of them wanted to act against the new treaty of worlds kind of disturbing.
Al said, “Senna and Nora wish to come up to the ship and talk for a while before they head to Athiren.”
I sighed. I knew they’d stayed on Earth to continue to try and persuade the worlds to back off from their position on the Bugs, despite Tressia and Leira pulling out of the treaty, but I supposed with the new treaty they have no reason to stay anymore.
“Go ahead and invite them aboard the ship Al.”
I wondered if I’d see them again after this, I couldn’t imagine Earth would be happy if I visited worlds from the other treaty. This whole Bug mess had managed to split the humanoid worlds like nothing else had, not to mention Earth itself…
Chapter 13
Nora and Senna came up on their shuttle early that afternoon, and we decided to have a late lunch. Their shuttle was of Tressian design, and larger, so we met on the company lab ship.
Nora smiled a little sadly when she got off the shuttle, “I’m going to miss our nights out, although they’ve been rare lately. It wasn’t really safe anymore on Earth to leave the UN complex.”
Senna nodded in agreement, “You’ll have to visit us on Athiren. Maybe we’ll introduce night clubs to the local populace.”
I giggled, “That sounds like a good plan. I hope you’re hungry, I put off lunch until you got here.”
Nora shrugged, “Sounds fine, where’s Kristi?”
I smiled, “Finishing up lunch in the kitchen, let’s go. Oh, don’t let Amy get to you, she’s an experimental android, and might set off your instincts.”
Senna tilted her head slightly as we walked, “Our world flirted with similar technology in the past, it never caught on except in… certain industries. But then we were never able to fully solve the cybernetics issue. It’s more than just the correct expressions and micro-expressions, it’s when those expressions are utilized.”
I suppressed a blush at what she must be talking about, it had occurred to me before, if Jason did succeed I had no doubt the sex industry would be interested in the tech. It still kind of worried me a bit, it would be very controversial. It would be useful for many other things as well, including all the stated functions for assistance in the home that Jason told me about in our initial interview. Maybe they’d even be useful as a receptionist, or lab assistant in the workplace, but I’d have to be even more naïve than I was willing to admit, not to realize the pleasure-bot aspect of things as well.
“We understand the issue, and we’ve made a few advances in computer and A.I. technology that may overcome them. Only time will tell.”
Kristi looked up and smiled in welcome at our guests when we entered the kitchen.
“So who’s idea was it to drop a bomb on the galaxy?”
Nora grinned and pointed at herself, “Innocent of the charges.”
Senna shook her head, “All of us really. We started to have some trade issues, some of the worlds decided we weren’t a part of the treaty, so we wouldn’t get free trade anymore and they tried to tariff our stuff.
“Instead of being just disapproving outsiders, we figured having our own treaty would work better. No one was more surprised than us when the ten worlds sitting on the fence sided with us. Maybe they were worried about being targeted? I’m not sure. It sounds ridiculous, but I would have said the same thing about destroying a whole race so maybe they’re right. I feel better knowing that at least twenty-four worlds will respond if Leira is attacked…”
She trailed off.
Kristi asked, “Are you worried about the Seltan?”
Senna shook her head, “Not really, they have that whole honor thing, and though they think we’re wrong, they respect our decision to not commit to the complete annihilation of the Bug worlds. There are other worlds however…”
I nodded, “I saw that five of them wanted to sanction the worlds that formed the new treaty in some way, but apparently they were shut down hard.”
Kristi gestured at the table, “Take a seat, grab a glass of wine, lunch is served.”
We all sat, and Nora said, “You should come to Tressia with us, so I can return the favor and show you around. You didn’t see very much of my world when we first met and you conned me into selling you stuff.”
I snickered, “Sorry about that. Well, a little sorry anyway. We’re kind of on thin ice at the moment though, with the government, so maybe another time? I thought you were going to Athiren?”
Senna replied, “We are, but Nora wants to stop in for a week and catch up with family before we get to our next post. We’re doing a similar thing the following week at Leira. She volunteered to show me around, and then I’ll show her around, so that’s the plan. So, we won’t actually get to Athiren for a couple of weeks.”
Nora asked, “I assume we can still use the taxis, or are you adding a non-treaty surcharge tax?”
I snorted at the very idea, “No extra tax, especially for you two.”
Senna smiled, “But what if Earth says you have to for non-treaty worlds?”
I shrugged and Kristi answered, “We have business licenses on both Athiren and Omara. If we have to we’ll register half the taxis with one of those worlds. Unless of course your new evil empire charges us extra to keep our businesses.”
Nora laughed, “We haven’t yet, but it’s still early days. Honestly, I doubt it though, it’s that pettiness which caused us to come together in a second treaty to begin with.”
“Yes,” I noted a little cynically with a small smile, “But hypocrisy is every humanoid’s right.”
Nora tried to look offended, but eventually smiled, “Good point, but I hope not.”
Senna shook her head, “Leira wouldn’t, Alnot still likes you unlike the
fickle people of Earth. You’ve done too much for all of us to be so easily forgotten, and to be constantly demonized in the media by such a small percentage of the population. I can get you a permit there if it comes to it, but I agree with Nora, I doubt Athiren or Omara would do that.”
We probably overdrank for lunch. Okay, no probably about it, and we talked all afternoon. Nora and Senna decided to stay overnight and start out tomorrow, it was probably silly, but none of us thought we’d see each other again for a long time, so we were all dragging our feet about them leaving.
We decided to stay on the larger ship, even though we had two extra rooms in the other one, and Kristi sent Joe a message to go to the business lab ship after work. It was just before quitting time when the government’s other shoe dropped.
Al reported out loud, “Several of the fleet ships are surrounding our vessels at a distance of a thousand miles.”
I exchanged a look with Kristi, and her eyes widened, “Do you think it’s because they’ve been here all afternoon?”
Nora and Senna looked confused.
I shrugged at Kristi helplessly, “It’s an opportunity if they’re looking for one.”
I also felt stupid, it hadn’t occurred to me until that moment how they could twist Nora’s and Senna’s visit.
I explained to Nora and Senna, “It seems like the leaders on Earth, or at least some of them, have been trying to reduce our influence and remove us from play. We were too popular, and too much of a threat, but now we aren’t even making them more powerful anymore. They could spin this visit, to make us look bad, I hadn’t even really considered it. You aren’t allies anymore, and they could make up whatever they wanted to.”
Nora asked, “Should we leave?”
I shook my head, “It’s too late for that I think.”
Kristi agreed, “Yeah, that won’t help, Joe is on his way up. Are we going to run if they try to arrest us? We’ve never really decided.”
I nodded slowly, “I think so, but only if they take it that far, I can’t think of a good reason to surround our ship though, if that’s not their goal. If were accused of some kind of conspiracy they’ll lock us in a hole and throw away the key.”
Unless they decided to destroy us instead. But I didn’t think they’d go that far, not with representatives from other worlds on board anyway. Not that it would even work if they tried.
“Al, inform the staff of the difficulty, they can either leave now, or stay and continue to work on this ship. But they must decide now, and we can’t guarantee they’ll be allowed to continue their work at our Colorado location if they choose to leave.”
I bit my lip and felt a bit guilty, that was a huge thing to ask for a spur of the moment decision on. All that my mind seemed to want to focus on though, was the idea of leaving Bill behind. I so didn’t want to do that.
Al said, “You are being contacted by Admiral Abramov.”
“Put it on the wall screen Al… Hello Sergei, what do I owe the pleasure of your call, and the ships surrounding mine?”
Sergei frowned at seeing the four of us on screen, “You will stand by to be boarded, and questioned about your purpose in meeting with representatives of foreign unallied worlds. It greatly concerns us that you would allow them access to a ship that holds the secrets of our fleets, and whatever new technologies you are currently engaged in developing. If you attempt to leave the solar system, you will be fired upon. Do you understand?”
I asked softly, “Are you sure you want to do this Sergei? You know they are my friends, and are not spies.”
Sergei looked uncomfortable for a second, but then his face grew stony, “Ten minutes. If you do anything but receive the shuttle we are to send, then we’ll have no choice but to respond with force. You have been warned.”
Sergei cut the signal.
Nora looked at Kristi and me guiltily, “Did we cause this?”
Kristi shook her head, “No, they’ve been looking for an opportunity like this for a while. Joe should be here in two minutes.”
Karen, Caroline, and Jason walked into the kitchen.
Jason asked in an upset tone, “What the hell is going on?”
I replied, “It’s a long story. Short version? Government hates me and Kristi, and wants us out of the picture. There here to arrest me and put me away. You can either stay on board, and continue your work, but you’ll most likely be cut off from Earth for a long time in that case. Or, you can return to Earth now in a shuttle. I think they’ll probably stop you, question you, and then let you go in a day or two, but I doubt they’ll allow me to have a company with people working at it when all the crap hits the fan.
“So in short, your research here, or go back to Earth and take the chance of finding another sponsorship grant. At least for now. Who knows, I might be wrong, and I’ll have our corporate lawyer working on it.”
Karen raised an eyebrow, “I’ll return of course, I don’t have a project, I just run HR and man a reception desk for god sakes.”
I smiled apologetically at Karen and turned to the others, “How about you two?”
Jason sighed, “I’ll stay, but this is insane, they can’t get away with doing this.”
Caroline frowned, “I suppose I might as well go, I don’t think the nanite power issue is going to be solved. I’ve been banging my head against the wall for a while, but I think the repair and maintenance is all it’s going to be able to achieve.”
Originally, Caroline’s plan was to replace fabricators all together, but outside of small things, the nanites didn’t have the energy required to create massive projects.
I nodded, “Fine, good luck to both of you. Don’t give up though, they might not bother with my business since it’s not related to national security. I don’t know yet. I suppose it depends on if they seize all my assets. They might not, because it would harm the economy a great deal if my products were suddenly pulled, and if they tried to seize the rights to my products, my lawyer would eat them for breakfast.”
Caroline and Karen didn’t respond, and left for the shuttle bay.
Jason grabbed a glass and poured a wine, and then chugged it.
“What now? We just waltz out of here under the guns of thousands of Earth ships?”
I nodded, “Something like that, yes.”
Nora looked at me and asked, “How?”
I grinned, “What? And ruin the surprise?”
We all waited then, a few minutes later Al spoke out loud to all of us.
“Karen and Caroline have been ordered to land on the command ship for questioning and are complying. Joe just entered the landing bay.”
Kristi asked, “They didn’t try to stop them?”
Al replied, “The shuttle was going too fast, by the time they signaled to divert him it was too late. I thought it prudent to use maximum safe speeds.”
“Al, button it up, and bring the subspace drive up to five percent on both ships.”
I just wished I could see the look on Sergei’s face when my ship started to glow.
Kristi asked, “Five percent?”
I nodded, “I’d prefer not to use it at all inside a solar system. If an emitter fails the backups will kick on, but it will also most likely cause a destructive subspace wave, I’d rather not blow up Earth on accident. If an emitter fails at five percent, it won’t reach Earth from here.”
Nora raised an eyebrow.
I continued, “Five percent is more than enough to move at light speed, and stop any amount of plasma or missile fire.”
Nora pounded the rest of her wine and poured another glass. I wanted to giggle at her reactions to my statements, but managed to keep a straight face.
Joe came in and asked, “What’s going on?”
Kristi hugged him and answered, “We’re running for it.”
Joe frowned and shook his head, “I guess I’m taking that job after all.”
Senna asked, “So you have been hiding stuff from them?”
I nodded slowly,
“Yes, ever since the genocide started and they stopped trusting me, and I lost faith in the idea they’d be good stewards of the technology I developed from our visit with the Drenil. Some would be trustworthy, maybe even most, but not those in charge.”
Al said, “At five percent, Sergei is demanding you stand down or he’ll fire.”
I closed my eyes and sighed, it hadn’t really sunk in yet, but I was about to be homeless. Worse, I was dragging Kristi and Joe along with me, as well as an employee. How the hell did things get so messed up? My last thoughts before I gave the verbal order was to wonder when or if I’d ever see Bill again.
“Move us out Al, both ships, when we reach the heliopause bring us into subspace and take us to right outside Tressia’s solar system.”
I brought up the overlay of the scan program, instead of using the real displays, so that would remain a secret for now that only Kristi and I knew. They’d pursued us, and fired on us, but we disappeared off their sensors at the heliopause when we fully entered subspace, and they’d stopped there and turned back. I just really wish that I’d gotten to see Sergei’s face.
Jason sighed and asked, “So, I get a room on this tin can now?”
Chapter 14
I turned to Nora and Senna, “You can still stay the night if you want, or leave for Tressia, we’re right outside the solar system now.”
Nora asked, “Will you join us now? It’s a little late to worry about what Earth might think.”
Kristi giggled.
I tilted my head back and forth in thought, “Maybe. But it might put Tressia in danger if they hear that I’m on the planet. I imagine their worst fears are me giving the technology I just showcased, to a different world instead of Earth. I’m afraid they’ll probably want me dead at this point, if they can’t regain a sense of control over me.”
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