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“Jill,” her father came into the study where she was working through some homework from school some time later. “We need to talk.”
“About what,” the teenager asked.
“Well something’s come up that you have to be part of and you need to be fully informed on.” He then went on to explain what they had found out about Ebio planet.
“I want you talk with the princess. She is your legal representative on Trena right now. She will explain it to you.” He finished telling Jill about the planet she owned.
“But you are my father,” Jill replied.
“I know and where most things are concerned I can speak for you, and to you, and we’ll make things work.” Mike said, “But this is too important and since I don’t control your financial assets you need to talk with Princess Carol. Your grandmother and the Princess are your financial guardians. The princess has been letting you know what’s going on in your portfolio for the last couple of weeks now if I remember what she said.”
His daughter nodded.
“So I want you to see her and let her explain it all to you.” Wilson said. “Jill I want you to know that any decision you make will be okay.”
Jill was silent as she contemplated what her father said. The next day she asked Jenny, her principle protective agent, to take her over to General Alpine’s, Fletcher Militia Base office. The general had been expecting her. When she entered the general’s office; she was in conversation with one of her officers.
“All right,” the future Empress of the Terran Empire was saying, “we have nothing else for the bag. Just get that courier on her way.”
“Yes ma’am,” the officer replied, “By your leave?”
The future heir of the Earth Empire nodded seeing her ward in the outer office “come on in Jill.”
“Dad said we should talk.” The younger Wilson said.
“About the Ebio planet,” The princess asked. Jill nodded.
“It’s simple.” Princes Carroll continued, “Ebio owns a world or rather you do, twenty light years away. The Trenan people want permission to explore it and inhabit it. They can’t do that without your permission.”
“Why mine and not Ebio’s CEO,” Jill asked.
“That’s a good question,” the princess replied, “It is a world that is owned by you; but was up to a while ago managed by Ebio. Years ago when this world was first discovered and colonized by the company it was put in your grandmother Hazelton’s name. She most likely didn’t even know that she owned it. But what this does for us is; as your father was heir to your grandmother’s estate and he turned it all over to you; puts you as the owner with a clear title and not that of the company.”
“Why me and not dad,” Jill asked. She still was a little confused.
“When your father left imperial space he turned all his holdings over to you. He couldn’t just abandon them so he had to transfer them to you so a direct descendant of the Hazelton Fortune would have control of them. That’s what’s in your great grandfather’s will.”
“Now I remember we talked about this when I got here last month.” Jill commented remembering the session. It surprised her then how much she owned. It still didn’t make much sense. It was something she was going to have to get straight over time. “So I own everything Grandmother Hazleton owned and left dad, who in turn gave it all to me.”
“That’s right,” the princess said, “That’s why I need to talk with you this morning.”
“Dad mentioned something about a contract.” Jill asked.
“What everyone thinks, is that you need to authorize an expedition to check on the planet. To see what type of shape it is in.” The princess answered. “If it is inhabited you may need to deal with the squatters. Kellogg thinks it has been abandoned by Ebio so there may not be anyone left behind.”
“If we find it abandoned?” Jill asked.
“Then phase two of the contract is to allow people to start inhabiting it.” The princess replied.
“In other words a colonial contract.” Jill asked. That got the generals attention. The scope of the question was one she hadn’t expected out of a teenager.
“Yes,” the woman replied. “Though colonization is not the phrase I would use as the world won’t be a colony of anyone. I would say a habitation contract.”
“Why can’t you just authorize this,” Jill asked. “Wouldn’t it be within you job duties as my guardian to check on all my holdings?”
“Yes it is my job to check on all your holdings or to see that it is done.” The princess answered, “After receiving the brief’s I’ve gotten from Lady Gray and the Galactic Council Rep. It seems my guardianship of your finances is good on Thonia, Trena, Earth, but because the planet is in galactic space and so expensive, all parties believe that since you are almost eighteen, feel that you need to be fully involved in the contract. They don’t want any problems. They are afraid that Ebio might throw a fit and since it is just out there as an independent world they feel you as its owner need to have some say in the world’s future.”
“Isn’t it covered by the Council?” Jill asked.
“No unless a world petitions to be a member, the council has no jurisdiction,” the princess answered.
“I see,” Jill commented, and asked, “So what do I need to do?”
“There is a contract to go over,” the princess said. “Once you understand it we’ll get it signed.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon on the contract. The princess was surprised by how much her young ward picked up, and more surprised when she took out a whole section concerning the government of the planet.
“I think that’s putting the horse before the cart general,” Jill said, “There will be no need for a government on this world unless it’s habitable, and then only if it’s uninhabited. Let’s let the Wilson family retain control of the world. If the world is suitable for habitation we’ll deal with ruling it then. At the present time it is sufficient to authorize a mission to the world and see what is going on with it. If it is uninhabited I’ll authorize people to begin settling it. Until that happens there will be no need for a government. Besides I can send my agents with them to supervise as needed. I can hire agents who are government officials of the crown here, and have them supervise the people who end up there.”
“Okay Jill.” The princess replied a little astounded that Jill made that change. But it was a change she thought would work.
“Let’s go see the Queen,” the princess said. She called the palace and found out that the Queen was in her office and would wait for them. The princess forwarded the revised contract to the Queen, Marshal Wilson and Lord Mercer. By the time they got to the Queen’s office, everyone had read it. No one changed another word of it.
“Jill,” the Queen replied. “The people of Trena thank you. I have signed the contract.”
“Princess Carroll,” Jill said, “Can I sign it? Or do you have to?”
“We both sign it,” the princess said, she signed and then thumb printed the contract and gave it to Jill. Jill did the same. Their thumb prints sealed the deal by leaving their DNA on the document. The DNA while not 100% full proof was nearly, as it took a very special bioengineering lab to make a near perfect clone of an existing person. Only Ebio owned that process. Just creating the person on a world other than the world of the person’s birth could be traced, due to the differences in gravity and back ground radiation that caused some minor mutations that were easily checked. Jill’s DNA was on file in the empire and as part of her pass port. It would be hard to say the signature wasn’t hers.
“I am releasing the Roustabout to Wilson enterprises,” the Queen said after the signatures were affixed to the contract.
“They will be on their way shortly.” Mike replied, “Jill thank you.”
“I guess I should treat you as a peer?” Queen Agatha remarked.
“Pardon,” Jill asked, the comment taking her by surpri
se.
“From what Princess Carol has said, and what my own foreign department has researched you are an empress in your own right.” Aggie said.
“Yeah right,” Jill said, still in a little awe over the situation.
“Thank you,” Aggie said, “we will never forget your gift Queen Jill.”
“I don’t want to be a queen!” Jill said. “I just want to be a girl!”
“I’ll stop needling you Jill,” Aggie replied, she understood a bit of Jill’s statement. When her parents died years before she hadn’t wanted to become queen. It had been Dad’s job to be the King. “Thank you again.”
Jill left the Queen’s residence with Princess Carol. As she walked with the future ruler of the Earth Empire to her car she asked, “Am I really that rich?”
“Yes you are,” Princess Carol answered.
“I sometimes find it difficult to believe all of this,” Jill said, “I mean I own that planet, and was able to sign it off to Queen Aggie.”
The marine corps general, who had been around Jill off and on for much of her seventeen years, paused for a minute. She knew how easy it was to be over awed with her life. As the future Empress of the Earth Empire, she had always known what it meant to be rich and powerful. Jill though still thought of herself as a daughter of a Marine Corps enlisted man. She didn’t realize that her father was the most powerful person on Trena next to the Queen and that she herself could buy the planet Trena three or four times over with just her pocket change.
“You’ll get used to it.” Carroll said, “Just remember, you can buy almost anything you want, but that is not your wealth. You were wealthy before you even knew of your fortune. Your wealth is based in family. Your dad, stepmother, sister and soon to be brother or sister, your friends are what makes you wealthy. Money just makes you rich, family and friends make you wealthy.”
Jill shut the door to the general’s car and walked back to the residence. She was deep in thought and didn’t see her step mother quietly observing her as she came up the walk. Lisa was concerned for her step daughter. She was being hit with a lot of stuff all at once. Lisa didn’t know how to deal with all of it herself. Partly because she didn’t understand it all that well. She knew that her husband was rich, but it wasn’t real to her. They had always lived on his police department salary. Even now he tried to live within the salary given to him by the Queen.
“Kind of overwhelming isn’t,” Lisa asked as her step daughter started to step onto the porch.
“Very,” Jill said, sitting down on the porch stoop. Lisa sat down next to her and hugged her.
“I know it’s going to be difficult,” Lisa said. “I wish I had to words to help you.”
Jill looked at her step mother and said softly, “Just be here for me. Just be here for me. I don’t understand all of this. It over whelms me to think of the money that I have. It is so much that it has no meaning for me. I just signed off on a contact that allows Aggie to explore a planet I owned. Three months ago I was living in my grandmother’s home, a military brat, now I don’t know…”
Lisa said nothing for a while then said, “Jill. Life is throwing some strangeness at you right now. It can’t be helped. Deal with the parts you understand, the parts you can actually do something about. The other parts when it is time for you to deal with them you’ll be able to.”
“Is that how you deal with most things?” Jill asked.
“Try to,” Lisa said, “I focus on what I can get done, and deal with what I can’t. I was on the run for nearly fifteen years and throughout it all I had to focus on the today; worry a bit about tomorrow and try not to dwell too much on yesterday. Not much we can do about the past. Except maybe learn from it.”
They lapsed into silence for a bit, both lost in their thoughts. Jill wondering where she was headed and Lisa was wondering how to help her step daughter remain a girl.
Every Last Mother's Child Page 78
