Méridien (The Silver Ships Book 3)

by S. H. Jucha

  On entering the terminal, Renée guided the group to the underground transport cars. She signaled the transport controller but failed to receive a response. “Admiral, I have no access by which to call us a vehicle,” Renée said.

  “Apparently I still do, Ser,” Eric replied.

  Just then, a transport car, large enough to manage the group, slid to a stop in front of them. Its double doors hissed quietly open. Everyone climbed aboard, and when Eric signaled their destination, their transport swiftly complied.

  The New Terrans were mesmerized by the hive of activity in the underground transport tunnels, all brightly lit. Hundreds of vehicles of every size whipped past one another, not on rails or guides of any sort, but by virtue of the controllers signaling one another and managing paths. It was a marvel of engineering.

  The group’s transport decelerated to stop at a platform, and Eric led the way from the underground transport level to the main concourse of Confederation Hall. When they exited the final lift, Eric indicated the corridor in front of them. “After you, Admiral,” he said.

  While Tomas and Eric had waited aboard the Rêveur for word from the SADEs of the Council’s meeting, Tomas had said, “Eric, I have given this meeting a great deal of thought, and I have discovered that I could wish for no greater reward for services rendered to my people than to be present at the moment the Council meets the Admiral.”

  Eric had thought over Tomas’s words for two days before he discovered he felt the same way. Once Eric recognized that his fears of confronting the Council as an ex-Leader had melted away, his emotional conversion to a Director of House Alexander was complete.

  Alex led his entourage down the Hall’s wide, ethereal corridor. The floors effused soft changing colors in the afternoon sunlight that streamed through tall windows along one side of the corridor. Light from the ceiling, over ten meters up, echoed the colors of sunlight filtered by the windows. Some Méridiens sought to gain the Admiral’s attention, but Alex wasn’t interested; others crowded the corridor walls to give the Admiral and his people plenty of space. Rounding the corridor’s curved corner, they were approaching a group of Méridiens coming down the corridor. Renée increased her stride to meet them, outdistancing Alex.

  Renée sent privately to Alex.

  Alain had kept pace with Renée, but when Alex heard her single word, he signaled Étienne forward. Alex took stock of the middle-aged man who led the oncoming group. He calculated Albert was well past his century mark as the two siblings drew closer to each other.

  Renée could tell her brother did not immediately recognize her. Albert de Guirnon was leading his own entourage toward the Council Chambers, and he seemed oblivious to who was advancing toward him. Finally, recognition dawned on Albert’s face, and he hesitated briefly before opening his arms in welcome.

  Emotions warred within Renée to the extent that she hardly recognized herself. Where is the polite, controlled, young Méridien woman that Alex rescued? Renée wondered. She exchanged a cordial, traditional House greeting with her brother, kissing each of his cheeks. Then she stepped back and delivered a bone-jarring slap to Albert’s face.

  Albert de Guirnon stood there, rooted in place. His mouth hung open, and his hand held his reddening cheek. His entire entourage looked to be in shock as well. An attack by a fellow Méridien, especially a House sibling, was inconceivable.

  Even Albert’s two escorts had been caught unawares. Initially they had focused on the twins escorting the Méridien woman. Then their eyes had strayed to the oncoming mass of humanity known to them as “the Admiral.”

  Renée sent to both Alex and Albert, acid dripping in her thoughts,

  replied Alex, He touched his right hand to his heart and dipped his head.

  Albert quickly gathered himself and returned the polite greeting.

  But Alex wasn’t missing the opportunity to share a thought with the brother. Alex sent,

  Alex led his group past Albert, who was left staring at their backs, incredulous at the insults he had received, verbally and physically. Alex and his group headed toward the Council Chambers’ Supplicants Hall. While Alex was still in Albert’s line of sight, he couldn’t resist the temptation to reach behind Renée to pat her rear.

  Renée sent to Alex. Renée’s implant received the sound of a long, drawn-out, exaggerated kiss, and she laughed raucously. Let my brother think on that as he will, she thought.

  The tall, ornate Council Chambers doors at the end of the Supplicants Hall were closed. The Administrator sat outside the doors in an enclosure that echoed the design of the floors and walls. Alex saw many well-dressed Méridien supplicants who waited to be called into Chambers on their business, sitting in chairs that lined the walls and comfortably conformed to their bodies.

  Alex strode past the supplicants to the midpoint of the twin doors and stood waiting, never turning his head.

  Renée found the shock on the Administrator’s face a thing of beauty. As a daughter who more than once accompanied her father to Council Chambers on House business, she had recalled the Administrator, who had been posted at that time, as an enormously prestigious personage, deserving of respect. Now Renée wondered how she could have been so foolish. This Administrator was pompous, exuding an air of superiority. That was until he was caught staring slack-jawed at the Admiral, who stood waiting for the doors to open.

  The Administrator hurriedly scrolled down his appointment log and confirmed that the Admiral had received no Council response to his request for an appointment. Yet here the man stood. The Administrator searched his implant for a protocol to deal with an unexpected supplicant and found none. The event was unheard of.

  What made matters worse for the poor Méridien was that the Admiral hadn’t come alone. Appointments were granted to a single person. Occasionally an exception was made for a House sibling or child. It had always been so. Adding a final insult, the Admiral had not spoken to him. Incredibly the giant New Terran was ignoring him, standing at the door as if he expected them to open because he was here.

  The Administrator drew breath to announce his displeasure, something he couldn’t recall ever having had to do in his position, when his implant security protocols evaporated like water on a hot day. He received a single word: . The word reverberated in his head, pulsing, demanding. The Administrator attempted to block the signal, but the harder he tried, the stronger the pulse became. Sweat broke out on his brow. He felt nauseous, and bile rose in his throat. Finally, fear overcame the Administrator’s decades of training, and he signaled the Chambers’ doors open. The familiar hiss of the ornate doors sliding aside was accompanied by the abrupt sensation of the pressure disappearing in his head, and he near wept with relief.

  * * *

  Prior to the Council meeting, Alex had set a portion of his plan in play with Julien. It sprang from statements Eric had uttered during their discussion about the upcoming Council meeting. Eric had said, “The people follow the directives of our Council, but they are not the Council.” Alex had wondered what Méridiens would make of what he had to say to the Council.

  As the Council Chambers’ doors opened, Alex linked with Julien to record his conversation with the Council. In turn, Julien linked to Cordelia, Z, and Mutter. Cordelia sent her broadcast to the FTL station to forward to all other Confederation colonies. Mutter forwarded her signal to thousands of ship SADEs within the system, and Z relayed his signal to the Méridien comm SADEs who were responsible for distribution of House announcements to the popu
lation at large. Julien had affixed House Alexander’s distribute-code to ensure the SADEs and FTL Station would relay the signal.

  The Council Chambers had been designed to intimidate. Hundreds of Council members sat in rows high above the floor where supplicants stood. No chair was present to accommodate the supplicant. Alex had learned from Renée that only House Leaders sat on the Council, and they had gained their position by election—an election where only House Leaders voted.

  The Méridien who had been standing before the Council looked with confusion at the Council Leader. When no instructions were forthcoming, he backed out of Alex’s way.

  Council Leader Mahima Ganesh, a matron who had outlived two partners, stared disdainfully at Alex and said, “You have not been summoned here, Admiral. The Council will not hear your request. You and your people will leave.”

  “Council Members,” Alex said, projecting his voice to be heard throughout the chambers. “I didn’t come here to make a request or to listen to you. I have words to deliver to you.”

  “Leave, Admiral,” Mahima repeated, “or I will disband the Council and you will have no audience for your words.”

  “That is not my wish, Leader Ganesh,” Alex replied, cold anger underlining his words.

  Mahima rose from her chair and instantly sat back down. She struggled to stand and found she wasn’t in control of her limbs.

  “You will hear my words, Leader Ganesh. Then and only then will I release you.”

  The House Leaders were incredulous as they watched their Council Leader struggle to stand. Because she couldn’t move, they didn’t dare try. Where many of the Leaders had glared at the huge New Terran in contempt, incredulity, or anger, most now stared at him in fear.

  “I presume you have reviewed Julien’s message of the events in the Arnos system,” Alex said. “The menace of the Nua’ll, the giant sphere, is gone. Your thanks should go to the Swei Swee, who were enslaved by the Nua’ll and forced to drive the silver ships. Under our influence, those slaves chose to revolt. As a reward for their actions against the Nua’ll, which cost them many lives, adults and hatchlings, I have given them Libre.”

  The intake of hundreds of breaths was a distinct sound in the chambers. Eric and Tomas shared grins. This was some of what they had hoped to witness, and it was proving to be well worth it.

  “I forbid Méridien ships to enter the Arnos system without my express permission or the permission of my people’s future leaders,” Alex announced.

  Gino Diamanté, Leader of House Diamanté, tentatively raised a hand.

  “Yes, Leader Diamanté?” Alex allowed.

  “If I may, Admiral, would you clarify who you mean by ‘your people’? Do you speak of New Terrans?”

  “These are my people,” Alex replied. He sent images from his databases to the Leaders … of Fiona, Gregorio, Sawalie, Heinrich, Bobbie, Jase, Sean, Hatsuto, and the other lost pilots, of his Méridien and New Terran crew, of the Independents, of the House Bergfalk personnel, of his SADEs, and of his pioneers. “And those you see standing with me today … Ser de Guirnon, Senior Captain Tachenko, Captain Manet, Director Monti, Director Stroheim, and Étienne and Alain de Long,” Alex added.

  “Th-Thank you, Admiral, for … for clarifying that for us,” Gino Diamanté stammered.

  The Admiral’s response was not the expected answer. The Council’s SADE had summarized for the Leaders that the Admiral’s images detailed a quarter of a million people, primarily from the Confederation, that he now claimed as his people. That most were Independents wasn’t their concern; that the Admiral was co-opting Méridiens was their concern.

  Albert de Guirnon chose that moment to attempt to repay the affront he had received from his sister. “Council Leader, there is still a matter of the Rêveur. Our House lays claim to the ship.”

  “You can’t have the Rêveur, Albert,” Alex replied first, ignoring the man’s title. “Méridien salvage law supports our claim. More importantly, it is the vessel of my friend, and you can’t have him.”

  The latter statement left the Council members confused, but the smiles and grins of the Admiral’s people told the Leaders that the Admiral’s statement wasn’t a mystery to them.

  Mahima Ganesh stopped struggling. When she did, control returned to her legs. She eyed the Admiral with suspicion. Known for having one of the keenest Méridien minds, Mahima began to reconsider what she should be asking the New Terran Leader.

  “Have you said all you came to say, Admiral?” Mahima asked.

  “Not quite, Council Leader,” Alex replied. “You will direct all Méridien ships to stay out of the Arnos system. I will punish any transgression.”

  The Council members were aghast at Alex’s proclamation, and they weren’t the only ones, but Alex’s people, despite their thoughts, kept neutral expressions on their face.

  “In addition, Leaders,” Alex continued, “know that you have not only lost Arnos, but you have lost Hellébore. That system, I take for my people.”

  “Admiral, you have no right to do this,” Mahima stated, surprised to find herself on her feet.

  “Let’s discuss that, Leader Ganesh,” Alex replied calmly. “You lost six colonies to the Nua’ll. My people saved the remaining Confederation colonies, including Méridien. What price would you place on your home world and your remaining colonies?”

  Alex watched the Leaders quietly focus on their implants, discussing Alex’s question.

  “The Council did not request this service from you,” Mahima finally replied. “Your claim has no foundation.”

  Alex looked at Renée and grinned. She had accurately predicted Mahima’s response.

  “Because I’m feeling generous today, Leader Ganesh and Council members, let me share something with you,” Alex said, spreading his arms in a magnanimous gesture. Alex sent.

  Julien streamed Cordelia’s telemetry of the comm burst from the dying Nua’ll ship to Alex and the SADEs, who forwarded it to the entire Confederation. Simultaneously Alex linked to the Leaders’ implants, wiping aside their security protocols and sharing the signal, which would mean little to them.

  “Once your comm engineers and SADEs have analyzed that signal,” Alex said, “they will come to the conclusion that your advanced Méridien technology could not have created it. That’s because the Nua’ll ship sent it just before it was destroyed. My SADEs tell me the signal was aimed in the general direction of Hellébore, from where the Nua’ll originated. We surmise that the Nua’ll sent a distress signal home.”

  Alex allowed the Leaders time to digest that thought. Then he took a few steps closer to the front rows and raised his voice as if he was addressing a large crowd, saying, “So I ask you, Leaders of the Confederation, whom would you prefer settle your farthest known system from where the Nua’ll first arrived … your people, who run from their own shadows, or my people, who have the courage to confront their enemies?”

  Comms flew between the Council members. Some members urged no compromise with the Admiral, saying it would set a dangerous precedent. The majority disagreed. They had lost family, friends, and associates on the six colonies destroyed by the Nua’ll. If there was even a remote chance that a second monster ship would emerge from the deep dark via the Hellébore system, they didn’t want Méridien lives at risk, and if the Admiral wanted to risk his people, so much the better.

  “Admiral Racine, the will of the Council is to agree to your usurpation of Hellébore,” Mahima announced, “but under several conditions.”

  “You misunderstand me, Council Leader Ganesh,” Alex replied. “I didn’t come here today to negotiate. My people will be occupying Hellébore, and it will not be a part of the Confederation or New Terra. It will be an independent world.” Alex smiled to himself at the thought of calling their new world “independent.”

  “Admiral,” Albert said, “Cetus has been devastated. Your people will starve and your new society will fail. Then what will become of your people?”

  “
Ser Albert de Guirnon,” Alex replied, “if you believe Cetus is devastated then you won’t begrudge us the Hellébore system. But we won’t fail—not with the technology we will soon have to trade.”

  Alex observed the knowing smiles spread across the faces of many of the Council members. You are so confident we can’t match your vaulted Méridien technology, Alex thought.

  One Council member, though, was not so sure. “Admiral,” Gino Diamanté said and raised a tentative hand a second time.

  Alex smiled at the one individual who had the courage to ask questions. “Yes, Leader Diamanté,” Alex said and nodded graciously to him.

  “Admiral, would you care to share some details of the technology that you might perfect?” Gino asked, leaning forward onto his row’s table.

  “You might have noticed, Ser,” Alex replied, “that the silver ships move without any visible exhaust trail. We’ve learned they’re powered by a form of gravity drive. Within a year, we intend to duplicate their technology, building and selling gravity-driven shuttles and other craft.”

  “Impossible!” shouted Albert de Guirnon as he jumped up from his chair. Then he slowly sat back down, embarrassed by his outburst.

  The atmosphere in the chambers changed visibly. Members who had been leaning back in their chairs with annoyed faces now began sitting up. Curiosity began replacing disinterest and anger.

  Renée sent to Alex.

  “We are not unaware of your people’s capability to withhold the truth, even to mislead others with your facts, Admiral,” Mahima said.

  “Council Leader Ganesh—” Tomas began before he was cut off.

  “Silence!” Mahima said. “This Council still regards you as an Independent, Ser Monti. Therefore, you have no right to speak in our Council Chambers.”

  Anger burned through Alex. His fists clenched; his blood pounded. The energy from his implant brought the Council Leader to a halt. She cried out as she grabbed the sides of her head with both hands.