“Interesting,” Kris said. “This is all nice, but we’re looking at an Empire bleeding to death, pfennig by pfennig. That admiral, von Mittleburg, said it was crystal taking the economy down. Did you find out anything on that front?”
An eager young man rushed to the screen to take over the briefing. “They had archives stored here from St. Petersburg, Metzburg, and Brunswick as well as two dozen less industrialized planets in the rebel union. All show that three to four years ago, the availability of crystal plummeted as the price skyrocketed. In the middle of that problem, credit suddenly dried up to finance trade. As if that wasn’t enough, the insurance rate for merchant hulls and cargos shot up. It seems the Navy couldn’t keep pirates from hijacking honest merchants.”
Kris and Jack exchanged glances. They’d had some experience with Greenfeld’s pirate problem before Kris took off to explore the galaxy and discovered what lurked under its bed.
“Did von Mittleburg have any explanation for the Navy’s failure to control pirates?” Jack asked.
“The Navy has been driven from pillar to post, if I may say so, sir. First, they were ordered to planets to root out State Security, then, a bit later they were ordered back to maintain order when unemployment or food riots started. He had me talk to a few Navy officers who were there when the Security Consultants organized by the Empress’s family showed up. The Navy had orders to get out immediately, but they saw the first sweeps. State Security’s trigger-happy thugs were never as bloodthirsty as this bunch was. Their uniforms are red, by the way. That kept them from showing the blood they waded through, according to one of the bitter stories that ran through the fleet.”
“So it’s ugly,” Kris said.
“Apparently very ugly,” the briefer said.
Kris turned to the three heads of her brain trust. “Do you feel like you have a solid enough handle on what the real situation is here in the Empire?”
The three nodded.
“Okay. Now what do we do about it?” she asked.
“That will not be at all easy,” Bill said.
“Not easy at all,” Al agreed.
Diana just nodded.
Leaving Kris with nothing but a frustrated sigh.
46
An hour later Kris had Nelly invite Vicky to the Princess Royal.
A half hour after that, Kris watched from her day quarters as Vicky led a line of civilians and officers up the gangway. Vicky rendered honors without hesitation.
Behind Vicky, sandwiched between her and Admiral von Mittleburg, was a civilian.
“Nelly, is that the much-mentioned Mannie?”
“Yes, Kris.”
Kris studied the man Vicky talked so much about. She’d met him two years ago. His hair showed a bit of gray now; he looked worn but chipper. Kris looked forward to meeting him again.
What surprised Kris was the last civilian following Vicky across the brow. She had brought Mr. Smith to this meeting. Interesting. Hopefully, Mr. Smith would not prove to be as slimy as Admiral Crossenshield, but only time would tell.
Which left Kris wondering who her Crossenshield would be.
There was little time for introspection before Kris was being introduced to a small mob of people. Beside the two admirals and Mr. Smith, whom Kris had met previously, there was Mannie as well as the mayors of Kiev and St. Petersburg. Right behind them came three civilians who proved to be a banker, an industrialist, and a rancher.
Kris and her team were ready for some serious bargaining, and so, apparently, was Vicky.
Nelly arranged comfortable armchairs side by side for Kris and Jack, with two long rows facing each other in front of those. At Kris’s side were three leaders of her brain trust. After seeing Mr. Smith in Vicky’s lineup, Kris had invited Senior Chief Agent in Charge Foile to join them, both to even up the sides and to bring his insight.
Vicky and Mannie took the two chairs facing Kris from the other end of the lineup of chairs. It was interesting that Mr. Smith sat at Vicky’s right hand and Vice Admiral von Mittleburg at Mannie’s left. The other five were comfortably, if unevenly, spaced down the two lines toward Kris.
Kris opened the meeting. “I’m glad to see more people brought into our discussion,” she said, eyeing Vicky.
“I’ve learned to value the input of a lot of people. We wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t be alive, without the aid and advice of these and a whole lot more.”
“Can you speak for the rebellion?” Kris asked.
“Please Kris, don’t call us rebels. I’m a loyal subject of my father, the Emperor, as is everyone here in the room and on more than three dozen planets that stand together against the tyranny that the Empress and her family have imposed on the Empire.”
“You’ll stipulate,” Kris said, “that the Emperor and Empress don’t see it that way.”
Vicky looked around her group, then nodded to Mannie.
He said, “Yes. We will stipulate that the Empress has pulled the wool over the Emperor’s eyes and that he accepts her totally wrong version of events.”
Kris chuckled softly as the mayor of Sevastopol agreed with her while getting in the rebels’ twist on the situation.
“It is clear there is a major disagreement as to the facts on the ground and what should be done,” Kris said.
“I think that is what has brought us to this crossroads,” Vicky said. She seemed to want to say more, but she closed her mouth and eyed Kris. “We can continue the war until one side wins or both are exhausted, or we can resolve the issues peacefully and leave a strong Empire to face any alien base ship that can show up in our skies at any moment.”
There, the major problem was now on the table. If one of those huge mother ships showed up in Greenfeld space in the future, they would find planets wrecked and defenseless. While the US and other alliances were building up their fleets, Greenfield was blowing theirs apart in fratricidal warfare.
What’s the female equivalent for fratricidal?
Kris took a deep breath. “Okay, Vicky, but how do we stop the war?”
“Kris, I was hoping you’d come in swinging with a way we could all end this and live happily ever after.”
“You’ve been reading too many fairy tales.”
“I’ve been reading the Longknife legend,” Vicky shot back.
“Sorry, Vicky, but I’m fresh out of rabbits to pull a hat out of.”
The room fell silent for a long moment as that thought sank into a lot of people’s minds.
“Then what do we do?” was finally voiced by the mayor of Kiev. “We can’t keep burning our production and sending our children off to die in some distant fight.”
“It’s better they die in some distant battle than do it defending our cities as they are blown to rubble.” That came from the industrialist.
Kris figured the room was dark enough. She stepped in with a light.
“I have been given one suggestion by my advisors,” Kris said.
“What?” Vicky shot back immediately.
“It’s not a solution in and of itself. Rather, it’s a path to a solution.”
“You’ve got my attention,” the Grand Duchess said.
Kris took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All of my advisors agree that the only possible way forward is to bring all the principals together in one room to talk this out.”
Vicky eyed Mannie, and they shared a small smile.
Maybe I wasn’t the first to come up with this idea.
Meanwhile, all those around Vicky mulled that thought over for a long moment. Mannie was the first to shake his head.
“If Vicky went to Greenfeld to meet with the Emperor and Empress, she’d be dead within a week.”
“Even under my protection?” Kris asked.
Vicky shook her head. “Kris, I know you mean well, but if I went to Greenfel
d without my battle fleet, the Empress’s ships would blast me out of space. And if I went with my fleet, I can’t believe she wouldn’t scream ‘invasion’ and I’d end up fighting on her home ground. I don’t see that working any way you cut the cards,” she said. Beside her, Mannie joined her in shaking his head. All her associates did the same.
“You could come on my ship. I have a squadron with me,” Kris said.
Vicky didn’t need more than a second to form her reply. “Kris, your frigates look beautiful the plush way you have them fitted out. No doubt with Smart Metal you could shrink them down into something more combative, but not even a Longknife could win with eight dinky frigates against the Empress’s battle fleet. I may have shaved some very nasty ships out of her fleet, but it’s still one big fleet.”
Kris considered for a moment letting Vicky in on the secret of what the new battlecruisers could do to old-line ships, but swallowed it. She didn’t need to let that secret out of the bag. Not yet.
And she had a different card to play.
“You could invite the Emperor and Empress to St. Petersburg.”
Vicky barked a laugh. “Excuse me, Kris, but if I’m unwilling to go to Greenfeld, I expect the Empress would be twice as quick with her ‘I’m not going there.’ I’ve learned the value of paranoia from you, Kris. The Empress is way past paranoia and deep into full insanity. Sorry, Kris, neither one of those ideas is going to happen.”
“How about some neutral ground?” Kris asked. Her brain trust, who had been getting antsy, finally relaxed as Kris put their idea on the table.
Vicky took a moment to consider before she asked. “Where would we find neutral ground? Neutral ground we would all agree upon?”
“Both my mediator and arbitrator have a suggestion for that,” Kris said, and opened her right arm in their general direction. Bill, the arbitrator, took up Kris’s offer of the floor.
“Her Highness has already given you some idea of how we would do this. Let’s say we make up a list of five planets where we might hold such a meeting with, say, Greenfeld at the top and St. Petersburg at the bottom. No doubt, you would strike one and they would strike the other as a nonstarter. But what about the other three? Those in between?”
“I guess that would depend on what those three were,” Vicky said.
“My brain trust has three to suggest,” Kris said. “The next two would be Brunswick and Dresden. Both of those planets are fully developed and have space stations that would meet our needs. One is yours while the other is theirs, but both are only a few jumps from the other’s territory. Again, it’s very likely that you would strike one and they the other. That brings us to the fifth planet. The one between the other planets that have already been struck.”
Kris paused to take stock of Vicky’s advisors. None of them looked ready to storm out. All were leaning forward, listening intently.
“We looked at several possibilities. Bliven meets our needs. It has a space station. It was in the Empire until recently. It did not join your rebellion, but it did petition the US for acceptance into the union and is now a full member of the United Society. It also is easily reached from both your territories. That’s one choice.
“The second one is also US. Pandemonium. Its new space station is a bit on the small and primitive side. Still, the amenities available on the planet will meet all essentials though its spirits are limited to beer. They have yet to start a vineyard. I’m told they do produce a moonshine with quite a kick, but it might not please refined tastes.”
So far, none of the planets named had gotten any reaction from Vicky or her associates. Kris continued.
“There is one last planet we considered. Cuzco is a well-established planet that has managed to maintain its independence since the Society of Humanity broke up. It’s industrialized and has a large space station. It’s about an equal number of jumps from both Greenfeld and St. Petersburg. They kowtow to no one, but I think they’d be willing to let us park a few ships at their station if it would resolve this war and increase their trade with the Empire.”
For a moment, as the silence grew and stretched, Vicky eyed Kris. Then she nodded. “Can you give me a few minutes to consult with my advisors, Kris?”
“That will not be a problem. Nelly, could you raise a wall to give them their privacy.”
“As you said,” Nelly replied, “that will not be a problem.” A wall began to grow out from the bulkhead and also slowly from the deck. There were a few looks of dismay from Vicky’s team, but when it quickly became clear that no one would be sliced in half, dismay turned to awe.
“Why don’t we have something like this?” the banker asked.
“Because we’re too busy blowing up the stuff we can make and don’t have enough time or money to research this and get it in production,” the industrialist growled.
The Empire had Smart MetalTM. Hank, or someone else, had used some of the stuff to try to kill Kris. They had the basic stuff but hadn’t made nearly as much progress as the rest of humanity.
Just shows the price of civil war.
“When you’re ready to talk to us, just have your computer contact Nelly. Nelly, no listening in on the other side of that wall, okay?”
“I have disabled all devices on that side of the wall,” Nelly said.
SPOILSPORT. I WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HOW A DIFFERENT BATCH OF HUMANS HANDLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
YOU WILL WAIT LIKE THE REST OF US TO SEE WHAT THEY COME UP WITH, NELLY.
And that settled that.
47
Kris was quite surprised at how long Vicky and her advisors took.
The first couple of minutes were busy, filled with comments on how well Kris had done in presenting their ideas. The troika of advisors had been busy watching the faces of those seated down the line from them. Al, Bill, and Diana were quite excited by this or that twitch or fleeting expression that they thought bode well for developments.
All Kris had seen were blank faces.
I’m not that bad at reading people, am I? Kris wondered.
After about five minutes, they ran out of things to talk about.
As time stretched, Al, the experienced mediator, produced a deck of cards and asked if anyone played bridge. The other two admitted to that addiction, and Foile added himself to the necessary four. Nelly produced a table, and they quickly lost themselves in the game.
Which left Kris and Jack the odd couple out.
YOU WANT TO SLIP OUT TO OUR NIGHT QUARTERS?
IT IS TEMPTING.
Nelly interrupted. “O’Malley wants to know if you’re available for nursing duty, Kris.”
Thus Kris found herself only half-undressed in her night quarters, and Jack looking down at the fussy miracle at her breast. Ruth really wanted to fuss and ignored the offered breast. Kris ended up walking the floor with her, letting her gnaw on her finger.
Those teeth really are coming in.
Only after Ruth chose to settle down would she allow herself to be fed.
Halfway through draining one breast, she fell asleep.
O’Malley removed the sleeping princess. “Thank you. She had all of us pulling our hair out. We offered her the bottle you filled last night, but she wanted nothing of us. Sometimes, a baby just wants Mommy and nothing else.”
“Yes,” Kris said, with a satisfied, motherly smile. She got herself put back together. “Sorry our time got redirected.”
“I could watch you and Ruth for hours,” Jack said, sporting a very satisfied, fatherly smile.
They returned to the Forward Lounge where the card game was still going on. The four played energetically to the point of rowdiness but with good humor.
NELLY, CAN THEY HEAR THIS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL?
KRIS, I CAN’T ANSWER THAT. YOU HAD ME DISABLE ALL MONITORING DEVICES ON THAT SIDE OF THE ROOM.
OKAY, BUT CAN YOU DO ANYTHING TO KEEP THIS ON OUR SIDE?
KRIS, THE FIRST TIME THINGS GOT ROWDY, I PUT IN A SECOND WALL AND LEFT A VACUUM BETWEEN THE TWO. I’M PRETTY SURE NOTHING IS GETTING THROUGH TO DISTURB THEM.
THANK YOU, NELLY.
Every once in a while, Nelly still managed to put Kris in her place.
The wait stretched further. Much further than Kris liked, but the cardplayers didn’t seem disturbed by the length of the time.
“They’re talking,” Al, the mediator, said during a short time as dummy. “We dumped a lot on them. It’s no wonder they’re taking their time to vent and process all they heard.”
Kris had Nelly start calling the length of the break at five-minute intervals. She’d just said, “Fifty-five minutes,” when she added, “And they are ready to rejoin us.”
In a flash, the cards disappeared into Al’s pocket, the card table and chairs sank into the deck. Six comfortable, overstuffed chairs were again where they’d been for the discussions. As they settled into their places, Kris said, “You may take the wall down, Nelly.”
Again, Kris’s computer let the wall melt away slowly and in an unthreatening manner. Vicky’s advisors were just taking their places. Kris’s waited patiently. Glances from her advisory troika seemed to hint strongly that she should keep her mouth shut.
Vicky finally cleared her throat. “Have you considered offering all seven planets to me and my father to choose from?”
Kris watched her advisors make ever-so-slight nods. Slight smiles might even have snuck out for brief seconds.
Have I been played? Did they have me mention seven planets so Vicky’s team might get an oar in the water on this decision? We’re going to have a little talk when this is all done.
“I don’t think that would be any problem at all. We’ve already composed a letter to the Emperor and you. Nelly, would you please expand the choices of planets to seven.”
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