Inwards Bound (The RIM CONFEDERACY Book 13)

by Jim Rudnick

  “Been there, done that,” Alver said, and that got some nods in the room.

  “Home, please—well, I mean, back to Crisus, and take the pad beside the Crimson I if possible,” Bram ordered his XO.

  She replied, “Wilco,” and the ship tilted back as she sent it straight up and out into the blackness of space. In less than a minute, she was talking to the landing authority and then gliding the Defiant back to settle beside the Crimson I.

  Bram made small talk with the warlord group as he guided them out of the Defiant, and he smiled a lot. He nodded when he was supposed to and then waved goodbye too, as the group led by Ogrunder waved back and moved off to get in a small bus parked there waiting for them.

  Afterward, he asked Alver and the XO for their impressions of the three worlds they’d visited in a couple of hours, and he added them to his own thoughts and sent an EYES ONLY with the combined comments to the duke before dinnertime.

  Tonight, Bram would have dinner at a local restaurant that came very well recommended by Ogrunder and his crew, and then it’d be an early night. At least early to bed, he thought.

  Bram worried if he’d spend yet another night with some tossing and turning. He often thought about how Gia was and wondered what she knew about him. I’d like to put my name on her visitor’s list to be vetted by the ducal courts … if she would even see me. Right now, Bram was sure of only one thing, and it was not something he could ignore.

  #####

  The EYES ONLY flashed on the screen, and moments later, the Duchy d’Avigdor’s icon of the three planets appeared, and just as quickly, it faded as the duke’s face came on screen.

  “Hello all,” Tanner said, and he nodded to them from his private study in the ducal palace. Out of camera range, but still able to partake in the conversation, sat Helena, his wife, who was wolfing down some lunch. At least Tanner thought it looked like lunch, but there were too many tentacles in it for his liking.

  Captain Sander smiled back at Tanner and said, “Hello too, Your Grace. We are all here—myself; Daika, the Crimson I’s XO; Lieutenant Walton, the ship’s science officer; and Major Stal as well,” he said. They were all crammed into his ready room and angled around the monitor screen and camera so the duke could see them as well.

  “Right,” Tanner said. “Then tell me about this warlord—Tunander—and his coalition.” He wasted no time and got right to the point.

  Bram filled him in, and he began with their original reception on Oirus and then down in the city of Crisus. He talked at some length about his group’s feelings about the “banana republic” feel of this warlord and his home planet. Tanner did ask some pointed questions about the warlord himself, which the group had some difficulty in answering. “Mostly, we can’t say much about him,” Bram said, “because we’d yet to really sit and talk with the man, having more dealings with his aides like Ogrunder who seemed to have attached himself to our group.”

  Bram let Daika then spend a few minutes showing the duke what the various changes were since she’d been there on the Scavenger those five years back. Again, the duke asked some more questions, and he was surprised to hear that the latest information on Gallipedia was updated just one month back.

  After Daika finished, Bram again took point, and he explained all about their trip yesterday. “The first planet we toured, Ventos Prime, had huge oil reserves and production. It is a certain winner in any realm’s group of planets, and from what I could see, technology was a bit behind but still serviceable. It gets the crude to the refineries and then down to the landing ports for transport off world.”

  The duke nodded, made some notes on his tablet, and said, “Go on, Bram.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Bram replied. “The second planet we toured was Jannah, and it reminded all of us of the Duos world. On Jannah, the government had full control of the only source of fresh water, which made the government a god on the planet. It was a hydraulic empire type—I looked this up in Gallipedia—and that kind of world was very much an agricultural community. Farming was the main industry here on Jannah, and the warlord controlled the water to do that.”

  The Duke d’Avigdor nodded, but the Duchess d’Avigdor stopped Bram to ask him a question. “And the people there, on Jannah—they allow this control?”

  Bram shrugged as he replied, “There is no way of knowing, Ma’am. Our guide offered up no real information beyond what we could see from a few thousand feet above the huge lakes.”

  That seemed to be what she wanted, and the duke nodded to Bram to continue.

  “Lastly, Your Grace, we were taken to Parauda, the real strength at least in some minds here,” he said as he glanced over at Major Stal, “of the warlord’s power. It’s a planet with one single industry—armed forces. They turn out thousands of very well-trained soldiers annually and then lease them out to any and all of the various realms in their space. Seems like—at least from what we heard—that this is a very expensive planet that as yet does not cover its costs. At least that’s the feeling we all got—right, Alver?”

  Major Stal leaned forward a bit. “Your Grace—we could not really see the training or the facilities, so we’ve no way to actually know just how good these soldiers are. But, we were told that they graduate twenty thousand a year, and all go right out the door to various realms here in Pentyaan space—rather to Warlord space, as they now refer to their real estate. I’d definitely like the chance to visit and see their facilities and check on their training right up close—and with your permission, I’ll ask for that?”

  The duke nodded and said simply, “Good idea, Alver—soonest too.”

  Bram went on. “And that’s the three worlds we saw. Each has its own issues, yet each in its own way has possibilities too. Cash cow is how our guide described Ventos Prime; an agricultural revolt in waiting was Jannah; and the Parauda planet may be something we can all look into more fully after Alver has a look-see.”

  The duke nodded and then seemed to be reflective for a moment. “And … is that the whole report?”

  Bram smiled and shook his head. “Your Grace, we on the RIM now take the Barony Drive for granted so much that when we told our tour guide we could go to all three of the planets—in less than a few hours—he was shocked. Amazed, maybe. We put the talks about the Barony Drive on hold—or tried. But the look on their faces when we went four lights in less than five seconds was very telling. We have something just in the drive itself that they want badly. How badly, exactly, might be for the trade group you send down here to negotiate with the warlord, but I’d say it’s a major, major card to play.”

  He went on to explain, that he’d even had their Head Engineer come up to show the group what the Barony Drive was all about; the vid showed the various parts including the two plates, the bio-gel and it’s dispenser too, the engineering console app and the satellites that sat near a sun, to provide the gravity well push. He said that the Parauda group had asked the most questions, but that all were very very much interested in acquiring the Barony Drive too. Very interested indeed.

  The duke nodded and then smiled at Bram. “Well, when it comes to that ‘trade group,’ as you called them—that’s you folks right there in the room. We have already gotten the good to go on using the Barony Drive as a trade factor, so in your talks, you can decide what to do for the mission. I know, I know,” the duke said, as he nodded, “you didn’t know that you’d be the trade deal makers, and in that respect, you’re definitely the ones we’re counting on.

  “I am, however, going to send along an old friend of ours—yours too, Bram—to help. I have requested that Ambassador Harmon be added to your group, and he’ll arrive later today. You—the captain—are still in charge, Bram, but the ambassador can help with all the diplomatic wheeler-dealer type items too. Admiral McQueen suggested this secondment, and I agreed wholeheartedly.

  Ambassador Harmon, Bram knew well, as they’d been together on the first contact trip to Enki years back. Bram had been charged with terrorism—not the
case in reality, but those had been the charges. Ambassador Harmon had been instrumental in the back room dealings to get the case decided in Bram’s favor. The addition of the ambassador to this mission was a great idea, and Bram shared that with the duke.

  “Okay, then we’re still waiting for the upcoming meeting with this Warlord Tunander. Alver, you can slide over to this military world for a look-see, and Bram, Ambassador Harmon will be there in a couple of hours. Please, keep me in the loop, and so far, team, so good … my thanks—the partners thank you too!” he said as the screen went dark and faded to black.

  Bram looked at his group. “We all okay?” he asked simply.

  Everyone nodded, but Lieutenant Walton did have a question.

  “If it’s okay with the captain, may I accompany the major on that trip to Parauda? I would like to see more about their training facilities and what kinds of technology they’re using for their military training?”

  “Permission granted, Lieutenant,” Bram answered as the meeting broke up, and they all went their separate ways.

  #####

  On the Crimson I bridge, Bram sat making reports, and while it was new to him as a new captain, he hated it more than even his old captain the duke had. Navy regulations said the captain had to sign off on everything. From the latest water purity report so that no crew ever got sick drinking local water that the ship had tanked in to the daily counting of all ordnance, it all had to be signed off by Bram. Nukes and all those new cases of the .454 Casull rounds were counted daily and then sent to the captain as a report. He was supposed to read each and every line of same—every single day—and then okay the report, which would notify the sender or author or both of same, and then it was archived in the ship’s logs. From ammunition to water to green beans, every single thing that could be counted was. If an item could be tested, it was. Every single crewman too—from their latest health reports to physical performance reports to professional development testing and certifications—had reports that Bram had to sign off on.

  “Reports mean what they mean, but surely ,there might be a better way,” he said to himself as he looked down the long scrolling list in his INBOX and realized he’d be in the captain’s chair for hours still.

  At some point during his second hour of reviewing reports, the bridge door slid open, and after he turned to look, he grinned and stood to meet the latest team member personally. “Ambassador Harmon, so, so good to have you here. And I can say with all honesty, your skills are needed!” he said as he held out his hand to shake his friend’s hand.

  About sixty-five years old and in his prime, Ambassador Harmon worked for the RIM Confederacy government on Juno, and as their senior diplomat, he was well respected. His white hair, cut short now, Bram saw, sat on top of a well-tanned face, and as always, the ambassador looked lean, trim, and fit. In his brown civilian suit, he looked like an ambassador, Bram thought, and they made small talk until they reached the ready room.

  Ambassador Harmon took a seat with the captain. “Captain Sander—so good to see you. And congratulations on your captaincy too—first Issian, I believe, to ever be a captain on the RIM,” he said.

  Bram could tell the congratulations were both sincere and honest, and he smiled back. “The duke appears to be unafraid of change when it comes to the RIM, and I’m just thankful for the opportunity. But tell me, Ambassador, any news back from the Confederacy?”

  They spent almost an hour catching up on what was new. Bram and the Crimson I had only been away for a week, but he found some items interesting.

  The ambassador mentioned that Enki was pulling out of their being a part of the Caliphate, and that was big news to Bram. It appeared that would happen officially at the next upcoming RIM Confederacy Council meeting. Bram’s eyebrows rose even higher when Ambassador Harmon shared the news about the Praix and Issians looking into the Ghayth wreck and among other Praix spots on the planet. Bram asked for more information, and the Ambassador took a bit of time to provide all the updates, but he did say that the whole RIM was watching that carefully especially as there might be new technology as a result.

  After they had covered all the news, Bram brought the ambassador up to date on the mission. He shared what he’d been charged with on behalf of the three partners—the Duchy d’Avigdor, the Barony, and the Caliphate. He related what they’d found out so far with their first foray into Warlord space and the Tunander Coalition including what they’d seen on the coalition planets. “Some things had been explained to us, but as the visits were very short, the explanations weren’t very detailed,” Bram said.

  The ambassador nodded. “So, Captain, it appears that we—well, you and your team that is—will be the ones making any offers to these four planets. Either as a whole—they can all join the RIM Confederacy—or in part if, say, only one wants to leave this Warlord space and come over to our Confederacy. All I need to do, it sounds like, is to offer some of the finer points of diplomacy—if needed.

  “And after listening to you and your overall impressions of what you refer to as a ‘banana republic,’ I think we’re going to make some headway. Nothing attracts new realms to the RIM more than advantages that they not only do not have but cannot get on their own—the Barony Drive as you stated is a major negotiation tool for us,” he said.

  While he was talking, Bram grinned, and in his mind, he could see the ambassador rubbing his hands together. The duke had been right in getting this diplomat along for the ride, of that, I am sure.

  Ambassador Harmon questioned Bram about what he thought of the three worlds they’d toured. Even though there hadn’t been much time to gather in-depth detail, Bram mentioned every single item he could recall to try to give the ambassador as much information as possible.

  Toward the end of their discussions, a chime sounded on the ready room monitor, and Bram leaned to his side to click the keyboard. His bridge Ansible officer, Lieutenant Brush, had called him.

  “Sir, there is an incoming Ansible message from—well, I take it that this is true—the agricultural ministry on Jannah. They’re up in orbit, and after they come down, they’re requesting a meeting with you. They specifically asked for it to be private, Sir. What do I reply?”

  A questioning look on his face, Bram turned to the ambassador. “What counsel can you provide here, Ambassador? This is unusual to a degree, but the ‘private’ part is what is really worrisome, I’d think,” he said.

  The ambassador nodded back to him and offered up his advice. “Take the meeting, but have them okay that I can sit in on same—else refuse. That kind of a binary choice, right up front, establishes that you are willing to listen—but that you too have protocols that you need to follow. That should not be an item that they will be disliking, I’d think …”

  Bram thought about that for a second and then clicked the answer button on the keyboard in front of him. “Lieutenant, tell them that the meeting is okay but that I will also have Ambassador Harmon with me—and that’s my choice. Put it nicely but make sure they understand that he will be a part of the meeting. Got it?” he asked and the “Wilco” came back strongly from his Ansible officer.

  Moments later, the “meeting confirmed” notice icon appeared on the monitor.

  Bram grunted. “That one worked fine, Ambassador—now let’s go find a conference room we can use.”

  They left the ready room, and on the way through, Bram let his science officer, Walton, know they were heading down to a conference room on Deck Two, and he asked him to notify the head steward to meet them there.

  After receiving an affirmative reply, Bram and the ambassador exited the bridge and walked over to the lift to go down from Deck Twenty to Deck Two, and while the trip took all of two minutes, when the lift door opened up, the head steward stood in front of them. Two of Alver’s marines were there to escort the guests to whichever conference room they’d be using, and he nodded to them.

  The steward gestured down the curved corridor ahead and spoke up. “Sir, we’
re just opening up conference room four for our use—we’ll set it up quickly for, say, a group of ten at the table—five per side. We’ll also have extra audience chairs behind the one side in case the visitors have more than five attendees. We’re bringing down—from the kitchens up on Deck Fourteen—refreshments. Drinks like juices and waters and even wine—if that might be needed. We’re also adding in some small hors d’oeuvres, too, in case the visitors might be hungry,” he added.

  “Or us,” the ambassador said. “You run a great ship, Captain!” He smiled as they rounded the curved corridor to the conference room.

  The room was bright and even cheerful, Bram noted, and he made a small request of the ship’s AI to put a streaming feed of the planet Jannah up on the view-screen in a loop. That had been recorded just yesterday on their coalition tour, and he thought it a nice idea to show his guests too.

  Bram and Ambassador Harmon seated themselves in two chairs, side by side on one side of the table, and noted that a steward was distributing desk pads, paper pads, stylos, and pens for each of them and then for the five places on the others side of the table. Another was putting up fresh empty glasses and pitchers of water on each side. And still others were moving trays of finger foods onto a catering table against the far wall with a side area already stocked with drinks.

  My crew is pretty good, Bram thought. He’d never been a captain before, and usually when he walked into a meeting, all this had already been done. Ahead of time. Perfect in every way. But now, he realized that a ship needed more than a captain—the crew was just as important as he was. If the Jannah world guests were impressed, it was because of the stewards. “Good thing to know,” he said to himself and he nodded to the ambassador.

  “I have no idea why they’re coming—but I can tell you that we were supposed to land and meet all of their officials yesterday, and I ditched that idea and we flew over. I don’t know what’s coming, but it might well be hurt feelings, perhaps?”