Governor's Tribute

by Sharon L Reddy

Chapter Twenty-eight

  Shel slipped Nightdancer into her berth in Nightband and joined the others at the hatch. It didn't take long for the bay to fill with atmosphere. It was tanked before bay doors were opened and the tank just split to vent it back into the bay. They lost some each time, but not a great deal. 'Warm,' of course, took longer, but hatches were built so it was unlikely someone would touch space-cold surface. The 'skin' of most ships could be heated to reduce the time required to get to merely freezing, but the power to do so wasn't usually worth it, unless one needed to work on it now. However, that happened often enough the circuits were on the frequent-maintenance check list. Nightdancer was on 'warm' because Li had an idea. Issidi was standing right in front of the hatch when it opened.

  "You're supposed to wait until there's atmosphere in the bay, Izzie."

  "I did, Shelter. I just started the hatch cycle when the tank opened. Nisbecki says he found lots of pretty side paths to explore on the way to finding the solution you thought was there, Li."

  "Actually that was Tommy. I said I had an idea and he solved the focusing problem to there and sent it for you to play with. We had Dancer's computer busy with other things and Nisbecki is faster anyway. He can feel the right way to go and a comp can't."

  "It'll let a ship land anywhere, balanced on a flagpole if you have, and want to use, the power."

  "I thought it looked like that would be power dependent. It still makes sense to put it somewhere big enough for it to set down, but a nice lake is big enough."

  "It's going to be very strange seeing a ship sitting on a lake."

  "Hello, Anverd. Li said she thought the idea had been 'collecting ingredients' since we sank the Imperial Terrace Gardens."

  "We sank them, Shel. Ven yelled, 'Down,' and I yelled that was closest. Tam yelled at people to get out of the way. That trader captain is a very rare individual. He landed on Shimmery and hadn't been there before."

  "I think I understood that too well. How long since anyone who hasn't been there got beyond orbital docking?"

  "I think about seven years. Lots of people docked. No one who hadn't landed. They wanted him because he goes to a lot of fairs and sells to a lot of very fine gift shops and several collectors, some of whom have names even you would recognize. Rosepond was just where there was one, when it wouldn't cost him much to make the trip. Basically, they set him up a cargo and dangled a fair at the end of the trip, to make it worth his while to buy it at a nice price and go a bit out of his usual way. The Agtech Traders' Association 'learned' he was going there and the agent on Shimmery sent an invitation."

  "Seven years isn't as bad as we thought it might be."

  "You're looking for a glimmer of hope, my friend, and I'm not sure there is one. That may be when they reached planetary saturation, or that happened four decades ago and the bigotry is being successfully taught so there's a surplus this generation."

  "I'm beginning to wish we'd brought them all. This time it was Barri I wished was here first, but just first. You told someone we're headed there?"

  "I sent coordinates of a spot nearby. We can't even get in the solar system without being noticed."

  "Why?"

  "Mining in the asteroid belt. It's interesting the mining seems to be more dependent on sensor coverage than ore value."

  "Let's make the sensor net blink."

  "I'm definitely interested in any idea you have to achieve it, Tommy. My wife wants to be closer to you than that. She's working on something. She said she's not sure exactly what, but it began with epidemiology statistics."

  "Comm Ven."

  "Yes, Tommy?"

  "Statistics for inoculation of a population don't include most of them being sure you're the enemy."

  "I had three hundred sixty-seven sedated. I hit it would take years to even find them all fast, but I'm still sure there's something in... Later. Out."

  "She found it."

  "Comm Tommy."

  "Yes, Ven?"

  "Here. Now. Lola too. Out."

  Tommy and Lola reversed direction and ran back to the cross-corridor they'd just passed. Li and Izzie took the first lift that took them to engineering. Mandy winked at Shel over Tal's head.

  "Glad I'm a captain. There are just times when being the right size and sturdy just aren't enough."

  "Tal and I know what you mean, Mandy. Being the one who everyone keeps up to date makes it feel like one is accomplishing something more than just standing on the bridge, or relaxing in the spa, until they need our assorted sizes and muscles."

  "Ooh, you have nice ideas, Captain."

  "Shel, I think she got more idea than you had."

  "I think she did too, Tal."

  "It doesn't seem reasonable to have to remind myself, every few seconds, they will tell me what's going on to keep from calling and asking, especially this soon after all those hours I spent doing it on the station. I was sure you'd come up with a way to not have to do it."

  "I did that a long time ago, Mandy. I ask Anverd every few seconds, but I'm sure he appreciates you coming up with another method."

  "Most appreciated, Mandy. It's twenty-one-thirty-one ship time. We changed it to somewhat agree with when our bodies said morning. You six, however, are still short on sleep and Ven will remember before they've been working long. We've got several days to work on whatever they come up with."

  "Five."

  "Why as fast as we can get there?"

  "Why do you think we should wait until the fleet is closer?"

  "I'm not sure that's why."

  "Nine days."

  "Tal agrees with you, Anverd."

  "I don't know where that came from, Shel."

  "It doesn't make any difference if you got it from peering over Li's shoulder or out of thin air, Tal. I don't feel like nine days is too late for anything, so I'm not going to argue with it."

  They worked on Li's idea and Ven's. Li's was 'simple.' It was just physics and engineering. Ven's was not. The counter had to be a 'dose' and it did require injection. Seven days after they left Gerridy, she suddenly saw something. It wasn't what she'd been looking for, but it was a possibility. She worked on it awhile longer, then decided she had an answer, but she couldn't share it with anyone. However, she could share her worries about it and the decision with Anverd. He met her in their quarters.

  "You came up with something too dangerous to even talk about."

  "Yes. It's everything I was after and too much more. I kept thinking of a line from The Arrogant and the Blessed, "flirting with death and dancing with immortality." In some ways, it's too apt. The blocking agent must be tailored to the specific genetic code of the individual."

  "The counter?"

  "Not the same, but not as dangerous either. Basically, we can just release it in the atmosphere. It'll take awhile to work, about forty days, but it will. It won't hurt anyone who doesn't need it. Anverd, I don't want to share what we've got with anyone, including the fleet. There's a reason research on suggestibility drugs is illegal. I thought I knew what it was. Those who made it illegal thought they knew what it was."

  "Make it up, hand it over and say no work on it at all. There won't be any. They think they know why research on it is illegal."

  "Yes, I suppose they do. We need to go home."

  "What?"

  "Please don't ask why. Should I treat all of us or just those in the marriage?"

  "How can I answer that, Ven? You don't want to tell me why you have doubts, but the fact you want to give it to the whole family gives me an idea of... the power of what you found."

  "Power. Yes, a good word for it."

  "Pregnant women?"

  "That's why we need to go home."

  "Comm Shelter."

  "Yes?"

  "Ven has something. It includes we need to dust nine planets fast and go home."

  "Tal and Tommy both nodded."

  "Ven?"

  "Yes,
Tal?"

  "I don't know where it came from, but I got you and Anverd and Tam and Mira. Did that make sense to you?"

  "Yes, Tal, it did. I've been thinking about how vulnerable the empire is if the suggestibility drug was used on Tam and how many may be trying. Boer, Shelter, even the counter we came up with is too dangerous to just give the formula to the fleet. Sooner or later, someone would decide the suggestibility drug was the way to assure rehab for criminals worked 'instantly' and save worlds a huge amount, maybe by just giving it in case someone was guilty. It would certainly be less expensive to tell people they wanted to confess to everything they'd done that was illegal than have to go through the trial and appeal process. The formula for the counter, basically, gives the formula for the drug. That's even more true of the one I came up with that can just be released in the atmosphere."

  "Just... released?"

  "Yes, Shel, but the release will take a lot of planning. It will take about forty days to work, but it will. It won't hurt anyone who doesn't need it and it will be broken down by bacteria in the soil in about another forty once it settles out of it. It's very safe physically."

  "How much are we talking about?"

  "About one hundred sixty kilos for a world. We have just enough elemental stock to do that for nine worlds and docking stations."

  "Ven, I will know what you intend for us and the emperor."

  "Tommy, I didn't even tell Anverd."

  "I didn't think you had, but I won't let you carry it alone. He knows I'm the one to tell. I'll be in the lab in about ten. Out."

  "He's right. He is the one to tell."

  "Why?"

  "Because he's the spy.

  Tommy paled when she showed him what she'd found, then slowly nodded. Ven realized how much lighter the 'load' was and commed Anverd. She told him thank you and she loved him too. Tommy smiled.

  "It's a lot easier to pack with two helping each other do it. It scares the hell out of me, Ven, but I'm sure you're right about it. We did come up with a way to make the sensors 'blink.' Actually, we were working on blink and came up with a way to make them just decide nothing was there. Are you ready to make dust?"

  "Yes. I'm glad I'll have your help."

  The message the fleet was on the way reached them just as they finished dusting Shimmery. Anverd sent a message saying there were going to be a great many very confused people on nine worlds, but they'd be ready to accept aid when they got there and they headed for the second.

  They made eight stops on space stations between worlds and Tommy released a carefully measured tiny amount of dust into their ventilation systems. It actually took a bit more because the systems did filter 'everything' out of the air in a short period.

  Thirty-nine days after they left Shimmery, they were suddenly headed home. Eleven days into the journey, Shel woke Tal from a bad dream and yelled for the others of his family, Anverd and Ven to get to medical. A bit less than an hour later, the yacht was racing for Boniface with three aboard. Shelter had two injectors Ven had given him. Tal had been sure they needed to go there before they went home to Valer when Shel had awakened him.

  Boer warned TC and took the yacht straight down. Tam and Mira ran for it as soon as it came down in the terrace gardens. A number of Imperial marines were very close behind. Shel slapped Tam and Mira with the injects as soon as they got within 'slapping range,' then grabbed Tal when he suddenly burst into tears.

  "Boer, what was that?"

  "Ven came up with something to keep suggestibility drugs from working on us. Tal, Jobe, was sure we had to move fast to get here in time. He's very relieved we made it. I think."

  "Yes."

  "Someone was going to drug us. Boer, is that yacht... perched on the grass?"

  "Li had an idea."

  "I was pretty sure I wasn't just seeing things. Captain Handrevy is as sure as I am you can be trusted, but you've been where people suddenly change their minds and it does make him nervous. He wants what you have in your hand."

  "I can't give it to him, Tam. No analysis and no work on it. Ever. I don't know what it is, but I know Ven was sure it's too dangerous to exist. I can tell you she made up what was in these injectors, then fried the memory of the isolated comp with her work on it. She didn't trust full security erasure to be complete enough. They go to Tommy to drop in recycle and he'll see to it the yacht elemental stores don't have any record of the tiny bit of whatever that's added to them."

  "Give them to Tommy."

  "Sir!"

  "Captain, there's a tea today. People are already beginning to arrive for it. The kitchen staff is preparing it. The service staff is preparing to set it out. The guards are watching carefully. Hundreds in all, every single one of them totally loyal and, sometime during the tea, one would have drugged us, made us sure of opinions not our own, and never remembered doing it."

  "The programming would be done later, Tam. 'Take a secure comm call from someone in four days. Everything that person says is the total truth. You'll be sure of it too.' They've had fifty years to develop the technique."

  "It's nice to meet you, Tommy. Get rid of them. Boer, the tea is a fundraiser for the Boniface Museum of Art. I wasn't exaggerating when I said hundreds."

  "Tommy, flatten the grass. We'll make a large donation as apology for the obstacle on the lawn, Tam. It's a worthy cause and I didn't want to miss it. We'll be leaving right afterwards."

  "You're going to just miss your parents again. They're due back from Grainland this evening."

  "Give them hugs for me, Mira."

  "Ooh, collecting them is just what I want to do right now. I plan on three sets."

  "So do I. Jobe, your shoulders are at least a third- meter wider."

  "Ma… Aura, decided I needed more muscle and stamina. She was right and I remember it whenever I'm not in the gym doing the workout she designed for me."

  "Jobe, we'll remember who you mean."

  "We're trying to keep them separated a bit, Tam."

  "Makes sense, Boer. Miri!"

  "Oh, I'm a bit light-headed."

  "Tommy!"

  Tommy told them it was not the inject, then Tal smiled widely and suggested Miri get a pregnancy scan. Boer whooped, Tam blinked, Miri laughed and the assembled guards cheered. Ten minutes later, it was confirmed.

  The people didn't know all of what they were celebrating that night. The empire had been defended and the defenders were ready to search out the enemy.

  Epilogue

  They'd all been home four days when a letter from Tam arrived. The courier was a present. Tam and Miri had found a way to send Boer's parents, without the spotlights following them. They'd boarded the courier just before the ship they'd been on made a course change. The spotlights wouldn't catch up with it until it landed and it would change course again, before it did.

  They couldn't stay for all of the births, but they'd be there for the first two. They'd be on the ship they'd been on, when it arrived at its original destination. It wouldn't surprise people Tam had decided they should be there to meet their first grandchildren, but they'd learn it after the fact and there was no reason for the spotlights to focus on Valer, since they were no longer there.

  Boer sat down with the letter Tam had written, read it, then read certain words in it. When he had, he cried. Tam had 'ordered' them to stay for the births of all their children. He wished he could give them more time after the last, but he and Miri were both sure they shouldn't stay more than four days after Tori gave birth to their sixth child. He'd just handed the 'open' letter to Jobe to read when Nora said, "Oh!"

  They spent nearly a third year together and with their children, then Tommy gently laid their youngest baby girl in her mother's arms. They'd gotten a message from Geery that morning. The Brennemer Union had learned something. It was time to find a man with big ears, who had once been a clown.

  .