Playing at Grown ups

A Pink Dormouse Production

Chapter Nineteen

Marianne

The journey to Horizon had been uneventful, the magnetic barrier around the planet presenting no problem once she had modified the Sappho’s force wall. The base here was mainly a training and supply post as the planet was too far from the centre of Federation space to support much in the way of active fighting groups. Avalon ran operations on the base: according to Jayrel the woman was widely touted as a future leader of the Alliance and so it made sense for her to keep away from the main action.

Marianne and her crew had been welcomed with open arms by the group and she had been supplied with letters of introduction to the planet’s leader with whom she hoped to open trade negotiations on behalf of some of her more affluent contacts. Leaving the Terror Twins to relax on the base, she borrowed a flier and headed for the landing strip near to the Royal Residence.

She was immensely glad to have borrowed clothing also; tropical rainforests in the rainy season were no place to be wearing leather. The loose-fitting linen shirt and trousers, not to mention the broad-brimmed hat, made her feel like someone out of a story of the old British Empire but at least she could move without overheating.

"As you can see," Ro said, gesturing around the cavernous throne room, "we are a simple people. Primitives the Federation called us." Marianne glanced around the cave and studied the light blue robes Ro and his consort, Selma, wore.

"Sometimes the old ways are as good as the new ways," she said. "I myself have been called a throw-back because I prefer the traditional weapon of my planet’s native people," she indicated the crossbow, "to more advanced weapons."

"You are not of Terran descent then?" Ro asked.

"I believe one of my great grandparents was from the Southern People on my planet: they are compatible with humans, whereas the Northern People are not." Normally her small percentage of alien DNA went unmentioned, but in a bargaining position such as this she was prepared to milk it for all it was worth. "And your people?"

"We do not take humans for partners," said Selma.

"Probably very wise," said Marianne, "I heard how the Federation treated your people. But maybe you would be prepared to do business with other worlds now to stabilise your planet’s future?"

"We have little that may be exported," said Ro, "the Monopasium-239 that the Federation was so interested in requires sophisticated, expensive equipment to be harvested safely."

"So you require to establish other trade before you can begin mining again? I noticed several plants on the way here that look similar to those from which pharmaceuticals have been extracted on other worlds. And this spirit we are drinking could become very popular with those of discerning tastes."

"Unfortunately," said Ro, "we lack the resources to run analyses on the plants or to increase production of the mentha to higher levels."

"Not a problem," said Marianne, "allow me to take a sample of the mentha and cuttings of the plant to associates of mine. If they like what they see, they themselves will fund further development." Another job for Nils...

"Can we trust these people?" Ro and Selma both asked.

"I can only give you my word but let me assure you that I have never known them to cause problems before."

"Very well," said Ro, "you may take samples and return to us yourself with news before we decide how to proceed."

"I thank you." Well, that’s one task carried out, the other will have to wait until I come back. Not the most trusting of people but then I gather they have good reasons.

Soolin

"Good news." Mylo brought a tray of drinks over to a mess hall table and sat down between Soolin and Grant. "The Five Systems are holding a council of war. They could be sending a fleet to liberate Betafarl within the month."

"If they don’t declare war on each other first," said Soolin, taking a mug of tea from the tray,

"Unlikely," said Grant, "the systems have been at peace for nearly a year and their leaders must understand the importance of Betafarl regaining its independence."

"Plus," said Mylo, "they have a skilled mediator overseeing the talks. A neutral with a firm understanding of the sector’s interplanetary politics."

"Friend of yours by any chance?" said Soolin. Mylo had been very reticent on the subject of his Primary other than to make it clear that they were not bound by any vow of exclusivity. Soolin got the impression that the man was something of an important personage back home and had a few suspicions as to his identity.

"You could say that... I have every confidence in his abilities."

"So why need it take a month?" said Grant. "Surely the sooner they reach agreement, the better?"

"You must understand that these systems have been in a state of cold war for many generations. If the Federation had not become such a threat last year they would still be disagreeing with each other and forming or breaking loose alliances as it suited their planets’ economies."

"He’s right," said Soolin, "I’ve seen some of these warlords firsthand: if we want a lasting agreement with them we must allow them to proceed cautiously." She carefully avoided direct mention of Avon’s discussions with four of the warlords the previous year.

"How long will we have to wait between when an agreement is reached and we get the news here?" Grant asked.

"A day at most. I am in regular contact with my... associate and he will let me know as soon as he is able of any developments at all. In the meantime, I would very much like to send for my command ship so that I may prepare for the SCorps’ entry into the war. I have many battle projections and deployment calculations to study."

"You are quite welcome to use our computer facilities. If you ask Soolin nicely she may even persuade Orac to give you a demonstration of its abilities."

"Thanks but I would prefer to work with my own equipment. Besides," Mylo smiled at Soolin, "I miss the comforts of my own cabin."

"Let me run that request by some of the others," said Grant. "I’ll let you know our decision later today."

"That would be much appreciated," said Mylo as Grant left.

"You miss your cabin, do you? What’s so great about it then?"

"You’ll just have to wait and see.">

Dariel

Avon had made a token protest about the dangers faced by a planetary leader going offworld in the middle of a war but not until after he had spent the night with Dariel. Everything he had had to say had made perfect sense but Dariel was going for more than just hunting, even if his reasons for mediating the treaty were not purely altruistic. He had every confidence that his ship and crew could get him to Khom and back in perfect safety. The heavily armed battlecruiser had been the SCorps’ flagship in the days before Mylo became the visible leader of the mercenary group and brought in his own command vessel. Now Dariel used it as both protection and a status symbol when he chose to visit leaders of planetary systems or interplanetary organisations.

Chalsa had been an ally since the early days of his leadership and his father had been one of Dariel’s close friends but the ruling families of the other worlds, notably Tarl, had been less accommodating in the past. After a week of sport shooting, all differences seemed temporarily forgotten. Dariel had bagged a occepal big enough to make an ankle length coat for Avon (Nils had more furs than wardrobe space and Mylo was too macho for such fripperies).

The group that sat around the banqueting table in Chalsa’s palace were far less argumentative than he had expected but the mood was liable to change more rapidly than any of Avon’s. He expected the loudest voice of dissent to come from Boorva and so far he had not been disappointed.

"I say we take Betafarl for ourselves and forget all about any alliance with the rebels. United and with Betafarl’s riches divided amongst us, the Federation will not dare to attack this sector again."

"Surely you cannot believe that, Boorva? And even if you do, you must see that this alliance has other benefits beyond military: trade for one."

"So when is Astbury to join the rebels? Let’s see some action from your end of the table."

"I have already sent my fleet, I am holding out on more until certain... amnesties have been granted."

"You mean the bounties on your head posted by various worlds already in the Alliance? Surely you could pay them all off a hundred times over?"

"Maybe. But why should I? There are others leading the rebellion who in their time have been far more notorious than I."

"That is a matter for debate, I expect," said Boorva. "But if you are not officially part of this group, how do we know we can trust you?"

"Because I am not part of the group, of course. I stand to gain nothing material from the processes we are discussing."

"But you will still send your lap dog in to make a tidy profit once the dust has cleared."

Dariel was impressed at how well he restrained himself from responding to the blatant insult directed at himself and Nils. He turned to face his closest ally.

"Chalsa, tell Boorva why he should trust me..."

Avon

"So then Soolin offered to make Bloody Marys and the three of us retired to the control room while you dealt with Tarrant." Vila paused. "But you know the rest." Avon looked up at him.

"Tell me anyway." The detector shield project was back on track and all the interesting people were offworld, or at least out of town, so he was staying in the flat a lot more than usual. Storme’s suggestion that Vila talk about the events Avon was starting to remember was helping him to place them in context although he still had obvious gaps in his memory. The pair were spending more time together than they had in a while, which he relished (a nauseating bit of sentiment but he would worry about that later).

"If you insist," said Vila, "but I’ll need another beer first... That means you have to move as well."

"But I’m comfortable." Lying across Vila’s lap was completely unnecessary when they had two other perfectly serviceable sofas in the living room but that was also on the list of bad habits to be broken later (much later).

"You’ll have to move eventually. Why don’t we go downstairs instead? I’ll finish the story then we can play some pool and you can talk to the old guys again."

Avon groaned. The SCorps veterans who drank in the Sprocket and Piston seemed to find him interesting because of his involvement with Dariel (tenuous though that involvement was). They insisted on regaling Avon with stories of campaigns they had fought in, most of which made him wonder how so many of them (five at least) had survived long enough to retire. He was not in the mood for more tales of other people’s battles and bloodshed.

"I think maybe we’ll stay in tonight." He sat up. "You couldn’t bring me another glass of Merlot while you’re on your feet?"

"So, did you sleep with Soolin?"

It’s that time of the evening. Then again, he’s probably been dying to know for ages... "Not in the way you’re meaning but we did share a bed once."

"Same here. When did you..."

"On the way to Betafarl. I couldn’t sleep and she came and sat in the cabin with me. It just led on from there like with..." Cally. Suppose he knows about that already. Why it never got beyond the sleeping part... but then she knew me too well without us getting any closer...

"Same here, except it was even more awkward what with you bein’ ill an’ Tarrant bein’ out for blood."

"When was this?"

"It doesn’t matter. It was after... well anyway it’s in the past. Pity neither of us ever got anywhere with Soolin though."

After Blake then. Not going to think about that...

Soolin

"So this is your command ship." The heavy cruiser hung in stationary orbit above the base, too large to land on even the main pad. Soolin stepped out of the shuttle after Mylo. "They didn’t waste any time getting it here for you."

"Well, the main drive is far superior to anything in common use and the crew will have been on standby since I left them. As you can see we field three shuttles and five short-range fighters from this bay. Now where do you want to visit first?"

"The flight deck, I suppose."

"You disappoint me, Soolin, or were you leaving the best till last?"

"Meaning your cabin?"

"But of course..."

"And finally..." Mylo opened the door to his cabin with a flourish.

"So, I presume this is the point at which you attempt to seduce me?" Not that Soolin was entirely adverse to the idea, even if it would prove certain people right.

"Is that what you were expecting? I was actually planning on offering you a place as my second; you are obviously wasted on the base. The seduction comes later."

"Hmmm..." She had been wanting a change of scenery and she had only told Del Grant the previous evening that she would consider the similar offer he had made. "What about Tansa? Where does that leave her?"

"With her own command, of course. She has earned a promotion. I am not asking that you sign up with the SCorps, it would be a show of solidarity if someone from your people were to join me for the duration of the war."

"And the seduction?"

"I’m sure you know how these things work with the SCorps."

"Looks are nearly as important as ability." Soolin said, repeating the well known rumour about the SCorps.

"Attraction is a vital part of the command structure. We are away from our homes for long periods, what could be more natural?"

"I know a few people who would disagree. But I’m interested. Give me a day to consider it. There are other organisations I could be working for that would be equally beneficial to the cause."

"But do they have the fringe benefits?"

"I’ll let you know..."

On to Chapter Twenty

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