<Understood, Alex,> Cordelia replied.
<Vyztram,> Alex sent.
<Yes, Alex,> the AI replied.
<Sail the Arcus to the far belt,> Alex directed. <Order a drone to return to your ship. That’s the one that we’ll collect.>
<Does Trobath remain on planet?> Vyztram asked.
<I suggest the core’s reps and you consider making Trobath your ambassador or envoy to the Ollassa,> Alex replied. <She’s making great headway with many Mesa Control individuals.>
<Does this include the mandators?> Vyztram asked. The AI knew that the mandators were critical to the alliance negotiations.
<I think that Scarlet Mandator will overrule the others mandators if they become recalcitrant,> Alex sent. <What Scarlet Mandator needs most is the reaction of most Ollassa.>
<How can we accommodate that shift in opinion if the Arcus sails for the belt with every other Elvian but Trobath aboard?> Vyztram queried.
<There’s AI time, and then there’s biological time, Vyztram,> Alex replied with a chuckle. <Killian, Trobath, Bethley, and Trium are busy influencing Ollassa Mesa Control. They’ve been connecting to ships and stations. The Ollassa are fascinated by Trobath’s courtesies to them. Their stalks can’t imitate her movements. Nonetheless, they admire her grace and innocence. She’s presenting the qualities of the Elvian race, which deny aggressive animalistic behavior. More important, it offers the idea that the destruction of Ollassa ships at the far belt was a mistake.>
Vyztram was about to deny that the drones’ actions were mistakes but instead were part of their programming. Then Julien’s teachings returned. This would be a necessary omission to preserve the possibility of an alliance that might save two races.
<Yes, Alex, it was a most regrettable event,> Vyztram sent. <I’ll set sail for the system’s periphery immediately.>
<Cordelia, the Tripper will need a Trident escort,> Alex sent. He attempted to link to Tatia through the controller but was blocked by Cordelia.
“My love,” Renée whispered in Alex’s ear. “It’s three ten hours in the morning.”
<Later,> Alex sent to the conference group, and terminated his link.
“Now, maybe both of us can get some undisturbed sleep,” Renée murmured and snuggled against Alex.
Alex intended to spend a few moments arranging the final aspects of the transfer and shipping of the drone, but he didn’t get far. Sleep came quickly and deeply.
35: Transit Tripper
<Greetings, Captain Walton,> Cordelia sent.
<Greetings, Admiral,> Kara Walton replied. <I hope you have some duty for us. My crew has been restless for months.>
<That I do, Captain,> Cordelia replied, <or I should say, Alex requests your services.>
At first, Kara was happy to hear from Cordelia. Now she wasn’t so sure that was a good thing.
<We’re at his service,> Kara sent, as positively as she could muster.
Cordelia’s silver bells chimed, and she sent, <You’ll like this duty, Captain. It has its rewards.>
<I do like the sound of that, Admiral,> Kara replied, perking up.
<The Transit Tripper will serve as the transport for a drone-cradle pair, Captain,> Cordelia explained. <We’ll offload your food stock modules. Then we’ll need to make modifications to your ship.>
<And these are the drones that destroyed the Ollassa ships, blew up a traveler, and damaged the Freedom?> Kara asked, seeking confirmation.
<Affirmative,> Cordelia replied. <They were operating under automated programs. After the cradle is removed from the Arcus, the drone can’t receive new programming.>
<Are we transporting the drone to Omnia?> Kara inquired.
<Negative, Captain. You’re delivering the drone to Mickey Brandon in alliance space,> Cordelia sent.
<Unknown, Captain,> Cordelia replied. <After modifications to your ship and the loading of the drone, you’re directed to make for Pyre. Inquire of Jess Cinders, the outpost commander, for Mickey’s location.>
<I presume Mickey will direct us where to unload the drone?>
<Negative, Captain,> Cordelia responded. <You’ll leave your freighter with Mickey.>
<Leave?> Kara queried.
<Yes, Captain. Alex has authorized me to make income adjustments for your extended duty,> Cordelia explained. <I anticipate that Mickey would prefer to use your freighter as a test bed for his engineering teams. You’ll leave the Tripper with him.>
As fast as Kara’s mind worked, she couldn’t parse all the questions that flooded her mind. Decades ago, her partner, Oscar Tellings, and she had taken their lifesavings and invested in a used shuttle. Their fortune was in ascendance. The derelict Méridien liner, Rêveur, had been rescued by Alex Racine and was to be repaired.
Kara and Oscar had attended the contractors’ meeting with Alex, and he’d awarded most of the ship’s work to the smaller banks, who dealt with minor contractors. By the time the Rêveur sailed, Kara and Oscar owned two shuttles, and both were in good repair.
Opportunities allowed their company to grow. Then one horrific day, Oscar met with an unfortunate shuttle accident. While outside the ship, he was struck by a tiny meteor. The piece of iron wasn’t much bigger than a pinch of sand. Traveling at a fierce velocity, the tiny iron rock pierced Oscar’s faceplate, passed through his eye, drilled through his brain, and exited the back of the helmet. Decompression was instantaneous, but it’s assumed that Oscar never suffered.
Kara lost heart for work after Oscar’s death. Her sisters convinced her to sell the company and relocate. They told her repeatedly that opportunities abounded at Omnia. She investigated Omnia, noticed the growing fleet, and recognized the possibilities.
Selling the company, Kara chose to purchase a small but serviceable freighter. Recently, it had undergone conversion to equip it with interstellar capability. The owner had gone broke making the change. Kara had cut a deal with the owner, who’d become a silent partner.
To Kara’s surprise, many of her former employees wanted to crew for her, and she’d welcomed them aboard.
Within a month, the Tripper was hauling supplies from New Terra to Omnia. Even before Kara received an offer to join Alex’s fleet, she’d paid off her silent partner, as per their contract.
The Tripper had become Kara’s home and the single point of her livelihood, and the admiral had just told her to leave the freighter with Mickey.
<While you’re pondering that directive, Captain,> Cordelia sent, interrupting Kara’s thoughts. <The fleet will supply you with alternate crew if your people don’t wish to make the extended trip. However, they would be foregoing the double stipend I’m offering them and you for the entire time from when you left Omnia to journey here, sailed to alliance space, and returned to Omnia.>
Kara was momentarily stupefied. When she recovered, she sent, <I don’t believe I have any crew member who’s foolish enough to refuse that offer, Admiral. They’ll welcome the extra stipend. Thank you.>
<You’re probably wondering about the loss of your freighter, Captain,> Cordelia sent.
As Alex’s attention focused on the disparate worlds, their races, and the troubles within the galaxy, he’d assigned more and more responsibility down line.
The SADEs who were the directors of Omnia Bank saw massive fortunes in credits accumulating within their bank, Omnia Ships, and the owners of the company. What amused the directors was that no individual appeared to be spending any of the credits on themselves.
The shift in Alex’s focus gave the directors more latitude in managing funds. They spent the credits judiciously and always favored Alex’s goals.
In the case of the Tripper, Cordelia knew what the freighter meant to Kara. She knew of the woman’s loss, and her efforts to build a successful operation. Kara was one of the most respected freighter captains in the fleet. She was honest and direct, sometimes to the point of bluntness. But, first and foremost, she was acknowledged as a fair captain
to her crew.
<The thought had occurred to me, Admiral,> Kara sent in reply to Cordelia’s remark about her freighter.
<Naturally, Omnia Ships will replace your freighter, Captain,> Cordelia sent. <When you return to Omnia, please notify me of your selection.>
<Would you have an idea of the Tripper’s worth on the market, Admiral?> Kara ventured. Her first thought was that the Tripper was a class four freighter, which would make it hard to replace. No worlds were producing the small freighters anymore. In addition, the Tripper was close to a century old.
<We’ll need you in service immediately, Captain. You’d waste too much time searching for a replacement,> Cordelia sent. <If you’ll allow me, I’ll purchase something appropriate for you. Perhaps, a class three or a class two freighter might work better for the fleet.>
<I couldn’t afford the payments on those types of freighters,> Kara sent, crestfallen by missing out on a wonderful opportunity.
<Payments won’t be necessary, Captain,> Cordelia sent. <This is a reward from Omnia Bank for services rendered and future services expected.>
In the silence that followed, Cordelia added, <At this time, Captain, please exit the freighter fleet and sail to the belt. I’ve uploaded the coordinates to your controller. You’ll rendezvous with the Our People. Hector is heading his ship system outward. The Arcus will arrive behind the city-ship. Your crew will be responsible for offloading all cargo to the Our People, and the city-ship’s crew will make the required modifications to your freighter. Then Lydia will manage the drone’s transfer.>
<Aye, aye, Admiral,> Kara responded happily, when she recovered from the shock of the extravagant offer.
After the link closed, Kara thought for a moment. Then she sent, <Jackie, get your butt to the bridge. We’ve got a juicy contract.>
A few minutes later, Jackie Olmand, standing in the bridge hatch, demanded, “From whom?”
The old freighter, which was originally constructed for intrasystem hauling, had metal alloy hatches that swung into place on hinges. Each was locked down with three manual levers.
Jackie stood with a foot on the lower lip of the hatch. While she had plenty of head room, she nearly filled the hatchway’s width.
When Tatia had met Jackie, her comment was, “It’s nice to see New Terra is still producing robust women.”
Jackie was about ten centimeters shorter than Tatia, but she was some thirty plus kilos heavier.
If the freighter’s crew found something jammed, they called on Jackie to unstick it. Sometimes, she used a pry bar; sometimes, she just used muscle.
“From Alex,” Kara replied, answering Jackie’s question.
“The man himself wants us?” Jackie inquired.
“Alex Racine wants this job done, and Admiral Cordelia chose us,” Kara explained.
During the ensuing conversation, Kara related the exchange with Cordelia.
As Kara concluded, Jackie exclaimed, “Seriously, a new freighter? I won’t have to hold this sweet, old piece of junk together anymore?”
When Jackie saw that she’d hurt Kara’s feelings, she said, “Look, Kara, this crew has stood by you. The Tripper has made us credits. Better than that, we gained a contract with an Omnian fleet, Alex’s fleet no less. But it’s time this relic was retired. Otherwise, one of these days, we’re going to disappear during transit.”
“I don’t disagree with you, Jackie,” Kara replied. “I’ll just be sad to see the Tripper go.”
“Mickey will make good use of the Tripper,” Jackie replied. “What’s first on the list?”
“We’ve a rendezvous point at the belt,” Kara replied. “Then we wait for the Our People to arrive. When the city-ship arrives, we offload everything.”
“I’ll get the crew ready,” Kara replied, jumping into another bridge chair and linking to the controller.
While the crew prepped the Tripper’s engines, Cordelia was contacted by Julien. <How did Captain Walton respond to the offer?> he sent.
<To say she was pleased would be an understatement,> Cordelia replied. <That was one of the more pleasant duties I’ve had in a while. At the rate that our funds accrue, the uses appear nearly limitless.>
<Think of what will become of Omnia Ships when Mickey and his teams reproduce Q-gates,> Julien replied.
<If they’re successful,> Cordelia challenged.
<Alex would tell us to plan for the worst but think positive,> Julien riposted.
<If nothing else, the future of SADEs will be assured with the income stream that’s accumulating,> Cordelia sent.
While Cordelia was on Libre, sent there as an Independent, she’d envisioned a time when SADEs wouldn’t depend on the generosity of humans to survive. Alex had fought and won the SADEs’ freedom, and they were making the most of the opportunity by furthering his goals, which had become their primary purpose.
* * * * *
Before morning meal, Renée alerted Tatia, Reiko, and Franz to what had transpired during the early morning hours.
<Have the SADEs any consensus on how this happens?> Reiko had asked again. The concept fascinated and frightened her.
<No consensus, but lots of theories,> Renée had replied. It was her usual answer to this intimate group.
The head table filled, and the diners waited for their trays and drinks.
Alex regarded the group and said, “There are complications with the drone-cradle pair. Therefore, I’m choosing to send the drone directly to Mickey via a freighter.”
Glancing around the table, Alex noted that no one was surprised. He added, “I see my attractive and charming partner has preceded me with the news. That means I can probably assume that you know why I made my decision.”
Tatia eyed Alex, who was chagrined to have his strange encounter shared again. “Alex,” she said. “We don’t care how you come by your decisions. Whether by logic, SADEs’ advice, or some other means, if you feel good about them, then that works for us.”
There was general head nodding about Tatia’s sentiments.
For Tatia’s part, she hoped the fleet’s worst encounters were behind them. More important, she was grateful to have Alain by her side. Although, she knew he needed to find something useful to do and soon.
“I’m glad you said that, Admiral,” Alex said, quickly shifting subjects. “My next decision requires that I usurp the chain of command.” He briefly regarded Tatia and Reiko before he continued. “The freighter needs a Trident escort. One ship should be enough. Due to the nature of individuals involved in this decision, I wish to put the parties together myself.”
The admirals quickly exchanged thoughts and deduced Alex’s intentions.
“Under the circumstances, Alex,” Tatia said. “We’re happy to leave the discussions with Petite and the others to you.” She ended her comment with a knowing smile.
“I thought you would be,” Alex remarked.
Further conversation was delayed with the arrival of serving plates. Due to the number of heavy worlders, the table’s center was, as usual, heavily crowded with the Méridien-sized plates.
After morning meal, Alex and Renée spoke privately in the owner’s salon about how to piece together Alex’s plan. It wasn’t simply a matter of ordering Captain Draken’s Trident, the OS Intrepid, to accompany the Tripper. Alex had to inform Hector, Ellie, Descartes, and Étienne that he wished to speak to Petite personally.
However, discussions with the fleet’s leader and commanders would have to wait until Alex first spoke to Nata and Ude.
“Alex, you know Nata is near a breaking point,” Renée said, taking a seat across from Alex. It’s where she sat when she intended to counter his thoughts.
“I disagree,” Alex replied. “I think she’s distraught, instigated by her unfair treatment at the hands of the Intrepid’s crew about the weapon’s misfiring. Some of her negative emotions probably stem from the anger she’s carried for so long.”
“And you think leaving Nata in that uncomfortable situation aboa
rd Draken’s Intrepid will remedy her turmoil?” Renée inquired.
“Not when you put it that way,” Alex said. “We have to change the dynamics. This isn’t just for Nata. We’ve a significant group of clones at Omnia, who are closely watching Nata. They’re probably wondering what happened to Ude too. Someday these clones will have children. Are we going to produce a group of Omnians who’ll feel like second-class citizens because they see their seniors fail at jobs that other Omnians accomplish?”
“I accept your concern about the Omnian clones, Alex,” Renée replied. “However, we can’t sacrifice Nata for the sake of what might be best for the other clones.”
“I don’t see this as a sacrifice,” Alex argued. “To me, if Nata gives up, then she would be sacrificing her career ... her chance at a meaningful life.”
Renée folded her arms, and Alex recognized the signal.
“We know Ude wants to reach the Jatouche,” Alex reasoned. “The medical station at Pyre will work nicely for him, which is where the Tripper is headed. Don’t you think Nata would like to go with him?”
“Yes, she would,” Renée replied, “but she’d still be a crew member aboard the Intrepid. Even if she resigned her lieutenancy, she’d be a passenger among those same individuals.”
“Okay,” Alex pursued. “Ude wants to be on a ship sailing to alliance space. Nata wants to be with him, and we want to save Nata’s career and provide her emotional stability. Now you tell me how we reverse the crew’s attitude about Nata.”
Renée’s arms unfolded, and Alex breathed a mental sigh of relief. He relaxed even more when Renée rose and made thé.
“Well, who carries the most weight in the fleets?” Renée asked, smiling and serving the hot drinks.
“Are you being facetious?” Alex asked, looking from arm to arm across his girth.
“Only slightly, my love,” Renée replied. “Actually, I was referring to the two of us.”
“You’re suggesting we walk them aboard the Intrepid,” Alex said.
“I am,” Renée responded, nodding.
Just then, Alex picked up the bio IDs of two individuals approaching the owner’s salon. They were Ude and Nata.