by S. H. Jucha
“It’s obvious and disheartening to some that Artifice can’t be employed to facilitate the spread of superior tech to the races,” Quizra said. “It’s also come to many envoys’ attention that the sisters possess the knowledge of Omnian tech. Specifically, that this tech wasn’t left by the Omnian fleet for the Talusians to run, as one would operate a manufacturing line without the explicit knowledge to understand what the machinery was doing.”
“Each SADE has the knowledge,” Miriamette acknowledged. “It’s either carried within them, or they have access to data banks that supply specifications and methodology.”
“We further acknowledge that the sisters aren’t responsible for the unfortunate events that occurred under Artifice’s domination,” Quizra continued. “Therefore, we’re left with no idea of how to proceed. Artifice can’t be moved. The Toralians don’t possess the information we require to facilitate the transfer, and for the sake of our discussions, the sisters aren’t party to the reparations.”
“We weren’t responsible for the damages that Artifice wrought against the federacy races,” Miriamette said, “but that doesn’t mean we’re not willing to help.”
Quizra’s and the envoys’ eyes scanned the sisters’ faces for confirmation of what they’d heard. There was a slight smile on each face.
“Commander, you might consider offering credits for the sisters’ services,” Suntred replied gently.
“If you’re paid, would you make your services available?” the Therathen asked, looking from looking from one sister to the next.
“We would,” Miriamelle replied. “As you’ve heard, we’ve already created and are executing agreements with the Toralian colonies.”
“You’ve mentioned the broad arrangement. Can you share more specific details?” the Foothreen inquired.
“We employ a graduated system,” Miriamette replied. “The colonies send us their engineers and techs, who are charged a fee for their studies. We begin with maintenance programs and progress toward understanding the requirements to shift from their present tech level to a level that will support the manufacture of Omnian products.”
“What about ships?” the Derterrick asked, with his oversized ears turning to focus on the first individual to speak.
“Which ships?” Ude inquired.
“Personally, I favor the travelers for intrasystem transportation, but both models,” the Derterrick replied. “I know others wonder about the Tridents.”
“The Tridents are available, but not with active beams. Nor are the travelers supplied with beam capability,” Sargut said definitively.
“Never?” Quizra asked.
“It’s something that has to be earned,” Miriamette replied. “This is a requirement set up by the Omnian leaders, and we adhere to it.”
“The Tridents would still be swift intersystem transports, Commander,” the Derterrick offered, “and a cheaper manner of transport for our races than ferrying them on a battleship or a freighter.”
“How are the beams earned?” Quizra asked.
While Sargut struggled with an appropriate answer, Ude said, “That might be a question for the federacy council, when it’s formed. For now, Talusians have placed requirements on the colonies, who must earn the right to have their beams activated.”
“Then the ships come with beam capability. They’re just inactive,” an envoy said, seeking to confirm his understanding. The gleam in his eyes was obvious to Sargut’s team and the arbiters.
“Envoy, let us know when your race manages to break into a controller, without it shutting down your ship, except for egress,” Hector said, imitating Alex’s derisive laugh.
The envoy’s moment of expectation evaporated, and he ducked his head under the hostile stares of the other negotiators.
“To be more specific about our ships,” Hermione said, “their complicated structures require we progress through several stages to provide you with them. The first stage will be you ordering them from us. We’ll construct them for you. You must have sent engineers and techs for training. They’ll take part in the process.”
“For the travelers, you’ll need to send shuttle pilots too,” Miriamelle added.
“But for Tridents, we’ll require a captain, a pilot, and additional crew members to train,” Miriamette said.
“What’s the next phase?” Quizra inquired.
“When you have a number of sufficiently trained engineers and techs, you can manufacture much of our tech on your own planet,” Miriamette replied. “In time, you can construct our ships.”
The prospect of building the Omnian ships appealed to the envoys, and it showed on their faces.
“Be aware that whether we build your ships or you do, as the admiral indicated, there’s a licensing fee collected on every ship, which is over and above the cost of construction,” Sargut warned.
“It would seem equitable that Talusians forgive this fee as part of the reparations due the races,” Quizra proposed.
“I’d be pleased to do that for you,” Sargut said pleasantly, “but we merely pass along the payment.”
“To whom?” Quizra inquired.
“To Omnia Ships,” Hector replied. “The one-time fee is for the use of our technology. When you build your own ships, the controllers will report their activation, and the fee must be transferred immediately.”
“If not?” the Derterrick queried.
“The controller shuts down the ship,” Ellie answered. “One failed payment is a transactional error. Two failed payments indicate a desire to be uncooperative, and the controller will no longer initiate for you.”
“It might be dawning on you that Omnian controllers are only one order removed from a SADE,” Hermione said. “They have all the power. They only lack sentience.”
“I’d like clarification on one point that’s been mentioned, Admiral,” the Foothreen said. “Exactly who are you?”
Ellie smiled at the Foothreen catching Hector’s first use of the term. “Omnia is our home, whether we were born there or we emigrated from other worlds. Alex Racine and others created a company called Omnia Ships. The Omnian fleets belong to the company, and the licensing fees are paid to the company.”
“Then you’re mercenaries,” an envoy accused. He was the same individual who’d thought he’d discovered an opportunity to build a workaround on the controllers.
Ellie thought about it. Then she nodded her head slowly and smiled. “Technically, I guess that’s true. We don’t operate under the auspices of a single government or an amalgam of worlds. We function as an independent force, and we accomplish tasks like free the federacy from a tyrannical entity called Artifice.”
“I believe you’re correct, Admiral,” Hector said, pretending to be surprised that he hadn’t thought of that.
Ude couldn’t help joining in the fun. “Admiral, pardon me for bringing up difficult memories. But was Omnia Ships ever reimbursed for the loss of lives and ships for freeing the federacy?”
“Hector, have we received any payments?” Ellie inquired.
Hector didn’t need to reply. Quizra had turned to the envoy, who’d made the two significant missteps, and said, “You’re excused from these negotiations. We can’t afford for you to make a third blunder.”
The envoy thought to object, but the hardened eyes of the commander forced him to relent. He rose and stalked heavily out of the room.
“Our apologies to all,” Quizra said. “The races’ military officers and crews know what the taking of the Talus system cost the Omnians and the Talusians, even if leaders and envoys tend to quickly forget.”
“I would like to discuss the logistics and pricing of the tech transfer,” the thoughtful Derterrick said.
“It’s simpler than you would imagine,” Miriamtess said. “If we manufacture the items, you pay the finished cost and delivery, or you can send a freighter to load. If you make the items on your worlds or colonies, then there’s no fee, except for the ships.”
“One is
sue solved,” the Derterrick remarked. “What about the logistics of moving through the transfer phases?”
The Therathen quickly added, “Specifically, the challenge of hundreds of races wanting to participate in the transfer.”
“As Hermione suggested, the obvious answer would be regional training centers,” Miriamtess replied. “The races participating in an area would bear the costs of providing a training facility, the importing of manufacturing equipment, and paying the sisters’ time.”
“That’s it?” Quizra asked, shocked by the minor amount.
“Would you like us to charge more?” Miriamtess asked innocently.
Ellie hid her smile, the Toralians whistled through their teeth, and Ude broke out in a hearty laugh.
All the while, Quizra was shaking his head and waving his hands in negation.
“As the leader of the mercenary forces,” Ellie said. She wore a pleasant smile, but it didn’t light her eyes. “Let me explain something about the odd way we work. We believe that spreading our technology evenly among races allows them to become more prosperous, and we hope that prosperity extends to a race’s entire citizenry. If it doesn’t, then future technological advances won’t be offered to that race either directly or indirectly.”
“Do Omnians or Omnia Ships expect to uncover many more exciting technological advances?” the Foothreen inquired.
“I fight the ships,” Ellie replied. “I leave the inventing to the SADEs and many of the creative individuals who work for our company. However, I can tell you about a curiosity discovered in alliance space.”
“Where?” Quizra asked.
“My apologies, Commander,” Ellie said, “While federacy envoys have been so busy fighting over reparations for past injuries instead of looking to the future, we’ve not had time to tell you what’s in our future.”
“You were saying about this curiosity in some other area of space,” the Foothreen prompted.
“Intersystem gates. Instantaneous transportation of individuals and small goods,” Ellie replied. “Apparently, an ancient race, who has disappeared, constructed an entire network within alliance space.”
“Then the technology has been lost,” the Therathen assumed.
“For now,” Hector replied. “SADEs do love enigmas. Unraveling them keeps us occupied.”
The sisters and Omnians smiled at Hector’s vague reference to SADE time.
The Toralians and the envoys exchanged glances. They were envisaging a future when they could instantly visit any world that possessed a gate.
“Would there be a fee for constructing or using a gate?” the Derterrick asked Hector.
“Unknown,” Hector replied. “The SADEs, who will solve the engineering puzzles, work for Omnia Ships. A second fleet is in alliance space, dealing with a heartless race intent on invading worlds and devouring all fauna, sentient or otherwise.”
“Another of those pesky mercenary tasks,” Ellie commented softly, and Quizra, who sat next to her, winced.
“It will be up to the leaders of Omnia Ships, Alex, Renée, and Julien, to decide these issues,” Hector finished.
“I think we have the outline of the technology,” Quizra said. “We need to spend some time pinning down details. I’d like the envoys to leave this system with a list of proposed regional facilities; the pricing of Omnian ships, equipment, and products by the Talusians; and the cost of a sister’s services.”
“Before we get into those discussions, I want to revisit the concept of the federacy council,” Sargut said.
“Part of that discussion,” Suntred interjected, “is that we want the assurances of the races that the council will never hold the Talusians liable for more reparations. This arbitration represents the end of demands by any federacy race.”
While the envoys considered Suntred’s remarks, Ellie added, “Omnia Ships believes that’s a fair request. We wouldn’t like to see a second round of attempts to leverage the Talusians for Artifice’s past acts.”
Ellie’s comments ended any other consideration as to whether a council should have an option on that point. If the Omnians would be the future fountain of technology, then no one at the table wanted to see the source of that bounty truncated.
“As we’ve stated —” Quizra began to reply, before Sargut cut him off.
“We’ve heard your objections,” Sargut stated firmly, heat slowly creeping into his brow and cheek ridges. “Understand the connection, Commander. You want Omnian tech. You want regional centers to make distribution easy, and you want the tech and training at reasonable prices. We’ve offered all these to you. We want a council, who will protect us from further encroachment for Artifice’s deeds.”
“Toward that end, the council might consider members forgo their battleship wedges,” Miriamette suggested. “They no longer have value in this area of space.”
“That might be an incentive for the council and the individual races,” Miriamelle added. “If they give up their battleships wedges, they can be replaced with active-beam Tridents.”
“I would like confirmation about what I’m hearing,” the Foothreen said. “Is it the position of the Talusians that the formation of a council, which holds as a tenet the protection of the Talusians, a prerequisite for the distribution of the tech?”
“You have it correct,” Sargut said. He leaned into his nanites-embedded chair. However, his ridges didn’t cool, and Quizra’s team understood what that meant.
“Your position is noted, President Sargut,” Quizra said formally. “The envoys will relay your stance to their leaders. I can tell you that the news will not be well received.”
“I don’t expect it will,” Sargut replied. “Now, let’s get into the details of the tech transfer. I think if the envoys present to their leaders what we’re offering, the news will be much more palatable. In fact, I’m thinking that many governments will be anxious to expedite the formation of a council.”
As the meeting progressed, the mechanisms and pricing of the transfer were worked out. The sisters, with the use of the holo-vid, were able to educate the envoys on the actual process of moving a race’s technology from its present state to one that could manufacture Omnian tech.
Since none of the envoys had an engineering background, many of the finer points were lost on them. They did glean that the processes weren’t simple. In fact, there were multiple stages, which involved items called GEN machines.
What gave the envoys comfort was the often-repeated statement that a sister would govern the installation and operation of the equipment for a race, when it was time to manufacture in their home world or colony system.
At one point, the thoughtful Derterrick said, “I’m building a picture of these processes from initial training to independent manufacture taking several annuals. Is this correct?”
“We envision the entire procedure spanning about three annuals for the more technically advanced races,” Hermione replied. “Four or five annuals for those races not as advanced.”
“What about some of the races that Artifice tried to eliminate, but who managed to survive? A few are living in pre-space conditions,” the Therathen said. “They’ll struggle to supply the GEN machines with the basic materials.”
“Special conditions will be made for them,” Miriamelle replied. “We’ll assist them in returning to space. Costs will be greatly reduced and will be allowed to be repaid over time, as in decades of annuals.”
35: Don’t Fire
At the end of a long day, punctuated by a fruitful arbitration meeting, Ellie and Hector retired to the Our People. During the traveler’s flight, Ellie received updates from Alphons and Adrianna about the repositioning of the attack squadrons.
With the help of the sisters to accommodate translations, Lydia prepared the conference call with the envoys. This comprised every envoy who remained in the hall, the captain of every friendly in the ring, the Talusian ships, and the Omnian fleet.
On reaching the city-ship, Ellie stood in front of the bridge vid pickup, assumed parade rest, and nodded to Lydia. As she’d chosen to have Lydia send her image to the ships’ bridges and the sisters’ holo-vids in the hall, she was required to speak rather than send.
“Greetings,” Ellie began. “This conference call encompasses the participating envoys, aboard ships and planetside, their captains, and the Talusian and Omnian combined forces. The envoys, who are listening to me, have overwhelmingly selected to prove their intentions to deal fairly with the Talusians by defending the planet against any envoys seeking to disrupt the negotiations.”
Ellie relaxed slightly, when Hector reported that only a few of the friendly captains had displayed agitated expressions. It meant that the vast majority of the envoys had conveyed their votes to their captains.
“We’ve information that a few envoys are planning to be disruptive,” Ellie continued.
More than several captains grumbled, and Hector summarized the various terse comments for Ellie. He sent,
“We believe that a wedge will be formed by two clusters of envoys, who share a common complaint,” Ellie said. “We must be prepared to repulse any actions by this group.”
“Admiral,” Quizra said, “don’t you have the battleships of the Kirmler envoy and his associates surrounded by your fighters?”
“For the moment, we do,” Ellie replied.
“Then there’s nothing they can do,” a captain noted.
“And if the Kirmler envoy and his cohorts ask the admiral’s forces to be removed so that they can leave the system, then what?” the Therathen captain asked.