by D. R. Rosier
Vik frowned, but nodded in acceptance. I didn’t imagine it was easy to contemplate. All wars were ugly, civil wars were the worst.
The conversation died down, and I decided to run a simulation and practice. I’d fail more in my lab to identify the reactor problem later on that day. I was giving serious thoughts to turning my mind toward something else at that point in my life, but I was stubborn, and like a dog with a bone, I couldn’t let it go.
It was almost two full months since our arrival in Earth orbit before we heard back from the Admiral. The fleet was well on the way to being built, and half a year had passed since this craziness started. Six more months, we were halfway there. I still hadn’t figured out the problem with the power systems, and hadn’t given up, but I was spending less and less time on it every day.
About a third of the fleet was finished, and the power plant was still being built. We could have built the latter more quickly, but we’d divided the resources coming out to make sure everything was finished within a year, which meant the plant was getting much less than the shipyards. It would still be online early though, and was scheduled to go online in two months, four months before we technically needed it, so I wasn’t worried about it.
For me personally, the simulator practice engagements kept getting harder and harder, and my scores in the simulator were now up in the top percentages compared to the old fleet. My personal life hadn’t changed much, except I was pretty sure I’d lost my heart to all three of them, which was… complicated.
I still did my best to avoid Dessia and Sylara, but spent more and more time with Solyra.
The contact had come while I was sleeping, and I didn’t find out about it until bridge shift the next day.
Vik said, “Admiral Hiller contacted me, he wants to meet us two hours from now, along with some other people including the president to hammer out final details. Sylara, it might be a good idea if you went, one leader to another.”
Sylara replied, “Alright, me, you, Telidur, and Lori.”
Hmm, I wondered if I was still on the most wanted list. I did a quick internet search, and sure enough there I was. Lorelai Adams. I didn’t think the secret service would let me in the same state with the president, much less the same room.
Sounded like fun, but common sense prevailed.
“I might not be the best person to go.”
Vik shook his head, “It’s fine. Hiller knows you’re coming. He’s tried to straighten out the issue, but said the FBI is stubborn and out of his control. The president couldn’t fix it either. Regardless, the FBI won’t be there.”
I nodded, that made sense. The president could pardon me, except for the fact that I hadn’t been convicted yet. It wouldn’t be nearly as simple to suppress or order a dismissal of charges. It also wouldn’t be worth the political capital, since I didn’t live there anymore. On Earth I mean.
“Where are we meeting?”
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, the white house, a navy, army, or air force base. Vik’s reply took me by surprise.
“Golf course, some kind of swanky golf course and country club the president belongs too, we’ll have a meeting room in the main building.”
Right, a golf course. I supposed it made sense, can’t have aliens showing up at the white house, and the press would think the president was just taking a day off…
Two hours later, we took the shuttle down to the admiral’s home, and then transferred into a limo large enough to hold the five of us in comfort. I assumed it was a control issue, the secret service wouldn’t appreciate us magically appearing out of thin air. They tended to shoot at surprises.
I was in the red woman’s suit hologram again, and against my better judgement hadn’t changed my face, hair, or eyes. Hopefully there weren’t any FBI people golfing today. Of course, everyone else was, they’d remove the human disguises as soon as we were alone with the president and those in the know.
Janson said, “Since I have an implant, I’ll be translating for the president and everyone else there.”
Sylara replied, “That’s acceptable. Are there problems with the terms we negotiated?”
Janson said, “Not as such, I’ll let the president explain her concerns.”
Sylara clearly didn’t like the evasion, but held her tongue.
After a few moments of silence, Vik asked, “What’s golf?”
I giggled, and we spent the rest of the ride explaining golf, and other sports.
The country club was gated, and there was a security guard in addition to a secret service agent at the gated entrance. Hiller showed his identification, and they passed us through. The limo drove up the drive, and into the parking lot before the main building. There was a smaller building to the side which was a golf shop, where someone could service or replace their equipment, or hire an instructor.
The country club was quite large, and looked like a mix between a chalet and mansion. Admiral Hiller led us inside, and then turned into a large well-appointed dining room, where several richly dressed people were having brunch. None of them spared us a second look, outside of the various secret service agents, and I relaxed slightly. We walked through there, and out the other side into a long hallway. The second door on the right had two more agents in front of it, both wearing the dark suits with the ear pieces.
They nodded to Hiller, and opened the door. I was a little surprised at not having been searched until I thought it through. In essence, Sylara was a head of state, so it made sense. They wouldn’t search her, no more than they’d pat down a visiting prime minister, president, or other world leader.
There was a conference table for eight. Four empty chairs were on one side, and three people sat on the other, four as the admiral circled the table and sat down. President Dana Ashford had a reserved but welcoming smile for us as we took the four seats. Along with her and the admiral, was the secretary of defense, and an army general that wasn’t familiar at all to me.
Janson said, “Mrs. President, this is Sylara, rightful empress of the Isyth Empire. Her aides are Prince Vik, Telidur, and Lori Adams. Empress, this is President Dana Ashford, leader of the United States. We also have Defense Secretary David Paulson, and General Andrew Danes.”
President Ashford said, “It is a pleasure to meet with you.”
Sylara inclined her head, “For me as well.”
The president said, “Tentatively, I agree to the terms, we both get something we want. But I have a few clarifying questions about the future we should discuss before I agree.”
Sylara replied, “What is it you wish to know?”
“What happens after? Can we continue to be trading partners? I understand that we must do so for the replacement cores, but what about other technologies like the health nanites?”
Sylara said, “It would be difficult to do so with equity until you’ve reached a point where you can build your own ships, which we estimate could take many decades of study for understanding. The fabricators on the ships are capable of creating replacement parts for the entire ship, save the hull and the cores, which has a stable heavy element that must be synthesized in a lab. As such, the cores are the only exception to our trade policies with a non-interstellar world via their own technology.”
She paused for a moment for the admiral to catch up with the translation, and then said, “That includes the health nanites, which have been approved for dispensation to any members of the crew. The only cost is the gathering of resources. In time, you’ll figure out both technologies and be able to expand to the planet.”
The president looked discontent for a moment, and then smiled as she realized what Sylara just told her. If she wanted anyone to have the nanites, all she would have to do is add them to a crew for a short time. Sneaky.
The president said, “I understand. I’d also like to request a copy of your laws. When the time comes and we have our own fleet to trade with your five worlds, it will be essential that we don’t run afoul of any regulations or laws.�
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Sylara said, “I’m pleased to hear that. I’ll make sure it’s available to you, or any captain of one of your ships.”
The president said, “There is the matter of the cores, they are rather expensive in resources, and our world has a limited amount.”
Sylara looked amused, “What will you be doing with the fifty ships? They will be in your solar system and you’ll be free to use them in defense, and you’ll undoubtedly be reverse engineering them. But other than that, will you just let them sit there in orbit around your world? You have an entire star system of resources, and fifty ships capable of starting mining sites on asteroids, moons, and other planets. Resources which will last long past the time you’ll be able to join us out in space in your own ships, and start to claim other star systems. You can easily afford to buy the replacement cores for millennia, and you have five years to get that infrastructure set up, which is four years longer than you need.”
The president blushed, “We aren’t accustomed to using our military as miners and merchants.”
Sylara nodded, “I understand, a blind spot because things just aren’t done that way. We found out that putting the financial responsibility for the ships on the captain cut down on bureaucracy, taxes, expenses, and corruption. You may want to consider that approach, or building a fleet will make your tax payers destitute. We don’t have taxes in the empire as such, but that’s neither here nor there, I have no interest in interfering with Earth’s political or economic structure.”
She waited again for the translation to catch up, “Regardless, in the short term, until you can get civilians in ships to access your resources, you may be forced to temporarily do so. Not in general, but at least with the fifty ships in your Earth protection fleet.”
President Ashford asked, “Just to be clear, we’ll be able to trade with the empire independently correct?”
Sylara said, “Yes, you don’t need to join the empire. You do need to follow the trading rules when dealing with an empire’s citizen, company, or ship. That will be in the laws you will be provided.”
“I assume there are advantages and disadvantages to both.”
Sylara smiled, “The obvious disadvantage is we wouldn’t share our fabricator pattern database if you don’t join the empire. Finished products shipped between worlds are more expensive than simply paying the royalty and fabricating it at the cost of natural resources. But, some things are more important than money, if the empire’s laws are incompatible with humanity, it is what it is. You’d also have trouble selling to us unless it was something new and very unique, since you wouldn’t be sharing your patterns with us either. There are other considerations as well, as a member of the empire we’d be honor bound to assist you militarily. Either way, that decision won’t be made until you can join us in the stars under your own technology and knowledge.”
More than that, the president didn’t speak for the whole world. Hopefully, when the truth came out, the world wouldn’t lose their minds. Even if the world believed the truth, that the United States couldn’t use the ships as weapons against the rest of the world, they’d still be concerned about the reverse engineering. It would only be a matter of time before the balance of power was knocked out of whack. No wonder it took two months for the president to decide to move forward, and I was happy I didn’t have any part in the decision.
The president said, “Very well, I think that settles my concerns. I agree to the terms as worked out between you and Admiral Hiller. We’ll need three months at least to gather the food supplies, as well as pick out the two thousand men and women who will join you in fighting our common enemy. I understand they’ll all be taught with some kind of downloaded course, but we still need to find those that will be inclined in that direction.”
General Danes cleared his throat, “It won’t be easy finding two thousand good officers that can be spared from their current posts, especially the five hundred we make captains, who should be men of higher rank and more experienced.”
I said, “I have a suggestion general, if you’re willing to listen?”
The general studied me for a moment, and then nodded.
“If it were me, I’d start out with those with disabilities, who were wounded in action. Men who still have the heart and desire to serve, but are unable to because they were wounded and no longer qualify. The health nanites should be able to heal them, including nerve injuries and even those paralyzed. It would give good men a second chance to serve, and not steal from posts on Earth that need to be crewed.”
The general grunted, “That won’t cover everything, but it will help. Outstanding.”
Sylara said, “That should work for us as well, we’ll head back to our system after this meeting. In three months, we’ll have roughly two thirds of the fleet completed, with the remainder three months after that. We’ll return then with the ships available and can pick them up in three months, and double some of the crews and put them on opposite shifts. We’ll get the nanites and assistants installed, download their jobs, familiarize them with the ships, and most importantly run three months’ worth of simulations to give them simulated battle experience along with the knowledge. Good enough to get us ready when it’s time to move. I’ll make sure I have enough nanite packs to go before we need them, and the ship suits will take a couple of days once their onboard to fabricate eight of them. As more ships are finished the doubled crews will be assigned to them.”
The president nodded, “Is there anything else we should discuss? A concern we overlooked? It seems like things are on track. That’s for everyone here.”
The admiral asked, “Is it a good idea to have the whole fleet assemble here over three months?”
Vik replied, “It shouldn’t be a problem. The Stolavii are preoccupied with Denik’s actions right now, and we can see ships approaching in FTL up to five light years away, which translates into over two hours warning. If we aren’t ready yet, we can just cloak the ships. Unfortunately, if a Stolavii ship does show up, we’ll have to allow business as usual until we’re ready to launch the counter-attack.”
The president didn’t look thrilled by that concept, but she understood it. Being found out too early would be disastrous, or at least, highly problematical. Denik knew we were working on something, but not what, and certainly not where we were recruiting from. We’d also be assembling the fleet here because we didn’t want anyone else knowing where our shipyards were. No humans would know about Tau Ceti if we could help it.
Well, other than me of course.
No one had any other questions, suggestions, or observations, so we left the meeting and we returned to the ship. I imagined the president would be playing a round of golf to disguise that a meeting even took place. We started to head out of the system in high spirits now that we had agreement and things were on track, and I wondered if three months from now was the last time I’d be back here. I wasn’t sure, and that was okay. Home was wherever Vik, Telidur, and Jillintara were.
Chapter Seventeen
“That feels incredible Jill.”
We were under stealth and in subspace, heading back to Tau Ceti. There were no ships in range, at least not in subspace, but we weren’t going to take any chances. Detection was always weighted toward the person in normal space, and while we had probes in all the nearby systems to Earth and Tau Ceti, there was still the void. Plus, the enemy could cloak as well, even if it would be far more expensive and less efficient for them to do so. Only being nine light years away, we’d get there quickly, just a little over two hours.
It was later that night after shift, given the eight hours it took to leave Earth’s system, and we were in Jillintara’s quarters. In bed, naked, with me on my stomach, and her straddling my legs. I was also getting the best massage I’d ever had in my life, not that I’d had a lot of them. At nineteen, in shape, and limber, it hadn’t exactly been a priority in my life back on Earth.
I had no idea what I’d been missing.
He
r hands were magical, and covered in warm oil as she dug her fingers into my flesh. She even had relaxing music playing, some instrumental or orchestra thing from her world. The instruments were different of course, but just as pleasing to the ears as humanity’s percussion, wind, and string instruments were.
I felt decadent, relaxed, and pampered. There was also a gentle simmering euphoria spreading through my body, and I felt a bit vulnerable because my heart was also full.
She said, “Glad you like it.”
I smirked into the mattress, “Understatement,” I moaned the word, and not on purpose. It also felt incredibly intimate, and like foreplay, because I was becoming putty under her hands and was also getting turned on. I wondered how people did this kind of thing with a stranger, or was it different with a stranger?
She giggled, “I have to say I’m enjoying it too.”
“Make me a massage technique download, and I can return the favor.”
She leaned forward and kissed the back of my neck, her generous firm breasts pressed against my back. A shiver went down my spine, in a good way, and I started to tingle down below.
She massaged my back leisurely, my desire rose as she slowly got lower and lower. I was practically panting by the time she started to massage my ass, and got down to my legs.
“I need you.”
Jillintara sounded smug, “You’ll have to wait, I’m not done yet.”
I laughed lightly, unwilling to argue or even stir myself to move as she massaged my thighs. It was wrong how good it felt, and how transcendent she made me feel. At least, that’s my excuse for the next words that passed my lips, without the approval of my mind to mouth filter.
“I love you.”
Her hands paused for a moment, and then restarted drawing another moan of pleasure from me. It wasn’t intense, just… self-indulgent.