There was an avalanche of applause and several flashes of light, even though taking images in the hall was not allowed.
The Grand Mother rose, and lifted her voice.
"I declare these talks open!"
The applause which had abated while she spoke lifted in a crescendo to a roar, as the Grand Mother stood on a stool, and she and Duke Fred shook hands solemnly. Both turned, and smiled to the audience.
"I think you enjoyed that a little too much," Lyana pinged Fred.
He grinned at her.
Several levels of talks were planned between the Delegation and the cats. Diplomatic relations were to be established with the convolutions required for this. Defence and Trade talks were also to commence at the same time, while there was a ‘cultural’ exchange planned as well. Duke Fred had also brought a medical team, and a small capability to retrofit ships for speed and weaponry. Jane was keen to boost the capability of the cats in this sector for defence, as well as position their own ships here, without giving away any technological advantages.
The banquet was a huge success. Brindle had managed to get a place as a sous chef on the catering team, and was learning more and more about human food. Humans tried cat fare and cats tried human fare, and while the cats didn’t really take to the amount of vegetables, they did like it in moderation. In fact, broccoli, something the cats had never tasted before, became a favourite, and was destined to be a niche fad food. Traders who found themselves enjoying this strange exotic plant, hurriedly sent messages to ships already in sector ten, telling them to seek it out immediately.
Cats and humans sat side by side and conversed, testing out each other’s sense of humour, and capacity for alcohol, although at this dinner, everyone was on their best behaviour. The Grand Mother sat at the head table with Duke Fred next to her.
Fred seemed very young to the Grand Mother. As far as humans were concerned, she’d only ever seen Jamie and Anna, and Fred seemed even younger than them. However, there was nothing ‘young’ about Fred’s grasp of the niceties of diplomacy, and his manners were impeccable. Grandmother felt herself warming to him as he quite shamelessly flattered her.
On Fred’s other side was Felderspath as the senior Wild Ones Councillor. It was meant to be Snark, however, Felderspath was on the spot, and Snark still hadn’t turned up, so Felderspath was given this coveted place at the table.
The Grand Mother was enjoying herself immensely, as Fred fed her story after story, of Fred’s adventures in crossing space, his training, and assorted other anecdotes, all wildly exaggerated and full of humour. She thought he would probably be bored with her old self, but he was adept at keeping her plied with questions which were suitably neutral but gave her an opportunity to be comfortable and herself. She was starting to like this young man considerably.
On the other side, Felderspath was being a bit more serious, as was his tendency. This was a great opportunity for him to start the process of making the Wild Ones known to the humans. Next to him was Lyana, the leader of Fred's bodyguard team. It took a little conversation with her to understand the team were more than just bodyguards, but in fact had noble ranks in the Kingdom court. Which made Lyana and him of about equal rank on their worlds. He wondered how many others had picked up on this.
Jamie had turned up in his clan kilt and a starched white shirt, with a forage cap with matching tartan. He wasn’t in full regalia, mainly because he didn’t like the formality, but he did like to ‘show the flag’ for the Scots. The pale blue Anderson colours calmed down the red of his curly hair, but the slight orange in the cross weave did tend to clash. He was sitting at a table with some of the Hunter’s Run ambassadorial staff, another of Fred's team, and some junior cat Councillors, regaling them with stories about his adventures in space, and the general mayhem which followed him naturally. Winona smiled politely the whole time, and actually managed to keep her face straight without slipping.
Anna was also at a table with several of the liner's crew, a fuzzball, one of Fred's team, and cats, and was looking stunningly regal in a very simple emerald green gown and pearls, care of her belt suit. Her hair was arranged up on her head, and the pearls set off her creamy white skin against the black of her hair. Fred had not missed anything of the display, and sometimes glanced her way. Jamie also noticed this, in between downing drinks, and telling fanciful stories. The cats missed the byplay, since they were more interested in the different skin colours between Anna's pinkie-white, and Serena's chocolate, and watching the fuzzball eat.
A bard cat was reciting a long heroic ode in cat language, which was mostly drowned out by the conversation and laughter of the guests. A small band of cat players were waiting for him to finish, so they could start playing the latest in cat music. At the penultimate moment in the ode, a stir occurred at the hall entrance, and Snark appeared in his favourite red belt suit. The bard stuttered slightly, and then picked up where he'd left off.
Snark made his way to the head table, and made a bow to the Grand Mother and Duke Fred.
"Prrinks!" exclaimed the Grand Mother. "You do tend to turn up at the oddest moments!"
She turned and introduced Duke Fred, and they nodded to each other. Grandmother waved vaguely, and a chair appeared between Felderspath and Duke Fred, much to Felderspath’s annoyance.
"What should I call you?" asked Fred politely.
Snark smiled wickedly.
"Snark between us, but you’d better call me Prrinks in public cat company," he said still grinning. "I’m very pleased to meet you, your Duke-ness."
Grandmother winced at this.
"Likewise!" said Fred, smiling widely. "Jane has told me all about you."
"Hopefully she left out the bad bits."
"Not sure about that, but she did say you were a great help, and friend in her fight against the owls."
"It was the least I could do. She did rescue me after all, and I’m not sure I did much."
Fred waved this last comment away with a hand.
"I’ve made sure we have some time together. There’s a lot to talk about!" he exclaimed, and patted Snark on the shoulder.
Snark patted Fred on his back. Everything was going well.
Snark had only just had time to leave his ship at the Spaceport and make himself presentable before crashing the dinner. He noticed Jamie and Anna, and also Sissness, who was quietly nursing a drink and chatting variously with the humans she was sitting next to. He looked for Brindle, but couldn’t see her. Patters was at a table with some Wild Ones, who were in the throes of teaching the humans a cat version of a drinking game. Well at least, it wasn’t too much of a boring dinner.
Snark could tell Grand Mother wasn’t very happy with him, even though it didn’t show to the guests. He knew he’d needed to come back sooner, but he’d wanted to get the last bit of information about the Brotherhood, and very interesting it was too. He was glad also Jamie and Patters had managed to get the human ships through the Badlands in one piece. Perhaps Jamie was learning a thing or two.
The last of the formal courses was consumed, and the last of the toasts held, and the formal part of the dinner ended. The Grand Mother left the party, as well as the Duke and his party, but the junior dinner members tended to party on a bit more, Jamie amongst them. This was a perfect opportunity to informally get to know each other.
Anna also stayed a bit longer. She was secretly pleased at the attention she was getting from the human males amongst the liner crew, and the diplomatic staff, and although staying enigmatic and aloof, enjoying the looks and comments. Jamie was not as happy. He felt a proprietary interest in Anna. She was his friend, and well, he’d like to think of her as a girlfriend, he just hadn’t got as far as that yet.
Snark greeted some of his cronies amongst the cat guests, and was introduced to some of the humans by Jamie and Anna. Sissness had gone home at the end of the formal part of the dinner, and Patters was still involved in the now rowdy drinking game.
Snark finally left Jami
e with a group of cats and humans, and escorted Anna back to the accommodation. Jamie was again not happy at a missed opportunity.
"So, Snark, how was your trip?"
"Interesting."
"Oh?"
"News of the Brotherhood." Snark looked around him, and lowered his voice a tad dramatically. "Information about their structure, some of the leaders, and what they know of the Stone."
"Good. We need to know what we’re up against."
"Yes." Snark glanced across at her. "How have things been here?"
"Boring."
Snark laughed and purred.
"I think things picked up a bit tonight, yes?"
"Perhaps."
Anna smiled to herself.
They reached the accommodation and said good night to each other. Snark headed for his Grandmother’s quarters in the citadel. If she was still up, he needed to make amends.
The Grand Mother was tired, but happy. The Guests had all seemed to have a good time, the arrangements all went according to plan, and she thought of Snark. Well at least he’d turned up, late, but there. She hoped Duke Fred hadn’t been insulted by Snark’s tardiness. Funny, but she was starting to think of Prrinks as Snark now. It suited him in some very strange and embarrassing way.
Prritchet came to her door.
"Snark is here," he announced simply, and stood back as Snark came into the room.
The Grand Mother waved Prritchet away, and met noses with Snark.
"I’m sorry Grandmother, really, I got caught…"
"Snark, no excuses," Grandmother cut in. "You were late, but you’re here now, and in time for the talks, so I forgive you. This once."
Snark looked down at his feet, his tail curled down in submission.
"It went well today," continued Grandmother. "Everything has got off to a good start."
"Good," smiled Snark.
"Better get a good night’s sleep, as I’ll expect you bright and early tomorrow. Ask Prritchet for the agenda."
Snark knew when he was dismissed, and turned to go.
"And Snark," she added with a smile. "Mind your manners. Duke Fred may be young, but we need to make a good impression."
Snark smiled back.
"Of course! What else would you expect?"
And with that he was out through the door.
Five
Brother Paulus looked on impassively as the prisoner was dragged to the base of the platform. A couple of steps led to a stake, where the prisoner was bound up, tied by the feet and neck. His arms were also tied together and behind the back, with the third arm in front awkwardly bound to the others. Paulus found these public executions distasteful, but they were necessary to discourage disobedience, and slackness amongst the Brothers. He examined one claw carefully as the executioner and guards exited the shuttle bay. The shuttle would be leaving soon. The platform with the prisoner was positioned to take the blast full force from the engines as it departed. Of course, the decompression of the bay once the launch doors were opened, would account for some of the agony, but the blast would be quite a quick death, thought Paulus. He’d prefer a bit more suffering on the part of the offender, to have maximum impact on the Brethren.
Brother Paulus was watching from the safety of a vidcom room, from where the execution would be broadcast in full detail. It would also be recorded for dissemination to the various sects, and individual Brethren spread out amongst the sector.
Paulus of the Brotherhood was one of the senior members of the Inner Brethren. This council made most of the major decisions for the various sects, controlled the economy and finances of the Brotherhood, and protected the interests of its many trade and other less lawful interests, such as gun-running, narcotics, and prostitution. Paulus held high a short, hooked beak, and slick feathers progressing down from the top of his head to his neck and body. Even with arms, not wings, he still looked like what he was, a predatory avian. Sharp black eyes took in everything around him.
The demise of Bhatet had been unfortunate, but with misfortune came opportunities. It was easy for the Brotherhood to take over control of his interests, as they considered him to have been their puppet, and his interests were theirs in reality.
The countdown to launch continued. The prisoner seemed resigned, and the close up showed him mumbling to himself. Praying? Paulus was disappointed. He liked to see some struggle, repentance, fear, and despair. Screaming for mercy was even better. It all made for a better show.
The shuttle readied to leave, and the decompression of the bay commenced. The prisoner was sucked away from the post, but held in place by his bonds. The intense cold began to take its toll, and a cam zoomed in to show the eyes freezing. Suddenly, the blast from the engine engulfed the prisoner, flames consuming him, and these last moments of torture were recorded to the minutest detail. This could be shown as slow-motion close-up from all angles at once, thought Paulus to himself. It was necessary to inspire the fear the Brotherhood depended on.
The execution over, Paulus left the room with some of the other spectators, and went about his business. Several meetings with committees regarding the increase in pirate activity, and the narcotics business in some of their main systems were on his agenda. The increase in pirate groups was disturbing, as they encroached on the Brotherhood’s profitability. Time for some measures to reign them in, and establish more control in these regions of the sector. There was also the major issue of the hit they were taking due to the decline in demand for the purple plant. Brother Paulus sighed to himself. His work was never done.
While he was thinking of options to address these issues, he also thought about his upcoming meeting with Brother Prime. He was the shadowy figure at the Head of the Brotherhood. No-one really knew his identity, but a call to a meeting with him, was quite a daunting proposition. Nothing much fazed Paulus, but this was one meeting he needed to be prepared for. One wrong step not only would damage his standing in the Inner Brethren, but also potentially endanger his life. Brother Prime was not known for mercy or tolerance. In fact, he wasn’t known at all. While they all reported to him, he was removed from the day-to-day operations of the sects, and kept the rest of them guessing. Power was his bread and butter. He controlled everything. He knew everything. One of Paulus' predecessors had put this to the test. No-one who saw that vid was ever going to forget it.
Brother Paulus dealt with the committees and assigned some lesser Brethren to deal with the resulting action items. He made his way to a special room which held a coms panel, a stool and nothing else. Brother Paulus settled himself on the hard surface of the stool, and gathered his thoughts. He must be careful, but he must also show his skill and intelligence.
He waited for the call through the coms panel from Brother Prime. The Brotherhood emblem appeared on the screen, a dagger entwined with a snake prepared to strike, the tattoo each member was given on induction into the cult. Behind the symbol, a figure in silhouette sat, features and physique indistinguishable. Brother Paulus had never met Brother Prime, in fact, didn’t know anyone who had. He believed it was a device Brother Prime used to instil fear and uncertainty in the Brotherhood followers.
Brother Paulus composed his features into a mask.
"So, Brother Paulus, how goes it?"
The figure spoke quietly with a sibilant hiss.
"Brother Prime. Things go well."
Brother Paulus gave a concise rundown of his major tasks, careful to highlight the successes. He was part way through, when he was interrupted.
"Bhatet," hissed the voice. "Not a good outcome for us."
"Not immediately, but his interests are now ours, and we can…"
"Silence!" the voice sliced through Brother Paulus’s words.
He bowed his head, trying not to show his fear. It hadn’t been his project. It had been the hapless Bombass who’d cocked it up.
"I have a task for you," the voice continued more quietly and calmly. "The Destiny Stone."
Brother Paulus was both pleased
and dismayed at the same time. The Destiny Stone had been handled by others up to now, and none of them had survived. Yet if he could deliver the Stone to Brother Prime, his career was made.
"Yes, Brother Prime," he agreed meekly.
"I'm not happy with how this has been managed so far. I have heard interesting things about you. Don’t disappoint me."
"I will try, Brother Prime,"
"You’ll do more than that!"
Brother Paulus cursed his lapse.
"Of course, I will find the Destiny Stone, and bring it to you."
"Of course you will."
There was a hint of sarcasm in this last statement, which filled Brother Paulus with dread.
The image and voice cut off abruptly.
The Destiny Stone! Brother Paulus thought quickly. He needed to find out as much as he could about the project, and get it back under control. Stakes were high. He could not fail.
Six
The Grand Mother had called a meeting with Fitzy and Snark, as her main advisers in the talks with the Hunter's Run Delegation. They sat at a conference table in a meeting room in the Citadel.
"Trade talks are going extremely well," summed up Snark. "There are enormous benefits for us in being able to freely trade with Hunter's Run planets."
"And the repair droids they are leaving with the capability to increase our ships’ speed, and enable front end docking with front air locks and thrusters, is an enormous advantage," added Fitzy. "Although, I’m sure we can all agree, in terms of building our own defence capability down the track, it will be invaluable."
A.I. Destiny 4 Destiny Stone Page 3