by Gail Daley
She and Sooka had cleared out of the apartment given to them by base command because Corrine was a late sleeper and complained they woke her moving around, no matter how quiet they tried to be. Since she and Sooka virtually had the dining hall to themselves this early, they had commandeered a table in an alcove that gave a view of the city and the pristine beaches. The rising sun turned the unspoiled beach to a ribbon of white edged by sparkling aqua waters. It made the multi-colored city buildings look as if they had been stained by a child’s bright crayon.
"May I join you?"
She looked up to smile at Zack. He was an early riser as well apparently, and had started joining them for breakfast.
She made a welcoming gesture to the chair opposite. "Of course."
"Well, that’s a relief. After you turned down my dinner invitation last night—"
"Well, breakfast is much more informal and less likely to cause talk."
He cocked his head at her "Why are you worried about causing talk?"
"Lieutenant—how shall I say this? When we arrive on Vensoog, you will be handfasted with someone and so shall I. This program is very important to my people; I need to show I believe it will work to convince them to try it. I would prefer there be no gossip about our relationship on Fenris if we are matched with other people when we arrive home. It will make everything much smoother."
"I see. But breakfast is okay? How about lunch? I’m not giving up, you know."
Katherine smiled in spite of herself. "Breakfast is fine. At lunch, we probably will have the others joining us." She was surprised to find herself a little flustered by the obvious masculine approval she read in Zack’s eyes. When the war had started, she had been too young for any serious relationships, and later when she was old enough, most the young men who would have courted her were off planet.
"Beautiful, isn’t it?" Zack remarked, nodding to the view out the windows.
"Oh, yes. It almost reminds me of home, except this doesn’t look quite real."
Just then, Zack’s com chimed softly. He frowned at the telltale on the indicator and said, "I’m sorry, I have to take this," and invoked the privacy mode. A shielding cocoon formed around him, making it impossible to see or hear to whom he was talking.
Katherine looked over at Sooka, industriously finishing a large helping of breakfast. The Quirka seemed to sparkle in the sunlight that was edging in the window. Katherine sniffed experimentally and immediately noticed a faint musky odor.
"Uh-Oh," she grimaced. "It does come inconveniently for us girls doesn’t it Sweetie? I hope you and Divit like each other because I’m afraid you won’t have much choice when the time comes."
Sooka made a whuffling noise as if she agreed. Katherine was never sure how much the little creature actually understood of her conversation. They were empathic but not telepathic. Quirka’s rarely made permanent bonds with their choice when mating unless their human partners were involved. However, both sexes cared equally for the pups until they were old enough to bond with a human.
Zack finished his conversation and shut down the privacy cone, but he continued to scowl fiercely and drummed his fingers on the table.
"Is something the matter My Lord?" Katherine automatically gave him the courtesy title he would be accorded on Vensoog.
"What? No. Yes, by the Void, there is. In the last battle, my best friend, Timol was killed. He died saving my life. He left behind two boys, twins, here on Fenris. Their mother is dead, and I promised him I would take care of them. I’ve been trying to gain custody, but I am running into roadblocks put up by the placement center. I just heard back from the Child Placement Center where they sent them. Now they’re claiming that another relative has come forward to demand custody of them. Damnit, Timol didn’t have any relatives! That’s why he asked me to take his boys."
"Are you certain he didn’t have any relatives? What about the mother?"
Zack made a rude noise. "The mother’s dead. Some wasting disease I think. She only had one sister, and she was killed a few months before the war ended and no grandparents. That’s why the boys ended up in that Center. Timol was raised by the State."
"Humnn. What is the name of the relative that came forward?"
"Jerrod van Doyle."
Katherine looked sharply at him. "Are you sure that’s the name?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because I do think you have a problem. I had reason to check out the name of Jerrod van Doyle regarding three other children at that Placement Center I tried to adopt. He’s listed as their next of kin too. Juliette, one of the girls, told me she is afraid of him so I checked with a friend in the interplanetary police and I discovered he’s on a watch list for trafficking in children."
Something cold rose up and died behind his eyes. "Well, he’s not getting Timol’s boys."
"No. I agree with you and I think you and I might just be able to help each other out with this. Come up to my office where we can talk privately. There won’t be anyone around this early."
As they left, neither of them noticed the expression of the tall woman who had started toward their table. She wore a Lieutenant’s uniform. Her white-blond hair, cut short in a style favored by the military, framed striking, well-cut features. Just now, her red, bow shaped lips set in an angry scowl.
Once in her office, Katherine pulled up the virtual screen and pointed to a line of code. "You see this? This shows where the children’s records were altered to show van Doyle as a relative. It’s not the only time he’s done it either. There’s a record of alterations of children’s records going back to before the wars. The only recent changes though are to these five records. Timol’s two boys and these three girls. I spoke to the oldest girl the last time I went out there. Her name is Juliette. When I congratulated her on finding a relative, she was the one who clued me in on what was about to happen. She is a very clever little girl. I promised her I would help her."
"Help her? How" Zack questioned.
"There are only two ways to remove a child from that Placement Center. They can be adopted, which we already tried and were turned down, or they can be claimed by a relative. It doesn’t have to be a close relative either. How would you feel about gaining two nephews and three girl cousins?"
"And when they find out you’ve altered the coding to show I’m related to them? I assume that’s what you are talking about."
Katherine laughed. "Well, it is, but nothing as crude as what I just showed you. I assure you that I am a much better programmer than whoever designed this package. What’s more I can make their changes so obvious no one could miss them."
He sat frowning at her. "Are you that good?"
"Yes, I’m that good. I may as well confess to you, that I was planning to do this anyway, but I planned to use the name of clan a member killed in action. The program has already been dropped in the database. All I need to do is substitute your name for his and activate the code."
"Lady, you are piece of work," he said, half admiringly, half horrified. "Let’s go for it."
"Wonderful! Meet me in front of the gate at 1400 hours. We have a meeting with the City Mayor to discuss this issue this afternoon. Wear your uniform, so you look heroic, and leave the talking to me. A live hero showing up in person always harder to ignore that a dead one anyway," she added.
Zack shook his head. "I hope I won't regret this," he remarked.
Gestuv Yance, The City Mayor, was short, round, and already going bald. He was overwhelmed to be rubbing shoulders with a member of the royal family of another planet and thrilled to be invited to the Planetary Governor’s Ball given in honor of the exalted visitors from Vensoog and numerous other visiting dignitaries. It was obvious dreams of advancement and influence danced in his head. Zack watched with hidden amusement as Katherine not quite flirted with the Mayor. Today, she had dressed to impress; the outfit clung lovingly to her, and Mayor Yance was so busy trying to see through her transparent blouse and not get caught doing it that the he signed a
nd sealed the custody papers without even reading them.
The robocar that met them outside the Mayor’s office was built to carry at least ten passengers. Somehow, Zack was unsurprised to hear Katherine give the address of the Child Placement Center. Obviously, she had been prepared to move quickly.
"You had this plan already ready to go," didn’t you," he remarked. "I’m impressed".
"The administrator is gone this afternoon," she explained, "It’s his regular mid-week appointment in the city. That assistant of his is too used to rolling over for authority figures. I plan for us to have those children safe with us before he returns from his afternoon sex appointment."
"And just how, may I ask, do you know he will be gone?" Zack inquired skeptically.
She shrugged. "Juliette seems to know everything that goes on in that place. I had quite a conversation with her when I saw her last week."
She took out her com. "There is one more call we need to make. I want to let Commander Veratos know we are going to remove the children. She’s in charge of the IPP task force on human trafficking here on Fenris. She contacted me when I put through a query about van Doyle."
Zack was gaining considerable respect for Katherine’s preparations. The entire operation was handled like a military campaign. Grouter's Administrative assistant sputtered in distress when they collected the children, but Zack and Katherine were in and out of the facility, accompanied by five children, luggage and personal possessions inside of fifteen minutes.
As their car pulled away, Zack noticed that a bright red robocar pulled into the compound they had just left. "That’s van Doyle’s bus," Juliette warned. "He’ll be having a fit when he finds us gone."
Her voice was quiet, but Zack could read the underlying tension in it. She was a thin child, with bright green eyes and a shock of brilliantly red hair. Zack judged her age to be around ten years old. Katherine patted her hand "don’t worry about that," and she handed Juliette a copy of the papers signed by the mayor which Juliette scanned with every appearance of comprehension. Maybe she was older than ten. It was hard for him to judge girl children’s ages unless they had entered puberty.
"Meet your new Uncle, "Katherine nodded to the boys, "and your third cousin girls, Zack Jackson. He now has custody of you five and as an accepted immigrant to Vensoog, he may take his family with him. I don’t think there will be difficulties; unless I miss my guess, Grouter and van Doyle are about to be up to their ears in trouble with IPP."
"The program!" Zack exclaimed. "Will the changes you made stand up to a police inquiry?"
Katherine shrugged. "All I did was make their alterations more obvious. My changes will look like new information written into the database because of records entered after the war."
She smiled at the children. "Juliette and I have met, but since the rest of you don’t know me, I am Lady Katherine of Clan O’Teague. Why don’t you introduce yourselves to your new Uncle and tell him a bit about how you came to be at the center?"
The twin boys, age ten, looked at Zack with identical measuring stares. "Are you really our father’s brother, sir?"
"In a manner speaking. Timol was my blood brother and best friend from the time we were children. We were raised in a placement center after both of us were orphaned. We adopted each other, entered the service together and served together. I was with him when he died and I gave him my word to look after you and teach you how to become men."
He looked at the bigger twin "Rodrick, right? And you would be Rupert? Welcome home boys."
They nodded silently. Katherine decided that the boys’ dark hair, eyes and skin from their mixed-race heritage would pass as a family resemblance.
The girls didn’t resemble Zack at all. Violet was the youngest, and she plainly showed her mixed Asian ancestry. Lucinda the next oldest of the girls, had a pale complexion, ash blond hair and grey eyes. All the children looked underweight a trifle but none of them looked malnourished, and they wore clean if worn clothing. Mentally, she judged their sizes. A visit from the tailor would be in order, she decided.
"Where are we going?" inquired Juliette.
"We are going back to the base. We have quarters there until the Dancing Gryphon is ready to leave. Since Zack is billeted with his unit, you five will stay in my quarters with my Aunt Corrine and me. We were allotted a General’s accommodations so we have extra bedrooms and a recreation room."
"I’m hungry," Violet announced.
Katherine smiled at her. "As soon as we get your gear dropped off in our quarters, we’ll head down to the commissary for a snack," she promised. "What kind of foods do you like to eat?"
The dinner table that night was quite crowded. Corrine had suggested that the three men join them for meals shortly after choosing their unit. With the addition of the children, it made the meal almost feel like home, Katherine realized. At Glass Castle, as well as a table for the Laird’s family, the dining room was often crowded with visitors to the clan and students of various ages.
By the time she could finally sit down at the table, Katherine had settled two wrangles over who got to sit by Sooka, showed Roderick and Juliette how to use the selection buttons on the robochef and persuaded Rupert that a few vegetables wouldn’t poison him. She hoped it would grow easier once she and the children learned each other’s food preferences.
Once everyone was occupied with filling their bellies, Katherine could address her own needs. Becoming the mother of five children all at once was a new and worrisome experience. She knew she had a long way to go to win the children’s trust. Juliette, while grateful for the rescue from van Doyle’s clutches, was still wary of her intentions and she had a powerful influence on the others.
Gideon cleared his throat, "Um—Lady Katherine, I have a favor to ask."
"Yes of course if I can. What can I do for you, Lord Gideon?"
He looked a little self-conscious at the title. "I too have two wards I want to take with me to Vensoog. Lucas is sixteen. His grandfather sent him to me when Gwynedd was overrun. He is old enough to stay with me in the barracks, but my niece Jayla is only thirteen and for obvious reasons, I would rather she not be quartered with the unit. My brother and his wife had sent her off planet when they learned Moodon had become a target. After Moodon was destroyed, and they were killed, she became my ward. She and Lucas will arrive on the nineteenth. Would it be possible to make room for Jayla in your quarters?"
"Of course. We’ve been given a General’s lodgings and have plenty of bedrooms. If we need more rooms, there are always those handy portable walls! It might be possible for Lucas to stay with Corrine and me too. We’ll figure something out."
They were cleaning up the table from the meal when a tall, athletic blond woman approached and greeted Zack with enthusiasm. Hastily disengaging himself from her attempted embrace, he introduced her as Lieutenant Darla Lister from Colonel Lewiston’s command.
"Don’t be so formal Zack," Lieutenant Lister said. "I’m sure your new friends can spare you long enough to spend the evening with an old friend."
Zack sent Katherine a harassed look. She responded immediately, "It is nice to have time to visit with old friends, isn’t it Lieutenant? I’m afraid though, that Zack has other duties this evening. This is a new place Zack and I’m sure your new wards would appreciate your being on hand to help them get settled in for the night."
Zack smiled quite naturally at Darla. "Yes, I’m sure they would. Perhaps some other time?"
A spark of red anger showed in her eyes at his rejection, but she was too well trained to let it be noticed. "Why Zack, you didn’t tell me you had gotten married. And to a woman with so many children too!"
"Although I will get married shortly, I don’t have the name of my bride yet," he responded coolly. "These are my nephews and cousins. I’ve just taken custody of them from the Placement Center. They will accompany me to Vensoog."
Darla watched the group leave with narrowed eyes. "Trouble in paradise?" inquired Colonel Lewiston
’s smooth voice from behind her.
"O’Teague, that’s the clan you applied for first, isn’t it? She retorted with just the right touch of mockery. "I hear she didn’t like you."
"Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Lister." He shrugged. "Clan DeMedici will suit us, and I’m finding Donna Sabina easy to control. She finds me very attractive. And that will get us free passage to Vensoog where we can implement the rest of the plan."
Choices Made
AT BREAKFAST the morning after the children arrived, Katherine announced that she had arranged for a tailor from town to come and take measurements for Gideon and his men so they could all be set up with at least two outfits suitable for Vensoog.
"Tomalson’s will be bringing out several tailors for the measurements, if it’s convenient, perhaps you could organize your people so this can be done efficiently?" she suggested to Vernal. "If that is alright with you Lord Gideon?"
"That’s a good idea Vernel, if we don’t get some organization into it we’ll have men piling up to wait in line."
"Excellent, I have some orientation data crystals for you to begin distributing to the men. I’m sure they are anxious to begin learning about the planet. We use sleep learning extensively on Vensoog, so if they plug in the crystal above their bunks at night, when they wake up they will be surprised to find out how much they already know about us."
"Children, if you’ve finished, clean up your plates and cups. A tailor is coming to our rooms to take your measurements."
When the boys made faces, she smiled and added, "this afternoon we will be going out to the Arboretum to make arrangements for Sooka and Divit to have access during their mating cycle. We’ll take a picnic basket with us and enjoy the outdoors."
"Why don’t I go with you?" suggested Zack. "I’m sure we will all be done with the tailor at about the same time."
"That’s an excellent idea. It will give you the opportunity to know the children better."
Vernal, choked and turned it into a cough instead of a laugh and Gideon grinned since they were sure getting to know the children had not been why Zack had suggested going with them. His interest in Katherine hadn’t gone unnoticed by his friends. Zack gave them both a dirty look.