by S. H. Jucha
Tacticnok could have hoped for her father’s advice. This was one of the crucial moments of first contact that required a senior emissary’s experience. The thought occurred to her that she’d done well, so far, and much of that success was predicated on forthrightness with the humans. She decided it was no time to change her ways.
“The Jatouche are known for producing sophisticated technical devices and medical solutions,” Tacticnok replied. “But …”
“But what?” Harbour pressed, but Tacticnok seemed incapable of answering. It appeared to Harbour as if Tacticnok was embarrassed to answer.
“If I might?” Jaktook gently requested of Tacticnok, and she assented.
“Earlier, we explained about the Messinants choosing to uplift a variety of species,” Jaktook said. “We don’t know why the Messinants chose us over the numerous creatures that inhabit our world. But, one thing is clear. We weren’t the most aggressive species on our planet, and we certainly aren’t among the races we’ve met or heard about.”
“Is that why your fight with the Gasnarians was difficult?” Jessie asked.
“We didn’t even have weapons in the beginning,” Jaktook offered. “It took time to design, test, and manufacture them. We owe a great deal to the sacrifice of many of our species, who resisted the initial onslaught of the Gasnarians. Without their efforts, we would be a captive race.”
“I’m sorry for the pain that you’ve suffered,” Harbour said softly. “It must have taken a great deal of courage to come back to this place to see who fixed the dome.”
“Credit goes to Her Highness,” Jaktook said proudly. “And once the images of you were seen in the dome, Tacticnok pushed for the opportunity to meet you.”
“Sounds as if the Jatouche could use a friendly ally,” Jessie said, and the Jatouche flashed their teeth at him.
“Perhaps, we should call an end to the meal,” Harbour said, rising.
“Most appropriate timing,” Tacticnok replied.
Harbour called Dingles to lead the Jatouche back to their cabins.
-31-
Line Three
The Annie made the YIPS ahead of the Belle, and, after docking on a terminal arm, the crew began unloading the crates provided by the Jatouche. YIPS cargo crew floated the equipment onto sleds, strapped it down, and made their way along the lower level of the arm toward the axis. From there, they would head toward the station’s far structure, where the melding, pouring, fabricating, and assembly would take place.
“Is any of this stuff dangerous?” Evan asked Yohlin, during a call.
“Evan,” Yohlin replied, with a bit of exasperation. “What I can tell you is that this stuff is alien, which means I’ve no clue as to whether it’s dangerous or not. But, the Jatouche sent it through a gate. Our people and the aliens trooped these crates across Triton, shot it into orbit aboard a shuttle, and I carted it here over a period of weeks. If it were going to go boom, it would have probably gone up already.”
“I’m just being careful,” Evan replied.
“You’re being paranoid, Evan,” Yohlin retorted. “The stuff we make is probably ten times, if not a hundred times, more dangerous than theirs. Remember, in their eyes, we’re the primitives.”
Days later, Danny maneuvered the Belle into a stationary position off the YIPS. Transport to and from the YIPS for the captains’ ships would require either the YIPS, Belle, or Annie’s shuttles. Unfortunately, Evan made it clear to Harbour that he couldn’t put one of the YIPS shuttles at her disposal.
Tacticnok was anxious to get started, but Harbour and Jessie arranged an important meeting with the Jatouche leader, who brought Jaktook and Jittak with her.
“Tacticnok, we wish to inform you of two arrangements,” Harbour said. “The first is that within the YIPS there isn’t gravity, except in the wheel. We’ve taken the liberty of procuring deck shoes for you and your team members. You’ll need to wear them, at all times, to adhere to the decks.”
“You managed to find these items that would fit our feet?” Jaktook asked in surprise.
“Actually, they’ve been made for human children, but they should work,” Jessie replied. “One of our artisans took the liberty of comparing them to your footwear.”
Tacticnok accepted the concept with a tip of her head, and asked, “And the other item?”
“We wish to assign two humans to accompany each of your team members, when they leave this ship,” Harbour replied.
“That’s unnecessary, Captain,” Jaktook replied. “We’ve brought a large case of ear wigs and can distribute them to any new humans we meet to facilitate communication.”
“What Captain Harbour is indicating, Your Highness,” Jessie said, “is that we expect every member of your team to be accompanied, at all times, by two of our people. Our people owe allegiance to us and will have your well-being in mind, first and foremost.”
“You expect trouble from the humans aboard this station,” Jittak accused.
“We don’t expect trouble,” Harbour replied, careful to keep her power under wraps. “The conditions aboard the YIPS can be dangerous. The Jatouche will be unfamiliar with its operations. It’s better to have our people with yours so that they are kept safe.”
“A wise precaution, Captains,” Tacticnok, “I thank you for your consideration of my team.”
Tacticnok’s pronouncement effectively ended the protestation that Jittak was about to voice. However, as the three Jatouche left the captain’s quarters, Jittak vowed to further his plan to arm his three soldiers with the weapons he’d snuck aboard the colony ship. As per his orders from Master Roknick, he was prepared to endanger the formative first steps with potential allies in order to protect Her Highness.
“Dingles,” Harbour called over her comm unit, when she was alone with Jessie.
“Here, Captain,” Dingles responded.
“Tacticnok accepted the escorts. Danny and you have responsibility for the head counts. And, I want that count by name, the Jatouche and the humans, who are escorting them. Am I understood?”
“Clear, Captain,” Dingles acknowledged, ending the call.
Danny, who overheard the exchange, said to Dingles, “Sounds like a captain more every day.”
“And acts like one too,” Dingles agreed. “To translate her message: Don’t you dare fail to return to the Belle, at the end of the day, without accounting for every one of our guests.”
“In that case, I’ve an idea,” Danny said. “Instead of just names. We take vids and names each day of who gets off the Belle. That way I can confirm by vids that all the Jatouche have been retrieved. If not, I’ll know which personnel to contact to determine the whereabouts of their Jatouche.
“I like it,” Dingles replied. “Let’s get the Annie shuttle pilots on the comm and share the idea. More than likely some of the Annie’s crew will be aboard the Belle and assigned to escort the Jatouche.
Dingles and Danny’s plan worked well. An Annie pilot volunteered the idea of naming the teams, which added a shorthand to the tracking process.
The YIPS received its first alien visitors, and Evan soon found himself surrounded by Jatouche and human engineers and techs. After an overview presentation by Olivia, Evan threw up his hands in exasperation.
“This isn’t some quick assembly process,” Evan cried. “You’re talking about taking over line three for, what, weeks?”
“Gatnack and Drigtik estimate seven to eight weeks,” Olivia replied.
“You’re usurping a quarter of this station’s production output for two months,” Evan objected. “Who’s going to pay for the loss in income? Without someone offering compensation, including the priority fee, I can’t approve that.”
“Who could approve it? The commandant?” Olivia asked.
“That’s who, and I can tell you he won’t do it,” Evan replied.
“Why not?” Olivia asked. “This is for the good of the planet.”
“Olivia, this is an experiment with alien technology. Y
ou’re hoping it works. The commandant isn’t going to risk JOS coin on a hope.” Evan held out his hands in apology.
“What’s your estimate of the cost, Evan?” Olivia asked.
Evan pulled up his production schedule, which extended out several months. He isolated line three, highlighted the schedule for the next two months, and jumped to the billing summary. “It comes to eleven point three million in coin to give you priority control of the line for eight weeks.”
Gatnack and Drigtik witnessed Olivia and the humans deflate. The Jatouche chittered among themselves, without the humans receiving translations. They’d followed the conversation on their ear wigs.
“I’ve no idea of the value that the manager is quoting, but, by our humans’ reactions, it’s substantial,” Drigtik said.
“It’s a shame that we have no financial arrangement with this race. It’s probably a paltry amount to us,” Gatnack replied.
“Is this the end of our work?” Drigtik asked Gatnack.
“Patience, Drigtik. We’re about to witness our humans encountering their first considerable obstacle. We’ll discover the extent of their persistence and ingenuity.”
“I think I prefer our way,” Drigtik replied. “One individual, our ruler, says yes or no. Then we do or we don’t.”
Buck up, Olivia mentally scolded herself. You’re an engineer, not a businesswoman. Olivia snatched up her comm unit and made a call.
“Go ahead, Olivia,” Harbour replied, placing her device on the table between Jessie and her. The captains had spent the day traveling together, anticipating just this sort of issue.
“Problem number one, Captain. The first of many, I presume,” Olivia replied. “Evan advises us that to take over line three for two months, we’ll need to compensate the YIPS for the loss in production.”
“Olivia, Captain Cinders here. What’s Evan asking for?”
“Eleven point three million in coin, Captain, to jump to the head of the production schedule,” Olivia replied.
Harbour looked at Jessie in shock. “Wait one or two,” she said to Olivia, and put the comm unit on mute. “That amount would drain the Belle’s general fund, and I’d still be a million short.”
“If we split the amount, I’d be short for operating capital, especially if anything happened to one of my ships,” Jessie replied.
Olivia heard Pete muttering. Reacting to what he said, she signaled the line for attention and received Harbour’s acknowledgment. She said, “Captain, Pete was grumbling about the exorbitant cost and, in doing so, he gave me an idea.”
Harbour whispered to Jessie, “That’s Pete. Good ideas wrapped in a complaint,” and Jessie grinned at her.
“We’ve got to consider that we’ll be producing lightweight metals, with greater malleability, which will yield higher tensile strength,” Olivia explained.
“Aren’t malleability and tensile strength characteristics a contradiction in metals, Olivia?” Jessie asked.
“Bryan here, Captains. The Jatouche process is multiple stage, like ours: pouring, cooling, rolling or shaping, and then hardening. According to Gatnack and Drigtik, we’re expecting a tremendous improvement over our materials.”
“A faster production process too,” Pete added.
“Olivia, any reason that line three couldn’t be left in its final state when you’re finished?” Harbour asked.
A grin crossed Olivia’s face, which twisted its shape, but she didn’t care. She understood Harbour’s question. “Absolutely not, Captain, and I don’t see a reason why the other lines couldn’t be converted to be more efficient and produce better products.” She stared at Evan, as she spoke into her comm unit. “Now, I wonder who’ll hold the rights to these processes.”
“Olivia, proceed with your plans,” Jessie replied. “Tell Evan that Captains Cinders and Harbour are committed to delivering the required amount of coin. He should contact customers to notify them of new delivery times for their orders.”
“Any questions, Evan, or do you want to argue personally with the captains?” Olivia asked. She felt vindicated by her decision to refer the problem to them.
Gatnack shared something with the Jatouche, and they tittered. When Olivia frowned at him, Gatnack said, “We’d be interested in seeing Evan Pendleton confront Captain Harbour, the leader of the empaths. The event should be enlightening.”
Olivia and the humans had to laugh at that one. The only one not sharing in the moment was Evan.
“Well, Evan?” Olivia persisted.
“You have the line for eight weeks,” Evan agreed.
“It would seem our humans are highly motivated, Gatnack,” Drigtik admitted privately.
“Okay, I’m all ears,” Harbour said to Jessie, after Olivia ended the call.
“It seems to me that we have an opportunity to involve Pyrean citizens in this operation,” Jessie replied.
“You expect Pyre to raise the coin?” Harbour asked in surprise.
“Why not? This planet belongs to everyone,” Jessie objected.
“That wasn’t what I meant,” Harbour said. “I’m doubting that the citizens would contribute anywhere near enough coin to meet the YIPS requirement.”
“Let’s say they don’t,” Jessie argued, “but they do come up with a quarter or half of the amount. Then you and I are that much better off if we have to make up the rest.”
“I can’t argue with that logic. Is it broadcast time?” Harbour asked.
“Absolutely,” Jessie replied. “Just give me a few minutes first.” He hurried into Harbour’s study to use her monitor, activating his comm device as he ran.
“What are you planning to do?” Harbour asked, running after Jessie.
“I’m opening up a new account to accept deposits,” Jessie replied. He hesitated and saw Harbour’s narrowed eyes. “I don’t want to broadcast an account number. It’s too hard to remember. I need a name.”
Harbour smiled. “Pyrean Green,” she said.
“Perfect,” Jessie replied, grinning.
Harbour stood close behind Jessie, watching him work. She’d been reaching to rest her hands on his shoulders and barely caught herself in time.
“That’s smart thinking,” Harbour said, when she saw Jessie give Major Finian and Captain Stamerson full account access. “Keeps everything air tight.”
“Ready,” Jessie announced, when the account setup was confirmed.
“Birdie, open a Pyre-wide broadcast,” Harbour called over her comm unit.
Birdie tapped her comm panel. She’d programmed a subroutine for the operation and placed its icon among the panel’s top routines. When the app signaled it was running, Birdie linked to Harbour’s comm device.
Harbour could hear Birdie’s announcement. She was alerting Pyreans of Harbour’s upcoming message. When Birdie finished, Harbour said, “This is Captain Harbour. Captain Cinders and I’ve just learned that to make use of the YIPS facilities for two months to produce the first Jatouche device, and defer the station’s scheduled production runs, we’re expected to pay twelve million in coin.”
Jessie frowned at Harbour and she amended her statement. “Actually, it’s eleven point three million, but I’m adding seven hundred thousand for contingencies. Any unused amounts we collect will go toward rehabilitating retired or injured spacers.”
Harbour caught Jessie’s grin out of the corner of her eye, and she felt redeemed. She’d intended the extra to add to the coffers of Jessie’s company and the Belle. In hindsight, that appeared a little greedy.
“What we’ve learned from our engineers is that the YIPS will be producing superior metals with the Jatouche techniques. So, the question is this: Are you willing to contribute to the recovery of the planet and enable the YIPS to manufacture better metallurgic products?”
“Here’s our idea,” Jessie interjected. “We’ve opened an account under the name Pyrean Green and given Captain Stamerson and Major Finian full access. If you’re interested in what the Jatouche can do for us, ma
ke a contribution. In this way, you can have a hand in saving Pyre.”
“What’s a green planet worth to you?” Harbour asked. She waited a moment, and then said, “Captains Harbour and Cinders out.”
Liam, who was in his office, heard the announcement and ducked his head into his hands. He knew Emerson was nearby in security administration, and he mentally counted the seconds, expecting the commandant to walk through the door within minutes. He wasn’t disappointed. The count was two minutes, thirteen seconds.
“Why did you set up that account with the captains?” Emerson screeched.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” Liam said, leveling a calm gaze at Emerson.
“And you expect me to believe that?” Emerson accused.
Liam bit back his anger. “It’s the truth, Commandant, whether you believe it or not.”
The blood rushed to Emerson’s face. He whirled around in an exhibition of righteous indignation and marched out of sight.
Liam exhaled a long sigh. He was getting tired of dealing with the commandant’s tirades. He got up from his desk and walked around to where the sergeants sat. Miguel was out, but Cecilia was present.
“Did you hear the latest announcement from the Belle?” Liam asked Cecilia.
“Major, I think every Pyrean has a programmed alert on their comm unit to alert them of a Belle message. No one’s missing them,” Cecilia replied.
“I take that as a yes,” Liam shot back, regretting his harsh tone.
“Problems, Major?” Cecilia asked gently, her motherly instincts coming to play.
“My interactions with the commandant are getting increasingly rancorous. I might have to lock one of us up to prevent a physical altercation,” Liam replied, easing his stance and running a hand through his short hair.
“I wouldn’t worry, Major, I think you can take him,” Cecilia replied, with a wink. The major’s laughter was the reaction she was hoping to induce. “What do you need, Sir?” Cecilia asked.
“I want you to stream an image of the account that Captain Harbour mentioned, Pyrean Green,” Liam requested. He scrolled through his comm unit and tapped a few times. “You’ve received a viewer’s access level.”