Prisoner

by Gilbert M. Stack

  Reneb seemed to understand this. She waved her right hand in a sharp cutting gesture when Jewel’s mother began to berate her daughter again and settled back in her chair. There was absolutely no tension apparent in her body. Nefer Reneb clearly enjoyed negotiating. She would probably rather spend an evening like this then attending the theater or going to parties. “So what is it you want, Luxora?” the negotiator asked.

  Jewel didn’t for a moment think that she had won anything yet. “For the first thing, you can call me Jewel, Ms. Reneb. I’ve never liked the name Luxora.”

  “Such disrespect,” her mother said, shaking her head in disapproval.

  Jewel ignored her.

  “That one is easy,” Reneb said. She permitted herself a small smile, as if she knew that far more difficult demands were coming. “What else do you want, Jewel?”

  It was the first time that Jewel remembered anyone of her parents’ generation using her preferred name, and her mother clearly didn’t like it.

  “Don’t encourage her, Nefer,” Alexandra Sapphira demanded. “She’s already insufferable. You’re only going to make her more so.”

  Interesting, Jewel thought, how her mother thought that courtesy would spoil her.

  “My next requirement doesn’t really fit under the category of demand. There simply can’t be a marriage without it. The Armenites won’t recognize it.”

  Skepticism flittered across Reneb’s face but she kept her voice polite. “And that is?”

  “I need papers of emancipation. Under Armenite law, I have to freely consent to the union. Under Cartelite law, the decision isn’t mine until I reach my majorus. The only way to resolve the dilemma is for a Cartelite court to grant me my majority now.”

  Reneb frowned while Jewel’s mother went into near hysterics again. “Absolutely ridiculous! You’re a child. There’s no possible way we can trust you to act responsibly without us. Just look what you’ve already done since reaching the relative independence of your majorus minor.”

  Nefer Reneb ignored Jewel’s mother and turned to her father. “What do you think, Amon? Jewel may have a point. If the Armenites will not recognize the marriage without the bride’s freely given legal consent, then it may in fact be necessary to emancipate her in order to complete and secure the terms of the concord.”

  Jewel’s father was by temperament a quieter individual than her mother, but they were well suited to each other in their inability to take their daughter seriously. He came over and sat down at the table in the same seat that Physician General Ina Adel, had sat in earlier and gave all of his attention to Reneb. “It’s ridiculous to take her at her word. Look at what she’s done already—risking trillions of solars in revenues out of immature selfishness.”

  Reneb did not appear moved by Jewel’s father’s arguments. “The facts are easily checked. The only reason we haven’t done so before is that it never occurred to us that a culture would betroth its minor children as part of a multi-trillion solar deal and then not force them to fulfill their role in the arrangement.”

  “That’s why I say it’s nonsense,” Jewel’s father argued. “Everyone knows that the Armenites are obsessive in their focus on duty and their twisted sense of personal honor. They would never permit a member of one of their Houses to fail in his responsibilities.”

  Jewel closed her eyes trying to grasp hold of a flicker of revelation fluttering around near the back of her mind. While the Empyreals had never explained what honor meant to them, it had been obvious over the course of their conversation with her that the Armenite understanding of the term differed from that of the Cartelites. They had also been highly interested in the motivations behind Jewel’s actions—pleased she realized when they believed she had been selflessly acting in what she perceived to be the best interests of her family and concerned when she had appeared merely selfish. “Perhaps,” she suggested as her tongue still sought the correct words. “The Armenites view voluntarily embracing one’s duty as a critical component of their personal honor.”

  She opened her eyes again, feeling more certain of herself. Reneb looked back at her with interest; her father with frank disgust.

  “What I’m trying to say,” Jewel continued, “is that perhaps the Armenites see no honor in doing something you’re coerced to do.”

  Jewel’s mother had been quiet too long. “This is not a philosophy class, Luxora. It is the real world with real fortunes at stake. You will stop playing games this instant and do as you’re told. Nefer, we have to upgrade that faulty piece of bioware in her head and use it to coerce proper behavior out of the girl. I know the Board generally limits such actions, but surely an exception could be made in this case considering what is at stake. The whole Cartelite economy would sink into severe depression if the agreement between Khaba and Delling were to collapse.”

  Every time Jewel thought that her parents could do nothing more to enrage or disappoint her, they came up with some new outrage. She knew she wasn’t keeping that anger off her face or out of her voice as she rose from her seat and shouted across the table. “And we’re writing into the marriage agreement clear words that state that if anyone ever uses my bioware, or that of my eventual children, to spy on me or influence me in even the slightest way the entire contract between Khaba and Delling is immediately and irrevocably null and void!”

  “Unbelievable!” her mother shouted back at her. “You aren’t responsible enough to be permitted independent action. Think of everything you’re risking you willful little beast. It’s not just our fortune you ungrateful whelp. You’re trying to hold the entire economy of the Cartel Worlds hostage to your petty selfish whims.”

  Jewel couldn’t believe the things the woman was screaming at her as she stomped about the room in her hundred thousand solar dress with a million solars worth of jewelry on top of that. “I’ve got news for you, Mama. The entire economy of the Cartel Worlds is based on selfishness. That’s what capitalism is—unrestrained selfishness—people coming together to transact their business because they believe it profits them to do so.”

  She forced herself to sit down and lower her voice, but she didn’t try to keep the anger and loathing out of her tones. “My whole life you have told me that it is my duty to marry Kole Delling. My earliest memories are of you hammering into my head that the family depends on me marrying Kole Delling. And not just our family—the fate of the entire Khaba Cartel and hundreds of thousands of jobs in the Cartel Worlds and millions across the galaxy depend on me doing my duty. I must keep the armenium flowing so that everyone benefits—everyone but me!”

  She doubted very much that her words were having any impact on either of her parents. Her mother had probably never had a genuinely maternal feeling in her entire life. And as for her father, well in the earliest years he had been wonderful, holding her in his lap and whispering how precious she was, but all of that had changed as she grew older so that by now she truly believed all he saw was another commodity dressed in his daughter’s body. So while she continued to speak her words to her parents, she addressed her arguments to Nefer Reneb.

  “Never once in all those years have you tried to explain how giving up my life and freedom to marry Kole Delling will benefit me. What little we know about the Armenites tells us they don’t value any of the things that we do. They maintain an austere society without any sign of the luxuries we find so necessary to modern civilization. They make huge profits on their ore and yet apparently spend their wealth primarily on their military. They don’t wear jewelry, or fancy clothes, and I’m willing to bet that they don’t pamper themselves in any of the ways that even our poorest citizens strive for. Their food is unimaginative and their entertainment industry is primitive at best—focused on sporting events and violent competitions, and even those are done without any of the glitz and glamour that every other society in the galaxy takes for granted.”

  She paused to catch her breath and evaluate her audience. Her mother immediately began to speak but Nefer Rene
b held up her hand and Alexandra Sapphira closed her mouth again even as her eyes widened in outrage.

  “Please continue, Jewel,” Reneb told her. “I would like to hear how you think this marriage should profit you.”

  Jewel’s lips felt so dry. There were scabs on them that had not flaked away yet—scabs that no one in her family had even commented on yet—but she didn’t think that those were responsible for the dryness. She realized right now that she really was going to go through with the wedding because Nefer Reneb was clearly taking her seriously.

  Respect—did the biggest decision in her entire life come down to the desire for a little respect?

  “There are two principle things I need from you in addition to what we’ve already talked about,” Jewel told Reneb. “First, I want half of their shares in Khaba,” she pointed at her parents, “put in trust for me and my children. They can have the income from the shares now. They can continue voting them during their lives, but they are not going to bypass my children in favor of their new daughter or any additional children they might have.”

  Jewel wasn’t completely certain of the amount of shares her parents owned these days but when she had left it was growing toward ten percent of the entire Cartel. More importantly, she knew that losing control over their shares—even in so small a matter as who could inherit them—would hurt them like a knife in their backs.

  “Unacceptable,” her father snapped. “You have no right to dictate what your mother and I do with things we own.”

  “We agree to this demand,” Nefer Reneb contradicted him in her quiet, cultured voice.

  Amon Sapphira turned on her in rage. “We do not! We—”

  “Amon, you have mishandled this situation since the day you signed your agreement with Delling. Jewel is the lynchpin to our long-term prosperity and yet you so alienated her that she ran away from home and almost cost us everything. Now you’re going to start making things right with her. This demand costs you absolutely nothing and you will agree to it. Now!”

  Jewel felt surprised by Reneb’s instant concession. She was reputed to be the top negotiator in the entire Khaba Cartel and yet she had so far negotiated nothing. What was happening here? Surely she was not intimidated by the fact that the Armenites were certainly eavesdropping on their conversation. What was going on here?

  While Jewel pondered the unanticipated support, her mother attacked the cartel negotiator. “Why do you keep encouraging her, Nefer? Don’t you understand what is at stake? She’s only a majorus minor. She must do as we say.”

  Jewel tuned out most of the conversation, following it but with only a small part of her attention. Why had Nefer Reneb just conceded to her? It didn’t matter that the concession cost them nothing. She could have held it back as a chip to play later in the negotiations. You never gave away a major bargaining position this quickly. So why had she conceded now?

  She stood and walked to the entrance to the briefing room and looked out into the corridor. A naval enlisted officer stood with his men on either side of the doorway. “Excuse me, Chief,” she called out to him, “but I need to have a quick word with Captain Krell on a very important matter. Do you have the authority to contact him? I don’t need to see him in person, just to ask him a single question.”

  The chief nodded sharply, pivoted on his heel and walked down the hall to the communication panel. He pressed in a code and spoke into the com. “Lieutenant, this is Chief Hark regarding the Cartelite guests. We have a request by the betrothed of Delling to speak briefly with the captain. How should I precede?”

  “Hold one moment, Chief.”

  No more than forty-five seconds passed, during which time Jewel realized the entire briefing room behind her had gone quiet. Then Captain Krell’s voice came over the speaker. “How may I assist you, Ms. Sapphira?”

  Jewel walked quickly down the corridor until she stood beside the chief at the communications panel. “Thank you for taking my call, Captain. I know how busy you are.”

  “Think nothing of it, Ms. Sapphira.”

  Jewel wet her lips. “Earlier, in one of my conversations with either you or the Empyreals, someone mentioned that penalties had been enacted upon Khaba when it was determined that my parents had been negotiating my marriage in bad faith. What form did those penalties take?”

  Captain Krell answered immediately and in doing so showed Jewel the true strength of her bargaining position. “Armenium deliveries were cut off completely to the Khaba Cartel.”

  “Thank you, Captain, if I might ask a follow up question, will the flow of armenium resume if the marriage between Kole and myself takes place?”

  “Yes, ma’am, you accomplished that when you convinced the Empyreals to restore their support for the wedding.”

  “Thank you again, Captain Krell. You have been most helpful.”

  She disconnected the call, nodded to the chief, and returned to the room.

  Dead silence greeted her as she resumed her seat at the head of the table. For the first time since awakening on the Armenite ship Jewel felt in a position of power. Khaba was bleeding. Every day they delayed cost the cartel millions. They needed more than the wedding. They needed her to marry Kole quickly.

  She addressed herself to Nefer Reneb, completely ignoring her parents. “And now we come to my final demand. The one in which we explore how this marriage, which is so important to so many people across the galaxy, benefits me.”

  For once, neither of her parents had anything to say.

  “What do you have in mind, Jewel?” Reneb asked.

  Jewel sat back, trying to appear relaxed. She’d found a way to hurt her parents and make life among the Armenites bearable at the same time, if she could negotiate it. “I think it only fitting that the cartel whose entire future depends on me rewards me with ten percent of its shares.”

  Her mother and father immediately started shouting again. They weren’t stupid. They certainly understood that her gaining this wealth would be of no direct benefit to them. In fact, since Khaba would have to pay ten percent of its worth to her, it would actually substantially lessen the value of their holdings.

  Nefer Reneb had a completely different reaction. For the first time she smiled in genuine pleasure. Then she started negotiating.

  Before long, Jewel understood exactly how the woman had earned her reputation.

  Chapter Seven

  It’s Like Keeping Score

  “It is very kind of you to take the time to meet with me again, Justiciar General Farl,” Jewel said. She offered the Empyreal her hand, disturbed by the hint of another dark bruise forming under the surface of her skin. The scabs were all falling away as predicted, but her body still had a long way to go to recover from her ordeal beneath the Northern Sea.

  The Empyreal smiled beneath the tattoos swirling across his face in what Jewel imagined he felt was a warm and paternal expression—certainly far warmer than he had been on the occasion of their first meeting. “It is no trouble at all. I have a niece who has married into the noble House of Delling. Now that you have embraced the marriage between our two peoples, we are almost kin.”

  He waved for her to take a seat across the desk from him. “So join me, young almost-kinswoman, and tell me how I may be of assistance.”

  Jewel took the offered seat and wondered if Farl would stay friendly when he realized she’d completed only half the negotiations she required to go through with the marriage to Kole. She still had a large number of issues that needed to be resolved between herself and the Armenites the most important of which was the fate of Erik and her friends among the Euripides survivors. She wouldn’t start with the prisoners, however. She knew enough about bargaining not to tip her hand so early.

  Using her sweetest voice, she opened the second round of negotiations. “I have a few personal and a few practical concerns about life as the wife of an Armenite that I hope you can help alleviate. May I inquire if you are familiar with the discussion I had with my parents and Nefer Reneb
this morning? It would certainly simplify things if I do not have to summarize their contents for you.”

  Farl nodded, showing absolutely no embarrassment that he had eavesdropped upon the reunion. “It was an interesting discussion. The substance is still being analyzed, but it’s fair to say that you surprised us, Jewel.”

  “Surprised you how?” Jewel asked. It annoyed her that she was once again allowing herself to be pulled off her personal agenda by the Armenites, but she was curious as to what the Empyreal had found unexpected.

  “Why you surprised me by negotiating for money,” Farl clarified. He didn’t look angry to Jewel, just intensely interested in her. “You appear to have been willing to give up your parents’ fortune when you ran away to the Fringe. Or at the very least, you were willing to risk losing it. And yet you made money a condition for marrying Lieutenant Delling. Why?”

  Jewel made a dismissive gesture with her hand, even as internally she was distracted by the reference to Kole. Where was he anyway? These people—both the Armenites and the Cartelites—expected her to marry the man without ever actually having met him. “Money is the only things my parents care about. If I want to be taken seriously, I have to prove to them my worth—and they measure such things in assets and income. It’s like keeping score at a sporting event.”

  She worried that stating the situation this boldly to a man from a culture that rejected personal displays of wealth would make her look cheap and gaudy, but that didn’t make what she had said any less true. “It helped in my negotiations that you Aremnites were already penalizing Khaba by cutting off the flow of armenium to their refineries. I did a lot better than I had expected to as a result.”

  “Three point one-two percent of the Khaba Cartel, eight hundred seventy-two million solars in cash, an impressive annual stipend in cash and further shares, bonuses for the birth of your children, a couple of landed estates, a yacht, significant upgrades to your bioware—it’s a remarkable list,” the justiciar general summarized. “Even knowing how greedy you Cartelites are, it boggles the mind.”