The girl stood with bowed head. ‘I abase myself, General. I did not mean any disrespect; I merely repeated what I had been taught.’
‘I know,’ the general said. ‘And they taught it wrong. Permit me to leave, ma’am High Admiral.’
‘Thank you, General,’ Kambisha said. She smiled at the unhappy Waell. ‘Policies have changed; don’t worry if you bump into something that’s no longer as you remembered it. A thousand years is a long time, and if it weren’t for the gods maintaining all as it is, things could have been far worse.’
‘Kambisha!’ Odysson came hurrying down with Captain Jenson. ‘They’re gone! We reached a tentative trade agreement, and then the whole tribe gathered their things, loaded everything into their canoes and paddled away.’
‘They went to claim their chosen island,’ Valluur said. ‘I promised them help. They are not a sophisticated people, and my voice impressed them hugely. So with your permission I will reactivate my dome. Your flagship has landed to let my cadets board her. What will happen now, ma’am? I am without commander and staff; will there be new cadets?’
Good question, Kambisha thought. We won’t fill the lack of trainers with some kids straight out of school. ‘The cadets won’t be a problem. The staff... We haven’t got anyone with the right experience.’
‘I have simulators,’ Valluur said. ‘They would make anyone believe they were fighting in space. If you gave me the right people, I could add the space element.’
‘I’ll get on to it,’ Kambisha said. Do I know anyone for this job? ‘Who will do the initial vetting?’
‘Give them to Lhandor,’ Ram said. ‘He isn’t the brightest ah, fish in the barrel, but he’s a sound Marine. And he was as near to graduating as they come, so all the stuff is still fresh in his head. Any bunch of good guys should pick it up in no time. I assume you won’t be cheap and hire Garthans, or even worse, Hizmyrans?’
‘Don’t exaggerate,’ Kambisha said. ‘There are fine Hizmyran and Garthan officers in the Weal.’
‘Some, maybe, but a lot of them are pompous asses,’ Ram said.
Colonel Valluur chuckled. ‘We had our fair share of men like that, ma’am. I will be eager for any instructors you send me.’
‘Exactly what did the Academy train?’ she asked. ‘Only Marines?’
Waell shook her head, but she let Valluur answer.
‘No, ma’am. ‘Lhandor’s troops are the Marine classes. Recruit-Major Waell’s cadets are regular crew; potential commanders, scouts and Fleet engineers, mostly.’
‘Didn’t NavBase have cadets, too?’
‘Midshipmen, ma’am. They rank higher, for they are top classes; budding admirals and generals.’
‘I see,’ Kambisha said. ‘Thank you. I’m going to Seatome. Jenson, you can return to your duties; thank you for alerting me. Ody, have a treat—you can take the ship home. Recruit-Major, you get your troops on board. Ram, you come, but be prepared for a lot of porting.’
Impatiently, she ported even before anyone could say anything. ‘Staff. Where the heck do I begin?’ Then she brightened. ‘The port captain’s office. They’re always in the know what naval and Marine officers are available.’
The Harbor Authority occupied the upper floor of an old building facing the sea. Kambisha had never been inside before, but her Realm uniform got the immediate attention of the clerks, and the port captain himself came out, all affability.
‘High Admiral Kambisha!’ he said. ‘How wonderful to meet you in person. You are sailing another sea, but our souls are the same.’
Kambisha doubted it, but she smiled and shook hands. ‘I have a personnel problem, and you have a reputation of knowing everyone in Seatome.’
‘In my profession you get to meet a great many people,’ he said, beaming. ‘What precisely is it you are seeking?’
‘We have a training facility up there,’ she said. ‘Now I need a commander. A flexible, experienced officer and warrior who can by example and knowledge train young cadets.’
‘That is a high-ranking position?’ the port captain said. ‘It would have to be a senior captain.’ He looked at her. ‘You know Captain Tamyas?’
‘Yes, indeed,’ she said. ‘He was one of the Trade Magnate’s best captains.’
‘So he was. But after a few years of peace, he wanted back to his old trading job. He bought Royal Sashu for a token sum, gathered his old crew, and went back to the roaring life of a tramp captain.’
‘I vaguely remember,’ she said. ‘How is it with him?’
‘He had to send Sashu to the breaker’s yard recently. Now he and his crew are a bit at a loose end.’ He lowered his voice. ‘PTC has the market sewn up tight, and tramping barely pays. I think money is a problem for him. A pity, for he is a most excellent commander.’
‘So he is,’ Kambisha said. She knew all about Tamyas and his crew, for like many old hands from the Jinn War they used to meet them regularly at their parents’ reunions and such. ‘Where could I find him?’
‘The Rudderless Parrot. That alone tells me he isn’t well off.’
‘I will have a word with him. My sincere thanks, Port Captain.’
‘The Parrot,’ Ram said once they were outside. ‘That’s not the best of dives.’
‘I believe you,’ she said. ‘You know where it is? Let’s go.’
The tavern was a ramshackle building too near the tanneries for comfort. It looked, smelled and probably felt greasy.
Kambisha walked inside, and stopped, feet apart and hands on her hips, as she stared around the badly lit taproom.
‘Grim!’ she called. A big woman with a scarred face looked up and broke into a smile.
‘Of all people!’ They met and shook hands.
Grim was from Yavam Island, one of the crew Aunt Shaw had rescued from a bunch of pirates, and they’d met several times before.
‘I heard of the Sashu,’ Kambisha said. ‘The captain?’
Grim nodded to a dark corner, where an even darker shadow slumped. ‘He takes it hard.’
Kambisha walked over to the shadows. ‘Report, Tamyas.’
He sat up with a jolt. ‘Shaw?’ Then he saw her and he frowned. ‘No, ‘tis Kambisha. What the heck is a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?’
‘Looking for you,’ she said and pulled up a chair. ‘Meet Ram. He’s my, eh, we’re doing the Kell thing of getting to know each other.’
Tamyas nodded. ‘Good.’ He was a small Hizmyran with a few lines of gray in his brown hair and an old captain’s coat with antique epaulets. ‘You were looking for me? What in the universe for?’
‘I have some job vacancies to fill. Port captain told me you were available.’
‘Yes,’ he said bitterly. ‘I had to do it. Too many things went bust, engine was lousy like a broken heart, hull leaked tears; it was over, and so am I.’
‘Don’t be an idiot,’ she said. ‘You’re what, forty-three? Perhaps you should do something else for a while.’
‘Running a warehouse? No thanks.’
‘I’m not doing trade. Where’s your eye for a fancy uniform?’
‘Uniform?’ he said and looked her over. ‘Five golden stripes? There aren’t that level admirals on the sea.’
‘But I’m not on the sea,’ she said. ‘You haven’t been watching the news lately?’
‘Not he, but I have,’ another voice said, coming in from a side room.
‘Jakop!’ Kambisha said happily. ‘Are you all here?’
‘Twenty of us,’ Jakop said. He was a tall man, desert brown like his Nanstalgarodian forebears and wavy-haired. ‘Even the bliddy princes, though we keep telling them to go home to their cousin’s court and eat well for once.’
He turned to Tamyas. ‘Captain, Lady Kam has it made. She went to the Moon and returned an admiral. It was all in the newspapers. Big royalty opening of their new headquarters in Whale Street.’
‘I heard that,’ Grim said. ‘Was that you? You went into space?’
‘Yes,’
Kambisha said. ‘All the way and no going back.’
Grim looked at Jakop. ‘Send one of the guys to get the princes. They’ll want to hear this.’
He nodded and hurried off.
‘You mentioned a job,’ Grim said.
‘She did,’ Ram said. He grinned. ‘I’m Ram, and I’m not an admiral. I am a colonel of Marines. We aren’t only on the Moon; we’re restarting a failed space empire base by base. Today we reopened a training center for our fleet and Marines. It’s all there, even the cadets, only the trainers snuffed it. So we need staff. Everything, from the boss commander down. The running of the base gets done by someone else, but the training and such needs a human hand.’
‘So if you’re interested, we would hire you lot,’ Kambisha said. ‘You did it all; shooting at other ships, boarding, fighting hand to hand, only not in space. But we found you can ride a broom out there, and we have other nifty techniques to make it doable. We pay high wages, there are plenty free training courses, nice accommodations, there is a lot of water, friendly natives, and a portal to take you to the hotspots of Seatome.’
The door opened and two more men came in; they had the green complexions of Qoori, or in their case the Sashuni kingdom. Wanei was the first officer, and Qanan the ship’s engineer, and they were twins.
‘My lady Kambisha,’ Wanei said. ‘How good to see you.’
‘It’s been too long, Prince Wanei, Qanan,’ she said, and she briefly embraced both men.
‘She’s offering us a job in space, guys,’ Tamyas said.
‘Take it,’ Qanan said quickly. ‘Take it, take it. All those technical wonders!’
‘I would see the place,’ Tamyas said.
‘Of course,’ Kambisha said. ‘I can bring you there right now, if you’re free.’
‘I am free,’ Qanan said, eagerly.
Tamyas stood up and straightened his epaulets with his fingers. ‘All right them.’
Kambisha gathered the six of them to her, and ported.
‘Welcome at the Fleet Academy,’ she said as they emerged from the dark taproom into the large, sunny hall of the base main building. ‘Colonel Valluur, I bring naval Captain Tamyas and his staff to show them the facilities. They are very experienced officers, both wartime and pirate hunting.’
‘Welcome all,’ Valluur said. ‘If there are any questions, I am at your service.’
‘He is human?’ Qanan said, surprised and excited.
‘Fully human. His brain has been integrated into the base and the colonel runs everything for you. He is listed as a specialist officer in the Realmfleet.’
‘Incredible,’ Qanan said.
They walked through the main building, almost identical to Realmport, but older and lived-in.
‘The accommodation is quite nice,’ Tamyas said, looking round the commander’s apartment.
‘Well, it is a rear admiral’s appointment,’ Kambisha said.
‘It is?’ Tamyas said, glancing surreptitiously at the faded captain’s stripes on his sleeves.
She grinned. He was a great commander, a caring leader, insanely brave, loyal, and vain as they come. A promise of admiralty was a powerful argument.
They went through the armory, the sports accommodation, the cadets’ quarters and the mess.
Then they went outside, into the sun, and Tamyas sighed. ‘A beautiful place.’ He turned to Kambisha. ‘I am sold. We’ll take the job.’
‘Welcome to Realmfleet, Admiral Tamyas,’ she said. ‘We will retire to our main base to discuss the details. In the meantime we’ll send a ship to Seatome to pick up the rest of your crew. Colonel Valluur, Rear admiral Tamyas will be the new commander. We’ll keep him in Realmport for a week for briefings and such, before he will take over command.’
‘That is happy news, Admiral. Our cadets will certainly profit from your experience,’ Valluur said. ‘You will send the recruit-major and her troop back, ma’am? They still have another year to go.’
‘We will. And we will start a recruiting program on Firstworld to get the next class organized.’
‘Thank you, ma’am,’ Valluur said, and he sounded pleased.
At Realmport, Tamyas’ crew got a barracks to themselves.
‘Tomorrow you will start on a series of courses that will turn you into competent spacefarers,’ Kambisha said after she had dragged Tamyas to her office to meet with Odysson and Derris. She explained the way these courses worked.
‘But the practice?’ Tamyas said. ‘It can’t be all theory?’
‘A lot of it can,’ Kambisha said. ‘You’ll be surprised how well you’ll learn it. Of course we’ll have exercises as well; Recruit-colonel Lhandor, who was the senior of the last batch of cadets, will arrange that. We got Qo-T 83 to serve as your flagship. She is a frigate of the same class Kyrus uses. Meanwhile Derris will be working on a recruitment program.’
‘Several,’ Derris said. ‘Though my first actions were for my HQ. I can’t run the whole of planetside with only ER-HQ and me. I’m setting up an advertising agency that will organize the various campaigns, asking for crews and Marines, for engineers, traders and scientists, and a special one for the BES Studio.’
‘Sounds good,’ Kambisha said. ‘When do you expect results?’
‘These things need time,’ he said patiently. ‘I plan to open offices in Hizmyr, Takkala and Qoor, and maybe Malgarth. It would be great if you guys could arrange for AI brains, while that gal I engaged is looking for suitable buildings.’
‘Of course,’ Gunild said. ‘That, too, takes time; I cannot simply copy them. Mr. Marff has to design each one of those AIs.’
‘All right,’ Kambisha said. Then the door opened, and Kyrus came in with two Thali kids.
‘Surprising,’ Tamyas said when all sides had told their stories. ‘So the galaxy has its own gods?’
‘Yes; Bodrus made it quite clear his family was strictly for Firstworld, and nowhere else. And it’s not only the gods; the Moi, those people whose Realm we’re rebuilding, are as Vanhaari as any native Seatome citizen, while the trading Rhu could change places with Wanei and Qanan. But the other peoples aren’t duplicated. At least we haven’t found any Kells or Hizmyrans yet, and people like the Tarriks or those Dregh rat creatures are unlike anything we have on Firstworld.’
‘With all due respect,’ Gunild interrupted. ‘Those two youngsters are out on their feet. They need sleep. I will send someone to guide them to a room.’
Moments later, Healer Holyn knocked. ‘More guests?’ he said. ‘I’m happy to see you two. Come with me; I’ll do a quick health check and then you’re for a good, normal sleep. And no, stasis isn’t sleep; it merely halts your time. You come out of it as you went in; tired, hungry, soaked or hurt.’
‘I didn’t realize that,’ Kambisha said. ‘It’s something to keep in mind.’
When the kids had gone, she sat back and stared at her brother. ‘Tell me of the god again. How did he sound?’
‘Just like any god,’ her brother said. ‘That surprised me, the lack of strangeness. He called the Firstworld gods the “others” and our father “halfgod”, but apart from that he was just a god. He did seem to know very little of humans, as if he never had had much to do with them.’
‘And the gods themselves don’t meet, either,’ Odysson said. ‘Sounds familiar.’
‘Yeah,’ Kyrus said. ‘Firstworld has a lot of humans who do what humans are supposed to do, and a double handful of gods without a real idea of what their tasks are.’
That’s exactly it, Kambisha thought. ‘You nailed it, twin. Bodrus knew, Mother Gathea, Lumentis and a few others, but most of them were just hanging around and waiting.’
‘They’re not precisely superior to us,’ Kyrus said. ‘More powerful, but certainly not cleverer. Quite the contrary; some are thick as bricks.’ He shrugged. ‘I discussed the Entrallen situation with Gunild. She’s going to rebuild the colony, but bigger and better. Then she’ll come to you, Derris, to hire a bunch of people. Factory workers, eng
ineers, magriculturists; I’m leaving it to her. I’m for bed, too; this was quite a day.’ He rose and stopped. From his belt he took something small and glistening. ‘Here, the divine gave me this for our mysterious Six.’
Kambisha took it. ‘A snowflake?’ She stared at her brother. ‘He knew about Six?’
Kyrus grinned. ‘He even found his name apt.’ Then he frowned. ‘A human rep, he called him. What’s a rep?’
‘No idea.’ Kambisha put the snowflake away. ‘I’ll give it to him.’
‘Hope he likes it.’ Kyrus gave a mock salute. ‘See you tomorrow, folks.’
‘Hire a bunch of people,’ Derris said. ‘And I suppose he wants them now?’ He sighed. ‘Sorry, Tamyas. I’ll move this to the top of the list. You’re no god, after all.’
‘Only in his thoughts,’ Kambisha said.
Tamyas laughed. ‘True.’
On her way to bed, Kambisha looked in on Six. He sat in the same chair and smiled at her.
‘Shouldn’t you sleep?’ she said.
‘I have no need.’
‘The Great Grandfather of Snow sends you a little present.’ Kambisha handed him the snowflake and saw his face open in a happy smile.
‘How good of him!’ He pressed the snowflake to his chest, and it remained stuck there. ‘That is the first.’
‘You expect more gifts?’ Kambisha said.
He looked at her, his face without expression. ‘I do not know. I only know what I say. That is the first. Of what? I have no answer.’
‘All right. Well, I am going to bed even if you don’t, so have a pleasant night.’
‘Sleep well,’ he said politely.
CHAPTER 23 – INTERVENTION
‘Admiral Kambisha? This is Captain Mhann, Ni-M 498.’
Kambisha sat up in bed. ‘Mhann? What’s wrong?’ Corvette Captain Mhann was a former NavBase midshipwoman; a very confident no-nonsense type of career officer. For her to contact the high admiral directly and not through Gunild gave it a feeling of urgency.
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