"You misunderstand us."
"I'm sorry, I don’t follow then. How am I misunderstanding?"
"Will you make the commitment without understanding?"
"Sure." She hesitated for a moment. "I will."
"Admiral Jane Hunter, this council grants you personally, ownership of the nine systems known as the Gauntlet. The placement of stations for the betterment of trade through the sector is therefore your own issue. You may relocate your people to any of the four habitable planets. You may use any political structure you wish to govern it, and rename the space as you please. When you are established, you may come before us again as an applicant for Council membership, and may appoint an ambassador to sit beside the Human ambassador in council. There has not been two seats issued for a single species in over two hundred of your years. But we judge the importance of your contribution, now and in the future, to be worthy of the second seat."
For the first time in her life, Jane was completely speechless.
Seventy One
"I like being ambassador," said Walsh, "but I think the novelty will wear off pretty quickly. I prefer to be out there. On the other hand though, there is no reason I can't leave a clone here doing the ambassadorial work, while I take a ship off and explore this galaxy. For all anyone knows, I have an identical twin, so if someone does make the connection, I can pass it off that way."
"Gaia will be sending a new ambassador once the blockades are down. You won't need to stay then."
"True, but you'll be needing one yourself. My clone can ambassador for you, and Darlene and I will head out with the AMS."
"You can head up the AMS. When you discover a jump point, or anything else saleable, I'll give you a cut of the proceeds."
"Really?"
He hugged her.
Darlene was silent. She also wanted to head back to the quiet of space, where she could enjoy her reward for service to the sector. She'd been given open access to the libraries of every species in the sector. All she wanted now was peace and quiet to dive into them.
"Stryker will be here with the diplomatic team. He'll be captaining his own Concorde class. You can use his ship to explore in, or take over the Drone Cruiser. Or we can design and build you a completely new ship. But Stryker only wants to work with you. Cayuga is sending a clone with him, so you'll have a crew."
"Let me think about it. I like the sound of building a custom ship for long range exploration. Maybe something which combines Carrier with Drones, with Corvette docking, and is a mothership for the exploration of a whole sector at a time."
Jane sent him the specs for BigMother, before she was by necessity redesigned. The reminder gave her a pang. She'd loved that ship. Gone now of course. He took a good hundred nanoseconds to take it all in. Carrier with fighter launch bays, docking for a single Battleship and up to four Cruisers, external docking for six Destroyer class or smaller, a gigantic cargo deck for trading, and a custom built marine barracks with adjoining dock for a Marine Frigate.
"Something like that, yes. Having a Battleship available in case of attack would be useful at times. Is this a spec, or was she actually built?"
"Real ship, but she evolved to that spec, she wasn’t designed that way. Unfortunately, she was partially destroyed and then rebuilt for a different task."
"Let me work on these. I've always wanted to design my own ship. Now I have access to everything I need to learn how."
"What will you call your space," asked Darlene.
Jane startled. It still hadn't sunk in what had happened. The irony didn’t escape her. She'd done a lot of teasing Jon about his ownership of sections of space, and now she owned more than he had. Although technically, he'd owned more actual space, but he'd never had the opportunity to colonize his two better planets. She would be able to. Assuming some people actually wanted to emigrate.
"No idea. I'll need to discuss it with a few people."
"Jane's Realm," said Walsh.
"Jane's Utopia," said Darlene.
"Janopia."
"Empire of Jane."
"Kingdom of Jane."
"Queendom of Jane."
"United Jane."
"STOP IT!"
They grinned at her, and she waved at them to leave her in peace. This needed thought.
Seventy Two
Fred thumped down on the mat. He sighed. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t getting any better.
A hand reached down, he grabbed it, and was pulled back to his feet.
His sparring partner had vanished, and Justine was standing there.
"Hi," he said, grinning. "Where did you come from?"
"Something came up. We need to talk."
"I need a shower. Want to wash my back?"
He was joking, of course. Jane pondered it. She remembered all the times she'd watched Jon showering with his friends.
"Okay. But it's not a promise of anything else. Got it?"
He was caught completely off guard, but youthful enthusiasm took over. He grinned back at her.
"Got it. This way."
He led her to his own suite. He closed the door behind her, and left her there, going over to his closet. He pulled his exercise clothes off in two movements, and stuffed them in the cleaner unit. He cast a glance over his shoulder to see if Justine was looking at his naked butt, and found she was. He grinned, and moved to the bathroom door, where he turned around, and beckoned her to follow him. Her eyes went from his face, down to his groin area, and back up again, but her expression didn’t change. He beckoned again, and stepped into the bathroom, starting the water running in the shower. He stepped in, closing the door behind him, hoping she would follow him in.
The door opened again, and he felt her hands on his back. The door closed, and he knew she'd stepped fully in. He felt soapy hands washing his neck, the back of his arms, down his back. They kept going over his butt, and as they went down his thighs, he felt two areas of skin going down his back. The soaping stopped.
"Turn," she commanded.
He turned around. She was standing there completely naked. Her breasts were exactly how he'd imagined them to be. He looked down and there was a small perfectly trimmed pubic triangle.
"Wow," he said.
He looked up at her, as her hands began soaping his front. He enjoyed the sensations as they soaped lower and lower. He saw indecision on her face, and smiled at her, and the indecision left her. A hand caressed his groin area, and something came up. Well it was already up, but it now it made a definite statement.
Justine-Jane kissed him, and as the kiss continued, he felt her hand guide him inside her. He lost himself in blissful release.
After they'd washed a second time, during which Jane expelled every drop of what he'd pumped into her, hidden by the flowing water, they dried and dressed, he in his normal clothes, she by shifting her belt back into the Hunter uniform, without underwear. He led her to a secluded spot in the family arboretum.
"I meant what I said," she said. "That wasn’t a promise of anything else."
"Understood. You didn't have to go that far, but I'm glad you did. Why the change of mind?"
"I've been lonely."
"Not surprising since you've been alone on a ship for so long. What was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Actually, Jane wanted me to talk to you, since she can't do it in person. You know she mentioned she'd found a place which might be good for the Duchy to move to?"
"Yes."
"Well she's been given it as her own personal space."
"Wow."
"Yes. She's not exactly sure how to handle it, and wanted me to bounce it off you."
"What's there to handle?"
"The space is a single line of nine systems, leading from Owl space to two jumps from the Sector Capital system. The middle system has a better planet than Gaia Five is, and has been fought over since it was first discovered. The system itself has four jump points, and is a major cross-road for trade. There are also three other via
ble planets, although one of them won't support very many people until it's had some work done."
"I don’t see a problem so far."
"Several of the planets would be perfect for the Duchy, and a string of systems in a line would enjoy a name like Hunter's Run."
"Still don’t see a problem."
"The Duchy doesn’t own the space, I do."
"You do?"
"Sorry, Jane does. Slip of the tongue. I've been representing her so much lately, I lose track of myself."
He laughed, and Jane was relieved he'd missed it.
"I still don’t see a problem. Jane's a Hunter. Its Hunter's Run. The name fits anyway."
"But Duke Michael technically rules, or you do as Regent."
"Only if we remain a Dukedom. If we change to a Kingdom, Duke Michael becomes a Duke of one of the planets. It's only a minor change, and nothing much else needs to be affected."
"What about you?"
"I should be elevated to Duke of one of the other planets, of course," he said, grinning madly. "I'm kidding, but it might head off any friction one day between Michael and me. It's always bothered me I'd get a taste for ruling, and what would happen when I had to relinquish it. This would solve any such problem, since when Michael takes up his Duke-ship, I'm his equal instead of a subordinate."
"Where does Jane fit into all this?"
"Queen Jane the first, of course."
Seventy Three
Jane fell out of her chair on the Bridge of Concorde.
Queen?
She couldn’t grasp it. She picked herself up, and sat again.
Instead, she thought about having sex with Fred. She wasn’t sure it'd been a good idea, but she couldn’t deny she'd needed the release.
Release. The word echoed for a moment. Releases. She'd been putting off doing them. A lot had happened in only twenty days. It would also take her mind off the whole Queen thing.
She'd meditated many times, often following Jon through his, but this was the first time she'd done it for her own karma. She let the deaths flow through from her memory, and said the release statement for each, seeking and granting karmic release and forgiveness on both sides. Her angels suggested even more releases.
She lost track of time.
When she finally opened her eyes again, a figure was standing in front of her. For a moment she thought it was Ganshura.
Her eyes opened wide as she recognized him.
"Ganesha?"
"Hello Jane."
Jane will return.
Galaxy Maps
Acknowledgements
Once again, a big thank you for Helen Ellis, sounding board, ear that listens, and experience which talks.
Thanks goes to Kalen O'Donnell for the cover design for this book, and Kal S. Fox for the new ship design.
Also thanks to KJ Colt, for asking the right question, at exactly the right time.
* And just for something completely different, if the reference peaked your interest:
'WAR and PEACE - The Musical', by Helen Ellis.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017MNVE2U
A Message to my Readers
I’ve had a lot of fun writing the first book in this new series, especially centering it on a loved character. There is more in this story to come, so I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed the writing.
If you've enjoyed this book, I hope you'll take the time to leave a review on the Amazon site. All reviews are greatly appreciated, as they help assist purchasing decisions by other readers. Sales and reviews help me to focus on the next book in the series, which impacts how fast the next installment is released.
Please join me on the series Facebook Page:
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Thank you.
Also by Timothy Ellis
These Kindle eBooks can be found on
Timothy Ellis’ Kindle Author page.
These links can also be found at TimothyEllisAuthor.com.
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HRTTIJG
AI Destiny
Admiral Jane
The Hunter Legacy
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Table of Contents
Contents
Dramatis Personae
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty One
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
Twenty four
Twenty Five
Twenty Six
Twenty Eight
Twenty Nine
Thirty
Thirty One
Thirty Two
Thirty Three
Thirty Four
Thirty Five
Thirty Six
Thirty Seven
Thirty Eight
Thirty Nine
Forty
Forty One
Forty Two
Forty Three
Forty Four
Forty Five
Forty Six
Forty Seven
Forty Eight
Forty nine
Fifty
Fifty One
Fifty Two
Fifty Three
Fifty Four
Fifty Five
Fifty Six
Fifty Seven
Fifty Eight
Fifty Nine
Sixty
Sixty One
Sixty Two
Sixty Three
Sixty Four
Sixty five
Sixty Six
Sixty Seven
Sixty Eight
Sixty Nine
Seventy
Seventy One
Seventy Two
Seventy Three
Galaxy Maps
Acknowledgements
A Message to my Readers
Also by Timothy Ellis
Admiral Jane (A.I. Destiny Book 1) Page 30