by Power, P. S.
People to avoid, if they seemed too happy to see him. Tor didn't stint the girl however, picking her up a bit.
"There we go! I see you met Dareg?" Those words were accompanied with Alyssa moving in to hug him. Almost gently. Not in a way that smashed them together either. Like she was afraid he might break. She didn't let go for a long while, talking to him as they stood there.
"Tor and I were talking. We want you to come live with us in Vagus." She stopped, let him go and stepped back, her face a bit scared seeming. She had the unlined look that people wearing a disguise sometimes did. That, or an immortal. It was that last one of course. He could kind of sense that coming from her, now that he'd met a few of that sort.
Allison had that going on too, he noticed.
The woman was tall, but only about six-six, maybe a bit more than that, not like some of the men in the room with them. That meant she was large, but not commanding given the company around them at the moment.
"I know that I don't have a lot of say in things like this, but it's not right, for you to live alone like you are. You have family, and... So. You have to come. I told you to. That's fair, right?"
Tor was fighting a laugh, and Allison smirked a bit, and looked away, since this could lead to a fight.
Dareg however thought about it, and understood that this woman was really trying to be the best mother she could. Even if it was far too late for that kind of thing now.
"Um... Well, I need to get off to Austra, in a few days. About two weeks? Then hit the rest of the world's ports and make sure they have everything. I can come visit then? I..." He shrugged, and looked at Tor, trying not to be mean to the woman. Trying counted, after all. "I was setting up some schooling earlier? At the Printer School? That won't start for six months, but I have some lessons too. Timon is going to show me how to build, and um..." He looked around and then directly at Tor. "What we spoke about? Oh, if this works, we need to let Timon know. He suggested that we send Tenet for that?"
That got a big nod from the man.
"Solid plans." He said it with a sly look at Alyssa, as if she hadn't thought he'd have anything.
That got him to smile at her.
"I also have some business ideas. Goods shipping. The people and their luggage are free, but we're setting up a large multi-planet and space station space movement system. Putting crews in to ship things between the places makes some sense. It might not be that much, coin wise, but it's a start." Then all he had to do was find fifteen other businesses, and he'd be set.
Tor, oddly, scowled at him, but didn't say why. Instead he looked away, and seemed to be taking several deep breaths. It wasn't the time or place, but Dare had to wonder if it was just a bad idea. The kind of thing that would end up not making anything, and just wasting time or effort. If so he needed to know before he did it, then. It could also be that the man just thought that he should have done that already.
Alyssa just smiled, and changed the subject.
"Hmmm. That's better than I figured on, I have to admit. Well, good! Still, you'll come and stay with us? Even if it's just for a bit. I want to get to know you. We both do." There was a glance across the room, and a smile. "People!"
They all turned to look, and found that Tess was leading Tenet, and Taman over, along with Queen Tiera, and Douglas Baker. Behind that, pulling up the rear, was High Servant Johan, of all people. Honestly, that one was a shock. The last time Dare had seen him it hadn't been certain he could survive the damage done to him. He looked all right now, however.
Dressed in all white, with gold trim. His face was serious, and he didn't wait to walk over to Tor and hug him. It was a manly thing, with a lot of back pounding. Then he turned, and surprised Dareg, doing the same to him.
"I thought you were both dead. I couldn't take that. Not after the rest. Thank everything you lived." His eyes got misty, but he didn't cry. Instead he smiled, a little sadly. "It's been hell trying to take over for Karen and Erid. They pretty much ran the High Servants. I knew that Karen was in charge, but I hadn't really considered all that Erid had been doing." He was speaking directly to Tor, who made a hard face in response.
Taman sucked in air, her face looking horrible for a second, as she swallowed.
"I know. He always just seemed to be working, but he did more than was visible. He never complained about it, so very few realized it. I'm sorry for your loss." That got murmured by everyone, including Dare.
After all, it was what you said, even though everyone there had lost the same people. Well, he'd barely known them, so it didn't really count, but the rest of them did.
Dareg tried to think, working out a way to change the topic a little, to something less stressful. Hopefully.
"Say, Johan, do you know who's been working on my ports, and what they're doing?" Technically he should have called the man High Servant Johan, but instead of hitting him there was a snort, and a grin.
"That's us. The High Servants. I sent out teams to all the ports, and told them to build identical facilities. If they don't, I'm executing them. I did the first five complainers already. The rest fell into line pretty fast after that." He was smirking a little, and leaned in, getting everyone else to do the same thing. "That's just a rumor. I haven't had to do that. Just tell people it took place. Sure, they think I'm a monster, but we can't afford to let them do what they have been. Which is very little."
Tor nodded and then, rather high handedly, waved the King over. The man came too, walking with his own father. Dare made certain to bow longest and go deepest. That took some work, since Allison worked pretty hard to go lower than he was. So did High Servant Johan, though he was tall enough he lost immediately.
The King bowed to Tor as if they were equals, then did the same with Tiera. The rest were just kind of included in the whole thing with a bit of a flourish.
"Worthies. Ancient Torrance, Queen Tiera." The greeting was soft, but polite. "Everyone. Thank you for attending. I hope you're finding everything well?" There was real concern in his eyes, as if his palace wasn't nice enough for them. Tenet smiled, looking up only a little at the man.
"We are! So nice to meet you again. We met once, about thirteen years ago? I was a bit shorter back then? Tenet Baker. This is my sister Tess. Have you met Taman?"
"Only briefly. This is wonderful, having you all here! There are many that wish to meet with you, but we should be sitting for the meal soon. I hope I can meet with you all after that? We have much to discuss." His eyes were only for the taller people, plainly.
Not even Allison was being included. The rest were however, so that was probably enough.
Almost as if there had been eavesdropping going on, a man across the space called out. His tone was firm, but he had on rather plain and proper black clothing.
"We will now be sitting for the meal. If you will come this way?"
The King went first, but surprisingly a large hand came out, tugging Dareg along in particular. With the other hand he gathered the rest of the people with a sweeping motion.
"We'll need to be near the front. I..." He paused when he accidently got High Servant Johan in the mix. There was probably no way to politely tell the man to get out of his own group of friends.
Dareg smiled and reached out to pat the man on the back.
"To the lower end of the table for you. This time. I'd like to put High Servant Johan forward as a potential for the leadership of the High Servants. If that hasn't been filled yet. If so, then I need to talk to whoever is in charge, since we're stealing their people."
Instead of backhanding him for being incredibly improper, which he was, King Richard smiled. It was an unrestrained thing. One that spoke of a problem suddenly being solved.
"Ah? That seems a good idea. I hadn't considered that yet."
Tor nodded, patting Johan too.
"Agreed. Not that what I say on the matter is important. He's the best choice, but the decision isn't mine. Yours either, Dareg. A bit out of place." There was no real scoldi
ng to the words, just a blank look.
As if he expected his own son to go into a rage over something that minor.
"Forgive me, everyone. I spoke out of turn." He left it at that, and the King started walking as Baldur snorted softly. It was clear he was at least a bit drunk already. Not loudly so however.
Richard smiled however.
"I do fear, even with such a promotion on the board, that the seating will put you rather further down the table for the evening. No slight is intended."
"None taken. I don't know that I'm the best person for the job however." He spoke humbly, but his fighter's body and the calluses on his hands gave a different statement.
It said that he was used to working hard. Plus, he'd clearly taken over already anyway. Dareg shook his head slightly, but didn't speak, having already messed that one up.
The seating was a lot different than he would have figured, since all of the Ancients that had lands were above the mere royalty, except the King and Queen, since it was their table. The thing there was that he was placed next to Karina, his date for the night, who was not only a princess of Noram, but the Ancient of Mars. In short, the ruler of a planet. One with nothing on it yet, but still right next to her brother. Taman was next to Dare, with her father next to her, looking far too close to her age for that to make sense to most. Tor was right next to the Queen's hand on the other side, with Alyssa next to him, a few places down. It was a bit of a mess, since the protocols meant that two women were next to each other in places, and the same with men. Normally that wouldn't happen, but no one complained about it, and further down the table that got fixed.
Queen Constance looked edgy, and kept glancing at Tor, who seemed relaxed about that. It was a formal meal, so there was a lot of standing, checking food for poison, and enough courses that even with tiny portions he figured there would be plenty to eat.
Dareg had to focus, to start with, trying to make certain he did everything correctly. After the first course, which was done in near silence on his part, Karina nudged him gently.
"And you said you didn't have good table manners? Nearly perfect." There was a hint of teasing to the words, so he smiled, and leaned toward her slightly, and whispered back.
"It's true. I see my clever faking here is working then?"
"Yes. I wouldn't have known you hadn't been raised doing this kind of thing."
Then a bit louder, she spoke again.
"I'm looking forward to the trip in a few days. When are we leaving?"
That got him to smile, and he looked around a bit, to see that everyone was listening suddenly.
"Tomorrow, at about seven in the evening? I was thinking that we should go from Austra to Mars first? I was considering setting up a small city there, if you want? I don't know how to do that, but something like Harmony? Just so we have a place to live there, for one of the houses." It made sense to him, but he knew it was probably out of turn to say that at the table. She nodded, her eyes going a bit wide.
"I had been considering that. So a place there, and one here? For vacations?"
"That was my thinking. Here, Mars and on the Martian Circle. We might not need that though. Not with a city on the planet." It was big talk, but several of the others were nodding at them.
Taman leaned forward, so that she could look at Karina.
"I can get you the needed radiation shields. I've been working on the concept lately anyway. I think I can fix Soam now, as well. The level of radiation is about the same in both places, so it would be a good test. Tor, you can work out an underground city? You must have something for that."
There was a slow nod, and a glance at Alyssa for some reason, along with a smile.
"Ali? You have that, don't you? It's designed for the next lunar city, but the whole thing is incredible. It should work anywhere. Really, you might want to build a palace here that way, too. It isn't as fluid as a magical palace, but the permanence is much greater. Magic fades, but things built from it can last for a very long time." His tone was a bit preachy, but the idea wasn't wrong.
Dare nodded as Alyssa seemed bright and happy.
"Yes! I can get you a city amulet and go over how to use it. It doesn't make air, or water, but the infrastructure is set up for most of that. We can do it. When are you planning to put that together? For that matter, when is the wedding?" She looked at Karina, not him, for some reason.
It took him a bit to realize she was teasing the princess rather improperly. They exchanged a look that got him to blink. He'd never thought about it before, but these two were close. Friends, at the very least. That they'd know one another made sense, Harmony not being that big of a place, and knowing people in common, but this seemed closer than that.
Queen Constance answered however, her face cheerful, and a bit reserved.
"We were thinking of doing it this winter? Sooner would be rushing." She glanced at her own daughter, and seemed apologetic. Karina giggled in response.
"I've been pushing things up, but mother fears that if we don't wait at least six months everyone will think we have to get married. I just don't see a need to wait at this point. The date is fine, however." She nudged him, as if letting him know that he had some say in the matter.
Which he did. Dareg could back out at any time. There was no real need to however. Karina seemed pretty nice, and was better looking than average. A bit tall, but that wouldn't be a problem after a while, apparently.
"Before I go to school? That should start after the mid-winter holidays, I think?"
That got a call from down the table, from Countess Printer.
"That's right! Do it with at least a week or two before the end of that, for the honeymoon. Where are you going for that?"
That was a good question. A thing that Dareg had never considered at all. They could, of course, go anywhere in the whole world. Or even farther away than that.
He shrugged, wanting to pick someplace special for the trip.
"I was thinking that we'd go to the next star over?" That wouldn't be hard to do really. He just needed to know which one it was in the night sky, which someone would know, he was certain.
Karina nodded, "that, or the coast? Or both?"
He nodded, trying to be very serious about it all.
"Both works for me. Whatever you want, of course." For some reason that got a chuckle, which ended as the next course was served.
The rest of the meal was a bit like that, only they took turns being interested in other people with each course, and while he and Karina had to go twice, it wasn't that bad. Toward the end he had to fight to keep his eyes open, which was noticed, but no one commented on it.
When the meal was over, the King stood, and smiled.
"Queen Tiera, Tor, and the Baker family please attend me in the meeting space?" They all got up to leave, as did Karina, and Baldur. His retired Queen didn't though, staying in place.
So did Dareg, though he waved at Karina and Tenet.
"Seven tomorrow, in front of my pod house? At the space port?" That got a nod from both of them, before they all vanished through a door off to the side.
It was a bit strange, but the rest of the bodies all stood, and moved back to the crystal room, to mingle and chat. That meant he could take the chance to escape, he realized. He wasn't the only one doing so, he noticed. It was a trick setting up his craft, since he needed it to be small to begin with. He didn't know if it would work, but before he activated it, he visualized it being about the size of an outhouse, if more rounded and glowing like a dim sun through the clouds.
He still expected it to come into being like it had the last time he put it away, but it actually did what he wanted, causing a flare of pain across his brain on activation. That got him to jump, but not so much anyone else reacted.
The entire side had to open to let him in, but the craft itself responded like it was supposed to. Rising up, slowly, he moved first to the back of the city wall, then moved up and to the East, moving toward the port like he w
as coming from space. It was a pain doing that, but the extra few minutes it took were worth it, if it eventually stopped accidents.
He managed to land right behind his home, the tiny place being sort of surrounded by other ships suddenly. The front half of the port was filled in fact. Part of those ships would be his new family, but there were several new ones there as well. In fleet colors. It made the whole place seem wild and alive, the businesses down the way still being opened to serve drinks and girls. Boys too, he guessed, not having really checked into that.
It was hard to keep his eyes open, so he ended up stumbling a bit as he walked back to his place. Tired or not, he moved to the right, until he touched the blue box with Taman's face in it.
"Night Tam-Unit!"
"Good night, Dareg. Do you need anything to eat, or drink, before bed?"
"Not this time, thanks. I ate at the palace. We should get one of you in there. That way there would be people to talk to all the time." He stopped, and then smiled, not mentioning what he was thinking about.
"I need to get into bed, before I fall down. So, tired." He made it sound sleepy, and happy, which got a giggle from his friend.
"Sleep well."
Waving he moved the thirty feet to his pod, and took half a minute to get the door to show up. He could do it faster, normally, but it took energy, and his had run out again.
Inside he brushed his teeth, then fell into bed, dressed in loose flowing silk. That was a soft powder blue, for no particular reason. The lights went out with a thought and a touch on the wall. Then... Dareg was out. If he dreamed, nothing remained of it when he woke the next day. He didn't have a clock, but there was one on his handheld, if he brought up the correct sigil. In this case it was listed as Time: Noram Capital. That told him it was four in the afternoon already, which meant he'd been in bed for nearly sixteen hours. Changing to Austran capital time it said that it was ten in the morning. That didn't make a lot of sense at first, since he was supposed to get there at eight that night, his time.