As far as the rally or summit went, I’d have to ask Kristi if she wanted to go, but not until the morning. She and Joe were still busy with their date, or I assumed they were, since their room was closed and locked. Al didn’t have anything else for me, so I decided to turn in and get some sleep…
It might have been a Sunday, and a day off, but I worked anyway. I didn’t even want to admit how many hours I’d stared at the Drenil communications looking for a pattern, any pattern. There didn’t seem to be one. I was a little tempted to go to that world and try and land on it, but everyone had been right about that, I wouldn’t be able to figure anything out if I was dead from stupidity.
Kristi walked in the kitchen, and I sat back and sipped from my coffee innocently.
Kristi frowned at me as she made her own cup.
“You’re working aren’t you, I can tell. You’ve got what up on your overlay?”
“Drenil.”
She snorted, “Figures. Why don’t you transmit instead, see if they can figure you out?”
“I did, in subspace even. Prime numbers, counting, equations, and they just ignore it.”
She nodded, and took a sip of her coffee, and then closed her eyes and sighed.
“Last night was great, how about your date?”
I smiled, “Good, really good I think, got another lined up next Friday. Do you want to go visit the Knomen colonies and Omara? They’re staging some protest thing, the fifteen planets. Plus, I was thinking we could sell a few things, nanite packs and quantum computers specifically.”
She sighed and said nonchalantly, “Sure, why not. Joe’s going to be working out of town next week anyway. So are you really moving on, or do you have your nose stuck in work this morning so you don’t have to think about it.”
I glared at her in annoyance, “I’m the soul reader here, so cut it out,” and then I sighed and said softly, “I don’t know, two months is long enough, isn’t it? I hadn’t even seen Nathan for two or three months before that. I feel like it should be time, and Billy is really great. Yet… I still feel guilty, and at the same time I get excited at the thought of next Friday. He’s going to cook for me.”
Kristi sat at the table and replied, “Everyone is different. Some move on too quickly, some never move on. You mourned hard, right from the start you were a mess, I think you’re good, but really it’s up to you. So what’s the plan today?”
“Pack, dresses and shoes. Should we take the sport’s shuttle and use a taxi for the wormhole, or take our big ship?”
She giggled, “You mean our big unarmed ship? Or supposedly unarmed? I’d take the battlecruiser, and use the science shuttle to commute back and forth. The little sports shuttle doesn’t have very strong shields does it?”
I shrugged, “I upgraded it to triple shielded, but of course it doesn’t have the DE reactor. So it could take what, three of our plasma cannons, or about thirty of everyone else’s, so it isn’t bad. Think we’ll be in danger?”
She tilted her head, “That’s actually stronger than I’d thought, but the science shuttle has twice the shield strength right? I’m just saying, we’ll be annoying a lot of people if we do this. Is that why your moving my A.I. off the planet?”
“Part of the reason, the other part is someone out there already has it out for me, and by extension you. Someone’s been manipulating the USFS board behind the scenes.”
She frowned, “I’d like to say you’re paranoid, but I don’t doubt that’s true. It’s why I agreed so easily to withhold the new tech, I’ll leave the decision up to you. You made the discovery, so you can wrestle with the morality.”
I shook my head and said sarcastically, “Thanks, you’re so kind.”
She smiled beatifically, “Anytime.”
“Alright, big ship it is, but we’ll take the sport’s shuttle down to the planet. Our ship should be able to cover our descent, if something doesn’t seem right we just won’t launch.”
Kristi nodded soberly, “Good point,” she finished her coffee, “I’m going to go pack, and tell Joe what I’m doing, although he’ll still be able to call me just fine.”
That was a good idea. We still had plenty of time, and I had clothes on the ship, but I’d need something nice to wear to visit other worlds. I didn’t have any dresses up there. Of course, I could always fabricate one in an emergency.
We stood up and went to pack, and then we talked for a while about marketing on other worlds, we had to figure out all the licensing and laws for Knomen colony and Omara as well, so we didn’t lose control of the tech to an unscrupulous business…
Chapter 3
We left Monday morning, after we’d welcomed Matthew to the staff, and let him know he could reach out to us if there was a problem the office manager Karen couldn’t resolve. Then we got into the shuttle and headed up to the ship.
“Al, take us to the Knomen colony, which world are we going to and what do we need to know?”
Al replied, “Athiren is their first and oldest colony. It has a population of four million spread out over the largest continent. The colony’s governor is Jeran, and his wife’s name is Sylla. They assigned Marlon, the colony representative you met to show you around.”
Kristi asked, “Why haven’t we moved?”
Al answered, “Waiting for clearance. I submitted the purpose of our trip yesterday, I did not anticipate this wait.”
Kristi frowned thoughtfully, “What’s that about?”
I shrugged, “We’ve never gone to another planet since Tressia, not without the military along. Maybe they’re trying to figure out what we’re up to? No matter how annoyed at me they are, we’re still the main supplier of military designs. If I was paranoid, I’d say our trip is making someone nervous.”
Kristi shook her head, “I don’t think its paranoia if it’s true.”
Al said, “We’ve just been cleared.”
The ship went to FTL for a few moments to clear the solar system, and then opened a wormhole to Athiren. I wondered if this trip would be a bigger trigger than I’d thought, but then I’d already decided not to furnish more upgrades to the fleet until they came to their senses.
Still, I didn’t want to start too much trouble, I just wanted to use my influence to stop a very emotional decision. I didn’t believe most humans would approve of genocide, even if they were afraid, and I really started to wonder just who was behind all the shenanigans that had gone on recently. I wasn’t really cut out for politics.
“Al, how’s the data transfer coming?”
Al replied, “My system at the Colorado office has already been cleaned, I finished early this morning. Kristi’s A.I. will be fully transferred to the lab ship within two hours.”
Good.
Kristi looked around the bridge with a bemused expression, “You know, we came up here out of habit, from when it used to take a day or two to get somewhere.”
I laughed, “Good point, I suppose we could have just waited in the sport’s shuttle. Shall we?”
Kristi nodded and we started walking, and she said, “We’ll be there before we get back to the landing bay. Do you miss it? Being out here all the time?”
I shrugged, “I don’t miss the fights we had with the Knomen, or anyone else. But yes, a bit. What do you think they’ll do when I show up at a fifteen system protest?”
Kristi raised an eyebrow, “Don’t you mean we? It’s hard to say. We’ve made Earth the strongest world in the treaty, and they’re probably feeling very secure right now. They may just ignore it, and discredit you with some talking heads as just some celebrity with an opinion, just another crazy person that doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Or they could pull our military contract. I don’t know. I hope they don’t do anything worse than that.”
I nodded, “Me too. I’d have felt better if Nadia would have given me a private heads up, but someone is obviously putting pressure on her. Are you sure you want to do this with me?”
She snorted, “Of course, you’
d be helpless without me around, and you’d never stop working either.”
We got into the shuttle and left the ship, and I got my first view of Athiren. It looked remarkably like Knomen. The planet had a purple tint to it, slightly shifted from blue, and there were no signs of civilization from orbit. At least, not with the human eyeball.
“Al, how old is this colony?”
He answered on speakers, “Just over a hundred thousand years.”
I nodded, and the time scale humbled me. I wondered how long it’d taken them to duplicate their home world like that. The gravity was point two lighter, and the planet was a little bit smaller and had a half degree of extra tilt, but other than that the conditions and atmosphere were extremely similar.
Earth really was the new kid, just a baby in comparison to the long history of the Knomen. And I’d given them a sledgehammer. Sure, I’d do it again, the Knomen had become corrupted and had forgotten its roots. I just hoped Earth could manage better with the edge it had. That’s why exterminating the Bugs alarmed me so much, it was a slippery slope.
The treaty called for quarantining planets, not destroying them.
We landed in a city that could hardly be described by that word. Nothing was over one story in height, and the buildings organically fit with the nature around it. Al landed us in a field next to a building that was some kind of hotel. The sign was automatically translated in my overlay, just as speech would be.
We got out and I smiled as I took a deep breath. Even the scents in the air were almost identical to Knomen when I visited my grandmother. We grabbed our luggage, and as we walked toward the building Marlon came out.
Marlon smiled in a welcoming way, “It is good to see you again Alicia, Kristi. This development has us all wary of the future. I hope you don’t mind, but I volunteered to take you and Kristi around and facilitate your visit. I thought a familiar face might make you more comfortable.”
“Thanks,” I replied with a smile of my own, “It is good to see you, I appreciate the thoughtfulness.”
Marlon led us into the building, and helped us get checked in. The inside was full of smaller trees and plants that gave the air a natural fresh smell.
He gestured and we followed him onto an elevator, and I realized they hadn’t built up in this city, they’d built down.
“How deep does the city go?” I asked curiously.
Marlon smiled, “Not that deep, maybe a hundred feet? We like our nature and the way our buildings don’t conflict with the natural world around us, but we don’t want to live underground either. This hotel has four floors of rooms below the transport level, but most buildings don’t go that deep. We love our sprawling city, but it would take too long to walk everywhere, and vehicles would take away from the scenery and calmness.
“The first underground level is the transport level, where there’s an artificial gravity tram system to move about to the different sections of the city. Restaurants, shops, salons, government, and of course living spaces. Most of our food production is underground as well, although we have some few farms on the other continent for those items that don’t do well with hydroponics. There are levels for infrastructure as well.”
I nodded, it was beautiful but it would never work on Earth. We had four times the population of this planet in just New York City.
“So are there any particular plans?”
Marlon shook his head, “Not for today. We just wanted you to look around, and enjoy our world. Tomorrow you’ll meet with the governor and his wife for dinner, and then we’ll head to Omara the next morning. Your A.I.s should have access to the available amenities and shops in the public database, and if you have any questions I’ll be at your disposal.”
The door to our room suite opened at our approach, and we went in. It looked more like a penthouse than a normal hotel room. There was a large living room with comfortable furniture, two bedrooms, and there was even a small kitchenette. There were also more plants and trees in here, and no chemical smells at all that I could detect.
Kristi said lightly, “This place is wonderful. I also think I finally understand how you feel Alicia, now I’m the one getting all the strange looks.”
I smiled and said teasingly, “Like you don’t get stared at back home.”
Kristi shook her head, “Not that way.”
Marlon interjected, “Don’t hesitate to contact me if there’s a problem or you need something, enjoy your stay.”
We said goodbye and he left, and we took a seat on one of the couches.
Kristi said mischievously, “I think our banter scared him off.”
I shook my head, “No, he just knew we wanted to settle in, and decide what we’re doing. Soul reader remember?”
She tilted her head, “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“Al, bring up a list of stores and services.”
Kristi and I worked up a schedule, and the next couple of days was a mix of a whirlwind of activity, and relaxation. We took care of business first, and visited a local business owner. The setup was fairly easy and only took a little while to work out the specifics. They would fabricate and sell our nanites and computer systems on Athiren for a small percentage and markup, they were also limited and couldn’t sell it off world, we’d need to make other arrangements that way.
While piracy of fabricator designs did happen, they were rare and we weren’t overly worried about it. On a world where everyone could pick out the untrustworthy, it was much less of an issue than on Earth, even with less elaborate safeguards. The rest of the time we ate out, visited a salon for some pampering, and even took a trip out to the ocean. The Knomen here were a polite people, the exact opposite of my own family. They weren’t nearly as arrogant or suspicious as my cousin. We were both made to feel very welcome without anyone being too intrusive at the same time.
No place was perfect, but I had to admit this place came close, and I enjoyed myself far more than I’d expected too.
Chapter 4
Tuesday evening came quickly, and I was in a cocktail dress suitable for a dinner party. It was red with one shoulder strap, not too tight up top but conforming, and the bottom was pleated and flowing. I really liked the way I looked in it and for a moment wished that Bill could see me in it.
Kristi was in a similarly nice dress that was a dark midnight blue, in her case it was strapless, and the skirt was a little tighter, but still loose. After a touch of makeup, we were both ready to go. I looked forward to seeing the governor, but I was also a bit nervous about it. Marlon picked us up right on time at six-thirty, and we rode up to the transport level. The tram system was all artificial gravity cars controlled by A.I.
The system’s sensors would even detect how many were in a waiting party, and if we had any bags or large things to carry. We didn’t, so a relatively small vehicle picked us up, and carried us through the underground tunnel system at a high rate of speed. A few minutes later, we stopped in the government sector and took an elevator back up to the surface.
The governor’s home looked much like any other dwelling on the planet. Perhaps a bit more sprawled out and larger that way, but it didn’t stand out in any huge way. Marlon led us up to the door, where we were led inside and brought to a dining room with a large table. Dinner wasn’t served yet, and there were several small groups of people chatting in separate groups.
We were brought over to the governor and his wife.
Marlon introduced us, “Governor Jeran, Sylla, this is princess Alicia and her companion and business partner, Kristi. Alicia and Kristi, meet Governor Jeran of Athiren and his lovely wife Sylla.”
The governor was younger than I’d expected, he appeared to be in his mid-twenties, and his wife was a few years younger. They both seemed delighted to meet us, both in their body language and their souls.
Jeran said in a friendly tone, “Please, call us Jeran and Sylla. I’ve been wanting to meet you ever since we gained autonomy based on your actions. You’re always wel
come here on Athiren.”
I smiled genuinely, “Thank you, your world is beautiful, and peaceful.”
It had none of the hustle and bustle of a crowded Earth, which was nice in some ways. I’m not sure if I’d like it permanently though, it was more like visiting a resort. I thought I might like to visit again in the future as a vacation, but I got the feeling Jeran was talking about something more permanent than a visit.
Sylla asked with a curious smile, “So you enjoyed your stay? We’re glad to hear it, we are proud of what we have here.”
Jeran nodded in agreement with his wife, and added, “And we we’re pleased to hear you’ll be joining us at Omara. I believe your voice will be heard.”
I smiled, “You’re going as well?”
Sylla replied, “Yes, we discussed it and decided it would have more impact than sending a representative, although Marlon will be coming as well. Recent times have been turbulent, and while that’s opened certain opportunities for all of us, it’s also a time of change. I worry about the direction we’re moving in.”
Before I could reply there was a bell tone, and everyone started heading toward the large table. I wondered not for the first time, exactly what I was getting myself into. Still, I was concerned about where Earth was heading, and I felt responsible for my own actions. I armed my world for a dangerous galaxy, and now I had to do what I could to make sure it wasn’t abused.
Not with violence, but with words. I wouldn’t turn on my world in a stance of self-righteousness, but I wouldn’t step in to help anymore either. Plus, if the genocide still went forward, then at least I’d know that I’d tried. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself otherwise.
Kristi and I were seated close to, but not right next to the governor and his wife. Marlon was our closest neighbor. The main topic of conversation was the protest. Could a fifteen world objection be called a simple protest? My hope was that the citizens of Earth would see the broadcast to all the worlds, and stand up with me. I also thought that was probably naïve, but it was all I could do without becoming a monster myself.
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