by Chris Hechtl
“It doesn't need to be considered now,” Jezebel stated after a long moment. “Catherine needs time to prove herself. She was always an adapt pupil with me,” she said firmly.
When Pyotr noted the fuming resentment in the room over that idea of throwing Catherine out, he let it drop. “Well, it's just a thought. We can come back to it in time,” he said, waving a hand as he pulled out his silk napkin and made a show of wiping his hands.
Irazabeth nodded but internally shuddered. Moving Catherine out of the order of contention was exactly what she wanted, but it was too soon. For the moment Catherine would serve as a shield to her younger siblings. Since after Joseph the next in line were Irazabeth's own children, she had a vested interest in preserving the current status quo, at least until the time was right and her children could stand on their own.
~~~^~~~
The Ramichov girls giggled as they got together for a monthly girl's night a few days after the dinner party. Together they visited the family hair salon to get pampered and primed while they caught up on gossip and unwound.
Getting their haircuts, nails done, and other things were just some of the many services in the salon. The dowager empress was amused that they lowered their guard during that time, dismissing their body guards to the foyer or to cover the various entrances and exits of the building. So trusting, she thought with a feral mental smile.
Not many knew that she had made some opponents and even a few allies disappear permanently in the private salon. She had gotten the idea from an ancient Terran movie. The chairs were rigged to secure a person and once the occupant was deceased a trap door would open up at their feet, the chair would release them and then dump them down the chute into a molecular furnace.
She briefly toyed with the idea of letting them know about her little secret but decided against it.
After all, it might be fun to toy with one's food, but it was not wise to warn them of one of the methods she had available to dispose of them if she needed to do so.
“We really should get Catherine and Marina in here and Vashti I suppose,” Khali said, rather boldly for her young age.
“Now now, Catherine is rather busy at the moment, dear. But I do agree, she does need some time off and every lady does need some pampering now and again,” her grandmother said with her best motherly voice. Khali looked up to her with wise loving eyes and smiled.
“I'll tell you what; we'll look into it and put the invitation out there. And if they do accept, you can show them everything you love. Okay?”
“Okay,” the girl said in a meek voice as she nodded.
“I think we should explore Catherine's marital status a little more mother and maybe come up with a list of possible suitor,” Jezebel said.
“We're going to pick one for her?” Khali asked, eyes wide.
“Well, we're going to come up with some people she should consider,” her mother replied.
“Do you have someone in mind?” Agnes Rico, Kevin Ramichov's intended asked indulgently. She wasn't that much older than Khali so the two had something of a bond. They liked to sit next to each other when they were getting pampered.
“Well, there is that dreamy singer Savior. He'd be spar,” Khali said rolling her eyes expressively.
“I thought you were saving him for yourself?” her mother teased with a grin.
“I was, but I suppose we can share,” Khali said with a shrug, making some in the group chortle in amusement.
“Who else?” Annia Wong, Joseph's fiancé, asked with a grin.
“Well … if you really must know …”
~~~^~~~
Theodore Cruise Rico, Duke of Hinata and the current minister of war looked over to the others in the room. “He really put it out there. That's what got me. He's moving fast to throw away a potential asset. Or, he wanted her put on notice that her existence hung at a thread. His whim could doom her,” he said.
“Ah,” Countess Sabina Newberry, vice admiral, Countess of Garth, and minister of intelligence, murmured. As one of the heads of Imperial Intelligence, she'd received a copy of the script from the dinner party.
“I don't like the idea of his putting a child in as heir. Granted they would be weak and easily manipulated. If they were forced onto the throne, a caretaker government would have to be assigned to run things until he was old enough to exert his will, which would most likely mean Irazabeth or Jezebel.”
Some of the people in the room shivered. They didn't mention that any sort of succession would open up a can of worms politically. The idea of the empire was still new to the common man. Politics were rather cutthroat and sometimes literally.
“How are we on the war front?” Theo asked turning to another member of their group.
Admiral Malwin Cartwright, baron and praetor of the navy, grimaced. “I wish we knew but it's too early to tell you anything. We haven't gotten a fresh courier in. The reinforcements should have arrived in Dead Drop by now. Whether there was a battle or not, I can't say at this time.” He shrugged.
“We have been making some strides in processing the intelligence we have,” the countess reported.
“Oh?”
“We have fingerprints of the ships, so we have entered them in the database. We know which ship classes they are producing so we have gathered as much data on their strengths and weaknesses as possible and passed them on to all commands. I can tell you that based on our sensor readings the ships are off of the baseline we have for them.”
“Baseline?”
“The baseline readings. Oh, some of it might be because a ship was moving faster due to less mass or had more stores onboard. But our readings show a change in mass, acceleration, shield strength, as well as changes to their defensive measures. We're still getting a handle on the energy weapons reports.”
“So, you are saying they are upgraded?”
“Yes. Not by a lot but enough to throw off our baseline projections of what a certain ship can do. Slightly faster throw times with missiles for instance. Faster missiles, better penetration aides ….” She shook her head. “We're working up patches and information dumps to send out to all commands to bring them up to speed so they'll know what to look out for.”
“So they won't be caught off guard again,” Malwin murmured with a nod of appreciation.
“Exactly,” the countess said with a nod to him. “We're also trying to get a read on their size and politics. We're taking a look at each of the known star systems they occupy. Obviously, some would jump at the chance at restarting the Federation. Others might take a bit longer. The dynamics will be interesting to model.”
“I don't see the point,” Malwin said with a frown. “Political dynamic models do not mean much. It's WAG stacked on WAG—what if scenarios with no foundation. When we do get hard data in, then it will all be thrown out and you'll have to start over.”
“Yes, but we'll have models to base things on. I'm trying to get an idea on how big they are and what sort of manpower and industrial strength they can draw on over time,” the countess explained patiently.
The admiral grunted but didn't seem totally convinced.
“Let it lie for the moment. Back to the princess and her situation,” Theo said frowning as he pulled a tablet out and set it on his thigh. “I checked; the House of Lords are no longer interested in calling her up for interviews or testimony. She will become available for assignment. Are you planning to use her in some capacity? Obviously Ramichov isn't interested,” he said, looking over to Malwin.
“I don't know where to stick her to be honest. Somewhere out of the way would be nice,” Malwin admitted. “I thought about Strategic Planning or even the Academy, but she doesn't have any expressed interest in either assignment. And since she is now the heir, her wishes have to be taken into consideration.”
“Command?”
“She's a commander.”
“I think we can do something about that. Promote her to captain. It will make her owe us one, even a small favor. It
will also be positive publicity for the family,” the countess murmured. “You could also insist she take some time off to get oriented after such an arduous affair in the House of Lords. That will give you time to consider your options carefully.”
Malwin frowned and then nodded once.
“Okay, so, she's at least dealt with for the moment. That leaves the current production numbers and the schedule. The emperor would like the ships in fitting out to be expedited but we've run into snags I understand?” Theo asked. Malwin grimaced but then nodded curtly. “Any way we can work them out?”
“We're working on it, but we expected teething issues with every ship. The good news is what we learn is being applied to our new construction. We just laid down another division of super dreadnoughts yesterday as you know. But I understand we're considering a shift to carriers. I know there is resistance from the emperor and certain parties in the Lords, but that isn't the only problem. I've gone over Sabina's data and I don't like the enemy's fighters. Nor their advantages over our own. Something has to be done about that.”
“And soon,” the countess murmured.
“Exactly. So, I think we need to pivot as you said but also have better fighters. I'm working on shifting priorities around. I also want a shakeup of R&D. It is obviously long overdue …”
~~~^~~~
Catherine nodded politely to Marina as the other woman came out onto the veranda of the summer residence. The other woman took a cup of tea from a servant and then took a seat next to her.
Catherine was surprised. Normally the other woman kept her distance. She didn't let the surprise at the thawing show though; she just kept reading the report on her tablet.
“Interesting reading?” Marina asked mildly before she took a sip of tea.
Catherine looked over to her sister-in-law and noted the calm challenge in the other woman's gaze as she looked at her from over the lip of her cup.
“I'm just getting caught up still,” she replied, noting the interest in conversation. She bookmarked her place and then set the tablet in her lap and folded her hands over it. “What's up?”
“I thought we should get reacquainted. We have a lot of catching up to do,” Marina murmured.
Catherine nodded slightly. She knew they were both testing the waters, feeling the other out and wondering which direction they'd go. She didn't know herself. “I miss our occasional chats. We've both been so busy,” she said mildly.
“Don't I know it. Khali was rather pointed about our coming to the next girl's night,” Marina said as she shook her silky white locks out. “I have my own staff, but she is rather insistent we try it. Both of us,” she said with a nod to Catherine.
“Ah, I see,” Catherine smiled indulgently.
“She filled me in about some of the gossip,” Marina said as she took another sip of her tea and then lowered it to her own lap.
Catherine was surprised to be brought into the conversation with her sister-in-law. Marina related a third hand version of the discussion of her marital status. She was relieved that it had been put off by her father, but apparently, the women in the group hadn't quite let it go. She was also amused that Marina was the one interested in playing informant. Did she wish to drive a wedge between her and the others? She wasn't certain. Obviously, Marina wanted her to think of her as something of an ally, if only to protect her and her sister.
“So, what do you think?”
“I think that I don't know what to think. Other than that, I don't like it. I didn't like the last arranged marriage,” Catherine said with a brief smile. She was pretty certain her grandmother knew who was really behind her fiancé's untimely end.
“I'm surprised they haven't decided to try to marry you off,” Catherine said slowly. Marina's eyes widened. “I'm also surprised your own family hasn't gotten involved.”
“I've made it clear it is too soon,” Marina said, clearly upset by the idea.
“I know. I keep expecting him to walk in at any time,” Catherine said with a shake of her head. She made a slight show of looking over her shoulder to the French doors behind them. Marina followed the look and then looked directly at her.
“You do miss him,” Marina asked, acting surprised at the news.
“Of course! He was my twin after all. He had me by five minutes, but we shared a womb together,” Catherine stated. Marina's expression softened ever so slightly. “We grew up together. We grew apart when we became adolescents of course, but we both stuck to a navy career. I think he thought I had done it out of competition.” She shrugged.
“And did you?” Marina asked, seemingly genuinely curious about an answer.
“No. I'm not like the boys, let them play soldier and grub in the dirt. I prefer a command deck and to keep my nails clean,” Catherine said, making a show of looking at her fingertips and then looking at Marina's black ones.
Marina smiled indulgently and looked at her own. She held her right hand out to look. “I've had the black look for years. I'm wondering now if I should make some changes.”
“It's up to you. I know Khali and the girls will certainly egg you on to do it,” Catherine said with a small smile. Marina snorted softly and then took another sip of her tea. She finished the small cup and then set it down on the end table beside her.
There was a long silence. Catherine judged that her sister-in-law had said her piece and was now gauging an exit. She tucked her tablet under her arm and then swung her legs off the chair to the tile deck. “Well, that's enough sun for me! I've got to check in with the brass and then get ready for dinner,” she said as she adjusted her silk robe.
“Me too I suppose,” Marina murmured.
Catherine rose and then turned to Marina. “Thank you for the talk. Perhaps in the future I will be able to return the favor,” she said with a bow to the other woman.
Marina nodded but Catherine could see the hood of thoughtfulness in the other woman's gaze. In some ways it was like looking into the eyes of a white cobra she knew. “I hope so. We are still family even if Adam is no longer on this plane of existence.”
“That is true. And I have to look out for our family,” Catherine murmured as she made her exit.
~~~^~~~
Captain Elvira Varbossa watched from her vantage point in the observation blister as a fresh freighter came in to be unloaded. According to the shipping manifest one of the shipments was of fighter components. She was keenly interested in it since she wanted to compare it to what the home industrial centers were currently producing. According to what she'd heard, the quality control of the incoming shipment was better. In fact, they were reportedly better all around, which made her wonder why.
Ordinarily she'd have someone else look into the problem, but she still wasn't certain of her staff. There were also problems with corruption in the ranks. All too often she had seen a pirate lord pay off some of his or her underlings to prioritize things differently than she had laid out or to corrupt things. She knew she was starting to hit resistance as she stepped on toes. Many were in competition on hardware contracts. Some thought that by reducing the quality of their competitors it would elevate their own offerings. And of course, they made shortcuts that weakened their design to keep costs down so their own product was junk.
And just about all of the contractors were doing it. It was aggravating, especially when they were in a war and needed proper parts for the ships and men and women on the line. But getting that message through to them wasn't her problem.
Yesterday she'd wrote a blistering report on quality control of a production run. Twenty percent had been deficient, but no one had noticed. They'd shipped bad parts, and some had been installed in the assembly plants. She shook her head.
The report hadn't gotten far. She'd been called in to Admiral Deweter's office and told icily to mind her own damn business. He'd ripped a couple strips out of her and made it clear she needed to keep her nose short or her life and career would be short as well and then let her go. She was still seethin
g over that ass chewing.
Well, if she was going to rock the damn boat she was going to do it properly. This shipment was destined for her, so it damn well better be good. And if the quality was as it had been marketed, well, she would have to figure out why and then brood it about that they were considering changing suppliers. As long as someone didn't get stupid and try an act of sabotage to level the playing field, not something she could put past them, then they might take the message as it was intended and clean up their act.
At least, that was what she was hoping.
She frowned when she got a message on her tablet. She looked down at it and then flinched when her implants blinked red on her HUD. She pulled her tablet out and scanned the message, applying her security clearance and necessary passwords to get past the encryption. Once she was in the meat of the message, her brows knit in concern and then smoothed. Her fingertip scrolled backup to the header.
Well. Either Admiral Deweter had acted to get her thrown out of production or Admiral Cartwright was shielding her by pulling her out. She was relieved of that job at least and was being reassigned new duties in R&D. Reading between the lines she could see Admiral Cartwright wanting her to apply her successes there to kick things in gear.
She looked up to the shipment as the crews began to unload it. She sighed softly to herself as her thumb logged out of the tablet and then her hand tucked it under her arm. It was no longer her concern … for the moment. She shook her head once and then left the blister.
Chapter 11
Bf994
“Okay, we need to be anywhere but here,” Captain Elaine Waters murmured as CIC in her destroyer confirmed the report of the massive hyper jump entry on the other side of the star system.
“Hunting in Sigma never looked so good,” the XO agreed with a nod to her. She grunted.
She'd thought that joining Battle Fleet would finally legitimize the fleet. It was supposed to push her career onward and upward. She had been stuck in Reprisal's chair for too long. The Gather Fleet had a problem with promotions once you became a captain, that was about it for the most part.