by Saxon Andrew
Taffy had stopped crying and she said softly, “But you don’t have a family; you’re alone.”
Maranda snorted, “My father and mother had brothers and sisters that they refused to have anything to do with. My father called them scavengers and had court orders placed to insure they stayed away. After some time has passed, I’ll contact them and try to repair the relationships. They are good people and I’ll not be completely alone.” Maranda paused and said, “Besides, do you think my parents would be good to have around?”
Taffy sat up straighter, “Do you mean this, Maranda?”
“The last time I saw my father I walked away disgusted. I saw him for the first time for who he really was, and it sickened me. Immediately sending his pack of assassins after you pretty much sealed my decision to stay away from them as much as possible. I left them early and came back to stay with you. I’m serious about all I’ve told you. Your sorrow for me means more than anything my parents ever showed me.”
The transporter landed in front of the Meadow’s Mansion and Taffy smiled for the first time since they died. They got out of the transport and Benjamin opened the door for Maranda. Maranda hugged him tightly, “Thank you for taking care of all the arrangements, Ben!”
Ben hugged Maranda and said softly, “I’m so sorry, Miss Maranda.”
Maranda stepped back and said, “Don’t be, Ben. They deserved it.”
Ben’s eyebrows came together slightly, as he asked, “May I have a moment with you after the services?”
“I’d like the Henricks to be present, if that’s ok.” Ben looked at Taffy and Grady and shrugged, “Sure, why not?”
• • •
Her parents were buried in the garden behind the mansion that Maranda loved so much. The gathering was small; all of the house servants were lined up and Maranda saw most of them were frightened by the prospect of losing their jobs. There were several others standing around the graves and one of them walked up to Maranda with a woman and lowered his head as he said, “I’m your father’s younger brother Jeffry and this is my wife Stella. We’re so sorry for your loss.” Maranda hugged him, and he said, “I loved your father.”
“Why?” Maranda asked in a neutral tone.
“We were much closer when we were young boys.” Jeffry shrugged, “He changed after he became wealthy.”
Maranda smiled and said, “Would you mind telling me about that time later? I’d really like to hear it.” Jeffry nodded, and they exchanged communicator numbers. Maranda stepped forward and a Civil Officer started the ceremony. Her parents had never attended a church, and none would accept the offer to officiate the ceremony. Her parents had a reputation that didn’t serve them well at their deaths.
• • •
After the funeral ended, those in attendance went inside where they were served by the Mansion’s staff. Maranda remained outside standing between her parent’s graves with her head down. Taffy stayed at the back entrance watching Maranda. Grady walked up with a sandwich and handed it to Taffy. She took a bite and after a moment said, “I’m worried about her, Grady.”
Grady tilted his head and shrugged, “Do you think this experience will make her worse or a better person?”
Taffy turned to him, “I honestly don’t know.”
Grady looked out a Maranda, “She couldn’t get much worse.”
Taffy looked back at Maranda and sighed, “I guess you’re right about that.”
• • •
Maranda stared at her parent’s graves and heard the birds start singing, now that the others had gone inside. She thought they were singing louder than usual. Were they celebrating? Her father hated the birds and once tried to have them removed. Maranda smiled slightly, perhaps the birds had it right. This would be a better place without them. And…perhaps her life would be better as well. Maranda tossed a flower she was holding on each of their graves and said, “Goodbye.” She couldn’t say she hoped their existence would be better in the afterlife, she knew where they probably went. She turned and entered the Mansion.
Taffy looked into her eyes, “Are you going to be ok?” Maranda nodded.
Ben walked up and said softly, “May I see you in your father’s office?”
Maranda nodded and said, “Grady, Taffy, I’d like for you to be with me.” They nodded and followed the tall black man through the mansion.
• • •
Ben led them to a large office and went behind a huge desk and said, “Please sit down.”
Maranda, Taffy, and Grady sat down in three ornate cushioned chairs in front of the desk and Maranda asked, “What’s going on, Ben.”
“Well, I feel I must confess that I’ve done some things against your parent’s wishes.”
Maranda’s eyebrows went up, “Oh. What things?”
Ben turned on the computer and answered, “Your parents left detailed instructions on how they wanted their funerals done. They set aside funds to insure their wishes were followed but I ignored them and had the small ceremony here instead of at West Grove.” Maranda’s eyes narrowed; it cost a fortune to be buried in West Grove. Ben continued, “They wanted a parade through midtown and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra leading the parade as well as the Billabong chorus singing during their burial.”
Maranda rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Oh, there’s more, Miss Maranda. It would be announced the day before the funeral that all attendees would receive a portion of a ten-million crown fund for being present.”
Maranda fell back in her chair and it immediately reclined. Grady chuckled, “That would insure a crowd.”
“That’s the only way they could get one,” Ben responded. He paused and added, “I didn’t follow their wishes and had a small ceremony instead. I should have contacted you, Miss Maranda and got your approval to change it but I didn’t want to add to the burden you were bearing.”
Maranda sat up straight, “Ben, how did you know about those plans?”
Ben shrugged, “You asked me why I stayed for so many years last time you visited. I wasn’t completely honest with you, Miss Maranda.”
“Oh?”
“Another reason I’ve stayed is that your parents paid me a large salary.”
“Why?” Maranda asked.
Ben exhaled a small breath and replied, “You know how suspicious your father was about anyone knowing his business?” Maranda nodded. “He refused to use outside accountants to handle his business transactions and chose to do it himself.” Maranda nodded, and Ben continued, “About the time you were born, he started having me be present whenever he did his accounting work to make sure he was doing it right.”
Why would he possibly do that, Ben?” Maranda asked.
Ben shrugged, “I have a doctorate in accounting from Queens University.”
“Then why in heavens name did you take the job here being a servant?!” Maranda asked.
Ben shrugged and raised his hands, “I was young, I was really lazy, I hated working in an office, and I was attracted to one of the servants that worked here. The only reason I stayed in school and got a doctorate was it allowed me to not have to go to work. Anyway, one night I brought some snacks to your father while he was working on this computer and saw he had made some major errors in his entries. I pointed one of them out and he was angry at first and shouted me out of his office but later had me come back in and show him where he had erred. He was impressed and had me present during the evenings whenever he did his accounting. Ten years ago, he just turned all the accounting work over to me and gave me a large salary to handle it.”
Maranda, Grady, and Taffy stared at Ben and it was clear they were shocked by what they were hearing. “I never knew about this, Ben,” Maranda replied.
“You were never around when I did it, but you had to notice that your father wasn’t absent so much during the evenings.”
Maranda thought for a moment and then nodded, “You’re right. I never really thoug
ht about it.”
Ben raised his hands, “I also did some other things that weren’t their wishes.”
“Such as?”
“Well, Miss Maranda, they have a will that leaves everything to each other in the event one of them died before the other. However, no other beneficiary was mentioned. I went in and had it changed making you their only heir. You now own all of their personal possessions and holdings.”
“Do you think you can get away with that?” Taffy asked. “That will must be witnessed by an outside person.”
Ben smiled, “I was that person, Mrs. Henricks.”
Taffy chuckled, “Well, maybe it might not be so hard after all.”
“What does this mean, Ben?”
Ben turned back to Maranda, “You inherited some funds in several accounts that totaled about forty-five million crowns. I took those funds along with the funds set aside for the funeral and purchased stock in Meadow’s Industries when it crashed two days ago. You now own about forty-percent of the company.”
“Why would you do that?!” Maranda asked sharply.
“Because the dividend the stock pays won’t be affected by the price of the stock because it comes from what is paid by the government for the electronic components the company produces. Your yearly dividend total will be about three-million crowns a year.”
“Didn’t you think that was a rather risky thing to do with money that wasn’t yours?” Grady asked.
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
“Well, once it became known that the Henricks were the majority shareholders in Meadow’s Industries, the price roared back, and the value of the stock is estimated to be around double the price I purchased it for.”
“That’s inside trading, Ben!” Taffy replied.
“No, it isn’t, Mrs. Henricks. The information was on the company’s site, but no one noticed it initially. The death of the Meadows took all the headlines the next morning causing the price of the stock to crash and that’s when I purchased the stock.”
Taffy smiled, “I also had my stock manager to purchase Meadow’s stock the following morning.”
Grady turned to Taffy, “So what does that mean?”
“Well, we now own fifty-eight-percent and Maranda owns forty-percent. There’s only two-percent of the company’s stock that we don’t own between us.” Taffy turned to Ben, “The price has actually more than tripled since then.”
Ben shrugged, “I was trying to be conservative.”
Taffy laughed, and Maranda turned to her, “I don’t understand.”
“Maranda, you had close to fifty-million crowns in your inheritance and Ben used it to purchase Meadow’s stock. That stock is now valued at close to a hundred and fifty million crowns. He really did a great job of taking care of you.”
Maranda looked at Ben and then turned to them, “It looks like you’ve found your CEO.”
Ben’s eyes narrowed, “What are you talking about?”
Taffy looked at Grady and saw him smiling. She turned to Ben and said, “We serve in the military and we’re not going to be present most of the time. All our other companies have people to direct them, but we need someone to handle the day-to-day operations of Meadow’s Industries. We’ll give you seven-percent of our stock and a million crowns a month to be the CEO.”
Ben’s eyes narrowed, and he started shaking his head. Maranda interrupted the conversation, “Ben, would it help you decide to do this if this mansion is made your personal office and the servants will continue in their current jobs?” Ben jerked his head to Maranda and she smiled sweetly, “You told me part of the reason you stayed was to take care of them.”
Ben sat back in his chair and put his hand on his chin. After a moment, he asked, “Will the servants be paid by the company?”
Taffy smiled, “Done!”
“And will their benefits also be paid by the company?”
“Done, and a company matching saving plan will be included,” Taffy replied.
Ben smiled slightly, “You drive a hard bargain…but…it looks like I’m your man.”
Grady rolled his eyes, “I don’t know which of us is driving a hard bargain. However, welcome aboard.”
Taffy asked, “Ben, how could you have allowed Gerard to sell his stock below fifty-percent?”
Ben’s expression immediately changed, “I told him he was being stupid to the point where he almost fired me. But the price went up and his greed overruled his judgment. He refused to listen to me.”
Taffy smiled, stood up, and extended her hand, “Welcome to our business family.”
Ben shook their hands and smiled, “I’ll keep you fully informed on everything happening in the business. He turned to Maranda and smiled, “This will always be your home, Miss Maranda.”
Maranda went around the desk and hugged Ben, “Just call me Maranda, Ben.”
Ben hugged her and shook his head, “You will always be Miss Maranda to me.” For the first time since her parents died, Maranda’s tears made an appearance.
• • •
They arrived back at the Henricks’ residence and Taffy said, “Get some rest, Maranda. The delayed meeting with the Prime Minister is in the morning.” Maranda nodded and went to her room. An hour later, the others arrived from eating out.
Abby asked Taffy, “How is she doing?”
“She’ll be fine, Abby. Everyone needs to call it a day and get some sleep; the meeting is in the morning.” Everyone turned and went to their quarters. Louisa had difficulty falling asleep; America’s destiny would be decided the next day.
• • •
Taffy looked at Grady and shook her head. He was sound asleep, and she was having trouble turning off her thoughts that were swirling around in her head. She envied Grady’s ability to pretty much sleep at any time. She thought about the two crews that went to the Sagittarius Arm and knew they probably wouldn’t remain together. That was the way the military worked. Things changed, and people were moved around. Well, there was nothing that could be done about it. She put her head down and thought about her past when she lived with her parents. She remembered learning how to sew with her mother and after a few minutes, sleep finally found her.
Chapter Ten
The conference room was full the next morning and the senior officers were welcoming the crews back from the Sagittarius-Carina Spiral Arm while waiting for the Prime Minister’s arrival. Taffy received a small hug from Fleet Commander Mulvaney and he asked, “How did the two sailors perform?”
Taffy smiled, and Grady answered, “They did an outstanding job, Admiral. Have you come up with a plan on how to handle this new menace?”
Mulvaney raised a shoulder, “We have as many plans as there are senior officers but all of them have holes in them too large to fill. I was hoping that you would have a better grip on what’s happening there. You saw what we’re facing.”
Grady started to speak, and an admiral shouted, “Atennn-shun!”
The Prime Minister entered the conference room and said, “At ease. Take your seats and let’s get started.” Everyone sat down, and the Prime Minister saw Louisa and Kendal sitting at the end of the table, “I didn’t know civilians were invited to this meeting.”
Grady quickly replied, “Louisa and her child are the two we took from America. They are currently sailors in the Britannia Navy.”
The Prime Minister turned to Grady, “I didn’t know Britannia still had a navy.”
Grady smiled, “The Rex Rabbit is a Britannia Warship, Sir.” The Prime Minister’s eyes narrowed, and Grady said, “Sir, she can answer any questions we may have about what’s happening on America. I deemed her important to be here in this meeting.”
The Prime Minister glanced at Louisa, saw her determined expression, and turned to Admiral Mulvaney, “Please start your presentation.” Louisa fell back in her chair and Desmond squeezed her hand under the table. She looked at him and relaxed.
• • •
The next two h
ours were filled with suggestions from the fleet officers. The Prime Minister would stop the presentation to ask questions, but it would then continue. At the end, he turned to Admiral Mulvaney, “So the consensus of your officers is that we must take the fight to them in their territory.”
“Yes, Mr. Prime Minister. We can’t allow them to cross the void to our spiral arm.”
The Prime Minister shook his head and he turned to Grady, “Colonel Henricks, do you have anything to add?”
“Yes, Sir. I ordered each member of my crews to develop a possible plan to meet this new enemy. I’ll allow them to present their plans if you don’t mind, starting with Col. Abby Dunhan.” The Prime Minister nodded, and Abby took the monitor’s remote and started her presentation. She was followed by Rory who added some other elements to Abby’s plan and then sat down.
The Prime Minister was impressed, “You’re suggesting that we launch an attack on the far side of the spiral arm to draw all their forces from the side of the arm closest to Melbourne away.”
Abby nodded, “Yes, Prime Minister.” The Prime Minister turned to Grady and he said, “Captain Frye.”
Desmond made his presentation and suggested that large numbers of Super Rabbits be sent to the Sagittarius Arm to attack their major planets, pinning their forces down in their territory. Des sat down and turned to Maranda to continue the presentation. Everyone in the room was staring at her and she remained sitting shaking her head. The Prime Minister watched her for a moment and said, “Captain Meadows, is something wrong?”
Maranda stopped shaking her head and stood up. “I was planning to add some details to the plan Captain Frye presented, we spent a lot of time developing it. But it’s clear to me that all of these plans will fail and fail big time.”
The silence following her statement was deafening. The Prime Minister’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward and said with a slightly sarcastic tone, “Would you mind telling everyone present why you think their plans won’t work? You are, after all, the least experienced officer in this meeting.”
Maranda looked into the Prime Minister’s eyes and said, “No, Sir I am not.” The Prime Minister’s expression turned angry and Maranda added, “I was there in Fagan territory and my ship was attacked by a large number of their warships.” Maranda glanced at the Senior Officers and said, “None of them have been there, so I beg to disagree that I am the least experienced, Mr. Prime Minister.”