by Max Jager
Well then, it came down to Weddun, and Orizzaela, who by the way ended up getting married. I don't know if they had planned it that way, but she ended up winning the final election. Huthek was the runner-up just 56 votes behind but I guess Orizzaela is going to make him an ambassador to the Loridian planetary council."
"What about this Reirfiren Underpike?" Asked Matt. Bria snickered,
"Well she was who I was rooting for because I know her family, don't get me wrong, I think Orizzaela will make a wonderful queen, my mother likes her and that's saying a lot. Anyway, I asked her to make Reirfiren an ambassador as well."
"Where at?" Asked Matt.
"Here…"
"What?"
"It's only logical Matt; you've done so much for me and Doradus in a round about way. Besides, she's a lot like me so I know you two will get along just fine."
Matt wasn't so sure he liked that comparison but let it pass.
"So why aren't you sticking around to get things off on the right foot?" asked Matt.
"Everyone thought it was best that Caedmon and I not try and influence Orizzaela," replied Bria. "Besides, my mother and her advisors are guiding Orizzaela through all the various protocols, the very things I've always hated. We did hold a short ceremony transferring authority."
"So this Orizzaela is now the supreme ruler of Doradus?" Asked Liam,
"Well she's the official head of state," said Major Morford, "Electing a new leader was only part of the plan, every town and village already has some form of council. Those councils are now in the process of selecting representatives who will form a rudimentary congress or parliament that will act as a balance so that Orizzaela can't simply dictate laws. This was one of the first things we made sure every candidate thoroughly understood and agreed to. We also wrote up a constitution and a bill of rights which everyone signed and officially agreed to."
"So do you think everyone will stay true to all this?" Asked Matt.
"I know the people," said Bria, "And I have faith in them."
"We were pretty thorough," added Falkner, "Steve and I feel the same way."
"So do you ever plan on returning?" Asked Matt,
"Perhaps, at some point," replied Bria. "Listen Matt, we've both thought very hard about all of this and I'm well aware of the costs involved but it's what I want to do."
He then took out his notebook and wrote down a few things. Then tearing out the page he handed it to Bria.
"Don't loose this, it's the address and phone number of my folks."
"I know you'll be calling from Ireland and I know there's some sort of international phone number but you'll have to find that out. If you need to get a message to me or need to get a message to your mother here's my folks address, you know, just in case something goes wrong or doesn't work out." Bria took the note then hugged Matt again.
"Thank you very much Matt, it's just too bad Kaitlyn isn't here, I'll miss her as well."
"I'll be sure and let her know what you're up to," he replied.
"One other thing," added Major Morford, "We received word that that young lady Emma Dunmar will probably be staying on Denedra at least a couple more months. Seems she's got all the work she can handle sketching the fairy folk as well as painting the queen as well as other notables." Handing Matt a hologram crystal he added,
"She sent this by royal courier, it's for you."
Activating the crystal brought up a three-foot high image of a smiling Emma who looked like she was wearing some sort of elaborite gown.
"Hello Matt, I just wanted to let you know I fine and doing rather well here. I'm currently painting the queen, which terrified me at first, as I haven't done a whole lot of painting before. They have very unusual paint here, it mixes and goes on like oil-based paint like back home, but it's more like water based acrylic. Anyway, I've really falln in love with the people here it's like a fairy tale come true. Looks like I'm going to be very busy for at least another couple months anyway. I'll let you know what's happening as things develop. Well, bye for now."
With that, the image faded out.
That evening, they held a reception and dinner for Bria and her husband held at the Dyson's house. For many, it was the first time meeting Bria and her husband.
It was also the first time they learned of the Fae presence on earth.
During the reception, Mrs. Dyson took Matt aside,
"Matt, there was a very strange woman standing in my garden this morning."
"Wait, let me guess," he replied, around five foot ten inches, very attractive, two twisty horns on her head pointy ears?"
"Why yes, how did you know?" He smiled,
"That was Mullein Shade; she's a witch and a friend of queen Breca. When I told her about the pixies living in your garden she told me she would probably stop by.
Thing is…she is living down in Dinocki. You didn't piss her off ar anything like that did you?"
"No, of course not. In fact the pixies all seemed to be flocking around her. She didn't tell me her name or anything. Later, when I looked out she was gone.
"Well she was just checking up on her "people." By the way, how are the pixies doing?"
Mrs. Dyson chuckled,
"I'm afraid I've been spoiling them. There are six of them and they all have their own little houses. I make these little oatmeal and honey teacakes; in fact, there is a plate of them over on the table. Anyway, they love them. Whenever I'm out in the garden puttering around they all flutter around watching me."
"Well I have a hunch that if you were a telepath you could understand them," said Matt.
"Well like I said," added Mrs. Dyson, the strange woman was gone."
"Well I know for a fact that no one transported her up here so I have to assume she magically teleported herself."
"Oh my god," exclaimed Mrs. Dyson, "Is that even possible?" Smiling, Matt replied,
"Believe it Mrs. Dyson, there really is magic out there. Go down and spend a little time in Dinocki, or better yet Denedra, and you'll become a true believer."
Another hot topic at the dinner party was the Sistorki, and since Matt, Amber, and Masaki were the only ones who had actually seen them they were bombarded with questions about them. However, since Amber wasn't back yet, that left only Matt and Masaki.
"I'm afraid they weren't very talkative," admitted Masaki, "We covered a good deal of the planet until they spotted an area that suited their needs. I landed, they marked it out and I did a data scan on the coordinates so they could find it again, that was about it."
As promised, the next day Ifwol, and Skart showed up to take Bria and Caedmon back to earth. Also on board was Reirfiren Underpike a rather average looking Dwarf who was introduced to Matt and the others by Bria. Once again, another reunion ensued as the pair were delighted to see Matt again. Handing them a large package Matt said,
"After you two drop Bria and her husband off…by the way, be very careful the place they will want you to land is surrounded by trees and rather tight getting into. Anyway, inside this package are all the frequencies you'll need to contact NASA. Ask to speak to a Mr. Janson, and only him. Land where they tell you and don't fool around. Also in this package are letters for him as well as my folks along with official reports from Major Morford and the others. I think I've covered everything. I'm sure Mr. Janson will have plenty of stuff to send back so stick around until you have everything."
"What if there are passengers?" Asked Skart.
"I doubt there will be but if by some chance there is, make sure Janson understands they must pay travel expenses." Once more, he shook Caedmon's hand and gave Bria a quick hug as they boarded the transport. All too soon, it lifted off the pad rising quickly into the orange colored sky before disappearing into the clouds.
"I hope Janson doesn't give them any crap," suggested Liam, "I don't really care for him much."
"I'm not real crazy about the guy either;" remarked Matt, but we don't have a lot of choice in the matter."
Two days late
r after things had settled down, he noticed the centaurs hanging around. When he approached them Zyndon and Ladhas had apparently been discussing the presence of Mullein Shade on the planet.
"Did you invite her here?" Demanded Zyndon.
"No," replied Matt, queen Breca more or less told me Mullein was coming. Why? Is she bothering everyone?"
"No, not really," replied Ladhas, "It's just that she's one of Breca's good friends and naturally everyone suspects her of spying for the queen. We only heard about her from a hunting party we ran into on our way here. She's not here is she?"
"No," replied Matt, "She was here briefly to check up on the pixies in Mrs. Dyson's garden but that was a few days ago. Zyndon grunted, then asked,
"Got anything for us? If not we'll head back to Dinocki.
"Actually there is," replied Matt, "Let's go over to the office and I'll show you on the map."
On the wall was a large map made from scanner images with markers pointing out locations of the logging operation, the rice and dreeda fields, Mos Eisley, and Dinocki. The purposed road to Dinocki was also marked. On the map was a new location indicating where the Sistorki settlement was located.
"As you can see the Sistorki who are really Golian's in my book are building a small settlement in this area. It's quite a ways away so be sure you take a radio. All I'd like you to do is stay out of sight, but just watch them and see if they are having a tough time getting up and running, or they are doing fine. No need to make contact, however if you should run into any of them just tell them your part of our security force. Rather than come all the way back here, just go on to Dinocki and let me know you're there, I'll fly down there."
Chapter 162
Titan Stand Chapter 162
A few days later, Matt and Liam received word from Mos Eisley that Brand and Clath wanted to see them.
"Probably want to talk about setting up a distillery," observed Matt.
I was talking to Brad Cummings," said Liam, "Who seems to know about distilling and he says you need large amounts of corn, rye malted barely, and wheat, we just don't have the room, people and equipment to grow all that."
"Well I forgot about the malted barely," replied Matt, "I know you need lot's of corn and wheat." Both of them knew that if done right, a distilling operation here on Endor could make them very wealthy.
The meeting took place in one of the new meeting rooms with a few faces they recognized such as Neb Raljek, and Flec G'Kev, who owned a couple saloons, along with a space station that orbited Ontanna 4, a very distant mining planet.
One of the guests was clearly a Malhazar who kept giving him the eye.
"Maybe he's one of Holliqua's relatives," thought Matt. Brand introduced him as Itor Glet from Moriedia. Along with Itor, was Ozni Okus, an elf who owned a number of taverns on Denedra including the Moon spinner in Gwyn Wood, as well as the bar on Fort Kamata. There was also a female Lyskandan named Leai Intix who, according to Brand, owned several establishments in key locations.
"Well Matt," began Brand, we've put a little group together who are very interested in these spirits from earth. Right now, we haven't made up our minds whether to establish a distillery here on Endor or continue to send ships to your world to buy the stuff, which right now is very expensive. Originally, we thought earth's particular brand of alcohol might just be a passing fad, but after extensive testing it would appear that it is not."
"I don't know a lot about making alcohol," announced Matt, "However; you're going to need a lot of land to grow a number of grains such as corn, wheat, rye, and malted barely. From what I've seen, there are similar grains that grow out here such as Prokra, and Chayote that are like corn or maize, mundu, and dreeda which are what distillers use out here. I have no idea if two key ingredients such as rye and malted barley have any counterpart.
"Well we are prepared to finance a trip back to earth that would involve you and I," stated Brand. "You know who to talk to, I know what we need. We are interested in getting someone who knows how to properly distill these liquors as well as comparisons of the grains used out here with those found on earth."
Matt grimaced, then replied,
"About all I can do is talk to Mr. Janson for help. However, I'm wondering if some of the big distillers might jump at the chance to promote the fact that their booze is very popular on worlds light years away. Brand, do you have any vid's showing your customers drinking this stuff?"
"No, but I could probably make a couple…Why?"
"I have a hunch the liquor companies might be interested in using them in their advertisements. Make sure you can see the brand name clearly." Brand gave him a puzzled look.
"I know, I know it sounds crazy," replied Matt, "But those vids might be a bargaining chip. So, we want to get plenty of corn, wheat, rye, and barley, along with at least one person who really knows the business as well as any specialized equipment," said Matt.
"That's about it," replied Brand. "The grain seed will be important not only for comparison and testing against similar grain grown here, but starter seed in case we don't have anything compatible."
Before the meeting wrapped up, everyone turned in their orders for various types of liquor. While not as ambitious as the previous liquor run, Matt envisioned a very full cargo hold. After he finished talking to Brand, Itor Glet approached him.
"Are you the earther who is seeing Holliqua Karlnoti?"
Matt looked at him not sure how he should answer. Since he had made it a policy never to lie to these people, he nodded,
"I am, and as a matter-of-fact, we love each other very much."
Itor smiled,
"Most excellent, young earther, I'm a very good friend of her father who has said good things about you."
"Well that's nice to hear," he replied.
"As a matter-of-fact," added Itor, "I only involved myself in this venture when I heard that you were also involved."
"So I take it that you own a lot of bars and clubs on Moriedia?" Asked Matt.
"I do, I also own or am in a partnership with a few hotels on Golia and Ruddoria."
"No doubt the one Holliqua and I stayed at on Golia," thought Matt.
"We stayed at a place not long ago on Golia," continued Matt, "No name out front but the room had one of those holographic simulators kinda like the one I qualified for my pilot's license on. Do you know anything about them?"
"Why yes," replied Itor, "As for the hotel, you are referring to it is one of my properties, and I believe it's called simply "The Marga," "Did you enjoy your stay?"
"Yes, very much so."
"Wonderful, as for the holo rooms, they are very popular but cost a considerable amount to install, but they are guarantied revenue generators. If you're interested, I'll be sure to pass along some information about them."
Matt and Liam spoke with the other people answering their questions about earth and it's various spirits.
"Everything should be read to go at the end of the geem," said Brand, "So if you need to collect any holo's or reports better get them right away."
Two days later, they were ready to leave, Amber, Matt, Gandric and Brand. Along with reports from the various NASA team members Matt carried a bag full of letters as well as a few hologram devices. On the way out, they would be making a quick stop on Denedra to check on Emma.
In one way he was eager to make the trip back to earth, yet on the other hand Matt fretted about all the things he felt needed his personal supervision. This would also be the first time he would be doing the majority of the flying, as Amber made it clear that even though he now had a license, he needed to accrue a lot more flying time under his belt. Matt and Brand took the first shift while Amber and Gandric handled the second.
There wasn't anyone to meet them when they landed on Denedra, only a shuttle parked inside the landing zone. Using the communicator inside the stone tower Matt managed to contact the palace.
"This is Matt Grainger and company; uh could you send someone out to the landing
field to pick us up?"
"Pick you up?" Replied a squeaky voice.
"Yeah, we'd really appreciate it," he replied.
"Well I'm only a part of the cleaning staff," returned the voice, "I just happened to be in the communications room when you called."
"Is there a female human around by the name of Emma?"
"Emma?"
"Ye,"ah, do you know her?"