by P. S. Power
That got a wince.
"High barrier to entry then? Do you think he'll tell me to get stuffed if I try it?"
That got a soft chuckle from Collette who had come to see what the holdup was. She covered her mouth gently and shook her head.
"Not at all. I'd definitely set something up. Right now however, we have a meeting? I hate to be rude, pulling Tiera away from you like this, but do connect with Timon for this. I'll talk your cause up to him."
The man just seemed baffled, and they were late, which worked well enough, since there was no Denno Brown there yet either. A young man did come out however, and bowed to them all very properly, holding it until they exited the craft.
"Conserina Lairdgren?" He looked directly at Tiera, which got her to pull his face and name from her memory.
"Hello, Ken. It's good to see a familiar face. Do you work here too?" She knew that Carlos the chef did, but that was really all. She'd met him on the trip to Vagus and had even worked in his kitchen on the ship. That had been an experience. She'd thought herself a fairly decent hand there, but making food for her family was a very different job than working with him.
Ken gave her a friendly look.
"I do indeed. We can unload now, if you wish, the morning meal won't be served for about half an hour, if the rest of you would like to go and have a seat? The doorman will see you all in. Conserina Lairdgren and I can take this around to the back." He sounded pretty certain of himself, for all he looked to be about ten or so. He was really fifteen, which was a year older than she was, she remembered.
He also had a good plan.
The others walked to the front of the building, which was decorated to look like a tiny stone castle, and had a very ridiculous looking glowing sign in front. It was in purple and gold however, and looked cheery enough. For their part, Ken just had her rise up over the building and land in the back.
"That saves time and headaches. The lot design here is horrible. So, any news from Noram?"
She almost didn't tell him anything, since he was, or had been, a spy. Of course what she knew probably wasn't meant to be kept secret from his people, overly.
"Well, Timon got married to Patricia Morgan, which is new. I don't know the whole story there, myself."
"Got that one. It was screened here. I watched the whole thing. I do feel a bit snubbed, not even getting an invitation, but hey, former infiltrator, so I guess I can't be expected to be on the mailing list, can I?" He laughed at his own joke, so Tiera did too, settling into place behind the structure. It looked very different from this angle. Flat, white and smooth, not like it was made of stone at all.
"That seems to be the way of it. There's a rebellion going on too. The East wall of the Capital was destroyed and there was a large-ish battle there." She didn't go into specifics, since she figured that would have made the boys attention as well, but his mouth dropped open and he didn't move.
"Is... everyone all right? Veronica?"
That was telling, he didn't name anyone else specifically, just the youngest Princess?
"Yes, she wasn't even there. The rest of the Royal family is fine too. Palace shield. It wasn't good. Austran weapons were used to attack. Tor, Baron Kolbrin, and I killed about a third of their numbers by ourselves. More than that. We crashed Fast Craft into their lines and smashed the missile batteries. The school kids from Lairdgren handled most of the rest."
He made no move to climb out, looking more than a little afraid instead.
"We attacked you? Austra?"
"What? No... Not at all. It was the remaining Larval Assassins, who had been set the task by the Gray Ancient, trying to kill Princess Karina for taking out Daria Serge. They had help from our own people, primarily Count Morris. That's why I was fighting against them there. Otherwise I would have stayed out of it."
That got silence for a long time, since the boy wasn't as young as he looked, and really, just to get the job that he'd had meant he was probably very intelligent.
"Are you... against the King?"
"A bit." She didn't bother to explain in detail. "Personal issues. It's complicated. I'm not his friend though, if that's what you're asking."
It wasn't really, but she let it go and after a moment Ken did too, jumping out of the craft lightly to pound on the back door and get her to turn the craft around so that they could unload from the back. She made a door for it, at his direction, which sped things up a lot. So did the five people they got to aid them in the task. She did her share, and a bit more, being stronger than the rest of them by several times. Really, she was showing off a bit, carrying four of the heavy crates at a time, to everyone else's one. Ken had to help one of the women with hers even, so she looked pretty good that way, though no one cared. They were cooks, not fighters.
When it was all done, a man in light blue ran over to her, or at least walked quickly. He stood in front of her and tried to bow, but got pulled into a hug instead.
"Carlos! I hear you have a restaurant? Is it any good?"
He laughed, instead of taking offense, and waggled his hand in the air.
"Medium. We're getting better each day and almost never give anyone food poisoning. You should take your craft with you, if it's empty? Otherwise people will try to sneak in to get a ride. You could hire out for day trips and charge people a month's salary and have more than you could fit in it." He looked wistful himself, but patted her on the back, since clearly, they were friends now. You didn't hug your old boss, as a rule, otherwise.
"Really? Well, set that up and we'll do it then. Split the profits fifty-fifty?" She meant it as a joke but the man suddenly seemed thrilled, and nodded.
"I can get that done at those rates. Where should we go? The Northern coast?"
It wasn't a bad idea, if they planned it right. She shook her head though, since that seemed too close, didn't it?
"How about Soam, and then we could drop by Warden in Noram? We have Countess Ward with us today. You should make a point of meeting her. I'll do the introductions. She's... Actually pretty nice, once you get past the entitled part of things. Part of the current rebellion, which you can find out a bit more about from Ken, so you can probably visit with her there, even if you are a spy." She put her hand on his back and walked along with him, as if saying they were closer than they actually were. It was enough that several of the people in the kitchen stared as they passed through and one of the men, a tall fellow she didn't know, actually move in front of them.
Glaring at the man as if it were him being improper, not her.
"Hands off, Carlos. She's what, twelve?" He was in light blue too and held a wooden stirring paddle like a weapon.
It took her a second to get what he meant. That was underage, and in Austra so was she, being fourteen. Carlos could get in trouble for being with her, not that they were. She pulled her hand away quickly and smiled at the man, who was, clearly, trying to protect her virtue, even though they weren't family or anything. So a true hero.
"Fourteen, but I promise, I'll be good. Thank you for the correction, sir." She bowed, which had the fellow looking confused for a few seconds, but then he smiled and bowed back, awkwardly.
"As long as we don't lose our head chef." Then he went back to work as Carlos chuckled.
"Well, I'll be hearing about that one then, won't I? As long as it doesn't make the system I'll be fine. Anyway, this way?"
There weren't a lot of people at the table, when she got there, and several places toward the front had been saved for them, but everyone had cups of coffee and a place had been saved for her especially, right near the front. She was above Maria at the table, but the gray haired man that sat her explained it quickly, before the Countess could have an issue with it.
"Miss Baker is Denno Brown's niece, and a Revered One. An Ancient. That's a known thing here, so we need to set her where she is, even by noble rules." He bowed to her, as if she were actually important, then walked away before anyone could say anything at all.
The Countess smiled at her and winked.
"I know about that, of course, since Patricia told me. It's amazing." She leaned in slowly, being right next to her, since it was breakfast and not a formal meal at all. Normally the seating went by gender, otherwise. "That man, who seated you? He used to be the Queen's butler. A spy. I'm half tempted to invite him home with me, just to set the Queens teeth on edge. We've had the occasional issue, Constance and I." She said it conspiratorially, in a low whisper.
Tiera could see that happening, given everything.
"I get along with her pretty well, to tell the truth. Richard and I... not so much. That isn't fair to him, truly. He's nice enough to me, but he backed Morris against me and shouldn't have." She didn't know what to say about it all, so didn't, since it wouldn't be polite at table anyway, regardless of the land they were in. "You should invite them though. All the old Austran Spies that were at the palace. To your party I mean. Carlos, the head chef, is putting together a trip to Soam and possibly Warden, already. For people from here. That would have to look..." Rebellion-like came to mind, but as far as Maria knew Tiera was fully on the King's side in things. She and her husband actually were and that was a known thing, an open idea, between them.
It wouldn't hurt to look a bit naughty however and a spy invited to dinner wasn't going to have a lot of luck, were they? Not of doing any fresh work against anyone.
She clapped, which got everyone's attention.
"Perfect! Quavel, would you and your friends like to come to Warden to join my husband the Count and I for a party? As guests. Several people from here will be in attendance. Oh, please do come!" She looked hopeful, and the man bowed very politely.
"That would be wonderful, of course, but some of us may not be welcome in Noram." He didn't explain why, but Collette, cleared her throat and smiled.
"I think that's the point. Little miss traitor here is trying to goad the King a bit. Really it should work pretty well. You should do it. I won't be there, being a good and loyal subject, but Tiera can go, so you'll know people." She looked at her mother and shrugged. "You too, Carol? Everyone will easily believe that you want to show up the King a bit. Didn't you threaten to castrate him publically once?"
That got a glare from the woman, but she allowed that she had, once it was mentioned.
"That was a threat meant to state I'd do it in public, rather than being made that way, just to clarify."
"Very good, mum. I'd have to clear that with my former employers however. The ones here, that is. Would that suffice?"
Maria seemed to think so and went back to sipping her coffee. It wasn't that good, Tiera noticed. Not bad really, but it was too light and mild. She enjoyed the bitter flavor herself, but knew that most didn't really. The cup was heavy and white, but did almost match the regular Noram fashion for such things. It was a bit low rent, perhaps, if they were claiming this was like the Royal Table, but not too far off. Tim had probably gotten them from home for them.
The meal itself was good, but there were other people there, since it was an off day in Austra. Most didn't have to work that was, so some had come to eat out. Denno came in silently, and was taken to the head of the table, nearly an hour after they'd gotten there, bringing Alice Orange with him. They both looked good, if in very different ways.
He was only a bit taller than Tiera was, about five-nine or so, and was a smooth and lovely color of brown, except for his black hair. He wasn't better looking than the men she knew well, since Tor and Timon were good looking too, along with most of the men in her family. Her pa was closer to average that way, but it was in a handsome way. The others were all very fine looking, since, Ancient genes and powers or not, their mother was fantastic looking.
Alice though was very different. Taller, but even dressed in a plain brown jumpsuit, one that probably belonged to the man next to her, she seemed regal and powerful. She was bigger, though not a giant, and had pretty blue eyes with honey colored hair in a long braid.
Where Denno had just waved a bit and sat, her aunt actually moved to her and picked her up into a hug. She was vastly strong after all.
"Little Hellion! There you are. I'd almost thought I'd been forgotten." She was set down as the woman moved down the table, twenty-five Austrans looking on.
Then she did the same with a very shocked seeming Gerent.
"I didn't think to see you here Gerent, come to marry me and steal me away from this dark and gloomy land?" She kissed him on the cheek, but let him sit as well, if more gently.
Tiera kind of thought that he'd act embarrassed, or shy, but instead he stood and bowed low, in an overdone fashion, then playfully went to one knee.
"I accept your proposal, Madame and will take your lovely hand. The right one, by preference, though the other in a pinch." He wiggled his eyebrows, and looked at everyone around the table, earning a pinch from the woman, one that landed squarely on his bottom. He jumped foreword, grabbing himself with both hands, standing in a fluid motion.
"Argh! Wounded and... Wait, was that an acceptance or a rejection?" The way he said it got everyone in the place to laugh and a few applauded.
Alice, her accent a little strange and slightly thick, threw her hands up, playfully.
"Let the people here decide. Clap, if you think I should marry this lout. Clap louder if you think I should just bed him."
It got pretty loud, but then they both went back and forth, acting as if they didn't know what that meant. For something that had to be totally unplanned it was actually really well done and at the end of it, five minutes later, everyone was pretty well convinced that it was part of an actual show. Denno stood then and waved to them both, his face looking peaceful.
"Let's have a big hand for them both. Alice, and Gerent. Thank you for entertaining us."
Everyone seemed happy then and ate a nice full meal. At the end of it all, Carlos came out and bowed to Maria, which got everyone to pay close attention. He didn't speak, because, she realized, he was waiting for an introduction. She did it quickly and let the two start talking, while she waved to Denno, trying to get his attention. The man walked over to her, smiling.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Not at all. I have a communications device for you, from Timon. He said to remind you that he owned it, but it will let you talk to people in Noram whenever you want." It was in the floating case that she'd left by the far wall, so she had to stand to get it out, he followed along with her, which meant she could say the rest without being overheard. "I also have the first Space Fleet, for Alice Orange. We need to have some kind of ceremony for that, but I don't really know how to do that sort of thing. Any ideas?"
As it turned out, he really did, and got on his compact almost instantly to set it up. That meant they needed to do something to keep everyone busy, before going back to the docks, but he managed that himself, by starting a conversation about, of all things, the new space program. He did it publically and people actually chimed in, if a bit hesitantly.
Alice had some opinions about how she wanted it run too.
"We need to have people from each land for it. Right now I have no volunteers at all, not even a place to set up a training center, but..." She stopped when Gerent waved his hand at her, and then waited for him to speak.
"Um, actually... Tor had me purchase some land for that? It's just outside the town by the Lairdgren school, Lenders? He's also provided a half dozen houses for it. Palaces really. It should be enough. We'll need to get food in and all that, but we can have it ready for people inside a week." He didn't stand up, but a man that was across from him at the table spoke easily. He was an older fellow, but clearly from Austra, having their strange accent and everything.
"Makes me wish I was thirty years younger. Or perhaps fifty? Going off to a strange land, then learning to crew a ship for space travel. I don't suppose you need crusty retirees for your fleet, do you?" He addressed Alice evenly, as if she weren't an Ancient, which got her to tilt her head a bit and smile.
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"What skills do you bring to it? We'll need teachers after all and people to test the craft initially. Are you in good health?"
The man shook his head.
"Water navy, but..." Thumping his chest he looked sad. "Heart trouble."
Denno cleared his throat then and smiled.
"You've used one of Tor's healing devices, to protect you from the Gray Plague?"
"Yes, Revered One. Several times. Why?"
"You haven't been to your doctor since then, have you? I think you'll find that you no longer have a heart condition at all, unless it's genetic. Even then, it's probably been largely repaired. Since it probably added fifty years to your life, I suggest you look into a new line of work as soon as possible. Pensions only last so long."
That opened up a lot of excitement for the project and the man actually wanted to join up, if it was allowed.
Orange was excited too, but stopped him from seeming too happy.
"After all, we don't have any craft yet."
Denno looked at his compact and nodded.
"Well... We can actually head to the event for that... now. Tiera?"
They loaded everyone up, and drove slowly, following Denno's black, fat wheeled ground wagon. Several more, all in different colors, followed along behind them, going just as slowly. That line seemed to grow, as traffic clogged a bit, or so Tiera thought. When they got to the docks, they all tried to follow, though the workers there, wearing bright orange vests, made most of them stop. There was a sign that hadn't been there at the end of the pier they normally used, which said simply "Austra". A stage had been built as well.
Denno had Tiera let everyone else off, and arranged Count Ward and Carol Coltress on the back of the stage, and had them all shift into very nice clothing. Collette had to help her step-mother with it, but then she moved to the audience herself. Tiera hovered the craft over the water to the left and got the black focus stone box out as Alice looked at Brown with distrust.