by Robin Roseau
“A star weapon,” she said.
“Come outside,” Cecilia said. She closed the safe, and the wall closed over it. We followed her outside. She handed the gun to me then pointed. Twenty meters away was a straw bale set up, a wood plank leaning against it. Behind was the forest. “Demonstrate.”
I toggled the power, lifted the gun, aimed, and fired. I put a three-centimeter hole into the board, four centimeters right of where I had aimed.
Sartine clearly knew what to expect. The other two didn’t, and they both jumped. Then they both began muttering in Talmonese. Mordain actually ran forward, and I lifted the gun, not wanting to risk a mistake. She bent down, but Cecilia called out, “Stop!”
“Mordain!” Sartine yelled.
The woman froze then looked over her shoulder.
“You may look,” Cecilia said. “But do not touch near the hole. It’s probably very hot.”
At that, Kalorain ran over, and the two examined what I had done. I handed the gun back to Cecilia. “I hate these things.”
“I do, too,” she said. “I refuse to visit planets where people typically are armed.”
“If you’d had this with you the day I visited you,” Sartine said, “You would not have gone to Indartha.”
“I’m glad I didn’t,” Cecilia said. “Even then, I was glad I didn’t have it. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
Eventually Mordain and Kalorain walked back. They looked subdued. It was Kalorain who asked, “Why did you show us that?”
“Mordain, come here,” Cecilia ordered. The woman stepped closer. “Turn around. Face the target.” She pointed. Mordain turned, and Cecilia stepped to her side. “This is the power switch. You hold it like this then power it on.” She demonstrated. “This is called a trigger. If you pull it, it fires.”
“I don’t want it, Cecilia!”
“Take it.”
“Please don’t make me.”
“Trust me, Mordain,” she said. “Take it.” Then she released her grip, and the gun did what it was supposed to: it powered down.
Mordain accepted it, her reluctance clear.
“Aim it,” Cecilia said.
“Please don’t make me.”
“Trust me,” Cecilia said. “Aim it.” Mordain pointed it in the general direction of the straw bale. Then Cecilia said, “Press the power switch.” She pointed with a finger. Mordain pressed the switch.
And nothing happened. Ah. I was wondering.
“It didn’t work,” Mordain said.
“No,” Cecilia said. “It didn’t.”
“I did it wrong.”
“Nope.”
“It’s like everything else,” Kalorain suggested. “She’s not authorized.”
“That’s right,” Cecilia said. “Mordain, does that bother you?”
“No. Please take this back.”
Cecilia gently accepted it then held it out. I stepped forward and took it from her. Then she stepped in front of Mordain. “I wanted you to know what it was. I also wanted you to know it wouldn’t work for you. However, if anyone attempts to use it, it notifies me.”
“I won’t touch it!”
“Well, you might, because if you’re in the safe, you might have to set it aside. I wanted you to know what it was and that it isn’t some sort of toy.”
“It’s definitely not a toy,” Kalorain said.
“I am actually required to have that,” Cecilia said. “It’s not a law, but it is a policy of the state department. But I don’t want either of you to tell anyone a thing about it.”
“Baardorid knows,” Sartine said. “And clearly I do. There is no divided loyalty keeping this secret.”
Cecilia put her arm around Mordain’s shoulders and led us back to her office. When she arrived, she said, “Maddalyn, help them with the safe. They’re already authorized, but I didn’t put a code in for them.”
I nodded. “Come here.” I led the way to Cecilia’s desk and pointed to the embedded tablet. “Try it, Kalorain.”
She set her hand in place. The tablet came to life. I walked her through finding the safe controls, and the wall slid aside. Then we walked to the safe. I pointed to the panel. Kalorain set her hand over it, and then I said, “Enter a code. It should be a number you can remember but not one that is easily guessed, six numbers or longer. Six 1s is a bad idea.”
Kalorain laughed. She punched a series of numbers. “Hit this symbol,” I said. She did. “Enter the code again and pressed that symbol.” She did, and her code was recorded. The panel went blank.
“It didn’t work.”
“Palm it again and enter your code. It will open.”
She did. It did. And then I reached in and replaced the gun and closed the safe. The wall closed, and I said, “Your turn, Mordain.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You don’t need to touch the gun,” I said. “But this is where Cecilia keeps money, and you need access.”
“Oh. Really?”
“I did a careful investigation of the people I was going to trust,” Cecilia said. “Are you suggesting my vendart’s younger sister is untrustworthy?”
“No!” Mordain said. She worked through the entire process, and soon the safe swung open.
“If you take money from there, you record it,” Cecilia said. “If you put some back, you record it. When the vendarti send us money, you count it and then record it. Maddalyn will show you. Maddalyn, you are now the auditor.”
“Yes, Governor.”
“If there are problems, I need to know the moment you discover them. I don’t care what I’m doing. You tell me immediately.”
“Yes, Governor.”
“I don’t care how small the discrepancy,” Cecilia continued. “I don’t care if the money is actually sitting on my desk at the time. If what is in the safe doesn’t match what is recorded as being in the safe, I need to know.”
“Yes, Governor.”
“Good. Mordain, has Arthur responded?”
“He said he’s on his way.”
“All right then.”
* * * *
Three of us drove a ground vehicle to the airfield. I ensured both Mordain and Arthur could access my jumper, then Arthur asked, “Anything I should know?”
“I told it your language preference and set Mordain’s to English.”
“You operate it in German?”
“Yes,” I said.
“I think you should work on that.”
I nodded. “You’re probably right.”
“I can fly it up to Indartha and work with you, if that would help.”
“Give me a couple of weeks,” I said. “But that sounds good.”
“I’ve never flown this particular model,” he said.
“It has modes for different control arrangements,” I said. “You can set your preferences. I use the default from Tarriton. It’s different from the default from Centos Four, but all the other jumpers handle both modes.”
“You don’t use the settings from Frantzland?”
“I learned to fly on Tarriton,” I said. “So no. I use their settings.”
“Okay,” he said. “If Mordain is flying, would you be okay with the screen arrangement she uses?”
“Yes,” I said. “But Arthur, shouldn’t Talmon use settings from Tarriton, not Centos Four?”
He laughed. “Take that conversation to the governor. It’s politics. Go ahead. Tell her you think she should learn a new style.”
“That conversation sounds like politics, too.”
“Politics are why I retired from the military,” he said. “I don’t do politics anymore. I do flight training.”
“So I should let you do your job.” I nodded to them and stepped away. Kalorain was waiting on a horse. I walked to her, and she pulled me up behind her. We made the short ride back to the embassy, leaving the ground vehicle for Arthur and Mordain.
“You made her day,” Kalorain observed. “You are a very generous woman, my Galatzi wife.”
<
br /> I hugged her. “You need to learn to fly. Coordinate with Arthur.”
* * * *
We had a lovely lunch. I repeated what I’d said, and Cecilia nodded. “Yes. I agree. Arthur, do you mind? You would need to come to Indartha.”
“If it works, we’ll begin this afternoon, and I’ll steal Mordain’s new toy in a week or two.”
“Perfect,” Cecilia said. “I’m so glad you decided to stay.”
“This is a lovely planet,” he declared.
“Centos Four is a lovely planet,” Sartine said.
“Well, this is a lovely planet with lovely people, and I intend to stick around for a while.” He smiled. “But I’m going to need more students.”
Cecilia looked at me then waited. I smiled. “Does that look mean something special?”
“Would Chaladine have an opinion?”
“I’m sure. What I don’t know is how much authority I have.”
“However much you want,” she replied. “Let’s see what you do with it.”
I laughed. “Arthur, you may use my jumper to teach other students. I would suggest you invite Margotain and perhaps Rordano. At Beacon Hill, you could invite Luradinine and Darratine. Wenolopid is still young. At Indartha, I imagine Hilopid would enjoy learning. I believe you could also accept other students as recommended by their vendarti, but only from those villages that are actively contributing to our efforts here. I’ll make sure you have the list.”
“I won’t be able to teach in Talmonese, not for a while.”
“English fluency is a requirement,” Cecilia said. “My requirements are English fluency, a mature attitude, and recommendation by their vendarti. Furthermore, these are not toys, and there should be a reason to teach a particular individual. I cannot envision reasons to expand the list that Maddalyn has offered, but that doesn’t mean you won’t make one.”
Arthur nodded. “I understand, Governor.” He grinned. “I haven’t heard any vendart recommend Kalorain.”
Sartine snorted. “I think on this, Maddalyn’s recommendation also counts, but if you require one from me, I can recommend Kalorain.”
“I would prefer to not be the only judge,” I said. “For the others, you should talk to their vendarti.”
“I will,” Arthur said. “Very generous, Maddalyn.”
I didn’t think so. It didn’t cost me anything, after all, and it would be a shame to let my jumper sit idle. It was better it be used.
* * * *
After lunch, Kalorain and Arthur headed for the airfield. I spent the time teaching Mordain what I could about my job. I could tell she was going to be good. She already spoke better English than I did, and so communications issues wouldn’t be a problem. Of course, I was far more comfortable with the technology, and I had the implant besides. But she learned readily and had little trouble with any concepts.
“I have one warning for you. It has not been a significant problem here, but from time to time, people make demands they shouldn’t make.”
“Like what?”
“They mean well, but in my time here, three times vendarti have arrived and twice more their agents. They have stood where I am now and made demands we weren’t ready to fill. One demanded power generators. Two others demanded immediate access to rejuvenation. The other two simply demanded to know exactly when their village would receive their own power grid or when rejuvenation would begin.”
“They shouldn’t do that.”
“Yes,” I said. “Actually they should. They are fighting for their villages. That is their duty.”
“They shouldn’t demand.”
“No. Everyone wants something we don’t have the money to do, at least not as quickly as we would like.”
“Then we should ask the vendarti for more money.”
“Talmon money is worthless anywhere else,” I said. “We cannot use Talmon coins to buy power storage devices on Tarriton.” She stared at me, and I realized she didn’t have a real clue what I was talking about. “It is trade,” I said. “The empire gives us some of these things. Cecilia buys more with her own money. But if we want more than that, then we need to trade for it. And Talmon produces little that is worth shipping.”
“So what will we do?”
“Tourism. We need to convince very rich people to visit and leave money behind. We can afford to treat them like kings and queens, and in exchange, we’ll be able to acquire more of the things we need. But that will take time to build.”
“What should I do when someone comes in making these demands?”
“You must decide if they are being reasonable or unreasonable,” I said. “Then if you can handle it, you do. If you can’t, you give them to me. You do not give them to the governor. Mordain, we are here to help. ‘We’ can me the empire. ‘We’ can mean you and me. We are here to help. The vendarti would do anything they can, or most of them would. But they feel helpless, and I don’t blame them. Mordain, if you get anyone in here begging you to help save the life of someone dear to them, call me and let me handle it.”
“I hadn’t thought about any of this.”
“It’s a lot to think about,” I said. “It’s not all about flying the jumpers from place to place.”
She lowered her head. “Have I been selfish?”
“You’ve been sheltered,” I replied. I leaned across the desk and lifted her chin. “Everyone knows you would do anything you had to if it would help Indartha, Sudden, or Talmon.”
“I’m not sure I’d do what Chaladine has done. And I’m not sure I’d leave my home to come here and help people I don’t even know.”
“Different people do things for different reasons. If Sartine told you she needed you to join Chaladine, you would go.”
“I hope she never asks.”
“I don’t think she will, but you would go if you were asked. I had reasons to leave Frantzland. Once I reached Tarriton, I never wanted to go back home, except my mother is there. And then Anna White showed me such passion in what we’re doing, I couldn’t imagine any life but helping her. And she sent me here.”
After that, I taught her everything I could in an afternoon. I made sure she knew everything she could do with her tablet, especially email and requesting a video conference. I showed her the difference between when I used a tablet and when I used my implant.
Eventually Arthur and Kalorain appeared. Kalorain looked entirely wiped out, and I knew that feeling. She moved to me, and I wrapped arms around her. “You have a way with women, Arthur.”
“I see that,” he said. “Maddalyn, I might not need to say this, but I am going to say this. Until one of my flight students has her flight authorization from me, I do not want you giving them practice time.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” he said. “I’m just being clear. If you and Kalorain fly somewhere, until she is authorized to fly with passengers, she doesn’t touch the controls.”
“I understand.”
“That goes for any of my other students. Mordain is authorized, so she could fly.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll come up in a week or two, Kalorain,” he said to her. “We’ll coordinate.”
“I’ll be recovered by then,” my wife said with a smile. “Thank you, Arthur. That was truly something.”
“Mordain,” Arthur said. “Did you hear what I said to Maddalyn?”
“Yes, Arthur.”
“That goes triple for you. Don’t try to teach any students.”
“I won’t.”
“Good.”
* * * *
The next morning, four of us climbed into Cecilia’s jumper. Mordain saw us off, but I watched her walk into the hangar as we were preparing to take off, and I was sure she was inside, running hands over my jumper.
Contribution
We settled into our new lives, and if I were busy before, now I was busy times two.
I missed Chaladine, but I enjoyed living in Sartine’s home, and I thought Kalora
in did as well. Cecilia and Sartine did a good job making a welcoming home, and we grew comfortable from the very beginning.
As for my duties: I felt like I was joined at the hip to Cecilia. And she was, well, she was a marvel, much like my Aunt Anna. Her duties were diverse. A portion of her duties were purely diplomatic, and for that, we traveled the entire planet, attending this event here, that event there. I didn’t entirely understand why, but Cecilia said, “It’s complicated. I am the face of the empire, and now you as well. That could be scary, and there have been lovely, peaceful planets that have grown to hate the imperial presence.”
I knew of that, but I didn’t understand why, so I admitted that.
“Many governors hold themselves aloof.”
And in that, I understood entirely. “You accepted a Galatzi trade. And you give them time everywhere we go.”
“And you are also in a Galatzi trade,” she said.
“Talmon is my home.”
“And mine,” she said. “And that attitude makes all the difference.”
“I understand.”
And so, we traveled the planet. My primary job for this was coordinating, making our travel as efficient as possible, and on that, I found notes from Chaladine, addressed to me. “Be harsh. Do not let anyone suggest the governor should travel twice to the opposite side of the planet within the same three months. Make them coordinate.”
And on that, my experience with Frau Langenberg came in quite handy.
The second half of Cecilia’s duties were to bring technology to the planet. In some ways, that worked by itself, but only if we were satisfied with the rate. And we weren’t. And so she spent time trying to find better arrangements.
The third half -- yes, I know -- was to find ways to pay for the second half more quickly than Aunt Anna gave us money. And that meant, as I’d discussed with Mordain, making tourism attractive. And that was complicated by itself, but at least Cecilia had help with that. Sunny and Danver worked to help the Talmonese establish businesses that could cater to tourists, but so far, we had not become a travel destination. Cecilia’s family had come, and a few times, crewmembers from Urban Green had stayed for one cycle of the space liner. But it wasn’t enough.