Rivka didn’t know what else to say. Repeating herself was getting them nowhere. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples.
You called? a familiar voice came over her comm chip.
Damn straight, TH, she replied. Give me a moment with these three, and then I’ll bring you up to speed.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. The Federation is assuming control of Leed’s Planet. The Federation will mandate the actions you will take in order to return to being a functioning member. Your input is no longer solicited. The one thing that you have control over is your people. If any of them does violence upon another, their lives will be forfeit, and you’ll be thrown in jail as accomplices.”
“You can’t do that!” Treacher cried belligerently. Rivka stood and walked to the window. She crooked a finger at them, but they crossed their arms and remained seated.
“Of course I can, and I just did. Any questions? They’ll be the ones enforcing it.” She pointed at a shadow looming over the city.
The War Axe—Terry Henry Walton’s flagship for his Bad Company. Rivka was pleased to see that he brought company. Dozens of ships formerly of Ten’s fleet, which the Bad Company had liberated, followed the destroyer down. As a show of force, the ships were making a slow pass over the city. Rivka smiled at the aerial parade.
She found the Ledonians and Jay standing at her side looking out at the armada.
“Floyd,” Jay whispered.
“I look forward to seeing her, too. I’m sure we will, and soon.”
Rivka switched to her chip. Our mech suit needs to be fixed. Good news is that it can take a tank’s main round and survive. The bad news is that it hammers the wearer and destroys the sensor suite.
Sounds like you’ve had more action than we have. See you soon. Colonel Terry Henry Walton signed off.
“I’ll leave you to argue among yourselves, but there’s really nothing left to fight over. Because you couldn’t negotiate, you’ll get to do as you’re told instead. That’s better, don’t you think?”
“No! That’s crap,” Faith retorted.
“Then you should have come to the table willing to talk instead of wasting your time posturing. I don’t have time to babysit. I understand that you have real grievances, but I also see your world in the middle of a civil war. We’ve been at it for a mere six hours, but none of you have any interest in taking the first steps to resolve this conflict. We’ll do that for you, and then you can get down to serious negotiations. Here’s a tip regarding negotiations: pick the one thing that you must have; that you are willing to die for. That is what you demand. Everything else can be traded or negotiated.”
“That’s crap!” Faith repeated belligerently.
“That’s reality. I didn’t come here to stop your war. I came here to stop the person I believe was responsible for starting your war. I now have the information I need to go after him since he’s no longer anywhere near here. I’m turning you over to the Bad Company, and they’ll prepare you for your Federation oversight team. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my friends are arriving, and I want to go say hi.”
Jay and Rivka left without looking back. The Ledonians remained in stunned silence.
“There is turmoil in the city,” Margaret noted.
“Explain.” Tod Mackestray thrived on a certain amount of discord.
“It appears that an explosion has killed every member of the Licensing Board, one of the key committees on this planet.”
“How does something like that happen?”
“First reports suggest a gas leak.”
“I can work with that, but the sympathy voters will be out in full force. I may not be able to sway things unless a new faction is seeking a way into the system. Any nibbles in that regard?”
“No, but the challengers are stepping into the void, telling the voters that they’ll improve infrastructure to keep anything like this from happening again.”
Mackestray stroked his chin. He never accepted coincidences during an election cycle. “Who benefits from this board being eliminated?”
Margaret took a while to answer. “The board ensures that businesses comply with regulations to maintain a smoothly operating economy while keeping the Capstan people safe. I can find no evidence of bribery or undue influence of the board members.”
“Maybe that was why they had to go. They wouldn’t take the money to look the other way.”
“I can’t find any direct benefit to the current candidates. Anyone waiting for a license would be held up.”
“Were there any under review?”
“There were fourteen, in eleven different jurisdictions.”
“Someone is trying to horn in on my business. Keep digging. Something is going on there, but I don’t expect it’ll affect me. Display the profiles of those competing for the top position; those who wish to be the next Premier of Capstan affairs. Come on you, randy bastards, show me what’s hidden behind those doors...”
Jay! a tiny feminine voice called. The female wombat called Floyd ran toward her and jumped, but since wombats are not great leapers, she hit the young woman waist high, and both tumbled to the ground.
Lindy clumped across the tarmac and straight into the hangar bay, where she set a record escaping from the suit. Terry Henry and Charumati waved at her, but she was sprinting toward the hatch to the ship’s interior.
“Does she know she can go in those things?” Terry asked.
“No doubt, but there’s a certain level of dignity we maintain by not fouling the suit.”
“Really?” Terry stopped and looked out the open hangar doors, his expression thoughtful. “I’ve never had a problem.”
“You’re a man. It’s different for us.”
“Does it make me a bad man if I’ve never even wondered about it?”
“It makes you gallingly average in that department.” Char shook her finger at him.
Terry bent his knee before her, took her hand, and smiled up at her. “Will you marry me? Please save me from my evil ways.”
Char shook her head. “You forgot our anniversary again, didn’t you?”
“Was that today?” Terry wondered, searching his eidetic memory for clues. “What day is it?”
“Our anniversary?”
“No, today.”
Char pulled Terry to his feet, and the two embraced.
“Are you two still at it?” Rivka asked when she reached the ship.
“One hundred and fifty-some years. One loses track after a while,” Terry replied before getting down to business. “You have some issues with the Leed’s people, Barrister?”
“We can talk inside. No sense in boring the snot out of everyone else.”
A group of Bad Company members approached, aliens and humans alike.
“I don’t think you’ve met our daughter Cordelia Dawn, and of course, Dokken.”
Terry covered his mouth and whispered conspiratorially, “She stole my dog.”
By all the gods in the universe, the man is completely untrainable. We should keep him in a crate, the dog replied. Cory’s eyes glowed blue as she approached, one hand buried in the oversized German Shepherd’s fur. With a guarded smile she one-arm-hugged Rivka.
Jay’s arms were full of wombat, so Cory settled for a mutual pet of the creature.
“Holy shit!” Red blurted.
Bundin trundled up, surrounded by a human contingent. With his turtle-like shell, four stumpy legs, and blue stalk-like head, he cut an imposing figure. Two humans walked beside him with their hands on his shell.
“Bundin, a Podder from Tissikinnon Four. You know Joseph and Petricia.”
When the introductions were complete, Rivka asked if they could go inside and finish their conversation. Terry and Char preferred the outdoors.
“We are stuck on the ship way too much. If there’s a chance to be outside, we’ll take it.” Terry pointed to a short dividing wall between Peacekeeper and War Axe where they could sit.
Ankh appeared in the doo
rway of the Magistrate’s corvette. Terry and Char waved and yelled, but he only looked at them briefly before continuing his journey. He walked to the destroyer and boarded. He was surrounded by the Podder and others but waved them off on his way to see Ted.
Red hovered near the Magistrate, eyes in constant motion. Leed’s Planet was still in a war, despite the pause in violence. Lindy joined him, wrapping an arm around his waist as they watched together.
Char nudged her husband. “I love seeing that,” she said softly. He nodded and took her hand in his.
“I do, too. It’s a tough universe, but being with the right people makes it all okay.”
Rivka looked uncomfortable.
Terry instantly felt bad and redirected. “Leed’s Planet. Civil War. No time to negotiate because you’re on the trail of a galactic criminal. Is that where we are?”
“We’re trailing two criminals. One is more elusive than the other, but from the scant evidence we’ve been able to collect, these two leave a trail of destruction. I can’t believe they’ve been flying under the radar for as long as they have.”
“Good that we were on a training mission and could divert here. What do you need us to do?”
“Keep the Ledonians from killing each other until a Federation civil affairs team arrives. They are still armed, but the mech suits are superior to anything they have.”
“We’ll get the word out. Any hope for them?”
“Yes. They are an emotional people, and I think our guy tipped them over the edge. They are inconsolable right now, but over time they’ll earn each other’s respect. I hope it doesn’t take a generation or two, but it may. The Federation is here for the long term, so this could become a great vacation destination. Who knows?”
“Are any shops open?” Char asked. Cory left the War Axe and approached, but stopped and headed toward the corvette.
“There’s no one left aboard,” Rivka called.
“Look at that little man!” she replied over her shoulder. In the hatch, the white cat with gray spots yowled. When Dokken approached, he hunched his back, turned sideways, and started hissing.
Jay bounced down the destroyer’s ramp and put Floyd on the ground. She produced something to throw and tossed it. The wombat ran after it.
“You have quite the zoo going on in there.” Rivka knew there was an orange cat on Terry’s ship, too.
“What would we be without our friends?”
“Did you actually have Dokken taped to your face?” Rivka asked out of the blue.
“There’s a whole story behind that...” Terry started, but Char stopped him.
“I can see you’re antsy to get going,” Char suggested.
“The thing about the scumbags of the ‘verse, they will keep running until you catch them, and then two will pop up in their place.”
“We’ll take care of things here so you can get going,” Terry stated. “And when you’re done, we have a favor to ask. We’ve heard about the slave trading that is riding on the back of the blood trade. We need that to end. If you can find them, we’ll do the rest.”
“If I find slave traders, I don’t think there will be much left for you to do,” the Magistrate replied. “I hate those guys. Thanks for everything. I can’t pay you for this.”
“Training for the Harborians. I don’t think we’ll be here long,” Terry replied.
“Jay! Jay!” came a happy voice. The young woman was carrying the wombat, her face buried in the thick fur.
“I’m not getting my wombat back, am I?” Terry asked the rhetorical question.
“Jay killed some people in my last couple of cases. Those guys needed killing, but that’s not who she is. Floyd would be a great help to get the real Jay back.”
“I figured. I’ll say goodbye. I never seem to be able to keep a pet around.”
“There’s always Wenceslaus,” Char told him.
“He’s my arch-nemesis.”
“You have an arch-nemesis who lives with you aboard your ship?” Rivka wondered.
“He’s not an arch-nemesis. Why did I even say those words?” Char asked herself. “He’s the ship’s cat. Stowed away.”
“Sounds familiar.” Rivka nodded.
“You should probably be aware she poops squares that she stacks on top of each other to mark her territory.” Char shrugged. “We assigned a cleaning bot to follow her around.”
Rivka’s face dropped. “Lovely. I don’t have a cleaning bot.” She looked at her security team. “If Red steps in it, he will lose his freaking mind. Probably I will, too.”
Cory joined the group as they were saying their goodbyes.
“Dad is a good man,” Cory told Rivka. “Selfless to a fault, but you’d better visit often. A wombat, a barrister, and a fellow weapons enthusiast. Your team is filled with the kind of folks he likes to surround himself with. He won’t cry over Floyd’s absence, but he’ll be a bear until he accepts it.”
“We can’t take Floyd with us. Not in that case.”
“Of course you can. She is a gift to us all. How about we ask her?”
Floyd, Terry said. Do you want to go with Jay?
Jay! the wombat cried happily.
It means you won’t be with us, but we’ll visit you when we can.
Terry. I’m sad. But Jay! I’m happy again! the wombat replied.
“Do you mean it? Floyd can come with us?”
“Yes,” was all Terry Henry could manage.
A mech clumped through the hangar bay and down the ramp.
“Fixed already?” Lindy asked.
“No. It’ll take a while to repair the damage to the other suit, so we swapped yours out with one that’s a little bit better.”
“What’s different?” Lindy wondered, smiling broadly.
“You’ll have to see for yourself.” The person driving the suit marched straight to Peacekeeper. The jets activated, sending it upward, and the mech settled into the ad hoc rack. The back unzipped and Christina climbed out.
“Although I prefer au naturale, sometimes these suits come in handy,” she called from atop the corvette. She followed the handholds down. “I’m sorry I didn’t say hi earlier, but I was up to my ass in mech alligators. The Harborians are having a hard time adjusting, so we’re modifying the suit’s software to be more accommodating. I say ‘we,’ but I mean Ted.”
“Of course.” Rivka hugged TH, Char, and Cory, and leaned down to give Dokken a kiss.
What are you doing? he asked.
“I was going to kiss you right on your dog nose.”
Maybe I don’t like human kisses.
Rivka’s mouth dropped open, and she looked deeply into his eyes. She found that she could see some of his thoughts. He was hungry for bistok jerky and felt that Terry had some but was holding out.
I’m kidding. I love kisses! He laved Rivka’s face with his massive tongue.
The Magistrate fell over backward. “Oh, God!”
Cory pulled her to her feet. “He’s incorrigible.”
Rivka scrubbed her face with a sleeve. Jay waddled toward the stairs of the corvette, the heavy wombat weighting her down. Hamlet ran when he saw the creature coming toward the hatch.
Red and Lindy waited for the others.
Ankh appeared, carrying a small bag. No one asked what it was, expecting a high tech toy that they wouldn’t understand.
Christina waved.
“How’s your bar doing?” Rivka asked.
“It’s doing too much without me. I should consider retiring so I can manage my business.”
Rivka nodded and headed for her ship.
“We brought back the pineapple and ham pizza! It’s on the menu now,” Terry yelled after her.
The Magistrate stopped. “You did what? That’s breach of contract. You signed that you would never put pineapple on an All Guns Blazing pie.”
“It’s this side of the galaxy’s equivalent. The contract wording is too narrow, Barrister. It says specifically, ‘pineapple.’ We’ve acqui
red moonsapple, which is identical, and we’re using bistok ham. It’s wonderful. Stop by Keeg Station and take a walk on the dark side. I think you’ll like it.”
“No. It’s a violation of your contract.”
“No, it’s not, because we’re not putting pineapple on our pizza.” Terry shook his head and looked forlorn. “I think I may have to find myself a new Barrister to defend my interests and the soon-to-be-famous-galaxy-wide TH Moonstokle Pie.”
Rivka held her head and rubbed her temples. She sighed and tried not to look at the beaming Colonel Terry Henry Walton. “Send me the info on the slave traders. We’ll start hunting those scumbags right now.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Chaz, take us out of here. Next stop, Capstan.”
The AI lifted off and angled the corvette away from the Harborian fleet that occupied the skies above the spaceport. Once clear, the ship turned upward and raced toward the stars.
“What do we know about this place?” Rivka sat in the captain’s chair, surprised when Hamlet appeared. The cat had achieved a truce with the wombat. Floyd didn’t care, but Hamlet was not amused by the new addition to the crew.
Jay! Jay! Floyd cried happily over the comm chip into all their minds. Jayita tried to shush the wombat as they played tug. Lindy was still in the shower. Her extended stay in the mech suit had made her nastier than she was willing to tolerate. Red was stuffing his face with a wide array of food bars.
Ankh was in his lab. He hadn’t shown anyone what was in the bag he brought from the War Axe.
Chaz delivered the standard briefing on Capstan: demographics, general issues, and key people. He added the latest news, which included the continuing coverage of the complete loss of the licensing board.
Rivka sat up straight, earning herself a claw in the leg. She pushed Hamlet off her lap and started to pace.
“Erasmus, are you around?”
“I am,” the AI responded politely.
“What’s your take on the licensing board?”
“Capstan is a peaceful society based on working within a loose framework. In many places, lawmaking bodies would do what the licensing board does. They make the regulations regarding trade and oversight. With it, they have a steady and predictable revenue from vendors and service providers. It’s also one of the safest planets in the galaxy. Their regulations and oversight create an environment of expectations. Since businesses unequivocally know the framework within which they’ll operate, they can better manage their affairs. It works very well for the planet.”
Judge, Jury, & Executioner Boxed Set Page 68