"What Price Peace?" - 55 Days Sequel (TGG)

[The Duchess of Zeon]

HSMS Slashahkimmar,
Dastramik March.
13 January 2165 AST.
56 J'ina I.Y. 618.


It was the last day of their deployment. They had proved able to function as a cruiser-carrier in fine form, and was well. The ship's replacement, an older battlecruiser, had arrived at the squadron and Drishalras had just completed the mustering out ceremonies. There would now be a leisurely cruise back home, for an extended period of leave and a chance for the yards to go over the battlecruiser and do improvement work after the list of sundry errors which had been catalogued, inevitably, on the ship's first deployment.

There was another letter. Drishalras had ceased writing, and expected Jhayka to explain herself, and she finally had. The letter was not on paper as those before it, but rather it was a series of photographic copy-plates of a letter written on paper scrolls, very well done, and if anything it was gentle in its acknowledgements of the situation, and very welcome to read.

My darling wife,

Danielle has been here for about half a month and all is well. We have kept to our vows and religion—and I understand you know that she now professes the Farzian faith, which is no doubt so important of a matter to you—and the matter of my addiction to the combat drugs has been suitably dealt with, thanks to her magnificent aid. You will have an opportunity to help with the matter of the painkillers; I have some continued strain from the wounds taken at the siege, and cannot shake them yet.

We recently had a dinner with Her Serene Grace the Archduchess Leluno. She is apparently concerned with an issue of passports—this is a predominantly human subject which you have like as not never heard of before—documents which many human powers use to control the movement of individuals. I am aware that similar mechanisms exist for matters like admittance to space elevators and clearance for travel on luxury liners and so on, but the information from these is collected by the contracting company one is traveling with and is based on bank records; so it's no dice for us in solving the matter.

Though Danielle thinks it silly I stand with the Convocate: We have our freedoms and they have their's, and if we adopted their information laws we would oppress our people as surely as their people would be oppressed if an ambitious man was to take power by demagoguery and bayonet. Unfortunately the matter has serious implications for international trade and so the horns must be gripped sooner or later and a functional compromise found. The other nations will likely follow whatever policy the Alliance and the All-Highest Empress agree to.

As for the other matters, the summer has been beautiful and there seems to be good prospects for the harvest this fall. The revenues of the Princely demense should be very fine indeed, and the better for it, as we're spending quite a lot of specie in developing Eleutheria. As of this time I am seriously considering a trip—with YOU, and under no other circumstance!--to the Alliance and Gilead to arrange all matters of the immigration to Eleutheria which will take place, and personally appeal to those poor and proud warriors of the clans who have been so mightily humbled by the strength of democracy rampant. I owe this to Trajan, and now everything is ready for the exodus! We shall have tens of millions on Eleutheria within a fairly short period of time, and I am very confident of the elevation of Priscilla to rule autonomously under me as the Duchess. It seems the prospects of her restoration in Devenshire are, from Danielle's accounts, utterly insignificant if not entirely nonexistant, and she seems to have accepted this, so I will make sure that she is compensated suitably in the form of Eleutheria.

It is a sad matter, indeed, in the principle of it, but we all suffer from the evils of Idenicamos, of whom her father was a rampant and unredeemed servant, and her title has suffered for it even if she is entirely deserving not only of a grand province of an interstellar polity rather than a single rude colony world, but also of the sobriquet of “the Faithful”. She has never failed me, no matter the supreme effort so far beyond her previous experiences that I have put against her, both planned and, due to my illnesses, unplanned. For someone raised in the lightness of the yeoman's path, the coolness of her disposition in crisis cannot be lauded enough.

As for what is, I imagine, the more pressing matter, you know that I love Danielle. But we have done nothing, and she seems, especially over the last few days, very content in this. I have high hopes for the future accordingly and I imagine a relationship of a platonic nature is now quite reasonable. My feelings for you are undiminished; I have certainly realized that you hold a second place in my heart; you are content with this; but that second place is great indeed, and above all others. At any rate I've had more thoughts toward starting a family at late and I imagine in that... Our accomadation together will offer the promise of a happy future for us both.

Her family has been so evil to her, however, something I must touch on when I speak of Danielle! I know that human customs are many-varied and curious, but the obscene nature of this hate is something I do not understand, especially since Danielle thinks it would not, in the case of her mother, find celibacy acceptable, when it seems such a reasonable and even sanctioned option for those professing the Catholic faith, which has always seemed grand to me, and civilized, though it holds to innumerable fallacies of theology and social custom. Yet for all that they know the One God, the Lord of Justice, as we do, and I would think a better spirit of charity would prevail.

Alas, such matters should be worked out better in time, I suppose. I am going to take Danielle into the Great Rift Desert to the religious school were the Adept Ilavna Lashila is studying so they can be reunited. Ilavna will certainly be very pleased at Danielle's conversion, and a chance to converse with her. I believe that she secured in all nearly a sixteen of converts on Gilead, plus Danielle and Rodaka and the serving girls she brought back from Ar, which is a very fine start which I hope our missionaries can build on in due time.

In all I've been thinking much of you despite everything, and I know that unquestionably I am now on the path of adherence to the laws and customs of our faith and people regardless of the impulses of my heart. It is a pity they do not precisely coincide, but life was never meant to be easy—as Leluno put it to me, 'we nobles are born to suffer'--and that is that. My love for you comes regardless of such sentiments, I assure.

Dearly Your's,
Jhayka.

“You're going to be carrying our daughter,” Drishalras spoke aloud with a snort. “My career is the more stressful one by far.” Those were words she'd not put down in the reply, however, as she would rather tell them to Jhayka when they were alone. And Jhayka couldn't escape without agreeing.....

Laughing softly and her ears flexed with humour she turned her attention to the letter she'd immediately wanted to write in return to the words of her wife. It would be simple and electronic as the others, and the sooner it got back, the better, for shortly the last parties of MP's dragging the stragglers out of the dockyard pubs would return and the Slashahkimmar would cast off for home, to arrive back in the Talora system in three weeks.

She put her fingers to the keyboard and began to hammer out her reply to Jhayka with an acceptant sort of happiness. Her wife was right; the future was looking to be a good one. With that in mind, the letter was composed with no small amount of both hope and confidence.

My heart's love,

The love between two souls is a powerful thing. For me, I have come to love you so dearly that I gladly accept being only second place in your heart. To me that is quite sufficient, and I do not begrudge you a platonic relationship with Danielle Verdes, ever. She seems a nice enough person from her letter to me, which I regret not replying to, but the whole affair was simply to emotional at that time.

In no small part we're together precisely for raising a family, so that our daughters together shall hold power over the Principality of the Lesser Intuit. It is the most good thing that we can possibly do together and probably in only a few years' time, too, once the colonization of Eleutheria has been settled, which I will devote all my leave to aiding you with in the organization thereof.

I don't begrudge your continued use of painkillers. You suffered some serious injury from the systemic infection that came so soon after the implant of the artificial leg and finger, and plenty of nerve damage on your flank where you were riddled by shrapnel. I remember how in some areas, my love, I can touch you and you'll feel nothing and in others it is uncomfortable or painful. Your injuries and subsequent illness—and your overexertion in that period—are certainly a legacy you cannot easily escape. I do think that you should look into having a bit of the leg and the stub of the finger removed and new cybernetics attached at a fresh point; that would probably eliminate enough of the pain that I could help you off the painkillers as well.

Please take Danielle to our hunting lodge on Ytalla. You wanted her to see it; I am not bothered by the prospect of you two there. My love includes trust, and this is a delicate matter, but I am confident in your self-control. She'll enjoy herself there and the air there will make you happier now that you're feeling much better and are more able to function. I know the affairs of state are many, particularly with the colonization of Eleutheria almost upon us, but let's remember that you deserve some rest, also.

I'm glad to hear that the prospects for the harvest are so grand. I regret that our distance with my professional service will limit how much of the role for the commoners that I can play of the Princess Consort of the Lesser Intuit, but their prosperity is near to my heart and I've been regularly subscribed to the government and Quesadi reports on the economic activity of the Principality.

As for the disturbing matter of these passports—you seem entirely to enamoured of human government at times!--and I don't think we should yield an inch. I can't understand how people can seriously believe that elected governments make up for that kind of control over the movement of free individuals. The average person has no interest and no capability in government, but, by the Lord of Justice, how is it moral to force them to obtain documents and present these to officials when they are off to perhaps see family or work at the trade for which they are best suited? Sentient beings should be free to do whatever pleases them, even if it sends them straight to the slave-army of Idenicamos. I have heard other things out of human territory like the fact that they engage in surveillance of their own populations which I cannot imagine as anything other than a gross tyranny...

It seems astonishing for me that most foreign humans think the ability to elect their leaders somehow compensates them for the ability of the government to seize their property at any time, so that they don't really own it! Everything is owned by the state in those countries—it is like they are all one big feudal demense of the Supreme Government, so cold and bureaucratic and impersonal—and anyone who resists the seizure of their land will become a demonized minority and so on while the majority, hungry for the largesse of whatever government plan involves the seizure of property, will vote for the people who did it, no matter how immoral and odious it is. The same is true of surveillance and false search and seizure, restrictions on travel, and so on, and it seems to push the limits of the imagination that they have convinced themselves that their rulers will ever be punished for this. As long as the oppressed part of the population which suffers under these laws is 49%, the other 51% shall never fail in electing leaders who behave in this fashion over and over again.

So I think, my love, that you should not let the natural affections of Danielle sway you in at least this case!, and that you should join with the vocal opposition of the Convocate and maybe join a few sessions for that purpose, since I know you rarely attend. Certainly, let's find a compromise, but do not dare think of sacrificing an ounce of the feudal rights and privileges of our class and of all the classes under us by allowing the Imperial government the power to engage in this kind of data surveillance. Perhaps birth records could be accepted? Those powers where people are not born into the Church tend to have more government—I think of our humans—than we do within the Empire, and so can provide such information without new laws. I think the humans will be willing to compromise much for the sake of trade with our markets.

With all this done and considered, please keep yourself safe and well! I often worry about you and the intensity with which you do things, though I imagine without the combat drugs you are at least getting enough sleep, which is a very good thing indeed. Please get more, and hopefully some rest will help with the pain. I will pray that another round of surgeries is ultimately unnecessary and you can dispense with the painkillers without resource to such.

All my love,
Drish.

She looked over the letter, and then, smiling, quickly tapped out the command which would send it through the dockyards' communication system for transmission back to Talora Prime through the jump-energy transmission relay system, before they started their own trip back where high speed communication would be more difficult. That arranged her personal matters... And the chrono on the wall informed her that the MP parties should be back with the stragglers by that point.

Sure enough, Lieutenant Rihkani paged from the navigation bridge a moment later. She was the officer of the watch at the moment...

“Your Highness, we've secured the crew aboard. Four drunk and disorderlies, no other problems. Central control is giving us permission to commence umbilical release and will guide us out on station tractors. Do you have any further instructions and do you wish to come to the bridge?”

“Direct the ship clear of the station, Lieutenant. You're cleared to do undocking operations so I'll leave it to you to handle. Follow all station instructions precisely and once we're clear of station tractor control start the military impellers and bring us out of the system while ticking us up to full speed at 80% military thrust, then switch over to the cruising impellers. You know the jump schedule astrogation plotted for us. Implement it at the points the computer has designated and maintain standard cruising watch.”

“Understand, Your Highess,” the young officer paused a moment, “and thank you, Captain, for letting me guide her out.”

“You're very welcome, Lieutenant. You know what to do if a problem develops. I'm out, then.” She cut the comm line, preparing to go to bed. The gasses which would be added to the atmospheric mixture made it entirely possible to sleep comfortably through a jump, and they were only going to be jumping every four hours anyway since there was no need to strain the drives on the cruise home. And in twenty days, give or take, I shall see my beloved Jhayka again....

[The Duchess of Zeon]

The Old Fort,
Valeria, Talora Prime.
15 January 2165 AST.
58 J'ina I.Y. 618.


Saverana, Second of that name, fiddled with the message uncomfortably. It had come directly from the President of the Alliance of Democratic Nations. It had some passion to it, and Saverana, always aware of matters in the Starfleet, was acutely aware of the strategic theories of Admiral Robert Dale, which made her all the more respectful of the power of the Alliance. It brought sort of a smile to her, in fact, to think of just how aware, respectful, and indeed enthusiastic toward those theories she was... But he is the head of State of another nation, and you should also be aware of what that means. His theory would become reality under his command as well.

It was a polite but straightforward note. The situation had become untenable in the Alliance. And yet to us this is something we cannot compromise on! Or was it? They could at least make their position clear and hope that the Alliance would compromise in such a way that wouldn't require the Taloran government to collect the information now being demanded of it. There had to be a solution...

I need to make this a comprehensive compromise then. One treaty must cover everything from Interuniversal Drive to the passports to the normalization of trade. In that fashion we can give in other areas to preserve the fundamental character of the state and avoid running against the fueros. She put the print-out of the communique down and left quietly. A few Imperial Guards fell in behind the All-Highest Empress protectively, but she soon enough started up a rarely-used stone stairwell in the incredibly ancient fortress and waved them off.

On reaching the top, a rusted iron door scarcely suggested that this was the primary private residence of the supreme ruler of more than fifteen trillion souls. She forced it open herself, and walked out onto one of the archery platforms on the upper part of the fortress, which had later been converted to handle artillery. Elderly revolving cannon with green paint to hide the rust remained here. She walked to one, and imagined fondly the soldiers who had served her ancestors, manning those guns lest an enemy arrive to force the harbour by surprise, in a fortress that was almost four thousand Taloran years old, a massive pile of rock built by In'ghara and one of the two remaining fully intact structures in the city of Valeria which were unquestionably from her reign. Indeed, looking out across the harbour, she could see the Surf Tower illuminated by bright lights at a distance of some kilometers beyond where the barges and ships were now offloading. No doubt a midnight tour was going on.

The Third Star provided a bit more illumination, especially with the moons, so that a pallid white-orange faint light made it seem like the midnight sun to a human. Out beyond the harbour bar she could see the lights of ships pushing slowly forward. As always, ships were the cheapest way to move things to the present, and operating quietly under cheap nuclear power, pushed along at 20kmh or so all across Talora Prime, carrying on the internal bulk commerce of the surface world. Saverana had heard that on some human worlds this was no longer the case, and could not believe the sorts of fancies would lead to an end of the gentle and cheap old ways of conducting bulk commerce. Space elevators take a day to descend no matter what, do they not? The harvest is never brought in an hour. They're very different people than us, in many ways..

We need an expert in them. Someone in the Convocate, who is respected by the Convocate and not beholden to my throne by much more than the usual oaths. And we need to send a grand embassy. It may take months of negotiations, but as long as they are there and prominent, that is acceptable. We must show them just how serious this matter is to the Empire. Very well, then. She turned and walked back inside, securing the door with the iron bolt herself. Her guards fell in as she reached the bottom of the stairs and returned to her suites, where a servant had laid out her nightclothes already. The girl waited quietly by the bed, and Saverana stood and put her arms out from her sides. All the guards left except two women.

The girl gently worked off each piece of the All-Highest Empress' usual upper-body clothing, folding it neatly on the changing table before going on to undress her entirely and fold those clothes up entirely, Saverana's back turned to the guards, but no real privacy. She was used to it. Then the serving girl—who was handsomely paid and finely rewarded to maintain loyalty—helped her into the robe and fastened them, before kneeling to help put Saverana's slippers on. The Empress, of course, had never dressed herself in her entire life.

There was a short list of people she was thinking about for a mission as she composed the reply to President Dale, which was very succinct, and instructed the internal palace bureaucracy—which was actually located in another building, and always had people on duty—to send it to the Alliance embassy at once:

Re: Passport negotiations.
From: HSM Saverana II Valeria, Maharanidhirani Bahadur of the Talorans and the Jikar, Maharanidhirani of Grenya Colenta, Defender of the Farzian Faith, Head of the House of the Three Sisters and Heir to the Sword of God, etc, etc.
To: His Excellency President Robert Dale of the Alliance of Democratic Nations.

Your Excellency, it is indeed within Our interests as well as your's to take a serious step toward the final arrangements on this matter. Therefore it is Our intent to dispatch to you by the end of the human month of February of the calendar year of the Alliance 2165 a mission accredited with extraordinary and plenipotentiary powers, headed by a member of the Convocate of Nobles, to negotiate in every regard the aspects of trade and regulations of travel between our States.

Furthermore, the said emissary shall, with a full embassy of all suitable persons, have the power to contract to the New Brasilia Treaty bodies should the organization, and your State, have the power and interest to meet our particular Reservations toward that treaty organization. It may be hoped that by the end of your month of March the Emissary shall have arrived at your capitol, if not sooner, and therefore this matter shall be concluded to the satisfaction of our respective States in an atmosphere of harmony and friendship between our respective peoples, with the general aim to be that the embassy shall certainly remain in your capitol until all these issues have been decisively satisfied to our respective satisfaction.

[Steve]

Co-written by myself and Marina

Yulain West Rift monastery,
Talora Prime.
17 January 2165 AST.
60 J'ina I.Y. 618.


Grenya Colenta was gradually tearing itself apart. A great flat area stretched from the Intu'itan states on one side to the vast rift valleys on the east flank of the Quesadi mountains. These valleys would certainly have been flooded by the ocean at some point or another to form yet another embayment if it weren't for Taloran efforts, starting in very early times, to keep the areas near the ocean dammed. As a result the valleys were filled with mountain runoff and the flow of the rivers of the desert, of which they were very few. It was a cold desert, dry like the Gobi, as the Taloran deserts were, and many people in it still lived nomadic livestyles with their animals, though the advance of the Farzian missionaries had ultimately brought systematic moisture farming.

Jhayka and Danielle had the night before, unaccompanied, because, as Jhayka put it, 'no need when traveling to a monastery', except for two guards, in a private car attached to the end of a maglev express. They were served very fine food from the dining car, and the train swept around the vast Heildh Bay and across the estuary of the Ta'ert River--it had the rate of flow of the Amazon, and was one of the two rivers draining the Inas or Taliya Sea--they had not really slept that much. Traveling at the speed of a jetliner, there were nonetheless thousands of kilometers to chew up. The train did not normally stop at the monastery. Instead it offered comfortable overnight service with just enough time awake to eat dinner and breakfast, between the Intu'itan states and the Quesadi states. But it was close to the main track and so the train came to a stop at a dusty little secondary station in the midst of a desert trading post, settling down onto steel wheels when not in motion, and their car was unhooked while they were still asleep, a hot dinner laid out for them. While eating it, a small shunter locomotive had pushed them on the service branch to the monastery, and they could see how, abruptly, as they approached it, the land turned from a dusty desert brown into green, green as far as the eye could see. For fifteen minutes they pushed through this, until the monastery itself came into sight, and with it, the plunging terrain of the rift, not nearly as steep as the Grand Canyon but deeper.

It was incredible to behold: The monastery was built out of mud brick and thousands and thousands of years old, the size of a city, an ancient city, sitting low to the ground and covered in crenallations to defend against pagan raiders, while out in the fields the priests and priestesses engaged in the Taloran monastic practice, which eliminated all self-suffering and isolation and focused entirely on good works, in this case, turning the desert into highly productive farmland, and then beyond, terracing the immense slopes of the rift valley so that it could also be farmed. The only other cars waiting, resting on friction track for a slow-speed line like this--they would continue on friction rails to the cities up through the mountain passes, and the two systems only interfaced where the maglev trains slowed down and came to a stop at stations and inside of cities--were strings and strings of grain hoppers pre-positioned for the next harvest, for Talora Prime's long years often guaranteed several yields.

"So this is where your religion was started, Danielle," Jhayka began very quietly. "Or very near to it. The Prophet Eibermon started by preaching to the farmers along the rift valley and the tribes of the desert, somewhere near here. The Yulain Order is one of the oldest and more important, and I've always preferred its interpretations of the sacred texts, but I know Ilavna respectfully didn't give you commentary. What do you think of it?"


The journey through the wilderness of Talora Prime had been a special treat. It was, truly, an alien world, not simply an Earth-like planet as so many were in the galaxy. Dani looked from the window, where she'd been staring out at the large monastery, and replied, "It looks incredible. I can imagine Talorans from millennia ago living here almost as you do today, except for the trains."

Jhayka smiled. "Well, the farming is done with no small bit of machinery, too. But it's mostly so. The closest thing I can think of to that monastery, on the surface of the Earth, is the citadel of Arg-e-Bam in Persia.. Iran. Shall we head out, Danielle? She'll be up early, following the routine here for the Adepts and other psychic students, I imagine."

Dani nodded at that, eager to see Illavna again after so long. She had dressed appropriately, the robes long and modest and splashed with color. For fun she had removed the chestnut fringe to her hair and made it a bright, almost pinkish red, joking that she'd always wanted to be a redhead. "I've been looking forward to seeing her again."

Jhayka was dressed in equally ceremonial and modest robes, and glancing over Danielle's clothes--her own hair let down to hang free at the moment--she added softly. "Remember to take your shoes off when we go inside the monastery," before heading toward the door of the car and stepping down to the sand below, walking gingerly over it toward the gates of the monastery, open for the day's work, where a herald met them:
"Hail noble born and stranger, and tell us what you seek."
"We are both of noble blood and come, to meet one of your students who served as my confessor, and of late brought my companion to the light of Justice."
"Then enter gladly in the name of Farzbardor."
Jhayka dipped her head in acknowledge, and led Danielle on a seemingly confusing and impossible path amongst the tightly packed buildings, until she arrived at one imposing structure with a great rounded tower, and signaled upon a gong, at which the bronze-bound wooden doors were opened, and she stepped in, working her way out of her shoes by the entrance antechamber while an old silver-haired man in splashy robes of orange and crimson approached slowly.

The sights reminded Dani, slightly, of old movies with Middle Eastern castles and Asian kung-fu temples, complete with the signallin gong. She had a wide smile on her face, having seen nothing like this before in her life, and attentively pulled her shoes off alongside Jhayka. The ground felt warm on her bare feet, her toes well-trimmed and polished.

"I heard from the front gate that you were coming.... What's your name, noble born? I am the prefect of the school for those who hold the killing voice, and it is not lightly that someone travels among those of such power," he explained. "I hold the name of Ritjhan. So, for your's?" He looked very suspiciously at the human, and at Jhayka's stigmatic eyes.
"Prefect, I am Jhayka of the Lesser Intuit, and this is Danielle Verdes, the Duchess of Henley upon Gilead. We are friends of your Adept here, Ilavna Lashila, and loyal to Farzbardor. May we see her?"
He chuckled broadly in response, ears flexing amiably. "Ahh, she is stable and has not misused her powers once since arriving. A fine young lady and splendid adept--a fine doctor and farmer and cook alike--who does not need to be here for much longer. Of course you may see her. Her's is cell eight." His gaze turned to Danielle. "You're one of her converts aren't you? It's a boon that you're visiting--to have one you brought into the faith remember you and return is a high honour indeed."

Dani blushed a little. "I consider Illavna a friend, and she helped save my life back on Gilead. I've been looking forward to seeing her again."

"That is the best way to think of her, then," the old man replied with a smile. "She would never want the accolades herself." And with that he went back into the halls, leaving Jhayka to search a way through and down a hall filled with doors, until she reached one which in Taloran script was the eighth, through halls dimly let by unobtrusive electric-lighting strips laid on the elderly rock. And she knocked, but then stepped aside.... So that the first sight of the tall and cobalt blue-haired young Taloran woman in simple robes of green and yellow, barefoot like they were, would be one given to Danielle.

Dani saw the priestess and smiled widely. She brought her arms up for a hug, saying, "Illavna, it's so good to see you!"

Ilavna settled into Dani's arms easily, her eyes widening even as she caught Jhayka's presence for a moment, but concentrating, for the moment, on Dani and only Dani. "You have recovered fully, as they said. The Lord is surely Just! You have... Come in, Dani, come in. My abode is humble but at least sit and let me look at you... I can't believe that you're whole again. I didn't believe it would be possible.. But I prayed. And it seems prayer and inventive words in the hearts of men have sufficed. I. It's like it was so long ago."

"I know. So much has happened...." Dani entered the cell, and indeed it was a spartan place, though nothing she didn't expect. "I couldn't wait to see you. I'm so happy to see you're getting so far ahead."

"Well, I still have a computer..." Ilavna answered negligently, as though that singular luxury were sufficient to make up for the simple cot, the two chairs and the old wood table, the very small storage space for a very limited number of personal possessions. "But otherwise it's mostly work and, well, discipline. Lots of that. People like me are very dangerous..." She glanced to Jhayka staring in from the door. "Your Highness, you can certainly come inside."
"Thank you, Ilavna," Jhayka answered, moving to lean against the wall.

"The older man, Ritjhan, said you were doing well and almost finished with your training," Dani replied. "I think that's great. Where are you going when your training ends?"

"Probably come back and work as a doctor in the Lesser Intuit, Dani," she replied after a moment's thought. "I'm not ready yet to teach or preach at a temple, and I gained considerable experience doctoring on Gilead. So that seems a good thing for me, after all. My training right now is just rigorous psychic discipline... That's why we're kept here, though I don't mind it much. The others complain sometimes, and have difficulties, but I don't, because... Because I suppose that I've suffered enough to learn the patience and importance of being reserved. And that's what they want to impress, really." Her eyes looked to Danielle's very seriously. "I'm not sure how powerful psychics are among your people, but every one of us in training here--and this is the only place in the Empire--is capable of killing someone with a word. And I did that back on Gilead, when I went to rescue Her Highness."

At that Dani only nodded, the issue of telepathic powers being one she didn't care to think much of. "You'll make an excellent doctor," Dani assured Illavna.

"Thank you." She glanced between the two. "I'm sorry how things developed for your love. But be happy you both survived. We've all learned the cost of war like that, and there are many who owe you their lives also. I've had plenty of time to reflect and..." She downcast her ears. "Well, perhaps I should tell Danielle alone after all." Jhayka left without a word, closing the door behind her, and Ilavna settled off of her chair and onto her knees before Danielle, very significantly. "My friend, forgive me. But when you were sent into a coma, I fancied it the will of God to punish Jhayka for again falling into sin. I prayed his mercy would heal you, and it did; but my words were no small part of why Jhayka was willing to marry Drishalras, and for that I have done you a terrible disfavour."

Dani nodded stiffly, not surprised that Illavna had been a part of that marriage plan. She reached forward and took Illavna's hand with her own two. "I forgive you," she said softly. "Had I not been curable, if I'd been dead or condemned to sleep forever.... I would have wanted someone like Drish for Jhayka. You did the right thing for her, and that's all that matters."

"Thank you. I've wracked my mind trying to find ways to solve this...." She lowered her voice. "And there is one, though..." Proving that the solution was not that unheard of in Taloran custom; enough, at least, that a desperate young adept Priestess might know it. And it gave Dani an opening to interrupt and tell what the Archduchess Leluno had also explained.

And Dani did, but to make sure Jhayka didn't accidentally hear, she very carefully thought it, hoping Illavna would pick it up.

Ilavna's mouth opened wide, and she replied back--and quite unheard--Oh! But she's clever, very clever, the Archduchess of Leluno. And she's right. If Drishalras agrees I could perform the ceremony... Pretty much as soon as I received permission to leave here. Or you could come here. But I can understand why you don't want her to know. Nothing good would come of her knowing and then Drishalras refusing.

Exactly. And though it hurts me to keep it a secret... I'd never dare admit this to anyone else,not even Fay, but Illavna, there have been many nights where the temptation has gotten unbearable. I want to kiss Jhayka so much, and hold her close at night to got to sleep, that it's starting to hurt. Do you think Drish will say yes? It's my fondest wish right now... Dani's expression showed her hope and fear.

When Jhayka proposed to Drishalras, she bluntly told the girl that she'd always be second place in her heart to you. Drishalras agreed to the marriage knowing that full well. She's kind, loving, conscientious of her duties as a noble and a Farzian, dutiful and very scrupulous. Her only fault is gluttony, though in her case it's tempered by the fact that though she eats twice as much as she needs it usually comes from cheap roadside stands. As a careful bohemian of a career military girl, I thought she'd be a perfect match for Jhayka. Now? I have confidence she'll do good by you both. But I can't be absolutely certain. Just... Pretty sure. She doesn't seem the type to be jealous. Ilavna pushed herself up, smiling reassuringly, for it was all, for the moment, that she could do beyond her words.
As for the matter of temptation, be strong in your faith and know that the answer will come soon. Your road has been a very hard one and I can but pray it will ease soon enough.

You know I will, Dani replied. "Thank you, Illavna," she said out loud. "I needed to hear all of that."

"Good. Then we shouldn't keep Jhayka waiting any longer. Perhaps I can show the two of you around the monastery? I'm not unstable or anything--never have been, but they needed to be sure--so I can certainly go where I please with you."

"I would love to see more of the monastery," Dani answered happily, both out of genuine curiosity and happiness to be back with both Illavna and Jhayka.

Smiling, in a bit of relief of hope, Ilavna nodded, walking to the door and opening it, to hold it for Danielle as she looked to Jhayka. "Just two girls talking," she said, but managed it at once to both give nothing away and to reassure her patron and feudal lady.

"Just two girls talking.." Jhayka gave a slight chuckle, ears shifting as she glanced between the two for a moment, and then shrugged and gestured. "Well, it's been a long time since we were all able to go anywhere, and since my leg wasn't acting up, me without a cane no less. If you'd lead on, Ilavna...?"

[Steve]

Washington D.C., Earth
Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
21 January 2165 AST
64 J'ina I.Y. 618


The beginning of the workweek had come to Washington, but bigger things were to be had now; the 1st 2165 session of the 7th Council of the Allied Nations was being convened on this day, and on the next, President Dale would be delivering the traditional annual "State of the Alliance" speech to them. It was a momentous time, with the Chancellory and Council elections coming so soon, and it was certain to be a politically-charged session as the Democrats and Federalists fought over policies to jockey themselves for the upcoming elections, with the usual brokering of deals with the seat-holding minor parties such as the Freedom Party, La Front Progrès Démocratique, and the Alliance Unionists.
It was noontime and President Dale was finishing a general Cabinent meeting to air out Ministers on their approval of Dale's speech when Wells got a call and excused himself. He was back shortly thereafter to inform Dale that a response had come from the Taloran Empire.... more than that, but personally written by the Empress Saverana II herself.

Three hours later, Dale was passing the translated text of the reply to his closest advisors on the matter; Bronson, Wells, and Darlington. As the trio of Cabinent men, the core decision makers regarding the various elements of Alliance foreign policy, looked it over, Dale took a moment to put in a call to his wife and find out what dinner was to consist of. By the time he was done, the three men before him had finished looking it over. "Having served with the IUCEC, I can confidently say I'm not entirely sure they'll permit a treaty signing with reservations," Wells said as he handed the note back to Bronson to look over a bit. "Some reservations, like those that Princess Elizabeth reported on months ago on the matter of construction taking place in Taloran factories, would be effortlessly passed to cut costs. But any reservations on Taloran authority over the gates, R&D of the gates, et cetera, the IUCEC will resist. They've spent a century jealously guarding the technology and they're not going to give it up easily."
"Taloran membership on the IUCEC would help, but will the IUCEC allow them to have more than one seat?" Dale asked.
"Not easily," Wells remarked. "It'd result in a dilution of the existing seats' authority."
"Nevertheless, the precedent is there. Our constituent nations' seats insisted on being maintained independently on the grounds that they have sufficient political autonomy to not simply be extra votes for the Alliance. The Taloran Empire also has numerous nations and governments with autonomy every bit the same as our individual member nations, perhaps moreso. They can't reasonably argue against allowing the same to other powers without jeopardizing their own position."

"Frankly, Mister President, the IUCEC should probably be cleaned out anyway," Darlington remarked. "Times have changed."
"I have enough problems on my hands as it is, I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole," Dale remarked. "So, we make preparations for open treaty negotiations. Make sure the press knows and is fully briefed, even if it means we'll be flooded with requests for attendance at the talks or related functions by all sorts of lobbyists and power brokers..."
"There is also the matter, Mister President, of the recent Taloran decision, confirmed by our sources in Paris and San Francisco ST-3, to open a full embassy in the Federation," Bronson remarked. "It is completely inconsistant with Taloran diplomatic practices to date."
"Yes, Mister President," Wells said in agreement, "aside from some of the CON-5 states, mostly the powerful ones or ones closest to their wormhole, the Talorans have only sent ambassadors to the Alliance and the Holy Roman Empire. The Federation getting a Taloran Embassy is... astounding."
"For one thing, it does grant an enormous boon to their government. Going by Taloran decisions they'd seem to be putting the Federation on the same level as the Habsburgs and ourselves," Darlington said. "I can't imagine how Paris will try to use this to their advantage."

Dale looked at the three men for a moment, quietly thinking, before asking, "Why? Taloran business interests aren't so great that they can't make due with a consul like so many other powers they've appointed consuls to. There's no reason, diplomatically, for the Talorans to do this."
"There are actually two, Mister President," Wells said. "For one, they could be using this to set up a sphere of influence in the Federation, or ST-3 as a whole, which would have some interesting and even unsettling complications for our interests."
"The other," Bronson continued, showing the two men had already discussed the subject, "is that it's a ploy. A pressure tactic on us, to make us worry about alienating them if it means having to defend ourselves diplomatically and economically from Taloran entrances into our established spheres of influence. Essentially, the stick to the treaty's carrot."
"Well, we'll deal with that when it becomes necessary," Dale said. "I'll draft a reply for Ambassador Windsor to deliver to the Empress while preparations are made for the arrival of her negotiating team. Now, that will be all gentlemen, I have a dinner with Julia and Nicholas soon."

After they left, Dale picked up a pen and paper and scribbled out the draft text of his reply, leaving it to his staff and the Foreign Ministry staff to edit it and attach the appropriate letterhead and headers and, of course, arrange the translation (Dale was good with languages, as a child speaking German as fluently as English thanks to his German paternal grandmother and having learned many more languages in the following years, but had been given little opportunity to learn any Taloran).

It will be my honor, Your Serene Majesty, to welcome your emissary and the accompanying mission to Washington, D.C., and to ensure the commencement of negotiations on all relevant issues standing between the Allied Nations and the Taloran Empire, including the Taloran interest in signatory status - with reservations - to the New Brasilia Treaty. I believe strongly that the success of these negotiations and a resulting treaty will see the start of a long and prosperous relationship between our peoples and societies, which can only be a boon to the general prosperity, peace, and stability of the Multiverse as a whole.


Signed,
Robert Allen Dale, President of the Allied Nations

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Near Lootera, Huntress
Kerensky Territories
Universe Designate MWB-32
25 January 2165 AST.
68 J'ina I.Y. 618.


The Baroness Sipajhai Olothdhakiu of Khastim—of the Princess Jhayka's clan, that meant—was swathed like a Rift-desert dweller, head to toe in flowing, unglamorous robes, gloves and a metal breath face-plate, indeed, more fit for the surface of Talora Secundus than a decent world. Tall though she was her robes obscured her nature, with the heavy sort of onion turban atop her head.

The house that she was traveling to had plenty of room—it was more like a dorm--having been where a few older warriors had raised many of the Smoke Jaguar youths who now would never go through their Trials of Bloodright. She climbed out of the speeder that had taken her there, guarded by a few uneasy mercenaries who had accompanied her on the British freighter into the MWB-32 universe designate who first unloaded their baggage.

The men stayed waiting outside as she wrappped on the door with a metal-studded glove. A young, cold-eyed woman looked up at her, eyes wided with surprise at the alien visage. “Name?”

“I am the messenger from afar.”

“Come in. Show yourself to me.”

Sipajhai stepped inside, the door closed behind her, to confront a collection of clan warriors who could certainly do her great hurt and possibly kill her even with her shield activated. But they were all friends. A few older men and a woman; and then the rest of the sib, as Sipajhai understood them to be. She undid her gloves first, and dropping them to the floor, her delicate six-fingered hands attracted their attention first, before she reached up, and pulled off the turban and the metallic faceplate off. Yellow eyes, metallic blue hair, ears flexing and stretching after being contained.

No doubt. “Ovkhan,” one of the old men murmured. Sipajhai had been drilled by Jhayka to recognize it as the only form of respect she should expect to receive.

“It's better not to use the names of those who are important,” she said, looking around the assembled. “It's a known fact that Weisbaum has funded illicit intelligence-gathering and agent provocateur missions before. My venerable relative Her Highness the Princess presumes that he will try to sabotage our affairs. As for myself, I am the Baroness Sipajhai of Khastim.”

“We wouldn't expect anything else from the likes of that monster, Ovkhan,” one of the old men answered. “We have beds prepared for you and your men, and as for names though we won't speak to those of any of our leaders, Tamara here,” he gestured to the girl who'd opened the door, “will see to your needs. My name is Leo Howell, and I'm the head of this house more or less. Now, for those you'll be meeting with, this way.” He turned, quiet.

Tamara was a pleasant girl for a human by Sipajhai's eyes, a bit on the plump side for her and short, but that of course meant she was scrawny and lean with wizened muscles by the human way of it. She was as cold and blunt as she explained the living situation: “Ovkhan, you were trueborn after a fashion, quiaff?”

“Yes, Tamara, I was born to two fathers out of an artificial womb,” Sipajhai answered, having retrieved her gloves. For the moment she didn't worry about anything.

“We've been forced to breed free to avoid going utterly extinct, Ovkhan,” Tamara answered with bitter contempt in her voice. “And even then... Look, tilling the land with hands meant for War, our customs all but shattered.”

“But no more. I have been sent here to make sure of that, Tamara.”

“We can't give you much, and your quarters are cramped and spartan as we'd expect of one of our own, though we've made an allowance for your height like you were an Elemental, Ovkhan.”

“That will be enough. I've served in the army before, and I scaled the highest peak of Talora Secundus—which I rate to have been harder than the first. Battles against the elements of the high alpine are more terrible than against any living foe.”

“Then the most glory, Ovkhan, comes from fighting in such an environment, quiaff?”

“I imagine it does, Tamara.” She equated glory with bloodshed in that case, for to fight at altitude.. Rendered itself an unpleasant prospect at most. She was more practical about war than most of the younger clanners, after all.

They had walked to the back of the house in the meanwhile and also down the stairs into a rough-hewn basement. There was a group of eight individuals sitting there, and this time names were indeed not mentioned. They paid particular attention to the sight of the Taloran descending the steps under the acrid and cheap industrial lighting. An older woman at the table snapped an interrogative as she reached the bottom:

“Are you armed, Taloran?”

The response did not surprise combat trained reflexes, but it was still impressive how she dropped back into a fighting stance, producing a long dagger in one hand and a parrying knife in the other while the brown-translucent tinge of shield squares unfolded around her body, activated in the same move. “I am of the Princess Jhayka's blood and I have seen combat to match that of any of you; it was promised that one trueborn, though by our custom it is rare, would nonetheless be sent to you out of respect. And so I am here, to lead you out of bondage, as I have been commanded to achieve.”

“Then, Ovkhan, we will protect you against all the wiles of the Alliance, and we swear that to you as a rede,” another man answered.

Sipajhai nodded and shut off the shield mechanism, sheathing the blades and moving to the empty chair at the head of the table. “Let us begin, clansmen. The Princess Jhayka has prepared for you a fine world, and appointed over it a human representative of no small fame, who fought with your comrade, she named Priscilla Laurentii the Duchess of Eleutheria, your world, under whom your societies shall be autonomous and ancient freedoms preserved. It is all we can offer, and you know it, and have taken it; taken what was offered fairly in payment for the deeds of one of your's, Trajan Osis, and whose actions now give you this chance.

“Let it be clear that the Alliance government will not approve of what is going on here. They may nonetheless ignore it. But even then, those of the Freedom Party and Elijah Weisbaum and his followers may indeed stoop to illegality under their own laws to halt you. But they cannot stop you, legally, and they will be hard pressed in secret violence, to halt what we have planned. None of your people need passports or other forms of authorization. You must simply board the ships when they come and land.

“So that is what this meeting is about. I need to know the numbers of those who are emigrating from Huntress, on every point of the planet, their basic locations, and the nearest suitable landing sites for ships of the specifications which I shall give you. And then you will have to spread the word among those who have chosen to come, of the dates that I shall receive, and the places where they must concentrate, to board the ships, and it must be seen that they take in possessions only what is alotted to them.”

The woman nodded to one of the men. “Give the Ovkhan the information. Let's get this started. The more seamlessly it's done, the better.” They all heartily felt that sentiment. A few old decomissioned troop transports could evacuate all of the few tens of millions from the universe to the safety of CON-5; but if the Alliance government chose to block the operation, however meticulously it was planned and executed, there was precious little they could do. If the Alliance government did not block it, and Elijah Weisbaum used his agents to try and stop it anyway against even Alliance law itself... Well, everyone around this table was familiar with the spilling of blood.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

(co-authored by Eddie Korina.)


Ukandhis Research Facility,
Tri Sector, Midelan Space.
26 January 2165 AST.
69 J'ina I.Y. 618.


Tresamah Ilahkdam was the commander of the Ukandhis research facility, a military officer who had gone into theoretical astrophysics after a stint in stardrive design and reached postgraduate study work. Now she--for she was hardly the best scientist there--was nonetheless quite skilled as an administer and at keeping scientists happy. And she had plenty of scientists to keep happy. The facility employed, simply as its main researchers, more than 500 Taloran physicists and 600 engineers, and 300 each from all the other species of the Empire, including about 50 humans in all. Tresamah, for her part, was part of another species with a representation larger than that of humans: The Jikar. It was very suitable that a seven foot tall hexapedal coyote, more or less (who like most of her species just wore a sleeveless and legless black jumpsuit), would be in charge of this group, for on top of everyone else, there were about 150 Zohan top-flight researchers here, and countless lesser ones, along with a very prominent ship outside the quiet and vast research stations orbiting this lifeless blue supergiant: A Zohan Battlecarrier. On this massive ship was something that might well save the Empire in a bad situation; a Tannhauser drive that was capable of jumping between dimensions. The job of the Jikari manager's team was to develop a steering and guidance mechanism for transdimensional jumps and engineer a variation of the Tannhauser drive capable of being used on a 50 million tonne dedicated jumpship of the type that was the largest that Taloran shipyards could regularly handle, which could be directed in its jumps to any universe of which the coordinates were known.

One of her top Zohan scientists had just received notice of an interesting reassignment, however, which perturbed her more than a little bit. Said individual was due to the office... Just about now, as a matter of fact. Zohan were punctual. Whether or not they'd show up to a meeting wearing any clothes, however, was frankly a tossup. And that, among numerous other reasons, was doubtless why someone with a jaw filled with teeth was very useful for this job. Tresamah had on more than a few occasions run interference for the eccentricities of the various races here by pure intimidation, and she liked the Zohan because they were usually the ones who offended others, not got offended by them; and it was always inadvertent, anyway. The Director of Project Ilambhat was not easily trifled with.

This message, however, had come from very high up in the foreign ministry, and was considerably urgent. They wanted a topflight advisor to a diplomatic mission to the Alliance, which might result in crucial gains in access to Interuniversal Drive technology, and an expert would have to go along to tell the Empire whether or not it was being cheated by the Alliance and its allies. The woman coming had been chosen as that expert.

Right on schedule the office door opened, admitting a three and a quarter foot tall bundle of raw energy and brilliance. Senior Engineer Executive Ada'ren was wearing the plain grey environmental suit that the Zohan wore, at least, when they remembered to do so in the first place... which, admittedly, she did rather often. Her cobalt hair was perfectly groomed and cut short to easily fit under a vacuum helmet, yet still seemed almost on the verge of dishevelment from the sheer velocity with which she moved about.

"I greet you, Tresamah Ilahkdam." she said, smiling up at the far more physically imposing jikar, her speech fast and just a bit staccato, as she had to conciously slow her words down and translate into an unfamiliar language. A slight bow towards her and then she straightened. "For what purpose has this one been summoned to this office?" she continued, her phrasing a bit stilted, but impressive for one who had only first been exposed to the Taloran language mere weeks earlier yet who already was able to speak it without computer assistance.

"There's been a central government directive, Senior Engineer Executive Ada'ren. The government is preparing for intensive negotiations with the Alliance of Democratic Nations," the Jikar had the aid of a vocal modulating unit subtly implanted on the upper roof of the mouth to aide in reproducing Taloran sounds, which were to high to formulate otherwise, though with it she was an excellent speaker, but based on experience hardly put off by Ada'ren. Taloran was, after all, highly complex, and her capabilities were already superb. "They want to attach a scientist with knowledge of interuniversal drive technology to the diplomatic team. Your job would be to review the technical details of possible arrangements that we will be making with the Alliance and their allies to make sure that they are not incorrect in any fashion." She paused for a moment, thinking hard about how to get a Zohan to understand: "The matter is so important that your expertise is considered worthwhile as part of the staff even over our research here. To put it simply... Your job is to make sure that the government is not cheated by those we're negotiating with, and also that all technological plans that are given to us are ones that our industry can successfully replicate. And when I mean cheated I mean the possibility that we will be given false information so that they can gain an advantage over us."

The diminutive Zohan nodded simply, frowning just very slightly. "This one will require three of my staff members for support, Tresamah Ilahkdam, from the Adamant's crew, rather than us here working on this project. May this one inquire if that is acceptable?" she tilted her head slightly, looking up at the jikar. "And this one understands, ensure get good data and not worthless data, so that we are not made look like fool. This one understands that no data of progress here given out to outsiders, yes?"

As she spoke her voice sped up a little, even in the unfamiliar language, leaving her just slightly out of breath from the heavier air movements required of the Taloran tongue in comparison to the almost sibilant Zohan language that lent itself more readily to exceptionally swift speaking.

"Yes, you have that correctly, and, yes, no data from this project is to be exchanged with anyone in the Alliance, nor is the existence of the project even to be alluded to. You may discuss it only with the head of the diplomatic mission. I'm afraid they didn't give me a name for that individual; you'll find out, no doubt, when you return to Talora Prime." She glanced through the instructions, tongue curling out of her snout in thought. "Yes, you're welcome to take a staff of your liking, three individuals is entirely acceptable. Select them, and get their names to me--either now if you already know or within a day if you don't--and I'll make arrangements for your departure on a fast courier for the Capitol in four days."

Ada'ren nodded and smiled. "Most good, Tresamah Ilahkdam. This one knows who this one would require. Combat Engineer Executive Ter'ohk, Senior Executive Ah'dal and Engineering Executive Passager All'eri'ah. This one shall ensure that they are prepared in the timeframe stated." she paused for a moment, then frowned again slightly, eyes unfocusing for just an instant then snapping back to focus on Tresamah. "Forget must not, Drive Systems reports must recalibrate Gate Focusing Array after latest test, take two days. Have top team on project now."

"It's unfortunate that we have to take you off the project, but the overall benefit here is represented by your presence in the diplomatic mission," Tresamah answered, growling faintly, which was not intended to be intimidating from a Jikar. "You will have a busy four days making sure everything will function smoothly with your rather abrupt absence, which is unfortunate, but I trust it can all be arranged. There is a second matter, however. We want you and your group to pay close attention to all Alliance technology in your spare time, and record as many observations on it about its functioning that we do not already know as you possibly can. This secondary task is operative whenever it does not interfere with the primary task."

If the tiny female found the growl intimidating or unsettling in the least, absolutely nothing showed in her reaction, a simple nod. "Senior Drive Systems Engineer Mok'thahl is next in rank to this one, Tresamah Ilahkdam, however this one notes that certain human scientists are not on positive terms with her. This one shall make all effort smooth transition, but this one hope humans not make trouble and complain about Senior Drive Systems Engineer Mok'thahl." she smiled at that, her eyes twinkling a little. "Would Tresamah Ilahkdam do this one great favor and use aggressive command voice to quiet troublemakers, this one be grateful."

After a short pause to catch her breath, Ada'ren continued in the same staccato fashion, but instead of Taloran, she spoke even more halting jikar, eyes twinkling a bit "Learn must, Learn will. At your command, Irtik Umas" before she bowed a bit deeper then straightened back up, smiling a bit cheerfully despite the strain of forcing her voice around the jikar tongue."

"You do a credit to me to take the effort to learn Jikari when our vocal chords are so different from your's, Senior Engineer Executive," Tresamah replied with a bared-tooth grin, one of the significant differences between the two species, Talorans and Jikar, which were nonetheless so very close to each other--there were almost two trillion Jikar in the Empire and their arrangement was autonomous and closely tied to the Empress, to whom they were arguably more loyal than many Talorans--the Talorans, of course, being a species which never showed their teeth when they smiled or grinned, no matter how intensely. She switched back to High Taloran for the rest though, not wanting to push to much Ada'ren's knowledge of Jikari. "I will make sure to use aggressive command voice to quiet down those dour complainers, you have my word. As for Senior Drive Systems Engineer Mok'thahl, well," honestly Tresamah didn't like the idea of her taking Ada'ren's place because she knew the personnel headaches it would cause, but it was the scientists' jobs to do science and her job to keep them doing science, and so another headache for her was just a part of her fundamental job description. "I am going to stomp down hard on those who complain. This All-Imperial project cannot afford petty issues getting in the way. Though, I may not stomp on them literally. At first." The grin was very prominent.

"This one understands completely, Tresamah Ilahkdam. This one thanks you, and this one takes liberty to remind you that Sanitation Specialists are at ones call for cleaning up after stomping, stomping hard on deck sole, after all." Ada'ren replied, also in High Taloran, grinning in return. "This one shall stress importance of good behavior to Senior Drive Systems Engineer Mok'thahl, if must this one stomp until agree behave even with troublemaking humans. Hope help make smooth. If Senior Drive Systems Engineer Mok'thahl make too great trouble, this one believes Senior Combat Marine Executive Kae'lin'ie be best to call for instruction in manners. Zohan agree importance of project, so this one ask of you not hesitate to act, we not take offense."

"I will not. For the moment she's in the right but if she proves to be stubborn when the others are not, I'll see that she's made to understand why reconciliation is a virtue," Tresamah answered. "I suppose your skill with languages raises another matter. There should be language packets on the major human languages available. If you can learn a series of them over your journey--and the trip back to Talora Prime and then on to the rift and through to Alliance space is a long one--you should all try to learn as many as possible. The main languages are highly related to each other and so if one of the root languages is learned all languages that branch from it can be easily learned. This will make you more able to read human scientific documents with ease and ask appropriate questions, than translation equipment would. Information should also be available on which languages the most scientific documents in the Alliance are printed in; those would be the ones most rational to study first. Other than that, it appears you're set. Do you have any other questions or requests?"

Ada'ren nodded in agreement. "We shall study them and hopefully learn several of them, languages are quite interesting to us, after all." she paused then, unconciously tapping one finger on her thigh as she thought. "And not at this time, Tresamah Ilahkdam. If this one requires data input at a later time prior to departure, this one shall contact you. This one shall inform the Master Chief Executive Council of Adamant of this immediately." The small Zohan straightened to her full height, then, and switched to her own native tongue, which the translation software rendered as "May the Masters smile upon this endeavor, Honoured Intellectual."

"May they indeed," the Jikari replied politely, being very tolerant and ecumenical in this case, as it were. "I believe our business is therefore concluded, Senior Engineer Executive. You may of course contact me about any matter in regard to this assignment which comes up before your departure. Since we're finished here, you're excused to return to your duties."

"Thank you very much, Tresamah Ilahkdam. I shall do so." and with that Ada'ren turned and left the office, moving with her typical brisk efficiency that did nothing to conceal the energy that seemed to burn within her like an anti-matter reactor, already some wags were commenting that if they could just figure out a way to convert Zohan energy into electricity there would no longer be any need for reactors. Even before she was fully out the door she was already muttering under her breath into her implanted communications system.

Tresamah watched her go, and laughed a soft yip once the doors were closed. She admired the firebrand of efficiency that the short Zohan was, and wished her luck with what would certainly be a very, very interesting experience.

[Steve]

Jinimani Bay, Ytalla Island,
World Ocean of Talora Prime.
27 January 2165 AST.
70 J'ina I.Y. 618.

They'd left, just the two of them, for the Jinimani Bay on a flyer from the Principality. It had rocketed up into the atmosphere and then tore off across the sky. Within fourty-five minutes of having taken off they were descending, having flown almost halfway around the globe. A few minutes later, slowing immensely, they flew into an enormous cloud bank which went on and on and forever. Jhayka was absolutely breathless as they passed into it, dead, mechanical eyes looking out the windows intently. "It is the most beautiful thing on all of Talora Prime, Dani... Wait, wait...." And then, bursting through the clouds, there it was. It was like emerald mixed with spots of jade and splashed with yellow and purple hues, the dense subtropical forests, the lighter jade of the vast valleys, the interposition of more colorful yellow plantlife, the terraced plantations of Urul-fruit trees which were such a staple of the Taloran diet, with their purple-green leaves.... And then all of it being split and parted, at the high altitudes, by the immensely steep and sharp mountains which seemed to rise from the narrow coastlines--and there were three coastlines visible--to their peaks, and then back down again. They were passing only a few thousand feet above these massive mountains now, a narrow high chain where the plant life gave way to rock and snow, and beyond it was another similar chain and between the two the terrain plunged down into the coastal valleys again, two mountain ranges divided by an immense azure fjord of incredible depth, and then the terrain repeating beyond. "Welcome to Ytalla Island," Jhayka murmured softly. "The untamed paradise of our world."

The sight was marvelous, the kind of thing you saw in travel brochures from a world's tourism industry. Dani simply looked out the window and stared in amazement. The lush untamed forest, the graceful snow-capped mountains, mixed with the lovely blue seas. "It's beautiful," she said in a hushed tone. "I've flown over hundreds of worlds and I've never seen anything like this."

"Isn't it truly perfect?" She half-whispered back as they descended, now, on the far side of the mountains. A few volcanoes could be seen piercing through the water, one of them gently smoking. Beyond that, closer in toward the end of the fjord, there was an inset bay coming closer to them, and rising above it, this awesome table mountain, a flat top easily a square kilometer, perhaps two, with the sides rearing close to straight up toward the top, it seemed, at an altitude of thousands of feet. Further beyond it was a Taloran city rivalling it in height, but extremely dense, so its physical space seemed like that only of a small town. And further to the south, then, between the two great mountain ranges--and the one ahead of them seemed in that area much thicker than the other, going on through a series of plateaus as far as the eye could see--was an utterly vast valley of immense and verdant mingling forests and grassland. They descended, and the rocky slopes with trees stubbornly clinging toward them of the immense basalt formation could be more clearly discerned.

"Just about," Dani admitted. There were few sights even on Earth that could compare with the natural beauty of Ytalla as she saw it.

Now they were arriving over the mountain itself, and Danielle could see for herself the beauty of Ytalla Island up close and personal, and the cleared area with verdant and neat gardens around the sprawling hunting lodge at the top of the mountain, with the rack-and-rail systems of the three different cog railway routes that led from the top downwards and their maintenance yard, the equipment oddly tilted as it was designed to operate almost all the time on the intensely steep grade. They proceeded to come to a stop over the landing pad, and then gently settled down to the ground. They had arrived. "I think we'll take the railway down to the villa in the cove," Jhayka explained as she was starting to get up. "Drishalras will be here in.. Less than two weeks, seven days, even, and it's a nice and comfortable place for meeting her when she gets back."

Dani was admittedly nervous about Drish's arrival, and knew Jhayka read her well enough to know she was nervous, though she was certain Jhayka would consider it to be nervousness about reception and not anxiety about whether Drish would go along with the Archduchess' plan. "And this is where you spent your honeymoon with Drish? It's.... it's absolutely gorgeous."

"Yes. Her family gave it to the two of us as a wedding gift, to be held until both of us die and then revert to the head of the House of Retgariu," Jhayka explained as she stepped toward the now-open door of the flyer and out, offering her her left hand to Danielle as she did.

Dani hesitated for a moment. "And.... and... you're bringing me here? I... Jhayka..." She didn't think it was right. She didn't want to insult Jhayka, and so she did finally take her hand, but this didn't feel right at all. "This is for you and Drish. It's from her family. I... I don't feel like I should be here."

Jhayka shook her hand loose, and abruptly strode toward the edge of the landing pad, calling, hoarsely, "come!" It would be difficult to tell, even for Dani who knew her so well, if the words had angered her--or driven her to the verge of sobbing, an expression so rigorously drilled out of Taloran nobles that she'd only done it under the influence of drugs

Apprehensively, Dani stepped forward and began to follow Jhayka, noticing how she'd been emotionally effected. Deep down she wondered if perhaps this might yet turn to disaster, and she was becoming terrified that everyone would assume that they'd had an affair while here, which would fairly ruin Dani's hopes for Leluno's proposal.

"I told her I'd bring you here. She gave me permission. She gave me permission to let you use this place for your honeymoon, even. I'm not sure why I brought you here now. Perhaps because I feel guilty that I made love to another woman here--even though I realy don't. Or perhaps I do. But we won't go down to the water, then. The cove is to sacred, to intimate, between Drishalras and me, for me to accompany you down there. We'll stay up here and hunt. And when she comes and asks where I am, and they say I'm up here, instead of in the villa down there, she'll know for certain I've been faithful to her. But she knows, too, that I'll love you forever. That you'll always be foremost to me. This place is for us as much as it is for Drishalras and I. Please don't go." She trailed off, staring dully out toward the waters of the fjord far below.

Dani could only nod and follow, her heart not up to further protest. She loved Jhayka too much to leave her, and at the same time she could only imagine poor Drishalras, still stuck light-years away, dealing with the terrible thought of her love being betrayed. She wanted to do right by that woman, that nice girl who had provided some balm to Jhayka's wounded heart while Dani had been asleep, half her brain being cut out to make room for the positronic parts that made it possible for her to live.

"Come on." She turned, and, from the expression, from the cant of the ears, it was clear that she wasn't really into it all herself. She was just here because she didn't know where else to go, and she didn't know what to do when Drishalras returned. "Let's go inside."

With a slight nod, Dani followed her.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

West Ytallan Space Elevator,
Rasilani Kingdom Territory,
in Orbit of Talora Prime.
3 February 2165 AST.
4 Valera I.Y. 618.


The High Orbitals of Talora Prime were utterly crammed. There were nine lagrange points from the intersection of the gravity of Talora Prime's two moons in a complex series of triangles. Each lagrange point held several sides of 80 bunches, or ballistically coupled pairs, of massive vivarium type space habitats. Each habitat was a fully self-sustained home for 25 million people; each bunch had 50 million people, and the population of one side orbiting around a lagrange point was therefore 4 billions. Two sides, however, orbited each lagrange point, one balanced on each side opposing each other. That meant there were 8 billion inhabitants of each point, and 72 billion people living in artificial habitats over Talora Prime--only eight billion less than the surface population of the planet. Another two billion lived in a few more expensive colonies only in geostationary orbit and in all of the dockyards and space stations, a few smaller colonies, and the massive space elevator cargo transfer installations.

There were 15 space elevators connecting the surface of Talora Prime into orbit, built out of carbon nanotube technology. Each one had 16 modular cargo-passenger pods, eight coupled pairs, eight ascending and eight descending at any time. Each one had a capacity of 250,000 people in its massive skyscraper like conglomeration of habitation departments atop, and then a long central spine with attachment points for 20 million tonnes of containized raw goods. These, then, were the fruits of 1,600 years of solar system development from the moment the first Taloran rocket had blasted into orbit at a time when Charlemagne was the Emperor of the Franks.

The elevators took rather more than a Taloran day to reach orbit from the surface, or to reach the surface from orbit. All in all, 30 million people could reach orbit or descend from it by elevator every other day, and 2,400 million tonnes of cargo could also travel in each direction in the same timespan, when elevator maintenance downtime and unloading/loading times were also factored in. That meant that each day, each elevator handled 160 million tonnes of cargo--40% of the cargo handled by the 21st century Earth port of Singapore in a year. This meant however that the total amount of space-to-surface and surface-to-space cargo of Talora Prime per day was not greater than the US water-borne foreign trade of a typical year of the early 21st century, which was a bare fraction of the world trade shipped, and overall meant that, in fact, commerce between the surface and space accounted for only about 50% of the shipping on Talora Prime; the other half was still entirely internal to the planet.

On this particular space elevator, the closest to Jinimani Bay, a fat Taloran woman--which meant she was about a healthy average for a human except with small breasts--was, wearing a rather decrepit-seeming regular duty naval officer's uniform--standing around waiting for her fried Urul-paste pocket, the staple of fast Taloran food, which involved coating what was more or less a shishkabob in thick gobs of Urul-paste (very similiar in nature and consistency to breadfruit, and one of the main staples of the Taloran diet) and then tossing it in a deep frier. Usually eating with a pasty sort of sauce reminiscent of hummus, it was very much working class fare.

But Jhastimia Rulandh Valeria knew Drishalras Semitat Retgariu, the Princess of the Coasts, far, far to well to be surprised by the delighted look on her face as she grabbed the kabob pocket and tossed the stand-keeper a very, very hefty tip. The red haired and yellow-eyed young woman would have been in serious trouble for the sin of gluttony if her sheer quantities of consumption were not balanced out by being ridiculously cheap junk-food about 95% of the time.

"So, I take it the luxury lounge..."

"Is to luxurious for me. What do you want, err, ...Kavrila?"

"Only..." The empress can call me that! But she didn't it out loud, because she didn't want the crowd of people knowing who she was. "Would you come with me?"

"Of course," Drishalras answered, picking up her canned chilled voli and holding the pocket in its wrapper as she followed the Archduchess of Leluno into the luxury waiting room for surface flights and over to a private day-suite she'd rented. "So what do you want, precisely? I was just going to take the elevator down, Your Serene Grace."

..Sometimes your bohemianism is downright annoying... "First of all, that name is a private nickname and I'd rather not use it though I imagine your father uses it all the time anyway. As for the other affair at hand, there's something urgent we need to discuss."

Drishalras found a place to eat and sat down. "Go right ahead with it, of course, Your Serene Grace."

"You're aware of Danielle Verdes, the First Duchess of Henley, obviously. Well, let's put it bluntly. If you want to save your marriage to your wife and avoid thrusting her into a rather unpleasant scandal which will turn your father into her enemy, and probably ruin your life as much as her's--you're going to need to let Jhayka take her as her second wife."

"Second wife!?. I don't think I've ever heard of a lesbian noblewoman having two wives, except, well, the Empress Mikela. The first Empress." The founder of the Taloran Empire was also considered to be its worst ruler by much of the nobility, precisely because nobody before or since had ever approached her sheer concentration of autocratic, absolutist power, save by her daughter Mikela II--the first parthenogenic child ever born, conceived by the sheer applied financial power of the Imperial demense to be devoted to Mikela I's obsession with a heir of her own body and the concentration of all Imperial genetic science toward that goal--who also was the one who sanctioned, against the authority of the church, the genetic engineering programme which produced the Imperial Guard, and only won her place in the Army of Justice, it is said, by the sheer ferocity and terrible power with which she suppressed the communitarian revolt in Dalamar, though for which she also profitably turned that former great power into an Imperial Province, further strengthening the character of the Imperial Confederacy that her mother had formed by sheer willpower and atomic blackmail.

One of Jhayka's ancestors, the Princess Sipajhai (the Baroness of that name was a distant descendent), had, granted, been instrumental in the process by providing so much funding and support and serving so ably as a diplomat to both Mikelas that her Principality, once part of Grenya Colenta, had instead of being centralized into its administration, been freed again as a direct Imperial fief, guaranteeing for Drishalras' present wife a seat on the Convocate. Their reigns had been long, and they might have turned the Empire into an authoritarian autocracy if it had not been for the long series of weak, ineffectual, and short-lived Empresses who had followed weakly in the footsteps of their titanic and awesome legacies.

It was also not a good precedent for the form of relationship one was going to have, and it was also precisely the precedent that everyone was going to think of--particularly because of the Princess Sipajhai's role in the formation of the Imperial Confederacy--and one inclined to plenty of talking. But for the moment, Drishalras forced herself to push that down. It was plenty common enough in more primitive areas like among the nobility of Ghastan island for a man to take multiple wives, and women to take multiple husbands was scarcely unheard of in the nobility as well. It was not immoral, under the proper religious bounds. It was just strange, and had a bit of a bad taste to the collective memory of the nobility because of who it was mainly associated with.

"You're right," the Archduchess Leluno finally spoke into the silence. "But that hardly makes it wrong. And the Empire wouldn't exist without the Empress Mikela. Though I suppose that the nobility harbours rather different perceptions on that."

"Well, Rasilan joined the Empire as protection against the communitarian armies occupying the Coasts of which I hold title, and threatening us at sea with their fleet. Without the strength and decisiveness of Mikela II, our whole society might have been overturned. So the Retgariu have been kinder to her memory than most, Archduchess. I'm surprised as a Lelolan you approve, though."

"I am a firm supporter of the Imperial system, unlike the current crop of ambition-drunk Archduchesses in the Midelan line," Jhastimia replied curtly. Nothing open was ever said, but from time to time it was clear that one or another of the members of the lesser families fancied... Alterations in the Imperial system. Especially those Archduchesses without direct title who didn't owe an oath of fealty to the Empress to constrain their thoughts. Nothing was ever done, of course; the preponderence of power was by far on the side of the forces under the direct control of the Empress.

"At any rate, Drishalras, I do think that's not really a relevant consideration. We need to keep Jhayka out of trouble, and the only way that's going to happen is if she marries Danielle as well."

"You're probably right. They'll ultimately have an affair otherwise, I fear," Drishalras sighed. "I like Danielle from all that I know of her. And I love Jhayka deeply. I swore an oath to keep her happy, and it seems that the only way to do so is what you propose. But it is still a hard decision to make. I don't want to make it lightly."

"No, I suppose you don't. But it will at least allow things to be regularized. And I hardly expect that Jhayka lacks so much in affection for you that you'd be pushed aside, my dear girl."

"You're right. She does love me. Just not as much."

"Then you know what the right thing to do is."

"For your old friend," Drishalras answered, ears showing her consternation and perhaps a bit of annoyance. "You don't want Jhayka getting in trouble because you're fond of her from your academy days, Your Serene Grace."

"..Yes, that's true, but you love you, say.. So you hardly want her to either, do you?"

"No. That's the last thing in the world I want..." She bent her head down, and spoke softly. "Your Serene Grace, with all due respect, I can't make up my mind now. Give me the night riding down to the surface on the elevator as I'd planned. I need to sleep on this, at least. I'll tell them my decision, myself, in person, when I've made it. I understand they're both at our lodge on Jinimani Bay, so, easily enough done. Is that fair enough?"

"Of course, Drishalras. But there is another matter I'd like you to inform Jhayka of."

"Yes?"

"She's been selected as the emissary to the Alliance for the special negotiations over the passport and trades issue--a full embassy, nearly 300 associated diplomatic functionaries, with an open-ended assignment--by the Empress. If this marriage goes through, to keep the capitol from tittering to much, I suggested that Her Serene Majesty go ahead and assign the rest of you all positions to get you away from the capitol and the heat of the gossip which will, admittedly, result from this imitation of the virtues of Mikela I." A rather wry look. "So, let Jhayka know that she should be prepared for an Imperial Summons in a few days time, and communication acceptance to me if you agree to the marriage, so the credentials can be arranged appropriately to get you all comfortably out of her."

"Well, err, of course. And I thank Her Serene Majesty for her confidence in our abilities. I'll do so immediately when I've made up my mind and spoken with them."

"Oh, the Olothdhakiu and Retgariu are more than capable of this sort of thing, my dear girl. Though I hear, strangely, that the Alliance actually has professional diplomats. Strange of them."

Drishalras sniffed a bit. "Yes, that is rather weird, but what can be said for human democrats? And, anyway, I, respectfully, have much bigger things to be thinking of right now, and I'd like to be alone."

"Of course, Drishalras," the Archduchess Leluno answered, rising and quietly leaving the room with no particular concerns--she just rented another one down the hall for herself to await her return shuttle flight to the surface.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Jinimani Bay, Ytalla Island,
World Ocean of Talora Prime.
4 February 2165 AST.
5 Valera I.Y. 618.


It had been a very awkward eight days. They had spent most of their time touring and precious little of it in the hunting lodges on the top of the great table mountain itself. At the moment, Jhayka and Danielle were taking the morning meal rather happily together, and some of the awkwardness of the setting was gone. They were inside a broad room opened to the light with plenty of outside air coming in, and a line of windows between pillars. It was the very height of summer on Talora Prime and at its hottest near the equator. For a human used to the extremely hot, dry summers of the American Midwest, it would be a mild temperature, and considerable humidity in the lowlands, but that was much reduced even at the low altitude of the top of table mountain. The morning was a pleasant one, and the food was superb as always. The subject of the breakfast conversation, aided by hot voli--coffee for Danielle, who could not get used to the taste of that particular Taloran beverage--had agreeably fallen away from their mutual tension.

"They say that someone will be announced for the post of the special emissary to the Alliance within six days, most likely," Jhayka was speculating idly. "I suspect it will be the Duchess of Medina, that old puritan. She's been living on Earth ever since she dealt with the Muslim revolt and she's commonly considered 'the' expert on humans in the Empire. The problem being that she is the expert on how to defeat humans in battle, which concerns me somewhat about her likely selection. On the other hand her diplomatic work in our late adventure at Gilead was fairly decent. Do you think they'll select Frayuia, Dani?"

"Well, she did work closely with our representatives in the Gilead negotiations," Dani pointed out. "I heard that she got on agreeably with Admiral MacCallister and with Field Marshal von Neumann when he arrived to take command of our ground troops. And I'm not sure who else will do. I'm not too familiar with the nobility of the Empire, and of them all the only other 'human experts' I can think of are Countess Kilangras and you."

"I'm probably under consideration," Jhayka replied after a moment, almost like a confession. "However I don't think my personal life makes me a highly acceptable representative of the Empire. On the other hand, the Convocate's connections with and support of me would probably recommend I be sent if a compromise with them was to be secured by the Sword." She looked down into her plate. "I had honestly been trying to avoid thinking of the prospect, with so much else going on. I cannot refuse an Imperial appointment lightly."

Dani began giggling at the thought, and only when Jhayka ceased talking did she burst out laughing at the thought. Though no politician herself, Dani was aware that Jhayka would make quite a deal of waves if appointed...

"What's so funny?" Jhayka managed to ask in a way which seemed extremely innocent, clearly realizing that there was a joke happening of which she was not aware... Directed her.

"Oh Jhayka.... I'm sorry, I just... I need a minute," Dani had to compose herself. "Do you realize what would happen if an avowed, unapologetic lesbian gets mixed up in Washington politics? Oh God, the fundies are going to freak.... And I can only imagine what the college moonbats have been saying about our war with the Normans, who knows how many of them would harrass you..."

"I'm surprised your society isn't more broadly tolerant by this point," Jhayka replied regretfully. "But I don't think it will be much of a matter. I'm just an alien, after all, as far as they're concerned. And I don't see how it's more of an offence then, oh, that story about Frayuia which goes that she and her husband conceived their older daughter in the prayer-nave of the old Grand Mosque of Medina." The last part was decidedly sly.

Dani shook her head, giggling. "Oh dear.... Jhayka, if that story starts circulating, it'll cause hell among the Muslim populations in the Alliance or in some of our allies, as well as all of the left-wing religious tolerance groups. I'm half-surprised it didn't come out during the Gilead negotiations."

"I mean, most people aren't going to care, as long as you don't go around liplocking Drishalras at a press conference. It's just that the people who do care tend to be very loud about it, out of all proportion to their actual numbers. I mean, these are the same people who demand that the military should go back to banning homosexuals, which hasn't been done in my universe since the Third World War and the Galvaeriz Administration."

"Ah, is that..." And abruptly Jhayka stopped talking. Her facial expression became utterly dead, and her ears swiveled off to the right attentively. At the same time, very, very faintly, on the edge of human hearing, Danielle might hear a stringed instrument playing, being gently plucked, in a soft and deeply sound. And for Jhayka, it was very, very significant.

Dani heard the music, faintly, as it grew stronger. She looked to Jhayka, about to ask.... and then she knew. That look on Jhayka's face, her ears.... Drish was home. And so now weeks of anxiety and worry were about to come clear. Leluno and Illavna were both convinced Drish would say yes.... but Dani couldn't help but fear she'd say no. And she was terrified of what was to come, even if it promised relief.

"She's out on the veranda. Let's go." Jhayka pushed her chair back and stood up as though she might as well have been responding to the sound of artillery, and started for one of the latticework doors. As Jhayka stepped out onto the Veranda and Danielle followed quietly behind, the music abruptly stopped in an unpleasant snap. One of Drishalras' fingers hovered over a broken string, and she bit her lip in shy embarrassment as she looked to Jhayka for a very long and tense moment, pregnant with anticipation. "Hello, my wife. I've been waiting to see you for a long time."

They silently looked across, Drishalras, proving to be as hale as Danielle was by human standards--albeit with smaller breasts--which meant she was a fat Taloran by any standard of their species, long red hair neatly done up with a few sticks and much of it hanging crazily further back, yellow eyes intent, cradling the instrument with the snapped string against her. "You... Well, I've missed you, love, and you look better than you did when I left."

"I missed you to. I really did, Drishalras I really did, and..." She trailed off, glancing back to Danielle, and then turning and sighing. "An unexpected miracle happened."

"It did," Drishalras agreed after a moment, and looked intently to Danielle. "Tell me, Danielle Verdes, First Duchess of Henley--has my wife been faithful to me?"

"Yes," Dani said, trying not to sound too urgent, and thus unbelievable. "Jhayka has remained completely faithful to you. I would never allow otherwise." Looking sheepishly at Drish, Dani looked back to Jhayka. "I... I can leave now if you want. Drish has been away so long, you should be together now that she's back."

"No, actually, it's Jhayka who is leaving and going back to the master bedroom right now," Drishalras answered with sort of a wry bit of amusement. "We, Danielle Verdes, have some things to talk about." She offered a slight smile, ears reassuring, to Jhayka. "We'll be along shortly, hmm?"

"You aren't going to challenge her, are you!?" Jhayka responded in rather mortified horror.

"No! God No!" Drishalras looked almost as confused as Jhayka was afraid. "Why, you silly woman, my love.... Go. We'll be along shortly. I'm not going to challenge the foremost love of your life to a duel..." It was a lovelorn expression, that, but Jhayka, flushing and sheepishly embarrassed, retreated without daring another word and went back inside, and beyond.

"It's... nice to meet you finally, Drish." Dani stepped toward her. "I want to thank you for all you've done for Jhayka while I was.... sleeping."

Drishalras got up, cradling her instrument as she walked over toward Danielle, and stopped quite close to her. "Uh, can we go inside and, talk about this while I still my wife's breakfast? And possibly also your's. Before it gets cold. And yes, I was eavesdropping, a bit. I wanted to choose my words very carefully, and I still do, so I'm just going to hold off for a few more minutes if you can bear it, and eat a bit to settle my stomach so I can say what I need to say."

Dani nodded silently at that, not wanting to rush Drish despite the agonizing wait she'd suffered. "That's fine. I don't know if Jhayka's going to be up for finishing it anyway."

"Oh, I know it's fine. She can always get more." Drishalras laughed softly as she walked back inside, gently setting the instrument down on a chair and wryly commenting, "I'll replace the string in a bit myself, I suppose," before going to the table, grabbing Danielle's dish, walking over to Jhayka's side of the table, and sitting down with both in front of them in front of her. "Sit down if you like, Danielle Verdes," she said, and began to eat, giving Danielle a chance to sit and compose herself before she launched into the rambling thoughts which had consumed her since her meeting with the Archduchess Leluno the day before.

Somewhat surprised at how ravenous Drish's appetite appeared, Dani swallowed and waited calmly for Drish to appease her hunger. Oh God please, please let her be okay with it, please please... It was torture waiting for the chance to speak to Drish, but Dani forced herself to calm down and endure it.

"Soo.... The Archduchess Leluno, who gave me my first happy relationship in my entire life, more or less, has now decided in her infinite wisdom to propose the use of a rare case in canon law to let the woman I love, I will love, whom I could not imagine living without.... Take you as her second wife." She sighed. "Well, I'm a religious girl, even if I eat to much, it's usually cheap. Or leftovers. And I think that I should take my oaths seriously. I swore one to do my best to make Jhayka happy for the whole course of her life." She looked up abruptly, the yellow eyes being very intense. "And Jhayka will never be happy unless I let her marry you. To me, it's as simple as that. My very marriage oath demands that I let the two of you marry also. And, really, Danielle. From all that I know of you, from all you've done for Jhayka... I can see us raising her family together. Half of her is still enough for all the happiness in the world for me, and you, well, as I said. Without you, she'll always be a shadow, never regain the potential I've seen within her, that I dearly want to free. So I'll assent to the marriage under two stipulations."

At that point Dani was so happy she could barely restrain herself from leaping out of the chair and hugging Drish. Even the "stipulations" part didn't phase her; she could have asked for the most demeaning thing and Dani would have happily obliged, the way she was thinking at that moment. Barely containing her excitement, and certainly showing her gratitude and happiness in her expression and voice, Dani asked, "What stipulations?"

"Uhm, this is sort of superfluous for a Farzian in one case--I'm just doing it to be sure--but if you have any children or adopt them--I know humans are biologically incompatible with us--they'd form a cadet branch only, along with a suitable title to be created in the Principality. And no more than two of them in any case, and they must be conceived according to Church law--that's the first stipulation. Second stipulation.. We divide our time between her reasonably equitably." And at this, Drishalras had a very wry grin: "You get three nights a week, and I get two, but mine includes the rest-day. And I get the three festive days at the end of each month, too."

Dani didn't see the point in negotiating, and was to excited to even think of being offended at the questioning of her potential religious sincerity implicit in the questions. "I agree," she said with a tone of finality.

Drishalras smiled broadly. "Good. I, well..." She stood up herself, then, and gestured down the hall. "It's time to bring the love of our lives out of the dark... And even breakfast can wait for that."

Full of joy, Dani nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, let's!"

Drishalras led the way, being very familiar with the lodge, since she had been here many times as a child. Her bright green dress with vertical red slashes was only what one could expect from a Taloran by this point, and maybe even a little modest by their standards, and she walked with a very light step, commenting, "I am happy now. I hope we can get to know each other and find some way for all of us to remain quite happy with the arrangements to be made. There's a specific word among us, korana, to designate the relationship between the two spouses married to the head of a house. I had never thought I'd use it in relation to myself--but even now I'll be happier with Jhayka than anyone else. And if I thought you were anything other than a splendid person I would have never agreed to this."

"I'm just happy we managed to sort it all out," Dani admitted, following Drish. "I've been in your place before, as I told you earlier. And I wanted to avoid doing that to someone else."

"You succeeded," Drishalras answered, glancing back and smiling, before they at least reached the grand central suite and she pushed the door open. "Jhayka?"

Inside, Jhayka was pacing back and forth on the floor, and whirled to face the door at the interruption, her face brightening enough to show a sad and very slight smile. Her ears expressed her quizzicalness at seeing the two of them together there. "What have you been talking about, my wife?"

Drishalras stepped inside, motioning for Danielle to follow. "The Archduchess Leluno suggested it to me--she visited me yesterday evening when I was at the elevator after the Slashahkimmar got in to the orbital dockyards--and proposed.... That you take Danielle as your second wife. She asked me to agree. And I slept on it, and I decided it was the only moral thing to do in these circumstances."

There was a moment of silence as Jhayka looked at Drishalras, almost disbelieving, and then murmured softly. "So silly of me not to think of that. By the Lord Farzbardor...." She looked over to Danielle. "You... Do you truly desire this?"

Happy beyond words, Dani nodded. Tears came from her emerald-colored eyes as she replied, "I do, with all my heart."

Drishalras significantly stepped aside, and left Jhayka to rush over in a few long steps to Danielle and engulf her in a tight, a desperately tight hug. "It has been a road harder than either of us could imagine, but, my love. We survived. Somehow. Somehow. And so... Here we are." She kissed Danielle's cheek delicately, holding her so very close.

Dani brought her arms up, clasping Jhayka around her back as strong as she dared, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "I know, love, I know... But as long we're together, it's all been worth it."

After they exchanged kisses, Jhayka couldn't resist at last giving in to the mutual impulse that they had shared for so long. Her green lips pressed in against Danielle's pink, passionate and desperate. It had been almost two human years since the last time their lips had met, more than half of a long Taloran year, and the impulse was unavoidable. Drishalras, for her part, politely held her tongue, even though her role as a messenger was not quite done.

The vinegar taste of Jhayka's tongue brought a host of sweet memories back for Dani, and she returned the kiss in a hungry, passionate way that she had never felt before. Her heart swelled with joy at the restoration of everything she had dreamed about in those dark, desperate days in Kalunda.

They linked in the kiss for what seemed like an eternity with their tongues meeting, and it might as well have been an eternity for all of the draught that was previously endured, now happily ended. Jhayka had found her peace at last. In a sense, between Drishalras and Danielle she had everything, love and duty satisfied at once. The motherline and the family names would continue in blood as well as spirit, and a new one founded besides; a human branch which would spread the clan wider than any might dream. There was nothing that would hold her apart from her love for eternity, either; it was, finally, the perfect moment, and desperate enjoyment lasted for quite some time before the kiss drifted away again into the comfort of their mutual embrace.

"Oh thank you God, sweet merciful God," Dani wept in a low, happy tone, tears streaming down her face. She had finally found the one thing that had eluded her all of these years; a lover, a companion, she could count on to love and cherish her without the need for physical satisfaction. Someone who's heart merged so fully with her's, who could understand and tolerate her when she needed it and criticize fairly when that too was needed. In short, a soulmate, which had always eluded Dani in her forty-four years.

"I hate to interrupt," Drishalras said quietly from the side. "But there's a final matter that you should both know about, as it will affect the plans for a wedding and what to do after it and so on. The Archduchess Leluno informed me of it... It's more of a favour, really, since the gossip circles in the capital will spend several months devouring and chatting over this one and there's no need for the three of us to endure that sort of heat."

Jhayka broke herself away from Danielle for a moment, still holding her, that is, but just enough to turn to the side. She suspected she knew... "Jhastimia wants us away from the capitol, hmm?"

"Yes. The Empress already had decided to appoint you as the head of the mission to the Alliance. This just seals the deal. We'll be leaving in a little more than four weeks, most likely," Drishalras elaborated. "I think she intends to draw most of the negotiating party out of Imperial humans, too--Leluno mentioned something about Her Serene Majesty wanting to let 'humans who know humans' deal with this, to quote her. But all three of us are definitely going, and you're in charge, Jhayka."

"Wait, we're going where?" Dani asked, curious given the change in conversation.

"The Empress has decided to make Jhayka the special emissary to the Alliance of Democratic Nations to negotiate comprehensive treaty arrangements, including, I was given to understand--confidentially--accession to the New Brasilia Treaty. So, to let the chitter-chattering in the capitol quiet down for the lack of the objects of their gossip being present, we are all going along with her as part of the negotiating team."

Dani's eyes widened a little. "We're all being sent to negotiate a treaty with the Alliance? The three of us?"

"No, there will be a lot more people," Drishalras answered... "It's a traditional embassy in the sense of a large group of people sent for specific negotiations, so the overall number of negotiations and staff will probably be more than two hundred.... It's actually a very nice assignment. I'm just hoping they'll let me take the Slashahkimmar as I don't want to lose command of her for it."

"But we'll be in charge, yes? The Empress is sending a lesbian woman with two wives to negotiate a super-important diplomatic treaty?" Dani expected the answer as yes, and that the two Talorans wouldn't undertstand what she was getting at, which made the situation all the more humorous.

Drishalras and Jhayka exchanged looks, and it was Drishalras who put words to their mutual incomprehension: "Well, what's odd about that, exactly....?

[Steve]

Rawlings Station, Antares
United Federation of Planets
Universe Designate ST-3
7 February 2165 AST
8 Valera I.Y. 618


Peter Lundsen was dressed in a simple black and blue jumpsuit, looking like an average citizen of the Federation working his way through the office section of Rawlings Station, right by the strategic shipyards where the Defiant-class vessels were being churned out for Starfleet.
His simple posture and dress underlied a different purpose, and it was that purpose that led him to the office suite held by Antares Transport Ltd, a partially state-owned organization in the Federation. The cute Centauran secretary waved him through and he found himself slipping through a side office door into a conference room. The door slid shut behind him. Quietly, fields popped up to prevent any electronic signals from leaving the room.

There was only one other figure in the room. Lundsen nodded at the sight of Director Sloane, who motioned toward a chair. He settled into it and asked, "Did you see my report about the Lelork situation?"
"Yes, exemplary work. The MEs ruled it death by respiratory failure. The toxin worked perfectly," Sloane answered. "It's not often we have to kill our citizens, and I hate it when it's necessary, but it was necessary this time, Lundsen. Lelork was about to ally the Sul'grak Consortium with the Republic of Stanleyville, and given the stirrings in the colonies lately, it could have led to an open attempt at secession. I just hope we don't have to do the same to President Tyler in Pacifica, that he'll back down soon. This recent Nullification deal has people worried..."
Lundsen nodded. Usually these details were only shared on the Section ops that were more prone to make people antsy. "What's next, Director?"
"Some traveling." Sloane reached into a drawer along the wall and removed a PADD. He gave it to Lundsen. "You're going to the Alliance capitol. There you will be given access to some long-term operations accounts we've established for just such an occasion, and use this funding to finance any group seeking to disrupt or protest the upcoming treaty talks between the Alliance and the Taloran Empire. The goal is to cause the Talorans to break off the talks, which you are authorized to do by any means necessary within the operational limit. It's the conclusion of the Section that this will permanently cripple the pro-Alliance elements of the Taloran government and ensure that they can be cultivated by the Federation as a counterweight, to prevent Alliance support for colony secessions and to generally provide a distraction to keep the Alliance from interfering in the Alpha Quadrant contrary to Federation interests."

Lundsen took in the briefing. "What limit do I have?"
"No kills, and violence only by the groups you'll be provoking," Sloane answered. "We don't want to provoke a war, we just want to keep the Alliance and Talorans from reaching an accomodation."
At that, Lundsen nodded. "Fine. When do I leave?"
"Next week. A liner from Kraxon. Don't miss it." Sloane motioned to the door. "You are dismissed."

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Jinimani Bay, Ytalla Island,
World Ocean of Talora Prime.
9 February 2165 AST.
10 Valera I.Y. 618.


The kiss of her lips, the touch of her hands 'gainst my flesh.... Jhayka's sleep was exceptionally peaceful, down in the bungalow she had once extracted a promise from Drishalras to allow Danielle's honeymoon in. And so it was; but it was her honeymon with Jhayka, however abbreviated political expedience would make it, however imperfect that was, the experience itself was utterly perfect. How could there be something more perfect, indeed, than what she now enjoyed? Their love-making had not stopped until long in the night, from the verandas of the bungalow which dipped down into the water, and let them slide effortlessly into the deep ocean lagoon, so pleasant in the height of summer right along the equator, not to hot nor cold. The verdant hot showers in the evening, which had driven them in so that they made love again and again. The pain of the artificial joints seemed to vanish, and she was just as skilled as she'd once been. The awkward limp with a cane was irrelevant here, and the water-bed a delightful indulgence. Their exploration of each other was as new lovers again, reborn after the desperate hell when they'd flung each other together for mutual comfort in the hull of a gunboat in the waters of the Kalunda river. Their passion alternated from intense to languid and they both brought each other to their peaks several times, everything forgotten but their romantic concourse.

They had made love until utterly exhausted and then slipped together into the depths of sleep as had been no more perfect a moment than could be imagined. Jhayka's last happy thoughts before the blissful rest of the peace of her wife's arms was the knowledge they would spend decades and decades together, and more; and in heaven, they would stand together for good as she could not have dreamed of, not hid their relationship in some shame from the more moral of Valera's hosts. She could show her love with pride to the Sword, and all would be right for all time. The scars of the body drifted into insignificance as Danielle's presence melted away the scars of the soul. Jhayka had everything now, that she had desired, and could desire, but most of all, they were together, together, always together.

Her dreams that night played back for her the beauty of the moment, Ilavna herself giddy with happiness in her robes, released now as a Priestess, a full medical doctor, as a psychic of the highest order all; only her xenobiology specialization remained to be completed, and that could wait so that she could accompany them, as she had readily agreed to when Jhayka had asked just before the wedding. They had read out the contracts and signed them and Ilavna had blessed and sanctified the contracts and Drishalras had solemnly and under church oath attested to her acceptance and approval of the match--and then they had exchanged swords--the simple sabre of Danielle's commissioning being given over for a golden gilt and jade-pommeled fine old rostok cavalry sword--and they had embraced and held out their left wrists together for the delicate and sometimes painful process--which Ilavna had accomplished without inflicting any such burns on either of them--of fitting iron bands around the left wrist and then with hammer and weld bonding them together for all time right close to the flesh. A final blessing prayer had been offered, the record of the marriage and its terms and conditions and the position of Danielle as Jhayka's second wife, along with a copy of her title of nobility from Gilead to prove she was of suitable emanation, were dutifully recorded by Ilavna in the church records, and then she was able to officially proclaim them married to each other.

The reception afterwards had been a riot of the young girls of the hunting lodge's copious staff dancing eagerly and wildly in celebration, Drishalras innocently eating half the hors d'oeuvres, and the two of them more than a little love-struck and happy in the middle of it all, laughing and watching while Ilavna, who had somehow maintained some of the innocence of youth, danced with the other girls, and Jhayka had held Danielle against her with the surety of old, before, at last, with the drinking and partying continuing long after they'd left, the two quietly slipped out and rode down on one of the cog-railroad cars down to the beautiful and sprawling wood bungalow before the pristine cove, with the double-suns casting a white-green hazy glow over the scene as they descended toward the horizon and threw out still-bright rays of light through the cracks between the great mountains rising up all around. And with that glow around them, they had dived into the cove, and swum in it, until, arising from the water, they had made love until she drifted to this sleep, which lasted until the beginning of the afternoon, and was the most peaceful and perfect she had yet known.

The entire ceremony had been like a dream to Dani. A pleasant, sweet dream, something once apparently unattainable suddenly and irrevocably her's. She smiled the entire time, radiant in a Taloran-designed wedding gown, not wanting to let go of Jhayka's hand at all. She had said every line, every word, softly and gracefully, wanting nothing to mar the moment.

Then came the reception afterward, small from the lack of attendees, and Jhayka slipping her away to swim in the lagoon, from which they came to the bungalow where they had made love to each other while it seemed the world stayed still, until finally fatigue led them to fall asleep upon the bed, wrapped up with only the sheet to cover them.

It was Jhayka's stirrings that made Dani awake, and she stretched an arm out, seeking to take Jhayka and kiss her as soon as she could get her lips to Jhayka's mouth.

"Mmmnnff..." Jhayka rolled up more closely to Danielle, her green lips touching her wife's red and letting them linger as she woke up. Not seeing for the moment, as she had to consciously command her artificial eyes to be "on", and that took a bit as she woke back up herself, and she wasn't in a hurry, either, lingering in Danielle's embrace. It seemed almost better to be in the dark for a bit, to just listen to her heart and her breathing and the comfortable knowledge of their togetherness. She didn't want that moment to quickly end, either.

"Soo.... when did we have to leave again?" Dani asked after finally ending the kiss, her hands moving to her wife's body so she could feel

"I'm not sure when we'll receive a summons from the Empress," Jhayka answered after a moment, breathing slowly, and slowly activating her eyes so she could again peer at Danielle. "We'll have a private quarters while traveling, though, and well appointed at that. I have an apartment in the capitol for when I'm attending sessions of the Convocate, and we should have plenty of private time, my love. My wife..." She squeezed Danielle closer to her, her long legs wrapping over the human woman's body as she smiled gently and kissed Danielle's forehead. "I hope you won't be to distressed by the fact that you're, well, basically going to be returning to your home as a foreigner, my love."

"Mmmmmm..." Dani kissed Jhayka on the neck, one hand moving up to gently touch one of her ears. "I think I can live with that." Breathing strongly, she brought her mouth up toward Jhayka's ear and licked the lower side of it before whispering, "Let's just spend the day making love, like you promised me that time..."

"Like I promised, and God's mercy helped me keep," Jhayka whispered softly, shivering at the touch of her lover's tongue against her ear, and savouring contentment at last.

[Steve]

Washington D.C., Earth
Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
13 February 2165
14 Valeria I.Y. 618


The list from Empress Saverana II was sitting on Dale's desk, newly arrived from the Foreign Ministry. None of his ministers were present, and as he was finishing the last paperwork of the night before retiring, he'd brought his family in. Julia Melanie Dale, neè Andros, was sitting in a casual blouse and skirt in one of the couches that furnished the Oval Office, their one and a half year old son Michael giggling happily in her lap as she tickled him and kissed him on the nose. "Susanna is going to be here in a couple of months," Dale said while signing a state paper.
"Oh, that's wonderful," Julia replied. She had enjoyed a solid, friendly relationship with Susanna over the years, and Susannah had easily accepted Julia as her step-mother, much to Dale's delight. "Has she made Captain yet?"
Dale chuckled at that. "No, no, still Commander. But she's getting a command soon, I've been told. On the down low, of course."
"Of course," was the reply; any promotion for the daughter of the President was prone to all sorts of accusations if not done carefully and with no room for claiming Dale had a role in it.

The last paper was soon signed, with an energetic flourish by Dale as he eagerly anticipated a dinner and night with his lovely sweetheart - Julia, his wife today, had been his first lover in their youth as well - and a chance to play with his son. In fact, Julia gave him the first, walking up and handing "Mike" to Dale as his hand went to the list. "Miss your Dad, kiddo?" he said to the gurgling baby.
"Daaaa!" Michael squealed in reply.
"Yes, Da." Dale saw Michael's hand curiously snatch a pen and he pulled it gently away as Michael tried to slip it into his mouth. "I think I'd pay to see the looks on the bureaucrats faces if these papers came back with baby slobber on them," he said to Julia as he pulled Michael away from the "out" stack just before he could clamber onto it. "No, Mike. When you grow up and become President, then you can put seals of approval on state documents. But not today." Settling his squirming son into his lap, Dale finally stole a look at the paper. His eyes widened a bit. "Well, we're getting a celebrity I see."
"Hmm? Who?" Julia asked.
"Empress Saverana is sending Princess Jhayka as her emissary," Dale answered. "I see she's recovered well enough from her wounds to travel again. And hopefully got over that drug addiction they said she had." Dale's eyes moved down the list. There were other nobles coming, including a member of the Valerian house, even some Human ones....

"Danielle Verdes? I recognize this name... where?" Dale squinted at it. "Wait, she's the one they romantically linked to Jhayka during the siege, who drowned in the river. Starfleet Medical helped develop the process they used to repair her brain damage."
"Wait, so the Taloran Empress is sending a lesbian and her human lover to be representatives for these talks?" Julia asked.
"Oh, more than that," Dale answered. "According to some followup reports we got from the Embassy in Valeria, the outcome of her trial included her being proposed to marry a princess of one of the higher ranking Taloran families."

"Wow. I'd hate to be her wife when I saw that list," Julia answered. She suddenly blurted out, "Oh, Mikey!"
Julia's sudden remark made Dale's head look down to where Mike's little fingers had taken the paper, the corner of it already in his mouth. "Ah!" He pulled the paper away, setting it on his desk and allowing a small pool of slobber to accumulate on the desk. "I guess you go back to Mommy," he signed, taking Mike with both hands and handing him back to Julia.
Fussing a little, Mike nevertheless quieted when in his mother's arms, allowing Dale to look over the list again.
HIs eyes went to the entry for Chief of Staff, and the name there was one he was already sadly familiar with due to remarks from the diplomats concerning Devenshire. "Oh, Christ," he muttered.
The entry on the list boldy declared: Chief of Staff -- H.G. Priscilla Laurentii, First Duchess of Eleutheria.

"The Talorans are sending Priscilla Laurentii with their negotiating team," Dale sighed.
"Wait, isn't she that war criminal? The daughter of..."
"Yes, the daughter of the old Grand Duke of Pranton, Johnathan Laurentii. The one who wiped out hundreds of revolting slaves to get her father to safety." Dale could already feel the night go sour. "Oh God, why. I know the Talorans can be pig-headed about noble privilege, but this.... this is going too far, they don't realize the storm they're going to unleash." Already he could see the headlines, the protests, the political firestorm and diplomatic threats, and all the danger it entailed for the negotiations.
His mind went back to the recent intelligence estimate sent to him from the analysts from the foreign-concerned ministries. About the Taloran government having no concept of public relations, how they don't even consider the public image of their actions. It occurred to him that this wasn't intentional at all; the Talorans simply didn't understand that sending that woman, even as a mere chief of staff and not an actual negotiator, was going to create a hurricane of controversy. Far more than the mildly offensive, to some, act of sending an avowed lesbian and one of her lovers as members of the negotiation team.
"People think that diplomatic talks are boring," Dale muttered to his wife. "Honey.... these negotiations are going to be anything but boring."

[Alan Bolte]

Ha ha, they totally missed a rather important detail. Oh, this is gonna be good.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

The Old Fort,
Valeria, Talora Prime.
15 February 2165 AST.
16 Valeria I.Y. 618.


The woman they had bowed to as they entered was shorter than Danielle. She was shorter than Drishalras, and Drishalras was short for a Taloran female. She wore an immensely archaic full plate cuirass and a light blue robe, a sash of emblazoned purple across the cuirass, which was born lightly, and a kilt or skirt of mingled yellow-green-cobalt-red stripes across it. Her boots were so high, with golden spurs, as to reach almost to the knees as the kilt hung down, with the strips of leather hanging over the kilt from a band about the waist in turn, and a shirt faintly visible under the cuirass which was dark crimson. At her side was buckled a sword, but not the Sword, which was kept in safe settings safe for very specific formal occasions. She carried, instead, the usual crock of her administration, more like an Egyptian Pharaoh. Her long seaweed green hair was done up in "The Imperial Style", a bun with a braid wrapped around the base, and then allowed to fall still downwards to the small of her back even with that much of it held 'gainst her head. Her orange-red eyes, set above pale green lips, did not move as she walked and turned gracefully to sit, flanked by two Imperial Guards in old-style ceremonial armour but with railguns, bayonets fixed, as their weapons. The throne she sat on was low, the back gilt with a emerald starburst and the rest covered in silver, save for a purple-fabric woolsack upon which to sit, and the whole chamber was of stone, though the tapestries were positively elderly and fine, and an elegantly displayed mosaic covered the floor.

Jhayka, Drishalras, Danielle, a dark-haired and tall human woman with a coldly hawk-nosed Germanic face and blue eyes, who was introduced with a Russian name, followed next, Xenia Alexandria of the House of Hohenzollern-Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov which held the Russian Empire in this universe; then Priscilla, then a short and redheaded Irishwoman with a plump and freckled face, the Duchess of Connaught, and then the rather uncomfortable Fayza as the Duchess of Uralstia; then a woman scarcely five-foot and young, with a prominent nose, sandy brown curling hair pulled back and dressed very modestly, whereas the others were largely in uniform; then two Talorans, one male and one female, both dressed in the robes of the Parlement of Valeria, the main law court of the Empire, identified as The Honourable Frisjhu Trimansha and The Honourable Rijhamia Ulikharst, the male with his hair free-flowing and a light blue, eyes violet; the woman was just as tall as Jhayka but was Dalamarian, with darker skin and blonde hair, her eyes green. They were all solemnly introduced with title by a herald in the background. Sundry recorders and attendants remained in the background or to the sides, and there was no members of the press visible or anyone else indeed.

This, then, was the first meeting of Danielle, Fayza, and Priscilla, with the most powerful woman in the multiverse, matched with two male counterparts of whom only one, the Emperor Leopold, arguably matched her authority and strength, and yet even he did not have dominion over so many lives as she did. She was wearing fingerless black gloves, and carefully stripped them off of her hands at this juncture as she settled into the no-doubt somewhat uncomfortable throne and began speaking with a somewhat lazier version of the typical Valerian accent. And so the Empress Saverana began to speak with them all standing in her presence. "Princess Jhayka, you have accepted an Imperial Rescript to assume command of a mission of very important consequences for this nation, with appointments as We have directed to insure that you have proper support and representation of the appropriate dignity. We would now discuss your specific instructions before your staff, and inform you of several other additions to the primary core of personnel which have been decided upon."

As Saverana's voice carried over them, both Dani and Fayza had to take in the tremendous pomp and splendor of the Taloran Empress and the formal audience's protocol. Both were finally dressed, far more richly than they were accustomed to, and took to looking at all the strange notables they'd never met before. This wasn't remotely like meeting the President would be like; though there was formal ceremony for a review from the President, it didn't hold a candle to this.

Dani had, admittedly, been give more exposure to this kind of spectacle, not only when she was made Duchess but when she had attended the House of Lords on Gilead. But Gilead was a young monarchy, in truth one imposed upon the planet by a majority of the intervening powers and the cautious acceptance of the Alliance. The In'ghara monarchy was millennia old, time having reinforced its many traditions and protocols.

"You are the principle negotiator in all areas, Jhayka of the Lesser Intuit. Let it suffice to say that We are you entrusting you with a series of treaties. Our accessions to these treaties for Us to sign will be drawn up with your authority, and you will bear the final decision on inclusion. The most important of these by far is the potential to accede to the New Brasilia Treaty on Interuniversal Drives, which the Empire must obtain for its security. Without them the Empire will ultimately remain vulnerable to outside forces indefinitely, of the highest order of threat to Our nation, which cannot be countered. With them, Our appropriate place in the universe will be maintained. In this treaty, however, you will be instructed in a certain number of reservations, primarily demanding that the full treaty provisions only come into force when production lines for all Interuniversal Drive components have been established in our territory, and secondarily that we may conduct independent research in the federal government separate from the treaty research, as long as that research does adhere to the guidelines of the treaty and the details are freely shared with the research programmes of the Interuniversal Treaty Structure Corporation.

"As a third matter the accession to the treaty must reserve the right for each section of the Imperial Demesne to accede separately, along the Great Queens of Midela and Lelola and the King of Kings of Rasilan. We would therefore obtain for the Empire a total of eight votes in the treaty structure, a number still less than that enjoyed by the component Alliance states; We authorize you some latitude in the distribution, however, for the sake of diplomatic manoeuvre if absolutely necessary."

Saverana's attention turned then to Drishalras. "Drishalras of the Coasts, We wish for you to speak with your father directly on this matter--We trust that he will support the whole treaty package in the Convocate in exchange for this interuniversal power, and We request you, prior to your departure, to inform him and encourage him on this matter personally."

Drishalras, in response, bowed deeply, her hair flinging about her and then being returned somewhat to place as she rose once more. "Your Serene Majesty, it pleases me immensely to bring this message from your person to my father, and I shall do so at the first instance possible."

"Very good," Saverana answered, and then looked to Jhayka. "Do you understand the reservations to which you must hold?"

Jhayka dipped her head. "I understand."

"The next matter is one in which We wish to address specifically those among the party who have had prior experience in the service of the Allied Nations," Saverana continued, and looked to Fayza and Danielle directly with a cool and level gaze. It would have been very clear by now that the woman had not moved her eyes to follow someone, nor even blinked, since she had arrived. Her head moved imperceptibly to direct her eyes onto a target, where they remained level, without blinking, and it was in truth the most immensely intimidating experience from such a small package that one could image, that simple and extremely natural act of the blinking of one's eyelids entirely suppressed in the Empress, her gaze never failing nor faltering. "You know best the people of your homelands. We desire peace with them, but, we have our own customs which We have sworn to uphold. Ours violate their's and so the same goes for them, and our's; We understand this. You have a very specific and special task not related with your positions. You must act as cultural ambassadors, conveying to the Alliance officials the nature of the customs of Our people and how these limit perfect adherence to their foreign regulations. This is understood?"

"It is, Your Serene Majesty," Fay answered. Dani was of higher rank, true, but her official position was from Gilead; Fay was actually a recognized noble of the Taloran Empire, and thus ultimately answerable to Jhayka and through her the Empress. Dani, for her part, nodded her head on concurrence.

"Very good," Saverana answered, and added almost as an aside to Danielle: "We offer you further congratulations on your recovery and marriage to Her Highness the Princess of the Lesser Intuit. This Government... Took a personal interest in your recovery from Kalunda and We are glad ultimately bore fruit, if in a slow time judged suitably the Lord of Justice," she concluded, clearly not expecting a substantiative reply, her attention then shifting back to Jhayka herself, who only maintained her decorum in a rigorous fashion at the compliment that had been paid by those comments to Danielle by the Empress, and, indirectly, to her.

Danielle nodded at that and replied, "Thank you, Your Serene Majesty." She'd known that someone close to the Empress has taken an interest, but that the Empress herself deigned to mention it, and extent such words, was a benevolent sign that had been unexpected.

Saverana continued now without another thought to the earlier matter. "Jhayka of the Lesser Intuit, the main and focal pressing matter for the Alliance is the passport issue. On this... We are prepared to find an equitable compromise within the realm of our law and our traditions. You have advisors We have provided for this purpose, the Honourable Justices of the Parlement, along with a human legal expert, the Duchess Xenia Alexandria of the Russian House, who has experience in the intersection between Imperial law and human law in the protectorates," Saverana continued. "Rely on their advice do be prepared to think up innovative solutions as a possibility, as an actual passport system operated by this government as such is unlikely at best. You know, however, just how much the Convocate will accept, and therefore in combination with your acute knowledge of humans We place our full trust in you to use every latitude on this matter.

"As for the other areas of discussion, the first, and most relevant remaining--for which several economics and trade experts have been provided to you as you are well aware--is on the development of formal trade arrangements with the Alliance. These should not in any case limit the maintenance of Imperial Preference by the government in regard to food production, as per policy, but in non-agrarian areas may hew entirely to a free trade platform, with the understanding in the establishment of free trade that under no sense should such arrangements limit government intervention to maintain militarily vital industries." Pausing for a moment, though her eyes did not vary from their disciplined course, the fingers of her left hand drummed gently on the armrest of the throne for a moment. "We do not anticipate this to be a serious problem as there is no major demand for human grain crops in the Empire, especially with the, ah, difficulties in digestion normally, but the possibility of a future difficulty must be considered. Replicator and transporter technology is in a similar vein--it is a wasteful luxury of dubious moral value when used for goods, and an outright sin for people--and the Farzian church would prefer We simply keep such technology out of the Empire for as long as possible; We agreed.

"The other matters are on standards of safety for the operation of our trading vessels in Alliance space, and the same for their trading vessels in Our space; for their wishes to arrange matters of extradition--which we must not allow, but instead favour the bringing of charges in Imperal courts and dealing with them ourselves, as is custom, if someone reaches Our sanctuary, and therefore the Alliance must be made to agree to this in principle--and on the possibility of exchanging some officers with the Alliance Stellar Navy as a gesture of friendship--which will be written into the collective treaty bodies as, We suppose, some sort of maudlin populist feel-good sentiment on their part, to which We do mind to assent for their pleasure, it being a small matter--and to enhance the understanding between our Starfleets for safety purposes and to broaden the knowledge of officers. Which in general is quite acceptable. So the first and the third matters We trust you in entirely; you have your instructions for the second. As for the language of the friendship text, We are only interested in it being unobtrusive. Is this understood?" Her unflinching, unblinking gaze met Jhayka's artificial one.

"Very clearly understood, Your Serene Majesty," Jhayka answered, bowing slightly. "Are there any other instructions that you have for me?"

"We are assigning to you one of Our relatives, the great-granddaughter of the Archduchess of Ersahm," Saverana answered, referencing an Archduchy held in Appanage by a cadet branch of the Grenyan line, "an attendant of the Imperial Court, Elestria Rissandha Valeria, Princess itl Gadharaia." At that, a young woman with hair like the Empress' wearing court ceremonial robes, and with amber flecked smokey-green eyes, stepped forward and nodded her head toward Jhayka, "to guarantee you a direct line to Us, and that a voice of the Imperial Will shall be directly available for reference. Two Special Advisors on Technical Affairs have also been attached to your party: A Senior Engineer Executive Ada'ren, of Our Zohan nomads, and Doctor Jhuranah Ilaste, of Quesadia Polytechnical Institute, and the assistant director of the Astrophysics research division thereof. We have scheduled the Special Advisors to meet with you in four days, a day after Ada'ren and her assistants shall be arriving here from where they were previously assigned. There are no other matters at hand."

"I understand," Jhayka answered, bowing again. "I will remain in the capitol to meet with them and make arrangements for our transportation. Ah, speaking of which, Your Serene Majesty..."

"Ah yes," Saverana replied, her facial expression not changing at all. "There is the issue of transportation. We were planning to grant you an Imperial Courier. Is this acceptable?"

Somewhat to Jhayka's surprise, at that moment Drishalras intervened, bowing before she spoke, as was necessary when presuming to speak out of turn when addressing the All-Highest Empress: "Your Serene Majesty, I beg you for the favour of allowing orders to be cut that we may take the battleecruiser Slashahkimmar, currently undergoing maintenance in the orbital dockyards, to the Alliance. The mission is not a dangerous one and she does not need all her modifications completed and system refurbishment completed for a mere ferry mission; but I dearly wish to retain my command over her, so that, if I may, I as her captain may also conduct the whole party with advisors, assistants, and guards to the Alliance and back, as a personal favour of Your Serene Majesty's."

"Drishalras of the Coasts, your request is granted, and gladly. We will issue the necessary instructions to the Star Lords myself at the Admiralty, not desiring to take a Captain away from the ship that she is fond of," Saverana answered, her great fondness for the navy--and any chance to directly issue even the most trivial of naval operational orders--easily stoking her into agreement. "Though this does bring up another matter, which We had not planned to discuss now, but may add as a courtesy. There will not, in fact, be Guards; the Slashahkimmar's Marines can provide them if events prove unexpected, but the only assignment is of a small group of, Jhayka of the Lesser Intuit, the usual spies," by which she meant those assigned to watch Jhayka ever since the first scandal, which left her stiffening but nodding gravely--she was being granted an enormous boon and show of trust with this mission, but Saverana still thought Najhasi Fridalyn useful around her--and taking the matter with grace. "as We are given to understand that the Alliance has a whole intelligence service dedicated entirely to the protection of foreign diplomats, which they would prefer Us to avail of in regard to Our diplomats; not imagining them devious or treacherous, We saw fit to agree."

"Of course, Your Serene Majesty," Jhayka replied. "That is certainly understandable, and with no risk that I could possibly forsee."

"We are glad that you do not object," Saverana answered. "Well, then, all the important matters of relevance have been covered, save one: You will depart in nine Taloran days, the hour variable upon the discretion and preparation of your ship's Captain," she glanced to Drishalras for a moment with a tilt of her head, "and the journey to the Alliance's capital should not take more than twenty-five days, We understand. All of you shall make your preparations accordingly, and Elestria Princess of Gadharaia will arrive about the Slashahkimmar the day before departure; the others shall be prepared a week before to board at your leisure. These matters settled, We consider this audience to have been concluded." And with that, she rose, prompting the mass of the assembled to bow as they had been instructed, and the All-Highest Empress made her progress out of the chamber thusly.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

(err, co-authored by Eddie Korina.)

Imperial Courier Imalrash
Approaching Talora Prime.
18 February 2165 AST.
19 Valeria I.Y. 618.


".....And then the Zohan answered: 'But if I wear clothes, I'd just get the crotch damp!'" The three Taloran women, tall and with their hair vibrant, regular crewers, had been chatting with each other as they waited for a pot of voli in the crew mess to finish brewing, and the top had inevitably turned to a few jokes about the Zohan aboard; all in good fun, of course...

"Only if it was too tight a fit" came an amused voice from behind, and somewhat below, the crewers, as Ada'ren stood there, having just paused from walking past behind them, not wearing a stitch of clothing and not seeming at all concerned about it. Once they were looking at her she smiled slightly, eyes dancing with a bit of mischief as she nodded to them all and continued on her way.

They stared in surprise for a moment, uncomprehending at her presence, and nudity, before, fully processed, they broke into laughter again, and one of them called out after her, "Zohan, you're truly a genius!" before they carried on with the opportunity to enjoy their voli and their thoughts gradually turned to other subjects....

Ada'ren turned her head and waved cheerfully at the comment before leaving the chamber, heading down the corridor to one of the small rooms set aside for the Zohan passengers on board the courier vessel. Along the way she passed several crewers, moving aside as they approached so that they could pass, by now the crew knew that the Zohan were quite considerate guests and never took the right-of-way, but rather deferred to those doing their jobs.

Inside the room was a small table, around which the rest of the Zohan delegation was already waiting, a carafe of purified water sitting in the middle with cups at each chair. All of the Zohan were female, not so very unusual amongst them, when almost two-thirds of their population was female. Combat Engineer Executive Ter'ohk was the tallest of them, at slightly over four and a half feet tall she was near the very top of the normal height range for their race. Her hair was a brilliant metallic red that glinted like metallic fire as it fell to just above her shoulders, neatly trimmed and arrow straight. The plain metallic collar she wore about her neck was mostly festooned with dark black plaques, indicative of her Combat focus, but with a single silver and gold plaque dead center in the front.

Opposite Ter'ohk sat a much smaller woman, Senior Executive Ah'dal was extremely petite, even for a Zohan, but her metallic bronze hair fell to nearly the middle of her back, indicating extreme age for any Zohan. Other than her hair, she showed few, if any signs of her decades, she moved a little slower than the others, but that was about all. Her collar was a kaleidoscope of color, a mad riot that rivalled some of the more flamboyant color combinations of the Taloran, but each of the plaques was rimmed in the gold of an Executive.

At the foot of the table, across from where Ada'ren now sat, was the youngest of the Zohan present. Engineering Executive Passager All'er'ian was a fit looking woman who, despite her relative youth, was steady and quiet. Unlike the others she rarely left the quarters assigned to the group, spending much of her time studying and preparing for her Passage Test.

"So, we are presently less than one of the local days away from our destination of Talora Prime, anything to discuss at this late date?" Ada'ren said as she took her seat. The others nodded, and soon the conversation quickly started, all four speaking simultaneously and at the blistering speed that was typical of their race.

"The Marchioness of Sepai has sent word that representatives shall meet with us on Talora Prime in connection with this mission and her Viceroy position as our representative within the Convocate, are we clear on our instructions of what to do?" Came from Ah'dal, to the general agreement of the others.

"Yes, Senior Executive, you will take the lead in our dealings with her, yes?" came from Ada'ren.

"Yes, I shall." came back from Ah'dal, while Ter'ohk and All'er'ian discussed the logistics of All'er'ian's upcoming Passage Test, which would take place onboard one of the Zohan Ships currently in the system. "No, no demonstrations for the courier crew, All'er'ian, even if it may be useful, and even though I agree that their participation would make for a more difficult Test."

"I disagree, Ter'ohk, the Taloran's might react positively to it, from what we have been able to learn of things, at least." Ada'ren put in, drawing a slight smile from All'er'ian and a slight frown from Ter'ohk. "Definately, and better to have it in the open rather than concealed, lest they think we are hiding things from them" Ah'dal put in. "Oh, very well, if you both insist, then... Ada'ren, could you request that?" "I can, if we are agreed."

The entire discussion took less than two minutes, and no translation software, no alien linguist, could possibly decipher it beyond the very first sentence, the sheer speed and complete lack of regard for anything resembling what other races would consider normal communications protocals stymying any such translation. Indeed, many of the Zohan words were spoken out of sequence, so that a simple word for word translation would appear to be mad gibberish spawned from some demented brain, yet the existance of the Zohan's telempathic channel allowed the Zohan to focus their words on data communication, and using the channel to route and suitably modify that data for actual full communication. Normal ears heard only part of the full spectrum of the Zohan language...


Talora Prime, Valeria environs.
19 February 2165 AST.
20 Valeria I.Y. 618.


The captain of the Imalrash had provided a shuttle for their rapid descent to the surface, jetting past the enormous orbital infrastructure. It was perhaps not something the Zohan had thought of with aliens before; but 72 billion Talorans here lived in space for 80 billion on the surface. The 'spacenoids' probably had more than a few sympathies with the Zohan if they were asked. But instead the Zohan were descending on a straight shot to the surface, the last view that of the space elevator assemblies and the geostationary orbital shipyards before they plunged into the atmosphere, the suns vanishing into the spall of heat, windows recfracting and automatically glazing over, as they slowed rapidly and plunged down on a fairly hot descent: The pilot was certainly enjoying himself, as the shape of the three continents that were the primary habitats of Talora Prime came into view as the heat of reentry lessened and the view returned.

The four Zohan sat very still and silently, not looking as if they were altogether comfortable entering a planetary atmosphere. All had on the plain gray environmental suit that was typical of such amongst them. All'er'ian looked the most visibly nervous, but the three older Zohan controlled their own reactions with an iron discipline. Planets had, for their entire remembered history, places of terror and horror for Zohan...

The shuttle was small enough that the landing, which was, by a military pilot in a military shuttle, conducted damn hot, was also going to be on land rather than the usual Taloran recourse to landing vessels on water. They were aiming for a military airport north of the capital city, and so they came down rapidly, slowly the huge cities with their kilometer-high spires along the densely populated Quesadi coast becoming visible, and staying that way, while they slowed and descended, but still going very fast, the huge mountains of the same name to the east gradually erasing their view of the Great Rift Valley and the Great Rift Desert, the land ahead still coming, minute by minute, with another immensely dense cluster of cities, but now the cities were further apart, and the land was green and fertile, and growing closer and closer yet as they dropped down and slowed. Finally, about twenty minutes into the descent, they could see a few spread-out vast spires in Valeria, and the less efficient urban sprawl of the capitol, which had never been built up like the other cities, and around this they began to bank to the east to reach their final landing point, as they'd been coming up from the south.

Despite the beautiful and dramatic scenery, the Zohan didn't spend much, if any, time looking outside, staring at the bulkhead of the shuttle while they sat strapped into the acceleration couchs. An occassional sidelong glance outside, followed by eyes snapping back foward. However they were no longer white-knuckled, no Zohan who could not control their almost primal phobia of planetary surfaces would have been sent on such a trip, after all, and all four of them were able to, at the very least, control their reactions and function nearly normally.

Soon enough they were coming in for a landing, which was done in a rolling format like an aircraft of old because there was little reason for VTOL technology with a transport shuttle not designed for hot combat drops. They wheeled into a gated off receiving area of the military base, and came to a stop under their own power, at which point the pilot's voice crackled, "Alright, we're equalizing with outside air. I'll open the door up shortly. They're already moving umbilicals and a stairway into place."

Ada'ren leaned forward and depressed the intercom switch "Thank you for the information, Lieutenant. The flight was smooth and comfortable, please convey our appreciation for the hospitality of your ship back to the Captain."

The Zohan then rose, each holding a small pack that contained several days worth of rations and some sundry supplies, and stood near the hatch, waiting for the pilot to activate it.

A moment later, the door hissed and opened up, and they'd get their first taste of Taloran air. Not bad, especially since it smelt like a military base maintenance facility, which was more or less what it was, even if the air was fresher in a way the Zohan might not perfectly appreciate. There was a Taloran woman standing below in the usual colourful dress of civilian Talorans, exceptionally blinding in the brilliance of the yellows and bright blues and reds and violets and lavenders which festooned her dress and her light half-jacket, nevermind the waist-length violet hair and the crimson eyes. She bowed slightly, her ears shifted in a welcoming gesture. "I'm Her Ladyship Halsina itl Sapai's Executive Secretary, Senior Engineer Executive Ada'ren and party," she introduced herself, "And my name is Ilahmpert Sivasti. I'll be transporting you back to her villa where you'll be staying until you meet with the head of the mission you're assigned to, and along the way I can give you some details."

The Zohan disembarked, noses crinkling slightly at the odors of the facility, but otherwise without any visible reaction, Ada'ren was in front, followed by the others as she walked down the stairs. "I greet you, Executive Secretary Ilahmpert Sivasti." she said, bowing slightly. "Our thanks for your assistance and for any details that you may divulge." she managed a smile, genuine in one way, nervous in another.

She led them to a hovercar with driver which was waiting for them, and which happened to fairly easily accomadate the Zohan on one broad seat; but there was another one set to face toward the rear seat, and in that one, Ilahmpert could easily sit facing the four Zohan. The doors closed automatically as soon as they settled in, looking very much like a line of kids being watched by their mother from a Taloran point of view, and Ilahmpert, who seemed cheerful, started talking at once. "It's very nice to meet you, as it's very rare that we get any Zohan down to the capital, which makes it rather unique, considering that we're responsible for representing your interests in the Convocate. I wasn't surprised when Her Ladyship accepted, but some others were; still, we've been fairly accepting in the main item of interest for your people, which was arranging for elections of Zohan representatives in the Deputies as well. We actually just had a preliminary vote on that and it cleared committee two days ago, which means it can be brought to the floor of the Convocate and should set up the election of Guild status, Appointed status, and popularly elected representatives--one each--in the next elections. I don't think you got the news of that while in transit, so I figured I'd mention it first. Then, I suppose, you'll have to come up with some arrangement for the Zohan representatives and assistants to live on the surface... From what I've studied of your people, you'd probably be more comfortable in the pressurized upper-floors of one of our 'klick towers', which you've probably noticed on your inbound flight."

"You are correct in that we had not heard of this news, Executive Secretary Ilahmpert Sivasti, our thanks." Replied Ada'ren, tactfully not mentioning that they had only glimpsed the high towers and hadn't truly noticed them at all. "The Master Executive Council advised me that they are in the process of determining an equitable and acceptable procedure for elective representation, Senior Executive Ah'dal" at this Ada'ren gestured slightly at the petite pixie of a Zohan seated beside her, "has more details, as she is here as the Council's representative. Speaking for myself, I am pleased to hear of the rapid progress of these affairs."

"You're thought of well in the Empire, jokes aside," Ilahmpert answered. "After all, you've brought us a whole new technological-development paradigm to study and share with us, and that is a tremendous gift to our science and industry. The least we can do is accomadate your own desires, which to us are for the most part quite achievable. Senior Executive Ah'dal will no doubt like to speak with Her Ladyship, as you'll have the opportunity to do.." She glanced outside to see how far they'd come, for a moment, and then continued. "But I suspect you're also very interested in hearing some more details of your mission. As for that, what I can tell you right now is that the head of the diplomatic mission is Her Highness Jhayka, Princess of the Lesser Intuit, and that you'll be traveling aboard a Kalammi-class battlecruiser, the Slashahkimmar. We're in the process of having a supply of your rations transferred over for the full length of the journey there, as we understand that you have, like humans, some difficulty in digesting most Taloran foods without supplementary enzymes."

"More accurately metallic minerals, but that is very good news." Ada'ren's eyes twinkled for a moment as a slight smile curled her lips "Although we are capable of digesting Taloran foods, we find them neither nutricious nor, what is the word, delicious? I am afraid that our tastes in that regard are quite divergent, our rations are deliberately tasteless as a safeguard against tampering, and to us, tasting something in what eat is quite disturbing." a slight pause and then she tilted her head "I believe that I have heard that name in one of our information downloads, something about a backward planet filled with slavers that she had a hand in liberating, is this correct? And I have heard of the Kalammi's, very interesting designs, I trust that we would be allowed to speak with the engineering staff and perhaps study the design?"

"She was the defender of the city of Kalunda in a siege of fifty-five days on the planet Gilead in the CON-5 universe, where beforehand she had fought her way out of the city of Ar, a great slaver's city, and then, after the siege, though badly wounded in it--she has artificial eyes these days, for instance--led the army back which finished them off. Lady Halsina was the commander of the naval force involved in the relief of Kalunda by international troops," Ilahmpert added with some justifiable pride. "I'm quite certain you should have full design access. You'll have to ask the Captain for formal permission to work with the engineering staff but I'm sure that will take place--she's Jhayka's wife, among other things--and all of you have security clearances higher than mine, so I can't see anything being held back."

"I see, it is a great honor to serve under her command, then" Ada'ren replied, smiling at that. "And I am glad to hear that we shall have full access, hopefully, Taloran technology is quite fascinating to us, as ours is to you." she concluded, looking out the window briefly then back at Ilahmpert, not mentioning that many Zohan engineers had a slightly dismissive view of the Taloran equipment as not as refined as their own, a view that Ada'ren definately didn't share, and since she didn't share it, she saw no need to mention it. "How long shall we be on Talora Prime prior to departure? We are hoping to be able to conduct Engineering Executive Passager All'eri'ah's Passage Test prior to departure, and if possible inviting several Taloran's to participate in Testing her readiness to be ranked as a full Executive within the Engineering specialty."

"I understand that would be important for you," she answered about Jhayka, before a rejoinder: "How long does it take? You're due to depart in six days, I'll tell you honestly. It's going to be a twenty-five day voyage to the Alliance capital, considering the great distances which must be traversed before you can reach an interuniversal jumpgate, even at the maximum speed of one of the fastest capital ships in existence." They were slowing down, now, and entering a residential neighbourhood of many very fine villas, also descending down pretty much to street level, a cluster of mega-skyscrapers visible in the distance but this area seeming like a conglomeration of Roman villas.

"The Test itself would only take approximately two point four eight of your hours to complete, the only delay would be in either transporting sufficient Zohan and Taloran Testers to a suitably equipped location, any Zohan Ship is fully equipped, and would be able to supply needed materials." Ada'ren replied, glancing over at All'eri'ah and smiling before looking back at the Taloran across from them. "I estimate that once approval is given, and assuming prompt communications, that the Test would consume one full Taloran day, counting all transportation and setup time."

"Well, what would be required of the participants? I can propose the idea to Her Ladyship, and, for that matter, the Princess of the Lesser Intuit is known for writing scientific articles on xenoanthropology." The hovercar rolled up to the guardbox in front of a gated villa now, and the driver handled processing; it was fancy enough that they couldn't even hear what was being said, of course.

"To provide significant and varied distraction and hinderance to the subject during the Test, with the intention of diverting the subject from the successful completion of the Test. The only set rule for the participants is that they may not inflict permanent damage upon the subject, beyond that, all is permitted and Testers are encouraged to be as creative as they can be. The purpose of the Test is to ensure that the lessons of the Passage have been fully learned, and that the Passager has the discipline and endurance to remain capable of maximum performance in highly adverse conditions. This way, only those truly worthy of Passage pass on to the next ranking." Ada'ren explained, glancing out the window again as the hovercar stopped.

"You may find plenty of people interested, then," Ilahmpert answered. "For that sounds much like the strictures in the Instructions of In'ghara, in a way. The First Great Queen and foremost among the heirs of Valera... She believed it suitable that noble-born children would be trained to suffer without complaint any hardship, and never let suffering distract from their duties. We do it rather differently, though, raising the children up in such an environment, which is more generalist--universal self discipline and endurance are taught, rather than integrating specific tasks. It may be found very interesting, indeed, that you have such a practice--I was not fully aware of what a passage entailed, I will confess--and certainly I'd encourage you to mention the matter to Her Ladyship." The doors opened, now, to reveal a finely formed geometric garden and the neat and modest villa beyond. Halsina did not make many pretensions in the capitol. "Let me lead you to Her Ladyship herself, then, as we've arrived."

"Oh, we do much the same, Engineer Executive Passager All'eri'ah is on her Third Passage, but only her first Executive Passage." she replied, then nodded to the other Zohan as they exited the vehicle, then stood waiting for Ilahmpert to do the same. "Very well, our thanks, and we shall take your advice indeed."

"You're quite welcome," Ilahmpert replied, as she followed them out, and then led them in.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Valeria, Talora Prime.
20 February 2165 AST.
19 Valeria I.Y. 618.


Halsina, the Marchioness of Sapai, was doing paperwork when the dimunitive crew of Zohan was led into her villa. And what a fine villa it was; the large bath with swimming pool attached was indoors, since the weather in Valeria was dismal most of the year, though beautiful this summer; there were many open-air spaces, though, the low-hanging roofs protecting them from the rain even from the sides, with plants growing up from the ground upon the edges of the roofs that we were well watered. The fully enclosed spaces they walked through invariably were decorated with tapestries and fine mosaics, and the place had a very relaxed air, with the gentleness of fountains of running water going upon through it. And through this Ilahmpert led the Zohan until they arrived at Halsina's office, and she showed them in.

The four Zohan followed Ilahmpert through the corridors, glancing about at the decorations and fountains. Being engineers, the thought of all that free water exposed to potential contamination grated on them, but they concealed that reaction, intellectually understanding that water was not as scarce a resource planetside as it was in space.

Senior Executive Ah'dal was in the lead now, Ada'ren and the rest remaining slightly back as they entered the office, the diminutive Zohan stopping after stepping into the office and bowing deeply to Halsina. "Greetings, Marchioness of Sapai, I am Senior Executive Ah'dal of the Adamant." she introduced herself as she straightened.

"Ah, Senior Executive Ah'dal, I was told to expect you and Senior Engineer Executive Ada'ren among your party," Halsina replied, setting down her pen and, after a moment, gesturing toward a couch along the far right wall. It was big enough for her to take naps on when she was very busy, which meant it could accomadate four Zohan and then some sitting up. "Please, do sit. I was going over some business from the Convocate, but it's not urgent, so I'd certainly like to hear from you immediately, as I understand you were asked to inquire after some political matters for your people while you were here. As for the matter at hand, though, arranged for guest quarters to provided for the four of you tonight here in my villa--and for transportation into the main core of the city to meet with the Princess Jhayka tomorrow to receive your instructions from her. The rest of the time until you leave is, I understand it, quite free for you to explore the city if you wish, and I can assign someone for that purpose if you'd desire it."

Ah'dal nodded and the four Zohan crossed to the couch, sitting all in a row rather primly on a couch designed for beings almost twice their average height, their feet barely reaching the floor lending an air of a row of schoolgirls sitting in the principles office.

"Indeed I was, Marchioness of Sapai" Ah'dal continued once she was seated. "The Master Executive Council has three proposed alternatives for the appropriate methodology of appointing representatives to the Convocate, and I have been instructed to seek your input into these alternatives to ensure that they are acceptable. In addition, I have been instructed to inquire after the suitability of semi-permanently basing the 000D8 in Talora Prime as both our most important, I think the word is cultural, artifact and also as a demonstration of our committment to the Empire." a slight pause, then she glances at Ada'ren then back to Halsina.

"And one additional issue has come up during our journey here. Namely, Engineering Executive Passager All'er'ian is ready to be Tested in order to complete her Passage and join the ranks of the Executive. We believe that it would both be appropriate for All'er'ian, and of interest for the Taloran's, for it to be held here on Talora Prime with Taloran participation. Executive Secretary Ilahmpert Sivasti indicated that the Passage and the Tests attendant on completion are similar to your own Instructions of In'ghara."

"Well, let's cover those issues in turn," Halsina replied, folding her fingers together and stretching them, red eyes looking back to Ah'dal, and then one hand tracing up to brush a long thick lock of royal blue hair out of her eyes. "As it stands, it's been considered that the Zohan will receive simultaneous recognition as a Engineering Guild, and an autonomous state of the Empire, and be accorded representation as Imperial Subjects as well. The matter to more precisely define a secondary pilot's guild among the Zohan was tabled. If I can attach that to the measure empowering the election of your representations to the Chamber I'll be able to secure four for you. Normally your representative because you are a state within the Empire would be appointed by your internal government; the popular representative of your whole people would be elected directly by your people of lawful adulthood; and the third representation would be elected by an internal guild mechanism which I suppose would be coterminus with your government, or at least your engineering specialists."

Ah'dal nodded at that, tilting her head slightly to one side as Halsina explained the current status. "I see" she replied, pursing her lips for a moment in consideration, then nodding slightly with a smile curving her lips. "That sounds superb, especially if you are able to get the pilots guild proposal approved, else the Engineers may prove insufferable" she said, eyes twinkling a little as Ada'ren, Ter'ohk and All'er'ia all managed to simaltaneously roll their eyes.

"We'll try our best. It's mainly because our own guilds want your pilots to join with them instead of having their own," Halsina gave a soft snort. "Which is understandable, but still a bit of an annoyance. At any rate, the second matter, then: Do you intend to bring the 000D8 into Talora Prime orbit directly or place her elsewhere in the system?" That is the old worldship, right? She thought rather worriedly to herself, but didn't voice it. "There's plenty of space, and a permanent orbit could be arranged somewhere, but where depends in part based on maintenance needs."

"The precise location would be governed by orbital mechanics and your own needs and requirements. We have not yet renamed 000D8, as we have not yet been able to determine a suitable name for her. If the proposal is accepted she would, of course, be accessible for scheduled tours or other appropriate uses, as the permanent population is quite small." Ah'dal replied, nodding.

"Probably best to put her in solar orbit between Talora Prime and Talora Secundus, or in orbit of Talora Secundus. Space around here--as you may have noticed coming in--is fairly dense in any stable orbital regime. More people actually live in other places of the system--and those predominantly artificial habitabts--than on the surface of the habitable planets."

"Either location would be suitable, the Master Executive Council was approached by several interests who actually inquired about purchasing 000D8, as if we would part with her, as what we are told would be a 'tourist trap'. We do not mind tourists, but have no interest in traps."

"That's an interesting turn of phrase," Halsina chuckled. "I think it's meant to say it would lure in people who otherwise wouldn't spend money there," she explained after a moment. "But I understand your desire to hold onto the past. It's very important for our people as well, and the gesture of bringing her here would be appreciated, so I'll look to see if I can secure orbital space for you around Talora Secundus, if you'd find that agreeable?"

"Most definately agreeable, I shall communicate this back to the Council" Ah'dal replied, smiling and nodding.

"Alright, then. I suppose that leaves only the last matter.... You say you have something comparable to the Institutes of In'ghara that you wish Talorans to participate in.. You're aware of the seriousness of those Institutes, I trust? They're the most rigorous way, in which all of the nobility is raised, and often entail no small danger. So I must ask what precisely you desire, for it's no small matter, even if it's to your credit that your people have something that you can compare to the Institutes at all."

Ah'dal nodded at that, then leaned forward slightly. "What we desire for this Test is both permission and, if any are willing, Taloran participants to assist, as well as a clear room of at least 10 cubic meters and sufficient power to operate the required equipment. The Test itself would take approximately two point four eight of your hours to complete, not counting preparation time which would add approximate two of your hours to install and calibrate the equipment."

A short pause, then Ada'ren picked up the discussion. "And yes, Marchioness of Sapai, we believe we are aware of the seriousness of your own tradition, and that the Passage and Test can be fairly compared to them. The Passage itself is the preparation for the Test. For the Test, the subject" she indicated All'er'ia with a slight gesture "Is restrained in an open cybernetic rig connected to the Testing computer, between eight and ten participants, usually senior Zohan, but in this case including several Taloran, focus their efforts on distracting, disconcerting and diverting the subject from the successful completion of the test. The only rule for the testers is that they may not inflict permanent injury upon the subject, but beyond that all is considered fair and proper, and there are no other limits. The Subject must attain Required Minimum Standards to merely pass their Test, greater proficiency and discipline yields greater status and respect. All of us have passed our first Passage, all of us have passed at least one Specialty Passage, and all of us except for Engineering Executive Passager All'er'ia have passed our Executive Passage. The three of us have undergone many more Tests in multiple specializations and skills, proving our capabilities and abilities prior to being trusted to undertake the functions of the higher rank."

"Like a stress test on a person instead of a ship," Halsina murmured, thinking for a moment. Then she unbuttoned the left sleeve of her rather flamboyant shirt and rolled it up, turning it toward the Zohan. There was a nasty and deep scar as might be made by a bladed weapon. "I kept it as a personal reminder, though I could have had it removed. A fight against a robotic training device, when I was... A very young girl. My weapons-instructor of the time said it's better to keep some scars." She smiled. "But that's rather pale compared to the dueling societies, which I think come the closest to your own custom, beyond even the rigours of our discipline as youths. There, the purpose of the duel is not to win, as such, as in disarming the other opponent. Rather, both opponents stand their ground while slashing at the faces of the other. The goal of the duel is to stand having your face slashed open longer than the other person can, yet while retaining enough precision not to damage the eyes or anything else truly important. So I would say that we have the framework to understand well the test. Deprivation is an important aspect of what we do--or learning to control ourselves. To be forced under an ice-cold waterfall, until we stop shivering, or...." Halsina pursed her lips and smiled vaguely. "Tell me, do Zohan have an uncontrollable urge to blink their eyes normally, as an unconscious process to clear them?"

All four nodded briefly, blinking almost in unison at the mention. "We do" replied Ter'ohk, tilting her head to one side slightly in an obvious question.

Halsina hadn't blinked. Someone who was very perceptive might have realized then that she hadn't once. But probably nobody would remember that Ilahmpert had. "Yes, then I do think that I can participate effectively," Halsina answered. "Do you intend to go into orbit to one of your ships for the purpose of this test?"

"It might be more effective if held down here, as we are naturally uncomfortable within a natural gravity well and not within a fully artificial and controlled environment." Ada'ren replied. "That is, if a suitable location could be found."

"That won't be a problem. I'll have a room cleared. Is the day after tomorrow acceptable?"

"Perfectly, I shall send word to have the required equipment sent here" Ada'ren smiled in response. "Hopefully a certain youngster will be able to pass her Test in an impressive fashion."

"We will make her very worthy of any accolades given, which I hope are earned," Halsina agreed.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Valeria, Talora Prime.
21 February 2165 AST.
20 Valeria I.Y. 618.

It was the same hovercar that had conveyed the Zohan delegation to Halsina's villa the day before, but now it travelled away, heading inwards towards the city itself. The four Zohan sat, looking outside occassionally but generally instead focusing on each other, speaking in soft tones amongst themselves. As usual, when they were alone, the Zohan all spoke nearly simaltaneously, and so quickly that it was nearly impossible to track when one word started and another ended. The speech could not be replicated, but a fluent speaker or programmed computer might render it so:

"So Jhayka is leading this mission, been hoping to meet one of those who fought in that battle." said Ter'ohk, with a slight smile.

"You would, being a Combat sort" replied Ah'dal, twinkling eyes contradicting the mock severity of her words.

"Now now, no need for that" chuckled Ada'ren, while All'er'ian remained silent on the far side of the bench seat.

"At the same time, she has shed blood and suffered for ideals not much different from our own, Senior Executive, however alien her motivations were." rejoined the tallest of the four, taking a moment to look outside the hovercar. "For all that we like these Taloran's, they are still aliens, still different, and we cannot be certain of them until they prove themselves. I believe that Jhayka has done so."

Ada'ren nodded in agreement "She has, although honestly I am not altogether certain I understand her motivations and whether or not they are the same as we would have had in that situation, although the outcome was certainly similar."

Ah'dal snorted a bit "Similar? Well, in that these 'normans' would have been wiped out, albeit via heavy bombardment from orbit rather than any sort of ground action, with even fewer survivors."

All four of them chuckled at that for a moment. "But still, her motivations, while relevant, aren't all that important, it is results that matter. The fact that the government has backed her is refreshing." mused Ada'ren, to the agreement of the others. "Makes it less likely that they will prove tyrannical towards us."

"But we don't know how much of it is because of basic attitude and how much because of connections and relationships, their motivations are important, because what motivated them to support Jhayka may not apply to us." replied Ah'dal, tapping one finger on her leg. "After all, these tall folks seem to place unusual significance in their partnerships and relationships, as if simply having sex is some greatly significant act. For all we know, that could have been the only motivation here, we just don't know."

"Results, Senior Executive, results. Unless something occurs which proves otherwise" replied Ada'ren, still looking out the window as the hovercar swooped up towards a landing pad on the side of a towering structure. "We shall proceed under the assumption that the Talorans mean well."

They arrived at the giant skyscraper soon enough, and descended into the parking garage. The hovercar was brought up to a VIP spot near a huge elevator with lots of people coming and going from it. "You want suite 164 on the 992nd floor, ladies," the driver said politely as the doors opened automatically.

"Our thanks" replied Ada'ren, smiling as she waited for the others to exit the hovercar before following them. All four were dressed in the plain environmental suits that they typically wore as they crossed towards the elevator, managing to flow with the crowds relatively well for such small creatures, plain birds indeed within a flock of brightly colored jays.

It wasn't really hard to use the elevator system. There were special express elevators for every one hundred floors, so they were able to take one of those straight up without any stops, which was an extremely fast ride with gravitic compensators. Then it slowed down and leisurely made its way almost to the top, floor 992, where it disgorged about 3 of the remaining Talorans--the elevator could hold 50 easily in all--plus the Zohan. There was a directory, and suite 164 was a large affair occupying the northwest corner of the huge building, which, as the notation indicated, was actually pressurized at this altitude.

The Zohan had familiarized themselves with standard notations, and once they saw the indications each of them got a slightly unfocused look for a moment as they reviewed their environmental suits telemetry and brought the emergency depressurization protocals fully online, to activate in the event of pressure loss.

Ad'aren stepped up to the entrance to Suite 164, the other three a step behind. A short pause, then Ada'ren reached up to the ornate bronze knocker mounted beside the door, having to rise up to her tip-toes in order to properly operate the device, as it was positioned for one almost twice as tall as she was. As it was, she managed a rather suitably firm set of knocks.

A blue haired young girl with yellow eyes answered the door, surprised at first glance, and then bowed slightly to the Zohan with a smile, her mind's first impulse to think of them like children, as it was for most Talorans. "Ah, you are expected. Please, come inside, and I'll inform Her Highness, honoured guests."

"My thanks" Ada'ren replied, returning the slight bow almost precisely as deep and long as the Taloran's. "We shall do so."

The four Zohan filed in and glanced around the antechamber, not bothering to seat themselves, but rather waiting in a posture remarkably similar to a parade-rest, yet somehow looking much more relaxed about it.

The girl went off to fetch Jhayka, who returned a moment later. She was wearing a lush red cape with a yellow blouse pulled tight below it and a short brown leather jacket, her pants a vivid splash of bright blue, and seeming quite comfortable in it all. She stood for a moment, surveying the Zohan, and settled in on one with her strangely excellent memory, and the seemingly frail way in which she steadied herself with her left hand on the wall, nevermind the obvious cybernetics that replaced her eyes so blatantly. "Senior Engineer Executive Ada'ren?" She asked a moment later, in her lilting Intuitan accent, well matched with a contralto voice.

The four Zohan had all turned to face Jhayka as she entered, four drab starlings face to face with a brightly-plumed peacock. Ada'ren nodded and stepped slightly forward, and replied while bowing at the precise angle dictated in the protocal guides the Zohan had found. "I am Senior Drive Systems Engineer Executive Ada'ren, Your Highness Jhayka Ylatha Olothdhakiu, Princess itl dhin Intuit." she replied, managing to pronounce the words almost flawlessly.

"Just Your Highness is sufficient, Senior Engineer Executive," Jhayka answered, and gestured toward a room from the hall. "If you'd come with me, please." She walked delicately, expecting them to follow, but assiduously polite all the same, and it would be clear to the Zohan that she was not up to the physical standards of a normal Taloran in terms of her health. Her gate was unsteady and slow, and they might remember that her injuries in the fight had been grievous indeed.

Ada'ren nodded at the gesture. "As you wish, Your Highness" she replied, then the four Zohan trailed behind her politely, matching her pace rather closely.

Jhayka settled down into a high-backed easy-chair after a moment, gesturing to the chairs around with an apologetic look. "Old war injury," she explained, of her gait. "And I'm quite sorry that the chairs really aren't made for those of your stature. At any rate, Senior Executive, you've been asked to do something very important, indeed. You understand the basic thrust of your instructions?"

The Zohan took one look at the chairs before each of them chose one and hopped up onto it, looking for all the world like a group of schoolkids sitting across from their teacher. Ada'ren leaned forward slightly. "We do, Your Highness, and have been deliberating on methods of accomplishing said instructions. Our understanding is that we are to attempt to obtain data helpful to the IU gate steering mechanism, as well as other items of scientific and engineering interest, while not revealing the results of our own joint project. We are also to ensure that the Taloran Star Empire is not 'cheated' in these discussions and passed false or misleading data that would be harmful to our interests." she summarized, then tilted her head slightly. "Is our understanding of our instructions correct?"

"You have the fundamental gist of it," Jhayka answered after a moment, frowning slightly and her ears flexing forward. "Suffice to say that there's another aspect, however, which isn't as thoroughly covered. We have to make sure that the arrangements, and the technological material they're providing us, are things that our industry can replicate. The main concern for us is less that they'll cheat us and more that they'll simply be truthful in a way which doesn't assist us. Delays in replicating their equipment could be problematic. So you need to vette what they're giving us against our own capabilities, and if they fall short, I need to know, so I can demand further equipment which would remedy those deficiencies."

"Are we to consider only native Taloran industrial resources in making this determination, or may we include our own resources and equipment in this assessment? There are many areas where we Zohan would be able to rapidly build up a suitable infrastructure and capability given access to suitable locations and permission to fully utilize available assets to, for example, construct vessels larger than the current 60 megatonne limit of Taloran industry." Ada'ren replied, cocking one eyebrow inquisitively.

"And the yard limit is somewhat smaller," Jhayka agreed after a moment's thought. "You can consider your own resources, but only those innovations which could be quickly implemented--within the same span of time as the development of the IU Drive industry, more or less--and which would not require significant industrial development on their own. Financial investment, however, is more open-ended for a project of this importance, so consider that realm to be much more available, if considerable infusions of cash could lend quick results. Beyond that, you are the expert, and the matters are more or less up to your judgement, Senior Engineer Executive."

"This 'Cash' is not an issue, except insofar as it is useful for increasing resource allocations for development, maintenance and repair. With those considerations I believe we have a usable framework under which we shall be working. I have been given to understand that we shall have access to suitable laboratory and development space on board the ship conveying us to the conference, with that understanding we have prepared a listing of necesary components and equipment to be transfered over from several of our own ships currently in Talora Prime space." Ada'ren answered, idly tapping one finger on her thigh as she thought. "I believe our Data Systems Engineers have worked out a suitable conversion protocal between our data input devices and your own, so thankfully we should be able to cross-connect as necesary."

"The Naval Minister would love to hear you refer to specie in such a fashion as much as it would cause the Exchequer conniptions," Jhayka replied drolly after a moment. "But that will be acceptable indeed. You are aware of the time constraints you're operating under, at any rate? This mission will be leaving in just a few days, and I believe the precise dates for embarkation were already provided to you by my wife... The Captain of the Slashahkimmar, that is."

Ada'ren nodded "They were, and we are already prepared for the time of embarkation and departure. Tomorrow Engineering Executive Passager All'er'ian shall be undertaking her Test of Passage to be formally ranked as an Engineering Executive, the Marchioness of Sapai is handling arrangements for that, and, of course, you are welcome to witness the Test, Your Highness." she smiled, resting one hand briefly on All'er'ian's shoulder. "After that we shall be prepared for embarkation aboard the Slashahkimmar at the appropriate time."

"I'd be interested to. I've long been, as a hobby beyond administrative and military matters, an anthropologist, studying the cultures of other races in particular. It's how I came to be on Kalunda when the whole affair boiled over--which I expected to happen, although not so soon--as an example. Nothing so exciting tomorrow, but I'd be pleased to attend regardless."

All four Zohan smiled at that, nodding slightly. "We shall be glad to see you there, then, Your Highness. Perhaps some of your experiences in Kalunda will help you to understand the purposes behind the Test more than others." responded Ada'ren.

"Perhaps they will," she answered, leaning back a bit. "It will be interesting, regardless. And I suppose the cultural matters at hand bring us to a question--have you considered how you yourselves will handle yourselves amongst humans? They're quite different than us and you should be prepared for them to, well, gawk. And ask many questions. Many of which should not be asked, and certainly not answered."

"There were a number of human researchers at the project, Your Highness, and yes, they are quite overly inquisitive and judgemental, and seemed quite willing to impose their beliefs upon us without our asking them to. I believe that we will be able to handle them, after all we do know that there is a substantial Zohan presence within the ADN itself, and if they can handle it, so can we. And if any of them choose to be aggressively disagreeable, that is what Ter'ohk here is for" she concluded, a slightly wicked smile dancing on her lips. "We are ourselves, and have never, and will never, pretend to be anything else just to appease the sensibilities of others. We have never asked that others change to accomodate or please us, after all."

"I do warn you that the rules are a bit different on diplomatic missions. Intimidation is preferable to outright violence here, unless your lives are literally in danger. Diplomats are supposed to be granted greater protections than the average individual.. But they also have much more than themselves to think about. Keep that in mind, though I will leave it to your judgement about which slights to ignore, which to stand your ground with, and when a situation becomes really harmful. I have no desire to micromanage your people or customs.. Which I believe is the case for pretty much all Talorans. Just remember, we're engaged in diplomacy. I think the very meaning of the word conveys the necessary information in High Taloran."

"We have managed to keep from any physical confrontations at the research center so far, Your Highness, we believe we will be able to handle any such misunderstandings and annoyances properly." Ada'ren responded with a nod. "Hopefully the Alliance humans shall not be even more obstreperous than the ones we have dealt with so far."

"Their reporters will be the ones that may in fact exceed the scientists in their obstreperousness, I shall warn you. But they are a small set of private individuals who are hired privately, and whom the security forces will protect you from," Jhayka added with a smile. "They are often not well liked even among those humans who enjoy their services."

"Ahhhh, reporters. I have heard stories about that profession." Ada'ren replied, sniffing delicately. "I believe it will be manageable, indeed, if I understand how things work from the limited dataset we have about the Alliance, simply relying on light environmental fields rather than suits would keep them from being able to run many stories about us, yes?"

"When they hassle you, refuse to give them any sort of knowledge at all. That is my recommendation. They do not know when to stop, so it is better to avoid getting them started. Remain.. Unflappable in their presence. If you do that, things should flow smoothly. Fields or suits," she concluded.

The four Zohan all nodded at that advice and direction. "Very well, Your Highness, we shall proceed under that directive."

"Excellent, then. Do you have any other questions for me?" Jhayka settled back, ears up, hands flexing six fingers together for a moment.

"Only one more about the mission, Your Highness, the briefing packets were rather complete and you have already cleared up most of the concerns and clarifications that we required." came from Ada'ren after a moments consideration. "However, we are concerned that there may well be fellow Zohan from those that reached Alliance space in attendance, we would prefer to be able to interact with our brethren without concern that such would be taken inappropriately by yourself or others, but we are not knowledgeable enough of how this diplomacy works to be fully certain."

"That's acceptable, except that, of course, the instructions still apply. You can't discuss our IU Drive project with them anymore than anyone else. With that sole warning in mind, I trust that you'll do just fine." Jhayka smiled, an odd sort of expression with her cybernetic eyes like twin monocles on her face, but the Zohan had been unperturbed by that throughout. They apparently were more comfortable with the concept than many of her own people.

The Zohan nodded once more in response. "That is quite acceptable." Ada'ren said with a smile, in truth the obvious cybernetics were not at all a bother for them, as each of them we far more completely wired. Indeed, as far as Ada'ren was concerned, the obviously mechanical nature of the replacements indicated either the presence of advanced functionality or somewhat cruder cybernetic technology, neither something to be bothered by.

As it was, Jhayka's cybernetics did in fact have advanced functionality, but they were there for other reasons as well, which the Zohan would have found mystifying. They were not addressed; there was no need to. "Well, if you can tell me where to go for tomorrow's Passage, Senior Engineer Executive, then I believe it is safe to say that we will see each other then, and also on the day of our embarkation aboard the Slashahkimmar."

"It is planned to be held within the Marchioness of Sapai's villa, Your Highness, starting at.." a brief pause as units were converted "two local hours after noon." Ada'ren replied, nodding slightly as the four Zohan rose to their feet.

"Most excellent. I'll see you all then. Do have a good day, Senior Engineer Executive." Jhayka herself rose, towering over them, and with a faint smile, gestured and handed them off to the girl who'd shown them in to escort them back out.

"We shall do our utmost, Your Highness, may your day be good as well." Adaren replied, as all four Zohan once more bowed with the same precision as earlier before following the girl back out to the lobby.

[Steve]

Valeria, Talora Prime.
25 February 2165 AST.
24 Valeria I.Y. 618.


Dani had the bedroom across from Jhayka's for the night, filled with sundry knick-knacks of Drishalras' that seemed like they came out of a Tiki Bar. Drish had asked, now that the newlyweds had had their time together, for a night, before she'd more or less promised the whole of the nearly-a-human-month long voyage to the Alliance capitol to Dani because she'd be busy handling the ship. The departure was to be later that day, and they had awoke somewhat early to make their final preparations for it, with their belongings already largely in the process of being transferred aboard. Since Jhayka and Drish had probably not stayed up all night, the violent sound of cursing from across the hall shortly after Danielle woke up would no doubt attract some attention from the human, and it was most assuredly in Drishalras' voice, followed, thankfully to keep Dani from worrying, with a coherent sentence: "Fuck the fucking fuckers down to the darkest halls of Idenicamos' harem and may he fuck them again and rip out their balls! They've ruined the crew of my ship!"

Half-dressed, Dani threw on a robe over her undergarments and stepped into the hall, interested in the commotion, not completely sure still about what she said due to only a passing ability with their dialect of Taloran - she could only really identify a term relating to Idenicamos and, she was quite sure, an allusion to testicles. Which told her enough as it was... She politely knocked, and said, "Are you two okay in there?"

The door was abruptly opened and Drishalras was standing there, wearing only a bathrobe and holding an electric stylus, looking utterly outraged. "Okay? Dani? Okay!? No. No I'm not okay. They pulled most of the crew off my ship and replaced them with the worst malefactors in the whole system!"

Dani looked forward for a moment, not quite saying anything until she managed a bewildered, "Oh".

Jhayka was in the background, also just wearing a robe, and calmly stirring two mixed drinks, now a third with Dani's arrival. The first was immediately thrust to Drishalras. "Drink, and relax, my dear captain. They're scarcely the scum of the nations if they're still in the service, after all..." She looked to Danielle and held up a hand to forestall an answer from Drishalras: "Since most of her crew was due for leave, they were reassigned, except for volunteers--most of the officers and some Petty Officers--and then to replace them every single ship in the system was asked to contribute a few personnel that they could spare. I think you can understand what this means."

"Oh yeah, I can imagine," Dani replied, having served on enough ships, and seen a couple similar "volunteer" fiascos, to know precisely what had happened. "Just as long as the engineering complement doesn't get the drunks and the louts..."

"Oh, yes," Drishalras slammed back about half of the drink. "We'll need to post a double-guard around the liquor barrels. Thank you for bringing that up, Danielle," she rubbed her forehead with her other hand, apparently, after her round of cursing, feeling good enough to actually start planning for it... And in doing so, revealing something that Dani probably hadn't known about the Taloran Starfleet.

"Ah, a booze ration?" asked Dani.

"Yeah..." Drishalras' yellow eyes narrowed for a moment. "Wait, you don't have one?"
In the background, Jhayka handed the third glass to Danielle. "Here, a bit to make you chipper... Is she right?"
"Not in the Stellar Navy. There are a few national navies, though, that have restored the practice, mostly for long-term deployment ships like frontier guard cruisers," Dani replied. She smiled wickedly. "There was a nice English girl I met at Gallis Station from a frontier British ship, one of the types that say out for a year or two, who let me have some of her ration during our acquaitance. She said she took pity on me because the US Navy kept refusing any suggestion of a rum ration..."

"How can you deal with sailors unless they're drunk? But I suppose you get your's fresh off the farm, or from the cities, rather than conscripting them from civilian ships like we do," Drishalras answered after a moment. "Speaking of which, did you ever have a posting to a starship?"
"Oh wonderful, a naval conversation between my wives, just the thing I've been dreading," Jhayka muttered, drinking and turning to the side a bit, as though to hide.

"Mostly in my early career in the USN," Dani admitted. "After I transferred to the Stellar Navy from the US Navy in '51 I mostly had shore postings heading spaceyard repair and refit teams. It was a good transfer, allowed me to get familiar with all the new ships that the ASN was putting into service in the 50s. Though in order to get my promotion to Lieutenant Commander I had to put in a stint as a Chief Engineer's Mate on a capital ship. I got lucky and landed a Second Watch spot on one of the new Jellicoe-class dreadnoughts, the von Spee, for her maiden voyage. Only the second of her class. It was an awesome deployment, I spent a year and a half on her, I was even with her during the Battle of Zimmer 391-C." Dani didn't come out and say that one of the additional benefits of the work had been to cope with losing her lover. She merely took another drink, the old pain dulled greatly by her new happiness.

"I didn't know you'd transferred navies," Jhayka confessed after a moment. "There are some things we still have to learn about each other. As strange as that is, I suppose. Or maybe not. How was that possible?"
"And what was the action at Zimmer 391-C like?" Drishalras asked, before getting distracted and commenting to nobody in particular, "Answer me second, I'm going to summon up breakfast real quick..."

"Oh, that was allowed by a law signed under President Verdes - a distant cousin, I'm told - that allowed for us to transfer from national services to the Alliance service or back. A lot of people did, since our governments were cutting back on force levels and good postings were getting hard to find. And when you're a lesbian who's had half a dozen conservative superiors spy on you and see you go into lesbian clubs on your leave time and put that in your service jacket, well, you're not going to get a good posting. When I transferred to the Stellar Navy, they didn't send the post-it notes on the service jacket." Dani took a drink and waited for Drish to get back.

"Those strange customs still bother me," Jhayka muttered softly. "And I suppose it does leave me somewhat worried what the reaction to us will be. They won't be violent, do you think? The commoners, I mean..." As Drishalras returned, Jhayka cast her a devilish look: "Order four portions as usual?"
"Jhayka!" Drish exclaimed, flushing, but not denying it.

"Christians aren't Farzians, and I've had plenty of Bible quotes told to me proving that just thinking about making love to another woman is a sin," Dani pointed out to her before Drish' return. After hearing the two of them share an exchange, Dani smirked and added, "I wish I could metabolize naturally like a Taloran. Metabolizers are expensive, and without 'em even eating half that would get me fat and ugly fast. I have enough flab as it is." For effect, Dani opened her robe enough to bare her belly, and showed where she'd gotten just a bit flabby, or rather where her abs were no longer tight and firm but soft.

"Well, I am fat, sorta," Drish admitted after a moment, and then shrugged, reaching for a brush and stepping behind Jhayka. "You always neglect your hair..." She started to work her way through the bright pink locks, leaning over her wife's shoulder as they waited for their breakfast. "Tell us about Zimmer 391-C, surely?"

"Drish, sweetie.... you eat more than I do and we're just about the same figure. We Human women don't have that wonderful Taloran physiology, no, we need low-carb cardboard-tasting meals and constant exercise of multiple varieties," Dani cast a mirthful, mischievous glance at Jhayka, "to keep ourselves that thin."
After taking a drink, Dani intended to start her recollection of the battle, though she gave Jhayka a moment to reply to her.

"Well, I've always thought myself pretty normal, and not at all lazy, and.. Who wants to eat as much as Drish, anyway?" She got an elbow for that, but a gentle one, and ignored it with a soft laugh.

"Keep in mind that I was an engineer, and I spent the battle in reactor control watching over the MAM reactor and assigning damage control and repair teams. Zimmer 391-C is a system between the Alliance Colonial Zone and what was the Plymouth frontier. It is just outside of the good parts of hyperspace, close enough that their fleets could get there in reasonable time. The von Spee was a part of the 39th Battle Squadron, designated Squadron 8.2.4 at the time - that is, we were the 4th Squadron of the 2nd Task Force of the 8th Fleet - and was in a wall formation with three other dreadnoughts and an older Freedom-class superdreadnought, the Shinano."
"A lot of this I learned after the battle, when details become freer.... that, and one of the bridge officers had a crush on me, and I didn't have the hear to tell him I prefered girls. Basically, our task force was assigned to patrol the frontier region and bring to battle any Plymouthite ships attempting to bypass the main Lisean fleet position at New Fayetteville. We found a force of about a hundred Plymouthite ships doing just that in the vicinity of Zimmer 391-C, detecting them via the hyperspace sensors our E-warfare cruisers had come equipped with for CON-5 service."

"It was.... May 30th, 2160 AST. The war was just over a month old. They'd already had a number of vicious fights on other fronts, and our front was quiet enough that this was going to be our first major battle. 120 ships versus 100, so we had a slight numerical advantage, but the Plymmies had one of their handful of 'Monitor' type ships.... basically superdreadnoughts built with better armor and guns at a sacrifice of speed and range, meant only for border service. They'd given us and the Liseans fits in the last war. But this time, we had our own new toy, our own advantage. Because aside from the Nimitz covering the region and our battle carriers, we had the Mount Saint Helens." Dani's face showed her glee, really her enthusiasm as a naval engineer and a designer. "The second Vesuvius-class superdread. Forty-eight 460mm high-velocity coil-guns, with a broadside of about, oh, thirty two and a half gigatons energy value for primary armament. Secondary armament of another twenty 190mm YoungEng-designed particle cannons for anti-cruiser and anti-destroyer work, not to mention her point-defense interceptors and pulse-disruptor batteries."

"The Plymmies had a slight advantage in missile numbers, and they got out of hyperspace earlier than we thought so they had some range to use it in. We took a bit of a hammering, since all of their missiles had good penaids and armor. The worst was poor Shinano; they concentrated on her and got a lucky shield-penetrator in that damaged her engine nacelle."
"But then we got the range. The Plymmie admiral thought he had an advantage, apparently the Plymmies didn't care much for Vesuvius compared to their Monitors. The Monitors did have a slight broadside advantage, I think I remember hearing that their Divine Wrath-class had a broadside energy value of forty gigatons, plus their missile armament, which most of our capital ships don't carry much of - we have specialized classes for that, and our only dreadnought-tonnage ship with missiles are the Jellicoe-class.... anyway, the Plymmie admiral let us in range and things went right to hell for him. He didn't have enough battleships and cruisers to keep our own battleships and cruisers from adding to the pounding of the two Monitors he had, see, and our torpedoes were better at breaking through shielding than their torpedoes."
"Anyway, my buddy on the bridge... he said the first exchange was the worst, for us that is. Their two Monitors focused on Shinano. They broke down her shields and tore up her port side. One lucky particle beam got into her armored keel enough to cook off one of her fuel bunkers, and it pretty much blew her apart. I mean, the keel absorbed some of it, and half the ship was still intact, but she was a dead hulk. A crew of two thousand and nine hundred people, about, and only something like six hundred survived."
"But the Monitors got it in the second exchange. In the first we tended to focus on their buddies, and did a good hurt to them, but when the guns were fired again seven seconds later... BOOM. The Helen tore into one of the Plymmie Monitors. Her full broadside, at a range and with the Plymmies slow enough that they said all the shells hit. Her shields were battered almsot to nothing, and then our squadron got to play. We ripped into her, and our crew still has a running feud with the crew of our sister ship, the Beatty - the fourth ship of the class - over which of us landed the killing blow. But one of the armor-piercing shells struck her missile magazine. I forgot what the name of that Plymmie ship was, but it was gored by the hit. I saw the after-battle shot of her. A complete wreck, and that's only after at most two torpedoes from our fighters to make sure she was down."
"The other Monitor survived the broadside, but she was down on her deflectors. The next broadside was from them, since we fire faster than Plymmies and were about to unleash our third, but with one Monitor down and a bunch of their dreadies and battleships down or hurt, it didn't hit nearly as bad. But we got our smacking. Two fo their dreadnoughts focused on us, and hit us enough that the port shields were down to their last deflector screen. Half our generators were wrenched out of their moorings, and bleedthrough on the last deflector scorched an entire hull section, killed a nice group of kids doing damage control." Dani nursed her glass for a moment. "I'd actually met their team leader, a really nice young girl from New Iowa who was looking for engineer qualifications to get into school... pretty, bright, would've gone far..." There were a couple tears in Dani's eyes, but only such; she hadn't known the girl after all, beyond what she did and her potential, which was what drew the tears.

"Your crews are small, it must make damage control difficult," Drishalras mused, silent for a moment, before confessing: "I haven't had a chance to see action before. I'd always served with the Home Fleet before the Slashahkimmar's latest deployment. And for that matter even she has a crew... Ten times the size of one of your superdreadnoughts. Irrespective of her fighter wing's support compliment."

"Drish, sweetie, our ships are built differently from your's, and we have more automation for day-to-day ship operation. We don't all get to use conscripts, so we economize on manpower."

"Well..." Drishalras smiled back rather innocently. "Do you want to get a personal tour of the Slashahkimmar from her Captain? I'll be able to at least see the mettle of my own crew, too.... And I like the thought of maybe impressing an engineer."

"I'd love it. But to get back to the battle..." Dani finished a drink and continued on. "I guess by that point the Plymmies realized they were fucked, and they tried to break off. But their commander didn't want to leave the surviving Monitor behind, so he kept formation, and those flying buckets were so damned slow, even for a 48 megatonne ship, that it allowed us to maneuver around him. Admiral Schuler, who was commanding Task Force 8.2 from the Helen, divided our force in two and used this to cut their fleet into three partitions, with our ships focusing their fire on the petition between our divisions for, I think it was about half a minute. It was a slaughter. They lost something like two modern superdreadnoughts, their latest class, and another four dreadnoughts and four battleships. At that point their admiral, in the partition in the front, finally decided to cut his losses and ordered his ships to get back to hyperspace ASAP. We kept hammering until they made the hyperspace transit. When it was all said and done, we lost ten ships outright, with twenty severely damaged and all ships with varying degree of damage, and the Plymmies lost something like thirty ships and I'm sure the leftovers limped back into Luther." Dani finished her drink and remarked, "And there you have it, ladies. The first and only time that I, as a naval engineer for spaceships, actually participated in a space battle. It wasn't nearly as messy or hectic as the fights at Kalunda, I assure you."

"No, it wouldn't be," Jhayka observed mildly. "But it was combat nonetheless, and deadly so. A good thing to remember, Drishalras..."
"Oh, we're ready, when the time comes, my wife. Though this crew..." Drishalras looked a bit dubious there. "At least it's just a diplomatic mission."

"And who would attack us anyway?" asked Dani. "A Taloran battlecruiser, not far at all from 8th Fleet and their battle squadrons..."

"A pleasure cruise," Drishalras agreed amiably, and then breakfast arrived.


Washington D.C., Earth
Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
28 February 2165 AST.
27 Valeria I.Y. 618.


It was the standard Thursday afternoon, though the White House was in a slight tumult. President Dale was to leave the next day, to be gone for three weeks for a state visit to various places and to attend the Mehllrieh Summit in the Alpha Quadrant, the first full meeting of Heads of State from the Alpha Quadrant since the end of the Dominion War. It had been ten years since the infamous Khitomer Summit, and the choice of venue - the leading Romulan-inhabited city on New Ivers - was in part an act to show that the results of that tense and hotly-debated Summit, where the Alliance had set the stage for the future intervention of Orion and it's continued anti-piracy activities in the Triangle region.
Dale, much to his chagrin, had been appointed to lead the round-table discussions of the Heads of State of the great Alpha Quadrant powers. For him, it would not merely be his first Summit with the Alpha Quadrant powers as President, but also the first time he had met the bitter, griefstricken Hanse Davion since casting the critical vote (or so to speak) in the Mamatmas Cabinent that had led to the incident at Pondicherry and the end of the FedCom-ADN entente. Having once been a proponent of strong relations with the Commonwealth, and having met Hanse and other members of his family on many occasions, the likely hostility he would encounter was not a welcome thing.

Mrs. Higgins buzzed to let him know that Director Bronson had arrived to see him. Not anxious to see Sir James, as he tended to bring bad news, Dale nevertheless called for him to be brought in. "Sir James, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Given the troubles you're about to be experiencing in Mehllrieh, I hate to add to them, but you'd better be prepared for a political firestorm over the Taloran delegation," Sir James answered. "We have news fresh from our desk at the Valeria Embassy, Mister President, announcing the marriage of Princess Jhayka to Danielle Verdes, her human lover who will be joining her for the talks."

Dale put his pen down and looked at Bronson for a moment. "But.... Princess Jhayka is already married."
"It also turns out that the captain of the Slashahkimmar is one Princess Drishalras Retgariu, the Princess of the Coasts.... who is the woman that Princess Jhayka married after her Convocate trial last year."
In all the eleven years of working with the President, Bronson had never seen Dale's jaw drop that low on his face. It took him about five, six seconds to find the words to say. "So.... Princess Jhayka is married to the captain of the ship bringing Jhayka here.... and she just married Miss, er, Mrs. Verdes." After another short pause. "The Talorans practice bigamy?"
"Polygamy, actually, Mister President. It tends to be used for straight couples, and the Talorans do have the legal and religious institution of non-permanent marriages to consider. But it does allow for the... situation of Princess Jhayka's household."
"So the Taloran Empire has sent, to negotiate a major treaty that will determine their future involvement in the Multiverse, a lesbian bigamist with both of her wives as part of the team, one of whom being a former Alliance citizen?" Dale set his head on the desk and put his hands on his head. "This is going to be a media circus. What did I do to deserve this?"

"You have a wife who is exceptionally beautiful and exceptionally intelligent, an adult daughter who is lovely and also intelligent, a healthy and happy infant son, and you're the President of the Allied Nations, the most powerful title that a common man in the known Muliverse can claim," Bronson said, as if reciting the cause for the current misfortune in about the best type of humor the dour spymaster could ever manage.
"Noted," Dale muttered. "Well, I'd better get some early statements drawn up, and get to work on other things. I can't do anything to stop the media circus, and no use responding to it until it's already in full gear."


Aerospace PT-1, New Ivers Orbit
New Ivers Confederacy
Universe Designate ST-3
1 March 2165 AST.
28 Valeria I.Y. 618.


It would be the next day that the last Head of State would arrive to commence the Summit at Mehllrieh, and in the meantime Dale was waiting for the appropriate security precautions to be completed for his aerospace liner's landing at Mehllrieh Spaceport. The Boeing IS-307 was the newest and fastest aerospace liner in most of the Multiverse, exceedingly fast for a craft that came out to just 6,000 tons. The special PT-1 variant, designed differently but on the same frame, was primarily intended for when the Alliance President was not traveling far, as the vessel was fast but had nowhere near the fuel reserves for more than 12 hours warp flight. With sophisticated defensive technology, including shielding as powerful as could be installed for a ship of that size and, more importantly, the latest in ECS technology.
Of course, most of this was mere precaution - the PT-1 never journeyed anywhere dangerous, and a Presidential state visit to such regions usually meant a trip with a CVTG. The flight to New Ivers had taken just a matter of hours, and almost all at sublight - from HE-1 Earth to the IU jump gate facility over Io and then a jump straight to New Ivers, just outside of the LaGrange points of the planet.

Julia and Michael had accompanied him, but neither were present now. It was the early morning and Dale had chosen to use it to go over the packet transmitted to him from Director Bronson's office. It was the evaluation of the Taloran negotiating team. Their psych evaluations, speculations on their purpose in the team and why they were chosen, and other sundry things.
Dale immediately sought out the evaluation on the matters most on his mind; that Princess Jhayka was bring both wives - and that she had two to begin with - and that her Chief of Staff was a wanted war criminal who would only be protected from arrest the moment she stepped into Alliance territory by the Taloran writ making her a diplomat. Any moment the news would likely be leaked to the media and the news would make front page... and not in the good way.

The main finding was that women with absolutely no diplomatic experience - which aptly described not only Danielle Verdes (or was it Danielle itl dhin Intuit? Dale would have to check and verify how the Talorans adopted names on marriage) and Fayza al-Bakar but Princess Jhayka herself - had been chosen because they were deemed "experts" on Humans. Verdes and al-Bakar were likely present to keep Jhayka and her team from committing any faux pas, or so was the assessment of the Empress' purpose for them. Jhayka had been considered knowledgable about Humans for decades before the incidents on Gilead. It wasn't "pandering" or anything - as always the Talorans had no understanding or appreciation of public relations or such things - just a consideration. And it likely explained why so many other Humans had been added to the negotiating team.

The reason for Priscilla Laurentii's presence was more, though. The analysts attributed this not just to a desire for Humans on the team, but as a gesture to show how little they cared for the popular turmoil demanding her extradition.
More interesting, however, was an evaluation of Laurentii herself... an evaluation at odds with the public image of a vicious, hateful devotee of the Old Order that ruthlessly murdered innocent people to get her father out of harm's way. According to reports from those who served with her on Gilead during the siege and to other such accounts and reports of her behavior over the years, Laurentii was far from a staunch supporter of the Old Regime, but rather made a spur of the moment decision to escond a man who just revealed himself as her father to safety. She was a dignified and honorable woman, a capable administrator, and someone who hated the Old Regime as much as any slave did.
None of these findings would likely find weight in most quarters, of course, as Devenshire's position made it politically impossible for it to demand anything less than Laurentii in handcuffs and turned over to them for what would clearly be an unfair trial. Just allowing her to come with the negotiating team would severely impact ADN-Devenshiran relations.

And yet Dale found that a price not too high for the promise of the talks to come. It would be a gamble admittedly, since even paying all these prices - the political turmoil from the groups protesting the character of the Taloran negotiators, the compromises he'd have to make on other matters to secure the Council's good behavior during the talks, the damage that Priscilla Laurentii's attendance would do to relations with Devenshire - did not guarantee the treaty would be finished and ratified, given that Taloran terms might come too high and the whole thing could fail to win approval from either government even when the treaty was written.
And despite all he had done in his life already, this would likely be the deciding moment, something that would mark his Presidency - for good or for ill - for all time, and decide how he would be remembered. Such was the price of wielding the power of the state; it was one he had reluctantly accepted when Mamatmas had asked him to run in '62, and one he continued to carry so long as it was his duty to do so.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

HSMS Slashahkimmar,
Departing the Rust Belt.
2 March 2165 AST,
29 Valeria, I.Y. 618.


Drishalras breathed in air thick with drugs and smiled contentedly. Use of the jump drives had for a long time been limited not only by power requirements but also by the extremely negative effects possible from a sharp jump. That had been solved by essentially engineering drugs which would suppress those effects and then just pumping the ships full of them. They were harmless otherwise, though they sometimes caused strange side-effects in psychics, especially the strong ones, and so Ilavna Lashila had more or less shut away her powers with the discipline methods she'd known and remained confined in the adunctant quarters to the Admiral's cabin that Jhayka and Danielle inhabited.

Drishalras scarcely had the time for anything but handling the ship. The number of fights between detachments of the crews of various ships hadn't slowed the whole time they'd already been traveling, and she'd spent at least an extra hour a day dealing out summary punishment. The officers and NCOs who'd stayed were all her best, but they were as overwhelmed as she was with trying to beat (more or less literally) order into the dregs of a dozen-dozen crews.

Was it really worth it to take her? The thought had frequently flashed through her mind, but the response was always yes. She was very proud of her battlecruiser, and the chance to show it off to the Alliance Stellar Navy was one that she wouldn't have passed up even if losing command hadn't been on the table with the trip.

They were recharging from the last jump while traveling through deep space at 54c, or about warp 3.5, under their gravito-magnetic drives in a Travisi Field, or what the humans called a Heim Field. As the speed had been established on departing Talora Prime they were just coasting under cruising impellers which sustained their FTL progress while the reactors charged the massive banks of jump capacitors. They took 85 Taloran minutes to charge, about the equivalent of two human hours, and it had been five since their last 30-ly jump. Drish was running the ship hot because of the urgency of the mission and her own desire to test the Slashahkimmar under high-speed cruising conditions: A Kalammi-class ship had not yet been brought through a really sustained cruising trial, and Drishalras felt her vessel, built with a liner's figure and the speed to match, could equal their feats of continuous high-energy, high speed operations over a period of almost a month that the trip was take. She was interested in, while she was on her diplomatic mission, setting a fleet speed record, and in doing so maybe forging her castoff misfits into a real fighting crew, even if they were unlikely to stay long enough after the mission to get a chance at combat.

So I've needlessly given myself a secondary duty of giving some discipline to them, she mused, but didn't regret it. Being useful pleased her, and besides, it gave Jhayka and Danielle time alone that they richly deserved. To make something out of the dregs of the fleet.. Well, that was proving a harder task. Some of them, mostly in the engineering spaces, had responded well to the prospect of the cruising trophy, but for the moment everything else was an utter mess save for the starfighter compliment, as the Starfighter Corps had gallingly avoided the Starfleet's mistake in the assignments (or minor expression of disapproval with the Empress' meddling).

It certainly had added to everyone's chores, but few of the officers were complaining. The mission was a considerable honour for the officers, who would act as the many representatives of their nation to the human peoples they'd encounter. Though the liqueur perhaps flowed more readily than it normally did at the officer's mess, though Jhayka's largesse there in bringing aboard tens of thousands of bottles of all the finest vintages perhaps also explained that one... She is very thoughtful to all around her... Drishalras mused dreamily, her love for her wife undiminished by the polygamous marriage she now found herself in, and the status reports drifted away until the clock sounded eight bells and right on time, freshly minted Lieutenant Commander Rihkani showed up on the bridge.

"Your Highness, I report to provide your relief," she saluted crisply as she came to attention in front of Drishalras in the command chair. "Do you want a status report from the Executive Officer on the crew?"

"Go right ahead, Commander," Drishalras answered with a twitch of her ears.

"We have four people before your summary court tribunal this evening for fighting, one for trying to steal liquor, and one for disrespect to an officer."

"Only six!?"

"'Only' six, Your Highness," Rihkani answered with a wry look. "That's about the number we normally have the morning of departure, not five days out, and we had twenty-five yesterday, but, yes, less than a fourth as many. Perhaps the orders to our remaining NCOs to be solid with their knuckle-dusters have put most of the violent ones in place..."

"Losing an even fight tends to quiet a bad sailor down far better than a ceremonial whipping," Drishalras agreed. "So I've always preferred to just encourage the NCOs to have it out with anyone they feel deserves it."

"It's a sound policy," Rihkani agreed softly, violet hair pleasant with green eyes that showed her earnestness.

Drishalras got up, then, and handed the captain's chair over to Rihkani. The younger Taloran settled down promptly, but Drish lingered a bit, walking around the bridge and reviewing the people at their stations as Rihkani logged in and received the required status reports, and then returned. The officer of the watch was silent for a while, but then she delicately piped up.

"Your Highness, you've lived with them now for a while.. Do you much about what Earth will be like, how we'll be able to interact with the humans? We're going to be there for months, right?"

"Quite possibly, commander," Drish answered. "I don't think the humans Jhayka brought back are all that common in terms of representatives of the human race. Danielle, perhaps--the Duchess of Henley--is the most so. I've gotten along well with her, but then, she'd interacted with plenty of Talorans before me, as well. Humans on a human homeworld? On the Alliance capitol? I'm not so sure of them."

"Will they at least have things for us to do?"

"There's plenty of history, even though they're a very young people. I think their oldest habitations are only ten thousand, eleven thousand years old in their years, three thousand five hundred for us, but they're very dense on the ground in some areas. They have monuments in the capital, and of course plenty of chances to interact with the officers of their navy and get to know them and how they think, probably more than your share of formal dinners, Commander--you'll scarcely be bored. Lots of chances to tour the area, at the very least, and do the normal things that tourists do. I'm not sure how much hunting is permitted, but perhaps since we're all under diplomatic passports... There would be many strange beasts for trophies."

"That brings up another question," Rihkani frowned hard. "How are we going to handle shore leaves?"

"Plenty of gendarmie on their part, and plenty of NCO's accompanying them ashore on our's. It's not like we need anyone on the ship in an extended docking situation like this save a skeleton caretaker crew, though we'll rotate anyway. But the NCOs and junior officers can enjoy an indefinite vacation herding our wayward crew, which will be scarcely unpleasant, but I'm sure the Alliance is used to this sort of thing," Drishalras answered with more confidence than she really had, adding: "Perhaps it would be better to keep then onboard, but it would also be quite inhumane."

"Well, we'll have to watch it carefully even so." Rihkani was silent for a moment, and then added, "Your Highness, do you think humans fit well with us? I mean, considering that your family contains them."

"Looking to date someone while you're there?"

Rihkani flushed gray-green, and intensely so. "Your Highness! Please, hardly so. But I mean more in general."

"They can get used to us, and we to them. I find them still a bit disconcerting from their lack of ear-signs, but otherwise they're normal enough as people. I think they could be as close to us as the Jikar, given time."

"And closer, as with the Princess, if I may dare?"

"I don't expect many such marriages, but I suppose that is already closer than the Jikar. As our humans get closer to us, as with the Jikar, but seeing as they're more compatible to us, I imagine the number of relationships will increase. But, still, they're infertile unions and that's a sad thing that, all other matters aside, I doubt most which to enter."

"Love oftentimes has a bittersweet end," Rihkani agreed, the common Taloran thought from the story of Valera and Taliya. "Well, thank you, Your Highness. I suppose we will at least make many fine friends among them."

"Just remember your tongue, Commander. Their intelligence services are ubiquitorious and spy and terrorize their population on whim. Do not get anyone else in trouble, but also yourself. I warn you not because of a lack of trust but because among humans these matters... Really do seem to be omnipresent. Why, I even learned from Jhayka, and Danielle confirms it, that their governments issue licenses for driving vehicles. Unimaginable, here!"

Rihkani looked in surprise. "I suppose that really does drive home what we've always felt about democracies, Your Highness. Governments issuing driving licenses? I do not think I will truly believe that until I have been there and seen one myself."

"Then, soon enough, Commander, you will get that chance."

"Well, thank you for the perspectives, Your Highness," Rihkani answered, and went to her duties.

Drishalras' mind soon turned to other things as she left and headed below to eat, get ready for the summary justice affair of the evening, and then sleep. Namely: Well, if there's only been six infractions today, perhaps tomorrow I will finally have enough time to give Fayz and Danielle that tour of the ship's machinery spaces that I promised them..... It had been a long week.

[Steve]

Al-Andahar, New Algeria
Sultanate of New Morocco (Caliphal States)
Universe Designate CON-5
4 March 2165 AST,
31 Valeria, I.Y. 618.


The city of al-Andahar looked like it had come straight from a picture of old North Africa on Terra... which, in fact,it mostly had, in terms of population and culture. The bazaar teemed with the sounds of robed men and veiled women haggling in Arabic and Berber, all expecting that at any time would come the muezzin and the call to prayer.
Before the call sounded, a man named Abdul bin Rashad stepped out of his humble-looking abode about a block from the bazaar, having kissed his two wives goodbye before shooing them back into the haram to rejoin his only remaining unmarried daughter and the two child-neices he had taken in after his brother and his wives had been claimed by a recent epidemic, which still sometimes occurred in the impoverished Caliphal States. With turban and robes, the only thing the man was wearing that would place him in the 29th Century and not the 9th was the pair of sunglasses he put on and the old particle beam pistol hidden in his desert robes.

He exchanged hellos with a friendly cleric outside of the local mosque as he walked past, the simple structure adorned with tapestries and the prayer nave pointing to the Great Mosque of al-Kashrash, where a sealed urn purported to hold sand from the lost Holy City of Mecca was kept, the local Islamic clerics' way of rationalizing the facts of living off Earth with the need to pray toward Mecca.
He arrived at his destination near the spaceport and looked up to see a glittering space-freighter fly by, on its way to orbit, disrupting the archaic scenery of al-Andahar. Allah roast the stomachs of the men who built such abominations, he thought sullenly, for they have led even the Faithful astray, and have cost us the Holy Cities. It had, after all, been five hundred years since a fully successful hajj had been made; most hajjs made since were one-way trips by old and dying Muslims intent on meeting their end at the irradiated Ka'aba in Mecca, fulfilling the obligation of hajj.

The building was mud-brick as the others, but inside was a facade of technology; holographic emitters for space charts that identified known patrols of their area of space. Where once the Caliphal States had managed to make the Infidel pay some form of tribute (save for the most powerful fo the Infidel states such as Britain and the French Empire) to move through their space unmolested, they were now lucky to catch the occasional small transport from the smaller world-states in the region. In the past 12 years the accursed Alliance, perhaps the greatest of the Satanic realms, had severely cracked down on piracy, and what they and the emboldened British did not take out, the Slavic barbarians did in their war against the Caliph. Now the chart showed the constant presence of patrolling vessels - even those of their own Caliph, who now worked against the corsairs to preserve his throne - that made any raiding almost suicidal.
Heading to the upper floor, Abdul was met by a man in similar robes, older and slimmer and certainly wiser-looking. Mahmud al-Rashid was Prantonese, a respected cleric of the Muslim population there, still forced to bow to a Christian ruler for the past crimes of degenerated Muslims who brought Allah to punish his people through being enslaved by Christians for so long. Being old friends, Abdul and Mahmud greeted each other warmly. Before they could begin talking, the muezzin was heard in the distance. Abdul showed Mahmud where the tub of water for the ritual cleansing was, and then rolled out a second prayer rug for the two men to make the prayer together.

Only when this was observed, and reverently so, did they sit on soft cushions and begin speaking. This was hardly their first meeting; the corsairs of the Caliphal States had long given charity to the Underground Railroad in Pranton, helping Muslims to escape slavery and punishing Devenshire by raiding its vessels whenever they dared the approach to New Hedjaz, and thus Mahmud and Abdul were well acquainted. "Was your journey well?"
"It was." Mahmud looked around the room. "You seemed to have kept well for yourself."
"What ships I have left I use sparingly, only when I know the reward is great. But I know the day will come when i will have none. All I may hope then is to die as a warrior of Allah, perhaps throw my ship against a vessel of the Greater Satans or, if I must, one of the Lesser Satans."
"I may have a chance for you and your crews to do so," Mahmud remarked.
"Ah?"
"The Butcher of umm-Kashrash is going to move not too far from here soon. She is amongst those of the Talorans going to negotiate alliance with the Allied Nations. Imagine two of the Greater Satans working together..."
"Allah will certainly forbid it," replied Abdul dismissively, "and if He does not, then He has greater plans."
"This is a chance for us to send that bitch to her just rewards with Shai'tan, Abdul. A chance for you and your crews to die in Jihad to send her and the Talorans who have shielded her to roast by Allah's hand."
"I would imagine the vessel she travels on is powerful," said Abdul.
"It is a vessel called Slashahkimmar. They call them battlecruisers."
"No escorts?" asked Abdul, his mind thinking it over.
"None. The Alliance has only sparse patrols in that region, and the Talorans' drives, you know how they work? They must jump from one spot to another, and wait to jump again. An ambush by your vessels would send them to their doom, Allah willing, and I have been told of the path they are to take so I could provide it to you."
Nodding slowly, Abdul considered what Mahmud told him. "And these ships, these battlecruisers, they are powerful with weapons, but their armor? It is as a meager cruiser. An ambush against them before their shields are raised, even if afterward, should let us destroy them, if necessary through acts of martyrdom by our crews."
Looking hopeful, Mahmud asked, "Then you shall do it?"
"How could I not? Many good Muslims died because of this woman, and Allah has been generous to place her in our grasp, to give us a chance to die on jihad. Surely Allah is testing us to see if we are worthy of His favor again, so that we might rise up and deal with the Greater Satans." Abdul nodded slowly. "I shall get my men together, and we shall leave as soon as we can." Smiling at Mahmud, he added, "We shall either return in triumph, or we shall be in Paradise; either way I shall see you again, my friend."

[Sea Skimmer]

I just got around to reading this, I hope we have another update sometime soon. But as always, armor is good, battlecruisers bad.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Near Lootera, Huntress
Kerensky Territories
Universe Designate MWB-32
5 March 2165 AST.
32 Valeria, I.Y. 618.


The Baroness Sipajhai Olothdhakiu of Khastim had proved a stoic guest. Treating it like one of her high altitude expeditions--and high altitude adventurers were very rare among Talorans, with almost all the records in the Empire being held by Jikari and those of other species, including even a few by Imperial humans--she had carefully arranged for money to provide for the household, and had led them all with an example of cool moderation. A bit leaner still, perhaps, than when she had arrived, she had found 'Clan society invigorating in a way. And she had taught Tamara shield-fighting.

The girl was interesting, her liason into clan life more or less and nearly a personal servant; fiercely loyal. Sipajhai had taken it on herself to instruct her thoroughly in such combat as she knew, something which was an honour for Tamara, but not an easy one. Sipajhai was not as brutal as the instructors of the 'Clans, but she was even more demanding, if anything. It had just made the girl adore her more, and the mentoring relationship had been well established. The willingness to impart her knowledge even more generally to the youth in the household had excited the approval of the elders, who had hungered to see those young warriors, denied their rights, taught by someone with real combat experience.

Her human bodyguards had ended up the most standoffish of the lot, a room to themselves being provided, even as Tamara slept on a futon unrolled at the foot of Sipajhai's bed, a vibro-dagger under her pillow which had been given to her by the Taloran Baroness, serving as a bodyguard of a sort. She awoke before Sipajhai, even, and usually settled into the single chair in the room to check the information linkup that Sipajhai had paid for the house to finally get, in no small part so she could receive a few privately encrypted messages containing fresh information for her directly. Tamara used mostly as a wide-eyed person would, uncertain of the world but furiously certain of her place in it, sometimes getting involved in net-arguments with the starry-eyed youth whose parents had been members of the lower castes and were now usually vigorous supporters of the Alliance.

It was there, browsing the news, that she saw a picture of someone very familar to her. The prominent picture--and she glanced to check--that Sipajhai had in her room, and that had been placed over the dinner table where the little community that lived in the big house took their meals together as a combat unit might. A symbol of loyalty, where their own were not allowed. Jhayka itl dhin Intuit. And why, she's coming here! It brought a tumult of emotions through Tamara.Why is she treating with the Alliance? Is it over us?

"Tamara?" Sipajhai's voice made the girl swing around in attention.

"Yes, Ovkhan?"

"What are you looking at?"

"The Princess Jhayka, Her Highness.. Is coming here, Ovkhan. Coming to the Alliance. To the capitol. As a special emissary of the government of the Taloran Star Empire."

"Really?" Communications with the Principality back home had been kept to an utter minimum for confidentiality. Sipajhai was over Tamara's side and looking over at the computer in a heartbeat. "Why... I'm amazed," she confessed after a moment, ears flexing in consternation.

"Ovkhan?"

"She's honour-bound to take you out. That means the mission could well become a factor in the negotiations. I'm shocked that the government sent her despite this. Or perhaps they didn't know...."

"Does this complicate matters?" Tamara's wiry young form had a look of considerable consternation. The thought of becoming a full-fledged warrior was not something she wished dashed away...

"Make uncertain, perhaps. It might complicate them, it might make them easier, depending on how the government receives Her Highness, how much the mission is publicized, if at all, and what goes on in the course of negotiations. For the moment, though, it doesn't change anything."

"And what about...." Tamara's voice was cut off by a sharp pounding on the door of the house, and the bitter growl of an angry man:

"This is the District Worker's Watch! Open the door, you damned oppressors! Open it for your EQUALS! You won't scheme against us again...."

Tamara leapt up. "You know where to go with your men to hide," she whispered fiercely. "I must go in case there is trouble."

"Wait one moment," Sipajhai answered, abruptly cool, as she turned, and grabbing her spare shield belt, slipped it around Tamara and clipped it into place. This, Tamara was familar with. The pinprick was not; she turned for a moment in surprise at the brief pain to see that the Taloran woman was also holding a wickedly silvered old hypodermic syringe. "Wha..!?"

A grim, sly smile. "Go, and quickly, I command."

Dagger in hand, Tamara ran though she'd scarcely thought about it, and Sipajhai, grabbing a few things that would identify her, retired through a secret compartment in the house to where her two hired security professionals were already waiting to protect her should it come to that.

Tamara reached the front door of the house to see her sibkin Bec knocked aside by a group of workers, the burly enforcers of the new government, radicals to a man. They wore red phrygian caps of democracy and were armed with a motly mix of melee weapons. The police invariably ignored it--and were rarely around these rural areas--when they came to beat up and extort the former warriors, who, though always better than they were, were invariably outnumbered. There was a mob of at least fifty, perhaps seventy outside; they must have heard that Sipajhai was there, or at least something was afoot.

Others in the house were rushing forward, and she could have waited and fought with them. But something made her understanding of the situation perfectly clear. She drew the dagger she slept with and activated it with a gentle hum as she deployed her shield to the surprised looks of the workers. And then she charged into them, as hard and fast as she could. Running like she did, the blow from the shield knocked them back and swept them outside, and she skittered across the ground on it without injuring herself, running over them and some of their fellows outside, before her momentum gave out and she leapt to her feet.

A powerful blow from the pickaxe of a man standing outside bounced harmlessly off the shield, and she turned a pirouette against him which split his stomach open from side to side, the vibro-dagger's blade going through his flesh and organs like a knife against warm butter. Another man was around her, and she leaned in to grab at him, the slowness of her act not activating the shield, so that she could thrust the dagger deep into his form...

Behind her, the residents of the house had beaten back those dazed individuals inside, and she was somehow dimly aware of this even as she coolly stabbed a third individual, possessing utterly perfect clarity: The Ovkhan Sipajhai gave me a combat drug like her people use she thought, and the thought came calmly and consistently to her even as she swept the dagger from top to bottom along someone's ribcage, cutting through every single rib and leaving another maimed vigilante falling with a perfect grace.

Someone was armed with a gun, and the sharp crack of a pistol round resounded right next to her. It, too, bounced off the incredible defences of a Taloran noble's shield, and she responded faster than she thought possible, depriving the offending individual of the gun--and his right arm. It made her feel like she might as well have been in one of the 'mechs used by her ancestors, effortlessly disposing of many inferior foes. But then a man behind her, even as she slashed apart another, did what none of the others had tried so far; he simply grabbed her in a bearhug. And that was not done swiftly enough to reach the threshold of the shield which must, after all, allow air through for her to breathe, and keep from activating needlessly against the sand about her feet, and let her hold a blade through it.

Another man in front of her swung a shovel at her and activated that shield panel. The abrupt flair of energy distracted the man with his grip on her; she drove her elbows into his stomach with just enough force to send him back, and then swung an arm with enough power to strike the fortuitous offender in front of her with a shield-blow that sent him flying a good five meters. Someone else approached then, wielding a bowie knife, and she had paid attention to what had happened before. She shoved herself up against the shield, and with its energy crackling against her, restraining her body, she slipped her knife through the shield...

Her other hand desperately trying to keep Tamara from bringing her dagger, hovering dangerously, closer and closer, straight into her brainpan through her left ear. Then a fool who hand't seen the action came up behind the woman, trying to help. But his two point-blank shots from her left side simply lost her effort. Even as the woman's blade was thrust deep into Tamara's side and the clanner contorted in agony, the shots automatically activated the shield--and in doing so, severed perfectly both of the woman's hands and a significant part of her right arm where she had been grappling with Tamara, leaving perfectly cauterized stumps.

That nasty incident forced everyone back, and Tamara was under the influence of combat drugs. The massive knife wound didn't even slow her down; she felt no pain; she was not crippled by it, a rush of artificial adrenaline controlling her every move. Instead, she spun and dashed back for the house, slicing her way through two individuals who couldn't get out of her way in time and then throwing her body into a pack of the rest, the shield's activation sending them flying liked tenpins as she skidded up the steps and her body crashed against the house before the shield deactivated. Bec, guarding the door, lunged to grab and recover her, while a flurry of shots from the single automatic rifle allowed by law in the clan dwelling and a couple of hunting rifles drove back the mob long enough to drag her back inside.

A desultory exchange of gunfire followed, and about fourty minutes later the police finally arrived. The vigilante mob scattered, and the only ones arrested were those who were to wounded to escape. After taking a report of the incident, the police did nothing more, though at least they did not have the gall to try and press charges against the residents of the house. They did search it, though, but did not find Sipajhai or her guards, as they were very well concealed; and then they left. A medical kit was left for treating Tamara, as her technical guardians, the heads of the house, refused her evacuation to the regional hospital lest it become the target of a lynch-mob.

And so, when the police had gone, it was Sipajhai herself who came out, and insisted, to the surprise of those around her, that Tamara be brought to her own bed, where she tended to the unconscious girl herself. When quizzed on why, she answered coolly, in a way that brought respect for her and the girl both: "She fought well, and I should keep her at my side. She'll go far there."

But others had also noticed, how the warriors had finally, it seemed, roused from their embittered slumber, and started to defend themselves from the extortion and harassment, the threats and the violence from the reigning workers of the KWR. They noted it, and they worried, and grew suspicious.

[fgalkin2]

This fic just keeps getting better and better.


Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[The Duchess of Zeon]

HSMS Slashahkimmar,
Approaching Taloran Gate Fortifications.
14 March 2165 AST.
41 Valeria, I.Y. 618.


What confronted Fayza al-Bakr when she entered the room was not
precisely what she had expected from the formal tone of Jhayka's
message. To be precise, the woman, with her long pink hair, was involved
in a rather passionate kiss with Danielle, dressed as she was in a
splashed blue and yellow striped tank top and neon green pants. Over in
the corner, still in uniform, Drishalras stirred a drink, laughing
merrily and declaring, "I'm not looking, honest--but she is!" The last
tacked on the moment she saw Fayza come in.

Blinking at the sight, Fayza took a moment before asking, "Jhayka,
I take it this isn't what you called for?"

"Uhm...." Jhayka broke the kiss very reluctantly and had an
expression and an ear tilt which was, at the best, sheepish. "Sorry
about that, Fayza. We just got.. Distracted while we were waiting for
you. Something that Drish said didn't help, at all." A glance was stole
in her direction, where Drish was busily giggling into her drink. "We're
due to transit into CON-5 tomorrow, and I finally decided to get around
to this.. Honestly."

"Spoil-sport," Dani jibed at Fayza with clear amusement.
"What is it you wanted to do, Jhayka?" Fayza replied. She
certainly didn't mind being summoned as it was; there was precious
little to do given that she was hardly more than a glorified aide, meant
for advising Jhayka and the others on cultural and social issues,
nothing more.

"Well, it's actually for you and Danielle..." She looked a bit
seriously at her lover for the moment, and Drish made an.. Annoyed noise
from behind. "Drishalras wanted to be here because she was concerned
about it." Jhayka gently let go of Danielle and took a conscious step
back. "There's one thing that the All-Highest Empress didn't understand,
I think, that none of us may be able to understand. That Drish is
offended I'm even bringing up. But I felt the question should be asked
now rather than later. How do you view yourselves in regard to the
Alliance, viz. Do you still yourselves as holding responsibility to the
government? Because I don't well understand how principles of loyalty
work in democracies. They're all so personal for us, and we can hold
many nominally conflicting loyalties which are easily resolved by rigid
and traditional systems of precedent."

Fayza nodded slowly. She found a seat and said, "Well, it's....
complicated a bit, I suppose. I still love the country I was born in,
the United States that is, which sheltered my mother and I when my
father's family wanted her dead and me turned into some haram
girl to be married off before I turned fifteen. I consider myself
American even today, and I want to see America prosper, because I
believe in what it stands for."
"The Alliance is a further embodiment of that, and that's why I
agreed to transfer to the Stellar Navy when it looked like war was
coming. I, well.... Jhayka, I want to see it succeed and thrive. I
believe it is a good thing, a force for justice and for freedom.
That's why... well, I will be honest with you.... that's why there are
times I believe that I should have turned down your offer of a title on
Eleutheria. I believe I can do good there and with you, but I love my
home, and I don't want there to be a contradiction between the two."
She looked to Dani, who was still looking for the words to speak.


"My goal is to bring about peace between our peoples, Fayza.
You're just furthering that from the other side, I promise." Jhayka
answered, and then looked to Danielle, and spoke, very softly: "Don't
worry about your answer. I just want to know how much I should be
telling the two of you. It's my duty to the Empress to get the absolute
best deal possible, even as I personally seek to insure that results in
a lasting peace. But not a single thing you say could offend me or make
me question you. I regret that we've placed in this situation at all."


"I..... well.... I see eye to eye with Fayza on somethings," Dani
admitted. "I don't think the system is as perfect, of course, but
that's because I had to deal with it as a lesbian, and even after all
these centuries that can still set you back because of the attitudes of
some people. But I believe in the Constitution, I believe America is a
great country, and I believe in the Alliance. Perhaps more than others,
because the Alliance Constitution is the first big one to come forward
and guarantee homosexual rights directly and plainly, not passively and
in ways that bigots can ignore if they're creative."
"But at the same time.... my Dad raised me to be true to what I
say. I swore an oath to Queen Sara-Marie, one I intend to keep, even if
it means I can never truly call my home 'Home' again. And I have my
oath to you, and the fact that I love you. I want the Alliance to do
well.... but I want us to do well as well, Gilead and the Taloran
Empire. You can trust me to be supportive of your duty."

"I understand that allegiance is far more absolute among people
raised as you are than among those like me. I would, of course, defend
the Empress to the death, and always side with her in war. But I would
have little problem if, after this mission, your President Dale offered
me a commission in your army to undertake some suppression or another,
and I would prosecute it with a disinterested loyalty in the Alliance."
"For us," Drish added softly, "It's offensive to even ask these
questions. It's assumed, presumed, really, that people will hold to
their primary liege first and that the issue does not need to be
questioned. I don't think she should have asked, even if the nature of
the Alliance as a democracy makes the question of loyalties.. An unusual
one. And of couse at the termination of someone's services there's many
cases of the normal transfer of allegiance. Love, didn't you even
mention an example from human history before..?" She glanced up to Jhayka.
"Ah, yes, Marshal Bernadotte, the French Marshal who ended up
fighting his old country as King of Sweden, though he isn't the best of
examples. A serviceable one, however. Turning against Napoleon was the
right decision for Sweden and morally what he did was right."

"History was never my strong suit," Dani admitted. Unlike Fayza
she didn't sit but lean against a wall in the suite, the colors of her
suit clashing strangely with the dusky complexion of her skin. Her
stomach was flatter than it had been in a while, as she'd taken up the
trip so far running around the ship on courtesy tours added with
personal training (Dani had found a younger officer willing to teach her
some of the Taloran hand-to-hand styles in her spare time). "I mean, I
took all of the riverboat fleet names for Kalunda out of a textbook I
remembered on the American Civil War and abolitionist movement."

"They were good names. Abolishing slavery is something that can be
admired no matter who was responsible for it," Jhayka replied. "I find
myself, apparently, rather famous on that account. The Zohan certainly
apparently respect me for it.. And I respect them, at any rate, for the
courage of their revolt. And I suppose I know how both of you stand, and
it doesn't really change anything--certainly not for the worst--which is
good that we're able to get this unpleasantness out of the way."

"I'm glad we have as well," Fayza said. "And it's nice to be
getting near the end of the voyage. I'll deny this if you tell
everyone.... but I really, really prefer living on land."

"Why, how could you?!" Drish exampled, grinning abruptly and
cleverly interjecting. "You're giving the lander ammo! We navy people
need our solidarity with each other, lest she overwhelm us...."

"Fayza is a lander at heart. She just joined the Navy so she
could work on nice, big cannons," Dani teased. "But don't you worry,
Drish, I always love sailing along in a good starship with a
well-designed, functioning and loving engine."

"Well, I trust you approve of our's, even if they're more staid
than the anti-matter engines you use. We have more of them." She grinned
and flexed her ears, and Jhayka watched the interplay between them and
shook her head lightly and looked to Fayza. "I do have such a strange
brood around me, don't I?" She asked rhetorically with a bright look of
happiness on her face.

"You married a starship captain and a starship engineer, both
women. You're an army general. 'Strange' doesn't begin to cut it."
Fayza chuckled gently. "But I can't begin to imagine how that's going
to play in Washington."

"Danielle continues to be worried about that, but I'm quite
convinced that it couldn't be that big of an issue." Jhayka
answered, and then, added a bit wryly: "It is entirely possible that I
am wrong, however, but I'd still stand surprised if I was."

"In the government? No. But we're not just there to talk to the
government, Jhayka. There'll be media there, everywhere, reporting on
everything you do. Even the respectable journalists will be publishing
things about you, and quite frankly, we can expect some trouble from the
religious fundamentalists." Fayza rubbed her hand on her head, Dani off
to the side still sorting through packages and boxes that had been taken
out of storage and sent to her months ago, and which she still had yet
to sort through fully.

Drishalras, however, couldn't help but add in amused rejoinder:
"Frankly, they shouldn't dare to think us strange when they issue
driver's licenses!"

Fayza groaned, while Dani was mostly intent on looking through a
box of old holovid discs. "Drish, that door will swing both ways.
Americans are car people. We love motor vehicles and driving
them, and since we didn't start with commercial use that allowed for
unions or guilds to control them, the government stepped in."

"I know, but it's still really incredible for us. The officers of
the watch talk about it with me quite a lot, and I suppose we've settled
on just trying to make our stay as interesting as possible under
diplomatic immunity. We're very different like that," she concluded.
"And it's hard for me to imagine such a society. But then I've lived
both at the top and bottom of my own, and found them as different from
each other as from your's, I suppose." And she had, in some respects,
though not while truly wanting, as bohemian as she was.

Jhayka, for her part, was glancing over toward Danielle's things.
"Just how much stuff do you have over there? You're using the servants'
quarters for more storage, aren't you?"

"Only a bit! We could have someone sleep in there if we really
had to," Dani replied defensively. "These are just some of the boxes I
had sent after I'd left for Talora Prime since I thought I'd have more
time to do sorting on them. Most of it was in storage for a year and a
half. The bill was crazy...."

"Not like that's an issue for us," Jhayka commented drolly.

"No, thankfully not." Dani moved through one holodisc set and
toward the bottom began taking out other bits. Most of it was clothing,
and she pulled out a tight-looking tube top that had a pink horse on the
front with the words "I'm a Pony Princess!". "Ah, my girly
clothing! Christ, I thought I'd lost this stuff years ago..."

"Well, it's at least more colourful than I expect human clothing
to be," Jhayka observed mildly.
Drishalras had gotten up, though, and walked over to the entrance
to the servants' quarters, keying the door open. "I have got to see this
for myself... Sheesh! You're right, it is pretty full. Hmm..." She
stepped in, red hair falling to the side as she bent forward. "Doesn't
this word refer to recreational objects in English?" And she turned,
holding up a box marked 'toys' toward the other three women.

"Probably some of the Barbie dolls I haven't had the heart to
throw away," Dani replied dismissively as she sorted through the
clothing. She pulled out a top that was clearly too small for her, with
"Cougars" in brown lettering over the front with a cat paw outline, a
strip of red over a white field. It was on closer examination a
sleeveless jersey of some kind. "Oooh, my high school basketball
jersey. I only made varsity in the last year though.... and it wasn't
fun, too many girls didn't like it when they found out I was into girls,
you see..."
Fay walked over to Drish and the box she had just set down.
Curious, Fay pulled it open and reached in, her face showing a
bewildered look. "Um, Dani..." She pulled her arm out. In her hand
was a leather strap, and on each end were small cuffs with opened latches.

Drishalras was now equally mystified, and pulled out something
else, which was more eminently recognizable for her. Her question
brought a certain degree of silence to them all in its plain,
misunderstanding innocence. "Why is there a whip in a toy box? And why
is it made out of silk?"

Blood rushed to Dani's face in a deep, red blush. Dropping her
basketball jersey, she raced over to Fay and Drish with a speed that
almost seemed inhuman. "No, no! That's my special toy box! Special
private one!" She almost snatched the whip out of Drish's hand, but
Fayza momentarily smiled mischievously and played hard to get, holding
onto the leather cuffs as Dani tried to pull them away.
"Dani, Dani, Dani.... maybe you should tell them what these toys
are for," Fayza giggled.
"FAY," Dani hissed.
"Fine. Spoil sport." Fay relinquished the cuffs and let Dani
throw them in the box and go scurrying back to the room, muttering under
her breath, "Out the airlock, first chance I get...."

"We've had conversations about this subject before," Jhayka
responded in an even more droll voice. "I don't think I realized the
extent of your predicilations, however, my love." Her look, from long
experience with Talorans, was a teasing one.

"Most of them were Sandra's!", Dani growled from the other room as
she tried to find a place to hide the box. "I don't even know why she
didn't take them...."

Fayza was still giggling, noticing that Drish was still a bit...
confused about what had just happened. "Oh, Drish.... Dani has told me
the stories before. Those toys... they are for when Dani has been a
bad, bad girl, and when she needs to be punished. Usually on the bed."
"Fay! I know Kung Fu!"
At the implied threat, Fay broke out into peals of girlish
giggling and laughter.

"Wait," Drishalras was confused at the laughter now, and had a
pallid look on her face. "Does this have anything to do with what got
Tisara Urami exiled to the outer rim!?"
At that, even Jhayka started to laugh a little. "Relax, Drish, my
dearheart. It has nothing to do with that. As far as Danielle's
considered it's innocent fun and, well, she doesn't do it anymore at
all. Tisara is genuinely sadistic."
"Humans enjoy pretending to be sadistic?" If she'd been confused
before, Drish was hopeless now.

Fayza was laughing almost to the point of hysteria. A red-faced
Dani finally emerged from the room, convinced she had well hidden the
box, and found herself confronted with the need to explain. "Drish,
it's not about sadism. It's about trust, and usually just fun. I had
precisely one lover who went into the domination part of it. I saw
where she was taking me in the relationship, and found out she didn't
mind doing it with other girls when I was out on deployment, and I
dumped her ass."

"Well, it doesn't seem very moral, when we should all be equals in
a relationship... But it seems like you've left that behind you, too, so
it doesn't matter at all." Drishalras' look brightened a bit. "I'm sorry
about the comparison with Tisara, it's just that anyone in the high
nobility immediately thinks about her in this context, since her exile
was.. Rather spectacularly public. Err. But then I'm not even sure you
two know about her?" Amber eyes showed some consternation, and Jhayka
came up behind her, then, and reassuringly wrapped her arms around her
first wife, to show her that she wasn't pressing her questions to far.

"Just a few things I've heard," Dani said. "Suffice to say....
when you've been tied up and had your back worked over with a
razor-studded whip, the eroticism of being tied up can lose its allure."
The chuckling and humor from Fay stopped, and it was clear why;
she had, after all, endured far more torture and rape while bound
helplessly than what Dani had suffered.

"Well, I guess it does. Except for those who genuinely enjoy that...."
"Enough talk about Tisara and her mate, Drish. Let's make Danielle
and Fayza something to drink, and we'll try to turn this evening into an
enjoyable one..." Jhayka gently interjected, not wishing to inflame
anymore the old memories.

[Steve]

Near Lootera, Huntress
Kerensky Territories
Universe Designate MWB-32
14 March 2165 AST.
41 Valeria, I.Y. 618.


Huntress had long been written off by the authorities due to its sheer poverty and harshness. Those with valuable skills had long left, leaving only a core of disaffected children of civilian caste members who had given themselves to more radical ideologies, and the die-hard warriors who would not integrate fully into the new society, resulting in the clashes of the past years, and which had now taken an apparently dangerous turn with the warriors actively fighting back.
Now the authorities in Lootera, itself plagued by gang violence, had complained to the central authorities in Katyusha City. Naturally the complaints were an anti-warrior spin: accusations of an imminent uprising abounded, and in Lootera itself the civilians had mostly stopped their in-fighting to prepare to crush a warrior insurrection (including those who wanted to launch a pre-emptive suppression and "just kill them finally and be done with it!").

Given the violence, however, and the fact that the local vigilante groups had gotten rowdy again, the central government agreed, if to protect the warriors as much as to prevent insurrection, and a battalion of power-armored infantry were assigned. These were not men in Elemental suits but smaller, less bulky, infantry suits from ADN technological sources. They set up a number of camps in the area and began aggressive patrols. Searches for weapons were conducted, and as usual nothing illegal was found, and the local radical warrior-hating farmers spat on and cursed the troops for even daring to act against them and not against "the warriors".
Only after they were certain the local vigilantes weren't so well armed as to take things into their own hands despite the military presence did the soldiers turn to the ex-warriors. Homes were to be searched to ensure there really wasn't a planned insurrection, with its attendant high-powered weapons. And so one detachment of troops approached the home where Sipajhai was staying, led by a former warrior himself: Sergeant Alex Viper, a scion of the Steel Viper warrior caste.

Leo Howell had met the soldiers on arriving, seeing as he was the leader of the house, more or less. As with most warrior settlements the actual number of people living there was around 30, and it was more the size of a large bed and breakfast than a normal home, or a somewhat fortified hacienda. The warriors had never adapted to living in normal family units, by human standards. He certainly hadn't wished for all of this; but, as the Ovkhan Olothdhakiu had observed, she was here legally, and there was no way that they could hide effectively, either. "The house is open to you," he began, rumbling, to the sergeant who arrived, and being cautious about making assumptions about him. "We have nothing to hide. But we do, however, have a guest present, who even now is tending to someone wounded, and I trust you'll treat her with respect."

"Of course, of course," Viper replied. His men entered, armed but clearly not violent in intent. "I am afraid that I must also ensure the quantity and quality of weapons in the household. We are not here to seize them, simply to take tally to alleviate the accusations from Lootera that you are planning a revolt."

"They're all stored in a weapons locker, of course. I'll take you to it myself. I know you'll search elsewhere, but your tally will find only those weapons on it--except that I believe our guest and her friends have personal weapons for their protection. But those were registered with the authorities on arriving in the country, and don't count toward the told for the household," Leo concluded coolly, having been advised by Sipajhai on exactly what to say. Long experience had certainly taught him politeness in these circumstances. '"Other than that, there is a single automatic rifle, six bolt-action hunting rifles, five shotguns, three practice rifles, and one practice pistol, for thirty-one people in all. One gun per two people, rounded up, as the laws permit for all old warrior households, with only one automatic." It was clear that Howell was less than pleased with parting with this information, or indeed the whole situation, but he was keeping his cool, and that was the important part, surely?

"Ah. That is good. Enough to deal with the idiot freebirths around here should they become murderous, quiaff?" Not even the "freebirth" non-warriors in Viper's squad complained or showed dislike; Huntress' civilian population was detested even among their peers on other worlds in the Kerensky Cluster.

"It proved enough the last time," Leo answered with some surprised respect showing abruptly as he was in the process of opening up the weapons locker. Which, other than some melee weapons which weren't regulated, contained exactly what it was said to contain. "Though one of our youths was rather seriously hurt; but she also did most of the fighting. The warriors here, we can only hope that we've trained them well in these dark days. What's your clan and your name, though, since you know of our's from the government records?"

"I was Steel Viper," Alex replied candidly. "My name is Alex." His subordinates were busy checking the locker, and in no time at all they nodded to Alex to indicate the count was accurate. "This guest of your's, might I speak to her? She is the source of many wild rumors in the countryside, and I would like to have a full report to give to my Company Captain on the issue."

"Of course," Leo answered, though a bit stiffly. He started off, himself, toward the particular room in which Sipajhai had been staying, and knocked on the door. Alex would certainly find the usage.. Unusual: "Ovkhan, the military squad commander wishes to speak to you...."
"Then come in," came the strangely accented voice from inside. Leo Howell pushed open the door and stepped inside, and after he did so, the sergeant would see the Taloran, sitting on the side of a young human girl's bed, metallic blue hair hanging down so far as to pool on the bed behind her, bangs almost obscuring her sharp yellow eyes and her immensely high ears flexing strangely as she turned to regard the sergeant coolly. The girl on the bed had a ferociously silent expression, unsurprising considering how well she'd been treated by Sipajhai after the incident. "Sergeant," Sipajhai addressed politely. "My papers are over there on the desk and I assure you they're quite in order."

"Of course. I asked to see you because I wanted to be able to make a fuller report to my superiors, and to see the extent of the wounds this girl sustained."

"She was run through the stomach, more or less. The danger is in keeping her eating and healthy while she recovers without producing infection," Sipajhai answered coolly. "I know battlefield medicine, of course, but it has been a bit frustrating at times to deal with human anatomy. You can check her yourself..."
"Ovkhan, surely not!" Tamara objected, but Sipajhai just smiled slightly.
"Relax, I overheard their conversation in the hall, my young apprentice: He's one of your own." She rose, and offered the faintest twitch of a smile to Alex. "I am the Baroness Sipajhai of Khastim."

Alex nodded at that. "The Army will provide any medical aid that is necessary for her, Baroness."

"She could certainly heal faster that way," Sipajhai answered as she stepped over to the study and checked through her documents. Even with her back turned to the Sergeant, however, she continued to speak. "Does your government know why I'm here?"

"I believe there is some confusion as to the intent," Alex replied. "I certainly do not know. Before you and some of your people began coming in the past months, the only consistant groups of alien visitors we have gotten recently have been Klingons coming to Star Captain Tristan's homestead north of here."

"Well, we're here for the same reason as they are, nothing more, or less. Consider it a humanitarian mission to the old warriors which is funded by a distant cousin of mine who fought with a solid warrior named Trajan Osis in a siege on a little dungheap planet called Gilead...."

"Ah. Trajan of Kalunda," Alex said in understanding. "Our people have not celebrated such a figure since Evantha Fetladral led Clan warriors in victory over the Cardassians during the Bajoran Uprising. Ah, certainly if the Clans had survived he would have been a great warrior for the Jaguars, and I say that as a Viper myself!" He chuckled at that; the two Clans had not been the best of friends in the old days. "What is this humanitarian mission, if I might ask?"

Sipajhai turned, her starkly pale face with hints of gray-green particularly beautiful against the set of colours of her hair and eyes, and look vaguely amused. "Refuge, Sergeant, refuge. You can see how these people suffer here. Perhaps you suffer the same on your homeworld; I know not. You'd certainly be welcome to come. My mission is to arrange safe passage for all of Trajan's kin, more or less, to the Taloran Star Empire." And by that she slyly insinuated a smaller effort than was actually to be made, without, as such, actually lying; for a clan was one's kinship to a Taloran.

Refuge? Pah. The old days are dead, and these Jaguars are here precisely because they refuse to accept it. "I can happily say that New Kent is far better off than Huntress has been, so I suffer nothing like they do here," he said in reply. "When the Alliance came, they brought atmosphere cleansing devices to the planet and other forms of terraforming that made New Kent's atmosphere breathable. My wife and I bought a new home on one of the islands of Celebes, where the new devices protect such settlements from the tides; after ten years of working for it, neither of us would so gladly lose such a beautiful place."

"And how will you have children?" Tamara asked weakly from the bed. "Freeborn?"

"Actually, we spoke of it, but the doctors have said my wife has a hereditary blood pressure condition that would make it advisable to have the baby in iron womb if we can," Alex replied matter-of-factly. He could see in the young girl's eyes the contempt for the concept, but what did it matter these days? Even trueborn children were no longer "grown" with specific genetic therapy as embryos to "improve" them. That did not mean that there was not a hardcore group of holdouts, and it was said that the Blood Spirits still raised their warrior children from canisters and maintained genetic studying to improve them.... but Alex, having nearly died in the fall of New Kent as a twenty year old MechWarrior, had seen the good side of the new order, and as a Warden, he believed that the goal of upholding the Star League's ideals, and of one day participating in its rebirth, was the highest calling. Nevertheless he expected a quick reply.

But at that moment, anyway, Sipajhai intervened. "Silence, Tamara, for he's found his peace and he shouldn't be troubled with debates anymore. You have made your choice, and he has made his. Not an easy one for anyone, of any account, and have respect for that at least."
"Our customs are to be reborn," Tamara answered quietly. "The Ovkhan speaks, and I obey; but I do not understand why someone would not join in this."

"You are young. There are many things you do not understand and will not until you experience more of life," Alex said to her. "But you should rest and let me put in the call for the surgeon to come by." He returned his attention to Sipajhai. "Baroness, if you wish I can also ask the Captain to assign a squad nearby to aid you in the off chance that hotheads in the local community decide to do something rash."

"That would be a considerable kindness to me. Thank you, sergeant. The offer is accepted." Sipajhai knew that by surrounding herself in a cloak of official protection her mission would be much less likely to be hindered, ironically enough; the true threat was from Weisbaum, not the government, after all. "The sooner you can send a surgeon by, the better. For all she has a hot temper, she ought get back on her feet as soon as possible. It's been almost two weeks by the Taloran count. Other than that matter--and thank you for it--I trust things have been cleared up to your satisfaction?"

"Yes, Baroness. I will report on your intentions to my superiors and on the need for the surgeon and the protective detail. I hope your time in the Republic has not been too unkind to you." With that, Alex dismissed himself.