Chapter Seventy-Five - Safety and Security and Saturn

The talks continued.

Ivil's interest did not.

Still, she made an effort to remain attentive. Aurora was certainly keen to listen and discuss things with both parties. It was an interesting balancing act to observe.

The Saturnians wanted things that were relatively easy to obtain around Mars. Medical facilities--Mars had the best of these, bar few--, supplies and cash. They wanted the things that normal governments had and could provide to their citizens.

Twenty-Six was entirely onboard for that. "Do you know how many problems my family and extended family had would have been solved if there were more medical facilities in the Rings?" she asked. "Not even just that, I mean like, the kind of medical place that Mars and Earth has, where you don't need to pay."

"You pay for those through taxation," Aurora said. "But yes, I understand what you mean. It would be... life changing." Aurora pinched her chin for a moment, then nodded. "How many quarters did you divide your rings into?"

"Sections," Green corrected. "And there are ten of them."

"I see. And two of Saturn's moons are properly colonised, correct?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Why the geographical questions?"

"I have a proposition, then," Aurora said. "Phobos has a small fleet, mostly older Martian ships that we purchase for lower rates. Included in this fleet are a number of medical frigates. I don't remember the exact number, but there may well be a dozen of these. As far as I'm aware, they're not being used at the moment. Some will require retrofitting and modifications, but they can be brought up to tip-top for relatively little."

"How old are we talking here?" Green asked.

Ivil perked up. She knew this one. "The Martian fleet had a large renovation about eight years ago. We feared the onset of a fourth inter-system war that never occurred. Most of the ships of the line were replaced at that time as Martian factories went into full production. A lot of that new fleet replaced the old one, and the old one went into mothballs."

"Oh, that's a shame," Twenty-Six said.

"Those older ships were only thirty or forty years old," Ivil replied. "Definitely dated. Slower drives, worse sensor technology, inferior accommodations, and poorer shields. Replacing them was the right move. However, Mars can't just sell them. Old they might be by Martian standards, they're still comparable to the current-gen ships from most nations. In any case, what I mean to point out is that the medical frigates will be forty years old at the oldest."

"That's not that bad," Green said. "I mean, it ain't ideal, yee? But that's about the age of some of our facilities too. So, what's your plan, Lady Sterlingworth."

"Phobos will undertake the renovation of... twelve of these ships. They're medical frigates, so they're not all that large, but I think they can take a decent through-put of patients all the same. We'll undertake the improving of this medical fleet at our own expense and provide them with an escort. Perhaps... Phobos has a large fleet of Corvettes."

"Oh!" Twenty-Six said as she bounced on the spot. "Phobosian corvettes are hot."

"Hot?" Ivil asked.

"They're sleek, long, with a thin vertical profile," Twenty-Six said. "They look a bit like stingrays, the fish... animal things from Earth? Definitely some of the prettiest ships around."

"They're designed by a firm that usually produces luxury ships," Aurora said. "I believe they're considered to be rather underwhelmingly armed, but that same firm produces racing ships. They're very manoeuvrable and rapid, with exceptionally comfortable crewing arrangements."

"Go on, then," Ivil replied.

Aurora nodded. "I can secure twenty-four corvettes for... call it one year and a month of service. Along with twelve medical frigates. Staffed and operated by Phobos. In exchange for one year of service, Saturn will give us their supply of cores."

Green leaned back, then shook his head. "Too little," he replied. "And we can guarantee the safety ourselves, though maybe not in transit."

Aurora hummed. "Two years?"

"Make it ten," Green returned, then he raised a hand. "No... how about you service the ships yourselves for a year, then lease the frigates to Saturn at a favourable price for the next nine years? By the end they'll be at the end of their service life, so maybe we can negotiate buying the ships outright."

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"Ten years of medical services is a lot," Aurora said.

"We have our own doctors and staff. Not many, but some. What if we use the frigates as a sort of training opportunity?"

"Oh, yes, I can see that working," Aurora replied. "Phobos has a very robust medical system. We have been the place where Martians come to have... unusual and discrete operations completed for decades now, so we've always had a vested interest in having good doctors. I can maybe secure a few teachers as well, to train any Saturnian nurses and general practitioners up to our standard. We might be able to do an exchange of sorts?"

Green let out a breath, his shoulders drooping in relief. "That would be incredible. It would loosen the corporate hold on our people a great deal for them to have the option to take government-provided medical care, and it would do wonders to help encourage the average Saturnian to participate in our own legitimate governance of the rings."

"Ye-yeah, the rings are all corpo," Twenty-Six said. "I didn't even know what the u-word was until I left Saturn."

"The u-word?" Ivil asked.

Twenty-Six nodded, then flushed a little. When she next spoke, it was in a hushed whisper, as if she was saying something incredibly taboo. "Union," she said.

"Be that as it may," Aurora said. "I think it would also seem like a novel opportunity to promote Phobian philanthropy. That is, if you want to obscure the reason for the trade?"

Green hummed, then nodded. "That's acceptable," he replied. "Thank you, genuinely. This will save many lives."

Ivil felt like it was a little short-sighted. Sure, this would save lives, but they were trading away dozens of cores for it. She wasn't sure if the value proposition even matched. What bothered her more was the loss of eventual power. Those cores given to one talented person could turn into more cores, which could snowball. In the long term, it would mean more dead Saturnians but it might also eventually lead Saturn to having their own B or A-classer.

Still, she remained silent. This was Aurora's negotiation, and her friend's heart was in the right place. The Saturnians were desperate, and perhaps this gesture of goodwill would foster alliances that outweighed the raw value of the cores.

"Very well," Aurora said with a soft smile. "We have a deal. I'll begin the arrangements immediately."

Galatea raised her teacup in a mock toast. "To the future then, Lady Sterlingworth. May it be as bright as your intentions."

"Thank you," Aurora said. "But you haven't said what you want for your moon's cores, Miss Galatea."

"Money," was the immediate, clipped response.

Aurora blinked. "We can do money," she replied. And then they dove into what was essentially a long-winded negotiation that Ivil didn't care as much about.

As the delegates settled into more relaxed conversation, Ivil found herself drifting towards Twenty-Six, who was still bundled in her blanket and looking positively edible.

"Did you understand all that?" Twenty-Six asked in a hushed whisper, her accent reverting back to its usual twang.

"Most of it," Ivil replied. "It's a complex game we're playing, but I think Aurora knows what she's doing."

Twenty-Six nodded thoughtfully. "I hope so. Aurora is so smart. And pretty. You know, this is going to save a lot of lives. People like me. I bet there's a hundred other Twenty-Sixes out in the rings that could really use that help."

"I'm certain there's only one Twenty-Six that I care for," Ivil replied. "But I see what you mean. I never was one for... philanthropy. But I can see why it might make someone more attractive."

It was another hour before Aurora and Galatea shook hands, having hammered out a deal that sounded rather poor to Ivil. Aurora was paying more for unknown cores than most would. Ivil supposed that it was a gamble, but Phobos had more money than it had easy access to new cores, so it made some sense.

The delegates finally took their leave, and Twenty-Six returned to bed with a large, jaw-cracking yaw. Even Pepper retired for the night after having been relegated to the edges of the room and the discussion.

"That was... intense," Aurora admitted.

"You did well," Ivil said, placing a reassuring hand on Aurora's shoulder. "Better than I could have."

Aurora smiled gratefully. "We'll see if it pays off. For now, we've bought ourselves some time and goodwill. I hope it'll be worth something in the real conference."

***