“I still think it’s weird that the Brony boys picked Founders Week for this.” I say idly while helping Camile chop herbs for dinner with her family.
“You’ve lived out here forever and you don’t know their names? Don’t you meet with them on the reg?” Camile accuses.
“Yes, I know Dexter, Conner, and Nathan. They’re dopey goons who happened to marry smart women. Sure, they’d made quite a bit of money with their hunting safaris, but their wives did so much more with it.”
“Yeah, I don’t need to hear you fawn over Samira and Josie again. My mom is pretty great too you know.”
“Sure, sure, but I’ve slept with her daughter. Would have been weird to sleep with her too.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth she slaps my arm.
“Mikaela! Not cool.” I chuckle at the horror on her face. “I would have never forgiven you.”
“Chill, Cam. It was a joke. Mom is great, but lady hugged me and fed me and radiated mother vibes all the way.”
“Just don’t be gross, weirdo.” I chuckle some more and slowly fall back into a rhythm with my best friend prepping for Carmen to whirl in and make the ingredients into something amazing.
James, Camile’s dad, is in the patio starting the grill while her two brothers rough house on whatever the native ground cover is. I forget what areas use instead of grass. Maybe it’s just a local grass-like plant like the Silvergrass on Astoria. I never spend much time outside when I visit.
I waxed nostalgic for a bit, losing track of time with simple tasks when Carmen ambushes me. “It’s so good to see you sweetie. We hardly ever see you and now Camile tells us you’re moving? No, I will hold you hostage. They will have to find someone else for the job.” She says hugging me tighter
I lean into her and suck up all the comfort I can. “I’m only moving because of politics. I’ll still be in the sector, and since I’ll have to schedule trips with Dash’s government, you’ll know when I’ll be on planet. Plus, my new girlfriend would definitely have issues with you kidnapping me?”
She leans back to stare me in the eyes while still holding me. “You two are getting back together? What about Peter?”
“Nope, not Cam, mom. No again. No way”
“You could sound less horrified, Mik. Peter doesn’t share my appetite for physical affection, so he’s agreed to me having a girlfriend or two.” She sounds oddly challenging, as though daring her mother to say something bad. Carmen would never. Instead she nods.
“This, I understand. James does not like hugging as much as I need to hug. But there are enough children and strays to spread them around!” She squeezes me hard and kisses my head before letting me go.
A fleeting surprise flashes across Camile’s face before she smiles and hugs her mom too.
The chicken adobo with a flair of local spices that Carmen makes almost makes me cry it’s so good. Her food is one of the few things in live that is better than I remember it. That or she keeps getting better at cooking between each of my visits, and that’s a bit unrealistic after ten years and tons of visits. I keep eating until I’m absolutely stuffed, and the darling that Carmen is asks me if I had enough to eat. You’d never know she helps run this Solar System.
“Can I talk business now Carmen? She has finally finished.” James seems more impatient than his features would indicate. Curious.
“In a minute, dear. Cammie, round up your brothers for the dishes would you? Mik, would you like a brandy?”
“Yes please.” She nods and pours the three of us a brandy, and as soon as Carmen takes a seat next to me, James starts in.
“Father and I don’t like the changes the Empress made to our petition. The bases she wants on our outer moons are an invasion and her demand for an overarching government is counter to what we’re aiming for.”
Blame the employee, woooo! Then again, with my promotion, I can set rules for my frontier sectors to a limited degree. “I get what you’re saying, but they’re not intended to invade your privacy, they’re there as a deterrent in showing an Imperial presence around these systems even if we’re not going to be involved as much in them. My patrol won’t include your planets anymore, just the prospects and the transit lanes.”
He waves his hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, that was another change we weren’t fond of, but we anticipated that one. B-2 and B-3 haven’t prepared as well for their own defense as we have, but that’s not exactly for you to fix.”
“The agreement is temporary anyway. She agreed to re-negotiate in five years, so you’ll have an opportunity to discuss any changes before the situation becomes permanent.”
“Yes, I read the document, the Imperial presence will pull out in year two, etcetera.”
“Actually, where and when that corvette goes is up to me, James. I’m the Senior Marshal. So what is it that you actually want to talk about, if not these provisions of the agreement?”
“The other families and I do not intend to change how we manage the sector, and according to the document we received, we need to form a government. What’s stopping us from forming a token government?”
I sigh at this, Penny actually giggled when she explained this part. “It needs to be effective, or you’ll be annexed. The members of the Astorian Forum are not asking you to change how you run your worlds, they just want you to confirm your cooperation to consolidate the management interface in the Matrix. Just so you’re aware, that the default is that each of the families have equal votes and control and will be established as noble houses as part of a governing round table. All of which will be made official at dawn at the Empress’ castle on Astoria.”
I pause to sip the fine brandy that Carmen served and to collect my nerve to say the next part. “From my perspective, the five companies tried to get something for nothing. The Empress saw through it though, and is giving you what you want, but asking for concessions that aren’t too much to cancel the whole thing. The Consuls also know that you’ve been mis-reporting your aethrite discoveries and selling the excess to a third party for twice the price.” His face pales, telling me he knew.
“Now, I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t catch it, but the Consul of Trade and Finance did. The only punishment you will receive is being delisted as a preferred supplier for the Empire.”
“That’s preposterous! I would have been notified if our status had changed.” James interrupts.
“Dawn tomorrow. A bunch of changes will happen at once.”
“Leave it to a tyrant to strike a petty blow when we are weak.”
“James, the people that made the decision to skirt the trade agreement are at fault.” Carmen says in a warning tone.
“And honestly, the families are lucky that the Consuls couldn’t tie the theft to the health and welfare of your citizens. Instead, they get a slap on the wrist and get to keep the money. Seems fair to me. I will note that many of the houses still have prospecting deals with the Empire and I bet they’ll be paying more attention now.”
“Will you be enforcing those agreements now?” Carmen asks while James scrunches his face.
“Unlikely. I’m still going to looking for the big stuff like systemic violence and health and safety stuff. If there’s something bigger than I can handle in my patrol ship, I have a corvette that can fix most problems I’ve encountered.” I take another sip of Brandy, and continue, “I think I’m done talking about how it’s going to affect the Castillo Trading Company’s profits. If you want to ask anything else, I’m game.”
“Okay, miha, will you be settling disputes between systems like you were?” Carmen asks.
I shake my head, “not between the Bronies. If things get too violent, I’ll step in, but other than that, it’s up to the government now.”
“Why send the Navy and give you a promotion if you’re not going to do anything about it?” James asks.
“Because Earth happened. You all are venturing into the same situation that the Empress let happen to Earth. She let the UN and the other world governments run things how they wanted and gave them the money and responsibility they were due. They clearly fucked it up. The Protectors and I are here to prevent that.”
“Have you met the Protectors yet? Any advice on dealing with them?”
“Sorry, I haven’t. They’ll be showing up tomorrow as well, but I do know that it was the Empress’ first daughter that was sent to be the Protector of Earth. Which means I expect the ones for Dash, AJ, and Twilight will be personally powerful and will likely be close to the Empress as well. They won’t be administrative figureheads or pushovers.”
“How did we petition for freedom and get more government?” James asks.
I snort and cough at the unexpectedly funny question. “Oh, that’s funny. I guess it does look that way.” Deciding to end the conversation on less serious terms, I get up and finish the brandy. “I’m going to find Camile and say goodbye.” I kiss Carmen’s cheek and walk into the kitchen.
I hit something hard with the door, and one of the boys yelps in surprise. I peak my head in and look down to see Daniel on his butt rubbing his head, with Tim and Camile standing further back looking guilty. I grin at the trio and pick Daniel up to muss his hair and tickle him. He squeals for mercy so I let him go and switch to Camile, who actually screams while the boys laugh.
“You’re a terrible friend, and I hate you.”
“Liar, you love me. You’re gonna give me a hug and everything.”
“In what world am I doing that after you tickle me?”
“I gotta go, so you better,” I tease, knowing she’s not really mad.
Camile groans, huffs, and walks over for a hug. “Dad’s been under a lot of stress this month, please don’t hold it against him. Please?”
“He was being a butt, though Cam.”
She looks at me with a pout. “Mom and I were great though right?”
I am such a sucker for a pretty girl pout. “Geez, put the weapon away. You two are always great, though you did yell at me last week.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“You cost me ten credits! I was mad!” she huffs again and hugs me tightly. “No, I’m not taking the bait. I’m going to let you leave without getting riled up.” She straitens ups and kisses me, then proceeds to pat my face like a weirdo. “Don’t wait another year to see us okay?”
“Convince mom to make sopapillas and I’m in.” I joke.
“No way, you’re just going to stuff them with jelly like a strudel.”
“Damn right I am.” I walk back through to the living room and Carmen is there straitening things up, probably waiting for me.
She makes me promise to come back soon and to coach her boys how to get into the aether academy on Elysium. I swear that I will and tell her to have them start thinking about what they want to do with aether and think about crafting skills as well. I don’t know all of the requirements, but I can ask Penny sometime, even though she no longer selects the candidates.
I call a shuttle to take me back to the space port as my new patrol ship is too big to park random places, and eagerly await the bed in my cabin onboard. I take a quick shower before bed and decide that I’m going to be a huge dork and message my girlfriend something sappy.
/Hey babe, lot of people talking about you today and it made me miss you terribly. So here I lay, in my private quarters on a gift you helped make for me, wishing I could wake up with you half on top of me while I cup your cute little butt./
***
I wake up with a note next to my face: ‘Miki, your message was sweet, and I’m glad you like my pet project. Get it? A project for my pet.’ The terrible joke makes me hear it in her voice and I smile as I continue reading, ‘I think I’d like to hear from you more often, not just messages, but hear your voice, so if you’re interested, the device on the back will link us through aether space via the ansible. I won’t be offended if you don’t install it, just a little sad.’
Well, that is a little manipulative. I’m basically reading ‘if you love me you’ll do it.’ Of course I want more of her. Kip, is this a mod-like thing or an absorb and hold thing?
You have the required software to plug this device into one of several locations in your head. Do you want to hear the correspondence, get an impression of the sound in your mind, get an impression of the words in your mind, or some amalgamation of interpretive colors?
Uh, wow. That last one sounds terrible. I think impression of sound please.
If you can absorb it through the side of your skull, I can work on the connections throughout the day. If you prefer surgery, Kitty has a capable medical suite.
Well, I’ll give it a shot. I put the lumpy disk just behind my ear and focus on absorbing the object with my body and not the function of the object. I don’t have any function slots left and I won’t get another until I get to tier 3—hopefully. Sure, I could dump one of the ones I have, but healing and Magitech Integration have been pretty great so far and I don’t see myself giving them up any time soon. The process feels like pushing a coin sideways through plumbers putty, while being disturbing and deeply uncomfortable. As soon as the heavy resistance of bone disappears, I stop and back it up to the hard resistance point. I have to resist the urge to scratch the shit out of the area.
“Blarg, now that I’m done with that weirdness, I have a meeting to get to. Then more systems to fly to more meetings. Yeay me!”
I stop by the terminal in the mess and see Rob and the Sergeant chatting while having coffee. I wave on my way while ordering a coffee and a spinach and cream cheese omelet.
\You know that there is a coffee maker in the wall five feet from you, and one in your quarters.\
My brain shorts for a second, before responding. /I do now. Wait, you make coffee for us?/
\I come equipped with your needs in mind. Not that you deserve it, but if the Empress sees something in you, I should probably keep looking.\
Damn. That was a sufficiently sick burn. /Ouch, but thanks for the coffee. Is there a juice dispenser too?/
She’s quite for a few moments, then messages \Yes, but only in your quarters.\
/Nice. You’re the best Kitty./ We’re going to be working together for a while, so I have to, have to make nice. Plus, she reminds me of me, when I was a complete assface.
“Mornin’ boss. How was dinner with the fam?” Rob asks before taking another bite of a jelly donut.
“I’ve decided I know too many important people. James Castillo decided he wanted to grill me after dinner. He wanted an inside scoop or something, but the best mom in the Galaxy kept him in check.”
“If you had dinner with one of the five Families, is that going to be an issue for us?” Rickman asks.
“Eh, maybe. I’ve had to make an extra effort to help the other four in the past, but now that we’re leaving, I just need to make a point to be equally disinterested in the planets. I also think that every last one of them are going to try to pull the wool over my eyes.” I take a deep draw of coffee. “How’re the ideas for our moon bases coming?”
“Well, Sir, a million credits goes a long way. We’ve settled on a structure base and the standard amenities, but the environments are different for each system so there are some options Darcy wants to go over with you.”
“Thanks Sergeant. I appreciate you helping with this project. How are the other Marines?”
“Bored and wondering what they’ll be doing. I know you’ve told them, but they don’t understand the scope. I filled them in on your operation’s stats from the past five years, but their eyes glossed over after about five minutes.”
I can’t help but chuckle at that. “That’s fine, but did you help them get their expected gear loadouts?”
He nods, “I did, but it’s sitting in three crates in the cargo bay of the Kismet. I asked Gunny about it and he said he’d arrange the load if we can pick it up.”
“Nice. If he assigned them load spots or numbers, Kitty can have them transferred to us.” I take a stab at my omelet and stuff my face.
“A thousand pound transfer instead of flying for three to five hours? Can’t see how that’s worth it, Sir.”
\An hour, max. Our warp minimums are just over 70k kilometres and our ripple drives can accelerate through 30gs without hull damage.\
Hells, Kitty. My previous shuttle was rated at 300 million km warp minimum and 15g max chassis limit. I could warp in combat and re-engage in minutes. Holy shit. /Be that as it may, I don’t want to broadcast how fucking cool you are. I want to be like ‘Surprise awesome bitch! Torpedo!’/
Before she can respond, I respond to Rickman. “Yeah, my schedule is tighter than that today. Transfer distance matters though, so please get those crate IDs to Kitty before we depart.”
“Copy that.” He stands up, pats Rob on the shoulder and heads off towards the Crew’s Quarters.
“Discuss staffing in space?” I say to my favorite receptionist and PR guy. He nods and operates a menu I can’t see. Alright then.
I refill my coffee, jam the rest of my breakfast and head out to the shuttle that’ll take me to my meeting. It’s times like these I want to buy one of those collapsible bikes Penny loves. Unfortunately, ground transportation is restricted to mass transit and ride shares in Capitol City. Good idea for old tech, but with aether drives and the low density of people on this planet, it really isn’t necessary. Ahh, well, not my pool to pee in.
I agree to the refundable spillage deposit and zip off to the multi-story buildings of the Capitol. As we approach my destination, my coffee is almost empty and I’m visually categorizing the town that I was based out of for almost all of my tenure as a Marshal. The coffee shop I met Camile at, the bar that I made out with that cat lady, and my office has a shield and text running across it?
‘This building will be removed if not purchased within 30 days.’
A few blocks later, another government building looks the same. More offices, and government buildings follow, but not a single residence. Oh, Penny, you really stirred the shit with this. I start smiling the whole way into city hall where I’m supposed to meet Dash’s Protector.
I look up at the familiar message on yet another government building from the bottom of the steps leading up to an artistic colonnade and snicker at my girl’s petty forethought. I reach up to touch the barrier and the area around my hand glows green and peels back. I guess I have access then, and if I do, there’s no reason to suspect that the Protector wouldn’t. I shrug and continue up the steps.
When I enter the foyer, I see a two meter tall beefcake with a tight crew cut and a smart-looking vest and pant combo. The top is tight but the pants are loose and they look ready to move at the slightest provocation. Their eyes are a bit too angular in the corners, and their lips appear to barely contain the teeth held behind them. She’s taken a mutation or two. It takes my hamster a few rotations around the wheel before my mind catches up to the shifts in her face. It’s been nearly a decade since I last saw her.
“Jenna, you look positively massive. When Penny said she was sending her best, I didn’t figure you’d take a job this far from Dr. Summers.”
“Neither did I. She is on Apple Jack looking to expand her farms, so staying on Astoria seemed ridiculous. You look good as well. Have you transitioned?”
“Hah, no. I really only identify as male when I’m not at home. Plus, Penny doesn’t like the dangly bits.” I blush furiously, not knowing if it’s okay to tell people.
“Oh? Congratulations. I think she has been looking for a commitment for a few years. I’m happy for you both. Has she started giving you insane gifts yet?”
I snort at that. “She gave me an experimental fighter and a fully crewed Navy corvette with my promotion.”
She nods. “For a wedding gift, she gave Franny and I a quarter of a subtropical moon. I ended up not seeing my new wife for two months because she gets lost in her passions as well.”
“Hah! Oh man, that is ridiculous on both accounts.” I keep chuckling for a few moments before collecting myself. “Can I show you around? Or do you want to get right down to business?”
“If you know of offices that are less grand and ostentatious, I can talk while we walk?” Jenna offers.
“I know of such a place about a ten minute walk from here.” I start walking. “So, what is your job description?”
“Oof, Penny was not very specific. I have override access to the Planet’s governance interfaces, extra-judicial powers, and honestly, I think Protectors are a trial run for her Justicar concept as the Empire grows. She told me to make sure the transition to a corporate government is not overly harmful to her people. It’s barely an idea, let alone a plan.”
“I don’t think it’s as bad as all that. You have a strong moral code, you are honorable and you follow through. Just be yourself and ensure that the new ‘government’ doesn’t stray outside of your tolerance for a regime transition.”
“How would I have a tolerance for that? Do you have a tolerance for that?” When she talks animatedly, her massive canine incisors show, and her front teeth angle backward slightly for gripping prey, I assume. I’ve never seen her shift, but she’s already a little terrifying.
“When I first got out to Dash, I would routinely find miners on the moon, fighting each other with drills and pipes. As new merchants came in, a power struggle would happen and shit would blow up again. This is my third government change. Only one of them resulted in direct conflict, but otherwise, things get worse for a while, and then they generally improve.”
“You are as helpful as Penny. I suppose that is the privilege of the ruling class.”
“What the hell does that mean, Jenna?”
She tilts her head at me, as though my question were borderline insane. “You are in charge, Mikaela. Was Penny vague with you as well?”
“She told me I had ‘strategic control’ but to leave the tactics to the corvette Captain. That seemed pretty specific.”
“Ah, I see. She did not mean just control of the ship. You have strategic control of the consolidated coreward frontier (CCF). Meaning, that if I asked a long-time associate to be transferred to Apple Jack, you have the authority to do so.”
“This is some Empress jagged toenail bullshit. She’s lucky I like my ship so much.”
“Hah! You still use her title as a swear. I appreciate this. You are right though, it is some bullshit, but as we have tactical control, you have more responsibility than you are needed for acting in specific circumstances. You will not need to audit someone, but you will have to set policy for smuggling and so on.”
I slap my face with both hands and drag them down in frustration. “Yeah, okay. I need another ship and crew, but sure. I’m not sure if she was unaware that there are disparate prospect systems in this side of the frontier, or she was waiting for me to discover my responsibilities. Perhaps she simply forgot I can’t read her mind.”
“That last one. Her mind is never idle and without Tessa’s help, less information flows out to the rest of us. In any case, I would like to set up an office, and then I would like to accompany you to Applejack and discuss matters with the protector stationed there.”
“Or, or, what if, you set things up here, I discuss with AJ’s Protector your preference, and then we do an even on each planet in three months when I have the moon bases set up to introduce the public to their protectors?” My hands are up and my fingers are splayed as though I am trying to placate a wild animal. I did not do this on purpose.
“I suppose that is sensible. We will need a ship dispensation as most people can not fly.”
“I’m not going to look at your budget Jenna. Penny wouldn’t strand you out here without resources. I . . .” and the woman starts grinning at me. She was testing me. Asshole. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I am tempted to see how quickly she gets her shifting back if I take it.
“Yeah, yeah, test the waters. Ugh, you’re younger than me too. Freaking talent culture and advancing excellence despite experience.” I say in an almost comical exasperation. I wouldn’t have this job if it weren’t for that culture, so I shouldn’t complain too much.
“You are a very angry person. Surprisingly good control. I approve.” She see’s my reaction and laughs, “What? I care for Penny, why would I not test her new love interest?”
Say what now? Love interest? I am now very interested in any rumors, or what she’s said about me but Jenna would rake me across the proverbial coals for the tiniest bit of info. Does she love me back? Like, already?
She made you a freaking ship. One of the features is genuinely a new invention. Can I have a new User please? Mine is defective.
Shut your ass, Kip. Humans aren’t sensible most of the time. Lay off me.