A Galaxy Unknown 10: Azula Carver (13 page)

That freighter had been built by the Uthlaro, and she remembered the description from the files. The Siqquet model had been built at the Xillesku Shipbuilding yard on Uthlarigasset. A total of three hundred ninety-four had been produced in that model series, and most were still reputed to be in service. Top speed for the ship when it was fresh out of the shipyard was Light-300, which was considerably faster than the Clidepp Empire permitted. That gave it a considerable advantage over the Clidepp warships. The cargo area could accommodate either loose cargo or cargo containers since both sides of the ship at the cargo bay level opened fully. With containers, it could accommodate four full forty-meter-long containers twenty meters high. A container that size, outfitted for passengers, could house a lot of refugees.

"Captain, hover at a hundred meters over the freighters on the ground."

"Aye, Admiral. Helm, make it so."

"Aye, Captain."

As the CPS-14 took up a position over the four freighters, chaos broke out on the ground. The SC ship had arrived so fast that it seemed to appear from nowhere. People were running every which way. Some seemed desperate to get inside one of the freighters, while others were grabbing laser weapons and aiming them at the surprise visitor. A few even discharged their weapons, but laser pulses couldn't penetrate or damage the Dakinium surfaces of the ship.

It was about ten minutes before the people on the ground stopped shooting and came out of hiding. The hovering ship didn't seem to present a danger. But when Jenetta ordered McDonnell to land the ship two hundred meters from the freighter closest to the lake, the people on the ground ran for cover again. However, this time they didn't discharge their weapons.

As the CPS-14 set down, the support legs leveled the ship and determined the solidity of the surface. The report was favorable. The ground beneath the ship was solid.

Jenetta gave the aliens time to get used to the idea that a ship had landed in their presence. A group had approached cautiously and then walked to within twenty meters of the ship. They stood there for about fifteen minutes, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did happen, they turned to walk away. That's when Jenetta ordered the ramp to be extended.

The outside group stopped and turned back, then waited again.

"Okay, Captain, I'm going out," Jenetta said.

"Admiral, no. They fired at us. There's too much danger. Let me send out a couple of my people first."

"This isn't a warship, Captain, and you don't have any Marines with armor. Besides, I've got my own protection detail with me. But maintain a direct link with my CT at all times."

As the exterior hatch began to roll back, the group outside raised their rifles. When only Jenetta and the four cats walked out, they relaxed. Jenetta stood at the top of the ramp and looked around, then walked to the bottom and stepped onto the ground. Her protection detail gathered around her.

"Men with guns," she heard Tayna say.

"May be danger," Thor said.

"Everyone stay calm," Jenetta said. "We only attack if they start something."

"Who are you?" one of the Yolongi shouted to Jenetta. He seemed to be in change but didn't seem disposed to come any closer than five meters.

In addition to the modified range extender that allowed her to talk to the ship and her Jumakas, Jenetta had added an alien translator device and set it to Yolon, the de facto standard in the Clidepp Empire. The device would send the converted speech directly to her CT.

"I'm Azula Carver of the Family Carver. This is my land you're camping on."

"Camping on? We've claimed this land for settlement as is our right under Clidepp law when the land is not being used for any useful purpose."

"That's incorrect. This is a nature preserve and a recreation area for my tenants. No permanent construction is permitted here."

"You're too late, lady. We've already claimed this land under the centuries-old provisions of Clidepp law."

"There are several problems with that. One, you are no longer in Clidepp space, so Clidepp law has no validity here. Two, this entire planet was long ago claimed in the name of the King and Queen of Nordakia. Every millimeter of the surface became their property. Three, the King and Queen of Nordakia deeded this property to my family in perpetuity. As the Azula here, I decide who can, and who cannot, live here."

"And what if I decide you should die here, right now?" The Yolongi said as he rested his hand on a pistol stuck in his waistband.

"Then you would be making the gravest mistake of your life. If you manage to harm me, the entire weight of the Nordakian military, and in fact, the entire weight of Space Command, would land on your head. It's doubtful anyone in your entire party would live out the hour, and surely not the day. Not a very good start on a new life in a new nation."

"Ha! You think that tiny little ship you arrived in is going to harm us?" the leader said, laughing.

"Captain McDonnell, do you see that stump of a dead tree about forty meters on my right?"

The Yolongi leader looked around to see who she was talking to.

"Aye, ma'am," Jenetta heard in her CT.

"Have your tactical officer burn it."

With unbelievable speed, one of the hatch covers on the rear cargo container opened and a powerful laser beam shot out. The stump burst into flames. The hatch cover closed as quickly as it had opened.

The leader of the group said nothing at first, then, "So, you have a laser cannon." A lot of the belligerence he had been exhibiting until then had disappeared.

"It's actually the least dangerous weapon I have available in my ship's arsenal. I could just as easily have launched a rocket that would destroy one of your ships, or all of them, but you'll need them to leave this part of space."

The group behind the leader was talking and gesturing furiously while one was pointing at the burning stump. Their leader turned and shouted at them to shut up.

"What's it to be?" Jenetta asked. "Do you leave peacefully, or do I have my ship destroy all of you right now?"

"We can't leave," the leader said, taking a few steps forward. "We're almost out of food. We thought we might be able to get some fish from the lake."

"If you need food, I can help you. Do you have enough fuel to move your ships?"

The leader walked even closer, but still stopped two meters from Jenetta. "Our hydrogen tanks are three-quarters full," he said in a normal tone.

"So, no problem there. Okay, I'll have my navigator send you planetary coordinates for another location on my land where you can make camp. Undo the damage you did here by removing all the plot markers, and pick up all your trash. Then move all of your ships to the new area. I'll have a food supply ship drop off enough food for your entire group. The food ship will also take your refuse for recycling. How many in your party?"

"Four thousand two hundred, more or less."

"Forty-two hundred? Packed into those four small ships?"

"It's a bit crowded, but it was better than dying at the hands of the Triumvirate forces or being caught between them and the rebels."

"Let me give you a little bit of advice. The next time you want to immigrate to a new nation, don't try to smash your way in. Request entrance. You'll get a lot further."

"Uh, is it too late to start over with you?"

"Do what I've said, and I'll drop by your new camp in a couple of days to discuss it."

"Yes, Azula."

One of the men from the group that had hung back came hurrying up to the leader and whispered something, then rushed back to his group.

"Excuse me, Azula. One of my people thinks you look familiar, and you mentioned a Family Carver. Are you perhaps related to Admiral Jenetta Carver, the military leader who whipped the Milori, Tsgardi, and Uthlaro nations?"

"I
am
Admiral Jenetta Alicia Carver. I'm not in uniform because I'm on leave. This is my family's estate."

The leader of the group seemed to have been struck dumb for a few seconds. He moved a little closer to Jenetta and was finally able to mumble, "I'm terribly sorry for threatening you, Admiral. I had no idea who you were."

"I never felt threatened. If you had actually made a threatening move, one of my companions would have ripped your throat out before you could bring a weapon to bear, and my ship would have instantly wiped out your entire party if any one of
them
had made a threatening move."

The leader swallowed hard as he looked down and studied the appearance of the Jumakas closely for the first time. He had previously accepted that they were mere family pets. Fear became obvious on his face as Thor bared his large fangs and rumbled a low growl. The man took a quick step back. "Uh, they're your protectors?"

"They're my family. What's your name, citizen?"

"I'm a— I'm Storrgatl Kordorl. I'm the leader of this group."

"Well, Mr. Kordorl, I'll see you again in a few days at the new location."

"Yes, Admiral— er, Azula."

"One more thing, Mr. Kordorl. Part of my estate security force is presently headed this way in oh-gee vehicles and should arrive shortly. Don't fire on them when you see them as you did earlier, or they might return fire this time."

"We never aimed at the earlier air cars. We shot around them. We just wanted to frighten them away."

"You fired on my ship."

"I tried to stop my people, but they were scared because you were hovering directly over our ships."

"As their leader, you should make them understand that my people might return fire if fired upon, even if you're not aiming directly at them. I assure you that your people would not stand a chance of winning or perhaps even surviving the encounter."

"Yes, Azula."

Once back inside the CPS-14, Jenetta said to the Jumakas, "I'm very proud of all of you. You did an excellent job."

"Man not really dangerous," Cayla said. "Too scared."

"Yes, he was trying to bully his way through the meeting. Thor, what was that growl for?"

"Him showing off," Tayna said.

"Well, it was very effective. Thank you. You definitely left a lasting impression on his mind."

"Man leave his impression in clothes when Thor growl," Nicky said. "Could smell it."

~ December 2
^nd
, 2288 ~

"Good morning, Azula," Storrgatl Kordorl said as Jenetta stepped out of her oh-gee vehicle in the open meadow where the four Yolongi spaceships were now parked. The four Jumakas had jumped out of the open-topped vehicle as soon as it settled onto its skids.

"Good morning, Mr. Kordorl."

"My people want to extend their gratitude for the food you've given us. Our food stores had been greatly depleted and the variety was quite limited."

"How's the health of your people? Do you require medical assistance?"

"Thank you, but we have our own physicians. We are a little low on several medicines though."

"Prepare a list, and I'll see what we can do."

"Thank you, Azula. You're very generous."

"What are your plans, Mr. Kordorl? Where will you go now?"

"We've discussed it at length. We'd like to immigrate to Obotymot."

Jenetta was silent for a few seconds. She had expected this request.

"Is that possible?" Mr. Kordorl asked when the silence had lasted longer than he expected.

"Yes, it might be possible. But you might find the immigration requirements a little too— demanding. We've been anticipating the arrival of refugees from the Clidepp Empire for some time. We knew shiploads of émigrés would arrive here eventually, but the ships from the Clidepp Empire have always been so slow we knew we had time to plan for their arrival. The king asked me to head up our refugee program, and I've been doing a lot of research on the past efforts of various cultures to welcome newcomers. I've come to the conclusion that a successful immigration program requires just one thing."

"And what is that one thing?"

"The immigrants must be willing to forsake their heritage and allow themselves to be assimilated into the culture of the nation they wish to join."

"That sounds reasonable, Azula."

"At first, it might— but think about it. Most of the people on this planet have lived here all of their lives. And the people that immigrated here have principally come from Nordakia where life is much the same. So there has been little difficulty in assimilating newcomers into this culture."

"But you're a Terran. You were born on Earth."

"I see you've been studying my background."

"After our encounter, I checked the files and read everything I could find."

"Yes, I'm a Terran by birth and a citizen of Earth. I'm also a citizen of Nordakia and therefore Obotymot, since this planet is politically tied to Nordakia."

"Before we left Yolongus, we sold all of our property and converted the funds to GA Credits. We're not asking you to give us land. We're willing to buy it for cash."

"Now that's the first problem. On Obotymot, as on Nordakia, all land is owned by the nobility. You cannot buy land on either planet."

"But what about all those small farms we see everywhere? And what of the towns and cities?"

"The nobility leases land to tenants. Tenants pay fifty percent of their crops in exchange for use of a farm, or fifty percent of their net earnings for the space in a building if they're a professional or a retailer. In return, the government supports our citizens in many ways, such as free health care and education, and programs to combat poverty. We also support our citizens in their old age so none need fear not having a roof over their head or enough food to eat. The fifty percent share is the only tax or fee ever paid by our citizens, except for fines if they break the law. The one amount goes to support all of our programs and assistance. When a meteor hit this planet more than two decades ago, it flung enough dirt up into the atmosphere to cause a year-round winter. All crops were destroyed and most wild animals died off. The government undertook a massive program to save as many wild species as possible and scrub the atmosphere clean so the sun could again warm the planet and restore life here. It's taken many years and trillions of GA Credits from the Nordakia Royal Treasury, but life has mostly returned to where it was before the meteor struck, and we continue to improve each year. That effort was only possible because of the surpluses from the fifty percent shares that had accumulated in the Nordakian treasury over the years. You probably noticed how poor the soil was where you first landed."