A Galaxy Unknown 10: Azula Carver (23 page)

"Then you misread the situation. You weren't bypassed for promotion because we didn't value you. You were passed over because your skills in that position were rated so highly there was no one else in our entire organization who could fill your shoes. We could think of no one else we could put in charge of the Lower Council. That position is almost on a par with mine."

"You're saying that the chairman of the Lower Council is more valuable than the other council members here today?"

Gladsworth looked around the table. If there had been any doubt that this was really the person last known to the council as Arthur Strauss, it had now been dispelled in Gladsworth's mind. Strauss had always been a master manipulator of people and she had just seen how easily Shanara had twisted the meaning of her words to put her, the chairwoman, in the awkward position of defending herself. She knew she had to phrase her response carefully so as not to anger her fellow council members but was thrilled beyond words with Shanara's simple response. "No, of course not. I'm saying that the Chairman of the Lower Council is equally as valuable to the Raider organization as every council member here today and wields just as much power. In fact, there are times when the Lower Council Chairman wields far more power than the Upper Council members because he or she operates without daily supervision and his or her decisions affect the performance of this entire organization. That's why the individual chosen to chair the Lower Council is so very important and why it's been so difficult to replace Arthur Strauss— and you."

"What are you saying? That you want me back to chair the Lower Council?"

"I'm saying it's a possibility— if you can control your maniacal impulses to kill everyone around you."

"I only kill when I have good reason. I was fighting for my life with Strauss. I believed it was either him or me."

"I've heard that, but what about the thousands of test subjects you killed while developing the DNA Manipulation and Age Prolongation Formulas?"

"Necessary damage. We didn't use live subjects until we believed we were on the cusp of a breakthrough and could not proceed without the critical data those tests would provide. Besides, none of those subjects were useful for anything else. As captives we had collected while taking freighters and passenger ships, they were only useful as slave labor, and virtually all of them were not even fit for that. They were old and weak. All they did as prisoners was eat our food and consume our air and other resources. This way they served a good and useful purpose."

"We have no problem with death, when death serves a distinct purpose for the organization and doesn't cause more problems than it solves, but we must avoid such actions that harm the organization or antagonize the masses enough to rise up and demand that the GA do something about us. I trust that if we forgive your past mistakes, you will see they are not repeated. We don't kill people who have value to us, and we don't go after the Carvers. They are either too intelligent for the people who seek to harm them, or they lead charmed lives. You will
not
take any action whatsoever against them, their relatives, or their interests without prior approval from the Upper Council. Is that clearly understood?"

Shanara knew what her response had to be. Any other response would result in her death. "Understood, Madam Chairwoman. Every time I've had contact with the Carvers, I've come off second best. I want nothing more to do with them. I will not seek them out or engage them in any way unless ordered to do so by the Upper Council."

"Good. We know you're highly intelligent, crafty, and totally without human compassion. Those are the attributes we most prized in Arthur Strauss. As it turns out, we once again have an immediate opening on the Lower Council. Would you be interested in accepting the chairman's position there?"

Again, Shanara knew what her response had to be. "Yes, Madam Chairwoman. I would be honored to accept the position as Chairwoman of the Lower Council. Will I be required to— depose— my predecessor?"

"No, that's already been taken care of. We signed an agreement with the Dakistians that required them to provide us with the documentation necessary to build our own cloning labs so we could make clones, plus give us the manufacturing information necessary to produce our own Dakinium. The agreement required them to turn over all documentation once we had developed a cure for their sterility and it was proven to work, but we wanted them to give us the early data from the period when they started their work on the cloning as a gesture of good faith and to ensure they would follow though later. Once they gave us the first part, we'd have a sword to hold over their heads if they failed to give us the rest once we gave them the cure."

"I'm surprised they actually signed something that could get them hung."

"They're desperate. Anyway, Neil Soroman's solution for pressuring them to give us the data was to kill them all. He ordered that the headquarters of the Dakistee planetary government be blown up. Why are you smiling?"

"You made
Soroman
the chairman of the Lower Council?"

"Acting chairman. We were desperate after Arthur Strauss disappeared."

"No wonder you sent a team halfway across Region One to find me and bring me back. I have to say I don't think you have much chance of getting the documentation now. And your ace in the hole— the threat of blackmail— is gone. You can't blackmail dead bodies."

"Yes, the situation has worsened considerably. Your first job is to try to salvage anything we can from that fiasco. The Dakistians still need the sterility cure, and one of the incoming ministers or aides may be willing to deal."

"Have we developed a cure for their sterility?"

"We've made no progress to date. That will also be one of your priorities."

"Is that all?"

"No. We also want you to discover why the Age Regression Formula kills any females who attempt to use it, while males who have used the DNA Manipulation Formula to change their gender and then used the Age Regression Formula suffer no ill effects."

"Will I also be allowed to pursue other interests?"

"Such as?"

"I'd like to find out why the Age Prolongation Formula only allows the recipient to live an estimated five thousand years. I believe full immortality should be possible to achieve."

"I don't think anyone on the Upper Council would object to that. You may pursue that as a side goal, but cloning is your main project. And if we can't get the cloning documentation from the Dakistians, we must develop our own. If they can develop it, so can we."

"Where will I be living?"

"The organization-owned apartment provided to the chairman of the Lower Council has been cleaned and is ready for occupancy."

"Is that the same apartment I used as Arthur Strauss?"

"Yes. Would you prefer a different one?"

"No, that's fine. I was just wondering."

"Is there anything else you need to know right now?"

"No, Madam Chairwoman. Since I've already occupied the position, I know what's required of me."

"Good."

Gladsworth touched the contact spot on the console and the entrance doors almost flew open. The three security guards and their chief rushed in as if expecting they would have to subdue the prisoner. They were surprised that she was standing almost exactly where they left her.

"Chief, we've come to an agreement with Miss Shanara. She will be the new Chairwoman of the Lower Council, effective immediately."

The eyes of all four security people opened wide, and their faces reflected the shock they were experiencing. Their thoughts immediately turned to the their treatment of Shanara while she was their prisoner.

"Miss Shanara," Gladsworth said, "I realize you may harbor some ill will towards these men for past acts of— personal contact— but it is the wish of the Upper Council that you forgive and forget all such prior contact. That was a different time and a different situation. They are all highly dedicated security people, and they will now take their instructions from you. Chief, do you understand?"

"Yes, Madam Chairwoman. Miss Shanara is now the new Chairwoman of the Lower Council, and we take our orders from her."

"Miss Shanara will probably want to do some shopping before going to her new apartment since she probably didn't have time to pack on Pelomious. You will issue her one of the Lower Council VIP Unlimited GA Credits Cards and then escort her to wherever she wishes to go."

"Yes, Madam Chairwoman."

"Is there anything else you need, Miss Shanara?" Gladsworth asked.

"I think I have everything I need for now, Madam Chairwoman."

"Good. Welcome back to the organization."

After Shanara was gone and the doors had closed, one of the council members said, "Do you think we can trust her, Madam Chairwoman?"

"We've given her what she wants— an opportunity to develop a full immortality process. Yes, I think she'll play along. She's just as cunning and deadly as Arthur Strauss, and we've needed that on the Lower Council since she left. But if she disappoints us, we're no worse off than we were this morning."

~     ~     ~

"Jeneeta getting fat," Cayla said in the family dining room one day during breakfast. The Jumakas had finished their breakfast and the adults were lounging around the room while the cubs played around, under, and over them.

Since only Jenetta had a CT, no one else had heard a thing. Jenetta knew she couldn't keep the secret much longer, so she decided it was time to tell the family. "Yes, Cayla, I'm putting on a little weight."

Annette, Marisa, and Regina stopped eating and looked at Jenetta. They all knew her body prevented her from changing or aging in the slightest.

"Oh my God," Annette said. "You
are
putting on weight. Is that a baby bump?"

Immediately Regina and Marisa jumped up from their chairs and hurried over to Jenetta where they looked for themselves and then hugged her and showered her with good wishes.

"When did this happen?" Annette asked.

"Back in February," Jenetta said.

"You've been pregnant for three months?" Marisa asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"You all know what the Raiders did to me. I had no idea if I even could have a baby. And if I did have a baby, I didn't know if the baby would be— normal. Hugh and I decided there was only one way to find out."

"So you decided to have a baby out of wedlock?" Annette asked.

"Oh, Mama, you're so old-fashioned."

"I can't help it. It's the way I was raised."

Jenetta giggled. "It's the way I was raised also. Hugh and I are married."

"What?" Annette screamed. "And you didn't tell us? Or invite us to the wedding?"

"It was just a small civil ceremony at a local parish house and I swore the priest, his wife and the witnesses to secrecy until I announce it publicly. Hugh and I will have a large 'reconfirmation of our vows' ceremony if everything goes well."

"What's not to go well? You're pregnant."

"I told you what my concerns are. For all I know, the only thing growing inside me might be a cyst or a tumor."

"We have to get you to a doctor."

"I sent a message to Space Command two days ago requesting that the next ship passing by with a full medical staff stop so I can get a physical exam."

"And?"

"They've said a ship will stop within a week."

~     ~     ~

"Congratulations, Admiral, " the doctor, Commander Verler, aboard the GSC Destroyer
Vancouver
said. "You're pregnant."

"Is everything alright? I mean with the baby?"

"From everything we can see, the fetuses are healthy."

"Did you say 'fetuses,' Doctor? As in plural?"

"Yes. You're having twins. You say you just completed your first trimester? And you haven't been examined before this?"

"No, but I've spent a lot of time studying what I needed to know about staying healthy when pregnant."

"There is one anomaly, Admiral."

"What is it?"

"The development of the fetuses are what we would expect to see at five months, not three."

"Could that be related to the unique healing powers my body developed as a result of experimentation by the Raiders? I heal ten times faster than most Terrans."

"I suppose it's possible. You're sure conception only took place in February?"

"That's when I stopped using birth control."

"Well, I would expect to see you gain weight quite rapidly now if you're to have a normal delivery."

"Any indication of the sex of the babies?"

"It's too early to be one hundred percent sure, you understand, but our equipment indicates that it's one boy and one girl."

~

On the trip down to the planet aboard her barge, Jenetta planned what she was going to say in the vidMail where she shared the happy news with Hugh. She still didn't know if everything was going to be alright, but she had already waited until she'd had a full examination to tell him he was going to be father, twice over. She knew he wanted children and that he'd be happy, but she was still worried there might be complications with the aging of the kids. That the doctor said their development appeared to be two months more advanced than what she believed had been the actual date of conception was worrisome.

~ April 14
^th
, 2287 ~

~ June 3
^rd
, 2289 ~

"Before we close today's regular meeting," Admiral Moore said to the members of the Admiralty Board, "I want to announce the contents of a message from the captain of the destroyer
Vancouver
. It seems Jenetta requested that a ship with a full medical crew stop at Obotymot to give her a physical."

"Is she okay?" Admiral Plimley asked.

"Better than that. The captain says the doctors determined that she's pregnant. With twins."

"That's wonderful," Admiral Hillaire said, "but does it mean she won't be returning to Space Command?"

"Jen hasn't said anything to that effect."

"Who's the father of the children?"

"That information wasn't included in the vidMail, but my guess would be Commander Hugh J. Michaels, XO of the
Bonn
. He and Jenetta have been dating for two decades."