A Galaxy Unknown 10: Azula Carver (9 page)

"Yes, we're familiar with the Arneu/Ravenau situation. Continue."

"As you're probably aware, Ravenau was killed when the building housing her lab was destroyed in what has been described as a
suspicious
accident. Fortunately, the Arneu formulas for the DNA Manipulation Process and the Age Prolongation Process had already been turned over to the Central Labs section. However, while investigating the suspicious nature of the explosion we learned that not all of the recovered computer files had been examined in detail. The reason is simple— we believed we had all of the important files and there would be little chance that the unexamined files would contain anything pertinent to the cause of the explosion. That proved to be true during our recent reexamination, but we did find some interesting material regarding Nicole Ravenau. It seems she had ordered a team of her people to prepare the injections she would need to change her appearance again. In fact, it appears they might have prepared as many as fifty different appearances for her. Most of the new bodies would be males, but a dozen were female."

"And what significance does that have in the investigation to locate Arthur Strauss? Ravenau was dead long before Strauss disappeared."

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps?"

"We learned that one of the appearances designed for Ravenau in secret was a copy of Arthur Strauss, right down to his fingerprints. She would become his twin. Even more than a twin. She would actually be Arthur Stephen Strauss. She would not only look like him, she would sound exactly like him. From a physical standpoint, no one would be able to tell the difference, personal mannerisms aside."

"But she died in the explosion. They found her body."

"Not necessarily. The line of reasoning we're following now is that she was responsible for the explosion as part of an effort to hide from Strauss. He had repeatedly threatened to kill her after the Christa Carver incident on Dakistee, and she may have believed she would only be safe if Strauss were dead. But she first had to fake her own death so no one would suspect her. We believe the Ravenau body was faked, using one of the women from a failed experiment. We expected to find Ravenau's body, and we found one that looked like her, so we didn't look further. We believe that once her transformation into an identical Arthur Strauss was complete, she killed the real Strauss and took his place. Then it was simply a matter of waiting for just the right opportunity for her to disappear."

"Why disappear at all? She could have moved into Strauss's life and no one would have been able to tell the difference."

"Perhaps she tried on Strauss's life for a time and didn't like it. Or perhaps she was upset when four council members beneath her were advanced to the Upper Council. "

"This is all just speculation, right?"

"Yes, Madam Chairwoman."

"Pursue this line of investigation and find out how much of this speculation might be true. If Nicole Ravenau is alive, I want her found. I don't care if she's a she, a he, or an it. Find her."

"Yes, Madam Chairwoman. We'll pursue her to the ends of the galaxy if necessary."

~     ~     ~

"Please come in, Your Grace," Wilkerson said when Jenetta and a small detachment of security personnel arrived at the converted cargo container at the rear of the palace grounds. The full-sized cargo container had started life as just a large metal box, twenty meters tall by forty meters long by ten meters deep. Wilkerson had converted the interior to resemble a five story building as might be found on Earth, but it also had a full engineering deck for generating energy, recycling water and air, and heating and cooling the container as needed. While in space, the only access had been through one of the top hatches, but now end doors could be swung open so a more dignified entrance was possible.

The visitors had to climb up two levels to where the Jumaka Wilkerson had acquired was caged, but stairways provided access to the different levels rather than ladders. Wilkerson knew it would take years to reach Obotymot from Taurentlus-Thur, and he didn't want to be climbing access ladders all day, so he'd had stairs installed when he was converting the container to living quarters. Jumakas have no difficulty with stairways but do have difficulties with ladders, which no doubt helped Wilkerson with his decision to use stairs inside the container.

"This is Nicolaus Copernicus," Wilkerson said when they at last reached the area where the male Jumaka was caged. "I got him from a trader while he was still a kitten. I just call him Nicky."

"Why is he still caged?" Jenetta asked.

"That's at the request of your Captain Pwuhvasqu. He said it would be better if Nicky stayed caged until you had had a chance to meet him and evaluate for yourself if he should have the freedom of the grounds Cayla, Tayna, and Thor enjoy."

As Jenetta stepped forward towards the cage, the Jumaka took a step backward. But as Cayla, Tayna, and Thor joined Jenetta and pressed their muzzles against the bars, the Jumaka male moved forward to sniff the strangers. These were the first Jumakas he had seen since leaving Taurentlus-Thur, and his initial hesitation— perhaps from being outnumbered three to one— was understandable. Where Cayla and Tayna had fur as black as space, with yellow eyes that seemed to glow, and Thor had deep brown fur and dark green eyes, Nicky had steel-blue fur with deep blue eyes.

"Hello, Nicky," Jenetta said. "Welcome to Obotymot." Pointing to each of her Jumakas, she said, "This is Thor, this is Tayna, and this is Cayla. I can tell we're all going to be great friends."

As soon as Jenetta stopped speaking, the three Jumakas by her sides took over. After a few opening mewls on their part, Nicky responded.

From behind Jenetta, Wilkerson said in a lowered voice, "Your Grace, this is wonderful. That's the first time I've ever heard Nicky make a sound. Is he communicating with them?"

"I imagine it's a sort of greeting. As to what they're saying exactly— well, that's why you're here, Mr. Wilkerson."

"Yes, yes, of course."

"When Thor first joined us, Cayla and Tayna began teaching him how to interact with humans and the rules of our society he must follow. He learned very quickly. I'm sure it will be the same with Nicky. I think it's safe to release him now. Cayla, Tayna, and Thor will make sure he doesn't get into any mischief or harm anyone while he's learning to live among us."

As soon as Wilkerson opened the cage door, Nicky bounded out and made a physical connection with the other three Jumakas through muzzle contact, then sniffed as he walked around them. Finally, they had a sort of discussion that Jenetta intensely wished she could understand.

"Mr. Wilkerson, could you show me the devices you've been working on?"

"Of course, Your Grace. They're on the next level down."

Without telling the Jumakas to either stay or follow, Jenetta followed Wilkerson to the stairway. The security detail followed along, with the four Jumakas bringing up the rear.

"Here's the latest device," Wilkerson said, handing Jenetta a collar with a built-in sound pickup chip. "Since Nicky wouldn't make any sounds at all, I couldn't experiment with it on him, so I used it on myself while developing it. I wanted something that was supremely comfortable, since they'll be wearing it full time, and as durable as possible." Pointing to a large, plastic-like box on a worktable, he said, "That's the receiver. It has an internal translation chip just like the ones we use for alien translation equipment, but I've been unable to program it. I needed Jumakas for that and a way of determining what they're saying."

As they talked, Cayla and Tayna had joined Jenetta at her sides. Thor had hung back with Nicky. Jenetta looked down at Cayla and said, "How about it, baby? Will you help us develop a translation dictionary of the sounds your larynx is capable of producing so we can have real discussions in the future?"

Cayla nodded her head.

"Did she just nod in agreement?" Wilkerson asked in obvious amazement.

"Yes, she 's willing to help," Jenetta said as she bent over and wrapped the collar around Cayla's neck."Until now, the only response I've ever been sure of was when either Cayla or Tayna nodded or shook their head."

"The diamond emblem on the collar should be placed directly under her throat," Wilkerson said. "That's the pickup chip."

Jenetta twisted the device so the chip was properly placed before she finished buckling the collar. It was slightly snug to keep it from turning but shouldn't bother the Jumaka. To be sure she said, "How's that, baby? Too tight?"

Cayla shook her head.

"Good. Okay, Mr. Wilkerson, we're ready to begin."

"Wonderful." With a friendly grin he added, "You know, this is the first time I've had a member of the nobility as a laboratory assistant."

"Well, this is the first time I've ever
been
a laboratory assistant."

~ September 30
^th
, 2288 ~

"Message to Hugh Michaels, Commander, aboard the GSC Destroyer
Bonn
. Begin message.

"Hugh, it normally brightens my day when I get a vidMail from you. I was so looking forward to your being here in October, and now I'm depressed because you say you can't come until December. It seems like an eternity since we last held one another, and I've been counting the days until you joined me on Obotymot. But at least you've gotten permission to use three months of your accrued leave time so I'll have you from December through February. I wish you could have gotten more of the eight month's time you've saved, but I understand how difficult it is for a ship's XO to be away so long. Space Command better not postpone your leave again or I'll be sending a note to Admiral Platt in which I express my displeasure that one of her officers cannot get a long-overdue vacation. I'm disappointed, but I have a new date to concentrate on for your arrival.

"Until then I'll content myself with managing the estate and assisting Dr. Wilkerson with developing the language translation code for my Jumakas. Hugh, I knew they were bright, but they have a far greater understanding of life and the universe than even I imagined. Wilkerson says that when the translator is finished and proven, the GA may have to consider re-categorizing them as a sentient species, which would give them significant new protections throughout GA space. Other sentient species would not be allowed to trap them or cage them. It would be like a Terran trapping and caging a Pledgian. Pledgians certainly aren't among the brightest species in GA space, and there may never be one that understands quantum physics, but they are sentient. And I now believe that Jumakas are more intelligent than Pledgians. As you know, my girls have always understood me when I've spoken to them in Amer. I can't wait to ask them how they learned the language and how many other languages they understand. From their behavior when we arrived on Nordakia, I believe they have a good understanding of Dakis as well.

"There's the timer so I have to go. I'll be counting the days until you arrive. I love you.

"Azula Jenetta A. Carver, from the palace on the Family Carver Estate on Obotymot. Message complete."

Jenetta leaned back in her office chair and sighed. She had tried to appear somewhat upbeat as she recorded the message, but she also wanted to display her unhappiness. To get her mind off her disappointment over Hugh's vacation delay, she decided to send out vidMails to her brothers and her dad. She quickly reviewed the last vidMail she'd received from each, and then recorded and sent her replies.

When she was done, she turned her attention to the vidMails she'd received since her latest login. The first was from Admiral Holt. She tapped the play button after highlighting the message line in the queue.

"Hi, Jen, I hope everything is well there on Obotymot and that you're enjoying your rest. Things have been jumping here on Quesann since the GA Senate and the Admiralty Board arrived. They've occupied their office buildings and homes and have been meeting in regular session every day for the past two weeks to take care of all the business that was suspended during their travels here. Some members of the GA Senate disagree with your decision to put them on another island from where the main SC base is located. I've explained they have better protection here than they ever had on Earth, and that by being apart from the base they are less of a target in the event of an attack on the base. All of them have visited the underground bunkers on their island and many have expressed their displeasure that the living conditions down there are less than luxurious. I explained that the accommodations may never even be used, and if they
are
used, it will probably only be for a matter of hours during an emergency. I guess I didn't do a very good job because they just passed a resolution that all of the quarters will be redecorated immediately, and each delegate will have the final say in the decorations of his or her space. Thank heavens the bunkers were carved from solid bedrock or they'd probably have us moving walls. And all for an emergency shelter that will probably never be used in an emergency.

"You're lucky to be well away from this place right now. These politicians could try the patience of Job. And I'm certainly no Job, so I've been staying away as much as possible, ostensibly examining the progress at the new facilities in the Lorense system and working to correct any problems. The construction of the Dakinium foundry around Lorense-Six is progressing quite well. A visiting team from the Jupiter facility was astounded with the size. They agree that it should have no problem meeting the intended goal of producing ten times the Dakinium currently being produced at Jupiter.

"On Lorense-Three, we're already beginning to occupy the first of the underground bases. The Uthlaro destroyers protecting the shipbuilding facilities outside GA space refused to abandon their posts, arguing that they were outside GA space and that Space Command had no authority there. Captain Lizbeth Ferona of the Destroyer
Glasgow
explained that the surrender agreement signed by the central government on Uthlarigasset forbids the construction of new warships by the Uthlaro, period. She further explained that in unclaimed space, Space Command is not restricted from taking any actions it deems necessary to enforce conformance by GA nations regarding treaties, trade agreements, the transport of illegal products, or anything else that would be an illegal act in GA space. The captains of the Uthlaro warships chose to fight, and our ships were forced to destroy them completely because the gunners kept firing even after most of their ship has been reduced to scrap. It was just like the situation with that military officer at Quesann who knew the Uthlaro government had surrendered unconditionally, yet who chose to fight the final battle of the war months after the surrender, only to see his entire armada completely destroyed. Anyway, the enclosed docks to be towed by the CPS-14s have already begun their journey to Lorense-Three, and the open docks are being partially dismantled and loaded into the Ship-Transporter vessels for their transport to our new space-dock facilities.