Reaper Inc. (27 page)

Ben lay on the
large, overstuffed mattress in his huge apartment at the palace. They had been
back for one day. The Emperor decided to let all the parties involved regroup
and be prepared to start first thing in the morning. Someone had tried to wake
Ben up first thing in the morning but he didn’t answer the door.

Pillow over his
head, he tried to ignore whoever was shaking him. Finally he had had enough of
keeping the pillow over his head, he said, "Go away. I am trying for some
peace and quiet. If you're lost, the peace summit is thataway. If you keep
trying to wake me, you better have a piece of cake and a piece of fruit, a
piece of ass would be nice and a cup of coffee. I'm not getting up for anything
else."

The shaking
stopped and it was quiet. He couldn’t help himself. He moved the pillow and
rolled over trying to focus on at least ten individuals who stood in his room.
He wasn’t going to get out of having to get up when the emperor, queen and a
large number of dignitaries all stood looking at him.

Some overweight
pompous looking individual asked, "Emperor Xamand, did we waste an hour
for this?"

Ben really did
hate people like that. "Ok, I know now why you are all empty handed. Tubby
there must have eaten all the breakfast cakes and fruit." He looked at
Tazleaha. "You have a few minutes for some me and you time?" She gave
him a hard look. "No, ok, that's three down, did anyone bring coffee? Ok,
I gotta tell ya, the room is beyond beautiful but the room service sucks."

Grubb and Harry
walked in and Grubb at least had coffee and some hangover pills.

Ben said,
"Harry, keep an eye on the fat guy with the red face. He looks like he is
gonna have a coronary."

Emperor Xamand
said, "Benjamin, we have indulged you enough this morning. We are going to
return to our meeting and you need be there in fifteen minutes or leave my
planet."

Most of the
group walked out except for Tazleaha, Alona and Ben saw Nedra now that the
others were gone. Tazleaha did that thing when her hand was faster than his eye
and slapped the hell out of him. Surprisingly enough, she kissed him again and
bit his
earlobe."Cooperate
and then maybe we
will see about some me and you time," she whispered, straightened up and
walked out of the room.

"I thought
you were handling the negotiations for the Alliance?" Ben asked Alona.

"I
am."

"Where is
Senator Sims? Why isn’t he with you?"

"Ben, he
disappeared right after we got the news about you being alive and the death of
the one they called the master."

"There was
a clone of him on that ship. I killed it."

"I know
that too. I have been briefed on almost everything so far."

"Really
then, what the hell is the matter with your niece?"

"Get
dressed. You are running out of time. He meant what he said."

Ben splashed
water on his face, slipped on a tee shirt and his pants. "Let's go!"

                                   
****

Ben felt like
he was caught in a time warp. The constant drone of someone wanting something
kept ringing in his ears. He looked up and down a table of at least a hundred
representatives. A data pad was provided at each seat. He wasn’t familiar with
it so he sat playing around with it trying to figure out its functions.
Tazleaha sat straight across from him. She cleared her throat. He looked up at
her.

"You were
asked a question."

"Damn."
Ben mumbled and looked down the table. A thin, skinny whip-like individual
raised his hand and Ben nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was a joke but the pompous
red-faced one sat next to him.

"Why are
you here?" he asked from fifty feet away. This was stupid; he wasn’t going
to be yelling down the table. He liked yelling, but not right now. He got up
and walked toward the end of the table. The thin man became very nervous. Ben
stopped and leaned down looking at the pompous, walking heart attack.

"You see
the chair I just vacated across from the beautiful Queen Tazleaha." He
didn’t know if she could hear him or not. "Go sit in it while I explain to
your friend why I am here, now move it!"

Ben looked
around at the faces. He guessed the most important were sitting down on the
other end. Why he was there he didn’t know. "So let me ask first, are you
all subjects of one emperor or another?" There was a round of nods and
yes's. "So, if I ask you questions, you will have to temper your answers
so you don’t get your asses handed to you?" There was a lag time to
process his question. Some got it and explained to those who didn’t. Most then
looked around nervously before nodding; most didn’t vocalize their answer.

"Ok, here
is the story, so basically your queen heard of our small Alliance of planets in
a solar system that borders the Trillond Empire. Trillond became a member of
our Alliance and we have lived in peace with them from the beginning. She sent
her warriors to scout and report back to her. We fought and turned them away
leaving one of our ships just barely operable but the other fought better and
had minimal damage. I was told by her mantis emissaries that she would think on
the matter of invading our worlds. There was another, more capable member of
our party who was supposed to meet with all of you but he has gone
missing."

While Ben told
the story, he pointed his finger at the end of the table even though he wasn’t
talking about them. "That is the very short version. So now you are stuck
with me. I have some ideas about establishing protected planets until there is
a sustainable food source then opening it for feeding for a period of time.
There would be plants and animals and if managed properly along with other
planets, the warriors would not have to destroy a thriving planet to feed their
numbers." Ben pointed again even though he had finished talking.

A female of a
race Ben did not know asked, "Why do you point at our leaders and why,
when nothing is said."

"It is
like a mental warfare. They are probably distracted, now worrying about what
kind of trouble I am causing stirring up with their governors. Yet I said
nothing at all against them? I happen to be very fond of both. We can call it a
trick or ruse." She nodded and looked at him like he was off in a bubble.

She said,
"They may not find it amusing."

"I know,
it's great isn’t it? A little chaos and disruption."

"The one
you call Tubby is the newly appointed governor of Lotham. He does not speak
well of you."

"He doesn’t
know me. Did he tell you how the Allond sent me into the jungle with no weapons
to find the previous governor's bastard child? I found that the child was dead
but had a friend who was with him and escaped and was hunted by wild animals. I
found the child and we fought the animal by throwing stones at it until it went
away. We were lucky it had fed very recently."

"The
governor's mistress was getting out of hand and the only thing she had on him
was the child they had together. He told the children of a cave where there was
treasure and sent them to with directions to find it. It was also the home of
two large predators. Did he tell you any of that? Yes, I wanted to kill the
governor for what he did to the children but I didn’t. That is the truth of the
story and the Emperor Xamand can testify to it." Ben finished the story
and all eyes were glued on him.

Someone asked,
"They would let you take no weapons? Why?

"I just
lost my mate in a battle with the Allith. I was angry at the time and they were
worried I would kill someone."

Another said,
"You would have killed the governor." It was a statement more than a
question.

"No, I
don’t think so. I had a knife in my boot and had the governor on the ground
where I could have slit his throat." Ben made the old finger across the
throat sign from one side to the other. It must be universal because it
required no explanation. "But I didn’t. I turned him over to the military
who were present."

Tazleaha saw
Ben making strange motions that didn’t look right to her so she got up and
eased in his direction. As she got closer, she noticed they were all listening
to him intently, even ones almost out of earshot were leaning in their
direction watching and trying to catch what was being said.

The skinny
governor who had called him out touched his arm and motioned to Tazleaha's
approach. Everyone straightened up and Ben stood up. "Let's all get
together later for drinks at dinner shall we?" They all nodded. "I
will send Tubby back. Would you please enlighten him for me? Or I can have the
Emperor do it; give him the choice."

Tazleaha was on
the other side of the table as Ben walked back to his chair. The occupant
sneered at him as he approached. She watched him but continued to walk slowly
along pausing to touch her governors as she got to each one. She stopped behind
the skinny one and put both hands on his shoulders.

"What was
he saying to everyone?"

"My queen,
he spoke of our incursion and the attack on their ships, then of his ideas
about feeding grounds for the warriors and then about the rumors the Governor
of Lotham has been spreading."

"Why did
he continually point in our direction? I think Emperor Xamand would like to
know also."

"My queen
it had nothing to do with our conversations. He said it would distract you
until you would have to find out what it was about, when in reality, it was
nothing at all." All of the governors shook their heads affirming his
statement. "He said it was a trick or ruse. He seems to take pleasure in
taunting those above his station." A loud squeal brought the table to a
hush as Ben had the governor by the ear dragging him back to his own chair.
Tazleaha stood unmoving as Ben deposited him back into his own chair.

"I hope
you are not here interrogating and harassing them into telling you our conversations."
The poor guy stiffened up and Ben knew.

"Aww, you
told her everything, didn’t you?" The guy slumped this time.

"Hey, it's
ok, it is all true. I wish you wouldn't have told her about the pointing thing
though. I was hoping to do that for a few more days. Get her really cranked
up."

"Your
highness, if you are through brow beating your people, may I walk you back to
your place at the table?" Ben took her arm and gently pulled her away from
the poor governor. He heard a few gasps as they walked. Tazleaha looked at him
in his tee shirt and pants, barefoot, in the grand hall of one of the most
powerful leaders known. She realized that he didn’t care about his feet or that
he won over any governor within hearing distance of the end of the table.

All of the
governors relaxed and stared at them as he walked her back to her seat.
Discussions continued, the skinny governor said, "We do have to keep in
mind that he and his people are technically our enemy."

One of the
Allond governors said, "He doesn’t look or act like your enemy."

"Yes, I
noticed that too."

The discussions were called to
an end an hour before dinner was planned in the grand hall. Ben had spoken with
a number of the governors who were gathering information from each other and
from Ben. Some of the individual planets had agriculture but not much in the
way of ranching or fisheries. When he suggested the queen pay them for what
they produced to feed the military, it became very quiet.

Ben looked at the
faces of the crowd who were standing, drink in hand looking ready to bolt if
they were overheard. "Ok, so let me get this straight. You grow a season's
worth of food and have to give the crown a percentage." You would have
thought they were plotting treason.

The drinks went
a long way to help some of them relax and open up. Ben knew to avoid whatever
he had been drinking the night before. He thought he should ask someone to give
him recommendations and in the end, decided just to roll with it, point and
nod. As long as it wasn’t some form of fermented urine of a giant something or
another like he almost drank last night, he would be fine.

The dinner was
a state affair so there were three times the amount of individuals present
engaged in conversations and people watching. Natalia and Emily were keeping
company with the Trillond contingent. Prime Minister Aok invited the crew of
the Claymore and had places at her table for all of them. They had all been out
shopping for something to wear except Ben. He had Nedra bring shoes and socks
from his room and called it a day. He had spent the day barefoot with a hundred
of the most important officials in two empires. Why try and impress them now
with fancy clothes?

The girls in
his life had received very expensive clothing prior to his kidnapping and they
had them tailored to compliment their individual figures. Colonel Tawniz Dakkon
wore the clothes she had purchased on their ill-fated shopping trip and looked
lovely. He hoped she would get away from her brothers and mingle with some of
the more lively Allond dinner quests.

Ben could hear
the names droning on of the guests arriving and decided to hit the head before
it got too crowded. He walked back to his new friends, retrieved his drink and
tried to process why they were all just staring at him. Looking himself over,
he could see no embarrassing tell-tale signs from his trip to the head on his
pants or stuck to his shoes.

Ben asked,
"Ok, what is it? Do I need to blow my nose?"

Hazek answered.
"Our queen has arrived and she is accompanied by a suitor." Hazek was
the skinny governor who first asked Ben a question.

Kasmier added,
"It is rumored he will challenge you." Kasmier had asked him about
his pointing at the elite end of the table. She had been worried about the
repercussions at the time.

Ben looked
around the room and it wasn’t hard to locate Tazleaha and her attendants.
People were bowing, groveling and brown nosing.

"So what
if I don’t accept his challenge? I am enjoying myself and your company. I don’t
want to fight."

"Then you
will be seen as unworthy and she will have to ignore your existence."

"Great!
Another one ignoring my existence. You see that table over there? They are
currently ignoring my existence and one is family, another a lifelong friend,
another left without saying anything to me." Ben downed his drink. "I
am going to get another. Can I get anyone anything?"

"Ben, you
might want to hold off on that. Do not impair you judgment," Kasmier said.

"Maybe you
are right. I may get something non-impairing. Now if anyone asks any of you, I
have had too much to drink. I may act different to add validity to your story.
I want someone to be over confident if it comes down to having to accept his
challenge."

Hazek said,
"He is my nephew. I should not be happy about this. Will you hurt
him?"

"Do you
want me too?"

"Yes."

"Then it
will be my pleasure."

"His
father, my brother, is a fool and that idiot is a bigger one."

"I am
going to try and talk to my daughter and friends in the slim chance I don’t
make it through the evening. I will see everyone later."

Ben pulled out
an empty chair and sat down. All eyes were on him, and no one said a word for a
few seconds.

Emily said,
"I see you went all out on your wardrobe. You even skipped wearing shoes
to the most important meeting in the universe."

"Well I
have some on now. Grandma used to say never come to the table barefoot or
wearing a hat."

Emily, her tone
like ice, "Well you have made our people proud, Benjamin. The human race
will forever be known for wearing shoes at the dinner table in the annals of
the races."

"Ok, so
anyway, all the drama aside. Natalia, do you want to go visit some new worlds,
meet new species, still be a part of the crew of the Claymore? We are taking
Harry to his home planet, then we may travel and sight see."

"Yes, yes
I would love to do that!"

"Good.
Would you like to meet some of the governors I have been working with today?
Come on, let me introduce you." They walked away leaving Emily sitting
staring at the table.

Natalia had
been studying Allond etiquette. There were too many races for her to learn all
their customs so Alona recommended she learn as much as she could of their
host's customs. When it was apparent Natalia was going to bow and salute
everyone, Kasmier stopped her and everyone acknowledged her excellent manners.
It wasn’t long before Natalia had won over half the crowd. She had invitations
to visit their capital cities and stay at their homes. They talked to her about
politics and Ben shouldn’t have been surprised that she knew more than him
about many things. They asked her about Ben's ideas of farming and she said her
grandparents would really be the ones to talk to as they had farmed all their
lives and their ancestors before them were farmers. Then the conversation shifted
to enticing Natalia to ask her grandparents to make the trip and be advisors.

Ben said,
"We can't put the cart in front of the horse. Your queen and the others
have to sign and make the peace a reality before anyone can begin
anything."

Tazleaha, her suitor
and his body guards had approached the group while they were engrossed with
Natalia. Tazleaha said, "Yes, you are right. I do have to sign and there
is still much to do."

"Taz dear,
are these the peasants everyone is clamoring on about? The dishonored soldier
and his adopted daughter, the pirate captain's whore."

Natalia said,
"Oh fuck."

"Watch
your mouth, young lady," Ben said giving her his meanest stare.

"What?
Someone had to say it."

Ben bent over
and kissed her forehead. "I love you." He pulled her into a hug.
"Go find Harry, tell him I may need him," he whispered in her ear.
She moved around him and stood in front of Tazleaha.

"I was
sold as a child, starved and beaten, raped often and locked in a box in the
floor of a pirate's starship. My father cut his balls off, stabbed him in the
heart and slit his throat. If I was you lady, I would start looking for a new
boyfriend."

Natalia walked
away, she would never forget that part of her life. Ben knew just then how
strong she was becoming and was very proud of her. Tazleaha watched the young
woman walk away. She knew then someone had pushed the wrong button.

"You must
wonder how I know these things."

"Nope and
I don’t really give a shit. Most of it is public record, easily searched and
found. I hope you didn’t pay too much." Ben saw him flinch. He must have
paid someone who probably knew they had a chump on the line and they took him
for a ride.

"You have
made your affections known for someone who is so far above your station. It is
my duty to dissuade you and show you your place."

Ben said,
"Did you bring all your younger brothers to fight for you?"

"No, but I
brought three of my faithful servants. I am sure only one will be needed."

Ben looked at
Tazleaha. "Did he call you Taz? That really sucks. I've been wanting to
call you Taz since I've known you. You look very beautiful this evening. Is
that a new gown?"

"Yes, it
is. Thank you for noticing."

Ben was squared
up with a Lord of the Cjittan Empire. He wasn’t impressed. It was typical of
this crowd. He saw the frown on his face as he complimented the queen. Looking
him in the eye he said, "Are we going to do this right here and now?"

"Yes
peasant, we are, right in front of your Allond benefactors. We will make you
look the fool, and they will send you back to your pathetic little
Alliance."

Emperor Xamand,
his family and some of his military leaders slowly made their way within
hearing distance. Ben looked at Xamand thinking he might intervene but he only
smiled.

"Let me
hand someone my drink so they can refill it for me." Ben turned sideways
and held out his glass to Kasmier. She moved forward to take it but it wasn’t
there.

Ben twisted and
slammed the glass into the lord suitor's face. It hit bone and shattered,
cutting through skin and muscle, leaving pieces embedded in his eyes. Blood
splattered onto Ben and Tazleaha's new white gown. Ben's hand was bleeding from
a deep cut. He made a tight fist and blood ran through between his fingers. The
first guard took a boot in the knee and a left cross to the face. The other two
were awake now and coming at him. Ben shoved the bleeding mess into them then
stepped back a few feet. At a glance he could see the Allond military had
formed a loose circle around the group not letting anyone too close.

Harry came into
the great hall at a brisk walk. There was only a few who were physically moved
out of his way. The Allond military decided Harry was allowed to join the party
and moved out of his way. He slowed his pace and quietly stood behind the
Cjittan bodyguards.

The two
bodyguards decided one would hold their boss up and the other would take care
of Ben. He moved one step in Ben's direction and two large hands picked him up
by the head, lifting him off the floor. The guard grabbed Harry's wrists but
was never going to break his grip. The guard Ben had already hurt decided he
didn’t want any more and moved away, holding his hands out in front of him in a
'don’t hurt me anymore please' position.

His right hand
bloody and cut and his left shoulder though still a little sore was not enough
to keep Ben from punching the ignorant lord in the gut twice while his own man
held him. When he collapsed to the floor, it was just the lone guard looking a
little bewildered.

Ben asked him,
"Are we done? Are you able to make that decision or do we need to keep
going? If we do, I can tell you me and my friend are going to hurt you really
bad."

The guard
spared a glance at his partner hanging by his head kicking his legs. Harry
would shake him when he tried to kick him; a couple of times he was shook by
his head and the kicking stopped.

Ben knelt down
so he could talk softly. "You ever come at me or my family again, I'll
kill you and quite possibly everybody with you. I'll feed you to your own
warriors while you're still alive. Do you understand what this peasant is
telling you?" Ben grabbed the Cjittan's shirt and pulled his bloody face
about two inched from his. "I am waiting for an answer."

"Yes, I
understand."

Ben pushed him
down hard. He stood up and Natalia put her arm around his waist. She was
smiling at him. "You're losing your touch."

"Nah, look
around at all the faces. I don’t want everyone to be scared of me. He picked a
fight and lost. They will have something to talk about and that asshole will have
to put up with everybody knowing. Right now, I just want to get this deal done
so we can get going. Are you good with this or do I need to break some bones,
cut off a finger or four?"

"I'm good.
I don’t think she is good. You ruined her gown." Ben looked at Tazleaha
and realized the easy part was over.

Natalia said,
"Harry, I think you can put him down now." Harry dropped the guard
and he staggered away.

Emperor Xamand
approached Ben, Natalia and Tazleaha. "Tazleaha, when I saw what happened,
I sent a runner to Ben's favorite clothing store. It is also the most expensive
in the city, the proprietor does beautiful work. She is going to her shop and
will be here shortly with a selection of things you might like to try on. Do
you like Natalia's clothing? It came from the same shop." Tazleaha's face
softened when she looked at Natalia then hardened up again looking at Ben.

"Benjamin
is paying for the replacement, isn’t that correct, Benjamin?" Xamand
asked.

"Yes he
is." Natalia answered reaching out and touching Tazleaha's arm drawing her
attention back to her.

Ben looked at
Tazleaha.
"You set this whole thing up, how do you think it was going
to end? We would talk ourselves to death."

"You
did that on purpose and you know it. You compliment my gown then ruined
it."

"It
does kind of look that way but I complimented you because you do look great and
to make him angry."

"I want
two gowns to replace this one, do you understand."

"Fine."

Ben broke off
the mental conversation. Tazleaha looked at Natalia. "Would you join me
and help me choose both of my new gowns?"

"Don’t be
teaching my daughter how to manipulate people. Just because I gave in doesn’t
mean I always will. I need a drink."

A medical team
took the Cjittan away and one spent a moment looking at Ben's hand which had
stopped bleeding and was healing itself up nicely. A cleanup crew took care of
the blood and the party started back in motion.

They walked
towards the first server they saw and no one stood in their way. Ben was able
to get him and Harry two drinks each. Next to find a quiet place to sit and
relax. A corner table back out of the way had only two occupants and Ben headed
in that direction. When the occupants saw them approaching, they got up and
left. This is what he was trying to tell Natalia about scaring everyone.
Neither spoke to each other; backs to the wall, they watched couples dance and
larger groups mingling with each other. The food made its way out and the
tables started to fill up. A server walked up to him and Harry and said, "You
are requested at the head table."