Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (20 page)

“Mm-hm,” replied Kala with a seductive grin.  “I think I know the perfect way to take care of those wrinkles and get everything straightened out again,” she said as she bit her lip.

“Okay, now you have my attention.  What have you got in mind?”

Kala looked around futilely.  “Oh dear.  What I had in mind requires a space where we can lay down, but these rocks are much too rough.”

She was right.  Unlike our favorite swimming hole, this location had no sandy beach or soft grassy areas, only lots of jagged rocks.  Kala and I looked around until she said, “There!  There’s a bare spot of rock and it looks smooth enough to lay on.”

The stretch of rock was perfect, except that it was only wide enough for one person.  “Now,” she said with a coy grin, “You just lay down here and let me take care of you.”

And take care of me she did!

It was nearly two more hours before Kala and I headed back to the estate.  When we reached the location where Reide and Volydalle had been earlier, they were already gone.  We could see hoof prints in the trail that indicated they took the same route we were taking.  At one point where the trees opened into a clearing, we had a clear view of the estate.  We could see them riding toward the stables.

“Tib, what do you think of Volydalle?” asked Kala.

“She seems nice.  She passed Jenira’s test,” I chuckled.

“Hm, that’s not exactly what I meant.”

“Just what did you mean?”

“Well, obviously Reide is more than just a little interested in her.”

“Okay.  Is that supposed to be good or bad?” I asked in a confused tone.

“That’s what I mean,” said Kala.  “Is it good or bad?”

“By the stars, how would I know?”  It took your sister to knock sense into me about my feelings for you.  If I need help with my own feelings, how can I judge others?” I asked.

Kala looked at me as if I had said something insightful.  “You’re right.  Lunnie will know.  I’ll ask her.”

“What?  You’re going to ask Lunnie what?” I sputtered.

“I’m going to ask her what she thinks about Reide and Volydalle.”

“Are you serious?  After the way Lunnie acted at dinner last night with Volydalle?  I don’t think you’ll get a straight answer – or at least not a good one.

“I think you’re misjudging Lunnie,” said Kala.  “Lunnie may make wise cracks and jokes, but if you ask her directly for an honest answer, she’ll give you one.  Plus, she’s like her Aunt Lunnie.  She sees relationships and dynamics between people that everyone else seems to miss.  Lunnie will know.”

“Okay, now this is thoroughly confusing,” I said.

Kala grinned and wrapped her arm in mine as we walked. “As it should be,” she replied.  “Exactly as it should be.”

After we returned to the estate house, Kala sent out invitations to Lunnie, Reide and Volydalle to join us for dinner, but they all declined with one excuse or another.  Lunnie replied with a message that she would be at The Lounge on the
NEW ORLEANS
that evening, if Kala and I wished to join her there.  It sounded like a fun way to spend the evening, so after checking with Marranalis to see whether there were any new developments that required my attention and upon learning there were none, I told Kala to inform Lunnie we would be there.

The Lounge was one of the most fascinating places I’d ever been.  It had been in steady operation almost from the time I bought and staffed the yacht.  It wasn’t a commercial venture.  Drinks were free and entertainment was always provided by the endlessly talented crew members.  I was never sure just who it was that coordinated all the performers and events, but whoever it was did a great job.  There were other smaller clubs and lounges on the ship, but none drew the crowds like the main employee lounge.  It was strange that the club had never been given a name, at least it was strange to me.  I know some of the smaller ones had been properly named – like
The Locker
, Marranalis’s favorite watering hole – but the main lounge was simply called
The Lounge
.  Most of the patrons were those who worked aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
or at my estate, but I had come to learn that word of The Lounge’s unique venue had somehow spread through the Federation to the point where it had achieved a level of distinction equal to clubs frequented by the most famous celebrities.

The biggest star by far at The Lounge was Captain Kerabac.  His rich singing voice was reminiscent of old Earth’s Nat King Cole and he had won the hearts and ears of all who heard him croon.  A’Lappe was another huge favorite.  Besides singing and playing his own keyboard compositions, he often provided instrumental accompaniments for Kerabac.  Over the years, the two tended to perform more often as a team rather than as solo acts.  In recent years, Rory had also become a crowd pleaser with his piano renditions. 

Not all the acts were musical.  For years Padaran had provided comic relief with his uncanny vocal imitations of famous persons and well-known crew members.  However, since I commandeered his services into the Federation military, the time he was able to spend performing was greatly limited.

As always, The Lounge was packed.  Fortunately, I never needed to search for a table, as the crew always saw to it that the best table was always made available to the owner of the ship on arrival.  On this evening, I was surprised to see Rebadat Tonclin taking the stage.  Since he had the high-pitched voice typical of the Nibarians, I hardly expected him to sing, and since I didn’t see any musical instruments on the stage with him, I was at a loss as to what to expect.  What ensued was a lyrical ballad in Nibarian prose.  The Nibarians were among the first peoples I encountered in my early role in the Federation, so I had used the learning headband at that time to become trained in the history, culture and native languages of the Nibarian peoples.  The ballad was incredibly lovely in the native tongue.  I certainly would not have been able to appreciate most of its touching refrain had it been translated into the Federation language.  I had already heard from others that Tonc was an expert storyteller in his native language, but this was the first time I had seen it for myself.  He gestured and acted out the parts as he told the tale of a young Nibarian male and the hardships he endured in an earlier period of Nibarian history.  Of course, the young man had the misfortune of falling in love with a young woman well above his station in life, which only deepened the man’s sorrows.  In the end, of course, the young man triumphed over adversity to become a greatly respected and wealthy nobleman, securing the permission of the young woman’s parents to court her.  Ultimately, as told in fairytales everywhere, he won the love of the young woman and they lived happily ever after.

I found it rather strange that Tonc would be telling this tale to a room full of adults, but as I looked around the room, I could see that everyone was completely captivated.  At times there was even a person or two who wiped a tear.  There was laughter at the more humorous scenes, gasps of angst when the hero was in peril and huffs of anger when he suffered injustice.  I realized then that Tonc was not only a skilled expert, but a truly artful master storyteller who knew just how to bring a scene to life in the mind’s eye and awaken the emotions of his listeners.  When he finished the tale there was a rousing cheer and foot stomping throughout the club.  Tonc smiled and bowed before leaving the stage.

“Are ballads popular throughout the Federation?” I asked Kala.

“If they’re done well.  They’re considered a higher art form and Tonclin is considered to be one of the best performing artists of his time.  His narration tonight was outstanding and we were all privileged to see it.”

While she was answering me, another group of musicians took the stage.  They were just a few years older than Lunnie and Reide and I wondered what to expect from them.  I was quite surprised when they played something like a cross between jazz and blues, with just a bit more emphasis on the jazz style.  It seemed impossible that anyone could dance to this music, but several couples took to the floor with steps I hadn’t seen before.

“I’ve never seen you dance with these moves before,” said Kala with a smile.

“That’s because I’ve never seen it before,” I replied.

“I think we need to give it a try,” she replied.

The dance steps were strange and familiar at the same time.  Some steps were reminiscent of the old Earth Lindy Hop from the 1920s and 30s.  Others were more like the Running Man in the 1990s and still other were something I’d never seen at all.  It took me a few minutes to get used to the whole mix, but I found them easy to learn.  As always, Kala caught on to them right away and before the first song was over, we had this new dance figured out.  We were half way through the second dance, when Kala caught my attention and nodded toward the door.  I glanced in that direction to see Reide and Volydalle walking in together in their white formal uniforms.

“They really look good together, don’t they?” remarked Kala.

“Yes, I have to admit they do,” I replied.  “By the way, where’s Lunnie? I asked as we finished the dance and returned to our table.  “After all, we came here at her invitation.”

“I don’t know.  I was wondering the same thing.”  Kala scanned the room in hopes of finding her boisterous child among the hundreds of patrons.  “Oh, there she is.  She’s coming in the door now.”

“I turned to see Lunnie in her formal grays, walking in casually with a young male trooper.  She looked first toward the dance floor and then toward our house table, then waved and spoke to her companion before the two of them made their way toward us through the crowd.

When they reached our table, Lunnie said, “Mom and Dad, I’d like to introduce Banggeric.  We were in basic training together.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Banggeric,” I said.  I didn’t stand or extend my hand, as would have been the custom on Earth.  In the Federation, the practice of shaking hands didn’t exist and most greetings tended to be less formal.

“It’s a… a great honor to meet you… sir,” stammered Banggeric.  It was obvious that he was quite nervous.  “…And you also, First Citizen… Captain… Kalana,” he added quickly.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Banggeric.  Have a seat,” I said.  “So what have you been up to today?” I asked Lunnie.

“Oh, not much.  I spent some time with friends at the estate and then we went to the Capitol city and did some shopping.  That’s where I ran into Banggeric.  He looked kind of lonely,” she said with a wink in his direction.  “So I invited him here to the
NEW ORLEANS
to have some fun.  We’d have been here sooner, but your security team insisted he had to go through all kinds of security checks.  I think they went a little overboard, Dad.  After all they know who I am and I vouched for him and all.  You think they would have given that some consideration.”

“Since Ming has gained access to Cantolla Gate technology, no one gets any slack from our security team on their first time aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
.  Now that Banggeric is in the system, it won’t be as complicated on his next visit," I said.

“I see Reide and Volydalle are here,” Lunnie said as she craned her neck to get a better view of them.

“Yes, they walked in shortly before you arrived,” Kala said.

“I wonder what
they
did today,” Lunnie said in a knowing way.

“So, Banggeric, how do you like being the military?” I asked, giving Lunnie a sideways glance.

“No disrespect intended, sir, but it’s not exactly what I would like to be doing.  However, I do see the necessity for it.”

“What would you rather be doing?” I asked.

“Engineering, sir.  I’ve taken all the prerequisite learning programs and was about to go through an apprenticeship when the draft was instituted.”

If you had signed up with the JAC program you could have specialized in engineering,” I said.

“I know.  If I had known the draft was going to be enacted, I would have done exactly that.”

“Well, you still have a chance to land one of the engineering positions in the military; it’s just going to be a bit harder now.  If you sign into the Federation Military Resource Information Center, they list resource requirements for each base and ship.  If you watch for an open engineering trainee position and submit your application of interest, you may find yourself accepted for one of them.  The biggest problem is that you won’t have much of a choice in where you serve and train.  The good news is that you can come out of the military in a few years as a fully accredited engineer, if you do well.”

“Thank you, sir.  I’ll watch for those opportunities.”

“Hey, we’re supposed to be having fun here tonight,” Lunnie interjected, “Not talking military.  We get enough of that when we’re on duty.  Come on, Banggeric, let’s dance.”  And with that she grabbed Banggeric by the hand and practically dragged him from his chair and on to the dance floor.

Kala chuckled.  “I get the impression Lunnie doesn’t want you questioning Banggeric too much.”

“What?  Just what am I supposed to talk about?  It’s the only thing we have in common.”

“I doubt it would matter.  I suspect that Lunnie doesn’t really want you to know too much about him.  He’s probably just someone she brought here tonight so she wouldn’t be the only one without a partner.”