Warpath (9 page)

“You should. In fact,
if you have a personal guard, I’d begin there,” Grand Admiral
Patterson said. “You should also create propaganda that promises
your best and brightest an eventual place in paradise.”

“Do I have to
sacrifice a world for that purpose? Every place I govern has at least
a little of its territory used for production,” Governor Tate
asked, hoping that he wouldn’t have to ruin the balance he’d
worked so hard to create across his Regent Galactic worlds.

“No, you are
fortunate in that regard. Knowing that I will eventually lead my
fleet around the Ironhead Nebula, I have studied your worlds. I am
impressed at how money in Regent Galactic territory can change lives.
So few people have a surplus of credit, and the few who do live like
kings and queens. Offer them near limitless credit in your little
Empire, then they can decide where paradise is for them, on one of
your worlds.”

Governor Tate was taken
aback by the suggestion, it made so much sense and it was so simple.
“I’m embarrassed that I didn’t think of that myself, thank you,
Grand Admiral.”

“You’re welcome,
I’m sure you would have thought of it eventually. Make sure you
offer these things and give a little before the Priestess of the
Order arrives. I cannot stop her from visiting your worlds, nor do I
suggest you do. In the meantime, I have new orders for you.”

“Yes, Sir,”
Governor Tate said, straightening.

“You will also
officially take Doha, Myrrin, and Chunu for your own. These worlds
are too well civilized and politically powerful to exist so near your
territory without being owned by Regent Galactic or you. I have
reviewed your assets. I know you can do this within the week.”

“Yes, Grand Admiral,”
Governor Tate replied.

“One more thing. Keep
forces from Rega Gain contained. My intelligence tells me that their
forces are growing, ships flock to the Triton Fleet.”

“Let me be clear,”
Overlord Patterson said, raising a finger. “Contained. You are not
to take the solar system. Maintain a reasonable perimeter and keep
them within it. I know you have the resources to accomplish this.”

“I will keep them
contained, but leave the solar system itself alone. No bombardments
or invasions,” Governor Tate replied.

“It has been good
speaking with you, Governor Tate. I look forward to your next
update.” The transmission ended.

Governor Tate was on
his feet, pacing in the next instant.

Wheeler stepped into
the room with a knowing grin on his face. “That went well,
Governor.”

“I thought so,”
Governor Tate said. “I can’t believe it, he even gave me useful
advice when I thought I had everything here taken care of. You’ll
earn that battle group yet, Lucious.”

“It won’t be long,
you report to him again in three days, and you know what to do now.”

“Absolutely. I have
the Overlord’s leave to purchase one of those planets, he as much
told me to do it with my own funds. The other two can be squeezed
through the supply line, I shut down all of Spacerwares operations
for a week and people begin to starve. I blame their local
governments and the people will look to me to solve the problem.”

“Be careful, if one
of those worlds turns on you, there will be ports filled with ships
and people ready to join Triton Fleet, or start a revolt all their
own.”

The Governor dismissed
his comment with a wave. “Don’t worry, I’ve been planning this
for years, I just needed approval from the board. Now I don’t need
to so much as send them a memo before the fact.”

“Don’t forget to
appoint a few Order Knights and give them the right enhancements, the
Overlord will be expecting that.”

“Of course, I’ll be
happy to reward some lucky soul for great service,” Governor Tate
said. “Publicly, there will be a parade somewhere.”

“Careful,” Wheeler
said. “Work on it, find the right person, someone who has made
sacrifices, obeyed the rules of the Order and has climbed the
organization’s ladder, but still believes in you. Then propose your
choice to the Overlord before you give them unlimited credit.”

“Near unlimited,”
Governor Tate corrected, “The only person with unlimited credit in
this sector is me. I see what you’re saying though. All this has to
have an air of collaboration, like I need just a little of his
approval.”

“Exactly,” Wheeler
replied.

Minh-Chu was surprised
when Ayan didn’t answer the door to her new quarters aboard the
Triton right away. She was finally in the ship’s inner ring of
quarters, surrounding the outside of the Botanical Gallery. There
were a few larger Officer’s quarters that went unused for the first
year they had the ship, but with the refit complete, the well
protected Officer’s Quarters section was open. Despite a few
whimpers about favouritism, Oz assigned them to his closest friends,
who were all officers anyway, so there was no arguing with the
decision. Minh-Chu and Ashley were supposed to occupy theirs two
doors down, but after spending so much time in pilot berthing,
neither of them were in a big hurry. Somehow all that space seemed
strange, and living with Ashley was a little intimidating. There was
no rush, however, the pair were busy trying to catch minutes together
between their shifts and duties.

“Sure she’s home?”
Ashley asked from his side. They both carried bottles from the Oota
Galoona, the non-human themed dance club inside the Triton. In his
hand was a blue coloured bottle of Sideslider, a beverage known for
its relaxing qualities, and in Ashley’s hand was Paramour, one of
her favourites. Minh-Chu liked it for the savoury smooth flavour, but
had come to believe it was made for couples, not so much for parties,
because of its tendency to make the drinkers much more affectionate
than normal.

“Crewcast says she’s
here,” Minh-Chu said, squeezing Ashley’s hand.

“Sure she’s not off
doing shadowy stuff? Something no one’s supposed to know about?”
she asked in a whisper.

“What do you think
she does?” Minh-Chu asked with a chuckle.

She smiled back at him
sheepishly. “Well, her dad’s some kind of former spy guy and the
new Governor,” Ashley shrugged. “She could be anywhere now that
she’s out of politics, she could do anything.”

The door opened,
revealing Lacey, dark haired, taller, and a little older looking than
Ayan. It looked like she had just been arguing with someone. “Come
on in, Ayan’s just wrapping up.”

One of the newer
District Representatives from Haven Shore, Doug Hamlin, was standing
in the middle of Ayan's living room, his arms crossed and his brow
furrowed. "How can you expect me to sell that to my people? Two
thirds of them are out there in the jungle harvesting on full shifts
but my district’s food alottment is restricted? It doesn't make
sense."

"Everything goes
to the military branches first," Ayan replied, "even if
your people were responsible for all the food we ate, that product
would still be gathered by the military at the collection site then
transported to our depots where it's distributed fairly. That's just
how it works now."

"No one is happy
down here, people are threatening to leave my district all together."

"Tell them that
it's the same everywhere, even up here, in the fleet. In fact, Fleet
personnel are even more closely monitored."

"I'll believe that
when I see it, and I'm sure no one down here will believe that
either."

"That says more
about your ineptitude than it does about how fair or unfair this
situation is," Ayan replied. “The Fleet are providing more
fairly for your people than the Council was, there are plenty of
points about the system going into place tomorrow that you could
focus on that your people can understand and appreciate. Supplies,
infrastructure, and medical services are all going to improve for
your district. In other districts they may see a drop in some things
that they had in over abundance, but you’ll find this is fair on
balance, like those representatives have.”

"So you admit
that, while this policy is fair on balance, it may be unfair to
some," replied Hamlin.

"No," Ayan
replied flatly. "Let's talk about fair, shall we? Right now all
of Haven Shore is allotted an extra seventeen dietary points. By the
old British system, that's an extra twelve hundred calories a day,
and the majority of them don't come anywhere close to eating that.
What you're asking me to do is to influence the military chain of
command so that so-called limit is removed. Are you trying to get
control over other districts by having more influence on the food
your people provide? Is this a power play? If it is, I’ll have you
removed tonight. Reaching for power outside of your district is no
longer legal, now you are in service to your district. The law
prevents representatives from making a district serve them."

"Your accusation
is baseless and hypocritical. If anyone is manipulating a system, it
is you. The military is the ultimate system of control, and right now
it's a helping hand, but at any time you can change the allotment and
it will become a rod you can use to punish or flog my constituents.
It doesn't matter that you're over-alotting Haven Shore's people now,
I worry about-"

"You’re talking
about a situation that does not exist, and about a situation no one
in this solar system has the power to change. I own Tamber in name,
and I have placed it into the care of Triton Fleet to be overseen by
the Governor. The laws that will govern resources are not up for
debate. You go back to your people and tell them that the system is
there to enforce fairness, so the people who service buildings, and
build infrastructure are just as well fed as the people who grow and
harvest our food. Tell them that they're doing such a good job right
now that they're not only feeding the fleet that protects them well,
but providing almost double the daily requirement of the population
in Haven Shore while giving us enough to store away in case we have a
short harvest later. Your people are to be congratulated, reassured,
not represented by a reactionist idiot."

"You can't talk to
me like that!"

"I'm not part of
your council or who you should be lodging your complaint with, so I
can tell you that you're a spoiled blow-hard, and that you’re on
the verge of being exiled from the solar system because it sounds
like you’re trying to take control of an essential supply of food
on Tamber, and there’s no room for a power hungry beurocrat in the
new government. Don't call my ident again," Ayan told him before
slapping the bracelet style command and control unit on her wrist.

Lacey applauded
lightly, chuckling a little. “That’s the last one.”

“Finally,” Ayan
said, a smile appearing as soon as she saw Minh-Chu and Ashley. The
Ayan Minh-Chu knew and called friend was back in an instant, the
strained diplomat was gone. She crossed the room and pushed herself
between Minh-Chu and Ashley, pulling them into a three person hug.
“This is a nice surprise.”

“What was all that
about?” Minh-Chu asked.

“I thought it would
be a good idea to speak to each Council Member individually, an
opportunity to thank them for their service and answer a few
questions now that my father is officially the Governor.”

“Best of intentions,
most of them were receptive,” Lacey said. “But a lot of them were
like that, still fighting for rights they had no right to. It’s as
though they can’t accept the Equal Priviledge laws that put them in
the same conditions as the average citizen in their district.”

“Oh, hon,” Ashley
cooed sympathetically as she gave Ayan an extra squeeze.

“I’m all right,
it’s the last time I have to speak to anyone on the Haven Shore
Council, unless I want to,” Ayan said as the trio split.

“We thought you’d
like some company now that things are settling down and you’re
officially assigned to the Triton,” Minh-Chu said, offering his
bottle.

“And on your last
night without Captain Valent,” Ashley said with an impish grin.
“Here’s something for your first night with him, because I hear
things are going well.”

Ayan handed Minh-Chu’s
bottle to Lacey, who took it and said; “oh, we’re opening this
now. A nice big bottle of relaxer is just what this room needs.”

“Thank you both,
Lacey wanted to have a gathering tonight because my schedule is
clear, but I convinced her to hold off at least a night, so Jake can
be here,” Ayan said as she received the smaller bottle from Ashley.
“Speaking of Jake…” Ayan put the bottle on a side table set
under an interior opening looking through to the kitchen. She
activated a program on her transparent blue command and control unit
and the blue material of her uniform turned green. The shape shifted
into a dress with a plunging U-shaped neckline and a loose skirt that
ended well above her bare knees. Ayan pulled the ring holding her
curly red hair in a bun, letting it fall down just past her
shoulders. “That’s better.”

Ashley whistled
appreciatively, “You’re definitely giving him something worth
running to, nevermind walking.”

“I couldn’t have
said it better,” Lacey said, “He better know how lucky he is.”

Minh-Chu couldn’t
help but recongize that Lacey complimented Ayan’s civillian side.
For all the training and the soldierly tendencies Ayan had, the
second Ayan always knew how to relax as a civilian when she had the
chance, something Minh-Chu never mastered. Lacey, in a skirt that was
loosely stretched down the length of her from shoulders to shins, was
entirely civillian. While she seemed to support the military, her
point of view was that of a civilian, something that was easily
apparent from his first conversation with her months before. She
didn’t have any experience in the military, but she had plenty of
opinions. He realized that Ashley wanted him to compliment Ayan when
he felt her nudge him with her elbow. “A lily is prettiest when her
roots are planted deeply, and her petals are open to the sun,” he
said, realizing immediately that his witty declaration was more than
a little miscalculated when Ayan began blushing, Lacey chuckled and
Ashley’s jaw dropped. “That didn’t come out right,” Minh-Chu
said in a rush. “I meant to say you work hard to look the way you
do, not that you have to work hard, the way you are, and there’s
more to you than how you look, and that dress-“