Méridien (The Silver Ships Book 3) (49 page)

Lazlo asked.

Freedom
, but overall mission command belongs to you, Captain Menlo. Any questions?>

Lazlo stated.

Alex sent.

Lazlo asked.

Lazlo replied.

Freedom.>

Cordelia added.

Alex asked.

Sheila replied.

Alex asked.

Freedom
can be underway in two days.>

Alex said, then left the conference, allowing Lazlo to work through the details with his people.

The
Freedom
returned from Libre after being gone for thirty-four days. In her hold were forty-nine pristine dark traveler frames. Soon after the
Freedom
achieved orbit, Sheila and Ellie were ready to reverse the procedure and transfer the frames planetside. This time, they had help. Another Haraken traveler was ready, and after some test flights to prove it space-worthy, Ellie took over as pilot of the new traveler, and both she and Sheila picked up new copilots.

It was another Haraken landmark day. The
Rêveur
exited FTL into the Hellébore system carrying President Maria Gonzalez and three of her Ministers. The Haraken liner was a half-day ahead of the
Il Piacere
, a House Diamanté luxury liner transporting three Méridien House Leaders.

Ticks after exiting FTL, Julien was on the comm to Alex.

Alex sent. Rêveur
stationed near the
Freedom
. Renée and I will be visiting your guests this evening.>

Julien replied. He sent a brief comm to Cordelia before he resumed his ship’s duties.

When Julien apprised Maria of Alex’s approaching shuttle, she scooped up her Ministers and headed for the
Rêveur
’s bays, meeting Tatia and Edouard on the way. As soon as the bay was pressurized, Maria led the group through the airlock.

The shuttle’s gangway ramp had scarcely touched down when Renée came bolting down it, racing across the bay to jump into Maria’s arms. Tears threatened to spill from both women’s eyes. When Maria saw Alex descending the ramp, she gently released Renée. As Alex’s feet hit the bay’s deck, Maria extended him an exaggerated curtsy, flourishing her arms broadly and saying, “Your Highness.”

“Your Highness, is it?” Alex shot back, his brow furrowing in distaste at the greeting.

“Well, Mr. President, I thought I would take the opportunity to get in some practice. Who knows what your next elevation in status might be?” Maria replied.

“Yes, well, it’s just ‘President’ for now, Madam President, and that’s President of a mass of refugees on a nascent world that’s not completely terraformed. I think the title translates as ‘he whom we blame when things don’t work.’”

“As you have taught us, Mr. President, life sometimes brings enormous challenges and the good and brave rise to meet those challenges. Now we’re here to help you meet your challenges just as you helped New Terra.”

Maria was pleased to see Alex’s lopsided grin, and she stepped forward to embrace him.

“Thank you for coming, Maria,” Alex whispered.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the universe, Alex,” Maria replied. She had hoped this day would come to pass, and now her wish was fulfilled. Maria saw Haraken as a powerful friend and ally, especially with Alex as President. After the flotilla had left New Terra, more than one advisor had counseled her not to count on Alex reinventing the Swei Swee ships, but she, along with Will Drake and Darryl Jaya—her fellow Transfer Team members—would have bet huge credits on Alex and his people finding a way to make the improbable happen.

Alex and Renée greeted their old acquaintances, Ministers Will Drake and Darryl Jaya, and were introduced to Maria’s Minister of Finance, Yoshiko Ishikawa.

“And how are you finding your trip so far, Minister Ishikawa?” Renée asked.

“Ser de Guirnon,” Yoshiko replied, “I’m experiencing so many firsts, it’s making me dizzy … meeting Méridiens, enjoying their food, interstellar travel, and my conversations with Julien.”

“Well, I can understand the latter making anyone dizzy,” Alex replied drily.

Most of the group was entirely unaware of the image fight that flew between Alex and Julien, except for Renée and Tatia, who picked up on Alex’s slight pause. Had anyone been able to observe the onslaught, they might have perceived the host of new images that had been specially created by each individual for just this moment, and the two of them were enjoying themselves immensely.

“I must say, Mr. President,” Yoshiko continued, “my family and I enjoyed every moment of the vids sent from Libre. We were especially entranced by Mutter’s songs to the Swei Swee. Would there be an opportunity to meet the aliens?”

“Minister Ishikawa,” Maria said, “I believe we should take this historical meeting one step at a time, and as it regards the Swei Swee, we shall wait for an invitation.”

“Your pardon, Madam President, I was carried away,” Yoshiko said.

“Nonsense,” Renée told Yoshiko, hooking her arm and leading her toward the airlock. “I have found curiosity has led me to the most intriguing of places.”

“Tomorrow,” Alex announced to the remaining group, “we will begin formal negotiations, and we will be adding three Méridien House Leaders who will make orbit by early morning. I thought it would be pleasant to have this evening for old friends.”

Alex hooked his arm in Maria’s and followed Renée, who had Yoshiko’s rapt attention.

Maria regarded Alex out of the corner of her eye. That negotiations were to proceed in a communal setting was not what she had expected, and she knew Alex too well to believe it was a mere coincidence created by the timely arrival of the Méridiens.

Early the next morning, Eric Stroheim joined the three House Leaders aboard the
Il Piacere
.

“Ambassador Stroheim,” said Devon O’Shea, the House Leader responsible for planetside, “our SADE reported one of your city-ships is stationed inward of Hellébore’s asteroid ring. It was observed slowly spinning. Is it malfunctioning?”

“The
Unsere Menschen
is employed slinging ice asteroids at our planet, Ser. According to the SADEs’ estimates, Rainmaker should enable Haraken to achieve a Bellamonde-like atmosphere in another two years.”

“Are you not concerned for the safety of your people planetside, Ser?” asked Katarina Pasko, Leader of the House that designed, installed, and monitored Méridien implants. She was especially anxious to meet President Racine, having witnessed his implant powers when he was in the Confederation’s Council Chambers.

“As I understand it, Sers, Rainmaker and Z are employing the President’s g-sling program. They’ve already launched hundreds of ice asteroids at Haraken, and each one has struck the oceans as planned. They carefully limit the size and type of the asteroid to ensure the effects of entry and splashdown are minimized. It’s quite exciting.”

“Pardon, Ser, who is Rainmaker?” Gino Diamanté asked. It was he who had put together this group of Leaders when Council Leader Ganesh refused to meet with Haraken’s Ambassadors. However, nothing restricted House Leaders from accepting the invitation, although they were limited in the scope of any business arrangements.

“That would be our Minister of Mining, Ser Benjamin Diaz, Leader Diamanté. He created the concept of hauling the asteroids from the ring, tethering them to the city-ship with the New Terrans’ beam technology, and slinging them at the planet.”

Despite the new safety protocols designed to bar the President from entering a bay during a shuttle’s arrival, Alex and Maria waited with their contingents inside one of the
Freedom
’s bays for an
Il Piacere
shuttle. Cordelia focused on her sensors, ensuring the outer catch-lock doors were sealed and the space pressurized before the interior door was opened to the bay. When Cordelia had copied the new safety protocols to Julien after his return from his trip, he had laughed, sending,

Accompanied by Eric, the House Leaders descended the shuttle’s gangway ramp. Eyeing the beauty of the three visitors, especially that of Katarina Pasko, Maria remarked quietly to Alex, “Does every Méridien look like they stepped out of a holo-vid?”

Alex stared quietly at Maria until she thought she had said something insulting. Then quietly he said to her, “Heart is worth more than beauty any day, and your heart will serve your people well.”

Maria glanced at the deck for a moment and then raised her head, holding it up proudly.
A good friend and loyal people
, she thought.
This is a good day
.

The House Leaders and Eric walked through rows of Haraken honor guards, who held no plasma rifles this time. Everyone taking part in the negotiations had been issued the streamlined harnesses to facilitate translations and private conversations between parties. After introductions, Alex explained the day’s itinerary, most of which would take place planetside.

“If I may, President Racine,” Darryl Jaya asked, “how are the Swei Swee faring after so many generations in captivity?”

“I beg your pardon, Minister Jaya, but of what are you speaking?” Gino Diamanté asked.

“Our government received summary vids of President Racine’s entire activities at Arnos. We learned that the Swei Swee had been captured and held by the Nua’ll for eight generations.”

“Extraordinary!” Gino exclaimed.

“President Racine, did you send these summary vids to Council Leader Ganesh?” Katarina asked.

“No, Leader Pasko,” Alex replied, “but then again, I didn’t know they were being sent to New Terra, either. Julien was the architect of that operation.”

“But … Julien is your SADE, President Racine,” Devon O’Shea said. “He must seek your approval … unless … perhaps he has become—”

“Leaders,” Eric said, interrupting Devon, “perhaps it is my fault for not preparing you sufficiently for this meeting. This is not the Confederation, and we are not Méridiens or New Terrans here. We are Harakens. Our SADEs are not second-class citizens, tools of Houses and starships. They are equal in status to any Haraken citizen and have free will. One day, they hope to walk among us, and we support that endeavor. Julien is perhaps our preeminent SADE, having supported President Racine in his efforts to save the Confederation from the Nua’ll. He deserves your respect for his accomplishments, and you should know that all of Haraken honors each and every SADE as valuable Haraken citizens.”

Devon O’Shea glanced at Leader Diamanté. He had been warned to be careful with the Harakens, but the import of that warning did not sink home until now. “My apologies, President Racine,” Devon said, delivering a Leader’s bow to Alex. “I meant no disrespect.”

“And that’s the sad part, Leader O’Shea,” Alex replied, “that you had not thought your comment disrespectful.”

Renée took the opportunity to put the itinerary back on track. “Well, now that our first awkward moment is over,” she said, “I believe the unveiling was next on the agenda, was it not, President Racine?”

Renée took Maria’s arm and guided her toward a shroud-covered vessel. As Alex and his people followed, Eric ushered the Leaders in the same direction.

Gino sent in private,

Alex glanced over to Gino Diamanté and grudgingly offered him a nod. Gino’s reference to the first discussion Alex had experienced with Eric Stroheim told him his Ambassador had worked hard to prepare the Leaders for their visit. Alex turned to look behind him at Eric and offered him a nod as well.

Tomas sent privately to Eric.

Eric offered his friend a quick smile as he guided the Leaders to the viewing spot. Gone was Eric’s impression of Independents as wayward children who required his care, a duty his House had been tasked to perform. His relationships with the Harakens, one and all, were so much deeper than those he’d ever had on his home world. Harakens had become good acquaintances and better friends.

Alex stood in front of the shrouded vessel. “We have discovered some amazing facts about these ships, which we refer to as ‘travelers.’ The vessel that we will demonstrate today is a hybrid. The entire shuttle, except for the shell, was fabricated on Haraken. The shell has to be tuned, for want of a better word, which only the Swei Swee can do at this time. Three hives of Swei Swee accepted my offer to leave Libre and live on Haraken. In addition to this single shuttle, we have fifty-one frames that had been abandoned on Libre when the Swei Swee were freed. The Nua’ll equipment is pristine even after being exposed to salt air for a quarter-year. To date, the Swei Swee females complete a shell about every thirty-two days.”