Beyond Hope: a featurette brought to you by Cannonshop and Monbvol.

[Daryk]

It's especially fun when you guys are in there simultaneously (and I could help too... the next time the Google gods let me in, I'll edit as much as I can).

[monbvol]

That's about how 90% of the writing is getting done, we're both in there at the same time and riffing off each other.  The hilarious part?  I've actually started writing some lines for Elizabeth and he's written a few for Helena.  Which since I'm actually at a low level of mutiny with my project right now I should do Cannonshop another solid and post another section while he sleeps and even though I have time I have no morale.

[monbvol]

Chapter 5: The Big Show

"...one of the most important social events of the year happens annually at the Archon's Christmas Ball, where recently ascended Nobility, and those Heirs whom have reached majority, make their proper debut into Lyran Commonwealth high society with their first swearing in…"

Drakau and Holst:
"A Guide book to High Society in the Inner Sphere
Federated Press Interstellar, 3005



"How do you like the new paint job, Jane?"  Bianh Vu Dao asked, "I mean, it's not proper Star League livery, but it's also not pretending to be a Lyran Commonwealth Navy ship…"

“It’s lovely.  Strange how I enjoy the experience of being painted.  Almost reminds me of getting my makeup done by professionals.”  Jane smiled.

"Well, when Lizzie sees it she's probably going to freak." Commodore Li stated, "that particular roundel hasn't been used since the Amaris War, and you're sporting the 1st Squadron's checkerboards.  How is Helena going to take you signing up?"

“They were a fun bunch so it seems appropriate.  She has accepted that it is our best option to keep me from being press ganged or cut out and put into a research lab somewhere.”

"You're a flagship...now, we just have to figure out how to get you a fleet."

“If I know my sister, she’s already scheming up something to help with that.” Jane chuckled.

***

Max Haranshire sat across the table from Elizabeth Ngo.  "You're offering to reduce the price?"

"In exchange for considerations." Liz said, and laid out a series of papers.  "These are patents owned by Lockheed CBM, for systems that are considered obsolete.  I want them in exchange for the reduced pricing on your shipyard refit…and I want to ask you to give me a reference when I go talk to Ioto tomorrow night."

"What do you want me to 'refer'?" he asked.

"I want you to confirm the price reduction on my bid, and why." she told him, "the money is going to be fantastic even at the rate reduction, but I want the patents on some systems they have the rights on that nobody is using."

"You're working on a project?"

"More like helping a start-up out on the Periphery end, they won't be competing with your business, it's more of a…a niche market thing…and kind of a vanity project."

Helena observed from under a white wig, in a white suit, pretending to be 'Ms Whyte' for this meeting.

"That's right, Ngo Industries stays out of the Arms trade, but not out of financing startups…" he nodded sagely, "cut half a percent more and they're yours."

"Done." Elizabeth didn't blink.

Helena waited until they were alone.  “No counter?  Really?”

"We'll still pull a five percent profit off the deal, and this way, the rumour mills will cover your sister's debut." Liz said.

“You’ve already padded enough to give that much.”

"Always ask for more than you expect to get, sometimes you get it." Liz said, "grandfather's seventh rule, and the eighth rule about Lostech-everyone will pay more if they think it's really old."

“Ugghh this wig is itchy.  I’m not sure why you need me to pretend to be Miss Whyte.”

"So you can see them when they aren't in front of the media." Liz explained, "you're going to be in with the brassfish once you're debuted, knowing tells and habits early will help, I just wish Grandfather could have been here to teach you instead-I'm not sure how much of this is going to help."

“No, I get that part.  Just not sure why specifically Miss Whyte.  Like I said, this wig itches.”

"Everyone looks at the suit and the hair and has certain expectations, and because the role goes back to the 28th century, all they see is the suit and the hair, they don't get a read on YOU."

“I suspected as much.  There is no actual ‘Miss Whyte’, just some unfortunate lawyer who has to suffer wearing this wig.”  Helena chuckled.

"Actually, most of them bleach." Liz told her, "The wig is for when I need someone who maybe doesn't do the role all the time-like certain bodyguard jobs that I need a Coastie Marine doing in formal situations…and the role pays really well.  In the last three hours, you've made 300,000 Kroner."

“Right, so I should keep studying the law books.”

"A good lawyer can write her own ticket, if I were a bit smarter, I'd be trying to become one."

“Yeah, I had dreams of being an explorer.”

"Like in the Star Cadet books?" Liz asked.

“I even cosplayed as Callie the Navigator one halloween.”

"I used to write terrible fan-fiction where Callie became Die Kapitain." Liz confided, "When I was…not being the duchess."

“Mine had her hook up with Professor Lewis and have the most adorable explorer astophysicist babies.”

"Lukas for me, the ground team leader." Liz admitted,  "I would imagine them 'proving' a world together…with lots of shuddering sighs and moans of passion."

“Mine didn’t get quite that far developed…”  Helena admitted.

"I was going through puberty, so sue me…wait, don't, you're being my lawyer today." Liz laughed.

“Hehe and this time is billable.”  Helena laughed.

"I've created a monster…"

“Yes, and a hungry one.  Lunch?”

"Yeah, lunch, there's this lunch-truck that runs on Heerestrasse about half an hour from now, the best tacos in the Province.  Greasy and spicy and bad for you…"

“Sounds perfect.”  Helena smiled.  “Of course I’m going to expense this.”

"It's my treat." Liz said, "gotta keep those expenses down."

“That was the joke, Elizabeth.  If I expensed it it would still be your treat because you pay me.”

"Yah, but if I pay directly then it doesn't cost the processing fee from the corporate accounts.  That's like fifty Phennigs."

“That rough of a fee even for a lunch?”

"Accountants gotta have their cut…"

“We’re both wrong.  Accounting is where the real money’s at.”  Helena laughed.

"Why do you think I spend all that time learning to do the books?" Liz asked with a laugh.  "Got my mind on my money, don't you know?"

“Yeah.  I guess despite all my admin work I’ve just never really grasped some stuff for myself.  All my life I’ve never had to worry about my personal finances before I met you.”

"Economics is a black art, 'miss Whyte', the secrets  of it are that which ordinary men are not meant to know!" Elizabeth couldn't stop laughing, "We who do the accounting just pretend it's dreary, drudgery and crippling long hours…"she couldn't stay composed as she tried out the lie.

"It's really that bad, isn't it?" Helena asked.

"Yes.  I have accountants whose sole job is keeping track of the accountants whom are keeping track of the accountants that actually keep track of my various interests.  It's a ****** nightmare."

“Sounds complicated.”

"You have NO idea…yet…but you Wiiillll."

“Yeah, fair.  The admin work I did for the 171 and 90th was during a really strange time in SLDF history.”

Elizabeth hoisted the thick sheaf of contract, put it into the briefcase, and handed it to Helena.  "Next stop, lunch." she said, "after which, the magickal world of filings.  The true master of Noble and Commoner, is the Bureaucrat."

“May they ever be benevolent.”

"Hallelujah and Amen."

***

It was evening and their shuttle was already lifting for the next leg in the trip, catching a ride on an Ore-Hauler headed back toward Coventry.

"I don't understand, Lizzie, I've seen you cow a dozen CEO's and minor nobles, but you're riding in this tiny shuttle, instead of a proper jumpship."

"Speed."  Elizabeth said,  "Collar spaces are a premium, that means they're expensive, more expensive than passage for a shuttle, it's easier to FIND open shuttle bay spaces, or half-empty storage bays that have the right D-rings, than to arrange an empty collar, and airsickness bags are cheap.  I can move faster when I'm on-the-move this way, allowing me to do more business per flight hour…"  Elizabeth settled back in her acceleration couch as the shuttle lined up with the dropship.  "It also lets me buy passage on the route if I need to arrange a divert.  We spent forty hours in miserable flight, if I'd used a jumpship of my own going to Donegal?"

"Yeah?"

"We'd still be just nearing Coventry on our way here."

"I'm aware of how jumpship chains work."

"Then you're aware that I can't afford to idle that many ships just to carry me.  The family's got investments with a dozen shipping outfits, most of them medium to small.  Those people have to have paying work, and need it all the time,  They can't afford to be waiting at a point on the off chance Elizabeth Ngo's dropship needs a ride, or that I'll even be going in that direction, and they can't, for the most part, afford to have that empty collar if there's a ship that's paying rate coming to hook up…but I still need to be able to move quickly.  Thus, time-tables and insurance reports, lots of planning, and a good fungible cash reserve on-hand, all of which can be carried in a small aerodyne shuttle with a pile of airsick bags."

"Have your family done this always then?"

Elizabeth laughed as the deck crew secured her shuttle between rapid-offload cargo pallets.  "No.  Great Grandma Zoe had a dropship that was converted from a passenger liner, and Great-auntie Mai had an explorer class of her own, that she took with her when she left to go exploring-that was before my father was even born.  She never came back."

"Then…you got the idea where?"

"Needs must when devils drive, Helena, you know I'm sick, I have to make maximum use of every hour until I can't anymore.  I can't do that if I'm waiting for weeks at a jump point, and travel is miserable, sure…getting it over with as quickly as possible helps.  Suffer more now, but it ends sooner, or suffer less, over more time.  I don't have oodles of time…though I'll have to spend the time when we're on the way to Tharkad for Christmas, we'll still be getting couriers moving information I don't trust Comstar with at every stop.  I mustn't stop working.  Too many people depend on me getting things done."

“You could still have your own dedicated ship.  Just for you.  You’re rich and important enough.”

"Time is a factor.  We'll be using one ship for the Tharkad trip, but that's because it's a social expectation." Lizzie adjusted her seat and readied the sickness bags for easy access, "but it's seven days at the point to charge a drive, nobody can do it faster, that's a week between jumps, and that assumes prime charging conditions at each stop."

“Guess I’m just used to an age where charging stations were more common and that there were ways.”

Liz inclined her head, "if we could build them, I'd be pushing to build them.  That kind of network would speed up commerce and make everything more efficient.  Trade would boom."

“Why not?  If you can build jumpships you can build charging stations.”

"We lost the knowledge of how to do it." Liz told her, "it's one of those areas where the idea is known, there are relics here and there, but the key components that make them work?" she shook her head, "So long out of production nobody remembers how to make them."

Helena's eyes widened, "The patents!"

Liz gave her a sly smile, "Maybe.  It's a bet on whether they're going to be the right ones, but we dissected a dead charge-station out by Herbania in my Grandfather's time, and looked for stock numbers and patent dates.  I may be gathering a bunch of useless information…when I have the University finished, and we have staff, we'll be able to do the hard-core research we need."

“The Helm Core.  You’ve got a copy?”

"That would be me possessing classified data without authorization, Helena, I would never admit to it if I had it…but I don't, I've got excerpts they've released to select contractors who needed me to make tooling to use it."

“I wish I was more of a tech head.  Then I’d be more help on that front.”

"You're fine where and who you are." Lizzie told her, "I wish I had the grasp my grandfather had as an engineer…but I don't.  I'm good at math and seeing systems but I get lost in the details, I have to hire people who understand those details or I'll get nothing worthwhile done in the time I have."

“I was barely into college but I had aspirations of becoming navigation qualified.  Everything else I learned was because I was trying to be useful with the 171 and 90th.”

"You and me, and Jane." Lizzie said, "My grandmother Lia was from Sithers-Deen, she was a Pathfinder rating like Great Auntie Mai, but she died a few weeks before Grandfather gave up on living and followed her…she was beautiful and when I was seven I wanted to be just like her.  She started me reading with the Star Cadet books."

“As the youngest I did get a little more leeway in my education but my first books were a bit more, shall I say ‘thinly veiled life lessons disguised as fairy tales for future nobles’.  But I did manage to get the Star Cadet novels smuggled in by Uncle Alyks.”

"Ouch…so you had to find the good stuff on your own…"

“Most of it, yeah.  Besides Uncle Alyks helping me out now and again I had a nanny named Felicia that also snuck in a few books.  But as I got older and Richard, well things did change.”  Helena shook her head.

The panel lighting flashed gold up front, then red.

"Looks like we're jumping soon." Liz grabbed her sickness bag and brought it up to the ready position.

The red flashed green.

Discontinuity

Helena quickly grabbed a hold of Elizabeth’s hair.  It may have been short but there was still enough in the microgravity to potentially cause a mess.

In the well practiced ritual Helena then waited for Elizabeth to stop vomiting while using her free hand to grab a face wipe.

"One…thing…I…wished for…" Liz huffed.  "When I wished I was Callie-she never got sick in the stories!!"

“Completely unrealistic.  I knew plenty of people who didn’t peg as having TDS that got sick after jumps anyway.”  Helena grabbed the bag carefully with the hand that had been holding Elizabeth’s hair.  “Here’s your wipe.  I’ve got this.”

'Thanks."

Helena smiled as she disposed of the bag.

She returned with an electrolyte drink and handed it to Elizabeth.  “Sorry.  They only had purple flavor left.”

"Purple's fine." Liz said, "does it really taste like a grape?"

“It says so on the label but I’ve never had one of these actually taste like what the label says.”

"Good, it's not just me.  I've never tasted a grape that tasted like purple."

“The lemonade actually almost comes close.  Almost.”  Helena smiled as she drank from her own bottle of electrolyte drink.

“Hey!  What you meant to say is that they only had enough red flavor for you!”  Elizabeth saw the different color liquid in Helena’s bottle.
“Hehe.  Here.”  Helena produced another red bottle.  “You stocked the shuttle.  Of course there’s still plenty of red flavor.  But you looked like you could use the distraction from your misery.”  Helena smiled.

“I hate you.”  Elizabeth mocked.

“We’re even then.  What you didn’t think I wouldn’t find out you had a not itchy Miss Whyte wig I could have worn instead?”  Helena laughed.

“In my defense it did give you something to focus on besides your own misery.”  Elizabeth sipped the bottle of reddish liquid.

“I guess it did but like I said we’re even now.  But we really should talk about how we’re going to handle Tharkad.”

“I know.  My best idea is at the after party, should be able to arrange a private meeting for our big reveal as the Archon makes the social rounds.”

“Yeah.  That’s probably the latest we can push it without risking a treason charge if I’ve been reading the law books correctly.”

“You probably are.  The longer we keep you and your sister a secret the worse it is going to be.  This is of course assuming LIC haven’t already figured everything out and she busts us both before we even get a chance.”

“Which is why we’ve been building your political clout.  So worst case scenario you’ve got enough to buy yourself an audience and a chance to explain yourself.”

"The one thing I'm certain of-Her Majesty the Archon is going to want explanations from me over a great many things besides you or your sister." Elizabeth confessed.  "It's a certainty given how I chose to assume my responsibilities.  As Maggie would say, 'proper noble ladies don't carry out their own public executions'...they order them and have lackeys carry it out."

“Well why did you?"

Liz finished sipping, "Because I won't ask someone else to do what I don't want to.  Not what I literally can't, but what I just don't…want to.  It's not fair to anyone else if I ask someone else to do a thing I won't."

“Responsibility, loyalty, whatever you want to call it, it all works both ways.”  Helena nodded.

"Grandfather would call it 'integrity'." Elizabeth said seriously, "If I have to order an execution? Then whoever gets the job knows I'm not asking more of them than I'm willing to do.  They cut the cameras before I puked…the second time.  Her Majesty's going to have serious questions about that."

“Well then she better make them good questions.  She put you in that position.”

Elizabeth grunted, and looked out the windows at the cargo bay as the shippers moved crates out of the way.  "I'm not sure she had a lot of better options, Helena.  I've already run into situations as a mere Duchess that have been no-good-options situations. I can't imagine it's easier higher up the chain."

“It’s not.  Even as shielded as I was by the SLDF high command.  Uncle Alyks didn’t want me to know the full horrors of the war but I found out anyway.  You know I actually managed to get over my traumas long enough to learn to set IVs and work a shift doing so at Running Deer before anyone found me and hauled me out of the medical tent.”

"You know how I feel about him." Liz said quietly.  "He gave up on you, then he gave up on the rest of us, and now his descendants are invaders under a psychotic system of slavery."

“I know.  I wish I could reconcile the two vastly different men.  But I can’t.  So I’ve had to force myself to consider the man I knew dead and whatever it was that carried on using his name a fraud.”

Elizabeth didn't contradict, as the mooring lines released and the pilot took them on the thirty minute flight to the next ride they were hitching.

***

Coventry is one of the nicer worlds mankind found in the age of exploration and colonization, as a result, it's a well-developed and beautiful place.

This time, Liz didn't make Helena pretend to be Ms. Whyte. 

"You're offering sweetheart deals, Liz, expired patents, obsolete systems, and rights? What are your people financing?" Duke Bradford was direct, and met with them in a reserved room at the Hotel Elizabeth chose to spend the layover at.

"I was approached by some folks who think they know how to build a Charging Station." Liz said bluntly, "they gave me the list of what they needed, and I'm doing my part to see if it's true, if it is, it's going to be lucrative as hell, sir."

"Any room for investors?" he asked.

"Yes." she nodded.  "You know any?"

Bradford laughed, "Cagey..?"

"It could still fail, your money might be lost, given you still owe me sixteen billion Kroner, that means I lose money." she answered, "of course, if you do buy in, you can pay me back a lot faster if it works out…"

“Some would argue that’s a bad bet, asking someone who’s already in debt to you to risk money that you could just ask for via the debt.”

Elizabeth nodded, "I know, that's why I waited to see if you were interested on your own." she said, "I'm willing to talk terms if you want to bring Coventry Metal Works into it on a limited partnership with Ioto and Lockheed."

“My board will probably have kittens but yeah, I’m interested.”

"Buy in is fifty billion, hard cash." Liz told him, "if that's too much…I'll understand, but I'm willing to knock off what you already owe as part of it."

“Fortunately we’re getting all sorts of government contracts and subsidies to upgrade the tooling in some of our factories.  So I’ve got a bit of spare cash and idle workers that could use a side project.  My board will still have kittens but I think I can sell them on this.”

"Just remind them how much of your expenses are wrapped up in your corporate shipping." Liz noted, "also you'll want to reserve a position for your station-the buy in includes getting one of the first test facilities."

“I can definitely sell them on that.  Next meeting is a week from tomorrow.  Probably take a couple weeks after that to get the funds moving.”

Elizabeth slid the contract across as the current 'real' Miss Whyte handed her sections on the contract to hand over.  He had his own lawyer examine the document before looking himself.

"When can we expect to see the first one?" he asked.

"Eighteen months from now." Elizabeth told him, "we were already starting work when I began this trip, getting the approvals and the licenses was necessary to move forward past initial prototyping and building the production lines.  I bet nearly a trillion Kroner of my world's money on this program, and Her Majesty's going to want to see how I did it without shorting the tax-man."

His eyes shot wide, then he laughed.  "My god, that takes absolute stones!!"

"It's mainly an off-shoot of the Alarion and Lockheed shipyard contracts we were already working." Liz confessed, "we have to prove every component before delivery…but I'm doing this to deal with unemployment and underemployment issues, we're trying to replicate the miracles of the past…and as I said, it can still fail."

“Okay Liz.  I’m already sold.  We’re talking billions of Kroner, it takes the banks a while to move that cash and I need my board’s approval but I’m confident I can get it.”

"Today, it is a pleasure to do business with you, Your Grace." she said, "shalt we have a drink to seal it?"

“It would be rude not to.”

Helena carefully poured the champagne then handed a glass to Elizabeth.  She set the other down in front of Duke Bradford.

He took the snifter and raised it, "To good business."

She clinked her glass to his, "and better prospects."

The sparkling wine was low-alcohol, more ceremonial than something you drink on purpose, both finished their glasses.

“A shame you’re a bit young for the real stuff.”  Duke Bradford smiled.

"Yeah, but that isn't forever." Liz grinned.  "Look for the first assembly crew and deliveries next year about this time."

“I look forward to it.”

Helena took Elizabeth’s empty glass.  Duke Bradford was still holding his.  She reached for it carefully and took it with a slight shake in her hand.

The business completed, they packed up to leave.  Polite dismissals on both sides and it was already time for him to return to his own duties.

"Notice anything?" Elizabeth had waited until Bradford was gone.

"What?"

"He's got an heir about my age, he didn't mention him once." Elizabeth stated.  "What does that suggest to you?"

“Well you do have a certain public reputation.  But that doesn’t seem right.  Maybe he has another lady lined up for his heir?”

"New word for you, Helena.  Hassenfanger." Liz said, "i'm technically a peer, and he owes me a huge amount of money…but I'm a Hassenfanger-a 'hare catcher'.  Low status, his boy would be taking a hit to his prestige if we dated."

“For marrying into one of the biggest tooling suppliers of his nation?”

Elizabeth nodded.  "Yes.  it would be a financial boon and he could write off the debts, but my family are still seen as little more than jumped-up periphery rats in the social circles of traditional Lyrans of his rank and station…on the other hand, once you're known? You'll have margraves trying to pawn their sons, or even daughters on you.  Social Status is something very rigid."

“Heh.  I’d marry you just to spite them.”

"Please don't." Liz said, "We're friends, but I don't…that is, it's not…" she sighed, embarrassed to even discuss such matters.

“Oh I’m not either.  Like I said it’d be for pure spite.”  Helena smiled.

"Jane is. I swear she's going to propose to Bianh Vu Dao." Liz commented, "or Linda Sithers, but maybe that's being a pure intellect-no biological hardware to get in the way."

“Knowing her, she might try for both.”  Helena nodded.

"A triple? They'd have to do it in a reform EllDEE and find a cosmetic boy to make it 'legitimate'." Liz laughed.

Helena laughed too.

“Seriously you did good there.”  Elizabeth smiled.

“Yeah Duke Bradford was not wanting to set his glass down at the end there but I managed to take it from him without jumping or dropping it, just a minor hand tremble.”  Helena nodded.

"Which he probably marked off as being in awe of his social status.  Don't underestimate what you can get done when they think that way about you." Liz advised, "Maggie used to lecture me and Daffy and Penny about that, when she visited the rehab."

“Well I’m just glad he didn’t say anything when I handed you your glass and set his infront of him.”

Elizabeth flagged a cab out front, and they were off to the spaceport.

"You have offices on Coventry, why the cab?"

"Company cars are better used by employees." Liz explained, "if a competitor's looking to hit me, he's going to watch the corporate fleet and my body-double, not me."

“Yeah, I guess there is something to be said for just hopping into a cab, I mean who would believe I’d do such a thing by choice?”

"Exaclty, driver! Gate sixteen and there's a hundred Kroner extra if you get there without hitting a red light."

The cab rammed forward like a greyhound, swerving like a maniac, and Elizabeth crowed and cheered as the vehicle blasted through an intersection mid-light-change.

Helena meanwhile unprepared bounced into the door panel but quickly recovered and grabbed the nearest secure bit to help steady herself.

"Isn't it fun?!" Lizzie's eyes were wide with excitement and her face was pure delight as the driver savagely broke traffic laws.

“Fun shouldn’t leave bruises.”  Helena answered cooly.

"It does when you do it right!!" the girl enthused, as the cab slewed onto the ramp into the port, and began to slow.

"This is the real reason you chose a cab-your own people wouldn't do it, would they?" Helena groused.

"Nope.  but cabbies are small owners and every phennig helps…" she dug into her handbag, and paid the driver before they were even stopped.  "Thanks, that was fun!"

***

Helena examined her bruise as she held her shirt up.  All the other old injuries that covered her torso were also on display.  She never once considered a cosmetic surgeon to conceal them, not that Kerensky ever had many on staff.

"Huh, Helena, that's…you should get checked by a doctor at the next stop." Liz said, "I don't think he exceeded three gees on that turn."

“For now an ice pack would be great.”  Helena said.

Elizabeth seemed to have a light come on, "Corpsman!" she said, "come here, look at Helena's bruising…"

The corpsman aboard the shuttle hurried over, he knelt and looked carefully, then brought up a portable  medical diagnostic aid and began giving Helena a hands-off physical.  "Eyes mum…" he said.

The light was bright.

"Tongue out please, and say 'ahh'."

“Aggghhhh.”

The corpsman muttered something in yet-another-dialect, then, "Vitamin deficiency, you're lacking vitamin D, vitamin K, and E, and probably short calcium as well, you're going to need to adjust to a proper meal plan, Mum..in the meantime…" he dug into his bag, and came up with an auto-injector, several vials, and a small device that he used to mix them before loading the injector, "Here, stick this in your upper thigh."

Helena grabbed the injector and stabbed it into her thigh.

"Now, Your Grace, it's your turn." the Corpsman stated, "usual drill, please."

Right there in the shuttle, Helena watched the corpsman giving Elizabeth a series of examinations, including pricking her finger and testing her blood.

"Shorting your meds." he judged, "how bad is it on the scale?"

"Two?" Liz said.

He nodded, and mixed a different cocktail, this time using a much larger injector assembly, "position, please, Your grace?"

She lifted her skirt, exposing her inner thigh, and he applied it,  "let me know if you get a high, because that means I made a mistake."

"I know! It's fine."

"Sedative this time?" he asked.

"I can go without it for now."

“Maybe you should do it now so that when we get to the Tharkad leg you won’t need it then and be clear.”  Helena offered.

"That's weeks from now." Liz complained, "the less I use, the longer it takes to build up a tolerance.  I'll deal with the discomfort for now, if it means when it's an emergency it works."

Helena nodded as she started toward the galley.

She dug around the sweets storage and found a package of candied fruits before closing up the galley and returning to her seat.

“Those are terrible for you, you know.”  Elizabeth said.

“Then you shouldn’t have stocked them.”  Helena smiled.

"Me, it doesn't matter.  They're terrible for YOU." Liz corrected, "I'm not going to live long enough for the cumulative residues in my heart to create problems, you will."

“How do you just…internalize like that?" Helena asked, "I knew Tranh Truk Ngo, and he did the same thing…and I didn't get it then either-you're dying."

"Everyone's dying. It starts when we're born." Liz said offhanded, "I just got stuck with 'dog years' is all. I can either feel sorry for myself, or I can recognize that I've got deadlines."

“Too many people around me seem to have that happen to them.  My mom died shortly after I was born and she was only 38.”

"Hm.  and a Terran." Liz noted, "low mortality rate and long life expectancy, I wonder if she wasn't 'helped along' by a rival."

“I don’t know.  I just know for whatever reason despite the fact Terrans could live to be 200 no one in my family ever seemed to reach the triple digit mark and all had kids young by Terran standards.”

"Huh. new data point there I didn't know about, Helena, I guess I should've paid closer attention to history outside my own…anyway, if you're going to raid my junk food, better be ready to share."

“I only did because it was MY history.  And of course I’ll share.”

"Corpsman says the pilots picked up the latest releases for our in-flight movie.  They did a new remake of 'Planet of the Dead', the first Star Cadet book.  This time they hired tech advisors for the special effects scenes…"

“Well at least it’ll look pretty and if you’d said something sooner I would have grabbed popcorn too.”  Helena chuckled.

Elizabeth joined in the chuckle.

[Daryk]

Heh... popcorn for ALL my friends! ;D

[Luciora]

I see RX-78 and I just feel sad that it looks like a jellyfish instead of I dunno... maybe a Core Fighter.  Then again, what do I know about space warship design that isn't Japanese inspired. 😅

Enjoying this new story very much though!

[monbvol]

***

The in-flight movies were predictably trashy, fun, content-less romps, and the ladies enjoyed ragging on the technical details and flaws in each of them.  Eventually, they reached Kowloon's system, and the rendezvous for the trip back toward Tharkad.

"Jane…got a paint job?" Elizabeth was the first to say something as they moved from the commercial ship, to their ride to Tharkad.

“She did like getting her makeup done.”  Helena chuckled.  “Though I think she’s more of an autumn tone so the shading is a bit off.”

“I think she looks fantastic.”  Elizabeth laughed.

"Coast Guard first Squadron." Helena judged, "They copied Anh Cu'ong's paint scheme on the Gloria."

"You're sure?"

"I saw it often enough, it does look better on Jane, than it did on a surplused Type 51 gunship stolen from the Rim Worlders."  Helena smiled.

Liz swallowed.  "Gloria went down with the escort squadron when Dinh Ngo took the 171st to try and relieve Kentares." she said, "they didn't make it to within one jump of the place, the Draconis Combine knew they were coming and stopped them."

“That’s part of why you hate Comstar so much.  They’re the only people who could have known that had a reason to tip them off.”

Liz nodded.  "It's not 'hate' to take reasonable precautiones with someone who's proven untrustworthy.  The Ministry of Communications were the ONLY people who knew the 171 was moving.  Majery even kept the Lyrans in the dark about it."

“Well I never met Jerome Blake but all the stuff I read about him does make me wonder exactly what the hell he was really up to.”

The shuttle banked, pivoted, slowed, and docked with practiced ease.

Helena was back aboard her sister's ship…

***

“Took you long enough.”  Jakob said.  “I should have gone with you.”

“No one came after me, it was fine.”  Helena re-assured him.
 
"Not even the port-boys." Elizabeth added, "Though I remember seeing a lot of guys giving Her 'that look' at every stop, so you can stop being jealous."

“Jakob is just protective.  He is my bodyguard afterall.”  Helena smiled.

"Well, he's got The Body for it." Liz said saucily, "you should hook him now, while he's still disoriented or you're going to end up losing your shot at him."

“I’d prefer not to go to jail for statutory rape.”  Jakob countered.

"She's…let's see…thirty plus two hundred seventy…" Liz teased.

“He’s shutting you down Elizabeth.”

"Oh, I know, I was trying to make your guy blush.  Didn't work." she shouldered her kit-bag, and tapped the floor of the deck to lift herself up to eye level.  "Disappointing as it is, I'm afraid I lack your feminine wiles, Helena."

“More a case of the perils of a detail hand picked by Anh Cu’ong.  All tailor fit to accommodate my baggage.”  Helena chuckled.  “So you probably do have a better shot at Jakob than I do.”

"Yeah, but I'm probably still going to die as an old maid."  Liz commented, then, "Jane? Did they finish loading our goods?"

“Yes.  My cargo areas are packed tighter than I think I’ve ever seen them.”

"Very good…Madam First Lord, we've an appointment in December, and it takes three months, we are now in August and late, shall we go?"

“You heard her.  Time to get the show on the road.”

“Signaling for clearance.”  Samantha reported.

"It's gonna be weird having leg-room…" Liz noted.

“I have lots more than just legroom.  I have many accommodations.  Many are great for stress relief.”  Jane chuckled.

“Jane.”  Helena chided.

“What?  I’m actually serious for once.  Pardon me for finding it funny that I’m not making a double entrdre’.”

“We have clearance yet?”

“Yes.”  Samantha answered.

“Taking us out.  Everyone secure for burn.  Jump point in two hours.”  Jane nodded.

Helena checked her straps.

“Secure.”  Jakob announced from his station.

“Ready.”  Rachel announced.

“Good to go.”  Samantha added.

Moshe just held up his hand in a thumbs up position.

“Allah guide us.  I am ready.” Muhammed.

Bertha nodded from her post.

“Medical secured for burn.”  Majery’s voice came over the comm system.

“I’m ready.”  Elizabeth announced.

Jane brought her engines up slowly, giving her crew and guests plenty of opportunity to adjust from microgravity to thrust gravity.

The blinking lights of navbuoy satellites guided them out of the orbital parking area.

Despite all the shuttles and Dropships she’d been on there was something different about being on a Warship under thrust for Elizabeth Ngo.

“It’s because I’m bigger than anything you’ve rode on before.”  Jane needled when she saw Elizabeth’s expression.

“You really are terrible, you know.”  Elizabeth said.

“I am pretty hopeless.  But the joke was there…”  Jane chuckled.

“So it was.”  Elizabeth chuckled.

“Three months of this.  I’ll probably have a new complex to add to the list by the time we get to Tharkad.”  Helena laughed.

"But will it be vast and spacious?"  Liz giggled.

“It’ll probably give architects nightmares when they see how it turned out.”  Helena laughed.

“Next refit, padded walls and decks.  And starched white jackets.”  Jane chuckled.

"Padded walls and corridors probably wouldn't be a bad option, honestly." Bianh said, turning from the navigation station.  "Your Grace, Majesty, Jane might tell you or not, but we're just waiting on Commodore Li's confirmation to jump, so I'd actually suggest everyone get comfy."

"You were going to tell me about this, Jane? Stealing one of my officers?" Liz asked playfully.

“It’s so sudden, I mean we’ve not been together that long and…”  Jane suddenly cracked up.

"Vu Dao, who else did Alicia Li decide needs to be serving as able crew?" Liz asked.

"I kept Sithers, Nghien, Chao, and we've got Pol Nguyen from the surface boat squadrons on his cherry run in the Black."

"Not familiar."

"Corporal, he was an EOD diver, did the blasting that kept Stoney's dropships from airmobile off Ia Drang Plateau while you were finishing the Regent in Hue, mum.  He cleared Dive training and finished his level ones for space service, but he's here as your meat-shield."

Helena looked at Jakob, "Is the new guy any good?"

"He's quiet, and he's good with his hands.  Reminds me of Dak Nguyen from the Coastie Marines on Elbar."  Jakob said, "Nice kid otherwise."

“Good enough then.”  Helena nodded.

"He's a Corporal..." Liz frowned.

"He's only a year older than you are, Liz…yes, he's still a junior enlisted, but we didn't have room for a full fireteam, never mind a platoon."

"Right…"

“Sorry.  Ship was refitted with my baggage in mind, so not a lot of room for guests.”  Helena offered.

"Okay, it's Helena's boat, Jane, are you the Flag Captain then?"

“Yes.”

"Okay, so who's your Exec, is it Vu Dao, or one of your regular staff?  I need to know what the command chain looks like for this trip."

“Vu Dao.  Rachel is engineering, Samantha comms, Jakob, Muhammed, and Moshe security, and Majery is CMO and personal physician to her Majesty.”

"Helena, we've got three months to get to Tharkad, and I have…five? Marines who desperately need cross-training to keep them from getting bored and doing stupid things, one of whom is a blaster.  Can we work something out?" Liz asked.

“Yeah.  Idle hands are rarely a good thing, especially when one pair is demolition rated.”

"Not just demo rated, if Nguyen is the guy who stopped Stoney's backup from lifting, he's nuke qualified, he collapsed one of the Plateau's ridges to do that.  Subterranean blast, we're going to put a lake in the crater."

“Yeah, we need to keep those hands busy.”  Helena nodded.

"Okay duty assignments then.  Corpsman Dienh will work under Majery in sick-bay, Sithers is your third shift, Bianh?"

"Ayeh Mum." 

"Good, I want her to take some time running classes for the grunts, we're 'officer heavy' this trip, so if we pool our educational resources, those kids might make enough points to get promoted early."

"What do you want them to study?"

"Anything that results in four or more hours of book-work per day."  Liz said, "Whatever you think we can dream up to make them work on."

“Well we have experts in medicine, physics, engineering, electronics, and while Jane doesn’t have a Prometheus core like Helm’s, her nature does mean she’s got all sorts of technical knowhow of her own she can impart.”  Helena offered.

“That should be plenty then.”  Liz nodded.

“Hehe.  I’ll have personnel records reviewed, recommendations for best fits for what subjects in terms of both teacher and student, and a duty shift rotation that includes class time here shortly.”  Jane smiled.

"Good." Elizabeth said, "I told Helena about it, and I mean it."

"’it'?" Jakob asked.

"We're in a dark age." Elizabeth said, "I don't have the luxury of hoping to live a few generations to see the end of it, but I want that end-the darkness to go away, so maybe the next kid who finds out they're going to die by forty has a chance not to."

"Your Great Uncle." Bianh nodded.

"Wait, how much do they know?" Helena asked.

"Enough Ngos have died of Cholmann's over the decades that it's a known thing, Helena." Elizabeth said obliquely, "starting with the first of us you met, when your world's greatest hero died screaming blood, well… it's like being a Hapsburg in the pre-twentieth century with the funny lip and the blood ailment.  everyone knows it's a probability."

"Plus you dump tells all over the place."  from the doorway, Sithers leaned, "Bosslady, we got clearances yet? I finished the damn calculations ten minutes ago, if we don't get a clearance, I'll have to spend the next hour re-doing them!"

"Tells?"

"No dating, no boyfriends, not even a pen pal, there's a flag on your Personnel with AFFC Military marked '4M', and you're not crazy, you're also not old enough for a Psyche disqualification, you don't have cancer, I checked with OUR medical, you have all your limbs in the right places and you're not a bleeder, as proven in several 'accidents', and you're high right now, though only me, Lady Helena, and the Corpsman can see it.  It's not a secret from the Heinies, and the rumour mills both in the Outsystem and on Kowloon have put together strong circumstantial that your giddy wastrel act is the same image your Great Great Great Grandfather tried to pull off before he collapsed into his first stage two seizure in front of a live audience."

“Then we need to work on that too.  You need something to help provide a public shield, a distraction.  Even if it goes nowhere, it will help keep people from poking around too deeply.”

"Image." Elizabeth said, "Maggie told me about image, the persona-even if people don't believe it entirely, if it's consistent, they'll respect it."

“And they’ll never question it if you don’t give them a reason to.”

Comms came up with three tones.

"We have clearance!"

A pause.

Helena said, "Engage?"

Discontinuity

***

Civil Defense Headquarters over Inarcs had an emergence wave picked up at the system's Zenith point, which in turn had controllers needing clean underwear.

“We really should have called ahead.”  Jane said.

"I'll say…no.  We really shouldn't have."  Elizabeth said with a nasty grin, as the Inarcs Militia's fighter wing peeled off, slowing down to return to their dropship.

“Yeah toss up.  This way we have the fun of controllers panicking but it could lead to a bad incident.  But the secret will be out after this so this will have to do for our fun.”

"Inarcs Control, this is Kowloon Prototype Heavy Elizabeth Cameron responding to your query, we have Duchess Elizabeth Ngo and guests aboard en-route to Tharkad, Over?"

"Kowloon Heavy Prototype, you scared the shit out of us!! Why didn't you call ahead, Over?"

Liz took the mic, "because I didn't know if the jump drive…" she winked at Jane's remote, "...would actually work, could you imagine the mess if we didn't arrive after telling everyone, Over?"

”Overdue would be a lot less mess than we have to clean up now.”

"Request you pass along to Her Grace LaRue, then; proof it can be done, use those exact words, and five Kroner, control, Over?"  Liz asserted.

"What can be done?" Jane asked.

"Grandfather had a bet with Her Grace's old man that he could fix anything." Liz said, "the old man narrowed it down to 'can you fix a broken warship'.  The bet's been on since the 2990s."

“Hmmm…I suppose that misjump did require me needing repairs.  So not cheating, much.”

"Yup, technically it's a win, and I'll take the technical win for home and hearth." Liz joked.
“Well we’ve got a week.”

"Yes, we do…"

"I've got your five Kroner, Liz, are you coming to the planet or do I have to bring it out there to see what kind of madness you've done this time?"  Tanadi LaRue asked, adding belatedly, "Over"

“Heh.  If you want I’m open to hosting.”  Helena chuckled.

"Jane?" Liz asked.

“Either is fine.  But good luck getting Helena’s security detail to let her go somewhere without them again.”

Liz nodded to the ship's designated Lady of Comms, "May I again?"

"Ah, sure?"

Liz keyed the mic, "bring only two guests, no other staff, there's trade secrets that I'm keeping for other clients, Tanadi, so no recording devices, but come on up, you're going to be absolutely amazed."

"Let me guess…the LaRues owe you money."

"Nope, but their buddies do."  Liz quipped.  "Tanadi's like the popular girl in class, at least from the movies-she's not really bad but she underestimates others and overestimates herself."

“I’ll behave.”  Jane promised.

"Good, 'cause I probably won't." Liz noted, "got a reputation to keep going, after all."

“Well then everybody has time to go over your stations and make sure it’s all cleaned up and ready to make a good impression on VIPs.”  Helena smiled.

Two days later, after a hard burn on a fast dropship, Duchess LaRue was exhausted, polite, curious, and even charming.

But the curiosity was very much of the 'polite' variety, "is this truly a warship?"

"This is truly a Star League antique warship." Liz told her, "The ship's master isn't even me, Lady Helena of Spider Moon, This is Duchess Tanadi LaRue of Inarcs, Tanadi, Lady Helena's a Rockjack, mind your manners please, it's a long walk home for both of us."

"So you don't own the ship?"

"Nope, just leasing." Liz said, "Lady Helena and her sister own the ship."

<”She gives us good terms, lets us keep this thing running.  At least for now.”>  Helena remembered Maggie Doons’ advice.

Tanadi looked confused until a nervous gentleman that came aboard with her, translated.

"This is amazing, truly a wonder…"

"That's the idea.  We've learned a lot about repair yards from helping Helena and her Sister make their repair and restoration efforts." Liz stated.  "Part of that's going into a new project I'm co-sponsoring with several prominent businesses and Nobles, I know you're hips-deep in the 'mech business with Blackstone… but hey, that means I get someone to show it off to someone who doesn't have money on the line."

"Where did you get the yards then?" LaRue asked.

"We salvaged equipment from a few abandoned worlds in the Rimjob-er, Rim Worlds Republic, and copied what we could before selling it to Alarion." Liz confessed, "Not enough to build more of these, but maybe with time…"

"You're sure you don't want to on-board another investor?"

"Well, now, see, I don't own that side of the business, you'll need to get Lady Helena to approve your application to invest." Liz said it in a cagey way.  "She's very nervous about bringing in outsiders who might get impatient."

<”Doing something like this is going to take time.”>  Helena smiled.

"Did YOU invest?" Tanadi asked Liz bluntly.

"Yep. I did…but it's her show…and it's risky, you know how often yards get blown up when the fighting gets close…or when it looks like things are going to get better…"

“But things are getting better and places aren’t blowing up.”

<”Maybe.  Right now the Clans have everyone in a panic.  Especially after what Focht put out in his house cleaning.  So we might have time, we might not.  But we have to try.”>

"It's worth it because of the Clans!" Tanadi insisted, "They have warships, the Federated Commonwealth has…prototypes, maybe! Elizabeth, tell her how important this is!!"

Somehow, it got around to numbers, Kroner lost in shipping, insurance rates, the piracy problem, and possible benefits to the investors for a warship-capable shipyard.

The Duchess of Inarcs signed on for one point two trillion Kroner-roughly 3% of her system's annual revenue, and felt like she'd won getting into the investor's pool for the shipyard program.

After Tanadi LaRue left, Liz simply said, "Now, we have to finish it-right now, she thinks it's just a few gantries and a proposal, which is what we want, since we're going into the shipping business…or rather, Helena, you are going into the shipping business."

“So I should invest in antacid companies too.”

"Nope, you should invest in capitalizing the yards now that you own them and have some capital." Liz told her.  "A lord without resources is a beggar. I'm going to be sworn to her Majesty the Archon, so you need YOUR resources too, or you'll be frozen out of the game except as my friend. I'm investing in your landhold, now you have Bradford, LaRue, and Brewer investing in it too, along with Haranshire.  This is how we start-with a company that builds ships, and charging stations.  Regular jumpships, but with a known effort into compact-cores so it's not a shock when we start building those."

“And migraine medicine.”

“Ah yeah.  And probably a distillery too.”  Elizabeth finally got the joke.

Liz reached into her valise, and handed Helena several card-paper items.  "You're on the governing board of Ngo Industries, first new face on that board since twenty eight sixty…helena Drillson is on my board, which makes you privy to special deals we don't give outsiders..and it gives you the ability to flex proxy votes at the annual board meeting."

"Why me?"

"Evelynn will make a fine Duchess, but she has no head for business." Liz said simply.  "I'm preparing for when I can't run the company anymore."

“And I practically did like 90% of the job doing what I did with the 171 and 90th.”

"More important, you sold Tanadi Larue on investing in you." Liz told her.  "I didn't do that, I couldn't do it, she doesn't like me."

“She did strike me as the sort I should downplay what we’re trying to do.”

“You.  Helena.  It is eventually going to be all you.”  Liz said.

“I know.  I don’t like thinking about it but I know.”

"Cheer up, Helena." Liz said, "if nothing else, you'll be able to buy lunch after a few years…with your own money, not some stipend from a trust fund or taxes."

“We’ll have to make it one hell of a lunch when that happens.”  Helena smiled.

"Yup, next stop is Arluna.  Diego's more of a Hassenfanger than I am, but you might be able to flip some real-estate deals through Rowe-McClaren, but keep count of your fingers, the Diegos are pretty dirty for Nobles." Liz cautioned, "on the other hand, surveys by Nghien Sarkowsky and Sithers-Deen of the system show some high-probability light elements in the outer system, including nodular Germanium, so securing mineral rights is on our list."

“Right.  Trot out the deal that seems like it’s what I really want but make my real offer the second more reasonable one by contrast and make them think they swindled me by taking that one.  I’ve been learning.”

"Nobody falls for a con faster than a con-man, or so Grandfather used to say.  Eduard Diego's not stupid though, and he's sharper than Tanadi, so I'll be along to hold your hand." Liz said dangerously, "We're going to need those out-system minerals if we're going to make this a serious go."

“Yeah.  It’s been a few centuries since I’ve had to deal with sharks.  They probably evolved while I didn’t.”  Helena smiled.

"Put it this way, I cut a deal for Winter, and the Von Schrakenbergs are sharp-but they're ethical.  Diego's not ethical.  The only reason he doesn't have Lohengrin camped on the end of his bed, is that he's a very vocal supporter of the FedCom alliance, and he has a battalion of 'mechs dating back to the 18th Buena Hussars-a Rallier unit that went to work for the Lyrans after Kerensky left."  Elizabeth's expression darkened.

"There's more to that, isn't there?"

"There are two major ethnic groups on Arluna-the people who came with the Lyrans, and the people who were defeated by them, and the second group lives in poverty in the hill country-and have been kept there. Being punished for things their ancestors only might have done."

"You really hate that, don't you?" Jakob asked.

"Yes.  even Amaris laid off people after the third generation if they didn't fight back like we did.  The Diegos make New Capetown look enlightened.  Their apartheid isn't color based, it's ancestral."

“How can they keep that straight?”

"History. How did Protestants and Catholics know who was who in North Ireland during the twentieth century?" Liz shot back, "accents, language, some cultural 'tells' is how, to us outsiders there's not a lot of difference except the 'nice' parts of Arluna speak Spanish or German, while the Hillfolk are Anglophones with thick accents…but it's all the world to the people stuck there."

“Right.  It’s not my job to police them yet.”  Helena nodded.

Jakob glanced at Moshe, then…"if we weren't here, but you had this ship, Duchess, what would you do?"

Liz closed her eyes, "Helena you asked why I hated the Feddies, and I told you I didn't…that's because the Diegos? exist." she opened her eyes, "if I had the resources, I'd smash their little bigot empire into the ground, because how they rule makes me sick."

“Even with this ship, you’d need more.”  Helena reasoned.

"And we're going to have to do business with them, because I can't just overthrow the bastards, not without proof of treason against the Commonwealth, and damn me but I can't make myself contemplate fabricating that proof."

"You'd need an army."

"I'd need more than an army." Liz said, "You can break the chains but you can't make people free if they're not ready for it."

Helena grabbed her Federated Commonwealth electronic library and started scrolling through it.

“True and maybe there is a way to get what you want without Treason or an Army.”

Helena paused on the section of the Federated Suns 7 liberties.

"You have an idea." Liz said.

“The start of one.  I might need a real lawyer to get it across the goal line.  But to me it seems we might have a chance to accuse them of breaking the 7 liberties.”

"Or…" Lizzie's eyes went crafty "...a real lawyer, and a meeting with the Archon to lay it out…"

“That could work too, yes.”  Helena nodded.

Linda Sithers was coming on-shift as the two plotted.  "Hey, Sithers…you're from Sithers-Deen 42, right?" Liz asked.

"Ayeh."

"Don't suppose you've got anything on the prospecting your folks were doing in the Arluna system in the forties?"

"We were cleared of the missing persons cases." Sithers said, "Cartwright fixed the records, why?"

"Evidence, it occurs to me we're going to meet Her Majesty herself on Tharkad this christmas, how hard would it be for you to get your elders to turn loose with what they showed my Grandfather about what goes on on Arluna?"

"It's pretty old, Mum.  The Nghiens have…had…contacts? With the Hill People, nothing big enough to draw attention, but 'Traditional' recruiting, no kidnaps, all volunteer."

"So witnesses?"

"Ayeh."

"UH…'traditional' recruiting?" Helena asked.

"Rockjacks and other Spacers have a bad rep in parts of the periphery.  Stories of children being abducted.  It's not all fiction, I'm afraid, though it was never kidnapping, it was usually sending someone into the Well on their wandering times, to find likely recruits among the population who wanted to get out, then smuggling them out.  It's how we even know what's going on on Arluna outside the Tourist hotspots and fine sandy beaches."

“And because it was done unofficially, it looked like abductions.”  Helena nodded.

"Only two Lines in the community still use 'traditional recruiting' and one of them, is Sithers-Deen."  Linda asserted, "even Sakhalin gave up on it last century, too much heat, they use jobs boards instead."

"Why?" Jakob asked.

"Genetics.  You have a population spread out over astronomical units in little burrows and stations, you have to avoid inbreeding." Linda explained, "Problem being finding people willing to endure the lifestyle."

“Even then the inbreeding can’t always be helped.”  Rachel added.  “But we try and it is big taboo.”

"Still is honored one." Sithers directed at Rachel, with a nod.  "You're Elder of the Elders you know, you could sit on the Committee and nobody could say ought."

“Committee is boring.  This is fun.”  Rachel almost grunted.

Sithers grinned as if Rachel had told a very, very, very cultural in-joke. "Ayeh Mum."

“But maybe when I’m ready to contract.  Maybe then.  Galavanting out across space is no way to raise children.”

"I understood like…a quarter of that." Liz noted very quietly.

"I heard it clearly." Helena whispered back.

Elizabeth's timer chimed.  "Time for meds. I'll go to the sick-bay for it, let the doctor and the Corpsman see I'm taking my designated drugs in the right amounts.  Majery's a damn drill sergeant about it-she WOKE ME UP yesterday to verify."

“Yeah.  She’s the same with me.  Which reminds me I should also eat something so I can take MY meds.  Though I think you have me beat hands down for prescriptions.”

"Oh yeah…" Liz shook her head and left the Bridge.

“Those two are adorable together.”  Jane chuckled.

“You know they’re both straight right?”

"Yeah, but they're so cute together, it's a waste, I tell you!!" Jane chuckled.

"The Duchess keeps eyeing Jakob there, like a starving woman." Sithers said bluntly,  "She'd probably break herself on him if he'd let her."

“Thankfully she isn’t eighteen yet and I’m no pedo.”  Jakob grunted.

"Yeah, you'd be tough to get out the airlock." Linda agreed, "on the flip side, she won't be under eighteen forever."  she started humming a tune that Jane caught immediately. 

"The matchmaker song from Fiddler on the roof? Really?" 

"It's a good story, and I've got a few yisroel relatives down on the Plateau." Linda defended, "it's how my hair is so wavy and curly when I let it grow out!"

“Hehe.  Okay then.  20 Kroner says the day she turns eighteen she’ll break her wild mustang.”  Jane smiled.

"How do you think she'll do it?" Rachel asked, breaking her usual silence and being outright intelligible for once, "Duchess Ngo's got that whole 'too forward' problem, she doesn't know how to lure a man!"

"Really?"

"Yes!  Boys have to be teased and led, they don't like it when a girl grabs their junk and says 'this is mine'!"

“That sounds like far too much work.”

"The challenge can be fun..but yeah, it's a lot of work to find a man instead of a Port Boy."  Linda agreed.  "I can scratch the itch with a portboy, but if I contract for babies, I'll be wanting a decent MAN to be the father…even if I have to share him with another wife…someone like Moshe maybe."

Moshe flushed red for a moment.

“I knew you had a fun side.”  Jane chuckled.

Linda regarded him with calculating eyes. "Hmmmm" but said nothing more on the subject.

Jane immediately started up a betting pool for various pairings and who’d be first to do what.

She only left one name off the list of possibilities, Helena’s.

She knew Helena wasn’t anywhere near ready for that sort of thing yet.

She also had to leave off Mohammed and Majery’s names in a few categories since they were already dating.

Elizabeth she only put down for fairly innocent things since she wasn’t eighteen yet.

Everyone would eventually find it in their portable noteputers later to place their wagers on.

***

The Arluna stop-off was short, and Elizabeth's suggestions turned out to be irrelevant.  Duke Diego wasn't home, instead being several jumps away, conducting exercises with the 8th Lyran Regulars near Timbuktu.

George McClaren of the Rowe-McClaren banking partnership WAS in the system, overseeing a corporate project on Arluna's main world.

He, in turn, refused to even speak to anyone associated with Elizabeth Ngo…at first.

His reluctance ended up dissolving into rampant curiosity when he saw what the Kowloonese were using for a taxi.

"I didn't believe it." George is a mid-fiftyish man with swoop-cut hair styled with oils, dressed in a rather natty tieless business suit.  "You know what you have here, don't you?"

"A warship that I'm glad I don't have to pay upkeep on?" Elizabeth bounced back.

"This isn't any ordinary warship." he stated, "even when I joined the Navy for my five year term, Miss Ngo, I never hoped to see one of these outside of an airfix kit.  Your lady friend and her sister salvaged a Caspar and refit it."

<”And I’ll appreciate it if you don’t drool all over it.”>  Helena chided.

Elizabeth froze up.  Whatever she'd been about to smoothly say went 'wham' into a wall.

George clasped his hands behind his back, and added, "the bolt-on structures didn't hide it well enough, even under the new paint.  The Caspar series had a significantly more powerful Radar and LIDAR array than standard Lolas-even the threes, could manage, because they didn't have to worry about keeping a crew alive.  When I was a boy, I used to fantasize about what such a ship would be like, if it weren't extinct, and had been refit for human beings.  I'd ask where you found her, but the more pertinent question would be how much of the computer you left in place-which must be a lot, your entourage is tiny."

<”Uh, yeah.  It would have been too expensive to dig it all out.  So we left it.  Fortunately it still functions very well because as you noticed we’re a tiny crew for a ship this size.”>  Helena nodded.

He stroked his neatly manicured beard.  "I heard you were investing in shipping, Ngo, and could hardly believe the wild little child who caused so much grief would be that far thinking…but this?"  he clasped his hands behind his back, "This makes sense for you.  Rowe McClaren will invest in your 'shipbuilding' project, and I'll talk to Gordon about lifting Daphne's restrictions.  You've clearly reformed….or at least, you're doing something more interesting than vandalizing street signs and getting into fights."

"She missed Penny's funeral." Liz noted.  "Was that part of those 'restrictions'?"

McClaren looked ashamed.

"It was.  Well, at least I know who I'm angry with.  If you want in, you make the deal with Helena here-it's her company, we're just helping with initial investment and some backing, I take my non-compete clauses quite seriously."

<”We have a wardroom all setup if you’d like to talk someplace more privately.”>  Helena put on her best diplomatic smile.

[Daryk]

Gordon is in TROUBLE!

[mikecj]

Wait til that bit of Intel hits the HPG grid.  Although the ComGuard Theta branch must be losing their minds...

[georgiaboy]

Gordon probably owns to debt for the outer system mineral rights to cover the Diego's debts, and maybe the debtor's of the hill folk also.

[Artifex]

Oh boi, so we've met the first one who was able to correctly identify the SLS Elizabeth Cameron 

[Luciora]

I'm shocked Airfix is still around   

[Wrangler]

Finally caught up.  I'm interesting to see where this show turns up. 

[monbvol]

[Co-Author]  Looks like we both forgot to post a helping on the 5th.  Oops.  [/Co-Author]

***

“I am curious, the stories vary on just how intelligent the Caspars were.  Where do they rate?”  George McClaren said as he strapped into the chair.

<“Not sure if it’s damage we can’t repair or if it is because they were never really fully sapient but as long as we treat it with respect the core does as we ask but doesn’t seem truly sapient.”>  Helena told another practiced lie.

“Well you’ve certainly gotten my attention.  But our financing on the scale you’re asking for is a bit tied up at the moment.  Still though I’m prepared to offer shares instead of direct financing on our current project.”  George nodded.

<”I’ll need to see details.”>  Helena countered.

“As you should.”  George opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers, handing them to Helena.

Helena started going through them, handing them to Jane as she finished.

<“Certainly interesting.”>  Helena said.

“That’s just what we’ve uncovered so far.”

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuu….  Mister McClaren you need to contact your teams now and tell them to stop what they are doing.”  Jane said after a few moments.

“I’m not sure…”

“NOW!”  Jane put the stack of papers on the table pointing to a particular entry.

The screens in the wardroom came on, showing information about a certain Star LEague weapon.

<”Jane?”>  Helena looked at her sister.

“What is…”

“You’ve uncovered a level zero bioweapon of mass destruction.  One with the potential to wipe out humanity.”  Jane finally explained.

“How can you know?”

“This ship contains files, including for contingency plans for a last final doomsday solution.”

George looked at the displays.

“I need to borrow a priority channel then…”  George understood one thing at that moment, he couldn’t afford to doubt them.

It's truly shocking how close you can get to doomsday.  How close?  Half the twist-lock fasteners in the warhead section had been undone by RMC engineers, the rest would've been by lunchtime, if work hadn't gotten stopped using terms like 'immediate termination' and 'loss of all benefits, plus a lawsuit'.  In other words, the direst threats a corporate overlord can sling to make a curious engineering student stop poking at the supremely dangerous relic.

What quickly followed were debates about immediately destroying the bioweapon and a desire to study it to develop a counter.

Rachel came up with the compromise that settled most of the debate.  "Put it in a burrow on a parabolic orbit, if it slips control there, it'll infect the waldoes before the sun burns it up."

"Where we gonna find a burrow?" Liz asked crossly.

Rachel brought up the system's map from a historical record, matched it to what RADAR and LIDAR showed of the debris field, "Here.  It was an observation station for the Rim Worlds, probably still has pressure, definitely doesn't have residents.  Push it with a dropper or small-craft or even a satellite grade ion engine into this orbit…"

"And they can remote-dismantle it with open cage animal testing."  Helena identified.  "If the animals get sick, you just let it fall into the sun."

“We should still study it, we got lucky this time.  But what if there is more somewhere else and we’re not there to stop it in time?”  Majery objected.

Elizabeth cleared her throat.  "Majery, how many qualified microbiologists do you think we've got?  Whole Commonwealth, mind you, qualified in handling something as nasty as a level zero contagion?"

“At least as many as the Combine and they nearly handled the Double Cobra outbreak.  Going so far as to develop a vaccine in the early 2900’s.”

"Three. Hundred. Forty. Five."  Elizabeth enunciated, "out of a population of trillions.  I can give you their names."

"WHat? HOW??"

"We have forgotten so much we don't even have names for what's been lost." Elizabeth told her, "Engineering, Medicine, Science?  We have 'doctors' who can dig through libraries of old knowledge, but they're like cooks, following recipes, and when something critical breaks, or they run out of something critical, most of them don't know how to repair or replace it."

“Then make peace with your neighbors.  In a time before the recovery of Helm they beat something that could have easily turned out to be a level zero plague.”

Liz looked at Helena, "Does it say 'archon' anywhere on my jacket? Just checking, Helena…"

"No…your university…"

"Yeah, shit like this is why, but we don't have much more in terms of knowing the basics, not enough to formulate something the Old Star League couldn't figure out a cure or vaccine for.  Doctor, " she turned to Marjery, "If I could study it, by god I would.  we don't have the ability anymore."

Helena could see…it was finally sinking in how far everyone had fallen…

“Then I should.”  Majery declared.

"You'd do more good teaching." Elizabeth told her, "teaching, so that if something goes wrong, what knowledge you've still got? Isn't lost like the rest of it."

“She’s right.  In this case we have to roll the dice that there isn’t more.  About the best we can do is put out warnings of what to look for.  Hedge our bets at least.”  Helena nodded.

“I still don’t like it.  We’re taking an awful chance.”

"Mister McClaren, where, pray tell, did you find that missile?"

"One of our salvage teams rimward of Apollo found an SLDF transport ship that had misjumped, she had the missiles in storage, marked for delivery to a joint missile base at Herbania, a logistics point used by House Amaris for domestic suppression, the dates on board said sometime in 2728 when they misjumped.  The orders were from the Diplomatic office. Most of the rest were ordinary nukes."

"2728?" Liz asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Not 2729?"

"Late '28 when the order was released from Dietrich Brian Fortress."

The young woman muttered something obscene in at least three different languages.

“Jane, that date does sound familiar.”  Helena prompted.

"Vice Admiral John Chvington was conducting joint exercises in the Arluna system when he was ordered to Kowloon to relieve the Rim World Garrison there after an uprising in 2729." Jane said clearly, "His flagship, SLS Belleau Wood and elements of the 317th Royal Cavaliers were deployed to Kowloon itself, officially what happened after, was a mistake.  Dinh Diep, Helena.  An SLDF Royal unit bombarded the Kowloonese capital city of Dinh Diep, one of the shots hit the municipal power-plant, a fission breeder reactor.  The subsequent dirty bomb explosion wiped out a city of fifteen million civilians and poisoned nearly two hundred million in the fallout zone."

"We call it the Scar." Liz said, "The Star League troops were supporting a loyal vassal against a restive population that were beating the hell out of them so badly there was a very real chance we'd have had independence forty years before the Amaris Coup…or at least, we'd have had the Amaris boot off our necks while the Star League investigated, but Chivington blew up Dinh Diep, with it whatever it was that made the leaders of the Rising think they could actually win…including all the 'mechwarriors we had at the time.  After that, the Republic got the League to stop direct recruiting from the Kowloonese minority-the leaders of the rising were all ex-SLDF vets, including the president-pro-tem Li Hong Trac, who was Ex Hegemony Marines and wasn't even native born, the guy was born in Hanoi on Earth."

"Daphne mentioned you had an interest in History, Elizabeth." Mr. McClaren said, "I didn't realize it was so in-depth."

"It's a hobby I can do without breaking something." Liz said offhandedly. "The end of the story is that Chivington kept his rank and retired to somewhere in the south of france, where he died of complications from aging-he'd cut his teeth as Forlough's bus-driver in the Reunification war and lived to well over one hundred seventy five…"

"Kerensky tried to reopen it as an atrocity investigation, Liz." Helena pointed out,  "He tried to…it went nowhere." she finally confessed. "Chivington died before he could be brought in front of a tribunal."

"Yup…I imagine it did.  We're in agreement though-this nasty bug, this '21b virus' goes into the sun?"
"How can you be so casual, Liz?" Jakob asked.

"Dead people can't be held accountable for their sins, not by us.  I imagine everyone involved in the Dinh Diep situation has had to explain themselves to god." Elizabeth explained, "We gotta live with the people who are alive, and who will be when we're gone, and dropping that load of invisible death into the sun? Sounds like a good way to make sure I don't have to account for more deaths when it's time for me to go."  then she looked at Majery, "of course, it would be a kindness if I could talk you into a classroom on Kowloon, maybe get you to write some basic textbooks and a syllabus to teach the teachers."

McClaren was surprised, "You want to start a school?"

"A school, a University-where classes are free, but the certifications cost money."  Elizabeth clarified, "Where the library will let you take copies of anything you want home, because they print more from masters, and designed to spread knowledge and methods to get us out of this darkness we're living in…yeah.  Maybe it's that I've got something that medically disqualifies me from every regular university and academy in the Commonwealth and most of the ones outside the border, or maybe it's because I have a listing, of thinkers, and researchers who've died and their works died with them, and I want to make that not so anymore.  A place where the son of a dirt farmer can get every bit the education that I might have gotten if I didn't have what's killing me…"

"Even the Kleinevolk?" he asked

"Especially them.  Rising tides lift all boats.  How much more can a noble's scion accomplish, if he or she doesn't have to explain the basic details to his or her workmen?  How much better can everyone's lives be, if technology and knowledge aren't confined to the tip of the pyramid? It's all relative, so why are we shuddering down into ignorance and darkness when we can be rising into enlightenment and progress?"

"You're an idealist.  Next you'll extoll the virtues of Democracy."

"No." Liz shook her head, "see, Democracy has a problem.  I prefer something more akin to the rule of Law, where the people may know that whatever rules they live under, so do those above them.  I want stability, Herr McClaren.  I want peasants to have a path to prosperity and incompetents to fall into poverty on their own, because they will anyway. I'm after the three P's."

"Three P's?"

"Progress, Prosperity, and Profit." Liz enunciated, "the Profit part is better, if it's on a higher baseline, if it represents MORE Prosperity than it has for more people, a rising tide lifting everyone from the snack-bottle raft to the advanced Yacht.  What good is winning, if you lose more than you would gain by not playing?"

McClaren showed interest, "Tell me more…how would it work?"

"Classes are free, books? Free. I'll print anything anyone gives me to print.  I want us to have a couple of Journals that will print any paper that's submitted, and any reviewer can, free of charge, read it, review it, try out the experiment, and publish their results there…for free.  NO classifications, no oversight.  Classes in Technology, science, mathematics, economics and business, we have thousands of military academies in the Inner Sphere, we don't need another one, we need somewhere where the knowledge is free for the asking, and advancement is unfettered by restrictions."

"No restrictions?"

"None." she asserted.  "Naturally, such a place cannot, by definition, be a State institution, Governments always have secrets and always try to keep them secret."

“And nutjobs will have difficulty exploiting it because despite common misconception the truly dangerous stuff is already highly regulated and controlled, at least as far as the physical materials.”  Helena nodded.

"Better still, by giving them a place they can reveal themselves, they can let everyone else know how insane their ideas really are." Liz contributed, "evil thrives when it seems 'forbidden', when they can claim to be suppressed, they gain converts because it makes them feel 'special', I intend my school to be a place where fools out themselves as fools, because no inquiry is forbidden."

"That…is actually quite appealing, Duchess, where is it to be?"

"I'm converting the old Ducal residence in Nha Tranh, that old fortress is too much for a lone girl to live in and it's a bomb magnet if it's used as a fortress…but it's durable enough, and spacious enough, to house quite a large number of students instead of soldiers.  I'm moving the Ducal residence to a different site, and we're using the Sports Arena as the House of Government because Rugby and Futbol are better played on grass, under the sky, and whatever weather happens on by."

He began to chuckle, then…"I would like to invest when you're ready to seek financial backers for this."

"Got old books?" she asked, "anything, really, old books, papers, documents…"

"Melissa's going to love her meeting with you." he told her.  "Daphne will also be there, this Christmas."

"Good." Liz said, "I would like to catch up with her now that she's an adult and her parents can't tell her 'no'."
That Evening, a cargo of death was dropped into Arluna's sun.

***

“I think we got lucky there.  I nearly blew our cover story.”  Jane lamented.

"We did, but we almost got unlucky because the knowledge of what it was, was hidden." Liz noted.

“Well you did fine Sis.  I’m the one who should be worried.”

"I'm on a Tear, Jane, I know at least SOME of my ideas are unreasonable, but I don't care-right now.  I'll care later, when I have to figure out the means to get to my ends before my end makes me end."

"Side effects?" Jane asked.

Liz nodded, "Yeah, manic periods, I'm aware that I'm only making sense like one word out of three, and that I'm high as a kite.  The Doc and the Corpsman are going to have to figure out the adjust that lets me be completely rational...I'm sorry about that, at least, the reasonable part of me is."

“Which is part of why you’re having me take up more of the lead in our negotiations.”  Helena nodded.

"Right you are…okay, lemme see, our next stop…no business to do there.  Li already did it while we were away.  They're getting one of the prototype charging stations in June."

“Good.  A nice quiet week sounds nice.”  Helena sighed.

“Jinx!”  Jane chuckled.

“Oh no, I did, didn’t I?  I jinxed us!”  Helena laughed.

"What could Possibly go wrong?" Liz dared finagle and happenstance.

“We’re nearly charged so we’ll find out soon enough.”  Jane smiled.

]center]***[/center]

What could possibly go wrong manifested in a system alert that Jane picked up as soon as the fog of Jump had cleared.

A bandit group was burning from the main planet here, to their jumpship, situated near an L1 point in the system.

"Jane, do you have an LF battery?" Elizabeth asked quietly, as she watched the chase of Militia starting to flag behind the fleeing bandit dropship several AU distant.

“No.  Caspars were never equipped with them and I was never refitted with one.”

"They're going to get away." Liz said quietly, "because we don't have the ability to intercept them before their jumpship leaves.  This offends me. What can we do instead?"  her voice was liquid nitrogen.

“Hmmm…. Can’t quick charge in time even.  3gs won’t get us there in time either.  I’m sorry but I don’t think there is anything we can do beyond add their sensor signatures and hull markings to our warbooks.”  Jane said sadly.

Helena frowned, "in the days of the Star League, we could report them to every neighboring systems using the HPG."

“I would assume the planet is already doing that themselves.  If not, their leadership needs a good talking to.”

"Would they HAVE the sensor data?" Elizabeth asked.  Her question had weight, a reminder that much of the technology that Helena and Jane had grown up with as common, was long extinct.

“I’ll forward what I have.  Maybe it will have something useful for the neighboring systems that the militia didn’t record themselves.”  Jane nodded.

"This is deep." Liz said, "deeper than raiders should be comfortable going."

“The double edged sword of the Clans.  As much as they’ve raised military readiness of everyone, they also represent such a threat that standard anti-piracy patrols have been allowed to grow slack.”  Helena understood immediately.
 
Elizabeth leaned back in her accel couch, brought up a window on her terminal, and began writing a Ducal Order.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm ordering the Coast Guard to step up antipiracy patrols." she said, "it won't help MUCH, but if they're reaching this deep, every pair of eyes counts.  We can put fifteen Merchant class with dropships in the field. It's not enough, but it's more than zero."

“Here.”  Helena typed up a duty rotation to allow for rest, refit, training, resupply, and maximizing patrol times.  “Least I can contribute.”

"I'll have to explain it to Her Majesty, I just broke like  half a dozen laws by letting anyone know how many ships and fighters we've got.  The Militias act of 3010 limits how many man-at-arms a planetary or system noble can mobilize, and this is a mobilization order for something like ten to twenty times that."

“Water can’t get much hotter than we already knew it would be.”  Helena tried to reassure Elizabeth.

Helena appended her edits to Elizabeth's ducal order, and included Jane's detailed sensor survey of the raiding force before forwarding it to Jane to send to Kowloon by HPG.

"Well…at least a life sentence won't be that long." Lizzie joked, "They can't keep me longer than twenty years!"

"I think we'll be able to get you a waiver." Helena stated.  "Of some kind.  This is what a Noble is supposed to do if they're loyal."

“Just be sure to watch yourself too Helena.  By doing what you did there you could be charged as a co-conspirator, or worse since you’re technically a foreign national.”  Jane warned.

“You too.  Even just sending this message could be enough.”  Helena countered.

Jane’s remote visibly shuddered at the prospect of a life in prison.

“Maybe we could at least have adjoining cells.”  Helena chuckled weakly.

***

The trip became a bit of a repetitive duldrum in a way.  By Windsor the jump point controllers no longer seemed alarmed at the appearance of a Warship on its way to Tharkad.

But that had a side effect.

“The Archon seems to have decided we need an escort.”  Jane watched the flotilla of ships jump in.

“Only surprised it took this long really.  We’ve been making a lot of noise and causing a fair bit of disruption just showing up unannounced with a Warship.”  Elizabeth said flatly.

“We’re being hailed.”  Samantha announced.

“Put them through.”  Helena sighed.

”Hello Elizabeth.  Nice ship you have there.”  Duke Diego’s voice was recognizable.

<”Greetings Duke Diego.  Seems you have been misinformed.  This vessel belongs to me, Helena Drillson.  I am merely offering Duchess Ngo a ride to her swearing in.”>  Helena answered.

”Ah, the new Baroness Spider Moon I have heard about.  I am pleased to meet you.  Perhaps we should talk in person.  May I send over a small delegation?”

<”One moment.”>  Helena muted the channel.

“Okay am I the only one who does not like the tone of his request?”  Helena asked.

“No.  But I’m not sure it is actually a request.”  Jane shook her head.

“What are you thinking Helena?”  Elizabeth asked.

“He doesn’t like you either right?  So maybe it wasn’t so much the Archon that arranged this escort.  Maybe he did and he’s now looking for a way to steal your thunder.  Maybe even worse.  What would ingratiate him more to the Archon than bringing in a rogue noble and their Warship and offering both as gifts?”  Helena proved just how quick of a study she could be.

“So how do we get out of this without a fight?”  Elizabeth prodded.

“He has to have been quick charging his ships to catch up.”  Jane said.

“Right.  So we play nice on the surface.  Invite him onboard.  Give him enough rope to hang himself with and ditch his flotilla by quick charging ourselves.”  Helena nodded.

“I’ll ready a proper reception, your Majesty.”  Jakob smiled.

<”Apologies for the delay Duke Diego, I just wanted to make ready for your arrival.  How many place mats should I set out for supper?”>  Helena asked.

”Oh just one for me but I will have an entourage.  They can see to themselves.”

***

Jane’s remote stood on the other side of the airlock watching Duke Diego’s shuttle dock.

Out came a dozen marine equipped troops followed by what was obviously the Duke himself, then a dozen more maries.

“Welcome aboard the KCGS Elizabeth Cameron.  This way please.”  Jane said as they came through the airlock.

“I will admit this is an impressive ship.”

“We are all quite fond of it.  The owner hoped to do business with you but you were away from Arluna.”

“Yes.  Training and even hunting down some bandits.  But luckily we caught up with you.”

“My sister is in here.  She would like to speak with you privately.  May I show your men to the crew lounge?”

“I think a full tour would be more in order.  Perhaps starting with CiC.”  Duke Diego smiled.

“Oh that would be my pleasure.”  Jane smiled as she led the marines further down the corridor.

“My.  You are certainly an interesting one Baroness Drillson.”  Diego said as he shut the hatch behind him.

<”How so?”>

“You’re good but I’ve dealt with Kowloon enough to recognize when someone is speaking their trash language as a second tongue.  You may as well drop it and speak a proper language.”

<”Is this better?”> Helena broke out her latin.

“I’m not sure what game you’re playing.  But I have come to put a stop to it.”

“Okay you want me to shoot straight, I’ll shoot straight.  You’re making a bad play right now.”  Helena said.

“How so?  I know how many people are in your crew thanks to loose tongues from all the people you’ve brought on board and the fact that this is sporting Coast Guard colors means I have your Duchess on violation of Militia Act provisions.”

“So you intend to seize my vessel and imprison the Duchess of Kowloon?”

“Yes.”

“Then I pronounce you guilty of piracy and abuse of authority.  This vessel is mine not Elizabeth’s.  It is merely registered with the Coast Guard as a formality.  If you had not overstepped we would have gladly explained everything to the Archon.  Including that this is actually a Star League Defense Force vessel, under the command of a Star League Defense Force officer.  If your men are smart they should be having a nice relaxing cup of tea in the crew lounge about now.”

“Preposterous!  You have no authority over me!  You’re just a Baroness!”

“Oh that’s actually a lesser title to make introductions easier.  My real titles by right and tradition are First Lady of the Star League and Director General of the Terran Hegemony.  My real name is Helena Cameron.”

“Impossible!”

“Moshe?  Don’t be too rough on him, he hasn’t been too bad of a boy yet.”  Helena smiled.

Diego turned his head, and realized his bodyguard had been replaced by someone else.

"HOW-?"

"It was really pretty easy, the first five guys? They were kinda hard." Moshe smirked, "don't go for the side-howitzer, your grace, it won't end well for you."

"Jane, where are the rest of the duke's party?"

"My sick-bay is getting pretty crowded.  Jakob has the rest in the crew lounge."

The hatch opened.

"Diego! What a delightful surprise...Moshe, if you would do the honors? I'm sure he won't need that sidearm, or the one by his ankle, we are, after all, guests, Diego and I…" Elizabeth stayed strapped in her seat.  "I'd get up and curtsey, but you know, null-gee and bad knees."

"Tell them to back off!!" he snarled.

"Can't. Not my boat, not my house, not my guards or my personnel, I don't even have them under mercenary contract." Elizabeth said, "i'm a guest, and so are you…until you do something that makes you no longer welcome."

“And by your own admission you intended to seize this vessel.  Now so far it has just been words, and misunderstandings.  Nothing has transpired so far that cannot be overlooked.  So I’m going to offer you a chance Diego.  You and your men can be returned safely to your ship or I can haul your ass in front of the Archon with a recording of you threatening to seize the private property of another individual.  It might not hold up but just the accusation will be painful.”

"For personal gain." Liz chirped.  "Gotta remember that moral high ground the Estates are all about."

“You win this round Ngo.”

"I wasn't aware I was playing, Herr Diego." Liz said smoothly, "if I were, I'd have brought more toys."

“I think it’s still not sunk in that I am telling the truth about who I am.”

"Yeah…Grandfather always thought he was a little dense, like his old man, but without the subtlety."

“Oh.  I will be telling the Archon about how you quick charged your flotilla out there.  I’m sure she’ll be pleased by your thoughtfulness.”  Helena smiled.

"Hey, we gots us an honor guard." Liz suggested, "I mean, since we're all going to see Her Majesty the Archon anyway, Right Diego? Not stopping off to visit with 'friends'?"

“Right…”  Diego recognized defeat.

Elizabeth unbuckled, "See? We're all getting along splendidly now!" her eyes were snake's eyes, "we should talk business, since we're getting along so very well, Si?"

“Yes…”  Diego sat back down.

"How would you like to get incredibly rich, Diego, I'm not talking 'can rent a battalion of Mercs to buff up your vassals' rich, I'm talking wealthy enough that Bradford anticipates your calls rich." she paused, before adding, "Instead of pawning you off on a servant."

“What is the catch?”

"That's Helena's call, I expect to make a pretty bundle off this deal, but only she can set the terms, since it's her deal."

“I’m feeling mighty generous.  So I’ll just take some outer system mineral and mining rights.”

"But…those are worthless, you can't guard them!" he scoffed.

"Some of us can't." Jane chirped.  "Some of us can."

“Of course.  This is a Warship!”  Diego laughed hysterically.

"Yes, yes she is." Liz said cryptically, "and the fueling and service contracts will need suppliers from the ground, merchant businesses, something more than annual tourist Kroner, something you can bank on."

“And even better, I’ll be giving priority to those, what do you call them?  Oh yes ‘hill folk’.  Should ease some of your domestic issues if I put them to work.”  Helena smiled.

“Why?  Why all this?”  Duke Diego asked.

“Because like I said I’m feeling generous and maybe just maybe you’ll look back on this when you get a moment to yourself and realize just what you could have gotten if you were not so short sighted and self absorbed.  Then again

Liz reclined slightly, "Look, Diego, you put yourself in a position where you can be in, or you can be out, but we're going to take the mining rights and outer system from you regardless.  If you're in, then you profit, if you're out, you get to watch someone else make all the money you didn't.  Helena's offering to buy it, If you don't deal, then I'll speak with Her Majesty the Archon, and she'll give it to me and cut you out.  All it will take, is consenting to provide sales and service to the Federated Suns member state." she leaned forward, "Do you know why I can do this? Because Maggie Doons, Bradford, Brewer, and Haranshire anticipate my calls and don't fob me off on lackeys. If I ask Dan Brewer or Cecil Bradford to cut you out, you'll have a hell of a time keeping your 'mechs running, the parts will be late, or not at all, due to 'national emergencies'.  Get it?  Your thirty six classic star league era Battlemechs will be museum quality statues...and you'll have a hell of time getting urbanmechs or watchmen to replace them.  If I call George McClaren? There goes your finances to hire more.  I can own you, Diego, and I don't even need a bullet, but…Helena is a nice lady with a deep history and an affection for the Star League that I don't have...and you are a descendant of SLDF veterans from the last war the SLDF fought, so there's some good feeling there in her heart, that I don't feel, she's holding MY chain on this, if you piss her off, I get to play and I think you know how that game ends."

Diego's eyes widened a bit, then, "McClaren?"

"We dumped a bioweapon into the sun on my last visit.  Nasty one, level zero hell-weapon from the Star League's collection of absolute nightmares.  I stopped him from killing a world." Liz explained, "He owes me for that, and he doesn't really like you very much.  YOU owe him your family's life for doing that, so it would be…ungrateful of you to harass someone he's in business with that isn't me...to wit, Helena here, who's into him for one point six Trillion in assets-which is a much bigger amount, than the two point five billion you've got with his firm."

“I do take a dim view on people using their station to make off with SLDF property.  But I’m willing to grant that this has all been a misunderstanding.  Partly of our making since we didn’t call ahead and make proper arrangements.  So what will it be Diego?  If you’re smart you’ll take this chance and make all your people prosperous.”  Helena smiled.

Diego simply nodded.

“Good boy.”

Elizabeth leaned back in her couch, pulled up her noteputer, and started humming a song as Helena's aide brought hardcopy for the contracts from elsewhere in the ship.

The Duke of Arluna's eyes widened as he saw who else was in the partnership.

"Now, they'll have a reason to answer your calls." Helena told him as he signed his portion.

The letterhead said "Cameron LLC", and had the Cameron Star as a corporate logo.

[Daryk]

That is the MOST comprehensive defeat of Diego I think has ever been written... BRAVO! :)

[EAGLE 7]

…..Offer Diego to educate his kids for free and kill the smarmy Bastardo. Unless the Coasties can nail him for crimes.

[Daryk]

Google relented tonight... I managed to edit about a post and a half, but now I MUST sleep!

[idea weenie]

Given how fast the screens came online with data about the bioweapon, George McClaren will be wondering just how smart and responsive the 'CASPAR' really is.

[monbvol]

[Co-Author]We're getting bad about posting on a regular schedule.  It seems there's been some confusion about the dates of events.  It's honestly a bit of a mess at this point but I don't think there's any actual time travel, at least without making it clear we're doing a look back.  [/Co-author]

***

"That went…well," Jane said, as Diego and his boarding party returned to their own vessels.

"Yes, yes it did," Elizabeth said.  "Only seven more Nobles and we'll have the resources secured."

'Seven MORE?"

"Never go without a backup," Liz commented.  "If you can't afford to lose it, you can't afford to use it.  We can have enough yard to keep YOU running, but it's only one yard, and I want you to have lots of friends covering your back."

"What?"

"Logistics," Liz said.  "A fleet base isn't worth much without a fleet to station there, and a fleet on station isn't worth much if it doesn't have power projection capability.  Less than that, and we're just a very easy target."

“Hehe.  Yeah.  I remember one of my first lessons in learning how to fight a war was logistics matter more than perhaps anything else.  I guess I’m just adjusting to the fact I have friends again.  Some of them even real ones, not just for the sake of politics or money.”

"Don't underestimate yourself, Jane," Liz told her.  "Now, for our next few stops, we'll be changing up the act to get them in on this.  By the time we reach Tharkad…"

“The Archon will either be on the list of people anticipating our calls or we’ll all be jailed for conspiracy to commit treason,” Helena chuckled.

Lizzie nodded, 'Yeah.  Grandfather spent five years for that, before Katrina found out and had him freed."  She looked at her watch.

"What now?"

"They're loading the components for the first High Road stations for shipment today," Elizabeth said.  "By the time we're on the way back, they'll have Coventry's operational, along with Miquelon, Winter, Kowloon, and Jessenice.  By the time we hit New Capetown on the return leg?  Mandoaaru, Anembo, and Inarcs, and by the time we reach Arluna, theirs will be operational."

She sipped her tea.  "And by this time next year, god willing, we'll be contracted for fast-charging as far out as Arc Royal in one direction, and Timbuktu in the other.  You're going to be primary owner of the biggest public works package in three centuries… You might even end up being more critical to the economic life of the commonwealth than Ngo Industries… And I'll have time to work on my university."

"It might even be enough…" Helena said. "...To get you free of treason charges.  It might be enough."

"We can pray." Liz said, "but the work must be done anyway."

November 22, 3054…

Gibbs.  Not quite as busy as Alarion's yards, but the Gibbs system at least has shipyards, large ones.

Large yards that were getting new, replacement equipment to restore the vast, damaged docks.

Derek Mahan is the local Duke, and he's been a Duke for approximately six months.

"Lizzie Ngo!" he greeted her.  "I haven't seen you since we were small!"

"Groningen," Elizabeth agreed.  "This is Helena Drillson, she's an up-and-comer in the business world.  She's got some interesting proposals you might be keen to get in on.  I, of course, will supply the tooling if you two can come to an agreement."

"Liz, he's… your age, shouldn't I be-"

"My Regent is away, Aunt Mary thinks I need to learn to step into the boots, if you don't mind, Lady Drillson?" he said.  "I promise, I'll try to keep up, but if you want to wait until after I've sworn in…"

"We're going to be swearing in at the same ceremony," Liz confided.  "Derek's brothers were lost on the Clan front, and his parents a little before that."

Derek winced.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry.  It's been long enough I forget when it's still raw,” Liz apologized.

"I'm dealing with it," he said bravely.  "I was politely excused to take up the role, so they cut my tour at Pandora short.  I've been 'rewarded' with extension courses and had to hire tutors."

"Derek?  Look at me?" Liz said almost-comfortingly.  "You saw what I rode in on, right?"

"Yeah!!  Lola Three Mark Two, with the enhanced electronic warfare suite and rumored to be a testbed for systems automation on front line Naval vessels!" his eyes gleamed.  "The reference books insist it was only a design study!  There were rumors Kerensky had one, but it was lost during the Liberation of Terra!  I've seen holographic predictions of what one would have looked like!!"

"How would you like to tour the real thing?" Helena offered.

"Please and thank you Ma'am?" he perked up even more.  "I was hoping to qualify for the new RX-79 class Foxes but…" he stopped himself from overrunning his words.  "Liz, where did, I mean…that's a WarShip..."

"It's Helena's, not mine, but I plan to get a hand in building more of them," Liz said.  "Enough that the Commonwealth will have a fleet again, something we can avenge your Brothers with."

"Where do I sign, and what do you want?" he asked.

Even Helena could see that if Elizabeth asked this boy to drink reactor-water, he'd have it half-choked down before the first thought of that being a bad idea entered his mind.

"Uhm…so how did you two meet again?"

"Grade three, Groningen Junior prep," Liz said, as the young Duke was out of the room getting something.  "Play yard stuff."

“I see.  He likes you.  But I’m honestly not sure if I should encourage it.  He might like you a little too much for his own good,” Helena chuckled.

"He'll grow out of it," Elizabeth dismissed.  "Once he finds a girl who'll treat him like a person."

“That’s what worries me about him.  He’s got a bad case of being a teenager and his blood going to the wrong organ,” Helena said, shaking her head.

"He's actually really smart, Helena, which is why Francois Galois was picking on him in the yard-Derek's never going to be a big guy.  He wasn't back then, and he isn't anytime in the foreseeable future, but he tries."

“So are a lot of boys his age until they see a pretty girl that they like,” Helena smiled.  “To him, I’m old but you’re about right.”

"He deserves someone who'll last," Liz said.  "Some girl who won't leave him before he's middle aged-at least, the way I'm going to be leaving everyone."

“Despite the holodramas, all the songs, and all the poems, love isn’t forever.  Maybe he’s just crushing on you and not truly in love, but you should let yourself love if you can.”

Lizzy shook her head and chuckled, "I love by taking care of my people, Helena.  I'll help him meet someone who deserves him, don't fret that.  But when I die, I won't be leaving someone with the memory of a feeling that strong.  Grandfather didn't last two years after Grandmama passed."

“Maybe.  Maybe that’s both our fates now.  To be mourned by a people, but never a lover.”

Liz snorted and shook her head, "Helena, you're not terminal.  Eventually through counseling and work, the traumas will fade.  You can live a long, happy life.  I get to die by middle age in agony.  That's the end of my story, and I've known it since I was nine."

“I don’t know if that’s possible, Liz.  I’ve been through so much.  Sometimes it feels like that whole part of my being has been burned out of me for good.”

"The mind is its own place, and, in itself, can make a heaven of hell, or a hell of heaven." Elizabeth quoted. 

“Break a mug.  Assuming if you can even find all the pieces the cracks will still be there, no matter how good a job you do gluing it back together.”

"THAT depends on whether you're using glue, or fire," Liz told her.  "We're not ceramics, and within ourselves, we’re only as fragile as we must be, until the fires burn out."

“Fire only works instead of glue if you’re adding new pieces, not using the old ones.”

"What do you think new experiences are?  I’m alive, you're alive, being alive means growth.  It's when we stop growing…" Lizzie tapped the side of her head.  "...that we start dying."

“Either way, we have an eager young teenager who wants a tour and an Archon to go see,”  Helena said, shaking her head.

"YES!" Liz nodded.  "And Derek's had a rough two years, so it's worth it."

“Though we may have to watch Jane.  She might want to adopt him.”

"I don't see how that could possibly go wrong."

“Sorry it took me so long guys.  I can’t believe it still fits!”  Derek was wearing his Star Cadet cosplay getup.

"DUDE…" for a second Elizabeth was just a slightly nerdy teen herself.  "Kapitain Luus from the third book?"

"Ja," Derek nodded.

"I wish I had the height to be Callie," Liz confessed.  "She was tall in the books, and I'm stuck at 'petite'."

Helena quietly laughed.

“I think you’d still make a great Callie,” Derek blushed.

Liz reached out and tapped his chin, "YOU are totally a Luus, right down to the romantic spirit.  Let's go visit a starship, your people got your bags packed for Tharkad?"

He nodded.

"Coolness.  You can tell me about all the ladies you've wooed since I saw you last."

“Uhhh….”  Derek stammered.

"Role, Derek. Play it up no matter what.  You're in costume, you're Kapitain Luus!  And remember, half his conquests in the book were just stories he told to boost his image."

“And don’t worry about me.  I’m a grown up.  But if it’ll make you more comfortable, I’ll let you have your privacy with Liz so you can tell your stories without being embarrassed,” Helena giggled.

Derek seemed to get a hold of himself.  "Yeah, it's…a fantasy," he said.  "I mean, it's been years, Liz…I’ve had a date."

"Bonus points, was she hot?"

"She…ah…yeah," he nodded.  "Hotter than I deserved, so it didn't last."

"Rivals, did you make any?" she questioned.

"I won a fight in year seven, does that count?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded.  "It counts.  You don't let people bully you anymore do you? If you do I'll…"

"Nobody bullies the Duke," Derek said.  "Which makes it harder, not easier."

She nodded agreement.  "Yes it does make it harder.  You have to be extra careful to know who your friends are when everyone acts like they're nice, even when they aren't."

“And tell you what.  I’ll let you stay on the ship the whole trip so I can have some of the best tutors you can ask for teach you how to be a badass,” Helena smiled.

"You know that Francois guy?  The one you made eat rocks?" Derek asked.  "He wrote to me.  The guy's doing a twelve step program now, and he said he was sorry."

"We were kids," Liz noted.  "Must be something serious."

"Yeah.  The Clan front really messed him up.  AFFC bounced him on a psychiatric and he got into drugs, then started getting out again."

"Be glad they're not stuffing you into a uniform then," Liz asserted.  "Means we have time to actually do something so that happens less."

"What was it like?" he asked, "when you had to… I mean, when you…"

"When I killed my regent?  Horrible," she confessed.  "I was right, it was the kind of job you don't ask someone else to do just because it's horrible…which is kinda horrible itself….it doesn't get easier.  You don't have to do that do you?"

"No… but we did catch one of my in-laws trying to set up a backhander with the Ioto people.  Frederich's wife's brother was trying to get bribes from them.  I had to have him locked up, but what do I do when it's worse?"

"Your duty, however horrible it is, Derek," Liz said.  "I hope you don't have to go as far as I did.  It's what we have to be, for the people who look to us."

Helena found herself nodding but she held her tongue.

Aboard Elizabeth Cameron

"...full artificial intelligence?  That's amazing!!" Derek's sharp mind cut through the usual boilerplate like a naval laser through a mountain of cheese.

“Can I keep him?” Jane chuckled.

"You'll have to argue with the people of Gibbs. He's theirs the way I belong to Kowloon," Liz dismissed. 

“Aw…”  Jane mocked disappointment.

"You could marry him. That'd let you keep him," Sithers noted.  "Not sure what the kids would look like, you being all silicon and lesbian and stuff…"

“It’d never work.  He’s far too young for me,” Jane shook her head.

"He's eighteen, you know," Liz said.  "Late '36 birth, about four months ahead of me."

“And I’m 307 years old.”

"By that standard, we'd have to discover alien life-and long lived ones, before you'd have a match," Helena chipped in with a grin.

“What can I say?  I’m sexist.  I can make an exception for girls.”

"Book nine," Derek chipped in, "We just have to find a world of eternal amazons before you can settle down!"

“That would be amazing, but I still haven’t given up on the idea of a harem of my own with Vu Dao and Li,” Jane chuckled.

"Li has grandchildren," Elizabeth commented.  "And a husband who's still alive. Not sure about Vu Dao."

“I can share, and pre-existing kids aren't a deal breaker for me,” Jane shook her head.

“Down Jane, down!”  Helena laughed.

“You’re right.  I need to play it cool to get the women I want in my life.” Jane smirked.  “Now young man, we have the matter of quarters to assign to you.”

"We're one jump out from Tharkad, he can stay with me," Pol Nguyen was up from 'Marine country'.  "I mean, there's a spare bunk since Kerensky apparently intended a company and you've got less than a squad, plenty of room in grunt country if you're up to it, Young Sir?"

“Yes sir!”

"Hey!  Enlisted here, I work for a living.  You call HIM-" he pointed at Helena's security chief "-sir, he's an actual officer.  You can call me 'Sergeant', or Pol, seeing as you're not a troopie."

“Sorry Pol.  I got a little carried away, I guess.”

"Apology accepted, but you're nowhere near 'sorry'.  Sorry is what you are when you genuinely ****** up," Pol chuckled.  Then, "We've gotta get you a proper skin-suit and some hours on the walk at some point."  The Kowloonese NCO gave Derek a fond grin, "Gotta get you the bones to go with your Kapitain Luus outfit."

“Jane, please add our guest to the proper cycles so he’ll get as good an education as we can give him while he’s our guest,” Helena added.

“This is beyond cool,” Derek gushed.

“We’ll see if you still say that after the trip,” Helena chuckled.  “Sergeant, please see that our guest is squared away.”

"Ayeh Mum…come on, it's four decks down to Marine country, right next to the small craft bay."

Elizabeth watched them go.  "Staff classes first," she said as soon as the hatch closed.  "He's a Duke, but he's got a Regent running the place and I'm not fond of Sophie McQuinsoton as a matter of course-Li said she was a micromanager during the war."

“War Witch will teach him all about admin,” Helena smiled.  “Least I can do for your friend.”

"Gut.  He's got more shipyards than I have.  He needs to be able to run them as an asset to the Realm."  Helena caught the tell here-Liz was thinking wide again, decades past her own due-date.

"So… he wasn't the kid you beat up as a child."

"No, he was the reason I got into the fight," Elizabeth said.  "Francois was a sixth-grader old enough to be in seventh, and he was terrorizing the year threes.  I stepped in, which generated the insult, which gave me the excuse.  He was big, and he was fat, and he was slow, so I took him apart and made him eat the dirt."

“Which also tells me he didn’t know how to fight.  Not for real.”

"Yup," Liz nodded.  "He'd gotten used to relying on being big and threatening.  Derek was small for a boy in our grade, and Grandfather always made a point of teach us that sometimes, the answer to violence is 'yes'."

“Well we don’t have enough time to teach him everything we can before Tharkad but we’ll do our best to make sure he knows enough to have confidence that he can do it on his own if need be.”  Helena nodded.

To be continued

[Daryk]

At least I had a brief window of editing over the last couple of days... Google has reverted to its usual self, unfortunately... :/

[wolfgar]

Grandfather always made a point of teach us that sometimes, the answer to violence is 'yes'."

This, so much this. I have never started a fight in my life, but i have ended several, some before they even started.

Violence is not the answer to everything, but is a tool that exists, and sometimes you have to liberally apply that tool, usually like a hammer.

[qc mech3]

Just a head-up from a frenchman here. the c in François has a ''cédille'' (the little symbol under it) to mark the sound it makes. Right now, it would be like saying Frankis instead of Francis. It should be found in the specials symbols in Office Words.

[Daryk]

Here's one: ç

[Wrangler]

Question.  Why you guys calling the future Fox Corvette the RX-79?  Its in canon the RX-78?  Is this something new?

[monbvol]

D'oh!

[Cannonshop]

Question.  Why you guys calling the future Fox Corvette the RX-79?  Its in canon the RX-78?  Is this something new?

My fault-I am getting old and confused.

[Daryk]

Currently no edit access for me either... really not sure what's going on.  I found I have access to the planning doc, but not the story, so Google is being extra weird this week.

[Luciora]

I thought only the prototype was the -78, making the -79 the mass production variant 

My fault-I am getting old and confused.

[Wrangler]

I thought only the prototype was the -78, making the -79 the mass production variant 

Lol, you got love that Gundam joke they snuck in there.

Well, the RX-78 code-name was dropped once the ship was launched.  Originally as the Invincible, but since Hanse Davion died ship was named for his nickname, the Fox.
However, there was no such ship name for that.  Which is bit frustrating, i do like Fox name as real name.

Initial 3 first ships were name for the World War I Battlecruisers of the Invincible Class.  I name kept going with Intrepid, but then they got into crappy naming after people thing.   I hate that, I rather have ships have inspirational names.   Just ignore my ravings. 

[drakensis]

I'd have preferred that as well.

Invincible made perfect sense as a class name: re-using the name of the Lyran's most iconic warship.

And then following the theme avoided the trap of using the names of planets and people associated with one half or the other of the FedCom. Of course, after 3057, that's probably exactly why that was done.

[monbvol]

Chapter 6:  Winter Movements

”There is a great debate about how so many human inhabited worlds seem to have their largest city in a region where the 25th of December is winter for that region.  This is no great mystery.  We are humans after all, and the great bulk of the human population that left Old Earth came from the northern hemisphere.  So really. we were just looking for familiar worlds that reminded us of our ancient home.”

-Professor Emmanuel Vinnettero, PhD Anthropology
University of Donegal


Discontinuity

They called ahead to Tharkad control from Gibbs, and got a lane assignment before arriving.

"That, is a Fox class," Derek asserted.

“A truly new Warship.  Heh.  It’s actually surprising and refreshing at the same time,” Jane said.

“They obviously wanted to make a statement,” Helena nodded.

"Yeah, 'pull over and let the AFFC inspect your ship'," Liz commented.  "You're going to be okay with that, Jane?  Because it's too late to back out if you're not."

“Yeah.  I expected them to insist on sending over a pilot and observation crew.”

The shuttlecraft from the Fox approached and the fighter escorts peeled off as it entered Jane's docking web signal.  "They're using ALS at least, so I don't have to worry about denting the coatings in my bay."

“Okay, we all prepared for this.  Everyone at attention, and away from your stations.  Let’s make them feel at ease.”  Helena stood and engaged her magboots.

"Aw, and I was going to do something stupid…" Liz's tone was teasing.

"Please don't."

The officer leading the boarding party was in full mess kit, and had a list.  "Elizabeth Ngo, Her Majesty requests your immediate presence.  Also the Ship's Mistress, uhm… 'Helena Drillson'.  The rest of you can wait here, or ride down with us, but those two I'm under orders to expedite."

"My reputation precedes me…" Liz struggled out of her harness and used her cane as a hook in null-gee to get situated. 

"In a way it does."

She held out her hands like she was expecting to be cuffed.

"Not that way," he told her.  "While the invitation is non-optional, you are not a prisoner of the Throne."

"Grandfather would be so pleased to hear that," Liz quipped.

“Let’s get moving then shall we?”  Helena said sharply.  “I’ll be fine Jane, Jakob.”

They boarded the small craft that then angled for a Scout class ship idling nearby.  A jump from the Nadir to the L1 between Tharkad and its moon, Marsden, shaved most of the week of transit right off.

Elizabeth's vomiting was taken care of by airsickness bags and a portable vac.  "TDS?" the Hauptmann overseeing their trip asked.

"Ja," Liz admitted.

Helena had become so accustomed to Liz’s episodes and helping with the clean up she was moving almost robotically to help her friend.

"If I'd known…" he said apologetically.

"You knew enough to have the bags and the vac ready to go in case one of us got sick, it's all good," Liz assured him.  "Very good, actually, very detail oriented, Hauptmann.  The little details taken care of solve the big details by nature."

“You have a good friend there,” he added.  “Not many people would be willing to help clean up the results of TDS.”

"If I didn't, travel would be intolerable," Helena laughed just enough to show it was a polite jest.

The shuttle shifted into an approach configuration and dropped toward Tharkad.

Helena grabbed their bags and helped Liz to her feet.

“How immediate are we talking?  Don’t even have time to change.  The five minute but still formal dress, or can we actually get properly cleaned up and dressed?”  Helena asked.

“I’ll buy you ten.”

“Thank you.”

***

To maximize their time, they requested they be allowed to share a changing room, which the guards were willing to accommodate.

Much as Helena had become well practiced at helping Elizabeth with her TDS, Elizabeth had grown desensitized to all the scars and other signs of healed injuries Helena was now putting on display as they helped each other dress and do their makeup.

“Been a long time since I had to dress up.  I wish I had thought of doing a suit instead of a dress.”  Helena smiled as she finished touching up Elizabeth’s mascara.

“Same. And a dress suits you.”

Helena popped another anti-anxiety pill.

“Slow down on those.  Don’t want you overdosing,” Elizabeth chided.

“Also don’t want me freaking out.  As it is, I feel like I’m about ten seconds away from crawling into that corner there and curling into the fetal position.”

“Breathe.  You’re on Tharkad.  Everyone is wearing Lyran blues.  No one is going to harm you.”

“You’re right.  I can do this.”

They followed their escorts to the throne room.

The pair of Battlemechs were certainly imposing but to Helena it just seemed like ridiculous overcompensation.

“Presenting her Royal Majesty, Melissa Steiner Davion.  Archon, Duchess Tharkad,” the Court Herald announced as everyone bowed or went to one knee.

“As requested, Duchess Elizabeth Ngo Kowloon and Baroness Helena Drillson Spider Moon,”  the Herald resumed once Melissa sat in her throne.

Helena and Elizabeth straightened up as neither could really kneel.

“You two have managed to stir up quite a bit of fuss.  Now I have to decide what to do about it.”   Melissa’s face and tone were stone.

“Highness, if I may?”  Helena spoke up first.

“You may.”

“This is all really my fault.  The ship is mine.  I just wanted to ensure secrecy as such finds have a nasty habit of attracting the wrong kind of attention.”

“Noble of you.  But that does not explain the violation of the Militia Act that I have been informed of, now does it Duchess Ngo?"

Elizabeth reached up, and held her hands one hand-width apart, palms up.  "You're going to have a weighty pile to put on the charge sheet," Liz stated.  "One salvaged Mako class, two Type-51s in mothball, one Corps of wet-naval assets ranging from every Coast Guard station on every river and bay on two continents, plus the aircraft that provide them air-cover.  I've been breaking the Militia Act since before I was born, Your Majesty.  Your mother knew it when Grandfather was doing it, so if I'm going to Blackgate, might as well go with everything on the table.  It's not like I'll last long once I'm there, either… but Helena Cameron isn't covered under the Militia Act, and the Militia Act doesn’t limit HER armsmen.  One of whom happens to be the sentient core of the warship currently steaming for a parking space with the other guests."

"It's a Caspar?"

"SHE is the mind of Elizabeth Jane Cameron, Eldest daughter of Simon Cameron, forced into that condition by Stefan Amaris, and the guest of me in the Kowloon system since 3053, Your Highness.  If we're doing this, we do it right, you get to hear all the dirt, not just what some monger-of-rumors trying to cover his ass said."

“Let’s talk in private then,”  Melissa said.

They moved to a small conference room with no eavesdroppers.

"There are some who think you're going to try for a secession, or worse," Melissa stated.

"I'm dead by forty!!" Elizabeth scoffed.  "Jesus, that would be a ****** waste of time!  I have enough difficulty keeping up with one point five billion people in a single binary star system!  I wasn't even supposed to inherit!  I never got the classes!!  What would I do with a trillion people, one hundred thirty different spoken languages, over two hundred competing religions, or for chrissakes what kind of a dog's dinner would I be trying to deal with Democracy Now, Order of Cincinnatus, Free Skye, the Tamar refugee community, not to mention the Feddie expats?  I'd be totally screwed!!  I've got between five and ten years before I have to stay so ****** high I might not be able to form coherent words!!"  Lizzy shook her head, "There is no 'win condition' for me in a coup, Highness.  No point where what I'd get, or accomplish, is worth the cost of betraying a family my grandfather spent five years in Blackgate protecting!"

"So explain."

"I'm doing what's necessary for the realm, Highness," Lizzie said.  "On the way here, I was witness to a Bandit force escaping from a world they shouldn't have dared to approach.  We couldn't stop them, because the response wasn't there to stop them.  That happens daily along the Periphery.  It's why my end of the realm, despite being free from most of the fighting of the last four Succession Wars, is dirt-bottom poor and in decline.  If the Realm is fighting an invader and can't devote the resources, then someone has to, or there's no realm left to protect… And to do that, then that someone has to have the resources to do it."

"And you're marshaling resources," Melissa finished.

"I'm not trying to get a waiver to go to Pandora, now am I?" Liz bounced back.  "I have to do what I can, while I can, and I won't live to see the benefits.  But if I do it right, if I do it effectively, then when your son finally puts the ‘MechWarrior outfit away and starts governing, he'll have a better realm, in better shape, to govern, with more wealth to fight the realm's enemies and more stability to make the realm unattractive to attack.  Highness, forty percent of our nation is under a foreign boot.  If the industries and the training don't get better, that's going to turn into fifty, then seventy, then ninety, and then one day, they will read about 'the Lyrans' in a history book the way we read about the Terran Hegemony!"

From this angle, Helena saw her fear, it wasn't fear of being punished, it was fear of something more abstract.

“That explains you Duchess.  But your friend here…”

“I’m a stranger out of time.  Even if I were to go back to Terra, it would not be the Terra I left.  So I have no home except the one I make for myself.  So I’m helping Elizabeth.”

"And you, Elizabeth?  What are you getting out of Helena?" Melissa demanded.

"She's capable and she's committed… and she has a reason to commit," Liz said bluntly, "That means that what I'm doing will continue on after I'm gone, she's my best bet, Highness.  She gets it and she doesn't have a reason not to."

“I’m not looking to carve a new Terran Hegemony out of your realm.  I’m willing to do what you ask of me to prove it.”  Helena offered.

Melissa looked skeptical, then, "Alright then," she stood up.  "Swear your fealty to the Federated Commonwealth, right here, right now."

“I swear I will support and defend the Federated Commonwealth against its enemies, foreign and domestic.  I will answer the Archon’s call.  What you command of me I will do.  I only beg that you command me to be humane and not a rabid animal.”

Melissa nodded, "Your offer of fealty is accepted…you may want to rework the wording for the public ceremony, Baroness Cameron…and for you, Elizabeth…"

"Ich Bin Lyraner." Liz said sullenly.

"Yes. I'm aware of your nationalist urges.  Very aware.  I'll expect you to give the text of the oath you forwarded last July in public…and you'll turn over your home-grown Navy to AFFC oversight, I'll let you keep the law enforcement and disaster relief functions, but the combat assets belong to the realm,  understand? I want to see a nice Lyran Fist on that Mako when you send it to duty at Coventry next year."

"Yes Your Majesty."

"And any others you might churn out of your experiment.  I'll be assigning someone to oversee the transition.  Am I clear?"

"Very Clear your Majesty."

"Good. I'm glad we have this settled…now, as for your complaint about Duke Diego's conduct…"

"Majesty?"

"Elizabeth has forwarded several hundred complaints to my office on behalf of peasants on Arluna-quite outside her normal realm of authority…You will have investigating officers report to Lohengrin immediately, with detailed briefs on this topic, including physical evidence and witness reports.  I expect full cooperation from your people, Elizabeth.  Make that very clear."

"Yes Majesty."

"Oh, and I want progress reports on your 'marshalling resources' project, detailed ones." Melissa told her, "You will see to it, Duchess."

"Of course majesty."

"And finally, after the Ceremony christmas eve, you will report before six AM local time to the Marsden Medical Center for a medical evaluation, and possibly to voluntarily accept inclusion in a medical trial to treat your neurological degradation, Maggie couldn't convince you to go, but I am the Archon, and you will obey young lady.  Call it 'stress testing your subordinates', and stop trying to argue your time limit with me.  Am I clear?"

"Yes your Majesty."

"Alright , you two may go, I understand Dinh's apartments in the Capital have been refurbished and are fully stocked."

“Yes Majesty.”  Helena nodded.

Royal Guardsmen escorted them to a covered parking garage, and Liz actually 'jumped' in startlement when a 20 year old classic Gieneh-Mercedes limousine with the Kowloon flag on the door rolled up, a length of heavenly paintwork and polished chrome that looked somehow more 'wealthy' than the current model Executive vehicles parked in the distance.

"Your grandfather's?" Helena asked.

Liz nodded, "Yeah…someone's been taking care of it."

“Nice.”

“You seem a lot more relaxed than I expected at this point.”

“Yeah.  She didn’t demand I marry one of her sons.”  Helena nodded.

"She could've had me sent to Blackgate like my Grandfather, I broke enough laws getting here."

“And I’d be a co-conspirator on almost all of them.”

"You didn't really spot them did you?" Liz asked, "When we were walked out, the guys waiting."

"What about them?"

"Precentor Dow from Comstar." Liz said, "See, I have a guess here, I think if you'd balked, or she didn't think you were who you are? You'd have been handed to the last vestigal government agency of the Old star League-the Ministry of Communications, aka Comstar.  She had that as her option if she didn't like your answer.  I'd be off to prison, and you'd be off to Unity City as a prize."

“I’ll never go back to Terra.  It’s not home anymore.”

"Don't say 'never' Helena." Liz cautioned, "I never expected to be the Duchess, I never expected she'd go this light on me for what I was doing."

“Maybe.  Maybe we’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Because without a doubt we also made a lot of enemies doing what we did.”

"Enemies? That's how you keep score, nobody ever accomplished anything being universally loved." Liz commented, "it's right in Tranh Truk Ngo's diary."

“Yeah.  It is.  Still I feel like I need a shower, or even better a bath.”

Elizabeth secured her cane, and herself in one of the passenger seats, as Helena sat across from her in the other, the doors hissed shut, and the vehicle moved out.

“You did great in there.”

“I still sweated like a pig.”  Helena held up her hand, trembling, "See?"

"Me too." Liz said, as the vehicle crossed an avenue crusted with ice, and passed into a series of walled-off mini-estates.

"I was going to sell the Condo." Liz noted, "the upkeep is expensive for a reason-it's one of the ways the Archon flexes on Nobles. I was going to get a split level house in the suburbs…but never got around to it…"

“To be honest that almost sounds nice to me right now.  A quiet suburban life.  No one to bother me, no pressures.”

"They're building me a housing development outside Nha Tranh, full network capable, a whole LOT of suburban houses, mostly for staff and people who work for me, but it's a shell game.  Evelynn's making them build the houses to bunker specs."

“Which will ruin the best part for me.  But I know I’m not destined for a quiet life.  My name prohibits it.”

"Yeah, I know, sorry about dragging you into this."

“It was unavoidable.  We both know the power of names and the destiny that it forces on those who have names of power.”

'Yep, but we can pretend, Helena.  I can pretend that I'll get enough done, that I can do the things I always wanted to do, and you can pretend you're going to have a normal life."

“Hmmm.  Maybe we should elope before Melissa has a chance to think about it and demand binding us to her realm through marriage to her sons.”

"Find a man, I'm not…that way, and being what I am?" Liz shrugged, "he'd have to be a lot of fun, and not go glassy-eyed bored when I start enthusing about certain topics-the problem is, most of the really smart ones are either married to someone else. Or gay…or too old and too much of a gentleman to make an exception.  Jakob being a prime example of a prime man who is just unreachable right now."

“You might have a shot once you’re eighteen.”

"Eighteen in February, it's December." Liz complained, "Which is honestly too young for a prime man, especially with my issues.  There's no 'working through' my death sentence, despite what the doctors are telling Her Majesty.  I don't have time to have that life, I won't last long enough, and god help me if I get pregnant, because it accelerates the decay.  YOU will be dating an falling in love while I'm still a virgin."

“Heh.  If I ever become whole enough to do something like that again in my life I will be quite surprised.  My cracks run deep and even if filled I’ll always know they are there.”

"And MY cracks will go un-filled by anything that isn't battery operated or using a power pack." Liz cracked bawdily, "So you still have more chances than I do."

“Careful making that joke in front of Jane.  She is technically battery operated.”

"I'd have to buy an imported 'Swingin' Stan' from Dustball and get it tuned for her." Liz giggled. "Two meters Tall and the ads say he's built like a bodybuilder…with attachments!"

“Ugh.”  Helena stuck out her tongue.

"Oh come on, it's funny!"

“Sorry.  It still brings up bad memories.  But hey it didn’t make me shrivel up and start crying.  So progress.”  Helena gave a slight smile.

Liz nodded, "Progress!! Let's see what Granddad left in the wet bar…"

***

Helena tossed and turned in bed from the nightmares before she finally admitted she wasn’t going to sleep this night.

She dressed and went to her terminal to at least get some work done.

Dawn came and shortly after her alarm.  She silenced it then went to the kitchen.

The Kowloon Extension would have been a 'provincial residence' when she was a girl-the sort reserved for successful officers in the SLDF's 'Mechwarrior branch, or minor Baronets.  The staff were largely unobtrusive, hired, and locals whom must have been raised in servant families, given their efficiency at simply being furniture for the residents.

Not actual furniture, but more like something cut into the environment.

Elizabeth's rooms were nearby, and the girl came out of them to breakfast wearing actual Pyjamas.

"Hey, heard you up last night…" Liz yawned, "Jump lag got you too?"

“Yeah.”  Helena lied.  “Toast, bagel, or english muffin?”

"Bagel…and not sure what the sausage is, but it really has a sharp zing to it."

“Heh.  Sure.  I think I can handle that.”  Helena got the meat out of the fridge and started cooking.

Liz laid a worksheet on the table and started on it as she ate her pre-breakfast.  "Hmmm…heh…she'd freak…"

"Liz?"

"Oh, just thinking about a white-elephant gift…"

“Well it is Christmass soon, so what else would you get an Archon?”

"Yeah, but this one might get me tossed out the airlock." Liz chuckled, "not for the Archon, for your sister.  She's always popping with the entendres."

“Ah, yeah.  Sometimes I do wonder if the transfer went right with how bad she is in that regard.”

On the display…well, liz brought it up.  "Swingin' Stan, the Synthetic MAN!" she giggled, "Network compatible, but I think their market might be gay guys."

“Oh yes.  Do it!”  Helena laughed.

"Oh god I'm going to hell for this…" Liz input a credit code and punched 'order'.

“Here you go.”  Helena handed a plate to Elizabeth.

"I'm a terrible human being." Elizabeth admitted, digging into her food. 

“I’ve met worse.”  Helena smiled. "What did you buy with it?"

'Full custom features, including the rather silly looking leather outfit with the funny cap." Liz told her, "Hopefully, Jane's going to have a good sense of humour about this…"

“Whip too?”

"No whips, but the ad says the skin does return to 'original tone' after you're done whipping it." Elizabeth chuckled.  "yikes…."

“Good.  She might actually get carried away with that.”

"Oh gawd, I'm a pervert…" Elizabeth shook her head, "Yikes."

“No you’re a teenager riled up on hormones.  There’s a difference.”

"...and drugs! Don't forget the drugs!" Liz cackled.

“Oh yes.”  Helena fetched her own pill organizer as she set down her plate.  “Can’t forget mine.  Today is going to be a challenge.”

"No doubt.  You and I both have…" Elizabeth tapped her P-mail, "vouchers.  Gagnon's on Friedrichstrasse.  Last time I was there, it was with Daphne, Penny and Maggie.  Apparently we're to get 'properly attired' for the Archon's Christmas Shindig…see?"

“******.  Okay.  It’s okay.  I’ve been fitted for a dress before.  I don’t have to be stressed about it.”  Helena did her breathing exercises.

"They're going to make me wear heels, I just know it." Liz muttered, "Screwed up left knee and all."

"They won't make you wreck your damaged leg with heels." Helena assured her.  "Anywhere that is and I quote from the voucher 'by invitation only' without a price list? Isn't going to put you in anything that can actually result in aggravating an injury-too much of how these places run, is on reputation among the upper crust."  Helena said.  “Hell I wouldn’t be surprised if they fitted me for a dress when I was a little girl on one of the few visits to Tharkad I made way back when and I was just too young to remember.”

"Vouchers came from…her Majesty." Elizabeth observed, "Okay, so probably safe."

“Yeah if someone is planning a kidnapping plot, they’re not being very smart about it.”  Helena looked at one of the servants.  “Are they Moshe?”

"Damn, I thought I had you fooled there." Moshe cracked, "What gave me away?"

“Took me a while.  But it was the shoes.”  Helena teased.

“You just guessed didn’t you?”  He chuckled.

“Yeah.  I mean I knew you’d be one of them but which?  I knew I could only rule out based on a few variables but yeah completely guessed otherwise.”  Helena laughed.

“True, I can't actually make myself shorter and there’s only so much I can do to make myself taller before the distance between joints starts becoming obvious.”

“Well I know you’ll be watching nearby so I know I’m safe.”

“He came with us didn’t he?”

“The right uniform and posture and they didn’t even do a head count so I didn’t even have to replace someone, just slipped right in and no one even noticed.”  Moshe smiled.

“You know we just might be doomed if he and Sithers do get serious and they do contract.”  Liz chuckled.

“Yup.”  Helena laughed too.

Moshe just quietly slipped away but if the girls could see his face they’d see he was blushing.