[out of story]: Naomi Knight courtesy of Ramblefire[/out of story]"Victor, I knew you liked......asian girls but
damn!" Katherine wasn't drunk.
"It isn't what you think, Kate." Victor said, "For one, she's seventeen and for the other, she's dying...and there's the whole 'personality of an armorbear with a toothache'."
His sister entered the office and sat down in one of the guest chairs. "Well, at least you haven't lost your mind...does she know?"
"I don't think Liz Ngo is interested
that way." he observed, "at least, not in me, or didn't you see how she was looking at Hauptmann Diennes?"
"The
Beanpole?" Katherine asked mockingly, "
Seriously??"
"I doubt it will go anywhere, but something tells me the girl likes...
taller men. You're still on track for the first...dammit."
"You were about to suggest I'm on track to give mother grandchildren. Yes." Katherine said, "Which would have been funny-for you, if the bomb hadn't happened...what is
that on your desk??" she wrinkled her nose at the glass with its half-melted ice.
"That, is quite possibly the most
awful stuff I've ever tasted." Victor confessed, "it's like ghost peppers and cough syrup."
"Let me guess, from the bottle Grandmama wouldn't open?" Katherine asked.
"Yeah."
"I know about your pocket navy project Victor." Katherine said, "it didn't take much digging once I started wondering, by the way-you need to improve your security. I have an alternative to little-miss-terminal."
He glanced up, "an alternative?"
Katherine nodded, "an alternative. From
Cambiano in the Federated Suns State, even, though she's a blonde, and not a brunette, but the Knight family is almost as wealthy as the Ngos without the ultranationalist baggage, and they're from the Federated Suns side of the house."
"are you trying to set me up?" Victor asked.
"Someone has to." Katherine quipped, "but not this time, the Knights are downstairs in the reception, and I think you should go back down and talk to them."
***
Naomi Knight hadn't expected to be brought to Tharkad, but her Father thought it would be educational. The last few days, spent surrounded by German speakers and Tharkan hospitality had been 'enriching' in most ways. For example, meeting Katherine Steiner-Davion had been exciting, being invited to this reception was fantastic.
Everyone had been friendly and welcoming...except one person.
"...talk to Bradford." Elizabeth Ngo, fresh from some sort of meeting with the Archon Prince, was neither friendly, nor particularly warm when Naomi's father approached her. "I don't do business on that side of the realm, and I have no interest in starting."
The small, sickly-looking woman leaned on an Elbar Bluewood cane-an almost obscene display of wealth, that-Bluewood is a class one export-controlled substance due to being a strategic material-the equivalent of having a walking-stick made of Diamond-silicate and germanium.
"I was told you're the woman to speak to about-"
"Your people have your own experts." Ngo interrupted. "Besides, you and I both know Lenovo on Cambiano makes a perfectly adequate selection of industrial tooling-they're certainly giving my people a run now that the trade barrier's dropped. If you're looking for class one forging gear, talk to Bradford over at CMW. I don't sell outside the Lyran State, but he does."
"Does he make them?"
"No, He buys them from me, finds out he's overextended, and sells the stuff...or you can talk to Danny Brewer, he's getting ready to upgrade and you can probably afford his price better than Bradford's-Danny doesn't gamble."
"Why won't you sell in the Federated Suns member state?" Naomi interrupted.
Elizabeth Ngo leaned on her cane harder. "I have reasons. Ngo Industries doesn't do business on that side of the sphere, since my Grandfather's time, even."
"But
Why?"
Elizabeth scowled, and hobbled away toward the closed exterior doors of the reception room. Naomi followed, "We're not done yet, why won't you do business in the Federated Suns??"
Duchess Ngo halted, and turned around. There was a dribble to one corner of her makeup. "You don't want to know that answer, blondie. Tell the old man he should talk to Danny Brewer if he's really looking for those powered forges, Defiance Hesperus is doing an update and you'll get them cheap."
Then Duchess Ngo made for the doors again.
"careful, she's not fit to speak with." a large, dark-skinned man with 'mechwarrior's hairstyle said.
"She was rude!!"
"that's lizzie." he said, "Hi, I'm Daniel Brewer, Duke of Hesperus."
"Naomi Knight." she said, "you
know her?"
"Since we were kids." he said, "I heard something about a deal? who're you with?"
"My family owns Knight-Lenovo, my father-"
"Made the mistake of talking to Elizabeth Ngo while being what she still sees as 'foreigners'." Daniel said, "trust me, it's not you, it's all her...Lizzie has many fine qualities, but she's also got some glaring flaws and always had. When we were kids, she got into it with Francis Guillard."
"Baron Guillard?" Naomi asked.
"The very same, it was at Groningen, he was on his last chance after being kicked from every decent school on the Federated Suns side, and she was
eight. He had to get teeth replaced after pushing her down in the play-yard and she was expelled."
"for being pushed down?"
"No, for beating him so badly that they had to call in a dental surgeon. she was on top of him, grinding his face into the yard and screaming 'eat it, eat the dirt'!" Daniel Brewer said easily.
"So because of a bullying incident when she was a KID??"
"no. Elizabeth's Grandfather didn't care for the Alliance. Her father chose AFFC over his Ducal responsibilities and the family firm." Daniel said, "This, and neglecting the hell out of his kids. Liz...I don't think she took it well, and her people? they hold
grudges. She can't get back at her old man, so she takes it out on the universe at large...Hey! Daphne!! got someone you oughta meet!"
A girl almost as blonde as Naomi, but at the same time,
different came over. "Danny, who's this?"
"Naomi Knight." Naomi said.
"From Knight-Lenovo on Cambiano?" Daphne asked.
"very much."
"oh god, you met Liz, didn't you?"
"How could you tell?"
"Danny's got 'that look' that says he had to save someone from one of Lizzie's tirades." Daphne said, "My Uncle's meeting with your father tomorrow."
"Rowe-McClaren? the bankers? but you're in uniform..."
