All That Glitters Ch. 10

"Such a significant victory should be all over the new channels, yet, outside of Liramor Prime, virtually no one in Union space knows of this victory over the pirates. The news was suppressed by the Senate. Two guesses as to which senator requested that that specific news be blocked," she finished with a significant look to Justine.

"Andjuran is not part of any Intelligence Oversight Committees nor the Military Oversight Committee. He should not have known about that event before anyone else, and, he should not have been able to block that kind of news.

"For him to be able to do so says that he has a great deal of undue influence over some very significant fellow senators, some very much senior to him," she let that thought filter for a moment in Justine's mind. "If he doesn't press the flesh, how did he gain such influence?"

"Now, mission statement," she ordered.

"Go to Liramor-23 via Liramor Prime, determine what of significance is happening in the Piscium system. Review the activities of the Director, Fiona Marsh, and her aide Henadi Noor.

"Marsh seems to be developing a power base of undue influence. She also seems to be protecting Noor, who is a wanted criminal under Church Law as a renegade of the Church of Andanii, and who is disturbing church authority. Determine when Noor is moving into Union space where she can be arrested without going through extradition proceedings with Liramor Prime.

"I was to report back everything that I found out via a private cipher he gave me in three months but to report immediately if Noor was to move within Union reach," she told her boss.

"Church Law is not transferrable to Union Law, and certainly not through the IPPF as a criminal activity. Any church that seeks the arrest of a deviant must make that request of the TGA through their local planetary government.

"Additionally, no church can arrest a Union citizen who is not from their local planet, without extradition proceedings, again handled through their planetary government. I'm sure Andjuran didn't provide you with that little tidbit, did he?" Sanger asked.

"Do you know how you were tripped up?" Sanger asked. Justine didn't.

"Andjuran told you to go to Liramor Prime to make the request to work at Liramor-23. You went to the Liramor Embassy on Terra, and asked specifically about working at the platform, when most miners would have asked for 'A' mining platform and not a specific one unless they had already been there.

"You short cut the system by not going to Liramor Prime and were immediately flagged for a more thorough background search. They discovered that the name Celia Corden did not exist before four years ago. You were legitimately arrested by Liramor Security the moment you stepped foot on a Liramor transport," the Director told her.

This was looking more and more sinister to Justine. She was in the shithole and knew it.

"There might be something we can do to 'rescue' Justine's career, after all, she was working under the fallacy that this was a legitimate senatorial request," Antoine said, giving the Director a significant look.

Justine was nodding. Hell yea, she would do whatever it took to rescue her career!

VIP Suite, Liramor-23 Piscium System

The big bed was rather crowded with three women and Raymond Clark in it all at once. Annette and Liea had wanted time with Raymond and had decided to include Henadi so she didn't have to return to her own quarters for just one night.

And what a night it had been. The three women had used Raymond in many and very pleasant ways. Not that Raymond had minded, in fact, he was ready to do this again in future.

When the alarm sounded, Henadi had to get up. She would have to attend Fiona and help her properly dress for the day. Being somewhat new to the navy, Fiona still had to develop an instinct for the proper wear of navy uniforms and accoutrements. Henadi would also inform her boss of the days anticipated schedule.

Henadi skipped into the shower, for what she anticipated as a quick cleanup, something that went south almost immediately as the three others joined her. Hands took the time to thoroughly soap her up, moving over every inch of her body. Her new friends and Raymond then rinsed her clean. Liea stepped from the shower with her and grabbed one of the large fluffy warmed towels and helped dry Henadi.

"When you next visit us aboard The Wanderer, we'll have a maid to help do this for you. This is my treat to you though," she told her giving her a sensual kiss as she continued to dry her.

With Liea's help, her hair was dried and pinned up and she was helped into her uniform. She quickly grabbed some fruit and made her way to Fiona's suite.

Thinking back on the morning and the night before, she realized that she was looking forward to meeting up with her new friends again. One thing was for sure, time with Raymond was anything but dull!

Fiona's quarters were just down the corridor. Henadi, being her aide, was one of the few people that could enter without requesting permission. She moved to the separate bedroom where she heard the shower running.

Looking into the bathroom, she saw Fiona being rinsed down by Bouyé Watt and Liana Dostier! Well, that was a surprise! But honestly, she remembered how good it felt to have that done to her just a few minutes prior.

Henadi silently entered the bathroom and picked up a large, warm, fluffy towel, waiting for Fiona to exit the shower. That part too, had been pleasant for Henadi, and she was sure that Fiona would also appreciate it.

She gave her blushing boss a raised eyebrow and wicked smile as Fiona stepped into the towel.

Construction Bay, Liramor-23, Piscium System

That afternoon, the four owners and half of the workers of Liramor-23 were crammed into bay eleven as Annette Liramor stood on a two-meter-high platform as she held a bottle of sparkling wine on a long string. The bottle was wrapped in cloth that would allow the wine to leak through, but not allow the shattered glass to escape.

Annette was a master of the dramatic. She looked around the bay, knowing that many, who could not be present, were also watching on a holo-vid feed, and stretched out the moment.

"I name thee, The Princess, first of her line!" she cried out and let go of the bottle. All watched as the bottle swept through an arc prescribed by the string it was attached to, until it struck the bow of her ship and broke against it, christening the ship to the cheers of the crowd.

She came down from the platform and was made a present of something rather heavy wrapped in cloth, by Cdr. Noor. Annette opened it to find a bronze plaque with her name and the names of her ship's crew on it.

"By navy tradition, all newly christened naval ships have a plaque denoting the names of the ship's first crew. It is usually placed in the bridge, but it can also be placed in any significant room that the crew would pass through," Henadi told her. "Since two of the ships are owned by Navy masters, I think that it is appropriate for this little ceremony to also be included for your ship and Liea's.

"The Kindalla's Boatswain, CPO1 Arland, made them. He can show you how and where to place them," she finished, pointing him out.

The plaque had the name of her ship, and the names of its first crew. At the bottom was her name:

Owner: Annette Liramor, PhD PA

Director of Operations Liramor Holdings

Christened: 18 June 2483

Annette got a little misty eyed as she accepted the plaque. Arland led the navy's traditional three cheers which did cause a tear to roll down her cheek.

The platform was moved a little and a navy rate fixed another bottle to a string. Liea climbed onto the platform and waved to the crowed.

"Not that long ago, I was one of you," she began in a clear, strong voice. "Then the Goddess Fortuna saw fit to bless my partnership with Rockhound Raymond Clark. Now, I come here to what I see as my home in space, to christen a ship that I had built for me.

"No one expects the kind of good fortune that I have been blessed with, but good things will come from it, that I promise you."

She turned to her ship and in a loud voice proclaimed, "I name thee Delilah, second of her class." She released the bottle, and all watched in anticipation as it swung towards its mark. The bottle bumped against the ship and bounced back three meters, unbroken. It slowly swung back into the ship, this time breaking cleanly to the laughter and merriment of the attendees.

Liea came down from the platform and was presented with the ship's christening plaque by Henadi. The owner's line read:

Owner: Liea Samson, DPhila (h.c.)

Christened: 18 June 2483

Liea was immensely proud that she had unexpectedly been awarded an honorary doctorate in philanthropy. She was incredibly happy that her money was being used for good through the various charities that she now supported. Though she couldn't call herself 'Doctor', she would always place with extreme pride the abbreviation after her name.

The crowd moved ponderously into the next bay where Clark mounted another platform and waited patiently for all to settle down.

"Many of you know me not as Capt. Clark, but as Rockhound Raymond. Many of you know that I came to this system to heal after the War. That I am now able to once again wear this uniform, shows that I have. Some of you were instrumental in helping me achieve that. For that I thank-you," and here he nodded to and pointed to certain members of the audience who smiled and waved back.

"Good fortune comes to those who are prepared, but luck can come to anyone. I have received my share of luck and fortune. Some of it earned, some bestowed by the Goddess Fortuna." He turned towards his ship and gripped the bottle.

"I personally would not have named this ship The Valiant, but somehow, the name seems to fit." He looked around the room and smiled.

"I name this ship, The Valiant, third of her line!" He let the bottle go and crossed his fingers that it would break on contact. It did, to cheers of all around.

He climbed down from the platform and graciously accepted the ship's plaque from Henadi, knowing full well the significance of its meaning. The owner's line read:

Owner: Raymond Clark DEng, MH, MCC, MSB, MMB, MMM

Captain (Navy) Civilian Liaison Office

Black Lightning Combat Engineer Brigade

Christened: 18 June 2483

Finally, the platform was repositioned, and Fiona climbed onto it. "I don't have the words to describe what I am feeling now. I had this grand speech written, and threw it away, as it only made sense to speak it to crowds of politicians, and not to a crowd of friends.

"We, the workers on this platform, and the members of the Piscium Naval Command, have been through much over the last few months. We will be through more in the future and these ships might become important to us.

"As Raymond said, The Valour is not a name I would have given to my ship, but the name will remind me for all time of the strength and determination of the people on this platform, civilian or navy." Fiona turned to face her ship.

"I name this ship, The Valour, fourth of her line!" Fiona let the bottle go and all watched as it swung onto and broke cleanly against the bow of the ship. All let out a resounding cheer as the wrapped bottle sprayed its contents onto the ship.

Fiona remained on the platform for a moment waiting for the cheering to stop. "For all of you who are not going on shift, or who are coming off shift, the four owners have pooled our funds to provide you with some snacks and refreshments. We will retain some for those still out or currently going out on shift," Fiona finished to a grand cheer.

She climbed down off the platform and met Henadi who proudly handed her the ship's plaque. Fiona opened the cloth and read the plaque.

The name The Valour, was larger than all others and centered at the top of the plaque. Two rows of five names, with their positions noted ran down from below the name, some former navy rates had the abbreviated names of certain medals they had earned.

Underneath all and centered, was her name, slightly larger than the crew, but not as large as the name of the ship:

Owner: Fiona Marsh, MBA, CCV, CMM

Director Liramor-23

Commodore Commanding Piscium Star System

Christened: 18 June 2483

Fiona felt tears run down her cheeks as she looked at the plaque. She had no idea where she would put it, but she wanted it to be in a place that the crew could read it.

Strong hands took hers into theirs. She looked up into the kind face of Boatswain Arland. "Normally, a navy ship places the plaque on the bridge. But, yours is not a navy ship. Not all the ratings will have the opportunity to see it there. So, I would suggest you place it in the ship's mess.

Fiona smiled and nodded, "Yes, please," she said to the Boatswain who gently took it from her hands.

Fifteen minutes later, she led people for a tour of the ship. For the almost all of those on Liramor-23, it was the first time on a private yacht. Fiona showed off the ship with pride, speaking to all those who took a moment to speak to her. Until she came to the ship's mess where the ship's certificate of space worthiness, under protective glass, was already installed on an inner wall. Beside it, was the ship's christening plaque.

Tears fell from her eyes as she touched the plaque. Henadi was beside her immediately. So were many others. Hands reached out to touch her, to lend their support.

Henadi slipped her a cloth, which she used to dab her tears. She turned to face the group and extended her arms. In her future memories, she was never, ever sure how the hell she had accomplished a twenty-five-person hug...

End of Chapter Ten

There are a lot of contentious issues for how to abbreviate Dr. of Philanthropy, because of the very similar Dr. of Philosophy. Many say that Dr. of Philosophy should be written DPhil, but many write Dr. of Philanthropy in the same manner while placing honoris causa (h.c.) after to indicate that it is an honorary degree. However, Dr. of Philosophy can also be bestowed as an honorary degree, and philanthropy can be awarded as an actual degree versus an honorarium, thus confusing the issue even more.

I think it depends mainly on which institute is presenting the degree. There will be plenty of people saying it should be done some other way, but I will follow the dictates of the three universities in my city, which all do it the same way: DPhila (h.c.).

I recently received a request for a list of characters for 'Glitters'. This is chapter ten, and the number of characters is starting to get a little confusing, so I will provide that list at the beginning of the next chapter.

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Thanks, Bigtddybr