All That Glitters Ch. 23

The pair quietly tracked the activities and realized that the man was not acting alone. Parts of something were being passed to the man concealing his work. Each time Kim, Analisa, or a member of ship's security came close, the man would stop what he was doing and try to look casual.

Kim had a silent consultation with Analisa, and they came to the conclusion that these people were probably after one of the politicians, but which one? Analisa let ship's security know their suspicion about the four men but they recognizing the men as diplomats, they couldn't legally take action against them until they acted in some way.

The man watched intently as leader after leader stood up and made some small speech, until the representative for Hadrian's Planet stood up to give his speech. Kim was not far when the attacker stood and shouted out, "Death to the defiler!" raising his weapon to shoot the representative.

Kim's Katana flashed, and the man's hand was severed at his wrist, his weapon still held in his hand, now on the deck. The man screamed as security moved in. The three other men involved with the shooter stepped away from him but were quickly rendered unconscious by Analisa who unceremoniously stunned them. The attack and defence were so fast that people only started screaming when all four assailants had been incapacitated.

Ship's security quickly took the four away, a medical team working on the wounded man. Kim flicked her wrist, flinging most of the blood off the Katana. She pulled special oiled rice paper from inside her kimono and slid it gently down her Katana from the Habaki all the way down to the Kissaki. She completed a slow motion and very menacing looking Noto to return the Katana to the Saya, deliberately catching the eye of many of the people in the audience. With methodical motions, she folded the bloody rice paper and slipped it back into her Kimono into a specially prepared pouch.

Kim and Analisa continued to work around the edge of the seating area, looking dangerous to the guests. Only when they were satisfied that they could see no further threats, did they allow themselves to be taken for questioning by security. The media stayed well back and out of the way as the deadly duo, who had just saved the life of the representative from Hadrian's Planet and possibly the President of the Union, passed them.

*************

"Well, that was interesting," President Holloway said some time later as he got together with Daniel Logan, Jason Canter, Capt. James Marsden, the commander of the Franz Muller, now designated Navy One, Raymond, Liea, Kim, Analisa, Maj. Thom, and Capt. Noor.

"Things are always interesting when those two are allowed out in public, Mr. President," Liea said, with a smile to the President and a wink to Kim and Analisa.

"Do we know who they are, sir?" Raymond asked.

"Yes, they are members of an anti-Union group from Hadrian's Planet, trying to prevent the planet from advancing its status in the Union," Jason told the group. "The planet has just reached another milestone of population, and economics, leading to the next step in full Union status. Their group wants the planet to reject the Union.

"The man who took the shot was terminally ill and was expected to ensure that he died in the assassination of the representative. Those who brought the pieces of the weapon in were diplomats and part of the economic delegation from the planet, who where not searched on entry due to their status. Those diplomats were expected to step up and reject the Union based on the obvious enmity of the population who in theory rose up to kill the delegate. Their group stood to make a great deal of money if the planet did not fully embrace the Union." Jason finished.

"So, not political but economic gain by the conspirators?" Noor asked.

"Not such an unusual event actually," the President stated. "There are always those who want any number of events overturned in order to profit from their actions. This time, I am fortunate you were here, Ms. Oshiiru. That plasma pistol would not only have killed the representative, but probably have killed me as well as I was still too close to him. The two of you will earn a medal from this, as well as permanent status of being armed in my presence. Not a bad return for a few moments of intense work."

"Mr. President, in events like this, once the shooter has killed the intended victim, they often turn their weapon on the crowd," Analisa informed the group. "We had to act to protect our principles by preventing both the initial attack and the follow-on attack.

"I would be remiss however, if I didn't point out that The Wanderer has a sensor in the entry gantry that senses for potential weapons grade plastics, metals, and power sources. That sensor was installed by Dr. Aruna's Lab and is not generally known about outside of The Wanderer. We apologize but even Pallanders did not know about that little trick of ours," Analisa told them.

"I will contact Ohi and ask her to install the same sensors in strategic locations on this ship by tomorrow. She is a friend of mine," Liea said with a smile.

"Ohi?" the head of security asked.

"Sorry, Dr. Ohiraha Aruna, Doctor of Engineering specializing in electrical work, and Nobel Laureate. She is the one who redesigned the Marilon generators, now known as Marilon/Aruna generators, and substantially improved the performance of the FTL drives, including the drive of this ship. She has made any number of interesting improvements to electrical devices of late.

"Raymond and I do get around, sir. We tend to have friends in unusual places," Liea smiled.

"Can you really make that happen that fast?" Daniel Logan asked.

Liea raised her comp. "May, I?" she asked.

Jason nodded to Logan who opened his own comp to allow the transmission.

Liea opened Ohi's contact and soon had her 3D image hanging above her wrist.

"Liea! What an unexpected surprise!" Ohi said, a genuine smile on her face. "I see you've made the news again, or at least your bodyguards did. Did anything happen to the new armour?"

"Oh, I never thought of that, they are so comfortable to wear," Liea said. "No Ohi, nothing like that. We are currently on Navy One as special guests of the President." Liea turned her wrist so that Ohi could see who was in the room.

"Oh, my!" Ohi exclaimed on seeing the famous face. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President."

"Ohi, we need your help," Liea interrupted. "We need you to put some of those weapon sensor units you placed on our ship in the gangway of Navy One. But it needs to be done by tomorrow as the ship is about to begin the grand tour of the Union planets. Can you do that?"

"Yes, I have some newer models I was going to show you next time you came by. Got the idea from the triggers for the new body armour we created," Ohi explained. "I can have them ready to install later today if you arrange transport to Navy One for me."

"Done," said Liea, after getting a nod from Logan. "I will also get hold of Michelle Laundray. The President needs to see what we are wearing." After making arrangements for timings, Liea closed off.

Next, she stood up and had Raymond open the zipper of her gown. She slipped it off and was standing in her stylish deck shoes, a thong, and her body armour.

"This is the latest version of body armour created by Les Armuriers Laundray and Aruna Labs," Liea told the President's group. "It is light weight, effective against multiple impacts of solid shot, and is shielded against pulse rifles, plasma weapons, and electric prods. The armour is constantly in stand-by mode while we are off the ship. It will activate in five one hundred thousands of a second when it detects a large discharge of any form of energy directed at it. If you have an electric baton, sir?" she asked of Logan.

He pulled out the device and gave it to Kim, who activated it and shocked Liea. They all watched as a golden aura briefly flared around her person with no apparent discomfort to Liea and no bleed off to those surrounding her.

She took her gown from Raymond and stepped back into it, having Raymond zip her back up.

"Not that I mind, but do you make a habit of showing yourself off like that?" the President asked with a smile.

"Seems to happen a lot lately," Kim blurted out with a smirk. That got a laugh from all. "It's rather fortunate, or perhaps unfortunate dependant on the viewer, that she is wearing a thong today."

"Could I get you to contact Michelle Laundray, please?" the President asked, laughing.

Liea smiled and opened her comp. Michelle was more than ready to leave everything to her father and come to Navy One that afternoon.

It would turn out to be a very lucrative day for all of Liea's friends.

The Wanderer, Liramor Prime, Liramor System

Noor watched on the tactical display as Navy One rose slowly out of Liramor Prime's gravity well, to start the first leg of the Presidential Tour. She still held the text passed to them through the tactical display: Cheers my friends! See you in a month! Holloway.

She gave a copy to an Ensign to run to Raymond and Liea. She stood and rubbed her face. She had been on duty since the end of the party yesterday. She had her daily ship rounds to complete and then it would be rack time. At least the Captain's Stateroom had a comfortable bed.

"Number Two, make sure we are ready to jump when the owner calls for it. Nav O, I want constant updates on your figures once the Number Two clears your plot," she ordered, getting a chorus of Aye, Sirs, back.

As she started her rounds, the Ex O appeared at her shoulder. The pair made the normal First Shift rounds going through a predetermined section of the ship. They greeted the ship's personnel who they passed and questioned those on station in the area they were inspecting. All was going well.

As they approached the VIP staterooms, they saw Kim, who was wearing an all black outfit that made her look sinister. She was wearing her swords now turned black, tucked into her side. Noor noticed the collar of an emergency escape suit around her neck.

"Kim? Do you have an EES integrated into your outfit?" Noor asked.

Kim smiled at her and nodded. "Sharp eye, Captain," Kim responded formally, as they were in a public area. "The dress maker is a pretty competent designer, ma'am."

Noor snapped at her wrist comp. "Maj. Thom, Lt. Mbibo, Lt. Teusleh, this is the Captain, I need your presence at the Dress Maker's shop soonest."

A few minutes later, Noor, the Ex O, and Kim were approached by Maj. Thom, Lt. Mbibo, and Lt. Teusleh outside of the Dress Makers' shop.

"Take a look at Kim's outfit and tell me what you think, Crash," Noor ordered.

"You wearing your armour under that?" Mbibo asked.

"Yes, this thing is the most comfortable armour I have ever worn," Kim confirmed.

"Cool outfit. That looks like an EES ring at your neck. Is that integrated?" Mbibo asked, looking Kim over carefully.

"You don't miss much, Crash," Noor said. "What do you think about incorporating this into the ship's security team's uniforms?"

"Where would we get the material for Sean?" Kim asked, getting a laugh from the others.

"Sean is always in his new EVA suit. We're thinking of painting it black, though not the same colour as Marine Black," Mbibo stated, then started laughing.

"Why are you laughing, Crash?" Noor asked.

"I'm remembering the President's comment about him BEING the security team, ma'am," Mbibo replied, bring a grin to all of their faces.

"Shuttle five arriving, guest Michelle Laundray onboard," the Number Two's voice came over the intercom. "Ratings to shuttle bay five to help carry equipment aboard."

"OK, sounds like I'm needed in the shuttle bay," the Ex O stated, and promptly marched off.

"I've already got my armour, so I know that there is nothing for me," Noor told them. "Crash, you know what I am looking for. Kim can help you with the Dress Maker, but I want the ship's internal security team in black outfits that we can show off to the guests. Yes, even Sean," she commented with a smirk. "I need rack time. The Number Two has the Con. Don't bother me unless it's an emergency."

Noor turned and headed to her stateroom. She needed sleep.

**********

Liea came into the room that was being used to help fit the crew in the new armour. Not everyone on the crew would receive it, but any crewmember who could be in a fight would get custom made personal body armour, while those who might not be in a fight would get the upgraded but generic armour. Michelle was just finishing up the last few members of the Marines who had been waiting for their kit. Smiling faces looked up and thanked Liea for the gift, everyone on the ship aware that this was an out of pocket expense taken by Liea and Raymond. The best they could otherwise expect would be generic armour normally worn externally, and the custom fit armour was on a completely different level.

In addition, Liea had asked Ohi to design something similar to the armour's shield that could be incorporated into the Combat EVA suits. That would make the Marines of this ship almost unstoppable.

Once Michelle finished her work, Liea took her to see the Arlene Vautor. Michelle was intrigued with the new security suit design. It used principals of the EES to make an environmentally secure suit when necessary. Emergency Escape Suits were designed to provide one hour of safety to allow people to escape a dangerous situation. They could be used for longer, but that required replacing the oxygen ball that was attached to the suit, a simple enough process.

All personnel on a ship, station, or platform in space were issued with an EES. They were much faster to get into than an EVA suit, but they also provided much less protection than an EVA suit.

Michelle could immediately see the benefit to the design for security forces everywhere. The EES had two kinds of helmets, a bubble helmet that was solid and could be closed as needed, and an electronic helmet that was formed in time of need. Each type had their pros and cons, however, for security forces the electronic helmet was ideal.

She talked for some time with Arlene, on how she made the suits and was quite impressed with the design. Michelle decided to incorporate the idea into the businesses line of company options. She would have to talk to Ohi Aruna about building a shield into the suit, as she thought it would be worth the effort to do that.

Arlene and Michelle quickly came to an agreement for royalties and Michelle told Arlene that she would have Dr. Aruna provide the personal shields for the outfits. The two ladies were ecstatic over their business agreement. Liea, Raymond, and Annette Liramor had invested heavily into Les Armuriers Laundray, and they would now see an extensive profit from their investment. New ideas would only help the business.

When Arlene asked how many suits she thought Michelle's business would make, she was surprised to learn they would eventually number in the hundreds of thousands. The royalty agreement she had just made was going to make her rich!

Liea took in the look of surprise in Arlene's eyes and giggled. She remembered how she first reacted to learning how rich she was. Arlene was not going to be able to afford her own Princess Class ship, but she would be wealthy enough to be quite independent.

"I'll talk with you later, Arlene, on how to invest your royalties," Liea told her, as she left her office with Michelle in tow.

Two days later, parts and pieces of personal shields arrived for two completely different kinds of suits: the EVA suits, and the new security suits. It was just in time, as Arlene's team was about to fit one of the ship's security forces with their new outfits.

Capt. Noor, Liea, Raymond, Lt. Mbibo, Kim, Analisa, the Boatswain, and Ayesha acting as the ships doctor, were all watching the procedure.

For obvious reasons, Sean was the first to be fitted. He was the biggest of them all, and the easiest to see problems with because of his size. The key to the personal shield was the proper placement of the sensors, power relays, power dispersion plates, and the miniature M/A generators. They also had to consider that most of the security teams would also be wearing the new body armour underneath, and the new suits electronics could not interfere with that of the personal body armour.

Sean was unceremoniously stripped down, his naked body a thrill for the ladies. The team helped him into the working undergarments similar to those used in EVA suits. Because the suit was not breathable, the working undergarments were necessary. One of the things that Sean did not particularly enjoy was when the ladies helped to place his cock into the cup in the undergarments so that he could urinate when necessary as one didn't want to strip naked just to use the facilities.

They next placed his body armour on. This was a little tight, as it was initially designed to be against his skin, but it was not too uncomfortable. Liea would make sure that the security team members got new personal body armour for wearing over the undergarments.

The security suit itself was next, the team again helping to ensure that everything was properly placed so that it would be effective. He put on his deck boots and the provided gloves and connected them to the suit. He was now effectively in a self-contained emergency escape suit.

Arlene had him do some exercises and unarmed combat drills to ensure the suit moved without the electronic parts being displaced too much from where they should be on his body. The suit's environmental controls clicked in to provide cooling to his body. Everything looked good so far.

They had him close in the bubble and Sean was now in his own personal environment. Once again, they had him do some exercises and unarmed combat drill as they monitored the suits environmental controls. Everything looked good.

Kim picked up an electric baton and turned it on. She pushed it against Sean's stomach and activated it. The suit responded immediately, preventing the shock from getting to Sean's body. The same golden flare that showed from the body armour flashed around Sean. Indications were that the body armour did not engage. The watchers were very pleased with the results so far.

"Alright, I want you to wear that suit for the next three hours, replacing the oxygen ball as required," Mr. Sucre insisted.

The oxygen balls were screwed into place at a port on either side of the chest on the new security suit vice the single port on an EES. This placed the heavy metal pressurized balls within the bodies tuck if a person rolled. Because there were two ports, a person could choose which side to place a ball on or could add a new oxygen ball just by attaching one to the other port and activating it. This gave the wearer some flexibility of use and the ability to replace an oxygen ball without the need to take off the expended ball with no discontinuity from the oxygen supply.

A utility belt was fixed at Sean's waist. Sean clipped an electric baton to his left side, two spare oxygen balls, to the front. At the back, in separate holders, were two electronic restraints, the one on the left to secure hands and the other on the right to secure feet.

In a separate holder, were some plastic fast ties used when restraint was needed but the electronic restraints were not available. On the right side of the belt was an emergency First Aid kit. Sean fastened his comp to his wrist and cued it to the suit's control system.

The suit was a mat black with the exception of the colourful ship's patch on the right breast and Sean's wrist comp. There was no name tag but the word SECURITY in bright white could be seen below the ship's patch and there was a much larger version on the back. Both the patch and the word security front and back could be muted or left bright as required.