All That Glitters Ch. 29

The small group of police officers looked at each other. One of them pulled up the statutes on his comp and nodded to the others. They then stepped back from the Mayor.

"He is correct, Mr. Mayor," the Sergeant informed him. "If you continue in this vein, we will be forced to intercede on behalf of these people, sir."

The Mayor looked at the officer as if he had just grown a second head.

"I am your Mayor," he screamed at the officer. "You will be well reminded to follow my orders."

Fayad looked at the officer and gave him a subtle shake of his head, telling him to stand down. The officer understood and gave him a subtle nod in return.

"Mr. Mayor, why would you want to set up a city session that could possibly be inadvertently interrupted by empaths?" Fayad asked.

The Mayor seethed at him but said nothing.

"Could it be that you wish to bring the force of the law those empaths for doing so? What would be your reason for doing that?" Fayad demanded.

The Mayor was looking around rather wildly now, he turned to leave but found his way blocked by the same police officers who he had brought with him.

"Get out of the way!" he snapped.

"Sir, questions have been asked under the jurisdiction of the Council," the Sergeant replied. "You must answer those questions."

The Mayor had a rather surprised look on his face. But he was not beaten yet. He turned to the strangers in the room.

"I want to know who you all are?" he roared, again startling the Cats, who hissed loudly at him.

Fiona stepped in front of the Mayor, her medals gleaming. "I am the Director of Operations for Liramor-23 and the commander the Piscium Defence Force, Commodore Fiona Marsh," she told him calmly. "I'm sure you have heard of me, Mr. Mayor."

It was instantly evident that he had.

"The people with me are all employees of Liramor-23, most of them having been decorated there during the battles of Liramor-23. Dr. Heyya herself endured hours of self-sacrifice while trying to save the lives of a great many people on Liramor-23 during the Second Battle of Liramor-23, as did Nurse Katanya and Nurse, Silliya.

"Gillaya, was directly involved with the rescue of Capt. Henadi Noor, who you might also have seen in the news recently. She is the bodyguard of Liea Samson, owner of the ship The Wanderer, the only civilian ship to have participated in the destruction of pirate vessels during the Second Battle of Lirmaor-23.

"Two of the members of this Trine work for me, Fayad, who you've already been introduced to, and Junelliea, his wife. His other wife, Hanalei Anar, is a twice decorated anti-pirate hero, decorated with the Union's Presidential Silver Medal for Distinguished Service and the Medal of Bravery, both from the hand of President Holloway himself.

"The Councillors of the Council of Empaths you seem to be familiar with, Mr. Mayor, so I will not introduce them.

"That's who WE are, Mr. Mayor. Now I want to know who the fuck you are and why you want to curtail the power of the Council or Empaths, for that is the only reason you would be doing what you are doing, Mr. Mayor," Fiona growled at him.

The Mayor looked around at all the people with medals and knew he had stepped in it big time. He looked around for a way out, but one group was standing near the door between the rooms, the 'Trine' (whatever that was) was blocking a run to the bedroom area, and his own police squad was fucking blocking the main door!

"You can do nothing to me," the Mayor braved it out. "You have to abide by the laws of the Council of Empaths." The Mayor knew he had them; they could do nothing against him.

"But I can, Mr. Mayor," Madam Chair began. "A question of a potential crime has been directed to this Council, sir. As we are under the jurisdiction of this Council, we need to ascertain if a crime has indeed been committed."

Junelliea stood and walking slowly toward the Mayor. "I am not a member of the Council of Empaths, at least not yet. While I am bound by their laws as a member of this Grand Congress, my husband has been accused by you.

"My husband is correct, Mr. Mayor, that piece of metal on your head is designed to stop the local empaths from reading your emotions. Why would a legitimate Mayor be so frightened of having his emotions read, Mr. Mayor?

"You should be aware, Mr. Mayor, that I am not of this world, so I CAN read you through that insignificant shield that you have on your head."

As Junelliea moved forward, she gathered her power. Those in the room saw her hair float up and away from her. Her eyes, even her body seemed to glow with the power she was pulling in. The Mayor looked at her and pissed himself.

"The reason you are hoping to have the Council interfere with your political events, Mr. Mayor, is that you aspire to greater office, Mr. Mayor, likely the Presidency of this Planet.

"However, you cannot run for the Presidency without the endorsement of the Council of Empaths, which you would never receive, because you are basically a crook. You could never allow them to scan your mind and find that out, Mr. Mayor.

"But if you were to discredit the Council, then you could legitimately run without their endorsement. That's why you have done what you have done Mr. Mayor," Junelliea finished and pointed her finger at the Mayor's head, or rather, at the device on his head.

The device began to suddenly heat up until it reached a point that the Mayor was forced to push it off. Junelliea dropped her power, letting in fade. She turned and mischievously sent a static spark of it at Fayad's rear, who jumped at the loud snap it created.

"Hey!" he grumped rubbing his rear.

"Be good, Junelliea," Hanalei said as she hugged her mate, rubbing his sore butt for him, giving Junelliea a wink at having the opportunity to do that with all present.

"Why?" asked Gillaya, "Being bad is so much more fun," she answered herself, bringing laughter from all, except the Mayor.

"Mr. Mayor," the Chair began. "Suspicion of your activities has been brought before this Council. You will be detained in custody until such time as we have reviewed your activities over the last few years." The suspicion having been sent to her by Junelliea after her quick scan of the Mayor.

They all watched as the Mayor was handcuffed and taken away by the very police officers he had brought with him to arrest the Councillors. Karma on full display...

Aereet City, Andanii District, Planet Anuura, Caiden System

The next morning, the police performed the reverse action to the evening before, bringing Wassim Andjuran from his cell, placing him in the shielded van, and driving up the ramp into the open sunlight.

The convoy turned right and moved to the large District Court Building in the center of the city. The van moved down the ramp inside the building and Andjuran was moved into a protected elevator that brought him up to the floor where his trial was set to begin. There was an empath on the elevator with him, and several already on the floor he was headed to.

The protected elevator was set aside from the others in an area that was easily guarded but also easily watched. As soon as the elevators doors opened on the floor, the empaths went into alert.

The one on the elevator pushed the emergency action button that immediately closed the doors, surprising the would be rescuers waiting to act.

Several empaths on the floor pulled stunners and directed them at the hostiles they had detected through their empathy. Six men went down almost immediately, while two more managed to pull weapons and fire them before they were stunned by other police officers.

Unfortunately, a civilian news reporter was struck by the fire from the perpetrators and severely injured, while a child received a minor injury, the weapons of the assailants meant to cause harm and not to stun people.

Chaos ensued above as Wassim Andjuran was brought down to a basement level below that of the carport and unceremoniously shoved into a cell, still bound. All entrances to the floor were shut down by the buildings bailiffs as they waited the results of the attack on the upper floor.

News reporters did not know what to focus on, the unconscious perpetrators, the chaos of screaming people, the screaming child injured in the indiscriminate shooting, or the injured news reporter being tended to by an off duty nurse...

The Handren Trading Company, New Carthage, New Hadria, Frogus System, Seventy-Four Light Years from Terra

Katrynna Handren sat in her father's old office in a chair that had been recently made for her. She was going to have to have the office remodelled to her own tastes but that wasn't her priority at the moment. She was waiting for the Ambassador for the Terran Union to join her.

Harold Flynet was an older man approaching his late eighties, late middle years for humans in this century. This posting would be one of his last in the service, where most postings were of ten year durations. He would then return to Terra where he would slowly close out his career around age 100. He had already been on New Hadria for four years.

The man walked energetically into the office of the Head of the Handren Trading Company and did a double take, which he smoothly covered up.

Katrynna had to admit he handled his minor faux pas rather well. It was unusual to see a woman at the head of any company on New Hadria, never mind the head of the Handren Trading Company itself nor one so young as herself.

"Ambassador Flynet, I received a note saying that you needed to speak with me," she said graciously, rising smoothly to let him take her hand. She moved them to a more intimate seating area and dismissed her staff, her bodyguard never leaving her side, of course.

"Something to drink before we start?" she asked.

"No thank-you, Ms. Handren?" he asked. Placing the emphasis on the Ms.

"Yes, if I was a Mrs. I wouldn't be the head of the company, Ambassador," she replied. "How may I be of service?"

"I had heard that there was a new head of the company, Ms. Handren," the Ambassador began. "I was surprised to see it was you, expecting one of your uncles to be in this office."

"Yes, well, my uncles attempted to oust me from my inheritance, Mr. Ambassador, for which they are all now languishing in the local jail waiting trial on illegal business practices, sir."

Katrynna could see the wheels working behind his eyes. While the Ambassador might be nearing the end of his service life, he was still a force to be reckoned with. She knew he would figure it out fairly quickly.

"They prevented you from accessing your shares after your father's and brother's conviction, then tried to make one of them the head of the company, most likely Liam Handren," the Ambassador stated, not disappointing Katrynna.

"Very good, Ambassador," Katrynna admitted. "They then tried to arrange a marriage for me to block me from ever having access to the shares I was due.

"However, I recorded the entire event, something they failed to do, as was dictated by Handren Company Law. I had them on several points of company and planetary law. They will be convicted by their own words, Mr. Ambassador. Karma at its finest, sir."

"Indeed," the Ambassador admitted. "Forgive me for saying this but I always found Liam to be a bit stuffy and hide bound."

"If you mean that he was a stickler for tradition, you are correct, Mr. Ambassador," Katrynna said with a smile. "Now, as to your purpose here today, sir?"

"I came here to meet the new Head of The Handren Trading Company, Ms. Handren. To ask after some issues that have been ignored in the past," the Ambassador began.

"Let me guess, Mr. Ambassador. Would that be in reference to Union Citizens having been traded as slaves, sir?" Katrynna asked, cutting him off.

The Ambassador paused for only a moment. "That would be correct, Ms. Handren. This is something that you have heard of before?"

"All I can say for certainty, Mr. Ambassador, is that my company does not trade in Union slaves," Katrynna told him explicitly. "That is not to say that other companies on New Hadria do not, sir, just that mine does not.

"I have had time to go through most of the companies books in preparation for the recent board meeting that resulted in my uncles' ouster and can assure you of this fact. Not that you will take my word for it, I suspect.

"What I can do for you, sir, is to make discreet inquiries of other companies around the globe to discover who has Union citizens. However, that will take some time to organize in a manner that it does not get back to me," Katrynna explained, surprising Flynet.

"Why would you do that?" the Ambassador asked.

"Because, Mr. Ambassador, I understand that slavery is a dying trade, even if others in The Alliance do not yet realize it," Katrynna answered bluntly. "Unfortunately, the institution of slavery will not die quickly enough, nor without some resistance, sir. So I must be careful, for the time being, of exposing this company to criticisms from others on New Hadria."

Katrynna could see the doubt in Flynet's eyes but the wheels were still churning in his head.

"Mr. Ambassador, I know that you doubt my word as to whether this company has Union slaves," Katrynna stated. "But no Union slaves would be allowed in this city, the only city that non-Alliance citizens are allowed to come to on New Hadria.

"While other companies have their trading headquarters in the capital, the Handren Trading Company has a good portion of the company assets in New Carthage. That should tell you that the head offices of the Handren Trading Company could not hold Union slaves that could inadvertently wind up coming into the city, where they might be spotted by Union representatives."

"I personally will be working to limit slavery within the Handren Trading Company over the next few years, starting with the insidious practice of deliberately modifying people through genetic or mental alterations, Ambassador. Something that no other Handren would have done, sir."

"Forgive me for asking, Ms. Handren but why would you do that?" Flynet demanded.

"It has come to my notice that Union worlds are far more prosperous than Alliance worlds. The reason for this is simple economics, Mr. Ambassador. Slaves do not have money. Slaves do not buy things. The economy of this world and most of the Alliance worlds, hangs on slaves, Ambassador. Roughly 9/10ths of the population is slave labour. The remaining are 'citizens' of New Hadria.

"Slightly lets than 1,000,000 of the citizen population is considered to be an elite citizen of New Hadria, who have serious disposable funds, sir. The remaining citizens don't. The basic citizen, would only be considered middle class on Union worlds and might not own slaves, most slaves being owned by corporations.

"There are not enough of the elite on the Alliance worlds to cover for the fact that so many of its citizens have not the funds to buy frivolous things, on top of the slaves who have no money of their own.

"Things that slaves need are purchased for them by their owners, the corporations, usually items of basic needs and not items that would be considered 'frivolous'. Thus, a good portion of the standard economies of Union worlds are missing from Alliance worlds.

"Economies can only develop so far under these conditions, sir. We need to work at putting people to work in order to allow the economy to advance. Something that the current elite on this world or other Alliance worlds do not seem to be able to understand. As long as they do not, then slavery will have a footing on the Alliance of Planet worlds, Mr. Ambassador. The best we can do, for now, is to whittle things down, unless the Union wishes to go to war, sir?" Katrynna asked.

"The citizens of the Union have heard the stories coming out of Liramor-23," the Ambassador said after a few moments reflection. "A lot of intelligence on slavery came of the pirate ships that had been captured or destroyed, including actual slaves, Ms. Handren.

"The worst of it though, was the numbers of people now suspected of being held for slavery over the last decade or so. Those numbers are only possible with planetary requirements for slaves. There are only non-Union worlds on which slavery is still practiced, Ms. Handren.

"Should it be confirmed that Free Union Citizens have been purchased knowingly by the citizens of the Alliance worlds, then war would be inevitable. But I suspect you are already aware of that. That puts you in a bit of a paradox, Ms. Handren. If you do discover Union citizens are being held by other companies on this planet and report that to us, you could be initiating war with the Union," the Ambassador stated.

"Not at all, Mr. Ambassador," Katrynna returned instantly. "There will be a series of news items on the planetary net over the next few days and weeks. They will be doing an exposé on the very facts that you have just mentioned on Liramor-23.

"One of the things that the hosts of these news hours will be expounding on, will be the threat to this very planet from Union slaves. The hosts will be allowed to speculate on a number of different issues, including the unnecessary deaths of slaves that were once Free Union citizens and the resulting threat that could pose for New Hadria.

"Once these news stories start hitting the airwaves, this company will start to slowly move away from slave based labour and begin to use hired labour. Ex-slaves to start with but hired labour all the same.

"That will be a bit of a process, Ambassador, as we will have to redefine what a citizen is. Once we have done that, then we shall make great inroads against the slave trade, sir.

"I do not expect this company to be threatened by the Union, sir. In return for which, I will provide you the proof you are looking for on Union slaves. That will allow you to conduct raids on certain companies that hold a predominance of Union slaves. This company will be in a position of dominance from the fact that it; A. recognized the threat to New Hadria and worked to remove itself from that potential threat, B. advised other companies that slavery was a dying trend and they needed to work to actively eliminate it, and C. will be in the position to say 'I told you so' after the fact.

"Having said that, should this information leak out about our potential actions prior to our preparing this company and the populace of New Hadria for the future, you will find very few people willing to support you and the Union, sir. That and a potential massacre of Union slaves when the threat becomes too great for the other players. That is something that none of us would want, Mr. Ambassador.

"Your cooperation is vital to this company, as is our cooperation for you in finding the Union slaves on New Hadria, sir. Given this, it is in our mutual best interest to act together, do you not agree, Mr. Ambassador?" Katrynna asked.

Ambassador Harold Flynet was stunned by what he had just been offered. This was news that had to be sent directly to Terra, not sent by comms probe, which could be intercepted.

"Very well, Ms. Handren. We will back your play, so long as we do not have to wait too long to free the Union slaves," the Ambassador stated, deliberately looking around.

"You need not worry, Mr. Ambassador, this office is swept constantly for bugs. However, I suggest the next time you come to see me, it would be better to provide some kind of agreement between the Union and the Handren Trading Company to sign, sir. For appearances' sake."

Flynet looked at the woman, then burst into laughter. Funny thing was, he did have something that could do just that...

NS Ora Evanest, Pallanders Orbital Shipyard, Liramor Prime, Liramor System, Thirty Light Years from Terra