All That Glitters Ch. 37

Presidential Compound, Capital City, Terra

The President was amused at the activities of the delegates this morning. In private, they were much more open with him, slapping him on the back and joking with him, some even attempting to get him to do the dance steps he had learned the evening before.

On top of that, the delegates were congratulating the President on his daughters earlier performance with the media.

"Your daughter is amazing, Mr. President," the Harradi Ambassador, Ambassador Hollard Clend told the President. "How she stuck it to that backwards media type was amazing and her pronouncements on biology, right to the point of the matter."

The President laughed with the ambassadors and other delegates as they waited to be seated for the Grotté presentation of credentials.

"While I would normally have just ignored people like that, it was nice to see Grace take him down a peg or two. Though I will not encourage her to do such things too often," the President stated.

"Why not, sir?" asked a Byandi delegate, whose name had momentarily slipped the President's mind.

"A skillful media type would have handed Grace her head," the President told the listeners. "Despite how she did this morning, she is not yet ready to debate things in an open media scrum.

"Still, I was proud of how she handled that man," the President confided to the delegates, who nodded in confirmation with the thought.

"As were we, Mr. President," Nar-Tre Sai-Rai, the Pod-Drran co-Ambassador said. "That clip was rerun all morning during the breakfast at Denders."

"I do hope that you and Grace have the opportunity to join us on Sunday for our final day celebration party," Kilta, the Ambassador at Large for the Paacon said.

"As you all are aware, I might want to be at your party, however, my schedule is never my own," the President said. "I will, however, pencil in our presence, barring an unknown incident."

That pronouncement received a cheer from the delegates, just as the President's people stepped in and began calling the delegates to be seated prior to the entrance of the President and the Djinaëte delegation.

Denders Resort, Terra

After the morning brief, Fayad met up with his wives and their parents and secured a ground vehicle for the trip out to the Johal compound so that Hanalei could check out the facilities and decide what to do with the compound.

The compound was ten kilometers from Denders along a reasonably straight road. The first thing that the occupants of the vehicle saw was the little temple just outside the walls of the compound.

"It's beautiful," Zallene Falta said of the temple when she first saw it.

"It is," Hanalei remarked. "It was my solace from all that was happening inside that compound while it was under the control of Wassim Andjuran."

Fayad stopped the ground vehicle outside the gates in the assigned parking lot and the group went to the temple, Hanalei and Junelliya holding their children, the Cats riding on the shoulders of their respective bond mates.

The small party went into the temple to pray, and to present the children to the Prophet Andanii. They sang the song of new life and new members to the church.

Ji'en Nahdi, the new Matriarch of the Johal Compound, was waiting for them when they finished. She hugged Hanalei and simpered over the children, Ikekia exclaiming her best word "Ug!" Ji'en smiled and took the child into her arms, getting an 'rrrrr' sound from her, to which she raised her eyebrows.

"Our friends, the Cats, rumble when they purr. Ikekia is mimicking this to show that she is content," Hanalei advised her. "Tell, me, my friend, how the compound fairs and the ladies, are they doing well?" Hanalei asked.

"Yes, we are all doing well. Many of us are in school now for different occupations. Three of us are all in the same courses together, in Hospitality." Ji'en told Hanalei with pride in her voice.

"Really? Why hospitality?" Hanalei asked.

"Well, it is an extension of what we are already doing here at the compound. So it was a quick fit for most of us. Vardah Fadel is doing accounting, and one of our women has left, her family having reclaimed her after they discovered what was going on here," Ji'en reported.

They walked into the compound and looked around. It was still much like Hanalei remembered.

"We have a new owner though," Ji'en told her. "We have not met them yet, but we have been told that they will work with us to find out what we can do with the compound."

"Do you wish to stay here?" Hanalei asked.

"I am of two minds, Hanalei. I have spent many years here, first under Ahmed Johal and then under Wassim Andjuran. The time under Johal was filled with good memories for me, but the time under Andjuran was not. I would like to stay if the new owners are good people, I have nowhere to go as I am still considered Fullohd, though I do not know how I will use the new skills I am acquiring," Ji'en admitted.

"You will be happy to know that we are the new owners of the Johal Compound, Ji'en," Hanalei told her. "Our Trine now owns this compound and has a stake in the Denders Resort.

"However, we do not know what to do with the compound. If you have any ideas, please let us know. We would like to keep you all on, if you wish to continue with us, but I know you need to have some sense of fulfillment in order to thrive here on Terra," Hanalei told her.

"How much land does the compound sit on?" Fayad asked.

"The deed covers more than 130 acres, sir," Ji'en replied.

"The cemetery to the rear, how close is it?"

"It is four hundred meters to the rear of the far wall, sir," she responded.

"Do you have an idea, Fayad?" Hanalei asked.

"Maybe," he admitted. "However, we need to speak to the guests at Denders before we can confirm this."

"Fayad, you're not thinking..." Junelliya stated rather than asked.

"I am," Fayad admitted. "The delegates will need to come to Terra on occasion to speak with the UDC and the TGA. Most of the community will be able to stay in hotels near or in the capital, however, many will not. The Interspecies Community will benefit from having a place close to Denders with facilities that fit their unique requirements.

"Ji'en, would you consider coming back with us to Denders today to see what is happening their? You will need to speak to Sylvie Triand, the Assistant Manager there, and find employment with Denders in order to gain knowledge and expertise on handling guests.

"All of you will need a place to stay until we can complete the upgrades to the Compound. However, it will all depend on how the ambassadors react to having a site on Terra they can use when they need. We will charge them a monthly residency fee, rather than a nightly rate, as they will have facilities here dedicated directly to their individual needs.

"What do you think, Hanalei?" Fayad asked.

"I think it would be a good idea," Hanalei replied. "It will cost some to rebuild this location to fit their needs, but it will provide employment to the people who remain here, including the guards. In fact, we will have to increase the number of residents to care for this compound.

"Ji'en, can remain as the Matriarch to the compound, leaving her in charge. We will have to bring in some consultants, but we can get them from the list of contractors that Denders uses. As well, we will have to have the IPPF and UDC involved right from the start for security purposes," Hanalei finished.

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

The Piscium Trine had just returned to Denders when the Harradi sought out Hanalei.

"They will not provide us with the funds we need to buy seeds," Harla Aubrend advised her.

Hanalei contacted Sylvie and they all sat down in a small conference room with Juanita Invierno of the UDC, and SA Celia Cordon of the IPPF. Hanalei contacted Jean Dumont via internet link.

"Jean, is Denders solvent?" was Hanalei's first question.

"Yes, very," Jean confirmed. "They usually do poorly during the summer months, however, the influx of guests from the Interspecies Community will mean a very profitable year for Denders."

"Denders should have 50,000 credits necessary then for the seeds and other items required by the Harradi to plant the acreage they have prepared?" Hanalei queried.

"Yes, Denders currently has over 2,000,000 credits in it's operating budget, above and beyond what was used to make the current changes for the many special needs guests of the Greater Community," Jean confirmed.

"Why then would the CFO of Denders turn down the request for the Harradi seed money, sighting non-availability of funds?" Hanalei asked.

"Ah, I was wondering who was involved in this," Jean murmured.

"You know something, Mr. Dumont?" SA Cordon asked.

"It would be cheaper for Denders to import fresh produce from the moon than the price of canned goods that you are being charged," Jean informed them. "Denders is not the only resort that is in this situation. I suspect that the CFO's of all of these resorts are either getting kickbacks from the canned goods company, or they are being blackmailed by the same."

"Can you identify which is which, Jean?" Hanalei asked. "I would not want to arrest someone who is being blackmailed. I would rather deal with them in a different manner."

"I am already looking into it and should have the answer to that in a few days, Hanalei," Jean informed her.

"Damn, you are good. I am so glad that Liea tweaked me onto you, Jean," Hanalei said.

"Don't look at me with gold in your eyes just yet, Hanalei, you haven't received my fee schedule, though you can afford it," Jean said with a smile.

"As for the costs for the Harradi, I would suggest you make the funds available to them yourself and recoup it from Denders at a later date, once we have this situation cleaned up. Sylvie can be your confidant on the inside in that regard, keeping records for you on what the Harradi are doing," Jean indicated.

"I do have some good news out of Bonn. The IPPF is involved due to the fact that the current owner is you. As such, we have discovered that our Bonn Management Corporation is wholly owned by a criminal organization, which is paying off the local police in order to work openly in Bonn. Once we started working with police forces above the local level, we were able to break them wide open.

"There are a number of local police who are now, or soon will be, in jail or out of a job, as is the property management corporation. The corporation is in fact, under indictment as they have been skimming from a dozen or so properties in Bonn, to a tune of just over one hundred million credits per year.

"As well, they have been using the properties to launder money for criminal syndicates. You will probably not get your past dividends back, however, we will soon have a new property manager for your Bonn assets. Instead of the current five million credits per year from that property, you should soon be receiving fifteen to twenty million credits per year after fees and taxes," Jean told her.

"Quick work, Jean, I am pleased with the results," Hanalei stated, getting a smile from Jean.

They quickly set up a system whereby the Harradi would receive their seeds and other items they needed to keep working with an operating budget of 100,000 credits under the direct control of Sylvie Triand to keep it out of the hands of the current Denders CFO.

Jean noted that someone would have to continue the work after the delegates left Denders.

Junelliya had discovered that the Harradi had set up four plots of one square Kilometer each, designed so that they could be planted one month apart and be harvested every three months. That would allow them to leave fallow one plot for one month, meaning that they would produce throughout the year.

In addition, they had seven additional plots of one half square kilometers each for plants that preferred sandy soil, those would be on a six months schedule for harvest. The fresh produce would also be much, much cheaper than they currently paid for canned goods once harvesting began at the farm.

The Harradi had assured Sylvie that all of the produce that the kitchens had asked for could be planted at the farm.

Harla Aubrend advised them that they would have to hire ten Harradi to keep the new farm going throughout the year. This would include one Hern, or group level director, one medical person, and eight workers.

Harla Aubrend told them that the farm would start providing produce within three months. The new farm would not only be able to provide fresh produce during most of the year for Denders but would also be able to provide limited produce for the four larger resorts around Denders, providing additional profit for Denders, more than enough that they could buy more crop seeds from the farm's additional profits.

Sylvie was happy, she liked the idea of fresh produce being cost produced and providing additional profit. Hanalei was happy, she liked the idea that the additional revenue would be able to keep the farm self sustaining. The Harradi were happy, as they would have employment for ten of their own. Celia was happy, as she could get information from the European branch of the IPPF for Hanalei. The only ones who were not happy were the UDC, who now had to provide justification to hire ten Harradi...

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

Junelliya and Hanalei were sitting on loungers at the beach when Meela approached them.

"High ladies," she said, sitting on an empty lounger. "How do you stand this heat and humidity?"

"We are used to it," Hanalei replied. "We know that the Byandi are not build for this kind of weather, which is why we have placed the airconditioned tents around the beach."

"What about the ocean, Meela? It must be warm, too," Junelliya inquired.

"It is close in, near the beach, but once we get out a few hundred Lictas, the water cools considerably. That makes it comfortable for us," Meela replied.

Just then, one of the Byandi males came out of the tent near them, gave a kind of squeak and ran off.

"What was that?" Hanalei asked.

"Oh, he recently purchased a comp here at the Denders store. Yesterday, he found the human porn sites on the internet, however, humans do something that we Byandi do not do," Meela explained. "He has been obsessed with this ever since, not knowing what to do about it and reacting to every human female with bared breasts he sees."

"What is it that we do that Byandi do not?" Junelliya asked, curious.

"Oral sex," Meela responded.

"The Byandi don't do oral sex?" Hanalei asked, intrigued.

"Our tongues do not extend far beyond our lips, and..." Meela opened her wide mouth to show off the multiple rows of conically shaped teeth.

The ladies laughed at the sight.

"No, it would not be wise for a male to put his cock into a mouth like that," Junelliya teased, getting a toothy smile from Meela.

"I have to admit though, I looked at those vid clips myself, just to see what the fuss was all about for him and, I think it would be something wonderful to experience from the reactions of the males and females in those clips," Meela told them with a wink.

"You do know that there are sex workers here at Denders?" Hanalei asked Meela.

"Sex workers?"

"People who you pay to experience sexual pleasures with," Junelliya told Meela.

As the ladies watched, Meela turned several shades of blue, the thought suddenly making her very excited.

"Then again, you could always ask Raymond," Hanalei teased.

"I could never ask Raymond something like that!" Meela stated.

"Ask me what?" Raymond asked, coming up on the conversation.

Meela gave out a kind of squeak then fled down the beach and into the water, the ladies laughing as she ran.

"What was that all about?" Raymond demanded...

'Educare' Day Care, Denders Resort, Terra

Takebayashi Urano was a smallish woman of Asian descent that was currently working toward her Doctorates in Early Childhood Education. She had just recently completed her Masters in the program and had sought out employment during her gap year in order to have funds to continue her education. However, she quickly discovered that she was very much over educated as a childcare worker as most people with an M. ECE owned their own day dares rather than worked in one.

Urano did not have the funds to start her own day dare nor even enough funds to continue her education, so when the call went out for help at Denders for childcare workers, she jumped at the chance.

What she discovered was something very much unique, children from other species! Being Master's qualified put Urano in the position to be the lead for the childcare center at Denders.

Urano was fascinated by the different children and their needs, each species being unique in their requirements. Some children were like Human infants, unable to help themselves until they were older. Others, were like the Pod-Drran, helpless for the first six months, then increasingly independent, as the Brood of the Jurte-Pair showed her.

Then there were the Byandi. They loved to be in the water and were constantly in the larger pool in the day care's small pool area, which had to have salt added for their needs.

Fortunately for Urano, the Byandi had provided some seasoned childcare workers of their own, otherwise none of the humans would have been able to manage the Byandi children in their own medium, the water.

Since many of the children were from families that were very much the elite of their respective species, Urano had the added difficulty of constantly being under surveillance of the UDC and IPPF agents in and around the resort.

However, Urano had put her foot down and forced the various security people out of Educare leaving only her people or those people of the Interspecies Community dedicated to childcare in the day care proper.

In the end, she had four Jurte-Rai/Ro dedicated to the Jurte's Brood of six who worked two on two off, four Byandi childcare specialists, who were dedicated to the children of the Byandi, though they helped with everyone, one Toolend, who was a specialist for erht's species, four Harradi, who were managing the twenty-six children of the Harradi currently in the day care, plus a collection of six humans, all under Urano's supervision.

The door opened and Hanalei and Junelliya entered the day care.

"Good morning ladies, another drop off for some leisure time?" Urano asked.

"It is indeed, Urano," Hanalei replied. "Ikekia seems to like coming to the day care to play with the other children."

"Ug!" said Ikekia from her mother's arms, getting a laugh from Urano.

"Your favourite word right now, isn't it, Ikekia?" Urano asked the little girl as she took her from her mother and gave her a hug.

"I can take her, Urano," said Meera, one of the Byandi day care workers, who had come to the front of the day care when the bell sounded.

"Thank-you Meera," Urano replied as she passed Ikekia along to the female. For reasons unknown, the Byandi seemed to have an affinity for human children.

Zarrenia was passed off to Teera, Meera's sister and Malotvi (twins with a special connection to each other).

"Any changes in instructions, ladies?" Urano asked.

"None," Henadi admitted. "The list of those who can retrieve the children remains the same. Expect the Kumaraie and her entourage and the Jurte-Pair to pay you a visit within the next couple of days. They wish to speak to you about how you operate a day care, they do not have such a system in their framework of things, and are fascinated by the concept, especially now that the Kumaraie is pregnant."

"I look forward to that discussion," Urano replied as she had the ladies sign over their children to Urano and her workers.