All That Glitters Ch. 44

The Piscium family lead them up the ramp to the VIP reception area, this time, Junelliya and Hanalei had their children in arms.

"Home," said little Ikekia, kicking her feet.

"Yes, Ikekia. We are home or will be shortly," Hanalei smiled.

"Asoc come?" Ikekia asked.

"She will be busy, Ikekia," Junelliya told her. "You are, however, welcome to come to our home should you find some free time, Asoc. As you have heard, Ikekia has invited you to visit."

"I might just take you up on that, Ikekia," the Asoc smiled. A moment later, they entered the reception area proper.

In front of them stood several people standing in groups, including a female in a black uniform near her Ambassador, Dragon Ambassador Alvoie. Fayad moved to stand beside the woman in black, while his family moved over to stand alone, along with their Nanny, their bodyguard, and their aide.

"Asoc, may I present to you the Director of Liramor-23, Commodore Doctor Fiona Marsh," Ambassador Alvoie said by way of introduction.

"Welcome, Asoc, to Liramor-23, the home of the Interspecies Embassy," Fiona greeted the Asoc. "Unfortunately, there are several people to introduce to you before we can advance further into the platform," Fiona quipped, giving the Asoc a closed-mouth smile.

"First, I would like to introduce the Assistant Director of Liramor-23, Fayad Piscium Sai-Rai," Fiona said with a smile.

The Asoc's eyes widened just a little as she took in the closed-mouth smile on Fayad's face.

Fiona introduced the remainder of her senior personnel, including another Doctor named Heyya, who had the same type of hair as Hanalei's bodyguard. She too, wore the same symbol under her left breast as Junelliya did.

Ambassador Alvoie then brought the Asoc over to a large group of waiting delegates, Fiona stepping temporarily to the side. He introduced all of the ambassadors for the Greater Community.

Fiona then asked the Asoc if she would like a grand tour of the platform, or the short one.

"I would prefer the short one, if I may, Dir. Marsh," the Asoc smiled.

"Very well then. We shall proceed directly to the Interspecies Embassy, Asoc," Fiona said and guided them to the exit into the platform.

As they moved through the hatch, the Asoc's device translated a burst form the intercom system; "Arriving, the Asoc, Supreme Ruler of the Asocan People, her mate, the Asost, and her entourage."

Fiona led the group to a series of elevators where people dressed in brown were waiting. They were swiftly brought to Juliet Deck and the main entrance to the Interspecies Embassy, where Alvoie guided the Asoc to the Asocan Embassy.

The Asoc looked around her embassy, noting the size. Despite the fact they were on a space station, the embassy was of an impressive size. The Asoc's personal symbol stood in the corner, indicating that she was in the embassy, along with the flag of the Asocan Empire and the flag of Asocar.

The Asoc found herself proud of her embassy. It was not the largest she had ever been in, nor was it the most flamboyant. It was large enough to allow for the movement of several Asocans without interfering with each other.

They ended in the embassy's conference room, where the Asoc noted a violet coloured box on the table. She gave a look to the ambassador.

"War Dragon Minister Kloä>'s son, Guro>, commissioned this presentation blade in his Patriarch's name in commemoration of this visit, Asoc," Alvoie said with a smile.

The Asoc looked at the box. The colour was her favourite. The box was shiny and made of material she could not readily place. It had a rectangle of strange, flat-coloured metal with the inscription in Asocan; Presented to the Asoc, At The Asocan Interspecies Embassy.

From where she stood, the Asoc could see a strange sigil on the side of the box. The four fasteners were simple and very much non-Asocan. She flipped the two upper ones up and lifted the lid.

In the box was a traditional >Curlat but it shone like no traditional weapon she had ever seen. The weapon had the symbol of the Asocan Embassy on its surface coloured to make it stand out. Below it was the symbol of Liramor-23.

The Asoc reached in and picked the weapon up, surprised at how it felt in her hand. Most >Curlat were weighted to the far end from the hilt but this one felt balanced in her hand, still a little front heavy but well-balanced overall. The Asoc literally purred a deep rumble as she held the weapon.

"Hold it in your thumbs, Asoc, and flick the blade with a talon," Alvoie directed.

The Asoc did as he suggested resulting in a sound she had never heard before from a >Curlat. She flicked it again in different places. It basically sounded the same no matter where she struck it with her talon.

As she turned the blade, she saw her personal symbol on the blade, along with the symbol of Mutt Korld below it.

"First Offensive Pattern, Asoc," Alvoie suggested and stood back.

The Asoc went through the pattern swiftly, her eyes widening at each movement. She looked at Alvoie at the end, sheer pleasure on her face. The weapon was only half the weight of a traditional >Curlat, with enough heft to make it a useful weapon but not so much wight that you had to fight the blade as you used it, the traditional problem with most >Curlats.

"This is no presentation blade!" she almost shouted.

"It is not, Asoc. It is made by one of the premier weapons smiths of the humans, Tatsuya Hajime, that is his sigil on the blade and on the box, and is made to be used as a weapon, not just to show off," Alvoie explained.

The Asoc passed the weapon around to those in the room, who were just as surprised as she was when they moved through their patterns.

"There is a sheath, Asoc," Alvoie said, closing the lid and flipping the box over. He opened the bottom of the box to show a sheath that shone strongly in the light of the conference room. The maker's sigil gleamed at the apex, while the Asoc's personal symbol spread out in the middle of the sheath, coloured in yellow so as to stand out against the background material.

The weapon was placed into its sheath and then snugged around the Asoc. Most >Curlats were heavy on the hip, this one was not. Her pleasure rumbled through her body at the feel of the weapon resting on her person.

"WE must meet with this weaponsmith," the Asoc hissed. "I would have more of these."

"Asoc, there is an impediment. As this weapon was created as a one-of-a-kind offering, the maker must have the intended recipients permission to make others of this kind," Alvoie told the Asoc.

"Then I give my permission," the Asoc chortled.

"Asoc, you were not the intended recipient. It was a presentation piece commissioned for War Dragon Minister Kloä> by his son. It is Minister Kloä> who must give his permission for other blades like this one to be made," Alvoie explained.

All eyes turned to Kloä>, who silently cursed and praised his son. The few moments he had this blade in his hand, he had been amazed at what he was wielding. He gave the Asoc a brief nod of his head.

"I will speak with this weaponsmith. How do we contact him?" he demanded.

"Ask Kim, Minister. He is her friend and the one who made her three blades," Alvoie said with a smile. He heard a hiss of shame from the back and saw War Dragon Minister Geldan lower her head. Alvoie wasn't sure what that was about, however, that wasn't important at the moment.

"And why not Guro<?" another minister asked.

"He is an apprentice, learning his trade as a metal smith. He intends to go and learn to make such weapons from Tatsuya Hajime after he earns his titles," Alvoie advised.

"Then we shall ask Kim," Kloä> smiled, enjoying the dig at his rival, Geldan.

Fiona opened a link to Kim, which was answered almost immediately. Kim noted where they were in the Asocan Embassy with the weapon box in front of them. She saw the shiny, purple sheath at the Asoc's hip and smiled.

"You are pleased with the weapon?" Kim asked, getting a happy rumble back from the Asoc.

"WE are told that your weapons are made by this same bladesmith?" The Asoc replied.

Kim pulled her Katana and flicked the blade. Its song was different from that made by the >Curlat, different, yet strangely similar.

"These blades have been with me through thirty-nine separate combats. I have earned the title Sai-Rai with them, defeating a foe in single combat while protecting the Kumar-Pair of the Pod-Drran.

"The blades show no nicks, no damage, and are as sharp now as they were when I first received them. Your blade will fair just as well, Asoc," Kim finished, looking into the Asoc's eyes.

"You want to know how to contact Hajime," she stated.

"You are as intelligent as you are aggressive, Kim," the Asoc rumbled.

Kim opened a link to Tatsuya and waited. He responded a minute later, both their faces now on the monitor as the image split in two.

"A, Kim-san," Hajime said with a bow. And how may I help you today?" he inquired.

"Our friends the Asocan's are curious about the weapon you created for them, Hajime-sama," Kim replied.

"Then the weapon meets with your approval?" Hajime asked, looking out at the Asocans.

"It does," rumbled the Asoc. "The weapon was given to me as a presentation piece by War Dragon Minister Kloä>. We are pleased, no, very pleased with it. So much so that we would make other presentation pieces of this weapon."

"I am War Dragon Minister Kloä>, Minister for Interspecies Affairs. This weapon was commissioned for me as a presentation piece. I give my permission for other blades of this kind to be made," Kloä> stated formally.

"Such blades do not come cheap," Hajime warned. "To create such fine weapons, it takes four months of hand forging, risking ruining the blade at any point in the process, working diligently to forge together metals that do not wish to combine. The cost may be prohibitive," Hajime told them.

"How much?" Geldan demanded.

"Base cost is 32,000 credits for the same kind of weapon as you have seen. Special modifications would cost more," Hajime replied, getting shocked gasps as their Asocan devices translated the cost.

"Cheap at that price," Utan< whispered from the corner. The Asoc looked to her and she cringed at having been heard.

"You held this weapon?" the Asoc asked.

"The day it arrived in the embassy, Asoc," Utan< admitted. "I would beggar myself to own such a blade."

"I will order twenty-five such blades from you, Hajime," the Asoc stated, turning back to the monitor. "One for each of my Ministers. One for the Asost. One for Dragon Ambassador Alvoie, and one for Utan<.

"I shall not have you become a beggar, Utan<," the Asoc smiled at the surprised functionary.

"I shall take your contact information from Kim and send you the required credits. You will create these new blades of office for me as presentation pieces as required. There may be more blades requested in future. The Asocans respect a true bladesmith. You have proved yourself such," the Asoc ended.

Hajime gave a low bow. "Thank-you for your patronage, Asoc. I will begin to make the weapons within the next two weeks. It will take time to make all twenty-five."

"At four month's each? Eight and one third years to make all of them, unless you have capable apprentices. I am told that Guro< intends to become your apprentice when he finishes his current metal smith apprenticeship," the Asoc said.

"Ah, Guro<, it will be interesting working with that one," Hajime smiled.

"A piece of advice, Asoc. Heat the sheath up without the weapon in it until it is almost too hot to touch, then wear it for twenty minutes. Do this until it fits comfortably at your hip. It will help shape the leather to your hip, which would take many months otherwise. Try not to burn yourself though," he laughed. "If you have a lesser weapon to put in the sheath while it is forming, that would be useful."

Hajime bowed and signed off.

"Since we will be staying aboard The Wanderer while we are here, I will contact you on the ship for the contact information," the Asoc told Kim, who nodded and closed her link.

Main Conference Room, Interspecies Embassy, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

The Asoc and her entourage were ensconced in the Embassy's Main Conference Room the next day, receiving senior delegates from the other species, who had been ferried in by Navy vessels borrowed from Sector Forty-Two. A steady stream of senior official names could be heard over the intercom as new arrivals came in for the contacts.

"Arriving, the Kumar-Pair, Supreme Ruler of the Pod-Drran on official and non-official duties." That intrigued the Asoc, who gave her ambassador an inquiring look.

"The Kumar-Pair are the Godparents of the Piscium children." He had to explain the concept of Godparents to the Asoc, who found the concept intriguing.

Not long after, a commotion was noted at the entrance to the Interspecies Embassy. The Asoc rose and moved to the grand foyer.

An obviously pregnant female, almost as tall as the Asoc, though not as broad, wrapped in a multi-coloured gown made of human silk (the Asoc had become enamored of the material) and having a long sword at her side, walked hand-in-hand with a male similarly dressed. A group of armed females and males formed a protective shield behind them.

Fiona stepped between the two groups.

"Asoc >Catal, Mutt Herrtt, Supreme Ruler of the Asocan People, Asost <Korme Mutt Goult, Mate of the Asoc, I present Kumaraie Na-Maj Se-Lam Pod-Raie, and her mate, Kumaroe Jarl Se-Lam Pod-Sai-Roe, the Kumar-Pair and Supreme Rulers of the Pod-Drran People," she introduced them.

The four nodded to each other.

"Do you need to sit?" asked the Asoc, who had recently birthed her own clutch and knew how the late stages of pregnancy could play havoc on the body.

"Thank-you, Asoc, I would indeed like to sit," the Kumaraie replied.

"You travel when you are so near parturition?" the Asoc asked surprised.

"WE are two weeks away from our birth time," the Kumaraie disclosed. "Unlike other species, the Pod-Drran normally birth on the expected day. We rarely have late or early births."

"You are lucky, my clutch refused to arrive for almost a month past their due date. I gave birth only three weeks ago," the Asoc explained.

"And she is still having issues with hormones," the Asost smiled, getting an understanding laugh from the Kumaroe.

"The once feared Kumaraie has turned into a soft child's toy," the Kumaroe expressed, getting a dirty look from his mate, which he pretended to ignore. The Asoc noted the smiles and looks of pride on the guards behind the pair.

They were well thought of by their people then, she thought.

They moved into the Main Conference Room as Ambassador Nar-Tre pulled a chair for her Kumaraie. The guard spread out around the room but kept well away from the Asoc's personal guard.

The couples chatted amicably while their respective ministers went through the processes of trade talks, when the Kumaraie noted the sigil on the sheath of her weapon.

"OH! You have a weapon made by Tatsuya Hajime!" she exclaimed, standing and pulling her Kaldar from its sheath to show the Asoc.

Immediately, the Asoc's guard drew their weapons, only to have the Kumar-Rai/Ro pull their own weapons.

"STOP!!" shouted Fiona, drawing all eyes to her. "This is neutral ground!"

"Awd Medeh!" said a tiny voice.

"I think you mean 'Ard Mheydeh, Ikekia," Hanalei explained to her child.

"God-Ma!" Ikekia shrieked, holding out her arms to the Kumaraie.

"Ikekia!" the Kumaraie replied, moving to pick her up and cuddle her. "How have you been, Dosri?"

"Me good, you bad. Not be bad to Asoc," Ikekia warned, getting laughter from all around.

"She did not frighten me, little one," the Asoc assured her. "My guards on the other hand..." she gave her bodyguards a stern look, seeing them shrink back and sheath their weapons, as did the Kumar-Pair's people.

"Huwl< ana, Asoc," Ikekia said, giving the traditional greeting and waving to the Asoc.

"You are doing better with your inflection, Ikekia. I am so proud of you," the Asoc replied.

The Asoc turned to the Kumar-Pair. "Might I see your weapon, Kumaraie?" the Asoc asked, to help defuse the tensions.

The Kumaroe pulled his Kaldar and showed it to the Asoc. She immediately recognized the gleam of the metal. Smiling, she pulled her >Curlat and flicked the metal, making it sing. The Kumaroe did the same with his Kaldar. The sound was different, yet recognizable.

The Asoc placed her >Curlat on the table and asked to hold the Kumaroe's weapon.

"It is called a Kaldar, Asoc," he informed her. "Though this one is not built quite like traditional Kaldars are."

"Nor is my >Curlat," the Asoc admitted. She whipped the Kaldar around to get a feel for it. It certainly had a different way of moving from that of her >Curlat. It felt light in her hand, like she could strike with it with the kind of speed that Raymond had during the Rapier event.

After a moment, she handed it back to the Kumaroe and pointed to her own weapon on the table. The Kumaroe hefted it, getting a feel for the wider weapon. He was surprised at how responsive it was in his hand.

"For such a heavy blade, it is surprisingly nimble," he muttered.

"Yes, we all think the same. Most >Curlats are rather clumsy when compared to this weapon. This is a weapon made by a master weaponsmith," the Asoc said, as is yours. I suspect that if I held a normal Kaldar, it would not feel nor be wielded the same as your weapon.

"I am told that the Gara-Hinn device is Pod-Drran?" the Asoc asked, as everyone sat back down, the Kumaraie still holding Ikekia, who was babbling away to her about her and Zarrenia's exploits over the last couple of days, her words switching between Standard and Pod-Drran, much to the delight of the Kumar-Pair.

"It is, though the modifications that make it useable on vessels other than our Man-Jays is human. You would buy the devices from the humans and we would receive a licencing fee from each device sold. The Pod-Drran do not lose out," the Kumaroe conveyed.

"Interesting. The humans seem to be an anomaly when it comes to trade practices," the Asost voiced.

"Yes and no," the Kumaroe informed them, unhelpfully. "The humans believe that they can gain more from being fair to all parties than they can by gouging. Gouging fosters resentment and will eventually cost customers. So far, their processes have worked. All of the different species are more than happy to collaborate with the humans because of their actions to date. However, I have heard that the humans here tend to be more altruistic than many of their counterparts."

"That is indeed different," the Asoc commented.

"It is also good to know when we begin earnest trade with them," the Asost stated.

"I would warn you on that," Hanalei said. "Not all humans are so altruistic. Some will take great delight in gouging others, especially non-humans."

"Arriving, Pallanders," came over the intercom, as the group contemplated Hanalei's warning.

"Ah, the shipbuilding firm," the Kumaraie revealed when she heard the name.

"Yes, they are here to open a contract with US," the Asoc divulged.

"With US, too," the Kumaroe replied. "I suspect if you ask the senior ministers around this table, they too are waiting on Pallanders."

Not long after, Pallanders entered the room. He bowed low to the two couples.

"If I may introduce François Pallanders, the president of Pallanders Shipyard," Fiona said to the couples.

"Mr. Pallanders, it is good to see you again," Ambassador Nar-Tre spoke.

"And I you, Ambassador. I am please to meet with the Kumar-Pair, and with the Asoc and her mate," he ended.