All That Glitters Ch. 48

"Public access to these quarters will be permitted for the senior members of your delegations on Friday," Hanalei continued. "Access after that will be by private invitation only from each of the Consulars and consulate staff living in the compound. Invitations will be limited and must be passed through Ji'en. This is for the safety of the delegates living in this compound. Private invitations will not be permitted until after the grand opening on Friday.

"We have a number of different events this week, starting with a Signing Ceremony tomorrow with the President of the Union and those delegations that have agreements ready for signature. Currently, that includes the Asocans, the Harradi, and the Toolend.

"This compound has a series of dedicated ground vehicles that can transport the delegates back and forth to Denders Resort or the Denders Shuttle Port. They are kept in the underground parking garage.

"Each of the delegations has a pass that allows those who live here and their guests access to Denders Resort and all of its facilities. Ji'en can show you how to access those. They will not come into effect until the official opening of the compound. Until then, you all have access to Denders and its facilities.

"Air access is through the Denders Shuttle Port. If you need to fly anywhere on Terra, Ji'en can contact Sylvie and set up the use of a shuttle. If you want to make use of Denders' options for travel, that will cost the delegation, or the individual, as it is not included in the delegation's resort access.

"On Thursday, there will be a Presidential Meet and Greet at the Presidential Media Center in Capital City, where you, the consulars, will be introduced to the Greater Community and, more specifically, the Union who this compound will serve. You and your office staff are expected to attend this event. Transportation has been arranged. See Ji'en for details.

"On Friday, we will rededicate the small Temple to Andanii outside of the walls of the compound. You are all invited to attend, however, please be respectful of those who arrive for the religious ceremony of the rededication. The grand opening of the compound will be conducted one half hour after this event.

"Public access will be restricted to the Office Complex that day. Only your leaders will have access to the living quarters. Be respectful of those who are permitted into this side of the compound. They are the ruling members of the Interspecies Community and will not take kindly to unwarranted comments or actions on your part. Your own leaders could wind up replacing you for having insulted a senior member of another race.

"The UDC representative, Juanita Invierno, will be the Union representative in this compound. She will live here full-time when the summit is complete. She will act as intermediary between the Union Citizens and you. She will also be available as a subject matter expert on Union tax, customs, and shipping laws for the consulate. She and her staff will be here for the Grand Opening on Friday so that you can meet with them. They will also be at the Presidential Meet and Greet on Thursday.

"This compound has it's own ICS antenna, which means you will have dedicated comms to your own home worlds or any other world in your realms.

"The compound will also have a dedicated banker working in the office complex. He/she will not reside here but will be here during the standard hours of operation. This person will be dedicated to assisting the Consulate in moving large sums of money back and forth between your member worlds and Terra for the various operations that will occur here and throughout the Union. That will allow you to act much more freely when making agreements between the various companies of your species and those of the Union.

"Please be sure to follow this person's guidelines. Abusing the bank here could lose the presence of a bank in the consulate which would result in a rather large inconvenience for those working here. Remember that you are not only dealing with your own banking laws but those of the Union as well.

"The office complex will go into full operation starting Monday, next week. It will run to your own schedules from then on. I expect that it will be slow going for the first few weeks then pick up surprisingly quickly when you get 'discovered' by the different planets in the Union, and in the Greater Community. I suspect, however, that the Greater Community will likely work through Liramor-23, which means this office will probably be used exclusively by human businesses.

"Any questions?" of course there were.

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

The Piscium adults found themselves back on the beach in the afternoon, their work at the compound having been completed much earlier than they had anticipated. Hanalei noted a group of Asocans looking and pointing at them and mentioned it to Violletiya, who cast a wary eye on them.

One of the Asocans came up the beach and bowed to the ladies.

"Forgive the intrusion, please. Would you be the famous celebrity chefs Hanalei and Junelliya of Cooking at the Palace?" the smaller Asocan asked.

"What? We are celebrities?" Hanalei asked, surprised. The Asocan nearly jumped for joy when the translator returned her words.

"Hurl< ana Hanalei. Hurl< ana Junelliya. Bez Verned Mutt Shumett," the Asocan said with a low bow. It then turned and ran back to its little group who quickly came up the beach to excitedly greet the pair.

"Hurl< ana Hanalei. Hurl< ana Junelliya. Bez Drane Mutt Hoylle," the lead female said.

"Well met, Drane. How is it that you know of us?" Hanalei asked.

"You are famous on Asocar for your cooking shows with Shald Mutt Semt, the palace cook," Drane stated.

"Did I just hear my name?" asked another Asocan. The group all turned to look to the other side of the sun shelter where the Asoc and Shald were coming across the large blanket on the sand.

Junelliya rose and gave the hand sign of one lesser to one higher. "Well met Asoc. Well met Shald. It is good to meet the famous palace cook in person," she quipped.

That got a bark of a laugh from the Asoc. "Speaking of cooking," the Asoc began, looking behind her to show Sylvie Triand in tow. "I would like to do another session of Cooking at the Palace Kitchen here on the beach, if you think you can fit it into your busy schedules?"

Hanalei laughed. "Yes, well we suddenly find ourselves not so busy, as things went very smoothly at the compound today. So we are available."

"Good, I have asked Sylvie to set up a cooking stage on the beach. The four of us will do a live show from Denders Resort as part of the series," the Asoc stated. "The only issue will be the availability of your Anuuran spices as someone seems to have bought out the spices at the shop you directed me to yesterday."

"Funny you should mention that," Junelliya said with a smile.

"Drane, a moment of your time," the Asoc said, walking a little away from the others, Drane nervously following.

"What are you intentions toward this young male you had confront Hanalei and Junelliya?" the Asoc demanded of the young female.

Drane blushed. Not that any but another Asocan would have noticed.

"Asoc, I like this male. I was testing him," Drane admitted quietly.

"Good," the Asoc said with a smile. "I have seen far too many females abusing males than I would like. Has he passed your tests, Drane?"

"So far, Asoc. If he continues to do so, I would be inclined to take him as my mate," Drane admitted.

"If you complete this decision while you are here at Denders, come and see me. It has been far too long since I have presided over a mating ceremony," the Asoc said. She returned to the others, leaving a stunned Drane standing in her wake.

An hour later, the three cooks and the Asoc were ensconced under a large sun shield on the beach in front of four hastily set up cooking and preparation surfaces, a large crowd of Asocans, and other member species of the Greater Community, watching the foursome, live on the beach.

"Welcome, guests, to a live session of 'Cooking at the Palace Kitchen'," the Asoc greeted the watchers from Cynthia Stewart's much more professional media recording system as the reporter watched bemused.

For the next two hours, the foursome went through the ritual of cooking several dishes as appetizers, the main meal, and various deserts, all made with Anuuran spices.

Hanalei plugged the store she bought the spices at in Capital City and indicated that Caye-Ur of the House of Ur Trading Company, was in negotiations with Asocan authorities to import Anuuran spices for sale on Asocar, to which the watching crowd of Asocans shrieked their delight.

To Cynthia Stewart, they sounded much the same as human groupies of celebrity entertainers. She smiled at the thought.

The Asoc finally brought the show to an end with the traditional ending of 'Eat hearty, Eat well', as she bowed to the watchers and Cynthia slowly panned on the live audience, who were being treated to a tasting of the wares of the three celebrity cooks. Unsurprisingly, they found the food as delicious as it appeared murmuring their delight as the images slowly faded to black.

The show was a rousing success judging by the applause they were getting from those who had watched them live on the beach. The three cooks suddenly found themselves signing autographs for their delighted fans, much to the amusement of Fayad and the Asoc, who stood watching.

"Thank-you, Cynthia for your efforts today. I hoped we didn't bore you too much," the Asoc asked.

"Are you kidding me, Asoc? This is the most excitement I have ever had from doing a live performance that didn't include music. You would not believe how dull some politicians can be." Cynthia suddenly shut up as she realized she was talking to the Asoc, the premier politician of the Asocans.

The Asoc barked a laugh. "Oh, I know how dull some politicians can be. I have had to watch far too many of them make their pretty speeches."

That got a knowing smile from Fayad, who was nodding his head in agreement.

Once the ladies had given autographs for all that wanted them, they rejoined the Asoc. "Not ready to give autographs to your fans, Asoc?" Hanalei teased.

"Unfortunately, my signature carries serious weight, Hanalei. I cannot give it out too generously," the Asoc explained, getting another nod from Fayad.

"Time to pick up the children," Fayad stated, taking his wives by the arms and waving to the Asoc and Shald.

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

Xavier brought her friend not long after the evening meal had ended. She knocked on the open door and wasn't surprised to see the villa filled with the senior leaders of the Greater Community, all having a little down time with the Pisciums.

"You have to get used to this," Xavier told her friend. "Their apartment on Liramor-23 is central station for the Greater Community."

That brought a smile to Aghavni's lips. "I seem to do the same," she informed her friend.

The pair were greeted by Ikekia and Zarrenia, who took them by the hands and led them to an area where there was a piano. Aghavni noted what looked like a Bandura, two Ukulele and a flute-like instrument. Surprisingly, the children didn't put her in front of the piano. Instead, they put her in a chair and picked up their Ukuleles. Aghavni was surprised to note that the instruments were top of the line.

The two children began to pluck out and sing a simple Anuuran lullaby they had already learned. Xavier told her friend that she had heard that the children had received their instruments the day before. Aghavni could see that the children could become serious musicians if they had good instruction. She looked at the smile on her friend's face and laughed.

"Trying to entice me with some special students?" she asked.

"They are special, are they not," Junelliya said, coming up on the little group. "Children make sure you put her Ukuleles away properly," she told her daughters.

Aghavni smiled as the children loosened the strings on their instruments, wiped them down with cloths and placed them into their travel cases. The little imps then jumped up into her and Xavier's laps, giving the two adults warm hugs and kisses.

"Tank-you to wisten..." Zarrenia said, bringing smiles to the older ladies.

Junelliya sat down and picked up her instrument. Immediately, silence came across the villa as people sat where they could to listen to her play. A shiver went up Aghavni's back. Such things only happened to those who were truly worth listening to.

For the next hour, Junelliya played, her fingers swiftly plucking the strings with experience and competence. She plucked the bass strings in counterpoint to the harmonizing strings. The sound the instrument made was an identifiable solid bass like note with harp like harmonizing notes singing in unison. Aghavni recognized the skill of a serious musician and was mesmerized by the combination of Junelliya's instrument and her clear, bell-like voice.

Junelliya ended the session with a rendition of 'The Song of Life', putting some of her power into the song, passing along the feelings of motherly love, peace, and calm as she sang.

Aghavni was hooked. She looked at her friend and noted the same look of admiration on her face. When the song ended, the children slipped down from their laps and ran to their mother, who greeted them with open arms, warm hugs, and a mother's kiss.

Aghavni heard the collective intake of breath around her and realized that Junelliya had not only charmed her and Xavier, but everyone else in the villa, humans and other species alike.

"You play?" Ikekia asked from Junelliya's lap, suddenly putting Aghavni on the spot. How did she play after a musical rendition like that?

She noted Junelliya smiling at her and it suddenly dawned on her that, while Junelliya was an expert with her chosen instrument, so too was she.

Aghavni smiled and sat before the piano. She quickly ran the keys to make sure it was in tune, which it was. She opened with a rendition of Johan Sebastian Bach's Prelude No 1 in C. Then melded into Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

From there she moved to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. She followed that with Claire de la Lune, by Claude Debussy.

Gymnopédie No 1, from Erik Satie followed. She ended it all with Johannes Brahms Lullaby. The children dropped down from their mother's lap and ran over to Aghavni to climb up on her lap and give her hugs and kisses.

"You good," Zarrenia repeated, giving her another warm hug.

"Ok, girls. Time to say good night to everyone," Clarrisiya told her charges, who smiled and ran around to all of the people in the villa, human and others alike, to get hugs, kisses, and or Linkess (rubbing of foreheads) from the Pod-Drran and the Maha-Rrin (who had taken a liking to the little humans). They waved their good nights as Clarrisiya led them to their bedroom.

"You play beautifully, Aghavni," Junelliya gushed.

"Oh, Junelliya, I was so inspired by you. I have never heard anyone play an instrument like that. It was as if I could see the music flowing around me," Aghavni told her.

"Well, we can inspire each other then, while we are together here at Denders," Junelliya told her. "I would be happy to welcome you to our villa any evening that you desire, except for Saturday evening. We have to be in Paris that night."

"Oh! I would so like to be at that concert!" Aghavni said.

"Then you can be our guests, you and Xavier," Fayad said. "We still have four places available that we cannot fill, so adding the two of you helps a little bit. That is, if you want to join us that night?"

The look in the two professor's eyes told them they didn't have to twist their arms, too much.

Not long after, the villa began to clear out as people ended their night reasonably early. The next day was going to be a busy one. The President was coming...

End of chapter forty-eight.

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