All That Glitters Ch. 49

Mr. Ronter's aide took the podium first, reading from a prepared speech on the items that his boss and the lesser luminaries of the Greater Community would sign, explaining those agreements being signed by each group.

As they finished, he nodded to Grace, who took her place.

"Welcome guests, to the Signing Ceremony between the Union and the People of the Harradi," Grace began, still looking a little put off about the rather bland speech.

"I call upon Impatoss Hatel Konexi, of the Harradi, and the President of the Union, my father, Wilford J. Holloway, to step forward and claim their place in the Garden of Ceremonies created here on this stage," Grace proclaimed, with a low bow to those two luminaries.

She saw the odd look on her father's face, but also the delighted look on the face of the Impatoss.

"The people of the Harradi have been working diligently to cultivate this agreement. They have fed this agreement the fertilizer and muddy water it originally deserved and, surprisingly, it has born fruit to a much greater extent than had been expected.

"Now, the Impatoss, and the President, will place their signatures and affix their seals upon the agreements prepared by those who have placed hoe and spade to the works of their predecessors, until they have brought forth a harvest worthy of their efforts."

Grace went on to explain what those efforts were as the two luminaries sat and signed the documents. At the end, the Impotass rose and bowed to Grace, a smile touching his face.

"You truly understand," he told her, as he turned to shake the President's hand. "Your offspring, sir, is a great delight. I am pleased you chose her to speak in this Garden."

That comment surprised the President, who tried to smile and look delighted for the media but was still a little put off that his daughter had adlibbed her lines as she had.

"The Toolend are the philosophers of the Greater Community," Grace began more solemnly for the next signature. "Their minds bend to their will and seek out that which can help them and others. The work done to prepare this agreement is a true testament to the intellect of the people, as it should be," Grace stated solemnly.

She went on to explain the purpose of the agreement and how it would benefit both the Toolend and the Union.

"I call forth, Sharne Erx Toolend, the ruler royal personage of the Toolend, and President Wilford J. Holloway, elected President of the Union, to set testament to this agreement, so elegantly formulated by our combined people," Grace spoke, bowing low to the Erx and her father.

The Erx blinked twice, then made a rather intricate weave of his tentacles by way of reply to Grace's comments. He somberly affixed his seal to the agreement, turning and waiting patiently for the President's own signature and seal.

The pair turned and faced the crowd, the President holding a tentacle provided by the Erx. The president and the Erx waved a free hand/tentacle (of which the Erx had plenty to choose from) to the now boisterous crowd, who were highly amused by Grace's comments.

"STAND FORTH ASOC!" Grace thundered. "Your people and ours have fought a battle of wits and determination, each to outdo the other, only to find that working together as allies, has given each of our peoples that which we need.

"There is always a time for battle. These days, however, battle takes on a much different form. This agreement reaches the epitome of our people's battle together and gives both an agreement worthy of the other!"

Grace turned her head up and roared out her glee. Hundreds of Asocans eagerly followed her lead and roared out their pleasure, including the Asoc. All around the theatre, the constant snapping of snouts signalled the pleasure that the Asocan's found in this, otherwise, boring signing ceremony.

Grace spoke to the audience of the significance of the agreement and how it would work for their two peoples.

When both signatures had been affixed to the documents, Grace lead another roar of pleasure. This time, her father joined in, much to the delight of the media. The two posed for images and then the Asoc stomped over to where Grace was standing. She pulled her into a hearty embrace.

"Well done, little warrior!" she called out as she held Grace at arms length. "These ceremonies never seem to capture the moment in quite the way you have," she gushed enthusiastically, causing Grace to blush.

"I am pleased that the Asoc has recognized my humble speech," Grace said, getting a bark of a laugh from the Asoc.

"How many of you have ever roared out their pleasure at a signing ceremony before?" the Asoc asked of the Asocans in the audience. No one spoke.

"How many today joined their voices in this ceremony?" she asked, getting a prolonged roar from her people. "You need not be so humble, Grace. Some people have the 'voice' some do not. You have been able to encourage the Asocans here to lend our voices to this achievement. Few can do this.

"Not only did you do this for the Asocans, you spoke brilliantly of the interest of the Toolend, and the joy of the Harradi.

"Make this one your speech writer, Mr. President. She is worthy of the duty."

The President looked down in pride on his daughter and pulled her into a hug. "Thank-you for today, Grace. It has been...interesting..."

Main Cafeteria, Denders Resort, Terra, The Sol System

There was a lot of excitement around what was now being jokingly referred to as the 'head table' during the lunch hour.

"You must be so proud of your daughter, Mr. President," the Asoc said.

"Very much so, Asoc. My daughter is graduating this year, two years ahead of her age mates. Next year, she will be in university.

"Oh! I graduated this year too!" Shallel Konexi stated. "Next school season, I too will be at our equivalent of university.

"I would love to see your graduating ceremony, Grace. I am sure it is quite different from those the Harradi attend," Shallel finished.

"That can be arranged," the President said. "I will ask the school what the protocols would be in such a situation. Grace will graduate on the twenty-first of this month, the day before the final concert for the summit.

"How many of you would be interested in going to such an event?" the President was surprised when almost all of the senior guests indicated they would. He shouldn't have been. He was the leader of the Union and Grace was his daughter. That meant a lot of interest from the summit leaders.

"How do you feel about attending university next year, Grace?" Martte Garnal, the Asoc's daughter from her second clutch and now just become an adult herself, asked.

"I'm of mixed mind, Garnal," she admitted. "When I went there I found myself being shunned by those who will be attending the school next year. Not because of who I am, but because of my age.

"All my life, I have been in my father's shadow. I have learned from the best about formal dining, formal dancing, formal etiquette in any given situation. So many of the students at Malton University would never fit into my social situation. So I can understand why they treat me as they do.

"Clarrisiya believes they act this way because I am too close in age to them. Had I been a little younger, they could have ignored me. I am old enough to be noticed but not old enough to be included in many of the activities they would engage in. I simply do not fit their mold of an adult, at least, not at this time," she commented.

"I can empathize with that," Guinevere said. "I have never been permitted to attend formal dances or formal dining situations because of who I was. My father did not want me to be seen in those situations by the families of those who could potentially be my possible future husbands. As such, I have much to catch up on and I am in the wrong environment to do that on Liramor-23. Not that I am complaining about my location. There, I can take instruction from the Toolend and develop myself in ways that most humans can not.

"At least I will be able to start my university studies while I am there. If I was on a planet, I would be bound by their educational system. Being on Liramor-23 gives me some flexibility."

"You should take a gap year, Grace," Clarrisiya said after a moment. "That will allow you to catch up on your age. You can always take courses online to keep up with your studies. Have you decided what you will be studying?"

"Political Science, of course," that got a nod and some laughter from the group. "And I think I want to do administration as well. It would be nice to get my doctorates in both but I would have to see which I will excel in or still have interest in after a little study."

"You should try to become some luminary's aide so that you can see for yourself how administration works at senior levels," Martte Garnal, interjected.

"Why not come to Liramor-23 for a year?" Xavier suggested. "We have a campus of Malton University there where you can keep up your studies. The only question then becomes who you tie yourself to for the time."

"Well, there are only two suitable positions on Liramor-23," Junelliya said. "Fayad, as the Assistant Director of Liramor-23, and Fiona as the Director."

"Better she goes to Fiona," Fayad said. "She is the Director of Operations of the station, but she is also the Commander of Sector Fifty-Nine. She does have an Aide-de-camp for her position as Rear Admiral, but no civilian equivalent. She needs one.

"The catch is, her civilian aide would have to have a lot of political savvy. Few would fit that bill. There is, however, a certain young woman who just might..." Fayad finished, getting looks from Fiona, the President, and the senior delegates.

"It would be interesting to have the President's daughter on Liramor-23," Mayute, the Toolend Ambassador to the Interspecies Embassy stated. "From what I have seen of her, she has the political savvy necessary to function as Fiona's aide. She would also be in an environment that would allow her a significant advantage in her potential future career."

"And she has a friend close to her own age who will also be studying at the campus," Xavier said, nodding to Guinevere.

"We don't have internship positions on our mining platforms," Fiona noted.

"That just means you would have to pay me then," Grace said with a smile, getting a laugh from around the table.

"I have never had an EA/PA for my positions because executives on space stations tend to eat such people up. The company cannot afford to hire people that could be leaving within a month or two due to the pressures. We need people to remain for three to five years.

"An intern, working for a year, would be ideal, but again, we would have the issue of dealing with those who are not being paid and who would get bored in the position. Not favourable for the company," Fiona informed them.

"What if I paid for her internship?" Liea asked. "It would be a job that could be performance based. The better she is at it, the better she will be paid. At first, that would mean low wages, but, as she progresses, those wages would rise."

"Sounds intriguing, but does that mean you will be guaranteeing her performance? If she doesn't work out, do you replace her with someone?" Fiona asked.

"We can stipulate that she has to work on Liramor-23 for at least one year. Part of her 'work' would include her university studies, which would mean she has her head down at all times. Difficult, but no more difficult than most miners have to deal with on a day-to-day basis," Liea mused, "or most university students for that matter."

"What? No down time at all?" Grace asked. "Not very good for my social life."

"Social life on a space station is not for ladies of your age, Grace," her father told her. "You and Guinevere would be in a unique situation. You would be permitted to socialize with other families and with each other, but not the miners."

"Currently, there are not a lot of families on Liramor-23," Fiona chimed in. "However, that is going to change as the station moves over from mining to becoming the Ard Mheydeh. There will be a lot of families from all the member races of the Greater Community joining Liramor-23 in the next year or so."

"What about security?" Daniel Logan, the President's Head of Security demanded.

"On a space station filled with Navy personnel, half-a-dozen bodyguards, and people trained by those same bodyguards? I don't think that will be an issue," Liea stated flatly. "I believe that Grace is entitled to have at least one bodyguard from your Presidential Security team with her as long as you are the President.

"We can, however, have both our young ladies train with our bodyguards. I'm sure Kim would love such a task."

"Oh my God, No!" Guinevere squeaked out. "She would kill us!"

"Only because you are so out of shape, Guinevere," Violletiya quipped, getting laughter from all around.

"Your daughter couldn't be in a more secure environment, Mr. President," Raymond said. "She will be watched carefully simply because of her duties. The Piscium ladies will be more than willing to lend a hand with her social education, as I am sure will Fiona, Liea, Clarrisiya, Violletiya, Gillaya, and Kim."

"You shouldn't have added Gillaya, Raymond," Liea quipped, getting a laugh from those who understood Gillaya's nature.

"Gillaya may come across as a sexpot, but she knows how to handle men when she needs to," Raymond replied. "She can also spot the players from the non-players and can teach both our young ladies to do the same. That would do far more good for their social education than would a lot of the on the job training that most or our young people receive."

"On the job training?" Hanalei asked.

"Pub crawls and other such social events, Hanalei," Raymond said with a smile.

That got some good-natured laughter from the group, though they all privately admitted that Raymond was right on that issue. Most young people did not get the kind of training necessary to protect themselves in such social environments.

"I'll take it under advisement," the President said, ending the debate. "I shall let those of you who are interested in attending the graduation ceremony know if it can be arranged tomorrow at the meet and greet." That got smiles from the attendees, especially Shallel Konexi.

Medical Clinic, Denders Resort, Terra, The Sol System

Later that afternoon, Raymond lead Alya and Joyce to the clinic where they met with Dr. Maya.

"Hi, Dr. Maya. This is Alya, the person who Gillaya talked to you about," Raymond said by way of introduction.

"Hello, Alya. You need not be frightened of anything that will happen this morning. Two friends of mine will be along shortly and they will ask your permission to delve into your mind. If you do not want them to do this, they will not.

"At any time, you can opt out of what will happen today. However, if you do, it will make it all the more difficult to do more in the future. Once you commit to this treatment, you should see it through," Maya told her.

Alya looked into the soft eyes of a pretty lady from Hollander's World by her hair and skin colour. Alya estimated that she was perhaps in her late thirties, a few years younger than herself.

"Who are your friends?" Alya asked.

"They are Tougrate and Malnad, two Toolend medical specialists," Maya replied. "Their specialty is in psychology. They have been a big help to me and to the Union with their assistance to those former slaves who we liberated from the Alliance. Many of them had issues very much like yours.

"However, you have to have confidence in their abilities in order for them to work efficiently," Maya finished.

"What will they do?" Alya asked.

"They will try to find the trigger for your current situation and attempt to isolate it. That will help you in the long run with the issues that Raymond has explained he has seen.

"Raymond had to ask for their help after his time in Alliance hands. He is much the better for having done so," Maya explained.

Raymond nodded to her and affirmed the facts.

Just then, Tougrate and Malnad entered the room.

Alya had seen the Toolend around the resort but had never had the opportunity to actually be in the same room with them. They were a bit intimidating, but Raymond and Joyce each had one of her hands, though Joyce's hand was squeezing tightly to Alya's as she too had never been in the immediate presence of the Toolend.

The two Toolend spread out their tentacles and lowered themselves until they were looking eye level with Alya.

"Gillaya asked us to do an assessment of your situation," one of the Toolend said. "She says that you witnessed the destruction of your home city during The Unification War. That would be a traumatic experience for anyone.

"Would you like to tell us about what you saw?" erht asked.

Both Joyce and Raymond squeezed her hands. Alya returned their grips and spoke openly about the incident for the first time.

"We had been out of the city for a sport event, which we won. We were returning when there was an alert from the media, telling everyone that rocks moving at a substantial portion of the speed of light were hurtling toward the surface of our planet. They named six cities that were at risk of impact.

"When they named Coventry Rose, there was panic on the bus. The driver turned us around and sped back the way we had come at very high speed.

"I got a call from my mom on my comp. We said a very tearful goodbye and then there was a blinding flash of light. A few moments later, the bus tumbled several times as the shock wave hit us. I was knocked unconscious.

"When I woke up, I was in pain. There was a lot of screaming coming from around me. I looked to my best friend, Tammy. Her eyes were open but it was obvious that she was dead. So many on that bus died that day. Some from the accident, some because help couldn't get to us in time. There were a lot of casualties around the remains of the city.

"I kept remembering waking up and seeing so many of my friends dead, and then more dying over the next forty-eight hours when help couldn't get to us. I wanted to help, but both my arms and one of my legs were badly broken, as well as several of my ribs. I thought that I would die that day as I waited for help. I didn't, and often wonder why I didn't. Sometimes I wish I had...

"They had to sedate me in the hospital as I couldn't sleep without having nightmares. Even with nanotechnology, I was in hospital for over a month. I remember so many people who were in the same state as I was, we couldn't believe what had happened.

"I couldn't live on the planet after that. I left and immigrated to Terra hoping to run away from my horrors. It didn't work. I still have nightmares and nobody knows why."

By this time, tears were streaming down Alya's face.

"We would like to touch your mind, Alya," one of the Toolend told her. She nodded absently.

"We need you to tell us that it is OK for us to touch your mind, Alya," she heard Dr. Maya say.

"I give you permission to touch my mind," Alya replied.

Alya closed her eyes and waited patiently. She felt something on each side of her face. There was a tingling in her mind and then things started to replay for her. Sights she'd seen before. Sights she didn't want to see again. But they were there whether she wanted to see them or not.

It took a little time, but she saw her mother. She was crying. She had never seen her mother in any other way but steadfast and strong. Now, she was desperately calling out to her daughter telling her to run. And run they had.

She remembered the sounds of the wheels on the pavement, screaming down the road at faster and faster speeds, her mother crying her heart out that she was seeing her daughter for the last time.