All That Glitters Ch. 52

Shugrand understood the risk Marrat was taking and gave assurances that she would act quickly. Marrat cut the link.

"Source?" Shugrand asked.

"The Pod-Saar ICS antenna, Shugrand," Gashafen replied.

"That makes sense. They were given shelter by the Pod-Drran," Shugrand said. "Let's get this information ready. We know which Raddon have declared openly for mother, but some of them have recanted their choice after the destruction of Semt Shall. That level of intimidation that Unaayel has used against the Gurn is on an order that none had ever contemplated. They will say one thing to mother's face; however, they will always be looking for a way out of anything she will propose.

"There are those that are clinging to her tail. They will continue to do so. They have no personal strength and will not be able to oppose mother. I know which of the Gurn and the Raddon are of this group. The remainder, we will have to tread carefully with," Shugrand told her aide.

"What did you make of the people in the background?" Shugrand asked.

"I am not familiar with human-style ships, Shugrand, however, there was Asocan script on the monitors so it did appear that the ship was being crewed by Asocans," Gashafen stated. "The Asoc was supposed to have contracted for twenty eight ships. It would appear that at least one of them has been completed.

"The Asoc will need more than one ship to compete against Unaayel's fleet," Shugrand mused. "We must find out how many ships she currently has in her fleet. That will tell us if she is capable of defeating mother. That news could help us with the Gurn."

PV The Wanderer, In Orbit, Pod-Saar, The Sharanas System

"Well done, Marrat," the Asoc praised the Caregiver. "We shall see what will happen."

"Can we trust her, Asoc?" Marrat wanted to know.

"Shugrand, yes. The other Raddon? There will be some that are clinging to Unaayel's tail (when in the water, the Clutch of young will stay very close to their mother or Caregiver, often hitching a ride on her/his tail, thus the expression). We must discover which of the Raddon and Gurn those are. Hopefully, Shugrand will provide us with a list that we can work to pare down."

"Thank-you Kumaraie for allowing us to make this call from your net," the Asoc said.

"Think nothing of it. Pod-Saar is and will be your refuge until you have defeated Belgedra. Our ships are prepared for any kind of assault," the Kumaraie told her friend.

Raymond had been impressed when he saw how the Pod-Drran had set up their defence. It was a layered defence designed to pair down any assault against the planet.

The Pod-Drran Combat Shuttles were actually ships larger than the Fairling Class, though much less capable. They were designed to carry Pod-Drran into battle against their enemy. The ships were normally carried on board the massive Man-Jays, the principle fleet vessels of the Pod-Drran.

The Pod-Drran had many of these Combat Shuttles. Raymond wondered if they could be refit with human systems to make them more capable. Regardless, their numbers meant that they could form a very formidable defence around the planet. He would look to see how they could improve the interplay between the layers.

The final layer was the old Man Jays that were now being used as space stations around the planet. These vessels still had their guns and missiles, making them a good final defensive layer.

Raymond didn't think that the pirate fleet could readily find the coordinates of Pod-Saar, but stranger things had happened in war. Better to ensure that the planet had all the protection it could use.

"Now, I insist on giving my friend and fellow ruler a tour of my capital. And I further insist that you will return this favour to me with a tour of your own capital some time soon in the future, >Catal, after we have finished with this crisis," the Kumaraie stated to the Asoc.

"That is a favour that I look forward to returning, Na-Maj," the Asoc replied, smiling.

Liramor-23 Hospital, Lima Deck, The Piscium System

Four days after her arrival, Lindsey was doing much better and had been placed in a room of her own. Because her body was still fighting to repair itself, she had been asking for warmed up blankets, so some of the nurses had brought their cast-off sweaters and a toque for her. Today, she was dressed in a red and white striped sweater and a like coloured toque.

"Are you up to some visitors today?" Katanya asked of Lindsey.

"I suppose so," Lindsey said. "I assume it will be a bit of an interrogation?"

"Yes, but we will not let them tax you too much," Katanya explained.

Captain Franz Teal entered the room. He smiled at Lindsey and assured her that he would try not to tax her too much during her recovery.

Katanya stayed in the room, to let Teal know when Lindsey reached her limits.

"What do you know about the ships, Lindsey?" Franz asked in a quiet voice.

"Well, there are actually ships from three different fleets," she explained. "They all decided that they would form a single fleet and work under Admiral Grazia. We left Alliance space some months ago and have been moving around a lot since then.

"I have been on all of the ships and know almost all of the slaves. There are over 3,000 slaves on the ships of the fleet. The slaves are swapped out between ships every three weeks or so. It has been five swaps since we have last been at a planet or on a space station.

"We do mostly domestic chores and help keep the crew 'entertained'," she said, getting a pained look on her face when she said that. Katanya immediately stepped in and gave he woman a long hug. She was in no fit state of mind to continue.

"We will have to stop things here, Franz. That last question really brought back some bad memories," Katanya said.

"I'll get you some hot cocoa," she said and briefly left the room, behind Captain Teal. A few moments later she returned with the hot beverage and a smile on her face.

"Look who I bumped into in the hall," she said as two little girls peeked around the door. Both the girls got very surprised looks on their faces and began to scream with glee.

"We found her! We found her!" they shouted.

"Wait, calm down...No screaming, this is a hospital...found who?" Katanya asked.

"Waldo!" the girls shouted, pulling a book out of their backpack and showing picture puzzles of 'Where's Waldo'.

Surprised, Katanya clasped her hands over her mouth to smother her laughter. The children came over to the bed and showed Lindsey the book. She looked down at how she was dressed and suddenly began to laugh at the incongruity of it all.

She was suddenly aware of a beautiful, smiling woman standing near the door. She had three small animals on her shoulders who leapt from there to Lindsey's bed. The animals crawled up on Lindsey's lap and bobbed their heads up and down several times, calling softly to the woman.

The children suddenly quieted down. "They say you hawt," one of the children said, looking sad. She suddenly brightened. "We play for you!" she said and rushed to the woman to get their instruments. The children opened the cases and

pulled out instruments Lindsey had never seen before, they looked like miniature guitars. They swiftly tuned them and began to play. They were surprisingly good players and singers, making Lindsey wonder about their ages.

After five songs, Lindsey was beginning to nod off. Katanya called a halt to the impromptu concert.

"Time to let Lindsey sleep," she told the children, who quietly put their instruments away. "I'll make sure she is more appropriately dressed in future if you let me know when you are coming," Lindsay heard Katanya say.

"What? And deprive the children of some fun?" the strange woman asked.

Half asleep, Lindsey snorted a laugh and then fell into a fitful sleep that was marred by dreams of her, dressed as she was, hiding among the crew and slaves of the ships of the Grazia fleet, unsuccessfully trying to stay undetected.

The Piscium Apartment L-1229, Lima Deck, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

It was two days later when the Kumaraie contacted Hanalei and Junelliya in their apartment.

"It's ready! It's ready!" the excited Kumaraie nearly shouted.

"What's ready?" Junelliya demanded, amusement colouring her words.

"My ship! My fast ship is ready! Hanalei, I need transportation to Pallanders 2 at Liramor Prime to claim my ship. Can you help me?" the Kumaraie pleaded.

That got laughter from the pair. "Of course, Kumaraie. When do you plan to take possession of the ship?" Hanalei asked.

"I can have it as of tomorrow. The crew is going through final certifications today. Then they will spend the night cleaning it in preparation for the ceremony tomorrow. I will have my own ship, Atohan!" the Kumaraie practically crowed.

"Very well then, how many of you are going to the ceremony?" Hanalei asked. That brought the Kumaraie up short as she hadn't contemplated that. When she looked at the numbers, she realized that The Trine might be a little too small for her purposes.

Junelliya laughed at the Kumaraie's plight. "No problem, Kumaraie. We can ask Raymond if he can pick you up in The Wanderer."

They made arrangements with Raymond to move the Kumar-Pair's entourage and the Pemipinae and her entourage, to the ceremony.

Later they got a call that brought smiles to their faces. It was decided that here was something that The Trine could do for their friends.

Pallanders-2 Orbital Shipbuilding Station, Liramor Prime, The Liramor System, Thirty Light Years from Terra

An excited group of Pod-Drran, Maha-Rrin, and Asocans, were seated around the large conference table in Palanders-2, as François Pallanders stood up to start the speeches.

Raymond had picked up the Kumar-Pairs entourage and skipped over to Maha-Oran to pick up the Pemipinae and her entourage for the presentation. Since the Asoc was using The Wanderer as the 'Tarl Asoc' she and her entourage were also present.

The final special event of the day had been carried out by The Trine, which had gone to Green's World and Malihan Regional Hospital to pick up a very special person. Kome-Nar Sai-Ro, the Pod-Drran Ambassador at the Interspecies Embassy had finally finished his rehabilitation. The Trine had picked him up and delivered him to Pallanders-2 well in time for the ceremony, much to the delight of his mate and co-Ambassador, Nar-Tre Sai-Rai, who had promptly fallen all over her mate looking very carefully at his new arm.

The Kumar-Pair, too, had looked carefully at the new appendage. They had known that the humans could regenerate lost limbs, but to be confronted with facts was another thing. Kome-Nar was the star of the hour, for all or at least for twenty minutes, until François Pallanders stood up.

"Good day to all of our special guests, the Kumar-Pair of the Pod-Drran, the Kumaraie Na-Maj Se-Lam Pod-Raie, her mate the Kumaroe Jarl Se-Lam Pod-Sai-Roe, and their entourage, the Pemipinae of the Maha-Rrin, Melda-Hetta, her mate, Bassem-Fondan, and their entourage, the Asoc >Catal Mutt Herrtt, her mate the Asost <Korme Mutt Goult, her daughter Martte Garnal, and their entourage, the President of Liramor Prime, Marcel Lapierre and his daughter, our First Lady, Lillianne Lapierre, Vice-Admiral Fiona Marsh and her entourage, special guests, media, ladies and gentlemen, gentle beings.

"This is a very auspicious occasion for Pallanders Shipyard. Today, we make delivery on the very first ship ever to be contracted from a non-human source, the Pod-Drran will receive the 'Kumar Resestess', a Trine Class fast ship. Historically, the Resestess is the legendary ship that took the Pod-Drran Goddess, Poda-La to the heavens.

"If I can ask the Kumar-Pair and Captain Dar-Metta Lin-Tae, the captain of the new ship to come forward."

The Kumar-Pair moved up to the table that had been set up for them. Capt. Dar-Metta Lin-Tae on one side and François in the middle. An aide moved documents between the three of them to sign. Then, the Inspector General of Commercial Shipping - Liramor Prime, handed the 'Certificate of Space Worthiness' to the captain of the new ship, Dar-Metta Lin-Tae. She opened the scroll and showed the Kumaraie that her name was listed as that of the owner of the vessel.

Raymond was the last to make a presentation to the Kumar-Pair. "It is Navy tradition that a ship will be given a plaque that has the names of the ship's crew of her first voyage. This ship's first voyage will be to take the Kumar-Pair home to Pod-Saar."

Raymond unveiled the plaque, which showed the names of the first crew including Captain Dar-Metta Lin-Tae in Pod-Drran script. Under their names were the names of the owners: Kumaraie Na-Maj Se-Lam Pod-Raie and Kumaroe Jarl Se-Lam Pod-Sai-Roe. Below that was the christening date, again in the Pod-Drran script but the last line, written in Standard said: Christened: 30 July 2487.

The group moved to a VIP bay where the ship waited for its new owners. François Pallanders asked the Kumar-Pair to step up onto a small stage where the traditional bottle of sparkling wine, wrapped in a porous membrane, was hanging from a string. François explained what would happen next and gave the platform over to the pair.

They both took hold of the bottle, the Kumaraie proclaiming: "I name this ship 'Resestess Kumar', first of her name and the first FTL ship of the Pod-Drran." The pair pushed gently on the bottle and it moved out in a large arc to crash against the bow of the ship, spilling its contents against the ship. The membrane successfully captured all of the glass while allowing the wine to cover the bow.

A large cheer went up from the watching throng. The Kumar-Pair were heady with excitement as they took in the fact that this ship was now theirs.

They were escorted into the ship for the first tour and looked around with evident pride. The ship's crew bowed to the Kumar-Pair as they passed by. Their friends entered the ship on invitation from the Kumar-Pair and looked on with envy at the ship the Pod-Drran now owned.

"You too can have such a ship," François Pallanders told the Pemipinae. "However, you must come to an agreement with the Union."

The not so subtle plug was enough to cause envy within the Maha-Rrin. They realized that they did indeed need to finalize an agreement with the Union in order to move ahead.

"And my ship, François? When can I expect to see it?" the Asoc asked.

"Your ship, The Yarl Asoc, will be ready soon, Asoc," François replied. "The ship itself is now almost complete, however, it needs its guns. I am waiting for those. Once we have them, we can complete the hull and be ready for certification. I expect to see the guns arrive next week, which means that certification will start in three weeks' time. You will claim your ship in around five weeks. The first of your Grell Raddon Class will be ready three weeks after that."

"Why is my ship armed and the Kumar-Pairs ship not?" the Asoc asked.

"They Pod-Drran did not want an armed fast ship, otherwise, they would have been entitled to a Valour II Class as opposed to a Trine Class. All of the leaders of the Greater Community can have the option of having armed fast ships for transport or escorts. The Kumar-Pair chose not to act on that option for their personal fast ship," François explained.

This the Asoc understood as she had opted for unarmed fast ships for the Grell Class, the fast ships of the Raddons.

Later that afternoon, the people moved over to another ship for another ceremony, this time a Stern Class (Refit) Cargo Vessel was being renamed 'SSP The Piscium' and was being presented to its new owners, The House of Ur Trading Company.

This time there were many more invitees, however, most were watching via vid-link. Those included many of the trading houses of the Greater Community that had made contracts with The House of Ur, including Accan Hallat of the Hallat Corporation, who was anxiously waiting for their first shipment of comps and servers that had originally been earmarked for the Asocans.

The ship was a good-sized cargo vessel almost as large as a Fairling Class Frigate. She was now sporting the new jump grid technology and was the first ever civilian cargo vessel to have it installed. The ship's crew was an experienced cargo crew. Captain Philemon Wright had only ever met his boss via vid-link, so this day was special for everyone.

Caye-Ur walked around her ship in a daze. She could not believe that she owned such a beautiful ship. Her cargo capacity was larger than she had originally expected but that only proved a problem in filling it.

There were companies here on Liramor Prime that were ready to provide her with much that she needed. They would be ready for their first trip in a week.

Alya and Raymond were making their way around the ship when they saw a cabin with Alya's name on it. They entered and found a rather spacious (for a ship) cabin with a good-sized bed in it. The communications suite in the room was extensive. Alya appreciated that.

"Well, I guess I can invite you over from time-to-time," Alya said with a smirk.

"I look forward to receiving the invitation," Raymond responded. He gave Alya a hot kiss. "We'll have to wait to christen the room," he smiled.

They left the cabin and ran into Caye-Ur and Mind-Ur. "Do you like your cabin?" Caye asked.

"I did not expect to have my own cabin here. Thank-you for that," Alya answered.

"I am starting the process of gathering cargo tomorrow," Caye told them. "I know this is rather sudden, Raymond, but I need Alya here on this ship for the time being. Can I keep her here tonight?"

"She is not a pet, Caye," Raymond responded with a grin. "You will have to ask her if she is willing to stay on this ship tonight, knowing that she will likely not see me for a few weeks while you prepare for your first trip out."

"Don't mind Raymond, Caye," Alya said, giving Raymond a stern look. "He is going to be busy for the next few weeks as they prepare their planning for events. I will likely be a major distraction on The Wanderer.

"Yes, I will stay with you and help with identifying likely candidates for our cargo. Do you have the funds available to make the purchases?"

"Yes," Caye opened her comp and touched it to Alya's. The data transferred and she found a rather large war chest ready to be tapped into. She raised an eyebrow at the numbers. Caye and Mind just smiled.

"We have been rather busy," Caye informed Alya. "These are the remaining profits from our last venture with the Pod-Drran, those that are left after having paid off this vessel. We have more than enough to fill the holds of this ship with almost anything that we desire."

"I will send some of your clothes from the Wanderer. Especially your personal protection vests and your Emergency Protection Suit. Make sure you wear them at all times," Raymond advised.

"Yes, mother," Alya replied, then gave him a scorching kiss. "Thank-you for believing in me."

Raymond just nodded to her. Both of them would be very busy over the next few weeks, not leaving them much time to miss being away from each other.

SSP The Piscium, In Orbit, Liramor Prime, The Liramor System

A veritable parade of shuttles was continually moving between the surface and the ship as items that had been purchased were transferred to the ship for its maiden voyage. The ship had been given priority status by the merchants of Liramor Prime by the fact that she was paying up front for her goods, with a promise of future purchases from those same companies. Alya had worked hard to negotiate prices but paying ahead meant that she could, and did, demand high quality. Many of her customers were also giving her ten to fifteen percent on the purchases because she was paying now instead of a month from now.