All That Glitters Ch. 64

The children finished their exercises and got some tea and cookies. Not long after, they lined up in front of the main monitor, Lorennett in the middle, with the two children on either side. The signal from Liramor Prime was right on time.

"Hello, children!" Miss Barbara called as her image came up.

"Hi, Miss Barbara!" the children called back.

"Ah, that is a face I recognize, Lorennett, correct?" Barbara asked.

"It is, Miss Barbara," Lorennett conceded.

"Very well then. We will start the girl's lesson and you can join in if you wish. I will attempt to make some time near the end so that we can do some one-on-one instruction with you," Barbara explained and then started the children through their paces.

Lorennett was impressed. Miss Barbara was as stickler for form, strength, poise, and what she called 'soft movement', which meant that she didn't want to hear noise as the children jumped about. Lorennett recognized that such soft movement took a great deal of leg and foot strength to absorb the noise most impacts would create. Best to teach this right at the beginning if she wanted her novices to become better at this as they grew.

Barbara called for the bar and the children pulled an odd-shaped metal 'loop' from the corner and pressed a button near the top that locked it magnetically to the floor. They then began to use the bar to help them make movements with their legs. Lorennett knew immediately that the children did not really need the bar. They had very good form and surprising strength in their tiny bodies. Barbara both encouraged and chided them as she watched them work. She was meticulous and didn't allow for the girls to slack off.

Lorennett followed the lead of the children and tried to keep with them but it was obvious that they had many hours of practice with Miss Barbara. Then again, they were little humans and their bodies moved differently from her own.

Barbara had Lorennett go through the motions of the Paacon movements, using the Paacon names for the movements, which surprised Lorennett. She then had her jump into the air and do a full 360º turn while in the air. She chastised Lorennett for allowing her legs to flail about during the jump, making her blush, though it would take another Paacon to notice that.

Barbara then showed her a human jump where she launched herself into the air and fluttered her legs together then landed with nary a sound.

Wow! Her leap is amazingly high for a human, Lorennett thought to herself.

"Why don't you try that one," Barbara suggested. Lorennett did, with somewhat predictable results. "Not bad for a first attempt, Lorennett. You will have to work to strengthen you legs and feet so that you can make the landing as quiet as possible. You will also have to work hard to flutter your legs like I did. The height was good. All-in-all, I think I can work with you."

"And I think I would be happy to work with you, Miss Barbara. I truly didn't expect much before we started, but I must say I am impressed," Lorennett stated.

"I'm glad to hear that, Lorennett. Now, if we can only keep you thinking that after I have made you work your ass off," Miss Barbara told her with a smile. That got a burst of laughter from Lorennett.

Lorennett thanked the Piscium family for allowing her to participate in the exercise. She would have to speak with her parents, but she thought she might now have a knowledgeable dance instructor in the local area.

Executive Gym, Echo Deck, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

Kim had noted the marked improvement in training from the children and took them aside after the exercise.

"You seem to be devoting yourselves a little more vigorously to your practices," Kim stated.

"Yes, Aunty Kim," Zarreniya admitted. "We know we made big mistake and had bad time. Not want that again."

"No, I bet you don't. I know you have to work hard to make yourselves ready for your future, just don't forget to have fun as well," Kim said, getting hugs for her concern from the children.

The children went around and hugged all the bodyguards and their principals. They wanted them all to help them when needed. Ikekiya had explained to Zarreniya that the best way to get them to like them was to be nice to them in turn. That was alright with Zarreniya, she liked being nice and giving hugs and kisses.

"Who's coming back for breakfast?" Junelliya asked, getting a slew of hands and laughter from Hanalei.

"Yep, we definitely need to open our own restaurant," Hanalei quipped to laughter from all.

"This is your last day of classes, Kriss?" Sylvie asked.

"Yes. Then I will be able to live and work permanently on the platform, or is it a station now?" she asked.

"Not until we loose our ore ovens. Then we officially become a station, though we retain our original designator: Liramor Mining Company Platform Number Twenty-Three or Liramor Twenty-Three for short," Fayad told them.

"And that happens when?" Kriss asked.

"Well, Liramor Thirty-One comes into the system on Saturday. We start stripping out the ore ovens next week. I will take most of seventeen weeks to move the ovens to Liramor Thirty-One, then we are officially a station," Fayad explained.

"Why so long to transfer the ore ovens," Alafka asked.

"They are delicate machines and can't be pushed very fast, so we will practically walk them to Liramor Thirty-One using the Rockhounds. Then they need to be pushed into their respective location before the Rockhounds can be returned to strip out another ore oven from here," Fayad clarified.

"No, I mean why do you have to move them one at a time?" Kriss demanded. "Why not put four of them on The Dreadnaught. She has four bays large enough to house a Fairling Class ship and the ore ovens are slightly smaller than that."

Fayad and Fiona stopped dead in their tracks, looking at each other in surprise. "Damn. Why didn't we think of that?" Fiona asked.

"Is that practical?" Fayad wanted to know.

"We can ask the engineers on The Dreadnaught. It would be an interesting exercise for the ship and crew, but we could move the ovens much faster," Fiona mused.

"Dammit, Kriss, I don't care if you fail the rest of your courses, you have just earned the right to live on this station!" Fiona growled.

"I do!" Hanalei declared, scandalized. "Kriss, you will not fail your courses," Hanalei snapped, once again getting laughter from all.

Liramor Thirty-One Mining Platform, In Orbit of Liramor Prime, The Liramor System, Thirty Light Years from Terra

With all the VIP's coming to the new platform, The Trine was forced to dock in a lesser bay, not that the family minded, they knew their way around the platform as it was identical in size and shape to the current Liramor-23. The Santos family had hitched a ride to the new vessel with the Trine. They left the ship and moved to the central core to be whisked up to the Control Center on Delta Deck.

"Mamma!" Armando called out.

"Armando!"

"Hi, Miss Juliana!" the children sang together as they stepped into Central Control.

"Hi, girls! How have you been?" Jullianna asked happily as she got hugs from her family then from the girls and the adults of the Piscium family.

"We be good, Miss Juliana. We like your station. It be like ours," Zarreniya exclaimed.

"Yes, they are all made mostly the same, just in different sizes," Juliana explained. "That's so new people can get around on any station they go to."

Juliana caught up with Fayad and the family as she waited for all the guests to arrive happily holding on to her husband and son.

"Who's minding the shop if you are here, Fayad?" Juliana asked.

"Martine Lavoie, our Senior Operations Officer," Fayd replied.

"Ah, she is competent. She would make a good Assistant Director," Juliana mused.

"Not in the cards for her," Fayad returned. "She needs to get the Senior Managers Program before she could be considered for anything but a temporary posting. That and she doesn't have any political courses.

"Pity, though," Hanalei said. "I like her in that position. She's more than competent enough."

"I agree, which is why we are recommending her for Senior Management Program, 2488 C," said a new voice that entered Central Control.

All eyes turned to see Annette Liramor with her father, Antoine. All the crew came to attention as the pair stepped into Central Control.

"Hello, Annette, Mr. Liramor," Hanalei and Junelliya greeted the pair.

"Hi, Mr. Liramor, Aunty Annette," the girls greeted them in turn.

"What? Not Antoine?" a hurt looking Antroine Liramor groused to giggles from the ladies.

"Unlike your daughter, you haven't given us permission to use your first name yet, Mr. Liramor," Hanalei pointed out.

"You have my permission, especially if these two little ones begin to call me 'Uncle Antoine'," he said as he knelt down for hugs from the girls.

"OK. If you be good, we think about it, Mr. Liramor," Ikekiya dead panned to great laughter from around Central Control. She gave him a broad wink and a kiss on the cheek to show she was joking.

"Ma'am, all the VIPs have checked in. It's time," the Comms O indicated.

"Shall we go down to the venue, sir?" Juliana asked.

With a nod from Antoine, the group all moved down to one of the empty slots for the ore ovens that had been turned into a great hall for this ceremony, a Gara-Hinn shield across the opening sealing in the atmosphere that would not normally be present in an ore oven chamber.

Many of the embassy staff from Liramor-23 were present as the movement of this vessel into the Piscium system would mean great changes to Liramor-23.

"Welcome all, to the naming ceremony for this mining platform, Liramor Thirty-One," François Pallanders said. "Today, we at Pallanders Shipyards, are handing over this new vessel to the Liramor Mining Company. Tomorrow, this vessel, the first platform/station purpose built with Jump Grid Technology, will move to its permanent location.

"I would like to ask Antoine Liramor, President of Liramor Holdings Company to come forward to sign for this vessel and say a few words.

François and Antoine sat at a small table as a few documents were passed between them. They both rose and shook hands to applause from the crowd.

Antoine stepped up on the small dais. "For those who do not know me, I am Antoine Liramor, the CEO of Liramor Holdings Company.

"I would like to thank Pallanders Shipyards, and the engineers and hull techs from around the Greater Community for all the hard work that went into the finishing of this platform. Many of those same engineers and techs will move to Pallanders Six to begin the shipbuilding processes of their own peoples Navy and commercial ships."

Antoine paused his speech to invite the Senior Engineer of the non-human Engineering Staff, to step forward and be recognized on behalf of all the other non-human Engineers and Hull Workers currently working at Pallanders.

He then called forth Juliana Santos, the Director of Operations for Liramor Thirty-One to be recognized.

He then asked his cousin, William Liramor, now the new CEO of the Liramor Mining Corporation (he had taken over from his older brother, François Liramor on his retirement), his daughter, Annette Liramor, Director of Operations for Liramor Holdings, and Juliana to come up onto the platform and help him with the christening.

"I name this vessel Liramor Thirty-One," Antoine spoke.

The four on the small platform reached up to the release lever. They counted back from three and pulled the lever, releasing the bottle to swing over and crash against a piece of metal protruding from the wall with the vessel's name and logo on it. That piece of metal broke the bottle of sparkling wine to the cheers of all those present.

"I invite you to partake of the food and drink and, if you haven't already done so, take the opportunity to tour the platform," Antoine ended.

The three Liramor's, along with Juliana, François Pallanders and the Senior Engineer of the non-humans, stepped over to a table where a group of reporters was waiting with questions while most people went to the offered table of refreshments and food.

Team members of the Liramor Thirty-One staff, offered guided tours to the group, ever mindful that many were going to move to the naming ceremony of the Mind-Ur at noon.

"Will you come with us for the dedication of the Mind-Ur?" Junelliya asked of Clemente Santos.

"No, we will be having a quite family reunion," Clemente stated. "Thank you for bringing us here. We will remain on this vessel and see you on Monday on Liramor Twenty-Three," he finished with a smile that was returned by the family. It had been a little over two weeks since Juliana had been named Director of Operations for Liramor Thirty-One and since he and his son had last seen Julliana.

At noon, people began to board the shuttles to the Mind-Ur for the next dedication ceremony. Despite her large size, there wasn't as many shuttle bays on the Mind-Ur as compared to the platform, so most people took the opportunity to be shuttled to the ship, with only a few VVIPs allowed to use their own shuttles or small ships to flit over.

As they moved up the line into the reception area, the girls finally saw who was at the head of the line...

"Aunty Mind!" the called out, as Mind-Ur gave her distinctive Pod-Drran chuckle and went down on one knee.

"How are my favourite Chohdae?" she asked.

"We good," Ikekiya said. "This big ship, Aunty Mind."

"It is indeed, Ikekiya," Caye-Ur replied for her Phrat Mahi (female Head of Family). "This vessel has more than twice the capacity of The Piscium."

"That mean bigger profit, Aunty Caye?" Zarreniya asked with a big smile.

Caye and Mind laughed. "That is the hope, Zarreniya. "The Mind-Ur will go for our first ever trip to the Byandi Realm," Caye explained. "And your money is helping to prepare for this trip!"

"Wow, we hope we be big help," Ikekiya intoned.

"You are placing more than fourteen million credits into the coffers or this ship. Not the largest portion of funds we have available but still a significant portion," Caye told the children quietly.

*Does that give us 30% on return because of our portion?* Ikekiya asked just as quietly, and in the Pod-Drran language.

*No. We will buy a specific load from your portion and you will get a major portion of the returns from that load. It should cover your contribution and give you your 30% and likely much more on top of that,* Caye smiled, showing the girls the figures she had worked out.

*Wow, that mean we get at least 130% from our money!* Zarreniya informed them, catching many off guard by her mathematical acumen.

"Huh, with your math skills, maybe we should hire you as part of the crew?" Alya Garrant said from beside Caye. That got giggles from the girls.

"Maybe when we six years old, Aunty Alya," Ikekiya replied cheekily.

The ship was waiting for the more important VVIPs, the Kumar-Pair and the Pemipinae, with whom the House of Ur Trading Company traded heavily. They soon came in on PV The Resestess. The Piscium family waited in the reception area for their arrival as the children wanted to see their friends, the Kumar-Pair's brood.

The family got a surprise as the Pemipinae walked up the ramp to reception using braces on her legs. "WOW! You do good, Pemipinae!" both children spoke together. That brought a smile to the Pemipinae's face.

"Thank you Chohdae, it is wonderful to get such encouragement from other than my rehab specialists," the Pemipinae groused good-naturedly.

"This ship is enormous, Mind-Ur," the Kumaroe stated for his family.

"This ship will be dedicated to the Byandi Realm," Caye explained. "Our trading forays into the Greater Community have given us unprecedented returns on our funds allowing us to order more of these vessels. We currently have six on order, with one scheduled to be delivered every month. We hope to have at least one of these ships dedicated to each of the races by the end of the year."

"The Pod-Drran and the Maha-Rrin included?" Prakeshya asked.

"No," Caye replied. "Our original ship, SSP The Piscium, will be dedicated to your two planets until you begin to move to your new home world. Then, we should be able to dedicate an Ur Class ship to you. We anticipate the need for heavy transport for machinery parts to make construction materials on the new planet. The Piscium will remain dedicated to you, meaning you will have two ships dedicated to three planets."

"That makes sense actually," the Pemipinae agreed.

The Pemipinae wobbled a bit and hands reached out to steady her but she managed to sort herself out before she needed the support.

"Are you going to be alright walking around the ship, Pemipinae," Mind asked. "This ship is much larger than the Piscium."

"Its alright, my float chair is somewhere behind me. If I slow down too much, it will catch up to me and my exercise will end for the day," the Pemipinae ended with a grin.

"You take chair when it catch you, Aunty Melda. We worry 'bout you," Zarreniya said as both girls touched her hands and pushed peace, comfort, and strength to her.

"Oh, I wish I could kneel down and get hugs from you two," the Pemipinae said with a smile.

Fayad brought over a chair and had the Pemipinae sit for a brief moment as she gave his daughters hugs and got kisses in return.

"Oh, that feels so good. It reminds me of when my brood were little," she said with a smile.

"How did your family fair during the tremor, Pemipinae?" Junelliya asked.

"Better than most," the Pemipinae admitted. "My middle daughter and her entire family were lost when their house collapsed, but the others had only minor injuries. So many other extended families were killed off during the Great Tremor."

The Pemipinae looked so sad when she said this, so the girls both touched her and sent peace and love to her. She took them both into another big hug and thanked them. Then it was time for all to move again as a senior officer came to give them a brief tour but they didn't get very far when...

"Hello!" came a voice everyone recognized.

"Uncle Raymond, Aunty Liea!" the girls called out and all five of the children rushed them for hugs.

"Hi, Prakeshya, Nalyea, Sunyea, how are you three doing?" Raymond asked.

"We do well, Aunty Raymond and Uncle Liea," Prakeshya said with a smile to show she was teasing.

"Wow! Your Standard is getting much better Prakeshya. You can even make jokes in the language now," Liea giggle.

"They were just headed out on a tour of the ship, Raymond," Mind-Ur explained. "Would you like to join the group? We still have to wait for some more VVIPs."

"OK, we would like that," Raymond said, getting a nod of acceptance from Liea. They joined the group to see the ship, which was between the size of The Wanderer and The Dewfall. By the time they got to the area set aside for the ceremony, all the expected guests had finally arrived.

Eventually, all the tours found themselves in the great cargo bay that was being used for the ceremony, just as François Pallanders came aboard.

"Good day to all of you and thank you for joining us today for this dedication ceremony," François Pallanders said. "This great Ur Class ship is to be called the 'Mind-Ur' in honour of the Phrat-Mahi of the House of Ur, Mind-Ur.

"The ship will be dedicated to trade with the Byandi Realm. With us today, and representing the Byandi, we have Mylat Alafka. Welcome, Mylat," François said with a bow.

"I would ask Mind-Ur of the House of Ur, and Caye-Ur, of the House of Ur Trading Company to come forward," François extended a hand.

The pair took seats at a table and Mind-Ur signed for the ship, passing papers back and forth between her, Caye, and François. The three shook hands after the signing.