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Less than a minute later another ship entered the system, dropping out of hyper-warp and accelerating on course for the same L4 cloud. One might be excused from thinking that these two ships were in convoy as the timing of the entry into the system was quite close.
Except that the two ships were on opposite sides of the system. The smaller ship was of Terran manufacture and it accelerated to an impressive velocity spanning the system. Afterwards it decelerated and changed course to cover the progress of the larger, slower ship. On the bridge of Deirdre, that smaller ship, Astrid sat on the command couch.
She had two holo-displays up so she could see emission readings and visually monitor the Bract Galleon. Samira was sitting next to her on the couch. "It looks like these 'sub light engines' would normally give off some emissions so no one would suspect that they were fake." Astrid said out loud.
"Oh, really?" Samira raised her eyebrow looking at the display Astrid was studying.
Astrid looked at Samira from the corner of her eye, "Are you mocking me because I am making the observation out loud, or making it at all?"
Samira smiled, "Astrid, we know the Bract are using tacked on stuff to disguise the Galleon, what we don't know is what kind of engines they are disguising."
Astrid sighed, "I am wracking my brain trying to figure that out."
"Hey, you're brilliant and incredibly gifted, but you can't know everything." Samira smirked.
Astrid grumbled under her breath.
"Yes, yes, I know, you like puzzles and want to figure it out before Mary tells you." Samira waved her hand.
"One of my endearing attributes." Astrid muttered.
Samira giggled, "Personally, I think your ass is way more endearing."
Astrid looked up at nothing for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, I can accept that."
Agatha, who was at the helm and navigation, giggled.
Astrid studied the holo, then expanded the display as the Bract Galleon's image went across a particularly bright star formation from Astrid's perspective.
Astrid blinked... "Fuckmuffins."
Samira glanced at her, "What is it?"
Astrid turned her head and looked at Samira, "I think I know what it is... and it's really out on the fringes." Astrid didn't elaborate and stopped talking.
Samira blinked, "And?"
Astrid smirked, "I'll tell you, but only you... If I'm wrong, I won't feel quite as dumb if only you know how dumb I am."
Samira rolled her eyes... "Just upload a guess to my processor, I'll never remember all the weird science shit."
"Done." Astrid smirked a moment later, returning her attention to the Bract Galleon.
The two ships were now entering the long dark thoroughfare to Depot03, traveling down the yellow lane. Agatha alerted the various M.E. governments and institutions who had representation among the refugees. She also ignored protocol and contacted the Trankaran Republic directly. It might impact internal FO continuity, but Agatha was thinking more of the refugees not soft-skinned bureaucrats.
Joon approved every step, as she was an on-site witness/participant of the liberation/rescue operation, though she would never be able to admit that publicly.
The Bract Galleon did not in fact dock anywhere on the commercial port side, Agatha was directed to a hidden slip on the far side of the Depot.
Nestled between two of the asteroids that lined the outer perimeter, Agatha eased the Galleon to rest, the size and shape of the ship blended in with its surroundings.
The Deirdre was given a small slip in proximity to the Ghusmik Urr.
While Agatha gently maneuvered the Galleon, her Terran family made the trek to meet with Mary, Agatha of course led the way.
Mary had invited all of them, this would be the first time a Chair of the Bract Conglomerate had issued an official invitation of any kind. That fact alone made this little meeting with the Terran Federation Special Envoy and her staff, unprecedented.
Agatha assisted Mary with the proper formatting for the invitation at tea, upon request. Apparently, the Chair perceived a slightly different definition of 'completely social', but Agatha took the request in stride considering the monumental nature of the moment.
Most of this little get together would be confidential, including topics of discussion and even the nature of the participants, which lent greatly to Mary issuing the invitation. The Chair had a great deal of influence in the Conglomerate, but that didn't mean the entire Board, or any of the Executive would just fall in line.
But it was a huge step and a very encouraging indication of how the Bract Conglomerate would consider future associations with a Terran Federation Administration.
0o0
"More tea, Jooniper?" The three-meter-long larval form adult Bract known as Mary inquired.
"Oh, yes please, thank you." The petite Terran politely replied.
Mary and Joon got along like a house on fire, the dream party where they initially met had allowed them to get a good feel for each other's personalities. They both understood bold and subtle actions and how to wield them to achieve the very best deal for their people.
Mary's parlor was quite full with six Humans and an Oneiran sipping tea and nibbling biscuits.
The Chair got to meet and chat with Jooniper's wives whom she hadn't met yet in real life. Astrid was doing her best keeping her impatience under wraps. But of course, her wives noticed, and Vika gently teased her.
Then Mary enlightened everyone as to the nature of the Bract ship technology. The Deirdre's Chief Engineer was entranced. "So, you were close?" Samira asked Astrid.
The platinum-blonde held up an open hand palm-side down and tilted it back and forth. "Kinda... I guessed about forty percent of it."
The description of the technology left everyone but Astrid and Agatha behind. Astrid was all starry eyed when Mary graciously shared the tech with her, with the provision that it would not go any further.
Bract Clippers and Galleons utilized a fourth dimensional grav-sail construct to harness phased soliton gravimetric waves for FTL travel and a phased graviton impeller drive for sub-light. The two systems were the inverses of the same technology working in different expressions of the same premise.
Clippers were purpose built with faux systems in place to obfuscate the hidden technology, where Galleons had to be retrofitted with the masking systems. Joon smiled at the giddy Engineer but had a feeling Mary had ulterior motives for the technological gift.
Something didn't quite fit together, Joon was sure she would figure it out eventually. After that, Mary explained the particulars for using the ancient Galleons, and how the Bract introduced Largath to known space.
Everyone listened closely, Vika especially.
The Bract were themselves refugees from conflict.
A little more than a thousand years ago, five Galleons raced to escape the leading edge of a tide of war. Mary wouldn't elaborate on that war but described how those refugees traveled an immense distance until they eventually found the region now known as the M.E..
What they were looking for was a planet that had large herbivores who could digest a particular type of plant... Bract Parsley. The herb wasn't actually called that, but for this meeting, it would do. Bract Parsley was essential for the Bract life cycle. Unfortunately, the Bract could not use the herb in its raw form, it had to be processed... Biologically.
The large herbivores the Bract utilized on their home world could not be evacuated, so a replacement herbivore was desperately needed. An acceptable surrogate was located on Larga, the large reptomammal called 'Ghurza'.
Vika nodded in understanding.
So, the Bract established a facility on a lush mesa top, introducing their parsley to that environment. Initial confrontations with Largath were rare but became more frequent. The early Conglomerate was reticent to use violence to solve the issue, so a compromise was reached. Bract would transport any Largath to seek their fortunes in the sky, as long as the Bract mesa territory was honored.
"Logo and I went there..." Vika commented.
Mary's antennae vibrated, "Our recent agreement with Larga National Mercantile was only possible due to your influence, Vika."
Vika blushed.
Mary concluded with describing the change to the Bract life cycle to ensure the success of the species. Each Galleon was used to start a Major Depot, the five then worked in concert to further the Conglomerate's interests. The Bract Conglomerate consisted of the Board of Directors and the Executive. The Board consisted of Elder Bract who shaped policy and guided the direction of the Bract.
The Executive followed that policy and attended to daily trade and business. It was the Board's policies a thousand years ago to maintain a subdued agenda. Not colonizing Larga but keeping its importance to the Bract a secret. Only expanding Bract influence through constructing Minor Depots and keeping their transteller ship propulsion secret.
After a thousand years, the Bract refugees had become an important service provider to the Minor Empires and literally thousands of systems in known space. The Bract Depots provided a network openly accessible to legitimate trade interests.
Bract had created a niche for themselves, avoiding infringement on other cultures yet allowing those cultures a safe place to do business and prosper. It was Mary's opinion that this was the opportune moment to invest in the next step... A formal trade alliance that spanned known space.
Jooniper swallowed, it certainly was an ambitious vision.
0o0
The Dauzakai began the countdown, "Five minutes." Jump checks were green, parasite vessels were secure, everything was proceeding smoothly; but Suomii was still a nervous wreck. She felt a wave of calm wash over her and she immediately glanced at Agatha.
Agatha nodded to the Director. Suomii smiled and nodded back.
Mosira was beside her at the expansive console. The command center was itself many levels and incorporated monitoring of every system and facility on the massive platform. As jump checks concluded, prerecorded warning messages were broadcast across Golamar. When the countdown began a klaxon and warning lights were activated. Everyone in the fleet of parasite cruisers, destroyers and in Freeport were not the least bit surprised, they'd all seen this many times.
But this was all new to Agatha, and she was giddy looking forward to it. The countdown reached its climax and the massive transtellar mining platform called Golamar slowly transitioned into hyper-warp.
It could have been described as graceful or gentle, descriptors rarely attributed to a hyper-warp jump. The platform's warp geometry was remarkably stable for such a low velocity.
Those Engineers who designed Golamar had emphasized safety in all aspects first, then considered performance. A transteller facility anywhere near this size would never be swift, but it could achieve hyper-warp, which itself was an impressive accomplishment.
The triple hull Ornalith design was constructed with Trankaran materials, making Golamar extremely resilient to wear and capable of stresses that would rend a manufacture of less quality to pieces.
Five minutes into hyper warp, Suomii relaxed... If nothing happened within the first five minutes, chances were nothing would occur during the rest of the journey. The Director stood down the klaxon and warning lights and gave the hyper warp in progress status advisory.
Normal hyper warp precautions aside, everyone in Freeport and on Golamar were free to do as they pleased. In just a little over six days, Golamar would be in the Xi Piscium system.
Agatha smiled; Deirdre would have made the passage in nine hours.
0o0
Joon sipped her tea.
The family was enjoying an after-dinner conversation, with tea and Agatha's end of day reports. Max and Vika were comparing notes with Samira about magical tattoos and hard-light while Paula was discussing the finer points of Oricalcum construction with Astrid.
Joon was only half listening to the conversations between her wives. For some reason Joon's thoughts kept reviewing the meeting with Mary.
Max turned to her, "What do you think of that?"
Joon blinked, "I'm sorry, what?"
Max smiled, "What do you think about returning to Staverka to greet the Terran personnel arriving tomorrow?"
Joon blinked, "That sounds fine."
Agatha tilted her head. *Is everything okay, Mistress?*
Joon shifted her eyes to her most exotic wife. *My mind is stuck on Mary and what she told us.*
*Care to share your thoughts?* Agatha inquired.
Joon sipped her tea, *I'm not exactly sure, but something doesn't quite add up.*
*I have noticed that much of the Bract culture is built in layers, including access to information.*
*Yea...* Joon thought, *She gave us a lot of valuable data, but the price of admission seems a little light for a couple 'thousand year old' secrets.*
*You believe it's too good to be true?* Agatha inquired.
Joon pursed her lips in thought, *Or again, with the Bract, we're not getting the full picture.*
*I believe you referred to Mary as a sharp cookie.* Agatha smiled softly.
Joon smirked, she had indeed.
Max focused her attention on Joon, "Your thoughts seem busy."
Joon smiled, "There is a lot to think about."
"Anything you want to share?" the captain asked.
Everyone turned to give Joon their attention. Joon pursed her lips, "When is a gift, not a gift?"
Agatha tilted her head, "When it isn't given."
Samira added, "When it is given with conditions."
Joon nodded to both, "Or... When it wasn't yours to give."
Astrid blinked, "Fuckmuffins... All of those make sense."
Paula nodded. Max and Vika shared a confused look. "They don't understand the technology they use." Samira said softly.
Astrid nodded, "That's why the Clippers are just scaled down replicas of the Galleons..."
Vika sighed, "Why would Mary give it to us then?"
Joon raised a finger, "With condition. Either, the original Bract lost the ability to innovate new designs, or they stole the technology," Joon deduced. "The way Mary avoided details about her people's involvement with a 'war' they were escaping, she might not even know."
Max lifted a knuckle to her chin, "Whether Mary knows the actual Bract history or not, why give us the tech like that?"
Astrid smirked and looked at Agatha, "Maybe she wants someone to develop it for her?"
Agatha blinked, "I had not considered that."
Joon nodded, then sipped her tea, "Yup, one smart cookie."
0o0
The Deirdre departed Yh76, slipping into hyper warp and disappearing into the void, its course was set for Mu Cygni and the Grand Slarmian Dynasty.
Joon sat at her desk. She scrolled through the reams of documents the Foreign Office had forwarded to her. She stopped at a phrase she was looking for, it had caught her eye a few weeks ago, but now seemed more important.
-'Nations don't have friends, they have interests.'-
Joon now had a better idea of what that meant, in this age-old game of interstellar relations. Right now, she wasn't at a high stakes table, but that could change. She was in too deep to get out: fortunately, she didn't want to. Joon liked the game, but she did need to get better at it. She looked over at Paula, the bureaucratic Witch knew way more about this game than her ambassador did.
Joon sighed.
Paula nodded without looking away from her data work, "It will get easier."
"Will it?" Joon inquired.
Paula turned, "Mary is hundreds of years old, she is basically a good person, but she isn't looking out for us, she is looking out for her people.
Considering everything, I think we got out with a lot more than we went in with."
Joon blinked, "Yea... You're right, we did."
Paula yawned. "Oh shit..." Joon remarked, "It got late."
The two Diplomats got up from their desks and headed down to the CQ. Max and Vika were both asleep already, cuddled up together. Samira and Astrid were still in Engineering working on something so Joon and Paula went ahead and stripped down, cuddling together under the duvet. A Hand of Agatha wandered in and joined them.
It would be a little under five hours until they were back in Mu Cygni.
Max Intel: Jooniper
Chapter 2 - Embassy
Joon opened her eyes.
The Terran Federation Ambassador and Special Envoy to the Minor Empires awoke cuddled up with her wives in a triple sized bed overflowing with pillows and duvets.
She was being spooned by Paula and the Lieutenant's generous breast was a warm soft cushion. Under the duvet was another someone, snuggled up close to Joon's tummy.
Joon glanced down, she could just make out a jet-black mane.
The Exquisite Lady loved all of her wives, but her feelings for Agatha were something unique. The two of them had explored levels of euphoria not normally possible, as dreamscapes lifted most of the constraints of physical reality.
Joon's affection for Agatha rivaled her love for Max, but instead of competing, the two relationships were woven together making a strong foundation for the others in their lives. Agatha's Terran family are what shaped almost every facet of her being.
Joon gently ran her fingers through Agatha's soft hair, in response she felt a throb of emotion from the Oneiran. The XO bit her lip and carefully rolled her hips while lifting her leg.
Agatha scooted down and gripped her Lady-wife's thighs, positioning her face under Joon's descending groin. Joon planted her face into a loose pillow and moaned as Agatha's infamous tongue started pleasing her Mistress. In minutes Joon enjoyed several soft orgasms... The perfect way to wake from a restful slumber.
"Good morning, M'lady."
Joon turned her head, now eye to eye with a smiling Paula.
"Oh, hi!" Joon whispered back her voice breathy.
Paula leaned closer, dropping a smooch on her favorite Ambassador.
Agatha crawled up beside Joon, smiling at Paula across her Mistress's shoulders, she then licked one of her own eyebrows. Paula blinked at the display of tongue length and dexterity. "Can I be next?"
Joon giggled into her pillow.
Max stretched out behind Paula and a soft grunting growl emanated from the captain. *How long have we been on Staverka?* Max inquired across the family telepathic network.
*Almost two hours.* Agatha replied.
*What's the ETA on Skuld?*
*Three hours.*
*Ah, okay... Let's make sure all the polite and courteous procedures are followed with GSD brass.* Max not so subtly intimated.
*Affirmative Captain, A thirty-minute window to let our generous hosts know a TFN Battle cruiser is arriving.* Agatha reported.
*The fewer surprised Slarmian warship Captains, the better.* Max concluded.
Max gasped suddenly... Then moaned. Everyone on the bed peered over at Vika who had her Captain-wife's length down her throat.
"Oh dear..." Joon lamented, "I think our Captain is being distracted."
Giggles echoed as Max pulled her freckled wife's body across herself, kissing muscled thighs, coaxing Vika to straddle her face. Deirdre's Dwarven lass settled back, letting her caramel skinned senior wife snog her nethers.
The captain's efforts went awry as her erection slipped out from between the ginger's lips with a pop. Vika wasn't quite long enough to enjoy both cock and mouth with Max laid out flat, so she chose the attentive lips and tongue. Without missing a beat Paula took the initiative and rescued Max's poor member from the shock of cooling saliva, securing it in her own warm wet mouth. Witnessing this, Joon decided the situation was so dire that it required the full application of diplomatic savvy the Deirdre could bring to bear.
Her Excellency quickly scampered between her Dame's lovely legs and, once there, found the underutilized counterpart to Max's oft employed member. Joon licked the intimately familiar delicate folds of her first wife's labia and, as she glanced up at Paula, their eyes shared a twinkle.
