Starlight Gleaming Ch. 20

Chita put them into her breast pocket. "I'm sure it will be appreciated, Commander. Llam nuqan."

"Llam nuqam," I replied.

We exited and piled into the cruiser. As I sat down, Chita stooped over and climbed in, trying to adjust without too much movement. The others took their seats and we were on our way. Chita started so slide, so I put my arms around her.

"Commander?"

"The other option is you sprawling across Suhanee and Hanami's laps. You're the Regimental Sergeant. I would think that would be too undignified for words."

"Uh, yes, sir." She shifted a bit and stiffly leaned back against me.

Suhanee looked at her. "I think you're enjoying the experience, Senior Sergeant."

"Of course she is," Jodana said with a smirk from the front seat. "She won the pool."

Mack looked puzzled. "Pool? Someone had a bet going?"

Jodana grinned. "Yep. There is an office bet -- uh, maybe I shouldn't say anything more?"

"You think?" Chita growled.

"Out with it, Sergeant Jodana," I said. "What sort of bet?"

"It was on who would get to sit on your lap in public first, sir."

"And what would be the reason for this... this bet of yours?"

"It wasn't meant to be disrespectful, Commander!" Jodana said. "Really, it wasn't!"

Suhanee and Hanami both added their assurances that no harm was meant. Mack flushed, incredulous at their admission.

Gods above. Suhanee -- and my own admin! -- they're both in on this pool, too.

I sighed. "Let me be clear about this. I will protect your rights to be your own person and give each of you the chance to prove yourselves based on your own merits, skill, drive, and bravery. However, Captain Tlacotli is the Mistress of my Household and I love her. She has asked me to not add any other women as lovers and I've given her my word to abide by her request. So if there are any bets related to me and other women, I suggest you end them. Now."

They quietly echoed back, "Yes, sir."

"Relax, all of you," I continued. "Sergeant Chita, I'm depending on you to keep any betting pools respectful and discreet."

"Yes, Commander," the woman on my lap answered, flushing with embarrassment.

The rest of the ride was quiet.

Once I got back to my office, I had barely sat down when there was a knock on my door. "Enter!"

Sergeant Chita poked her head inside. "May I have a few moments, sir?"

"Come on in, Chita. What can I do for you?"

She entered the office, quietly closing the door. Contrite, she fussed with her hands as she approached. "I wish to say I'm sorry, Commander. I know you said you weren't angry, but you're always thinking of others first."

Sitting back in my chair, I looked at her. "At ease, Chita. No, I'm not angry. Truthfully, I'm flattered, but like I said, I have five wonderful women in my life, and I have no interest in complicating my life any further. I realize people will be people, and such gossip, speculation, and idle fantasies will go on. Janetta and another friend warned me such might happen, but it still took me by surprise."

Looking relieved, she smiled. "Thank you, sir. Now I feel ashamed I let it go on. I feel like I let you down."

"Don't. And you haven't. It's only a problem if it gets in the way of our work or affects morale. You are my link to the enlisted. So exactly how bad is it?"

"Bad, sir? I don't understand what you mean."

"My reputation?" I prompted.

"May I speak freely?"

"Chita, if I ever find out that you aren't speaking freely to me, you and I will have words. I made you my senior NCO at the 945 and here with the 602 because you are so damned competent, insightful, and honest. I depend on you to let me know if anything is amiss or a threat. So out with it."

"You're hot, Commander."

"I see."

"I'm not sure you do, sir. Among the women in uniform, you've been voted the hottest officer at High Guard. Se I literally am the Air Service cond Sergeant Isham in Procurement and Third Sergeant Abonti in Electrical Support tied for the enlisted title. The contest rated the nominations based on looks, bravery, leadership, and eligibility. Even though you consider yourself taken, you aren't married."

"Huh. This is just Air Service I presume?"

"Oh, no. Abonti is Ground Service. It's base wide."

"Indeed. Just out of curiosity, are there a female equivalents?"

"Yes, sir. Captain Tocheris was voted the hottest woman officer. She's in Naval Operations. Sergeant Opsani won in the enlisted category. She's Air Service and does the weather reports. The captain is pretty cute, but I think Opsani's hotter. If I wasn't in a relationship, I'd do either one of them -- or both if that's what they wanted."

I chuckled. "I'll take your word for it."

"I appreciate your generosity, Commander," she said.

"I'm really nothing special, Chita. My shit stinks like everyone else's does."

"Now it's my turn to take your word, sir. But you're also wrong. You're a symbol for many of us. You're the one who stood up and made a difference."

"I'm committed to my family. I love them all dearly and there's not enough time in the day to tell each of them how much they mean to me, let alone finding time for all five of the women in my life. I'm the first to admit I make mistakes. I'm doing my best to learn from them. What happened to Yalcamara and Stimmi is my fault. Yes, they did a good thing freeing those people. But knowing what I know now, I should have been there with them, and once the servants and slaves were removed, I should have killed every one of those sons of bitches, laid out accelerant and burnt the fucking mansion down to its foundation."

Chita looked troubled. "Commander, what happened is done. Those tactics, well, it may come to that. But part of what we admire about you is your values. You have a great deal of power, yet you aren't using it to line your pockets nor are you mindlessly enforcing the letter of the law. Instead, you seek to bring justice within the law. We see what you do and that helps give us hope and adds to our sense of purpose. You let us know over and over that we matter to you. You made it our regimental motto. Llam nuqan, sir."

"Llam nuqan, Chita. All of you do matter to me. That's why I had the plaque made for the murdered women, and why the Wall of the Dead is in the Break Room. So that we don't forget those who have fallen. However hot I am, please pass along the message that all my free time is spent taking care of the women in my household and trying to keep up with my daughters."

She smiled at that. "I will. Some are going to offer anyway. And they may not even be in the service."

I briefly closed my eyes. "That's what I'm afraid of."

She grinned. "If I'm around, I'll do my best to console them as I re-direct them away from you."

"Chita! I thought you and Doyya were exclusive."

"We are. Hey, I'm not dead. I'll damn sure look and appreciate while I console."

I laughed. "Fair enough."

"Besides," Chita added. "Doyya plays for both sides."

"And I needed to know that because?"

"She's your Second, Commander, and she's your friend."

"Yes, she is. You are, too, Chita. I appreciate the loyalty both of you have shown to me and my family. I'm not sure why you brought up her interests, but I am not going to pursue that. Rather, I hope both of you will make me happy by using the gift cards I gave you earlier."

"And that's why many consider you the best officer here at High Guard. There are others who are good, too, make no mistake. General Barankoshto. General Rikoletsi, too. There are a few others. But these cards? A thoughtful gift that helps make those in your command eager to come to work and make a difference. Strangers see my Air Security uniform, and they don't spit at me, scowl, or look at me in fear. Because of you and the things you've done and said in a very public way, I'm often smiled at and I get waves of greeting."

"I couldn't make a difference without the support of everyone on in my command, including all those troopers out in the field, doing their often dangerous work in an honorable and dedicated fashion. Without them, I'm just one voice crying in the wilderness."

"Exactly!" she exclaimed. "It's a feedback loop. You lead by example, and you acknowledge them, and they work even harder to make you proud of them." Chita paused to glance at the wall, then focused back to me. "I miss my JAG officers. They were fucking beautiful. They were also good women who cared about the law and doing right for both the Empire and their clients. But I think if they're watching, they rest easier knowing all the real changes you've made here. A few jealous types may begrudge your rise in command, but for most of us, you absolutely earned the right to sit where you are. I'll trust your best guess any day, Commander." She snapped to attention, saluting. "It's a privilege to serve with you, sir!"

I returned her salute.

"I guess I'd better get back to work," she said.

"I guess you'd better. Any more praise and I might pass out from my head getting so large."

Chita looked at me, and I could see her mind working. Instead, she just snickered as she exited my office.

I worked for awhile, switching to reviewing shift reports and writing a few of my own.

One email notice was from the Forensics Lab. The package sent to Ramilla and Leetsi was indeed cocaine. It also contained the granulated sap of dogbanes, a quick-acting poison. I forwarded the results with a description to Tikún Travel.

After a couple of hours, I checked on personal stuff. My first one was to Captain Diwan Kilfoor, the Ground Service JAG officer who'd researched Sowitwee's case. I asked him if he was available, and if so, to start paperwork to emancipate a slave to guild caste, and to let me know the costs.

Next, I wrote an email to Bilan, bringing my brother up to speed on recent events, and asking him about his beautiful new daughter, Shanti. I also wrote to my father, flagging his latest technical queries for later review and response. A short note to my mother, telling her I missed seeing her. An email to Zaniyah Tlacotli, Janetta's mother, asking how things were going, and inquiring about her friend Teela and her two grandsons, Jerro and Dachek. A quick review of Zaniyah's household account. Everything was up to date and the expenses were within reason. I transferred in six thousand credits and sent a quick thank-you note to her house manager, Pelita, along with a hundred credit bonus.

I glanced at my watch. I skimmed through Emilo Bitawel's last message. The long-haul trucker usually wrote a fair amount, talking about his family and their projects and events going on in their northern valley. The current one in my inbox was almost abrupt. So I wrote back, asking if everything was all right.

His wife, Falandi, responded almost immediately.

Lord Kandikan --

There's been a terrible accident here. A pack of dire wolves somehow got past the barriers and chased a Glyptodon into town. The beast charged onto the road in front of a school bus, trying to evade the wolves. The bus tried to swerve and overturned sliding down an embankment. Because of the wolves, the witnesses couldn't help until the police arrived. After dealing with the dire wolves, we learned the just how bad it was.

We lost the driver and three students. Almost everyone aboard was injured, but seven were permanently crippled, including some with burns. Our twins, Kosumo and Taipa, are in critical condition, along with two other students. Emilo is at the hospital, keeping watch.

If you have any sway with the gods, please pray for us.

Respectfully, Falandi Bitawel

I got up and opened my door. "Hanami, please step inside."

Bringing in her tablet, she entered and sat on the chair in front of my desk.

"I want to know the nearest Imperial military installation to Hoopa Valley. It's located in the northernmost part of Chuman State, near Lake Miwaka. I also want to know the nearest Ground Service unit, its CO and XO, and their contact information. Also, who is the ranking lord of the valley? If there's more than one, I want their names and contact information as well. Thank you. That's all."

She raised her eyebrows, but answered, "Yes, sir."

Quietly, Hanami got up and left, closing the door behind her.

I called Dr. Jehantli's phone and spoke with his medical assistant, Sergeant Nuna.

"Yes, Commander. What can I do for you?"

"What are the prices for a Phenomic Profile, a full bio-scan, and healing in the tanks?"

"It depends on whether they are military or civilian, and the extent of any injuries. The more the damage, the more coding and computer oversight needed to complete the process."

"This would be for civilians, citizens of the Empire. There are eleven young adults. I'm told four are in critical condition, and the others will survive but with crippling injuries. I don't know any further particulars at this time, but if I can't find services in their local area, I'm thinking of bringing them here."

"I see. Well, let me look up the cost charts," Sergeant Nuna answered. "The Profile cost I know off the top of my head. It runs three thousand credits. A full-bio scan is three hundred and fifty credits. The initial cost of a nano-treatment is a base of five thousand five hundred, plus two hundred to five hundred credits for each treatment packet added, depending on whether it's strictly repair work, genetic modification, or both. Then there's the cost of the hospital stay and such. It can mount up quickly. Follow up visits, of course, are much cheaper."

"All right." Numbers started whirling in my head.

"As the owner of the facility, Commander, your costs are much reduced. Your rate for nano-treatment is one-third normal, and your costs for supporting medical services are fifty-percent off."

"Really? That's good to know, Sergeant. And that's very helpful. Thank you."

"If you are planning on bringing these patients here, how soon would they arrive?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet, Sergeant. First, I want Dr. Jehantli and the physician overseeing the kids to talk, and I want to see what I can arrange locally first. If there are services that are closer, I want to explore that option first."

The discount Sergeant Nuna told me about would quickly pay for the cost of transporting them to High Guard, even by air travel versus by rail. The easiest part would be travel from Raydam to Sugarland. A medical visa for the entire party into the Seven Nations would be the most difficult, but it should be possible. Even if I had to grease a few palms to make it happen.

Picking up my land-line phone, I called Emilo's house. I received the warning that my call was to a civilian location and that the recipient's phone was not secure. I selected the accept-and-proceed option.

On the third ring, a woman answered. "Hello?"

"Is this Falandi?" I asked.

A sigh. "Look, whoever you are, I'm heading out the door right now. You have two minutes, starting now, and it better be good. Who is this?"

"This is Ranji Kandikan. I just received your email message. I know this is presumptuous, but I'd like to offer treatment at a nano-tech facility for your children. I'm extending the offer for the other seriously injured kids, too."

I heard the muted sound of a thump.

A distant male voice called out, "Mom!" followed by another female voice, younger, that picked up and loudly demanded, "Who are you and what did you say to my mother?!"

"Hi. My name is Ranji Kandikan. I'm an officer in the Imperial Air Service. I'm a friend of Emilo Bitawel. Who is this, please?"

Mollified, she answered, "Huyana Bitawel, Emilo's eldest daughter, my lord. We were just headed to the hospital to see how Kosumi and Taipa are doing, and to relieve my father. He's been there since last evening."

"All right. Well, please have your father send me an email as soon as possible. He can't call me, but I can call him. I want to help, but there's a lot of things I need to know first."

"I'll be sure and tell him. We need to go, Lord Kandikan."

"My best wishes to your family. Goodbye."

She hung up.

I leaned back in my chair, thinking this over. Yes, I'd dented my money to build the nano-tech facility, but I still had a huge amount remaining. I believe I would have been caught and killed on that highway outside the town of Leenaway. Instead, a generous long-haul trucker looking for some company took pity on an exhausted hitchhiker. Emilo didn't know it but he had saved my life. Reaching out to help his family was within my power and financial ability.

Resuming my work, a short time later Hanami sent me an email with the information I'd requested. The nearest installation was Khana Armory run by the Ground Service. The CO was Senior Captain Shokhano Makhelchel of the 473rd Frontier Battalion, assigned to the Pomo District; the district included Hoopa Valley and the small city of Kaleka. A Senior Captain was the Ground Service equivalent of the Air Service's Group Captain. The Second was Captain Moiyet Makhelchel, apparently Shokhano's sister. XO was Captain Ranka Balechi.

Frontier units were used to operating on the fringes of civilization; they usually worked in platoon-sized units and most of them were expert at foraging and mountaineering. Frontier forces also worked closely with militia units, providing training so that in times of need additional forces could be quickly raised. They typically had ChoCacs or for really rough terrain, they rode animals. They usually had aerial support, usually a flight company of two Kites and eight Raptors. The helicopters allowed them to rapidly deploy forces, scout for intruders, and to conduct search and rescue operations.

There were four nobles in the area. They seemed aligned along tribal affiliations. Miwoka'da, Pomo'sek, Nomkom-winlaki, and Sinkya-wappo. The smaller tribes worked with one of the four leaders.

A quick scan of civilian news outlets in Chuman led me to the Kaleka Weekly. Pictures and the story told of the tragedy.

My cahault was gone, but since it had been my fourth of the day, I grabbed a bottle of flavored electrolyte water from the mini-fridge under the cahault table.

Opening the door, I said, "Hanami, place a call to the 473rd Frontier Battalion, secure connection. I'll talk to whoever is in charge. Let me know when you've reached someone."

"Yes, sir."

While I waited, I reviewed a plan to expand the closed circuit monitoring across the base. All three of my watch commanders supported the expansion, and the increased personnel to help with the monitoring. The plan was that monitoring would be linked closely with Dispatch. Lieutenant Ja-See suggested one third be Air Security and two-thirds come from Ground Security. There was a shortage of supplies to make it happen, especially cameras. One of the Condors bringing in the supplies recently went down in the Inland Sea, and replacements of the lost equipment were moved to the bottom of the list.

With the sudden increase of tensions between the Empire and Atlantis, sending the supplies by freighter was less of an option. Atlantean ships might interdict the freighters while they were on open water or even within the borders of the Eastern Islands. The alternative was rail or air through the Seven Nations. But once it was out of our oversight and within their borders, we had to check the equipment on arrival to make sure it hadn't been altered in transit.

A few hundred cameras could be opened by some screwdrivers. And I knew a first-rate E-man personally. Cholan had spotted the altered network card in Janetta's diagnostic computer right away. Waiting might take a long time. Years even. I signed off on rail transport through the Seven Nations for the supplies.