A Galaxy Unknown 10: Azula Carver (5 page)

"As we understand the situation, tests have shown that Dakistian females do produce viable eggs, and the males produce viable sperm, but when the two necessary ingredients for procreation get together, the eggs never fertilize. So it may not be necessary to cure both sexes. Perhaps only one sex needs to be cured. But the final cloning information won't be delivered to the Raiders until healthy babies are produced and tests indicate they are not anomalies."

"Well, that should give us a bit of time," Jenetta said. "But I'd like to ensure that the Raiders never get even that
first
part of the information. We know they have some of the brightest research minds in the GA, and if they acquire an early part of the puzzle that contains some breakthrough information, you can be sure they'll get to work advancing that knowledge. The GA Senate has declared that information regarding the cloning process and the manufacture of Dakinium be classified Most Secret. Distribution of such information to unapproved persons or companies, or even possession of such information by parties who did not originate the data, is therefore sedition. As you know, sedition is one of the very few crimes in the GA that carries a possible death sentence. That should give pause to anyone considering giving such information not only to the Raiders but to anyone."

"Desperate people sometimes ignore laws and consequences and act on their impulses," King Tpalsh said.

"Yes. I wonder if Lady Christa has been informed of this?"

"That would be a decision for Space Command. We haven't notified her."

"I'll take it upon myself to inform her. I believe it's important she be aware of the potential situation brewing there. She is, after all, the commanding officer of the Dakistee station."

"I hope the rumors are false, or perhaps the information was only based on an offer made by the Raiders and our Dakistee cousins refused it."

"We'll find out. I'm glad we have intelligence operatives on the planet. The dissemination of Most Secret information to a criminal organization cannot be allowed."

"That's all I needed to discuss. Is there anything you wanted to discuss that requires the secrecy of this chamber?"

"No," Jenetta said with a smile. "Anything else I have to say might be privileged information, but it's not Secret or above."

"Fine. Then shall we join my queen? It's almost lunchtime."

"Yes, lets. I'm looking forward to seeing Queen Ckuhah again."

Jenetta finished her tea and stood up as King Tpalsh did the same. They made small talk about the kingdom as they walked through the corridors to the royal family's private dining room. Although they had concluded their discussions of the important Top Secret matters, the rest of their conversation wasn't for the ears of palace gossips. Tayna and Cayla normally never left Jenetta's side when walking but understood that on this occasion the importance of the Nordakian king meant that she wanted them to stay back a couple of paces.

"Welcome, Azula Carver," the queen said as Jenetta and the king entered the dining room. She remained seated at the dining table. "It's marvelous to have you here again. It's been much too long."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I'm delighted to be here again. You're looking wonderful."

"Thank you. And I see you've brought your pets with you again. How nice."

"Cayla and Tayna accompany me wherever I go. They've become more used to being around other people, and while they are still as protective of me as always, they allow others to approach me now without getting overly apprehensive for my safety."

"I see that. I believe that in the past they would never have allowed anyone to walk side by side with you."

"They were very young. Now they've matured and understand that not everyone is a threat when I'm among friends. And how is Prince Chazurz? I haven't seen him in the longest time."

"He's still enjoying his role of Captain Phuth Yuixotical. We've tried to interest him in taking a role here in the palace, but he prefers to be out sailing among the stars in a freighter."

"He has the same malady that's afflicted a great many, including myself."

"I suppose we must be grateful there are people who happily take on the responsibility for keeping trade flourishing among the worlds in Galactic Alliance Space. But we do miss him and are always happy to see him when he drops by for a brief visit. His older brothers are more interested in affairs of the nation and will be the next generation of leaders to our people."

"I'm sure that won't be necessary for some time. You and His Majesty seem to be in fine health and spirits."

"That's true right now, but we
are
getting older and sometimes talk of stepping down and turning over the reins of power to Prince Adrazzo. As the eldest of our three sons, he is the successor to the throne. Then perhaps we could find a little time for ourselves. Maybe we'd come to visit you on Obotymot."

"You're always welcome, Your Majesty. I have that enormous palace that was built for you and King Tpalsh, and most of time it's almost empty."

"I'd like to visit you there one day. I don't believe we've ever been to that part of the planet."

"It's a beautiful world, and my estate encompasses one of the finest areas. I'll always be grateful for your most generous gift."

"You're as deserving as any member of the nobility— and more than most," the king said. "Tell me, is the land returning to a productive state?"

"The valleys where we've liberally applied fertilizers to restore the topsoil lost through erosion during the years after the meteor strike have come back wonderfully. Our crop sizes are increasing every year. My chamberlain tells me production is up again this year, and life there is good. My mother confirms that the tenants who have returned to their farms are happy to be back tilling the land. And even the wilderness areas are in bloom, although the vegetation is still a bit scattered in places."

"Excellent. Cleansing the atmosphere and supporting the farm families while the growing of crops was impossible put a large hole in the treasury, but the yearly deficits have ended and revenues are slowly replacing what we spent. If we get another five years without a major disaster, we'll be in good shape again."

"At least we're prepared now in case another asteroid comes our way. The Sky Watch programs over Nordakia and Obotymot should give us time to locate and destroy any errant rocks before they can strike us."

"Yes, no asteroid must ever be allowed to pass within ten million kilometers of either planet."

The conversation was briefly interrupted by the announcement that the food was ready and could be served when the king and queen chose. The king instructed the servers to bring it out. Jenetta was delighted to see that Queelish, the delicious Nordakian vegetable stew she had become extremely fond of during her first visit to Nordakia, was the opening course. It was filling enough for her to consider it the entire meal on most occasions, but she saved room for the main course, which consisted of a fish fillet with sides of a wild rice and a vegetable that resembled asparagus. The fish reminded Jenetta of the tilapia on Earth and was delicious, as was all the food served.

When the meal was over, the dishes had been cleared away, and tea had been served, the king said, "I've been thinking, Your Grace. Now that you'll not be immediately returning to Space Command, perhaps you could help us with a problem we're anticipating will cause us great angst."

"And what is this problem, Your Majesty?"

"Immigrants. Millions of immigrants. We've learned that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of passenger ships and freighters are headed towards GA space from the Clidepp Empire. They are reputed to be packed with refugees trying to escape the civil war that has embroiled that nation. We can absorb some, but not the volume reportedly headed for this part of space. And Clidepp ships are so slow that by the time they arrive here they'll be out of food, so we can't simply turn them back."

"It's a difficult problem. You can't take them and you can't easily refuse them."

"And it's not just us. Obotymot is sure to be a destination for many. In fact, since Obotymot is closer to the Clidepp Empire, you'll probably see them before we do."

"The GA Senate has been wrestling with that problem for a while. I understand the emergency food stocks are being increased to the maximum in anticipation of a sudden demand. The stocks had been badly depleted because we've been feeding all the people on Dakistee since their awakening. Thank goodness the Dakistians located their buried treasuries. It's allowed them to begin purchasing their own food supplies from commercial traders as they develop agricultural production on the planet."

"I'd like to appoint you to head up our effort here," the king said.

"Your Majesty, I would be happy to take on any project you wish, but as you said, the ships will begin arriving on Obotymot long before they can reach here. I think my time would be better spent working from there to prepare for the refugees."

The king sighed. "I know you want to go home. You can coordinate the effort from there while working with our people here, can't you?"

"Very well, Your Majesty. I'll do everything I can as the coordinator of the effort."

The king smiled. "Thank you, Your Grace. I knew we could count on you."

Jenetta smiled, but if she had been alone she would have frowned and sighed. It might not be much of a rest after all.

Jenetta spent the rest of the afternoon in the company of the monarchs, then prepared to take her leave. The queen invited her to stay over for an extended visit, but Jenetta told her that while she would love to, she had too much to do. She did agree to stay for dinner.

Upon boarding the
Ares
later that evening, Jenetta ordered Captain Gavin to set course for Dakistee. She didn't elaborate, and he didn't pry. He simply had the navigator plot the course. As the ship left orbit, it headed for Dakistee at Light-9790.

~     ~     ~

"What's happened?" Christa asked excitedly as she entered Jenetta's suite aboard the
Ares.
"What are you doing here? Is everyone okay?"

"Calm down. Everyone is fine. I just need to talk you before I head for home."

"Is there a problem at the estate? Is Mama okay?"

"Christa, calm down. As far as I know everyone in the family is fine."

Christa took a deep breath and plopped into one of the comfortable chairs in Jenetta's sitting room. "You frightened me. You gave me no notice you were coming. You just showed up and ordered me to come to the
Ares
. What are you doing here anyway? You're a long way from your command. And with the Admiralty Board and the GA Senate moving to Quesann, I didn't figure to see you for a long time, unless I had an opportunity to go to Region Two."

"I've taken a leave of absence. I need a rest— away from Space Command and the Admiralty Board."

"Then it's true?"

"What's true?"

"That Admiral Moore has decided to retire this year and the Senate has confirmed you to take his place."

Jenetta grimaced and snorted slightly. "Yes, that's true. But it's not going to happen."

"So you ran away?"

"I'm officially on LOA."

"You ran away," Christa said with a knowing grin.

"Well— what would you have done?"

"The same thing. I wouldn't let them pin those five stars on my shoulders either." A smile suddenly crossed Christa's face. "Admiral Hubera must be spinning in his grave. He said you'd never make captain after you made lieutenant commander."

"Hubera isn't dead."

"Well, he should be. But they say only the good die young, so he'll probably live longer than us."

"And it's
Captain
Hubera, Retired."

"For what he tried to do to you and to Eliza and me, it should be Petty Officer Hubera, Jailbird."

"He got what he deserved, and he's out of our lives. I don't even think about him anymore."

"Okay, I'll drop it. So what are you
really
doing here? Why haven't you gone home to see Mama, Marisa, Regina— and your nephews whom you've never seen?"

"I'm going. I was on my way there when something important came up. We need to talk. Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"I'd love some chocolate ice cream. The stuff they serve on the Marine base is horrible and usually melted."

"Coming up. Play with the kiddies while I get some."

When Jenetta returned with two bowls of Double Chocolate ice cream, Christa was playfully wrestling on the floor with Tayna and Cayla. "I've missed these gals," she said as she stood up. "I wish I had a couple of companions like Cayla and Tayna."

"Perhaps you will."

"Have you mated them with Thor?" Christa asked as she took the bowl Jenetta was holding out.

"Not yet," Jenetta said as she plopped into a chair.

"Where is he, by the way? I'd like to meet him."

"He's down in a hold."

"You have him locked up?"

"He's not in a cage or anything, Christa. I just keep them separated for now so nature doesn't follow it's normal course."

"Can I see him before I go?"

"Of course. Eliza will be joining us when she gets off duty. We'll go down then. I'm sure Cayla and Tayna want to see him as well."

"So what's so important you came to see little old me?"

"I stopped at Nordakia before I came here. The king relayed some intelligence information his people had learned. Were you aware that the new president and her cabinet have signed a deal with the Raiders to give them all of the information they have on cloning and the manufacture of Dakinium?"

Christa stopped eating, removed the spoon from her mouth, and stared at Jenetta. "Where did they hear that?"

"I don't have the particulars. The king told me that a full report has been forwarded to SCI."

Christa took a deep breath and released it slowly before saying, "Madu has been actively soliciting outside help to solve the sterility problem. One of the pharmaceutical companies that responded to her call for proposals is reputed to have ties with companies that are believed to have done business with the Raiders. There's no clear chain of evidence that the company is involved with the Raiders directly. In any event, I hadn't heard that any agreements had, as yet, been signed, or what the payment form might be."