A Greater Interest: Samair in Argos: Book 4 (62 page)

              “Wait,” Acheron said, slumping back in his chair, putting a hand to his head.  His vision was just spinning right now.  “You brought ships?  Plural?”

              “I’ve brought five of them, Governor,” Chakrabarti answered.  Then he shrugged.  “Well, the
Kara
is here bringing the order of machine parts for that factory you’re building.  But the rest of the… squadron… is here if we can hammer out some sort of agreement.”

              “And if we cannot?” Acheron asked suspiciously.  “The warships remain to protect Seylonique interests?”

              Chakrabarti shook his head.  “No, Governor.  Absolutely not.  We are not interested in bullying anyone or imposing our will on anyone.  There is a pirate menace out there and we want to try and band some of the local systems together to try and stand against them.”

              “Stand against them?” Acheron replied.  “We don’t have any warships.  We have no way of defending ourselves.”

              “Not yet, Governor,” the other man replied.  “Would you mind if I came down so we could talk without having to use the comm system?”

              It took him a long moment to answer.  “Very well, Councilor.  I’ll await your shuttle.”

              “I know this feels a bit intimidating,” Sebastian was saying, some time later.  The two of them were in the Governor’s conference room, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand and a cup of brandy in Val’s.  “I want to assure you that if you give the word, the warships will depart this system and they won’t come back.  Except to escort our merchant ships through the system but then they will leave.”

              “And I just need to roll over and let your ships run through this star system?” he asked bitterly.  “Not that I can actually do anything about it if you decide to run your ships through here.”

              “I understand that the parts we brought over in the
Kara
were for a factory complex, is that right?”

              Acheron shrugged.  “Not so much a complex as just a factory, but yes.  Two of our corporations are looking to merge, they wanted to see about building some space ships.”

              “Space ships?”

              “Shuttles, I think is the proper term.  After a conversation I had with Captain Hogan, the heads of those corporations decided that it would be best to get themselves a few of those shuttles and run the cargoes up and down from the bigger freighters, like the
Grania Estelle
or the
Ma Mystere
.  Better to do it themselves, they reason, than have the bigger ships waste their time and fuel doing runs themselves.  There’s talk about an orbital platform for cargo transfers, a warehouse or some such, I’m not really sure of the details for that.  It’s still in the planning stages, nothing to get me really involved with yet.  The smaller freighters, of course, could still land on the planet to deal with their cargoes, but it would make things simpler if the bigger ships would be able to handle their business in orbit.”

              Chakrabarti nodded, then sipped his coffee.  “Seems like a good idea to me.  And the shuttle service will make a tidy profit and you, as the government, can levy a tax.  Win-win-win.”  He tipped his head to the side for a moment.  “Though I will admit, the more prosperous this system gets, the more of an inviting target it will be for the pirates out there.”

              “Getting a bit heavy handed with the incentives there, aren’t we, Councilor?” Acheron said dryly.

              “All right, I’ll admit, I was thinking a bit of avocado and stick there and I apologize.  But I am serious about this.”

              “So what do you want from Heb?” Acheron asked, setting down his glass.  “What are you expecting in exchange for this… protection?”  He hated using that word.

              Chakrabarti set his own cup down on the coffee table and leaned forward, elbows on knees.  “What you can spare, and not even close to that.  We want to make a… coalition of systems, if you will.  Heb and Seylonique and Ulla-tran if we can swing it.”

              “Ulla-tran as well?” Acheron said, leaning back his chair and tapping his finger against his lips.  “You’ve spoken with them?”

              “We’ve got a signed trade agreement with them.  It’s pretty light on the mutual defense part, but then Ulla-tran has their own Navy and defensive fleet,” the councilor admitted.  “But we’d like for Heb to be a partner in all this.  And we can’t do that if you fall under attack, can we?”

              Acheron watched the man, was trying with all his might to discern whether this offer was genuine.  And he made a decision. 
In for a credit…
  “We’ve had pirates come here.  Over the last six months.”

              Chakrabarti sat up straighter.  “You have?”

              “Yes,” he said, daring the man from Seylonique to say anything.  “We’ve been paying ‘protection’ from them as well.”  His voice was bitter.  “So either I pay them and they don’t attack us or I pay you and hope that your people can defend us from them.  Either way, it seems, Heb pays.”

              The councilor looked speculative.  “I had no idea, Governor.  I’m sorry.  I assure you, our offer is genuine.  And for the moment, this
is
the most we have to offer.”

              “Four corvettes.  Well, that’s better than what the pirates have sent our way, I’ll give you that.”  The governor seemed to brighten a little.  “They’ve only ever sent one of those and a smaller ship.  A cutter, I think it’s called.  And of course their cargo ships to pick up their protection payment.”

              “Well, Commander Dharvhan will do everything in her power to protect your citizens, Governor,” Chakrabarti assured him.  “She’s very well trained and is highly motivated.  We’ve had our own fair share of pirates in Seylonique as well, just a few months ago.  A very serious attack, during which thankfully we were able to ride out and drive them off.”

              “Really?” Acheron said, hope tinging his voice. 

              “Yes,” Chakrabarti replied.  “And I want you to understand, Governor that we’re looking to create something.  Something safe and strong.”

              “Empire building?”

              “I know it looks that way, but I’m concerned more about forming a… I don’t know, a bulwark against the pirates.  They’ve been sighted and have taken action in all three systems, including yours in the last couple of years, and I’m concerned about further incursions.”

              Acheron let out a long breath.  “Further incursions.  We just had one a few weeks ago.  One of their cutters came through here, hit up one of the local bars and continued on.  I’m told that they were on a course that might take them to Bimawae.”

              He nodded, filing away that information for later.  “I understand.”

              “I almost ordered a team to move in and take the ship when it was on the ground,” Acheron admitted.  “But then I realized that even if we took the ship, it was only a short reprieve.  The warlord would realize in short order what happened to his wayward ship and send a strike force to punish us for it.”

              “I certainly don’t want to bring any problems to your door, Governor,” Sebastian said.  “What we’re looking for here is a way to protect ourselves and by extention our neighbors and potential trading partners.  And that’s what we’re looking for here, another partner.”

              “I will consider it, Councilor,” Acheron said slowly.  “I’ll need to discuss it with my cabinet and advisors, as well as the leaders of the other cities.  I’m supposed to be the head spokesperson for this world, but I’m not the only voice.  I would need to speak with them and get their opinion before any decisions of this nature can be made.”

              “Of course,” Chakrabarti said, waving his hands.  “I’m a member of a council myself, so I know all about needing concensus.  But if I might be so bold, may I ask your thoughts about the idea?”

              “You can ask, Councilor,” Acheron said sardonically, “But I’m not really under any obligation to respond.  Oh, I know that I’m the one who requested military assistance to help defend this system and now I seem to be balking at the help being offered.  But I’m just surprised at the speed of this response.  Hell, the fact that you responded at all.  I guess I’m just still trying to process it.”  He took a sip from his brandy glass, either to buy time or to hide his face from the other man.

              “Well, Governor, perhaps it’s time I get back to the ship.  It will give you time to speak with your fellows and come to a decision.  There is no pressure here,” he said, standing.  “Well, not a lot.  I
do
want this agreement to go through but I don’t want to alienate you or your people in the process.  And I promise you, that if you say that you don’t want us here, I will take all of our ships out of the system.”  He pulled a datacard out of his pocket.  “Here are the sensor logs for the battle in Seylonique.  I know you asked about them before and I guessed you might want to see them.  We’ll talk later, you have my comm codes.  Good afternoon, Governor.”

              It didn’t actually take all that much discussion to come to a consensus.  In less than an hour over the conference call, the three leaders of the planet made their decision.  The others had been scared to death over the idea that pirates had a hold on them and would be back again for another collection.  Heb wasn’t a wealthy world and the fact that they were turning over a good portion of the He3 fuel, foodstuffs and other things was hurting the economy.  There wasn’t anything to spare.  The others were willing to give this councilor a shot, especially since he was bringing four warships with him.  Or rather, that he was willing to leave those four warships here.

              Acheron wasn’t so sure.  But he wasn’t willing to go against the others on this.  And they were right,
four
warships to defend the system was significant, certainly better than what they’d had before.  Which was nothing.

              He called Sebastian Chakrabarti back down to the planet and the four of them got together to hash out an agreement.  It was nothing so formal as a treaty, but it was an interim agreement that could work.  Mutual defense was the biggest item on the agreement, which right now was one directional and for now would consist of a payment sent to cover the costs of paying the crews and to cover fuel.  It was a reasonable request, one that the three leaders of Heb quickly agreed to.

              “I’m glad you made this decision,” Chakrabarti told them, as he signed his name on the document.  They were using actual paper for this, as well as a digital copy for his own records.

              “And I suppose this is where you tell us you need to stay here to ‘oversee’ your forces?” one of the other governors asked, his voice bitter.  “To make sure that we don’t abuse the firepower?”

              But the councilor shook his head.  “Commander Dharvhan is perfectly capable of overseeing everything.  She’ll do what she can to keep this system safe.  But I have to inform you, Governors, that while she will respond favorably to any requests you make as far as system protection, but she is not your errand girl.  She is not going to attack any of your fellows on your request.  Please understand that.”

              “Of course, that is understood,” one of the governors replied stiffly, offended.  “We are very grateful for all this.”

              “And for the factory parts,” the other governor stated.  The factory in question was not being constructed in Vanoria, but on one of the other cities.  They were taking this spirit of cooperation seriously.  But then the man frowned.  “So, you are not staying here?”

              Chakrabarti smiled gently and shook his head.  “Oh, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.  If it is agreeable, I will remain.  But while I will be here to oversee the Navy ships, I’m not going to tell you how to run your system.  And I know you were concerned that I’m here to rein in your enthusiasm, but I’m not going to be here indefinitely.  My intention was to be here for a few months, let the situation stabilize and make sure everything goes smoothly.  Then I will return to Seylonique, possibly on one of the cargo ships that makes a run through here.”  Truth be told, he wasn’t thrilled with
that
prospect, but it would do if he must.

              “So what is it that you intend on doing here?”

              “I would like to look into other mutual opportunities,” the councilor said smoothly.  “I’m sure there are some local businesses that might benefit from some… cooperation.  But I do have a conference call with the captains of the defense squadron later.”

              “Perhaps you could stay down here for a short while longer?” one of the other governors replied.  “I’m sure we could find a few things to speak of.”

              Sebastian Chakrabarti smiled and nodded.  “I’m sure we could.”

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

              Once the accords were signed, things moved with increasing alacrity.  The crews managed to get the cargo ship unloaded, all of the containers on the shuttles and down to the planet in twelve hours.  Another four hours and the
Kara
was loaded back up with the cargoes purchased by her captain and ready to go.  Reshi watched as the boxy cargo ship began its lumbering acceleration away from the planet on a vector toward Heb.  She’d discussed things with her Uncle, making it clear that while she would follow his orders, he had appointed
her
to lead the squadron and she wouldn’t appreciate him trying to micromanage her command decisions.