Lady Lure (39 page)

“You had the very best of care,” Almaric said
with some irritation.

“I know I did, and I thank you for arranging
it,” Halvo said. “It is not your fault that I could not deal with
what my life had become or with the future I knew I would face once
I reached Capital. When the
Krontar
was hailed by a tiny
pirate ship and a robot’s voice declared that a meeting with me was
desired, my curiosity was aroused. It was the first time since I
was wounded that I had felt any spark of interest in what was
happening around me.

“I want to make it very plain,” Halvo said,
“that nothing that followed was in any way the fault of Captain
Jyrit or of any member of his crew. I was repeatedly warned against
meeting with anyone from the pirate ship and warned again about the
possible danger in boarding it.”

With Halvo suggesting when each of them
should speak, the others told their respective versions of the
story roughly in chronological order. When Halvo produced the
specimen capsule containing the device that had been intended to
make Rolli destroy the
Space Dragon,
Almaric took it with an
angry exclamation.

“This is damning evidence,” Almaric said,
“though it may prove to be irrelevant.”

“I don’t see how that can be,” Kalina
said.

“When the tale is done, I do not doubt that
you will all understand.” Almaric looked at his wife. “Tell us now
about your first visit to Regula.”

Not having heard that part of the story,
Perri listened to Kalina with great interest. She was aware that
Leader Almaric’s eyes were often fixed on her face, and she feared
he was agreeing with every unkind thing the Regulans had said about
her.

Though when it was his turn to speak again
Halvo repeatedly pointed out that Perri had been little more than
an unknowing pawn in the schemes of Elyr and the Chief Hierarch.
Perri did not think Almaric was impressed by that argument, not
even when Rolli also attested to Perri’s ignorance of any intrigue
and spoke of Perri’s simple and perfectly natural desire to help
her betrothed. Rolli spoke eloquently of Perri’s hurt and her rage
at Elyr’s betrayal.

Rolli then went on to mention the subservient
position of women in Regulan society. At that point Almaric
appeared to be having some difficulty in controlling an impulse to
laugh. Perri thought his reaction was probably caused by the fact
that she was no longer a typical Regulan woman, which the shrewd
Almaric must have noticed. During the course of her adventures with
Halvo she had changed until she was anything but subservient. And
she was certainly not passive either. Recalling her last night with
Halvo aboard the
Krontar
, Perri was forced to admit that on
Regula she would no longer be considered a woman of acceptable
temperament.

When at last they all fell silent, their
story told, Almaric looked from one to the other. The gleam in his
eyes reminded Perri once again of Tarik. In her brief acquaintance
with Tarik, he had often had the appearance of a man who was hiding
a delicious joke that he could scarcely wait to reveal.

“Will you accuse Elyr of abetting pirates?”
Jyrit asked Almaric.

“I do not believe it will be necessary to do
so,” Almaric said.

Perri could tell he was teasing them. His
humorous gaze even included her.

“But, sir,” Jyrit protested, “those cursed
Regulans dared to have an Admiral of the Fleet kidnapped! An
example must be set or the crime could be repeated, if not by the
Regulans, then by some other Race. Not all the Members of the
Jurisdiction are entirely law-abiding Races.”

“Captain Jyrit makes an excellent point,”
Kalina said with a smile for her Jugarian friend.

“I do not want a war, Kalina. This present
peace was too hard won,” Almaric said. “If we accuse the Regulans
or attack them, their trading partners, the Cetans, are sure to
join the dispute, and where will our peace treaty with Ceta be
then?”

“I was thinking more of strict economic
sanctions,” Kalina said.

“Such restrictions would greatly anger the
Regulan merchants,” Almaric said. “Every one of them would be
furious with the Hierarchy for bringing Jurisdiction sanctions down
on them. You know how the Regulans are. There would be intrigue
upon intrigue upon intrigue. I have no desire to cause any
difficulty for the present Hierarchy.” Almaric paused, his face a
remarkable study in laughter and the attempt to prevent it.

“I think,” Kalina said, looking into his
eyes, “that you ought to reveal to us exactly what the latest news
from Regula is.”

“How perceptive you are, my dearest,” Almaric
murmured. “How could I possibly lead the Jurisdiction without you
by my side?”

“Almaric.” Kalina tried to look stern, though
love for her husband was written clearly on her face for everyone
in the room to see. “Speak before I strangle you.”

“When Elyr made himself Chief Hierarch,”
Almaric said, “the other six Hierarchs were greatly displeased by
his presumption. They immediately fell to squabbling among
themselves about how best to remove him.”

“I am not surprised to hear it,” Kalina said.
“Are you telling us that Elyr has been deposed?”

“He has,” Almaric said, “but not by the other
Hierarchs. They were too busy devising intrigues against each other
to form a coalition strong enough to remove Elyr.”

“Then who did remove him?” Kalina asked.

“His mother and his wife,” Almaric said.
Laughter threatened to overwhelm him, but he swallowed hard and
kept his composure.

“What?” Kalina’s jaw actually dropped open at
that piece of news.

“Thori and Cynri?” Perri said. “Those quiet,
peaceable women who would never dare raise their voices to any
man?”

“They claimed to me that they were inspired
by Kalina’s example,” Almaric said.

“I knew it!” Halvo burst into laughter.
“Perri, didn’t I tell you once that, if ever my mother went to
Regula, she would turn the planet upside down?”

“I did nothing of the kind.” Kalina sent a
quelling look toward her laughing son before turning to Almaric
again. “I assure you I was the very model of diplomatic propriety
during my visit to Regula.”

“Sir,” Jyrit said before anyone could dispute
Kalina’s somewhat exaggerated claim, “may we assume from what you
have said that Elyr was dispatched once he was removed from
office?”

“Not at all,” Almaric said. “Elyr is
currently under house arrest, held there by Thori’s authority.
Thori says she will decide later what to do with him, but she
suggested that she may keep him alive, since she wants to have a
daughter and Cynri has expressed a wish to be a grandmother.”

“How can Thori bear to lie down with Elyr
after he killed her father?” Perri cried.

“It seems that Elyr lost his nerve and
neglected to kill the former Chief Hierarch,” Almaric said. “Elyr
only imprisoned his father-in-law, and in prison the man will stay
since, like Elyr, he is now accused of dealing with pirates.”

While they all digested the unexpected news,
Dysia spoke. “If the women are determined to pay the men back for
past injustices, then I cannot think the Regulans will be any
better off under female rule. They will simply reverse the
situation instead of improving it.”

“Apparently, Cynri takes the same point of
view,” Almaric said. “According to the report she made directly to
me, she intends to keep a hierarchal system of government in place.
Cynri herself has been installed as the new Chief Hierarch. In her
capacity as head of the Regulan government, Cynri has made a
profound apology for the previous government’s involvement in the
kidnapping of Halvo.

“She has also offered an explanation of the
motive behind your kidnapping that accords with what you have
deduced,” Almaric said to Halvo. “According to Cynri, the old Chief
Hierarch and his pirate friends were making so much profit from
their illegal activities that they could not risk having the flow
of money cut off if Halvo should decide to continue his crusade
against the pirates. Whether you were healthy and commanding a
warship, Halvo, or here at Capital where you could influence me to
act against them, you represented a threat to pirates and Chief
Hierarch alike.”

“So,” Halvo said, “greed was the ultimate
reason for this intrigue. What reprisals will be made against
Regula?”

“I consider myself a civilized man,” Almaric
said, “and I try to run a civilized government. Therefore, I will
not call for vengeance. I assured Cynri that I believe her
assertions about the great changes currently taking place on
Regula. Of the six Lesser Hierarchs recently installed, three are
women and three men. At Cynri’s insistence, Thori is one of the
female Hierarchs. Furthermore, Regulan women have at last been
given equal citizenship with men, though I personally believe it
will take many years for them to learn how to cope with their new
freedoms – and their new responsibilities.”

“The Jurisdiction could help them learn to be
fair to both men and women,” Kalina said.

“I have already offered our help, and Cynri
has accepted.” Almaric smiled at his wife. “I am so proud of you,
my dear. These changes on Regula represent yet another diplomatic
triumph to your credit.”

Almaric looked around at his audience before
continuing. “Captain Jyrit, I have a new assignment for you. The
Regulans have requested our assistance in dealing with the problem
of those pirates who are lurking in their sector. A certain Captain
Mirar particularly asked that you be sent to help. I gather that he
holds you in high respect. I know you are overdue for leave, but
would you have any objection to postponing your time off so you can
return to Regula for a while?”

“No, sir.” Jyrit’s antennae were a bright and
startling shade of orange. “I would be delighted.”

“Despite the fact that he wounded you,
Jyrit,” Halvo said, “Captain Mirar impressed me as an honest man.
Perhaps not all Regulan males are addicted to intrigue.”

“An interesting possibility,” Jyrit said. “It
would mean there is hope for the future of Regula.”

“As for you, Lieutenant Dysia,” Almaric
continued, his eyes dancing with amusement, ”several days ago, I
received a recommendation from your commanding officer, citing your
exemplary service during a time of peril. I am happy to approve
Captain Jyrit’s commendation of you and to promote you to the rank
of lieutenant commander.”

“Thank you, sir.” Dysia looked from Almaric
to Jyrit.

“No thanks are needed,” Jyrit said. “You have
earned your promotion.”

“Well, Halvo,” Almaric said, turning to his
son, “the next question is, what to do with you? For administrative
reasons it was necessary to place someone else in the position
being held for you. However, posts here at Capital do open up with
some frequency.”

“Of course they do.” Halvo interrupted his
father with sudden, barely controlled anger. “Since most of those
administrative positions are held by Service personnel who are too
old, or who have been too badly injured to remain on active duty,
we can’t expect them to live very long, can we?”

“We do our best for those who have retired
from active duty,” Almaric said. “The Jurisdiction owes to loyal
Service personnel the dignity of continued employment for as long
as they wish, or for at least as long as they are able to sit at a
desk. Nor is such a job a matter of pure charity. The experience of
such personnel is frequently useful.”

“I am not so old, or any longer so disabled,
that I can only perform a desk job,” Halvo said.

“Yes, I am happy to see that you do appear to
be restored to your usual excellent health,” Almaric said. “My own
eyes confirm the medical reports I received of you from the
Krontar.
”

“Then give me an active man’s job to do,”
Halvo demanded.

“Halvo, my boy, surely you understand that
any officer in the Jurisdiction Service would be embarrassed to
have the former Admiral of the Fleet serving under him, to be
forced to give orders to the man who was once his
commander-in-chief. Nor am I willing to disrupt the Service order
of promotions by removing the present Admiral of the Fleet and
reinstating you. Such a move would be too destructive to
morale.”

“I have no desire to be Admiral of the Fleet
again,” Halvo said. “But I absolutely refuse to remain here at
Capital in a desk job. I belong in space.”

“Almaric,” said Kalina, who had been
listening to the altercation with growing concern, “I have a
suggestion.”

“I would be grateful to hear it, my dear,”
Almaric said.

“Since you became Leader of the Jurisdiction,
I have been your only personal ambassador, the one person you trust
to travel throughout the Jurisdiction, and sometimes beyond it, to
help in settling disputes in an unofficial way. We have both
complained that, while my work is vital to the smooth functioning
of this extremely disparate organization of planetary governments,
there is too much work for one person, and I am far too often away
from you.”

“I believe I understand what you are getting
at, Kalina. With his vast experience of the many Races of the
Jurisdiction, Halvo could serve as my second unofficial ambassador.
I say my second ambassador, for I do not delude myself that you
will ever be willing to give up interplanetary travel, my dear.
Like our sons, you love space too much to remain on any world for
very long without becoming restless.

“Halvo, what do you think of your mother’s
idea?” Almaric turned back to his son. “I assure you, this would
not be a made-up position designed to keep you happy. It will
require hard work and a lot of travel, and it will sometimes be
dangerous. But it would be a way for you to continue to serve the
Jurisdiction without tying you to the desk job you appear to dread.
If you say yes, I will begin by sending you to the Famorati, who
are presently embroiled in a bloody dispute with their nearest
neighboring star system over who first invented that new material
for spaceship windows.”