FLETCHER

Owned and operated by the Ayres Group, second among the cartels, the intricate network of communications and navigational beacons that link the Twelve Systems enables unfettered stellar transit and instantaneous communications. Expanding the network to include the Thirteenth System will require several years. Until then, the only access to the new system is with the navigational markers planted by the Nightingale. Without the support of the beacon network, the system is isolated and at risk from marauders. Militia patrols mitigate some of the risk, but Bright Star’s greatest protection is control of access to the markers. ~ excerpt from, Serengeti Bright Star Strategic Plan, Serengeti archives

Clarice pivoted, ducking the fist headed toward her face. Bringing her foot around, she landed a kick squarely on her opponent’s ass. He stumbled, swore, and swung around, his face flushed from both exertion and humiliation. With practiced ease, she avoided his feint-and-attack move. A first-year Iron Hammer associate, he had a belligerent nature that he enjoyed venting on the apprentices. During her apprentice years, Clarice had suffered insults and injury from ill-natured associates. Forbidden by stricture to challenge one of a higher rank, she could do nothing. As a protégé, matters were different.

The stocky man had preened entering the square, flattered to be singled out by a protégé, and certain his five inches in height and four stone in weight would allow him to defeat her. He was mistaken. While she was still an apprentice, Clarice had twice defended Serengeti from despoilers. She regularly sparred with some of the cartel’s finest combatants.

Unable to keep up with the rapid, tumbling forms of Mulan’s discipline, the associate’s reflexes were slowing, his color deepening. She could hear observers jesting about his performance. Moving to finish it, she used a series of rapid strikes to unbalance him before tossing him to the mat.

His sharp cry was satisfying. Finding his feet, he cradled his right wrist. Stepping up to him, she watched him flex his fingers. Sprained, not broken. Loudly enough for the observers to hear, she thanked him for the match. Bending her head as if checking his wrist, she said, “Abuse another apprentice, and the next time I will break it.”

Lifting her head, she met his shocked gaze. “Abuse of the weak and vulnerable tarnishes Iron Hammer’s honor. You would do well to cease the practice.”

Turning on her heel, she swept up her towel and water vial. At the edge of the square, Verity greeted her with a broad smile and a sparkle in her cornflower-blue eyes. From the sweat matting Verity’s dark curls, and the half-empty water vial in her hand, she had finished her training. “That was entertaining. I particularly liked the bit about Iron Hammer honor.”

Shrugging, Clarice patted the sweat from her neck. “I could hardly announce that those of us who were once apprentices have an alliance to protect those who currently are.”

“That associate is unusually dense,” Verity said. “An embarrassment to our cartouche. The rest of the new cartel associates have recognized such behavior will not be tolerated. In Grey Spear, it did not take a month. According to Douglas, Monsignor Hercules’ new protégé was more than cooperative. Speaking of”—she gestured with her head—“Grey Spear does enjoy watching you in combat.”

Following Verity’s motion, Clarice met Monsignor Hercules’ dark eyes, finding them warm with approval before they shuttered, and he turned away. Verity had been on Genji when the liaison ended, and the training chambers were not the place to discuss the matter. “Monsignor is always gracious.”

Glancing around the mostly empty chamber, Verity lowered her voice. “He escorted you to Mulan’s Festival, and Sinead’s Cotilion before that. Sixth Day you attend Katleen’s cotillion on his wrist. For all intents and purposes, you are his shadow consort. It cannot be long before he proposes the next step.”

Unlike wedlock alliances, which were all but impossible to sever, consort alliances allowed for termination. They were common among the younger warrior elite when a suitable wedlock alliance was not forthcoming. They also occurred later in life, when a spouse had died but there were already heirs, as it was with Monsignor Lucius and Lilian. Occasionally, when spouses were estranged, one would form a bond that went beyond a common liaison. Since the existing wedlock prohibited a formal consort alliance, the arrangement was deemed a shadow consort.

Unlike Lilian, who was born a warrior, Clarice’s origins were in the slums of Metricelli Deuce. A warrior of Hercules’ rank would never make her consort, shadow or otherwise. But then, Verity had always been romantic. “As it happens, Douglas is escorting me to Katleen’s cotillion.” Before Verity could question further, Clarice asked, “Anything further from Chrys’ agrarian relatives?”

“Chrys will have a report on settler recruiting at the next Thornscore conference.” At Chrys’ name, Verity’s tone softened. After years of pining for the man, he had finally noticed her as a woman. Since their return on Seventh Day, Verity had been all but glowing. The evening gone, she spent several bells reciting all Chrys’ wonderful qualities, as if Clarice had not known Chrys for years. “He will be sorry he missed you breaking that associate’s wrist.”

Grabbing her cleansing products, Clarice explained, “He was in the training chambers yesterday. You would not know that he was ever injured.”

Turing on a shower, Verity tested the water. “Not the best word. But you know what I mean. That hard, ‘keep your distance’ expression. Reminds me a bit of Lilian when she first entered the cartel. All closed off and stoic.”

Clarice’s hand hesitated on the controls. “I had not thought, but you are right.” Adjusting the flow, she tested the water. “I understand rehabilitation was quite painful. Stoic would make sense.”

Fletcher was impressed. Verity Drakos’ work on the new pairing device prototypes was exceptional. The Iron Hammer engineer was only two years from apprenticeship and already producing senior associate work. That she accomplished most of the work while in stellar transit was a tribute to her proficiency.

At the polite greeting, Fletcher jerked his attention from his slate, surprised he had not heard anyone enter the conference chamber. “Master Chrys—well met indeed. I was reviewing the report on the new navigational devices.”

With a smile, the protégé dropped into a chair. Taller than Fletcher, the other man had an air of pleasant attention. Fletcher had viewed him in battle often enough to know that Chrys could be deadly. He was also one of Blooded Dagger’s most gifted technologists and one of the brilliant minds behind the latest advances in mercium, the synthetic vistrite. It was that skill that Fletcher needed. “It appears that Bright Star mercium is less adaptable than flexible vistrite.”

The technologist shrugged. “We knew that would be the case, but Monsignor Lucius is adamant that flexible vistrite remains restricted to Serengeti. The use for the armada was an exception due to the crisis.”

The revolutionary process that allowed vistrite crystals to be refined to a degree that they were fluid except for a flexible shell, was not yet a year old. Their flexibility and ability to accept double encoding, enabled rapid installation of the navigational devices in the Bright Star armada. After the armada returned from the Thirteenth System, the flexible vistrite pairing devices were removed. “I am a bit surprised Monsignor is permitting Bright Star mercium on third-party vessels.”

Chrys explained, “Ayres has two years to establish a fully redundant beacon network in the Thirteenth System. The two planets will need supplies, settlers, and militia well before then.”

Without the beacon signals, stellar craft would wander the void until the systems failed. “I thought they would start by expanding the network between the Fourth System and the Thirteenth?”

Chrys’ lips slanted in a wry smile, “They are insisting that for safety and redundancy, they must have three paths into the Thirteenth System before activating one.”

The Ayres preeminence held a grudge that his cartel was not part of Bright Star. Adding to the injury, one of Ayres’ highest-ranking warriors had led the despoiler attack on the Thirteenth System. In reparation, and to prove Ayres’ loyalty, the Thirteenth System was being added to the beaconed expanse at no charge to Bright Star or the Thirteenth System.

Fletcher flexed his left hand. In his mind, Ayres’ restitution was nowhere near sufficient. “The dishonorable scum will use every moment of those two years to find a loophole that will allow them to profit from the Thirteenth System.”

Fletcher had vilely insulted Ayres’ preeminence, one of the twelve most powerful warriors in the Thirteen Systems. A significant offense even for a warrior and a Serengeti master associate. Even more ill-considered, he voiced it in an open conference chamber where, as they spoke, Verity was hurrying to claim a place near Chrys. On her heels were Seigneurs Kemeha and Marco, and Marco’s protégé, Rigel.

If the seigneurs had heard Fletcher’s bitter comment, they did not acknowledge it. Taking the head of the table, Marco dispensed with preliminaries, focusing his gaze on Kemeha. “What is your assessment?”

“The test results are impressive. However, to date, the devices have not been tested beyond a lab environment. We need to test the devices in stellar craft before risking a test beyond the beaconed expanse. It would be ill if they failed once we lost contact with the Ayres network.”

Marco nodded. “The Leonardo Society suggested we deploy a few markers throughout the Fourth System and use flyers to test the signal.” He turned his gaze to Fletcher. “You have flown the Fourth System; will it be sufficient?”

Two years ago, Fletcher raced a flyer on a convoluted route through the Fourth System. Even though he did not win, it was an exhilarating race. Testing the pairing devices would be mundane by comparison, but if it returned him to a flyer, he cared not. “The notion has merit and could be executed with a flyer in a matter of days. However, since I will be installing the controllers, we could get better results if I tested them here in the Third System, where I will have access to Master Chrys and Mistress Verity.”

“For installation tests, the Third System beacons will suffice, but the true test will be communication with the Bright Star markers. Once in the Fourth System, the test markers used by the Nightingale can be used for confirmation tests.”

Marco turned to Chrys who, in turn, quickly pulled his gaze from Verity. It appeared the rumors were true about those two. Fletcher could understand Chrys’ interest. Average in height, with a gently curved figure and heart-shaped face, the woman had a sweet beauty that belied both her brilliant mind and accomplished combat skills.

Chrys gave a slow nod, his gaze distant. “Fletcher is correct that only with the Nightingale test markers will we have confirmation that the devices will work with the Nightingale markers in the expanse.”

Marco frowned. “If the only purpose of the Third System tests is to confirm proper installation and configuration, there is no purpose in doing it twice, and time is of the essence.” He looked at Kemeha, “Any objections to Verity accompanying Chrys and Fletcher to Fortuna to support the tests?”

Marco shrugged. “Mistress Lilian performed a risk assessment. She concluded that if the devices work as designed in the Fourth System tests, and can access the first marker, the chance of failure and rescue is less than five percent.”

Fletcher had spent bells working with Lilian to minimize the extraordinary risks of the Nightingale’s flight to the Thirteenth System. If she was that confident, he held no concern.

Seigneur Herman was at the conference table, head bent over his slate, revealing the thinned patch on top. The legalistics seigneur’s office was as familiar to Clarice as her own. Maybe more so given the number of bells she had spent there as an apprentice, standing at attention either before the desk or behind his left shoulder during conferences.

Without looking up, he waved her to a chair. He made a small sound of annoyance and tapped his slate. Knowing that she had done nothing to cause his ire, she set her slate on the table and waited.

With a sigh, he pushed his slate aside and fixed her in his gaze. The furrow between his brows eased and he offered her a half smile. “Excellent work on the pairing device contracts. You covered every contingency.”

When she was his apprentice, Herman utilized Clarice on the legalistics for the early versions of mercium. The distribution contracts for the low-cost vistrite synthetic were important to cartel revenue, but not complicated. As Serengeti’s research and development department expanded mercium’s capabilities into versions for use in the Nightingale and Bright Star technology, she continued to support the legalistics. Those contracts and negotiations were some of the most complex in the Thirteen Systems.

Waving off the formal words, Herman braced his arms on the table. Whatever was coming, it was important. “Fortuna Legalistics Master, Koralia Smithen, has suffered a transport accident. She will recover but remains in gray space for the next sevenday. It will be the new year before she can return to duty. I need you on Fortuna, acting in her place.”

Mulan’s flame. Clarice’s breath caught. Protégé contracts were three or four years depending on the area of excellence. Legalistics was one of the areas where four was standard. Acting for a master associate was commonly a fourth-year assignment, and Clarice had two months to go before completing her second year. “Seigneur! Of course. When should I depart? Will the master associate have any ability to answer questions? How soon will I have access to her active tasks?”

Smiling, Herman held up a hand. “Peace. The inventory of her active tasks should already be in your queue. The few areas where you do not have access will be available by midday. I expect it will take you through Fifth Day to review all the pertinent files. We will convene tenth bell on Sixth Day to discuss priorities and issues. Seigneur Marco departs Second Day to come, and my executive servitor will arrange your passage on the same vessel.”

Fletcher turned down a narrow corridor on the archives level. He had known that the massive archives used half the level. The rest was given over to a variety of secure chambers for specialized research, maintenance, and areas for a host of other secondary functions that supported Serengeti Headquarters’ physical structures. Being sent to one of these obscure chambers was a new experience. Without the guidance from his slate, he would have no hope of finding the chamber.

Seigneur Kemeha’s alert held no information other than that his presence was required. Intent on his goal, he barely glanced at the maintenance woman grappling with a door mechanism. He had turned another corner when he recognized the woman he passed had the physique of a militia guard. Before the battle for the Thirteenth System, the war with the despoilers was one of stealth. He had enough experience with Seigneur Trevelyan’s stealth operations and activities to suspect he was about to be engaged in another one.

Pace slowing, he realized the short corridor ended at his destination. The door recessed at his approach. Curious and wary, he crossed the threshold to find one of the loveliest women in the cartel. “Mistress Rebecca?”

Seigneur Trevelyan’s protégé was a curvaceous platinum blonde with large aqua-blue eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion. In her four-inch heels, she barely topped Fletcher’s shoulders and had an air of fragility that beguiled the unwary into dismissing her as a pretty piece of fluff.

Fletcher knew better. He had fought beside her in the maze melee and knew it was her skill at intrigue that carried her from apprentice to the protégé of Serengeti’s spymaster. He did not recognize the nondescript man at her side in the inexpensive suit of an executive servitor. From his bearing, the man was more likely to be skilled with weapons than archives.

While Fletcher was on Fortuna training for the voyage into the Thirteenth System, the man who had served him for a decade fell in love. With Fletcher’s best wishes and a generous wedlock gift, the servitor entered the service of a Fortuna warrior family to remain with his spouse.

While on the Nightingale, Fletcher had no need for a personal servitor. After he lost his limbs, it was all he could endure to allow the medical staff to handle him. Having one now did not appeal, but he doubted Mr. Clyde would be any better with a steamer than with an archive. “To what purpose?”

Rebecca’s smile faded. “Your assignment with the new pairing devices makes you a target. Mr. Clyde will protect you and the technology.”

Seigneur Trevelyan elevated paranoia to an art form. Their contingent for the Fortuna trip included six militia in addition to Seigneur Marco’s personal bodyguard. Without asking, Fletcher was certain the seigneur had several operatives among stellar transport crew. “Is this about what happened with Chrys and Verity on Genji?”

“That explains the seigneur’s insistence that we use only the Serengeti transport fleet and drivers while on Fortuna.” He glanced at the silent man. “It does not explain why I need a bodyguard beyond the militia when Chrys and Verity do not. One that is not to be known as a bodyguard.”

Rebecca’s lips tightened. “A month ago, a saboteur was discovered on the Nightingale. She was hired to disrupt the exploration and corrupt the results where possible. She did not balk at murder to attain her goals.”

Rebecca’s expression softened. “You would not know her. She was replacement maintenance tech who joined the crew during the Fortuna repairs.”

The three inhabitable moons of Gemini in the Tenth system were famous and infamous for their financial secrecy protocols. Protocols that enabled a wide range of black and gray commerce. It was through Hebrides institutions that the despoilers secretly amassed the funds to build their fleet. “Serengeti found the despoiler funds. Can we not discover this woman’s employer?”

Involving the governing council meant media attention. “Bright Star does not dare reveal we had a saboteur this close to the new year and commerce bidding on the Thirteenth System tracts.”

“Precisely. We also must expect our adversary to try again. What better mechanism than navigational devices that will allow access to the Thirteenth System? You will be the only one on the freighter who knows how to maintain and operate the devices.”

Recognizing the wisdom of Seigneur Trevelyan’s precaution, Fletcher nodded. “Mr. Clyde, have you any skill at all with a warrior’s wardrobe? Can you use a steamer?”

Clarice hastened down the corridor, glad that the top level of Serengeti Headquarters was more sparsely populated than the lower levels. Only Blooded Dagger’s highest-ranking seigneurs, protégés, and associates had offices and worksites on this level.

On its surface, Captain Raleigh’s petition to the cartel seemed reasonable. But even though he was hedge kin to Monsignor Lucius, Raleigh’s loyalty was to the free-trader societies of the Eleventh and Twelfth Systems before it was to Blooded Dagger and Serengeti. Having fought with Raleigh against the pirate Sadico, Clarice wanted to believe the Nightingale captain would act with honor in dealings with Serengeti and Bright Star. But such a desire was self-indulgent naivete.

She needed expert advice on agricultural enterprises. A quick turn, and she reached her destination. Through the clear exterior window, she saw Chrys bent over this techno array. Only seigneurs were permitted full privacy for commerce. Any associate with sufficient rank for an office remained under scrutiny.

Chrys turned as she entered, his expression harried. It lacked but a half period to the end of the commerce day, and after over a month gone from headquarters, Chrys was no doubt buried in tasks. At the same time, he had a newly discovered five-year-old son to tend. “What about the Bright Star land tracts is so urgent it could not wait until the morrow?”

“It is not the tracts so much as Captain Raleigh’s petition to establish an agricultural cooperative with members of the Nightingale crew. The legal structure of an agricultural cooperative is not used outside of the Eleventh and Twelfth Systems. On the surface it is similar to a consortium, but I do not understand agricultural practices.”

Rubbing his chin, Chrys leaned back in his chair. “It is similar but not the same. As principals in Thornscore, we own equity. Shares. Those shares determine our benefit from the consortium’s commerce. An agricultural cooperative is a mechanism for farmers to pool resources. Membership fees are used to purchase equipment that is then used by the members. The officers and staff are paid for their labor, but it does not produce a profit as such. Profit is produced by the individual members.”

“So, Phoenix Enterprises could sell equipment to the cooperative. Make a profit. Captain Raleigh could purchase the land tracts, join the cooperative, and use its equipment for a fraction of what it would take to purchase the equipment, thus increasing the profit on the land?”

“The large agra-cohorts have outlawed agricultural cooperatives in the First through Tenth Systems. They do not desire the competition.”

“I will make a note of that for Seigneur Herman, but since Thirteenth System commerce regulation is under Bright Star and not the governing council, I do not think that will be an issue.”