Aeolus Investigations Episode 4

Available on Amazon.com

The Aeolus Investigations team has taken on and successfully completed a few tricky and dangerous missions. This time around, they’ve been hired by the Ostrieachians to investigate the troubles facing their planet.

Ostrieachia knows they have big issues. In fact, they attended the coronation of the new Ackalonian ruler, Jis Boc Seckan, hoping they could borrow a fleet from one or more of the attendees to deal with what they believe to be a massive pirate problem. That was a vain hope. Jis suggested the beleaguered Ostrieachians hire Aeolus instead.

What the investigators learn is disturbing. Ostrieachia is an Accord member world about to be lost to pirates. To save them, Lexi has to develop new technology and come up with a devious plan, because what can one small ship do against an entire fleet of hostiles?

Gambler — Chapter 5 Help Wanted

“It’s an interesting situation,” Jis mused. “Quite typical of the Accord, of course.” The party was officially over, although there were still any number of stragglers in the ballroom. Security wouldn’t escort the hangers-on out until dawn.

The team gathered in the comfortable sitting area of Jis’s private office. Her office was a large suite of connected rooms. One section held a beautiful antique conference table with seating for at least twenty-six people. That area was separated from the rest of the space by a floor-to-ceiling smart-glass wall. The sitting area was akin to a large living room, partially separated from the office space itself by a large fireplace that opened onto both sides. The fireplace was centered between one wall of the office and the glass wall of the conference room, with a good eight feet on either side of it. The wall at right angles to the fireplace had a gentle waterfall cascading down the stonework, creating a soft gurgling sound.

“Tell us about them, Jis,” Lexi requested.

“The Ostrieachians are the youngest and newest member-race in the Accord. They’re also the poorest. They can’t seem to get their house in order to the point where they can make anything of themselves. They still have independent countries, about thirty-eight of them if I remember correctly. Although that number is subject to change without notice.”

She paused, looking thoughtful. “Frankly, Lexi, other than the fact that they have spaceships, their world isn’t that much different than Earth. Their technology is behind everybody else’s. Most of us suspect they reverse-engineered a starship that crashed on their planet rather than discovering the technology on their own. Their level of space-threading tech suggests it was a small, private ship.”

She momentarily frowned before continuing, “It happens more often than we’d like to admit. Fools with more money than is good for them and an itch to explore buy a starship. Without the knowledge to maintain it and crewing it with friends rather than professionals, they eventually head for a Level-One or Level-Two world just for kicks and wind up crashing the ship they shouldn’t have in the first place. Your Earth, Lexi, is probably littered with wrecks.”

Lexi nodded. “We do have many unexplained sitings of flying objects we can’t identify.”

“I’m not surprised. It doesn’t matter how the Ostrieachians achieved star flight. They met the Accord’s requirement that a member world possesses space-threading technology.” She paused, shrugged, and continued. “Individually, the few I’ve met over the years are nice people. Still, the general feeling the rest of us have is that it’s not wise to trust them. Even when they aren’t intentionally being deceitful, they’re woefully inept at delivering on their commitments.”

She paused. “Kalia and Denem are here as ambassadors representing their One World Council and in theory, their entire planet. The Council is their world’s attempt at unifying their diverse governments. On the surface, at least, satisfying the second requirement for Accord member-world status of having a central government. My information is that it is not really working, but at least they’re making efforts in that direction. In reality, these two ambassadors’ primary duty is going to be spying on everybody else. Particularly Denem. I can’t bring myself to trust him at all. Kalia, though relatively young, is a tough woman. I don’t have any feelings about her one way or the other. Nor is it possible for anyone to represent that planet in its entirety.”

She shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible the planet may finally be growing up, faced with a threat that affects them all. Whatever is happening there, it has them scared. These two are using my receptions to attempt to enlist support from the other Accord worlds, knowing how we all feel about pirates. It’s a minor breach of protocol, but I can’t really blame them. Every government represented here sent people primarily to meet with those from the other worlds. My ceremony is just an excuse. Do you know about the Conclave, Lexi?”

Lexi shook her head. “No. There’s still a lot about the Accord I don’t know.”

Jis nodded. “It’s held roughly every thirty years. It’s a big event, hosted by one of the member worlds and attended by representatives of all of us. Father was attending the last one at the time we lost the Rose of Light. Maybe when I go to the next one in a few years I’ll ask you guys to come with me. But I’m hypering way off-topic, aren’t I? Everyone here, and I’m as guilty as the rest of them, are using the receptions and parties as an informal Conclave. Keep in mind that while the Accord worlds keep out of each others’ business that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in what each other is up to. The opportunities for all of us to get together like this are rare, travel times being what they are.”

She waited while Geena nodded to Lexi, agreeing with the travel time assessment, before continuing, “Which brings us back to our Ostrieachian guests. The information I have is sketchy at best. Something is going on that they can’t handle on their own. They claim the problem is rampant piracy which may or may not be the case. They’re hoping to enlist military support from my other guests, although they should have known better. Unless they can offer something to barter with, well, altruism isn’t a word in the vocabulary of the Accord.”

“Even you, Jis?” Ron asked.

Jis sighed. “Even me, Ron. Hunting pirates is always expensive and time-consuming. My fleet isn’t large enough that I can split it and send part of it off on a mission without knowing what they would be facing. My responsibility is to Ackalon. I would honestly like to help them out, but I can’t without more information than they either have or are willing to share. I have the impression that they’re not sure exactly what they’re facing.” She paused, then thoughtfully added, “What they really need is a team of crack investigators.”

Lexi smiled as Urania remarked, “Well, that was subtle.” Ron laughed out loud.

“You want to hire us?” Geena asked. As Jis continued to grace them with her serene smile, Geena said, “You can’t hire us. You’re one of us!”

Jis shook her head. “Not this time, Geena. This time I am the leader of a sovereign world who requires the services of the most creative investigative team in the Accord. Besides, I don’t want to hire you. I want the Ostrieachians to hire you. It’s their problem.” She paused, her smile brightening further. “Of course, as an adjunct member of the team, I would expect to be kept informed of whatever you might uncover.” She turned her attention to Lexi. “Do you feel it too, my sister? Whatever is going on out there, it’s not just their problem, is it?”

Instead of answering, Lexi asked, “How do you deal with this, Jis, day in and day out?”

Jis shrugged. “I’ve lived with it all of my life. I learned while growing up how to handle it. Mediating with the Rose strengthens my control. The impressions I get are never as strong as they are when you are around. I first learned that when we worked together for Jadkim. This time, dear, the telepathic stuff you picked up is enhancing the hell out of it. It’s like I have the Rose in my head. I’m having to exert all of the control I’ve ever learned. How sensitive to it are you becoming?”

Lexi frowned. “I do have the Rose in my head. I can generally ignore it. Mostly, it just bolsters my confidence that I’m making a good decision.” She smiled. “And sometimes helps me avoid making a bad decision. When you and I are together, it’s different. Right now, what I’m picking up scares me.” She looked at Ron and Geena. “We need to do this, guys. It’s important.”

Neither Geena nor Ron, nor for that matter Urania, who was listening in over the comm, understood what the Rose of Light had done to these two women. But they all trusted them without reservation. Totally. Geena glanced from Jis to Lexi and back to Jis. “Then let’s get the Ostrieachians in here,” Geena said.

Gambler is available on Amazon.com