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  “You’ve caused incredible pain to people, nearly started a war—two, actually. All because you’re a greedy little weasel. Now it’s time to talk damages.”

  “Damages?” Smithers whispered.

  Tanis nodded. “Yes. You do recall that clause, I made sure it was in there. You caused the loss of an entire star system for Silstrand. I suspect that’s going to be more than the entire value of S&H.”

  Smithers swallowed and looked at Tanis, seeking some sign that she was joking. She was not, and he knew it.

  THE SILSTRAND CLAUSE

  STELLAR DATE: 10.13.8948 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: Government Plaza, Silstrand

  REGION: Silstrand System, Silstrand Alliance

  “Government Plaza? That’s some creativity there,” Tanis said as she and Sera—along with a sizable retinue, including the Scipian Special Envoy, a man named Scorsin—climbed the steps leading to a towering stone building where their meetings with the Silstrand government were to be held.

  “Yeah,” Sera gave a soft laugh. “They’re not super creative with names in Silstrand. I mean…when people first settled these stars, they called them ‘the Silver Strand’, because they’re a string of G-class stars surrounded by dimmer M and K ones.”

  “I recall reading that.” Tanis nodded as she reached the top step. “Half the stations seem to incorporate Silstrand, or their original founder—Peter—into their names.”

  “Or both.”

  Angela chimed in.

  Tanis laughed. “Yeah, so that sets the bar low, I guess.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t be speaking this way about our hosts right on their doorstep,” Scorsin said, moving closer to Tanis and Sera.

  “Sorry,” Tanis replied. “We tend to run fast and loose—you should know that, you spent almost a month going over the treaties with us back in Scipio.”

  “I have a keen recollection,” Scorsin replied.

  Sera said privately to Tanis and Angela.

  Tanis held back a laugh and cast Sera a scolding look over the Link.

  Sera said.

  Angela nodded soberly.

  Tanis nodded absently as she walked through the entrance and into the building’s foyer.

  Sera groaned.

  Inside the building, a delegation of Silstrand dignitaries waited. At their fore was the alliance’s president, a tall man named Charles.

  Tanis and Sera had already spoken with him several times, once the I2 had passed within a light minute of the planet, but their prior conversations had been brief, and he seemed to place much more value on a physical meeting.

  “Welcome!” President Charles boomed the moment both Tanis and Sera were through the entrance. “Esteemed President Tomlinson! Field Marshal Richards! It is a true honor to meet you. And, of course, Special Envoy Scorsin, you are most welcome in Silstrand.”

  “And you, President Charles. Thank you for hosting us,” Sera said as she approached and offered her hand.

  “Yes,” Tanis added as she offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally see all that Silstrand has to offer.”

  The president inclined his head gratefully. “Much of which would have been laid waste, if not for your efforts at Dessen. I must admit, we did not expect Peter Rhoads to have amassed such a fleet, let alone to be so bold as to strike us here at the heart of the Alliance.”

  “We had agents working to stop him—which they did at the end,” Sera replied. “Without their efforts, things could have been much worse.”

  “Yes…your dossier made mention of the fact that you have operatives within the…’Inner Stars’, as you call them.”

  “Are we to retire to a more comfortable location?” Tanis asked. “I’ve been running around for days; sitting down to discuss these matters would be preferred.”

  A momentary look of concern flashed across President Charles’ face, and he nodded quickly. “Of course, of course. We’re to meet in my offices, I’ll lead the way.”

  The president led them up a grand, marble—or a stone similar to marble, at least—staircase to the second floor.

  Tanis paid little attention to her surroundings. She had already released a cloud of nano to scout things out, and knew that Major Valerie and the four High Guard accompanying them would be eyeing every nook and cranny.

  She was more interested in the people. Alongside several non-military dignitaries of unknown rank and role, was a Silstrand admiral and two generals—one of which was the man named Samuel who had played a large part in the unrest currently tearing Gedri apart.

  Angela inserted herself into Tanis’s thoughts.

 

  Angela let out a tittering laugh.

 

  Angela nodded in their mind.

  In front of them, President Charles was going on about how grateful the alliance was for the Transcend’s help, interspersing comments about this or that holo of some prior dignitary that they were walking past. Tanis did her best to listen and care, but kept finding her mind wandering.

  Angela chided.

 

  Angela broke out into laughter and Tanis realized she had been joking. Maybe.

 

 

 

  Angela’s tone was resolute.

 

  The Silstrand president had reached a pair of double doors at the end of the hall and swept through as they opened to admit the group.

  His offices were not over-large, nor too ornate. There were chairs placed artfully around the edges of the space, well-laden bookshelves along the walls, and a quadrangle of sofas in the center.

  “Please, sit,” President Charles gestured to the chairs. “Would you like refreshments?”

  “Yes,” Tanis spoke first. “Coffee. And something with carbs. Been a long week.”

  Tanis sat, nodding at Major Valerie, who took up a position at the door, while the other four High Guard waited outside in the hall.

  The Scipian Special Envoy sat on one sofa, and Sera sat n
ext to him. Tanis settled into another couch beside General Samuel, and President Charles sat across from her.

  Two of the other men who had accompanied them sat on the fourth couch, while the admiral sat next to the Silstrand president.

  “Again, thank you for coming to meet with us,” President Charles said. “As I’d mentioned previously, we owe you much, and thank you for your assistance.”

  Tanis couldn’t help but notice that the admiral, as well as a general who stood along the wall, looked less than pleased at their president’s effusive thanks.

  “It’s the least we could do,” Sera said, her tone moderated and polite. “Coming here was on our short list, as securing a peace between Silstrand and Scipio is a part of our treaty with Scipio.”

  At this, President Charles’ face clouded. “I read that in the dossier you’ve provided. I must admit, it’s unexpected to have someone who we’ve only known as a privateer negotiating with the Scipian Empire on our behalf.”

  “A privateer?” Sera asked.

  “Remember? I got Sabrina a letter of marque from Silstrand before we found you in Gedri,” Tanis said with a wink. “You were the captain of the ship, so your name was on the letter.”

  “Huh,” Sera placed an index finger over her lips as she thought. “You know, I never even looked at that—didn’t really expect to be back here.”

  The admiral, whose name was Manda, from Tanis’s briefing, cleared her throat and spoke up. “As interesting as this byplay is, what are your intentions here in Silstrand?”

  “Our intentions?” Tanis asked, glancing at Sera, who nodded for her to proceed. “Well, our first intention is to help in any way we can with this treaty. Following that, we’d like to offer a pair of cruisers to help you clean up Gedri—as we’d discussed with your Colonel Grayson. It is also our intention to offer you the same nanotech that we gave to Scipio.”

  “We already have that nanotech,” General Samuel said from where he sat next to Tanis. “Our technicians have extracted it from my daughter, Lana. We—”

  “Did you bring her with you?” Tanis interrupted. “Is she here?”

  “Yes, she—”

  “Good. You need to bring her to the I2 as soon as this meeting is concluded. I also want all samples you collected, and all research and documentation you have accumulated on the nanotech you extracted from her. If you seized anything from S&H Defensive Armaments, I’ll require that, as well.”

  General Samuel’s mouth was working, but no sounds came out.

  “What are you saying?” President Charles asked. “You cannot come into our sovereign nation and make demands like this.”

  “I’m afraid this is non-negotiable,” Tanis replied. “Your treaty with Scipio is contingent on it.”

  President Charles glanced at Scorsin who shrugged. “It’s in the fine print, yes. We cannot ratify a treaty with you unless you turn this technology in its entirety over to the ISF.”

  “The ISF?” Admiral Manda asked.

  “Yes, the Intrepid Space Force,” Scorsin replied. “That big honking ship I rode in on. So far as I can tell, it is an independent nation within the Transcend.”

  Admiral Manda turned to Tanis. “Your starship is a sovereign nation?”

  Tanis preferred not to reveal New Canaan’s existence if possible, and shrugged. “It’s more powerful than most nations, why not?”

  No one spoke for a few moments, until General Samuel managed to find his voice again. “And why do you need to take our nanotech from us?”

  “Aside from the fact that it will kill your daughter, Lana, in under two years—that’s after it turns her into a violent killing machine—it violates your own laws.”

  “Kill her?” General Samuel asked.

  At the same time, one of the men next to the president, Secretary Jorgens, by the indicator on Tanis’s HUD, spoke up. “It violates our laws?”

  “The nanotech was weaponized in a fashion that makes it reprogram a host to be a soldier. A violent killer who will eventually be destroyed by the mods. S&H’s work was…sloppy. This sort of alteration was illegal in Sol, and it is technically illegal in Silstrand, too. You have laws against using nanotech to irreparably damage a sentient’s mind.”

  “We can fix it,” General Samuel said to the president and Admiral Manda. “S&H has the original specs, they—”

  “They don’t have them anymore,” Tanis said calmly. “I have relieved them of the technology. It is scrubbed from their systems. I also own S&H Defensive now, but that is another matter. I’m sure I can transfer ownership to the Silstrand government at some point.”

  “How is it that you ‘own’ S&H Defensive?” President Charles was scowling deeply.

  Sera said with a belabored sigh.

  Tanis replied.

 

  Tanis replied with a silent laugh on the Link before replying to the Silstrand president. “Their contract with me was in the form of a license. It also included damages if they violated their license. It would seem that they never expected to encounter me again, and did not heed the limits of their license. I claimed damages, and they’ve settled by selling all of their assets to me.”

  “How did we not hear of this?” Admiral Manda’s tone implied more than a little skepticism.

  “Things are chaotic out there,” Tanis shrugged. “I paid my old friend Smithers a visit and hashed it out with him in person. The ISF owns S&H, including the planet Dessen and all its ships. Granted, I don’t really want to own it, so I’m sure we can work something out.

  “However, this is all contingent on you turning over the nanotech, and Lana. The girl will die if we don’t save her.”

  Tanis cast an eye at General Samuel. “I’m operating under the assumption that you actually care what happens to your daughter—though what I’ve heard from Kylie Rhoads and her crew tells me that may not be the case.”

  “Kylie Rhoads is a—” Samuel began, but Tanis held up her finger, silencing him once more.

  “You gave her a letter of marque which granted her the Barbaric Queen, did you not? In honor of your original agreement with her. Which, I might add, she upheld, despite your rash actions in Gedri.”

  Samuel seemed to shrink down in his seat, and Tanis continued.

  “I think what you were going to say is that Kylie Rhoads is a credit to Silstrand. She is now searching out her brother, Paul Rhoads, so that we can deal with him and end the threat the Revolution Fleet presents.”

  “What do you even need us for?” Admiral Manda asked.

  Tanis turned to Scorsin. “Special Envoy?”

  Scorsin leant forward and placed his hands on his knees. “You are to expand your influence throughout the fringe systems and bring them to order. We expect all of the systems spinward and coreward of Silstrand to be firmly under your control within five years. Scipio will provide whatever non-military resources you require to achieve this goal.”

  President Charles sat back, a look of sheer amazement on his face. “Your main condition for peace with Silstrand—aside from the nanotech—is that we annex thirty star systems?”

  “Fifty-seven,” Scorsin corrected. “Once we get these preliminary matters out of the way, we can dive into those specifics.”

  “How will that even be possible?” Admiral Manda asked, her eyes wide and face suffused with worry.

  Tanis grinned. “Did you notice our shields during the battle?”

  Manda’s eyes narrowed and a smile formed on her lips. “Now you’re talking, Field Marshal. I’ll take those shields over nanotech any day.”

  Sera placed her hands on her knees and smiled at those assembled. “Excellent. Now we have a solid foundation. However, what about those refreshments you mentioned? If I don’t get coffee in the next minute, I’m liable to get testy.”

  WINOS AND SLEPTONS

  ST
ELLAR DATE: 10.14.8948 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: Gamma VIII base

  REGION: Outer Asteroid Belt, New Canaan System

  “Stars, I feel like I haven’t seen daylight in weeks,” Cary complained.

  Faleena said, winking in Cary’s mind.

  “It’s not the same.” Cary rubbed her eyes as she sat on the edge of her bed.

 

  “OK, Faleena. First off, you can’t use ‘orgies’ as shorthand for ‘organics’. It’s…just don’t. As for the starlight, sure, it may look perfect, but I still know that I’m down in the middle of a moon with a billion tons of rock over my head.”

  Faleena offered.

  “You know I can’t.”

  Faleena’s avatar shook her head at Cary.

  “It waited inside Nance for eighteen years. It can play a long game.”

 

  “You get my point.”

  Cary stood up and walked to her wardrobe, which consisted exclusively of uniforms and exercise clothing of ISF issue. She pulled on a pair of compression pants with the space force’s logo on the side, followed by a sports bra.

  “A run will do me good, get the blood pumping.”

  She slid her feet into her shoes and bent over to stretch her back and legs out.

 

  Cary finished her stretching, and palmed her quarters’ door, ready to start at a slow jog. As the portal slid open, she stepped out and almost walked right into Saanvi, who wore a large grin and was almost bouncing with enthusiasm.