Imperial Contact

: MAIN STORY
: The Alembic Plot

St. Thomas, Monday, 27 July 2572 CE



A soft knock on the door and a barely-audible "Excellency?" from

outside it woke her. It was Matthew's voice, so she let the gun stay

under her pillow and got up, grumbling to herself as she put on a

bathrobe and went to open the door. "What is it, Matthew?"



"A call from His Majesty, Excellency. He apologizes for waking you,

but we've just captu ed an Imperial scoutship, and he would like you to

be ready to interrogate the prisoners as soon as they're brought in.

That should be about two hours."



"So they finally got this far out. Damn. Is His Majesty still on the

phone?"



"No, Excellency; he was confident of your response." Matthew smiled.

"Breakfast will be ready as soon as you finish Mass--shall I wake

Captain Odeon to assist?"



"What time is it?"



"Five o'clock, Excellency."



"Late enough he'd be upset if I didn't--go ahead." As her butler left,

Cortin scowled. The Kingdom Systems couldn't avoid Imperial notice

forever--they'd been lucky to get the roughly four hundred years they'd

had--but she wasn't at all sure she cared to live under the Terran

Empire's rule.



Not, she thought as she showered and got into uniform, that they'd

probably have much choice in the matter. The Empire claimed to be a

benevolent umbrella government, that it didn't interfere in local

affairs unless absolutely necessary, which Mike's studies of comm

intercepts tended to confirm--but it was hard to believe that their

non-interference policy could stretch to include the Kingdoms. Well,

she'd find out--at least she'd find out whatever the scoutship's crew

knew or believed about it.



She got her usual deep pleasure out of saying Mass, assisted by both

Mike Odeon and Dave Bain, who claimed he'd been awake anyway. Cortin

had her suspicions of the reason, with Sis at the unusually early Mass,

and approved heartily. Sis was five months pregnant, but that was no

reason to deny herself the pleasures of any of the Family's husbands,

and Cortin was of the opinion that Dave was good for her.



After Mass, the clean-up that had recently become necessary afterward,

and breakfast, Cortin, Odeon, Chang, and Bain went to her ground-floor

office to wait for the prisoner. They were silent at first, but at

last Bain said, "Joanie?"



"Hmm?"



"We're in trouble, aren't we?"



Cortin sighed. "I can't be sure, but I think so. That's because they

scare me for some reason--even though there's no evidence I can point

to that'll justify that fear. But I'm the wrong person to ask about

the Empire; Mike's the one who's been studying them."



Bain turned to his co-husband. "Mike?"



"I can't agree with Joanie on that issue," Odeon said. "As I told her

a few months ago, I'm only able to scratch the surface--comm intercepts

and the little bit of the Founders' records that survived the Final War

don't give you much. Still, what I've seen in those don't scare me at

all--truth to tell, I think it's reassuring. You know they ended a

ten-year-long war about three years ago?"



"Vaguely. Some sort of non-humans surrendered, didn't they?"



"Not exactly. The Traiti were losing badly, but if I'm reading the

intercepts right, they have a psychological block against surrender.

Instead, they took a Ranger prisoner, and a couple of months later,

their leaders petitioned for membership in the Empire."



"Huh?" Cortin looked at him in astonishment. "They petitioned to join

their enemy?"



"That's how I read it," Odeon confirmed. "My point, though, is that

the Empire accepted them and is in the process of integrating their

worlds and military--to the point where the Traiti leaders are now

Imperial nobles, and quite a few of their fighters have transferred to

the Navy and Marines. They kept their previous ranks--hard to believe,

but since a couple are now in command of Imperial warships, that part

has to be true."



"One of them's the non-human Ranger I heard about?" Cortin asked.



Odeon shook his head. "No. You're thinking of the felinoid--I can't

remember the race's name, though hers is Losinj--who reported a

rebellion and was found to have the abilities one of those needs. I

can't tell you what the abilities are, unfortunately; I'm not sure

they've ever been mentioned."



Cortin started to say something, but the familiar sounds of a

prisoner-escort team interrupted; seconds later, the team brought half

a dozen handcuffed men and women in Imperial Navy working khaki into

her office. "The first group of prisoners, Excellency," the officer in

charge said. "Would you like us to stay?"



"That's not necessary," Cortin told him. "Just ask Matthew to have the

rest of my team report, and wait till they arrive. In the meantime, I

assume the one with what looks like major's leaves is in charge?"



"Yes, Excellency. He says his rank is Lieutenant Commander, but since

his position is Captain of the IAS Columbus, he goes by that rank as

well."



"Odd." Cortin turned her attention to the Lieutenant Commander/Captain

while the trooper left to speak to her butler. "Which should I call

you, Imperial?"



The man shrugged. "Whichever you want, Colonel. Either one's correct."



"And your name?"



"Ivan DeLayne, Lieutenant Commander, Imperial Terran Navy, ident code

HERIE-1935-8586. Your Excellency."



Cortin chuckled, amused at the man's insolent tone.



"Excellency--" Odeon said behind her, sounding angry.



"Take it easy, Captain," Cortin said, smiling. "He doesn't know any

better." She studied the Imperials for a moment, then said, "But I

should caution you that my team is more protective of my position than

I am myself, Captain DeLayne. It would be wise not to agitate them

unnecessarily."



DeLayne stood silent, and Cortin nodded. He wasn't going to carry on a

conversation, lest he inadvertently give her some information he didn't

want to--but he wasn't reckoning with her truthsense. She didn't want

to go to extreme measures with him unless she had no other choice--he

wasn't a criminal, after all--but she did need some basic information,

and yes-or-no questions would give her that whether he cooperated or

not. "Were you looking for our worlds in particular?"



No answer, of course, but his reactions were clearly negative.



"No. All right." She turned to the troopers guarding the Imperials.

"How far into our space did they get?"



"We caught them a parsec from St. Michael, Excellency. They sent off a

message shortly after we came into sensor range, before we could

destroy their transmitting antennas."



"Damn. So the Empire knows we exist." Cortin sighed, not bothering to

hide it.



"What's so bad about that?" a young Imperial asked. "There's no reason

to be afraid of the Empire!"



"Shut up, Conley!" DeLayne ordered.



"I don't think she ought to," Cortin said quietly. The other members

of her team were entering by then, replacing the regular troopers.

"Miss Conley--I can't read your rank insigne, to use your proper

title--although my second in command disagrees, I believe we have every

reason to fear an Empire we fled from some four centuries ago because

our religious views were condemned. A number of conditions we've

encountered since, causing changes in our way of life, can only make

that condemnation worse, possibly--even probably--causing persecution

that would wipe out the Kingdom Systems. Three ships held us then;

now, we don't have enough to carry a tenth of our population to safety."



"Should you be telling them that, Excellency?" Odeon asked.



Cortin shrugged. "What can it hurt, Captain? They weren't looking for

us in particular--but they did send off a message, so more Imperial

ships will be coming. Which could doom most of our people, whether I

talk to these honestly or not."



"NO!" Conley burst out. "The Empire's not like that, truly it's not!"



"Whether that statement's true or not, you believe it," Cortin said

dryly. "Would you mind talking to me in more relaxed surroundings?"



The young Imperial didn't notice DeLayne's beginning objection or Tiny

Pritchett's silencing of him. "Yes, sir, if you think it would help."



"At worst, it can't hurt." Cortin stood, addressing her team. "Take

the rest to . . . hmm. The small guest suite, I think. Captain Odeon,

Lieutenant Chang--let's talk to Miss Conley in the common-room of our

floor."



As soon as the team and other prisoners left, Cortin signalled Odeon to

remove Conley's handcuffs. When that was done, she smiled at the

younger woman. "Since you're willing to cooperate, I see no reason to

treat you as other than a guest. Would you care for anything to eat or

drink?"



"Uh . . . do you have coffee?"



"Certainly. Sis, would you ask Matthew to serve us coffee in the

common-room?"



"Of course. I'll meet you there."



"Thanks. Mike, Miss Conley--shall we go?"



As they left the office and went upstairs, the young Imperial said,

"Excuse me, Excellency . . . may I ask you something?"



Cortin was amused at the not-quite-apprehension in her voice. "Go

ahead."



"The ones who captured us called you the High King's Inquisitor. What

does that mean?"



Cortin chuckled. "Exactly what it says. St. Thomas--this world--is

the foremost planet of the Kingdom Systems, ruled by High King Mark.

I'm the best Inquisitor in the Systems, so when the Sovereign's

Inquisitor positions were established, I was persuaded--" bribed, she

thought, would have been more accurate, "to take the position. So I'm

the Systems' chief Inquisitor, though we all hold the same rank of

Colonel. That's why the first captured Imperials were brought to me

for questioning."



"Do you . . . hurt people?"



"If necessary, but you don't have to worry; I don't even make faces at

people who cooperate with me."



Odeon chuckled at that; after a second, Conley joined in, and by that

time they were at the head of the stairs, entering the common-room.

The young Imperial caught her breath, looking around. "It's beautiful!"



"Yes, it is," Cortin agreed. "I don't really need this kind of

luxury--at times I still feel guilty wearing boots on the carpet--but

His Majesty says my position is such that I have to make a proper

showing. Not that the High King's Inquisitor gets many casual guests;

usually the only ones here are family and Enforcement Service friends."



"Uh-oh." Odeon made a quick grab, intercepting an orange streak

heading for the guest. "Forgot to warn you about Tangerine," he

apologized, stroking his prey's soft fur. To his combined relief and

disappointment, Tanj was no longer fixated on him, though he told

himself she did still like him best. "She's not called the attack

kitten for nothing--she'll go after whoever's closest, just to get

attention, though I'm her favorite target. And she likes to land about

rump-high, with all claws out."



"Thanks for the rescue, then--I like cats, but that sounds painful."



"It is," Cortin assured her. "Worse now than when we first got her,

since she's bigger, but even at six weeks old, she made herself felt."

She gestured to the couch in front of the fireplace. "Have a seat.

Matthew should be here soon with the coffee."



"Thank you." Conley sat down, Odeon joining her, while Cortin pulled

up a nearby chair. "Will the others be okay?"



"Unless they do something stupid," Odeon said. "Like attack someone

who's armed when they aren't."



Conley chuckled. "None of our crew is Sandeman--for one of them, it

might work."



"The genetic warriors." Cortin frowned. "The ones you forced into the

Empire--what, about thirty years ago?"



"That's when, yes, but we didn't force them," Conley objected. "We had

to stop their invasion of Sector Five, of course--we couldn't let them

just take over! I've talked to some, though. They weren't happy to be

stopped, but when Ranger Medart showed them our weaponry and told them

that if they joined the Empire they'd be able to use it, well, they

jumped at the opportunity."



"I was impressed by how quickly and completely that war ended," Cortin

admitted. "I'd like to meet one of your Rangers, especially Medart, if

it weren't for the consequences--" Forget that caveat, she told

herself. The Columbus had gotten a message out; the consequences would

happen whether she met a Ranger or not. Though--she felt a sudden lift

of hope--maybe a Ranger could mitigate the damage to the Systems. "Is

there any way you could get him to intervene on our behalf?"



"Huh?" Conley gaped for a moment. "Sure, but you can do it yourself,

and it'd mean a lot more coming from a Colonel than from a Spacer

Third. Since you're obviously of Terran origin, you're legally

Imperial citizens; you have the right of direct appeal to the Sovereign

if you don't think there's any other solution."



Cortin stared at her, bemused. "It can't be that simple!"



They were interrupted by Sis and Matthew entering with the coffee

service. Sis pulled up a chair opposite Cortin while Matthew served;

when he left, Sis asked, "What can't be how simple?"



Cortin recapped the conversation, seeing Sis' growing hope. "What do

you think?" she asked at last.



"The same thing I believe you do," the nun replied. "Either you or

King Mark should call the Emperor and request Ranger Medart's

assistance in determining our position in regard to the Empire."



"Mike?" Cortin asked.



"Agreed. Though His Majesty's not likely to either do it or be willing

for you to, despite--" He broke off, glancing at the Imperial, and

finished, "the regard he holds you in personally."



Cortin grimaced. "True; His Majesty's even more apprehensive about the

Empire than I am. That means it's up to me."



Odeon nodded. "I agree."



"Good." Cortin turned her attention to the Imperial. "Now, Miss

Conley, how do I go about contacting your Emperor?"



"You call the Palace--you must have ultrawave?"



"Yes. We avoid transmitting on your frequencies, of course, but we can

use them; we do monitor. I believe your contact channel is One?"



"Yes, sir. Do you know the access codes?"



"No; do you?"



"Of course. I can punch them in for you, if you'd like."



"I'd appreciate that." Cortin led the younger woman to a small table

beside the door; it held both a telephone and one of the rare private

ultrawave terminals. "Go ahead."



Conley did so, rapidly going through a number of screens till she got

one that seemed to read "Palace" in the odd Imperial English letters.

"Okay, Colonel. When Palace Comm answers, explain to them; they'll

probably transfer you to someone in the Admin Service, but if Emperor

Davis was given our message, he may want to speak to you directly."



"Thank you, Miss Conley." It was only a few seconds before the screen

cleared, to show a human operator.



"Palace Comm," the man said. "How can I help you?"



"I am Colonel Joan Cortin, High King's Inquisitor for the Kingdom

Systems. The crew of your scoutship Columbus is in my custody--"



"One moment, please, Colonel," the operator interrupted. "His Majesty

left orders that any communications about the Columbus be transferred

directly to him."



The screen blanked for several seconds, then cleared to show a lean,

gray-haired man Cortin recognized from intercepts as Emperor Charles

Davis. "I understand you have information about one of my ships," he

said calmly.



Cortin repeated her introduction, then went on. "I don't intend them

any harm, Your Majesty, in spite of the fact that they intruded in our

space and I fear what their arrival means for our Systems. Since we

cannot resist you, I ask that you send Ranger Medart to ease your

annexation of the Kingdom Systems; he seems to have done that quite

well for the Sandemans."



"It isn't as inevitable or as horrible as you seem to think," the

Emperor said mildly, "but if you have that kind of misapprehensions

about us, I agree that sending a Ranger in would be a good idea. And

James Medart is our cultural specialist, so he's the logical one; he'll

be on his way within the hour. Should he talk to you, or one of your

Kings?"



"That is something I cannot answer at the moment, Your Majesty. That

is up to High King Mark; I do not know who he will choose to handle

it." Probably her, she thought, considering she was acting Protector as

well as High King's Inquisitor and Archduchess of High Teton--but she

couldn't be certain.



"You're doing this without his knowledge?"



"Yes, because I believe it to be the least bad of the options open to

us, now that contact has been made."



To her amusement, the Emperor looked dismayed. "I . . . see," he said

slowly. "I hope Ranger Medart will be able to improve your opinion of

us, Colonel. If your Systems should choose to become part of the

Empire, I'd like you to be my guest in the Palace for a month or so."



Cortin inclined her head. "That is most gracious of Your Majesty. In

that event, I would be honored."



"Until that time, then, Colonel."



The ultrawave screen went blank, and Cortin picked up the telephone

handset, dialing High King Mark's private number. When that screen

lit, she said, "Is Your Majesty aware that the Imperial scouts got a

message out before they were captured?"



"I was not, Colonel. I assume that means we can expect more of them

soon."



"I can guarantee it, sire." Cortin took a deep breath, released it

slowly. "Rather than risk an automatic military response that could

destroy the Systems, I took advantage of information one of my

prisoners gave me. I appealed to the Emperor, based on their laws

granting citizenship to anyone of Terran origin, and direct access to

the Sovereign if necessary; at my request, he is sending one of his

personal representatives to ease our inevitable absorption into the

Empire."



There was a long silence, then the High King sighed. "If you think

that best, Protector, I can hardly argue. I assume you'll take

complete charge of the negotiations?"



"If that is Your Majesty's wish."



"You have resources I do not, and at least as much devotion to our

mutual home; yes, it is my wish. I'll make the necessary announcement

immediately."



"I feel inadequate, Your Majesty, but I will carry on as well as I

can." Cortin stood silent for a moment, then returned to her seat.

She'd hoped King Mark would take over, and was disappointed he hadn't.

She had no diplomatic experience, and, she suspected, no skill in that

field; how could she possibly bring about the sort of non-destructive

Imperial takeover that would save the Systems and her Family?



"Joanie?" A voice finally broke into her abstraction.



"What is it, Mike?"



"Is there anything we can do to help?"



"I can't-- Yes." Cortin straightened. "If I'm in total charge of our

relations with the Empire, I'm going to work on the assumption that we

can become a fully functional part of it, with as much independence as

it allows--as much as I understand the Sandemans and now, according to

you, the Traiti, have. Tell Dave to release the rest of the prisoners

and ask Captain DeLayne to join us, then have Matthew assign them all

guest quarters. Find out if their ship will fit into the Lodge's

grounds, and if so have it brought here; otherwise, they're to have

free access, including transportation, while it's at the spaceport.

Miss Conley?"



"Yes, Colonel?"



"Do you have any idea how long it'll take Ranger Medart to get here?"



Conley shook her head regretfully. "I'm afraid not, sir. I don't know

where he is, and I'm not even too sure where we were when your warship

captured us. Captain DeLayne might know."



"Thank you." Cortin wasn't sure whether to hope for no delay or a long

one. The first would get the suspense over with; the second would mean

a longer true freedom for the Systems. "Will you be subject to any

discipline for cooperating with me?"



Conley grinned. "Since it worked out, no--I might even get a

commendation. If it hadn't, well . . . but I had a hunch I could trust

you."



"I'm the last one to argue against following hunches," Cortin said,

"but I should point out that doing so can sometimes get you in trouble."



"I know, sir. Uh . . . your King called you 'Protector'. What's that?"



Cortin studied her guest. "I'm not sure I ought to go into that

particular subject, Miss Conley. It's a religious title, and since it

was our beliefs that caused our Founders to flee the Empire, I think it

wise to avoid religious discussion as much as possible."



"Yes, sir--though it may relieve you to know that religion's not a very

big deal in the Empire, most places, and the Empire itself is strictly

neutral." She paused. "I'm sorry, Colonel, but I have a bit of a

personal problem. Is there a 'fresher anywhere around?"



"A what?"



"A 'fresher. Let me think--restroom? Bathroom?"



"That we have, yes," Cortin said with a chuckle. "We call them

bathrooms. Sis, would you show Miss Conley the nearest one, then her

guest room?"



"Gladly." Chang put her arm around the Imperial, smiling. "This way,

Miss Conley--may I use your first name?"



"Please--it's Gwen."



The two had barely gone out a side door when Odeon led the rest of the

team and their former prisoners through the main entrance. Since they

were guests now, Cortin gave them a courteous bow before asking, "How

much did you tell them, Mike?"



"Only that they're free; I thought you'd want to tell them the rest."



"Where's Conley?" DeLayne asked, his voice concerned. "Is she all

right?"



"She's fine," Cortin assured him. "She asked for a bathroom, then

Lieutenant Chang's taking her for a brief tour. They should be back in

a few minutes. It's thanks to Miss Conley's cooperation that you're

free and Ranger Medart will soon be on his way to the Kingdom Systems."



"Huh?" DeLayne, Cortin thought, looked like he'd been hit with a

sledge-hammer.



"You heard me correctly," Cortin said. She explained briefly, amused

by the changes in his expression from disbelief to comprehension, then

to determination.



"For someone who's afraid of the Empire," he said when she was done,

"you're making one hell of an effort to bring it in. If you'd like

some help, I'll ask for a temporary assignment here when I report we've

been released."



Cortin considered that briefly, then nodded. "Any preliminary

groundwork we can lay should help reduce transitional problems. Thank

you for your offer, Captain." She paused, then said, "The troopers who

brought you in mentioned you were the first group. How many of you are

there in all?"



"Four hundred ninety-eight. Except for me, they decided to bring you a

random sample; the only Navy ship class that has this small a crew is a

courier."



"I can't offer all of you rooms here, then. Is your ship small enough

to fit on a ten-acre estate?"



"Yes--equatorial diameter's two hundred meters--but since you can't

have a dock, we'd leave a rather large hole. Just how big depends on

how solid the ground is."



"Fairly solid, and if the Kingdoms survive this, filling a hole will be

no problem. As soon as King Mark makes his announcement, then, it

might be a good idea to bring your ship here."



"Agreed, Excellency. My Marines can supplement your troops if you

think there's a chance of attack, that way."



"Very little," Cortin said. "Being prepared is never a bad idea,

though." She turned to Odeon. "Mike, would you call Brad, brief him,

and ask him for the loan of any Strike Force troops not on

anti-Brotherhood operations?" She grimaced. "Not that I like asking

them to camp out this time of year!"



Odeon grinned. "Be glad to, Joanie--and I don't think they'll mind,

for you." He went to the phone to call Colonel David Bradford,

Commander and Bishop of the St. Thomas RES Strike Force.



DeLayne shook his head. "I don't know what you've been taught about

us, but it must've been fierce. And you're on our side!"



"I am not on your side," Cortin said. "If I didn't believe aiding a

peaceful transition to be the Kingdom Systems' only chance to survive

as a society, I would be fighting you to the best of my ability. You

may be able to change my mind--under the circumstances, I'd like

nothing better than to believe the best of you and your Empire--but

right now, I'm no more than a reluctant ally."



"A reluctant ally's better than an active enemy, Excellency." DeLayne

grinned. "You must have an ultrawave, to've spoken to His Majesty; may

I use it to report in and request assignment here?"



"Yes--it's beside the phone Captain Odeon is using. If you can, please

also find out how soon Ranger Medart will be arriving, and ask that he

be informed I have been named sole negotiator for the Kingdom Systems."