Saturday. October 1, 2005: 19:33 (UTC)
Luna, Port Oldridge, Mattie's quarters
"Thank you for agreeing to this Your Majesty, Mr. Morton," Terran Empire Chief Justice Michael Greenbriar said to his hosts as they reseated themselves in the living room after dinner. He grabbed a recliner while the other two arranged themselves on a loveseat.
"Pre-marital counseling is something we'd be doing if we were having a church wedding. I don't see any reason not to have it just because the wedding won't be in a church," Mattie said. "You could call me 'Mattie' though."
The judge nodded sagely then asked, "What about you Mr. Morton?"
"Sir, 'Mr. Morton' is my dad. I'm Arthur. That said, people have been treating us like a married couple for years."
Mattie added, "On our trip to Windfall, over three years ago, most of the crew referred to me as 'Frau Morton' the whole time." Some to annoy her, others to state a fact in evidence.
The judge chuckled. "So you two first met at Hogwarts? Odd place for two Americans to meet."
"I'd visited Salem Witches' Institute and Hogwarts and liked Hogwarts better. Arthur 's great-grandfather, a Hogwarts alum, had a trust fund set up for the magical education of his descendants and Hogwarts was his only option. He nearly walked out during our first class and that's when I knew I wanted to know him."
"Weren't you ten at the time?"
Mattie gave the judge a look best described as 'Yes, and?'.
"I invited his family, the Cortez family and Sprink, who was easily the best friend I'd ever had by then, to Gotham City for Christmas that year. By the time I invited Arthur and Sprink to a company picnic for the Fourth of July the next year, I knew I wanted both of them in my life for the long haul."
Mattie remembered the discussion she'd had with her parents about inviting Sprink and Arthur to the JLA 'company picnic'. Back then, it was her mother who had been in favor and her father was the one who needed convinced. It wasn't as if 'civilians', other than Aunt Lois, hadn't attended before. Sue Dibny, rest her soul, had attended with her husband. Jean Loring, my she rot in hell, had as well. But Sprink and Arthur were some of the few non-spouses ever invited.
Sprink, being a werewolf as well as a witch, wasn't a problem. Arthur, as a 'mere' first year wizard, was the harder sell. After convincing her parents of his discretion, they'd pitched it to the rest of the JLA and got surprisingly little resistance from the other parties involved. Arthur hadn't given them a reason to doubt their choice.
"So when did he go from 'friend who's a boy' to 'boyfriend'?"
"July 23rd, 2001," Arthur said flatly. "That was the day you announced to the world that you had a boyfriend. It would have been nice if you'd have told me first."
"A little before that actually. Somebody referred to you as my boyfriend and I didn't correct them. Besides, I didn't think I needed to tell you. Not after the way I kissed you once I got back from the 14th century."
"April 2nd, 2001." 'And what a kiss it was.'
Internally, where it wouldn't show, Michael Greenbriar shook his head. Casually dropping time travel into a conversation as if it were perfectly normal. But he thought it impressive that Arthur had specific dates for both occasions. He remembered the first time he'd kissed his now deceased wife Andi, but couldn't have given them an exact date if his life depended on it. Of course it had been thirty five years or so since then. "When did you know he was a keeper?" he asked.
"I knew he was a keeper long before I started thinking of him as a boyfriend or possible boyfriend. He's one of the few people who'll stand up to me when I'm being stupid about stuff. That's important to me. When did I start thinking of his as husband material? I can't tell you. There's a 'need to know' aspect to it. You don't. Let's just say that at the time I was very upset with him and he knew it. Despite that, a nasty situation popped up and he helped deal with it. He just showed up and went to work. After that, I knew I'd be willing to marry him if he asked and eventually he did."
The judge nodded his head in agreement. Many were the secrets Her Majesty kept. Even from her Chief Justice. Mattie reached out and gave Arthur's left hand a quick squeeze. Turning to Arthur, he asked, "Well son, what about you?"
Arthur bristled a bit. Only two people in the universe should call him 'son' and neither of his parents were there. He was very specific about being called 'Arthur' by Molly and Sirius Potter, not 'Uncle Arthur'. It didn't bother him that his nephew Carson routinely called Mattie, 'Aunt Mattie'. That was between them and maybe Becky and she'd actually be his aunt soon enough.
"One of the first coherent thoughts I had after Mattie announced she had a boyfriend was that I wasn't going to go through life as Mr. Mattie Wayne."
"So you were thinking marriage from the beginning?"
"Partnership from the beginning. The form of it evolved over time," Arthur replied.
"Really?" Mattie inquired.
"Your mind kept being changed about what you'd be when you grew up. I certainly never expected this," Arthur waved an all encompassing hand at the Moon, "even when you came back from the past with the Cassidy Yates."
"Neither did I," Mattie admitted.
Judge Greenbriar nodded again before changing topics. "Mattie, what do you think will be the biggest change once you're married?"
"We'll be having sex," Mattie said earnestly.
Catching the look on the judge's face, Arthur added, "Being a virgin when she marries is important to Mattie, which makes it important to me. I'm willing to wait and I know exactly who and what I'm waiting for."
"For a couple known to sleep in the same bed, that makes you two fairly unique."
'It hasn't been easy,' Arthur and Mattie both thought.
Friday, October 7, 2005: 18:35 (GMT)
Hogwarts, Great Hall
"Well, your brother finally got around to formally asking me to go the Halloween Ball," Ami Bones said to Julie Morton.
"Sometimes my brother, like most boys... men... needs a few extra whacks with the clue bat before he figures things out," Julie explained.
"Has anyone asked you to go yet?"
"I was hoping Jeremy might, but he got back together with Miriam and Hartley never goes to any of the dances, so he's out."
"I think that was mostly because he couldn't afford it. But I know he made some good money working for Gringott's over the summer, so I think he could go this year if he wanted to."
"Does he want to?" Julie asked. "Girls have been chasing him for years and nobody's caught him yet."
"He's got those long legs, he can run pretty fast."
"Oh, ha ha," Julie deadpanned. More seriously, she continued, "It's too late to get a ball gown fitted even if someone asked me. I guess I'll just skip it this year."
"Maybe things will change in time for the Yule Ball."
"One can hope."
Saturday. October 8, 2005: 19:55 (UTC)
Luna, Port Oldridge, Chief Justice Greenbriar's apartment
"Judge, that was some good chili," Arthur proclaimed as he and Mattie loaded the dishwasher. There were no leftovers.
"Well, it was the least I could do after the two of you fed me that steak last week," Judge Greenbriar replied jovially. A porterhouse cooked barely medium, drowned in sauteed mushrooms and onions. Best steak he'd ever had on Luna.
"I haven't had venison chili in at least five years," Arthur replied. His Uncle Rich made it occasionally as he usually bagged the annual limit without leaving his own property in rural Licking County, Ohio.
"I've never had venison before," Mattie added. "Not bad." She'd eaten some game meats before, but had somehow never had venison. She didn't plan on making it a regular thing, but it had been a tasty experience.
"Got him last month back in West by-god Virginia during bow season. Four point buck, nothing too special. Exporting him up here was the hard part. There's only one deer processing facility in West Vagina licensed to ship to Luna and while shipping rates have gone down in the last couple years, it was still pretty expensive. Gave most of the meat to an old friend and just shipped up some ground venison and a few steaks."
It was a roundabout way of telling Her Majesty and the Imperial Consort that even the Chief Justice of a 200+ planet empire still felt a cost of living sting living on the Moon.
Mattie finished loading the dishwasher and started it. Much more water efficient than hand washing with the 'grey water' waste being usable for irrigation and other purposes.
"Motion that we adjourn to the living room to continue your premarital counseling," the judge said.
This was seconded by Mattie and the three of them moved the few steps from the dinner table to the living room. Crystal and Miranda tried to make themselves inconspicuous to give them as much room as possible.
Once they got settled, "I believe the next topic for discussion is children. Miss Wayne, according to reports I've heard, you plan on having fifteen children?"
Mattie nodded. "That doesn't include Margo, Agnes and Edith. Once I turn 18, the plan is to go to London and start formal adoption proceedings for all three girls." The only reason they hadn't started already is that the laws in the United Kingdom hadn't changed the age of majority to 17 as the Terran Empire at large had.
"And you're in agreement with this, Mr. Morton?" He came from a large family, but still...
"I don't object, but I expect the actual number will be smaller. Although fifteen isn't out of the question. Wizards and witches have longer lifespans then most people. Average life expectancy is 135 to 140 years, two centuries isn't uncommon. We'll have the time."
Mattie added, "Not including Merlin, who's a special case, the oldest mage I've heard of is over 750 years old and two others, if they're still alive, are in their 660's or 670's by now." The Flamels had allegedly passed on around 1992 or so, but Mattie had a sneaking suspicion that they hadn't. "Add galtech medicine to that and like Arthur said, we'll have plenty of time."
The judge nodded, then asked, "All right. What about the girls you are planning to adopt? As I understand it, the oldest of them is ten, making her seven years younger than you are and eight years younger than Arthur. Are you planning to be their parents, or their older brother and sister?"
Mattie twitched and Arthur's eyes narrowed. He thought it was a fair question and wondered about Mattie's answer. As for himself... "I intend to be their father as much as they allow or need me to be."
"What of the alien girl that lives with you? Do you plan to adopt her?"
'Sophie? No. I consider myself to be her guardian, not her parent. I'm responsible for her and I will remain responsible for her until she's capable of being responsible for herself. With her background, I'm not sure she understands the concept of parenthood yet."
"That seems a bit harsh," the judge replied. Exactly what was 'harsh' about it remained unvoiced.
"That's the reality of a bred Workforce slave. They are born, then immediately turned over to a creche to be raised by dedicated fosterers and proctors. They never knowingly meet their parents. By galactic standards, she was lucky to be sold to someone who just wanted a cabin girl for his ship and not as a sex toy," Arthur finished bitterly.
While Arthur and Judge Greenbriar continued discussing Sophie, Mattie thought about what the judge had asked her. Mother or sister? Did it make a difference? Should it make a difference? She knew she wanted those girls in her life. Adoption was the easiest method to get them there. Was her known interest in the trio preventing them from being adopted by someone else? They were great kids. There was no reason why others couldn't adopt one or all of them before she turned 18.
The topic petered out to the satisfaction of no one. While the Judge might not have agreed with Mattie and Arthur's plans, the two seemed to be in agreement with each other which was far more important. "Moving on... Family."
"I get along just fine with Arthur's family," Mattie said quickly. Over the years, the Morton family had proved themselves to be discrete, trustworthy and overall good people. That didn't mean she didn't have disagreements with various members, but there was no acrimony.
"What about you, Arthur?" the judge asked.
"I like Babs and I'm happy she's on the official Heirs list. She can do the job if she has to. I'll admit that I'm relatively indifferent to Mattie's brother Richard. He's a good guy, but we just don't seem to mesh that well. I'm kind of still ticked off with Tomas because of what went down between him and my sister Julie."
"He did apologize," Mattie pointed out.
"Which is a plus," Arthur admitted. "It would've been better if he hadn't needed to." Mattie agreed, but said nothing.
"I trust Crystal over there with my life, but our relationship is more professional than personal. It's with Mrs. Wayne where all the problems are. When I first met her, we got along surprisingly well. After Mr. Wayne died, things changed. I feel that she tolerates me, but only because of Mattie. I certainly don't trust her."
"Do you think that will be a problem Mattie?"
"Judge, right now I don't trust my mother. If you want to know why, we'll have to send Lt. Davis out of the room." Miranda perked up at this, wondering might be behind it, other than the obvious.
The judge took that in briefly. He'd heard the rumors and couldn't claim to be surprised by the confirmation. "You may spare me the details. Your position as Her Imperial Majesty will unfortunately restrict your options for holidays. Your families will likely have to come to you instead of you going to them for security reasons if nothing else. Normally, the next thing up would be money, but I think we can skip that one."
Martha the First owned many inhabitable planets outright and the least of those was worth an incalculable amount. Her personal wealth as Mattie Wayne was in the 11 figure range, tens of billions of dollars. Arthur owned two starships and had over 80 tons of tungsten on deposit with the Lantern Bank. While not Mattie's level of wealth, it was still considerable. They kept their finances separate.
"We don't spend each other's money," Mattie said quietly.
"Other than Cyndi raiding my pantry, we cover our own expenses." Arthur was smiling when he said it and kept smiling after Mattie gave him a playful elbow to the ribs.
"Once you become parents, that will change," the judge pointed our reasonably.
Mattie and Arthur both signaled agreement. At some point, they'd have to figure that out. Mattie said, "Imperial expenses, like security, come out the Imperial budget. But you're right, we'll have to find some way to divvy up the others."
"That's something you two can work on before our next session."
Monday, October 10, 2005: 09:25 CEST (GMT +2)
France, Nice, Bourmont home.
Dear Mademoiselles Bourmont
Your string quartet has been selected to perform at the wedding ceremony of Mattie Wayne and Arthur...
"We got the job! We got the job!" Lisette Bourmont cried excitedly to her sister Lilane.
"We're going to the Moon! I can't believe it. When Louis recommended we send in a demo recording, I never believed we'd actually be selected," Lilane stated.
"Well, we have been. We must call Albert and Navarre at once!" Lisette replied.
"Read the rest of the e-mail first. The boys will have questions and it would be nice if we had some answers for them when they do," Lilane pointed out patiently. Lisette had aways been the more excitable of the two.
"True sister. Very true."
Travel arrangements, housing, per diems, requested music, required music...
"All of us can play The Wedding March in our sleep. Some Vivaldi... some waltzes... Egmont? Odd choice for a wedding. I don't know this one," Lisette said, pointing to the last song on the 'required' list.
"'The Book of Love' by Stephin Merritt? I'm not familiar with that one either," Lilane replied, reading over her sister's shoulder.
"Probably some American song. Some of the others on the requested list certainly are."
"We can ask Navarre. He knows American music better than we do."
"Oui. Certainement."
"I'm sure we can learn it," Lilane observed. "The biggest problem I'm seeing is how this will affect our position with the Nice Philharmonic. While we don't have a conflict with the Révelion de Noël performances on the 24th, we'll miss the whole week after and the New Year's Day concerts."
"I'm sure M. Hartefort will be happy for us. He'll growl a bit, but he'd growl a lot more if we were first chairs instead of second chairs."
"Knowing Gerard, he'll somehow use this to make himself look good."
"It's not like I was looking forward to a week of the Nutcracker Suite anyway," Lisette said with some relief.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005: 13:00 (UTC)
Luna, Port Oldridge, Arthur's Office
"Arthur, are you busy?" Sandra asked over the intercom.
"Not particularly," Arthur relied. Sprink was with someone from the State Department dealing with yet more things about the Imperial version of his coming nuptials. He'd be meeting with her later. At that moment, he was reviewing a threat assessment that Mattie wanted him to read. More of a non-threat assessment really. The fall of the Solodokve Republic had led to some saber rattling in the galactic neighborhood it occupied.
"There's a co' here to see you," she said playfully.
"Send him in."
Arthur greeted St'wan Kosta and led him to his desk. The chairs in Arthur's office weren't designed for tailed beings, and without advanced notice, he hadn't had a chance to get an appropriate one for his guest. Not that a co's tail wasn't easily strong enough to support their weight for significant lengths of time.
"What can the office of the Imperial Consort do for you today?"Arthur inquired formally.
"The Ambassador-my-father has sent me to personally notify you that His Royal Highness, Prince K'ta Enzo Mala Tonk'n accepts the invitation to your wedding ceremony. He will be escorting Hero of the People Taxa Tran S'weiss Br'kat as his guest at the behest of our Emperor." If co' faces were capable of smiling, there was no doubt his visitor would be wearing one.
"Careful St'wan, you almost broke character there."
The co's snout twitched lef-right left-right in amusement. "Being our Embassy's errand boy isn't usually this much fun." Reaching into an inside vest pocket, he handed Arthur the RSVP card that had made the round trip to Bismet and back. It merely indicated acceptance and that he was bringing a plus one. A folded note, written in Trade, carried more personal greetings.
"As Second Heir Designate, there will be some safety concerns involving the prince's arrival and attendance, but our respective security people can handle that," St'wan said.
"Probably the trickiest part of the whole thing," Arthur admitted. "But I'm glad he's coming and that Taxa is too. I take it she'll be bringing little K'ta with her."
"Oh, most definitely. Possibly even one or two of her other children. The others, I believe, are old enough to live without her for the standard month or so this trip will take."
"Nice to know. Other than that, how have you been?"
"I am well. Attending your Luna University is... interesting. For a race just entering galactic society, you are surprisingly advanced in some areas. I'm not a specialist in the field, but there are certain aspects of your mathematics and number theory that our people find novel."
"We humans are tricky that way," Arthur said trying to project confidence that he wasn't sure was warranted. Hank had recently sent him the 'simplified' proof of the Catalan Conjecture and he understood it after some study. But he'd bounced, hard, on the original proof.
"Don't let a reputation for cleverness go to your collective heads."
Saturday, October 15, 2005: 13:00 GMT
London, 14 St. James Square, London Library
The skies had cleared and for mid-October, it was relatively warm in London, nearly 20 C° (68 F°). People were out in droves. Lucius Malfoy took one look at the crowds and dismissed any possibility of using their computer resources. Fortunately, there were other things that could be done at the library.
.oOo.
"Nice to see you again, sir," the librarian said to the man she knew as Reggie Black. "I'm sorry, but we're not expecting the inter-library loans you requested to arrive until Monday at the earliest."
"I was in the neighbourhood. I thought I should check," Lucius stated with civility that he did not feel.
"Sorry. But we did turn up our copy of 'Alchemy: A Retrospective' by Nicklus Burns."
"Really? I am keenly interested." Nicklus Burns was a poorly disguised pseudonym of Nicolas Flamel. Truly, he should have done better. He'd stumbled across a reference to the book in the Library's massive catalogue and had requested it. It had taken two weeks to find.
"Well then, I'm glad your trip today wasn't wasted. Please follow me to our Rare Materials room."
After various preliminaries, including latex gloves to protect the ancient tome from the oils on his fingers, Lucius carefully opened the book under the watchful eye of a video camera. From sheer age alone, the book was thought to be worth a small fortune, even if there was no evidence that it had been consulted since WWII.
Albus could see the book's magical aura and knew Lucius saw it too. It reacted with their own magical aura. Instead of plausible sounding fancies mixed with instructions for making willow bark tea, spirits of hartshorn and foxglove extract, the true contents of the book were revealed.
There was no index, much to Malfoy's annoyance. And secrets the book might hold wold have to be extracted the hard way.
"It was transfiguration that made alchemy more or less obsolete," Albus informed his guest.
"I'd hardly say obsolete. To this day, the Philosopher's Stone is still one of the greatest magical tools ever created. Flamel always stated it was purely an alchemical development, not a magical one. Any squib, if given the right materials and the proper instructions, should be able to duplicate it. Possibly even a muggle."
Albus Dumbledore did not agree with that statement. True, alchemy was a difficult magic to master as there were scientific principles involved in it, but magic was still a vital pat of the process. Clearly Lucius thought differently and it wasn't his job to enlighten him. "In 600 years, none have."
"That you know of."
"Point taken," Albus admitted. Despite being considered one of the current experts in the field of alchemy, he'd never approached Flamel's skill. Save for the Philosopher's Stone, there was little that alchemy could do that wasn't duplicable by other means, magical or not.
"I am ever so pleased that you agree," Lucius mocked as he has carefully read the close spaced text and examined the occasional diagrams. There was much here, some of it might even prove to be of use.
Reading over Lucius' shoulder, in a manner of speaking, Albus asked, "As interesting as this might be, how does it assist us?" He said 'us' but meant 'you'.
"I was a dab hand with a cauldron in my younger days," Lucius bragged.
"I remember. Slughorn was quite fond of you." Albus had never doubted Lucius' magical skills, only his pure-blood fanaticism.
"And I of him," Lucius replied off-handedly. "However, even if we've stabilized our existence, our actual use of magic is limited. Anything we can do through potions or alchemy saves our magic for when it is truly required. I was barely able to keep you alive on the trip from Luna to Scotland at great cost to myself. I don't know if I could survive a return trip with our current resources."
Albus smiled inside and recorded that fact for future reference. By his calculations, he'd be able to separate himself from Lucius with a possibility of surviving the process right around Halloween. Although given the way magic worked, waiting until All Saint's Day might be a slightly safer option.
.oOo.
The security officer did a double take and switched camera 12 to the main screen. The patron, a somewhat archaically dressed man of middle years, seemed to be talking to himself. After a brief moment, he decided to ignore it. Compared to couples shagging in the stacks, that was just a little harmless eccentricity.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005: 17:49 UTC
Realm of Abo, Planet of Abo, City of Abo
"The motion passes. Funding for the Realm's Embassy to the Terran Empire is approved," the recording clerk announced to the assembled representatives.
As she watched from her chambers, Empress Clarissa released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Sheer obstinance from the House of Noble Ladies had blocked proper funding of her embassy on Luna since it's opening. It cost signifiant political capital to remove one of the key obstructionists. With proper funding and a proper embassy to work from, they'd be able to gather information and other items of interest from the Terran Empire. Finally.
Pressing a button on her comm-console, she summoned a courtier who in turn dispatched a fast courier to their Terran embassy informing them of the news and then told her State Department, who had also been watching the vote, the good news. Surveyors would find a place to build the new embassy. While that was being done, a construction team capable of vacuum work would be assembled for use the moment word arrived that a suitable site had been obtained.
As almost an afterthought, she sent someone to the Terran Embassy to officially inform them of the vote, knowing full well that they, along with every other embassy in the city of Abo, were already aware of the vote and what it might mean.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005: 13:30 UTC
Luna, Port Oldridge, Mattie's office.
It was the slow season for legislation in the Terran Empire. With many MAs off on their re-election campaigns, there was little chance of passing anything substantial. Which explained why Madame Tsien was able to get an appointment on short noice with her liege.
After tea had been served, Mattie said, "It's your meeting. What's up?"
"Remember when I told you to never interrupt an enemy while they're making a mistake?" The red tea was just as she liked it.
"Napoleon, isn't it?"
Madame Tsien nodded. "The Noble Ladies of Abo have finally stopped making theirs. Ambassador Bones sent in a dispatch indicating that the Realm's Embassy to the Terran Empire is to be fully funded. Surveyors are already on the way here to choose a site."
"I wonder how Clarissa managed to pull that off."
"Rumor has it that a particularly troublesome Lady was stripped of her titles after some financial scandal. On Abo, unfortunately as on Earth, the wealthy can steal from the poor with near impunity, but if they steal from other wealthy persons, down comes the hammer."
Mattie heroically refrained from comment. That she hadn't protected her mother or future sister-in-law from their actions should have made her intent clear enough. Unfortunately, there was that word again, she couldn't fix all the injustice baked into the current system. Maybe some legislation that would make piercing the corporate veil easier? Dismissing those thoughts, Mattie replied, "Well, we couldn't rely on them being stupid forever."
"Should we do anything about it? We don't want a situation analogous to the Russians moving their embassy in Washington DC and getting just about the best place they could hope to conduct surveillance from."
"Way I figure it, they'll want new construction. I don't think they like the building they're in now, even if they bought it lock, stock and barrel then rebuilt it. Since there's a moratorium on new construction in Port Ordridge proper, they'll probably set up somewhere between here and Starport Luna."
"They certainly will if they want transport links to Port Oldridge and the starport," Tsien Wei agreed.
"Not the cheapest land on Luna, but if the embassy is being fully funded, they'll pay. I don't see how much counter-planning we can do without knowing more of their intentions. It's their move. Let me know when they make it."
Thursday, October 20, 2005: 10:02 UTC
Lina, Port Olridge, Realm of Abo Embassy.
Pentak Marin, senior officer of the fast courier Swift, was someone who had gone as far as she would likely get in the Realm's military. Not from lack of ability, but from lack of political connection. Although... The figurehead ambassador was officially fifth in line to the throne, at least until Clarissa decided to have children. Her posting at this backwater had proved to be beneficial to the Realm and her cachet was definitely growing as a result. It certainly wouldn't hurt to cultivate her a bit. Which is why Lady St'laya was sitting in on the meeting she was holding with the First and Second of Spies.
"I knew our Empress was working toward this, but I am indeed grateful to see that it has happened," Ma'bet, the new First of Spies, said in great relief. Her remit was to gain intelligence for the Realm and now she might actually have the resources to do so. She would be getting proper SigInt gear. She'd be getting operatives. She'd be getting a full staff of analysts. Sure, she couldn't use slaves, real or false (at least not on Luna or Terra). That would merely be an inconvenience, not a problem.
"I brought a survey team with me. They'd like to get to work on finding a suitable site to place the new embassy as soon as possible."
"That depends on how large an embassy they're planning to put here."
"You'll be listed as a class B, but you'll be equipped as a class A. Empress Clarissa wants the secrets to the Terran's skill with miniaturization as a priority. Even their their advanced drives are secondary to that."
Ma'bet smiled. Being placed in charge of a class A facility was high praise indeed. Success here might even get her elevated to the nobility. Apparently her counter-intelligence work on Atrios II had been even better received than she thought.
Marin continued, "The only reason this isn't being listed as a class A is that Lady St'laya doesn't have sufficient experience to be a convincing figurehead of a class A, no matter how popular she seems to be with the Terrans."
"My popularity with the Terrans is the only reason this embassy has survived over the last year," Star informed the visiting officer. 'The financial situation was so dire that we required charity from the Terrans just to stay open. They're still integrating their economy with the galaxy at large. Tungsten here was worth roughly a fortieth or fiftieth or its galactic value allowing them to buy cheaply but sell very, very dearly. It was cheaper to ship things in from the Realm, over 150 light years from our nearest systems, then to buy all but absolute necessities locally.
"Fortunately, very fortunately, the Terran Empress decided she liked me as did the Morton, her Consort. We entered into a commercial pact with the Morton and the Terran Finance Minister, Griplink, to open two clothing stores featuring materials and designs from the homeworld. This kept the lights on and enabled us to eat. As the value of tungsten improved locally, we were able to afford things like furniture and exercise equipment. As you have no doubt noticed, this building doesn't have artificial gravity and all of us have had to work hard at maintaining health."
"Truth," chorused Ma'bet and Hirsc, the new Second of Spies.
Star continued, "If we're now being funded, we can pay off the loan this required and perhaps even buy out their share of the enterprise." No matter how much she liked Arthur, it was simply embarrassing to have relied on him, or any male, for support in the manner he'd provided. Any Abo based entrepreneur would have required a far greater share of the enterprise, plus interest and other considerations than he and Griplink had charged for their assistance.
Marin considered the figurehead ambassador's statements. All Abo diplomatic personnel were screened for the ability to work with free males without suffering undue mental stress. It wasn't unusual for a diplomat to actually become friends with a male, but it wasn't considered a positive. "I read Br'sine's report on the Morton. It said he was the most insufferable male she'd ever dealt with. However I believe much of that comes from personal animus created when he outflanked her with the freed Terran slaves."
Star nodded in agreement. "My reports have indicated he is a clever male. Reasonably intelligent, with a strange mixture of laziness and determination. A walking contradiction."
"What of the Terran Empress?" Marin asked the First of Spies."
"We have not been formally introduced to her yet. We haven't been on station that long. The information left us from Br'sine and the former Second of Spies, Ni'll... Can you even imagine Empress Clarissa not being Empress at all times?"
Star could, but said nothing. She was closely enough related to her empress to have seen her in unguarded moments, most from before Clarissa had ascended to the throne.
Marin couldn't and said so.
Ma'Bet said, "Empress Martha the First is a job that is held by a young female named 'Mattie Wayne'. A job and a duty. She doesn't revel in it, or even particularly like it. It needs to be done and she does it, but she refuses to allow it to define her."
"How did someone with that attitude ever seize power in the first place?"
"The records are clear. She didn't." Ma'Bet said emphatically. "The Terran Empire was intended to be a trade federation. But the members wanted... needed... someone in charge. One person to look to, one person to blame. It is rumored that the Kryptonian was considered a candidate, but he made it clear his role was to serve, not command. The humans wanted a human in charge. As leaders of the Terran Trade Federation, they got it.
"Taking it as axiomatic that anyone who wanted the job of ruling the nascent Terran Empire should not be allowed to do so, power and authority coalesced around Mattie Wayne as a publicly acceptable choice. The war against the former Solookve Republic cemented her position, granting her even greater authority. Her wedding and subsequent founding of an Imperial Line are expected to give her a solid base to begin working on her long term goal, with is nothing less than the end of chattel slavery in the galaxy."
Marin did not let the surprise at that statement reach her features. "Give her credit. She thinks big. Does she not understand economics?"
"Quite well, by their economic theories, not ours," Star answered. "Trade Minister Sa'deep could explain this better. At this stage in their development, their ideas work for them."
"They'll learn," Marin said dismissively. "What are some of these theories that will eventually crash their economy?"
"Again, Sa'deep is far more knowledgable about the details than I," Star stated. "In no particular order: a large slave class ties up capital that could be better invested in more efficient production, a free workforce is inherently more efficient than a slave based workforce, never break another's rice bowl and that all make more profit if you're not trying to steal from each other at the same time."
"Completely ignoring the fact that successful persons don't wan't company. Technical superiority can mask problems for quite some time, but I think we should grab what information we can while we can. I have no faith in the long term viability of this Terran Empire." Marin discarded the idea of attaching herself politically to Lady St'laya. The place had 'career millstone' written all over it.
A First of Spies of a class B embassy outranked a Pentak. "We know our orders," Ma'bet said somewhat sharply. "The likely best spot to put our new embassy would be near the starport, or between Port Oldridge and the starport. Land on the other side of Port Oldridge, near the spur line from their equatorial railway would likely be far cheaper. Either way, the price will be considerable."
That was an issue for the survey team and Marin knew it. She quickly wrapped up the meeting and returned to the Swiift.
"Impertinent little kashet," Hirsc muttered, not quite to herself, after their visitor had left.
"Just more bureaucratic infighting," Ma'bet declared. "Her chain of command leads back to the House of Noble Ladies. Ours leads back to Empress Clarissa. There's always going to be tension there. I'm not sure who the surveyors report to. I've never worked with a survey team before. I know the construction team will be our people, but I don't know if the restrictions against using slaves will hamstring them or not. They normally direct the laborers, not perform the labor themselves."
"We can hire Terrans for the actual digging if we must," Star said. Theoretically, they could use slaves in the construction of their new embassy if they watched them closely enough. Problem being any unescorted slave could request political asylum from almost any Terran official. But offending both Mattie and Arthur should be avoided if at all possible.
Saturday, October 22, 2005: 15:52 UTC
Luna, Grimaldi, House Morton basement
"How's wedding prep going on your end?" Arthur asked his groomsman/bodyguard.
"The tuxes arrived and the goblins are altering them now. Wife says I look good in Armani."
"That's not saying much. Even I look good in Armani. Olivia have a dress picked out yet?"
"Provisionally. My wife wants to try the clothes maker at Abo! before making a final decision." The range light flashed green and Arthur fired as holographic targets appeared. Six for six, two bullseyes. Since he started from a shooter's stance with his weapon already drawn, it wasn't that impressive.
"How about the girls?" Arthur asked as he holstered his pistol.
"They'd like to attend the ceremonies, but understand that you're going child-free. Still psyched about coming to th' Moon."
"Youngest person at the weddings will be my little brother Will. He'll be 15 by then. Ami Bones, who my mother considers family already, is older than he is, so that's where I drew the line."
"They're a couple. A couple of what I'm not sure 'bout."
Arthur chuckled. He felt much the same. "What's with the face fuzz?" he asked Todd.
"Jus' lettin' it grow out for now. After I see what I got ta work with, I'll trim it up into something or maybe just buzz it back off."
"Not an option for me. I still don't have to shave every day. Takes me a week to get a five o'clock shadow."
"And when you do, it's still blonde. Can't hardly see it anyway."
The range light flashed green, Arthur drew and fired. Moving targets were a bit harder to nail than static targets. Unfortunately, his personal range wasn't large enough to practice using cover or for team exercises.
After nailing the final target, Todd said, "All right... your time to draw and fire was 0.41 seconds, which isn't bad. Your accuracy needs more work. Stupid question: Is that thing that quiet when using it for real?"
Arthur re-holstered the pistol "The laser is. But the hand blaster can, if you set it that way, make a really big boom and give a bright muzzle flash."
"How big?"
"Louder than a sawed off 12 gauge. A lot louder than a .22, which is the only bullet gun I've ever fired."
"A .22's nothing. A 12 gauge goes about 160 decibels. I hope you used hearing protection."
"Yeah."
The green light flashed again.
Saturday, October 22, 2005: 17:55 UTC
Luna, Grimaldi Crater, House Morton
"Welcome to House Morton, Judge Greenbriar," Arthur said as he ushered his guest in. "Mattie had something come up, she'll be here after dinner."
"I understand perfectly. I'm surprised she's only had to cancel once." Another surprise, a pleasant one, was that House Morton was kept at full gee.
"Uneasy lies the head blah blah blah. Todd's downstairs getting some range work in, but I'd like to introduce you to th-"
"You have a firing range here? Is that safe?" the judge interrupted.
"Holographs," Arthur replied dismissively. "Target practice setting on my pistol doesn't even use a real laser." Even a low power sighting laser could do damage if flashed into a target's eyes.
"That's a relief."
"Where was I? Oh yeah, I was going to introduce you around but there doesn't seem to be anyone here."
Becky, Carson and Sophie arrived soon after, bringing fresh vegetables and eggs from the ag-domes supporting Grimaldi Crater. As things were being put away introductions were made.
"Judge, this is my sister Becky, my nephew Carson and..."
"You must be Sophie. I've been looking forward to meeting you," the judge said politely to the series 70 Workforce girl.
Sophie nodded in acknowledgement and wished she could hide behind Becky or Arthur. She was still quite shy around strangers, although she had gotten better since her arrival at House Morton. This new person had the skin and hair of someone who'd been run through a med-tank, which meant that he was likely one who was wealthy or important or both. Given that Arthur was Imperial Consort, she guessed important.
The judge continued, "I'd like a chance to talk to you before I talk to Arthur and Mattie about their upcoming wedding."
"Living room's right over there," Arthur said, pointing. Turning to his sister, he asked, "What's for dinner?"
"Do you ever not think with your stomach?"
"Not if I can help it."
"Since I knew Todd would be here, I broke out a large lemon-herb pork tenderloin. I figure we can add a salad and some mashed potatoes and there's some Jello® for desert."
"Need help?"
"Get down the aluminum foil for me. I can't reach the top shelf without a step ladder." Becky was a touch shorter than Mattie, who went 165 centimeters (5' 5") after her body mods.
"It's good to be tall," Arthur mock bragged, reaching over his sister's head.
.oOo.
"So Sophie, how do like living here?"
"It is very different than my life before. In many ways it is strange, but overall, I like it."
"And how does Arthur treat you?"
"He's not here much. But when he is, he always makes sure to ask how I am doing in school and if there is anything I need."
"Is there anything you need?"
"I don't think so. I have a bed and clothes and toys and I eat real food all the time," Sophie replied earnestly.
"Let me try again... Is there anything you want? Or not want?"
Sophie didn't answer for long enough that the judge thought she wasn't going to when she said, "I don't know. I don't know enough to know what I want, what I should want or even if I should want anything at all."
That was either the scariest or wisest thing he'd ever heard from someone Sophie's apparent age. "Why wouldn't you want something?"
"I already have so much more than I could have ever hoped for when I was a slave. Asking for more? What are the words? Greedy? Ungrateful?"
"You make a good argument, Sophie. I'll have to think about it. What do you thing of Arthur?"
Sophie glanced to the kitchen to see Arthur busy helping his sister. Quietly, she said, "In some ways, Arthur is like a master. But in others, he's the opposite."
"How so?"
"When he gives an order, he expects it to be obeyed. But when I make a mistake, he doesn't punish me."
Judge Greenbriar wasn't too sure about that style of... 'parenting' was the wrong word... 'guardianship'. But then punishment to a slave... ex-slave... was probably different than than what he'd done with his semi-estranged son. "Has he ordered you to do anything you didn't want to do?"
"Of course he has."
The judge shifted in his chair and leaned in a bit. "Such as?"
"Brush my my teeth, go to bed, do my homework, practice English with my translator turned off. I really hate that last one. English is a stupid language. Too many... what's the word for words that sound the same but aren't?"
"Homophones?" the judge guessed.
"That's it," Sophie said, clearly exasperated. "Too many of those and too many words not spelled the way they sound."
"It's a fair complaint. But English is the official language of the Terran Empire. Learning to speak it without a translator will be good for you."
"I know. But that doesn't mean I need to like it." Being able to actually express a preference was something she hadn't done as a slave. But it was something that Arthur encouraged.
"All right, what do you think about Becky? She does most your actual raising, correct?"
"I like her. I don't always understand her, but she's nice." She reminded Sophie of her favorite proctor, but without the temper.
"What don't you understand?"
'Free persons, like the crew of the Tallah and Secretariat, work for a living. But if Becky has a job, I don't know what it might be. When Carson and I are in school, she does 'public works' to earn social duty credits towards becoming a Lunar citizen. That doesn't put tungsten in her purse. Arthur supports her, but he was doing that long before I came here."
The judge remembered that slaves, at least Workforce girls, didn't have families. Not that he knew much about the relationship Arthur had with his sister.
.oOo.
"Did you two come to an agreement about how you'll take care of child raising expenses?" the judge asked.
"Not really," Mattie admitted. "I mean, I'll pay for education, but Arthur is handling food, clothing and transportation. Shelter and security come out of the Imperial budget. But both of us have enough assets to cover any reasonable thing our kids might need."
Arthur put in, "And note: that's things they need, not necessarily things they want. I'm not planning on building a dome the size of the Shepherd Complex just so my kids can learn to ride a horse."
"Can you ride a horse?" the judge asked.
"Sort of. One of my cousins on the Dunka side had a horse for a few years. I took it around the pasture a couple times."
The Wayne family had kept horses until her father died. Mattie learned to ride when she was young, but hadn't gone riding in years. Oddly enough, she didn't miss it.
"For something that isn't decided, it seems you still have a plan," the judge observed.
"Arthur always has a plan,' Mattie said. "Some of them even work."
Arthur turned to his future wife and blew a raspberry at her.
Michael Greenbriar smiled indulgently. The two were much more relaxed off-stage than on. But there was still one major question to ask and he knew it might be prickly. "In what religion do you plan on raising your children?"
Arthur stood and said, "Judge Greenbriar, I am not going to discuss religion with you. Period." He walked to the kitchen, grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and then proceeded down the hall to his House Morton bedroom.
"Could have been worse," Mattie muttered more to herself than to the judge.
"I know Mr. Morton considers himself a militant agnostic, but..."
"He despises organized religion even if he'll admit that there are times it does good," Mattie explained. "Religion is the one topic he won't discuss... I was going to say 'rationally', but religion isn't really a rational thing."
"Has he no faith at all then?"
"Oh, he has faith. Faith in me that I try to be worthy of, if nothing else. I know he considers faith and religion as barely related, not synonymous."
"Isn't Mr. Ames a lay preacher?"
"I am," Todd said from the entrance to the hall where he'd been leaning against the wall in his role as bodyguard.
"Doesn't that... make things difficult?"
"Not really," Todd replied. "Arthur is proof that someone doesn't have ta be a religious man ta be a good, or least decent, man. I've invited Arthur ta my church a few times and he's always turned me down. He does what he thinks is the right thing because he thinks it the right thing ta do. He's not tryin' ta curry favor with God or tryin' ta avoid the Devil and he's met Lucifer." Not that he believed Arthur was always right. But he did more good than someone who professed to being Christian and showed up in church every Sunday who thought that excused the evil they did the other six days of the week.
"What about you Mattie?"
Arthur's stance on religion was why she wasn't having a church wedding and was using her Chief Justice as the officiant instead of any religious figure. "I'm a 'not as good as I should be' Catholic girl. I don't agree with certain aspects of the church's teachings. For example: their stance on in vitro fertilization. But overall, I find comfort and solace through the church. I can understand why others might not. As for my children, I expect I'll get them baptized and when they're old enough to make their own decisions, I'll let them make them." As a matter of policy, church and state were and would remain separate.
"What's that quote from Aristotle?" the judge asked rhetorically. "'I have gained this by philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law.' That's how Arthur works?"
"That sounds about right," Mattie said as Todd nodded in the background.
.oOo.
"You can come out now, he's gone," Mattie said from the other side of Arthur's closed bedroom door.
"C'mon in, if you want. It's open," Arthur said distractedly.
Mattie accepted the invite and saw Arthur sitting at his desk re-reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.
"Nice choice," Mattie said she walked over to lean on his desk. This was a private room for him, it wasn't sent up for visitors and there were no other chairs available.
"It obliquely features an Arthur who isn't understood by most people."
"You're no Boo Radley."
"For which we can all be grateful. What did hizzoner say after I left?"
"We're not going to need a new officiant if that's what you're worrying about. We talked for a bit and at the end he said that our ceremonies aren't to marry us, but to show others we're already married."
Arthur snorted. "I could say something really snarky right now, but I won't."
"Anything non-snarky you want to say?"
"Sorry for abandoning the field there, but my religious beliefs, or lack thereof, are none of his business. Nor your Aunt Lois'. Nor the Archbishop of Luna's. As my wife, current or future, you have a valid reason to ask. Nobody else."
"You know I won't ask."
"Which I appreciate. Anything else scheduled for tonight?"
"No, I was thinking of crawling into bed and catching up on my own reading. Can't do that here, your bed won't hold both of us."
"Books are portable. I'll bring mine to your place."
Tuesday, October 25, 2005: 19:57 UTC
Luna, Port Oldridge, Throne room.
"Need to borrow the ring for an hour," Arthur said as he and Mattie walked to the thrones they used as little as humanly possible.
"Not right this second I hope."
"Nah. I need to run out to EEIII and buy a new spacesuit. I outgrew the old one." He was also considering upgrading to light combat armor from the standard galtech spacesuit. True, it was a little heavier, but provided better protection in exchange for that mass penalty.
"I was too big for mine after they made me taller," Mattie admitted. "Replaced it already."
"Good to be the queen," Arthur said as he handed Mattie into her throne. Seating himself, he added, "When I had a ring, I didn't need one. I haven't needed one since you sent your ring back, but it'd be nice to have, just in case."
"As soon as this little farce is over."
Mattie proved correct. Cushions were required for sitting on the throne for any length of time.
.oOo.
"Where have you been?" Mattie said after yawning. It was after 02:00 and Arthur should have been back at least two hours earlier.
Arthur pulled off the ring and gave it to Mattie, who immediately slipped it on her right hand. "When I wear the ring, I'm a Green Lantern and occasionally have to do Green Lantern type things. In this case, rescue and recovery of a ship nudged by a meteor when dropping out of jumpspace. Idiots came in on the plane of the ecliptic instead of above or below it. With two asteroid belts, there's a lot crud out there playing navigation hazard around Epsilon Eridani."
"Seriously? The odds of that happening have to be zillions to one," Mattie stated before yawning again.
Arthur peeled off his clothes as he replied, "Sometimes the gravitational wake from dropping out of jumpspace draws them in. At least that's what I was told."
'I haven't heard of that happening to any of our ships," Mattie said as she pulled aside the blankets so Arthur could crawl into bed.
"Our ships are a little different, aren't they?" Arthur asked as they snuggled in.
"Yeah," Mattie replied ahead of a massive yawn. Arthur yawned as well and they both slept like logs until the alarm woke them at 06:00.
Friday, October 28, 2005: 18:15 GMT
Hogwarts, Main Hall.
As Julie watched, another group of girls, this batch from Ravenclaw, finished eating and headed for their dorm to get ready for the Halloween Ball. Boys, from their house and one from Gryffindor, watched them go. But boys didn't spend nearly as much time getting ready for a dance as gir- young ladies did.
Instead of hurrying through dinner, Julie leisurely worked on her ham and scalloped potatoes. She was looking forward to Sunday's pumpkin pancake breakfast. While she'd never developed a taste for pumpkin juice like her younger brother, the annual pumpkin pancake breakfast had grown on her.
'And there she goes,' Julie thought as Ami Bones stood up, stuffed two slices of ham between two slices of bread and more or less bolted from the Great Hall. Will watched her go before returning his attention to his own dinner.
.oOo.
At the Hufflepuff table, Emma Sinestra watched the proceedings with some interest. Next year, she might be one of the girls leaving early to get ready for the Halloween Ball, or the Yule Ball, or some other social event. There were boys she liked and maybe even some who liked her. But being an alien... How might that change things?
Her parents had made it clear that she wan't allowed to date. Yet. Which she personally thought was odd. As a Workforce girl, the idea of having any say in if or whom she might mate was strange. Being expected to make her own decisions on that topic was stressful.
But then it appeared to be that way for most humans too. Not for Will Morton, upon whom she'd once had a small crush. The red headed Slytherin girl had claimed him two years ago and he didn't seem to mind. Other couples met, joined, broke up, rejoined and even fought. Very strange. 'Romance' was probably the most complex human interaction she'd seen since being rescued by her mother.
Saturday, October 29, 2005, 00:04 GMT
Hogwarts, Hufflepuff Gym
Will and Ami, still in their formal ball robes, stood across from the entrance to the weight room of the Hufflepuff gym, flashlights in hand. They'd taken different routes to reach that point because of the sex based wards that kept members of one sex from entering the locker rooms of the other.
"So why are we here?" Ami asked before kissing her more than boyfriend/less than fiance. "This is not exactly private."
Will put his hand on the wall and felt around for a moment. "Right about... here!" There was a small click and a section of wall pivoted into the corridor. With a grand wave he added, "Milady, privacy awaits."
Ami allowed herself to be ushered inside. The door closed and latched, Will snapped on the lights and both of them extinguished the flashlights Ami insisted should be called 'torches'.
"What is this place?" she asked while looking around.
"Something Arthur found when they started refurbishing the gym way back when. He thinks it was the coach's office. He turned it into his own private lab. Told me how to get in over the summer, 'just in case'. It was a bit of a mess when I found it, but one thing we Huffies know how to do is clean."
"So what do we have here?" Ami asked.
Will pointed out the various features. "We have a bathroom with a shower, a couch, an air mattress, assorted pillows and blankets, snacks and most importantly, my alarm clock so we're not late for breakfast in the morning. Sorry, we'll have to survive on water. No mini-fridge and I wasn't about to risk swiping anything from the punchbowls."
"Good call that," Ami replied. Smiling, she added, "There are two more very important things here."
"And they are milady?"
"Thee and me," Ami replied before they bent into a long, deep kiss.
.oOo.
In the darkened room, Will asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm sure. I'm sure enough that I already took a contraception potion." She had not, however, let anyone see that she had done so. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I am now." Those were the last words spoken until Will asked, "It's subsisto to put one of these things on, right?"
.oOo.
At breakfast in the Great Hall, Julie Morton quietly asked her 99.44% likely future sister-in-law, "Did you and Will?.."
"That's none of your business," Ami replied in a tone much friendlier than that phrase normally got. "I will say if our families want to believe we're not having sex, they're more than welcome to do so.'