A Greater Interest: Samair in Argos: Book 4 (56 page)

She would look things over, of course, but Carriger wasn’t terribly worried about the defenses for the shield station.  Shooting through kilometer-thick hull armor just seemed futile and silly.  It wasn’t impenetrable, of course not.  Under sustained pounding, even that much steel would fail, but hopefully the defenses would be available in time to keep an attacker from slagging the massive construct.  And if the rim of the shield was bristling with cannons and missile launchers, any attacking force moving to strike at the city that was going to be built beneath the shield would be pounded to scrap metal.  That would certainly help Carriger sell the idea to the citizens.  It wasn’t a battle station, it was a place where people could live and work in safety.

              “Councilor, I think I have something interesting.”  One of her aides, a rather shaggy male lupusan named Dothern walked up to her, stepping around one of the couches to stand near her. 

              Carriger turned away from the news vids and her own introspection to face him.  “What is it, Dothern?  You seemed rather animated about whatever it is.”  Dothern was a rather exciteable creature, filled to the brim with energy.  It made him an enthusiastic lover, but in normal discourse those same qualities tended to make him impatient and brusque.  Luckily for him, he seemed to know his place.  He was one of Carriger Hroth’s inner circle and an occasional bed-partner, but he did not make or influence policy, which was something she’d had to make clear more than once.  She had warned him that she wasn’t going to warn him again.  He wasn’t as dominant as he thought he was and certainly not enough of an alpha to push her around.

              “I overheard a conversation between the Station Manager and one of the FP ships, their new hyperspace tanker.  They’ve returned from their run to Heb.”  He was quite animated excited about this.

              “Fascinating,” she said sardonically.  “And why are you bringing this to me?”  The implied threat that he was wasting her time was clear.

              He hurried along.  “It isn’t that the tanker has returned, Carriger,” he stated, moving around to stand on the other side of the coffee table from her.  “It’s what’s going on in Heb.”

              Carriger flattened her ears at the use of her name, but moved past it.  “And what is going on in Heb?” 
He still wastes my time.

              Dothern didn’t seem to notice her dangerous tone.  “They are requesting some sort of military presence from Seylonique.”

              Carriger sat up straighter.  “They want what?”  He repeated himself.  “And that’s exactly what you heard?  If you’re exaggerating or lying about this…”  She trailed off.

              “I’m not lying, Carriger,” he said defensively.  “That’s what I heard.  They want us to send ships.”

              “How did you get this information?” she asked, eyes focused on him.

              But he was undaunted.  “I told you, Carriger.  I overheard the Station Manager talking with the captain of the tanker.  I was in Operations, speaking with one of the supervisors about how the new tank farm is going to operate now that it’s up and running.”

              She scowled at him.  “Stop referring to me with such familiarity,” she snapped irritably.  “We are not friends, nor are we equals.”  Carriger saw him bristle at the frank appraisal of their relationship, but it just annoyed her further.  “You are my subordinate, Dothern, and an occasional amusement.  But you’ve been putting on airs far above your station, trying to insinuate yourself into places you don’t belong.”  Carriger paused, letting her words sink in.  “You are useful to me and offer some occasional distraction but that is all.  If I feel you are no longer useful to me, you will be cast adrift.”  Her eyes were hard as flint.

              “I have only ever looked out for your interests, Carriger,” Dothern told her, his tone sulky.

              “You seem to think I am your dutiful, submissive mate,” she retorted, getting angry, but keeping herself under control.  “And you look to my interests because I hired you to do so.  Stop acting as though you are my soul mate or that you’re going above the call of duty.  You’ve been doing exactly what I pay you to do.”  Her voice was cold and angry now, but her posture was relaxed and calm. 

              The male wolf stood there, shocked.  Then he gave a small bow.  “I understand, Councilor.  Forgive my presumption.”  His voice was icy.

              She glared at him, bringing up a comms display.  “Don’t sulk, Dothern.  It’s not an attractive trait.”  The screen activated and she shooed him away.  “Thank you for bringing me this information.  Now go so I can decide what to do with it.”  When he didn’t move she let out a ferocious bark, leaning toward him.

              He didn’t flinch but he did turn away, ignoring the councilor’s admonition.  On padded feet, he stalked out of the suites.  Carriger had the distinct impression that he had been able, the aide would have slammed the door behind him. 

              “Males,” she muttered in disgust.  Pressing a few controls, she readied herself to record a message for the rest of the council.  Dothern annoyed her with ever increasing frequency these days and she knew she’d erred by taking him to mate and even more when she’d done it more than once, but she didn’t know what to do about it at the moment.  He did have a nose for gossip and the brains to sort out the useful tidbits.  Grimacing to herself, she resolved to try and figure out how to sort out this whole sordid mess.  Putting the aide from her mind, she began to record.

              Sebastian Chakrabarti grimaced as his comms panel lit up on his desk, indicating a message was received.  He walked over to the desk from where he’d been standing by the armorglass port, staring out at the black beyond and pressed the control.

              A display popped up, the face of Carriger Hroth was frozen in place, staring at the vid pickup.  He frowned in curiosity.  The lupusan had been slightly huffy with him upon the return of the trade delegation; it was jealousy, Chakrabarti was certain.  The trio had been treated like heroes among the rest of the council, having secured such a beneficial and binding trade agreement.  Hroth had done well on her end; getting those warships into the fleet, keeping morale up by showing that the government was committed to the safety of the citizens by publically releasing the fact that the council had personally funded the construction of those corvettes.  It was a masterstroke, truly, one that he heartily approved of and supported.  He’d pitched in his share of credits for the order of ships and he knew that Arathos had paid in as well.  Kly, unsurprisingly, was more truculent.  It took a truly amazing amount of browbeating by the other council members and even threats to out him as the only member of the admin council not to pony up the credits to S-Int and the other news agencies to finally get him to capitulate.  He grumbled about socialist tendencies of his fellows and blackmail, but he made the requisite payment.

              Sebastion pressed the command and the message began.  “Greetings, Councilor Chakrabarti, from the Outer System.  So that woman did what she claimed against critics and other opposition and made a damned huge plate of steel.  If things work out, in a few months it’s actually going to be a thriving community and a place where we can put up a proper set of council offices.  I know we’re all attached to the ones at the orbital, but it’s something to think about.”

              And it was, he though.  The current ones were nice, certainly, but he’d been feeling antsy for a while.  Not that he wanted out of his council position, he just wanted to be away from those offices.

              She continued.  “But I’m not sending this message for small talk.  I have it from a reliable source that Heb is looking for assistance from us.  Military assistance.  The news came in on an FP ship, so Samair is going to get the news shortly.  I can tell you though all of her military resources are tied up here at the gas mine or at the shipyard.  You need to convince the others to send a delegation and some ships.  If we can truly make a friend of Heb it will only be to the good.  FP has been making runs there for months.  We need to get some sort of military presence there, even if it’s only a few ships.  Even just a symbolic gesture will generate so much goodwill for us.  More trade opportunities.”  She leaned forward slightly, looking straight into the vid pickup.  “Don’t let the others on the council drag their feet on this.”

              The lupusan sat back in her seat.  “I’ll send a follow up message later today with my scheduled update.  I urge you and the rest of the council not to drag your collective feet on this, Sebastian.  Eventually, Samair is going to shake a ship or two loose and we’ll have lost a golden opportunity.  I await your reply.”  And the message ended.

             
She’s right
, he decided.  This was a golden opportunity, but one that wouldn’t be available for long.  And First Principles
wouldn’t
sit on this for long.  Tamara Samair would find a warship from somewhere, build one if she had to and ship it out of the system (in pieces if that was what it was needed to capitalize on this).

              Better to ask forgiveness
, he thought, squaring his shoulders.  Typing a few codes into his comm system, the face of Commander Reshi Dharvhan appeared on the display.  She was a hawk-faced woman with a long nose and hard features, olive skin similar to his own, with hazel eyes, also the same color as his own.  As they should, since she was the daughter of his sister.

             
The other councilors had whined about nepotism when he’d secured the position for his niece as one of the commanding officers of one of the new corvettes, the
Spirit
.  He didn’t have a problem with the complaints; it was true.  He had used his connections to get her the command.  Sebastian knew she deserved it and could handle the pressure; it would be a stepping-stone to greater things.  Reshi could do the job; she had received glowing fitness reports from Colonel Gants and her direct superior, Commander Paxton, from the tactical section.  Reshi Dharvhan
was
a bit junior to be the commander of one of the new corvettes, he was willing to admit that, but what was the point of having power if it couldn’t be used to give a leg up to someone who deserved it every so often?

              “Commander,” he said genially, nodding in approval.  “Those new planets suit you.”  He gestured to her collar.

              Her hand reflexively went to that collar, her fingers touching the gold rank tabs.  The woman’s eyes, normally cold as steel, softened and just for an instant, she actually displayed a look of embarrassed pleasure.  “Thank you, Uncle Sebastian.  And I appreciate any assistance you put forth to get them.”

              “Nonsense!” he said, waving a hand.  “I did very little; I made a few calls.  You were the one who did all the work.  Believe me, Reshi, if I didn’t think you could do this, I wouldn’t have wasted my time.”

              She nodded solemnly.  It wasn’t as grave as all that, but he may have spent a fair amount of political capital to secure this command for his niece.  Reshi was determined not to let him down.  Her face slid into its usual mask.  “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?  Not that it isn’t wonderful to see you.”

              “Of course.  To business then.  What is your ship’s status?”

              “We’re docked at the orbital, taking on food and spare parts.  I’m having the consumables and fuel topped off as well.  We’re about to go on a system-wide patrol over the next month.”  She didn’t even need to check a schedule, she already knew.  “I expect to be here another thirty hours or so.”

              “I need you to expedite your resupply.  You’re going with
Lobo, Verix
and
Firelight
to Heb.  We’ve got a cargo freighter already on route, but if you can leave within twelve hours, your ships should be able to catch her by the time it makes the hyper limit.”

              Reshi looked to the side.  “
Kara
?”

              “Yes, a load of machine parts for a factory complex they want to build,” Sebastian replied.

              She blinked slowly, returning her gaze to the main com screen.  “Uncle,” she said, “I’m confused.  That’s not a very valuable cargo.  Why does
Kara
suddenly need a four-ship escort?”

              “Well, there
are
pirates, my dear,” he said sardonically.  At seeing her ready to explode, he continued.  “But we’re sending a small flotilla to Heb to try and bring them closer as neighbors and potential trade partners.”

              “But
four
ships?  They’re needed here for system defense.”  She clearly wasn’t on board with this idea.

              “What if I told you that you would be in command of the flotilla?”  His eyes glinted with mischief.

              “Me?” Reshi almost squeaked.  “Two weeks ago I was the assistant tactical officer on the
Leytonstone
, now you want me to command my own squadron?”

              He nodded.  “You’re of my blood, Reshi.  I know you can handle this responsibility.”

              She looked at him intently for a long moment.  “But these ships are needed here.  Public outcry over losing four ships from the defense fleet is going to be terrible.”