Shadows of Golstar (41 page)

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Owens and Sharné had finished their meal in what he
hoped was a companionable silence. He finally pushed aside the tray and said,
“You’re probably expecting me to pose the long-awaited question, why your
government asked for me. What does it want?”

She nodded, “Well yes. I expected  you would have
asked me that long before now. It has been almost two days since we last met
aboard the
Light Saber
to begin our discussion. Then the attack…” her
voice trailed off. Owens knew she was thinking of the lives that had been lost
in the ambush.  

Sharné looked away from Owens. He saw the sadness
shadowing her expression during their meal deepen, and watched in admiration as
her face cleared and she reasserted her composure. She turned and looked back
at him, her eyes still bright with unshed tears. “Now that you’ve asked your
questions, shall I first start with an overview of the assignment or case, as you
called it? Then you may ask questions regarding the details.”

Owens surprised her by shaking his head in negation,
“Not quite yet, but soon. I didn’t get to my questions about the
Saber
.”

She asked, “Your questions regarding the
Light
Saber?”
Then she remembered, “Oh yes, you did say you wanted to clarify
some observations you made while you were aboard?”

 “Yes, and to put my next questions into some
context, I first want to share with you some of those observations. My hope is
that you can shed some light on what I saw and…” He hesitated, wondering if her
answers would have any bearing on the yet to be revealed assignment. He idly
fingered his empty teacup.

Dismissing that thought, he quickly began to relate
what he had seen aboard the
Light Saber
. He was careful to describe the
strange anomalies he had observed on the ship; anomalies that plagued him since
returning to the
Holmes
.
Just as he had told Hec, he explained in
detail the corrosion and crystallized metal he had seen during their escape. He
told her of the archaic nature of the exposed electronics that were part of the
damaged power coupler and described the weakened condition of the docking
mechanism.  

He finished by expressing his puzzlement over his
failure to see any significant number of ship’s personnel. He omitted the
conclusions he had drawn about the previous two attacks and asked no direct
questions but simply narrated his observations and waited for Sharné’s
reaction. They weren’t long in coming.

The tall, middle-aged woman walked towards her
well-appointed suite of offices. She wore no makeup, her face only beginning to
hint at her age. Her high-necked, long-skirted dress, gray in color with
burgundy trim served to accent her tall, thin stature. Her light hair was severely
pulled back, gathered at the nape of her neck and secured by a platinum clip
fashioned in the shape of a nocturne rose, her only concession to fashion.
 

She paused to consider a large picture hanging to the
right of the entryway. It was a painting of the Founder. She personally
commissioned and paid for it herself. She had supplied a number of archived
images she believed best reflected the true, noble nature etched in the great
leader’s face. She was not disappointed in the artist’s final interpretation.

As she had so often, she again admired the artist’s
skill in capturing the Founder’s character, his strength. The bold brush
strokes of the portrait depicted the Founder at the height of his physical
prowess when the planet Berralton, named after General Golan Berral Light, the
Founder, was first settled. His iron grey hair was close cropped in military
fashion and the crisp uniform he wore was festooned with ribbons and medals.
His shoulders were broad, hinting at the powerful physique he was known to
possess. His clean-shaven square jaw was firmly set, thinning his lips into a
straight, horizontal line. Though only an oil painting, she imagined she could
feel his strength radiate from the stern image it reflected.

General Light had led the glorious fleet of Earth’s
last settlers to the solar system that was now home to their civilization. It
would be named in his honor. However, it was also a system with a secret... a
secret discovered by the great man himself. It was a secret that had lifted
their people to unprecedented heights.  

Gazing at his unyielding visage, she felt a familiar
rush, a renewal of her resolve to ensure his legacy would continue to flourish;
his Light would shine undiminished. She smiled openly in satisfaction and
turned to enter the outer office of her aide.

As she entered, she reasserted her normal countenance,
a slightly bored expression with no trace of the smile she wore just moments
ago. Her eyes were drawn to the sound of rustling hard copy, and she was
pleased to note that her aide was working diligently. The slight noise made by
the door closing caused her aide to look up from a pile of documents she had
been sorting through. When she saw who had entered, she quickly stood up,
causing some of the documents to flutter to the floor.

She said in an anxious tone, “Minister Joselé, I am so
pleased you have returned early. How went your audience with the Grand
Patriarch? Well, I hope?”

Joselé was surprised by the question, but managed to
maintain her composure. She arched one eyebrow and said, “Audience? Melinda, I
recollect no invitation to an audience with the Grand Patriarch, so naturally I
did not attend one. What
are
you talking about, dear? Surely, you
remember I had you clear my schedule so that I could visit my son. It was not
that long ago. Certainly, you have not forgotten. You must recall prior to
that, nothing was noted in my schedule regarding a meeting with that stubborn
old man.”

Her aide turned white at the derogatory reference to the
Grand Patriarch. She stammered, “Of co-course Minister, th-the command came
only today.”

 “Really…” Joselé murmured.

“Yes,” her aide replied anxiously. “Two very large men
with most unpleasant dispositions arrived here early this morning. They were
waiting when I came in. They told me they were on official business from the
Grand Patriarch.”

“How do you know they were truly from the Grand
Patriarch?”

“I insisted they show me their identification, which
they grudgingly produced. They informed me the Grand Patriarch had personally
commanded your immediate presence at the palace. When I told them you were
away, they were most insistent they be informed of your whereabouts.”

“What did you tell them?”

“I confess I was ill-prepared to obfuscate. My mind
froze, and I was unable to think of anything plausible. I was forced to tell
them you were visiting your son. Was I wrong to tell them, Minister?” The
beginning of tears glistened in the corners of the young woman’s eyes.

“Commanded?” Joselé allowed some indignation to
sharpen her tone of voice. “The Grand Patriarch
commanded
an audience?”
She went silent, thinking furiously. The nuance was not lost on her. She could
not recall ever being ‘commanded’ to appear before the Grand Patriarch nor, for
that matter, to her knowledge, had any other minister been so summoned.
Requested, yes, but not commanded, she thought. This could indeed be serious.

As time had passed, the active role the hereditary
position of Grand Patriarch had once played had diminished in the day-to-day
business of the government. The Grand Patriarch still retained the Founder’s
‘rule of one’ powers, but in recent history had rarely invoked them. However,
the current Grand Patriarch had been slowly reasserting those Founder-given
powers. This was obviously one more step in his quest have a more direct hand
in ruling Golstar. Commanded indeed, she thought darkly.  

 Then she remembered her aide’s obvious distress
and assumed her best kindly face. She smiled. “You did the correct thing,
Melinda. Always tell the truth and your path will be bathed in the Light. I
would never punish you for telling the truth.” She paused for a moment with
brow slightly furrowed in apparent thought. “You did say they came representing
the Grand Patriarch?”    

The aide, now relieved, nodded vigorously, “Yes, the
identification they provided me documented them as members of the Guardian’s
Special Enforcement Office. I had not even known such an organization existed.
They left a copy of this.”

The aide snatched a sheet of pseudo-parchment off the
corner of the desk and handed the Minister an official-looking document with
the Grand Patriarch’s seal at the bottom. “Since you were scheduled to arrive
back at your office later this morning, and as it is now late in the afternoon,
I assumed by your absence they had been successful in contacting you. I wrongly
believed you had already attended the audience with the Grand Patriarch.”

Looking at the document, she waved absently toward her
aide, “Yes, yes I
was
delayed but certainly not by an audience with the
Grand Patriarch. I am afraid it was something much more mundane but in some
ways no less irritating. A magna-lev stalled in the Saint Landry tube-way.”

Her expression soured. “These breakdowns are happening
at an alarming rate and of late seem to be on the rise. It might be prudent to
convene a special committee to look into it. A stronger presence by the
Ministry may be just what is needed to address the issue. I wonder…” She shook
her head. “At any rate, it seemed to take maintenance forever to arrive and
clear it. So I was never contacted about the Patriarch’s request,” she paused,
“…or should I more correctly say, command?”

“Shall I contact the palace and let them know of your
arrival and when they may expect you?” The aide’s tone had again become
anxious.

“No, Melinda, thank you but I do not believe that will
be necessary. I will take up that task myself, at the proper time. I first
require some time to prepare for the audience. As I suspect I know the reason
behind the Grand Patriarch summons, I will need to discuss important, related
matters with a number of my associates.” A slight smile formed on her lips,
“Yes. I believe that I do have an inkling of what troubles our beloved Grand
Patriarch.”  

Her aide now looked openly frightened. She knew of the
growing rift between Minister Joselé and the Grand Patriarch, but never had the
Minister been so openly rebellious in her comments.

Melinda said timidly, “The men appeared most serious
in their demands to know your whereabouts, Minister. They were quite impatient
and did not seem to be at all satisfied with my explanation that you were
visiting with your son. They became  agitated and actually accused me of
hiding your location. For a moment, only a moment, I feared for my safety.”
 

“I am sorry you had to endure that unpleasantness on
my behalf. Though I can see the reason for their agitation, they would never
have been sanctioned to cause you real harm,” Minister Joselé replied. Then, with
an openly grim smile, she said, “I am sure their agitation only increased when
in searching for me, they finally discovered I had cut my visit short.”

She nodded to herself, “In fact, I have no doubt they
will return here soon. So now, as I stated before, I must hasten to make
preparations and take the time I need to consider measures I may be forced to
undertake.” She appeared lost in thought for a moment but then seemed to
remember some forgotten task.  She abruptly turned around and began walking
back toward the entrance to her aide’s office.

“Minister, please, where are you going?”

The Minister turned and answered her with an
expression turned cold, “Dear girl, have you not been listening? As to where I
am going, I do not believe I will tell you, for your own safety and admittedly
for mine as well. I believe it is prudent that my whereabouts remain unknown,
at least for the time being, so you must also remain ignorant of my location.
However, as soon as I depart, I give you leave to contact the Guardian’s
Enforcement Office, in fact, I encourage it. They will not be happy I have
left, but I believe if you voluntarily provide such information, their
suspicions about your possible involvement in ‘protecting’ me should be
allayed.”

Melinda tried to interject, “But…” Before she could
continue, the Minister left the office.

If Sharné had any doubts regarding Owens’ ability as
an investigator before, they vanished with the summation of his observations
.
She had not expected such a detailed report on the
Saber’s
apparent
state of disrepair; his blunt revelations were an unpleasant surprise. She had
not been informed, nor had she even been aware of the condition of the
Saber.
And if Owens’ story was to be believed, that condition was sorry indeed.

She had known nothing of the
Saber’s
structural
integrity, only that it was an old ship. She had been briefed on its
accommodations and crew but not of its space-worthiness. In the rush to reach
the rendezvous point, the ship’s condition totally escaped her notice.

However, Owens’ keen observations had gone far beyond
superficial indications of poor maintenance she might have noted under other
circumstances. Worse, she was chagrined to discover that somehow, during their
frantic flight to escape, Owens still had the presence of mind to analyze bits
of seemingly unrelated, barely noticeable clues that were exposed as the
Saber
succumbed to its final fate. Her surprise grew with his telling of each
discovery, all adding up to a likely ominous conclusion. That initial surprise
quickly turned to irritation by the end of his speech. She disliked the bleak
picture he had painted with his devastating, verbal strokes.

He finally finished the damning dissertation without drawing
a conclusion. Instead, he had fallen silent. He made no attempt at interpreting
what he had related. Obviously, he was waiting for her response. The Founder
take him, what was his purpose in telling her this? Was this to show her how
clever he was, or did it portend something worse? She looked at Owens with
barely concealed annoyance as she tried to gather her thoughts, but growing
indignation was beginning to get in the way.  

How typical of Confederated Planets to intrude where
they had no right, she thought angrily. Did the lesson they were given three
centuries ago need to be taught once more? And how dare Owens to even imply the
Golstar ship was in disrepair? He had not the right to judge.

She tried to rein in her temper as she continued to
stare at him. She knew she must rationally consider his points and frame a
logical reply that he could accept. However, it was hard to think clearly while
he was sitting there without expression, no doubt trying to mask a growing
feeling of superiority. With these thoughts, she felt the heat of anger truly
begin to kindle. She strived for calm, determined to control her growing
volatile feelings before she replied.  

Almost a minute passed in silence. He was still
waiting for her to reply, and the sudden realization Owens might take her
hesitation as weakness dashed cold water on her smoldering temper. Instantly,
she was back in control. She then knew how she would address his impertinent
allegations. Thanks to Owens’ little speech, this latest lie would at least
come more easily.  

She kept her voice even, but the words uttered from
her lips were carved in ice. “To begin, I am not required to justify my
government’s choices for your protection and conveyance or, for that matter,
its motives for doing so. Hopefully, that was not your intent, so I will allow
for your indiscretion this one time. I will grant you some clarification to
your observations if that is what you are truly seeking by telling me all of
this.”

She looked at him pointedly, daring him to comment.
Owens saw that her earlier overbearing, VIP persona had reasserted itself. He
had hoped for a less defensive reaction, but now hearing her cold response, he
decided to keep silent. There was no need to dig the hole he knew he was
standing in any deeper. He nodded his understanding.

Seeing this for acquiescence, she continued, “Your
description of what you observed aboard the
Saber
is accurate as far as
it goes and truly not all that surprising. Nevertheless, I remain at a loss
what your motive was in initiating such a discussion. If it is because you
believe you have unearthed some dark secret, then I am saddened to say that you
have seriously erred. And if that
is
the case, I am afraid I must also
express my extreme disappointment.”

“Owens, you have been given a unique opportunity. As
no other, you have been permitted to cross our borders and will soon be allowed
to set foot on our sovereign planet; a rare gift that has never been extended
to anyone outside of Golstar before. Instead of expressing a measure of
appreciation, you voice these observations... almost as accusations.”

“I certainly did not mean them to be,” he said. The
tone in his voice changed.
 

She ignored his words and the hardening tone. “Your
Confederated Planets mindset is not welcome within our borders. At a minimum,
toleration for our cultural differences was expected. For such a momentous
occasion, can you not put aside your prejudices?”

Owens winced inside at her expression of
disappointment. Then, with this last accusation, he had to keep himself from
leaping up and shouting at her, “
My
prejudices
?” He had
anticipated a heated response from Sharné, and thought he was prepared, but he
had not expected a personal attack. It seemed he had seriously erred once
again. His own anger flared but he firmly held it in check. Instead, he waited
for her to continue.

She went on, “Surely it was quite clear we made no
attempt to conceal the ship’s condition; it was self-evident. It would have
been obvious to virtually any observer that the ships were far removed from
state-of-the-art. The simple fact is they were brought out of retirement and
reactivated for this specific mission as a means for your secure transport back
to Berralton.”

She paused, allowing him to think about what she said.
After a brief period she continued, “I would also think with all the experience
in your field of expertise, you would have at least given some consideration
that Golstar would not readily expose its superior technology to any outside
party, least of all a member of a proven hostile government, your government,
Janus Owens.”  

She shook her head in unfeigned frustration. “Your
government had no qualms about entering a sovereign territory without receiving
permission to do so by its inhabitants. Is it surprising we chose not to reveal
our military capabilities to you, a representative of Confederated Planets? So,
my answer to your question is that we deliberately took some pains to deploy
the oldest ships that were still serviceable.”  

A rational part of his mind observed her behavior. Her
bitter diatribe told him volumes about her society’s current attitude toward
Confederated Planets. In another part of his brain, his anger seethed.

Still seeing no discernible reaction from Owens, some
of her initial irritation returned. She allowed herself a small frown. “You do
remember of what I told you of our concern for your safety? Not considering the
attack that just took place, as ancient as they were, three ships of the
Dreadnought classification would be more than sufficient to discourage another
attack similar to those you experienced prior to your arrival to the Golstar
system. Based on our earlier discussion, I believe you will agree it was a
logical assumption at the time.”

His lips were a straight line, his jaws clenched. He
withheld a response and only nodded.

The outsider was insufferable, she thought. He just
sat there, not saying a word. Her voice became indifferent.
“With respect to your reference
about the lack of ship’s personnel, it was decided to limit the crew’s exposure
to you so that misunderstandings…”
such as this one,
she thought,
“…could be avoided.
We deliberately partitioned you away from the crew.
Our two cultures are different in many ways. It was prudent you remain
separated from members of our society until you were provided with some
orientation. I was to be your principal interface until that time. Surely,
this
should not come as a total surprise to you.”

Owens thought he should have expected this kind of
response, but aside from his growing anger, he was deeply disappointed,
nonetheless. Reigning in a hot, angry retort, he instead matched the coldness
of her demeanor and said in a steely tone, “As a matter of fact, I did consider
those very things you just mentioned, I but deliberately held back from
commenting on them.”

She allowed her exasperation to surface. “Really… then
I cannot fathom your motive; what was your purpose in telling me your story if
you knew of this beforehand?”

Enough, he thought. “First,” his voice was now harsh with
barely constrained anger. “I want to make this crystal clear. I intended no
accusation nor have I made any judgments on what I saw.” This of course was a
lie. He had made a number of judgments, and she was only confirming some of
what he already suspected.

She started to answer, but he held up his hand. “Wait
a god-damned minute; let me answer
your
question. I assumed I was
summoned here because of my profession. You needed me to conduct some sort of
investigation, isn’t that right?”    

He didn’t wait for an answer, “That being the case...
it wouldn’t reflect very well on my skills if I failed to note at least what
you have characterized as the ‘obvious,’ now would it? I admit I wanted to
share with you some of my insights.” He looked at her pointedly, “Insights that
may have a very real bearing on our survival.”  

His voice became louder, “You’ve just now confirmed
the ship that’s following us is probably in no better condition than the
Saber
was. That’s already been a factor in our ability to maintain our present lead
in the race to Selane. Had Hec and I known of that earlier, perhaps our tactics
would have been different. There may have been other advantages to be gained as
well.”

“And frankly, I’m operating under less than ideal
conditions here. I need information, and you’re the only one on this ship who
can provide it. Funny, but it seems to me you can’t see past your
own
prejudices!”  

His sharp words cut her. She had broken through his
earlier calm and now he was quite angry. The iron in his voice sent unpleasant
shivers down her spine.

He took a deliberate, calming breath. His voice lost
some of its edge, his tone becoming more reasonable, “What I saw onboard the
Saber
was unexpected, and I needed confirmation. I needed confirmation from you. This
is what any competent investigator would do.”

There was a muffled cracking sound. He looked down at
his hands and saw shards from the cup he must have subconsciously picked up.
With deliberation, he dusted his hands and continued; his voice now openly sarcastic,
“So I’m
sorry
if I have offended you… again. That was not my intention.
My intention was only to get some answers.” These apologies were getting damned
tiresome.

“I see,” she said slowly, trying to ignore the remains
of the cup littering the tabletop. She sensed she had glimpsed only a fraction
of the displeasure Owens concealed behind his stony expression. She tried to
weigh her words more carefully. “I can begin to see it from your perspective,
but I must tell you it does not make it any less unpleasant or acceptable to
someone who is not accustomed to such… as you would put it, frankness. Owens,
please keep in mind I am not of your culture. My background is quite dissimilar
from your own, and I have different sensibilities.”

“Believe me, it’s hard to forget.” He thought, in
their present circumstances, such sensibilities were an ill-afforded luxury. He
wondered how a society that fostered these ‘sensibilities’ had survived this
long. While thinking this, he missed part of what she said next.

“… and perhaps in the future it would help to preface
such discussions with at least an indication of your intent in order to prepare
the listener. Without prior knowledge of what you truly had in mind, I found
your presentation unexpected and somewhat… provoking. The farthest thing from
my mind was the topic of the structural integrity of the
Light Saber.”
 

She thought a moment. “Suffice it to say that while
you are in the Golstar system, I would respectfully ask you to consider limiting
your observations to subjects that are more directly related to your
assignment.”

Owens frowned.

She quickly went on, “You may of course exercise your
curiosity outside of your assignment within reasonable limits, but I beg you to
consider carefully who it is you share your ‘observations’ with. You are a
visitor to our territory, and I ask you to make some accommodation to our
culture.”  

He was surprised that the word ‘ask’ was actually in
her vocabulary. Maybe he hadn’t totally wiped out the little rapport that he
had established with her earlier. His temper was once more in control and his
voice lost its remaining edge, “I’ll try to keep that in mind. I just hadn’t
expected you to see my observations from that perspective.”

She softened her own response even more and said, “You
must understand it is not I alone who will view things in that way.” She had to
make Golstar’s position clear and hoped it would not make him angry again.

She sighed, “Perhaps I should have stated this before,
I will try to do so now. Golstar’s request involving your services is
admittedly unprecedented, and I surmise from your government’s perspective, it
is even groundbreaking. However, you should know it neither arbitrates the
existing state of undeclared truce between our two governments nor is it a sign
our government’s position towards Confederated Planets…” She had almost said
Confederated
Planets’ unwanted interference
, “…has softened or changed in anyway.”