The Valkyries of Andromeda

CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The mud had hardened in the yard, freezing our hoofprints from before. Aspe came out to meet us again.

  “I expected you some time ago, Your Excellency. Was there some problem on the way?”

  “Not on the way in, but the ride home last night was more exciting than I care for.”

  “Yes, the weather on Caliuga can be spectacular. Delightful if you’re inside watching it, horrendous if you’re outside in it,” said Aspe. “It’s always wise to consider the environment, how it might change, before you venture out into it,” she added.

  We’d dismounted now and were leading our horses to the stable. Aspe went ahead and opened the doors, and then headed in, showing us again where the stalls were. She kept herself between us and the tarp-covered stuff at the back of the stable again. Had the tarps shifted their shapeless shapes, or was I imagining it?

  “We’ll take care of the horses, why don’t you all come inside?” offered Aspe.

  “Who’s we?” I asked.

  “We have hands for the ranch, Mr. Daskal. The Kitec and I are too busy with affairs of the Planetary Union to tend to the animals and facility. Yesterday they’d already knocked off for the day when you arrived unexpectedly.”

  “I see. If it’s all the same to you, we’d like to get on our way. As you said, we’re running a little late.”

  “Unfortunately, Mr. Daskal, you are not the only ones running late today. Your speeder still hasn’t arrived, although it is due soon.”

  We three looked at each other, puzzled. Such lapses were not what I expected. “How soon?” was all I could come up with.

  “Within an hour. The first speeder had a mechanical problem, and rather than chance stranding Your Excellency in a hastily repaired transport, we sent out a second speeder. It will arrive here very soon.”

  Wanliet grunted approval, and we headed inside to wait.

  “How reliable is that ETA, Aspe?” I called to Aspe, once we were settled in. She was in the kitchen getting us some tea. It wasn’t my idea, believe me.

  “Very reliable, Mr. Daskal. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it arrives before you’ve finished your tea,” she answered as she brought in a tray.

  Considering how little I enjoy tea, her reassurance meant nothing to me. “That’s good, because it’s very important that the Inspector General arrive in Solip City in a timely manner. He has important business to conduct there.” The tea was awful, as tea always is. I supposed that Wanliet, with his appreciation of native resinous plants, would likely appreciate it. In fact, for all I could tell, the tea might have been made from the very droppings he’d been sniffing yesterday.

  “If there are any arrangements I can make right now to expedite His Excellency’s visit, I’ll be happy to do what I can. Are there any particular people he must see, any operations or areas he’d care to inspect?

  “I apologize for not being better prepared for His Excellency’s visit,” she continued, “but it was something of a surprise, and even now we’re not clear on its purpose. We want to make his stay here a productive one, and of course we want the Emperor to understand our situation, so we can all work to re-integrate Caliuga with the Empire. But the way he stumbled into a remote outpost of Caliugan civilization just is, as I said, perplexing.”

  Hmm. Nothing specific about Aspe’s words bothered me, but the way she said them …. Definitely, she was more than an adjutant, and definitely, there was more going on here than I liked.

  Just then we heard the whirring of a speeder. I got up, glanced into Wanliet’s cup, and sure enough he’d drained it. Probably would ask for a ‘to-go’ cup now. Looking outside I saw our transportation, and was impressed. It wasn’t quite the latest model – the Solip City crew been stranded decades ago -- but it was large, fast, and enclosed except for an open-air observation deck aft, the kind of speeder an Inspector General should travel in.

  I picked up my kit and the Inspector General’s, Sirah gathered up her stuff (she traveled light – another big plus in my book!), and then Aspe picked up a bag from behind a sofa, and we all headed out the door.

  Aspe noticed my noticing her bag, and explained, “I’m going with you. The crew that came on the speeder will stay here, and I’ll pilot us back. Don’t worry, I’m expert- rated, so you’ll all be very safe, no matter what kind of weather we hit. And, once we get to Solip City, or SC as we call it, I’ll be there to show you around, and liaise between your party and the Planetary Union, or the PU, as we don’t call it.”

  “Sounds like a very well thought-out plan. You must be eager to get back to the big city, Aspe,” said Wanliet.

  “That did factor into it, Your Excellency,” she laughed.

  It was just about this time yesterday that we’d been racing back to Caliuga City. On schedule the clouds were dancing again in the sky, and I bet the rains would follow too. Enclosed speeders are nice. Soon, our gear stowed and all of us safely belted in, Aspe, Sirah, Wanliet and I sped off to Solip City as the first drops began to fall.