L'Gem

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Seven minutes after the BNU dedication broadcast ended, the Transspace news ship docked again, at the very different portal. The chief editor called Hammison.

  "You know why they told us to turn around."

  "Been expecting you. Like the new accommodations?"

  "They're stunning, literally. What do people know?"

  "The Defense Minister is seen many places and so are Department of Defense vehicles, and everywhere they're seen, things are moving fast."

  "Answer a question that's driving me crazy and I have not found any references at all. Why ministers and departments, not ministries?"

  "It's a very simple system. The unicameral legislature is population-based. There are no regional governments and no cabinet. The head of government is the Prime Minister. The bureaucracy is all departments, but some are so important to us the person at the top needs to have direct access to the Prime Minister and congress. A minister can call and say, 'Put me on the schedule today.' A department director can't. If one asks, a reason will be given, and it would be odd if scheduling was refused, but there's a specific committee that director can call and say, 'Schedule me today.' The system wasn't the reason we ended up with an oligarchy, though a more complex checks-and-balance system might have prevented it. Might have. The mining industry had too much power over our economy. They forced concessions and controlled appointments. They could have, literally, starved a large segment of the population, and would have. Within twenty years, they had people they were sure they could pay to do whatever they wanted in control of every department. Twenty years later, the mining corps didn't have that power, but we couldn't reverse it. This was the first election, since the time the mining corps held the power of life and death over us, we're sure our votes were counted."

  "You waited a damn long time."

  "Until we were sure the vote to remove the oligarchy and repeal the amendments creating the IS and supporting the corruption was unanimous, among those not part of the corrupt system. We call it a revolution, but it was an ouster, not a rebellion."

  "What happened to them all?"

  "Some were incapable of change and are now in prison. The amnesty program gave all who were capable of it the opportunity to build new lives, without the stigma of the past. You're looking for a known-missing-or-dead total and there isn't one. If you don't know how many there were, you can't compute how many there aren't. Some gov officials were forty people, all being paid a nice salary. Most office managers were three or four. Some were a dozen businesspeople. It was the standard method of avoiding the appearance of conflict of interest."

  "You're not doing a census for a year."

  "We don't want to know what the former gov forced us to be. We want to know who we are."

  On Sixday, the Supreme Court surprised them. It suspended all treaties requiring support of military actions, until reviewed for language that would allow their use for the purpose of conquest. The treaty that was cited as basis for the decision was two hundred seven years old.

  The military support clause wasn't the one Bellasea thought Avalon had broken, but the legality of the treaty, not just that clause, had been called into question by Avalon. Both worlds were pleased the court had found something in it that would help them get out of it, without campaigns to sway public opinion before a special election to rescind or supersede, which the treaty required.

  The worlds were friends, but the treaty tied their economies too tightly. Avalon had changed their prime interest rate to stimulate business investment in new technology, without approval of Bellasea. That wasn't specifically forbidden in the treaty, but it wasn't specifically permitted, either. The Chief Justice was interviewed by Earth Interplanet. Transspace passed the feed to Liberty Gem networks.

  "Everyone is so sure it won't happen, they say 'and standard military support blah, blah, blah' and don't pay attention to what they're committing their people to do. Some of the treaties we're reading don't require a signatory world be engaged in a military action to demand others supply money for ships and weapons, or even troops."

  "How many treaties will this affect?"

  "Hundreds, but they won't take long to review. If they specify only in the event of attack, or even imminent attack, they're not a problem."

  "How many do?"

  "We'll know after we review them. If we didn't suspect it's far too few, we wouldn't have suspended them."

  "Start over and leave this out?"

  "Why bother?"

  "You don't think they're needed?"

  "Our records indicate they've caused huge numbers of legal disputes and done more to curtail than support economic growth. Of course the treaty is beneficial when it's written, but it's highly improbable it still will be in a half-century. In most cases, it's either becoming a problem or meaningless in twenty years. Bellasea and Avalon are in economic lockstep. They're not the only ones, nor the worst. If the trade or economic treaty aids, write it for the period you're sure it will, and make it simple to renew. If you want to declare your friendship in a treaty, wonderful, but putting in 'and we'll send our people to be slaughtered, if you ever decide you don't like someone, to prove it' is foolish. They just might decide you can afford their temper tantrum."

  "They clobbered them!"

  "No doubt of that, Nev."

  "Let's look at the treaties with the two worlds they're suing to death."

  "I think Larry had them in quick reference, Knight. Here they are. Keywords: 'military' and/or 'armed.' That should do it."

  "All of them!"

  "Nine treaties suspended, Blade. Answer comm."

  "You're all by the comp, so looking."

  "Yes, Larry. I was about to widen from two worlds."

  "Cautious wording was not common, Nev. 'Blah, blah, blah,' I like that woman."

  "Where are we?"

  "They're not worried someone will help the 'criminal world,' and they'll assure they aren't forced into human rights violations to survive, by ending research and manufacture here, until all interested businesses are prepared to produce. Punitive damages will be assessed and criminal charges will be brought against all persons party to the illegal actions of the abduction, theft and usurpation of the government. They are completely sure millions here are horrified by it and terrified into false statements of agreement. They aren't worried about the two worlds the court cut loose, because they're well on the way to 'civilized' and appropriate action here will speed it. They also still compare the number of their worlds and people to ours, and add 'right' on their side."

  "The recap put us in the front row of violators of rights."

  "We loudly stated this region has resisted the rightful government for decades, Blade. It must feel odd to you not to have a schedule of many tendays of work ahead of you."

  "I thought, 'Sixday,' and was out of bed before I remembered I didn't need to go anywhere. Vacation, holiday, even mornings after too long work the night before, I remember before my feet hit the floor."

  "He didn't turn around and get back in bed. I did, long enough to luxuriate in being able to do so."

  "They both came out as soon as I started the brewer."

  "Nev, did you like the coffee that Transspace reporter shared?"

  "I think I'd develop a taste for it extremely fast. Why?"

  "We don't have a crop that grows where it does, and a grower from Carousel is interested in a crop and product trade. Your little ear studs were noticed, and he looked for more about us. It surprised him we didn't have coffee. He thinks heart tea would grow well in an area on Carousel that could use a new cash crop. He thinks the crop exchange would benefit both worlds in the long-term, and trade to develop taste would get some moving."

  "I like him. I didn't like the coffee."

  "I couldn't decide if I liked it, which is why product trade."

  "Yes, Knight. He messaged us because we're about to be an agr
a school, and because of ear studs and heart tea. He isn't sure his info on land and crops is correct, or if cultivation in the area he mentioned is environmentally wise."

  "I really like him. I'll try coffee again."

  "That's the decision I made, Blade."

  "Where?"

  "Tropical, nine to eighteen hundred meters, volcanic soil. He thinks their harvesting tech is better than others', but doubts trade for it in five to eight years is a reasonable hope."

  "Five to eight?"

  "It's a tree, Blade, and coffee is still hand picked many places."

  "I've got it on the comp. That is a very pruned tree. This is a very old reference text. A tree produces a half-kilogram a year?"

  "It's grown on one hundred eighty-seven worlds and is the largest export crop for twenty-three of them, Blade, including Earth."

  "That is a smart man. We'll be buying huge amounts of it before we can produce enough for it to be a common market item, if people like it."

  "Exactly."

  "Something to trade for tech."

  "Carousel is hunting, Nev."

  "Usually shipped as dried unroasted beans. There's a lot of ways to prepare it and a lot of different types of beans."

  "His first trade proposal is one hundred kilograms of assorted beans and personal hot air roaster for ten kilos of heart tea, BNU paraphernalia package two, three nightlights, six kitty toys and three coins each, up to a chrissie. There's a ship coming this way."

  "I'll take it. It's about an equal trade."

  "Kail said he thought you'd enjoy making it, Nev, and you have good help on the crop plant choice."

  "Three tea connoisseurs and Mike and Chal. Probable agra area?"

  "Doctor Bruner said there's nothing rare at that altitude in the Tail of Peridot, the Catpaw Islands or the Garnet Bandeau, in general. There are seven localities that should be excluded, but they don't substantially reduce land environmentally safe and suitable in the areas. Anytime we begin any type of regimented cultivation, we impact the environment, but she thinks coffee would be a good compromise there."

  "Carousel is not close. Good."

  "I thoroughly agree, Knight. How many days less?"

  "Six-point four three."

  "Will you take your trade back?"

  "Uh…"

  "We'd be gone two-thirds of a season."

  "We want them to make journeys, but we don't want to spend that much time, Nev?"

  "What about Jaden, Manhome, Rimland and Charisana?"

  "Is staying-at-home our way of life, Blade?"

  "Everyone else feels the same. Leave for two-thirds of a beautiful season? Go now, when they're right over there? We don't even leave this region for more than a day. And I don't want to."

  "Can you think of the way to walk from your living room to theirs, Knight?"

  "No. Not… really."

  "Is this going to make me throw up?"

  "I don't know what 'this' is, Blade, but it can't be physical."

  "Astral projection?"

  "Larry, the statue is wide-eyed and open-mouthed."

  "I'll send Donny Sunder an answer, Blade. Comm out."

  "Let's see if we can't get him sitting down at the comp."

  "He's steering very easily, Nev. I think I'm nervous."

  "Let's have some tea. Something soothing."

  "You've never seen it, either."

  "No, but he had the idea for the formula before he came to the university. Answer comm."

  "Hi, Nev, we were thinking of… Oh, shit."

  "We're about to have soothing tea, Case."

  "We are no longer thinking of swimming. We'll be over for tea."

  Eight sat in the kitchen, sipped tea and waited. Drand said telling people watching someone not move for forty minutes was so exciting, he was considering mopweed to get his heart rate down, would probably get him a referral to a therapist. Blade checked his pulse, then several others and told Nev to put a pinch of mopweed in the next pot. Nev thanked him and made a fresh pot. Blade checked Knight and he looked at him.

  "Tea for him too, Nev. Make it two pinches. What were you seeing?"

  "Want to ride a comm burst to visit another world?"

  "What?!"

  "Your body won't go, but your thoughts will and will seem to take your body, to you and people you see and talk to. You can't take anything, or bring anything home. You can't fuel your body or sleep there, but you can taste, smell, touch, hear and see."

  "How can you do those things?"

  "With the power of imagination and tech help. Trips to other worlds, just to visit, but you can visit anywhere with a transpatial receiver and you don't have to stay where the receiver is once you're there. You can buy things with an account code, but you have to have them shipped home. Going home is just a decision, or falling asleep. It'll cost what it does for a comm message. However, the major cost of a comm message is initiation. It should be quite profitable for tour companies, and make physical visits, to stay twenty days or so, more popular. You have friends there. A cruise on a lovely ship, twenty days with friends, a cruise home. Need to work? Go on a ship with fewer amenities and report for work."

  "If you can't fuel your body there, you'll be hungry."

  "Part of the expense of the send equipment will be fluid and nourishment delivery. It won't require infusion. You may notice the equipment is giving you a drink, but swallow is a reflex and you could ignore it. It'll be drink, or you'll return to eat and go back. That will be more expensive because it's two messages, but people may prefer it. It'll be great for sporting event excursions, but you can't field a team to play a physical sport. They wouldn't get tired, and could imagine every play perfect and it would be."

  "Knight, there's more to this. Your chin just hung from your face for over forty minutes."

  "Much more, Blade, the mathematical description of thought."

  "Do we want to do that?"

  "It's a description, not an explanation. However, it proves there is no physical method of thought control possible."

  "It's nice math."

  "No one's going to build a mind reading device, a future viewer, or mental eye or ear. It won't work with standard comm, only transpatial. It's 'not real,' so can be used. The method connects transpatial comm to physical theory."

  "You found the link!"

  "Yes, it's thought. It has no physical component, but is quite real, and why people with psychic talent comm family or friends to ask what's wrong."

  "You're sure it can't be used to boost psychic talent?"

  "Yes, Dawn. I doubt anyone else will see there's a linking structure for a long time. When they do, they probably won't see it describes the psychic talents. It links between this and translight theory."

  "It's a circle."

  "That's not incorrect, Blade, but circle is just too smooth for something that fits together in chunks."

  "Why did you choose twenty-day journey?"

  "It was just a number, Nev."

  "I doubt it. Look for it."

  "Glazed. Nev, you could have waited until the tea was done."

  "I don't think it will take long, Blade. He already had a number."

  It didn't take long. Knight grinned and said they couldn't make a ship drive faster, but they might be able to make the fuel faster. For ten days, they played in the playroom. It was the first time. Every time they'd used the equipment in it, they've been working as fast as possible to get something done because their time was limited. After those days, they donated several more patents, several to the government of Liberty Gem, the fuel, the device to convert it and the monitor and control system. They also donated the programs needed.

  After that was done, they played with the "day trip" idea. When they finished, they donated the patents to BNU and put the math on the infonet. BNU got a license payment before anyone else knew there was a patent. Loren supplied the drink recipe and Kail and Larry decided how
much it was worth. Veil Lake Excursions leased space for "Daytrippers" on the portal and a high-tech assembly company in Vairdslea built forty trip chairs for them.

  Twelve days before the vernal equinox, Tarn and Bellin's son was born, Daytrippers opened, and four worlds declared war on Liberty Gem, for "criminal disregard of human rights."

  Liberty Gem filed suit for "attempted imposition of culture and beliefs by force" in interplanetary court, and stated intent to build a defense fleet. The Supreme Court ruled the courts of Jaden had "grossly misdefined 'way of life,' allowing use of the human rights decision to wage economic warfare, resulting in aberration of the culture, total imposition of the aberrant culture on Manhome, Rimland and Charisana and ongoing exportation to worlds signatory to economic treaties." All the lower court decisions were reversed.

  The Human Rights Commission cited Jaden, and subsequently, Manhome, Rimland and Charisana for human rights violations, and the Interplanetary Superior courts on six worlds for "economic definition of human rights and giving claimant rights supersedence of all others."

  Liberty Gem built a fleet of one hundred fifty ships in ten days. They created and trained a space corps in sixteen. Ships on the way to Liberty Gem from all over human space didn't even slow down, and daytrippers shuttled up to the portal, among merchants and their employees.

  The portal was fully leased and companies on every world were buying licenses to produce trip chairs, ship drives, fuel and fuel systems, magic trowels and many others. By the time the fleet lifted off, Liberty Gem was figuring out what to do with other worlds' money.

  Ten from the neighborhood were space corps officers, on active duty "for the duration." They'd attempted to protest when the Defense Minister pulled them out of fighter training and put them on the flagship in command of the fleet. Kail and Larry had attempted to protest being made Admirals in Space Corps Command, too.

  The Defense Minister asked them to name someone else everyone was sure could "put it together and keep ahead of everyone else." The people of Liberty Gem told reporters they were sure the Defense Minister knew what he was doing, because they'd have "grabbed the BNU bunch," too.

  The fleet performed maneuvers for three days, then deployed to meet the huge fleet coming from four worlds. Bance, Jace and Silky, and many other news crews were daytripping on the flagship. The numbers fell rapidly, as it neared its position. The vast fleet appeared in space beyond Liberty Gem's solar system at the expected time.

  "Disable beams. Fire!"

  "All ships fired. Beams disabled, Admiral Pyramid."

  "Thank you, Commander Tracy. Deploy photon and missile shield fields."

  "Shield fields deployed, Admiral."

  "Thank you, Commander Valens."

  "No gaps, Knight."

  "Danny!"

  "He tensed twice and Nev and Blade did it with him last time, Ronnie."

  "All ships. This is Blade. Danny said forget 'rank for the news.' We're relieved. We'll give them a list."

  "You knew it wouldn't last, Alden."

  "We all did, Kail."

  "I've got a comm relay established, Knight."

  "You're on, Nev."

  "This is Nevin Curran, currently an admiral. You can't do anything but sit there or go home. We have no intentions of engaging in battle."

  "This is Admiral Holcun Lamburden. The Northeast Treaty Alliance has accepted the moral obligation to restrain the criminal element on Gradelode, which has overthrown the rightful government and is now destabilizing the interplanetary economy. The unlawful government will be removed, and economic coercion of the Interplanetary Supreme Court and Human Rights Commission ended."

  "We reject the 'moral' of imposition of one culture on all others by economic coercion or force, and stand by our ethic of allowing all people to live as they choose, if that does not include the victimization of others. We reject your 'moral obligation' to support the enslavement of the people of Liberty Gem, in accordance with the policies of the ousted government. We reject your judgment of us as criminal, on the basis of the ethic no person or government has no right to torture, beat, rape, murder and enslave people for profit. We state our intent to remove the threat of your fleet against our world. Your options are accept the ruling of the Interplanetary Supreme Court and return to your worlds voluntarily, or ignomius defeat. Your weapons are useless and you can't get around us. In ten minutes, you will be locked in your relative positions and all communication will be blocked. Decide. Comm out."

  "All ships except this one, tell your daytrippers bye-bye and engage cloaking."

  "They were ready, Knight. Sensors say nobody there."

  "Remind them to stay put until the ten minutes are up, Ronnie."

  "Reminding as they report ready, Blade."

  "Engineering, are we ready?"

  "We're all set down here, Knight. Day says it's going to be a long ten minutes, and we're all four caught between hoping they go home and wanting to do it."

  "We know just how you feel, Case, but it's real unlikely they can think fast enough to even start turning around. If they can, we know they can change. Right, Larry?"

  "That's why only ten, Blade."

  "We confirmed relays to their worlds. They were in comm conference the whole time. The Chief Justice is still trying to get them to accept the court ruling. She just gave them the same deadline we did. If they don't turn around in ten, the court will seize all interplanetary assets and pay everyone back for them."

  "Thanks, Kail. This isn't going to be a short trip. That fleet's so big were going to have to go around a lot of things we'd usually go between."

  "At least you'll be able to come home days, Knight."

  "Yes, Bance, we will."

  "Thank the businesses of Liberty Gem for guaranteeing our comm bill for us, Alden."

  "They were delighted, Nev. The comp system is a good way to spread out some of the money deluge. They're considering building a space facility just for daytripping."

  "Dorn and Milla considered and everyone else yelled they want in on it."

  "They're becoming quite a team, Kail. Nev complains because Knight and I don't figure out ways to spend money fast enough to keep up."

  "I've got a course, if they stay where they are."

  "What's it look like, Stats?"

  "Not too bad, Knight, seventeen days there, twelve back."

  "They're moving! Knight, they're going to run into the shield!"

  "Engage relative position lock field! Apply braking!"

  "Engaged! Braking underway."

  "Blade, did we give them enough safety margin?"

  "I think so, Knight. Yes. Some will bump, but they won't bump hard."

  "I don't know whether there's hope because they surprised us, or it's hopeless because they didn't believe us."

  "They didn't believe you, Dawn. They don't believe the Supreme Court can enforce their decision either."

  "How did they get so sure it's… Never mind. Two hundred years of court decisions said so."

  "Yes, Ronnie, they did. One judge made an error in judgment and the precedent was set. Businesses offered settlement because their attorneys pointed out the decades of precedent and punitive damages. By the time it reached interplanetary courts, the judges were enculturated."

  "The court and Human Rights Commission learned a hard lesson, Larry. For seven hundred years, they believed selecting judges from worlds, to sit on their benches on them, assured they would understand the people well enough to make fair judgment."

  "They also learned waiting to appoint a judge until the world has an interplanetary case or treaty was an error, Blade."

  "And the Human Rights Commission found out they can't depend on reports, Ronnie. You're going home."

  "What?"

  "We don't need all of us on the ship at night, and Bance needs you there."

  "Cut feed. I'd like it, but it's not fair, Blade."

  "Everyone's going ho
me but us, Bance, and most of the other crews are going home, too."

  "We are not going home. Right, Case?"

  "Absolutely, Stats."

  "Why do you guys need to be here at night?"

  "We don't, Nev. Neither do you. No one needs to be on the ships at all except on watch, but we think it'll be fun."

  "Fun?"

  "Knight, why do we need to go straight home?"

  "We want to?"

  "Do we? We can go home any waking hours. We can even lay down in our own beds to sleep. We'd wake up here, but we would not be uncomfortable enough to wake up until morning. Let's go explore. Case, I need help."

  "I've got three odd expressions down here, Stats. Maybe we should send them all home and just us do it. I didn't expect Nev, Knight and Blade to realize how many women we'll attract, but I expected Larry to see how important it is these transparent ships land on other worlds."

  "I'm quite aware of that, Case, but this is a Navy ship."

  "Decommission it, us, and any others who want to go, when we drop off the alliance fleet. We'll take out the secret stuff and buy or lease them."

  "We need at least six thousand crystals in coins up to a chrissie and to go home to pack."

  "You decided we're going, Nev?"

  "No, Knight, you did."

  "You decided."

  "I did?"

  "Your left eyebrow said, 'Yes,' when Case said, 'women,' Knight."

  "Ronnie, we'd have told him, eventually."

  "Thank you, Ronnie."

  "You sure you want this ship?"

  "No, Alden, we want two luxury yachts, but we'll take this one while we design and build them, then rendezvous when they're done."

  "Stats, we want a luxury yacht."

  "I heard, Case. Pool?"

  "Nah, we'll use theirs, but we'll put in a spa and have Blade design the garden."

  "Why did I think they might want a smaller ship?"

  "We think of them as very large flyers, Alden. They think of them as moving homes, and have large opinions on what a home should have."

  "We also think no one being sure where we really are is reasonable."

  "You're going to merge the identities."

  "Danny's ready to finish the book, Dad. She said this is what she'd been waiting for, the last piece."

  "There had to be something else, some reason the other wizards didn't know they had a bad one."

  "An evil spell?"

  "No, a spreading pall, Kail, created by accident. They can't end it instantly, but they can push it back from the great road, stop its spread and plant the seed of a magic dream vine. Everyone who tastes the fruit is freed to imagine. They know they have been, so they plant a seed. The wizard knew it was there, and used it to hide his evil. It will take time to free those wide lands, and the wizards, who were also overcome by the pall, but many now travel the wide road from the sea to the realm."

  "It sounds a lot more exciting in the book than… Message all ships, uncloak and close the box. Time to tow them home."

  "All ships back on sensors, Knight. Close-the-box maneuver beginning. Looks great."

  "Thanks, Danny. You don't really want to go."

  "I know, Knight. I know you wouldn't if you couldn't be home most of the time. And Bop would know the difference. I'll visit."

  "Chief Justice Hoschgerten on comm."

  "Good day, Justice."

  "Not really, Minister. They told us they were pained by the court's 'fall to economic brigandism.' Justice Castor says she's planning on personally telling them off, when our trip chairs arrive. I told her I'd called them the greatest tool of diplomacy and understanding in the history of the species and I would appreciate it if she didn't hit them over the head to get their attention. We feel so… damn foolish blind. The Human Rights Commission is in worse shape. They're citing themselves for failure to fulfill their charter. They're right and we didn't do any better. It was dumb luck that we had something we could use to keep other worlds out of it. Protest they knew what they were doing when they made treaties ended abruptly. I just spoke to your Prime Minister. She said supporting the alliance currencies on the exchange, so no one else was damaged, just seemed the 'neighborly' thing to do."

  "We haven't figured out what to do with all the money we're making. Any idea of how to put some back in other economies is seized upon with glee."

  "I noticed. She was delighted with the idea of helping those poor worlds rebuild their business structure and catch up. They have a lot of money to put back into their businesses. We had a complete list of who paid who how much. We didn't get it all back, but more than we expected. They didn't really trade with other worlds, so most of it just sat and earned interest, ninety-four-point two percent."

  "They didn't buy anything they didn't make."

  "From the looks of it, the only reason they imported anything was to get a treaty so they could sue, Chancellor. It's not going to damage anything but their plans to add two worlds to their 'righteous' alliance."

  "Justice Hoschgerten, it will cause many to doubt, and to dream. It's the first time 'new' has 'changed everything.' People will go to work on other worlds, commuting by trip chair because the cost of transpatial comm will go down as more use and support the system. People will travel more physically because a small cabin with trip chair and lounge down the corridor allows them to work and travel for a tiny fraction of taking a half-season off and booking passage on a cruise liner, with things to keep them occupied for that."

  "That one hadn't even occurred to me, Dr. Cartier. Trillions more could afford interplanetary travel in every sector."

  "It should be in the price range of most middle-income adults within ten years. Such a liner with classroom and day care facilities could put it in the price range of most families. Ninety-three percent of the cost of interplanetary tour travel is entertainment facilities and staff. Those will become more popular and less expensive because travel cost and time is down. A thirty-day pleasure cruise is much more affordable than a fifty-day."

  "We're going to spread across space much faster."

  "Yes, we are. We can send children to grandmother's for a day, even on another world."

  "And where will you go?"

  "The museums of Earth, the most popular daytrip destination."

  "They love it, and the costumes."

  "That was a surprise. We expected people to wear what they had on. The third person said she'd been dressed in a gorgeous outfit she'd seen in the store window, and people describe what they're going to wear to other daytrippers on the shuttle up. So far, they have all worn something."

  "We're a little worried Knight will forget."

  "Me?!"

  "Nev and I both dress. You reach in the closet and get something."

  "Remind me just before we go."

  "We'll install a transpatial node in the house, Knight."

  "That's probably a good idea, Nev. Completion percentage, Danny?"

  "Seventeen percent and perfect. The comp isn't busy."

  "All ships, everyone doesn't need to go. Some don't need to go home after we deliver the package. Stats and Case had the idea, so talk to them."

  "Yipe! Wait! Let us do this all at once, not one hundred fifty times."

  "That was good, Knight."

  "Thank you, Blade."

  "You know why they decided to do it this way, don't you?"

  "Why?"

  "A personal comm doesn't work on a day trip."

  "That goes on the shopping list! I can't live without it. I'll be buying one everywhere we go on a day trip."

  "Nev, we won't know someone everywhere we go."

  "I won't remember they're not on the same world before I say, 'comm connect,' Blade."

  "True."

  "All three of our codes are available transpatial! That will make it much simpler."

  "Danny, will it make it simpler?"

  "It will after I program it
, Blade."

  Some ship crew members were staying in the space corps. Some wanted to explore. Some wanted to go home and daytrip to ships. Some wanted to go on ships and daytrip home to work. Stats got it all sorted and some reassignments were made, though not many. The ship needed someone on it, but ship night was day on half the world. People began tripping home to pack.

  Nev did some shopping, then Knight and Blade tripped home to help 'pack.' They built a transpatial comm node, installed it in the house and chose some clothes to take a long. Nev said it would have been "logistically simpler" if the ships had been in the sun's gravity field because they could have moved equipment through a doorway and rebuilt the ship. Blade used the house comm to call Kail. He gave him a list of seven pieces of equipment and "nice element stock." Kail told him Deely had given him a longer list, but everything he asked for was on it. Blade called Deely and told her he thought she was beautiful, too.

  The 'box' was completed. One hundred fifty ships surrounded a fleet of seven hundred sixty-eight and fields merged. Since one ship was almost touching the field, all they had to do was start slowly. They didn't need to very carefully move up until the field touched one.

  The 'point' of the ship at the field wouldn't collapse. The position field wouldn't allow it. Their fear had been for people in the ships. If ships abruptly stopped, they'd have bounced around inside.

  Epilogue and Transition

  Fifteen ships delivered "luggage" and picked up and moved people. There wasn't a person on every ship when they left, but they took enough trip chairs with them to assure there would be when they reached Liberty Gem. Knight, Nev, Blade, Case and Stats were all 'promoted,' given new uniforms and told they'd be on reserve status when they left the alliance. Case and Stats were vice admirals, Nev and Blade admirals and Knight was Fleet Admiral. All were given a combat "star," with a gold heart, with a small diamond on it, hanging from it. Alden explained.

  "We got advice from Earth Space Force. Those are the same as their top ranks. They said you should have them when you get to the alliance, and after. Those uniforms will both get you in places and back people off. They warned they won't work as well with reporters as business promoters and importunists, but they'll be more polite."

  "This?"

  "They said, 'service ribbon, combat star and anything else we could think of to decorate you with,' would also help. This little heart is our creation, solid for officers, an outline for others. It means you sought 'with all heart' to reduce loss of life, on both sides. The diamond means no lives were lost. If we ever have to fight anyone and some are, a teardrop will be inscribed or hung in the heart. If none of ours are, we'll put a colored gem in it too. We're still deciding what, but we'll figure it out before long."

  "An alexandrite, both green of life and red of blood."

  "Thank you, Blade. That's perfect, and we don't intend to need it, so we don't have to find any. Watch those ships. Don't let them do anything stupid."

  "We will and we won't. I don't want to be a fleet admiral."

  "Reserve, and you'll all yell you're admirals, if you're ever in a situation in which people need to move fast and in an orderly fashion, anything from a banquet hall kitchen fire to a volcanic eruption."

  "We'll yell we're admirals. Five on one ship."

  "Is usually only for the length of a meeting, Nev. Four or five playing golf together is common."

  "Thank you. We're rather young."

  "We talked you into reserve, so we can yell for you for seventy years if we need you, and no one argues you're in charge. There are work, lightweight dress and formal uniforms in here. Work are in a couple styles. We didn't copy Earth's, just assigned the same type and number. Now, people want hugs, even if you're home days."

  They got hugs from everyone leaving, then from Larry and finally Kail. Nev understood the tears in his eyes and whispered, "Soon, Daddy." His father smiled and said his parents couldn't stay away much longer, and neither could his or Lillen's grandparents and great-grandparents. Nev nodded.

  The Valens' had two children and the Holscott's had two. He had been the only grandchild of the Terschells, and great-grandchild of the Terschell and Andrev and great-great-grandchild of those and the Braighton and Haverly families. They would soon have another. When they did, "the wealth of the world" would gather.

  When his father left, Nev called them all. That afternoon, Lambert and Morelli got a contract. They smiled widely and began designing. Tarse Braighton had told them the families had decided to "get closer" to his new great-great-grandchild. They'd "looked over everything from Veil Lake to Willaville and decided to do something West Side."

  Kendra had been a big help. She'd known who owned everything and exactly where the town, and they, wished it was located. Tellerlock Construction and seven other builders smiled widely and called for OJT's. It was time to 'practice' and show the Tellerlock Team Method worked as well with four to ten as three hundred, and on any size and type of project.

  Business owners and the mayor and planning commissioner laughed and said they doubted they could keep it quiet long, but the whole region would attempt to keep the surprise until the baby was born.

  Jaril Ressen and Jason Andrev became instant friends, when Jason answered comm in his BNU cap. Jason told Jaril they had four family fortunes and "dumping them all on two kids would be mean," especially since there were four other families who would be dumping a quarter of theirs on them. Jaril told him they'd probably make money. Jason said that happened almost every time they tried to get rid of some, but the Valens had managed to do it there, so they did have hopes. Jaril made a suggestion, Jason whooped and they planned together.

  The BNU college of agriculture was going to get one each of the five types of crop areas, wild land and a student flyer lot, daytrip terminal and the land to expand. They also planned a few other university donations, all land, and most for agra studies, but Bressler would get some for expansion of their social science programs, as well as a daytrip terminal. They believed it was the right school for students and scholars from other worlds to learn about theirs.

  Knight, Nev, Blade, Case and Stats didn't 'stay' on the flagship. 'Everyone' in the neighborhood' helped cover watches. Some space corps personnel filled in when needed, as well. The five men were in trip chairs most of the time. Much of it at the spaceport, where former space corps ship builders were beginning to design and build ships for civilians.

  Some they planned could only be built in space. They were too large to land. The two yachts the five were building weren't, but they were much larger than any other yachts they knew of, and bigger than many trade ships. One was bigger than the space corps flagship, but that had been designed to be comfortable for about two dozen, not hundreds.

  The yachts were designed to be 'roomy' homes. They both had "yards" and room to entertain. They also had "garages," "flyer hangars," workshops and "playrooms." Many helped construct the ships, but they didn't cost Knight, Nev, Blade, Case and Stats a great deal. They were helping found a new industry, including teaching four to design for it.

  The ships weren't done when the fleet reached the alliance worlds, but they were nearing completion. The main things left to do were furnish and stock them. Each would carry a shuttle, two flyers, a car for each one of them, two boats, two-person water skimmers and single-person racing skimmers and glides. Nev, Knight and Blade's would carry a sailing yacht and LH. Case and Stats' would carry a transport.

  Both had gyms and therapeutic spas. Both had personal spas. Both had party pools and lounges in their gardens and the big one had a swimming pool, which converted to a ballroom, and the type of entertainment area they'd built for Kail and Lillen.

  It didn't have a banquet kitchen. If they planned a big party, many who attended would probably be 'trippers,' and they'd hire caterers to provide for others. The shuttles were designed for "about eight and shopping spoils" and "well a
ppointed for small group entertaining," with bar, snack kitchen, comfortable seating, a toilet, shower and closet much like the flyers had.

  Part Two

  Under the Pall