***********************************
"I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events
have controlled me."
- Abraham Lincoln, _letter to A. G. Hodges, April 4, 1864_
Ten days later, on the planet Asim...
Ed eased back in the chair and sighed happily. "It's good to be the
king.. heheheheh."
Minerva smiled inside his head. {Bribing the owner of a coffee shop with
a 10 kilo sack of Blue Mountain. *virtual headshake* Tsk, tsk. You have NO
shame, boss.}
Ed straightened up, and waved to the waiter. "Another cup, Yusef." {I
know Min, but I just can't help myself. *grin* Besides.. I'd forgotten
just how much an Arabic culture reveres coffee.}
The waiter returned with the coffee, and a small hand-held videophone.
He flipped it open, set it on the table and left.
Ed looked confused, but touched the blinking icon on the small screen.
"Hello?"
The screen brightened with an image of Portmaster Khelad. "Captain
Edwards, I dislike asking you this, as you've helped me so much with my
three inlaws, but I must. To the best of your knowledge, have you done
anything that would have caused you to be wanted by law enforcement agents
anywhere?"
He frowned. "To the best of my knowledge, Ahmad, no, I have not." *At
least in _this_ reality, anyway.* "Is there some problem?"
Khelad nodded. "Officially I do not know of this, you understand, but I
have received an _unofficial_ warning that the 3WA has sent a trouble
consultant team to speak with you. I'm told that they are to attempt to
convince you to come along willingly - but that they WILL bring you to 3WA
headquarters, willing or not."
"Bloody hell." He grimaced. "I figured this would happen, but not so
SOON!"
Khelad looked at him sharply. "If you have done nothing wrong, why is it
that they want you?"
"Ahmad, my friend... if a small, defenseless child walks down a street
in the _unpleasant_ part of town, carrying a large diamond, is that not
tempting fate?"
Khelad nodded. "It is."
"I am of value to certain unscrupulous persons, as is my ship. They seek
to profit from me. The value is such that even goverments feel that the end
justifies the means, and the profit involved is worth the abuse of justice."
"Then you may wish to vacate the cafe, my friend. The 3WA team will be
landing any second, and they will be heading straight for that location, as
my superiors have informed them you frequent it." Khelad paused and looked
around his office in a deliberately absent manner. "Interestingly enough, I
notice you've filed a flight plan. Somehow, in the confusion, it wasn't
mentioned to the TC team. If a person with a properly filed flight plan
were to show up and take off, there wouldn't be any attempts to stop one
until it was much too late to do so safely." He looked off-screen for a
second, and quickly looked back. "They've landed and are disembarking, my
friend. You must GO!" With that, he cut the connection.
Ed rose, throwing a few riyals to the waiter to cover his bill, and
quickly stepped to the exit. *Damnit, I _would_ be on the other side of the
city from the spaceport - and I don't dare to beam back to the ship. Too
many witnesses. That's ALL I'd need.. give the 3WA evidence of working
teleportation. They'd hang on my trail like a leech in order to get their
hands on that sort of tech.*
He walked calmly, knowing that running would simply attract too much
attention. {Min? Were you listening in, as usual?}
{Everything's packed and ready, boss. I started the second the
Portmaster started talking about the 3WA. You _do_ realize which team they
likely sent.}
{I'd have to be three days dead to avoid jumping to the obvious
conclusion, Min. It's us versus the Lovely Angels. And I'm getting a
headache just thinking about it. I'll be at the ship shortly, pretty lady.
I'm taking it slow to avoid notice. Nothing attracts that faster than a
running man in a crowd.}
{Good point, boss. Small problem at this end.. I've been police-taped
off.}
His head snapped up. {Did they board you?!}
{No. There's simply a pair of guards at the entrance to my landing bay,
and yellow police tape across the entrance.} He heard the odd sound she made
when mildly irritated. {You know, we've been to an incredible number of
universes, and _every_ law enforcement organization we've come across uses
that same stupid tape. What IS it with that stuff?}
{Just another of the mysteries of the universe, pretty lady.}
* * *
The Lovely Angels were NOT happy. First the port control officer had
visibly cringed when they mentioned which Trouble Consultant team they were,
then someone used _that_ nickname in their presence. After that, the AIC of
the local station said that the agent he had following Captain Edwards had
been given the slip, but that Edwards MIGHT be at a coffeeshop he'd been
known to frequent over the past two weeks. But they weren't sure. To top
things off, the PCO who'd recognized them had spread the word across the
entire spaceport that the so-called 'Dirty Pair' had arrived, and people
were falling all over themselves and each other, trying desperately to avoid
the visibly irritated duo.
No, the Lovely Angels were not happy.
Kei was rather more vocal about it. "Tell my WHY we have to drive all
the way across the city to pick this guy up. I don't understand why we
simply don't take the 'Lovely Angel' and hover over the coffee shop.
That'll get him to come out!"
Yuri gave her partner a mildly exasperated look. "Asim is a sovereign
planet, Kei. We have to at least LOOK like we're respecting their
sovereignity, or we could cause a diplomatic incident. You know.. like
that little embarrassment with Ukbar?"
Kei grumbled, but assented. Zen looked her way. "Isn't that where you
detroyed an entire city and completely wiped out an entire eco-sphere, if
Zen recalls correctly?" she said in a curious fashion. Kei favored her with
a murderous glare.
"Of course, Zen _could_ be wrong," said Zen nervously. "Zen has been
wrong quite often. Boy, has Zen been wrong on occasion."
The trio extracted a set of airbikes from the hold of their ship, and set
off towards the coffeeshop.
* * *
Fate is often known for it's rather crude sense of humor. The ancient
Terran author Spider Robinson put it best. In one of his novels, he noted
that if you committed a felony, doing so made you a felon. By that same
token, he argued, God was an iron. And that's a hot one.
Not that Mr. Robinson's taste in humor was much better.
If Fate were a person, it would be the sort of person who's addicted to
dribble glasses, whoopee cushions, and those really annoying trick rolls of
untearable toilet paper. Not actually _being_ a person, however, Fate
settles for nasty little cases of people running into each other at the
worst possible time, in the worst possible place. And the harder you tried
to _avoid_ these little meetings Fate chose to arrange, the more inevitable
those meetings became.
Case in point.
* * *
Ed had been keeping to the side streets, avoiding highways and main roads
in the hope of evading any police and/or the expected trouble consultants.
This technique worked excellently for that purpose, but he failed to realize
that other people had similar reasons for staying out of sight.
He'd just rounded a corner, and took a few steps down a minor artery
street when he swore to himself.
"Ha'DIbaH!" *Maybe Khelad WAS right.. perhaps God _has_ abandoned me,*
the thought to himself. Directly in front of him, about 4 blocks down the
street, were Asim's answer to Larry, Darryl and Darryl.
Mahmoud and his two cronies, Aziz and Ismael, were staggering arm in arm
down the street. The building they'd just exited had a sign in arabic
script that took Ed a moment to puzzle out. Then he groaned. *Plums. The
Koran forbids the partaking of many different types of liquor, but it
doesn't say a THING about fermented _plum_ juice. Slivowitz. Plum brandy.
Figures.. leave a loophole, _anywhere_, and someone will take advantage of
it.*
He looked around, and quickly backtracked in order to avoid the drunken
trio. This put him on a major street that had few offshoots. He shrugged,
not having much choice, and headed down it as fast as he could without
attracting undue attention.
This would have been an excellent choice, under other circumstances.
* * *
The Lovely Angels had been informed by the local constabulary that
Captain Edwards had been seen frequenting a local coffee shop, where he
would often play chess with the regulars. The three headed there on their
airbikes, with Kei rather unwillingly obeying the local speed limits.
When they found out that he'd already left, Kei came to what was (for
her) the obvious conclusion.
"We've been ratted out! Someone here told him we were coming!" She shook
the understandably rattled proprieter by the collar, and dropped him into a
chair. "Damn it, someone told him we were coming!"
Yuri tried to calm her down, while Zen carefully brushed off the owner of
the store, and whispered an apology.
"Zen is _very_ sorry about this, sir - Zen's instructors can be very...
irate when things go wrong for them."
The shopkeeper nodded, dazed, while Yuri and Kei questioned the remaining
patrons. Kei's anger only rose when she learned that Captain Edwards had
taken a phonecall at his table, and left immediately thereafter.
"He'll head for his ship. We have to get there before he does!" Kei
exclaimed.
"We've already asked the local police to tape off the ship and hold him
at the gate, Kei.. what more do we need?" asked Yuri.
Kei looked at her partner as if she had lost her senses. "_I_ wouldn't
let that stop me if I were him. Especially with the Keystone Cops that this
jerkwater planet uses for police."
Yuri reluctantly concured. "Let's see if we can't catch him before he
reaches the spaceport. If we're lucky, we might still manage to persuade
him to come along with us willingly."
Zen sighed. "Why does Zen feel this is only going to get worse?" Then
she followed her partners out to the waiting airbikes.
* * *
"Damn," muttered Ed. The street ended in a large public square that was
filled with midmorning shoppers. "I'll never get through this. I'd better
back up a block or two and go around."
He turned right, heading in that direction for a block. This put him on
a four-lane street, but time was passing quickly and he didn't have much
choice. He looked at his chronograph nervously. There was an odd whine
behind him that seemed strangely familiar.
"Hey, you! Stupid! Get out of the way!" shouted a feminine voice.
He stepped to one side just in time to see three women on airbikes shoot
past him, barely missing him. "Damn women drivers!" he retorted. "If you
can't learn how to drive right, you shouldn't drive at all!"
Two of the bikes jerked to a sudden halt, followed more carefully by the
third. They they all turned around to face him.
* * *
Yuri was exceeding the posted speed limit. Not that she wanted to, but
it was the only way to keep up with Kei. Her partner was so eager to make
this bust, _Yuri_ could taste it. *For the first time we have a case where
we WON'T cause a major disaster, and Kei's likely to ruin it because she
wants to lose the lousy name we've picked up over the years.* She didn't
even allow herself to _think_ of those other two words people called them
behind their back... and all too often, to their face.
That was when a pedestrian stepped out into the street a few hundred
meters in front of them. Kei shouted, "Hey, you! Stupid! Get out of the
way!" They shot past him without looking back, until he responded with his
insult about 'woman drivers'. That was the last straw on Kei's back. She
screeched to a halt, and spun around on her bike to face the obnoxious man.
* * *
"IT'S YOU!" came out in three-part harmony.
Zen merely groaned. Even Carl Macek could have told that _this_ was NOT
a good thing.
Ed was thinking pretty much along the same lines. {Min? I suggest you
impersonate me to the tower, take off, and meet me mid-city. It _just_ hit
the fan.}
The ACI eeped quietly. {Decision noted, execution proceeds.} She refused
to bother him further, concluding correctly that he was about to become
_very_ busy in a few seconds.
Kei smiled. *He just dropped right into my lap! Thank you, god!
Something _finally_ went right!* She dismounted her bike and slowly
approached him, holding up her ID folder. "Captain Anthony Edwards, I am
Trouble Consultant Kei, and you are wanted for questioning in regards to the
possession of proscribed technology. This is not an arrest, and we would
prefer that you come willingly." She smiled sweetly. "Of course, if you do
not, then we'll be perfectly _happy_ to subdue you forcibly."
Ed stared back at the happy red-head. "Little girl, if you think you can
take me, you're welcome to try. But Hell's going to host the Winter
Olympics before I let the Central Computer get its conniving circuits on
ANYTHING I own."
Yuri groaned. *Well, there goes Asim. And like always, it won't be _our_
fault, yet everyone will blame us anyway.* She loosened her Electro-Mag in
her holster, and moved in to support her partner, Zen following close
behind. *Maybe we can make this quick and minimize the damages.*
"Please, Captain Edwards, don't make this difficult," she asked. "Can't
you simply come along and answer a few questions? I'm certain the CC
doesn't want anything more than to know where you acquired your ship, and
will be happy to see you on your way once it has a few answers."
He took a step backwards and braced himself. "I'm sorry.. Yuri, isn't
it?" He looked at the redhead behind her. "I'm afraid I don't know your
friend there. But I'm not about to go with you." He raised both fists. "So
you'd best be ready to make a fight of this."
Both women leveled their pistols at him, aiming for his legs. "I don't
think it will come to that, will it Captain?" smiled Kei.
To their surprise, he charged them, shouting at the top of his voice,
"SAOTOME SCHOOL OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS SECRET TECHNIQUE!"
Zen's jaw dropped as, with a mighty leap, Edwards bounded OVER them to
the top of a nearby building and continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop,
heading in the general direction of the spaceport.
Her head turned to follow him in his flight. "Zen does _NOT_ believe
this. Zen does _NOT_ believe this. Zen does _NOT_ believe this," she
whispered to herself. Kei grabbed by the shoulder and shook her.
"What the hell are you whispering about, Zen? We have to follow him!"
Kei said harshly. Zen simply mounted her airbike in a state of confusion and
followed the other two trouble consultants.
* * *
Ed bounced from building to building in traditional Takahashi fashion -
his form would have rated a 9.5 from everyone save Ranma himself, who
probably would have given him an 7. Although Kuno Kodachi might have given
him an 8.
{Where are the Angels, pretty lady? And for that matter.. where are
_you_?}
{Kei, Yuri, and whoever that other red-head is, are about 900 meters
behind you, boss. And they are riding hell for leather after you. Nice
design on those bikes actually, I should pinch the plans. And I'm five
kilometers and closing, boss.. I have you locked. If you can find a spot
where you won't be seen, I can beam you straight aboard.}
Ed took a quick look around. He was currently running across the top of
a largish skyscraper, one that looked like a standard issue office building.
Twisting his head, he tried to spot.. THERE! An ventilation hood for the
building's air conditioning system. He dashed up to it and leapt inside.
sliding through the ventilation shafts. {Try it now, Min.}
He felt the transporter effect take hold, and a fraction of a second
later he was standing on the main transporter pad aboard the Calypso.
"Status, pretty lady?"
"The Angels are trying to close off the building. I think they believe
you to still be inside the AC system. Otherwise, everything's all right for
the moment." She paused suddenly. "Correction.. someone at the spaceport
just saw fit to alert them that I've taken off. Since I used your image on
the screen, they're trying to tell the Angels that you've already escaped,
in hopes of holding down the property damage." She cocked her head to one
side. "And.. yes. The Angels are responding.. Kei is telling the man in
the tower that he's a.. Oh, my!" The ACI blushed. "I'll have to remember
_that_ word. It might prove useful later on."
Ed raised an eyebrow. "Worse than what I called C'thulu?"
Minerva shrugged. "Not _that_ bad. I'd call it.. interesting. Ms.
Kei seems to have something of a temper."
"Oh, now this I've got to hear. But later on. Let's get outsystem NOW,
girl." He stepped off the pad and headed for the bridge. "I want all
non-lethal, ship-disabling weapons brought up to full readiness. If that
man at the port convinces them I really AM up here, they're going to head
for the 'Lovely Angel' and be after us faster than you can say 'there goes
the neighborhood'. And I want to be able to stop them without having to
kill them."
* * *
Zen listened in on the conversation Kei was having with the appreciation
of a devoted amature for a true professional. Kei was busy describing the
ancestry, personal and sexual habits, and probable destination after death
of most of the staff at the Asim spaceport. And she was doing so with
enough volume that Zen could hear her despite the fact that they were
currently rushing towards said spaceport at just under 100 kph.
"...and if I have my way, I'll see that NONE of you _ever_ hold a job
higher than pen sweepers on a PIG FARM!" She let out a screech of pure
frustration, and broke the connection with a stab of her finger. By then,
the three has reached the docking bay where the Lovely Angel was currently
residing, so they swooped down, stored the bikes as fast as possible, and
rushed through the liftoff checklist.
"Do you have him, Yuri?" asked Kei.
Yuri nodded, her hands sweeping over the console. "The local tracking
systems have him, but I don't understand what I'm getting. He's headed out
of the Asim system, all right, but his course doesn't make any sense. It
doesn't intersect with ANYTHING. No systems, no deep space stations, no
known ships, _nothing_. He's headed right out into the interglactic void."
Kei growled. "I still can't figure how he got from that building to his
ship without us seeing him. And those idiots at the port were insisting
that he was talking with them and going through take-off proceedures with
them while we were still _chasing_ him, for Eris' sake!" She turned to look
at the other red-head in the ship. "And what's wrong with _you_, Zen?
You've been out of it ever since we ran into Edwards. You look like you
just saw a ghost."
"Zen thinks that perhaps Zen _has_," muttered Zen. "Or at least a shadow
of things past."
Kei frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Zen will tell you once we are in orbit, Kei. Zen could be wrong, and
doesn't wish to waste time."
Kei frowned further, but didn't push it.
* * *
"We've left them behind, b'wana. Even without using Burroughs Drive,
they'll never be able to catch up with us."
"Thank goodness," said Ed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Safe all weapons and stand down readiness status." He paused. "But how in
all the hells are we supposed to find out why I'm here? Now that the 3WA is
actively looking for me, my face will likely end up plastered on wanted
posters from one end of the Galaxy to the other."
"Same as always, boss. I disguise you, we enter a system under cloak,
and I jack into the nets and start searching for anything that seems
appropriate, or looks suspicious enough. And while we wait, you find
something entertaining to do."
He looked at her, one eyebrow about to crawl right up into his hairline.
"Correct me if I'm mistaken, Min, but every time we've done that, we've
managed to get involved in local affairs. And the excrement usually hits
the rotorary cooling device shortly thereafter."
She shrugged. "Whatever works. Why break up a winning streak?"
He stared at her for a long moment, then broke up completely. When he
finally managed to get his laughter under control, he nodded. "Why not,
indeed. All right, pretty lady - let's find a hideout and start looking
around."
* * *
The 'Lovely Angel' was in deep space just outside the Asim system,
casting about for any trace of the missing 'Calypso'. Mughi was at the
controls. This was because Kei and Yuri were busy doing something in the
main cabin that they considered MUCH more important. And a lot of fun, as
well.
"Spill it, Zen-chan.. We SAW your face. You _know_ something about the
guy, don't you?" Kei approached the reluctant cadet slowly, backing her into
a corner. To Zen's discomfort, Yuri was backing Kei up on this, bracketing
her.
"Zen surrenders. Zen will tell all...or at least all that Zen knows.
But can we please sit down and have something to drink? Zen is THIRSTY!"
A few minutes later, they were all sitting down to their favorite drinks,
and Zen was staring at her root beer as if she feared the liquid would leap
from the glass and attack her.
"So?" said Yuri. "Give."
"You heard what Captain Edwards shouted when he charged us, didn't you?"
The Angels both nodded. "So he shouts some ridiculous named attack like
some of the loonier martial artists do, and charges us," said Kei. "Big
deal."
Zen's eyebrows came together. "That was not just ANY attack, that was a
technique from the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Kei. The
Saotome _secret_ technique. Namely, run away and think up a plan for later.
Don't you realize what that means? You should, seeing as Zen has _you_ to
thank for Zen's current condition."
Yuri was the first to put it together. "Saotome.. as in Saotome _Ranma_!"
"Yes," replied Zen. "As in Ranma. And how many people in _this_ reality
are familiar with the anime and manga, 'Ranma 1/2'? There is Zen herself;
there are the two of you, as you MET with Ranma in order to acquire a bucket
of Nyannichuan; and there are Zen's superiors in the 3WA who have studied
Zen's.. ability, and have heard Zen's story. And that is about it."
Kei still looked a little lost. "What's that got to do with it? So he
learned about you, and decided to.. no, wait.. that doesn't fit.."
"Zen has come to the obvious conclusion, Kei, and from the look on Yuri's
face, Zen believes she has too. Captain Edwards isn't from this reality,
anymore than Zen is. Captain Edwards is a cross-time traveler, just like
Zen. And possibly much worse."
Yuri thought about that for a moment. "An author, you mean." From her
tone, it _wasn't_ a question.
Zen nodded. "And Zen is begining to suspect that it might be someone from
Zen's world, an author from the mailing list. Why else would the Central
Computer insist that Zen has had previous experience with Captain Edwards?"
"Good point," agreed Yuri. "Which means no chores for you tonight, Zen.
But LOTS of caffeine. You're going to spend tonight trying to remember
which author it might be, and if he was involved in the war, and what he (or
possibly she, if Team Ranma got to 'em) might have in the way of offensive
and defensive power. Then, after you get a few hours sleep, you're going to
write up a report on Captain Edwards, which we will sign off on and forward
to the CC."
Zen nodded her assent. "Zen is thinking that this is going to be a MUCH
messier case than _anyone_ thought possible."
Kei, who'd been listening to the exchange, looked glum. "I thought this
was going to be the one case where we'd get a break. It's not _fair_.
Everything is starting to go wrong and it's.."
Yuri and Zen chimed in together, "..not our _FAULT_!!" Kei gave them both
an irritated look. "Well, it _isn't_!" she grumbled.
***********************************
Planet Repose.
New Galactic Catalog M99G3/3, Type M ecology.
(Earth normal, Human habitable)
Gravity 0.87 G. Climate ranges from tropical to sub-arctic. Native
animals are Paleocene equivalent, and pose little danger to humans.
Located in a globular cluster just outside the main galactic body, it is
exceptionally remote.
Status: Currently privately owned by Club Galactica as a resort planet.
End of file.
* * *
"Sounds like a nice place, Min."
"But it's a glorified Club Med, boss! A place for media-made frauds and
worthless leeches fat with inherited wealth. Don't you realize that there
will be dozens of papparatzi all over the place?" The ACI was aghast.
"You'll be spotted in seconds."
Ed shook his head. "Min, as all the best ones insist, sometimes the
perfect place to hide is in plain sight. Those annoying little shutterbugs
will be looking for holostars and mega-millionaires. All I have to do is
_give_ them one." He laughed. "They'll be so busy trying to figure out
WHICH incredibly wealthy person I am, they won't even THINK that I might be
someone on the run from the 3WA."
Minerva pursed her lips thoughtfully. "True.. it goes so much against
common sense, it would work. It would be the last thing they expect."
He nodded. "Set course for Repose, and keep me informed. Jump directly
there. No sense in wasting time, since we don't have a passenger on board
that needs to be kept in the dark." A small grin crept over his face. "I
always DID want to be one of the idle rich, pretty lady, even if it's only
for a little while."
She shook her head ruefully. "Boss, sometimes I wonder about you..."
He chuckled. "I never _claimed_ to be sane, Min."
* * *
Kei shook her head in disbelief. "You can't tell me that Edwards will
actually show UP at this place. It's ridiculous."
Yuri frowned slightly. "Actually, it makes sense. It IS the last place
anyone would expect him to head for, and if he has enough cash, it's a
hideout with luxury." She pawed through a folder. "According to this report
by Deitrich, Edwards _did_ claim to be independantly wealthy. And he was
headed in that general direction."
Zen nodded, her eyes red and bleary from too much caffeine and too little
sleep. "Zen has coallated everything the CC has seen fit to send us about
Captain Edwards. Which, admittedly, isn't much, even including the file the
young man gave us before we left headquarters. CC does insist that he does
have a habit of doing the unexpected. And this seems to fit that profile,
in Zen's opinion."
Kei sighed. "You _do_ realize it's a two week trip to Repose. The
damned planet isn't even in the galaxy, really. It's in one of those little
star clouds floating around outside the Milky Way."
"They're called globular clusters, actually," offered Zen helpfully. Kei
merely gave her a nasty look.
"Anyway, it's a LONG trip, so we'd better get underway now," said Yuri.
"Sooner we get started, sooner we'll get there." She looked over at Zen.
"Go get some sleep, Zen. You've earned it."
The short redhead nodded, and staggered off to her bunk, muttering
something about soaking a certain unprintably qualified [CENSORED] [DELETED]
computer in water from a certain Chinese spring...
***********************************
"Money you know will hide many faults."
- Cervantes, _Don Quixote_
"Ready money is Aladdin's lamp."
- Lord Byron, _Don Juan_
Minerva had slipped him into Repose with documents that looked
_carefully_ false, in a specific, calculated manner. The clerk taking
the reservations at the Croessus Hotel looked at them, smiled, nodded
knowingly, and accepted his rather large cash deposit. The concierge bowed
from the waist, and lead him to a mid-level room with a large terraced
balcony that had a lovely mountain view.
Ed smiled, and slipped the grey haired man a thousand credit note. "I'll
be rather busy writing, my friend. And it's a matter of some importance
that what I write, and what I research FOR that writing, not fall into the
hands of the members of the fourth estate. That's the only privacy I
absolutely need. As for the papparatzi.. I don't care about their
cameras, so keeping them at arms's length is all I need in that regard."
The majordomo smiled, and the bill vanished with the skill and speed of a
professional conjuror. "An expensive request, sir, but one I am quite
confident the staff of the Croessus can provide. Am I to assume you will
need a wide-bandwith connection?"
When Ed nodded, the concierge snapped his fingers and a young man
scurried up. Ed watched, interested. When the younger man left, he
addressed the concierge. "And you are?"
"Bailey, sir. Simply ask for Bailey."
"Well, Bailey, I'm not as adept at handling the help as I should be. I
trust you will.. remind me of the proper etiquette."
Bailey turned his head to one side and made an odd face, lips pressed
together. "It takes a certain courage to admit that, sir - a courage rarely
found among today's nouveau riche." He smiled. "I shall endevour to provide
satisfaction, sir."
* * *
A week went by, with Min quietly riffling through Repose's planetary
databanks, while Ed covered for her with random searches that were for his
'writing'. To their surprise, those databanks were much larger than
expected. It seemed that while the rich and famous might want to get away
from it all, they didn't want to get TOO far away.
Unfortunately, despite all of their searches, they seemed to be getting
nowhere at warp speed.
"Damn!" Ed threw a stylus at the wall. "I feel like an idiot.. no, an
idiot fetus! A lemur trying to understand a fusion reactor. What is
_wrong_ here? All the news that's fit to print in this reality at our
fingertips, and I can't find ANYTHING that even remotely feels like the
reason we're here!"
"Calmly, boss. You won't get anywhere throwing a temper tantrum,"
cautioned Minerva. "Perhaps you need a break?" She hmmm'ed quietly to
herself for a moment. "There's an excellent german theme'd restaurant near
the hotel."
"How excellent is excellent?" he asked.
"Five stars by Cordon Bleu standards," replied the ACI.
"That'll do. You're right. We BOTH need to take a break. Get dressed,
pretty lady... I'm taking you out for the night!"
He tapped the intercom button and explained his plans for the night to
Bailey. In less than fifteen minutes, the concierge had arranged a table at
the restaurant, tickets to a local show, and a limo with driver.
Several hours later, they'd both eaten their fill of some truly amazing
gastronomical delights, seen an excellent production of 'My Fair Lady' and
enjoyed a quiet and peacefull walk in the hotel gardens.
"All in all, this was a good night, Min. You're right. I should take
more time to relax."
"You've said that thousands of times, boss.. but you never do."
"Thousands?"
Minerva smirked. "Would you like a playback? At 60 to 1 audio
compression, it should only take about ten hours."
He looked at her, taken aback. "Ahh... no, thank you. I'll take your
word for it on this one."
She smiled and patted his hand. "Good boy."
He looked up at the starry sky in a thoughtful manner. "I wonder how the
Lovely Angels are doing?"
* * *
Kei approached the Lovely Angel's replicator with a large and extremely
heavy wrench in her hand and a wild look in her eyes. "I have had ENOUGH
Boston baked beans with onions and hot dogs. This stupid machine DIES NOW!"
Yuri grabbed her from behind, holding her back. "Do you want to starve?
Or even worse, live for a week on space rations!?"
That thought gave even the livid Kei pause, and Zen came running up, a
PADD in one hand and some computer interface probes in the other. Nanmo was
following close behind her. "Zen can fix this, Kei. Zen is _certain_.
Just give Zen a few hours."
Kei waved the wrench around a few more times, but her heart wasn't really
in it now. The thought of eating space rations from now until the moment
they reached Repose had sapped most of her resolve. Not to mention
nauseating her severely. "I'm just sick and tired of this stupid machine
changing every order I make into _baked beans_!" She whirled and stabbed the
wrench in Zen's direction. "You have six hours. Then this piece of junk is
gonna get recycled, by Electro-mag Incorporated! And you go with it! You
got that?"
Zen set right to work, looking back over her shoulder at Kei. "Zen will
get it right. Trust Zen. She is just as tired of baked beans as you are."
Kei snorted. "Why? It's been changing _your_ orders to Fish and Chips,
British style."
"That is not what Zen said. Zen said she was tired of beans; she did not
say that she was tired of _eating_ beans."
"Huh?" Kei said in a confused manner.
"Zen has been performing _other_ maintinance, Kei. Just ask Yuri."
Yuri nodded, trying to keep from laughing. "Kei.. Zen's been working on
the air ionizers and atmosphere filters."
"Why?"
Yuri shrugged in a rather Gallic fashion, and whispered something in her
partner's ear. Kei proceeded to blush a brilliant carmine. Then she shot a
dirty look at both Yuri and Zen and stomped off to her cabin.
The corners of Zen's mouth twitched slightly. "Beans, beans, good for
your heart. The more you eat..."
Yuri snickered. "Don't _GO_ there, Zen. Remember, Kei has a gun."
"Zen knows, Yuri.. Zen _knows_," Zen-chan giggled back, and returned to
working on the galley replicator with Nanmo.
* * *
"Oh, they're probably just relaxing aboard their ship, boss; resting,
relaxing and preparing to confront us."
"True. You're right.. they're probably taking it easy just like we are.
I do feel sorry for them, though. They'll get here and we'll be gone.
Pity. It's a nice world. I'm enjoying the stay, and I'll hate to cut it
short."
"We still have a week left," smiled Minerva. "They won't arrive before
then. So enjoy the time you have, b'wana."
Ed smiled, and they headed back to the hotel.
* * *
The passenger liner Stellar Queen was famous for treating its passengers
with a level of luxury that hadn't been seen since the days of the lost
Titanic. Luxury that was well paid for, too. A ticket aboard the Stellar
Queen cost as much as some people made in an entire year of hard labor.
Right now, the Stellar Queen was making its scheduled trip to the resort
world of Repose, and the passengers were enjoying themselves immensely. Men
of wealth and power were taking their ease in the club, enjoying brandy and
cigars. A cigarette girl was making the rounds of the club, dressed in the
traditionally skimpy costume (a fashion that would have made even Kei and
Yuri blush) and chanting "Cigars? Cigarettes? Cigars? Cigarettes?"
A young man in a snappy Italian silk suit waved her over. "I'll have a
Presidente, sweet thing." He paid her for the cigar, and pinched her bottom
when she turned to leave. She squealed and hopped straight up, making a
small indignant noise as she rubbed her rump. "Really!" she humphed.
The man smiled, and lit the cigar. His light brown eyes (one would
almost swear they were bronze, or gold) twinkled. "The boy may be young.
He may be stubborn. He may be foolish. But at least he'd got ONE thing
right. It IS good to be the king." He took a deep drag from the cigar and
looked over at the wall clock. "Looks like I'll arrive just in time to see
the Lovely Angels get there." He rubbed his hands together. "This is going
to be SUCH fun. I just love to see the sparks fly!"
***********************************