A Galaxy Unknown 10: Azula Carver (40 page)

"Have you had any word from her, Richard?" Admiral Hillaire asked.

"We regularly exchange vidMails, but she hasn't spoken of her return, and I'm not pressing her. I live in hope that she will return. Her husband has taken command of his new ship, and by now I'm sure Jenetta realizes he'll be out here in Region Two."

"She knew that long before now," Admiral Ressler said. "Evelyn told me Jenetta was aware of it the minute she learned Hugh had been moved up on the promotion list."

Admiral Moore chuckled. "I never expected to sneak anything past her. I've never been able to do that in the past. That's why we need her out here so badly. Her suggestion that we use CPS-14s as the lead ship in the bombing passes is now well underway. All new CPS-15s being built at Mars incorporate the linking technology developed for the bombers, and the retrofits of our CPSs from 14s to 15s here are well underway at Lorense-Three, along with replacement of their temporal generator so they'll be capable of Marc-1 speed. And now that the small ships can travel faster than the warships, we're scheduling upgrades for them so they can keep up. The new SDBs being built at Mars already have a docking collar for a CPS-15, and we're about to begin retrofits of our SDBs out here.

"In the most recent vidMail I got from Jenetta, she posed an interesting question. She had been reading the technical papers regarding the Marc-1 advance and knew the speed was possible because of the ripple effect on the double temporal envelope. Knowing that the double envelope causes a ship to be completely out of sync with normal space/time, she asked if the wave length of the ripple effect could be altered and still maintain the speed advantage."

"I don't understand," Admiral Bradlee said. "What's the point?"

"I guess Loretta should be the one to answer that. I turned the question over to her since she directs Weapons R&D."

"Jen is wondering if by altering the wave length of the ripples," Admiral Plimley said, "ships operating in close proximity can be put out of phase with
one
another,
thus eliminating any danger of collision. One of our main concerns has always been that two ships operating at extreme speeds will collide, especially ships that are participating in bombing operations. It was a relief to learn that ships with a double envelope don't have to worry about a collision with ships using a single envelope, but the possibility of a double envelope disaster is always present."

"And
would
altering the wave length put ships out of phase with one another?" Admiral Hillaire asked.

"No one knows— yet. The brightest scientific minds at R&D are looking at it. But I can tell you they were quite intrigued by the suggestion."

~     ~     ~

Your Grace," her butler said, "A large package has just been delivered for you. Security says it's been checked and is safe. It's from a company named Star Cluster Electronics."

"Wonderful. Have it brought to my office."

"Yes, Your Grace."

When the package, atop a small oh-gee cart, was pushed into her office by a handyman, it was followed in by the entire family of Terrans and the entire family of Jumakas.

"What's that, dear?" Annette asked.

"Some time ago I asked Mr. Wilkerson to design a speaker for the Jumakas so they could all communicate with non-Jumakas all the time. He drew up plans that combined a microphone, translation chip, and speaker into one miniscule package but said manufacturing it was beyond his ability here because he didn't have the right equipment. So I sent the plans to the patent office with the application fee and then contacted some electronics companies and sent them a copy of the plans with a request for bids. Star Cluster Electronics had the lowest bid."

"That huge box has one collar in it? Does it come with an oh-gee cart to hold the speaker?"

"No, of course not, Mama. I had to order a thousand."

"A thousand?" Regina said incredulously. "Are you expecting a sudden explosion in the Jumaka population?"

"The cost of manufacturing two dozen was almost as much as a hundred. And the cost of a hundred was almost as much as a thousand. It was all because of set-up costs, according to the manufacturer. Since two dozen would have cost almost as much as a thousand, I ordered the thousand."

"Open the box, please," Jenetta said to the handyman.

Pulling a utility knife from his belt, the handyman sliced through the tape holding the box closed and then stepped back. Jenetta lifted the flap and removed a small box that resembled a jewelry box for a bracelet. Lifting the cover, she looked at the collar and then passed it around.

"It looks good," Jenetta said. "They did a nice job."

"Good?" Annette said. "It's gorgeous. It looks more like a jeweled choker than a pet collar. I might wear one myself."

Removing another from the large carton, Jenetta opened the box and said, "Come here, Cayla."

When the Jumaka moved to Jenetta, she bent down and removed Cayla's old collar. Then she put a new one around the Jumaka's neck and stepped back.

"Cayla, activate the collar as if you're going to talk with me alone."

While Cayla gave the command, Jenetta depressed a small button on the range extender she wore so it would learn the collar's transmission and receiving frequencies.

"Say something to me, Cayla."

"Something."

Jenetta chuckled when she heard Cayla's response via her CT.

"Good, now activate the speaker using the instruction Mr. Wilkerson taught you."

"What do I do now?" Cayla asked. "Wait, is that coming from me?"

"Yes, the tiny speaker built into the new collar allows everyone around you to hear what you're saying if they don't have a CT. It seems like the words are coming from your mouth. And when I need you, I can call you using my CT if you're not close. You'll hear my voice coming from the speaker. If I'm up here and you're in the garden, I won't have to shout from the balcony."

"That's amazing," Annette said. "Now we can all hear what Cayla says, and you won't have to repeat it."

"You'll be able to hear what all the Jumakas are saying because I have enough collars for everyone. Eighty-three times over," she added with a smile.

~ January 15
^th
, 2290 ~

Christmas '88 had been wonderful because so many SC members of the family had been able to come for the holiday, but this year found everyone but Christa unable to get away. Hugh was out on space trials, Billy's XO had requested leave at Christmas months earlier, and the massive influx of Clidepp refugees meant that dad couldn't leave his command. Even so, the family enjoyed a wonderful holiday season at the palace.

But by the middle of January, Jenetta had been pensive for several days. She let it be known that she'd received an extremely important message from Region One HQ but that she couldn't elaborate. Since then she'd been walking the halls of the palace alone late at night and was barely communicative the rest of the time. Even without knowing of the message, it would have been obvious to everyone that she had something extremely important on her mind.

When she informed everyone at breakfast that she wished to see all of them in the garden at ten a.m., it seemed she had reached whatever decision or decisions she had been wrestling with.

~

At ten a.m., Jenetta emerged from a rear door of the palace. The entire family was already seated in the garden. Even Arturo and Bert were sitting calmly rather than engaging in their preferred activity of racing around like little madmen.

In addition to the family, the entire population of Jumakas were present. Over the past couple of months, the cubs had learned to use the new speaker collars, and there were times when one might have wished for a little of the old quiet. There was one other person present in the garden as well. Celona, a maid in the house, had become increasingly helpful with the twins. It was she who had always looked after them when Jenetta or Annette had other things to do. She was presently standing on the periphery of the group next to the oh-gee stroller where the twins were sleeping.

"Thank you for gathering," Jenetta said. "It will be easier if I'm able to tell everyone at once and answer the questions I know are sure to come." Jenetta took a deep breath and said, "I've decided to return to Region Two and resume my career with Space Command."

"Is that all?" Regina said. "Everyone here knew you'd be returning eventually. We've all been amazed you've been able to stay away this long."

"What about the Clidepp refugees?" Marisa asked. "What happens when they get here?"

"I've established the rules required for immigration and set up a team large enough to handle it, and the security forces have been increased to a size where they should be able to handle any unruliness from people who don't like the farm choices they're offered. Additionally, the king has promised that once the ships begin to arrive he'll send a Home Guard destroyer to Obotymot. Space Command has also agreed to send a destroyer to watch over things and keep order up in space. Their presence alone should have a certain calming effect on newly arriving refugee ships. Beyond that, Chamberlain Yaghutol should be able to handle most anything. He's very capable."

"What will you be doing in Region Two?" Annette asked.

"That's still undecided, but I'm sure they'll find something for me to do. Officially, I'm still listed as the Commander of the Second Fleet, although Admiral Holt has been handling that job since I left. The Senate has taken full responsibility for the political situations in Regions Two and Three, so I will no longer have the duties of a military governor."

"When are we leaving?" Annette asked.

"We?"

"You don't think I'm going to let you run off with my grandchildren and then spend your days conducting military business while you leave them with some nanny, do you? Until they're of a certain age, I'll be there to watch over them."

"Mama, are you sure? You'll be leaving everyone behind, including dad."

"Your father and I have survived this long using vidMail as an exchange medium. A few more years won't make much of a difference. He's not coming home to stay until they force him to retire, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The first time he retired, he nearly drove me crazy. He couldn't sit still for a minute and quickly tired of playing golf every day. With vidMail it doesn't matter if you're two kilometers away or two thousand light-years."

"If you're sure, I'd love to have you out there."

"I'm going also," Ruby said. "I want to be with Kaycee."

"Ruby, I've told you that you can't pair with Kaycee until she's old enough to make that decision also."

"You once told me that if I love her, I should get her to love me by being her companion, her friend, and her protector, as my mother has been to you. How can I do that if she's not here?"

Jenetta knew Ruby had doted on Kaycee ever since that day.

"I want to go also," Jake said, "and be with Kyle."

Suddenly, all the Jumaka cubs were saying they wanted to go.

Jenetta held up her hands and they quieted down.

"You know I love each and every one of you, but I simply cannot take all of you with me. Here, you have a lot of room to run around and play. I can't guarantee you'd have that where I'm going. I will take Ruby and Jake because they asked first."

"I want to go also, Your Grace."

Jenetta looked up from the cubs and realized that Celona, the maid, had spoken.

"
You
want to go, Celona?"

"Yes, your Grace. The Azula Mum will need some help with the babies, and I love them as if they were my own."

"But this is your home. I can't promise I'll be back anytime soon. You won't be able to see your parents or your brothers."

"I never see them now, Your Grace, except in vidMails. Their home is too far from here to travel to on my days off. My place is with you now. I want to stay with you and the babies, if you'll allow it. Besides, this might be my one opportunity to see something outside of this planet. No one in my entire family has ever been off-world. Please let me go with you. I promise you won't regret it."

"Very well, Celona, you can come along. And if you ever get homesick, I'll arrange transportation back to Obotymot."

"Thank you, Your Grace."

"So when do we leave?" Annette asked again.

"With a month. I'll let you know as soon as I have a firm date. I have an extremely important matter to take care of in Region One before we go, and I'm waiting for messages from Quesann. But once we leave here, we won't be coming back for a while."

"Where else are we going first? Earth?"

"No. I have to make a stop at Nordakia, then to Dakistee, and then back to Nordakia again. Then we'll head for Quesann."

"Does this have something to do with Christa?"

"We'll see her, but the matter is an errand for the king. I can't say any more because it's highly confidential Nordakian, Space Command, and GA business."

~     ~     ~

Over the following weeks, Jenetta sent and received dozens of vidMails. She spent most of her time in her main office, either with paperwork or deep in thought. In addition to the business she had mentioned, she was also trying to establish procedures and policies for problems that might arise on the estate in her absence.

The six Jumaka cubs who weren't coming to Region Two knew that the next time they saw Kyle and Kaycee, the twins might be fully grown, so they seemed to take every opportunity to watch the twins as they slept or ate, which is all they ever seemed to do except fill their diapers.

Celona was given time off to travel home and say goodbye to her immediate family and the relations who lived nearby. Her brothers and cousins were a little jealous that she was going off-world with the Azula.

When she was ready to return to the palace, one of the security teams picked her up. As happy as she was for the opportunity to travel off-world, the parting with her parents and brothers was a time for tears.

When all of Jenetta's business was concluded at the palace and it was time to leave the estate, the family remaining at the palace, the Jumakas who weren't going, and entire staff turned out to wave goodbye and watch the barge lift off.