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"Broken Loyalties" by Lady Rainbow
Rating: PG-13 Japanese words: Hiragana is one of three written alphabets, mostly used for native Japanese words. The other two are katakana for foreign/loan words and kanji based on Chinese characters. Neko is cat, kami are spirits, and the o- prefix in front of a word or name is an honorific. German: “Vielen Dank, Bernhard. Du bist wie ein Bruder, weisst Du das?” Hoshi says, “Thank you, Bernhard. You’re like a brother, you know that?” Bernhard replies, “Ja, meine kleine Schwester”, “Yes, my younger sister.” Later, Hoshi asks him, “Was ist’s denn?” “What is it?” Bernhard replies, “Es gibt etwas, dass nicht so richtig ist. Bitte, kleine Schwester, sagest Du nichts.” which means, “There’s something that isn’t right. Please, little sister, don’t say anything (be quiet).” And Bernhard calls Malcolm “Der Kommandant” (obvious meaning) and apologizes to Hoshi with, “Verzeihung, Fraeulein.” which means “Excuse me, Miss.” For some reason, my umlauts (two dots over the vowels) don’t work on my computer, so I have to write the vowels out. (Verflucht!!) Four Hoshi sat next to Travis at Tanaka’s lotus pond. Orange and white koi fish swam under the water, while dragonflies skipped along the surface. Hoshi tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she read from the PADD in her hands. “The seating arrangement’s important. Each place will have a name card in hiragana and Standard English. Tanaka, of course, will sit here, at the head. As the honored guest, you’ll sit at her right, while Paul sits at her left, as her Shipping Manager. Bernhard stands directly behind you as your bodyguard. As your interpreter, I sit to your right, and Captain Archer sits on Paul’s left. On your side, the order goes: Tanaka’s uncle, elder brother, executive head of her board, and four of the honorable shareholders, according to age. On Paul’s side, his ship’s executive officer, the second chief of her Shipping Unit, the Boomer representative, and the rest of her shareholders, again according to age.” Travis nodded and studied the diagram on the PADD. He noticed that every position was clearly marked, including the location of her guards. Tanaka was not leaving anything to chance. One assassin had already managed to slip through and try to kill her. “Any word on who Paul’s assigned as the Boomer representative?” he asked. It had been one concession he’d been forced to make: allowing Paul, with his connections, to select the one who would represent the Boomers at the bargaining table. “I asked Paul and he said that the Vhrum should be in orbit tomorrow. Your brother hasn’t forgotten who helped Horizon when they were in trouble. I think Paul wants to repay a debt.” Travis couldn’t help but give her a huge grin. The Tellarite Boomer captain had saved his skin—as well as Malcolm’s and Philippe Trieste’s—more than once. Paul wasn’t the only one who owed Sandosh a debt. Then another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “That’s why she won’t see me until Captain Sandosh arrives?” Hoshi inclined her head and replied, “She wants everyone to be on equal footing, which means no advance bargaining, no under-the-table deals.” “She really takes this honor thing seriously, doesn’t she.” She sighed and deactivated the PADD. “Yes, she does give that appearance. She’s been more than generous in letting Bernhard have a say in the security protocols. Her soldiers have confidence in his skills. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Bernhard has a fan club.” Travis stared at her. “A fan club? Bernhard?” He laughed and she joined in, but he noticed a sad shadow in her eyes that belied her happy expression. Travis sobered and took her hand. “You miss Malcolm.” She sighed. “Yes, I do. The last communique said he was well, but no word on when he’s coming to Vega. He’s been single-handedly rebuilding the Centaurian Security Force. They’ve already offered him a position as commandant and even named their main contingency plans after him.” “What? The Reed Maneuvers? The Reed Plan? Reed’s Revisions?” She giggled and her face flushed. “ Reeding and Reaming, actually. Reaming the crap out of the bad guys, that is.” “Oh, God, that’s bad,” Travis groaned. The sound of someone choking back laughter turned both their heads. Bernhard, he of the fan club fame, was chortling so hard that his hands were wrapped around his sides. Hoshi gave the Armory officer a droll look. “It wasn’t Malcolm’s idea. He thought he’d just die of embarrassment when they announced the name of the plan.” “Verzeihung, Fraeulein,” Bernhard gasped, though he didn’t look a bit sorry. Then he sobered as a thought occurred to him. “He isn’t going to be Der Kommandant in actuality, is he? I mean, I joke about it, but—“ She gave him a ghost of a smile. “I don’t know, Bernhard. He hasn’t said anything about it to me. It’s a tempting offer and it would be a boost to his career. That would mean leaving Enterprise, of course.” “And you’d be leaving with him?” Travis asked quietly. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. I love what I do on the Enterprise. I know I didn’t want to go into space in the first place, and I did it just because of Jon, but—“ She sighed. “I don’t know. Philippe sent me a message, saying he’d welcome me as a consultant for EdML if I wanted, and the University of Alpha Centauri also sent me a letter of introduction, just in case.” Travis blinked. “Wow. They really want you, don’t they?” “It is your decision, and der Kommandant’s of course,” Bernhard put in. “We would miss you both terribly, but I would not try to sway your choice either way.” Tears trembled in her eyes. “Vielen Dank, Bernhard. Du bist wie ein Bruder, weisst Du das?” He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “Ja, meine kleine Schwester. I’m your cantankerous older brother, and you’re my edelweiss blossom.” “How poetic, Bernhard,” she said with a smile. It faded as he stiffened and his head turned towards the entrance of the garden. “Was ist’s denn?” “Es gibt etwas, dass nicht so richtig ist,” Bernhard replied. “Bitte, kleine Schwester, sagest Du nichts.” Travis couldn’t understand the German, but Hoshi glanced at him, put her hand over her mouth, and shook her head. Say nothing. Something’s wrong. He strained to hear whatever Bernhard had heard, but aside from the faint breeze that stirred the koi pond, Travis heard nothing. Then a faint scrape of metal on stone, to his right. Reflex told him to turn his head, but if he’d followed instinct, he would have missed a dark blur pass in front of his eyes. Something hissed and landed on the bench next to him, fur spiked on its back, ears pinned to the back of its head. Green eyes glared at Travis with reckless abandon. “A black cat?” Travis burst out. “O-neko desu,” Hoshi said in a hushed voice. “Kami.” At the sound of her voice, the cat seemed to shrink into its normal size, then sashayed between Hoshi and Travis, rubbing its fur on the silk of Travis’s kimono. It purred so loud that he could feel it vibrating through the thin fabric. “What did you call it, Hoshi?” Travis whispered. “O-neko or something like that?” “Neko is Japanese for cat, with the o- prefix is an honorific, and kami are spirits, either human or animal. They usually show up at auspicious times.” He raised his eyebrows and stared at the cat, who purred louder, if that was even possible. “Interesting it showed up when we were talking about Malcolm and you and Alpha Centauri.” Hoshi murmured agreement as she stroked the cat’s fur. “I wonder why she showed up. What are you telling me?” “The Lady Tanaka probably owns her,” Bernhard rumbled, “but I don’t see a collar or any identification marks on her—“ Again, he stiffened and pressed a hand to his earpiece. The cat made a questioning noise and swung her head in Bernhard’s direction. “Got a call, Bernhard?” Travis asked. The Armory officer grin split his face from ear to ear. “That was Paul. Looks like the Vhrum arrived in orbit twelve hours early. Captain Sandosh is coming down in a shuttle and he’s asking to see you, Travis.” Travis smiled at the cat. “I hope you bring us good luck, Oneko. C’mon, you’re gonna get to meet an old friend of ours.” He got to his feet and the cat dropped gracefully to the stone pavement. The animal followed him and Hoshi as they left the garden, with Bernhard trailing behind like a silent shadow. They took a private lift to the top of Tanaka’s fortress, where her private shuttlepad jutted out over the clear blue ocean. Sunlight sparkled on the pristine white granite; Travis wondered how Tanaka managed to keep the pad so immaculate after her shuttles took off and landed from it. The chairwoman stood several meters away from the pad, with her guard at her right and Paul on her left. Captain Archer nodded at Travis as he and Hoshi joined them, while Bernhard took position nearby with a small detachment of Tanaka’s soldiers. The cat sat on its haunches between Travis and Hoshi, its bright eyes turned towards the sky. A bright spot appeared from the behind the clouds, growing larger as it approached. Travis recognized it as the small transport on Captain Sandosh’s larger ship, the Hsshahu. The pilot expertly landed the transport in the center of the pad. The door opened and a huge, swarthy Tellarite climbed out. He straightened, his pig-like eyes blinking in the bright sunlight. Travis grinned as Captain Sandosh got his bearings and walked towards him with a bright smile. He nodded at Travis and Paul, then turned to Tanaka. The Tellarite bent at the waist as far as his portly stomach would allow. “I bring greetings, my Lady, from the Boomer community,” he growled. “I am honored to be in your presence, and I am honored to accept your gracious invitation to sit in arbitration.” Travis swallowed a laugh at the formal words coming from the Tellarite. He wondered who had been coaching him in the intricacies in interplanetary diplomacy. Tellarites, as a rule, weren’t a people who dealt with niceties. Tanaka seemed amused by Sandosh’s words, for her mouth twitched in humor despite her best efforts. Yet her voice held only warm welcome. “It is I who am thankful that the Boomer community saw fit to send such a worthy representative. Please, Sandosh-san, you do not have to bow to me.” Sandosh straightened and his smile bared teeth. “Thank you, Lady. May I introduce a good friend to us all, one whom you surely have heard much about, but have not had the pleasure of meeting?” She raised her eyebrows and her black eyes flashed in surprise. This was not according to the script. “You have brought a guest, Sandosh-san? I was not informed.” “He chose to come at the last moment, Lady, and I could not refuse.” Sandosh answered, a glint in his eyes. He turned to back to the Hsshahu, where a man in a dark blue kimono climbed carefully down to the pad. Hoshi gasped, her hands nearly dropping her PADD. Captain Archer grinned and Bernhard sighed in relief. “Attention!” Bernhard shouted and the guards snapped to attention. Travis saw Tanaka’s reaction out of the corner of his eye. Surprise warred with irritation, then a shrewd expression, finally dissolving into a neutral look. She glanced at Hoshi. “Hoshi-chan, you may meet your mate. I will not stop you.” That was all the encouragement Hoshi needed. She ran forward and Malcolm Reed caught her by the waist and swung her around. She hugged him hard, burying her head in his shoulder. After a few moments, he let her go, and together, they crossed the landing pad. Malcolm stopped in front of Tanaka and with a deep bow, said, “Forgive my unexpected appearance, Lady Tanaka. I asked Sandosh-san to escort me from Centauri.” “You are always welcome, Reed-san,” said Tanaka. “Hoshi-chan has been pining for you since she arrived. I am glad to see you reunited.” “I bring messages to you, Travis, Paul and Jonathan Archer, from Philippe Trieste.” “Then we should not delay. Please, come with us, Reed-san.” Tanaka gestured for him and Hoshi to walk by her, then Travis, Paul and Captain Archer. The black cat strode next to Hoshi, head held high. Travis exchanged a smile with Malcolm, who then glanced at Bernhard. “You look rather dashing in a kimono, Bernhard,” Malcolm commented. “Like a knight errant, I’d say.” Bernhard turned bright red, but laughter danced in his eyes. |
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