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"Code of Honor"
Rating: PG-13 Yeah, they’re going to Vega, with a couple of stops in between. Six “Each Boomer captain has his own private cipher,” said Captain Sandosh. The Tellarite captain of the ship Vhrum eyed the stack of printouts with interest. “Only the captain possesses the key to it; most of us keep it here.” He tapped his temple with one furry paw, then continued, “Most of us don’t share it with even our most trusted associates.” Rhianna Mayweather nodded in agreement. “Your father never gave me the key to his cipher, Travis and I was his wife. When your brother was in command of Horizon, and then Raven’s Revenge, he also kept his a secret.” She tapped the printouts and shook her head. “If these were as sensitive as we think, I don’t think Paul would’ve left them out in the open, even encrypted.” Malcolm raised his eyebrows. “A red herring?” “Possibly, but we don’t know that for sure,” Travis argued. “We don’t know just why Paul did it, so we need to get these translated, just in case.” “But no one knows Paul’s cipher,” Rhianna pointed out, “and the only one who could possibly break it is—“ Suddenly, Oneko yowled and twisted her feline body until she gazed at them upside-down from her vantage point on Rhianna’s bookshelf. She blinked once, then deliberately raised her front right paw in a gesture of agreement. “Hoshi,” Malcolm and Travis said together. Malcolm shifted uncomfortably as the mention of his wife’s name; he didn’t want to get Hoshi involved with this, especially since his father was still missing, but he could think of no other alternative. “I don’t think we have a choice, Malcolm,” Rhianna said softly. “She’s the only one with the skills to do it; that mighthave been Paul’s goal all along. Can you send Paul’s information in a security package to Enterprise?” He nodded. “I’ll use my own Starfleet Security codes; I don’t trust anything going in and out of the CSF channels.” Malcolm remembered how Allemande and the others had the unspoken agreement of “promoting” him as their leader. Although it was flattering, it also gave Malcolm a bad feeling about how effective the CSF actually was in this case. “It’d be a bad idea to bring Hoshi out here,” Travis agreed. “She’s safer on Enterprise.” Oneko yowled again in agreement. Sandosh scratched his jowls in a contemplative manner. “According to Admiral Reed’s starmap, the path took them through Draylax, Aldeberan and Vega. Your father was quite accurate in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each Trading Consortium, Malcolm. The imbalance became obvious to Captain Thea Brunswicke and the other Boomer captains. Brunswicke is currently negotiating with Draylax’s Consortium. I am scheduled for a stopover in Aldeberan, so I can request an audience with Ravi Nandjani, their Consortium leader.” “So that leaves Vega,” Malcolm said with a smirk. “And Lady Michiko Asagawa.” Rhianna frowned, her attractive face clouded with worry. “Asagawa isn’t the same as her cousin, Sumiko Tanaka. Tanaka maneuvered and blackmailed behind the scenes; Asagawa is more open, more direct. She brought in some of her own businesspeople from Asagawa Incorporated when she took over Tanaka Enterprises. She’s more dangerous than Tanaka was, in more ways than one.” “But does she still follow traditions as stringently as Tanaka did?” Rhianna nodded. “I believe so. Their entire family is steeped in ritual and tradition.” “Then we play by those traditions,” Malcolm said, exchanging looks with Travis. The helmsman nodded and gave him a grim smile. Oneko began a slow purr, one that sounded as if she relished the opportunity to match wits with Tanaka’s successor. Mademoiselle Sophie Du Pres was nothing like Malcolm had expected her to be. Philippe Trieste had described her as “a lion in the body of a field mouse”, so Malcolm thought she’d be small and delicately-built. Of course, Philippe neglected to mention that the field mouse wore battle armor and carried a broadsword. Sophie carried herself with an elegant grace, like a member of the British Royal Family, and it made her seem taller than she actually was. Like Philippe, she favored work tunics and slacks instead of formal business wear. Her short black hair was stylishly bobbed at the shoulders, and held out of her eyes by a cloth headband. Yet the dark blue eyes betrayed a soul much older than her appearance. “Yes, Philippe and Paul were planning to convene an Trading Advisory Council, and inviting every Consortium and Boomer representative to attend,” she confirmed, her voice low and calm. The dark circles under her eyes betrayed her worry and dread for Philippe’s safety. “In fact, the invitations were sent out last month. Lady Asagawa offered her estate grounds as the site, since we were all familiar with the location.” “Yes,” Malcolm said. The last time he was there, he and Hoshi had gotten married. Sophie glanced at Travis. “Paul’s plan was to go ahead and inspect the grounds before the Council meeting. Lady Asagawa and Ravi Nandjani have insisted the meeting go as planned, even with Philippe’s and Paul’s fates in question. Monsieur Mayweather, I believe I can make you and your mother my official representatives, so you both can go in Paul’s place.” “That way, we can see if Asagawa’s got anything nasty planned,” Travis said. “Mais oui. Commandant Reed, your father insisted on coming for security reasons. I think it is a still a valid concern.” Malcolm nodded slowly. “Of course, Mademoiselle.” “Do you think Asagawa’s holding our people hostage?” Travis asked. “She’s our most likely candidate, but we have no proof,” Malcolm answered. “For all we know, one of the other Consortiums might have them and she’s innocent.” Rhianna nodded. “Innocent until proven guilty,” she agreed, “even if we might not like the woman.” Sophie sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. “Then I can spare the Diamant Blanc. It’s a fast ship, and it is capable of making to Vega in 5 days, with a good helmsman—“ she nodded at Travis, “—and a good captain.” “It’s settled then.” Malcolm extended a hand to Sophie. “We will get Philippe back safely, Sophie. Steward’s Oath.” Travis placed his hand on both of theirs. “Steward’s Oath,” he echoed. “We vowed to keep Philippe out of trouble and bail him out if needed. We’re bailing him out.” “Merci beaucoup, Monsieurs, Madame,” Sophie said, with a trembling smile. “I hold you both to your oath.” Malcolm looked into her eyes and saw something there: fear for Philippe’s welfare and safety. Not unlike the look in Hoshi’s eyes, in the privacy of their quarters, the hour before he and Travis had left Enterprise. His heart tightened at Sophie’s expression as he said, “Je prometterai. I promise.” There was one thing Malcolm needed to do before he left on the Diamant Blanc with Travis and Rhianna. He stopped by Albert Allemande’s office at CSF Headquarters. When he told Allemande about what he was doing, Allemande jumped in with a suggestion, just as Malcolm predicted to himself. “You’d need the backing of the Centaurian Security Force,” Allemande said, “and the ability to act in the CSF’s name. That would put you on level with the other Consortium Security departments; they couldn’t claim that you weren’t their equal.” Malcolm frowned and pretended to be dubious. “Are you saying you’re sending a CSF squad with us?” “A small one. You get to pick its members. And furthermore—“ Allemande said, “if you wanted a temporary CSF commission, you are welcome to it. I would have said that you deserve it, as well.” “You’re the commandant. I wouldn’t want to usurp your position—“ “But I do have the power to deputize whomever I see fit.” Allemande unlocked his desk drawer and withdrew a small velvet box. With one smooth throw, he tossed it to Malcolm, who caught it. “Go on, open it.” Curious, Malcolm did so. A set of insignia: one horizontal gold bar outlined in black, one horizontal black bar outlined in gold, with a golden lightning bolt bisecting and joining both. A blood-red ruby was inlaid within the lightning bolt, and four diamonds within the black bar. The insignia of a CSF Deputy Commandant, the second highest ranking officer in the Force, second only to Allemande himself. “You find Emil and your father. I’ll take care of things here, including watching Sophie Du Pres.” Allemande said, in all seriousness. “And tell Emil that his office goes back to him the moment he steps foot in Headquarters.” Malcolm nodded and snapped to attention. “Oui, Commandant.” |
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