Diplomatic decisions dip.., p.1
Diplomatic Decisions (Diplomat’s Apprentice Book 4), page 1
DIPLOMATIC DECISIONS
DIPLOMAT’S APPRENTICE™ BOOK 4
LJ DIX
DON’T MISS OUR NEW RELEASES
Join the LMBPN email list to be notified of new releases and special promotions (which happen often) by following this link:
http://lmbpn.com/email/
To the many amazing martial arts instructors I have had the honor to work with over decades.
If my fight scenes seem realistic, it is thanks to these people.
Especially Grand Master Robert K. Decker, RIP
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2024 LJ Dix
Cover Art by Jake @ J Caleb Design
http://jcalebdesign.com / jcalebdesign@gmail.com
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact support@lmbpn.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
2375 E. Tropicana Avenue, Suite 8-305
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119 USA
Version 1.00, May 2024
ebook ISBN: 979-8-88878-386-3
Print ISBN: 979-8-88878-772-4
THE DIPLOMATIC DECISIONS TEAM
Thanks to our JIT Readers:
Dave Hicks
Diane L. Smith
Christopher Gilliard
Zacc Pelter
Dorothy Lloyd
Angel LaVey
Jeff Goode
Jan Hunnicutt
Editor
SkyFyre Editing Team
CONTENTS
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Author Notes
Connect with The Author
Other LMBPN Publishing Books
FOREWORD
BY KEVIN MCLAUGHLIN
It’s not every day someone gets asked to introduce one of their mother’s first published stories. I wanted to do this justice, so for mood music I’ve settled on the soundtrack to Star Trek: the Motion Picture.
Why that? Because in December 1979, six-year-old Kevin and his mom attended a premier showing of the movie in New York City. Now, I’d been to movies before.
I’d never been to a movie with a standing ovation before.
I’ve still never been to a movie with two standing ovations since.
Here I am, forty-four years later, writing science fiction novels for a living. A cautionary tale, parents: Be careful which movies you take your kids to when they’re young and impressionable! You, too, might end up with an author for a child! (Gasps of horror!)
The wonderful thing about the story above is that I am sure I got at least one detail wrong. I’m equally sure my mother will want to correct me on it. I’m triply sure she doesn’t get to do that here, so this story will go to print precisely the way I wrote it. Why?
Because it isn’t really the truth of stories that matter so much as it is the emotions the stories convey.
For me, that silly movie was formative. I was already hooked on SF, thanks to Star Wars, Godzilla, and other stuff. But being present for the energy in that theater was awe-inspiring for a bright kid. I could feel the intensity of emotion in all the adults around me. That was all because they were united by a story—or rather, by the emotions behind the story. It was maybe the first time I realized that stories could change the world, and I’ve never lost my interest since.
It was maybe a year or so later that Mom gave me her old manual typewriter so I could begin writing my stories. She was trying to write back then, too. I’d go to sleep at night listening to soundtracks and the tack-tack-tack of an electric typewriter. She wrote some great stories! But sadly, they never saw publication.
Until now, anyway.
The book you’re holding is a story I was told when I was young. I still remember Mom telling us this one many times on long drives in the car. The other stories set in this universe, the tales of Anwyn and her friends, are a piece of my childhood as well. Of course, Mom rewrote these things because people change over time, so all her experiences over the past forty-ish years have been poured into the new versions of the stories.
Stories carry weight. They change the world. The story you’re about to read was one that helped change mine. I hope you enjoy it and all LJ Dix’s other books as much as I did!
CHAPTER ONE
“Security to rear midway entrance!”
Anwyn Owens heard the call through her implant. The private channel linked her to many of the members of the Malcolm Star Circus, assisting with communication among leadership. Feron, the circus manager, had made that call. Anwyn wasn’t technically a member of the circus leadership.
However, she was the assistant pilot of the circus’ starship, the Big Top. Since she covered long shifts when they were in space, it had seemed like a good idea to add her to the members who might need to be reached quickly. She wasn’t on the security team either, but every adult with the circus was considered backup security. She responded anyway in case they needed extra help.
The circus was playing Zira, the planet where she’d first joined them after being hired straight out of her pilot school on Earth. She still had less than pleasant memories of this planet. She’d run afoul of a gang that she had later learned was probably involved in human and nonhuman trafficking. She had barely escaped with the help of the circus people she had met.
No one at the circus liked playing the several cities that made up their tour of Zira. The planet’s people tended to be xenophobic and felt that circus people were scum, in the words of some locals. Their previous circus manager had made this contract. Her friend Feron had decided to honor that contract, needing the revenue it represented.
The matinee show had ended, and Anwyn had been on her way back to the ship that was home to the circus people. Her original plan had been to change and take a short rest before the first evening performance. Instead, she detoured to see what was happening. Her paramilitary schooling and continued martial arts practice made her a good backup for the security team. She ignored the fact that she was wearing the brief, glittery amber, flame, and black costume after finishing her role as an addition to the acrobatics team.
“Anwyn! Are you on the security call?”
Her friend and fellow acrobat Alan caught up with her a short distance from the rear midway entrance where a few other circus people and a small group of locals had gathered. She nodded at Alan and continued toward the group.
“No, but I thought I’d head over in case they need me.”
The midway was a set of smaller tents and stands that offered food, beverages, and entertainment. The rear entrance was for use only by circus people, so it was tucked in a corner but close to the ship. Anwyn and Alan heard shouting as they drew closer to the two groups. It was impossible to understand what was said since both groups were angrily talking over each other.
The two groups were close together, and it looked like violence could break out at any moment. The circus people had lined up facing the group of locals. There were only a few in each group, but Anwyn hoped the locals would depart as more circus people arrived. As she approached, she got a better look at them. They were all males and somewhat younger than the gang of young adults or late teens who had chased her a year ago on her first day on the planet. This group was not as rough looking, and she saw few of the weapons that had worried her with the previous group. She kept her eyes on them anyway in case anyone had a hidden gun.
“What’s happening?” she asked Jemal, the head pilot and her “boss” at the circus.
“They were trying to kidnap Beryl. Like that group who chased you your first day with us.”
Anwyn was shocked. Beryl was the daughter of the newest circus members, a pair of women jugglers who specialized in juggling dangerous objects, primarily knives. They had brought three children with them. Beryl was the oldest, of a similar age to Michelle, the daughter of the family who owned the circus.
She looked around. The girl was a short distance from both groups and arguing with Crystal, an aerialist and friend of Anwyn’s. Shorda, the girl’s mother, was running toward the group. Meanwhile, the two groups facing each other appeared to be at a standoff.
“You need to leave!” Feron shouted at the locals. He stood front and center of the circus group with his hands on his hips, looking furious.
Darn, Anwyn thought in annoyance. She was still in costume so she wasn’t carrying her stunner, although a few other circus people had holstered weapons with them.
“We were only going to take her out and show her a good time,” an older teen at the group's center shouted at Feron. “She acted interested enough until you came along.”
Anwyn was puzzled by this group. They seemed less immediately dangerous than the gang who had chased her. However, Beryl was still quite young. Not of an age to decide who to leave the circus grounds with, much less without permission. They could easily be part of the dangerous human trafficking that made this planet such a problem for visitors.
“Yeah. She said she hadn’t been allowed to check out the city,” added a second of the group. “We wanted to show her the sights.”
Anwyn wasn’t sure what to make of this. It wasn’t safe for Beryl to go off with unknown teens under any circumstances. It looked like the girl was still arguing about that decision as her mother joined the conversation with Crystal.
Shorda left her daughter and stalked toward the young men still arguing with Feron. She had recently finished her performance and was still carrying the knives she used in her act. She shifted her weight to throw one at the speaker, but Jemal caught her arm and stopped the throw. “You’ll win nothing that way,” he warned the woman. “Take Beryl and leave the cleaning up to us.”
Shorda nodded, and together she and Crystal shepherded her daughter, now quiet but still looking sulky, toward the Big Top.
Jemal turned toward Anwyn. “They’re still pretty young. They might be dangerous, or they might simply be kids wanting to spend a little time with an ‘exotic’ circus kid. Wait ’til you see how they react to this.” He grinned and pointed at another circus member striding toward both groups.
A roar from the center of the circus enclosure caught everyone’s attention, primarily the locals, who all stared in alarm. Rushing toward them was a lizard-like creature. He was well over two meters tall, with a large jaw full of prominent, sharp teeth and arms that ended in clawed hands. The scales on the part of his body not covered by coveralls looked like armor.
Argeth was a sentient being and one of Anwyn’s favorite circus people, but he intimidated those who didn’t know him. He had been equally daunting when Anwyn had first met the circus. She knew him as an intelligent being with a great sense of humor. In this situation, it was far better that this group thought he was exactly what he now appeared, a wild and dangerous alien being! Anwyn barely managed not to laugh at the looks on their faces.
Faced with the growing group of circus people and Argeth loudly bearing down on them, the locals backed away. Most looked sheepish, as though they hadn’t anticipated this much trouble. One left more slowly.
“This isn’t over,” the final young man threatened as the group cautiously moved through the rear entrance and out into the open ground past the circus. “You’ll be sorry!”
“No,” Feron stated flatly. “You’re the ones who’ll be sorry if we catch you here again.”
Their retreat continued, and the circus people slowly relaxed.
Anwyn looked at Alan, and they chuckled. “That could have been a lot worse.” She smiled.
“Yeah. Compared to your arrival, this was easy. They could still have been fronts for the human trafficking that is too common around here,” Alan reminded her.
“I really hate this planet! I didn’t like it the first time I landed here, and I’m not happy to be back. No matter how much money we make here, I don’t think we’re ever welcome.”
Feron overheard that as he was heading back toward the main circus area and stopped. “You’re right. We’ve never felt comfortable here. But we have a contract. We’ll have a hard time playing anywhere else if we develop a reputation for being unreliable.”
“Well, at least this is the last city we’re playing here.” She sighed as she strolled toward the Big Top with several other people who’d come running for the security call. “I’ll be glad when we’re done and can leave.”
“Me too,” Alan agreed. “We need to start looking at some places we’ve been playing. Maybe check out other options?”
“I’ve been doing that,” Feron agreed. “I’d like to stop playing a couple of the places where we don’t make as much money anyway. I think Gil only had us on some of these planets because he was peddling drugs on them.”
Anwyn recalled the large space station she’d visited a short time ago while helping Jemal search for engine parts for the Big Top. She had wondered at the time if it might be a good location to add to their schedule.
Now didn’t seem like the best time to mention it. She thought she might try discussing it with Jemal first. Then maybe both of them could present it to Feron and some of the other circus leadership. Finding new locations where they wouldn’t face a backward, xenophobic populace would benefit the circus. Anwyn wouldn’t mind checking out that asteroid station and its interesting owner-manager, either.
That evening she finished her performance with Alan and Riva in the second evening show. The twins headed back toward the Big Top to get changed. At the show's end, the entire circus team would break down the huge tent they used for performances like this one since this was their final show on Zira.
Anwyn didn’t follow the twins. She wanted to remain by the performers’ entrance to watch a new trick her friends Crystal and Dan had devised for their aerial act. They had added a new person to the act, the daughter of Arden, the ship’s engineer and circus makeup artist.
Ramona had been away trying out non-circus living with her father’s family when Anwyn first joined. The teen had returned a few months ago and immediately began practicing with the aerialist husband and wife team. Anwyn enjoyed watching the results of the few months of training bolstered by many years before the young woman’s departure. The act was spectacular so far.
Anwyn was so focused on the performance that it took a while for her to notice the disturbance at the other end of the tent. It wasn’t until her implant gave her the security call that she turned. By then so was everyone else in the huge circus tent. She didn’t see why, but audience members scrambled away from one corner.
Now that she was paying attention, she realized she smelled smoke. That was all it took for her to determine a fire was rapidly growing in a corner of the tent. This was confirmed over her implant a moment later. The flames were heading toward the nearest stands. The audience was trying to flee and potentially trampling everyone in their way!
The circus had a protocol for fires. Anwyn had trained in her role, along with everyone else old enough to understand. Before taking off at a run toward the blaze, she checked to see that Crystal, Dan, and Ramona had dropped into the netting below their act. They were running toward their assigned stations.
Some team members rushed toward entrances to ensure they remained open and the crowds continued moving out of the tent. Others went toward the firefighting equipment that the circus always kept handy. Feron used the announcer’s speaker system to tell the audience where to exit, asking them to remain calm.
At first this worked well. The huge tent was fire-resistant, so there was less fuel to burn. Anwyn helped guide people from one section of the stands to the nearest exit. She felt that everything was working as they had practiced multiple times. It was obvious that everyone knew their role.
Most of the security team were also trained as firefighters and were heading toward, or had already reached, the source of the flames. Then someone higher up in her section pointed and screamed, and Anwyn realized a second blaze was flaring up near the doorway she’d been directing people to.
As a group of audience members rushed back toward her, she pitched her voice so as much of the crowd as possible could hear her. “Everyone! Follow me. We’re going to go this way, away from the fire!”
Matching action to words, she led them toward a wall farther from the new fire. She looked for a few people who remained at least somewhat calmer. She grabbed them one at a time and had them direct the crowd toward a location where she knew two sections met.
