Diplomatic decisions dip.., p.7
Diplomatic Decisions (Diplomat’s Apprentice Book 4), page 7
“That’s interesting,” Owen commented mildly. “I appreciate Veraz providing me with a warning. This is unfortunately poor timing for that request. We have another border world that’s expressed an interest in joining the League.”
“We located Garcia for the Lao’s World government, and we’re handling Dyvia’s security. You’re an old friend. Veraz didn’t want you to be blindsided.”
“Thank you for that.” Owen smiled. “Where are Veraz and Mark? I assume not with you, or Veraz would have met with me without coming here and sending Gwyllem for me.” He grinned playfully, and Anwyn recalled how well Veraz could slip into and out of locations without anyone seeing him unless he chose to be seen.
“They’re checking out a location Veraz wanted to learn more about. Mark introduced us to a space station in the Castone System a short while ago. I think it bothered Veraz to learn that not only was there a place he hadn’t heard of, but a place run by a fellow Edetto he hadn’t met.” Shir-ella smiled.
“Castone Home! We’re going to look into them as a possible new location to take the circus!” Anwyn smiled. She hoped Veraz and Mark would still be there if the circus sent her to investigate that possibility.
Owen glanced sideways at her, and she thought she saw the beginning of another discussion in the making. He returned his focus to Shir-ella. “Does Veraz have any additional thoughts about this situation?”
“Only that he’s concerned the Estancians will try to reach the League Council first with their arguments for why they should remain in control of Nuevo Havana. And that if they can’t discredit Dyvia Garcia, they will probably make another attempt on her life.”
“Another attempt?”
Anwyn had a hard time biting her tongue. She’d been there for the first attempt the Estancians had made on Dyvia. They had also attacked and nearly killed Anwyn. She’d developed a rather biased view of Estancians, but this didn’t seem like the time or place to bring that up.
Again, she caught that sideways glance from her uncle and suspected she hadn’t hidden her reaction as well as she’d hoped. She only half-listened as Shir-ella provided a brief synopsis of how the Lao’s World government had hired the team to locate Garcia and extend their offer of assistance.
Before long, Owen thanked Shir-ella. As she left, she motioned for Anwyn to accompany her out of the building, and Anwyn happily accepted. Before getting into her rented flyer, Shir-ella leaned toward the much shorter Anwyn.
“Mark asked me to say hello,” she whispered.
Anwyn grinned and unsuccessfully tried to restrain her enthusiasm. “He’s okay?”
“Yes. He and Veraz might still be on Castone Home when you get there if you’re lucky.” Shir-ella smiled.
“If you see him before I do…” Anwyn paused. What message, exactly, did she want to send to Mark? She wanted to see him. She wanted to spend more time with him. She hoped to continue and eventually deepen this relationship. What of that could she share with Shir-ella? “Tell him I hope to see him soon,” she finished lamely, and to her embarrassment, Shir-ella grinned.
“I’ll do that,” she agreed. Then Gwyllem, who had accompanied them, called ahead to the port to facilitate her arrival at her ship. Once she was gone, he and Anwyn returned to Owen’s office, where her uncle turned to Gwyllem, Glain, and herself.
“It would appear I will need to leave for Numoran sooner than I had intended.” He waved all three to seats again. “Glain, would you please arrange for security to be available on Numoran for Dyvia Garcia, as well as doing some research into this situation? I’d like enough information to study while I’m traveling.”
Glain nodded but hesitated until Owen waved her toward the doorway. Anwyn thought she saw a flash of irritation on her cousin’s face. Then the woman stood and left the room while Gwyllem and Anwyn remained with Owen.
“Gwyllem, I believe taking the Evanere is appropriate at this point.” Owen was referring to his massive ship of state.
So, he’s going to make this official. Anwyn wondered if he planned to call a full Council meeting but refrained from asking.
“Daffyd can take Tevia, Michelle, and Anwyn back to the circus.”
Gwyllem nodded. “How soon do you want to leave?”
“I think the day after tomorrow will do. The Council won’t see Dyvia Garcia before we arrive since we’ll be only a few days behind her.” Gwyllem rose, but Owen waved him back to his seat. “Anwyn, would you pour us some saffah?”
She nodded and went to the huge urn in the corner, recalling from her childhood how often she’d sat in this office sipping saffah and studying after school, or talking to her uncle, or listening in on some of his discussions with various government officials. In some ways this office was as much or more of a home to her as her room at the family compound, the room she’d lived in at the academy, or her quarters on the Big Top.
Once she’d returned with three mugs of saffah and sat, Owen looked at her. “Give me your impression of Castone Home.”
That made her stop to think for a moment. She sipped from her mug while trying to decide how to proceed. “I didn’t spend much time there,” she began hesitantly. Exactly what type of information was her uncle looking for?
“What time I spent there was more organizing things to push on to Neuvo Havana. Jemal has been friends with the Garcias for a long time and is related to Dyvia’s family through marriage. With Dyvia so determined to help locate her husband, he wanted to go along.”
Owen raised an eyebrow, and she added, “I can tell you all about my ‘visit’ to Nuevo Havana some other time. Castone Home helped when an Estancian ship attacked the starship Jemal and I were on. They allowed Veraz and his team to run interference for us and blocked the other Estancian ship already in port from going to help.”
That eyebrow had been joined by its mate as Owen expressed surprise. “The Estancians fired on you?” His voice was still mild, but she heard concern and a touch of anger in his voice.
“Well, it’s not like they realized I was your niece, you know,” she replied tartly. “They knew we were Nuevo Havanan sympathizers and thought we might be aiding Garcia in his rebellion.”
“I want to hear all about this at some point. Right now, let’s get back to Castone Home. If I understand correctly, before they knew anyone but Mark, they still helped prevent you from being attacked by an Estancian ship?”
“Well, I think it helped that the man in charge was another Edetto. Shir-ella says he owns the whole space station. He and Veraz hit it off right away.” Anwyn sipped her drink. “He helped with Marisol’s ship.” She chuckled and added, “More of that story you’ll want to hear eventually.”
Owen nodded for her to continue.
“Veraz introduced me as your niece, although most of what we discussed was bringing the circus there. But that’s not what you’re interested in,” she apologized as she tried to think of the information most meaningful to her uncle. “I believe the owner, an Edetto named Andrez, is similar to Veraz in his outlook on running that station. I don’t know the business side of Veraz’s operations. Since he took that drug job almost for free yet has all the latest upgrades for his ship and equipment, I suspect either he’s a pretty sharp businessman or independently extremely wealthy.”
She paused long enough for Owen to murmur, “Both, actually.”
“The same appears true of Andrez. He owns an entire space station and not a small one! That seems to indicate business acumen but also, I assume, great wealth. From the little I saw, he’s respected by the businesses operating on the station.”
She paused again, thinking. “I got the impression he knew of you and stayed current on events in the wider galaxy. That makes sense considering his business. What is your interest in Andrez and Castone Home?” Maybe if she had a clearer idea of what her uncle wanted to know, she would be better able to answer questions.
“Unlike Veraz, I’ve heard of Castone Home, although I wasn’t aware that one person, an Edetto, owned it,” Owen replied. “I was under the impression that a consortium owned it. I’d like to set up a connection between the station management, whether one man or multiple people, and Mythrys. I won’t go so far as to commit the League to that association, not until I see how things work out.”
“I didn’t have enough time with Andrez to determine whether he’d be interested in that,” she replied carefully.
“Do I understand correctly that you might be going back there with the circus?”
“It’s a possibility.” She was beginning to get an idea of what her uncle planned to ask her, and her initial instinct was to stop him before he could make his request. Then she thought further and wondered if she could make this work for the circus. She raised one eyebrow in a close imitation of Owen as if asking him to continue, which he did.
“Would you be willing to act as my agent if you make it there?”
“In what way?”
“Ask this Edetto, Andrez, if he’s willing to meet with a Mythri emissary to discuss possible mutual trade and support.”
“I don’t know if we’re going there,” she cautioned. “When I left, the circus was still cleaning up from a massive fire. We were talking about sending an assistant manager and me to see if we could earn enough from a booking on Castone Home to make it worth the trip. Now I’m not sure the circus can afford to send anyone. It will cost a lot to replace things lost in the fire.
“Daffyd was a huge help. When he came to pick us up, he brought the crew from the Ddraig Aur to help the circus clean up after the fire.”
Owen nodded. “He informed me.” He paused, seemingly lost in thought. “How about the Mythri government providing the funds for the two of you to travel to Castone Home? You can be my temporary emissary while also helping the circus.”
Anwyn’s eyes lit up. “That would help a lot! I know they’re stressed about money right now.”
“Then when Daffyd takes all of you back to the circus, I’ll have him take you and whoever is going with you as far as Open Port. You should be able to make it to Castone Home easily from there. We’ll cover your costs for the trip as long as you can find some separate time to discuss potential relations with Mythrys.”
Owen barely finished the sentence since Anwyn had flung herself out of her seat and into a hug with her uncle. He laughed as he tried to prevent them from tipping his chair backward, and she laughed too. Even Gwyllem joined the laughter as Anwyn and Owen rearranged themselves and Owen resettled himself in his chair.
When the laughter stopped, Anwyn couldn’t help asking, “Why not have Daffyd go as far as Castone Home? I can introduce him, and he can handle the negotiations.” She glanced at her uncle and added, “For that matter, why isn’t he your heir? He’s older than me, more experienced, and it would get Angharad off my case, at least somewhat.”
Owen quickly sobered. He glanced sideways at Gwyllem, and Anwyn immediately knew something was up. She’d thought this was a wonderful idea, but it was something her uncle had already thought of and rejected. Still, she knew she was right. Daffyd would make a far better diplomat and eventually follow Owen as planetary ruler. Why were Owen and Gwyllem both frowning at her?
“You might as well tell her the rest if you’ve already explained about Caris,” Gwyllem murmured.
Owen looked resigned. “Daffyd can’t be my heir by rules set up long ago on our planet. He’s only half Mythri, and the ruler has to be a full native.”
“What? Does he know? But I thought...” Finally, her brain caught up to her speech. “He’s your son,” she murmured. There was no doubt in her voice, especially after he’d told her a short while ago about having been married while he worked for Veraz. Owen’s expression confirmed her realization. She sat silent, thinking. Finally, she repeated her question. “Does he know?”
Owen nodded. “Yes. He’s known for most of his life. I wish it could be otherwise. I couldn’t be prouder of him. Or you, for that matter.”
Her second time hugging her uncle wasn’t the wild enthusiasm of the previous one but more like the hug she’d given him when he’d told her about his wife. Gentle, loving, and more like the ones she’d shared with him as a child when she’d had a particularly bad argument with her mother. He might be Daffyd’s father, but in every way that mattered, he was the man who’d raised her, and an uncle on Mythrys served the same function as a father in many other cultures.
Finally, Owen stood and smiled at her. “At the moment, he can take you as far as Open Port. Then I need him back for some other business.” Still smiling, he headed for a small bar in his office. He looked questioningly at Gwyllem, who nodded, then looked at Anwyn. “New Nippon Cherry Brandy?”
With the change in mood, her face lit up again. “You used to drink that after successful jobs with Veraz when the two of you worked together.”
Owen chuckled. “Where did you hear that story? I don’t recall telling you.”
Anwyn smirked. “Shir-ella.”
Owen made a sound that could have been a suppressed laugh. “She would!”
Gwyllem stood to reach for the tiny glass of ruby red, mildly sweet liquor. Owen returned to his seat, handing Anwyn a glass as he did so. All three reached out and gently touched glasses.
“To Castone Home relations!” Gwyllem solemnly intoned.
“To the circus’ new venue!” Anwyn added.
Owen smiled at them. “To us!”
They all took a sip and smiled.
CHAPTER NINE
Mark and Veraz decided Mark should keep an eye on the man and try to learn why he’d followed Mark in the first place. He had time available for this despite his two primary roles while on the asteroid. His primary role was to use old contacts to learn more about the businesses that might be useful to the team. The second was acting as security for, or maybe the term should be “with,” Veraz since Veraz was his own security to a great degree.
After spending several years training with the team in the ship’s well-equipped gym, he had no illusions about that fact. Veraz’s reflexes were uncanny. He and Drew were the best shots on the team. Further, the man spent much of his time hyperaware, with very little getting past him. He let down his guard slightly when they were on their ship, but it would still be incredibly difficult to sneak up on the man.
Veraz was capable of passing unnoticed through the best-guarded and busiest places. It was a trick Mark would have liked to learn, but it was as much a part of Veraz’s genetic makeup as a highly developed skill. The skill part Mark continued to improve on.
Mark understood that it looked good for Veraz to travel about the station with a security person in tow. He had already noticed that anyone important on the station traveled with security, although the station’s official security was highly paid and well-trained for any emergency. Mark thought it might be because many who did business on Castone Home came from locations where traveling with a good security team was necessary. It was therefore a habit, even at a safer location like Castone Home.
Mark spent more time in the background than either would have liked while Veraz negotiated with Andrez. He also accompanied Veraz to several companies on the station that might install the best possible equipment and enhancements. Although they were waiting until Shir-ella arrived to make final decisions, he agreed it was wise to learn as much as possible in the meantime.
Both were also interested in the man who had followed Mark that first day. They eventually split their forces, each taking time to watch the hostel where the man was staying and following him when he left.
This afternoon was Mark’s turn. Veraz had followed the man to breakfast at a small, cheap food stand near the main shopping area, then watched as he wandered with apparent aimlessness around where he’d trailed Mark the previous day. Since Veraz was so skilled at passing unnoticed, the man hadn’t realized he had a tail and eventually stopped for lunch.
Mark traded places with Veraz while the man was eating. As the afternoon wore on, the man headed toward one of the hangars on the station for the starships that docked there.
Mark reflected that docked might not be the correct term. The station was inside a massive asteroid, and ships didn’t dock. They flew inside and landed in a collection of massive hangars. The technology here included a system of force fields at the entrance tunnels that allowed the ships through while maintaining the station’s atmosphere.
Most of these caverns held starships with hyperdrives like the one the team owned. A few hangars were reserved for freighters with massive landers that detached from their hyperdrive frame. The frame remained in orbit outside the asteroid while the lander unloaded and reloaded.
One smaller cavern was reserved specifically for local craft. These were space-worthy but not hyperdrive-enabled. They primarily served the mining operations in the asteroid belt that Castone Home was part of, plus the fewer mining operations in the other asteroid belt much farther out from the system’s sullen-looking red star. Mark recalled one small colony of research scientists from several universities carved into an asteroid not far from Castone Home. He’d also heard that a few asteroids held small private colonies but hadn’t confirmed how many or which ones.
The man headed to this ship’s bay with Mark undetected behind him. Today the bay was nearly empty, so Mark had to be cautious, remaining near the entrance from the asteroid's interior until the man was nearly across the hangar. He strode toward an in-system shuttle designed to transport people, supplies, and moderate-sized equipment to the various mining operations. The shuttle was powered up, although Mark couldn’t tell whether it had recently landed or was preparing to take off.
Take off, Mark realized as the man he’d been following entered the shuttle. Moments later it pivoted, turning toward the exit tunnel.
As it turned, Mark saw the writing and corporate logo on the side. He read Strento Mining Limited and immediately knew why the man had followed him. He contacted Veraz on his implant but remained where he was until he was sure the shuttle had left Castone Home, then headed back to their ship.
