I.I.S.C. Headquarters

[Wil Savage]

The long and drawn out meeting on the 45th floor of the I.I.S.C. Headquarters Building was coming to a close when James Sloane, Chief of Planetary Affairs, interrupted the closing statements. “General, there is actually one more piece of business. I hesitate to bring this up but I hate to have unfinished business hanging over my head. We received a communiqué two days ago – a rather unusual one.”

“Who is it from,” General Lloyd Morningstar asked impatience clearly evident in his voice.

Sloane winced slightly as he spoke the name. “It’s from the emperor of that Rigel system in Galactic Quad 2. Kaiser Wolfgang. You might remember the name.”

General Morningstar put his palm to his forehead and just shook his head, then looked at Sloane. “Unfortunately, I do. I knew his father, Joachim III, better. They’re all pompous, arrogant fools who think the Rigelian Empire is God’s gift to the galaxy. What does he want?”

“Well, that’s the unusual part in all this. It seems that they are offering to be a royal host for Colonel Savage until such time as we would ratify an agreement for the Rigelian star system to have a Hyperspace Trading Station for the new trade route.” Sloane’s face twisted and contorted as he tried not to laugh. “They want us to direct Savage to accept their gracious offer.”

The room went from the silence of total disbelief to a burst of laughter.

“Savage died months ago,” said Commander Zeritt, head of Trade Security.

Sloane stopped laughing and nodded in agreement. “It looks like the Kaiser pulled the wrong bluff to get us to reconsider that trade lane. Besides, it was Savage who gave it a negative report. This doesn’t make sense. Savage never cared for the Rigelian’s anyway after what happened during that campaign on Rigel IV. He got a bad rap for that.”

“It was politically necessary,” Morningstar interjected. “We all know that. Savage knew it too. He knew the rules.”

“True, but then that incident with his wife . . . even if Savage were still alive it would take something extraordinary to get him back to Rigel. How should I respond to the Kaiser?”

“Tell him that the chances of Rigel getting an HTS are about as dead as Colonel Savage.”

A thin man with black hair, goatee, and a patch over one eye lifted his head to speak. Girmen Maitux was the representative for the Shipping Guild, and he didn’t speak much at these meetings. They bored him. Whenever he did speak, it was important. His words were slow and deliberate. “Perhaps Savage is not dead.”

No one in the room was still laughing.

“His transport ship exploded. We went to the scene and scanned the entire area and found nothing living. Believe me, he’s dead.” Zeritt was convinced.

General Morningstar just sat there silent except for the drumming of his fingers on the table as he thought about what had been said. None of this made sense. The Kaiser might be arrogant, but he was not stupid. There was information that was missing and he wanted to know what it was. He looked to the Chief of Planetary Affairs. “Sloane, forget what I said. Respond with ‘We are considering your request’, that’s all. Zerrit, prepare a small delegation to visit Rigel. It’s been a while since our last visit and I think it’s time to once again evaluate the security of the Rigelian system. A surprise visit is always quite revealing; besides, we should make sure that our special agent is being treated . . . royally.”

[Azjah von Drachen Walde]

Lord Chancellor Denning was reviewing documents when the system alerted him to an incoming message. He glanced at the return address, “finally, they DO take their sweet time about responding,” he muttered when he saw that it was from the I.I.S.C. Denning clicked the icon and read the brief and very uninformative reply.

‘We are considering your request’

Nothing further was contained in the reply. Denning frowned at the viewer. “Just what is there to consider, and for such a response it took you two days??” He was talking to no one in particular, but musing aloud on the cryptic reply. “Bloody arrogant lot those I.I.S.C. people,” he murmured. This wasn’t the reply he had hoped to take back to the Kaiser.

Denning glanced at the return identity, ‘Chief of Planetary Affairs, Sloan’. He activated a search to see what the databanks had on the man before preparing a reply. Some how, they needed to make sure the good Colonel was not in a position to disappear if anything went wrong with the promised trade station. The last thing he needed was to have the Kaiser displeased with his part in contacting the I.I.S.C.

“Chief of Planetary Affairs, Herr Sloan, we have received your reply to consider the Kaiser’s request to provide the accommodations of His Royal Self for your representative, Colonel Savage. Please be advised that the Colonel is currently well housed, but we would be very distressed if something untoward were to happen to the man while he is here as your emissary. The Kaiser’s interests are only for his safety and for the ease of negotiations. Feel free to contact me if you have further inquiry. Lord Chancellor Denning.”

Denning sat back and re-read his message. Something did not feel right about that reply. Too short. Too noncommittal. Too, well, just too. He sent the message back and pondered how to inform the Kaiser. The response was not only late, it did not give Wolfgang what he’d requested.