Shepherd Moon, Book 2: Homeworld   by Roberta J. Cabot

Chapter One Marjorie Quinn was given the opportunity to meet her hero, Princess Amelia, one of the princess consorts to the Elyran queen, Queen Tasha Liaran-Kerr, and also the person who engineered the victory over the Tirosians and the Detterex and therefore made the peace that the Federation was currently enjoying possible. She was going to ride one of EarthForce's new so-called "halo flights" that would take off directly from Triton Station and then, in mere days, would land directly on Earth. From there, she'd get to meet Mia, and maybe even Duchess Sahsha and the queen! She couldn't help wonder what this new project of hers was, but it must be big if it involved CETI. Meanwhile, Mia, Tasha and Sahsha were working out some family concerns even as they worried about Federation-related concerns...

 
Many things had happened since that heady time of what the Humans called New Armistice Day, although Humans were more universally known as “Earthers,” now. In fact the Humans themselves have started using the term.

"New Armistice Day" was the day when all hostilities between the Galactic Federation of Races, the Tirosian Empire and the Detterex Star Empire officially ceased. It was also the day when the conditional surrender of the Detterex to the Federation was signed.

During the same year of New Armistice Day, the Elyran Queen's health had started to decline. There was nothing to be done, really - Her Royal Highness was just old. But by that time, though, she had started to pave the way for her daughter-in-law to take over the throne, along with her daughter-in-law's Earther wives: the "warrior queen" of Earth, the Lady Amelia, now Princess Amelia; and "she-who-saves," now Duchess Sahsha the Earther diplomat.

In the royal conclaves that were called, Tasha's claim to the throne was never challenged and her path to ascension was quite smooth and painless. It's the queen's command, after all.

But many of the... less educated in Elyran and Detterex society would question the validity of a non-Elyran becoming part of the Royal Family. Still, they could easily be silenced by arguments like, " but the two Earthers had royal names and must therefore be of royal lineage and worthy of the throne!" (The names "Amelia," "Mia" and "Sahsha" indeed sounded very phonetically close to classic Elyran royal names.), Or something like, "given what they have done for the people and the galaxy, they just have to be Elyran," or, for the more paranoid among these less enlightened citizens, it would be something like, "Shhh! Don't say anything, or Earther soldiers will come and take you away!"

Needless to say, these were all the musings of uneducated minds. For the more enlightened, they knew any alliances that would be formed from this marriage would be enormously beneficial to the people, and besides, they owed these two, as they did all Earthers, a debt that was unrepayable.

- - - - -

Mia and Sahsha were nothing but normal humans. Extraordinary, above-average humans, to be sure, but very much normal, and very apolitical and indifferent to power.

In fact, these very qualities were what sustained their appeal with the Elyran and Detterex people, and engendered a kind of trust and faith that very few in the Elyran and Detterex royal families ever had.

And when the queen eventually died, Tasha's ascension to the Elyran throne was quick and without incident. The pomp and pageantry accompanying such a world-shaking event was there, of course, but there was no protest among the people. And after the traditional year to mourn the passing of their liege, Tasha would be free to take over the throne.

A couple of years before that, of course, Mia had her own investiture ceremony, when she assumed stewardship of the Northern Kingdom of Elyra - one of the most powerful kingdoms in all Elyra, second only to The Great Plains Kingdom of Tasha's. There were a few grumblings, especially among the higher echelons of the Royal Peerage, but the fact that Mia was only the steward and not the real monarch of the great Northern Kingdom made suspicions that the Liaran-Kerr family engineered the consolidation of their power base with the Dorian-Kerr family of the Northern Kingdom less than idle gossip.

Nevertheless, it was with relief to the people, and to the rest of the Federation, that the rulers of the five other kingdoms of Elyra, and the sixteen off-world kingdoms announced their unanimous support for her claim to the throne. Even the Detterex queen expressed her full support of Tasha and sent a delegation to Tasha's coronation.

This trust was justified when, in the intervening years, Tasha, Mia and Sahsha wielded their enormous influence, power and wealth with benevolence, generosity and unquestionable fairness. Besides, their taking over resulted in prosperity and peace throughout all of Elyra and her colonies, especially for the Great Plains and the Northern Kingdom. It would be hypocritical if they would question their governance of the kingom. There was an Earther saying that was very apropos: "Do not bite the hand that feeds you."

But it couldn't be denied that, with Mia being the almost-monarch of the Northern Kingdom, and Tasha being the Queen of All Elyra as well as the reigning monarch of the Great Plains, the power that they wielded was something to be respected, indeed, for some, even to be feared.

Over the years, however, the three became adept at this game of Elyran politics and monarchy, and, together, made sure to keep government running smoothly. They knew, however, that, though it was a temptation to try and get some Earthers on-staff, they avoided that at all costs so that they couldn't be accused of conflicting loyalties. The only Earthers that were ever seen around Tasha, (except for Mia and Sahsha) were, occasionally, Fifth Fleet personnel.

They did the next best thing, though, and hired as many non-Elyran consultants that they needed, especially Dixx, Arachnians, Daemons and Telcontari. Other sophonts, especially Dravidians, cried foul, of course, and accused the Elyran monarchy of favoritism and preferential treatment for members of the unofficial "Earth Alliance."

They even brought the matter up at the next economic conference on Colossus.

Mia represented Elyra and Earth during that conference, and even that was another point of grievance for the Dravidians, but Mia was able to turn the tables.

"Friends and fellow sophonts," she began after being recognized when she pinged, "I come here in place of Queen Tasha, to represent the people of Elyra and her colonies.

"As one can plainly see, I am not Elyran - I am an Earther. And Elyra and Earth, along with Arachnia, Daemon, Dixx, Star-453 and Telcontar, are part of the so-called Earth Alliance.

"One can therefore find reason to accuse me and my beloved Sahsha of divided loyalties, of whether we are properly representing the interests of Elyra. However, the Federation believes in the principle of Benevolent Intent, where people of all races are assumed to have benevolent intentions in their dealings with fellow sophonts. After all, without it, misunderstandings brought on by differing cultures, traditions and points of view would be inevitable.

"As such, Federation law says it is up to the accuser to prove that the intent of any sophont is other than benevolent. This is similar to an Earth legal principle of Presumption of Innocence, where an accused is presumed innocent of a crime until an accuser is able to prove that she is guilty.

"I come before you now with the expectation that I and the so-called Earth Alliance are presumed to have no nefarious intent, that I come representing Her Highness, Queen Tasha and the entire Elyran people, challenging those that would accuse us of unfair dealings.

"I therefore exercise the privilege of the Supplicant's Prerogative, that our accusers be compelled come forward and show the particulars of their grievance, and allow us to defend against or refute these allegations. I therefore call out Cor, the former Councillor of Dravidia Prime, to come forward and face me!"

There was consternation in the Dravidian delegation. They were counting on the embarassment and the turmoil that the mere accusation of impropriety would cause, as it always did in the past, and the other party would rather engage in negotiations in exchange for the accusations to be dropped.

Cor and his people were therefore caught flat-footed. By the rules, they had one full rotation of Zeos to provide the council en-banc their verifiable evidence, or what the council calls their attestations. Truth be told, Cor didn't have any - only accusations, suspicions and innuendo - but he would drag out the process in the hopes that he and his people would think of something. So, hopefully in one Zeos day, they'll be ready.

Since Mia had one day before she was needed again in the conference, Mia took the opportunity to spend some time in their Embassy, and said hi to Nick, who was now Earth's permanent ambassador to the Federation, to check with the Elyran embassy and touch base with the staff, and to renew acquaintances with her remaining friends in Colossus. Though she would find that many of them had retired or accepted other posts - eight years in Colossus was a long time, after all - she was glad many were still there.

That reminded her - in a couple more years, it would be time for the greatly anticipated Raffle, where the schedule of tenure for the different administrators and their apprentices for the coming millenium would be raffled off, and that the truncated tenure of the Telcontari as Colossus' current administrators would end, likewise Earth's equally truncated tenure as Colossus' current administrative apprentices.

During the Telcontaris' time as administrators, many changes had been effected onboard the planet-sized station. Telcontari and Earthers were in great evidence throughout the station now, and the benefits of their management, and the manner of operation of Colossus, were continually being felt. It was amazing how big a difference they made compared to when the Dravidians were in charge. In the whole history of Colossus, the Dravidians, when they were the Administrators, were shown to be the times with the least activity for the Federation government, and when the Dravidians were conspicuous by their ability to enrich themselves using the enormous influence that being administrators gave them.

- - - - -

Mia's close Telcontari friends, Mumu, Pinpin and Chi-Chi had been promoted, with Chi-Chi, and his new partner, Timtim, as the new Directors for the Office of Protocol, and Mumu and Pinpin as the new Chamberlains of Colossus.

Mia visited her friends in the Chamberlain's offices - the previous Dravidian Chamberlain's old offices - where a boisterous welcome party was spontaneously organized by Mumu and Pinpin - a party full of hugs, stories, laughter, Krahhng wine and the special Telcontari pastry that Earthers and Elyrans alike have shown a preference for, which was called "floofy" (even now, after years of enjoying the special pastry from Telcontari, Mia still couldn't say the name without breaking out in laughter).

And Mia got to know Timtim, though, in Mia's opinion, the young Telcontari seemed to be too young to be one of the directors of the Office of Protocol, and that's saying a lot given that she was a Telcontari. But, to be fair, her age also made her much cuter than any of the Telcontari Mia has met so far. No wonder she was quite popular among her male peers and had bowled over most of the Elyrans and Earthers that she dealt with on the station. But talking to her, Mia found her more than competent, and totally fit for the job. She never doubted that, of course - after all Mumu, Pinpin and Chi-chi vouched for her, and Mia trusted and valued her friends' opinions.

Mumu, Pinpin and Chi-Chi were disappointed that Tasha and Sahsha weren't with her, but Mia said that they would see her spouses a couple of months later during the reception for the new project that they were kicking off in a couple of months at the Federation Embassy on St. Martin's Island on Earth. Mia contacted Nick, asked him to set up a meeting of the people that are part of the project and invited him to the party.

Nick agreed and said he'll be there in twenty minutes.

- - - - -

The following day, despite being tired and a slight hangover, Mia showed up at the Economic Conference at the appointed time.

As per the rules, the Dravidians' case was one of the first on the day's docket. So when the council chairman, or rather chairbeing, Mia thought humorously, called on Cor to present their case, Cor was a bit reluctant to step up to the lectern. Despite having a whole day to marshall his arguments and organize his attestations, he and his people have basically come up with nothing.

So, he called up all of his legal expertise and everything he knew about Federation jurisprudence, and tried to bluff his way through this.

"My friends and colleagues," he began, "thank you for summoning me to..."

A pinging interrupted him. It was the Alluwerean delegate. She was wearing her environmental suit, as most aquatics do when they were onboard Colossus.

"I beg forgiveness for interrupting," the aquatic being said, in Elyran, via the voder of her suit, "but honored Dravidian Cor is mistaken. You are not here because you were summoned, Cor. You are here because you demanded that your case be included in this year's conference."

Dravidians were known to be pedantic. But so were Alluwereans. Cor has met his match.

"But the illegal, immoral and disonorable behavior of the Earthers demanded action!" Cor replied. "They have forced my hand! Their predations on the economic body of the Federation demanded redress! Their..."

"Elyrans!" The normally mild-mannered Alluwerean exclaimed. "You do mean the Elyans, do you not, and not Earthers?"

"Ummm, yes, I mean the Elyrans..."

"This ill-founded, thinly-veiled vendetta of yours against the Earthers must stop, Cor! At each and very turn you and your cohorts have tried to block their activities - activities which have immeasurable value to the Federation. Your blind anger and unending greed, your need for revenge for being disgraced and humiliated - it is hurting the people! You must stop!"

Cor smashed his claw-like fist on the lectern. "No!" he cried in his native Dravidian.

The delegates gasped.

The Earther translators built into the walls translated it into the Federation's lingua franca - Elyran. Even that small thing was like a dagger in Cor's heart. "Other people's speech should be in Dravidian," he thought.

"No!" Cor repeated. "I will not live in a universe where that Earther" - he turned and pointed at Mia - "where you are exulted and I am humiliated! I will not live in a universe where... where you are loved... and I am not... I will not..." His voice faltered.

Mia stood, breaking protocol. She didn't even ping.

She walked to the lectern, and to Cor.

"Cor," she said, and reached out to him.

"No!" he cried and swatted her hand. "I will not be pitied by you!"

Mia rubbed her bruised hand, and looked at the alien. Her heart bled for the hurting Dravidian, and she wished she could turn off the video system so others won't see this and help preserve his pride. She longed to say "shut up, Cor, for your sake," but she couldn't.

"Please, Cor, please..."

"Please, what, your royal highness," he said sarcastically, "hero of Elyra, hero of Colossus. Am I such an embarrassment to you? Where is your mongrel wife and your Earther tart? Did you leave them in your wondrous castle on Elyra?"

"Cor!" a large Dravidian, larger even than Cor, approached him. "Do not speak anymore. Do not shame your house further. Do not shame our people."

"I do not have to listen to you anymore, brother," he said. "I am not a child anymore!"

The bigger Dravidian backhanded Cor, much in the same way that Cor slapped Mia's hand away, but this Dravidian's slap had more English to it, and it rocked Cor backward, almost making him fall.

The new one yelled something in some Dravidian dialect the translators didn't know and half a dozen Dravidian soldiers came over to take Cor away.

"Wait!" Mia said. "Stop!"

She took hold of the arm of the lead soldier. "Don't, please," she said to the soldier. The Dravidian looked at Mia, and then down to where she was looking - he was holding the handcuffs that he was about to put on Cor. He looked to their leader, the big one who hit Cor.

The big one looked at Mia's pleading face. "Please. Let him keep some dignity," Mia whispered urgently. "Let him walk out of here on his own."

The Dravidian continued looking at her, and he understood her - finally, he understood the heart of this Earther woman. This alien was indeed worthy of her reputation. Lar, Cor's older brother liked this Earther, and appreciated her compassionate heart.

He barked a command to his soldier, and the handcuffs were put away. He barked another command and the soldiers stepped away from Cor.They waited, and Cor stepped away from the lectern and walked out of the room on his own, head held haughtily high, and his patented insousiance back again as he walked away.

Once Cor and the soldiers had vacated the hall, the big Dravidian slowly, reluctantly, stepped up to the lectern.

"Councilor Cor and the Dravidian delegation officially withdraws our motion, and beg the honorable delegates' forgiveness for taking their time."

He stepped down from the lectern and turned to leave, but when he faced Mia, he stopped.

With his fist over his heart, he bowed to Mia in the Elyran manner, in the way one acknowledges royalty.

"Your royal highness," he said. "Thank you."

"What do you..."

Before she could say more, the Dravidian straightened up, and without any more comment, left.

to be continued...

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