“Exactly. Now, the rest of the family are perfectly willing to share with Jorran, to give him anything he wants, but it’s just not the same as having an entire people revere you as their only king. It seems to be a serious disgruntlement for him, and one he is finally taking steps to correct. His first option was to marry into a ruling family that would offer complete takeover eventually. He doesn’t command a large army after all, nothing of the sort needed to go in and take what he wants by force. So this was his only option—until he learned about the Altering Rods.”
“He learned about them eight months ago. Did it take them that long to find Sunder?”
“No, my guess is it took that long for Jorran to call in favors to get his own ship. He didn’t have one when he came to Sha-Ka’an. They came with the Century III ambassador, which is how they returned home as well.”
“Call in favors? Does he lack wealth as well as a kingdom?”
“Not at all, but keep in mind they don’t produce their own ships, nor are their people trained to fly them, nor are they likely to possess a Mock II capable of making crews obsolete. And they don’t get ambassadors arriving from every known planet like Sha-Ka’an does, since they don’t possess anything remotely as in demand as gaali stones are. They’re on a few trade routes, but they’re more a tourist attraction than a stopover for necessities. I’m frankly surprised it didn’t take longer for Jorran to acquire his own ship and crew for this expedition.”
“What type of ship did he get?”
“Your basic run-of-the-mill Trader, large cargo space, a few weapons to ward off pirates, good speed to outrun bigger ships, designed for long hauls.”
“What kind of speed are we talking about?”
“A bit faster than the Rover, but about the same as that overpowered war machine that accompanied us.”
“I take it you’re not talking about Brock?” Shanelle couldn’t resist saying, which got the expected snort out of Martha.
Brock and Martha got along much better than they used to, but there were still times when their objectives clashed, and this could well be one of them if Tedra decided to head out after Jorran herself. Brock would side with Tedra’s original insistence of wanting to get her home with all speed, since getting her home and back into Challen’s arms would be his main concern, ultimately insuring Challen’s peace of mind. Martha, however, would know that Tedra was torn at the moment, wanting to help, but too worried about Challen’s worry to be able to devote her full attention to helping.
Dalden was actually offering an alternative that both Mock IIs would be able to support. Tedra hadn’t reached that point of acceptance yet, though, and was still in questioning mode.
“From their current course, any idea which planet they have in mind for takeover?” she asked Martha.
“They are heading into uncharted space.”
This surprised all of them. “You mean they’re hoping to find a new, undiscovered planet out there?” Tedra concluded. “That seems like a rather stupid plan.”
“No, actually, it’s rather smart of them. That sector of space is uncharted, but therearesolar systems in it, and there are rumors of at least one planet that’s inhabited. But one planet in an entire solar system isn’t worth putting them on a trade route when their system is so far off the beaten track, so no official World Discoverer has bothered to head over that way to verify or discount the rumors. But Jorran would want a target that is very far out of the way. This would pretty much assure him that no other off-worlders would be coming around to mess up his plans.”
“Just how far off the beaten track are we talking about?” Tedra asked.
“Unknown data.”
That was too abrupt, even for Martha, reminding Tedra that Martha based her probables on known facts, and rumors didn’t fall even remotely close into that category. Martha hated being wrong about anything, after all, and rumors could be proven false.
So Tedra rephrased her question. “What’s the general speculation, based on the rumor?”
“Three months for a Trader, five months for a World Discoverer.”
“Three months even under gaali speed?Oneway? No one travels that far anymore without several stops along the way. Fuel isn’t needed, but world communication is. Wars can be fought and won in three months, entire worlds can disappear in three months. No one likes being gone so long that when they come back, nothing is as they left it.”
“World Discoverers are a spoiled lot, Tedra, and you know it. The Centura League would never have been formed if the old school thought like that, because the old school didn’t have such high speed available to them. A year, two years was nothing to them, if it meant discovering a new world. Three months away would have been considered a short trip. Of course, today’s three months is equivalent to more than a few years of travel back when space was first explored, but there’s no need for a history lesson you’re already familiar with.”
“Three months—sixmonths round trip.” Tedra was looking at Dalden now and shaking her head. “You realize that’s just travel time, doesn’t count the time it will take to stop Jorran, reverse any damage he does if he can’t be stopped before doing any, and find and destroy all the rods? This could conceivably take a year or more. Youaren’tgoing, and that’s my final word on the subject.”
Chapter 5
BRITTANY DIDN’T GET TO THE SHOPPING MALL OFTEN. Parking wasn’t usually a problem, though, since Seaview wasn’t a big town. It had only just gotten their first enclosed mall last year. Today, however, parking was a problem, and Brittany found out why when she got inside. The mayor was using the large community stage in the center of the mall to make a campaign speech. It was an election year. Mayor Sullivan was running for his second term.
The town was only four years old, so Sullivan was the only mayor it had known so far. He’d done a good job as far as Brittany was concerned, so he’d get her vote again. The town was growing at a steady pace thanks to him, which meant job security for her in her field of construction, so he could be forgiven for campaigning on a Sunday, her only day off.
Brittany even stopped to listen to him for a few minutes, though from the sidelines. Crowds like the one gathered around the center stage were things she tended to avoid, hating that penned-in feeling where you couldn’t move without bumping into someone. Such crowds made her stand out like a sore thumb with her height, and getting rudely stared at was guaranteed to put her in a foul mood.
Actually, she hadn’t been in the best of moods since her break-up with Thomas Johnson. She’d even given some thought to moving. But she was well settled in Seaview now, had a roommate she got along well with, even though Jan still tried to fix her up with dates that she didn’t want. And she was meeting her goals here, was on schedule, would be able to quit her jobs and build her dream house in two more years.
She lived and breathed for that day, counted every penny, begrudged every worn-out purse and dented hard hat, not just because they cost her extra money but because, unlike some women, she actually hated to go shopping. And she had put off today’s shopping excursion for two weeks now. But having to wash her work jeans every other night because three pairs had finally reached the irreparable stage with their worn-out seats was a pure waste of time, and she hated wasting time more than she hated shopping.
