A Fariskian Bargain

"May the bridges be unbroken as we cross the longest road. May the bridges be unbroken as we go each day alone. May the bridges be unbroken while we're walking hand in hand. For the bridges connect each brother, all across our fractured land."

- from "Bridge over Troubled Water", Emerri folk song

The repair of the First Star was a project that was destined to never be finished. Despite Yan having enough know-how and labor power to make all areas of the ship safe to exist in again, that did not mean that it was ever going to get back to the way it had been: gleaming and fit for the leader of the Empire. The patch job was shoddy in places, covering the busted open bays with metal that had to be purchased at black stations, much depleting the First Star's funds. If the patch job required had been much bigger, Yan might have considered stationing the First Star in an asteroid belt and using the power to pull raw metals out of the rocks there. But in that question of effort versus money, the equation leaned towards money. It was important that they fix the ship enough that she was not a danger to someone wandering the halls drunk or otherwise not paying enough attention. Not that Yan didn't trust her crew, but accidents were always a possibility that she wanted to avoid.

It had taken a longer time to get the ring started than Yan had hoped as well, to the point where all the plants in the greenhouse had begun to grow in the loopy ways that plants did when not exposed to gravity. When the rings finally were repaired enough to move, most of the crops ended up looking deflated and weighed down. It was a relief to have gravity again for everyone, even though it did mean cleaning up all of the objects that had decided to float away from their usual homes.

Life had returned to an almost normal state during the eightyday deadline that Yan and Captain Respect had set. Every day was filled with the endless tasks involved in fixing the ship, more and more tasks popping up as each was completed, so Yan had little time to worry about the larger picture of things.

They had stopped by the ansible briefly and sent a message to the Dark Hands, informing them that the meeting with the Warrior II was going to be happening, should they choose to send a representative, so Yan wondered if anyone was going to show up for that. She suspected it would be Jeepak, which she didn't like the thought of, but she had little choice in the matter. Since he was the most mobile of the Dark Hands, he was the most likely candidate.

In terms of the rest of her crew, they were stable for the most part. Sylva seemed to have put the issues of Hanathue almost completely out of her mind and spent much of her time by Yan's side. Yan didn't mind the clinginess. She enjoyed Sylva's presence, possibly even more so than when they were both students at the Academy together. They had both grown since then.

Kino was quiet and still very sad. She spent much of her time alone, but despite that was probably the most valuable resource Yan had in terms of getting the First Star back in working order. Kino could be trusted to accomplish tasks well and without supervision. Other than that, though, she didn't do much. Yan often found her staring out the windows, completely unmoving. If Sylva wasn't hanging onto her side, Yan would sometimes join Kino there in a quiet companionship. The pain of losing her sister hadn't faded, but it had mellowed out a little, transmuting into something that was just part of Kino's life and worldview rather than an acute foreign invasion.

Iri was in generally good spirits. She enjoyed the few trips that they made to purchase materials at black stations, happy to get off the ship, sometimes with one of the others in tow. She liked the pirate role that she got to play. She enjoyed listening out for news and gossip and checking if there had been any messages left for them, perhaps coming through from Yan's family aboard the Dreams, or from Keep and company aboard the Warrior II. Without an ansible, communication sometimes took a long time, and was occasionally spotty, but it was better than nothing.

Chanam was bored, most of the time. Yan enjoyed his company, but she didn't trust him to always complete tasks that were assigned to him. He would occasionally wander away, leaving a bed in the greenhouse half planted, or an access panel half wired, with strings of stripped cord hanging out like spaghetti. Yan confronted him about it when she caught him doing shoddy work, but it seemed to have more to do with him being a teenager with no outlets than anything else. Yan tried to arrange it so that he would go with Iri whenever she went onto the black stations, but he took his duties as a "spy" seriously, at the very least, and accused her of trying to get rid of him. Yan just rolled her eyes at that.

As far as Yan went, she spent far more time worrying about her ship and crew than herself, which seemed to keep her sufficiently distracted enough to avoid collapse. There were times that she was almost overwhelmed by her own thoughts, but she had learned somewhat how to shut those thoughts away. The only times she allowed herself to peel that box open were in a few rare quiet moments, sometimes when she was with Kino or Iri and they seemed amenable to talking about it, and sometimes when she went to commune with what she considered the heart of the First Star-- spending silent time floating in the dark near the stardrive. If she spoke aloud to it, she had the sense that someone was listening, even if there was no response from anyone except her own mind and imagination. Other than those times, which she tried to keep rare, Yan kept busy. She worked hard on the ship, and slept less than she should, as they jumped as often as the stardrive would allow.

And so by the end of the eightyday period, the First Star was almost as fixed as it was ever going to get, and no disasters had befallen their group. Tension mounted for Yan as they waited in orbit around their little ansible moon, wondering how this meeting would go, and who would show up.

On the actual day of the meeting, Yan had foregone her usual repair work and other chores, and had situated herself on the bridge. She was reading a book, theoretically, to keep herself occupied (a work of religious philosophy that Sylva had told her was, "The perfect thing to keep your mind off of stuff, because you spend the entire time reading it wondering if the author is losing her mind. I think it only made it through censorship by virtue of being incomprehensible.") Even with a tablet in hand and something to keep herself distracted, she kept staring up at the big display (they had managed to fix the cameras and sensors-- it wasn't good for the ship to be flying blind, so that had been a top priority) and hoping something would appear. She would feel a ship jumping in before she saw it, if it came in close enough, but she couldn't stop herself from looking regardless.

She was actually reading when she felt that wave of power crash over her, and she sat bolt upright in her chair. "Alright, let's see who this is," she muttered to herself and the ship, pressing the button that would send out a sweeping radar 'ping' to the incoming ship, in the rough direction that she had sensed that wave of power come in. The other ship would know they had been detected at that point. Although the chance that a non-friendly ship had jumped in was small, Yan figured that a friendly ship would send out a radio message upon detection, and a non-friendly ship would not. It was perhaps rude of her to send out such a ping, as even in the best of circumstances, ship captains in precarious situations rather liked to hide until their jump timers were up, just in case.

As she waited for a radio response, Yan paged her own crew, telling them that their waiting was over.

The radio hissed to life. "This is Captain Kizistal of the Redheart," a weary sounding voice said. "I would appreciate the courtesy of not being pinged the instant we arrive." The Redheart was the ship that had carried Jeepak before, which meant that he was probably here. It was unpleasant but not entirely unexpected.

"This is Captain Yan of the First Star," Yan said. "My apologies." She would have given the traditional greeting, but it seemed that Kizistal wasn't interested in pleasantries upon detecting Yan's ping.

"Do you have gravimeters out? I didn't think most ships carried ones that powerful." There had been a minute or so of delay between the responses, which indicated that the Redheart was fairly distant. It was true that a typical ship's single gravimeter, or even one on a standard shuttle working in concert, wouldn't have been able to detect the disturbance of a ship jumping in at that distance. It would take a very delicate and expensive model to detect it.

"No, Captain," Yan said. She didn't particularly feel like explaining how she knew that the Redheart had jumped in.

"Are the people we're supposed to meet here yet?" Kizistal asked. "The Warrior II, I believe the ship was called?"

"No," Yan replied. "They should be arriving within the next day. We didn't receive a message that they were unable to come." She paused for a second. "I'm surprised that the Dark Hands sent a representative in person. We could have conducted business over the ansible."

"Yes, well, our representative prefers business done face to face, often to his own detriment." Jeepak, then, Yan presumed.

"You aren't here to take Chanam back, are you?"

There was a longer than usual pause. "Chanam?"

"The sensitive the Hands sent to spy on us?" Yan provided.

"Oh, him. I wasn't aware that he had gone on your ship. I assumed he was with the Kiss of Death still. I don't know anything about that," Kizistal said. "Jeepak might." Yan wasn't sure if Chanam had ever been aboard the Kiss of Death. As usual, the lines of communication and information sharing within the Dark Hands and their associated allies seemed blurred and nonsensical. Yan privately considered that this was not a good way to run an organized resistance, but she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to bring that up with anyone. It pained her for things to be so inefficient and confused, but there was probably a reason for it. Preventing information from leaking back to the Empire was almost certainly the rationale.

"If you don't know if you're supposed to take him back, then I'd assume you won't be," Yan said. She was secretly slightly relieved. Even if Chanam's work ethic for chores wasn't always the greatest, he was useful in having an extra pair of hands around the ship, especially an extra sensitive's pair of hands.

"I assume." Kizistal's voice was dry. "Word got around to me that you managed to destroy an Imperial ship singlehandedly. Is that true?"

"I wouldn't quite call it singlehandedly," Yan said.

"With just the crew of your ship, then."

"It was a complicated situation."

"But the fact remains that you did destroy a Fleet ship."

"Yes."

"I'm impressed." There was a pause. "Are we meeting aboard your ship?"

"It would probably be better, as a kind of neutral ground."

Kizistal made a dismissive noise. "There's no such thing as neutral ground."

Yan didn't have a real response to that. "Okay. Who will you be sending over?"

"Just our one representative by himself."

"Jeepak?"

"Yes, of course."

"You don't want to come, Captain?"

"And leave my ship?" Kizistal sounded like he was considering it for a minute. "Hm."

"Captain Respect of the Warrior II is almost certain to come."

"I think I would rather not. Perhaps we'll meet face to face some other time."

"Very well." Yan ended their communication and promised to alert the Redheart when the Warrior II jumped in.

They had a while to wait, as it turned out. It took thirteen hours for the Warrior II to make its appearance, finally showing up while Yan was catnapping on the bridge. The rush of power carried by a jump woke her up, though she wasn't conscious enough to pinpoint the location of the ship. She resorted to sending out an omnidirectional radio blast and hoping that the Warrior II responded.

They did, several minutes later, in the form of a swept radar ping. Yan pinged them back, and from there it was a simple matter of aiming their radios in the right directions, and they cold communicate easily enough. Additionally, Yan woke up her crew by paging them over the First Star's speakers.

Yan greeted Captain Respect with the standard greeting, and Respect replied in kind.

"How have you and your crew been?" Respect asked.

"Very well, thank you," Yan said. "Do you object to us jumping closer to you to facilitate shuttle travel? Captain Kizistal of the Redheart, who is also here, proposed using the First Star as a neutral meeting place."

"No objections," Respect said. It made some sense that she wouldn't object. If the other two ships jumped towards her now, all three of their timers would wipe clean at roughly the same time, putting them on equal footing. It was always slightly uncomfortable for ships to be so close together, especially those who didn't know eachother well enough to trust eachother, but it would make life easier if they were within easy shuttle distance. Yan relayed this information to the Redheart so that both ships could jump to the specified coordinates.

After the jump was completed, it was easier to speak with Respect, without the barrier of minutes of light-distance in the way.

"I've brought with me several people who have vested interest in this meeting," Respect said. "I hope that's no object to you."

Yan was slightly confused. Sylva had told her about the businessman, Mr. Olenya, who wanted in on this venture, so perhaps Respect meant one of his associates, but she wasn't sure who the rest of the 'several' could be.

"Mind telling me who? I won't shut them out from coming aboard, but I am surprised that word of this has spread."

"It hasn't spread very far. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to warn you before hand."

"It's fine," Yan said, growing slightly impatient. "Communication is difficult when we're both all over the place. Who is it who wants to come aboard?"

"I have an associate of the businessman Valeri Olenya, from Hanathue, named Rohan BarHellat."

"Who else?"

Respect gave a kind of sigh. "It's been an odd cargo we've been carrying since we met you," she said. "I also have Councilmember Farisk, from Jenjin, aboard."

"I'm sorry, what?" Yan asked. Her heart was beating strangely, feeling like she had been cornered.

"I know this is highly unusual," Respect said. "But I have had assurances that he will be keeping his mouth tightly shut about this when he returns to his council seat."

Yan took a deep breath before responding. "Captain, I would like to say that I trust your judgement, but having an Imperial councilmember come here is a danger that--"

"Mr. Olenya vouched for him," another voice said over the radio. Yan recognized it as Keep's. By this time, Sylva had made her way to the bridge, rubbing her eyes and wearing only a loose nightshirt.

"Let me talk to Keep," Sylva said, leaning heavily onto Yan's shoulder. Yan nudged her.

"How much do you trust that Olenya guy?" she asked.

"I'd trust him to follow the money," Sylva said with a yawn. "Why, what's going on?"

Yan quickly explained the situation to her, as Respect was still waiting on a response.

"The harm's already done, isn't it?" Sylva asked. "Olenya probably told this guy who he was coming to meet."

"But Olenya doesn't know the whole story," Yan said. "Does he?"

"We'll have to pull Keep aside and ask her." Sylva shook her head. "Better if we find out before we say anything."

That was probably true. Yan mentally resigned herself to the fact that they were going to have to move the ansible to a different planet, which would be an annoyance. But they couldn't keep meeting here if some councilmember knew its location.

"Captain Respect," Yan said over the radio. "I believe I need to speak with the Redheart about this, and then we can decide how to proceed with Councilmember Farisk. Please excuse the delay. It may be a while before you can come over."

"Very well."

Yan signalled the Redheart. "Captain Kizistal, I think it might be beneficial if you sent your representative over now. There is something that I need to speak with him about."

Kizistal barked out a laugh into the radio. "There always is. I expect him back alive, mind you."

Yan struggled to keep her voice professional. "I am not intending on wounding my guests."

"Send over the docking information. He'll be out in his shuttle presently."

Yan did, and then killed the radio. She turned to Sylva, her mouth twisted into a bitter line. "Shall we go meet Jeepak?"

"I should put real clothes on," Sylva said.

"Not planning on conducting policy meetings in your pyjamas?"

"Seems terribly unprofessional of me." Yan was still in her seat, which gave Sylva the perfect angle to plant a peck of a kiss on her forehead. "I'll meet you at the bay."

"If you see anybody else, tell them that's where I'm headed."

With that, they both departed. Yan waited outside the bay for Jeepak in his shuttle to dock, nervously running her hands up and down her jumpsuit's sides. She felt weirdly underdressed, as though this meeting might require more from her as "Former Apprentice Yan BarCarran" than it did "Captain BarCarran of the pirate ship First Star." She found herself itching to wear a heavy cassock, but she didn't think that any were available, except the ones that were folded neatly away in Sandreas's former quarters, which certainly wouldn't fit her. She would just have to make do with the dignity that being a captain provided.

Sylva still hadn't shown up when Jeepak's shuttle came in to land, and Yan was half tempted to keep him locked in the bay until he did, but she overcame her revulsion towards the man and opened the doors, stepping in to meet him.

"I like what you've done with the place," he said to her as he climbed out of the shuttle. "The horrible patch job on the outside really suits it."

"Nice to see you, too," Yan muttered. "Unfortunately, I need your input on something."

"What's that?" he asked, latching his magnetized shoes to the ground so that he could slam shut the door to his shuttle.

"The ship that we're here to meet, the Warrior II, they somehow have an Imperial councilmember inside who wants to attend this little get together."

Jeepak raised an eyebrow. He looked much the same as he usually did, slimy and condescending. Yan hated him, but she kept that hatred squished down, and didn't quiver under his gaze. "I was under the impression that we were keeping things quiet."

"I wanted to," Yan said. "I'm not sure how much he knows. He might have been fed a bunk story."

"That might make matters more complicated. Is he a sensitive?"

"I don't know. I've never heard of him before."

The door opened behind the both of them, and Yan turned to see the rest of her crew, less Iri, pop into the bay.

"Where's Iri?" Yan asked.

"I sent her to the bridge, in case anything happened over the radio," Sylva said. She was dressed now, in her usual jumpsuit, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Chanam grinned and waved at Jeepak, Kino looked at him steadily, and Sylva frowned. It was, as Yan had expected, an awkward and mixed reunion.

"Shall we get out of the bay to discuss this, or have you all developed a taste for zero gravity since your ship got forcibly redesigned?" Jeepak asked.

Yan scowled at him. "This way."

They all headed back to the rings. As they walked, Jeepak and Chanam carried on a rapid fire conversation in a language that Yan didn't know. She would have been worried, but their tone sounded conversational and pleasant. She let everyone into the conference room off the side of the bridge and sat down at the head of the table, gazing down at her crew and guests as they settled in.

"So, tell me again how I and an Imperial council member ended up in the same place? This doesn't look good for you, you know," Jeepak said, nodding at Yan and Kino. Kino stared him down, and tapped her metal fingers on the table, reminding Jeepak of her dedication in a not-exactly-silent manner. He took the point and said nothing further.

"We mentioned in our last ansible message with you that a businessman from Hanathue, Valeri Olenya, was interested in providing material support, because he believed he could profit from a destabilization or destruction of the Empire," Yan explained. "He is apparently well connected with people in the Imperial council itself, even those not from Hanathue."

"Where is this one from again, remind me? I'm not entirely familiar with every Imperial planet in the galaxy."

"Jenjin," Yan said. "Apparently."

"And what does he want?"

"I have no idea. Presumably the destruction of the Empire, but I couldn't say why a councilmember would want that."

Kino spoke up. Yan turned to look at her, surprised. "I was briefly on Jenjin. With First Sandreas."

"Do you know anything about this?" Jeepak asked.

"Sandreas installed his own puppet governor there," Kino said. "If people on Jenjin are unhappy with that, they might try to overthrow Imperial power there. A secessionist movement isn't unthinkable."

"It is if only one planet wants to secede. They'd be starved out of the Empire immediately," Sylva said, cutting in.

"Maybe not, if there's a broader movement," Kino said. "He might be here to find out how broad the movement is."

Yan tapped her fingers on her chin. "It's not broad. At least, not in the sense that he might think, if that is his goal. What do you think?" she asked, primarily Jeepak, but the question was open to everyone at the table.

"If he is going back to the Imperial council, he's a danger to everyone, himself included," Kino said. "Halen."

"He can't read minds."

"I was afraid," Kino said. "And if I were not myself, Halen would have found me."

"But if he's already seditious enough to come here, that's probably already a problem for him," Sylva pointed out. "I mean, he's deep in if he's riding a pirate ship out to this meeting in the middle of nowhere, with people he doesn't know, based on the word of Olenya, who isn't exactly above the board."

Kino nodded slightly at that.

"This is why we like to keep information completely segregated," Jeepak said. He made a face. "Just by coming here, he already knows too much."

"Olenya already knows about Kino," Yan said.

"I don't care about Kino," Jeepak said. "I care about the Empire catching on to the scope of organized resistance. You're not going to get any information from me about the Dark Hands."

"Maybe we can use this to our advantage," Yan said, considering. "Maybe..."

"What are you thinking?" Chanam asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

"Do we think that the crew of the Warrior II actually told anyone the full story?" Yan asked. "That's the linchpin on which this all will turn."

Sylva thought about this deeply for a second. "I told Olenya a lie, and Keep was there to hear it. I think that she'd have stuck to that story. She knows I trust her, and not Olenya, for a reason. And Respect would listen to Keep."

"We confirm that, then. Can you get on the radio and subtly ask that question?" Yan asked Sylva. Sylva nodded and stepped out of the room.

"What are you thinking?" Jeepak asked. All eyes were on Yan now, and she took a moment to gather her thoughts. She felt suddenly cool and in control, as though coming up with plans was her natural state. Perhaps it was.

"I don't know what the full strength of the Dark Hands is, and I'm sure you're not going to tell me," Yan began. "I don't want to know." Jeepak nodded at that. "I would be surprised if even you knew yourself. You're intentionally fractured." She paused. "If, if, that councilmember has been fed a garbage story, all he knows is that there are forces within the Empire, people with connections to pirates and possibly the Guild, who want to overthrow it through military and economic means. I think we should keep it that way. No mention of the Hands. No mention of anything your side of the equation is doing."

Jeepak narrowed his eyes at her. "Of course. But what are you actually proposing?"

"Your primary concern, as the Hands, is keeping other planets free of the Empire, right? You're interested in fighting the Fleet, out in the relative open. You don't actually care about the internal politics of the Empire, so long as the Fleet can't find or destroy any other worlds."

"Yes..." Jeepak said, very slowly. "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

Yan waved her hand. "That's all I'm saying. You don't actually care about what happens in the Empire. I do." She was unsurprised to find that she meant those words as she said them. Although she had abandoned her place in the center of the Empire, it was still her home, and she felt a responsibility for it. "I propose that you continue your military operations, do whatever you need to do against the Fleet, and you lend me, us, some autonomy to figure out what to do within the Empire itself. You already made moves in that direction."

Jeepak seemed to tense up. His gaze flicked between Yan and Kino. He leaned back, projecting an air of confidence, though it was clearly an act. "I'm looking at two people who were each one step away from ruling the Empire. What you're saying to me sounds a lot like a power grab. You want to be back in command."

Yan pursed her lips and didn't say anything. It was Kino who spoke up. "If we were not dedicated, we would not be here. If we wanted power that badly, we would have held onto it while we could have." She said these words slowly, and without rancor in her voice, but her fingers drumming on the table, three of them sounding with a clack-clack-clack of metal on the plastic surface, were an unmistakable reminder.

"You already gave us instructions to investigate how to pull the Empire down. The question is, do you want us to put that plan in motion, or not? If you do, we're the best ones to lead that plan. You don't know enough about how the Empire works, and taking effort away from the Hands out at the front, that's only going to cause more planets to suffer. We've been very nice and cooperative on our leash. I think it's time you let us off of it."

Jeepak turned to Chanam, and Yan waited as they had a long, long conversation in that language she didn't know, back and forth at a rapidfire clip. Chanam gestured to Yan several times, and Yan wished she knew what he was saying. Jeepak scowled, shook his head, and barked out something. Chanam stayed calm, but leaned forward over the table towards him, elbows on the table, speaking in a persuasive tone. Yan followed this conversation with mounting confusion. It was in the middle of it that Sylva came back in, sat down, and made a questioning face at Yan. Yan shrugged at let the two continue. Eventually, Jeepak relented and Chanam sat back a smile on his face.

"You'd better thank me for that," he said. "It's been hard work spying on you this long."

Yan rolled her eyes. It was good that he had vouched for them, so it was handy that he was there, but if she had been Jeepak, she probably would have been slightly more suspicious that their "spy" had somehow been corrupted. Regardless, she punched Chanam lightly in the shoulder, then turned to Sylva. "What did Keep say?"

"The only thing that he's heard is what Olenya told him," Sylva said.

"And did you stress that that's the ONLY thing that he should hear?"

"Yeah," Sylva said. "Respect understands."

"Good." Yan rested her chin on her hand. "That makes things easier."

"So explain to me again what you're about to do?" Jeepak asked.

"That man's a separatist, or a secessionist, or whatever you want to call it, probably." Yan said. "I think if we play our cards right, we can get the Empire to fall apart on its own. Encourage planets breaking away from the Empire, maybe build connections with pirates to keep them supplied and defended, perhaps create an alternative to the Guild, or break the Guild up..." Yan shook her head. She didn't want to mess with the Guild, mainly because that would end up falling on her family, but anything that involved planets breaking away from the Empire would involve disruption in trade. "If we can coordinate all of these factions, get them to work in concert, I think there's a good chance of breaking the Empire apart."

"That doesn't stop the Fleet," Jeepak said.

Yan bit her lip. "If there's a civil war within the Empire, the Fleet is going to be busy here. And..."

"And?"

"I don't want to get too ahead of things," Yan said.

"Say what it is you're going to say."

"If there is a civil war, there might be a chance of toppling Sandreas and the Emperor. Get rid of power on Emerri, and we can install someone else, someone who's not interested in seeking out and destroying your planets." She nodded at Jeepak.

"You're right that that is thinking ahead. I would be happy with anything that keeps the Fleet permanently distracted."

"You know, in a civil war, civilians are the ones who will pay the brunt of the cost," Sylva pointed out.

"It's civilians who are already paying the cost," Jeepak snapped. "Just somewhere you can't see."

"So, what do you think about this?" Yan asked Jeepak. She kept her face as calm yet earnest as she could.

"I have a few thoughts."

"Go ahead."

"First of all, I find it difficult to believe that you could be successful."

"Let's take it as a given that it's a slim hope, but one worth trying."

"Sure. I want assurances that you are still going to report to me. You can be the bridge between what's happening in the Empire, and what's happening elsewhere."

"Of course."

"That means, if we tell you to switch focus, or do something else, or stop altogether, you do that."

Yan didn't like the thought of being subservient to Jeepak, but it was hardly worse than what they already had, so she nodded. "Fine."

"And you keep Chanam with you, and he reports back." Since Yan wanted to keep Chanam, this was a non-issue.

"Okay."

"And you understand that this means you are never going to be allowed to participate in the larger structure of the Hands, correct? We can't allow information to be revealed to you."

"I know. That's fine." Privately, Yan believed that even without this profession of a plan on her part, they would have never given her much information anyway. She and Kino were too much of liabilities, which was why they had been sent off on their "information gathering" mission in the first place. Yan was just manipulating that situation to its logical conclusion. She wanted to be an active participant, and she needed the blessing of the Dark Hands to do it, or they could cause her major trouble. She didn't want her current allies to not give her their blessing for this plot. Not that there was much of a plot at this moment, but as soon as they got that councilmember on board to talk...

"So, we're pivoting?" Sylva asked. "We're really doing this?"

Yan looked to Kino. "Are we?"

"You're the captain," Kino said, which was not encouraging.

"Do you think this is worth doing?" Yan asked her. Kino nodded, face still. "Then yes. We're doing this. Any objections?" Nothing further was said by Jeepak or Chanam, so Yan stood. "Great. You, you're going to pretend to be a pirate. If you can't do that, just don't talk." She pointed to Jeepak as she said this. "I'm going to get Respect on the radio and get everybody over here."

It didn't take very long for the whole assembly to arrive. Yan greeted them in the bay, flanked by her crew and Jeepak, who she didn't like having at her back, but tolerated for the sake of the plan. She made the introductions. Two of the visitors were rather startled, to say the least, to see her (as they hadn't known she was alive), but they got over their shock quickly.

Along with the previously mentioned Councilman Farisk, there was Rohan BarHellat, a man who, from his name and appearance, had clearly come from Yan's home planet of Terlin, back in his family tree. Respect had also brought along Keep, though that may have simply been because Keep had wanted to come.

They all gathered in the conference room off the bridge, which was beginning to feel rather crowded, with so many people in it.

"I'm glad you could all make it here," Yan said as they got settled. "This is far livelier of a meeting than I had expected when I originally set it up with Captain Respect."

"Well, our contacts do get around," Respect said. "And you did make some promises that we were beholden to keeping." She looked at Sylva when she said this, who seemed to shrink a little under the other captain's gaze.

"I have to say," Farisk said, glancing between Yan and Kino. "I believed First Sandreas when he said that you were dead."

"Kino's not officially dead yet, right?" Sylva asked.

"No," Farisk said. "Though I'll be on the lookout for that announcement at any day now, I'm sure." Kino didn't respond to that.

"Councilman, it's very, very unusual for you to be here," Yan said. "I am eager for you to tell me how this came to be."

"I believe I can explain that better than he can," BarHellat said, smiling broadly. "I am the mutual acquaintance of Councilman Farisk and Mr. Olenya, who you have met."

Sylva, to her credit, kept her face pleasant. "He made quite the impression on me."

"He's a valuable business partner," Keep chimed in. "You can tell him I send my regards."

"I certainly will do so, Keeper-of-Promises," BarHellat said. "But as I was saying, I have known Mr. Olenya through long association, and I work with him in arranging some of his off-planet contacts. This put me on Emerri at around the time of the new council session, and I was able to meet Councilman Farisk, who was making quite a splash at the time."

Yan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"It was perhaps foolish of me to say directly to First Sandreas that Jenjin has plans of resisting Imperial control."

"I'd say so," Yan said. "Foolish is maybe a bit of a weak word, even. But you're alive still, and I haven't heard that Jenjin has been occupied by the Fleet, so it must not have been as bad as you make it sound."

"Not occupied by the Fleet any more than it already has been," Farisk said. "An important distinction."

"I see. What did you say that you were planning to do?"

"Oh, I left it as a vague threat," Farisk said. "But my constituents are begging for complete self governance."

"I am not sure if they quite understand what that would entail," Yan said. "I highly doubt the people of Jenjin would feel like they were prospering if they were cut off from all Imperial trade."

"Indeed, Ms. BarCarran," Farisk said.

"Captain," Yan pointed out. She wasn't going to let this man try to edge her out of her position.

"Yes, Captain," Farisk said with a thin smile. "Which is why Mr. BarHellat got into contact with me. I believe that, with Mr. Olenya's help, and the help of your friends"-- he gave a sweeping glance to Respect, Keep, and Jeepak-- "that we could ameliorate some of the strain that Jenjin would undoubtedly be placed under with that move. "

"And Mr. Olenya is willing to provide that level of support?" Yan asked. All the businessmen she had ever dealt with tended to be fairly risk averse, especially when it came to major interplanetary operations.

"He sees it this way," BarHellat began. "If the stranglehold that the Empire and Guild have on interplanetary trade is broken, through no longer paying Imperial taxes and allowing other ships to carry goods openly between planets, the people putting goods on ships, and the people piloting ships all stand to profit quite a lot. Think about it: if the Empire is no longer deciding where stations can be built, where mines can be operated, where planets can be settled-- the chance for growth is unlimited."

"Where will you get the stardrives?" Respect asked, looking rather confused. "All of this takes ships. Even if we got every pirate ship on board, which we won't, that's not anything like unlimited growth potential."

"I see two sensitives at this table right now," BarHellat said. Yan didn't bother correcting him by saying that there were actually five.

"Mr. BarHellat, I'm sure you aren't aware of the difficulties involved in making a stardrive," Yan said. "I will not be making any, and neither will my crew."

His mouth twitched in a slight frown. "Well, if you're so set against it, I'm certain that someone else can be paid."

"And why would Mr. Olenya be willing to pay for stardrives now?" Respect asked. "I've been working faithfully with him for a long time--"

"Captain Respect, with all due to you, Mr. Olenya has many other contacts. And the risk to reward ratio will rapidly swing in a different direction than it currently is in, if we are to create a full alternative to the Guild. Currently, pirate ships, the only ships to which he could supply stardrives, are useful but barely profitable. If wider scale production and trade is possible, the value will be there."

Sylva wrinkled her nose. "Is Mr. Olenya not worried that the value of the Imperial Charge will collapse, if there is this, uh, split?"

"Oh, it might. But charges are just a unit of value that we assign to real things, are they not? Gold and iron do not cease to exist and find uses even in desperate times."

"I guess..." Sylva said, not entirely satisfied.

"In any event," Farisk said, breaking in. "It's less about the immediate profit, and more about the ability to be part of shaping the future of the galaxy. If Mr. Olenya can provide ships, those ships are indebted to him for their existence. If he can provide stability to planets as we free ourselves from the Imperial yoke, I hate to say it so blatantly, then it is the same."

"Does he actually have that kind of money?" Yan asked. "It will take a lot more than one person's fortune to make a noticeable difference."

"Money begets money," BarHellat said. "If Mr. Olenya is convinced, so will others be. And as I said, it's not simply money. It's resources that you will need."

Yan glanced at her companions around the table. Most of them were looking pensive. "Are we here to make a plan? Are we here to make an agreement to work together?" Yan asked.

"Captain BarCarran," Farisk said, "I am planning to respect the wishes of the population of Jenjin, regardless of your participation. Mr. Olenya has already agreed to help me. I'm under the impression that whatever scheme you are involved in is also going to proceed with or without me. I believe it would benefit us all to join together."

Yan could see immediately what was happening here, and as she glanced across the table at BarHellat, she could see in his pleasant demeanor that he also knew, and he knew that she knew. Mr. Olenya was pulling the strings here, and by providing the bridge between the political separatism of councilman Farisk and Jenjin, and the economic opportunism of the pirates, he was making himself a de facto leader of this group, despite not even being at the table. It was a skillful play, betting that the two factions wouldn't want to work at cross purposes to eachother, as their goals aligned.

Yan considered the situation-- it would be difficult for her to accomplish anything alone. Her connection to the pirate world was through the Warrior II, and they were clearly working for Olenya, at least in part. Enough that they wouldn't go against him, at the very least. Yan hadn't even been considering making larger steps until the existence of the Jenjin movement had become clearer. If she stepped away from this, she would be worse than when she started, because she had already "negotiated" with Jeepak for more freedom: if she had that freedom but nothing to show for it, she would be dead in the water.

Kino was right next to her. Underneath the table, Yan pressed their legs together, sent a questioning feeling through the power. Kino responded with an image, a sound. "You're the captain," she said. How unhelpful. But Yan had very little choice.

"Yes, I suppose we should work together. Better to have friends than enemies, right?"

BarHellat smiled broadly. "I would agree with you completely, Captain."

The meeting went on for a while, though it was difficult to hash out specifics when the plan was so vague. In the end, it was mostly decided that each one of the parties would go back to their own base and begin to drum up their own form of support, quietly, and they would come back together and report on their progress and decide what to do in a month and a half. A sixtyday was plenty of time to make preliminary gestures, without waiting too long.

Yan didn't trust these people, BarHellat and Farisk. They both seemed slimy, but they were tied together. In the back of her head, Yan knew that she was going to have to spend this sixtyday thinking of how best to take back some modicum of control here. She didn't like being under the foot of someone like that. She was used to taking orders, that was for sure, but she had always felt that the person giving the orders, be it her own Captain Pellon or First Sandreas, had been both reasonable and direct. BarHellat, or really, this Olenya who she had yet to meet, was slippery, like a pair of silk gloves.

When they were saying their goodbyes to the group from the Warrior II, Yan pulled Farisk aside.

"What can I do for you, Captain?" he asked, a condescending look clear on his face. Yan didn't like the man, but this was for her own benefit as much as his.

"I assume you're going back to Emerri at some point?"

"When the next council session resumes."

"Can I give you a word of advice?"

"Of course. You're intimately familiar with the ins and outs of life at Stonecourt."

Yan didn't rise to the implication that she had no idea what he was talking about. Instead, she just smiled thinly and said, "Have you ever seen First Sandreas's bodyguard, Halen?"

"I don't know if I've ever paid any special attention to First Sandreas's entourage. I've only ever spoken to him in person a few times."

"Halen's massive. You can't miss him. Ruddy face, more than two meters tall, wears a suit?"

"Let's assume that I have seen him."

"For your own safety, don't be in a room with him, if you can help it."

"What?"

"Especially not a room with only a few people. You might be safe in a big crowd," Yan continued. "But if you're alone with him, you've basically signed your own death warrant."

"Why?" Farisk asked, leaning forward slightly. "What's so special about him?"

Yan didn't exactly want to get into it. It was too complicated to explain to someone who wasn't a sensitive, and, despite everything, she still had a bit of loyalty to Halen, as ill-deserved as it was. "He can smell treason," Yan said. "I'm being as close to literal as I can be. Don't end up in the same room as him."

Farisk squinted at her. "And if I do?"

"You saw Kino's hand?" Farisk nodded. "That'll be you, and then more, and then you'll be dead, and every single thing you know will be getting whispered directly into First Sandreas's ear. Got it?"

"If I didn't know better, it would sound like you're threatening me."

"Councilman, I have no desire for this whole thing to come apart when we've just put it together. You are the link that is currently most in danger of being cut, as soon as you get back to Emerri. I'm trying to save your skin."

"I understand," Farisk said. "Thank you, I suppose."

"You can thank me by staying alive. Have a good trip back."

The visiting group from the Warrior II left in their shuttle, leaving Yan and her crew in the hallway outside the bay with Jeepak.

"That was certainly interesting," he said.

"I'm going to have to scrub every room that they were just in for listening devices, aren't I?" Yan asked.

"I can help with that," Iri said. "But yes, that's a good plan."

"They wouldn't be able to make use of anything that they recorded unless you let them back on the ship," Jeepak pointed out.

"I'd rather make sure they don't have that opportunity regardless," Yan said. "Neither of them struck me as particularly forthright."

"A politician and a businessman," Jeepak said. "It's a bad combination."

Yan frowned at him. "It's a terrible day that you're the most trustworthy guest aboard my ship."

"I'm many things," Jeepak said, "but at least my intentions were always crystal clear."

"How helpful to me when you were breaking my fingers."

"That's all in the past, isn't it?" Jeepak asked. "And Yan, you're under no obligation to continue to work with us, if you distrust me that badly."

She sighed. "It's wolves on one side and lions on the other."

Jeepak bared his teeth. "It's nice that you believe wolves can be tamed into dogs."

"What are you up to?" Yan asked. "Do you have plans once you're out of here?"

"Ah, remember we decided that there would be no information passing in this direction." He gestured between them.

Yan continued as though Jeepak hadn't spoken. "I am going to have to figure out how to work this to our advantage. If you have any ideas, please do share."

"That Olenya and BarHellat, they've made themselves indispensable. You need to find a way to do the same."

"Such as?"

Jeepak shrugged. "That's not my problem."

"What do you mean that's not your problem? This is entirely your problem."

"I keep saying it, and no one listens to me: I'm just the hired help."

Every word he said made Yan hate him more. "Well, go figure out from your bosses what the plan should be."

"They're going to be angry at me for letting you off your leash."

Yan scowled. "Then maybe you shouldn't have."

"Captain, what choice did I have?" He smiled broadly. "It's always exciting to get you in a mood."

"Shut up," Yan said. "Get off my ship. I'll send you an ansible message when we've relocated."

"Of course." His green eyes were piercing. "Hard to believe you have all this in you."

"Out!" Yan said, and yanked open the bay door. Jeepak hurried towards his shuttle.

"See you in a sixtyday."