Steph Bennion - Hollow Moon

“Oh yes,” replied Fenris smugly. “The Maharani insists on only the best.”

“So how come she hired you?” asked Quirinus irritably.

By now some members of the nearby crowd had started cheering, perhaps mistaking the occupants of the ground car for visiting dignitaries, though a journalist who managed to grab a few words with Endymion was not at all impressed when she learned they were from the Barnard’s Star system. Leaving the car, the travellers turned their back on the crowd and trooped apprehensively into the cathedral-like surroundings of the hotel lobby.

Waiting to greet them was a tall, grey-haired Indian man who was the epitome of casual confidence. With him was a severe-looking Chinese woman, whose dark tresses were bundled up and tightly pinned. Both wore blue corporate suits with a militaristic flair, which made the faded flight suits worn by the crew and passengers of the Platypus look positively dowdy in comparison. The man gave Fenris a broad smile and held out a hand.

“Welcome to the Pampa Palace!” he boomed, in perfectly-modulated English. “Governor Atman at your service, executive facilitator of the conference.”

“I am Fenris,” greeted Fenris, taking the man’s hand and shaking it firmly. “This is Quirinus, captain of the Platypus ; Rosanna, who is here with her music students to represent the city of Newbrum; and finally Ostara, who is our err… head of security.”

Atman nodded to each in turn, then indicated his colleague. “This is Agent Dana, who has joined us from Ayodhya to help with security arrangements.”

“So you are Fenris,” said Dana, speaking carefully. “We have been expecting you.”

“I am here on behalf of Maharani Uma,” Fenris replied smoothly. His confident manner surprised Ravana, especially after his obvious nervousness upon meeting Administrator Verdandi at Newbrum spaceport. “As you are no doubt aware, young Raja Surya has gone missing and I am on my way to Yuanshi to see for myself what the authorities are doing to find the Maharani’s son.”

“A sorry business,” acknowledged Dana. “I am sure Governor Jaggarneth will tell you he is eager to facilitate a mutually-agreeable docking, or some other gobbledegook.”

“So you’re here from Ascension!” exclaimed Atman, turning to Miss Clymene. “This peace conference is indeed a marvellous opportunity to meet all sorts of wonderful people from across the five systems. Of course,” he added conspiratorially, “my security staff do not like it when the Governor of Daode goes out and about in public, but I do think the personal touch is so very important. Don’t you?”

Miss Clymene looked startled. “Err… yes. Definitely.”

“And you are entering the music competition? Such an inspired way to bring the conference to a close. Bringing harmony to our worlds with the music of youth.”

“Indeed we are,” replied Miss Clymene, recovering her composure. Gathering her musicians together, she introduced each in turn. “These are the Newbrum school players; Bellona, Endymion, Philyra, Ravana and Zotz.”

Philyra, Bellona and Endymion gave a hesitant wave of their hands, leaving Zotz lost in his own stunned silence. Ravana had a terrible headache but managed a weak smile.

“And this?” asked Dana, indicating Surya’s clone. “Is it what I think it is?”

“The Raja’s cyberclone,” replied Fenris. “Here to assist in my negotiations.”

“Try not to parade it too conspicuously,” Atman said. “The conference has an exclusive deal with Rent-a-Clone’s remote VR service for delegates unable to be here in person and I’d hate to create any upset.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you both,” said Quirinus. “You must excuse us. We’ve had a long flight and have not yet checked into our rooms. I’m sure we will meet again soon.”

“Of course,” said Atman and smiled. “I do hope you enjoy your stay.”

“I’m sure we will,” murmured Ostara, transfixed by their ornate surroundings.

Ravana lay upon the bed, feeling her headache worsening by the minute. She was sharing a hotel room with Bellona and Philyra, who were currently standing on the balcony, pointing and shrieking excitedly at the various sights and scenes of the city below. Endymion and Zotz soon joined them from their own room next door and Endymion’s own loud exclamations did not help at all.

The room itself was incredibly lavish with solid furniture, thick carpeting and heavy wall drapes. The huge holovid unit had turned itself on as she entered the room, only to promptly shut itself off again after she gave it an angry glare. Yet the bed was comfy and the sea air wafting through the window was a luxury in itself, carrying with it a natural freshness that the life-support systems of the Platypus or even the Dandridge Cole could never hope to match.

There was a knock at the door and Ostara bustled in, not waiting to be invited.

“Zotz!” she called urgently. “I need your help.”

“My help?” Zotz asked, turning away from the window. “What with?”

“Fenris has gone downstairs to make a holovid call,” she said, speaking as if it were some sort of crime. “Do you have anything in your bag of tricks I can use to listen in?”

Zotz looked shocked. “You want me to help you spy on Fenris?”

“If you put it like that, then yes.”

Zotz shrugged. “Fair enough. Network hacking isn’t really my thing, though.”

Endymion, who was listening, beamed.

“Leave it to me!” he exclaimed. He glanced towards the girls on the balcony. “Shall we go somewhere a bit quieter?”

Ravana watched as Ostara furtively bundled Endymion and Zotz through the door and out of sight. She wondered if there was any chance of another intervention to relieve her of the excitable Bellona and Philyra.

“Perhaps you two could go shopping?” she suggested wearily.

Philyra turned to Bellona, her eyes wide. “Shopping! Shall we?”

Bellona looked uncertain. “Let’s ask Miss Clymene.”

Moments later they had gone. With a sigh of relief, Ravana settled back into bed, then smiled as her cat emerged from where it had been hiding in her luggage and jumped up beside her. Right now she and her headache were badly in need of some peace and quiet.

Quirinus sat down inside the holovid booth, well aware that Fenris and Surya’s cyberclone had followed him downstairs. He had received an urgent message on his wristpad from Professor Wak asking him to call, so upon making the connection it came as somewhat of a surprise to see Maharani Uma and not Wak staring at him from the screen. He was just about to make some grumpy remark when he noticed her nervous expression.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked cautiously.

“I’m sorry for commandeering the holovid like this, but I must speak with you,” she said quickly. The jumble of laboratory equipment in the background confirmed she was speaking from Wak’s workshop in Dockside, which in itself was a surprise as it meant she had left her palace hideaway twice in one week. “I need to warn you about Fenris.”

“It’s not the first time you’ve hijacked what’s not yours,” murmured Quirinus.

“Please!” The Maharani looked at him with pleading eyes. “This is important!”

Quirinus returned her gaze, startled. He had never seen her look so worried.

“What about Fenris?” he asked. “I should mention that he’s outside, waiting to use the booth and probably listening to everything we say. Not that I care,” he added. “What has he done that would make me trust him even less than I do already?”

“I sense there are few people you do trust,” the Maharani said softly. Behind her, Quirinus saw Wak move into view, then awkwardly shuffle away again. “Including myself. Yet you are happy enough to ignore all that when the price is right. Did you not deliver a consignment to the palace just a few months ago?”