The Federation Chronicles

Olympus Colony

Chapter 4 Something Expensive




Mara and Terra quietly and meekly sat in the yacht's red velvet textured lounge as a intergalactic peacekeeper went through their things.



The peacekeeper couldn't have been any more than 19 Titan years of age.



Mara knew that she'd find the human and their troubles would double at that point.



The stern faced lady had a light olive skin complexion with long brunette hair tied into a no nonsense looking pony tail.



Her hands fished through the expensive Tirbur purse and circled around the primitive orbital craft. It was very flimsy to the touch. Even thinner than a soda can the peacekeeper noticed as it groaned through her fingers by the actions of her grip.



She was about to show the device and begin further interrogating the young girls when her eyes saw the pink Migigga styling brush. This was a real one. A five thousand credit one that could dye your hair with a swipe through it. It could stylize it in a similar fashion. You could even program in the hair style that you wanted and it would cut your hair perfectly to form every time.



Glancing up at the rich girls the peacekeeper raised both items to equal heights in front of her breasts as she kneeled on the floor in front of them. With a unreadable flat look upon her face and once she knew that she definitely had both of their attentions she slowly lowered the Russian orbital module back into the purse.



She then took the high dollar pink brush and put it in her evidence pouch. She continued to stare directly at both girls to gauge their reactions to what she was about to do.



Mara slowly looked away out through the observation window and nodded her head in full agreement. Terra looked down and nodded too.



A few seconds later the CDR Captain walked into the large luxury lounge and at once spoke to the peacekeeper.



"Chief Petty Officer Volichka. Have you found any contraband?"



Only then did the peacekeeper begin to zip up the purse and hand it back to Mara.



"No Ma’am, nothing other than lip stick and chewing gum. The place looks pretty on the level from what I've been able to observe."



"Good, I'll need a word alone with these two young ladies if you don’t' mind. Tell everyone to head back to the mooring bay. I'll be out shortly."



"Yes Ma’am."



The Petty Officer smiled and winked to the girls and walked out towards the upper deck.



"Hello ladies, Ms. Yavaela, would you do me the kind favor of following my Officer to the mooring bay while I have a chat with your friend?




Terra didn’t' need to be told twice by this tall and intimidating officer. She got up fast and almost ran to the lift.



"Miss Mara Samara... Daughter of the Deputy Minister of Federation Agriculture. How are you this evening?"



Mara continued to look down at her vac boots. "Fine Ma’am."



"Mara, we have a problem here. A big problem.. An intergalactic problem. Now I've met your father before and he's a rather reasonable man. Perhaps if I had a talk with him over your personal encrypted line we might be able to smooth this over and see to it that you don't get into too much trouble here.



Because as it is, the common protocol in these situations is to impound the violating vessel for no less than a cosmic year. And a fine of no less than two hundred thousand credits.



But your father is a reasonable man. Perhaps he can persuade me not to file this report in a way that might not ruin the rest of your life."



Mara needed no more coaxing. "Ok Officer."



"Call me Sandrae."



"Yes officer Sandrae. I can take you right to the flight controls and get you on that line right now if you like."



The officer took the liberty of lifting the young girl's chin to face her eyes.



Mara could swear she was looking into the face of Lucifer herself when she saw the lady’s evil grin.



"By all means young lady.. Lead the way."



Mara gathered up her purse and set out to the bridge with the tall officer in tow.



************



A slightly past middle aged man with distinguished looks and a full styled shock of grey hair appeared on the screen of the secured channel looking a bit surprised.



"Mara, is everything alright? Where's my yacht?"



"Daddy it's me, I'm in a bit of trouble. I snuck out the yacht and put in the wrong jump coordinates and now a Federation galactic patrol officer would like to talk to you.. I'm sorry... I was just trying to train and better my skills at flight and all"



Mara felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Then nodded, got up and left the cockpit leaving the two adults to intrigue.



"Mr. Samara.. Sandrae here. We haven't seen each other since the one hundredth floor ball benefit on Vorishia half a cosmic year ago."



Mr. Samara's face went from curiosity to dread. He knew where this conversation was going to go but also knew that the Captain of the Frigate that now had custody of his daughter, her friend, and his yacht was speaking from the high ground of legal authority in this instance.



"Yes Officer Moorcock.. How is that lovely wife of yours?"



The Officer coughed. "We've divorced."



"Oh sorry to hear that Officer Moorcock. Almost as sorry to hear that my daughter has gotten herself into another tight one.. Let’s cut to the chase here. I know that this is not a courtesy call. Nor an attempt to ask me out on a date.. .. Now, how much water needs to be pored over the rough rocks in order to smooth them down enough to make this discreetly go away?"



"I was thinking a figure of five hundred thousand credits my good friend Miles. And with that the reports will show a damaged navigational array along with comments praising your daughter's brave and skillful efforts to save life and property."



Miles Samara sighed...."Done. I'll have my attorney create a off world account within the hour and send you a pin access number over a secured line."



"Outstanding Mr. Samara.. Simply outstanding. We'll even escort them all the way back to Vorishia for you as we wouldn't want there to be any more mishaps today my good friend.



Oh, and how's that other beautiful daughter of yours doing lately over on that moon we call Olympus?"



Miles frowned again.. "Not well, that House Speaker Gleebo keeps sucking blood out her like she does to everyone else within a light year of her presence.



The Frigate Captain frowned... I have no love lost for that lady. "I'd sure like to stick it too her if I had the chance.. I have an old score to pay back to her"



Miles finally smiled.."Oh that could be arranged. Everything shines when it's covered in gold. You of all people should know that, He he."



The two adults smiled together for the first time today.



**************



Mr. Samara was standing in front of his daughter now.



"Me and your step mother have decided that it would be best if you went and lived with your sister for the summer season. You can come back in the fall."



"But dad! I don't want to live on some two bit colony out in the middle of nowhere.. I want to be right here! Did Riva put you up to this?"



"No you did. The last time you got into trouble it cost me seventy five thousand credits.. Now you cost me half a million and that's enough! You need a change of scenery young lady. You need to get out there and work your pretty little hands for a change. Or would you rather go to that boarding school over in Azalia for the next four years?"



Mara looked down at her expensive heels and sighed.



"That's what I thought. Your sister could use some support too. She's out there all by herself and I dare say she's in way over her head.. She could use a crafty extra pair of eyes like you have. Think of it as an adventure. And she's already agreed to look after you so the matter is settled anyway.



I've already had your assistant pack your wardrobe and she is waiting for you at the shuttle."



"Can Terra come and visit me or stay there for the summer too?"



"Yes she can if she wants to.. How do you like that?"



"I don't but what other choice do I have?.. I know I screwed up daddy and cost you a boatload of money. It's just that you're never here and I always have to deal with Riva. I hate her!"



"Well at least you wont have to look at her for while dear.. And you'll be able to help your older sister out which will help me out too. Think of it as you helping me for a change rather than costing me."



Mara fingered her big expensive purse...



"You know I just got home less than an hour ago and now I've got to leave for four months?"



Mara's father offered her a support hug. After the embrace a tearful teenage girl began walking to the back of the estate where the shuttle that would take her away from her social life was waiting.



********



Captain first rank, Yegori Ivanof was jostled awake. The capsule was moving back and forth as if it were tied to a rope and swaying like a pendulum.



After a while there was a lurch and then an impact with something below him that made the trapped astronaut fall onto his behind.. Fortunately, things settled down after that. .. Taking advantage of the break in movement Yegori quickly found the dump funnel attached to the floor and urinated. Better now then all over his capsule he reasoned.



No sooner had he zipped his pressure suit back up did light flood into the port windows. Startled he felt movement as is in an elevator.



When movement had stopped again he sprung up to look out one of the viewport windows only to have an eye that was even larger than his head on the other side staring right into his face.



Yegori yipped and jumped down into his seat. In a blind panic he belted himself down as if this would somehow keep him safe from the monster outside of his re-entry capsule.



**********



"Ohh! He’s awake! I just saw him through his window!" Mara squealed with glee. Bringing her head back up from her older sister’s kitchen bar counter.



"I told you to keep your eyes out of the windows Mara. You were supposed to place that vessel in the sink so that he really couldn’t see anything....



Well that plan is out the window now, I think we should go ahead and try to take him out now Mara. How would you feel if you were cooped up inside of a aluminum can for a couple of days? But remember, we’re going to do it the way that I said that we would. We don’t want to give him a heart attack."



"Oh, alright. But I want to hold him as soon as possible!"



"You’ll get to hold him when I think he’s ready. Remember. I’m the one who has the experience in handling wild ones. And this poor unfortunate Earthling doesn’t even have a frame of reference like they do. I still can’t believe you took him from his planet like that. But at least you did right to call me before you cracked open his ship"



"Glen his ship bounced into the yacht’s window. What were we supposed to do just let him die?"



Glendoria looked at her younger sister with distrust. For all that she knew, the man was having a perfectly nice day until Mara and her friend came along. She initially had every intention of forcing her younger sister to take him back to customs and turn him over to them. But after hearing Mara’s story while her sister was in flight to Olympus and contemplating a little longer on the subject she wondered what would the authorities do? Put him in a foster home? Or worse, a pet store?



Then there was the rumors of Earthlings being just as intelligent as Titan humans were. Glendoria for years prior to coming to the colony had suspected that they were all on the same level if all conditions were equal and they had the same amount of education. Having an open mind and pet humans growing up had proven that to her in the past without the need to have a double blind scientific test as proof..



Looking back to her previous suspicions as compared to what she knew now made her smile knowing that several of the colony’s anthropologist’s pets were covertly teaching the Shanty Town humans how to read, write, and do mathematics. Her and her colleagues had decided early on to try and help the humans and being that several of her team’s highly educated members had already done this forbidden activity with great success with their own pets a golden opportunity presented itself. It was one of th reasons she was happy to take on more humans initially. To improve their lot by whatever covert means necessary and prove the need to free them.



She had even used the educator on her own pet Derrick with spectacular results as the other anthropologists had suggested that she do having so much success with experimenting with the device.



The EDU7522 series 3 machine, or commonly referred to as "the educator", was a device that Titan and Federation children had used for decades. You simply hooked its transmission headband to the machine and turned it on. Then it vibrated sending bio/neurotone virtual images and information via the recipients head temples to the frontal lobes using a focused electromagnetic beam that traveled into the frontal lobe of the brain and branched out over the neural network to reach every necessary corner of the biological computer in question.



This machine sped up the learning process in excess of 12 times the rate that a verbal communication could advance. With even better memory retention to boot.



It was also discovered (although suppressed by royal decree ) that if a human were placed within the center of a working head band that they too would receive the information as if they were wearing the band like a Titan would. It did tire them out a lot more quickly than Titan’s it was learned too. This was theorized to happen because of a much larger electromagnetic wave focusing on their smaller craniums. But Humans seemed to learn just as quickly as the Titan’s did and this was talked about in the scientific circles for years although not released to the public under Federation and Imperial directives.



Still many people experimented once the cat was out of the bag, or just spontaneously experimented on their own pets to find out things that made the Federation and Titan Empire officials somewhat nervous. A news blackout was enforced silencing the would be Titan who requested an interview in order to blab about their personal findings.



Glendoria was fairly confident that this human could be taught the basics in order to function and speak Titan in a matter of months at least. And with the pre-educational background that this human most likely had it might only take weeks. She would be interested to learn about this and report it back to her colleagues at their weekly board meetings.



Now. It was just a question of getting him out of his capsule without killing him. Glendoria and Mara spent a few hours talking about this once Mara had shown her acquisition to her older sister shortly after landing with her personal servant the day before.



Glendoria knew that this would be risky on almost every front. And the longer that they waited the more agitated and uncomfortable their little guest who sat in the primitive orbital vessel would become.



Nodding her head she spoke to her younger sister.



"Ok Mara Let’s try plan A.... Derrick will knock on the door and try to convince him to come out. Use the voice translator so that he will understand us."



"And if he won’t come?" Mara looked back at her sister with an evil grin that did nothing to alleviate Glendoria’s concerns.



Glen looked back at her sister with a very serious gaze.



"Then we’ll go to plan B but we’ll be gentle about it."



"And if he still wont come out?" Mara still grinning. "Can we go to plan C then?."



Glendoria frowned. "Let’s just see what our two first options bring...."