This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/jpitha on 2025-12-10 12:18:01+00:00.
Back aboard Tontine, Alia paced her rooms. She had decided to keep the Suite that Viv had given her, mostly to keep all of the other officers from having to move their room assignments around. She had ordered the front receiving room to be turned into a conference room, so at least part of her suite was returned to the ship.
“Tontine, what did you learn from Alternative Solution about the assassin?” Alia said walking back and forth. She smiled at the memory of Colonel Matiz back on Earth chiding her for the habit.
“Alternative Solution reports that there had been three such assassination attempts in the last eighteen months, but that this most recent one was the only one to actually reach Eternity. The other two were caught well before the palace. Before they perished under advanced interrogation, they had all mentioned the name Icarus; a suspected anti-Eternity terrorist group.”
She remembered 585 mentioning them while brushing off the attack. There was an anti-Eternity group who had enough resources to make a run at Prime Eternity herself? Alia realized that it was possible that she might not have to start her rebellion over again from nothing.
“Please make quiet queries at every station and ship we visit to see what more you can learn about Icarus, including ways to contact them.”
“With all due respect Alia, if it were that easy to contact Icarus, Prime Eternity would have exterminated them long ago.”
“I’m not expecting a name and address, Tontine.” Alia frowned. “Just anything you can find. Tidbits, hints.”
“Yes Alia.”
Just as Alia sat back down and picked up her rapidly cooling tea, there was a chime and Tontine said “You are requested in command by Major Tonnlier.”
What could Viv need now? Aloud she said “Tell her I will be up shortly.” She was the new person here, there shouldn’t be anything that she needs from Alia for the day to day operation of the ship. If it was an attack then action stations would have been called already.
When she arrived at command, Viv turned and immediately looked relieved. “Oh thank Eternity you came quickly,” Viv said, and offered Alia the command chair. “You should probably see this.”
Deciding to ignore the fact that Viv just gave thanks to her, Alia sat and as she did, found ship details and statuses overlaid on her vision. Tontine had received an audio only message from a nearby planet. “Any ships in the vicinity, this is the human colony Maplebrook requesting emergency assistance. Our oxygen plant is failing, and without repair in a few days, we will not have sufficient breathing gas for the colony. Emergency assistance is requested.”
The message repeated a few times, and Alia looked up at Viv. “Well?” She said. “Have we set a course for Maplebrook?”
“That is why I called you up here.” Viv said, and Alia saw how she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Normally, we are to ignore requests for aid like this; requests are to be sent through normal channels up to the baron of this sector. All colonies know this.” She added.
“But you heard the message,” Alia said. “They’re going to suffocate unless they get their oxygen plant back online. How long does it take for the Barony to reply and render aid?”
“If their request for aid is approved, then usually the next round of supply ships will bring parts and technicians.” Viv said. “It’s never more than a few weeks.”
“A few weeks? They’ll all be dead by then!”
“I don’t think so,” Viv said, and continued, “The colonies - especially the outer frontier colonies have a reputation for calling for aid whenever anything breaks. If I were still in command, we would have passed along the request for aid to any merchant ships in the area and continued on, but since you’re here…”
“You thought that I would want to go help. You are correct, good instincts Viv. Helm, change course for Maplebrook, best speed.”
The helmsman called out, “Course set for Maplebook. Time to arrive is estimated to be three hours.”
“Send down a request to Engineering looking for anyone handy with colonial oxygen plants, and barring that anyone who is technical and loves a challenge.” Alia said as she stood. “Viv, come with me.”
They went to a small conference room just down the corridor from command. Alia closed the door quietly and gestured for her to sit. Viv sat carefully, sitting straight, and Alia could swear she had a slight sheen on her forehead.
“Genevieve.” Alia said, sitting down. She tried to ignore that Viv flinched when she called her by her full name. “Firstly, I wish you weren’t so nervous when we are talking. I’m not going to hit you, or send you off to who knows where, or shoot you, none of that. I’m not my sisters.”
Viv relaxed very slightly.
“However,” Alia said and had a twinge of satisfaction that Viv stiffened again. “While I am in command, we will be doing things my way. I help people whenever I am able, wherever I can. That is how I was trained, how I was developed.”
“Yes Alia, that’s why I called you up. It was-” Viv struggled slightly “-odd to not just pass their message along, but as I am supposed to execute your will, I knew that you would want to see this.”
“You are correct, thank you, Viv.” Alia said, and Viv relaxed visibly. “Now then, do we know anything about Maplebrook?”
“Maplebrook is a young colony, two Sol years old.” Tontine said, answering for Viv. “Launched in E3054 on the order of Eternity with Baron Cecil Aubergine heading the construction and launch of the ship. Previous scans indicated that the planet was rich in mineral wealth, and a leasehold was granted from Eternity with the promise of regular shipments of minerals.”
“Minerals?” Alia said. “Why such a generic term? What kind of minerals?”
“The planet is rich in Uranium, Iridium, and most of the lanthanides. Specific quantities of specific minerals were not a part of the leasehold.”
****
“Why a Leasehold?” Alia asked the administrator as they sat across each other on his station in orbit.
The administrator looked at Alia oddly, his eyes flicking up to Viv looming behind him, her face stony. “This is a test? Of course! You - that is to say Eternity - owns all systems and planets within the human sphere of influence. We all lease our land from Eternity.” He took a breath, and let it out, slowly. “I can only hope that I have given you the answer you were looking for.” As he continued to exhale, it turned into a cough and he took a sip of water.
The fact that she didn’t roll her eyes at the statement was an indication of Alia’s strength of will. Here, she was Eternity, and nobody would dare to ask her number. She spoke with the same weight as her sisters. “Yes, thank you administrator Lavellen.”
“Of course, when Tontine signaled that they were coming to render aid, we were nearly knocked speechless. The Eternal Navy never responds for an aid request. We had pinned all of our hope on some tramp freighter hearing us and coming by. And to have Eternity herself aboard! Truly, you honor us with your presence, and we are not worthy to host you.”
“Administrator Lavallen that’s enough.” Alia said, trying to affect a genial tone. “I know that my visit is irregular, but I’m not here for you to spend your entire time bowing and scraping at me. My engineers are down on the surface working to repair your oxygen plant and I am here only to see how things are.”
“Er, yes Eternity.” The administrator coughed again and looked around awkwardly, desperately trying to come up with something to discuss. “Would you like a tour?”
One could hardly call it a station. It was mostly still a colony ship, down to the nulldrive still deep within, and more than half of the colonists in hibernation. Only enough people that could be supported had been thawed. As the colony grew and the overhead increased more people would be added until the original compliment was awake. Those aboard were staff mostly to keep the ship operational and medical personnel to wake colonists. Everyone had the same cough as the administrator.
“If you haven’t finished the work of setting up the colony completely yet,” Alia asked as she stared up at the rows of hibernation cabinets, so very like her own, “Why are you mining already? Would those people be better put to use-” She gestured “-building the colony?”
“Ideally yes, Eternity, of course. But we must adhere to the terms of the leasehold. We are to be providing one million tonnes of processed mineral wealth every month. That takes time that we could be spending building.” He quickly added, “Of course we are still building and expanding, but as you know, the terms come first. We must pay back Eternity-” He was suddenly wracked with a coughing fit for a few second before composing himself, “-for this opportunity.”
“Are you all right?” Alia asked, genuine concern in her voice. “I notice that you and everyone else here has a cough.”
“It’s nothing,” He said, clearing his throat again. “We all have a minor virus, it’ll clear up in a week or two.”
“Surely your medical personnel can help with a small viral infection spreading around? Your weakened state must be effecting production.”
“No!” He said quickly and coughed again. “No, our production remains on schedule, and we are se...
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