The Bonaventure bucked and rocked as it decended through the upper atmosphere. Ranal Pindi was a blue world, largely covered with relatively shallow oceans. Unlike Panopontus however, the land here had been formed in the geologic past by volcanic eruptions that left great basalt mounds that fell sharply into the cerulean blue seas. Here and there the dark shapes of trenches, not deep but many times deeper than the average surface water, drew lines across the ocean surface. There was no obvious evidence of volcanism now, but the Bonaventure’s sensors registered several heat signatures which closely resembled what one would expect to find in Imperial geothermal power plants, suggesting that it continued deep beneath the surface.

The world did not appear to be densely settled, certainly not by Imperial standards, with perhaps two or three dozen cities that majestically crowned their high stone perches. Surrounding the cities were large areas of what Rene could only conceive of as aquatic gardens in which a number of kinds of seaweed, many brightly colored, were apparently cultivated. The differing colors and the clear water gave the impression that the cities were somehow wreathed with streamers. Strangely the sensors did not detect any water craft larger than a few meters and no ionization trails to indicate recent starship landings. If there was commerce between the cities it must be on a very small scale.

The buffeting subsided as they passed through the atmosphere and descended toward the indicated island. Rene watched the sensors closely for anything that might resemble weapons emplacements tracking them, but if there were such emplacements, they were either too subtle, or too different from Imperial models for the basic sensors of the freighter to detect. The city they approached was on the small side and crisscrossed by wide curving boulevards lined with trees with broad leaves of pale blue that reminded Rene of palms he had seen on New Concordia. The streets themselves appeard to be sculpted from the basalt stone of the island, faceted in curiously asymmetric but none the less appealing geometric patterns.

“Do you think the Kalderi will help us?” It took Rene a moment to realise that Rosaria was speaking and she was directing the question at him. It was good that the girl was curious and Solae wanted to encourage her as part of her transition from her former subservience, because of this Rene resisted the urge to tell her to quiet down while they were focusing on the landing. Also the fact that she had directed the question at him showed that she was observant, clearly recognising the fact that Solae had to focus on the control.

“There is no way to tell really,” Rene admitted, there was simply too much unknown about the Kalderi to resonably predict an outcome.

“But I think there is a chance,” he added after a moment.

“Why?” Rosaria pressed. Rene resisted the urge to grind his teeth, but his current duties didn’t really preclude him from answering a question posed by his Lady’s Handmaiden.

“They granted us permission to land very quickly,” Rene explained.

“That means there is someone on the ground with enough power to make the decision and enforce his or her will on the naval units in orbit. Also the fact that they are having us land in the city rather than the traders cantonment is a good sign. If they wanted to stall for time they could have landed us there and waited to make contact.”

Rene wondered how much of that was true and how much he was allowing his own hopes to color the situation. He wasn’t a diplomat by training or disposition, but he had spent enough time around politicians to grasp the basics. The Kalderi had superior technology, but that didn’t mean they were unbeatable, at least in the short term. An Imperial Fleet, a real one as opposed to the kind of anti-pirate sloops that Duke Tan was using, would be able to devastate border worlds if it chose to. The Kalderi had possessed a vast fleet a thousand years ago, but that didn’t necessarily mean they still did, a lot could change in a culture over a millennium. It also begged the question as to why they had ever possessed such a fleet. It could be to deter some unknown adversary on their far borders or it might simply be to keep their own population under control. Perhaps Solae’s mission would shed new light on questions that had kept Imperial historians guessing for centuries.

The pitch of the thrusters rose sharply as Solae guided them in on final approach. The designated landing area appeared to be a large courtyard in front of an impressive manor. Kalderi architecture appeared to run towards towers with several fluted structures linked together both at the ground level and by walkways that crisscrossed at various intervals like spiderwebs between tree branches. Beneath an impressive portico stood a robed Kalderi flanked by a quartet of guards in armor similar too, but far more ornate than, the boarding party had worn. Each one carried what appeared to be a pike as well as a sword of a pattern recognisable from the one they had taken from Lord Armon’s manor. The Bonaventure touched down with the impact of a feather floating to the ground, the ship groaned slightly and then the thrusters cut, the ominpresent rumble giving way to the gentle pings of cooling metal. Rene stood and offered his arm to Solae.

“I am at your service Ambassador,” he said with a faint smile