((Collab Post between Letter Bee and Ytalis.))
Elsewhere in Human Space
The Wealth of Nations was a gigantic city-ship with five gigantic ‘rays’ emerging from a pentagonal ‘core’ made up of the toughest materials known to Ascendancy science. Known informally as ‘The Starfish’, this dark-green vessel was closer to a space station than a proper ship, and was known for competing with the Galactic Bazaar as a nexus of trade. Now, this gigantic city-ship was accompanied by a larger number of ‘armed merchantmen’ than usual; equivalents of corvettes and frigates and cruisers, all armed as well as their Ascendancy counterparts. And Reyna Altraska Carmenesca Sarvaya had been sent to see what their owners - the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet - were doing, to see if they planned rebellion, and if they were willing to stop informally snubbing Moonstrike.
How she would do so would be up to her.
Reyna eased back the controls on her transport as she docked at the Starfish, breathing deeply to prepare herself. She had only ever had passing dealings with the Windsor fleet, and had never been to their capital ship. It didn’t quite intimidate her, but she had to admit that it was...daunting.
But nothing for it but to do it! Adjusting her coat nervously as she arranged the gifts for Mr. Windsor himself, Reyna made her way off her cruiser. She presented her “official” papers to the customs officers, smiling broadly as they waved her through. Natasha’s connections had come through with these. Didn’t even need to pretend to be someone she wasn’t. Or at least, any more so than usual.
Her goal was William Windsor, and according to her intel (read: her gut), his main headquarters was located at the center, in the Core of the Starfish. She wandered through the streets of the ‘Fish, looking for the transports that would cut her travel time down. She didn’t technically have a time limit, but neither she nor Natasha were fond of unnecessary delays. Unfortunately, the Starfish was not designed to be easily navigable, leading her to find a nearby businessman to ask for directions.
At least the gentleman looked successful and intelligent. “‘Scuse me, sir?” She said while tapping his shoulder to get his attention. “I don’t s’pose you can give me a hand, and let me know how to get to Windsor Tower? I have some business to conduct there.”
The businessman was a blonde man who looked unnaturally young, which he could be due to the rejuvenating treatments available to the upper class. A smile appearing on his brown face, the man said, “To where the kid is? Well, if you have the appropriate papers or a large sum of Money, there’s a Mag-Lev railway that takes VIPs to the Core. There, you’ll find Windsor’s Pillar right next to the Main Reactor.”
Another smile. “I’ll accompany you as well; I have business with ‘the kid’ as well.”
He then jaunted off in what was presumably the Mag-Lev station, where he showed a pass to some guards who bowed a little too deeply, and was then escorted to a train car with seats made up of cloth-of-platinum. Reyna was ushered to just beside him; there were no other VIPs.
Reyna’s brow quirked at the words “the kid”, but she made no move to correct him. Was he referring to his own family member? Perhaps he had a relative who worked there; stars knew that the Windsor family employed an astronomical number of people. Or maybe, just maybe, he was referring to Williams Windsor himself. That was the least likely answer, but it was still a possibility, which would mean that he was either:
- Close to William, and could therefore get her close as well, or
- Someone with a grudge against William, and therefore someone she could leverage.
But either way, she lost nothing by following him for now. Despite his claim of accompanying her, she got the idea that he was calling the shots for the time being. Beside, it gave her a convenient fall man in the event that things fell through. So for now, she gladly followed him, and ignored the slight condescending tone in his correction. She probably should’ve remembered that it was “Pillar” and not “Tower”, but the file she’d gotten on William was huge. It was only reasonable that some words would fall through the cracks.
Reyna followed the man’s jaunty pace, checking her identification for appropriate VIP status. Glancing between her pass and the Mag-Lev station didn’t give her any manner of hint as to what her specific ranking was in the complex hierarchy of the Windsor Fleet, so she’d just have to wing it.
And when her pass was met with a scornful look from the railway guard, a handful of credits and a flirtatious wink got her past the barricade with little effort. And it threw off the guard nicely, who was very cute when she blushed. But Reyna tore her gaze away to canvas the railcar quickly, noting with some trepidation that its only occupants were herself and the businessman. She made no mention of this, or outward sign that she found it odd as she made her way to the offered seat.
Had he brought her here with the intent to kidnap her? Unlikely, given the guard presence, though a sufficiently successful person could buy theoretically anyone on this ship. A quick bend to check her shoes confirmed the presence of her holdout pistol, a dagger, and the hilt of her whip in the event that he had ill will. Irresponsible to trust that he had no ulterior motive, though. Reyna took quick stock of the exits, both designed and unintentional (that wall to her left had a structural weakness that a she could probably break with enough pressure). Further complicating the situation was the obvious deference that the guards had paid to him. Was it out of respect? Fear? Admiration? She’d need to find out who he was before she could answer that.
As the railcar got moving, Reyna straightened back up in her seat, leaning back to look her companion in the eye. “So you seem to know your way around here pretty well, huh? You do business here a lot? Oh and uh, I don’t think I caught your name, stranger.”
The businessman smiled at Reyna, and said, “I live here, actually; many people do. And my name… It’s Abel. Abel Adamson. I don’t believe I caught your name as well, milady.”
A cart, driven by an automated drone, came by, bringing pink-topped confectioneries and various colors of sushi. Bottles and glasses of fizzy water and red wine were at the bottom.
‘Abel’ then said to Reyna, “Milady, The Kid is someone you’d find hard to deal with. He’s avoided the mysterious disappearances and deaths of various prodigies, he’s kept control of his father’s empire from opportunists and competitors and the occasional betrayer, and the Ascendancy… Well, business with the Ascendancy is always good; he just makes sure it’s on his terms.”
A slight smirk, “But don’t think I’m shilling The Kid out of hand; he doesn’t know what he wants out of this situation. He doesn’t know whether to keep to the status quo, or if he should change it, how. But he sure as heck won’t side with Moonstrike; they’ve snubbed him as much as he snubs them.”
As the Mag-Lev Train began to slow down, before being pulled into an abrupt stop, ‘Abel’ waited for Reyna’s reaction.
Reyna flashed a grin at him as he introduced himself. “I actually don’t think I gave it. Looks like we’re both dropping our manners all over the place. You can call me Ainslee, sir.” She glanced to the side as the drone brought the refreshments. Damn, was this really how the upper crust lived? As much as she could gladly get used to it, it raised her hackles to compare this to how she, Joey, and Natasha had been living since their discharge.
Not that this showed on her face, save to the most canny observer. Instead, a gently playful smirk danced on her lips as she picked out a bottle of Siroc and a pair of empty glasses, directing the drone to pour it as she listened to Abel speak.
She brought the glass delicately to her lips as she listened to him, offering him the other. This wasn’t helping her get the measure of his relationship to William, even assuming that he was referring to William at all. Context clues said yes, though the lack of proper nouns could mean that he was as much of a liar as she was. Which would be impressive, in its own way.
“To be honest, Mr. Adamson, it’s a little hard to tell whether you admire the boy, or you find him distasteful,” she said with her smirk never leaving her face. It was always best to lie with the truth. “My mother always told me that a person unwilling to stand for anything will for anything; as much as I admire your portrayal of his skills, it sounds like he’s unwilling to do anything but defend himself. Nothing gets changed that way. And those who do not change, die.”
The somber statement was punctuated by a quiet laugh, as though she found her own statement ridiculous. “But here I am, swore to never be my mother, repeating her words to a stranger. Can I ask you a question? Odd that you bring up Moonstrike. They’re a fringe group, are they not? Have the Windsors been dealing with them, to give them an opportunity to snub them?”
She played a dangerous game, revealing a card from her hand so early. The first person in a business deal to state a number loses, and here she was, declaring that they were discussing the Windsors. But she needed to get information, and she needed it quickly. Flashing her pass as she’d been doing, it was only a matter of time before security caught on to the illegitimacy of her credentials. And yet, she couldn’t resist striking a blow in this duel of theirs.
As the train stopped abruptly, Reyna angled her glass gracefully. Not a drop was spilled. “You seem to have some insight to many things in this sector, Mr. Adamson. Can I perhaps ask for your continued guidance? I have a...confidential business matter to discuss with the executives here, and Mr. Windsor himself if possible. Would you, perhaps, know of a way that I could reach him?”
‘Abel’ smiled at that, a genuine smile. “I’d answer that, but then I’d assume that you’re an agent provocateur and spin my responses accordingly. So you can’t trust any answer I give.”
A pause. “Well, except this: You’ll be meeting with William Windsor sooner than you think.”
The young man would then get up, respectfully allow her out first, and then walk out the Mag-Lev station.
By then, Reyna would have seen the gigantic column of meta-materials that made up The Pillar, a gigantic installation that rose up from the ground to fix itself onto the ceiling. And the two were directly at its feet.
A door would open, a door that led to security rooms where scanning and vetting equipment were kept, along with receptionists accompanied by burly guards. Surprisingly, said guards included nonhumans in their ranks; Rau’ve, Korta, and Tayanen primarily.
All of them let ‘Abel’ and Reyna go further without questions or scanning when they saw the former’s face. Then, ‘Abel’ guided Reyna into a small, two-person elevator pod that functioned much the same way as a Mag-Lev.
Reyna’s brow furrowed as the man stood up, still angling to get his measure. He seemed to enjoy toying with her, though she still couldn’t quite tell who was the cat, and who the mouse. But would it be half as interesting if she could tell? She gave him a polite nod of her head as she exited the railcar, draining the remainder of her wine. She resisted the urge to do the same to his glass.
She walked outside in full view of the Pillar, looking up with her feelings torn between admiration of its sheer scale, and disgust at its excess. Quickly masking her expression with one of practiced neutrality, she turned back to Abel with a wry quirk of her eyebrows. As he walked into the building, she followed him wordlessly. He was playing at something, and she had a sneaking suspicion that they both knew what the other was doing. Still, better to let him play out his hand first.
She glanced around at the guards when they walked in, unable to keep from taking stock of her situation. She also couldn’t keep a small twinge of disdain when she saw the nonhumans in their ranks. She forced that down quickly; prejudice was an open secret in many of the Core worlds, though it was considered gauche to actually admit to it. She maintained her easy smile, unwavering as they made their way past the guards. She kept her focus on Abel’s back, as well as the reactions of everyone around him.
When they got the elevator, she leaned against the wall opposite him with a sense of casual ease that she didn’t feel. “You’re bringing me awfully far into the Pillar for someone you think might be a provocateur,” she said, tapping her fingers against her arm. “Are we going all the way to the top? I presume you mean to introduce me to the big boss-man himself?” An air of innocence played about her eyes, mixed in there somewhere with the caution.
Abel nodded and said, “Yes, and yes.”
The elevator then stopped in yet another security room filled with scanners and drones but no people, and the two entered inside; this time, there was a minor biometric scan before Abel led her further in, to a room that compared with all the grandeur, was sparsely furnished; it only had a green-carpeted floor, a desk, a chair, a water dispenser, and a primitive-looking laptop.
With a final smile, Abel walked over to the chair and sat on it, finally facing Reyna as who he truly was. And what was that, one wondered?
“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” he smiled. “You’ve been looking for one William Windsor; head of the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet. Actually, I am him.”
