Councilor: Book Six of The Channel Riders

Chapter 1

Elena sighed softly as she piloted the Storm Chaser towards the skyside opening of the Marta Channel. It seemed as though a lifetime passed since she was able to go home. In fact, she was surprised she was even going home at all. A last minute run to ferry small children and their parents away from government scientists' intent on experiments stranded her skyside for the off season. She assumed it would have some repercussions somewhere down the line, but was unwilling to refuse to help with the evacuation. Making the best of things, she anticipated supply runs to and from the fledgling community of Haven and the Dockside Facility, pushing away thoughts of reprisals until later.

Unfortunately, the Matrovean had other ideas and Elena found herself in charge of a full scale evacuation of the Docking Facility; an evacuation that ended when the Matrovean accidentally destroyed the DF during their attack. The rest of the off season was spent dealing with the suddenly exponentially enlarged population of Haven and helping to promote some sense of order.

Until establishing a community on an uninhabited planet, Elena never really thought about what went into the day to day survival of a people. She was fairly certain that at some point soon the minutia of it would actually kill her. As she adjusted her course slightly so that the prow of the ship was lined up with the center of the approaching channel, she wondered if that was what they would put on her tombstone.

"Killed by minutia, " she thought. "What an epitaph. Not that most pilots get a tombstone." As Pilots, along with most of the Guild, tended to die on their ships, their bodies lost to space or sea, those of the Guild long since developed the habit of erecting memory stones instead. Instead of grave sites, they built small parks and placed a family obelisk somewhere discrete. Over time the obelisk would accumulate the names of the dead. When the stone could take no more additions, a new stone would be placed in the park.

In Haven, she ordered a public marker built in the one small park they created for the children. It carried the names of those who died aboard the Defender, the only ship lost during the Matrovean attacks. Elena hoped she never had to call for such a stone to be placed again, but given the uncertainty of the times she had the feeling it was a vain hope at best. Even as she was pleased to sail away from Haven, she continued to worry over its fate in her absence.

"No one will starve and no one will be naked, " She reminded herself. She at least made certain of that if nothing else.

Once the basics like food, water and shelter were covered, cloth was needed to replace worn out clothing. With Earth not accessible during the off season, running into town to shop was not an option available to them. While the planet provided both the shelter and much of the food, Elena contracted with not only the artisans of the Guild who relocated to Haven to produce the other necessary day to day items, she helped settle those who could produce the raw goods such as flax for linen and desh for lonta ensuring the supply of the two most common cloth types the Guild used. Since cotton was an earth based good, lonta was used for generations as the next best thing. While producing the lonta cloth was an entirely different experience from producing cotton, the cloth could on visual inspection pass as cotton, making it not only familiar, but able to be worn on return trips to earth without raising eyebrows. In addition to the fields, before she left she even helped settle a couple of sites for manufacturing so that flax could be turned into linen and desh into lonta.

With the necessities provided, people began wanting the little luxuries of modern life, so she worked to find generators to create power and fuel sources to power the generators. They had an entire generator set aside solely for recharging electronics and other battery operated equipment. Of course that took some fiddling on Mateo's part to ensure compatibility and thus avoiding blown circuits.

While most of the electronics manufacturers guessed the possibility that their equipment might have to adapt between 110 volt electric current and 220 volts, Haven's generators were designed on a planet far from such concerns and required completely different configurations for compatibility. Elena was quite impressed that her cousin, Mateo, managed to create an adaptor that allowed earth based electronics to be recharged without damage.

The adaptors were initially created so survey equipment could be recharged as the scientific and archaeological crew initially placed on the planet could begin work. With the dual evacuations, she saw everything from handheld video games, e-readers and even Rene's battery operated coffee pot being recharged at the public station. Oddly enough she saw several cell phones being recharged at the station as well and wondered who people were planning to call. Haven certainly didn't have any cell towers.

"Maybe it's just for the camera and games, " she mused. Idly she wondered how long it would take before someone requested she start building cell towers.

It seemed that every day brought new requests. Admittedly, she wasn't immune to the conveniences of modern life and was as relieved as the rest when a way was found to regularly heat the cold spring water they were using to bathe. In all fairness, she could even see proper communications as a safety concern, even if she was enjoying the fact that messaging was no longer an option.

In Haven the people she talked to actually looked at her during the conversation instead of darting glances to their screen. As she was trained to look someone in the eyes when dealing with them, she found she distrusted people looking at their phones while dealing with her. It was a way not to meet her eyes and made her think they were dishonest.

"Even if we do get a tower up, the roaming charges would kill them, " Elena smiled as she thought of the various phone companies trying to tally roaming charges.

"Happy to be going home?" Thompson asked, seeing Elena's smile as he stepped into the pilot house. The ship's cat, Spin wound around his ankles, purring contentedly when he bent down to scratch between her ears.

"Actually I am happy to be heading towards a real, honest to god, hot shower, " Elena told him as he straightened. She tried not to let her eyes linger. She knew he planned to ask her out on a real date once they returned home and she still hadn't decided how she felt about it. That she found him attractive, she couldn't deny. That she found his company enjoyable, she also couldn't argue. He was however a complication in an already complicated system.

While the Guild of Families was a merchant organization composed of those who possessed the capacity to see and navigate channels leading from the oceans of Earth into a multitude of universes, Thompson was military. It was ingrained in all of them from the moment of their first breath that the military of any nation was to be avoided.

When Ian Jensen broke this cardinal rule of the Guild, secrecy at all costs, the military decided to build their own channel riding ships. Unfortunately for them, Ian was not as knowledgeable as he claimed. The results of implementing their faulty knowledge were disastrous and Will Thompson was brought in to figure out a way to correct the many problems in their system. Their final attempt at building a channel rider was a vessel called the Rover. While the auto pilot Ian designed still had its quirks and was far from fully operational, Thompson figured out that by watching the general area of one of the few channels they knew existed, they could follow a channel rider into the channel.

Unfortunately, they had not quite worked out how to get back through the channel and return to Earth. Thompson's solution was to use a grappling hook to attach the Rover to a channel rider and allow his ship to be towed along once skyside. It was not a popular move and luckily he had not tried it with anyone other than Elena. She had the feeling other captains would have simply cut the tow line and left them to fend for themselves. Elena had to admit, even she was tempted to do so. Only her aversion to being the reason people died stopped her.

As a consequence of Elena's conscience, the Rover now resided at the port of Haven on an alien planet, and the crew stayed in port with her cousin Mateo, becoming part of his work force as the town was settled. It was deemed safer to leave the ship in port rather than have it wander on its own. Thompson more or less became a part of her crew.

Now however, the military decided to mothball their attempts at mastering the channels. It was simply too expensive to maintain with so little to show for their efforts. Or so they claimed. Elena still had doubts about their intentions. Concern over the military and the possible repercussions of her last second evacuation often made her wonder if a time was coming when she would need to adjust her business and life plans and permanently relocate skyside. The ending of Smith's project gave her an extension on making that decision, but she wasn't sure how long it would last.

Thompson's men were offered the opportunity to stay and continue gathering information, as that didn't cost the government anything when the rather expensive program was shut down. All of them accepted the offer and remained in Haven. Thompson, however, was required to report in. With the project shut down, she wondered if he would disappear, making her concern over dating him a moot point.

"What, the - hot, but only for three minutes tops before going icy - showers of Haven weren't to your liking?" He teased, drawing Elena back out of her thoughts and into the conversation.

Elena laughed. "Better than the only icy water that came before, " she conceded, trying to push her concerns away. Worry wouldn't help any of them. "At the moment many of Haven's residents are seriously considering erecting a statue to Arnold for his amazing plumbing feats. However, once home I plan on a shower with water hot enough to actually produce steam." Elena thought about the ancient and somewhat faulty water heater the showers in her apartment relied on. "As long as the water heater cooperates."

"Maybe you could bring a water heater back with you when you return, " Thompson suggested.

"Actually, Mateo put it on the list, " Elena told him. "Along with pipes, I think. I only took a quick look at the extremely long list, but I'm pretty sure we need pipes." As the current water system relied heavily on stone aqueducts and ancient bathhouses, she suspected a lot of pipes would be needed. She also figured that at some point the outhouses they were using would need to be replaced, but wasn't quite certain how one set about building a waste disposal facility and was willing to put that chore off for a while. She saw actual toilet seats on the list though so at least the latrines were getting an upgrade.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." Thompson replied. "It is a long time to be roughing it."

"Especially after he announced that even working with a full complement of trained engineers it will take a couple of years to get a new Docking Facility built and launched."

"Meaning Haven will be Guild headquarters for the foreseeable future, " Thompson concluded, nodding with understanding. "You'll be busy."

"Always, " Elena replied once again wondering how she somehow managed to be in charge of things. She strongly suspected that her recent elevation to the Council representative for North America would bring more responsibility her way instead of lightening the already heavy load.

"Do you know he put plumbers on the list of supplies? I think he's worried since currently we only have Arnold, who is more or less winging it." Elena continued, pushing away her own worries for another time. "Mateo listed plumbers right after chocolate bars and before sleeping bags."

"Does he think there is a store where you can just pick up plumbers?" Thompson asked, looking amused.

"Knowing Mateo, quite possibly, " Elena said. "It's probably next to the store where you pick up architects and designers."

"Architects and designers?" Thompson asked his grin spreading wider.

"Yup, they are also on the list. Not together of course, we couldn't have all the people in one category and all things in another, what would people say? The architects are listed next to earth based reading material for pleasurable reading and the designers are listed after extra hiking boots in varied sizes. Apparently several of the councilors and heads of some of the larger houses have already made some requests for their quarters aboard the new, but as yet unbuilt, docking facility."

"Let me guess they want them larger?" Thompson asked.

"Some, but as the Guild was already outgrowing the existing DF before the Matrovean destroyed it, that request is more or less understandable. I overheard Don Clemens, the head of one of the Houses in the Burgess Clan asking for Art Deco themed design in the main rooms, with modern touches for private spaces. As one of the Shuler Clan was arguing for more mid-century modern elements for the public rooms at the time, it didn't go over well. I think Mateo hopes that if he had an architect and a designer around he can direct all such comments and requests their way for them to deal with, while he works out the basic logistics. You know the little things like oxygen supply and power cells."

"Well oxygen supply and power cells do seem to be his strong suits. Or at least the equipment used to provide oxygen and power." He frowned for a moment. "I thought the Librarians had the plans for the original Docking Facility on file, " Thompson asked.

"They do and Mateo is using them. However like I said before, the Guild already outgrew the old DF and needed to expand. In addition there were some issues with the original designs that I think they are hoping to correct."

She didn't add that there was talk of building multiple smaller stations as well as the large central one. At the moment it was just talk, as ideas of defense and growth were kicked around. Some were ideas born of panic and fear of another Matrovean incursion, others had more solid basis in the changing needs of the Guild. She was thrilled that at the moment, Mateo was the one who had to sort through them to figure out fear from fact. Unfortunately, she had the feeling she would be sucked into the debate sooner rather than later.

"Ah, " Thompson replied. "Dare I ask about the earth based reading material for pleasurable reading? With the Librarians and their massive archives I wouldn't think that would be a concern."

Elena smiled. "While the Librarians collect works from a multitude of universes, they have a very meager stock of earth based literature. Most of what they have is actually classroom related, textbooks and such to educate the Guild's children. I think someone suggested starting a small lending library."

"Well, the few decks of cards I saw were already quite worn. I'm sure the books will give them a rest." Thompson said after thinking about it a moment.

"Actually in a month or so the rainy season will start and people will be spending more time inside. The lending library will hopefully curb any cabin fever that may arise."

"You might want to stock up on board games as well then, " he suggested.

"Not a bad plan, I can have Victor raid a toy shop." Elena thought about her assistant. "That is if he is still speaking to me." While her assistant was prepared for the possible eventuality of Elena becoming a Councilor in the distant future, the rapidity with which it happened had taken him, as well as everyone else, off guard, Elena included. Elena very quickly learned that Victor could face anything as long as he had a plan in place, even if the plan had to adapt. However, he detested scrambling to come up with a plan in the midst of chaos.

"I'm sure he'll forgive you eventually." Thompson replied.

"Sure, " Elena replied, unconvinced. She noticed they were getting close to the entry to the Marta.

"Are you riding out the channel up here with me?" she asked.

"I think so, " Thompson told her. "Since Jennifer's still asleep, I might as well."

Elena nodded. With Thompson and Jennifer, her apprentice, as her only passengers this trip out; she had no need to call out channel entry so everyone could scramble to safety. She began switching off what little equipment was on as she went through her own prep list.

Passageway through the channels always held some element of risk. A bump could send someone over the railing, a free floating electrical charge could blow out their environmental systems venting their oxygen and suffocating them before they reached the other side. It was more of a danger when heading from Earth's oceans into space than on the reverse trip, but Elena was not one to unnecessarily risk her crew's lives. The bunk house, galley and Pilot house all had backup systems designed to kick in should the primary systems fail so they could at least make it through the crossing. It made for one less thing for her to worry about as she set her course. Still even knowing there was no one on deck, she found herself almost calling for the deck to clear out of habit, biting back the words at the last second.

As they approached the channel opening, Elena saw Thompson struggling to see what she saw, knowing he would not. Part of the military's failure to master the channels was their reliance on technology. As a pilot of the Guild, Elena didn't need any sort of gadgetry to see the channels. She simply saw them. That's why she was a pilot. From the skyside view, the Marta looked to be a blank space between the stars, a passage outlined with light where no stars shined. While the depth varied throughout the season, becoming impassable for a good part of the year, at the moment it was wide and clear. To Thompson however, it would look just look like any other section of space.

Elena piloted the Storm Chaser into the channel. As always she felt the same excitement dancing in her belly that she had as a child standing on the top of a snow covered hill with her sled. Even though everything told her that she was staying level, she felt as though she were sliding down a steep slope. No one else seemed to have the same reaction though, so she thought it might just be her.

"Or they are too distracted by the lights, " she muttered. Thompson looked at her, but learned that not only would she not respond while going through a channel, but that she had a tendency to talk to herself.

As the Storm Chaser entered the Marta, black bled into rainbow swirls of ribboned light, becoming brighter and brighter until the colors fractured and blended into white. When Elena felt nearly blind with the white, the Storm Chaser slipped out of the other end of the channel landing with a splash in the Atlantic Ocean. Water sluiced over the deck in a foamy spray and the mind numbingly white light was gone, replaced by the warm yellow gold of the late afternoon sun shining brightly in the blue bowl of sky.

They moved away from the channel and Elena smiled at the sight of the dolphins playing in their wake. For some reason channel riders always attracted the playful mammals and they were seen as a sign of good fortune. Elena called the all clear before she could stop herself and charted a course for her home port of Grant's Inlet. Given all of the recent changes, Elena was happy to accept whatever signs of good fortune were available and smiled at the playful dolphins.

Chapter 2

Back in the Atlantic Ocean, her ship's decks once again warmed by earth's sun, Elena could push the concerns of Haven to the back of her mind. The concerns of the fledgling community were still there, but now there were other considerations; things that were important while she was earthside. The first was the military.

While the military discontinued their program, she had a hard time believing they would simply walk away from a group capable of routine interstellar travel even if it was seasonally based. Expecting that was unrealistic and Elena had the feeling she would be trading her overt interactions with the military for more covert ones. She had the suspicion that the electronic bug detector Peter gave her when she realized she was being spied on would be put to good use as soon as she arrived home.

As strange as dealing with Thompson, and even Smith and Johnathan had been, she had gotten used to them. She knew how to deal with them. She understood Smith's bluster and bullying, his use of the phrase 'National Security' to justify his often completely unrealistic demands. She knew following Smith's loud commandments, Johnathan would swoop in with a more mellow approach to smooth things over, trying to use charm where bluster failed.

Johnathan presented another problem as well. Elena glanced out of the window and saw her apprentice, Jennifer emerge from below decks and stop to talk with Thompson who was currently checking the sails. Before shipping out Elena suspected that Johnathan was in fact Jennifer's father. She managed to get Johnathan to submit to a DNA test, letting him believe it was for a general Guild related security clearance type of thing and Victor forwarded the results on to her when the channels deepened and the season reopened.

Johnathan was definitely Jennifer's father.

She still had no idea what to do about that. Anna, Jennifer's mother was Johnathan's high school sweetheart and he had no idea Jennifer existed, let alone that after Anna's death she was raised in the Guild's version of an orphanage. Devon, the Girl's Home guardian did his best, but was often handicapped by strict regulations and long held traditions. Devon was a good man, but Elena knew Jennifer's childhood was less than ideal. She knew it added another layer of issues besides the initial ones. Would Johnathan even want to know if Jennifer was his? Would the eighteen year old Jennifer want to know about him? Johnathan could easily refuse to accept her, just as easily as Jennifer could want nothing to do with him.

"Or they could be one happy family, " Elena muttered to herself. "Maybe I can talk to Devon about it. He'd know her better." She shook her head, sick of her own thoughts. She tried looking at it from every angle, hoping to minimize any damage done, wanting neither of them to get hurt.

"I'd rather be outrunning a Matrovean raiding party, " Elena told Spin who decided to join her in the pilot house. The cat looked at her disdainfully and began to give herself a tongue bath. Used to her petty concerns being dismissed by the feline, Elena turned her sight to the growing shore line.

Though the Guild was accustomed to working in the background and keeping a low profile, their presence in Grant's Inlet fostered somewhat dramatic changes. Once it was a thriving shipping area that catered to the sailors and dockworkers with buildings housing, among other things, small eateries and local bars. By the time Elena named it as her home port and arranged for the Storm Chasers' berth, most of the oceanic traffic in the area died off. The docks saw barely enough traffic to remain viable and many buildings were derelict and abandoned. The few still functioning in the mostly boarded up downtown tended to house dive bars used by locals and the crews of the few shipping barges that still frequented the area. There weren't many and Grant's Inlet was considered a dying town, or at least it had been.

As more pilots began moving into the area, they too chose Grant's Inlet as their home port. Upper stories became temporary rooms those docked at port could use for the few nights they spent on shore, small stores popped up between bars to help the often hurried ships restock their provisions and many of the dive bars even got a face lift.

As her ship approached port, Elena could see that the few years that the Guild maintained a presence dramatically changed more than just the small nearby downtown. Dry docks were repaired and waiting for winter, piers had missing boards replaced, warehouses were repaired and more often than not secured with something higher tech than the rusty padlocks that were so common on her first visit. Elena cut her engines and drifted towards the docks, Thompson tossing ropes to those on shore, guiding the Storm Chaser in and securing her.

"Cargo Captain?" Felix, the head of the dock crew called in question. Elena called the affirmative and gave permission for the dock workers to begin unloading her cargo, taking it to her warehouse to be secured. As Elena watched, Jennifer came up to her. The slim girl lost the somewhat overly pale look that most of those who lived primarily on the DF seemed to get. Her skin was now bronzed from Haven's sun and slightly chapped from the salt air. Her long sun-streaked hair was bundled up at the nape of her neck in a messy knot.

"Meghan mentioned that some of the other apprentices are going out tonight, " Jennifer began somewhat hesitantly.

Elena nodded. Part of her job was to provide living space for Jennifer during her apprenticeship, in this case the spare room in her apartment. They spent so little time earthside however that occasionally Jennifer still felt like a houseguest. "You have a ride to town and your keys?" Elena asked.

"I do, " Jennifer said with a nod.

"Good, " Elena told her. "Just remember to get your local debit card from Victor so you aren't trying to spend alien currency. We'll be earthside at least three weeks so you are on leave until then, I'll let you know if anything changes."

"I get a whole three weeks off?" Jennifer said looking somewhat stunned. As they spent the usually quiet off-season working like crazy Elena wasn't surprised by the reaction.

Elena laughed. "You earned it, " she reminded her apprentice. As Jennifer had the ability to see the new channels that even many of the fully trained Guild pilots couldn't, she was sent on numerous transport runs throughout the off season even when the Storm Chaser remained docked. Each run of the circuit, she tried opening the new channel, officially dubbed the Elena much to Elena's chagrin. Jennifer was able to open the channel fairly easily now, but had yet to be able to keep it open long enough for a ship to pass. As she grew stronger with each pass, Elena was confident she one day would.

"Three weeks, " Jennifer repeated softly looking somewhat dazed. "What am I supposed to do with three weeks?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out, " Elena told her. Jennifer nodded, hefted her bag to her shoulder and went to join her friends.

"Three weeks in an actual Earth town, " Thompson commented. "And during the season no less. I thought that was forbidden." As during the season Elena was usually lucky to get one night in her apartment before shipping back out she had to admit the three weeks was an anomaly.

"Necessary evil, " Elena told him. "No doubt Victor will have a ton of paperwork for me and I'll need to make certain the shops are in order."

"Because you'll be spending the off season skyside again?" He guessed.

"Yeah, " she confirmed. "I don't like leaving things alone too long."

"Afraid your cousin will terrorize the townsfolk?" he asked with a grin.

"Actually I'm more afraid the Council will try and implement some form of martial law and Mateo will lead a revolution." Elena told him. Concerns for Haven once again began to surface and she frowned.

"You mean the other councilors, " Thompson corrected. "You are after all Council too now."

"Thanks for the reminder, " Elena said dryly as he laughed. With the unloading complete Elena hefted her bag to her shoulder and she and Thompson moved over to the lockers. Jennifer was already gone. Elena opened the locker and took out her wallet, apartment keys and cell phone.

She stared at her cell phone for a moment, almost scared to turn it back on. She left it off as she tucked it into her back pocket, feeling somewhat cowardly, but needing just one night to herself.

As she put her small bag of things she wouldn't need while she was earthside into the locker, Elena realized that several of the items she might never need again. The chief of which was the electronic key for her quarters on the Docking Facility. The DF was destroyed so the lock the key went to, no longer existed. It was now nothing more than a memento. Elena shook the thought away and closed the locker door, slipping the lock into place.

Next to her, she noticed Thompson taking everything out of his locker, leaving it empty before closing and locking it once again. "Why bother to lock it?" she asked.

"To hold my place until I come back and need to use it again, " he told her.

"Really?" Elena asked. "With the project over, won't you be reassigned or something?"

Thompson grinned. "Missing me already?" he asked.

"It's a logical question, " she returned.

"Uh huh, as long as you aren't trying to wiggle out of our date, " he said.

"I would need an actual date and time for said date if I was going to wiggle out of it, " She told him. "Neither of which I have."

"And neither of which you will get until I know my schedule, " he said with a grin.

"And your reassignment, " she finished. Thompson's grin widened, but he said nothing.

Elena narrowed her eyes. "Was that included in your rather long letter?" she asked. When the mail arrived and they each found out that the military's plan to build their own channel riding vessels was scrapped due to budgetary concerns, Thompson's letter was several pages longer than her notice. Thompson swung his bag to his shoulder and turned towards the door. Elena remembered that after reading the letter, he began writing a long document that he refused to share or explain.

"Is that what your manifesto was all about?" she asked. Thompson began to whistle as he walked. Elena frowned at his back. When he reached the door he stopped and turned.

"Enjoy your shower, " he told her giving her a little wave before he pushed the door open and stepped outside. The door swung closed behind him. Elena shook her head and looked down at Spin. The cat mewled plaintively and looked at the closed door as if willing Thompson to return. During his time with them, Spin had grown quite fond of him as he so often shared freshly caught fish with her and always seemed to have some sort of cat treat hidden in his pockets.

"Yeah, " she told the cat. "I kind of liked having Will around too." Not that she would ever admit that to him of course. He was already insufferable enough as things stood. She sighed.

"Well as I don't think we have any food left in the apartment, why don't we stop by Dockside Annie's for a bite?" she asked the cat. She lifted her own bag and headed towards the door. "Then when we get home I can soak in a bathtub full of the hottest water I can stand. Then, " she continued. "I'll paint my toenails, waste some electricity on the frivolity of a bad monster movie and not answer any phone calls, knocks on the door or answer any form of question about how some aspect of civilization functions. That is my plan." She looked down at the cat keeping pace beside her. "Doesn't that just sound like heaven?"

She opened the door. "Besides I need to give Consuelo's notes to Raymond." Spin slipped out of the door looked around and seemed disappointed that Thompson was nowhere to be seen. Elena turned towards the path up the hill and began walking towards Dockside Annie's. After a second, Spin joined her.

The restaurant was jointly owned by Peter Baranov, one of her business partners and a Councilor with a reputation a mob boss would envy, and Consuelo McCracken. In addition to being part owner, Consuelo was also the chef of Dockside Annie's. At the moment, the rather eccentric chef had taken on the responsibility of feeding Haven and delegated control of the earthside kitchen to her sous chef Raymond. Elena knew there was some sort of manager as well, but Consuelo listed him as Peter's concern and therefore irrelevant. Elena decided leaving anything considered Peter's concern strictly to Peter sounded like a good plan.

Elena offered Consuelo a ride back so she could return to her restaurant, but was told the chef was having too much fun and was not ready to go. Apparently an entire planet full of new ingredients to experiment with and assisting with agricultural development as new farms were established counted as fun.

"Not to mention the minions, " Elena said to herself. "Can't forget Consuelo's minions." Elena wasn't quite sure where they came from, but Consuelo always seemed to have a bevy of folks at her command, ready and willing to obey her orders. It was somewhat disconcerting. Elena shrugged. "Well as long as she is happy where she is I suppose we are fine." Admittedly, Elena got the feeling Consuelo was always happy where she was and that if she weren't, she would just leave.

She arrived at the front door of the restaurant and reached for the handle. She paused as she realized that as Dockside Annie's catered primarily to the Guild crowd, the odds of having a quick and quiet meal were slim to none. For a second, she thought about turning around and picking something up at a drive through. Spin mewled her impatience at her feet and Elena gave in and opened the door. After all, she was already here. They went inside. As no channel rider shipped out without a cat, Spin's presence merely caused the hostess to smile.

"Welcome, " the hostess said picking up a menu from the stack on her stand. "Is it just the two of you?"

Elena smiled at the thought of Spin being considered one of her party. "It is, " she replied. As if guessing the source of her amusement, Spin stuck her tail in the air and haughtily led them to the table the hostess arranged for them. The table had four chairs and in one was placed a decorative pillow. Spin immediately took possession of the pillow, circling and eventually settling herself regally to wait for her human to finish. Elena shook her head and pulled out her own chair.

All around the room she could see other cats enjoying their privileged seats. Elena's smile faded when her scanning eyes spotted her cousin Therese. She tried to pretend her cousin's presence didn't bother her as she took a seat. As long as Therese was willing to remain on the other side of the room, Elena could ignore her. She slipped into her seat, sighed to herself and wondered how long her current policy of ignoring Therese could last.

When the family gathered for Nate's wedding, Therese tried to kill her by running her over with a car. Since then Therese mostly kept her distance. "Well not entirely, " Elena admitted to herself as she picked up the menu and began looking over her options. Once on the DF, Therese allowed her anger to spew, telling Elena that she would take their grandfather's seat on the council and that Elena would not get in her way. Her temper was redirected when their cousin Mateo was officially named as Alexandro's heir. That however was before the destruction of the DF and Elena's sudden rise to the North American Council seat.

Elena frowned at the menu. While Therese was the source of some malicious rumors, she had done nothing else since the season reopened and the new arrangements were revealed to the Council as a whole. She liked to believe that Therese had the brains to at least not rock the boat too much when things were already so unstable, but had the feeling the shock of the changes were the main factor in her good behavior. Therese was never one to work well on the fly, she needed time to process and plan.

Elena didn't know if, as Mateo was still considered Alexandro's heir, Therese would be seeking her as an ally or if she was plotting something else. She shook her head and decided not to let it ruin her meal. As long as Therese kept her distance, she wouldn't worry about it. At the moment there was already a host of other more pressing concerns to serve as a focus for her attentions. Elena chose her entree and folded the menu closed. Elena set the menu down and reached under the table to pull some papers out of the top of her bag.

"You aren't planning on working through your first meal back, are you?" Elena recognized the voice and looked up to find Peter Baranov standing next to her table as she set the papers next to her silverware.

"I am not, " she told him, smiling politely. "I didn't know you were in town."

"I needed to check in with Nicolas at the warehouse." He told her. He gestured towards the empty chairs. "Are you expecting company?" he asked.

"No, " Elena replied. "You are welcome to join me if you would like. Was there trouble at the warehouse?" The warehouse that Nicolas, Peter's brother, ran was not only a storage facility for the merchandise their jointly owned business, Nibbles, sold, it contained both a testing facility where off world foods could be tested for known allergens, and a commercial kitchen. It was also situated in the complex with the repackaging plant where those off world goods, deemed acceptable for local market, could be outfitted with more earth friendly labels.

"No nothing's wrong, " he assured her as he settled himself across the table from her. Spin cracked open an eye and stared at him a moment before once again dismissing him. Unlike Thompson, Peter did not stand high in Spin's affections. "I just want to check in."

"Ah, " Elena replied, relaxing slightly. "The season has only been opened a few weeks, do you think something could have gone wrong so quickly?" Unlike Elena, Peter spent the off season earthside. In fact, all of the Council spent the off season earthside. It was an issue that many in the Guild were not happy with, creating an almost palatable uneasiness. Even though the Matrovean stopped advancing when the season closed, the Council left with no safety net in place, should their advancement resume. The Guild at large had not taken the abandonment of leadership well.

"I believe my brother has been working on ways to expand merchandise based on some of Haven's goods."

"I see, " Elena said. Even though repeated conversations with Peter made her more comfortable around him, she still wasn't easy making small talk with him, convinced she would inadvertently say something that would set off a chain of events she didn't want. It was always a conversational minefield. In addition, Elena wasn't certain how her recent change in status altered their dynamic. Previously, he started edging from professional into more personal waters. Since arriving in Haven however he returned to all business and she wasn't sure how to ask him about the change without looking incredibly foolish. Asking a rather dangerous man why he suddenly stopped flirting with you didn't seem like the best approach. She tried not to sigh with relief as the waiter returned, giving her a momentary reprieve.

"Do you know what you would like?" he asked politely.

"I do, " Elena replied. She looked to Peter who nodded in agreement and gestured for her to order first. "I'd like the roast chicken with peas and fingerling potatoes." She told him. Elena picked up the papers from the table. "And if you could pass these to Raymond when you get a chance, I would appreciate it. Consuelo asked me to deliver them." The waiter took the papers and then took Peter's order before departing.

"So it wasn't work then, " Peter said reaching for his water glass.

"Nope, " she replied. "It was just my turn to deliver the mail."

"And I see you went with one of the few classic items on the menu, " he said. Elena smiled. Mixed in with the regular earth based food were a host of interstellar items that many of the Guild had grown fond of, albeit renamed to disguise the origins. Usually like the rest of the Guild, she mixed and matched, but for her first meal home she decided against it.

"You know what I like about my order?" Elena said with a smile as though offering a confession. "When it gets here, I'm willing to bet that the chicken will taste like chicken, the potatoes like potatoes and the peas, like peas. No guess work involved."

Peter chuckled. "This is true. Although I have to say I was getting rather fond of that swamp rice. Quite the hearty meal."

"It is the breakfast of champions, " Elena said with a smile. "Although I still have reservations about the name."

As they waited for their meal, they discussed relatively safe topics like the weather, Elena's adapting to training an apprentice, Peter's opinion of the area and food. Elena avoided all mention of her rise to the position of Councilor, Andre, and how she managed to open and pass her ship through a closed channel. Thus far no one directly brought that topic up and Elena was hoping it would remain that way for a while.

Their meals arrived and Elena thought about asking about Zolotoy Consulting, the business Peter had in town, but decided against it. He never actually admitted it was his and she didn't want to look as though she were prying. If nothing else, looking as though she were prying might provide him the opening to pry into her life and Elena was realizing that she was rapidly accumulating some rather dangerous secrets.

The safe topics lasted through dinner with a little stretching, and Elena declined dessert deciding it was more than time for her to be home. They paid their separate checks and Spin jumped off of her pillow to lead the way to the door. As they walked through the dining room towards the door, Elena noticed that Therese was watching her intently from across the room. She was surprised to see that Therese was not sitting with her usual band of cohorts.

Instead she was surrounded by a group of people Elena had never seen her cousin with and she wondered if they were thrown together by seating availability or by choice. Oddly enough, Elena spotted several of Therese's usual companions seated across the room. As she noticed them, Isa, Therese's usual partner in crime, smiled and waved. Elena nodded and smiled back, but continued to follow Peter out of the restaurant.

"That was odd, " Elena said, mostly to herself as they left the building.

"Your cousin's new friends?" Peter asked. "Yes, they do bear watching." He looked at her speculatively. "I am impressed you recognized them." Elena made a non-committal noise and wondered if she could get Victor to identify her cousin's new pals before it became an issue. If Peter thought they bore watching, she had the feeling she might want to pay attention. When they reached her car, Elena opened the door and let Spin take possession of the passenger's seat. She turned and realized Peter was grinning.

"Something amusing?" She asked, seeing nothing special about her cat riding shotgun.

"The last time I saw your car, Thompson was riding with you. But now with the military moving on Thompson is too. Hopefully going somewhere far, far away. Your ship's cat once again has her place in the passenger's seat and our normality has been restored."

"As long as they take Smith far, far away, I'll be happy, " Elena said, not pointing out that Thompson had officially been recognized as a member of the House of Nelson and could legitimately return without the military imperative. As Peter sauntered away and she slid behind her steering wheel starting her drive home, Elena realized that she was hoping that Thompson would return and not in fact go far, far away. She shook her head.

"Bathtub, bad movie and polishing my toe nails, " Elena said to herself. "That's it for tonight. Tomorrow we'll deal with everything else."

Chapter 3

The next morning, Elena awoke feeling more like her old self. "A night off now and again actually helps, who knew, " she said. Elena slipped her foot out from under the covers and wiggled her toes. She initially started with a scarlet polish, but had been unable to resist throwing a coat of glitter polish over it. "Cause nothing says I run the world like glitter toenail polish, " she said with a smile to her wiggling toes.

She slipped out of bed and opened her closet door. Ignoring the well-worn and newly washed clothing she took from her bags, Elena instead chose a blue blouse, gray pencil skirt and heels from her closet. She added clean underwear from the chest of drawers and headed off to the bathroom. A little while later she emerged, freshly showered and dressed. She even managed to wrangle her hair into an updo that she thought didn't look half bad.

"Not tromping through jungles today my friend, " She told Spin when she caught the cat staring. Elena picked up a pair of earrings and fitted them in her ears. "I am not fleeing raiders or even sailing through choppy waters." She walked into the kitchen and found a note from Jennifer saying the girl went out for breakfast. As Spin's food was the only edible left in the house, Elena thought it showed superior wisdom.

She filled Spin's bowl and decided to swing by the bakery on her way into the laboratory. She turned Jennifer's note over and scrawled her own return message asking Jennifer to list food items she wanted to include on the grocery list. The optimistic part of Elena's brain was hoping she would be able to get to the store sometime in the late afternoon.

A part of her wanted to immediately go to the stores, Calabrese Imports and Nibbles to check on things and make certain there were no problems, but she resisted, knowing Victor would have a status report on each and she might need the updates before she appeared. "After all, " she thought as she picked up the few items she needed and headed to her car. "I'm not quite certain where my paperwork lists where I was last. Probably ought to find out before someone asks me."

As getting stranded skyside during the offseason was a risk any pilot took, precautions were taken to justify the eight month long absence. Before she left, in addition to making certain all bills and paychecks were covered, Elena filled a large file with postcards from places around the globe, a schedule of timed shipments, and small souvenirs to be sent to various people. Victor managed it all for not only her, but the other eighteen pilots who sailed for her house. She was fairly certain that if he hadn't managed the same for Kiera's people, then he helped Stephen set up a similar system for those now considered the House of Terra when they had been stranded skyside as well.

Not knowing how many people would be in the office and laboratory when she arrived, Elena picked up a dozen cinnamon rolls along with her coffee. She figured the large box was also justification for not walking the few short blocks from her apartment to the lab. She felt only a minor twinge about the laziness though. As she spent more than eight months where all land travel was by foot she felt entitled to a short hop in the car.

"After all I'm saving a ton of money on gas, " she said to herself as she parked and gathered her box of treats. She thought about it as she climbed the stairs and realized she only purchased gas once in the past year. She was fairly certain that was a record, at least for her. Elena shook the thought away and listened for sounds of the office occupants. As it was still early she thought she might have actually beaten everyone in.

"At least I'll get to eat my cinnamon roll in peace before the craziness starts, " she thought immediately wondering if she could actually manage to finish her coffee before being buried in paperwork as well. She somehow doubted it, knowing that Victor would probably have left her a neat stack to start with in case she arrived while he was out. Elena sighed, but knew she couldn't complain too much. After all since hiring him, Victor took the brunt of the paperwork and had no doubt been just as busy as she during the off season. If she was honest with herself, she knew it wasn't the paperwork she was dreading. It was the council related items she feared would soon be showing up that made her twitchy.

Elena reached the top of the stairs and saw that the coded door to the laboratory was closed, as it should be. She waited a moment, but heard no sounds coming from behind the door. She couldn't remember if it was soundproofed or not and shrugged, giving up her eavesdropping attempt. She turned towards the office, noting that the light was already on and the scent of coffee had gotten stronger. Elena pushed open the door and stepped inside. Victor and Lisa, her friend and lawyer, were already inside. Victor was pouring two cups of coffee and Lisa was reading through what Elena strongly suspected was the day's schedule.

"I'm almost through with running the background checks, " Lisa was saying. "But I'm not quite certain how to vet them through the Council. Do we submit our files or just the names?" Before Victor could answer they noticed Elena arrived.

"Oh, " Lisa said with a smile. "We didn't expect you until later."

"You knew I was back then?" she asked. She walked over to the table where the coffee pot was located, placed the bakery box down and took a cinnamon roll to eat, gesturing to the others to take what they wanted.

"I love when they are hot, " Lisa said, picking up a napkin and a treat after setting down her paper. "Even if my thighs are calling you very mean names."

"You were spotted at Dockside Annie's having dinner with your fellow councilor and Jennifer stopped in to pick up her debit card." Victor told her.

"Accepting the council seat was a necessary evil, " she told him. "And somewhat spur of the moment. Had I been given the time I would have told you first." She replied, sensing a slight reproach in his tone. Elena chewed a bite of her breakfast and washed it down with some coffee.

"Actually, if I had time to think about it, I probably would have run away screaming."

Victor shook his head, looking slightly amused. "Well it wasn't too much trouble in the end, " he told her consolingly.

Lisa shook her head and gave a good humored eyeroll. "And since Victor was able to pretend he knew all about it, everyone thinks you were in complete control the whole time."

"Well except for the Matrovean aspects anyway, " Victor added. "No one thinks you control them."

"I can't believe that beautiful place is gone, that library..., " Lisa sighed. Elena smiled. Lisa's love of the written word ran almost as deep as that held by Evan Greggs, the Senior Librarian on Haven.

"We had time to transfer everything off of the DF before it was destroyed, " Elena assured her.

"And there will probably be the same window like ceiling in the new one when it is finished. There might be a different view though. I'm not certain if the new station will be built in the same location."

"Ah, " Victor said. "That is probably part of the discussion then."

"Discussion?" Elena asked.

"Yes, you got a schedule from the Council secretary, " he continued. "You have a meeting scheduled aboard the Lorenzo a week from now. The schedule was addressed to me as your assistant so that I could put it on the calendar, but the enclosed agenda was sealed for council eyes only. I placed it on your desk."

"Oh, " Elena said. "Thanks. Did they schedule a lot of things?" she asked slowly.

"Not many, " Victor assured her. "And most will be take place in Haven as the season is open. They appear to be just general Guild business. The first one is scheduled here on the Lorenzo partially because Council chambers have not been officially designated on Haven and apparently the Council owned ship is viewed as being more secure."

Elena remembered the gathered crowds waiting outside the ad hoc council chamber when she, Commander McLaughlin, and Mateo were called in to explain what had happened in the Council's absence. She wasn't certain how secret the council tried to keep the meeting, but whatever attempts they made failed miserably. Elena shook off the thought.

"So I have a few days then, any immediate concerns?" Elena's heart sunk as she saw Victor and Lisa exchange looks. "Oh, this is going to be bad isn't it?" she asked.

"Not bad exactly, " Lisa said slowly and rather unconvincingly. "But perhaps you had better sit down." Elena finished her cinnamon roll, wiped off her hands and threw away the napkin.

"Conference room?" she suggested. Both Lisa and Victor nodded. Elena took her coffee to the conference room and pulled a large file along with her notebook out of her bag as Lisa and Victor gathered their things and joined her. Elena lifted an eyebrow in surprise when Victor closed the conference room door behind himself before taking a seat. Normally, they just left it open as the small room had notoriously bad air flow. She felt nerves begin to dance in her belly. Lisa looked to Victor to begin.

"Well, " he started slowly as though still gathering his thoughts. "When you shipped out with Kiera's people... the House of Terra, " he corrected. "To prevent them from becoming test subjects in a laboratory, those left behind executed a... duck and cover sort of routine. People were moved around like some sort of giant shell game. It was really something to see, they are quite adept at protecting their own." He sounded impressed.

"Kiera mentioned they had done so many times before, " Elena replied thinking of the conversation she had with Mateo's new wife.

"It showed, " Victor said, his respect clear in his voice. There was nothing Victor liked more than a well-executed plan. "When the dust settled, it was found that those who planned to take the children for testing had no connection to the Guild or the military folks who were looking into the Guild. I don't know who they were, as Stephen didn't share that knowledge, but we weren't involved."

"Well, at least we aren't responsible for putting them in the crosshairs, " Elena said. It was one of her biggest worries, that somehow she made Kiera and those like her targets. She felt a giant however hovering over their heads.

"True, " Victor said nodding. "They were grateful for the emergency assistance and were just as eager as we were for the season to open again, maybe more so. There was a great deal of relief when messages began to arrive and everyone knew those who went with you were safe. After the relief, came speculation."

"Speculation, " Elena repeated, knowing this was the basis of the giant however.

"Yes, " Victor paused and took a sip of his coffee.

"Apparently many of them are tired of hiding, tired of always being on the run. Especially those with families, " Lisa told her.

Elena could understand. Kiera and those of the House of Terra worked with plants, seeing what any plant needed to grow in a healthy manner as well as all of the innate properties in the plants they touched. They could also enhance the growth of the plants, turning a seed into a fully grown plant in seconds in a way Elena still had trouble not mentally calling magic, despite the fact Kiera claimed it was similar to the way Elena opened channels.

"The ones who sent letters home mentioned that even though there were dangers in Haven and the living is somewhat primitive, there was a certain... freedom in no longer having to hide, " Victor continued.

Elena nodded. After all she had to hide her piloting skills and knew the weariness of keeping secrets.

"Stephen mentioned that many of them were writing back with the request that the things they left behind be sent along to them. Many of them are not planning to return earthside."

Elena nodded again. "I saw some of the shipping manifests. Many of those settling are working smaller farms outside the town, " she told them. "Evan has started working with some of them to establish a school of some sort."

"And a lot of those still here want to join them, " Lisa told her getting to the meat of the matter. "Even though he doesn't know all of the details, Bob is helping some of them sell their homes, or at least the ones who were in the area to begin with, other agents are dealing with the more distant properties. Bob is however helping to arrange temporary housing for those coming here from out of town. He believes they are just being transferred to a different office or moving closer to elderly family, all of the usual reasons people decide to move." Lisa's husband Bob was a real estate agent and Elena wondered how much he knew.

"Does he know some of the details?" She asked curious.

Lisa shrugged. "I told him it was part of the project I was working on with you and he respects the confidentiality agreement you had me sign. Besides, I couldn't figure out a way to explain off-world resettlement without sounding crazy. When you explained it to me, I still didn't actually believe until you took me to Haven. At some point though, I would like to share if you are willing to take him, us, with you on a trip out. It might help him is settling some of the issues here. I really don't like not telling him something this...immense."

"Sure, I think we can do that, " she told Lisa. Elena blinked, the conversation finally hitting her like a body blow. "Colonists, " she said incredulously. "They want to be colonists."

Lisa and Victor both nodded. Lisa opened the top folder she brought with her. "We've been making a list of people, along with their basic skills, number and ages of those in their households. We told them there was a series of background checks needed before the possibility could even be considered. We also told them nothing was definite. They seemed fine with that."

Elena let out a yip of a laugh and shook her head even as she realized the yip might sound slightly hysterical. As anyone associated with the group that had gone through a background check came out with a spotless record, Elena had no doubt that no one minded the checks or thought they wouldn't pass.

"We have been compiling resumes and basic data as well, " Lisa continued ignoring Elena's half strangled laugh. "Stephen said someone named James is in charge. He is apparently in control of their giant shell game, or at least the local branch of it."

Elena sighed and opened her folder, bowing to the inevitable. "Mateo made a list of things we are going to need. He mixed people in as well. Maybe we can start matching people from the two lists and see where we are. It would at least be a place to start." Elena handed the multi-page list to Lisa and looked over to Victor. "And I guess we will need to schedule a meeting with James, the master of the human shell game. Not today, I would just like to see where things stand today, but sometime before I next ship out."

Victor nodded and started making notes. He looked relieved and Elena was glad someone did. Lisa scanned the first page of the list and smiled. "Who made this list?" she asked sounding amused.

"It was a group effort, " Elena told her. "I added a few things, Mateo and Kiera each added things and I think Benjamin put some items on there as well, why?"

Lisa cleared her throat and began to read the list out loud. "Twinkies, optometrist, water heater, bug spray, obstetrician, pens and pencils (all varieties), whet stones, dentist, pvc pipe, " she read. "And that's just a part of the first page."

"I think there are plumbers listed on there too, " she told her friend with a grin. "And the twinkies are for Benjamin. As he is dealing with Haven's insanity while I am here, I plan to get several boxes of those to go with me. Those are very important. That's why they are underlined, twice."

"Why don't I start with separating out supplies from people and see where we end up?" Lisa suggested with a laugh.

"Sounds like a plan, " Elena said. "Was that all of the emergency - deal with immediately- stuff?" She asked hopefully. Victor gave her a somewhat pitying look and Lisa laughed. This laugh held little humor. "Of course not, " she corrected herself with a sigh. "Clearly that wouldn't be everything. What was I thinking?"

"Congratulations were sent from a variety of folks when you received your seat, " Victor began reading from his notes. "Most of those congrats also held a request for a meeting at your earliest convenience, either here or skyside depending on your schedule. Several are more than willing to discuss things over the phone as well if you find that more convenient." He glanced at Elena and hurried to reassure her. "I don't think there are any current problems, I think they more or less just want to get on your radar. The Council sent over a couple of boxes of things for you. Those boxes are still taped up and in your office. They also sent over what looks like some sort of new councilor handbook, " Victor told her reading from his list.

"There are also the standard business reviews for both of the stores and the various contract businesses. The perfumery is particularly thrilled with the shipment you sent at the opening of the season along with the extra samples for their consideration. They sent over an order for the next shipment for you to look over." Elena nodded as he continued down his list. After the request to export colonists, it all seemed rather tame. Finally, he wound to a close.

"Okay, " Elena said, her pen still as she finished scrawling her own notes. "Lisa, anything else?"

"Just Tina, " Lisa replied with a frown.

"Tina?" Elena said thinking of their mutual friend. As far as Tina knew, Elena was just a small business owner running an imports store. "Is something wrong?" The last time Elena was home Tina was traveling, dealing with some sort of corporate merger. As Elena was uncertain what she actually did, she didn't know the details.

"Yeah, well after you were named as a counselor, the Guild sent over a link to some sort of database and search engine so that we could run our own background checks on people since that is something each councilor has to do apparently."

Elena nodded remembering the rules. "Which you were unable to resist using?" Elena guessed knowing her friend. There was very little Lisa enjoyed more than research.

"Well it was addressed to your tech team, so Victor and I flipped a coin to see which of us that was and I won." Lisa told her with a grin. "Just so you know, you are short on entourage members."

"I'll get on that, " Elena told her. "Were you thinking of adding Tina to the list?"

Lisa's smile faded. "Not exactly. I started out looking into the people who wanted to ship out with you. Going the business first route. But nothing was coming up on any of them. I would get their education and work history and all that, but everything else was squeaky clean. It was kind of a letdown, so I looked into myself just to make sure the system worked."

"Makes sense, " Elena replied.

"Yeah, well now I know where that permanent record everyone talks about goes. You had a record of me taking third place in the fourth grade spelling bee in my file. Complete with pictures I might add."

"They like to be thorough, " Elena said, hoping Lisa wasn't offended. "The information isn't public knowledge. Only those doing the background checks see the information and they only pass on a yes or no for vetting with an occasional conditional requirement."

"Conditional requirement?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, that would be something like, we noticed that there were a lot of speeding tickets issued to this person and then one day they were all taken off, so check into why they were wiped off the record and as long as it is something that can't come back on us you are cleared." Elena explained. "I was warned about Kiera's people because they all came back so squeaky clean that it looked like their records were professionally wiped. I asked Kiera about it, she told me why and I accepted her explanation. I didn't have to tell the Council why as that was considered a private matter for my House, and now I suppose Mateo's, to deal with."

Lisa shook her head. "You know this is what makes the Guild law books so bizarrely fascinating to study. There are all of these tiny rules governing minutia of things like using wax seals and determining Head of House status, but then there are these large sections of 'here's our advice now, go do what you want'. It is so strange."

Elena smiled. "It is due to a number of factors, " she explained. "Part of it is that the Guild includes people from a host of different nations, each with their own traditions and customs. When the Guild was formed everyone had to find a way to deal with each other. So they codified certain things to create a unified organization and let others slide. Besides on a ship, the captain has ultimate control with the crew following orders. They are a hard lot to wrangle, even the ones who are more legit merchant than pirate. Following the minutia makes you one of the group and helps you identify others who are also part of the whole, but as long as you follow the few basic rules you can pretty much run your life as you see fit."

"Ah, " Lisa said. "Well, once I found out my spelling bee third place ribbon was recorded for posterity along with a very adorable picture of me in pigtails I might add, I decided to look up Tina."

"Did you finally figure out what she does for Groban, Inc?" Elena asked, curious.

"No, " Lisa said frowning. "I could only find records for Tina dating back about seven years. All seven of those years she worked for Groban, Inc." Lisa sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Groban, Inc. has also only been on file as a company for seven years. Their corporate website says they've been in operation for twenty years, but there is no information on them any further back than seven years. No taxes, no incorporation papers, no records of any kind. And even the paperwork that can be found on them for the seven years is...textbook perfect looking. It's as if someone said, we need to have something legit looking, but wasn't too worried about the details. It's not the same wiped clean record of the others, it's just a whole lot of nothing. Unless I missed something, Groban Incorporated and Tina popped into being seven years ago more or less about the same time we met her at Art's benefit gala."

"Great, " Elena said with a sigh. "And I was worried Smith would go undercover." Elena rubbed her forehead. "Okay, print out all the info you have on her and Groban and hand me the file, I'll pass it on to someone who might know more and we'll see what we can find out. " Lisa nodded, looking relieved and Elena mentally added to her to do list.

With everything more or less outlined for her, Elena took her notes and files back to her office to begin to sort through the events of the past few months and to chart a possible course for the future. She sat down at her desk and pulled the first stack towards her, relegating her worries about Tina to the back of her mind for the moment.