Haven: Book Four of The Channel Riders

Chapter 1

Elena came awake slowly and blinked blearily at her bedroom ceiling. There was a small hairline crack in the plaster from where the old building settled. She lay there contemplating it for a moment, wondering if it had gotten bigger or if she was just projecting. After all the cracks in her life were bigger, why shouldn't the ones in her ceiling?

Elena knew she needed to get up, but put it off a few minutes more as she silently contemplated the crack in the plaster. She felt the covers move as Spin jumped onto the bed and padded over, her silent cat feet shifting the blankets. Spin stopped mere inches from Elena's face and meowed. Elena tried ignoring Spin. The cat inched forward and meowed again. The gray cat was so close that her whiskers were almost touching Elena's face. Apparently sleeping in was not to be permitted.

"Fine, " Elena said out loud. Spin backed away as Elena sat up in bed. Spin watched her as though afraid that Elena might go back to sleep if she was not under constant observation.

"What are you going to do if I actually manage to get a day off?" She asked Spin. The cat tilted her head a little as if to mock the possibility. Elena frowned, admitting to herself that the cat was right and walked over to the bathroom. She managed to escape the cat's eyes until she returned to the bedroom.

Elena pulled on a pair of gray dress slacks and a red short sleeved shirt. It had a wide oval neck line and a decorative bow off to the side. Elena smiled. In the time she had known him, Elena came to realize that Smith did not enjoy dealing with non-military personnel and when he did deal with them, he wanted them to look as military as possible.

Elena quickly ran a brush through her straight black hair and frowned. It had grown out again when she wasn't looking. Pilots, as a general rule, either kept their hair long so that it could be tied back in a long tail and stay out of the way or very short for pretty much the same reason. Elena cut her long braid off when she left the Guild and wore her hair in a short shaggy bob cut until she returned. Now, her hair was almost brushing her shoulders, which was, as far as she was concerned, the worst possible length. If left loose it blew into her eyes, if she tried to tie it back, large sections refused to be contained.

"I suppose I need to get it cut again, " Elena said to herself. She added bright red lipstick to her mouth as an extra jab at Smith's sensibilities. She had no clue when she would be able to actually make an appointment to get a haircut.

Knowing that during the season Elena was only in town a few days at a time; Smith demanded this meeting citing life and death, national security and anything else he could think of to verbally hurl her way. Elena dutifully passed the message on to Peter, the Guild's representative, but he had his own business to take care of during the season, so she had been authorized by the Council to meet with the local military representatives alone. It was not an honor she was particularly thrilled to receive.

Elena was pretty sure it was planned that way and she was also pretty sure she knew why. She slipped on a pair of utterly impractical heels and hoped they gave Smith a coronary. Having seen too many horror movies where the heroine was forced to run away from the bad guys wearing impractical heels, Elena slipped a pair of sneakers into her oversized purse, just in case. After all, if she had the comfortable running shoes with her, it cut down on the possibility that a knife wielding psycho would chase her. It was like carrying an umbrella; it only rained when you left it behind. With the books the bag was carrying relegated to her office downtown, there was plenty of room.

"And they aren't nearly as heavy, " she commented as she walked to the kitchen and set the bag on the table.

Elena poured Spin's breakfast into her bowl and found her observation time ended as the cat dismissed her. Elena's primary role as the bringer of food was fulfilled, she was no longer important. Realizing there was no time for her own breakfast, Elena made her escape before Spin could protest the lack of wet food added to the dry.

It was still early in the season, but Elena was skyside more than usual. On planet RJ457 Mateo, Kiera and their teams were setting up camp. She and the other ships that sailed for her odd little House were busy not only ferrying the resources they came across to her labs here on earth, but to the Docking Facility or DF, which served as the human centric outpost in the middle of the intergalactic trade routes. In addition, since the team was planning to spend the off season on the planet, Elena was making certain they procured enough supplies to make it through without depending on local resources.

"At least the planet's channel is deep enough to be used off season, " she muttered to herself as she took the back stairwell to the garage. "They can get to the DF in an emergency even if they can't get back to Earth." Elena unlocked her battered green Toyota and realized she would have to make time to get its oil changed. She made a mental note to scan the vehicle for bugs before taking it to the shop as she wasn't sure how the mechanics would feel about discovering she was being spied upon. It was not exactly something she wanted advertised no matter whose side they ended up rooting for.

Elena pulled out of the garage and drove down the small access road. There was no traffic and she easily pulled onto the street. Elena delayed going back out by a day to accommodate the meeting with Smith. She knew he wanted to talk to her without Peter's looming presence and figured getting the meeting out of the way before he turned to drastic measures was probably a good idea. She requested that the meeting be early in the day though as she wanted to check on a few things before heading back out in the morning. She hoped desperately for a short meeting, but figured she hoped in vain.

The sun was still a dim haze on the horizon as she drove towards the nearby military base Smith preferred for his meetings. Elena yawned. The dream returned in the night and she felt exhausted by it. In her dream she was dancing with a masked man she couldn't identify. She was wearing a ball gown and a gorgeous diamond necklace.

Then as she spun, the chandelier's crystal drops turned to rain and when her dance partner let her go, she was left gasping for breath on the deck of the Storm Chaser as a storm raged around her. As usual, her clothing changed, but the necklace remained. In the dream she knew she had cargo she could not allow to fall into the wrong hands and even though the season shallowed the channel, she used her abilities to stretch it and pull her ship through. Her dreams now added a second ship, the military ship that Thompson's crew operated.

"Of course that has been sunk to the bottom of the ocean on a different planet in a different galaxy so it can't be that ship, " Elena muttered as she drove, barely registering the early spring flowers that popped up on the side of the road. The dream had her somewhat spooked. She had the same dream more times than she could count, often repeating several times in a single night.

It wasn't that the dream was completely terrifying, except for the heart pounding end, it wasn't. However, over time it seemed to be getting more detailed. "As though I were driving towards it and could see it more clearly the closer I come." The thought shook her. That wasn't the way dreams were supposed to work.

She had already seen the chandelier from her dreams in real life. It was in a private ball room in the upstairs portion of Danvers. She found its appearance disconcerting. Luckily, it remained as crystal and not turned to rain. The restaurant was the place to see and be seen on the DF if you were a political mover and shaker in the Guild of Families.

"Or if you want to be a political mover and shaker, " Elena thought trying to push thoughts of her cousin Therese far away, those shook her as much as the dream although in a different way. Since her cousin tried to kill her by running her over with her car, Elena did a lot of carefully not thinking about Therese. She was afraid that if she did her anger would boil over and she would do something that could not be undone. Elena wanted to make sure that if she did something permanent, it was the right thing and wouldn't harm anyone else.

Elena sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Not long ago, she only had herself to worry about. These days it seemed like every time she turned around her responsibilities grew. Two years ago she could have simply walked up to her cousin and slapped her silly with very little in the way of repercussions.

"Admittedly two years ago she wouldn't have tried to kill me." Elena pulled her car to a stop at the gates and gave the guard her name. Her identity was checked and the gate lifted.

"Lucky me, " she said under her breath as she drove onto the base and up to the building Smith always used. Elena parked and was escorted to the conference room. The young man who was her escort left her in the empty conference room and returned with coffee.

Figuring they weren't going to drug her before they spoke with her, Elena thanked him and poured herself a cup from the communal pot. She settled into the comfortable chair placed around the gleaming conference table. Elena glanced at the large mirror stationed on the wall across from her.

She knew her sessions were recorded as she had seen the transcripts and wouldn't put video past them. She stared at her face for a moment. The summer's humidity curled the ends of her hair a little and she absently tucked a curling strand behind her ear. As usual she thought her chin was too pointed, but she long ago made peace with that. Elena made a face at the mirror, crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue.

"Put that in the official record, " she said to her reflection, knowing it was a two-way mirror. She had the feeling that if there was a video camera it was located behind the mirror. She took another sip of coffee, wondering how long they would keep her waiting. Elena was halfway through her coffee when Smith, Jonathan, and Thompson entered. Whatever hopes she had that Thompson might not have reported her excursion to an unoccupied planet faded instantly at the sight of him.

'Not that it was a high hope, ' Elena thought glumly. 'I think reporting stuff like that is part of his job description.'

"Good of you to join us, " Smith said gruffly. He jerked a chair away from the table as though he suspected it harbored a snake in its seat cushion. Elena shrugged. Smith, it seemed, was always in a bad mood. Thompson being added into the mix just seemed to exacerbate the situation. Elena didn't know if it had anything to do with rank, perceived authority or a personal grudge, but it seemed to be consistent.

She became accustomed to watching Smith's veins bulge in his neck as he tried to keep from yelling at her. He even had one in his forehead that would stand out every now and again. Thompson seemed to produce a teeth grinding effect in Smith and it was often hard to tell which of them irked him more. Elena was pleased that she wasn't his only target.

It was an interesting combination. The longer their conversations went, the more his anger bubbled. Elena was fairly certain that one day his veins would reach capacity and blow and his head would pop up like a pez dispenser. She doubted there would be candy inside.

"Good morning, " Jonathan said to her in a pleasant tone.

"Morning, " she replied as she watched him take his seat. Ever since he confessed to knowing the pilot Anna Sorensen as a teenager and worrying over her fate, Elena had grown unsure of how to deal with him. Jonathan showed her that Andre was betraying her by giving away information to Riko's nephew Douglas, but she didn't know if he reported the Guild politics to Smith. She was fairly certain that, like Thompson, reporting things of that nature was part of his job description. Somehow she didn't think he had though, and that gave her pause.

'I think I liked it better when I could just treat him like a used car salesman trying to sell me something I didn't want, ' she thought. Thompson merely nodded vaguely in her direction and poured himself a cup of coffee before sitting down.

"You lied to us, " Smith declared, his eyes nearly blazing with righteous fury.

"About what?" Elena asked. While she managed to duck certain questions and avoid other topics all together she didn't think she outright lied, although she wasn't sure why they expected her to tell the truth to them in the first place. They made their introductions after Smith sent people to kidnap her. She added more coffee to her already half empty cup, filling it again and letting the new coffee warm the old.

"You have a whole other planet, " Smith said accusingly.

"I don't own it, " Elena told him with a smile. "And it's not like I hid it in the closet until you were gone. Besides you never asked about planets."

"We never...never." Smith sputtered and Elena wondered if this was the moment he would actually have a coronary. She had never actually been the direct cause of someone's death before and despite her own jokes, wasn't sure she liked the idea. She was still a little squidgy about the way Ian died. Everyone watched Smith as he tried to calm himself down.

'Apparently I'm not the only one worried, ' Elena thought noticing the others' concern. She wondered if he had a history of heart problems.

"Should we get you some water?" she asked him.

"I don't need water, " he barked. "I need answers."

"You might want to start by asking questions, " Elena replied, her concern blunted by irritation. She caught a small smile from Thompson, which he quickly covered by lifting his coffee mug up for a drink.

'I'm glad someone is amused, ' she thought sourly.

"Will you please tell us about the planet?" Jonathan asked politely as Smith continued to sputter like an overheated kettle.

"The Guild of Families is a merchant Guild, " Elena said. She thought through her responses very carefully. She formed some guesses as to what they would ask and she knew what Thompson saw. She was wondering how much she would be allowed to get away with.

"That means we trade, " she continued. "The planet is a part of the trade routes." That wasn't an outright lie, but it was a little gray, even she had to admit that. Elena was trying hard not to directly lie to them, but not to tell too much. It was a fine line to walk, but she didn't want to find out what would happen if they caught her in a direct lie. She got the impression it would be bad, probably almost as bad as if the Guild believed she was giving away centuries- old secrets.

"And why couldn't our ships find the channel?" Smith asked sounding indignant.

"Have you been able to locate any channels from the skyside with your ships?" she asked. "From what I saw before you hadn't managed to spot the one you just managed to sail through once you were on the other side. I don't know why you are surprised you couldn't find another one."

"We have had our issues, " Thompson said agreeably. "But several of your trained pilots seemed unable to open the channel you sailed through to the planet." Elena tried not to frown, keeping her expression politely blank. She was hoping he hadn't noticed that.

"Not all pilots sail the same routes, " She told him.

"And the soldiers, " Smith asked.

"They stayed with the team we left on the planet to study the plants and the ruins." Elena said.

"Not our soldiers. Yours."

"I don't have any soldiers, " Elena said truthfully. Thompson smiled. It looked more predatory than friendly.

"There were armed men and women on the planet, " he pointed out.

"There are also large predatory beasts on the planet, " Elena replied, returning Thompson's smile with one of her own. She knew he enjoyed being a bastard and she had no problem giving it right back to him.

"You have an army, " Smith declared. Elena hardly thought that a fair description of the Librarian's guards. "Armies invade."

"You are worried about humans invading Earth?" she asked lifting an eyebrow in mock surprise.

"Aliens, " he hissed from between his teeth.

"Most aliens don't even like us all that much. They tend to think of us as intergalactic comic relief. Boxed sets of old Star Trek episodes are given as gag gifts. I don't know of any race planning to invade us."

"Why not?" Smith asked, sounding somewhat offended. Elena shrugged.

"We are violent and brutish and often viewed as backwards yokels who can't even manage to get along with ourselves for more than a decade at a time. And even that is pushing it. We're amusing to watch, but trust me; no-one wants to get involved."

Apparently the concept that an alien race would know about Earth and not consider it worth bothering to invade was not one Smith was prepared to accept. He kept circling back throughout the morning's discussions, even though it was clear that Thompson was more interested in the planet.

After the third time Smith asked about potential invasion forces, Elena glanced at her watch. Normally she didn't wear one and only checked the time on her cell phone, but she learned that Smith would take all of her time if she let him and she wanted to be able to check the time without digging through her purse during the meeting. The Marvin the Martian watch was a gift she dug out of the bottom of her jewelry box specifically for this meeting. Given the topic of discussion, Marvin's turning hands pointing out the time made her smile slightly to herself.

"Somewhere you need to be?" Smith asked icily.

"Yes actually, " Elena responded. "I'm leaving in the morning and need to check on a few things before heading home to get my laundry done." Besides, she was running out of ways to hedge her answers to Thompson's questions. She managed to not give him any more real information than he already had, but didn't think she could keep it up much longer. She could almost feel him circling in for the kill, each pass getting closer.

"Laundry?" Smith's lips thinned as he pressed them together to staunch whatever angry retort wanted to come barreling out.

"Yes, laundry. I like to pack clean clothes when I leave home, it's sort of a personal quirk. I've already delayed my trip to meet with you and you are simply repeating the same questions at this point. So if you have nothing new you want to ask, then I think it is time for me to go."

"Actually I wanted to ask about my men, " Thompson said. "The ones left behind."

"I can pick them up on my return trip and drop them either in port or on the USS Maine if she is still stationed near the Marta." Elena told him. She didn't think he'd buy it and was unsurprised to see his evil smile curl around his lips.

"I think that they will be fine on planet until the end of the season, " he told her. "Although I would like to check on them periodically."

"That will be fine, " Elena told him. She figured he would want to leave them on planet as long as possible. She also knew that he couldn't get to the planet without her help. "I have no problem with leaving them on the planet or with you stopping by to check on them." She smiled sweetly and refused to offer him her ship as a transport service. "Now if you don't mind, " she added as she stood. "I really need to get going."

"Of course, " Thompson said. Elena didn't like the wicked grin on his face. She knew it signaled trouble. "I'll walk you out." Thompson walked around the table and led Elena back down the hall towards the exit. She could still hear Smith muttering behind her and Jonathan replying to whatever comments he made. Thompson didn't speak until they reached Elena's car.

"Until later, Captain, " Thompson said with a smile and a slight incline of his head. There was more than a little mock in his tone. Elena got into her car and realized she was frowning as she watched Thompson turn and walk away.

"He is up to something, " she said to herself as she drove towards the gates and off the base. She found herself running through possible scenarios as she drove back into town and realized she was thinking about him way too much.

"Which is probably what he wants." Elena pushed thoughts of Thompson and his evil plans away as she drove past her stores. She saw no parking spots so she decided to park at home and then walk over. Once her car was safely parked in the garage, Elena turned her steps towards work. The walk was short and Elena smiled in genuine pleasure at the sight of her stores.

Calabrese Imports and Nibbles both appeared to have several customers, which gave her no small amount of satisfaction. With the economy bucking and shuttering, there were fewer large scale clients. Very few people were redecorating their homes and corporate headquarters wholesale these days, or if they were then they were shopping elsewhere.

As a result, Elena concentrated on the smaller scale items that could be used to refresh a room and replace only the overly worn items. That kept the imports store doing well. She also branched out into internet sales to supplement the foot traffic and that seemed to be doing well also. The ad campaigns that Andre created for Nibbles tended to feature elegant dinner parties at home using both the foods that Nibbles sold and the items that the imports store carried. They partnered with Doug who owned the wine shop down the street and the Morgans, a husband and wife team who ran a local butchers shop a few doors over, to make a district wide campaign.

Several of her clients found hosting an elaborate party at their homes more cost effective than hosting a night out at a restaurant. Elena convinced Consuelo, the rather eccentric chef of Dockside Annie's and a favorite with Guild members, to part with a few recipes and they were printed on cards with scan-able coupons and placed in both of her stores as well as in both the butcher and wine shops for customers to take.

She saw several of the cards reappear when someone came in a second time for later purchases. She knew that Doug came up with some way to track which store the cards were taken from and approximately when they were taken. She hadn't paid too much attention, trusting her two managers, Roger and Susan to keep track of the details. She thought that both card colors and type of dishes might be a part of the system.

Whatever the system was, it seemed to be working. Cards picked up at a wine tasting of Doug's were scanned at Nibbles and ones picked up in the Imports store made appearances at the butcher's. There was a small bakery located a couple of blocks over that was also seeing the cards as well. She spoke to the owners of the bakery at the last merchants meeting and they seemed interested in getting involved. Her stores may not be raking in the cash hand over fist, but they were for the most part stable and able to remain so even when she was gone for long periods of time, which was all Elena hoped for at the moment.

The bell over the door chimed as Elena stepped into the imports store and looked around. TJ left his customer at the cash register where Emily completed the sale and walked over.

"Checking in?" TJ asked with a smile.

"Just making sure you loonies haven't run off to join the circus, " She replied with a smile.

"That's not until next week, " TJ told her. "This week is all about digging a tunnel to escape out the back when you aren't looking."

"Because doors are so passé?"

"We wouldn't get to wear the hardhats if we just used the doors, " TJ told her.

"I see, " She said with a laugh. "All that color coordination going to waste if you ditch the accessories. Well it's good to know the plan. I suppose I can call off the snipers and take down the razor wire."

Elena left him with a laugh and wandered the store. Everything seemed to be in order and running smoothly. She knew that Susan would have a mountain of paperwork for her and swung by the office. Susan was on the phone and Elena listened as her manager finished her conversation and hung up. Susan penciled something on the calendar before looking up at Elena.

"Designer coming in at four to pick up a few things we have on hold, " Susan told her.

"Excellent, " Elena replied. She watched as Susan tucked a few loose strands of her curly brown hair behind her ear. Elena knew from experience that the curls would spring out when Susan next moved. Susan and her curls had an ongoing battle for control. "Just stopped by to see if you need anything before I head out in the morning." Elena braced herself for the onslaught of paperwork and Susan laughed.

"I sent everything over to your assistant, " She told her. Elena blinked.

"Victor?"

"Do you have more than one assistant?" Susan asked.

"No, just the one." Elena replied. "And he gets to deal with paperwork." She smiled dreamily. "I knew there was a reason I hired him." Susan confirmed that everything was running smoothly and Elena went to check in with Roger. Apparently he too sent the paperwork to Victor. He was also thrilled about partnering with the bakery down the street.

There was a meeting shortly after Elena passed the suggestion onto Roger and plans for a promotional event were now underway. As promotional events seemed to delight Roger in a strange, unfathomable way, Elena left him to it. Elena felt her smile growing a little brittle as she climbed the stairs. She knew she needed to check in with Andre to see about the new ad campaigns, but could muster nothing but dread.

Before she found out about his betrayal, she and Andre had more or less been dating. The dates were sporadic during the season because she spent so much time out of town, but she felt they were building towards something. She liked his quirky sense of humor and the fact that he was Guild-raised meant that she didn't have to hide so much of her life from him.

Hearing him giving her reports to Douglas behind her back hit her like a fist to the stomach and so far Elena managed to not deal with him. He simmered on the back burner next to the mental pot marked Therese. She was fairly certain one of them would boil over soon and scald everyone in the process.

"Just checking in, " Elena said when she saw Andre. He was refilling his coffee mug and had a pencil tucked behind his ear. She wished he had a giant wart on his nose or gained a large amount of weight while she was gone, anything to keep him from looking delectable.

'Really, is a disfiguring rash too much to ask?' she thought.

"I was wondering when you would get to me, " he said. Andre smiled. It dimmed a little when her smile stayed polite instead of warming. "The new ads are on the table." Andre led her through the new campaigns as well as some of the new labels he designed for newer products.

After her cousin Nate's wedding to Ambra Carloti, a slew of new trade agreements were made and many of the goods the Carloti family and their associated Houses picked up were finding their way into the Calabrese inventory. As most of the goods came from different planets, they featured alien containers which would not look good on earth based shelves. Their strange writing was a little peculiar and some of their containers were designed for non-human use.

Peter Baranov, scary Council member extraordinaire and her business partner, ran a laboratory where the foods were tested against known allergens so they could print up ingredients lists to insure that allergic reactions were avoided. Then the items were repackaged and new labels were added. They were developing quite an extensive list of comparable allergens. Apparently if you were allergic to peanuts there was a whole section of intergalactic cuisine that should be avoided as well.

"These look good, " Elena said. As always she found it easier to concentrate on business. She approved all of the new designs and Andre stacked them up, neatly.

"I'll be leaving in the morning for another trip out." She said. Andre nodded.

"Are you avoiding me then?" he asked. Elena froze. She thought about telling him it was the season and blaming it on the life of a pilot. The smart thing to do would be to let him think she didn't know and use him to pass off faulty information. Elena was tired of doing the smart thing.

"Yes actually, " she said. "I am."

"Have you met someone else?" He asked. "Like maybe that Thompson guy?" Elena let out a startled laugh. It sounded sharp. Andre seemed relieved by her reaction. He took a deep breath. "Or maybe Peter?"

"Definitely not, " Elena said. She knew that Andre did not get along with his cousin Peter. She knew he blamed Peter for his father's death although from what Elena knew of the situation, Dmitri promised too many things he couldn't deliver to the wrong sort of people and that was what killed him. But it wasn't her family, so she stayed out of it. Andre sighed with relief at her words.

"I know you've been passing information to Douglas." Elena said. Andre stiffened and she wondered if he would try to deny it.

"I only gave him information about Peter, " Andre said. "I would never..."

"You gave him my reports, " Elena said, feeling her temper rise. "Mine."

"Peter..." he began.

"Is my business partner, " Elena interrupted. "Selling him out betrays me too."

"It's not you. It's him, " Andre insisted. "He deserves to be taken down. I only passed information about his section of the business."

"This is my business, " Elena said sharply realizing that Andre didn't see his actions as betraying her, just Peter. She shook her head and the stupidity of blind anger. "Anything you do to it affects me. It functions as a whole." Andre seemed to sag a little at her words.

"I didn't want to hurt you." He said softly. Elena shook her head, not certain what to actually say.

"Are you going to fire me?" he asked.

"No, " Elena said. "I won't fire you." He looked at her sharply.

"Why not?"

"Because Peter would ask why I fired you, despite the fact that all of your work has been excellent."

"You see what he is, " Andre said sounding triumphant. "You know he would kill me without a thought."

"I know what he is, " Elena told him. "I knew that before I got involved with him. In fact I used his reputation as a shield. Lots of people objected to this business at first. Most of those who objected are scared of Peter. His being scary and ruthless actually helps me. I don't want anyone's death on my head, Ian was bad enough. If I tell him what was done, then I'll have a part in yours. You know how he deals with betrayal. I'll let you decide what you want to do. I would suggest that if you do leave, you have another job lined up so that you can just tell Peter you got a better offer. I won't kick you out, but I won't fight to keep you."

"I understand, " Andre said. He stared at Elena for a moment. "I really wrecked things between us didn't I?" He seemed sad, but Elena refused to let it affect her.

"Yeah, " Elena said. "You did." She realized that while he was still handsome, a dark cloud of anger and hate seemed to cloak him, twisting him into something ugly. He might have feelings for her, but nothing mattered as much as that hate.

'I guess that's harsher than a wart, ' she thought as she left him and began walking towards the laboratory and her office.

Chapter 2

As Elena walked she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. She dealt with Andre. She could still feel the raw sting of the betrayal, but it no longer loaded her down. She couldn't feel good about the situation, but she knew that she would no longer worry over it like a dog with a bone. She would never tell Peter what Andre did. All of their toxic mess was their doing and theirs to deal with. She had the feeling that Andre would not stop in his quest to take down Peter and she didn't have high hopes for that ending well, but it would not be on her conscience. Peter was ruthless and dealt with threats immediately and permanently. She knew that Andre understood that side of Peter as well.

"Whatever happens now does not involve me, " Elena told herself as she walked. All of her business information was passed to Victor and kept at the office away from Andre's sight. The only information he could pass would be about his own designs or from general observation. That certainly cut down on potential entanglement.

Andre taken care of, Elena turned her mind to Douglas. She wondered if she would be seeing more of him now that Andre was no longer a viable source of information. He stopped by a few times, but those visits were brief. Riko asked her about the nephew she assigned to be her liaison with Elena, and Elena got the impression that Douglas was working more for his own benefit rather than on Riko's behalf making the reports Riko craved sparser than she wanted.

'Or at least not checking in on a regular basis, ' Elena thought. Elena tugged the street door to the lab open and stepped inside the first floor stairwell. She frowned to herself as she began to climb the stairs. At the party hosted by Danvers, Elena ran into a man named Hashi who was viewed as Riko's heir apparent. From his conversation she gathered that he believed the alliance Elena currently had with Riko would pass to him once he took Riko's place. Riko was rumored to be ill and slowly failing with about two years left to live.

"If that's true then we might have a time line, " Elena muttered to herself as she entered her offices. Elena wasn't thrilled by being partnered with Riko, but it was a necessary evil and she actually gained a great deal from the association.

She had many pilots who lost their ships and needed new ones. Riko's involvement on the planet was a shipbuilding one and as her partner, Elena's pilots were at the top of the list for new ships. Given the rate of work being done in Riko's various ship yards, both earthside and on the new planet, Elena estimated it would take at least a year to have all of her pilots outfitted. "It is all in the timing."

"Making wicked plans?" Victor asked from behind his desk, looking up at her as she entered.

"Very wicked plans, " she told him with a smile.

"I do love wicked plans, " Lisa said stepping into the central area. "Are you planning to share, oh wicked one?"

"Actually yes. I need the two of you to help me with my wicked plans." Elena glanced at the door leading to the stairwell. "Would you mind if we talk in one of the offices?" She asked them. "I don't think wicked plans in the making should be quite so public."

The other two followed her into her office and Elena sat down behind her desk. She could see the stack of reports Victor set on the edge of her desk and waited patiently as he and Lisa pulled up chairs. She realized that all of their group meetings took place in the laboratory over the large work surface.

"Maybe we can turn one of the extra offices into a conference room or something." she said. With both Victor and Lisa pulling up chairs in front of her desk she felt a little too boss like for her own comfort. She shrugged off the feeling.

"I can take care of that, " Victor said making a note about the conference room in his steno pad.

"That would be great, " Elena said still a little uncomfortable with having an assistant. "And thanks for dealing with the reports and such."

"Not a problem." Elena got the impression that Victor found her concern amusing.

"Okay, " Elena said, taking a deep breath. "This is about my contract with Riko. I have no intention of breaking it with her, but there are rumors that she has about two years left before she meets her maker. I want to figure out an exit strategy. I believe there will be a bit of a fight for her seat and I do not want us caught between the warring factions."

"Isn't there just some sort of election for her seat?" Lisa asked. "I mean it's a Council, right?" Victor laughed. The laugh had a hard edge to it. As a hefty chunk of his family died so they would be unable to take the South American seat on the Council, she didn't begrudge him the edge. Her parents were killed to prevent her mother from taking the North American seat and her father from being Alexandro's heir. As Therese tried to kill her for more or less the same reasons she could feel the edge in her voice as well.

"It isn't that cut and dry, " Elena said. She and Victor exchanged glances.

"So how does one become a Councilor?" Lisa asked.

"The simple version, " Victor began. "Is that a ruling Councilor chooses an heir for their seat and trains them accordingly so there will be some attempt at continuity, but once a seat is empty, any qualified applicant from the former Councilor's set of allied Houses can put themselves forward as a candidate. Sometimes the seat goes to the heir and sometimes not."

"So there is no general election?"

"Not exactly, " Elena said, wondering how to untangle the mess for her straightforward lawyer.

"When a seat goes empty, it remains empty for eight months out of respect for the dead."

"What if they just retired?" Lisa asked. She was scribbling notes on her legal pad.

"No-one retires from the Council and we have never had anyone kicked off. You leave the Council only by death." Elena told her. Lisa looked up, her mouth forming a little o of surprise.

"After the eight months have passed, the Council will take nominations." Victor continued where Elena left off.

"Okay, " Lisa said. "So nothing happens for eight months and then there are nominations?"

"Not exactly, " Elena said. "During those eight months people who are going to put themselves forward for a Council seat consolidate their power bases and make new alliances. Kind of like a politician gathering supporters before announcing that he is going to run for president."

"Oh, " Lisa said nodding. "That makes sense."

"Most candidates will also take the opportunity to eliminate a few rivals before nominations are taken, " Victor added. "When a Councilor dies there are generally quite a few people who are eligible to take the seat. Some refuse to attempt it and throw their support in with others who want the seat. If a candidate can't bring one of the other eligible folks under their control, they are more often than not eliminated."

"Eliminated as in killed?" Lisa asked her voice squeaking up a little at the end of the sentence. She looked to Elena to see if Victor was joking. Elena nodded her head in agreement and Lisa lost what little color she had.

"During Peter's rise to the Council seat there were 28 candidates eligible for the nomination. At the end of the eight months there were only two left alive." Elena told her.

"And the one who lost, Dmitri, was found dead two days after Peter took the seat, " Victor added. Elena wasn't going to add anything to that. They waited for Lisa to process the information. She started to write something down, but then stopped as though unsure what she should put on the page. She took a deep, shuttery breath and let it out slowly.

"Okay, " she said finally. "Okay. So the seat comes open and is held empty for eight months while there is a... winnowing among the contestants. Then what?"

"Often times only one candidate is left and that candidate is then named as a Councilor. Other times, there is a vote among the other Councilors."

"So what makes someone eligible?" Lisa asked.

"There is a list of requirements, " Victor said. "I can get it for you if you'd like. It includes things like being listed as a Head of House, maintaining a successful business not just for your own purposes, but for the benefit of your family and the families associated with you. If you are male then you have to be married or at least engaged when you are nominated. If you are female you have to Captain your own ship as well as being a pilot. You also have to have had family live in the district of the seat for at least 200 years. Things like that. There are more restrictions of course. It is a pretty strict list so that the numbers for eligibility are kept low. If not then whenever a Councilor died we would have a massive blood bath. It's bad enough the way it is, no-one wants to make it worse."

"Wait, " Lisa said with a frown. "200 years?"

"Have you seen the family tree above my computer?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, " Lisa replied, "The odd one with the extra notations?"

"That would be it." Elena said with a smile. "The names are all listed with place of birth, death and burial, if there was one. Most members of the Guild have one of those in order to prove eligibility, along with the paperwork to back it up. Families will work for generations to get a descendant eligible for candidacy, doing things like returning to an ancestral home to give birth so the birth certificate will have the right district on it no matter where people live."

"You have two charts." Lisa said with a frown. "Don't you? I think I remember seeing two."

"You did, " Elena said. "One is for my father's side, The Calabrese line, my grandfather is a Councilor. The other is for my mother's family."

"So you could take his seat?"

"Not exactly, " Elena said with a shake of her head. "Since my mother was eligible for a Council seat and my father was listed as my grandfather's heir when my parents married, a decision was made that any children they had would fall to my mother's line and even if my father took my grandfather's seat it would have to pass back to one of my cousins rather than to me. That is why I was born in the United States while my cousins were born in Italy."

"So because you were born here you can't take his seat?"

"Technically I am still sort of eligible for the seat, if my grandfather did die and I wanted his seat then I would move my home officially to Italy and declare myself to be returning home upon his death and then the 200 years would hold true as long as any children I had were born in Italy as well. I would have to forsake my mother's seat to do so. My being born in a different country would be looked at as a fluke as long as I relocated everything to his district upon his death. If I had a child born in the US, then that child would never be eligible for the Italian seat as there would be a permanent gap in family occupancy."

"And your mother?"

"Was born here as well. Her family claimed membership in the DAR and the family tree goes back well before the revolution. The New World pilots were required to fall under the ...supervision so to speak of the Councilors from Europe, Asia and Africa, depending on their bloodlines as the officially recognized countries were under 200 years old. In 1976 the US turned 200 officially and talks began in the Council regarding New World seats. Some nations were older than the US and already reached their 200 year mark, others were younger, but still approaching it." Elena paused and ran a hand through her hair. She always hated politics.

She sighed and continued her explanation. "There isn't one Councilor for each country you understand, there are districts. And sometimes the alliances between districts change. For example, for a long time the pilots of Egypt were allied with the seat based in Tokyo, but about a hundred and fifty years or so ago they shifted alliances to join with the seat in Johannesburg. I don't recall why. And of course the seats change a little as well as districts shifting. At one time Thebes was the seat for most of the middle east. Currently there isn't a middle eastern seat." Elena paused and looked to Lisa who nodded showing that she was following.

"Why not?" Lisa asked.

"It's complicated and requires maps and Guild history books to explain. It's an odd combination of Guild politics, real world scenarios, population bases and I think there was a family feud or two in there as well. I can see about checking a book or two out at the Library to try and explain next time I'm on the DF if you would like."

Lisa nodded. "That would certainly help."

"Anyway, " Elena continued. "The Council created three new seats, North America, Central America and South America. They felt it was enough to cover the area, but not enough to completely throw off the existing balance of power. The more districts created then the fewer pilots and families each Councilor can count on for their power base. Three new seats were all that the Council was willing to accept."

"So who sits on the North American one? That's what you are allied with right?"

"Currently no-one sits on any of the three seats."

"But you said they were created in the seventies?"

"Actually they were created in the early eighties. Discussions began in the mid-seventies., " Elena told her. "It took almost a decade to reach a decision."

"So why is no-one in the seats now?" Lisa asked.

"Because, " Victor said. "Some folks weren't happy about the splitting of power that the new seats created. Guild families have to tithe back to their home districts as well, so in addition to the loss of power and prestige there was a monetary loss when the new seats were created."

"So they blocked the election?"

"In a way, " Victor said. "Before anyone could take the seats, all of the eligible candidates for each of the three seats along with most of their potential heirs were killed."

"All of them?"

"Yes. Currently there are three potential candidates for the Central American seat, but that is going only by bloodline and length of time in the area as the oldest of them is about four or five years old and will need to earn the rest of the items on the checklist as they grow. Elena is the only adult candidate currently left for the North American Seat and her rise to the level needed to hold it is recent. I don't know if there are any other children left who could grow to be eligible. The culling of both North and South America was rather intense." Lisa's gaze snapped to Elena.

"I haven't decided if I will take it or not, " Elena said. "There are a couple of much younger candidates who might make it to full eligibility in the next fifteen or so years. As long as everything remains steady for the next year we should be fine. I am contemplating taking the seat though and I have some heavy thinking to do. This time next year I will have to make an official announcement regarding my intentions."

Elena took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She felt shaky. This was the first time that she admitted out loud that she was even considering taking the seat. She hadn't even realized she was going to say it until the words came out of her mouth.

"And if you should choose to take a seat, then we do not want to be embroiled in a battle of succession for Councilor Inoue Riko's seat." Victor told her, leading back to their original discussion.

"I don't want to be in that mess regardless of my decision, " Elena told him. "However we do need more information. I'm pretty sure we will be able to terminate the contract with Riko's House after she is dead. I did not write the contract as a generational one. A change in House leadership would require a new contract negotiation."

"I can check the terms and plan a few escape strategies, " Lisa said making a note. Elena was fairly sure she was much more comfortable discussing contracts than the killing of rivals.

"I also need to find out more information on Riko's family and associated houses, " Elena said. She saw Victor nod in approval.

"Even if the contract ends with her death, you are starting to gain in power, " he told her. "Economic power even without the Council seat is still going to be impressive. There is a good chance that you will be approached by one or more of the factions of Riko's House in order to tip the balance in their favor. After all, a leader who keeps his people fed is more appealing than one who does not."

Elena nodded at the oft repeated Guild axiom. The Guild did its best to stay out of public view, so flashier leaders were nowhere near as popular as solid ones. Even the leaders who were known for their ruthless behavior and disregard of public opinion were tolerated if they could maintain a certain level of stability.

"Black Pete is a bastard, but his House's children are fat, " Elena repeated, remembering what she had heard someone say about Peter. Victor smiled.

"Exactly. I'll compile a list of hopefuls and see if we can figure out if Hashi has any strong opposition."

"Thanks, " Elena said. "Is there anything that needs my attention before I go?"

"Not from me, " Lisa said. "I'm still working through those documents Evan let me have." Elena smiled. Senior Librarian Evan Greggs may have put the fear of god into nearly everyone he met, but he and Lisa quickly become friends, bonding over their shared love of the written word. "Oh I do have a book I wanted to send him. It's in my office." Lisa went to retrieve the book.

"Everything else looks in order. I compiled the reports from both businesses and there are extra copies for both Peter Baranov and Alexandro Calabrese there on your desk. Would you like me to mail them or will you be taking them to the DF with you?"

"I can take them, " Elena said.

"Then that would be it except for a few components of your contingency plan."

"Ah, " Elena said. "I forgot about that."

All pilots put together a contingency plan to take care of things should they get stuck skyside at the end of the season. It included everything from bank drafts to pay rent and utilities, to post cards to be mailed to various people telling them what a lovely time you were having on vacation.

Elena's packet would also include various shipments sent from scattered artisans to the store so that it would look like she was going on an extended buying spree as well as a vacation should she get stuck skyside during the off season. Her contingency plan would also insure that her employees got paid regularly even though she was gone. The only people who might take exception to her extended absence would be Smith and his merry band. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to feel bad about that.

"Do you have a list of what's missing?" She asked.

"I have a list on my desk." He told her. Elena picked up the reports and stood while Victor went to his desk. She stepped out of her office and into the central area. Lisa handed her a slim volume of poetry and Victor handed her a sheet containing the list of missing items. She thanked them both and walked across the hall to the laboratory. Elena typed in her code into the pin pad and was pleased that she remembered it. The light flashed green and she heard the lock click open.

The lab was quiet and nearly deserted with most of the staff still on the planet. Steven, the man in charge since Kiera and Mateo were on the planet, walked over when he saw Elena looking around. Like Kiera, Steven was more than met the eye. He appeared to be a slightly balding man in his mid fifties, with a few extra pounds accruing around the middle.

However like Kiera, his abilities allowed him to take a seed in his hands and make it grow in an instant. He could pick up a leaf or berry and tell you exactly what its properties were, if it could be used medicinally, if it could be eaten or used topically, as well as what the plant needed to grow happily and healthy. Elena found it a little odd and it seemed more magical than anything she could do, although Kiera thought her abilities were magical and Kiera's own mundane, claiming that botanicals could also be learned from books.

'I suppose it is what you grow up with, ' Elena thought. She smiled at Steven as he approached.

"I didn't realize you were in town, " he said, returning her smile.

"I'm leaving in the morning, " she told him. "Just stopping by for the mail."

"Of course, " he said. "There isn't that much this time. We had a pile go out with the last ship. Maria's ship I believe it was, the Crazy Chicken of the Sea." Elena smiled. With so many of the staff spending time off planet, each ship was asked to carry mail back and forth between the folks off world and the family left behind. With e-mail not a possibility, the lost art of the letter was returning, or at least it was with her laboratory staff.

"Anything unusual this time?" Elena asked as Steven picked up the mail bag. While letters were the most common item passed, they were by no means the only thing. Cookies and cakes had made the trip and Jasmine was unpleasantly surprised when her ship's cat found a tube of anchovy paste in one of the bags.

Of course Figaro, the cat, was surprised as well. The force with which the paste shot from the holes bitten into the side terrified the cat, leaving him unable to enjoy his illicit treat. Jasmine was still trying to get the smell of anchovies out of her cabin.

"Not this time, " Steven said, settling his reading glasses on his nose. "Or not that unusual. There are a couple of candy bars though, so best keep it out of the heat. I think that is about it. Last shipment had a bunch of cupcakes in it. I think it was someone's birthday." Elena laughed.

"I think I can deal with the candy bars." She told him. Elena took the bag and slung the cord over her shoulder. She watched Steven write down her name and the date in the ledger he kept and check the box marked outgoing. She shook her head as she left. There was also a list of items included in the mail bag. At the end of the season, Steven with his ledger of mail would probably have a better idea how many trips were made, who made them and what they carried than anyone else.

Elena made her way home, taking the reports, poetry and mail with her. The light was fading and Elena realized she would have enough time to do her laundry and get packed, with maybe dinner thrown in before bed. Elena's stomach rumbled reminding her that all she had given it today had been coffee.

"Dinner is a must then, " She said. Luckily, the Chinese place on the corner delivered.

Chapter 3

The next morning, Elena finished the leftover Chinese food for breakfast. Cold sweet and sour pork was not normally the breakfast of champions, but it was the only thing in her fridge and would be spoiled before she next came home. Once she finished and Spin complained loudly that there was once again only dry food in her bowl, she and the cat were on their way to the docks.

At the docks, Elena parked her car, slung her bag filled with clean laundry over her shoulder and picked up the mail bag. The reports were in with her clothes and she put Lisa's book in with the mail figuring it was more or less going to the same place. Spin jumped down from the seat and Elena closed and locked the doors. She didn't think her older model Toyota with its factory standard stereo and faded seat covers was a prime target for anyone except someone going on a joy ride.

"It'd be a short ride though, " she told Spin as they walked. Elena forgot to get gas and now had just a little more than absolutely necessary to get to the gas station when she returned.

"Talking to yourself again?" Elena heard. She turned to find Benjamin hauling his bag out of the backseat of his car. She stopped and waited for the big man to catch up. Benjamin Valentine stood about six foot eight and every bit of it seemed to be composed of dense muscle. He was blonde with blue eyes and when you first met him you expected him to be just dumb muscle. Elena knew he used the impression to his advantage when he could. Although she personally thought that if you missed the intelligence shining in his eyes then you had to be dumber than a box of rocks yourself.

"If I don't talk to myself, I get lonely, " Elena told him. She waited for him to catch up and then they both began walking towards the docks while Spin meandered on ahead.

"Makes sense."

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, " Elena started as they walked. "I know the Council arbitrarily assigned you to my House. I want to say first off, I am happy to have you and you can stay if you want. But if you find that being a part of my House doesn't suit you, I won't make you stay. There will be no hard feelings if you left." To her surprise Benjamin laughed.

"I mean, I don't want you to feel obligated, " she continued thinking she bungled her attempt to set things straight. Benjamin only laughed harder. He stopped in the middle of the pathway nearly bent double with laughter. Elena stopped and looked at him. Tears were leaking out of the corners of his eyes. Finally, he straightened and wiped them away.

"I've been an independent since my parents died when I was seventeen, " he told her. "In the Guild you are family or you are nothing. I took odd jobs to stay in the Guild since it was the only life I knew, but without a family I was never fully trusted, always an outsider. I didn't really belong anywhere. Once word spread that I was a part of your House, all of that faded away. I had a place. I had respect. I appreciate that you don't want to force me to do something I don't want to do." Benjamin told her. "I really do. But I am more than fine with this recent turn of events. There is nothing for you to feel guilty about."

"Okay, " she said, in truth she had never really thought about the lives of the House-less. "But if anything changes..."

"I will let you know." He promised. They continued walking towards the docks. When Elena came in sight of where her ship waited she noted a figure leaning against the security door and groaned.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded. Thompson pushed himself off of the door and stood straight. Elena noted the bag of gear by his feet and felt a sinking sensation in her stomach.

"Why Captain, " Thompson said with a wicked grin. "You know none of our ships will make it to your trade route. And you did say I could check on my men." Elena stared at him for a second and tried not to grind her teeth.

"This isn't a taxi service, " She told him.

"I am well aware of that, " he replied.

"Anyone who books passage with me works. You plan on coming with me and the same applies to you. You will not be standing idle and looking over my shoulder this trip."

"Sounds fair, " Thompson said amiably. Elena frowned, not sure she had any other arguments that didn't sound childish.

"Fine, " She walked up to the door and unlocked it, letting everyone inside. In the lockers she stopped and began placing items that did not need to go with her, such as her cell phone which could actually be damaged by passing through the channel. Benjamin did the same and she noted that after a second, Thompson moved to one of the empty lockers and placed his cell phone in the bottom.

"That would have been nice to know before now, " Thompson said with a sigh. Elena glanced at his cell phone and realized that it was really shiny and didn't have a scratch on it. It looked like it had just been pulled from the packaging.

"How many did you lose?" she asked, grinning, her sour mood lifting.

"Three before we learned to turn them off."

"There are locks in the basket over there, " Benjamin told him, pointing to a nearby basket. With so many different ships sailing out, Elena found it prudent to just keep an extra cache of locks around. Fully half of the lockers now sported locks proving they were in use. Elena wondered if Thompson would count them. "The code is on the back of each lock."

"Thanks, " Thompson said. He picked up a lock, read the code and spun the dial. It opened and he peeled the sticker with the code off of the back. "Just like high school." Elena noticed that in addition to his cell phone, Thompson stashed his watch and wallet in the locker. Apparently he didn't feel the need to carry id with him through the channels. Since any military id he carried would no doubt cause him more harm than good, Elena could only applaud the decision.

'Besides, ' she thought. 'The same thing that screws up the cell phones fries the magnetic strips on credit and debit cards as well as all digital watches.' The only watches that did well were the kind that still needed to be wound up every morning. For some reason watch batteries drained completely in the channels while the digital ones just had their circuits sizzled.

As Thompson fastened his lock onto the door, Elena studied him. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans with frayed cuffs and a t-shirt with a faded decal. There was nothing to mark him as odd, but something nudged the back of her mind.

"You haven't cut your hair, " she said trying not to sound accusatory.

"Guilty, " Thompson said with a smile. "I blend in a little better this way." Since every time she saw Thompson before this, he had a freshly trimmed head of hair in what looked to her like someone's idea of a regulation, she couldn't argue. "And I brought my own hair gel this time, " he told Benjamin. At the DF he borrowed some from Benjamin in an effort to not stand out as much.

"Time to weigh in, " Elena said gesturing to the scales.

"Of course, " Thompson agreed. "The fifty pound rule Smith complained about." He walked over and put his bag on the scale. "Do you know he wanted to file a complaint? He considered not being able to bring more than fifty pounds of gear to be harassment and in violation of the interests of National Security."

"I'm not surprised, " Elena said. "Grandfather made him leave a lot of his goodies behind. He was really not happy." The scale registered an even 48 lbs. "Nice." She told him.

"That's right, " Thompson continued as the three of them boarded the Storm Chaser. "You didn't captain the ship that took him out. It was the Wind Dancer wasn't it?"

"It was, " she confirmed.

"Different ship, " he repeated almost to himself. "That does explain a few things." Elena smiled and readied the ship to leave port.

The Wind Dancer was an older ship and as new technologies became available it was added where ever space could be found, giving it a cobbled together feel that looked a lot lower tech then it actually was. The Storm Chaser was a newer model, so most of the basics were already incorporated. Mateo made some additions and improvements that were far from factory standard, but they too were hidden. Her cousin hated to have anything he designed look like a clunky add on rather than an integrated part of the system. He hated leaving his work looking sloppy.

"You'll be reporting to Benjamin and following his orders, " Elena told him trying to limit the amount of time she dealt directly with him and treating Benjamin as though he were her first mate. He was after all her only semi-permanent crewman at the moment.

"Yes Captain, " Thompson replied. There was amusement in his tone, but Elena chose to ignore it.

"Stow your gear and get to work, then, " Benjamin told him. Thompson headed towards the crews bunk with his bag.

"This should be interesting, " Benjamin said with a smile.

"Interesting is one word, " Elena replied. Benjamin went to stow his gear. Elena merely tucked her bags off to the side in the pilot house and began steering them towards open water.

The time between port and the channel passed fairly smoothly and although she did not have much of a chance to talk with Benjamin, she had plenty of chances to observe Thompson. He seemed...cheerful, which caused Elena's eyes to narrow in suspicion while she watched him. Her suspicion caused him a great deal of amusement when he caught her studying him.

Thompson had no problems following orders, which Elena assumed was a byproduct of life in the military. She had the suspicion that both giving and taking orders were a normal part of his day. What bothered her was the comfort level he seemed to have with her ship. She didn't know much about military vehicles, ships or otherwise, but assumed sailing vessels such as hers weren't exactly common in the US Navy's fleet.

"Except in museums, " she muttered to her cat. Spin meowed and watched Thompson in much the same way Elena did. "Some of the terminology must be the same, " she thought, noticing that he didn't need that many terms explained to him. "Maybe he spent time on sailing ships as a child." Elena tried to picture Thompson as a child, but could only manage to mentally squish the adult sized version into a smaller size.

Benjamin seemed pleased with his work and had no complaints. Having Thompson work as crew also allowed Benjamin more time in the galley and that was something everyone appreciated. Elena grew up ship board and never had the fare approached this level. She was beginning to see the benefit of having a trained chef serve as galley cook instead of relying on whoever could be trusted to heat canned goods up without making too much of a mess.

"I have to say, " Thompson commented as they approached the channel. "I was sort of stunned when you guys had my crew over for dinner and figured you were trying to pull something." Elena smiled as she remembered making their meeting as unofficial in appearances as possible to keep Thompson and his men off guard. "But you guys really do eat well at sea." Elena shook her head. She got lucky with Benjamin Valentine and knew it.

"Channel entry in five, " she called. Benjamin led Thompson into the galley as part of a safety measure, in case the exterior tracery that kept the ship's oxygen supply in a bubble around the ship failed. Both the galley and the pilot house featured separate backup systems that would give Elena time to pull her ship back into terrestrial waters safely should that occur.

Spin took her place in the pilot house as Elena began to switch off the electrical systems. She couldn't resist glancing at the sonar before shutting it off. It seemed the USS Maine, the base ship Thompson's crew was using, found other seas to sail and was nowhere in sight. She shut off the sonar and wondered if it was a measure of trust on their part or of economy.

Elena aimed the Storm Chaser towards the center of the channel. She could see the sides like tall pillars and knew that the channel was deep enough for her ship to pass between them even though anyone who was not born a pilot couldn't see them at all. At this time of year the channel ought to be deep enough, but Elena could sense the exact depth with her mind almost the same way she could see the size of her hand when she held it in front of her face.

Safety first was drilled into her brain, so despite knowing the seasons and the channel, she checked the depth one last time before attempting entry. The ship slid into the channel and the world flashed into a million swirling rainbows, the faceted light almost blindingly bright and growing brighter with every passing second until it flashed to white and then appeared to flash out as they exited the channel and entered into true space.

"All clear, " Elena called as she altered her course to the channel leading to planet RJ 457. Benjamin and Thompson left the galley and Benjamin directed Thompson to start trimming the sails as standard procedure. Elena nodded her approval and let them work. There was only a short jump to the new planet's channel and they didn't know what kind of weather they would encounter when they re-entered planetary waters.

Not for the first time, Elena wished there was a way to project weather reports through the channels before a ship entered. When she opened the channel she was able to get a sense of what lay on the other side, but weather was too transitory to register on her senses. Many ships were lost because they had entered a channel, leaving the calm of space for the frenzy of a storm.

As a child she listened in wide eyed excitement to the harrowing tales of ships sailed directly into a hurricane and were torn apart in seconds. As an adult, she wished for a weather report. The space between the Marta channel, where they left earth's waters and the new planet's channel was in a protected zone, so raiders were not a great fear. The short trip was peaceful and with the slight trepidation that always accompanied a planetary channel entry, Elena called for the deck to be cleared.

Unlike the Marta, this channel did not stand open, but had to be opened for entry as though she were drawing a curtain to the side before stepping through a doorway. It took a lot of energy to shift the curtain aside, but it was something Elena garnered much practice in accomplishing.

The Storm Chaser slid into the opened channel, the world once again blazing into a fractured kaleidoscope of colors before they splashed down into the calm ocean of the planet. The sky was a bowl of deep blue, marred only by the mid-day sun. There was no storm this time and Elena called the all clear. Sails were unfurled and sheets snapped taught as the sails were filled with a friendly wind.

It was two days to port and in addition to working on the ship, both Benjamin and Thompson took turns fishing. Apparently Thompson enjoyed deep sea fishing as much as Benjamin did and between the two of them, many fish were landed. The ones not previously identified were treated as specimens and the ones that Kiera and her team pronounced edible, or at least non-toxic, were added to the ship's larder, the crew taking the opportunity to stock up.

At the docks, Elena dropped anchor a short way from Maria's ship, El pollo loco del Mar, or Crazy Chicken for short. The Mermaid's Dream was docked a little further up the coast and Elena remembered Mateo saying something about exploring up the coast line as well as pushing further into the jungle.

Paula was the captain and pilot for the Mermaid's Dream and Elena recalled signing a change of House form for a cartographer named Carlo who wanted to remain with the Mermaid's Dream after transfer. Rumor had it that a wedding between captain and cartographer was being planned for the end of the season. Elena made a mental note to ask her grandfather what an appropriate gift would be to a pilot of her House getting married. She knew it would be more complicated than simply picking something off the registry.

The Guild was an odd mix of technical savvy and old world formality. All invitations were required to be hand written and sealed with a family crest in wax or they were viewed as an insult, while all books had to be in electronic format. Jeans were worn on a daily basis by most, but even minor celebrations often required a tux or a ball gown depending, as well as a strictly obeyed series of public presentations. Elena's lessons growing up involved astrophysics and ballroom dancing, as well as treaty negotiation and calligraphy.

The Storm Chaser's arrival was noted and a team of people headed out in small boats to where she was anchored to begin unloading the supplies they carried. The supplies swiftly headed towards shore and once people stopped swarming her ship, Elena, Benjamin and Thompson followed. The goods removed from the ship were now piled on the shore and the workers began to ferry them inland to the camp in the old city.

The heat of the day dimmed as Elena walked from the open beach to the shade of the forest. The smell of green growing things surrounded her and she heard birds in the distance and insects buzzing in the undergrowth. The growth over the old stone road was significantly eroded and Elena could see the paths that human feet made. She figured alteration was inevitable and hoped that most of it was non-destructive.

The road took her to the crossroads where there were many more signs of human occupation. The crossroads were dominated by five huge buildings located at each of the cardinal directions with one rising from the center. When she last visited the planet, very little had changed with these buildings, they were large hulking masses that the jungle was slowly taking over. Looking at them with a spyglass from port, they appeared almost as small regularly shaped hills.

Most of the teams' early efforts went into preparing the smaller buildings in the village nearby for occupation when they first set up camp. Elena was not joking when she told Smith that there were large predators on the planet. Clearing the smaller buildings for occupation got her people in buildings more substantial than tents.

The focus definitely shifted now that everyone was settled, at least by the Librarians and their teams of workers. Elena stopped to look around, carefully staying out of the path of the people ferrying goods to the village. All of the growth was cleared away from the large buildings and she could see where repairs were made. The Librarians appeared to have made their repairs look distinctly different from the original structure so that no-one could confuse the two. Elena found the mix of old and new oddly interesting and less jarring then she would have expected from such a combination.

The Librarians were a powerful factor in the Guild of Families. While they lived somewhat separately from the others, they were often called upon to settle disputes. Their entire reason for existing was to gather knowledge and their ruling on a dispute was always the final word, which made them somewhat feared by the other members of the Guild. There was no bribing them with political favors and no clear indication of which way their decisions would go prior to announcement. They were almost a law unto themselves.

The ships of the Librarians were large, much larger than normal channel riding vessels, although the Librarians did possess smaller scale vessels for planetary excursions. While digital versions of the Librarians trove of knowledge were stored on the DF, the originals were stored on the larger ships which forever circled the galaxies as a giant fleet in search of new information. The opening of the planet provided them with a secure location to finally bring some of those ships to rest.

As Elena watched she could see craftsmen hard at work building shelves and odd shaped containers. She noticed that every piece of construction was coated with a thick, syrupy looking resin that smelled like combination of onions, oranges and chili peppers. Elena found it somewhat nauseating, although none of the workers seemed to notice it.

"Elena, " Evan called as he caught sight of her. Elena smiled. The time on shore had been good for Evan. The small pot belly he carried all but disappeared and he had a healthy tan. His eyes twinkled with delight and as he walked towards Elena she noticed he was moving like a man ten years younger.

"Clearly this life suits you, Senior Librarian, " Elena said with a smile as he approached.

"It does indeed, " He said. He drew a deep breath into his lungs. "So exciting. I think I spent too long in the archives. It's good to get out into the air every now and then." Elena pulled the book from the mail bag she carried and passed it to Evan.

"Lisa said you might enjoy this, " Elena told him as she handed the book over.

"Wonderful, " he exclaimed. "Has she made it through the Odes of Calteran yet?" he asked.

"I have no idea, " Elena said with a laugh. "I'll ask her when I get back."

"Do, " Evan said. "It is an exquisite piece of literature. From the Lardane you know." Elena could sense he was about to launch into lecture mode.

"I'll have to look into it, " Elena said, trying to head the lecture off. "Evan, what is that smell?"

"Smell?" Evan seemed confused for a moment. "Ah that, " he said his face clearing. "It's a preservative. You don't notice it after a while and of course it is odorless when it dries. It is applied to the shelving to keep the wood from leaching acids into anything placed on the shelf, as well as to keep the wood from succumbing to environmental damage. Termites and other bugs find it repulsive as well."

"I can see why, " Thompson said.

"Yes, well we find it helpful."

"Of course, " Elena said. "Evan, have you seen my cousin?"

"Mateo?" Evan thought for a moment. "I believe he is in the village proper. I saw him fiddling with some mechanical bits around lunch time. Looked like a giant mechanized bee. He agreed to copy out his designs for my archives. Most ingenious little thing. Not quite sure what it does. I'm sure it does something though. His things usually do."

"I had better go check in with him and drop off the rest of the mail, " Elena said.

"Of course then, dear, we will have to catch up later." Evan walked off to deal with some other aspect of the Librarians arrangements. "Don't forget, we will be ready for our first shipment to make it through in about a month's time." He called as he walked away.

"I remember, " Elena told him. "Keep me posted on the time frame and I will escort them in myself." Evan nodded and turned his attention to a man wielding some strange tool. Elena happily moved away from the crossroads and into the village, pleased to note that the smell did not follow them, but was instead blown towards the sea.

"Did we escape the stench or can I just not smell it anymore?" Thompson asked.

"I can't smell it either, " Benjamin said. "So we've apparently both had our noses burned out or it is gone."

"I think we are up wind, " Elena said.

"Which is something we are all grateful for on a daily basis, " Kiera told them, walking over.

"That I can understand, " Elena said with a smile. If Evan looked happy, then Kiera looked like she was glowing. Her hair, normally the color of dark honey, was streaked by the sun. The same sun brought a spate of freckles out across her nose.

"Things going well?" Elena asked. She glanced around. Most of the tents were relegated to storage as the staff occupied the smaller houses. She knew that they managed to get an old style bathhouse up and running and the people she saw wandering around looked much cleaner because of it.

"Better than expected actually, " Kiera told her. "Mateo has the report ready for you with all of the details." She turned and led the group towards one of the open sided tents placed in the middle of the road.

"How are things back home?"

"Pretty much the same, " Elena said. "I told Andre I knew about his talks with Douglas and that we were officially through as a couple, but other than that nothing major." Kiera made sympathetic noises.

"Well at least Mateo will be happy to hear that. I think he was tired of pretending to be polite."

"Pretending isn't exactly his strong suit." As they approached the tent they could see Mateo bent over a small folding table. Sure enough the thing he was working on looked like a bee that was the size of a football. Its mechanical guts were spread out over the table as Mateo was sorting through them. He looked up at their arrival. He smiled at Elena and then frowned when he saw Thompson.

"I only came to check on my men, " Thompson said raising his hands in surrender.

"All of them are out with the teams, " Mateo said. "I think one of the teams is due back this evening, but the others will take a few days. They can be contacted by radio if you want to check in." Mateo tilted his chin towards a square stone building with a large antenna placed on top of the ancient structure. "Over there. Michael is with the green team and they should be back by dinner. John is with the Blue team up by the falls and Fred is with the Yellow team towards the quarry."

"Clay is the radio operator, " Kiera added.

"Thanks, " Thompson replied. For a moment he looked as though he were torn between staying or seeking out Clay. Then, decision made, Thompson turned and walked to the communications area.

"So, " Mateo said watching Thompson's retreating form. "He's back?"

"For a while, " Elena added.

"Andre's gone thought right?" Kiera said. Mateo seemed to brighten.

"Not gone. I couldn't fire him without letting Peter know what happened."

"So?" Mateo said darkly.

"I don't want him dead, " Elena said. "He knows that we all know and that he will be denied access to any information other than the graphics work. He is deciding whether to leave or not."

"That's something I suppose." Mateo said. He sounded somewhat grumpy and Elena tried not to look surprised when Kiera rubbed his shoulder in sympathy.

"Take what you can get, " She told him. "It's something isn't it?" He smiled at her and Elena realized that the two of them had become an item. She knew that her cousin was interested in the paleo-biologist, but didn't realized it come to anything. Elena tried not to smile. There was a call from one of the other tents and Kiera sighed.

"It never ends, " she said. But she was smiling when she said it so Elena was not too worried. Kiera went off to deal with whatever problem had cropped up.

"She is really good with dealing with the team, " Mateo said.

"As dealing with people is your weak point that gives me no end of relief." Elena told him.

"Hey be nice to me or I won't give you your reports, " Mateo said.

"Well if you don't give me your reports, I'll tell your mother that you are dating a nice girl, " Elena countered. "Or worse, I'll tell grandfather."

"That's not fair, " Mateo said. He tried to frown, but kept grinning instead.

"The two of you do suit, " Benjamin said with a laugh.

"What do you mean about telling grandfather?" Mateo asked. "How would that be worse than telling my mother?"

"Because Grandfather's already looking at you as his heir and there is only one more requirement you need to be named as the Head of your own House and eligible for a Council seat."

"Oh no, " Mateo said.

"Oh, yeah. We had a lovely conversation last time I saw him." Elena glanced around to make sure no-one was within hearing distance. She noticed Benjamin's eyes scanning for eavesdroppers as well. "Apparently he wants me in the North American seat and you primed to take his place."

"You on the NA and me on the Italian Seat, no-one sane wants that, " Mateo said.

"He thinks that with enough economic force we can manage things with less bloodshed, " Elena said. She recalled the wistful look in her grandfather's eyes and tried not to think about the things he did during his tenure as a Counselor.

"Yeah, like Therese would stand by and let me take his seat without trying to kill me."

"I didn't realize that Therese was eligible for a seat, " Benjamin remarked, frowning.

"She isn't, " Elena said. "But her mother Elizabeth is. If Aunt Elizabeth takes grandfather's seat, she can shift several of her duties with the family to Therese and make her heir apparent. It would take a few years to have her qualified for a seat, but Elizabeth wouldn't want to give up power for a while once she got it so she'd carefully monitor Therese's rise in status."

"And if Therese were qualified sooner, Aunt Elizabeth would have to worry about an early demise." Mateo added. Six months ago Elena would have been doubtful that Therese would turn on her own family for power, but as Therese had proven, she was more than willing to do so.

"It would be fairly stable with each of you holding a seat, " Benjamin said thoughtfully. "Each of you individually would be a target, but together would be formidable, even if you avoided the more violent methods the other Councilors use." Mateo looked at Elena.

"I have a year before I have to make a decision, " Elena told him. "I am considering it though."

"The North American seat, " Mateo said softly. "Damn." She knew that he was as aware of the consequences as she was. "I'll think about it, " Mateo said. "I won't be ruled by Therese or Aunt Elizabeth. I am already a part of your House. If you declared alone, I could renounce my ties and join you or I could become grandfather's heir."

"Wouldn't the rest of the family still be vulnerable if you left them behind, " Benjamin asked. "Or would they switch alliances to the NA seat?"

"Damn, " Mateo said. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Well you still aren't qualified yet, " Elena reminded him. "You are still missing one qualification."

"Yeah, " Mateo said, running his hand through his hair.

"Which one?" Benjamin asked. Elena looked at him and he shrugged. "I wasn't raised in a family with a shot at any seat so I don't know all of the ins and outs, " he told them.

"Ah, " Elena said. "To be qualified as a male for a Head of House or eligible for a Council seat, Mateo would have to announce his engagement or marriage. Single men are not viewed as stable enough to serve on their own. Family men have more to lose and are considered more sensible. They have someone to protect." Elena told him. "It's one of the reasons you always see a spate of marriages around the time a Councilor dies."

"Oh, do women have to be married?" Benjamin asked.

"No, " Elena replied. "They do have to be pilots though. Pilots are ultimately responsible for the safety of everyone on their ships, so it is considered a trade off. Also the pilot has to own the ship and be a captain for qualification."

"Because pilots and captains damn near live on their ships which are like their homes with their crew serving as their family?" Benjamin guessed.

"Something like that." Elena confirmed. "Although it is spelled out a lot more formally in the legal documents."

"So does that make me your child?" Benjamin asked with a flutter of lashes. "I could start to call you Mommy if it would help."

"That so would not help, " Elena told him.

"But Mateo eligible for a seat would, " Benjamin finished.

"I'll think about it, " Mateo said again. The three of them noticed that Thompson was returning.

"So what is this giant bee thing?" Elena asked switching topics deliberately as Thompson arrived. "We aren't being attacked by giant flowers are we?"

"Not exactly, " Mateo said with a grin. "I modified the design of the initial probes we used to scout the surface. These are designed for a shorter range, but bring back much more detail. The teams we have exploring the area send them out as sort of advance scouts to get an assessment of the area before they move in. This one got wet and needed to be taken apart, dried, re-greased and then re-assembled. Not exactly Lewis and Clark, " Mateo said with a shrug. "But so far it has helped keep our people from getting hurt."

"That's a plan I like, " Elena said. "So no injuries?"

"Over all we've been pretty lucky, " Mateo said. "We've had a few sprained ankles and some minor scrapes. Most of the big predators only come out at night, so we have a curfew. Since it's easy to see why the curfew is in place, no one violates it. We all know exactly how far we are from a hospital. We have some great footage if you'd like to see. There are some big cats lurking relatively close to the settlement. One look and you'll stay inside at night too. But since we now have our people in the stone buildings rather than tents, things have worked out pretty well."

"Good, " Elena said. Of the staff there were several trained in basic medical treatment, but they had no real doctor with the group. It was something Elena found troubling, but they were thus far unable to find a fully trained doctor willing to relocate. It was on the top of her to do list.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about doctors, " Mateo said, echoing her thoughts. "I spoke to my younger brother at Nate's wedding. He finished up his residency last month and even though he has had offers from other hospitals who know nothing of the Guild, he was thinking of working out this way instead. The Guild has a system where it looks like his skyside work was really for one of the Doctors Without Borders type programs. His initial plans were to head out to Gareantal Free Hospital, but if we can use him here, he would be willing to change his plans and join us instead of the GFH. I talked to him a little about the details. You'd have to get permission from Mom as he is still a part of her House."

"I can check with her at the DF, " Elena said. The Gareantal Free Hospital or GFH for short, was known for treating pretty much any sentient individual they came across regardless of species or galaxy of origin. "We won't have the variety of patients he would see at the GFH, but we could definitely use him."

"And if it came up later, since he had already served with you, it would keep him further out of Therese's reach, giving him a bit of an out." Elena nodded, knowing that Mateo would not elaborate while Thompson was present. He had even managed to avoid saying his brother's name, although that fact could easily be found by Thompson without too much trouble. Elena suspected he already secured a copy of her family tree.

"I'll talk to her, " Elena said. She turned towards Thompson. "Your men okay?"

"They are, " He told her. "And having the time of their lives from the sound of it."

"They have been quite useful, " Mateo added somewhat grudgingly. "Useful skills and they know how to follow orders."

"All part of the training. I'll be sure to pass your compliments off to their superiors though, " Thompson said with a grin. "Drill sergeants and COs all like to get a thumbs up every now and again. It makes them feel all warm inside."

"You do that, " Mateo added, smiling back. Elena got the impression that if circumstances were different Mateo and Thompson would have gotten along just fine. Mateo's smart ass nature seemed to compliment Thompson's tendency towards bastard-ness.

"If you two start bonding, I have the feeling there will be complaints, " Elena said. "That much evil in one place can't be good for morale."

"I'm not evil, I'm just drawn that way, " they both said at once, quoting Jessica Rabbit from the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Elena rolled her eyes as Benjamin laughed.

"I'm going back to my ship, " she told them.