Gov. Xavier Bright ran the planet Hope mostly from his office at his residence on the outskirts of Sparkle City, although a good deal of his time was also consumed in matters of state all about the city and beyond, such as now, waiting to greet the representative sent from Earth. Bored, he wondered when the Space Dart would arrive. He sat in his reserved, canopied greeter box set up by the landing field. With him sat a shapely young girl, still in adolescence, really, and the two servant robots stood by as well.
Sec. Ldr. Clyden returned to the greeter box. "I see them coming down, Gov. Xavier." Clyden pointed to the short,descending rocket that was still far above the clouds.
"You have very good eyes, Security Leader Clyden," Xavier remarked. "Okay, Sheila, get ready to turn on the charm."
"Yes, Uncle," she answered. "I will see that Mr. Martin and his friends find all the fun spots and have a great time."
Capt. Shatner brought the rocket in low and slowed it as they neared the landing pad. He managed to land the Dart on its belly with barely a thump. "Thank you for flying Dart Rockets. Please take your carry-ons and disembark with care in an orderly fashion."
Inside the passengers' cabin, Gazelle instructed everybody how to leave in a civil and courteous procedure, row by row. "And after you go through customs and register, you can rent a robot to help you with your luggage. Taxis are waiting outside the landing field. Enjoy your stay-"
"Sure will", Osmo told her, brushing impulsively past her and ahead of the line.
"Hey, wait for us!" Albert called after him.
"Jerk," muttered Jane.
"Jerk," muttered Gazelle.
Jerk, George thought to himself.
Everybody's jealous of you, my sweet, Mita thought to herself.
Osmo quickly found his luggage while it was being unloaded from the lower portion at the back end of the Space Dart by robots and people. Soon Albert and Jane joined him. However, it took Jane some time to retrieve her suitcase.
"Shlotz, look at those lines at the customs booths," Osmo complained. "I had hoped to get there at the head of the lines!"
"Too bad, I had such a hard time finding my luggage," Jane said. "And I looked as fast as I could, so as not to inconvenience your highness."
Osmo squinted at her suspiciously. "I am pretty sure I've seen you move a lot faster than that before."
The governor's niece Sheila came over with one of the robots to meet the young people from Earth. "Ah, Mr. Martin, greetings from the World of Hope! We are honored to have you and your friends with us, especially considering your parents' history with our planet."
He smiled at her. "And I am honored to meet such a pretty girl!"
She smiled back. "I am Sheila Bright. The governor has asked me to find you and your friends and to show you around our wonderful city."
"Sounds good to me!"
Osmo's companion introduced himself. "I am Albert Zoeniga; I'm Osmo's best friend. And this lovely lady is Jane Ashton."
Jane huffed. "A nice touch, calling me the lovely lady, Albert, but I already saw your eyes pop out your head when you met Miss Bright."
"Call me Sheila, please."
Osmo assured her, "You give me your number and I will call you- Of that you can be sure. We'll be right with you, ma'm, as soon as we register."
She shook her head. "Oh, don't waste your time. That stuff isn't for us. B-12, get their bags and follow us." The robot complied and she led them over to meet the governor.
Mita, meanwhile, looked on, seething at new competition. She finally found her things and struggled with her luggage. She hoped to find an affordable robot to hire.
Sheila took Osmo and Albert and Jane over to meet her uncle, and he cordially greeted them. "I think very highly of your father, Osmo," said Gov. Bright. "He, like your mother, is one of the great ones who helped found this planet. I am sure it will be an honor to have you with us. Welcome to the World of Hope, and to Sparkle City."
"Thank you, Gov. Bright," replied Osmo. "That's very gracious, and true, what you said about Dad."
They shook hands and then the governor asked Sheila to help them find their hotel and settle in for a spell. He wished them a fun time.
After Sheila led Osmo and his friends to her truck, with the robot carrying their things for them, Xavier said, "Nice kids."
"Yes, I am sure," agreed Clyden. "I will take X-9 and find the McCleers now, sir."
"Good. I see them over there in the long lines signing in, wondering why we haven't yet come to meet them. I trust I made them wait long enough to make my point, that I don't think Mr. McCleer's visit for a supposed assessment is as important and worth my time as the Earth Leaders seem to think. The only thing important about George's visit, I think, is that Mrs. McCleer is accompanying him."
The security leader said nothing.
Sec. Ldr. Clyden crossed the field and went over toward the McCleers. Meanwhile, the flight crew now disembarked. As Gazelle passed by, Clyden winked at her but continued on his way. She winked back but didn't change course, either, heading for check-in. Wow, she silently noted, today Tretl is wearing a Security Agent uniform.
Clyden overheard Mrs. McCleer as she was pointing at one of the many posters of the governor hanging on the rocket port fence. "All those posters! More posters than he has Security Agents patrolling the rocketport. And see, Xavier is as handsome as ever! It's like he didn't change a bit."
Mr. McCleer replied, "Yes, that's what I'm afraid of."
Clyden greeted George and Nina, shaking hands and explaining who he was, although they already knew him from stories George heard in his job. "X-9, get their things," Clyden ordered.
"Yes, sir," answered the robot. It picked up the heavy trunks and didn't seem to mind or notice how heavy they were. Nina had packed almost her whole wardrobe.
Clyden went on ahead of them, going over to Xavier at the greeter box, who welcomed them. "Ah, George, Nina, I trust your trip was uneventful. Good to see you two again." He shook George's hand, and gave Nina a warm hug. "Nina, it's really good to see you again."
George stared but said nothing as the governor affectionately embraced her a bit too much affectionately. Obviously Xavier still remembered Nina. How annoying. It made him forget how annoyed he had been because of Xavier's delay in finding them to greet them, a deliberate slight that was not lost on George.
Xavier suddenly released Nina and turned to George. He bottom-lined the situation. "George, your Leaders on Earth said they were sending you to assess how things are running here. What that really means is, you are to critique my performance. Fine. Before you can send in a report that's worth anything, I will show you what a challenge it is to run this planet. I must honestly admit, and I am sure you will agree, also, once you see what I must do, that not many people are half as qualified as I am to keep this place functioning smoothly. I do what I have to do, to get the job done. If Earth wants its precious fuel ore, they had better not try getting rid of me. But let's not talk about that stuff now. Why mar the wonderful dinner the chefs have prepared for us."
Yup, it's true, George mused, silently agreeing with Nina's observation when she saw the governor's poster. Xavier hasn't changed much over the years. Unfortunately. George sighed to himself. I can see this will be a pleasant stay. Xavier sounds as if he will be as co-operative as ever. And, if he were to know my true objective- Well, it is good he does not know, that's all! Or Xavier will be impossible to deal with!
Dinner