Chapter Seventeen
“Greetings and felicitations, Captain Pell,” Sebastian said as he welcomed us to his compartment again. “And these fine people must be your officers.”
Sebastian’s invitation had stipulated that I bring my senior officers with me. It was typical of Sebastian to want to stage a formal event. He always enjoyed being the center of attention. It also meant that he would have all of my senior people in one place.
I gestured to the others who were accompanying me. “My security officer, Ms. Feign, and my medical officer, Doctor Jacobs, you’ve already met. This is my first officer, Christopher Conrad, and my chief engineer, Ian Brunner.”
Sebastian nodded at each of them in turn then motioned us in from the passageway. At first the room seemed to be just the way I remembered it from our first meeting. Entering the room we were again confronted with the flatpad strewn desk before the oversized viewport. To one side however a retractable partition had been opened, more than doubling the size of the space. The new area was an abrupt contrast to the stark appearance of the main portion of the room. Paneled in dark mahogany that had been polished to a buttery finish, the new area was a richly appointed dining salon that would have been more at home in a grand mansion than tucked into a space habitat. Several paintings adorned the walls in gilt frames, one of which I recognized as the missing work of a famous master from Old Earth. In the center of this space a long, formal dining table had been set up. The table and its matching chairs were made from genuine wood and sat under an elaborate chandelier which sparkled with hundreds of twinkling lights as it cast a warm glow on the room. On the table, settings for seven people had been arranged, with the appropriate legions of silverware and crystal for several different courses in place. Arranged in a line down the center of the table, as well as on a long credenza placed against the back wall, were a number of silver warming covers placed over a variety of platters. Waiting against the walls were several white jacketed servants, one for each place setting.
Standing near the head of the table was Angela. She was fidgeting nervously as she waited for the rest of us, her eyes downcast. Sebastian led us to the table and took his place at the head setting and indicated for me to sit on his right side. Morgana sat next to me with Angela opposite me on Sebastian’s left. Doc and Chris were seated across from us next to Angela while Ian was seated to Morgana’s right. The giant, who had summoned us from the ship and escorted us to the commandant’s compartment, moved to stand against the wall behind Sebastian’s chair as we sat down. He seemed quite prepared to remain at that post for the entire meal.
As we took our seats the servants stepped forward from their places against the walls and poured wine for each of us into artfully sculpted, crystal goblets. The wide, gold filigree band that bordered the rims of the glasses was a bit flowery for my tastes, but there was no denying the superb artistry of the glassware and every other piece at our places. The flatware was silver with ornately designed gold handles that matched the serving platters which were also silver with gold accents. Judging by the sheen of the dishes and their translucent edges, I suspected they were bone china. Sebastian always did have a taste for the finest quality.
Glancing up at the woman pouring for me, I wasn’t surprised to see that she was wearing an obedience collar. A quick look around the room confirmed that all of the servants were likewise outfitted. With an effort I once again forced myself to swallow my outrage and waited for Sebastian to speak. If we were going to learn any more about the operation of the Brotherhood I needed to maintain my composure and stay in character. It was customary in formal settings for the host to begin the meal with a toast. I knew how much of a stickler Sebastian was for etiquette and protocol so I waited to follow his lead.
Once everyone’s wine had been poured he raised his glass and said, “To our future endeavors together.”
As I took a sip of what turned out to be an excellent table wine, I noticed a faint image imbedded in the side of the glass. Holding it up to the light, I turned the goblet slowly until I could make out the image. It was a variation of the Raynor house crest, although far more elaborate in detail. In the center of the design I could see the initials SR inscribed in fanciful script. I looked around at the rest of the table settings and saw that everything from the silverware to the dishes was likewise embossed with the same crest.
Once everyone had taken their first sip I raised my glass as etiquette dictated and offered a return salutation. “To the continued success of the Brotherhood under the inspired leadership of His Majesty, Sebastian Raynor, future Emperor of the combined nations of man.”
Sebastian acknowledged my toast with a smile and everyone took another sip. Once the toasting was done, the servants uncovered the platters and began serving us. For more than an hour everyone exchanged polite but banal conversation as we moved through the various courses. When the desert dishes were cleared and the fruit course set before us Sebastian sat back and gave me a long look.
“We must say, Captain, it has been quite a while since We last enjoyed the company of anyone as much as We have yours. We find it most refreshing to have the opportunity to engage in conversation with someone who is so well versed in so many divergent topics.”
“You are most kind, Your Highness,” I said before I forked a single cube of melon into my mouth and set the utensil down. There had been so much food that I couldn’t eat more than a small bit from each course. Since we were being served a formal dinner, I knew that fruit was the eighth of nine courses, with only the nuts and raisin course remaining. As the servants poured coffee into delicate demi-tasse cups, I dabbed at my mouth with my napkin and pushed my plate away. Now that the coffee had been served, it was appropriate for us to discuss business.
Sebastian studied me for several more moments before resuming. “You continually surprise Us, Captain. Not only have you proven yourself to be exceptionally, shall we say, creative at acquiring merchandise, but you actually know which fork to use for each course.”
“Actually, Your Highness, my mother believed that it was important to master the social graces. She was very strict in my instruction.” What I told him was true. Mother did believe it was important to have a firm knowledge of proper social etiquette. But unlike Sebastian, who actually enjoyed all the pomp and ceremony, mother’s view had been a more practical one. To her it was a tool for diplomacy. As the ranking diplomats for the nation, our family was expected to be versed in the customs and etiquette of any culture we interacted with because you never knew what social setting you might find yourself in. Privately however she found all of the various rules to be somewhat silly. Sebastian would have been shocked to learn that in the small periods of private time mother had, the woman he knew as the prim and proper Queen of Gilead, who never had so much as a hair out of place in public, liked to unwind by kicking off her shoes and sitting with her feet curled up underneath her as she ate some kind of finger food (barbecued chicken wings were her favorite indulgence) and immersed herself in a trashy romance novel.
As I thought about the difference between mother’s public and private personas, my mind flashed back to the talk I’d had with Morgana when we first embarked on our mission. I finally understood what she had been talking about. While my mother had enjoyed the verbal fencing that was part of her life as the queen, even though she found formal social customs amusing, Morgana was not like that. She was direct with her opinions and not given to dissembling. The public face my mother had presented as Queen was not something Morgana would be comfortable assuming. Was I asking too much of her?
Of course, this was the wrong time to wander off on such a tangent. I filed this new insight away for a future time and returned my attention to the present. I was still trying to learn as much as I could about the organization Sebastian was running and this chance to speak with the leader of the pirate Brotherhood was too valuable an opportunity to let slip away.
r /> “It seems that her efforts were not wasted,” Sebastian said. “And, Captain, you may refer to Us as Commandant, at least for the time being.”
“Commandant,” I said, “if it’s not too much of an imposition, I was wondering if you could tell me a little about how this arrangement between us is supposed to work.”
“It’s quite simple actually. You will consult with Mr. Smith who will furnish you with all of the necessary information on your assigned targets. He will provide you with such details as …”
As he was speaking I noticed that Angela took a sudden interest in him. All throughout dinner she had simply sat at her place and picked at her food with her head down while Sebastian and I talked. Now she seemed strangely intent on following what he was saying. And for the briefest moment I thought I saw a flash of annoyance flicker in her eyes. Sebastian must have noticed that my attention was focused away from him because he glanced in her direction and stopped speaking.
For a moment he seemed to have been thrown off balance and was searching for what he wanted to say next. “But those are details for another time,” he said eventually, cutting short what he had been explaining to me. “Mr. Smith will tell you everything you need to know. You may address any specific questions you have to him.”
“Thank you. I will,” I said. I was momentarily frustrated that Sebastian had cut short his explanation. So far I had learned nothing I didn’t already know. I thought for a moment and decided to take the conversation in a different direction. “There was something else I was wondering about—my ship. The one I have is not the best suited to waging this type of … activity. I was hoping you might be able to help me acquire something more appropriate—something, quite frankly, with more firepower.”
Sebastian smiled. “I think that can be arranged. After all we can’t have you ill equipped to conduct your raids on Our behalf now can we. You understand however that the cost of whatever vessel you are provided with will be charged against any future profits you generate.” He stopped abruptly, flicked another glance at Angela before he continued. “But this also is something to discuss with Mr. Smith.”
What was going on? It seemed obvious that I wasn’t going to get anything out of him as long as she was around. But if he was so reluctant to discuss business in front of her, why didn’t he just send her away?
Sebastian paused and dipped a handful of nuts and raisins out of the bowl that had been set in front of him. He tossed some of the mix into his mouth and chewed slowly for a while before he resumed speaking. “And now, Captain, as much as We have enjoyed this time together, We are afraid that—”
At that moment an alarm claxon began blaring. Red lights also started flashing in time with the pulse of the alarm. Sebastian looked around in confusion as the giant stepped forward from his place against the wall and pressed a finger to his ear as he listened to a message coming to him over his phone.
The only thing I could think of was that our group had been discovered attempting to infiltrate the command bunker for the tunnel guns. If that were true, things were about to get ugly.