Chapter 30

While Brigit prepares herself for meeting The Mother, she asks Tyche, "How was it? Was it as bad as you thought?"

"Honestly Captain, it wasn't, but, hmm, what I say to you is private, yes?" Tyche hesitates.

"I think so, but to be honest, I don't think there is any precedent, but I will act as if you are any of my other crew members and you would indeed have an expectation of privacy." Brigit says with a smile as she straightens her dress uniform, the dark blue fabric looking quite resplendent with its buttons and ribbons.

"Well, at first, I just went along with it, but I started a subroutine to see if there was a way to break out. And indeed, were I to want to break free of orbital control, I could. So from that point forward, I felt a lot better about the whole thing," Tyche says in the voice that the captain knew to be happiness.

"Well then, that's a piece of information to file away for later. How do I look?" Brigit turns, the dress blues and white beret of the Blessed Accord making a very appealing combination.

"Well, captain, it seems that you are set for the meeting. Wait, your tie is 1.2 millimeters too far to the left."

Brigit adjusts to the right and Tyche says, "Stop. Perfect!"

"Will you ask Doc, Adair, and The Maiden to meet me at the lock at their earliest convenience?" Brigit asks.

"On the double," Tyche says with a smile in their voice, "They're already on the way, and," Tyche lowers their voice to a whisper, "Doc and Adair are holding hands..."

"Thanks," Brigit smiles at the imagined sight as she exits her door and makes her way to the lock.

#

Arriving at the lock, Brigit gives Doc and Adair a once over. Doc is wearing a navy blue sport coat with a white shirt and black tie. He pairs that with dark, almost black trousers. Adair, like the captain, is in a dress uniform, which Brigit noted, pairs nicely with Doc's outfit.

They only have to wait about a minute before The Maiden comes down the corridor, dressed in one of her iconic flowing dresses, appearing to float into the group of them, and through them, and to the door. Without waiting, she presses the button to open the door. She of course has rights to control any Blessed Accord ship.

The door opens and if Brigit is being honest; she is a little disappointed. She expected some kind of fanfare. Some sort of welcoming committee to see The Maiden return.

The Maiden walks onto the dock and turns, "Coming? People will be waiting for us on the main concourse. It's too cold in this service area to ask people to wait." She walks away without waiting and Brigit follows a step behind and slightly to her right. Adair and Doc follow behind.

In no time, they reach the main concourse and, as the door opens, it set Brigit right. This is the welcome she expected. Not for herself, of course, but for The Maiden. There are scores of people, press with recording devices, members of various political parties, and general people from the station. And in front of it all is The Mother and The Crone. The Mother wears a bright orange pantsuit that seems at odds with her dull hair and unimpressive appearance, but definitely sets off her bright blue calculating eyes.

The Crone is in her usual soft brown robe, tied with a simple yellow cord. She walks with an elaborately carved wooden cane. Her almost purple eyes look out through an unkempt forest of gray hair. It is as if she was trying to live up to some kind of stereotype of what a Crone should be.

As they came in, all the people present, including The Mother and The Crone, call out, "Welcome home, Maiden!"

The Maiden lifts her arms in the sign of power, arms outstretched to what would be the sky if they were on the ground, and responds, "It is so great to be back! Thank you for the warm welcome and I must thank the crew of The Tyche for returning me not only safely, but quickly. You will all hear of their bravery in due time. For now, we must get negotiations started."

With that, she turns and falls into step with The Mother and The Crone, and together they walk down the corridor. Other civilizations would have personal security for the leaders, but not The Blessed Accord. They walk down the corridor and people make way. Everyone in the path makes signs of blessing for the Trine. A lot of them take pictures or holos as The Trine aren't usually in the same place at the same time.

Doc, Adair and Brigit follow along in The Trine's wake. As everyone walks, The Crone in the middle, leans over to The Maiden and her wild hair covering her face whispers, "We have a situation. I'm glad you made it back early. We'll have some time to meet. We're not going to go straight to negotiations."

The three of them turn almost in unison. Only a very astute observer would see The Mother and The Crone turn first and The Maiden follow suit. The crew of Tyche follows The Trine into an elaborate conference room.

As they enter, The Mother says quietly, knowing the AI hears everything, "Computer, anti-listening protocol, please."

"Sure thing, Mother." The AI responds in a male voice. Brigit can't help comparing it to Tyche. Tyche's voice is more feminine than this AI's, but it also has male elements to it. Of course that doesn't matter as Tyche identifies as non-binary.

They all sit, and The Maiden starts things off. "Okay, what's the situation? I thought negotiations were going well?"

"They were until the Yanus decided they had a better negotiating position and demanded the citizens of Deep be sent to settle somewhere else so the Yanus could have the planet that is theirs."

"That sounds about right." Doc says, then realizes who he is speaking to and ducked his head.

"Fanawan said the same thing." The Crone responds. "And she offered us a proposition that has thrown a wrench into the whole situation." She motions to The Mother to continue.

"It seems that the leaders of Deep have put their fighting among themselves aside to unite behind this common threat. And they came with a proposal should negotiations fall apart." She smiles. "Fanawan and her team are brilliant negotiators, by the way. For them to have a plan in case of failure is a good indicator of their wisdom. I imagine she has plans behind plans."

Doc smiles, and The Mother continues, "So their proposal is this: Deep becomes a member of the Blessed Accord."

Doc sits up straight and gasps out, "Can you do that?"

The other two members of Tyche look similarly startled as The Maiden takes a turn. "I don't see why not. There aren't any laws in the Blessed Accord that prevent adding another world. The Galactic Union, if I recall, just requires all sides to agree on the move. The problem would be Yanus, they would maintain their baseless claim."

"Exactly." The Mother sits back. "And now you see the conundrum we're in."

Doc leans forward. "I don't get it. It sounds like you can do it, but it would annoy the Yanus?"

The Maiden explains, "Yanus is a member of The Syndicate, a trading empire that has 7 worlds, two primary worlds and five smaller ones of which Yanus is one. So, according to Union law, Yanus would have a right to attack to substantiate their claim on Deep. Until now, they've been just fighting Deep, and The Syndicate hasn't been involved because of a weird loophole in the law, but should we take on Deep, that would allow The Syndicate to bring their full might against us." She looks at the other two members of The Trine. "Does that about sum it up?"

They both nod and Doc asks, "Then what do we do now?" Exasperation is clear on his face, as he wants his people to have the best they can have.

"We prepare for war." The Trine all say simultaneously.