Chapter 44

“Harry, you have a commission,” Zeke stated.

Harry shook his head, “I’ve hit my eight years. I’m supposed to sign back up or resign when I return to Earth. I’d rather quit the ESC and work for you. They only gave me this job because no one else wanted it. I’ve had enough of their bureaucracy.”

“I also have a degree in Criminal Investigation. It was one of the reasons I finally got the promotion from Second Lieutenant. I’d hoped we could get more space-time to do our job once I became the Captain. Not more time sitting around on Earth twiddling my thumbs.”

“I’ve also been studying to get my International Law Degree. I’d love to be able to put my knowledge to effective use while helping people in space. It was what I signed up to do. Please consider me, Zeke.”

“How long do you need?” Zeke asked.

“The crew and I will have to be debriefed. I can put in my resignation on the way back. If your time is up and you’re cutting out, they get rid of you fast. After this debacle, four to five days should do it.”

“Hum, if you contact Anne, she might be able to help with a crew. In the meantime, I’ll have to get Aida to Morpheus for you.”

“Um, Zeke,” Tean said tentatively.

Zeke turned his attention to Tean.

“What if I fly Aida to Morpheus? I would love to crew on her as her pilot. I can also back up on any helm job and engineering in a pinch. Plus, I can fly the Z4 and land it on tumbling ships.”

“Rod can fly Louisa. She practically flies herself anyway. Not that I don’t appreciate his company, but this would solve my need for a regular job. I think Cousin Harry and I can get along.”

Zeke raised his eyebrows at Harry.

Harry grinned, “I don’t have an issue with Tean being on my crew. I’ve experienced her flying the Z4, and she is good. I’ll need someone with her skill set if we are a rescue ship.”

“Rod?” Zeke queried.

Rod shrugged, “I’m a hanger-oner. I’m sure Louisa can get me home safely. I can contact Travis before I dock, as per your instructions. My people will make sure Louisa remains un-molested until you get to Armstrong. I can only thank you for putting up with me and the gift you gave me.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” Zeke said. “I need to upgrade, Harry and the twins. I have items that wish to go to them. Just remember it is the items, not me, who decide who they go to.”

“Even so, I do like the idea of the crew on Aida having magic. Harry, you might offer that as an incentive to Anne. If I like the people you, Tean, and she picks, I may be able to offer them a magical item. I really need to make more items.”

Harry laughed, “Zeke, I’ll be inundated with relatives once I tell Anne. Are you sure you want your ship under the control of the Connors’ Clan?”

“As long as they do the job I’m paying for and don’t try to steal Aida. Mind you, she does have some pretty good protections on her systems. You may want to remind your crew that Aida will retaliate if anyone tries to tamper with her.”

Harry gave Zeke a worried look. Zeke’s feral grin didn’t reassure him that Zeke was joking. He suspected Aida would ferret out if anyone was a spy or terrorist on his ship. He was quite sure Aida had a controller like Freya on board.

“So, is everyone happy with the new plan?” Zeke asked the group.

He got nods from around the table, just as a glowing Jada joined them. While the others filled her in, Zeke had Freya pass on the changes to his other ships, so they knew who he had put in charge for the time being.

His three ships were well aware that Zeke was the owner and top boss.

Before Harry left, Zeke had him recite the promise.

Harry received a dark brown magical satchel with a Pedz, a stylus-sized wand, a ring, and a medallion in it. The items had the gems and symbols for Lore and Nature. Zeke noted that Harry’s opal was speckled to indicate that his Nature skills were people-oriented like Rod’s were.

While the others listened, Zeke explained about the dimensional space in the satchel, the database of spells on the Pedz, and the uses for both the large wand and the stylus wand. He apologised for not having diadems for them.

“Zeke, how hard would it be to design and make a diadem?” Paula asked out of interest.

Zeke shrugged, “From what I’ve read, it simply has to be a device to wear on your head, preferably with the gems able to touch your skin. Ptah didn’t have anything like that in his possessions. Just some rings and medallions. I made the larger wands by copying mine. Lee gave me a copy of the stylus.”

“Ptah had a drawing in his journal of a simple gold head-chain. The thin links were about 12mm high by 20mm long. The gems and crystals were mounted in the links and spaced two links apart.”

“He mentioned in his journal that at one time, he had made a couple of two-gem head chains for his two favourite slave girls. Realistically, as long as the links were big enough to hold the gems, I could use what is commercially available.”

“So, what are you missing, that you can’t make them?” Jada asked as she sat down with a fresh coffee.

“Other than time, I don’t have a lot of quality gems. Good opals, in particular, can be difficult to get. I believe I’ve finally found a source on Mars. But I had to drop the search and come here.”