Chapter 38: Return to Qataban

Four days later...

Time: January 1, 8240 10:00 PM

I finished a short Prayer of Repose over the intercom with the pilots in the cockpit and then quickly let them get back to work. We had lifted from Bandar Arenas an hour and a half ago, just around sunset, and were now twelve minutes from our scheduled landing at Qataban Primary. The trip of 4485 km would take 1:43 hours to complete.

We had turned off the ramjet engines moments ago when we dropped out of supersonic, and were now flying with just the two small but very powerful turbo jets. A bright first-quarter moon was still a few hours from setting and it was providing a lot of light on the mountains below. Nighttime is a rare commodity at the capital this time of year, and I turned off the passenger cabin's lights completely to get a better view out the window. After a while I leaned back in my seat, idly checked my seatbelt and thought about my schedule.

Following the practice of the other members of the Council, I had picked the rotation among my three Domines to optimize the seasonal climate of my stays, southern hemisphere summer at mountainous Qataban, northern hemisphere spring at Dalma in the Caribbean, northern hemisphere summer at what I considered my primary township Dakar, and then finally southern hemisphere spring at the end of the year back at the capital.

All the sunlight at the capital was beginning to get to me, even though the weather there is perpetually chilly, even in the summertime. At Bandar Arenas, the sun rose today at 3:34 AM and set at 8:31 PM. Qataban however would have a much nicer balance, sunrise at 5:18 AM and sunset at 6:25 PM. Being at 16 degrees latitude gives you that year-round benefit, in addition to being a great latitude for the world's spaceport.

My jet began to bank slightly in its final approach. Up ahead I could see the runway lights, and my breath caught in my throat. My wives! After ten months, it would be so wonderful to see them. Like all adults, they had gotten their annual anti-aging injections on Judgment 4, and then yesterday my ramjet picked them up at Dakar and flew them to Qataban. I was hoping to leave Bandar Arenas much earlier today, but last minute details always take more time than one plans for. But now at last, all the months of separation were at an end. I couldn't wait to talk to Abigail and hear her thoughts about returning to her childhood township. Oh Abigail, my dear first wife! I can't wait to hold you!

One hour later...

With a nod of my head acknowledging the special guard unit outside my door, I entered my private living quarters in my new cathedral. The chime announced my entrance, and I heard the sound of four pairs of running feet as my wives raced to kneel before me. I reached over and activated the Heisenberg shields to save them the bother, and then turned to see my beautiful wives rushing towards me.

I smiled broadly and almost put out my arms to hug them, but in the instant before I would have, the four women dropped to the floor and prostrated themselves before me, in exactly the correct manner of slave wives.

I blinked and almost turned to make sure I activated the shields, but then I noticed that Abigail, Shephatiah, and Chanah all had their hands out before them with a slight space between the middle and ring fingers. It was our secret hand-sign for danger. I jumped into the assumption that we were still somehow being monitored. I barked an order for them to rise and then curtly told Abigail I was tired, but would take a quick shower and mount her before going to sleep. Abigail nodded meekly, and gave a common arm gesture that she would prepare her body for me. The room was completely silent, which was appropriate. I had given no one permission to speak.

My comm network signaled a call was requesting entrance through the Heisenberg shields. I walked over and accepted a holographic call from Amid, my chief of security. He bowed formally and profusely, even though he appeared to be alone. My inner alarm bells went to full alert.

"Permission to speak with completely familiarity Amid. What's going on?"

"Yes, Grand Mufeto. Profuse apologies for not catching you with this before you reached your quarters. We are having difficulties with the Heisenberg shields."

"What sort of difficulty? Continue to speak informally."

"Yes, thank you Grand Mufeto." Amid took a deep breath. "The shields are up. Quantum foam is at standard thickness. It's not a power issue. But we're not achieving a full harmonic lock on the foam. It's very strange sir."

"Any idea what's causing it?" Perhaps a more obvious question would have been when the problem would be fixed, but I didn't want to put Amid on the spot if there were a possibility we were being observed. And asking him when he would fix a problem he didn't understand would certainly do that.

"We have all our resources dedicated to the investigation Grand Mufeto."

"Just sir will do."

"Yes sir, thank you for the honor. We also have a number of your special guard down here helping us."

"My special guard is in on this?'

"Yes sir. They jumped in immediately as soon as the problem started. I didn't have the authority to tell them not to. But they're doing an extremely competent job sir. Do you have any instructions for them sir?"

I thought for a moment, wondering if Amid was trying to send me any subtle hints. I finally decided he wasn't. "No, I guess not. Am I being observed Amid?"

He looked perplexed. "I don't see how. The special guard doesn't either. The quantum foam is at full strength. It's just that without the harmonic lock, we've lost the mathematical proof that you're not observed. Neither the guard nor I know of any way to observe you under these conditions sir. Still..."

"Yeah, enough said. When did the problem start?"

"10:30 PM. We did a full test of the system at 9 PM. Everything was fine then. Then I called up one of your wives at 10:30 to run one last power test, using the controls by your doorway. Shephatiah activated the system on my orders, and then this happened sir. Huh?" Amid looked as if he were being interrupted. "A moment sir?"

I nodded. The holograph switched to pause. I glanced at my wives. All four were obediently holding their heads lowered in a correct submissive posture. What in Shaitan's name was going on?

"Sir?" Amid was back on line. "The special guard commander thinks they've isolated the problem to one of the foam entanglement generators. They're estimating fifty minutes minimum until resolution if that's the cause. Sir? Would you like problem updates?"