Chapter 19

Ferro had a dozen messages in his queue when he turned on his computer before leaving for his office. His muscles were sore from all of the exertion in the vacuum yesterday and Riata's demanding imagination hadn't helped his muscles to rest during the last shift. He wasn't complaining but some of his muscle groups were.

He was certain that there would be plenty more to complain about in a few hours. Kissing his fuck bunny goodbye, he left without voicing a complaint. She had her own worries for the day.

His escort for the morning commute was Quiyo. The number of marines on Callisto had doubled with the arrival of General Mutawabe. Apparently security concerns had increased because many of the marines were not acting as if they were merely on shore leave. Quiyo was quiet this morning, which made Ferro a bit more wary of his surroundings. The mood in the corridors was more subdued.

Ferro stepped into his office suite and was confronted with two Gijrath instead of one.

"Good morning," he said to both as ducked his head into Torrin's office.

The engineer already had his head buried in a screen a technical data.

He turned to Xerba's office expecting a briefing but the man waved him off. Apparently there was nothing more to be said. Ferro slipped onto the stool in his own office and stared at his screen, which wasn't on. Despite being surrounded by family and friends, Ferro was feeling alone at the moment.

"Why are you so anxious about facing this colonel?" Xerba said, having entered his office silently. "How many knife fights have you been through? You may be matching wits and words instead of blades, but it is the same game mentally."

"I never thought to look at it that way," Ferro admitted.

"You need to remember your own words to us. When outsiders fight us for the first time, they are surprised by our way of fighting. They are no match. This colonel may have watched us in recordings and he probably has a full dossier on you, but he has never fought you."

"That's true," Ferro said.

"Besides, we have a new card to play if these marines are not willing to cooperate," Xerba said. "Farendass."

"I hope that it doesn't come to that," Ferro said. The appointment chime sounded on his computer. "Time to go. I'll be down the hall in the smaller conference room if you need me."

Two marines with weapons stood guard on either side of the door. Ferro looked at both of them with a slight grin on his face. With his hand on the door knob he said to them, "Welcome to my station. As you may have realized, those weapons won't do you any good around here."

He was rewarded with a slight tremor in the cheek of the one on his left. As far as Ferro was concerned, he had just beaten these two men. He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Good morning, Colonel Higgens. Welcome to Callisto. I'm Ferro, the chief architect."

"Good morning, Mr. Aramingo. It's a pleasure to meet you," the colonel said.

The rectangular conference table sat six people and the colonel sat down at one of the longer sides of the table. Ferro walked past him and sat in the chair on the short end. In this seating arrangement, the colonel had his back to the door while Ferro kept the entrance plainly in his sight. Ferro considered the colonel's choice a tactical mistake.

"Please, tell what led you to create these radical designs," Colonel Higgens requested.

Ferro brought up an image of the first fighter ship and began his presentation. The colonel remained silent as Ferro spoke and the man took no notes on his computer. For Ferro, the talk was very different from his recent design presentations. There was no interaction.

The colonel asked another question and Ferro launched into another presentation. Again the colonel said nothing while Ferro spoke. This routine went on for well over an hour. Ferro wasn't sure what game was afoot, but his guard was up.

As Ferro finished his last presentation, the colonel opened his courier's case and withdrew a long rectangular object with a switch and two LED's on top. The colonel put the device on the table in front of him and flipped the switch. The two LED's lit up red. The first one shifted to blinking yellow and then a solid yellow. The other light did the same. Then the first one shifted to blinking green and then to a solid green. The second LED followed the same pattern.

"When I have a private meeting, I prefer the meeting to be truly private," the colonel said. Ferro didn't reply.

The colonel looked Ferro directly in the eye. "You haven't deviated from your previous presentations and postings on your ship designs. I am impressed. I'm not entirely convinced that certain ships of our navy couldn't be retrofitted to meet the transport needs of your kill vehicles or your new combat ship. You should consider these larger ships as an area of potential compromise."

"I'm not a part of the negotiating team, Colonel," Ferro said.

"I recognize the point, Mr. Aramingo, but you are in a unique position," Colonel Higgens said. "You come from a civilian background and a civilian education. Nonetheless, Family Volentin has embraced you and brought you into their fold. Your work makes it clear that you have earned their confidence. They have even given you a lover, which must be an enticing benefit of employment with them."

Ferro didn't rise to the bait. For the first time, he recognized the ploy first before letting his emotions respond. He took a moment to formulate a response.

"As Volentin fights, so do they fuck, Colonel. Is that the intel you came to learn?"

The colonel chose ignore the jab. "You are still a subject of the Imperial Government. Although you are employed by these Families, ultimately you answer to the Imperial Council."

"I've never doubted for a second that I'm designing these ships to defend all of humanity," Ferro said. "I'm flattered to have the opportunity to do so."

"You are stating that you are not under the complete sway of the Families," Colonel Higgens said. "Are you willing to swear your loyalty to the Imperial Council and her agencies?"

"I've always been a citizen of the Imperium," Ferro said in an even voice. "On that account, nothing has changed."

"I want to know with certainty where your loyalties lie," Colonel Higgens said.

"You make a false distinction between the Families who have gathered here to build spaceships and the Imperium. They are one and the same. There is no conflict of loyalties, no contradiction," Ferro said.