Penelope's Secrets

Chapter 1
Dinner at the Palace

Scythia...

A white room, part of the ground floor of the palace on the hill. The room's centre is circular with an incredibly high ceiling that seems to be open to the sky. But if it is no rain ever drops this way. Inside, lightly smoky candles give off more than bright light. Outside through half open windows the sun has set to a magic kaleidoscope of colour. But no-one in the room seems to have noticed the transformation from fairy book landscape into darkness. If there are insects in this late summer they prefer to stay outside and chitter. Surprisingly no moths, crane-flies, mosquitoes or other flying nuisances have dared to pass through the half open windows. To us this seems strange. It's almost as if they know they would not be welcome. Seemingly oblivious to the trivial speculations that have made us pause the room's occupants seem to be more interested in their own small company and amusement.

Five people are sitting around a table which is solid wood probably walnut. The evidence of glasses once crystal bright part filled by water or white wine or red. They are relaxed now but their attention has been rapt on the speaker a man who is not quite at ease with what he is wearing perhaps due to the fact that his clothes were hastily borrowed and put on just before the meal started. Now he speaks.

"Well I can honestly say that's the best meal I've had for about three years. I hope you're not going to tell me there are any more courses because if I eat any more I think I'm going to explode."

A waiter has been hovering around behind him the speaker turns around and waves his hand over plate.

"Please! Take it away. I might be tempted to change my mind."

Turning to the head of the table, to his left, he salutes the dark haired lady who smiles back indulgently, knowing that he has drunk rather more than he intended.

"Lady Penelope" he begins. The "lady" being somewhat affected at the start of the meal, now seems to be the natural form of address to a hostess who has commanded such munificence

"Lady Penelope, that was delicious. I don't know how to thank for enough for this magnificent meal. If all your guests are fed like this I'm surprised they ever leave alive. Or are you going to tell me that most of them don't stop eating and your gardener has a special plot reserved for the exploded remains at the back of the orchard?"

"No, we reserve the "special plot" for guests who don't do their fair share of washing up."

Then seeing the look on his face.

"I'm joking. When you said that in your country the custom is to fend for one's self I wondered if you were really being serious. But don't worry..."

She waves her hand in a signal and more waiters appear, removing dishes, refilling glasses.

"If you change your mind later on there probably are some more courses. But perhaps you'd like a coffee or tea now?"

He smiles. She doesn't need to signal that one. A waiter disappears.

To her left, the blonde haired beauty laughs in mock embarrassment.

"Mother, you know the gardener's on holiday this week so unless you're planning that we should break into the tool shed and dig the hole ourselves I think we should skip the remaining courses. Anyway I suspect that Carlos must be starting to feel like a stuffed goose."

Penelope smiles a genuine smile at her daughter and turns back to the original speaker who still isn't quite sure if he is expected to make some contribution to the washing-up and wonders if the kind of plates they had been eating off are compatible with dishwashers. Probably not. Elegance and convenience don't go always together. He's sure the food would have tasted just as good eaten off everyday china. Or maybe in this palace this is the everyday stuff.

Lady Penelope continues, "I wasn't being serious Carlos. About the washing-up I mean. And on the contrary it's we who must thank you. I don't think I've heard such good stories as the ones you've been telling us for a lot longer than the three years that you seem to have been fasting."

He winces. Had he really eaten as much as that? She continues...

"I mentioned before that in our society, we have a strong tradition of hospitality for the unexpected guest who comes from far away. The reason we hold a feast when such a person arrives is supposed to be because we can all look forward to being treated in the same way ourselves, when we go travelling. But the immediate benefit of wining and dining a traveller like yourself, and I'm sure that this is the main reason the tradition has lasted so long, is that whoever wines and dines the weary traveller is also the first to get the news and gossip. And I can assure you that being in a backwater like this where the most exciting local news is usually something to do with the buying and selling of racehorses anything from the outside which is new and unknown is very welcome. In fact, we'll probably be dining out on the strength of some of your stories for quite a while."

"I don't know what to say. You've been very kind I didn't know what to expect."

The bearded man to his right has been quiet all evening. Although he has consumed each course as it came this was done silently and apart from the empty plates there has been little other evidence tonight that he has been there at all. He has drunk very little of the wine, but quite a lot of the water. This man behaves as if he has seen real thirst in the past. Perhaps he remembers a desert. He seems a bit like a creature of the desert. Most of the time sleeping wide awake waiting to strike. He strikes...

"And what happens in your world then? What do people do if they want to travel? Do they have to take everything with them?"

"Not if they're going somewhere civilized. They can usually just go to a hotel."

"And what's a hotel?"

"A place which provides accommodation and food and other creature comforts in return for money."

"So you pay to be a guest?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"So you pay your host for staying with them?"

"Not quite. The hotels are not normally owned by individual people but by corporations."

The bearded man looks puzzled he realizes that he must have missed something earlier. The blonde beauty intervenes to save his embarrassment...

"I think from what Carlos said earlier" and she glances back at Carlos who is willing her to be right not wanting to cause accidental offence to anyone.

"I think that in Carlos' world, the Corporations are a bit like our Families am I right?"

Carlos nods.

"But unlike our Families which have real living people to guide them the Corporations are run by Managers who are a bit like our Equerries and don't really own anything at all."

The coffee and tea arrive. Everyone looks up in relief. The waiters already seem to know every-one else's preferences and pour and stir without being asked.

"Mine's coffee, white with no sugar please" suggests Carlos when they hover in his direction.

Penelope said "Don't worry about it Jacko. It sounds to me a bit like some of those things that I was taught in history. I don't think we need to understand the intricacies of all this stuff tonight."

At this lead, the man Jacko looks relieved as though a burden has been lifted from him. Carlos is not too tipsy to notice that the mention of the word "history" seemed to have a magic effect. Jacko was actually smiling. So maybe history or culture was something he was not expected to worry his head about? The coffee was starting to work. He tries to remember fragments of conversation. What has he been saying? Has he been indiscreet? He looks around. Everyone is starting to sip their drinks. The young man seated on Carlos' left looks like the sort of person who would not normally be quiet. But he too has been listening carefully all evening. Storing things up? But he seems to be totally at ease as though he has been enjoying himself.

"Do you like your coffee?" Penelope asks. The perfect hostess.

Pulled back from his musing to the real world, Carlos replies. "It's delicious thank you. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It's a lot better than the stuff I've been drinking on our ship. We misjudged how much coffee you can get through when you're on a voyage and there's not a lot going on. So we drank most of the fresh coffee early on, and we've been mainly on the dehydrated kind ever since."

"Well maybe that's one of the things we can talk about later on, when you've had a chance to settle in. Coffee is one of the goods that we produce for trade with the other empire worlds. If nothing else I'm sure we can give you an adequate supply for your return journey."

"That's very generous. I'm not too sure what we could give you in return. We didn't really come equipped for trading. In fact it was difficult enough to find enough space for essential supplies."

"I don't think you need worry too much about that. My experience is that almost anything new from another world, can acquire quite a high value, as much due to its novelty or fashion value as its practical application. You'll probably find that even a couple of music disks from your world could buy more coffee and provisions than you could fit into your ship, with the benefit of a bit of negotiation. But I really don't want to rush you into anything. If you've spent three years getting here, you ought to at least spend a few weeks getting acclimatised and finding your way around. We can leave any trading issues till later. And probably the longer you leave it the better bargains you'll make, because, by then you'll know more about the kind of things we're interested in, and there will be more buyers who'll want to know about what you've got to offer."

Carlos laughed, "Sounds like good advice to me. But aren't you going to lose out yourself by giving me such advice?"

"Maybe in the short term. But one of the things that our family has learned over the generations is that it takes a long time to build up and develop off-world trade. It can only be successful if there's trust and good faith on both sides. We'll drive a hard bargain, you can be sure of that, but it will always be with the issues in the open for you to discuss. For this kind of trade to succeed there has to be a willingness by both sides to work for each other's benefit. There's no point in trying to win a short term advantage at your expense. Because if you feel aggrieved about it later on, there are plenty of other people who would be willing to take our place. And it's a bit difficult exerting influence on an unwilling partner who you might only see once or twice in a lifetime. What's good for you, is also going to good for us."

"Probably sooner rather than later, in my case." The young man, on Carlos' left pips in.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, as you know, mother" he says turning to Penelope, "I have been putting the pennies aside lately while I've been saving for my latest acquisition."

"Yes Cato, I thought I'd noticed some kind of austerity campaign recently. I wondered if you'd fallen in love with a vestal virgin, and were planning to buy out her vows. But I hadn't heard of any scandals in that direction."

"No, much more important than that, I was planning to approach Prometheus, with a view to buying his latest winner Beucephelos."

"A horse," explains, Helen. "My brother has this theory that if he owns most of the horses on Scythia, then eventually they will start to win races, and he'll get some of his money back. The only problem with this plan is that as soon as he buys a winner from someone, they come out with another one that's younger and slightly faster."

"Well you must admit that I have had, my fair share of winners during the last year."

"Except that Beucephelos beat your best three horses in the last inter-Scythian championship, which probably wiped out most of your winnings from all the races you won before."

"Well that's a good reason for buying him. And I agreed with Prometheus that I'd meet him tomorrow morning before the selection for the races, to make my offer. But, luckily for me, mother insisted that I should dine here tonight. And I think I'm going to save myself about half of what I was planning to offer."

"How come?" asks Carlos.

"Well, as mother and Helen can probably testify, I'm not usually this quiet during a meal, and this purchase of Beucephelos has been very much on my mind now, for the last few months. In fact, ever since he won that damned race. It's taken a lot of trading, including selling my two best horses to recover my losses and get the money together to make an offer. I was planning to go out tonight to celebrate because Prometheus has finally come round to the idea of selling me his star horse. And to be honest, I wasn't too sure whether this family tete a tete would be a good substitute. But when mother insists on something it's best to do as she asks. And now I'm very glad I came."

"But how does being here tonight save you half the price of a horse?"

"Ah "says Helen, "My younger brother may be a bit horse-brained, but I think I can see what he's getting at."

"Well, we all have our weaknesses sis. But I'm too much of a good brother to mention yours, in front of our guest here. But your guess is probably right. You see Carlos, at the moment, as my mother said, the main news in Scythia tomorrow would probably have been me buying the horse before the games. But since your arrival, all that will change. During the next couple of weeks, while everyone is scrambling around to get liquid lucre so they can bid for any off-world goods or concessions that you may be wanting to sell, the price of racehorses will take a tumble."

"But won't that have a bad affect on you?"

"I'm usually a buyer not a seller. The only reason I sold any at all recently, was because I was practically broke. But now, I reckon, that for the same amount of money that I was going to offer Prometheus for Beucephelos alone, I'll probably get Beut and the one's I sold last week back again. Mother, as usual, was right, and as well as having a most enjoyable evening, I shall also end up being better off, as a result, which is a very rare combination."

He smiles and turns to his mother "If I may be excused? I'm going to enjoy tomorrow's meeting even more than I originally expected."

"You're excused." said Penelope. "If I can still give a little bit of advice to someone who so rarely asks for it, I would suggest that you break the news gently to Prometheus that you may be needing the money for something more pressing, like an off-world saddle or something. I'm sure he's more likely to believe that than something about you wanting to buy literature or technology transfers. In about a week, you'll get what you want."

"Thanks mother. I'll certainly work on that idea. I do hope, Carlos that you aren't actually carrying anything like a saddle on your ship otherwise I'll be caught on the horns of a dilemma."

"No saddles I'm afraid. Maybe next time."

"We'll have to discuss that later. Although, if it takes three years for you to get each way, I might be too old to benefit from a saddle by the time you could get one. Anyway, in the meantime, good night to you all."

He kisses, first his mother, then sister, and leaves.

"So, what are your plans for tomorrow then?" asks Penelope.

"I think I'd probably like to spend a couple of days, just looking around, if that's possible. You don't get much of an idea of what a place is like through the end of a telescope."

"It might be an idea if you had someone to show you around - because apart from the problems of getting lost, there are the more serious ones of landing in trouble due to accidental cultural slips. If you don't mind, I'll get one of my staff to call on you tomorrow morning at your leisure. You can discuss what you'd like to see - and take it from there."

"Mother, I don't mind showing Carlos around, it wouldn't be any trouble."

"It's good of you to offer, Helen, but I think Carlos might need someone with less commitments, who can take him to places you might not want to go."

Carlos grins "Thanks for the offer Helen. As I've never seen anything here before, I'd be very grateful for your suggestions. But I don't want to put you to any trouble."

"Well that's settled then." said Penelope. "I guess you must be pretty tired Carlos, after all you've had a long day. Why don't you show Carlos back to his room, Helen, because he looks as though he could use the rest."

Stifling a yawn, Carlos says, "The coffee worked for a bit there in reviving me, but I think you're right. If you don't mind I'll take my leave."

"Mother, Jacko, goodnight", said Helen, and waving her arm "This way."

As the sound of doors opening and closing in distant corridors fades, Penelope gives Jacko an interrogatory look.

"What do you think? Is he telling the truth, or is it an elaborate hoax? You've been sitting their listening to him. That's why I wanted you in on this meal."

"It's always a privilege lady, to eat at your table. But I don't think we can go on what he's been saying. For all we know, he might be a very good actor, and he hasn't told us very much at all. If he did come on a star ship - how big is it? Where is it? How many people on board? What sort of weaponry if any? No, he talked a lot, but in spite of his few lapses, he didn't really tell us anything. It's too early to judge from what he's said, although as far as I could see, there weren't any contradictions."

"What does your instinct tell you then?"

"He's not Etruscan, that's for sure, otherwise we wouldn't have found him so easily." Jacko scowls at the mention of the Etruscans who are Scythia's age-old rivals and occupy the neighbouring region which is about twenty light years away. "And he's not Scythian either.

"Let's consider what we know about how he got here.

"Fact:- our radar detected someone coming in on a personal glide-shute from a location where as far as we know - we have no aircraft.

"Fact:- he behaved as though he expected to be picked up and looked forward to the prospect. For someone who is not a member of one of the great families he seemed pretty cool when he was approached up by our interception unit, and you know how intimidating they can be, they get so little real action.

"Apart from these facts we have nothing. We've looked at the glide-shute. It's very low tech. It may originate from off-world. It may not. Short of doing some checks on his more personal belongings it's hard to be sure. Even then, it could still be a hoax. I suppose we should be glad that he was spotted so soon. Although dressed the way he was, he wouldn't have got past the first city gate without being picked up. My view is that we should be cautious. If he's going to reveal himself - let's be there to see."

"He's a presentable and entertaining enough fellow. I don't want him to come to any accidental harm. That's why I suggested a guide, ideally one who can report on what he gets up to, but also protect him. But it needs to be someone he can get on with.

"Well, Lady, as far as I can tell from the way the conversation went tonight - I think he would prefer a female companion."

"Yes I noticed that Helen didn't hide her interest. But you know she's unreliable. At the moment she's interested because he's young, and from somewhere unknown, but she's got a short attention span when it comes to male companions, as you know."

"Yes Lady."

"Have you got any suggestions? It will have to be one of your best people."

"My best female agent Lady, has been in training for some years for a most important diplomatic mission. If I assign her to the alien, her face will become known and associated with our interests. Her cover will be blown. But if you want the best. She really is the best Lady. I think you know who I mean..."

"How can I possibly know? You've got so many agents."

"I should have said that the diplomatic mission she was training for, is of a revenge nature... My Lady."

Suddenly Penelope's eyes become clearer and sad at the same time.

"Do you mean - Ireny? Is she really now your best agent?"

"Despite her soft background, she is very highly motivated. She's worked harder than any other agent I have ever trained. If you really want the best, it will have to be her. But I know she will take it very hard, if she is going to be diverted from her chosen mission."

Penelope sighs with genuine sympathy. "Poor Ireny. I know how upset she will feel. We will have to find another way to deal with that particular retribution. But I did say Carlos' companion should be the best, and if she really is the best, then it must be her. Tell her - that the original matter will not be forgotten but we will have to postpone the deed and find another way to implement it. This assignment is more important. For all we know there may be a fleet of battle cruisers lurking around our system. Which brings me to the next point... "

"You want us to find the ship?"

"I know it's been a long time since we've had to think seriously about any new threats from off-world, apart from the continuous irritation of our Etruscan neighbours, but I hope that somewhere in those military training establishments on which we spend so much of our money that there's a book or something that tells you how to find a space-ship that's trying hard not to be found. And ideally I don't want them to know that we're looking, or found them, until after we have assessed the situation."

"That shouldn't be too difficult, because if he's come on ship, it must still be fairly close within our system as it's less than fourteen hours since he was first detected. But how do you want me to go?"

"I think we should be careful but I don't want any dramatics. If it turns out to be a hoax, I think I'd forgive him, at the moment but that's the least danger. If he really is a traveller from a non-empire world and we look after him, we could add seriously to the family coffers and influence by being the first to do any trade deals. But if his world is a threat, then we're the one's on the spot. And it's up to us to make sure that the interests of the empire are fully looked after. They take precedence over everything. You know how unforgiving the empire can be about any lapses in that direction."

Just then, a servant rushes in, bows to Penelope and waits by Jacko. "Apologies Lady, I was told to inform Marshal Jacko the moment we picked up any electromagnetic disturbances emanating from the alien target."

Penelope and Jacko exchange glances.

"What have you got?"

"Well sir, you said we should monitor all frequencies for any high energy pulses that might be a coded communication of some sort."

"And?"

"You were right sir. We got one. Very short pulse, no repetition in time, very high energy."

"Range?"

"Definitely off-world capability."

"Thank you, you may go."

Turning around and bowing, then saluting, the messenger withdraws quickly.

"So now I know why you're still my chief of security. What made you think of the surveillance?"

"If he's gone to all the trouble of getting here, it's not much use if he can't communicate with his ship. If I were in his shoes, I would have arranged a set of coded pulses, which would have no meaning in themselves, but would signal back to the ship various states of progress."

"And the meaning of this one?"

"My guess is, it simply means he's landed OK and got a friendly reception. We could always ask..."

"No. I don't want him to know that we got his signal. Don't tell Helen or Cato. But this does mean we have to take things a little bit more seriously... I want you to commandeer whatever ship is ready to go space-bound tonight and send an urgent despatch to the empire fleet hub."

"It'll mean loss of trade. There'll be a lot of protest."

"Tell whoever owns the ship, it's an imperial priority. That'll keep them quiet. I'll draft a message - to be hand delivered to the fleet hub commander."

Jacko raises his eyes in curiosity.

"I'm going to demand an immediate region-wide mobilization. I want every military vessel in the region to blockade Scythia, in a cordon sanitaire until we know what we're dealing with."

"The risk..."

"I know, the cost, if it's a false alarm will cripple my family and put us into the slave market. But if we don't do it, and there turns out to be an imperial threat that we haven't dealt with - you know the empire could do the same thing to the whole planet. As a lesson. That's one thing the empire is very good at. Object lessons. After I've called the general mobilization, we may have more to fear from the empire than from our alien friends."

"But on the other hand..."

"Yes on the other hand. If everything goes right, we could end up as one of the most powerful families in the empire..."