Family Law 3: Secrets in the Stars (32 page)

"Make the chart and I'll do exactly that," Gordon vowed. "I'll even slow up and let the
Sharp Claws
escort them if they want to do a fast reconnoiter and catch up to us. After all they don't have to survey it in detail. Just establish the system type and claim it."

"I'll have Brownie help me," Ernie agreed. "His navigation skills are more applicable to this than my puttering around with surveys where all the work is done for you."

"I'll tell him right now to help you before we want to leave this system. We might as well survey it while you two are researching it. I might like to speak with the ranking Badgers and Bills before we move on. And telling the Third Mum and the Spox what I'm doing is a good idea too," Gordon agreed.

* * *

"The Caterpillars have to know our binary numbers or they wouldn't have learned to follow Brownie’s signal for synchronization and his countdown to jump," Lee said. Nobody challenged that.

"First thing we are going to do in the next transmission is relate binary numbers to Arabic numbers and the spoken word in English. We want to limit the size, so for this first one we are doing a grid twelve by twelve."

Talker picked it up... "If they are half as bright as we think they will see the system and respond with a similar grid. We're going to transmit the grid with zero in the first square, and an audio file for zero. Then the grid with one in the second square and the audio file, continuing all the way around each number in turn. Both binary and Arabic symbols in both. Any comments?"

"Why don't you put a small square like an actual object in each square starting at one?" Thor said. "Then two squares, etc, etc... "

Lee and Talker looked at each other.

"I don't see why not," Talker allowed. Lee nodded agreement.

"I don't think you should put binary and Arabic both in the same transmission," Ha-bob-bob-brie said. "It may confuse them. Especially when the same symbols are used in both.

"What Ha-bob-bob-brie said," Thor seconded. Brownie agreed too.

"OK, just binary then. We'll teach them Arabic numerals in a later message," Lee said.

"Who did you pick for the audio file?" Gordon asked.

"Uh, me, because I may still sit and do the block cutting thing again," Lee explained.

"Yes the wave forms should match consistently," Talker agreed.

"That makes sense," Gordon allowed.

"Anything else?" Lee asked like she was afraid there might be. But no, they were done.

"We'll send it then, as soon as Talker takes the Arabic out and puts the squares in."

* * *

"Jon set me a conference call with all the captains and the political reps for everybody, both fleet and aliens," Gordon said.

It amused Talker that Derf, Humans and Hin were all 'fleet' and Badgers and Bills were still alien. He had every confidence if they signed up as crew on the next voyage of exploration he'd been told was already being planned, then they'd become 'fleet' too. It made trusting these strange folk a lot easier. They had less prejudice between species frankly than in his own group.

Gordon had given his third clan Mother and the Fargone Spox a private heads up, and questioned the crew of the
Sharp Claws
, but he was going to present it to all of them as if it was fresh now.

"You may be aware we found two stellar systems on our outbound journey that had brown dwarfs in them like the one we just entered," Gordon said addressing the conference. "If the information on it hasn't been of interest to you it is in the public files of our fleet net. We consider them significant finds and left claim markers on them. The systems are exceedingly rich in heavy metals. To the point we expect them to alter the economies of all our associated worlds.

"Ernie Goddard and others of our crew developed a theory of brown dwarf formation that anticipates they may be found along a line or arch. Now, three points, two of which are close together, are insufficient to predict an exact line to explore along which we may find another. However it does give us an approximate vector along which there is a higher probability of making such a find. I'm sending you a plot of the three stars and their relationship to examine.

"Since we are not that far within the cone of territorial sovereignty you are considering ceding, it is likely that there are brown dwarf systems in a line leading from our previous discoveries through this system off into neutral space.

"If you'd care to send the
Dart
to make a fast check of the first three or four systems along that line I'd be willing to hold the fleet here to do a thorough survey of this system while you look. It would give you a significant asset to offset your expenses in coming along with us. Perhaps it would justify it back home, as well as showing it is worth continuing to expand despite any problems the Biters have given you in continuing to do so.

"One problem is that we think such systems may have been mined by the race who we have been calling the Plate Builders. So you might be more likely encounter them in those systems. They displayed such aggressive behavior to the Caterpillars you may be reluctant to send an unarmed, slower ship to look for such a system. With that in mind I asked the crew of the
Sharp Claws
if they would volunteer to provide escort for you, if you go, and they agreed.

"If you accept the offer we intend to send
The Champion William
in the opposite direction, towards our previous line of travel, to see if they can find any more brown dwarf systems between here and our previous finds. We intend to simply mark any such finds without an extensive and time consuming survey.

"You can consult with each other and I'd appreciate your coming to a decision by two shift changes from now, so we can get on with surveying this star system and know what resources we'll have and what is leaving."

"Commander Gordon, no need to wait for an answer. It's within my authority to command this since the
Dart
is a Badger vessel. I agree to this offer right now."

"I didn't know for sure you stood between me and the captains," Gordon said. "Any other problems to resolve before we wrap this up as a done deal?"

"Yes, I'm concerned such a find would be a property of the Badgers only," the Captain Twin of the Deep Space Explorer
Green
spoke up. "Your civilization has an arrangement that benefits all factions, but we have no such thing in place. If you give such a prize to the Badgers alone it will be destabilizing and damage your relationship with the Bills and other races of our association unrepresented in this hastily assembled expedition. I urge you to make this side expedition open to Bills, and guarantee some access to the other races not present or it will leave the Badgers dominating our commerce. It might even lead to the sort of conflicts we all avoided before the Biters found us."

"War is what you mean plainly," Gordon said, and the threat didn't please him. "This is a problem that arises to some degree from your own politics. When we arrived at Far Away we spoke with everyone. But nobody would commit to trading with us. We almost came to the point of leaving without
any
trade agreement. We did exactly that with another race we found, so
believe
we
will
do it. That was the point we were at, ready to leave, when we finally asked the Badgers if they would trade with us rather than continuing to try to reach agreements with everyone. We had no idea you had all
privately
agreed not to seek such an exclusive pact unless
we
offered it. That is what we were told
after
offering a trading pact to the Badgers. Did they lie to us?" Gordon asked the Bill captain directly.

"No... Even with translation it is a simple enough matter I'm sure that captures the essence of the situation accurately," Twin allowed.

"Why?" Gordon asked.

"
That
may be too general a question to translate well," the Bill captain said. He looked down, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Or it's just plain uncomfortable for you to honestly discuss motives," Gordon said. "Let me tell you how it looked to
me
, and if you want to protest I have a dark and suspicious mind I really don't care. You are free to so without penalty. All of you could have come to an agreement with us, but as long as any of you thought you might get the advantage over the others you kept stringing us along and avoiding an agreement that would benefit everyone. It just happened that the Badgers put more effort into talking with us, or were better at it, and then they simply out-waited you.

"Given that you were each seeking your own advantage, perhaps past the point of reasonableness, I have little sympathy now, since you are just sorry
you
didn't get the trade agreement and exclude
them
. Now you'd like us to correct the results of your collective actions? No, I have no authority to impose solutions on your group.

"But
this
offer isn't part of our trade agreement with the Badgers. We have all kinds of trades in plants and materials and technology with them, but this voyage back with us is a separate political accommodation. Our Faraway Spox and my Third Mother arranged it for the purpose of establishing a relationship for the entities they represent. If you buy weapons or other things visiting our worlds they won't be under our trade agreement with the Badgers either. We certainly have no agreement to find real estate for anybody but us on the way back. I was offering that freely as a gift, and can set the terms or withdraw it. I
thought
it was a kindness, not a blow to the stability of your entire civilization.

"But that being the case, can you two agree to share anything you find out there in an equitable manner? Including the lesser species that have less access to space than you? If you can't I'll just leave you to your own devices. You can mount competing expeditions from home later when it becomes possible. And protect yourselves from kilometer long plate ships or other hazards.

"Make up your minds now, because I'm not feeling very charitable at the moment," Gordon said.

"I have no problem at all promising to come to an agreement with the Bills on sharing," Talker said. "We shall also see benefits or actual access flow to the minor races."

"I too will pledge to reach an agreement," Captain Twin said. In my case I am commander and Spox both of necessity, since we had much less of an official presence at Far Away. Does this mean
Green
will accompany them?"

"No, the
Green
is too slow. That's why I'm sending our destroyer and not a DSE. You, or better yet, somebody you pick, can go on the
Dart
and see to your interests." Gordon fixed Talker with a gaze lacking any patience at all. "Your courier
can
accommodate him aboard, can't they?"

"Certainly, a few supplies transferred over and no problem. Bills have gone on our ships many times. We're familiar what to do," Talker agreed. Both of them looked a little shell shocked.

"Then
do
so and inform Captain Frost when you are ready to depart. Any other
questions
?" Gordon asked, leaning forward aggressively and showing a smile that was toothy and not at all pleasant. In fact he visibly ground his fangs a bit in irritation.

"No sir," Twin said quickly. Talker just shook his head no in the Human manner.

"Fine, then I'm off shift and we are
done
," Gordon said closing the conference. "Thor you have the conn to dismiss the shift. I suggest you have the alternate shift set a short watch while we are orbiting. I'll be in my cabin." He left without looking at Talker.

It was a bit past shift end, but Vigilant's crew was not hanging around the bridge entry waiting to chit-chat at the change-over. They had undoubtedly made the short retreat to the mess after hearing the exchange at the end. They wanted to be out of Gordon's sight and attention.

Thor waited until Gordon was well away, and unlikely to pop back in. He looked at Lee, amused.

"People think
I'm
a terror and Gordon is the easygoing one. I love it when they abuse his patience until he knocks heads together. I think that's the first time I've ever heard a Bill say '
sir
'.

"One will not forget the lesson," Talker promised, rattled. "I never want him to smile at me again."

"Well yeah," Lee agreed. "I'm sure you'll find it easier to negotiate with the Bills than Gordon."

"Is
that
what we were doing?" Talker asked in horror. "It didn't feel like it."

* * *

"Yes! They understand," Talker said.

The square grid the Caterpillars sent back was bigger, and continued the series of numbers, skipping ahead to fifty and then each multiple of ten until it reached a hundred and then had a new symbol in that square.

"Even without Arabic numbers they perceived we count in tens," Lee said.

"I think now is it is appropriate to send the same series with Arabic symbols out to a hundred," Talker suggested.

"Yes, I agree, and after that a series of hundreds and thousands," Lee said.

"Once we have math we can do yes and no," Talker said. "We can do problems and mark the ones done correctly yes and the wrong answers no.”

Lee laughed delighted. "Yes, and then we'll worry about 'maybe'. Of course when we get back all the experts are going to tell us we did everything wrong."

"Do you think so? I still don't know your culture well enough to predict such things, but I've found a work-around until such a time as I do."

"You have?" Lee asked suspiciously. Statements like that from Gordon or Thor were usually lead-ins to a zinger. Often to see if they could suck her into credulous statements. They justified it as a form of continuing instruction for her.

"Yes," Talker said, seeming serious. "If I can't see if something is likely or not I simply pose it to a few Fargoers as a possible bet, and observe what kind of odds they offer me."