and operated by its own contractor, even if the containers were presently attached to the USS Wasp. When Kris introduced Krätz to Channing and Kōta, they all kept it informal although Kōta did give both Kris and Vicky a very stiff bow from the waist.
NELLY, DOES MUSASHI HAVE AN EMPEROR? I FORGOT.
YES AND NO, KRIS. MUSASHI PROFESSES TO OWE AFFECTION TO THE EMPEROR ON YAMATO. HOWEVER, FOR THE LAST TWO HUNDRED YEARS SINCE ITS FOUNDING, THEY HAVE KIND OF GROWN THEIR OWN EMPEROR. A PRINCE OF THE IMPERIAL BLOOD, THE EMPEROR’S KID BROTHER, STARTED OUT BEING A KIND OF VICEROY BUT AFTER TWO OR THREE GENERATIONS, THE BIRD IN THE HAND WAS A LOT MORE REVERED THAN THE BIRD FIFTY LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
ISN’T THAT CONFUSING?
ONLY TO OUR WAY OF THINKING, KRIS. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE JAPANESE ARE MUCH BETTER THAN YOU AT HOLDING TWO CONTRADICTORY OPINIONS AT THE SAME TIME AND NOT BEING BOTHERED BY IT.
Kris did her best to not let her internal discussion with Nelly reach her face as she returned a half bow to the admiral. The highest introductions done, Kris glanced around the room. The captain, XO, and Marine detachment skipper for her ships held down the left-hand side of the room, closest to the bar, though that watering hole seemed decidedly unbusy tonight. The representatives from Musashi and Helvetica occupied the middle, while the Imperial Greenfeld contingent took up nearly half the room on the right.
“Let’s get started,” Kris said, and went to stand with her back to the forward viewing screen. In space, that usually showed a lovely view of stars. At the moment, all it showed was the ugly underside of a working space station.
“Admirals, ladies, and gentlemen, good afternoon,” Kris said. The room fell silent as all heads turned to her. Captain Jack Montoya, the skipper of the Wasp’s Marine detachment and chief of Kris’s security detail, came to stand a bit behind her and off to one side. Even here, on her ship, he didn’t relax the alertness he’d acquired as her Secret Service agent. Some might say his devotion was excessive.
Kris had survived enough assassination attempts to appreciate it.
In the silence, Kris continued, “I suspect we all know why we’re here. In order to make sure we all understand it the same way, I’d like to lead you through a short review.”
Kris turned to the screen behind her. From a view of pipes and cabling, it changed to a star map. “This is human space. Over seven hundred colonized planets stretching across several hundred light-years. Linked by jump points bequeathed to us by aliens who built them a couple of million years ago, our migration from Mother Earth has been relatively quick over the last not quite four hundred years.”
Kris paused for people to take in the view and her words. “You might notice that, from a certain outside perspective, human space looks very much like a sausage.” She waited to get a few nods and smiles, before adding dryly, “Only one species has tried to take a bite out of us, and they haven’t been heard from for eighty years.”
That got a few chuckles.
NELLY, EXPAND TO VIEW TWO.
“Which brings us to the Iteeche Empire.” Kris used a laser pointer to draw an oval around a much larger expanse of space that now showed. “Over two thousand worlds, but growing slower than us. They, too, kind of resemble a sausage, larger and lumpier. One of its ends kind of bumping up against the middle of us.”
Kris let the image of the Iteeche Empire, covering nearly four times the space of humanity, sink in to her audience.
“I can say, from personal experience, that we’ve been expanding human space away from the Empire.” NELLY, LIGHT UP RECENTLY COLONIZED PLANETS.
Quite a few planets on the edge of human space began to flash. None of them were close to the Empire.
“I can now say that I have it on good report that the Iteeche have taken the same approach.” NELLY, HIGHLIGHT THEIR RECENT COLONIES.
A large number of planets began to flash, not as many as those in human space, but still a major number. However, all of them were well away from human-occupied planets.
This brought a murmur from Kris’s watchers, but no one voiced the question that should have been on all their minds.
How did Kris know where the new Iteeche colonies were?
Well, Crossie had leaked them the original meeting’s video.