May 23, 2440 – 4:20:00 PM
“Leonard,” Matt said with a broad, easy smile as the general and his family stepped out of the helicopter.
“It’s good to finally meet you in person, Matthew,” the general replied, adopting a casual tone that, in other circumstances, might have annoyed him.
“Let’s get inside and have a chat. Afterward, your family can get settled in while we attend a briefing i didn’t know we were about to have until fifteen minutes ago,” Matt said, motioning toward the house. He gestured toward a cargo van already parked under guard by the advance team and nodded politely to the MP who opened the door for them.
“That smells amazing,” Kevin blurted, wide-eyed in the way only a hungry teenager could be.
“Sit,” Angelina instructed, already setting plates with the precision of a drill sergeant and the calm of someone who had fed armies.
“I was going to offer refreshments,” Matt said with a grin, “but it looks like Angelina’s decided for us.”
He moved into introductions. “This is Angelina Reyes, my major domo, and Dave Roxas—one of my farm managers. Between the two of them, they make a pretty good chief of staff. Not that either of them wants the job.”
“I’ve served as a chief of staff,” Leonard chuckled. “I understand the reluctance.”
Matt gestured toward the newcomers. “And this must be your wife, Marie, and your children—Alexandra, Polly… and the hungry one must be Kevin.”
Leonard chuckled. “Correct on all counts.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Matt said. “Angelina, can we get coffee going?”
“I already set it out,” she replied without turning—just continued to feed Kevin and Polly like she was Filipino Lola. Of course, with Lola Rhea having been a presence in both their lives since birth, this was not surprising.
“Did you receive the update on your accommodations?” Matt asked.
“We did,” Leonard said. “Appreciate the flexibility.”
“We’ll have the other house ready by the weekend,” Matt said. “Until then, you’ve got a suite here in the homestead. It’ll give you a chance to settle in—and be close enough to take part in everything without needing an escort.”
Marie nodded, satisfied. “That makes good sense. And it’s more than we expected.”
“It’s what works,” Matt said simply. “We’ve done more with less.”
Marie looked around as Kevin looked to Angelina who was already shoving more food in front of him. “You’ve kept the character of the place. It doesn’t feel like a compound.”
Matt smiled at the compliment. “That is the doings of more than one ancestor who tried to bankrupt their descendants. I thank him for it every day, and do my best to take after him where architecture if not money is concerned. When there’s time, I’ll give you the full tour—and a few other buildings in the area. We’ve preserved a number of regional examples. There’s a Frank Lloyd Wright home in Marshall, and a replica in Booneville we’re restoring.”
“I’d enjoy that,” she said.
Leonard set his glass down. “Before we get too deep into pleasantries, your message said tonight was a meet-and-greet, but didn’t include details.”
“Fair enough,” Matt replied. “Things changed a bit after my unplanned elevation. Tonight will be a smaller gathering—mostly House T’all and a few other senior V’ren with some locals. Informal. Cocktail-style, with custom pizza from the wood-fired oven on the patio. You’ll have a chance to speak with K’Rem T’all directly. He would have been here to greet you with me, but he’s in the middle of a neural interface session right now. He dislikes it almost as much as I do—but we both understand the need to become fluent in both languages. Actual fluency. Vocabulary, syntax, intonation—cultural nuance. It’s not optional if this is going to work.”
Leonard nodded, satisfied. “You fill me with dread, but I, too, will need to do that.”
“Tomorrow,” Matt continued, “I’m hosting a much larger event—down at the pleasure park, another relative tried to bankrupt us with. Food, music, rides, go-karts, roller and ice skating, carnival games, and other kid-friendly activities. There’ll be plenty of space to observe quietly, if that’s your style.
“You’ve also got a ship tour scheduled in the morning, and an appointment with Dr. Th’ron as requested. She’ll get you scanned so you can access the interface. And for you personally, Leonard, there’s a set of briefings from K’Rem and his staff.”
“Will K’Rem remain in command of the groundside operation?”
“I am content to let him keep managing the V’ren side of things, but it’s complicated,” Matt said. “K’Rem was their navigator, equivalent to a major or a cutter captain. Technically not military anymore—he transferred to something like a merchant marine role. But he had independent command during service. Think patrol boat or forward logistics. I am not sure how they will parcel out command structures once everyone gets here. When I start calling for specialists and making housing available, its anyone’s guess. I am content to let the professionals handle their own balliwick.”
“And Officer T’mari?”
“She left about thirty minutes ago to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet and deliver personal briefings. She completed their version of OCS at twenty, served a short term, and returned to civilian life as a reservist. From what I gather, that’s common for their upper class.
“She now holds the equivalent of an O-2—Lieutenant Junior Grade. She’s also the one who built the first functional interface between our systems and theirs—twelve hours, start to finish. Her background is either a dual major in linguistics and electrical engineering, or a hybrid master’s. However, they end up sorting their degrees doesn’t matter much to me — she’s sharp and can hold her own against anyone who has ever built electronics by hand.”
Leonard whistled. “That explains her interest in our holotank tech.”
“They don’t have holographic communication yet,” Matt said, “but she’s determined to build it. She wants to prove herself—to both sides. Lieutenant Scott from your forward team has volunteered to assist. That kind of quiet collaboration sends a stronger message than anything I could broadcast.”
“I’ve read Scott’s file. Quiet, sharp. MIT grad. That partnership might turn into something real. Let’s circle back to it after I’ve had a look.”
“What about Dr. Th’ron?”
“Competent. Steady. More generalist than specialist. Holds O-6 equivalent rank, but not a line officer. She ran a hospital before her family was reassigned.”
Leonard tilted his head. “That part still isn’t clear to me.”
Matt’s voice leveled. “The V’ren periodically launch colony missions to balance the homeworld population against food production. That is the party line, and I think it is bullshit. They don’t send out enough people to make it a viable strategy. They aren’t hiding anything, but we just don’t have the language skills to discuss it properly, yet. Anyways. Lower classes are chosen as families by lottery—whole families moved together, sometimes several generations. The upper classes are told to fill quotas for leadership roles. They send competent, but politically expendable family members, or possibly even politically dangerous ones. It is how I would choose to exile people with consciences.
“We’ve got a million V’ren here who were, effectively, surplus to establishment.”
Leonard raised an eyebrow. “And you see that as a good thing?”
“Absolutely, they were headed as best i can figure towards an uninhabited planet circling one of the stars in Cetus,” Matt said. “Anyways, I get a huge trained workforce. Professionals and Skilled workers, mostly. No zealots, no career politicians. Best of all most of them think landing here is the best thing that ever happened to them.”
Marie nodded slowly, looking across the table at her son and daughter. “In human terms… they’re grateful to be away from the mess.”
“Exactly,” Matt said. “Some highborn are still adjusting. But most have warmed to me. The Freehold model—land held in trust, local autonomy, work tied to equity—it makes intuitive sense to them. Where they came from, only clan heads or corporate directors owned real property. Here, I am both.”
Leonard raised his glass again. “You’ve done more than fine. And I must compliment you on the masterstroke of claiming Amazon’s forgotten land in this region. Shrewd move.”
Matt gave a half-smile. “The best opportunities hide where others aren’t looking.”
