Chapter 417: Orison
Orison’s response did not come quickly.
Aurelian had expected that.
He returned to the main chamber after leaving Eirenne to monitor the communication channel, but the gathering there was already coming to an end.
The charter had been signed, the representatives had finished most of their discussions, and several groups were preparing to leave Helion before the next safe departure window.
The mood was noticeably better than it had been before the meeting.
That was probably because everyone was leaving with something settled.
Larkspur Haven had clearer trade access and defense rules. Sanctuary Ardent had formal recognition of its civilian authority within the March.
Helion had secured its position as the main industrial center, while Neris finally had common logistics standards that would save her from translating half a dozen cargo systems every week.
Even the protected station had gained something useful without being pushed into permanent membership.
Aurelian watched the representatives talking among themselves and thought the meeting had gone about as well as it reasonably could.
Astercourt came over carrying another tablet.
"Before you leave."
Aurelian looked at it suspiciously.
"What now?"
"Implementation."
"We signed it less than two hours ago."
"Which means people need to start implementing it."
"You enjoy this too much."
"I enjoy knowing who is responsible for what."
She handed him the tablet.
The first page listed temporary administrative appointments needed under the charter.
Most were obvious.
Neris would continue overseeing regional logistics until they built a proper office around her.
Seris and Meren would represent Helion in regional matters.
Sanctuary Ardent’s council would appoint its own representative.
Larkspur would do the same.
Astercourt had placed herself under general administration, which Aurelian suspected was because nobody else wanted the job.
He reached the military section.
"Regional defense coordinator?"
"You."
"I already command the fleet."
"Exactly."
"Then why give it another name?"
"Because the charter needs to state who holds the position."
Aurelian signed it.
Astercourt smiled.
"See? Easy."
"I liked you better before the charter."
"No, you didn’t."
She walked away before he could answer.
Astra had been listening from nearby.
"She is probably right."
"That doesn’t help."
Mirei and Katsura joined them a few moments later.
Katsura looked around the chamber.
"So that’s it?"
"For now."
"I expected something bigger."
Aurelian glanced at her.
"Why?"
"You signed the first agreement covering the whole March."
"We signed thirty-two pages of rules."
"Exactly."
Mirei smiled.
"I think she expected banners."
"Rhoswen wanted a sword on the seal."
Katsura immediately looked interested.
"That would have been better."
Aurelian decided the subject was not worth continuing.
The regional representatives began leaving over the next hour.
There was no great celebration afterward, and Aurelian was glad for it. The Crownward March had enough work without spending another day pretending that signing a charter had somehow solved everything.
If anything, it created more work.
Common rules meant common systems.
Common systems meant changing old procedures.
Changing procedures meant arguments.
Aurelian suspected Astercourt would be happy for weeks.
Seris approached him before the Helion delegation left.
"We’ll begin converting the cargo records tomorrow."
"Neris will appreciate that."
"She has already sent us the new format."
"Of course she has."
Seris glanced toward the command-room doors.
"Anything from Orison?"
"Not yet."
"Do you think they will send proof?"
"I don’t know."
"If they don’t?"
Aurelian looked at her.
"Then their claim that the people are being protected becomes difficult to believe."
Seris understood what he meant.
"Be careful."
"I’m not the one sitting at Valeris."
"That is what worries me."
Aurelian almost laughed.
"You and me both."
After Seris left, Aurelian went back to the command level.
Rhoswen had not moved from Valeris Reach.
That was the good news.
The less good news was that she had spent the last hour helping the local patrol crews reorganize their defense pattern without being asked.
Aurelian found out when Eirenne showed him the updated deployment map.
"What is this?"
"Valeris local defense formation."
"It did not look like that this morning."
"Rhoswen changed it."
Aurelian opened a channel.
Rhoswen answered almost immediately.
"I improved it."
"I didn’t ask you to."
"You told me to help coordinate local patrols."
"I said strengthen coordination."
"Yes."
"That is not the same thing as reorganizing their entire patrol network."
"It is stronger now."
Aurelian looked at the map again.
Annoyingly, she was right.
The old Valeris patrol pattern spread its ships too evenly between several mining routes. It worked against pirates because it gave traders quick access to nearby escorts, but it was terrible against an organized fleet.
Rhoswen had pulled the heavier ships into two response groups while leaving smaller cutters on the trade routes.
If Orison attacked again, Valeris would have something capable of responding together.
Astra looked over the formation.
"It is better."
Rhoswen smiled.
"Thank you."
Aurelian sighed.
"Fine. Keep it."
"I knew you would agree."
"I am not giving you permission to change their government next."
"I wasn’t planning to."
"Good."
"Their dock defenses could use work, though."
"Rhoswen."
"Fine."
The channel closed.
Aurelian turned toward Astra.
"You encouraged her."
"I said the formation was better."
"She heard encouragement."
"That sounds like her problem."
Before Aurelian could answer, Eirenne appeared beside the tactical display.
"Orison has responded."
The room became serious immediately.
"Put it through."
No live communication this time.
Instead, Orison had transmitted a recorded file.
The first part contained basic identification information for Kestrel Mine’s population.
One thousand two hundred and seventeen people.
That was slightly more than the Alliance’s last population record.
The second part was video.
Aurelian watched carefully.
The recording showed a large habitation chamber.
It was old but clean.
Rows of temporary housing units filled one side, while food distribution areas and medical stations occupied the other.
Hundreds of people were visible.
The recording moved through several areas before stopping on a middle-aged woman.
Text identified her as Mara Venn, former chief administrator of Kestrel Mine.
She looked tired.
Not injured.
Not comfortable either.
"My name is Mara Venn. The people of Kestrel Mine are alive. We were transferred to Orison eighty-three days ago after our station was seized."
She paused before continuing.
"We have received food, water, medical care, and housing. We are not permitted to leave."
Aurelian’s expression hardened.
Mara continued.
"Orison authorities state that our relocation will remain in effect until our community accepts recovery-zone law and repays material taken from protected sites."
The recording ended shortly afterward.
Rhoswen joined the channel before Aurelian even called her.
"So they’re prisoners."
"Yes."
"They call that protection?"
"Apparently."
Astra looked through the attached records.
"At least they did not lie about keeping them alive."
"That is a very low standard," Rhoswen said.
Aurelian agreed.
Still, the recording mattered.
Orison had responded to his demand.
That meant they cared enough about outside opinion to prove their claim.
A completely isolated and openly hostile society would not have bothered.
"Anything hidden in the recording?" Aurelian asked.
Eirenne had already started checking.
"No obvious editing beyond removing location data. The population count appears believable. Facial comparison confirms several people from Alliance records."
"Coercion?"
"Impossible to determine from the recording alone."
Aurelian nodded.
He had not expected an easy answer.
"Send another message."
Rhoswen looked pleased.
"What are we asking for?"
"The release of Kestrel Mine."
Her smile grew.
Aurelian continued before she could get too excited.
"Not a threat."
Her smile disappeared slightly.
"We know they took the people. We know why they claim they did it. Now we find out what they actually want."
The message went out.
This time, Orison answered within twenty minutes.
The same older man appeared through audio only.
"Your request for release has been reviewed and denied."
Aurelian was not surprised.
"What would make you release them?"
"Settlement of recovery debt and acceptance of Orison exclusion zones."
"How much debt?"
A file arrived.
Neris joined the channel when she saw the numbers.
Then she stared at them.
"They kidnapped twelve hundred people over this?"
The amount was not small, but it was nowhere near enough to justify seizing an entire settlement.
Most of the claimed debt came from industrial components, reactor parts, and metals that Kestrel miners had salvaged from three old Vhaloric wreck sites.
Aurelian looked through the list.
"You considered those wrecks yours?"
"They are registered recovery resources of Orison."
"According to who?"
"Orison Recovery Authority."
Aurelian rubbed his forehead.
Of course.
They had built an entire legal system around salvage.
"How large are these exclusion zones?"
A map appeared.
Aurelian stared at it.
Rhoswen was the first to speak.
"That’s ridiculous."
Orison claimed salvage and recovery rights over a huge region around the repair yard.
The zone reached close to Valeris Reach and included several routes used by independent miners.
Astra looked at the map.
"They consider almost every old Directorate wreck in the region their property."
"Correct," the Orison representative said.
Aurelian leaned toward the communication display.
"Valeris Reach does not recognize that claim."
"Valeris Reach benefited from Orison recovery resources for decades without permission."
"Did you ever establish relations with them?"
"They received warnings."
"That wasn’t my question."
Silence.
Aurelian continued.
"Did you send representatives? Negotiate borders? Establish recognized salvage agreements?"
"No."
"Then from their point of view, they were recovering abandoned wrecks."
"Directorate material is not abandoned."
"The Directorate has been gone for centuries."
Another pause.
"Orison remains."
That sentence told Aurelian more than most of the previous conversation.
These people did not think of themselves as scavengers living in an old Vhaloric yard.