All That Glitters

All That Glitters -- Ch 41

Trail by execution!

The Landstradt begins its reforms. A show trial begins...How do you contest the results of a pre-determined trial? New surprises for the Alliance and the Union.

© bigtddybr January 2022. This story 'All That Glitters - Ch 41' or the series 'All That Glitters' cannot be transferred to any other site besides Literotica.com in whole or in part without the prior authorizations in writing from the author and bigtddybr must be credited for this work.

Due to the number of abbreviations, ship listings, and list of characters, in this story, I include a glossary that is now in a stand-alone chapter called

'All That Glitters: Notes'

. Any and all information that you want or need to know about the series is included in Notes. It will be updated frequently simply by re-issuing the chapter to Literotica.

There is little attempt to explain the back story, so it is necessary to read previous chapters to fully understand where we are.

As before, I claim sole responsibility for the story line. This story is a fantasy, with no basis in reality. Any similarity that you may perceive to current events, people, or situations real or imaginary is completely unintended. Look no further than the story line for its intent and purpose.

A big shout out to SaddleRider and my other editors, who wish to remain anonymous, for all their help.. With their guidance, I'm making fewer and fewer errors. If you find any errors still left in this chapter, they are mine, as I have ignored sage advise to make a silly point.

Please rate and comment. But keep your comments respectful. If you rant and rave or are disrespectful in your commentary, it will be deleted.

'Nuff said...enjoy.

Adenomere City, Planet Adenomere, The Adenomere System, 182 Light Years from Terra

Aurelia and the Yunki twins, May and Mei, with Cierra, Jirani, and Kodani in tow, were in a private spa where they were all being pampered. The spa had at first refused to allow the slaves to enter until Aurelia had bluntly told them that she would remove her patronage of the spa and inform all of her many friends that she had done so. The owners had immediately relented.

The group was only there for a short one hour treatment, in which they were given skin ointments to soften and cleanse their skin, a manicure and pedicure, and hair styling. Aurelia was very pleased with the results and let the owners of the spa know so, passing along a rather large tip in order to ensure better service in future. The tip would make sure the group was remembered.

As soon as they were finished in the spa, they moved next door to an exclusive clothing boutique, where May and Mei were electronically measured and then provided a series of clothing options on a monitor that showed the shops specialties for the two women, on an avatar of each.

At first reluctant to purchase anything, Aurelia assured them that she would pay for today's shopping session until such time as the Yunki Clan fortune was returned to them. She also assured them that they could stay with her until they had a place of their own.

The clothing shopping was surprisingly swift, though they had to take generic white gowns to wear as it would take the shop a day to create their clothing list in the colours requested, including in the red and gold house colours of the Yunki Clan.

They then moved to a private restaurant, The Restaurant of the Whorl, Susanne Whorl the proprietor, where they were all served a light lunch while Aurelia did business with her father, Armstrong Gordon, Patriarch of House Gordon, Markham Palay, Patriarch of House Palay, and Olemn Pendar, Patriarch of House Pendar. Also at the table were the Matriarchs of those Houses, along with the heirs of House Palay and House Pendar and their wives, and Miles Gordon, Aurelia's brother and heir to House Gordon, with his wife Maria.

"Good afternoon gentlemen, and ladies," Aurelia greeted the men and their wives. "I will start by telling you that I have discovered that Jaar Adenomere was intent on punishing your three houses for having opposed him on several occasions in the past.

"He inflated the amounts you owed to House Adenomere and convinced House Burling and House Climb to do the same. I have corrected the amounts in question and will give all three of your houses three years to pay," Aurelia informed them, showing them the revised figures.

"Why would you do this, Lady Adenomere?" Markham Palay demanded, suspiciously.

"My place as Lady Adenomere is not guaranteed, Master Palay, I will need the support of all three of your houses and many others in the future as I establish myself as Lady Adenomere and as a force within the Landstradt," Aurelia stated simply.

"You are asking us to support you carte blanche?" Olemn Pendar asked.

"No, Master Pendar. I am aware that you all have your own objectives in business that do not coincide with mine. However, there will be times when I request your support and I hope to have that support when needed," Aurelia replied.

"At the expense of losing our agreement?" her father demanded.

"No, father. If you pay off your debts to me I will not force an issue on you, but I will need your support and would like to be able to count on it when necessary. Hopefully, the items I request of you for support will coincide with your objectives at that time.

"I know how profitable House Gordon can be, father, I am sure that you will pay off your debts well within two years, however, there is one caveat with the agreement of House Gordon that requires you to act immediately.

"Father, both Miles and I have repeatedly warned you of late on the irrational stances that you have taken with many of the companies and houses that you deal with. You have lost your edge, father, and it has cost House Gordon heavily, in fact, almost leading to the destruction of House Gordon by the former members of House Adenomere.

"As a consequence, I am demanding that you step down as the Patriarch of House Gordon and allow Miles to take over, before you make another blunder that will bring down the House," Aurelia declared, looking hard at her father.

"You cannot do that!" her father shouted.

"I can and I will, father. I will withdraw my agreement if you do not step down. House Gordon will suffer if it has to pay immediately the debts you currently owe. Make your choice, father, you or the continued future of House Gordon."

"Miles! Say something!" her father snapped at his son.

"Aurelia is correct, father," Miles replied calmly. "Your choices of late have cost the house dearly. If my brothers and I were to sit in judgement of your actions of the last three years, you would be stripped of you position as Patriarch and given no compensation whatsoever. It is time for you to step down as the Patriarch of the House before you destroy it.

"Think, father, if I had put us in this position, what would you have done to me?" Miles asked.

The look of resolve in Miles' eyes told Armstrong everything. He gave his children hard looks, which they ignored. Finally, he hung his head and agreed to save the House.

Korman was there with electronic agreements for all to sign. Also on hand was a Notary, to ensure that the documents would be legally binding. The names on the deals included the Patriarchs, the Matriarchs, and their heirs. The three houses separated briefly, to discuss the issues amongst themselves. They each came to the conclusion that their specific deal was good for their House and quickly came back to the table, ready to sign.

"Lady Adenomere, House Palay would like to thank you for being so reasonable in these circumstances," Markham Palay began, after having signed the agreement. "Most other houses would have broken us."

"Yes, Master Palay, they would have and I might have done so under other circumstances. However, we need the Landstradt to provide a united front at this time. That means that I must work to keep you in the fold. This is the best agreement I can make for the Landstradt and for our respective houses, given the circumstances," Aurelia returned.

"Lady Adenomere, I might have grown to hate you, given the name you now bear," Olemn Pendar stated. "But I must admit that this deal works for both of our houses. You will have the support of House Pendar in the Landstradt, provided that what you ask of us is not too controversial."

Aurelia gave him a bright smile that reached her eyes. "Thank-you Master Pendar, that is good to hear."

"Lady Adenomere, may I call upon you sometime this week?" Lady Palay asked.

"I would enjoy having you for tea, Lady Palay, any evening later in the week," Aurelia replied, extending the invitation to Lady Pendar and the new Lady Gordon as well. The group settled down to eat their lunch, chatting merrily, with only Armstrong Gordon picking listlessly at his food.

************

Not far away, in another restaurant, the lesser sons of House Adenomere were meeting. These sons had never really been considered for the position as heir to their respective branches of House Adenomere, now, they were ready to step forward and claim their 'birthrights' as they saw it. That and more.

"We must take Aurelia out of the equation," Nathanial, the third son of Antonius Adenomere, said to the others. "If she is allowed to continue as she is, she will be left as the ruler of House Adenomere."

"She is barely eighteen," Adolphus complained. "She is not truly an adult and cannot hold control of a house until she is thirty-one."

"You are wrong, Adolphus," Caedmon replied. "A female is considered an adult at age eighteen for the purposes of marriage, while males are not named adult until they are twenty-one.

"Traditionally, only those thirty-one and older are allowed to take control of a company or a House. However, an adult does not have to be thirty-one to do so. Any adult, even a female, can take a position of authority if they are the only legitimate heir in the line of succession, even if they are under the age of thirty-one, so long as there is no one to contest their doing so.

"Katrynna Handren comes to mind. Lady Handren is twenty-nine and runs House Handren and Handren Trading Company quite successfully," Caedmon finished.

"Jaar regarded Aurelia well enough to name her Lady Adenomere even before her marriage," Aedan pronounced. "That means she will likely be a future threat to our control over our House. We cannot allow Aurelia to show her business acumen. If she should begin to show that she is a capable steward, we would lose out on any opportunity to take over House Adenomere."

"Who would be the natural heir of House Adenomere?" Caedmon asked.

"That would be Michael, however, he is only seventeen and still on Terra at high school," Adolphus replied. "He would not be able to take over as Patriarch until he is at least twenty-one, which would leave Aurelia time to solidify her position. We must intervene well before that."

"We could place a regent over him," Caedmon stated.

"No, we would have to intervene and take control of the main branch of House Adenomere," Nathanial answered. "That would make one of us the Patriarch of the family."

The group of men looked around, trying to determine who would be the best person to run House Adenomere. Of the four, Aedan was the eldest at thirty-five, followed by Adolphus at thirty-three, Nathanial at thirty-one, and finally Caedmon at twenty-eight. Fabian and Nathanial were from the second branch of the family, while Aedan and Adolphus were from the third. Ideally, the natural heir would fall to the second house, however, Aedan and Adolphus were far more greedy than their cousins, Caedmon and Nathanial. None of them considered, even for a moment, that they were not competent enough to lead House Adenomere...

Landstradt HQ, Adenomere City, Planet Adenomere, The Adenomere System

The Landstradt reconvened at 13:00, returning to a newly configured Landstradt, with seats marked with the Yunki Clan symbol next to House Adenomere. The Yunki twins, now appropriately dressed as Matriarchs of a Great House, took their seats with Cierra sitting next to May as the new PA to the Ladies Yunki.

A house could only have one Senior Slave and, for House Adenomere, that was Korman, so Aurelia had suggested that Cierra stay with the Yunki Clan to become their Senior Slave and EA/PA. Mei sat on the right of her twin as Co-Matriarch, the 'Heirs' seat left vacant. As yet, the advisors seats behind them remained unfilled.

Martin Grovern, the new Chair of the Landstradt, called the meeting to order and formally acknowledged the return of the Yunki Clan to a rousing standing ovation from the Landstradt.

"First order of business for the afternoon," the Chair began, "is to pass on the results of the search by the Attorney General's Assistant, Jorge Devine. Master Jorge, if you please."

"We investigated the incident around the dissolution of the Yunki Clan ten years ago and discovered that 865 million AP in cash and electronic bank notes was redirected from the Yunki treasury, leaving only five million AP in the Yunki coffers, a sum that left the Yunki Clan as being unable to cover its debts. When it was subsequently investigated by the Governors of the First Bank of Adenomere, they reported to the Landstradt that the Yunki Clan was effectively insolvent.

"The Office of the Attorney General of Adenomere had suspected for some time that this theft had occurred but did not know exactly where that money had gone until we managed to get into certain portions of the Landstradt computers.

"These files were under the tight control of Francis Burling and likely kept there as future blackmail evidence should it be needed. The monies were portioned out to several sources by Emond and Francis Burling and sent to several Great Houses in order that it not appear on the books of the Landstradt itself.

"Of that 350 million AP went to House Burling, 250 million AP went to House Adenomere, 100 million went to House Climb, and the remaining 165 million was split between seven other Great Houses, which will be named within 24hrs once formal warrants are drafted. The Landstradt itself, showed only five million AP on its books as being confiscated from the Yunki Clan, their properties and businesses confiscated to repay the Yunki dept to the aforementioned houses.

"The Attorney General of Adenomere will require that the Landstradt, and these ten houses, return all funds taken from the Yunki Clan with ten years interest within 24hrs. There will be no exceptions unless arrangements are made with the Yunki Clan. The Attorney General will pass on to the Yunki Clan, and then the Landstradt at large, the names of the seven remaining houses involved in the theft. When all properties, businesses, and funds are returned to House Yunki, it will returned as a Great Houses of the Landstradt," Jorge finished.

The Yunki twins were ecstatic. When they had arrived this morning, they had been slaves with nothing of their own in their possession. Now, they were Co-Matriarchs of a Great House that had substantial funds available to it, plus the businesses, and the properties owed to it.

Someone rose to their feet. "Chair, do we know why the Yunki Clan was targeted by House Adenomere and the others?" they asked.

Aurelia rose. "Chair, after reviewing the material held on House Adenomere computers, it is apparent that Jaar Adenomere had wanted to buy certain properties from the Yunki Clan but his offer was refused. The property he wanted was part of the Yunki Clan's ancestral burial grounds.

"Incensed at having been rebuffed, Jaar decided to crush the Yunki Clan for its affront of refusal to himself and to House Adenomere.

"House Adenomere apologizes to the Yunki twins for the actions that its former Patriarch is responsible for and will make arrangements to pay the debt owed to the Yunki Clan including the restitution of properties, businesses, and the return of stolen funds with interest, that House Adenomere now possess."

Aurelia turned and bowed to May and Mei, who in turn stood and bowed to her. They had already made a deal for the return of Yunki Clan assets over dinner.

"Let us return to new business, which was interrupted by the Yunki issue," the Chair intoned. "The Alliance is beset with a major problem, principally imposed on it from without by the recent Great Raid by the Union forces. We must decide what to do going forward."

Emile Gaetan, Patriarch of the House of Gaetan, a Great House, stood.

"The Chair recognizes Master Gaetan."

"Thank-you Chair," Emile began. "I would know how long it will be before the Alliance planets can protect themselves again? Some of our planetary orbital defence forces have been decimated. It will take time to recover and repair the damaged ships and even more time to replace those ships that were destroyed.

"Other planetary defence forces proved inadequate; they were simply not large enough nor were they strong enough to stop the number of ships that appeared in their respective orbits.

"If we cannot put up any resistance to the Union, what is to stop them returning and destroying the Alliance?" Emile asked.

The Landstradt began to howl, yelling about going to war with the Union and stopping the oppressors.

Aurelia stood. The Chair gavelled down the Landstradt. Seeing Aurelia standing and recognizing her wisdom, Martin decided to call on her first.

"The Chair recognizes Lady Adenomere."

"Chair, if the Union had wanted to go to war with the Alliance, it would have bombed us from orbit during the Great Raid. Even though they now have orbital superiority due to the loss of our ships, they no longer have strategic surprise. Nor can they use moral justification for their intentions going forward.

"Their purpose in coming to the Alliance was evident in their tactics and their actions, they wanted their people back. Saying or implying anything else is a futile endeavour. The Union will return to Alliance space to retrieve the remainder of its citizens; of that we can be sure.

"I have been researching the information we have been receiving from the Union news sources off of the daily FTL comms probes. The Union has let the media see the results of our holding of Union citizens as slaves. The Union media has had a field day, reporting on the sorry state of their citizens that were held as slaves.

"The TGA itself has not vilified us, nor have they tarnished our image in any manner. They have not needed to. We have done all the damage to ourselves in the manner in which we treat our slaves.

"Now that I am Lady Adenomere, I intend to treat the slaves of House Adenomere far more humanely than this house has in the past. I will start by increasing the calories that House Adenomere slaves will have on a daily basis, to make an adequate diet for them. This will be an expense on the part of House Adenomere but it is an expense I intend to fully take on.

"There is no need to starve our slaves to prevent them from running. Where would they run to? No slave that deliberately leaves an estate would survive. No other slave owner would hold a runaway slave of a rival house, an act that would be in contravention of the Landstradt laws and bring the condemnation of the Landstradt on such a House.

"It costs money to feed slaves, the less food we feed them, the less money we spend on them. The only reason we do not feed our slaves at an appropriate level is the expense. No matter what we say as justification for our actions, it comes down to finances.

"If we do not want to spend money on slaves, then we should not hold slaves," Aurelia finished and sat down to pandemonium from the Landstradt.