All That Glitters

A new Denders Summit. Junelliya in trouble.

A Denders Summit for the opening of the new Johal Compound. Junelliya goes too far.

© bigtddybr May 2022. This story 'All That Glitters - Ch 47' 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.

Navy Control, Liramor-23, The Piscium System, 106 Light Years from Terra

Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh stood in front of the group of senior officers from her chain of command. All of them.

"As of First Bell this morning, the Anti-Slavery Task Force, the ASTF, was stood down by Presidential Order," she advised her senior officers. "Those involved with the Task Force are requested to complete all of your work within 48hrs and ready it for transfer to Navy Archives with due consideration to the classification of these items. Classified computers will be picked up directly by Navy Intelligence. Any and all recommendations for citations and medals will be forwarded to me soonest.

Fiona read from a communiqué from the President in which he thanked all those who had participated in the success of the ASTF, calling some out by name, including Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh, Commodore Lian Dostier, Capt. (Retired again) Raymond Clark, Cdr. Franz Teal, and Fayad Piscium.

"The people just mentioned will receive Presidential Gold Medals for Distinguished Service to the Terran Union for their efforts in the ASTF. They will also receive the Commander Military Merit and the Navy Command Citation Pins for their work in the ASTF. The President intends to provide the Presidential Unit Citation to the ASTF. All crewmembers will be permitted to permanently attach the blue square to their uniforms upon presentation.

"I want to personally thank each and every one of you who worked so diligently in the ASTF and who made the Alliance Raid the success it was. Well done." Fiona led the senior officers in the traditional three cheers for the members of the ASTF.

Interplanetary News Services (IPNS), Terra, The Sol System

Jake Mannen, The News Director for IPNS-Terra, was conducting his morning brief of the 23

rd

May 2487 with his senior level managers.

"OK, last item up on the agenda. We have just been informed that the Interspecies Community will be conducting another Denders Summit, starting seven June, in three weeks time.

"Denders being a private resort, the resort has given the press permission to be present at Denders, however, with a caveat that the press recognize the fact that many of the delegates will be in 'vacation mode' while at Denders.

"As they put it; 'There will only be a short window of time in which the delegates will be acting as government officials'. They ask us to only bother the delegates while they are 'ON' and not during their downtime," Jake informed the group.

"Shit, how do we figure that one out?" someone asked. "They are non-humans and move to different standards than we do. Would we even recognize that they are 'ON' or 'OFF'?"

"Well, fortunately, we have engaged Cynthia Stewart, Independent Reporter at Liramor-23," Jake replied. "She has indicated that she is coming to Denders for the Summit. She describes it as the opening of the new Interspecies Consulate at the former Johal Compound near Denders."

"Haven't I heard that name before?" another manager asked.

"Yes, the Johal Compound was once owned by none other than the late Wassim Andjuran," Jake informed them, getting comments immediately from his group that almost spiralled out of control.

"All-right! Keep it together, people," Jake remarked. "The compound was given to one Hanalei Anar who once worked there, as part of the reparation for her work in bringing down Andjuran."

"I remember that, she risked her life repeatedly to provide information to Navy Intelligence and the IPPF," James Pwrel commented. "She wound up earning ten percent of all of the hidden money she found for them."

"Must have been a tidy some, Andjuran was quite wealthy from his criminal enterprises," someone else commented.

"Quite. Apparently, Mrs. Anar could not make use of the compound so changed its purpose, making it the new Interspecies Business Consulate here on Terra. She spent a good sum of credits remaking it and now the Interspecies Community pays her rent for the place," Jake stated.

"The Consulate is scheduled to open on fourteen June, a week after the Summit opens. I suspect that the Interspecies Community will introduce their Consulars and staff during the first part of the Summit and then party during the second.

"However, we need to have people there ready to record at the drop of a hundredth credit piece," Jake said.

"Who is going to be directing Ms. Stewart?" someone asked.

"Well her previous director and producer, Peter Broaden, formerly the Director IPNS Planet Hanover, and Frank Cassie, formerly Senior Producer for IPNS Planet Hanover, have both been promoted and brought here to Terra. They will be given the task of managing Ms. Stewart as they have a good track record with her and understand how she works. They will also be the team that manages future stories from Liramor-23.

"We will send a communiqué to Ms. Stewart confirming that fact for her. She should be happy with that.

"We will still need teams on the ground at Denders and I suggest we place those teams under the management of Broaden and Cassie as well. That will allow the rest of us to continue with our daily routines with minimal interruptions," Jake informed his team.

"Any questions?" There were...

Small Ship's Berth, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

Two days after the Maha-Rrin visit, on the 25

th

of May 2487, Cynthia Stewart was filming Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh as she walked up to PV The Valour. Fiona ran her hand over the symbol on the nose, an image of the Cross of Valour, with the distinctive Blue Square of the Presidential Citation below it.

Over top of the symbol were the words 'Fiona Marsh' while below was 'The Valour'. The original Valour was the only ship of The Valour Class that had the name Valour on its nose. All other Valour Class vessels only had the name of the person after whom they were named. All Valour Class vessels were named after people who had won the Cross of Valour, either the civilian (CCV) or military versions (MCV).

Cynthia asked several questions about the ship, its accomplishments and its capabilities. Fiona answered them all, her eyes shining as tears threatened throughout the interview. She was about to lose her first ship.

After the interview, Cynthia, Fiona, and her aide-de-camp, Capt. Pétillante, entered the Valour which soon lifted off the deck and departed Liramor-23 for the last time.

The Valour jumped to Liramor Prime and docked briefly at Pallanders-2, where President Marcel Lapierre of Liramor Prime praised the tiny vessel and the history it had established for ship and crew despite the young age of the vessel.

He placed the Commander, Ordre Planétaire du Mérite du Liramor around the neck of both Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh and Capt. Abigail Moore, gave them the requisite kisses to each cheek and cheered along with the witnesses before allowing himself to tour the Valour for the final time.

The Valour left Pallanders-2 and jumped to Terra. She came into high orbit over the planet.

"Terra Control, this is PV The Valour, Capt. Abigail Moore commanding. I have Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh aboard. We are requesting a track to descend to the shuttle port of the Union Museum, over."

"Control, roger. We have been expecting you Valour. Sending the track now. Be advised that a reception committee is waiting for your arrival. Follow the signals when you get to ground level, over."

"Valour, roger. We have received the track and are descending. Out."

The Valour swiftly sank down into the planet's gravity well and finally into the atmosphere. As she approached the ground, they noted a bright light directing them to the left of the Museum's main door. There was a substantial crowd not far away.

The pilot set the ship down smoothly and cut the engine, for the last time for this crew.

Fiona and Capt. Moore stepped to the hatch and were shocked by the fanfare they received when it opened. There must have been tens of thousands of cheering people around a podium not far from the main door of the Union Museum.

Wilford J. Holloway, President of the Union, greeted Fiona as she came down the ramp. She fired a crisp salute to him at ground level. He returned the salute and guided the bemused duo to the podium, followed not far behind by Cynthia Stewart.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank-you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this special event. Today, the original Valour will be retired. This storied ship and crew has distinguished itself despite its young age. She has participated in the Second Battle of Liramor-23 with distinction, proving the concept of the armed small fast ship during that battle, in which she was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the small blue square under her crest.

"Over its short lifetime, this ship has been connected with history as it transported then Commodore Marsh around the Union. It was involved with the rescue of the famous Capt. Henadi Noor from the clutches of Wassim Andjuran and his clique. It was involved in the successful negotiations with the Pod-Drran. It transported the Commodore to the First Denders Summit, last year, and participated in OP Sandcastle. All-in-all, this vessel has earned its place in the Union Museum.

"The vessel is being retired for one simple reason, the promotion of Commodore Marsh to Vice Admiral, and her being made Commander of Sector Fifty-Nine. Sector Fifty-Nine is a new Navy Sector that encompasses the entire area of the Greater Community. Because of the vast distances in her sector of command, the Vice Admiral needs a ship with legs.

"For this reason, Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh is being gifted with a new vessel, the Valour II. Why gifted, you ask? Simple really, PV The Valour is a private vessel, owned by Fiona Marsh. When it was turned into the first of the Valour Class, it became in part the responsibility of the Navy, but was still owned by a private person.

"In order to replace the ship, Fiona would have to have bought the newest version of capable fast ships, the Trine Class and had it converted into the new Valour II Class of ships. By my order, the Navy will provide her that ship, however, we then wanted to know what we should do with the original Valour?

"We debated long and hard but it was finally decided that the ship should be retired and given a place in the Union Museum, which is why we are here today." The President signalled to someone nearby and the General Manager of the Union Museum came forward with some papers for Fiona, Abigail, and finally the ChEng, to sign.

The ChEng of the Valour went back into the ship and came out with the Flight Worthiness plaque and the plaque commemorating the first flight of the ship. She placed them in the care of the General Manager of the Union Museum.

The manager made a signal and not long after, another ship came from behind the museum and landed to the right of the podium, opposite of the Valour. Upon landing, a small crew of Pallanders engineers left the ship.

A small stage was moved close to the nose of the new ship, with a wrapped bottle hanging from a rope. Fiona mounted the stage, turned to Abigail and the President and invited them to join her. She turned to the crowd.

"Today, I take possession of my new ship. She has a good name and will be the first of her class, a new class of armed fast ships. This ship and crew will carry myself and my guests back and forth along the vast regions of Sector Fifty-Nine. Her large jump capacity will be needed as it is more than five hundred light years across the space the Greater Community calls home. It is also almost two hundred light years before we even get to the first of the home spheres of the Interspecies races.

"This ship is named after my last, which had a heart of gold. I hope that this ship proves just as strong as the first Valour."

Fiona turned to and placed a hand on the bottle, she invited Abigail and the President to do likewise.

"I name this ship The Valour II, first of her name and first of her class. May she serve her crew well." At a nod from Fiona, the three pushed the bottle toward the new ship, where it broke on impact with the bow to a resounding cheer from the many spectators.

The ChEng, produced a new 'First Voyage' plaque, which had the name of the crew for the ship's first official flight with the owner stated below:

Owner: Fiona Marsh, PhD (PA), PGMDS-TU, COPM-LP, CCV, CMM

Director Liramor-23 Mining Platform

Vice Admiral in Charge of Sector Fifty-Nine

Christened: 25 May 2487

The Pallanders rep presented Fiona with the 'Space Worthiness' certificate already set on a plaque. She gave both to the ChEng, who disappeared into the ship to affix them to the wall of the combined mess.

Fiona led the dignitaries aboard her new vessel for a brief tour. She thanked the President for providing her with the new ship. She turned to the Managing Director of the Union Museum.

"Please take good care of my baby," she said with tears in her eyes, getting a hug from the director.

The President with his entourage of media types left the ship along with the Managing Director and her group. The crew, with the help of people from the Museum, transferred their personal kit and the products of the stores rooms, including the ready magazines for the guns, into the new ship. The ChEng was the last to leave the new ship, passing the FOB to open and close the ship to the Chief engineer of the Union Museum. She marched over to the Valour II, where Fiona and Abigail were standing at the top of the ramp, the crew arrayed below on the ramp.

The President led the watching throng in the traditional three cheers for the new ship and crew, with the crowd yelling out a thunderous 'HURRAH!!' at the end of each cheer. Fiona and Abigail gave a salute to the crowd and the President, then, along with the crew, entered the ship.

Not long after, the ship lifted, making its way into space and to Liramor-23.

PV The Trine, Shartan-Shanat Shuttle Port, Maha-Oran, The Maha-Rrin System, 112 Light Years from Terra

The Trine set down gently on the landing pad in front of the Shartan-Shanat (the Palace of Science and the seat of government for the Maha-Rrin), surprising the watchers, who had not realized that the little ship had this capability. The hatch opened and Ambs. Nar-Tre stepped out to bow to the Pemipinae.

"Good day to you Pemipinae. We are pleased to be able to bring your Ambassador and staff to Liramor-23."

"Thank-you, Ambs. Nar-Tre. We did not realize your ship could land on a planet," the Pemipinae commented.

"It is a useful capability for such a vessel, Pemipinae," Nar-Tre replied. "We can lift off from a planet surface and land on another within an hour of departure."

"An hour?" a sceptical minister asked.

"It only takes the ship around twenty Murt to get far enough out of the gravity well to jump and then twenty Murt to land on the next planet, minister," Nar-Tre explained. "It actually takes longer to dock at Liramor-23 than it does to land on a planet."

The Pemipinae sent a hand signal to her ministers to forestall any other unnecessary questions. "I would like to present to you our Ambassador select for the Interspecies Embassy, and her staff of three.

"Ambassador Shoma-Tern, her Personal Assistant, Nihls-Henal, the Embassy Secretary, Nerl-Halda, her Office Assistant, Gund-Setal.

"Well met, Ambs. Shoma-Tern," Nar-Tre said with a bow, nodding to the staff of three. "Everything is in readiness for your arrival at Ard Mheydeh. Did you bring the Maha-Rrin flag for your embassy?"

"Well met, Ambs. Nar-Tre. Yes, we have our flag with us and are looking forward to seeing our embassy. Please, why do you refer to this place as Liramor-23 and Ard Mheydeh?"

"The name of the vessel was designated by the corporation that owns it, the twenty-third mining platform of the Liramor Mining Corporation," Nar-Tre replied. "However, it has been given the designation of Ard Mheydeh by Ikekia Piscium. It means 'neutral ground' in her mother tongue. The name seems to have resonated with the other ambassadors, who frequently refer to the station using this name."

Shoma-Tern nodded her head and gave Nar-Tre a smile. She turned and gave a formal bow to the Pemipinae, followed by her team.

"With your permission, Pemipinae?" Nar-Tre asked for permission to depart.

"Our people's hope rests on your shoulders, Ambassador Shoma-Tern. That is a lot to carry but I believe you to be capable of it," the Pemipinae stated.

The five turned and entered The Trine. A few Murt later, the small ship lifted into the atmosphere, headed to the new home of Shoma-Tern.

VIP Reception, Liramor-23, The Piscium System.

Nar-Tre led the way up the ramp into the VIP reception area where Fiona and the other ambassadors waited.

"Ambassador Shoma-Tern of the Maha-Rrin, this is Director Fiona Marsh, the person who is responsible for Ard Mheydeh," Nar-Tre introduced them.

"Ambassador. On behalf of the Union, and the Greater Community, welcome to the Interspecies Embassy. It is our hope that your people will soon become full members of the Greater Community. I am the director of record for any and all issues with the Interspecies Community while on Liramor-23.

"On my right, is Fayad Piscium, who is the Assistant Director of the station. However, because of my duties to the Greater Community he, in all practicality, runs the station itself.

"On my left is Dianne Ancien, who runs my Human Resources section," Fiona smiled at Dianne. "I suppose we'll have to change the name to Staff Resources soon enough," she quipped getting a smile from Dianne.

"Dianne is responsible for all of the daily sundries that are required on the station, paperwork, housing, food, et al. If you have an issue, she and her staff will solve it. As soon as we finish introducing you to the other Ambassadors, she will help you with your paperwork and then take you and your staff to your quarters."