All That Glitters

All That Glitters - A Space Odyssey

Chapter Sixty-Six:

The Byandi economy evolves. More steps to a concert.

The House of Ur Trading Company helps the Byandi Realm. The girls prove they can work the necessary magic.

© LACLarke 2024. This series 'All That Glitters - A Space Odyssey', in whole or in part, cannot be transferred to any other site without the prior authorizations in writing from the author and LAClarke must be credited for this work.

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.

Enough ranting...Enjoy.

VIP Suite, Delta Deck, Liramor-23 Station, 109 Piscium System, 106 Light Years from Terra

The chime woke Fayad from a fitful slumber. His sleep had deteriorated since his family had to leave the station due to ongoing construction. He missed his family. He clicked the button on his Comp to turn off the chime.

Sitting up, he gave a huge stretch to get his body moving and was surprised by the first message of the day as his Comp pinged. Damn! He hadn't even gotten out of bed yet.

He slapped the Comp and saw the face of Porra, the Byandi Ambassador.

"Good morning, Porra. What incredible event has caused you to seek me out so early in my daily routine?" Fayad asked.

"So sorry to wake you, Fayad. However, we have just received a message from Mylatinyl. The Byandi Nawit Sanata will be coming into the system within the hour. It is being designated Byandi One."

That woke Fayad up immediately. The Mylatrin Adriné was coming for a visit. Almost immediately upon receiving the news, Fayad got a notice from Ops indicating the imminent arrival of the ship. Mylatin City, the Byandi capital, was three hours ahead of Liramor-23 time. That meant the Mylatrin was already well into her morning routine.

"Is there any indication as to why the Mylatrin is gracing us with a visit, Porra?"

"Apparently, she is coming to see a cook," Porra explained, an amused look on her face. "Annatto is at the end of his training and many good words have been spoken about him. The Mylatrin is coming to verify his abilities."

"Forgive me; I do not know all of your people in the local area," Fayad replied.

"Not an issue, my friend. You could not be expected to know everyone. Annatto is currently training on The Wanderer under Riley."

"Ah. If he is getting good grades from her, he would be an excellent selection for the Sanata, or the Castada (short name for the Castada ne Mylatin, the Byandi Royal Palace). I best get ready for the day, then." Fayad ended with a wave as he closed the link.

Damn, it looks like it's shaping up to be one of those days,

Fayad thought as he crawled out of bed.

At least the commute to my office is shortened.

Because his apartment was in the platform's renovation zone, he could not stay there and had to send his family elsewhere for the time being. That meant he was temporarily living in one of the VIP suites on Echo Deck. He looked forward to returning to his apartment and the subsequent return of his family.

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

Annatto had already been up for two hours, preparing the bread for breakfast.

So many different breads these humans eat!

He thought to himself. Truth be told, he had enjoyed tasting them all over the last two years, as well as the many incredible dishes Master Chef Riley had taught him to make. His time on The Wanderer was coming to a close and soon enough, he would be sent to a Byandi vessel to be the head chef. He looked forward to that.

"Annatto! Clean up and present yourself to Shuttle Bay One immediately." Master Chef Riley snapped, cutting through Annatto's thoughts.

"Master Chef?" he began, but was cut off almost immediately. It wouldn't be the first time that the Master Chef had thrown a 'monkey wrench' into the gears, as the saying went, whatever the hell a monkey wrench was.

"Never mind the questions for now, Annatto. Clean up and be ready to go. In fifteen minutes, you are to present yourself to Shuttle Bay One starboard, where all your questions will be answered. Now go!" Riley snapped.

Annatto went. He ran to his cabin and quickly stripped off, rinsing himself down. He quickly sloughed off the water but did not dry himself, letting his skin absorb the remaining residue of moisture. He found a new set of chef's whites and put them on. He ran down the corridor towards his destination, wondering what was happening.

He rested briefly before the hatch to catch his breath, then opened it and stepped through. The bay had a small human-style passenger shuttle with Byandi markings on it. A confused Annatto paused at the presence of a Byandi female wearing the sash of the Royal Household.

*You are Annatto?*

*I am.*

*Please board; we are to take you to the Sanata.*

Annatto's mind momentarily went blank. The Sanata was the Imperial Ship! *I don't understand...*

*All will be explained shortly. Board and strap in. We move as soon as you are ready,* the female stated.

Annatto did as he was told. He felt the shuttle begin to move, and soon, they were out in space. From where he was seated, he had a direct view through a portal of the large ship in Royal Byandi colours. The shuttle turned towards it and accelerated, taking away Annatto's view of the ship.

The female took a seat facing Annatto. *The Palace has heard good things about you, Annatto. Today, you will cook for the Mylatrin Adriné and guests. Some of those guests are human.

*Do well, and you will be given a rather interesting job. Do poorly, and you will be sent back to The Wanderer for more training. Do not disappoint our liege, Annatto, or yourself.*

Annatto paled at the thought of working in the Mylatrin's kitchen. Fear showed in his eyes as he looked at the female who had just made such an outrageous pronouncement.

*Do not panic, Annatto. Riley says you are ready. We wish to confirm this.* The female patted his arm, giving him a gentle smile. Many people were brought before the Mylatrin. Most were nervous. The palace staff had been taught how to lessen their nerves in anticipation of their being presented to the Mylatrin, or in this case, working for her.

Annatto smiled at the female and took a deep breath. Just then, the shuttle lurched uncomfortably, making Annatto want to hurl.

"Do not panic," the female stated. "We are just passing through the backwash of sub-light engines from large ships in the area. We will be back in undisturbed space momentarily."

Her statement proved prophetic as the shuttle settled into calm flight for the remainder of the trip.

Annatto had time to reflect on events during the trip.

If Riley says I'm ready, then I am ready!

Despite the thought, there was a niggling doubt at the back of his mind. All he had trained for over the last two years would now be put to a most deliberate test.

Damn!

They soon arrived at the Sanata, where Annatto was greeted by a crew member in royal livery. *Please follow me. I will take you to where you need to be.*

Not long after, the pair entered Deck Ten, the large central space that was often used as a throne room/ballroom/banquet room. It even had its own kitchen. Here, the Palace Major Domo greeted Annatto.

*Today, your skills will be judged by place staff and dignitaries, the Mylatrin and her children, the Mylat Alafka, the Mylat Errlla, and the Mylatrin's guests, many of which are human. If you do well, the Mylatrin will have a task you will enjoy. Otherwise, you will be sent back for more training.* The Major Domo gave him a stern look that dared him to fail.

Annatto quailed at the thought.

*You will be given staff from the ship's kitchen to supervise and use as needed. You will choose the menu and see to its preparation. Good luck.*

The next three hours were busy for Annatto. He had directed chefs before, but all of them knew what they were doing. None of these staff knew how to make the treats he wanted to present at this dinner.

Already hard pressed for time, Annatto wound up training his staff in new techniques, while simultaneously trying to get the meal ready on schedule, all under the watchful eye of one of the palace staff.

Byandi mouths were designed for shellfish eating, so they didn't normally cook shellfish, they normally just ate them raw.

Fortunately, most cooking arts were virtually identical. It was the contents and the processes that made things different, but if you had the basics, you could be taught new dishes.

He worked himself and the staff furiously, noting the infringement of time on all he was trying to create. Finally, the serving staff entered the kitchen for the first course of the meal. Annatto smiled as they took the soup out to the banquet hall. He now had the time to finish the exotic desserts (to the Byandi) as the fish and meat courses were being prepared.

Keeping an eye on his staff, he helped the dessert chefs to finish the creations he wanted. Much to his surprise, things were moving far more smoothly than he had anticipated.

Suddenly, one of the serving staff was confronting him. *I'm busy! What do you want?*

*The Head Table wishes to know what was in the soup?* the server asked.

*Tell them it was a soup based on Acco.* Annatto said and turned away, only to be pulled back to confront the server.

*I cannot tell the Head Table that they just ate Acco!!* Acco was a small fish that grew to no more than a kilo in size. The fish were slow-moving and easily caught by young Byandi. As a result, all Byandi had tasted them. Or tried to.

Acco were bland as far as taste went. So much so that they were usually ignored as a meal, though regularly used as filler for other fish stock. Only the poorest of Byandi would eat Acco on a regular basis. While not considered an actual insult, to have a soup dish based on Acco served to the Head Table of the Palace was tantamount to it.

Annatto grabbed a card, quickly scribbling down the ingredients of the soup, and then thrust it at the server with a snarl. *I don't have time to go out there right now. Bring this to the Head Table and get out of my sight!*

A dejected-looking server scurried away. He rushed to the Head Table and passed the card to the Major Domo, who blanched when he saw what they had just eaten. Before he could say anything, he saw Mylat Alafka motion to him. He cringed as he passed the card to her.

Alafka burst into laughter when she read the card. She passed it to her mother, who in turn passed it to Errlla. She looked at her elder sister in surprise, only to see her finger over her mouth, shushing her to silence.

*It

was

rather good, wasn't it?* Errlla said in a conspiratorial tone to her mother and elder sister. She had never before tasted Acco that could be served to the Royal Family. She placed the card face down in front of her mother. The next dish was coming out, and their guest on the head table purred when she saw what it was.

"Lobster! I'm going to enjoy this." Fiona smiled.

*How do humans eat shellfish?* Errlla asked.

"We shuck them out of the shell, of course," Fiona replied and promptly showed them how she did so, breaking the shell of the Lobster with the tools provided and pulling the meat out. She smiled when she saw the different hot butter sauces, each labelled. Fiona preferred the garlic/butter sauce and dipped some of the meat before carefully bringing it to her mouth.

Bliss!

She thought as she savoured

[CMC1]

the treat.

*Is that good?* Errlla asked as Fiona dipped another piece of meat into the garlic/butter sauce. She was sitting between Fiona and her mother.

"It is to me. You should test it with your Comp before you try it, though."

Errlla scanned the offerings and they all came up green. *I'm not sure how to do this. We normally just pop shellfish into our mouths and chew on them.*

Byandi had wide mouths designed for shellfish eating. Many rows of conical teeth would crush the shells into pieces. An agile tongue would separate the meat from the shell fragments and push the fragments out to their lips, where they would be spit onto small plates while their tongues pushed the meat to the back of their mouths to be chewed and swallowed (this was considered acceptable table etiquette for formal dining amongst the Byandi).

The Byandi at the head table watched the human break open the parts of the Lobster's shell: the claws, legs, tail, and head. Fiona was an old hand at this and quickly stripped the Lobster down.

She placed a few tidbits on plates near Adriné and her daughters, who picked them up and dipped them into the butter sauces.

*Wow! This is good,* Errlla muttered while Fiona smiled at her. A few others tried to emulate Fiona, but most just popped the shellfish into their mouths and let nature take its course. After all, Byandi were built for it.

During the pause between courses, Fiona leaned forward and looked at Adriné. "So who is he?"

"What?"

"The one you're sneaking peeks at?"

"The Mylatrin does not 'sneak peeks' at people, Fiona."

"Oh, stow it... It's obvious that you are interested in him. I know what table he is at but have yet to identify him."

Errlla giggled as her mother blushed.

*He's the one at this end of the table, wearing the purple sash,* she informed Fiona. *His name is Tullo, and he is a Senior Cabinet Minister. They have been unofficially 'dating' for some months now.*

Fiona's predatory smile was almost frightening to Errlla. She knew that Fiona was about to be embroiled in something unethical but exciting.

"Switch places with me," Fiona ordered and stood up. As soon as Errlla sat back down, now sitting where Fiona had been, Fiona marched over to the other table and pulled the hapless male's chair out.

She dragged him to his feet, using the purple sash he was wearing and pushed her face into his. "You're in my seat," she snarled.

*What? This is where I was placed!* he called out. Fiona ignored him and took his place.

*Where am I to sit?*

"Where I was just sitting," Fiona informed him, pointing to the Head Table.

The panicked Tullo looked up only to see Errlla patting the arm of the now empty chair between her and her mother.

Tullo's mouth dropped open at the realisation of what that invitation meant. Tullo's and Adriné's private flirtations were not so private anymore!

Tullo locked eyes with Adriné's, who just smiled warmly at him. He felt himself flushing at the thought that the Mylatrin was now being openly obvious about the ongoing nature of their courting. There was, of course, no need to be cautious about it, as everyone in the Castada was aware of their goings-on. This would just make it official...

With as much dignity as he could muster, he moved to the seat near the Mylatrin, while all eyes locked onto his moving form. He came to the Mylatrin's side and bowed low to her, hesitating to sit beside her. The Major Domo pushed the chair into the back of his knees, forcing him to sit, then pushed the chair into the table.

Fiona barked out a laugh and began to applaud, which was picked up by all the guests. Ribald catcalls were heard throughout the room--a traditional Byandi custom called Metrannen, when a couple finally indicates they are indeed a couple or announces a 'Bonding'. Both Adriné and Tullo blushed at the comments, but Tullo's blush was the deeper of the two.

Seeing her intended's nervousness, Adriné reached out and placed her hand over his. At the touch, Tullo's head snapped around to look at Adriné's face, which had a smile that lit up his heart. The rest of the courses were brought out, but Tullo was never able to tell anyone what they had eaten that day.

Not everyone in the hall was happy though. One named Mallo was a rival of Tullo for Adriné's hand. He was furious that Tullo was now sitting beside the Mylatrin at her invitation.

Mallo was an attention seeker. While not particularly greedy, he had his needs. All he did for the 'people' was grist for his ego. He savoured his name being in the media and the limelight.

His plans to use the position as the Mylatrin's mate had just been shot down. He looked at the happy couple with sheer loathing, his heart darkening with hatred.

He needed to find a way to take down Tullo before he became too well-established as the presumed intended of the Mylatrin...

Castada ne Mylatin, Mylatin City, Mylatinyl, The Salta System, The Byandi Realm, 550 Light Years from Terra

The Mylatrin's private yacht set down at the Castada's shuttle port, followed swiftly by two human-designed shuttles: one a cargo shuttle, the other a passenger shuttle. Spacecraft spotters noted the pair of shuttles had similar design configurations to that of the Royal Yacht, being much sleeker and more streamlined than the usual Byandi shuttles which were based on Djinaëte constructions. A Pod-Drran, several humans, and several Byandi emerged from the passenger shuttle.

The Mylatrin waited as the passengers disembarked from the shuttle and came to bow before her.

*Welcome to the Castada, Caye-Ur, Tokussa, Alya Garrant. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?*

*Mylatrin, we have come to report the final placement of the Comms satellites for the Wrist Comp Network,* Tokussa reported formally. *We have on the cargo shuttle the servers that will connect between the human and Byandi systems to initiate the network.

*Once they are emplaced and connected to the Mylatinyl World Net (MWN), all who are wearing a Wrist Comp can use them in the same manner that you do when in human space. Within a few months, we will have other Byandi planets so connected.*

The Mylatrin's face lit up at that announcement. She was truly pleased to be able to use her expensive wrist bauble for something more than jewelry and local comms. The Comps could only contact each other over a very limited distance without a network to connect to.

*Later today, our two comms and computer specialists will connect the main server and then begin configuring the local servers.*

*Falla and Retto are computer communications specialists. They are principally responsible for the design and construction of both the computer server and the program that will be used by the new system. Since they are your Naval personnel, they can be ordered to the Castada as a workplace. However, they are not of sufficient rank to work at the Castada.

The Mylatrin walked over to the two specialists and greeted them. *You designed and built this system?*

*Yes, Mylatrin,* the female spoke for the pair. *We have both studied and worked with human computers for the past two years. We have been able to adapt their programs to work with our own. It requires specialized knowledge to accomplish this and can be rather difficult at times to link the two systems. We have been working for just under one year to bridge the two systems. It has not been easy, but we finally managed to do it. It pleases us greatly that they pay us to do such, Mylatrin.*

The Mylatrin smiled.

Nerds are all alike,

she thought. *Show me what you have,* the Mylatrin ordered.

The pair swiftly ran to the cargo shuttle and pulled a float bed from it with a half-metre cubed object on it.

*This is a human micro-computer, Mylatrin. This one has a built-in power source so that it does not need to be plugged into an electric grid. We will connect it to the MPN (Mylatin Planetary Net) and the ICS Antenna. That will give your Comp unlimited range for government use, Mylatrin.*