[Hope]

Hope reveled in her element. Until recent events, she had spent much of her life helping her father repair starship power and drive systems, and became nearly as much an expert as he was. She felt more comfortable dealing with a starship than people.

Laying on the floor in the power room, her legs extended out from underneath a bundle of piping and power cables near the port fusion reactor. A six-legged maintenance-bot stood nearby, ready to assist.

"I see the problem, Sai." she said to bot. "There's a partial blockage in the helium-3 feed line. Enough to limit reactor output in high demand situations. Hand me the wrench."

The bot grasped a tool with a mechanical claw and placed it in Hope's extended hand. After a series of clanks and grunts, she slid out, holding a section of curved metal tubing. She sat up to examine the piece, which had a diameter not much larger than her thumb. It continued to amaze her that such a small pipe could supply enough fusion fuel to power a starship.

Giving the tubing piece to the bot, she said, "Fabricate a new piece. Also, let's check and clean the feed filter. We may have gotten some dirty fuel."

"Yes, Hope," replied the bot in a machine voice.

The bot tottled off to complete the assigned task. Hope wiped the sweat from her brow with a bandana and retied her messy hair into a ponytail. Her gray leggings and blue tank top bore the grime of her work. She slid back under the bundle, holding a scanner.

A pair of feet came into Hope's view. Gabriel's voice said, "You have visitors. The colony governor and his entourage."

Hope replied, "Okay. Send them in here. I just need to check the power couplings."

A moment later, multiple footsteps approached her and stopped nearby. Someone let out an airy humph.

Gabriel bent down on one knee, peering under the pipe bundle. "Hope, they're here. Come out and do your Empress duty stuff."

Hope scooted out and, while seated, wiped her hands on the bandana. Looking up at three visitors, she said, "Oh, hello."

The Governor, a portly man with puffy cheeks, wore a shiny purple mantle that nearly reached the floor, covered with a white scarf, and carried a wooden staff topped with a gold medallion. His attendants, a man and a woman, were similarly attired, but without scarf or staff. Eshe stood behind them with her usual stern on-duty expression.

The Governor regarded Hope with a frown. "You are the Empress heir?"

Hope stood up. "Yeah, that's me."

Gabriel pulled his lips tight, looking like he could burst out laughing. He stroked his cheek with two fingers while catching his sister's eye. Realizing the message, Hope wiped a black greasy smear from her face with her bandana.

She said, "Sorry. I'm a bit of a mess right now."

Frowning ever deeper, the governor snapped his head around to Gabriel. "Now, see here! We have important matters to resolve and have no time for silly games. Take me to the real Empress."

"My apologies, sir." Gabriel said, bowing elegantly, which Hope knew to be a sarcastic gesture. "If you would take the stairs up one level, someone on the bridge will help you."

Hope bit her lip as the governor stomped up the stairs, mumbling to himself. Eshe broke from her stern duty expression, covering her mouth with a hand to hide a grin.

Stepping beside Hope, Gabriel said, "I can't wait to see his expression when he comes back."

After a few moments, Celeste returned with the governor and his attendants. She gestured toward Hope. "This is the Empress heir, Governor."

True to Gabriel's implication, the governor gulped and the color faded from his face as if he saw a ghost. He stammered. "Umm... Please excuse me, Empress. It's just... You didn't look like..."

"I don't look like an Empress?" Hope said, lifting an eyebrow. "Would you judge me by my appearance, Governor?"

Gabriel put a hand to his mouth to muffle a snicker, resulting in an elbow to the ribs from Hope.

Looking down at her soiled clothing, she continued. "Well, I suppose I really don't look like a typical Empress, do I?" Her eyes flashed up. "What is the purpose of your visit, Governor?"

He bowed his head, recovering some of his composure. "I wish to welcome you to Elysium, Empress, and discuss matters of mutual interest."

Hope's eyes narrowed slightly, and her voice took an edge. "And I would like to discuss the future of this world and your role in it. But first, I should clean up."

*****

Several minutes passed before Hope entered the galley to join the others, long enough to clean her face, put on fresh clothes, and brush her hair. The governor regarded her with narrowed eyes, but said nothing.

Apparently, he does not like to be kept waiting. But he will like much less what comes.

Hope sat down at the table across from the Governor and his aides. Celeste and Admiral Glynn flanked her. Eshe stood behind with her arms crossed while Moon and Gabriel took positions leaning against the white cabinets.

The Governor cleared his throat. "Empress, thank you for seeing me. Your arrival was unexpected, and if I may say, has caused quite a bit of upheaval. It is my wish that we resolve any differences before they result in conflict. For the good of Elysium, of course."

"Upheaval was intended, Governor. But we share the same goals, the good of Elysium." Hope leaned forward, placing elbows on the table. "We have obtained a copy of the records from the Trade Consortium's Elysium office." She let that sink in, allowing the Governor's eyes to widen. "All of them."

Again, color drained from the Governor's face.

With a nod from Hope, Celeste spoke. "Allow me to summarize our findings. The Consortium developed a business strategy to acquire ownership of Elysium. This included excessive loans with escalating interest rates, increased shipping fees, restrictions of trade, and other even less savory activities. Not surprisingly, this led to default. And under the Commonwealth trade regulations, which the Consortium sponsored, they intended seizure. The Consortium has a military wing to enforce their own regulations, and they are on the way here."

Celeste looked down at her tablet viewer, scrolling. "Ah, here it is." She lifted her eyes up, staring at the governor. "The records mention you, Governor. It seems that the Consortium paid you, and other officials, a considerable amount of money on several occasions with the expectation of action in their favor. I believe the proper term for that is bribery, Governor."

The Governor's throat pulsed with a dry gulp. Beads of sweat broke out on his brow.

Hope took some pleasure in his discomfort. That man would never win at poker.

In a small voice, he said, "What do you intend to do?"

"To you? Nothing." Hope answered. "But we do plan to bring the records to light." She glanced up. "Sai, what is the data transfer status?"

Sai's voice came from above. "The Consortium records were successfully posted to the public infoweb, Hope. Already, there have been one-hundred-and-seven local access hits, and accelerating."

Celeste narrowed her eyes to angry slits. "I could imagine, Governor, that your constituents will be very unhappy with this revelation. I do not know what your constitutional process is to replace a leader, but I would suggest that you resign immediately. That will be all."

The Governor opened his mouth, but no words came out. He turned to the left and right towards his assistants, but they only returned accusing glares. Dejected, he slumped out of the galley.

Hope looked up again. "Sai, will you be able to spread the records to other world webs?"

Sai answered, "Dissemination is underway, but bandwidth is restricted over the long-range coms, Hope. I am forced to send the data in limited packets."

Moon came to the table. "The Consortium will probably still bring their warships."

"We have scouts out watching for them." Liam responded. "Based on the number of their ships indicated by the records, we should be able to repulse them with local and Confederacy forces. I pray, though, that the combination of our forces and the release of the records will cause them to turn away."

Gabriel said, "One thing for sure, the Consortium is going to be totally pissed off."

A chill overtook Hope as her mind shuffled through potential future scenarios. What have I started?