Read Online [05] Elite: Reclamation by Drew Wagar - Free Book Online Page B

voice. ‘Going to come back here in a few years with your kick-ass blinged up monster ship, smart off-world threads, back with the attitude, impressing all the pretty girls with the big man gait? Hassan Farrukh Sharma – all debonair and sophisticated? That the plan?’
    ‘Something like that.’ Hassan was subdued. ‘I got to do this, Sush.’
    Sushil looked at his younger brother for a long moment, before giving him a brief nod. He looked at the offending actuator on the landing strut.
    ‘You can’t weld for shit. Give me that. Might as well start with it looking neat and tidy.’
    They set to work on the old ship, still jibing at each other. The bright flicker of the welder slowly growing stronger as the suns set behind the hills.
     
    ***
     
    The wedding of T’Clow Guntat of the house of Rebia and Corine Tanja of the house of Loren was an ostentatious event, even by Imperial standards. Supplies, provisions and exotic victuals from across the galaxy were couriered in to the Imperial Palace on Chione for several months in advance.
    Servants, maids and slaves worked tirelessly to prepare food, set tables and dress the hundreds of rooms within the palace. Plans were made for the arrival of distinguished guests from across Chione and the nearby systems. Invitations were checked and double checked, seating arrangements planned. Transport vessels were chartered. Everything was set to converge upon the day of the wedding.
    A veritable cornucopia of exotic dishes from across the Imperial systems were arriving in specialist cuisine transport vessels. Many foods were selected on their ability to impress visually rather than for their taste and texture. There were colours from across the spectrum, including some unusual appetizers that were recommended to be eaten under ultraviolet light for maximum effect. There were morsels, aperitifs, hors d’oeuvres and selections of fine cuts aplenty, enough to cause even the fussiest gourmet to salivate in anticipation.
    Accompanying this was a sophisticated selection of wines, some brewed traditionally from fruits and berries, others from more esoteric ingredients including grain, algae and even, in one case, live invertebrates.
    A small army of consultants had been drafted in to write speeches, check protocol and co-ordinate the fashions worn by the guests. In some parts of the Empire your clothing wasn’t simply for show; subtle messages could convey loyalty, disapproval and understated declarations of superiority. It was important that such messages were checked, balanced and made appropriate for the wedding. Hats were a particular problem. Fashion had drifted towards the excessive in recent years, with the size implying a degree of status. Exotic materials were now being used to ensure the more flamboyant designs could survive the rigours of a social engagement.
    Music was to be provided by the much respected East Coast Orchestra, a favourite of the Loren family. They’d followed the Loren’s to Chione and set themselves up in a newly built and prestigious Musicians Hall in Leeson City. Fortunately Leeson City was eastwards of New Ithaca, so their name could be retained. As musicians they were unrivalled in Chione and their fame spread beyond the limits of the system, deep into Imperial worlds. They were set to play a series of especially commissioned pieces to mark the wedding, prior to the speeches and the banquet.
    New furniture was acquired, the top table where the two families would be seated being the centre piece. At a price beyond sensible consideration, an elegant table first hewn from the wood of the famous towering pines of the Leestian rainforest, then diamond turned and polished with Lavian grub wax, had been imported and assembled in the great hall of the palace, dominating the hall. It stood upon a Sotiquan redweed plush-pile carpet, woven from strands of the famous plant. Still alive, it caressed and massaged the feet of those lucky enough to walk upon it.
    The