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Authors: Thomas DePrima
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is someone whom I think you'd really enjoy talking to."
"But I don't know how to host royalty," Annette said.
"They're just like regular people," Jenetta said mischievously, but with a perfectly serious facial expression. "And I'm sure the staff has been trained in all the appropriate protocols. Just make sure the royal banquet outshines every dinner party you've ever attended, combined, and that the king and queen get anything they want, when they want it."
Annette just stared at her for a minute. "Okay, I know that look; you're pulling my leg. You haven't done that since high school."
Jenetta couldn't hold her serious expression any longer and her face broke into a wide smile. "The king and queen aren't coming here, Momma, so don't worry about it. But we'll hold this suite open for them simply because none of us want to sleep in it."
"I'm getting hungry," Marisa said. "What time is dinner?"
"Whenever we want. It's been a long day, so let me call the kitchen. Any preferences? Or would you like to take pot luck with Nordakian dishes? I love having a bowl of Queelish as an appetizer, or even as a whole meal."
"What's Queelish?" Annette asked.
"It's a vegetable stew made mostly from Nordakian brononako leaves. When it's cooked, it's like a thick Escarole Minestra soup on Earth but without the sausage or any meat products."
"I'd like to try it," Marisa said.
"So would I," Annette said.
"Okay, we'll have that as an appetizer, if they have the necessary greens, and then whatever entrée items the chefs have prepared."
After Jenetta had called the kitchen and arranged their evening meal, she said, "Dinner will be ready in an hour. They have the ingredients for Queelish, so that will be the appetizer. The main entrée will be a sort of vegetarian meatloaf, with side dishes of stuffed tubers, rice pilaf, and a mushroom soufflé."
"It all sounds delicious," Marisa said. "By the way, what activities did you have planned for tomorrow?"
"I thought that in the morning we'd take an oh-gee craft and tour the local area to see how the farmers are doing and how well the crops are coming back. I receive the monthly production figures from Chamberlain Yaghutol, but I'd like to see the progress in the fields firsthand. I can still remember how devastated the farms were on my first visit here almost twenty years ago— it was absolutely horrendous. The wildlife was mostly gone, and the winds constantly eroded the topsoil because there wasn't enough vegetation left to hold it. Now the wildlife is making a comeback and the land looks green again. It's wonderful to see nature coming back."
"I wonder how many species of wildlife managed to survive." Marisa said.
"I don't know. I heard that they did their best to round up all of the species they could and house them in impromptu zoos or aquariums all over the planet. But they must have lost a lot of the diversification in species and among subspecies."
"I'm sure we can learn a lot from the tenant farmers tomorrow," Annette said.
"Probably," Jenetta agreed. "Well, perhaps we should clean up and get ready for dinner."
On most populated planets, oh-gee vehicle flight was restricted to very low altitude levels and specific strata based on the direction of travel. Additionally, built-in governors enforced a maximum ceiling to prevent interference with government and commercial passenger traffic. Over the Gavistee Peninsula, there was little traffic except farm carts, so Jenetta had the palace mechanic disable the ceiling governor. Her position as a member of the nobility was enough to ensure that no mechanic would voice objections to her order about the flight governor. Besides being the Azula and therefore the final authority on all matters on the peninsula that did not fall under the purview of the royal family, she was also a military-rated pilot and qualified to fly above the normal height restrictions on any planet in GA space.
After breakfast the following morning, the three women
"But I don't know how to host royalty," Annette said.
"They're just like regular people," Jenetta said mischievously, but with a perfectly serious facial expression. "And I'm sure the staff has been trained in all the appropriate protocols. Just make sure the royal banquet outshines every dinner party you've ever attended, combined, and that the king and queen get anything they want, when they want it."
Annette just stared at her for a minute. "Okay, I know that look; you're pulling my leg. You haven't done that since high school."
Jenetta couldn't hold her serious expression any longer and her face broke into a wide smile. "The king and queen aren't coming here, Momma, so don't worry about it. But we'll hold this suite open for them simply because none of us want to sleep in it."
"I'm getting hungry," Marisa said. "What time is dinner?"
"Whenever we want. It's been a long day, so let me call the kitchen. Any preferences? Or would you like to take pot luck with Nordakian dishes? I love having a bowl of Queelish as an appetizer, or even as a whole meal."
"What's Queelish?" Annette asked.
"It's a vegetable stew made mostly from Nordakian brononako leaves. When it's cooked, it's like a thick Escarole Minestra soup on Earth but without the sausage or any meat products."
"I'd like to try it," Marisa said.
"So would I," Annette said.
"Okay, we'll have that as an appetizer, if they have the necessary greens, and then whatever entrée items the chefs have prepared."
After Jenetta had called the kitchen and arranged their evening meal, she said, "Dinner will be ready in an hour. They have the ingredients for Queelish, so that will be the appetizer. The main entrée will be a sort of vegetarian meatloaf, with side dishes of stuffed tubers, rice pilaf, and a mushroom soufflé."
"It all sounds delicious," Marisa said. "By the way, what activities did you have planned for tomorrow?"
"I thought that in the morning we'd take an oh-gee craft and tour the local area to see how the farmers are doing and how well the crops are coming back. I receive the monthly production figures from Chamberlain Yaghutol, but I'd like to see the progress in the fields firsthand. I can still remember how devastated the farms were on my first visit here almost twenty years ago— it was absolutely horrendous. The wildlife was mostly gone, and the winds constantly eroded the topsoil because there wasn't enough vegetation left to hold it. Now the wildlife is making a comeback and the land looks green again. It's wonderful to see nature coming back."
"I wonder how many species of wildlife managed to survive." Marisa said.
"I don't know. I heard that they did their best to round up all of the species they could and house them in impromptu zoos or aquariums all over the planet. But they must have lost a lot of the diversification in species and among subspecies."
"I'm sure we can learn a lot from the tenant farmers tomorrow," Annette said.
"Probably," Jenetta agreed. "Well, perhaps we should clean up and get ready for dinner."
On most populated planets, oh-gee vehicle flight was restricted to very low altitude levels and specific strata based on the direction of travel. Additionally, built-in governors enforced a maximum ceiling to prevent interference with government and commercial passenger traffic. Over the Gavistee Peninsula, there was little traffic except farm carts, so Jenetta had the palace mechanic disable the ceiling governor. Her position as a member of the nobility was enough to ensure that no mechanic would voice objections to her order about the flight governor. Besides being the Azula and therefore the final authority on all matters on the peninsula that did not fall under the purview of the royal family, she was also a military-rated pilot and qualified to fly above the normal height restrictions on any planet in GA space.
After breakfast the following morning, the three women
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