• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“No one will show up.”

“Wonderful. They rearranged the itinerary?”

Zachary nodded. “And that should be it.”

“Good,” Esperanza said with more enthusiasm than was probably politic. Knowing it was wholly futile, she still said to Zachary, “You can go home, I’m just gonna read this and then head out.”

As always, he said, “I go home when you go home.” Then he went back to his desk, the door sliding shut behind him.

Esperanza’s eyes were glazing over as she read over the itinerary. None of it seemed untoward. Lembatta had been moved to a week later, so Ventax II would be a week earlier, Kessik IV would be at the end of the trip instead of the beginning, and Cestus III—

Oh hell.

The phaser drill was now working on both eyes.

Slamming her hand on the intercom, she said, “Zachary, who put this together?”

“The travel offi- “

“I mean who in the travel office?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Are any of them in now?”

“I think Ne’al G’ullho is still- “

“Get it up here now.”

Esperanza got up and went over to the replicator that was inset in her office wall. She was about to ask it for an herbal iced tea, then she decided to throw caution to the wind. Putting her hand on the activator, she said, “Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, neat, alcoholic.”

If this were regular business hours, the computer would point out that Federation law prevented members of the government from drinking alcoholic beverages during working hours. Whoever passed that law didn’t realize that every hour is a working hour in the Palais.

She slugged down the amber liquid; it burned as it went down her throat, then formed a warm spot in the upper part of her chest.

Her intercom beeped. “Ne’al is here.”

“Get it in here.” The thick-bottom glass made a resounding thunk as she placed it on her metal desk with a bit more force than was necessary.

A young Damiani entered, its goatee untrimmed. “Yes, Ms. Piniero, what can I do for you?”

She held up the padd. “Do you know about this?”

“I don’t know what this is,” Ne’al said slowly.

Great, now I’m doing it, Esperanza thought with a sigh. “This is the president’s updated travel itinerary for the goodwill tour.”

“Oh, right. I think Mantor handled that one himself.”

“Good, I know who to fire tomorrow, then.”

Ne’al’s teal skin started to lighten. “Uh, Ms. Piniero, I don’t understand what- “

“All right,” she said with a sigh, “I probably can’t fire him for this. But the only way to keep him from being in the president’s doghouse for the rest of his natural life is to either get him in here tonight or fix this yourself.”

Now looking confused, Ne’al said, “Ms. Piniero, I’m afraid I still don’t understand. The itinerary had to be changed to accommodate- “

“I know all about the Lembattans. What I have a small problem with, and what the president will have a huge problem with, is that you moved the Cestus III leg of the trip.”

“Oh, that. Well, we figured since it was the president’s home, it didn’t matter when it was. Good thing, too, because if we kept that on the same date, it would make the rest of it damn near impossible.”

“Well, you get to do the impossible, Ne’al, because the way this itinerary runs now, the president is going to miss Opening Day.”

A blank look. “Opening Day of what?”

“The baseball season on Cestus III. And before you ask another stupid question with your mouth hanging open the way it has been for this entire conversation, let me explain the basics. Baseball is a sport. It’s been played professionally on Cestus III since the president was first elected governor. It’s the president’s favorite sport, and watching it is one of her primary leisure activities. She has also, every year since the incorporation of the CBL, thrown out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day at Ruth Field in Pike City. Now you are going to go back to your office, and you are going to move solar systems if you have to, but you are going to keep Cestus right where it was on the itinerary and rearrange everything else. If we have to extend the trip an extra week- “

“We can