Fic: The Summer Intern (cont.)

[jeriendhal]

She actually did find a ladder in the general store early the next morning. It was a nifty little thing intended for home use in case of a house fire, but it would suit her purposes, even if buying it meant she'd be eating ramen noodles for the next few days until the next installment of her stipend entered her accounts.

So at exactly 0900 Nan arrived at the First One's treehouse, and pressed a button on the two meter long pole she held. It started telescoping upward, a hook extending from the tip, until it bumped open the trapdoor. She pulled it downward, making the hook was firmly hooked on the lip, then extended the ladder a few more centimeters until the spike at the opposite end was firmly set in the ground. At that point the ladder's step automatically extended from the sides of the pole, allowing her to climb upward with only moderate amounts of terror.

When Nan had caught her breath after pulling herself up onto the porch, she called out, “First One, it's Nan!” After receiving no answer, she called again. Waiting five more minutes still produced no response, so finally she just shrugged and pushed the door open. Looking around, she was at least heartened to find that in the past evening he hadn't managed to reduce the treehouse to where it had been when she first showed up. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll find something equally nasty to do today, she reminded herself.

Glancing over to the bed she found the reason he hadn't responded, for he was still dead asleep, snoring lightly, dressed in just shorts again with his tail spade laying across him as a sort of blanket. Briefly, Nan entertained the idea of waking him up the same way Freya had yesterday, but she suspected that wouldn't end well at all. Besides, the longer he slept, the less time they might actually be stuck together today.

So what to do? She could start reading something on her pocket comp she supposed. But she could have stayed in her room to do that. I'm on Newsping in the Ferin Autonomous Region, in the home of the First One. I ought to be doing something useful. Unfortunately her definition of “useful” was growing a bit strained.

She was still pondering this as she took a slow turn around the treehouse, when the portrait viewer set above the First One's comconsole desk caught her eye. Currently it was displaying the picture of a very demure looking young creo woman, dressed in a girlish pinafore and blushing furiously at the camera. It took Nan a moment to realize she was looking a much, much younger Madame Joleen, before her adult creo muscles and height had kicked in. Curiosity pulling her forward, she stepped up to the viewer and starting paging through the images. There was a young Professora Blake, dressed in a System Forces kit of all things, next to her cousin Lance Freeman, in the same uniform. Another photo was a fifteen year old Gwendolyn Freeman, in a bikini at the beach, grinning and laying prone in the arms of Matthew Townsend.

Nan continued flipping through, driven by intense historical curiosity. This family photo album was almost a timeline of the past hundred years of galactic history. There were several photos of Lady Melika and her husband Lord Brushtail of course, including one at their wedding where the First One was grinning like an idiot and making a V sign over Brushtail's ears at the altar. The First One again, with one of the Brushtail's infant cubs cradled on his chest as they lay on a couch, both dead asleep.

More wedding pictures. Matthew Townsend at his, looking grave and proud. Gwen Freeman at hers, looking more than a bit drunk. Pictures of their children, and grandchildren. Of the early days of Ferin Autonomous Region. Of...

“Ew!” Nan exclaimed.

“What are ya cawing about?” the First One asked. She turned in surprise to find him, standing arms folded, not a meter behind her, a slight smile on his face. She hadn't even heard him get out of bed. “That's my favorite snap in the whole album.”

“It's a severed head!” she said, waving at the grisly photo.

“Hey, you think I didn't want proof that she was finally dead? I would have put a stake through her heart too, if there had been enough pieces of her body left.”

“Just the same...” Nan shook her head. “Well now that you're awake, do you have any more dishes you want cleaned?”

“Nah. Sit down at the comconsole.”

“Of course, sir.” She sat eagerly, as he brought the system online. At last, real work instead of housecleaning. Maybe yesterday had been a test of her determination. “What do you want me to do?”

The First One sat back in a nearby lounge chair. “Read my mail to me.”

“Um, can't the computer do that?” she asked, deflating.

He shrugged. “It can, but it always sounds like a brain damaged Ardie drone. And the pictogram converter program never gets it right.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment. She clicked open his inbox. “Uh, this one is from someone named Mik Changecounter.”

“What's the title of the e-mail?”

“”You're Being Sued Again.” And there seems to be an attached court document.”

The First One rolled his eyes. “CC it to the Region's legal affairs office. If it was really important Mik would have called me himself.”

“Yes, sir.” Nan found the relevant email address and sent it along. “Um, don't you care who is suing you?”

“Wild guess, the name of aggrieved party is one Martin Limgold.”

She raised her eyebrows. “How did you know?”

He shrugged. “There was a fifty percent chance. He finds a new reason to sue me every month or so. It seems to be his hobby.”

“Why?”

“Apparently I've mind-controlled the Vulpine Farmer Lords and I'm breeding an army of Super Ferin to take over the universe, at least when I'm not an Ardie deep cover agent. He's a bit frustrated that I haven't responded to his cease and desist requests. Ya think he'd give it up after thirty years.”

TBC

Comments

[mjkj.livejournal.com]

Wow ... nice photos ... at least we now know they all had a good time after the war...

...I wonder if there is any image from a certain former admiral...

Oh, he is suing him for that long? That is determination... *lol* ...who is the other party suing him?

mjkj