[capnq]

Sanre Dorsi had never been so nervous in her life. What on Eifra could bring a minor media consultant to the attention of Chairman Farki? She had thought his "request" that she make an appointment to see him as soon as possible was a practical joke by one of her friends, until Farki's secretary vidcalled to confirm whether she'd received it. She was even more surprised when she arrived at his office, and the secretary told her to go right in, even though she'd gotten there rather early.

"Ah, Doctor Dorsi, I'm glad you could arrange to be here on such short notice," Farki greeted her. "I'm sure you recognize CEO Davdi, but do you know my other guest, Doctor Soctu Timho?"

Dorsi shifted from surprise to borderline shock. "Only by reputation, Chairman." Here she was in the same room with the two most influential people on Eifra, plus one of the corporate Vice-Presidents. She found herself at a loss for words.

"I'm sure you're wondering why we've asked you here." Farki grinned, and added, "That sounds like a bad holovid actor's line, doesn't it?"

Dorsi had to laugh in spite of her nervousness. "Yes, it does. But I've heard far, far worse in my line of work."

"Your work is what brings you here, Doctor. We have a problem, and I believe you're the most qualified person to help us."

Dorsi's eyes bulged in amazement. "You need a historical consultant? Your message implied that the matter was urgent."

"You're too modest about your achievements, Doctor. You are widely recognized as Eifra's leading expert on the Corporate Wars. If you don't know all the details of what we're looking for, you'll know where to find answers."

"I appreciate your praise, Chairman, but I can't imagine what you could possibly need me for. As much as I enjoy helping to make costume dramas more historically accurate, it's hardly a profitable enough line of work to concern the leadership of the Conglomerate."

"This matter is far more serious than any of us could have imagined, Doctor. In this case, profit isn't even a major concern. Doctor Timho is here to brief you on our situation."

-----

"In summary, Doctor Dorsi," Timho finished, "we need to prepare to defend ourselves against potentially hostile aliens. Chairman Farki believes that your expertise can help us design the first Eifral military force since the Ultimate Merger."

Dorsi was unusually slow to reply. She was still stunned at the horrors that Timho had described in his briefing; at one point the Chairman had had his secretary bring them a round of BLARG to relax a bit during a break. "I truly wish that I had the Chairman's confidence in my abilities. I could tell you the organization of the various corporate security forces, their weaponry, and tactics, but very little of that would apply to combat between spacecraft. The closest thing during the Corporate Wars would be the hovercar duels between unemployed youth gangs during the late 2100s.

And that leads to a larger issue: finding Eifralo willing to train for battle. Very few Eifralo show any tendency towards violence, and those who do typically mature out of it after puberty. The rare physically aggressive adult Eifralo tends to end up employed in the demolition and recycling sector."

"Or professional sports," Farki grinned. "Did you know that fifty years ago, I was a pro skyball pilot?"

"I doubt there's a sports fan on Eifra who doesn't know that," Davdi laughed. "I don't think your record for shortest scoring interval has ever been broken."

"You're right, and I doubt it will be. The regulation air corridor was smaller back then, when the hovers were slower."

"I don't mean to be rude," Timho interrupted somewhat crossly, "but we still have a major problem to deal with. The Chairman's skyball career isn't likely to help us build a space force."

"It might be more applicable than you'd first think," Farki countered. "I've read your full report on Node-25; there was mention of the Masters' ships having specialized weapons to defend against small attack craft. Their descriptions reminded me of the aerobatics of a sports hover."

"That is a good point, I have to admit," Timho agreed. "The craft would have to be much larger to operate in space, of course, but there are several such battles in Node-25's database. I wouldn't have thought of that. I've never been much of a skyball fan; I just don't see the appeal of watching a bunch of pilots trying to push a balloon around with the downdraft of their engines."

"It seems to me that this Node-25 has already told you more about space combat than I ever could," Dorsi commented. "The Last Eifralo with real experience in three-dimensional fighting died a century and a half ago. A specialist in the pre-Unification period might know a bit more, but I'd have to do a literature search just to find one. Vidshows about life before the formation of the planetary government are in even less demand than Corporate Wars dramas."

"As I said earlier, you'd at least know where to look," Farki replied. "That's a better idea than most of the options than we've come up with on our own."