Heaven’s River Book 4 of the Bobiverse Dennis E. Taylor Dedication For Dennis E. Taylor, in congratulations for his exclusive deal with Audible. Contents: Part 1 1. Frenemies 2. Working the Options 3. Trouble 4. Collection Run 5. Investigation 6. The Search Expands 7. Looking Forward 8. Survey Results 9. Group Building 10. Things are Coming Together 11. Breaking In 12. Expedition Prep 13. Swimming with the Fish 14. Council of War 15. Functional Testing 16. Human Replicant Reserve 17. First Day in Heaven’s River 18. Not Part of the Plan 19. You Did WHAT?! 20. Just in Case 21. Getting Involved 22. Living in Interesting Times 23. Dancing with Dragons 24. Interlude 25. Trouble Follows 26. Tensions Rise 27. Just Passing Through 28. United Federation of Sentients 29. Panic Time 30. Starfleet Attack 31. Strategies 32. Losing on Purpose 33. Ultimatums 34. Higher-Ups Part 2 1. Escape 2. A Second Visit 3. Up the Creek 4. Played 5. Hugh Joins Up 6. The War Heats Up 7. The Battle of New Home 8. The Search 9. A Declaration of War 10. Catching the Train 11. The War in Meat-Space 12. Helep’s Ending 13. Getting Busy 14. Getting Out 15. Frustrations Mount 16. Still Trying 17. Trolling for Treasure 18. Trouble with Snidely 19. Recall is a Thing 20. Moving On 21. Earth Abides 22. Another Close Call 23. The Road to Garrick's Spine 24. Negotiations 25. Crossover 26. Winding Down 27. We've Arrived 28. Claiming Victory 29. Dodging 30. Cleanup 31. It Hits the Fan 32. A Few Loose Ends Part 1: The Search for Bender 1. Frenemies Jacques November 2331 New Pav The planet hung below all blues and greens and twinkling lights of nascent cities. New Pav, we called it. The Pavs’ name for their new home planet was slightly more poetic but would still sound like a bunch of spitting and hissing to a human ear. The population had boomed in the 70 years or so since they’d been resettled here, and they now boasted cities on several continents. It looked like the species would survive. Whether they'd still be talking to US or not was another matter. I received a signal from the cargo drone containing my Manny informing me that it had landed. With a mental sigh, I prepared to leave VR for what would probably be an uncomfortable meeting with the Pav representative. I connected to the Manny - the remotely operated android - over the SCUT channel, and transferred my personal POV into it. As internal systems powered up I took a mil to glance around the now familiar cargo hold, then extracted myself from the support rack. The cargo doors opened automatically to reveal my usual Pav military escort, rifles at the ready, probably with safeties off. A gaggle of six-foot tall meerkats, without the cute. I hadn't visited in a couple of decades mostly because the last time had been what you might call… tense. Just to see how they react, I smiled, careful not to show my teeth, and gave them the Vulcan salute. The squad leader showed me his teeth - not a gesture of friendship from a Pav - and returned the salute with three fewer fingers. Apparently, he had studied human culture. I walked up to the group and gave them a proper Pav smile equivalent. “Hey guys, what’s shaking?” I needn’t have bothered. The squad leader responded with a low snarl and motioned with his weapon toward the nearby tent. They’d set up a tent. It would seem I didn't even rate and indoor meeting. Maybe it was actually a good sign. Nope, couldn’t make that work. I entered the enclosure and eyed the Pav sitting at the desk. He was the second planetary administrator since Hazjiar, and he didn't look any friendlier than his immediate predecessor. I missed Hazjiar. She at least had understood the realities of the situation the Pav found themselves in. Somehow, since her passing, the part about the Others having rendered the original Pav homeworld unlivable had been, um… deemphasized. The prevailing attitude now seemed to be that WE had done it, and lied about it for no reason that anyone could come up with. “My name is Da’azmahis” he said, gesturing to a chair. “I represent all Pav. Do you represent the humans?” “I'm Jacques Johansson I represent the humans for purposes of this transaction.” It was a Pav formality of sorts - everyone identified themselves and their purpose, and it lowered the tension a bit as we settled into the routine. Azmah pushed some papers forward. “We have available the agreed 2 tonnages of elements, according to the schedule. This represents payment in full for the two human-owned autofactories in our system. Do you concur?” I glanced over the papers. Everything seemed to be in order. We’d offered to just give the auto factories to the Pav, but they’d refused. I couldn’t be sure if it was an aversion to what could be seen as charity or if they didn't want to be in our debt, even morally. I suspected the latter. “I concur. The Bellerophon will be here within the year, they will collect the ingots and deliver the auto factories to you from orbit.” We stared at each other across the desk. There would be no pleasantries exchanged today. Then Azmah finally spoke. “I will admit, this agreement is inconsistent with the prevailing conspiracy theory about the Bobs. It would have made more sense for you to keep us planet-bound and ignorant.” “Hopefully this will help to ease the tension between our peoples” I replied. “A little, I think.” Azmah gave me a tight-lipped smile equivalent. “I have read the diaries of Hazjiar. She did not feel that you were the enemy, but it is a minority viewpoint these days.” I sighed and examined my hands for a moment. “Azmah, you'll be able to build interstellar vessels with the autofactories. We've given you the construction programs as part of the deal, it's just…” I looked up at him. “You’ll be going out into a galactic neighborhood that's full of humans and getting more so. Too much uncontrolled antagonism could be counterproductive, you know?” He stared back at me for a moment. “I understand. We are outnumbered and outgunned, if it comes to that. We are not, ah…” Azmah gazed upward for a moment, then smiled. “… Klingons. Is that the right human term? We understand discretion.” I smiled back, just as
