Free SWEET HOME ALLE BAMMA (SOLBIDYUM WARS SAGA) by Dale Musser

Senator Tonclin.  “I do hope that will be alright.”
    “Certainly, Senator,” I said while smiling at Chanina, who now was sweating brown droplets like drops of dark tea – something that is apparently normal for Nibarians when they’re nervous, but which I had not previously observed.
    After our greeting, the senator and his daughter moved on to Admiral Regeny and two of his senior officers, and lastly to Piesew Mecarta, the ships majordomo, who would oversee all of the guest services during their stay.  After the greetings were completed, Piesew showed the senator and his daughter to their suite ; and though none of us were aware in advance that Senator Tonclin was bringing his daughter, by the time Piesew showed them to their accommodations, a room within was already prepared specifically for Chanina.  On hearing of her arrival, Piesew immediately communicated to his staff to make the additional arrangements.  As the guests passed through the door to enter the ship from the hangar, a scanner would recorded their measurements and feed the information into the closet replicator so that an appropriate clothing selections would be available in their closets when they arrived.
    It was approximately two hours later that we all met again in one of the dining rooms on the upper level.  Even though the ship belonged to me, it was so large that I had not seen even half of it by this time.  With each day I found myself more impressed with Galetils as a sophisticate and a visionary.  Even though my own wealth was many times beyond what his was, his fine taste and his eye for detail in every design were admirable.
    The room where we chose to dine was truly exquisite.  One waist-high wall framed the circular room that measured approximately 18 meters in diameter.  On top of this wall sat a convex bubble dome window of approximately eight meters at its highest point.  At both ends of the room, lining up with the length of the ship were gently sloping ramps that descended back down into the lower decks of the ship.  Giant fern-like potted palms that emitted a fragrance similar to Earth’s balsam and pine were arranged around the perimeter of the room and along the rampways.  Several easy chairs were arranged in intimate groupings around the room and turned to face outward so onlookers could peer through the domed window into space.  The room itself was lit with down-lighting from fixtures located in coped recesses around the low wall of the room.  In the middle of the room was the long oval dining table arranged with six chairs.  A narrow, decorative pole extended upward about three meters from the center of the table, which then fountained outward into six gently curving arms, each of which held on its end a beautifully crafted directional light that illuminated each table setting beneath it with a subtle glow.
    Piesew was present when everyone arrived.  He greeted each guest individually and escorted them to the table.  I was seated on one end of the oval and Kala on the other end.  Next to me on my right was Admiral Regeny and on my Left Senator Tonclin.  Next to the admiral was Captain Stonbersa and beside the senator sat Chanina, who was now wearing a gown of a dignitary cut.  I found it hard to keep from staring at her, because the elegant but simple dress was so incongruous with her textured skin.  Captain Stonbersa had given instructions to Kerabac to slowly rotate the ship so that the Nibarian planet below would slowly appear to move around the edge of the dome in such a manner that everyone would be able to see it periodically during the meal.  Chanina was in total awe and could not stop staring at the view, tugging frequently on her father’s arm so she could point out some feature on the planet that she recognized.
    While enjoying the first plate, an exquisite dish of small marinated creatures from one of the aquatic worlds in the Federation, Admiral Regeny broached the topic of our visit with the