He was a couple of inches shorter than me, with what looked like, under his tropical suits, a well-toned body. He was good company, intelligent and wi...ty, and we hit it off. So I wasn’t surprised one Thursday evening, as I was packing my briefcase to leave for the day, when he invited me to his home for dinner the following evening. ‘I’ve been telling my wife about you, and she insisted I invite you,’ he said. ‘Don’t mention it to your colleagues; we don’t invite everyone, so I don’t want any. She sat in a seat that was modest compared to his jewel encrusted throne. It was still luxurious to an extreme degree, with orichalc and rubies weaving a brilliant bejeweled tapestry around its edges. Nothing in the room was as dominant as the Sultana. She was of average height for women of the Sultanate. She was a sturdy specimen of womanhood, and was built like the Venus de Milo. She had gorgeously defined bosom that many a man lusted after, but would be put to sword for expressing any lust.. We will give you one last opportunity to surrender, if you do so you have my word that nobody will be harmed. If you continue to revolt we will subdue any resistance with extreme prejudice.”“Your threats of violence are hollow, Captain.” The Syndicate spokesman sneered. “The Syndicate possesses a number of surface to air planetary defense weapons that will bring down any dropships you attempt to land, if you try to take the colony by force you’ll be throwing away the lives of your men. Here is. Naturally, I’d like a week off for a honeymoon when that occurs.”“Walt has already informed me of your impending marriage, Joel,” Emil said. “I don’t see it as a problem at all. I have a feeling that we’ll work well together. By the way, what type of work is your fiancée looking for?”“She’s a recent graduate from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. She has a master’s degree in computer science.”“Is this the young lady who worked with you on that college scheduling program you developed?” Carl.