by Laura Kaighn
“You have my best wishes, Ambassador,” Coty said nodding. “I’ll keep you informed of our progress to Orthop.” He turned to his navigator. “Time of arrival, Commander?”
Dorinda flinched at the formalness. Under normal operations, Coty would have addressed the Vesar by his cultural title, what most of the humans aboard considered the man’s name. Now it was painfully clear of the title’s shortcoming. The ambassador was now ‘Vesarius’. In his presence her friend was merely Cmdr. Tankawankanyi.
The Pompeii’s first officer spun in his seat after consulting his navigational controls. “At present speed and trajectory, the Orthop homeworld is three standard hours, forty-seven minutes away.”
“Very good, then, Captain,” Tolianksalya cut in with a nod. “I will see you again in three hours. We will discuss the details of the mission then, so they may be fresh in our minds.” With that the ambassador spun on his heels, his cape fluttering a hearty farewell before following him into the lift.
After a moment’s silence, Coty leaned forward eyes still glued to the starry viewport. “Comments, people?” he asked his bridge crew, chin in fist. Rising from her chair, Dorinda drifted to Coty’s side.
“Yes, Sir,” Moxland Darby offered from the communication station just behind Coty’s left shoulder. “I’ve been monitoring the Orthops’ transmissions since they stopped talking to us. It seems they’re preparing a welcoming committee planetside. No specifics yet.”
With a raised brow, Coty spun his chair to consider Moxland’s expectant face. “Keep me updated on that, Lieutenant. If there are any details, we all need to know. Anyone else?”
“Yes, Sir,” Vesarius snapped spinning his chair to face his captain. Something in his stiff-backed stance made the hair at Dorinda’s nape bristle. He avoided her emerald gaze, instead focusing on Coty’s jasper curiosity. “I am to stay as well, Captain. My orders specify that I remain on Orthop as part of the delegation.”
Dorinda fought the urge to gasp. He was staying? Down there? With those monsters? Coty broke her chain of horrible thoughts.
“Do your orders specify how long? The ambassador may stay a year or more,” Coty asserted.
No, not a year, Dorinda pleaded inwardly. What about the Vwafar´ee, the bonding? They all had to be together.
With a curl of chin Vesarius admitted, “The length of stay was never specified. Only that I am to follow the ambassador’s orders.” He must have been concerned by her panicked, wide-eyed expression, for Vesarius quickly twisted back to his controls to avoid echoing Dorinda’s distress before the bridge crew. “I must consult with Tolianksalya first.”
“You do that, Commander,” Coty agreed grimly. “I need you here. You’re only supposed to initiate the talks, as liaison. Diplomacy is Tolianksalya’s job. Yours is navigating this ship.”
“Yes, Sir,” Vesarius murmured again avoiding Dorinda’s concern. Instead, he flashed her only a second of shared agony. It seemed separation from her was not his choice nor his want either. Vesarius did still love her, and he wanted to remain onboard. Dorinda found some solace in that quickly creased brow. His plans for a transfer seemed dissolved. “With your permission, Sir, I care to do that now.”
“Of course, my friend,” Coty replied. “There may not be time later.”
“Can I come with you?” Dorinda blurted as Vesarius stood. She flinched at her own impulsiveness. “Commander. With your permission,” she restated with a calming breath. “I request my accompaniment to the planet. I ... I’m your diplomatic aide, remember?” Inwardly Dorinda cringed. She had just put Vesarius in an awkward position. The Vesar, at one time, had asked for her assistance. But now he was under official orders. Those orders might not allow him the liberty of an aide. Dorinda held her breath.
“Request ... accepted.” Vesarius hesitated. “For the present. I must also consult the ambassador about our complement. I will pass along your recommendation.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Dorinda heard herself say as he nodded to his captain and entered the lift alone.
Fear gripped her knees. She wanted to follow him into the lift, down to the ambassador, to the planet, to the ends of the galaxy. She didn’t want to lose him again. They must be together. Yet, the thought of meeting an Orthop face-to-face caused her legs to weaken. Dorinda stumbled into a spare seat near Moxland’s station. She didn’t even notice Coty’s concerned jasper stare.
* * *
Once the lift doors shut him in, Vesarius exhaled, allowing his frown to melt his face. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back and again asked his creator for guidance. He had been alone most of his life, an outcast for nearly a third. He could not ask Brahmanii Sule to right his wrongs, but the Vesar did ask for Her direction. Dorinda was all that he could have hoped for. Such trust, courage, and compassion.
Vesarius asked Brahmanii to protect her, for he would rather hand over his soul for damnation than have Dorinda die by Orthop claw. “I need her,” he murmured to the ceiling as the lift doors opened onto level five. He must not lose her, or he was lost. With a grunt of composure, the warrior marched to the observation lounge to plead Dorinda’s case.
“You require an aide?” Tolianksalya thundered. The ambassador’s hands clenched his hips beneath the colorful robe. “Why?”
“She is my adviser, Vesarius,” the Pompeii’s first officer countered. “I am not trained in diplomacy as you are. She has been instructing me since we left Earth.”
“Who is this woman, Commander?”
“A ... a human. A teacher.” Vesarius wavered under the older man’s stern scrutiny. “Her name is Dorinda Jade. She is also the ship’s search and rescue officer, my teammate on rescue missions.”
“You have worked together long?”
“No, Ambassador,” Vesarius had to admit. “Only as long as we have been without our former SAR officer. Three months.”
“You trust her judgment over your own.” Tolianksalya’s piercing gaze still waxed critical. “She has helped you prepare for this mission?”
“I trust Ms. Jade with my life, Ambassador. Her reasoning is sound when mine falters,” the younger Vesar conceded. “I request her presence only as my adviser. She is well equipped to care for herself. Jade is self-reliant.”
Tolianksalya was shaking his head. “To think that you are dependent on a human to help you reason. You have served too long under them. Is your Fury that stifled?”
“No, Vesarius,” Tankawankanyi countered. He held his breath against a more violent retort. “I need assistance in diplomacy only. If you desire to question Jade, she can make herself available to you.”
“Yes, I would require it. Strange that you would wait until now to request the presence of an aide.”
Hesitating on a reply, Vesarius thought of the turmoil he had experienced these past two weeks since the Vesar Council’s decision had returned demanding Vwafar´ee. Dorinda had said they must be together to survive. “I had planned to be prepared enough not to need one, Ambassador. I ... now require her only for advice. Jade will not be a distraction.”
“I would think not, Commander,” Tolianksalya countered. After moment of charged silence, the ambassador offered, “Have this adviser come to me immediately. I will speak to her in private.”
With a curt salute, Vesarius nodded his acknowledgement and strode from the lounge to hail the bridge. Dorinda appeared in the corridor, exiting from the lift, a few minutes later. Her ivory countenance was taut with apprehension. Vesarius forced a smile. “Remember what I have taught you of the warrior codes. He is a lion, Green Eyes. Treat him as such.”
“All right.” Dorinda walked into the observation lounge. The doors slid closed, locking her in the cage with four great beasts. Vesarius frowned and leaned against the wall to await the outcome of this confrontation. The Vesar would trust the instincts of this most extraordinary woman. Dorinda had yet to disappoint him.
* * *
Dorinda Jade hesitated at the door only long enough for her eyes
to adjust to the darker interior of the room. First contact. This was her first contact with another Vesar.
The ambassador’s three aides stood apart from their superior, arms crossed and in quiet conversation. Their coal eyes were frequently glancing her way, however. The one dressed in cobalt slid his gaze along her slighter frame with added scrutiny. Dorinda’s hackles bristled at his menacing glare. He was sizing her up for strength and fear, not lunch, she had to remind herself. She must remain like stone. Inwardly her nerves trembled.
“You. I have seen you before. On the bridge,” the ambassador said lowly. “Come.”
Striding forward, Dorinda stopped just steps from the towering Vesar and crisply saluted him. “Greetings and honors to you, Vesarius,” she said holding her stance and chin steady. This man was mere inches short of being a full foot taller than she. Dorinda had never considered herself short. At five-nine, she had been taller than many of her seventh grade students. Now she felt utterly insignificant. She must not show it. Lowering her fist from her shoulder blade, she introduced herself. “I’m Dorinda Jade from Adirondack, Earth.”
“Adirondack? It is a city or a region?” the ambassador inquired with a tilt of his silver-streaked, raven head.
“A region, Ambassador,” Dorinda explained. “It is a wilderness in North America, in many ways still pristine and rugged. The winters are severe at times, the lake water frigid.”
The ambassador’s brows rose. A sign of respect? “You are accustomed to the cold then?”
“I was born of warmer weather,” Dorinda countered trying her best to imitate the Vesar’s more formal vernacular. “But my heart,” she said tapping her chest, “lives in the Adirondack wilderness. It’s where my totem dwells.”
Again the severe brow. “You have a totem spirit? You are not Vesar, but you speak as one, act as one. Were you raised in the company of my people, Jade?”
A slight smile escaped her lips. Reality was quite the opposite. “No, Ambassador, but I’ve sought to understand you, your customs, and your culture. Vesarius has helped.”
“To Cmdr. Tankawankanyi you refer.” Tolianksalya scowled down at her. “That title has no baring when used in his reference. He is no longer of the warrior creed. Refrain from its use, immediately.” He growled with controlled anger, “It is an insult.” His aides echoed the sentiment, and Dorinda saw fists at the ends of their mahogany arms.
“Forgive me, Ambassador,” Dorinda recovered with a stiff bow. “I won’t speak it again.” If Vesarius wasn’t Vesarius, then neither was the ambassador or his men. “My totem,” she began to change the subject, “is the osprey, a fish hawk, dweller of air and water.”
“Strength and vision,” Tolianksalya agreed with a nod. “A powerful totem for a woman. Worthy of a warrior, Jade.” Then the ambassador’s mouth titled downward again. “How did you come to have such a totem? Earth customs do not promote such beliefs.”
“There are Earth cultures which do, Ambassador,” Dorinda explained. “American Indians, the Celts, and many non-European cultures historically linked their souls to the land and its creatures. They sought the wisdom and balance they saw there.”
“Wisdom words!” Tolianksalya blurted in his rumbling accent. “Yours is a warrior spirit, Jade.” Then he did something totally unexpected. Squaring his shoulders, the ambassador saluted her, a broad smile upon his dark lips. “Welcome to the mission, Dorinda Jade. May you pass the wisdom of your ancestors to the Orthops.”
“Thank you,” Dorinda answered with controlled relief. It had been easier than she’d expected.
“Please sit with us as we discuss our tactics,” Tolianksalya offered holding out his arm for her to pass him to the table beyond. “A fresh perspective is always welcome, provided it agrees with ours.” With a nod, Dorinda moved to a proffered seat as the other three delegates sidled into theirs.
“This is Saliaktayla,” the ambassador introduced waving a mahogany hand toward the Vesar in cobalt who had eyed her so critically. “He is my security, a champion fighter more agile than these old bones.” Tolianksalya slapped his shoulder in emphasis. Next he waved to the dark, brooding man in magenta leather. “Domenazreli, my recorder. It is his responsibility to capture my wisdom for posterity.” Lastly Tolianksalya popped the shoulder of the man seated beside him, in the dandelion orange tunic. “And this is my disciple, Vrelomakanyo. His is the most difficult task, to convert my genius to his own.”
Dorinda looked at the four alternately. They were waiting for something from her, a reaction. “Well,” she started tentatively. “I see the Vesar reputation for arrogance stands on solid sand.”
After a split second of charged silence there was a quartet of hearty bellows as Tolianksalya and his men grinned at her. “Very good, Jade. You have learned much of Vesar,” the ambassador snorted. “Vesar sand is indeed as solid as arrogance in the Vesar soul. One stumble and you are buried in it.” Again the four shared a raucous laugh.
“Ambassador,” Dorinda continued when they had settled. “Cmdr. Tankawankanyi is still waiting in the corridor. May he return to the table for your discussion? There are points he wishes to make.”
With a jerk of his fist toward the door, Tolianksalya blurted, “Ah, he can grow roots out there.” Was this another test? Dorinda felt her face flash hot. Surely they could see her frustration.
Dorinda calmed her blood by countering the implied insult. “Ambassador, the commander is under orders, as you are. Would you jeopardize the mission by denying him information which may save both the Alliance and the various honors of those seated here?”
“An insult,” Saliaktayla spouted rising from his chair. “She is no warrior, not Vesar. She is a weakling Khumahn.” The man’s eyes were smoldering coal. Dorinda flinched.
But the ambassador was smiling slightly. “Lion tamer,” he said. When Dorinda’s brows rose, he chuckled. “You are the animal tamer in the lion’s den. As we test your tenacity, you test our temper. Next you will slap my security officer with a whip for his outburst, no doubt.”
“I might,” she asserted feeling her heart bounce back into her chest, “if he doesn’t quiet his growling.”
“Oh, very good,” Tolianksalya chuckled, waving Saliaktayla back to his seat. The security officer sneered menacingly but complied. Dorinda would not meet his steamy glare. “Your spirit is quick as well as strong,” the ambassador continued. When his smile fell he added without humor, “You may allow the commander entrance.”
Pushing herself to her feet, Dorinda nodded her excuses and padded to the door. Vesarius’ concerned eyes widened to satisfaction when he saw her smile and wave him inside. “I think he likes me,” she whispered to him.
“On the contrary, Jade,” the ambassador countered from the table, “I respect your attempt to understand us. Not many humans or Tloni take up the challenge. It is admirable.”
“Thank you, Ambassador,” Dorinda acknowledged again with a slight bow. Returning to the table, she sat to the ambassador’s left, Vesarius to hers. “Now, please, gentlemen. If you’d continue, I’m eager to learn of Vesar diplomatic strategies.”
“Very well. You will be my pupil,” Tolianksalya said and began discussing their plans for Orthop. Knowing the importance of every detail, Dorinda did her best to file the information using all the study skills she had helped to nurture in her middle school students.
After two hours of debate on the finest of points, however, Dorinda had to excuse herself, citing a tension headache. As she left them, she shook clear her throbbing brain.
These were diplomats? They prattled over which words to use! Yet their subtlety had all the grace of charging rhinoceroses. It was obvious diplomacy was not an inherent Vesar gift. Their Fury interrupted their very thought processes. For Tolianksalya, it was hard work keeping his anger concealed, his reasoning clear. No wonder Vesarius had doubts. Without any formal training, her Vesar friend was truly handicapped.
Doubting whether the peace talks would ever begin peacefull
y, Dorinda retreated to the gym for some Tai Chi. It calmed her mind while easing the kinks in her nerves. As she worked, Dorinda considered Vesarius’ challenges. No wonder he looked exhausted and haggard. What if he had to break up a disagreement where the ambassador was clearly in the wrong? Vesarius had said Tolianksalya was the sole possessor of his redemption. One mistake and Vwafar´ee would be denied. Worse. The ambassador could have his former decision repealed, have Vesarius executed after all, nearly a decade in arrears.
Sighing at the injustice, Dorinda thought of an experiment. What if she didn’t have to be sitting down, meditating, to have a vision? Michael had warned: there may be times in the field when she’d not have a chance to even close her eyes to contact her gift.
Gift. It still didn’t seem like a talent. It was more of an ultimate challenge, a chore. As she smoothly flowed through the various stances of the Tai Chi Chuan, Dorinda closed her eyes and saw the serene blackness there. It was a safe place, apart from the real threat of Orthop invasion and restrictive Vesar traditions. Here was where a greater truth lay, in the blackness behind one’s eyes.
Brilliance assaulted her inner vision. Amid a blast of sand, an assembly of dark-skinned, leather-clad backs stood like mahogany carvings. All had raven hair, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, all taller than she. Tiptoeing, Dorinda tried to peek past them. Not until the creature approached closely, towering above even the ambassador’s head, did she realize her locale.
The Orthop’s mandibles clapped twice, and its insect entourage surrounded them. Dorinda was an ant underfoot. The cream-colored beasts escorted the diplomatic party to an open plaza. Someone grasped her hand. Turning her head, she recognized Coty’s worried face. His dark jasper eyes squinted in the bright Orthop sunlight. Dorinda squeezed her reassurance, though her heart was racing. The Orthops halted, drew apart, and faced the delegation in an impassable ring of carapace and claw. A grinding, clinking din assaulted her ears.
Then someone shoved her to the ground. Pushing herself up with her hands, Dorinda raised her eyes. An Orthop hooked her arm and yanked her back to her feet. It propelled her backward with a heavy foreclaw. Stumbling under the creature’s rough treatment, Dorinda glanced to the rest of the Alliance delegation. “No!”
