Finally!
Roran didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until he had to let it out to speak. “Thank you, Chancellor, but I have resigned my commission. I will be returning to my homeworld of Farseek with my bond-mate.”
“As you wish. You are dismissed, Commander, and we wish you well as you embark on your new life.”
Roran stood and nodded his head in salute to the High Council, then he went to Becca and took her hand. Becca stood, and they walked out of the senate floor together. No guards were waiting for them outside, so Roran asked an attendant to signal for transportation.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I promised you a state-of-the-art language implant,” he said to Becca. “So, we are going to get one before we leave Halor. Then I’m going to show you around the capital city.”
“How long are we planning to stay here?” Becca asked.
“Just a few spans. Don’t worry. We’ll be leaving shortly after getting back from our little excursion,” Roran assured her. “I have a surprise for you after we finish at the implant clinic.”
“What kind of surprise? Can you give me a hint?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay.” She sighed and gave him a pouty look as they climbed into the auto-taxi.
Roran slid in on the seat beside her, put his arm around her shoulders, and kissed her cheek. “We’re free, me’ara,” he murmured into her ear. “That part of my life is over.”
“I’m so glad. Living a spy movie is way too stressful. I especially didn’t like those guys shooting at us.”
“I wasn’t too fond of that either.”
They bantered playfully for the mini spans it took for them to get to the implant clinic.
The process for Becca to get her language implant took slightly less than a third of a span. She had been apprehensive about the procedure until they reached the clinic where it was explained in detail to her. She had decided against getting the implant for her grieving process.
The tech took a swab from the inside of her cheek. He took the cells from that swab and used a machine to write the common language onto her DNA. Those cells were retrieved in a syringe and squirted up Becca’s nose. Becca giggled.
Afterward, Roran took her to a garden park filled with fragrant flowers and bushes that smelled wonderful. Small animals that reminded Becca of squirrels scampered back and forth over a lawn of thick green moss. Colorful birds chirped from high branches above while others flew between trees and bushes.
“Is this my surprise?”
“Not quite. I just wanted to take you someplace beautiful after all that we’ve been through… What I put you through…” Roran said as they strolled along a stone path holding hands.
“Some of it was tough, but I knew it was something you had to do. The last few months have been like something out of a Bond movie.”
He gave her a quizzical look.
“A fictional spy story. My brothers and I saw every one of them,” she said with an ironic chuckle. “Living it is way scarier than watching it in a dark theater and eating popcorn.”
Then she fell silent with a pensive look on her face that Roran had come to know when she thought and talked about her past. It was hard for her, thinking about people she loved and the things they did together, knowing it would never be again.
Roran stopped them and turned to her, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace. “I know, me’ara. I feel the same way when I think of Haemeg and my family. I may never know if my parents and siblings are still alive.”
Becca pressed her cheek against his upper chest and hugged him back. “Are you still angry with Haemeg?”
“Some, I think. With all his experience, he should have known what he did was not just a simple job with a big payoff. He set off a horrific chain of events that can never be undone.”
“And he paid with a terrible death. He did try to atone for his mistake by leaving you the information you needed to solve his murder and discover who orchestrated the destruction of Farseek.”
“Rhazien Fedek is more to blame than Haemeg. There was always something about him, I didn’t trust… He was supposed to be a double agent for our side. Even I didn’t know that he wasn’t until the day I killed him. Fedek used Haemeg because he was resigning. I’m sure the bonus looked pretty good to him for starting a new life with Kasha.”
“Now, we are starting a new life.”
“It won’t be as exciting.” Roran slowly released her and stepped back, retaking her hand. Becca fell into step beside him, and they started walking again. “Farming on Farseek is almost completely automated, and so are the homes.”
“After what we’ve been through, it sounds pretty nice.”
“It’s not going to be like I remember either. So much has been destroyed. But reports say most of the wreckage has been cleared.”
“I saw on one report that more people are being returned every couple of quad spans.”
“Several of my old friends from Farseek Brigade have returned to settle with their mates. Some of their mates are from Earth.”
“Yes, I remember you said your friend Kragyn had a mate from Earth. How?”
“They were taken like you were, but they weren’t put in stasis before they were distributed as slaves.”
“I definitely want to meet them. Even from different times, I imagine we will have some things in common.”
“I also learned something else. There is no direct contact with Earth. The United Galactic Alliance of Worlds made contact with them even though they don’t have interstellar capabilities,” Roran stated. “Trying to keep the slavers from abducting Earthers covertly was no longer working.”
“Yes, you told me that the Alliance had Earth under their protection. I don’t even know if any of my family and friends are still alive,” she said and sighed.”
“We will find out.”
“What about Deeto? Do you think he will ever go back to Farseek?”
“I don’t know. He decided to stay at Bekket Station. It’s going to be a transition site for the slaves rescued from the Sargus Empire. He has no one on Farseek. He hopes one day his solmatu will step off one of the ships that dock there.”
“I hope she does. Deeto is basically a good guy.”
“I’m glad he doesn’t always follow orders.” Becca nodded at his reply.
They walked along the path for a time in comfortable silence. Then Becca asked, “Is it like this where we are going to live on Farseek?”
“Even better,” Roran assured her. “I have made an offer on some oceanfront farmland. Actually, only the house is near the beach. The crop fields are all behind it.”
“When were you going to tell me this?”
“This is your surprise. It’s been in the works since before I met you. I just found out.”
“What made you pick oceanfront?”
“I was raised near the ocean. Because there had been a house there, one was rebuilt there.”
“If you don’t want to be by the ocean because you were abducted from the beach, we can withdraw the offer and find something else,” he offered.”
Becca shrugged. “I don’t remember the abduction. I remember sitting down in the beach chair, watching the waves roll in, and the scent of the ocean air. I was happy to be there. Then I fell asleep reading.”
Roran glanced at his tablet. “Time for us to go. There are just way too many people here.”
“How long to get to Farseek?” Becca asked as they turned onto the path to the exit of the park.
“About two quad spans. It’s way out in the Consortium annex.”
“Is that like the boonies?”
“It’s still considered a frontier colony.”
“Yep, it sure sounds like the boonies. Sounds like my kind of place.”
The trip to Farseek was almost an anticlimax to their recent adventures. Becca’s language implant was assimilated within a few rotations. She suddenly realized she could read all the
labels on the food trays and the other foodstuffs.
They made one stop along the way for Roran to buy a flyer, which was their nickname for the all-terrain flying vehicle. Farseek only had roads within the towns and villages, and all cars had to be imported because they weren’t manufactured on Farseek.
Roran had returned most of the tech he’d carried as part of his cover, paying the Consortium for what he could use on Farseek. That freed up the space they needed to transport the flyer in the cargo hold.
Before they finally reached the Farseek system, Roran got clearance to land his ship at their home. Even though he didn’t plan on space travel after they settled on their new homestead, they’d needed the spaceship to get them to Farseek. Rather than paying to store it at the starport, they chose to keep it on their own land.
However, when it came time to land there, Roran was startled to see dozens of flyers lining the beach in front of their new home. After their experience on Halor, he and Becca were just a little concerned about what kind of reception might be waiting for them.
A crowd of people was waiting at a safe distance from the landing coordinates he had registered with Farseek Space Security.
“I’m not sure I want to go out there,” Roran said as he shut down the engines. “I don’t know what’s going on…why are they here. There must be at least a hundred people out there.”
“Well, you told them when and where you were going to land,” Becca said. “Maybe they came to welcome you home.”
“Oh, goddess! That’s almost worse,” he growled. “I hate crowds.”
“Aren’t they, your people?”
“Probably. Maybe they will go away if we just stay here long enough.”
“It doesn’t look like a lynch mob. There are even a few kids,” Becca said. “I don’t think anyone will shoot at us.”
Roran sat in the copilot seat, looking out the view screen at the people waiting outside. They were just far enough away that he couldn’t recognize any faces.
“We may as well go out there and get through it.” Becca had come to stand beside him and offered her hand. “I’ll be right beside you.”
Roran sighed in resignation and stood, took her hand, and nodded. They exited the ship through the designated personnel hatch, walking down the ramp to ground level.
As soon as they appeared in the doorway, some of the people started clapping while others chanted “Roran, Roran, Roran.”
“Goddess, it’s even worse than I expected,” he grumbled as they stepped on to the mossy green lawn. Roran resigned himself to his fate and moved toward the group to get a better look at the people there.
They quieted at his approach. Some of the people in the middle of the front line stepped forward and to the side, then five people came out that opening. First came his sister, then his brothers and then his parents. His mother ran to hug him.
Roran hugged her with one arm while holding Becca’s hand like a lifeline. He just closed his eyes, overwhelmed with all the emotions hitting him. He had almost made peace with never knowing what happened to his family. Now they were all here, alive and apparently well.
He pulled Becca close as his family converged around him. He didn’t want her pushed aside; he needed her close. For a while, it seemed like everyone was crying, mostly happy tears as he and Becca became ensconced in a group hug.
Finally, they backed off and gave Becca and him room to breathe.
“We are so proud of you, Roran. All of these people came out today to welcome you home. Thanks to you, Guryon will pay for what he did to our world and our people,” his mother said. “To them, you are a hero.”
“I’m no hero. I just wanted to find out who killed Haemeg and why,” Roran told her. “Before anything else, I want to introduce you to my mate, Becca. We are solmatu.”
“Becca, these people are my family. This is my mother, Ayah, my sister Mahra, my father Gavron, brother Kivo and another brother Galin.”
Becca repeated the names as Roran introduced each one and acknowledged each with a nod and a smile. His mother came and took her hands, squeezing them gently. “Welcome, daughter. I can see in the way you look at my son, how much you love him.”
“I do love him,” Becca replied.
“When did you all get back to Farseek,” Roran asked.
“Four quad spans ago. We came back on the Kurellis from Tegliar Station.”
Roran grimaced. “Goddess, I was there several times, but I barely left the docking bay.”
“Don’t blame yourself, my son. It took several combat teams to get us all out.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“It is ironic that after what Guryon set in motion, that his own daughter was kidnapped by slavers, and our warriors saved her and returned her to him,” said Ayah. “The reward he paid helped finance our rescue.”
“Well, he will be paying for the rest of his life now,” said Roran. “He is a monster. He has been stripped of his wealth and will spend the rest of his life in a small cell.”
“Death would be too merciful for what he had done,” said Gavron.
Roran nodded, looking past his father. The others disbursed while his family welcomed him. “Who are all these people?”
“Mostly Farseek warriors and their mates,” said Gavron. “You trained and served with many of them.”
“It’s been all over the news; what you did,” said Ayah. “When your friend Argen heard you were coming, he told everyone, and they told the rest.”
“The females from Earth suggested we should all bring food and drink and give you a welcome home celebration,” said Ayah. “They are all eager to meet your mate.”
“Even Commander General Maktu is here. His mate Harper is from Earth, too,” Gavron added.
“I guess we will unload the ship and get settled in later,” Roran said. “It will be good to see my old friends again.”
“We are starting warrior training as soon as it is organized,” said his first younger brother Galin. Roran was first born, Mahri second, and Kivo was the youngest.”
“But Farseek Brigade is no longer serving the Consortium in conflicts,” said Gavron.
“Yeah, we will probably never see any kind of action. Except for the retrieval missions under the Consortium Defense Force, we will be relegated to defending our star system.” Kivo sounded disappointed.
“The Brigade will be running a warrior training program for the Consortium Defense Force. We could join them if we want to get out of this star system,” Galin said. “They will need more warriors to police the Sargus Annex.”
“You will have plenty of time to talk about it later. All of these people are here to see Roran,” Ayah interrupted. “Becca, would you like me to introduce you to the females from Earth?”
“I would love it,” she said with a bright smile. She looked to Roran, not for permission, but to be sure he felt comfortable with her leaving him to fend for himself among so many people. In the quad spans they’d been together, they rarely mingled with more than a few people at a time. He had seemed a little stressed by the small crowd waiting for them when they landed.
Roran gave her a smile and a slight nod, indicating he could handle it. He was among family and friends. Haemeg that been their friend, too.
Ayah and Mahri each linked an arm with Becca and strolled across the mossy green lawn to a group of women who broke off from the men. As they got closer, she could see that long tables and benches had been set up behind the people.
It reminded Becca of the family reunion picnics her parents took them to as kids. One of the long tables was laden with food and drinks. As they got closer to the women, Becca could see the difference between the Earth women and the Farseek women from Roran’s family. It was mainly their orange skin and neon hair colors. One member of the group was a different species, with feline eyes and pale blue hair.
“Hello ladies, I’m glad you could all come,” Ayah said. “May I present my new daughter, Becca Clayton, from Earth. I’m sorry I
don’t know all your names.”
“That’s all right, Ayah, too many names all at once. Maybe we should have thought to make name tags,” a tall blond woman quipped. “We can introduce ourselves, “Hi Becca, I am Harper Avery Maktu.” She stepped closer and offered Becca her hand. Becca took it firmly and shook it.
Each of the other six women stepped up and did the same: Tyema Resnar, Scarlet Andrews, Nora Reed, Zoey Addison, Reanne Winter, and Cayla Fox.
“Hi, Becca. Tyema Resnar Nezgatu. I am not from Earth, but I spent a couple years there undercover. I am a Narovian feline, but I was abducted from Earth. We have a database of people from Earth looking for loved ones who seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth. Maybe I can find someone for you.”
“I doubt that’s likely,” Becca sighed. “I was abducted about thirty star-spans ago, forty-one Earth years. They kept me in stasis until a few days before Roran found me.”
“Do you remember what year Earth time you were taken?”
“1984.”
“Oh, my god! 1984?”
“Yes, I know. It is a bit ironic,” Becca chuckled. “So, I’m a lot older than I look.”
“There could still be something,” said Tyema. She took out her com-tablet and spoke a few commands. “I’ll put you in the database, and we’ll see what comes up.”
Becca nodded. “Thanks for trying.”
“You never know,” Harper said. “Some of us never expected to hear from Earth again, but Tyema’s project put us in touch with our families.”
“Now that Earth is allied with the Alliance, we could even go back to Earth if we wanted,” said Zoey Addison. “But we don’t want to.”
“We can have a good life here,” said Reanne. “I mean, just look at this place. No overpopulation, no war, and there is green everywhere. It’s a great place to raise our kids when we have them.”
“And our guys are so hot,” said Scarlet. “But they barely look at other women, at least not like potential sex partners.”
Roran Page 12
