by S. E. Weir
Correct. I am heartened to hear your acknowledgment. He nuzzled her leg in passing and must have felt her tiredness. Someone needs to sit on you so you can sleep. You need optimal mental function to process the Etheric.
“I am not having anyone sit on me.”
They walked onto the bridge as she replied, not noticing that it was occupied.
Todd turned from viewing screens of the space they flew through to give her a welcoming smile. “You need someone to sit on you?”
“Yes,” replied Sundancer at the same time as Phina said, “No,” with an indignant glare for the pink cat.
“Hmm. I’m unsure whether to be amused or disappointed.”
Phina turned to Todd in surprise. “What?”
He gave her a small smile. “I decided I should talk to you about this the first chance I could, and this is the first time we are alone.” He glanced down at Sundancer and shrugged. “Relatively, anyway.”
“All right.” She studied Todd as he stepped closer until they stood an arm’s length apart. Todd looked into her eyes so intently she got goosebumps as she wondered what he would say.
“Phina, I think you are amazing. I have been watching you since we had that first sparring session, and what I’ve seen has impressed me a lot. You are brave and determined, you help your friends even when it would be easier to do something different, and you are loyal to those you care about.”
He focused on Phina as she blinked and tried to decide what to say. Finally, she gave him a large smile and said, “Thank you.”
Todd frowned, then ventured, “Phina, I’m trying to tell you I care about you.”
Caring was good. Phina tried not to imitate a bobblehead as she nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand with an encouraging smile. “I care about you too, Todd.”
He searched her eyes but didn’t see something that he was looking for and closed his, looking disappointed.
Phina frowned and ran his words through her head. Was it possible he was trying to imply something more?
She spoke hesitantly, hoping he would understand. She realized she didn’t like seeing him disappointed. “If you are trying to say something in particular, could you just say it or show me plainly what you mean? I don’t always do well at hints or subtleties because I think of the different ways something could be intended to mean. I don’t like to assume something that may not be true.”
Todd looked up at her words, his eyes growing more intent as he listened. He cut off the rest of her sentence by stepping forward, putting his arms around her to hold her close, and giving her goosebumps and a whole flock of butterflies when he kissed her.
Looks like you found someone to sit on you. I’ll be in the room.
Shock held Phina still. She barely registered Sundancer’s words. She had just decided to respond when Todd pulled his head back and looked at her searchingly, making sure she was okay. She knew that for sure since her shields had begun to drop and she briefly caught his surface thoughts before she snapped them closed.
“Was that all right?”
She focused on Todd in time to see the fear that she might reject him in his eyes. Phina gave him a bright smile. “Well, I think I see what all the fuss is about kissing.”
He chuckled and slid his arms around her a little more. “Kissing is enjoyable—with the right person.”
Phina thought about that and nodded with a small smile. “I’m definitely open to more kissing.”
Todd flashed her a small grin. “With me, or will anyone do?”
She quickly shook her head. “Oh, no. You’re the only one I’ve had even a passing thought about.”
His eyes crinkled in concern. “Should I worry about being a passing thought?”
Phina shrugged, blushing. “Well, it was a passing thought every time I saw you. Sometimes several passing thoughts. Especially when we’re sparring. Then it’s a lot more passing thoughts.”
Todd grinned, then his gaze turned intent again. “So, just to be crystal clear, do you want to be in a relationship with me that includes kissing, handholding, and more when you’re ready?”
She raised an eyebrow. “According to Alina’s definitions, you are skipping past asking me on a date and going straight to asking me to be your girlfriend?”
He nodded. “If you want that.” He spoke quietly, adding, “If you want me.”
Phina’s eyes shimmered with tears that she held back at the tension and uncertainty she felt from him. She wished she could go back in time and punch his ex-wife in the face. She held onto him, hoping he understood she wasn’t rejecting him.
“I do, Todd.” She raised a hand and put it on his chest to stop him when she felt his muscles bunching to pull her closer. Phina didn’t want to hurt him, but she had to explain what she had concluded over the last week, holding his gaze and willing him to understand.
“I don’t know how long we could be in a relationship without me breaking your trust and reading your mind. My shields are better with Braeden and Sundancer’s help, and accidents don’t happen all the time. However, when we were kissing, my shields flickered, and I heard some of your surface thoughts. I don’t want to break your trust since it’s something I value, but I don’t think I will be able to help it sometimes.”
She waited anxiously for his response but didn’t expect the wide smile and warm glance he gave her.
“You’re confirming that I’m right to put my trust in you, Phina. I had wondered about that same thing and talked to ADAM and Bethany Anne about it before they left. They both confirmed that you are a trustworthy person, and there wasn’t a concern about you knowing any secrets I hold since you likely knew the ones pertaining to the Empire .” His expression was full of amusement and pride—in her. “I just ask that anything you discover that others have told me in confidence, you keep to yourself. I would also like you to talk to me if you have a question about anything you pick up, even if you think I won’t want to talk about it.”
“I can do that.” Phina smiled in relief and gave Todd a hug, which he returned.
After a few moments, he asked, “So, that’s a yes, right?”
She laughed and pulled back, nodding. “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend or whatever else you want to call it.”
He grinned and pulled her closer, lifting her as he bent his head down to kiss her again.
Phina kissed Todd back and decided that she really liked it. In private, anyway. She still wasn’t sure about kissing in public.
She wished she was a couple of inches taller so she wouldn’t need to stand on her tiptoes to reach. She thought about a possible solution and decided it had merit, requiring skill that she thankfully possessed. She held on tighter to Todd’s shoulders as she kissed him, then jumped up to wrap her legs around his waist and lock her ankles. Ah, much better.
Todd chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her back. “I can see that you’re going to drive me crazy, but I won’t be bored.” His eyes changed as he gave her a look she hoped he would only use on her since it made her want to kiss him again. “And, most importantly, you’ll have my back.”
Her heart was lighter than it had been in a long time as she folded her arms around his neck to bring them closer. She gave him a warm smile before kissing him. “Sounds about right to me.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nearby Star System, QBS Stark
The planet Xaldaq loomed in front of the ship as they approached. Phina stood on the bridge watching with Link, Todd, Will, Peter, and a handful of other Guardian and Marine leaders.
Todd stood next to Phina, close enough that there were raised eyebrows but not enough to be inappropriate for a professional setting. She wished they were holding hands.
I am distraught that your most pressing concern is holding hands with your new male friend.
I like his hands. They’re strong and nicely calloused.
Sundancer gave her the mental equivalent of a hacking hairball. This is not what I imagined our conversations wou
ld be like.
No, you had someone stuffy and boring in mind.
Dignified and eloquent.
As I said.
The Stark approached the atmosphere and descended near the main city where the compound of the religious leaders and assassins was located.
They had been traveling for almost a week now. During that week, Phina had experienced an amazing and treasured time in getting to know Todd better since they had spent much of their time together talking, sparring, and, yes, kissing.
I am leaving if you are merely going to be mentally blathering on about your male, superior to other humans though he may be.
You just like the way he gives scratches and ear rubs.
Of course.
“Approaching the city now,” Stark announced, with less snark than usual. Perhaps Link’s lower amount of travel during the year and a half she was in a coma had a sobering effect on the newer AI. She resolved to have a conversation with him soon. No one should feel lonely and alone.
As they approached the city, she saw a ship taking off in the distance. Phina frowned at the image as something twinged in the Etheric, but before she could reach out, she was distracted by Link’s words.
“Stark, keep us above the city for now, and help Phina if she needs it.”
Phina pulled out her tablet per the plan they had decided on over the last week and searched for a way to connect to the electronic systems below. Thankfully, her tablet had been upgraded to handle all the tasks she would be asking of it.
After a few moments of searching, she frowned. “Stark, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“Yes, their level of technology is surprisingly low.”
Link glanced at her in concern. “Will the plan still work?”
“Just a minute.” Phina searched for every bit of technology and access she could find. Finally, she had an answer.
“They have one main system in each city or town aside from the extra system in the religious leader’s facility in the main city. I can access the system network and broadcast from here, but there is no guarantee that the people will be in front of the screen at the time.”
“Hmm…” Link frowned in thought as he viewed the screen depicting the city, small dots showing the Qendrok coming out of their homes to see the foreign ship hovering above them.
Phina had continued to search the capabilities of the system in place and added her findings. “It appears that they typically send out a loud signal when there is a message from their religious leaders that calls them to the temple. I can initiate that protocol from here.”
The Guardians and Marines who were unknown to her gave her surprised and skeptical looks, although they remained quiet as they observed the small distance between her and Todd, who gave her a smile of happiness and pride.
Link merely grunted and flicked his fingers, which she took as approval. She set off the signal and monitored the system, fingers tapping quickly as she closed off access to anyone except her.
Phina glanced up at the screen to see the tiny dots moving toward the temple in the center of the city. She kept track of the system and saw someone attempting to access it from the religious leader’s compound. They were not successful, likely only having the rudimentary skills to keep the system functional.
Since that required little of her mental space or effort, she did a search for Xoruk and Jokin, hoping to find out what had happened to them. She accessed all available systems, including their ships. The result caused her to cry out, drawing everyone’s gaze. Phina shook her head as anger filled her, but set aside her findings for later.
On one side of her screen, she viewed the camera feed in the chamber where they must have typically recorded the message from their leader who would broadcast to the temples around the world. Chaos seemed to be the order of the day. She directed the audio feed into her implant and heard someone shouting in the distance through the buzz of conversation.
“I don’t care if the Empress herself is on one of those ships! We need to man our defenses. Get those sheep into their homes now, and fire on those ships!”
She recognized Qartan’s voice and turned to give Link a nod. She checked the screens and saw that the majority of the people were within the temples. She gave it another minute for the stragglers, then gave Link the signal, having warned everyone to stay silent when he spoke. She piped the audio into the speakers within the temples and the leadership chamber.
“Greetings to the Qendrok from the Etheric Empire. If you are in your capital city, you may have noticed our ships overhead. There is a reason our ships are here, and you have your leader Qartan to blame for it.”
Phina heard shouts in the chamber, and since those milling around had found seats or stood against the wall in the outside of the room, she could see Qartan gesturing to a Qendrok to do something to cut the feed off. Not on my watch. She doubled the security and gestured to Link, who nodded and continued in his gravest tone.
“We have commandeered your communications system to deliver a message from our Empress. Don’t bother trying to shut it off. We have ensured that our message will be heard by everyone so that all may see and hear what your leader has done in your name for his own sake.”
Phina ran the clips in sequence. First, the one in the reception hall where Qartan had called her an abomination and refused to work with her. Next, she inserted a clip she had found of him raging unreasonably about the abomination and another where he bragged that their goddess had promised to raise up a select few as gods. This moved into slices of their conversations with Xoruk, when he’d warned her about the goddess Qartan followed and that he ordered the assassination of anyone who held higher power than him, including those who might have been vaddrakken like her.
Next, she showed a view of Xoruk and Jokin asking for the Empire’s help with overthrowing the faction that had been oppressing their people. She added a clip from the ship they had used where Qartan flogged Xoruk and Jokin—which had elicited her anger earlier— before ordering an assassin to attack Phina and the subsequent attack where she and Todd fought him off.
The others on the bridge stirred at these scenes, she saw in satisfaction. She wasn’t the only one appalled and angry at Qartan’s actions. Though as she used the lightest filter she had, Phina found their buzzing was also for her fighting them off. They didn’t know much about who she was, which was good. It wasn’t supposed to be widely known.
Finally, she showed the entire attack on the wedding and the scene she had found of the assassins in the ship when they returned, with Qartan’s casual disregard of their lives and blatant disrespect.
As soon as it finished, she played one last recording, that of the Empress which she had sent from her ship.
A red-eyed Bethany Anne stood alone on the bridge, pissed off, with her hair flying around her as she pulled from the Etheric.
“I am Bethany Anne, the Empress of the Etheric Empire. Your leader came to my home and disrespected my representatives. I stayed my hand for the sake of peace, although it greatly displeased me to do so. However, your leader sent an assassin after one of my trusted people...”
Phina straightened, pleased the Empress thought to say so despite her youth.
“...I have decided to grant the request of representatives Xoruk and Jokin to assist in the removal of your leader since he has abused his position.”
The Empress’ eyes blazed red. “However, Qartan is too fucking stupid to live. He has squandered over fifty of his people against mine in another assassination attempt in my own fucking house. I give you one choice. One chance. Choose now. Revolution or death. For those who have committed the greatest wrongs, there will be no choice. The sentence is death. For you to stand aside while Quartan ruins your people is a dereliction of your duty to yourselves and your people.”
She leaned into the camera, her beautiful face becoming something they would see in their nightmares. “You have participated in gross injustice. Help us make it right, and ensure that th
is will never happen again.”
Her face winked out, leaving an empty screen. Link waited three seconds to let the message sink in, then added, “You have a very short time to decide. For your sakes, make the right decision.”
Phina turned off the audio feed and turned to the view on her tablet showing the chamber inside the religious compound. She squinted at the small screen, then brought the feed up on the big screen in front of them.
Shouts of protest and arguments could be heard, along with quieter voices. Phina decided to share the scene with those watching in the temples as well. Better to see the results for themselves rather than after the fact. They couldn’t see much yet since those in the chamber had gathered around the area where Qartan had stood and blocked the view.
Nearby Star System, Planet Xaldaq, Religious Compound
Zultav heard the Empress’ message with nervous dread and resolve. He had watched Qartan seethe with indignation but no remorse as he heard Xoruk and Jokin’s role in bringing the Empire here. He sent two guards to bring them.
After seeing Qartan’s face, Zultav had no doubt they were about to see an execution. The Empress finished her warning, which almost made him piss himself since she was the scariest being he had ever seen, then that first voice spoke up, telling them they had little time.
Qartan and his allies, who had made the deal with their goddess, began speaking over each other. The rest of the religious order looked on with varying expressions of alarm and anger. The other assassins stood in their positions.
“We must do something!”
“The goddess will help us!”
“How will we deal with the Empire?”
“The goddess left when she saw them coming.”
“What can we do?”
“Is she still going to let us ascend?”
“All is not lost.” Qartan broke in, causing them to stop and listen. “All we have to do is give the Empire sufficient inducement to leave us alone. We can take those ships. We will bring the females and younglings here. They won’t fire on us knowing they might kill them.”
