by S. E. Weir
Will exuded injured innocence as they reached the cargo bay that led to outside. Sphaea, the ship’s EI, opened the door for them so they didn’t have to slow their stride. “I thought Raffles was inspired.”
“You’re delusional.” Seriously delusional. “Raffles sounds like a dog’s name.”
“What’s wrong with Sera-beara?” he protested, though the twinge in his cheek made her think he was holding in a grin.
“Nothing.” Phina stuck her tongue out, then scanned ahead to make sure she didn’t trip on the way down the ramp. “If you’re five.”
Will feigned sadness. She didn’t know why he bothered. They both knew he didn’t mean it. “Well, you won’t let me call you ‘Fee’ because it was ruined when you were moonlighting as a stripper.”
Phina’s mouth gaped open in shocked surprise. “Moonlighting... I never moonlighted as a stripper! I was a sex kitten, and it was a cover.”
“Oh?” Will glanced over curiously but with the unholy light of gleeful teasing shining in his face. “What’s the difference?”
“A great many things, including the amount of clothing they wear and the money they receive,” Phina muttered as she hurried her pace in an effort to finish the ridiculous conversation.
His face contorted as he kept a chuckle inside. “You’re that familiar with the workings of strippers and sex kittens, huh? Tell me more, Eenie.”
Phina skidded to a stop and stared at Will in horror. “Are you kidding me? That’s the worst one yet!” She continued walking, shaking her head in dismay. “Seriously, it’s like we’re in kindergarten or something. For the record, I read. A lot. I remember almost everything.” She shot a quelling look at her friend. “I know lots of things, including things you don’t want me to know.”
Will sighed heavily as he matched her pace with his longer strides. “Well, I’m going to need to think of a new nickname, then.”
“Yes. A wise decision. You could just call me Phina,” she responded dryly. She stifled a sneeze caused by the sudden bright light from the sun as they walked into the shade of the Stark’s metal body. “Seeing as that’s my name, and it’s already been shortened from the original.”
“No. It needs to be special,” Will protested as they walked up the ramp that Stark had extended for them. “To mark our epic and glorious relationship.”
Phina shook her head, thinking that if she had an epic and glorious relationship with anyone, she would want it to be with her boyfriend Todd. She wanted to avoid hurting Will’s feelings, but a kick in the pants might be in order. “I’m sure you will figure something out.”
Will lifted his chin, caught in his thoughts. “What about Rah, or Rah-Rah?”
“Ugh. Don’t make me hurt you.” She glared at him before turning into the corridor for her room. Unfortunately, Will’s room was next door, so he continued to follow her.
“What’s wrong with that one?”
“You drive me crazy.” She reached her door and opened it, stepping in and turning to see him grinning as he walked past.
“Just making up for lost time, Raffles. You know you love me.”
Phina sighed as she closed the door. She might love him like the brother she’d never had, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t punch him if he didn’t stop giving her idiotic nicknames.
Chapter Two
Nearby System, Planet Xaldaq, Religious Compound
Phina and Will had met Link and entered the meeting area with two Guardian Marine units who currently stood behind the diplomats in the guard position.
After some formalities, the Qendrok had finally presented their new documents describing the Qendrok’s new rule of law, proposed government structure, and their request for inclusion in the Etheric Empire. The Qendrok had since left the room, giving the team time to review the documents.
Link perused each packet, handing them off to Phina when he was finished. She read through the documents quickly but at a pace where she would remember the contents. She passed each one to Will after reading it.
As she finished the last one, she caught Link studying her. “What do you think?”
“The democratic timocracy is an interesting idea,” Phina answered thoughtfully, tapping her fingers on the armrest of her chair. “My concern is, how will they know if there’s something wrong with the candidate? Their measurement is the extent of their honor. Perhaps we should suggest that any citizen has two weeks to come forward after nomination to share their experiences, both positive and negative, with the candidates as character references.” She frowned and continued tapping. “Hmm... We should suggest it’s their duty and connected to their own honor to come forward and share. That way, there won’t be as much political bribery and intimidation.”
Link sat back with his fingers steepled in front of his smirk. “An interesting suggestion. What do you think, Will?”
“Huh?” Will peered up from reading the packets at a slower pace, his expression overwhelmed and uncertain. “Oh, uh. Well, I only heard half of what Phina said, but it sounded fine. I got distracted with this part here.” He pointed at a section within the document concerning the new rule of law. “If I’m reading it right, this law could be interpreted as a restriction on females having a say in anything related to government, including lacking the right to vote. Is that what we want to approve?”
Link and Phina frowned at each other, then Phina held out her hand for the document. After reading that section again twice, she nodded and handed it to Link. “Will’s right. The position isn’t stated outright, but with the current wording, it lets them prevent females from participating.”
“Hmmm...” Link read it and agreed with them. “Phina, I want you to change the wording of that to be respectful of their culture but still allow the precedent for female voting to be permissible. Will, see what you can come up with for the wording of Phina’s suggestion.”
They both nodded and got to work. By the time the Qendrok came back in, they had adapted the wording and added in a few other items to the documents.
Phina focused on observing the aliens. The Qendrok looked alike and dressed alike and wore red medallions signifying their position in their government. When Link had introduced them to her months ago, he had described them as four-armed green trolls.
Phina supposed that sufficed in a general sense, but they all stood tall and proud, unlike the hunched, rather stupid-looking ogres in the fantasy pictures she had seen. Their faces took some getting used to with dark eyes, flat noses, and hardly any lips to speak of. When their mouths were closed, it was difficult to see that they even had one.
Yet, their culture imbued them with a graceful manner of moving and communication with varying postures that conveyed an emotion or idea. Xoruk, the Qendrok who had brought their previous troubles to Phina’s attention, currently held the position she had learned spoke of openness and communication. Throughout the process over the last months, he had been the delegate to speak most favorably about the Qendrok joining the Empire.
“I see value in the changes you have suggested. We will discuss these changes and return to meet tomorrow.”
“Why was this ridiculous change made regarding who can hold a position in government?” Guldrag, a traditional Qendrok who had protested the changes at every step of the way, demanded as he waved the document listing the changes being adjusted to the rule of law. “We’ve had the same laws for years. To change such long-held laws would be a crime in itself!”
“Leaving the laws as is has become a crime,” Phina snapped as her hold on her temper slipped. “One you have been paying for. You have been told things need to change, and that is what we have been talking about for months as you traditionalists drag your feet. This particular change was included because to leave it out would add to the oppression of your females. We think your people have been oppressed enough.”
Guldrag glared at her and threw the document on the table. “I don’t need to be spoken to this way by this female! Someone rein in her
attitude or send her away.”
Jokin, a Qendrok who was harder to read, spoke up. “Enough, Dev Guldrag. We are here to develop a new ruling government. We can’t do that with constant bickering.”
“Also, Delegate Waters isn’t going anywhere,” Link added as he pinned Guldrag with a hard stare. “May I remind you that Qartan demanded to have her leave a delegation meeting? I don’t think you want to be seen in the same light. It didn’t end well for him.”
Guldrag gritted his teeth but nodded his understanding and remained silent while Xoruk and Jokin shifted uncomfortably at the memory.
Phina met Zultav’s gaze. He was one of six guards standing behind the Qendrok delegation. Zultav had also been the one to kill Qartan, the Qendrok who had been the leader of the Qendrok. The former leader had thought himself better than any of his people, even if he had to whip them all into believing it or kill them for disagreeing with him.
Death by stabbing couldn’t have happened to a better megalomaniac.
“We will review everything and resume in the morning,” Jokin reiterated. “We are all eager to put the past behind us and move forward.”
The Qendrok all nodded emphatically. Their people had been oppressed and traumatized by their leadership for decades. Phina thought the globalized impact of that abuse would take another few decades to recover from, and it wouldn’t be as quick or easy as they hoped.
Phina hung back and pulled Zultav aside as the others filed out of the meeting. She waved to Kuvaq to join them, then turned to see one of the Guardian Marine teams standing guard behind her. She smiled at them and gestured toward the door.
“You all can go. I won’t be long.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Mel, the female Wechselbalg, snorted in amusement. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart in a simple uniform composed of a bodysuit that Phina knew was made to stretch as she changed forms.
Phina frowned in confusion, then glanced at the two waiting Qendrok when a thought occurred to her. She turned back to her guard unit in suspicion. “They aren’t going to attack me. We are allies, and Zultav is a friend.”
One of the two Marines standing on either side of Mel shook his head with sympathy mixed in with his amusement, but he also conveyed resolve. “Doesn’t matter, Delegate Waters. Our bosses told us to protect you no matter what, so that’s what we’re doing.”
Hearing Davin refer to her boyfriend Todd and his best friend Peter gave her a combination of warm fuzzies that he was looking out for her and annoyance that the Guardian Marines were being so thorough in their interpretation of their orders. She debated how to respond, then raised her eyebrows. “You all do know I could probably take any threat down faster than you can.”
The last Marine, Jared, stood straight as he nodded soberly. “Yes, ma’am. We’ve seen you in action. But we still have a duty.”
Phina decided to go back to her original intentions and turned back to the two Qendrok waiting patiently. “I’m sorry.”
Zultav’s arms changed to reassurance and calm. “We are fine, Phina. We understand they need to take care of you.”
Kuvaq was all business. “What did you wish to speak about?”
Putting the disagreement behind her, Phina brought up a topic she had been thinking about on and off for the past months. “After the attack during the wedding, we searched the bodies and found the wrist devices that we believe your assassins used to travel. We collected five of them. The other two were destroyed. We wondered if you would like them back.”
Before Zultav could respond, Kuvaq shot back, “Did you not wish to use them yourself?”
Having grown used to his blunt manner, Phina brushed the tone aside. “Of course we thought about it. However, we’ve been keeping them in a safe since we didn’t know how they worked. Since we are striving to bring the Qendrok into the Empire, we didn’t wish to do anything that could cause issues later. I wondered if you would like them back and if you have any information about how they work.”
Zultav and Kuvaq’s reactions were interesting. Mixed emotions of disgust and relief crossed their faces, and they also used distancing body language. They exchanged long glances before shaking their heads.
Kuvaq finally spoke. “We do not want them. They were a gift from the creature Qartan called their goddess. Anything of hers is poison. We destroyed the rest of the devices we had.”
Zultav continued, “Though we destroyed the wrist devices, we did not destroy the power hub for them. We didn’t know how to dispose of it safely. Do you wish to take it?”
“Yes, I think I do. I understand the stigma you feel. We wish to know more about how this ‘goddess’ is using the Etheric. We haven’t seen devices used in this way before. At least, not to my knowledge.”
“We will bring it to your ship.” Kuvaq nodded and gestured that Zultav should take that job.
“Will you get in trouble for giving the device to us without asking permission from anyone?” Phina asked, struggling to mask the anxiety she felt. She couldn’t help being concerned about the assassins since Qartan had used them the most. What was left of the league of assassins had experienced enough trauma to develop nightmares and post traumatic stress.
Not that the stoic aliens would tell her emotionally charged information like that. That wasn’t their way. However, she had found that those sleeping were more prone to be mentally vulnerable, including the normally shielded Qendrok. It wasn’t uncommon for Phina to be woken by their emotionally charged nightmares, even on the Stark some distance away. Her only consolation was that she had gotten used to soothing her new friends back to sleep and giving them the remainder of a peaceful night.
Zultav shook his head and changed position to express protection and something she didn’t recognize. “They do not even know it exists. Those who knew about it are dead. We did not volunteer it to those who will be the new leaders. Giving it to you is the best outcome since it takes the device off our hands and doesn’t risk the chance of it being discovered by those who would use it poorly.”
“I greatly appreciate your help.”
Phina smiled at them both but felt a pang. No matter how many people she found connections to, Phina still missed her best friend and boyfriend, among others at home.
Nearby Solar System, Planet Xaldaq, QBS Stark, Bridge (two weeks later)
Link flopped into one of the cushy chairs on the bridge with a sigh. “I’m so glad we are finally done with this planet and can leave. It’s taken forever.”
Phina raised her eyebrow over the top of her tablet. “Dramatic much?”
“Hey!” He waved a finger at her. “Don’t you go down that road. It’s not funny.”
That infuriating smirk appeared. He hated it and loved it. It reminded Link of her father, his best friend, which caused him to become nostalgic. It also always made him feel like his trainee and honorary niece was laughing at him.
“It’s kind of funny.” Her eyes shone with amusement.
Yup. She was definitely laughing at him. He glowered at her. Like a mature adult, of course. He definitely wasn’t pouting.
Phina leaned toward him. “Come on, Link. It was funny. Stop pouting.”
The AI Stark appeared in the specialized unit at the end of the chairs. The dashing holographic construct crossed his arms and gave Link another smirk. “Yeah, Link, stop pouting about it.”
“I don’t have a stick up my ass!” Link burst out, which caused Stark to snicker.
Phina merely straightened and calmly responded, “I never said that.”
Link protested, “Yes, that’s what you said! I heard you. You said it was funny how I could be so dramatic with a stick up my ass!”
“Never happened.”
“I was there!” he shot back.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Phina’s face remained stoic, but the glint in her eye hadn’t disappeared.
“That memory of yours must be faulty, then.” Link sat back and got comfortable as sh
e observed him.
“My memory recall is perfectly functional, which is why I know that isn’t what I said.”
Link crossed his arms and raised his chin, feeling belligerent. “I’m not wrong.”
“You’re kind of wrong.” The infuriating female turned back to her tablet before responding, “I said you had a stick up your butt.”
Link shot up straight and pointed at the young woman. “You’re arguing semantics. You know that’s exactly what I said.”
She regarded the finger in front of her face, then lifted her gaze to give him an annoying stare that made him feel like he was being scolded. “That’s why I said it. You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
He shook his head and deflated, flopping back into the chair with his eyes raised to the ceiling. “Whatever. I’m not being dramatic.”
Surprised that Phina hadn’t said anything after several moments of silence, he turned his head to see her staring at him with concerned puzzlement.
“What?”
“You’ve been out of sorts the whole time we’ve been here.” She frowned in thought. “The only time you’ve been yourself is when we’re talking to the Qendrok and need to be official. I’m not going to read your mind, but I’m getting concerned. What’s going on?”
“He needs a woman,” Stark offered helpfully, his gaze earnest. “I’ve heard men need their pipes cleaned regularly to function properly.”
While Link gaped at the outspoken AI, Phina’s face scrunched in disgust. “Is that what I think it means? That’s gross.”
“Hey!” Link shot out. “It’s not gross to have sex. It’s a normal part of being an adult.”
She waved him off with a grimace on her face. “I’m talking about the description. I might have sex with someone, but that doesn’t mean I want to describe it as cleaning their pipes. That’s the gross part. Just say sex if that’s what you mean.”
