by Mina Carter
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she frowned. Stand down, I got this. “I’ve always found Dr. Roxanne at All Angels to be an excellent doctor.”
Myles rubbed at his chin. “You think? We’ll see how she rallies in the next few days. If she doesn’t come through then, I’ll going to take her to St. Michaels.”
She nodded. “Understood. Please pass on my regards to her.”
They weren’t going to let this go, so the clock ticked. Find out something they could use, or they were arming nukes. And if they fired nukes at the Lathar, long-lost genetic relations or not, humanity was fucking toast.
“Of course, Terran Command out.”
She sat for a moment and closed her eyes as tiredness washed over her. President Halland had always been an asshole, but she couldn’t believe he’d be stupid enough to arm the nukes. It shouldn’t have surprised her. Once a person gained enough power, they seemed to stop listening to common sense and believed whatever their yes-men told them. After his mismanagement of colony farming resources, Halland would never be re-elected so a war was his best bet for retaining power.
With a sigh, she stood and brushed nonexistent lint from her pants and headed for the door. Damned if she did, damned if she didn’t, but to prevent an all-out war, she needed to find something to give to Myles.
Chapter Two
The emperor had summoned him. A private audience.
Pride filled Karryl’s chest as he strode along the corridor heading for the Imperial War room. He’d never been summoned personally. He’d only seen the emperor as part of a group under Tarrick’s command. He’d be surprised if Daaynal had even known his name before the fight in the courtyard with the R’Zaa, so it was a sign of his growing standing in the court. First Daaynal had publicly declared him a kinsman and now this?
He entered the war room to find it empty. Face set in implacable lines, he scanned the large room, taking in the massive holo-table and the arching windows that gave a view of blue skies overhead. They didn’t show the real sky. Buried beneath the palace, the war room was an impenetrable bunker the emperor could direct his armies from. The windows gave the place a little light, and as the holo display from the table could be extended; they served a functional purpose as well. With one command, the emperor could see the view from any Lathar ship or installation.
A warrior at the far end of the room stepped forward from a shadowed alcove and cleared this throat. Karryl’s attention snapped to him. Unlike the other guards in the palace, he wore the insignia of the emperor’s own guard.
“This way, deshenal,” he said with a small bow, pointing to the door behind him. “His Majesty is waiting for you in his inner office.”
Deshenal. Honored warrior. It was an old term, not used lightly or without the emperor’s command. Karryl couldn’t help his chest puffing out with yet more pride as he walked across the room toward the door. He was a male on the up and up, with a good reputation and the favor of the emperor himself.
Anger and frustration rolled through him in equal measure, tightening the muscles in his shoulders and neck as he clenched his hands into fists. Why couldn’t Jane see he’d make a good mate? That he had the standing and power to protect and nurture her?
“Have you ever thought I might not be into you?”
The words slammed through his memory, cutting him to the soul. His boots stomped onto the carpet in the short corridor behind the war room as though they were waging war on the plush pile. Perhaps he should look at other earth women… Palace gossip had it that Daaynal planned to send a diplomatic mission to the human’s home planet. There were plenty of women there, and from what the most talkative of the human women, Kenna, had said, many human women would jump at the chance to be a warrior’s mate.
The door at the end of the corridor opened. He walked through, a little surprised there was no guard. As soon as he entered the small room he understood why.
Daaynal was not alone. The Emperor’s Champion, Xaandril, leaned in front of a console, his big, scarred hands against the smooth surface as he glared at the screen in front of him. A tall, powerfully-built warrior, he was both Daaynal’s champion and the man’s shadow. Where the emperor went, so did Xaandril.
“It has to be a code,” his voice was deep and full of gravel. He flicked a glance up and speared Karryl with a direct look that made him shiver. “Welcome, K’Vass. Come in, don’t lurk in the shadows.”
Karryl stepped forward, not wanting to be seen as lurking like a coward or to anger Xaandril. When he was a kid, he’d been brought up on stories of the great war hero, Xaandril. He was a war General. A hero of the Battle of the Nine Wastes, where the Lathar defeated the Ovverta, a barbaric race who slaughtered other races for fun.
They’d been the biggest threat the Lathar had ever faced. Now they were all but extinct thanks to Xaandril. Since the man had lost his mate and young daughter to an Ovverta attack, Karryl didn’t blame the man for his bloodthirstiness where the vile creatures were concerned.
“Thank you, my lord.” Karryl inclined his head to Xaandril, then turned his attention to Daaynal and added a small bow. “You wished for my presence, Your Majesty?”
“Indeed.” Unlike earlier in the day when he’d hosted a lunch for their human guests, Daaynal was not smiling. He pointed to the screens the two senior Lathar were looking at. “Watch. This may be of interest to you.”
Xaandril turned the screens so they could all see, and Karryl stilled. An image of Jane was frozen on the screen, her face set in what he could tell was a false smile. A flick of Xaandril’s fingers and the holo-screen expanded to show a human male in a uniform. It was different than the one Jane or the men on the base had worn, with more fancy bits. It had to be a dress uniform since it would be useless in battle for anything other than making its wearer a prime target.
“The human woman, Jane Allen’s, call back home,” Daaynal said.
“You’re spying on her?” Karryl hid his surprise behind a bland expression. They had to have hidden cameras in her quarters. He knew enough about her to know that if she’d found them, she’d be as mad as a draanth and have destroyed them already.
Daaynal inclined his head. “Indeed. It seems our beautiful little human warrior is keeping secrets.”
Anger burst through him with the force of an energy blast. His warrior, not Daaynals, not anyone else's. His alone. He fought the blaze of fury and the need to introduce Daaynal’s face to the console several times. He was a good warrior, fast and merciless in battle, but he was under no illusions. A physical attack on the emperor would end with him getting his ass handed to him on a plate and a prolonged stay in the med bay before his execution. If Daaynal was feeling charitable. If he weren't, then Karryl would die right here in this room. Slowly and painfully.
It answered a question though. The reaction to the thought of someone else claiming Jane as theirs meant he wouldn’t be looking for another female on earth. He didn’t want another female. He wanted this one. Her.
He looked at the screen again, studying the male. His rage simmered within. Was this her mate? Was that who she called when she excused herself to “report to Terran Command”? The male was smooth-skinned and plastic-looking, smaller in stature than any Lathar. He didn’t look like he’d ever seen a battlefield in his life. She preferred that?
“Who is he?” He kept his voice level with supreme effort. All he wanted to do was reach through the screen and smack the ever-loving draanth out of the guy.
“A Commodore Myles Fuller.”
Karryl let go a sigh of relief. Not Admiral Scott Johnson then. This wasn’t her old mate. Good, he wouldn’t have to track this one down and remove his spinal column from his body.
“See here and here?” Xaandril activated the recording, pointing out two time stamps. They stood in silence listening to the two humans talking. It seemed to be a harmless conversation about Fuller’s wife.
“She sounds normal, other than a little stilted. Have you considered she m
ight not like this Fuller?”
Xaandril shook his head. “It’s more than that. I ran their conversation through several algorithms against the databases your war group recovered from their base and two words stand out: Roxanne and Michael.”
Karryl shrugged. “What do they mean?”
Daaynal folded his arms, feet spread in a classic at ease posture. “They’re names, but they’re also part of the human defense system. The names of alert levels. From what we can work out, the humans have armed their crude nuclear capabilities. Which, as I’m sure you’re aware, is considered an act of war by intergalactic convention.”
“Shit.”
Everything within Karryl went stone cold. If that’s what the humans had done, then they were fucked. By all the laws of the combined species within the galaxies, just arming “dirty” ordnance like nuclear weaponry was cause to wipe a planet out. They didn’t even need to get close to do it. A terraforming warhead from deep space would destroy anything on the planet’s surface, wiping the slate clean, then forces could swoop in and pick off any colonies or space stations.
“She appears to be arguing against it,” Xaandril mused, rubbing his chin. “So perhaps her punishment should be less severe…”
Daaynal nodded. “Agreed, maybe five lashes of the energy whip instead—”
“Wait, what?” The words escaped Karryl’s lips before he could stop them. “We’re considering punishing a female? A fertile female from a genetically compatible species? For what? For arguing against her superior officer arming nuclear weaponry?”
Both warriors looked at him. It was like being stared at by two keelaas snakes. Large enough to swallow a man whole, and with a necrotic bite, they were as scary as hell.
“He seems to want something from her. The only thing she can give them is information. On us. She’s spying for them.” Daaynal’s voice was level, but Karryl got the feeling this was a test. That his reactions now would change things.
“Then we feed her misinformation.”
Crap that sounded like he was giving the emperor himself orders. It was too late to back out now. He had to follow through. “We create a situation with the promise of what she needs, then feed her draanth shit.”
Daaynal’s face split into a broad smile and he looked at Xaandril in triumph. “You owe me ten lindari, old man. I told you he’d protect his woman and have a sensible idea.”
Xaandril grumbled and dug in his pocket for a credit slip. He slapped it into Daaynal’s hand. Karryl blinked in surprise. He didn’t know what shocked him more; the fact the two most senior warriors in the empire were betting for small change, or that the emperor had bet on him.
“Okay, down to business.” Daaynal flicked out a chair and shoved it on its rollers toward Karryl. “We need to work out how to tempt your little human warrior.”
***
The Lathar were a contrary race. All war-like one moment, then the next they took a pleasant afternoon ride into the countryside like they were in some Regency novel.
“This is lovely, isn’t it? I love the colors of the flowers they have here,” Cat commented. The four women were safely tucked into a carriage rather than given mounts. Kenna had argued, as usual, saying she was a more than competent equestrian back on earth and that the horses had six legs rather than four was no problem.
Jane hadn’t argued. She’d never been the horsey type anyway, and the fact the monsters the Lathar rode had teeth like vampires’ and claws to boot, meant she wasn’t likely to change her mind soon. At all. Ever.
The trouble was, how the hell was she going to get any intel from a carriage?
“The flowers are pretty,” she replied, sitting up in her seat to look ahead. They were traveling faster than she’d thought possible and the horse-creatures’ six-legged gait was almost beautiful. She’d had to look down to make sure they didn’t have wings on their feet or something as strange, but no, they ran just like earth horses, only a lot faster.
“Looks like we’re slowing down.”
The warriors around them tightened their reins, pulling their steads to a trot then a walk at the top of a rise. Jane looked around and couldn’t help sucking in a breath as the carriage pulled to a stop. The alien countryside lay beneath them, a jade and turquoise masterpiece. A swathe of golden-leaved trees cut an arc across the landscape with the white splendor of the distant palace like the jewel in a crown.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, her mission forgotten for the moment. How many humans had seen something like this… The sheer beauty of an alien planet. She’d been on other planets before, but the colonies weren’t anything like this. They were dull, drab places full of broken-down people desperate for a better life than being crammed into slums back on earth. Only the wealthy got to live in places like this with open skies and vegetation.
“I’m glad you approve of my home.”
A deep voice beside her made her turn in surprise to find Karryl at the side of the carriage. He extended a hand to help her down and the side stair slid down to allow her to step out. Putting her hand in his larger one, she suppressed her shiver at the latent strength she felt.
He was a large man, strong and so gentle at the same time that she didn’t know how to react to him most of the time. But something was different, his easy smile the same, but the expression in his eyes guarded and shuttered.
Shit. She’d hurt him when she’d said she wasn’t into him.
Pausing on a step, she looked him in the eye. “Karryl, I apologize for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean the insult or to be cruel.”
He shrugged. “Think nothing of it. Can I persuade you to accept my company for the afternoon?”
“Of course, I’d be delighted.”
Taking the rest of the steps more delicately than her heavy boots and combat pants would suggest, she smiled up at him. “Your planet is lovely. Did you grow up here?”
“I did. On a small estate to the north. It’s a lot colder than it is here but with mountains so high you can’t see the tops.”
The other warriors and their mounts milled around them. Taking her arm, he used his body to shield her from the snorting, stamping creatures, and led her onto the grass where blankets had been laid.
“Really?” she smiled, glad to have found common ground. He ushered her to one of the blankets to take a seat. A quick glance behind her confirmed the other women were well looked after. “I love the mountains at home. My father used to take us rock climbing in the summer. Do you have any pictures?”
He shook his head, his inky-black hair dancing on his shoulders. “Not with me. I have one in my qua—” A strange expression crossed his face. “I’ll find it and bring it to the banquet tonight for you.”
She sat back, her arms wrapped around her knees. Karryl stretched out next to her, leaning on one elbow, more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. For a moment, like almost every conversation they’d had, she’d been sure he would try and get her into his rooms. He hadn’t. Proof of just how much she’d damaged things between them with her words.
She needed him. Guilt made her stomach churn. Crap. She’d never thought she would be this kind of person. A user. Even though she knew how he felt about her, that he wanted to claim her as his mate… He was her best hope of getting the information she needed.
“Okay, I’d like that.” Not wanting to overplay her hand, she slid him a sideways smile and concentrated on the scenery. Silence fell between them and she kicked herself. Oh great, what the hell did she say now? Looking around her, she tried to find inspiration. There was always the weather, but she was so not going there. She couldn’t be that bad at conversation…surely?
Three painful, silent minutes later, she had to admit she was. And it was no surprise. She’d been in the military since eighteen, so dates had been few and far between. Quick shags when off-duty? Sure, she’d had plenty. They hadn’t needed much in the way of flirtation and talking. Then she’d met Scott. Three months later they were married, again wit
h the minimum of talking or flirtation.
She wrinkled her nose as she thought back. They’d had, what… six in-depth conversations in their entire marriage? During the time they’d been “together” anyway. They separated after a year but remained married for…well, until now. She still had to sign the papers…the only reason that Karryl hadn’t pressed his claim against her.
“Do you think it would be possible to get my personal belongings sent from the base?” she asked.
He turned his head to look at her and she was caught by his unusual gaze. She’d never tire of looking at his eyes. They were jewel-like with multiple colors and slitted.
“Your eyes are similar to a cat’s I once had.” Great, now she was babbling. “His pupils went round like that. Usually when indoors. Why do yours?”
He lifted one eyebrow, and then his lips quirked. An actual expression rather than the polite mask he had been giving her. “You mean pupil dilation? What does it mean for humans?”
“Hmm…” She nibbled her lower lip. “Either being in a darkened environment so the eye can gather more light. We don’t see well in the dark, though, something about the way our eyes are constructed.”
“Or?”
She frowned. “Or what?”
He watched her. “You said ‘either’ but gave one choice. What is the second?”
“Oh.” She couldn’t do anything about the blush that hit her cheeks at light speed. “It means attraction. Sexual attraction and to attract a member of the opposite gender.”
His smile widened a little. “There you go then.”
She blinked. “It means the same for Lathar? Well, the eye rounding thing?”
