“Lorca, please bring him in here,” I said as I went into my room, slipped out of the dress, and put on a robe. I sat on my bed and took my furious little prince. “Slow, down, or you’ll spit it all up and get the hiccups,” I warned him as I stroked his cheek.
A nurse and Dr. Savelli came into my room and scanned me for airborne contaminants after my exchange with the Squirrel King. Then, they took blood samples and prodded me until they were certain that I was okay. I didn’t squirm or complain for the sake of Niklos and Neema.
“Lorca, start my shower, please. Niklos, do you want to go rinse off with mommy? Lorca, will you stay near and wrap him up for me? I want to wash off the aliens and this rice cereal.”
Niklos had a giggling fit in the shower and loved getting his hair wet. He put his tiny foot in the stream of one of the jets and laughed before putting his leg around my waist. Then, he did it again. Niklos’ laughter had me in a much better mood.
“Time to go to Lorca.”
“Princess?” Lorca asked unsure how to proceed.
“Oh, just open the door, and I’ll hand him to you.”
Lorca had a towel ready. “Did you get to shower with Mommy?” Lorca asked. Niklos laughed at him and patted his chest.
I grabbed the shampoo and scrubbed at my scalp as the enormity of what I had done assaulted me. After my shower, I dressed in a long yellow skirt and a soft T-shirt, wrapped my hair in a towel, and entered the sitting room. Neema and Thunderdrop were playing with transports. Her pink, ruffled, bloomer-covered butt was in the air as she pushed her toy across the carpet.
I went into the kitchen where Chef made me a steak and a tropical salad. I sipped pineapple juice and ate. The men were all in the sitting room glued to the vid-screen.
Communications officers had compiled the recordings from the helmets worn by each of the men who had accompanied me to the alien ship. They had sent the information to Kane, and Kane had shared it with our fleet.
I finished eating and quietly snuck into the room. Fitz had Niklos in his arms. Yukihyo was nowhere to be seen.
“He is on the bridge,” Zared told me.
Biting my nail, I looked at Nico. He stood to his full six and a half feet, approached me, and bowed. Confused, I scrunched my forehead up at him. “Excellent work. You accomplished much in a short period of time. The aliens have been clearing their minefield. I have ordered a crate of rations delivered to them for every hundred mines they deactivate.”
I nodded. “You aren’t mad at me?” I asked as I stared up into Nico’s brown eyes.
“My lady, I am in awe of you. Today, your lineage made itself known. I am proud to have a son of your blood.” Nico kissed my hand.
“I ordered ten ships destroyed,” I said as tears spilled from my eyes.
“Had you not shown strength and resolve, they might have killed Phillip and Olson in an attempt at intimidation. You took control with decisive action, superior power, and weaponry. Then, you forced them to accept your terms without any negotiations.” Nico wiped at my tears. He gave me a gentle smile. “It seems our son is a fan of the shower.”
I gave Nico a small smile and a nod.
“Come, sit with us,” Fitz said.
“I will in a moment. I need to see Yukihyo.” Once the lift doors closed, I wiped my hands nervously on my skirt. On the bridge, Yukihyo was so busy arguing with Eric that he didn’t notice me.
“She was ready to commit genocide. I have a duty to protect the lives of sentient species,” Eric said.
“They treated my brother as an animal ready to be slaughtered. Teagan made hard choices to save him and her pilot,” Yukihyo said angrily.
“Were those choices hard for her?”
“You know it was and continues to hurt her. They were transmitting a live execution, and you know it.”
“We may have been able to communicate with them,” Eric said in a less argumentative tone.
Stepping forward, I said, “I wasn’t willing to risk failing or losing Phillip to a senseless act of violence. I gave a clear message of how many of theirs I would take for each of mine. They took our men. We didn’t take any of theirs.”
Captain Ricimer stepped forward, sternly saying, “The aliens acted against the Parvac Empire. We interpreted their actions as an overture of war. In times of war, in accordance with the Peace Treaty of Amphictyon, the Galaxic Government must come to Parvac’s assistance just as we must go to yours. Princess Probus was well within her rights to protect her people. In fact, Dr. Phillip Svenson is a member of the Imperial household, by Parvac law she may destroy the alien vessel. However, she made peace with them and gave them food. The Empire must now respect her wishes even though we crave retribution.”
“The Galaxic Government respects the Peace Treaty of Amphictyon and continued cooperation with the Parvac Empire. I meant no disrespect. Yukihyo and I are family and were discussing recent events as such. I merely hope that in the future, my dear cousin might listen to my counsel in such matters rather than acting emotionally,” Eric said.
Glancing up at his pale blue eyes, I nodded. “I’d just assume leave it all to you. Can we go home after our ships are back in orbit?” I asked Captain Ricimer.
He said, “Princess, the leader of the Talpa and the aliens….”
“Phillip named the squirrely aliens the Patagium because of their thick underarm skin,” I said.
“Teagan, they don’t look like squirrels,” Eric admonished.
“They do, too.”
Eric said, “They look very similar to other humanoid races.”
“No, they don’t. They’ve got pointed ears, clawed fingers and toes, and one nostril.”
“I’ve known plenty of women with claws,” Eric said.
I rolled my eyes at him. “They even sound like squirrels.”
“Yes, I’ve watched your exchange with the Patagium leader a few times.”
“So, you saw how good Thunderdrop was?”
“I did. Your Laconian hybrids have proven their worth once again as well.”
“Ponidi brothers, Eric. I’ve adopted them, so they are your adopted cousins as far as I’m concerned.”
Sitting back in his captain’s chair, Eric crossed his ankle over his knee. “Captain Ricimer is correct. You can’t leave just yet. The Talpa and Patagium see you as the leader of a powerful alien race. They want your protection and for you to solve all of their problems.”
“Oh, Eric. Seriously? They’re gonna feel stupid once they get to know me.”
Eric finally gave me his shark grin. Relief flooded me. Now, I knew he had forgiven me to an extent for my inhumane treatment of the alien pilots. I wondered if the sick lump of pain I felt over it would stay with me forever.
“If you could go back in time, would you do things differently?” Zared asked in my mind.
I wiped a tear away and answered him telepathically. “No, I had to protect Phillip, and I had to do something fast to get their attention.”
“When can you go?” Eric asked.
“What?”
“They want to meet now, but it’s your call. I’ll go with you, and so will Captain Espanoza.”
“The Princess will have a panel of advisors at her disposal,” Captain Ricimer stated.
I looked at Yukihyo wondering what I should do. He nodded at me. Stupidly, I asked, “When do you want to go?”
“I say we agree to meet with them on Talpa in two hours. That will give you time to change,” Eric drawled.
Frowning, I lifted a hand up to the towel around my wet hair and looked down at my T-shirt. Yukihyo had bought it for me on Daphoene. It had pictures of diamonds sprinkled across it and read, “Rock Hard.”
“They won’t know what it says,” I said defensively.
“Teagan, the meeting will be filmed, and everyone in the universes is going to want to see these aliens.” Eric gave me a stern look.
“Whatever. Lorca and Fitz will help me. I don’t know how the heck we’re gonna have a conversation with liza
rds and squirrels, but okay.”
“Teagan, don’t call them that on video,” Eric warned.
I shrugged. “Let us know when to get in our stealth ship.” I took the hand Yukihyo offered me and followed him into the lift. When the doors closed, I halted it. “You were defending me to Eric.”
“He knows that you did what he or anyone else would have done. I think it upset him because you were forced to take action. The Patagium wouldn’t speak with any of them. He blames himself for the stains upon your heart.”
“No, I have to take responsibility for my own stains. I want to apologize to you. I had no business ordering you around like that. I needed Neema and Niklos to be safe.” I was ashamed of how I had treated my husbands.
“I know your heart and mind, lady wife,” Yukihyo said as he stroked my cheek with his strong fingers.
“Lord Yukihyo, will you do me the honor of accompanying me on my diplomatic mission to Talpa?”
Yukihyo smiled and leaned down to kiss me. “It would be my honor, lady wife.”
“There is no way that I am allowing the children off of this ship,” I said.
“Agreed.”
I pushed the lift button and started thinking about who I trusted enough to remain with and guard over my babies. I decided to politely ask Nico, Fitz, Xavier, and Jazon to watch over and protect them. I wasn’t going to order them around. That had been rude of me.
In the sitting room, I said, “Darling husbands, I have been invited to attend a meeting on Talpa. Will the two of you please watch over Neema and Niklos for me here on the ship so I don’t have to worry about them?”
I knew Jazon and Xavier had heard my thoughts and would stay with my children. I trusted them to do anything and everything to keep my children safe.
Nico said, “Teagan, we have agreements in place regarding the Talpa. No terms have been established for the….”
“Patagium,” I supplied.
“Don’t let the Militia get the upper hand,” Nico finished.
“Yukihyo is a skilled merchant. He’s good at reading people and making good deals. I’ll follow his instincts.”
“Good. I hope you won’t be gone long,” Nico said as he kissed my temple.
“Me, too. I’m ready to go home. I miss my surf board,” I said wistfully. Fitz grinned at me. To him, I asked, “Will you help me pick out what to wear?”
“Yes,” Fitz said.
Yukihyo dressed much more quickly and began selecting items that we could give as tokens of our esteem. Yukihyo’s suit was black Arachnean Silk, so I knew he would be safe from the sharp knives and claws of the aliens.
I wore a long, white dress of Arachnean Silk, the white boots Yukihyo had made for me, and diamonds on my wrists and fingers. However, Fitz suggested, since the meeting would be recorded and analyzed, that I wear the emerald and diamond necklace Commander Quaid Bosh had given me as a wedding gift. It was subtle, but it would send a loud message to Consul Bosh, Quaid’s father and one of the joint rulers of the Laconian Sector. My hair was in a long, intricate braid down my back, and I wore my blaster on my hip.
Zared and my Omnes Videntes wore the battle gear that they had worn earlier.
We boarded our stealth vessel and joined the fighters waiting for us in orbit. Eli flew us in behind Eric. It was evident that the Patagium had been working diligently, but it would take time for them to clear the planet’s orbit of the destructive devices.
“How did they lay the mines so quickly?” I asked.
“They set them all to the same orbit and to remain half a mile apart from each other. Then, they activated them all at once,” Eli answered.
“Why didn’t the Captains just shoot them?”
“To detonate them all in such a manner would result in a magnetic wave of great intensity and be felt throughout our universes in a few months.”
“Eli! Are those things what caused my heart to stop?” Fear coursed through me.
“We suspect they planned to take any hospitable planet by force and have spent many years of their journey manufacturing those mines. Then, they tested them on a moon and damaged their own ships’ systems in the process.”
I took that as a yes.
One thing that both the Talpa and the Patagium understood was math. They could agree with us about coordinates and time. Therefore, there was an arrangement of Patagium fighter ships docked on the planet when we arrived.
“It’s alright, Teagan. I’m here,” Yukihyo said as he calmed my emotions.
I tried to breathe slowly and deeply. Our hatch opened, and my men filed out. I was instructed to remain inside of our craft until the Parvac and Galaxic Militia officers had disembarked. Since the Patagium had trapped our ships on the surface, a few troops of Parvac soldiers stood at attention in the large field where we had landed. They made me feel a bit more at ease. However, when I saw that Kane was the last officer standing to my left and that Eric stood across from him to my right, I felt intense relief. Sensing my emotions, Eric winked a pale blue eye at me.
Even though Talpa was near its sun, the planet felt cold due to the atmospheric changes from which it recovered. I was glad Fitz had suggested the boots I wore for that reason as well as for all of the bugs scampering around. Thunderdrop watched the bugs excitedly from my shoulder. After all, he had been confined to the Empress for a month and a half, unable to hunt. I sent him an image of remaining with me.
“Chirp,” he promised.
Talpa’s dark-red sky made Eric’s hair look even darker than usual. “Princess Probus, thank you for meeting with us. The leaders of the Talpa and… Patagee requested the honor of your presence,” Eric said gallantly for the cameras.
I sent him my feelings of approval for making what I had started calling the Squirrel people sound better. Instead of asking how they had managed to ask for me to attend, I said, “How wondrous for our peoples to discover the Talpa and now the Patagee. We have much to learn of each other.” I kept a sweet smile on my lips and my chin up as Fitz had repeatedly suggested.
My guards turned forward as one to march at my sides. Once I was no longer obscured by our vessel or the rows to either side that my men had formed for my exit, the troops of Parvac soldiers moved as one making a thrumming stomp with their feet, and in deep strong voices yelled out, “Probus!”
That elicited a genuine smile from me. “Neat!” I said.
Yukihyo chuckled at me.
We approached a group of the Talpa.
Captain Mel of the Diocletian bowed low to me. “Princess Probus, please allow me to introduce the leader of the Talpa. In the Talpan language, her name is communicated by flashing each of the colors. While discussing her name, she heard our use of the term ‘spectrum of colors’ and chose for us to call her Queen Spectra.”
I curtsied and said, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance at long last, Queen Spectra.”
Queen Spectra made an odd dip of her head to me, spread her arms out at her sides and began changing her white scales to pink and eventually to red.
“Did I offend her in some way?” I asked as quietly as I could.
“No, the Talpa associate heat as being good. Red is the highest honor she or any Talpa can pay another,” Captain Mel explained.
“Oh,” smiling I curtsied again to Queen Spectra.
She wore a length of fabric wrapped around her waist and under her tail that tied at the side. It had been woven of every color imaginable. The Talpa liked us for having saved their planet. She flicked her tail and changed her scales to a vibrant purple.
Another of the Talpa came forward. I observed its protruding slit eyes and flat nostrils. The Talpa didn’t have lips or ears, but their ear holes were on the sides of their heads. Queen Spectra had been introduced to me as female, but I had no idea how to tell the difference between the sexes. It handed Queen Spectra a wooden box. She twitched her tail, turned to me, flashed back to red, and held it out to me with hands that were more like clawed mittens.
“Thank you,” I said as I took it. Yukihyo held the box for me as I lifted the lid. Inside was an elaborately woven garment of bright red, pink, orange, and purple. “It’s beautiful! Thank you.” I lifted the fabric from the box and wrapped and tied it around my hips.
Apparently, that was the correct response since the Talpa present turned red.
Yukihyo passed the box to Rozz. Then, he handed a black velvet jewelry box to me. I smiled and extended it to Queen Spectra. She lifted the lid in confusion, not knowing what to make of my gift. Going to her, I lifted the diamond tennis-style necklace out and held it so the lights around us would make it sparkle. The twinkling of diamonds she liked. I showed her how to release the simple clasp and put it on. I was relieved it fit.
Next, I had to exchange greetings with the Squirrel King. He approached me and bowed, so I curtsied. Suddenly, his hand shot out. Eli leaped between us with blades bared.
“Inquisitor, he means no harm,” Zared said.
All of our people remained tense. The Talpa shifted to a pale blue color like ice and moved away. The Patagee raised their hands out to their sides.
“The Squirrel King meant no harm, Eli. It’s alright,” I said soothingly.
A smaller Patagee with an elaborate lighted device huddled closer to the ruler. The Squirrel King trilled. From the box, we heard, “Peace.”
Surprise registered on all of our faces. Eli slowly moved back into position.
“Peace,” I repeated.
“Chirp!”
The King nodded to Thunderdrop. After more trills and whistles, we heard from the box, “Help my people live.”
Staring into his eyes, I nodded. “The Parvac Empire will help the Patagee if they agree to peaceful relations.”
The box held by the King’s advisor began to trill and whistle. In response, the Patagee with him began to trill quietly.
Thunderdrop chirped and whistled at them showing images of putting weapons down in front of Parvacs who did the same.
The King trilled and whistled again. The box translated his sounds. “We ask to remain here. Few of my people have survived our years in space.”
Again, a hideously sick feeling made my soul feel slimy. Eric’s eyes shot to mine. I pushed my feelings aside. The Patagee shouldn’t have picked a fight with Parvac. “We protect the Talpa, but this planet belongs to them. To stay, it is with Queen Spectra you must negotiate.” I gestured to the lizard queen and bowed my head to her. The box translated my words.
The Spider Queen (The Space Merchants Book 5) Page 7
