Dana closed her eyes, silently communing with Janz Macao, warning, It’s a trap.
Macao and Shalee calmed her down.
Not to worry, Dana. The rat has taken the cheese and the cat is on the way, alluding to the age old scenario Janz had taught her.
She shivered.
Franklin Shepherd rested his hand on her shoulder.
“Are you a gambler, January?”
She shook off his touch. “No, sir, I’m not. And I go by Dana.”
Her father offered a gentle smile. “You’ll have to forgive me, dear,” he said, then looked to each of the four. “April, November, December, January… I would like to get to know each of you better, as I have June and July. Please, consider spending a year with us at the Port Hale Marina and at the Terrines.”
“On Enturize?” Dec shuddered. “We are not perfect. Enturians terminate the imperfect.”
“Not so,” Master Captain Terrin Hale countered. “You have been told many, many lies.”
Dana felt surprise when April spoke up. “I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to visit Enturize. However, my work repairing the DNA mutations, from which Novem and Dec suffer, may take several more years.”
Solon offered, “I think it would be better if you all came to Galaxea, where the stigma of crossbreeding is…”
“Crossbreeding!” Dana scowled. “The truth is: it was cloning. And the Republic has always banned cloning.” She stared at her mother, Terrin Hale. “You knew. Shelby knew.”
A strong feeling of distrust welled up. Maybe August was right to blame them.
Shepherd defended himself. “I was in a coma. Please remember that.”
Terrin Hale’s beautiful, blue eyes narrowed. “The decision to clone was made without our permission. There was only one to be born; you. By the time Shelby and I learned there were twelve embryos, it was too late.”
“Who in the Star Service authorized it?” Dana demanded.
Neither Hale nor Shepherd responded.
Dana looked to Ambassador Solon. “Grandfather?” He gave no indication of offering an answer either.
The Galaxean merely stared.
“I feel betrayed,” Dana announced. “I don’t know about my siblings, but I feel betrayed.” She got up from the chair and faced Captain Carver. “Is there any word on Ambassador Kord and Princess Micah?”
“They left the conference during my speech,” Solon reminded.
“Before, actually — during the reptilian’s,” Dana countered. “Captain Carver, would you send me over to Katana, please?”
Carver nodded, leading out of the lounge.
Dana didn’t glance back; she didn’t want anyone to see the anger in her eyes.
Carver was silent during the walk to the MAT station, but after sending away the tech, she turned to Dana.
“I’m not sure betrayal is the correct emotion, but I understand. Sister?”
Dana scowled. “Had they lied to you for the last thirty-plus years, would you not feel betrayed?”
“It is common for Enturians to have birth records sealed and to never meet siblings at all.”
“A cultural thing,” Dana responded. “On Earth, however, it is the opposite. Family is important. It’s very difficult being adopted, growing up alone, knowing you are different, and not knowing why. No one would tell me the truth. Father was there, just a few miles away, all those years, but they lied to me. No one told me!”
Carver nodded politely, then tilted her head slightly to the right, listening to an announcement broadcast via the ear monitor clipped to her right lobe. “The bridge just confirmed Ambassador Kord is aboard Katana and expecting you.”
Dana stepped up onto the transfer pad, turned to face Carver, and waited for the system to engage.
Princess Micah met Dana in the large rotunda, as Cartwright stepped down from the pad. Sensing distress, Micah wrapped both arms around her.
“Your Highness,” Dana mouthed respectfully, while stifling tears.
“Welcome aboard,” Prince Korwin called from the ramp to the living area, on the deck below. Micah walked her that way.
“What’s wrong?” Korwin asked, already worrying.
“I feel so betrayed. All these years, they lied to me and they still…” Dana desperately tried to control her emotions, but they leaked out like hissing steam. “Solon, my grandfather, even he…”
Korwin’s eyebrows rose. “Oh…”
Micah coaxed Dana to sit on the comfortable settee and they settled down on either side of her. “You are empathetically experiencing Shelby’s distress.”
“Not wearing your N-link?”
“Kieran has it… Oh, PK, the feeling of betrayal is crushing.”
Korwin rested his right hand over her left, and poured a calming balm telepathically over her angry thoughts, urging verbally, “Relax, DD…you’re home now, my dear friend.”
Dana did feel at home, sensing love coming from them both. After a time, she offered, “I may be picking up August’s energy, too. He’s so angry.”
Micah offered a nod and a smile. “You have strong empathetic abilities; the emotions are even stronger than your will. Stay with us. Stay and be our captain.”
Dana’s eyes widened in shock, “Your captain?”
Korwin nodded agreement, squeezing her hand. “Apparently Captain Acker planted the explosive device in the hold. It exploded prematurely.”
“What? Why?”
“Like Jad… He was bought. He declared his innocence, and that it was planted, but was unable to evade my Dear One’s powers of persuasion.”
Princess Micah chuckled softly.
“He passed all our security screenings, but I began to sense…” She stopped, “Enough… We are all safe now. And if you will be our captain, I shall feel even safer,” Micah touched her belly, “for our son’s sake.”
Dana’s face brightened. “I would be honored.” She didn’t hesitate in the least. And, suddenly, she exhaled and experienced a sense of calmness. “Oh,” she smiled, “You’re right. I feel like I’m home.”
“DD?”
Dana chuckled. “Is your Captain permitted to…”
“Absolutely!” Korwin grinned.
“PK…Thank you.” They hugged.
Micah spoke up. “I’m just E-M,” the Princess teased, adding, “It stands for “El’s Mother. We’ve decided our son shall be named El — Eloren — it means, gift.”
Dana hugged her. “I feel like we’re family.”
“We are,” Micah reminded. “I have your mother’s eyes.”
Prince Korwin helped his wife up, and Dana followed.
“Do you need to retrieve anything before we leave?”
She shrugged. “My backpack is aboard Thresher. Everything else was destroyed when Seraph exploded.”
“Not to worry,” Princess Micah reassured. “We’ll take care of everything.”
“Has Katana been swept for other explosive devices?”
Korwin nodded. “All clean. We need only advise Navitor that we’re leaving. The President of the Republic has cancelled the vote on the Treaty until further debate can be held. We’ll be heading to Centauri Prime for Eloren’s birth.”
Micah smiled, touching her belly.
Dana started up the ramp to the bridge, where the security officers waited. “Carlton and Baker,” she remembered.
“Strap in for flight,” Korwin told them.
“Aye…Welcome aboard, Captain Cartwright.”
Prince Korwin left her at the pilot’s chair, seeing Princess Micah to the station at the back, while Dana did the preflight. Finally, he settled in as copilot.
Dana had to smile, “Just like old times.”
He grinned, “Indeed.”
She fingered the COM button, “Navitor? This is Ambassadorial shuttle Katana, we are ready for departure.”
“Safe journeys.”
“Thank you,” Dana responded, and began to enter the course calculations, focusing on the task.
The communications station sounded. “Katana, this is LoStar. Patempore, Salakarik,” came in Captain Carver’s voice.
Dana fingered the respond button. “Bedmaspore, my sister, Katana out.”
She looked to Prince Korwin, accepted his nod, and engaged the engines.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Janz Macao watched Colonel Xalier licking his forepaws for what seemed like the hundredth time, and nearly hissed with frustration. They were in Briefing Room One, waiting on the Commodore and the Captain.
Quite suddenly, Xalier stopped and stood on his rear paws, straightening his long tunic uniform an instant before the door opened.
Macao rose carefully, following the Colonel’s example.
“At ease,” Captain McHale called, while stepping aside and allowing Commodore Jai the choice of vacant chairs.
Kieran took the one beside his brother, opposite Xalier. “We’re detecting seven ships down there. When Kalis arrives, that’ll make eight.”
“No weapons,” McHale added.
Macao scoffed, “None that we can detect. That disrupter device is…”
“Aye, but we now have the codes, and a way to modulate shields to block it, thanks to Commander Coe,” McHale assured.
“So, how many men do we need?” Kieran asked.
“One…Me,” Xalier purred.
“We want King alive,” Kieran insisted.
“Well, that changes the equation,” Xalier scoffed. “Twelve then...”
“Are we just going to wait for King to arrive?” Macao scowled, “That’s how cat-rat-cheese works.”
“Not exactly,” Captain McHale returned, “I had a thought.”
Thresher’s Captain outlined the mousetrap scenario that he and Commander Coe had devised.
Macao contradicted with his own plan, reminding, “This guy is no fool. He’s every bit as brilliant as Dana Cartwright, and very cunning. He’s not to be under estimated. Look! He got bombs past all our conference security. He has an empire to defend. We may be the rats here. Have you thought of that?”
Kieran Jai sent his brother an icy stare.
“I don’t want any of us to end up dead,” Janz told them in a sobering tone.
Only Xalier scoffed, “Not likely.” The Felidae took the best of both plans, putting forth a modified, dual-purpose plan that they all seemed to find acceptable.
“So? We wait?” Kieran asked.
Xalier nodded. “You wait. I’ll take my team down now.” The Felidae jumped up and gave them all a respectful nod.
“As you wish, Colonel,” Kieran responded, watching his aide pad out.
“I’ll be on the bridge,” McHale offered, leaving on the Colonel’s heels.
The brothers squared off.
“Dana’s worried,” Janz told him.
“She’s safe.”
“She’s aboard Katana with Prince Korwin and Princess Micah.”
Kieran frowned. “I told her to stay aboard LoStar, with the Enturian Ambassadors.”
“The Alphan Ambassador needed a pilot.”
“Where are they headed?”
“They’ve left Crossroads Station, heading for Centauri Prime.” Janz smiled a knowing smile. “She’s perfect for the job. You couldn’t find a better spot for her if you tried, Commodore.”
Kieran groaned.
“After this is all over, do the right thing, brother.” Macao rose, “Don’t let her leave you again; and don’t you dare leave her.”
“Are you going to scold me? You?”
“Fane! Life is too short! Do the right thing. She’s your mate. You’ll never find another. And you’ll kick yourself for the rest of your pathetic life if you push her away.”
“I could make admiral after this.”
“You’ll die trying. No Alphan has ever…Fane!” Janz pushed his chair aside angrily. “Shalee says you’re a jerrat!”
Kieran rolled his eyes. “Is that a cross between a jerk and…”
“It’s worse!” Janz muttered, “More like a lizard or a serpent.”
“Don’t let Xalier kill anyone,” Kieran Jai cautioned.
“My back hurts,” Janz grumbled, starting for the exit.
Kieran Jai watched him go. Once the door swished closed, the Commodore sank back in the high-backed chair. He realized his hands were quaking with anger.
Janz certainly knew the buttons to push, and the emotions to trigger.
“A promotion to admiral is so close I can taste it.” Kieran scowled, “Do I dare give it up now? For love?”
His gut twisted and churned. He loved Dana too much to walk away. Not this time...
Yet, he hated to concede.
Janz was right. The pain of walking away from Dana would kill him.
“Dana…Dana…Dana!”
He made a fist with his left hand, fingernails biting into flesh to fight back tears.
“Four days to Centauri Prime,” Dana told Korwin.
“Set the autopilot and Mister Baker can take the first watch,” Prince Korwin offered, disengaging his lap restraint.
“We all need some rest,” Princess Micah added.
Dana nodded, following down to the lower level where Micah showed her to a lavish cabin.
Korwin assured, “We went over everything. Captain Acker’s belongings were confiscated by SSID. Use the duplicator for anything you need and…oh,” Korwin disappeared down the corridor to the master cabin, returning with a new link-reader. “Our ship’s library is quite extensive.”
“It leans too much toward medical for my taste,” Princess Micah said with a wink.
“And a lot of new entries are on child-rearing,” Korwin teased his mate, taking her mitten hand. “We’ll let you rest.”
Dana watched them until the cabin door shut, then took a quick look around, setting the link-reader on the desktop, impressed with the Dagger Class ship. It certainly had amenities far different from August’s Kalis.
Well, at least the captain’s cabin had them. She stripped, unbraided her hair, showered in the supersonic stall. Afterwards, wrapped in a towel, she programmed the duplicator for a glass of coconut oil to condition her curls.
Dana also had the duplicator produce a cup of chamomile tea, a comb and brush set, a toiletries kit, and a sleeping gown that the menu said was peach silk but to her eyes it looked more like buttercup.
She scrolled a menu, found a uniform similar to Baker’s and Carlton’s. She ordered a petite-small then set the sonic shower to clean her old jumpsuit before hanging it in the massive empty closet.
By the time she settled down on the oversized bed and pulled the luxurious sheet up to her chin, Dana felt dead tired, bordering on exhaustion.
Yet, she heard someone calling her name. The voice was recognizable. Sensing no urgency, she responded, closing her eyes, Kieran, I’m sleeping.
The voice cooed, Good. You’re safe. Sweet dreams.
The wonderfully pleasant hum of the ship’s engines lulled her into a deep sleep.
Hours later, Dana awoke, startled, blinking her eyes, but still seeing a ghostly apparition beside her bed. It wasn’t Janz Macao’s mate, Shalee.
This woman was clearly Galaxean.
“Shelby?” Dana whispered, recognizing the eyes — the warm, brown eyes — though she did not dare to even wonder how it could possibly be her second mother, nor why.
Dana? Come to Galaxea?
A frown formed upon Dana’s face and she demanded, Why? Everyone has lied to me all these years. Why should I?
Yet come…for your brothers…for their sake.
The apparition faded.
Dana pinched her arm, closed and then opened her eyes, hoping she was just dreaming, but nothing changed.
The cabin felt cold and the bed hard beneath her. The lights dimmed again to energy-saver mode as Dana lay back, head upon the pillow.
She could not sleep, struggling for an explanation.
Why Galaxea?
Could it be that Princess Micah he
ld Shelby’s “nous” due to having her eyes? Could the Princess manifest the ghost of a Galaxean? Did the ancient tradition of astral travel apply? Earth had an ancient mystical text that described such things.
Did Solon have such powers? He certainly hadn’t taught her anything about mysticism. Or the philosopher, Galt…
Rather than struggle back to sleep, she got up, retrieved the brand new link-reader Korwin had so graciously given her, and began loading it with key Galaxean texts by mystics and priests.
She speeded through the first two, found links to others, and delved even deeper into both ancient and modern rituals.
And then she hit a link that stopped her cold.
Trin — Terrin Hale, her mother — wrote, “Seven Steps to the Master’s Door,” a treatise for non-Galaxeans studying the ancient way.
The text was edited by, none other than Princess Shelby, daughter of Royal Prince Solon, the Ambassador to the Republic.
As Dana read, a very different picture of her mothers began to form. Her viewpoint softened to a gentle smile. “Oh, I wish I had known them both when I was younger,” she admitted, putting the reader down finally and getting up from the bed.
She dressed in the new uniform with the Alphan ambassadorial insignia on the left sleeve and Prince Korwin’s family crest on the right. Her boots from Tonner III did not seem appropriate, so she selected from the duplicator catalog a new pair in black leather and stored the old with the jumpsuit in the closet.
As she stepped out into the corridor, she caught sight of Korwin quietly exiting the master suite.
He signaled for silence, and motioned Dana down to the galley, ordering two coffees. Taking stools at the breakfast bar side-by-side, he whispered, “Micah had a rough night. Lots of kicking,” Korwin added softly, “I think our son is a little too eager.”
Dana chuckled.
His expression changed from playful to serious. “I had a strange dream last night. Maybe I was overly tired.” Korwin blew on the hot coffee in the ceramic mug before taking a sip. “I dreamt I was at your mating ceremony.”
“Mine?” Dana teased, repeating, incredulously, “Mine?”
“To Admiral Jai.”
Dana Cartwright Mission 3: Kal-King Page 18
