by P H Campbell
"Wait, human magic?" Katy asked, keying in on that.
"Something for the syllabus," Seren replied with a grin in her tone.
"Why do I get the feeling things will be profoundly weird in the future?" Katy asked.
"Probably because they already are," Seren replied.
"Oh!" Katy interjected as the thought occurred, "Do you have any officials to whom I can petition for political asylum?"
"What's that?" Seren wondered.
"It's a legal thing were one government protects a person from another government," Katy replied.
"Who's protecting who from whom?" Seren asked.
"Well, technically, you'd be protecting me and Talon from the UGW," Katy answered honestly. "I'm currently wanted by them for stealing him, even though I think of it as protecting a sentient being from unlawful execution. I believe I mentioned all this before."
"You said you wanted a home," Seren admitted. "You've got one. If you need more than that, I'll be happy to arrange it."
"With the way the UGW operates, they'll recognized your right to grant me asylum as long as you declare your independence," Katy told her. "You're well on your way to doing that already."
"They've already wanted to know what's going on in our neck of the galaxy," Seren admitted. "We can't really walk back what we've done. And since you're our very vital stick to go with our hugs, I think I can convince the Grand Council to grant you citizenship among the Human population. That means no one will come grab you unless you're willing to be grabbed. I'm not sure how that fits into UGW legal terms."
"It'll do, and I love being the stick," Katy replied. "I haven't felt this useful in years. And I thank you from the bottom my heart for that."
"As do I," Talon added.
"You're both welcome, and thank you for restoring our communications satellite," Seren added. "Folks were getting a bit testy down here. It's amazing how fast we learn to rely on things we never had before."
"It certainly can be that way, yes," Katy agreed. "On a more mundane subject, I'll have to land now and then to resupply. But until we can get a defense force able to hold off any damage to the Fusions until Talon can get there, I should stay on station. I have rations and life support for about a year standard."
"We will not keep you up there that long, Katy," Seren promised. "Help will arrive in about seven standard that'll at least slow down anyone stupid enough to come here looking for trouble long enough to get you back where you need to be. After that, things should be a lot more calm. At least calm enough for me to buy you something with a high enough alcohol content to get you to tell me all of your deep, dark secrets."
"As long as you tell me yours, I'm good with that," Katy replied with a chuckle. "Will you still be ruler of your world?"
"Ugh," Seren grunted. "Probably. It's like herding cats, from what I gather. Pigs at least have the sense to do what everyone else wants to do. The way I hear it, cats seem to give shits only about themselves. Someone has to be there with the cat toy to get them all focused on the same thing."
"I'm guessing you've been talking with Ash way too much," Katy laughed.
"She's an amazing young woman," Seren agreed. "Looie… She seems to need more tempering, even if she's gorgeous in her own right, and a hoot when she's drunk. That gal has no filters at all."
"Have you had sex with Ash?" Katy wondered.
"Yes," Seren admitted, fairly certain that what participants in their celebration that evening half a year ago had done with one another had been sexual. "It was… quite an experience. I'm glad for the opportunity to have had it, but Sasha and I have a stronger attraction. That said, we won't turn down another opportunity, should it ever happen again."
Katy thought about Tigara, her former second in command, and Torgith, who once attacked Katy in a fit of lustful rage.
"I didn't know if Ash would swing that way, but no harm in asking if you think the situation calls for it," Katy replied. "In the meantime, I'll be on station."
"We can have the Fusions help you out with supplies if you need them," Seren told her. "Now that our comms are working, we'll make sure you're covered. And if you're on station when the UGW comes knocking, we figure we can negotiate from a position of equality, and they'll be glad for what they get."
"They're not being stiffed," Katy agreed. "Neither are the Shade. Both are being helped in a way that benefits you all, and they're even helping each other. I have to admit, I'm impressed all the way down to my toes with the way you handled all of this."
"Thank you, Katy," Seren said sincerely. "Coming from you, that's the highest praise I've ever received. I just hope I can keep the juggling act going until we're sure it's self-sustaining."
"Hey, you're personal friends with Cinder, the new leader of the Shade Alliance," Katy pointed out. "I'm a living legend in the UGW, even if most people don't know about my sordid past and wanted status. And you're the most famous person in your entire solar system. That's three legends of the galaxy working together to benefit everyone in the galaxy. Come what may, nothing can stop three legends working together to bring peace and prosperity to everyone in a hundred thousand parsecs around them, right?"
"I'll drink to that," Seren agreed. "I'll even buy the drinks for everyone else."
"Second round's on me, and Cinder can pick up the third," Katy agreed.
'Don't forget about us!' Miralenda and Treah told both of the others.
"If we can conjure you guys, or you can do that yourselves, you're invited for that party, too," Seren vowed.
The future was, as always, uncertain. But after a stormy start, the forecast was bright, and beautiful for The World, and for the rest of the galaxy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
P. H. Campbell was born in the heartland of America in 1958, wrote his first book at the age of twelve and has been writing ever since.
He has lived in or visited at least forty of the fifty states in the U.S. Employed from the age of ten, he has been a bicycle mechanic, fry-cook, pizza-maker, bus-boy, paper-boy and cannery worker – all before graduating from high school.
He spent four years in the Navy as a Corpsman, then was employed in the medical field for another twenty. He went back to college, then started his own IT services business in 1998, from which he recently retired.
In addition to writing, he enjoys photography, drafting projects, and art. He creates his own cover art for his books. He plays the occasional MMORPG, builds artificial bonsai trees, model sailing ships, creates simple utility programs and "makes things" that are otherwise hard to find.
He has written a life-time count of 36 books, of which he says only a little over half are worth publishing. He currently lives in California with his wife.
