Diplomatic Crisis (The Empress' Spy Book 2)

by S. E. Weir

  It was unsettling.

  Unsettling?

  He pushed that line of inquiry aside and latched onto another thought process. The Aurians were almost extinct, their people dying, yet they still had tried to help when they thought others were attacking their rescuers, mistaken though they were. They helped the other side once they realized the truth. Their people were simple but not simplistic.

  He found them fascinating.

  The rest of the team had worked together in surprising ways as well. They didn’t have the near-certain death sentence Genius Girl currently lived under, yet they risked their lives to help each other and the Aurians. Logically it made no sense to risk their lives for others, and yet they all had.

  He followed that line of thought. The Empire had been built on the same principle, with the Empress and her people constantly risking their lives to save others. One could argue they were merely taking strides toward establishing the power of the Empire, yet if one studied their actions, they were more often than not predicated by either a cry for help or a desire to rid the universe of beings who took advantage of others—the Kurtherians.

  Stark supposed one could argue that those who risked their lives for no direct benefit were idiots.

  He didn’t see that assertion going over well.

  And that would mean Genius Girl was and wasn’t a genius, which was paradoxical.

  Unbidden, the images of Genius Girl sprang to mind: sitting at the table talking to those she now considered family and speaking to him while she was on the move. Her actions toward Stark were little different than her actions toward Ryan, Maxim, or Drk-vaen. She treated Stark very similarly. Like…family.

  That thought warmed him in a way his computational processes weren’t able to explain.

  >>It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for you to realize what has been in front of you all along.<<

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Etheric Empire, Planet Lyriem, Pod

  Phina, wait.

  Her eyes opened seconds after they had shut at Braeden’s urgent words. I’m listening.

  Once you start, you cannot stop, no matter how much pain I’m in.

  The blood drained out of her face. That doesn’t sound good. Are you sure we have to do it? Maybe we can find some other way.

  No other way has come to mind. Little sister, my apologies for how difficult this will be. If I could do it myself, I would, but if I could, then this all would be unnecessary. His voice began to fade more, causing alarm.

  Of course.

  Just go slowly and gently, and unless you believe you will die if you keep going, don’t stop.

  Right.

  Phina puffed air out of her lungs, then closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths to relax. The itchy restlessness had come back with a vengeance, so relaxing proved difficult. I can do this. I can do this. Braeden is dying, and he’s counting on me to help. Phina remembered his fading mental voice and told herself to get a move on.

  With her hands over his two hearts, Phina focused her attention on directing the extra energy in her body toward Braeden. A wave rippled outward, and Braeden’s body jerked under her hands. Gently, she reminded herself. Slowly.

  Her mind ran through a number of possibilities and discarded them in the span of seconds. Finally, she decided to go with instinct as well as common sense and focused on the physical connection between her hands and his body. Phina immersed herself in the sensation of Braeden’s skin, his slowing heartbeats, and his sense of life. Mentally she reached for Braeden’s sense of self and held on tight.

  Using only a small amount of energy, Phina gently moved a thread toward Braeden by way of the physical connection through her hands. The energy slid into him but dissipated. Frowning, Phina wondered whether the result indicated she hadn’t used enough or whether the energy needed something to anchor it. After increasing both the amount of energy flowing and the rate of flow, she concluded that an anchor would be needed.

  Wishing she could rub her forehead to relieve the developing ache, she wondered how she would be able to accomplish that.

  Etheric Empire, QBS Stark

  Link followed at the tail end of a number of Aurians as they trotted onto the ship. When he reached the control panel beside the cargo bay, he surveyed the land outside one more time. Dust drifted, dead plant life blew across the ground, and the buildings in the distance had an absence of light and movement. There were no signs of life anywhere except on the other ship.

  This planet was the most depressing he had ever encountered.

  Link engaged the team through his implant. “Maxim. Ryan.”

  “Greyson.”

  “Yeah, man.”

  Ryan’s tenor drawl contrasted with Maxim’s clipped deeper tones. Their voices suited each completely.

  “All ready on your end?”

  “Just finished with the last Aurians boarding the ship. We should be ready to go as soon as Ryan gets his ass up to the bridge and flies us out of here.”

  “I’m on my way, Grumpy Gus. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

  “Who says I wear panties, Ryan? I didn’t realize my drawers were so fascinating to you. I could just ask Stark to fly this rust bucket if you think it’s beyond the scope of your abilities. Flying three ships is nothing for him, I’m sure.”

  Ryan sputtered protests, causing Link to laugh.

  “Keep it together, you two. Just get into the air.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Got it.”

  Link took one last look at the empty terrain in front of him and pushed the buttons to close the hatch.

  “Stark, put us on course to intercept the Pod, will you? I am uneasy about leaving the two of them out there alone.”

  “Don’t worry, Genius Girl is saving the day.”

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  Only later did he realize that was the first time he could remember having Stark advise him on something that was emotionally related.

  Etheric Empire, Planet Lyriem, Pod

  Phina sat thinking with her head tilted to the side. The slight burn of the stretch kept her thoughts focused. Braeden believed this would work, but pushing the energy in or trickling it in didn’t work. Perhaps…

  She released another trickle into the connection between them through her hands, but again, it felt like the energy evaporated. It seemed to hit something, then bounce off. It couldn’t be anything physical.

  Braeden?

  Little sister?

  Do you have any shields up? The energy isn’t going into you. It bounces off of something.

  Phina got the impression Braeden mentally mumbled curse words in Gleek. A moment, please.

  Long before a moment had passed, she felt a sudden feeling of openness under her hands, though physically, nothing had changed. Weird. Making another attempt, Phina discovered the energy didn’t dissipate but felt like it entered Braeden’s hearts. Gradually, Phina increased the amount of energy she sent and quickly realized she had to be extremely careful about how much and how fast it entered his body.

  This is taking forever.

  My apologies, little sister. It doesn’t seem like anything can be done to speed up the process.

  That’s all right. It’s just going to be rough for a while.

  Phina didn’t know how long she leaned forward with her hands on Braeden’s chest. She lost track of everything except the energy flowing through the connections between them. When a hand covered hers, she opened her eyes and saw Braeden’s bright green eyes.

  I have enough energy for now, little sister. We can do more later if it is needed.

  She took a deep breath and nodded, letting her hands slip away. She wasn’t in pain, but for the first time in a long while, she felt really tired. That extra pulse of energy that drove her to constantly move was gone. Phina was both relieved and a little scared. Providing the energy for Braeden had been nothing short of amazing. That she had used so much of her energy and still Braeden moved slowly
and cautiously showed her how very close to death he had come. She shook out her body, which had grown stiff from sitting in one position for so long.

  Are you going to be all right?

  Eventually. The amount of energy I had accumulated throughout my life will not come back quickly or easily. It will take time.

  Perhaps when I have that excess energy accumulated again, I can give it to you.

  Braeden gave her a small smile. That would help both of us.

  Rather fortuitous, don’t you think? Phina waggled her eyebrows.

  Indeed.

  So, what caused the drain on your body? Phina stood up and began to pace. Fudging crumbs. Already her energy had begun to replenish, giving her that annoying restless feeling, though it was far less than it had been.

  Braeden’s voice spoke with a slight rasp. That is something I will need to talk to everyone about, and we will need the leaders of the Aurians, especially.

  Perfect. Everyone is waiting for you.

  Phina and Braeden looked over to see Link standing in the doorway, his face showing both concern and amusement.

  “How did you get here?”

  He gave a light shrug. “The same way you did, I imagine. I came on board.”

  Phina walked over and leaned around him, seeing the cargo bay of Stark through the door of the Pod. “Huh. Apparently we missed that.”

  “You were occupied,” Link agreed. He leaned close, brown eyes narrowing. “What did I tell you about rule number four?”

  She rolled her eyes and gave him a scowl of displeasure. “I knew you were going to say something!”

  “Don’t mess with me today, kid. Rule number four.”

  “Always be ready to defend yourself,” she recited in a monotone.

  “That’s right.” He looked at her expectantly.

  Widening her eyes innocently, Phina pressed a hand to her heart. “I was saving Braeden’s life.”

  “Don’t give me that. You can do both at the same time.”

  “Have you ever connected mentally to someone to hold onto their sense of self while you trickle energy into their body and monitor their health and well-being so you don’t overload them in order to save their life?” She smiled sweetly.

  “You know I haven’t.”

  The smile and every spark of emotion dropped from her face. “Then stop criticizing. I had my attention split three ways. I couldn’t handle a fourth one and knew Stark would have said something if we had a problem.”

  Link leaned his head forward, his eyes weary. “Stark can’t warn you about everything. You have to be more aware because not everyone will have your back.”

  She shook her head thoughtfully. “That’s not very trusting.”

  “That’s called self-preservation.”

  Phina stared at him, then realized their faces were less than a foot apart, much closer than felt comfortable. As she eased away, still considering Link’s firm statements, she caught sight of Braeden from the corner of her eye, sitting still to be unobtrusive. For a tall, lanky Gleek, that was quite a feat. Link still stood in front of her, seeming to dare her to make a follow-up comment. She decided not to call him on it…yet.

  “Didn’t you say they were waiting?”

  Etheric Empire, In Orbit around Planet Lyriem, QBS Stark

  She-Who-Mourns sat in a chair sized to make her feel like a child again and watched these unknown beings carefully. She knew what they called themselves and each other. She saw what they had done and how they acted. But their motivations were still hazy to her, which made her wary of what they wanted. The Skaines had used the pretense of being their rescuers to enslave them. She-Who-Mourns did not feel very trusting after that revelation, but the earnestness she had seen in the young female’s eyes caused her to want to try again.

  “So…” The female featuring in her thoughts of trust paused between bites. She scarfed down three nutrition bars but had slowed on her fourth. She had introduced herself as Phina and now waved her hand at the four Aurians. “Is dark hair a male thing and white hair a female thing, or is there something significant about the colors?”

  After exchanging glances with He-Who-Listens, who was sitting next to her, She-Who-Mourns nodded at Phina. “It is, as you say, a male and female thing.”

  “That’s a useful thing, knowing at a glance.”

  She-Who-Mourns remained silent since the comment didn’t appear to need a response. She glanced at the three males with her, but their expressions made it clear they were even less inclined to speak. She bit back a sigh. Of course. Why put themselves out to be noticed when she could do it instead?

  The other beings with the young female, the tall, thin bald one they called Braeden and the shorter one with hair they called Greyson Wells, sat in silence on the other side of the table. It was clear the females would be facilitating the discussion at hand.

  After another glance around the table, She-Who-Mourns decided she would just get it over with. Subtlety would be pointless right now, and these creatures seemed to favor being direct. “Could you explain why you helped us?”

  Phina finished the last bite of her nutrition bar and licked her fingers clean before folding her hands together and speaking. She focused on She-Who-Mourns. “We, the Empire, choose to help those we encounter who need help, sometimes by fighting oppressors, liberating slaves, or providing food and shelter when needed. Our Empress has pledged to destroy the Kurtherians, who have done many terrible and unspeakable things in their quests for knowledge and power. In essence, we are the cleanup crew, trying to make the wrong they did right again while we search for them.

  “We, as in our group, heard about your situation when I was able to translate the recordings that were made when our people visited your planet eight years ago and again three years ago. At the time, no one understood your language, and it only seemed to our people to be beautiful music. It wasn’t until the last few weeks that I was able to understand the words and create a translation program with the help of one of my teachers. Once we realized that you were in trouble, we came as quickly as we could.”

  “I see.” She-Who-Mourns wanted to rage and despair at the same time. She remembered when those groups had come, though not to the villages where she had been at the time. Visitors were not so frequent that news didn’t spread about them fairly quickly. In the time since, thousands upon thousands of people had died.

  Phina must have seen her distress since the young female leaned forward with sorrow and compassion in her eyes. “I’m so sorry about the lives that were lost. I wish we had figured it out sooner.”

  She-Who-Mourns raised a hand and shook her head. “It was not your responsibility. We are just grateful we were saved. Thank you for all you have done to help us.”

  Phina swallowed roughly and nodded. “Is there anything else I can answer about who we are or what we are doing here?”

  “Not at the moment,” She-Who-Mourns managed, though suppressed sobs formed an ache in her chest. “What are your plans for us?” The males on the other side of the table exchanged glances with Phina, which gave She-Who-Mourns an uneasy feeling. “What are you not telling us?”

  “Oh, we aren’t telling you a lot yet, but the main issue now is related to the reason your planet is dying. Braeden?” She turned to the male on her left. “Do you want to explain?”

  The overgrown green-eyed male gave Phina a sideways glance, which caused her mouth to twitch. She-Who-Mourns had the strangest feeling there was some sort of unspoken communication between the two and cocked her head to pay more attention. He spoke in measured tones with a distinct and clear sound to them.

  “Do you know what caused your planet to start dying?”

  She-Who-Mourns froze, and her people shook their heads. “You know?”

  His green eyes focused on her, causing her to feel uneasy. “I have suppositions based on what I felt. My body began breaking down and dying within minutes of landing on the planet.”

  Her eyes widened as she whisp
ered. “So quickly?”

  “Yes. It is only through a series of fortunate events that I am still alive.”

  He-Who-Acts fidgeted in his chair. She suspected he also felt uncomfortable with the chair proportions since he had an even greater sense of pride. “Well? Don’t leave us in suspense!”

  “I won’t talk about the events that kept me alive, but I will share what I believe is happening. As I lay semi-conscious, I became aware of a tug.”

  “A tug?” She-Who-Mourns tilted her head in puzzlement.

  “Yes. A tug that pulled the energy out of my body toward a specific location on the planet.”

  Her heart sped up, and she swallowed roughly. Braeden’s gaze sharpened, which gave her the sense that he had felt her sudden spike of fear. She shook her head, trying to push the absurd thought aside.

  “A specific direction? Then you think the energy is going somewhere?”

  “Correct.”

  “What could do that?” He-Who-Listens whispered.

  “That is what we hope to find out.” They heard the voice, though a quick glance around the room revealed no one to match.

  Phina tilted her face to the ceiling with a huge smile on her face. “ADAM!”

  The man next to her, Greyson Wells, sighed and leaned an elbow on the table.

  “ADAM?” She-Who-Mourns leaned forward, curious.

  Wells gave her an amused but irritated glance. “The Empire’s eyes and ears. He’s an AI.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Link was bemused by the confusion in the Aurians’ faces, so he clarified.

  “AI. Artificial Intelligence.”

  Apparently the Aurians hadn’t advanced enough before their decline to know the term. The thought filled him with unease. Shouldn’t other aliens have developed AI technology before now? Surely humans couldn’t be the only ones. Pushing the thought aside to deal with the current problem, he turned to Braeden and leaned around Phina.

  “What’s your best guess?”

  Braeden’s hairless brow furrowed; the expression looked odd without eyebrows. “Guess about what could be causing the pull of energy? I assume the mechanism is technological, but that could be wrong. Just because we haven’t come across anything biological that could have done it doesn’t negate the possibility.” He tilted his head in thought, the awareness in his eyes fading as his attention turned inward. “Though a biological anomaly would be an amazing discovery, wouldn’t it?”