Pathfinder

by Gun Brooke

  “Sounds like fun. A get-together. Just my thing,” Adina said and closed her eyes. “Computer. Set wakeup signal at level two in four hours.”

  “Affirmative.”

  Briar nodded approvingly. “Good idea. For some strange reason, I’m exhausted.”

  “Oh, really…I wonder why…” Adina maneuvered until she was furled up on the side that ached the least and with her arms around Briar. Curling against her like a content noiomi-feline, Briar actually gave a faint purr.

  They had barely escaped the last trial by fire the Creator, or fate, had seen fit to send them. Several times during these 180 days, they had had to overcome physical challenges, dangerous incidents, and emotional turmoil. Adina credited Briar and Caya, along with Korrian and Meija, for caring enough about her to help peel away all her protective layers and reveal Adina’s authentic self. She had been fully prepared to remain dedicated to her work and make that her sole objective. Little had she known, when Pathfinder launched from the space dock and commenced on the miraculous rescue of Oconodians and Gemosians alike, that so much would happen.

  Adina held Briar closer but was careful not to wake her. For her, Briar’s love was the biggest miracle of all.

  Epilogue

  President Gassinthea Mila Tylio strode into the trauma center in cube eleven. Dressed in stark-black trousers and a thigh-long turquoise jacket, she wore her white-streaked blond hair in a long ponytail. Behind her, presidential guards, other security officers, her two assistants, and the two ministers she depended on the most hurried along.

  Outside the room where a specialized team cared for Hadler, Thea stopped and raised her hand, palm forward, not even looking at her entourage. “Wait here until I call for any of you.” She stepped into the hospital room, stopping at the side of the bed of the man she had been married to for more than twenty years.

  “Hadler?”

  “Gassinthea,” the man in the bed said huskily. He was pale, and his skin actually still held a faint green tint from the compound of chemicals and white garnet in his system. He had yet to regain full function of his extremities, something the physicians had warned her could take up to six months. “Where were you when I woke up?” he asked, his arm flailing as he tried to reach for her. She didn’t move closer.

  “I had state business to attend to,” she said coolly. “Your medical team assures me you’re going to survive and, given time, regain your health.”

  “I need you more than ever.” He panted, trying to sit up. Immediately a nurse stopped him and cautioned him to remain still. The less he moved in this initial stage, the less the residual chemicals would travel through his body.

  “Rest,” Thea said and knew her word sounded callous and more like a command. “I’m sure your friends—or what do you usually call them, your associates—I would expect some, if not all of them, will pay you visits and put cool hands on your forehead.”

  “Gassinthea!” Hadler said. “What are you—are you crazy? You don’t want to mention—”

  “We’re beyond petty secrets, abusive behavior, and keeping up appearances, Hadler. I should have done this a long time ago, but my presidency meant too much to me, so I bided my time for far too long. Now when we’re on our way to P-105 and I need to focus everything on my job to keep this ship and its passengers safe, I don’t have time for you or your demented power games anymore.” She stepped closer and leaned over his bed, looking him in the eyes. “I’m divorcing you. Thirty days from now, our union is nullified. Once you’re released from this hospital unit, you’ll be given quarters in another cube. I’ll have your private possessions put in storage until that time.”

  She stood straight again and turned to leave. “My assistants will be in with documents that need your fingerprints. I suggest you don’t cause any trouble or try to delay this. I know more of you and your escapades than you think—as well as the business arrangements you conduct at your club.” She tilted her head, allowing her fury to show. “Not to mention all the evidence of abuse I’ve collected over the years. Once I leave this room, I fully expect never to see you again.”

  “But, Gassinthea—”

  “Good-bye, Hadler. May the Creator aid you in your recovery.”

  “It’s that little bitch, isn’t it? That Red Angel whore of a changer? She poisoned your mind with that clairvoyant shit she spouts? How the hell can you put such a criminal before your own—”

  Thea moved so fast, she frightened him; she could see that as she wheeled and bent over him, slamming her hands down onto the bed railing, her nose almost touching his. She put her hands on his shoulders, pressing him into the bed, digging her fingertips into his skin. “She saved your life,” Thea hissed. “Briar risked her own life to save your pathetic ass and nearly lost the woman she loves in the process. You don’t even get to say her name. If I hear any rumors of you speaking of Briar or her sister to anyone, I will use one of the many reasons I have to throw you in the brig for the duration of our journey. Is. That. Understood?”

  Hadler gasped for air and was actually starting to look asphyxiated. She didn’t care but waited for his response. Around her, the staff waited to assist Hadler but did nothing to stop her.

  “All right. Fuck it. I said all right!” Hadler broke into a fit of coughing when she let him go. The nurses moved in immediately, but Thea quickly left the room. She waved her fingers dismissively to her male assistant. “He’s ready to sign the documents. Once it’s done, issue a press release.”

  As she walked toward the entrance where the presidential jumper waited to take her back to cube one, Thea felt as if she had actually lost weight. Having this man finally out of her life, after years of humiliation and looking the other way, made her feel intoxicated. This part of her life was over, and she would never have to dread or plan around his abusive nature again. This side of him of course only manifested itself when they were alone. As much as she’d tried to avoid their confrontations, sometimes it had been unavoidable, and that was when Hadler had taken the chance to even the score, as he put it. The more her success and power had grown, the more she’d had to pay for it when he felt slighted in any way.

  Thea shook her head, refusing to let dark memories of pain and shame ruin this moment. Right now, she found it remarkably easy to breathe, and she walked on such light feet, she briefly wondered if the inertial dampeners were malfunctioning again. It didn’t matter that the burden of ultimate responsibility would keep giving her sleepless nights. Being accountable for two million souls was daunting, but she’d long accepted this as her role, her fate. She could handle it as she’d handled everything else, by working hard and forging ahead. Actually, she’d have an advantage, as she had the unorthodox help of an oracle and a medium. They would help in her quest to save their people.

  As the jumper hurtled through the tunnels toward cube one, Thea leaned back and smiled. She planned to indulge herself for a few moments while in transit and simply enjoy the fact that she was free.

  About the Author

  Gun Brooke resides in the countryside in Sweden with her very patient family. A retired neonatal intensive care nurse, she now writes full-time, only rarely taking a break to create websites for herself or others and to do computer graphics. Gun writes both romances and sci-fi.

  Follow Gun Brooke on the web at gbrooke-fiction.com, or on social media:

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/gunbach

  Twitter:@redheadgrrl1960

  Tumblr: gunbrooke.tumblr.com

  LiveJournal: redheadgrrl1960.livejournal.com

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

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