“I checked on everything. All was in working order.” Jol drew a deep breath. “I was going to wait until we had more information to tell you what we found, but you might as well know. Preliminary investigation shows the prevention system in the Amgar home was disabled just prior to the fire. The blaze itself was set with oil used to lubricate farm machine mechanisms.”
“Murdering gurlucks,” Ospar swore with the most foul curse he knew.
“My Dramok, the situation may be worse than a mere attack by the E.I.K. The signs of tampering with the system were quite subtle, unlike the fire itself which was obviously set by amateurs.”
Ospar sat up straight in his seat and stared at Jol. The look on his Nobek’s face made his stomach feel heavy. “What are you saying?”
“Those fire suppression systems in the Earther homes are Kalquorian manufactured. Because they can only be shut down for repair work by regulation, not too many Earthers would know how to turn the system off.”
The Dramok went very still. “You’re saying ... one of us? A Kalquorian was involved?”
Jol held up a hand, warning Ospar not to jump to conclusions. “I must wait for the investigative team’s final report to make that determination. But the signs are not good.”
Ospar stared at him. “An Earther-set fire with Kalquorian help. Jol, you do realize what that might mean?”
The Nobek’s jaw clenched. “This colony is perfect for angry Earthers like the E.I.K. and the resistance led by the Basma to work together.”
“But we’re not that big a colony yet. How could Haven possibly play a role in the rebellion?”
“The revolt against the Empire is still small. Every blow for its cause is a victory that will draw more disaffected Kalquorians into its ranks, especially those who have no opportunity to clan Earther Mataras. Haven is growing and unique in that it is the one Earther colony run by the Empire. What happens here could be seen as a precursor for the whole of Earther-Kalquorian relations.”
Jol was right. If the rebellion on Kalquor had indeed placed Haven as an important site to further its cause, the colony could be in great trouble.
Still, an issue of a more personal nature was stealing Ospar’s attention from where it needed to be as Haven’s governor. The sooner he addressed that concern, the sooner he could concentrate on what he needed to do for the colony.
He said, “Jol, I’m very scared for Iris and Thomas now. No matter how many guards you post at their home, I will not be comfortable with the level of security. Not after this.”
Jol turned his head to consider the Dramok. After a moment’s silence, he said, “They are safest with us. I have been thinking they should remain with our clan.”
His Nobek’s agreement lifted some of the dark chill that had enveloped Ospar’s heart. “I wish with all my being that we were asking Iris under the proper circumstances.”
Jol found a smile. His deep voice soft, he said, “You worry too much. We knew from the very first moment she was our Matara and Thomas was the son of our hearts. Why wait another second to make our family whole, though the circumstances are less than romantic?”
His usual good humor creeping back to life, Ospar said, “I will speak to Rivek to make certain he is as sure as we are.”
“You know the answer.”
Ospar gave his clanmate a mock scowl. “I will still grant our Imdiko the respect of a proper inquiry. Then all that is left is to convince Iris herself.”
The mood in the shuttle had lightened considerably. Ospar even found his grin returning as he thought how recently he’d been sure he could not juggle his demanding career and a Matara and children. Now he looked forward to the challenge.
If Iris was willing. But even not knowing for sure if she would accept the clan’s proposal couldn’t quash the hope springing to life in Ospar’s heart. His Matara. His son. Kept close and safe by his clan. And if Iris balked?
Then I will wait until she is ready to clan, but still shelter her and the boy. Ospar would wait forever to make them his family officially if need be, but he vowed Iris and Thomas would not be harmed.
When Ospar and Jol reached their home and stepped into the grand entrance, they found Rivek and Borl waiting to greet them. Ospar’s first question was, “Are Iris and Thomas all right?”
Rivek nodded, wearing the gentle smile that always seemed to calm Ospar’s worst fears. “They are. Thomas just woke and Iris is seeing to his morning routine.”
“Good. In a moment, I’d like to talk with you about their situation.” He turned to his aide. “Borl, what news do you have?”
The always efficient Dramok aide answered, “The Amgar children are doing well. The medical facility reports they will be released from care as early as this afternoon if they continue to respond to treatment. Nobek Groteg will take a little longer, perhaps three or four days. His lungs took quite a bit of damage. For now Imdiko Utber and woman wish to remain with them in the facility. I have prepared guest quarters for them in the Kalquorian village when they are ready to use it.”
Ospar nodded. “Excellent. Thank you for arranging everything. Keep checking on them and let me know when you feel I may visit them and offer my condolences.”
“Yes, Governor. Will you be going to the administration building this morning?”
“No. Route all correspondence directly to me here and close the office for the day. Go home and get some sleep. Then take care of Clan Amgar.”
Borl blinked at him. “You were up all night yourself, sir. I would be happy to man the coms.”
Ospar didn’t usually offer much familiarity to his staff, but this time he put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. If Borl was half as affected by recent events, he no doubt needed time to absorb the shocks. “There is no point. We don’t have answers to give anyone until the investigative team finishes its analysis of the evidence gathered at the crime scene. I would appreciate it if you’d post an announcement to that effect. Then get some rest. We’ll have a lot of work tomorrow depending on what is found.”
“Of course, Governor.” Borl turned to Jol. “Will you also remain here, sir?”
Jol nodded. “For today. I have already informed my staff of their duties and where they can reach me.”
Borl asked a few questions to make sure everything would run smoothly for the next few hours. The man was efficient to a fault, and Ospar felt a sense of relief that nothing was being forgotten in the wake of the attack on Clan Amgar. Then the aide left.
“Let’s go to my office and have that talk,” Ospar told his clan, though what he really wanted to do was look in on Iris and Thomas. But Rivek had said Iris was seeing to the boy’s routine, and that was too important to disrupt any more than it already had been. The Dramok anticipated many meltdowns in the coming days as Thomas tried to adjust. Still, he felt nothing but delight to have the child and his mother under his roof.
The three men walked down the hall to Ospar’s home office, which was a near copy of the one in the administration building. Having it so allowed Ospar to run his business smoothly when he couldn’t be at his public space. His computers and coms were linked directly with a single voice command.
They entered the room, and Ospar led the other two straight to the small seating area in the corner: a traditional Kalquorian space that consisted of a low, circular table with large seating cushions spread around it. Ospar sank onto one cushion with a sigh. His clanmates ranged around the table, also sitting.
Ospar eyed his Imdiko, wearing a simple white shirt and loose gray trousers. He was barefoot, as he preferred when he didn’t have to go out in the snow. “You’re not wearing your armored formsuit or robes. I’m assuming I don’t have to ask you to not go to the temple today.”
“I wasn’t aware that you didn’t plan to go to work, so I decided I would remain here with Iris and Thomas. I am still loathe to leave their sides.” Rivek sighed and rubbed his eyes, finally letting some of his grief and exhaustion peek through. “Poor Utber. I canno
t imagine the pain he is in right now, having lost Amgar. And to see the rest of his family threatened! Such an attack is madness.”
“You’ll get no argument from me. Who did you send to sit with the family?”
“Master Nis. He initially counseled the clan when they realized their feelings for Sara and the children had gone beyond simple compassion.”
Like us, Ospar thought. And they paid a heavy price for such love, didn’t they? A Matara and children threatened, a Dramok dead.
Once more he thought of Iris and Thomas alone, fending for themselves against such unspeakable violence. No. It could not happen.
He cleared his throat. “Jol and I have been talking. We wish Iris and Thomas to join our clan.”
Rivek’s eyebrows raised. “Had we not already determined this? I thought it was only a matter of the formality of asking Iris and gaining her acceptance.” He smiled, some of his grief dissipating.
Ospar returned the expression, feeling a warm wash of contentment. Jol looked pleased as well, though not surprised.
“What do you think her answer will be?” he asked Rivek. “You have the most insight of us all into how hearts and minds work.”
Rivek folded his hands on the table top and thought for a few moments. “Simple practicality would lead her to saying yes. We offer much that will make her life easier and more pleasurable. Not to mention safer,” he added, a touch of darkness returning to his eyes and tightening his jaw. Then his face smoothed over again. “That Thomas responds to us so well also puts the odds in our favor. It’s obvious Iris genuinely likes us, and that may translate soon to love, if nurtured properly.”
“There is also that factor of spirit recognition,” Jol added. His expression turned a little embarrassed. “I’d never paid much attention to the idea before, thinking it a silly fantasy made up by romantic lovers. Now it just seems so – so perfect. It’s the only thing that explains how I immediately felt so intensely for them.”
Ospar couldn’t resist teasing. “You felt intensely for me too at first. Except it was more a matter of how much you wanted to kick my ass.”
Jol growled playfully. “Some things never change, my Dramok.”
Chuckling, Ospar turned back to the grinning Rivek. “So you think she’ll say yes?”
The Imdiko surprised him by shrugging and looking completely at a loss. “Ospar, there is honestly no way of knowing how she’ll respond to our proposal. Iris is female. I remember all too well what that condition did to my mother and sister. Quite frankly, all bets are off.”
That triggered uproarious laughter from the other two. When they settled back down, Jol said, “Part of the allure of women is that you never know what they’re thinking.”
“The mystery and adventure is daunting but delightful,” Ospar agreed.
* * * *
Thomas had eaten without much fuss at the low table in his room. The little boy seemed ready to disappear into his Kalquorian-sized seating cushion, which he very much enjoyed rolling around on while eating a hard-boiled egg. Now he chewed his tooth-cleansing tablet while kicking his feet at the ceiling.
Iris was just finishing her cup of coffee when Thomas asked for what felt like the hundredth time, “Where’s Rivek?”
For the hundredth time, Iris answered, “At work.”
“Where’s Jol?”
“He’s at work too. Ospar is at work. All your friends are at work, Thomas.”
He rolled onto his stomach and regarded her, milk mustache drying on his upper lip. “Jol comes home.”
“He will eventually.” Iris wiped at Thomas’ mouth. He jerked away and began rolling over the cushions again.
Iris stood and went into the small attached facility. She found a cloth, wetted it, and rejoined Thomas. Her child had a hatred of combs and brushes. His over-long hair thankfully didn’t seem to be tangled, so Iris’ best solution to taming it was to wipe the flyaway strands down with the cloth to achieve some semblance of grooming.
She set to work, trying to hang onto Thomas with one hand while swiping at his hair with the other. He ducked and dodged with squeals.
“No!”
“Let me at least get this mess to lay flat. You look like a sasquatch.”
“Stop!” Thomas grabbed the cloth and tried to take it from her.
“Hold still. It will only take a second if you’ll cooperate.” Iris got most of the back of his hair flattened to his head, but there was that stubborn cowlick that always gave her problems. “It would be nice for you to look civilized for a change.”
He continued to struggle. “Thomas wants Osbar. Thomas wants Rivek. Thomas wants Jol.”
Iris finally gave up. Thomas looked a little better than he had, but as soon as she let him go, he flopped all over the cushion, messing his hair up again. She sighed. Well, she got points for trying, she decided.
She used the cloth to wipe at egg yolk crumbs and the drops of milk on the table. “You like Ospar’s clan, don’t you?” she asked her son. “They like you too. And they’re much better to you than your father was.”
“Where’s Rivek?”
Iris sighed and decided it was the wrong encouragement to keep answering the same questions over and over. Eventually, Thomas would tire of asking.
“Where’s Jol?”
Thank God Conrad was out of their lives. The more she compared the clan to her deceased husband, the more she found him wanting. She knew such thoughts were evil, but Iris was genuinely glad Conrad was dead. At least she never had to worry about him threatening Thomas’ wellbeing. He couldn’t hit or hurt her anymore either.
“Where’s Osbar?”
Iris absently corrected him, rising to take the soiled cloth back into the restroom. “His name is Os-Par, sweetie. Puh-puh-puh. Par. Ospar,” she enunciated
As she rinsed the cloth in the basin, she thought hard about her current situation, comparing it to the life she’d had on Earth. She had nothing to fear from the Kalquorians who had taken her and Thomas in. Sure, they did things in the bedroom that made her nervous, things that put her right on edge in fact, but actual harm? No. She’d never felt so safe in her life. And they wouldn’t hurt Thomas. She was positive of that.
Who am I kidding? It’s not just the stability and kindness that draws me to them. It’s utterly ridiculous, but I’ve fallen in love. Just like that. I think Thomas has too.
Just as Iris returned to the bedroom, Thomas yelled out, “Find Osbar!” He jumped up and ran for the door.
“Thomas, no!”
He evaded her attempt to catch him. The door opened automatically at his approach and he was flying down the corridor, his cowlick bouncing merrily as he thundered away. Iris ran after him, sure that at any moment he would crash into something valuable and break it.
“Thomas, come back here!”
Thomas dashed out of the sleeping room wing, finding his way to the main part of the house. From there he dashed down another hallway that Iris hadn’t seen before.
The kid could certainly move. His long, slim legs allowed him to stay ahead of Iris, and she saw him glance into the open doorways of rooms as he passed them. More than once, he nearly slammed into a piece of statuary or a table, missing destruction and injury by the barest of margins.
He shouted the names of the clan as he went, determined to find the men. “Rivek! Jol!”
Iris was finally gaining on him. Her shouted warning, “Thomas, look out!” got her son to veer away from a sculpture just in time.
Without slowing for an instant, he bellowed, “Osbar! Jol! Where’s Jol?”
At last a rolling, deep voice answered from one of the doorways ahead, “I’m in here, Thomas.”
Thomas shot to the opening and disappeared inside. Iris ran in two seconds later to find Thomas being held in Jol’s arms. Ospar and Rivek stood on either side of the pair, looking amused.
Iris halted, fighting to catch her breath. She noted she was in an immense room, an office to judge from the desk with several com
puters placed on its surface. It was possibly the grandest office she’d ever seen, something befitting a lord or even a king, perhaps. She was impressed.
Iris looked at the Kalquorians, chagrined. “I’m sorry he interrupted. He got away from me.”
Thomas clapped his hands on either side of the Nobek’s face, exuberant and smiling. “Find Jol!” he announced, as if he deserved congratulations. Jol laughed and bounced him in his arms.
Ospar waved off Iris’ concerns, coming towards her to take her hand and tug her further into the room. “He’s perfectly fine, Iris. Thomas is more than welcome in any part of the house, including my office.”
She was only partly mollified by the Dramok’s understanding. “He needs to learn he can’t just take off on me like that.”
Rivek came close to stroke her hair soothingly. “He will. We will work on it until he does.”
Iris looked at the three men, who seemed to all be in high spirits. Hoping it boded well for the emergency Ospar and Jol had been called out on, she asked, “How – how is everything? With that clan that got attacked? I heard one of them died.”
The three faces beaming at her and Thomas immediately sobered. Swallowing hard, Ospar said, “They are without their Dramok now, and it will be hard for them to adjust to that.”
“Oh no,” Iris breathed.
Rivek added, “They will receive counseling and aid. We will see to it.”
Looking at Thomas, Iris had to ask the uppermost question on her mind. “The children are all right though?”
Ospar nodded. “They will be. They suffer from a little smoke inhalation, but that at least is easily fixed.”
They stood there in silence for a few minutes. Iris knew loss herself. It had been hard to not find her parents after Armageddon. They’d lived on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., and Iris had immediately headed there following the blasts. The little picturesque inn her mother and father owned had been empty and looted, with no sign of either of them. As far as Iris knew, they’d never been found alive or otherwise. It had left an enormous hole in her life, even though Conrad had often kept her from seeing them before the end of Earth. She could well imagine the pain Sara and the rest of her surviving clan dealt with right now.
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