Danika left the female pack and walked over to Lucan smiling up at his cold visage as if he was not the most dangerous man on the moon. "We need to contact the Ambassador so he can stop worrying about Kelia."
He nodded, not surprised. "I have it set up to connect in the conference room. We can have lunch after you speak. It's secure, but don't say anything more than you need to."
They all shuffled into the conference room, which surprised Trig. She had not thought anyone would willingly submit to what the high Ambassador was likely to dish but his daughters.
The room itself was large and empty but for the long round table that dominated it. The com unit was placed there, and Trig wondered that they had decided to use a portable one, rather than take them to an established com. But, she had to admit the wide windows that overlooked the ocean made her happy that they did.
The big man Tuft worked some magic and then stepped away. While they waited for the response Lara pulled her and Nori to the chairs that faced the screen. She was practically pushed into the one centered on the screen, which would also not have been her choice. Because of that she was front and center when the High Ambassador, Captain of his guard Malik and the com controller Cevi flashed onto the screen. Since they all looked both surprised and relieved to see her, she had to wonder what message Tuft had sent to get their attention. Because she doubted he had mentioned anything about kidnapping their truthsayer.
"Trig," Malik, surprisingly was the first to speak. It was as if it burst out of him in relief because the next moment he was back to his emotionless mask deferring to the ambassador to speak, which was his usual, seeing as he was the boss.
"Hello Malik," Trig said acknowledging the man before she turned to the ambassador. "High Ambassador Tryne." She bowed her head in a brief acknowledgment of his status, and he went from looking relieved to looking at his daughters at either of Trig’s elbows.
"I take it you two are the reason my truthsayer has gone missing off a fully shielded and moving Alliance frigate?"
"And," Lara said. "We had a very good reason for doing so."
Since she said nothing else, her father gave her an exasperated look. "Which was?"
"Not something we can discuss on the com," Lucan said from behind them, making everyone turn and look at him, and Malik growl.
"Of course," the Ambassador muttered and then looked directly at Trig again. "Truthsayer Kelia, do you agree that taking you off this ship was for your betterment? I assume you at least heard the reasons behind your kidnapping?"
Trig blew out a breath and nodded. "I believe those that brought me here acted in good faith. I only regret it means I must resign without notice to the Alliance. It appears I will be unavailable for the foreseeable future."
At her words Malik stood to his full height abruptly and glared as if he was just aching to blast them all with his unhappy thoughts. His eyes went to hers and held there like he was trying to telegraph exactly how unhappy he was, and she knew why. He still had hope that she would change her mind about seeing him. She held back her sigh and met that stare with as much serenity as she was capable at the moment.
"This is bullshit." Malik nearly snarled before he seemed to bite back whatever he was dying to say. After a moment of what looked like a fight with his anger, he spoke again, and it was maybe a trickle more controlled. His eyes went behind her as if he could see who else was in the room and did not like it. "If she was in danger we should have been informed. I could have protected her."
That sounded more personal than it should have, and she was not the only one who caught it. Everyone listening could read it on his face. Not to mention she felt the warm presence of Tyber Relian at her back somewhere and he had already witnessed an interaction between them that would clue him in to how personal this was for Malik.
The Ambassador, Trig saw was giving nothing away. He was also not arguing with Malik. But then he was an empath, he would know exactly what was felt behind Malik's words. Behind her, two growls had her eyes widening as she realized that heat she had been imagining was not her imagination. She did not need to turn and see that Tyber and surprisingly Lore had stepped into view behind her. Close enough to make their own declarations. She could practically feel them surrounding her, as if there was any danger that she would be swept away by Malik and they were close enough to stop him from taking her. Or just like they were all fighting over the same territory and needed to mark her like disputed land. It made her uncomfortable on several levels. Malik didn't care for it either.
Unlike the salvager and his first officer, the space marine did not growl, but there was a look in his eyes that said he very much wanted to, and he showed his teeth in a way that could not be construed as a smile.
"If you could have protected her, we never would have got her off your ship," Tyber said, and though the words lacked emotion, she could practically feel the scoundrel grin he was no doubt displaying. So it didn’t surprise her when Malik practically gnashed his teeth in response.
"We have her now," Tyber said, not even attempting to hide the satisfaction in those words.
Then Barnos spoke in a loud booming voice he seemed to do most things in and made the situation ten times more tense. "If we need any of our friends jettisoned out of an airlock we’ll let you know."
This time Trig could not hide the wince at his words. And Malik no longer practically snarled, now it was full on.
She had heard the story, as everyone had, about how the Captain in his official position had deemed the Shakien Tolan Lark a threat when he was damaged during their last run in with the notorious Cor Warrung. He had been injured, saw his mate possibly killed, then proceeded to go into a Shakien rage ripping apart a platoon worth of military grade cyborgs before he passed out from massive injuries.
Tolan Lark had been placed into a healer’s tube for treatment and Malik had been sure that should he come out of it he would still be feral. He was probably right about that, so she understood his reasons, Malik was very black and white in his thinking after all. It was another mark against him in her book. For the greater good might be a reason but it led to a whole lot of wrong done in the name of right. At least in her opinion. But then she might be biased. She could very well be enslaved for the greater good if her abilities came to light. And she was not likely to forget it.
The Commander had determined for the protection of everyone, namely the ambassadors two daughters standing beside her, that the Shakien would be jettisoned for their protection. Luckily for everyone Jax, Tolan Larks Shakien mate, had awakened from her own healing in time to stop that from happening. But clearly no one in this group was going to forget what Malik had tried to do. And Malik clearly did not like the reminder.
"I am fine," Trig said into the sudden uncomfortable silence, just as Nori and Lara both started to talk beside her. Each of them also trying to divert the conversation in their own ways.
"Not the point," Nori said, looking behind them to glare at everyone.
Even as Lara smiled at the commander and did her own version of changing the subject. "Sorry if you were worried..."
But at the reminder of just how precarious her existence had been hiding in plain sight she was suddenly done with all of it. Trig continued to speak over all of them, raising her voice only enough to be heard. "I am also a free contracted agent of the Alliance, and not a member of your military. As much as I appreciate your worry, Commander. I do not fall under your jurisdiction unless actively working with the Ambassador, and I am officially giving my resignation." Trig looked to the Ambassador and found his eyes already on hers. She softened her smile because of all the people she had worked with and for over the years, the Ambassador genuinely wanted to make things better for people, even if he did not always follow the straight letter of the law. She respected him, and along with his daughters, he was the closest thing to family she had found since her mother died. "I thank you sir, for everything and I hope to see you again in the future."
The High Ambassador studied her for a long moment and then looked behind her and seemed to be taking in the rest of the room. Then he smiled at her and his daughters. "I am sure we will see each other again, and I hope you know if you need any assistance in this matter all you have to do is ask."
At that Trig smiled and shook her head. "I at least expected a firm talking to," she said meeting his eyes and hoping he could read the teasing glint in hers. It was an old joke between them. He had always gone easier on her when she messed up or made some diplomatic faux pas than he did with the rest of his crew. But then he had begun to treat her like another adopted daughter from the day Lara and Nori rescued her from the Wosite and their plans for her.
Tryne smiled back. "I will save that for my other daughters." He gave them a look and said that in such a way that it took her a moment to catch the 'other' in that sentence, meaning he saw her as one as well. She had to fight the sudden emotion clogging her throat.
"We couldn't leave her in danger father," Lara said blithely. "You are not the only one who considers her family."
Trig stood and forced back the people suddenly crowding her. She was out of the room before anyone could think to stop her. It was rude, she knew, but if she did not get out of there she would break down like she had not allowed herself to in years, and she needed to be alone before that happened.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lore was pressed between the need to find out if the ambassador was going to charge them with any crimes, as Malik clearly wanted, or follow Trig. He didn’t need to see her face to know that she was distressed. While he did not know if he would be welcome, something about the way she left made it impossible not to follow. He looked to Tyber, who made no outward move but who Lore could feel was also fighting his instincts to follow. But they both knew while Lore might not be welcome, Tyber definitely was not, so without a word passing between them it was understood that he would go after their female, and Tyber would stay to deal with the fallout with the ambassador.
The last thing he heard as he glided silently from the room was the ambassador saying they found something suspicious when they searched the ambassador’s frigate for Trig. He was out the door before he could hear what they had found. Nor did he really care, other than to be glad that Trig was there with them, and not on the compromised frigate with Malik, and whatever other dangers she could find there.
He followed close behind her and still he had to go searching for her through the maze that was Lucan’s home on Port Sea. Lucan did it on purpose he knew, making it difficult to find your way to the inner sanctum of his home if you didn’t know how to get there. At first he wondered if Trig had gotten lost somewhere in Lucan’s labyrinth, but he eventually found her.
She had been smarter than he had been. She hadn’t tried to wander the unfamiliar corridors. She’d simply gone outside.
He found her on the beach. She was barefoot, her toes buried in the sand where she sat looking out at the crashing waves.
He had no idea what to say so he said nothing. He was pleased to see she no longer looked to be overly emotional, at least as far as he could tell. But there was a silence to her stillness. More so than her usual serene countenance that always made him wonder what she was really thinking.
He had watched her often in the few days it took to travel here, even if she was unaware of it. He felt like he knew her better than she perhaps believed. But that did not mean he knew what to say in these circumstances. So he sat and looked off into the distance beside her and waited to see what she needed from him.
Finally she spoke, her voice small beside the crashing of the waves and the sounds of the birds in the distance. "Why are you here?"
He looked her way, but she still watched the water, and he found he did not want to look away, even as he wondered what she saw in the ocean. "In case you need something?"
That had her turning his way and finally he could see her eyes. And what she tried to hide there. "Something?" she asked. As if seeking verification.
"You appeared troubled. I don’t want you to be troubled if there is something I can do about it."
She studied him like she had been studying the ocean, as if he held hidden depths. He did not, but he didn’t tell her that.
"Why do you care?" she finally asked and it made him hesitate with his answer, not because he needed to think of one, but because he was not sure how she would take what he had to say, especially after he had kept his distance on the Jezebel. Not for the first time he wondered if giving it the small time it would take them to get to PortSea had been a mistake. He had not felt as Tyber had that she was a possible danger to them, at least not that way, but he had also not seen the logic in arguing over such a small time frame. Now he wondered if he should have argued, or even ignored Tyber in this instance.
"I do not like the idea that you are...unhappy," he finally settled on, then felt something deep in his chest hurt when she answered, still with very little emotion.
"You did not care before your reader assured you I was trustworthy, why do you care now?"
That had hurt her, he realized. And he liked that even less. "I did not stay away from you on the Jezebel because I feared you were a plant for Cor Warrung." At least that he could clear up.
Her head tilted as if he had said something interesting. She would know he told the truth, so he did not worry she would doubt his words, but even knowing he spoke the truth did not change the distance and walls she had between them. "Then why did you stay away?"
Lore shrugged. "It was easier to follow the Captain in this issue when it would be cleared up quickly regardless." He nearly winced at the sound of his own words.
"Easier?"
He knew she did not like that, even as he spoke to try and make her understand. "I am not in the habit of ignoring the commands of the Captain. I knew it would be cleared up as soon as you met Danika, so I did not press the issue. I would have, had I realized how unhappy it would make you."
This time he had no idea what she was thinking about his answer. Until she finally filled the silence again. "And if the Captain decides again for another reason that you should not talk to me, will you still care if I am unhappy?"
Lore thought about her question. Gave it the attention it deserved. "I assume it will depend on the reason for such an order." He held her eyes and wondered at the sadness there. Clearly he was not saying the right thing. "Though," he continued before she could dismiss him completely. "I did not stop caring when I stayed away before, so I doubt anything said now would change that."
That was the wrong thing to say, he realized when that sparked her temper. "You didn't stop caring, you had a funny way of showing it. I never saw you."
"I saw you," he said baldly. "I watched you meditate and work your strange martial arts. Where did you learn how to move like that?" It had been a thing of beauty watching Trig move with such grace and precision. But then everything she did, she did with inherent grace. He watched her for days on board the ship and she never stopped fascinating him. He doubted she ever would.
"You watched me?" she asked, and he wondered if he had made another mistake by admitting even that much. Tyber had said most people would not appreciate being watched in such a manner, but it had soothed him, especially when he could not just go see her himself.
"I monitored you, yes."
"Tyber said something like that," she said in a musing way, her eyes moving over his face as if she searched for something she could not find. "Why were you watching me?"
That was a trickier question. Watching her had soothed something inside him, but he did not know how to express that without perhaps scaring her with his intentions. In the end he just went with the truth no matter how she might take it. She would see through any lie anyway. "Because I worried when I could not see what you were doing."
Her eyes flared and not in a good way.
"Because you thought I would try to sabotage the ship?" she asked curtly starting to get up to leave.
/> "No!" he said catching her arm before she could fully stand. It had her hovering above him closer than before, but he held her there, caught between falling back down and standing. He held her eyes and spoke truth so that she would have no misunderstandings in this. "It had nothing to do with the ship. I simply needed to be assured that you were close and well."
She narrowed her eyes as she studied him, the anger slow to fall from her face. Then she shook her head a little and fell back to the sand. Because of his grip on her arm she was closer than before. He had no problem with that. The closer he could get her, the better he felt.
"I don't understand you," she finally said.
"Understandable," he assured her. "I am not good with this sort of situation. Perhaps I should wait for Tyber to join us before I try to say more."
That had her eyes opening wide. "More?" Then she grimaced as if just realizing what I said. "And no, I don't have any desire to see your captain again. Now or ever."
Lore frowned and looked back at the ocean. "That will make joining the Jezebels crew difficult."
He heard her choke and turned to catch her gaze incredulous on his. "Are you offering me a job on your crew?"
"Well," he said thinking about the future and not paying enough attention to her reactions. "It would make our wooing you easier."
"Wooing me!?" she said and this time she jumped to her feet before he could stop her. "Did you actually say wooing me?"
He stood slowly as well, keeping his eyes on her, and wondering why she looked like she was going to strike him. "Yes, as our mate," he finally just answered, unsure what had her so upset.
"Our!?" she nearly hissed that at him, and he studied her flashing eyes and realized that this was all a surprise to her.
"Yes," he stood up to his full height and wiped the emotions off his face. "I realize that I may not have the smooth way of expression that my Captain does, that does not mean I..."
She held up her hand to stop him and he cut off the uncomfortable words, wondering if she was going to reject him outright and wondered how much it would hurt. Instead she surprised him, as she continued to do since he had met her.
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