by Terri Lane
Polina sighed. This was such a terrible idea.
Across the port, she finally spotted what she was looking for: a taxi dock. The plan was simple. Polina would board a taxi shuttle, the Dardassyian ambassador would already be aboard and they would discuss Intergalactic Alliance/Dardassyian relations as they jumped through several systems to mask their journey to Dardassyius. The ambassador would show her whatever he needed to show her and then she’d travel back alone, as if she were just running a casual errand.
“It will be done in a snap,” her contact had assured her. “Imagine the boost to your career, Junior Ambassador, if you could bring the Dardassyians back to the fold.”
Her career could definitely use the jump-start. Polina had been a Junior Ambassador since she’d graduated, watching less-talented peers be promoted around her. This potential alliance could be just the thing she needed. That was the reason she took on this risky meeting.
Well, most of the reason. There was a second reason, one that Polina wasn’t about to admit to anyone: the Dardassyian ambassador was extremely attractive.
She’d never met a Dardassyian in person before—technically, she still hadn’t, since she’d only communicated with this one over vid screen—but Polina was awestruck by the alien’s beauty.
The crowd parted in front of her and Polina caught a glimpse of a faded sign reading “Taxi Shuttles - For Hire.” She pushed her way over to the taxi port, taking care to keep her face hidden, and wondered how she would know what taxi shuttle to board. Would someone at the desk know to expect her? Was she supposed to have some sort of code word?
She needn’t have worried. There, just inside the taxi bay, stood a mahogany skinned pilot—Artarian by the look of him—holding a flimsy, hand-written sign reading “Jane Smith.”
Polina rolled her eyes. Jane Smith was a common Earthling name, recognizable to almost every race across the galaxy. Considering that most off-planet Earthlings were IA officers and very few of them would ever set foot in a public spaceport, it was clearly meant for her.
Her suspicions were confirmed when the Artarian shot her a look across the bay and waved her over. “Jane!” he shouted, in a pipe-smoke roughened voice. “Jane Smith! Your taxi shuttle awaits.”
“Keep it down,” Polina hissed, rushing over to the alien male and grabbing him by the arm. “This trip is supposed to be low-profile.”
“Yeah, for Junior Ambassador Polina Marsh,” the Artarian said lowly. “But I’m pretty sure Jane Smith, random citizen of Earth, can go wherever she wants.”
The Artarian had a point. Polina glared at him, narrowing her dark brown eyes and pulling her shoulders erect. “Jane Smith requests permission to board your shuttle,” she said tersely. “Lead the way, captain.”
“Please, call me Galen.” Sweeping one arm toward the hatch, the Artarian bowed as she passed by. “After you, Ms. Smith,” he said. Polina couldn’t see his face, but she was quite positive he was mocking her.
The taxi shuttle was small, but serviceable. Taxis were small, light crafts, capable of making short hyper-speed jumps but not well suited for long-distance travel. Polina’s contact assured her that this trip and meeting wouldn’t take more than an afternoon; that she would be home safe and sound before dinner.
She hoped so. Tensions were high around the Intergalactic Alliance as of late and it wouldn’t do her any good to be discovered as absent without leave.
“So, the cockpit is down that way,” the pilot, Galen, announced, pointing to the left. Sure enough, a pilot’s chair was visible through a small door. “Passengers ride right here, inside the hold.”
Polina raised a delicate brown eyebrow. The passenger hold was right behind the cockpit. She’d never been in such a small spacecraft before.
“Is this it?” she asked.
The pilot laughed. “Yeah, pretty much. I fly, you ride. It’s not a glamorous ship, but it’ll do the job.”
Polina looked around. The cockpit was empty, the passenger hold was empty, there was no sign of the Dardassyian envoy.
She chose her next words carefully, on the off chance that she’d stumbled on the wrong ship. “I was told that I would have company on this journey, captain. Is anyone else present?”
“We have another passenger in the head—that’s the restroom, in case you weren’t familiar—”
“I’m familiar with the terminology, captain,” Polina cut him off. “If you would please ask my contact to step out here so I can ensure that I am indeed on the right ship, I would be grateful.”
The pilot’s grin faded and his bright green eyes grew serious. “Give me just a moment, Ms. Smith,” he explained, quickly hitting a series of buttons and closing the hatch. “Let’s get you some privacy, shall we?”
The moment the hatch was secured, a door opened to Polina’s right and out stepped a tall, graceful figure.
“Ambassador Marsh,” the alien greeted her, extending one slender hand. “I’m grateful that you took the time to meet with me. I know it wasn’t easy, but I think that we’ll both find our time together mutually beneficial.”
The Dardassyian was speaking Common, the official language of the Intergalactic Alliance, but Polina didn’t understand a single word he said. She was too busy staring.
The Dardassyian ambassador was the most beautiful creature Polina Marsh had ever seen.
***
The alien loomed over her, taller and more graceful than any Earthling male Polina had ever seen. This Dardassyian was nearly a head and a half taller than she was and he was elegantly put together: lithe limbs, golden curls falling around a sculpted face, bright blue eyes peering down at her.
A series of markings, golden patterns and swirls, seemed to dance over his tawny skin. Polina stood hypnotized by the way the gold morphed and changed, glistening on the bare skin of his face and hand.
A small, rough cough over her shoulder snapped her back to reality.
“Junior Ambassador Polina Marsh,” said Galen, “may I present Viceroy Arryn J’olras of Dardassyius.”
Polina had almost forgotten that Galen was there and she’d definitely forgotten her manners. She smiled and extended her hand, hoping that she remembered the proper way to greet a Dardassyian. Arryn stretched out his own hand, gripped hers and shook it twice firmly.
Good. She had followed protocol after all. Polina quickly shook her head and reminded herself to keep it together. No matter how beautiful the male in front of her was, he was still a member of the government of an unincorporated planetary system. She needed to keep her wits about her during their meeting, or risk putting her career in extreme jeopardy.
“Junior Ambassador,” Arryn said, and Polina tried not to shudder as his voice washed over her. It was like liquid gold, rich and warm. “I know the risk you took in agreeing to meet with me. I assure you that I appreciate your efforts in diplomacy and promise that you will not be disappointed.”
“Thank you, Viceroy,” Polina answered, amazed that she managed to speak without her voice shaking. “I hope that our time together will be beneficial to both of us.”
She smiled up at him and he matched her with a smile of his own, easy and even. Polina had no idea if all Dardassyians had such perfect, white teeth or if Arryn was just an exemplary specimen, but she found she didn’t really care.
“All righty, then, passengers,” Galen barked, pushing past them and making his way to the cockpit. “If you two are done gazing adoringly at one another, then let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”
“We weren’t—” Polina sputtered.
“I was,” Arryn said lightly, sitting down in a seat and fastening a restraint around his shoulders and waist.
Polina gaped at him as she mimicked his actions and strapped herself in for their journey.
“Don’t mind him,” Galen shouted from the cockpit. “Dardassyians are notoriously bad with standard humanoid emotions.”
“Is he going to be able to hear everything we say?” Polina whispered t
o Arryn.
“Yep!” Galen shouted. “And don’t worry your pretty face, Junior Ambassador. I’m on your side.”
Polina shot Arryn a questioning look and he nodded back. “Captain Galen has been a great friend to the Dardassyian cause. You can trust him.”
“All right, then,” she said, but still keeping an eye on the captain. There was something about him—he was so cocky and brusque—that didn’t put her at ease.
“I apologize for staring,” Arryn told her in his smooth golden voice, raising it just a bit to be heard over the engines as they lifted off. “But most of the Earthlings that I’ve dealt with have been male. And old. It was somewhat shocking to meet you in the flesh.”
Polina could have said the same thing. She’d communicated once, briefly, with Arryn over a vid screen, but the poor resolution had done nothing to show the true beauty of the alien male who was currently sitting across from her. He was dressed casually—a simple brown flight suit—but that contrast just exemplified his exceptional good looks.
“You’re staring again,” Arryn said abruptly. “Am I really that shocking?”
Polina laughed nervously. “No, Viceroy, no. It’s just that I’ve never spent much time—any time, really—with Dardassyians. I just need to take a moment to…get accustomed to you.”
“She didn’t need to take any time to get accustomed to me, Arryn,” Galen shouted from the cockpit.
“I’ve seen Artarians before,” Polina covered. It was true, she’d seen an Artarian or two in her career, but that wasn’t the reason she didn’t have the same reaction to Galen as she’d had to Arryn.
Unfortunately for Captain Galen, he just wasn’t as ethereally beautiful as Arryn. Polina glanced up toward the cockpit, where Galen was barely visible. She could just catch a glimpse of one shoulder, a strong mahogany hand gripping the controls and the edge of his tumble of black curls.
“Galen is considered very attractive for an Artarian,” Arryn informed her.
“I’m sure he is,” Polina responded, wondering if she was being extra obvious or if Arryn was just particularly attentive to human emotions.
It wasn’t that she found Galen unpalatable. Polina supposed that he was quite good-looking, in his own way. He had a ruggedly handsome face, piercing green eyes, rakishly unruly curls held back in a messy clump at the nape of his neck. But looking at him next to Arryn was like trying to see a moon while it passed by the sun.
The moon didn’t stand a chance.
“I’m interested in hearing what you have to say, Viceroy,” Polina said in an attempt to change the subject. “I couldn’t imagine what issue could be important enough to arrange this clandestine meeting.”
Arryn stared at her for a moment, his bright blue eyes wide in confusion. “Junior Ambassador, I was hoping to speak to you about lifting the ban on Dardassyian travelers. I thought you knew that.”
Polina looked at him blankly. “Lifting the—? Viceroy, the Intergalactic Alliance has always welcomed Dardassyius to join us, but your people have made it very clear that you want no part of the Alliance.”
“Bullshit,” Galen shouted from the cockpit, interrupting once again. “That’s what they want everyone to think, Polina, but it’s a lie.”
“I can handle my own negotiations, Galen,” Arryn said, looking down at Polina. The golden patterns on his face stilled for a moment, a series triangles and diamonds cutting across the plane of his cheekbones. “Junior Ambassador, surely you don’t expect me to believe that you’re ignorant of the true nature of—”
“Surely, Viceroy, you didn’t just call me ‘ignorant,’” Polina snapped. Beautiful alien ambassadors only got away with so much. This crossed a line.
Arryn opened his mouth as if to retort, but was interrupted by Galen bursting out of the cockpit.
“Okay, kids, let’s not get crazy back here,” he said, settling into the jump seat next to Polina. “I’d hate to start name-calling before we even begin negotiating.”
“Galen, don’t you have a ship to fly?” Arryn glared.
“These taxi shuttles have great autopilot, Arr,” Galen grinned. “Thought I’d come back here and mingle with the diplomats for a bit. See how the other half lives for a change.”
Polina smiled at him, a genuine smile this time. As irritating as she’d found Galen only moments ago, his presence was now welcome in the face of Arryn’s sudden coldness.
“Your father was a diplomat, Galen,” Arryn muttered. “You know how the other half lives.”
Galen was undeterred. “You got me, Arryn,” he shrugged. “I just came back here to get to know our passenger a little better.”
“Me?” Polina asked. “What could you possibly want to know about me?”
Galen grinned. “Well, for starters, you could tell me how the IA got lucky enough to have a Junior Ambassador who is so damn pretty.”
Polina’s eyes widened. This trip just got even more interesting.
***
It took Polina a moment to recover from Galen’s off-hand compliment. She was rarely considered pretty, and she certainly hadn’t been complimented in such a manner since she joined the IA. And now, in a neutral grey cloak and black flight suit, she certainly couldn’t find anything about her appearance that would warrant such a compliment.
Her brow hair was plaited simply and she wore no makeup or adornment. Nothing about Polina could possibly be described as pretty.
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want, Captain?” she said cautiously.
“Nothing, Junior Ambassador,” Galen smiled at her. “At least not right now…”
“Galen!” Arryn had found his voice again. “Surely you’re not flirting with our contact—”
“She’s your contact, Arryn,” Galen countered. “She’s just my passenger. And if I want to compliment a passenger on my ship, then I can compliment a passenger on my ship. Captain’s rules.”
Polina smiled. “Thank you, Captain. Compliment appreciated.”
“Should I compliment you, too, then?” Arryn asked, his golden voice a bit taken aback. “Is that how diplomacy is run now in the IA?”
Polina looked at him curiously. Did he really have no idea how to negotiate with an IA ambassador? Or was it an act?
“No compliments are necessary, Viceroy,” she replied, her voice level. “Flattery is frowned upon during diplomatic negotiations.”
Arryn looked confused. “But Galen just—”
“Galen’s compliment was sincere,” Polina replied. “I appreciate sincere compliments, but manipulative flattery will get you nowhere, I’m afraid.”
Galen whistled softly under his breath. “She’s a fierce one, Arryn,” he muttered. “You sure you picked the right Junior Ambassador to tangle with?”
Arryn’s eyes were still cold, but he nodded. “This is the right contact, the council assured me of that.”
“Council?” Polina snapped back to attention. “What council are you talking about?”
Arryn sighed and launched into his story as Polina listened intently. Galen shuffled back and forth between the cockpit and passenger hold, intermittently offering his input and color commentary.
“The Dardassyians have been unfairly banned by the Intergalactic Alliance,” Arryn began, his bright blue eyes never leaving Polina’s face as he told her his side of the story.
According to Arryn, the Dardassyians had struck a deal with the Intergalactic Alliance. Their system would be granted full membership into the Alliance, with full rights for all citizens and a spot in the Intergalactic Parliament for their government.
“Then, suddenly, you bastards pulled the rug out from under them,” Galen added, sticking his head out of the cockpit for a moment before going back to his controls.
“What Galen means to say is that, without warning, the IA removed the offer of alliance and put Dardassyius under a diplomatic freeze,” Arryn clarified. “We were on a travel blockade, trade was sanctioned and we are all but banned outside of our own system.�
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Polina shook her head. “That can’t be right,” she mused. “We’ve been told—all IA member planets—that you refused the terms of the proposed alliance and that you preferred to keep yourselves independent.”
That story had always seemed fishy to Polina. The official word from the IA was that the Dardassyians were arrogant and disdainful of other races and had no desire to ally with the rest of the galaxy.
However, based on what she’d seen so far of Arryn, that story didn’t seem too far off. The Dardassyian viceroy was lovely but cold. His entire person teemed with arrogance. It wouldn’t be too far off to assume the rest of his race had similar tendencies.
“But we were told that the ban came from your end,” Polina argued. “That the Dardassyians didn’t want to be a part of the IA and you preferred—”
“We preferred what, Junior Ambassador?” Arryn snapped, his blue eyes cold and flinty now. “To remain at a distance from the rest of the galaxy? To be left behind as new technology is created and shared with everyone but us? To be denied the right to vote on decisions that affect every planet and every race?
“No,” Arryn finished. “We want our place at the table, and the Intergalactic Alliance refuses to let us participate. And I need you to tell me why.”
Polina gaped. “Viceroy, I don’t know what to tell you—”
“You guys buckled in back there?” Galen shouted from the cockpit. “We’re popping out of hyper-speed for a sec and it might get a little bumpy.”
“We’re fine, Galen,” Arryn answered, his blue eyes never leaving Polina’s face. “Junior Ambassador, I’m having a hard time believing that you know nothing of our situation—”
“Coming out of hyper-speed in five, four…” Galen counted down.
“But if that’s accurate, then I have a different request for you—”
“… three, two, one,” Galen finished. “Here we go!”