Acting Out

by Paulette Oakes

  Finally, Mikael took the stage once more to introduce the last showcase. “And now,” Mikael called out to the rapt crowd, “It is my honor to present to you the human from Earth, first female T’Kalan warrior, and my lifemate, Lieutenant Commander Katsuko Mahoney R’Varsel!”

  Mahoney entered the stage flanked by four brand new soldier bots. They came to a stop in a row facing the VIP box and Mahoney bowed low with her fingertips touching on her thighs, and the bots executed A fighting bow with their right fist clenched against the open palm of the left. When she rose back to full height, she announced, “On my home world of Earth, there are many different styles of martial fighting that can take years to master. It is my pleasure and honor to demonstrate several of them for you today. The first two I will share with you were created in a country called China. Shaolin Kung Fu employs basic skills that include stamina, flexibility, and balance supplemented by meditation. Many of these forms are based on animals found in nature. The first one I will share with you is based upon the snake.”

  Behind her, on the towering vidscreen, a large King Cobra snake flared to life. It balanced upon its body and flared its hood before opening its mouth to flash its fangs and hiss. The audience cried out in fear, but Mahoney was unfazed. Dispatching the bots to take their places, Mahoney began to run through the snake form katas in order to warm up. When she was ready, she called out, “One and two, engage!”

  Two of the bots peeled off and immediately began to attack the female warrior. Mahoney was blur of speed as she dodged and weaved around the bots while her pointed-hand attacks snuck in under their arms to land punishing blows. Her form was flawless and graceful, yet her blows and kicks were powerful and deadly. The bots never had a chance to land a strike as she beat them both back time and time again. After ten riveting minutes, she called out “Disengage!” and the bots came to a rest and offered her a respectful bow.

  Facing the crowd once more, she called out, “The next animal form I will share with you is called White Crane Kung Fu. Based upon a flying bird from my world, this fighting form requires extreme patience, balance, speed, and rhythm. It incorporates boxing with hands in a beak formation and many high kicks.”

  Again, the vidscreen behind her changed to show a large white bird with a long, graceful neck, long beak, and tall, skinny legs. It cawed loudly and the crowd once again reacted with exclamations of surprise. Mahoney took her position and demonstrated several katas that showed the speed and precision of the pointed finger jabs, flicking fingertips, and high kicks before she called out, “Three and Four, engage!” The bots broke into an attack and Mahoney once again beat them back while using the graceful power of her animal. The crowd was really getting into it now, and Korian couldn’t bite back the smile at seeing Uthor leaning forward against the edge of the box for a better view.

  After her Kung Fu demos were complete, she moved on to weapons. Her bo staff flew through the air to disarm two of the bots while it thwacked and smacked against the other two. Jessica broke out of her carefully structured behavior to whoop and yell, “Yeah! Kick their ass, Mahoney!” and Korian laughed delightedly. Next, Mahoney demonstrated her double sword-hand techniques, and when she dropped into splits to avoid two bots swinging at her and slashed through the midriffs of both at the same time, Uthor let out a feral scream of triumph. Her final demonstration was with nunchakus. It was dizzying to watch them spin around and over her body as she fought off two bots with the resounding cracks ringing through the stadium every time she made contact with the hard outer shell of her opponents.

  When she finished her demonstration, the crowd surged to their feet with a roar of approval as the vidscreen faded to be replaced with a giant T’Kalan flag. The stage and the surrounding ground filled with the performers of the evening, sans the musician, and they waved and saluted the crowd. As the audience continued to cheer, the lights all over the arena came on to signal the end of the exhibition and people began to disperse and head for the dining hall. Before Korian could gather Jessica for departure, though, he was approached by the Harani delegate.

  “Korian!” the large black panther man growled. “The human warrior is beyond anything I have yet seen. Where can I acquire a fighter such as this Mahoney?”

  Jessica’s small hand snuck under Korian’s elbow and she laughed lightly as she replied for him, “Uthor, there is no one else on Earth quite like our Mahoney. However, should the Council decide to offer their help in preventing another attack on our world by the Warfarers, I’m sure she would be open to negotiation on helping to train a Harani youth of your choice in the martial arts.”

  Korian tightened his grip on his bold captive, but the alien male only barked out a laugh and purred, “You are a true diplomat, Jessica MacGregor. I will take your offer under advisement.”

  As the delegates flooded out of the box to head toward the banquet, Korian pulled Jessica into a gentle embrace. “That went exceptionally well, my thalia. I have you to thank for its success this night.”

  She squeezed him tight. “Don’t thank me yet, big guy. We still have to make it through dinner with you alive and then the meeting. Don’t you dare get killed on me, do you hear me?”

  Korian chuckled softly and placed a kiss on her soft lips. “I would not dream of disappointing you that way. Come, let us get you some food so that our young will grow healthy and strong like its mother.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  “God, just look at that woman strolling around like she’s the queen of the ball and accepting accolades for the exhibition you planned. I would love to just punch her in the throat, that conniving bitch,” Mahoney seethed.

  Jessica followed her friend’s line of sight and saw Rox’Ana Ful’Tera flitting from one delegate to another, schmoozing and flirting for all she was worth. She watched as the noblewoman spoke with the colorful Deedoe. They both looked Jessica’s way for a moment, before resuming their conversation. Just a few short moments later, though, Rox’Ana stormed away from the Phargannan delegate with a thundercloud expression.

  Jessica laughed and told Mahoney, “It looks like she got an earful from Deedoe. She probably tried to lie to her about something and Deedoe called her out on it. She’s a very, uh, interesting person.”

  Mahoney snorted indelicately as she shoveled her mouth full of food from the buffet. After she swallowed her bite, she replied, “I’ll take your word for it. I’ve seen how handsy she can be, so I’ll just stay far away. Now, that Mamaxon dude is downright shifty. Have you seen his eyes? Anyone with black eyes can’t be trusted. It has to be a rule somewhere.”

  “Yeah, they are creepy, but he didn’t strike me as a hired assassin, though. Humorless and stiff as a board, yes. Murderous? I don’t think so. What about the other members of their party?” she asked, her eyes skating over the crowd to see if she spotted anything suspicious. They landed on Korian where he was deep in conversation with Uthor and Manex, the delegate from Lugia-A. There was no one hovering around him with a knife in their hands, so she continued her scan.

  Mahoney huffed an aggrieved breath. “So far, Mikael and Zandar have seen nothing unusual. Of course, all the Mamaxon people are being followed discreetly by our warriors and spies, but no one is triggering any alarms. I’m starting to wonder if Rox’Ana didn’t just call the whole thing off.”

  Jessica shook her head in disagreement. “No, not her. After spending the last month with that woman in close proximity, I know enough about her to know that she will only get more desperate. She hates the warrior class, and the king especially. Pair that with her greed for power and she is downright dangerous.” She paused to slip a bite of meat off Mahoney’s plate into her purse for her pet before adding, “I assume you guys have someone tailing her, too?”

  Mahoney shot her an annoyed look and moved her plate out of reach. “Of course we do. We haven’t seen her approach a single Mamaxon. She’ll trip up eventually, and then we’ll have her and her assassin.”

  Someone bumped into Jessica
from behind and a feminine voice cried, “Oh! As if this day could get any worse!”

  The two women turned to find a female with tears pouring down her face and trying valiantly to wipe the spilled contents of her plate off her gown. She was Sinepaxan in appearance with the typical tall, pointed ears that parted her snowfall-colored hair. Her efforts to clean off the messy food were only making things worse, and Jessica felt her heart go out to the poor woman.

  “I am so sorry for bumping into you. I am afraid that I was not watching where I was walking,” she told Jessica, her elfin face full of remorse and misery.

  Jessica reached out to stop her hands from making an even bigger mess and she squeezed the woman’s hands in sympathy. “It’s no problem, I promise. My name is Jessica MacGregor and I’m a guest here in the king’s home. Would you like me to show you to a bathing chamber in order to clean up?”

  The female sniffed pitifully and gazed down at her ruined dress. “My name is Nan-Yo of Sinepax. I do not believe that it will help, Jessica MacGregor. This gown is made of Sinepax silk. It is impossible to launder it. If even so much as a drop of water were to land on it, it will forever be stained.”

  “Well, that’s a waste. Why would you want to wear something that can be ruined so easily?” Mahoney asked bluntly.

  Jessica deliberately stepped on her friend’s toes. Looking the female up and down, Jessica came to a decision. “Actually, you look like you’re close to my size. If it would make you more comfortable, I’d be happy to loan you a dress until you can return to your ship.”

  The female Sinepaxan smiled beatifically. “If you are sure it would be no trouble, I would be most grateful. I am afraid that my husband is not a very kind man, and I would hate to cause him embarrassment in front of his peers by my appearance.”

  Jessica and Mahoney traded loaded glances, each of them thinking that the mysterious husband could go suck a lemon. “Mahoney, you up for a little field trip?”

  The female warrior shrugged and placed her empty plate on a nearby table. “Might as well. This shindig is all kinds of boring. Let’s roll, little mama.”

  The three women headed toward the door panel that would lead them to the hallway where the sleeping chambers were located. Jessica chatted animatedly with the Sinepax female, telling her all about her last month on T'Kala and how much she had come to love its people.

  Nan-Yo offered her a shy smile. “Any particular one that you love more than the others?”

  Jessica blushed and replied coyly, “Maybe. I’m hoping that we will get to become lifemates soon.”

  The woman’s face turned to stone and a flash of anger narrowed her eyes. “At least you will be mated to someone you love, Jessica MacGregor. I was bartered like livestock by my family in order to increase their wealth and power. It mattered not to them that I had no desire to mate at all, and had planned to join the Sinepaxan Special Forces. Yet, I was forced to join with a man I loathe and leave my home only two suns cycles ago.”

  Jessica placed her palm on the sensor to her rooms and allowed the woman to enter first. “I’m very sorry to hear that. If you don’t love him and don’t wish to me married, can’t you just run away?”

  Mahoney, completely uninterested in their chatter, crossed her arms in the middle of the room while they began pulling dresses from the wardrobe. Nan-Yo replied, “It is not impossible, but it would take a considerable amount of money in order to forge traveling and identity documents, as well as securing transportation to another planet. My new husband is quite powerful, and his reach is long.”

  Jessica held up a pale pink dress and the young woman nodded in agreement. Looking over her shoulder, the female whispered loudly, “I do not mean to be rude, but do you think your warrior friend would turn her back while I change? I will need your help in order to fasten it, but I would prefer to have as few eyes on me as possible.”

  “I can hear you, you know,” Mahoney groused. “It’s not like I want to look at you anyway.” The female warrior resolutely turned her back to the two women and once again crossed her arms impatiently.

  Jessica turned to free the dress from its hanging device and said, “Honestly, Mahoney. Would it kill you to be a little nicer? You heard the poor woman. She’s having a very difficult time, and-“

  The sound of a loud thud interrupted her tirade, and she turned to see what had happened. Her mouth dropped open at the sight that met her eyes. Mahoney was out cold on the floor with some type of syringe sticking out of her neck. The pink material slipped from her fingers unnoticed and drifted to the floor as Jessica registered the fact that the Sinepax female was standing over her friend with Mahoney’s sword in her hand.

  “What are you doing? What did you do to Mahoney?” Jessica demanded, her whole body beginning to tremble with fear.

  Nan-Yo laughed nastily, all traces of the innocent and sympathetic woman gone. “Do not worry yourself, Jessica MacGregor. The warrior is only temporarily paralyzed. She is not the one I have been sent for.”

  Jessica backed up as the female stalked closer to her. “Why are you doing this? We have no quarrel with Sinepax.”

  “Oh, I have a quarrel with Sinepax and the whole frexing Alliance. Because of their machinations and underhanded deals, I was bartered off without my consent to a Council delegate in order to increase the size of my family’s wealth. I was not even given the right to choose my own lifemate, much less my own destiny, and to make it even worse, they gave me to an off-worlder.”

  Jessica could feel all the color draining from her face and she braced her hands against the dresser at her back. A snippet of conversation from the VIP box tickled her memory, and she gasped. “You’re the missing lifemate of Nidoba, the Mamaxon delegate!”

  The woman laughed nastily and twirled the sword in her hand as if well-practiced with its use. “Not for much longer. Once I take care of the king and now his heir, I will disappear out from under the Alliance forever.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Korian looked around the dining hall distractedly for his flame-haired thalia. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her standing to the side with Mahoney while they spoke with a distressed Sinepaxan female. He frowned in consternation as he watched the trio head for the living quarters. Hailing Mikael to his side, he absently replied to a question from Deedoe who had just joined him at his table.

  “If the gorgeous human were my lifemate, I would not be able to keep my eyes from her, as well,” the outrageous Phargannan woman laughed.

  Korian smiled and nodded while anxiously waiting for Mikael to traverse the expanse between them. It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust Mahoney with Jessica’s safety, but on this night in particular, there could be no mistakes. As he waited for his captain to arrive, he asked the delegate, “I saw you speaking with Rox’Ana Ful’Tera a while ago. She did not look happy when she left you.”

  Deedoe snorted. “I fear you have an enemy in your midst, Korian. When she tried to take credit for the exhibition, I replied that it had been your future lifemate that was owed the recognition, not her. And when I asked her if she was happily anticipating the birth of your heir, she was shocked by the news. She blatantly lied to me and said she was thrilled about the prospect. I would keep a watch on her at all times, if I were you.”

  Korian’s shimmering bronze skin paled at the delegate’s words. “You told her that Jessica was expecting my youngling?”

  Deedoe’s face was horrified. “By the stars, Korian! You did not tell me that the news was not public knowledge of yet! I feel from you that there is much more going on here than you have let on. Tell me, what evil do you expect from this night?”

  Before he could answer, Mikael arrived at his side and saluted him. “My king, what news?”

  Korian grabbed his arm and hissed, “Did you see your lifemate and Jessica depart with the Sinepaxan female a moment ago?”

  Mikael’s eyebrows drew down in concern. “Of course. I saw the whole thing. The female bumped into Jessica and s
pilled her plate of food down her dress. I assumed that Jessica was directing her to the bathing chamber to clean up.”

  Deedoe stood to her feet and asked, “What color dress did the female wear?”

  Mikael thought for a moment and replied, “She wore a light blue gown, delegate. Why do you ask?”

  Deedoe looked grim. “That was not a member of the Sinepax delegation. That was Nan-Yo, the new lifemate of Nidoba of Mamaxon. They married two suns cycles ago, and it was not a happy union. Remember me telling you of this before the exhibition, Korian?”

  The two T’Kalan warriors were frozen with fear. Mikael immediately spun on his heel and made haste toward the door panel to the living quarters while signaling for Commander Andreus and another warrior to join him. Korian made to follow him, but Deedoe grabbed his arm in a firm grip. “What is happening, Korian? Why does this news send you into a spiral of fear?”

  He saw no need to hide the news any longer, not when his thalia may be in trouble. “We received intel that Rox’Ana Ful’Tera had hired an assassin to kill me during this conference, but we were unable to determine their identity. We only knew that the transmissions had originated on Mamaxon, so we were focusing all our security on their people. We had not heard that Nidoba was taking a lifemate, and so did not look for one during our security detail.”

  Deedoe covered her mouth with her hand. “You tell the truth, Korian. Nan-Yo was most reluctant to wed Nidoba. She had been training for years to join the Sinepaxan Special Forces, and you know what that means.”