He’d dismissed Kranow then and sat for several moments pondering the clusterfuck this whole business had become. He was still seething when he arrived home for lunch.
Darla sat the plate of sandwiches onto the table. “You going to tell me what has you looking like a thundercloud has taken residence up on your face or you just going to sit there and stew?’
“Stew? You think me staying home to prepare the evening meal will relax me?”
Darla snorted. “No, it means are you going to keep whatever’s bothering you to yourself and stress yourself out. Or, you know, you could maybe tell me what it is and figure out while explaining it to me or I can offer a suggestion or something.”
He picked up a sandwich and took a bite from it, chewing thoughtfully. He knew his mate. She was not going to leave this alone, and sooner or later she’d no doubt discover the Council’s hopes for Marley Sampson. He swallowed. “You remember the Human Right female Sachuu caught?”
Darla frowned angrily. “You mean the one who hired those goons who kidnapped Melissa? I sure as hell remember her. Why? She escape custody?”
Gundar shook his head. “No, she was sent to stay with her sister while on house arrest and undergoing therapeutic rehabilitation.”
“Okay, but what does that have to do- oh no. You don’t mean to tell me part of her rehab has something to do with her coming here, do you?” Gundar nodded silently. “You can’t do that!” she shouted. “Melissa might come in contact with her and what then? And what if she’s just pretending to be all better?”
Gundar let her rant. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t thought himself, until he’d read the message Marley had written to be handed to her match, should she get one. The remorse had come through and he couldn’t help but feel it was genuine. Marley had not tried to excuse her behavior. Instead she’d explained her state of mind and her own failings with brutal honesty. Gundar did not know if he could forgive and forget everything she’d done to his friends and others, but he did feel that she deserved a chance to better herself and make amends. He reached into his jacket and tapped the screen of his tablet, pulling up the missive. Without saying a word, he slid it across the table to Darla before resuming his meal.
Darla eyed the tablet as if it were a snake but picked it up to have a look. She read it with her lips pursed. Gundar could tell the raw emotions poured into words affected Darla as much as they had him as anger was replaced with sorrow upon her face. She finished reading it and sat the tablet down next to her plate. “She’d still be under supervision and having to go to therapy, right?”
“Yes, until such a time as she is deemed unlikely to reoffend.”
Darla sighed. “What would she be doing? Just house arrest or what?’
“The Council thought she could fill the spot for elementary school teacher here. She is an experienced teacher with the right educational qualifications.”
Darla’s eyes widened. “You’d definitely need to run that by Junrig and Melissa first! Not only did she organize Melissa’s abduction but Melissa’s kids would be among her students.”
“There’s more,” he sighed heavily. He told her about the whole talk show and Bride Scholarship application thing and that as it happened, they already knew she had a match. A match that refused to look at her profile and preferred to be removed from the register of hopefuls in order to avoid being officially matched.
Darla listened intently. “I see. He refused even after reading her letter?”
“I didn’t show him, since he was refusing.”
“You idjit! You should have had him read it before accepting his decision! Right, first off, you have Xero contact him and explain that he needs to read it and think about it for at least a day before you’ll accept his refusal. Her having her own Mylos to love and be loved in return could be the thing that keeps her on the right path! Then you speak to Junrig, and let him and Melissa read it and about the whole teacher idea the bright sparks over at the Council came up with. Have Sachuu with you when you do. I’m sure Melissa will feel much better about the whole thing if she knows about the supervision and what steps they are taking to keep strict tabs on her and stuff.”
Gundar leaned back in his chair, chagrin filling him. He’d been so wrapped up in his own emotions that he’d not really come up with a plan on the best way to handle it. If he had, he’d have thought of Darla’s suggestions himself and things would no doubt have gone a lot smoother. “You’re right. I will have Xeranos contact him once we finish our meal and speak to Sachuu and Junrig before I return to the bridge. But, remember she is applying for the scholarship. She no doubt will choose to take her advance classes while remaining close to her sister.”
“Unless Kranow changes his mind.”
“Yes, unless Kranow changes his mind.”
Chapter Six
Kranow stiffened when he saw he had a message from Commander Gundar. Had he reassigned him outside of The Fleet already? His heart wrenched as he hurried to open the message on his data pad as his kunnarskyn informed him there was a text attachment. He frowned when he saw it wasn’t a notification of a change of duty station at all but a letter from the criminal they claimed was his match. To the man who would complete me, indeed. He rolled his eyes but continued reading, for no other reason than because his commander had sent it and so Kranow considered doing so an order.
I’m a complete screw up and have done things I find hard to forgive myself for, let alone ask those I’ve hurt to forgive me, yet they have. I don’t even know if you exist, but if you do, I hope you won’t hate being matched to someone so unworthy.
Kranow paused. These were not the arrogant words of someone with an overinflated sense of self entitlement or who thought his kind were lesser beings. The pain bled through the screen, palpable. He read on, more slowly this time, then flipped to statements from the sister, the sister’s mate, and her victim and her mate. He stared out the window, the world below filling his gaze but his mind not registering it. His own emotions lay heavy on his heart. I rushed in and condemned her without knowing everything, without considering her a fellow flawed being capable of remorse. His kunnarskyn beeped again. He glanced down and tapped it, opening the message. Another attachment, this time a report from the woman’s therapist and another from the Fleet’s chief of intelligence. He sighed and opened those on his pad, reading them carefully. He swallowed, hating to admit to another that perhaps he’d been far too hasty in his rush to judgement. Surely we would not have been matched after what she did if it wasn’t a certainty that she was a good person and that we are indeed an excellent match that is perfect in all ways. Before he could change his mind, he quickly tapped out a message to Commander Gundar.
Thank you for sending me the documents. After reviewing them and reconsidering the matter, I am still hesitant. I have complete faith in our system, however, and so trust that the match is indeed as it should be and all will be well. I therefore request my profile to remain in the system. I understand this will result in her being alerted to our match and for me to receive her photo as well as the mating being made official once the notifications are complete and I have brought her home.
He wasn’t all that surprised to receive a reply almost immediately: I have notified the Council of this decision. I previously received orders that should you accept the match, I was to let you know that Marley and the media show hosts will await you, where you will meet them in Council chambers, on camera. The Council wishes for you to make a statement about second chances and how fate matches only the worthy with a destined mate, and how happy you are to have found yours. You will receive official notice of new quarters as soon as we have been officially notified of your match through the system.
Kranow sighed. He’d never imagined his mate to be a notorious former criminal nor his mating to be part of a media circus. Understood, he sent in reply. He looked around his quarters. According to what Gundar had told him in his office earlier that day, the match application would happen the nex
t day. That meant that immediately after, his bride would be traveling to the fleet, and they’d be moving to the flagship in anticipation of her accepting the teaching position. This made no difference to him, he was a shuttle pilot and regularly drove the shuttles between the various ships within the fleet as well as to Earth and any other planet he was ordered to, as necessary. Not that he left the system that often, but it did happen on rare occasion.
I should go ahead and pack. That way, when the notice comes in, I’ll be ready to have everything shuffled over to the new quarters. One less thing to worry about. “Tirilia,” he said, speaking the wake word for his ship’s AI.
“Yes, Kranow?” came the reply.
“Could you please have several boxes and packing materials set aside by the quartermaster for me? I wish to pack away my things and clean my quarters.”
“Certainly. They will be ready for you to pick up within fifteen minutes,” Tirilia said.
“Thank you.” It would take that long to get to the quartermaster’s from his deck level. He glanced around. He didn’t have much and it was quarters for a single man, so there wasn’t much. His heart feeling lighter now that he had something concrete to do, he went out the door.
Chapter Seven
Marley twisted her hands together nervously. This is really happening. I’m doing this and billions of beings around the galaxy, including people I know back on Earth, are going to see it. She shivered, knowing that many of her supposed friends, people she only truly had had The Human Right in common with, were going to brand her as a race traitor. Others, including people who didn’t know her, would believe this a publicity stunt to avoid prosecution. Some would believe her, just as Torval and Maya did. Her therapist had explained to her what she could expect and had advised her to stay well away from news outlets and social media for several months at a minimum. That was fine by her, anything truly important she knew would filter through her safe network of family and any true friends she made going forwards.
Jackie O’Hannigan openly gawked as she was introduced to Charteesie on set. Marley didn’t blame her as the four foot tall, green skinned beauty with the set of curled horns on her head was a stern message that they truly weren’t in Kansas anymore. All traces of surprise had melted away within moments as the two women hit it off.
They sat in the Council office where Torval worked, a pot of green tea and a platter of cookies sat on a low table between a grouping of four chairs. The women each occupied one chair while Torval’s boss, a stern faced Mylos named Lopert, occupied the fourth. Lopert was acting for the Bride Registry office today. Off to one side, out of filming range, stood Mya, Torval, and to Marley’s surprise, the Intelligence officer who had captured her and later escorted her to her sister’s home to serve her house arrest sentence. I suppose he’s got a vested interest in what happens with me, seeing as it was his case and all. He noticed her glance and gave her a nod in greeting, his face impassive.
“We are ready to begin. Tethis, please begin recording and transmission,” Lopert said.
“Recording and transmission beginning in three, two, one, start,” the AI replied.
Charteesie gave a large smile. “Hi once again and welcome to the show! Today’s special is something exciting indeed! I’m seated here today with the renowned human talk show host Jackie O'Hannigan, local Council official, Lopert, and Marley Sampson. Jackie, I am so happy to have you here. I hope this is not the last time we co-host a show together.”
“Charteesie, I am so excited to be here!”
“Other than Brides, and Marley here, you’re the first human to visit any of our home worlds. How are you finding it?” Charteesie asked Jackie.
“It had truly been astounding! The flight was incredibly short and pleasant, a mere nine hours from Earth to here, and the accommodations offered in the shuttle made it even more pleasant than flying first class on an airplane back home. Should you guys decide to open tourism up between Earth and here, I’m sure you’ll get zero complaints about the flights themselves. And the people! Everyone has been so nice and welcoming. I feel like I stepped into a science fiction movie where I live in a multi species utopia.”
Charteesie poured herself a cup of the fragrant tea. “We’re actually here because it’s far from a utopia, though.” She took a sip and turned to peer at Marley meaningfully.
Marley swallowed. “That’s very true. Unfortunately, I helped sow some of the discord myself. Back on Earth, there are many who believe human women belong only with human men. Others believe that the Mylos gave a hidden agenda, masked behind benevolence and that the various Bride programs are a front. I’m ashamed to say that I allowed a personal decision by my sister to apply for a scholarship with the program to anger me, mainly because we’re identical twins who used to tell each other everything and make all our plans together. Then she got matched and, well, the Mylos made s convenient scapegoat for my anger. I listened to the wrong people and before it was all said and done, I actually hired two men to grab a Bride before her wedding.” Charteesie’s hand fluttered to the base of her throat.
“You arranged the kidnapping of a Bride? That’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever had someone admit to me!” Jackie nodded her head in agreement.
“What were your plans for this Bride?” Jackie asked.
“Well, I had this half-baked idea that the guys would get her alone and convince her to get into a car with them. I was going to have them bring her some place for s couple hours then just let her go. I just wanted to scare people so they’d reconsider signing up as I was convinced that it was all a trick.”
“A trick?” Charteesie asked, tilting her head to one side.
Marley blushed and stared down at her hands on her lap. “Yeah. I thought that the women were actually being used as breeding stock in some kind of breeding facilities.”
Both presenters gaped at her. “Well,” Jackie said after a moment’s pause, “that is certainly untrue.”
Marley nodded her head. “It certainly is nothing but an unfortunate fear that has no basis whatsoever in reality. In fact, after I was apprehended, I was placed in my sister’s and her mate’s custody here. I got to see the truth of their life together for myself. It helped me face the truth of what I’d done and with the help of my government appointed therapist, come to terms with it. It’s also helped me to have the courage to apologize to those I wronged and try to show anyone who might have similar ideas just how completely and utterly I now embrace the facts.”
“And have those you’ve wronged forgiven you?” Charteesie asked before taking a delicate bite from a cookie.
Marley looked at her directly in the eyes, meeting her gaze unflinchingly. “Amazingly enough, yes. The woman who I had abducted and her mate gave both forgiven me. I wouldn’t say that we’re close friends now, but I believe she knows I am not the same woman now that I was then.”
“That’s truly incredible. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to forgive someone for doing something like that to me. And you’ve been so nice, so it simply boggles my mind that you masterminded such a dastardly feat to begin with. Not that it went as planned, did it?” Jackie shook her head sadly as she spoke.
“Well, I did. I made a huge mistake, one that there is no excuse for. No matter what I believed, I had no right to do that to another person. I think Melissa and Junrig are incredible people for being able to forgive me the way they gave. And Commander Gundar, too. What I did was an act against the Fleet, too. I gave a formal apology to the Fleet and to Commander Gundar, and he also accepted it. In fact, he was instrumental in getting my sentencing to be what it was, while I still believed the terrible things I did and had no remorse. I think he saw my pain and wanted to help me heal. And to answer your question, no, the guys I'd hired didn’t stick to the plan. They drugged her and kept her tied up until local Leos and Mylos security tracked them down and rescued her.”
“Wow! That’s incredible!” Jackie exclaimed.
“It goes to show t
he quality of the Fleet’s officers that they have ones such as Gundar and Junrig among their numbers,” Charteesie agreed, nodding before taking another bite of her cookie.
“Well, we’ve been gabbing while Lopert sits here sidelined. Lopert, can you explain for our viewers at home what is about to happen here today?”
“Here on our home worlds, we don’t have Bride registry offices. Those are solely on worlds outside of our governance that we enter into treaties with. We exchange knowledge and technology that isn’t too far advanced for that world’s current level of development in exchange for running Bride programs to help introduce even more genetic diversity into the Mylos gene pool. As you know, our species has an unviable number of females born to continue our race and that’s been true for quite some time.”
Kranow (Mate the Stars Book 4) Page 3