by Shae Mills
“Like him, you have the capacity to order a large contingency to help you out in any manner you wish.”
“We will see. I may prefer just to cultivate and care for my garden on a much smaller scale. That way it will be more personal, all of it touched by my hand.”
“I have no doubt that whatever you touch will bloom and prosper in the most wondrous of ways.” He looked down. “And what is this?”
Chelan smiled. “Gorgeous pink roses from Earth.” Her smile waned slightly as thoughts of Dar feathered over her. Her beautiful Dar… But before she descended into misery, she diverted her thoughts. “I hope you don’t mind. I asked Reland and a few others to retrieve them for me. To have them was very special to me.”
Talon’s eyes widened with unexpected surprise. “Ah, my Lady. So, you have finally settled into your role after all. Ordering my men about now, are we?”
“Well, I knew there was a battleship in the sector near Calley and that they were on their way back here. I looked down the roster and spotted him. Since I had met him long ago, I asked him. He did not seem to mind.”
Talon nodded. “So, what are you doing with them?”
Chelan squatted back down. “I am just replanting some here among this rich blue foliage from Zephur. I think they will be compatible.”
Talon knelt down beside her and got his first whiff of the aromatic flower. His fingers gently touched the fine petals, and his eyes lit. Then he looked at her. “It is of your coloring, little one, its texture as soft as your skin.”
Chelan had to still the tremor that went through her as Talon touched a precious part of her life she considered sacred. His simple gesture distressed her, yet she smiled at his compliment and then went to rearrange the plant. But suddenly, she yelped and recoiled.
Talon flinched. “What happened?”
Chelan squeezed her finger. “I guess I should have worn my gloves.” She looked down as the blood welled up from the prick at the tip of her finger. “Beware, my Lord,” she warned. “The beautiful rose has its own hidden weapon.”
Talon took her hand in his and looked down at the tiny wound. “Ah, I see it is more like my woman than I initially thought.”
“Oh, really, my Lord? You mean that all your words about my gentle nature have been a deception?”
Talon smiled mischievously. “Hardly. But as I recall, I do bear the scar of your hidden lethality, do I not?”
Chelan instantly glanced down.
Talon reached for her chin. “Oh, come now. You know your deadly intent only increased my awe of you. Do not shy away from me.”
Chelan looked at him with grievous eyes. “Every time I see you, every time I touch you, and every time we… well, I see your scar. I only wish I could forget the pain I deliberately tried to inflict upon you. It was not my way.”
“You were in an extreme situation. All of us have hidden abilities, good and bad. The wound you inflicted on me in no way compensated for my previous mistreatment of you. You were more than justified.”
Chelan looked at the rose. “In a way, this rose symbolizes my life… and yours,” she whispered.
“How so?”
“It represents the wariness necessary to maintain one’s position at the top of a brutal military society. The rose symbolizes those who we trust with our lives, yet the thorn reminds us that no matter who they are or how much we feel we know them, they could strike against us at any time.”
Talon paused. “Why the sudden melancholy, my Lady? It does not befit you.”
Chelan smiled. “I am not sad, Talon. I have simply come to understand the pressures that must accompany you everywhere. I do not envy you… your title, or your job.”
“I was bred to it, my Lady. I am conditioned for it. I thrive on it. It is not a threat—it is a challenge, a passion.” And he raised her delicate finger to his lips and kissed her wound.
Chelan’s eyes widened. “Ah, I see you still thirst for blood.”
Talon chuckled. “You are right. I do no not deny it.”
Chelan nodded. “You must miss the battle.”
Talon continued to hold her hand. “Very much so. But unlike my brother, I know my limits. Korba could not resist the lure of the RIBUS.” Talon hesitated, looking for signs of stress in her pretty eyes, but he found none. “The Empire is vast, Chelan, and very complicated. To fight and rule spreads one too thin. One or both will suffer. Ticees knew that. He came from a long line of rulers, and they all knew too well their limitations.”
“So, if Korba had stayed on Iceanea, would you have been able to overthrow him?”
Talon took a deep, contemplative breath. “That is a hard one to answer. Could he have seen more if he had stayed here? Possibly. Would Iceanea have fallen so easily if he was here? Definitely not. I know that we would have won, but so easily…? No. But when I say ‘easily,’ that is a relative term. Overthrowing Korba was no easy task. I could not have done it without ROPE. And it was in the planning for decades, long before Korba took control.”
Chelan stood and looked about her. “He told me about the volatility of his last mission. He felt only he could handle it adequately, though there were so many other capable Warlords.”
Talon rose beside her. “A fault we all suffer from, my Lady. He was right. Though I never had the honor of meeting him directly, I do know, firsthand, that he was the indisputable best. No one could fight as well as he. But as ruler, you must allow others to fight your battles. If the men under you are competent, they will hold the front lines, thus freeing you to do your job well.”
“Then he killed himself?”
Talon was quiet for a time. “No. In the end, Korba made no mistakes. The outcome was inevitable.”
Chelan looked up into Talon’s handsome face and his beautiful, azure eyes. “Then you were just that much better?”
Talon shook his head slowly. “Other than advanced shielding technology, I merely had surprise on my side—just as with all my decades of training, only one tiny alien woman ever sank a blade into my flesh. You had surprise on your side, as did I.”
“So with me, you failed to anticipate the thorn.”
Talon raised his brows and smiled. “You are right, pretty one. And had the thorn been a mighty military power, my Empire would have fallen like Korba’s, and like Ticees’ before him.”
Chelan looked down at the rosebush in quiet reflection. She knew there could easily be another thorn out there, but she no longer had the capacity to deal with that possibility.
Suddenly, they both looked up at the sound of scurrying feet approaching. An elderly man came running around the corner, a huge smile on his face and a very large shrub in his hands. “Oh, my Lady! I am so glad you are still here. This just came.”
Talon bristled, looming defensively over Chelan.
The man nearly fell backward in his effort to stop quickly without dropping the plant. “Oh, my Lord! I am so sorry. I had no idea you were here.” He tried to bow but nearly toppled forward with the weight of the shrub.
Chelan lurched forth and grabbed the plant. She laughed. “It is okay, Manna. His Lordship was just visiting me.”
Once relieved of the burden, the man bowed deeply. “Sire, it is a great honor to have you here.”
Talon recovered quickly from the perceived threat to his wife and nodded back to the man. “It is a pleasure to be here, my good man. The gardens look lovely.”
The man bowed again. “Thank you, Sire. Your lady has a wonderful eye, and we all appreciate her direction here. She herself is such a welcome addition to the gardens.”
Talon’s eyes shone as he looked down at his wife, and his heart swelled once again. “She is a welcome addition wherever she goes,” he whispered adoringly.
Chelan blushed and put the shrub down. She looked to the befuddled Manna. “And the plant is…?”
“Oh, yes, the plant. It is from Agemenon, a planet not too distant. When it blooms, the flowers are exceptionally fragrant and are a beautiful ruby col
or. I thought you might like it next to your roses.”
Chelan grinned. The man’s gaze was once again riveted to the Emperor in stunned awe. Finally, she reached out and touched his shoulder, her soft contact startling the gardener. “Thank you, Manna. I will plant it later. I am sure the contrast will be amazing.”
Manna beamed. “Oh, I hope it meets all your expectations.” He looked back to Talon. “Thank you once again for coming, my Lord. I look forward to meeting you again in the future.”
Talon nodded and smiled to the man, who promptly bowed to both of them and then scampered away.
Chelan smiled with amusement as Manna hurried off. Then she looked up at Talon. “You need to come here more often. As it is, you scare the locals.”
Talon laughed. “Apparently. In the future I shall endeavor to do just that. By the look on his face when he first saw me, I am sure he thought he was dead.”
Chelan frowned. “The way you reacted, I am surprised you didn’t kill him.”
Talon feigned injury at her comment. “You will notice that no weapon was drawn.”
“As if you needed a weapon to break him in two.”
“Now, now! Exactly how do you even know it was you I was thinking of? Perhaps it was the fate of the plant that had me so concerned.”
Chelan burst into laughter. When she finally tried to speak, she could hardly keep from erupting again. “The day you show one iota of concern for a plant is the day this Empire falls.”
Talon raised his brows. “I am grievously wounded by that comment. I will have you know that I do have an aesthetic bone in my body… somewhere.”
Chelan hiccupped as she suppressed more laughter. “’Tis mighty small, I would wager.”
Talon smirked at her and leaned in close. “I have you, don’t I?”
Chelan grinned mischievously. “Like these plants, I believe I grew on you. If I recall correctly, you did not come to Earth to woo me for my beauty.”
Talon straightened. “I plead guilty, but I do admit to taking notice of you rather early into our unfortunate meeting. Laying you out to feast upon did enter my mind on several occasions, though I tried to quell the thought.”
She looked at him slyly as she took him by the arm. “Uh-huh—the truth comes out after all. And speaking of feasts, I am hungry. I think we should go before you scare anyone else.”
Talon nodded to her. “Good plan.” And he escorted her out.
*****
They entered the Command Center, and Lethiason turned to greet them. “My Lord, my La— My, you are a mess.”
Chelan crinkled her nose at him. “My, you are full of compliments.”
Lethiason beamed at the muddied beauty. “Looks like you had a tussle with one of your trees, and it won.”
Chelan laughed. “Yes, something like that.”
Talon chuckled and then looked at Lethiason. “So, my good man, what is on today’s agenda?”
Lethiason pointed at the screen. “Not too much of immediate concern, Sire. The Sengal mission requires your final once-over. You will have to finalize the roster of the new Warlords. The Helafin ambassador is requesting a meeting—at your convenience, of course. I believe Battleship 69 is requesting that its date for retrofitting be bumped up, but I can get Metek to deal with that if you wish. This is the ship that endured that prolonged radiation exposure near the Flerick black hole. You had wanted to oversee some of the preliminary repairs before the retrofit.”
“Yes. The damage seemed odd, to say the least. The Telesians are studying it for future reference. Maybe I will just wait for their report.”
Lethiason nodded. “Well, most importantly, I have loaded the final schedule for the security transfer.”
Talon nodded. “Good. I will study the security upgrade and the Sengal mission after breakfast. Schedule the ambassador. Confirm the advanced retrofit for the ship, and send me the roster.”
Lethiason bowed. “My Lady, my Lord,” he acknowledged as he took his leave.
Chelan nodded at Lethiason and then looked at Talon. “That is a lot of work for one day.”
Talon chuckled. “That is my work for the morning. There will be plenty more to deal with, especially military aspects, as the day goes on.”
Chelan shuddered. “Iceanean metabolisms aside, no wonder you don’t sleep much.”
“Well, most of what I deal with now is pretty local. My officers and my diplomatic team take care of the fieldwork.”
“Fieldwork,” she repeated impishly. “You mean, they manage the known galaxy.”
Talon laughed. “Pretty much. But I do keep my finger on the pulse of the Empire. All trouble spots cross my path.”
She could only look at him in awe. Then she shook herself free of his spell. “I am going to shower and change.”
Talon nodded. “I will order breakfast.”
*****
When Chelan had finished, she donned her white gown and stepped out into the bedroom. There was Talon, dismissing the help. She looked at the beautiful table heaped with Iceanean delicacies and abundant fresh fruit. She sat down with him. “Maybe not a busy day after all?”
Talon shook his head. “Actually, nothing too heavy.”
Chelan nibbled at the Sana fruit. “Want some help with the Sengal mission? I can deal with the coding and statistics.”
Talon smiled. “I always welcome your help. Oh, and by the way, Halon wants to know if you would be interested in assisting him with some reconnaissance photos. I think he feels I have occupied you too long.”
Chelan stopped eating. “What are the photos of?”
“Don’t worry. I know that you want no part of any military procedures. These flights were for resources only. The planet, one with no name as of yet, has vast mineral deposits. No one has claim to it, so it is automatically ours. Halon merely wants to know if you want to assist with the readings. The planet is terrestrial, with a similar geological history to your home world. He feels you would be of great help.”
Chelan smiled. “I would love to, as long as there is no military involvement.”
Talon shook his head. “None—you have my word.”
Chelan nodded. “So, when does he want me?”
“At your leisure.”
“Is tomorrow okay?”
“I assume so. I will notify him later.”
Chelan finished her fruit and then sat quietly.
“What is wrong?” Talon asked.
“Oh, nothing. I just want to work out soon, so I won’t eat too much now.”
Talon nodded. “Well, let us hop to the Sengal mission. It shouldn’t take long.”
Chelan followed him out into the Command Center and sat beside him at the console. Then both set to work. “Hmm,” she mused. “I see all the incoming transmissions are in Iceanean now.”
Talon nodded. “The transfer is complete.”
Chelan smiled. “Good—fewer codes to fool with.”
Talon chuckled. “Yes, it is a real strain on the computers.”
Chelan slapped his arm hard. “You know what I mean.”
Talon continued to chuckle while poring over files. “Look, here is a code you would be interested in.”
Chelan moved over close to him and peered at the screen. “Colors,” she whispered.
“Correct. The complete spectrum, visible and non. Now watch the computer decode it.”
Chelan gasped. “That is incredible.”
“I knew you would appreciate it. I will teach you how it is done later.”
Chelan returned to her place but remained still.
Talon glanced at her. “What is it?”
Chelan furrowed her brow. “I just remembered something.”
“What?”
Chelan sat back. “Years ago, just after RIBUS 7 arrived at Iceanea, a strange message came in for Korba’s eyes only.”
“That would not be unusual.”
“I know, but this was different. Korba trusted me, and he had taught me all the coding protocols.
But this one came through still partially scrambled. I put it through the translators every which way, but it remained indecipherable.”
“We still have all the records here. Do you remember a date or a number?”
Chelan shook her head. “No, sorry.”
“Did you ask him about it?”
“No. My thoughts at the time were elsewhere. But what was strange about it was that it was a mission to Earth, and he never mentioned it to me.”
Talon’s interest piqued. “Let’s find it.”
“It doesn’t matter. The codes—”
Talon shook his head and smiled. “We broke all the Empire’s codes long before we attacked. If it is in the records, I can translate it for you.”
Chelan became excited. Talon reached for her and set her in his lap. “Earth, hey, Calley.” And he began to type. “Anything else?”
“Yes, a small mission with only three specially modified long-range fighters.”
Talon typed and then waited. Chelan craned her head toward the screen. “That is it, see! ‘Mission a success, proof supplied upon request.’ Then the rest is some strange encryption.”
Talon pushed a disk into the console and hit a button. The screen became a jumble of hieroglyphics. “It was a cipher used exclusively for Korba. It was not even accessible by Ticees.”
“What about Dar and Toran?”
“No, not even them. It was a top-security code for Korba only.”
“But why?”
Talon smiled. “He did not want anyone to see it—not even you, sweet lady.”
Chelan looked to the screen as the words began to form. Talon scrolled through it. “He sent three assassins to Earth. They were there, for… two days. Their target was a Doctor Lee and his two sons.”
Chelan blanched. Talon continued. “‘Method… Evidence is on file… Photos if required, along with blood samples and genetic profiles.’” Talon looked at Chelan. “Mean anything to you?”
Chelan moved off his knee stiffly and sat in her own chair. Talon was beside her instantly, her ashen color disturbing him. He knelt before her. “Talk to me, Chelan.”
Chelan glanced at him. “The doctor was my pediatrician when I was young.”