“When I ran away to Mephistopheles, it was because I was tired of living the bureaucratic and royal lifestyle. I was fed up with attending Intergalactic Council meetings and representing our people, always having to be proper and respectful and so on. Not a damned thing ever got done with them, but then Mephistopheles approached me and promised change, if only I came with him.”
“And you did? Willingly?”
“In the beginning. It was really exciting when he first took me to his compound. He showed me all the forbidden knowledge he had gathered, all the riches he had. I figured if anyone could make a change, it was him. But soon it became clear that he was only interested in his own studies, and as soon as I stopped cooperating, he made me yet another one of his specimens. From there I cooperated, all the while slowly breaking down his defenses and restrictions. I’m pretty sure I would have succeeded, but then you came in and killed him for me.”
While Regan knew the story, and Arkei and Straya were softening their grips on their weapons, it still didn’t answer the question as to why she kept the ninjas’ origins to herself.
“Calico.” Regan stepped forward. “You had to know the ninjas weren’t going to give up.”
Calico looked away, her eyes teary. “Yeah, I knew. I just wanted to hold them off long enough for us to take down Rubicio. After that, I figured my adventure would be over and it’d be back to the castle with me.”
While this all made sense, Regan had another thought. “Does that mean our crew is at odds with your family? Do they think we’ve kidnapped their princess?”
“I doubt it. My father had always known I’d be trouble. He’ll write you guys off as the latest bad influence on me. That’s why the ninjas haven’t been trying to kill any of you.”
Regardless, Regan knew her father was definitely going to have many concerns about the direction her life had taken, and he might even try to blame Regan for it.
Calico seemed to be forming a plan, nodding to herself as she thought. “I think we should go back to see my father. It might start off a bit rough, but I know he’ll want to help once he understands what we’re doing. I’m sure of it.”
Straya butted in. “Just how could he help us?”
“He used to be a member of the Intergalactic Council. He was a judge, and I’m his daughter. I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll help us. But I won’t lie, it will take some convincing.”
“And the ninjas?” Arkei asked.
“If we go back to my father, the ninjas will be called off.”
“So what do we do with this ninja?” Straya asked, casually pointing her gun at him.
“We should let him go,” Calico said. “He’ll let the others know we intend to return to my father.” She eyed the ninja. “Right?”
The ninja nodded quickly.
The whole plan sounded risky, but then again, Regan couldn’t see what other options they had. At least this way they had an inside track, even though convincing the royal father that Regan was worth all this trouble wouldn’t be easy.
“You mentioned needing to win over your father,” Regan started. “What will that entail?”
Calico considered her answer for a moment. She arched a brow, as if she were going to give a response, then stopped. She stood from her seated position and crossed her arms.
“Let’s just see if he’ll take us in first,” she said. “I’ll make the call from the bridge, if that’s okay with you, Captain?”
“All right. As long as you’re going to be fully transparent with us from here on out.”
“I will.” She took off.
He looked at Squit and nodded. She dropped the ninja from her grip and he scurried away. He was gone before they could say anything to him, but he knew what the next steps were. He had heard the conversation. So the word was out now.
Regan exhaled and turned toward his ship after Arkei and Straya. He regretted not being able to relax any longer here in the Boneyard. He had told his crew that they would all have some time to do so. He felt like he still owed them that.
But that was how his journey tended to go. One adventure after the next. Only difference being, the task at hand felt more important than those in the past. It was more than just his survival, or the survival of his crew.
Regan was now tasked with saving Earth and ending a thread of massive corruption woven into the fabric of the universe. It felt impossible and insane, but as he climbed up the ramp into his ship, he told himself he was ready for the challenge.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Regan and his entire crew convened on the bridge. They all took their places, except Calico, who noted she should be standing when she addressed the king’s advisor. The formality surprised Regan, who hadn’t known Calico to be so respectful of tradition or power.
Or perhaps it was something more that he didn’t understand.
“Do you think I should be standing as well?” Regan asked.
“I don’t think it would be proper,” Calico said. “You are the Captain, and so you should resume your seat. This call is between my father’s advisor and myself.”
Bringing another party into this mess doesn’t seem like a good idea.
“Why aren’t you just calling your father directly?” Regan asked.
“It doesn’t work that way. The advisor is the closest thing to a direct link.”
Though he didn’t want to persist, he couldn’t help but ask one more question.
“With all the corruption, and the ninjas…” Regan started. “It’s just, are you sure you can trust this guy? This advisor?”
Calico smirked, then nodded. “He is one of the few I fully trust. Even if he’s going to be super pissed at me.”
Regan nodded. “All right. Get it done.”
Calico entered a number into a communications panel, then a large screen appeared before her. After about a minute, the call was finally answered by a graying Pershan male. He wore a robe that clearly indicated royalty, with a badge on his left chest.
His eyes squinted with anger when he saw Calico, giving her the look of a disapproving parent.
But his glare didn’t wander to other members of the bridge. His eyes remained focused on Calico. She was all he was interested in.
“You could have made it easy and just gotten a ride with the ninjas,” the advisor said in a degrading tone.
“I want them called off,” Calico replied.
The advisor’s voice raised in volume. “You don’t get to make those directives, Calico!”
Calico opened her mouth to speak again, but the advisor cut her off with a wave of his hand, slamming it on the desk before him.
“Do you know the trouble you’ve caused us?” the advisor continued. “We have been working overtime to preserve your image in your absence! Your father is very concerned about the perception of you still being marriage material.”
Calico laughed, which infuriated the advisor more. But before he could snap at her, she said, “I don’t understand. You know I’ve already mated, so what are you talking about?”
The advisor looked as if he could reach through the screen and strangle her. The anger on his face was clearly something that had been building for years and years. And while it was clear that he was trying to keep his cool, he was starting to slip.
“Calico, you never see the big picture. This isn’t only about you. Everything isn’t always about you.” The advisor took a deep breath to calm himself. “Yes. I know about your mating. Your father knows as well. Your family is very impressed with your disregard for the rules.”
He sneered sarcastically. But what he said next surprised Calico. “However, if you think the King allowed that information to spread throughout the Kingdom, if you think he’d allow the family image to be tarnished, then you know little of your father!”
Calico was clearly at a loss for words. She almost spoke several times, but kept silencing herself. Regan could tell she was having a hard time with this conversation. The importance of her entire family relationship wa
s playing out before his eyes. For the first time since Regan met her, she looked like a little girl, a daughter who was in trouble and coming to terms with it.
“You are the King’s daughter,” the advisor continued. “The only one who can pass down your glorious power. Even though you have mated out of whim, the Kingdom must never know this. You must return and allow your father to approve of your mate. It is the only way to preserve the integrity of the Kingdom, of your family, and of the power itself.”
“I wasn’t… I wasn’t ever planning on coming back,” Calico admitted.
The advisor gave her a look of understanding. He nodded, as if he knew this already. Even though he was angry, these two shared a strong bond. He had clearly known Calico since she was a little girl.
“Hence the ninjas,” the advisor said. “Which were authorized under top secret measures—something your father doesn’t like to do. But never mind what you were planning. The fact is, you have to return. You must perform the ritual and put all of this behind you. Imagine the scandal if the Kingdom knew about you mating before performing the ritual! You must make this right.”
Calico stayed silent for a moment. She didn’t make eye contact with anyone else in the room. She just looked at the ground in front of her feet. Whatever she was working out in her head, the advisor was waiting patiently to hear it.
“I appreciate your patience with me,” Calico said. “And I thank you for keeping my secret safe. But we really do have an important mission we have to see through before anything else.”
“Calico, whatever your plans are, you must come back and satisfy our traditions. You owe your father the peace of mind to put all this in the past. He is angry with you, but he is your father and will forgive you. He just wants to make things right with the Kingdom.” After a beat, the advisor added with a stern glance, “Don’t embarrass him further.”
“Fine. Grant us permission to land on Paudetria.”
“Send me the specifications of your ship.”
Calico looked at Straya, who was already sending what the advisor needed.
“Thank you,” the advisor said. “May I encourage you to please use the rear entrance to the castle upon your arrival?”
“Sure thing,” Calico said. “We’ll be there soon.”
The screen went black. Calico looked as if she was going to fall over. Most everyone leaned forward in reaction, but Calico raised an arm quickly as if to tell everyone she was fine. She looked at Regan and he could see how much the conversation had drained her.
“Captain, may I have a few moments before we take off?” she asked.
Regan nodded and followed Calico after she left the room.
Calico sat at the bar, but didn’t drink. She just sat there, wiping tears from her eyes. Whatever had transpired with the call was more than Regan was able to fully comprehend. He admitted that he didn’t know the pressures a royal family member would have to deal with on a regular basis. He couldn’t imagine having a king as a father.
“Everything okay?” Regan asked.
“Yes,” Calico said, straightening her back and correcting her posture, as if nothing were wrong. “I just didn’t expect my father to continue to protect me after I ran away.”
“Yeah, well, you’re his daughter, and that will never change, regardless of how much he thinks you’ve screwed up.”
“Yeesh. Thanks.”
“I’m sure he’ll come to realize that despite your mistakes, you’ve also made some good decisions along the way. We just have to make him understand.”
“I’m sure he’ll help us, but first we must appease him.”
“And… what exactly is it that we need to do?” Regan wasn’t liking all the talk he heard about rituals and marriage.
“It’s just a show we have to put on,” Calico said with a dismissive head shake.
“Yeah, but… marriage?”
Calico laughed. “Nothing will change between us. Nothing will prevent us from continuing to do what we do. We just have to make this right for my father.”
She isn’t quite answering my question.
“Sure, I get that,” Regan said. “But what is the ritual?”
“It’s called the Rite of Hissock.” Calico kept her eyes on the bar counter. “It’s a formality that will take place with my father as a witness. He has to officially declare me an ‘honest’ woman.”
Regan started to press on with further questions, but Calico leaned over and kissed him.
“He’s a stickler for tradition,” she said. “It will all go smoothly. I’m sure of it. And after we make him happy, we can return to our mission.”
Regan didn’t like the idea of walking into her father’s kingdom without all the answers, but he had made it this far. And her father didn’t seem like a bad guy, just a stickler for tradition.
“Regan…” she started. “Just follow my lead. But know that I want to do this now for my father.”
“But, I thought—”
“I know. I know. But in protecting me this way, he has also protected my right to be a Queen.” Calico wiped a tear away from her eye. “He could have banished me when I ran. He could have banished me again when I mated with you. But he didn’t. Instead he lied to the Kingdom on my behalf. He still protects me, and though I disagree with the royal, wealthy, entitled lifestyle, maybe sometime down the line, when my father’s too old to rule, I could change things for the better as a queen.”
Regan wasn’t sure if it was a dumb question, but he had to ask, “Would that eventually make me a king?”
“No. You’re not a Pershan, and only Pershans can hold such positions in our kingdom. But Pershan genes are dominant—that is to say, when we breed with outside species, our children will still be pure Pershan. So perhaps if we had a son, he’d be king.”
Regan blinked hard. He wasn’t sure what to say.
Calico chuckled. “Don’t worry. We don’t need to pursue that for a while. We’ll save it for after we’ve made the universe a paradise.”
Regan cleared his throat. “Well, uh… I guess we better get a move on then.”
“I guess so, Captain.”
The two stood from their barstools.
He followed her to the bridge, his thoughts racing along the way. As he looked out the window at the Boneyard surrounding them, he silently bade the station goodbye. He thought of the test to come, which he knew little about, and wasn’t looking forward to it. He thought about making a deal with a King to stop intergalactic corruption. And he thought about preventing the destruction of Earth.
As much as he wasn’t looking forward to heading to the Kingdom of Paudetria, he also realized that he needed an ally in this fight against Rubicio. He would need a powerful hand. Pirates, smugglers, and thieves had gotten him far in this universe, but this was a new ballgame. He needed heavy hitters. If the King was willing to protect Calico for this long, then he obviously would continue to do so.
Whatever this ritual entailed, Regan knew that he would go through with it. He would face it head on, knowing it meant saving something bigger and greater.
He took his seat in the Captain’s chair on the bridge. He inhaled, held his breath for a few moments, and exhaled slowly. He smiled at his crew, and they all smiled back. He knew he could count on all of them. This was a situation they were in because of him and Calico, but they would all stand up for them, regardless.
“Set a course for the kingdom,” Regan ordered.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Calico gave Straya the coordinates for Paudetria. The pirate wasted no time in entering them into the system. Arkei verified the path for an FTL jump, making sure nothing would be in their way.
Calico’s screen lit up to confirm the navigation was in place. She turned and looked at Regan for approval. It had been a while since they were able to use their FTL jump, so Regan couldn’t help but give the ladies a smirk before he told them to punch it.
And then Posha spoke up.
“I just want to g
ive everyone a fair warning before we push off,” he said. His finger was raised as if the point he was about to make were very official. “The complete depletion of antimatter modules, and the installation of new modules, sometimes leads to a… sputtering… of sorts, before the jump takes effect. I just want everyone to be aware that it is totally normal.”
The room laughed. Calico, Straya, and Arkei in particular, as if they knew this already.
Once again Regan realized he was on the newbie side of things. But now that he knew, he nodded, glad for Posha’s expertise. “Thanks, Posha. Calico, punch it.”
Calico started the sequence. The ship began its progression rather smoothly until it stalled at a speed that sent Regan forward into his belt. It caught itself again and pushed forward for only a moment, rattling almost as badly as Arkei’s old junker used to.
The ship finally righted itself and pushed through. They were off.
As Regan remembered—and missed—the stars became lines on the windshield. The silence of space took over. The stability of the ship took hold, and it was smooth sailing all around.
Regan sat back in his seat and smiled. Once the ship was fully into its FTL jump, several crew members unfastened their belts and relaxed a bit.
Straya was the first on her feet. “So, what is it you have to do for your father?” she asked Calico.
“It’s a mating ritual,” Calico replied. “It’s the only way to be free of my father’s restrictions, as I’ll finally be recognized by my society as an independent adult.”
Straya rolled her eyes. “Seems to me like you were living like an independent adult well before any ritual.”
“I know you don’t understand, but it’s a very serious thing where I’m from. When a princess is mated, she is to stay with her mate for life. It’s very sacred, and it’s what makes our society so stable.”
Calico dropped her shoulders as she said this. She looked from Straya to Regan and made that pouty face that he hadn’t seen in so long. He knew that face meant she had something to say that he wasn’t going to like. And yet it was more playful than that. More intimate.
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