by Calista Skye
“Lana,” came Adaar’s groggy voice. “I didn’t expect you until morning.”
“We need to talk now. I need answers.”
“It can’t wait?”
“No.”
A long pause. “Give me a moment.” Three high-pitched beeps ended the transmission.
When the door slid open, Adaar stood before her half-dressed, his golden skin glowing softly in the dim light. “Come in, Lana. Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
She couldn’t help admiring his bare-chested body. The memories of his flesh pressed against her rushed in. She felt his mouth on her body, the hunger of his kiss. The passion of his hands as they explored her.
But that wasn’t why she came here. Not today.
“Can I get you anything, Lana? A drink?”
Lana shook her head.
Adaar grabbed a bottle of Anaran spiced coffee and poured it into his mug. “We have the crew to thank for this little luxury,” he said. “I’ve learned that in this line of work, it’s important to find joy in the little things when you can.”
“It doesn’t seem like there’s much joy to be found in this universe, Adaar.”
“No,” he said. “It doesn’t. Please, have a seat.” He slid into the large chair opposite her at the table.
Lana appreciated his ability to take a hint. She wasn’t in the mood for their usual playful joust. She slid herself into the morgelo leather chair across from him.
“Lana,” he began. “No apology on my behalf could ever earn your forgiveness. I deceived you, and I put your life at risk. I will own the consequences of that decision.”
Lana sat motionless. “Yes,” she said.
“And you’ve no doubt worked out the reason.”
Lana braced herself for his rationalization. She found herself hoping that he could justify himself. She wanted him to convince her there was a reason he’d turned his back on his people and his throne. She needed to believe that there was a larger plan.
“What I’ve worked out, Adaar, is that you thought hiding the truth would keep me safe.” She didn’t have time for games. She needed to know. “At least, that’s the story you’re telling yourself. But I’m not sure it’s true. Even now, you can’t be honest. Not with me. Not even with yourself.”
“You’re angry with me. I can’t say I blame you.”
“You turned your back on your people. You turned your back on everyone.”
“Lana. It’s not so simple. I’m doing what I can to help them.”
“Really? Because it seems like you’re running, Adaar.”
He stared off into the distance for a long moment. “What I am doing, Lana, is trying to make life better for everyone.”
“And you think that flying around the Gamma quadrant hi-jacking transport ships makes a difference?”
“The supplies we recover make a difference to the people who receive them. In the last three years alone, we’ve secured food and medicine for tens of thousands of people who would have died without it. We’re doing what we can, Lana.”
Lana stood, digging her heel into the ground. “But you see it, Adaar! You see how the Empire has destroyed them. You see their corruption. Their greed. And you…” She threw her hands in the air. “If it were someone else, anyone else, I would have thought it was admirable. But you? This is a drop in the bucket. It’s not enough, Adaar. If you’re so committed to your mission, if you really wanted to change things…you had the chance to do it. You could have taken the throne. But instead, you’re running around playing pirate.”
Adaar looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Do you think for a second that if I’d stayed, I would have able to do half the good I’ve done?”
“You would have become Emperor, Adaar. And you could have changed things.”
“No, Lana.” He stood and turned away from her. “It’s never that easy. You spoke with Ellistra. She told you why I left?”
Lana hesitated. “No,” she said. “She said that you disappeared. That everyone thought you were dead.”
“That was the way it had to be,” he said. He drew a deep breath and fixed his eyes on her. “When I was a boy, Lana, I thought the world was a magical place. I thought, as my father had taught me, that I had a divine right to everything. That the universe itself and all its people existed to serve me. My life was filled with anything I wanted. We had the finest foods, the best entertainment. Anything I wanted was mine. I just had to snap my fingers and ask, and a whole cadre of servants and attendants would appear to make it happen.”
Lana tasted bile in her mouth.
“And as you would expect when things come so easily, I wasn’t satisfied by any of it. I always felt like I was missing something. Everyone around me was so eager to please. Everyone wanted to be my friend, to be in my good graces. But even at a young age, I sensed something was off. Even though I had all the things I could possibly dream of, I had no real connection to anyone. I had no friends.”
Lana pursed her lips. It was tough for her to feel any sympathy.
“There was one boy, though, my personal attendant, Ja’al…who didn’t seem to want anything from me. Like most of the palace servants, he came from outside the walls, and he had a very different take on life. The two of us had all kinds of adventures together. We got into trouble. We ran around and played games. And unlike anyone else, Ja’al never let me win. He wasn’t afraid of my station. To him, I was just another kid.”
“Smart guy,” she said.
“As we grew older and started to mature, Ja’al kept me in check. He never let my head get too big. He was a voice of reason in a world of excess, and he never took anything for granted. It was a quality I appreciated, even though I didn’t quite understand why.”
“You knew something was wrong.”
Adaar nodded. “But I didn’t know what. Ja’al could sense my growing discontent. And unlike me, he seemed to understand the cause. We were the same age, but he knew things I didn’t. I had the best tutors that money could buy, but Ja’al’s knowledge came from a different place. A place of wisdom. A place of experience. That crucial thing I was missing.”
Lana had never been able to put her finger on it, but it made sense. “Ja’al told you about the world outside the palace walls.”
“He didn’t tell me, Lana. He showed me. One night, when everyone was asleep, we sneaked outside the gates. It took a few months of planning. Figuring out how to trick all the sensors and trackers, learning the schedules and routes of the palace patrols. But we waited for the right moment, and we managed it. And nothing could have prepared me for what I saw out there.”
“A does of reality.”
“We didn’t have to go very far to see it. He led me through the streets of Kamara, and they were everywhere. The people. The suffering. Just outside the palace walls, there was hunger. There was sickness. The people cursed the Empire under their breaths. And I learned that the world I knew was a lie. That what we had wasn’t ours. What we took, we took from them. I knew something had to change.”
Lana reached her hand out to him. “That’s more than most people in your position would have done. It’s not an easy truth to see.”
“I couldn’t be part of it any longer. I couldn’t stay. I resolved to do something different. So Ja’al and I formed the Raiders to try and give something back.”
“But why? There must have been a better way.” She shook her head. “You were the heir to the Empire. You could have done so much more. Changed things from the inside. You could have led the people in a different direction.”
The pain was clear on his face. “There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t second guess that decision, Lana. But if there’s one thing I learned inside the palace walls, it’s that people who have power don’t like change. They don’t want to give up their advantages and their luxuries. If I had taken the throne and tried to change things that way, I would have been killed.”
“No, Adaar. Everyone wants change. The galaxy can’t go on li
ke this.”
“I’m helping people in the best way I can. But I can’t single-handedly force the Empire to change. They’re too firmly entrenched. The corruption runs too deep. Even if I were in charge, I couldn’t do it alone.”
“You don’t have to do it alone, Adaar.”
Adaar shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. The Empire’s grasp is too tight.”
“You’re afraid,” said Lana. “That’s what this is about. You’ve seen the people of Kamara. Of Tarksis. Of Anara. You know that the people are ready for change.”
“You don’t understand the costs. The Empire cannot be fixed from the inside. My father…” He looked to the ground. “He saw it, too. He had his doubts, and he began to grow quite vocal about them. It made the High Council uncomfortable. They were happy with their lives. They didn’t want to give up their luxury or their power. They assassinated my father not long after. That’s when I left. And that’s why my cousin Kalaan sits on the throne now. The Empire’s tendrils have grown even thicker under his rule. But I had seen the costs of trying to change the system from the inside. I had to help the people some other way.”
“Adaar, look around you. You’re a leader. You were born to be a leader. Look at the crew of this ship. Everyone here would follow you to their deaths because they believe in what you’re doing. Because they believe in you.” She gripped his hand tightly.
Adaar looked at her with an intensity that cut right through her.
“Maybe the Empire can’t be changed from the inside,” said Lana. “But this? Cruising around the galaxy raiding cargo ships? It’s not enough. It’s a drop in the ocean.” She leaned into his body, resting her hand on his chest. “I never expected to fall in love, Adaar. I never expected to trust a Kamaran. Or a pirate. But you’ve already shown me what’s possible when you look beneath the surface and give someone a chance.”
“I’m doing all I can,” he said. “It has to be enough.”
Lana shook her head. “The people need you to lead them, Adaar. And if you step up and do what you know you’ve always been meant to do…the people would follow you.”
“I admire your spirit, Lana. But it could never work.”
Her face sank. “Maybe I was wrong about you. The man that I thought I knew, that brave, fearless, selfless man who rescued me from the Ratolian, who protected me when we raided the medical ship, who saved my life…and risked his own to rescue the Anaran people form a fate worse than death…the man I fell in love with…where is he now?”
“Lana…”
“The galaxy needs a prince. And so do I.”
Chapter 17
“I can’t believe you let her go,” said Ja’al. “I haven’t seen you so happy since…well, ever. And you let her walk away.”
“She made her choice. She’s not a prisoner.” He swallowed a mouthful of ormalon and slammed his glass on the table.
“I didn’t realize she would take it so hard.”
Adaar snorted. “How was she supposed to take it? We lied to her. I lied to her the entire time they were here. Hell, my entire life is a lie. I don’t blame her. She was smart to get out.”
“We didn’t tell her about your past, that’s true. But you kept it from her for the right reasons. We didn’t know how she was going to react. She might have been an Imperial loyalist.”
“No one from Tarksis is an Imperial loyalist. Especially not people who keep company with Sakaj Namat.”
“That’s true, Adaar. But we still had to make sure. We’ve worked too hard to jeopardize what we have here. We’re doing too much good to risk it.”
Adaar slammed his fist to the table. “We’re not!” Her words had pierced him, and even the thick fog of the ormalon wasn’t enough to numb the pain. Lana was right about him. He was a coward. “It doesn’t matter,” said Adaar. “None of this matters. Everything we’re doing is a waste of time.”
“You don’t believe that, Adaar. Think about all the good we’ve done. All the lives we’ve saved. The Raiders exist to make a difference. To undo the damage that the Empire has caused.”
“And a fine job we’re doing of it,” said Adaar coldly. “We haven’t done a gods damned thing that matters.”
“Every life we’ve saved matters. Every single mouth we’ve fed matters. You remember Kamara City. You remember their faces. Every single person we’ve helped lives another day because of what we do. This entire crew owes you their lives. Hell, the entire planet of Anara has you to thank for their freedom.”
“But for how long, Ja’al? The Empire will try again. And next time, they might not try something so diplomatic and peaceful as a marriage. Anara is far too valuable for the Empire to leave them alone. They’ll be back. And they’ll bring their guns. Their warships. We can’t protect them against the Empire. We’re playing a fool’s game, Ja’al, and we’re not doing anybody any favors.”
“The life we’ve chosen isn’t easy, Adaar. But we’re doing everything we can.”
Adaar shook his head. “No, Ja’al. We’re not. I was the Prince of Kamara. I had a chance to make a difference, and I ran.”
“Inside the palace? That would’ve been suicide. And you know it.”
Adaar stared at the wall. He felt hollow. His entire life and everything he was trying to do was irrelevant. “Lana was right about me, Ja’al. Deep down, I’m a coward.”
Ja’al met his eyes. “Captain, you’re the single bravest man I know. Anyone who thinks otherwise…”
“Has seen right through the act.” Adaar pushed himself up from the table and walked slowly to the other side of the room, the heavy thud of his boots filling the room as he paced. “We’ve managed some good, Ja’al. The work we’ve done is important, and the lives we’ve touched matter. It’s the people that matter. You taught me that.”
The captain spun on his heels, the spark coming back to his eyes. “But someone else used to say that, too.”
“Sakaj…”
A smile spread across his golden face. “Yes.”
Ja’al shook his head. “No. No way.”
“Lana was right, Ja’al. We’ve been wasting our time. And you were right, too. I’d be a damned fool to let her walk away.”
“Look, Adaar…Captain…you’re my best friend. I want you to be happy. But it’s not time yet. They’re not ready.”
“No one is ever ready, my friend. But we start anyway. And we make the best of it. Fortune favors the bold, Ja’al, and it’s about damn time we earned her attention.”
“You’re insane. You’re completely, irredeemably mad. Sakaj has connections, but there’s no way his little contingent of malcontents can topple the Empire.”
“Of course not, Ja’al. But the weapons stash we gave them will provide more than enough firepower to take out the Tarksian government. All the soldiers there are new recruits. Untrained and untested. They won’t offer much resistance.”
“Kamara will retaliate.”
“They will. But news of the victory on Tarksis will spread, and the people will flock to our cause. It’s about damn time the Gamma Raiders grew up and became a proper rebellion, don’t you think?"
“It’s risky,” said Ja’al.
“Of course it’s risky. But we all knew this day would come sooner or later. They’ve just been waiting for spark. They’ve been waiting for someone to show them the way.”
“And you think they’ll follow you?”
Adaar nodded. “They don’t just need a leader. They need a figurehead. A symbol they can unite behind.”
He clapped Ja’al on the shoulder and smiled.
“What they need is a prince.”
***
The Endurance dropped out of hyperspace just outside the Tarksis System with the screeching groan of metal on metal as the hull contracted against itself in the gravity field.
“Home sweet home,” said Kira. She fidgeted in her chair uncomfortably. “I can’t believe we’re back here.”
“Yeah,” said Lana. “Believe me, I’m no
t thrilled either.”
“We could have stayed, you know. What happened up there, anyway?”
“It’s complicated,” she said. She wasn’t sure she understood it herself. Too many conflicting feelings. It didn’t matter how much she cared about him. “He’s not the man I thought he was.”
“Yeah, Riley. We covered that. But he…I’ve never seen anyone look at me that way. He had it bad. You had it pretty bad yourself. But let’s ignore for a minute how utterly, insanely gorgeous he is…”
“Please.”
“He’s a good man, Lana. He cares about his crew. And he cares about you. Hell, he devoted his life to getting food and medicine to people he doesn’t even know. Who does that?”
Lana sighed and shrugged.
“Good people, Riley. That’s who. Gods, he’s perfect for you. He’s everything you could ever possibly want. And not only that, he’s a prince. I mean, an actual, literal prince.”
“No, Kira. He isn’t.” Her insides knotted up, squeezing her stomach into a tight little ball. “Not anymore.” She drew a deep breath to calm herself. It would pass, like it always did. She could let it be a memory now. It would always be there, but it didn’t have to hurt her.
“I’m not trying to upset you, Riley. It’s just that…I would give anything for a man half as good as Adaar. You don’t know how lucky you are. Don’t you think you’re being a little bit hard on him?”
“Here’s what I think: I have to take care of Tanner. And we have to figure out how the hell we’re going to explain this failed delivery to the Consortium.”
“Oh, Riley! I almost forgot to tell you,” said Kira.
“Tell me what?”
Kira grinned. “Come and see for yourself.”
Lana sighed. She wasn’t in the mood for games, but at least Kira was on to another topic. Throwing the ship into autopilot for a few minutes would be a small price to pay for a moment of peace. She reached out and palmed the console. The display flashed as she punched in the coordinates that would take them into orbit around Tarksis.