Unfathomable Chance

by K T Munson

  A strange greenish substance covered her fingers, and at first she didn’t understand what it was. That was when she noticed the torn skin on his knuckles. “You’re bleeding.”

  “Lost my temper,” he said, turning away.

  “Idiotic really,” Roddy commented, already heading back to the waiting ship.

  Standing up she blushed a bit before remembering herself. She was a human, and he was a strange alien who needed her to help catch the person who had killed his mother. He was only frustrated that she had slipped through his fingers momentarily. Diana told herself she didn’t care either way.

  Wrinkling her nose at that last thought she whispered, “Yeah, and pigs fly.”

  “Did you say something?” Dimar asked, glancing back.

  “No,” she lied. “Let’s go back to the ship. We have a lot to discuss.”

  “You saw it?” he asked, looking at her. “The Heart of the Cosmos?”

  She studied his face a moment before walking past him. “Yes.”

  An alarm went off on his wrist. He looked at it, startled, before saying brusquely, “Time to go.”

  He picked her up like a sack of potatoes, throwing her over his shoulder.

  “Dimar!” she screamed.

  “There are three coming,” Roddy said, running beside them.

  “Who?” Dimar demanded as she was jostled around on his shoulder and tried to push herself off him.

  “Get your hand off my butt!” Diana yelled, though they ignored her. “What’s going on?”

  “A Trillian, a Matzili, and…” Roddy said, looking at his arm, “Jimil.”

  “That isn’t good,” Dimar said as they reached the bottom of the hill. “Roddy, tell Ruby to start the ship.”

  “Hello! What is a Jimil?” Diana called as she wiggled around to try to see them.

  He was up the hill in no time. He set her down in the ship as it came to life. “Not a what, a who.”

  “Okay, who is Jimil?” Diana asked as the ship’s door closed behind her.

  He paused. “My brother.”

  “Oh no,” Diana said, remembering the men he had sent to take her.

  “I am sorry,” he said sincerely. “We cannot stay for your ceremony.”

  “I understand,” Diana said, dejected. She’d wanted just one normal thing, to see her family again before she made a decision from which she might not be able to come back. The thought left her fighting back tears. “I want to call my mother.”

  “I can buy you a few minutes,” he said and went up to the front where Ruby was already getting them moving.

  Diana picked up her phone from the counter, which had somehow survived everything, and pressed “m.” After a moment, it started to dial her mother’s number. Clenching the phone she listened to the rings, whispering for her to pick up. On the fourth ring she heard a click.

  “Diana?” her mother said hopefully.

  “Mom!” Diana called as relief flooded through her.

  “Oh baby, where are you? Who has you?” she asked frantically.

  “Something came up, Mom,” Diana said, shaking her head as tears pricked her eyes and a lump filled her throat. “I can’t explain. You have to trust me. Just know that I’m okay.”

  “Melanie said men took you,” her mother said, and Diana could hear her crying. “I want you to come home.”

  “I can’t,” she answered, closing her eyes as a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. Her heart broke at abandoning her mother without explaining, knowing what her disappearance was doing to her family. “I have something I have to do. Don’t look for me. You won’t find me. Just know that I am doing the right thing, and I’ll see you soon.”

  “Diana!” her mother cried. “Don’t you hang up this phone until you tell me where you are!”

  “I love you,” Diana managed, trying hard not to sob the words.

  There was a pause and her mother said chokingly, “I love you, too.”

  Diana hung up and took a few steadying breaths. “Let’s get out of here,” she yelled.

  Chapter 24

  Diana sat cross-legged on the floor of the ship with her elbow on her knee and her chin resting on her palm, gazing out at a view others would kill for. There was ferocity and serenity that existed in the vast expanse of space. Their ship had, thankfully, not been pursued from Earth.

  Sighing heavily she tried to clear her mind. Dimar had been strangely quiet since she’d told him what the Heart of the Cosmos said. He had been stricken at first and then silent. She hadn’t wanted to push him. Hopefully he would come around eventually. It must have been incredibly painful to hear that his mother killed herself. In the end she had decided to keep the other part to herself—it didn’t seem relevant to mention that the Heart of the Cosmos had said it would leave if she figured everything out and still didn’t want to be Empress.

  Heaving a second sigh, she balled her hand into a fist, and leaned her chin on it. She’d kept herself busy until now, but they were still a good way out from Epselon 5, and there was nothing left to do. Now she was waiting for time to pass. After a moment she started writing on the floor with her finger, hoping that the Archive would read it.

  This is for the Archive. I don’t know if this works, but I wanted to let you know that I am all right. Without your assistance I would have been forever lost. I have discovered much, but it only leads to more questions. When the time is right, I will visit again, I may need your assistance. Sincerely, Diana.

  Letting her fingers drum on the ground as she wondered if there was anything she should add, she exhaled as she contemplated, and she began to count the stars. Anything to keep herself distracted. When she heard movement behind her a moment later she looked back. Ruby was leaning forward, staring at her with a tilted head and crossed arms. The position made her breasts appear extra perfect. Darn those androids and their eternally perky breasts!

  “Why are you sighing so much?” Ruby asked, plopping down next to her.

  “A lot on my mind,” Diana said. “A lot to think about.”

  “You gave us quite a scare,” Ruby said, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. “I thought Dimar was going to break down that place brick by brick. Luckily, you were only gone a minute.”

  “Is his hand patched up?” Diana asked with badly feigned disinterest.

  “His hand is as good as new,” she said happily. “He is always so reckless when it comes to things he cares about.”

  “His mother must have been very important to him,” Diana said, clearing her throat.

  “She was,” Ruby said with a sigh. “She did so many good things, even stopped wars.”

  “Was there anyone who disliked her?” Diana piped up, remembering what she needed to do for the Heart of her Cosmos.

  “Every Empress is well loved, but they always have their enemies,” she explained. “I remember one of her suitors denounced her legitimacy.”

  “Did Dimar live with her when she ruled?”

  Ruby bobbed her head back at forth as though the answer was rattling around inside her brain. “At the beginning, but she eventually sent him away.”

  “So he wasn’t there when she died?”

  “He was. We had just returned home, to Dracoon, and Dimar had thought she’d been acting weird an earlier conversation,” the android said. “He rushed to her, but she’d jumped minutes before he arrived.”

  “That must have been hard,” Diana said, turning her attention once more to the view. “So who has been ruling in her place?”

  Ruby’s eyes flicked over to Diana. “Her husband, of course. Himond will rule until the new empress rises.”

  “Then why is everyone in a rush to get me there?” Diana asked, confused.

  Her hair changed to neon blue. “Checks and balances. There is always an Emperor and an Empress. When they die, they die together. Never before has an empress killed herself. Normally they die of old age and the cosmos takes them in its warm embrace.”

  “That is somewhat
sad,” Diana said.

  Ruby laughed. “Most find it very romantic.”

  “If I died, I would not want the man I love to die as well,” she said. “I would want him to keep living. Especially since we humans live so short a span.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” Ruby said offhandedly. “Since you become whatever you fall in love with.”

  “What?” Diana asked, horrified.

  “No one told you?” Ruby asked. “Whatever species the Empress falls in love with is the species she becomes.”

  “No way!” Diana looked down at herself and whispered, “That would be so weird.”

  “It is so you can have children,” Ruby declared. “It would be very hard to have cross-species children. Some would rip you apart when you tried to give birth to them.”

  Diana grimaced as she hugged herself, very happy with her own body. “And everyone wonders why I want to get rid of this thing.”

  “Everyone grows up hearing about the bracelet and that it might choose them,” Ruby supposed. “Everyone but Earthlings and those ground bound, so I guess this is all a lot to take in.”

  “Tell me about it,” Diana said, stretching. “So can interspecies couples not have kids?”

  “They have to get a permit and undergo testing,” Ruby explained, “to see if their genetics are compatible. Most have no problems, but some are denied.”

  Diana tucked wayward hair behind her ear. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “It is to keep everyone safe,” the android explained as her hair turned a shade of lavender.

  “It must be so difficult to decide what is right and what is wrong all the time,” Diana said absentmindedly.

  “Ruby!” Roddy called as he came stomping in, “did you use my hydro-bioengeraticor again?”

  “It isn’t yours,” she yelled, standing. “It is Dimar’s and, therefore, can be used by everyone.”

  “This isn’t a toy, Ruby,” Roddy chided.

  “You’re not the boss of me,” Ruby countered as she stalked past him.

  Roddy followed her, and Diana could hear them arguing back and forth without being able to make out what they were saying. Diana smiled to herself and looked back out the window. It reminded her of her brothers; they drove her absolutely batty, but she loved them. There was a pang in her heart as he hoped she would see them again soon.

  “Why the long face?” Dimar asked, looking down at her with a smirk. It appeared he had returned to his normal glory.

  “You really need a new saying.” Diana sighed and went back to counting stars. Anything to keep her mind off everything else.

  “What I need to do is figure out why my mother did what she did,” Dimar said, sitting down next to her.

  “Seriously, you really are like an elf. Made up entirely of grace and old bones,” Diana said, leaning back on her hands. “

  “Don’t change the subject,” he said, glaring.

  “Only if you say bubbles,” she said, trying to relieve the general tension in the room.

  He was baffled. “What?” he demanded.

  “Even if you say bubbles angrily, it makes you feel better,” she insisted.

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” He shot her a skeptical look.

  “Well, I’m sorry for helping,” she said dryly. “And by ‘I’m sorry,’ I mean you’re welcome.”

  “You are a paradox wrapped inside an enigma covered in frustrating,” he seethed.

  “Say it,” Diana prodded.

  He brooded—since handsome men didn’t pout, they brooded—and whispered, “Bubbles.”

  “Good,” Diana said, standing. “Feel better?”

  He stood and mock glared down at her. “No.”

  “Well, I know something that will help,” Diana cooed.

  “What?” he asked, his lips set as though he tasted something sour.

  “I have a plan.”

  Chapter 25

  “That won’t work,” Dimar said as they stood at the airlock.

  “Trust me?” Diana asked.

  “One of your leaps of faith?” Dimar asked, unamused. “That sure didn’t work last time.”

  “It was not exactly an ideal situation,” she admitted as the doors opened, “but it all worked out.”

  Diana didn’t wait for an answer as she stepped out into the area. “Whoa!” she said, absolutely amazed.

  It was like a crazy underground flea market. There were more varieties of aliens than she had seen before. Wide-eyed, she stepped out onto the platform. There was everything—tall, skinny, green, or blue. Her mind reeled, and she wished there were another human there for her to share the experience with.

  “Where are we meeting them?” Diana asked after a moment; her jaw took time to return back to its normal spot.

  “We are not far from them,” Dimar informed her now, evidently amused. “They are at The Rings.”

  “Lead on,” Diana said, and he plunged into the crowd.

  It was difficult to not lose him while rotating around. She wished Melanie were here to keep her company and make her feel a little less alone. That reminded her she would have to see her at some point and apologize. There was so much she was going to have to explain—though she realized it was not going to be easy to do. Kal Zed would explain it better but unearthed its own host of problems.

  A hand wrapped around her wrist, and Diana stopped, shocked. Adom looked at her, surprised and so hopeful. The crowd continued to surge around them as they stared at one another.

  “Bearer,” he said. The window to her right shattered at the sound of his voice.

  Diana brought her hands up to her ears. “Adom!” she cried out.

  He mouthed “Sorry.”

  With a gasp she scanned the crowd for Dimar. Her eyes frantically searched around the tall creature with blue tubes coming out of the top of its head, but Dimar was nowhere. Diana settled back on her heels before turning back to Adom.

  “Why are you here?” Diana asked finally.

  Adom mouthed something, and Diana shook her head when she couldn’t make the words out. Annoyed, he put his hands on the side of his face and put a finger up. Her brows furrowed as she tilted her head to the side, careful not to laugh.

  A light bulb came on and she cried, “You came with Kal Zed!”

  He nodded and she clasped his hand. “Lead the way!”

  Adom looked down at her hand in his and back up at her. Appearing flustered an instant before pulling her along. She felt herself blush as well; she hadn’t even thought about it. When she nearly bumped into a short creature with wings she forced herself to pay attention.

  After a moment she heard, “Diana!”

  Diana dropped Adom’s hand and hurried around him. Falling to her knees as Kal Zed trotted quickly over to her, she picked him up without hesitation and exclaimed, “Don’t say a word about no hugs.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, purring against her ear.

  Maura and Sora came out of a shop with Grim and Nihal on their heels. Reaching out she took Maura’s hand. She looked happy to see her, and Diana was relieved as well. Grim made a happy noise, and something looking like daisies sprouted by his feet. People continued on around them as they convened in a small circle.

  “Bearer,” Nihal said with a nod.

  “I can’t believe you’re the Bearer!” Sora said excitedly.

  “It is good to see you all,” Diana said, glancing between them all.

  “Where is the Dracoon?” Maura said, gazing around as she dropped her hand.

  “I lost Dimar in the crowd. He should have made it already,” Diana retorted, searching for him as well.

  “He will be here soon I am sure,” Maura said with a sour look on her face.

  “There is a lot I need to tell you,” she said, patting Kal Zed before glancing over her shoulder at Adom and adding, “and some things you need to explain.”

  “The Matzili is a representative,” Kal Zed informed her.

 
Adom came to stand next to her as Nihal said, “I don’t like that he doesn’t know how to talk. Unnerves me.”

  “He can hear, Nihal,” Maura commented offhandedly.

  Adom crossed his arms as Nihal fidgeted, and Diana started laughing. It felt good to be around these people again. She wasn’t sure if she could call them friends yet, but she liked to think they could be. There was only one person missing.

  “We should look for Dimar. We have no time to wait,” Kal Zed said over her shoulder as Diana went back to petting him. “Where did you last see him?”

  “On our way here,” Diana explained before turning and pointing. “From that direction. We were going to The Rings”

  They all moved together as a group through the crowd. They didn’t make it far before Maura nudged Nihal. Diana glanced around as their small group came to a standstill, but saw only a mass of people moving around them. Then there was a flash of something familiar as Kal Zed growled. Her breath caught in her throat when she recognized the threat.

  “Gitarian Trash,” Maura cursed. “Other Dracoons.”

  Diana felt the blood rush down to her toes with sudden worry for Dimar. “We need to find him.”

  “We need to leave!” Maura insisted instead.

  Diana moved behind Adom and said softly, “How could they have followed me already?”

  “They have Dimar,” Kal Zed said and Diana looked frantically towards the other Dracoons trying to find the one she was searching for. She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of him. “I hear his voice.”

  “Take him,” Diana said to Adom, passing the cat off to him before she rushed towards the gathering crowd.

  “Diana!” Kal Zed called as she plunged forward.

  She ignored them as she rushed forward. “Unhand him,” she called out.

  A Dracoon turned with an expression of annoyance. Dimar glanced up at her in surprise. He had green blood on his lip. The man out front seemed familiar somehow as he sneered at Diana.