by M. K. Eidem
"True, but you've gotten to know Warrior Ull and Representative Ruskin, despite the way you met. You've made us see them as well, human, and been able to explain and bridge the gaps when we haven't understood one another. You don't realize how important and rare that is, especially in politics."
"I…thank you."
"But I don't like the toll it's taking on you."
"I told you…"
"I know what you've said, but I also know it’s not true. Or not the whole truth," he corrected and, at her shocked look, smiled slightly. "I've known you since you were born, Trisha. I even changed a few of your diapers. I know when you're happy, when you're sad, when you're telling the truth and when while you're not lying, you're not completely honest. Something has been bothering you, more than just Lisa and her girls disappearing."
"Isn't that enough?"
"It is, but there is still more."
Trisha sighed. While others wouldn't notice, her tío knew her too well. "There is something I've meant to talk to you about, but it can wait." She looked to Ull, who was still standing next to Chancellor Smyth's bed. "We have more important issues to deal with."
"Nothing is more important than you, Trisha."
Smiling, she leaned her head against his. "I know, Tío. I know."
Seeing Ull go to remove the educator, she quickly rose and went to his side as did her tío and every other person in the room. The Chancellor remained unmoving for several moments that seemed like hours, but finally, her lashes began to flutter, and slowly she opened her eyes.
"How are you feeling?" Ull asked in Tornian.
"I…, I feel fine."
"You are sure?" This time Ull spoke Kaliszian.
"Yes, maybe a little woozy, but otherwise fine." Her eyes sharpened and locked on Ull's. "Did it work?"
"What House is Emperor Wray from?"
"House Torino, on the planet Tornian," she snapped as if it were a stupid question. Her eyes widened when she realized she didn't know that before and that she wasn't speaking English. Her gaze went to Trisha, who gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'd say it worked."
"You will want to rest for a while," Jakob told her. "It will give you time to realize everything you now know."
"I would prefer you to do that here so that we can monitor you." Dr. Monroe looked to Ull and Jakob. "That shouldn't cause any problems now, should it?"
"No," Jakob answered. "There will be no chance of interference now."
Aaron gave Trisha's arm a reassuring squeeze then followed Chancellor Smyth. He felt since he had already gone through the process, he would be the best one to assist her and answer any questions.
Trisha looked to the remaining world leaders. "So, who’s next?"
Chapter Fifteen
Six hours later, Ull and Jakob finally called a halt. It was getting late, and while they had been taking turns monitoring the educator, it had been a long day, and they were both tired. The final two leaders would use the educator in the morning.
"Would you like to stay and have dinner with us?" President Garcia asked. "It would just be myself and Trisha, so you wouldn't need things translated."
Jakob replied, "While I greatly appreciate the offer, President Garcia, it would be best that I return to the Searcher so I can contact my Emperor about the questions raised during the Council meeting."
"You are in direct communication with your Emperor?" Aaron couldn't believe that given the great distance between their planets.
"Not direct as instantaneous, but I can send communications. It will take several hours for it to reach Luda, then relay to my Emperor. Once he reaches a decision, he will respond. I hope to have his answer before we reconvene tomorrow."
"Then, by all means, that is the priority."
"Unfortunately, that also means Warrior Ull will be unable to attend as I can't pilot the shuttle."
"Of course." Aaron looked to Trisha. "I guess it will be just you and me. I can't remember the last time that happened."
"It's been a long time," Trisha agreed, "but I need to walk back to the shuttle with Ull and Jakob and get my bag first."
"I can send one of the guards."
"No," she quickly refused. "After sitting and standing all day, I want to stretch my legs. I assume your quarters are by your office?"
"It is. I'll go there and catch up on some work. Meet me there."
"Alright." Rising on her toes, she kissed his cheek. "I'll be there soon."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Ull remained silent as Trisha walked between him and Jakob. He'd known her leaving him was coming, but he never thought it could hurt this bad. He was a Tornian Warrior, trained to ignore pain, but he couldn't ignore this.
Reaching the shuttle, he punched in the security code, and the ramp lowered. When Trisha would have followed Jakob, Ull put a restraining hand on her arm.
"Are you sure you wish to remain here? You could return with us and come back tomorrow." He prayed to the Goddess that she would. He wanted another night with her.
Looking up at him, Trisha knew there was nothing she wanted to do more. One more night with Ull to fill all the lonely nights to come, but she knew she couldn't. It wasn't fair to Ull. He wanted a female that would go to Betelgeuse with him, who would be his Lady, and give him offspring.
She wasn't that female.
She was the female that would be responsible for finding that for him.
But God, it hurt.
Reaching up, she let her fingers graze his lips. "I can't. You know that." When he opened his lips to argue, she pressed her fingers lightly against them. "This is the way it has to be."
Ull growled his displeasure but didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her body flush against his. Letting her feel how much he wanted her to return with him.
"Trisha, I…" Jakob came to an abrupt halt on the ramp seeing Trisha in Ull's arms. "I brought you your bag."
Slowly Trisha pulled out of Ull's arms, her fingers lingering as long as possible on his lips before walking over to take her bag from Jakob. "Thank you, Jakob. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Trisha, wait!" Ull growled, moving toward her holding out a comm unit. "Take this in case you need to contact me."
Slowly Trisha took the comm, making sure not to touch him again, and forced herself to walk away from the only man she knew she would ever love.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"What, in the name of the Goddess, do you think you're doing?!" Jakob burst out once the shuttle door finally closed. "We need her. Both our people need her, and you're treating her like a female from a pleasure house?!"
Ull rounded on Jakob so fast that it had Jakob stumbling back. "Never. Ever. Compare her to one of those females. Trisha is the fittest, worthiest, most beautiful female in the Known Universes, and if you insult her that way again, you will meet the Goddess. Minister or not." With that, Ull went to the Captain's chair and started the shuttle.
Carefully Jakob slid into the copilot's seat, never taking his eyes off Ull. He barely got his harness fastened before the shuttle shot straight up at combat speed. "Ull!" he gritted out through clenched teeth.
Ull knew he was overreacting. Ull also knew he’d pushed the shuttle to its limit, but he needed to get away from Trisha before he did do something that ruined his brothers-in-arms’ chance to find females. Slowly he reduced speed and leveled out the shuttle.
"My apologies, Minister Ruskin. I should not have done that."
Jakob took in the tension in Ull's body, the clenching of his jaw, and the pain that filled his eyes. "You truly care about Trisha," he murmured, astonished at the thought.
When Ull's jaw only tightened further, Jakob tried again. "If you truly care about her, you need to tell her."
"I have," Ull ground out. "She has refused me."
"I…" Jakob knew he should let it go, but he couldn't. "I'm sorry, Ull, but are you sure? I saw how she looked at you. How she openly and willingly touched you. Females don't do that unless they
care about a male."
"I didn't say she didn't care. I said she refused me."
"But why?"
"Because she refuses to leave Earth. She says her place is here, helping her people while mine is on Betelgeuse."
"She does speak truth, but that doesn't mean she can't still be yours. Not if you truly want her."
Slowly Ull turned his head, his eyes blazing to demand. "Explain."
"Goddess willing, it will be many years before you become Lord of Betelgeuse. By then, Trisha may be willing to leave Earth."
"So, you expect me to wait for years before I claim her? Leaving her unprotected?!"
"No, what I'm saying is you should claim her now. If she is willing, of course."
The tiny spark of hope the Kaliszian’s words had brought him died. "I already told you she refuses to leave Earth."
"Then, you remain here with her."
"Remain?! I am the First Male of a Lord. My place is at his side."
"An idiotic Tornian attitude," Jakob muttered. "A male's place is at his female's side. She should be more important to him than any current or future position. She should even come before a male's family because only she can give him a family of his own if the Goddess so blesses them."
"Statements like that are why Kaliszians can't feed their people."
"And your belief is why the Goddess doesn't bless you with more females," Jakob fired back.
These were long-running insults Kaliszians and Tornians threw at each other, but neither could deny the other was right, so they both remained silent. After landing the shuttle, they found Veron was impatiently waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp.
"Was there a problem at NACB?" Veron immediately demanded.
"No. Why?" Ull asked, coming to a stop in front of the Captain.
"Then why in the name of the Goddess did you take off like that?"
Ull had the decency to look abashed. "I was in a hurry to return."
Veron frowned. "You knew the Emperor sent an urgent comm?"
"What? No. What's happened?"
"I don't know. The comm was for you."
"I need to send a comm to Emperor Liron," Jakob told him.
"Then come. You can send your comm while Ull listens to his."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"So, how is it on a spaceship?" Aaron asked as he and Trisha settled down to eat.
"Not too bad. I suppose it's like being on any military ship. Sparse, colorless, and without a lot of extra comforts besides the bed and a couch. All Tornian sized, of course." She took a bit of the perfectly cooked steak and hummed her enjoyment.
"And the food?"
"There was a little Earth food," she told him after swallowing. "It seems Jennifer insisted they sent some of what they'd found on a Ganglian ship on the Searcher, but I left that for the returnees and tried the Tornian food. It was pretty good. Different but good. Like going to another country and eating only local fare. Some of the textures and tastes aren't what you expected but still flavorful. They have what they call hunaja, which tastes just like honey. They even spread it on their type of bread."
"Interesting, so we have more things alike than we thought."
"I'd say we have a great many things alike. We all want to survive while making sure our families are safe, healthy, and protected. That makes Tornians, Kaliszians, and humans more similar than different."
Aaron leaned back in his chair and let his gaze take her in. He could still see her smiling at him with her two front teeth missing. Could see her running full out across the park stubbornly trying to get her kite to fly on a windless day. And he remembered how strong she'd been during her mamá's illness and how devastated she'd been when Patricia finally passed. Now she sat across from him, a beautiful, strong, poised woman who had taken on something no one else ever had and made it look easy.
"You have grown into a truly amazing woman, Trisha."
Trisha felt herself blush at her tío's compliment. "Thank you. I've tried to live up to what you and Mamá expected of me. You set the bar high."
"There was never a bar, Trishy. We only ever wanted you to be happy in whatever you chose to do."
Setting her silverware aside, Trisha placed her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her clasped fingers. "And are you, Tío? Happy that is, with what you've chosen?"
"Most of the time, yes," he told her honestly. "Are there times I wished I had a wife and family of my own? Yes, but I had your mamá, and I have you so that more than makes up for what I sacrificed to make sure you and the rest of the world were safe and protected."
Reaching across the table, she squeezed his hand. "You’ve done wonderfully in both cases."
"I wasn't able to protect your mamá, not from our parents’ reaction to her marriage, not from Martin's death, and not from cancer that killed her."
Trisha felt her throat tighten. "No, but no one could have done that. What you did do was make it easier for her. You were there for her at the wedding. You were there for her at the gravesite and the hard times that came after. And you were there, holding her other hand as she slipped away to join Dad in heaven."
"I am the President of the God-damn United States. I should have been able to save my sister."
"But you couldn't. Maybe that's our Great Infection. Cancer. We can cure some, drive others into remission, but it still takes too many."
"It does. You've been going to your annual screenings, right?"
Trisha knew what he was asking. Because of her history, her mamá's medical history, she was at a higher risk of getting cancer, which she had. She'd only missed one screening, but that seemed to have been enough. Trisha hadn't told him yet. Oh, she'd planned on it, once she'd come to terms with it herself, just like her mamá. Trisha took the oral meds her doctor had prescribed and meant to tell him, but then the Tornians had arrived. "Had one just over four months ago."
"Good."
"Now enough about me, tell me about the returnees. When are they going to be reunited with their families?"
"We've started, very discretely, to bring the families here. The first ones will begin arriving later tonight."
"That's such good news. Are the families going to have to stay here long?"
"Only until we resolve the trade agreements and can announce to the world in a way that won't cause a panic."
Trisha’s eyebrows drew together. "But that could take months. Haven't these people been through enough?"
"I realize it may be inconvenient for them but compared to the best interests of the world… it’s a small thing."
Trisha just stared at Tío. This was why he was the President and not her. He saw the bigger picture and was willing to take the hard, sometimes painful and unpopular steps to make it happen.
"Then I'd better get working on the matching program for the Tornians so everyone can go home."
"You think the other world leaders will approve it?" Aaron raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
"Of course, not without some complaining, but they will. What else can they do? We need Tornian protection from the Ganglians."
"But if the Kaliszians supply us with these energy crystals and tech, we could do that ourselves."
"Maybe in a decade or so. Is anyone willing to be at risk for that long? To take the chance the Tornians won't just invade? They are facing extinction." Trisha held up her hand to stop her tío from speaking. "Yes, the Kaliszians would come to our defense because they need us too, but that means they'd be starting a war with the Tornians. Another race that helps support them now. Are you willing to start an intergalactic war over females who are willing to Join with a Tornian?"
Aaron slowly smiled. "God, you’re just like your mamá. I rarely won an argument with her either."
"Well," she shrugged her shoulders, "when you’re wrong, you’re wrong."
"Hey, I'm not wrong. I never said I was against the Tornians’ proposal. I just wanted to hear how you justified it."
"Which is what you'd
always say to Mamá, so you didn't have to admit you lost." As they shared a smile at the memory, the comm Ull had given Aaron went off.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
While Jakob sent his comm to his Emperor, Ull listened to the one from his own in the other room. It was short and to the point.
"Warrior Ull, you will return to Luda immediately. I will explain more once we are in direct communication. Emperor Wray out."
Ull looked at Veron and saw the Emperor's Captain was just as surprised as he was. "You don't know what's happened?"
"No, but it must be important for Wray to want us to return. I'll ready the ship."
"Ready the ship?" Jakob asked, walking over.
"Yes, Emperor Wray has recalled the Searcher."
"But I can't leave. You can't leave." He gave Ull a pleading look. "We are still in negotiations."
"My Emperor has ordered my return. I will not disobey him," Veron told him.
"Well, mine hasn't, and I won't leave until he does," Jakob argued back.
"Then, Ull can transport you back to Earth, and you can continue without us."
"But, I'm waiting for a response from Liron!"
Veron sighed. "I will launch another relay satellite into Earth's orbit. That way, you can send and receive transmissions from Earth. It will still only be verbal and not as secure as going through the Searcher, but it will be something until we return."
"That will have to do," Jakob grumbled. "Do you know how long you will be gone?"
"No, Wray refused to say until we could communicate directly."
"I'll go ready the shuttle and contact President Garcia while you pack, Jakob."
"Thank you, Ull," Jakob said, giving him a somewhat shocked look. "It shouldn't take me long."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"What is it?" Aaron answered the comm in Tornian without a thought.
"I will be returning shortly with Minister Ruskin. My Emperor has recalled the Searcher. We will be leaving as soon as the shuttle returns."
"What about negotiations?"
"Minister Ruskin will continue with his, and I will discuss the inclusion of Tornian technology along with the necessary Tornian steel needed to use it."