by Viola Grace
The door to the bedroom opened at her approach, and she was in a large space with couches, desks and coms. It was one of the VIP suites, and her host was sitting at the desk with research materials in front of him.
“Emissary Kei Zanicon. Good day?” She wasn’t sure what time it was.
He looked up with a smile. “Call me Imbolt. Good day. I removed your chronometer. It was waking you with beeping.”
She looked at him with wide eyes. “I need that to do my job.”
“Not today. Today, you are on medical leave. They are moving your chair into the office behind me so that I can keep an eye on your health and life signs.”
“Why?”
“Because you are mine to protect. It is the way of my people and the way of yours now that you are off Terra. I must say that reading about the variety of societies on your world is educational.”
“Well, then. I am going to see Alyla.”
He shook his head. “No, you are not. She is fine. An uplink to her canister is on that tablet over there, and your meal will be here in a few moments.”
Minny looked over at the dispenser. “Can’t I just get something from there?”
“No, we are going to work on enhancing your diet. You have lost weight and minerals from your system. Getting your body to process the food is the better way of getting you what you need.”
“Eating isn’t high on my list of priorities.” She crossed her arms and glared at him.
Imbolt looked at her with unfathomable eyes, and the markings slid under his skin. He cocked his head. “You have lost your joy in life. It will start with your body. Get strong, because our daughter needs you to be strong.”
She frowned. “I thought that is why you were here.”
He shook his head. “I am here for you, not for her, and to be the Alliance and Imperium Emissary to Terra.”
The door to his quarters opened, and an automated cart trundled in. It glided to a halt in front of her, and she was treated to smells she hadn’t experienced in years.
There was a force field on it to keep in heat, and when she reached into it, her hand pulled out the hotdog with mustard and nothing else.
“This isn’t healthy.”
“It is supplemented with protein and minerals. Familiar tastes will do better for your morale than the ration bars you have been stuffing yourself with.”
He smiled, and the effect turned his dour and angry countenance into something that made her take a second look. He was very handsome when he smiled.
She walked over to the table and took a seat, eating her hotdog and closing her eyes. Memories of being on the beach, laughing with her sisters and drinking ice sodas swam through her thoughts. How was it that she hadn’t thought of that stuff in months or years?
Minny finished the hot dog and looked back to the tray that had followed her to the table.
French fries with a small container of ketchup were next. She eyed the cart and found all of her childhood favourites. “How did they come up with all this?”
He smiled. “I called your family.”
She nearly fainted. “You talked to them? Are they all right?”
He blinked. “Yes. Of course they are. They are excited to hear of their impending niece.”
“You talked to all of them? Selene, Athena and Iris?”
He chuckled. “All of them. Occasionally at the same time.”
She smiled and returned to her breakfast. Hearing that her family was alive and well did more for her mindset than anything else would have.
She asked him questions. “Do any of them have kids? Do they think it’s weird that I didn’t call them? How do they look? Do they know where I am?”
He snorted. “I told them what I was able to, including that you were bound by contract to not contact their world. As a member of the first wave, you are under different regulations than the current segment of humanity.”
“Do they have kids?”
“No. Two are married but no children.” He spoke while he went through his documents.
She kept eating and narrowed her gaze at him. “Why did you come here?”
“Because my daughter needs her mother.” He smiled at the data pad with the live feed of the gestation tank.
“I was fine.”
“If your brain chemistry had altered any further, you would have begun seizing, and from there, it is unknown if you would have survived after that. You certainly would have been unable to parent Alyla.”
She blinked. “I thought... Medical didn’t tell me I was having a problem.”
“Everyone here walks around you on pins and needles, to use a Terran phrase. Even your sisters mentioned that your willpower tended to make folk keep their distance.”
She made a face. “It isn’t willpower; it is my projection talent.”
Minny watched the image of Alyla on the screen. “I thought I was losing her.”
Imbolt looked up and saw the direction of her gaze. “You felt pain.”
“So much, and then, she tore herself away from me, and I was left to wonder if she would live.” She swallowed and stared at the image of her daughter on the screen. “I still wonder.”
He nodded as if a piece of the puzzle had clicked together. “You don’t want to be away from her in case she dies.”
Fat tears snaked down her cheeks, and she stared at him as the truth was exposed for anyone to see. She didn’t want to lose her child... again.
Chapter Three
Imbolt stood up and walked around his desk, hauling her to her feet and wrapping her in his arms.
“She is fine, she is healthy, and as long as you are here when she calls for you, she will be born when she is meant to be out in the world.”
He rubbed her back slowly, and her sobs broke free. All the worry and tension of the last five months were let out in a very vocal storm that left her hiccupping against his chest.
Imbolt made soothing sounds as she finished her riot of emotion. “This is why I am here. No one else would get through to you. They certainly wouldn’t confront you.”
She slumped against him. His embroidered vest was scratchy under her cheek, but the heavy thudding of his heartbeat let her slow her breathing to match his pace.
“I’m afraid for her. For me. What will I do if something happens?”
“You will go on. You will mourn and I will mourn and together, we will move forward.”
“I would be broken.”
“But you would be alive. You have much to offer this reality. Stay in it and do not seek out the most desperate of futures.”
She looked up at him. Her mind scrambled around and wanted to shatter into a thousand pieces, but instead, she sniffled and smiled weakly. “That lacked dignity.”
“It did, but it is why I am here. They signed you away to me after a five-minute conversation. Zanicon would have offered more than they asked for me to have you.”
“Wait. They sold me?”
“Just as you have negotiated placements for hundreds of humans, they sent a negotiator to offer you to me.”
“So, Alyla is payment?”
He chuckled. “No, she fulfills your contract. Mine is much simpler and will be completed in time.”
It had been so many years that Minny had nearly forgotten the clause in the contract. She had to have one heir of her body by an approved genetic match. “She is my contract heir?”
“She is. She was born live of your body, and as such, your contract has been fulfilled. You can choose where you live now and can take a position wherever you choose.”
“I am not leaving her.”
He smiled. “Excellent. Well, as I will most likely be posted here on a prolonged basis, I am delighted to hear that. I would like to have her visit me on her mother’s home world.”
“You are going to go down to Terra?”
“Yes. I have been studying the cultures, languages and food. It should be a simple adjustment once I have selected a site for the embassy.”
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She pushed against him, but he held her close. “You get to leave and walk on my world?”
“I do.”
Minny wanted to go down there with him. She wanted to see family, friends and enjoy the changes in their lives that she had missed over the last decade.
“If you were my wife, I believe there would be a chance that you could return to your world. According to your laws, a marriage creates one single legal entity where there were two. This situation might be what you need.”
She leaned back as far as she could. “Is that a proposal?”
“By the agreement with the Alliance, you are already mine. This is a formality for your people, and it will camouflage you to their eyes.”
Minerva stared at him with a shocked expression. She could feel it in every bone. “So, I would return home as your wife and not as myself.”
He smiled. “As the ambassador’s wife, you would have diplomatic immunity. You would be able to go around the laws and traditions of your people, as would Alyla.”
“Why are you teasing me with this?”
“Because I want to begin with even footing, with a plan and knowledge of what I can offer you if you say yes.”
He relaxed his grip on her, and she stepped back, touching her hair. “If your reporting is accurate, you already have me, so why give me such polite invitations to a place I desperately want to be?”
“Because joining me will be a test of your control. You will be on your world, but our daughter will remain up here for the rest of her gestation. We will come to her on decanting day, but you will have to trust that she will be taken care of.”
She widened her eyes. “She will be alone?”
“The monitor will let you see her day and night, and read to her if you wish, but our visits will be few and far between.”
Minny felt her heart thudding in her chest. It was a dream and a nightmare all wrapped in one. “You want me to leave her.”
“The best way to return to your world is at my side. By presenting you as my spouse, you will have the opportunity to make a place for yourself at my side, and your people will be forced to allow you to remain.”
“And once we are settled?”
“Alyla can join us.” He smiled. “We will go to her the moment that she prepares to leave her canister, and we will take her back to her new world.”
She was still reeling but pressed her fingers to her lips. “The first citizen of Luna.”
“And entitled to her own embassy on Terra when it can be arranged.”
“She will get a playhouse and be content with that.” She smiled absently as she got her mind around the thought of returning home.
Imbolt laughed and slowly moved behind his desk, opening a drawer. He pulled out a small chest and opened it, removing a smaller box from inside.
“In reading about your traditions, I have found that this will symbolize our decision.”
He walked around and faced her, dropping to one knee in front of her. “Minerva Twill, will you marry me?”
She stared at the ring that would cover most of the joint on one finger. The cabochon swirled with the image of a thousand stars, gas clouds and unnamed phenomenon.
“I...” She thought of a life with him, with Alyla and learning about this strange man from the stars while their daughter played nearby. Her family, her friends, her world was the promise of that ring.
“I will.”
“Excellent. We will arrange the ceremony tomorrow, and I have meetings with your governing bodies at the end of the week. I am gaining a list of demands, and we are working from there.”
“What about my position as Norz?”
“As my wife, you will no longer be qualified to act as a recruiter. You will, however, be a charming spy at my side. They will try to bend your ear and get you to manipulate me. I think it will be entertaining for you.”
She quirked her lips. “I see you have read my file.”
He nodded. “It is memorized.”
He slid the ring onto her finger and rose to his feet, kissing her softly.
The energy under his skin touched her in random bursts, skating across her lips in tiny crackles of lightning. It wasn’t just a design moving in his skin; it was pure power.
She went up on her toes to increase the pressure, and the ring on her finger throbbed heavily.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tightly to him. His robes opened and swirled forward, surrounding her in an intoxicating scent and wave of energy.
She slowly brought their kiss to a halt, and she observed, “There are more than one of you in there.”
He smiled. “I have been the Avatar for an energy being of sorts for a very long time. I do not need to be near him to feel him and hear him. He is written on my skin and in my blood.”
“What is he?”
“Zanicon. He is a star that tied and then continued to die for millions of years. He summoned me because he got bored; we struck a deal, and after centuries of servitude, here I am.”
She was still standing in his embrace and was a little surprised at how normal it felt.
The food cart trundled away, and it reminded her of where she was. Instead of jerking away, she eased back with a smile. “I think I need to discuss these matters with Alyla.”
“Please do so, but be back in an hour or I will come and get you.” He inclined his head and returned to his desk.
She blinked. “Why an hour?”
“Because she can feel you no matter how far you are. The being next to her is for your emotional well being, not hers. But instead of you gaining strength, you have worn to nothing.”
He settled and looked up at her. “The clock is ticking, as you say.”
She left his quarters, oriented herself and headed for medical.
Minny kept her hand on the tank and asked, “So, what do you think? Should I go through with it?”
The little hand near hers on the inside of the tank flexed. Apparently, it was a good idea.
“Would you like a story?”
The legs kicked, and Minny lifted the tablet and started reading. The weight of the ring on her hand distracted her periodically, but she kept her focus on the knights trying to ride horses up a glass hill.
She must have gone beyond her hour. Imbolt came in, removed her tablet and offered her his hand. She took it, kissed her fingers and pressed them to the glass before she left.
“Why do you do that? She can’t feel it.” Imbolt smiled.
“I send her my love when I touch the plexi. I am sure she can feel that.”
He shrugged. “She can, but her emotions are simple right now. As long as all needs are being met, a little love is all she needs.”
Personnel that they passed in the hall were heading for the observation deck.
“What are they after?”
“Ah, there have been energy discharges from the Earth’s surface. The light has been shooting out into space randomly but we are waiting to see what it means. The Alliance officers have no clue or just aren’t telling.”
His smile was quietly amused when she glanced at him.
“Do you know what it is?”
“I have never seen it before, but Zanicon thinks it resembles something he has seen before. It will have to play out before I could say for certain.”
They followed the stream of people to the observation area and everyone was looking toward the Earth. A murmur of shock ran through them as identifiable positions lit up on the surface and tendrils of light emerged, caressing the space around the globe.
She glanced at Imbolt, and he was looking at the display with a satisfied smile. He knew what it was.
He looked down and gave her a slow wink. “It is time for dinner. I have ordered more of the selections that your sisters volunteered.”
She snapped back to that mention. “How are they? Tell me everything you learned about them.”
He grinned, and they left the group watching the Earth flex and seek
whatever it was looking for. Minny didn’t care; she was learning about her family.
Chapter Four
Commander Leema Marx looked nervous as she faced them. “Are you sure about this, Minny?”
“If even half of what he has promised will come to pass, I am in. Even if it isn’t, he is my baby-daddy. I owe it to Alyla to make sure that he is as close as I can get him.”
Commander Marx glanced at Imbolt and looked away. “Right. I can only imagine the Christmas cards.”
Minny snickered. “Right. You are off the list.”
Marx smirked. “Okay. Let’s get this started.”
The commander took a deep breath and began to intone in an ancient language. Imbolt spoke at several intervals, but Minny was left standing there, looking confused.
Finally, Marx turned to her. “Do you, Minerva Twill of the Alliance Protectorate of Terra, agree to surrender your world, your citizenship of Earth, your place and all that you are to your husband?”
“I will never surrender my world. It is part of me. Yes to the rest.”
Imbolt smiled and answered in low tones. “It is an acceptable response.”
The commander let out a breath. “Well, in that case, I pronounce you, wife and husband, Avatar and recruiter. You may kiss the bride or groom or whatever.”
This was the moment. She turned fully to him and went up on her toes as he held her. Their kiss began slowly and soon turned into a wild exchange that had the commander running for cover.
The contracts had been signed before the words were spoken, but now, it was time to seal the deal, so to speak.
His hair was silky soft, and as she stroked it, she realised that she knew that texture. His hair was feathers. It made her smile against his mouth while her body started snarling for something more.
He pulled away and looked around, apparently confirming that they were alone.
She was wearing her formal bodysuit but still blushed when he opened the closure at her neckline. Her body was completely outlined by the suit, but skin was another matter.