She covered her mouth to hide a smile and the ambassador shrugged and made no effort to hide his grin. He waved goodbye to the Mage, but the old man merely flapped a hand in dismissal and turned away.
Tethis vanished into his house without looking back, and Stephanie and V’ritan returned to the shuttle pad. The team boarded ahead of them and Lars waited at the door as she stepped inside.
As she reached the top step, her knees went weak and she staggered slightly. The Meligornian caught her by the arm and helped her to regain her footing.
“Sorry,” she murmured as he guided her to the seat at the front. “Who knew throwing a rock into space required so much energy?”
He chuckled but she slumped in her seat, pulled the safety harness over her shoulders, and snapped it in place. As the pilot warmed the engines, she looked out at Tethis’ door.
Foreboding washed over her in a chill wave, and she shivered. She wrapped her arms around herself as she stared at her companion. “Something is coming, and we will need all our peoples to fight it. There is no reason to ignore the old because I’m pissed at them.”
“Yes, Master Morgana,” he replied and smirked when she rolled her eyes at him. “Get used to it. It is your new title here on Meligorn. Besides, it could be much worse. I am aware of some of the nicknames given on Earth over the centuries.”
Stephanie smiled. “Like what?”
V’ritan stared out the window as the ship lifted into the air and turned for the return journey. As they accelerated, he wrinkled his nose in thought. “Some girl was called Snookie generations ago. And I think there was a Woogie too, but they didn’t know each other. Snookie lived in New Jersey and Woogie liked a woman named Mary. It is all very strange.”
“No. Snookie only visited New Jersey,” Frog interrupted from behind the seat. “She lived in New York. You have to get these things right or you’ll upset someone.”
She caught the startled look on the ambassador’s face and all she could do was laugh.
Chapter Forty-Eight
A network of corridors, cells, and chambers existed deep beneath the royal palace. Unknown to the public, they were lit by magical flame and seen by very few.
Temerl’s screams echoed along them and reverberated from the stone. In a small chamber, held in place by chains, he stopped and leaned his head back against the wall. He breathed heavily and winced with every movement.
Four guards stood before him and watched as the Truth Bringer dropped his hands and stumbled back. Skilled in mental magic, the Truth Bringer’s task was to find information from another’s mind—regardless of their target’s wishes.
The interrogator leaned against a small wooden table and watched as the once-head of the Royal Guards let his chin drop to his chest and dangled awkwardly in the chains. Sweat rivered down his bare chest. The Truth Bringer turned away, poured himself a glass of water, and used a nearby towel to mop the sweat from his own face.
When he set both towel and glass down and turned back, Temerl shook his head. “No more.”
He lifted his lip in a snarl and glared at the prisoner. “Then tell us.”
The guard shook his head and straightened in the chains. He curled his hands into fists, raised his head, and squared his chin. “No.”
The Truth Bringer sighed and walked over to the wall. “Making me find the answers is not fun for anyone involved. You’ll have your mind broken apart and I—” He swallowed and pursed his lips. “I have to tear apart the head of someone I’ve known and respected all my life.”
He stopped in front of the traitor and took a deep breath, then raised his hands. “But…have it your way.”
His expression regretful, he pushed his sleeves up, stepped forward to press a hand on each side of Temerl’s head, and rested his thumbs on the guard’s forehead. He exhaled slowly, closed his eyes, and eased into the would-be assassin’s mind. It was a simple matter to return to the fortified point he’d discovered earlier, and he probed further while Temerl fought him and screamed in agony as the barrier began to shatter.
The Truth Bringer groaned as the guard attempted to block him, then attacked in return. The defense caught him off-guard and slashed at his mind and he roared in pain and drew back.
When he opened his eyes, the guard’s lips had curled in satisfaction, even though his breath came in pained gasps. The interrogator glared at him. “This would be a lot easier on both of us if you would tell us without making us do this.”
When the prisoner made no response, he continued. “This isn’t good for either of us, but since I’m not the one who tried to kill someone against the king’s wishes, I’ll worry less about your pain than mine.”
He took another deep breath, returned to his gruesome task, and pressed his fingertips to the guard’s head. This time, the barrier broke, and he found what he was looking for. “There are connections galaxy-wide,” he murmured, and shock etched his tones. “Nobles on Meligorn, but Darian Vaucluse is an Earth name and Brageth is Dreth, Senmele of the House Merilon, Thomas McGuire of Epsilon Enterprises... Karath mor—”
He flinched and his words cut into a sudden scream. His fingers dropped from Temerl’s forehead and his body crumpled.
At the same time, the traitor shuddered briefly in his chains and released a long, rasped breath before he went limp. Blood glistened as it trickled from his nose and ears.
Two of the guards nearby scrambled toward the interrogator, who shook violently before he fell unconscious. Another ran for the internal comms and requested a healer.
The fourth crouched beside the Truth Bringer and rested his fingers lightly on the Mage’s forehead. After a moment’s silence, he looked up in fear. “His mind was still connected when Temerl died. He is alive but lost inside his own soul.”
As a medical team raced to aid the Truth Bringer and Temerl’s body was prepared for cremation, Stephanie and her team celebrated. Inside their quarters, food had been brought and laid out in a buffet.
With three days until the awards ceremony, the team celebrated her recognition as a Mage and advancement to Master within the Mage hierarchy, but it prepared for the ceremony, as well. The palace had offered its assistance to ensure they were ready, and it hadn’t taken no for an answer.
Earth champagne had been brought from the Space Station Alerus, and the cats were on their best behavior. The palace had sent its tailors to measure the entire team for “clothes fit for the ceremony” and they worked amidst the cheerful chaos.
The guys stood on small pedestals as Meligornians measured, pinned, and altered. They roamed the suite in tracksuits and dressing gowns and responded willingly when they were called.
Frog held a chicken wing in his hand and ate while three tailors worked on his trouser legs. “This is seriously awesome. I am here, getting fat, while people dress me. This must be what being a king is like.”
Lars snorted. “Oh yeah. That and the responsibility of ruling an entire planet, but hey, simply getting to eat chicken on a pedestal is the highlight of his day.”
The other man shrugged. “It would be mine.”
He yelped and almost fell off his perch. One of the tailors helped to rebalance him and apologized profusely for mishandling the pin.
Stephanie walked out of her room and looked at the uniforms hung on separate stands beside each team member. She whistled when she traced her hand over the fabric and noted the details.
Each uniform had two additional stripes to signify their membership of a special group associated with both the Meligornians and the Dreth. As Johnny dragged his shirt over his head, he ran his finger over the sigil on the outside. “What’s this for?”
The tailors all shook their heads to indicate their ignorance and continued to focus on their work. He glanced at his teammates, who simply shrugged.
A couple of days later, on the morning of the awards ceremony, Marcus stood with his chest out and uniform on and admired himself in the mirror. “This probably means Order of the Ballbusters.�
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Johnny blinked and looked unimpressed. “Right, maybe if those giving us medals were fraternity brothers.”
Everyone laughed and finished getting dressed. They inspected each other to make sure they looked perfect but paused when there was a knock at the door. Lars and Marcus answered it as the others formed up around Stephanie.
“Time to go, guys,” Lars told them and gestured with his head to a squad of Royal Guard waiting outside. They were led to the throne room, surrounded by guards dressed in formal uniforms.
Their path took them through halls where the castle servants wore silken robes and fresh flowers. As they walked in, they were struck speechless at the scene.
Pictures of each member of the team standing proudly in their Meligornian colors floated along the path to the throne. Between each picture stood a pair of royal guards.
One of those closest to the door caught Stephanie’s look of astonished awe and winked at her. Her nerves settled, and she gave him a brief smile before she stepped forward with the team and continued to admire the décor.
Lavish draperies had been magically hung on the walls and each depicted a key scene in history for each planet in the Federation. One of Meligorn’s was Stephanie fighting in the ship, while the Dreth pirate ship sailed into the distance to explode by their own bomb.
“I look good.” Brenden smiled as he walked past his portrait.
They reached the front of the throne room and all dropped to one knee before the king and queen of Meligorn, V’ritan and his wife, and the Earth ambassadors—at which she flinched when she realized she hadn’t even thought of inviting them. Even the Federation Navy and the Dreth were present. They all smiled at the team and the women held small posies of flowers.
The ceremony began with the throaty blare of a loud horn. The team rose and stood with their hands clasped in front. Their faces remained impassive while each woman—including the queen—dropped their flowers at her feet.
Lars leaned over to whisper to her. “Is this some kind of fertility spell? Because if so, if I were you, I’d hold off on…boop…you know…”
She giggled and shook her head. “They’re thanking me for the children who aren’t allowed at the ceremony. It’s custom.”
The king remained standing while everyone else found their places sat. He walked in front of the team. “Today, I honor not only a very brave security team, but a woman who has redefined the laws of Magic, spat in the face of her enemies, and focused solely on saving the lives of others.”
He looked directly at Stephanie and continued. “Stephanie Morgana, you are here today because you saved my ambassador’s life from an assassination attempt on Earth. You yourself were injured, along with two of your guards.” He motioned for Lars and Marcus to step forward beside her.
The team loved it, but their eyes shifted constantly to monitor the room and the groups of people who watched the ceremony. Among the VIPs in the upper tiers, they caught sight of Federation Navy uniforms but couldn’t look more closely without being obvious.
The throne room was totally different than the amphitheater Elizabeth had set her unwinnable scenario in, but they couldn’t relax. Thanks to that simulation, they were programmed to expect an attack.
Even though they had already captured one of the main traitors and were in the green, they refused to relax their vigilance. While they knew they had reached a point of solidarity with the Royal Guard, nothing could convince them to stand down.
The queen and Elza, the ambassador’s wife, sat beside one another as the king addressed the gathering. Neither of the women had met Stephanie or even seen her until she’d entered the throne room, yet they could both feel the power radiating off her.
It brushed against them and the two Meligornian women exchanged a glance before they each reached instinctively to hold hands.
The king addressed Stephanie, oblivious to their unease. “Your bravery is beyond anything we have seen in many years, and it reminds us that we are not alone as we once thought. Your actions show that not only can humans and Meligornians work together to defeat a greater foe, but it also reassures us that humans can be relied on to help us in times of need.”
He looked at her with a warm smile. “You, Stephanie, and your men, are bright stars in a galaxy that can seem terribly dark. We are glad to know there are those who will fight wrong where they find it and protect what’s good, regardless of its form.”
His pause was the perfect length to give his audience time to assimilate what he’d said. “That is why we are awarding you the Modfresha Garghilum—which, in English, means the Medal of the Valiant Soul. The guards who were with you on that occasion will be awarded the Meligorn Modfresha Ghila, Meligorn’s Medal of Valor, at our request. We invited you so we could honor you and your men with these awards.”
He focused his gaze on the people in the auditorium. “That award creates a connection for you between our world and yours, but I have chosen to raise the bar with another award. This one acknowledges your role in saving the lives of thousands aboard the Meligorn Dreamer, including the lives of many Meligornian citizens.”
He looked into Stephanie’s face, his gaze intense. “To express our gratitude, I award you the Royal Award of Decarth, a medal given only to the greatest of Meligorn’s heroes and only ever awarded to a citizen of Meligorn. With this award, we offer you dual citizenship with Meligorn. Do you accept?”
She was momentarily stunned but recovered quickly. Snippets of half-remembered conversation in her hospital room drifted back to her and she managed a shaky smile. “I do.”
As she knelt in a full bow before him, shock rippled through the Meligornians in the audience before they erupted into applause. Behind the king, the Federation Navy ambassadors exchanged glances with their Earth counterparts and their reaction clearly showed that they had definitely not expected the award.
“Furthermore,” he added and moved to stand in front of Lars, “Meligorn recognizes that no hero acts alone and that we are honored with more than one human willing to sacrifice everything to keep our citizens safe. There are many witnesses to the risks you took to keep the Meligorn Dreamer’s crew and passengers safe and to rescue the ship from certain destruction. We would be honored to accept six more heroes as citizens of our world if you are willing.”
The expressions on the guys’ faces would have been funny if the occasion weren’t so serious, and she wondered how they would respond. It was a relief when they all dropped to their knees before the king and accepted their award and Meligornian citizenship.
As they returned slowly to their feet, he extended his arm toward Ambassador Jaleck. “I am, however, not the only one who sees your worth and honor. Ambassador Jaleck from Dreth wishes to express her planet’s appreciation.”
The ambassador stepped forward and gave Stephanie a kind smile, a far cry from her usual emotionless mask. She was followed by a younger Dreth who carried a royal-blue cushion on which lay a shining medal.
She stopped in front of her and lifted the award so it could be seen. It was made up of two Dreth Eagle Talons holding a large bunch of flowers.
The ambassador placed it back on the cushion and began to speak. “Long ago, before destruction and mayhem laid waste to our world, Dreth was considered as beautiful as Meligorn. The flowers on this medal are tussle leaves, now extinct but once laid at the feet of Dreth’s heroes. We are proud to meet you and to award you the Talon of the Families for your protection of the Dreth on the Meligorn Dreamer.”
Gasps and surprised murmurs issued from the assembly as she spoke and stunned silence as she continued. At a nod, a second Dreth came forward.
This one also bore a cushion, but a book rested on this one. Jaleck opened and gazed out at the crowd. “This is part of a report from one of the Dreth aboard.” She cleared her throat before she began to read.
“I do not know what she was doing in the corridor outside my cabin, but I am glad she was there. The pirates had broken the door down.
They were fellow Dreth, yet they intended to kill us. I offered them everything I had to leave, but they wanted none of it. They had come for blood and ours would do, but then she arrived.
“I had picked up a chair since weapons were forbidden us and we prepared to end our days well. My wife and children had armed themselves with what they could find, but what good a towel rail and toy krifton would do against armor and blasters, I do not know.
“Our ends were guaranteed, it seemed, but in the next moment, they were not.
“Magic crackled in the hall outside as they raised their blasters. They fired, and it was the last thing they did. Shields of purple fire appeared between us and them before balls of purple fire engulfed them and they were gone.
“Her Right Hand looked in on us, then closed the cabin door. His eyes burned like blue flame. ‘Stay here,’ he ordered. ‘We will keep you safe.’
“And by Hrageth’s sacred stars, they did. They saved us all.”
As she closed the book, everyone in the audience clapped and cheered. When they calmed, Ambassador Jaleck took the pin and held it up. “Stephanie Morgana, we wish to honor you with this medal. However, to accept it, you must accept citizenship of Dreth, which we also offer. We humbly request that you accept our honor and become a tri-citizen of the Federation.”
Again, the audience applauded and again, Jaleck waited for the noise to settle. “You will represent all known sentient beings in the universe, and there is no doubt in my mind that as other species emerge and our friends and allies spread, you will become part of their planetary history as well.”
Stephanie smiled and nodded. “I would be honored.”
Several Dreth marched out onto the stage and lined up beside Jaleck, holding pins in their hands. Jaleck nodded at the team. “And we have decided that true heroism begins with the support and selflessness of the men who fight beside you. Therefore, we honor your guard with the Talon of Soldiers for their fighting spirit and protection of all that is good.”
Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2) Page 54