Protector of the Realm (5 page)

BOOK: Protector of the Realm
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Rae strode out of her office, handing over the conn to a dark-haired lieutenant standing at the tactical station. “I’ll be in the school quarters.”

“Aye, ma’am,” he replied smartly, saluting before he switched his screen to overview mode. “I’m relieving you, Commodore.”

Rae walked to the closest rail gate, located to the left outside the mission room. The rail system, consisting of tubular cars, would deliver her only minutes later at the school, which was situated between the residential and commercial sections of the station.
Gamma VI
could house 1,200 permanent residents—and four times that many temporary residents in hotels and aboard moored ships.

Divided into three sectors--military, commercial, and residential--the station comprised forty-five decks and three major ports. Deck 1 hosted the mission room, with the commodore’s office located in its center.

The commercial area boasted several shopping areas, which catered to trade between homeworlds. A multitude of restaurants offered a variety of cuisines from the different Supreme Constellations worlds. Hotels were prosperous, especially their casinos, since gambling had become legal five years earlier.

The residential sector’s lower decks served as housing for the lower-ranking military staff and the permanent residents working in the private areas. Rae resided on deck 3, and so did her XO and a few other senior staff members.

She stepped out of the car two stations and two minutes later, crossing an intersection full of people before she entered the school. Only seventeen children resided on the station, but occasionally generational ships would linger, and then Terence would work long hours to prepare lessons for them all. Right now the children, ages six to sixteen, were working in small groups at different projects.

She saw Terence waiting for her at the entrance, and he waved her over while he walked toward his office.

“What’s up?” Rae asked when the doors to the inner room closed behind the two of them.

“Armeo arrived this morning with a security guard, and Dorinda and David immediately introduced him to the class. They’re both his age, and he seemed thrilled and settled into their group easily.” Terence scratched the back of his neck, a gesture Rae recognized as signifying his uneasiness. He looked regretful. “It’s my fault, Commodore. I should have realized…”

“Go on.” Rae wondered with increasing concern why the seasoned teacher looked so distressed.

“This particular group is studying trials and legal procedures in various parts of space. Since the six children in this group all belong to different homeworlds, they find this topic particularly interesting and were helping Armeo catch up when suddenly Dorinda came and got me.” Terence paled and slicked back his thinning gray hair. “Armeo was sitting by the computer, shivering all over. For a moment I thought he was going to be sick.”

“Oh, God. What was wrong?”

“Because he’s quite intelligent and curious, he looked up the different punishments for the same crime on several worlds. When I saw the screen, I noticed he was reading about Onotharat’s punishment for abduction and kidnapping. He must’ve figured out what his guardian is suspected of.”

Icy fingertips tapped down Rae’s spine. “And?”

“It’s an ancient, barbaric law, and it’s incomprehensible why any nation would cling to such cruelties. The punishment for these offenses is death by starvation.”

Slumping into the teacher’s chair, Rae felt her lungs cave in. Forcing oxygen back in, she steeled herself at the images her imagination sent flickering through her mind. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, ma’am. I double-checked while Dorinda took care of the boy. He seemed to respond well to her, so I decided to keep him here until I spoke to you.”

“I should have researched this, but I haven’t had time yet,” she said, angry at herself for not studying this case as meticulously as she usually did. “Damn.”

“I know. It’s unfathomable, ma’am. It also brings another question to mind.”

Rae could read his mind. “Heavens, yes. Does Kellen O’Dal know? And what will she do now that the boy knows?”

“I don’t envy you having to deal with that.” Terence regarded her with kind blue eyes. “Will you take Armeo back to his guardian?”

“Yes, I have to tell her what happened.” Rae rose from the chair and looked through the window facing the classroom. “What’s Armeo’s educational level?”

“He seems to be keenly interested in math and research. He’s well educated in all general subjects for his age. Whatever the circumstances, Ms. O’Dal has provided him with a proper education. He’s also polite, with excellent social skills, and his sense of humor has struck a chord with his peers. If we hadn’t been studying this particular subject, he would have probably enjoyed his first day at school thoroughly.”

Pleased, Rae filed Terence’s report away for future reference, knowing Kellen would need all the plus points they could sum up when M’Ekar arrived to claim him. Having provided Armeo with a good education and appropriate social skills were important points in her favor. “I’ll return him to his quarters now. Thank you for contacting me, Terence.”

She found Armeo with his perpetual guard sitting on one side of him and a girl with a long blond ponytail on the other. The girl was gripping his hand and talking to him quietly. Looking up, she smiled at Rae, her relief obvious. “The commodore’s here now, Armeo. She’ll take care of
everything
. Don’t worry.”

Rae inhaled deeply at Dorinda’s unreserved trust in her, unexpectedly touched and hoping she’d never let the girl down. “Hello, Dorinda. I’m going to escort Armeo back to his quarters. He’ll be back in class tomorrow, all right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The small, slender girl rose and stood close to Rae. “He was very upset. Can you help them, Aunt Rae?”

Dorinda, the daughter of her closest friends, usually called her Aunt Rae only when they were in private. The small slip betrayed her genuine concern for Armeo. “I’ll try, Dorinda. You’ve been a good friend. I’ll remember this.”

Armeo was silent on the way back. Rae noticed that he looked pale, which emphasized the faint bluish tone of his skin. When she looked into his dark eyes, she could easily recognize his Onotharian heritage in his oval-shaped irises, common among his father’s people. More so, something new, a burning anguish, or perhaps anger, made his unusual irises sparkle.

“You would never let that happen to Kellen, would you?” Armeo suddenly said huskily.

His desolate tone, tinged with a futile hope, was almost more than Rae could bear. Unprepared for the emotions surging through her, she acted without thinking, taking Armeo’s hand and squeezing it. Rae couldn’t remember feeling this mix of tumultuous emotions ever before. The thought of Armeo fearing for the life of his guardian, the only mother he knew, stung deeply.

“I’m sorry you stumbled upon this information,” she said, biting the inside of her cheek at how formal she sounded. “It’s an awful punishment. I’ll do everything I can to make sure this doesn’t happen to Kellen.”

“It shouldn’t happen to anyone.” Armeo scowled. “It’s horrible. If I can return to Gantharat when I’m grown, I’ll make sure it’s forbidden.”

A little perplexed at the boy’s solemn tone of voice, Rae noticed that he didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, he walked closer to her, and it took her a moment to diagnose the sudden ache in her heart as profound tenderness.

When they entered the living area, Rae released Armeo's hand and gently nudged him toward the bedroom door. He stepped just inside, lingering by the doorway. Rae stood back a little, out of sight. Kellen sat propped against the pillows with a computer close to the bed. Apparently deep in thought, she stared at the screen.

“Kellen…” Armeo’s voice was barely audible; still the tall blonde flinched.

“Armeo? What’s wrong?” Kellen made a move to get out of bed, but fell back onto the pillows with an expression of pain. Instead she reached out for the boy with both arms.

“Is it true, Kellen? Can they sentence you to death?” Armeo whispered, refusing to step closer. “Can they?”

For the second time, Rae watched brilliant blue tears rise in the other woman’s eyes. Anger and distress were so transparent in her face, Rae was awed. If she had ever doubted the Gantharian’s feelings for Armeo, she now put those trepidations to rest, witnessing how quickly Kellen switched from the stoic aloofness she confronted everyone else with to being openly wracked by conflicting emotions in the boy's presence. “Please,” Kellen whispered, “I don’t know who told you this, but you have to understand that I couldn’t share something so awful with you. You know it’s my duty to protect you, child.”

“I’m not a child anymore!” Armeo’s voice was harsh. “I can deal with reality.”

Kellen slowly lowered her arms. “Maybe…but maybe
I
couldn’t. I couldn’t face telling you this, in case it…”

“It’s like lying, Kellen.” Armeo’s voice broke. “Not telling the whole truth is like lying.”

Rae found it difficult to witness the pain in the other woman’s eyes. The torment reflected something inside herself, a dull resonance from the countless times of being the one to make the hard decision and later be the bearer of devastating news. Unable to remain passive anymore, she moved into the room and rested her hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Armeo, calm down. Trying to protect the ones you love by not scaring them isn’t lying. Surely you know Kellen would do anything to keep you safe and happy?” She glanced up at Kellen, who seemed frozen in place, her blue eyes the color of dark fjords. Still, it wasn’t hard to distinguish the pain behind the frosty appearance.

Armeo went rigid under her hand. “Do they have a case against her? Can they do this to her…because of me?”

“I won’t lie to you. Ambassador M’Ekar thinks he has a strong case against Kellen. He believes she kept you without having the right to do so.”

“It’s not true.” Armeo whirled around and faced her with tears of fury in his dark eyes, his back ramrod straight, chin raised. “I was young when my mother died, but I
heard
her make Kellen promise to keep me when we sat with her at the clinic--several times. I heard it!”

Looking over Armeo’s head, Rae saw that Armeo’s words affected Kellen profoundly. She flushed a faint blue and clutched the bed linen, twisting the down-woven sheets as she apparently struggled for composure. Her obvious inability to harness the look of utter distress on her face pierced the layers of Rae’s professionalism. Suddenly she felt a totally new urge to protect someone instead of something.

“Kellen, listen to me carefully,” she said. “I know it’s hard to stop once you start running. It’s difficult to trust anyone. Something tells me this is what’s going through your head right now. But if you stay, I’ll do my best to make sure you get a fair trial. The ambassador may be powerful on Gantharat, but he’s out of his jurisdiction here.”

“You can’t give me any guarantees,” Kellen growled. “You heard. Armeo knows what will happen if I’m found guilty. The SC will extradite me to the Onotharian authorities, and they will force Armeo to go back to live with strangers. It goes against everything--and trust this: I will
not
go back on my word or disgrace my word of honor.”

Letting go of Armeo, Rae walked up to the bed and sat down next to Kellen. “I hear you. However, you’re under Supreme Constellations jurisdiction, and since this is a Gamma space station, special laws apply. If you want guarantees, you have only one option. Have faith in my advice, and Ambassador M’Ekar can’t touch you.”

Rae’s mind reeled as she gazed at Kellen and tried to make sense of the unfamiliar emotions flooding through her. She wasn’t sure what was going on and, automatically recoiling, she slipped back into the comfortable role of authority, distancing herself from her turbulent feelings. “If you go along with what I’m about to suggest, you and Armeo can never go back home. At least not for a long time.”

Kellen wiped quickly at her wet cheeks. Her long hair hung loose like a golden cloud around her well-developed shoulders, and her thinlinnen shirt clung to her tall, lithe body. Temporarily incapacitated and obviously distraught, she still radiated a feline strength, her eyes relentless when she locked them on Rae. “What are you talking about? What would Armeo and I have to do?”

“Anyone who enters SC space, no matter their origin, can ask for political asylum. And until an SC court of law evaluates and resolves your situation, nobody can do anything to you.”

“No, we can’t…” Kellen began to object but stopped when Armeo walked up to the head of the bed.

Tears as clear blue as his guardian’s welled up in his eyes. Taking deep breaths, he wiped moisture from his cheeks. “I’m scared, Kellen,” he whispered.

“Come here.” She hugged him tightly and rested her chin on his dark hair. “For now, we’re safe, Armeo. We’re safe.” Lifting her gaze, she looked at Rae with shimmering blue eyes. “Let’s say it was possible. Where would we go afterward?”

“Once they grant you asylum, you can apply for citizenship among any of the homeworlds within SC.”

Armeo stirred in Kellen’s embrace. “Remember what you said when we left Gantharat?” he said huskily. “That we had burned our bridges and might never return. I have accepted it--for now. This could be our chance, Kellen. Listen to the commodore.”

Rae could detect a tone of hope in the increased animation of his voice, and it stirred something old and forgotten, a longing for closeness with another person that made her almost dizzy as she tried to navigate around her rampaging emotions.

BOOK: Protector of the Realm
7.84Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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