Talis

Chapter Three

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I opened my eyes and felt exactly as I had before. I wiggled my fingers and toes, inventoried my parts and took a deep breath. I seemed the same physically, although I also knew that my DNA had been altered, and even now my body was adjusting to the life form that infected me.

My memories were intact. I knew my name and recalled Christian clearly, aching with a deep urgency to be near him. I remembered my parents and the pain of losing them. The thoughts and memories that made Kelly Michaels who she was remained and I nodded my head, grateful that Talis had been telling me the truth.

"Talis." I slipped naked from the table and stood close to her, reaching out to stroke her face and hair with my fingertips. "Sleep now. Sleep well, my old friend." 

I leaned over to kiss her forehead and I had tears in my eyes.

"Eva," I said after a long moment and I was joined by one of my servants, a slender girl with blue skin and silver eyes to match her long, fine hair. 

She wore a plain white shift from her shoulders to her thighs and sandals on her feet. Kelly had never seen Eva before, but I knew her intimately now and smiled with renewed pleasure at her graceful motion. It was the reason I'd bought the girl, a dancer from a world full of them, Eva's unearthly grace.

"Mistress." She knelt briefly and I caressed her face before letting her dress me in a simple robe of scarlet, the color of my office. 

We left the medical bays and unlike my previous experiences over the last forty-eight hours, now the ship looked busy, animated by a large crew who deferred to my passage with bowed heads. I recognized many of them, if not by name, then by sight. They were all humanoid, gathered from a myriad of planets throughout the Empire, and soon humans from Earth would be added to their number.

Halfway to my quarters we were joined by Ellicent, my personal assistant, secretary, and confidante. She was Riavean, an ancient race and among the first to join the Empire. Her home planet of Riave was located nearer the galactic core and we shared a certain kinship, her race and mine. She'd become very much like a sister to me in many ways and I depended upon her greatly.

"I've made preparations for Talis," she said without preamble, falling into step behind me. "After the ceremony she'll be interred on Earth, as you've ordered."

"I want to see the place first," I said. "She missed her home very much."

"I understand," Ellicent agreed. 

She had elfin features, prominent cheeks and a tapering chin beneath a broad forehead. I'd always enjoyed looking at Ellicent, not in a sexual way, but with an appreciation for her beauty which was considerable. Now I had a new perspective, a human perspective, and I thought her blood red eyes gave her a vampiric quality. They were formed as almonds with the points turned downward at the bridge of her nose. Of course the sharp fangs in her mouth only reinforced that image, but her golden hair and caramel skin suggested nothing of the kind and it gave her an interesting contrast.

"Send Aris to North America, to Denver in Colorado. I want a human named Christian Michaels brought here." I looked over my shoulder at Ellicent. "I want him to go personally and tell Aris not to frighten the man. He's my husband."

"Yes, Mistress."

"And tell him to pick-up some toilet paper while he's down there." I shook my head and then caught Horus coming towards us, full of good news, I was sure.

"Toilet paper?" Ellicent asked.

"Cousin, how radiant you look!" Horus smiled, but I didn't believe any of it. "I almost didn't recognize you."

"Pity." I smiled back. "Did you come all the way up here just for that?"

"Talis…"

"Kelly," I corrected him. "Or Mistress, if you like."

"Kelly, of course." Horus ignored my barb. "No, actually I've come for a perfectly good reason. The disposition of force is wholly unsatisfactory…"

"Don't ask for more troops," I said, sensing where this conversation was going.

"Two legions of shock troops, that's all," Horus said. "There is strong resistance in Asia Minor and the Middle East. Religious fanatics. Extremists who won't limit their rebellion to geopolitical boundaries."

"Strong resistance?" I looked at him as we continued to walk. "How many of our troops have they killed? How many dropships and gunboats have we lost to these rebels?"

"None," he admitted. "That isn't to say we're secure, only that time and opportunity have favored the Empire thus far."

"Is the station secure?" I asked him.

"Of course," Horus replied. "Construction is on schedule. We'll be able to begin full scale operations within the month."

"Then we stick to the plan," I said. "The one we agreed upon, remember? Once the station is operational, we'll begin rehabilitation with the Americans. The rebellion, as you call it, will have to be dealt with through political and economic coercion. Human coercion."

"Coercion." Horus frowned and finally dropped his head just far enough to insult me. "As you command, Mistress."

He turned with a flourish, his purple robes snapping the air as he walked away. My cousin had taken the form of a Pleiadine, a handsome race of virile men and soft, demure females. His sleek body had a rosy sheen and I admired his strength and grace, but the man's ambition frightened me. Or it would have if I'd not been Talis, rather than fear it I considered the myriad ways of putting my cousin's greed to good use.

"He'll go to the Emperor," Ellicent said after Horus had left us. "He has friends at court."

"I know." I raised a hand and the entrance to my quarters opened. "Horus imagines himself a warlord. More troops…" I sighed. "We have to minimize our presence. He's a fool."

"That's why the Emperor sent him here. Veils…" Jericho said.

He'd been waiting for us and at his word the great curving bulkhead around us became transparent. We were greeted with a view of the Earth rotating slowly some thirty thousand kilometers beneath us.

"To punish me?" I looked at Jericho and he was nothing but a hologram created by the computer, but it could be easy to forget that.

"To keep him out of trouble," he replied. "I have your morning brief prepared."

"Later." I waved that idea away. "I want a bath first. Eva…"

"Yes, Mistress." She'd already prepared the tub, or more of a pool really. A deep bath formed of short marble steps had appeared in the center of the room and it filled quickly with steaming water.

"You're male?" Ellicent asked a moment later, watching as Eva removed the robe from my shoulders, letting it fall carelessly around my feet.

"You didn't know?" I laughed lightly, pleased that I'd actually kept a secret from my best friend, albeit unintentionally. "No, I'm female. This…" I looked down at my soft cock and hairless balls, "…is simply the universe having a little fun with me."

"I understand why you were chosen," she said as a luxurious divan grew out of the floor nearby.

"Did you think I would be uninterested in her otherwise?" I asked Ellicent, mocking a pout. 

It seemed funny speaking about myself that way, because the alien and I were completely one, but my point of reference changed as I desired to express our once separate opinions. For the old Kelly it would have been quite maddening, but the new me felt very comfortable that way and Ellicent seemed to understand perfectly.

"The Emperor will be pleased, but I suppose you considered that," she said, taking a seat and tilting her head.

"Actually, I hadn't," I answered, stepping into my bath as Eva held my hand. "Ellie, don't be angry with me."

"Never," she said without smiling. "But you might have consulted me first."

"You couldn't have changed my mind." I giggled, looking around Eva's hips as she'd removed her shift to join me in the bath. This was very much my morning ritual and I saw no reason to change it. 

"I think you're lovely, Mistress," Eva whispered, smiling shyly although I'd had her for many years already. I liked that about her, the innocence.

She sat opposite me and the bath was large enough that I could stretch fully, letting the girl work her hands across my body as she desired. I would enjoy a massage as much as anything else and I found this brief respite wonderfully relaxing. Much of my day would be much more taxing emotionally, if not physically, and even in my bath I couldn't escape my responsibilities.

"Hmmm…Now tell me of York," I said, closing my eyes.

"The Emperor has commanded that Cerberus be opened for settlement at the earliest opportunity," Ellicent said. "The Crown Prince has been tasked to negotiate with Lord Bertrayne for passage through his space…"

"We should crush him." I frowned. "I don't understand the Emperor's reluctance."

Eva took my left foot in her hands and then her mouth, kissing and suckling my toes gently while she stroked my calf and thigh. I opened my eyes just to see her, and found the girl entirely beautiful.

"Bertrayne controls the Gyre Nebula and the space within it. He uses a technology we haven't been able to duplicate and as you know, any ship entering the nebula is vulnerable…"

"Except his," I sighed, pulling my foot from Eva's mouth and gave her the other. "It is such a small space…"

"Small and vital, Mistress," Ellicent said. "The Prince will make the alliance..."

"And his favor will grow, while we sit here and watch."

"…and Cerberus will be settled. I think we must focus our attentions there. New space is always filled with opportunity."

"Yesss…" I agreed with a smile, leaning back and watching Eva work her long pink tongue around my toes. "I'll go to Court, it's been entirely too long anyway." I paused, giving Ellicent time to protest, but she didn't. "I'll speak of Cerberus with the Emperor. Review the settlement plan and have Erid prepare his brief."

"He's been waiting for an appointment," Ellicent told me with a smile. "He thinks you're going to replace him."

"Let him. Inform the Marshall I want Plan Yellow updated. Quietly. Don't go through Heward."

"Very good." Ellicent nodded.

"And arrange for me to meet with that trainer, do you know the one?" I pulled my foot away and held out my arms for Eva.

"Vonald? You wish to enter the games?" Ellicent asked, and then waited patiently as I was engaged in a kiss.

"When in Rome…" I smiled, brushing a lock of hair from Eva's silvery eyes. 

For a moment I wished I could be a real boy, just to know what it would be like making love to a girl like her. She didn't arouse me in that way, however, and it was enough to simply love her.

"Admiral Heward is here," Jericho interrupted us, flickering to life near Ellicent.

"Speak of the devil," I sighed and pushed Eva way so I could roll over. "Wash my back now."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Admiral, what news?" I asked the man, turning just enough to see him lower his head in ceremonial deference.

He served as my military liaison with the general staff and was too young for his position, but I'd found him capable and wonderfully ambitious. Heward paused for a moment, raising his eyes to take in Kelly's teenage body, a human body, but he hid his surprise well enough. All of my staff and advisors knew I'd needed to find another host, so this wasn't as unexpected as it may have seemed.

"Duchess, one of our mining colonies, Orthos-Nine was attacked twelve hours ago," the Admiral lifted his head. "We lost a full shift and nearly two weeks of polonium production. The frigate Naiad was patrolling less than a parsec away at the time. She responded to the distress signal, but by the time Naiad arrived…"

"I see." I frowned slightly and put my chin on my crossed arms, making it clear that I didn't. "Why didn't this frigate detect the raider, Admiral? That's why it's out there, isn't it?"

"They reported a sensor malfunction shortly before the attack," he replied, staring at me. "The commander of Naiad is the second son of the Marquis de Windham."

"Ah…" I nodded as it became clear why this had been brought to my attention. "Execute him, I'll sign the order. Send a battle squadron to Windham to deliver the traitor's head to his father."

"Mistress…" Ellicent would offer me a different solution, but only because it was her duty.

"Do you dispute my interpretation of these events, Admiral?" I asked, cutting Ellicent off.

"We are in accord, Mistress." Heward bowed his head. "The crew will be interned and scanned, of course. The saboteur will be found."

"You have your orders then." I dismissed him and looked at Ellicent, knowing she'd grown impatient. "Oh, very well, get on with it then." 

"You have your daily briefing with Jericho at 0800…Which was thirty minutes ago, I might add…" Ellicent recited my schedule as she had to and it only rarely varied.

I was responsible for over a thousand systems, countless planets and their resources. All of them with their unique problems demanding my sole attention. We were on the borders of colonized space, at the edge of the Empire, and so we had piracy and raiders, uprisings and mutinies and rebellions. Trade routes to establish and maintain, taxes to collect, laws to enforce, and a million other things beside. That I'd fought tooth and nail for the position didn't make me feel any better. There was much glory and power to be gained, but the precipice was ever beneath my heels.

I depended upon men like the Marquis de Windham, and he upon the counts and various nobles beneath him. Executing the captain of the Naiad was necessary, the Marquis would understand that, but it would cause tension that I didn't need. The battle squadron would send the old man a message, perhaps even insult him, but again it would be necessary for the good order of the Empire and he'd be reminded of his place in the greater scheme of things. Sons could be replaced, miners and their equipment as well, but two weeks of production… 

"The good of the empire," I sighed softly.

"…Mistress?" Ellicent paused and I waved at her to continue. We were already running late and the day had only started.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Christian." I stroked his face and watched him stir groggily.

"Who hit me?" he asked, managing a weak smile and I kissed at the corner of his mouth.

We were in my chambers and I'd redone it in a classical Grecian style just for us. There were marble pillars and braziers of cast bronze, burning around us. A fountain and the pool I'd bathed in earlier with Eva. Much of it was an illusion, holograms created by the computers, but some of it was real. The bed we were laying upon was real enough and I'd undressed us both while Christian had slept. The transport was clumsy and taxing on the body, but for the time being I'd prohibited the use of shuttles, even though it inconvenienced us greatly.

"I missed you so much," I whispered, sliding my hand down the man's chest, following the trail of fine hair that led to his cock.

"Kelly…" He smiled and opened his eyes for me. "I'm having the strangest dream."

"I know," I said. "I'm having it too."

I lifted my eyes and Eva nodded, filling a glass with water and she brought it over carefully.

"Drink this, my Lord," she said, but Christian heard only the bird-like trilling of her sweet voice.

"It's alright," I said as he jerked with surprise, not understanding until just then that we weren't alone. "It's good for you, like Gatorade, kinda. You need electrolytes."

"She's blue," Christian said and then swallowed as Eva held the glass to Christian's lips.

"Yeah, she is." I giggled, watching him drink slowly. "Pretty cool, huh? I call her Eva because her real name is kind of long."

"Oh." Christian nodded and licked his lips. I think he was looking for a sheet to cover us with, since we were quite naked. I fondled his cock in my gentle hand, coaxing it to thicken with desire for me.

"It's okay, you don't have to be shy in this place," I smiled, jerking him off while Eva watched. He'd have to get used to that sort of thing.

"Why not?" Christian asked and I just shrugged and laughed at him. "She's an alien?"

"Well, duh!" I smirked a little.

"No, I mean…" Christian swallowed hard and turned his eyes from Eva to me. "She's one of the aliens who destroyed LA?"

"Eva?" I shook my head. "She's a servant."

"Then who…" Christian let his head fall onto the pillow. "What's going on? Where are we? What are we doing here?"

"You have a lot of questions, I know." I pressed my body to his, kissing Christian's chest and putting my right leg over his thighs, stroking him that way.

"They just told me I was going to see you," Christian said and he seemed to wake-up suddenly. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you, Kelly?"

He tried to sit up, to examine me, I thought. He remembered that he was my husband and supposed to protect me. I just smiled, pushing him back down with small, reassuring kisses. I had so many things to try and explain to him and I barely knew where and how to start. I was afraid he'd reject me, once he knew all of it. Afraid that he wouldn't love me anymore and I needed him. Christian was my link to the past, to who I'd been, and without him I'd be lost completely.

"I'm fine. They didn't hurt me at all," I told him, spending more kisses on Christian's body so that he held me tightly and kissed the top of my head. "Nobody will hurt either of us, I promise."

I worked my way down his body slowly, loving Christian with my mouth and hands until I could take his cock between my lips. He wasn't very hard, not yet, the stress and the toll of transport made that difficult, I imagined, but I could make it feel better. Eva left us, but not completely; she merely moved out of the light. I knew she wanted to watch us and I wouldn't dismiss her in any event. Christian would have to get used to her, and the rest of my entourage as well. We'd have precious little privacy and yet, for all practical purposes, all the privacy in the world. 

Christian hardened for me after a few minutes and I grinned happily as I straddled his hips with my knees. I'd readied myself in preparation for my husband's arrival, letting Eva wash me thoroughly and apply a wonderful ointment to my anus. I was moist and hot and Christian groaned with the sensation of penetrating my asshole with his swollen cock. I felt no pain in it and I arched my back, rocking my hips so that we could work his penis back and forth inside me. We enjoyed a slow, deliberate fuck and I wanted to make it last as long as I could.

When Christian told me he was close, I stopped moving and just held him inside me, pressing my palms to his chest and feeling the strength of his beating heart. I looked into his eyes, letting him see how much I loved him. My own cock had grown erect and wet with precum, my freshly shaved scrotum resting on his damp, sweaty skin. We let his excitement recede slightly, his orgasm would wait another few minutes while we made love.

Christian caught his breath and tightened his fingers around my waist and after a long moment we were fucking again. It was everything we needed right then and when he finally did cum, helpless to stop himself from filling my body with his seed, I found my sex with my fingers and joined him. I collapsed onto his body, kissing the man I loved with every ounce of passion I possessed, spending my orgasm between our flushed bodies.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Lights, Jericho," I said and we hadn't slept for much of the night, but soon Ellicent would be coming to start my day.

"Who's Jericho?" my husband asked me and we'd both been awake for sometime, not speaking, but only touching the way lovers do.

"He's my computer," I told him as the lights came up. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Christian smiled.

"Ellicent is here. Would you like breakfast?" Jericho asked in English.

The computer had taken form and I'd changed his appearance the previous day so that he looked like my old science teacher. Tall and thin and serious, but I'd liked the man and hoped he'd gotten out of LA before it had been destroyed. If anyone should have been a computer, I thought, it was Mr. Burdett and who knows, his first name could have been Jericho for all I knew.

"Coffee and bagels," I agreed and while I hadn't found time to instruct Jericho on all of my human idiosyncrasies, I'd made sure he'd at least gotten breakfast right.

"Breakfast in bed?" Christian chuckled, but he was confused by it all. Eva had appeared, of course, with fresh robes for us. My usual scarlet and consort blue for him.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Ellicent marched into the room and her question was rhetorical at best. "Veils, Jericho."

"Uh…" Christian froze when he saw her and Ellicent largely ignored him, fixing her crimson eyes on my husband's just long enough to decide he wasn't a threat. 

"This is Ellicent," I said. "My assistant and chief counselor."

"Oh." He started fixing his robe again while Eva finished dressing me.

"She's my best friend too, so…" I grinned, "…be nice, okay?"

"Me?" Christian blinked and I knew he wanted to say something about vampire aliens, but probably didn't know where to start. 

"I'm your only friend, Mistress." Ellicent smiled, showing off her fangs and her English too, since it was brand new.

"Mistress? Wait…You have an assistant? And a servant and that computer guy?" He frowned, trying to figure it out.

"I have a planet too," I said, gesturing to the transparent wall behind him and Christian about had a heart attack when he saw the earth, I think.

"Oh shit," he said after a few seconds of silent contemplation and by that time our breakfast table had been readied.

"I guess I'd better explain, huh?" I bit my bottom lip and felt vaguely guilty, but not about anything in particular. 

It was just the form my nervousness had taken and I knew the alien part of me didn't understand it at all. Welcome to the club, Talis, I thought. This is what love does to a girl. I felt my tummy tighten and I felt frightened not by what I had to say, but that it might cost me Christian's love. More than anything else in the universe, I was scared of losing him.

"I think you'd better. Yeah," he agreed and he looked nervous too, but did take a seat at the table with me. 

Eva stood off to the side, waiting patiently in case I needed her, while Ellicent busied herself with Jericho. The two of them were going over my schedule, I imagined. They worked closely together anyway and it gave her a good excuse to let me speak with Christian alone, although she'd be unhappy with the time lost. The woman should have been born Swiss, I thought, she had a fetish for time. I'd made it clear to her though, that time was exactly what Christian would need from us.

"I'm the Duchess of Cepheus and Protectorate of the Spinward March," I said. "Except duchess isn't really our word for it, um…but I guess it works. We use those kinds of titles, like they do on Earth, you know?"

"You're a duchess?" Christian didn't know if he was supposed to laugh or not, but the corners of his mouth went up and I smiled nervously.

"I'm not explaining very good, am I?" I frowned. "See, there's sort of an alien inside me now…"

"What?" He wasn't smiling then and his brown eyes narrowed.

"This alien is sort of in my DNA, like part of me. It's in my brain too, so we're basically one person, see?" I spoke faster, watching his eyes become suspicious. "It doesn't hurt me or anything; it's not even like conscious. It doesn't talk to me. We just know what we're doing…Kinda. I mean, not now because it was never married before, but…"

"How do you get it out?" Christian asked and he was totally serious.

"Get it out?" I shook my head. "It can't come out. I told you, we're one person."

"So, I'm really talking to this alien right now, huh?" Christian leaned forward, looking into my eyes and he seemed cold then. "This Duchess, that means you're in charge right? Did you kill my wife?"

"Christian, it's me," I said, reaching for his hand, but he drew back.

"You did do it," Christian nodded. "You're not Kelly. She wouldn't have joined you, not after that."

"I am Kelly. I'm your wife. Christian, you have to let me explain, okay?" I begged him. "I was mad too. I wanted to kill her, but she explained it to me."

"Explained?" He almost laughed and no human could imagine a reason for what Talis had done.

"She had to do it," I said. "There are things you don't understand yet."

"And you do?" Christian shook his head. "You'd understand about something like that?"

"We did what was necessary," I told him then, dropping the pretense that I could separate myself from Talis and what she'd done. "For the good of the Empire."

"Yeah, you're the alien." Christian nodded slowly.

"I'm the alien," I agreed. "A hundred years from now, when the generation born today has closed its eyes forever, what happened to Los Angeles will be a rumor. The reality will be a world free of cancer. Faster than light travel to other stars. A unified earth without war, or hunger, or poverty. That's why your wife died."

"That's bullshit," Christian said. "A pipedream. No one can promise those things and I don't care who you say you are. You're not God. You don't have the right to kill innocent people."

"I know that," I said. "The alien knows that. It's why it chose me, because of my parents. It knows the pain I feel, the anger inside and it wasn't fair. It wasn't right, Christian, but I swear to you, it was a sacrifice that had to be made."

"Why?" he asked, just as I had. "Why not just come down and shake hands? You bring the cure for cancer and they'd throw you a fucking parade."

"Some people would want more than just that," I said. "The earth must be united with a single people, to a single purpose, sharing the same resources and technology without borders or limitations. The Empire is here and even if we ignored your planet, bypassed the earth without a word, there are others who wouldn't."

"What do you mean, 'others'?"

"Earth has been discovered now. It's on the map, so to speak, and there will be traders and merchants, prospectors and slavers, all looking to exploit this system," I said. "Some of them would sell weapons and technology, trade for resources and rights which belong to your race, not individuals or nations. Think of the traders coming to North America and buying land from Indians for glass beads. Selling guns to tribes so that they could war with their neighbors and each other."

"I think we're a little smarter than that," Christian said.

"Are you?" I asked him. "Are you so far removed prejudice and greed? The Empire is a thousand centuries old and we aren't."

"You're not perfect, huh?" Christian almost smiled at that. "I thought you were selling utopia?"

"No, nothing like that," I sighed. "We're bringing you the future, that's all, and what you do with it is up to you. The Empire will serve you and require your service. We're not altruistic; we want prosperity and security for our people, the same as you. Subjugation is neither efficient nor reliable and so we offer a partnership instead."

"And we're the junior partners?" He did smile. "You sound like a politician."

"I'm first cousin to the Emperor, sixth in line to the Onyx Throne." I looked at my husband, "I'm also human, Christian, and I will never forget that. Earth is not a junior partner, as you put it. I love my planet and I won't see it tearing itself apart. Nations will war if given opportunity. I've removed that threat and given our people a motive to unite."

"By blowing up cities? Right," Christian said and we were back where we started. "I got that part."

"Would Russia, China, France…Would any of them stand for a United States of Earth? They'd resist and those nations would destroy each other. Or the aliens would take a side and half the earth would be rendered uninhabitable by the end of it."

"Well, you blew up the United Nations, so I guess we'll never know," he said.

"This way, for the moment, the earth is united against us. They've suffered common disaster and share a common enemy. They have to rebuild their economies, overcome great difficulties and it won't be easy, but soon we'll begin a program to rebuild the planet. We'll provide technical assistance, food and manufactured goods, and help establish a centralized government."

Christian didn't say anything and I couldn't tell if my argument was convincing or not.

"Jericho, give me a map," I said without looking at him. "Show us the Spinward March, please."

"Of course," the computer replied and a second later our view of earth had been replaced with a rather confused holograph of the galaxy. I waited while Jericho refined it for us; he knew what I wanted.

"Highlight Sol," I said and one point of light began to flash yellow. It was near the edge of one spiral arm of the galaxy and quite unremarkable in any way. "Give us the boundaries now."

A large portion of the arm was enclosed in red, like a trapezoid from the core at the widest edge, to the earth, which lay near the shorter edge. It looked small compared to the galaxy as a whole, but in reality it comprised a space larger than is possible to imagine. I'd spent thousands of years expanding the Empire, a hundred lifetimes easily, and now I needed to justify that expanse of experience to one human being over breakfast. Yeah, that's what love does to a person.

"Now just show us the alpha systems, Jericho," I said. "How many are there?"

"One thousand two hundred and fourteen," he said. "Including Sol."

"Those are just the systems where we found humanoid life, Christian," I said. "People like us, more or less, and there are thousands more. Hundreds of thousands of planets and moons for your people…our people…to explore and colonize. What started around a small fire in Africa grew into villages, and then kingdoms and nations. Soon that tribe will become a world among many and all of them, Christian, have suffered to take that final step."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, with Christian looking at the stars while I looked at him. He was thinking of his wife, I thought, and perhaps me as well, wondering who I was now. That had been the alien talking, not Kelly, and so perhaps he didn't believe me. But the stars didn't lie and the significance of what was happening couldn't be denied. The loss of life was tragic but hardly catastrophic. The human race would endure and in the wake of tragedy, achieve greatness.

"Are you okay?" I asked him and Christian shook his head slowly.

"I'd like to be alone for awhile," he said. "I need some time."

"I know," I agreed. "If you need anything, just call Jericho."

"Right." He took a deep breath and I reached for him, but changed my mind.

"I love you," I told him. "I'll be back in a bit. Eva. Ellicent…I'll take my briefing in the chancellery this morning."

We left him sitting there and I wasn't entirely happy with the argument I'd made, or with Christian's reaction to it, but there seemed little else I could do. I wasn't looking for forgiveness anyway, just understanding, or at least a willingness to be patient. If he stayed, I thought, if he didn't ask me to let him go as soon as I returned, we would still have a chance. Otherwise, I'd know that I'd lost him forever.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

There were soldiers outside my chambers as we exited, a full squad of janissaries, my personal guard, dressed in black armor and carrying flamers. They did not come to attention as a ceremonial guard would and I looked at Ellicent, but said nothing for the moment. Eight of them stayed with us, ahead and behind, while the others remained at the doors. They were not there to guard Christian, but to ensure his safety and if he stayed I would have to explain this as well.

The chancellery sat directly above my quarters and below the flag bridge, occupying twenty-four decks at the bow of the ship. From those offices the Duchy of Cepheus and the Protectorate of the Spinward March was governed. We maintained a translight link to the much larger and permanent bureaucracy on my home planet, the capital world of Cepheus, as well as Delphi, the home of the Emperor and apex of the empire itself. Every system under my authority was connected with Cepheus and through that planet with the chancellery.

We passed through the immense cabinet chambers where my ministers were waiting with their secretaries and assistants. My chief steward was there, my master-at-arms, and Admiral Heward as well, along with my chamberlain and a number of retainers. In adjoining antechambers would be diplomats and nobles, representatives waiting to petition my offices for one reason or another. Sycophants and courtiers and the inevitable trappings of power were unavoidable, but I did my best to discourage them and Ellicent had very little patience for such things.

"Out, leave us," Ellicent said, emptying my private offices, which were hardly that. 

A dozen secretaries scattered like birds, slipping through doors carefully hidden in the well appointed décor. Unlike most of the ship, which was sparse and utilitarian by design, the chancellery offices were built of wood and stone in a style copied from the ancient nobility of Cepheus and my ancestors. The walls were paneled with dark wood and hung with tapestries of mythical beasts. There were graceful statues and slender columns of marble reaching for the vaulted ceiling high above. It seemed a lot like a museum, I thought, and a cross between ancient Greece and Buckingham Palace, or something, and I found the idea that it was mine both mundane and exciting.

It's impossible to explain how I felt, being so familiar with all of the knowledge and experience of Talis, and yet seeing much of it for the first time. I felt as if everything in my life up to the moment I'd been joined with the alien had been a dream. I'd woken up to the reality of who I really was and gained a new perspective, a fresh insight into something old and too well understood. I believe that pleased the alien, for it gave me a great sense of pleasure, and we were inseparable in our thoughts and emotions. 

"Am I different?" I asked Ellicent when we were alone. Eva had remained, of course, and my guards, but they didn't count.

"What do you mean, Mistress?" she asked, taking a seat while I walked around the spacious room, touching things and just seeing them.

"Am I different than Talis was?" I looked at her. "Different from the one before her?"

"Yes." She smiled at me. "You're different than she was."

"Better or worse?" I wondered and then laughed, because this had to be a useless discussion. "I grew up fast, didn't I?

"I don't know," Ellicent said. "You've always been childlike in many ways."

"Is that good or bad, Ellie?"

"A little of both." She shrugged. "It gives you a moral advantage that your enemies don't understand."

"But?"

"They see it as a weakness and take encouragement there," Ellicent said. "Particularly your distraction with your husband, it won't pass unnoticed."

"He needs time," I sighed, moving to sit with her. "He needs me to explain. So many things Talis was able to ignore, knowing I'd understand once we were joined. I can't do that with Christian; I have to explain everything."

"I know." Ellicent nodded and we were quiet for a long minute.

"What do you think of him?" I asked.

"Me?" She pursed her lips. "He's a good looking male. Smells good too."

"He does, yeah." I grinned, leaning against her. "You should have one."

"I have many!" she said with a laugh. "Every night."

"I mean a human, an earth man," I said. "You'd like it."

"They look fragile." Ellicent stroked my hair.

"Aren't we all?" I turned my head and kissed her palm with a little sigh. "Alright, you can tell me now."

"Horus," Ellicent said and I nodded, sitting upright on the leather settee. "He contacted Delphi, as we expected."

"I don't imagine his report was favorable," I sighed. "Who is he using?

"The Baroness Eolinne of Fenna," Ellicent said. "She's found recent favor in the Emperor's bed, it seems."

"Horus should move quickly then," I smiled. "I know the Emperor's tastes; she won't be there long."

"He is moving quickly." She didn't return my smile. "Heward has scheduled your inspection of the port facilities on earth."

"When?"

"Three days from now," she said. "A regiment from Third Guards will provide security during your visit."

"He always was ambitious," I said. "Who else is involved?"

"We're still working on that, Lord Chasse will make his report this evening," Ellicent said. "There will be others."

"Yes." I considered that for a few minutes. "Eva…some tea, please."

"Mistress." The girl bowed and I watched her leave.

"Do you have someone?" I asked.

"That girl of his," she agreed, "the pleasure slave."

"The one he's is so proud of?" I gave her an appreciative look, wondering how she'd managed to break someone so close to him. 

"It will be subtle."

"Very well."

"And the Admiral?" Ellicent lifted one thin eyebrow.

"Your tea, Mistress," Eva had returned and I took the cup from her hands.

"Amuse yourself," I said, taking a sip and it was hot and sweet.

"Thank you, Mistress." Ellie smiled, flashing her fangs before drinking from her own cup. 

"Bring everyone in, Eva. I'll see Admiral Heward first, I think." As Eva did that, I looked at my tea.

"I had her scanned three days ago," Ellie said.

"Do it again." I took another sip, wondering if we were paranoid enough.

Assassination had always been extremely rare in the Empire, mostly because it was so rarely successful. Like any other crime, however, all that was required were motive, means, and opportunity and it wasn't hard to anticipate my cousin's plans.

There had been five attempts to kill me, three of those coming quickly after I'd assumed the position I now held. The last attempt had been three lifetimes ago. A few of my generals had wanted to carve out a little empire of their own and I'd purged the army in the months that followed. I reckoned that a mistake now, looking back on it, and so this time I would try and minimize the bloodletting. 

Horus, because he was a legitimate threat and heir to the throne, would have to die.

Heward as well, but for entirely different reasons. I'd sponsored his career, ensuring his assignment to important posts, arranging his timely promotion. As the young captain of a light cruiser, I'd taken him for a lover and shared his bed. I'd given him what he wanted and all I asked for in return was his unswerving loyalty. He'd betrayed me and I wondered what Horus had promised him. Probably a position on the General Staff, I thought, because it was what the Admiral wanted and I'd been unwilling to push him that far. He was too young for it and there came a point where favoritism became counterproductive, particularly with the military. 

Ambition and patience are so rarely found in the same heart, I thought. That's what made Ellicent so dangerous and the reason Heward would die. I hoped he'd appreciate it as much as I did when the time came.

"Duchess." Admiral Heward went to one knee on the carpet and then rose slowly. 

"Admiral, what do you have for us today?" I asked pleasantly.

He glanced at my guards, the janissaries posted at intervals around the chamber looking inward. 

"Admiral?" Ellicent spoke up and she held a thin notebook, her link with Jericho, and made notations with her fingernails as if scratching a kitten.

"Mistress, the battle cruisers Damon and Pythias are prepared for transit to Delphi at your convenience," Heward reported. "With your permission I've augmented their complement of gunboats with a squadron of fighters from the Vesta."

"I made the request through the Defense Ministry last night, Mistress," Ellicent said, drawing a frown from the Admiral. 

"Very good." I nodded. "Security?"

"A full cohort of janissary guards," Ellicent said. "Captain Alustre is screening them personally. He wants to impress you."

"He always does," I agreed and the captain of my personal guard was a very capable man. "Forgive us, Admiral. Please continue."

"Of course, Mistress." Heward bowed his head. "The Naiad arrived early this morning, about oh two hundred hours. The crew is being screened as we speak and Captain de Windham's head is enroute to his father with the Sixth Battle Squadron."

"Good." I nodded.

"I've already told the Minister of Interior to draft a letter to the Marquis," Ellicent informed me. "He's still considering the matter, but suggests that if de Windham makes issue, we recall the consul and appoint the Lady Preston as chargé d'affaires."

"And she'll carry the letter." I smiled at that. "Go ahead, Admiral."

"Finally, Mistress, in light of your impending trip to Delphi, I've rescheduled your inspection of the starport construction site. Lord Horus has made arrangements for three North American representatives to be in attendance."

"Did I receive your note on that?" Ellicent narrowed her eyes, flicking her fingers across the computer screen in her lap. "Ah, three days from now?"

"Yes." Heward nodded. 

"Is that good for me?" I wondered and Ellie nodded.

"You have some minor appointments that day," she said with a shrug. "Nothing we can't work around."

"Tell Horus I want all the national leaders there," I said to Ellicent, but it was meant for Heward as well. "The Central American republics must not be excluded. There's to be no preferential treatment given. No anthems. No flags. No ceremony."

"Yes, Mistress," Ellicent answered, making the proper notations.

"We need more than security forces," I said and looked at the Admiral. "I want a show of force down there; you know how these things work."

"Of course, Mistress," Heward agreed. "I have a regiment from Third Guards ready to deploy to the site. All I need is your authorization."

"Only one regiment, Admiral?" I cocked an eyebrow doubtfully.

"It's an armored assault regiment, my lady," he explained. "Five thousand troopers, three hundred heavy lancers, six batteries of mobile artillery…"

"Impressive." I held up my hand with a soft smile. "A regiment will do just fine."

"Yes, Mistress." Heward smiled back at me. "Forgive me."

"Alright, anything else?" I asked, standing up and looking at Ellicent. "Make sure the Admiral understands my requirements. This is our first meeting with the humans, I don't want any surprises."

"Mistress." Ellicent and Heward both dipped their heads and I left the room with Eva and my bodyguards.

I reentered the council chambers and took my seat at the head of the table, which was oversized and opulent like everything else in the room. My ministers, of which there were nine, bowed and finally sat once I'd gotten comfortable. It was a busy room, with secretaries and assistants in and out constantly and I would have to spend the next several hours governing my small portion of the Empire the way most people imagined it was done, with a lot of boring talk, heated discussions, and too much negotiation.

Ellicent would be joining me shortly. I'd made it a point to leave her alone with Admiral Heward largely so she could invite the man into her bedroom. Riaveans, like so many other creatures found in nature, had invested most of its aggression and cunning in the female of the species. It wasn't unheard of for the males to be killed immediately after mating, or even during the act, as the female would nourish themselves on their lover's blood. Supposedly it heightened the pleasure for both of them, although I certainly wouldn't know, and most of the deaths were accidental as the female simply lost her self-control in the throes of orgasmic bliss.

Like I say, I didn't know if that was true or not, but I had little doubt that Admiral Heward would soon be learning the truth of it. Ellicent was more than merely attractive and the Admiral was young and confident, and the pleasure of fucking my closest advisor before she was murdered would certainly appeal to him. They wouldn't let her live after killing me, her position and knowledge would make her far too dangerous.

Ellicent rejoined me while the Minister of Finance discussed trade surplus and deficiencies between systems in the Mesale Sector. It was hardly interesting and obvious to me that a planet whose primary export was agricultural foodstuff probably shouldn't try to sell it to a planet where the indigenous people were carnivores. They'd be better off manufacturing toothpicks, I thought, but I couldn't say that. I had to listen closely and nod every once in awhile, knowing that in the end, new and better trade routes would be established and the Empire saved once more.

"I have a date tonight," Ellie whispered into my ear, leaning over my shoulder.

"Good." I nodded, thinking of Christian and wondering if he'd stay or leave me to dream alone.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

By lunchtime I felt anxious to get the news, good or bad, and I made my excuses, trusting my deputies and ministers to handle the day to day routine with their usual efficiency. If there were matters that absolutely required my attention, they'd be presented in due time. For the moment I needed to see Christian.

I found my husband in my chambers, much as I'd left him. The map was gone, replaced by the view of earth and of the moon rising behind it. It wasn't any larger than when seen from earth, but it did seem so much clearer. The moon looked close enough to touch and Christian sat in a leather chair, watching it while he contemplated his private thoughts.

"Eva, prepare lunch for us," I said and Ellicent had remained behind in the chancellery.

Christian didn't turn at the sound of my voice and I approached him, kneeling beside his chair and touching his leg where his blue robe had fallen away. I was afraid to speak, so I merely stroked his bare skin lightly, wanting to lay my head there, but I didn't. 

"Penny for your thoughts," I ventured after some minutes, unable to stand the silence between us.

"Why did you do it," Christian asked. "That's what I can't figure out, Kelly. What did they say to you to make you agree to this?"

"I didn't want to," I answered slowly. "At first, I was really mad, you know? She kept saying I'd understand later."

He didn't say anything so I had to keep talking.

"Then she told me that we had to start over, kinda. Earth, I mean, because we were like babies and the things they were going to give us, the technology and all that, it was like a gun if we weren't careful."

I moved around in front of him, between his legs and put my elbows on Christian's thighs.

"She told me that it was a sacrifice my parents had made for me. That all those people had made for everyone else. Like Nagasaki and Hiroshima had been sacrificed so that everyone would know how dangerous that new technology was. Like if it hadn't happened, if people didn't see for themselves what atomic bombs could do, they wouldn't believe it and then everyone would die."

I searched Christian's eyes, but he seemed to be waiting. Listening to me patiently.

"I still didn't believe her right away. I didn't care and I told her that. I hated her and I wanted her to go away, but I knew she couldn't. I thought about my parents a lot and your wife too. I'm sorry I said the stuff I did before. I wish I hadn't now. She…I know you loved her."

"Yeah," he sighed and he touched my hair.

"I was here two days already and most of the time she was talking to me and I started thinking…I know it sounds bad, maybe, but I've never been anyone, you know? I've never been what I was supposed to be. I've never been happy, except with you. I was thinking how I wasn't a boy or a girl. I hadn't even finished high school. I was just going to live in Denver and try and be happy. Try to make you happy, and then we'd get old and never have kids or anything and then die."

"Kelly." Christian looked at me and I'd started crying.

"I felt really sad and I dunno, selfish. I mean, she was saying things, telling me about the stuff she did, the stuff we would do. How if I joined with her, she'd be part human and we'd help the Earth. We could make up for the bad stuff that had happened. We'd make it better and I wanted to believe her. I didn't want my parents to die for no reason. I wanted to be something special, maybe."

"You are special," he said, holding my face in his hands and wiping at my eyes with his thumbs. "I love you."

"Do you?" I blinked at him. "Do you still love me?"

"Yeah," Christian said.

"I love you so much."

I closed my eyes and I had the cry I'd been waiting for. I buried my face in his lap and it hurt, oh God, did it hurt. I was shaking and Christian stayed there to comfort me and I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could. I'd never let him go.

 

End


Read "The Misfits"