After a successful ear piercing and a handful of vows given to each other, Eleya had celebrated by escorting them down to one of the landing bays to give them another gift. Carbon insisted they stop for a moment and let Alex give his parents a call first, something Alex agreed with emphatically now that he was put back together and not out of his mind with exhaustion.

They stopped at an empty briefing room and he had a quick chat with them - audio only due to some weirdness with the Tsla'o and Human systems not meshing fully - they were very glad to hear he was back on his feet, and he promised that he'd be back in the next day or so. He shot Carbon a questioning look as he made that promise, and she nodded back. While she was the Empress, Eleya's opinions could take a flying leap for now.

Easy enough. The landing bay was right next door, and Alex wasn't about to say anything aloud, but he hoped Eleya was giving them a ship. What else would you have there? He'd sit in an unlimited amount of traffic around Earth if it meant being able to pop in at home whenever he wanted, with whoever he wanted. The bays were empty save for about a dozen soldiers and two Tsla’o who appeared to be tied to a blast deflector. He recognized his assailant immediately, despite how brutally he had been worked over. It looked like they’d both had their right antenna burned off, a strangely uniform scab where the stump would have been.

Alex was sure this guy would have tried again, right then and there, given how violent his attempts at getting free became once they walked in. The utter hatred in his eyes, the string of untranslatable epitaphs that lasted until one of the guards cracked him across the face with a stun baton.

It took him a second to parse why there were chairs set up behind a protective screen.

About a half an hour later Alex found himself standing in a very nice lounge, holding a drink he hadn’t looked at, wearing a jacket in the traditional Tsla’o cut for someone ‘of his station.’ A little shindig to celebrate things. Maybe twenty or so Tsla’o he’d never met before, mostly giving them warm congratulations, mostly aimed at Carbon. There had been names given, but he was not in the right space, mentally, for things like that.

He posted himself at the window, staring out at a slowly rotating Earth. It wasn’t a real window, he was close enough to see a bit of digitization on light-dark transitions. Nobody would put windows on a warship.

“Alex?” Carbon touched his arm, startling him despite the softness of her voice. “I need to handle something, is it alright if I leave you with Senator Lanshen? She is more interested in Human affairs than most.” She gestured over at who he expected to be the Senator, a shorter, red furred Tsla’o who looked to be younger than Eleya, just a hint of silver on her face.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine.” He drifted over to the couch she was seated at, a halfhearted nod as he settled in next to her. “Hey.”

“Thank you, Senator.” Carbon gave her a bow, and then a worried look over at Alex. “I hope I will be back soon.”

“Of course, Princess.” She returned the bow, offering Carbon a genuinely warm smile as she departed. The senator shifted slightly, looking back over to Alex and holding out a hand. “Senator Palan Lanshen, I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The fact most of that hadn’t been translated caught his attention immediately. A little rough, but very much understandable. “Oh, uh... Alex Sorenson.” He shook her hand, “I didn’t know anyone other than Carbon spoke English.”

“I hardly speak it, just a few greetings and inquiries.” She laughed politely. “Oh, of course - ara ara.”

The translator gave him a little notification on that last bit there: unknown. He recognized it, though. A friend of his in school had been a serious anime fan and had roped him into playing way too many VR games he was not interested in. Alex took a deep breath and downed the pale green drink that had grown warm in his hand, jaw working from the intensely acerbic flavor. “I’m trying to figure out how to say this politely... Did somebody put you up to that?”

“I’m sorry?” She asked, again in English, apparently confused by his reaction.

“That last phrase there. Where did you get it from?”

The senator dipped back into Tsla, “My aide compiled a list of common sayings. It is how a senior female would greet a junior male?”

“It’s not a greeting, it’s a statement. Not even in English.” Alex swirled the last little bit of liquid around in the bottom of his glass. “It’s got some connotations I hope you do not want to impart.”

“You have my apologies, and my thanks.” Lanshen seemed bothered by that, but recovered quickly. “Would you mind if I sent the list along to you at a later time? I have given it to a few people and I think it would be best to make sure there are no other turns of phrase that might be inappropriate.”

“Oh, sure.” He was relieved that this was panning out to be a misunderstanding. How somebody got a hold of enough anime to pull that phrase from it was beyond him right now. “You can... I probably don’t have an email address here. Uh, yeah, just send it along however.”

She pulled one of their little phones out of a pocket in her sleeve and started noting something, Alex’s attention drifting back to the fake window. Part of him was glad it was fake. He found himself wanting to launch himself through it right now, just to get off this insane ship and back to any sort of normalcy. Yes, that was entirely unfair to Carbon, even if she’d offered to steal a ship to do just that an hour ago.

“Lord Sorenson?” The senator’s voice finally cut through is idle daydreams of screaming through the void before burning up in atmosphere.

“Huh?”

She looked just as worried as Carbon had. “Are you... feeling well?”

“I am a bit out of sorts right now. It’s just been... There have been a lot of firsts for me today.” That was a significant understatement. Alex sighed and stared down into the empty glass, still in shock from the second ‘gift’ that Eleya had given him. “There’s been a lot of firsts for me this week, actually.”

“Yes, I should imagine.” Palan was short, and had a bit of a motherly vibe to her. The cut of her jacket indicated she was somewhat important, which tracked for her being a senator, the collar resting high on her shoulders, pink stripes on her neck surrounded by reddish fur. “Has anything been particularly shocking? It may be beneficial to discuss it."

“Everything. I mean... I didn’t even know Carbon was a mari- marioness or whatever until... well, until like an hour before we were married. Then she was all upset, and I completely did not expect to get stabbed. They cut out my heart, you know?”

That seemed to catch her off guard. Her eyes widened slightly and she leaned in. “The assassin?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“No, the doctors. There was a complication from the triage and my body was rejecting a repair. They gave me an artificial heart till I could get it replaced.” He finished the last dregs of his drink, the strong citrus aftertaste actually not that bad. He still would have preferred whatever he had been drinking with Carbon back on the Kshlav’o. Alex looked around for one of the servers that had given him the drink, seeing none, but finding quite a selection of food on a table nearby. “Hey, would you mind if I got something to eat?”

“Not at all.” She got up with him, following him over to the buffet table. “The replacement heart - that was with the medi-board technology, was it not?”

Alex didn’t recognize a single damn thing on the table. Would it have killed them to make at least one... What would these be, hors d'oeuvres? Everyone was standing around drinking, so probably. At least one single hors d’oeuvres that at least looked Human in origin? He picked up a plate and began piling one of everything onto it, each one stacked with a little more spite than the last. “Yeah, the mediboard.”

Palan watched him with a slowly growing discomfort. “That was a lovely gift.”

Eleya had already spread the word that it had been some kind of dowry. How that lie was going to survive contact with reality was beyond him. Maybe the buffer between the ruling class and everyone else was really that wide.

Alex played his part. “Yeah. It was. All of that- That's... Not even that big a deal. The execution, though? I've never seen someone die before. Sure as hell not by firing squad, anyway. Executions aren't that common on Earth." Alex returned to the couch, lost in thought as he sat down. He wouldn’t forget the look of hate on his attacker’s face any time soon, but now he got to split custody between how that guy looked during the attack, and lying on the ground bleeding out after the execution. “I've never had someone so angry at me that they'd spit at me with their dying breath, either.”

"Quite understandable. That is why they put up the protective screen." The senator sounded remarkably nonchalant about that. How common was this?

Alex managed a thin laugh, teetering right there on the edge of sanity. "I suppose so."

Senator Lanshen frowned and head tilted just a little. "Do you blame yourself?"

He considered that for long enough for a waiter to come over and replace both of their drinks, idly stuffing himself with snacks he wasn’t really tasting. "I guess I do. If I hadn't been on board they’d both still be alive."

"That is very likely, though I suspect he would have killed someone else... The attack on you was not planned, his anger made him reckless. It exposed the lieutenant that was feeding him propaganda." She patted his arm and sounded exceptionally positive about that. “I understand the interrogators were able to determine they were out for anyone closely linked to the royal family. Your presence may have saved the life of anyone in this room. Perhaps several of us.”

Alex didn’t have a good reply to that. The idea of someone dying - even someone who had wanted to kill him - didn’t sit well even if the thought of someone attacking Carbon did get his blood to rise. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just going to take a while for me to process this.”

She smiled, “the Empress seems to think you will do well, that there are many opportunities for you among us.”

“Really?” Alex was pretty sure he was just there to keep Carbon happy and his most recent memory of Eleya was her stabbing him repeatedly in his ears. While she remained composed through the ritual, he wasn’t sure if it hurt so damn bad because Human ears were different than Tsla’o or because she was mad about Carbon’s selection of their family name.

“Yes. She said as much yesterday. That you are willing to learn and have an honest heart.” Lanshen grinned and laughed as she leaned against the back of the sofa, “you should see about getting into politics. The senate floor could use more honesty.”

“Never thought about getting into politics.” He didn’t want to think about getting into politics, either.

He spotted Neya halfway across the room, making a beeline for them. It looked like she was wearing Carbon’s jacket with a palm-sized silver broach, intricately carved. She stopped in front of the couch and smiled warmly. “Senator Lanshen. If you do not mind, I would like to take possession of Alex.”

“Of course, Princess Sorenson.” She turned to Alex, “it has been lovely speaking to you, I hope our paths will cross again soon.”

Alex suppressed the urge to look at the senator like she was insane, eyes darting back to Neya to be sure that he wasn’t the one hallucinating. He may have been on the edge of exhaustion but it was clearly Neya and not Carbon. He stood and bowed to Palan anyway. “Likewise. Have a good night.”

“Come along, Alex.” Neya tilted her head to the senator and took his arm, holding it tight against her body. She smiled as they threaded their way through the crowd, acknowledging a dozen people who seemed to think she was Carbon as well before they got out to the corridor.

Alex wasn’t sure what was going on and was a little disconcerted that Carbon’s... friend? Personal assistant? Whatever. She was still latched onto his arm. It felt inappropriate. He waited until they were a ways down the corridor before asking the question that had supplanted all his other thoughts for the time being. “Why did they all think you were Carbon?”

Neya got a look like she was getting away with something, one that did seem very much like Carbon back on the Kshlav’o. “Because I am.”

“No. You’re not.”

“Of course I am, Alex.” She rolled her eyes and patted his hand.

He shook his head. “No, you’re Neya. There are several obvious differences...”

“As far as everyone is concerned, except for you, I am Carbon. I am her contra, after all.” She stopped them in front of an elevator bank and summoned one.

She’d referred to herself like that once while she sat with him in the hospital. At the time he thought it made sense because her fur coloration was reversed, a lavender fur so pale it was nearly white, with dark stripes. Just like the primer had said. “I think I’m missing something. I don’t see what difference coloration makes. ”

Neya pulled him to the elevator with an embarrassed laugh. “I am sorry, I have been using that term without context for you. We - contras - are rare among the Tsla’o and we are given a special place in society. I am Carbon’s contra. If she requires it of me, I can carry her thoughts and power. I act as she does and will be treated as her.”

“Oh. That’s interesting. I can see how it could be useful.” He made a mental note to flag that word later so it would be translated better. Seemed to carry a lot of meaning for them.

“Yes. I do not preside over many things for her, but I take the tasks I am given to heart.”

“You didn’t do that in the hospital, though?” Probably would have been a bad idea to introduce someone to that concept out of the blue like that.

“I would not have, even if instructed. A place of healing is sacred, it would be an insult to the patient.”

The elevator dinged and she finally released his arm, directing him just down the hall and leaning into a retina scanner next to a heavy looking pressure door. It slid open into a small chamber, gently curved walls and several seats with a more conventional door at the end, like a mud room. Neya unclipped the broach and hung the jacket up after the main door closed.

Alex was a little relieved to see she was wearing a shirt under the jacket. He hadn’t been sure if they wore anything under it, but she was clad in an emerald green shirt, sleeveless with a wide V neck, leaving her shoulders exposed for the jacket as was their custom. She turned to Alex and undid the small fasteners he was struggling with, helping him out of it and hanging it up before heading through the smaller door.

The room beyond was what had been roughly described in the primer as a normal Tsla’o home, a circular plan with most everything built into the outer wall, and a small kitchen backed up against the straight wall marking the entryway. Carbon was sitting on a bench at the table, chin resting on her arms with a distant look in her eyes. She didn’t seem to notice them approaching.

“Princess? I have acquired him, as you requested.” Neya set the broach down on the table, her voice quiet. “Is there anything else you need of me?”

Carbon shook her head and look over at them, her blue eyes lingering on Alex. The strength he was used to hearing in her voice was gone. “Thank you, Neya, I would just like some privacy tonight.”

“You are welcome. I hope your night improves, Princess.” She bowed at them and departed without another word.