Alex paced back and forth across the confines of the elevator, the cane he had appropriated clicking in time with his steps. Things had gone as well as could be expected since the fight. The two that had attacked him were being taken to sickbay, one with what amounted to a badly broken nose, the other with his eye swollen shut. Once released, they would be reunited in the brig with the two that had stayed with his father-in-law’s Zeshen. Dear old “dad” was flanked by Alex’s soldiers in the back of the lift.
He had a couple of hairline fractures, some missing teeth, and a smashed up face. Maybe a TBI, but the medic said there wasn’t any swelling inside his skull. Not bad for having intercepted a mace with his jaw.
He wasn’t sure about a lot of things right now, most of them pertaining to this stand-in for Carbon’s father. Alex didn’t even know his name, let alone how he should actually deal with the Zeshen that was representing him. He knew the basics, but it was still pretending they were who they represented as far as he was concerned. He understood that there appeared to be much more to it than that, but it wasn’t making a connection in his head. He knew who would know more, though.
He stopped pacing and held his breath, then tipped his head back to very carefully swallow before he started drooling on himself again. The cut and badly swollen cheek, cracked jaw, and half a dozen stumps and empty sockets where his molars used to be filled his face with an unreasonable amount of pain. Alex was particularly careful not to grind his remaining teeth together as he liked to do when he was feeling agitated, and he really wanted to do that right now.
The elevator chimed and the lift opened into the Eleya’s opulent waiting room. The entrance to her bedroom was open, the translucent forms of her personal guards holding the heavy doors for them. Most important to him right now was the large Human medical kit Alex had requested be brought up currently resting in Tashen’s arms.
Alex wasted no time. He waved for his team to follow as he stepped off the elevator and picked up the medkit from a visibly startled Tashen with a nod, then stormed into Eleya’s inner sanctum like he owned the place.
“You will not believe who showed up.” He slurred at her as he set the cane and kit on her bed and ripped the seal open. It was packed full of top shelf medical gear, enough for several people who had been through very traumatic events. He plucked the vitals node out first and pulled his shirt up to stick it to his chest over his heart, then fired up the scanner that would direct the nanites he was about to start injecting into himself. While that was syncing, he grabbed the cigar-sized tissue regenerator out and jammed it into his mouth like a toothbrush, holding the activation button down with his front teeth.
“I will believe a great deal when it appears before my eyes.” She was expecting them, of course, sitting in her chair and sipping a drink. Eleya hardly gave him a glance before she turned to her guard and the two soldiers that had come in with Alex, gesturing for them to leave. This was private business, and none of them ignored her order.
Dad got right down to it, amethyst eyes hard as she looked to Alex with palpable disgust before turning to Eleya, voice strong and righteous. “Sister, you must rescind what you have done. Return my daughter’s rightful name, send this animal away and-”
“Hey, fuck you.” Alex said around the regenerator as he finished loading a magazine of injections into a hypo. His eyes darted over to Eleya as he pressed it to his damaged arm and squeezed the trigger, the gun-like device automatically pumping synthetic plasma and medigel into his bloodstream, then kicking the empty cartridges onto the floor at his feet. “Fuck him, am I right?”
That just got him a glare from both parties. Eleya turned towards him a little further than she had to so that Pops couldn’t see a hint of a smirk curling the corner of her mouth.
“You must do what is right for all Tsla’o, Eleya. This Human must be removed, and the royal lineage must be made whole again.” The righteousness Dad’s Zeshen had started with seemed to swell as she continued, ramping up to a fever pitch with startling speed. “The throne cannot be tainted in this way! My daughter cannot be tainted in this way! I will not let you bring about the downfall of our people!”
Alex didn’t say a damn thing, because his first reaction was to blurt out something incredibly crass that he was sure would make this conversation turn violent again very quickly. He slapped a painkiller patch on his arm instead. Really should have done that first.
Eleya watched the pale lavender female nearly shaking with rage now, eyes as cool as ever and thoroughly unimpressed. “Tell me, dearest Sharadi. You have not gone blind, have you?”
The Zeshen scoffed, purple eyes narrowing. “What stupid question is that? Of course I still see.”
She nodded. “Good. Do your ears still hear?”
There was not much patience to be found in dearest Sharadi. “Again, what stupid question is that?”
She set her drink down and stood, smoothing her pale blue jacket before coming face to face with her brother’s proxy. “Then you certainly know how thin a thread ties the Empire together now.”
“Of course!” Sharadi threw her hands wide as she stepped up to Eleya like someone who’s known her their whole life might when arguing, demonstrating a total lack of fear of her station. She tapped her chest, a snarl on her lip. “I actually care about our people.”
“Oh, is it so? You are not truly here about them. I am not a fool, Sharadi, and you are as transparent as ever.” With that, she plucked the sigil from the Zeshen’s jacket and looked it over.
Sharadi, or whoever Sharadi was now, gave a start. The volume hadn’t changed but the tone was already different, like a switch had been flipped. Still outraged, but it was aimed directly at Eleya’s actions now. “You cannot do that! The council-”
“The council is ash, Kaleta. All but two of them.” She slipped the marker into her pocket and sighed. “They will side with me. This is not a matter of business, this is a matter of family.”
“It is about the whole of our race, Empress.” As she continued to cool down, Kaleta seemed strikingly different from Sharadi. Her mannerisms became less bombastic, movements subtle as she continued the conversation as herself. The anger was entirely gone, replaced by a strong voice that seemed legitimately concerned. “Surely, you must see that.”
“It may be so for you, but he is delusional. ‘My daughter cannot be tainted in this way?’ Just as the throne cannot? Truly, is she a concept to him now, a mere abstraction? Or does he actually think her furniture that he might rearrange?” Eleya clicked her tongue with no small amount of scorn. “Tsla’o have never moved quickly by ourselves, Kaleta, with rare exceptions. You know this. We will fade and die unless a breath kindles the embers of our fire. While the source of that may not be agreeable to everyone...” She gave Alex a sidelong glance. “It needs to be strong and true.”
Kaleta was unconvinced. She shook her head, ears pressed low. “He is an outsider, a Human! He cannot be like us.”
“You see far, but you have not traveled a step. You know that Carbon has never followed a traditional path, she was not destined to. Her parents wrote it on her birth certificate, signed it to her soul as a guarantee when they chose her name, did they not?” She lifted her drink with an amused little smirk. “I do not think anyone could make her follow such a path now. She has grown far too bold for that, and needs a balance that I am not sure our kind can provide.”
Kaleta considered that for a very long time as Alex once again held his tongue, running the medical scanner over his injuries to monitor their progress instead. Carbon had clearly been happy with Neya, but they were still on the research phase of ‘find out how people react to Carbon being involved with Neya’ and he was not about to drop that nugget in front of another Zeshen or Eleya. Certainly not after she just talked him up so much even if he didn’t quite understand how he was supposed to work with the ember metaphor. While things were clearly hard, he hadn’t gotten the impression that they were in truly dire straits. And what exactly was he kindling? Was it just trust in Humanity or was there some other plan in motion here?
When Kaleta spoke again she was recalcitrant, somber. “We may disagree on some points, but you provide an interesting view as always.”
“It is necessary for my station.” Eleya smiled and spread her arms, drawing Kaleta up into a hug. “It has been too long since we have spoken.”
Kaleta hugged her back, sheepish. “It has. The outer colonies have been very busy lately, as you know.”
“I have heard about it, yes. That was the last time we spoke.” She laughed softly and clasped her hands around Kaleta's. “Please, give what I have said some thought. You may provide my brother with wisdom that he will not take from me.”
She nodded, head dipping low. “By your sight.”
“Good.” The smile faded, Eleya just weary again. “You know I must ask. What were you thinking, attacking the Prince? It is your right to decline actions like that.”
“Sharadi is a very charismatic person, I am sure you are aware. While on the way here, he... fomented a significant amount of anger at the- the Prince. Among his friends on board, and yes, with me as well.” She slipped her hands from Eleya’s and worried them together, now avoiding the Empress’ eyes. “We became swept up in his crusade, and I took his place as their command at his request.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Alex was now quite aware that Kaleta hadn’t looked at him once since the sigil had come off her jacket. Not even some side-eye! He found that a little rude, and curious as well.
“I would disagree about him being charismatic.” There was a subtle shift in Eleya in response to the Zeshen’s withdrawal, a sharpness resolving in her eye. “I see trouble in you, Kaleta. Do not worry - I have not forgotten the way. You acted as Sharadi, these are his crimes. A complete stranger could have walked in here with the Prince and I would have known they carried him from the very first thing said.”
“That is not why I worry. He- When he found out that Carbon had returned, that the Sword of the Morning Light was on its way, he offered his yacht but did not wish to go himself. I said that I should go in his stead. I carry him. I carry Nova and even Erai to an extent, may they find peace. I have known Carbon for half her life. I said it had been so long, someone must be there for her. He forbade it. ‘Eleya is enough.’ If Nova were alive she would have dragged him here, but I am not the same material.” She closed her eyes, hands spread. “When his ship was readying to depart, I donned his sigil and it was trivial to convince the flight crew to allow me aboard. He did not notice I was gone for more than a day.”
It took him a moment to realize that they were talking about Carbon’s mother. Nova? He wasn’t sure about the exact dates, but she probably would have been born around when they first made contact. Maybe Human names ran in their family.
“If Nova were alive she would have beat him senseless for leaving their daughter to me alone, even after all these years.” A sad smile crossed her muzzle as she shook her head, a moment of reminiscing passed by. “I do find this disturbing, Kaleta. His reaction to finding that his daughter is married bordered on unhinged, but that he forbid you from visiting her and then used you to command another assassination attempt...”
“Another assassination attempt? Wait- Wait! We did not intend for this to become violent! The plan had been to simply acquire the Human, then use the personal shuttle from the Starbound to return him to Earth.” Kaleta panicked a little bit there, apparently unaware of the first time that Tsla’o had tried to kill Alex.
“There have been security issues. They were dealt with.” Her ears shifted down, voice carrying an annoyed rumble. “I have not seen the names involved, but I know who was supposed to be on that ship. Was it Hatae that took point? As well known for his temper as his drinking problems? Was he the one that approached the Prince first, after Sharadi spent a week whipping him up?”
Kaleta let out a nervous little laugh. “It- Yes, he was actually.”
Her jaw flexed and she exhaled slowly, exasperated. “Simply acquire the Prince, with a team of five - at least three having no military experience - on my flagship, with the tip of that knife being a drunk I have seen unsuccessfully fight trees. I hope that I will someday be impressed with the audacity of that, but right now I am closer to furious. I have already sent two of our kind beyond the veil for their attacks on the Prince. He is not so close to death this time and thus will make these decisions for himself. He has demonstrated more lenience than I, so perhaps there is hope for those five yet.”
“I too hope that they will be shown mercy. Sharadi has not- he drowns himself in his work so that he does not have to face the reality of what he has lost. I have tried to redirect him, but he has become vitrified by a sort of terror.” She sounded, and looked, earnestly scared about this. The way her antenna pulled down tight against her skull, brow raised and pulled together, she was either an excellent actress or actually afraid for him. “He avoids assistance in nearly everything. It is like an ascetic plucking fur to even get him to link now. Then I abandon him...”
“I see. This is very disturbing, Kaleta. You should have brought his self-destructive behavior to my attention when you first noticed it. There are so many places to draw assistance from, particularly now, even though I do understand the desire to not look at what we have lost.” Eleya forced a faint smile onto her lips and shook her head. “Do not blame yourself, and do not consider this abandonment. You have not forsaken him, you made the choice to see after his family when he will not. He will someday regret not having come here to meet Carbon again himself, but you have ensured that he and Nova are here. It is a gift he will appreciate, though I am not sure it is one he deserves.”
That barely settled her. “You do not think that this will be too difficult for him? Between my leaving and your actions to... entwine Carbon, I fear he may be near a breaking point.”
“It will be very difficult for him. But now that I have been notified, I will do my duty as his sister and intervene. He may not want help, but he will be receiving it. He is important to me, and his oversight in the frontier cannot be discarded. I know he can delegate work, I have seen him do it. He must be reminded of that skill.” There was a clear determination in her voice now, eyes narrowed slightly as though she were scrutinizing Sharadi across the lightyears that separated them. “You should know, as well, that it was not a capricious mood that caused me to bring the young Prince to the hearth. You should speak to Carbon about him, about her experiences in the last few years. I believe it will be an enlightening experience. Do not neglect Neya, either. She could use more connections with her kind.”
“Thank you, Empress. I had hoped to meet with Carbon, and I will be sure to ask as you have indicated.” She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly.
Eleya gestured towards Alex, standing there watching this exchange and monitoring his repairs. “You must speak to the young Prince as well. He is somewhat coarse yet, but he has his charms. If my word is not proof enough, consider that Neya has accepted him.”
Kaleta’s eyes went wide, trying to bug out of her skull as finally looked over at Alex. “Is it so?”
He lifted an eyebrow at that reaction. Despite the change in demeanor, he wasn’t inclined to trust Kaleta. He was still in their home court and would still play their game, even if he would keep a wary eye on her. He put on a big smug grin and stuck out his hand and got his best used ship dealer voice out. “Oh hey, didn’t see you there when I came in. Lord Alex Sorenson, Crown Prince. You may have heard of me.”
Maybe he’d be a shit about it, too.
She did not know what to do with all of that, looking curiously at his outstretched hand and turning to Eleya for some sort of help.
It was then that Alex noticed she didn’t have a wireless on. She hadn’t been able to understand a thing he had said. Of course not, why concern yourself with what an animal has to say?
“As I said, he is unrefined but improving.” Eleya pushed his hand down with a grimace. “I wish that you will make yourself comfortable, Kaleta. You may have your choice of quarters and any meetings you desire will be arranged with my decree.”
She registered significant surprise at that. “That is very generous of you, Empress. Thank you.”
“It is the least I can offer you, Kaleta.” She gave a very shallow bow. “I believe Tashen should still be present, he will take care of everything.”
Kaleta bowed deeply and left without a bit of trouble. A single cloaked form returned to the room before the doors closed.
“Captain, a few directives: She is allowed anything she needs, but when she is not in her quarters she will be monitored by a guard. She will not spend a single night-damned heartbeat outside of containment without an eye on her. In addition, all her communications, every word she speaks, will be routed through intel, and have them pull anything related to her comms from the ship. Actually, pull all comms from the ship. Have them send me everything that came from or went to my brother.” Eleya seethed as instructions spilled out of her like she had them prepared for some time now. She retrieved her pad from the wet bar and started poking through it.
“Furthermore, she was not listed on the passenger manifest on the Starbound. I want every molecule of that ship scanned. Everyone who got on it before it left Tsla’o space needs to be accounted for, every last bit of cargo tallied. If a bolt is so much as tightened to the wrong specification, we should know. Have Keru talk to the flight crew about the importance of having everything on their manifest listed accurately and how important that is for the Empire. Tell him to step on their toes as hard as he pleases.”
“So uh, this was unexpected for everyone?” Alex enquired. The scanner said his bones were done knitting, and most of the lacerations were healed up. While all those empty sockets where his teeth had been weren’t bleeding, they still hurt a lot. He slapped another pain patch on his other arm. He wasn’t about to climb onto a mediboard for dental work again, not after he had his wisdom teeth pulled by one.
Eleya let out a frustrated hiss through clenched jaws. “I knew the ship was on its way. Some senators and a few military personnel had not been able to link up with The Sword of the Morning Light before we departed. That my brother volunteered his personal yacht to bring them along. Do you know what really bothers me?”
“Nope.” He had no idea, but was confident that she would explain as she was clearly mid-rant.
“The Starbound left our space days after The Sword of the Morning Light was in Confederation territory, but before we reached Sol. The first thing Sharadi and his little retinue did when they came on board was go find you for a fight. I think the motivation for that is very clear - as is the timeline of when they had found out about it.” She grumbled and tossed the pad onto her bed, picking up her drink in its place.
“So... She was on her way before he found out that Carbon and I were entwined and had his little freakout.” The system was as done with his body as it was getting, so he pulled the vitals node off his chest and put it back into the case, then did the same with the scanner.
“Correct. I suspect that may have made his reaction worse.” She walked around her room at a casual pace, circling the sitting area, annoyed and gesturing wildly as she took another lap. “That old untranslatable has been hiding these difficulties from me. I ask him every few weeks how he is doing. I enquire for specifics, so he can’t get away with ‘oh, I am fine” nonsense! And he lies to me... I should have gone through Kaleta.”
He tried very hard not to laugh at the way she complained about him. Eleya was clearly mad about this, rightfully so, but the way she was getting it out of her system... He was sure he had ranted to his parents about Peter like that at least once, and assumed Peter had done the same about him. The stakes had felt lower when they were doing it. “Go on, tell me how you really feel.” There was just the tiniest little chuckle there at the end of that statement.
The way her head whipped around said she caught it, eyes narrow. “And what, dear Prince, is that laugh supposed to mean?”
“I was being a little glib there, but you aren’t the only one in here with a sibling. I’m sure you remember.” He tapped his head with the tissue regenerator before wiping it off with his shirt and tossing it back into the medkit. “So I know a vent session when I see it. Go on, get it out.”
Eleya regarded him with a hard gaze for a moment before a smirk curled the corner of her mouth, a hearty laugh shattering that tension a moment later. She sank back into her chair, draining what remained of her drink. The Empress sighed and rubbed her eyes. “You know... If I took your meaning correctly, then I must agree.”
Alex looked up from the empty medigel cartridges he was picking off the floor. “Oh yeah?”
“Yes.” She inspected her empty glass and shook her head. “Fuck him.”