The next day Shanti woke up alone in her bed. She couldn't say she slept well and still was tired. She needed her morning cup of tea.
Some Fa'enni liked human coffee but for her it was disgusting. Human tea blends were tasty but she preferred the one from her homeworld. She thought about where Konrad could go. With dreamy eyes, she was looking for her husband. She was going today to her old friend and the head of the mana research division. Perhaps he wanted to catch Thuel once more before his cadet battalion will resume their exercises.
Shanti smiled at the memory. A few weeks ago, Luna, Anna, and Overseer came to her with their plan. Overseer was behind making a fool of her Son but the whole idea was created mainly by Anna and Luna. Maybe the memory of how easily he was surprised will shake her boy to be more collected. The whole idea around his birthday party was absolutely brilliant- Overseer simply overclocked Thuel's and Johan's system clocks and made them believe it was Monday but in reality, they jumped on Wednesday while Luna and Anna made sure they stay in dark. Thanks to this they landed on the asteroid on a weekend- a day off school. All cadets liked Thuel so the idea of the secret party quickly catched up.
However, some girls maybe liked the idea too much since Shanti knew he had an entire fan club of Fa'enni and Human girls sighing and fainting near him. On the other hand, he was all the best both races have to offer so no wonder. Tall and muscular like his father but with soft Fa'enni lines and deep dark blue eyes with glitter like his mother. Human instincts and enormously enhanced senses by mana that seems to overflow him at any second. He was so handsome he was breaking girls hearts with just a glance. Almost no human and for sure any Fa'enni was a match for him in any duel which was already impressive. Since he was nine years Konrad insisted on teaching Thuel fencing and other forms of combat. Strong and intelligent Thuel inherited both of his parent's sense of duty. Prideful heir of the noble house of Raven and prince of Fa'enni.
Shanti smirked, Luna maybe have many rivals but her son is absolutely in love with her. But let's be honest- no other girl could even hold a candle to Luna.
Luna Fiora was like Thuel, a child of Human and Fa'enni. Her beauty was breathtaking. Long silver-blonde soft hair, delicate yet so clear facial features, her eyes like pearls with absolutely rare even among Fa'enni blue glitter. Her silky soft skin was flawless and shined with soft yellow sparks. Her wings looked like made from the light itself almost invisible but sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow in the light. Also, she naturally has a figure that many women out there pay millions to have. Little to say she had an entire army of adorators but all in vain. Thuel was the only man she secretly wanted.
Shanti chuckled while slowly crossing Guardian corridors. "Secretly" riiiight. Thuel wants to date her so much but it didn't help that her son is so sloppy when it comes to Luna. And Luna was probably the shyest creature she have ever met. It was something sweet about their adolescent love.
Her mother was Shanti's childhood friend, she understood much more than any of her kin since she dedicated herself as one of the few Fa'enni to actually try and understood how mana truly works. Her father was a marine captain whose company was defending Khrisas village on Ra-Nael during the Xhrestla invasion.
Khrisa Astana was sure she will die with all her family there. She prayed to the Stars for salvation and it was delivered. Angels of war descended from the skies and the Xhrestla warrior, who was about to cut Khrisa's head off was crushed by them. Literally.
Shanti entered a state-of-the-art lab. Officially AI Guardian was the reason she insisted on keeping Khrisa and her family on her dreadnought. Without his help, Khrisa's research would be a long time ago stuck. How exactly she used his help was a secret protected by both of them.
She looked through the glass panel at her old friend. Khrisa was almost as tall as she was. She had long straight silvery-blonde hair to the middle of her back. Her eyes were similar to Shantis but instead of deep blue sapphires, her eyes were like the most precious opals. While the wings of Shanti were colored with vibrant blue and green hers were seemingly white until she moved and then the entire rainbow cascaded over them. Luna was similar to her Mother but a few times more beautiful. Khrisa didn't even noticed Shanti who entered and watched her for an almost full minute as she was consumed by her work.
"Khrisa Astana Fiora! Your Queen is here." she started with all the authority she could muster. The surge of panic run through Krisa and Shanti couldn't control herself and bursted into laughter. "You wanted to see me?"
"For Star's sake! Shanti don't scare me like this!" she smiled as well after a while. She showed Shanti to a small relatively clean part of the office where a table with a teapot, two cups, and a large plate of cookies was already waiting.
"Yes, my wise Queen I humbly asked for your presence since I think I finally got something." Khrisa showed Shanti's tongue and they both laughed while Khrisa was serving tea. Shanti was intrigued after looking at some notes she found laying all around.
"It is a commonly accepted fact that no one ever throughout our entire history studied mana properly." Khrisa started "Right now we are using mana with much better precision and intent than ever before in scale of the entire species. Teams of just ten specially selected farseers can predict anything bad that will happen in any corner of the Commonwealth. Before that, we only saw just unclear fragments with a joint effort of hundreds or even thousands. In light of this fact alone, now we know we never used the full potential of mana. Do you know why?"
Shanti sat a while in silence. She never thought about it. "No Khrisa. I have no idea why no one ever studied mana"
"The reason was well... is as simple as depressing. Tell me how long we are gonna live?"
"On average four hundred years if Human scientists are correct. We will be first to try so fingers crossed I guess." Shanti smiled to herself. Human medicine was state of art. Since most known species of the galaxy originated from paradise or garden worlds they don't really need complicated medical science. The worst illness you can catch on paradise world is a runny nose. You have to try very hard to catch a cold. There was no need for any medicine outside treating injuries like broken bones or cut skin. When you fly too high you might hit the ground hard... Humans however had medical science so developed exactly because they lived on the deathworld. Viruses or bacterial Illnesses, hostile environment, pollution from one or other sources, wars. Humans were tough beyond any imagination and despite living almost a hundred years naturally they still were afraid of death. So when they got Fa'enni's gift- the data core with almost all knowledge aliens were willing to share back then, they developed life-extending techniques. They managed to revert and almost stop the aging process and they were always at their prime with full strength.
When she was enhanced and allowed to exit the medical pod Konrad almost melted. She was beautiful even by Fa'enni standards before entering it but too old for any Fa'enni male to bother. Now however she was in her prime and will stay that way for at least the next two or three hundred years, she's gonna have so much fun.
Khrisa rolled her eyes and smiled: "Before we meet Humans, my dummy Queen!"
"You know when I look now at the past it's so scary we used to live only forty years."
"Yes... Tell Me. Did you expected that such 25-year-old maidens like us will ever have not only husbands but also childrens?"
"No... But what..." Khrisa raised her hand and stopped her question. "And how many of our kin ever dedicated themselves to their work and never found partners?"
"Few at least. Like you or me." Shanti was even more curious about what exactly Khrisa found.
"And could any of such losers like ourselves find students to carry our work?"
"Of course not..." she understood in instant. She was right. The truth was so simple and depressing. "So you are telling me, you suspect there were attempts at understanding and mastering the mana in past but all discoveries were simply lost because of our own carelessness?!"
Khrista picked a cookie and gave her. "Exactly! You won a cookie!"
"Stars above!"
"When I understood that I also asked them for mercy."
"How we survived so long?" Shanti asked through nervous laughter.
Khrisa made a sad face and responded quietly. "We didn't my Queen. Our race has died by claws, jaws, and in cages of Xhrestla. We died back then when our race was sold by the Federation while everyone promised our safety. Spirit of old Fa'enni died back then on the surfaces of Hilur, Rizak, Tua'va, and Sumta. If not for Humans, today no one would even remember us. Another extinct race in the Galaxy. If not for Humans and their life-extending miracles our parents would be long ago dead." Khrisa realized something and gasped: "Shanti! We two would be probably dead as well! We have now 43 years and we look and feel like what? I look better than the day I had my coming to an age party! Thanks once again to Humans we are not only alive but we live our lives to the fullest!"
Both sat in silence for a moment. Shanti broke it after a while and wiped her tears of shock and realization. How fast do we take granted good things in our life?
"You are right we are alive and our Kingdom will prosper. No. It's more prosperous than ever. I vowed on the surface of Rizak." Shanti sighed and looked at her friend with a piercing gaze.
"I believe you have a few more findings to share than this. Here is the deal: I'm taking this plate of cookies and a few more helpings of tea and you are gonna show or tell me what you have discovered."
Khrista laughed with a laugh like crystal mountain springs. "Very well my Queen. I told you how I met my husband?"
Stolen novel; please report.
Shanti nodded. They were old and best friends so of course they spend long hours talking about everything, their husbands included. It's good to be Queen sometimes. When your best friend's husband is the captain and your own husband is his general for example. She cornered Konrad and basically gave him no option but to agree to move Raphael on board of the Guardian so Khrisa could continue her research with the very active and priceless help of dreadnought AI.
"I never told you the entire story. You see when they dropped from the dropships at low altitude directly on Xhrestla they were heavily outnumbered. One company against two battalions. One hundred marines under command of the captain Raphael Fiori were facing over nine hundred lizard warriors of Xi-rana the most elite Xhrestla units. But as Raphael says: marines like usual don't gave a fuck. They killed them all losing 87 soldiers." Khrisa sipped her tea and continued. "Raphael was gravely injured when his command team was securing me and my home mana laboratory with my parents and almost all the surviving village residents inside. When Humans won that battle all their medics were already dead. Braver or more foolish Fa'enni came out to offer any help, brought materials for bandages, even a few glasses of water, or anything Humans would ask for. Only four soldiers were somehow unscathed or lightly wounded. One of them told me the medivac shuttle is en route but it will reach their position in half an hour. He told me with sadness that the captain most probably will not going to make it.
I felt your comforting presence, Shanti through the connection of mana and your message that Humans came as friends but I already knew that. I cried as my angel, my personal salvation was dying in the dust so far from his home under a foreign star right before me and I felt so powerless. I couldn't even lift his head. He was like a demigod when he descended and killed so many lizards before my eyes. Not only you thought it was just a dream and surely we are all doomed. His fellow soldiers did everything in their power and patched him to the best of their abilities but that was not enough, they asked me to stay with him.
One of them told me I'm as beautiful as their imaginations of the angels so if Captain regain his consciousness, I would be better memory to die with than their sorrowful faces. I knelt near him and remember I clenched my teeth so hard I felt blood in my mouth, closed my eyes, and put my hands on his wound. I focused all I had: all my feelings, my fear and resignation from before and the happiness and gratitude when He came to save us... no, save me! I wanted him to protect me forever. I felt a sudden rush of the mana and focused even harder to not let it go. I envisioned him like the first time I saw him. Brave angel of war sent by the Stars to kill all horrors. I felt warmth in my hands and when I opened my eyes I saw him looking at me. He weakly asked "Am I dead? Beautiful Angel, are you here to take my soul?" I didn't know what to say but the words bursted from the bottom of my heart: "I'm Khrisa Astana of Fa'enni! I beg you don't die! Don't leave me alone ever again!" Suddenly all heat inside me bursted into his wounds and the brilliant light covered both of us. Marines started running towards us and when they reached us, one of them tried to grab me but Raphael's hand was faster than lightning. He caught his wrist and he started to stand up with a smile, not even a trace of his fatal wounds could be seen, and said: "Private! You will not touch my Angel with your dirty hands!"
Khrisa smiled. Shanti's eyes were shining like the eyes of an adolescent girl who found an excellent love story. All Fa'enni loved good stories. Khrisa caught and came to the conclusion. "Thanks to this memory I was able to do it."
"Do what?" Shanti didn't understand at first.
Khrisa smiled, pointed her right hand toward Shanti, and snapped her fingers. On top of her index finger small orb of white light formed. Shanti's jaw dropped.
"Is that...?"
"Yes, Shanti. After fifteen years of trials and errors, I present you the Orb of healing light. One of... let's call them spells so Humans could get all excited" Shanti's eyes shone bright and she smiled as only Fa'enni can.
The Commonwealth Senat is going for another surprise. Not only the Fa'enni shipyards teams had the first Fa'enni corvette (Aria- mean wind before the rain) and artillery heavy cruiser (Therion- lightning) ready and operational but it looks like we have the first steps in true magic open. "That's spectacular! It heals wounds right?"
"Not only wounds! Cure broken bones as well. Even purge some virus infections!"
"Wait! You said it's the first spell? So you know other?"
"Few so far. It turned out our physiology is enhanced by mana. Do you ever wondered why your Thuel or my Luna are walking perfections? Or any other Human-Fa'enni child especially with Fa'enni Mother if we speak of it?"
"Well I always suspected mana but you have a theory right?"
"It's not theory my Queen. Mana responds to our desires. The more we want something the more mana wants to give it to us. And what kind of mother doesn't want everything best for their children? It was us! All Fa'enni mothers during pregnancy who poured all our love and blessings into our unborn children. How many times have you wished: I hope you will be strong? I hope mana will be strong with you? I wish you to be happy? That's it Shanti. We blessed our children and wished them all what's the best for them so mana responded to our feelings and granted our wishes!"
"Hold on Khrisa! Just hold on one second. You telling me that we unintentionally made our children perfect?"
"Yes. I'm 100% sure."
"How do you know mana can do that? Maybe it's biology?"
"First of all Queen, no other species in the galaxy can crossbreed. That was set in stone for 10000 years of cursed Federation existence. And what? Out of nowhere pops out a race of fearless warriors who are saving our race from extinction and we live as a big happy family with mixed children? Of course not! When we first time met our scientists made genetic comparisons for safety reasons- you know standard procedure after the Ja'kkn incident and we were incompatible like the rest of Galaxy."
"So how now...? I knew it was mana."
"Yes, it is mana. From a genetic point of view, we are suddenly compatible. It makes no sense. But what is even more bizarre it's the fact that only the mixed pairs have their biology changed. Other Humans or Fa'enni are still incompatible."
"Okay, I accept this as possible evidence. But how does that make you think we mothers influenced our children so much?"
"When I realized I'm pregnant Raphael was all in heaven. He always wanted a daughter. And I always thinked about my unborn child as a girl. And how gorgeous she will be. My little princess the most beautiful girl that ever lived. When I finally gave birth after ughhhh Stars above! Nine months of pregnancy! How do human women endure it?!" Shanti grimly nodded. She was scared when she didn't give birth after the usual for Fa'enni four months. Guardian however explained that's normal for human women and probably it's all fine.
Khrisa continued. "Anyway... Luna was born healthy and beautiful like a Princess from the Human fairy tales. And she, like your Thuel had immense mana in her. And did you thought of your Thuel as a boy all the time or your little girl?"
Shanti gave her a cookie. "Now you won the cookie. But in two cases it still can be a coincidence."
"I ran an experiment in which I gathered over 100 Human-Fa'enni couples and explained to them the rules and what should they do. They had to decide if they want a girl or a boy and treat their unborn child as such. Using his or her name etc. In every single case, even in cases where the human female was the mother all couples had what they wished for."
"Mana. Okay, you got me convinced" But Shanti was concerned "We must understand it fully Khrisa. It's our race's biggest asset even if we can't make more of it than the healing light and ability of our females to born super soldiers for the Commonwealth armies."
Khrisa looked like she wanted to protest but she didn't allowed her for this. "I know that Humans are not cruel and they will not use us like this! I know they are not monsters Khrisa! They don't need to exploit our children like this! I know this as well as you know! They are the biggest, the deadliest, and the most adaptable predators that ever reached the stars. And I'd like to remind you one of them is my husband. Like yours! But we will keep this as a national grade secret you got it? As closely guarded secret as our ancestors hold the secret of Humanity's existence, you get it? AI's know?"
Guardian's voice immediately responded startling both of them: "Only I know my Lady. I monitor the entire research process made by Lady Khrisa and only I have access to the data. I barred this knowledge and struck it from any records. Humans have their secrets, and Mashines have their secrets so it's only natural that Fa'enni will have theirs. It's the only natural way as far as Humans are concerned. We are members of the Commonwealth but even the confederate Nations have their secrets and we are equally free under one law to have such secrets as long as the safety of the Commonwealth is not at risk. Don't worry."
"Thank you Guardian" she thanked softly. And sighed sadly... We don't know so much. When you are oblivious you don't know how careless and stupid your race is. It is the same as Konrad told her a few years ago. They didn't understand they hail from the deathworld and how dangerous their home was until they were told or saw a comparison. She closed her eyes and was quickly thinking.
Finally, she spoke with a tone full of sadness: "I will authorize funds for the much bigger research institute. You will be the head of the entire resort and respond directly and only to me. You also can employ as many helpers as you need but remember that most research will be top secret."
Khrisa nodded her head. They knew each other almost their entire of their lives. It will be hard to leave her friend's side. But she understood very well the burden her people bestowed upon Shanti. She promised to help her and responded with a serious tone. "Yes, my Queen. I'll do as you wish."
Both of them wanted to cry. They will be parted very soon. Fa'enni are attached to their friends almost as strongly as to their families.
Guardian interrupted their sad mood. "This may be difficult. Since Lady Khrisa depends very much on my processing power if she is sent away from the fleet a new AI need to be assigned as her aid. Or the new AI will need to take care of TCF Guardian. The selection process of proper AI to aid in research might as well take years. Im not sure why I am suitable as an aid but all tests show that among 600 AI in our fleet only I can perform this duty. In this case, I recommend using the Einstein class research ship. It's designed to function as a mobile lab for any kind of research. Building one will take only two months in the orbital shipyard above Ra-Nael instead of building planetside installations which will take even up to a year. What's more important this ship may be anchored inside Wrath and I'll be directly connected to it. That will give us all the time we need for searching for a new suitable AI."
Both women caught their hands and screamed in excitation startling Guardian: "Did I say something wrong?"
"No Guardian" They said with laughter at the same time laughing even harder. Shanti spoke to Guardian.
"On the contrary! We Fa'enni treasure our friends like the family so we often live nearby. Your idea saved us from a painful parting. Can I order building a such ship or do I need to demand it formally from Admiral?"
"I understood now Queen. No, you don't have to since the Einstein class is a government-grade civilian ship."
"Then order one and build it to the specification you both decide is best. Wait we will do this as my father-in-law tells us to do. By the book. Guardian this is the official Queen order class Sigma number... Let's seeeee.... 112. I hereby order top priority building, equipping and shipping the Einstein class reaserch ship as headquarters of the Fa'enni Research and Mana Development Resort. Minister of Mana by the will of the Queen is Lady Khrisa Astana Fiora. The head of her security is Lord Raphael Fiori. The rest of the personnel will be appointed by Minister of Mana Khrisa Astana Fiori herself at the later date. The Ministry of Mana responds directly to the Royal Family of the Fa'enni Kingdom. This concludes Sigma class order."
"Order received and recorded. The shipyard will start building the ship as fast as the blueprint will be sent. However my Queen your order is flawed."
"Explain Guardian" Shanti was surprised.
"Current position of Raphael Fiori forbade him from being the head of security. General Raven's approval will be required in this manner."
"Oh, this. I know my friend. I have some ideas on how to make this happen. Don't worry."
Short, somehow happy bip was heard when Guardian acknowledged and most probably already started editing the blueprint. Shanti smiled at her friend. "So when we have all official stuff done let's talk some real business."
Khrisa looked surprised in her eyes and understood immediately.
"If you are sure Shanti then sure we..."
They talked for a few hours. Laughing, plotting, joking, and discussing all new gossips they heard. Shanti knew she have much work to do but wanted to finally rest like in old careless days.