Chapter Eighteen
The next day at the same time, she found herself in a very different situation. Fully dressed, with Roth sitting by her side, his face a mask of professionalism, as she listened to what the Princep had to say.
“It seems we have a wide and varied opinion about how we should move forward. As you know, a faction of our people vehemently objects to introducing a different species into our society, let alone as mates. That is a minority, and although a few have played havoc of late, we are working with them to come around to a new way of thinking.”
Maggie shot a surreptitious glance Roth’s way. He was listening intently and didn’t give anything away about their methods of persuasion, but he didn’t seem surprised by it, either. The council and public square were evidently going to be busy.
“Extinction isn’t something any of us want to contemplate. Many would like to proceed with this plan; it is in our own best interest, after all.
“And the others?”
“Think if it is meant to be, we will survive. I am not that passive in my approach.”
“Nor am I,” Roth agreed. “We are endowed with free will and intelligence by the Maker for a reason.”
“Yes, and because we have intelligent people putting much thought into this issue, several have come to me, proposing we find a way to help one another.”
This time she turned fully to Roth in appreciation.
“The commander shared with me both your ideas and his own, as has Eva, quite volubly.” The Princep’s lips curved into a smile. Knowing the lieutenant, Maggie could imagine those debates were as volatile as hers had been with Roth. “This isn’t something that hasn’t already occurred to me,” Kerr went on. “My mate struggled with abandoning your mission, and your people, and it weighed upon me, as did taking another race captive. That never sat right, yet desperate times called for extreme measures.”
“Desperation is what my people were feeling three years ago, sir. Based on my latest communication, the situation now is much worse.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that. We understand tragedy and hardship well, which brings me to my point. I believe we can work together toward, sharing our strengths and resources, and allow both worlds to meet their goals.”
“I’m afraid Earth is tapped out as far as resources go, except for the people.”
“While our situation is the opposite. Before we send ambassadors across galaxies, however, I would need to reach out to your leaders and determine their receptiveness. Are you able to communicate?”
“Yes, although it can take some time for a transmission to travel through our network of satellites. It is rather old technology, but still effective. The last message was received a few days before we were taken. Anything could have happened since then, including the possibility another exploration team has already found a new home. If that’s the case, they may not be interested. What then?”
“We still have much to offer your world with regard to advanced technology, medicine, and unlimited fuel stores in our uladite.”
“Truly? I didn’t know it was unlimited. I thought you mined it.”
“We do,” Kerr replied, “but the radiation converts the surrounding rock, which is ordinary, into the active form of uladite over time.”
“How much time?”
“A matter of years, but we would be able to supply the new colony with fuel cells until it is self-sufficient.”
“What’s to stop those you sell it to from burying it and converting their soil and rock into the same stuff?”
“It doesn’t work,” Roth answered. “Many have tried and failed, only to find this is another transformation unique to Primaria.”
“This is why you have a vast army of warriors and a space fleet on patrol when you have little internal strife.”
“You are quite astute,” Kerr rejoined. “All of it is necessary to protect what we have and our people.”
“We faced many challenges, particularly early on,” Roth explained. “A show of force was required as a deterrent to those more interested in taking rather than engaging in amicable trade with us.”
“So you do have covetous neighbors, only they are on the next planet or solar system.”
“Yes, which keeps your mate and his fleet busy.”
Her mate. It still seemed surreal, but the changes in her eyes and body couldn’t be discounted, or the way she responded to him, viscerally. She couldn’t keep the color from creeping into her cheeks, especially when Roth’s hand curled over her thigh beneath the table.
She cleared her throat, trying to hide the fact she’d pretty much gone off the rails and lost the thread of the conversation.
“It is simply amazing though, this uladite, and how the properties which make it renewable are exclusive to the geological makeup of your planet. Lana must be in seventh heaven, trying to figure it all out.”
“Why Lana?” Kerr asked.
“She is our senior geologist.”
Kerr glanced at Roth. “Funny, she never mentioned this.”
“Nor did Trask,” Roth countered.
Maggie found it peculiar as well. Discovering a planet that thrived on a renewable radioactive resource underground would have been any geologist’s dream assignment. Then she imprudently blurted out a very likely reason for Lana’s well-kept secret.
“Or perhaps no one bothered to ask, seeing her value as for only one purpose.”
“Maggie.” The commander’s warning was implicit in the tone of his voice.
“That is quite all right, Roth. I’m getting used to having what Eva calls my Neanderthal ways pointed out to me. Though not always as subtle as your mate did just now. Although I do prefer to keep my set-downs by my mate in private.”
This was a gentle word of caution that although Kerr seemed to be evolving into less of a caveman, he had limits to what he would take. As Roth squeezed her thigh beneath the table, earning a nod of both agreement and understanding from Maggie, he tried to lighten the mood a bit.
“I prefer to think Trask has been keeping his mate busy and it simply hasn’t come up yet.”
Kerr grinned. “No doubt that is partially true.”
Focused on moving the discussion forward, Maggie redirected the dialogue to the topic at hand. “This sounds like a win-win for both our planets, but there’s one sticking point for me. As I’ve mentioned, our women are free and have equal rights under our laws, so I must insist that it is a voluntary choice. I will not espouse a program of enforced sexual slavery and domestic enslavement.”
That easily, she’d put her foot in it again, but this was too important.
“Maggie,” Roth repeated, this time more sharply.
“What? We are in private.” She looked at the Princep and read tacit respect in his golden eyes. She was beginning to believe what Roth had been telling her, that Kerr was a decent man, and with this proposal, a good leader. She regretted her animosity. “I’m sorry, sir. But Roth knows how I feel on this subject. We’ve argued over your culture more than once, and while we have agreed to disagree, or as fated mates, rather than die while fighting against it, not all of my people will subscribe to this philosophy.”
“I have recently discovered that an unwilling, miserable mate is not something I’d accept at all.”
“You almost died because of it,” Roth reminded him needlessly.
“Yes, and thank the Maker, Eva had a change of heart. As it’s been pointed out, a female knowingly being tested and matched to a mate understands all it entails. Eva did not.”
“Nor did Maggie.” She could feel Roth’s gaze on her, but she kept hers fixed on the Princep.
“Let me propose it to my crew and see how many are interested. Understand, though; we are dedicated to our mission, and you might be disappointed with the initial result. The general population on Earth, which isn’t predominantly military, should yield more interest, especially after the suffering and hardships of the past decade.”
“A random sampling will give us something to go on. In the meantime, Roth, you can plan your course of action for an extended mission.”
Before he was finished nodding his agreement, Maggie was already planning, and doing it aloud. “We will need liaisons, perhaps one of the original eight who could advocate the pros, rather than only the cons of being mated to a Primarian, and she could answer personal questions about the mechanics and effects of the bonding and transformation.”
“Why not you?”
“Me?” Surprised Roth would suggest it, she blinked up at him. “But I’d have to come with you.”
“Where else would you be except at my side?”
Her jaw dropped in surprise. “I assumed— You never said…”
“Maggie, we are fated mates, that you would come with me wasn’t in question.”
“It wasn’t?” He had mentioned something about leaving a mate at home, she was sure of it.
“Not after I saw your marking.” He shot Kerr a beleaguered look and shook his head. “She doesn’t seem to grasp this one concept.”
“I became deathly ill when separated from Eva,” the Princep explained.
“I get that, but…”
“You and Roth are fated mates.”
“Yes, I have his marking.” Suddenly it all clicked, and she tilted her face up to her mate, grinning broadly. “You can’t go flying around the galaxy and leave me at home.”
With his eyes aimed at the ceiling he sighed. “Finally, she gets it…”
She pushed at his heavily muscled shoulder. “I have had other worries on my mind. Besides, I’m a military leader like you, not one of the scientists.” She frowned suddenly. “Does that mean you stick to me like glue for all eternity? I mean, you’re growing on me, but sheesh, how about a little private time?”
“That will not be necessary, mate, nor allowed,” Roth grumbled, his eyes darkening at the direction the conversation had taken.
“It isn’t quite that extreme,” Kerr explained, casting a sympathetic glance his friend’s way. “Eva and I have figured out we can go about our day without a problem, although we both get jumpy come evening, after about 8-10 time-cycles of separation. By the next morning, if not reunited, irritability sets in profound anxiety, and a rapid heart rate. Beyond that, we haven’t wanted to put it to the test.”
“That’s understandable. It’s also an amazing symbiosis, like a host and a parasite.” She shot a pointed look Roth’s way. “I’m not saying who is who, however. That might get me in trouble.” She smiled sweetly at Kerr. “I’ll leave that up to you to decide, sir.”
Kerr laughed, genuinely amused. “I’m glad to see I am not the only one to have been blessed with a mate with sass.” He stood and pushed in his chair. “Talk to your people, Maggie. I’m anxious to hear the numbers.”
He bent low before he left and murmured something in Roth’s ear that she couldn’t make out. Her mate chuckled, his lavender eyes twinkling as he aimed them her way.
“What did he say?” she demanded to know.
“Oh, nothing much. Except to warn me that sass and defiance go hand in hand. He told me I’d be wise to lay in a big supply of our very special lotion.”
Her face heated to boiling; that Kerr knew, meant Eva had received the same. “This world and its males are spanking-obsessed. I cannot believe this is my fate.”
“Will you be so unhappy with me, Maggie?”
All humor had left his face, and the wind went out of her snit, that wasn’t, not really. It was banter; they’d done it since they’d met. Now she felt bad that he thought…
She reached for his hand. “Commander,” she said, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. “Ever since I was a girl, I wanted to travel the universe and explore the stars. My life may have been upended when I met you, but this means I still get to follow that dream, doing what I love, and doing it with the man I love by my side. You’re the extra-special bonus I never imagined in all the years I dreamed my dream.”
He brought their joined hands to his lips, kissing the backs of her fingers. “You love me, little captain?”
Startled, she replayed her words. Sure enough, she’d let it slip out, and much too soon.
“Maggie, beginning as a boy, and later as I trained in the military, I recognized a strong instinct to lead and defend, all warriors do. I was different than most in that I chose to do so not with my feet planted firmly on the ground, but while flying through the heavens at incredible speeds, facing unknown challenges, and discovering new worlds and people. I believe I was born to do exactly that, except to succeed, I would need to make sacrifices. One of which was giving up a chance for a life mate. You have changed that, and I am grateful the Maker found me so worthy he brought you into my life, to lead, defend, protect, and yes, to love. Even if you feel it is too soon for that, don’t. We wouldn’t have been brought together if love wasn’t part of our fate.”
“Roth…” she breathed, overwhelmed with emotion.
He compounded it when his hand tipped up her face, and his lips descended for a heated kiss. It wasn’t until long moments later when they came up for air, and her thoughts became lucid once more, that she tilted her head slightly and asked, “One question, though, is ‘lead’ up for negotiation?”
Pushing his chair out, he tugged her into his lap, his hand sliding over her hip and curling around one cheek. “No. You will follow my lead, mate, like it or not, although most often, I’ll ensure that you like it.”
And right there in the meeting room, as he overwhelmed her with kisses, caresses, and stirred the hunger within her, she had to admit, if only to herself, she did indeed like it.