Chapter Two
Stanik smiled from his desk outside Veera’s office. “They are in there.”
She nodded and headed through the doors. The squeaking coming from the basket on the desk let her know that Stanik was babysitting some of Fixit’s relatives.
The soft smile was on her lips when she entered Veera’s office, and it faded when she saw the man sitting across from the administrator.
“You.”
He got to his feet until he was face to face with her, and then, he kept rising. She was staring at the small sigil over his left pec when she grunted. “To what do I owe this singular experience?”
Veera cleared her throat. “Guardsman Ahlgos has requested your assistance on a mission.”
Yna stubbornly stared at the reinforced chest in front of her. “I decline.”
“It is a personal matter. I will ask her myself if you will give us the room for a few minutes.”
Veera and Fixit couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Ahlgos remained close, but he started speaking. “Specialist Yna, I have a favour to ask of you.”
“What is it, Guardsman?”
He paused and seconds ticked between them.
“I need a date for my brother’s wedding, and I would like that date to be you.”
She was shocked into staring up at him, his deep green skin a darker shade than normal, but the silver rank markings were clearly etched in his cheeks. “What?”
“Your hair is a shade common to my people, and you can pass for a half-blood. I would like you to come with me and help me get through the wedding.”
“Why me? There are other green-haired women.”
“Are you really going to make me say it? You didn’t like it the first time.”
She scowled. “I was being sold in a public auction, and you bid on me!”
He grunted. “I was trying to get you free.”
Yna hissed. “You were in Peacekeeper uniform, and you let them send me to that bastard!”
He winced. “I put a tracker on his ship so that we could find you.”
She growled and turned to leave. He grabbed her arm.
“I can only say I am sorry so many times. What happened is a regret that I must live with.”
Yna tensed at the feel of his hand around her arm. It easily wrapped around her bicep. She wanted to lean into that touch, but her hurt was a formidable barrier.
She had met his dark green gaze while she was on the stand being sold. The compassion in his look as he bid on her had given her hope, and that was what hurt now. A black hole had grown where the hope had been.
“You didn’t answer my question. Why me?”
He closed his eyes and opened them slowly. “Because I have felt a connection to you since that first moment. The strictures of my assignment caused you pain, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are the one I think of when I close my eyes. When I got the order to go home for the wedding, there is no other woman that I wished to have at my side, facing my family.”
“Why?”
He rolled his eyes. “Because they are expecting me to announce my engagement at the ceremony, and I want a woman there who can pass for a fiancée.”
She jerked out of his grip. “You have to be insane.”
“No, it is the way my people do things. Once my brother is wed, I am next on the roster. The younger siblings cannot get married until the older ones are.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I just need you to pretend to like me until we leave. I can announce that we are going to wed on your world and that aliens are not allowed. That is accepted, and then, my younger siblings can announce their engagements.”
“What is your damage? I don’t want to be near you.”
He nodded. “I understand, but there is something else at stake.”
“What?” She crossed her arms and glared at him.
“My sister’s life is being threatened, and if she can’t get married within the next four months, she will suffer and possibly be murdered.”
Yna froze. “Why don’t you do something?”
“I am doing the only thing that I can. I am faking my engagement so that she can get married before her pregnancy is discovered. It is all I can do.”
The helpless expression on his features showed genuine emotion.
“Why? What is wrong with a pregnancy?”
“Her chosen mate is in one of the high families. For a woman to lose control enough to let herself be alone with a male courting her is bad self-control. For her to be pregnant shows a lack of character.”
“What about him?”
“His family will find him a chaste female of good family. He will be forced to wait a decade to consummate his marriage.”
“Why is she punished and he isn’t?”
He drew in a shuddering breath. “Because my family is middle class and his isn’t. There is a higher burden of purity on the lower classes.”
“Oh, then why did she...”
“I was engaged. She objected to my leaving and broke off the arrangement. If things had proceeded on schedule, I would have been married by now, and she would not be in danger. I need you to help me keep her safe.”
She wanted to kick him in the groin. His sister’s safety was a tool to get her to agree, but it was effective. “Fine. When do we leave?”
He reached out to her but clenched his fists and put his arms at his sides. “We can leave as soon as we notify the administrator.”
Yna turned her head. “Veera, you can stop listening at the door. I am going.”
The chirp from the outer office was a guilty sound. Veera opened the door and handed Yna a data slip. “Here are your travel funds and the order for rank marks to be installed in medical before you leave. Thanks for doing this.”
Yna took the slip, waved it over her wrist and checked the display on her implanted unit. “That is a bit of cash.”
Veera shrugged. “This is hazard-duty pay. This isn’t going to be easy for you. There are fashion files in the Guardsman’s shuttle. You can configure something from there.”
“Right. So, I am going to miss the shower.”
Veera nodded. “I saw the gift, and I will bring it on your behalf.”
Ahlgos looked relieved. “If you would not mind, we can get the rank marks placed on your face, and then, we can be on our way. The sooner we arrive, the better chance Likiada has.”
“Right. Okay. So, medical. Let’s get going.” Yna left the office and headed for the lift. She didn’t care if Ahlgos was behind her; she was getting this over with.
Remuyan rank insignia were on the face. You could literally tell what family a person came from by looking them in the face. It did explain Ahlgos’s obsession with eye contact.
“Well, we have the rank authorization, and you are going to outrank the Guardsman over there, just in case you needed to know.” The medic smiled and lined the edge of her jaw up with the machine.
“I figured that out already. Is this going to show up on my skin?”
“Oh yeah. We are using silver pigments that are complimentary to your biology. Are you ready?”
She inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Ready. Go ahead.”
The numbing cream hit her skin, and she closed her eyes. The hum and vibration took over, and she remained quiet until the machine backed away.
The medic checked the work and nodded. “You look wonderful. It is truly striking.”
“Mirror please.”
She held the mirror, held her breath and lifted the reflective surface up so she could see it. Her breath came out on a blast. “Well, that isn’t as bad as it could have been. What are the chin markings for?”
Ahlgos came forward, “They mark your status as a teacher and your status as a ranking member of the Citadel. The marks on your forehead speak to your origin and power.”
The face in the mirror looked hostile and barbaric, but that could have been the reflexive scowl that she had when Ahlgos came into the reflection.
She got used to her image and then put the mirror away. “Okay. Good. Ready to go?”
He stared at her for a moment before he nodded. “The shuttle is waiting.”
She got to her feet and nodded. “Then let’s go.”
They walked out of medical with long strides, and it was only when they were in the shuttle and he was directing them away from the surface of Balen that he turned to her. “For this to work, you are going to have to pretend that you like me.”
Yna nodded. “When we are on our way down, I will be a devoted fiancée.”
“Thank you. I will brief you on my family while we travel.”
“Fine.” She watched the coordinates that he set into the nav computer and did a calculation. They were going to be flying for a day and a half. Wonderful.
They passed Station 13 and headed for the jump point. She ran a light finger over her new markings. The skin that wore the metallic implants was slick and felt slightly warmer than the rest of her face.
“The couple getting married are my brother Huknos and his fiancée Nialloa. She is a member of the royal family of Atathan, and their children will hold titles. They met when she was on vacation, and he was one of her hired guards.”
“That is sweet.”
He chuckled. “They have courted for four years. It has taken my brother this long to convince them to let her get married.”
“How will we explain our meeting and engagement?”
His skin darkened. “Ah. That. Huknos knows about you.”
“What? How?”
“He was on my Peacekeeper team when I was on assignment at the auction house.” Ahlgos twisted his lips. “He was with me when you were sent to the other bidder.”
“Ah. I didn’t know you were with anyone.”
“Yes, there was a team working to gain some of the other Resicorans from the house.”
That was news to her. “There were others?”
“Of course. Five others were sold before you were. You were the only one we missed.”
She nodded. “Right. Let’s put that aside until your sister is engaged.”
He sighed in relief. “Right. Well, he knows the situation, but for the others, we can simply have met after I became a Guardsman.”
“So, tell me about your sister. Likiada, right?”
“Correct.”
“What is she like? Why did she rush into intimacy?”
“Ah, that. I was engaged, so she was expecting an engagement of her own the moment that my contracts were signed. I didn’t sign, so her engagement was halted.”
“So, this situation is your fault. How much younger is she?”
“Two hours.”
“You are twins?”
“We have a younger brother. He was born the day after we were.”
“Wow. Triplets. Are multiple births common?”
He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. We were all given separate educations, so the relationship between siblings isn’t very apparent. We all go to different schools depending on our aptitudes.”
“So, you don’t know if others are part of multiple births?”
Ahlgos tapped his cheek. “The history of our family starts here. No one needs to ask.”
“You mean they mark children?”
“Of course. You are marked with a microdot of your family history then your schooling and each achievement after that.”
“What does my face say?”
“You were born to a good alien family and separated because of your talent. You rose beyond the separation and became a master of your talent and a teacher to others.”
“That is a definite summing up of a lifetime.”
“The embedded microdots would give someone with a scanner the details.”
“There are chips in my face?”
“Of course. No one could be expected to take your word for rank markings. The seals of the Citadel are in every bit of information in your skin.”
“Oh. That is interesting. I am guessing I should have read the file more closely.” She grimaced.
“I am apologizing once again. I tried every other option, but you were my last resort. They would not believe it if I brought in another Guardsman.”
“Right. No, it is fine. So, tell me about your upbringing. I feel this is something I should know about.”
He nodded and started to speak. It was time for him to part with personal information. He already knew most of hers.