Obsolete (Terran Times Second Wave Book 24) (7 page)

Voices stopped her outside the door of the corner office that now housed the com unit from the drop ship.

“Yes, Minister, I am aware that my mate is a Terran. How did you find out?” Brin sounded calmly amused.

“We tested her teacup from the ship. It showed that she was pure Terran. They are primitive beasts. They must be destroyed.” The woman’s voice was tense.

“You are labouring under a false assumption.”

“What is that?”

“That I give a rat’s ass, to quote my mate. The people of Admar were removed from their world because they attempted genocide on an innocent species that had the bad sense to be genetically compatible. The power that those children exhibited could have been a boon to the Admaryn, but they chose to try and expunge them.”

The minister made strangled noises. “That isn’t true!”

“It is. I have been in contact with Admar, and I spoke to the sleeper who is now wed to the owner of that world. He was exceptionally blunt about the situation. The Admaryn lost their world because they couldn’t stand the thought of a blended race, and then, the outcasts blended with the Lomit. What does that say about their integrity?”

“The Lomit were a worthy species.”

“The Terrans not only gained their Champions in record time, but they have been taken as Avatars across the sectors, are exhibiting several varieties of paranormal talents and have been instrumental in the Sector Guard program, not to mention the Citadel infrastructure. All they needed was a few more centuries and the Admaryn would have greeted them with open arms.”

The minister was silent. “How do you know all this?”

“It is in the Alliance public records. Send an information request. You might be surprised at what you find. As a growth species, they are very popular and very successful. There have been few species to rival them.” His voice grew tense. “Are we quite clear?”

The minister cleared her throat. “We may have an issue. There is an attack force heading for the extrapolation of your previous location. They are coming to capture your mate for trial.”

“Call them off.”

“I can’t. They are running silent. They have orders not to communicate until they are returning home.”

Brin cursed and Olena heard him get to his feet. “This is not over, but the communication is. I will call you when I have brought them down.”

“Please, don’t kill them.”

“I will try not to, but if they harm one hair on her head, I make no promises.”

Olena entered the room as he disconnected the call. “So, I have a price on my head.”

“They are idiots.”

She smiled. “You did research on Terrans?”

“It seemed a safe course of study considering that we are bound together.”

She walked up to him and beckoned him to bend down. She kissed him when he came in range. “Thank you for trying to defend my honour.”

“I intend to defend more than that. We are going topside. I need to see what is coming.” He looked hopeful. “If I drive them out, can I hope for further reward?”

Olena laughed. “We will see. Grab me one of their ships to rip apart and I will definitely consider the benefits of a reward.”

Relief lit his eyes, and he put his arm around her waist as they headed to the top of the library, overlooking the wide expanse of open sky. The nice thing about having a mountain range at your back was that very few things could sneak up on you.

“Can you feel them coming?” Brin kept his arm around her, but he was staring at the empty spot of sky between the gas giant and the twin suns.

Olena opened her mind and listened to everything around her. She could feel the solar warmth, the light breeze tinged with a touch of mist from a waterfall in the hills and the tang of metal came to her. “Bleah. I can taste them.”

“Them?”

“Two ships. One with a hint of copper in the alloy.” She looked up, and her senses told her where the ships were. “There.” She pointed.

“Senses manifest differently for all touched by the mind of a world. I can’t wait to discover what your talents will be.”

There was a certain amount of fascinated interest in his eyes. “Down, boy. I am sure that they won’t manifest at all.”

He chuckled. “Look down.”

To her shock, her feet were not on the ground; she was three feet above the roof of the library and hovering in midair.

After a few moments of trying to get down, she grabbed onto Brin and hauled herself back to the hard surface.

The ships were close. As they came in to land, they lost their cloaking and were completely exposed.

Brin elevated, and she went with him.

“Stay here. I will deal with this.” Brin tried to leave her behind.

She sighed and let herself drift toward the ships that were crushing a nice chunk of a meadow that had been so pretty in the sunlight.

Brin led the way, and she kept herself above the treeline. There was no sense in distracting Brin while he was defending her.

She could see the ships opening, and each disgorged a dozen of the new Lomit. They didn’t speak to Brin, but they tried to get past him. He wasn’t having any of that. His fists struck, and the men went flying.

Olena noted two making for the treeline, and she frowned, wishing for them to be halted. The wood answered her call and tangled around the men with thick vines and sharp thorns. She watched from the safety of seventy feet above the ground and kept any of the invaders from making any inroads into her territory.

It took Brin and hour to get it through their thick skulls that they were not gaining access to Olena. When she landed, she eyed both ships. “We are keeping this one. You can all pile in to the other one and take yourselves home.”

The commander of one of the ships suddenly looked nervous. “You are an Avatar?”

She grinned, “Nope, just your average talented Terran.”

“Madam, why do we need to take the single shuttle home?”

She grinned. “I am going to take the other one apart. Now shoo, before I test out how strong those thorns really are. I have been wondering if they will punch through metal.”

The men picked up their companions and loaded themselves into the shuttle. Brin was bristling with hostility and ready to attack.

Olena stood with him as the ship lifted off. If the guys had any plan to attack again, it was wrecked when Brin lifted both fists and the wind swept the small vessel up and out of their atmosphere.

With a chortle of glee, Olena headed for the small shuttle she had confiscated, and she ripped out the black box, the self-destruct and the com system. She wanted it to be as safe as she could make it.

“What is that?” Brin nodded to her hands.

“Oh, a com booster. We can get your signal out faster and farther with this. Do you mind if I install it?”

He seemed pleased and surprised. “Please. My technical skills are fairly basic.”

She stood and looked around. “How do I fly again?”

“Allow me.”

She clutched the components against her as he flew them back to the library. There was a lot of work to be done before more than their chambers were ready to occupy.

Olena yawned. “I think I will have to do the adjustments in the morning. I am a little sleepy.”

Brin looked at her in surprise. “It is the afternoon.”

“I know. I just might need a nap. Care to join me?”

“I am not tired.” He spoke carefully.

“Oh, good. I think we need to discuss our relationship, while naked, without using words.”

She hung on as his speed increased to the point where her hair was whipping around her face. Laughter bubbled up when he took them into the large chamber that she had prepped for full use. Her clothing came off at his touch, and he carefully set the components aside.

It was a detailed and in-depth discussion on their future, and they didn’t say anything.

Epilogue

Six years later, Brin had gained all of the updated files, and they were finally ready for business.

Olena directed the retraction of the masking satellites, and she stowed them carefully. Now that they were ready for visitors, Milot was ready to be seen.

Brin came up behind her as they waited for the first of the scholar shuttles to arrive. He placed his hands on her belly. “Are you ready for the visitors?”

“Yes. Our alone time was fun, but we will soon be three, so it was ending anyway. Are you ready, Librarian?”

“Of course, Librarian.”

She tapped his wrist. “I keep telling you. I am building maintenance. You can handle the archives; I will keep them clean and dry.”

The study building next to the library had been added in the last year, and it was ready for visitors of any species. Each apartment had environmental controls, and it was her pride and joy.

The first shuttle was due to land ten kilometres away within the hour. Skimmers had been cobbled together from a number of trespassing vehicles. The skimmers flew to the library and back to the landing area. No intervention necessary.

“Do you think Lomit is going to enjoy being a scholarly attraction?” She leaned up and kissed her mate.

“I think he will enjoy it. It was his idea, after all.”

She chuckled and stroked her belly as her child kicked. She really hoped that one of the scholars had some obstetric capabilities. If the baby was to be on scale with his father, this was not going to be a fun delivery, but as she thought about it, she acknowledged that she was probably going to do it again.

Pure-bred Lomit were a thing of the past, but half-breed Lomit would have grace, style and the ability to go anywhere in the universe by virtue of the Terran in the bloodline. It really was the best of both worlds, and all they had to do was find a third one to make it happen.

Author’s Note

I tried to write this one while attending the RAGT 2015 in Cincinnati. That didn’t happen, so after the conference, I locked myself in my room and tried to pull this out of my brain.

Only the readers will know if I was successful.

Thanks for reading,

Viola Grace

http://www.violagrace.com

About the Author

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.