Page 30 of Advance and Retreat (Dark Empire #6)
S ome time later, Toni woke and knew she was alone.
The stillness of her home told her Clan Imon had yet to return.
She checked the time and was surprised to see she’d slept only forty-five minutes.
She felt refreshed, as if she’d slept half the day.
She took it as a good sign the nap had been shorter than what her post-illness had prompted thus far. Full recovery was in sight.
She snuggled in her sofa nest, enjoying the scent of her lovers that remained. Rested and satisfied, she smiled to have such men determined to take care of her. After years of no hits and plenty of misses where romance was concerned, she’d finally lucked out.
Except they were leaving soon and not coming back.
The thought chased her contentment away. “So typical. I finally find what could be an amazing relationship, but it’s temporary,” she groused.
The abrupt sting of tears shocked her. Loss crashed against her, and a sob threatened to break free.
She swallowed it in a flash of temper. “Stupid illness is making me ridiculous.”
Toni flung blankets and pillows in every direction and sat up. She glanced around at her living room, which she’d nicely decorated to suit herself. Her gaze came to rest on the pitcher of water and glass Feru had left for her, and her heart lurched again.
She dragged her vision to the pictures on a hutch against the wall across the room. There were family photos of herself, Stacy, their mother Rosa, their late father Martin, and their brother Chris, who’d died as a toddler.
Stacy was here. Rosa was on Haven, but a few hours’ flight could put Toni on her doorstep.
Lovers were nice, but family was essential, she told herself. She had a new potential career to think about, something to finally fulfill her as education hadn’t. A never-ending jaunt to an unknown, no doubt danger-filled universe, shouldn’t be on her radar.
Nonetheless, she reached for her handheld, waiting next to the water pitcher.
“Just for shits and grins. It can’t hurt to see what they offer a would-be negotiator,” she murmured as she brought up the site for the Coydidak expedition.
Maybe she’d get lucky and discover they wouldn’t consider her a worthwhile candidate beyond her supposed ability to produce offspring.
“No way I’d go only because they want uteruses for the next generation of explorers,” she vowed.
To her surprise, she discovered the expedition was open to those who had no current experience as ambassadors.
Arbitrators were needed between the Coydidak, traditional Kalquorians, and humans chosen for the mission.
As long as she signed a contract to train and complete her studies while on board, she could apply.
The long-distance com system to be used to communicate between the expedition and the Kalquorian Empire would allow her to finish her classes even if they took the typical two years of coursework.
She’d also be mentored in person by someone already established as a negotiator.
As an added temptation, there was a hefty sign-up bonus so she could purchase not just necessities, but also some luxuries for the trip to serve her beyond when the ship left known space and its amenities.
Her heart thumped painfully as the application to join the expedition filled the holographic screen without her prompting it.
“Name?” a friendly voice asked as the appropriate blank lit up.
The Kalquorian Empire was pushing hard to get personnel on their endless journey to the unknown. Toni could understand why. Who in their right mind would leave behind everything they knew and everyone they loved on such a perilous undertaking?
For all her arguments against considering the opportunity, her lips twitched, as if they’d utter the response that would begin her application. She pressed them together and shot a look at the pictures of her mother and sister, the two women she couldn’t possibly abandon.
* * * *
K alquor
––––––––
N egal ushered his hover -powered sales bin into his quarters aboard the cargo carrier he’d called home for the past fourteen years.
The bin was far lighter than when he’d left.
He’d set up a small sales booth alongside several Coydidak artisans in a square in the underground marketplace.
He probably could have carried the bin rather than let it propel under his guiding hand, but the few remaining pieces of Signis’ sculptures were safer floating a few inches from the ground.
He beamed at the draped surroundings of his clan’s home and the man sitting on the richly upholstered lounger in the middle of the living space. “Where’s our Nobek, Rorix? He had a profitable day.”
“You mean the Coydidak had a profitable day. Which I’m glad to hear.”
The Coydidak culture relied on communal finances, which Negal was in charge of overseeing.
All members contributed as much as they could to the support of the people.
Each member kept ten percent of the credits they earned for personal use, so they’d all become experts at trading, selling, and hustling whatever their individual gifts pointed them toward.
Negal’s contributions came from marketing his Nobek’s talent for carving stone into objects of beauty.
He took ten percent of the sales he made on Signis’ behalf.
Adding Signis’ ten percent, they were able to treat themselves not opulently, but decently.
Negal was as savvy a negotiator as a promoter of his clanmate’s artwork, so the fine furnishings in their quarters came from a combination of their personal funds and the Imdiko’s talent to score a good deal on used pieces.
Rorix’s ability to refinish and repair enhanced their home and increased their funds when he had time to work on pieces Negal could also peddle.
The Dramok lifted his attention from his handheld to smile a welcome. “Signis went to find a fight ring to vent his frustrations.”
“Interviews didn’t go well?”
Rorix shrugged. “The applicants for the bridge positions were okay. One or two, more than okay. I hired the short-distance and onboard com officer on the spot. He’s a former spyship com officer named Veko.
A Nobek but pretty laid back for his breed.
” He hesitated and added, “He successfully worked with and trained an Earther female as com officer backup during his last assignment.”
“Sounds like you’re giving Matara Laughter Lorenz a real chance at the long-distance com job.” Negal grinned in delight at the idea of daily encountering the brainy beauty and her insanely gorgeous body.
Rorix’s warmth fled for a warning glare. “Your infatuation is no basis for hiring her for such an important position.”
Negal snorted and shoved the bin against the wall.
He tapped the controls, allowing it to settle on the plush wine-colored carpet he’d gotten at half price and installed for free.
“If it’s such an important position, then you have to bring her on.
I assume you spoke to no one who was even remotely close to possessing her qualifications. ”
“They can learn.”
“Rorix, she designed the system. You can’t refuse to hire her for the sole reason you and Signis don’t want an Earther on your bridge crew.”
His Dramok scowled, his gaze drifting to the three holographic documents hovering in a line above his handheld. No doubt they were the resumes of those who’d applied for the job.
Negal walked around the table between them, a gleaming Joshadan handmade piece restored by the clan leader. He sat next to him. “Signis knows she’s the only real choice too, which is why he’s looking for a fight. Rorix, he’ll get over it.”
“I’m not so sure. After those Earthers ambushed him on Dantovon—”
“Laughter Lorenz doesn’t strike me as the type to jump a Nobek twice her size. She isn’t homeless, starving, and desperate. If Signis were honest, he’d admit it was the reason those Earthers went after him. They wanted his stuff, not necessarily to do him serious harm.”
“It wasn’t the only time he’s encountered Earthers with bad intentions.”
“So he was insulted by those Earthtique types a few times. We’ve all been there.” Negal looked Rorix in the eye. “What our fellow Kalquorians did to him, to you, and to me was much worse. We haven’t sworn off our people because of it.”
“It’s different when it’s your own,” Rorix insisted.
“How?”
“I’m not a philosopher, damn it.” There was no heat in his tone, however. Merely an exasperated acceptance of the inevitable.
It was good enough for Negal. He wondered how he could attract the Lorenz woman for a night of fun once they took off on the expedition.
* * * *
“M atara Lorenz.”
The gruff voice issuing from Laughter’s com sped her heart. She sat on the lounger in the sitting area of her impersonal rented room and readied herself to shout at Rorix.
“Yes?” Her tone managed evenness. For now.
“Congratulations. You’ve been selected for the exploration mission as the Coydidak’s long-distance com officer. You’ll serve aboard the flagship of the convoy, EC-1122, as an officer of my bridge crew.”