Page 40 of Champion (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #6)
Charick and I lingered in bed all afternoon until a different, higher-pitched tone from the same siren that drew Adtovar away summoned us.
After dressing quickly, Charick led me to what was basically a conference room, holding a long oval table, screens on every wall, and a console at the far end set with a pitcher of water and other refreshments.
It took a few minutes, but soon, the room filled with those considered the inner council.
Khaion, the Chieftain, sat at the head of the table, with Charick taking a seat to his right.
Daicon, the War Chief, sat on his left, and beside him sat Tarook, the Weapons Master.
Hakkar, the Healer, sat to the left of Charick, and at the other end of the table sat Jutuk, the Wayfinder… or navigator as I learned that meant.
That left us girls standing around rather awkwardly until Khaion pulled Emmy to sit in his lap, an action every male emulated.
I squirmed, trying to find a spot on Charick's lap that would keep his growing erection from distracting me. Meeting Emmy's gaze, I suspected this was a shared dilemma and bit my tongue painfully to keep from giggling.
"We have received our first assignment from the Alliance," Khaion announced, all business despite Emmy perched on his thighs. "Planet Westarzo."
Jutuk's low moan reverberated around the room. Pearl turned in his lap, sliding her arm around his shoulders. "What's the matter?"
The Wayfinder positively beamed at his mate's attention and allowed himself to kiss the tip of her nose before addressing his obvious reluctance. "Westarzo is a privately owned planet on the edge of the Durveshi system." He sighed, eyes darkening. "Its owner is known for being… eccentric."
"What do you mean?" Hakkar asked, leaning forward enough to jostle Agnes. She giggled… a sound I hadn't heard from her in a long time.
Emmy chuckled, then cleared her throat, adopting a serious pose. "From what we understand, the owner, a merchant named Kayzon, got his hands on some broadcasts of old Earth movies and was particularly fascinated by westerns."
"Seriously?" Clara asked on the heels of the amused snort.
"Seriously," Emmy chimed, with a faint roll of her eyes.
"Kayzon is very wealthy," Khaion added. "He's known to be quite a collector."
I vaguely recalled hearing about a theft of Western antiques and collectibles a few years back that had never been recovered.
"He's styled the main settlement on the planet to resemble a western town, complete with saloon and whorehouse," Emmy continued with distaste at what she relayed scrunching her nose.
"So, he's kidnapped human females for sex slaves," Clara grumbled. I heard she’d suffered the same fate. Of course, it had all worked out well in the end… her mate Tarook being her only client.
"We have a report of only one human female at the settlement. A chanteuse." Khaion shifted Emmy to his opposite thigh in order to hit the control panel embedded in the table.
The screens around us erupted with footage of both the planet and the settlement. It looked like the typical set of a Western movie, except the sand was a faint mauve color, and the sky was a lovely shade of lavender.
"John Wayne goes to Mars," Pearl mumbled, sending a fissure of something that might have been excitement over my spine.
Television and radio waves had been emanating from Earth for decades.
Some aliens found themselves smitten with the images and sounds and sought to obtain the source.
Collectors, they were called. Beings that didn't want to exploit humans as slaves, but simply wanted to own what they considered great talent or beauty.
It's how Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Pressley found themselves in space, their absence covered by the government to look like untimely deaths.
While it pissed me off to no end to think my own government and the military I'd served might have a hand in covering up alien abduction, I had to admit, the idea of finding John Wayne on an alien planet was rather exhilarating.
A chanteuse though? I wracked my brain for missing country and Western singers and came up empty.
We spent the next hour reviewing the images, learning the layout of the settlement, and reviewing intel on its owner. While I found all the strategizing fascinating and reminiscent of my naval intelligence days, when Pearl announced it was time for dinner, my stomach gave a rumble of gratitude.
I don't know what I expected, but the dining hall was so reminiscent of those on Earth’s military bases that I nearly laughed out loud.
The space was huge, with enough tables to seat at least a thousand comfortably, although it was only half full.
I guess, like any good military operation, not all the crew of the Bardaga could be off duty at once.
The twelve of us took over a long table near the starboard windows.
We girls settled at one end while the guys spread their star charts and maps at the other.
Charick suggested that with my military background, I be included in planning the infiltration of the settlement.
I was so going to reward him for that later.
But the issue in question was how best to approach Westarzo so as not to raise the alarm by our mere presence in orbit, and I knew squat about space travel.
Although I did suggest that stealth when rescuing kidnapped humans might prove best…
especially on a planet where everyone wore sidearms and held gunfights in the street.
Pearl disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, returning with a tray of glasses filled to the brim with the sweet-tasting valat.
"Dinner should be ready in a few minutes." She grinned broadly, settling into her seat. "I taught Orzon a new recipe."
I might have been imagining it, but no one but Pearl seemed too impressed with the announcement.
Emmy instead turned her attention to Daisy, affixing her with a gimlet eye and a pout. "I can't believe you guys are leaving us in a couple of days. I bet Daicon would love a planet modeled after the old West."
"Oh, he would," Daisy said on the heels of a giggle-snort.
"You're leaving?" Clara piped up, leaning forward to get as much in Daisy's face as she could from across the table. "Why?"
"Now that the Alliance has ousted Ambassador Yaard and his cronies from power, we need to get Ewok and Vienda recognized as the true heirs," Daisy explained.
Thanks to Charick's mother, I knew this.
When Daisy and Daicon rescued a group of child slaves from the Gilese mining moon, they had no idea one of the brood was a prince, heir to the throne of the Kerzak.
Ambassador Yaard slaughtered the king and queen and sent the young prince and his sister into banishment, something everyone learned when Agnes and Hakkar rescued Princess Vienda and her family from the planet Arstan.
"Are you sure it's safe for you to be traveling to a planet full of Kerzak?" Clara pressed, her eyes darting to Daisy's rounded stomach. Clara had a reason for concern, from what I understood. A group of Kerzak nearly killed her.
Daisy laughed, her hand rubbing over her stomach. "The Alliance is giving us a full military brigade as escort. And you know how protective Daicon is. Plus, we won't be gone long, just long enough to install Ewok as the rightful ruler."
"Isn't Ewok too young to rule?" Anges frowned. "I remember all the horseshit about females not being able to rule, but I thought there was something about Ewok—make that Prince Alokar—being too young."
"He is," Daisy agreed with a slow nod. "But once he's recognized as heir, Vienda will be installed as regent until he comes of age. Ewok doesn't even have to remain on the planet."
As if directed by some cosmic conductor, our eyes turned toward the end of the table where Daicon looked over the spread of star maps, a fuzzy little darling perched on his knee. Daisy had given the young Kerzak the perfect nickname.
Daisy gave a soft chuckle, her eyes misting as she gazed at her mate and adopted son. "Of course, Ewok says the first thing he's going to do when he's old enough to be king is change the law so his sister can rule. He wants to be a warrior, like his dad."
I blinked back tears of my own. Daisy had always wanted to be a mother. Something out of her reach back on Earth, but here in the vastness of space, she'd been abundantly blessed.
As if sensing my thoughts, Daisy's hand smoothed over her stomach again. "We should be back to the Bardaga in a couple of months. In plenty of time for Agnes to deliver the baby."
"We're leaving too," Clara announced, looking sheepish and avoiding Emmy's attempt to flick her ear.
"What the hell?" Emmy grumbled. "What's the point of being the Chieftain's mate if he never tells me anything." She cast an irate gaze down the table, but I noticed it soften as her eyes landed on her mate.
"We won't be gone long either," Clara laughed, draping an arm over Emmy's shoulders. "We're taking the women we found on Ajaxiun to Tau Ceti and staying just long enough to get them settled and see some friends."
The women.
We grew quiet for a moment. Each of us recalling the seven dirty, scared human women found in the caverns below the citadel.
Nansar had intended them as bribes to make his ascension to his father's throne go more smoothly.
Thankfully, the turd grew a conscience as they were carting him off to prison and informed the Alliance of their captivity.
"Besides," Clara grinned, bringing us back to the present. "I'm going to have need of Agnes' medical expertise myself in the next few months." She gave her still-flat stomach a gentle pat.
"Oh my God, are you…." Daisy gasped.
Clara glanced at Agnes and winked. "Agnes and Hakkar confirmed it just his morning."
The end of our table devolved into a mass of squeals, giggles, and hugs. At the other end, I heard distinctive congratulations as Tarook shared the news.