Page 19 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)

KAIREN

I watch my intelligence officer as he exaggeratedly smacks his lips after tasting the human’s water.

“Is something not to your liking?” Elmsleigh asks, as I’m sure he intended. He’s a master of eliciting the reactions he wants, positioning people and their decisions just so, until they all inevitably end up in his trap.

“Don’t worry about it, Maggie,” Orien responds with a wide grin. “I’m just not used to tasting the pollution quite this much.”

I look away and roll my eyes. That’s a lie: we spent entire moonfalls on Tyren cut off from our supplies, drinking rainwater, foraging, and hunting whatever animal life the Gorvek left behind in their path of destruction.

Avaren prefer not to kill or destroy for our nourishment, having the means to create it out of the molecules available all around us, but that does not mean we’re not prepared to fight for our survival.

My match’s eyes are wide as she observes Margaret’s reaction: a slight twitch of her left eyelid, muscles shifting as her jaw clenches. Orien, on the other hand, hides his smirk behind a fake cough .

“Bet you the last edible jar of peanut butter on the planet that Maggie’s about to enter her napalm era,” Tara whispers to me.

I frown at her and wonder about the unknown words. Peanut butter sounds self-explanatory, but…

NAPALM: GELATINIZED HYDROCARBON-BASED INCENDIARY COMPOUND DEVELOPED BY HUMANS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES.

Is she insinuating that Margaret is about to set fire to Orien?

“I’m certain that I didn’t ask what you are and aren’t used to tasting,” Elmsleigh volleys at my officer through gritted teeth.

“Man, serious popcorn cravings right now,” my match whispers next.

POPCORN: HEAT-EXPANDED SEED OF A SPECIFIC CULTIVATED EARTH CROP.

I scratch my head. They only heat-expand one type of seed? What does it have to do with what’s happening between Orien and Elmsleigh? And do humans use napalm to prepare it?

“I’m certain you can help change my mind,” Orien singsongs at Maggie, twirling the many-pronged eating utensil he’s not using to eat.

Margaret gives me a deadpan look. “Call someone else.”

“Orien will be more courteous,” I command with a sidelong glance in his direction.

“I am being nothing if not courteous,” he huffs.

“Be less of your brand of courteous, then,” I retort, signaling the end of the topic. I turn back to the human leader in this area. “Maggie, please tell us what you know about the Ghorvek activities here, so that we may coordinate more efficiently.”

“Aw,” Tara complains softly, and I have to fight my lips from curling. Little troublemaker.

After firstlight, I observe Tara hugging Kiko as soon as we board the Talon. I should get her a pet that’s more comfortable to embrace. Perhaps one of the fluffy cloud-like creatures from Atreon. Then again, she is an engineer and likely holds a fondness for mechanical parts.

After a drawn-out dinner, where we mulled over Ghorvek habits on the British Isles while Orien was surprisingly muted, Tara dropped into bed with her shoes still on, falling asleep instantly.

I took off her boots and watched her sleep for a few marks, thinking about what she might find out in the next few days as we search for her family.

The Ghorvek cause so many scars in their senseless conquest.

“So, Brussels next?” my match asks me from the floor, the AU still in her arms.

“I have a question,” I say instead of confirming. “The vegetables Margaret served at dinner – were they named after this human city, or was the human city named after them?”

Tara giggles, like I wanted her to, her brown eyes sparkling as the sun’s early rays reach inside through the panoramic front viewing pane.

“According to the nanites, the vegetables were named after the city since before the thirteenth century.” She tilts her head impishly. “Did you like them?”

I nod with mock seriousness. “They were surprisingly nutritious.”

Tara curls her upper lip. “You weirdo.”

Glad I chased some of the shadows from her earlier expression, I extend my hand to help her up, and smile when Kiko uses it to go from her lap and onto my shoulders.

I feel like he’s developing a personality influenced by my princess.

Or perhaps I just never paid enough attention to mechs, and Tara is now opening my eyes.

I tug her up and guide her to the pilot’s seat. “Come here.”

She gingerly sits down, her expression wary. “You expect me to fly us?”

Kiko balances himself on my shoulder as I take a seat next to her.

“Don’t worry. The Talon will do most of the work with the automatic settings.

” I wink at her. “All you have to do is press some buttons.” When her lips purse, I give her an encouraging smile.

“Didn’t you want to learn about Avaren technology? What better way than to use it.”

“I’m more of a ‘taking things apart and then running tests to see how it works’ kind of girl,” she says sheepishly.

I huff. “Well, we’re not going to do that now, but maybe in the future.”

She grins widely before facing the consoles. “Teach me your ways, then.”

The things I want to teach her are numerous, and flying a fighter ship is near the end of that list. Still, I show her how to take off, set a course, and which readings to keep an eye on to ensure the Ghorvek are not observing our movements.

When we land in the human city of Brussels, not long after takeoff, Tara’s mood has soured again.

“So much devastation,” she murmurs, her eyes taking in the surroundings.

We landed in a large, open square, and buildings that used to be tall border it in each direction.

“You know, if we walk in that direction, there’s a famous statue of a boy peeing.

Don’t ask me why it’s an attraction. I wonder if it survived. ”

“You can show me every part of the planet once we’re done,” I say. “We’ll see everything that survived and help rebuild what didn’t.”

Her lips twist mischievously. “I haven’t been everywhere, you know.”

“Once we’re done, you won’t be able to say that anymore,” I vow.

She squeezes my leg, making Kiko chirp. “Come on, boys,” she commands, standing up with her back straight and shoulders back. “We have a ten-minute walk to the royal palace, where Maggie said the leaders are holed up.”

Our destination building is protected by turrets and ground-to-air missiles, and neither Elmsleigh nor Besson got a confirmed communication about our mission through to this part of the world. Consequently, Tara and I decided to land a distance away to avoid a stressful descent.

We exit the Talon and turn in the direction where intel suggests the leaders congregate.

“Has your world always been this divided?” I ask Tara after a few moments of vigilant silence.

She hums thoughtfully. “Pretty much. There were a few ancient civilizations that tried to conquer bigger areas under their command, but eventually, they all proved too large to govern and splintered.” She looks at the remains of a fountain and frowns.

“What about Avaris? Has it always been led by your family?”

Kiko flies up, and I help him settle on Tara’s shoulder before answering her. “Yes, the Veyrathi royals have led the Avaren for almost as long as any records exist. We had a few different names over the cycles, but the lineage is unbroken.”

Tara whistles quietly. “That’s impressive. I can’t imagine that being possible here on Earth.”

“Why do you think that is? Avaren is smaller than Earth… Perhaps we’ve always been more connected.”

“I’m sure that if we hadn’t argued about what color someone’s skin was or who they were or weren’t allowed to love, half of the problems would have disappeared.”

“Well, the latter has become an issue on Avaris since the Ghorvek appeared, simply because we’re under threat of extinction,” I admit. “Every time an Avaren partners outside of a genetic match, our chances of survival drop.”

Her eyebrows lift at that. “Don’t you perform artificial insemination?” she asks with a flush to her cheeks.

I’m embarrassed, too, when I answer, “It seems to be less effective than… natural copulation among matches.”

She whirls around, forcing me to stop walking. “With all your advanced technology, you haven’t figured out why that is?”

I begin shaking my head before she’s even done talking. “I guess some things are only known to the creators. ”

Before she can comment, several humans file out of nearby buildings, pointing their guns at us. I’m relieved to see Tara’s exoskeleton appear immediately, even as her hands come up nonconfrontationally.

“Stop there!” the closest human male commands in a language my nanites determine to be Dutch.

“Whoa, take it easy,” my princess replies in English. “We’re here to help.”

“What is that?” a female asks, pointing at me with her chin. Charming.

“This is Kairen,” Tara introduces me. “And that’s Kiko. They’re from the planet Avaris, and they’re here to help with the Ghorvek. That’s the nasty big guys,” she adds when she gets blank stares.

“We’re heading to the royal palace,” Kiko adds enthusiastically, making a younger female squeak in surprise.

“Good luck with that,” the male who spoke first snorts. “Don’t you know it was taken out by the alien scum last month?”

My match and I exchange concerned looks. “No,” Tara admits. “We avoided flying over it because we were told there’s an aggressive defense system. Guess it didn’t help?” she jokes in a thin voice.

“How does this thing speak English?” the older female asks with a thick accent. I purse my lips.

“Both Kairen and Kiko understand… Well, I guess most human languages,” Tara explains. “The Avaren have nano robots that can do all manner of cool things. Like, I can understand them, too. And this armor.” She points at herself, and the humans’ eyes widen.

“Why should we trust you?” the male asks suspiciously.

“Why shouldn’t you trust us, is the correct question,” I say, though I know they don’t understand. “We could obliterate you in an instant and haven’t yet.”

“What is he saying?” another male demands.

“Oh. Ah. That they’re willing to share supplies and resources to help us defeat our common enemy,” Tara translates.

“Yes. That,” I confirm for her ears only.

After sharing a long look, the humans slowly lower their weapons. Tara’s hands go down with them, and I relax marginally. I’m still ready to turn them into vapor if they prove to be a threat to her, however.

“My name is Walter,” the male who seems to be in charge says.

“My sister, Christine,” he says with a head tilt toward the older female.

“My brothers, Harold and Ruben.” He indicates two other males who, I can tell now, look alike.

“And a few other soldiers in the resistance.” With the last sentence, he sweeps his hand to encompass the other males and females.

“The resistance?” Tara asks, taking in the group.

Walter shrugs. “Just ordinary people who didn’t agree with the decisions the politicians have been making since the invasion,” he explains.

“I see. We have similar factions in the States. Well, I’m Tara,” my princess says with determination befitting a royal. “I guess we should go somewhere safe and talk about how to get rid of those big alien bastards.”