Page 22 of Two Aliens Are Better Than One (Bodyguards in Space #1)
Chapter 21
Vaelu
M erax was an incredible planet, not at all like I’d imagined. Though it was a remote outpost inhabited only by about two thousand people, it wasn’t lacking for technology. Several of the founding citizens were scientists, and when the first people here had arrived the planet had been inhabited by dangerous artificial intelligence. Now, the AI’s drones roamed the planet and atmosphere, protecting the citizens and helping them. Many of the citizens seemed to have a friendly relationship with the quirky AI.
I walked behind Relzo as he talked to a big Tholkon in his forties about the work he’d been doing with organized crime, tuning most of it out, but he turned back to me and grinned, coaxing me to sit down on a bench and standing behind me, pulling me against him. “Sorry, baby. Didn’t mean to leave you out. One of the crime syndicates that I’d been working against with the IUC —. the Ducal — is a threat to Merax. This is Iahlo.”
Iahlo grinned. “The Ducal is run by my mother The Duke, a continual thorn in my side. Though she’s getting older, she’s still got eyes everywhere. I thought surely we’d have her dealt with by now.”
“I can relate to a mother being a thorn in your side,” I muttered, still embarrassed by the standoff in space.
Relzo wrapped his arms around my shoulders, massaging and calming me. “Something as big as the Ducal is tough to wrap up in a neat bow. Has she still been making attempts on the planet?”
“Nah. Once they came up against MADIA, the AI here, they backed off.”
I swallowed, staring around me at the neat little buildings and vast scenery beyond. “Is MADIA trustworthy? I read that the AI once destroyed the civilization on this planet.”
Iahlo shrugged. “She’s been reprogrammed. And our citizens have to be very cautious while they’re out in the world.”
“Lucky didn’t seem cautious,” I muttered.
“My mother doesn’t know Lucky, so the only thing she had to be cautious about was mentioning Merax in public or to an unknown person,” Iahlo explained. “My mother, and now the Kavax Syndicate, which is mostly Zangrel and Araced, would love to get their hands on this planet, and they have spies everywhere. I rarely travel because of it, and neither does my wife. We have our children to think of.”
“Could protection be provided?” I asked, curious. “To allow you to leave more often?”
“Perhaps,” Iahlo said, grinning. “But enough morbid stuff. Let’s show you guys around. Where’s Lucky? I haven’t seen that girl in ages. Always knew you two would eventually sort things out.” His eyes skimmed over the way Relzo was touching me, but he said nothing.
“She went to spend some time with her parents.” Relzo ducked his head, smiling a little, and I could feel his pride and slight embarrassment. “We decided not to intrude.”
“You’re not staying at their place, then?”
Relzo shrugged. He still had his hands wrapped casually around my shoulders, and I didn’t want him to stop touching me, anchoring me, as I dealt with the influx of new people into my mind.
“I was hoping to get my telepath here out to one of the more remote cabins for some downtime. Is anyone in the Honeymoon Cabin on the lake?”
Iahlo’s attention turned to me, his interest piqued, but not in the predatory way that happened with some new to my power. “Telepath? And you were living on a space station? That must be difficult,” he breathed. “Not to be able to get away from it.” I knew Tholkons had some level of telepathic or empathic ability, but I hadn’t expected it to resonate so strongly with him.
“It was, but it was my duty.” I realized as soon as the automatic response was out of my mouth how ridiculous it was. Why should my duty be to hurt myself for the benefit of others? I sighed and looked out over the pretty lake, leaning back into Relzo’s embrace. I felt comfortable speaking my mind for the first time in, well, basically forever. “Perhaps I can help people with my ability without it taking such a heavy toll on my own mind.”
“I’m sure you can,” Iahlo said just as Relzo reached for my hand and squeezed. “Come on, let’s go talk to Aidro about giving you guys the Honeymoon Cabin.”
I swallowed. “Giving it to us?”
“For as long as you need it. It’s just sitting there on the shore of the lake. People use it for vacations sometimes, but it needs a little work and it’s quite small. If you three can fix it up, you’re welcome to it.”
“Yeah,” Relzo said, grinning. “Thanks ‘lo. It means a lot to us. And we’ll sort out a way to contribute to the community.”
“There might be something to what Vaelu said about providing security to Meraxians who need to travel for work or personal reasons. You have the skills for it, Relzo. And perhaps there’s a way Vaelu could help, too, by monitoring people who need vetting while we’re off planet. If that wouldn’t be too hard.”
“Compared to what I was doing before, that would be a cakewalk,” I said emphatically. Relzo eyed me, and I could tell he was wondering how truthful I was being. But checking people’s surface level thoughts was so much less traumatizing than trying to dig into their problems.
“I suppose we’ll have to consider it.”
“You do that. If not, we have plenty of work around here. Farming or whatever,” he said, winking, just as Lucky walked over and gave him a big hug.
“Hey, Iahlo!” she said. “Good to see you.”
“You, too, Lucky Charm,” he said. “I’ll go talk to Aidro. Back in a few.” With a little salute Iahlo wandered off, whistling softly.
“They’re just giving us a house?” I asked. “And they’re not asking me to use my abilities. They’d accept me if I decided I wanted to run a plow out in the fields for the rest of my days?”
“Of course. They understand you’re recovering. Everyone here is expected to do their share, but there’s no shortage of land and no shortage of work, so giving us a place to stay for some labor isn’t a big deal to them,” Lucky said. “Where’s the house?”
“Honeymoon Cabin.”
“Oh! You’ll love it there,” Lucky said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss my lips, right in front of everyone who was milling around the small town by the lake. This was new, and I liked it. Around me, people’s minds were calmer than on the space station, showing only mild interest at the touch. And I already felt so much better.