9781618852014TheSpaceCougarsCadetPierce (6 page)

“My
parents will be arriving soon to attend the ceremony,” he said as he dressed.
Layla
 
watched him
from the bed. “I am quite certain they would enjoy meeting you.”

“I’d
be delighted to meet them,” she told him. “I mean that. I want to thank them
personally for bringing a fine man like you into the universe. You’ve changed
my life, perhaps even more than I’ve changed yours. Remember that when you’re
drifting far away on the Trailblazer, will you? I won’t ask anything else of
you.”

“As
if I could forget.” His dark silver eyes glistened. Then he was gone.

Chapter Five

Despite
the threat hanging over the proceedings like a
noctilucent
cloud, graduation day rolled out with great fanfare and ceremony.
Layla
took her place among her colleagues, all of them
smartly attired and a bit uncomfortable in their crisp dress uniforms. From her
middle-row seat, she alternated between watching the procession of cadets being
transformed into
Starforce
officers and scanning the
crowd of spectators.

It
didn’t take much effort to spot
Jaret’s
parents. The
emperor, a tall and imposing man with an elaborate headdress and a flowing gold
robe, had claimed a seat in one of the boxes reserved for visiting dignitaries
and was surrounded by an entire retinue of bodyguards and advisors. On one side
of him sat a young man who was clearly one of
Jaret’s
brothers, and on the other, she saw a strikingly beautiful woman
Layla
assumed was
Jaret’s
mother.
 
Every so often, she would rest
her hand on the emperor’s arm and lean over to say something, her lips touching
his ear as she spoke into it. As
Layla
watched the
obvious devotion between the parents, she couldn’t help but long for such
closeness in her own life. She had a good idea whose arm she would like to lean
on as well.

Before
she was emotionally prepared,
Jaret’s
turn came to
accept his new status. Her heart squeezed as she watched him shake the
Chancellor’s hand and receive the ceremonial officer’s sash to drape over his
shoulder. When she looked over at his parents and saw their hands touch
briefly, but with great meaning, her eyes burned with unshed tears. Later, at
the lavish reception in the courtyard,
Xath
sought
her out and led her to a private spot under an
agwu
tree.

“Now
that the ceremony is over, I have something I must tell you,” he said. Once
again,
Layla
braced herself for a report of the
scandal her behavior had caused. Yet
Xath’s
words
left her even more astounded. “I am leaving the Institute,” he told her without
a trace of sadness in his voice. “Word travels quickly around here and though I
have weathered many changes in my long and occasionally illustrious career, I
have no desire to drift with our esteemed leader’s proposed new direction.”

“But
what will you do?”
Layla
asked in shock.

“Nothing,
my dear—that is the point. Retirement beckons. Though I do have memoirs to
write, and perhaps I’ll even find a relationship. Your own endearing impudence
has inspired me. In fact, I have a date tonight.”

He
nodded toward a tall, blue-skinned man wandering between the rows of
refreshment tables. As if sensing that he was being watched, the man looked up
at
Xath
and smiled.

“He’s
the guest of one of our graduates,”
Xath
explained,
turning back to
Layla
. “I forget which one. Still,
he’s an excellent conversationalist, owns his own spacecraft, and is
unattached. What more could an old dilettante like me ask for?”

Layla
couldn’t help but smile too, genuinely happy for her
friend. “Have fun,” she told him as he winked at the blue-skinned man.

“I
certainly plan to. And may I suggest the same to you?”

Her
expression darkened. “I’m afraid it’s a bit too late for me.”

“Nonsense.
Remember what I said about grasping air—of the synthetic sort or otherwise.”
Lifting one hand,
Xath
made a clutching motion and
pulled his fist back against his chest. “There’s something in here,” he said,
wriggling his fingers. “I believe that.”

“Perhaps
you’re right,” she said, neither looking nor sounding convinced.

“You’ll
never know unless you reach out, too.”
Xath
spread
his fingers as if to let something fly away. “The choice is yours, my dear.”

She
watched, smiling in spite of herself as
Xath
headed
toward the buffet table, joined arms with his new friend, and walked off into
the crowd with him.

While
she stared after them, a man in a shimmering green robe approached her and
bowed. “Professor
Kosajh
? Forgive my intrusion. I
would like to present you to the Emperor
Zoeg
.”

So
Jaret
had remembered her promise to meet them.
 
The timing of the request, following upon
Xath’s
admonishment, struck her as either a bizarre
coincidence.
 
Or perhaps it was an
indication that Fate was finally taking an interest in her future.
 

“I
would be honored,” she said. The man bowed again and gestured for her to
follow. During her years at the Institute,
Layla
had
met many famous people and powerful dignitaries, but never before had she felt
so nervous. By the time she stepped into the
Zaraxians
’
private box, her palms were cold and damp. Her escort motioned her to step in
front of the emperor and his wife, whose hand still rested atop his.
Layla
found herself touched by their obvious closeness all
over again.
Jaret’s
brother, who had occupied the
third seat of honor, had apparently left to partake in the public festivities.

“Professor
Kosajh
, Excellence,” the aide said.

The
emperor surveyed her with a piercing, but not unfriendly, gaze.
Jaret
had inherited his father’s dark silver eyes, she
thought, not to mention a trace of his supercilious manner.

“My
son has mentioned you many times,” the emperor said after looking her over. “He
claims to have found your method of instruction most satisfying. I must
confess, his understanding of the complexities of interspecies diplomacy
surprised me. I must also attribute that to your proficiency.”

“I’m
glad, Excellence.” She found herself blushing the way she used to as a naïve
young student. “However, I cannot take full credit. Your son is a gifted
scholar with a quick mind.”

“True
enough. Even when he was a child, my wife and I often lamented his ingenuity,
which made disciplining him a challenge.” The emperor paused to flash a loving
smile at his wife, who inclined her head in agreement.

“I
assume you have been apprised of the current crisis facing my world and the
others around it,”
Zoeg
went on, redirecting his
attention to
Layla
.

“If
you mean the brigands, yes, Excellence. I am aware of the situation, though I
cannot claim expertise just yet.”

His
expression darkened. Again he glanced at his wife, who nodded encouragement.
“This show of force Earth’s Central Command is proposing… some factions, I
understand, are not in favor. Are you?”

Layla
paused, realizing how much might depend on her
response. A careless answer—or the wrong one, in the emperor’s view—would not
be easily forgotten or quickly overcome. Once before, she had allowed the
Chancellor to intimidate her into going against her personal beliefs, as well
as her better judgment. Whatever consequences awaited her this time, she would
not allow that to happen again.

“As
a matter of fact, I am not in favor,” she stated. “I find the entire proposal
misguided and possibly dangerous. Your son will be at risk, but so will many
other lives, not to mention the very principles the Institute was founded on. I
must do what Central Command orders me to, but in no way do I support their actions
in this case.”

She
fell silent, as did the group standing around her. The emperor’s aides glanced
at one another, eyebrows lifted in silent inquiry. The emperor himself stared
at
Layla
for a long, tense moment, turned briefly to
his wife, and then back again.

“You
have spoken wisely,” he said. “As it happens, the Empress and I agree with you.
In fact, we favor a program involving intense political outreach to many
quadrants. That brings me to a somewhat delicate matter. Our people are not, on
the whole, skilled in diplomatic methods. We will require some assistance in
these matters. Given your obvious skill in the classroom, we hesitate to
approach you, but we would be grateful if you would at least consider joining
us in our quest to restore peace through nonviolent methods. It has always been
the way of our people…and our son informs us you are one of us in spirit.”

It
took a few moments for the full significance of his words to register. Though
she feared his Excellence would find it rude, she couldn’t stop her jaw from
dropping.

“You’re
asking me to leave the Institute?” she asked in astonishment, still not
convinced she’d heard correctly. “To join you on your home planet?”

“Please
think it over. The Empress and I ask no more than that. For now, though, we
must take our leave. We hope to speak with our son before the festivities
conclude.”

“Of
course,”
Layla
said. The aides around her bowed, so
she did the same.

Zoeg
rose, and his wife followed him to his feet. They were
both tall and slim, she noticed, much like
Jaret
.
Their movements were as fluid and graceful as his were. No doubt the
Zaraxians
as a whole were beautiful, as well as highly
intellectual, people.
Layla
thought she could live
among them quite comfortably…because she had no doubt that she would accept the
Emperor’s offer.

How
ironic that she would be on
Jaret’s
world while he
was in the middle of space on the Trailblazer. Surely he would come home for
leave now and again. She would simply have to wait…and trust what she held in
her hands and her heart.

* * * *

Back
in her office, she surveyed her collections of
databooks
,
exotic art, and various gifts from students and their families over the years.
Packing it up would be no easy task, but suddenly she felt ready for the
challenge. Leaving felt right.

It
felt like Fate.

The
buzzing at her door didn’t surprise her. She had been certain he would come,
though she wasn’t quite sure what he would say to her. He wasn’t wearing his
officer’s sash, she noticed as she flipped open her door and motioned him
inside. She found that curious, though she couldn’t tell exactly what its
absence meant.

“Did
you enjoy the ceremony?” she asked him.

“Yes,”
Jaret
said, locking his hands behind his back. “My
parents did, too. They enjoyed meeting you.”

“I
liked them very much. They’re both charming and obviously in love. I admit that
surprised me, given what you told me about
Zaraxian
marriages.”

He
nodded. “Their arranged marriage blossomed into great love. It happens
sometimes, though not always. They are fortunate to have found each other, as I
am fortunate to have them as my parents.”

“I’m
glad for them...though I admit I was a bit taken aback at your mother’s
subservience.”

He
looked astonished. “Subservience?”

“Well,
yes. She merely looks at your father while he speaks for both of them. I’m not
passing judgment, of course, but I never got the impression that your culture
was so…
er
, male-dominated. You don’t seem to think
that way at all.”

His
eyes widened as she spoke. “Indeed I do not. In fact, Professor, your
impression is quite mistaken. Our world is not male-dominated in the least, but
is in fact a matriarchy. My father speaks for my mother, true, but only because
she is the Empress and gives him dispensation to do so. He rules on her behalf,
and only with her permission.”

“Oh—oh,
I see.”
Layla
felt her face turn red. She had
completely misinterpreted who was giving whom permission for what. Her
assumptions, based on her own raw emotions, had led her astray. “Please forgive
me. What an embarrassing mistake.”

He
shrugged, and she saw that he was biting back a smile. “Well, no matter. My
father was quite taken with you. He even suggested that if I were interested in
taking a mistress, I should ask you to be mine.”

“Mistress?”
Layla
gaped, but some secret part of her was
flattered, as well. “I suppose he meant that as a compliment?”

“Indeed
he did. I might add that on my world, unions between younger men and older
woman are both common and respected. However, I informed him that such an
arrangement was impossible.”

“Impossible…yes.”
His matter-of-fact answer disappointed her, but she refused to let it show. “It
is. Even if I do decide to leave the Institute and join your father’s—
er
, your mother’s—diplomatic corps, you’re going off on the
Trailblazer. You’ll be gone for years, perhaps.”

Jaret
paused, averting his gaze and chewing on his lower
lip for a moment. “Actually, that will not be the case. Though the Trailblazer
is no doubt a fine vessel, I am not inclined to accept. In fact, I have already
resigned my commission. Despite all predictions to the contrary, mine may be
the shortest
Starforce
career on record.”