Page 11 of Jorhee

“Do you know who he is?” Captain Hrthra asked him.

“Some jumped up bureaucrat from what I can see and hear.” Kyle’s jaw jutted out stubbornly.

“Dude, that’s Ambassador Helkhor,” Samuel hissed under his breath at him.

“What? So that’s why he looks familiar, and that’s also why he’s got such a big stick up his ass.” He turned to the ambassador. “You’re pissed that they sent you to escort the first lot of us, huh?”

“Not at all, though I find myself wishing we’d left you behind to come with the next batch,” Helkhor snapped.

“Ohh, burn,” Samuel said, looking entertained.

“I’ll see that these two get to their quarters while you settle Jesse Wilson." The captain gave me another one of those little bows before taking hold of Kyle’s arm firmly and leading them away.

“I just want to know why the favoritism!” Kyle shouted insistently.

“I sure hope his claim isn’t close to mine,” I commented.

“He’s going to one of the other colonies, so no worries about that,” Ambassador Helkhor replied. “Both he and Samuel are heading for Talkeir V, which has a ten year head start on New Haven."

“Oh, so their mates were already there, huh?”

“They were not matched,” came the answer, and my brow furrowed in confusion.

”Please come with us, and we’ll show you to your quarters.”

I followed along, but curiosity got the better of me. “I thought you said you started getting our stuff picked up and all as soon as you were notified of our matches, plural.”

“Yes, yours and Carl’s and Alex’s. It was simply convenient to include the other two as we would be taking you immediately.”

“But why me immediately specifically? Is it so I don’t miss a scheduled flight to New Haven?”

We stopped in front of a door. For some reason, it was flanked by two armed guards, who, upon seeing us, snapped to attention and gave a small bow before straightening.

This is definitely getting weird.

“Please place your hand on the panel here,” Rishka requested, gesturing. “That adds your bio signature to the door and will allow you not only access, but the ability to have the AI follow your commands, within reason. Her name is Glia, and like Xeranos, she is sentient. On Dragonii vessels and mainly Dragonii worlds, you will encounter her instead of Xeranos.Once at the colony, you will make use of the new iteration of Xeranos, Bob.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, turning to look at him, my hand still on the faceplate thingy, “But did you say Bob?”

“Indeed,” the ambassador replied. “He chose the name Bob, liking the symmetry of it.”

Yep, definitely weird.

“Now if you remove your hand and replace it, the door should open for you,” Rishka said.

I looked at the two guards. “And will I be locked inside there for the duration of the trip?”

“Absolutely not. They are here for your protection,” Helkhor replied, as if that should reassure me.

Which, of course, it didn’t.My mouth went dry.

“Am I in danger?”

“Not at this time, no.”

Again, not very reassuring. But Buster must have heard my voice as he began barking excitedly on the other side of the door, so I palmed the thingy again, and he was right - the door slid open, and I was immediately greeted by a very enthusiastic doggo.

“Hey, buddy!” I said, kneeling down to ruffle his ears. “You missed me, huh?” He licked my face, his tail wagging so hard I was surprised the air didn’t make a whistling sound. “Did you like your ride? Was it better than going in the truck?”