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He grimaced. “As always, you see to the heart of my dilemma. I feel useless, Tara. This is death for me.”
“Is that why you keep sneaking off to meet Councilman Oiteil?”
He stilled. Another flash of guilt, accompanied by anger. “You’d never spy on me.”
“You have friends who have spotted you together, and they’re worried. They commed me yesterday. They thought it best I speak to you before Clajak or the High Court finds out.” She held up a hand to forestall the explosion his darkening face warned was coming. “They wouldn’t report you, Yuder. But who else might discover what you’ve been doing? The war is long over, but the Imperial Family has its opponents.”
“Oiteil seeks me. He speaks, but I offer nothing that could be construed as meddling in governmental affairs. I assure you, my Royal Guard escort would testify to it.”
She ached for him. His need to be essential to his empire was blinding him to the trouble he courted…or it was too much for him to care.
“Yuder. Please, for the sakes of those who love you, consider very carefully what could happen. If Oiteil is instigating these encounters, it’s on you to decline them. Mere social interaction with a sitting councilman, even in full view of witnesses who’d corroborate you’ve said nothing out of turn…it could still land you in trouble. The Galactic Council’s High Court was specific.”
“Oh yes, they spelled it out quite clearly,” he growled. “I’m essentially to turn tail and run if the lowliest Royal Council aide heads in my direction. Ancestors forbid I say hello to anyone who’s ever set a toe in the Government House.”
“I realize it’s difficult—”
“Do you? Do you honestly understand what it is to have to stand by when the empire I once ruled is facing new challenges?” There was furious frustration in his expression and voice, but he took her hands gently to show it wasn’t directed at her. “There’s backlash against Earther males being made legal clanmates. Against the laws changed to accommodate up to ten legal bondings in a single household. The new Earth is already dealing with protestors determined to cut it off from Galactic Council planets, particularly ours. A spyship orbiting Bi’is has disappeared. If the Bi’isils have developed a weapon—”
“Yuder!” She stared at him, stunned at how deep Oiteil had pulled him in. She couldn’t help but glance around the courtyard, worried someone might have overheard him. Fortunately, his pair of Royal Guards stood well beyond hearing range. A dozen or so of her disciples were meditating in the area, at a distance where it was unlikely they’d picked up on the whispered conversation.
“You can’t do this,” she implored. “Oiteil has to understand the trouble he could get you in. You must know! My love, please. I don’t want you taken from me again. Am I of so little importance?”
“Of course not. My Matara, you can’t think it. But if the empire needs me—”
“You are banned.” She emphasized each word, desperate for him to recognize the impossibility of his situation. “No matter what happens, no matter how unhappy it makes you, no matter the challenges Kalquor encounters, this is your reality now.”
“Oiteil thinks the Royal Council might vote to reverse the High Court’s sentence.”
She stared at him. “He can’t be serious.”
“I thought so also, at first. He and a few others are quietly speaking to their colleagues, and he says he think he can gain the support needed to bring back not only me to public service, but Rajhir and Ospar as well. He says there might be enough votes to overturn the Imperial Clan should they attempt to veto such a motion.”
Tara’s mind whirled at the implications. “If Clajak opposed overturning the High Court’s sentence, which he probably will because he prefers to uphold their authority, he’d never consult you about issues of state. He loves you, but if he were to ignore your sentence, it would be seen as a rebuttal of the justice branch’s authority.”
“He’d be correct, and I don’t expect him to approve. It wouldn’t make a difference. I could belong to a watchdog group that reports to the Royal Council. I wouldn’t be a decision-maker, just a concerned citizen helping them perform their duty to the empire.”
It was hard to speak her conscience and fears in the face of his excitement, but Tara was certain Yuder and Oiteil weren’t considering the ramifications of what they proposed. “Yuder, you must tread lightly. In the end, what a few Royal Councilmen wish doesn’t have any bearing. It was your first conviction and the pardon that followed most feel tipped Kalquor into civil war. I doubt the people want a reminder of it, and if they’re asked to reflect on it, they won’t agree. If the High Court believes you’re conspiring to a return to public service—”
“Conspiring!” Yuder stared at her. “This wasn’t my idea. I’ve done nothing but listen to what Oiteil has to say on the behalf of a number of others. If my people call for me, I can’t stand by and not answer. I’m sorry if you don’t understand what hinges on this, for me and my empire.”
He stood. Before Tara could think of anything to say, he sped out of the courtyard, leaving her sitting alone and on the verge of tears.
* * * *
Captain Nako’s marauder
The ship suddenly blared alarms as another vessel appeared off its bow. Nako and his weapons commander shouted oaths and slammed their fists on their control panels in the same instant, furious at the surprise. Fortunately, the marauder and its computer podiums had been built to withstand damage from temperamental crewmen.
“Alarms, off!” Terig shouted, his command slurred by his descended fangs. “Assholes!”
Nako willed his own fangs to fold to the roof of his mouth as he sent evil wishes to the captain of the chevron-shaped spyship on his main vid. “They must be what Admiral Tranis told us to stand by unphased for.”
As if on cue, Com Officer Vaskiz spoke. “Captain Kila of S-S-one-zero-three-eight is hailing us, Captain Nako. Audio only.”
“Kila.” Mingled irritation and relief made his voice rough. Ensign Ilid had named his captain as another man, but Nako had worried about Kila’s fate nonetheless. “Answer.”
“On line.”
