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  A woman, with a foul temper and her own spaceship, ends up an escort for a stunned ambassador. Her perfect mate.

  Leo runs her ship with precision and an attitude shaped by pain. Gathering an ambassador in stasis, she is surprised to find his ability to match her innermost desires, and he is surprised to find that she wants him in his own form and not the one she craves.

  Ambassador Wikkio is a Beholder. Born to a race that can change to match any other species right down to venom or scales, he is an ideal representative for races who are skittish around strangers. Meeting Govern surprises him. He had not thought to meet the woman of his dreams when he woke from cold sleep and never had he imaged that he would enjoy his woman sharpening her wit on his hide.

  The Gold Fairy brought them together, and now, she is determined to keep them that way.

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  Govern

  Copyright © 2013 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-654-1

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books

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  Govern

  A Terran Times Tale

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Leo was exhausted. With the last bit of energy, she recalled the final wave of bots and closed the ship. The Gold Fairy had a rendezvous with one of her sisters and it was going to take a bit of enthusiasm to get there on time. Unfortunately, Leo had always been short on enthusiasm.

  Once she was sure that the decontamination protocols had kicked in and her little beasties were all clear, she encouraged the Fairy to take off. “Come on, Goldie. Let’s go out to play with Blue.”

  They gunned the engines together and lifted off the world that was being considered as a super-being penal colony. The planet didn’t have a name yet, but she sent in her report anyway—enough water, green space and atmosphere to maintain a large population with plenty of unoccupied space around it to reduce the chance of unexpected visitors or escape attempts.

  The rendezvous with the Blue Fairy was their next stop, so Leo sent them to the jump site and pulled them through. It was six hours until the next jump, and Leo needed a nap.

  “I am going to crash for a while, pardon the phrasing.”

  A delicate chime rang with encouragement.

  Smiling briefly, Leo opened the supports that kept her upright in her station and staggered free. “Thanks for that. Wake me at the next jump site. I will be grouchy, but I will be here.”

  A medium to low tone chimed, and Leo laughed.

  “I know. I am always grouchy, but I will be worse than usual. How long has it been since I slept?”

  A set point of chimes in different tones rang out. “Thirty-nine hours. Huh. That is a record even for me.”

  Leo was glad that it was only a few steps to her room. She was completely flattened when she hit the sheets. She felt the stroke of the fabric against her cheek before darkness swamped her. Damn, she was always so tired.

  The heavy bong woke her. The weight of the noise ran through her joints, and she staggered up with a groan. Sounds worked on her all too well. Her only pleasure when she was growing up had become her ship’s way of bossing her around. Music called her to eat, told her when to sleep and even spanked her when her behaviour was a little too surly.

  Everyone thought she could govern bots and mechanicals, but the Gold Fairy was both her charge and her boss.

  A quick solar shower, a check of the suit’s systems and a baseline for her pain rating and she was ready to eat and get back to work.

  Music filled the ship as she ate, and the Dhemon music soothed her. They really had excellent composers away from earth. Even the Enjel music was agreeable, though the Azon stuff was a little bit too passionate for her. The Nyal composers were hit and miss. After her meal, she stretched, twisted and worked her body into something resembling supple before she stepped into her control station.

  “Two more jumps and you will be chatting with your sister while I get a new passenger.”

  Leo pulled them through the first jump, and the ship moved swiftly to the next jump point.

  Dispatcher Nitza contacted her. “How are you doing, Govern?”

  “Oh, can’t complain. What’s up, Nitza?”

  “Your passenger. Ambassador Wikkio is in cold sleep on board the Blue Fairy. We need him brought aboard and hauled to Gah-tosh.”

  “All right. What is he going for?”

  “He is going to negotiate for a deep-system satellite to be located in their space, so we need this to go well.”

  Govern knew where this was heading. “You want me to stow the attitude.”

  “Please. You are to act as his bodyguard while he is travelling. He needs it. His appearance brings on either hostility or extreme affection.”

  That was intriguing. “What causes that?”

  Nitza laughed, “You are going to have to see it to understand it.”

  With that cryptic statement, her dispatcher disconnected.

  Govern grumbled, shifted her body slightly and leaned back in the supports that had been sculpted to hold her. She had spent far too much time in her life sitting. Flying while standing might be weird as a concept, but it was easier than she had anticipated.

  “Okay, Gold. Here we go.” She pulled them through space and jumped to the system where Blue was waiting.

  Govern didn’t have to do anything else, the two ships swirled around each other like kids at a playground.

  Through her connection to the Gold Fairy, she could feel the ships chattering, so she opened a com to Gaze. “Good afternoon, Gaze. Put your pants on.”

  “Ah, Govern. You are still exhibiting your normal charm and delicacy. Good afternoon.” Gaze yawned.

  “New mate keeping you up nights?”

  “Nights, days, breakfast—”

  “Yeah, yeah, keep bragging.” Govern smiled. It was nice to know that the other ships had found their matches. Govern had seen the image that Gold had commissioned, and it had a man in it all right, but his face was a blur. Not the kind of features that she could track.

  “Oh, I will. Durz is great. You have got to get yourself one of these.”

  Govern snorted. “Very funny. Well, I am here for an ambassador exchange. He is needed somewhere, and I have to deliver him.”

  “As soon as the ships finish playing ring around the rosey, we will dock and I will get you the ambassador.”

  Curiosity compelled Govern to ask, “What does he look like?”

  “You know, I can’t remember. I mean I looked at him, but I was planning the escape, so I wasn’t very interested in anything but getting him out of there.”

  “Interesting. I look forward to meeting him. Anything to break up the day.” A small curl of curiosity rippled through her, and she found herself looking forward to the newc
omer. If both Nitza and Gaze couldn’t describe her guest, she was going to have an interesting time.

  While they docked, she waited at the helm. The pitter-patter of feet told her that she was no longer alone.

  “Gaze, good of you to join me.” Govern turned her head and smiled at the other transport specialist. “I am guessing that that cloud is Durz?”

  The cloud formed a column and the column took the form of a Kozue.

  Govern grinned, he was well built and stark naked.

  “Shiver is my designation, but you may call me Durz.”

  Govern grinned. “I already did. You might want to form some trousers. This isn’t a clothing-optional command deck.”

  Gaze was hooting with laughter as her mate followed Govern’s directions.

  Gaze sniffled. “Send your units in to grab the ambassador. I think a straight swap of tubes would be best. You don’t want to deal with him when he is awake.”

  “Why ever not?”

  “He can’t make up his mind. He is very easily confused.”

  Govern sighed. “Wonderful. Well, he has an assignment, so as soon as we part, I will wake him up.”

  She released herself from the command unit and hugged Gaze. “It is good to see you again, Gwyn.”

  “You, too, Leo. You are looking a little less grumpy today.”

  Leo smiled, “They have been tinkering with my supplements and there is a lot less pain.”

  Gwyn shook her head. “I can’t believe that they can’t cure it.”

  “My body is constantly attacking itself, the supplements are just keeping me one step ahead of the arthritis.” Leonora Webber flexed her hands in memory of their curled and twisted state. Her entire body had been contorted, and her joints had ground together when she moved. The Nyal scientists had not only used her physiology for their studies, but they had found a chemical balance that kept her immune system in check, though it had to be altered every six months or so.

  “So, the same here as back home for you.”

  Leo lifted her hands toward the ceiling and gestured to the ship around her. “Not really. Back home, I could barely move, and here, I fly across star systems. I am content with what I have. It is far better than anything earth could have offered me.”

  Gwyn grinned. “Good. Well, now that Durz has put his pants on, I think we should wait for the transfer and then be on our way. He has other Guardians to deal with.”

  “So, you are going to be a super-hero arrest team?”

  Gwyn shrugged. “He catches them, and I will transport them. It is in our job description after all.”

  Leo smiled and gave Gwyn another hug. “It was good to see you in person for a change. Sometimes, I forget what other people feel like.”

  “I know exactly what you mean. You need to stop by Yaccaro and have a portrait done. You are the only one of us who is running around without a partner. Trust me, having someone to talk to is a relief and having someone to keep you company during the long stretches slows the crazy that works its way in.”

  Leo sighed. “The crazy will still come. They warned us about that when we set foot onboard these ships.”

  “Yes, but the men are so delightfully distracting.” Gwyn looked around and smiled when she saw her mate.

  Leo looked over at Shiver. He was in earnest conversation with Gold, and she was chiming in response.

  “Well, Gold likes him.”

  “Blue likes him, too. Once he realized that she was alive, he included her in every conversation.”

  Leo smiled. While they were talking, she had freed an empty stasis pod and had her bots transfer them through the connected hatches. Through the eyes of her robots, she identified the occupied pod, and while they continued to chat, Ambassador Wikkio was plugged into the Gold Fairy.

  “Well, Gwyn, I have him. I suppose this is farewell.”

  “Until we meet again, Leo. Keep well, head high.”

  “Keep your eyes on the road, Gwyn.” Leo smacked Gwyn on the ass and said a quiet farewell to Shiver.

  He put his arm around Gaze, and they headed back down to the connection between the hulls.

  A few minutes of disconnection procedures, and they were drifting apart once again. It was back to work for the Fairies and their Terran pilots.

  Govern sighed. It was time to wake Sleeping Whatsit.

  Chapter Two

  Waking someone from stasis was always tricky. There was no telling how they were going to react, and with the ambassador’s face obscured by the pod, she had no idea what she was dealing with.

  “Of course, it could not be easy,” she muttered out loud. “Come on, mystery man. Wakey, wakey.”

  The pod slid open at her mental command.

  The same procedures that had allowed her built-in pain control had caused a strange side effect. Her mind now accessed the same type of circuitry that was in her brain and made it do her bidding. Fortunately, she had command of all Nyal standard equipment. She loved being a generic model.

  As the pod slid open, mist curled around the face of the ambassador. When it cleared, she blinked and blinked again to clear her vision. His features were blurred, literally blurred.

  His eyes blinked and opened. “I can’t make up my mind.”

  She laughed. “Gaze has handed you over. I am Govern, and I am here to take you to your next assignment. Your presence is requested on Gah-tosh.”

  His features shifted into something approaching a dignified face. “Oh, I see.”

  “Ambassador Wikkio, please exit the pod. You need to brief yourself on your new assignment.”

  He extended his hand, and she took it before she thought twice. The moment her hand made contact with his, he straightened and his features took on an elegant and very attractive cast.

  “Govern. I have heard good things about the transport project. Thank you for your hospitality.” His features continued to sharpen and become more handsome with every passing moment.

  Govern shook her head. “What is going on with your features? You are even getting taller.”

  He stepped free of the pod and towered above her. “You had best rein in your fantasies, Govern. I barely know you.”

  She jerked her hand back, and his transformation ceased. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Allow me to check the files, and I will tell you all you need to know.”

  Leo kept her snarl to herself but headed up the steps to the next level where the guest quarters were kept. The com-room door opened as she approached. “There is a com in your room, but this one has the encoded channels. Even I can’t listen in.”

  “This is your ship. I do not expect you to close your senses for my convenience.”

  He settled in at the desk and quickly entered his code in. Data streamed over the page, and he stared raptly at it. His features shifted again, but this time they were distinctly less human.

  “You are becoming one of the Gah-tosh.”

  “Nearly. It will help me to get into their mindset. My Guardian designation is Beholder, if that gives you a clue as to my talent.” His words were said with a twist to lips that were surprisingly lizard-like.

  She narrowed her eyes. “In your most recent experience, you were fine until the population suddenly thought you weren’t on their side. What made you change?”

  “I received a missive that I had been waiting for. I lost my composure for a moment and my face shifted. The people were sensitive to differences, and then I was in prison until Gaze retrieved me.”

  “She said you were muddled when she brought you on board.”

  He grimaced. “She wasn’t looking at me, and her ship surrounded me. Two minds that barely registered my presence were a little too much for me. I couldn’t think, couldn’t make a decision because neither mind gave me something to hold on to.”

  “So, you need more of an anchor?”

  “It helps. My body takes its shape in two ways. The first is the minds of those around me and the second is my own desires and focus
.” He turned to her and smiled with his features in a reptilian cast.

  “That is a little disturbing.”

  “What is disturbing is the wardrobe that I need for all these different shapes. I don’t suppose that there is a chance of stopping to get some appropriate clothing?”

  She was stunned. He stood up, and he had shrunk by three feet. His suit bagged at the knees.

  “I think we can make a stop at the outer station to get you something a little more…appropriate for your station.”

  He grimaced. “The only thing that remains fitting are my shoes. I do love Masuo, but they are hard to find out here.”

  “I see. Are you going to look like that for long?”

  “Well, I would like to gather a few more clothing options if it is possible.” He looked hopeful, and he blinked his huge green eyes at her.

  “It is possible. We can place an advance order and get it picked up by pod if we have to. Will you let Gold take some measurements?”

  “Of course. Will you help me change into common shapes?”

  “Sure. It sounds like fun. I thought you could do it yourself though.”

  “I can, but not in quick succession. The change I experienced when you released me from the pod was…unusual.”

  Leo smirked. “You don’t say. I had forgotten all about those images of gods and heroes until you changed.”

  He smiled, and there was a pleased and knowing look in his eyes. “Gods and heroes, huh? That is a first for me.”

  She blushed but jerked her head toward the command deck. “Come on, short stuff. We will get you measured, and if you are hungry, I will show you where the food hides.”

  He sighed and stomped after her.

  On the command deck, Leo asked Gold to produce a scanning disk. The pad slid out of the floor and a column of light formed.

  The ambassador stepped into the light and nodded. “I sent a list to your console, if you can read them out and picture the shape of the species in your mind, it would help things considerably.”