Crisis Management Read online

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “It has happened once before, when my sister was under attack by some local toughs back home. I changed into what you saw and destroyed them. I was brought up on charges, but because it wasn’t a controlled change and had never happened before, I was allowed to leave home to join the Alliance. I enrolled in the Sector Guard with my primary talent, and I had not transformed again until yesterday.”

  “How did you know I was down?”

  “You left your com open and screamed when you were run through.” Helsin’s fingers clenched.

  “I imagine I did. It is a bit of a blur though. Hey, until yesterday, I didn’t kill anyone with my strength. That is progress, isn’t it?”

  He laughed and stroked her hair away from her temple so he could press a kiss to it.

  She sighed at the warmth of his lips on her skin, and she rolled her eyes when she heard, “So he is your boyfriend.”

  Helsin raised a brow and quirked a smiled. “Your boyfriend?”

  “She is speaking like an adolescent. I told her you are my friend and companion, nothing more.”

  “What if more were to develop?” His yellow eyes gave her a piercing look.

  “Then, I would have to reconsider the classification.” She winked.

  She couldn’t believe that she was sitting on a couch after recently being stabbed by a lavender male nine feet tall and she was having a discussion about Helsin being her boyfriend. This was beyond the dreams she had had as a hormonal teen.

  He helped her to her feet, and they had a charming afternoon tea around the desk.

  When Yalio came through the door, he bowed low, his sword at his side. “Leothanak, your father is on the way home. He wishes to have dinner immediately, and I have ordered cook to prepare it.”

  Leo asked, “Why are you telling me?”

  Yalio walked in and confiscated the sandwiches. “Because I needed to get in here so you wouldn’t spoil your appetite too badly. It appears I may have been late, but I did try.”

  They laughed and even the stalwart Yalio cracked a grin as he left with the dainty sandwich tray perched on his enormous palm.

  It was an image that caused Dev to giggle until her healed wound pulled slightly. Dinner with the high prefect it would be.

  Chapter Twelve

  Stellar Storm joined them for dinner, and Dev enjoyed her description of the units that had been planted all over Yagoth. “I would never have guessed it if you hadn’t asked me to look, Dev.”

  High Prefect Rasco looked to Dev and fixed her with his gaze, “How did you know?”

  She shrugged. “There were many small things and one big thing.”

  “What was the big thing?”

  “You are a passionate race about many things—food, culture, agriculture. You take pride in your children, pride in your mates. Why would you be unwilling to defend yourselves when you protect all parts of your culture? Also, there are sport team pennants in the hallways and yet you are pacifists. Most sports are high contact. It didn’t make sense.”

  “What was one of the small things?”

  “Leo didn’t remember the grand hall. She didn’t remember it at all. Not the room, not the weapons. I have done some studying at Udell base. That sort of amnesia is not usually natural in curious teens.”

  He leaned back. “What was your next step?”

  “Plenai history from the Alliance Archive with a focus on psychic manipulation history. It was all in there aside from the mention that they had attacked Yagoth with the units. That was a little matter they did not record.”

  “So you called in reinforcements to do a diagnostic, and here we are.”

  She smiled. “Yes. Your daughter is safe and I believe my assignment is over.”

  Leo frowned. “I thought I could persuade you to stay.”

  “I have only just left my home and gotten training. I want to see more…do more before my time is up.” She smiled. “We will always be friends, and you might one day make your way to the stars.”

  “You bet I will. I want to see Bahi, Nazgo, Loricai, as many worlds as I can.”

  “Why Bahi?”

  Rasco answered, “It is a Yagoth tradition to visit the home of a friend, even if the friend no longer lives there. It’s a throwback from the days of the Plenai raids. You always go and see what has become of the place your friend was from, just to be sure.”

  “A morbid tradition, but I see the sense in it. Be prepared to be stared at, Leo. You will be taller than everyone you meet.”

  Leo grinned. “I look forward to it.”

  The gathering broke into laughter, and Helsin sobered it by asking, “High Prefect, when do you want us to leave?”

  “Tonight.”

  Leo cried out in denial.

  “Daughter, hush. Live or die, you now see us at our best. The disagreement with the Plenai is our affair, and we will deal with it. Feel free to remain in communication with us, but I don’t want you here when the Plenai come down.”

  Helsin nodded. “Fair enough. We will leave immediately.”

  Dev got to her feet and hugged Leothanak tight. “Send me a message whenever you want. I am leaving the code for you.”

  “Thanks, Dev. I am going to try and work myself forward, to be the best me I can be.”

  Dev laughed. “That is all we can do. Just know who you are and be that to the best of your ability.”

  Leo wiped at the tears streaking down her cheeks but she smiled.

  The high prefect shook her hand. “You have an amazing career in crisis management ahead of you. I have rarely run into someone who not only followed their instincts but did it sensibly with attention to legalities. It is a rare combination, brains and sense.”

  She laughed and he kissed the back of her hand.

  He straightened and released her hand. “Thank you for coming.”

  Dismissed, Dev walked upstairs and retrieved her data pad. She tucked it under her arm and resumed her normal gold and red uniform as she descended the stairs. Stellar Storm and Helsin smiled in approval while Yalio looked shocked.

  She took Helsin’s arm and walked out the door with him. “It isn’t the bodysuit, it is seeing the juncture of the thighs that is the problem here. They obsessively cover the hips. As I am no longer in their employ, I choose to resume my daily uniform.”

  “I don’t care as long as you are coming home with me.”

  “Ah, Helsin. It may just be the danger talking, but my home is with you. Where you are posted is where I will gravitate. I had a while to think while I was stuck on my side, and I would like you to be my boyfriend if you have no objections.”

  They were outside and approaching the bulk of a shuttle nestled in the grass.

  Helsin stopped in place, turned her to face him and kissed her with enough force to bend her back.

  She returned his kiss until she heard a voice in the distance.

  “Ha! Dev’s got a boyfriend!”

  Helsin broke the kiss and glared at the speaker. “Shut up, Stellar, and get in the shuttle.”

  Dev giggled and resumed her slow and even pace into the shuttle with Helsin at her side. Life on Udell would take on a new thrill, but as long as she had her doctor beside her, she could deal with it, after all, she had a career ahead of her in crisis management. Her love life would just be learning a new job skill.

  Dev wondered if Helsin wanted to go fast or slow, if Stellar wasn’t sharing the shuttle with them, she would have been tempted to find out. Ah well, some things would wait for Udell, and others would wait for privacy. She would tackle it one day at a time with anticipation starting every new dawn.

  A new life, a new world, a new career and a chance at love. What more could a woman ask for?

  Author’s Note

  Well, they didn’t knock boots in this one, but you just know that she jumped him the moment he was vulnerable. Lowel Citadel is going to need a few more candidates before it earns its funding, so I wonder who is going to be next…oh w
ait.

  In The Duty of Pain, we meet a pain taker who has been raised to remove the aches and pains of the nobility. She wants freedom, wants a life outside the chains and screams, but there is no way out unless the Citadel will take her on.

  She was born to be a contact healer, but her training went horribly wrong, can Citadel training set her right?

  Thanks for reading

  Viola Grace

  [email protected]

  http://www.violagrace.com

  Find me on Facebook…if you dare.

  About the Author

  Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.

  Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.

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