Page 63 of Her Alien Cyborgs
“I thought I was making good choices, but I wasn’t making choices at all. I was letting other people tell me what I should do without asking why they wanted it that way.”
Hezza nodded but stayed quiet. It didn’t feel like Neha was done talking yet.
“I’ve accepted that my empire is rotting from the inside. As Phaedra says, we have to change things. My father believed this infection would heal itself in time. My brother once told me that change would only come if we cut out the rot and encouraged new ideas to grow in its place. I should have listened to you, Tyran. Instead, I listened to those who told me what I wanted to hear. Again, I am sorry.”
She gave her brother a small smile. “I think I’m going to be saying that a great deal in the near future. I have a lot to answer for.”
“Don’t apologize too much. Some will take that as a sign of weakness instead of your intent to make amends. And since I’m handing out advice, here’s some more. Never trust anyone who tells you what to think without giving you a good reason why,” Hezza said.
“Good advice. I’ll try to remember that when I return home.” Neha looked at her with curiosity. “What about you? Where will you go now?”
“For now, we’ll stay here. I want to be nearby when we finally find out what was going on between Barrios and Heath.”
Phaedra grinned. “Didn’t you hear? He’s told the investigators everything. Not that there’s much to tell. He’s the one who had trackers placed on both theBatand theGambit. He didn’t trust any of you not to ruin his chance for accolades.”
“And Heath?” This was news to Hezza, and she wanted to hear the details. Talking about her future plans could wait.
“She was stringing him along. They weren’t romantically involved. Barrios was adamant about that. He thought he was mentoring a rising star, someone he could use to elevate his own career. It didn’t hurt that she had corporate connections and kept hinting she could get him a private contract once he was done with active service.”
“He mentored her yet somehow failed to notice she had fanatical views on humanity’s place in the universe?” Hezza snorted. “That’s an impressive level of selective blindness.”
“Turns out, she’s not the only one. The IAF is going to be busy cleaning their own house for a while.” Phaedra glanced over at Neha. “Your empire isn’t the only one with problems.”
“Apparently not.” Neha nodded and then turned the conversation back to Hezza. “What other plans do you have?”
“Like I said, we’ll stay here for a while. Fyr and Kal want to get to know the colonists and learn more from both sides of their heritage. Then? I guess I go back to work.” She smiled at her mates. “But this time, I won’t be doing it alone.”
“Together. Always,” Kalan said.
“Always,” Fyr’enth echoed his brother.
“If that’s your plan, I have an offer for you. It’s time to increase our ties to this part of the galaxy. That means increasing trade. We would like to offer you achalocha.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have a translator implanted yet. That’s something else I’ll get done before we leave.”
“Of course. I think the word translates to something like an imperial charter. Your ship would have exclusive rights to certain trade goods. Over time, we’ll expand the number of these available, but for the moment, you’d have the only one. Is this agreeable to you?”
Hezza whooped and nodded so hard she saw stars. “Hells yes, it is. Uh, I mean, that’s very agreeable to me. And very kind of you and Tyran.”
She looked at her mates and smiled as she saw a whole new future unfolding for the three of them. “We’re going to need a bigger ship.”
Tyran nodded. “Of course. That would be part of the agreement.”
A strange buzzing filled her head and made it impossible to think clearly. Had she heard that right? They were offering her a charter and a new ship?
While she floundered, Fyr’enth spoke up. “We accept the offer, but we have some requests.” He held up one finger. “We’ll need a cabin that can accommodate all three of us.”
Kalan held up two fingers. “And the galley will need the best food dispenser on the market. One that makes pizza.”
It was the deal of a lifetime. Two mates, one ship, and a lifetime supply of pizza.
And it was all hers.
***
