Voices by M J Marlow (uplifting novels txt) 📕

in
trouble.”
“It was not your fault, Laura,” Drea said to me. “You were
asleep when that madwoman came for us. You had no chance to
fight.” She laid her hand on mine. “If anyone is at fault, it is me! I
knew that woman was dangerous…”
“But none of us knew she was faking,” I finished for Drea.
I squeezed her hand. “If I forgive myself for being lax; you must
do the same.”
“You’re a good friend, Laura,” Drea smiled and nodded.
“Very well. We are free of that nightmare. Let’s hope the next
mission is free of such complications.”
The Magistrate was not the only one who was paying
attention to me, however. His brother, Lenar, was practically
climbing the walls as his men planned on the best way to move.
They had dropped the idea of an abduction from the vessel; there
were just too many people who were with me during that time. So
it would have to be during an away mission; one they had called so
they had knowledge of the ground. Lenar watched his man Dolfo
Kev going over the layout of the building I would be visiting on
Velarian and smiled. This was one man who would succeed. In
fact, Dolfo was more excited about this move than he was.
“The Governor sent his transport for them,” a man reported
as he came into the office.
“Then inform the Governor we move tonight,” Lenar made
the decision. He saw Dolfo’s head snap around. “There are only so
many times you need to look over the layouts of a building.” He
approached the blueprint ad pointed. “There is a supply elevator
into the kitchen of his quarters. You go up that way and you will
avoid any guards. The Governor will have the girl waiting for
you.” He nodded and started for the door. “I will be at the
spaceport making the final arrangements for departure.”
“And we were leaving him out?” the man who had brought
the report frowned at Dolfo. “He had our assault planned in thirty
seconds flat!”
“There is still a bit of the soldier in him after all,” Dolfo
smiled. He checked the layout one more time and nodded. “We’ll
do it as he suggested,” he said as he destroyed the blueprint. “Let
the Governor do the heavy lifting and we just walk out with the
prince and the girl. We’ll have them in our hands and on their way
to the Romulans before an alert can be raised.”
Our team arrived on Velarian and we were taken to the
Governor’s palace where we would be quartered. He was quite
pleased to see us and threw us a sumptuous welcoming banquet. In
the morning, he explained, he would have his men show us to the
hospital. Business could wait until then. We were confused at this;
we had been led to believe that there was an emergency. The
Governor shook his head and blamed it on poor communication. I
caught his eyes on me; however, and I knew something was
wrong. This was a trap! I tried to get the others to listen but they
felt I was just being overly cautious.
“After Zona-7,” Brad said as we rose to leave; “who can
blame you? We will at least stay the night and see how things truly
are.”
“Miss Greyson?” A guard came up to my side as I started
to protest. I nodded. “The Governor wishes to speak to you, if you
would?” I could not argue; it would look childish after my
arguments. “Please make yourself comfortable, Miss Greyson,” the
guard said as he showed me to the Governor’s private office; “the
Governor will be with you shortly.”
I went to the windows and looked out on the city from the
full wall of windows. I had not fully realized just how large the
capital was. From this vantage point, it was spread out before me
in all its glory. And beyond that to the west was the space port
where shuttles left to rendezvous with interstellar spacecraft. I
heard the doors hiss open and turned to see the tall, very cold-eyed
man coming in. He nodded to the guards and they left the room.
He looked at me with his hard green eyes as if he knew me and
that recognition unnerved me. I watched him closely as he went to
pour himself a drink. He came to sit in the chair across from me
and the look in his eyes frightened me.
“Who are you really, girl?” he demanded.
“Why should that matter to you?” I asked the man in
confusion. “I know you are the Governor of this colony, but how
does that give you the right to demand anything from me?”
“You certainly have attitude,” the man sighed. He took
another sip of his drink and set the glass down. “He is going to
appreciate that in his wife.”
“I am not going to be anyone’s wife,” I told him as I started
moving towards the elevator. Something about this situation was
beginning to frighten me. “You must confuse me with someone
else.”
“Then I have been misinformed most of my life,” Aden’s
voice came in the room ahead of him. I looked past the Governor
to see him standing in the doorway out to the gardens. “Governor,
if you would leave us alone?” He smiled as the man left. “Melaura
Greyson,” he bowed his head to me. “I am honored.”
“You’re the ‘emergency’ we were called on?” I saw this in
his mind and I was angry. “The Solace is a medical vessel, Prince
Aden; we have more important things to do than pay calls on bored
nobles.”
“Do you know how lovely you are when your eyes flash
with fire, Melaura?” Aden smiled at me. “Our marriage is going to
be anything but boring.”
“You actually mean to marry me?” I looked at him in
shock. I had to sit down. “I don’t know you…”
“That will change from this moment,” Aden told me. “I
will be traveling on the Solace with you.” I looked at him in
disbelief. “I am quite capable of being useful, Melaura. I will not
be underfoot.” He crouched down and took my hands in his. “I
promise you time to get used to me, little one. I realize that you
still have much you wish to do with your life.”
“Choosing my own husband was part of that,” I said coldly.
Aden had the good sense not to say anything. “You are all right
with this arrangement?”
“The reason I was on Jarusian,” Aden told me bluntly;
“was to see if you could be happy with me as your husband,
Melaura. I am satisfied that we will be quite compatible…”
“There’s more to marriage than being ‘compatible’, isn’t
there?”
“Let us make an agreement, Melaura,” Aden broke in; his
eyes locked to mine. “Give us a chance to learn about each other.
If you find you do not like me well enough, we shall break our
engagement.”
“How much time will that take?” I asked him.
“I do not wish to wed until I reach the age of majority,
Melaura,” Aden told me. “That will not happen until I am twentyone;
two years from now.” He saw my mind and laughed. “Yes,”
he agreed; “two years is a long time to be engaged, but it will give
us time to see if we are truly right for each other.”
“And if we find we want to be with other people?”
“I will not hold you to a decision our parents made for us,
Melaura,” Aden assured me. He helped me to my feet. “There is a
lovely garden on the property. Would you go out with me?”
We walked out into the gardens and sat by the fountains,
watching the moonlight dancing on the water. The scent of nightblooming
flowers filled the air with a heady scent as we shared our
childhoods with each other. Aden was very proud of his people,
but very worried about the rumors that some factions were dealing
with the Romulans behind the Emperor’s back.
“Should I not share these things with you?” he asked as he
saw my worry. “If you become my wife, Melaura; these will be
your worries too.”
“I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you
keep dancing in and out of my mind as you do,” I told him. “Did
no one ever tell you it was wrong?”
“It is habit, Melaura,” Aden told me. “Among the Hazri, it
is wise to know what people are truly thinking. Too many hide the
truth behind smiles and courtly manners.”
“Like the people dealing with the Romulans?” He nodded
and I had a sudden flash of warning hit my mind. I whirled towards
the source and saw the Governor standing there with two other
men. They were holding guns on us. “Aden?”
“I assure you, Melaura,” Aden said as he came to my side;
“I had no idea this was going to happen.”
“Shields,” the Governor smiled and tapped the side of his
head. “We knew we were receiving a Betazoid female so we took
precautions.” His smile widened as two more men came out of the
shadows to stand behind Aden. “I have been asked to arrange your
delivery to the Hazri who will see you wed to each other.”
“You have no right…” Aden started to protest; only to fall
with a cry of pain as he was struck down.
“Aden!” I crouched down at the fallen prince’s side and
assured myself was not seriously hurt. Then I glared up at the
Governor. “You had no reason to do that!”
“You don’t know him, girl,” the man who had struck Aden
down laughed. “Prince Aden was going to do the right thing and
free you from this betrothal.” He yanked the fallen boy up and
shoved him to his companion. “Our superiors wish him wed.”
“You can’t make us marry!” I protested. The Governor
came towards me and I backed away from him; into one of the
men. He held me as the Governor pulled out a hypo-disk and
slapped it on my upper arm. “This is not right!”
“This is necessary,” the Governor corrected me as he
caught me. He picked me up in his arms and turned me over the to
visitors. “Here is your future Empress, gentlemen.”
What happened from that point on became a disturbing
blur. My mind was drugged to the point where I was too weak to
move on my own. I vaguely remember being taken to a transport
and strapped down. The two guards sat nearby where they could
keep an eye on me; but it wasn’t really necessary. I wasn’t going
anywhere. I was in danger, my mind screamed as the transport
headed out of the city and went west towards the spaceport.
I had no idea how long I had been sleeping. All I know is
that I woke up in a small room lying on the floor. I got up and
looked down to see that I had been stripped down to my under
garments. My skin was glistening with perspiration, and I was
feeling very unbalanced. I tried to remain standing, but my legs
were shaking with weariness. I sank back down to sit on the floor
and looked around in confusion. Where was I? I knew that I was in
a quarantine room; there were several in the Infirmary on the
Solace, but I had no idea why. The more confused I grew, the more
frightened I became, and that just made me angrier. Someone had
put me in here for a reason and I wanted to know what that reason
was now.
“Princess?”
I looked up, frowning at the sound of a voice and no person
in sight. I could not keep my head up