Tgon-Gee was on his communications console talking with Danielle and Tag. “You Majesty it is important that you come to our home world and allow your subjects to see the one selected to lead our people. There is too much they don’t know about you and it would go a long way toward cementing our agreements.”
Tag looked at Danielle and said, “I will not allow her to go where she would be in danger, Tgon-Gee. Have the asteroids been put into service?”
“They are in position now and the system will be on line in two rotations. They were fully charged before their arrival and she will be safe on the planet.”
“How many dreadnaughts have been converted to power cell technology?”
“We have fifty around the planet and expect fifteen more within five rotations.”
“Why is it so important for her to come now?” Tag asked.
“Our people are amazed at what our Guidance Peers have told them and a large number are skeptical of what they are being told. It is important in a warrior race such as mine that they see the ruler they are pledged to follow. Some of them are having difficulty grasping that an alien is being made ruler of our people. Her visit would help assure them of our choice.”
Danielle put her hand on Tag’s arm and said, “We will be there in six rotations of your planet. We will jump in as close as possible to the planet and I will make myself available for whatever you choose to schedule.” Tag started to protest but she looked at him and said, “These are dangerous times my darling. We must do what is right by our Allies and to delay would only show fear. In his culture, fear is not respected.”
Tgon-Gee was once again amazed at her insight. “You’re right. There are some that insist you won’t come out of fear.”
Tag looked long and hard at Tgon-Gee and then at Danielle and closed his eyes and said, “There are some of your warriors that actively oppose her selection. Will they be a danger?”
Tgon-Gee was startled by his statement and wondered, “How can he possibly know that?” Then he said, “That is why she must come quickly to head off any growth of their views. We are at a threshold of major change and the timing is critical.”
Danielle interrupted them and said, “We will be there in two rotations when your forts are active.” Tag looked at her sharply and she said, “These people are depending on us to be the symbol of their belief structure. We cannot let them down.”
Tag looked at her for a long moment and then said to Tong-Gee, “We will be there tomorrow before the forts are activated. We will be coming with 600 ships so let your defenses know. I also will be at her side where ever she goes during the visit. My people will take it seriously if anything happens to harm her.”
Tgon-Gee said, “I need some time to prepare for her arrival.”
Danielle smiled and said, “Prince Tgon-Gee, you have one rotation. It will also limit any time the opposition has to plan anything.”
Tgon-Gee bowed his head and said, “As you wish my Queen.”
Kosiev looked at Tag and said, “Are you out of your mind? Their world is in the middle of Alliance territory. There are Alliance diplomats on their planet. There is no way this can be kept secret. You not only place yourself in danger but you also endanger their planet.”
Tag shrugged his shoulders and said, “We have agreed by treaty with our Allies that she is our ruler. Do you think you can change her mind?”
Kosiev looked at Danielle and started to speak then stopped. “Ok if this has to happen, we need to make sure we can get her out if the groad hits the reactor.”
I told them we would be bringing 600 ships to escort her. We can’t take more because it would tip our hand to the Alliance that we have more than 640 ships.”
Kosiev thought about the trip and said, “We will be bringing 100 of our new battleships then. We’ll keep them inside the ranks of our ships to prevent too close an inspection.”
“I didn’t think we had that many ready yet,” Tag said.
“We actually have close to 500 in the ranks. Even the Cainth haven’t seen one yet. They will be hard to hide at 1,400 feet in length.”
Tag whistled. “I’m still amazed that those nine foot power cells could be charged on a mobile platform like a ship. Have they lost any speed?”
Kosiev smiled and said, “They are 50 % faster than anything we have. We’ve also discovered another benefit of their screen; they can jump in closer to stars that we ever thought possible. Gravity doesn’t seem to affect them as much because a screen at that power reduces the effect of gravity when it is pulled in to 100 feet from the hull.”
“How did you find that out without killing someone?”
“Our engineers noticed a measurable change in gravity when the screen around the planet was operating. In moving the asteroids out to the Cainth system one of our engineers stopped at a solar system in transit and jumped one of the rocks into the system close to an inner planet.”
“I’ll bet he was chewed up and spit out over that.”
“Not really. It wouldn’t complete the jump if it was too close to the sun and gravity interfered with the emergence. If it was too close it would just continue in non-space to the other side of the system until it was in a space that would allow it to work. He discovered that with screens as strong as those asteroids, they could jump almost to the stars outer corona.”
“Atlas, is that how you’re able to jump into a system?” Tag thought at Atlas.
“No. I use a different process but this was one of the steps that led to discovering the process I use. That’s also why they are so much faster; gravity and inertia has less of an effect on the ships mass.
Kosiev had continued talking, “With that discovery, we started to wonder about whether a ship could do the same thing. Our standard ships were just too small to put those eighty one square foot power cells on, they will only bend so far, so we took an old dreadnaught and covered it and flew it to the sun for a week while it’s power cells charged and then went to Earth Orbit and jumped out of the system. The screens on these new ships are another order of magnitude stronger than the one they replace. They’re twenty feet thick and can be expanded to forty miles and not lose their integrity. The leakage for our sensors extends almost a light week from our ships. These ships don’t even have to be in a system to see what’s going on.” Kosiev thought for a minute and said, “I don’t know if 200 dreadnaughts could crack its screen.”
“Could ten of them ramming the ship injure it?” Tag asked.
Kosiev looked startled at the question and said, “You know the screens will stop things like missiles and other objects of similar size and energy weapons just won’t come close to getting thru. I’m not sure about that much mass hitting. I’ll get the engineers to investigate how much the screen can handle.”
“We’ve seen that they will suicide if all else fails. I suspect that we would do the same if our backs were to the wall. How close can we jump into the Glod Home World?”
“Since their sun is much larger than ours and their world occupies an orbit further out, we should be able to jump in right to their planets orbit.”
Tag thought for a long time and then said, “Then her ship will jump directly to the planet. The others will come in the old fashioned way. Their process toward their planet should keep the Glod on their toes. Are you moving your flag to one of the new ships?”
“It’s already been done. The Washington is going to be part of your remote controlled fleet. She whispered to me that she wanted to make sure you were taken care of. You don’t think I would let you go without me being there. You heard the Director; I’m responsible for her safety. If you are planning to leave in the morning, I’m going to transfer to the Atlas immediately.”
Tag and Danielle looked at each other and Danielle said, “What is your new ships name?”
Kosiev looked at them and said, “She’s named Atlas.”
Danielle said, “Could you do me a favor and call it the Zeus.”
Kosiev looked at them and said, “Why.”
“Let’s just say it’s my intuition that it will be a lucky name for her that way.”
“Is that an order?”
“Yes Admiral it is,” Tag said. “I never question her intuition. Would you?”
“Absolutely not, Mr. Gardner; Kelly, contact ship registry and change the ships name to Zeus; besides wasn’t he the head honcho.”
“Tag and Danielle heard Atlas say in their mind, “Thank you for that.”
Danielle thought back, “Now you have another god to travel with.” They both laughed at that.
Kosiev said, “Now if you two will excuse me, I have some work to get ready for our on time departure.”
The next morning Kosiev welcomed Tag and Danielle aboard and ordered the fleet ready for jump. The ships sorted themselves out into formation and reported in their readiness for the non-space jump to the Glod system. Kosiev looked at Tag and said, “I have also brought along a body guard for the two of you.” Danielle looked at him quizzically and he said, “I’ve ordered a company of Naval Marines to accompany you to the planet.”
“Admiral, they can go with us to the surface but they will remain on board the shuttle unless my husband calls for them.”
Kosiev started to protest but Tag cut him off, “Admiral, these soldiers will be jump trained so they can use their jump armor to jump to anywhere in the city we’ll be. We have got to show trust to our new ally. I agree with her; they stay in the shuttle.”
Kelly turned and said, “All ships report in ready for jump, Admiral.”
Kosiev shrugged and looked at Captain Mikado and said, “Execute jump.” The fleet disappeared from Earth’s solar system and almost instantly reappeared in the Glod Home World’s system. The fleet fine tuned its formation and began moving toward the planet. Kosiev turned on the general command channel and ordered the fleet to continue in system. He also ordered all the ultra class battleships to keep their star drive on and be prepared to jump to the planet if he issued an emergency order. “Captain Mikado turned and said, “The welcoming party has cleared you to enter the system, Admiral.”
Kosiev looked at them and said, “Are you ready?” They both nodded and he said, “Execute jump.”
On the Glod Home World Tgon-Gee and his fleet leader was watching the Earth Fleet move in toward the planet. Suddenly they saw one of the big Earth Ships vanish and reappear close to their world. “Holy groad,” the fleet admiral said. “It’s impossible to jump that close and I’ve never seen that class of ship before.”
Tgon-gee looked at him and said, “Admiral, these Humans are just full of surprises and wonders. Be thankful we’re on the same side now. Tell the welcome staff that we don’t have as much time as I thought.”
The shuttle landed on the roof of the central government building and Danielle, Tag, and Kosiev exited the shuttle where they were greeted by Tgon-Gee, the fifty members of the Guidance Peers and the chosen representatives from the other 16 royal families. They went to a formal luncheon and were formally introduced. Tgon-Gee noticed that all of the Peers were almost mesmerized by the aura the two Humans possessed; especially the male human. He also saw that Danielle was captivating them with her charm and total lack of self importance. Each person she met was greeted warmly and treated as an equal. Even the representatives from the royal families who tried not to be impressed were genuinely drawn to this Human Female. Finally, Tgon-Gee said, “We will continue our welcoming ceremonies after our Queen has addressed the people assembled outside. We will walk down the Quilleron Path to the Solar Arch where she will enter the temple grounds and say hello to her new subjects.”
With that he led them out of the Central Government Building and out the front entrance. There were thousands of massed Glods lining the azure colored street that led to a huge Arch that dominated the central area of the buildings. “Won’t you join us Admiral?”
Kosiev said, “No I’ll watch from here,” and then he moved to the side and turned on his com.
As they walked along the path with Tgon-Gee in the center of Tag and Danielle a huge roar arose from the crowd as the Glod citizens got their first glimpse of their new queen. When they arrived fifty yards from the two arches at the entrance of the temple Tag put his arm in front of Tgon-Gee and Danielle and said, “Stop and stay where you are.”
Danielle felt a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, “What’s wrong, Tag?”
Tag was standing listening to his senses tell him of danger. “We’re going to be attacked momentarily and I can’t defend both of you. Tgon-Gee, move away from us into the crowd.” Tgon-Gee was confused and he didn’t move. Then Danielle said, “Your Queen orders you to go now!” He bowed and stepped off the path wondering what was happening.
Danielle looked around and couldn’t see what had Tag worried; then she saw. On both sides of the path Glod warriors were removing their white coverlet to expose their traditional armor and were stepping in to surround them. Tag looked at their leader and said, “That is as close as you get; don’t come any closer.”
The Circle of Glod Warriors turned out and faced the multitude and drew their weapons. In a loud voice the leader of the group yelled to the crowd. “I challenge these Aliens to the Quilleron Rite. I, Hakn-Yee, leader of my families make this challenge.”
Kosiev said into his com, Naval Marines jump now to my location, Ultra Ships jump in system now.”
Suddenly the company of naval marines landed at the front of the Central Building in full battle armor with blasters raised.
Danielle raised her voice and yelled to Kosiev, “Stay there! That is an order!” Kosiev reluctantly obeyed but ordered the Marines to be prepared to attack. The multitude grew deathly silent. Then Danielle turned to Tgon-Gee and said, “What is the challenge that this warrior is directing at me?”
Tgon-Gee looked at the Glod warrior and said, “We have an ancient rite that allows only the leaders of our constituent nations to challenge the selection of a new monarch. It has not been used for more than 1,800 solar rotations.” Then he turned to the Warrior and said, “Hakn, I will kill you for this outrage.”
“Maybe you will, but at least I will have my challenge before you do.”
Tag had not moved from where he was standing in front of Danielle. He stood there seemingly relaxed with his eyes closed. Then he said, “Hakn has chosen the five warriors to perform the challenge.” Hakn was stunned, how could this off worlder know this? Tag opened his eyes and said, “He has selected you,” and he pointed to a large glod warrior in front of him, “and he has chosen you three,” and he pointed out three warriors behind them, “and he has also selected you,” and as he pointed at the fifth selection, he walked in front of the fifth Warrior that was at the head of the group and stared up at him directly in the eye. He said to that warrior, “Do you agree with him that she is unworthy of being your queen?”
The huge Glod warrior looked down at Tag and said, “I do.”
Tag said to Danielle, “Come here and stand in front of this warrior.” Danielle walked and stood directly in front of the big Glod and also looked him in the eye. Tag said to the warrior and to Hakn, “As I understand it, you are not going to attack her but her chosen champion. If the Champion fails, she will not be selected as your queen. Is that right?”
Hakn said, “I see Tgon-Gee has taught you our traditions.”
Tgon-Gee said, “I have not told them of any of our traditions. I told you they seem to know us better than we know ourselves. Did I also mention that he has the aura of Nim-Qur?”
Hakn said, “You lie to try and protect them.”
The leader of the fifty Peers said from the front of the building, “Hakn, we never lie and his aura is even darker and brighter than Nim-Qur himself.”
Silence reigned in the huge crowd. Nim-Qur was the most deadly Glod that had ever raised a sword. It was he who took the worlds from others to form the Glod Union. He never lost a fight. The tremendous crowd wondered if it were possible to have two such powerful psychics. Some just refused to believe that this Human male was stronger than the mystical Nim-Qur. Hakn was obviously shaken by the announcement from the Peers. “All of you will lie to protect this stranger. I do not lift my challenge.”
The crowd moved back and formed a circle around the people involved. Hakn said, “Give the Human weapons and let the first contest begin.”
Tag felt his anger approaching rage. He could feel his sense of all things around him growing in magnitude and he sensed the warriors confronting him getting ready for the fight. Tag looked at Hakn and said, “If it’s not a violation of your rite, I would prefer to take my weapons from the warriors that have insulted my wife’s integrity. I also would humbly request that the first four I pointed out attack me together.” The fifth warrior he pointed his finger at and said, “Him, I’ll save him for last.”
Hakn roared, “You make a mockery of our beliefs. Teach this Human a lesson, you four attack him now.”
The four selected Glod warriors looked at each other and by silent agreement rushed to the attack.
Tag was amazed at his emotions. These warriors had endangered Danielle and he felt cold rage engulf him. He stood there and felt his psychic talent building almost like it couldn’t wait to destroy these naysayers. Tag watched as the world slowed down around him and come to a stop. He saw the four Glod warriors surrounding him start to move toward him and he saw that the biggest warrior behind him would arrive first aiming a sword slash to take off his head followed closely by the warrior to his right slashing to take off his legs. He knew he could probably kill all four before they had a chance to move but he actually wanted to fight. He turned and moved toward the warrior behind him and the world around him began moving very slowly again. The warrior behind him came forward in slow motion and he ducked under the slash and slammed his fist into the Glod’s midsection doubling him over; he then slammed his palm into the big Glods chin lifting him off the ground. He then grabbed the arm of the big Glod and swung the warrior into the path of the leg cut and saw the second attacker cut both of the big Glods legs off just above the knees. He broke the warriors arm holding the sword and wrenched it from his hand. He then turned and parried a blow from the third warrior just arriving from the left and then turned and stuck his sword into the shoulder of the fourth warrior coming from behind him. He ducked another thrust from the warrior to the left and spun in a crouch and cut one of his legs off; the attacker crumpled and fell to the ground. He then rolled to his left as the two remaining warriors rushed at him. He came out of his roll and jumped a leg cut by one of them rising almost 7 feet in the air in front of the Glod that had cut the legs off the first Glod and kicked him in the face slamming him back into the hardened brick path striking his head against the unyielding surface. He then confronted the warrior with the injured shoulder and parried six sword strikes easily before spinning and slashing violently at the huge Glod warrior. The Glod stood still for a moment as Tag turned toward the warrior that had been slammed hard against the concrete. As he approached the prone warrior the Glod he had slashed toppled over as his head fell off. Everything was still moving so slowly. The mass of Glods expected Tag to kill the warrior lying prone on the brick path. Tag stepped up to him put his hand under the stunned Glods head and said, “I’ll give you a few moments to collect yourself.” He looked at the wounded warrior that had his leg cut off struggling to rise but failing. The warrior that had both of his legs cut off had died from loss of blood. He gently put the Glod’s head down and then he turned and looked at the fifth Glod standing in front of Danielle and the huge crowd of Glod could see the menace in his eyes. He stood, picked up a second sword, and purposefully walked with a sword in each hand toward the fifth warrior standing in front of Danielle. As Tag approached the warrior, everyone could see the danger radiating from this dangerous Human; Danielle held up her hand and stopped him.
“Enough,” she yelled. She turned from the huge Glod warrior in front of her and walked over to the wounded Glod struggling with his severed leg. She looked into the crowd and said in a loud voice, “Someone come and tend to this wounded warrior.” No one moved and she yelled, “Do it now!”
Immediately several doctors in the crowd rushed out and started working on the two downed warriors. One doctor took a leather strap from the warriors harness and made a make shift tourniquet to stop the bleeding. “Is he going to live,” Danielle asked?
The doctor looked up and said, “I think so. We can give him a transfusion and he stands a good chance.” She walked over to the prone Glod that had hit his head on the path and asked, “Is he alright?”
The doctor looked up and frowned, “He has a concussion but he should recover.”
Danielle placed a hand on the warriors shoulder and said, “You fought well; live and fight another day, your people need you.” The huge Glod looked up at her and then nodded slowly. She stood and looked out at the crowd and every one could see her anger.
She looked at Hakn-Yee and said, “You stand there and caused two of my finest, bravest warriors to lose their lives to a friend of your people. You waste the vibrancy of their lives because you don’t agree with my selection. How dare you waste the lives of your people when you will need everyone in the upcoming confrontation with the Alliance? My fellow Humans and Cainth are willing to die to protect you against your enemies. Is it too much to expect you to do the same for each other? I didn’t ask to be your queen; I was selected. I will not rule a people who value the lives of their defenders so little. All of your warriors are needed in the coming conflict and you waste them. Every one of you is precious to this universe and every one of you has the capability to make it a better place to raise your families.” She then walked over in front of Tag and said loudly, “There will be no more killing today.”
Tag felt his rage drain away. He took the two Glod long swords and threw them both at the two wooden posts that were on each side of the entrance at the Solar Arch that led into the Quilleron Temple fifty yards away. They flew past the fifth Glod’s head faster than the eye could follow and struck the two posts embedding themselves halfway to the hilt. The crowd was stunned. Those two posts were made from wood that was harder than steel.
Danielle turned and again faced the fifth warrior selected as Tag stood five feet away and said, “I will not stand here and see you die. You will not defeat my husband; he cannot be defeated. Your rite is not given a fair chance when you have to face death face to face with no chance of winning. You will make the decision. You will decide for your race here and now if I am to be your Queen. If you say you don’t want me as your ruler, I will leave and your people will have to find another. You will decide for your people.”
The huge Glod warrior looked down on the small human female and saw she meant what she said. He saw determination and real anger in her eyes coupled with strength of spirit and a softness of real concern for his safety. She moved him deeply. The Glod Warrior had just seen the Human male totally defeat four of his fellow champions faster than his eye could follow. He was not afraid to face the Human; death didn’t frighten him but he knew what decision must be made. The Warrior looked at Hakn for a long moment and then he bowed to Danielle and offered his sword to her. In the silence of the square his voice could be heard by everyone, “My Queen, I will defend you with my life and all my possessions. Forgive me for my blindness at not seeing how right you are at this moment in time.” The entire multitude bowed and lowered their head to this small Human Female. The silence was deafening.
Tgon-Gee said, “Guards, take Hakn into custody.”
Danielle turned and shouted, “Guards, you will leave him alone. He did what he thought was right for his people. Did you not hear me say we need every one of you? Am I supposed to remove one of our nation’s leaders because he did what he felt was right. One thing is going to become clear to all of you if I am to become your Queen. We will do what is right in all our dealings with each other. We will be each other’s best friend and we will be able to count on every one of us to protect each other. You will not have to guess from today on. Our three races will die to preserve each of our three races. I demand that you do the same with each other?”
Hakn-Yee knelt and said, “My Queen. Please forgive me. I couldn’t have been more wrong.” Hakn meant it. He could feel the intensity of this Human Female. She was as angry as a mother would be if one of her off spring had been attacked. This kind of spirit was inspiring and he could sense her inner power. He also now knew the Human male was a supreme warrior.
Two of the Glod warriors that had been part of the group that issued the challenge moved forward and lifted Danielle onto their shoulders and then yelled out to the crowd, “Oya-Luah.”
The multitude went crazy; they responded with “Oya-Luah.” The huge multitude began chanting Oya-Luah together over and over as the big Glod drums began beating the cadence. The chant could be heard from miles away. The two huge warriors carried her out into the mass of Glod that had begun swaying to the rhythm of the drums.
Tag sat down on the concrete and Tgon-Gee walked up looked down at him. Tgon-Gee smiled and said, “Oya-Luah means True Royalty and is only used to describe our supreme leaders that have earned the respect of our warriors.”
Tag felt weary as he looked up at Tgon-Gee and said, “When do you think I might get my wife back?”
Tgon-Gee smiled, “As soon as she tells them to bring her back; they love her now. I guess that since she has already addressed the crowd, we can take that off the list.”
“I hate I had to fight those warriors. They were pretty good.”
“The five of them are planetary champions in martial combat. You defeated our best. The crowd also noticed that you didn’t kill the warriors that couldn’t defend themselves. You treated them with kindness even though they attacked you. That’s a lesson my people had to see in order to understand. Those warriors that were injured or died here today will someday be national heroes of my people because they proved the validity of our new Queen. To a Glod Warrior, nothing is more important than being immortalized for your actions.” Tgon-Gee looked out at the celebrating multitude and said, “Mr. Gardner, my race has never had a leader of a different race, this is a first for us. We know the importance of psychic ability but there are a huge number of my people that questioned our decision of choosing a Human to lead us. We believe in strength in our leaders and what happened today proves that we have chosen well. Your defeat of our champions as you did demonstrated that our warriors need a different role model to follow and please notice that the ones cheering the loudest are the warriors. The sincere concern of Queen Danielle for her subjects in the fight has won their hearts; they know she will protect our race in her decisions.” Tgon-Gee looked back at Tag sitting on the ground and sat down beside him. There was silence for a moment while they watched the celebration that was getting louder by the moment then Tgon-Gee sighed, “Mr. Gardner, I envy your abilities and wish my race had produced someone like you and your wife but if we did then we would have probably continued our aggressive behaviors and ultimately turned on each other. You have allowed us to see a better path and my people will be better for it.” With that he stood up and shook Tag’s hand Human fashion and went to join the celebration.
As Tgon-Gee walked away Tag sat there looking up at a flock of giant carnivorous birds flying overhead and could understand the Glod’s warrior traditions; they were necessary for survival on this violent planet. He thought about the fight and had a sudden thought, “Atlas, why didn’t my screen come on during the fight?”
“It only comes on when you are going to be hit by an object. None of their weapons came close enough to activate it.”
Tag looked at the two dead warriors and said, “I’m sitting here sick to my soul thinking that I murdered these Glod. Atlas, I wanted to hurt them. I felt rage almost take me. I’m glad the shield didn’t come into play.” Tag paused and thought, “Atlas, did I do the right thing today?”
“Tag, the Glod are a warrior race. Tgon-Gee was right, these five warriors and Hakn will have this deed sung around their ceremonial fires for centuries to come. The more these people come to love their queen, then the more importance these warriors will attain. Their families have already been elevated in stature among their cities. They will be revered and cared for by all the members of their nation. Already, every Glod warrior on the planet wishes that they had been selected for this rite so they could gain immortality. The fifth warrior that chose Danielle will be elevated in their race. You chose well to pick him; he will become one of their highest leaders.”
“I sensed that he really wasn’t sure that he was doing the right thing. I wanted to make sure he would have the opportunity to possibly survive. I sensed at the end that Danielle would not allow an uneven fight. Atlas, what do they think of me?”
Atlas did not respond for a long moment and then said, “Tag, you are their warrior spirit in living flesh. They will do their best to copy your actions. You are the ultimate level they all aspire to attain. They respect you and they rightfully fear you.”
Tag looked down and said, “What did Tgon-Gee mean by my aura?”
Atlas said, “They believe you are death incarnate. Did you notice that your shield wasn’t needed because these four champions couldn’t touch you? You don’t have to even think about it, your psychic gift will protect you. Just relax and watch it happen. The thing you should remember is that you don’t go around looking to use your talent. If someone chooses to stick their head into a reactor, then that’s their fault. Your talent could not have been given to a better keeper of it. You race needs that talent in the coming conflict.”
“Atlas, I’ve wondered why the first time I was attacked by five criminals that the knives I used did not have my finger prints on them. Danielle has asked me how they were not on the knives when I didn’t wear gloves. I didn’t have an answer for her.”
“Part of your talent is to protect you from discovery. I’m certain that during those moments of stress your body does not secrete the oil that would leave finger prints.”
“Thanks, Atlas. I think I’m going to have my wife order a state funeral for these two warriors.
“She’s already done it by using her com to contact Tgon-Gee,” Atlas said. “They’ve scheduled it for tomorrow midnight.”
Tag looked at the crowd yelling Oya-Luah even louder and said, “Atlas, she will make a marvelous Queen, won’t she?”
“Did you ever have any doubt? She is also the best keeper of her talent, too. You are war, she is peace. How you two stumbled together is a vast joke on this universe. It almost makes me believe in fate.” Tag sensed that both of them were smiling at the thought.