Acting Out (12 page)

Korian’s heart was beating a fast tattoo of foreboding and
he swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. “How do I know that you are
speaking Jessica’s truth? What proof do you have to offer that what she told you
is the correct story?”

Mahoney looked upon him with a mixture of scorn and pity.
“If you cared about her half as much as she does for you, you wouldn’t need
proof. Her word would have been enough for you.” She paused for a moment to
allow her barb to sink home, and Korian flinched as her words found their mark.
“But, as it happens, Zandar was able to recover 30 days’ worth of deleted
transmissions off of Rox’Ana’s private server before they were discovered. For
the past three days, he has been holed up with Officer Felonia aboard
The
Ax’Sandre
, trolling through every single message, and cross-referencing her
communications. If you had bothered to take Mikael’s calls, he would have been
able to tell you that they found damning proof of another plan to get rid of
you.”

Korian thought he was going to be sick, but he straightened
his shoulders and demanded, “What does she intend to do?”

Mahoney took her time in answering. She stood to her feet,
stretched her arms over her head, and twisted her back until it popped with
audible noise before beginning to walk back out the way she came. As she
reached the doorway back into his room, she turned back to him and replied,
“Rox’Ana Ful’Tera has taken out a hit on you. In case you don’t understand that
slang, it means she has hired an assassin to kill you during the big meeting
with the delegation from the Council at the end of this month. The only problem
is that we have no idea who she hired.”

Darkness shrouded Jessica as she lay in her bed in the guest
quarters of Mahoney and Mikael’s small apartment in the heart of P’Hartha city.
Even though the twin suns were high in the sky, it was as dark as a starless
night in her room thanks to the black-out controls on the solar panel glass.
Any remaining ambient light was blocked out from her view by the press of a
cool, moist cloth draped across her swollen eyes. She had never cried so much
in her life as she had in the last four days. Her head ached and throbbed as if
someone were trying to chisel their way out through her skull. This, in turn,
triggered her nausea to the point that even the smell of food made her stomach
jump up her throat in eagerness to empty itself. When she managed to make it to
the bathroom, her head spun with dizziness and her body nearly collapsed with fatigue
before she could make it back to the bed just to fall into a restless slumber.
Her entire body ached and was tender to the touch. When poor Mahoney had tried
to help her sit to eat broth, she had hissed with pain which had then caused
her protective companion to attack her friend. Mahoney had ended up with
several deep gashes and punctures from the small creature’s teeth and claws,
and had to make a quick visit to the ship in order to receive corrective
treatment. Mahoney had begged her to go with her, but Jessica had refused. She
may be a miserable, pain-filled mess, but at least she found some bliss in
ignorance.

She felt like such a fool. How could she have allowed
herself to fall for a stranger who was no less than a warrior alien? She
thought she had learned her lesson at the hands of the Hollywood bad boys who
had used her to get what they wanted, whether it was her body or status, and
then dropped her as if she meant nothing to them. Yet, she had done it again
anyway. She had allowed herself to be swept up in the romance and passion of
Korian’s jealous and overbearing attentions and had convinced herself that it
was proof of his growing feelings for her. God, what an idiot she was for
believing that she had crossed light years of space and time in order to find
her match like Mahoney had. Instead, she was left alone, in physical and
emotional pain, and very likely knocked up with an alien baby for her troubles.
She was so afraid of the truth that she was paralyzed by it. Yes, she had
always wanted to be a mother, but the picture she had envisioned for herself
was a happy family unit with a man who loved her and would protect her and
their children. Now, if she was indeed carrying Korian’s baby, she would be
stuck on an alien world for the rest of her life, because there was no way she
could ever abandon her child. The thought of staying on T’Kala had been attractive
only four days ago when she thought there would be some chance of a future for
her and Korian, but now that dream was shattered along with Jessica’s heart.

A soft tap on the doorframe had her turning her neck and set
her
bimbop
to growling. “Who’s there?” she called out softly, mindful of
the drumbeat in her head.

A familiar feminine voice replied quietly, “It is just me,
my
doma
. I figured if you would not come to me aboard the ship, then I
would come to you here in the home of my son.” Light footsteps crossed the room
to the rising cadence of Little Mahoney’s growls. “Jessica, your companion is
on high alert due to your condition, and perceives everyone that approaches you
as a foe. If you will lay your hand upon her head and press her body down gently,
she will understand that you wish her to stand down and that I am no threat to
you,” Ax’Sandre R’Varsel explained with patience.

Jessica moved her hand over the covers until her hand
encountered the soft, dense fur of her pet and followed Ax’Sandre’s instructions.
She was shocked when it worked like a charm, and her
bimbop
began to
burr
contentedly even when she felt the bed sag under the medical officer’s weight
next to her hip. The older woman’s hand was cool against her cheek, and her
maternal touch brought more of the hated tears welling up in her eyes. “Can you
tell me more about what ails you, my dear? Mahoney has provided me some
background, in very colorful and strong language, but I would prefer to hear
from you. Will you answer my questions?”

Jessica’s breath shuddered in her throat and she could feel
tears leaking from her eyes to roll down her temples to soak her hair. “Okay,”
she croaked, her throat dry and scratchy from vomiting anything she ate. Her
misery had gone on long enough, and if Ax’Sandre could help her control her
physical pain, that would free Jessica up to deal with the emotional ones.

Ax’Sandre was calm, professional, and matter-of-fact with
her questions, and Jessica told her everything she wished to know including the
approximate dates of when she and Korian had begun having sex, when she had
last had her period, and what her current symptoms were and when they began.
The medical officer thanked her for her honesty, and switched out the cold compress
over Jessica’s eyes.

“I would like to ask your permission to run a basic
diagnostic test, Jessica. Of course, it will not be nearly as complex and
all-encompassing as the full scan, but it may give us the answers we need,” the
medical officer prompted her.

Her voice warbled and cracked with her response. “Will
it…will it be able to tell if I’m…you know?”

Ax’Sandre sighed heavily, and picked up Jessica’s hand to
clasp in her own. “Sweetheart, I think I already know the answer to that
question,” she broke the news gently. “Do you recall meeting my
mina
,
Marte?” When Jessica just nodded in reply, she continued, “You know she is a
full-blooded human from Earth just as you are. I spoke with her before I
arrived and asked her about her symptoms when she was pregnant with her first
child, my oldest brother. She told me that she was seriously ill for many days
with migraine headaches, vomiting, wild mood swings, and her whole body ached
to the touch. Back then, medi-scans and corrective treatments were not as
readily available as they are now, and she had to suffer through this illness
for a week until my
dadan
was able to get her to a hospital.”

Jessica cried harder and winced when a bolt of pain shot
through her head. “But I don’t understand! I’ve known a lot of women who have
had babies, including my two older sisters, and they never experienced anything
close to this.”

Mikael’s mother shushed her and ran a soothing hand through
her hair. “Jessica, what are the typical symptoms for such a condition on your Earth?
Nausea, mild headaches, tender breasts, and bouts of slight dizziness, yes?
Now, consider the fact that you may be carrying the babe of an entirely
different, albeit compatible, species. Your body is under a tremendous amount
of stress, my dear, and it only stands to reason that normal symptoms would be
magnified as your body prepares itself to host and nourish a new life with DNA
that is half foreign from your own.”

Jessica took a few moments to gather her courage before
whispering, “Do the test, Ax’Sandre. Forewarned is forearmed, they always say.”

The medical officer squeezed her arm in comfort and then
Jessica felt her roll a pen-shaped device along the crook of her elbow, across
the span of her forehead, and then finally touched it to the tip of her tongue.
She then heard the click of Ax’Sandre’s fingernail tapping against the surface
of some device for several moments before she spoke again.

“The diagnostic scanner is picking up increased levels of
estrogen and unusually high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, as well as
the chemical progesterone. It is also picking up a strong trace of another
chemical compound called
kalanian uphortia
,” she announced the results
with precise and clinical tones.

Jessica pulled the compress off her eyes and searched until
she found the older woman sitting next to her in the darkness of the room. “I
know what estrogen is, but I’ve never heard of the rest of that. What does that
mean?”

“Even if the first three chemicals did not tell me what I
wished to know, the presence of the last one is undeniable proof. You see,
kalanian
uphortia
is a compound found only within T’Kalan chromosomes. It seems you
are indeed carrying the heir to the T’Kalan throne, Jessica.”

Later that evening, Jessica moaned with delight as she
feasted on a version of the stroganoff meal she had first tasted at Korian’s
table. It felt so good to eat solid food again, and the relief that accompanied
her cured symptoms allowed her to think clearly for the first time in days. After
hearing the truth of her condition from Ax’Sandre, she had allowed the chief
medical officer to call for a hovercraft equipped with a medi-bed, and was
transported to the ship for a full scan and corrective treatment. They had both
agreed that the privacy that was afforded them by the medical bay on the ship
was preferable to going to the big hospital in the city. Jessica wanted no
opportunity for nosey medi-techs and doctors to spill the beans about her
condition before she was ready to tell Korian. It was hard enough to convince
Ax’Sandre and Mahoney to keep her secret for the time, but in the end, they
both agreed to keep their mouths shut until Jessica gave them permission to
reveal the news.

 It had been a close call, though, when they docked in the
bay of
The Ax’Sandre
and heard the news that not only was Zandar on
board the ship, but so was Mikael and Korian. Jessica had begun to panic,
sending her loyal pet into a spasm of snarling, until Mahoney had assured her
that there would be no challenge forthcoming from the king and that all three
warriors were sequestered in the communications room together. The stalwart
female warrior refused to offer any further explanation at the time, and
insisted that her friend receive treatment before she would tell Jessica why
the king was not ripping Zandar to shreds.

The full scan confirmed Ax’Sandre’s initial findings along
with the estimated gestation period of the king’s child growing in her womb.
When Jessica and Mahoney had both exclaimed that six months could not possibly
be correct, Ax’Sandre had found herself giving the two human women lessons in
T’Kalan biology. Since females of their race only ovulated twice a year, the
males were capable of producing twice the amount of sperm as human males in
order to ensure optimal conditions for conception. Their scientists speculated
that because of these factors, gestation in T’Kalan females approximated only
six months’ time in order to provide a greater chance of conceiving more
children in their lifetimes. Even so, most T’Kalan couples were only lucky
enough to sire one or two children together. Korian himself had been an only
child, and most T’Kalan nobles that she had met had only one or two children,
if any at all. Mikael, because of his mother’s half-human blood, was luckier in
having grown up with two sisters, while Ax’Sandre had been the middle child of
five thanks to her mother being a full-blooded human.

After the scan, Ax’Sandre had proceeded with the corrective
treatment that had balanced her hormones, alleviated her nausea, and cured the
pounding headaches that had crippled her with pain. By the time she was done,
Jessica felt like new money and was ready to face her altered reality head on.
With a hug and kiss of gratitude for the motherly medical officer, Jessica, her
faithful pet, and Mahoney had made their way back to her apartment in the city
to have dinner and discuss what had transpired in the past few days that she
had missed out on during her convalescence.

“Did food taste this good before now? Because I swear to
God, this tastes like manna from heaven,” Jessica said around a mouthful of
succulent meat, gravy, and noodles. She paused to slip a juicy bit of meat to
her pet that was happily
burr
ing on her lap while Mahoney looked on with
disgust.

“I’d think even chocolate-covered dog shit would taste good
after four days of puking your guts up all over my bathroom,” her loving friend
replied sardonically as she shoveled her own meal into her mouth. “Speaking of
which, have I mentioned how much I enjoy the technological advances of this
world? Thank God for self-sanitizing appliances and cleaning bots, because I’m
not sure our friendship would have survived if I’d had to clean your vomit off
of the floor and toilet for four days.”

Jessica laughed for the first time in what felt like years.
She was almost giddy with the relief of feeling mostly normal again, and she
could see the echo of it reflected on Mahoney’s face. She had hated causing her
friend so much worry, but she’d had nowhere else to turn. Even Mikael, who was
a fearsome warrior himself, had hovered in her doorway with anxious offers of
help and had willingly fetched anything Mahoney had barked at him to get. They
were both wonderful friends, but over the last month of their ordeal, she and
Mahoney had become closer than sisters. Jessica had a feeling that Mahoney was
the one to thank for preventing the warrior challenge, too, and she meant to
find out how she had managed it.

Finally replete from her meal, Jessica lay her fork down and
took a long draught from her container of
zala
berry-infused water. She
rubbed her full belly absently and bent a serious look on her friend. “Okay,
Mahoney. No more stalling. What did you do?”

The tall, athletically-toned woman sitting across from her
leaned back in her chair and shrugged lazily. “I have no idea what you’re
talking about.”

“Lies!” Jessica accused, her finger pointing in Mahoney’s
face. “I know you had to have done something in order to get Korian and Zandar
in the same room without them killing each other. So, spill already.”

Mahoney rolled her eyes in faux annoyance and huffed, “Fine.
I may or may not have issued a Warrior Challenge to Korian to defend your
honor.”

“You what?!” the actress screeched, bolting to her feet in
shock while barely catching her pet before it hit the floor. Cradling the
bimbop
to her chest, she continued, “What were you thinking, Mahoney? I told you
not to interfere! You can’t keep fighting my battles for me. I appreciate you
wanting to stand up for me, but I have to do it for myself or no one will ever
respect me.”

Mahoney scowled and pushed her plate away in order to leave
room to brace her elbows on the table. “What was I supposed to do, Jess? The
man accused you of sleeping around on him and broke your heart. You were in no
condition to take care of it, so I did it for you.” She frowned as she paused
for a moment. “Though, it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I had hoped it would
be. He agreed to talk to me if I promised to drop the challenge. I have to
admit that I was disappointed that I didn’t get to kick his ass.”

Jessica released the breath that she had been holding and
felt the tension drain out of her body. “Thank God for small favors,” she
mumbled. “I love that you want to protect me, but you’ve got to remember that
you are a citizen of T’Kala now and you answer directly to Korian. I can’t
believe you challenged him to a fight.” She paused, met Mahoney’s incredulous
stare, and conceded, “Okay, I
can
believe it. I’m just glad he agreed to
talk it out. What happened next?”

Before her friend could answer, there was a chime indicating
that the transmission server requested their attention. When Mahoney gave the
command to speak, a male robotic voice intoned, “There is a delivery for Miss Jessica
MacGregor at the front desk. Permission requested to allow admission.”

Mahoney’s eyebrow arched and a knowing grin stretched across
her lips. “Permission granted.”

Both women made their way toward the door into the
apartment, and Mahoney reached forward to press her palm to the sensor to open
the panel. A few moments later, a parade of men and women marched through the
door, their arms loaded down with packages and bouquets of flowers. The last
person carried only a small tablet and indicated that there was a message
recorded for her. They politely declined when Mahoney tried to offer them a
tip, and ensured the women that all payment had already been received before
they once again trooped through the doorway to leave.

Jessica and Mahoney stared around them at the piles of boxes
and packages and flowers taking up the entirety of her friend’s sitting room.
Jessica ran a finger down the curve of a bell-shaped
thalia
flower that,
along with several dozen others, perfumed the air with the heady scent of
vanilla and sandalwood. Mahoney peeked into a random box and whooped with
excitement when she discovered a selection of gourmet T’Kalan sweetbreads
frosted with a colorful, fruity glaze, and Jessica opened a smaller box to find
a new, beautifully jeweled collar for her companion.

“What in the world is all of this stuff?” Jessica asked, her
voice dripping with amazement as she liberated a glittering, teal-colored dress
from another bag.

“Why don’t you play the message and find out?” Mahoney mumbled
around a mouthful of sweetbread while spraying crumbs everywhere.       

Jessica picked up the tablet from where she had lain it when
she and Mahoney had explored some of the packages. Pressing a finger to the
screen, a familiar voice that sent shivers up her spine began to speak. “
Jessica,
I know that I have allowed myself to behave worse than a feral
vlarnek
in
rut and am completely undeserving of your forgiveness. However, I cannot help
but ask for it anyway, and hope that you will find it within your heart to offer
it. I treated you terribly when you have done nothing more than place your
entire life on hold for me and my kingdom while working tirelessly to help me
secure my throne. I cannot begin to describe how ashamed and small I feel after
the things I said to you. You are a brilliant star that has shot across my sky,
and when I tried to catch you, I crushed your spirit and extinguished your
light. If you would consent to a face-to-face meeting with me, I would very
much like to speak more on this matter, but I will concede to your wishes.
Mikael has assured me that you are being well taken care of in his home, and my
only wish is that you take whatever steps necessary to ensure your health and
happiness from this moment forward. May the stars shine down upon you in
blessing, my
thalia
. Your servant, King Korian Ak’Falin.”

Jessica listened to the recording two more times before she
broke the silence. Clearing her throat from where it had swelled with emotion,
she conceded, “Man, these T’Kalan guys have a way with flowery language, don’t
they?”

Mahoney swallowed the last of her pastry and nodded her
agreement. “You can say that again. He could’ve saved so much time if he had
just admitted he fucked up. That’s what I told him he did, anyways.”

Jessica clapped her hand to her mouth and giggled. “God,
Mahoney! How is it that you’re not clapped in irons in his dungeon right now?”
When her friend just shrugged and looked unconcerned about the prospect,
Jessica’s smile faded and her gaze tracked over the piles of gifts from the
remorseful king. “What did you say to him?”

“You mean before or after I called him an asshole?” her
friend riffed. When Jessica just pursed her lips and showed no signs of
amusement, Mahoney huffed, “Fine! Basically, I told him the truth of what
really happened that night. I think he had already reached the point in his
pouting stage that he realized he had made a mistake, anyway, because he kept
grasping at straws to try to justify his behavior. I shut his ass down quick,
though, when I told him what Zandar had found while reviewing Rox’Ana’s deleted
transmissions.”

Jessica’s head jerked up and her eyes widened. “What the
what? You didn’t tell me he found anything!”

Mahoney opened another box to peek inside and curled her lip
at the bottle of perfume nestled inside. “So sorry, princess. You were a little
too busy worshiping the porcelain god to listen to anything I had to say.” When
Jessica just rolled her hand theatrically to hurry her along, she continued,
“Zandar and Officer Felonia found several transmissions from Rox’Ana to a
private server located on Mamaxon, a ruling planet in the Great Alliance. After
running them through several different encryption breakers, Zandar unearthed
proof that she had hired an assassin to kill Korian during the big Council
meeting at the end of the month.”

Jessica felt as if her blood had turned to ice in her veins
and the food in her stomach turned to lead. Her companion whined with distress
against her neck and Jessica absently stroked and shushed her until they both
calmed. “Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? I mean, they can arrest the
noblewoman for treason and attempted murder and turn the assassin over to the
Council, right? Korian will be safe, and Rox’Ana will be out of the picture.”

Mahoney’s delicate features morphed into the mask she wore
when she had bad news to deliver. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be that
easy, Jess. We weren’t able to trace who she sent the transmission to. There
are at least five representatives, including the Council delegate, from Mamaxon
scheduled to arrive at the conference, and that’s not counting any staff they
bring with them. We weren’t able to follow a payment trail, either, because she
deposited the credits to an account located on a planet outside the Alliance.
We have no idea who it is that may be coming to kill the king.”

Jessica’s hand moved down to rest on her abdomen
instinctively at the news, and Mahoney gripped her elbow to lead her to a chair
before she collapsed. She smiled her thanks and queried, “Then the answer is
simple. All Korian has to do is arrest the noblewoman and cancel the
convention, or question Rox’Ana until she gives up her contact.”

Mahoney squatted in front of her friend and caught her gaze
with her own. “We can’t do that, Jess. We have no way of knowing if the hitman
will still find a way to kill him or not, and Korian refuses to negotiate with
the woman. He wants her exiled from T’Kala under a cloud of scandal so large
that her followers will think twice about following in her footsteps. We can’t
cancel the conference, either. T’Kala is a newer member of the Alliance and if
Korian wants to be taken seriously, especially when he is asking for their
help, then he has to make a good showing while hosting the Council. If he
cancels, T’Kala will be seen as weak and unworthy of Council attention. It was
apparently a huge boon for Korian to be able to convince them to visit at all.”