Acting Out (16 page)

The elfin alien female nodded thoughtfully and wandered away
to her seat as Jessica blew out a relieved breath. Only two more to go before
they could take their seats for the exhibition that she and Korian had worked
so hard on. As Korian dutifully steered her toward the other side of the box,
she had no problems picking out the Phargannan delegate. The female was not
much taller than Jessica, but that was where all similarities ended. Her hair
was a royal blue, shaved on the sides, and the rest was twined in an intricate
braid as thick around as a softball and it ran down the center of her skull
until it came to a rest right above her generously rounded bottom. Her body was
pleasantly plump with curves that would put Kim Kardashian to shame, and she
showed them off proudly with a ruby red strapless top that ended at her midriff
and a sunshine yellow skirt that clung to her thick thighs like second skin.
Speaking of skin, hers was the color of toasted coconut, but her most arresting
feature was her eyes. They glowed a brilliant green so bright that they cast
shadows on her cheeks and partially obscured her orange lipstick from view.

“Good God. Mahoney was right. She could have stepped off the
cover of my notebook from middle school,” she mumbled to herself.

Korian looked at her askance, but she just shook her head as
he brought them to a halt in front of the delegate who was watching them with
gleeful interest. Before he could introduce her, however, the woman grabbed
Jessica’s face and kissed her full on the lips with a loud smack.

“Korian, you bad, bad boy!” the woman trilled as she ran her
colorful fingernails through Jessica’s hair. “Where did you get this gorgeous
specimen? She is just delicious! And look at this hair! If I did not know her
to be human, I would swear she came from Pharganna!”

Jessica was stunned speechless at the flagrant familiarity
with which the woman handled her. Korian saved her from having to speak by
clearing his throat and saying, “Deedoe, may I introduce Jessica MacGregor,
lately of Earth?”

Jessica unstuck her tongue from the roof of her mouth and gamely
added, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Deedoe of Pharganna.”

The living Rainbow Brite doll cackled and pulled Jessica
into her bountiful boobs for a crushing hug, causing an outraged squawk from
her pet. “You don’t mean that yet, but you will!” Jessica caught a faint whiff
of a fruity scent before the crazy lady let her go. “So, Jessica MacGregor, are
you and the good warrior king fucking each other?”

Jessica’s mouth dropped open and she stammered, “Uh, I don’t
know what you mean.”

Deedoe clapped her hands and squealed, “You are! I knew it
as soon as I saw you two together. You will make very beautiful young together.”
When Jessica’s face bloomed with color, the strange female’s eyes widened and
she punched Korian hard on the arm. “You naughty boy! I will petition the stars
to give the babe her red hair. It will be much more interesting than your
black, yes? Come, Jessica MacGregor. I will introduce you to the dour and
humorless delegate from Mamaxon.”

Before Jessica even knew what was happening, Deedoe took her
by the arm and hauled her to the front of the box where the tall man with the
slate blue skin and short, pale yellow hair gazed out over the crowd. She shot
a panicked look over her shoulder at Korian, but he just shrugged helplessly
and followed in their wake.

“Nidoba! Look and see what the sly warrior king has been
hiding from us!” the Phargannan delegate called jubilantly.

The Mamaxon Council member turned his head slowly until his
black eyes landed on Jessica. She felt a chill wash over her skin and nearly
faltered in her step. She had never seen eyes like his that were so dark that
you couldn’t differentiate the iris from the pupil. That coupled with his
towering height frightened her more than the rest of the aliens put together.
His dark blue lips didn’t even twitch with the beginnings of a smile and
Jessica found her own fading.

“Delegate Deedoe, your enthusiasm is exhausting as usual,”
he replied with a deep sonorous voice. His eyes tracked up and down Jessica’s
body dismissively before he turned to his host. “King Korian, if I am not
mistaken, this woman appears to be a human from the planet Earth. Your world is
not so new to the Alliance that you were unaware of the rules governing barbarian
planets, and yet, here she stands.”

Jessica’s head snapped up at his rude pronouncement and she
found her temper. Before Korian could formulate a reply, she took a deep,
calming breath and spoke. “Delegate Nidoba, please allow me to introduce
myself. My name is Jessica MacGregor and I am the intended lifemate and future
queen of T’Kala. As such, I welcome you most warmly to our world and hope that
you find your stay here both entertaining and informative. I would be honored
to share more with you about my home world and our
civilized
society
should you find the time before your departure,” she announced, her tone icy
but achingly polite.

She saw Korian wince out of the corner of her eye, but
Deedoe chortled merrily at the fraught tableau and crushed Jessica into her
side. “She meant every word of what she said, but she is offended and angry at
your attitude, Nidoba. It is not well done of you to insult the future queen of
our allies, yes?” To Jessica, she whispered loudly, “Do not fear for your
lover, beautiful human. The Council tends to look the other way when it comes
to situations such as yours. Besides, Nidoba is just cranky because he has not
been able to locate his new lifemate since they docked. It was an arranged
marriage, you see, and the new bride has been most reluctant to fuck her new
husband.”

Korian made a choking noise behind her, and Jessica was once
again struck dumb by the blunt and truthful alien woman. She was saved from
having to formulate a diplomatic reply when the lighting in the box dimmed and
the ones on the stage glowed to life.

“Ah, it seems the exhibition is about ready to begin,”
Korian cut in smoothly. “Perhaps we should all seek our seats and enjoy the
talents of T’Kala that Jessica worked so tirelessly to put together for your
entertainment.”

The Mamaxon delegate only tipped his head in agreement and
left to find his seat, but Deedoe linked her fingers through Jessica’s and
towed her over to the front row and plunked down in a seat, forcing Jessica to
take the one next to her. Korian graciously took the one on her other side,
careful not to squash the sleeping pet in her bag.

As the emcee took the stage, Jessica mumbled under her
breath, “Note to self: apologize to Mahoney for all the times I forced her to
hug me.”

“What was that, red beauty?” the delegate whispered loudly.
When Jessica just waved her away with a wan smile, the alien female grinned
like a loon and clasped Jessica’s hand to her pillowy breasts and squealed,
“This is going to be so great!”

The exhibition went off without a hitch and went even better
than Korian had hoped. The first act had been the dance troupe from Nin’Tala.
They had never been asked to perform in the capitol city before, and they had
apparently taken the chance to ensure they were never forgotten. Nearly fifty
dancers had arrived to take the stage, and they had prepared a production that
told the story of the first warrior captive bride. It was a beautiful love
story, full of betrayal, hope, and redemption, and their graceful movements and
special effects only made it even more powerful. When the dancers playing the
warrior king and Balanx queen kissed, the entire stadium stood to their feet
with shouts of “More!” and “Another!”

The next act had been the acrobats from Vin’Tress. Korian
had explained that he wanted a spectacle, and they delivered his wishes
tenfold. They filled the stage with large hoops that were ringed with fire,
deadly sharp swords, and huge inflatable balls to mention a few. There were
twenty acrobats and they ranged in age from an older man with gray threaded
through his black hair to a youngling of only five. Jessica, along with
everyone else in the VIP box, gasped and shouted out in alarm when one muscled
young man tossed the child high up in the air over a hoop of fire, but then
they cheered when the youngling somersaulted through the air to land in the
middle unscathed. Next, the performers balanced on the balls while another sat
on his shoulders and they juggled the swords while passing them back and forth
as the bottom one rolled them around the stage. Even Nidoba was on the edge of
his seat as the child climbed the balancing men, stood to his feet on the top
one’s shoulders, and then launched himself through the air to land on the
other’s teams’ shoulders. The crowd went wild with approval, and the delegate
from Sinepax immediately asked Korian when she could book them for several
shows on her planet.

After clearing away the props for the acrobats, the stage
went completely dark, casting the entire arena into shadows. People began to
whisper anxiously, assuming some kind of technical difficulty, but then a lone
figure strode out to the center of the stage to sit in a chair. He held
something large and bulky in his hands, and the crowd once again grew silent
with anticipation. The man arranged the item on the floor between his legs, and
it began to take on a shape in the gloom. The base was wide enough to force his
legs apart in order to accommodate its width, but it branched off at the top
into three distinctive, thin necks. When he was situated the way he wanted, he
paused to ensure everyone’s rapt attention, and then his hands moved. A chord
of music, hauntingly lovely, reverberated throughout the crowd, and Korian
shivered as his flesh broke out into bumps. Jessica’s hand hovered in front of
her mouth as a glow of purple light shimmered in the air over the instrument,
only to change colors as he added more chords and notes to his song. As the
tune gained speed, the colored lights that emanated from the stringed
instrument began to twist and curl around each other, telling a story of
heartache and loss for all to witness. Korian glanced around him and saw tears
streaking down the faces of its inhabitants, and Jessica was openly sobbing
into his shoulder.

Thankfully, the next tune was happier, the colors brighter
and more vibrant as they stretched out into the darkness to cast the audience
in a kaleidoscope of lights that encouraged them to laugh, smile, and clap
along. Each song that Lysanter Mic’Arin played captured the emotions of his
audience and he pulled them to the surface at the whims of his fingertips, and
the crowd willingly played the mice to his pied piper. The final song was his
most powerful one yet, and stirred feelings of patriotism, pride, and victory
over the enemy as the colors swirled over his instrument to form the T’Kalan
flag. When the last note faded and the colors gave way to darkness, the
audience was frozen with arrested emotion for a long moment until they all
surged to their feet to wave their hands and shout his name. As if nothing
untoward were happening, though, Lysanter rose to his feet, took his
instrument, and departed the stage to return to his solitary existence in the
city of Bak’Bar.

“Korian! Who was that amazing musician? We must have him on
Pharganna. He would pack entire stadiums with his performances!” Deedoe
exclaimed, pink tears running down her face. “Never have I seen and heard such
truth and passion!”

Korian hated to disappoint her, but he let her down gently.
“Lysanter Mic’Arin only agreed to this performance because Jessica asked him
personally. He does not willingly leave his home, and cares nothing for fame or
fortune.”

Her face fell as she divined the truth of his words, but she
was soon distracted as the stage lights flared to life and the cadence of
dozens of measured footfalls rang across the arena until row upon row of
T’Kalan warriors filed in to fill the stage and pivot to face the VIP box in
unison. At center stage, Mikael R’Varsel snapped to attention and shouted,
“Warriors, salute!” A noise like booming thunder rang over the crowd as the
contingent of uniformed soldiers pounded their fists to their chests and
shouted, “KING KORIAN! HOO-AHH!”

Korian’s heart filled with pride and he stood to his feet
and returned the salute with a yell of “FOR T’KALA! HOO-AHH!”

When the king resumed his seat, the warriors broke rank and
began to file back off the stage, leaving only a handful behind. While others
rushed around behind him to set up the stage, Mikael spoke once more, and his
deep voice boomed over the crowd. “Delegates of the Council, representatives of
the Great Alliance, and people of T’Kala, it is my great pleasure to present to
you the warriors of T’Kala!”

The following half hour included displays of sword fighting
including Mikael taking on three warriors at once. They held nothing back, and
several nobles screamed in fear when Mikael’s sword drew blood in a long arc
down a warrior’s back, but still his opponent fought on as if it were only a scratch.
It was a powerful display of T’Kalan warrior tactics and strength, and Korian
could only hope that the Council could see what an asset they would be as
allies. Following Mikael’s successful victory, Commander Andreus took the stage
to demonstrate the skill and talent of warrior knife throwing. With a brave
volunteer taking the stage and bracing themselves against a sturdy backdrop, Andreus
steadily and quickly outlined their body with quivering daggers. When the
volunteer stepped away, a perfect silhouette remained. He continued his display
by throwing daggers into the air to pierce moving targets that resembled
hovering hockey pucks. The crowd cheered when all twenty of them fell to the
ground pierced clean through the middle.

Finally, Mikael took the stage once more to introduce the
last showcase. “And now,” Mikael called out to the rapt crowd, “It is my honor
to present to you the human from Earth, first female T’Kalan warrior, and my
lifemate, Lieutenant Commander Katsuko Mahoney R’Varsel!”

Mahoney entered the stage flanked by four brand new soldier
bots. They came to a stop in a row facing the VIP box and Mahoney bowed low
with her fingertips touching on her thighs, and the bots executed A fighting
bow with their right fist clenched against the open palm of the left. When she
rose back to full height, she announced, “On my home world of Earth, there are
many different styles of martial fighting that can take years to master. It is
my pleasure and honor to demonstrate several of them for you today. The first
two I will share with you were created in a country called China. Shaolin Kung
Fu employs basic skills that include stamina, flexibility, and balance
supplemented by meditation. Many of these forms are based on animals found in
nature. The first one I will share with you is based upon the snake.”

Behind her, on the towering vidscreen, a large King Cobra
snake flared to life. It balanced upon its body and flared its hood before
opening its mouth to flash its fangs and hiss. The audience cried out in fear,
but Mahoney was unfazed. Dispatching the bots to take their places, Mahoney
began to run through the snake form katas in order to warm up. When she was
ready, she called out, “One and two, engage!”

Two of the bots peeled off and immediately began to attack
the female warrior. Mahoney was blur of speed as she dodged and weaved around
the bots while her pointed-hand attacks snuck in under their arms to land
punishing blows. Her form was flawless and graceful, yet her blows and kicks
were powerful and deadly. The bots never had a chance to land a strike as she
beat them both back time and time again. After ten riveting minutes, she called
out “Disengage!” and the bots came to a rest and offered her a respectful bow.

Facing the crowd once more, she called out, “The next animal
form I will share with you is called White Crane Kung Fu. Based upon a flying
bird from my world, this fighting form requires extreme patience, balance,
speed, and rhythm. It incorporates boxing with hands in a beak formation and many
high kicks.”

Again, the vidscreen behind her changed to show a large
white bird with a long, graceful neck, long beak, and tall, skinny legs. It
cawed loudly and the crowd once again reacted with exclamations of surprise.
Mahoney took her position and demonstrated several katas that showed the speed
and precision of the pointed finger jabs, flicking fingertips, and high kicks
before she called out, “Three and Four, engage!” The bots broke into an attack
and Mahoney once again beat them back while using the graceful power of her
animal. The crowd was really getting into it now, and Korian couldn’t bite back
the smile at seeing Uthor leaning forward against the edge of the box for a
better view.

After her Kung Fu demos were complete, she moved on to
weapons. Her bo staff flew through the air to disarm two of the bots while it
thwacked and smacked against the other two. Jessica broke out of her carefully
structured behavior to whoop and yell, “Yeah! Kick their ass, Mahoney!” and
Korian laughed delightedly. Next, Mahoney demonstrated her double sword-hand
techniques, and when she dropped into splits to avoid two bots swinging at her
and slashed through the midriffs of both at the same time, Uthor let out a
feral scream of triumph. Her final demonstration was with nunchakus. It was
dizzying to watch them spin around and over her body as she fought off two bots
with the resounding
cracks
ringing through the stadium every time she
made contact with the hard outer shell of her opponents.

When she finished her demonstration, the crowd surged to
their feet with a roar of approval as the vidscreen faded to be replaced with a
giant T’Kalan flag. The stage and the surrounding ground filled with the
performers of the evening, sans the musician, and they waved and saluted the
crowd. As the audience continued to cheer, the lights all over the arena came
on to signal the end of the exhibition and people began to disperse and head
for the dining hall. Before Korian could gather Jessica for departure, though,
he was approached by the Harani delegate.

“Korian!” the large black panther man growled. “The human
warrior is beyond anything I have yet seen. Where can I acquire a fighter such
as this Mahoney?”

Jessica’s small hand snuck under Korian’s elbow and she
laughed lightly as she replied for him, “Uthor, there is no one else on Earth
quite like our Mahoney. However, should the Council decide to offer their help
in preventing another attack on our world by the Warfarers, I’m sure she would
be open to negotiation on helping to train a Harani youth of your choice in the
martial arts.”

Korian tightened his grip on his bold captive, but the alien
male only barked out a laugh and purred, “You are a true diplomat, Jessica
MacGregor. I will take your offer under advisement.”

As the delegates flooded out of the box to head toward the
banquet, Korian pulled Jessica into a gentle embrace. “That went exceptionally
well, my
thalia
. I have you to thank for its success this night.”

She squeezed him tight. “Don’t thank me yet, big guy. We
still have to make it through dinner with you alive and then the meeting. Don’t
you dare get killed on me, do you hear me?”

Korian chuckled softly and placed a kiss on her soft lips.
“I would not dream of disappointing you that way. Come, let us get you some
food so that our young will grow healthy and strong like its mother.”