Page 46 of Into The Rift

“I am?”

“Yes, and you well know it. Get up and we’ll find some breakfast. Then I need to decide what to do about going down to the planet’s surface. I can send the council a message and let them know I’m coming.”

“What do you think they’ll do?”

“They’ll want to know everything that happened. I’ll tell them, and they’ll be please that I managed to escape, I think.”

He nodded, looking unsure. We got up shortly after that. He began complaining about soreness, so I stopped what I was doing and kissed his sore places better. He laughed and squealed and seemed totally in shock. One thing led to another, and it was another hour or so before we got back to having food that morning.

After a while, as he ate his “first meal,” as he called it, I sent messages to the council, and by the time we finished eating and cleaning up afterward, I had a message from them in return saying they were anxious to see me and wanted me to be on my way. I had served with the council for years and had friends among them.

We set up a time for later that day, and quickly signed off.

It would give me time to consider what I might do, and I sat down with Jago, intending to simply talk aloud and work out my ideas in my own head. Almost immediately, I received a message on my communicator. It was from Linnius himself.

“Greetings, little brother. I’m anxious to speak to you when you arrive and to meet my new hostage. Do I need to send a ship for you? It seems odd that you stopped on Mara before reporting to me at once.”

“No ship necessary. I thought I had a small issue with the engine on the Tygerian vessel; however, it turned out to be nothing. I’m coming to the planet’s surface soon.”

“See to it.”

He was highhanded as usual—normal for communications with Linnius. “We have to go, little prince. I informed the council I was coming too, which may help tie the emperor’s hands a bit. Let’s get ready to leave.”

He looked apprehensive, but he began to get his suit on for our trip to the striker. I wasn’t sure what awaited us on the planet, but we’d soon find out.

Chapter Fourteen

We came in low over the capitol city, and I wondered how my home would look to this young Tygerian prince. The capitol was named Banova, after a long-ago emperor from our history. It was a huge city, with millions of people.

We didn’t build upward as a rule, but outward, so most of the larger homes and offices were sprawling structures that stretched over a lot of acreage. That was largely due to volcanic activity on our planet, with more than our share, it seemed, of earthquakes. Jago’s eyes were wide, trying to take it all in as we flew low over the city.

“Follow my lead after we land,” I told Jago. “Stay with me and don’t let anyone separate us. Everything will be fine. You’ll be fine—

He nodded, looking apprehensive. I reached for his hand again and squeezed it. “As I once heard you say to Rakkur on my ship—'don’t worry. You’ve got this.’”

We came in for a landing at the palace docks, but it was still a long way to the palace itself. We attracted a great deal of attention on the docks and people came from every direction to gawk at the “alien technology.” Linnius kept our population far too insulated from outsiders, in my opinion.

They stared at Jago too, as we disembarked and headed toward the transport that would take us to the palace.

I stayed close to Jago as we walked down the long, high-ceilinged corridor leading off the docks and into a wide-open building that was huge, with many windows and a lot of light streaming in. We came into a transport station, where a group of people were waiting outside a set of three doors. A loud whooshing sound was coming from inside a tunnel behind the doors and I stepped closer to Jago, thinking he might be frightened. He smiled at me reassuringly.

“We’re taking the transport to the Arbinus, which translates to something like Government Hall in your language. The council is waiting.”

“Not the emperor?”

“No, the council first. I hope so, at least. I don’t want Linnius causing trouble before we get there,”

“Oh.”

“Linnius may request us to stay at the palace for a few days. Don’t worry if he does. I’ll be there too.”

He sagged against me a little, giving him some of his weight. I knew he was feeling apprehensive no matter what I said. I dreaded meeting the emperor myself. Not because I feared him, but because he was so toxic. I looked down at Jago and a feeling of protectiveness came over me strongly. I was becoming used to touching him and being close to him, and I wondered if he objected. He didn’t seem to.

The transport finally arrived, and the doors glided open to admit us. It took off with a great deal of speed and Jago was plastered against the seat and my arm for a moment. I liked having him so near me, but I thought surely there were better ways to move people from one point to another over long distances. These things were old technology. Linnius didn’t invest in enough domestic projects—he was too busy destroying other planets.

We got off the transport at a docking station. I explained there were stations everywhere as no vehicle of any kind was allowed in the business section of the city. It was why I’d had to leave my shuttle so far from the docks.

This was far from the first time Jago had traveled to alien planets—I knew his parents had been Voyagers—but this was his first time on what he would think of as a hostile planet. No one was threatening him in any way, though, so I decided not to borrow trouble and try not to be so nervous for him.

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