Page 99 of Becoming Super

CHAPTER 14 – Chloe

“That bastard Broomsfinally cracked. We learned that The Stavainians were funding the rebels on Seron, and he was feeding them information on where to attack. After the treason he has committed I can’t see the council ever letting him go. At best he can make some kind of a plea bargain for his life. Brooms confirmed that the Stavainians are now resorting to going into the planets that are less stable and trying to cause chaos.” I sat there trying to understand the debriefing that The Head Commander was giving us on the mission that I was supposed to be going on. He said that since Heath was already there they might as well get the ball rolling.

I hadn’t realized that Heath would even be going, but he and Rylee would be taking Axel and Sarah’s place. Because pregnancies of this nature have never been reported, they wanted to keep her for further observation.

She didn’t want any part of it, but Axel insisted. I didn’t know who was more surprised about that, Sarah or Zack. I got the impression that Zack lived and breathed for The Intergalactic Council. A part of me was impressed with his dedication to what he believed in. My parents were very dedicated to their work as well, but another part of me longed for the type of relationship that Axel and Sarah had where he would do anything to protect her.

The moment the thought crossed my mind I was horrified. I didn’t need anyone, least of all a man that would eventually let me down. Hell, Zack already abandoned me once when I was in a coma; why would he put his career on hold?

And I didn’t want that, did I?

Rylee was pumped at the chance to be going on this mission; this would be her first one. From that, The Head Commander explained it should be rather simple. Volton, a planet in the Nebula system, had been experiencing a rash of random violence.

“What is the government like on Volton?” Rylee asked.

I noticed that Heath hadn’t taken his eyes off her for more than ten seconds since he arrived. He had to be five or six years older, not much younger than I was. I didn’t know how The Head Commander and his family would feel if Heath was to pursue Rylee.

The Head Commander pressed a button in his coms unit and a rather young man appeared as a hologram above his wrist.

“He’s just a kid,” Zack scowled. “That could be half the problem.”

The Head Commander shrugged. “Tantar is the last of his line to take the throne in Volton. Not only do they still have a feudal system, but they are strict with royal bloodlines. It is my opinion that whoever is behind the violence wants to dethrone Tantar. He just came into his majority at the age of nineteen.”

“Does he have a girlfriend?” Rylee asked, taking a closer look at the young king.

I tried to stifle a laugh as both Zack and Heath took on murderous expressions. Obviously, it was for different reasons, but I found it humorous just the same. The Head Commander winked at me and I had the feeling that he too was amused.

“No,” The Head Commander waited until Rylee was able to gloat a moment at her brother before he finished. “However, I am told he and his boyfriend are very serious.”

Rylee’s face fell, and Zack laughed.

Heath still looked tense. I don’t think that he liked the fact that Rylee was interested in other guys. I hated to break it to him, but I didn’t think that Rylee even knew of his interest. I had seen her watching him and knew that she liked what she saw.

But he never did more than lightly flirt with her, at least since I had met him.

“How is the culture there?” I asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

“What do you mean?” The Head Commander asked.

” Well, you said that the king had a boyfriend, but that he was also the last of his line. If royal bloodlines are so important there, how is he supposed to father a child?”

The Head Commander looked at me with a stunned expression. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

To me it seemed clear. “I would think that people wouldn’t be happy with the situation. Who is next to rule after him?”

“There is a second cousin, Mart, or something like that.” The Head Commander fiddled with his coms unit and then another figure appeared above his wrist.

The man was maybe mid-thirties, kind of weaselly if you asked me. There was something shifty about his eyes that I didn’t like.

“He looks normal,” Zack added, just as I was thinking the opposite.

“You are crazy, it’s totally him.” I hadn’t meant to say anything, but the words just slipped out.

The Head Commander turned again to me. “What makes you say that?”

I cleared my throat and pointed out the things that bothered me. “Look at his eyes; they are downcast and furtive. The weak chin, paunchy belly, and greedy gaze, yeah he’s not the good guy.”

I had always been able to tell if someone wasn’t right, but it seemed magnified for some reason.

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