Epilogue

Two months later

Planet Nomoru

After depositing James Bond in our suite, Maxx and I hurried to the holo-theater in the palace of Araset. If the vote went the way we hoped, a bright new future for New Terra and the galaxy would be dawning. An emergency meeting of the General Assembly of the League of Planets had been called.

King Saar and Queen Citrine had generously sent a ship to ferry us to Araset so we could watch the meeting. There’d been a delay, and we were late.

As we entered the theater, Millie Rogers spotted us from the heavily decorated balcony box. She leaned over the railing and waved.

With a burst of excitement, I waved back. Grabbing Maxx’s hand, I practically ran for the waiting grav-lift that would deposit us in the balcony box.

Inside the private balcony, the whole gang got to their feet—Millie and her bond-mate Nadir, Holly Winter and Prince Aeon, Kat Whalen and Prince Lomax, and Joule and Giselle Cartier.

“It’s been so long. I was afraid I’d never see you again.” Kat rushed to hug me.

“Never think never!” I said.

“Jessie!” Millie grabbed me in a rib-cracking embrace. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too!” I hugged her back just as hard. New Terra would always be my home, but these ladies were like sisters to me. Uncertain if I should follow protocol, I gave a little bow to Aeon and Lomax.

“Formality isn’t required here,” Aeon said.

“We’re all friends,” Lomax added. “We’re so glad to see you again.”

“Thank you! Everybody”—I glanced at each one of my friends—“this is Maxx!” They knew of him—I’d kept in touch via his handheld—but they’d never met him.

“Welcome to Araset,” Aeon and Lomax said, almost in unison.

My friends beamed and chimed in with greetings.

“Hi, Maxx!”

“Great to meet you!”

“Thank you for including me,” Maxx said.

“Jessie’s friends are always welcome,” Aeon said.

Holly embraced me. “We expected you a couple of days ago. We were worried you wouldn’t get here in time.”

“A little glitch in the wormhole delayed us. We just got here.” I gave Nadir a quick hug. “Thanks for the ship.” The king and queen had approved dispatching a vessel, but their chief advisor had arranged for it. It may have even been his idea.

He looked embarrassed but pleased. “I’m glad you were able to make it. Her Majesty is delighted you’ve returned.” He glanced at the balcony where Queen Citrine sat with an unfamiliar furry, horned woman dressed in an embroidered flowing tunic.

Who’s she? Where’s King Saar? “Who is that with Queen Citrine?” And where is the king?

“That’s Queen Augera of Copa,” Maxx answered.

I leaned forward to get a better look. Rather patchy fur stretched over a very thin frame. But she was alive. “She looks pretty good, considering.”

“She almost succumbed, but she got the antidote in the nick of time,” Nadir said.

“The news of how the princess had been poisoning her own mother has spread throughout the galaxy,” Giselle commented.

“The queen is very fortunate the princess felt some remorse and confessed,” Aeon said.

Maxx and I exchanged a glance. We weren’t supposed to know what had happened. While on leave, he didn’t have access to confidential information. However, his contacts had kept him in the loop. The stonewalling princess had refused to answer any of the interrogators’ questions, so she had been taken to planet Mnemonia, where a Nemoni mind reader had extracted the evidence needed to seal her conviction. That was how they’d learned what poison she’d used on her mother.

“This is Queen Augera’s first visit to Araset, hopefully the first of many,” Nadir said.

“Peace between the two kingdoms has been a long time coming,” Aeon agreed. “Araset and Copa have been fighting off and on for centuries. A ceasefire has been in effect for a few years, but perhaps now we can achieve not just a truce but genuine amity. We had assumed the lack of progress was caused by Queen Augera, but it appears Imana had been trying to foment hostility.”

“Mother says Queen Augera has been very reasonable and accommodating,” Lomax added.

“Maybe Queen Augera is feeling a little guilty,” Giselle suggested. “Her own daughter masterminded the largest alien sentient trafficking cartel. The queen wasn’t involved, but she’d heard the rumors and chose not to investigate. It’s a stain on her and her rule. She’s trying to redeem herself.”

Joule, who was Copan, snorted. “Discovering her daughter had been trying to kill her adjusted her attitude a bit, too. She dodged blaster fire on that one.”

Lomax elbowed Aeon. “So did you. Imagine if you had bond-mated with Imana like Father wanted.”

“It would never have happened. I’d decided even before meeting Holly I wasn’t going to bond-mate with Imana. I just needed a good excuse.”

“So that’s why you bond-mated with me? You needed an excuse to break your betrothal?” Holly glowered dramatically.

“You stepped in that one.” Lomax laughed at his older brother.

“More like you pushed me into it,” Aeon retorted.

“Speaking of bond-mating, how much longer do you think it will be before the General Assembly meets?” I eyed the stage.

Nadir consulted his handheld. “Probably ten minutes.”

That should be enough time to share our good news. I looked at Maxx. His gaze heated. A tiny smile touched his lips. Warmth spread through me.

“Hey, get a room!” Millie said.

I took Maxx’s hand. “We have an announcement. We got married.”

My friends squealed.

“I’m so happy for you!” Holly grabbed me in a hug.

“Congratulations!” Giselle said.

“Once you go alien, there’s no going back.” Millie grinned.

“You got married without us?” Kat cried.

“I’m sorry. I wish you all could have been with us,” I said. A judge at the Jericho complex had married us in a simple ceremony attended by Adele Abercrombie and Garrison. “With the galactic situation so uncertain—the embargo still in effect—we felt we needed to get some legal foundation to our relationship since Maxx isn’t supposed to be on New Terra.

“But, now that we’re on Nomoru…”

“We’re hoping you can attend our bond-mating ceremony,” Maxx finished.

“We’d like to hold it on Nomoru before we return to New Terra,” I said.

My friends squealed and hugged us.

“You’ll be my attendants?” I looked at the ladies.

“Of course!” they all answered with big smiles.

“You may hold the ceremony here in the palace,” Lomax offered.

“Thank you. That’s very generous,” I said. I hadn’t wanted to presume too much. “We have a special request. We’d like to invite Maxx’s mother and father—”

“Of course!” Aeon said.

“And…my next-door neighbor on New Terra. She is Maxx’s maternal grandmother.”

“Your mother is human?” Holly’s eyes widened.

“She was abducted as a young woman,” he explained. “My father rescued her, but because of the embargo, she couldn’t return home.

“Adele Abercrombie never lost hope her daughter was alive, but she never knew for sure. After Imana got captured, I introduced myself to my grandmother and revealed who I was. I promised to reunite them as soon as possible. Our bond-mating ceremony would be the reunion. But her ability to travel here will depend on how the General Assembly votes. Hopefully, we’ll have a positive outcome.”

“We’ll make it happen regardless of the outcome.” Aeon looked at Nadir.

“Absolutely.” Nadir nodded. “Just say the word—”

The open space on the stage shimmered.

“It’s starting!” Nadir said.

“Everybody sit down,” Lomax said.

More quick hugs and congratulations ensued, and then we took our seats.

“Here, you’ll need this.” Nadir passed me a small device.

“What’s this?”

“A portable translator. So you can understand what’s being said.”

“Thanks.” I stuck it in my ear.

Within moments, the members of the General Assembly in holographic form materialized on the stage, seated in tiers. The technology continued to amaze me. If I hadn’t seen them appear out of thin air, I would have sworn they were live people rather than holographic images beamed in from LOP’s headquarters.

Although not every planet with intelligent life belonged to the LOP, most did, and I gaped at the diversity of life. Very few were humanoid. I glanced at the Copans and Arasetans we five women had chosen as partners. Horns and fur didn’t seem so different now. Humans and the people of Nomoru were more alike than not.

“There’s King Saar!” Kat pointed out the berobed Arasetan with jeweled horns, in the tiers on the stage.

That’s why he’s not here with the queen. Duh. He’s representing Araset.

The consul general climbed onto a dais facing the tiers and began to speak. “As you all are aware, this emergency meeting of the General Assembly has been called to discuss Resolution NT06, which would rescind Resolution NT01, prohibiting member planets from contacting or visiting New Terra or engaging in commerce or trade with the planet. If passed, the resolution would allow free and open communication and commerce.

“It is the contention of the anti-trafficking task force that the Resolution NT01 barring contact with New Terra unintentionally, but provably, contributed to the abduction of thousands of humans by providing cover to the Copan-Cerulean Cartel.”

A cacophony of voices broke out.

“Order! Order!” the consul general demanded.

As the commotion died down, someone shouted out, “Does this mean they will be admitted to the League of Planets?”

“In the short term, no. They aren’t ready yet. They have been living in isolation. The ways of the galactic community will be foreign to them. Their new leader, President Isaacson, only recently was informed of the existence of the LOP. However, membership is the long-term goal.”

More commotion broke out, and the consul general called for order again. “You will have time to comment and voice your concerns. Let’s get to the testimony and evidence.”

One by one, speakers stepped up onto the dais—Jovi was the only one I recognized—and presented data on numbers of the abductions, comparisons to other sectors, the cartel’s activities, and—what drew another universal outburst—the proof that humans hadn’t been responsible for the Great Nuclear War. Working through Maxx, New Terra’s new president had forwarded the vids and other evidence to the LOP.

Clutching Maxx’s hand, I perched on the edge of my seat. Not only could the resolution be the start of a whole new era for my planet, but it would be life-changing for us. It would enable Maxx and me to live openly as husband and wife and bond-mates, for him to come and go on New Terra, and for his mother to finally reunite with her mother. Maxx had broken the rules by marrying me, by just being with me. The king and queen of Araset had violated the embargo in sending a ship for us.

Whatever happened, Maxx and I had decided to stay on New Terra. We were needed there. I’d been promoted to the Secretary of Planetary Affairs, formerly the Department of State, after Garrison had been picked by Isaacson to be his vice president. If the embargo got lifted, Maxx hoped to become the LOP liaison-in-residence.

Rescinding the embargo would bring us freedom and security.

Just changing the law wouldn’t change sentiment overnight. There would still be people who would believe the worst of us. But attitudes would never change unless they got a chance to know us personally.

I eyed King Saar’s lifelike holographic image. Few were as xenophobic as he had been. He’d stripped Aeon of his royal title when he’d bond-mated with Holly. But then he’d reinstated it. And, since then, he’d warmed considerably to all of us. According to my friends, he positively doted on Kat. The fact he had a favorite human proved how far he’d come.

And Nadir. He, too, had been anti-human. He’d since become a dear friend and our greatest champion.

Others, like Joule and Maxx, had put their lives on the line for us.

We humans would win over the naysayers. We just needed the chance.

The arguments and presentations continued for two hours, and then the consul general called for the vote. A holographic scoreboard appeared on the stage.

“There are 200 members in the General Assembly,” Maxx whispered to me. “But the seats for Copa and Cerulea are vacant. Their membership has been suspended. That leaves 198 possible votes. We need 100 for it to pass.”

“What if it ties?”

“Then it doesn’t pass. Nay is on the left side of the scoreboard; yea is on right.”

The votes began to roll in—but I couldn’t read the unfamiliar symbols, although I could tell from the way he tensed and relaxed whether we were up or down. I snuck a glance at the other men. They looked similarly on edge.

The numbers stopped changing. Right differed from left, but what did it mean?

“Yes!” Maxx shouted and leaped to his feet. “Yes!”

“We won?”

“We won!” He grabbed me and kissed me.

My friends and their bond-mates cheered. Queen Citrine was smiling, and the king’s hologram nodded with satisfaction.

“What was the vote?”

He winced. “One hundred two to ninety-six. Slim margin, I know but—”

“Hell, no, that’s amazing.” I grinned. “It’s huge progress. We won over more than half the people in a couple of hours. Imagine what we can do with a little time. Today, the General Assembly, tomorrow, the galaxy!”

“First order of business, let’s reunite your family and plan our bond-mating ceremony. It will be a celebration!”

My friends cheered.

“The best kind of celebration,” Maxx said and kissed me.

* * * *