A Preview of Alien in Charge

I’m so ready for vacation; I can practically smell the beach.

I’ve already made my plans to foil the press. If I stayed on the core worlds, the paps would follow me around endlessly. Any woman I hooked up with would be subject to persistent and outrageous privacy intrusions. And so, I’m going to take a shuttle to the mercenary stronghold of Zabala. The scandal-hungry ghouls won’t follow me there—everyone in the core planets is terrified of entering Tadej D’elim’s territory.

A month on the beach. Catching up with Tadej. Finding a willing woman to fuck. Nothing but good times await.

Then my comm flashes a message from the Empress. “Lord D’arana, could you meet me right away?” An address follows.

The Empress knows my shuttle leaves in a few hours. We talked yesterday; the two of us had grabbed a drink together. I told her my plans. After trying to discreetly pump me for information about Tadej—the two of them have a love-hate thing going on—she’d told me to stay out of the tabloids as much as possible. I promised her I’d try.

So why the summons now?

Seema is my cousin. We grew up together. If she’s using my formal title, then it’s official Empire business. And if she comms me right before my shuttle leaves… Whatever it is, it’s a problem.

My plans crumble into red dust.

I am the Second Shield of Gehar. The tabloids might believe that I have been chosen to that post for my good looks and because I provide constant entertainment for the masses, but they are wrong. I was forged in fire. When it comes to matters of the Empire, I don’t shirk my responsibilities.

“Fine,” I write back. “But you owe me a drink.”

The address Seema sent me is a human eatery in the innermost ring of Mihwar. How very strange.

A year has passed since Dimek spoke the words of courtship to Mina Vardin. A lot has happened in that time. The human contingent has been given permission to relocate from the unstable moon of Yzad to Kissura, one of the three core planets of the Gehar Cluster.

Most of them have settled in Mihwar, the capital city. There are almost two thousand of them here, mostly traders. Some human corporations have set up exploratory offices here as well, all of them jockeying for Gehar favor. Three eateries have opened, focusing on human food.

This one is called Dongbei. I enter the luxurious premises and walk up to the human hostess. She recognizes me, of course. “Your Excellency,” she says, with a flutter of her eyelashes. A wide smile covers her face. “Welcome to Dongbei. This way, please.”

She shows me to my table, her hips swaying seductively. Her body language signals that she’d be interested in spending time in my bed. Any other time, I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but today, I regretfully have to pass up the opportunity to flirt. The Empress awaits.

Dongbei might serve human food, but its architecture is all Gehar. The structure is low to the ground. Rectangular corridors arranged in a maze that encloses several small private courtyards. Jasmine scents the air, and soft music is piped in from hidden speakers.

The hostess leads me to one of these courtyards, festooned with decorative lanterns. Seema, Empress of Gehar, is already there. At her side is her Chief of Staff, Hakan Abiri.

Fuck.

Hakan Abiri is ferociously competent, cunning, clever, and ruthless. He’s perfected the art of receding into the background, and most people overlook him, which is a colossal mistake, because Hakan is quite possibly the most dangerous person in all of Gehar.

The moment I see him there, my chances of going on vacation sink to zero. If Hakan is in attendance, it’s serious.

I walk up to the two of them. “This looks like a peaceful dinner. Why do I have a bad feeling about it?”

Seema’s lips twitch. “Sit down, Jehan,” she invites, gesturing to the empty chair at her right. She turns to the hostess. “We’re waiting for a few more people,” she says. “Could you have the kitchen send us a pot of tea while they arrive?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

The woman bows and disappears. I take my seat and lean forward to look at Hakan with a raised eyebrow. He meets my gaze blandly. No doubt Abiri is planning something, but from experience, I know he’ll tell me what’s going on when he’s ready and not a moment sooner.

“I’m quite excited to try this place,” Seema comments lightly. “They serve all sorts of dumplings, Mina tells me. Soup-filled dumplings, pan fried, momos, and spiced buns. Everything sounds delicious. I don’t know how I’m going to choose.”

“You’re the Empress of Gehar,” I point out. “Order everything on the damn menu, if it’ll make you happy.”

“I don’t believe in wasting food,” Seema replies primly.

The round table is set for five people, so we’re expecting two more guests. This is a human restaurant, which means our guests are likely Earth Federation officials. Hakan is here, so this isn’t a social gathering; the Chief of Staff is incapable of making small talk and abhors society functions. What’s this about then?

I scan my memory, trying to remember the last communication from Earth Federation. It had been something about yet another planet that they’d managed to fuck up. The Federation had begged for Gehar assistance with refugee relocation.

By the Mother, I hope I’m not giving up my vacation to dine with Ambassador Winchester. The man is insufferable.

A waitress arrives with our tea. She fills the small brazier with pellets of fragrant charcoal and sets them alight. She sets the teapot on the flame, and then she bows again and retreats. I wait for the leaves to steep, and then lift it to pour. “My shuttle is supposed to leave in a couple of hours.”

Seema gives Hakan a small nod. “Tell him.”

Hakan lifts up the cup of tea I place in front of him. “Last week, we agreed to accept ten thousand human refugees from the Earth Federation planet of Nefrid.”

Ah. I’d been surprised there for an instant, but then Hakan mentions the origins of the refugees, and it makes sense. Nefrid is Mina’s home planet. When Mina married Dimek, her people became our responsibility. When they need us, we will respond. This is the Geharrim way.

Most humans don’t understand us. They don’t realize that we would have offered them shelter without negotiation. Hakan would have taken full advantage of their ignorance. “What did we get in return?”

A fleeting expression of surprise washes over Hakan’s face, and then a self-deprecating smile tugs at his lips. “For the moment, we believe that the Earth Federation’s gratitude is sufficient payment.”

I glance at Seema. “You didn’t let him set a price?”

“Mina will be happy if her people are here,” she responds. “That’s all the payment we need.” She gives the man at her left an amused glance. “Hakan is very annoyed with me. It will pass.”

Hakan shakes his head in exasperation. “I’m not annoyed with you, Your Majesty, and you know it.” He takes another sip of his tea. “Ambassador Winchester was not helpful to the discussions,” he continues. “He has been recalled by the Earth Federation, and they’ve sent a temporary replacement. Unfortunately, the new Ambassador was attacked on her way to the Gehar Cluster. This is from an hour ago. This information stays between us, of course.”

He sets a memory cube on the table and activates it. The scene projects into the air in front of us. A small Earth Federation transport is beset by almost a dozen armed fighters. “That’s the Earth Federation Ambassador?” I ask, surprised by the lack of ceremony. “Where’s her escort?”

“There isn’t one. She came alone.”

She’s different from her predecessor then. Winchester needed a five-speeder escort to go to the bathroom.

I squint at the yellow and black attacking ships, trying to make out their markings. It can’t be… “Those are D’elim ships.”

“They are indeed.” Seema’s voice is hard. “I spoke to Tadej as soon as we received this. He gave me his word that he isn’t involved. Someone’s trying to frame him. He’s investigating.”

A pair of attackers fire at the transport. The Earth Federation ship dives out of the way, and weaves through the energy beams.

“My spies confirm Tadej’s story,” Hakan says. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t help us. Someone tried to kill the Earth Federation Ambassador in Gehar space, and we don’t know who it is.”

The Ambassador is a skilled pilot. She dodges the attacks with speed and precision. A couple of mercenary ships get themselves blown up in the crossfire, debris flying everywhere. Unfortunately, there are still at least eight more ships left in the fight, and her shuttle has taken more than six direct blows on its shield. Its hull won’t hold up for long…

Help finally arrives in the form of a hulking StarShark warship. It doesn’t fire on the attackers; it doesn’t need to. The moment it shows up, the attackers flee for their lives. The cube powers down.

I lift my head up. “Do you have any suspects?”

“The usual,” Hakan responds wearily. “There are people on both the Gehar side as well as on the human side that don’t want our alliance to succeed. Some are isolationist; they believe that the Gehar Cluster is for Geharrim alone. Others want to undermine the Empress.” His eyes harden. “Whoever it was, I will find them, and they will regret this attack.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Seema gives me a bright smile. “Isn’t it obvious, Jehan? He wants you to guard the Ambassador.”

Now I’m just confused. “I thought you said you wanted to keep it quiet. Having a Shield of Gehar, even me, hover over the Ambassador will mean?—”

“You’re correct. You can’t be her bodyguard.” Hakan leans back in his chair. “You’re going to pretend to be her lover.”

I almost spit out my mouthful of tea. “What?”

Before anyone can respond, the hostess walks in, trailed by two people. Poppy Rilfort is in the forefront. She’s Earth Federation security.

Then the woman behind her comes into view.

Shock jolts through my body.

Reddish-brown, shoulder-length hair, thick and wavy. Dark eyes framed by gloriously long eyelashes. Full, lush lips that are made to be kissed. Fuck that, her entire body is made to be kissed, and I would know that because for one glorious three-month period, fifteen years ago, I’d done exactly that.

By the Mother, it’s her. The woman against who I measure every woman who enters my life. The woman against who every other woman falls short.

Keomi Hearne.

Kae is the Earth Federation Ambassador? My brain struggles to understand. When I knew her, she’d been so clear about what she wanted, and that was to join Space Fleet.

When did she change her mind? The Keomi Hearne I knew was direct and straightforward. She had no patience for political maneuvering. Why did she decide to be a diplomat?

I rise to my feet automatically. The Empress beams at the two humans. “Ambassador Hearne, welcome to Gehar,” she says. “Thank you for joining me at such short notice.” She inclines her head toward Hakan. “This is my Chief of Staff, Hakan Abiri.” She turns to me. “And this is my kinsman, Jehan D’arana, Second Shield of Gehar.”

Keomi’s head snaps up in shock, and her gaze collides with mine. My heart stops. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hakan bite back a smirk. He knew. The asshole knew that Keomi and I have history.

I force a smile on my face. “Hello, Kae.”