Afterglow
Stein Willard © 2013
Disclaimer
The characters in the story are a product of my own imagination and hopefully have no resemblance to any living persons. But if it does it is entirely coincidental. Some of the places mentioned are either fictitious and or adapted to suit the plot of the story.
Sex: This story contains sexual content of a graphic nature between consenting adult women, thus if you are not 18 years old and not allowed to read content of this nature, please move on to other suitable stories.
Special thank you to my beta, J. Falconer for sharing her amazing skills.
Archiving: This work is copy written and should not be posted anywhere else without the writer’s expressed permission.
Feedback: Constructive criticism is appreciated. Feel free to drop a line or two at steinwillard80@gmail.comor sent me a friend request on Facebook.
__________________________________________________________________
PART 11
Palmer was acutely aware of Hem as the Pharmac sat quietly next to her while they watched the young warriors engaging the androids. They were the only two seated as the rest of the occupants in the booth were standing and cheering for Nael. She felt eyes on her and turned her head to meet the piercing gaze of the Senator. Palmer had been so wrapped up in Hem and her daughters that it had slipped her mind to address the issue of her last conversation with the Senator. The Senator had been very abrupt and distant during the sightseeing tour and Palmer couldn't help but feel that the other woman been avoiding her upon their return to the Palace.
She gave the woman a small nod which was returned curtly before the Senator looked away. Palmer frowned slightly. She could imagine the difficulty it would cause for the Council to fill her position in Spacefleet on such short notice, but she doubted it warranted the Senator’s cold behaviour toward her. She knew of at least four other senior Spacefleet officers who had left the service to settle down with their families or who relocated to other planets.
A noisy cheer from the crowd drew Palmer’s eyes to the arena and she clapped loudly when she saw Nael stepping over the mangled remains of a machine. Even though she was distracted by Hem’s quiet presence and the Senator’s standoffishness, Palmer had kept score of how many machines Nael had disabled. The young warrior had singlehandedly destroyed two of them already and was tag teaming with another girl to bring down a third. According to the rules, the fighter who took down the most machines by herself would be awarded the Principal's sword and a training position on the Principal's elite combat team. Nael obviously coveted that position. The warrior could only benefit more from honing her skills under her mother’s tutelage.
Eager to see Hem’s reaction to Nael’s progress, Palmer stole a glance at Hem. Her heart sank at the sight. The Pharmac’s face was impassive as she looked straight ahead. Palmer experienced a surge of guilt as she looked at Hem. It was because of her that Hem couldn’t seem to enjoy her daughter’s performance. Palmer felt an instant of guilt. She hadn’t intended to put a damper on the day.Palmer felt an instant of guilt. She hadn’t intended to put a damper on the day.If Hem had seen or read anything in her reaction it was definitely not what the Pharmac thought. Palmer reached out and took Hem’s hand. The dark head turned to her and Palmer smiled gently as she leaned closer to Hem.
“You’re very quiet.”
Hem smiled, but Palmer could see it was forced. “I’m fine for now.”
Palmer brought Hem’s hand to her lips and gently brushed her lips over the knuckles. She felt the need to clear the air right this moment. “I love you, Hem. Whatever it is you thought you saw, I assure you it is not what you think.”
Hem’s broad shoulders moved as she took a deep breath. “I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us, especially not today and not when you will be leaving soon.”
Palmer looked around to see who was looking before she leaned closer to Hem. “I agree. But I promise you there’s nothing for you to be worried about.”
“You had fear in your eyes,” Hem said and Palmer could detect a twinge of desperation in Hem's voice. Palmer's eyes raked over Hem's face. She opened Hem's hand and planted a kiss in Hem’s palm and closed it.
“Hold on to that for now, my love. Let’s support our daughter and then we talk. Okay?”
Hem looked down at her closed fist and when she looked up again Palmer could see a genuine smile on her face. “Okay.”
Palmer rose and pulled Hem with her. She slipped her arm around Hem’s waist and leaned her head against the Pharmac's shoulder. “We should cheer for her.”
*********************
Hem didn’t cheer along with Palmer, but she enjoyed seeing her family being so supportive. On more than one occasion she had caught a number of eyes from the crowd glance at their booth, but she had ignored them. It will take a while before her subjects got used to the idea of their Principal being in love and expressing it publicly.
There was another set of eyes she couldn’t simply ignore, that made her blood boil every time she caught them resting on Palmer. Hem turned her head to find the Senator once again looking at Palmer. She must’ve felt Hem’s eyes on her because the green eyes shifted to meet Hem's. For a brief moment Hem saw the tail of a longing look in the Senator’s eyes before they turned blank. A flash of uncertainty coursed through Hem. What if Palmer returned to Terran and realized how really different Hem was to the Senator? What if Palmer decided that she would rather be with the powerful Senator instead and remain on Terran? Her insecurities disappeared just as quickly when at that exact moment Palmer uttered a sharp cry of joy and clutched Hem’s arm. Hem’s breath hitched at the look of pride and love on Palmer's face. Before she could respond to her love’s elation, Kalt and Elyst reached for their mother. Together the three blondes burst into a strange little hopping dance while uttering odd squeaking sounds. The Senator was completely forgotten as Hem blinked at her blondes.
“Now it all makes sense, don’t you think?”
Hem smiled and turned to her mother. Redla had a wide grin on her face as her gaze was fixed on the odd little performance. The first time Kalt and Elyst did that Hem had thought Redla would faint at the strange behaviour. At least now they knew it was a human expression of happiness.
“I can definitely get used to this,” Hem said tenderly. The girls joined their grandmother and aunt in the little human celebration leaving Palmer free to quickly latch onto Hem’s arm again. Palmer's blue eyes shone bright with joy and Hem couldn’t remember ever wanting to kiss the woman more. So she did. Palmer expelled a soft gasp into Hem’s mouth and the erotic sound prompted Hem to deepen the kiss. She felt Palmer’s body relax into hers as her arms crept around Hem’s neck. A soft moan sounded and Hem was shocked to find it came from her. She quickly broke the kiss, knowing that if she didn’t she would embarrass her daughters, whose eyes she could already feel on her. Lifting her head, she found everyone staring at them, grinning wildly. Kalt and Elyst held up their thumbs and Hem chuckled softly. Redla and Ehno were blinking at her in mute astonishment. She winked at them and gave Palmer a gentle hug before she stepped away. Palmer swayed dangerously and Hem reached out to steady her. She took a deep breath when the blonde rewarded her with a sultry look.
“Your subjects will talk about this until the next millennium,” Ehno said with a grin. That’s when Hem realized that the cheering had stopped. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were looking their way even as the fighting in the arena continued. She looked at Palmer and saw mortification and guilt on her face. Hem frowned. No way was she going to allow Palmer to feel as if she’d done something wrong. She pulled Palmer close and planted another kiss on her stunned lips and then she turned to her subjects and gave them a deep bow. The arena shook with the sheer force of the crowd’s approval. Hem turned back to Palmer and almost swooned at the intense look of love in the blue eyes.
“I adore you, my Pharmac,” Palmer whispered and Hem swallowed hard to dislodge the knot of emotion in her throat.
“And I you, my human.”
If it was even possible, the cheers peaked again. Hem’s eyes were drawn to the centre of the arena. A triumphant Nael stood over another dismantled machine. The humans launched into another silly hopping manoeuvre, and all Hem could think at that instant was that everything was finally right in her world.
********************
Palmer watched with open admiration and pride as Hem stood over Nael who was kneeling at her mother’s feet to accept the Principal’s sword. Nael, no surprise there, managed to take down six machines single-handedly and assisted in the demise of another fourteen. As soon as the last machine crashed face first into the dirt, the arena had erupted in thunderous applause as Nael’scomradeshoistedher inthe air. With her eyes filled with tears, she had nuzzled into Hem’s body and together they had watched their daughter receive the praise from her peers. Kalt and Elyst had flanked them and with her family surrounding her, Palmer had given in to the tears freely.
Now Hem stood, towering over her lastborn, as the latter accepted the most coveted prize for any warrior in the Realm and fresh tears came to Palmer’s eyes. She wondered fleetingly what her life would’ve been like had she decided at the last moment to forsake Spacefleet and had gone with her second choice as a Health care practitioner? She would never have met Hem on Pendulum. The girls would never have been born. And she would’ve missed out on this glorious moment. Nael came to her feet and held the sword up for all to see to the applause of the crowd.
“Now you count amongst the lucky few.”
Palmer turned to find Senator Keane stood behind her. She had hoped to talk to her, but she wasn’t sure when the time would be right for her to approach the Senator. It seemed the decision had been taken from her. Palmerhad a vague idea what it was the woman referred to, but wanted to be sure before she made a final decision about any potential friendships with her.
She gave Senator Keane an open, honest look. “What does that mean, Senator?”
“It means you are now part of small group of people I know who loves unconditionally and are loved back the same way,” Senator Keane said with a slight edge in her voice.
Palmer smiled.The woman’s observation was spot on. The Senator shook her head and her eyes moved to where Hem stood, wide-legged, in the centre of the arena. Palmer found Hem looking at them. She gave the Pharmac a small wave and her heart soared when she received a bright, toothy grin in response.
“She relaxed quite a number of protocols today to accommodate you. From the reaction I picked up from her subjects, it’s clear that’s completely unheard of…” Senator Keane gave a small smile “…but welcomed.”
Not knowing how to respond to that, although she was well aware of Hem’s indulgence, Palmer simply stared at the Senator. The silence between them stretched out until the Senator sighed deeply.
“Losing you would be a great setback for us. I wished…”
“I’m not going to reconsider, Senator,” Palmer said quickly.
The Senator quickly held her hands up. “I wasn’t going to say that, Captain Middleton. I simply wished we had ample notice that this might happen so we could prepare.”
Palmer’s eyes narrowed slightly. Somehow she had known that leaving Spacefleet could possibly be the reason for the Senator’s earlier avoidance of her. It was a relief to know that that was the case and not that she was in love with the ‘enemy’. She was probably the last one to know how this visit would play out in the end. She didn’t know how much her daughters would make an impact on her life. Nor did she know that seeing this new, domesticated Hem would trigger emotions she had tried so hard and for so long to suppress. How could the Council have expected her to have foreseen this? A sudden breeze lifted her hair and tossed it around her face. Straightening out the windswept locks, Palmer noticed that the Senator also looked a little rumpled. Instead of trying to straighten herself out, the Senator’s green eyes were focused behind her. Palmer turned and found Hem standing there, looking at her intently. She instinctively moved closer to the Pharmac and slipped her arm around the narrow waist.
“The Senator was just congratulating me on my good fortune of winning the heart of the powerful Pharmac Leader,” she teased and Hem gave her a brightsmile before she glanced at the Senator. Palmer was surprised to feel a slight undercurrent as the two world leaders eyed each other. She wondered what the story was between them and made a reminder to ask Hem later. The Pharmac would not dream of hiding anything from her.
**************************
“I take it congratulations are in order, Principal Hemheri,” the Senator said quietly.
Hem smiled. “Thank you.” She pulled Palmer closer to her. “I consider myself extremely lucky.” A flash of pain crossed the Senator’s face. It was so fast that Hem doubted if Palmer picked it up. Considering the position she found herself in, Hem thought she could afford to be generous. She locked eyes with Palmer. “It’s true about there being someone for everyone out there. Having lived for close to a millennium I was ready to give up. However my mother refused to allow me to wallow in self-pity and I’m glad she persisted.” When she looked up it was to find the Senator watching them with an unreadable expression. Hem placed a kiss on Palmer’s crown. “Dura, could you give me a moment with Senator Keane, please?”
Palmer looked from the Senator to Hem and back again before she nodded. Hem’s eyes followed her until Palmer joined Sandra and Hem’s parents. Hem turned to the Senator.
“Quite a touching speech you offered just now,” Senator Keane said with a cool smile.
Hem shrugged. “You had ample opportunity to tell her.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the Senator said.
“You do? That was after all the reason why you accompanied her on this trip. So why not?”
The redhead shook her head. “I believe that’s no one’s business but mine.”
Hem cocked her head and studied the woman through slitted eyes. “You’re correct. However, it will become my business if you plan to get between us.”
The green eyes sparked with irritation. “Are you threatening me, Principal Hemheri? Because if you were, you should know that I don’t take kindly to threats.”
Hem couldn’t help but admire the woman’s courage. The Senator stood no chance were Hem to unleash her anger on her or her planet. Erasing Terran from the universe could be achieved in a few hours and still it would leave enough time for Hem to return home to share the evening meal with her daughters. “No, Senator,” Hem said quietly as her eyes raked over the woman’s face, “I never make threats. Threats are for playground bullies. I make promises and after nine hundred and seventy eight years, I’ve never broken one.” She felt a sliver of satisfaction course through her when she saw the human’s eyes widen slightly. “In all fairness, you had your chance. I took mine and I expect you to respect the outcome.”
“I know, but don’t think you have the right to tell me what to do ever again,” the petite Senator snapped.
“I understand your position, Senator. I hope you understand mine too.” A cold smile formed onher lips. “You see, it almost never ends well for whoever invoked my wrath.”
Hem knew her last statement to be a direct threat and completely contrary to what she’d just said about her personal aversion to threats. It somehow seemed to be the only way to get through to the stubborn Senator. On Pharm she was the absolute power and no one dare question her here or anywhere else for that matter. This human needed to know that. They stared at each other for a long moment before the Senator nodded curtly and walked away.
Selit appeared next to her. “It is time, milady.”
Hem nodded and without turning to face Selit, held out her hand. Selit placed five small ampules in her palm.
“Make sure the girls are taken care of, Selit.”
Straightening her shoulders, Hem walked over to where the Senator stood with Sandra, Taffy and Mara. Except for the Senator, the other humans looked pleasantly surprised to see her join them. Taffy leaned in gave Hem a one armed hug,
“You must be so proud of Nael. She was simply magnificent.” Taffy gave Hem a sly wink. “It’s not surprising considering she’s the offspring of two great warriors.”
Hem smiled at the compliment. “With Palmer in attendance I believe Nael had more than enough incentive to win.” Hem held out her hand with the ampules in her palm. “The next part of the celebrations has never been attended by any other race but our own. I’ve had our scientists develop an agent to neutralise any effects the ceremony might have on you.”
Hem saw Taffy wink at her wife. “Do we really have to take it?”
For a moment Hem only stared at her. She had caught the message behind the blonde’s words.
“I take it you know what’s going to happen later tonight.”
“Ahalpa told us,” Mara said quickly. “Was it wrong of her to tell us? We were the ones who asked.”
Shaking her head quickly, Hem smiled. “No, she was within her rights as Liaison to fill you in.” Hem looked down at the ampules. “Did she inform you that every Pharmac in attendance will excrete large amounts of pheromones to induce heightened arousal in their mates?” She looked at Taffy and Mara. “We’ve never had humans present during these ceremonies and thus are not sure how it will affect you.”
“Are you saying that we have no choice and should take it?”
Hem suppressed a sigh as she looked at the Senator. “No, I’m not saying that. The other option is for you to return to the Palace. You will be shielded in the Palace.”
She saw a look pass between Taffy and Mara. Taffy took hold of her wife’s hand.
“Could we at least try and see how it goes before we decide to take the agent?”
Hem hesitated for a moment. She would hate for something was to happen to the humans, but it was their choice in the end. “I would, however, like your assurance that you will take the agent if the need arises.” She held out her hand to Taffy who took two of the ampules. Next she offered it to the Senator. The redhead shook her head.
“You haven’t tested the agent on any human subjects before. How sure are you that it will not be detrimental to our kind?”
A valid point, Hem conceded. “We had to develop a serum for my daughters and found this to work with them. No side effects were identified.” She waited patiently while the Senator made up her mind. After a short while the woman shook her head again.
“I won’t need it.”
Hem nodded and turned to leave, but the Senator’s voice stopped her.
“Will you advise Captain Middleton to take the agent as well? You will obviously also emit pheromones.”
Hem turned to the senator and kept her expression neutral. “Yes, I will advise that she takes it, but as with you I will respect her choice. You should know that I can regulate my bodily functions very well and Palmer will be safe with me whether or not she takes the agent.” She held the Senator’s gaze for a long moment before she walked over to where Palmer was conversing with her parents.
**************************
Palmer couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between Hem and the Senator and when Hem joined her, she took the Pharmac’s hand.
“If you want me to take it, I will.” She squeezed the large hand. “But can I at least first see how it will affect me?”
Hem smiled. “Yes. I will stay close to you all to monitor your reactions.”
Palmer looked at Ehno and Redla. “Please excuse us for a moment.” She pulled Hem away. When they were a few feet away, she looked up at Hem. “I can’t help but feel the tension between you and the Senator? Did something happen that I don’t know about?”
The black and gold eyes were unreadable when Hem answered. “She’s a strong-willed woman who is used to being in charge. It is understandable that she will challenge any other authority.”
What Hem said made sense, but it didn’t explain why the usually courteous Senator Keane would want to challenge Hem. The Pharmacs had been very accommodating to them since their arrival. Something wasn’t right and she hoped she would find out what it was before Hem began to feel offended. In love or not, Hem was dangerous and she didn’t want to be the one informing the Council how and why Hem had broken every bone in the Senator’s body. Palmer rested her head against Hem’s chest and sighed softly when she felt Hem’s heartbeat accelerate.
“You need not hold back on my account, you know,” she said softly.
“What do you mean?”
Palmer looked up at Hem. “Don’t suppress it.”
Hem held her at arm’s length. “You don’t even know how it would be. For all we know it might turn out to be a horrific experience for you.”
“I doubt it,” she said as she pressed closer to Hem again. “It might be just as good as the last time or maybe even better. By the way, you will take care of me if something were to go wrong?”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Hem said calmly. Palmer wasn’t fooled by the Pharmac’s tone. Hidden behind the placidness, she could detect a warning. She also couldn’t help but think that the warning was directed at the Senator.What did the Senator do or sayto warrant such a cryptic warning? It’s not as if…? Palmer thoughts faltered before her mind went blank. For a moment Palmer could only stare at Hem. Oh, no! Why would Hem think that? There was no way that anything like that could even be possible. Not once in all her years working with the Senator had she noticed any signs that could be construed for romantic interest. Hem couldn’t be farther from the truth. She gently cupped Hem’s face. Truth or not, it seemed the Senator had already managed to put a crack in Hem’s patience.
“You don’t have to worry about that. After your spectacular display in the arena earlier, I doubt anyone would be so stupid to challenge you,” she whispered as she looked deep into those alien eyes.
“You never told me why you looked so disturbed,” Hem said, and it was obvious to Palmer that Hem was choosing her words carefully.
“I wasn’t scared of you. As a matter of fact I doubt I could ever be scared of you. I love you too much,” said Palmer.
Hem gave her a blinding smile.
“I was simply stunned to see the person everyone described to me for the first time,” she continued. “On many of my travels almost every race had a story to tell about the all-powerful Pharmac Principal.” Palmer placed her hand over Hem’s heart. “I couldn’t reconcile the person they spoke about with the witty, gorgeous woman who made love to me so tenderly.”
“Witty and gorgeous?” Hem smiled. “I doubt anyone else thinks of me in those terms.”
“Yes, you are, my love.” Palmer brought Hem’s hand to her lips. “Do you understand my reaction now? I realize at that moment that you are every bit as powerful as and dangerous as your reputation states. I also realized that I am one of selected few to witness your other side. But I wasn’t scared of you.”
Hem lowered her head and their lips met briefly. “I understand. I must confess that I was trying to impress you.”
Palmer chuckled at the sheepish look on Hem’s face. “I will let you know that I was more than adequately impressed. Maybe I could...” Palmer slowly licked her lips. “… show off for you later tonight.”
She felt a tremor race through Hem’s body where her hand touched Hem’s chest. Before she could tease the Pharmac, a soft humming filled the air. Surprised, she turned to find that the Pharmacs were all slowly moving to the centre of the arena. Some walked arm in arm while others were simply holding hands. “I need to find your mother and give her the agent,” Hem said, but Palmer pulled her back before she could move.
“She left for the Palace with the girls.”
Hem pulled her closer and together they watched as the Pharmacs congregated in the arena.
“What are they doing now?” Palmer whispered.
“They are merging with others across the planet. Due to various commitments not everyone could travel to Moser.”
Palmer glanced up at Hem. “That night on Pendulum…Did you also link with them?”
“No.” Hem pursed her lips. “Klotso led the ceremony in my absence, but even then I was too preoccupied to remember what day it was. I came from a particularly gruesome battle and needed to cleanse myself before I returned to Moser.”
“And then I got your pregnant?” Palmer teased.
Hem’s eyes twinkled. “That you did.”
They returned their attention to the activity in arena. The women had all joined hands now and the humming became a little louder.
*********************
Hem felt the inopportune stirring in her pit of her stomach but tried to push it from her mind. She was the Principal and she was more than adept at keeping her physical responses in control. Pursing her lips, she forced herself to keep her mind on the activities in the arena and not on the lascivious thoughts lurking in her mind. She almost groaned when a distinctive scent caught her attention. Unable to help herself, she inhaled deeply. The stirring gave way to a pleasant spark and Hem felt her nipples stiffen. Alarmed by her body’s disregard of her mental commands, Hem quickly looked around to see if anyone else could sense her dilemma. She met her mothers’ knowing gazes and sighed softly. The sound drew Palmer’s attention.
“Are you okay, my love?” Palmer asked as her pale eyes scanned over Hem’s face.
“I’m fine, dura,” she answered softly. With her head upturned and her beautiful eyes studying her so closely, Hem was tempted to kiss Palmer. She knew that it would be a mistake to do so with the air around them slowly filling with pheromones. Instead, she cupped the blonde’s face. “How are you holding up?”
Palmer shrugged. “I’m fine. It seems you were worried over nothing.”
All the way up here and with the protection of the glass booth, it would take a while before the humans began to feel the full effects of the pheromones. She cast a worried look at her parents and Ahalpa. They were obviously also feeling the effects already. Small beads of sweat were forming on their foreheads. She needed to get them away from the humans before they too began to emit pheromones. She needed to warn Palmer. Just as she was about to address the blonde, Palmer spoke.
“What is that smell?” Palmer’s nostrils flared as she sniffed the air and Hem shuddered when a new wave of the scent attacked her nostrils.
“Palmer…” she began, but Taffy cut her off.
“Oh my, it smells like cinnamon cookies,” Taffy exclaimed and smiled at Mara. “Yum!” Taffy’s smiled faltered quickly. Hem turned her gaze on Mara when the woman didn’t react to her wife’s exuberance as she usually did. Instead, the stocky woman was looking at her wife with a rather lecherous look on her face. It has started, Hem thought. She should’ve realised earlier that with Ahalpa and her parents in the booth, the humans would be easily infected.
Hem threw a worried glance at Palmer and swallowed hard at the look in Palmer’s darkening eyes.
“It’s not what I’ve expected.” Although her words were calm, Hem noticed that Palmer was trembling slightly.
“You can still take the agent. It will neutralise the effects immediately.”
“No,” Palmer said firmly. Hem looked at the other humans and found the Senator had her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Taffy and Mara were staring at each other as if frozen in time. Hem realized she had to do something quickly before the couple attacked each other in front of them.
“Dura,” she turned her attention back to Palmer. “This could get worse. The glass booth protects you to an extent, but once you leave here, the exposure will be much higher.” Hem cleared her throat softly and Palmer’s eyes rose from where they had been staring at Hem’s nipples to meet Hem’s eyes. Hem felt her sex clench in sympathy at the look of dark desire in Palmer’s eyes. “Maybe you should take the agent to be on the safe side. Without taking the agent, the effects will stay in your body for the next few hours.”
Palmer eyes darkened even further. “I’d much rather have youneutralise the effects,” she said softly and pressed closer to Hem.
Hem closed her eyes briefly at the aroma of Palmer’s arousal. She needed to get the humans away from her. She looked at Ahalpa and gestured with her eyes to Taffy and Mara. Selit was at the Palace and Ahalpa would obviously be joining her wife there. She could take Mara and Taffy with her. That only left the Senator.
The Senator was showing very little signs of discomfort. That is, if you didn’t know what to look for. From where she stood, Hem could actually hear the erratic beating of the woman’s heart. The green eyes which were usually sharp and observant were slightly dilated and the Senator’s hands were balled in tight fists. As much as she disliked her, she had to admit that she admired the Senator’s resolve to appear unaffected. But she doubted if the woman would be able to hold out for long.
She looked around. It would be too much to expect Ahalpa to deal with the amorous Taffy and Mara as well as the volatile Senator. Senator Keane would most definitely balk at the idea of being herded away like a petulant child. She needed to find someone who would be able to convince her that the Palace would be the best place for her to be now. At that exact moment, Nael entered the arena. Hem frowned slightly at her daughter’s presence, wondering what she was doing here while her sisters were at the Palace. It lasted only a moment, as she realized that Nael’s presence actually came as a blessing. Nael could accompany the Senator to the Palace. She lifted her hand and Nael, who was looking at the booth, floated over to meet Hem.
“Ahalpa will take care of Commander Mara and your aunt. I want you to accompany Senator Keane to the Palace.”
Nael nodded. “Yes, mother.”