"The one's eyes are light," Bahran said. "Unusual."
Jedriek glared at Bahran.
Bahran shrugged. "What? They are."
He wanted to say something, but words had left him. He didn't know what it was that made him so suddenly angry that Bahran noticed the one with the eyes. Just that he did, and it pissed him off.
Harbin changed the image, and it irritated Jedriek even more.
"This is their bodyguard, Veta." Another woman appeared, and she was decidedly different. Darker skin. Hair braided tightly to her head, and she had a warrior's stance.
Jedriek was sure he would like her. As a friend.
She was not the blue-eyed princess.
"This is Lady in Waiting, Freya." Another pretty female. Though she did not look to be three meters tall.
"And this is Lady Bianca, their Governess."
"What is a governess," Jedriek asked.
"A teacher for the princesses. Helps them learn all they need to know," Harbin said.
Jedriek had heard of some humanoids employing others to teach their offspring as needed for their existence. Several species had similar arrangements for their young.
"They would do well to get data ports," Bahran said. "Then they would not need a teacher to travel with them wherever they went."
Harbin nodded. "Valid point. Regardless, that is the party we are to take care of."
"We are just supposed to fly the ship into the landing zone," Bahran said. "Have the mission parameters changed?"
"We are to make sure they get to the negotiations."
Bahran crossed his arms. "Does that just mean we need to escort the ship in an act of good faith with the Terran Empire?"
"Initially, yes, that was all the command specified. Now it has changed, and the orders are non-specific," Harbin said. "Only that we are to get the ambassadorial party to the negotiations."
"So we are stuck with them?" Bahran sighed.
But Bahran had his own issues with, well, anything. He was Tarnished, and Harbin was his only chance to get his Shine back among the Rhimodians. Harbin had given him a chance to prove himself worthy.
Fighting the assignment seemed a counter-productive measure to get his shine back.
Jedriek still had his shine, though Master System had not been pleased he'd been losing the blue grass containers. So he would need to be sure to follow his orders as closely as possible. He pulled up the hologram of the two princesses again and stared at the one with the eyes. She truly was spectacular to behold.
Part of him hoped he would be her escort. The other part of him did not want to be, for his Craving seemed very interested in the female with those bright eyes. He would know when they land and escort them to the building if it was the Craving for certain or something else. Just being intrigued by such bright-colored eyes. He did not see that too often and rarely ever in the Terran population. The majority of those he'd met had dark hair and dark eyes. Light eyes were an enigma.
More than just a piloting assignment, this one was shaping up to be a bodyguard scenario. Jedriek could be a bodyguard. He did it enough on Disguised Serenity when it came to them selling their exports. And usually, just being there was enough to keep things casual.
"Master System suspects difficulties," he said, though more to himself than the others.
"Master System does not suspect anything," Harbin said. "Master System calculates the odds."
"And the odds detect that we will have more to this mission than the initially expected parameters."
"Hence the broader instructions."
Jedriek grinned.
