And Jedriek saw behind him that Wrathin had snuck up and stabbed him in the chest.
"Wrathin?" Jedriek said.
"Jedriek. That's Veta," he said, gesturing to the woman.
She nodded. "So, where is the Ambassador?"
"Right this way."
12
Eleanor banged on the computer terminal again because she couldn't get it to do anything.
And tried not to think about how annoyed she was that Jedriek took off and left her there to do busy work. And she had no doubt this little scanning thing she'd been told to do was just something to keep her occupied while he went out and found the bad guys.
Or whoever was on the planet, looking for them.
The Terran military.
The Charro.
At least the door was heavy and firmly sealed. That gave her some comfort. Because being alone was not her favorite thing. Her mind wandered to who was behind this. Though really, she didn't have to think too far about it. There was no doubt that her father had orchestrated all of this. She had no proof other than her strange dream.
And tiny tidbits of things he'd said back at the palace, but it didn't matter.
She knew he was doing this.
Why, she wasn't sure.
Just that he was manipulating this whole thing for his own gain. Likely to take control of the Sol system and, well, she wasn't sure what he would do with the Rhimodian people. In most cases, when a system joined the Terran Empire, their people became more of the Terran Empire population. Their cultures were enveloped in the Terran Empire.
However, with the cyborgs, who was to say what would happen. That was where the actual question resided. He hated them so much, she doubted that the Emperor would want them as a part of the Terran Empire.
What he would do, Eleanor could only speculate. But she didn't want to.
Her feelings for the cybernetic humanoids were tainted.
Strongly.
Because of Jedriek.
Beyond the fact that he was an incredible lover, he was her protector, and she believed that no matter what, he would be there for her. Always protecting her. Whether she asked for protection or not. He was significant to her. She might consider marrying him if the situation was different.
Or perhaps, when their people aren't at war.
She glanced back at the door, wondering where he was out there. Was he safe? Had he found something? She hoped he'd be back quickly, that an animal or something settling had caused the noise that sent him out of here, but he hadn't come back right away.
Had he been injured? Would he need help?
"Stop," she told herself. "He's strong. And he's fine. He has to be."
She forced herself to focus on her screen. She'd almost cracked this coding. She might be able to come up with some way to figure out how many people were on this moon, at least. If it could help him stay safe, she needed to figure out how to get through the interference the eclipse caused with their systems. Maybe find a way to go around it? Possibly work with the eclipse's effect rather than against it.
She didn't know. She was just trying to think of an avenue she hadn't tried yet.
Because she didn't want anything to happen to Jedriek. He needed to be home soon.
Home.
