The guards came forward, ready to tear him apart.
Maybe.
Janae wasn't sure. They were armed, but no one moved.
Khalzin stared at her. "You need to stand down, Oleave. This is over. How did you think this was going to end?"
"You have no right, just because you wanted to try something, to eradicate our way of life!” Oleave snarled back. "Now we have to remove the off-worlders. Erase them from our planet and start again. Like the Light."
"That is not what the Light dictates," Khalzin said. "You cannot justify killing a living humanoid because she's not from here."
Another member of the Coalition spoke, one that Janae hadn't seen speak up to this point. "The problem with that is that she's Kantenan, at least partly. So, if you killed her, you would be murdering a Kantenan. And that would condemn you to the Dark."
Everyone stopped, including Janae, and stared at this new speaker. What was this guy talking about?
"Baron of Information Aukrae, what do you speak of?" Speaker Fowles said.
"While everyone was conversing, as my habit, I scanned the Gol-Vett and his mate when they came in. My scans revealed that the Gol-Vett's mate carries the Kantenan genome. She is very much one of us. If Oleave kills her, it is intentional murder of a Kantenan, and that would destroy his opportunity to live in the Light."
"You are lying!" Oleave snarled.
"I show my scans to you and anyone else who wishes to dispute them." He held up his datapad and ran his hand over it, sliding the data to everyone in the room.
Oleave's grip loosened.
Not much.
But enough.
Janae slammed into him with everything she had. Elbow. Foot stomp. Head slam.
It was just enough that she could break away.
She ran straight for Khalzin, and the guards took custody of Oleave.
Khalzin turned back to the speaker.
"You certainly bring the drama, don't you, boy?" Fowles said.
Khalzin nodded. "I always gave my parents headaches."
"I have no doubt."
19
"Iheard from Stron," Khalzin said as he sat down on his chair back in their apartment. "Everyone is situated at the refineries, and the workers there are very confident they can keep the Galactic Alliance people secure while there until this gets cleaned up."
Janae sat down next to him. "You don't think this is over."
"Not by a lot. These things have many veins that need to be found and secured. I am sorry you're wrapped up in the middle of it. But we shall keep you safe."
She glanced around the room. "I know. And thanks to Aster, too," she said.
He nodded. "Aster was happy to contact the other guards and let them know what was about to happen so that we could make this work."
"I still find it crazy that I have some semblance of Kantenan genome in me." She shook her head. "I would have never known."
"Maybe that's why your Harvin's Skin has not gotten worse than it has. Kantenans are naturally immune to it, I believe."
