His race lived centuries, sometimes ten or more of them. He was only five centuries old, and had a long life ahead of him. Did he plan to, at some point, overthrow his sibling’s regard for democracy and fairness for all people? What if he became, at some point, a despot?
Or was she judging him incorrectly because she did not really know him at all? She didn’t know anyone who could say that they really knew him well, other than his brothers, and they guarded each other with some real zeal.
That attraction she had for him was so real but why it was there was what she couldn’t figure out. Sure, he was attractive, but so were many of the human denizens of the planet, and even some of the other beings there. It was not just his attractiveness—the physical part of it anyway.
There was something about him, something enigmatic and fleeting that always made her want to look closer, get to know him. Find him below that always guarded expression on his face and that defensive posture he always carried himself with too.
It was hard to tell if that was even a front or just his personality. He was like the sea, possessed of so many depths, and with only a glimpse of those depths able to be seen from the shallowest surfaces that he exposed to those around him.
More shivers worked their way through her body. Those tremblings were of fear. She did not want to die. She didn’t want to go with him and engage in this crazy plan that was no plan at all. She wanted no part of this in truth, but the truth also was that she had no choice; she had never had a choice.
From the moment he had appeared in her doorway and told her what had been decided, her choice had been taken away from her.
The choice was an illusion. Maybe it always had been. There was no way she could say no, not knowing how necessary her part in it was.
If she did, she would be dishonoring the ones who had saved her and helping The Federation claim the planet on which she now resided. She’d been under Fed rule before. It was awful and unfair, a yoke around the neck of all citizens, even those with the wealth and privilege that had allowed them to live in better circumstances.
There was no other thing to do but sharpen up her wiles and go along for the trip, do her best to glean some intel from the others she’d meet, and hope they could somehow stave off The Federation.
The Federation would come calling eventually; intent on taking the small system that Revant Two resided within. The Federation would never be satisfied until it had achieved full power and full control over every single living thing and planet in the universe, and took from it whatever it could do to ensure its own wealth and power.
The Federation would kill for total power and wealth too.
She knew that.
Everyone knew that.
The Federation had taken much from her. Now was her chance to take something from them.
And that was something she could absolutely not refuse a chance at doing.
