CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ginny felt calm take her body and recognized the touch of the jit’suku Goddess. She’d felt it as an observer before, but this time, it was coming through her. She didn’t question it. Somehow, the Light that filled her left no room for questions, only peace and acceptance.

“I made my virus to destroy you. Aliens that have the temerity to look like us, but are far inferior.” The man was raving now, but she suddenly understood he was the designer of the virus that had killed off so many people throughout two galaxies.

“We were not the enemy, Doctor Gruber,” Ginny said. The words were hers but also came from the Goddess. Somehow. “Humanity was found according to My plan and would have created the next evolution of two races, blending together to become stronger and better able to cope with what will come in the future. Your interference—your misuse of your free will—has brought two mighty races low, but you will not win. I am Light to your darkness. I bring wisdom to your ignorant fear. I prevail where you fail.”

Ginny raised her arms. Or maybe it was more accurate to say that something raised Ginny’s arms, and light began to form and glow all around her hands. Light that was so bright and so pure, it could burn, but Ginny had no fear of it. Even as Gruber recoiled, Ginny saw the Light flow into him. It simply blew him away. Disintegrating the being that had caused so much heartache, pain and death across two galaxies.

“That was almost too good for the likes of him,” Krysta said as she watched the Light begin to fade.

“It is not My way to make beings suffer,” Ginny said, knowing it was the Goddess who spoke through her, even as the presence of the divine began to fade.

“No, it’s not. We bring that on ourselves, for the most part,” Sally agreed. “Now, Captain, if you’re back with us, I think we need to make tracks and get out of this hole.”

“Roger that, Ensign. Let’s go.” Ginny was back to normal as the Goddess’s presence faded. “The men can investigate this place later. Right now, I want to get outside and figure out where we are.”

 

Tigh arrived at the end of the long corridor in time to see the Light of the Goddess flowing through his mate and out into an open doorway in front of her. Tiggy was giving them the run-down on everything she could see through the lens of the floater cam, and he wasn’t surprised when she reported that the man in the lab had dissolved in the Light.

He also heard Ginny’s last statement as he drew closer. He ordered the bots to guard their backs while he went forward to meet up with Ginny and her friends. She turned from the doorway and stopped, catching sight of him as he drew nearer. The smile that lit her face warmed his heart as he closed the distance between them.

Wrapping his arms around her for a quick, reassuring hug, he allowed those around them to take on the responsibility of keeping a lookout for the short moment it took to reassure himself that his mate was alive and well. She hugged him just as tightly, and he felt the slight tremble of her shoulders as he moved back to meet her gaze.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice low and urgent.

“I am now. I knew you would come for me.” Her eyes shone with love that he felt in his own heart.

“Always,” he replied at once.

“Uh, Captain…” That was Krysta’s voice interrupting their moment. “Sally doesn’t look too good.”

Ginny stepped back and turned to check out her executive officer, and sure enough, her face had gone gray. Jimnai was there to catch Sally as she fell unconscious.

“That’s it. Let’s get out of here. We need to get her some help,” Ginny said, her decisive nature coming to the fore.

“As you wish, my empress,” Tigh said, issuing orders for the bots.

He divided them into two groups. The larger group would sweep the area ahead of them as they retraced their steps out of the underground facility. The smaller group would act as rear guard.

The men and women would walk between the two groups of bots, Hansa and Krysta in front, Jimnai carrying Sally in the middle, with Tigh and Ginny bringing up the rear. Tigh gave Ginny one of his personal weapons and was pleased to see how naturally she handled the blaster.

“Let’s move out,” he issued the order, and within moments, they were on their way back up to the surface.

“Where are we?” Ginny asked as they moved briskly along. “Underground?”

“Yes,” Tigh answered, keeping his attention on the bots and his display, but happy to have his lover at his side once more. “This was some kind of secret medical or weapons lab. So secret there is no record of it in the imperial databases. Not even the ones I have access to as emperor.”

“That man. Gruber. He said he’d designed the virus,” Ginny said slowly, even as they walked along at a fast clip.

“That’s what the courts found, after I took over. I’m glad, though, to have evidence of him saying so, himself.” Tight glanced up at the floating camera, keeping pace with them and still recording. “Those little floaters are handy gadgets.”

Ginny shook her head just once, to the side, a smile lifting the corner of her mouth. “Human tech is good for some things.”

“In this case, it was invaluable. It led me to you, my love, and for that, I will be forever thankful.”

He touched her arm, wishing they could stop and embrace but knowing that would be foolhardy. They had to get out of the facility as soon as possible and back to the safety of the Phenix.

“Is it just me, or is this place kind of empty?” Ginny asked as they trod along.

“I don’t think there were many people living or stationed here, even at the height of its operation. We only found one room that looked like a barracks and one rec room. I’ve sealed both off,” Tigh told her. “Less than ten warriors, from what the bots saw.”

“Yeah, speaking of those bots…” Ginny glanced significantly behind them. “I’ve never known jit’suku to use bots in battle. I didn’t even know you had that kind of technology.”

“Sending machines against an enemy is thought to be cowardly among warriors,” Tigh answered immediately. “We’ve had this sort of technology for centuries and use it mostly in peacekeeping applications to supplement local police forces, and the like. These bots are DNA coded to me, so I know they cannot be corrupted by even the most sophisticated enemy.”

“You had a bunch of bots made just for you?” She seemed incredulous, and he had to explain.

“They were first made for Elius, but since we’re identical twins…”

“Oh, I see.” She nodded at the bots leading the way, and those behind, once more. “Handy.”

“Very,” Tigh agreed.

As they passed the two locations where Tigh had sealed warriors inside the chambers, they slowed to make sure all was still as he had left it. The rec room door had some dents in it, but it was holding against the warriors trapped within.

“I will send others to deal with these warriors,” he decided, ordering the bot to guard until he gave it the signal to return to the Phenix. He would give that signal only when he had the women safely aboard. “Sally needs help sooner rather than later. The warriors will keep for a while longer.”

The barracks chamber was quiet as they passed. It was likely the men within hadn’t woken up yet, which Tigh figured was just as well. They made good time back to the vestibule chamber, pausing only to let the bots scout ahead, including outside the upper door. When the scans came back clear after only a minute or two, they continued their trek upward.

“Those bots are really handy,” Ginny observed.

“They are not something I would have asked to be made, had it been up to me, but Elius did have some good ideas, on occasion,” Tigh allowed. “And your floaters are something just as useful, if not better.”

“Well, they’ve come in very handy lately,” Ginny admitted with a rueful shake of her head.

“Emperor Tigh?” Tiggy’s voice came to Tigh over his earpiece.

“Go ahead, Ensign,” he signaled back.

“I’ve been able to tap into the facility’s coms, sir. With your permission, I’d like to play the recording of what just happened to the men in those two chambers.”

Tigh was surprised. Not that the human woman would show initiative, but her suggestion to play the recording of Ginny’s confrontation with Gruber was startling.

“Why is that, Ensign?” he asked her.

Tiggy’s response took a moment, as if she was thinking how best to phrase her answer before replying.

“Sir, if you’d ask Captain Starbridge, she might explain that…uh…I’m prone to a bit of foresight on occasion. Right now, it’s telling me these men need to see what just happened. I can’t explain it any better than that,” Tiggy said, her words tinged with a bit of hesitancy, though he heard a conviction in her beliefs, as well.

“Just a moment, Ensign,” Tigh replied, calmly, turning to Ginny to do as the younger woman had suggested. “Tiggy says she thinks she should play the recording you just made to the men we have isolated below.”

“She did?” Ginny’s eyes widened. “Did she say why?”

“Something about foresight?” Tigh replied. He would have scratched his head, if he wasn’t in the middle of an evacuation.

But Ginny’s eyes cleared, and she started nodding. “Do it, then. I’ve learned to follow Tiggy’s flashes of insight. Her family is a bit famous—or, perhaps, that should be infamous—for the gift of clairvoyance. If she says we should do it, we probably should, and really, there’s no downside to this particular action.” Ginny shrugged. “If you’re asking my opinion, I’d do as she says.”

“I will always value your opinion, my love,” he took the time to tell her, earning a sparkling smile for his efforts.

He gave Tiggy the go ahead as they reached the door that led outside. The bots formed a defensive perimeter around their small group as they made a dash for the ship. Tigh didn’t breathe easily until they were inside. He recalled all the bots and sealed the ship so that they’d be ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Tigh had Jimnai put Sally in a stasis pod. She wouldn’t get any worse before they could get help for her, and she’d be safe if they needed to make evasive maneuvers. That done, they all went to the bridge.

 

Ginny went straight over to Tiggy’s comm station as soon as she hit the bridge.

“Status?” Ginny asked her coms officer quietly.

“All clear, Captain. I’m playing the recording now. Do you want to see their reaction?” Tiggy replied, smirking a bit at her own brilliance.

“There’s a two-way comm you’ve tapped into?” Ginny surmised.

Tiggy nodded, enlarging the feed on her screen so Ginny could watch over her shoulder. She felt Tigh join her a moment later, his warm presence at her back as he watched over Ginny’s shoulder.

The men in the barracks were sitting up in their cots, awakened by the bright light of the comm screen that took up one wall of the small room. On the other side of Tiggy’s screen, the warriors in the rec room took a moment from their ongoing bids to escape to watch the communal comm that was also playing Ginny’s confrontation with Gruber.

She shuddered as he shouted at her. He’d been a vile sort of man. Knowing that he’d been the architect of so much death across two galaxies made it hard for her to look at him, but she’d never shirked from her duty, so she watched, her lips held in a grim line. Then, she noticed that the recording of her got really bright as she started to glow.

She knew what would come next, but it was still startling to watch. The view was intensified from the floating camera that zoomed around the action to capture the best angles. Ginny hadn’t paid the floater much attention at the time, but the static view from Krysta’s belt was somewhat one-dimensional compared to the angled views of Sally’s fully-independent floating cam. Ginny silently applauded Tiggy’s choice for using the floating cam’s footage interspersed with the steady cam’s recording.

Tiggy had skillfully cut together the two views to create a running narrative that required little explanation. When Gruber disintegrated in the Goddess’s Light, Ginny sighed. Tigh’s hand rested on her shoulder, and she reached up to place hers over his, accepting the comforting touch and returning it, in kind.

“You know, I was there. I saw it happening, but that’s not something I’ll ever really understand,” she said softly.

“The Goddess works in mysterious ways,” Tigh replied. “That She chooses to work through you and your crew is something all our people are going to have to come to terms with. It won’t be easy, but perhaps that is why She is doing so in such an open way, for so many to witness.”

“You may have something there, Emperor,” Tiggy said, her voice a bit smug. “Take a look at the men in those two rooms.” She focused her screen on one face after another, the shock and horror in their eyes was easily read.

In both chambers, discussion soon erupted, and one warrior even started sobbing and praying to the Goddess to forgive him. Ginny listened to some of the talk for a bit and was astounded to hear pretty much every one of those men—who had helped Gruber abduct her and her friends—admit to being terribly wrong.

“I think, rather than warriors, you should probably send in some warrior priests of the Zenai to deal with those men,” Ginny suggested to Tigh as she finally turned away from the screen.

He looked at her with respect in his gaze. “I suspect you’re correct.” He walked with her the short distance to the captain’s chair. They both stood behind it, together. “I also think perhaps that we should allow that recording to be seen widely. There are hold-outs all over the empire. If some of them react as strongly to seeing you wield the Goddess’s Light as those men, then our work may be done for us in convincing them to repent of their ways.”

“Now, you’re talking like a priest,” she teased him, smiling and receiving an answering smile that held promises of delight along with utter relief.

“I almost was a priest,” he reminded her. “I never thought I would be truly happy on any other life path, but you’ve shown me the error of my thinking, Ginny.” Tigh’s hand cupped her cheek gently. “Thank you for turning my life around and making it so much better than I ever expected.”

“I could say the same to you, Tigh,” she replied, softly. There was no bridge. No crew. In this moment out of time, it was just the two of them, staring deep into each other’s eyes.

Someone was giggling, and it sure sounded like Tiggy O’Roarke. The moment broken by her crewmember’s irreverent sense of humor, Ginny stepped back from Tigh, rolled her eyes at Tiggy, then looked around for a likely place to sit on the small bridge.

“I would give you the captain’s chair, but this ship is DNA coded to me,” Tigh said, somewhat apologetically.

“Don’t mind me, I’ll just make do,” Ginny insisted.

There were already two on weapons—Hansa and Henny—and Tiggy had a backup at coms. Jimnai was in the navigator’s chair, and there wasn’t room for much more on the small bridge, but there was one open chair where the engineer would have sat. Ginny didn’t know much about engineering, but the chair would put her close to Tigh and securely positioned should they encounter trouble.

“Looks like I’ll monitor the engines,” she said brightly, sitting down at the board. “You know,” she said to Tigh conversationally, “this makes me miss my own ship.”

She sighed heavily, lamenting the fact that she’d never know what the human military had been going to assign her out of the shipyards. That ship would go to another captain. It probably already had, by now.

“My brother commissioned this ship,” Tigh replied, his voice contemplative. “But I don’t see any reason why the jit’suku empress should not have her own warship. Especially when she has proven herself in battle the way you have. And you have your own crew, already. I think we could arrange to build something suitable for you, if you like. Of course, I hope our reign to bring in a new era of peace. With the grace of the Goddess, you won’t be called on to fight anywhere.”

“That suits me just fine,” Ginny replied quickly. “Just having a ship to take out, now and again, would be amazing.” Then, she thought of all those orphans and the fractured society she was going to live in and backpedaled. “Of course, I don’t want to use resources that would be better spent elsewhere.”

“I think the shipyards could use the work,” Tigh responded. “But it is good of you to think of our people’s welfare first. Rebuilding our society will take time and lots of initiatives. Getting the shipyards building again, is actually a good way to start. They can build you your warship with the supplies already on hand. Then, perhaps, we can start them on cargo and passenger ships. I hope to encourage emigration from the human galaxy to ours, if at all possible. We’ll need transports for those people.”

“You think big,” Ginny complimented him.

“I like to plan ahead,” he replied. “For example, here comes the backup I requested.” He flicked a control that brought the outside view onto the main screen so everybody could see what he had. Four large air cars were approaching their position. “One transport from the Zenai monastery and a trio of peacekeepers.”

Tigh spoke with the captains of the transports and related the situation below ground. He gave specific orders for the warrior priests to deal with the prisoners before he issued the commands that would send the Phenix airborne, on its way back to the palace.

The adventure, for now, was over, and Ginny was just glad they’d all lived through the experience. Sally’s condition still worried her, but they’d get her the best possible medical help as soon as they landed. For now, she was in stasis and wouldn’t get any worse.

“I wonder what Gruber was grumbling about Sally having alien DNA?” she thought aloud, then looked at Tigh. “The jit’suku have been around the universe a few times. Have you ever run into other humanoid races?”

“None that I know of,” Tigh answered quickly. “Of course, there might be something in the archives. We can take a look when we get back to the palace. There are restricted sections of the imperial archives that require my personal authorization to access and cannot be seen outside special rooms set aside for such research.”

“Secretive,” Ginny said, feeling a new adventure in the works. “I like it.”

Her heart was giddy with relief at being out of Gruber’s hands. She also thought, perhaps, the Light of the Goddess had done something to lighten her mood. Or, maybe, it was just being around Tigh. Believing that he would come for her—and knowing he had—was making her feel all bubbly inside. Not a sensation she was used to feeling. Not by a long shot.

 

They arrived back at the palace a while later, without incident. The path back to the palace had been a much straighter line than the trail they’d followed from it. Sally was sent immediately to medical. The doctor who had come with Ginny, from human space, was there to meet the ship when it landed. She had help from the court physician and medical staff, and they rolled Sally out of the ship, stasis pod and all, and took her away, already taking measurements. Tigh stood beside Ginny as she watched them go.

“Do you think she’ll be all right?” she asked him.

“I hope so, but her fate, like all of ours, is in the Goddess’s hands,” he replied truthfully, earning a measuring glance from his mate.

“Sometimes, you sound just a little too much like a Zenai priest,” she quipped, her smile taking the sting out of her criticism.

“I shall attempt to tone it down in future,” he told her with mock seriousness.

“Oh, don’t bother in my account,” she replied, taking his arm as they began to walk away from the ship. “I think it’s kind of sexy.”

“Truly?” He was surprised.

“Well, it’s a heady thought to realize that I tempted a priest away from his vocation,” she mused, a smile dancing around her lips. “I, personally, never saw myself as the femme fatale type before.”

“You give yourself too little credit,” he told her as they walked out of the hangar and into the more decorative parts of the palace.

Xeer was waiting for them, as was a group of Zenai priests who all regarded Ginny with increased reverence. Tiggy must have already released the recording. It was clear from the way his Zenai brothers looked at Ginny that they’d seen what she’d done when the Goddess worked through her. Seen it and understood it for the miracle it truly was.

“Sire, there’s an urgent meeting in the Council chambers. They’ve asked if I would invite you and your lady to join them,” Xeer said promptly. “I’m glad to see you back in one piece, milady,” he added, smiling at Ginny.

“Glad to be back,” Ginny replied casually, smiling back at Xeer. Krysta joined their group, and Xeer fell in to walk beside her.

“I reinstituted the Grand Council when I came back to the palace,” Tigh explained to Ginny as they walked. “It’s made up of men of power and wealth from all across our space. Those who cannot be here in person participate over dedicated and highly secure comm channels. They’ve been in charge of rebuilding our society since the disaster, and they’ve done a good job, so far. The thing is, there are some hardheads on the Council. I’ve left them alone because smothering dissent is something Elius did that I do not want to repeat, but I’m afraid you are not universally liked by the men on the Council. I just wanted to warn you, and I’ll understand if, after your ordeal today, you’d rather skip this meeting.”

Ginny took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “I’ve never run from a fight,” she told him. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“That’s my beloved Velkir,” he murmured for her ears alone. As a result, she was smiling as they entered the Council chambers, as was Tigh.

What he didn’t expect, and couldn’t have predicted, was the utter silence as the men within the chamber noted their arrival. One by one, as Ginny passed, every man in the room dropped to one knee. On the comm screens set up all around the chamber, cams zoomed out to show the men at the other end of the comm channels doing the same. Even those who Tigh had noted as being especially hostile to the idea of taking a human woman to be empress.

Their tunes had changed. Radically. Had the recording of today’s events done that? Tigh had to think it probably had. Amazing.

Lord Alfar, who had been particularly brutal in his words against Tigh’s mission to the human galaxy, came forward and dropped to one knee right in front of Ginny. Tigh stayed alert, wondering how this would unfold. Whatever happened, he’d be ready.

“My lady,” Lord Alfar began, his words loud but trembling a bit, a far cry from his usual bombastic style. “We have seen what transpired today, and we acknowledge the second miracle of your arrival. Those of us who doubted the wisdom of doing as our emperor has done are in doubt no more. We offer welcome to you, and apologies to the emperor, and seek both of your forgiveness.”

Tigh stood back to see what Ginny would say or do. This was a test for her, and he could not help. If he tried to step in, that would set a bad precedent. She had to sink or swim on her own for the moment, though Tigh would always be there to try to save her, should she do the former.

“I accept your welcome, my lord,” she replied graciously. “But forgiveness must be given by the Goddess. I am not Her, though she has seen fit to use me as Her weapon.” Ginny’s ironic tone was apparent to Tigh, though he didn’t think the others would hear it. “I guess you’ve all seen the recording?”

Nods all around from the men still on the ground confirmed Tigh’s suspicions. It was time for him to say something. Ginny had hit just the right tone. Now, it was time to show them all that they would rule together, as a pair.

“Please rise, my friends,” Tigh said, gesturing for them all to get up off the floor. “I am pleased beyond words to find you willing to accept my lady,” he told them as they hesitantly rose, a few at a time. “I know we have not always seen eye to eye in this chamber, nor do I expect us to do so always, but on this, the path is clear. I’m glad you see that now.”

“And I’m glad to say that Doctor Gruber is no more. He has paid for his crimes with his life,” Ginny put in, like the bloodthirsty war commander she was. Anyone who saw her now, saw not the mild-mannered empress, but the Velkir, in all her glory. “Anyone who aided him in my abduction is welcome to repent their ways. The Zenai priests are willing to listen to their confessions,” she said for all to hear. “I’m prepared to let bygones be bygones, if—” she paused significantly, “—we can all agree that bioweapons will never be used again. I know the human government is prepared to sign a treaty to that effect, and I would hope you will, too. There has been enough suffering.”

A cheer went up throughout the Council chamber and on comm feeds the galaxy over. It certainly sounded to Tigh as if his lady had won over some of her most argumentative detractors. How long it would last, he wasn’t sure, but it was definitely a good start.