Without Hesitation, Talia Jager [warren buffett book recommendations txt] 📗

Chapter One

Akacia

The bamboo stick connected with a resounding crack as Bristow raised his own to block my blow at the last second. I pressed my body weight on the point where the two bamboo sticks met, trying to overpower him. Our faces were inches apart, so close that I could see the sweat droplets as they formed on his brow. I felt him falter, a slight give in his resistance and then Bristow grinned and threw me off easily. I leaped back into a defensive posture.

“You’re getting good,” he said, mopping sweat off of his brow.

“Am I or are you just slow today?” I asked with a sneer.

We’d both been learning Kendo for a little over six months now. As my second it was necessary for Bristow to be ready to protect and defend me, and Kendo, the Japanese martial art that involved the mastery of a bamboo sword, was one of many. I had no reason to learn any sort of fighting, sword or otherwise, but it felt good to remember that my body could be used for something besides eating and sitting in on formal meetings.

Bristow was stronger than me, but what I lacked in strength I made up with speed and agility. But today I could tell his head just wasn’t in it, which was made even clearer when my shinai met the middle of his back with a thud, muffled by his thick body armor.

“Alright,” I said taking off my helmet and dropping my weapon. “What’s up with you?”

“What makes you think something is up?” Bristow pulled of his own helmet revealing his messy, russet-brown hair. He looked at me with his kind brown eyes—the same ones that often got him out of trouble with our caretakers.

I hit him with what he liked to call my sassy stare. “Come on, Bristow. I know you. Something is wrong.”

“Can we go somewhere else and talk?” He gestured to the hovercraft by the tree.

Glancing at our sunstar, Roma, I decided that we had enough time until I was due for survival class. “Of course.”

Seconds later, we were flying over waist-height grass in the fields, past the fruit-bearing trees in the orchards, and steering far from the dense forest until we reached a large body of water.

Bristow held out his hand and helped me down—not that I needed it, he was just being a gentleman. We sat on the boulders by the water, both of us chucking small stones at it and watching the ripples.

Finally, Bristow blurted, “I got an offer to go with Treg on their mission to Zoyter to trade. It’s a small step toward my dream.”

My hand froze in the air for a few seconds before I threw the stone. “You’re leaving?”

“I haven’t given them a definite answer yet, but yes, I’d like to go.” He turned to look at me. “We’re taught to live life to its fullest. Getting off this planet is what I want to do.”

I wanted to be happy for him, but all I felt was sadness. “Is it so bad here?”

“No, Kace.” Bristow was the only one who called me this. I supposed growing up together gave him the right. I was Empress Sparks to most people, Akacia to others, and close friends called me Kaci. “It’s not bad. I just want to see the galaxy. Don’t you remember our dreams? Remember how we used to talk about exploring off planet?”

“Of course I do. The mystery of what’s out there, the beauty of other worlds, the excitement of meeting other species—if there are any. What’s not to love?” I remembered the many times we talked about exploring the universe, going on trips, finding new planets. Being confined to such a small area for so much of our lives, it made us want to see the universe.

Bristow’s parents had worked with mine. Besides being the Emperor, my father was also a scientist. They were all murdered in a failed attack to get control of our planet twelve years ago. I didn’t recall the details very well, and nobody talked about it. But I did remember Bristow had been with me the day our parents were killed. Even at seven years old, he was kind and compassionate. When he should have been mourning his own parents, he had put his arm around me while I cried. When those in charge came for me, I demanded he come, too. They tried to separate us, but I had such a grip on his hand that they let him stay. He became my family.

From then on we were inseparable. Bristow and I spent the next nine years sequestered in the compound where we played together, went to school together, and trained together. Three years ago, when I had passed my sixteenth winter, Galton told me it was time that I took on all the responsibilities of being the Empress of Valinor.

“But?” Bristow coaxed.

“It’s not safe. I worry about you. You’re my best friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I admitted. “Besides you are my number two.”

“I’ll be fine. Your guards are top of the line. They wouldn’t dream of letting anything happen to the empress’s best friend. And you have Galton for now. The plan was for me to step up when he retired.”

Staring up into the violet sky, I said, “I could order you to stay.”

“Kace…” His face fell.

“But I won’t. Tomorrow isn’t promised. We must live for today, without hesitation. So go, Bristow, but promise me you’ll come back.” I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“Of course I will. This is my home. You are my family.” He kissed my forehead.

“Empress,” a deep voice said after clearing his throat loudly.

We both jumped up.

“Crikey, Galton! You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Apologies, Empress. You are needed back at the compound.” Galton shot Bristow a look that made Bristow step back.

“Is everything alright?”

“There is a spacecraft hovering just outside our perimeter.”

“Sorry, Kace,” Bristow whispered on our way to the compound.

“Don’t be. I had fun. No hesitations, right?”

“Right.”

The compound was where I lived. It was mostly hidden in the side of a mountain just north of the village, Baile. The only part visible was the entrance, windows, and solar panels, and even those were camouflaged very well. I yanked my blonde hair out of the ponytail it was in and let it fall around my face. As I brushed the grass off my blue shirt, I noticed the dirt caked under my fingernails from gardening earlier. I attempted to pick it out as we made our way inside.

The walls of the compound were lined with pictures. There was one of Earth about a thousand years ago, before it was almost completely destroyed.

Next to it was a picture of the spacecraft my family owned and our planet’s namesake, The Valinor. And alongside that picture was one of the commanders, my great-great-grandmother Malou. Malou became the first empress, a monarchial position that was passed down to the eldest child in the family. Bristow always said I looked like her. I had the same heart-shaped face and we shared the same dimple on our right cheek, but as far as I could tell, that was where the similarities ended.

The control room was where the action took place. Computers monitored our world as well as the galaxy around us. I stood in the middle of the room surveying all of the monitors. “What is it?”

“See here,” Galton said, pointing. “This spacecraft dropped out of FTL and seems to be hovering just outside the warning point.”

“Have you identified the spacecraft?” I asked, taking a step closer to the screen, hands behind my back.

“No.”

“Have you hailed them?”

“Yes. No answer.”

“Is it going through?” I twisted the ring I wore on my right hand; the one that had been worn by Malou and bore the family crest. Not a dainty thing at all, but one of the things I held close to my heart.

“We can’t be sure.”

“Do you think they’re pirates?”

“It’s possible.”

“Could they be here because of the summit tomorrow?” I was supposed to be leaving in a couple hours for a summit with other Alliance members on the planet, Caipra.

“Doubtful.”

“Recommendations?”

Galton stroked his chin. It was a habitual thing he did when he was deep in thought, but it was funny because he used to have a goatee and recently shaved it. So when he stroked his chin now, it just looked odd. “We can wait and see, or fire when the ship is close enough.”

“Can their weapons reach us from there?” I inquired.

“Depends on what they have,” Niam, our weapons expert, answered. “If they have a long-range missile, we could take a hit. Should we fire on them first? This behavior is already somewhat hostile.”

Thoughts filled my mind as I stared at the screen. If we did nothing, they could attack, kill us all, and take my planet. If we fired on them, we could start a war. Neither option was good.

Valinor was a small Earth-like planet with three continents, the one we lived on, and two uninhabited on the opposite side. It had almost no axial tilt, giving it a mild, almost boring climate. Rich with amazing natural resources, it was located in a very central area of the universe. For those reasons, people always wanted to live here. We welcomed peace-loving people, but there were those who wanted to take the planet from us. The last time they tried, they killed my parents, leaving me Empress. Valinor was my responsibility. I had to protect it and the people living on it. Malou named our village, Baile,