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

an Irish word meaning home.

“Vika? Any thoughts?” As my advisor and teacher, I trusted her on these issues.

Her sandy-brown hair was pulled back tight giving her a fierce look. “I don’t think we should fire on them. They could be explorers or maybe they need help,” she said, offering a more positive view of things. “They haven’t crossed the line.”

Galton didn’t look happy, but he knew the decision was mine to make. “Empress?”

Looking at Galton, I answered, “Wait for now. Keep trying to make contact. Put the guard on alert. If they cross over the warning point without communication, take the ship out.”

“Yes, Empress.”

“What’s the probability they just want to say hi?” I asked, with a hopeful shrug.

“Low,” Galton answered, his mouth set in a grim line. “You should hide in case they are hostile.”

I shook my head. “I’m done hiding. I understand why I had to growing up, but I’m no longer a child. I’m the Empress, and I will not go down without a fight. You’ve all trained me well. Have some faith now.”

“My apologies, Empress.”

Galton’s mouth twitched at the corners and some semblance of a smile came to his lips. Asserting my independence and claiming my rightful place as Empress didn’t come naturally to me and Galton often challenged me in this regard. I can only assume that he was somewhat proud of me for refusing to be hidden away like a child or some fragile girl.

Shifting my attention back to the spacecraft, I wondered who was on board and what they wanted. Was this the invasion I had trained for all of this time? If they attacked, today could be the last day of my life. Oddly, that didn’t scare me. Death was our fate. The only thing I worried about was my planet. If Valinor fell into the wrong hands, I had no children who would succeed me, no other family who could step up to take my place. And now Bristow wanted to pursue his own dreams and have adventures off planet…

“Galton, if they attack and I die today, what will happen to Valinor?”

“Your death is not an option, Empress.”

I knew he meant well, but I needed to know. “Humor me.”

His expression grew serious. “As you know, lineage is what controls that. You succeeded your father. Bristow succeeded his. But because you were both so young, I stayed on along with Vika until you were old enough. So, to answer your question, Bristow would become emperor if you died. That’s of course assuming someone is left on the planet after an attack.”

“And if he wasn’t around for some reason?”

“We have no protocol for that particular situation.”

“Well, maybe we need to create one and put it in place.” I stole a glance at Bristow. His face was stoic. I knew he would fulfill his duties, but I also knew he’d hate it. Staring back at the spacecraft, one thing was abundantly clear: I could not die.

I had no idea what to do. Fire or wait? By earthyear 2507, most of Earth had been destroyed. The governments there came together to move human life off the planet in order to save the human race and spread life throughout the universe. It took another three hundred years to achieve that goal. People stayed behind on Earth to reverse the damage humans had done. They had made great strides, but still have a long way to go to bring it back to its former glory.

A few years after humans left Earth, they began to find planets that were habitable. Some people colonized those planets while others worked on space stations.

After humans began populating planets, it was soon realized some sort of law was required and The Authority was formed. Most of the universe had joined an alliance, though there were some that refused, and others that were rogue. There were criminals we called space pirates. They’d attacked spacecrafts, invaded planets, stole, and forced people into slavery.

My parents had believed in peace and joined the Alliance in hopes to maintain it. Our own people were loyal to us. I wanted to keep that going. Firing first could lead to a war. Of course, if they fired, that could lead to a war as well. We had to talk to them. It was the only option that resulted in peace.

“Hail them again.” I walked to the window and looked up to where the spacecraft hovered. The sunstar had just set, making it difficult to see. Something else caught my attention. A soft blue glow appeared just over the trees. Nobody else noticed. They were too busy trying to figure out what to do about the spacecraft. I had the distinct feeling that it was just a distraction.

I took off, heading toward that light.

“Akacia!” Bristow yelled. I knew he’d come after me.

Limbs lashed at my legs and arms as I ran through the trees, toward the light. Hugging the shadows, I wove through the forest until I came to the clearing. A female around my age in a black protective suit stood there checking some kind of device in her hand.

She was beautiful. Her hair was just as long as mine, but was dark, smooth, and straight and framed her oval face perfectly. Her bright, golden eyes scanned her surroundings. She turned slowly revealing an animal print tattoo that trailed from the back of her neck, down her right shoulder, and her arm all the way to her pinky finger. I took half a step toward her before common sense drew me up short. I had been hiding for a reason. I had no idea whether she was friend or foe. It was dangerous to go charging out there, even if the girl seemed to be alone.

The stranger was facing me again. Her eyes landed near where I was hidden.

Could she see me?

She smirked and, said, “I know someone is out there. Save me the hunt and I’ll spare your life.”

Somehow I doubted she spoke the truth.

I hunkered down, daring her to find me. I was ready for her. Slowly, carefully, she picked her way through the underbrush and made her way toward me. She knew I was here, but she didn’t know exactly where. Remembering how important it was that I not die, I couldn’t take any chances. As soon as she was close enough, I struck.

Just before my arm made contact, she shifted her weight and spun, stepping out of the way. She threw a punch, which I dodged easily, but then she continued to come at me and I blocked her over and over, until I made a misstep. While I was stumbling, she caught my cheek with her elbow then landed another blow to my belly. I countered, slamming my hand onto the bridge of her nose sending her backward. She stumbled but caught herself.

I launched myself at her, drove my body into hers, knocking her to the ground. We both fell in a tangle of limbs. She rolled, putting distance between us, and we both jumped back to our feet.

When she sprung forward again. I twisted, my back protesting the movement, just enough to get out of the way.

We exchanged quite a few blows before she finally clocked me one good time in the face then followed that up with a kick in the ribs that stole my breath. I collapsed to the ground grabbing my side. Not wasting a second, I swept her with my foot, hooking my leg around hers, and yanking back with all my might. Her bright eyes widened as she went down, landing on her back. I jumped on top of her and pinned her to the ground. Now that I was up close I saw that there were two more tattoos on the left side of her neck: an arrow with two Xs in the middle, and another simple symbol next to it.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

No answer, though her eyes were wide with excitement—like she was enjoying this.

My heart thudded roughly against my chest. “How did you get here?”

Again, she didn’t answer.

Using her legs, she bucked up, throwing me onto my hands and knees. She kicked me down and sat on my back.

“What do you want?” I asked, face to the ground.

“Looking for you, Empress Sparks. I have to say I’m surprised to have found you so easily.”

I froze.

“Even if your marking didn’t give you away, I would still have known who you were.” She pulled my hair up and examined the back of my neck where the two inverted V-shaped symbols, one under the other. Malou had worn the same mark and so had every eldest child since.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“You should be.”

I grabbed the knife from my scabbard and stabbed it in her leg, careful not to let it go too deep. She let out a muffled groan and rolled to the side. I sprang back on her and put my knife to her throat noticing the long, jagged scar that stretched from her left ear almost to her chin.

“Why are you doing this?” I pressed the blade against her throat, nearly breaking the skin.

She hissed. “I do not have a choice.”

Looking into her eyes, I saw so much more than hate. “If you jump back to your ship, I’ll let you live.”

Her eyes widened and the smirk on her face turned to a hard line. “You’re stronger than I realized, but that decision makes you weak.”

Fury tore through me and I pressed down on the blade. “You want me to kill you?”

“You should kill me.”

Just then, Bristow charged into the clearing with his gun raised. I stood up and stuck my knife back in its scabbard. “Get up. You’re coming with us. And you…” he said, directed at me. “What the hell are you doing running off like that?”

My eyes never left hers. Using the device she was holding in her hand when I first saw her in the clearing, she tapped the screen and disappeared.

I sank to the ground and gasped for air, terror taking the place of adrenaline that had dumped into my system. I’d been in fights before. Why was my body reacting this way? Was it her? No one had ever made me question myself or challenged me the way she just did. Who was she? And why did I want to see her again?