Stars Above The Willow Tree

Chapter 40 - Locker Room

Dethrhhek had never seen Ehnii so grumpy. He sat at the table with all four arms crossed, frowning like a child who'd been told they couldn't have a sweet. He'd purposely wore his rattiest jumpsuit and his dirtiest medical smock and his hair, which was usually pristine, was sticking up at off angles as though he'd spent the ride over nervously running sweaty fingers through the strands.

He looked like an idiot and Dethrhhek had groaned when he saw him. He'd had to stifle another groan when the Admiral noticed him. The human may be Stony faced but he had expressive eyes and after a glance up and down at Ehnii, he'd fixed Dethrhhek with a droll stare. Dethrhhek had had to tell him it wasn't a joke.

"Why wouldn't you want me to know you were a royal dignitary?" The Admiral bluntly asked.

"I may be a royal, but I'm not dignitary. I'm a doctor and a scientist. And I don't flaunt who I am because I'd like to avoid the assassins, if I can," Ehnii said tartly.

Admiral Chakrabarti raised an eyebrow. "Assassins?"

"His brother is trying to have him killed so he can take his place as First Prince," Dethrhhek supplied.

"First Prince? That sounds like a title befitting a dignitary," the admiral pointed out.

"It's just a fancy way to call me a semen bank," Ehnii scoffed.

Dethrhhek snorted before he could stop himself. Then cleaned his throat. Ehnii was extra crusty today.

The Admiral didn't even twitch but his expressive eyes glittered.

"Do you, or don't you have the authority to sign a treaty?" he asked.

"I do. Not a permanent one. I can't sign trade agreements, but a temporary truce and peace agreements, I can do. My family and the high houses will respect my seal as First Prince." Ehnii pronounced his title with a sneer.

"Well then, shall we discuss the terms of our cooperation?" the Admiral asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table top, fingertips coming together.

"Like I said, Admiral, I may be royalty, but I am no diplomat. I will leave the details to my captain to work out. I trust him implicitly and I will sign anything Dethrhhek asks me to."

"That's a lot of trust to put in one person," Admiral Chakrabarti commented with a glance in Dethrhhek's direction.

"He is a person deserving of a lot of trust. Now, may I leave? I'd like to check on Willow," Ehnii said.

"Not without a full protective detail. Korah," the Admiral said, looking back at one of the Marines. "See to it."

"Yes, Sir," the Marine said in a distinctly feminine voice.

Dethrhhek frowned. He hadn't even noticed she was female! She was so tiny he'd just assumed she was male. Now that he really looked at her, he could see the fine, female features under her helmet.

She pulled up her terminal display and her fingers flew over it for only a few seconds before she closed down with a somatic pattern and said, "Five minutes, Sir."

Turning back to Ehnii, Admiral Chakrabarti said, "This is Gunnery Sergeant Michelle Korah. She will lead your security detail for the duration of your stay."

"She's supposed to protect him?" Dethrhhek blurted. "She's tiny! What is she supposed to protect him from? Tiglets?"

The woman's eyes hardened, but she said nothing.

"I assure you, Captain Dethrhhek, she is more than capable and she has a vast arsenal at her disposal."

"Really? Because I don't see much in the way of weaponry. For that matter, I find it odd that in all these years all we've known about humans was... destructive robots. But here you are, and I've seen not a single robot. How is she supposed to defend my prince? I mean no disrespect, Gunnery Sergeant, and I'm sure you're capable. It's just—"