Calming A Racing Heart

Chapter Twenty

          Security Administrator Izzak Cammon got an odd call from one of the security teams out in the field. They reported an Earthman making some wild claim of being a Joong citizen. As absurd as it sounded Administrator Cammon knew Officer Gooding personally. Gooding was rock steady officer so Cammon had good reason to take the report seriously. Plus, it seemed one of the top navigators in the corp was somehow involved. He decided to look into this personally.

          He ordered a transport to take him to the hotel Gooding had named in his report. As soon as he entered the room he was confronted by a tall muscular young man with blonde hair.

          "Sir, I formally request that I be recognized as a Joong citizen."

          "Well, my boy, that is what we need to decide. Why don't we sit down and you can tell me why you think you are a member of our race."

          Joshua sat back down on the couch next to Larcin while Administrator Cammon sat in a chair opposite them. Silka and Leavac were also there. Larcin had commed them while they had waited for the administrator to come and bring copies of the DNA reports that showed Joshua and Leavac's relationship.

          Step by step they laid out the evidence they had accumulated. Of course, the most telling evidence was the obvious bond between Joshua and Larcin. The way they supported each other while telling their story made it obvious they were a pair. Cammon wasn't particularly opposed to such pairings. Knowing the hardship such pairs could face in the future he didn't believe anyone would be willing to fake such a relationship.

          Still, Cammon asked a lot of questions, trying to shake up their story in any way he could. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing could have happened. Murder? Kidnapping? A child stollen from his people? It horrified him. The ramifications were staggering. He didn't feel like he could make any definitive decision on Joshua's request without further investigation.

          "I believe your story," Cammon told Joshua. "I just don't have the authority to grant your request. I'll have to refer this to higher ups for a decision. In the meantime, I can offer you the protection of our security system. That man will not be able to lay a hand on you again."

          "Thank you Administrator. You have no idea how vicious that man can be when he wants something. With his money and connections there is no telling what he will try next. He's still under the delusion that I am his son."

          "If half of what you have told me today proves true, he will have his hand too full dealing with our government to be too concerned about you. There are some profoundly serious charges he will be facing. I don't see our government going easy on him no matter how much money or clout he thinks he has."

           As he left, Cammon instructed the security team to have Joshua fitted with a monitor and to escort the pair to secure quarters just outside the Joong enclave. These were quarters the Joongs kept for important non Joong personnel. Joshua wouldn't be allowed to enter the enclave until his citizenship was full granted.

          It was chaos within the government when Administrator Cammon presented Joshua's petition for citizenship to his superiors. Nothing like this had ever happened before. A huge wave of controversy erupted. No one in the government wanted to believe such a thing could have happened. Instead, they wanted to believe that this was just an elaborate plot to establish a foreign spy among their people. Joshua and Larcin were both subjected to interminable rounds of test and interviews. These were all secretly conducted outside of the enclave. Knowledge of Joshua's circumstance was kept a secret from the general public. The authorities were afraid it would cause a panic among the people serving on foreign worlds, undermining their people's trust in their security.