Sami took a while in responding. She didn't quite know what to say. Sami had lost loved ones before, but from what her father had gone through she knew that losing a mate was a much different sort of grief. -She is very beautiful,- Sami finally said.
-She is,- Li'ren agreed. She touched one finger to the Empress' image in the photograph, smiling for a second. Her hand began to shake, and she dropped the photograph on the table. Her shoulders trembling, she began to cry, tears pouring down her cheeks as she cupped her face in her hands. -Oh, Kri'a...-
For a while Sami was frozen with uncertainty, not sure if anything she said would be comforting or just make things worse. Li'ren seemed inconsolable, sobbing loudly as she sat in front of the window. Instead of talking, she decided to stay quiet. She knelt next to the noblewoman's chair and placed a hand on one of her knees, putting her other arm around her waist. While Li'ren cried, she just stayed there, letting her lean on her shoulder. That was all that she knew to do, but it seemed to be enough. She felt one of Li'ren's hands on hers, squeezing tightly. Eventually, her crying grew quieter, trailing off into soft gasps and sniffing.
-I'm so sorry,- Li'ren said, straightening up in her chair. She wiped her muzzle with her hands, swiping away the tears that were soaking her fur. -I didn't mean to break down like that. I'm sorry.-
-Don't apologize, m'lady,- Sami gently rebuked her. -You have every right to cry. You loved her.- She gripped the other female's hand. -I'm sorry for your loss. May she find peace under the watch of the goddess.-
Li'ren managed to smile at her. -Thank you. That means so much for me to hear.- She took a few deep breaths. -I will be alright, but I would like some time away from...from all of that.- She waved a hand vaguely at the door.
Sami got to her feet. -Could I call someone to bring something for you? Tea, maybe? Perhaps you would allow me to stay here with you.- She smiled. -I would love to know more about the Empress. Would you be willing to tell me about her?-
After thinking about it briefly, Li'ren gave a little nod. -I think I would like that.- She brightened a touch more. -There is a comm unit on the wall by the door. Ask for the kitchen, and they can send something up. Something hot to drink, I think, would be very nice indeed.-
******
Several days had passed since the attack on Lirna, and finally the fleets had begun arriving at Arbaros en masse. In that time span, Jack found that the governess' residence seemed to fill with military officers at times, bustling here and there attending meetings with diplomats and their own colleagues. He tried to stay out of their way. Whenever he encountered them, he was met with either hostility or blunt dismissal, neither of which he found very appealing. So mostly he kept to the wing of living quarters that had been set aside for the Me'lia family, either staying in his room or spending time with Aria when she was off duty.
Aria's off duty times seemed to be few and far between these days. The day after they'd arrived on Arbaros, she'd woken up early and left to begin her work as the leader of the Royal Guard. Their name seemed to be a misnomer now, since there was no Empress left to protect, but Aria seemed determined to fulfill her promise to the Empress and keep Li'ren safe from anyone who would wish her harm. To that end, she was taking her duties very seriously. The governess' residence was placed on lockdown, with the black-clad, black-furred Guards placed at every entrance. Aria kept the original Guards, sent from Lirna by the late Empress, on the inside of the palace in close proximity to the governess and Li'ren.
Jack had gotten quite the shock of his life on the first evening after her duties began. He'd been in the room that they shared, getting ready for bed, when a completely black-furred Ailian female had walked in without knocking. For a few minutes, Jack was terrified, but then he saw those familiar yellow-gold eyes looking at him, and he realized it was Aria. She had told him this was coming, after all; the Royal Guards, all of them, wore their fur black to present a uniform image. The first thing that she did when she came to him that night was gush apologies for the way she looked. She'd actually been afraid that he wouldn't find her attractive anymore with her fur a different color, but he'd demonstrated how wrong she'd been most vigorously and effectively in the hours that followed.
Even though her duties took up a lot of her time, Aria still did her best to set aside time to spend with Jack. Now that she was certain that her family was a viable target for her mother, most of all Jack, she had taken to trying to teach him Ailian self-defense again. She'd already attempted it before, when they were on Lirna, but had called it off because it had proved too intense for him. Now she was at it again, but she held herself back to account for his smaller size. Jack found the workouts fairly interesting. He'd had his share of hand-to-hand combat training when he was in the military, but Ailian self-defense was a little different. Instead of the joint locks and throws that human martial arts relied on, the Ailian style focused on ground combat and punishing body and face strikes. Aria went easy on Jack, but he still left each little training session with a few bruises and claw scratches. He managed to give Aria a few bruises of her own, though, and every time he landed a hard blow on her, he'd see a grin of pride on her face and a glint in her eye. He got the feeling that it actually turned her on.
Aria's family was growing more used to being on Arbaros, even though they still missed their familiar home on Lirna. When the news about the loss of the planet had arrived, they'd taken it with a certain amount of sadness, knowing it meant that their home might be gone forever. But the governess' residence was spacious, and the wing that they had been provided with was quite comfortable. Even Aria's father, who had been the most against their move, had to eventually admit that it wasn't as bad as it could be. Though a sizable portion of his business had been cut off due to the rebel takeover, he was still able to manage the remaining portions from Arbaros. Sami was enjoying herself as well. After the first day, she had taken it upon herself to keep Li'ren in as high spirits as possible considering the circumstances. The two of them were fast developing a friendship, and Aria's sister spent an increasing amount of time with the noblewoman, listening to stories about the Empress and life in the palace.
All in all, living on Arbaros wasn't the worst thing ever. Jack actually started to feel like that if this was life from now on, it wouldn't be so bad. Of course, life was about to get a lot more interesting, as usual.
******
-Everyone, thank you for being able to meet here,- Governess Amani said. She looked around the room at all of the assembled people. -It has now been five days since the homeworld was taken, and now that all our forces are gathering we need to decide how to proceed.-
Jack looked about the meeting room as well. He felt very out of place in the room, and not just for the normal reasons. As usual, he was the only human in the room, but for once, there were more than Ailians present. Governess Amani was sitting at the head of the long table, leading the meeting, as befitted her station. The space was set up like a real war room, with monitors on the wall and a communications unit placed in the center of the table. Seated to the governess' left, recently arrived on one of the last ships retreating from Lirna, was Chief Admiral Jin Te'rou. Also present, on her right, was something that Jack had never seen before. Shorter than the typical Ailian but still tall compared to a human, with white hair and green-and-blue skin, the curious alien was something called a Nuretan, a species he had heard very little about. They had been little more than a rumor when Jack was in the military, and he'd been out of the loop for so long that he didn't he know much about them at all. The Nuretan seated near the head of the table was a woman, and Aria had told him that she was called General Kalma Soumaren, an important figure in her species' military. They were apparently an aquatic species, something Jack probably would have figured out on his own just based on her appearance. Several other Nuretans, some in military uniform and some in regular clothes, sat at the table, and there were other Ailians as well, both military and diplomats. Aria, of course, was present, with several of the Royal Guards posted at the doors leading into the room. Li'ren was there as well, looking much better, in Jack's opinion. She was seated with Jack and Aria, halfway down the table. As she had in the past, she was graciously translating for Jack what everyone else was saying.
It was only by both Aria's and Li'ren's insistence that Jack was even in the room for this meeting. Aria wanted him there because she was tired of having to feel guilty about him being left in the dark about what was going on, and Li'ren wanted him there because she felt he could provide some insight. A sizable portion of the rebellion's forces were human, after all, and she was hoping Jack would be willing to provide some advice. He wasn't so sure about that, but he definitely wasn't going to pass up the chance to listen in.
The governess looked to Admiral Te'rou. -First, what can you tell us about our losses in the battle at Lirna?- she asked.
Admiral Te'rou was looking decidedly disheveled. He'd barely had time to disembark from his ship before this meeting had been called. His fur was a mess, and he looked like he hadn't slept in a day at least. -They were severe,- he growled, squeezing his hands into tight fists. -We barely had any notice before the enemy fleets were on us. They came straight in, didn't bother with probing ships or scouts, and they hit hard. We lost ten percent of our ships in the initial attack.- He smacked the table, still clearly frustrated by his failure. -By the time we were able to regroup, they were already dropping troop ships on the planet, and more ships jumped into the system. We were outnumbered, and after a few hours our forces were down to fifty percent strength. When we heard the palace was lost, I decided we needed to cut our losses, so I ordered the retreat. They didn't pursue.-
Taking a deep breath, Miri let it out slowly. -Worse than I had assumed. So, where does that leave us as far as combat strength?- She looked up and down the table at the military officers seated at the table.
One of them, another admiral, leaned forward and spoke up. -The First Fleet, of course, has been nearly wiped out, at less than thirty percent strength. The Fourth Fleet, which was sent to Lirna to bolster defenses before the attack, fared better.-
Admiral Te'rou nodded. -That's correct. The Second, Fifth, and Sixth Fleets are nearly untouched; they haven't seen much combat yet. The Third, Eighth, and Eleventh Fleets are each at around seventy percent strength. The Ninth Fleet is completely gone, destroyed in the rebel campaign in the Inner Colonies, and the Tenth Fleet is occupied defending our lines with human space. I can't pull them off to assist without compromising our defenses even more.- He gritted his teeth. -Overall, we're looking at sixty, maybe sixty-five percent of our former fighting strength. Of course, our losses are made up for somewhat by the reinforcements we're getting from the Nuretan Empire.-
-Speaking of the humans,- said General Soumaren, the Nuretan commander, -what news do we have? The last I heard, the Empress had ordered the diplomatic corps to make overtures for a ceasefire to their United Nations on Cerelis.- She looked towards Li'ren and the rest of the diplomats at the table, as did everyone else.
Li'ren folded her hands on the tabletop. -When Her Majesty dispatched the ambassadors, we had a much stronger footing than we do now,- she informed the gathering. -Now that the homeworld is lost, and the...- She paused, and turned her eyes down to the tabletop, gathering herself. -...And now that Her Majesty is gone, the humans see an opportunity. The United Nations has rejected any offer of a ceasefire. They see us as being at a time of weakness. They will exploit the division in the Ascendancy and try to turn it to their advantage.-
-Can we not send another envoy?- one of the Ailian admirals asked. -We must try again. If the war with the humans continues, and the rebellion is not stopped, we will have nothing left.-
-I am afraid that will not work,- Li'ren replied, shaking her head. -You must understand, we started this war. The humans see us as the aggressors, and they do not, or will not, see our perspective. As their expression goes, we have made our bed and now we must lie in it.- She looked down the table at General Soumaren. -We must hope that our forces and those of our allies will be enough.-
Out of the blue, Jack raised a hand. “Um...Can I say something?” He turned a bit red as every single head turned to look at him, and he swallowed, but after all he
was
sitting at this table. Jack glanced over at Aria. She kept an impassive look on her face, but he saw her give a fractional nod. “It's just...haven't you been going about this all wrong?”
-How do you mean?- This question came from Governess Amani, at the head of the table, as she frowned at him. The rest of the Ailians at the table, apart from Li'ren and a few of the diplomats, looked derisively at him, incensed that a human would dare to speak. General Soumaren, however, and the other Nuretans, leaned forward in interest. As Jack understood it, they were not as hostile to humans, if at all, as Ailians.
After looking back at Aria, Jack pressed on. “I mean, you just went to the United Nations, right?” He waved a hand at Li'ren and the rest of the diplomats, and Li'ren nodded for all of them. “Well, you have to understand that the United Nations isn't the final word on humanity. It might not matter what their decision was.”