Sholan Alliance - AU Bk. 03 Ch. 07

When Billy stepped inside the massive wall and gate he frowned since the differences between outside and in were wildly different. There was a different feel in the air as well since it almost seemed clearer and almost sweet as he inhaled to try and scent anything. Even with his enhances senses he assumed he had received from Satasha all he could really smell was the clear and crisp air. There were traces of resin as well as hints of a slightly acrid smoke.

With a great deal of trepidation he slowly moved down the path even as his mind tried to define what had happened. One moment he was in his office working to calm down and the next he was standing in front of the gate. As he was moving down the path his mind was almost muttering about string theory, alternate dimensions, and other world. As hard as he tried he couldn't figure out how this might happened and to be honest it scared him. For most of his life he had been able to define his world in math and physics. This boggled Billy's mind and he had to force away thoughts of higher powers and deities.

Eventually as he was slowly moving down the path he could see some roofs though the forest and they looked rustic. What that meant he didn't know but the closer he came the more suspicious he became. The closer he came the more he could smell the smoke as well as heated metal and the sound of a hammer striking metal. Shortly before he arrived the sounds mostly stopped and when he finally stepped out in a clearing he found a Sholan male sitting at a table sipping on something from a cup.

"Welcome Ambassador Madlax and please come and have a set. I have wanted to say hello but the time hadn't been right." The male who talked to him had wider ears such as the highlander Sholan's had and his fur was a light sandy color as well. He was wearing a blacksmiths smock and the cup in his hand was a fine grained yet plain cup.

Billy narrowed his eyes slightly. "Who are you and where am I? I was talking to Father Shion moments ago and appeared here. What do you want and I wish to go back." Even though he didn't want to admit it Billy had a feeling he knew where he was and it scared the living daylights out of him.

The male gave him a wide amused smile. "Please Billy have a seat and relax. I just wanted to say hello to the first of the new Leska's. I don't know if you will recognize the name but I am Vartra." He wanted to wince since he had a feeling the male in front of him was rather secular. Vartra didn't think it was a lack of belief but a case of I take care of mine and the god do what they want.

His eyes narrowed slightly more and his nose was going for all it was worth. He couldn't smell any deception from the male but Billy knew that was relative. "For the moment say I accept that you are the Vartra some of the Sholan's worship what does that mean to me? I am not Sholan and why do you want to say hello to Satasha and I?" He finally settled down across from the male.

~~~

Billy suddenly started and sat up and he was back in his office and his face showed his anger. He tried not to project it but it was obvious. "I do not appreciate whatever it was that happened. Why are you hear Father. Tell me or get out. I don't have much patients right now and this is stretching things." Honestly he was both shocked and terrified. As Vartra had thought Billy did believe but figured that if he took care of his own the gods would ignore him. To have what the Sholan's believed was a god call him and talk to him terrified him more than he could describe. It didn't help that Satasha was demanding to know where he had gone.

*Satasha I don't know but I need to talk to the Father now. I will talk to you later. Take care of what I asked please my love.* He sent a surge of love to her which was thankfully enough to relax her now that he was back. From where he wasn't sure and at the moment didn't want to speculate.

Even as Billy was growling at Shion he was looking shocked. All he had been trying to do was to calm Billy down and nothing else. When he had mentally vanished from the room Shion was more than stunned. He knew what had happened and was going to have to talk to the guardians about this. "Ambassador I am here to talk and nothing else. What happened..." His expression calmed down. "...That was a calling by an entity and nothing else. I had no control over it and had no indication it would happen. All I wanted to do was to talk and offer you and your youngest some teachings. As I said the litanies are normally used to help calm, relax, and center both new talents as well as rogue talents."

He sighed. "Again I am not saying that you or your daughters are rogue talents but I do know that Danielle is having problems. All I want to do is to offer help." Shion knew that he had to be involved with the new Leska's and that there would be more of them.

Billy barely managed not to growl and started taking some slow deep breaths as he had been taught on earth. It did help but since they weren't designed for telepaths it was only somewhat helpful. "Can you tell me that my youngest won't be called like I was?" What bothered him was he didn't know what happened beyond seeing the Sholan male.

Shion sighed and gave a slight shrug. "No I can't, if they are called to the service of the gods then they will be called. I will say that they have to be willing. Having said that the litanies only do what they are designed to. In your case I have a feeling that since you are the first of the Hybrid Leska's the gods wanted to get your measure."

Billy growled again and then forced himself to relax again. "I will talk to my daughter and see what she has to say. It is going to be her choice and if I have the faintest hint that you or yours are pressuring her... It will be ugly." He sat up and stared at Shion. "I will make this clear; I will broach no forcing of anything on those I hold close to me. If it happens and I am crossed I will challenge you and I will win."

Shion raised his chin and then nodded. "Contrary to what you might believe we don't operate that way. I will tell you now that our mandate is to protect Shola and nothing else. I know that you have other things to deal with so I will leave you now. My contact information has been sent to your comm.. If you need anything please contact me." Father Shion stood and left the room.

~~~

Shortly after Shion had left the office Sandi walked in and she had an odd expression on her face. "Ambassador I have two Sholan's here who have requested to be stationed here as part of the Sholan's staff." She honestly wasn't sure what to make of the request.

Billy had looked up when she walked in and gave her a blank look briefly since that should have gone to Jenna for approval. "Okay, who is it and what positions are they looking to fill?" It was obvious he wasn't sure why she was asking him about it.

She had to snicker. "I have a Tech Warrior Lycos and Tech warrior Illyos asking for positions. Both are looking for positions as computer specialists." Sandi knew that Billy would recognize the names since she and Jenna had told him about the ship recovery.

The expression on his face was almost priceless and she captured an image of it. "That expression alone was worth it Billy and thanks. What would you like to do?" There was a definite glint in her eyes when she spoke.

Billy brought his expression under control other than a slight glower. When they had told him the story he almost died laughing. It was a comedy of errors from the landing to the actual recovery. For the moment he was going to go with it and pretend she wasn't trying to pull his leg. Since she was picking on him he decided he would return the favor. "Well I did look into their past service and they do have some very good reviews. Then again they also seem to cause as much chaos as results sometimes." He lightly scratched his short beard. "Tell them we will give them a ninety day probationary try. They are going to need someone to ride heard on them."

Sandi was starting to get that chill up her spine she tended to get when Billy was going to do something rotten. As he was talking the chill became even worse and she knew, simply knew what he was going to say next.

"Definitely will need someone to ride heard on them. I think I will have them report to you and you will be their supervisor." He gave her a warm smile. "Since you and Jenna already know them it should make it easier for them to fit in. They will be also working with Vangie as their senior warrior. Get with Vangie and find out what his thoughts on this are." His amusement had made its way to Tasha.

*Yilly you are a horrible, rotten, evil, man. If Jenna doesn't kill you Sandi might.* She sounded both appalled and amused at what he had done.

Sandi sighed. "Fine I will take care of that and Billy I have a feeling Jenna might have something to say to you about this." Just for good measure she stuck her nose in the air and walked out.

Right before she left he called out and sounded far more serious. "Sandi I hate to add to your work load and maybe you can foist this off on those two. I have been putting it off for some time but I need to find a place we can rent or purchase as the Ambassador's house. I have a pretty darn large purse since the three governments have provided funds for me. It is going to need to be large with room for balls, parties, casual dinners, and such things. If it has some property as well that would be an added bonus." He ran his fingers through his hair as he contemplated anything else they might need. "Oh, and ensure that several suites are shielded to the standards of the Leska Quarters when you find one. I do want to review any properties first of course but I trust you to bring me the best."

Sandi paused and tapped her tablet with the stylus as she was contemplating it. "Hmm... I will see what I can find but it might best if it was outside of town as well. Knowing what I have learned of the Sholan's they like nature and getting their paws on the ground. I will take care of it and if you don't mind a suggestion I think there might be an old clan property available. That way though there might need to be some upgrades and construction you would already have a number of buildings." She gave him a professional smile and walked out.

~~~

Shojim hurried back to the rooms the ladies were in and when he walked in he settled down next to Savanna. Each warrior had in a way adopted one of the females. They had discussed this and decided it would be the best way to help them. Each warrior would get to know the female and learn how she was dealing with what had been done to her. This allowed them to give each woman personal attention that was specific for her. If needed any of the other warriors could fill in as needed. Once he settled down next to Savanna he wrapped an arm around her. "So what are you thinking Sava? I would say credit for your thoughts but they are worth more than that."

She leaned against him and subtly relaxed. "Right now a credit might be more than they are worth. My mind keeps running in circles. Some of it is the idea of even stepping foot back on that ship, no to be honest it does scare me to the depths of my soul." She had to shudder in reaction. "I honestly don't know how I will react even with you and the others there with us." Knowing there were going to be some human males aboard scared her badly as well.

The other females were talking to the Sholan's who had taken a personal interest in them. All of them could tell that there wasn't an intimate component to the relationships. As Shojim was holding Savanna he was carefully listening to the other conversations and they sounded much the same. About the only one who was having less of an obvious reaction was Bitty. He wasn't sure if it was because Billy had saved her or she was better able to hide the fear.

Once the other females had finished talking to each other and the warriors Shojim spoke. "I know you are going to need some time to really decide. I am going to see about having a warrior go aboard and capture some footage of what she looks like now. I think that would be far better than you considering going over and actually walking inside. If we are to do this what would you need to feel better aboard her?"

Angel immediately spoke. "I would have to have a lock on the door that could only be opened from the inside." Her eyes were showing her distress and anger. Much like Crystal she had a deep burning anger at how what had been done to them had changed her. She hadn't been the most adventurous of people but she had made a point of enjoying life. Now her life had been restricted to this ship due to fear of people. "I want to go to Shola so I can feel even sort of safe to go outside. I want to be able to start living again and actually do things." They did leave the room and not just for medical but to go to one of the lounges. They watched both Terran and Sholan TV shows. They talked with the crew and some of the guests that came through but they had only left the ship a very few times.

Clarice was chewing on her lip as she was thinking. "I rather wish that Amanda could escort us. I do feel safe around her and she does genuinely care." She has been very helpful when it came to helping them with all the little, and not so little gifts, and notes they had received. For a brief moment her eyes danced. "Do any of you know if it is true she offered the Ambassador a Hash Brownie?" They had been given very detailed lists of what they had received.

Bitty snorted at her and mentally thanked her for breaking the tension. "I suppose we could ask Amanda the next time we see her. I have a feeling she will deny it even if she did." The rest of the women snickered slightly since Amanda came across as a very proper woman. "I think your idea with the video is a very good idea. I have to agree with Angel that I would want a door with a heavy lock on the inside. Having a two person room would be fine since I am not sure yet if I could sleep in a room alone right now." She leaned against her warrior and shivered as well. For a moment tears threatened to flow but she wasn't going to let them.

Savanna shifted till she was sitting on Shojim's lap and pressed her face into his chest and started shaking. If it had been just the one issue or the other she probably could have handled it. With both it was too much and she broke down. Even as long as the warriors had been with them it was rare for them to get this close to them.

Shojim was pleased when she moved onto his lap even if it was because she was starting to cry. He wrapped his arms around her and settled his head on hers. Since their purring seemed to help he started the low rumble and simply let her cry. He didn't know if they were going to be able to go aboard the pirate ship. He was going to have to mention this to the doctor and Ambassador.

~~~

Undersecretary Nelson was staring at his TV in both shock and horror. The impact of having a habitat destroyed and most of the people presumably lost seriously hit home. Yes you could say that by playing with the pirates and trying to unify earth wasn't much different but it was quantity that hit home. The firepower of the alien vessel had shocked him as well. The reaction of the Sholan's hadn't had as much of an impact since he had expected them to be more deadly than an equivalent Terran ship.

"Love I have to get to work. I don't know when I will be home so don't bother waiting up." He always had a small bag packed for emergencies like this. He grabbed the bag and hurried out to his vehicle and was quickly on the road. He was going to have to contact the rest in the organization but this could either be a good thing or a bad thing for them. If this was just an example of what the others could dish out then it was going to be one hell of a fight. It might cause more of the planet to be unified but depending on who might end up in charge that could be a bad thing.

For now he knew that all of the organization was going to be focusing on what had happened and not anything else. Well he hoped so but the Chinese coalition tended to be hard to pin down at times. Sometimes they would go with the plan and other times they would do their own thing. The Eastern Block wasn't as bad though occasionally they could be a bit squirrely. If needed he had a few cards up his sleeve including simply having them killed. He was sure the others had similar plans in place but since he was the most senior member he had more fingers in the pot.

He finally chased those thoughts away since for the moment he needed to focus on what had happened today. The entire system was going to be in shock which would ripple through their five colonies as well when it reached them. With this attack he also had a feeling that the system was going to be going to a war footing sooner than later. He finally pulled into the staff parking structure and hurried into the building.

As soon as he walked in he was directed to a critical meeting that had already started. "Good afternoon Secretary, ladies, and gentlemen." He settled down and pulled out his tablet and settled in to see what he was going to be tasked with.

~~~

Once Sandi had left the office Billy almost laughed. Both of them were so angry at what had happened that words hadn't been close to describing their feelings. He had a feeling she had mentioned that to distract him from his anger. It had done that and had given him enough time to step back enough where he could think. Now that he was feeling somewhat more in control of his emotions he glared at the screen. Before he went back to the message he checked the others and actually smiled for a brief moment.

The message about the women coming to Shola was included. He felt that was a good idea since the treatment Crystal was getting was more in depth than the others. It wasn't for any reason other than she had the best of the planet helping her. The ship wasn't normally setup to deal with this since people this damaged would have been returned to Shola. When he read the section about the possibility of coming back on the ship they had been rescued from he frowned.

*Yilly talk to Vangie and he can pilot the Sandi back with Sally and a small support staff. It does not feel right to ask them to come back on the other ship. The other ship can be sent here for you to work on immediately. The delay of a week or two to get them isn't going to be a problem.* Satasha could feel his agreeing with her on that. It would just be cruel to do that.

*I was thinking that myself and I have a feeling that with what happened they had forgotten I have a ship here. I will take care of this and did you get the messages to everyone to be here for dinner?* The had a conference room that should be large enough to fit all of them. Even as he was talking to her he was knocking out a message for Ike that he was going to send the Sandi.

*I did and my mother and siblings are pleased though my father is still being a pain in the tail. I also contacted one of the delivery services for food.* She had been keeping in touch with her family via her siblings and her mother. Her father had mostly quit saying anything negative about Billy but he hadn't called her or Billy to apologize for that first day.

As she was talking Z'Marl walked in and immediately came over to Billy and settled down in his lap. When he wrapped his arms around her she rubbed her nose against his tabard. *I am so sorry for your people Yilly. That was just horrible and..." She couldn't continue she was so horrified.

*Good Satasha and I am going to let you go. Z'Marl needs a bit of comfort.* He moved his chair back when she came in and held his arms out to her. When she settled down on his lap he lightly nuzzled an ear as he held her. *Thank you Hunny. I can't even describe how... Damn them, may they burn in hell.* Billy started stroking her back as he was talking. "Sandi is getting someone from the Naval Design Board to get over here before yesterday. I know you are upset love but could you get the design room setup? They are going to want to know what I have that might help my world." Giving her something to do might help.