All That Glitters Ch. 19

Rolland snorted, bringing all of them back down to the ground.

Denders Resort, Terra

Hanalei had asked to go to the resort for the afternoon as she had nothing to do at the compound for the next few days. The senior woman agreed and allowed her to take one of the day passes.

She took in her normal activities while at the resort, mostly so she could look around and see if anyone was watching her. She could see no one looking at her, other than the local lotharios, who only saw her as a quick mark. She ignored them or shooed them away when they attempted to entice her. It was usually the new ones that bothered her, the more experienced having already understood that she was a local and not to be bothered with.

She did her normal walk around the resort, and then entered the local quick mart, which conveniently had an interior access to the small post office. Slipping through, she quickly purchased several e-mail licences for Anuura and, just as quickly stepped back into the small store. She made a few personal purchases and left.

She knew immediately she was being followed and a look in a window showed it was the man that frequently visited the senator in his study at the compound. The man was obviously not alone and was directing at least two others that Hanalei could identify.

Hanalei want to the main desk and asked if there was a shuttle going to the Johal Compound, only to be told that she had just missed it. One of the assistant managers that she had met before was walking toward her when Hanalei feigned at not seeing her 'good friend' Sylvia for some time.

Hanalei gave her 'friend' a hug and whispered to her to play along as at least three men were watching her. The woman caught on fast and asked her to come to her office for a short spell to catch up.

Once inside. Sylvia called up the main foyer on the monitors and Hanalei pointed out the three men she suspected of watching her. Sylvie asked Hanalei to keep walking around the resort for a bit longer, staying in the public sectors and not going anywhere she would be alone. Hanalei agreed.

She left the office feeling a little better and continued to watch the men watching her. It wasn't much longer when she noted several young men who had partied a little too heavily and walked near to them. They immediately made note of the pretty woman and drunkenly approached her.

She stepped back to get away from the group of young men, feigning innocence in her intent of moving towards them. She noted the three men moving towards her, intending to take advantage of the situation to pull her away to 'safety'.

One of the drunken revellers reached out to cup her ass and Hanalei slapped his face. He got angry, just the response she wanted as the three men approached. She started a serious argument with the group of drunks just as one of the three men took her arm to pull her away.

Once again, she feigned outrage at being manhandled, and this time the drunks came to her 'defence' as they saw the three others as outsiders trying to horn in on the pretty lady they had already set their sights on.

Just as things started getting heated, a dozen security types suddenly surrounded the spectacle and took Hanalei aside, asking her is she was alright. She told them that she just wanted to get to another location at the resort when she had been accosted by this drunken lot, several of them having touched her inappropriately.

"Will you be filling charges, ma'am?" the guard asked her.

"Yes, I think I will," Hanalei said thoughtfully, "but I'm not sure what charges I should lay or against whom."

The guards took all of those involved to the main security office when Sylvie came in and pulled Hanalei aside.

"One of these men you pointed out is a prestigious guest at this resort," she advised Hanalei. "Unless he has been seen doing something against the law, we cannot hold him for long without incurring his wrath."

Hanalei nodded her understanding. She had done what she could in the situation.

"Thank-you, Sylvia, for what you have done. Give me time to set up transportation to the Johal Compound and then release the three. I think I was more a target of opportunity to them than a deliberate attempt at anything. The sooner I leaver here, the better off I will be.

"Unfortunately, this will mean that I cannot visit Denders for some time." She finished, little sadly as she liked coming to the resort.

Sylvie understood and gave her 'friend' a hug. She arranged for transportation and let Hanalei go, then went to spring her prestigious guest.

Hanalei was sitting in the transport on the way to the Johal compound when something unusual happened.

"Greetings, Hanalei Anar," the driver said. "I have a message from Fayad Ouihya." The man smiled at her and set the auto function on the transport then played the message from Fayad for her. Afterwards, she looked at the driver expectantly.

"Your intended is concerned for your safety as, quite frankly, are we," the man began. "I work for Navy Intelligence, and your intended has been quite helpful to us. We need to help protect you, and to have a swifter means of you getting messages through him to us. It would be better to send all messages to us and we can quickly send those of concern for your intended to him."

The man raised his arm and quickly set things up on his comp, extending his arm to Hanalei's. She raised her own comp and heard her comp beep several times.

"Good comp," the man said, looking at her device.

"A gift from my late husband," Hanalei said with fondness in her voice.

The man nodded, acknowledging her loss.

"You now have the means to send direct to us anything that you wish," the man told her, getting her to open several of the new apps.

"Anything of a personal nature, please indicate that and we will not review it, otherwise we will read all you send. Your messages will arrive much faster through us to Fayad and to Anuura. We have also provided you with a one-time use device to call us in an emergency. We will come and take you away to safety if you use it, but you can only use it once, so choose the time to use it wisely."

"There are six micro-cameras in here," he said, giving her a small bag. "You can place them wherever you need to in the compound and they will link direct to you. Their range is limited, so you will have to forward anything of interest from them to us.

"The camera's will automatically turn off if a sensor sweep is done to find them. They will turn back on twenty minutes after the initial sweep. Be aware of that if your camera doesn't open immediately for you. The camera links work on a frequency that is normally not scanned for, so you should be safe using them."

He had her open the original app. "Link your biosignature to this app," he told her. "This app can now only be opened by you and only if you are alone. It controls all the other new apps except for the emergency beacon. It doesn't matter if you are alone or not when you activate the beacon. We will come for you.

"Go about your duties in the Johal compound as you normally do. Place your cameras where you can get the best information from them. Send us a message anytime of day or night through your app, even if it is to tell us you are frightened and could use a hug. We will be listening," he finished as they approached the compound. He took control of the vehicle again.

"Have a good day, miss," the driver said as she alighted from the vehicle. She gave him a nod and the customary thank-you and the blessing of Andanii. She watched the vehicle pull away and entered the compound. It had been a very eventful day.

Koh-Tan Se-Lam Roe - Command Ship, The Emperor's Fleet Shem, Five Light Cycles from the Home Star

Jurte Kur-Han Kai-Ro strode from the Jurte's personal cabin into the command center of the Koh-Tan Se-Lam Roe. His head was filled with the heady scent of his Rai's impending heat. It was getting closer now, and he had to send his Jur-Ro, the Jurte's personal guard of Ro, away as his Rai's pheromones were starting to compromise their actions. He did not want to suddenly have his own Jur calling him out to battle for the right to sire the Sai-Rai's first brood.

In their place, he now had a Jur of seven Rai, a Jur-Rai. They were not affected by the pheromones that his Rai was emitting, and Rai were fiercer fighters than Ro. His protection, for now, was assured.

Still, prudence dictated that he remained within close proximity of his Rai until such time as he had sired the brood and her heat ended. This meant that he could not visit the other vessels until then, perhaps a full lunar cycle. He would have to deal with issues via visual links. He had done it before; he could do it now.

The strength of her pheromones was increasing every work cycle. He could, and would, restrain himself until such time as she told him she was ready, but lesser Ro might not. Their strength of character and resolve was not as strong as his. So, he kept them from the immediate command area, allowing only Rai to enter.

Even so, her pheromones were strong, as was befitting a Sai-Rai. The scent was beginning to slither its way outward from the Jurte's personal cabins and from the command area. This would eventually cause a problem, not among the lesser Ro, who would not dare to offer challenge to him. However, stronger Ro may decide to take him on. The risk was great, but the reward was greater. They would receive the opportunity to sire the first brood of a Sai-Rai. They would also take command of the Koh-Tan of the fleet Shem.

Tomorrow, he would stand in the command area naked, wearing only his weapons belt and boots. They would see what a magnificent specimen of a Ro he was. That would quell the challenges of many. Still, there would be the few.

He could see them in his mind's eye, the only ones that could possibly challenge him. He ran the scenarios of their possible challenges through his mind. He would let them live, dependant on how they challenged him. Those that posed too serious a challenge, he would have to kill in combat. It was the only safe way.

Killing your rivals out of challenge was frowned upon, even if it was warranted. He would have to be vigilant over the next lunar cycle. He would be tired by the end of it all, but he would not have to worry about a new heat cycle until the brood graduated to school, a little over five solar cycles into the future.

By then, he should be on his way back to the home world, a hero, and a potential rival to the Emperor himself. His future was assured. He would return home a battle hero with two broods and plenty of potential servants from the new threat to the Home Star. He smiled at the thought of his future glory.

End of chapter nineteen.

Due to the high demand, I have removed the lengthy glossary of abbreviations and names of ships from this chapter. I will only add the glossary at the end of every fifth chapter. The next time you will see it will be at the end of the upcoming chapter 20.

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