Despite my fiancée’s reluctance to let me work while on Astoria, Penny wants to brief me and have some introductions with the Governor of Kepler 3 and my new liaison. I asked about my liaison for Earth and she sent me a picture of Zia with an “I’m with dummy” t-shirt on. Zia did tell me that she was going to be the Protector of Earth after this coming Founder’s Day after the legal updates and planet status changes come in. I love how part of those changes include not letting Earth be feral anymore.

  “Isn’t this the third time we’ve had this meeting, Penny?”

  “Nonsense. The first time I told you I was thinking about it in casual sushi-boat conversation. The second time, I told you that I was instituting changes early and you were my first Justicar. This would be the fourth time after the session I set up for you to screen candidates, if any of those were actual, Imperial meetings.”

  “You have official meetings with your Consul of the Interior on that sushi-boat river. And what would you call those meetings with the Herrati Emissary to Astoria?” She squints her eyes at me, promising great inconvenience when next we are in private.

  “Fostering good will with a displaced people.”

  “Hah! That is a good joke, Empress. The Herrati will forever be displaced.”

  “And yet, when I offer to put your people back on the ships they attacked me with, the Council says no.” Penny says with a polite tone and full teeth on display. The tiger man ignores the warning.

  “It is Warcouncil, your Imperial Majesty. We have a legacy of combat that we wish to continue.”

  “Governor Mir’fatih, if that is your stance, I will alert my forces that we are at war. It seems that every year your office attempts to re-assert the views of the Herrati home planet, and every year I lose a portion of my remaining patience. That said, with the Empire’s coming law, order, and justice changes, it will only be my responsibility if planetary and sector justice fails.”

  “With due respect, Empress, we are capable of governing ourselves.”

  “Yourselves, sure, but playing well with the other members of the Empire seems to be beyond you. I have thirty outstanding requests for adjudication and legal review for common disputes. And before you argue that you are the only other race in the Empire, so your claims are special, the V’tek and the Hvarthi are capable of following the rules.”

  “They do not claim their own planets, my Empress.”

  It seems that Mir’fatih is just respectful enough not to be murdered.

  Penny chuckles at the distinction. “However you see it, the new changes will have Justicar Novarro ruling on your claims. As Herrati can only gain citizenship through service or distinction until the fiftieth year of your colonization, you will not have the right to appeal to the Imperial Court. You will have the right to petition an Imperial Ruling, but as you have been toeing the lines of rude behavior, I doubt you’ll like my decisions.”

  “Which basically means, anything that cannot be solved on-planet for the Herrati will be handled by Justicar Novarro.” She points at me.

  “A pleasure to meet you Mir’Fatih.”

  “A human? Empress, are you intending to insult us further?” the cat man says.

  An unknown part of me, the newest part, reviles at the comparison. In an instant my wings are out, my eyes are glowing, and a new feature shows itself to me: a split-tone voice.

  “Be wary of the accusations you fling, toothless cat, lest I remove your balls to join your fangs.” As soon as the disrespect is acknowledged, I wrestle control back from the deific energy. Losing control like that sends shuddering bolts of revulsion through my body. I will fucking fight to prevent that from happening again.

  It seemed to squash the Tiger’s defiance, however—the spine he brought was now made of gelatin. Penny’s side-eye is brief, but worried.

  “A law backed by Andromeda? My apologies for the Impudence. We did not know.” He doesn’t bow to me, but I can see he had to restrain himself to resist.

  “While you were conquered, the Empress has not been unkind. From what I’ve seen, your own rule has been more oppressive to your people than the Empire.”

  He scoffs, forgetting himself. “That is preposterous!”

  I flare my eyes. “I dare you to lie to me. Any excuse to Pass Judgement on you and alter your fate for all time. Give me a reason.”

  “Do you intend to approach all adjudication in this manner?” He asks.

  “When met with hubris and arrogance? Absolutely. When met with reason and law, I have other means.” I take a breath and a five count while the tiger wiggles his whiskers. “Perhaps not the best foot to start on. However, what I have read about your policies for the last 15 years since your populace has been more self-sustaining have included a hefty amount of Xenophobia and harassment of most foreigners that aren’t apart of the Astorian Military.” He moves his mouth to respond, but I hold up a hand, effectively hitting pause on his idea. “I bring it up because I will be on-planet regularly and I would hate for any misunderstandings to arise while I experience your race’s hospitality?”

  The cat’s eyes widen and turns to face Penny. “Surely her presence on need not be physically in our Capitol?”

  “I’m backing her intentions, Mir’Fatih. If she wants a permanent office, you will help her find one or I will construct one where I see fit. Before you decry a violation of freedoms or something equally as ridiculous, I am giving you the choice on how to support the new department of justice roll out. Of course, you could attempt to make her life difficult, but with Andromeda backing her magic that is not a wise option.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “I’m sure whatever building my liaison is working from will suit my purposes.” I chime in.

  The man chuffs in amusement. “You liaison was on their way to a prison work camp before being tasked to come with me.”

  I can’t help but laugh, loudly at them petulantly assigning a prisoner to me. “May I ask their crimes?”

  “As the Empress has stated, local matters are our purview. It was not a violent crime, and that is all you need know.” This is going to be like pulling teeth, for fuck’s sake. I’ll have to buy a good set of pliers. “And as you have so kindly offered, Justicar, I will make sure an extra tent is provided for you at the work camp.”

  Well, I did say that. It would be like showing weakness to a predator if I tried to back out of it. Plus, I already have ideas that can make this hilarious for me.

  /Penny, were you thinking I could hire staff? Or was staff mostly for the ship you’re making?/

  \I wasn’t thinking of staffing anything on Kepler 3, but the budget I’m giving you could support more staff.\

  /Second question, how much of the land on Kepler is yours?/

  \All of it. The Herrati have no intention of buying the land their cities are on until they gain citizenship. The rest of it, I just don’t exercise my land rights.\

  /Cool. I’ll be making a land requisition this week, then./

  Penny smirks at me and takes a sip of her wine.

  “My apologies, Mir’Fatih, that was my attempt to ask for their presence.”

  “Bring in the prisoner!” he snarls, and less than a minute later a large cat pushes forward a smaller. . . mountain lion? That’s probably rude, but the cat that is shoved into the room in restraints is half naked and the fur tones of tan with a white and brown muzzle.

  I walk over and try to catch their eyes, but the cat shuts their eyes when they can’t avoid me. “Hi. I’m Kimber, I’ve been told you’re my new cultural liaison.”

  “I have been brought here with no knowledge of why.” The tone was light, and in a tenor similar to Penny’s sometimes lover. Female perhaps?

  “Ah, well. The Empress of Astoria has made a new Justice department, and I’m responsible for your Planet. I need help understanding any cultural nuances not covered by human reports. Can you help me with that?”

  “If that is my assignment.”

  “Okaaaay. Next question. Do you want to come with me while I plan my visit to your planet, or do you want to return with your people?”

  “That sounds like another kind of prison.” She shows an impressive set of teeth as she says that.

  “I was thinking, employee. If the Herrati won’t pay you, I certainly will.”

  “Uh, yes. We do not let our prisoners handle money, Miss Novarro.” His grin is disingenuous and I don’t need my fancy sight to know that.

  “Do you allow them to be in government buildings, or restaurants?”

  “No.”

  “Then I applaud your generous suspension of her sentence while she is working with me. She will of course be going all the places I would like to go and require to be for my duties.”

  “Herrati law prohibits this.”

  I grin in a way that I’ve seen Penny smile, in fact I am trying to mimic it. “Then I will happily invite diplomats and government officials to come sit in the dirt with me in our tent. In fact, four days from now, I require a meeting in the tent that you agreed to provide for me, mid-afternoon.” I look back to my would-be liaison and I think she’s smiling?

  “I think I would come with you.” She says.

  “Excellent!” I start undoing her restraints and the large cat behind her decides to protest physically, by trying to pull me away. He succeeds, but I also taze the shit out of the furball. “Sorry about that, being grabbed by males makes me react instinctively. Let me show you to my shuttle.”

  “Stop! You are violating Herrati Law by removing the prisoner!” He roars.

  My hackles rise, I flex the spells ingrained in my skin and flap over to the tiger so that we’re eye to eye. “You are the one that decided to enact this power play, Governor. Just because you didn’t understand the game, doesn’t mean we are cheating. I would have never allowed Herrati security forces on my ship, let alone in my office. Even if you had gotten your wish of me never setting foot on your planet, your choices would have forced Qamh to violate your laws, likely to condemn her further. I suppose I could claim you failed to supply me with a suitable liaison, and I would choose myself. Would you prefer that? Mister Mir’Fatih?”

  “My title is Governor, Justicar.”

  “Not if you’re my liaison it’s not.” I return with my best attempt at his snarling smile. I look over at Penny and she’s got a tub of popcorn, mimicking me from the last Founder’s Day argument. It takes a lot of willpower for me not to laugh. I drop to the floor and turn back to my new liaison.

  I veer toward Penny and bow lightly, “By your leave, Empress. My new friend and I suddenly have a busy day.” She shoos me off with a smile and I grab my new employee on the way out.

  She’s silent all the way and when we land at the Castle, she gets a scared look in her eyes. “If this is a sex thing, I am not afraid to use my claws and teeth.”

  I trip over my feet at the mental image. I can’t help chuckle at my ferally inappropriate thoughts. “If you thought that was a deterrent, my mate is half dragon: getting mauled is foreplay.” Oops, now she looks more afraid.

  I hear a familiar chain of hums and poofs before a mass barrels into me, knocking me into the grass on the ramped parkway. “Kimber! I missed you. I thought mom had you all day!”

  I am shamelessly enjoying the cuddle mugging when I feel her stiffen. “Honey, who’s the pretty cat lady?”

  “Zia, meet Qamh, my new Herrati Liaison.”

  “Ugh, I hate that your people are all pretty.”

  “You have an Elven den mate and a dragon? How powerful are you?” Qamh backs up, questioning her decisions.

  Zia snorts. “I am also the dragon. I’m a shape shifter. Kimber and I are exclusive and are getting married soon.”

  “Wait, so you really aren’t trying to add me to your den? Un-furred isn’t my type, but I cold have sworn.”

  “In my defense, my favorite animal from Earth is a mountain lion. Your coloring is nearly the same.”

  “I’m not a pet either.”

  “Chill chica!” I exclaim from the grass. “I just want you as an employee and advisor. And the ‘busy day’ we have planned is shopping for clothes and supplies for our trip.”

  “You know, Kimber, if you’re attracted to Herrati . . . maybe it would be a gateway to dragon sex?”

  “ZIA! Dear trickster, can we not talk about that in public? And I don’t want a ‘den’ I just want you. You know my answer.” She huffs and stands, not bothering to help me up. “This hot and cold stuff is getting old, babe.”

  “Kimber, like you said, can we not in public?” Then she blinks away. Now I don’t have a choice.

  “And you let her talk to you that way?”

  I laugh for a good long time. “Lady, that woman not only is stronger than I am, but her mother is the Empress. Nobody ‘lets’ her do anything. Then again, I bet none of this makes sense to you as I was just handed the helm of a whole section of the Empire’s justice system. Which makes no sense to me. But hey, before I met her daughter, she kind of adopted me, so my life doesn’t have to make sense to make me happy.”

  “That makes a sick sort of sense.” She tries not to look at me for a minute, but I just lie there, waiting. “Is working for you going to be more or less trouble than prison.”

  “Probably more. Really depends on why you got sent. I’m not asking, but the Herrati Government seems to like to toe the line between prison work and slavery. Since you’re not going to be involved in my other businesses, you should be fine. You know the cultural problems we’ll be getting into better than I.”

  Several minutes go by and she sits next to me on the lawn. More minutes pass. “Soo. I haven’t eaten in two days, can we do that?”

  “Holyshit! Are you serious? Fuck lady, lets go. Gonna need to put you in pants or something, but then we can go.”