StarSet (The Warrior Prince's Claim - BBW Science Fiction Romance) by Calista Skye
Authors: Calista Skye
Tags: alien romance
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saving himself the need to seriously damage the wrong sort of guy who might be tempted to offend his daughter.
There were all sorts of species touristing Kalion, and if Shala hadn't been a smart girl, she may have well wound up in one of their sensual nets.
She couldn't help but smile thinking of her father. He himself had been a mix of human cultures, his dusken skin and the sharp sliver cut of his eyes making his Asiatic heritage obvious to any who looked at him. She missed him and ma, more than her heart could take sometimes, but there was little to be done about it.
She'd been meant for the stars, and aside from the occasional visit home, in the stars she would remain. It'd become more a welcoming home than her own planet was, even visiting Earth had been a sore disappointment. Since the greening, it'd quickly spun into chaos with feyish creatures of the wood denouncing the barest hint of electronic technology.
Most people who weren't naturally enamored of the ways of the wood protectors were trying to get off of the planet through various galactic dating services, posts with the allied forces, and other trade-related reasons they hoped would allow them access to the star ships that would carry them far from a home they no longer recognized.
Stretching and rising up to order a tea from the butler-unit built into the wall of her closet-like kitchenette, Shala wondered how well she would mesh with Teleran culture, especially at a time of reverence for mythic frights, personification of elements, the spirits of Teleran folklore, and ancestors who enjoyed substantial honor among the culture's people.
Kalion had its own systems of ancestral reverence, but Telera one wasn't Kalion, and she wasn't entirely confident that she wouldn't mess something up at Eiowa. Suni had been an excellent advisor, and Shala soaked every bit of information up like a sponge.
Still, she thought as she gathered up her cup of tea when the nano-butler dinged, it was all a bit much to cram into her head on such short notice.
9
Shala was in good spirits the following day, and she woke finding much of the overwhelm had passed out of her while her subconscious worked on the new information she'd been given. She was feeling confident when she considered the coming event, and eyes sweeping the corridors of the commons, she couldn't help but greet the Telerans she encountered with more cheer than usual. Oddly enough, they seemed to return it, like she'd already been vetted and included into their fold during closed-door talks privy only to them. It helped to take any of the lingering edge off of her focus, though she had a faint dredge of doom tugging at her gut throughout the day's duties. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on but also couldn't have ignored if she tried.
All seemed well, though, despite the muted alarm in her solar plexus. No staff hails or alarms had struck the air, the scanner didn't detect anything untoward on any of the decks. Not even one fight broke out amongst the warrior classes on the commoner's deck.
It had the makings of an unusually smooth day on Telera one, and perhaps that was all there was to her mild, pang of internal alarm. After all, when one is accustomed to chaos, a calm day is bound to be treated with suspicion.
When Shala finally sat down at her station, she did it with a forced ease borne of her repeatedly telling herself all was well. Within an hour or two she began to believe it, to accept the calm of the day and focus her attentions more wholeheartedly on her work.
This could all play out perfectly. Sometimes good things happened to good people. How could she expect to receive anything that set her soul at ease if she wasn't willing to even believe it was possible?
Cheerfully, she told herself she could do better than that. She could let potential problems rest until they revealed themselves for what they were.
For all she knew, they were just phantoms leeching any
There were all sorts of species touristing Kalion, and if Shala hadn't been a smart girl, she may have well wound up in one of their sensual nets.
She couldn't help but smile thinking of her father. He himself had been a mix of human cultures, his dusken skin and the sharp sliver cut of his eyes making his Asiatic heritage obvious to any who looked at him. She missed him and ma, more than her heart could take sometimes, but there was little to be done about it.
She'd been meant for the stars, and aside from the occasional visit home, in the stars she would remain. It'd become more a welcoming home than her own planet was, even visiting Earth had been a sore disappointment. Since the greening, it'd quickly spun into chaos with feyish creatures of the wood denouncing the barest hint of electronic technology.
Most people who weren't naturally enamored of the ways of the wood protectors were trying to get off of the planet through various galactic dating services, posts with the allied forces, and other trade-related reasons they hoped would allow them access to the star ships that would carry them far from a home they no longer recognized.
Stretching and rising up to order a tea from the butler-unit built into the wall of her closet-like kitchenette, Shala wondered how well she would mesh with Teleran culture, especially at a time of reverence for mythic frights, personification of elements, the spirits of Teleran folklore, and ancestors who enjoyed substantial honor among the culture's people.
Kalion had its own systems of ancestral reverence, but Telera one wasn't Kalion, and she wasn't entirely confident that she wouldn't mess something up at Eiowa. Suni had been an excellent advisor, and Shala soaked every bit of information up like a sponge.
Still, she thought as she gathered up her cup of tea when the nano-butler dinged, it was all a bit much to cram into her head on such short notice.
9
Shala was in good spirits the following day, and she woke finding much of the overwhelm had passed out of her while her subconscious worked on the new information she'd been given. She was feeling confident when she considered the coming event, and eyes sweeping the corridors of the commons, she couldn't help but greet the Telerans she encountered with more cheer than usual. Oddly enough, they seemed to return it, like she'd already been vetted and included into their fold during closed-door talks privy only to them. It helped to take any of the lingering edge off of her focus, though she had a faint dredge of doom tugging at her gut throughout the day's duties. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on but also couldn't have ignored if she tried.
All seemed well, though, despite the muted alarm in her solar plexus. No staff hails or alarms had struck the air, the scanner didn't detect anything untoward on any of the decks. Not even one fight broke out amongst the warrior classes on the commoner's deck.
It had the makings of an unusually smooth day on Telera one, and perhaps that was all there was to her mild, pang of internal alarm. After all, when one is accustomed to chaos, a calm day is bound to be treated with suspicion.
When Shala finally sat down at her station, she did it with a forced ease borne of her repeatedly telling herself all was well. Within an hour or two she began to believe it, to accept the calm of the day and focus her attentions more wholeheartedly on her work.
This could all play out perfectly. Sometimes good things happened to good people. How could she expect to receive anything that set her soul at ease if she wasn't willing to even believe it was possible?
Cheerfully, she told herself she could do better than that. She could let potential problems rest until they revealed themselves for what they were.
For all she knew, they were just phantoms leeching any
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