Revolutionary (The Athena Lee Chronicles Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

need to mention those details. They, of course, asked questions. I answered as truthfully as I was able. Then my father asked about relationships and the real fun began.
     
    “I have a girlfriend, here name is Dar she is a Lieutenant in the Empire marines.” I said as I replied to his question.

    I could see a physical reaction from that fact. Our planet was pretty liberal when it came to who is with who. Date the person not the gender was popular when I was young. Our religion tells us to be happy with who you are. Looking at my father I sensed trouble.
     
    “You need to break up with her.”
     
    Say what? “Look old man, you don’t get to tell me what to do. Not anymore.”
     
    “You have an obligation to your family. We went to a lot of trouble to set up an arrangement for you before you went and got yourself ‘killed’. We knew once you got the whole space thing out of your system you would come home. Better late than never, but here you are.”
     
    Obligation, arrangement, oh Hell No! I started laughing. He stopped talking. I continued to laugh and everytime I looked at him I continued to giggle. Getting control of myself I shook my hands in front of my like a warding motion. I looked around the table. My brother and his wife were watching me closely and my father was scowling at me. The kids were ignoring us and had resumed staring zombie-like at their personal computers.
     
    Still chuckling I turned to my father. “You thought that after all this time I was ready to come home? Really? Ignoring the fact that I was ‘lost’ for 15 years, you really think that I am home to stay don’t you. The reason I am here you egotistical maniac is that my ship is here. My captain, always looking out for me, made me take liberty. If you think I am marrying some yahoo that you dug up you have another thing coming. I like my girlfriend, thank you very much. Break up with her? Not only no, but Hell No!”
     
    Thinking about the past I had an epiphany. “Wait a minute. All those times you forced us as children to stand and be inspected at gatherings. All the times that we felt like pieces of meat on display, was just that wasn’t it? You were auctioning us off to the highest bidder!” He looked surprised. “I’m not stupid you know. I graduated at the top of my class at the Academy and again in engineering school. So who is the lucky bidder? Come on tell me. Who have you promise a chunk of meat to?”
     
    “It’s not like that at all. It is a political marriage. This is how we do things in our family. If you had payed attention to what we tried to tell you, you would understand this. We are not as powerful as we used to be, the family needs more influence in with the sector government. Your sister, Min, understood this. She married a very powerful aide to the Governor.”
     
    I interrupted him. “Min? You did this to Min, and she let you? You are a braver man than I thought. What did you bribe her with? There is no way she would willingly go along with something like this.”
     
    “For that you will have to ask your sister. Now the family needs you to marry Harold Norton, the Sector Governors son. We have arranged for you to have your own house here on the planet and basically your own money to do with as you want . He only asks for two children with his family name.”
     
    I was so mad I could just scream. “Are you out of your mind old man! NO! And I mean NO Frakking way will I ever and I mean ever marry someone that you or anyone just ‘picked’ out for me. Screw you and ‘our’ family traditions! I’m out of here.” I turned and opened the door to leave. Two large and burly house servants were waiting on the other side.
     
    “I’m sorry that you feel that way Athena. You really do have no choice in the matter. If you gentlemen would take her downstairs please.”
     
    “Father you can’t do that! She is beyond your control she is too old! She is not a member of your militia.” Now, David