hair, the skin on my face had become wrinkled and patchy, my eyebrows longer and grey, my nose arched, my tattoo was gone, and the skin on my arm was thin and wrinkled.
A laugh rippled through me.
I held up my hand. "Think of it as plastic surgery for my new role as Ioana Ja'Tuva. Speaking of which, you should begin to refer to me as Ioana or Ja'Tuva beginning immediately. A slip could have disastrous results."
"What do you want us to do...Ioana?" Vali Ba'Tasuo asked.
"We will have to ease into our role as cooperative citizens of JPU. From listening to Fleet Admiral Neifeh give the SAS his ultimatum, I think he will start by using force. It won't be easy, but we must resist him, while convincing him we are willing to be cooperative if we are treated like citizens rather than slaves."
While the elders got the general information out to the clans, I was set up with quarters in the Ja'Tuva clan complex as an elder aunt, introduced to the clan members, and given a Freeland wardrobe. Terril was also given a makeover.
CHAPTER FOUR
Freeland: Compromise
I sat in the conference room with the elders, awaiting Fleet Admiral Neifeh. Reports had been coming in all day about UPN atrocities: rape, murders, stealing, destruction of property, and the hunting of Riss. It was late afternoon when the doors to the room burst open and four combat troops dressed in black and armed with assault weapons rushed in. After walking around examining the room and each of us, they took up positions near the entrance. A few minutes later, Neifeh swaggered in, followed by four more combat troops, a Riss skin draped around his shoulders. It took all my will and Thalia to stop me from screaming.
I felt my rage leaving me, although I desperately wanted to hang on to it.
I screamed mentally. All I could see was my dead sister's skin.
Si'jin? I couldn't seem to focus, even though Thalia's infusion continued to dampen my emotions. Neifeh's voice jarred me back.
"You now belong to the JPU Empire. You raided the citizens of the JPU, so you cannot expect to be treated as citizens, but...if you please us, life will be tolerable," he said, smiling as he surveyed each of us.
"What do you want of us?" Ni'Shay asked, his voice trembling, not from fear—as I suspect Neifeh thought—but in rage.
"You will help upgrade the JPU fleet with the new technology you sold to the SAS."
I laughed and laughed again, causing Neifeh to charge to my end of the table and backhand me out of the chair to the floor. The blow hurt, but because I knew it was coming and didn't resist, the force was minimal, although my spinning out of my chair, crashing to the floor, and Thalia making my nose to bleed and my cheek to turn purple did make it look impressive. I continued to laugh. He drew his gun and pointed it at me.
"Yes, shoot me. You and your gun-happy maniacs have already made it impossible for us to give you the new technology. So shoot us all. We are of no use to you." I laughed between faked coughs complete with blood. Neifeh reached down, grabbed a handful of my tunic, and hoisted me up inches from his face.
"What are you babbling about, old woman?" he snarled. I tried to talk, but the tunic was choking me. I could only gasp for breath, but I did manage a smile, which caused him to shake me like a rag doll. When he let go, my legs refused to hold me, and I collapsed into a sitting position. I coughed a few more times, spraying blood onto his shining calf-length leather boots. That got me a kick in the chest, which I mostly deflected as I spun backward and rolled over several times. He followed me, giving me another kick.
"Laugh again, and I will have you shot, you worthless old bitch," he shouted. I certainly had his
I held up my hand. "Think of it as plastic surgery for my new role as Ioana Ja'Tuva. Speaking of which, you should begin to refer to me as Ioana or Ja'Tuva beginning immediately. A slip could have disastrous results."
"What do you want us to do...Ioana?" Vali Ba'Tasuo asked.
"We will have to ease into our role as cooperative citizens of JPU. From listening to Fleet Admiral Neifeh give the SAS his ultimatum, I think he will start by using force. It won't be easy, but we must resist him, while convincing him we are willing to be cooperative if we are treated like citizens rather than slaves."
While the elders got the general information out to the clans, I was set up with quarters in the Ja'Tuva clan complex as an elder aunt, introduced to the clan members, and given a Freeland wardrobe. Terril was also given a makeover.
CHAPTER FOUR
Freeland: Compromise
I sat in the conference room with the elders, awaiting Fleet Admiral Neifeh. Reports had been coming in all day about UPN atrocities: rape, murders, stealing, destruction of property, and the hunting of Riss. It was late afternoon when the doors to the room burst open and four combat troops dressed in black and armed with assault weapons rushed in. After walking around examining the room and each of us, they took up positions near the entrance. A few minutes later, Neifeh swaggered in, followed by four more combat troops, a Riss skin draped around his shoulders. It took all my will and Thalia to stop me from screaming.
I felt my rage leaving me, although I desperately wanted to hang on to it.
Si'jin? I couldn't seem to focus, even though Thalia's infusion continued to dampen my emotions. Neifeh's voice jarred me back.
"You now belong to the JPU Empire. You raided the citizens of the JPU, so you cannot expect to be treated as citizens, but...if you please us, life will be tolerable," he said, smiling as he surveyed each of us.
"What do you want of us?" Ni'Shay asked, his voice trembling, not from fear—as I suspect Neifeh thought—but in rage.
"You will help upgrade the JPU fleet with the new technology you sold to the SAS."
I laughed and laughed again, causing Neifeh to charge to my end of the table and backhand me out of the chair to the floor. The blow hurt, but because I knew it was coming and didn't resist, the force was minimal, although my spinning out of my chair, crashing to the floor, and Thalia making my nose to bleed and my cheek to turn purple did make it look impressive. I continued to laugh. He drew his gun and pointed it at me.
"Yes, shoot me. You and your gun-happy maniacs have already made it impossible for us to give you the new technology. So shoot us all. We are of no use to you." I laughed between faked coughs complete with blood. Neifeh reached down, grabbed a handful of my tunic, and hoisted me up inches from his face.
"What are you babbling about, old woman?" he snarled. I tried to talk, but the tunic was choking me. I could only gasp for breath, but I did manage a smile, which caused him to shake me like a rag doll. When he let go, my legs refused to hold me, and I collapsed into a sitting position. I coughed a few more times, spraying blood onto his shining calf-length leather boots. That got me a kick in the chest, which I mostly deflected as I spun backward and rolled over several times. He followed me, giving me another kick.
"Laugh again, and I will have you shot, you worthless old bitch," he shouted. I certainly had his
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