Commander Goddard was speechless. He, Ms. Davenport, and the rest of the crew were in the command room. They had just finished listening to Lokaia tell them about her betrothal and apparent marriage. Fortunately, Davenport picked up for him.

“When will he be here, Lokaia?” she asked kindly.

The Elvian shrugged, her head still bent. “A couple of days I guess. Jalan didn’t tell me. He just said he would be here soon.”

“Do you know what he looks like? Or anything else about him?”

She shook her head. “His name is Akkar Janto Kurom. That’s all I know.”

“Why is his name so long?” Harlan asked her.

“It’s not. Every Elvian has three names, we just go by our firsts.”

Catalina looked interested. “What’s Jalan’s name?”

“Uh…” Lokaia thought for a minute. “It’s Jalan Bator Tero, or something like that. I don’t have to call him by it.”

“What’s yours?” Bova asked.

Lokaia opened her mouth to answer, but Rosie spoke first. “Commander? We’re receiving a message.”

“On screen, Rosie.”

The viewscreen changed picture to show the crew a large, muscular Elvian man with black hair, dark eyes, and a black goatee. His expression was slack and didn’t change as he spoke to them. “Starship Christa, I am heir Akkar Janto Kurom. I am here to evaluate heiress Lokaia and bring her back to Miseth. Please allow me to board or I shall have to do so by force.” The viewscreen went dark to show that that was the entire message.

“Well,” Goddard started, putting his hand on his neck. “I-I guess we should let him onboard.” He glanced at Lokaia but her head was still bent. He sighed. “Why don’t we all go down to meet him and to say goodbye?” The crew headed down the jumptubes towards the docks.

“Lokaia?”

“Yes, Commander?”

He sighed. Goddard didn’t want to get mixed up in another race’s ways, but he didn’t think it was a good idea for Lokaia to go home just yet. “If you wanted to stay, we could… we could hide you until this guy gives up.”

“Thank you, Commander,” she said, so softly he had to bend his head to hear her. “But he has already had his coronation. That means he’s already received his magic. If he doesn’t find me he may h-hurt you and the others. It’s better if I just go with him.”

“Lokaia, this man, as your husband… he’ll punish you won’t he?”

“Yes.”

Goddard was about to say more but saw that he wasn’t going to change her mind. He sighed again and went to walk with Ms. Davenport.

Catalina came to walk with Lokaia. Cat had only been on board the Christa for a day since she had been on Yensid. She felt like she knew Lokaia as well as anyone else on the ship did, though Lokaia could never see her. She was sorry to see Lokaia go because she had thought that she and the Elvian could be good friends. They were closer in age than Cat and Rosie were, not that that had inhibited their friendship. Cat was about to say something to her when she heard Lokaia make a small noise. Cat leaned in closer and pulled some of her dark red hair back to reveal her face. Tears were absolutely streaming down the Elvian’s cheeks. “Oh, Kaia…”

Lokaia wiped the tears away quickly and gave Cat an unconvinving smile. “I’m fine,” she whispered. Cat slipped her arm around Lokaia’s shoulders and walked with her that way.

Radu and Bova walked behind them. Radu was torn inside. He had lost his first love to another lizard and now a sexist Elvian was taking his second love. If he could have saved her from him without endangering the rest of the crew, Radu would have done it. But there was just no way…

They reached the docks just as it began to depressurize. The doors slid open to reveal about 10 guards and the Elvian man, Akkar, about seven feet tall. Goddard stepped up to him. “I am Commander Goddard of-“

“Where is the girl?” he interrupted.

Goddard bristled. He was about to yell at the giant Elvian when a tiny voice said, “Here,” and Lokaia stepped out from behind him.

Akkar looked at her. “Here what?”

Lokaia sighed softly. “Here, my Lord.”

“Good. Come.” Akkar turned around and began to walk back towards the docks.

“My Lord?”

He whirled on her. “Did you not hear me, female? I said come!”

Lokaia swallowed hard. “M-my Lord, I-I w-wanted- um… might I say goodbye first, my Lord?”

Akkar growled at her. “Fine.”

Lokaia turned around with tears in her eyes. She had just opened her mouth to speak when Akkar grabbed her elbow. “Your time is up,” he snarled and pulled her with him. “Wait!” she cried. “My Lord, please!”

“Hey!” Radu yelled. “You could at least let her say goodbye!” He pushed his way past the guards blocking him and reached out to touch Lokaia’s outstretched hand. Their fingers had just brushed when Akkar turned back and gestured with a hand, sending Radu flying backwards. “Radu!” Lokaia cried and struggled to be free of Akkar. Rosie ran over to Radu just as the Andromedan struggled to get up. Lokaia flung an elbow back, scoring on Akkar’s chest and startling him enough to let her go. She rushed over to Radu as he got up. She touched a bump on his head that was beginning to form. “Oh, Radu, are you okay?”

Before he could answer her, two guards came over and grabbed Lokaia’s arms, pulling her away. More guards came forward to keep Radu and the rest of the crew back.

“Bring her here,” Akkar commanded. The guards pulled the struggling girl in front of him and Lokaia met his eyes defiantly. Akkar bristled. “Females are respectful,” he snapped at her. “Or else punishment must be administered.”

“Go ahead,” she said, her voice filled with defiance and anger.

Akkar raised a fist and Lokaia winced in preparation. Then he stopped, thinking. “No,” he said thoughtfully. “I don’t think hitting you would feel that good.” He dropped his fist, and raised an eyebrow. There was a scream and a thump behind her, and Lokaia whirled around to see Rosie flying backwards, hitting a wall and dropping like a stone. “Rosie!” Lokaia struggled to get away while Bova and Cat went to help her. Akkar smiled. “Hitting one of your friends feels pretty good though.” He gestured with a hand and Cat flew headfirst into the nearest wall as well. “And hitting two feels even better.” Another gesture and Harlan screamed and clutched a broken arm. “And three…”

“Stop!” Lokaia cried through tears. “Stop it, please! I’ll go with you, just please, please stop hurting them!” She bent her head in submission and stopped struggling against the guards.

Akkar looked at her and smiled. “Good.” Suddenly he viciously backhanded the Elvian girl, sending her sprawling across the floor clutching her jaw.

“Loki!”

Akkar smiled again, rubbing his hand. “I was wrong. Hitting you did feel good. Take her to the ship,” he ordered his guards. Two guards went and picked her up, dragging her towards the ship. Choking back sobs, Lokaia kept her head bent. Face it, Loki, her inner voice said. This is your life. Get used to it. The tears fell from her eyes as she listened to the cries of pain from her former crew mates.

“I am hungry,” Akkar announced.

He was sitting in a makeshift throne in the command deck of his ship. Lokaia was sitting by his side on the floor. Her jaw was sore and she was sure it was bruised as well. Akkar’s guards had taken the uniform Lokaia had been given on the Christa and given her a ‘uniform’ of her own. It was what Harlan would have called a ‘tube top’ and a skirt that was basically two long strips of cloth on the front and back with a cord holding them together. She kept replaying the scene in her mind: Akkar, twitching an eyebrow, Rosie screaming and hitting the wall followed by Catalina, Harlan screaming, Radu flying backwards… There was so much she could have done to prevent all of it, if only she’d thought of it at the time. In fact she-

“Hey!” Lokaia flew backwards as Akkar’s fist connected with the side of her head. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her head, Lokaia flipped the hair out of her face and sat up, trembling. “I said I am hungry. Fetch my dinner.”

“Yes, my Lord,” she mumbled, standing. She went to one of the servants who handed her a covered tray, which she gave to Akkar. She watched him eat for only a few seconds before she became in danger of throwing up on him. Akkar was shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming pace. Lokaia turned her gaze towards the view screen and returned to her place on the floor. Akkar had hurt her friends using magic. Magic he had received at his coronation just like… Just like I did, Lokaia thought. She could do magic. She had done magic. Well, not good magic, but magic nonetheless. And if she practiced at it she was sure that- that what? When would she ever get a private moment to herself to practice her magic? When would Akkar ever allow his wife to practice something that might make her more powerful than he was? Never, that’s when, Loki, she told herself. She sighed softly and rubbed her sore jaw again.

“Something displeases you?”

Before she could stop herself, Lokaia looked up sharply at the source of the voice. She met Akkar’s eyes in time to see the anger reverberating in them before she was thrown across the room to smash headlong into the ships main console. Electricity crackled through Lokaia before she fell away, coughing and flashing in and out of consciousness. She sat up groaning and tried to focus through all the noise she was hearing. When she finally got her bearings, she realized the noise all around her was the laughter of Akkar and his guards. Lokaia brushed singed hair out of her face and slowly returned to Akkar’s side. She crossed her legs underneath her, wincing as she put her weight on a burned hand.

“My Lord,” a guard said. “The controls are malfunctioning from when the female hit it. We will be stuck here for a time.”

Lokaia winced again as Akkar turned his infuriated gaze on her.

“Commander, we have to go after her!”

Goddard looked over the faces of Rosie and the rest of the crew. He sighed. “I know, I know. But how do you suppose we go about it when the Christa has no weapons?”

“Radu and I could take on the Elf man anytime, Commander!” Harlan interjected and Radu nodded.

Goddard raised an eyebrow. “Even with his magic?”

“Uh…”

“Commander, we can’t just leave her with him,” Radu said forcefully. “Didn’t you see how he hurt her? And he liked it. We can’t possibly leave her with him!”

Goddard felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Davenport behind him. “They’re right, Seth,” she said quietly. “We can’t just leave her.”

He sighed and gave her hand a small squeeze, turning back to the crew. “All right,” he told them. “Here’s what we’ll do…”

“I do not like your hair.”

Lokaia was standing in front of Akkar. With nothing better to do before the controls were fixed, Akkar was evaluating the Elvian heiress. So far, evaluating basically meant telling Lokaia what was wrong with her.

“I also do not like your figure,” he continued. “Your hips are too small. You will not bear many children. I do, however, approve of your eyes.”

One guard stepped up to Akkar and spoke to him, “My Lord, it will not matter if she does not bear many children. She will only be your first wife.”

“True,” Akkar mused. “But I want my first to be a son and if she can only give birth once and it is a female I will have to kill it and tell the people she is barren. That would be unfortunate and embarrassing for the empire.” He looked Lokaia up and down again. “You are too small as well.”

“My Lord,” a small Elvian man interjected. “A ship has just entered real space. It appears to be the Lumanian ship we just retrieved the female from.”

Lokaia looked up in shock and horror as she saw the Christa’s sleek outline fill the viewscreen. Akkar watched in amusement. “Well, Gofred, what are you waiting for? Ask them what they want?”

“We are already receiving a message, my Lord.”

Akkar rolled his eyes impatiently. “Then put it on screen, Gofred.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The viewscreen filled with the faces of the Christa’s crew. Goddard was standing in the center. “This is the Starship Christa, Akkar. Return Lokaia to us or suffer the consequences.” The video stopped. “That is all they sent, my Lord,” Gofred said. “They wish us to send a message in return.”

“Commander,” Rosie piped. “We’re receiving a return message.”

“On screen, Rosie.”

The viewscreen changed from an outside view of Akkar’s ship to Akkar himself. He smiled superiorly. “Greetings, Commander,” he said. “And to what do we owe this visit?”

“We don’t want any trouble from you, Akkar,” Goddard said sternly. “If you send Lokaia back to the Christa immediately then we won’t attack, but if you don’t-“

“We’ll blow you away,” Harlan interrupted. Goddard groaned internally. Someday Harlan would get them all killed with his cockiness.

Akkar raised an eyebrow. “Will you? Well, what shall I do about that? Guards!” he barked. “Bring the girl.” The crew watched as two guards dragged a tired and apparently singed Lokaia over to Akkar. “Female,” Akkar said in a commanding tone. “Does the starship before us carry weaponry capable of hurting us?”

Lokaia kept her head bent and hesitated. She finally laughed quietly and answered him. “This ship, my Lord? Yes, of course it does.”

Akkar eyed her for a moment. “Guard!” he exclaimed. “Read her.” He turned to face the Christa’s crew. “My guard will be able to tell if the female is lying to me. If she is, I will kill you first and then punish her to such an extreme even Jalan would cringe to watch.” He smiled at the reactions he received from his speech and focused back on Lokaia and his guard. The guard grabbed her chin roughly, jerking her head up and looking her in the eyes. Lokaia’s face went slack as she stared back into his. “Now,” Akkar continued. “Does the starship before us carry any weaponry capable of crippling this ship?”

Still staring into the guard’s eyes, Lokaia whispered, “I would never fire on the Christa.”

The guard released her and she fell back, blinking repeatedly. “True,” he told Akkar.

The Elvian man considered that for a moment, turning back to the viewscreen. He cocked his head, looking at the crew. “Fire,” he told his guards.

“What?” a guard asked shocked. “But, my Lord, the female just said-“ Before he could finish his sentence, the guard had passed out from lack of air. Akkar lowered his fist and turned to the next guard. “I believe I just said to fire.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the new guard said quickly. “Right away.” He moved to the console.

“No!” Lokaia cried. She struggled against her guards. “Commander, go! Get away!”

“Go, Band!” Lokaia saw Commander Goddard turn and yell and Harlan fingering the controls, but not before Akkar’s ship opened fire. “Shields!” Goddard cried. The Christa took the hit on her side, sending sparks flying through the command room. Akkar watched in amusement and after the shuddering ceased, he surveyed the Christa’s crew for a few more minutes. He smiled. “You have no weapons,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Akkar walked over to Lokaia. “You lied to me, female. You know what that means, don’t you?”

She looked him in the eyes, hatred in her own. “I did not. I told you that I would never fire on the Christa, and I wouldn’t. It is no fault of mine if you took it to mean that they had no weapons.”

There was silence for a few minutes and then Akkar raised his hand and punched Lokaia solidly across the face. Her head snapped to the side and when she raised it Radu could see blood in the corner of her mouth. “Leave her alone!” he cried.

Akkar whirled around to face him and cocked an eyebrow. Then he turned back and glanced at Lokaia, and back to Radu. Suddenly he laughed. “Oh, this is too much!” he cried joyously. He glanced at Lokaia. “You care for the slave and he cares for you! Oh, that is rich!” He laughed heartily, gasping for breath. He sobered in an instant. “Kill them,” he ordered.

“No!” Lokaia screamed and struggled against her guards. She was trying to break away and throttle Akkar, anything to keep him from killing her friends, her family. She felt a strange pulling sensation, somewhere behind her eyes. All of a sudden, the guard manned at the weapon station flew into the wall. Lokaia’s jaw dropped, along with everyone else’s.

Akkar turned around slowly. “Who. Did. That.” He demanded softly, dangerously.

“I-I think I-it was… me,” Lokaia said with her eyes wide and mouth still open.

Akkar snorted with laughter. “You? A female? Not likely.”

Lokaia turned an angry gaze on him. He fell backwards, hitting his head on the console behind him. The guards holding Lokaia flew backwards, the rest of the guards following them. A chain from the wall trailed down from the wall and wrapped them all together. Lokaia stood up and straightened her wrinkled ‘uniform.’ She looked Akkar in the eyes. “Likely.”

He straightened up, staring in wonder at her. “How did you-“

“How did a mere female obtain such powerful magic?” she finished for him. “Like this, I suppose.” Akkar flew high in the air and hung. Lokaia stepped closer to him. “Know this, Akkar Janto Kurom, I could not care less about the fact that you are male or that you are the heir. What I do care about is that you tried to hurt my friends, the only people that have ever cared about me in my entire life. I am going back to the Christa and you are going back to Miseth. I will tell Jalan myself what happened here. You go ahead and tell him your side of the story, I really don’t care.” She turned around and headed towards the doors. She stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “And Akkar? I would advise you not to follow me.” Then she flipped around and walked through the doors.

“Hello, Commander, Ms. Davenport.”

Goddard and Davenport smiled. “Hello, Lokaia,” Davenport said quietly, she and Goddard walking over to the chair Lokaia was sitting in, in the team room. “How are you feeling?”

She smiled at them. “Rosie cleaned most of the cuts and I hid the bruises myself.” She gave them a look from the corner of her eye. “You knew I’d do that, didn’t you?”

“Do what?”

Lokaia grinned. “You knew I’d use my magic against Akkar.”

“Why, Lokaia, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Davenport said, shocked. “Really, Lokaia,” Goddard put in.

Lokaia raised an eyebrow. “So, is that a yes?”

“Yes,” Goddard said, smiling.

She smiled back. “Thank you.”

Davenport put a hand on her shoulder. “You are very welcome.”

Lokaia stood up to leave. When she got to the doorway, she turned back. “Commander?”

“Yeah?”

She bit her lip. “Um… well, a while back you asked me if anyone in the crew was being attacked, could I help them without breaking Elvian law.”

Goddard nodded. “I remember.”

“W-well,” she continued looking at her feet. “The a-answer is ‘no.’ I-I couldn’t help you without breaking my people’s laws.”

Their faces fell. “Oh,” Davenport said quietly.

“But, um…” Lokaia met their eyes. “My answer is ‘yes.’ I’ll do it anyway.” She smiled again and left the room.

Behind her, Goddard and Davenport smiled. “I always liked her,” Davenport told him. He smiled at her jauntily. “Really? I like you.” Davenport blushed as he pulled her into an embrace.

Radu was kissing her. Actually, he had already kissed her since she had been back and now Lokaia was asleep but it had been a really great kiss and now she was dreaming about him, too. She wrapped her arms around his neck just as she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Wondering why she hadn’t heard anyone come in, Lokaia turned around and gasped. “Elmira?”

She smiled at Lokaia. “I really hate to tear you away from this dream, but…”

Blushing furiously, Lokaia disengaged from dream-Radu. “Um… is there something wrong?”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong.” Elmira looked a little uncomfortable. “It’s just… Well, in the past I’ve warned the crew about possible hazards through Radu but I didn’t think you’d really be comfortable with me visiting your new… boyfriend? Anyway, I didn’t think you would want me to be inside his dreams so… I thought you might rather I talked to you instead.” She made a face. “Do you mind?”

“Uh, no, no, not at all,” Lokaia said quickly. “Th-this is fine, really.” She smiled. “Really.”

Elmira smiled back. “Good, because I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

Lokaia nodded. “I understand.”

Elmira looked at her from the corner of her eye. “Actually, this might be a good thing.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Elmira said shrugging slightly, “we’re more alike than you think.”

“What do you mean?”

The sirrola smiled and blushed. “Well, this was my dream.” She turned and Lokaia saw two Spung locked in a tight embrace doing basically what Lokaia and Radu had been doing in her own dream. Lokaia smiled as she recognized the Spung as Elmira and Kuror.

“So, you two are doing all right then?”

“Very well,” Elmira said smiling.

Lokaia grinned. “Good.”