Jared exhaled sharply, then turned his furytoward Rem. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Zia noted the twinkle in the cocky pilot’sblue eyes, and quickly advised him, “If you’re smart, you won’t sayanother word.” Then she stood up and said, “Don’t you have somegraduation parties to attend? Maybe you should just get going fornow. We’ll call you if we need you.”
When Rem’s smile faded, she added quickly,“If you really want to pilot the skirmisher, I’ll convinceAmbassador Humber to let you. How’s that?”
Rem stood and nodded. “That’s an amazingoffer. I’ll take it. Thanks, Zia.”
“It’s the least I can do, given how yourescued me from falling off that stage. So go to your parties.We’ll be in touch, I promise.”
To his credit, he left right away, and Ziagave an exaggerated sigh of relief before turning back to her uncleand the ambassador. “That was awkward. Sorry.”
“I should go too,” Humber murmured. “You twohave much to discuss. But do it quickly, I beg you. We can arrangefor genetic testing tomorrow morning, and have the results withinhours. But whatever happens, I need to be on a transport to Malarathe day after that at the latest.”
Jared licked his lips for a moment. Then heasked Humber, “What do you think? Off the record. Is there anychance I’d be a match?”
“It is highly unlikely. But possible. Andonly slightly more possible that Zia would, frankly.”
“I won’t allow my niece to be tested, muchless go to Malara. It would be suicide.”
“She wouldn’t need to fight.” Humber’s voicewas calm and reassuring. “Neither would you. The mere presence of aQuito—the mystique of having one available to pilot a giant—wouldintimidate the Alluvans. That’s all we are seeking. A psychologicaladvantage to counter their show of confidence.”
Jared nodded. “That makes sense. But youunderstand, I’m the president. I can’t be spared.” He caughthimself and extended a hand toward the ambassador. “Like you said,Zia and I need to talk. And I need to consult with the vicepresident and the commander, since they’re the next in line if Ican’t fulfill my duties for any reason.”
He paused to draw a deep breath, thencontinued. “I’ll contact you in a few hours with my answer. Andmeanwhile, I’ve decided Zia is correct—Malara can have the giant.It’s the least Earth can do. And if you want the skirmisher, youcan take that too.” A smile played on his lips as he added lightly,“And as a bonus, you can have our most promising young pilot. Feelfree to keep him for as long as you like.”
* * * *
Zia could feel the sting of an impendingtirade before her uncle even opened his mouth, so she tried todeflect some of his wrath by insisting, “Isn’t this awful? IfAlluva defeats Malara, they’ll come after us again, right?Maybe we should start building our own robots just in case.”
Jared glared. “What possessed you to invitethat troublemaker to a confidential briefing? Don’t you understandwho he is? His father was a murderer and a traitor. Doesn’t thatmean anything to you?”
“Cripes,” Zia murmured under herbreath.
“Don’t you ‘cripes’ me, young lady.I’ve spoiled you because your mother spoiled you. And because Ilove you. But you’ve gone too far—”
“His grandfather was Finn Stone! And guesswhat? Rem just became famous himself by winning all theExemplar medals. You need to be careful, Uncle J. Right now, atthis moment, he has as much cachet as we do. Maybe even more. Andhe earned his. I’d say he had at least as much right to bepart of that discussion as I did.”
Jared shook his head, visibly frustrated. “Hehas an agenda. Can’t you see that?”
“All I saw was a guy so brave he volunteeredto go to Malara and fight. Didn’t that impress you, just alittle?”
Jared exhaled sharply. “He’d do anything torestore his family to power. And for some reason, you’re determinedto help him.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Is it? First he attracts publicity bywinning all three medals. Then he romances you onstage for thewhole world to see. Now he’s trying to be a war hero too.”
“If he can do all that, maybe heshould be president.”
Her uncle’s eyes widened. “Pardon me?”
Zia bit her lip, realizing how disloyal shehad sounded. “After your two terms are over, I mean. Andonly if you don’t win a life term. Obviously.”
Jared’s jaw was rigid. “His father was atraitor.”
“And his grandfather was our best, mostfamous president ever. That counts for something, doesn’t it?”
When her uncle didn’t respond, she continueddefensively. “He didn’t romance me on the stage, you know. Itlooked that way from a distance, but up close . . . well . . . Ithink we were both just trying to survive the moment without makinga scene. Right up until I fainted and ruined everything.”
She stepped close to her uncle. “That’s theonly reason I invited him to join us. To make up for embarrassinghim. But in a way, it worked out, right? If our DNA doesn’t matchQuito’s, we’ll still be sending an Earth warrior to Malara. Thatwill mean a lot to them. And to our citizens, right?”
Jared seemed intrigued. “You’re saying thebest way to neutralize him is to let him be part of our effort?Interesting.”
“Neutralize him? Why would we want to dothat?”
“Keep your friends close but your enemiescloser.” Jared’s eyes began to dance. “It’s brilliant, Zia. Withany luck, he’ll go to Malara and never come back.”
She pulled back, surprised by his bluntness.Rivalry was one thing, but these two males were taking things toofar. They were obsessed with the past in a way Zia couldn’t bebothered to be. She loved the legacy, of course, but to her, theQuito-Stone alliance was the best part of that history.
But not to Rem. Nor to Jared. And perhaps therest of the world felt this way too.
Yeeesh, am I the only person who’s sick,sick, sick of politics? She gave her uncle a warningglare. “If Rem dies on Malara, he’ll really be a hero in theeyes of our citizens.”
“Who cares? He’s the last of the Stones. Anychance they have for regaining the presidency
