“One minute.” Jared raised the window glassagain, then turned to Zia. “This is it. Your last chance to changeyour mind.”
“I can’t.”
“I know. I’m so proud of you.” He took herhand and squeezed it. “Don’t become too much of an adult onMalara. And promise me you’ll let the others protect you. Humber’swarriors, and the honor guard, and even Stone. Listen to them.Promise?”
“I promise.” She batted away the tearsfilling her eyes. “My makeup is perfect, so please stopbeing so nice to me.”
He smiled sadly, then opened the door andexited the limo. Then he extended his hand to her. “Shall we,Captain Quito?”
* * * *
Everyone else was already in place on thestage. Humber and Logan were seated on one side of the microphonewith the vice president, who had flown in at the last minute. Onthe other side were Rem and three soldiers. In the middle of theplatform were empty chairs for Zia and her uncle, and as she walkedover to them, she flashed Rem a smile that congratulated him on hispromotion and gloated about her own. From the twinkle in his blueeyes, she knew he got the message.
Aside from some privileged dignitaries andfriends, the only persons in the audience were reporters, who werealready interfacing with their compu-tabs. Despite the late notice,every major vid service on Earth was there in full force,broadcasting the ceremony to the world.
The press secretary greeted the crowdcheerfully. “We need to keep this moving, folks. Launch time is tena.m. sharp, and there’s still lots to do. You can consult yourbriefing materials for the details about all that. There will beten occupants on the transport—Ambassador Humber and his crew, andour five brave military personnel, including the latest inductee,Captain Zia Quito.”
A roar of approval erupted, and he waited forit to die down. “In the interest of time, we won’t be allowing anyquestions—” He paused for a second, less appreciative, outburst,then continued blithely. “I’m sure we all agree that installing thecrew safely in the suspension chambers is more important, so let’smove on, shall we? And now, without further delay, I give you thepresident of the United States.”
The applause was polite, but notoverwhelming, which Zia attributed to the ban on questioning. Shedidn’t really blame the reporters. This was probably the biggestsingle story of their careers. But as Jared Quito began to speakabout his faith in the alliance and his confidence in Zia and Rem,the crowd grew silent and attentive.
He was more eloquent than she’d ever heardhim, and when he ended with a tribute to Zia—“not as her president,but as her proud, adoring uncle”—she had to choke back a sob. Whenhe was done, he walked over to her and hugged her, and the vidswent wild.
Then the press secretary announced her threenew bodyguards: Sergeant Pao, Ensign Jackson, and LieutenantHarada. They stood and took a bow, and Zia leaned forward enough towave to them, pleased with their no-nonsense attitudes and muscularbuilds. She knew she should have saluted, but wasn’t sure she couldpull it off. She’d have to ask Rem to teach her.
Finally, the press secretary introduced Rem,recounting his excellent academic record, his unprecedented threeExemplars, and finally, the fact that he was Finn Stone’s grandson.Reminding the crowd that there would be no questions, he turned themicrophone over to the handsome young pilot, who seemed assurprised as Zia by the fact he had been so openly included.
So don’t squander it, she warned himsilently. You look so gorgeous. And you’re doing such a bravething. Let that be enough. Prove to my uncle once and for all thatthere’s more to you than just a massive grudge against ourfamily.
The audience clapped with gusto, and Ziarelaxed a bit, especially when Rem began to talk, his toneconfident and unhurried without a hint of nervousness. She knewthat if he would just be himself—the unselfish, courageous, funguy, not the brooding grouch—he’d be fine.
He thanked the reporters, then surprisedeveryone by saying, “I appreciate the press secretary’s willingnessto run interference for me, but since I didn’t prepare a speech, Idon’t mind answering a couple of questions about the mission ifyou’ve got them.”
“What’s he doing?” Jared muttered. “Damnedingrate. I knew we shouldn’t have risked this.”
“Hush,” Zia insisted. “He said ‘questionsabout the mission.’ I’m sure that’s all he meant, too.”
Every hand in the audience was up and wavingfrantically, and Rem selected a young woman from the back row, whoasked, “What’s it like spending time with Zia? We hear you two havebeen inseparable since the medal ceremony. Is it as romantic as itsounds?”
Rem waited for the ripple of amused buzzingto subside. Then he admitted, “She’s pretty amazing, as you know.But we need to focus on our mission. That’s all that matters fornow. And then there’s the fact that Commander Logan ordered me tokeep my hands off her, so . . .”
The audience laughed, and so did Zia. With afew simple words, Rem had told them so much about himself: that headmired Quito’s granddaughter; that he took his duty seriously;that he respected authority; and that he had a charming sense ofhumor. Most important, he was confident. Borderline cocky.
And his new fans were eating that up.
Then he called on an OmniVid reporter who hadbeen impatiently waving her hand to catch his attention.
“Captain Stone,” she began boldly. “Thismission to Malara is vital to the future of every person on Earth,but for you in particular, isn’t that true? Medals are nice, butisn’t this your perfect chance to restore your family’s honor?”
Rem shrugged. “Our reputation, yes. Ourhonor? That has never wavered, because my father never did anythingwrong. He didn’t kill that guard or betray his country. And I don’tbelieve he killed himself either.”
Zia struggled to keep her face expressionlessdespite the shock at hearing how correct her uncle had been aboutRem and his agenda.
The audience seemed shocked too, but Rem wascool and matter-of-fact as he added, “To the extent my mission toMalara can help persuade people of my father’s innocence, thenyes—it has a special purpose for me. But the main reason I’m goingis to repay the Malarans and to protect the granddaughter of Quitothe
