Sedom nodded. “I’ll be right there,” she returned. She sighed deeply, trying to determine if she had enough energy.
“Would you like me to send for your guards?” Garric asked.
She nodded. “Send for Tremble,” she ordered. She knew Zion was correct. With so many in Gathow now, she needed to keep up appearances and not come across as weak. With her security, if she started to falter, they could remove her from the scene quickly and hopefully without being noticed.
TWENTY-FOUR
Lolum glanced up from talking to one of the injured, his eyes tense on Sedom. He pointed to her. “Guard her. Make sure no one comes near her,” he told a man dressed in a black uniform, standing by his left side.
Sedom suddenly found herself surrounded by four more men and two orbs.
“Sir, I assure you the Chadon—“ Tremble argued.
Sedom hurried over to Lolum, her jaw clenched. “What the hell, Lolum? What's with the babysitters? I already have five guards. I don’t need a swarm. If anything, it brings more attention to me.”
Lolum patted the injured man's shoulder, then went to Sedom. “We now have a functioning city. As our leader, you need to be protected, especially from yourself. I'm making it my job to see you're safe,” Lolum grumbled back.
“And I made it Zion’s. If he thinks Tremble and her men are enough, then they’re enough. Send these other men somewhere they can be helpful,” Sedom demanded, but in a voice only Lolum could hear.
He took her by the arm, leading her out of sight. “Sortec, understand reason here. Gathow's in chaos. We don't know who's who yet. Some of the slaves may be Marisheio in disguise and vice versa. We need you safe and unharmed if we're going to pull off a rebellion.”
“I understand, but we’re short on men as it is. Let them help sort it out. As for me, what can I do?” Sedom asked, breathing deep to settle her frustration.
Lolum squeezed her shoulder, now understanding her reasoning. “Nod your head, go back to your quarters and let us handle this. If we need you, we'll come to you. Not the other way around. You're our leader, it's time you start acting like one and delegate responsibilities to others.”
“Dr. Noral called for me. Do you know why?” she asked overly calm.
Lolum had to take a moment to think. “Oh, Captain Cembre is doing fine. She was asking to see you,” he mentioned.
Sedom stepped away, looking into the cargo bay. Many were still left, but it did look like the situation was under control. “Okay, fine. Have Captain Cembre join me in my quarters.”
“I’ll have someone escort her there now,” he offered. “As for you four, help Dr. Noral,” he called to the four guards he sent to help guard Sedom. “Go!” Lolum demanded low, waving her away.
Sedom backed up until she nearly stumbled into Tremble, who reached to her shoulder to stop her. “I’m too important to help,” she mumbled to Tremble.
“He doesn’t want you to help and ending up like before,” Tremble mentioned low.
Sedom sighed deep then motioned with a nod to return to her quarters. “Hope you all are enjoying the view,” Sedom joked. No one commented.
Safely back in her quarters, Sedom stared at her book without reading. How was she going to lead the Tasgool if everyone was doing her job for her? What did her grandmother do? She remembered her making decisions, talking to people, even healing citizens when there was time. But she couldn't heal people like her grandmother, barely made decisions, and wasn't allowed to talk to people. Was it because of her age? Because she was the last Narkoy? What was it?
Danstu handed her another computer pad. She looked it over and sighed in frustration. “Money. I thought we settled this already? What about those brother’s you hired?”
“I’ve been informed that there are six bins they can’t access,” he stated. “It’s something I’ve been meaning to bring up.”
She sighed deeply, lifting her rear out of her seat. “Yes, I know. Is there a way we can skip those bins?” she asked seriously.
Danstu leaned against the chair next to her. “Depends. Why, if you’d permit me to ask?”
“You know, I haven’t a clue how much money I have, but I know I have quite a lot. I also know that some of the stones I have should never be sold.” Sedom smirked. She stood waving Danstu to follow her to the storage room. She climbed the stairs down to her storage room and opened the door. “Lights.”
The lights illuminated the room, filling Danstu's vision with billions of firestones. “I thought they had cleared this out?” Danstu asked, unfazed by the sight of so many firestones.
Sedom took up a large, blue stone and handed it to Danstu. “What planet do you want to buy?” she asked seriously. “No, they started a few days ago with one container. The container had a hundred-thousand stones in it. It will take them about a month to go through and catalog them all. This,” she waved her hands, motioning around the room, “will keep them busy for years.”
Danstu allowed a smirky grin to form. He handed the stone back to Sedom. “And the locked cabinets?” he asked.
Sedom pressed her finger to a scanner on one of the cabinet doors. The door opened to reveal a brilliant pure white firestone about the size of her head. “This remains here,” she explained. Seconds later, three orbs rushed into the storage room. She raised her hand, demanding the orbs back away.
“The significance?” Danstu asked.
“This is the power source for Gathow. There are only six of them left. They’re very fragile and very powerful. It’s not something you really want
