Koriann’s scowl faded andwarmth entered her eyes. “Thank you for your concern. You’reprobably right; I should have some written agreement with him. And Iama little intimidated by him.” She ran her tongue provocativelyacross her lower lip. “I’d better go.” She stood there, stillnot moving
He raised his hand toward her andshe stepped into his arms. He held her tightly, breathing in thefragrance of her lilac perfume, feeling the essence of her. He didn’twant to let her go.
At last she moved away from him,breaking the silken magic that enveloped them. She kept her head downas she left the room and he was frustrated that he couldn’t readher expression.
After a few hours of sleep,Erling flew his aircraft to the Jaipar military space station wherehe met General Dursky. They worked closely together to ensureeverything was running in top military order. Erling organizedtraining of new recruits, the repair of aircraft, and attended ameeting to layout a defense plan for Jaipar. It was a new experiencefor him to be this involved with running the military and he began tohave new respect for Commander Quintary’s work at the Coalition.
Late in the day, he startedtaking squads out on training flights. Training pilots had alwaysbeen what he enjoyed most at Coalition Headquarters. He had anothershort night of sleep, then continued working with General Dursky. Atnoon, they flew back to Jaipar for the holoconference with Borko’sleaders.
Erling and General Dursky enteredthe circular council room shortly before the meeting started. QueenKoriann and King Zanton were already there. Erling was surprisedZanton had decided to attend, since he didn’t seem to think theplanet needed a stronger defense.
Zanton looked impressive in aformal Haklute military uniform with a large sword worn at his side.But it was Koriann who captured Erling’s attention. She wore aviolet gown, jeweled crown and was so breathtakingly lovely it madehis throat tighten. She smiled in greeting, but didn’t come over togreet him and General Dursky because a camera crew had set uphigh-definition cameras in a circle around her so her image wouldappear before all the other world leaders who were attending themeeting.
A cameraman led Erling over towhere he was to stand on the perimeter of the circle. While thecamera crew set up cameras around him, a makeup lady brushed powderon his nose and forehead, then combed and sprayed his hair. Seeinghow formal the occasion was, Erling was glad General Dursky insistedhe wear his Coalition dress uniform.
The camera crew had just finishedsetting up the cameras when a life-size, holographic projection ofPresident Tengal of Mithra, Jaipar’s closest ally, appeared rightbeside Erling. He greeted Erling. “Hello Major Fenian, am I thefirst to arrive?”
“Yes, it’s good to see you.”Erling reached out to shake his hand, then caught himself, realizingthis was only a hologram. The holographic image of the president wasso lifelike it seemed almost real.
Other world leaders beganappearing holographically: King Arteka and Queen Haleh Farha rulersof Encore; Emperor Valheart, a small humanoid with round orange eyesand green skin who was the leader of the Starlean people; andBeta-org the enormous leader of the Borgone lizard race.
Beta-org stood on her back twolegs, balanced upright by her large tail. She wore a translatorfastened to her yellow throat as the structure of her mouth andtongue made it impossible for her to speak the universal language.
The rest of the rulers arrived inrapid succession after that and soon one hundred and sixty of the onehundred and eighty-five world leaders were assembled. Of the fifteenthat didn’t come, some were peaceful countries that didn’tbelieve in war while others didn’t have friendly relations withJaipar. Erling was pleased to see the presence of some leaders whowere allies of King Zanton as well.
Erling gave an impassionedspeech, urging world leaders of Borko to put aside their differencesand unite in an effort to defend their planet against Samrat Condor.Many of them swore allegiance and support to Jaipar. Plans were madeto create an interplanetary airfleet and to convert existingfactories to making weapons and spacecraft.
During the next three weeks,Erling spent most of his time at the space station or traveling toother countries with Jaiparian ambassadors. Military support began toarrive from other countries on Borko, as well as from other planets.
When he was at the space station,Erling worked long hours, organizing and building up Borko’sdefense. When visiting other countries on Borko, he met with leaders,assessed their military and coordinated the defense efforts of thewhole planet.
The desperation of Borko’ssituation forced Erling to draw on abilities he hadn’t realized hepossessed. He was able to inspire foreign leaders, gain theirconfidence and organize the vast network of air fleets of manydifferent races.
Yet he failed to convince KingZanton and some of the King’s closest allies about the importanceof uniting Borko. Zanton still felt it wasn’t necessary to preparefor war or involve other countries. Erling wondered if Zanton reallybelieved that or if he just resented Erling because of his friendshipwith Koriann and his sudden gain of international recognition.
Though cheerful by nature, Erlingcouldn’t shake his increasing melancholy. His concern for hisfamily was always at the back of his mind and the continual bad newsabout Alandra from the Coalition depressed him. Worse, he knew thatonce Alandra was defeated, the war would come to Borko.
He rarely saw Koriann. When hedid, it was at formal encounters surrounded by other people. On theseoccasions, he was quiet and reserved, pulling back from theconnection between them as her wedding day drew nearer. His reservedbehavior caused painful tension between them, but he needed thedistance. He wanted to finish his job on Jaipar and leave.
8
Tension at the Royal Palace
One evening as Queen Koriannvisited with her guests in the crowded drawing room, Zanton walkedover to her. “Where is Major Fenian?” he asked. “He and hispilots were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. I don’t likewaiting for dinner and it’s rude to our other guests.”
Koriann folded her arms acrossher chest. “I’m sure he has good reason for being late.”
“You’re always quick todefend him. He’s just irresponsible. It’s a
