Celestial Love (17 page)

Bryan always wanted to laugh when he saw Gregory act like this.  The young man had wanted to join the military forces
, but his near genius abilities with chemicals had kept him in research and development, instead of fighter training.

“Gregory, I need you to assist Prince Randolph and his team in identifying several chemicals that were used in the destruction of their sea city.  After the chemicals are identified, you will help them find out where they came from and how they got here
, as well as how to clean them up, or neutralize them.  Any questions?”

Kalea softly whispered her translation to Randolph and her father while watching the young man’s reaction.  There wasn’t much of one
, but she could tell he was surprised.

“No,
Your Highness,” Gregory replied.

“Excellent.  Do you have the upgraded
AVID with translation ability?” Bryan asked.

“Yes,
Your Highness.” Gregory answered even going so far as to tip his wrist forward in order to give evidence to his claim.

“Very well, you may wait outside until we finish
. Then you will accompany and report to Prince Randolph until further notice,” Bryan commanded as he dismissed the young man and turned back to King Douglas and the others.

Gregory bowed to Bryan’s back and backed out of the room to wait.  Questions filled his mind but he knew that none of them could be answered in the company of those gathered.

“Thank you Bryan,” Randolph said as he finally took a seat by the window, as if his legs couldn’t hold him up anymore.

“You’re welcome
.”

Getting back to the issue at hand
, King Douglas asked, “Bryan, if you were to choose the best person to take your place, royal or not, who would it be?”

Instantly
, Nathan came to mind. The problem would be the political fallout, both here and at home.  Nathan was definitely the most qualified and had the advantage of already being here.  The problem would be whether the evaluation teams would accept him as their leader, not to mention the Royal Council of Estar Beta.

“Nathan Stevens would, in all honesty, be the best in my stead,” Bryan began.  “However, he is not a
royal.  He is actually my Chief of Security and a close personal friend.  I have no idea how your Royal Council or my staff would react to putting Nathan in charge.”

“But you are sure that he would be the most qualified?” King Douglas asked again.

“Yes,” Bryan answered.  “Nate has been with me both through school and on countless missions over the last nine years.  He knows everything I do about defense systems and strategy.  He also has great instincts, and has proven very trustworthy over the years.”

Kalea translated and almost smiled at the feelings of pride she was feeling via the link.  She had no doubt that Bryan thought Nathan would be perfect for the position.

“Then I will take this situation and your recommendation to the Royal Council,” King Douglas said as he stood to his feet behind his desk.  “However, if they approve of this change, do you feel that you could get your people to cooperate with Mr. Stevens?”

Bryan wanted to say an instant yes
, but he knew it wouldn’t be that easy.  Looking the king in the eye he said, “I will speak with Nate.  If he is willing, I will take care of the others.”  The authority in his voice was clear, without the link or the translation, but Kalea translated the words anyway.  Everything was just too important to let negative attitudes hinder the projects.

King Douglas nodded and everyone stood as he headed out the door.  When he had left
, Randolph shook Bryan’s hand and said, “Thanks for lending us Gregory.  I can certainly use the help.”

Kalea translated and when Bryan had answered
, Randolph left to meet Gregory and head back to the lab.  Bryan looked back at Kalea and said, “I need to talk with Leo and Nate as soon as possible, but we need to talk, too.  When would be best for you?  Oh, and weren’t we going to have lunch with your father?”

“
I think he forgot.  I’m sure he will be meeting with the Royal Council as soon as possible.  As for my schedule, I have no idea,” Kalea answered.  “My entire schedule is ruined and I have so much to do…I’m not sure where to start.”  Shrugging her shoulders she started for the door with Bryan following.  When they were again side by side in the hallway Kalea headed out the nearest door to the gardens and then stopped to take a deep breath.

‘Just let me know when you have time to talk and I’ll let you know where I am,’ Kalea said via the link as she took another deep cleansing breath.  ‘I have a lot of questions and concerns that I would like to talk with you about, but it will take time.  If things work
out with the Royal Council, Nathan and your staff, I could really use the rest of your day.’

Trying to lighten the stress he felt building in them both
, Bryan answered, ‘Now that is what I call motivation.’

When Kalea looked at him
, they both laughed.  The light dancing in her eyes drew him in and all he wanted was to kiss her.  He moved closer and started to lower his face toward hers when he felt her tense.  He wasn’t sure if he felt it via the link or just from her body language, but he had no doubt that it was too soon.  Smiling he said, ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’  Then he dropped a quick kiss on her forehead and headed back into the palace.

Sighing, Kalea walked into the garden and finally sat down in the Rose Arbor.  Taking a deep breath
, she let it out slowly, trying to force the tension away.  Tension that seemed to mount every time she thought of any of the things she needed to be dealing with.

Just the thought of leading the
Environmental Restoration teams on Saxionias made her tense.  Not only did she need to review all of Randolph’s preparations and team members, she would need to meet with them as soon as possible.  She needed to make sure they understood not only the reason for the change, but the potential problems it could cause as a result of Saxionias culture.

The
cultural implications themselves were simply daunting.  How was she going to lead her teams on a world that treated women as if they didn’t have any purpose outside the home?  Not to mention her new role as Bryan’s wife.  What would be expected of her above and beyond the evaluation teams?  Would Bryan change when he returned to his world and was again immersed in its culture?  Would he ever be able to fall in love with her there?

Pulling herself back to the moment, Kalea looked around at all the beautiful roses
, and listened to a few insects flying nearby and a bird singing in a distant tree.  ‘All the reports show that his world is completely devoid of life outside the domes,’ Kalea thought and unwittingly shared the thought with Bryan via the link.

‘Yes, it is.’ Bryan replied feeling her sadness at just the thought.  ‘Where are you?’ he asked.

‘In the Rose Arbor,’ Kalea answered, embarrassed but not knowing what else to say.

‘I’m talking with Nathan
now.  To say the least, he’s surprised.’  Bryan paused for a moment and then said, ‘Kalea, don’t think about any of that for a little while.  Just enjoy the wonders of Estar Beta.  We’ll talk soon.’

‘I’ll be waiting, somewhere.’

Trying to decide what she should do first, she pulled out a data pad and started making a list.  Then her AVID buzzed.  “Yes,” She answered.

“Princess Kalea, this is Dr. Wingate.
I need to see you immediately.”

“On my way.”  Kalea stood and headed through the garden to the Med Lab.  It didn’t take her very long and soon she was walking in the sliding doors.

“Is it true?” Dr. Wingate asked as she crossed the threshold.

“Is what true?” Kalea asked feeling like she was coming in halfway through a conversation.

“Will you be leading the teams that are going to Saxionias?” Dr. Wingate asked, seeming somewhat frustrated because she didn’t instantly know what he was talking about.

“Yes,” Kalea answered.  “Prince Randolph has to stay here to handle the SC-17 disa
ster and I am the only other Royal qualified to go.”

Dr. Wingate nodded and then turned and started for his office.  Knowing he wasn’t done with her, Kalea followed.
Holding the door, he waited until she had entered and then closed it behind her.  Walking over to his desk he pressed a button and then sat down as the window behind him dimmed.

“Princess Kalea
, there are things you need to know.  However, you cannot share them with Crown Prince Bryan or anyone else.  Do you understand?” Dr. Wingate asked as Kalea realized that he had done more than dim the window when he pressed that button.

“Yes, Dr. Wingate
, I do.” Kalea’s guard went up.

“Ve
ry well.”  Dr. Wingate made himself more comfortable behind his desk and waited for Kalea to take a seat.  “Is it true that you were successful in forming the link?” he asked.

“Yes
,” Princess Kalea answered. Dr. Wingate could tell from her tone that she had no desire to discuss it further with him.

“I’m concerned y
ou see,” Dr. Wingate began. “Prince Randolph and Princess Alexis have been preparing for the last six months with vaccinations, exercise and vitamin supplements to be ready to go to Saxionias.  Every member of the team has as well. Now that you are going, I need to find a way to get you up to speed in just a few days.  It can’t be done!”

“What are
your primary concerns?” Kalea asked, wondering what the true problem was.

“Air, water and nutrition,” Dr. Wingate answered.  “Our original delegates found that all of those living on
Saxionias had less than normal readings in all three areas.  Most are slightly dehydrated because their water supply is so critically low.  What foods they do produce in space are highly processed to provide the largest number of individuals with food.  Unfortunately that means that they lose much of the nutrients from the food in the processing.  Also, the air filtration systems they use allow for much higher levels of pollutants than ours.  This thereby greatly decreases the air quality from what you’re used to.

“I was hoping that by h
aving every member of the Environmental Restoration teams in top physical shape they would be able to handle the changes better than the original delegates,” Dr. Wingate paused and Kalea jumped in.

“What problems did the original delegates suffer?” she asked.

“Nothing life threatening,” Dr. Wingate hurried to explain.  “They suffered headaches, dehydration and a bit of weakness from lack of nutrition.  The problem that I see is that you have to stay for an extended period of time.  This opens up the possibilities for other problems occurring; problems that we may or may not be able to correct.  Prince Randolph and Princess Alexis had time to think about all this and they made some decisions accordingly.  I asked Princess Alexis if I could share those decisions with you and she said yes.  You see Princess Kalea, they decided to postpone having children until they returned to Estar Beta and had fully recovered.  Not only that but as a precaution, they have put uncontaminated specimens in stasis.”

Kalea let that sink in and realized that she and Bryan hadn’t even kissed
, much less talked about children yet.  “Just a moment Doctor,” Kalea said as she listened and felt for a moment.  She was quickly learning to tell when Bryan was focused on a task or relaxed.  Currently she was sure he was busy, but she felt the need to tell him that she was in a meeting.

‘Bryan,’ Kalea said softly to get his attention.

‘Yes,’ Bryan answered.

‘Sorry to interrupt, but I just got asked an important question and thought you might want to tell me your answer before I give mine.’

‘Okay, what is it?’ Bryan asked and then told those he was with that he needed a moment of quiet. Confusing them greatly, but he didn’t care.

‘I was asked if we planned to have children
; and if so how many and starting when?’ Kalea asked somewhat briskly in an effort to cover her tumultuous emotions regarding this subject.

‘Oh.  Well we haven’t really had time to discuss it but I always planned on our having children at some time.  Not right away of course.  I guess I thought we might plan to begin a family in a year or so
. Once we really know each other and things have stabilized a bit.  I have no idea how many.  I mean there are so many things to discuss, what with the customs of both our worlds to consider and everything.’  Bryan was a bit surprised by the subject and wondering about the context in which it was asked.

‘Good
, I think we are in agreement.  We should take some time to think about this and discuss it again when we have the time.  Unfortunately, I just got called into a meeting.  I’m not sure how long it will last so I’ll let you know when I’m done.  Sorry about all this but I wanted your input and to let you know I was in a meeting,’ Kalea explained.

‘I understand about the meeting
, but what was with the question?’ Bryan asked.

‘Just curiosity, I guess.  Doctors have it in spades.’  Kalea joked as she tried to hide her discomfort in a laugh.