Chapter 7

"Lieutenant Dalakis, reporting as ordered," Gavril said with a salute.

He was thoroughly unsure of himself at the moment. His fatigues were still warm from the cleaning mech and all of his cuts, scrapes, scratches and punctures had been patched or plugged. Usually small luxuries such as these made him happy, but not today.

The colonel was dressed in battle fatigues that had definitely seen service. They showed wear and had been repaired in several strategic places. He hadn't expected to see that on a royal and a high-ranking officer.

"Sit and relax," the colonel said. "I'll be with you in a moment." She was typing on a comp screen and muttering under her breath. Gavril did his best to tune her out as he scanned the room, hoping to find some clue to the colonel's personality. Everything he saw was Imperial Forces issue.

"You are pasted back together?" the colonel said, returning her attention to Gavril.

"Yes, ma'am," he responded.

"Good. Your next assignment is the Governor's Ball tomorrow evening in the Capitol City," she said.

"Excuse me?" Gavril said, disbelieving what he had just heard.

"You heard me," she said with a predatory smile. "You will be my escort for the Governor's Ball and you will be judged by your ability to interact with the guests for the evening."

"A lowly lieutenant, by field promotion no less, escorting a royal colonel to a worldwide formal stretches the limits of credulity," Gavril said. "I'm not going to disobey an order but surely the colonel has more ... prestigious prospects for an escort."

"Pedigree is not the issue, Lieutenant," she said. "So far you have demonstrated your ability to manage yourself, your men, and kill Vizz predators. There are predators in human form and they will be present tomorrow evening. You will engage them and overcome the obstacles they present. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Gavril said taking a deep breath. "Is there some sort of manual on etiquette that I can read in the meantime? I'd like to know which fork to use and that sort of stuff."

She laughed from deep in her belly. As Gavril turned red, she laughed even harder. Finally the woman took control of herself. She reclined back into her chair.

"I think this may be a more entertaining evening than I had first anticipated," she finally said.

Gavril said nothing, in part because his jaw was clenched. This task was so far beyond anything he had ever done in his life and the potential humiliation was all too real in his imagination. He wondered if he needed to track down that AT driver and get some painkiller.

"I suggest you find someone to give you a quick tutorial," the colonel said.

"There's a protocol officer on Awanil?" Gavril asked.

"Hardly," the colonel said. "If there were, I assure you that the officer has already been re-assigned to field duty. The Vizz clean-up is 18 months behind schedule and the Empress is not pleased."

"Well that makes two of us," Gavril said before he thought about what he said. "I mean no disrespect to the Empress, ma'am."

"Perhaps you will be able to deliver that message to her yourself if you survive tomorrow evening," the colonel said. "I suggest you take the next thropter back to the main base and look up your girlfriend. Such a delightful little creature: she has so much to offer."

"Girlfriend?" Gavril said.

If he was scared before, he was now officially panicked. Had this colonel been following his every movement over the past days? Even his own men only knew that he got laid, not that he had feelings for her. Come to think of it, Kamaria and he had never said anything about being a couple. Jeez, it had been one night and a couple of hasty cell calls. Okay, one night, one incredible morning and then ... Gavril realized that he was straying from his focus.

"Military romances are usually so short, wouldn't you agree?" the colonel said with eyes that were boring into him.

He stared right back.

"Kamaria is something special," Gavril said. "I'm an Imperial mudballer and I recognize the gulf between the two of us, ma'am. If she thinks that she's my girlfriend, then it's a compliment of the highest order.

Gavril took a couple of beats before he continued. "I don't pretend to understand all of what you are hinting at, Colonel Volentin, but you have me going in at least three different directions without a clear list of objectives," Gavril concluded.

"You make a good point and without being intimidated by my rank or standing," she said. "Take the next two days with Kamaria and enjoy them as you prep for the Ball. I will send a vehicle to pick you up at 18:00 tomorrow. By the way, when we meet up tomorrow evening, my name is Fayta."

"I will remember your name. Is that all, colonel?"

"Almost. Take my observation for what it is worth, Gavril," she began. Gavril jumped in his seat at her mention of his first name. "There are many things in the Imperial Military that are worse than being a mudballer. Until tomorrow evening, you are dismissed."

Without another word, she returned to her tablet comp. Gavril stood and quietly left her tent with his thoughts bouncing from one subject to another. Halfway across the compound, he remembered to dial his cell and leave Kamaria a message. He was sure that she wouldn't be awake so early in the morning. Running the rest of the way to his cot, he grabbed his gear and left the barest of explanations for Hairball. He managed to grab a couple of protein bars before trotting over to the thropter pads.

He had taken two steps off the thropter when a force of nature slammed into him and sucked out his brains through the ingenious use of lips and tongue. Gavril would have stayed in that position all day if the maintenance supervisor hadn't interrupted them, claiming that he had to tow the thropter off of the pad.

"How did you get on base?" Gavril asked when he felt the plas-crete under his feet for the first time.

"Probably the same way you got on base," Kamaria said. "Duh."

"Is the dear colonel meddling in your life as well?" Gavril said, wrapping his arm around her waist and guiding her towards the rest of the base.

"Meddling?" she replied. "Fayta doesn't meddle. She directly orders and constructs her little schemes. You should be flattered that she has set her sights on you, you know."

Gavril stopped in mid-step. "She said that you said ... I mean, did you tell her that I'm your boyfriend?"

Kamaria giggled, hiding her mouth behind her cupped hand. "I didn't use the term 'boyfriend, ' I can assure you. What I told Fayta was that you were my boy-toy, and that you were a fine boy-toy for a lusty Awanili. Daddy has to approve of the boyfriends, but he ignores the boy-toys, and the girl-toys for that matter."