Chapter 13 #2
“Lord Rykar, bonded mate to Dr. Chen and symbiotic partner to the consciousness you’re incorrectly classifying as technology.
” I let some of the anger I was feeling seep into my voice.
“Your corporation has no authority here, Captain. You’re operating outside the legal framework that governs human-Destran relations, and your presence constitutes an unauthorized military incursion into sovereign territory.
” Wow, that sounded good. All those years of sending official-sounding messages to hostile, or potentially hostile, ships on supply runs had paid off.
There was a pause before Captain Chen responded, and when she did, I could hear a slight edge of uncertainty in her previously confident tone.
“Lord Rykar, LunarLink Surveys has no intention of violating interspecies treaties. However, Dr. Chen’s contract supersedes territorial considerations regarding corporate property recovery. ”
“She’s not property,” I said flatly. “Neither is the Sola. And if you attempt to enforce your illegal claims through force, you’ll discover exactly how seriously Destrans take threats to our partners.”
My comm device chimed again with another incoming transmission, this one from Savair. I accepted the channel, adding his voice to our increasingly complex conversation.
“Rykar, Maya, I have updates from the Earth-Lunar Council,” Savair said without preamble. “Ambassador Anna Abel is en route from Earth with her mate, Lashe, and a full diplomatic escort. She’s bringing two Earth Defense ships as a show of force, but they won’t arrive for another four days.”
Four days. My heart sank at the timeline. Corporate forces could accomplish a lot in four days if they were willing to ignore legal constraints.
“What’s the ambassador’s legal assessment?” Maya asked.
“Her team is confident that neither Solas nor individuals are subject to corporate seizure under interspecies law,” Savair replied.
“The partnership treaty explicitly protects Solas, Destran citizens, and their non-Destran mates from exactly this kind of corporate overreach. However, LunarLink’s legal team is challenging those protections, claiming that Maya’s bio-fusion creates a unique circumstance not covered by existing treaties. ”
“In other words, it’s going to come down to a legal battle that could take months to resolve,” I said grimly.
“Unfortunately, yes. And in the meantime, the corporate forces have positioned themselves to act unilaterally if they choose to ignore diplomatic channels.”
Through the observation window, I could see corporate personnel establishing what looked suspiciously like a siege perimeter around our position. On the ground, vehicles with heavy-duty excavation equipment sat silently and still, along with what appeared to be military-grade containment systems.
“They’re setting up for an extraction,” I told the others, describing what I could see. “This isn’t a negotiation force—it’s an acquisition team.”
Captain Chen’s voice returned to the communication channel, carrying a note of finality that made my skin crawl.
“Dr. Chen, you have twenty-four hours to report voluntarily for corporate transport. If you fail to comply, we’ll be forced to classify your situation as a hostage scenario and respond accordingly. ”
“Hostage scenario?” Maya’s voice rose with indignation. “I’m not being held here against my will.”
“Our scans and intercepted messages clearly state that the Sola has refused to allow you and the Destran lord to exit the structure. Is this untrue?”
“Um.” Maya looked at me with panic.
“We are assisting the Sola in her growth and healing,” I improvised. Not a lie. “We can leave at any time,” I added. Fine. Maybe that part was a lie.
“Corporate psychological assessment suggests that prolonged exposure to alien influences has compromised your decision-making capacity,” Captain Chen replied in a flat voice, as if she were reading off a script.
“LunarLink Surveys has a responsibility to its employees to ensure their safety and wellbeing, even when they’re unable to recognize threats to their own welfare. ”
The sheer audacity of the claim left me speechless for a moment. They were essentially arguing that Maya was mentally incompetent due to her bond with the Sola, which gave them the right to make decisions on her behalf.
“That’s the most insulting load of corporate doublespeak I’ve ever heard.
” Cleo’s voice cut through the channel, making we wince.
I’d forgotten to mute Cleo and Zara’s channel with so many going on at the same time.
“Maya is one of the most competent and rational people I know. If anyone’s decision-making is compromised, it’s the executives who thought they could claim ownership of sentient beings. ”
“Both Cleo and I are formally terminating our employment with LunarLink Surveys, effective immediately,” Zara added, her nervousness now completely replaced by indignation.
“We refuse to be party to this illegal corporate overreach. And Captain Chen? Your armed intervention without Earth-Lunar Council authorization violates about seventeen different interspecies law provisions. I hope you have excellent legal representation, because you’re going to need it. ”
I felt a surge of admiration for Maya’s colleagues. Despite the obvious danger to themselves, they were taking a stand on principle rather than quietly cooperating with corporate demands.
“Dr. Vasquez, Dr. Rivers, your employment termination requests are noted but not accepted,” Captain Chen replied smoothly.
“Corporate security protocols require completion of the decontamination process before any personnel can be released from company authority. Your continued cooperation is appreciated.”
“Mm-hmm,” Cleo said. “You can take your company authority and shove it up your—”
The end of Cleo’s comment was cut off as the communication channel crackled with static, before Savair’s voice returned.
“All corporate vessels, this is Lord Savair speaking for the collective Destran city. You are ordered to withdraw from Destran territory immediately. Your presence here violates multiple treaty provisions and constitutes an act of aggression against the Destran people.”
“Lord Savair, LunarLink Surveys recognizes Destran territorial sovereignty but maintains the right to recover corporate assets regardless of their current location,” Captain Chen responded. “We have no quarrel with the Destran people beyond the lack of return of stolen property.”
“Nothing has been stolen,” I said, my voice hard with anger.
“Corporate legal analysis disagrees with your characterization, Lord Rykar. The entity’s integration with LunarLink scanning equipment creates clear ownership chains that supersede any claimed biological independence.”
I felt the Sola’s consciousness stir at the edges of my awareness, her anger at being dismissed as mere technology adding fuel to my own fury.
Through our bond, I could sense her vast intelligence, her memories spanning millennia, her complex emotions and desires.
To reduce all of that to “corporate legal analysis” was an insult that went beyond mere legal maneuvering.
“Captain Chen,” I said, fighting to keep my voice level, “I’m going to explain this once more, very clearly.
The consciousness you’re referring to is a living being older than human civilization.
She chose to bond with Maya during a moment of crisis, and she chose me as her symbiotic partner.
Neither of those relationships is subject to corporate ownership, regardless of what equipment was involved in the initial contact. ”
“Your emotional attachment to the situation is understandable, Lord Rykar, but it doesn’t alter the legal realities of corporate property law.”
Maya squeezed my hand, and I could feel her gathering courage for what she was about to say.
“Captain Chen, this is Dr. Maya Chen speaking one final time,” she said, her voice carrying a strength that made my chest tight with pride.
“I am not corporate property. I will not report for extraction. I am a free human being choosing to remain with my bonded partner and the Sola I helped awaken. If LunarLink Surveys wants to challenge that choice, they can do so through proper legal channels rather than illegal military action.”
“Dr. Chen, your refusal to cooperate is noted. Corporate extraction teams will be deployed to your location in eighteen hours if voluntary compliance is not achieved. We sincerely hope that diplomatic solutions can be found before such measures become necessary.”
The communication channel closed with a soft chime, leaving us in tense silence.
Through the observation window, I glared at the ships and the ground vehicles.
They were waiting. They clearly didn’t want to take us by force, but if they did, they had to know there would be a high price for it.
Which made me wonder, what was so valuable about the Sola and Maya that would make it worth it?
Lami was no longer a drug. It was a medicine, and the Destrans sold it willingly.
If that substance, which the Solas produced in high quantity was what they wanted—as it was what the Brakken had wanted—there were far less expensive ways of acquiring it.
“They’re planning to breach the hull,” Savair said, over the comm. “We sent out scout ships. On the other side of your Sola, not in your view, our scouts detected more activity. They’re trying to figure out how to get inside.”
Maya moved closer to the window, her expression grim as she studied the corporate forces arrayed against us. “How many people do you think they brought?”
“At least a hundred, probably more.” I felt my protective instincts flare as I considered the implications. “If we don’t surrender, they will make their move before Earth’s forces arrive.”
“Will the other lords let this stand?” Maya asked, though I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
“Oh, we will fight them,” Savair replied grimly. “But we will not launch a preemptive strike. We cannot break our partnership treaty with Earth. But an attack on one Sola is an attack on all, and Destran warriors will respond.”
Through our bond, I felt the ancient Sola’s consciousness pressing against my awareness.
Solas had no defenses or weaponry whatsoever.
It was the main reason why they formed a partnership with Destrans eons ago.
But my Sola was sharing all the tactical information she possessed—combat techniques from wars fought millennia ago, strategies for protecting bonded partners from hostile forces.
But underneath all of that knowledge was a simpler truth: she was afraid.
Not for herself, but for Maya and me. She’d waited ten thousand years to re-emerge and now corporate greed threatened to destroy everything she’d hoped to build.
“What are you thinking?” Maya asked, clearly sensing my internal conflict.
“I’m thinking that LunarLink Surveys has another motive that we’re not privy to,” I said slowly. “They know what they’re doing is illegal, that Earth’s leadership won’t condone this, so there’s something they want that’s important enough to face major consequences for.”
Maya frowned. “If it’s lami, they can buy that,” she said, echoing my previous thoughts. “What else could it be?”
“I don’t know, yet,” I replied. “But they see the Sola as a technological asset to be acquired. They don’t realize they’re threatening a consciousness with the accumulated knowledge and combat experience of an entire civilization.”
“Or maybe they do,” Maya said. “Maybe it’s that knowledge they’re after.”
I looked at my mate—brave, brilliant Maya who had stumbled into this crisis through no fault of her own and was now facing the possibility of corporate enslavement because of it.
The mating marks on my skin pulsed with warm energy, reminding me that we were bound together now in ways that transcended any corporate contract or legal claim.
And maybe she was right. With a human conduit, LunarLink Surveys could extract whatever they wanted from the Sola.
“Whatever happens,” I said, pulling her close, “we face it together. The Sola, you, and me. Let them come.”
Through the window, the corporate mercenary ships hung in the sky as they prepared for what they clearly expected to be a successful acquisition operation.
They were about to discover just how wrong they could be.