The hardest decision of Toni’s life must be made.
Toni read the com from the deep space exploration board again. Her gaze fixed on the words once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How appropriate they were, and not merely for the astonishing expedition they referred to.
Her eyes strayed to the pictures across the room. A couple days ago, she’d added one. It wasn’t a portrait. Just a snapshot, caught when Imon, Feru, and Wovir had been laughing over a game in which players were challenged to fill in the blanks of sentences with certain words. The results were often hilariously ribald when they drew wild cards that allowed them to choose their own answers.
As she’d recovered and their worries for her dissipated, there’d been many occasions for laughter. She’d been determined to remember such moments, so she’d taken a picture. As the days and now the hours slipped by, counting off the too-short time she had left to enjoy the clan, the merry photo elicited fewer of her own smiles and more sadness.
Two days.
Toni grabbed her com and clicked a frequency. Her mother had barely gotten out “Hello,” before she began babbling.
“Mom, I did something stupid, and now I feel like doing something even dumber, but I can’t figure out which choice would be worse. No, I do know which choice is worse, but I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Calm down, Toni,” Rosa said, her tone soothing the worst of the storm immediately. “Take a couple deep breaths. Are you okay? Doing what you’re supposed to, getting plenty of rest?”
They’d spoken a day ago. They’d spoken every day since Toni had woken from her coma. Hearing her mom being a mom simultaneously made Toni want to smile and cry.
“It’s all good on the recovery front,” she reported after taking the breaths her mother had ordered. “I’m at a crossroads in other areas.”
“Second-guessing the interspecies negotiation classes? Honey, you’d be a natural as an arbitrator. I can’t believe I never saw it before you told me you were interested in the field. After all, I’ve seen you adjust your approach on a dime when dealing with parents, teachers, administrators, and kids.”
Toni basked in the warmth of Rosa’s approval for a mere second. Afraid she’d lose her nerve, she plunged into her quandary. “It’s this other thing. I’ve been offered a position while taking classes and training for it.”
“Wonderful!”
“It would mean me leaving Earth.”
“Oh. Must be long distance if it’s bothering you so much. Where would you be?”
“You remember me telling you of the big expedition Kalquor’s sponsoring?”
Silence stretched for several seconds. At last Rosa said, “The trip your new beaus signed on to, the group not coming back.”
“Yeah. It’s a chance to do something truly exceptional. It isn’t about Clan Imon. Okay, so it is, a little.” Toni stood and paced the room as she began to babble again. “I can’t believe how it’s driving me crazy. I mean, I like these guys, and it could be serious if we have time, but we don’t, and we aren’t at the point where I should be thinking of running off into the sunset with them. So why can’t I quit thinking about it?”
“You say you aren’t ready to run off with them, but it sounds as if you are.” Her mother’s voice was sorrowful.
“I can’t be! It’s too soon.”
“Maybe, but the heart wants what it wants.” Another pause. “I think you should go.”
* * * *
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Victories against invasion have been won, but the galaxy may be lost in the end.
There may be no escape from the All’s extermination plans for the dimension. Emperor Clajak has one last card up his sleeve, however: a band of misfit renegade Kalquorians called the Coydidak. Only with their help and an impossible mission to beyond the known reaches of the universe can Kalquor hope to preserve life.
A determined engineer is at the top of the list of Coydidak leader Dramok Rorix’s least favorite humans. She’ll stop at nothing to board his ship for a one-way voyage that’s to last a lifetime. Is ultimate freedom from the empire worth dealing with the beautiful but unrelenting Laughter Lorenz?
As the clock ticks to the end of Dr. Cassidy Hamilton’s pregnancy and potentially life in the dimension, she works feverishly to find a way to destroy the All. A visit from an undiscovered entity brings to light her greatest hope and worst fear. Only time will tell if this new being is friend or foe…but Cassidy’s time and that of her soon-to-be-born child is almost up.
Adventure. Danger. Intrigue. Romance that outburns the sun in any galaxy. It’s all here in the sixth installment of the Dark Empire series.
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