Date: June 6, 2440 Time: 11:45 AM CST
“It’s good to see you back among the living,” Leonard said, eyeing the heap of sandwich wrappers and takeout containers in Matt’s trash can. “Rumors are spreading far and wide.”
“Of course they are, but I’m surprised anyone dared defy Angelina.”
“Are you sure they’re not doing it at her direction? She commands obedience like few others. She reminds me of a Marine DI who got promoted to office manager. One of the most terrifying women I’ve ever met. Angelina may even surpass her.”
“How are the rumors affecting things?”
“They range from ‘you seduced the beautiful alien princess’ to ‘wives need to watch out because their husbands are falling into lustful stupors around V’ren women.’”
“I like the first one, but the second might have some accuracy. She rolled me up like a drunk on payday. She didn’t mean to, but what we mean to do and what can happen are often completely disconnected. W’ren, your take on this?”
“I thank you for keeping her away from most of the V’ren. Her reputation is taking serious damage. I and some others have had to issue a bit of public condemnation. Your reputation, however, remains untouched. In fact, you’ve become something of a medical mystery—and some men, myself included, aren’t displeased that human males can experience pleasures we do not. Culturally, this might become significant.”
“You’re saying there are V’ren men who wouldn’t be upset if their bond partners found sexual partners among human men?” Leonard asked, surprised, though too old to have more than passing interest.
“Honestly, I want L’shel to be happy and satisfied. My greatest joy has been raising our children. I’m not sure how I’d feel about children that aren’t mine, but I believe the highest calling a man can answer is showing up year after year. So no, I don’t think it would bother me. A father’s pride lies not in conception, but in commitment.”
“T’mari—once she’s done being furious with her sister—will probably blow us away with a brilliant analysis. She should draft a position paper on cross-cultural dating. That’s something we’ll need to take seriously in our SDF policy planning. We’ll need to sit down as High Lord and Keeper of the Flame and hash this out—but not today. Unless something’s about to go sideways?”
“You’re right,” W’ren said. “We’ll get to it, just not today. But while you’re in Columbia, talk to T’mari. She’ll see angles neither of us can yet imagine. Even though she’s resigned from my service, I intend to retain her as a consultant while we draft Sol Defense Fleet policy.”
Matt turned back to Leonard. “Where are we on our other plans?”
“They’re moving swiftly. You have very competent people. I just spoke with Robert Lee about the network security. He says it’ll take a week to get everything up to spec, but we’ll be functional in two days. He also says we’ll have prototypes of the new SDF app in about ten.”
“Robert’s excellent, and I trust him. I’ve known him almost as long as I’ve known Angelina. But we might be piling too much on him. W’ren, can your people help accelerate things?”
“T’mari knows who could help—but are you willing to risk offending Robert?”
“No, which is why I’m going to authorize him to hire up to five V’ren software engineers—so long as they stay local for now. Once that’s running smoothly, I want him to build a team for our diplomatic offices. Leonard, what about Columbia? How soon will things be ready?”
“I’ve got a full squad stationed at your designated location with backup nearby. They’re thrilled they can run tabs at the pizza place. Less thrilled about the lack of a beer tab. To be young again,” Leonard chuckled.
“Alright then. One last item,” Matt said. “I want it known—discreetly—that there’s no shame or blame in what happened last night. Let people know I enjoyed her company, that I care about her, and that how others treat her matters to me. We can’t move forward if we’re stuck in the past—even the past of last night. The V’ren need to stop shaming young women who lacked guidance or found more than they expected in relationships with humans. I doubt I’m the only man who’s been overwhelmed by a V’ren woman this week—but I’m the only one it’s public. I hope everyone else had a good time too. T’mari and I want their perspectives. Public perception matters.”
“We’ll work it into policy,” Leonard said.
“People don’t take their cues from doctrine. They take them from how we treat people when the lines get blurry. Now more than ever, we need the Freehold and the Sol Defense Fleet to be as welcoming as possible.”
