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The Space Between The Stars (A Corsair/Mim Adventure)

Yusra flinched slightly at the sudden burst of light as it flashed past her ear. She brought her heat gun to bear, but Philip got to him first. The twinge of irritation that he'd gotten to the assassin first was ameliorated somewhat by approval at his aim. John reached them about the same time she did, kicking the assassin's feet out from under them. The princess knelt on their chest and rested the blade of her khopesh against their throat.

"Now," John asked with a smile that didn't match the fury in his eyes, "who sent you?"

The assassin breathed heavily through their nose. Yusra pressed the blade more firmly against their throat. "Answer him or die in pain." But answer there came none. Instead a wet spot spread across their balaclava. "No no no no!" She pulled down the mask to see that the assassin was foaming at the mouth. She hissed in frustration as he convulsed and finally expired, then straightened and turned away in disgust. With an unpleasant sneer she gestured impatiently at the body. "Check him for identification or some other mark of his employer. He's otherwise useless." She knew it wasn't likely they would have any sort of identification, but with any luck they could at least try to deduce who had sent him. But mostly she was resisting the urge to kick the body for cheating her out of the chance to torture the answer out of him with a cyanide pill.
 
“As my lady commands,” Philip responded, kneeling to examine the body. His fingers left a dent in the thigh as he touched it, and he jerked his fingers back immediately. Dampness stained the cameleos as he did, welling up and darkening the cloth. Immediately he scraped his fingertips against the surface of the roof. “Shit!”

“Enzymatic breakdown?” John asked, offering his half-brother the bottle of water he carried.

Philip scrubbed at his fingertips. “Looks that way. Someone really wanted to make sure we couldn’t get anything.”

The body was softening and flattening and spreading. Fluids hissed and stank as they burst from the skin, melting and dissolving the clothing and accessories of the dead assassin. John bit his lip, then kicked the rifle away. His sword flashed, flipping aside a dull metallic device attached to the assassin’s balaclava. As he did, Philip careful slashed away a strip of softening thigh and stuffed it into the bottle.

“Cellular analysis?” John asked, stepping back from the hissing puddle of spreading organic sludge.

“And chemical,” Philip nodded. “If we’re lucky we’ll save some DNA. And there can’t be too many rapid action enzymes like this.”

Nodding, Philip wrapped the metallic object in a handkerchief, then lifted the rifle. “And we may get something from these as well.” Turning, he bowed slightly to Yusra. “Perhaps we should return to the palace? It may no longer be safe on the streets for at least one of us.”
 
Yusra wasn't very talkative on the way back to the palace. A muscle worked in her jaw and to the highly observant Hyadeans it was entirely possible they might actually hear her molars grinding against one another. An assassination attempt, whether upon her or Philip, was bad enough. But the fact that he had had the gall--the actual nerve--to dissolve his own body and leave them with next to nothing...! She seethed silently while mentally crafting the most diplomatic retribution for whatever planet, nation, or agency was responsible. Her only comfort was that it was at least not some sort of terrorist cell. Those sorts were always trying to claim responsibility, even for things they hadn't done, and this saved her from the trouble of a one-woman rampage. She would not, after all, have terrorists making her people feel unsafe in their homes and in their streets.

"How long can we expect before results come back?" They were back in the courtyard and Yusra was lounging on a deep rattan chair. "And furthermore, do we bother to trouble my brother about this? Before we know everything at least. I mean, so long as John was not the target then no actual heir to any throne was actually threatened."

Here she exchanged a brief but significant glance with John. If their plan was to off her brothers, after all, the less they knew about dangerous entities potentially lurking around the castle the better. If they were lucky Adjatai and Okot would be eliminated by sheer luck. Not that she was averse to getting her hands dirty, but the less she had to do with the actual deed the more secure her claim to the throne would be.
 
“The results will take a standard hour or two,” Philip replied, glancing uneasily at the sky above them. He could see the distinct heat distortion of a house shield, but it still made him uncomfortable. A properly tuned frequency shifting laser could still penetrate the shields, and knowing how difficult it would be to properly tune such a weapon didn’t ease his professional paranoia. “I sent them to be analyzed by an officer I personally vetted. We can be confident of accurate results.”

Yusra nodded at that, then continued. And furthermore, do we bother to trouble my brother about this? Before we know everything at least. I mean, so long as John was not the target then no actual heir to any throne was actually threatened."

John smiles thinly when she caught his eye, then sipped his water. “You could have been the target, heir or no.” He hefted the rifle and examined it. “A princess of the Pleiades, cut down short weeks after her engagement to the Crown Prince of the Hyades? Cut down by a Hyadean assassin - whether the assassin was sent by my nation or not - in the prime of her life?” He shrugged. “How much capital would your nation’s war hawks make of that?”

He examined the rifle critically, then began dismantling it with a frown. “I... don’t recognize the manufacturer. It’s a relativistic weapon, clearly. Firing milligram packets of iron at near-light speed. But... I don’t recognize the make.” He looked up, catching Yusra’s eye. “Are you familiar with such weapons?”
 
Yusra nodded. "Enough to nullify the peace and keep the war going indefinitely, regardless of outside aggression," she admitted. She wouldn't admit that if her life wasn't the price of this, it would be exactly what she wanted. It was possible to forget sometimes, with his superficial charm and anemic-but-somewhat-handsome features, the atrocities for which John's nation had been responsible over the centuries. She glanced over at Philip, then followed his worried gaze.

"Would you relax?" she teased lightly. "Not only is the shield nigh-impenetrable, but it also has its own team of technicians monitoring the frequency and strength around the clock. If there were any attempt at penetrating it, they would know within seconds."

"I...don't recognize the manufacturer," John admitted with a frown as he dismantled the weapon. "It's a relativistic weapon, clearly. Firing milligram packets of iron at near-light speed. But...I don't recognize the make." He looked up, catching Yusra's eye. "Are you familiar with such weapons?"

With a light purse of the lips she held out her hands, gesturing with her fingers for him to hand it over. As she examined the rifle her eyes grew darker and intense. Her frown deepened and her chin jutted out in consternation. Finally, with a slow breath, she looked up.

"Well, we at least know who the target was," she said with barely-restrained irritation. "This rifle is of Nyeerunan make."

Nyeeruna was the largest planet in the Nyeerunan system. It orbited the start Betelguese, from where the Pleiadan royalty had taken their dialect. Official documents and ceremonies were carried out in Betelguesean, rather than the Kambugudhan dialect of the Pleiadan throneworld in the actual Pleiades system. In the colonization of the stars the throneworld had been moved several times, but Nyeeruna still boasted centuries later that it was the first and true throneworld of the Pleiades Empire. The royal family did still have several seasonal homes there, after all. It made sense that they would be just as incensed as Yusra that a truce--and worse than a truce, an alliance--had been made.

"Well, so long as the DNA tests confirm it," Yusra added with a shrug. "If so, it will require swift bureaucratic retaliation...if we tell anyone." She looked significantly at the brothers. "That could make it look as though you've already got influence with the royal family that we would rebuke our own people on such circumstantial evidence. Conspiracy theories could circulate."
 
“Particularly since we don’t know who the target was,” Philip replied, taking the weapon and examining it himself. “The weapon originating from Nyeeruna does not automatically mean that John was the only target.”

“Explain,” John said, pitching the word to make it more of a question than a demand.

Philip studied the weapon, visualizing his explanation as he spoke. “Your marriage is the symbol of the peace treaty worked out by the Solarian Alliance, hoping to use our two nations to help fight the unknown force that has depopulated several worlds in the coreward reaches of space. Either of your deaths could easily fragment that tenuous peace.”

“We know that,” John began.

“We have anti-Solarian nationalists in the Hyadeas,” Philip continued. “And I doubt that they are non-existent here. But there is another possibility yet.”

“Indeed?” John crossed his arms, and glanced at Yusra. “Which is..?”

“That the assassin is an agent of the unknown forces we will be fighting.”
 
Yusra set her lips in a thin line. "So we're no closer to an answer until that analysis comes back," she said tersely. "Target unknown, origin unknown. If the assassin was Nyeerunan, however, we will know for certain that John was the target." She tilted her chin a little higher, haughty in her certainty. "They would never open fire on a child of Africa. Their hatred is not blind hatred, whatever you might think. You and I, Philip, would be quite safe from any sort of Nyeerunan threat."

She sat back in her chair and glanced up at the sky. The day was getting on, but there were hours yet until sunset. "And so now I'm afraid all there is to do is wait," she sighed. Her breasts, still bared, swayed gently as she got up and stretched. "Would either of you care to join me on a walk about the grounds, then? I hate sitting around doing nothing while I wait."
 
“You and I, Philip,” Yusra declared, “would be quite safe from any sort of Nyeerunan threat."

“As you say, Princess,” Philip replied diplomatically. He was unconvinced, and he could see in John’s controlled body language that his brother was unconvinced as well. Politically savvy as she was, Princess Yusra had a distinct blind spot in her thinking.

“And so now I'm afraid all there is to do is wait," she sighed, before rising and stretching like a cat. "Would either of you care to join me on a walk about the grounds, then? I hate sitting around doing nothing while I wait."

“I would truly love to do so,” John replied as he and his brother rose as well, “but I need to busy myself with making a few changes in the staffing of our mission.” He smiled without humor. “A few of the attachés are well-connected back home, and will require careful handling as I remove them from positions of responsibility. Philip?”

“Yes, John?”

“Would you be so good as to accompany my fiancée?” He glanced at his brother. “I would feel better, knowing she was in your hands.”
 
"'As you say, Princess.'" It was a good-natured sort of ribbing, but Yusra saw through it. "Nyeeruna is still part of the Pleiadan Empire," she pointed out. "You do not know my people like I do. They wouldn't target me, I have the utmost confidence in that if nothing else about this entire situation." She rose and stretched, inviting them on a walk in order to set the issue aside for now, but irritation flared that not only did they think that a Nyeerunan would do such a thing, but they hadn't believed her or had confidence in her knowledge of her own empire.

"So," she said a few minutes later as she strolled with Philip, "are you baby sitter or body guard?" Bomani followed a dozen paces behind them, but she wouldn't put it past John not to trust her personal guard to do his job. Her arm was linked with the prince's as she led him around the grounds. "And what precisely makes John think I cannot handle myself, hm? Or that Bomani couldn't handle whatever gets past me?"
 
“I am,” Philip replied with a smile, “a testament to my brother’s esteem for you and a sign of his commitment to this alliance.” He made a small gesture backwards with his free hand. “I have no doubts about your ability to handle yourself, or in Bomani’s skill. But consider the optics, Princess.”

A sweeping gesture took in the space before him. “Assassination of Pleiadan Princess Thwarted By Heroic Sacrifice. Death of Beloved Bodyguard Mourned by Billions.” A laugh. “Although, to tell the truth, I’d rather survive the experience and be lauded as a hero.”

After a moment, his expression turned serious. “I will die to protect you, Princess Yusra. You, and the hope of peace represented by your union with my brother.”
 
Yusra couldn't help but smile at Philip's reply. Truly he was a skilled politician. "How very diplomatic of you, my prince," she replied. "Is there nothing you cannot spin in your brother's favor?" At the suggestion of optics she arched an eyebrow. "I would much rather you survive, as well, and be honored by those billions. But consider the optics for me, as well. If I am always in the company of either you or John, it looks as though Bomani cannot do his job. It looks as though I cannot protect myself. And if I cannot protect myself, how can I protect my people? Hm? And anyway, it isn't a death befitting a prince to die as a bodyguard."

But Philip turned serious as he looked at her. "I will die to protect you, Princess Yusra. You, and the hope of peace represented by your union with my brother."

She sighed and stopped in their stroll. Behind them, Bomani stopped too. She turned to face him and took both of his hands gently in hers. "You should not," she said quietly, looking into his eyes. "Not if you don't want to. Over the past few days, I do not think I've once heard anything from you that wasn't to do with your duty to the crown that refuses to recognize you." Yusra stepped closer, closing the gap between them to six inches, possibly less, and squeezed his hands gently. "What is it you want, Prince Philip? Of all the things in this great cosmos I have difficulty believing that you do not want a single thing for yourself. You might be charming and handsome and kind, a dutiful son and brother, but nobody is that selfless."
 
“What do I want?” Philip considered the question, acutely aware of both Yusra’s nearness and the presence of her bodyguard. “Do you know? Nobody ever asked me that?”

He held his thoughtful expression for a moment, then chuckled at the anger in her eyes. “A jest, Princess. A small jest, and perhaps in poor taste. But, you see, I was eight before I learned I was the bastard son of our king. Until the day my mother presented me to him, I merely knew I was a bastard, and something of a shame to my grandparents.”

He sighed as old memories returned. “I rather resented John when I first met him, as he had everything I wanted. Parents and grandparents who loved him. The respect and attention of the adults and children around him. I was eight, and he was five, and I was jealous of him. But John?” He shrugged. “He just knew he had a big brother. It was hard to hate him, when he adopted me so quickly.”

Emotion crawled over his face and he looked away. “I want what any man wants, I suppose. Respect. Love. Wealth. To be seen for who I am, not for the color of my skin or my utility as a way to draw close to the throne. But my devotion to my prince is not selfless, Princess.” He looked back, Meeting her gaze. “He is my only family, the only person in the universe who cares about me. I want to keep him alive so that I will not be lonely.”

Cocking his head, he thought a moment. “Also,” he added with a laugh, “I wouldn’t mind having a planet or two as my fief. Wealth and a title go a long way, after all.”
 
What Philip mistook for anger in her eyes was in fact sorrow. It may have been a jest, but she saw a ring of truth to it. He recalled his childhood and meeting John, resenting him then learning not to. He spoke of all the things that he wanted. Yusra could give him all of those things. Her heart nearly broke for him when he insisted that John was his only family, despite their still-living father. These were all things she could relate to, though in the back of her mind she knew that Bomani against all odds likely cared for her as a person. Probably. When he spoke of his desired fief she shared his smile.

"I think you and I are more alike than you think," she said. "Being a secondary child is a lonely fate and I do not wish it on anybody...but I am glad to have a companion in loneliness." Her smile widened a little and she brought the prince's fingers to her lips. As she did so she allowed the backs of his fingers to casually brush against her naked breasts. She pressed his fingers to her lips, then looked up into his eyes. "You will have all that you desire for as long as you are here, my prince," she promised, his fingers still close enough to her lips that they brushed lightly against them. "Well...we shall have to see about the fief, but I'll do my best." She broke into a bright grin and brought his hands down again, letting them once again brush against her breasts.

"I would like to be friends, my prince," Yusra said frankly, holding lightly onto his hands at waist-level, though she wouldn't stop him if he chose to draw back. Behind them Bomani averted his gaze, expertly reading his queen's intentions. "Closer than friends, if you would allow it. We have much in common, and we've much to talk about. And if you would like, I would like to introduce you to the culture of your ancestors. You've become more than acquainted with your father's side, certainly...but what do you know of your mother's people, hm?" She quirked an eyebrow. "I know you would not see me out of the palace yet until we know more about the assassin...but in a few days, perhaps? While John is busy with something that does not strictly require your assistance, of course."
 
The only outwards sign that Philip had registered his hand brushing against Yusra’s breast was a catch in his breathing, a tightening in his jaw and throat, and the quickening of his pulse. He was all of these, of course, as well as the way his fingers tingled where she’d kissed them and the desire that coursed through his nerves and into his loins. But she was bethrothed to his brother. He would not betray that.

“I should very much like to be friends, and more than friends,” he replied, struggling to keep the desire out of his expression as he forced himself to look at her. “You will be my sister-in-law, after all. I hope that you will look upon me as your brother.”

He wanted more than that. Much more. But that could not be. Sterling himself, he continued. “And I know little enough of my mother’s people, outside of my studies of Pleiadean culture and customs.” He croojed a small smile. “And such studies are, I fear, limited.”

He considered his words carefully. “Let us give it a few days.” His eyes flicked to Bomani. “Allow your guards time to ferret out any other assassins. And then? Well, it would be my pleasure to see more of the capital with you.”
 
She caught the hitch in his breath. Yusra had not gotten to where she was, had not taken the politicians into her bed that she had, without being able to read the desire in a man's slightest movement. The thrill of victory was tamped down slightly by his reiteration that she would be his sister-in-law. But that was no matter. She kept his fingers lightly in hers and tilted her head slightly.

"But Philip, I have been blessed with two brothers already," she said with an unwavering smile. "Whatever would I do with a third?" She allowed the question to hover in the air between them for a moment, ringing and expanding slightly, before straightening her neck and continuing before the moment could elongate into something even more inappropriate. "We have much in common, and we've much to talk about. And if you would like, I would like to introduce you to the culture of your ancestors."

The tour was offered and accepted; conditionally, of course. Bomani seemed to be Philip's primary concern. Well, that was taken care of easily enough. Yusra linked her arm with Philip's again and began steering him back down the cloistered walk, towards the library. He seemed the type to enjoy a well-stocked library.

"My guards will have scoured the city by this evening," she assured him, "but if you wish for additional sweeps to be made then by all means I shall order them." As they reached the doors she motioned for Bomani to stay outside. "In the meantime allow me to familiarize you with the history of the Pleiadan Empire and the Pan-African peoples, beginning with the written word."

The main floor of the library housed the most commonly read books, the ones whose spines were worn and had obviously been rebound at least once. Tables stood at either end, and along the center, between cases housing royal artifacts, were decorative clockwork globes of the planets of the Empire all rotating at their actual scaled speed. In the center, of course, was a model of Old Earth. Through short hallways to either side the library opened up into enormous wings, with tables in regular intervals on the floor in the center. Yusra surveyed the collection proudly.

"They say we've got every book ever written," she said, staring up at the shelves. "I don't know if that's true, but I've never wanted, personally. My and my brothers' entire educations were done in this library. And yes, I'm aware of the irony of starting with the written word," she added, looking back down at Philip, "given that Old Africa's history is an oral one. But they were a colonized people; if they hadn't written it down, it would have been destroyed."
 
Philip stared at the stretching expanses if the library, dumbstruck. “I... this is fabulous!” he finally declared, voice low and reverent. “I’ve seen libraries, of course, but most texts in the Hyades are computational. Reproduced on screens, with the physical books sealed away.”

He wandered along the shelves, reaching out but stopping himself before touching them. “It is almost as if I can feel the weight of the knowledge contained within them, Princess. A man - even with the training I’ve received - could spend his life here and barely scratch the surface.”

He started to reach for a book, then drew his hand back again. “Where would you recommend I begin, Princess?”
 
Yusra smiled indulgently, following as Philip wandered the stacks agape with wonder. It took a fair amount of control not to snort with derision at the mention of the Hyadean library sealing their physical books away from prying eyes. "Everything is digitized, of course," she assured him. "The entire contents of our library are made available to our people across the empire without their having to come to the palace. But our library is part nostalgia, part integrity; digital files can be altered. Corrupted. Censored. How can a people trust their rulers if they cannot trust that the information given to them is true? Anyone may request a book, and so long as it is not sensitive information it will be loaned for a time, and they may check it against whatever other physical or digital copy they like. Open and honest flow of information between the government and it's people. And you, my prince, are welcome here any time you like."

He started to reach for a book, then drew his hand back again. "Where would you recommend I begin, Princess?"

She considered a moment. "Well, it all depends upon your interests. If you would like to know more about where you come from, I would suggest either Genealogy or African History." Yusra led him to one column where a touchscreen was inlaid. Further inspection would reveal the subtle silhouette of a touchscreen every fifth or so column on each floor, where a floorplan glowed faintly and a dot marked location. "You can use these to search for individual titles, authors, subjects, keywords...any sort of search term you can think of," she told him, tapping the screen to demonstrate. "Or..." she brought him back to the floor plan, "just look at the map." A tap on an enlargement icon projected a two-dimensional hologram of the ground floor of this wing of the library. With practiced maneuvering Yusra pulled it into a three-dimensional schematic; each section was clearly labeled as was their little red "you are here" dot. They appeared to be in the "Classical Asian Literature" section. With a swipe the schematic scrolled to the main floor where they had entered, and another showed the far wing.

"African History is here," she informed him, scrolling back to the main floor and rotating the diagram so he could better see the large section towards the center of the ground floor room. Yusra looked up at Philip through the hologram and grinned. "I knew that of course, but I thought you might like a wayfinding demonstration. The head librarian thinks signs are tacky."
 
Philip tensed at the casual display of the holographic signage. Not because there was anything offputting or dangerous about them inherently, but because such displays were almost inextricably linked to ‘thinking’ machines. The clever electronic devices that mimicked the human brain and left humans dependent on them. It had been easy to forget, for a time, that the Pleiades were full of strength change machines. They hid them well.

Still, he memorized the maps as they flew by. One never knew when it might be useful to be able to navigate an unfamiliar building. Or when it might be essential, for that matter.

“The head librarian believes signs are tacky?” he laughed, glancing around to make a comparison between the memorized map and his physical surroundings. “Perhaps both our nations will benefit from a cultural exchange. The Master Librarian of the Imperial Archive commissions signs that are works of art, but refuses to have physical maps created.” Another laugh. “He believes that reliance on external aids softens the mind.”

There. That gallery would lead towards the African history section. “Perhaps you could recommend a genealogical resource here as well, because I would love to track down information about my mother’s ancestors. Sadly, all I know about them is that her family name was Nkrumah.”
 
Yusra shrugged. "It's all about the aesthetic for her. She likes the looks of classical architecture and wanted this place to look like the private libraries of Old Europe; signs would have ruined that." She took Philip's hand gently and began leading him back toward the main entrance. "I think she succeeded though, don't you?"

As they made their way back to the smaller portion of the library she mused. "Nkrumah...That's Ghanaian. I can find a few resources, though most of them may be in Hausa or Twi. I can translate for you, if you'd like." It wasn't meant to be an insult, but her hope was that Philip would begin to feel more keenly the separation between himself and his mother's people. The closer he drew to that, the farther he would draw from his mzungu brother. "Or anything else you may come across, if you don't speak the language," she added with a shrug. "In addition to Stellaran and Betelgeusan, and several mutually intelligible Pleiedan dialects, my brothers and I were trained in Arabic, Hausa, Twi, Kiswahili, Yoruba, and Amharic." She smiled a little whistfully. "Our father thought it best that we were educated in the languages of our ancestors. 'You cannot know where you are going if you do not know from whence you came.'" It was a passing impersonation of her father's frequent admonition.

The African History section was large, occupying at least a third of the shelf space on the right side of the main floor. She gestured grandly to its expanse. "Would you like to begin at present-day and move backwards, or start with historical mythology then move forwards into recorded history?"
 
“I am curious,” Philip remarked slowly, examining the shelves around him, “as to why she would wish to emulate those libraries. I have not seen much of your nation Princess, but what I have seen tells me that your people have deliberately rejected the influence of the cultures of Europe. So why embrace them here?”

He listened to her speculate on his mother’s ancestry absently, filing away her information without trying to consciously process it. But a thought kept intruding. He could recite his father’s lineage back to the first settlement of the Hyades. But he knew nothing of his mother’s heritage. Until today, he’d never considered that fact.

It was clearly a calculated ploy. Princess Yusra was too well schooled to say something carelessly. It was obviously an attempt to drive a wedge between himself and his brother. But even with that knowledge, it was difficult to ignore.

He knew nothing of his mother’s heritage.

“It would be a delight if you would translate for me, Princess,” he finally said, trying to distract himself. “I am fluent in the major galactic languages, but I’m very few of the languages of Old Earth. Perhaps you could teach me, as you translate?”

He stared around again. “As to where to start? Recent history, working backwards.” He smiled. “It will be very much like the investigative process I was trained in.”
 
Yusra shrugged. "There is no accounting for taste," she said with a small smile, "and we were a colonized people with no libraries of our own. African history is oral history, we had no call for libraries until after colonization, when they started trying to wipe our history out and we were forced to write it down." She shrugged again as she looked around the room. "And who had more magnificent libraries than Europe of old? This particular architecture is Belgian, I think." She looked up at the higher shelves and arched ceilings and crinkled her nose. "Poor taste if you ask me, all things considered...but I am not the one who built it. I would have modeled it after some imperial Russian library, personally; richer colors and not quite so closely tied with such a bloody period in the history of Old Africa. But..." She trailed off and sighed, shaking her head.

She knew Phillip saw through her ploy--it was a transparent one, really--but if he wouldn't say anything then neither would she. It was enough to have planted the seed. A few well-placed words would water the seed, if his own brooding didn't do that on its own.

"I would be delighted to teach you." Yusra smiled as he made the request. "It is the right of every child of Old Africa to know his mother tongue. Since you are ostensibly Ghanaian I don't think we could go amiss starting with Twi. Hausa too, if you catch on quickly. I have no doubt you are a fast learner though," she added with a playful wink and a grin. She nudged his shoulder gently with her own, standing close as they considered the shelves together.

"Recent history...hmmm..." She put her hands on her hips as she considered, carefully avoiding covering her breasts as she looked up on the shelves. "There are far more volumes on recent history, so the trick is finding the most relevant. Olumide's History of the Pleiadan Empire certainly." She reached up to remove a heavy, leather-bound volume nearly six inches thick. "The librarian likes her books to look old, at least. All about the aesthetic, remember," she said with a sly smile before setting it on a nearby table. "Bawuah's From the Mines to the Stars is another good one. It begins at the unification of the Old African tribes post-colonization and traces their rise to a leading position in space travel, all the way to the first African colony on Nyeeruna." She knelt to retrieve another book from the bottom of the far end of a shelf and stacked it on top of the first on the table. After further consideration she climbed a ladder, not minding her sarong, and pulled down a third book. "A personal favorite," she said from atop the ladder. "Betelgeuse and Beyond: The Kambugudha Throne World." She lingered on the ladder for a moment before stepping down and stacking the final book. "Not comprehensive by any means, but a fair start. I'm afraid we'll have to be holed up together for a while though if we're to get through it all." Not that being holed up with Phillip would be particularly unpleasant.
 
The Princess - Yusra - was delightfully distracting as she retrieved the books. And she knew it. Her posture was deliberately posed, displaying herself to best effect as she named each book. And although he knew he shouldn’t, it was difficult not to look. He had met few people of his own ethnicity in the Hyades, and none who were attractive women.

He’d have to consider Yusra’s game, determine what it was she wanted. Chaos? To make John jealous? He needed data. But, until then, it did no harm to look.

“I’ve no doubt we will,” he agreed, taking the first book. The one identified as History of the Pleiadan Empire, automatically examining the title. Anglic lettering, Buthelezi didn’t recognize the words. “But I learn quickly,” he added with a smile, placing the title and Anglic translation in his Memory Palace as he rescued himself to begin learning the new language.

“So,” he said, laying the book down and drawing a chair for his host. “Will you translate? Or shall we begin with language lessons?”
 
She inclined her head when Philip mentioned his ability to learn quickly. "I have no doubt," Yusra returned with a smile. "I seem to recall your brother insisting he was something like a fourth-order computer? Hyadeans are suspicious of computers and prefer to do the thinking themselves." She arched an eyebrow playfully at his look. "You think you two were the only ones to research the other's culture?" She shook her head as she sat. "Distrust of advanced computers, anything that 'thinks' for itself, so they keep all the information in their own heads. A noble sentiment, certainly, but I personally feel it to be misplaced and somewhat...superstitious. Computers are only as smart as we make them, and we are only as dependent upon them as we allow ourselves to be. They are tools, nothing more; we rely upon them no more than we might rely upon a screwdriver." She chose her pronouns carefully as Philip sat next to her. "But thinking of themselves as computers, as information processors, it has left Hyadeans devoid of life, devoid of...true passion." Yusra leaned in and held Philip's gaze for the span of three heartbeats.

"So," he said, laying the book down. "Will you translate? Or shall we begin with language lessons?"

Again Yusra inclined her head, finally breaking eye contact. "I do not see why we can't do both at once," she said with a shrug. "I've always found the best way of learning a language to be immersion. And with your mastery of Hyadean memory techniques, I daresay you can learn to put two and two together if I were to read the pronunciation then translate. Do you feel up to the task, Philip?" Her eyes shone with challenge and mischief as she graced him with another smile.
 
“But thinking of themselves as computers, as information processors, it has left Hyadeans devoid of life, devoid of...true passion." Yusra leaned in and held Philip's gaze for the span of three heartbeats.

“If you think that, Princess,” Philip replied leaning in as well, “than you know less of Hyadeans than you think. A healthy mind may only exist in a healthy body.” Her breath was warm in his face, and her eyes filled his vision. “Computers deaden human lives. We learn to live.”

There was a temptation in that moment to move the final few centimeters, to taste the lips of the Princess. But she was betrothed to his brother. So, reluctantly, he pulled back. “So," he said, laying the book down. "Will you translate? Or shall we begin with language lessons?"

"I do not see why we can't do both at once," she said with a shrug. "I've always found the best way of learning a language to be immersion. And with your mastery of Hyadean memory techniques, I daresay you can learn to put two and two together if I were to read the pronunciation then translate. Do you feel up to the task, Philip?" Her eyes shone with challenge and mischief as she graced him with another smile.

“I have never once failed to rise to the occasion, Princess,” he replied with a cocky grin. He let his gaze linger on her a moment longer than was strictly proper, before returning to the book. He lifted the cover and traced the characters of the title page. “I assume there is not a one to one correspondence between the words in the two languages, so we’ll need to take it slow. Would you tell me about this page?”
 
The princess smirked. "Am I not lively enough for you, my prince?" She saw the reluctance in his eyes as he pulled back; John was still coming between them. The question was how to get rid of that without getting rid of him, at least not yet.

They spent several hours in the library, shoulder to shoulder. Yusra was careful in her actions, in the way her fingers brushed against his on the page, the space between their heads as they bent over the same book. Every now and then she glanced over, but was careful not to gaze too long or to get caught. Philip would be playing the long game, clearly. She liked a challenge.

With a glance at a wall clock she sat back and stretched, arms pulled over her head, spine curved slightly over the back of her chair as it cracked. She groaned in relief, contracting again and gently pulling her head first to one side, then the other, until her neck popped. Finally she turned a smile to her companion.

"I'm afraid it's nearing dinnertime," she pointed out. "Shall we suffer through my brothers' company in the dining hall, or should we order food to be brought to the courtyard?"
 
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