The next morning, my Emily seemed pensive. We packed up our camp, and I helped her adjust the straps of her pack.
“What happens next?” my Emily asked.
“When do you mean?” I asked.
“After we get my friends out of the forest, where will we take them exactly?”
“There are a few options,” I said, rubbing my chin. “The protector who checked in from the original incident put in a request of sanctuary and lodging for your friends. That would place them in the capital, but in a different tower from us. Preparations have already started there, but we could also host them in our tower if you prefer. They would be close either way.”
“Is their species registration complete?” Rainair asked.
I winced. “Not yet.”
“Hmmm, what’s the delay? It’s not exactly safe to make their presence public until it’s complete,” he said.
“What’s not safe about it?” my mate asked.
I sighed. “Until your species has been properly documented and registered with the empire, there are certain rights that don’t apply,” I said carefully.
“He means your people won’t be recognized as people, more like animals until it’s complete,” Rainair said.
My mate gasped and turned to me. I tugged her against me and glared at my friend. “Which will not be an issue, because they will be under my protection until it is filed.”
“What do we need to do? Should we have stayed in the city longer to get it completed?” my mate asked.
“The filings are complex,” I said.
“And you have an army of retainers. What’s the holdup?” Rainair asked.
I sighed. “There are two. The first, we don’t know the location of your home planet, which is usually required. We could bypass that requirement, but it would need a majority vote in the Galactic Senate and getting it on the books will take ages.”
“Ouch,” Rainair said.
“There is another option,” I said casually.
“What?” my mate asked.
“If we could track down your home planet independently, perhaps have someone investigate the lmmp, who have been in this quadrant in the last week, and hack their flight logs. If only we knew someone with the right skill set, perhaps a gift for skulduggery and a love of romance stories,” I said. Rainair was spiraling. He needed a task now that his commitments to the war were complete, and this could achieve two goals at once.
My mate turned to Rainair. “You could track down the goopy guys who kidnapped us and find Earth’s location?”
“I could,” my friend said, running a long hand along his whiskers. That was his thinking gesture. He was considering it, and if he considered it, he would do it. “I’d need the right resources, of course.”
I snorted. “You’ll have them.”
“Good!” My mate’s face brightened. “One problem down. What was the second one?”
“The documentation would need the sign-off of the Global Representative,” I said, making eye contact with Rainair.
“Fuck,” Rainair said.
“Who is it for Ormon?” my mate asked.
“We don’t currently have one,” I said.
“Because he doesn’t want the job,” Rainair added.
My mate gasped. “It was your grandfather?” she asked, and I nodded.