Whelon bit down hard on his tongue. He had nothing good to say about the woman who birthed Sasha, so he chose to stay silent.
“I’ve always loved being on TV,” Sasha continued wistfully. “But I don’t want to just sit there and put panic into people. If my face and voice are going to be known, I also want to be trustworthy. Then I can really change things and do some good.”
Whelon nodded slowly as he prepared some syringes. He had never truly thought about the power of celebrity in the past, but it made sense to him now. Sasha was so alluring that with only her eyes and voice, she could convince people of just about anything.
The Preor need her, he realized. The Preor need her to report that she is safe and happy with us. People do trust her. It is the only way to repair the damage done by her mother.
“Sasha,” he murmured gently, moving over to stroke her midnight hair. “Won’t you come and visit the ship or the tower? I would love for you to meet the other human-Preor mates. I think you would have a lot to talk about.”
“I’d like to,” she agreed hesitantly.
“Then come with me now. We can leave Kyrin in charge of medical and Radoo responsible for food and keeping the peace for a couple of hours.” He was desperate to get her alone, and even more frantic that she should come with him to see his world. He truly believed that once he showed her everything, she would never want to return.
“I don’t know…”
“How about an inside scoop?” The words were unfamiliar to him, the Knowing giving him human words to help her agree, but he had a vague idea of what they meant. “Interview the other mates. Imagine that footage for your show!”
Her eyes brightened and he knew he had her.
“Okay,” she agreed. “But just a few hours.”
“Great!” He practically bounced over to her, wrapping her in his arms and wings. She laughed and reached up to stroke one of his wing lines, sending a bolt of pleasure ricocheting through his body.
“Careful,” he murmured and she winked playfully.
They headed out the front of the building to one of the shuttles parked in the cul-de-sac. For a few moments, as he helped Sasha stride up the plank to the shuttle, Whelon’s world was perfect.
As Sasha entered the short flight, he heard a commotion behind him. Some instinct kept him moving and he jumped into the shuttle, slamming his palm against the controls to seal the hatch in his wake.
Yet he wasn’t fast enough. He spied a crowd of media crew charging them with cameras at the ready. Over the commotion, he heard Sasha’s mother screaming.
“Stop them! They’re stealing my daughter!”
Chapter Nineteen
As the shuttle rumbled and shook during takeoff, Sasha peered out one of the viewports and spied a crowd of people gathering below. She assumed it was merely the local residents gathered to watch the shuttle depart and didn’t think much of the small crowd around where they’d launched.
Her attention was immediately snared by the contours of the clouds and the definition of the sky. She had flown in planes before, but never this high above main cloud cover. She shivered with excitement to see the tops of the clouds and Whelon reached over to take her hand.
She turned to him, a smile pulling at her lips and the rightness of the moment flowing through her in a gentle wave. To be here, with this male—it was where she belonged. In a sense, she had always been here. Something within her knew she had always been waiting for Whelon’s arrival.
The shuttle vibrated as it crept higher, heading for the Preor ship where it hovered far above Preor Tower. Not so close that it cast a terrible shadow, but not so far that they needed engines capable of escape velocity to reach the ship. She was amazed by the view of the city and the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico as the view sped beneath her.
Whelon squeezed her hand and she grinned in return. She felt so very free, perhaps for the first time in her life. It was a little like playing hooky from school. She escaped her boring duties to run off with a cute guy and have an adventure. She giggled over the naughty feelings her actions gave her.
“Coming into deck two, hold your position tango, tango,” a sudden feminine voice crackled through the shuttle.
“Penelope,” muttered the pilot. “Not this shit again.”
“Can confirm you are cleared for landing, shuttle ah-5-6-7-8. Proceed to docking bay.” Then the speaker emitted a bunch of strange, grating noises as if someone imitated a helicopter.
Sasha peered over at Whelon, a quizzical expression furrowing her brow, but his only response was an exaggerated face palm.
“What the fuck?” Sasha muttered.
“Hello, my dear!” the voice addressed Sasha directly, a nearby speaker increasing in volume although it took her a few seconds to catch the change. “You must be Whelon’s mate! Good for you, honey. He’s a fine catch. They all are, of course, but—”
“I’m sorry?” Sasha shook her head. “Who am I speaking to?”
The shuttle bumped up and down, clanging as it connected to the airlock.
“I am the ship, dear girl. They call me Penelope. What’s your tag?”
Sasha was confused even further. Why did the ship speak like an old lady mixed with a rebellious teenager?
“I’m Sasha. Are you… okay?”
“Thank you for asking, dear! I’m totally fucking bitchin’. How about you?”
Sasha turned to Whelon, silently begging for help with her gaze, but he simply shook his head.
“Penelope recently lost a good friend of hers… in a sense. His name is Vende and he did not perish, but he went through some changes—including meeting his mate—and it appears she has become unstable without him.”
“She was unstable long before Vende found Dawn,” the pilot muttered.
“So, what you’re telling me is that this machine is having a grief response?”
“I am an artificial intelligence!” Penelope snapped. “Not a machine! I am a complex program designed to run all the ship’s systems and yes, I managed to imprint with the personality of my creator. I improved upon her, if you wish for my honest opinion.” The AI actually managed to sound both superior and immature at the same time.
“Jaken,” Whelon signaled the pilot. “See if you can get a direct order to have Lily examine Penelope.”
“She’d need to come up here,” Penelope sing-songed. “She’s not allowed to travel and I doubt you could get all the masters to sign off on the official documentation.”
“Vende would rescind that for you, Penelope.” Whelon sighed. “He loves his new training platform and he likes you.”
“Then why doesn’t he play with me anymore,” Penelope moaned. Sasha was so affected by the tone she put her arms out but there was nothing to hug.
“I appreciate the thought, dear.” Penelope sighed. “But I’m off to check the chemical composition of every connecting screw on the ship. It gives me something to do with my time.”
Whelon rose from his seat and opened the hatch, helping Sasha onto the dock. She scanned her surroundings in awe, the scope of the room like nothing she had ever seen. She took Whelon’s hand and let him lead her through the dock, past other shuttles and carriers. She shook her head as she tried to take everything in.