Read The Refugee (The Korvali Chronicles Book 1) for Free Online

are many,” Yamamoto said. “The most substantial one is that the Korvali don’t allow their citizens to emigrate under any circumstances. Our willingly offering a home to one of them, especially one with such scientific abilities, will not sit well with their kunsheld. It is imperative that we institute protections.”  
    “Agreed,” Vargas said, as a few others nodded.  
    “Protections?” Marks said. “You’re actually thinking about letting him live on this ship? You can’t be serious! He comes from a people who’ve spent ten years hiding themselves from us and killing people who enter their space!”  
    “They killed one group of Sunai soldiers, one time, after numerous warnings to stay out of their space,” Yamamoto said. “Otherwise, the Korvali haven’t said so much as a bad word to anyone.”
    Marks shook his head. “Even if this… Eshel… isn’t some agent of death, he’s from their ruling clan. If they don’t let the average citizen leave, what will they do when they find out we have someone so valuable?” He looked around at the group. “They’ll funnel resources to retaliate, that’s what! Offering asylum to one boy may not be worth the consequences.”
    “I agree,” said Chief Engineer Commander O’Leary in his quiet, deep voice. “He shouldn’t be forced to return to Korvalis, but Suna is a better choice for his asylum, whether he likes it or not. The Sunai would love to show the Korvali that they have one of theirs.”
    “I discuss this further with Admiral Scott once we’re back in satellite range,” Ferguson said. “But I have the distinct feeling we’ll be taking him on, regardless of the consequences. The political and other strategic advantages of this offset the risks.”
    There were a variety of reactions from the group, some surprised, some disapproving.  
    “Nothing is decided yet,” Ferguson continued. “But if we take him, we’ll have a lot to do, so start preparing yourselves.” She glanced down at her pad. “Next issue: what, if anything, to report to the Korvali.”
    “I say we report nothing,” Marks said. “Then they have no reason to start trouble.”  
    “And what happens when they find out the truth?” Yamamoto said.  
    “What can they do about it?” said O’Leary. “The Forbidden Planet is 500 parsecs from here. They have limited technology and resources, and they lack the ability to take us to task when off their turf. It’s that simple.”
    The Captain shook her head. “Deception will bite us in the ass later. What else?”
    Ov’Raa spoke up. “Captain, we must consider our relationship with the Korvali. The Korvali do not trust otherworlders and deception will hurt our efforts to earn Korvali trust, or to persuade the Korvali to join the Alliance—”
    “Since when is the Korvali joining the Alliance a priority?” Marks argued, looking around the table again. “They’re never going to.”  
    “I do not agree,” Ov’Raa replied, unruffled. “The Korvali now attend more Alliance summits than ever before, and they have much to offer the Alliance—”
    Ferguson stepped in again. “Persuading the Korvali to join the Alliance, fruitful or not, is the Alliance’s concern, not ours.” She sat back in her chair. “We’ll report the truth without specifying Eshel’s identity. That will buy us time to create a plan for handling any future inquiries from them. Once I communicate with Admiral Scott, we’ll take the next step.”  
    Sensing that Ferguson was about to adjourn the meeting, the group began pushing their chairs back.  
    “There is another issue that needs addressing,” said Commander Steele. The officers reluctantly sat back to hear what the scientist had to say. “We need to establish how we’ll handle Eshel’s scientific expertise. He has advanced knowledge that will prove extremely valuable to virtually every scientist, human engineer, and genetic technologist that ever existed in this galaxy. We need to