Free Roark (Women Of Earth Book 1) by Jacqueline Rhoades

denied.
    Added to this was the wealth of geological formations so necessary to the crystalline technology upon which so much of the Galactic Confederation relied. With its population decimated, this place was ripe for the picking and the Hahnshin would pick it clean.
    Roark was convinced this woman and her planet were the stuff of legends and both deserved their place in the legends of the future. Destiny, it seemed, had determined that he be a part of that future legend, too.
    As had happened so many times in the past, Roark’s personal plans got fucked. He sometimes wondered why he even bothered to make them.
    His comlink buzzed and he answered with a growled, “What?”
    It was Harm, and his mood was no better than Roark’s. “You’re needed at the hospital.”
    Mira moved a few feet away to give him privacy, he assumed, but Roark reached for her hand and pulled her back to his side as he listened to Harm’s rant.
    “Field Marshal Suto is having a tantrum and pulling rank. He doesn’t seem to get that as the Commander’s Prime, I speak with the Commander’s voice. My fist is about to explain it to the little fucker, so unless you want to deal with me up on charges and Suto out of commission for the next six weeks, get your ass over here. And while we’re at it, you sneaky little bastard, don’t think you’re going to be pulling this shit on a regular basis. I’m not the one who got myself suckered...”
    Roark hit the button on the comlink and cut Harm’s tirade off. “Be there in five. See that the Marshal is prepared.”
    Mira had bowed her head in an attempt to hide her face, but Roark could tell by her sucked in cheeks that she was trying not to smile.
    “Did you get all that?” he asked, since Harm’s tirade was in Godan.
    “Most of it,” she admitted and then looked up from beneath her long curling lashes with a thinly disguised smile. “A few words were new to me, but it wasn’t hard to fill them in. Does he always talk to you like that?”
    Roark nodded. “Only when he thinks our conversation is private. Familiarity has its privilege. He’s been talking to me like that since I was a boy, but pity the poor soul who thinks it gives them the privilege, too. Harm will have their tongue in his hand before their second sentence is uttered.” He tugged on her hand. “Come. My quarters are this way.”
    “But the hospital is that way and it’s a ten minute walk,” she protested.
    “Fifteen from my quarters.” He shrugged. “And I still have to change my shirt, so it will be a minimum of twenty.”
    “So your ‘be there in five’ meant I’ll be there shortly, just like it does in English.”
    As usual, Harm was correct in his assessment of the little human. She was always learning and comparing the two cultures. She showed curiosity about the physical differences between her race and others, but no aversion.
    “She tries to accept the differences, but she searches for the similarities and when she finds one, she points it out as if she wants to make sure we see it, too,” the old soldier said of her and then gave a nod of approval as if Roark needed one. “You could do worse. She’s a smart little tidbit. She sets the nail, but she doesn’t drive it home. She lets you do the hammering.
    That, Roark thought, was a good sign, but in this instance, she was wrong. Once again, he started for his quarters, increasing his pace and resentful that his leisurely stroll had now become a mission. It was another black mark against Suto.
    “No, I meant what I said. I want the Field Marshal to expect me in five. He’ll be on edge for the time span and when I don’t show up, Harm will become livid with suppressed rage. Suto will be terrified by it, convinced that the Prime will explode into violence, and with good reason, as anyone who has seen my Prime when he returns from battle can attest. I will arrive in time to save Suto from Harm’s wrath. Being an officer, the good Field Marshal will