Free All Enemies Foreign and Domestic (Kelly Blake series) by Rodney Smith

on one another, making a structure of massive, but confused shape.   A number of K’Rang females similar in size to the guide were running about, escorting guests to the main entrance and running back to escort the next guest at the gates.   Kelly and Candy were handed off to a uniformed Shadow Warrior at the door.   He took Candy’s invitation, checked it closely with a handheld device, and stood aside for them to enter.
          Kelly took Candy’s hand and they walked into the reception hall together.   Candy called out, “Whoa!” as she saw the immensity of the room and its decorations.   The room was rectangular, approximately half the size of a football field.   At the end of the hall, a center stone staircase rose to a middle landing, above which stairs spiraled up to the right and left.   Doors under the central staircase had K’Rang signs denoting male and female restrooms.   Tapestries representing the fifty worlds of the K’Rang Empire covered practically every square inch of the walls that were not floor-to-ceiling window.   The richly woven tapestries were all similar in design, each featuring a stylized rendering of a planet, with the K’Rang name of the planet embroidered at the bottom.   Kelly and Candy strolled around the room admiring the tapestries, while his hidden video camera recorded the planet’s image and name.   The geographers in Fleet Intel would appreciate this stroll.
          There were few guests at this time, mostly Human and Angaerry.   It was K’Rang custom not to show up for parties until just before the host made his entrance, usually thirty minutes after the time on the invitations, which in this case was also sunset.   One of the first guests they encountered was Jotil Laptee, the cousin of Jotil Lenkva, the Angaerry Fleet commander in the Battle of G’Durin and Kelly’s boss at that time.   Jotil Laptee had been Kelly’s liaison officer aboard Kelly’s ship, the Orion, during the battle.   It had been Jotil Laptee who had informed Kelly that Jotil Lenkva was female, causing Kelly no end of worries that he may have said something untoward around Jotil Lenkva during their early interactions.   Jotil Laptee convinced him not to worry.   Any faux pas would have been put down to peculiarities of Human speech.
          Jotil Laptee was typical of his race.   The Angaerry were descended from a salt-water mammal similar to Earth’s porpoises.   He stood about a meter and a half tall.   His skin was shades of grey and his arms and legs were thin and bony.   His snout was long and slim and festooned with sharp inward facing teeth.   Angaerry wore only minimal to no clothing normally, but tonight, Jotil Laptee was wearing ceremonial robes decorated with a nebula in full color on the back.   As with all Angaerry the robes were cut too long and the hem dragged the ground, threatening to trip him if a misstep should occur.
          Where’s your boss, Jotil Laptee?” Kelly asked.
          “He had to return to headquarters for a meeting with Minister Jakah Burin.   It was called at the last minute and he had to run through our mini-gate to get there in time.   I sometimes wish your government had not been so gracious as to give us one for our embassy.”   Jotil Laptee broke out into his infectious high-pitched laugh that had endeared him to the crew of the Orion.
          It suddenly dawned on Kelly that Jotil Laptee and he had been chatting in Angaerry and rudely leaving Candy in the dark.   He quickly introduced Candy to Jotil Laptee.   She was given the Angaerry hand signal and imitated the one she had seen Kelly give earlier.   Jotil Laptee switched to his limited Galactic Standard and expressed his joy.   “It is a great happiness at finally meeting Kelly’s mate, of which I have heard so many positive things.”
          Candy was charmed and was quickly laughing along with Jotil Laptee at the story of Kelly learning