AUTHOR'S NOTE: Water's just not good at military briefings, such as this one upon arrival back at her home world that never made the final story. I ended up scrapping the idea of our heroes boarding the Deep Explorer straight to Petal when a better idea came up that took them to Earth instead. Still, there was this briefing, which didn't end much like the town hall meeting. Water wasn't among friends, and she knew it. This was a much earlier draft. You can see that instead of Mackenzie, I had Kenzie.
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Kenzie looked at Scott. “Bring her out.”
Pursing his lips, Scott rose from his seat and headed to the side door, not sure if Water would still be standing outside or not. Getting her to come up from the cargo hold for even for a few minutes away from her Song was a miracle in itself. He made sure there were no soldiers in sight, and took the extra step of not even escorting her himself. Trust, right now, was a very thin bridge.
The Song Guard was not in a great mood when he stepped out onto the narrow hallway. “What’s with the temper?” he asked, noting the dangerous glow rippling up her dorsal fins.
“They are thieves,” Water grated. “You will see. I will show you.”
“Yeah, well try not to kill anyone in there. Makes for a bad impression, and we need their help.”
Her voice lowered. “Mara’s ship is here. We will take the Song and leave.”
Maybe her head was addled by the jump. Maybe not. Either way, this was hardly the time to hatch these kind of plans. “You saw something?”
She nodded. “Cages. In one of the big ships. The back door was open. They are here as thieves.”
Scott took a steadying breath. Cages? Since when did this become Jerimiah’s personal safari?
The door opened on an irritated Kenzie. “Problems out here?”
“Just giving her a little coaching,” Scott hurriedly replied. “In shortly.”
Kenzie pointed a finger at her. “Play nice.”
“I will play very nice,” Water returned with a musical pleasantness that made Scott want to run for the nearest exit. She rarely lied like this.
“I’ll grab Dad and Mara and we’ll take a look with you,” he whispered. “Just play along before we all end up behind bars.”
Water’s colors remained agitated, however she kept her dorsal fins laid down along her back as they entered. There were a few awed whistles to set the mood as she turned to regard them.
“Gentlemen,” Kenzie introduced, “This is a siren. What her kind call Song Guard. She is covered in carbon crystal plates able to withstand anything up to small arms fire. Those fins along her forearms will cut through ceramic armor. Those on her legs mean you don’t want to mess with her in the lake.”
“And she didn’t show up for this kind of demonstration,” Scott cut in, glaring at the man.
Water put a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Yes, I did. I am Song Guard.” Without warning, she sent a sharp chirp rebounding across the audience. Then another. For an awful moment Scott thought she was going to let loose.
“This is what you will hear just before my sisters kill you,” she explained to the stunned soldiers. “We taste you, so we can send a killing song. You will see my sisters do this.”
Her dorsal fins spread out with bright orange menace as she crouched.
Scott swiftly stepped in front of her, catching movement beyond the briefing room stage’s brief side curtains. Of course Kenzie would’ve taken precautions. “And this is the last thing you will see,” he finished. “I hope the ambassador has made her point. This is a diplomatic mission. You make it a military one, and a lot of you won’t be going home.”
He turned to Water and bumped heads, hoping his eyes conveyed the truth that nobody was getting out of here if she carried out what he knew wasn’t a threat.
Water’s colors transformed into sulky violet hues, then back to an assuring emerald. She hugged him, releasing a trilling tinkle instead of absolute hell. “I am your friend and will not harm you.”
“As I said,” Kenzie replied. “They can be reasoned with.”
She didn’t mean you, Scott realized. From the sideways glance he got from Kenzie and Jeremiah next to him, it was probable they both understood that, too. He had to get her out of here. “Mara, Dad, help me escort her back, please.” He threw a warning look back at Kenzie and the Prophet to further fuel their suspicion that this had been too close a call.
“Happy to,” Mara intoned, getting up with his father. Her olive eyes pierced Water. Dad didn’t look too overjoyed, either, judging from his grimace.
The three of them ushered Water out without objection by either Kenzie or the Prophet. Once out into the corridor, Mara turned and kicked the startled Song Guard in the shin, rattling her pelvic fins like chimes. “Bitch! You were going to kill us!”
“I tasted you both,” Water defended, drawing away with a warning flick of her cutting fins. “You would just be hurt. My heart song would heal you.”
Scott’s jaw sagged. “You were going to do it. Murder them all. What the hell’s wrong with you?”
“They are thieves,” Water returned in a hiss of violins. “I will show you.”