The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga by Laura Jo Phillips Page B

of all things, check me out.  Then the Vulpirans brought me home, and here we are.”
    Michael pushed his plate back and picked up his wine, letting Honey sift through everything
     he’d said.  She understood why he’d revealed his psychic talent to the Vulpirans. 
     But she was still scared. 
    “What happens if the Teriens find out?” she asked. 
    “I’m not sure it matters,” Michael said. 
    His offhand manner made her angry, but she held onto her temper.  Getting mad wasn’t
     going to solve anything.  “If you’re not careful, Michael, you’ll lose everything,”
     she said in a low voice.  “ We’ll lose everything.”
    “The only thing we have that matters is ourselves, and Nica,” Michael said.  “We’re
     both finished with school now, so they can’t hold that over us any more.  You’re a
     doctor, like you always dreamed, and I’m a scientist, like I always dreamed.  We’re
     hundreds of light years away, Honey, out of the Teriens’ reach.”
    “Right now we’re out of their reach,” Honey said.  “What happens when we return? 
     If they find out about your psychic ability they’ll recall us to Terien immediately,
     and they’ll keep us there.  We’ll never get another chance to escape.  And what about
     your position in the Terien Scientific Federation?  You worked very hard for that,
     Michael.” 
    “I’ve worked hard to become a scientist , not a member of the TSF,” Michael argued.  “The only reason I worked so hard for
     a seat on the TSF was so we could get assigned to Earth.  It was our only real chance
     to escape Terien, and we’ve done it.” 
    “They’ll take your credentials if we don’t go back, Michael, they said they would,
     and they will, just like they took mine before we left Earth to come on this trip. 
     The only way for you to get around that is to make a name for yourself so big that
     they wouldn’t dare, and the best way to do that is the TSF.  That’s what you told
     me, Michael.  That was our plan.  Now you’re telling me that...what?  You don’t care
     about your credentials any more?”
    “Of course I care about them,” Michael said.  “But I think I’m known enough already. 
     I get invited to all of the conferences now, I’ve even been invited to speak at a
     few, and the Jasani invited me here for my expertise.  I think it’s possible for me
     to be accepted for the knowledge in my head, and my abilities, even if Terien revokes
     my credentials.” 
    “What if you’re wrong?” she asked.  “What if they revoke your credentials and nobody
     else wants us?  What will we do then?”
    “Honey, I don’t want to go back,” Michael said.  “Not ever.  After we’ve been here
     for a while, I’m going to talk to the Vulpirans about the possibility of us remaining
     here, on Jasan.  I’ll ask them if there’s a position for me.  If they say no, then
     I’m going to look for another world that will take me.  I’ve made up my mind, Honey. 
     I’m never going back to Terien again.”
    “What about me and Nica?” Honey asked, suddenly frightened.  “Are you going to just
     leave us here?”
    “Of course not,” Michael said.  “You two are the only people who matter to me any
     more, and I would never abandon you.  But Honey, we’ve bent ourselves to the shape
     and size of the mold the Teriens demanded of us for long enough.  I’m tired of living
     a lie.  Aren’t you?”
    “Of course I am,” Honey said with a sigh.  “But I’m also afraid that the Teriens will
     take Nica.”
    “They’re not going to do that,” Michael said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.  “I know you’re
     afraid of it, but honestly, it makes no sense.  There’s no reason for them to take
     her, Honey.  If they wanted her, they wouldn’t have allowed us to bring her to Jasan.”
    Honey sighed.  Maybe Michael was right.  She was still afraid, though.
    “Forget about the Teriens for a moment and look