Alex’s mouth dropped open at Ellie’s bitter statement but the dark-haired beauty was promptly scolded by her cousin.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Ellie,” said Annette. “We’re going to figure something out. We just need more time.”

“Time is the one thing I don’t have,” moaned Ellie. “Belladonna is right. There’s nothing we can do to stop my trial or force the elections forward. If it’s just the three of you on the Council, Belladonna is going to outvote you every time.”

“We just need to keep searching through the laws to find one to work in our favor. I swear I’ve seen something before regarding instances when special elections can be called. We just have to find it,” said Annette, clearly not defeated yet. In the process, she turned her attention to Alex. “It’s nice to see you again, Alex. Would you like something to drink?”

“I’m good now, thanks,” he said, taking a seat at the table next to Ellie. She turned her sad eyes toward him.

“How was your first night?” she asked quietly. “Did you sleep okay? Was your housing unit acceptable? Where did they put you?”

“We slept just fine in our unit in Biosphere Seven,” answered Alex, taking a few moments to fill them both in on the details.

“Well, I’m glad you’re settling in nicely,” said Annette. “And on behalf of the council, I want to apologize for the reception that you received yesterday. Belladonna and Cassara were out of line to stun you like that.”

Alex shrugged. “If they hadn’t, I would have killed that bastard Serrano.”

“And then you’d find yourself in the same predicament that I’m in,” added Ellie, leaning into Alex.

“You’re way too valuable for us to let anything happen to you,” Annette said to Alex. “Someone who’s figured out how to kill bears like you have; you just might be the person we need to turn this colony around. We’ve been having a lot of dark days lately.”

“I’m due to see Commander Rooney this afternoon,” said Alex. “The VDF is the best place for me from the sounds of it. And if Vesta is going to be my new home, then I’m going to do all I can to protect her.”

Annette smiled and looked at Ellie. “I can see why you like him. I rather like him already too.”

Alex looked over at Ellie, his curiosity getting the better of him. Ellie met his eyes with no shame.

“I told you that you were going to be popular here,” she said, reaching over to touch his thigh subtly.

Alex didn’t reply to that and the subject changed quickly.

“Alex, can you tell me what you know about this Serrano?” asked Annette. “I’ve noticed that most of the other colonists give him a wide berth. And from the pieces I was able to put together, he was the one behind the destruction of your colony ship?”

“That’s right,” answered Alex, nodding his head. “He didn’t want to come to Vesta. He tried to take over the ship so that we could be rerouted to Dangallu.”

“Dangallu!” exclaimed Annette. “For what reason?”

“Why else?” said Ellie. “Dangallu is a haven for sin and sex. Alliance warships don’t go there so it’s filled with the worst kind of people.”

“Serrano thought if he could just get to Dangallu, he could escape his fate,” added Alex. “We were already starting to figure out that the bears were more of a problem than we were told. Plus, Serrano had his reservations about coming to a colony that was governed by women for the most part.”

“I’ve picked up on that,” said Annette. “Do you think he’s still trying to get to Dangallu?”

Alex shrugged. “I have no idea. The only reason I know about Dangallu was because he tried to recruit me to his cause.”

“Recruit you?” asked Ellie. “How did that go?”

“It went over like a lead balloon,” said Alex with a sly smile. “I told him to go pound sand.”

Ellie started to laugh. “I would have liked to see that. Too bad.”

“What I think is going to be a problem with Serrano is that he already has Belladonna’s protection,” said Annette. “I’ve heard they’re already sleeping together.”

“I’ve heard that as well,” added Alex. “From another colonist on the Racine. To what end, I’m not sure. Whether it’s just to gain power in Vesta, or to use it as a springboard to carry out his Dangallu plan again. With Serrano, it could be either.”

“We’ll need to keep an eye on them then,” said Ellie. “Belladonna is enough of a problem on her own. I can’t imagine how bad she’d be with 100 kg of pure muscle and criminal guile at her side.”

“Things just keep getting worse for poor Vesta,” said Annette sadly. “Sometimes I really wonder how we’re going to turn this around.”

“Would you two be candid with me for a moment?” asked Alex. “How bad is it here? I can’t ignore the things I see with my own eyes, as well as what I hear but you two are part of the leadership here. Or at least you were very recently,” he added, looking at Ellie in particular. “Is Vesta on the verge of failing?”

Ellie looked over at Annette and the two women shared a long glance together, as if they were silently appraising how much they wanted to tell him. Finally, it was Ellie that spoke.

“It’s pretty bad, Alex,” she said. “You know about the bears, but for the most part, they stay in the hinterlands, where we believe they live. They don’t come down here to the plain, where the city is. The only structure that is really in danger is the mining biosphere up in the foothills.”

“Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that we get precious metals out of that mining facility,” added Annette. “And we need those metals, Alex. Vesta is broke. She’s worse than broke, she’s in debt. Running a colony like this one is hugely expensive and we have debts that go back decades that need to be paid. The gold and silver that we pull out of the mines help us to pay those.”

“But at the cost of losing your population,” said Alex. “From the attacking bears?”

“Precisely,” said Ellie. “We can’t abandon the mines altogether or the colony will fail. But if we keep sending people out there to work them, we keep losing our population. Your colony ship was my last hope. They made it clear that unless we start fulfilling our debts, there will be no further ships.”

“So now it’s a matter of time,” concluded Annette. “We either pay off our debts or the bears will get us all first. Either way, not a great situation with how few of us there really are, even with all the new colonists. Not to mention, Belladonna is making it worse.”

“How much worse?” asked Alex. “She doesn’t give off the aura of a competent leader, at least from what I saw yesterday.”

“It’s terrible, Alex,” said Annette. “She’s always been at odds with Ellie but ever since she gained the deciding vote on the council, she’s been pushing through the stupidest, most inconsequential decrees ever. She’s overreaching with her power.”

“Like what? Can you give me an example?”

“How about anyone that disagrees with Belladonna suddenly finds themselves on mining duty,” said Ellie. “We’ve lost a good number of friends in recent weeks because they protested my exile. Once they complain about her, she has no qualms about putting them on mining detail, where the life expectancy is measured in weeks instead of years.”

“She’s slowly quieting all dissent while rewarding those people who support her,” said Annette. “She orchestrated Cassara joining the council to have an extra vote and she’s been taking from the mining fund to enrich herself in the process.”

“We’ve had more than one situation arise where the funds that could have been used to pay off a bill were instead redirected to Belladonna’s personal account,” said Ellie.

“So we need to not only get rid of Serrano but Belladonna too,” said Alex. “Vesta can’t survive with both of them here.”

“That seems to be a good summary of it,” said Annette. “We need to find a way to save Ellie, but the first thing we need to do is get more votes on the council. Anything to outweigh the influence of Belladonna and Cassara.”

“Which is what we’ve been doing,” said Ellie. “Pouring over every law we have on the books about the Vestan Council and its authority. We’re trying to find a way to call a special election.”

“I know I’ve seen it before,” said a frustrated Annette. “I just can’t remember where it was.”

“We have to find it,” insisted Ellie. “I don’t want to be the first leader of Vesta to be executed for an imagined capital offense.”

There was something about that statement that caused Annette’s eyes to temporarily glaze over. Suddenly, she popped up as her mouth fell open.

“Wait a second, capital offense! I know where I saw it before!”

She opened her P-com and started a search. Alex could see that she was searching through law documents by reading the print on her hologram. He and Ellie waited not so patiently as Annette searched for what she was looking for.

Finally, she found it.

“Yes!” said Annette triumphantly as a beaming grin appeared on her pretty face. “I found it! I knew I’d seen it before!”

“What is it, tell me,” insisted Ellie, trying to slide around so she could see what Annette was reading.

“It’s part of the statutes on capital punishment,” said Annette. “That’s why we couldn’t find it in the laws regarding the structure of the Vestan Council. But here, look at this.”

Annette began to read directly from the document. “Article three, section eight. Any decision regarding the use of capital punishment must be agreed upon by the Vestan Council with a minimum of four out of five votes to see the punishment carried out. Failure to meet the minimum votes will render capital punishment invalid and prevent it from being carried out. Another punishment will have to be agreed upon by a new vote with a four-fifths majority. This new punishment cannot be capital in nature.”

Annette then drifted a little lower to read another statute. “And right here, it also confirms that any decisions on capital punishment must be decided upon with a full five council members.”

With those words, Annette closed her P-com and beamed with a grin. “That’s how we beat them! We need to have the elections first and then we’ll have a trial!”

“But that means we need to capture one of the empty seats,” said Ellie. “If Belladonna gets both seats, we’ll be in the same position we’re in now.”

“Then we just have to make sure she doesn’t get both,” said Alex before turning to Annette. “I doubt Ellie can run again for one of the open seats, right?”

“Correct, especially considering she’s the subject of the trial,” said Annette. “Sorry, Ellie, that’s the law.”

“Then we just need two people that can run that aren’t liable to want to see Ellie dead,” said Alex. “That shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

“Not too hard,” confirmed Annette. “Especially now that the people see just what it means to be ruled by Belladonna. Many of Ellie’s harshest critics are now seeing that things are getting worse. They’ll be likely to go easy on her.”

“Sounds like we have a plan then,” said Alex. “Now we just need to find our candidates.”

Annette popped up from the table, sending her red hair flying. “I need to get this to Belladonna and Cassara immediately so we can postpone the trial!”

No sooner had she said it than she was out the door, leaving Alex with Ellie.

“Well, she seems pretty excited,” joked Alex.

Ellie laughed. “She’s my cousin. She’s probably the closest person I have in Vesta. If anyone can save my skin, it’s Annette.”

“Well, I’m glad you have her here. And I’m glad we have some options now.”

Ellie scooted closer, invading his personal space. “And I’m glad I have you here too. I like you a lot, Alex. I kind of miss being out in the wild, when it was just us out there.”

“You mean when I had your hands tied up and when we weren’t being stalked by bears?” he teased.

She grinned at him. “It wasn’t all that bad. I had you to protect me out there. And even in here, you’re still protecting me. I like that in a man, Alex.”

Without any warning, Ellie leaned in suddenly and mashed her lips against his. The kiss was tender yet passionate and soon Ellie’s entire body was pressing against his.

It was hard not to enjoy her kiss. Alex couldn’t help but picture the sight of her naked in the river, her body looking magnificent as beads of water dripped from her breasts. He kissed her back but soon after, the moment passed.

When he looked at Ellie after the kiss, she was licking her lips. “Mmm, now that was hot. I wouldn’t mind putting those lips to work on the rest of my body.”

The visual was powerful, as was Alex’s bodily response. At that moment though, he couldn’t help but feel guilty, especially after what happened with Jenna that morning. He found himself pulling away.

Ellie seemed to know why intuitively. She raised an eyebrow.

“Jenna?” she asked.

Alex could only nod.

“You need to talk with her,” said Ellie before putting on a smile. “Tell her I play nice with others.”

“I don’t know if that will help,” he admitted.

“Well, you’re going to have to do something,” said Ellie with some exasperation.

“Why is that, Ellie?”

Ellie looked him straight in the eye. “Because if she doesn’t take you, then I will.”