Chapter 28: Chapter 28

AMY

Amy caught up to Silian quickly as he headed for the bridge. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

He looked at her with one eyebrow raised. “Fine. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just, you know, the fight,” she said, trying to match his long stride in the outrageous heels she wore.

Silian shrugged. “I’m fine about it, really.”

“But you kind of destroyed Gronar.”

“That’s my function on the ship, Amy. I’m the First. My job is to fight. I thought you knew this about me.”

“Yeah, well it’s the sort of thing friends do. Ask if someone they care about is okay.”

As they entered the bridge, half a dozen Orbanites turned their multiple eyes to both of them, and Iry stood up from where she examined a screen, her yellow eyes turned in their direction.

“The Captain will recover. We’re going to jump the ship to our third set of planned coordinates now. Begin jump procedures.”

“Aye, sir,” the crew responded and turned to face their screens as Silian stepped down the ramp toward the big chairs at the center of the room.

She watched him move, noticing the air of authority that surrounded him. ~Doesn’t he know how fucking hot he is right now?~

“What’s our situation?” Silian asked the room sitting down.

“We’re maneuvering into position for FLT jump at sub-light, sir. We should be in position in moments.”

“Very good. Nav?”

Iry turned to Silian, touching a device she held in her hand. “We’re in the green, First.”

“FLT?”

The voice of the cyborg engineer echoed through the bridge. “Fifteen seconds until the engine is spooled up and ready to jump, Captain.”

“Prime?”

“Silian, I am receiving a data burst,” the voice of Prime responded. Amy took off her shoes and stepped down the ramp, moving to sit next to Silian in the chair he usually occupied.

“Earpiece, Prime.”

Amy watched as he listened to whatever came through on the databurst, burning with curiosity and trying to read his expression. At his sudden frown, she couldn’t hold back any longer. “What is it?”

He leaned toward her, spinning his chair. “Justice Command. They’ve demanded an explanation for our reason for being on Arkadia and have requested we heave to.”

“That Kasana bitch? What are you going to do?”

Silian rubbed his chin, she could see the worry in his eyes.

“She’s head of the Fleet, but Commander Remkin told the Captain that our mission of retrieving Izzy was of the utmost importance. He didn’t know who to trust, and I’m considering following his lead on this.”

“What, you suspect Kasana might be behind the disappearance of Givan Bala?”

“They never agreed on anything. Bala was a vocal dissenter within the nobility for the worst excesses of the Fleet. If Zaftar is behind these disappearances, he could be using Kasana as muscle to make a grab for power.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Kasana is his sister-in-law, and scuttlebutt around the Fleet is that the two of them have been coupling for years.”

~Who’d want to get close to that lanky streak of evil?~ “I don’t trust her,” Amy said.

“I’m inclined to agree with you,” Silian said. “I’Mag, what is the longest jump the FLT drives are capable of with the current charge level?”

“Six hundred eighty million light-years, sir, using full reserves.”

“That’ll put us just outside the mining colonies,” Silian said. “Nav, recalculate jump to our maximum jump distance.”

“Aye, sir.”

“What are you doing?” Amy asked, frowning at him.

“Taking us off a course that every high-ranking member of the Fleet knows about. If people are looking for us, I want to make it harder for them to find us.”

“New course calculations confirmed, sir.”

“FLT?”

“Spooled and ready, sir.”

“Prime?”

“All systems operational. We are ready to jump on your mark.”

“Mark,” he said.

Amy held on to the sides of the chair as that same disorienting feeling from the last time they jumped hit her. ~It’s almost like standing on that glass floor again.~

When the moment passed, she looked out at a different set of stars, with no sign of the Nebula in the sky.

“Report.”

“Jump successful, sir.”

“I’Mag, how long until the engines are recharged?”

“Fourteen hours, sir, but the reserve will take another twelve.”

~Fourteen hours? Good, that will give me some time with Silian.~

“Very good. Iry, I suggest you relieve the bridge crew and get some rest.”

Amy saw Iry look away from her and focus on Silian. She was silent for a half second before she spoke.

“Begging the First’s pardon, but logs indicate you haven’t slept for seventy-three hours. As the third-ranked officer aboard, I can take the watch, sir, while you get some sleep. You might need some rest, sir, after your fight.”

Silian stared at Iry for a moment. “Very well, Specialist Iry. I stand relieved,” he said, getting to his feet. He looked down at Amy, a smile playing in the corners of his mouth. “Would you care to join me for a walk?”

Amy nodded, getting to her feet and juggling her clutch and shoes into one hand. As Silian led them up the ramp, she looked back at Iry, who gave her a toothy smile and a thumbs up gesture.

~Did she just?~ Amy smiled to herself, and she looped her hand into Silian’s as they stepped into the corridor.

“Can we talk while we stroll around?” Amy asked him.

“Of course, what would you like to talk about? You seem a bit on edge tonight.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about us, actually,” she said.

“Us? What do you mean?” Silian slowed his pace, taking shorter strides that were more comfortable for her to manage in her dress.

“Look, Silian, I know we talked about how men of the Fleet can’t have kinship, and I don’t know how all these rules work, and I’m not even going to pretend. But this…”

She squeezed his hand. “This feels right to me. I know all you want is to be friends—”

“I have wanted you from the first moment I saw you, pinned underneath me in Izzy’s house. When you brought me to my knees.”

She smiled. She still felt proud of herself for that, especially now, after seeing him fight for real.

“I thought you hated me for that,” she said.

“There is nothing you could do that would make me hate you. Nothing. But I don’t understand. I thought you were happy to get to know me a little more. The law says we can only spend one night together.”

“Trust me, Silian, that law will be one of the first to change. Izzy can see how horrible it is to deny a man something as precious as love.”

Silian stopped walking and turned to face her. “Did you say love?”

~Shit. Oh, you idiot, you said the L word.~

Amy felt his gloved fingers lift her chin. She didn’t even realize she’d looked away from him in embarrassment.

“You said ‘love,’ Amy. I…care about you, Amy. More than I can safely say, but I’m not sure I can give you what you want.

“I want it too, but we cannot do this, not until the laws change in the Realm. I will not put you in that kind of danger.”

~Silian does not mince his words. Grow a pair, Amy.~

“Isn’t that my choice too?” she asked, and saw the surprise on his features.

“You would risk your life just to be with me? Why?”

“I don’t need to wait. Why would I? You’re an amazing man. You’re strong, smart, sweet to me, and the fact that you don’t know just how good you really are makes you all the more attractive.”

“If that is how you see me, then you do not know me at all.” He dropped his gaze to the ground.

She reached out her hand and placed it against his cheek. “I know enough. I can see it already. There is more good in you than bad, Silian. Everyone has a dark side, and you think yours is terrible, I can see that.

“I have a dark side too. But if you can’t see the good in you, then… then I’m just going to have to show you.”

“You don’t know what I’ve done, Amy. I fear that once you learn it, you will not think the same. You will hate me.”

“No fear, Silian. Did you enjoy doing those things?”

“No.”

“Then it’s in the past, and until you give me a reason to hate you, it’s all history. We all have skeletons in our closets.”

“Mine are not skeletons. They are Raags, and they are still very much alive,” he said.

Amy clenched her jaw and stopped him from turning away from her with a glare, her hand still on his cheek.

“You think your Raags are worse than mine? I murdered a man in cold blood when I was little more than a child. This isn’t a competition. I will help you fight your Raags, and you can help me fight mine.”

She could see desire warring in his eyes as he thought over her words. Those stupid laws holding him back from grabbing any chance at happiness.

She moved her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him down into a deep kiss, full of longing and promise.

She felt his strong hands curl around her, and as she broke the kiss and looked at him, he whispered to her.

“And if tonight is all we have?”

“Then we’d better make it count. The law doesn’t say how many ~times~ in one night, does it?”

Silian chuckled, pulling her closer. “No.”

“Then I hope you’re not too tired after your lack of sleep and strenuous battle.”

He picked her up and kissed her again, and she could smell that spicy orange scent, the desire in his eyes wiping away the warring confusion she saw previously. “I’m sure we’ll manage somehow.”

“Where’s your room?” she asked, catching her breath.

SILIAN

Silian tried to think through the influx of sensation. She’d pulled him down into a kiss that blew every thought that didn’t involve her naked on his bed out of his brain.

Just the feel of her arm around his waist sent electric tingles through his back that made it hard to focus.

The pounding of both her heart and his own hearts set a rhythm in his ears like primal drums. Yet the warring emotion within him couldn’t be silenced. ~She’s risking her life for this, and she doesn’t seem to care.~

“Why do you smell like that?” Amy asked him, taking a deep breath as they hurried toward his quarters.

“Like what?” he said, feeling nervous that he reeked of sweat after the bout with Gronar.

“You smell like… like Cointreau,” she said with a dreamy smile on her face.

“I have no idea what that is,” he said. ~But from her expression, it’s a good thing.~

“It’s an orange liqueur we have on Earth. It’s sweet and citrusy and very strong. Just like you.”

“Oh. Well,” he looked down the corridor, his door stood not far away and the thought of what they would do when through that door distracted him, “When Homeworlders become aroused, we, ahh…”

“Are you embarrassed?” Amy asked. He looked at her, and in her eyes rested a twinkle of merriment.

He smiled back at her, enjoying the subtle teasing. “No, it’s just I’ve never needed to talk about it before. It’s a pheromone we give off. It doesn’t happen that often. I don’t notice it like you do.”

“I’ve smelled it before, you know,” she said in a husky voice.

“You have? When?”

“In the training room,” she said, rubbing her hand on his side as they walked together, “when you had me pressed to the mats.”

“Oh.” An idea made it through the fog of sensation. “Would you like to know what you smell like to me?”

Amy blinked at him, her brow crinkling.

“In the high equatorial mountains of Homeworld, there is a very rare plant that grows above the snowline. It grows slowly, taking decades to become more than just a few silver leaves and twigs.

“It only grows to knee-height, and once in its life produces a spray of flowers like your Carillion. On the summer solstice, under the light of the three moons, when the wind blows gently down the mountain slopes, they open.

“They might wait for years for conditions to be just right.

“When they open, their heavenly scent draws the pollen gatherers from the lowlands to brave the mountain winds and icy conditions to find the source, even though for many it means their deaths.”

He stopped outside his door and looked deeply into her eyes, “It is the mountain moonflower. Rare, powerful and precious. That is what you smell like to me, Amy Maria Costello, and I will never forget it.”

“I really smell like the moonflower?” she asked, looking up at him with her intoxicating dark eyes.

“You really do,” he whispered, leaning in and kissing her again.

Amy put both her arms around his shoulders, and he straightened, picking her up easily. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he gripped her thighs.

“Open,” he mumbled to the door, which obediently slid back.

He stepped inside and turned, pressing her against the wall, his hungry kisses taking away her breath, and her rapid heartbeat loud in his ears.

“Any more open, and I’ll dislocate a hip,” Amy breathed at him.

He backed off slightly, and she gripped his hair. “I didn’t tell you to stop,” she said.

He grinned and kissed her again, feeling her tongue against his, and he pressed his body against hers.

He ran his hands up her thighs, feeling the synthweave beneath his gloves, and ~needed~ to feel her soft skin beneath his hands. He stepped back off the wall, and she squeaked as he spun toward the bed.

He moved his hands toward her knees, pushing them gently so her legs straightened until she stood on the end of the bed.

Lips still locked, he pulled off the force projectors and gloves as Amy tugged at the thick leather long coat, trying to get the material to slide over his shoulders.

He broke the kiss and, looking directly into her eyes, whispered, “Kasana and I have one thing in common.”

She looked confused until he took the fabric on each side of the slit dress and pulled it apart, tearing the seam open until the rip ended at the neckline and her dress sprang open. “We both wanted to tear your dress off.”

He moved in again to kiss her and felt her hand on his lips. He opened his eyes and she was frowning at him. “You really aren’t very experienced with women.”

“What?”

“Oh, you poor little innocent. Tearing my dress open, okay that’s hot,” she said, stepping back and shrugging her shoulders until the black material slid from her arms, revealing the black corset she wore underneath.

He could not take his eyes from her figure as she put her hands on her hips. “But never mention another woman. If you’re here, you’re thinking only of me, because that’s what I’m doing with you.”

“I’m sorry, I—”

She held up her hand, and he stopped, his heart pounding at the thought he might have ruined everything.

“That’s lesson one, Chatra,” she said with a grin, before giving him a look that almost stopped his heart. “Now, take off that armor, slowly, and come kiss me.”

He laughed at her use of old Homeworlder. ~Honored student, how appropriate.~

He took off his armor as instructed and gave the formal student bow. “I hear and obey, honored teacher. I am so looking forward to our lessons.”

“Me too,” Amy said, stepping forward into his outstretched arms and giving him a searing kiss. “Because the next lesson involves getting me out of these skintight pants.”