by Petra Landon
He held his palm out to her. “Please.”
Sila dug into the little pouch on her belt for the tiny device she had wrapped in one of the ties she used for her hair. He strode to the desk and Sila watched as an invisible tray slid out of the wall like before. He chose an object to fiddle with it briefly, before the tray slid silently back into its hiding place. When he turned back to her, he had the tiny device strung on a chain like before. In a scene reminiscent of their parting on Keeyor 9, Sila moved towards him. Her eyes heavy with memories, she swept her hair to one side and offered him her nape in unspoken invitation. He did not fumble this time. Hooking the chain carefully on her neck, he turned her around to face him, his hands on her shoulders.
“Promise me that you will never take this off” he said seriously. “It has a water-repellant casing, so you can even take a hydro shower with it.”
“I promise” she acceded immediately at his unusual gravity.
He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her response.
“Would you like to eat something?” he offered, gesturing at the Food Synthesizer.
She ordered something familiar off the menu. Having spent months on an Alliance station where the food on offer was mostly synthesized, Sila had become proficient at operating Synthesizers. The Star Captain surprised her by asking her to pick something from the menu for him to try. They ate companionably at the desk, though Sila cast a few puzzled glances at the food before him.
“With a mixed crew on the Juntafeyore and the Henia, both ships have had to adapt to accommodate the others” he explained.
“The Henia maintains its temperature a little warmer than before and Zoran’s ship is kept a little colder. We wear their uniforms to serve aboard the Juntafeyore and they wear cold weather attire aboard our starship. We have Synthesizers installed to feed the Hadari’Kor and our warriors are starting to eat a little of their food when they live aboard their ship.”
“Your adaptation allows this?” Sila asked.
“Yes. Historically, only Space Force warriors used this particular adaptation since they spent so much of their time on a starship with limited food options. But as the food crunch has gotten worse on our world, everyone was forced to exploit this adaption. Thanks to the Terran crops and Elder Arturo and your efforts, there will soon be more food for Ur’Qia. Hopefully, most will revert back to not using the adaptation like before, once a steady supply of food becomes available.”
Sila glanced at his scarcely eaten meal. “Do you like the meals from the Synthesizer?”
He shrugged. “I’m getting used to it. Our food is blander than most of your preparations.”
Sila, who remembered the blandness of the colorful cubes of food he had shared with her in his rest-chamber, assimilated the information. The Ur’quay were far from home and learning the ways of what was likely to be their new abode for a while. Sila, for one, was impressed by the Star Captain’s ability and willingness to adapt to his alien environment.
“Is the mixed crew proving a success?” she inquired, curious at the experiment. She knew that both starships had been working together on a task for Commander Kerovac.
“It is” he affirmed. “The Hadari’Kor have been invaluable” he acknowledged quietly.
As Sila looked interested, he expanded. “If the Ur’quay are to survive here for the long term, they must learn to adapt to the local conditions and traditions. In Sector Araloka, the Hadari’Kor are the closest to our temperament, Sseela. My warriors are discovering that there is much we can learn from the Hadari’Kor who have fought all over the sector and on many different worlds.”
Over the next few days, they fell into a pattern where Sila and the Star Captain spent most of their free time together. At first, they spent it aboard the Henia. But with Commander Jolar’s assistance with logistics, Sila also spent some of her time in the chamber assigned to the Star Captain on the Juntafeyore. The Ur’quay aboard the Henia got accustomed to the Ambassador at all times of the day in the company of their Captain. Sila was able to successfully add a couple of planets to the growing list of worlds willing to trade food with the Ur’quay, in the guise of the Alliance. Representative Malontan arranged to have ships drop off communication equipment to these worlds to help Sila with the transactions. Mentored on the fine details by an Elder Arturo reveling in his new role and guided by the Star Captain on the bigger picture, Sila was kept busy. She still held her sculpting classes twice a week and practiced with the Examiner device every chance she got. The Star Captain configured more exercises on the device for her, as she slowly and steadily climbed up the level of difficulty in her tests. Barring the occasional evening when the Star Captain was kept busy with business, they spent their evenings together.
“How is your rest-chamber shielded, Star Captain?” Sila asked idly one evening while they relaxed on the Henia.
She lay on her stomach with her face cupped and held up on her hands, to face the Star Captain who lay on his back with his head cradled on one arm. Her bright hair streamed around her, his fingers playing idly with the ends. Having observed his fascination with her hair, Sila now made sure to wear it down when she came to see him. Usually, it never took him much time to get rid of the hair tie on some pretext, once they were alone.
“An artificial alloy, we developed eons ago, is interspersed with the material used to build this chamber. This alloy can lie dormant until enabled by a small electrical charge. Once enabled, the alloy comes alive to change the structural composition of the materials. No thoughts can then seep through in either direction. It is a privilege accorded only to senior officers of the Space Force.”
“You never enabled the shield before me?”
“No. That is how I was able to hear you the first time from the holding cell – while I slept in my rest-chamber.”
“I love your hair” he remarked suddenly, his eyes narrowed on a reddish lock that slid though his webbed palm.
“I think yours is gorgeous” Sila remarked shyly.
His eyes snapped up to meet her green ones, surprise in them.
“That first time in your rest-chamber” she said, a tad bashfully. “I remember being awed when you undid the braid to let it flow around your shoulders.”
His lips quirked. “I’m glad it found favor. I thought I was showing off to an unappreciative audience.”
Sila bit her lips to suppress her laughter. He had a wicked sense of humor when he let it loose. Ever so often now, he allowed her to see it.
“Do all Ur’quay males grow their hair?” she asked, her eyes on his.
“Warriors do. Hair in our culture signifies a warrior’s honor. In the old days, defeated warriors would cut off their braids and hand it to the victor as the spoils of war. Many warriors would die rather than cut their hair.”
He cut his to buy me passage home.
“It was the honorable thing to do” he remarked, his eyes candid. “My starship should never have captured you, Sseela. Though I cannot regret it much for we would never have met otherwise.”
That certainly was the truth. On her rural planet, she would never have an opportunity to meet an Ur’quay warrior fighting for the Alliance.
He shifted position subtly on the narrow Ur’quay bed, drawing her attention to the play of muscles. Sila watched him covertly, noting that his skin seemed flushed a little. Not noticeably, but she could sense his slight discomfort.
“Is the chamber warmer because the Henia is kept less cold for the Hadari’Kor serving on it?” she asked.
“The Henia is little warmer than before, but the Hadari’Kor aboard still require cold weather attire. The chamber’s controls are separate from the Henia’s.”
The temperature in here was just right for Sila in her dress. But everywhere else on the starship, she always needed the extra warmth of the silver cloak he’d gifted her.
“I keep it warm for you” he explained.
“But what about you?” she asked anxiously, her eyes on his flushed skin.
“M
y body can adapt a lot more easily than yours, Sseela” he said, echoing his words from their first time together. “I wear the Hadari’Kor uniform to make it easier.”
Sila stared at him wordlessly. This was one of the first things she’d noted about this big warrior – his watchfulness about her discomfort and his straightforward fixes for them. His care was ever present, but always low-key and without fuss.
“I hear there is to be a big party on the station tomorrow to celebrate the new pact between the Alliance and the Budheya rebels” Zh’hir spoke into the silence.
Sila looked taken aback by his knowledge of station affairs.
“Zoran” he explained briefly. “The Facility Commander invited him to the celebration.”
Zoran was probably the one person who should not miss this particular celebration for his part in bringing about the new collaboration, Zh’hir knew. Not that many people at the event would ever know of the role the mercenary had played in bringing the accord to fruition.
Sila sighed wistfully. “I wish you could come, Star Captain.”
“Come and stay the night with me tomorrow, little Terran” he cajoled her, the gold eyes warm. “I can live with it if I know that no matter how many on the station pursue you, at the end of the evening it is me you will come home to.”
Sila flushed at the look in his eyes.
How does he know about the others on the station? Can he read it from me?
“I know” he admitted brusquely, his eyes intent on her.
“There’s a strange rumor doing the rounds of the station.” Sila rushed into hurried speech, flustered by the possessive look in the gold eyes he did not attempt to hide.
He arched his eyebrow in silent inquiry.
“It is about my friend Saakshi.”
“Saakshi of Budheyasta.”
“Yes, Saakshi” she repeated, a little puzzled by how he referred to her friend. “The station is buzzing about a merc dogging her heels. I’ve noticed no new Hadari’Kor on the station in the last few days, and as far as I know, the Juntafeyore is the only ship that has docked here in that time” she mused aloud.
The Star Captain almost choked at her artless words. Good for Zoran! The Hadari’Kor Captain had sorted out whatever was troubling him, to go after what he wanted. His advice had not been disregarded, Zh’hir reflected with satisfaction.
“Does this pursuit of your friend worry you?” he asked Sila, to distract her from the concern he sensed in her. She’d find out soon enough who the Hadari’Kor mercenary pursuing her friend was.
“Not exactly. It’s just that I want to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Saakshi is not like other girls. Her eyes get this haunted look sometimes that makes me feel protective of her.”
“Have you asked her about the Hadari’Kor?” he asked gently, not wanting her to worry about her friend.
“I haven’t had a chance yet. She’s been busy in the evenings with a new job and I’ve been spending time with you. I’m hoping we get to chat tomorrow at the celebration.”
The next night, Sila strode eagerly into the guest chamber that the Star Captain used on the Juntafeyore, agog with news from the celebration. It had been fun to catch up with her Hadari’Kor friends, but what she really wanted to share with him was the astonishing revelation from the evening.
She perched on the edge of the bed to take off her delicate, high-heeled sandals. Her feet pinched from being in them the entire evening.
The starfarer’s gold eyes took in the gossamer gown, deceptively simple in its cut, that moved with her body and the burnished curls piled on top of her head, her only jewelry the thin chain with the communication abettor around her neck.
“You will not believe who the Hadari’Kor pursuing Saakshi is, Star Captain” she announced impetuously, bending down to massage her sore heel.
Zh’hir came down gracefully on his haunches, to take her foot in his webbed hands. He was fighting a grin and bent his head to hide it.
“Allow me” he said, when Sila hesitated at his touch on her foot.
Sila let go without protest, to focus on imparting her astonishing news.
“It is Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor. Your friend Zoran!” she explained, clearly gobsmacked by it.
“Hmm” Zh’hir murmured encouragingly, placing her small foot on his bent knee.
“Saakshi was a rebel imprisoned by the Imperial Forces on Budheyasta. The Ketaari sold her prison contract and she ended up working in an alehouse on Keeyor 9 Trade Sphere” she continued, her tone inviting him to be surprised at all the coincidences and revelations in the story.
The Star Captain nodded encouragingly while he rubbed this thumb carefully on the foot to massage it.
“Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor was a customer of the alehouse she worked at. She approached him for assistance when she found herself in trouble with a Ketaari officer on the station. The Captain smuggled her behind Alliance lines, to prevent the Empire from imprisoning her again.”
“Star Captain” she amended breathlessly. “I believe he got her the job on this station. And her Alliance citizenship.”
Zh’hir placed her foot back on the ground, to switch to the other.
“All of this was news to me. But do you know what the biggest surprise of the evening was?” She paused dramatically.
He shook his head without looking up from his labors on her foot.
“Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor is responsible for this new coalition between the Budheya rebels and the Alliance, with the Hadari’Kor training them to fight more effectively. Now, I finally understand why you and he go to Budheyasta” she finished, leaving the Star Captain in no doubt about how much this particular bit of news had surprised her.
Zh’hir sensed her expectant gaze on him. He placed her foot back on the ground, before looking up. His position as he knelt on the ground before her allowed her to meet his eyes.
“You …” she hesitated, incredulous again. “You’re not surprised! You knew this.”
The Star Captain said nothing, but a smile lurked in the depths of his eyes.
“Oh Goddess” Sila shrieked. “You knew! All this while, you knew everything. About Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor’s interest in Saakshi and his role in the new pact with the rebels!”
She raised one tiny fist to pummel him on his chest. In response, Zh’hir threw his head back to laugh with genuine amusement. As his laughter echoed in the chamber, Sila stopped her ineffectual pounding on him to stare at him in fascination. She had never seen him laugh like this — unfettered, unencumbered and unrestrained. It made him look years younger. And gave her occasional glimpses of the sharp canines on the sides of his mouth.
Zh’hir stopped, his laughing eyes tangling with hers. The look on his face was watchful.
“This is what scared you the first night in the holding cell. You thought I wanted you as my next meal” he said evenly.
Sila leaned forward to place both her hands on his shoulders, her eyes on his.
“I didn’t know you then. I had never been off planet. Never met any off-worlders, let alone a strange ship with legendary warriors I believed only existed in mythology. I was terrified.”
“And now?” he asked after a short pause.
“You are the one person in the universe I trust blindly with my life. I wish I’d known who you are. I would never have been frightened if I’d known the truth” she said simply from the heart, without guile or pretense.
His big palm came up to cup her face.
“You are sure?” he asked, his voice very soft.
Sila’s response was to nuzzle her face into his palm. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”
An image from the party this evening popped into her mind — Belur separating her from the raucous Hadari’Kor group from the Juntafeyore to talk to her privately.
“The Star Captain and you?” he’d asked bluntly, his eyes candid and sober.
Sila had confirmed it mutely, understanding exactly what he was asking. She
had flushed at the blunt inquiry, but her response had been instantaneous — no wavering, hesitation or even momentary uncertainty in confirming his suspicions.
Belur had raked her face with his dark eyes for a long moment.
“He’s a good male, Sila. But if he ever treats you any less than you deserve, you come to me. I’ll make sure the Star Captain gets the message” he’d said firmly and with utter confidence, the very certainty in his voice a sign of how seriously he meant his words.
Sila had smiled shyly, overwhelmed by his gesture. But his words had forced her to a realization. The Star Captain had been candid and direct about his feelings for her. His thoughtful alterations to his rest-chamber to adapt it to her needs and the introduction to his starship was his way of slowly drawing her into his other life. He was his usual impassive and politely aloof self in public with her. In private though, it was a very different matter. The mask seemed to drop just for her — the unself-conscious toying with her hair, the genuine interest in her likes and needs, the spontaneous opening up about himself and the palpable happiness at spending time with her. The big surprise had been how tactile he was with her when alone — so very different from their first stint at cohabitation on the Henia. Then, he had been scrupulous in letting her create her own space in his rest-chamber and had steered clear of any personal questions. His demeanor and behavior had been one of the reasons Sila had eventually relaxed in his presence. Much later on Terra Agri, Sila had pondered those twenty days spent with him, in an attempt to understand why she had felt so safe in sharing a chamber with a complete stranger — a member of an alien race that had kidnapped her from her world and one who could read her mind with ease. Her worries and anxiety had always been about her fate at the hands of his people, never about his intentions. Now, he was very different with her. He let her know that he couldn’t keep his hands off her, though he never pushed for anything more. Since that first night on the table in this chamber, he’d never attempted physical intimacy of any kind between them.
From the moment he had come to the station, Sila had known in her heart what this slow dance between them was all about — a relationship. Or as the Star Captain had declared bluntly — a future with him. She had been content at the pace, possibly because his declaration of giving her time to be very sure of what she wanted had weighed subconsciously on her mind. The slavers and its aftermath had made her unusually uncertain. But being asked so directly by Belur had made her face the question and realize how utterly sure she was of this new relationship they were attempting to forge. Perhaps, the Star Captain had been waiting for a sign from her, Sila mused.