by Jody Wallace
She’d chosen Kieran Sulien for him. He’d been Kash before, a name passed down through generations of his family meaning “one with the universe.” With his cryoborn gifts his family’s name choice had been more prescient than they could have ever imagined. Nisa chose Kieran because it meant ray of light. She said that was how she saw him. A light that showed her the way out of the darkness she’d lived in for so long. And Sulien meant sunborn. She figured if she was a star so was he, but using the Sol name for star instead.
“I know this isn’t the usual kind of stuff Nisa does,” Adira continued before he was permanently lost in memories. “And there is zero profit in it because everyone is working on this for free. But it may mean the difference between all of us living on nutritional supplements for years and eventually running out, or having a robust plant product to at least create those supplements.”
“And entire ag planet populations living or dying,” Kieran finished for her. “We’ll do it,” he said, knowing Nisa wouldn’t be that hard to convince. Though she certainly preferred profitable runs, she’d taken many charitable causes on over the past six years. However, she preferred to keep the charitable part of her business a secret.
“What’s the timeline for us to get going?” he asked.
“Tomorrow, if possible. Discordja-C is still sending us information as to what they need her to bring and where to meet. Nisa is to meet up with an old friend you both know, Stambuli.”
“Stambuli is working on the vaccine?” Kieran remembered her fondly. She was the medic on board the Phoenix when he had stowed away with his two children. She was the one who safely brought his children out of cryosleep. Her attention to Z-Huang probably saved her life. No one had previously encountered a six-month-old baby held in cryosleep for decades.
Adira smiled broadly. “How could she not? You know how Stambuli is. She’s one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met.”
“That might be just what will give Nisa the extra boost to take this on. She has a soft spot for Stambuli.”
Adira held up her p-tab. “Let me transfer the coordinates on Discordja-C where Stambuli and the other researchers are working on the vaccine. I’m sorry she has to leave again so soon.”
“Me too.” Kieran looked away. She deserved a break and he deserved to have time with her. But the universe didn’t care about their needs.
“I’ll leave you two alone for what time you have left,” Adira said. “Again, sorry.” She turned and left.
Kieran quietly opened the door and slipped back into the room. She was sound asleep, stretched out at a diagonal taking up both sides of the bed. The sheet covered her completely, but he could still see the shape of her magnificent body—petite but strong. He’d missed her so much more with this last trip.
He watched her breathe, her chest moving up and down beneath the sheets. Good, strong breaths. Her strength helped him sleep at night when she was away on her deliveries. He trusted she could get herself out of most bad situations.
But that same strength was also her weakness. She always had to be the strong one. She had a hard time leaning on any one, even him. And he feared that one day that inability to let others help, or even lead, would be her undoing.
He was proud of her and the reputation she had in the galaxy—strong, dependable, and a tough negotiator. She’d earned that long before they met.
Nisa’s motto had always been to take on the most dangerous deliveries because they made the highest profit. And she had done it by being the rare trader to hazard the trip to the hot planets still burning from the Oblivion War q-bombs. She had no problem jumping through multiple wormholes to keep trackers off her tail. She’d even sacrificed herself and her freedom, and become Hellebor’s slave once more, to save Kieran and his children.
She was a lot more than any vid hero. She was the real thing, in the flesh.
As there wouldn’t be much danger in making these deliveries, maybe it was the right time for him and the children to travel with her. Eijaz and Z-Huang would reinforce his teachings that there were many things more important than profit. They could be part of doing something to help save Rim colonies and they’d get the exposure to new worlds and cultures that he wanted them to have.
He sighed. Sure. She’d never allow that to happen.
* * *
When Nisa awoke to Kieran’s delivery of breakfast in bed, she truly wished she didn’t have to leave so soon. But, there was nothing to be done about that. She’d spend the day re-packing and spend as much time as she could with Kieran and the children before leaving early tomorrow morning.
“I have a proposition,” Kieran said as she finished the last of the fruit slices he’d prepared for her.
She smiled. “Ooooo, you know I love your propositions.”
He chuckled. “It’s not that kind of proposition, but I’ll make up for it later.”
“As this is just ten days of easy deliveries, I thought it could be the perfect time for the whole family to go with you.”
Her heart clenched for a moment. “All of you? The children, too?”
“Yes, the children, too. They need to be with you as much as I do, and it’s a great time for them to learn about the realities of living in space beyond a one day excursion. I think you’ll find Eijaz and Z-Huang won’t get underfoot. They can actually be useful. They can do regular chores like the cleaning. You already know Z-Huang has some amazing cooking skills, even though she’s only seven in Raeaa yearunits. Now that Eijaz is entering his eighth rank in lessons, he’s already aced several piloting simulations and he’s several years beyond his school ranking for research of the interstellar databases. It’s perfect timing for both of them to do their studies virtually.”
She wanted to get up and pace the room to disspell the unquiet energy. Instead she kept herself perfectly still. Her pulse raced and she felt as if the room was getting smaller. She knew that most families would think this was a natural fit, but…she’d never planned for children to be part of her work life.
She wasn’t the motherly type. Though she’d grown to love Eijaz and Z-Huang, she’d never be like Kieran’s deceased wife. She’d never considered children would be a part of her life and therefore she’d never considered accommodating them. They’d be underfoot, making crazy noises and asking questions. Her trips around the galaxy were not designed with children in mind.
“Nisa?” Kieran asked. “If you’d prefer us not to come, you can say it. It’s your ship. You have the right to say yes or no.”
“Why now?” she asked. “Why not wait until they’re adults?” She knew she was probably putting off the inevitable. She just couldn’t take it in right now.
“Most families take long excursions together and start training the children around age ten to participate in ship life. In our case, this is our business.”
“My business,” she corrected him, then felt bad about it. They’d never really talked about a shared business, though he often helped with planning and was always there for support when she came home.
“Your right. It is your business,” he said softly. “We are not trying to take over.”
“I know,” she matched his soft voice. She swallowed hard.
“We miss you. We want to be with you more often. I thought this would be an easy way to test if we can live together aboard ship and help with the delivery business as a family. This is the perfect situation because it’s not at all dangerous. It’s a mission that helps others—quick, simple deliveries to grateful colonists. If it doesn’t work, then we’ll know it’s not something we can share as a family.”
She wanted to say no. She wanted to say it was too early. Children didn’t belong on starships. They belonged on a nice safe planet with friends and parents who doted on their every accomplishment. That was the problem, she just wasn’t that kind of parent.
She blew out a big breath. “Okay. I’ll do it. It sounds like some really quick jumps to six planets. Maybe a total of twelve days at the mos
t. I can handle the kids on my ship for twelve days.”
Kieran hugged her tight and feathered a few light kisses across her lips. “Thanks. That means the world to me; and the children will be ecstatic for this opportunity.”
“I know. It’s just that my travels around the galaxy is my time. Time for being me without any need to try to be different or to think about what kind of role model I am for young children.”
“You don’t have to be different to be a good model to the children,” Kieran reiterated as usual. “You are fine just the way you are—a strong woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. You’re a great model of someone who can fend for herself but is also smart enough to know when to ask for help. What more would I want for them?”
She shook her head in denial but didn’t respond. They’d had this discussion repeatedly. She was a loner. She’d always been that way. She liked it that way. She was selfish, rarely thought of the children when she was away from Raeaa. She did love Kieran and the children, even more than she could express. But if she were a good mother, she wouldn’t enjoy being away so much. She wouldn’t lose track of what was going on with them.
A held breath whistled between her teeth. Eight years was a long time for her to be in a relationship. Usually she didn’t get past six months. She feared that one day Kieran would finally realize she’d never be what he really wanted and that would be the end of everything. Then what would she do? She didn’t know if she could survive that kind of rejection.
Kieran moved the breakfast tray off the bed and then stripped and crawled in beside her. He gathered her into his chest and traced slow circles on her back. “Being on the ship together for longer than a few days will also give us more of our time.”
“Where will you take me this time?” she asked as the buzz of electricity zinged along her skin. “Let’s go somewhere we can’t jump. I’ve been all around the galaxy so many times, I want to see something special. Something that’s just for us. Something that no one else sees.”
He rolled her underneath him and rained kisses down her throat, across her shoulders. He untied the wrap she wore during breakfast and worked his kisses across her breasts and down her stomach. “Skin to skin,” he whispered. “I’ll help you go beyond the Rim.”
The flash of light pushed the history of the universe into her mind and she rose to meet him as it swirled around them. In only a few nanoseconds she knew what had come before. They remained still for a moment—neither moving, just enjoying the intimacy of being of one mind and one body. Time stretched until it was so taut, if they didn’t move they might be caught in that one moment forever.
Nisa luxuriated in that moment. This was the time she always felt the most free, the most willing to let her true self be known—not only to Kieran but to herself. Then she felt him moving, pushing her forward and she knew she had to move, too. She responded and the universe flashed bright again as they moved into the future. She could see beyond the Rim into the deep dark, and as they pushed forward new galaxies and worlds opened to them, ones they might never see in real life.
All the possibilities displayed at once as thousands of different strands, each with connections to every part of their past and their present. Some of the strands included the children, while others did not. Some of the strands didn’t include Kieran and a few didn’t include Nisa.
Not wanting to remain in the chaos of choices she pushed him faster and faster, harder and harder. As he responded to her urgency, they retreated from the other galaxies, back through the deep dark and finally into the present for one penetrating moment. Then he released them both into a languorous stable field of stars. She recognized them as their own Salty Way galaxy. She snuggled into him and they fell asleep once more.
https://maggielynch.com/magnetism/
Also By Jody Wallace
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Cat Ship Series
Catalyst
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Tarakona and Magic, NM
Silver Bound
Silver Unleashed (DB Sieders)
Red at Night
Red in the Morning (DB Sieders)
Gold Rush
Gold Fever (DB Sieders)
Blue Streak (DB Sieders)
Blue Guard
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Fantasy, SF and Paranormal Romance
Angeli (Maelstrom 1)
Traitor (Maelstrom 2)
Prodigal (Maelstrom 3)
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Tangible (DreamWalker 1)
Disciple (DreamWalker 2)
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Survival of the Fairest (Realm 1)
1000 Kisses (Realm 2)
Liam’s Gold (Realm Novella)
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Pack and Coven (Shifter 1)
Witch Interrupted (Shifter 2)
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Earthbound Passion (Adventures of Mari Shu 1)
Martian Conquest (Adventures of Mari Shu 2)
Far Galaxies (Adventures of Mari Shu 3)