Gate Quest (Star Kingdom Book 5)

by Lindsay Buroker

  “Over here?” Asger waved at the airlock. “To see you.”

  “Oh?” Did she look puzzled? Or intrigued?

  He couldn’t tell. “We didn’t get to exchange more than a few words down on that moon. Shoot that. Watch out. Don’t let the ceiling fall on you.”

  “It is hard to have long chats while in combat.”

  “I wanted to let you know that I… appreciated fighting alongside you more than I did with Rache.”

  “So I’m better than an infamous villain?”

  “Much more so, yes.”

  “I’m relieved. But I’m a little sad that the fighting was mostly over by the time I got there.” Her ears rotated and the tips drooped slightly. “It sounded like you saw a lot more.”

  “Maybe we’ll get to fight together again sometime soon. A longer battle. Against determinedly bad, bad guys.” After the way things had ended, Asger wasn’t positive he considered the astroshamans bad. They’d been competitors after the same goal. A goal that was now flying off in dozens of directions with everyone happy, or maybe everyone equally unhappy. He didn’t know.

  “I’d like that.” Qin smiled shyly and looked at his chest instead of his eyes. “But you’re going back to Odin now, and we’re going… I don’t even know yet. To deliver that cargo Viggo picked up, I guess.”

  “The cargo is heading to Sultan Shayban in System Stymphalia,” Viggo announced. “It’s full of food and medical supplies. Perhaps the sultan believes a war is coming, which would mean plenty of opportunities to fight.”

  “Yes, but Bonita wouldn’t sign us up for someone else’s war.”

  “Unless Johnny Twelve Toes entices her to,” Viggo said. “I assume she is having coitus with him presently, since she hasn’t returned to the ship.”

  “Who?” Asger didn’t know anybody by that name, certainly nobody that would be on the Osprey.

  “Er, that’s the name he first gave us,” Qin said. “He was undercover working for the Drucker pirates. Didn’t he tell you the story?”

  Asger almost asked who again, but his spine stiffened before his conscious brain caught up. His body and gut knew first. Bjarke Asger. His father.

  “No, we haven’t spoken except for what you saw down on the moon. We’re not—” Asger shrugged, “—close.”

  “I kind of gathered that.” Qin drew her hands out from behind her back and reached toward him, but she glanced at her claws and lowered her hands to her side instead.

  He frowned. She wasn’t ashamed of those claws, was she? She decorated them. They seemed a source of pride or at least something she wanted to show off. Or maybe that was her way of making her friends believe they were more innocuous than they were?

  Maybe he hadn’t helped anything by jerking his hands away earlier. He’d been surprised by the reminder of Viggo’s presence, not by her claws.

  He reached down and clasped both of her hands. Her eyebrows rose, her gaze meeting his briefly before she lowered it again, but she didn’t object to the grip.

  “Whatever he said, it wasn’t true. I mean, it probably was true, but it was stuff from when I was younger. Younger and angrier and before I started reading philosophy and psychology and trying to figure out what it really means to be a knight. And why I can’t stop thinking about things and rethinking about them, and just live a normal life instead of always being wrapped up in my own head.”

  This time, her eyebrows drew together in a frown—or maybe that was confusion. Probably the latter. Hell, he’d confused himself.

  “So there is a calendar out there of sixteen-year-old you? Naked in all of the photos?”

  Asger groaned. His father had told her that?

  Her eyes crinkled, and she smiled, the expression very human and mischievous.

  “My mother was dead, my father was always gone, and there was nobody around to talk to except the grumpy knight who only grudgingly took me on as a squire as a favor to my father. All he ever did was judge me. I was just… I don’t know. I wanted someone to want me. And maybe to show off a bit, since I was starting to look like a real bodybuilder about then, and see if it would help me lose my—uhm, get women.” He released one of her hands to rub his face, hardly able to believe he was talking about this with her. “It was a long time ago. Eight years.”

  “But you still do calendars. Do you still need to be wanted?”

  He snorted. “More than ever.”

  “Really?” She tilted her head curiously.

  “I mean, not by women. I can get that. Them.” Why were his cheeks so hot? Was the ship’s temperature set too high? “Random women anyway. But not proper noblewomen, since there was some scandal around those early calendars, and I’ve got a reputation around the capital now. The women who want me mostly just want to see what it’s like to have sex with a knight.”

  Sex. Coitus. Viggo’s words returned to his mind. Was Bonita having sex with his father?

  Asger might have fallen over if he hadn’t been gripping Qin’s hands. That was so… disgusting. They were both old. And she was a bounty hunter, and he was supposed to be a nobleman, but who knew what he was with those garish tattoos? How was it even possible that Asger was the embarrassing one in the family? Was his father going to show up back on Odin like that? And with Bonita in his lap?

  “You look really distressed about that,” Qin said.

  “Sorry, no.” What had he been saying? “I was thinking about something else. Just ignore me. I’m whining anyway. At least I had a family when I was growing up. I know you had… well, I don’t know exactly what you had. If you want to talk about it, you can.”

  “Thanks, but I’m more curious about you. I’m enjoying this sharing.” Her eyes crinkled again.

  “You are?” He was embarrassed by his babbling. He never talked about these things to anyone. Who would he tell?

  “And curious about that original calendar.”

  He snorted. “Why? You want to see me naked?”

  She looked down at their clasped hands, or maybe the deck. “Not if you think that’s weird. Or I’m weird. It’s not like I’m some lady a knight is supposed to protect and…”

  The gentle hum of the ship’s vents and engines grew noticeable in the silence, and it slowly dawned on Asger that Qin liked him. Even though he’d attacked her and called her a freak when they first met.

  He swallowed, not sure what to do with that information. It wasn’t as if they could have a relationship, go back to Odin, get married, and have kids. He almost choked at the thought. But some animalistic part of him couldn’t help but imagine what having sex with a woman with claws and fangs would be like. Exhilarating, he was sure.

  No, damn it; he would never be like those pirates. He wouldn’t have sex with someone just because it might be different and interesting. If they had sex, it should be because she was Qin, and he liked Qin. And he did like her. But he didn’t think he liked her in a romantic way. Until a few minutes ago, he hadn’t even considered… whatever it was he was considering now.

  Only when she looked up warily did he realize how silent he was being and how many seconds—minutes?—had passed since she’d trailed off.

  “You don’t have to answer that.” She squeezed his hands and smiled, even though it was a sad I-know-I’m-not-good-enough smile that made his heart ache and made him want to fix things for her. “Never mind. It wasn’t even a question. And we probably aren’t going to even see each other again, at least not anytime soon. But I’m glad I met you. A real knight.” Her smile grew warmer. “And for what it’s worth, I think you’re a much better knight than your father.”

  Those words stunned him—nobody had ever said that—and as they sank in, like the warmth of the sun after a long winter, he stepped forward and kissed Qin.

  She was startled at first and stood there like a stick, and he feared he’d misjudged her signals—misjudged everything—but then she returned the kiss with enthusiasm. She wrapped her arms around him with strength that he’d never known in a wom
an, but the soft breasts pressing against his chest left no doubt as to her sex. He slid his arms around her back and then down, exploring her curves. Yes, she was all woman.

  William, a message popped up on his contact from a man who hadn’t sent a message to his chip in years. Come to Ishii’s office. We have new orders. War has broken out in System Lion, and we can’t go home.

  Asger wanted to ignore the message and keep doing exactly what he was doing, and he might have if not for that last sentence. He pulled back from Qin, stunned, and re-read it to make sure he’d gotten it right.

  War. War at home? In their own system?

  There had been talk of it for months, but nobody had thought someone would attack the Kingdom in System Lion. It had always been assumed that Jager was the aggressor, that Jager would act, sending the Fleet out elsewhere to conquer and acquire new domains for the Kingdom.

  “I have to go.” Asger released Qin and stepped back, half turning before he realized she might think he was rejecting her. “Not because of you,” he blurted to her surprised expression. “My father said we have new orders. That war broke out. I have to find out what’s going on.”

  Qin blinked, looking as startled as he, but nodded. “I understand.”

  Asger ran back to the Osprey, wondering if he would see her again.

  Epilogue

  Casmir woke up and felt about as refreshed as roadkill on the mag-rails back home, but he was in his bunk in his cabin and not in sickbay, so he decided that made his morning lovely, no matter that his eyelashes were crusted with hard gunk and his head throbbed. The only thing better would have been waking up in his house on Odin with the sun beaming in the window. But something almost as good greeted him: a puzzle.

  The puzzle was in the form of Zee standing next to his bed with three purple flowers in his hand, a blue-and-green plaid beanie on his head, and a gold tie that Casmir was fairly certain had been improvised from a soldier’s dress uniform sash.

  “This is not your usual uniform, Zee,” Casmir said, his voice cracking. He found the water bottle in its holder attached to the wall by the bunk and took a sip while considering the flowers. They appeared to be real and freshly cut.

  “I do not have a usual uniform, Casmir Dabrowski. You made me naked.”

  “Yes, I thought crushers should come into the world—the universe—the same way that people do.”

  “This is logical. Also, clothes would make it difficult when I shift forms.”

  “Yes. But you’ve decided to don some… clothes today. What’s the reason?”

  “Now that we are heading home, you will soon make me a mate.”

  Casmir wasn’t sure that solved the puzzle of the flowers and clothing, but he smiled, reminded that they were going home. He couldn’t wait to give everybody a hug.

  His family would be bewildered since they, if he had his way, wouldn’t hear about his Great Plague experience until he told them. If he told them. By the time the weeks of travel were over, he should be feeling much better, and he hoped his splotches would be gone so Oku wouldn’t think he looked weirder than usual. Should he be lucky enough to wrangle an in-person meeting with her. After all the videos they had exchanged, he thought she would agree to a coffee date without the pretext of him carrying Kim’s specimen case as the three of them met to speak about bees.

  “So you’re practicing being romantic for her? Do you want a her? Tork is a male android, and you’re rather ambiguous, but we could attempt to give her female attributes when she’s in her natural state.” Casmir imagined the military researchers he’d worked with to create the original crushers, and could envision expressions of horror at a version of their killer robot with boobs.

  “It is not important that my mate have a sex or gender. Neither the biological reproductive need nor the human social construct applies to crushers.”

  “This is true.”

  “Also, I am here with the flowers for you. More specifically, for your future mate.”

  “My future mate?” Casmir touched his chest.

  “The female with the dog videos that you showed me. Many times.”

  “Ohhh. Princess Oku. She’s not my—I mean, I’d like to ask her on a date, but I’m still trying to figure out… We’ve technically only met twice, you know.” Casmir decided he couldn’t count the various messages and videos that they’d sent back and forth, their number sadly lessened by the time lag of communicating between different star systems, as meetings.

  “She is your future mate,” Zee stated.

  “You have faith in my ability to woo a woman?” Casmir was positive he hadn’t programmed such faith into Zee, and even though Zee had the ability to learn, Casmir couldn’t imagine he’d done anything to teach him that he had lady-wooing abilities.

  “You turned the female humans President Nguyen and High Shaman Moonrazor from enemies to allies. Is this not indicative of your ability as a male to attract a female?”

  “Uhm, not really. The president is married, and Moonrazor is… er, leads a cult. And is old.”

  “She kissed you.”

  “That wasn’t a sign of affection. It was…”

  Hell, he didn’t know what it had been. Mostly a way to block Rache so he couldn’t shoot her, and maybe a bit of a game-well-played gesture. His own mother would have found him too disgusting to kiss down there, after he’d thrown up and been sweating all over the place. He’d been told the rash on his face had been worse then too.

  “Just don’t tell anyone about that kiss, please. Not Oku. Or my mother. Especially not my mother. She doesn’t want to put pressure on me, as she states frequently, but she would also love any kids I have to be good Jewish grandchildren. So I’d have to marry someone of my faith. Which Moonrazor definitely is not. She started her own faith. That’s not allowed in my religion.”

  “Is Princess Oku of your faith?”

  “Uhm. Probably… not. The royal family has always been Catholic, at least officially, though sometimes, people who marry into it start out as something else, like Queen Iku might have. And I think Jager is down somewhere as being an atheist, but he participates in the various religious holidays since it’s expected. Princess Oku is probably… I should ask. Shinto, maybe? That’s what Kim’s family is. But Kim thinks religion is a mass delusion used to manipulate populaces into moral and legal compliance through fear, so I don’t ask her opinions on, er, anything in that realm.” Casmir nibbled on his lip. “My mother might not object to a princess, simply on the grounds of that being pretty special. Nobility, you know? And I’m also getting older. She might be happy if I just found someone. Maybe I should tell her about the cult-leader possibility to make anyone else seem like a relief. Do you think so? Though maybe Oku would consider converting. It’s not that big of a deal for women. There’s not as much mandatory reading and testing as there is for men. No pesky circumcision to deal with… Maybe… I should see if she is willing to go out on a date with me first.”

  Casmir gazed at Zee, as if he might have great wisdom in this area.

  “That is a logical first step,” Zee said, “and why I have come so attired. Kim has suggested that you compose poetry for the princess and that it would be cute if I delivered it. While holding flowers.”

  “Kim suggested I compose poetry?”

  “Yes, but she also said it was unlikely you would do so, and as an alternative, suggested that math theorems or ancient poems translated into a programming language might win the heart of a science-minded princess.”

  Casmir wrinkled his nose. “I was thinking of sending her a list of comic books with dramatic protagonists who are scientists. I woke up to a few videos from her, and she mentioned seeing Elder Seeds from Elder Earth, and the villain who screwed everything up and almost ruined Odin was a crazy botanist. She took exception to that and pointed out all of the mad scientists portrayed as villains in literature, and noted how deplorable the trope is.”

  The door chime rang before Zee could answer. Perhaps that was j
ust as well.

  “Come in,” Casmir called.

  Kim strolled in with two coffee mugs.

  “Good morning, Casmir. You look horrific, but there’s color in your cheeks.” She set a coffee mug down on his bedside table, then sat at the desk chair with hers.

  “Horrific? Is that your professional medical assessment?”

  “It is.”

  “Do you have some bacteria that could fix me?”

  Her gaze drifted up past his forehead. “Part of the problem is that you slept with your head stuffed under a pillow, and your hair is sticking out in all directions.”

  “And there’s no bacteria for that? Disappointing.”

  “Have you looked in the mirror?”

  “No. I woke up and looked at Zee, and then I got distracted.”

  Kim eyed Zee’s beanie and smiled. “I can see why. Make sure you flatten that nest—” she waved at his hair, “—before you record any videos for Oku.”

  “How did you know I was thinking of that?” Then he remembered Zee’s attire had been her suggestion. And poetry, ugh.

  “You’re always thinking of that. How many have you recorded now?”

  “Not more than… seventeen.”

  “How many has she sent back?”

  He smiled a little smugly. “Sixteen.”

  Kim arched her eyebrows. “Really? That’s promising.”

  “You think so? I just got the last batch she sent, since I’ve been so busy—and sick—but the time stamp on the most recent one is over a week old. I was a little worried she’d… grown bored. But sometimes, the courier ships aren’t that reliable about jumping through the gates every day.”

  “Sixteen indicates some interest,” Kim said. “I was concerned she might have only sent a couple and that you were…”

  “Harassing her? Wasting her time? Making her wonder why she didn’t punt me out of the courtyard the first time I walked into the castle?”

  “On a vain quest.”

  “I’m not questing. I’m establishing a rapport.”

  “Casmir Dabrowski has expressed concern that Princess Oku is not of the proper faith,” Zee announced.