by A. K. DuBoff
He moved to Tiff and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her gently to his chest. In an instant, his stress and worries began to fade away. “You’re the only person I wanted to see after this disaster of a day.”
She hugged him back. “I’ve been anxious to hear what happened at Prisaris.”
He let his arms drop to his sides. “Suffice to say, we have confirmation of alien contact.”
“Shite.”
“Yeah, so that’s going to be a thing.”
“What kind of timeline?”
Jason shook his head. “Too soon to tell. There are some aspects of the situation that require more follow-up.”
“I take it you’re going to be busy?”
“More than likely. But tonight, you’re my focus.”
He led her to the bedroom and did his best to forget about everything related to the Rift and alien threat.
After years together, they could anticipate each other’s wants, even without the added benefits of telepathy. Since their first time, it had been a natural fit—far more satisfying than any of his high school flings on Earth. As their connection grew, they’d reached a level of familiarity and comfort where they instinctively knew what the other needed, beyond the expression of conscious desire. And, for a while, he was able to shed his responsibilities and burdens, relishing every moment with one of the people he cared about most in the world.
He was left feeling significantly better than he had earlier that evening. Still breathing heavily, he reached up to brush the hair out of Tiff’s face.
She beamed down at him, hands on his bare chest. “That was worth the wait.”
“When isn’t it?” He grinned.
“Such modesty.” She playfully rolled her eyes and slid off of him.
He pivoted his head to the side to face her. “I’m sorry for canceling the other night. You know how seriously Gil takes those dumb tournaments.”
“Like you don’t get into it yourself.”
“Competition is healthy,” he said in his own mock defense.
She patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it. I know there’s a lot of shite going on right now.”
“Things could escalate quickly,” Jason admitted, hoping to transition to a much-needed therapeutic discussion about his experience with Darin. “I’m not sure what that will mean for our usual schedule.”
Without responding, Tiff got up and began dressing.
“Going already?” One-and-done was a rarity for their get-togethers, except for the occasional daytime quickie. Not to mention their usual pillow-talk.
“I can’t stay.”
Though miffed she was bailing on him so early in the night, he couldn’t help admiring her figure from where he still lay in bed. When she caught him watching her, she raised her eyebrows. He took the hint to stop staring and get dressed himself.
“Thanks for coming over. I really needed this after the shit from the last couple of days,” he said while pulling on his own pants.
She shook her head and sighed. “You’re never going to learn how to swear properly are you?”
He smirked. “Some things never change.”
“I suppose they don’t.” Sudden solemnness edged her tone.
“Hey, is something wrong?”
Tiff slipped her shirt over her head. “Jason, what are we doing?” The look on her face was more serious than he’d ever seen her.
He was tempted to respond with a joke in his usual tension-diffusing fashion but thought better of it. “I take it you mean more than us getting dressed right now.”
Now there was sadness in her eyes. That was a first. She swallowed hard. “I think it’s time we end it.”
The words struck him like a physical blow to his chest and gut. Today, of all days?
He’d promised himself when the relationship began that he wouldn’t get attached, but obviously that had been an impossible pledge to keep after nine years together. He didn’t love her in the overwhelming infatuation sense he’d witnessed with his sister and her husband, or even between his parents, but he loved her as a close friend. A confidant. Someone he could come home to and be held after a rough day. They may never have formally dated, but they had formed a relationship that was much more than the arrangement for stress-relief sex the way it had begun. Subconsciously, he’d always known that their time together would have an expiration date. Except, he had thought he would have seen the end coming.
“I…” He struggled to find the right words. A major pillar in his support network was being knocked out from under him, and right at a time when he was about to need her the most. “Why?”
She sat down on the bed and placed her hands on her thighs. “It can’t go forward, and we can’t go forward ourselves so long as this is going on.”
There was too much truth in her statement to deny. Still, it was a low blow to end things so suddenly. “I can see where you’re coming from, but why now?”
“There’s a promotion opportunity—a posting at Alkeer Station. I was debating whether or not to take it, but all this new shite with the Rift means things are about to get even more complicated. I think it’s better I accept the reassignment so we can both be unencumbered for whatever comes.”
There it is. He sat down next to her. “Alkeer is a nice base.”
“It is. And people have normal lives there. Families.” She looked at him briefly and then tore her gaze away. “I know that would never be an option for us, but I don’t want to close off that possibility for myself.”
“Tiff, it’s not your—”
“Please, don’t,” she cut in. “I was well aware of the reality when I signed up for this. I know your family likes to pretend that they’re happy to date commoners, but not one of those was actually the case, as it turns out. I promise you, I’m not secretly a dynastic heiress.”
It hurt that she’d reduce their relationship to those terms. He’d been the fiercest defender of the TSS tenet that a person should be measured by their character and accomplishments, not their pedigree. To think that in their time together—the better part of a decade—she considered herself to be lesser than him turned his stomach. “Birthright really doesn’t matter. Especially not for me. I’m not in the succession line.” He tried to take her hand, but she pulled away.
“You’re still a Sietinen. And your grandparents are great people, but no matter what they say, they’re hoping you don’t end up with a salvage hauler rat like me.”
As much as he wanted to argue the point, deep down, Jason wondered if she might be right. He wanted to believe that they would approve so long as he was truly in love. But that was the real issue. They loved each other, but they weren’t in love.
Tiff met his gaze, and his thoughts were echoed in her expression. “I care about you, Jason. And I’ve never once doubted that you care about me. But this,” she waved her hand between them, “was never about having a romantic happily ever after. You’re a good friend—one of my best—and it’s okay that that’s all it is.”
Part of him wanted to fight for her to stay, but that would be selfish. He respected her decision, and her reasoning. He’d be a terrible friend if he offered anything less than his full support. “I want the best for you. If this is what you need to get where you want to go, I won’t argue.”
She finally took his hand. “It’s been on my mind for a while. When I saw the new post open up, I realized it was time. Especially now, with the unknowns ahead.”
“It could be dangerous out there.”
“Potential risks aren’t a reason not to live.”
He took a slow breath and nodded. “Please don’t take my acquiescence as apathy. I’m going to miss you like crazy.”
“Me too.” She kissed him, and he savored it, knowing it might be their last.
“I really hope this isn’t goodbye forever—that we can be friends,” he said.
“Oh, stars, yes! Give up my ‘in’ to the High Dynasties? I’m not a foking idiot.” She gave him a light
, playful punch in the shoulder.
“We had a good run.” A painful twinge struck his heart, even as he tried to smile through it. We can say we’ll stay friends, but things will never be the same.
“We did. I don’t know if I would have made it through the Initiate years without you.”
“Oh, hardly! You were in Primus Elite for a reason.”
“Maybe. But it was nice to have a real friend to lean on.” She patted his knee.
He nodded. “That it was. You gave me grounding when I needed it.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
Unfortunately, he’d gotten too used to having Tiff serve that emotional cornerstone role in his life. While he had no shortage of social friends like Gil, Tiff was the only person he felt he could let his guard down with, to be vulnerable and express worries and doubts. He’d been counting on being able to spend this night with her to talk about his fears about the alien attack and what else might come through the Rift, but the realization that she was moving on to a new chapter in her life closed off that possibility. They could remain friends, but there’d never be that same level of emotional intimacy in their relationship. Once again, he was on his own.
Tiff laughed suddenly. “Stars, you have no idea how frustrating it is not being able to tell anyone that I’ve been foking the smokin’ hot Sietinen heir for years. How many people I could have slain with that single statement.”
“If you were to ever tell someone, I wouldn’t deny it.”
“You sure about that?”
“You’re gorgeous, smart, and a total badass. Who cares if you weren’t born into a life of privilege? I’m happy to have been able to have our time together.” And I hate that it’s coming to an end.
She smirked. “Well, I don’t have any immediate plans for gloating, but I’ll keep it as back-pocket ammunition.”
The knot tightened in his chest again. “I really hope you find someone you’re head over heels for.”
“You too. And I applaud her if she’s able to pin you down.”
“Geez, Tiff, it’s not like I’m a silver fox playboy!”
“Weren’t your parents and grandparents married by the time they were, like, twenty-one?”
“That’s beside the point.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Mhmm.”
“You’re just as bad as the matchmaking schemers on Tararia, I swear.”
She patted his knee. “See, I’m already trying to get you paired up with someone else. Friendship: intact.”
Jason wasn’t sure it would work as easily the other way around, but hopefully that would come with a little time and distance. “You’ll be the first to know any new developments, I promise.”
“You’d better! I’ve put in a lot of work over the years to get you trained up, so I’ve gotta know all the effort is paying off.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Tiff turned somber again. “I should go.”
They stood, awkwardly judging the space between them for the first time in years. Jason headed for the door and she followed.
At the exit, they turned to face each other. She met his gaze, and he saw a tearful sheen in her eyes.
“Thank you for these years,” she murmured.
“And thank you. I’m glad you were brazen enough to proposition me.”
She chuckled. “Yeah… still surprised you accepted, but…”
“You came into my life when I needed you. I’ll always be indebted to you for that.”
“No debts. You always treated me as an equal, and that’s how it will always be with us.”
“Deal.”
Tiff held out her arms for a hug, and he pulled her in tight. As she started to pull out from the hug, she gave him one last kiss.
It was the end of an era. Bittersweet, as all meaningful endings tended to be. The only way now was forward.
CHAPTER 6
Raena frowned at the news coverage of a rally on Duronis. Generally, she didn’t watch live broadcasts, but Jovan had brought this one to her attention.
“What am I missing?” she asked her assistant.
There’d been plenty of public demonstrations during her five years in the leadership spotlight—no surprise, considering that her induction into office corresponded with the Priesthood’s removal from power. Changing leaders after millennia tended to get people riled up. This particular gathering didn’t strike her as being any different than those.
“Look at the signs in the background.” Javon zoomed in on the upper right of the holographic projection, focusing on a poster affixed to the side of a building.
The rectangular sign read: ‘Independence is Freedom. Freedom is Power.’
Its sentiment wasn’t anything new. Half of the Outer Colonies wanted to be more closely integrated with the Middle and Central Worlds; the other half wished they could be free from Tararian rule. Which planets had which perspective varied from year-to-year as they went through their own local and planetary government leaders. Invariably, the remote worlds always realized that they were better off with the opportunities and resources afforded by an ongoing connection to the core planets. For a world to cut ties with the rest of the Empire was to condemn its people to a bleak future.
So, while the poster’s call for independence leading to power made for a nice slogan, Raena knew it was a hollow aspiration. However, the note handwritten in red ink drew her attention: ‘Sietinen: High Council. TSS. What’s next?’
She frowned. Complaints about the government in general were one thing, but rarely were specific leaders called out. And last she’d heard, Sietinen had one of the best reputations among the High Dynasties.
“Do you know what prompted this?” Raena asked Jovan.
“The posters began popping up this morning in cities all across Duronis. It seems highly coordinated.”
“That planet name came up recently. Wasn’t that also where the Andvari’s salvage contract originated?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Her chest tightened. “It can’t be a coincidence that this campaign launched a mere two days after news of the attack became public.”
He bowed his head. “It seemed prudent to bring it to your attention immediately.”
“Thank you, Jovan.”
There were worse ways to start the day, but Raena didn’t like the direction in which the week was trending. First an attack, then civil unrest calling out her family, specifically. It didn’t bode well for what was to come, especially with her parents’ spontaneous visit.
>>More fun times,<< Raena wrote to Ryan on her handheld and linked to the relevant video clip.
It didn’t take long to get a response. >>I’m sure it will blow over, like it always does. Though the optics aren’t great with the timing of your parents’ visit.<<
>>Should I tell them not to come?<< Raena was painfully aware of how it looked every time she got together with her parents. A High Dynasty heiress meeting with the TSS High Commander and Lead Agent in private. She hated that such thoughts even came to mind, but it was the reality of the situation. Politics and military were supposed to be kept siloed in the interest of checks and balances, but they were inexorably entwined with her family.
>>No, they wouldn’t have asked to come if it wasn’t important.<< Ryan’s word echoed his statements when Raena had broached the topic of her parents’ visit.
Raena received the request late last night with only a day’s notice. It was very unlike them. Her father, in particular, was deliberate in his actions, so there was a reason for coming besides catching up with his daughter and son-in-law.
Raena massaged her left temple with her fingertips. >>Okay, I’ll see you at lunch.<<
There was nothing she could do at the moment regarding the disruption on Duronis or how it would look to have her parents arrive and provide a perfect photo op to prove the protesters’ point. Trying to hide the meeting wouldn’t look good, either. So, she set about her other tasks for the day and tried to suppress the
feeling of imminent doom welling in her chest.
By lunchtime, the sting of the morning’s news had faded to the background, replaced by excitement to see her parents. It had been almost two years since their last visit to Morningstar Isle, though Raena had seen them elsewhere in the interim. She looked forward to showing them how the place formerly used as a beacon of oppression had been turned into a loving home. Granted, the interior renovations weren’t complete, but the energy of the place had shifted. She knew they’d appreciate it more than most visitors.
She went to meet Ryan for the midday meal on the west terrace next to the garden, their usual spot. It was located between their two work areas, so it had become a convenient place to meet up without wasting time trekking across the entire estate.
Ryan was hunched over the table when she arrived, absorbed with reading something on his handheld.
“Hey,” she greeted telepathically when he didn’t look up.
He set the device down. “This day, I swear,” he muttered, shaking his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just got a report of another starship dealer who was inflating lease terms. I understand why people in the Outer Colonies think we’re trying to gouge them—all the people in the middle want to increase their cut rather than deliver on the promises we’ve made.”
“Everything is too big.” Raena rubbed his back before sitting next to him. “It’s like playing a massive game of telephone across the galaxy. The message gets diluted by the time it filters down.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” She forgot, sometimes, Ryan had played different childhood games while growing up on Tararia than those she had played on Earth. “My point is, we need to find a way to more directly interface with our people.”
“Even so, will they believe what we say?”
“If there’s follow-through, yes. The issue isn’t the idea behind these new initiatives, but that they’re not being executed in the way we envisioned.”