Cosmic Honor

by Jade Waltz

  Silence answered him, and for a moment, he thought he’d been too forward. He cursed himself for his lack of interest, and therefore his lack of experience, in courting a female.

  She placed her tiny hand on top of his, halting his inner turmoil.

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “We need to get you out of this suit, at least until I can heal you,” he whispered. “Then, we can look into getting you new clothes to wear.”

  “You need me to take off my suit?” She licked her lips, making him want to kiss them. “Wouldn’t that leave me naked?”

  “I can—”

  “No!” she yelped, her hand digging into his own. “It’s just . . .”

  “It’s just what?”

  “You are a prince.”

  “Yes . . . I believe we established that a long time ago.”

  “Don’t you think it’s strange for a prince to be alone in the dark with a naked female?” she choked. “I mean, I don’t want rumors to spread about me sleeping my way up the ladder of command.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I want to earn my position. Anyone can open their legs—or mouth—to climb up the ranks,” she said pointedly, crossing her arms as she looked away. “Plus, it’s not like there is anything going on between us anyway.”

  “What are you saying?” he asked, confused.

  “I am saying that you are a prince, and I am not. We are of two separate species who are at war.” She threw up her arms and immediately winced as she held her side with a hiss. “And you don’t even like me! You tolerate me only because you owe me a life debt. If not for that, you would not be here.”

  “How do you know?” he demanded. “How do you know how I feel?”

  “It’s obvious,” she mocked. “You ignored me after we sparred, and you have ignored me since I have returned. What else is there to know?”

  “That I have spent the past days doing nothing but trying to keep you out of my mind,” he barked. “When we met on the battlefield, I purposely missed every shot I took at you, in hopes I might see you again. Now you have returned as strong and determined as ever, even after your own people have betrayed you, and all I can think about is what it would be like for you to lead by my side.”

  “By your side as what? A concubine? A spa worker? Or as your friend?” She murmured.

  “I was hoping as a friend and ally first.” His eyes held hers. “And maybe as a starmate later.”

  She shook her head, closing her eyes. He didn’t miss the hurt in her expression. “Don’t lie to me.”

  Something snapped within him, a great drive to prove to her that he was telling the truth. He leaned forward and gently grabbed her face, pulling her mouth to his.

  Their lips met, gentle at first as they tested each other. He licked her lips, tasting her sweetness. A gasp escaped her, inviting him in. He kissed her long and deep, their tongues dancing in unison. Her hands buried in his hair, combing it unconsciously. His tail traced up and down the insides of her legs as if mapping them into memory.

  He reluctantly pulled away, needing to heal her first before they got carried away on the practice room floor. Hurt and confusion met him. “I should heal you before we go any further.”

  “Okay,” she said breathlessly. “What do I need to do?”

  “Just lay there and let me do the rest.”

  She nodded and combed through his hair for one last time, then obeyed.

  He stared down at her in wonder. Here was the female who he couldn’t stop thinking about, lying before him, trusting him to help her.

  Her hazel eyes watched him as he touched her collar, deactivating her living suit. It rolled into itself, slowly revealing Jaiya’s naked body.

  She gasped as her hands tried to cover her small, perky breasts.

  “I don’t understand why you’re trying to hide yourself from me. Those are my scales between your breasts, healing, and protecting your chest wound,” he chuckled. “There is almost nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  “Almost?” she whispered alarmed.

  He stilled, shooting her a glance. “I am an honorable man, Jaiya. I didn’t violate your body while you were bleeding and unconscious. It was my tongue cleaning your body, my saliva healing your wounds, and my scales covering them up. That, in itself, is a private matter.”

  “I’m sorry,” she begged. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, this is a lot to take in.”

  “Let me answer all of your questions, then.”

  “What are we doing?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She swirled her hand in a circle. “What is this? Us?”

  “We can be whatever you want to us to be.” He leaned closer to her side, inspecting the wound. The scales were intact, but the force of the strike had broken the healing skin around them.

  “I’d like to take things slow. This is all still new to me. And I don’t know if you will want to be together,” she said. “You are a prince, and I am not even a Daextru. That alone will take time to come to terms with.”

  “We will go as slow as you want,” he promised.

  Idris took his time licking the open wounds, hoping to not cause her any more pain. Slowly, the bleeding stopped as his saliva helped accelerate the healing, sealing the reopened wounds.

  Suddenly, the practice room light burst to life, and a screeching alarm pierced the room. A flashing blue light told Idris all he needed to know.

  “Get dressed. We’re needed.”

  “We?” She asked, sounding dazed and confused.

  “The frontline is under attack and is requesting aid.”

  “Your sister.”

  He nodded with a grim look.

  “She must have com’ed the starbase.” His gaze swept her body in a quick inspection as he stood up. “Your wounds are sealed once again. There is no time for a change of clothes. Activate your suit and come with me.”

  She reached for her collar, triggering it to life once more. In an instant, she felt the cloth unfold along her body, hugging her like a second layer of skin.

  He offered her his hand, and she took it, letting him help her to her feet. She glanced at their practice weapons scattered upon the floor.

  “Leave them.” He threaded his fingers with hers, tugging her away from the scene.

  She didn’t resist his pull through the halls, dodging crew members as they rushed to their destinations. In every part of the base, the alarm was pervasive, reminding her of the harsh reality of the situation.

  One moment she’d been practicing, taking her anger out on the male who played a major part in the war—Dias. The next time she saw him, she wouldn’t resist slitting his throat. He couldn’t be the only person involved in the alliance, but he seemed to be the poster child—always in the forefront whenever something nefarious occurred.

  And Idris . . .

  They were in a war—and she had just joined his side. There was no place for love, not even toying with the idea of it.

  But she couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to be loved by him.

  Perhaps it was loneliness finally settling in after thirty years of neglect from her parents and no relationships beyond flings. Or maybe she just wanted to prove it was okay to fall in love during wartimes. But whatever drove the feeling, her mind kept returning to the idea of loving Idris.

  Was he serious about being with her? She knew the Daextru sometimes dated and had casual flings just like humans did, but he had mentioned that in due time, he wanted her to be his starmate.

  Not just allies or friends, he wanted her to be his.

  She didn’t know what she thought about that.

  Whenever they weren’t arguing, he was kind and caring. Clearly, he was a great leader. Even if he reported to his sister, he was responsible for controlling the starbase’s defense squadron. That was nothing to scoff at.

  If she became his starmate, it would change everything.

  Unless there were couples hid
den somewhere in the galaxy, living their lives as secret star-crossed lovers, they would be the first interspecies relationship on record for the human race.

  She studied him as they hurried hand-in-hand, his warmth like an inferno wrapped around her hand.

  She couldn’t lie—he was incredibly attractive. His golden, twisting horns brought out his teal, dragon-like eyes. The long black hair he was so proud of shimmered with blue highlights from the care he put into the tresses. The golden scales that wrapped around his neck like a choker ran down his spine and peeked from the seams of his tight black pants that did nothing to hide his bulge. Jaiya wondered how much control he had over his golden tail, for sometimes it acted with a mind of its own.

  His tail seemed like it could cause a lot of trouble if she didn’t keep an eye on it . . .

  But despite her attraction to him, she had only ever fantasized about what they could experience together. Having those fantasies come true was a different story altogether. He had shown his interest in her with little gestures and confessions, but the circumstances of the war prevented them from moving forward, even just as friends.

  After spending time with the Daextru, she was enthralled by their culture and enjoyed spending time with them. One of these days, on a practice run, she would have to challenge him to a race.

  Maybe they have a virtual flight simulator in their practice arenas?

  As soon as they neared the hangar bay, Idris dropped her hand, nodding at crew members as they passed.

  Is he embarrassed to be seen with me?

  She pushed that thought away. He was the prince and leader of this starbase. He didn’t need to mix his personal and professional lives. They had had their moment—even though it was cut short before they could fully explore it.

  They were in the middle of a war. Flings and courting could wait until they returned. If she had learned one thing from her parents, it was to never mix your personal relationships with your work. If her father hadn’t allowed the human citizens to miss the Vresqoxk framing the Daextru, the war might have never happened. Or at least, the CTA might have been allied with the Daextru, instead of the Vresqoxk.

  She needed to be his Wing Captain, not his lover.

  “Jaiya, I am going to need numbers,” he commanded. “How many of your wing members are willing to fight alongside us? The more, the merrier, but only if they are willing to fire on humans.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Humans have never had a civil war in space before, have they?”

  “My wing already has blood on their hands from their rescue mission; this battle will not be any different.” She shrugged.

  “Then, I will need you to seek out Zaera and have her prepare your wing while you report for briefing alongside my other wing captains.” They entered the hangar bay, and he nodded to Erlyn, who stood next to a large holo-display wall with a small gathering surrounding him. Idris gripped her shoulder and pointed to the group. “I’ll be over there, briefing the others. Come as soon as you’ve addressed your wing.”

  She saluted him. “Yes, Sir.”

  Idris let her go and paused for a moment. He gave her a gentle smile, nodding his head once, before meeting his wing captains.

  Jaiya didn’t have the time to feel embarrassed by her odd human ways; he didn’t take offense at her salute. Change didn’t happen overnight—at least, it didn’t normally happen overnight, but the past two weeks tempted her to believe otherwise.

  She scanned the bustling hangar bay, searching for her wing. It wasn’t hard to spot them, clustered together, and tucked away near their transport. Their earth-toned skin stood out in a sea of metallic and gemstone-colored Daextru, even in the same uniform of black pants and colored tops.

  Every wing was assigned a color in order to make recognition simpler. If one needed to find a member of a certain wing, one only had to search for their color.

  Jaiya had decided their color would be lime-green. It was bright and contrasted well with the black in their uniforms. Most importantly, none of the other wings had a color similar in brightness to theirs. They all used the metal or gemstone colors of their scales.

  And yet they don’t divide themselves by the color of their scales or horns . . .

  “What’s happening, Cap?” Zaera asked as soon as Jaiya was within hearing range.

  Jaiya surveyed her team and was glad to find her whole wing accounted for.

  “The front line has declared an emergency. The Warrior Princess needs backup, and Prince Idris is gathering his squadrons to leave. He asked if we were willing to join the fight against the CTA.” Jaiya searched her pilots’ faces, gauging their responses. No one seemed opposed, and Nix seemed a little too eager about the news. “I know we’ve already voted that we’re going to stay. Technically, we aren’t required to go, since we haven’t sworn ourselves to him. I want to bring the decision to a vote. No hard feelings if it’s a pass—”

  “Captain, we want to earn our stay. Staying behind will only create tension between the Daextru and us. They are just now starting to get used to us,” Edam said. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to have to play Old Christo Columbus, crisscrossing space trying to find a planet to play boy scouts on.”

  “Hey, Captain Lian!” Nix blurted. “I just want to fuck up some Vresqoxk spider-asses. Sitting around here is nice and all, but it’s starting to get boring. I say we go and show those bastards what’s up.”

  “I can ask about getting access to more of the starbase, if you guys want—”

  “I don’t think you understand, Cap,” Zaera interjected, crossing her arms. “We all agreed to come here to join forces with the Daextru, knowing who we would be going up against. It’s kill or be killed, and we’re ready to hunt.”

  “Is this true?” she asked, meeting her wing’s gazes. Each one of them nodded, confirming the decision.

  “Okay, I will let Prince Idris know.” She turned to Zaera. “You’re in charge. Prepare the wing for takeoff and wait for our instructions.”

  Jaiya gripped her steering wheel tightly, feeling her body pressed back against her seat as her fighter warped into the Daextru frontline.

  She thanked the Stars that each species had their own shape and color of ship because she wasn’t prepared for what she saw. The view sent chills through her.

  The bulky silver CTA fighters were sandwiched between triangular charcoal Daextru starstorms and the claw-like green Vresqoxk vessels. All of their command ships scattered throughout.

  She was glad the grounds crew had modded her fighter’s systems to sync with the fleet and painted them in Daextru coloring because CTA fighters were being slaughtered.

  The Vresqoxk had betrayed the CTA and were shooting their backline as they were busy engaging the Daextru.

  “This is a bloodbath,” Zaera muttered into their private wing comms.

  “Serves those motherfuckers right!” Nix laughed. “I say we sit back and watch the action, then play clean up later.”

  “Keep the comms clear.” Jaiya barked. “Obviously, we weren’t prepared for this twist.”

  Her wing was nestled near the back of the squadron, following closely behind.

  Idris knew that they weren’t going to be familiar with their alien flight patterns, beyond what they had witnessed themselves in battle with them. By putting them in a line of their own, they would be able to make any adjustments as needed and clean up any stragglers that escaped the bulk of the battle.

  It was also a sign of trust, for they could easily pick off the backline from this position.

  “Prince Idris to Azophi Starbase Squadron. We are to fight off the Vresqoxk. Repeat, we are to engage the Vresqoxk. Leave the CTA for the Azophi Fleet.”

  Jaiya listened to the chorus of confirmations as she waited for her wing’s turn, which was last.

  “Lime Wing, copy that,” Jaiya responded in Dzexet before translating the order to CTA Common for her wing.

  After her pilots acknowledged the command, she addressed
her wing.

  “Once we survive this mission, I want you all to find a Daextru to teach you Dzexet. I can’t keep translating these commands, especially mid-battle. You can teach them CTA Common in return. Make a friend, that will ease your transition into the community, got it?”

  “I hear you’ve been making friends with a certain prince,” Aera chuckled.

  “It was my friendship that got us a place to live, remember that.”

  “Stars girl, you got jetted,” Zaera hollered.

  “Comms clear until after the battle, then I can teach you how to talk to the Daextru.”

  Her wing fell silent as they approached the gruesome battle.

  The CTA was losing—badly.

  Instead of slaughtering indiscriminately, the Daextru fleet formed an impenetrable wall and only shot ships that engaged with them. They were still furious with the CTA for reneging on the peace treaty that could have saved them from this massacre, but not furious enough to drive them to join in.

  Little did the Vresqoxk know, they were about to have a taste of their own strategy, but without backstabbing—not from her wing, at least. With the arrival of the Azophi Starbase Squadron, the Daextru had surrounded both the CTA and the Vresqoxk.

  “Azophi Starbase Squadron. Do a diagonal pass and loop around, then repeat in the opposite direction. I will give further orders once we do a complete pass. Prince Idris Out.”

  “We are doing a figure eight maneuver and will get further instructions once we complete it,” Jaiya translated.

  “Sounds easy enough,” Zaera replied.

  Jaiya didn’t reply, keeping an eye on the nearing battlefield. The CTA’s numbers were steadily dwindling, while the Vresqoxk seemed mostly unaffected.

  That will soon change.

  The squadron made a sharp-turn port bow into a steady-arch starboard bow until they linked up perpendicularly with the Vresqoxk.

  Nerves were high as they flew closer.

  She wasn’t afraid of death—but she was afraid of failure.