by A. C. Ellas
They determined that the humans had an equivalent level of intelligence as they did and were able to work collectively, as they did, and had technology on par with their own. They had been in the process of deciding how to approach the humans with an offer of peace and alliance when the Laughing Owl showed up. The first ship had been nothing like this one. Laughing Owl had scared them; they could scan into the hull a short distance, enough to realize that this was a ship of war. And so they had reconsidered and went back to waiting and studying, until Cai had reached out to them.
Cai came out of the data and shook his head to clear it. The Hhroon perspective had been interesting. Different, their senses weren’t quite what humans had; they placed more emphasis on sound, color and scent, whereas humans were mostly visual. They saw a broader spectrum of light, as well. Cai gave himself a headache mentally comparing the differences in sensory apparatuses and eventually just dropped the subject.
He took something for his aching head then contacted Nick, giving the captain a summary of the data Ffraaz had shared.
Nick immediately called a conference. Once all the scientists had gathered, he asked Cai to share what he’d learned with the group. Cai did so in exacting detail, explaining everything he knew. He also made the raw data dump available for the scientists to peruse at their leisure, and ended with, “This is an intelligent, non-hostile, native alien species who wants to be friends. We could learn much from them.”
“If they became our allies, we could find them a new home planet, one where they’d all have room to live,” said Dr. Frank. “Their living requirements are obviously about the same as ours.”
“They could co-colonize some worlds, too, we’ve plenty of planets that have more than enough room to share,” said Dr. Sartre.
The scientists enthusiastically embraced the idea of alliance and spent half the night coming up with ideas to help the Hhroon and cement the alliance.
Cai, on impulse, directly transmitted that conversation to Ffraaz.
To everyone’s surprise, Santa flew overhead and boomed out, in English, “Welcome, friends, to Nnaann.”
* * * *
Once peaceful communication had been established, the next thing to do was involve the planetary governor. The man was as enthusiastic as the scientists had been, and between Cai, Nick, the scientists and the governor himself, they coaxed Ffraaz out of hiding, and together, they worked out an agreement. On the governor’s advice, they made one treaty between the people living on Nnaann and the Hhroon, and a second for the wider civilization and the Hhroon, which would be presented to the senate of the United Republic.
The governor signed for the humans, and Ffraaz signed for the Hhroon. Nick watched this from the audience, since his role was technically just that of an observer. Cai lurked in the back of his mind, viewing the ceremony via the augmented implant.
“I wish I could be down there,” Cai lamented.
“No, you don’t,” Nick shot back. “There’s far too many people here for you to be at all comfortable.” He could feel Cai doing a quick headcount.
“You’re right, I admit it. That’s a big crowd. But I wanted to meet Ffraaz in person.”
“We might be able to arrange that,” Nick said smugly, because he had a plan in place that he’d worked out with the governor while Cai had been asleep.
The ceremonial signing was almost complete now, and as the ink dried on the parchment, the governor announced, “To celebrate the alliance between our two peoples, I formally invite everyone to a Christmas Ball to be held tomorrow night aboard the Laughing Owl. Captain Steele has graciously offered us the space to hold this function and the use of his shuttles to ferry everyone who wishes to attend. We hope that our new allies will join us, since it wouldn’t be much of a celebration without them.”
Ffraaz grinned at them. He looked remarkably human, but more slender—elongated was the better word for it, Nick decided—and their eyes had horizontal slit pupils. They also had eight long fingers on each hand. Nobody could mistake them for human, but they also weren’t so alien as to invite immediate revulsion and fear as did the enemy Q’Kathi.
“We would be honored to attend,” Ffraaz told the governor. “Christmas is obviously our favorite human holiday.” Everyone had a chuckle at the reference to the Santa robot probe.
Cai whispered into Nick’s mind, “I love you…and thank you.”
“For you, anything, my love,” Nick replied in the same manner.
Chapter Six: The Christmas Ball
The shuttles and the scouts had been running between Laughing Owl and the ground on a near-continual basis all day. Cai had lightly supervised the proceedings, but he trusted Kenison and his men to do the job properly and without causing him damage. The galley also had things well in hand; with help and ingredients from the surface, they were putting together quite a respectable feast. The scientists had flown back to Laughing Owl the previous evening, taking some well-deserved time for rest and recreation.
Cai and Nick had been invited to their small, intimate party, and after conferring with each other, they decided to attend. They arrived together and not in uniform because this wasn’t an official event. They circulated among the scientists, toasting their success and enjoying the intellectual conversation that flowed freely around them. But their closeness was noted, as Nick soon found out, when his sister cornered him.
Cai noticed them and immediately started observing via Nick’s implant.
“So, what is going on with you and Cai? I’ve never seen you so comfortable around someone who wasn’t family.”
“He might as well be family, Evie,” said Nick evasively, “We work together closely, day in, day out.”
“But the way you look at him.” Evie tossed her long, black hair for effect as she rolled her eyes dramatically. “Maybe nobody who doesn’t know you well can tell, but to me, it’s as obvious as a neon sign above your head. You. Are. In. Love. With. Him. Admit it.”
Nick tried to stammer a disclaimer, but Cai could tell she wasn’t buying it.
“Oh, just tell her. She’s your sister.”
“Are you sure?” Nick asked him. “If word got out…”
“Do you trust your sister or not?” Cai responded as he walked toward them. “Really, Nick, we can’t keep this a secret forever, and she’s your family, your real family. I want to meet your mom, too, you know.” Arriving at Nick’s side, he repeated, “Just tell her, Nick.”
“Tell me what?” Evie asked archly, though she bestowed a lovely smile on Cai.
“First promise you won’t tell anyone. There could be trouble if this got out,” Nick replied. Cai knew that the last thing Nick wanted was to be the subject of a Psion Guild inquiry accused of damaging an Astrogator. He quite reasonably didn’t want to end up as a reprogrammed organic computer.
“You know I can keep a secret.” Evie looked hurt.
Nick was unmoved. He had to have that reassurance, even though Cai thought he was being more than a little silly. But it was Nick’s place to tell her, not his.
“Oh, fine, be that way. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“I love Cai,” Nick said quietly. “I’ve loved him since the first time we met, when he was still in training and we cadets toured the Guild hall.”
Cai rested a hand on Nick’s shoulder. His right hand, the one with the crystal in his palm, and he noticed that Evie’s eyes immediately focused on that point of contact. He told her, “The feelings are mutual. Your brother is a fine man, a great person and the love of my life.”
“Oh, my,” Evie gulped. “You weren’t kidding. If the Guild finds out…”
“I know the risks,” Nick said with remarkable calmness. “But I didn’t force myself on Cai, nor have I harmed him.”
“We are together and we shall remain together,” Cai said firmly. “I don’t care what the Guild thinks. They need me far more than I need them.”
“I wish you both all th
e happiness in the galaxy,” Evie said after studying them for a few long seconds. “And may I be the first to say that you make a properly dashing couple?”
Nick responded by wrapping Evie in a bear hug. “You’re the best, sis. Thank you.”
Cai thought the ball itself would be anticlimactic compared to Nick telling Evie about them, but the ball was being held for entirely different purposes, so at the appropriate time, he donned his formal black and silver uniform and headed for the auditorium. Every ship had one expressly for functions like these. The room was wired for full-immersion sound, had a plentitude of viewscreens, a state-of-the-art lighting system with holo projection as well as laser lights and enough space to hold the entire crew and guests.
When he reached the doors, for it seemed wrong to call the entrance a hatch, even if it was as fully automated and self-sealing as every other entrance on the ship, the chief of the boat, Elmer Watts, announced via loudspeaker, “Gentlebeings, Astrogator Cai.”
Cai shot him a look. “Are you announcing everybody?”
“No, just you, the captain, the governor and the alien diplomats. You’re the last to arrive.”
Partially mollified, Cai walked the rest of the way into the auditorium and immediately had the governor in his path.
“Astrogator, I wanted to thank you for your efforts here. Without you, we might never have made contact with the Hhroon.”
“I was just doing my duty, Governor,” Cai demurred, though in truth, he had gone far beyond the requirements of his duty to carry out this mission. The press of the crowd moved Cai on past the governor after another brief exchange of pleasantries.
Before he could start a mental scan for Nick, the captain was at his elbow, gently guiding him out of the crowd toward the tables. Cai felt a flash of gratitude for Nick’s understanding of the situation. Stars, how he hated crowds, how the pressure of all their thoughts pressed and pressed and pressed against his shields until he exhausted himself trying to keep them out of his head.
But Nick got him out of the immediate crowd for more than one reason. When they reached the tables, he found Ffraaz waiting for them. There were about fifty Hhroon at the ball, but of them, Cai had only met this one.
Cai stopped before Ffraaz, pressed his hands together and bowed in the Hhroon manner. “My friend, I am pleased to meet you in person.”
Ffraaz mirrored the gesture and bowed. “Astrogator, thank you for showing us that even a race armed for war can follow the path of peace.”
Cai shrugged. “Space is not necessarily friendly, and you are the first alien race that we can actually call friends. This is a big deal to us, it really is.”
“Not friendly, how? Are we in danger?” Ffraaz cocked his head in inquiry.
“There are two alien races out there that attack us humans on sight. The Q’Kathi hate us because we repulsed them when they tried to invade our planet. The other alien we’ve only recently met and know nothing about them other than they keep attacking us. I do not know how these aliens would react to you, but I fear it wouldn’t be peaceful. I will share the data I have on both races, of course, but Rriil is deep in human-held space, so you are probably safe here on Nnaan.”
“Thank you, friend Astrogator.”
“Just call me Cai. Astrogator is my rank, my name is Cai.”
“Cai is your name now, but it was not always so.”
Cai started in surprise. “You can tell that?”
“We scanned you. We know much about you, Cai. You are very different from most humans.”
Curiosity forced him to ask, “Do you know what my name once was?”
“I regret that we do not. That memory was suppressed with all the other memories of your childhood in such a way that we could not access them.”
It was interesting to get confirmation of a theory Cai had long held, but there wasn’t anything he could realistically do about it, so he thanked Ffraaz and turned the topic to something less personal.
For once, Cai was one of the last people to leave the party rather than one of the first. When he did finally leave, he left with Nick, firmly steering his partner to his chambers.
As soon as they had privacy, Cai wrapped Nick in an embrace and started undressing him. Nick retaliated by kissing him deeply and going to work on Cai’s uniform. Soon, they were both naked and hot and ready. Cai wasn’t interested in dominance tonight, he just wanted love, and Nick picked up on that immediately. It occurred to Cai that they were bonding telepathically, but he ignored this in favor of kissing and licking every bit of Nick that he could reach.
Nick picked him up and carried him into the bedroom. He set Cai on the bed and pounced atop him, stroking and massaging Cai’s weary body into a limp puddle of relaxation. Nick’s mouth on his cock revived him completely and he squirmed about until he could return the favor. They held hands and stroked one another as they gave each other mutual pleasure, and once they’d both orgasmed, they cuddled for a long time before doing anything else.
“I love you,” Cai whispered.
Nick kissed him. “Marry me.”
Cai’s eyes flew open. “What?”
“You heard me.” Nick traced a finger over Cai’s chest and started down. “If we’re married, the Guild can’t claim I’m putting you at risk. Besides, I love you and I’m not afraid of commitment.”
“Yes,” Cai said after a split-second of heart searching. “I’d be delighted to marry you.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to make passionate love to you,” Nick told him then rolled him and proceeded to put his words into practice.
Cai enjoyed every moment of Nick’s slow, steady thrusts in and out of his body. It felt beyond good, it felt right. And he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Nick was his, and he was Nick’s, and that was as it should be. The Guild could bite him.
To be continued…
About the Author
I’ve long since embraced my inner nerd. I revel in my Greekness and in my Geekness. I have two lives—the mundane reality of life here on earth and the far more interesting life in my head. I love ancient history, ancient forms of combat, target archery, sabre fencing, anything to do with horses, organic food and sustainable farming. Most especially do I love science fiction and fantasy of all varieties, especially conventions, which are the only gatherings on earth where I can find many people just as strange as I am.
You can contact me at [email protected] or through my website www.ac-ellas.com