SIXTEEN
“Diana? The space station for this sector is growing near,” said Meko though his com-link to a speaker in their rooms. “Do you want to watch with me?”
“What, on the bridge?” Diana scoffed. “I thought that was no place for a civilian.”
“It is at the moment,” he said with a chuckle. “I wouldn’t want you to miss a view like this. I’ll send Breela to escort you.”
“Well, yeah, okay,” she answered, though she didn’t care much for the lieutenant. She would have rather he’d asked her half an hour ago so she could have come there with Alara. Of, for that matter, she wouldn’t mind if he would simply allow her to walk out the double doors and up the long hallway by herself.
She understood his reasoning though. She had never actually followed the path around the corner. There could be anything between here and there, including a wrong door that might accidentally lead her to the floors below, where she would end up suffocating. No way did she want to take a risk like that.
Not surprisingly, Breela stepped through the door not two minutes later. As usual, the woman wore a bland, disinterested expression. Diana had worked out the reason for it, though. The woman clearly remembered her disparaging comments from the day they’d met. It was just that Diana wasn’t at all sure how to apologize for them.
As the pair walked around the bend, she gave voice to this concern. “You know, Meko was right when he said I was just parroting what I learned that first day. I hope you’re not still holding those words against me now that I know better.”
“Perhaps it would have been best not to say them, if you were not sure of their veracity,” she commented dryly. “But don’t worry, I’m not holding a grudge. You must understand, to become a woman of a high rank in the military, you have to adopt a strong persona. I’ve been using it for so long, I’ve forgotten how to let go of it. Well, I suppose that doesn’t hold true when I’m with people I know well, like my mate, Grador. If anything makes me smile, it’s thinking of him.”
“So I see,” Diana chuckled, catching the glimpse of a smile on her lips before she hid it away again. “But I would hope that as Meko’s second-in-command and his plaything, that you and I might endeavor to make friends for his sake, if not for our own.”
She grunted appreciatively at the sentiment. “It may take time,” she admitted. “I am difficult on the best of days, but while worrying about what kind of trouble might lay ahead, I can really be a gronpar.”
Diana grinned. Alara had been teaching her about animals similar to those on Earth, and the closest comparison to the one the lieutenant had just named would probably be a bear. A very apt comparison.
“We will be docking with the Utama station briefly to check in with the galactic authorities in the sector, and I’m sure they’ll be wanting to know the deal where you are concerned,” Breela added, all serious now. “It would be best to give the same explanation I gave to your Earth inspector.”
Diana smirked. “Should I just kiss Meko so I can’t answer again?”
Breela rolled her eyes, but she smirked along with her anyway. “That would sure serve him right, if nothing else. Too bad his role in the conversation as the captain of this vessel will require more than a casual glance. I’m afraid if you don’t want to be detained for deportation back to your world, you’re going to have to allow yourself to be branded as his. Don’t worry, it’s nothing major. Just a small tattoo stating that you agree to remain in this sector of your own free will, along with a picture of him embedded into a microchip. They’re easily removed if you change your minds.”
“So, in other words, sort of like a marriage license,” Diana pointed out.
“Yes, something like it.”
“And Meko gets a chip too?” she clarified.
“Only if he wants to,” she shrugged. “He’s from Andara, after all.”
Diana nodded. She didn’t particularly like it, but there was little she could do about it at this point. It didn’t sound like the Utama system believed in a common-law relationship. Besides, she kind of liked the idea of the microchip. It wouldn’t get in the way like a wedding band might while she was doing her chores.
“I sure hope they don’t ask us how we met,” she mentioned with a little frown.
“They won’t care that he kidnapped you,” she shrugged. “Their only concern would be whether or not you wish to go home.”
“Nuts to that!” Diana replied. “I’m having the time of my life. I never knew I could be this happy.”
“Meko, too, seems much improved,” said Breela with a nod. “Well, here we are.”
The double doors in front of them slid open, and the two women stepped onto the bridge. The other officers saluted Breela, but Meko’s eyes were wholly on his plaything. He got to his feet and drew her into his arms, then walked the two of them over to the window.
“I don’t see anything,” said Diana.
“It will take another minute or two yet,” Meko explained. “I just wanted an excuse to hold you in my arms.”
Diana laughed. “Meko! You’re terrible!”
“Has Breela fully explained the nature of our stop on the station?” Meko asked, and she could feel the nervous tension beginning to fill his being through the energy coming off of him.
Giving him a reassuring smile, Diana nodded. “It’s fine,” she told him. “I don’t mind.”
Meko’s smile was brilliant, and all the tension left his body as he gave her a hug from behind. “I intend to get a microchip as well,” he told her happily. “It only seems fair, and it would make traveling together much easier too. I do not think I would wish to always leave you behind. It is good that you are able to work in the agridomes, so that you can come with me wherever I may need to go.”
“How do you always know what’s on my mind?” Diana asked him as she leaned backwards to more fully enjoy his warm embrace.
“I can’t take you every time, though,” he warned her. “Especially not once you have given birth to our child.”
“What child?” she asked, confused.
“It’s been three weeks plus since you were brought aboard,” he pointed out. “Unless you had your time only days before we met, you should have had another by now. And, considering all that we’ve been doing together during most of that time, I don’t expect this week to see it arrive.”
Diana thought about it, and realized the last time was almost six weeks ago, meaning that the pair of them had been making full use of the time she should have ovulated. How had that not even popped into her mind?
Things were happening really fast for her now that she was a full-blown astronaut, weren’t they? She’d barely gotten used to the idea of belonging to somebody else, of a ‘plaything’ being the equivalent of a wife, and now she had to start thinking about becoming a mother too.
Even though the idea had never occurred to her, Diana realized she didn’t mind. Sure, everything was happening fast, but none of that mattered because her heart was content. She and Meko may not have discussed the idea of having a child, but she didn’t mind. It just made all of it feel even more real than it already had before.
She was more than ready to begin living this new, wonderful life. She was more than happy to know she’d be spending it in her alien commander’s arms.
SEVENTEEN
“You know, Mr. King, I’m a very patient man,” Sim said as he stormed into Michael’s room a few hours later. “I am willing to tolerate a lot of things from a guest on my ship, but the security cameras do not lie. You knocked out the food server so you could take a little stroll down the corridor. Granted, you are housed in a part of my ship that shows nothing of our technology or numbers, but I can’t have you harming my staff members like this. I’m afraid you’re under arrest. I’ve just asked a couple of guards to escort you to the hold. They should be here shortly. And unfortunately, this also means you won’t be able to reunite with your lovely daughter either. You’ll be taken with us to Sinkata to st
and trial, and summarily held for a duration yet to be determined by a jury of my peers.”
“You can’t arrest me, I’m already being unlawfully detained,” Michael snapped, punching the ambassador squarely in his nose.
The man stopped him from landing another punch. “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” he said triumphantly. “You are only adding to the severity of your crime. We’re about to dock at the Utama station. You will be escorted to my private ship, which would have been used to continue on after your daughter if you had only remained patient for a few more hours. Now, matters are much, much worse for you, my friend. But perhaps if you remain calm, I might be able to convince the jury to make the sentence light. You may only be detained a few months, and then you would be able to arrange passage wherever you like. In any case, I’m completely washing my hands of you.”
Michael quelled his anger in favor of thinking first for once. Whether he liked it or not, or agreed with what this man was saying, he was just like a fish out of water in this situation. If he made Sim angry enough, the man could easily just pitch him out into space and leave him to die there. Or he could have him thrown into a cell somewhere to rot for the rest of his days. He’d never be able to see his daughter again if he didn’t stop acting like such an ass.
On the other hand, he also saw that space station as an opportunity. He wondered if it would be possible to inform somebody there what was happening to him. It was quite a risk to take, knowing that he was in the system of the Sinkats and not his own, but maybe whoever ran that station was, they’d taken as much of a dislike of these people as he now had of them. It was a tough call, but he would have to make it on the fly and hope that he was right.
*****
The view of the Utama station was every bit as spectacular as Diana had been led to believe. Not just she and Meko, but everyone on the bridge, gazed upon it in awe. Many of the officers who had brought their mates along on this vacation voyage had been allowed to bring them in for the show, so the place was a little crowded, by the companionship was unlike anything she had ever felt on the world of her birth.
The station was about five million miles away from its sun, which was partially blocked as they approached, but still visible over the top, casting a golden-white halo of light over a silhouette of the station itself. The elegant look of the structure left Diana’s heart thudding as she gave a dreamy sigh. This was the first time she’d ever seen a space station, of course, so for her the sight was even more fantastic.
Meko kissed the top of her head and grinned. “I take it you approve?”
“It’s amazing,” she said enthusiastically.
“Sir?” said Breela with a frown. “Our shadow seems to have caught up. The Sinkat vessel will probably be docking within one cycle of us. If they were following us on purpose, we will know it before they’ve finished with overhaul.”
Meko rolled his eyes at her, glancing down at Diana.
“No, it’s fine,” Diana said. “Something like that, I would rather know about it than not. If it’s one thing I can’t stand it’s being left in the dark when something might be wrong.”
He nodded, satisfied with her response. “Whoever they are, they’ve been following behind us all the way from Earth. The Andarians and the Sinkat have always been at odds, but for the past couple of years only kissing each other’s collective butts has kept our two peoples from waging an all-out war. If that vessel if following the Andarian flag ship, it could spell trouble.”
“They won’t attack us while we’re at Utama, though, right?” Diana pointed out. “Same like Earth, the space surrounding it is neutral. I don’t think anybody is stupid enough to pick a fight here.”
“It is my belief that this particular vessel already did do so, in a way,” Meko said then. “While we were on your planet, a group of Sinkati tricked one of my men out of our fuel supply at that gambling hole where I met your father. That was the reason we were there that night to begin with.”
“So in a way, I have the Sinkati to thank for being in your arms now,” she teased him.
“Stars, don’t let anyone hear you say that,” he hissed in her ear. “We don’t need an all-out war in here either.”
Diana cringed. “Sorry.”
As they watched, the space station loomed closer and closer, until the sun behind it could no longer be seen as the massive walls closed in around them. Breela radioed in her intention to dock and received detailed instructions from the person on the other end. Once they were in position, Meko and several of the others broke away and headed for the door.
“Where are we going?” Diana wanted to know.
“To my shuttle, of course,” he explained. “My retinue and our mates are all headed to the lounge. I think you will find it most enjoyable there. Only, for you it could be a bit of a culture shock. I suggest you do your best to rein in any of your preconceived notions around here.”
“Hey, I already said I was sorry about that,” Diana complained.
“Did you really?” he chuckled. “To who?”
“Breela, since she’s the one who seemed the most offended.”
“Well, that sure would have been a sight to see,” Meko chuckled dryly. “Come here, my plaything, and sit with me. I’m not letting go of you for one second until you and I have been chipped properly.”
Diana sighed contentedly, snuggling against his side as he buckled her to her seat, then took his own. Remembering the idea of kissing him soundly so he couldn’t speak, she chuckled as she visualized putting the plan into action.
“No plotting, kitar,” Meko chastised her.
“Damn, you really do know everything, don’t you?” she grumbled.
“Well, of course I do,” he grinned. “Why else do you think they would put me in charge?”
The pilot zipped them over to the entrance to the docking bay in just a couple of minutes, neatly landing and allowing the magnetic grip to take hold of the landing gear. Being slightly silly now, Meko lifted Diana out of her seat and began to walk with her.
“Meko, what are you doing?” she protested, giggling all the way.
“I’m carrying you over the threshold,” he teased. “Is that not an Earth custom?”
“Not until after the wedding,” she told him, laughing.
“Oh, well I suppose I can wait, if I must,” he said, setting her down. “It might look strange carrying you out of the shuttle anyway.”
“You are so weird,” she told him, though she couldn’t hide her smile. “Lucky for you, I like you just the way you are.”
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