by Shae Mills
“But these areas may have never lost their power.”
“True, but that does not matter. The areas are not only functional, they are scrupulously clean and military ready. It is as though they are in use.”
Marri felt a shiver overtake her. “But where would these survivors be?”
“I do not know. Out getting supplies, or maybe they have now left for other planets? Or maybe they will be back.”
Marri stood slowly. “Chelan, there is one big glitch to your theory.”
“What?”
“There are many inhabited planets aligned with the Empire right here, all within hailing distance. Why have they not called for help? Why have they not come forward?”
“Maybe they think Talon is still in control.”
Marri took a deep breath. “Well, if they did think that, they do not now. Right outside their front door are three Imperial battleships, unmistakably Korba’s. Yet there is no word from anyone. No one has even attempted to approach us.”
Chelan almost admitted defeat, but she could not. “Do you know where Korba went this morning? I must speak with him.”
“I believe he is in the conference hall near the Bridge, speaking with the Cleosan Emissary.”
Chelan fidgeted with her gown. “Do you think he would mind being interrupted?”
Marri shook her head. “Probably not, my Lady. The meeting has already been lengthy. I would assume it is almost over.”
Chelan smiled. “Then I shall go to him. Do you mind staying with the children?”
Marri looked over at the two little ruffians, both now engrossed in watching a small android pet wobble about the floor. “Not at all, my Lady. You go ahead.”
“Thank you, Marri.” And Chelan left promptly.
SHE ARRIVED AT THE conference room doors and took a deep and settling breath. She shook her head, shoring herself up for another Cleosan encounter. The sickly-looking creatures made her uncomfortable. They looked like death warmed over, and their languid limbs always served to make her queasy. She knew they were intelligent, and they were always so warm and welcoming, but still, she could not shake her visceral reaction to them.
She took another deep breath, angry at herself for her lack of control. What she needed to do was to be in their company more, to look past their appearances and focus on the wonderful race of beings that they were.
She stepped inside the small, comfortable room. Korba’s warm eyes were the first to meet hers. Her mate sat comfortably, cloaked in black. He smiled as he rose, a drink in hand. “My Lady,” came his deep voice.
He could always make her melt with just a glance, but his azure eyes upon her combined with his soft baritone voice practically made her swoon. The fact that he looked so relaxed caused her knees to weaken and her thoughts to scramble. But now was not the time to think of him over her, taking her, filling her. However, her body stubbornly disagreed. To stem the flow of the warmth reaching her womb, she looked down, blushing slightly. “My Lord,” she whispered.
His voice brought her attention back to him. “I would like you to meet Ambassador Embrose’s Emissary, the Lord Terig.”
The man stood up from the high-back chair that had concealed him, and he turned to her. “My Lady,” he said, smiling.
Chelan’s already weakened knees barely sustained her weight. This man was no Cleosan, at least not as she had come to expect. He was tall, about six foot four, and ruggedly handsome. His thick, lustrous hair was a dark brown, feathered to his shoulders. He supported a full beard and mustache, and his green eyes penetrated everything within their gaze.
He set his drink down in response to her silence and stepped up to her. “It is indeed an honor, my Lady. I have often wondered if I would ever meet the woman who stole my best friend’s heart.”
Chelan felt him take her hand and gently kiss the back. But she could only stare. He wore dark brown breeches snug to his thighs. High black boots reached his knees, and two knives were sheathed in each. His upper torso was covered by a cream linen shirt, obscured partially by a dark brown jacket that ended just above his slim hips. His shoulders were broad, his eyes warm, and his very human touch almost electrifying.
Korba cleared his throat and Chelan snapped back to reality. She snatched her hand away while turning an even deeper shade of pink. “My Lord Terig,” she croaked. “I am sorry. You took me by surprise.”
Terig straightened and smiled. “You expected a full-blooded Cleosan, I presume?”
Chelan finally managed to compose herself. “Yes, my Lord.”
“Please, call me Terig. My friends do,” and he glanced back at Korba.
“Yes, of course. I hope I am not interrupting?” she uttered.
Terig took a couple of steps back and smiled. “Not at all, my Lady. I had just finished up with our Lordship and was about to take my leave. I am glad, however, that my lingering allowed me to be graced by your presence.”
At this point Chelan flushed crimson, feeling totally disoriented and utterly useless under the spell of those warm green eyes.
“You are most kind, my Lord... Terig. I too am glad to have made your acquaintance.”
“Well then, I must leave, I have a lot of work to tend to.” He turned to Korba. “Our visit was most productive.”
Korba set his drink down and shook the man’s hand. “Yes, it has been. I trust we will meet again within the week?”
“Most certainly. By then all the Telesian figures should be in, and the additional production in full swing. But call on me at any time. I will keep abreast of all the operations, minute by minute.”
Then Terig turned to Chelan. “Maybe with some luck and a little indulgence on your mate’s part, he will allow me to be in your company at future times also, my Lady—if it is okay with you, of course. I am sure you are just as anxious to follow all the data as his Lordship here.”
“Yes. I would love that.”
Terig looked over his shoulder at Korba. “Just do not tell her how boring the meetings can be.”
Korba chuckled. “I won’t. She can find out for herself next week if she so chooses.” And he patted Terig lightly on the shoulder.
Terig bowed. “My Lady,” he bade her, and with a last glance at Korba, he strode out.
Chelan stood very still, staring at Korba. A bemused look was splashed over his face. “I ought to pummel you.”
He chuckled. “I thought you would enjoy the surprise.”
“When did you intend to tell me he was far from being a sickly pale Cleosan?”
Korba shrugged. “Sooner or later.”
“You know him well?”
“Very well. We became best of friends during Talon’s rule. We trained together.”
“He fought by your side?”
“No. He was supplying materiel for arms while we were in exile. Upon his visits, as he accompanied various shipments, we worked out together. We participated in war games, if you will.”
Chelan’s brows rose. “He is not Iceanean, yet you found him a worthy opponent?”
“Very much so. He is not one of us, but he is a superb genetic specimen. He is strong, quick, and brilliant. What he lacks in size he makes up for in many other areas. He is deadly, my Lady.”
Chelan chewed at her lip. “His hair, his eyes, the beard—what is he?”
Korba smiled slyly. “Why don’t you ask him next time? You will be most intrigued by the answer.”
“Well, I doubt I will make it to all the meetings, so I will rely on you telling me now.”
Korba remained silent. There was no way he was going to ruin the surprise.
Chelan frowned and set her hands on her hips. “Out with it.”
“No. Believe me—you will love hearing it from the man himself.”
Chelan gave in to defeat. “Well, until then, I have some other things to discuss with you.”
Korba sat back down and then pulled her into his lap. He slid his large hand about her small waist and nibbled at her neck. “I am a
ll ears, as your people say,” he whispered.
Chelan felt the swell of his hardness against her thigh and she let her head drop back for his feast. She knew talk was useless at the moment, and so did he.
Chapter 16
CHELAN SKIPPED THE next meeting with Lord Terig, knowing full well that there would be many more meetings to come. Instead, she dedicated all of her time when away from her children to pacing the floor behind Salinger. After weeks, the recon officer turned to her one morning and stared at her. It was quite some time before she realized he was studying her and not the screen. She stopped. “What?”
He shrugged.
She began to pace again. “The reports from the engineers, the rooms, the filters, everything—it is all still such a mystery. Someone has been maintaining portions of the ship. Yet there are no signs of entrance or exit as of yet, and there is no one on board that is not accounted for.”
Salinger straightened back against the chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Maintenance could have been done over a year ago and the areas would still remain clear. Fighters could have left with no trace visible now. With all the breaches, no one would have had to have used a hangar deck.”
Chelan shook her head. “Marri said the same thing. And I understand all of that. But none of this feels right. Something is off.”
Salinger became rigid. “You sense impending danger?”
Chelan finally stood still. “No, just the opposite. I cannot really explain it. I sense a presence, a presence there now, and the odd anomalies we are encountering validate my feelings. But none of it is logical given all the data.” She ran one hand through her hair as she stared at the main screen. “I need to get there,” she mumbled.
Salinger’s lips thinned. “My Lady. The mystery remains, but it is of no consequence overall. Patrols, reconnaissance missions, both in and around the ship, have been doubled. She is clean. Everyone who now steps on board her decks is coded and tracked. If she is breached by anything larger than a strand of living DNA, it will be noted instantly. The ship is under accelerated repair schedules; all crews are working at full capacity. Not much else matters.”
Chelan sighed. “Still, I must get there. It is something in my gut that plagues me. I know I sound irrational, but nothing about the state of the Command Center and associated areas makes absolute sense. All of it defies logic. It does not matter when the maintenance was done—it matters why and by whom. Unless I can board her, truly feel her, the mystery will remain.”
“Maybe for now. But as soon as she is back on Iceanea, where she can be swarmed by workmen in a nonhostile environment... that is where the mystery will reveal itself. Or, we may never discover the truth behind this anomaly. Regardless, there does not appear to be any threat to either the crews or to the ship itself. Work will continue as planned.”
Chelan exhaled sharply. “I suppose you are right. I have been poring over the same data as you for weeks now, and maybe all the pieces of the puzzle will simply fall into place at any moment. But to quiet my own thudding heart, I want to board her. I just need a little time with her, both to explore my feelings and to put them to rest.”
Salinger braced himself. “I have heard you pleading with Korba for ages now. He is not going to relent. He will not let you board her again. Although all appears well, as long as there is any chance of any sort of calamity, he will remain resolute.”
Chelan nodded as she headed to the console. There she hit a switch. “Rayik?”
“Yes, my Lady.”
“Is his Majesty’s meeting with the Cleosans over?”
“It has concluded, my Lady.”
“Thank you, Rayik.” And Chelan hit the switch off. She smiled at Salinger. “Persistence will pay off,” she said, and she bounded out of the Command Center.
Salinger could only smile and shake his head at her.
CHELAN FOUND KORBA in the conference room reading over Imperial contracts. She sat down in front of him. “Can I help with any of this?”
He smiled at her. “I wish you could. But I would not wish this upon anyone.”
“Are there not advisors to help deal with these things?”
Korba nodded. “They have already been through them and given me their advice. The final decisions are mine, at least where these ones are concerned.”
Chelan watched him for a long time, concern once again edging into her thoughts. “This mystery has eaten at both of us long enough. I think it is weighing on you more than you realize.”
Korba pushed back from the computer and took a deep breath. “I have never liked mysteries, no matter their form. Anything not in the realm of concrete reality—yours, mine, or galactic—is always irksome, because whatever it is becomes impossible to deal with, at least logically.”
Chelan watched as he reached forward and called up the next contract, studying it with a furrowed brow. She was hesitant to interrupt him, but she knew this was maybe one of her few chances. “That is why I think we both need to deal with this. And to do that, I really need some time in the private Command Center on RIBUS 7.”
Korba looked at her from under his brows. “Do not start with me again, Chelan.”
“Just the Command Center.”
“No.”
“But it is safe.”
“Surrounding areas are not.”
“Call the work off for a few hours.”
Korba ground at his jaw and put his work aside once again. “If I allow this once, will you cease to haunt me?”
“Yes. And you know as well as I do that once I have laid whatever it is that haunts me to rest, your life will be just that much less complicated.”
Korba lip quirked. “You are most certainly right there. And if truth be told, whatever you feel gnaws at me just as much, as you alluded to earlier.” He sat up straight. “We will go in the morning.”
Chelan squirmed. “Once there, I need to be alone.”
“Not a bloody chance!”
Chelan’s jaw dropped, the candor of the whole interaction suddenly shifting. “Then send me to RIBUS 5.”
Korba’s eyes widened. “Pray tell why?”
Chelan stood. “Because right now I no longer wish to work by the side of such a stubborn, arrogant, and unyielding person. We both know it is best that I go to RIBUS 7, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I need to be alone there.”
“I will not, under any circumstance, allow you to put yourself at risk. You are my mate and the mother of our children. They need you.”
“I understand that. But you need to understand that I am not requesting permission to go over there just as some sort of frivolous dalliance for old times’ sake. Nor do I persist in going there as a way to vex you. Figuring this out is important to all of us. And I need the freedom to be able to do what I feel I need to do.”
“Watch what you wish for, my Lady—you may get more than you bargained.”
Chelan glared at him. But she knew he was beyond compromising. She whirled on her heel and promptly left the room. Bursting into the Command Center, she quickly changed to her uniform and then headed to the workout area. There she trained until torrents of sweat coated her body and she could do no more. Physically exhausted, she returned to the sleeping chamber just as evening was falling.
Despite the intense workout, she was still supercharged. She paced, wringing her shroud in her hands. “Damn... damn,” she mumbled. Then she turned toward the presence ascending the stairs. She took a moment for her eyes to adjust. “If truth be told, my Lord, I really do not wish to be in your presence right now.”
Korba swung out of his shroud. “You are going to have to be.”
Chelan started out of the chambers, but Korba grabbed her arm and twisted her to him. “Do not cross me.”
Chelan sighed, all her former bluster leaving. “I am your equal, or so you have said on many occasions. I cannot hope to best you in the military area, nor would ever wish to try, but on this matter, I know as much as you. I know the risk
s to boarding her, but with the work halted, those risks are practically nonexistent. Not letting me go there is akin to holding me captive for no just cause. And not only that, it is holding up a valid investigation of a really strange phenomenon.” She continued to stare at him, waiting for his rebuttal, but instead he shocked her.
Korba whisked her off her feet and nearly tossed her on their bed. She attempted to get up, but he was over her in an instant, pinning her to stillness. His voice was low and steady. “You will listen to my wisdom in these situations, my Lady. I do not hold you captive. But I know what the hell is safe and what is not. You forget her power, that of fusion. Should one small error be made, or one cosmic incident threaten, she will become a star. I cannot hope to predict her volatility, and neither can anyone else; therefore, I keep you here. Now do you understand?”
Chelan groaned. “Damn you to pieces. I know things too. My gut would not lead me to danger.”
“Enough!” he boomed unexpectedly. “I will not have your actions dictated by a fantasy.”
Chelan went rigid, his harshness combined with frustration suddenly infusing her with anger, all her logical thoughts vanishing. “Let me up,” she seethed. “I will not allow you to lord over me like I am some underling.”
Korba released her with a jerk. He stood before her, now ominous and dangerous. “What is it with you?! You chose to pursue your ghost passions rather than heed your mate? Maybe your obsession with your long dead warrior governs you more than rational logic. Whatever your fickle excuse, I cannot afford to be sidelined by it. You will have your way tomorrow morning. After that, her decks are forbidden to you. I speak now as the devil Warlord I was bred to be. You forget my role. I am not by blood a negotiator—I am the executioner. I submit to you tonight. After tomorrow’s gallivant, you are under my command for your own damn good. Should you disobey, I will order the crews off her decks and I will blow her to bloody hell before your very eyes.” And with that he strode from the chambers.
Chelan’s mouth was agape and her small frame shook with tremors born of shock. Indeed, she had almost forgotten to whom she was married over the years under his gentle hand. She had almost forgotten his ruthless power. He was a Warlord first, an angel of death, the devil in the flesh. As Emperor, he merely tempered his iron fist. He commanded the galaxy, and those who dared disobey him, disappeared... permanently.