Nedan walked over to us and took a knee.
“I am for you, Red Dragon, and Diem Sava,” he said, clasping his clenched fist over his heart.
Taking their cue from Nedan, the others followed suit, dropping to one knee until we stood in the middle of a sea of kneeling warriors, all of them ready to follow Rakesh... to follow us into death.
“Whoa!” I said.
Rakesh let his tail caress my shoulder, and I laced my fingers through his.
“This is one hell of a first date,” I teased.
“I thought you would be impressed,” he replied.
“Is that a joke?”
Rakesh ignored my question and turned back to the waiting crew.
“Today is your last day at the station. Enjoy it. We are scheduled to depart in eighteen risings. We will maintain military order. Our mission has not changed. But, I do not need to tell you that our arrival back on Troiken will be complicated. Remain vigilant and do not shed blood unless necessary. We are, from now, one brotherhood. I would no sooner endanger your lives than my own. I don’t know what you believe about me, but I hope you all believe this; I am a competent Commander whose loyalty to my crew and my empire have never wavered.”
Nedan took the lead, standing up and shouting, “Yes, Commander.”
Our eyes made contact for a brief second, and I nearly choked on my laughter. As good as my imitation of Nedan was, it was nothing compared to the dozens of voices that parroted his assertion.
“Yes, Commander!” echoed throughout the deck, and, though I didn’t realize it yet, right into the ears of the High Council.
Chapter Ten
We spent the rest of the cycle wandering the station, hand in hand. I stayed away from the food, despite the delicious smells and enticing presentations in restaurant windows. I still didn’t know what would kill me. Instead, we shopped.
I stood, naked in a booth, and had my measurements taken. Then I chose from a seemingly endless list of options.
“It would like female attire?” Alexa’s voice buzzed in my ear, translating the tailor’s words. It seemed strange to hear her voice in response to the hisses and clicks of the orange, spotted, tailor.
“Yes, I would.”
“Does it prefer a planet?”
“Umm, Troiken, please,” I said meekly.
He hissed and shook his head back and forth dramatically.
“A pity. Not much variety. Perhaps we can adjust to its form. What planet is it from?”
“Earth,” I said proudly.
“Exotic!” The tailor clasped his hands and skittered off to the back of his shop, his steps making tiny tapping sounds as he went.
I looked at Rakesh who was trying not to look bored.
“Why don’t you order something for yourself?”
“I do not need many clothes,” he said.
“No, you don’t need them. But, perhaps you’d like to dress nice sometimes. Or maybe you want to impress me,” I said slyly.
“Would new clothes impress you?”
“Of course. What do you normally do to impress females?”
“Victory in combat,” he said proudly, his chin lifted high.
“Are you serious?” I chuckled.
“No female wants to breed with a weak male. Her offspring should have a strong and healthy sire.” His simple-minded defense only added oil to the fire, and I held my sides as I laughed.
Suddenly the tailor burst from his back room, making a loud wail, brandishing what looked like a curtain rod with an ominous blue flame at the end. Feelers that I hadn’t noticed before were waving wildly from his head, and his spots seemed to be glowing.
“No, wait!” Rakesh yelled, jumping back and pulling his weapon.
Nedan leaped forward and crouched over me, protecting me with his own body. The metallic point of his blade shimmered in the blue flame.
“Why is it screaming?” The tailor demanded, brandishing his rod.
“She is not screaming. She’s laughing,” Rakesh insisted.
The tailor looked at me, peeking out from under Nedan, who remained crouched over me.
“It is not under attack?” The tailor directed his question to me.
“No, I was laughing,” I said, waving my hands.
The tailor immediately extinguished the flame on his rod. His feelers folded along his skull again, making them almost invisible, and he stopped glowing. The transformation was so fast that it felt like a magic trick.
“Yehua apologizes. Yehua misunderstood. Is this sound common for earth creatures?”
“Yes, it is laughter. I am sorry if I confused you,” I said, pushing against Nedan’s chest.
Nedan stepped back reluctantly. Though the danger had passed, his eyes never left Yehua.
“Yehua has some idea,” said the tailor, putting his rod down and picking up a sleek black tablet. He handed it to me to review.
Despite the fact that we were on the verge of bloodshed less than a minute ago, I reviewed his ideas. I was getting accustomed to drastic changes in my life.
“This gown is beautiful, but I doubt I’ll have any need for it,” I said, pointing to a long red dress.
“Yehua thought, for its meeting with the Queen,” he said.
“The Queen?”
I turned and looked over at Rakesh. He seemed as clueless as I was.
“Yes, it is common knowledge. The Queen is very keen to meet it.” Yehua clapped his hands and did a spin, his feelers wriggling with excitement.
“Then I will need a new suit as well. Something to match this gown,” Rakesh said, standing up and handing his weapons to Nedan. He disrobed and stepped into the booth, getting his measurements taken as well.
“I will need one as well. Not as formal as the Commander’s, and one that won’t restrict my movement.”
I turned away as Nedan removed his clothes. I was sure that his body was amazing, and I didn’t want Rakesh to catch me looking.
“Oh, an affair! A ball! A royal summons! Yehua will make it all, yes! Yehua will make it all!” The tailor nearly ran in circles as he set about getting measurements and preparing tablets for the two males.
“He really must like being a tailor,” I said under my breath.
“Oh, yes! Lemome love the dressing,” Yehua answered.
“And they have excellent hearing,” Rakesh added, laughing at my expense.
“If it is done, Yehua must prepare,” Yehua said, holding out his hand for the tablet.
“I selected all of the ones I liked, including the gown,” I said, handing the tablet back to him.
Rakesh handed his tablet back as well and then leaned in and whispered something into the tailor’s... ear?
Yehua clapped his hands in response and his feelers went wild.
“Oh, Yehua understands. Yehua would be honored,” he said excitedly.
Nedan didn’t bother with his tablet.
“Please make it simple, I will leave it to you,” he said, nodding curtly. Yehua gave a deep bow in return and then snatched up the tablets and hurried into his back room again.
“That was the best customer service I have ever had,” I said as we walked out of the shop.
Nedan snorted in response.
“Oh, come on, how many tailors would have been willing to fight off two Troitek warriors to defend a girl?”
“We would have lost,” Rakesh said. Nedan nodded in agreement.
“What?”
“The Lemome are fiercer than they seem. We did not conquer the Lemome. We created an alliance with them. They do not care about conquest and victory in battle,” Nedan explained.
“You mean that one little tailor would have –”
“He would have defeated us easily and created a name for himself as the savior of Diem Sava. He might have even gotten himself a royal audience,” Rakesh said.
“Wow. You can’t judge a book by its cover,” I murmured.
“Your education is lacking,” Rakesh said, gritting his teeth
.
“Sorry.”
What else could I say? Since the rift between P’tah and I, my education had been pretty much on hold. I hadn’t thought about it, but there were probably many things that I would need to know before arriving on Troiken.
“It is not your fault,” Nedan said softly.
“Yes, it is. I need to resume training with the Grand Marshal, and I need to find a new tutor. Oda is dead, and P’tah isn’t reliable,” I said, holding my head up. “I’ll rectify this problem immediately, Commander.”
He grunted in the affirmative and then caressed my face with one finger. The gesture grabbed the attention of a few onlookers but IW as quickly learning how not to care.
Rakesh showed me around the station, pointing out places he was familiar with and retelling stories of drunken brawls and cutthroat card games. I held his hand while we walked, and his tail would lovingly caress my shoulder. We turned more than a few heads. No Troitek male behaved in such a way. No female would accept it. We were breaking taboos, and somehow that made it more fun.
We returned to the ship after several risings. I handled the topsy-turvy transition from the lift to the ship a lot better the second time around.
“You have sea-legs, now?” Nedan asked.
“Not quite. Sea-knees at least.” I laughed, and he smiled. It was an innocent smile that reminded me of my brother.
Puva met us at the entrance to my quarters.
“I came to report,” she said, ignoring Nedan and me.
“Let’s go inside first, then you can tell us all,” Rakesh said, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the room.
“There is a race to see who will get their hands on the Sava first,” Puva blurted out.
“What are our options?” Rakesh didn’t seem at all concerned.
“The High Council wants to separate you two and assess the damage. The Crown wants to keep you together, but at a cost,” she said.
“And the Academy?” I asked.
“Silence,” she said, shaking her head. Obviously, my outburst had seriously lowered my market value. I couldn’t say that I wasn’t relieved.
“How is she taking it,” Rakesh asked. There was no need to wonder who “she” was. It could only be P’tah.
“She is pitiful, Commander.”
“Puva!” Nedan warned.
“It is true. The chief lost her work, her friends, and her family. She is pitiful,” Puva said defiantly.
“What would you have us do?” I asked.
“Forgive her. She is a valuable ally, Sava. Bring her into the fold and give her a way back. If you don’t, I guarantee that your enemies will,” Puva said.
We all looked around at each other, not sure how to respond.
“She’s right,” I said, breaking the silence. “If we don’t give her a way back, they will. And she knows too much. She could turn off my nanites tomorrow, and there’d be nothing we could do about it.”
“We could always eliminate her,” Nedan suggested.
“No,” Rakesh barked.
“So?” Puva said.
“I’ll talk to her,” I volunteered. “She and I have a score to settle.”
My tone was harsher than I intended, and all eyes turned to me.
“Talk or challenge?” Puva asked.
“Maybe both,” I said.
They all exchanged knowing looks.
“What?”
“You will lose, Sava,” Nedan said.
“Maybe, but she’ll respect me. That’s the core of our problem. She doesn’t respect me as a person. She thinks of me as a specimen. I’m more than just a talking monkey.”
“I understand your feelings, Sava, but I’m not sure that is the best way to handle this,” Puva replied.
I crossed my arms and sat down. This wasn’t up for discussion. As much as I hated the constant violence and bloodshed, I had to admit that it had its perks. Once the fight was over, the matter was settled. We could move on. But letting this rift linger and fester was a bad idea.
“She is right. Let her handle it.” Rakesh said.
Puva looked like she wanted to object, but Rakesh gave her a warning look and shook his head.
“I’m tired,” I said, feeling the fatigue of the day in my muscles, even though my mind was fully aware.
“Leave. I will stay with her,” Rakesh commanded. The room emptied immediately. No one tried to object.
As soon as the door was locked, Rakesh bound across the room, scooping me up in his arms and throwing me over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“You are no longer ovulating,” he announced, walking back into my bedroom.
“Put me down; I just got this new bed.”
“I’ll be careful, but if I don’t satisfy myself in you, I will go crazy, Diem.”
I giggled as he dropped me on the bed and disrobed. The shadows in the room made his large, waving, cock seem like a weapon. I crawled backward, making room for him on the bed. He advanced towards me menacingly, his gaze focused on me. He grasped the waistband of my pants and pulled them off, underwear and all, with a single yank.
“I am sorry, Diem. I cannot be gentle with you this time,” he said, looming above my body.
The softness in his red eyes sucked me in.
“That’s okay. I don’t need you to be gentle,” I said, burying my fingers in his hair.
He grasped my left ankle and put my leg over his shoulder. I took a deep breath and, in one motion he filled me. I bit my lip, trying not to cry out as he buried his hard length in my body. He planted his face in my neck, inhaling deeply as my body slowly adjusted to his intrusion.
“I am sorry, Diem. I couldn’t wait any longer,” he growled roughly, beginning to move inside me. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and closed my eyes. He used slow, deep strokes, coaxing my body into compliance.
“Ah, so good,” he murmured, picking up the pace.
I felt the sharp prick of his quill, and the fire of desire rushed through my body. Within moments I was panting, clinging to his body.
“Don’t stop,” I begged.
He licked my skin and then shuddered, his skin becoming hot to the touch. The friction of my shirt against my nipples became sweet torture.
“I can’t stop, Diem. I can’t stop!” he cried as he burrowed his cock deep inside me and spilled his seed.
Chapter Eleven
“We need to talk,” I said.
P’tah looked nervous as I approached. Since leaving the station, I hadn’t reported for our daily check-ins. Little had changed about my days, except the fact that I could roam the ship freely. I had Puva compile a reading list for me and resumed my lessons with the Grand Marshal. I also took my meals with the crew.
Calling what I ate “meals” was being generous. Using the information published by P’tah, Puva compiled a list of foods that I could eat. There were twelve. None of them were very delicious. I never thought I’d long for P’tah’s purple, grapefruit flavored nuggets so much in my life. Still, I sat and ate with them and listened to their stories, concerns, and songs. I laughed with them and watched as they negotiated conflicts with as little bloodshed as honor would allow.
For better or for worse, I was discovering that these souls on the Chronos were my people. I wanted to protect them as much as I wanted to protect Earth. And, I would need help doing that. I would need every ally I could get, even one very self-absorbed scientist.
“How can I help you, Sava?” she said.
I wasn’t sure if she was mocking me or not.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know if I should trust you or not,” I said, stepping into the lab and letting the door close behind me.
“Why? Will you cut off my hand as well?”
“Oh please, she got it back.”
“She’ll need weeks and weeks of treatment before she’ll be able to use it properly,” she argued.
“Then she’ll learn to appreciate how precious her body is and maybe tak
e more care about how she handles bodies that don’t belong to her.”
P’tah narrowed her eyes and shifted her weight in anticipation of an attack.
“Why are you here?”
“Your brother seems to think we need your talents on our side.”
“What side? There are no sides? We are all citizens of the Empire. I am a scientist. My brother is a ship’s Commander. And, you are…”
“I’m what?” I close the distance between us and dare her to say the words. “What am I in this fantasy of yours?”
“You are the property of the Empire,” she said slowly, lowering her eyes.
“Right. And where I come from, people aren’t property. We fought long, fucked up, bloody wars to make sure that happened. Do you know what they call humans who are owned by others?”
P’tah blinked.
“Slave,” I said the Troitek word slowly, making sure that she understood me perfectly. I wanted her to feel the way that word slipped into my flesh and spread my veins like a virus.
“Diem, I never –”
I cut her off by taking another step closer, my hand gripping the hilt of my blade tightly.
“You tried to use my friendship to turn me into a slave. You tried to sell me and use my flesh as the price for your advancement. You were kind when I needed a friend. You were understanding when I was injured and confused. But I was never anything more than a thing to you. An amusing and fascinating thing.”
“You have never been a slave, Diem. Slaves are lower than pets,” she said, her words cutting me like a knife. It was clear that she didn’t understand, and she was not going to apologize. I was wasting my breath.
“Arm yourself, P’tah. I am challenging you,” I said.
“Are you serious? You think you can beat me?”
“Maybe not, but this seems to be the only language you speak.” I drew my blades and crouched into a fighting stance.
“I could kill you without raising my heart-rate,” she said, taking off her lab coat and walking over to the cabinet where she stored her blade. I waited as she meticulously tied the deadly barb to the end of her tail and took the other into her hand.
She instantly looked vicious. Despite being a scientist, I had to remember that she’d been training for combat since childhood. I was at a distinct disadvantage here.
A Pet For The Commander: The Complete Series Page 16