by Cheree Alsop
“You’re joking,” the Talastan said in relief. “I should have known.” He glanced ahead and saw that the others were leaving them. “I’d better catch up.” He took off running after the crew members.
Devren’s steps slowed so he could walk beside Liora, but he didn’t look at her. She felt the tension coming from him.
“I’m really sorry,” she said quietly. “I shouldn’t have done that. You didn’t need to see it again.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t the second time for you,” he said, phrasing it as a statement instead of a question.
Liora’s voice was soft when she said, “I relive it every night. Sleep has turned to nightmares. I can’t stop seeing it over and over again.”
He glanced at her and concern showed in his expression. “Liora—”
Whatever he was about to say was cut off by Hyrin’s enthusiastic voice.
“Liora, Captain, you need to try this fabulous choxin dish Shathryn’s new mother-in-law just created. It’s to die for!”
Devren gave Liora a smile and made his way toward Hyrin, leaving her to follow in his wake.
“I just can’t believe how beautiful your home is,” O’Tule raved. She motioned to Liora as soon as she drew near to the table. “Can you believe it?”
“It’s very lovely,” Liora replied. “I’m sure you’ll be very happy here.”
“Definitely,” O’Tule gushed. “I can just imagine little Tramareaus’ running around here. Although, that’s rather hard to say. Do you have a nickname for him so you don’t have to call ‘Tramareaus’ every time you need to get his attention? When your babies need tending, that name’s going to get quite long.”
Pink touched Shathryn’s cheeks, but she nodded with a pleased smile. “I call him Treaus, like his mother does. He says he likes it when I say it.”
“That’s cute,” O’Tule replied. “It’s like a pet name. You are just adorable! I’ve missed you so much!”
She gave her friend a hug.
Liora slid quietly around the table so she wouldn’t be required to join in. She spotted Devren standing near the far wall with Tramareaus. They appeared to be in deep discussion. Devren looked up once and caught Liora’s eye. She glanced away and focused her attention on the plate of choxin Hyrin had given her. The fluffy pastel-colored pieces melted on her tongue, leaving behind the taste of mint and swarthan honey.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Liora met Devren’s gaze.
“I’d like to go for a walk,” Devren continued. He cracked a smile. “Unless, of course, you’re too sore from the beating I gave you.”
“You call that a beating?” Liora asked. “I’ve seen a haffot put up a better fight.”
Devren snorted and waited for her to rise. “Comparing me to an animal that does nothing but sit and eat all day should be insulting, but I admire them for their tenacity.”
“They do have that,” Liora conceded.
They reached the door and Devren lead the way through to the clearing. He was silent as they followed the cobblestone path. Liora wasn’t sure what he wanted, but kept silent to give him time to gather his thoughts.
When Devren finally spoke, his voice had a strange tone to it. “Liora, Tramareaus is right. You have changed.”
Her heart slowed. Liora wondered if she had reached the moment where he was going to take back telling her she was a part of the crew, the family. She couldn’t blame him after what she had done.
“All of these things, these battles, killing so many people and creatures, losing Tariq, all of these have changed you.”
Devren glanced at her. She couldn’t read his expression.
“You’re no longer the girl I freed from the Kirkos.”
Liora didn’t know what he was getting at. She clenched and unclenched her hands, trying to remain patient. She felt on edge as if every word he spoke mattered. Why she had placed her fate in his hands confused her. She was strong, independent, but also broken. If he said she was too broken for hope, she would believe it.
He stopped. When she paused beside him, he finally met her eyes squarely. “Liora, I should have known from the beginning that you were different. You survived so many situations that would have killed a normal human, or a Damaclan for that matter. You shouldn’t be here talking to me. You’re scarred, shredded, as Tramareaus put it, and I know he wasn’t just talking about on the outside. Tramareaus knows things, things a person shouldn’t be able to know about another individual.”
His tone showed that it bothered him. He lowered his gaze to the floor for a moment, his hands behind his back and his expression indecipherable. When he finally let out a breath and raised his head, Liora saw the uncertainty on his face.
“Liora, I don’t know what to say or do. I loved you the moment I saw you on the Kirkos.”
Liora’s heart slowed and tightened as if it was gripped by a fist.
“Devren, I can’t—” she began.
He cut her off with a shake of his head, his gaze pleading. “Liora, please let me say what I need to, otherwise I might never get it out.”
He waited until she nodded before he continued.
“The only other person that went through as much as you have was Tariq. I was happy for you both to have each other, because you made each other more than what you were before you were together. You lifted each other up, helped the other through. You made Tariq smile.”
His voice choked off. He swallowed and ran a hand across his face.
“Liora, you are so much more than a human, a Damaclan, or a Foundling. You are a being with so much heart you don’t have enough soul to contain it. It spills out of your eyes when you see someone hurt, trapped, or in need of your help some other way. It fills everyone around you with the want to rise above the lot they have accepted for themselves in this life. You make people want to be better, want to push themselves, want to help those around them. My crew would fly to the ends of the Macrocosm for you.”
Liora didn’t know what he was getting at. There was a hesitancy to his words as though they weren’t coming out the way he wanted them to. He shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets, then took them out again. He let out a breath.
“I know you don’t have room for anyone else in your heart right now. Tramareaus told me not to tell you how I felt. He said it was too soon and it would only cause a rift between us.” He looked at her with a half-smile that only looked sad. “That’s the worst fear of my life.” He shook his head and corrected, “It’s actually the second worst fear of my life. The first is that something will happen and I will never have the chance to tell you how I feel about you. We’re going against the biggest threat we ever have and if Tramareaus is right, few of us will come home. I would never forgive myself if I let you think for the rest of your life, however long it’s going to be, that you lost the only person who loved you in this Macrocosm.”
She didn’t know what to say. Devren saved her from searching for a reply.
“You don’t need to say anything, ever. I just wanted you to understand.” He gave her a small smile. “I know Shathryn is waiting to give you a piece of the wedding cake. It’s apparently a Vickel family recipe. I won’t keep you any longer.”
He walked away, leaving Liora standing on the green cobbled pathway near the forest. She couldn’t say which direction he went because his words still occupied her thoughts in a whirlwind that forced away all else. She couldn’t move and couldn’t speak, even when the sound of footsteps came up behind her.
“Devren just told you, didn’t he?”
Tramareaus sounded pleased with himself.
Liora pushed through the turmoil in her mind enough to say, “He said you warned him not to.”
Tramareaus crossed two of his arms. The third held a purple and white slice of cake on a delicate plate.
“I’ve known Devren since long before I ever heard word of the Damaclan stirring up trouble in the Macrocosm. He’s got a heart of gold, that one, but also a
stubborn streak.”
Liora glanced at him. “Devren does?”
Tramareaus nodded with a smile. “Most definitely. He got it from his father, the man who saved more galaxies than he knew the day he refused to bring the Omne Occasus back to the Coalition. The stubborn streak is the reason Devren freed you from the circus ship, and it’s the same streak that made him back off when he found out Tariq had feelings for you.”
“How did you know that?” Liora asked. “Did Devren tell you?”
Tramareaus shook his head. “Our young Captain keeps his emotions close. It takes a lot of strength to portray positivity all the time, but he does it for his crew and succeeds brilliantly. The thing they miss, because he hides it so carefully, is that Devren may be more captive than you or I ever were.”
The thought caught Liora’s attention. “Captive by whom?”
Tramareaus merely let a smile touch his lips before he handed her the cake he held and turned away. “Take care of yourself, Liora,” he said over his shoulder. “I look forward to seeing you again someday; hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Liora was left staring down at the plate in her hand feeling far more confused than she had ever been in her life.
Chapter 11
“I wish you would have asked Tramareaus’ mother for her recipe,” Jarston said. He picked up another choxin and took a bite. “This texture is so hard to manage. Whenever I try it, it falls flat and I have to turn it into taffy instead. I wonder if it has something to do with the abnormalities of the pressure in space. The cook on the SS Eos theorized that it was the reason his bread never rose.” He winked at Liora. “Though I told him it’s because his yeast was from Ganymede. Everyone knows a good yeast comes from Callisto. They just know how to brew on party moons.”
O’Tule laughed. “You see, Zran. That’s another reason we need to go to Callisto. It’d be a perfect reason to visit after our wedding.”
At her words, the talking in the Kratos’ cafeteria ceased.
“Did you say wedding?” Jarston repeated.
O’Tule’s smile deepened and she held up her hand. A ring with a blue stone in the middle glittered in the light.
“I asked her after Shathryn’s wedding,” Zran told everyone. “It felt like the right moment.”
Devren shook Zran’s hand. “Congratulations.”
“If you’re going to Callisto, where are you going to have your wedding?” Argyle, the head of the engine crew, asked.
O’Tule grinned at Zran. “Isonoe,” she said.
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” Hyrin replied. “I’ve heard the walls are made entirely of the moon’s stone. The whole thing is supposed to glow.”
Everyone looked at Hyrin.
He shrugged self-consciously. “What? I have fifteen sisters, remember? They’ve been planning my wedding since the day I was born.”
“Do you think they would help me?” O’Tule asked.
Hyrin nodded. “I’ll let you talk to them. If I even mention the word ‘wedding’, I won’t hear the last of it.”
O’Tule gave him a look of relief. “I don’t have sisters. Shathryn was my best friend, and now she’s gone, so I don’t even know where to start.” She turned to Liora. “Would you like to help?”
At Liora’s wide-eyed look, everyone laughed.
“Don’t worry,” O’Tule told her. “I was just kidding. I can’t imagine having a Damaclan plan a wedding.” She paused and caught herself. “I mean a Foundling, I guess. I don’t really know what that means. Do Foundlings plan weddings?”
There was worry in her voice as though she was concerned she had made a severe error with the Damaclan remark. Given everything Liora had accidentally shown them, she couldn’t blame the woman.
Liora shook her head and kept her tone light. “I don’t think so. My sense of decorating is completely atrocious. You definitely don’t want me in charge.”
O’Tule gave a relieved smile and set a hand on Liora’s arm. “That’s okay. I’m sure Hyrin’s sisters can show both of us. I’d love for you to be there.”
The question hung in the air. Liora thought of everything in front of them, the huge task they were undertaking, and the risk the crew willingly accepted even after she showed them what they were up against. O’Tule’s hopeful expression held Liora. She was asking a member of her family for a favor, and Liora was that person.
“I would be honored to be a part of your wedding,” she replied.
O’Tule hugged her. The woman paused as if she realized it was something Liora didn’t like. She was about to pull away when Liora hugged her back.
“I’m so happy for you,” she said.
O’Tule smiled so big it amazed Liora. “Thank you!” she exclaimed.
The speaker overhead buzzed and Duncan’s voice sounded. “Captain, we have a problem.”
“Report,” Devren replied.
“We seem to have caught the attention of a Coalition ship.”
Tension filled the air.
“Can it be avoided?” Devren asked.
Hyrin’s voice came over the communicator. “The ship is a Platinum Eagle and we’re surrounded by Falcons.”
Devren swore under his breath.
“Be right there.”
Everyone rose at the same time.
“Have your crew ready in case we need to get out of here quickly,” Devren told Argyle.
“Yes, Captain,” the older man replied with a salute.
Devren ran out the door with the rest of the crew behind him. Liora took her place at the back of the control room as soon as they entered. The sight of the Falcons facing their ship was reflected on the secondary monitors. The central monitor showed the Platinum Eagle, the Coalition carrier ship that dwarfed the S.S. Kratos.
The back hatch was wide open. Armed Coalition officers stood in atmosphere suits beyond the landing bay awaiting the Kratos.
The computer buzzed.
“Captain, we have an incoming transmission,” Hyrin said.
“Put it up on the screen,” Devren replied.
He held his hands loosely behind his back and gave all appearance of being calm. Liora admired his ability to project nonchalance despite the tension she knew ran through him whenever his crew was in danger.
A Coalition officer appeared on the screen. He had dark hair touched with gray at the temples and wore a black uniform without any stripes or decorations.
Devren’s shoulders immediately tightened and he straightened, lowering his arms to his sides.
“General Stratus. To what do we owe the pleasure?” Devren asked.
“General?” Hyrin whispered.
“We’re in trouble,” O’Tule said in an undertone.
Duncan leaned over to Liora and told her in a low voice, “General Stratus is the head of the entire Coalition. He seldom, if ever, leaves Titus.”
“That depends on who I am addressing,” the General replied.
Devren held his gaze. “I am Devren Metis, son of the late Rius Metis, Captain of the S.S. Kratos.”
The General’s eyes narrowed. “In order to be a captain of one of the Coalition’s Iron Falcons, I assume you have been sworn in by a colonel?”
“I was sworn in by Colonel Lefkin. But the colonel is a coward who gave orders for my father’s death, tortured members of my crew, and sent mercenaries after my ship when I refused to bring in the Omne Occasus. I have since destroyed the Omne Occasus and removed myself from any affiliation with the Coalition,” Devren replied.
The General didn’t look at all surprised. Liora realized he knew exactly who Devren was and the history of the Kratos. A thrill of warning ran across her skin.
“Yet you still fly one of our Iron Falcons,” the General said. “If you are no longer a member of the Coalition, then it is time to turn your ship back to its rightful owners. Land, Captain,” he said, emphasizing the word with irony. “We shall discuss your relationship with the Coalition in more detail.”
The screen w
ent black.
“What should I do?” Hyrin asked, his eyes blinking rapidly.
Devren looked at the surrounding Falcons. If they tried to run, the Kratos would be shot to pieces. Devren gave the only order he could.
“Land.”
“Yes, Captain,” Hyrin replied; his voice taut.
Devren looked at Duncan. “Inform the crew that we’re landing on a Coalition carrier. I want everyone to lock themselves in the engine room. Tell Branson to bring every gun he can carry. If the General wants our crew, they’re going to have a fight.”
Duncan repeated Devren’s orders as Hyrin carefully steered the ship into the landing bay. As soon as the wide doors slid shut, the armed officers marched out to meet them.
Devren looked around the room. “O’Tule, Zran, go to the engine room. Have them seal the door from the inside. I don’t want anyone opening it without me present unless it’s a last resort. Duncan, go with them as well.”
As soon as they were clear of the control room, Devren looked at Straham. “You, too.”
Straham shook his head. “I politely refuse.”
A wry smile crossed Devren’s face. “How is refusing polite?”
“If I may be frank,” Straham replied. “You’re not a member of the Coalition and we’re landing on a Coalition carrier. You have no authority here.”
“This is my ship,” Devren pointed out.
“Not if the General has a say in it,” Straham replied calmly.
Liora realized Devren had expected an argument, otherwise he would have ordered Straham to go with the others. There was a light in the Captain’s eyes that showed his approval of Straham’s rebellion.
“What should I do?” Hyrin asked.
Devren turned to the Talastan. “I leave it up to you, my friend. I’d recommend going to the engine room before they seal it. Otherwise, you can stay here with Straham and keep the engines running in case we need a quick escape.”
“I’m going with you,” Straham said.
Devren set a hand on the older officer’s shoulder. “You were my father’s second. I trust you with my life. I need someone here to protect our ship and crew as the first line of defense.” He gestured to the rows of officers below. “You’ll do me no good down there. If they open fire, you have my orders,” he gave the man a steeling look. “My Captain’s orders, to take off with the crew and get free of this carrier if you can.”