by Isabel Wroth
“Neither would I.” Brennaugh muttered,
Twenty Four
He brought Clary to the bridge to see their final approach to Saraz. She stood calmly beside him, though he could see and smell her excitement, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as she looked down at the dark green and pink planet that was to be her new home. “It looks like Earth,” She murmured, and he was pleased to see how eager she seemed, but after so long looking for a new home, he would be eager too. “Can the others see this from the observation deck?” She asked, tearing her gaze away from the planet to look at him with her eyes sparkling, “They can. Ohlen has taken them all there. My warriors will disembark first, it will take a full day, my replacement should be here soon.”
She nodded, worrying at her lip with a dainty fang, blushing when she caught his mental purr of arousal to see it. “We’re um, approaching the planet rather quickly.” She commented, jittering just a bit while the pilots steered towards the landing platform waiting for their arrival. “To ensure our ship’s integrity and safety, instead of space stations, we dock under the ocean. Were our enemies to fire upon us, their plasma blasts dissipate in the water, giving us time to return fire and launch.” She looked reasonably impressed, but her worry didn’t fade, “Clearly you’ve done this many times, but this ship is…massive.” He folded his hands behind his back and moved to stand behind her, bending to murmur in her ear, “Have no fear, my one. Were I at all doubtful of my pilot’s capabilities, I would have flown you to the surface in a shuttle myself.”
She gripped the railing in front of them when they began their descent into the atmosphere, the chatter of the ground tower accepting his access codes, giving instructions for landing and assuring him all was prepared for their arrival on their end. Clary sucked in a deep breath as the ocean loomed closer, holding it when she saw the platform that the warship would set down on, seemingly right in the middle of the greenish black waters. The horizon dipped as the ship leveled out, and though he could see the progress of the ship lowering onto the platform, when it touched down they didn’t feel so much as a shiver. “Docking bay clamps secured, Commander.” A warrior confirmed, “Hatches all secured?”
“Affirmative,”
“Continue with the docking procedure,”
‘You are so sexy, Commander.’
He bent and nipped at her ear in reprimand, distracting him from the orders he was required to give. She shot her elbow back into his ribs, blowing out a breath when the ship began its descent into the water. Mist slid up the surface of the viewing window, then water as they sank lower. They had a ways to go, and reports stemmed from all around him, and soon they were situated in the docking bay and the airlock to the transport bays were in place, ready for his warriors to disembark. He was home, and this was the last time he would stand here on this deck and give his commands to the fleet. The moment sunk home when to a one, his warriors stood and pressed their fingertips to their hearts, inclining their heads to him, all twenty of them in unison. “It has been an honor to serve you, Commander.” The male closest to him said, “The honor was mine, there are none better than the warriors aboard this vessel.”
He gave his last orders, and soon he and Clary were alone on the bridge. Her small hand slipped into his and gave a squeeze, her gaze gentle but proud, “Will you miss it?” She asked him carefully, and he smiled, leaning down to taste the sweetness from her lips. “No, my one. I will not.” He gave his command chair one last stroke, knowing he would never spend another sleepless night on the uncomfortable cushions, working tirelessly for the betterment of his people, his responsibilities to the armada crushing down on him alone. Never again.
He walked the halls for the last time, holding the hand of his mate, walking with her towards their future. He had nothing of personal value that needed to be taken with him, and when he said as much after Clary asked, she seemed upset. “You have nothing you want to take with you? No books? No clothes or items from your travels?” He wanted to laugh at her ignorance of just how little time the commander of an entire armada had for things such as leisure time. He’d taken more in the few days he’d had with her aboard, than he had in his entire tenure as commander. “My one, the only thing of value I take off this ship, is you. All else is replaceable.” He keenly felt her sadness, and when he asked her why, she shook her head and wrapped her free hand around his bicep, resting her cheek there too. “I just understand now, what you meant when you said you were being relieved from loneliness and a lifetime of service.” He touched a kiss to her hair and stopped with her in the same hangar bay where he had first seen her, “My replacement will join us soon, and then we may disembark to join the others.”
They did not have to wait long, and he was not wholly surprised by the warrior who walked into the hangar, accompanied by a quartet of his elite guard. He had followed his military career, as he had done for all the other possible candidates to one day take command of any of his fleet. He approved the transfer, and showed it in how he approached the other male and clasped his arm firmly. “Commander Cavil, welcome aboard.” Cavil was younger by over fifteen cycles, but he was keen and had commanded the twelfth sector and had protected it victoriously, prevailing each time the Na’ha had attempted to strike at their ore rich planet. He would serve and command the armada well. “My thanks, Commander Tarek. You are hereby relieved,” He took a deep breath and gave one last squeeze to Cavil’s arm. “I am relieved,” He said, realizing it was true in more ways than one.
Cavil’s eyes slid to his left, and when he released his grip, he held his hand back to Clary and introduced her to the new Commander of the Sarazen armada. “My one, this is Commander Cavil. Commander, my mate, Clary of the Starsong.” Cavil gave the customary greeting of his fingertips pressed to his chest, and Clary inclined her head while the younger male openly stared. “I do not mean to stare, but you are not what I expected, asha’na.” He gritted his teeth, prepared to give Cavil the thrashing of his life, but Clary just smiled and tilted her head curiously. “What were you expecting, Commander?”
“Someone smaller. You have already sired a cub on her outside the festival?”
He blinked in shock, growling when Cavil’s eyes dropped obviously to Clary’s lush bosom. To his utter surprise, Clary laughed. He was not sure why she found Cavil’s total lack of manners amusing, but she knew little yet of protocol, and Cavil was rudely disregarding them all. Despite his control over the armada now, Cavil was still his subordinate and seemed to have forgotten this. “Humans have breasts all the time, not just when we are carrying. Don’t growl, you thought the same thing.” She chided him, and he glared at Cavil, who seemed to realize the misstep he had made and had the grace to flush. “The difference, my one, is that I thought it. Not stated it aloud to several witnesses in a manner quite blatantly disrespectful to you.” Cavil immediately apologized, “I have no excuse, Commander. Forgive me. I was read in by the council on the matter of the changes that occurred to your mate and the three other human females. I confess that I had trouble believing it. I am truly glad for you, there are few who deserve such beauty more. Please forgive my rudeness,”
Once he handed over the data tablet with the codes required to transfer Cavil’s command to the First ship, he took the final step off the ship that had been his home for longer than he cared to remember, and led Clary into the waiting shuttle. They stepped into the tube and with a small tug at his belly, they were off, shooting for the surface where the others awaited them. “Tarek, it’s alright you know. I wasn’t offended by his curiosity.” She told him, petting his arm soothingly, “I was. It is customary to ask permission to address one’s mate upon first meeting them.”
“I see. You’ll have to teach me these customs of yours, so I don’t embarrass you.”
He glared down at her hotly, offended more by the ridiculous idea that she would embarrass him. But she ignored his look and smiled, looking around at the water that rushed past them, “He called me, asha’na. M
y translator didn’t provide me with a meaning, though I think it was a very respectful title. And why are you being called to the royal apartments?” He grunted, eager to be free of this damn tube so he could smell the free air of his homeworld again. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed it until right that moment. “You have royalty in your culture, yes?”
“Mm hm, a long time ago. Kings and queens are the primary monarchs, their offspring princes and princesses, the titles go on.”
“My sire was Asho, primary ruler until my dam, his Asho’na was killed. He stepped down when my brother called his mate, so in turn my brother became, Asho. I am secondary, Asha, which makes you my Asha’na. We, are being called to the royal apartments, because until we choose a home of our own outside the palace, that is where we reside.”
“Um, you literally mentioned…none of this before now. Your younger brother is the king, of your people, you’re next in line which makes you a prince, and me…”
“Princess, by your language. Yes.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“What?”
“It’s a rude way of saying, you’re kidding,”
“I see, and no, I am not shitting you. This displeases you, to be among the ruling pride?”
“I just got used to the idea of being in command of my own crew, and suddenly I’m promoted to the ruling pride. I’m…off balance. Again. Was there a reason we haven’t discussed this before now?”
He looked pensive, and she could feel him thinking about it seriously. He gave a shake of his head, and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “No. My breeding is so widely known on my world that I did not think of it, or think to explain. I made mention of it in passing, but I see where in our conversations I should have explained. I apologize,” His sincerity and the fact that she could feel it, was probably the only reason why she didn’t fly off the handle. Until she thought back on their conversations and realized that as the first born, it had been him who should have taken over his father’s rule when he stepped down. But because he had no mate at the time, the position was given to his younger brother, and likely to avoid any conflict, Tarek had been demoted and sent off to defend their solar system. “Do not be nervous, my one. All will be well.”
The tube they rode in stopped in the lobby of another large building, a green laser light passing over them before the doors opened to permit them into the room beyond. Last sterilization check point, Tarek said. His eagerness was catching, though he appeared for all intents and purposes to be calm and in total command. Her crew waited not far beyond the tube system doors, the women who would be Sarazen mates on one side with their imposingly large men, the rest of her crew on the other side, all of the humans looking around the very empty, Spartan room with uncertain curiosity. Separated again by several feet, stood a knot of robe wearing men who looked…official. ‘Council members, my one.’ Tarek answered silently, in answer to the question she had asked herself, “Asha, welcome home.” The one in the front greeted, bowing his head and giving the now customary gesture of fingertips to heart, as did the other three men behind him.
Her cat was wary, her fur ruffled the wrong way for no apparent reason, quiet in her mind but very much alert and watching every tic and flutter of their lashes. Testing their scents, memorizing them suspiciously. Tarek squeezed her hand gently, pulling her with him as he approached the group of men. “T’farro, I was not expecting to see you here.” Tarek wasn’t any less suspicious or wary of them, but as he was twice their size, his muscled bulk easily double theirs, he didn’t seem to be threatened. “The Asho and his mate were unable to be present, so we came in their stead.” He said evasively, his dark eyes flicking over her with a cool sort of curiosity, the sort that made her want to curl her lip at him and growl. “I see. Well, have appropriate quarters been readied in my wing of the citadel?”
“Yes, you and your ah…human fem-“
“Mate,” Tarek growled tightly, making all four of the men blink and give a pulse of uncertainty in their scent. “Forgive me, your mate, will find that your quarters have been made quite comfortable.”
T’farro reminded her of the Aria’s acting General. A schmoozer. He said all the right things, his face gave away nothing but pleasantness, and yet he just seemed smarmy. “I am unconcerned with the state of my quarters. I was referring to the housing to be provided for the human crew and my men who have found mates among them.”
“The ambassador’s manor has been made available for the humans, your warriors-“
“As I sent you reports well in advance stating quite plainly the requirements for the human crew and their mates, which were approved by the Asho, you are well aware that the ambassador’s manor is unsuitable. Which means either you are purposefully ignoring my requirements, or you are attempting to assert some kind of quarantine which is unnecessary and recipe for revolt.”
“Asha, I assure you-“
“That the humans will remain together, close by my mate, and those who have been called by my warriors, will remain, with my warriors. I expect this error to be resolved, immediately.”
She noted that two of the council members hid little smirks in their demure head bobs, while the other two were obviously irked, if their constipated expressions were anything to go by. Tarek started walking again, which gave her no choice but to follow with him, and she glanced back over her shoulder to see that her thirty two crew members and the ten Sarazen warriors were following smartly. They walked out into the bright sunlight, and for the first time in her life, warm, breathable air moved over her body. The sensation was so odd that for a moment she faltered. Tarek didn’t jerk her along, he looked down at her and was smiling while she turned her hand over, rubbing the heat of the massive sun around on her fingertips. She felt heavier, smelled things that her cat identified as actual trees and plants, salt water, free air. “Is something wrong with your female, Asha?”
She saw a muscle in Tarek’s jaw tick, and she silently asked him if it was alright for her to answer the question. He gave a grunt and a little nod, while she stood and marveled at the rush of emotion surged through her body. “I was born and raised on a starship. I have never felt the sun or the wind on my skin before, councilman T’farro. I am marveling at the sensation.” Tarek squeezed her hand again, his eyes softening while he stood and waited patiently for her to process the feelings. “Come, my one. There is more to see beyond the sea port.” She grudgingly moved, not sure how to accurately express to him her awe, but then she remembered she didn’t have to. He could feel it. “Come, let me show you my world. Our home.”
She heard the others laughing behind her in wonder, catching the hem of her long dress up to climb the small flight of stairs that led up into some kind of open transport, big enough for all of them to stand in comfortably. Ohlen moved to the front and nodded to the warrior waiting, taking control of the vessel, Andi following in his wake. She watched how the small woman looked up confidently at her mate, eagerness and curiosity alight on her face. So much better than the shadows, pain and fear. Her skin itched and felt stretched tight over her bones, excitement prickling at her, Tarek touched a kiss to her temple, pulling her in front of him so he could wrap his arms around her and keep her stable while the transport lifted up into the air with a hum and shot forward smoothly. ‘Breathe slowly, my one. Your beast desires to feel the earth pounding away beneath her paws.’
‘I haven’t changed since that one time on the ship.’
‘And you must, soon. Or she will do it for you when you least expect it. Tonight, we will take the others and run through the woods.’
The wind rushed over them, and her entire crew was shell shocked by the wonder of it. They zipped over a main road, the sea behind them and in the distance she could see mountains. The land they covered was mostly an open plain, flat grass that smelled sharp and pungent, tall grass that her cat would enjoy running through. The mountains got closer and she could hear the rumble of conversations being struck, the warriors telling
their mates and those close by them of what was to come, their home, the citadel, which she reasoned was the palace.
The transport moved down a wide main road that cut through the center of the forest, and the deeper they traveled, the more carefully disguised buildings she saw underneath the massive trunks. The leaves were a vibrant mix of red and orange, the trunks a pale gold slashed with brown, creating what she knew would have been autumnal colors on earth, but a quick question to Tarek and she knew that the trees were this color all year long. They were stunning, and she couldn’t wait to walk beneath them and learn the texture of the wood and feel the soft looking leaves. Tarek sensed her eagerness and touched a kiss to her temple, promising her that soon all her curiosities would be sated.
The buildings were more like the ancient illustrations in some of the equally ancient text books from earth, built by Native Americans or Vikings, made of the golden tree trunks, the roofs thatched with grass. They were lovely, the quick view she got of them showed her hints of intricate carving to the lintels and support beams that protruded from the front and ends of the buildings. So many questions sprang to mind, but she was distracted by how the transport was heading for the rock face of the mountain. She leaned a little to the side, realizing there was a massive entrance carved into the stone, large enough that a small ship would be able to fit inside, and that’s where they were going. ‘Your people live inside a mountain?’