Together, they wept in the silence of their joined souls for everything that was lost.
~31~
Sabine looked on with tears in her eyes as the ceremony to enshrine Subat’s image in the Su’Tani Temple’s Hall of Defenders went on. Violins played a somber tune in the background as the Su’Vanii Elder, Anissa, said a benediction before the assembled members of the Su’Tani family, dignitaries of the Protectorate, and members of the military high command. Anasha was knelt before the Su’Vanii as the image of her father shined in blue fire upon an ebony plaque that would shortly be mounted upon the wall with other honored Defenders.
Kristof stood at Sabine’s side, his good hand clasped in hers. His right arm was bound tightly to his chest, wrapped in black bandages that held within millions of microscopic nanobots that were working feverishly to rebuild his arm. As she was, Kristof was dressed in the deepest black, both mourning the loss of a man who had become a second father to them both. Their pain was dwarfed by Anasha’s, though, and their spirits were with hers as she struggled to hold back her grief during the ceremony.
As the Su’Vanii’s benediction ended, Subat’s plaque rose into the air of its own accord and fused itself into its place along the wall. The violin music was joined by a mournful chorus as the ceremony drew to a close. Sabine and Kristof went to Anasha and drew her into the circle of their arms as the assembly broke up at the conclusion of the ritual. Anasha’s tears broke free as she fell into their arms and wept, no longer able to contain her grief. Max, who had also come to honor Subat, stood slightly apart from them and prevented anyone from disturbing their grief.
Sabine and Kristof held their slim blond wife as they shared her grief and pain, their tears joining hers as they shut out the world around them. The loss of Subat defied any words to express what they all felt. Sabine simply gave freely all of the love she felt for this woman. Amazingly, she felt her son also reach out to comfort Anasha, which elicited a short laugh of amazement from Anasha amid her sobs, which brought a smile to Sabine’s face to hear. Anasha placed a hand on Sabine’s stomach and whispered a quiet ‘thank you’ to the baby within.
Their day was far from done, Sabine knew. Even now, as they dried their tears, Sabine knew that the Grand Concourse of the People outside of the Senate Hall was slowly filling as her people gathered to hear the Queen speak about the recent events that had rocked their society to its core. It was not a speech she approached with any joy, but it was necessary nonetheless. Only so much could be communicated effectively through printed media or through surrogates on the news nets. Today was Sabine’s first day in public since returning home, and her people deserved to hear her voice speak on recent events.
The assembly of the Great Houses and the military high command had been gathered the day before and briefed in full on the tampering of Sabine’s mind during the events of the Firestorm Holocaust, as it was now being called, minus any mention of the Gods. The Su’Vanii had attended and verified that the Queen had not been responsible for her actions that day, lending some validity to their announcement. Admiral Arctura knew the full truth about the Phoenix God, but only a few others were included in that knowledge. General Mannis and Grand Duke Stephan Duranis had also been given a full briefing prior to meeting with the larger assembly.
There had been a fierce debate on whether the Queen should step down among the assembled noble houses and the military commanders, despite evidence of her not being responsible for the Holocaust. Those calling for the Queen to step down were few in number, however, once it was clear that House Duranis and the senior military commanders remained totally loyal to the Queen. It was then announced by the Prime Minister that the people of the Protectorate had spoken and would, under no circumstances, allow Queen Sabine Arctura the IV to step down from her duties.
Sabine herself was of two minds on the subject. In her heart she knew it had been the Phoenix God acting through her to carry out his war, but her dreams continued to haunt her with visions of the Clovani capital world’s death, and she continued to feel that she should have been able to stop it somehow. Her memories were confused, because the Phoenix’s influence had been so subtle that she could not tell her own thoughts from his. Ultimately, she accepted the Council’s verdict and resumed her rightful rule of the Protectorate.
The details of the Council’s deliberations and ruling had been disseminated to the people of the Protectorate in advance of the Queen’s speech so that she would not have to give a full accounting of the details herself. Protests had erupted on many worlds, she knew, including on Purannis that were calling for her indictment as a war criminal, but they were generally small protests. The people of the Protectorate had loved her zealously before, and continued to do so once the details were made public of her manipulation at the hands of an unknown entity.
As they made their way from the Temple to the Grand Concourse, Kristof and Anasha held her hands tightly, feeling her inner turmoil and debate and offered her their support and love. Sabine wrapped herself in that love as she struggled to come to terms with her heart and guilt. She feared to see the looks of hate and accusation she expected to see from her people, even though she’d seen all of the reports of support for her.
The Grand Concourse could fit a hundred thousand people, and Sabine saw from her vantage point within the Senate building that the Concourse’s tiered steps had filled to overflowing. There were occasional signs from protesters, but there were also many signs declaring love and loyalty as well. No ruler was ever universally loved, Sabine thought to herself with some sadness.
Finally, the time came for her to address her people. Anasha and Kristof kissed her softly before she went forth, giving her one last bit of strength, as they would remain behind while she went alone before her people. The crowd cheered as she came forth, interspersed with more than a few howls of anger, but she stayed resolute as she approached the podium with trepidation.
“My People of the Protectorate,” she began as the crowd quieted, “I come before you during a dark time in our history. War has ever been a threat to the peace and safety we have strived to achieve and maintain for generations beyond count. Always before, the threats to that peace that came from within paled in comparison to those that came from without, even while we had our brief struggles with dynastic succession or disputes between our Royal Houses. We have struggled with foreign invaders who sought to impose their beliefs upon us, or sought to conquer us simply because we were different, or had something they wished to possess. Always before we held ourselves to the moral high ground, and resisted the urge to descend into the wholesale slaughter that our enemies wished to bring upon us.”
“That all changed recently, as you all know well,” Sabine continued, her voice hard but tinged by her great sadness and remorse. “Recently, the planet of Clovani Prime was utterly laid waste by a weapon system that I had ordered created to be merely a deterrent, and yet was then unleashed upon an unsuspecting people. It is with great sadness that I must admit that these orders came through me. The Su’Tani, however, through their enormous skills of insight and discovery, have found that it was not truly I that had acted in these matters. They have since told me that I was most subtly manipulated into giving these commands. It was extremely hard for me to believe at first, as I am sure it was for many of you as well, but we have always trusted the truths revealed to us in the past by our most revered defenders, and I cannot now discount their sage advice in such momentous events.”
“It has broken my heart,” Sabine went on, tears now shining in her eyes, “That I was not strong enough then to see what was happening to me, even when those closest to my councils tried to dissuade my course, or to stop it when I had the opportunity. I will forever live with the guilt for what has befallen the Clovani people, guilt because I could not see what was being done to me even as the very actions I ordered flew in the face of all of the values I hold dear. I value the sanctity of all life as dear as I do my own, and my heart shatters at t
he knowledge of the death and destruction that has been wrought in my name.”
“I vow to all of you gathered here, and throughout the Protectorate and beyond,” Sabine began to finish as her tears flowed unrestrained, “That from this day forth until my last, that I will always fight in the defense of peace, love, and life for all people everywhere, and that never again shall I be used in such a monstrous, evil manner. The Su’Tani have promised me that there are now safeguards within my mind to prevent such an act from occurring once more. My faith and trust from many of you has been broken, I know, and I can only hope and pray that one day I can regain your faith in me. I love you all, you are my family each and every one, and I will never stop fighting for you.”
Sabine bowed her head and wept as the silence of the crowd erupted in cheers and applause in support of their Queen. She felt Kristof and Anasha rejoin her then, along with the leaders of the Great Houses and the military high command, who all led the cheers for their tiny, yet larger than life, Queen. The adoration of the crowd left her completely speechless and overwhelmed after a long week of fearing this moment. Kristof and Anasha wrapped her in their embrace, and they were greeted with renewed vigor from the adoring assembly around them, and Sabine at last felt some of her grief and guilt fade away.
~32~
Anasha slowly slipped the dress from Sabine’s shoulders and let it fall to the floor as she helped her lovely Queen remove her formal gown. Across the room they could see their images in the mirror opposite them, and Anasha embraced Sabine from behind and ran her hand over the slight swell of her belly where the baby resided within. Sabine laid her head back against Anasha’s chest as she lost herself in the embrace.
Sabine’s skin had become so pale in the past months, Anasha noticed as she caressed her tiny Queen with loving hands and kisses against her neck. She could feel the last vestiges of Sabine’s tension falling away and Anasha continued to undress her, until Sabine was nude in her arms. The sudden flaring of need that came from Sabine at being so exposed in her wife’s arms cause her to press tightly back against Anasha as she reached back to hold Anasha’s head close to her neck.
“I love you so much,” Sabine whispered softly as Anasha’s hands encompassed the Queen’s small, firm breasts. Anasha turned Sabine in her arms and kissed her passionately before pulling away to look into her deep brown eyes.
“I love you too, my dear sweet Sabine,” Anasha whispered as a tear came to her eye. “I am so sorry I ever doubted you before. I should have seen that you weren’t yourself after the attack on Clovani Prime. Please forgive me, my love.”
Sabine took Anasha’s face in her hands and stared at her lovingly. “There is nothing to forgive, my love. I doubted even myself, and I did not even have your grief to blind me. I am so sorry about your father. We all loved him so dearly.”
Anasha wept as the pain of her father’s death crept back up on her even as Sabine kissed her and began to remove her formal Su’Tani uniform. Anasha began to lose herself in Sabine’s loving touches, even as Sabine had lost herself in hers just moments ago. Again, she marveled at her love for this tiny woman who had so openly accepted her into her life and love with Kristof, who at that moment was back in the hospital, still recovering from his ordeal.
Kristof’s spirit was with them, though, joined in the love they shared as the two women fell to the bed in each other’s arms. Of all the emotions to rage through her mind and soul this day, passion had not been one Anasha had expected, but Sabine drew her further into the feeling of unbridled love that bound the three of them tight, tighter, tightest. Her nipples tightened as Sabine kissed her lower and lower along her body, until Anasha lost herself in wave after wave of ecstasy. The pain and grief that had plagued her were lost in Sabine’s unselfish love of her, and Anasha cried out in joy of it.
Laying Sabine back against the pile of pillows on their bed, Anasha saw the look of love and eagerness in the diminutive Queen’s eyes as Anasha leaned over her for a kiss. Sabine grasped her face in her hands as the kiss lingered and whispered I love you to her, and Anasha’s heart soared. Kissing her way along Sabine’s neck and down across her tight little breasts, she thrilled at the feel of her lover beneath her.
All thought scattered as Anasha lost herself in returning the love Sabine has so freely given her, and she thrilled at the feel and taste of the young Queen along the tip of her tongue as she felt Sabine’s hands entwine in her hair. Sabine cried out in joyous ecstasy as she pressed herself firmly to Anasha’s loving touch. What seemed a lifetime later, Anasha lay with her wife spooned in behind her, as Sabine lightly stroked her side and caressed her breast, feeling its fullness and roundness.
“I still wish I had breasts like yours,” Sabine whispered against Anasha’s back as she continued her light exploration.
“I love yours the way they are, my love,” Anasha whispered back as she delighted in her wife’s touch. Kristof’s sense had faded as he gave his wives time alone, she noticed. “I would never change a thing about you, my sweet love.” Sabine kissed Anasha’s back softly and said no more as the two of them slowly drifted towards sleep.
Slowly, the two women began to feel the sense of the baby’s joy at their union and together they both cried tears of joy at feeling the child’s love from within. Anasha turned so she could kiss Sabine’s belly and whisper her love to the child within even as Sabine whispered the same.
Anasha felt the sphere of protection the baby now offered Sabine from Death’s influence suddenly spread to include herself and Kristof, and she again marveled at the power of this unborn child within. She pondered Kristof’s words aboard the Queen’s Honor, and wondered if this miraculous child was indeed destined to be a God. The implications were too staggering to comprehend, so she withdrew from the thought as she lay her head upon Sabine’s stomach and gazed into her wife’s deep brown eyes.
She must have fallen asleep there, because she awoke several hours later covered in a blanket and wrapped in Sabine’s small arms. Anasha basked in the warmth of that tiny embrace as she lay there staring into the dark. Thoughts of her father returned, but her grief remained muted in the glow of Sabine’s love for her, and the memories were happy ones as she lay there.
“I love you, Father,” Anasha whispered into the dark as she slowly drifted off to sleep once more.
~33~
Kristof felt Sabine and Anasha’s passion blossoming through his connection with them and he smiled at their joy amidst all of their sorrows. The healing has truly begun, he thought to himself, as he reveled in their joy for a few long moments, and then slowly muted his connection to them so he could focus on the here and now. He simply could not fall into the flow of their passion as pain began to rack his body once more, and he did not want to disturb his loves as they healed the last vestiges of separation that had grown between them in the short time after the death of Clovani Prime.
The medical center had become his second home once again, after having spent so much time there the previous year. Kristof couldn’t remember feeling quite so bad the last time he’d been there, however. There was an ache in his heart that had nothing to do with the losses they had endured recently, and everything to do with repeated damage sustained during his captivity. He could feel the nanobots working within his chest with every beat of his heart, and it was a most unpleasant sensation.
His right arm also buzzed from the work of the nanobots as Kristof eased his arm from the sling that kept it bound tightly to his chest so that he could attend Subat’s memorial and Sabine’s address of the Protectorate. By the end of the two events he had felt like collapsing, but he had hid just how weak and tired he was from his wives. The last thing he wanted was for them to spend another night in this cold, sterile facility with him. He much preferred knowing that they were home and finally releasing their pent up needs after so long being forced to be strong and stoic for those around them.
Max had accompanied him back to the medical ward, though. Kristof reflected
on the android’s guilt over being forced to leave Dorcanus II without him, as well as his ability to even feel guilt. The android was evolving, it seemed to Kristof. He knew that androids in normal service were often refurbished and had their memories wiped to allow for better processing speeds, or so he’d always been told. Max had never undergone such a mind wipe since joining Kristof, however, and rather than demonstrating diminished capacity the android had seemed to grow smarter and more insightful as each year passed.
The fact that the android was clearly demonstrating genuine emotions just as a human would disturbed Kristof when viewed in light of what was happening to other androids each day. Was the Protectorate actually inhibiting the emergence of a new life form, albeit an artificial one? It was a dilemma for another day, Kristof decided. The galaxy had to be saved from this insane war of the gods before he could worry about individual people or possible new species.
Max’s loyalty touched Kristof deeply, however. He remembered the previous year when he had freed Max from all human service, to live and do as he chose. It was a truly rare occurrence, Kristof had later learned, happening only once or twice per century. The androids that had been similarly freed had all left the Protectorate to never be seen again, yet Max remained. The android had become a true part of their family now, and Kristof could not imagine his life without the foul mouthed robot.
“You are in pain again,” Max said as he helped Kristof remove his suit jacket and shirt. “You’ve been in an elevated state of distress for several hours now.”
The Smuggler's Ascension: Dark Tide Rising Page 18