Spring Changes, page 18
Because she’s . . .
There was no other comment. Then a sigh.
Sleep, I said. I’m exhausted.
The next morning, only Cassie waited for me. The door to a shuttle bus opened. “This will take you right to the new shipping yard. There will be a senior officer on duty who will then escort you to the ship. She is prepped and she has some of my finest men on board.”
“You are wonderful, thank you,” I said.
“Keep in touch. There’s enough juice on the cruiser if you need, and I’m sure you’ll add extra if you can’t. Even Yun should be able to reach me from there if he needs to.”
I wondered why Xirob and the others weren’t with me. “What have you seen?” I asked her.
She looked away. “The Sitha are not going to take your presence very well. You must do what you need to get them to accept you. You might well have to fight.”
I swallowed. Fight who? The fuck.
Cassie took hold of both my arms, looked me in the eye. “Hold your ground, stand by Yun. Even if you think you can’t. You can.”
I swallowed. Her eyes swirled beautiful, wondrous colours. I was glad to see there were no tears in them this time.
“I will never leave his side,” I replied.
“Good, because he really needs you even though he tries to push you away.”
I laughed. “I wonder why we do that with those we need around us the most?”
She looked away, and I noted her looking at the front of her palace grounds. “Because we fear more in losing those we love due the decisions we make.”
I couldn’t argue with her. “You both have a hard day ahead. You stay strong too, my queen.”
When she looked back at me this time, she cocked her head to the side. Her eyes sparkled with questions.
“You do not need to say that to me,” she said.
“No,” I answered. “As a human, I do not owe you anything. My allegiance would be to myself, more than likely. But”—I placed my palm to my chest—“as denti, you are my queen. You have my allegiance and loyalty for everything you need.”
“I—” Her eyes swelled with emotion. Blood red emotion.
“Hey,” I said, reaching up to wipe one away as it spilled forwards. “No more tears.”
“Without you and what you said to me, to Xirob, he would never have come to me. We would never have admitted those feelings.”
“You weren’t far off. I just gave you a nudge. Just like you have been doing for the both of us these past years.”
Xirob started to walk towards us; maybe he saw her distress. Cassie sucked in a breath, closed her eyes for a brief moment, and then looked at me once more. “Do I look okay?”
“You look amazing,” I said.
Stopping before us, Xirob asked, “Everything okay?”
“Just telling him everything he needs to know about the cruiser, and where he’s going.”
Xirob held her gaze with his and then looked at me as if asking me that question would be the next thing I’d hear from him, but it wasn’t going to be one I’d answer.
There are some things they will always keep from each other, Hiroto said.
They’re some of the strongest people I know. I have never known anyone with the resolve they have out here. I only wish the human race could learn from them.
I moved to him, offering him a hand to shake. “I will see you again soon, once this political mess for the both of us is sorted.”
“You bet your ass you will. You have to get back in that mech, after all.”
I knew that. We shook, and he embraced me tightly, whispering in my ear. “I’m only a message away, as are your other friends. If you need us . . .”
I looked at him as I parted. “I will comm you. Don’t you worry. No area of space can keep me out, and you know it.”
I couldn’t do much while we were settled on the cruiser Zotera. Tyto and I took to learning everything we could about her. That meant we shadowed her crew and enjoyed their different company, then met up for food. Pretty much a usual day for us, no matter where we were.
The captain happened to be one of Cassie’s personal guards just like Tyto had been, but Tyto hadn’t been impressed with him, when he’d first seen him.
“Why don’t you like him?” I asked as we sat grabbing a bite to eat on our fourth day into the jump journey. “Seems like a good guy.”
Tyto swallowed, then sipped his drink. “He was one of the older officers above me in training.”
“Oh, so you mean he kicked your ass?”
“On numerous occasions, yes,” Tyto admitted, and I could see his face flush that little bit.
“Then what happened?” I knew something else was coming.
“After a mission went wrong, I lashed out at him and kicked his ass instead.”
I met his eyes with mine as he chewed his lunch. “Is that insubordination even allowed?”
“No. I was lucky I wasn’t kicked out, and in fact I think that might have been down to Xirob.”
“You think so?”
He took a large sip of his drink. “Yeah, I might never have met him, as he was too close to the queen, but I have met Eles before.”
I hadn’t even looked to see what rank he was or anything about him. I guess I would have learned a bit more when his family all turned up at the palace.
I also felt like I was dragging information out of him here, so I eased back and let silence befall us.
“I became Eekan for many reasons. But my training was not easy. I struggled a lot with the discipline structure of their forces.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said.
“Things run deep.” He sighed. “As Pious says, it’s good to talk about some of it.”
“Only if you want to,” I said. “I wouldn’t push you at all.”
He nodded. “You never have done that.” He paused and drank some more, then finished his food. “Captain Millis out there was one of those I shouldn’t have let get to me. I couldn’t help it, he just seemed to wind me up at all the wrong times. And he knew it.”
A cough behind us. Tyto and I both looked to see Captain Millis standing there with coffee in hand.
18
What a thing to walk into. However, Captain Millis didn’t seem angry. “Would you mind if I joined you?”
I looked at Tyto who shrugged. “Umm. I guess, please do.”
“I wanted to talk to you yesterday—there just didn’t seem like the right time,” Millis said. “We have a lot of history, and I don’t want it coming between us on this mission. I can see when you look at me that you aren’t quite sure what to think.”
“It is awkward,” he admitted.
“Then I am glad I could approach you. I wanted to explain a few things from your training.”
Tyto squirmed, but he held his other emotions in check.
“You came to our base from Drudel. One of the strongest warrior planets around. I heard through rumours and my spy channels you were involved with Vitya Fallak.”
“Oh.” His eyes narrowed. “What does that have to do with training?”
“It shouldn’t have had anything to do with it, but the other officers were already on the bounce. They wanted to show and train their own top men, from those who came to us. I knew they’d be even worse if they got hold of you.”
“Worse?” I asked.
“Yes, we don’t pay much attention to where trainees come from usually. The fact was they all wanted Tyto. They wanted to break him and mould him into something I think even he wouldn’t have liked. I wanted him to be his own man, and to stay free with his choices and decisions.”
“I’m struggling to see how or what you put me through did me good,” Tyto said, his eyes narrowed, pained.
Millis placed his palms down on the table, the intricate design of a tattoo poking from beneath his sleeve. “You remember the second to last mission you were sent on. Where you infiltrated and rescued some of our own.”
Tyto nodded. “Not like I was going to forget when comms were cut and there was no information for me for the whole mission.”
“What did you do?” he asked.
I could see where this was going, and even Hiroto did.
“I did what I could,” he said. “I got the mission completed with the least amount of time, and with no casualties.”
“Exactly.” Millis pulled out a thin data pad, flicked it on, and pulled up something. He handed it to Tyto.
My second’s eyes read down, his expression of annoyance and then something else. Realisation. “It was just a test. The whole week?”
“Yes.” Millis took the pad back and passed it to me so I could read it. I read down while he carried on.
He blows all the other trainees out in style, Hiroto said.
“You failed your first mission because you listened to the other trainees. Then you decided to do what you thought was right. You completed eight more missions with the highest scores we’d seen in years.”
“So when I was pissed because the last one went wrong and I assaulted you, you were lenient because of that?”
“Because I knew I would have done the same. I stood up for you against my superiors who wanted you out of the Eekan. There’s no room for insubordination of any kind.”
“I was surprised when I stood before the hearing I wasn’t kicked out.”
“Instead, we sent you on some pretty terrible real missions, though.”
Tyto laughed. “I remember all of them. I would agree with that, but I also think they did me some good. I became a different person even from training.”
“I kept watch,” Captain Millis said. When he looked at Tyto, he smiled. “You were my greatest triumph. Even though you might not remember me with the same feelings. I was so very proud when you left.”
Tyto’s face changed. “May we start again, Captain Millis?”
“It would be my honour, and my honour to have you both here is what brought me out of reserves.”
I coughed. “Like retirement?”
“Almost, yes. I only trained one last class after Tyto left, but my heart just wasn’t in it.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you,” Tyto said.
“I know. It was time. I should have just left after you, but I wanted to give it one more go. I am not sorry I did. The young Eekan I trained are onboard this vessel. They were quite surprised too when I was asked to captain her.”
“Who is the usual captain?” I asked.
“The second in command, Captain Fenix.”
“What rank are you then?”
“Technically, no rank anymore. But captain is fine here.”
“It is good to meet you too, captain,” I said and held out my hand for him. We shook firmly. “You realise the nature of this mission is something no one has ever done before, denti or otherwise?”
“I do. I also asked for some special men to join us. I wouldn’t take the job otherwise.”
“I haven’t had the time to study the manifest, who else is here?”
“There were only two others I liked on your trainee cycle. Obie and Nyax. If you remember them.”
Tyto didn’t respond. Nothing. He wasn’t giving anything else away.
So I pushed. “What happened?”
“They had a few tussles in the mess hall after their first week, I think?”
“Yes, it was,” Tyto said. “Nyax heard I was seeing Vitya, and they decided they didn’t want to know anyone who wanted more out of relationships than babies.”
“Ahh.” I looked inside. It isn’t because he was a guy then? Hiroto?
No, they’re much more diverse than we ever were in accepting others.
That made sense, and I knew how upset Faith and Shion had been because of Xirob and the thought he could lose his chance.
“You will have a family,” I said. “I promised you that.”
Tyto’s eyes flickered. “You asked her?”
I nodded. “Of course I did. She was supposed to be talking to Lara and maybe Vitya.”
“Lara isn’t denti?” Millis asked.
“No, she’s Kiaian,” Tyto said. “Kyle’s partner is pure denti though.”
“Complicated but understandable. You are both men of great honour. To the denti and to the brotherhood bond you share.” He moved to stand. “I can see you also have things to talk about. I hadn’t meant to cause offence or upset.”
Tyto looked up at him. His eyes filled with emotion. “Thank you for coming, captain. Your training and honour today mean a great deal to me.”
“You’re welcome. Let’s get this mission going and get you to the Sitha and back safe. Or the denti queen might not ever give me these wonderful reserve jobs ever again.”
It was the way he’d said that which was both interesting and soft. He was never in reserves; that I was sure of.
“Our mission will be successful; don’t you worry about that,” Tyto said.
I watched him leave and then looked back to my second. “You okay?” I asked.
“I am. I will wait for Lara or Shion to message me. Thank you.”
I smiled at him, knowing what it meant to him, and even to Shion. Losing the chance to have a full-blooded denti baby would have been hard for them both and could possibly kill him. But now they had the chance, and he would survive with it. I wanted denti babies to be born like they should, not out of necessity, but out of love.
One day, Hiroto said. That is our goal for all of us.
We cleared our plates before anyone else came into the small mess hall. The ship itself was so small compared to Artemis.
It took us another week before we were entering Sitha space. Millis comm’d for us and we headed to the bridge to see for ourselves.
The view ahead as we came into the area was impressive. I stood and watched in awe. The planet at the centre of the Sitha system, Mais Daw, revolved around an odd-looking sun.
What’s wrong with it? I asked Hiroto.
It’s dying. I would think it’s pretty far into the process too.
Mais Daw was the largest planet at the far reaches of their solar system. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as strange,” Millis said.
His second in command brought up the view so we could see much closer. And there was the view of the Sitha fleet. Of course, I’d seen glimpses of it with Yun’s family around, but this was quite the difference.
They didn’t just have dreadnoughts, there was also something that looked similar to the Soteria. A world ship—it was amazing to think these were out here, let alone that several species had them.
They’re a lifeblood to some, especially with a dying sun. No matter how long it takes the sun to die, a billion years, they need an out. What better way? Hiroto asked.
I looked at it, then I also noticed something else. At the back of it, there was a huge building station. Inside that was the start of another world ship. This looked very different. I wondered briefly why, then heard the comms ping and Captain Millis answer it.
“This is Lenko Tala, commander of the Sitha security force. Captain Millis, we have two ships waiting to escort you to our main station. You may dock there and we’ll take Kyle and Tyto from there.”
When Millis didn’t answer, I looked at him and he said. “I’m not comfortable in letting my charges out of my sight.”
“Understandable, but these are my orders.” Lenko said. “Await your escort.”
So that was it. Under our own steam, we were going in either way.
I couldn’t help but be excited to see Yun. This was the first time in ages. I missed him on a whole different level, a friend, more than a friend. Family. Like Hiroto was.
Captain Millis took us in, and I waited for the okay to cross over to the world ship of the Sitha.
It was hard not to see Tyto was intimidated by the Sitha that were around us when we stepped off our ship and onto theirs. I bumped into him on purpose and caught his eye. “You okay?”
“This whole place, I’d never known they were—”
“So powerful? Even though you know him?”
“Yeah. I mean, I know our queen, and what we’ve been through. Our species is nothing in power, compared to the Sitha.”
“No, but you understand there are species out there for very different reasons, right?”
He nodded, but he was on edge. The way his eyes shifted around, his stance protective of me even though he wouldn’t have been able to do anything, neither of us would have. If the Sitha turned, we were dead. Simple as that.
Someone moved ahead of us, and their form swirled around and then coalesced before us.
The Sitha was large and dense; his presence oozed energy.
“I am Lenko Tala,” he said. “Kyle and Tyto, your reputation and presence here is something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the honour of seeing. Please, follow me. I will take you to Yun.”
“Thank you,” I said and glanced at Tyto. “The circumstance is not the best, but we will make them do what we need to bring this to a satisfactory close.”
The Sitha stopped walking. Well, gliding. “I fear I must say this, because I have backed our leaders since I was first elected into my position. Do right by Yun. That is all I ask.”
I found myself frowning. “Please, tell me everything you can if you think it will help. If we have time while we walk, of course.”
“We have a fair way to go yet. So I can do that.”
He directed us to a shuttle and we climbed on board.
Lenko started then, what became something of a very interesting report on the Sitha state of affairs.
“It is Sakrost and his son Ethran who are the strongest opposed, because Sakrost would be next in line, with his own son to follow.”
“You think we’re going to come up against these right from the start, don’t you?” I asked.
Lenko nodded. “I’ve been watching the channels, and Sakrost is furious you even thought you were welcome in our airspace.”
“He can’t just kill me though, right?” I glanced at Tyto.
