by R. A. Ender
Richard couldn’t continue that thought, though, as Robin asked a question with an evil twinkle in her eye that distracted him.
“Have you decided what to do with your shore leave?” Robin asked. Richard had been around Robin long enough to pick up on her smallest variations in speech, especially the ones that indicated she knew something he didn’t.
“And what is it that you know that I don’t?” He asked not even playing around with her for fun.
“Ok, ok, go enjoy your shore leave, I won’t play with you anymore.” She said smiling. “Enjoy your car ride,” she finished pointing to a waiting vehicle sitting at the edge of the courtyard on the large circular transport ring path that came up the one side of the long rear building of the defense headquarters and curved before running along the other side and off into the forested land behind the building.
Up to that point, Richard had not even noticed the vehicle, though it had clearly been there the whole time. With a big smile and a pat on the shoulder, Robin walked by him and into the headquarters building. Mato gave a slight bow, as Gemberlicans always did for their friends.
“Robin said that Heather had sent that car for you. I’ll see you in a day or so, hopefully, back up in space.” And with that, Mato quickly jogged to catch up with Robin.
Approaching the vehicle, the door opened automatically and he sat in the rear of the vehicle. There was no driver, but as soon as he had belted himself securely, the vehicle began to move and a pleasant voice spoke aloud to no one in particular.
“Your chosen destination is only five minutes away. Please enjoy your ride.”
And with that, the vehicle passed by the end of the headquarters building and into the forested area. All around the vehicle was a deep thick forest of trees that stretched up and covered the view overhead. The sun was still not high enough in the sky to penetrate the canopy, so the trip was dark until the path opened up into one of the campus residential villages.
The vehicle drove straight through the village square. At this hour the village was still quiet and deserted. Only a few vehicles were on the paths heading off in a variety of directions to other parts of the base. All the stores and services were closed and dark. At least in the village, the sun poured down and warmed the side of Richard’s face. They were only in the village for a moment, before turning off on another transport path that led back into a forested area.
This path was very brief, and the forest gave way to a large opened treeless estate. The transport path drew a single line through a large square field of grass. The entire estate was bordered on all sides by the forest, cutting a large rectangle in the landscape. In the center of the estate, straight in front of the transport path, sat a large home which Richard already knew to be the residence for the base commander. He thought to himself that that was an especially large home for a single woman like Heather.
But, Richard thought, knowing her, she never spends any time there other than to sleep.
The vehicle slid up beside the front entrance and slowed to a stop. The doors closest to the entrance of the home opened and the pleasant voice for the vehicle informed its occupant that it had arrived at its destination.
Richard exited the vehicle and walked up to the entry door. As he approached, the door opened. This time, it was not an automated system. A thin gentleman of average height was standing on the inside holding the door open. He was quite elegantly dressed and he gave a slight bow to Richard as he entered.
“Good day to you, sir.” The gentleman said as he closed the door behind him. “Admiral Hilbornus, welcome to the Residence of the Legatus. She has asked that you visit with her upstairs in her private room. This way, please.” The gentleman, who appeared now to be the butler for the residence, proceeded to walk past Richard to lead him upstairs. The entry way was quite open, stretching up what appeared to be only two levels but each level seemed to be twice the usual height. There was access to two adjoining rooms off to the left and right of the main entrance, but the butler was leading the way up the main staircase. The staircase was a large curving structure the curled up the large entry way and finished its ascent directly across from the main entrance, but only after a complete spiral tour of the room. As you climbed, you walked around the entire entry way, which was exceptionally well appointed and inviting. It was lighted by a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling which filled the room with a brilliant light as it descended the length of the two levels with long filaments of lights.
At the top of the staircase, was a large double door. The door was a dark wood elegantly crafted and carved. Its handles and locks were a stunning gold, and a long painting hung across the top. The painting itself was a beautiful shot of the capital city of Roma at sunset, with the setting sun lighting the city center and the large ocean stretching out beyond the city.
In front of the double door, the butler bowed. “The Legatus,” he said, and took a few steps backward while still bowing, before turning on his heels, standing up, and walking back down the stairs.
It was up to Richard to open the door. He opened just the one side, slipped inside and closed it behind him.
He found himself in the main sitting area which was furnished but appeared to be completely unused. He didn’t have a moment to look around, as he heard a soft feminine voice speak.
“Richard, I’m in the bedroom.”
Without any question, it was Heather. Richard wondered why she had not come to see him at the base. Walking around the corner and into the adjoining room, he discovered why.
Inside what turned out to be Heather’s bedroom, Richard found her lying on the bed facing toward him. Pausing for a moment to look at her, Richard enjoyed the sight of her for the first time out of uniform in many years. He was also excited to see that she was making her intentions known clearly.
Heather was lying on the bed in a beautiful sheer black dress. On her side, the dress was open along the front, covering her one breast with only a sheer light material, while the open slit showed the side curve of her other breast. Her hands were relaxing in front and on the side of her body. The sheer dress only came to the very bottom of her butt, being more of a long shirt than a dress. After that, her long legs lay bare on the bed.
She had the most beautiful smile as her happiness shone out toward him and him alone. Her dark hair, cut just shoulder length, fell lightly on the pillow as she held her head just off to the side and off the pillow itself.
Richard was about to approach her, when she sat up slowly, keeping her sheer dress covering both breasts, but leaving the dress open down the middle. It was the sheerest of material, and only just obscured what was underneath, meaning her hard lush nipples were nicely visible.
As she stood up at the side of the bed, with elegance, she kept her hair to one side with a seductive tilt of the head. She walked toward him, her breasts moving beneath the sheer. The slit down the front of the dress continued all the way down, revealing her belly button and the inside of her thighs.
After over a year at war, after even more years than that apart from Heather and alone as the commander of a deep space starship, this seduction was more than Richard needed. But he loved every moment of it. As Heather approached within arms length, Richard reached out and pulled her close to him. Pressed against his uniform, her naked body pushed against his as he leaned in to kiss her.
He pressed against her lips. They were so warm and so sweet. For a moment, both of them stood together, kissing. Heather wrapped her arms around his waist and held him from under the arms up to his shoulder blades. She pulled him as close as she could and opened her lips to kiss him more deeply. As she kissed him, she drew her hands back around to his front and began to open his uniform. She pulled his shirt up and out of his pants. She unbuttoned his jacket and his shirt at the same time, moving from the bottom all the way to the top. As her hands reached the top and opened his shirt completely, she moved the shirt off his shoulders and slid it down his arms and into a pile on the floor. She
then moved her hands back up both his arms slowly, reaching his neck and under his ears where she let her hands linger and play.
This was all Richard could stand. He walked her back to the end of the bed, and slowly lay her down on top of the sheets, bending at the knee. Pulling away briefly, he lay beside her, propped up on his elbow, and looked at her body. Lying on her back, he used his fingers to spread the dress further apart, revealing both her breasts. He ran his hand down her one side, down her leg and back up the inside of her leg. He drew his hand slowly up the inside of her leg and paused just before her inner thighs.
Looking her in the eye, he bent closer to kiss her deeply. They kissed for a moment before he pulled away and just looked at her with a smile of sheer happiness. He was looking at her so long she felt the need to speak up.
“What?” She asked shaking her head slightly with a big smile. “The meeting went perfectly if that’s what you are wondering.”
For a moment, Richard didn’t know how to respond to that. He was so in the moment of loving his dearest friend, his soul mate, that he had completely forgotten the war. Now, his thoughts were confused as his brain tried to right itself to practical matters from a state of pure love and ecstasy.
“Heather, I was only thinking how much I love you and how much I have missed you. Seeing you again has been my obsession for the past year. I was so afraid for you. And I was just so happy when I saw you out of that cockpit window.” Richard blinked hard as he felt tears welling in his eyes. “I’ve never felt so happy to see anyone before in my entire life. I love you so much.”
And with that, a tear in his eye, he bent forward again to kiss her deeply. She kissed him back with amazing passion and tears in her eyes. She pressed her body against his, and they both tingled as they were for the first time flesh against flesh. Their passion was expressed in their kissing, in their touching of each other’s body. Not breaking their embrace, Heather slowly slid her thighs lower, bringing Richard’s hand into her.
CHAPTER 30
The sliver of sunlight had been slowly sliding along the wall for a while. It had started much earlier as a warm orange but had quickly become a bright yellowish white, clearly defined as it shot through the slit in the curtains and landed first on the far wall. Over time, as Richard lay in bed awake, the line of light had progressively worked its way toward him.
It now lay in the spot his head and pillow had been, as he had moved lower in the bed to avoid the beam. He was in the uncomfortable position of lying with his feet pushed up against the bottom of the bed. Or, he could sit up in bed, but he figured that would wake up the still sleeping Heather beside him. He wanted to let her sleep.
It had been a shorter night than either of them expected. Despite a passionate beginning, the reality was that they had both been alone for a long time. As a result, their passion exploded quickly and faded away to a more loving and comforting embrace that lasted much longer. But even that faded early. No reflection on Heather as the stress and weariness of over a year under siege was hard to shake off. Richard did not mind at all that she fell asleep in his arms. It had not been long before he too had fallen asleep.
As was his custom, trained for years in the service, he did not stay asleep long. He woke up every few hours. The first time it was still dark and he fell back asleep with little trouble. But over an hour ago he awoke to that warm orange glow, and though normally he could sleep in the light, his thoughts kept him preoccupied.
He had learned from Heather that the oversight committee had agreed to participate in the war against the IAE. They felt strongly that they had little choice. They also emphasized to Heather that the public was entirely of the same opinion and would likely hold that view as long as they saw continued success by the Confederate fleet. The message had been relayed that Richard and his fleet were to continue to push against the invaders and advertise their success.
The biggest concern had been the lack of agreement that Richard could add New Earth to his command. Though Heather had been able to guarantee she would remain in overall command of New Earth Defense Alliance resources, the oversight committee had stated that they were sending a senior advisor to meet with him personally today. They would not agree to any resource sharing or command until they had a report back about his fitness for the role.
The whole idea had vexed Richard for a moment, but last night offered no time for such discussions. When he had started to talk about it for even a second, Heather had quickly quieted him with a soft finger against his lips and a kiss.
This morning, before she woke, he now had the time. Getting out of bed slowly enough to not bother Heather, he sat up. He was promptly blinded by the ray of sunlight entering between the curtains. With a hand blocking the glare, he stood up with the intention of closing them. He had gratefully found a robe in the bathroom last night. He pulled the robe together to help protect against a cool morning he expected to find outside. Richard made his way toward the window which was truly a large doorway which exited onto a small balcony.
Sliding through the slit in the curtains, he exited onto the pure white balcony facing the back of the estate. For the first time, he got a good look at the grounds. His impression of the front while driving up was that the grounds were well-manicured fields of grass. The back was completely different.
Leaning out over the balcony’s edge, Richard saw beautiful gardens stretching to fill the entire back of the estate, right up to the tree line.
A very traditional Roman garden, it was walled on all four sides with only one visible gate at the front. The gate was not overly ornamented, comprising a couple of columns and some carvings that ran along the top. At a regular interval along the top of the wall were little statues looking into the garden.
Inside the garden, there was an impressive mix of sights. The largest object was the orange tile-roofed Villa that was located in the middle of the gardens. From its central position, the garden radiated out toward the surrounding walls. The villa itself was not huge, it appeared to be a simple cottage size building most likely for entertaining or more practically for maintenance, but the structure itself was traditionally Roman. Square in shape, with an open air inner courtyard decorated with a simple fountain, the building certainly made an effort to project an earlier tradition.
Stone walkways left from the villa extending in all directions and were lined on each side by long thin gardens, each confined within small rectangles of vegetation followed by a stone walkway, before repeating the pattern again. Each little garden seemed to follow a trend of plants, though due to the season only the tropical plants were clearly identifiable from this distance. It was clear that at different times of the year, the plants in different areas bloomed and displayed.
Off in the far corner, a small pond was visible with some waterfowl making use of the area as a home. Set to one side of the pond was a small white temple. The front of the temple was decorated with four columns and a couple of broad stone steps leading up to its entrance which was too far away to see into. Richard imagined that it was a temple to some gods from the oldest time but wasn’t betting on it being original.
In fact, as beautiful as it was, the garden felt very much like someone’s attempt at creating a Roman garden. It even had a small section dedicated to a vineyard, though far too small to be anything but a decorative element. Despite its beauty, it did have a false element to it.
Looking back toward the main house, Richard looked around the balcony itself. A single chair, very wide and positioned to allow a near horizontal posture, was the only piece of furniture on the balcony. Richard walked to it and sat down, and then lay back. Looking up at the clouds, he thought back to the last time he had had a chance to roam in gardens like those below and stare up at a big blue sky filled with clouds.
Oh, it was a long time ago! He thought to himself leaning back and closing his eyes.
He had been a much younger man, only a couple of years at the academy on Cornwallis. He had walked home from
one of his classes in his full uniform as he was required to do. But, it was a really hot day, so he couldn’t wait to get home and get into his casual uniform.
For that reason, he had chosen the fastest route home, the one he took the least. He always loved to explore all the areas of the huge defense force academy. It was an exquisite estate covering a large area on the island of Cornwallis, one of the sub-states of Roma. The only complaints made by students were that it didn’t border the sea at all, so there was no beach. Not that the high walled coast of Cornwallis offered all that many good beach destinations anyways, but the campus had everything else.
As Richard turned the corner, he saw one person out of the crowd of students sitting and walking outside of the dormitory he was heading toward. He noticed her almost immediately because she did not have the same uniform as everyone else that was outside, so she stood out quite brilliantly. Even more so as her uniform was a bright red with a gold trim of the Roma Legionaries.
As he got closer, he stopped walking as he realized who it was. Heather! He said to himself with great surprise.
