Home in the Stars Box Set

by Mason, Jolie

  The aroma of fresh coffee seduced her as she walked into the small crowd of men around the table. They all stood, but she waved them back down with a stern ‘hello gentlemen’ as she went to the coffee pot. She’d opened the cabinet to find her mug gone.

  Without turning to look, Caden said, “Ari” as he tapped on a mug sitting beside him with his pen. Her cup. He made her coffee. She grinned as she picked it up.

  “Carnes”, she said in a sultry thank you. He grinned in the direction of the table unable to hide his reaction in the presence of so many of her crew. Abernathy watched it all with much amusement. “Commander, thank you for the timely rescue earlier.”

  “That wasn’t a rescue, ma’am. You seemed to have it all well in hand.”

  She nodded to him with a half-smile. “In that case, thanks for the distraction.”

  Chuckles sounded around the table as the other men relaxed. She sat in her usual seat and waited. Carnes sat forward. “This will be brief. Some of you know that the Meriweather had been ordered to follow up a lead discovered in the data extracted from the Terminus pirates. The weapon was stored on a mobile station moving around the Terminus. We received word that the Meir found and destroyed that station yesterday. It appears to be a complete loss. The Imperial Guard is investigating now, and they aren’t very happy with the Carnes Syndicate at the moment. Therefore, we’re out, and I, for one, am ridiculously relieved. Abernathy.”

  Ari drank deeply of her coffee and watched the blonde soldier push himself back in his seat. “Yeah, Tallon appears to have been freelancing in procurement with some major players.”

  “Which players?”Ari asked him, interested.

  Abernathy shook his head. “Not sure. At least part of his motivation was personal. He’d been specifically investigating Ari and you. No real surprise there. Here’s the really strange part. The manifests found in his ship showed massive purchases of high grade rations, weapons, tech and most of the major necessities for battle cruisers.”

  “You’re implying he’s been outfitting an army.”

  “I am. For someone.”

  Ari wrinkled her nose at the thought. “Isn’t it possible he was merely dealing in military grade supplies or had delusions of grandeur?”

  Abernathy turned her way. “Anything’s possible, except his delivery points; all these supplies headed out to a point just beyond the Rim. We’ve reported our findings to the Guard, hopefully they’ll be able to uncover just what the little worm was up to with those supplies.”

  “Where beyond the rim?” Ari asked skeptically.

  Caden looked troubled. “It’s beyond the Arrays. It might be beyond any of our ships capabilities to get there, if there is truly a new power source on the market.”

  Ari frowned. “Why do I have a feeling this isn’t finished?”

  Shaking his head, Caden told them, “It’s finished for us. The Carnes Syndicate is out of this. The immediate threat to our interests was the weapon and Tallon. They are both gone.”

  Caden’s face brooked no arguments. He really didn’t care what the Imperium wanted with that weapon. Ari couldn’t exactly say the same. When empires sought weapons of mass destruction, they were usually seeking much more empire.

  She felt the slight forward tug of the FLT. They were headed back to her son, back to Sensor Prime. She needed to have a talk with Carnes about him, she thought. They hadn’t done much talking when they were alone.

  Ari didn’t move from the seat where she kept her hands wrapped around her coffee mug. Abernathy and Caden stood talking at the door. She noticed the older man look her way and say something to Caden. Caden turned intense eyes her way. He nodded to Abernathy who let himself out.

  Ari simply waited. She waited as he walked closer to her. She waited as he leaned against the conference table with his thigh brushing her arm. “So, did you sleep well?”

  Ari smiled. “I’m fine. You took a beating, though. I hope you’re feeling better.”

  “Your medic gave me something. Just a bit stiff.”

  She looked up at him. “We need to talk.”

  “We probably do”, he said. “Why is it I suddenly feel reluctant?” Caden looked straight ahead.

  “Why do you think you suddenly feel reluctant?”, she asked.

  “I don’t know. Insecurity, I guess.”

  “Jace”, she said simply. Ari continued to stare into her cup.

  “Yes, Jace”, he sighed. “What did you want to discuss?”

  “We have to decide what to tell him.”

  She felt his hand brush her neck. “He’s gotta know the truth, Ari. Hell, the doctors may tell him.”

  “I just.. . It’s hard to adjust to the idea. He may not be very forgiving of my lies whatever the reasons. Part of me wants to keep on lying.”

  “Ari”, he whispered softly.

  “I know. I just don’t want to see him hate me.”

  “Valah, he won’t hate you.”

  “How do you know?”

  His hand wrapped around her arm to pull her out of the chair. “Because I don’t. I can explain it to him. He’ll understand.”

  “I don’t even understand”, she said resting her forehead against his broad chest. “I’m starting to doubt myself. What if?” She pulled away miserably, and whispered, “What if?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t think you could be that dense. My father would have done something, set you up or something, and taken Jace. You weren’t wrong. If I was angry, Ari, it was at myself for failing you both.”

  His hands left warm tingles as they rubbed up and down her arms comfortingly. He grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. “The choices we make are based on the information we have at the time. You did the best you could have, and, for what it’s worth, my father was probably worse than either of us suspected. The idea of Jace ending up in his hands gives me chills, Aricka.”

  Ari pressed closer. “Okay.” She inhaled deeply. “Just keep telling me this stuff, okay?”

  He kissed her hair softly. “Every day and twice on Tuesday.”

  “Tuesday’s the day I beat the crew. Can you make it another day?”

  His laugh rumbled intimately against her ear. Ari couldn’t stop the impulse to rub her face against him like a cat. He held her tighter, “If you knew how much I’ve missed this.. .”

  “As much as I did, I guess.”

  His hands played along her back as she closed her eyes and rested. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Ari, I have bad news.”

  She groaned and, against his chest, she covered her face. Muffled, she said, “Okay, just give it to me.”

  “Kent got the call about an hour ago. Your friend, Adrick and his wife were found in a cold storage freezer. Their bodies were.”

  She made a small noise of frustration. “I knew it. Ever since, I met that monster I knew Rick was gone, but I’d hoped Betina. . . Where are the children?”

  “There was an aunt on planet. They’ve been taken to her.”

  “Well,” She breathed out to calm herself. “Not much of a victory there.”

  “No”, he said pulling her closer. “It never is.”

  Ari sighed deeply. “Caden, Why does the empire need weapons capable of destroying fleets? Why are supplies being transported to somewhere beyond the Rim?”

  “I don’t know, Ari.”

  “Yes, we do. Politics. It’s always politics. Politics make orphans every time.”

  “Taarken is safe. The empire needs our mining operation. They need our ore, but they know they need more than that. They need our cooperation. Trust me, the Empress is no fool. She understands that tyranny doesn’t breed loyalty. It breeds rebellion.”

  Ari shivered in his arms. “Of course, you know the Empress.”

  “Only socially.”

  She groaned. “Socially. Somebody shoot me. You know I’m not exactly the society type.”

  “You don’t have to be. I don’t see society very often either. That is, assuming, you wanted t
o stay with me.”

  Their eyes met. “We’ll see, I suppose”, was her only answer.

  Chapter Eight

  Ari fidgeted nervously in a bland hallway surrounded by potted plants needing water. “Ari, it will be all right”, her brother said, squeezing her shoulder with his good hand. The other rested awkwardly in a sling. She smiled weakly his direction and continued to pace.

  The hospital staff and visitors created a soft babble of voices in the background, pierced at times by the pub comm blaring announcements. The people walking by seemed so calm. She envied each and every one.

  Arden sighed loudly and looked Caden’s way. Caden just shook his head with a grim look on his face and his hands in his pockets. The doors opened spilling out two chatting doctors in long, light blue medical jackets and carrying data pads. One smiled at her. “He’s all yours”, he said.

  “Do you think we can take him home soon?” Ari asked him quietly.

  “We’ve recommended extensive physical therapy in a hospital setting, Ms. Badu, but I don’t think your boy is in the mood to take the recommendation just this moment. He’s a bit stir crazy. He just doesn’t want to stay in a damn hospital, his words not mine.”

  “He would be stubborn”, growled Arden. “I’ll see if I can talk sense into the young fool.” Exasperated, her brother stomped toward his wayward son. Ari caught the thought as it formed. His son. Arden had done the heavy lifting of Jace’s childhood. He’d taught him everything, and she was thinking about tearing chunks of that childhood away. It couldn’t happen.

  Caden met her eyes, neither of them noticing when the doctor walked away. “We can’t”, she whispered. He put a comforting arm around her. It was pretty clear from his expression that Caden also had misgivings about telling Jace the truth. But, Ari reminded herself, Caden had as much right to know his son as Arden had to keep his. This was a nightmare.

  They let Arden have his time with Jace. Her brother finally emerged from the room smiling and waving back at Jace. Arden was in a fine mood for a man who just got shot in the shoulder. Her brother met her gaze with the most affectionate look in his bright eyes. He walked purposefully toward them.

  “Look, you two”, he said. “This boy is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. He deserves to know the truth. His mam and I won’t be going anywhere. Ari, he deserves to have what he lost. Every man should know where he comes from, right Carnes?”

  Caden nodded and put his hand out. Arden took it with enthusiasm. “Welcome to the family then”, he said, and then he was gone, whistling his way down the hallway with a spring in his step. Ari felt the tears gather, but she crushed the urge to cry on Caden in a public waiting room. She’d never known anyone she respected more than her brother.

  Neither of them moved toward the door.

  “This will only get harder the longer we stand here. Let’s go.” Caden took her left hand in his. Slowly, she trailed him across the hall.

  Jace sat up in the bed reading. His skin had a much healthier look now that he was sitting up and eating. The doctor said he still couldn’t walk or even stand on his own, but that it wasn’t hopeless. Ari felt a profound relief that Jace didn’t seem distraught or upset. He didn’t drop his eyes, but kept them glued to her as she crept forward.

  He knew already. She felt it in the way he searched her eyes for the truth. He was looking for the resemblance, she thought.

  “So”, he said mercilessly. “Captain, where ya been?”

  She measured her response. Her voice only shook a little when she answered. “Some of us had work to do.”

  He looked down, but she saw a slight quirk of his lips. It was something his father did. When his dark eyes traveled back to her face, she caught her breath to prepare for whatever was coming. Something was coming. His eyes were storm cloud dark.

  “I think I knew the whole time, you know.” He pointed to the chair by his bed, and Ari sat willingly on weak legs. Her knees shook. “Something just...” The sentence trailed away.

  She waited, but he didn’t say anything else. “Now that we’re here I don’t know what to say”, she told him. “This is... Caden”. Her voice plead with Caden to help, though she couldn’t tell him how. Didn’t have a clue how he could possibly make this easier.

  Caden moved around to stand with his hands on her shoulders. Her nervous fingers crept up to hold one of them. Jace watched them.

  “I see you’ve worked a few things out”, he said sourly.

  Caden spoke firmly. “Yes, how are you feeling?” Jace didn’t miss the change of subject, or the tone in the older man that told him he’d better lay off. Frankly, Ari couldn’t imagine Jace letting Caden drive this conversation when he clearly wanted to push some of her buttons.

  The two men talked easily about his injuries, the mission and therapy. They talked about taking Jace home to Taarken, finding him a job, setting up his treatment. Ari sat quietly, close to tears through it all. Hesitant to interrupt the progress they were making, she even tried to remain still as a statue. She really didn’t want to face this particular music.

  Jace wasn’t exactly trying to make her cry or feel bad, though he clearly didn’t want to take it easy with her either. Nonetheless, cry she would, if she continued to feel this isolated and afraid in a room with two other people she loved. She dreaded Jace’s reactions because he loved his family. He’d thought her one thing and found she was another. It would seem to him a terrible betrayal. In his place, she’d be more than a little miffed.

  She heard Jace say, “Thank you, Mr. Carnes.”

  Caden laughed. “Caden, please.” An awkward silence fell between them, until Caden added, “Call me whatever you like, Jace.”

  Jace dipped his head. “Caden”, he said quietly before looking at her. “Are you still Tanta Ari?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound formed. What would she say anyway? Everything in her felt like his mother, but that wasn’t fair to the woman who’d patched every hurt and loved him every day since Ari left. It wasn’t fair to him. Pain swamped every other thought until she thought it would break her.

  When she finally spoke, her voice broke harshly, and she realized her cheeks were wet as she wiped at one. “I don’t know”, she said. “I love your mam. I would never hurt her, Jace. Not for the world.”

  She stood awkwardly and rushed for the exit.

  *****#*****

  Caden called her name softly. He watched her unhappily as she hurried off to nurse wounds he couldn’t see.

  Behind him, Jace said, “Damn. I wasn’t trying to make her cry.”

  “Weren’t you?” Caden turned angry eyes on his son who peered shamefaced from behind perfect copies of his mother’s eyes. “Three days ago, so was I, so don’t lie to yourself or me. You want her to cry, say she’s sorry. The trouble is she was stronger than all of us.”

  The boy looked at his hands. “Strong? She ran.”

  It was clear he wasn’t thinking about today in this room. “She didn’t run. She faced reality, even when I wouldn’t. My father was... powerful, too powerful for her to fight alone, and he was capable of doing anything, maybe killing her. That’s the thought that snapped me out of my sulking. He killed your grandfather. He wouldn’t have balked much at killing a young girl he perceived as a threat to his great empire. Alec Carnes would have seen her as trash to be thrown away. I might have come home to bury her had she been weaker, slower. If the worst had happened. . .”

  Neither said a word for a moment, until Jace finally asked him, “What? What would you have done?”

  Caden felt a shiver rush over him. “A world without her in it is pointless.”

  Breathing in deeply, he pushed away the thought and shot his son a look. “You love her too. More than that, you’re young. One day, you’ll know exactly what I mean.” The flabbergasted look amused Caden. The boy should be terrified. Love was a bitch. “We’ll see you soon. I have to go find your mother.”

  Hands in his pockets, he strolled
out in search of her, and it didn’t take long to track her. She hadn’t gone far. She huddled in a restroom. He heard her sobs through the door. He pushed it open without a thought for anyone else in there who might be embarrassed or offended. No one else but her, he noticed. She’d curled up on the counter top sobbing into her knees with a tissue in her hand.

  “Valah,” he whispered. “It isn’t this bad. He loves you.”

  Sobs shook her as she hid her face from him. He reached for her, catching her knees and pulling her to the edge of the counter to sit before him. Her bangs fell over her face as she turned away from him. He wrapped himself around her whispering endearments and entreaties. Eventually, she quieted. She’d hooked her small hands in the front of his shirt so tightly they were white at the knuckles.

  “How can I help you?” He brushed her hair away from her face.

  She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I know that. Let me help you anyway.” She sobbed one more time into his chest.

  “Twelve years. It’s all for nothing now. I would lie there at night in a cold bed and tell myself you were both happier, that you were safe, but you weren’t. It was worth it because nothing bad could ever hurt him, and he’d have a Mam and Da who loved him and each other. That made it worth it, and now it’s ruined because he knows. It was all just a lie I told myself, so I could feel less alone, like it had a purpose.”

  Caden felt helpless. The time he’d lost with her, with his son, and the way she blamed herself for it all made him feel so weak because he couldn’t help her. Since he’d been on the Bell, he’d gotten a pretty good picture of the years she’d lived. She’d never let herself feel it, and, if she did, she’d just drink till her heart was numb or till she could sleep it off. Even the family she’d built on the Bell didn’t fully fill the spaces in her.

  He’d realized that she didn’t collect these lost souls to make a family for her own sake because she thought she didn’t deserve one. Ari felt she’d abandoned her own child, as though the reasons didn’t matter. She collected them so no one would be alone like she was. Ari gave love to each of them, but she didn’t take it.