Lidon shook his head at the carnage. “Degorsk and his staff must have their hands completely full for none of them to be here in person. This is bad.”
Tranis pursed his lips. “Just what the doctor didn’t need to have to deal with, as if he’d not been traumatized enough. Damn, this will give me nightmares.”
They passed the dining hall’s wide opening. Lidon couldn’t help his eyes widening to see the tables the crew took their meals on were being used as ad hoc beds for the injured. And every available space was covered.
Tranis averted a too-pale face from the sight. “Good idea to bring them here for triage. Too many to treat in Medical itself.”
Lidon agreed. “Hopefully we can get more medical personnel from other ships to help Degorsk out if the fighting goes our way.”
They ran through the crew quarters area, its hallways mostly empty of the casualties that had slowed them down elsewhere. Everyone would have been on duty for the fight, emptying this part of the ship. Lidon was relieved when they finally got to an operational transport and headed for the bridge. He looked forward to getting to his station and finding a way to tear more Tragooms apart for all the suffering they’d visited on his people.
Lidon and Tranis hit the bridge, ready to get the destroyer fighting again if possible. This section of the ship had been spared any damage, and Piras looked unflappable as he acknowledged their entrance. “You’re just in time to get the good news. The majority of the Tragoom fleet has broken off.”
Both men slowed their headlong rush to get to their stations. “We’re done fighting then?” Tranis asked.
Piras nodded. Strangely, he didn’t look entirely pleased to share his news. “This destroyer is too damaged to pursue the remnants of the Tragoom fleet. Allow me to congratulate you both. Your ruse in taking the navigable ships and turning them on the rest of their force, along with the confusion that brought on has completely undone the invasion. The stolen Earther battlecruisers have been left to fight alone.”
Lidon couldn’t help but be disappointed. He was more than ready to fight. “They still show signs of being undermanned?”
Piras nodded. “They are also much slower than our destroyers. Without the larger attack force to help them, they are having a bad time of it.”
Tranis grinned. “Bigger does not necessarily mean better.”
Lidon started towards his station. There was still a lot of work to do, including finding out how bad off the destroyer was.
Piras moved in front of him, blocking his progress. “Weapons Commander, belay that.”
Lidon stared at his former lover questioningly. The captain was looking at him with open concern. Compassion. The Nobek got a bad feeling in his gut. “Captain?”
Piras motioned Tranis closer. “The news isn’t all good. As no doubt you noticed, this ship took heavy damage with numerous casualties.” He took a breath. “Medical was the first hit. The hull was breached. Where it used to be is a big hole.”
Lidon’s heart slammed painfully in his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the color drain from Tranis’ face.
Degorsk.
The Nobek wanted to scream at Piras to shut up, to not say another word. He couldn’t find his voice. It was locked in his throat, the knot of a horrified howl choking him.
Piras said, “The head medic’s office and the lab were immediately sealed by the atmospheric doors, but we haven’t broken through to them yet. No doubt, you’ll want to go and see if anyone managed to get in.”
Tranis managed to speak. His voice sounded very far away to Lidon. “Sensors haven’t located any life sign?”
“All sensors in that area are nonfunctioning. We don’t know if we’ll find anyone when we finish opening the wall.” Piras looked from one to the other. Terrible sympathy was stamped on his features. “Both of you are excused to oversee the operation if you wish. I hope you find Dr. Degorsk safe and sound.”
Lidon and Tranis sketched bows before hurrying off the bridge. Neither spoke as they navigated the circuitous route that the damaged ship demanded they take to where Medical had been.
Chapter 15
Several minutes after learning Medical had been destroyed, Lidon and Tranis arrived at the corridor that intersected with the one that had once gone to their Imdiko’s department. Now that hallway was sealed off by a thick metal atmospheric shield.
Two crews of men were working to open the walls that enclosed the lab section and Degorsk’s office. As Lidon and Tranis ran up, a section of the lab wall came away. A very small group of techs and medical personnel emerged from their protected room. Degorsk was not among them.
A crewman who had been working to free the trapped men noted the officers’ approach. He gave Lidon and Tranis a quick bow. “Commanders. We’ve got four alive here.”
Tranis grabbed one of the shaking medics. “Where was Dr. Degorsk when this happened?”
The man blinked fast. “He was doing inventory on supplies when I saw him a few minutes prior to the explosion. He was trying to make sure we had all we needed in case of a large number of casualties.” The medic flinched, as if expecting Tranis to beat him. “He would have been in the main part of the department when we were hit.”
Lidon’s stomach twisted to hear the report, but he had a job to do. Mourning would have to wait as long as there were other lives to be saved. “We’ve got mass wounded in the dining hall. Help should be on its way soon, but you’ll have to do the best you can until it arrives.”
The medic nodded. He actually seemed to take strength from being given duties to perform. He turned to the other three who had survived with him. “Grab whatever you can from the lab and let’s get to work.”
Silent and grim, the tiny group went back into the lab and gathered supplies. Lidon followed Tranis over to where the other crew was working to open Degorsk’s office. The flare of lasers cutting into the wall halted as the Nobek workers lifted their heads and scented the air.
One growled, “Why do I smell Tragoom?”
Lidon snarled, “Because the first officer and I had the great joy of killing a couple in hand-to-hand. Get that damned wall open.”
The crewman flinched a little under Lidon’s hectic stare. “Yes, Weapons Commander.” The lasers flared to life once more.
Moments later the cutting was done, and Lidon and Tranis joined the crew in pulling the slab of wall from its place. Lidon knew better than to hope, but he couldn’t help but study the faces of the men staggering out of the tiny space that had once been his Imdiko’s. An orderly … a second-class medic…
Lidon’s heart swelled fit to explode as Degorsk emerged from the rubble, blinking uncertainly as he crossed from the black maw of his unpowered office to the lit corridor. Lidon didn’t grab the Imdiko in a fierce embrace as he ached to, but his grip on Degorsk’s arm as he helped him out was tight. Tranis grabbed the doctor’s other arm, his relieved smile stretching from ear to ear.
Degorsk looked at the two of them, his expression completely befuddled for a few moments. Then a slow smile spread over his face.
“Well, look who decided to join the party,” he said softly. “You know, a simple ‘Hello Degorsk, we’re back,’ would have sufficed. You didn’t have to blow up my damned department to get my attention.”
“It’s good to see you in one piece, Doctor.” The softness of Tranis’ voice held a galaxy full of emotion, emotion Lidon shared.
Degorsk nodded. He suddenly swayed as his knees seemed to come unhinged. Lidon and Tranis grabbed hold of him, keeping him on his feet.
The Imdiko shook his head hard and stiffened his legs. “No, I’m okay. It’s shock, that’s all. No injuries.”
“Just the three from this room, Commander,” someone said behind Lidon.
“Damn. Anyone else make it?” Degorsk asked.
“Four others from your department,” Lidon told him. “They’ve already gone ahead to tend the wounded.” The full miracle of his Imdiko’s survival swept down on Li
don. “How the hell did you end up in your office? One of your staff said you were in the main part of Medical.”
“We were missing some medications, so those of us doing inventory went into my office to check the computer files. If we’d waited two seconds later, we would have been in the main part and—” Degorsk stopped. He swallowed. “How fucked up are we?”
Through the smile he just couldn’t seem to lose despite the heavy casualties of his ship, Tranis said, “The stuff of your nightmares. Worst case scenario.”
Degorsk looked at him and Lidon. He blinked suddenly overbright eyes. “Not quite the worst, Commander.” He shook off their support and straightened, gathering his strength like invisible battle armor. “You know, I hate this fucking fleet.”
Lidon allowed a smile of his own to peek through. “We know.”
“Good. Just so we’re clear on that. Let me get my kit and point me to where I need to be.” Degorsk turned back to his office and halted, looking at them over his shoulder. “Oh, welcome home.”
Lidon snorted and shook his head. It was time to get back to the bridge and his duties now that he knew Degorsk was alive and making worse jokes than ever. Tranis was needed at his station too. Yet they both went into the office with Degorsk, hovering near their Imdiko as he claimed his kit that would do far too little for too few people.
* * * *
Many hours after the fighting ended, Degorsk finally finished seeing that the wounded and dead were loaded onto the hospital and morgue ships. The only thing that had gotten him through the endless bodies and blood was knowing Lidon and Tranis were alive. Alive and incredibly well. He’d not lost them.
He tried not to think of anything else as he dragged his weary body to his quarters. After miraculously surviving in his dark office after the blast that destroyed Medical, reluctantly coming to terms that most of his staff was gone, and then plowing through the endless wounded with only first aid kits until help arrived, Degorsk was done. He’d finally had it. He was resigning from the fleet. Lidon would have to be content with a long-distance relationship, seeing Degorsk on the home planet when his leave allowed it. Others made it work. So could he and his Nobek. As for Tranis … well, maybe that could eventually happen too despite everything.
It would be a shame if he lost the Dramok he wanted due to weakness, but Degorsk simply couldn’t work on a destroyer anymore.
The Imdiko felt no surprise when he entered his quarters and found the two men sitting on his sleeping mat, waiting for him. Cleaned up and absolutely beautiful to his gaze, they stood to greet him.
Too tired and stressed to think straight, Degorsk jabbered almost incoherently. “You have no idea how good it is to see you. I am so glad you two are alive. So, was playing spy fun? You pretty much saved the Empire’s ass from what I heard. Did I smell Tragoom on you earlier?”
“As long as you don’t smell it now,” Tranis said.
Dramok and Nobek closed in on him, surrounded him, held him tight between their bodies. Degorsk gratefully sank into the comfort. They stood that way silently except for a strange, almost barking sound that filled the room. It took some time for the doctor to recognize it was someone sobbing. It was a wretched sound, so harsh it made his whole body shudder. Degorsk didn’t know why there was someone in his quarters crying so loudly nor why Tranis and Lidon didn’t make them stop. He had no idea the sounds came from his own throat. All he knew was a wrenching force was making his stomach and chest ache and he couldn’t help jerking. For some reason Lidon’s shoulder, which his face was pressed into, was damp.
After a little while, the terrible sounds tapered off and ceased. His body quieted enough that he could enjoy the warmth of the men holding him. Degorsk blinked. How long had they been standing there? Were the others waiting for him to talk?
The Imdiko lifted his face and looked at the men he’d been so afraid he’d never see alive again. By the ancestors, they looked wonderful. He asked, “So what happened?” The croaking quality of his voice surprised him.
Lidon shook his head. His expression was soft, a funny look for a Nobek of his ferocity. “Later. Right now, it’s time we took care of the caregiver.”
Degorsk had no ability to argue as his companions stripped him naked. They had rough, calloused hands, but they managed to be tender with him just the same. He loved those hands. Loved how they felt against his skin. Despite the fatigue and angst plaguing him, their touch had his dicks twitching with interest.
Tranis and Lidon coaxed him into the tiny shower stall. Somehow they managed to fit themselves in it with him. Degorsk thought about protesting. He was a grown man and capable of washing himself, thank you very much, but he simply couldn’t find the will to resist. And it felt so good. Warm water sluicing down over him, those coarse hands cleaning him with sometimes embarrassing thoroughness. Rubbing his shoulders, back, chest, arms, thighs. Mouths joined in, kissing him with a softness that made him weak all over. The rough yet careful hands closed around his cocks, stroking insistently. Slippery fingers pressed into his ass, searching until they found the sweet spot inside and rubbed, insisting on his pleasure. They made him violently hard and then they made him violently climax. His shrieks rebounded against the close walls, echoing so it sounded more like a pit of damned souls than a man in the throes of orgasm.
When that was over, Degorsk’s forehead dropped to lean against Tranis’ shoulder. This time he knew he wept, the moans soft as he released pain and misery and relief. When he was done, the other two helped him out of the shower. They dried him as if he was only a child and laid him on his sleeping mat, crowding in close to make the narrow surface hold them all. Sandwiched between the two strong males, Degorsk pressed his cheek to Tranis’ chest, listening to the Dramok’s heart beat.
The position made Tranis’ voice extra deep and rumbling when he spoke. “Nobek Lidon and Imdiko Degorsk, will you be my clan?”
Degorsk laughed. He was sliding into sleep already, a slumber he knew would be deep enough to keep away the nightmares. He mumbled, “I’m so out of it. I swear I thought you just asked us to join your clan.”
Lidon spoke into his hair, which someone had unbound at some point. Degorsk didn’t even remember that part, but dismissed it to hear his Nobek’s words. “He did ask us to clan, you beautiful wreck of a man. If you will give your permission to be Tranis’ Imdiko, then I will be his Nobek.”
Tranis’ Imdiko. Lidon’s Imdiko, officially. It was too good to be true, so maybe Degorsk had already fallen asleep and was lost in a happy dream. Who was he to deny such a wondrous fantasy? The horrors of the day, of the past days when he didn’t know if Tranis and Lidon still lived, passed away. He smiled.
“Oh, all right, I’ll join your clan. You two don’t have to be so pushy.”
Chuckles filled his ears. Degorsk sank deeper into their warmth and let Tranis’ heart drum him to sleep.
* * * *
Tranis was called into Piras’ office first thing two mornings after the battle, two days after he’d clanned with Degorsk and Lidon. He stood before his captain’s desk while Piras sat behind it, making Tranis wait while he fussed with something on his computer.
The first officer couldn’t imagine what would warrant a private conversation. There was so little to do on the ship as to make most the surviving crew work only half-shifts. The destroyer was on much reduced power and limping to its new home, a salvage facility. It was too badly damaged to warrant repair.
Tranis had allowed himself to hope he and his new clan would be assigned to a ship not under Piras’ command. While the captain had treated them with nothing but respect since their return – even offering rarely-seen compassion when it wasn’t known if Degorsk was alive or dead – the proximity to Lidon’s former lover was too close for Tranis’ liking.
Piras finally turned to him. He stood, and to Tranis’ shock, bowed. “Congratulations, Captain Tranis. It is my understanding you are the youngest Kalquorian to ever attain the rank.”
Th
e younger Dramok’s mouth dropped wide open. He stared at Piras in disbelief. Finally his vocal chords unfroze enough to allow him to speak. “Captain?”
Piras smirked, probably at the very un-captain like behavior of his former first officer. “After your actions on the colony and during the battle, I think you’d be offered the rank of admiral if protocols allowed it. I have no doubt you’ll be given command of a destroyer.”
Tranis had dreamed of this moment, anticipating the thrill and pride of attaining such a rank. Instead, his mind was filled with those he had let die on the Joshadan-Earther colony so that the first wave of Kalquor’s defenders could be saved. He thought of all the dead men Piras had led into battle and how he might someday have to do the same. All those lives on his shoulders, depending on him to not fuck up.
He could fully appreciate how Degorsk felt about being the doctor on a ship whose sole purpose was battle. For Tranis, the glory of command had been tarnished by the events of the last few days.
The new captain put aside his dark thoughts and bowed as was expected. He said, “Thank you for the news, Captain Piras. The appointment is a great honor. Will Lidon be promoted too?”
A flicker of momentary sadness appeared on Piras’ face. It smoothed out and he said with no emotion, “He could be a first officer if he wished, but you know how Nobeks are. They hate being administrators. He flatly refused the commission, so he’s to be decorated – again – and remain a weapons commander.”
Tranis agreed Lidon would be miserable as a first officer. True, Tranis had found his duties exciting as of late, but the position during peacetime usually entailed more management and supervision duties than the action a Nobek naturally thrived on.
To Clan and Conquer (Clan Beginnings) Page 25
