by Lexi Ander
"You should come and visit me at Atlainticia. We have extensive forests. There would be much for you to discover and record for the Conti'Quan. You could meet the rest of my family."
"I would love to visit your home world, but you did not come to my door to issue an invitation. You are troubled this night. Are your brothers not coming?"
Zeus grinned. The excitement over their arrival momentarily pushed away his dark musings. "They're scheduled to arrive in the morning—well, in a few hours."
"Yes, I can feel your joy at their coming. Tell me what has chased you from your bed this night."
Zeus leaned his shoulder against his friend. "I had a dream. Not a dream really, but memories from my youth. Remember when I told you I had been born blind?"
"You have explained this to me before, and I admit to not understanding. You had your other senses. Were you ever truly blind?"
"I did not believe so, but my parents worried. Other younglings heard I had been instructed in combat before I reached the age of traditional puberty and thought it was unfair. So I was ambushed by some older boys when I was twelve summers who didn't agree with my parents' indulgence." Zeus remembered how his intuition had alerted him to the malignancy around him when he entered the room. There had been a certain quiet to the space that lent to the feeling of wicked expectation.
"Mock battle with my brothers is very different than real fighting. The adolescents were probably only attempting to knock me around, but I fought back."
"Why were the offspring jealous? Were they not older and already taking lessons? What did they have to gain by attacking you?"
"There are those who only see me as an orphaned human, not as a true Mar'Sani, and definitely not worthy of the Vondorian name and title. Some believed I was spoiled and overindulged by my parents. I am sure there were other reasons, but those had been the whispers I heard among the Noble Houses."
"But you survived the fight. For the Mar'Sani culture, your strength was proven."
"I almost died from the attack. My parents and some of the Noble Houses were horrified that any would assault a member of the imperial family, adopted or not. The four boys and their Houses were banished. The children had been taught not to regard me as the fourth child of the emperor. Father could not forgive the trespass. If I had died, he would have decimated the four Noble Houses for the assassination of an imperial prince. Because I lived, he banished them to the edges of the Black Desert."
"An apt punishment for a species that needs more water to survive than my species does."
"They have been cut off from the Waters of Poseidon." Zeus knew the pain of being separated from the warm, tranquil ocean, not be able to swim in its depths or hunt in its waters. "Father worried there would be another attempt, and he wished for me to be better prepared and able to see the danger coming. He contacted the Chtichlians and requested their assistance."
"I have heard they are the best in certain areas of science. They provided genetically modified spiders to the Conti'Quan worlds experiencing a devastating insect infestation. Their generosity saved many lives."
"In my dream, I remember bits and pieces of their conversation. They claimed I was not born blind but made sightless after birth. Many confusing things were said during the procedure. As a child I was too young to understand the implications, but as an adult, I know what has been denied to me. Cleito, I feel as if I should do... something... but I am unsure what."
The vines slid comfortingly around Zeus. "When the time comes, your course of action will open to you."
"I hope so," Zeus whispered.
He leaned against Cleito's support and gazed at the magnificent view of deep space. He let go of the worry caused by his dream, and before he knew it, sleep drew him under as the soft voices of the mini-paradise serenaded him.
Zeus woke feeling more rested than he had in the previous weeks. Alone in the quiet atrium, the shielding was closed and plants dangled above, almost as if they watched over him. Cleito had laid him out on an expanse of thick grass. The rich, loamy smell tickled his nose as he rolled over, located his boots, and headed back to his quarters. The excitement of seeing Azaes and Mestor quickened his steps.
He climbed out of the sonic shower, grumbling about the cleansing gel mist. He always felt itchy for a couple of hours afterward. Polishing his teeth, he searched for the shell box his sister had given him before he left for the space station.
Swimming in the Waters of Poseidon was always a special time to spend with Shaneva. Before leaving his home for the stars, she gifted him several worked stones from the ocean's floor. Each held a significant meaning she refused to divulge, but she made him promise to wear them when the twins came for him. She taught him how to weave them into his hair before they spent the day floating in the water.
With care, he wove the multicolored stones into the locks on each side of his face. He wondered how his sister fared and swallowed around the lump in his throat. The longing for family and home had steadily grown stronger. Once he was planet-side, he doubted he would ever leave again.
Checking the time, he put on a burst of speed as he dressed in the Mar'Sani ceremonial uniform of the emperor's warrior son. He tried not to remember how he had passed the tests and the required rounds of hand-to-hand combat, only to be denied entrance into the Academy. Instead of fighting for the position he rightfully earned, he had gone to the university and gained his degree. The uniform was a harsh reminder of what he could not have.
Strapping on his dual swords, the leather creaked with each movement. He had become used to loose and roomy mechanic's cargos. Now the stiff leather uniform felt slightly restricting. The dark green, scaled hyde of a Gerrho'Sauridae, Atlainticia's Black Sands Desert snake, hugged his body and showed off his more muscular physique. With Cleito as his only friend, Zeus spent a great deal of free time in the station's recreation center and had put on twenty-three kilos of muscle as a result.
He still had to report to work that afternoon, so he folded a pair of cargos and stuffed them into his shoulder bag. He doubted he would have time to come back to his quarters. A hail sounded at the door. Taking a quick look around, he grabbed his bag and hurried to the door before the call came again.
Hadon, Zeus's Battion bodyguard, stood in the corridor scowling, two of his four arms crossed. "You left your suite without me." He sniffed the air. "You smell of soil."
"I did not want to wake you. It was early, with no one around. I only walked to Cleito's." Zeus knew the explanation would not appease his bodyguard.
Hadon's other set of arms crossed. "And if you were kidnapped?"
Zeus gave an aggravated Mar'Sani hiss of warning. "I am not a helpless youngling."
"And if you crossed paths with a psionic who wished the emperor harm?"
Zeus could not maintain his angry scowl. First, Hadon had a point. Other than Hadon, he had no weapon to defend against the psychic machinations of a psionic. Second … well, Hadon was a Battion, a bulky furball most races found difficult to take seriously simply because of his adorable appearance.
Just under three meters tall, Hadon had broad shoulders, a short, thick neck, and a dome-like head. He was covered head to toe in long, silky black-and-white spotted fur. The hair on his brow naturally stood straight up to reveal wide, blue eyes. The only places not fur-covered were his hands and feet. He wore white spyder silk trousers, knee-high laced boots, and a blue vest that matched the vibrant color of his eyes.
Those who employed Battion knew their merits as bodyguards, including the null field they radiated. They absorbed psionic energy, and any psi in the presence of a Battion would be unable to use their skills. The Mar'Sani were nulls like the Battion and not vulnerable to a psionic attack. Zeus's human physiology made him vulnerable, and therefore, his father had employed Hadon to protect him.
"I am sorry, Hadon. I was upset and did not think to call you."
A gusty exhale ruffled the dark hair around Hadon's lips. "We have been lucky thus far. I
do not want to invite trouble your last days here because I lacked vigilance."
Zeus stepped out of his quarters and closed the door. "Nothing will happen because I am not valuable."
Hadon smiled, his huge, blunt, square teeth taking up half of his face. "You are priceless to your family."
"Speaking of which, we need to go to the space dock." Zeus turned down the corridor with Hadon following one step behind.
The Imperial Space Station Bashker'Qa managed a galactic jump gate by charting courses and verified coordinates for outgoing hyperspace jumps. The station employed and housed around eight hundred souls, and could house an additional thousand transients. All ships using the hypergate had to go through a thorough inspection. Any repairs or changes could be taken care of at the maintenance docks. As the master mechanic, Zeus was responsible for overviewing the inspections and repairs. Currently he was the only mechanic certified to repair all space drives. His replacement would arrive at the station in a couple of days.
Standing on the space dock behind the security perimeter, he waited impatiently for the twins. It had been fourteen cycles, five solar years on Atlainticia, since he had last seen them. His pulse raced with excitement, and he thought his stomach would climb out of his throat. He stood perfectly still at parade rest, giving no external indication to his inner exhilaration.
Director Autocthon would have met Azaes and Mestor on the ship with station security. It was not often a member of the royal family traveled offworld. With Azaes as the heir apparent, and scheduled to stay for several days until Zeus was released, the Director had added to the princes' security detail. The twins would hate the restrictions extra protection would cause, but they would be obliged to accept the offer to keep from giving offense.
An itch crept up the back of Zeus's neck. He almost turned to look but stopped himself. He waited, but the sensation persisted. He could not figure out why someone would be watching him. Most people ignored him after a cursory glance, usually born of curiosity and nothing else. Did the attention have something to do with his brothers' arrival?
Body thrumming with silent alarm, his right hand slipped to the hilt of one of his swords. They might have looked ornamental to the casual eye, but he could expertly wield the titanium reinforced ebony blades. Hadon noticed his change in posture and dropped his hands to his utility belt, hooking a finger next to his pulse baton.
Before Zeus could take a cursory glance around, Warlord Sohm'lan strode boldly through the airlock accompanied by two of the station's security personnel. Zeus fluttered his hand over his abdomen. Sohm'lan's scrutiny slid over Zeus, scanning the space dock, gaze stopping directly behind Zeus for the briefest moment before continuing their circuit of the area. Glancing back to Zeus, he gave a slight nod before retreating into the airlock.
Sohm'lan might have located the possible threat, but Zeus would not be able to relax until he knew the twins were safe. A brief moment passed after Sohm'lan disappeared from view before he returned followed by a half-dozen Monticore, the Elite Honor Guard. The Monticore were the only regiment allowed to guard the members of the imperial House. They were the deadliest of all the battalions, their loyalty above question. Zeus had been escorted by the Monticore all of his life. Their opinion of him, if they had one, had never been spoken. They had not once treated him with anything other than the utmost respect. Mestor stepped out of the airlock ahead of Azaes, who walked with his head slightly bent as he listened to the Director.
Cleito appeared in Zeus's periphery, and Zeus smiled at his friend as Cleito made his graceful way to Zeus's side. He had invited Cleito to meet his family but was unsure if he would come after he woke in the gardens alone.
"Zeus!" Mestor's voice boomed like a rocket throughout the dock. People paused, drawn by the power behind the shout.
The guard parted as Mestor strode through with Azaes immediately by his side, the Director momentarily forgotten. Zeus gritted his teeth as his eyes stung. The twins' long legs ate up the space, bodies leaned forward, tails lashing as they stormed toward him. In a word, they were beautiful. Their fine black scales gleamed like polished steel, sunrise-yellow eyes with their elliptical pupils trained upon him. Their uniforms were exactly like his except for the accommodation for their tails. To those who did not know Mar'Sani, would believe the twins were charging to attack Zeus.
Zeus threw his shoulders back. "Brothers!" he boomed. Leaning forward, his posture mimicking theirs, he stomped toward them and met them halfway across the floor. Their foreheads pressed together lightly—hisses, snarls, and low whistles were exchanged. Each tone of the sibilance exchanged was deeply meaningful, speaking of family, home, joy, relief, connections, and everlasting love. Each released breath that whistled, punctuated in an odd musical sound, came directly from his soul as he stared into the eyes of his siblings. The greeting ended with them throwing their heads back in a resonating growl until there was no air left in their lungs. The display was followed by the hissing howls of the Honor Guard who surrounded each brother protectively. Caught up in a backbreaking embrace, all Zeus could think was he had finally come home.
Dargon Kal-Turak stood in a quiet corner of the space dock. He had time to waste while he waited for the inspection of his ship to be completed. He knew the vessel would not pass the assessment. They had come out of hyperspace limping. That last net trap had damaged their portside engines, leaving them barely enough juice to make port intact. Hopefully they had shaken the psionic tracker … well, at least until those who pursued his ship checked the network. This imperial space station had safeguards against psionic infiltration, but as an extra precaution, he activated the scrambler to make detection harder. It bought them three or four days before they were located—again.
His gaze never rested in one place for long. Confident he had dodged his tail, Dargon was not one to let his guard down. Expect the unexpected, a working philosophy that kept him constantly wary. The station swarmed with additional security. He watched as they assembled in front of an airlock.
An Ice Tran in long robes approached the station guards. It was strange seeing a species that normally lived in temperatures of negative fifteen to negative one hundred degrees Celsius out of their element. Not quite two meters tall, the male was broad through the shoulders and well-muscled, but not very strong because of their hollow bones. His wind-wings were translucent from the wrist to the upper arm and attached to points on the shoulder blades. The large triangular ears twitched as the airlock cycled.
To Dargon's surprise, a Mar'Sani, probably a warlord, greeted the Ice Tran and the security team. As soon as the group re-boarded the ship, he scanned the crowd once more.
"There is that scent, again. Can you pick it up, Dargon? We should try to find the person it belongs to."
Dargon grunted in a non-response. An enticing scent kept pulling at his attention. He ran across the spice several times while he roamed the station. As heavy as the odor had been in several places, he could only surmise the person the natural perfume belonged to was a station resident. It had been a while since a scent piqued his interest, much less caused his sex to stir.
He was a Dar Massaga: a species paired with a symbiote—a completely dissimilar being called Alpha, who bonded with males, and Zeta, who bonded with the females. Dark green, almost black, in color and marbled with pink striations, Alpha covered Dargon's upper chest in an embedded torque.
The two races had begun their symbiotic relationship after the inner species war destroyed the surfaces of the two primary planets of the Dar Massaga system, Hedisa and Hedisa Gamai. Eugenics and biological warfare had been used, and both planets were stripped of one gender. The result, a unique situation where each sex inhabited a separate planet. As a consequence, to procreate, the two Dar Massaga sexes gathered regularly on a moon of Hedisa Gamai to breed and birth their young, returning to their respective planets afterward.
The Dar Massaga participated in an intimate relationship with their Alpha, which was difficult fo
r most offworlders to completely understand. Dargon shared a telepathic bond with Alpha and was very protective of his symbiote. He shared Alpha with no one. But today, even Alpha reacted to the scent, murmuring excitedly in the back of his head. Dargon's sex had partially come out from his body, responding to the dual assault of Alpha's arousal and the unique pheromone.
Dargon adjusted his pleated floor-length skirt on his hips, thankful for the heavy hyde. The thigh-high slits allowed for movement in combat but still hid his burgeoning erection. Alpha's reaction to the scent increased as the odor grew thicker. He briefly considered covering Alpha with his tunic. Dar Massaga always proudly displayed their torque-shaped symbiote, but if the two of them did not control their reactions, they would have some very public sex. Even though his species were known for their sexual appetite and public displays, he could not indulge without breaking cover.
"Please, Dargon, we must find him," Alpha begged.
Pulling on the edges of his dark brown tunic of soft spyder silk, Dargon's green gaze scanned the crowd again. Nervously he ran a hand through his copper metallic hair, unconsciously braiding the single line of his mane. His golden skin tingled and felt stretched tight.
"Not now, Alpha. We do not have time to go hunting," he said, sharper than he intended.
If he did not know better, he would say he had started mating heat. He had given his offering last time he had been home without touching a female. None of them inspired him, and they left him flaccid, their mating scents dull and barely existent. He knew for a fact there was not a Dar Massaga female on the station.
The fine hairs of his gold fuzz stood up on end, his gaze resting on the creature responsible for the incredible and arousing scent. For a moment he was taken aback as he watched the human, followed by a Battion, stride across the space dock. Dargon's lip lifted in a quiet snarl. He did not have any use for an arrogant, self-centered, egotistical Terren. His sex immediately went limp and retreated at the thought.
