by Shae Mills
Dar looked to her and nodded weakly. “Maybe you do.”
Chelan sucked in a deep breath. “Maybe?” she squeaked. She cleared her throat. “Why did you not get word out that you were alive?”
“I did not want people to know.”
She gasped. “But why? You were the Empire’s most exalted Warlord next to Korba. And you were Korba’s right-hand man and his best friend. You were my... We—” Her words broke off and her eyes filled. “We had created a beautiful baby together. We shared everything.”
He shook his head slowly, his tears running down his bronze cheeks. “No, my Lady. I had failed you in every way. The Empire was falling. RIBUS 7 was down. RIBUSes 8 and 10 were mortally wounded. Talon had you. All was lost.” He took in a shallow breath. “I failed everyone.”
“You did not! And regardless, it is all back. Do you not see? All is right again. Korba would want—”
“No!” Dar boomed, lurching to his feet.
Chelan scuttled backward, fear coursing through her at his unexpected fury.
“Korba will not want me back! And all is not as it was. Some things are irretrievably lost!”
Chelan struggled to her feet awkwardly. Then she straightened herself. “Like what?!” she shouted back. “And why the hell would Korba not take you back? Damn it, Dar, was it a blow to the head? What would make you talk such utter foolishness?”
His eyes blazed. “I... can... not... come back,” he ground out through clenched teeth. “Now leave me!”
She stepped up to him and slapped him hard across the face, sending his unkempt hair flying. “Do not order me to leave you! You cannot walk in and out of my life like I am some steel-hearted revolving door. You come to me talking nonsense, and then you simply tell me to leave, to forget about you? I will be damned if I will do that! Now, you had better come up with some good excuses soon, or I will turn you over my knee and beat you half to death myself!”
Dar’s eyes finally met hers, his chest rising and falling irregularly. He grabbed her by the front of her shroud and wrenched her forward. “If I show you why I am dead to the Empire,” he growled, “will you let me leave in peace?”
Chelan clenched her jaw. “I can promise you nothing.”
He released her with a jerk. Then he stepped past her and strode down to the center of the Command area. He took in a deep breath, his back to her.
Chelan’s mind raced. “Was it something with the battle? Was there some mistake you feel responsible for?”
His head hung. “No, my Lady. We fought as well as we could. There were no mistakes. There was just no chance.”
“How did you escape?”
“Of that I am not sure.”
“Are there others?”
He shook his head slowly. “No, my Lady. None that I could find.”
She stepped to the edge of the stairs. “But you chose the life of a recluse, wandering the empty decks of a bombed-out ship, alone. You somehow installed the alloy along the tubes so that you could traverse her indefinitely all while escaping detection. You survived Talon, you survived space, and you have survived solitude. Now you have a chance to retrieve all, and yet you refuse?”
He turned to her, his glacial eyes impaling her. “And would I have you, my Lady?”
Chelan’s heart stopped. “You have always had me, Dar.”
“That is not true!”
Chelan’s fury suddenly matched his. “Is that it? You are here sulking because you think I am exclusively Korba’s?” She marched up to him. “Don’t you dare lay any guilt at my feet! We all sacrificed. I ended up married to the executioner in the end, pushed into his bed by Korba’s command, so do not tell me you have had it bad!”
Dar’s hardened expression melted. He looked down at her, his expression portraying his agony. “Oh, my Lady, I am so sorry...”
Chelan sniffed back her tears and straightened defiantly. “You just admitted no mistakes were made and the outcome was inevitable. So now you have no excuses left! So, please explain to me why you pursue such nonsense.”
Dar’s jaw worked. He stared at her in indecision. Then he watched as she folded her arms about her chest defensively. He took a moment to steady himself. “I do not want your pity.”
Chelan’s eyes narrowed. “You deserve my anger, not my pity,” she huffed.
Dar reached for his shroud. Tearing it from himself as if it was suddenly contaminated, he let it drop. Chelan felt her head spin. For the second time her knees weakened. She stared at him, forcing herself to stay upright. He was as he had always been, massively built, beautiful and handsome. His frayed blonde hair fell past his shoulders to below his steel-plated pectorals. He was clad in the skin-tight Imperial uniform, a picture of flawless masculinity, except for one detail. Chelan looked to the stump where his right arm should have been. And despite all her resolve, her face drained of all color.
Dar straightened, his voice calm. “You see, my Lady, in a world where military prowess and strength are everything, perfection is a must. I no longer fit that mold. I have not chosen to withdraw from Iceanean life by choice; withdrawal was thrust upon me through war, a battle I lost in more ways than I can count.”
Chelan’s stomach was twisting, and she feared losing her control. He had said he wanted no pity, and she found it easy to honor her word there. But her body was betraying her on another level, that of sorrow. She could literally feel his pain. She slumped down, her bones liquifying all at once, and sat upon the top stair. She hung her head. She dared not say a word.
Dar watched the ashen beauty, his heart in shards. He still loved her after all these years with the same ferocity he always had. But now he was not whole, and he would not be a burden to anyone—not to the Empire, not to Korba, and certainly not to her. “You see, some losses are irretrievable,” he repeated softly.
Chelan looked up at him, her eyes glistening. “Some are, my Lord. But you are alive, and that is what is most important. Please, come to RIBUS 1 with me.”
He shook his head slowly. “Chelan, please, I beg of you. Leave me. Let me play out my life as I choose. I cannot be with the Empire or with you.”
Chelan sighed heavily. “You truly are a fool then. Do you think I would love you any less because you have but one arm?”
Dar smiled softly. “Once again, even after all these years, you are ignorant of the Empire’s ways. What would you have of me, Chelan? Would it be that I travel the galaxy with you as your kept lover while the men and women of the ship fight for his Lordship?”
Chelan shook her head, aghast at his analysis of the situation. “Do not be so obtuse. There is more to the Empire than warfare, Dar. Back on Iceanea there are many roles for you. Your mind is every bit as powerful as your body. Back there you can use your intelligence, your knowledge, and your experience not only to further the Empire’s causes, but to educate and train others.”
He looked down for a moment. Then his left hand went to the stump just below his shoulder. “I am a Warlord, my Lady. It seems fate did not see fit that I die as one. Now I am a mere man, my breeding and training no longer dictating my career or my life.”
Chelan groaned. “Then you are so inflexible, so unable to adapt that you are obsolete? Born and bred a Warlord only, never to be anything else?”
“I do not wish to be anything else!”
“You have no choice,” she returned flatly. “You choose to be nothing by default.”
Dar snatched up his shroud. “Your time is nearly up. Korba returns for you in a few minutes.”
Chelan watched almost catatonically as he donned the garment. Then he turned to the panels, hitting the codes that released the doors. He pivoted back to her. “I realize you cannot lie to Korba. So be it. But tell him not to come looking for me. I monitor all. I will remain here in my domain until I no longer can. Then I will depart. If he attempts to flush me out, I will simply leave that much sooner.”
Chelan rubbed at her brow, trying to force herself to think straight. “Th
ere are three battleships here,” she informed him unnecessarily. “If Korba wishes to take you, he will. There would be no escaping.”
Dar stepped up to the bottom of the stairs, his eyes fierce. “Then you would send me to my death, my Lady. If he tries to make a bid for me, I will take my life.”
Chelan blanched. She struggled to her feet before him. “You would kill me by that act, Dar,” she whispered.
He stepped up to her. A gloved finger grazed her cheek. “I am already dead, my Lady. Let us keep it that way.”
And before Chelan could react, he was gone. She wobbled to and fro momentarily, and then sank back down to the stairs. Between Terig’s death and this shock, she knew not if she would recover. When she at last looked up again, Korba stood soundlessly before her. She swallowed hard. “Take me home,” she choked. “I need to go home.”
Chapter 38
CHELAN SAT IN THE LARGE command chair of RIBUS 1 and watched Korba pace a hole in the floor before her. He ran his hands back through his long mane. “I do not believe this.”
Chelan sighed. “I know. Even now I feel as though I dreamed it.”
Korba stopped and scowled. “The bastard would kill himself too. I know him well enough.”
Chelan watched the disheveled Emperor as he resumed his pacing. Then her eyes lit. “Oh my god! I know how to get him here.”
Korba halted abruptly. “How?”
“I need a special travel pod made of Tythalion infused with Zenatropium. Then I need the utmost in secrecy.”
Korba straightened. “Continue.”
THREE DAYS LATER CHELAN entered the Command Center of RIBUS 7 with Korba and his men by her side. A warrior set the small travel pod down carefully and stepped back.
Korba looked into her fawn-like eyes and kissed her gently. “Good luck, my Lady.”
She smiled. “Thank you, my Lord.” And she watched as he left with his entourage.
Chelan closed her eyes momentarily, trying to calm the butterflies taking flight in her stomach. This venture to hopefully meet Dar was as before, only even more intimate. All the crews throughout the ship had been pulled. RIBUS 7 was shut down. It was just him and her.
Chelan looked around the Command Center. “I know you are watching,” she stated confidently. She began wandering about. “This is the last time I will come here before the ship is ready to depart. We need to talk. We need...”—she hesitated—“... to say good-bye.” Chelan turned toward the main doors just as he stepped in, and they closed.
“You told Korba?”
She nodded.
“And?”
“And he says he knows you well enough to let you be with your decision... foolish as it is.”
Dar withdrew his hood. “He is a wise man, and a good friend.”
Chelan glared at him. “You know, I talked to Stose and the Telesian Ambassador. They referred me to the Cleosans. They are very good at cloning. I did not know the Empire had outlawed it.”
Dar nodded. “We have not allowed cloning for centuries. We wanted the genetic diversity afforded by controlled natural breeding. Cloning would render us less adaptable and more vulnerable to mass die-offs.”
Chelan smirked. “Less adaptable. Yes, I see.”
Dar ignored her jab. “You mentioned the Cleosans?”
“I did, and it seems they have mastered cloning, possibly being even better at it than the Telesians. They began a program long ago to render their own kind more adaptable to the harsh life on Cleos. As a by-product, they also worked on organ regeneration. It seems that originally, before they moved underground, their natural life expectancy was very short, mostly deaths due to cancers. Apparently, being bathed in the radiation from two suns is not conducive to longevity. Anyway, they think they can force the growth of your right arm.”
Dar looked a bit shocked but recovered quickly. “Cloning is not an exact science.”
“No, I suppose not, but what if it could be done?”
Dar hesitated and then shook his head. “I have made my choices.”
Chelan felt like slapping him again. “Have you, with all the facts?”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind,” she sighed. “Look. You will not come back for the Empire, you will not come back for your best friend, and you won’t come back for me. Therefore, you leave me no choice but to retreat. I will go soon, but first I have a gift for you.” She glanced at the pod.
Dar followed her gaze. Then he squinted at her. “I do not need anything to remember you by, my Lady. I have you in my heart.”
“Well, regardless, indulge me for a moment.” She turned toward the pod and prayed with all her heart that her plan would work. She knelt down before it, her back to him. She manipulated the codes and the pod snapped open. Gleaming azure eyes blinked up at her. “What is my surprise, Mom?”
“Come out and I will show you,” she uttered as she helped her son out of the pod.
Suddenly, a movement caught Jason’s eye. He peered beyond his mom, spying a giant man just as the man crumbled to his knees. The young boy’s mouth dropped. He clutched Chelan’s shroud. Then he smiled ear to ear. “Is that... Is that my dad?”
Chelan kissed him on the cheek. “It sure is, sweetheart. I am sorry about all the secrecy surrounding bringing you here. But I found him, and it is time the two of you met.”
Dar was crying soundlessly, tears streaming down his face. Jason let go of Chelan and approached the Warlord slowly.
The boy studied Dar. “Dad?”
Dar looked longingly at his son, and then his sorrowful eyes raised to Chelan’s. “Damn you, woman,” he mumbled between his sobs. “I had no idea...”
Jason was confused, and he looked hesitantly back at Chelan. “Mom?”
“It is okay, Jason. Dad was not exactly expecting you.”
Dar wiped at his tears. “Jason...” He let the name leave his lips in a whisper. “Fuck...”
Chelan smiled, her voice soft. “First, watch your language. Second, I have had a part of you with me for a very long time. Our son is beautiful, and he is ever bit as bright and talented as his father. He is of you, mind, body, and soul.”
Dar watched as her hands drew through Jason’s shimmering blonde hair.
Jason looked up at her. “May I go to him?” he asked in a whisper.
“I don’t see why not. But you ask him first, okay?”
Jason looked back at Dar. “May I come to you?”
Dar sat upon the floor. “Yes... of course,” he whispered. “I would like that.”
Jason ascended the stairs and stood before him. He took off an ebony glove and reached toward his father, his fingers toying with a lock of Dar’s long hair. “It is beautiful.”
Dar nodded, his eyes filling once again. He reached out to Jason’s hair. “It is just like yours.”
Jason stared at Dar. “You look a lot like my other dad, the Emperor.”
Dar smiled. “Is that good?”
Jason nodded enthusiastically. “Korba is very handsome.”
Dar laughed. “Yes, he is.”
Jason glanced at Chelan. “And my mom is very beautiful.”
Dar looked up, his eyes misting once again. “She is beautiful, isn’t she? And so, so clever.”
“Uh-huh. And I have a pretty baby sister. Her name is Shanna. She has black hair like Dad’s... my other dad... and she has the neatest eyes. They are green, like emeralds from Earth, my mom says.”
“Is she as pretty as your mom?”
Jason thought for a moment. “Well, not yet, but Dad... Korba says she will be one day.”
Dar smiled. “I bet she will be.”
Jason finally let Dar’s hair drop. “We thought you had died.”
Dar took a deep breath. “I... I was stuck here all by myself.”
Jason frowned. “Stuck? How? The ship is loaded with fighters.”
Dar faltered. “I, uh, originally I did not know how the battle between our Empire and Talon had gone. I stayed here th
en, unsure of where I could go that was safe. By the time I got enough of the ship repaired so that I could find out all, it seemed that the war we fought against Talon was lost. And so then I chose to stay here, hidden.”
Jason cocked his head, furrowing his brow. “But if you knew Talon had won, then you would have also known that Korba overthrew him. Why did you stay here then?”
Chelan quickly intervened. “It was a very complicated situation for your dad, Jason. I will explain it one day soon, but up until now, your dad felt it was important to remain here, alone.”
Jason stared hard at his father. “Did you really want to be alone all this time?”
Dar shook his head slowly. “No, my beautiful son. I wanted none of this.”
“You must be very happy that we have found you then?”
Dar’s face looked pained. “I am so very happy that I have met you.”
Jason smiled broadly. “So now are you coming home with us?”
Dar’s voice caught. “Ah, well...” The Warlord looked up at Chelan almost helplessly, but she glanced away. He was on his own now.
Dar looked back at Jason. “Ah, well, you see, Mom did not tell you anything about me, did she?”
Jason shrugged. “I thought Mom had told me everything about you. She tells me about you often, and she always mentions how much she still loves you.”
Dar looked down for a moment, barely able to collect himself. Then he stared into Jason’s expectant eyes, unwilling to keep his son in the dark any longer. “You see, I had an accident long ago, while you were still in your mom’s womb. And I am... not well.”
Jason’s face fell. “But what happened?” he cried. “We have doctors!”
Dar’s heart split. “Please do not fret. Please...” And he reached out and clutched the boy to his chest. His hand stroked Jason’s back. “Please don’t worry. Please don’t.”
“But Mom has told me so much about you! She has told me how special you are and how much she loves you,” he wailed. “Why will you not come back and see the doctors?”
