by T. J. Quinn
“Argen, I was so worried.”
“I know, sweetheart. I hated leaving you hanging like that---not knowing---but it was out of my control,” he said gently. “I’ve missed you so much. It won’t be much longer. We just put into orbit at Farseek. I will be coming over to resume my shuttle duties.”
“Will I see you before that?”
“Count on it. I asked for the second shift so we could have some time together. I need you like I need to breathe.” He gave me that sexy smirk of his and my body responded almost immediately. I suspected his was too. I was glad we would have some bonding time before he went on duty.
“Did you see the new list from the Sargans? Your mother is confirmed alive! With the Consortium and Alliance-aligned, we won’t have to go out to find your people anymore. They will be returned.”
“And we were told the Alliance would contact your families to let them know you are alive and well. This also means you could go back to Earth if you wish.”
“Maybe someday---but only if you are coming too. Honestly, I’m getting tired of space. I just want to feel the ground under my feet again. The last time that happened was the day Commander Maktu took us down to Halor almost three years ago.”
“That’s okay with me. I’ve been ready to go home for three years. You won’t get any argument from me,” he said.
“I feel pretty sure my family is all right. They don’t live anywhere near the cities the Drayids attacked. Soon we will be able to communicate with them. Right now, I am so glad to be able to communicate with you, my love.”
“Me, too. I can’t wait to hold you. It feels like forever.”
“Don’t I know it. A year ago, I never met you, now I feel like I have always known you, always loved you. I hate being without you.” I said.
“Me, too, baby. But I’m so glad to see you at least. Soon, we’ll be together soon.”
Two days later I was walking out of the bathroom naked from taking a shower, and Argen was standing there. I squealed with a start before I realized it was him. Then I walked straight into his arms, and we kissed long and passionately. As we kissed he backed me into our sleeping alcove, and we fell into bed with him on top of me.
I remember thinking he was overdressed but there was time to get his clothes off in a while. I was happy to have him there on top of me kissing me like he missed me as much as I missed him.
“Argen,” I murmured when he finally lifted his mouth from mine. I wanted his clothes off and him inside me, but he had other plans.
“It’s okay, Zoe. I’m going to take care you,” he whispered.
As he started working his way down my neck, kissing and nibbling my flesh, I knew what he was planning. He took his time working his way down my body, kneading my breasts with his hands while kissing my neck and upper chest. He followed with his mouth, sucking each nipple in turn.
Then he went lower, kissing and nibbling, teasing his way down my belly until he reached my mons. As he parted my nether lips with his fingers, I spread my legs to give him access. My reward was the caress of his tongue up through my slit and over my clitoral bud. I was so turned on by then it didn’t take much for him to have me keening loudly as I came for him.
I squirmed and writhed, moaned as he kept my orgasm playing out at length. Finally, he lay his cheek on my belly and ran his hands up and down my sides. I caressed his head and ran my fingers through his short hair.
A few minutes later he kissed my belly just above my mons. He got up and pulled off his clothes and joined me on the bed. I could see he was hard and more than ready to fuck me and I opened my arms and my body.
He knelt between my thighs and leaned over me on his hands and knees. As he lowered himself onto me and into me, I wrapped my arms around him, staring up into his face.
“God, I missed you!” I said softly. “You feel wonderful.”
“So, do you.” He smiled and kissed me, tasting like my essence.
But to feel his incredible body on me and in me and his lips on mine was so exquisite I could only sigh and moan in delight. Argen tried to take me slowly, but he had already held back too long to pleasure me first. Soon he was pounding into me hard and fast.
He felt fantastic, and I loved every minute of it. For three months, I longed to have him in a lover’s embrace, and he was finally there.
It didn’t take him long to come as I expected, but I came again as well. We kissed and touched for a long time afterward. Still hard, Argen never left me, and soon we made love again, this time slowly and tenderly with long tongue tangling kisses---and murmured I-love-you’s in between.
We make love for a long time then dozed for a couple hours before Argen, and I started our shifts.
I was anxious to see Farseek, but I knew that Argen wouldn’t even really get to see it either. He would be at the shuttle letting people off then heading back to the Kurellis for more passengers. All of the Brigade was eager to see Farseek again, but command decided their people should be taken ground side first.
Now that Argen was back, I could wait a few more days. It wasn’t going to take as long as we thought, because with all ten Dreads back in the system, they sent their shuttles to help with unloading the Kurellis.
The first group that had been returned to Farseek pitched in to welcome the new returns. They also made sure that the new homes were stocked with food and necessities so they would have what they needed to return to their lives or start their new lives.
Reparations would give them enough credits to live on while they planted crops or found a way to earn their living. Even though they were getting most of the help they needed to resettle in their new homes, nothing would ever be the same as it was. Most people had friends and relatives killed or separated into slavery. Many of them had been forced into slavery.
It was going to be a big adjustment for Argen and me as well. I’d been in space for three years, and Argen had been a slave and in prison. He was planning to farm on his family’s land once the bots arrived. He would stay in the Brigade on reserve, as they would be patrolling in the Farseek sub-sector instead of on the border between the Consortium and the Sargus Empire.
Chapter Fifteen
Argen
After Zoey and I were reunited, I spent every shift for the next ten days shuttling people down to Farseek from the Kurellis. I took the opportunity to fly over my family’s farm a couple times. Just before we reached Farseek, I learned that my mother was alive along with one sister and brother, though I hadn’t learned which siblings.
The Consortium was sending a crew to take the Kurellis back into the Sargus Empire to rendezvous with Sargan ships returning our people. Only when they had accounted for all the people they took would the Kurellis be returned to them.
Far fewer people than we had hoped were being returned to us. Out of over a million people, we were getting back about three-hundred-thousand. So, they had killed far more people than they took alive. In the name of greed, Evzen Guryon incited the Sargans to commit genocide against our people.
Just the thought filled me with rage. Nothing we could do to him could repay his treachery. But stripping him of his wealth which he seemed to value above all else was a start. Allied with the United Galactic Alliance of Worlds, the Transtellar Consortium stripped the Sargus Empire of its power and its emperor.
The war was finally over for us and reality was still setting in for most of the Farseek Mercenary Brigade. We’d been fighting the war for ten years before which we trained for war. In our quest to retrieve our people we had destroyed at least ten Sargan Battlecruisers. But it wasn’t done in revenge; we did it to survive.
We were all given extended leave to return to Farseek and help with the rebuilding. Meanwhile, the Dreads were docked in the newly opened space station in high orbit around Farseek. That was another thing the Sargans destroyed.
The Uatu people did get revenge of sorts on the Sargus Empire. With the removal of the slaves and outlawing of slavery altogether in the former em
pire, their economy crashed as they predicted it would. They would recover eventually, but there was no rush to aid their recovery because they would be easier to control.
The day before we all went down to the planet, Commander Maktu brought us all together for third meal. He included his combat team, the shuttle pilots, and the support staff. They had all been together for the last three years. I had been with them almost eleven months, but long enough so I felt as though I belonged.
We ate together and talked across the tables like family in the staff mess hall. Every one of us except the Earth women had lost blood relatives in the Sargan invasion. The Earth woman had been stolen from their lives to support the Sargan slave economy as I had been.
But now, we were all family. We would probably not see each other like this again for quite a while once we went down to Farseek. Many had farms on the plains and others lived in the towns and villages spread across the main continent. Personal flyers were at a premium until the new shipment arrived. Most of us with farms were more concerned about the arrival of the farm bots to get our crops planted. But I digress.
Before we started our meal, Commander Maktu stood at the front of the room to speak.
“I decided to get us all together here as both a celebration and farewell. The fight to regain our people is over, and I am proud and honored to have served with all of you. With your help, the Brigade has rescued over twenty thousand people. That was no small feat for a fleet of ten dreadnaughts and about sixteen hundred warriors.
“We thought the Consortium betrayed us, but they were behind us all along, and now they are finishing what we started. While we can’t ever get back what we have lost, we can finally go home and rebuild our world and our lives. Our future is here on Farseek, may you all live long and live well.” He inclined his head in salute to all of us then took his seat at the table beside his mate.
Earlier that day Zoey had shared second meal with her three friends. She told me they had gotten all teary about getting separated after all they had been through together. I reminded her that they could still com each other every day if they wanted and share a four-way conference if they wished.
“But, it won’t be the same,” Zoe protested.
“Nothing is going to be the same,” I reminded her. “We won’t be living in space anymore. We will be in our home, and I hope eventually to start our family.”
“Of course, I do too,” she smiled at me, and I took her into my arms. “I’m just going to miss them.”
“But you won’t have to miss me,” I told her.
“Thank goodness. I don’t ever want to go through those last three months again. It was an ache in my heart that never quit. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you just as much,” I assured her, then kissed her long and slow and held her for a long time afterward. “I never want to do that again either.”
It was almost surreal the next day when the shuttle landed about fifty meters from our home. We got out with our small duffle bags that contained the few clothes we each had and our hand weapons. I carried my ion rifle over my shoulder as we walked up to the front entrance of our new home.
The door opened automatically as we came to stand in front of it and we went inside. I stowed my rifle in the closet by the front door. It could be locked by code to prevent anyone from using it without authorization. We put our hand weapons in there as well.
The house was just as pictured in the vids, only it seemed bigger as we were finally standing inside it. Zoe was pretty emotional as she looked around.
“I never dreamed I would live in a home this beautiful or this big,” she murmured as tears filled her eyes.
It was a modern version of the traditional Uatu huts from early times on our home world. Our farm had been expanded as each child was born into my family, and my new home had been built on my section of the farm. Since I was serving with the Farseek Brigade, I never invested in livestock.
My family had livestock, but if it wasn’t stolen by the Sargans, we still might never recover it if it were still alive. When I described it to Zoe, she said it sounded like a large breed of goat or small cattle. I thought we could possibly get some embryos to grow some breeding stock eventually. Or maybe we could find a few that were in the wild and bring them back. There was much to do once the rest of our equipment arrived.
“Why don’t we just leave our bags right here and take a look around outside? I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been ground side.” I suggested. It was a beautiful day and barely midday.
“That would be great. It’s beautiful out there though the greenish blue sky is going to take a little getting used to,” she said.
“Every planet is a little different,” I said. “It all depends on the molecules in the atmosphere---how they disperse the light from the star.”
“It goes nicely with the green world. Do your trees change color and lose their leaves in the winter?”
“They lose some of their leaves in storm season because of the wind, but they don’t change color.
“How long does storm season last?”
“About three months---but it’s not constant,” I told her, taking her hand as we left the house. The temperature was perfect, not to hot and not to cool.
“It’s just so hard to believe that it’s really over and we’re finally here,” she said, gazing around in wonder.
The grasses had grown tall with neglect, and some of the fields had crops that reseeded themselves when they were never harvested. It looked like the bots might be able to salvage some of it. We walked toward the forest that lined the backfield so Zoey could get a closer look at the trees indigenous to our land.
“I can’t believe, they just look like regular trees with different shapes of leaves. It’s really nice here… Guess I’m going to learn to be a farm girl.” She looked at me and grinned. “I bet Scarlet’s dog is going to love it here, too. Almost makes me wish I’d gotten one.”
“We could get a ruda---not exactly a dog, but they are nice pets and easier to come by,” I told her. “We had them when I was a kid.”
“When we get a chance, I would look at one. Scarlet said they sort of look like baby rhinos.”
“I couldn’t say since I don’t know what a rhino is.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said as she stopped and turned, putting her arms around me and pressing against me. “You’re here, and I’m here, and we’re home. Hopefully, within a few months, your family will be back.”
“But, for now, we have the whole place to ourselves,” I reminded her. “Does that give you any ideas?” I gave her my best suggestive smirk.
“It sure does. I think we should go back to the house and try out our new bed and then maybe that big tub in the bathroom.”
I took that opportunity to give her a long passionate kiss. Oh, yes. It was wonderful to finally be home.
Epilogue:
Zoe
In the five years since I came to Farseek with Argen, we are living the life we had dreamed about on our journeys with the Farseek Mercenary Brigade. The Brigade only runs two dreadnaughts in our star system at any given time, but we have faced no new threats since the fall of the Sargus Empire.
Argen and I have two children, two boys age two and four with lavender hair and aquamarine colored eyes. I am carrying our third child now, a girl. We haven’t decided yet if she will be our last.
The four of us from Earth did eventually get to contact our families on Earth to let them know we were alive and well. With the time and distance factor, we exchange vids a few times a year. Although we live in different corners of Farseek, we plan to gather at alternate locations every few months and often chat on our coms. We like the conference feature because it’s almost like getting together in person for morning tea.
I have also made many Uatu friends as well. Both Argen’s mother Giara and sister Cessa are lovely people, and we have become good friends. His father was killed in the Sargan attack, and his mother was
fortunate to find a new mate on her journey back to Farseek.
Cessa has also found her solmatu, and she is expecting their first child.
I supposed to some it would seem strange that I would become a stay at home mom after the great adventures I had, but I am. I also have learned to monitor the farm bots as they perform the labor to plant and raise our crops in addition to mom duties.
Argen runs space shuttles from Farseek to ships in orbit sending out goods and passengers and receiving them for Farseek. He is on reserve with the Brigade as are the ground forces from all the dreadnaughts. So far, they haven’t been called to arms, and I hope they never will.
Harper and Zared settled in Waysatu in his family’s neighborhood that was rebuilt. They have two children, a boy, and a girl. Commander General Maktu is now head of law enforcement on Farseek and in reserve for the Farseek Brigade.
Scarlet and Pyrr settled on his family farm where they live with their two children, a boy and a girl and their dog. Scarlet is having their third child a month or so after I am due.
Nora and Sahvin had twins their first time, and they are due for a second set any day. They will have two boys and two girls. Sahvin also took a job in law enforcement, and Nora is a full-fledged medic now with a busy practice in Waysatu.
After everything we have been through, we have finally achieved the lives we had dreamed when we began our journey with the Farseek Mercenary Brigade. The stories we will have for our grandchildren. What an adventure!
The End
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review.
Other books in the Farseek Mercenary Series:
Commander’s Mate -Book One
Lieutenant’s Mate – Book Two
Sahvin’s Mate -Book Three
