by Kit Tunstall
“Don’t be sorry.” He said the words gruffly, but with a trace of amusement. “If I had realized you were so eager to get me out of my clothing, I wouldn’t have waited until now.”
She giggled, even as her embarrassment increased, and she hid her face against his chest—his bare, slightly furred chest that only served to remind her he was completely naked underneath her.
She had no idea how far things would have progressed, or if they would have ended up in her bed, but a chirp from Orix’s communication device interrupted them before things could advance. He lifted his wrist to view the screen as she pressed the button on his neck to ensure he was dressed again.
“This is General Monash.”
Commander Darvig filled the small screen a moment later. “Can you come to the medical bay, Orix? There’s an emergency.”
“Of course. I’m on my way.” After disconnecting the line, he carefully set her on the couch beside him, his expression regretful. “I’m sorry to cut things short, but I must leave.”
She nodded her understanding and got to her feet along with him. When he didn’t protest, she followed him out of her quarters, closing the door behind her before following him down the hallway. She was certain if she wasn’t allowed at his meeting, someone would tell her when she showed up behind him. Briefly, she wondered what they would think of her arriving in the general’s company, but decided she didn’t care. Curiosity was stronger than an old-fashioned sense of propriety.
When they arrived at Wy’s clinic a few moments later, she held her breath for a minute while she waited for someone to tell her to leave. No one seemed to pay any attention to her at all as she slipped carefully behind Orix, allowing his larger frame to shield her from view, for the most part.
“What’s going on?” asked Orix as the commander approached him.
“It’s Ms. Saunders. She’s come down with an illness, and Dr. Wy has identified it as the retrovirus that causes ROMKS.”
She stiffened even as Orix took a step forward. “How’s that possible? The weapon was dissipated days ago, and I thought she was taking precautions as she traveled between the consulate and the White House?”
Dr. Wy shrugged. “It must have gone airborne.”
Orix turned his attention to the doctor, who had just joined them. “I read your debriefings, Doctor. You had ruled out airborne transmission.”
“At that time, I had ruled it out. However, it’s a retrovirus, and it has been enhanced to adapt quickly. In general, viruses are resourceful and adaptive, and Dr. Ha knew what he was doing when he created this mess.”
Thinking of her friends prompted her to step from behind Orix. “Does that mean Ms. Saunders has infected the other women here on the consulate, those who were in quarantine and hadn’t returned to Earth after the weapon’s deployment?”
The doctor hesitated, clearly without a good answer. “It depends on how many people she’s interacted with, and how hardy the retrovirus is. Clearly, it can survive for days at a time in Earth’s atmosphere, though I must confirm those readings. The last time I checked, the parts per billion had fallen dramatically.”
She was already so in tuned to Orix, strange as it was on their short acquaintance, that she could sense his tension even before his shoulders straightened, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Or perhaps we’re only meant to believe the virus has gone airborne? Could it be someone here in the consulate has released the retrovirus to infect the women who weren’t previously infected? The president’s daughter would be a valuable target, and the fact that she has moved back and forth freely between the Moon and Earth for debriefings makes it logical to assume she caught the virus that way, rather than as an act of sabotage.”
The commander looked disconcerted. “That would mean we have a traitor here in the consulate.”
Orix nodded, his expression impassive, though he seemed to be vibrating with anger. “If we have a traitor, he’s likely among the group of defectors I brought here. Of course I considered the idea that Aryk might embed some of his people with us when he realized we were breaking away from the main armada, but I would have expected a traitor to act on other fronts first and not worry about infecting a few human women who’d remained clear of the retrovirus.”
Dr. Wy looked fretful. “Allow me to determine if the virus has mutated to become airborne, and if they are still sufficient quantities in Earth’s atmosphere to allow infection. Perhaps there’s no traitor.”
Orix nodded, though he looked pessimistic. “Perhaps,” was all he would concede.
The meeting ended shortly after that, and she was painfully aware of her lack of belonging, aware enough for it to keep her from asking about the nanotechnology until she and Orix were on their way back to her quarters. “Do you know if Dr. Wy has produced enough supply to treat Ms. Saunders and any other women at the consulate who might come down with ROMKS?”
Orix nodded. “I believe there are several hundred thousand doses produced each day, but we’re still years away from having enough supply to treat all the women who’ve been affected. Still, I’m certain the president’s daughter will get a dose, if she hasn’t already. I’m sure your friends will as well, since they’re here at the consulate.”
“It’s only the women on Earth who might not get the treatment as quickly as they need it,” she said with a hint of bitterness. “At least not the unimportant ones.”
He frowned at her. “I’m surprised you hold such an opinion. It’s my view that all your women are important.”
She reached out to take his hand in hers, squeezing in a tender gesture. “I’m glad to hear you say that. I was simply being sarcastic. Humanity still suffers from an inability to separate itself from caste systems, and though they aren’t formally recognized in most cultures, they still exist. I’m thinking of all the women like me, who aren’t rich or politically positioned to receive treatment as quickly as possible. I’m concerned about the number of women who will succumb to the rapid onset, since the retrovirus has produced an aggressive version of Kaiser’s Syndrome. It also leaves them more vulnerable to the Emperor’s plan to harvest them if they can’t defend themselves.”
He nodded either to indicate he had heard her words, or else he agreed with them as well. “I know Dr. Wy and his team are working as quickly as possible. We have enough supplies between the ships in the armada that we were able to outfit another lab, so production has doubled since our arrival.”
“But it will still be years before you can treat everyone.” She let out a sigh as they reached her quarters and hesitated for a moment in front of the door. “Would you like to come in again?”
He wavered for a moment before shaking his head. “I’d like nothing more, but I’m due on duty again in less than an hour, and I doubt I’ll have even that much time with the newest crisis. I hope to have another chance soon though.”
She nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. She understood his obligations, but it was frustrating to have him so close but know he was inaccessible to her, at least for the time being. “As soon as we both have free time together again, we’ll get together.” It sounded like the kind of throwaway comment one made to a date they had no intention of phoning again, but she meant every word.
He kissed her briefly before turning and walking away. She watched him go until he disappeared around the bend in the hallway before letting herself into her quarters. A heavy sense of disappointment filled her as she cleaned up the wine glasses, dumping the leftovers down the sink and hand washing the glasses before preparing for bed.
It was only as she slid in between the sheets that she admitted to herself she had anticipated the night ending far differently than it had. Once again, she was going to bed alone, but having caught a glimpse of what she’d been missing, it was a thousand times worse than usual.
Sleep was a long time coming.
Chapter Four
Orix looked up as the door to the office he was using at the consulate
chimed before opening with a hydraulic hiss. He was expecting a lunch tray, but the delivery person was a surprise. He couldn’t completely rein in the idiotic grin that wanted to take over his face when Mac walked into the room, a metal tray in her hand. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
She grinned as she sauntered over to him, placing his tray in front of him with neat precision before leaning against the edge of the desk, propping her hip against the frame. “I know, but I was visiting Rebecca when she was preparing your tray, so I volunteered to deliver it.”
He ignored the food in favor of putting his arm around her and pulling Mac onto his lap. Orix inhaled her intoxicating scent for a moment before his lips found hers, and he moaned his satisfaction in the kiss. They had seen each other only briefly during the last three days, but he hoped to remedy that later this evening, when they were both scheduled to have free time.
When she pulled away, she looked concerned. “You feel tense.” She kneaded his shoulders with her delicate hands for emphasis, and he groaned at the pleasure that shot through him. “Is there anything I can help with?”
He hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head with regret. “No, I don’t think so. You don’t read the language, and it would take the computer too long to translate. I can go through the files myself by then.”
She glanced over at his desk, where he had left open his data pad with the current file he was reviewing. She seemed to regard it with interest, but also confusion, since it was written in the Dazon language. “What is it?”
“I’m reviewing the files of every soldier who defected with the armada.”
She looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “That’s hundreds of thousands of files. What are you looking for?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Just anything that seems out of place. It would be easier if I knew the soldiers personally, but I have only their service records to work with in most cases.”
“Are you looking for a traitor?”
He nodded. “Dr. Wy determined the retrovirus has adapted to become airborne, but he believes the remaining parts per billion are so minimal that they couldn’t have possibly been the source of infection for the president’s daughter. He isn’t certain though and can’t reach a firm conclusion.”
She nibbled on her lower lip as her fingers dug more deeply into his shoulders, a reaction of which she seemed unaware. “That brings you back to the theory of a traitor then?”
He nodded once. “It’s the most logical explanation. There are few Dazon mingling among Earth society at this point, at least openly and without their disguises, so it stands to reason she was exposed here at the consulate. It seems most likely that one of my troops was responsible for exposing Jordan Saunders.”
Her expression softened, and she leaned closer to hug him. “It might just as easily be someone else who was already here at the consulate, someone who wasn’t given the option to return to Dazonia Major before the weapon deployed. You can’t blame yourself for what happened, even if it is one of your people—which we haven’t proven yet.”
He smiled slightly, liking her use of the word we, but finding little comfort in her words. From a technical standpoint, he couldn’t have vetted every person who had decided to defect, since it had been mostly word-of-mouth and a quiet endeavor, in order to keep the emperor ignorant to their plans as long as possible.
From a personal viewpoint, he still felt responsible if it was one of his people, someone he had brought to the consulate, and someone he couldn’t trust. The idea that there might be a traitor embedded in the armada under his control didn’t sit well with him. “Nonetheless, I still have to review the files, even if there isn’t a traitor, or he isn’t one of my people directly. It’s a good idea to know who’s here at the consulate, or at least in the ships orbiting the Moon.”
She nodded her understanding, and then did something surprising. She slid off his lap even as her thumb disengaged the button to make his suit disappear. He let out a gruff growling sound, trying to dissuade her, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was curious to see what his mate had planned, and a quick flick of the button at the control panel on his desk locked the door, restricting entry without his permission. Since he was using a public office space at the consulate, he’d had no occasion to lock the door before now, but this seemed like the right time.
“I have an idea how to help you relax.” She spoke the words mischievously, with her lips twitching before a delighted giggle escaped her. She clamped a hand over her mouth a moment later, looking embarrassed by the sound that had escaped her, though he found it charming.
“What do you have planned to help me relax, Mac?”
She settled on her knees in the space between his chair and the desk, giving him an enigmatic grin, though her intent was obvious, especially when her small hand closed around his large shaft, directing the smooth cylindrical shape toward her mouth. His fingers tightened on the arms of his office chair at the first touch of her mouth against him. When she took him inside, he moaned and bucked his hips, unable to rein in the reaction. For one blind moment, he was tempted to just drive in mindlessly, but he held himself in check. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her or frighten her, and if he took control, he might do both.
Instead, through gritted teeth, he endured her gentle exploration that slowly deepened, her mouth tightening around him as she took in more of his length. She flicked her tongue across the slit in the tip, and then probed carefully in the same area, as though trying to coax every drop of arousal from him. He was happy to supply it, though it was a special kind of torture to endure the pleasure of her mouth at such a maddeningly slow pace.
She massaged and stroked him with her mouth and tongue, soon bringing Orix to the edge of completion. His fingers were digging so hard into the chair that he was surprised the plastic hadn’t snapped off in his hands. When she concentrated all her attention on the tip of his shaft, he let out a small, hoarse cry as he spilled his seed inside her mouth.
Afterward, she remained seated on the floor for a moment on her knees, her gaze sparkling with pleasure. He was eager to reciprocate and give her pleasure, and even more eager to fully join with his mate, so the chime of his communicator was an unwelcome distraction. With a soft groan, he reengaged his suit and offered her a hand to help her to her feet before pressing the button on his communication device that activated the large screen in front of him.
A moment later, all irritation fled as he recognized the person contacting him. Kible Del was his contact on the other side, still embedded with the main part of the armada that remained under Emperor Aryk’s command. He wasn’t certain about Kible’s loyalties, at least when it came to the emperor, but he was certain the younger man would remember he owed Orix a blood debt. “I’ve been trying to reach you. Are you safe?”
Kible glanced over his shoulder for a moment, either as a precaution or an ingrained gesture, before leaning closer to the screen. “Yes, I’m safe. How are you, General?”
“Fine for now.” He kept it brief, not wanting to reveal too much in case Kible had been compromised or allowed his honor to be tarnished and let Aryk manipulate him into using the blood debt as a way to gather information. Much as Orix was doing himself, he thought with a hint of discomfort. He hoped he wouldn’t have to mention the blood debt, since Kible should be keenly aware of the fact he wouldn’t be alive if it hadn’t been for Orix. “Do you know what the emperor plans?”
Kible hesitated, looking torn. “He’s placed me as second-in-command of the fleet, General.”
Orix sighed softly, recognizing the position in which he put his friend. Revealing information to Orix could harm the safety of the men directly under his command. “I see. Congratulations on your promotion,” he said with only a hint of irony.
Kible’s lips twisted for a moment, and then he shrugged. “I can’t tell you much, but I do know the emperor plans an assault and retrieval mission. We’ve cautioned him that going up against your fleet
will cause a large number of casualties on both sides and could potentially destroy the resources we’re trying to cultivate—”
“Earth women aren’t resources to cultivate,” broke in Mac, sounding offended.
Orix put a hand on her shoulder, trying to transmit without words that he wished for her to be quiet for a moment. He couldn’t and wouldn’t demand she do so, but he hoped she would understand the importance of the negotiation he was undertaking. He let out a small sigh of relief when her shoulders relaxed a moment later, and she turned away from the screen, clearly deciding it was easier to ignore what she heard if she didn’t have to see the speaker.
He returned his attention to Kible, whose lips were pursed in disapproval. He ignored the other man’s ire. “Do you know when the attack will come?”
Kible hesitated for another moment before he said, “The date is not definitive. It depends on an event occurring at your end first. What that event is, I can’t tell you.”
Orix’s eyes narrowed at the careful wording. “You can’t tell me because you don’t know, or because you don’t want to reveal that information?”
The other man ignored his question. “I wish you well, General, but we’re on opposite sides of this matter, and I consider the blood debt settled. Don’t contact me again.” With those words, the screen went black, and the connection to Kible was lost.
As soon as Kible disappeared, Mac turned back to face him, and her expression was filled with fear. “What did he mean by something had to happen on our end?”
Orix shook his head. “I’m not certain, but I need to relay this information to the commander and Ms. Saunders. She’s back to full duty, and she’ll want to hear what Kible said.”
She looked crestfallen for a moment. “Does that mean we need to cancel our plans tonight?” Hastily, she held up a hand, looking faintly guilty. “I understand if we do. Believe me, I understand the importance. I’ll just be disappointed, that’s all.”
