The Empire's Corps: Book 05 - The Outcast

by Christopher Nuttall

  She flushed at their amusement, although it was in good humour. On Jannah, a woman wasn't expected to propose to a man. And it was rare for a man to propose, certainly not without asking the girl’s father first. Normally, both husband and wife would be told who they would be marrying by their parents.

  “Good luck,” Captain Hamilton said. “I will be happy to stand as your father during the ceremony.”

  “Thank you,” Sameena said. “I’ll head back to Madagascar this afternoon.”

  It took two days to return to the asteroid, which she used to catch up on her sleep and do a little research. Jayne was happy to chat with her, offering her blunt advice that had Sameena giggling and blushing. She suspected that her mother would have given similar advice once her marriage had been organised, although there hadn't been time for a mother-daughter chat after her father had engaged her to the judge. The thought made her scowl, inwardly. Her mother might not have approved of her choice of husband, but she would have liked her parents to be there.

  Jamie looked better, she noted with some relief, as he joined her on her ship. He wore a Commodore’s uniform, along with the golden star that designated command of a starship – and, she couldn't help noticing, a pistol at his belt. The spare parts and food Sameena had provided had gone a long way towards solidifying his position, but it wasn't secure yet. That was about to change.

  “I have a proposal for you,” she said, fighting down the urge to giggle. How did one propose to a man? God knew she’d never even considered it a possibility before she'd fled to space. “But you need to listen to me first.”

  She outlined everything, from her proposal to the Meet to what she was prepared to do to uphold it. Jamie listened, his face twisting with conflicting emotions, as she revealed that she had volunteered to marry him, bringing – by proxy – the Imperial Navy squadron into the trader clans. Perhaps it would have been better to have asked him to marry her first, the colder part of her mind noted, but she knew that wouldn’t have been fair. He had to make an informed choice.

  “I ... you’re serious about this?” He asked. “About marrying me for my ships?”

  “In a manner of speaking,” Sameena said. She'd worried that he might marry her for her fortune and industrial production facilities; it honestly hadn’t occurred to her that he might have the same worries. “The traders want blood ties between us and you.”

  “As far as I know,” Jamie pointed out, “I have no blood relative with the squadron.”

  “Details, details,” Sameena said, waving them away. “Besides, not everyone in the trader clans is a blood relation either. Trying to track who is related to whom requires a computer and plenty of free time.”

  She met his eyes. “I’m sorry to spring this on you,” she said. She swallowed. The coldness that had served her well in the past had deserted her. “And I don't know what sort of wife I will be. But this is our best chance to salvage something from the ruins of the Empire.”

  “I understand,” Jamie said. He smiled, suddenly. “No pressure, then?”

  “None,” Sameena said. She’d cursed men who had forced girls into marriage before, but now ... just what was the difference between her and them? Did it make a difference if it was the boy who was forced into marriage? “If you turn me down, I will understand.”

  Jamie was a decent person, she knew. He struggled with the concept; he did want her – she had no doubt of that – but he didn't want her forced into anything. And yet it had been her idea in the first place.

  “I accept,” Jamie said, finally. “I do like you. I ...”

  Sameena surprised herself. She leaned forward and kissed him.

  After a long second, he kissed her back.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Instead of developing new products, interstellar corporations concentrated on ensuring that there was no hope of any outsider managing to take power. The colonies were either prevented from developing their own industrial bases or brought firmly under outside control before the bases could be brought online. Production of spare parts, for example, was based in the Core Worlds, increasing the price quite significantly by the time they reached the Rim.

  - Professor Leo Caesius. The Science That Isn’t: Economics and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.

  Sameena stood alone in her room and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Vanity had never been one of her failings, despite Jayne’s best attempts to corrupt her, and she hadn’t just looked at herself for years. Now, the face looking back at her was almost a stranger. Thanks to Paddy’s physical training and carefully-tailored food supplements, she looked stronger than she’d ever been on Jannah. Her long dark hair fell around a face that was fuller than she recalled, with soft brown eyes and flawless brown skin.

  Her dress was white, setting off her skin colour. Jayne had convinced her to buy something completely new on Madagascar, although the dressmaker had had to adapt something she’d had in stock to fit Sameena, rather than making something completely new. It fitted her like a glove, clinging to her skin in all the right places. It was funny how that no longer bothered her. At least it covered up her skin below the neckline.

  Jamie will see everything tonight, she thought. She shivered, half in fear and half in anticipation. The two days it had taken to arrange the wedding ceremony had been filled with kisses, convincing her that it might not be so bad. But the thought still nagged at her.

  There was a knock at the door. Sameena opened it with the touch of a button, revealing Ethne and Jayne. “You look lovely,” Ethne said, inspecting Sameena minutely. “I just wish that it could have been a bigger ceremony. The first one is always important.”

  Sameena wondered, suddenly, if Ethne had been married before she’d married Captain Hamilton. It had never occurred to her to ask. Did she have other children? No, that was unlikely. Ethne wasn't the type of person to leave her children behind while she sailed off with her new husband.

  “Thank you,” she said. “And I really don't need any more advice.”

  Jayne giggled. “I think I told her everything she needs to know,” she said.

  “Oh,” Ethne said. She looked up at Sameena. “I'm very sorry, my dear.”

  “Mum,” Jayne protested. “I was quite open with her.”

  Ethne shot her daughter a look that made her shut up instantly. “I know that marriage can be difficult,” she said to Sameena. “It can be harder when husband and wife go off on their ship, away from both sets of parents. Even with the best will in the universe, things can go wrong.”

  “I know,” Sameena admitted. And she knew what would have happened on Jannah too. The wife would be expected to put up and shut up. “But I ...”

  “If you need any advice, or even a friendly ear, you know where to find me,” Ethne said, interrupting her. “Men are ... strange creatures at times. It’s usually good to compare notes with someone else.”

  “You can probably talk to James about men,” Jayne put in. “Just don’t listen to a word Paddy says.”

  She walked over and stood in front of the mirror, inspecting herself. Both women wore green dresses, but Ethne’s was relatively decent while Jayne’s exposed far too much of her breasts and legs. Sameena couldn't help wondering if Jayne was trying to draw attention away from her – and if that was actually a good thing or not. It could be argued both ways, she decided.

  “It’s time,” Ethne said, quietly. “Shall we go?”

  Sameena sucked in a breath as they walked into Madagascar’s great hall. It occupied an entire blister on the asteroid’s surface, allowing the wedding to take place under the stars, which – according to the RockRats – gave their blessing to happy events. Jamie and his best man entered from the other side of the chamber at the exact same moment, walking with long steps towards the centre of the room. The watching crowd fell silent.

  In the centre of the chamber, there was a simple circle drawn on the floor. Sameena, at Ethne’s touch, halted just outside it, waiting. She caught
Jamie’s eye and realised that he was as nervous as herself. And yet he looked dashing in his dress uniform. His best man gave her a smile, then elbowed Jamie. Sameena bit her lip to hide a smile.

  Director Yang, the asteroid’s supervisor, stepped forward. “We are gathered together to perform the binding of blood,” she said. It had taken almost a day to settle on a person to carry out the wedding. Yang had the great advantage of not being linked to either the traders or the Imperial Navy. “Before witnesses, Jamie Cook and Sameena Hussein-Hamilton will pledge to share their lives, to be husband and wife as long as they choose.”

  She looked over at Sameena. “Do you come, freely and without ties, to this ceremony?”

  “I do,” Sameena said.

  “If there is anyone who wishes to dispute her claim,” Yang said, raising her voice, “let him speak now or forever hold his peace.”

  There was a long nerve-racking pause. Sameena knew no one who could raise a legal objection, but if someone hated her enough ...

  Yang looked over at Jamie. “Do you come, freely and without ties, to this ceremony?”

  “I do,” Jamie said.

  It would be easy, Sameena knew, for a trader to dispute Jamie’s claim. He was – or he had been - part of the Imperial Navy, a tie that would never have been tolerated by the traders in the days of the Empire. Someone could make an issue of it ...

  No one spoke.

  “Step into the circle,” Yang ordered.

  Sameena had to force her legs to move before she could step into the circle. There was no physical barrier, yet she was sure she felt something testing her as she moved, resisting her just long enough for her to prove that she was serious. Perhaps it was her imagination ... none of her mother’s stories about her wedding had suggested anything of the sort. But then, it was a very different ceremony. And one that would never have been tolerated on Jannah.

  What would her father have said, she wondered, if he’d been there? He would have had to approve the marriage on Jannah, as if a young woman couldn't make up her mind who to marry herself. Would he have approved of Jamie, or would he have thrown a fit because he wasn't a Muslim? The Guardians certainly would, she knew. Heaven forbid that young Muslim women married outside the faith! And yet there was a story of kidnapped Muslim brides who had converted their new husbands ...

  But it was hard to know, looking back across thousands of years, what to believe.

  She faced Jamie, who gave her a shy smile. Yang stepped forward, carrying a golden cord in one hand. She looked from one to the other, then nodded in approval.

  “Take hands,” she ordered.

  Sameena reached out with her right hand, taking Jamie’s hand in hers. His skin felt warm to the touch and unstable, as if he were shaking slightly. Yang reached out and gently wrapped the cord around their hands, binding them together. It felt both fragile and very strong, as if it was both breakable and unbreakable. Like so many other religious practices, she knew, it was largely symbolic. They were tied together now – and, no matter what happened, they would always be linked together.

  “The bonds of blood are formed when two people decide, of their own free will, to share their lives,” Yang said. She looked up at Sameena, then over at Jamie. “Do you both still wish to continue.”

  “I do,” Sameena said. Jamie echoed her a moment later.

  “Then I proclaim that the bonds of blood are formed,” Yang said, formally. She stepped out of the circle, leaving them both alone. “You may now kiss.”

  Jamie leaned forward. Sameena hesitated for a fraction of a second – she didn't want to do anything like that in front of the public gaze – and then kissed him. She heard the sound of people cheering dimly, as if they were miles away, as she caught him up in a hug.

  “You have to remain bound until the end of the day,” Yang informed them, as they separated. “It helps the bonds of blood to form.”

  Jamie bent down to whisper in her ear. “And provides no end of amusement for everyone else.”

  Sameena giggled.

  “Congratulations,” Jayne said, throwing her arms around Sameena and hugging her tightly. “I hope that the two of you will be very happy together!”

  “Thank you,” Sameena said, hugging her back. “And thank you for your help.”

  Captain Hamilton gave her a brief hug, then shook Jamie’s hand firmly. “You deserve some happy time together,” he said. Sameena felt herself blushing and, looking over at Jamie, realised that he was blushing too. “I think you can forget about the rest of the universe for at least two days.”

  Sameena scowled. The traders had a tradition of honeymoons, where the new husband and wife would go away to spend time together away from their families, but she didn't have the time. Captain Hamilton and a handful of others could make most of the decisions, yet others would need her presence. Jamie and her would only have a few days before they were called back to duty. There was no way they could go to another star system.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jayne advised. “I prepared the ship personally. Look in the hold.”

  “I think we all owe you thanks,” a gruff voice said. It took Sameena several moments to realise that the speaker was the CPO who’d helped catch her would-be kidnappers. “If you hadn't come along, we would have wasted away out here.”

  “Damn right,” Jamie’s best man said. “We owe you our lives.”

  He already had a glass of Firewater Mead in his hand, much to Sameena’s quiet amusement. Everyone thought that she’d spent billions of credits amassing the bottles of mead on the tables. Or maybe not. They knew that she didn't waste money in pointless displays of conspicuous consumption. Quite a few people might work out the truth.

  Not that it matters any longer, she thought. The Cartel might not survive the fall of the Empire.

  The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. There was food as well as drink, a mixture of supplies from Rosa and various dainties that had been imported from the Core Worlds and stored in stasis pods until they were needed. Sameena discovered that she didn't like most of them, particularly the more expensive ones. She couldn't help wondering if someone had created a cunning marketing plan to convince the very wealthy that only they could afford to eat disgusting foods. It was the only explanation she could think of for their success.

  There was music and dancing, followed by long speeches from Captain Hamilton and a handful of others. Sameena rolled her eyes when she saw Yang take the stand long enough to speak about the asteroid’s future, silently wondering why Captain Hamilton – who had organised the ceremony – had allowed her to speak. But maybe he did have a point. Yang was in charge of Madagascar, which would be serving as the sector’s capital. It was effectively neutral territory.

  And the home of the Imperial Navy squadron, she thought. And where outsiders will go first, just to find out what is happening here.

  It was a relief when, after a final round of toasts, they were allowed to depart the great hall. Jayne, Ethne, Paddy and Captain Hamilton escorted them down to the airlock where Lead Pipe had docked; Sameena wondered, briefly, just what Jayne had done to the ship to prepare it for them. The escort stopped at the airlock, allowing them to board the ship alone.

  “Husband and wife,” Jamie said, wonderingly.

  Sameena looked over at him, feeling a smile creeping across her face. He smiled back at her, then followed her onto the bridge. Jayne had already programmed in a course that would take them away from the asteroid, but not too far away, just in case pirates raided the system. Sameena checked it anyway, remembering the stern lecture she’d received from Captain Hamilton after not checking someone else’s work, then disengaged the starship from the airlock.

  Jamie started to laugh. “Look,” he said, pointing to one of the viewscreens. It showed the live feed from the airlock’s sensors. “Who did that?”

  Sameena followed his gaze, then burst out laughing herself. Jayne had hung a sign over the starship’s airlock, somehow. It read JUST MARRIED. O
r maybe it had been Paddy’s idea of a joke. There was no way to know.

  “One of my crew, I guess,” she said. She engaged the autopilot once the ship was away from the normal shipping lanes, then stood up. “She said we should look in the hold.”

  She couldn't help feeling nervous as they walked, hand in hand, down to the hatch leading into the hold. Jayne was her sister, in every way that mattered, yet they were very different people. Something she would have enjoyed might only embarrass Sameena. The hatch hissed open, revealing a pile of blankets and cushions neatly placed on the deck. A handful of simulation candles had been hung from overhead, while a large stasis pod occupied the rear of the hold.

  There was a piece of paper stuck to the deck. Sameena picked it up and read it quickly, then started to laugh. Trust Jayne to come up with something to break the ice.

  “You don’t need to wear your shipsuit for this,” Jamie read out loud, his tone suggesting that he was trying not to laugh. “In fact, it quite spoils the mood.”

  “We were told to wear shipsuits at all times,” Sameena admitted, shaking her head in droll amusement. If this was how Jayne had prepared the hold, it was a relief that she hadn't accepted Jayne’s offer of a hen night. “I suppose it would get in the way.”

  Jamie laughed. “Us too,” he said. “When I was a cadet, they used to say that anyone caught out of a shipsuit would be doing exercise for hours, even when we were on an Earth-compatible planet.”

  Sameena glanced at him, realised that he was just as nervous as herself, then peered down into the stasis pod. The eerie blue glow of the stasis field illuminated a handful of boxes of chocolates, several bottles of unfamiliar drinks and a small selection of pre-prepared meals and puddings. They would eat well for their short honeymoon.

  “I think your sister did a very good job,” Jamie said, finally.

  “She did,” Sameena agreed. She turned to face him, then giggled to cover her nerves. “I think you’re meant to kiss me now.”

  Jamie took her in his arms and kissed her. Sameena tensed as she felt his hands running over her back, then down to cup her buttocks. She forced herself to relax as the kiss deepened, trying to remember Jayne’s advice. His hands found the fastening of her dress and undid it, allowing it to fall off her body and crumple to the deck. The shipsuit followed a moment later, peeling away to reveal her bare skin.