“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “You’re not alone. I’m the one that threw my boss through a couple hardwood tables.”
Keryn began laughing hysterically, letting out all the turmoil of emotions. Yen quickly joined in the laughing and by the time they were done, both were wiping tears from their eyes. Keryn pushed away from Yen so she could, once again, look him in the eyes.
“So where does this leave us?” she asked.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” he replied. “It’s going to take time to rebuild the trust between us. But I meant what I said. I love you, Keryn. I want to be with you.”
She stepped forward again, this time wrapping her arms around his torso. “I want to be with you, too,” she muttered softly, letting her stresses wash away with the rhythmic beating of his heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Uligart waiter led Yen through the maze of crowded tables to a secluded booth near the back of the restaurant. As he sat, the waiter politely dropped a napkin into his lap and stepped back.
“Is there anything else I can get for you right now?” the waiter asked with a faint accent. “A drink or appetizer, perhaps?”
Yen’s gaze remained fixed on the doorway, but he reached forward and tapped the inverted drinking glass. “Just water right now, please.”
As the waiter walked off to retrieve a pitcher of water, Yen glanced around the crowded, but subdued, restaurant. Gentle music, played by a string band, filled the expansive dining room of the Particle Accelerator, one of the more expensive restaurants in the Farimas Space Station. The far side of the room was lost in the gentle glow of candlelight, the only source of light for the large room. As Yen waited, he found himself hypnotized by the dancing flame of the small candelabra that acted as a centerpiece of his table. Beyond the flickering candlelight, in the center of the room, a few couples danced close together to the slow, soft music. Yen’s heart beat a little quicker at the sight of loving couples pressed together, their bodies seemingly inseparable in the dim light.
The waiter returned and, after flipping Yen’s glass over, poured a nearly full cup of cold water. Nodding, Yen absently thanked him. Taking the cue, the waiter quickly turned and left, leaving Yen alone with his thoughts. Leaning back in his chair, he reached forward and twirled the full glass of water that sat before him, watching its fluid slosh upward, nearly cresting the lip of the crystal glass.
Yen was nervous and, frankly, had every right to be. He had every reason to assume that Keryn would stand him up; that even though she invited him to dinner and not the other way around, she just wouldn’t show up and Yen would be left sitting alone for a large portion of the night. There were many shortcomings in their blossoming relationship, the worst of all right now being trust. Keryn had quickly accused Yen of sleeping with Iana, even when it wasn’t the case. Even worse, she had slept with Merric as a retaliatory gesture, something that seemed more like a poorly written dramatic play than real life.
These thoughts weren’t conducive to a true first date between them. Looking down, Yen picked up the outermost fork, the smallest of the set, and spun it between his fingers. He tried to focus on the fork reflecting the dim candlelight and block out the invasive thoughts. She would come, he told himself. She had promised, and his trust in her had to be rebuilt somehow. Suddenly realizing how silly he looked fidgeting with a fork, Yen cleared his throat and set the fork back down in its spot beside his plate.
His impatience did not last much longer. As he looked up, he saw Keryn walking across the room, being led by their waiter. Yen climbed clumsily to his feet to welcome her to the table, but found himself at a loss for words. Keryn had pulled her hair up into a mound of loose curls, a few of which hung free of her hair clips and cascaded down her neck and shoulders. She had adorned herself with a vibrant red, sleeveless dress which not only accentuated the tan of her skin, but ignited her red tattoos. Even her violet eyes seemed to sparkle deeper from the sequined dress. Smiling broadly, Keryn wound her way past the remaining tables, pausing at Yen’s booth. Gesturing, he invited her to sit before doing so himself.
Yen knew that there should have been some witty repartee that should have begun their conversation, but somehow words eluded him as he stared at her confident beauty. He tried to keep his eyes from falling toward her exposed cleavage, but Yen was too eager to drink in the full sight of her. Noticing his look, Keryn laughed softly.
“It’s okay to look,” she remarked, “but maybe you should wait until after dinner for that.”
“Sorry,” Yen apologized. “You get so used to seeing women in their uniforms that, sometimes, you forget how amazing they look when they are away from the Fleet.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Yen looked down at the clothes he wore. He shrugged as though to tell her that these were clothes he pulled straight out of his closet, but Yen knew better. The clothes were new, purchased earlier today after he received her phone call. Keryn didn’t yet know it, but he had also spent a considerable amount of money both on dinner reservations and his own private hotel room, away from Adam and Penchant. Most of his savings were now gone, but to see Keryn in this dress with her hair so eloquently fixed made the expenditures well worth it.
“I took the liberty of ordering for us in advance,” Yen said, changing the subject. Looking across the room, he caught the eye of the waiter and signaled that they were ready to begin their meal. Throughout their four course meal, they talked and laughed as though nothing had transpired between them over the past couple days; as though the past couple days had never existed in their relationship. Yen felt at ease and laughed more naturally then he had in recent memory. Something about Keryn made him feel comfortable and at home. The knot of nervousness in his stomach slowly eased, replaced by the quick flittering of his heart every time she smiled or reached out during a story to touch his hand.
As they were finishing dinner, the band took a break and the restaurant was bathed, instead, in the subdued conversations of the restaurant patrons. Their conversation slowed as well as they both leaned back away from the table, feeling incredibly full from the phenomenal meal. Looking away from Yen for the first time since their dinner began, Keryn admired the fluted columns and mosaics painted across the walls. As her eyes fell on the dance floor, she turned back to Yen with a mischievous smile.
“Dance with me,” she said.
Yen looked at the dance floor and, beyond, to the empty stage where the string band had been playing prior to their break. “Sure. The band should be back in just a second.”
“I don’t want to wait for the band,” Keryn said, rising slowly from her seat. “I want you to dance with me now.”
Yen furrowed his brow in confusion before chuckling softly. “But there’s no music. What are we going to dance to?”
Keryn turned away from him and faced the dance floor. From over her shoulder, she called back. “One thing I’ve learned is that, sometimes, you have to make your own music in life. Are you willing to make music with me, Yen Xiao?”
Yen didn’t miss the barely concealed allusion. He quickly left his seat and followed Keryn onto the dance floor. Placing a hand on her hip, he took her other hand in his as she slid close to him until their bodies were pressed firmly together. Other patrons turned and watched the unusual pair as they stood, motionless, on the dance floor.
Feeling the eyes on him, Yen tried to ignore them and instead focus on the woman in his arms. “So what now?”
“Make music for us,” Keryn cooed.
Smiling softly, Yen closed his eyes. He ran through a litany of songs that he knew, but each seemed wrong for the situation. Finally, from the deeper recesses of his mind, a song emerged that he hadn’t heard in years. Letting his power course through his veins, a soft and gentle song began to emerge from the air around him. The song was from a lifetime ago, sung to him by his mother when he was just a young boy. Played entirely in a language that no one had heard in more than two dozen yea
rs, the words were not important and were, in fact, lost more to the melodic rhythm. The tones, minor and major chords intermixed, brought forth feelings and emotions from within all who heard it. Combining both the flowing harmony that portrayed love and the harsher flat notes and minor chords that symbolized loss, the song told a story that was unmistakable.
Keryn began moving her body in rhythm to the gentle music that saturated the air around the couple. She lost herself in the strange but familiar words, finally resting her head on Yen’s shoulder. Kissing her gently on top of her head, Yen smiled and found himself focusing both on maintaining the song and reveling in the feel of her athletic body pressed against his. Slowly, Yen realized that others had joined them on the dance floor. Lured by the melodious song, they danced together, often with tears glistening in their eyes.
For nearly ten minutes, the song from Yen’s childhood filled the dance floor and entranced those who heard it. Finally, sadly, the song reached its inevitable end and the music faded, leaving the dozen couples on the dance floor saddened by the sudden silence. Slowly, someone clapped, turning toward Yen and Keryn. Others quickly joined in until the pair was blushing from the sudden attention.
Keryn turned toward Yen and looked him in the eyes. “Everything is going so well tonight, I don’t want it to end. Let’s go somewhere.”
“Where?” Yen asked in eager anticipation. He could feel his blood beginning to churn.
“Anywhere that we can continue enjoying each other’s company.”
Thinking back to Adam’s tour of the city, Yen knew where to take her. Smiling, he slipped his hand into hers, interlacing their fingers. “I think I know just the place.”
They seemed out of place as they walked together through the empty streets of the residential level of the Farimas Space Station. Dressed as they were for a formal dinner, they garnered strange looks from those who were heading toward the lifts, on their way to the entertainment district. Walking past the canals, Yen and Keryn walked toward the center of the level, where a large glass dome could be seen. Weaving through the last few streets, they emerged beneath the dome in an expansive park, full of blossoming trees and bushes. Above them, however, was the reason Yen had brought her here.
When Adam had been showing Penchant and Yen to their hotel, Yen had seen the dome and, later that day, asked Adam about it. Built in the center of the residential city, the dome was an escape for those who grew homesick and lonely for life planet-side. Sitting in the park on a bench, surrounded by the lush greenery and looking upward through the glass dome to the mass of perfectly visible stars above, Yen suddenly understood what Adam had meant. It was like being home; an illusion of sitting in a park on a far distant planet, virtually alone with the woman he loved.
“This place is amazing,” Keryn whispered, trying not to shatter the mood that seemed to saturate the area around them.
“Without you,” Yen said, turning toward her, “this is just a seat in a park. It’s being here with you that has made this place so much more to me.”
Leaning forward, Keryn kissed Yen fully on the lips. Yen could taste the sweetness of her lips and felt her desire in her darting tongue and already heaving chest. As they pulled apart, Keryn sighed heavily and stared deep in Yen’s eyes.
“I want you to take me home with you tonight,” she said.
Her sultry tone caught Yen by surprise. He caught her stare and saw her violet eyes burn with a passion he had not seen before. Wordlessly, he nodded, unable to find the words that would properly convey his own smoldering lust.
They walked quickly back to Yen’s hotel room, riding the elevator up to his floor with a palpable sexual tension between them. As the door to his room slid quietly closed behind them, Keryn turned toward him. No sooner had it latched firmly into place than their hands began groping at one another while their lips sought the subtle curves of one another’s bodies. Keryn’s dress fell quickly away, as did Yen’s newly purchased jacket and pants. Eventually naked, they caressed one another as they made their way to the bedroom, a trail of forgotten clothing lost behind them.
Keryn pushed Yen down onto the bed and knelt above him. Her face and chest were flushed with passion and her hands shook slightly with anticipation. Though his eyes were open, Yen’s focus was beyond the naked woman above him. As she lowered herself down, sliding downward until their hips pressed against each other, small blue tendrils protruded from Yen’s back. Keryn’s soft moans filled the room as the tendrils wrapped around her body. Everywhere they struck, they ignited waves of pleasure. For her, it was like a sea of uncompromising sexual enticement washing over her, crashing against her lithe frame over and over again.
As the night began for the two lovers, Keryn screamed out in pleasure for the first, but certainly not the last time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
They were inseparable over the next few days of their shore leave. Together, Yen and Keryn toured the restaurants of the space station. Yen accompanied Keryn on shopping excursions through the business level during the day. And they spent each night wrapped in each other’s embrace. Though they slept little, they awoke refreshed, beaming with happiness as they went about their day, hand in hand.
After a few days of total isolation, they agreed to join Adam and Penchant for a late lunch. By the time they arrived, the restaurant was busy, though Adam’s towering Pilgrim frame was easy to spot from across the room. Pulling chairs up side-by-side, Keryn and Yen sat at the table.
“If you two don’t stop, I’m going to be sick,” Adam stated without allowing for so much as a hello.
“What are you talking about?” Yen asked.
“The smiles. The hand holding. The exuberant joy as though he just popped the question.” Frightened by his own accusation, Adam lowered his voice. “He didn’t pop the question, did he?”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Keryn exclaimed. “We’ve been dating for a couple days now. Give it some time.”
“At least a week or so,” Yen added.
Adam rolled his eyes and turned toward Penchant. “Back me up on this, buddy.”
Penchant turned his featureless oval face toward the adoring pair. “Lithids don’t show a lot of public affection. If I had a mouth, I’d be frowning in displeasure.”
“You’re both insufferable,” Keryn sighed. “Can’t you just be happy for us?”
“No,” Penchant said flatly.
“Probably not,” Adam quickly added.
Their food arrived while they were still laughing. They ate slowly, engaging more in conversation than taking the time to finish their food. The early afternoon lunch crept into late afternoon and threatened early evening. Around them, the daily syndicated television shows gave way to news broadcasts. As had been the case for the past few weeks, stories of heroism and loss from the Alliance and Empire battle dominated the airwaves. During their conversation, they mostly ignored the news stories. Having lived through the experiences, the stories seemed somehow hollow and contrived. They were full of memories that not one of them wished to relive. Most importantly, the news insisted on showing photo montages of those who had perished in the battle. It was much too painful for survivors to experience day after day, so they had subsequently tuned out the news as a whole.
During their meal, though, with the news in the background, they suddenly became aware of a hushed silence in the room as all eyes were turned on the multitude of monitors that lined the walls of the restaurant. Turning, they saw that where normally a dozen or more programs would be playing simultaneously, now all the screens reflected the same image. An empty podium stood before a large banner bearing the blazing red emblem of the High Council. After what seemed like an eternity, a middle-aged Wyndgaart approached the podium and turned toward the cameras. His crimson eyes were flat and revealed nothing but somber composure as he spoke.
“Good evening,” he said, his voice clear and strong. From within the folds of his robe, he pulled out a thin, flexible console. All four people a
round the table could see the image of the High Council shining through the thin console, a scrawl of words quickly rolling by. Reading directly from the vellum, the Wyndgaart read the High Council’s message.
“One hundred and fifty years ago, the encroaching Terran Empire drove a juvenile Alliance to the brink of extinction. In response, the alien races banded together and faced this threat in one of the most brutal and deadly wars ever recorded in known history. As a result of that war, the Empire was driven back to its own space. The precepts of the Taisa Accord, signed that day a century and a half ago by both ruling parties, clearly defined the occupied territories of both the Empire and the Alliance. Though small intrusions in violation of the Accord have existed, never has either side been so brash as to directly contradict the precepts laid down by our forefathers.
“Nearly three months ago, the Terran Empire made the first move in violation of the Accord, by openly encroaching into Alliance space. Our response, as must be the case, was swift and aggressive. The Terran Fleet that was sent across the Demilitarized Zone was demolished, struck down by our superbly trained pilots, soldiers, and Crewmen. The High Council extends its deepest thanks to all those who participated in the battle, both those who survived and those who paid the ultimate price in protection of our way of life.”
The Wyndgaart looked up, no longer reading from the console. “Not all the Terrans were killed in the battle. Some were taken as prisoners and their technology salvaged from one of their Destroyers. The combination of the two revealed some startling discoveries. We have discovered that the Terrans have been waging an underground war in Alliance space for decades, undermining the independence and sovereignty of our colonies. They have done everything short of openly declaring war between our two cultures. The extent of their offenses are so vast and disturbing, they cannot be shared in a forum such as this.”
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