Love Among the Stars

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It occurred to me far too late that I could do actual research on what a mrowha cycle entailed. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Sol had overestimated the time until his cycle started.

Just over a week had gone by since Sol had made his request, and though I’d vowed to myself to spend time with him before we’d be shut up together for days in the most intimate of ways, I hadn’t yet made it happen. The literal meltdown in Lab Four—which deals with harnessing nuclear power more efficiently—had caused quite a disaster, and it had taken all available hands to contain the damage and put it to rights. It was only after we were once again operating normally that I thought to ask Majel to compile any information the AI could find on mrowha.

It had taken longer than I expected. I’d been worried about missing key information, so I’d ask for a search of all known records for any mention of mrowha. I’d gone so far as to request any document or piece of information that even alluded to it. Three days later, the results were on my tablet.

And I was sorely disappointed.

“This is it?” I muttered, mostly to myself. I swiped through the four pages of the document, but there were mere snippets of information. All of which I already knew from my Biology of the Species course at the academy.

Frowning at the doc, I asked, “Majel, is this report complete?”

“Of course, Captain.”

I hid my smirk. I knew I didn’t imagine the affront in the AI’s tone. Majel took pride in their work, and me questioning had set them on edge. But really, I should have known better than to ask. Of course Majel had compiled exactly what I’d asked for. If this was all Majel could find in the hundreds of thousands of documents at their disposal, then this was all there were.

But I’d been hoping for more.

One line in particular stuck out, and that one sentence summed up the Ssarften and held the answer to my question.

The Ssarften are known to be a private race, and do not share much information about their biology or biological function, as they differ from other races.

Well, then. It looked like I wasn’t getting anything from my so-called research. And Sol himself seemed either reluctant to share or withhold the information. I wasn’t exactly sure which. In the end, it didn’t matter. I would have to wing it, and trust Sol to let me know what he needed when the time came.

And I did trust Sol. Completely. So even though I would have rather understood things better, there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to help him and that was all that mattered.

What I could do was come up with a plan to make our time together as good for him, and as easy on us, as possible. I put in an order with the dispensary and had those things delivered to my quarters immediately. I wanted to be ready whenever his time came. I also sorted out a plan for sustenance, because I was pretty sure neither of us would want to think about it during mrowha. The final thing I did was send a briefing to ZalAna so she would be ready to assume command of the station for the duration of Sol’s cycle. Logging everything in with Majel made it easier still. A word to the AI, and the plan would be enacted.

Satisfied I’d done everything I could to get myself as ready as possible, I turned my attention to my work, doing my best to get ahead.

* * * *

The next morning, I was knee deep in the response from the Terran government to the Genetian request and Majel interrupted me, sounding urgent.

“Captain, your presence is requested immediately in the training bay.”

I jumped to my feet, letting the tablet clatter on the desk. “I’m on my way.”

Debating for just a second on whether to run through the corridors, I instead headed for the transporter pad in the corner of my office. Traveling on a faster-than-light beam without the benefit of a ship or pod was uncomfortable at best, but I didn’t have time to waste. I tapped the comm on my wrist as I stepped onto the pad.

“Engineering, send me to the training bay.”

“Aye, Captain,” came the tinny response, and I had a split second to brace myself for the transport.

Seconds later, I arrived in the training bay, landing hard so my knees buckled slightly. But I’d ridden FTL beams enough that it took only a moment for me to get my feet under me and to will my stomach not to rebel. As I took in the room in front of me, I knew I’d made the right choice. To say the mood was fractious was an understatement.

“Stand down! Right now!” I yelled as I raced across the room. Sol and Ryel were facing off, their platoons behind them, egging them on. It hadn’t yet come to physical altercation, but I could see one wrong word or move, and there’d be an all-out brawl. Sol’s posture was tense, ready to spring, and Ryel’s spikes were at full mast, making him look even larger than normal. I needed to shut this down.

I pushed my way between them. Or tried to, at any rate. The moment I even got close, Sol grabbed me and manhandled me behind him, using his body as a shield. He crouched, ready to attack, and since he was an expert in close-quarter combat, I knew it could turn ugly in the blink of an eye.

“Commander Sousou,” I barked. It was usually enough to get Sol to obey, but this time it proved fruitless.

“Mes Frrsk Irr drai kim hai. Ez zhal ouzh fis!” Sol wound his tail around my knee.

The room went still. I didn’t know what the Hrrst meant—I knew a few words, but I was not fluent—but whatever it was, it seemed important. Enough so that Sol’s platoon backed off. They did not stand down. That much I could see out of my peripheral, as I wasn’t willing to take my eyes off the potential combatants, but the platoon gave us a wider berth.

“The insult will not stand,” Ryel said, his English heavily laden with a hisses. In any other situation, I would have been impressed with the amount he’d managed to put in the words. But I needed to diffuse this immediately.

“Alpha and Beta platoons, you are relieved of duty.” I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t need to. I commanded the station and every being on it, and the firmness in my tone was enough. I heard the swish of the door, and I spared a second’s glance to see who had arrived. ZalAna looked windswept, but not out of breath. I knew she’d run from wherever she’d been, but since Alodean’s could manage sixty kilometers per hour without breaking a sweat, it had been no trouble for her. She approached with caution, but I was glad for her presence.

“Delta and Gamma will take over for the rest of today,” I continued. “Ryel, I want your after-action report on my desk by oh-six-hundred.”

He looked mutinous, but did not respond. But I could see he was gearing up for something incendiary. I did not need that right now. I had to figure out what was going on with Sol, and why this situation had nearly come to blows. Ryel may have been the more volatile of the two, but Sol did not, usually, allow things to get this far.

Before Ryel could speak, I turned to ZalAna. “Clean this up, if you would.” She nodded, and I focused on the Ssarften still crouched in front of me. I placed a hand on Sol’s shoulder. “You. Come with me.”

Without waiting for a response, I headed toward the door. It took only a moment before I felt Sol behind me. He radiated heat, and he was so close that if I stopped, he’d run into me.

I didn’t say a word, just left the bay and headed down the corridor. My intent had been to return to my office, find out what the f**k had happened, and reprimand Sol if warranted. But the way he crowded my space, and growled softly at anyone we passed, made me change my mind. With dawning realization, I suddenly understood what was happening. I veered to the lift, and gave it the voice command for Deck Ten, where the officer’s quarters were located.

My quarters were at the end of the corridor, farthest from the lifts. They were large, though all the quarters on the station were. Elovaris was a long-term assignment, being so far from the homeworlds of all races, that we were afforded a luxury in living space. Having spacious quarters made things just a little easier on everyone’s mental state.

The palm reader next to the door was keyed only to me, and the door slid open the second I touched the pad. Sol pushed past me, entering first. He was on high alert, and his gaze swept the entirety of the room, looking for threats. There were none to be found, but he didn’t relax.

I took in the sight of him. Sol breathed heavily, and the little of his neck I could see above the high collar of his uniform jacket was darker than usual. I stepped closer, and only then could I see the rosettes. Normally, they blended perfectly with his fur. So much so that they weren’t something I noticed on a daily basis. But now they were markedly darker, standing out against the golden fur.

I took a deep breath, then another. I could smell him. Male and musky, but something else, something wilder that reminded me of the big cats I’d seen in sanctuaries back on Terra. When I reached out a hand, Sol’s eyes blazed and he trembled ever so slightly. If I hadn’t been watching him so intently, I would have missed it.

“Your cycle has started.”