on top of his. Keryn squeezed his hand hard as he looked at her. Her violet eyes burned with an agitated fervor and he could see her breasts rise and fall with excitable breaths. Turning his hand, he laced his fingers with hers and held her hand as Captain Hodge continued.
“Your enthusiasm is a direct reflection of what I felt when I heard their message. To know that all of our training and all of our waiting has finally come to fruition, it was nearly more than I could bear. However, I encourage you to continue your diligent training and rehearsals during the next few weeks of transit. We face a dangerous and determined enemy in the Terran Fleet. I don’t need to remind you that they have already destroyed five ships just like the one we now crew. The enemy ships are filled with combat veterans who know that a retaliatory strike is inevitable.” Captain Hodge’s musical voice grew louder as she continued, her cheeks flushed with emotion. “They will be expecting us, so when we attack, we will have to attack with reckless abandon. We cannot be afraid! We cannot be unsure! But most importantly, we cannot be deterred! In less than a month, there will not be a single citizen in either the Alliance or the Empire that doesn’t know the incredible exploits of this battle fleet!”
The roar of the audience was deafening as the Captain harped on the chords they all wanted to hear. They could be heroes, faces and names that the Alliance would remember forever. Though Yen still had his reservations about catering to the youthful exuberance of the crowd, he couldn’t deny that he was beginning to feel his own heart race at the thought of being the hero of the Alliance. His smile was infectious as he turned to Keryn and tightly squeezed her hand. He could see the fire burning behind her eyes and knew that she was as eager to go to war as any of the other pilots and soldiers in the crowd. It was reassuring to know that soon they would all have their chance.
Following the Captain’s speech, the formal dinner evolved into a more social event. Music full of heavy beats and minor chords played over the intercom and many of the Officers and Warrants cleared the center of the room to dance. Alcohol flowed freely and it wasn’t long before a red-faced Adam and his date bid Yen and Keryn adieu and left, leaning heavily on one another to make sure neither collapsed on the way back to his quarters. Adam and his date were not the only couples who slipped away nonchalantly to spend more personal time together. Soon, the densely packed room thinned until less than half of the original crowd remained.
As Yen watched the dancing, writhing crowd in the middle of the room, he felt warm breath on the side of his neck. “Would you like to go for a walk with me?” Keryn whispered into his ear.
Yen could feel a yearning passion twisting in his stomach. Without saying a word, for fear that his voice would betray his excitement, Yen nodded and pushed away from the table. Keryn stood and joined him and, still hand in hand, they walked out of the ballroom. He had intended to lead her back toward his quarters, but once they were free of the ballroom, Keryn took charge and pulled him along toward one of the lifts. Unsure of where they were going but feeling strongly sexually aroused, Yen fought little, figuring she had something mischievous in mind.
To Yen’s surprise, once inside the elevator Keryn pushed a button that would take them to one of the observation decks.
As soon as the lift doors opened, Keryn playfully slipped away and hurried ahead, taking a place near the thick windows. As he strode forward, she gave him barely a second glance as she lost herself in the distant stars. He slipped his arms around her slender waist and followed her gaze out the window.
“They’re beautiful,” Keryn said cryptically.
Yen followed her gaze, but saw only the stars beyond the window. “They’re great,” he said, trying to understand the awe he heard in her voice. “No matter where you go, though, they change very little.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Keryn said softly, “but they’re the reason I joined the Academy. I looked up at the stars every night when I was growing up and wondered what it would be like to fly among them. I could have gone through Initiation and became a warrior, but then I would have been doomed to spend each mission on a different planet, always looking at the stars but knowing that they would be out of reach.”
Nudging him backward, she turned and faced him. They coy glances he had received before had been replaced by a stern seriousness. “You’re not the first guy I’ve had feelings for, Yen. I’ve met my share of both boys and men as I’ve grown, but none of them truly understood my passion. They’ve come and gone from my life because they couldn’t see past the physical me and truly appreciate my deeper commitment to being a pilot.” She placed a gently hand on his chest, feeling his pounding heartbeat. “With you, I finally am friends with someone who shares my passion for being a pilot in the Fleet. It’s important that you truly understand me, Yen.”
Yen was caught off guard by the depth of her concern. Simultaneously, he felt a small ache in his chest. “Just friends?” he asked.
Keryn’s smile was sympathetic. “It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you. But right now we both have a mission to do and a war to prepare for. The last thing either of us needs is messy emotions getting in the way of our common sense and tactical decision making. For the next few weeks, we focus on preparing for the Terrans.”
She reached out and ran an affectionate hand over his chest. “If we both make it through this next fight alive, then I promise we’ll talk about the you and I. Do we have a deal?”
“I don’t think I have a choice in this.”
Keryn laughed. “You don’t. Anyway, we can’t sleep together yet.”
“No?” Yen asked, finally starting to regain his composure.
“No. You still haven’t taken me out to the dinner you’ve been promising.”
CHAPTER FIVE
A single dinner between Yen and Keryn turned into dinner nearly every night as the
Though she absorbed all she could from the training sessions, simulations, and console explanations that Yen offered, she couldn’t deny a strong desire to spend time with him. Yen was remarkable in nearly every way. He told countless war stories from his time in covert operations, which included both Infantry and some minor Fleet encounters. She also found that they thought very much alike, with Yen offering his insight on abnormal strategies which Keryn yearned to implement into real combat scenarios.
After weeks of training and tactics, Keryn’s confidence had grown exponentially, though she still had trouble shaking her memory of the abysmal loss during the
Keryn quickly realized that a lot of her brooding came from the fact that all she and Yen had done together for nearly two weeks was study and train. She knew that they both needed a break.
As they sat together in Yen’s quarters one night, Keryn set down her console and rubbed tired eyes. “Can you really read minds?” she asked.
Yen smiled and flicked the switch that would turn off his own console. “So I take it we’re done studying for the night?”
“Yes,” Keryn conceded, “we’re done studying. Now answer the question.”
“I can read minds, though it’s spotty at best. It’s not so much that I get clear words from the other person. More accurately, I get senses and feelings; sort of a kaleidoscope of emotions that paint a picture in my mind. I see what they see via their thought patterns more than their actual words.”
