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 around 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
