The bed in her rooms was absolutely not big enough for three, though that was how many people it had held tangled together in the comfortable closeness of half-sleep (and before that, not-sleep) for the night. “I should get up,” Casne muttered without moving. She occupied the sliver of mattress between Triz and the floor; one of her arms hung over the side. Maybe Triz should apply for something bigger than the pairhome. Well, she didn’t have to worry about that today.
“Don’t you know we’re on leave?” Kalo sprawled on the other side of her, legs twisted into well-kicked sheets. “Or don’t you care? Some things are sacred.” He put a pillow over his head. “Which reminds me. Triz, go shut up your alarm.”
“You should be grateful.” Triz slithered out between their two bodies and slid to the foot of the bed, where she stretched her cramped shoulders. “It’s telling me to get up and fix a shitload of Light Attack Craft today.”
A hand slid around her waist and between her thighs. She spread her legs wider. Shitting alarm. “Just don’t stay at work too long,” said Kalo into the skin of her back. “We’ll be here. Alone. Bored. Too lazy to get up. Practically wasting away.”
“You’ll be fine.” With a pang of regret, Triz stood and tossed the wadded-up sheets back down on him. He sputtered and flopped back down. “I hear you’ve got two functional hands now.”
“I should get up,” Casne said again, as if trying to convince herself of this.
Triz leaned over to kiss Cas’ forehead. “The Hero of Golros gets to lie abed as long as she shitting wants.” Casne’s nose wrinkled into a smile; Triz pressed a warm, wet kiss to her lips where they parted. Then she straightened up and stretched. She really did have to go to work. Yesterday’s jumpsuit lay on the floor; she pulled it up her legs and suggested, “And if you need more room in bed, just shove Kalo on the floor.”
“You’re a cruel woman!” he called after her as she staggered sleepily toward the bathroom. “In fact, I plan to stay here in bed all day plotting my revenge.”
“As long as you’re both here,” she said, and closed the door between them before she could embarrass either of them more with overfondness.
Glossary
A
22CR Starbusters: A slightly outdated but entirely deadly model of large-payload missiles.
Admiral Savelian Dustald-4 Edantha: Senior Fleet officer in the sector; credited with the successful Fleet campaign against Cyberbionautic forces.
Advocate: A speaker for the affected party, in legal matters and negotiations, assigned by Public Welfare.
Aerobacter: One of several oxygenic bacteria species modified for symbiotic use in human beings, particularly those operating in deep space or deep water.
Alchemists: An outdated class of Light Attack Craft legendary for their inability to take a hit.
Alchemy Medal: The second-highest honor bestowed by the Fleet on civilians; given in recognition of the recipient's conversion of certain defeat into victory.
Allibek's Wings: A Fleet honor bestowed in recognition of outstanding valor in the face of overwhelming odds.
Andeus: A dwarf planet in the Coreward region, known primarily for its exports of ore and aspiring Fleet officers.
Arcade: A common area found in most space habitats, as well as on each level of any planned planetary colonies built by the Confederated Worlds.
Arcology: A planet-based enclosed artificial habitat.
Arcwing: A class of Light Attack Craft built for sturdiness over speed and featuring heavier artillery than Skimmer models.
Armward Bands: Densely-populated clusters of Confederated Worlds habitats and planetary structures along the arm of the spiral galaxy.
Artigrav: Shorthand for artificial gravity, especially for mechanics who might have to say those words a lot.
Astral Noise: The latest and greatest band to hit the Confederated Worlds, as long as you’re a fan of screamwave splatterpop.
Auzhni Hab: A small Hab based near the Hedgehome system.B
Biobomb: Pairs an explosive device with an engineered microorganism for maximum damage. A typical use case might include an infectious bacterium, or, when deployed against infrastructure, microbes that corrode plastic or specific types of metal.
Biolights: Emergency temporary bioluminescence; a habitat or Arcology's power failure triggers the release of substrate that feeds dormant microorganisms and induces luminescence.
Biomods: Shorthand for biological modifications, ranging from symbiotic bacteria to cybernetic limb replacement.
Birdflute: A high-pitched wind instrument that sounds like beautiful birdsong in the hands of an expert player, or, with less skillful use, a dying parakeet.C
Ceebee: Shorthand for a member of the Cyberbionautic Alliance.
Centerpoint Station: The primary base of operations for the Confederated Fleet. Originally established at roughly the center of the settled Confederated Worlds; not so much anymore, but two prior attempts to rename it have failed due to linguistic inertia.
CFS Graithe: A Confederated Fleet cruiser lost with all hands in a battle with Cyberbionautic forces, trying unsuccessfully to buy time for the CFS Iuelo, her sister ship, to escape.
Chimon: Site of a minor skirmish between Confederated Fleet and Cyberbionautic forces; considered the last real engagement of the war.
Churnpit: Another name for a recycling engine, particularly a poorly maintained one.
Cierrond: An elderly Tolvian mendicant who was of Triz's earliest teachers and one of the few as stubborn as she was; Triz took his name as her parent name when he died.
Clusterward: The region of a large cluster of stars, mostly unpopulated, located between the human-inhabited arm of the Galaxy and the largely unexplored arm on the opposite side.
Commander Escoth: Strategy Division Lead for the Confederated Fleet; the grandson of luxury starship magnate Idri Croelo Escoth.
Commander Rocan Dustald-3 Melviq of the Cyberbionautic Alliance, the Unquenchable Scythe: A much higher name-to-person ratio than is ever justifiable.
Confederated Fleet: A military force devoted to protecting the safety and wellbeing of the member planets and habitats of the Confederated Worlds.
Confederated Worlds: A loose alliance of several hundred
