Rebel Princess(42)

Jagan, of course, already knew. Or would, as soon as he woke from his  sleep of exhaustion. Breaking a betrothal vow between the two most  gifted talents on Psyclid was enough to set off psychic shock waves even  K'kadi would recognize.

A grimace twisted Kass's face, her shoulders slumped. She had no regrets  beyond those four lonely years spent in the Archives-and even that had  expanded her knowledge, made her stronger. But what her parents were  going to say . . .

She honored them, loved them, truly she did. But supreme in her heart was Tal Rigel. There could never be anyone else.

But now the moment had come. With fantasies blown away and reality  looming before her, she could clearly see the chasm she was stepping  across. For all the help she, K'kadi, and Jagan were providing, this was  a rebellion of Regulon against Regulon. Accepting Tal's invitation to  move into his quarters was the final step in allying herself to the  rebel cause.

When all Regulons-both sides of the rebellion-were the enemies of Psyclid.

Well, pok, dimi, and fyd! She should be floating on air this morning.  Instead, she was sitting on her bunk, scowling at the unoffending  bathing room door.         

     



 

Reality. Last night she had rung the bell that could not be unrung. In  giving Tal Rigel her virginity, she had not only broken her betrothal to  the Sorcerer Prime, she had broken faith with her heritage. Her  birthright. Her country. There was no going back. For better or for  worse, she was now truly Tal Rigel's woman.

Kass's scowl faded into a secret little smile as she recalled  discovering her captain had a weakness-its name, Kass Kiolani. How  perfectly delicious to know she had the power to turn S'sorrokan into an  overeager schoolboy, fumbling and incoherent.

Not that he hadn't made up for it later-yet looking back, Kass found she  had a special fondness for the stoic celibate who had gone so long  without that he'd lost control when his goal was finally within his  grasp. Tal Rigel at his most vulnerable and endearing.

Kass drew a deep breath, stood, and walked with determined steps to her storage unit. Time to pack.

The outer door slid open and Zee-Zee burst in, words spilling nonstop  from the moment she caught sight of her roommate. "Omni be blessed, you  did it! The ship's buzzing from one end to the other. Oh! Ka-ass."  Zee-Zee collapsed onto her bed, blue eyes wide. "You're leaving . . .  moving in with the captain?" Kass managed a tiny nod as she felt her  cheeks flush hot pink.

"Well, dimi," Zee-Zee wheezed, "I'll miss you."

"He said he'd have my things packed up," Kass confided, "but can you imagine? He'd probably have sent the marines."

Zee-Zee flopped flat on her bed, hands over her eyes, suddenly howling  with laughter. "Men can be so strange," she got out between guffaws.  "Can't you just picture Anton or Joss pawing through your undies?"

A giggle bubbled up through Kass's embarrassment. "I don't know who would have been more red-faced, them or me."

"So you sneaked out to do it yourself."

"Mmm."

"It's not like we didn't all know it was coming," Zee-Zee said more  quietly. "But, frankly, I'd just about given up on the two of you. Like  you were going to drag your feet until someone blew us out of the sky  and it was way too late."

"That's what did it, I think. Tal said there's nothing like the whiff of death to clarify the mind."

Zee-Zee rolled over and looked Kass in the eye. "He thinks we're not going to make it?"

"I think he did what he always does," Kass returned carefully, "weighed  the odds and decided he'd better grab a little pleasure while he could."

"Things are that bad?"

Kass made a face. "Dorn can tell you the whole, but in simplest form,  Tal insists on making the rendezvous with Tegge, and I'm convinced we'll  be flying straight into another Reg battle group."

"So morituri te salutamus, or more appropriately, fydamus."

"Zee-Zee!"

"Sorry, but the "we who are about to die" part fits, and last night you were doing a hell of lot more than saluting!"

Kass managed a wan smile. "We are rather like gladiators, aren't we?  Warriors trapped in a sector filled with Regs out for blood, sacrificing  ourselves with no real hope of ever breaking the cycle of fight, win,  or die. And if we're lucky, a few will limp home, living to fight  another day."

"We have a far better chance of escaping than the Roman gladiators ever did," Zee-Zee declared. "Or the Greeks at Thermopylae."

"Marginally," Kass conceded. "But is that what it's come to? Rebels as  mere entertainment for the Empire? Just another battle exercise for  Fleet?"

Zee-Zee swung her legs off the bed, sitting upright, glaring. "It was  just a quip, Kass. Forget I ever said it. I've followed the captain into  hell a dozen times over. It will come right in the end, it always does.  Now cheer up, smile. Go make him happy. He deserves it."

But do I deserve this joy, Kass wondered, when all I do, when we're not in bed, is argue?

With Zee-Zee's help, she finished packing, and after a brief bout of  hugs and tears, Kass headed for the lift and the spacious quarters of  Captain Tal Rigel. Where hopefully he stocked enough supplies so she  could assuage her growling stomach.

The strident clang of the ship's alarms woke Kass in the wee hours of  morning. By the time she realized what was happening, Tal was  half-dressed and pulling on his boots. Four days of blissful peace,  almost a honeymoon, and now, just short of Renner's Gate, the one she  recommended, the call for battle stations. If she'd ever been a pampered  princess with all the rough edges smoothed out of her world, it must  have been in an alternate universe. But there were times when she wished  she were gifted with enough magic to put her life back the way it once  was.         

     



 

But not if it meant giving up Tal.

Abruptly, the alarms ceased. In the act of buckling on his weapons belt,  Tal paused, obviously attempting to analyze the profound silence. He  tapped his comm unit. "Rigel to bridge."

"Sorry, Captain. You'll want to take a look, but it seems to be a trader  vessel, also bound for Renner's. She's showing nothing beyond the usual  defensive weapons. None hot."

"Stay here," Tal ordered, waving Kass back to bed. "Looks like nothing  more than jumpy nerves on the bridge. I'll be back as soon as I can." He  swooped down for a kiss and then he was gone, leaving lingering essence  of Tal Rigel tickling her nose and parts considerably lower.

Kass sighed. Evidently, she and Zee-Zee weren't the only crew members  thinking "we who are about to die." And at the far end of  Renner's-provided no ambush waited for them there-they had to get  through five or six more days to Tat, worrying all the way. Was Scorpio  waiting for them, as planned? Or would Tegge's be one of the Fleet ships  lying in wait for Astarte?

Kass must have dozed, for the next thing she knew Tal was slipping in  beside her, overwhelming her senses with the feel of him, the scent of  him, the wonder of questing lips and roving hands. Of touching and being  touched. Of knowing that for a few moments she could make him forget  everything but her.

Until his comm unit squawked or the next alarm bell rang.

But she knew that, accepted it. As much as she hated it, Kass now faced  the reality head-on. That was the difference between loving the fantasy  Tal and the real one. And now that she knew the reality of Tal Rigel,  her fantasy lover from the Archives didn't stand a chance.

Tal groaned as Kass stroked the velvet hardness of him, then guided him home.

They exited Renner's with nothing more exciting on Astarte's long-range  scanners than the now solidly identified trader ship, also obviously  heading for Tatarus. Tal struggled not to feel smug, not to broadcast "I  told you so" to all the skeptics, including his very special little  Psyclid. But rebel captains indulging in the euphoria of sexual bliss  had to struggle all the harder to remain realistic. "So far so good"  didn't mean Fleet wasn't waiting for him at Tat.

But Tatarus, and a thousand marks out in every direction, was a neutral  zone, and so far the Empire hadn't violated neutral space. Therefore . .  .

There was always a first time.

Mallick! Kass's fears were catching. For all his assertions, Tal was  almost as surprised as she when they found Scorpio the only Fleet ship  in orbit around Tat. Waiting, exactly as planned. Tal swore he could  hear Kass's teeth grinding when Jordana Tegge popped onto the bridge's  viewscreen. "Captain, good to see you."

"And you." She smiled. "That was a long side trip, Rigel. My crew is itching for some action."

"Sorry about that. As it turns out, we've had a bit too much of it."

Tegge's brows rose sharply. "I look forward to hearing all about it,"  she returned. "Do you need to replenish supplies, Captain?"