Copyright © 2017 Petra Landon

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the express written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

www.PetraLandon.com

Visit the author’s website for excerpts and other works in progress.

Cover Design by Biserka

Proofreading by Evelyn Summers, Pinpoint Editing

To S,

For your love, support and encouragement.

And for your infinite patience while I obsessed over the story during our time in Greece.

And the Isle of Corfu,

whose magic allowed me to finally put the finishing touches on a story so close to my heart.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Author’s Note

Acknowledgements

Also by Petra Landon

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you directly without problems or pride:

I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,

except in this form in which I am not nor are you,

so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,

so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

-Pablo Neruda

One

Saakshi surrendered to temptation, casting a surreptitious glance at the large gray-skinned male seated at a distant table. An aura of danger and unapproachability radiated from him, his aloof mien a stark contrast to the good-natured bonhomie of the other patrons in the alehouse. The corner table, away from the crowds and shaded by the awning branches of an artificial tree that bordered the Promenade, served to accentuate his distance from the other customers. She suspected that the table had been carefully selected to allow him his solitude. A brief lull in the mad crush of patrons to Trader Pik’s provided a welcome respite to the overworked server girls. It allowed Saakshi to rest her aching feet, catch her breath and restock the bar with clean goblets before the next horde of customers swamped them again. She also used the opportunity to sneak a quick peek at the Hadari’Kor male. As she had half expected, the alien male’s dark eyes rested on her. As their gazes tangled, Saakshi’s heart gave an uncomfortable lurch. She glanced away hurriedly, snapping her eyes back to the bar to resume polishing the goblets vigorously.

He was fairly blatant in his regard, seemingly unconcerned with hiding it from his fellow patrons carousing in the alehouse. Pik’s was laid out like a half moon with the identically shaped bar she stood behind as its epicenter. The open seating area circling the bar offered Pik’s patrons a view of the Promenade, as well as tables tucked away in the corners to afford more privacy. The Promenade was the main thoroughfare on the space station and tended to be noisy as well as busy most days – this was a station that never slept. The Trade Sphere hummed with activity throughout the day, its strategic location in neutral space driving a steady flow of traffic to it from all corners of Quadrant Five. This was his third visit to Pik’s this week – she’d been keeping count. He had patronized this particular alehouse on the station a few times a week since the second week Saakshi had commenced work here. That had been a little over two months ago.

Over time, she’d managed to glean a few details from his regular visits to the alehouse. He always timed his visits to coincide with her work hours, usually striding in by himself but occasionally accompanied by another Hadari’Kor male. He always seated himself at a table away from the crowds but assigned to the other server girl. Since Pik insisted that his girls work in pairs, there were at least two server girls on duty all the time. And he always drank Terilian ale – a pale liquid that, Saakshi knew from personal experience, burnt a fiery path as it slid down tongue and throat. He kept to himself, seemingly content to spend his time at the alehouse in silent contemplation or in quiet conversation with his occasional companion. And he watched her. Pura, how he watched her! The intense black gaze followed her as she went about her tasks at the alehouse, observing her with an intent Saakshi had been unable to decipher.

A single hostile glare from those dark eyes was enough to deter any patron who dared to approach him. She’d hear occasional whispers of HadKor around him, but he never let on if it bothered him. Saakshi rather thought it didn’t. She had never felt threatened in any way by the intense gaze. The other server girls would occasionally tease Saakshi about her silent admirer, but they all agreed on one thing: he epitomized their ideal customer. He made sure to buy a steady stream of drinks, never attempted to harass any of the server girls and always tipped generously. Life would be a lot easier for the server girls if more patrons followed his example. Over time, Saakshi had learnt to ignore the heavy-lidded dark eyes that followed her intently. But in recent weeks, she could swear that she was starting to see his hot gaze in her dreams.

A sudden commotion at the entrance to the alehouse drew Saakshi’s attention. Four Ketaari males had just walked in and seemed poised to seat themselves at a table assigned to her.

“Sons of swines” Saakshi muttered under her breath, exchanging a look with the other server girl. Enara, who was Budheya like her, could well appreciate her sentiments.

Engrossed in silent condemnation of the Ketaari with Enara, Saakshi almost missed the Ketaari male who’d broken away from his entourage to head her way. A brief glance at the familiar face was enough to spur Saakshi to stoop down hastily, hoping the wide five-foot high bar would hide her from the Ketaari. Her heart pounded as she hugged the floor, praying that the Ketaari hadn’t caught a good glimpse of her. The Ketaari male’s footsteps halted on the other side of the bar, directly across from where she crouched, her heart filled with dread. The seconds droned on, the Ketaari male making no move to rejoin his entourage. From her sanctuary behind the bar, a desperate Saakshi implored Enara with a muted gesture to attend to the Ketaari. She barely knew the other server but was counting on Enara’s Budheya heritage to comprehend the situation. Over time, most Budheya had learnt to inculcate the instinct necessary to gauge the intentions of the Ketaari. And some had even perfected the art of dodging the attentions and demands of the Ketaari who ruled over their world. After all, the lessons were imperative to their very survival. That is how the Budheya had survived a hundred and fifty years of servitude to the Ketaari; helped along by a nascent but resilient resistance movement.

From her crouched position behind the bar, Saakshi watched Enara walk over reluctantly to come to a stand beside her.

“What may I serve you at Trader Pik’s?” Enara asked the Ketaari male, polite and formal to a tee.

“I want the other Budh female” demanded the arrogant male voice.

Enara’s expression tightened for an instant before she turned her back on the male to walk away. Saakshi guessed that Enara’s stiffness was a result of a rude gesture from the Ketaari male. It could also be the derogatory way he’d referred to them as Budh, one of the myriad ways the Ketaari had perfected the art of degrading the Budheya people.

Saakshi directed a glance full of mingled gratitude and apology at Enara and took a deep breath to steady herself before standing up to face the Ketaari. He bared his large teeth at her in a predatory attempt at a smile. Saakshi gazed back at him silently, all expression carefully blanked out.

“You look very familiar, Budh. Where have I seen you before?” he remarked, more as a query to himself than her.

Saakshi cursed her luck silently. The hand that clutched the underside of the bar turned white with strain even as she struggled to not reveal any sign of her anxiety. The Ketaari’s eyes raked her upper body, the only part of her not concealed by the bar she stood behind. His eyes roved over the sun-kissed olive-toned skin, the abundant dark hair that fell to her shoulders in waves and the too-thin body dressed in the form-fitting uniform of Trader Pik’s server girls. The uniform was a garish one-shouldered red and gold top worn over red trousers. The fabric gathered in a subtle knot over the right shoulder to cover her right arm, leaving her left shoulder and arm bare. It was designed to allow the sleeve over her right arm to conceal the broad ownership bracelet she was obligated to wear on that wrist.

Saakshi forced herself to stand unflinching under the leering gaze of the Ketaari male until his eyes fell on the intricately woven tenar mesh armband she wore high on her left bicep to identify her Pura. The Ketaari had banned all religious expression on Budheyasta. On her home world, Saakshi was not allowed to wear her armband, but on this space station, she wore it with Pik’s permission. When Pik had bought her prison contract, she’d requested to be allowed to wear the symbol of her religious house openly like her un-subjugated ancestors had once done. The Ketaari male’s expression tightened with anger at the sight of her pura tenar band, and Saakshi gave up the façade of nonchalance to wrap her arms defensively around herself.

“What do you want?” she asked in Alliance Standard, abandoning any pretense at politeness.

Her words caused the male’s eyes to snap from her armband back to her face.

“What is your name, Budh?” he demanded in Ketar, the language every Budheya child was forced to learn, per the laws of the Budh-Ketaari Empire.

Saakshi remained silent, not trusting the next words out of her mouth.

The male leaned his stocky body over the bar to invade her personal space. He spoke again in Ketar, more forcefully this time.

“What is your name, female?”

“Saakshi neh Merama tik Ulmik pura Bedana” she answered proudly.

The Ketaari threw back his head to laugh uproariously with genuine amusement.

“You Budh are hilarious. Two centuries of being trodden under Ketaari feet has not stopped you from clinging to your useless old traditions” he gasped out, amidst his laughter. The pale blue eyes glowed in the pasty face, his forehead ridges standing out in stark contrast to the rest of his oddly smooth facial skin.

“What do I care about your family or religious affiliation? The rebels have gotten one thing right. They’ve dropped the song and dance to adopt simpler names” he remarked, his face still lit up by amusement.

Duh, the rebels shorten their names to be anonymous and prevent bringing down any Ketaari recriminations on their families or religious houses. What a clueless son of swine!

“Speaking of rebels, I think I finally remember you” he retorted. “You used to run with Tilabok’s cell. Your little group imagined itself quite a thorn in my side, I know. Fancy meeting you here - what a small universe it is.”

Saakshi’s heart sank – she’d so hoped he wouldn’t remember her. There had been barely any contact before her capture and imprisonment on Budheyasta. And why would there be? She’d been a lowly new recruit to the resistance cell, while he had been the regional commander, determined to brutally squash the resistance.

Before Saakshi could respond to him, a loud thump rang out abruptly, eliciting a skittish jump from the girl already on edge and alarmed by the Ketaari commander’s remarks. Her heart still pounding uncomfortably fast, Saakshi glanced around bemusedly, only for her attention to be drawn to the Hadari’Kor male she had been surreptitiously observing before. The male’s big palm rested face down on his table, his expression one of urgent demand. As her eyes rested on him in some confusion, he brought his hand down forcefully again to demand her attention. Saakshi gaped at him, utterly flabbergasted by his uncharacteristic action. In all the time she’d observed him, he had never drawn attention to himself like this! As her astounded gaze tangled with his, he crooked his finger at her imperiously to gesture at his empty ale mug. Saakshi, still in the grip of shock, continued to stare at him blankly. Suddenly, Enara was by her side, murmuring softly to her, but loud enough to be audible to the Ketaari male whose attention remained focused on Saakshi to the exclusion of everything else.

“Go take care of your customer” Enara advised in Alliance Standard, gesturing at the Hadari’Kor male.

“I’ll handle the Ketaari table” she declared with a speaking glance, giving Saakshi a gentle push towards the table where the Hadari’Kor male waited with seeming impatience.

Saakshi threw Enara a grateful look before making her way slowly to the Hadari’Kor male. Her heart pounded and her hands trembled visibly from her encounter with the Ketaari. Saakshi unhitched her order tablet from the uniform belt slung low at her hip as she came to a stop by the Hadari’Kor male’s table. Her grip on the tablet tightened unconsciously as she glanced tentatively into the eyes of the alien male who had spent most of the past two months blatantly checking her out. The black fathomless eyes stared back at her, his expression impassive.

“Terilian ale, piping hot” he directed at her. His voice was deep and low with a slight husky timbre to it, almost as if his throat was scratchy.

He spoke in Alliance Standard, though they were both equipped with clearly visible translator devices. Saakshi fumbled with the controls on her tablet to record his order, her hands shaking. When she glanced up from the tablet again, she caught his eyes on her trembling fingers. His dark eyes traveled back to her face leisurely, his expression still curiously blank.

“Are you serving any meals today?” he inquired.

“Yesss” Saakshi stuttered nervously, her fingers fumbling with the tablet to retrieve the menu for the day.

“Menkana meat stew and Keeyori leaf-wrapped fish” she read out, without looking up from the tablet.

“I’ll have the stew” he stated after a short pause, as her eyes remained glued to the tablet in her hands.

A fleeting glance and a murmured acknowledgement later, she headed back to the relative safety of the bar. Once back behind the bar again, Saakshi used a few moments to steady herself before entering his meal order into her tablet to transmit to the order console. A quick glance at the Ketaari table showed Enara entering orders into her tablet with a shuttered expression on her face. Saakshi poured out Terilian ale to heat it carefully before heading over to the customer’s table to set it before him. He studied her with the same impassive expression as before, to give her a small nod in lieu of thanks. When Enara returned to the bar, Saakshi made sure to mutter heartfelt words of gratitude to the other server girl. Enara responded with a smile and a gentle clasp of Saakshi’s hand in the traditional Budheya gesture of solace.

The Ketaari male did not approach Saakshi again, but the occasional speculative glances he directed at her left her uneasy. The Hadari’Kor male’s eyes continued to follow her as she worked, but less overtly than before. He drank a few more mugs of ale served to him by Enara and picked at his stew, leaving mere moments after the departure of the Ketaari group. Taking note of the almost full meal tray he’d left behind as she helped Enara clear his table, Saakshi couldn’t help but wonder at his unexpected and unorthodox way of jumping to her assistance this evening. He had also punched a generous tip into the payment tablet that she insisted Enara not split with her.

Two

That night, Saakshi slumped in exhaustion on her narrow bed in the dormitory shared by Trader Pik’s server girls. Having indulged in a sonic shower, the only kind available to her, she had crawled limply into bed. She was Trader Pik’s newest server girl. This status made her ineligible for the coveted night slot. The servers loved the late shift; the tips were better and they could get away with just one short shift in addition to a longer one. Saakshi, on the other hand, worked two of the longer shifts every day with one day off every twenty days. This left her too exhausted to do more than shower and fall into bed at the end of each long day.

On days Saakshi felt too tired to move her weary body, she’d remind herself that she could have done much worse than Pik’s. Pik was a decent boss. Like most Keeyori businesses on the station, he bought prison contracts off the Ketaari Imperial Forces and, occasionally, girls from the slavers. This way, he could get away with providing food and board without having to pay his servers. Unlike a lot of Keeyori alehouse owners though, he did allow his girls to keep their hard-earned tips. The Keeyori were nothing if not extremely profit-minded. Pik expected his servers to work hard and show up on time. In return, he provided meals and a clean safe place to stay for all his servers. He did not expect his girls to provide any other services to him or his customers, and was known to growl ferociously at any patron who dared to accost the girls in his presence.

While Pik’s short, bald and plump Keeyori build did not intimidate such patrons, the threat of a station-wide ban usually proved effective. The alehouses on Keeyor 9 Trade Sphere competed madly with one another for business but had agreed on a universal ban list. If a customer’s identity tag ended up on the list, he was denied access to all the alehouses and some of the other businesses on Keeyor 9. Invariably, this meant that the customer was forced to move on to another station to carouse in. Not a tough proposition on the face of it, since stations built primarily for recreation and leisure abounded across Quadrant Five to cater to travelers with a variety of tastes. However, stations under either Alliance or Empire control were enclosed within their respective border security nets, and difficult to access for anyone without the proper ID tags required for entry into their respective jurisdictions. These stations were also known to strictly enforce their respective jurisdictional laws. Although widely contrasting, these laws had one thing in common - they were very stringent. Since non-aligned, carouse-worthy, everything-goes, mostly Keeyori-controlled space stations were fairly rare and scattered in neutral space, most clientele were inclined to attempt to stay off the Keeyor 9 ban list.

Saakshi’s next day at Pik’s proved uneventful, although very busy. Trader Pik’s, even during slow hours, usually attracted considerable patronage. The busy late shift had four server girls working simultaneously. And rumor was that most days, the servers were still run off their feet.

She heaved a huge sigh of relief as the Ketaari officer stayed away from Pik’s for the next two days. The Hadari’Kor male also failed to make an appearance, though that wasn’t unusual. Hadari’Kor were mercenaries and worked for hire. Saakshi guessed that the male came to the station for recreation between jobs.

Two days later, the Ketaari commander cornered Saakshi as she stumbled back to the dormitory after her usual double shift. She was one day away from earning her day off. Busy daydreaming about the forthcoming day of leisure, she failed to watch carefully enough for groping extremities on the main thoroughfare. She had noted early on that the Trade Sphere seemed to attract a particularly sleazy set of patrons. Taken unawares, Saakshi gasped as a hand gripped her wrist to yank hard, causing her to stumble into the wall dividing two of the establishments by the main walkway.

“Let go of me” she hissed angrily at her assailant.

He let go to bare his teeth at her in a macabre semblance of a friendly smile. Saakshi felt her heart sink as she recognized him. It was the Ketaari regional commander. She had even remembered his name – Urm Ghesh. Golar Urm Ghesh, that’s what he liked to be called by the Budheya forced to live under his control.

Forcing the Budheya to kowtow to him isn’t enough for him. The son of swine is eager to rub his position as the highest military commander for the area into our downtrodden faces. Swine!

“I hope you’ve managed to recall my name, Budh female” he remarked conversationally, an expression in the pale blue eyes that made her blood run cold. A wisp of black fear unfurled slowly in the pit of her stomach, soon to envelop her in a brackish fog of terror.

Even by Budheya standards, Saakshi had not had an easy life, having survived some tough circumstances in her young life - a childhood as an orphan, dependent on the generosity of neighbors; scrabbling for survival like all other Budheya in her village; joining the rebel resistance as a recruit to fight Ketaari oppression; mounting guerilla attacks on the Imperial Forces and even a short stint in a harsh Ketaari prison until her contract had been sold off by them. Despite the past, Saakshi realized with a sinking heart as she faced the Ketaari officer that, tough as her short life had been, her experiences might yet pale in comparison to the trouble headed her way. She went cold, a hard knot of fear and anxiety twisting deep inside her. As terror tightened its steely grip on her, she fought to steady herself. The need of the hour was to keep all her wits about her, she reminded herself. She was resilient and had faced worse before. With a cool head and some luck, she might yet manage to wriggle her way out of this, relatively unscathed.

“Golar Urm Ghesh” she responded quietly, refusing to show any fear.

The Ketaari smiled happily at her answer, seemingly pleased by her response. He stood a few inches taller than her and a couple of decades older, if she recalled correctly. Stocky with a deep chest and the bulging neck and upper arm muscles so common in Ketaari officers, he was unremarkable in appearance with his sallow complexion, forehead ridges, cropped white blond hair, watery blue eyes and seemingly bloodless lips. The Ketaari home world was an ice planet. Rumor was that the only way the Ketaari could survive the hot and arid desert world of Budheyasta was the military uniform that sheathed them from neck to toe. The specially designed uniform regulated body temperature and retained moisture, thus helping Ketaari posted on the Budheya home world to acclimatize and survive the alien and inhospitable conditions.

“I have been promoted to an Unta-Golar. My friends and I are here to celebrate my new rank.”

He stared at her hopefully, but Saakshi made no response. It was all she could do to not flinch away from his thick body positioned so close to hers.

“I was not planning to be on this station very long, but I changed my mind after I saw you.”

He paused again, waiting for a response from her.

“I have applied for a month’s leave before I start my new assignment. I would like you to spend some time with me.”

This time, he managed to get a response. Saakshi studied him coldly.

“I cannot” she declared tersely.

The pale blue eyes narrowed at her words.

“Cannot or will not?” he inquired, in a tone sharper than any he’d used so far on her.

He glanced around the busy thoroughfare as if gauging the crowd. Saakshi tensed in response, gathering herself to sprint away from him. Her tough childhood and years in the resistance meant that she was not incapable of defending herself when the need arose. But she knew well that a one-on-one confrontation with the Ketaari in close quarters would not lead to a good outcome for her. On the other hand, she was quick and knew this part of the station well. She’d have a far better shot at evading the commander if she made a run for it. Saakshi waited nervously, poised for flight, her eyes scanning his expression carefully. Finally, the Ketaari stepped back from her as if he’d come to a decision.

“I will give you two days to think about this, Budh. Then, I come for you – willing or not. It is your choice” he declared.

That night, Saakshi lay frightened in her narrow dormitory bed while she desperately pondered her limited options. She could run. This was not a particularly well-guarded station and she was reasonably sure that, with a little effort, she could escape it. But once off this station, where would she go? Going back to Tilabok and the others on Budheyasta would only bring down more trouble on them for she would be an escaped Ketaari felon. In effect, escaping to any part of the Budh-Ketaari Empire, as the Ketaari ironically called their slice of space, would be too dangerous for her. It would also endanger any Budheya who helped her. That left her with only two choices - Alliance space or neutral territory. Traveling through neutral space was easier, but her chances of survival on her own without allies would not be very high. Alliance-controlled territory was a much safer option for her, but the Alliance had stringent border patrols and didn’t allow anyone in without the proper tags. She could attempt to acquire the appropriate identity tags to allow her access through Alliance territory, but that would take a lot longer than the two days she had. And it would need currency that she lacked. Eventually, she drifted into restless sleep, only to wake up exhausted. It was the start of another long day of double shifts. Saakshi consoled herself with the reminder that tomorrow was her day off as she made her way tiredly to Trader Pik’s.

An hour into the first of her shifts, Pik asked to see her in the back room. Since it was rare for Pik to ask to speak to a server girl in private, his request pierced the cloak of apathy that hung over Saakshi this morning, one built up by her anxiety and alarm. For a moment, she pondered furiously whether she was in trouble – if she’d somehow shirked any of her duties at the alehouse. The back room was a small, airless chamber that doubled as Pik’s office as well as a stock room. It was also where his server girls ate the meals that Pik provided for them. Pik shut the door behind him to direct a penetrating look at Saakshi. Pik-u-Aak had been a trader for four decades, and had a reputation on the station for being a male of his words and for treating his servers well.

“Do you know a Ketaari Unta-Golar by the name of Urm Ghesh?” he asked Saakshi, coming straight to the point. Pik was never one to beat around the bush.

Saakshi closed her eyes on a weary sigh. “Yes.”

“What does he want?”

“He wants me to spend time with him” she responded wearily, too tired to dress up what the Unta-Golar wanted.

“Hmm … how long does he plan on being here?” Pik inquired, clearly unsurprised by her answer.

“He says that he’s applied for a month’s leave and plans to spend it on the station.”

“A month!” Pik exclaimed, clearly astonished. “I could’ve scared him off for a few days, possibly a week, but if he plans to be here a month, I’m not going to be able to help you.”

Saakshi’s expression blanched in response, prompting Pik to explain the situation plainly, though not unkindly, to the anxious young girl before him.

“He could have my contract on you revoked, and have you assigned to him. There is nothing I can do to prevent that.”

At the blunt words, Saakshi stared back at him in renewed alarm, her eyes huge with worry and exhaustion. Pik sighed softly.

“I’m guessing that you do not want to spend time with him.”

She shook her head mutely.

“Are you sure? He’s only planning to be here a month. Could you perhaps stomach him for a month?” he asked hopefully.

“No! I’d rather die” she said vehemently. “Not with Ketaari, not with him” she burst out.

“Alright then. What about the HadKor Captain?” Pik asked.

Confused by the abrupt change of subject, Saakshi could only gaze back at the Keeyori trader in blank incomprehension.

“The HadKor that hangs around here looking like he wants to eat you up” Pik explained, a tad impatiently.

“What about him?” she asked, her bewilderment making it clear that she was all at sea.

“He has a starship and a mercenary army under his command. Make a deal with him.”

“A deal?” Saakshi exclaimed. “But I have no currency to pay him.”

“Do not be a fool, girl! You couldn’t afford his fees even if you had any currency to bargain with. Offer yourself to him in return for his protection.”

“Offer myself …” she repeated slowly.

“If you can stomach him, offer to be his lover in exchange for protection from the Ketaari Unta-Golar.”

Pik paused briefly to muse over his own words.

“My advice would be to make the offer even if you cannot stomach him. You either go to him or to the Ketaari. For what it’s worth, I haven’t heard anything bad about his treatment of females. He’s been coming to the station for the past couple of years, although he never came here as often as he does since you showed up. He’s not particularly friendly, keeps to himself, and stays off the pleasure houses and game pavilions.”

“What if he doesn’t accept my offer?” Saakshi asked haltingly.

“He will” Pik was confident. “The way his eyes follow you around, he will. I may be past my prime, but I would be willing to bet currency that if you make the offer, he will not tarry to accept.”

Saakshi mused over his words thoughtfully. “And you think he will be a match for the Unta-Golar?”

“Oh yes! Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor has quite the reputation in this part of space, for himself as well as his mercenary army. He’s a merc like all the HadKor, but this one doesn’t just live rough from fight to fight. He has himself a fancy war ship retrofitted with the latest weapons, commands a loyal army, and is currently on contract to the Alliance. There’s a reason for the popular saying - when you need serious ilhantu shit cleaned up, you hire a HadKor merc. These Hadari’Kor are bred to fight – they fight dirty and they fight to the death, if necessary. You’ve probably noticed how everyone in Pik’s is careful to steer clear of him. If you make a deal with him, he’ll handle the Ketaari Unta-Golar without breaking a sweat.”

Pik stared hard at the young girl to make sure his words had struck home.

“Alright, back to work” he dismissed her.

Pik waited until she was almost to the door, her back to him, before he spoke again.

“Saakshi Budheya” he called out gently. “I hope you understand that if you run, I will have no choice but to report you to the Ketaari for breach of contract.”

Saakshi nodded silently with her hand on the door. She felt a sudden spurt of gratitude for Pik. Brusque, impatient and currency-obsessed Pik - who’d tried, in his own way, to help her out of a sticky situation. She had a lot to mull over and not much time to make a decision.

“Thank you” she acknowledged softly as she let herself out.

Saakshi ruminated on her conversation with Pik as she went about her tasks. The alehouse was unusually busy for the slow shift, yet Saakshi’s mind constantly mulled over Pik’s suggestion to approach the Hadari’Kor male for assistance. After the first shock had subsided, Saakshi found herself giving the Keeyori trader’s suggestion serious thought. And a few hours of sober reflection made her appreciate his advice more. Under other circumstances, nothing would ever convince Saakshi to even consider striking such an intimate bargain with anyone, let alone an alien stranger. But the Unta-Golar’s threat had thrown such considerations out of the window. Beset by panic and terror, Saakshi clutched at Pik’s suggestion like the last hope of a condemned soul. She knew nothing about the Hadari’Kor male, except for his propensity to drink alone and his ability to put away copious amounts of lethal alcohol. Yet, she’d rather take a gamble on him any day than go to the Unta-Golar. At least, with him, she’d stand a chance. Or so she tried to convince herself. Saakshi knew the Unta-Golar – he was cruel and vicious. In contrast, she told herself, the Hadari’Kor mercenary was a blank slate. The Hadari’Kor male had never tried to accost her or even approach her during all the months when his hot gaze had followed her around Pik’s, she consoled herself. He’d merely looked his fill. His gaze had certainly made her self-conscious but never uncomfortable. She could do this! The mantra kept reiterating in her mind, an attempt to shore up her wavering inner voice when it raised its occasionally inconvenient head to remind her of the bargain she would have to make for protection from the Unta-Golar.

The mercenary was attractive enough, in a big Hadari’Kor way. He was the first Hadari’Kor she’d ever laid eyes on. Although, since then, Saakshi had observed his occasional companion and a few other Hadari’Kor males, and even one female, aboard the space station. They were built on generous lines as a race with massive light-gray-skinned frames, dark eyes and jet black hair. Saakshi had heard the rampant rumors of adolescent Hadari’Kor tattooing every available part of their bodies with colorful designs. But she had never suspected the whispers to be true until she’d caught a glimpse of the tattoos on the back of the male’s hands and his neck during his visits to the alehouse. He was always attired in a plain black uniform with an insignia on the right shoulder, and trousers tucked into sturdy black military-style boots, the tattoos on his arms covered up by the long sleeves of the uniform. He carried no visible weapons on him, probably because the station’s auto entry sensors were stringent in stripping all weaponry from incoming clientele. When thoughts of the dangerous gamble she was contemplating made her heart beat a little too fast for comfort, Saakshi tried to reassure her inner voice that Pik, who was generally well-informed on station gossip, seemed to not have heard anything bad about the Hadari’Kor male.

By the time Saakshi was well into her second shift of the day, she had almost convinced herself to approach the Hadari’Kor Captain. When he strode in, accompanied by his occasional companion, Saakshi took it as a sign from the Pura. The Budheya were a spiritual people and their unshakeable belief that their Gods continued to watch over them, despite the daily depredations and hardship wrought upon them by the Ketaari occupation, had been the only solace during these dark years. The silent blessing of her Pura renewed Saakshi’s confidence, helping to silence her inner disquiet while she waited for a lull to approach him. She did catch the occasional glances he directed at her, but they seemed more tamped down and less overt than before.

At the first opportunity that presented itself, Saakshi hurried over to his table before she could lose her nerve. As she approached him from behind, it was his companion who observed her making her way towards their table. He murmured something to the Captain that caused the Hadari’Kor male’s back to stiffen subtly.

“Umm … Captain?” Saakshi spoke in Alliance Standard, unsure about how to address him.

At her softly spoken greeting, his dark eyes snapped up to meet her gray ones. A blaze of hunger slid unchecked into the dark depths for just an instant before he used his heavy lids to screen them from her. When he allowed himself to meet her gaze again, his eyes were carefully devoid of all expression. The blaze had been successfully tamped down. That fleeting look, though, was enough to give Saakshi pause. Her doubts over the sensibility of this course of action she seemed poised to embark on resurfaced inconveniently. As she hesitated, one dark eyebrow arched up fluently in inquiry at her continued silence.

“Could I have a moment of your time tomorrow … if you please? Any time is fine. I have the day off from work” she finished in a hurry, rushing to commit herself before she could change her mind.

He assented immediately, his eyes a tad puzzled. He glanced around the crowded establishment.

“Here?” he asked.

Damn, I didn’t think about the where. This is what comes of not thinking it through. Perhaps he knows of some place in this blasted station that is private.

“Umm …” Saakshi hesitated with a quick sidelong glance at his companion who was staring at her in bemusement. “Somewhere private, if … if you know of a place.”

The Captain studied her, taking in her obvious discomfort.

“My ship?” he suggested, careful to make his invitation sound like an offer.

He was giving her a way out if she felt uncomfortable meeting with him on his ship, she realized. And suddenly, Saakshi felt a little better about her decision.

Thank the Pura; it’s going to be alright.

She accepted his offer gratefully, only for her expression to fall as she remembered the restrictions on her.

“I’m not allowed off the station” she informed him haltingly, using her other hand to pull up her right sleeve and show him the ownership bracelet on her wrist.

The Captain’s expression tightened while his companion let out a gasp.

“I’ll take care of it” the Captain stated quietly, his eyes on her bracelet. “Does early afternoon work for you?”

She let the sleeve fall to hide the bracelet again before agreeing to the time, unsure of what he meant by his cryptic words.

“I’ll meet you here” he said, the dark eyes steady on her.

Saakshi skipped away, not daring to believe that she’d committed to an appointment with the Hadari’Kor Captain. There was no going back any more. She would, at the very least, have to make him her offer, for she had run out of time.

That night, Saakshi studied her reflection in the small, cracked full-length mirror attached to one side of the dormitory. She saw a young Budheya female of average height and a slight body - produced by a lifetime of not having enough to eat, followed by a three-month stint of near-starvation prison diet. Her best feature was a glossy and thick mane of dark brown hair that had been forcibly cut short at the prison. Her first tips from Trader Pik’s when she had arrived at Keeyor 9 had been spent on quality hair wash. Since then, her hair had grown to her shoulders. Decent skin, nicely-shaped - though not spectacular - gray eyes, a small nose, lips with the bottom fuller than she’d like and, she’d been told, particularly pretty shell-like ears with the slightly pointed tip that characterized the Budheya, completed the picture. As she watched the thin girl in the mirror, Saakshi hoped fervently that Pik knew what he was talking about, because she was not entirely sure that the Hadari’Kor Captain would consider taking on the Ketaari male an appropriate exchange for the dubious pleasure of her body.

Three

Saakshi waited with trepidation at Pik’s the next day, attired in a fresh pair of Trader Pik’s uniform. The only other clothing she owned was the prison work-suit she had on when Pik had first brought her to this station after buying her prison contract. Too nervous about the upcoming meeting to truly enjoy her rare morning off, she had nevertheless managed to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely shower. Seated at a corner table in Pik’s, it felt strange for Saakshi to watch the other server girls try to keep up with orders and carry out drinks. She kept a watchful eye out for the Hadari’Kor Captain, not quite ready to have any of the servers or patrons observe her leaving Pik’s in his company.

She needn’t have worried after all, for the Captain proved to be the soul of discretion. He strode in punctually, glancing casually around the open seating area to catch her eye, before walking out unhurriedly. It was done so smoothly that Saakshi felt immediately at ease. Obedient to the discreet signal directed at her, Saakshi waited a few minutes before slipping out to meet him, away from the curious glances of Trader Pik’s patrons. The Captain greeted her with a silent nod, directing a curious glance at her uniform. He plunged onto the walkway bordering Pik’s, gesturing at her to stay close to him. Treading the station in the Hadari’Kor male’s company proved to be a very different experience from Saakshi’s daily commute between Trader Pik’s and her dormitory. Necessity had taught her to be extremely vigilant and very creative in avoiding various groping extremities that many of the male and even a few of the female population seemed to feel was their right on this station. The worst behavior was on the lowest ring of the station that housed the pleasure houses and game pavilions on the Trade Sphere. The Captain cut an easy swath through the crowds, his size, aggressive mien and intimidating stare successfully routing people from his path. Saakshi made sure to stick close to him, following in the wake of the path that his aggressive attitude automatically opened up for them.

He walked them to the upper ring of the Trade Sphere, which provided access to the station’s numerous docking ports. As they approached the station’s auto exit sensors, he pulled her into a little alcove by the pathway. The exit paths that led to the docking ports teemed with people, but the crowds here were thinner than the hordes that jammed the main walkways of the station. The Captain used his big body to shield her, providing them with a measure of privacy in their little nook.

“Show me the ownership bracelet” he directed quietly, his eyes on the sleeve of the uniform that hid her bracelet.

Saakshi pulled up the sleeve just enough to expose the broad bracelet welded to tightly encircle her wrist. The Captain pulled out a tiny, circular and silver-colored disk to attach it efficiently to her bracelet, before tugging down her sleeve to hide the bracelet again.

He clasped her palm firmly in his larger one to tug her gently towards one of the exit paths. Saakshi resisted, fearful at the knowledge that she was liable to be carted back to prison in breach of contract if any exit sensors detected her presence. That would entail serving out the rest of her sentence in a Ketaari prison, and possibly a longer prison term.

As she hesitated, the dark eyes glanced down at her.

“Trust me” he said simply, in his deep, husky voice.

As her eyes tangled with his, Saakshi reminded herself exactly why she was willing to risk being carted back to a Ketaari prison. Here she was, about to make the riskiest and most dangerous gamble of her young life with this stranger she knew nothing about. Was it a gamble worth attempting, she asked herself one last time. As the picture of the Unta-Golar she would have to face soon rose in her mind, Saakshi hardened her heart. Perhaps this was another sign from the Pura. If she couldn’t even trust this stranger’s word to get her through the auto sensors safely, she might as well give up right now and return to her dormitory.

He waited, the black eyes on her, seemingly content to allow her to make the decision. Something in the stillness of his body and his attitude of infinite patience pushed Saakshi to acquiesce mutely. He reached for her hand again, the act slow and deliberate, clearly giving her the chance to change her mind. Saakshi took a deep breath to hold onto the warm hand that clasped her smaller one so confidently. He walked them safely through the exit sensors and into a tiny pre-programmed shuttle. Once in the shuttle, Saakshi let go of the breath she had been holding, her heart slowly ceasing its incessant pounding. She slumped against the wall to watch him punch in their destination. Soon, they were on their way, being zoomed directly to a docking port.

Cocooned in the privacy of the tiny shuttle and almost dizzy with relief, Saakshi turned her awestruck eyes on the Hadari’Kor male.

“How’d you do that?” she asked him, awed by the ease with which he had circumvented the station’s exit sensors.

He changed his stance slightly to glance down at her, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“Managed to impress you, hmm?” the husky voice was slightly teasing.

Saakshi nodded mutely, amazed by his ingenuity and resourcefulness. Over time, the Budheya rebels had learned to circumvent a lot of Ketaari technology, mostly because it was Budheya technology adapted for and packaged up to look Ketaari. But she had never seen anyone bypass auto sensors so easily and with such little fuss.

“It’s called a suppressor” he explained. “It masks sensor data with its proximity. In your case, it took your bracelet out of the equation, rendering all the information embedded in it invisible to the exit sensors.”

“Then what … how did the sensors allow me to exit?” Saakshi stammered, confused by his words.

“Space travelers now carry mountains of data embedded in them,” he answered easily. “All sensors are calibrated to detect certain tags from an individual passing through them. The suppressor allowed other data embedded in you to override the tags from your bracelet. In essence, it fooled the sensors into allowing you to pass, based solely on the information from your ID chip. The sensors treated you like everyone else – allowed you to exit after recording your ID data into their logs. No one will know that you left the station unless they explicitly search through the station exit logs.”

“How could you be sure I had an ID chip?” she asked curiously, puzzled by this aspect. Wouldn’t the exit sensors generate an alarm if they couldn’t read any information from her, she wondered. She was aware that the Ketaari Imperial Forces had embedded a standard Budheya identity chip into her when they’d sold her prison contract, but he wouldn’t know that. Not for sure, anyway!

“That bracelet on you cannot function without a basic ID chip” he responded with quiet confidence.

He certainly knows his tech. Hmm, I guess a mercenary requires skills other than simply being a terror on the battlefield. Or perhaps he’s savvier than the average Hadari’Kor mercenary, since he commands an army of them.

Either way, Saakshi was seriously impressed with both his expertise and resourcefulness. The whole idea was ingenious! Every space traveler had an identity chip embedded into his body, encapsulated with all the information required by planetary and space station automated sensors and other territorial border controls. The chips were even known to occasionally function as credit cards for those who chose to not carry a personal tablet device for such purposes. Saakshi’s wrist had been shackled with the ownership bracelet when her prison contract had been sold to Pik. Embedded in the bracelet were details of her contract and prison term, as well as a locator signal that could be activated to enable the Imperial Forces to track her down if she ever made a run for it. Once the suppressor made the tags embedded in the bracelet invisible to the station’s auto sensors, the only information the sensor would read from her was that encapsulated in her ID chip which did not specify her travel or movement restrictions. The suppressor had allowed her to successfully masquerade as a normal traveler on the space station.

“How … where did you get the suppressor from?” she asked.

And how did you acquire one so quickly?

“I called in a favor from the friend of a friend” his eyes were still lit with amusement at her awed reaction.

“Wow” she murmured softly.

For a moment, she stared down at the bracelet on her wrist, now hidden under the sleeve of her uniform, before holding out her arm for him to detach the suppressor device still attached to her bracelet.

Saakshi followed him onto his sparkling ship, where the Captain ushered her to an empty ante-room off the main hallway. He closed the door behind them for privacy and invited her to be seated. Seats thronged the chamber, though the Captain parked himself by the wall to lean against it, his stance casual with his arms folded across his chest.

“What can I do for you?” he inquired blandly, his face impassive. The teasing male from the shuttle who had indulged her with an explanation while enjoying her undisguised admiration and wonderment was gone.

Saakshi’s courage almost failed her as she stared at the big alien with the inscrutable face. She had come this far, she reminded herself, jumping to her feet to pace nervously in a tight circle before him, her arms clasped defensively around her waist.

“I have a proposition for you” she directed at the ground while continuing her perambulations.

“I’m listening” he responded unhurriedly, the dark eyes watchful of her jerky movements.

“It’s a little awkward” Saakshi muttered.

“Take your time” he invited quietly.

Saakshi paced a few more circles before taking a deep breath. She faced him, not quite managing to meet his eyes, all the while conscious of his gaze tracking her.

“I … uh … I’ve noticed how you look at me in Pik’s.”

She chanced a fleeting glance through her lashes at him. The dark eyes held an arrested expression in them as he stared back at her, his big body held rigidly still. His gaze collided boldly with hers.

“And …” he prompted.

“And I was wondering if you’d be willing to protect me if I ... umm … agreed to become your lover” she managed to stammer out, a far cry from the polished speech she’d spent most of her morning practicing.

“What?” the big male barked, coming off the wall aggressively to lunge at her.

“You what?” he roared again, the bellow followed by a stream of fluent curses she presumed were in his own language. Her translator gave up on them after a few weak attempts.

Saakshi uttered a little squeak of fright to step back, away from the furiously swearing enormous male bearing down on her. Her obvious alarm seemed to stop him in his tracks. But he seared her with his furious gaze, his expression thunderous.

“Did you just offer me what I think you did?” he bit out at her.

But Saakshi had finally had enough. Mentally, emotionally and psychologically, she had shored herself up for this meeting. It’d taken every bit of her hard-won grit to walk onto the Captain’s ship and proffer her proposition to him. Exhausted and flat out depleted of any reserves of courage, Saakshi could only stare back at him in mute wariness.

“I get to f--k you if I use my brute HadKor strength to keep the other males away from you. Is that the offer?” he snarled at her, black eyes glittering fiercely in the strong face.

Saakshi winced inwardly at his crudeness but nodded slowly, her gesture hesitant.

“How long?” he demanded.

She stared back at him, puzzled by the cryptic query.

“How long do I get to enjoy you as my personal property?” he repeated, gesturing at her body.

Saakshi flinched at his words, staying silent until she could trust her voice again.

“Pik holds my contract for one year and I’ve completed a little over two months of it.”

At her words, the male curled his fingers into tight fists by his side, seemingly attempting to restrain himself. Saakshi kept a wary eye on those fists.

“I’m not the kind of male who takes advantage of a slave allowed no free will – sexual or otherwise” he said through gritted teeth.

“I’m not a slave” Saakshi blurted out in astonishment.

He pointed one tightly closed fist at the sleeve that hid her ownership bracelet.

“Pik bought my prison contract” she explained.

“Prison!” he exclaimed in astonishment, momentarily shaken out of his fury by her revelation. “You were in prison! Which one?” he demanded peremptorily.

“A Ketaari prison on Budheyasta” she replied quietly.

“Ketaari” he repeated thoughtfully. “I know for a fact that even within the Empire, the Ketaari cannot put away Budheya without any cause. Why were you in prison?”

“For suspicion of helping the rebels.”

“Were you?”

“Yes, but they couldn’t prove it. So they gave me a short sentence and sold off my prison contract.”

The Captain directed a thoughtful glance at her, following it up with a short nod. Saakshi understood that to mean that no further explanation of her circumstances was necessary. This corner of space was well acquainted with the complicated history of the Budheya and the Ketaari. Two centuries ago, Budheyasta had been the most advanced world in this quadrant, its people respected across the galaxy as a benevolent, progressive and generous race. A peace-loving people who could afford to eschew war due to their formidable technology and capabilities. They were also a deeply religious and spiritual people, ready to proffer help to any neighbors in need of assistance. The Ketaari had been a barely space-faring species with aggressive war-like tendencies and aspirations to galaxy domination. They had approached the Budheya for assistance to eradicate a disease plaguing their world. A century and half later, the circumstances of both peoples had undergone a radical transformation. The Ketaari had stolen Budheya technology, forced the best Budheya minds to work for the benefit of the Ketaari under the threat of annihilating their species and declared, to a bewildered Budheya populace, that they were now second-class citizens in the new Budh-Ketaari Empire.

In the last fifty years, the Empire had been expanding rapidly by greedily swallowing up resource-rich planets and subjugating races. At first, they had met with sporadic and uncoordinated resistance. The Ketaari, with their access to advanced Budheya technology and a vast military force, had easily overcome this early opposition. Eventually, in the last twenty years, a new partnership of planets and civilizations had come into being as a bulwark against Ketaari ambition. The sole purpose of this partnership was to prevent their territories from falling to the Ketaari Imperial Forces by pooling together their resources, both military and civilian, and coordinating the fight back against the Empire. They called themselves the Kampuchan Alliance, named after the planet on which the original four worlds had signed the first Alliance charter. Today, about forty different worlds and civilizations counted themselves members of the Alliance.

Quadrant Five had become so dangerous that no world could survive without being part of, or affiliated in some form, with one of the two big warring factions – Alliance or Empire. A few species like the nomadic Keeyori operated Trade Spheres in neutral territory where all were welcome to trade; others like the legendary Ur’quay isolated themselves on their far-off home world, and stayed away from the fight for resources and domination of space. These races were few and far between. The Hadari’Kor was another nomadic race that refused to ally with either entity, and fought strictly as mercenaries for hire. Their reputation as well-honed, formidable and ruthless warriors made others wary of tangling with them, allowing them the luxury of a way of life where they retained their independence and owed allegiance to none.

“You’re afraid of that Ketaari murtobak hassling you in Pik’s” Zoran sighed finally, his anger spent. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of him.”

Saakshi studied him, reassured by his acceptance of her proposition, although uneasy that he’d done so without spelling out what he expected of her in exchange.

“Thank you. He … the Ketaari Unta-Golar … he knows me from Budheyasta.”

A black brow arched up gracefully in silent query.

“He used to be the Golar in charge of my village. He remembers me from when I was captured as a rebel. My resistance cell used to target him. I’m … he’s not a good person … even for a Ketaari” she said slowly, meeting his dark eyes directly.

He stared back at her, his eyes searching as he listened to her intently.

“Umm … I was wondering what you’d expect of me?” Saakshi inquired nervously.

“Expect of you?” he repeated slowly, an outraged look replacing the thoughtful expression on his face.

“As your lover, I mean” she stammered, eyes lowered away from him at the renewed signs of his temper resurfacing.

There was a long moment of pregnant silence while she gazed down at the floor.

“Turn around” he bit out suddenly, gesturing at her.

Saakshi forced herself to slowly and self-consciously twirl, incredibly conscious of his gaze on her. His eyes raked her slowly from top to bottom before finally coming to rest on her face. A shiver rang down her spine at his expression - absolutely livid, a tick flexing uncontrollably near his jaw while his eyes glittered with an expression of mingled fury and raw lust. Yet, despite everything, she got the impression that this was deliberate. Almost as if his intention was to confront her or possibly deter her with this glimpse of his seething emotions. But Saakshi, daunted by this avatar of the Hadari’Kor Captain and terrified of the fate that awaited her at the hands of the Unta-Golar, felt too overwhelmed to even attempt to comprehend the underlying undercurrents of his actions.

“How old are you?” he inquired softly.

“Twenty-one summers” she replied warily, not quite trusting that soft voice. The biting edge of anger in his voice frightened her, and his expression of blatant male interest made her uncomfortable, when his attention at the alehouse had never done so.

“Do you have any sexual experience?” he purred, his tone managing something she’d thought impossible – to terrify her even more than she already was.

“A little” she muttered. When she’d first joined the rebels, there had been a hasty coupling with one of the other new young recruits. They had taken each other’s virginity in a quick and hurried act one night. It had been a result of their mutual loneliness, homesickness from their previously familiar albeit hard lives, and terror at falling short of expectations in their new roles as part of the Budheya resistance. The experience had left them both vaguely unsatisfied, and had never been repeated again by unspoken consent.

“Let me lay down the ground rules so that we’re absolutely clear. I have a very healthy sexual appetite and I like my females uninhibited. I will not make allowances for inexperience or maidenly blushes. Can you handle that?” he asked her in a hard, angry voice.

Saakshi almost bolted at his words. She tried to make her lips form the appropriate response through the fog of sheer terror that held her in its grip.

“Do you think you can satisfy me?” he asked again as she remained silent, his voice bitingly angry as his dark eyes seared her.

Saakshi gathered herself together with iron self-control by reminding herself how repugnant she found the idea of the Unta-Golar touching her. She nodded mutely at him in a hesitant gesture indicative of both her assent and her qualms, even as she inwardly prayed that she’d made the right decision.

“I’ll drop by Pik’s to escort you after your shift tomorrow night. Get plenty of rest. You’ll need it.”

Saakshi’s face paled at his words and his face tightened even more with an absolute terrifying fury.

“Stay here” he bit out.

She watched him storm out of the room, every line in his body rigid with fury. Once alone, Saakshi allowed herself to succumb to her fears and doubts, slumping in the seat with her head clasped in her hands.

Pura Bedana, what have I done?

She didn’t have to wait long. Fifteen minutes later, another Hadari’Kor male made an appearance. She recognized him as the male who occasionally accompanied the Captain to Trader Pik’s.

“I am to escort you back to the station” he announced politely.

Saakshi allowed herself to be silently escorted off the ship and back to the relative safety of her dormitory on the Trade Sphere.

Four

Saakshi’s mind continued its internal tumult the next day while she worked her usual double shift. The day and most of the night following her meeting with the Hadari’Kor Captain had been spent wallowing in a welter of confusing emotions - hope and a measure of peace for striking a bargain with the Captain, intense confusion over his unexplained fury, and panic over what she’d be expected to do for him. This vacillation between elation, hope, bewilderment, confusion and fear only seemed to generate more confusion and turmoil in Saakshi. His remarks regarding her sexual experience and his brutal honesty about his expectations of her intensified her terror. There were also times when the suspicion that his words and manner had been calculated to frighten her into withdrawing her proposition reared its ugly head. Saakshi was careful to squash this particular doubt since it meant that she’d mistaken the nature of their understanding; something guaranteed to increase her overall anxiety. That would imply that the Hadari’Kor male, who had stormed off without explicitly agreeing to their bargain, would fail to show up, thus leaving her to the tender mercies of the Ketaari swine. An overwhelming sense of fear, claustrophobia and anxiety pervaded her, and it was all she could do to not give in to it.

The night had been the worst, for it had afforded Saakshi too much time to reflect on her dire circumstances and feel suffocated and frightened by the limited and bad options left open to her. At least she had Trader Pik’s patrons to take care of this afternoon. Being run off her feet by their constant demands allowed her the temporary luxury of being too busy to think dire thoughts. Occasionally, a sense of loss and regret would sneak in at the thought that she’d wasted her precious day off. Saakshi knew that, no matter how everything played out, her life was headed for another drastic change. Immaterial to whatever future the Pura intended for her, she could ill afford the luxury of wasting a rare day of leisure to worry about her fate.

Preoccupied with her thoughts, the arrival of the new server girls gave Saakshi an unpleasant jolt. Their presence signaled the end of her last shift for the day. A glance around Trader Pik’s showed nary a glimpse of a familiar gray male with intense dark eyes. Thankfully, the Unta-Golar was also nowhere to be seen. She washed up in the tiny sink in the back room to eat the meal Pik provided for his servers before heading out. Saakshi verged on the side of caution this evening, taking a longer, circuitous and different route than usual back to her dormitory. Anything to avoid the Unta-Golar tonight, especially since her Hadari’Kor protector had failed to show up. A flicker of intense disappointment at his no-show despite their bargain pierced her heart. She was swift to tamp it down ruthlessly.

The mistake was to depend on someone else. I’ll take care of myself like I’ve done all my life. I’ve survived before when faced with overwhelming odds. And I will survive this, too.

Pura Bedana, watch over me.

The assault, when it came, caught Saakshi by surprise, since he chose to strike so close to the relative safety of her dormitory. A hand grasped her from behind in a brutal grip as the assailant dragged her unrelentingly away from the main walkway into a nearby alley. Saakshi, who’d had ample opportunity to explore the area around the vicinity of her dormitory, knew that she was being dragged into a blind alley with no other way out. She screamed, fighting back and kicking out with all her might at her attacker, but was unsuccessful in breaking his implacable grip on her. He maneuvered her to the end of the alley before letting go to face her. The first thing Saakshi noted was that he’d placed her in a position where her only way out was to go through him.

“You didn’t think I was going to let you get away that easily, did you?” the Ketaari male taunted her.

At his words, a sense of calmness abruptly settled over her. After all the worry, confusion, fear and anxiety, the moment she’d been dreading was finally at hand. Saakshi felt an eerie serenity engulf her. She knew what she had to do now. All at once, her path forward was clear.

“You’ve had your two days, Budh female. So, what will it be – willing or unwilling?” the Unta-Golar asked her, doing the teeth baring thing he tried to pass off as a charming smile.

Saakshi studied him calmly.

“No. Not happening.”

Her calm words wiped the smile off his face, to replace it with a rather cruel expression.

“Like that, is it?” he said softly, pouncing suddenly in a swift move without giving her an opportunity to react to his taunt.

Saakshi, half expecting his attack, was not caught completely by surprise. She feinted at him with a move targeting his groin. In response, he stopped himself abruptly in mid-pounce to rock back on the soles of his heels. It gave her the time to drop down on one knee agilely, extract the heavy palm-length piece, fashioned from a discarded wedge of control panel, that she carried in her right boot, to swipe him hard on his toe with it. His military issue boots parried a lot of her attack, even though she’d targeted the blow well. He cursed aloud and pretended to step back. At the last minute, he leaned forward with his weight on the injured foot, and swung out his other foot in a vicious kick aimed at Saakshi’s chest as she sat on one knee before him. The foot swished through empty air as she slid down low to lie prone on the ground before expertly rolling away. She sprang up gracefully to come to a stand a little away and to the side from her previous location, ready to counter his next move. Her new position forced him to rotate a little to face her again.

He no longer blocked her access out of the alley to the more public thoroughfare beyond it. From the periphery of her vision, Saakshi took note of the few spectators who watched their fracas. But she dared not take her eyes off her Ketaari opponent. Cognizant that she could afford only one more dodge away from the bigger male before she had to make a run for it, Saakshi’s mind mentally plotted the shortest way out of the alley and into her dormitory as she waited for him to make his next move. Once through the dormitory entry sensors her bracelet allowed her access to, she would be safe from his pursuit this evening.

A spiteful expression on his face, the Unta-Golar unclipped a small device from his belt to punch in a few buttons. Saakshi, who understood the significance of the device, could only stare at him in horrified dismay. A piercing pain seared the prison implant on her right shoulder, spreading out in waves down her back, right arm and chest. The excruciating pain tore a scream of agony from her as she stumbled down to her knees. Saakshi panted softly, trying to stifle further screams as radiating pain wracked her body with agony. Her left hand cradled the stiff right arm protectively, while tiny aftershocks from the pain continued to prick at her. She knew that the pain would pass just as suddenly as it had begun, but it had left her with few options. Now, she would have to somehow muster the strength to evade the Ketaari male. Running from him was out of the question - she doubted she had the strength right now to stand erect without support.

The Unta-Golar clipped away the device before sauntering over unhurriedly to stare down at Saakshi, on her knees on the station’s dirt-crusted floor. She raised pain-filled eyes to the Ketaari officer, unwilling to cower before him. He flashed her a cruel smile before swinging a meaty fist at her. Saakshi closed her eyes in defeat, her pain-wracked body unable to garner the strength to move itself clear of the inevitable blow.

The blow never landed. Instead, Saakshi heard the distinct sounds of a scuffle, followed by some heavy blows. When she dared to open her eyes moments later, the Unta-Golar lay in an awkward tangle in a corner of the alley, caged in by two adjoining walls and the massive body of the Hadari’Kor Captain. The Hadari’Kor male leaned threateningly over the Ketaari Unta-Golar, whose stocky body cowered back against the wall. The Ketaari male’s legs lay sprawled out, one heel drumming uncontrollably on the floor in distress. One of his arms lay bent at an unnatural angle, and pale blue blood seeped sluggishly from cuts to his forehead ridges and the corner of his mouth. His eyes stared wildly up at the Captain, while his good arm alternated between pounding ineffectually on the Captain’s shoulder and trying to claw away the large hand that squeezed his throat inexorably. The Captain had crowded the other male into a corner to brace himself against the wall with one hand, while his other hand, wrapped around the Unta-Golar’s throat, throttled him slowly.

That this entire scene was enacted in complete silence by participants and spectators alike made it seem almost surreal to the Budheya girl watching it play out dispassionately. Saakshi allowed herself to slowly slide down to rest on her bottom, splaying out her legs before her with palms braced against the floor to support her weight. She leaned back comfortably on her hands, content to watch the unfolding show.

Thank the Pura, he came. Better late than never, I guess.

From her position, she could clearly see every expression reflected on the Unta-Golar’s face, but not the Captain’s, whose back faced her.

“This is for using the pain implant, Ketaari murtobak” the Captain bit out in sudden fury, his words breaking the silence in the narrow alley.

He flicked off the fist pounding on his shoulder with a casual shrug as he stared down at the Unta-Golar.

“If you ever touch her again, I will personally break every bone in your body. Are we clear?” the coldly furious voice demanded of the Ketaari.

The Ketaari male stared back at him with vicious eyes, his expression uncowed. The Captain casually exerted a little more pressure around the Unta-Golar’s windpipe, and the Ketaari’s legs went limp, his face turning bloodless and pale.

“Are we clear?” the Captain repeated, more softly this time.

The Ketaari nodded, his pale eyes a tad unfocussed, though the expression on his face promised retribution. The Captain finally let go of his punishing hold on the other male’s throat, to leave the Ketaari limp and panting on the floor. The Hadari’Kor male sprang to his feet fluidly, turning his back on the male gasping for breath at his feet to stride over to Saakshi. For a moment, he gazed down at her in silence. An emotion she’d be hard-pressed to identify flashed though the tightly leashed fury on his face. The black eyes glittered with anger and something akin to regret.

“Are you hurt?” he asked gruffly.

Saakshi shook her head mutely.

“The pain implant?” he inquired, the black eyes holding her captive.

“The effect has worn off” she responded calmly.

“Come” he commanded, holding out his hand imperiously to her.

Saakshi retrieved the piece of control panel she’d used on the Ketaari to tuck it back in its usual hiding place in her boot. The black eyes watched her silently, the palm still held out to her. She allowed him to pull her up and steer her through the small crowd of spectators, a large palm at the small of her back guiding her.

They walked in silence towards his ship, stopping just once to attach the suppressor device to her bracelet to enable her to bypass the station’s exit sensors. Once they were alone in the shuttle and on their way to his docked ship, he turned to face her.

“I apologize for being late. It will not happen again.”

Her eyes snapped up to meet the regret in those dark eyes. Saakshi nodded to acknowledge his apology.

“You fight pretty well for a tiny female” he remarked approvingly after a short silence.

She managed a wan smile at the double-edged compliment.

“Who taught you …” he paused, before stating the obvious. “The rebels?”

She nodded mutely again.

“How much did you see?” she asked him.

“Enough” he gritted out, his teeth clenching.

“Didn’t they teach you when to run?” he inquired softly after a short pause.

“I was getting ready to, but he blindsided me with the pain implant.”

The Captain hit the shuttle wall with his open palm, cursing fluently and with ease in a variety of different languages.

“Son of a swine” she interjected, not wanting to be left out of the cursing party.

After an instant of stunned astonishment, his expression lightened.

“No doubt” he agreed, his dark eyes filling with soft laughter.

“Ketaari murtobak” she offered next, showing off the single word in his language she knew. She’d learnt it by paying attention to his cuss words, the ones she could decipher anyway.

“Absolutely” he gasped out, bursting into unfettered laughter. The effect was to make him look years younger without the serious and unapproachable mien he usually radiated.

“What does it mean?” she asked him, her eyes observing the laughter on his face.

“Unknown paternity” he responded, his face still lit up with amusement.

The shuttle doors opened wide as it came to a stop. She followed him onto his starship. This time, they headed to a different section of the ship, using an elevator to move up levels. This part of the ship was more populated than the ante-room they had met in the last time. Greetings were called out to the Captain, and Saakshi sensed a few curious glances directed at her.

“You’re good with languages” she remarked. They always spoke in Alliance Standard, and his was impeccable. She’d also heard him swear fluently in a few other languages, although that could just be a common male trait irrespective of species, she mused philosophically.

“Your Alliance Standard is pretty good too” he complimented her.

“All Budheya children now learn Alliance Standard along with Budhi. The Ketaari force us to use Ketar for all official business, but we want to prepare for a time when Budheyasta can join the Alliance as a free world.”

He stopped in mid-stride to contemplate her, his black eyes fathomless.

“It will happen, little Budheya. Your time will come too.”

Saakshi felt an unaccustomed emotion unfurl in her as she smiled back at him. He seemed to understand for he studied her silently for a moment before leading her down the corridor they were in. In a few minutes, she was ushered into a spacious chamber that was luxuriously furnished.

“This is lovely” Saakshi exclaimed spontaneously, gazing around the room with interest.

“Captain’s privileges” he responded with an amused quirk on his lips.

“Is there somewhere I can wash up?” she inquired hopefully, glancing ruefully down at her dirt-streaked hands and clothes.

“You can take a shower if you like” he offered.

“Shower with real hot water?” she gasped in amazement.

“As much hot water as you want” he smiled back.

“Go on” he encouraged as she hesitated. “Take as long as you need. I’ll take mine after you’re done.”

“There’s a robe in there you can use” he suggested, after a quick glance at the beating her uniform had taken.

The shower was spacious. Saakshi assumed that it had been customized to fit the massive Hadari’Kor Captain. This was her first hydro shower since way before she’d been picked up by the Ketaari Imperial Forces for suspicion of supporting the resistance. Delayed reaction from facing the Unta-Golar hit Saakshi as the plentiful hot water rained down on her. She had walked away after teetering on the brink of disaster. The Pura had watched over her this evening, she knew. If the Hadari’Kor Captain hadn’t stepped in when he had, she would have been done for. She owed him big for that. The serious implications of the Ketaari’s deployment of her pain implant to break her alarmed Saakshi. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to dig up the details of her status as a prisoner, and the frequency and code unique to her implant. She was afraid that this signified his influence and ability to call in favors and revoke Pik’s contract on her. Saakshi sighed wearily from under the luxury of unlimited hot water. That was a worry she’d need to postpone till tomorrow. Tonight, she needed to please the big male awaiting his turn to shower. She just hoped that she knew how.

The gigantic robe enveloped her, the ends trailing on the floor. On her, the tie meant to be around the waist fit below the hip. As she walked out slowly, Saakshi made sure to hold the gaping edges of the robe closed at her chest with one hand. The Captain had kicked off his boots to stand barefoot as he read something on a hand-held tablet. His eyes snapped up to look at her, his gaze moving leisurely from her damp hair and scrubbed face to the hand that nervously clutched the enveloping robe, and down to the small feet peeking out from under the robe. When his eyes finally met hers, he let her see the intense hunger in them for just a moment before the heavy lids slid down to hide his thoughts.

“Are you hungry?” he asked huskily, in his deep, scratchy voice.

“No, thank you. I ate earlier at Pik’s” she stammered out nervously.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll take a quick shower.”

Saakshi perched on the edge of the bed, her hand caressing the luxuriously soft piliken coverlet she sat on. The room was divided into various functional sections – someone professional had obviously had a hand at decorating it. There was a Work Section with a heavy table and chair that looked like they had been hand-carved from real tempe wood, a Conversation Section with a plush rug and some intimate seating around a low-slung oval-shaped table, and a Sustenance Section complete with Food Synthesizer, Recycler and dinner table with four chairs. The Rest Section was adjacent to the bathing enclosure, which she knew from experience was spacious with a sink, shower and toilet. The bed she sat on dominated the Rest Section. It was ginormous - easily five times the size of her narrow bed at the dormitory. Plush cushions lay piled high in a colorful jumble over the beautiful piliken coverlet.

His profession must pay well, she mused, for the Hadari’Kor male certainly managed to live very well. Pik had been correct about her not being able to afford the Captain’s fees. Who knew being a merc could be this lucrative, Saakshi wondered. She’d always assumed that mercenaries led nomadic, peripatetic and hard-scrabble lives, fighting from war to war with little access to luxuries, much like the rebels in the Budheya resistance cell she’d been part of.

It was time to pay the piper. He had kept his side of the bargain they’d made. Now, it was her turn. Saakshi took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself, his candid words regarding his expectations from her playing through her mind. Somewhat to Saakshi’s surprise, all fear of fulfilling her bargain with the Captain had paled after facing the Unta-Golar earlier tonight. She had come very close to the edge this evening. Or perhaps, it was the Hadari’Kor male himself, something in the way he carried himself and his demeanor towards her, that made Saakshi less anxious.

She used the voice-activated controls to switch the room lighting to candlelight mode. The subdued lighting softened the room, subtly helping to relax her. The sound of footsteps directed her eyes to the bathing enclosure as the Hadari’Kor male stepped into the room. He was gorgeous, she realized in sudden awe as she stared at him. His black hair lay damp on his nape, and his big gray body gleamed with tiny droplets of moisture. A damp towel hung low over his hips as he stood with feet braced apart and one hand on the towel. He was built on a massive scale – broad at the shoulders with strong arms, tightly muscled all over with nary an ounce of fat on him. It was obvious that the Hadari’Kor male’s body had been honed to peak condition by the rigors of his profession and training. Saakshi found herself gazing at him with unconscious wonder. Unlike the Unta-Golar, whose thick body bulging with muscles repelled her, the Captain’s large body, characterized by power, strength and grace with its lean and smoothly muscled lines, pleased Saakshi.

She noted that his torso was hairless, his body gloriously covered with colorful tattoos. Every inch of him had been adorned with beautiful works of art. The tattoos she’d occasionally glimpsed at his neck and the back of his palms paled in comparison to the intricate and elaborate designs that covered his chest, arms and what she could see of his legs.

She walked over to stand before him on shaky legs.

“You … your tattoos are gorgeous” she blurted out, her eyes tangling with his.

A slow and very masculine smile lit up his eyes.

“You like them?” he asked, noticeably pleased by her words.

“Yes” she flushed, a deep blush surging up her face.

“Did they hurt a lot?” she inquired hastily to cover up her embarrassment.

“Not a lot” he responded, still with the smile in his voice.

“I probably didn’t …. What I mean to say is …” she stopped to take a deep breath before trying again. “Thank you” she acknowledged softly. “For the Unta-Golar tonight.”

“My pleasure” his voice was equally soft.

There was a short silence until Saakshi resolutely took another deep breath.

“I also want to thank you for accepting my offer.”

“Offer?” he repeated quietly, the smile vanishing from his face.

“What we talked about yesterday. You take care of the Unta-Golar and I ... umm” she stammered to a halt, deterred by a combination of embarrassment and the expression on his face. His jaw was clenched and his eyes looked furious. In the blink of an eye, he had gone from easygoing companion to furious inscrutable stranger.

“Did I misunderstand?” she asked anxiously, unnerved by the sudden change in him.

“No” he bit out, shaking his head. “There’s no misunderstanding. Come, your turn to keep to our unholy bargain.”

He held out his hand to her, just like he had earlier in the evening after he had punished the Unta-Golar for hurting her. Saakshi placed her hand in his larger palm, her heart pounding so loudly that for a mad moment, she thought he would hear it. He led her over to the bed. Saakshi followed him on leaden feet, turning to face him as the sweeping folds of her robe brushed against the large bed.

“Let go” he directed softly, gesturing at the hand clenched nervously on the robe to protect her modesty.

Saakshi glanced into the implacable eyes, forcing herself to slowly release her tight grip on the robe. He clasped the lapels, not ungently, to part them and the robe gaped open. The momentum caused the heavy robe to start to slide over her slim shoulders. She attempted to raise her arms, instinctively trying to hold the robe in place before it slid down her body. But Saakshi was only partly successful in her endeavor. The robe was heavy and its folds voluminous. It merely slowed its slide at her elbows, trapping her arms in its billowing folds. Saakshi struggled to free her arms, the weight of the robe pulling at her, spurred on by the knowledge that only the fastening at her hip prevented her from being completely bared to his gaze. Before her struggles could spiral into alarm, she was swept cleanly off her feet to be laid carefully on the bed.

He placed one knee on the bed to reach for her, deftly extricating both of her arms from the folds of the robe that still clung valiantly to her. Before Saakshi could attempt to cover herself, he clasped her wrists to pin them over her head with one large hand. The act caused her supple body to arch up towards him. He leant down over her to brace his free arm on the bed by her shoulder. Her eyes flashed to him, alarm, surprise and anxiety roiling in her. The big body went still, his attention rapt on her, to the exclusion of everything else. Saakshi watched the molten hot eyes rake her body, caressingly slow. For that one moment in time, she felt time stop still. Through the stillness and the silence, amidst the faint shadows cast by the soft illumination, she could only hear their breaths mingle together. His deep breaths seemed to quicken subtly as Saakshi finally let go of the breath she’d been holding. The black eyes glittered fiercely in the soft light, the skin on his face stretched tight. Through the flutter of unease and anxiety at the pit of her stomach, Saakshi felt the slow burn of an unfamiliar excitement ripple through her at the naked hunger in his eyes as he stared down at her, her excitement tempered by wariness but, surprisingly, no fear. Her eyes wandered over the strong face and the thick black hair cropped ruthlessly short before venturing into less familiar territory. The wide chest moved deeply with his quickened breaths. Under Saakshi’s mesmerized eyes, the colorful tattoos on his chest rippled and shimmered with his ragged breathing and the dampness from his recent shower. The tiny beads of moisture danced like pinpricks of bright-colored jewels on his chest and shoulders, the muscles on his arms bunching with tension as he held himself still over her. An air of heavy anticipation now hung over the chamber, enveloping the silent girl and the rapt male on the bed in its haze. Saakshi, in her relative inexperience, ignored the heightened atmosphere, oblivious to the struggle that raged within the Hadari’Kor male. Instead, her enthralled eyes followed a fat droplet of water as it made its sluggish and meandering way down the length of his muscled chest. Each tilt of his breath seemed to make the droplet dance and shimmer on its way down. She watched raptly, unable to tear her eyes away, her breath hitching as the drop of water disappeared down his hard stomach into the towel slung around his hips. That little mini-catch of breath seemed to push him over the edge.

He bent his head with exquisite slowness, the powerful shoulders bunching, almost as if drawn to her by a nameless and invisible thread he felt powerless to resist. Saakshi felt her heart lurch with that unholy mix of excitement, attraction, wariness and temptation that she was starting to become familiar with. This is what alarmed her about him, more than anything – the complicated and jumbled emotions that churned in her on the rare occasions she allowed her eyes to fleetingly brush against his at the alehouse. It struck Saakshi blindingly in that instant why it was that she tried so hard to steer clear of him at Pik’s, always conscious of him but striving with everything in her to focus on other tasks and customers. More and more, she had been failing in her attempts to ignore his presence, usually succumbing to temptation to sneak surreptitious glances at him.

A damply abrasive tongue licked exploratively across her nipple, and Saakshi gasped in surprise, all thoughts driven from her mind. The tongue laved at her, tasting her with exquisitely careful strokes. She went rigid, the soft and wet abrasiveness on the sensitized skin holding her in place even as her body quivered. Then, his hot wet mouth was on her, suckling at her breast while his teeth grazed her sensitive skin delicately. This time, a shiver of pleasure shot through her. Saakshi arched her back mutely, unconsciously nudging herself deeper into his mouth. He glanced up from his ministrations to meet gray eyes dazed with pleasure and confusion. The dark eyes held her gaze for a moment before bending down to suckle on her, exploring her thoroughly with his mouth and tongue.

Saakshi watched in a daze as he reared up slightly to gaze down at her. The light cast mysterious shadows on his face, but there was no hiding the glitter in the dark eyes. They burned with fire, his eyes on her as the powerful upper arms and shoulders flexed with the effort to keep his weight off her while his hard abs brushed against her. Saakshi gasped at the sensation, his skin searing into her as she felt the big body rub delicately against her. The feel of hot, hard, smooth and velvety skin gliding against her felt almost too much to bear. She moved restlessly under him, confusion, passion, shock and desire warring together in her. He swallowed convulsively, the strong muscles of his throat working silently as he gave up the fight, giving in to his own long simmering desires. His mouth swooped down to kiss the soft skin under her ear before trailing down her neck. In the grip of strong fever, Saakshi moved her head to the side, offering him her nape with a soft sigh. He lost no time in claiming his prize, his hot wet mouth leaving a searing trail down her neck and between her breasts, leaving Saakshi quivering again. He ignored her breasts to lick a damp path down her stomach and over the sensitive skin around her belly button until he reached the barrier of the robe. Letting go off her wrists, he sprang fluidly back on his knee to reach for the tie that held the robe to her. Despite the haze of passion that held her in thrall, Saakshi couldn’t prevent an anxious whimper as she felt his hands on the only cover that hid her lower body from his gaze. The hand on the tie stilled immediately, his eyes snapping to her. He shifted slightly to meet her eyes.

“Don’t be afraid” he said throatily, his voice huskier than usual. The black eyes held a plea as they met her anxious ones. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He waited patiently, his ragged breaths loud in the room, the dark eyes reassuring as he held her gaze until her eyes gradually lost a little of their anxiety. Through the fog of confusion, pleasure and shock, his gesture reminded Saakshi of the time he had waited patiently for her to make the decision after asking her to trust him to take her safely through the station’s exit sensors.

“Alright?” he asked her softly, his big body held still as he waited for her answer.

Saakshi found herself assenting mutely to his question. He moved slowly to undo the tie, slipping the voluminous robe off her cleanly, to drop it casually by the bed. This time, it was her eyes that followed him as he propelled himself gracefully to his feet. He gazed down at her for a moment, the dark eyes fiercely possessive as she lay vulnerable before him, her arms still stretched over her head although no longer held in place by him. He dropped the towel covering his lower body and Saakshi snapped her eyes quickly shut in response. She felt him nudge her thighs apart. When she dared to peer at him again from between her lashes, it was to see him on one knee between her legs, staring down at the curls between the juncture of her thighs. His eyes blazed, his face intent with passionate curiosity while his thumb drew little soothing circles on the upper thigh of her right leg. She caught a glimpse of glittering eyes before he swooped down to place a soft kiss on the brown curls before rocking back on his knee to seat himself comfortably on the bed between her splayed thighs. Saakshi gasped again, taken aback by the gesture. The thumb ceased its soothing motions as his hand shifted to encircle her right thigh, the pad of his palm sliding sensuously down her leg while the big calloused thumb caressed the smooth skin along its path. He tugged her leg gently up to encircle it just below her knee, at an angle off the bed. A soothing kiss to the sensitive area behind her knee after he nipped at it with his teeth elicited another soft gasp from her. Her arms moved to splay by her side, grasping handfuls of the piliken coverlet she lay on. His hand slid up the elevated leg until it encircled her ankle delicately. He placed a fleeting kiss on the sensitive skin at the sole of her foot, nuzzling into a dainty foot so much smaller than his.

The dazed girl on the bed could only watch him, her initial alarm immeasurably soothed. Soon, he turned his attention away from her foot and back to the juncture of her thighs. His hand holding her leg off the bed by the ankle laid her completely open to him. Saakshi squirmed under the burning gaze, drawing his eyes back to her face.

“Alright?” he asked scratchily, his breathing heavy.

At her silent nod, his free hand gently clasped her other thigh to spread her intimately open to his avid gaze. He leaned in closer, so close that Saakshi could feel his breath on her sensitized skin. She shivered, her hands tightening on the coverlet. He closed the infinitesimal gap to place his lips on her in an intimate kiss. Saakshi gasped, almost coming off the bed as she felt him lap gently at the core of her femininity in a delicate and bold caress. He took it as an invitation to settle in between her spread thighs, his tongue exploring her thoroughly while she squirmed in his grasp, leveraging his clasp on her right ankle and left thigh to position her body to give him complete access to her feminine secrets. Saakshi shuddered uncontrollably on the bed, waves of pleasure rippling through her as he enjoyed her so intimately, her breath coming in rasps. The dark head between her splayed thighs did not glance up, so intent was he on exploring her with his mouth and tasting her on his tongue even as his large hands positioned her body open for his pleasure.

Saakshi shuddered and gasped, her hands scrabbling for purchase on the silken piliken coverlet she held onto as a lifeline. Mindless with passion and almost delirious from the pleasure, she felt him rear up from his position between her knees. Her eyes watched through a haze of unfamiliar desire as he grasped his male part to place it carefully at her feminine entrance, slick with the essence he’d teased out of her, even as the gentle clasp on her right ankle opened her up more for his penetration. Her heart beat fast, suffocatingly loud in her ears, despite her ragged breathing and the mix of confusion and passion she was struggling to come to grips with. One fleeting glance at the large darker gray part of him poised to claim her had her quickly looking away. His big body surged over her, careful to keep his weight off her by bracing his forearms on the bed on either side of her. For a moment, Saakshi found herself drowning in the dark eyes, the blaze in their depths answered by the fire he had stoked in her. He bent his head to the breast he’d ignored before to lap at it delicately. Her eyes closed, her breathing ragged. Every time she gasped softly from the pleasure he elicited with his tongue on her, he employed a subtle twist of his hips to slide a little into her until he was halfway in.

The dark eyes moved to tangle with hers, the fire in the black depths blazing now, his jaw clenched and his face tight with desire.

“So tight” he remarked in his scratchy voice, the words torn from him. “Are you sure you’ve done this before?”

“Yes” she said, a little indignantly through the haze of her own blazing fire. “But he wasn’t this big.”

He chuckled softly at her words.

“You’re right. I am a big murtobak” he acknowledged huskily.

His big body vibrated gently as he chuckled, the part of him inside her vibrating in tandem. Her hips wriggled spontaneously in response to the wonderful sensation. It spurred him on to surge into her with a single powerful thrust as he seated himself to the hilt. She whimpered in reaction, the feeling of being stretched so full almost too much to bear.

“All right, tseriya?” he inquired anxiously. She found herself nodding to reassure him, wanting to rid his voice of the anxiety.

He continued the little rocking movement in her without unseating himself significantly, the dark eyes watching the expressions that raced across her face. After a few minutes of this, he swooped down to capture her lips, tracing them lightly with his tongue. He thrust tentatively into her once and she gasped at the sensation. His tongue took immediate advantage to slide in, tasting and lapping at the inside of her mouth. Saakshi moaned softly into his mouth as pleasure swept over her from his slow thrusts into her. She moved restlessly under him in wordless encouragement. He rocked back and thrust powerfully, his tongue mimicking the action in her mouth.

“Look at me” the husky command swept through her as he reared up to watch her. “I want to watch your eyes as you become mine.”

Saakshi obeyed him, staring helplessly into the burning eyes, his expression a little savage as he ground into her, his thrusts getting progressively deeper and faster. A nameless pleasure built slowly within her, speeding towards an unknown climax. She writhed under him, past the point of no return. He leant down to trace the little point of her right ear and nip the fleshy part near the top. It drove her over the edge and she screamed with pleasure as she came. When she was done, she lay back, limp and exhausted, while he gripped the coverlet strongly to increase the tempo of his body as he thrust into her. His face tightened with an expression of exquisite torture and Saakshi clasped him to her in response. One small hand caressed his back soothingly. Her ownership bracelet with the attached suppressor device grazed his back, but he ignored it. His eyes stared fiercely into her sated ones to hold her captive while he pumped into her. Something squeezed delicately at her heart as he gave a soft grunt, surging into her one final time with a hoarse cry, to spill his essence inside her.

Saakshi allowed her eyes to close as he slumped over her, careful to keep his weight off her while he buried his face in the crook of her neck. She relaxed, pleased by the feel of his lips on her nape. They lay entwined together for a few minutes, their hearts beating in tandem, neither inclined to any conversation. Her hand, the one without the ownership bracelet, caressed his shoulder and back without conscious thought. She felt a soft kiss on her nape before he extricated himself from her to climb off the bed, his movements surprisingly graceful for such a large man.

“Stay here” he directed quietly, the dark eyes mysterious in the soft light.

Obedient to his wishes, Saakshi lay unmoving, her sated body disinclined to let go of the wonderful aftermath. The entire experience felt like a dream to her.

Wow, who knew it could be like this? The male wasn’t joking - he certainly has a healthy sexual appetite. I can barely muster the strength to move.

The Captain returned with a warm and wet towelette and proceeded to clean her between the thighs with gentle care. Saakshi squirmed in wordless protest.

“Allow me” he met her eyes directly. “It is my pleasure.”

She lay back without further protest and let him have his pleasure, her arms coming up to cover herself.

“Was I too rough with you?” he asked her, the dark eyes candid and earnest.

Her eyes shot to him, the remembered sensations washing over her.

“No” she shook her head shyly. “You were perfect.”

A singularly attractive smile lit up his face as he gazed down at her, the black eyes possessive as they roamed over her.

“Perfect, hmm?” he remarked huskily.

Saakshi couldn’t help but nod mutely in assent.

He headed back into the bathing enclosure with the used towelette, gloriously male in his nakedness. Saakshi sat up to glance around the chamber. She was suddenly nervous. They were done, and he didn’t seem too disappointed. But she wasn’t sure what the protocol was in this situation. Should she perhaps get ready to return to her dormitory?  She glanced down at herself, deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to at least be dressed when she faced him again. She hurried over to where she’d placed her uniform and underclothes after the shower, to tug on the fraying piece of underclothing that was one of the only two sets she owned. The tips from Trader Pik’s would need to be applied towards some new underclothes soon, she sighed.

“Going somewhere?” inquired a deep male voice from behind her.

She whipped around, hoping he wouldn’t notice the holes in the serviceable underclothing she had on; the only thing covering her.

“I wasn’t sure … I thought I’d go back to the dorm and … umm… leave the bed to you” she stammered.

“I’m willing to share” he offered, his voice rife with soft persuasion. “Stay with me. I’ll walk you over before your shift begins tomorrow.”

For the third time that evening, he held out his hand to her, completely unselfconscious of his nudity.

Saakshi walked over to him and let him lead her to the bed, scooting over to make room for him. He pulled out a blanket from a unit under the bed to place it over them both. His voice activated the room controls until just a faint light from the bathing enclosure permeated the room. He settled down on his side to face her as she lay on her back to stare at the ceiling with one arm folded on her ribcage. His big hand played with the fingers of her hand that rested on her chest.

“Alright, tseriya?” he asked softly.

“Yes” she answered, her voice equally soft.

He lay silent beside her, his breathing progressively more even until his hand stopped playing with her fingers although he still retained his clasp of her hand. Saakshi assumed that he’d fallen asleep when he spoke again.

“Zoran” he said suddenly into the darkness.

Saakshi turned her head to look at him.

“My name” he explained. “Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor. Call me Zoran.”

He pronounced his name by rolling out the z and r sounds.

“Zoran” she tested his name on her tongue. “I’m glad you came to Trader Pik’s.”

She caught a brief flash of white as he smiled in the darkness.

“Saakshi neh Merama tik Ulmik pura Bedana. Call me Saakshi.”

“Saakshi” he mused, drawing out the aa sound like she had done. “It’s pretty. What does it mean?”

“It means ‘witness’ in a very old language called Sanskrit that is not spoken any more. My people believe that Budhi was originally derived from Sanskrit.”

“It suits you.”

Then, a short while later.

“Saakshi” he said huskily, his voice rough with sleep. “I’m glad you came to me for help.”

Sometime later in the night, she was awakened by warm hands and urgent lips.

“Don’t like this” an indignant voice muttered over her. “Want to feel you.”

She felt hands tugging at her underclothes, growing progressively impatient with frustration. A ripping sound followed by the tattered remnants of her underclothes being taken off her roused Saakshi enough to try and protest the massacre of one of the only two pairs of underclothing she possessed. She attempted sleepily to form the words to explain the urgency of the matter to him. The hands reached for her, clasping her tightly to his warm skin before going slack, the owner of the hands breathing gently into her neck as he slept with her cradled into the curve of his big body. Saakshi gave up all attempts to explain, falling back into exhausted sleep – she’d worry about her underclothes tomorrow.

Zoran slipping carefully out of the cozy bed awoke Saakshi again at dawn. She opened bleary eyes to mutter an incoherent protest at the sudden removal of his big warm body.

“Sleep, tseriya. I’ll wake you before your shift” he reassured her softly.

Saakshi felt a feather-soft kiss on her shoulder and a second blanket wrapped around her as she drifted back into sleep again.

She felt refreshed when she awoke for the third time, a feeling of warmth and happy lethargy permeating her. The soft sheets under her and the cozy blanket over her puzzled her for a moment as she gazed around her, a little disoriented and not properly awake yet. The bed felt much larger than the narrow one she usually slept in, the chamber looked much more opulent than her utilitarian dorm, and she seemed to be completely naked under the covers. It was the last discovery that had Saakshi blinking abruptly awake. Her eyes swept the room to find the Hadari’Kor male seated comfortably in the Conversation Section.

Captain. No ... Zoran. His name is Zoran.

Images from the night before swept over her as memories from their passionate encounter surged back to her.

Don’t be afraid. I won’t let anything happen to you.

Colorful tattoos that shimmered and rippled on his chest while he gazed down at her with blazing hungry eyes.

Look at me. I want to watch your eyes while I make you mine.

His dark head between her splayed thighs as he lapped at her intimately with his tongue.

So tight. Are you sure you’ve done this before?

His tongue sliding into her mouth in an imitation of his action as he thrust powerfully into her.

Alright, tseriya?

The vivid memories overwhelmed her as she studied him intently, his boot clad feet propped casually up on the oval center table. He was dressed in the black uniform he favored, his attention focused on a tablet in his hand while steam arose from the mug he held in his other hand. He must have sensed her, for he turned his head to look at her. Her heart gave the same uncomfortable lurch that only he seemed to elicit from her. He put down the tablet in his hand to take a sip of his hot drink, his eyes resting on her. Those dark eyes, usually such a good mirror of his thoughts, held an expression this morning she couldn’t read.

“You’re awake. Good” he remarked. “You’ve a couple of hours before you start your shift.”

She merely stared back at him in a sleepy haze, and his lips quirked with amusement, taking in her flushed skin and sleep-kissed eyes.

“Not a morning person, hmm?” he murmured.

He sauntered over with his drink to gaze down at her prone figure before holding out a hand to her.

“Come on, sleepyhead. Let’s get you into the shower. We don’t want you to be late for work the first time you stay over.”

Her response was to pull the blanket more securely around her, supremely conscious of her nakedness under it. She glanced at the hand he held out to her, the blanket that covered her, and the entrance to the bathing enclosure that felt like miles away in her current state.

“Nothing I didn’t see last night, tseriya” he remarked, supremely amused by her reaction.

Saakshi flushed, unable to meet his laughing eyes.

“All right” he sighed theatrically. “I will turn my back if I must.”

True to his word, he turned away and Saakshi hurried to slip out of the covers and dash into the bathing enclosure.

When Saakshi came out again, attired in the big fluffy robe from last night that had miraculously found its way back on its hook in the enclosure, he held out a tablet to her from where he stood by the dinner table.

“The menu for the Synthesizer” he pointed towards the family-sized Food Synthesizer in the corner she’d observed the night before. “Pick something and it’ll be ready by the time you’re dressed.”

Saakshi glanced around, looking for the uniform she’d left neatly folded on a chair by the Conversation Section. It was too dirty to wear for the day. She’d have to go by her dorm to change before she showed up for her shift at Trader Pik’s.

“I sent your uniform out to be laundered this morning. It came back while you were in the shower” he gestured at a neat bundle on the bed.

Pleasure bloomed, somewhere deep in her, at the simple gesture that spoke volumes about him.

“Thank you. That is very kind of you” she thanked him, completely disarmed by his thoughtfulness. He nodded, a little uncomfortable by her gratitude for the simple act.

She scrolled through the list on the tablet to order herself a hearty nutritious platter, transmitting the order to the Synthesizer.

“Would you like some coffa?” Zoran offered, gesturing at his fresh steaming drink.

A strong but pleasing aroma wafted gently from his cup.

“I’ve never had coffa before” she confessed.

“Never?” Zoran exclaimed incredulously. Coffa was widely available everywhere due to its popularity across different worlds and races.

“On my home world, it is illegal for Budheya to imbibe coffa. The limited supply is intended exclusively for the Ketaari occupation forces.”

Zoran stared at her, silenced by her simple admission. The Ketaari liked to call their domain the Budh-Ketaari Empire to paper over the façade of their occupation of a peaceful and accomplished people. He’d even fought on occasion for the Ketaari, though he personally found them a little uncivilized and repugnant with their constant war-mongering, inexhaustible greed for territory, and their racist treatment of all their non-Ketaari subjects. Even the Hadari’Kor, whose traditional way of life was to earn a living by using their formidable skills to fight for whichever side was willing to pay top currency, found the Ketaari’s unhealthy eagerness to conquer and subjugate too much to stomach. And that was before he’d met this little Budheya girl who looked like she hadn’t had a square meal in her life, had pain implants forcibly injected into her body, had been sent off to a lawless and potentially dangerous space station to work long hours with no pay, was shackled by an ownership bracelet to signify her slave status, and had been reduced to offering herself to a stranger to escape the fate of being the plaything of the same occupiers who had spent the last century grinding the collective faces of her people into the dirt. Zoran found himself clenching his jaw against a blinding burst of sudden rage at the injustice of it all.

“Well …” he drawled, aiming for lightheartedness. “Since we don’t give a hoot about Ketaari …”

“Sons of swines” she interjected.

“Exactly” he stated with approval. “I decree that you shall try some coffa. I assure you that my coffa brewing skills are spoken of with awe in at least three star systems.”

“I would like that” she replied, a grin springing to her lips.

He programmed the Food Synthesizer into coffa brewer mode and commenced the careful art of measuring out the ingredients necessary to provide the addictive taste of a perfect cup of coffa.

A gasp from behind him diverted Zoran’s attention from his careful task. He placed the ingredients aside to turn around. Saakshi was staring down at the intricately worked piliken underclothes he’d found after spending the morning scouring the businesses on the space station. She reached hesitantly for the neatly folded bundle to run a wondering finger over the fine ultrasoft fitted bodice before glancing back at him, her eyes full of surprised inquiry.

“It’s for you. I got it to replace the one I damaged last night.”

“No” she shook her head forcefully, her response immediate and heartfelt.

“No?” he repeated slowly.

“I cannot accept such an expensive gift from you.”

The expression on his face tightened and his eyes went carefully blank.

“I spent an hour this morning trying to find the right fit. I even took in the torn one to get your size right” he informed her tersely, his voice brusque with anger.

Saakshi stared back him, an uncertain expression on her face.

“Look” he said impatiently. “I ripped it off you last night. So, can we just call this a replacement and leave it at that?”

After an infinitesimal hesitation, Saakshi nodded reluctantly. She knew that it was much more than a replacement. It was the most luxurious thing she’d ever owned in her life. But Zoran’s expression was thunderous and she didn’t want to rock this new arrangement between them before she had figured out the parameters of it.

“Thank you” she muttered, turning away towards the bathing enclosure to change.

“You can thank me by letting me see you in it sometime” he suggested huskily from behind her.

Saakshi fled into the bathing enclosure.

The ensuing meal was conducted mostly in silence, although Saakshi did enjoy her first taste of coffa. She stole sidelong glances at Zoran, who continued to look coldly implacable and completely unapproachable. Things were still tense between them as they approached the space station in the small docking shuttle. Saakshi wondered a little despairingly whether their arrangement was at an end. Suddenly, he turned to her to reach for her hand. She watched as he unclipped the suppressor device still attached to her ownership bracelet from the night before. He clasped her palm in his larger hand to place the tiny silver-colored disk on it carefully before closing her fingers around it. He continued to hold her fist closed over the device, his hand enclosing hers.

“I want you to keep this” he directed, holding up his other hand to forestall any protest in advance.

“I have no use for this device - I got it for you. You’ll need it if you ever need to get to me or my ship in a hurry.”

Saakshi nodded mutely to signal her acceptance, utterly disarmed again by his generosity.

“Thank you” she placed her other hand briefly over his, holding her fist closed.

At the soft words, the remaining anger leached out of his eyes and his face relaxed. His hand let go of her fist.

“Be careful with it and don’t keep it on you except when you need to bypass the sensors. Keeyori law makes it illegal for you to have a suppressor device on your person while on this station. So, make sure you hide it somewhere easily accessible. Alright?” he asked, wanting to make sure that she comprehended his message.

Saakshi nodded to indicate that she understood him. His eyes scanned her face, leaning forward to place a quick hard kiss on her lips before stepping away, seemingly content. Saakshi guessed that the gift was his way of letting her know that he planned to be around.

He walked her over to Trader Pik’s and left her with a quiet admonition to not leave the premises until he could make it over to escort her to his ship.

Five

Zoran strode into Pik’s a few hours before the end of her last shift. He waited patiently by the semi-circular bar for Saakshi to return from serving a large table.

“Have dinner with me tonight, tseriya?” he asked persuasively.

Saakshi only had time for a quick glance at him while she readied cups and goblets for her next order.

“I still have a few hours until I’m done.”

“I can wait. I’ll set it up in my chamber?” he asked, his voice threaded with a faint query.

She nodded quickly, without looking up from loading the goblets onto a large tray. When she glanced up again, he was gone.

He was waiting to escort her when Saakshi glanced around, having handed her tablet to the server girl for the next shift. He leant indolently against a wall by the main walkway, an intimidating glare from those dark eyes dispatching anyone foolish enough to stop and give him a second glance. Though he’d picked a position that made him easily visible from the bar and the open seating area around it, she noted that he’d chosen to wait for her outside Trader Pik’s. Saakshi plucked the suppressor device from the underside of the bar where she’d placed it for safekeeping to clip it onto her bracelet before heading out to him.

He glanced down at her as she came up beside him. A smile lurked in the dark eyes as he studied her.

“Ready?” he inquired.

She nodded her assent and they fell in seamlessly with the crowd moving through the walkway. He walked beside her this time, glaring at anyone who dared to step too close to her.

“Hungry?” he asked her, once they were alone in the dock shuttle.

“Very” she was honest. “Thank you for waiting for me.”

He stepped closer to her, wrapping one arm around her waist to clasp her to his big body while he fisted the other delicately in her hair to hold her for him as he bent his head. Tiny nibbling kisses at the corners of her mouth teased her, a sensuous request for admission. The moment she opened for him, his tongue surged in, his kiss hot and urgent. He kissed her thoroughly, pulling back only when the shuttle alarm beeped its proximity to the starship dock. Saakshi stared up at him, dazed and reeling from the kiss. He looked back at her; his breathing heavy and his eyes blazing with the nameless emotion she’d noted before when his gaze would follow her around Trader Pik’s.

“Need to feed you first” he muttered. “I can wait.”

He tugged her gently by her hand to tread the somewhat familiar path to his chamber. Once inside, he ushered her to the dinner table. It had been set up for two with platters of food and a rectangular wine chiller with a selection of bottles. Saakshi stared at the assortment of food in awe.

“I don’t know what you like, so I got a little of everything” he explained.

“Oh” she gasped in stunned amazement, dazzled by the variety and quantity of the spread laid out. “I’m not picky. I like most food. Is this from the Synthesizer?”

“No. It’s been prepared by the ship chef.”

“Real food?” she exclaimed anew. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve had any since before they put me in prison. And never a feast like this” she added shyly.

He held out a chair for her in invitation before seating her with old-fashioned courtesy.

“Shall I uncork some wine for us?” he offered. “It’s real too. I had to raid Chef’s secret stash.”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having. I’ve only had wine once in my life and that was synthesized.”

He scanned the various bottles carefully to select a pale green one, uncorking the bottle efficiently to pour the liquid into the delicate wine goblets set out for them.

He seated himself across from Saakshi to gesture at the spread on the table.

“Help yourself” he encouraged. “Let me know if there’s something you’re not familiar with. This is mostly what I like that Chef could get on short notice.”

Saakshi helped herself to a little of everything, and then sat back to enjoy the unexpected bounty. Zoran ate slowly and methodically but seemed to put away an enormous quantity of food all the same. He caught her staring at him and smiled.

“We don’t eat like this all the time, you know. Just when we’re on downtime. When we fight, it’s all synthesized food.”

“Then, this is downtime for you?”

“Not quite” he shook his head. “We’re on a job, although most of the time, we can dock at this station and still get it done.”

Saakshi wanted to ask him about his job. Pik had told her that he was currently on contract with the Alliance, but she hesitated, not sure whether he would welcome her questions when it came to his profession.

When Saakshi had eaten her fill, she glanced up to observe the Captain’s black eyes intent on her as he sipped his wine.

“No Terilian ale for you?” she teased.

He chuckled in response.

“Not tonight. I love the stuff, but I’ve probably drunk as much Terilian ale in the last couple of months as I have before in all my life.”

She stared at him, her gray eyes wide with surprise.

“What? You think I go to strange alehouses to spend hours drinking Terilian ale by myself for the sheer entertainment of it?” he asked her, one dark eyebrow arched in amused inquiry.

“I thought that was how Hadari’Kor relaxed. You know, a break from all the fighting” she answered slowly, her words uncertain and halting.

His lips twisted with amusement.

“I can drink ale here in my chamber, or in company of my mercs in any of the ship’s recreation rooms. That is not what attracted me to Trader Pik’s. I went to Pik’s to catch a glimpse of a beautiful server girl who never gave me a second look and yet haunted my dreams” he declared softly in that husky, scratchy voice.

“Oh” Saakshi stammered, unable to look away from the almost hypnotic quality of the black eyes.

He thinks I am beautiful.

A heavy silence full of anticipation descended on them. Saakshi stared into slumberous dark eyes, her heart pounding with excitement.

“Shower or bed?” he asked eventually.

“Umm … shower, please. I’ve worked a double shift” she managed to stutter under the gamut of dark eyes that tempted her with excitement, danger and unbridled passion.

He stood up to pour himself more wine. When he sat back down, his eyes had almost reverted back to normal.

“Go ahead. I’ll have the table cleared up while you shower.”

Saakshi almost ran into the bathing enclosure. When she returned, attired in the ubiquitous robe, he’d taken off his boots and was relaxing with yet more wine. The dinner table looked pristine, cleared of all the food and plates.

“I think I’ll take a shower too.” He put down his goblet of wine to head into the bathing enclosure.

When Zoran returned a while later, he found Saakshi asleep by the edge of the bed. She lay curled up like a child with her damp hair fanned out on the coverlet, still enveloped by his robe. Her breath formed little puffs through lips open just a smidgeon, her lashes creating half-moons over her eyes. Those weary eyes! Her eyes had been what had drawn his attention to her first. That, and the pull of a sexual attraction that had slammed into Zoran to catch him completely unawares. Zoran had always gone for warrior females. Females like him – independent, able to handle themselves in a fight and wedded to a peripatetic, demanding and high-pressure profession as soldiers in the never-ending war responsible for igniting a blaze in this corner of space.

His little Budheya, on the other hand, had grown up in a hard scrabble of an existence, fighting for sheer survival, her people trodden under the rule of the brutal Ketaari. Yet, somehow, despite the hardships, she had survived with a sense of optimism and a capacity to enjoy life. And with a sweetness and an innocence that squeezed at his heart to leave him chock-full with unfamiliar feelings and emotions that reached deep into Zoran’s soul to shake him at his very core. In sleep, she looked young, defenseless and vulnerable. As he watched over Saakshi’s exhausted self, Zoran made himself a silent pledge. He would no longer stand by the sidelines anymore, he vowed. Her approaching him for assistance, with a tentative and hesitant appeal, had warmed his soul just as the proposition she had offered him had enraged every fiber of his being. But as Zoran gazed down at her, he also understood that circumstances offered him a golden opportunity, one he had secretly desired for a long time now. He was going to make damn certain he didn’t screw this up, he promised himself fiercely. Zoran tugged a pillow under her sleeping head, adjusted her to leave her sleeping more comfortably on the vast bed, and covered her with a blanket before striding off to get dressed and make some calls.

Saakshi luxuriated in the sensations of an amazing dream where warm hands, damp lips and an inquisitive tongue explored every inch of her, leisurely. The tongue moved up her stomach in a damp trail to leave behind little tingling spots of pleasure on her skin. To her breasts where a warm mouth suckled while the tongue laved at her nipples. She stretched languorously on the soft coverlet in her dream-like state. Her eyes half-opened to stare down at the black head and gray shoulders focused solely on his ministrations at her bosom. Her body arched off the bed languidly, sleepily nudging her breast into his ravenous mouth as her hands reached out to cradle his dark head to her. She sighed softly as her fingers ran through the thick, coarse hair. His dark eyes snapped up to meet her slumberous ones, his mouth still suckling on her. The blazing fire in the depths of the black eyes made Saakshi’s heart pound in its cage like a wild animal. She liked this dream very much, Saakshi sighed with satisfaction. Her eyes closed as she felt her thighs being nudged apart where he lay between them. The big body surged over her, bracing himself on either side of her with his forearms as he seated himself in her with a few deliberate thrusts. She gasped aloud, awakened abruptly to alertness as she felt his fullness in her.

“Alright, tseriya?” he inquired huskily.

Zoran waited for her to confirm she was alright before commencing to move in her, slowly at first, but gradually increasing the tempo of his deep thrusts. He stared down into her gray eyes, his own filled with an unfathomable emotion, his expression tight with desire. She reached out instinctively to stroke him, caressing the sleek lines on his shoulder to feel the rippling muscles there as they flexed with his thrusts. The thick base of her ownership bracelet grazed his shoulder. Saakshi ceased the caress abruptly to bring her hand back down to grip the coverlet.

He stopped in mid flex to stare down at her.

“Don’t stop, tseriya” he gasped out, his breathing ragged. “I like it when you touch me.”

She hesitated.

“I don’t care about the bracelet. I can barely feel it.” He leaned down to take her mouth in a hard kiss.

“I would be proud to wear your mark with the other battle scars I carry on me” he said hoarsely.

Her hands came up to clasp him closer and his eyes closed on a long sigh.

Saakshi wriggled her hips, urging him closer to clamp her slim legs, toned from years in the resistance, over his hips. That was all the encouragement he needed to snap his eyes open and start moving in her. Saakshi squeezed his big body with her hands and legs to hold him closer, her body wordlessly attempting to communicate what she was not yet ready to. He groaned in response, an intensely masculine sound as he flexed into her, faster and harder. The black eyes watched as she shattered into a million pieces with a scream, his own eyes wild and out of control. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his jaw, holding her sated eyes captive as he approached his own climax while she still clasped him tightly to her. He came with a guttural groan, the large body taut before he slumped over her with his face cradled in the curve between her shoulder and neck. Saakshi soothed one hand over his flushed back, and ran the other through his thick hair as a mix of contentment and happiness flooded her. Gradually, his breathing slowed down and his big body relaxed. Only then did he slip out of her, flipping over to lie beside her. Zoran reached for her, drawing her body close. He lay on his back, head pillowed on one arm while the other held her clasped to him. They lay together in contented silence.

“You don’t have any scars” Saakshi remarked softly.

“Hmm?” he asked, a big calloused finger unconsciously drawing lazy circles over her hip.

“You implied that you carry battle scars, but I don’t see any” she explained.

“The tattoos hide them, but you can feel them when you touch me.”

The large hand over her hip grasped one of her palms to guide it to his chest, encouraging her to feel his skin and the calluses and scars all over, before it resumed its previous occupation of drawing circles on her hip.

“I fight for a living, tseriya. I carry plenty of marks of being a merc.”

She caressed her fingers slowly over him, tracing the tattoos and reveling in the feel of the smooth warm skin marred by little puckers and scars. He wanted to wear his scars, she realized. They symbolized something important to him. He had access to medical technology that could easily take care of the scars, but he’d chosen to proudly wear them.

“So … umm … last night and now … was it? What I mean is … was it … umm” she stammered, unable to come right out and ask him what had been on her mind since their first time together.

Zoran turned his head to look at her, his eyes wicked with masculine amusement.

“Are you fishing for compliments, tseriya?” his voice was bland, the tone belied by the expression in his eyes.

“Oh no” she was earnest. “Just wondering if I’ve … if you’re satisfied. You did warn me that you’re hard to please” she muttered, horrendously embarrassed.

A hint of dark color surged up his cheeks. For the first time since she had known him, he looked discomfited. For a moment, he hesitated.

“Forget what I said that day. I was furious and said a lot of things I didn’t mean. It wasn’t one of my finer moments.”

He paused briefly while Saakshi pondered his words.

“To answer your question, I’m completely and utterly satisfied. This is better than anything I ever imagined” he stated softly, the expression in the dark eyes stark and with no pretense.

She dropped her gaze from him to concentrate on tracing a tattoo on his chest with her fingers. His hand abandoned the interesting geometric patterns it had been busy doodling on her hip to encapsulate the smaller palm busy on his chest. His clasp held her hand flush against his heart.

“You did a very brave thing that day when you came to me for help” the black eyes were sober. “I will admit my initial reaction was governed by my temper, but once I’d calmed down, I could appreciate the enormous courage it took you to come to me.”

Saakshi studied her hand, the one cradled within his larger one as it rested against his heart.

“All those weeks at Pik’s when you watched me, I was never frightened of you. A little self-conscious sometimes, especially when the other server girls teased me” she confessed softly. “I’ve had to survive on my instincts for a while now, and they told me that you meant me no harm. Not like the Unta-Golar. He terrifies me” her voice trembled with the hint of a quiver, despite her best attempts.

Zoran took a firmer grip of the small palm enclosed in his larger one to squeeze it reassuringly.

“I won’t let him get his hands on you” he vowed, his voice steady and the black eyes urging her to believe him. “You trusted me enough to come to me. Now, I’m asking you believe me.”

Saakshi found herself staring into dark eyes awash with unspoken promises. After a long moment, she nodded mutely.

A long while later, she braved herself to question him on another matter she’d been very curious about.

“When I came to you that day, were you sure we’d be compatible?” she asked curiously.

“Oh, I was very sure you’d be compatible the first time I laid eyes on you at Pik’s” he countered promptly, with a very satisfied masculine expression in the depth of his eyes.

Saakshi flushed at the look on his face and he chuckled softly in response.

“I meant … that we’re different species and …” she trailed off.

“Aah, you’re asking about inter-species compatibility between our peoples” he remarked, his voice still threaded by teasing laughter.

“I’ve always known that Budheya and Hadari’Kor are compatible” he stated a little smugly. That was why he’d watched her all those months, allowing himself to hope that he could do something about the attraction one day when his life was less complicated. When he was done fighting someone else’s war as a mercenary.

“How?” she stared at him in surprise, shyness and embarrassment forgotten in the quest to satisfy her curiosity.

“Are you familiar with the history of my people? That we originated on two neighboring planets” he inquired.

Saakshi nodded. The Hadari’Kor had originally called the two neighboring planets of Hadari and Kor home. The inhabitants of both planets, though descended from the same race, had once been engaged in a bitter war centuries ago. A brokered agreement had brought peace and encouraged the free mingling of tribes from both worlds. They now called themselves Hadari’Kor in recognition of the two worlds they looked upon as home.

“There was once a civil war between the two planets until re-unification” she said.

“Yes” he nodded. “The brokered peace at the height of a bitter and brutal civil war was negotiated by your people – the Budheya” he explained. “The Budheya sent envoys and negotiators to both our planets and eventually, a contingent of neutral keepers of the peace during the first fragile peace agreement. Some of these peacekeepers eventually took mates from both the planets of Hadari and Kor to leave behind families on my world. Many generations later, you can still see some Budheya genes in their descendants on both worlds. So, yes, I was pretty sure we were compatible.”

He paused in his explanation to smile at Saakshi who was staring at him in sheer astonishment.

“I was so sure of our compatibility, in more ways than one, that I made sure to take a precautionary contraceptive jab before we became lovers.”

It had been more wild hope than anything else, if Zoran were honest. But he kept that to himself.

“Umm” she stammered, “you needn’t have bothered about that. The Ketaari prisons always force timed-release contraceptives on all their prisoners to cover the duration of the prison term.”

He nodded, having suspected the same. She mused over the extraordinary information Zoran had just shared.

“My people remember nothing about this peace agreement they brokered on your world. There must be a record of it in our great libraries and centers of learning, although I guess it is to the advantage of the Ketaari to keep us in the dark” she contemplated aloud, thoughtfully.

Zoran’s eyes softened.

“One day, when your people are free, Saakshi, they will read about the extraordinary accomplishments of their ancestors, and feel pride in all their achievements and the goodwill they generated across the galaxy” he said quietly.

His words felt almost like a premonition. One that Saakshi desperately wanted to believe would come to pass.

The next morning, Zoran woke her with a mug of steaming coffa. While a tad pensive and preoccupied, he had nevertheless not forgotten to thoughtfully send out her uniform and the new expensive underclothes to be laundered in readiness for her shift. They shared a meal from the Food Synthesizer before he walked her to Trader Pik’s. On the way over, he informed her that he would be gone on business for a few days, and that a friend of his would be available to escort her to and fro from her dorm and to keep an eye out for the Unta-Golar. Saakshi hid an unexpected sense of disappointment and refrained from imploring him to be careful. Instead, she smiled at him while she wished him a pleasant trip before heading into Trader Pik’s without a backward glance.

Six

Two unusual events marked that day for Saakshi. First, Pik made one of his extremely rare appearances halfway through Saakshi’s first shift to inform her that she would be moving to the busy evening shift in two days. It meant that she’d come in early afternoon for one longer and slow shift, followed by a shorter busy shift. She’d be done much later in the night than she was now, but her mornings would be free. Saakshi was overjoyed by the unexpected bounty. From what she’d been told, new server girls were expected to put in at least a year at Pik’s before they were put on the short list for the coveted busy shift. Her earnings in the form of tips would increase while her work hours at Pik’s would shorten. Saakshi’s first unbidden thought was to share her joy with Zoran, until she remembered that she wouldn’t be seeing him for a few days.

Then, towards the end of her second shift, a male Hadari’Kor strode confidently into Trader Pik’s and up to the semi-circular bar where she was busy setting up drinks. She recognized him as the male who occasionally kept company with Zoran at Pik’s. He had also been the one to escort her back from Zoran’s starship that first day after his Captain had stormed off in a fury.

“I’ll walk you to your dorm when you’re done” the male informed her.

Saakshi glanced up at him to acknowledge his statement. He must be the one tasked with making sure the Unta-Golar didn’t harass her while Zoran was away, she guessed.

“I’ll be waiting outside” he let her know, before striding away.

After the end of her shift and a quick meal in the back room, Saakshi met up with the Hadari’Kor male by the walkway outside the entrance to Pik’s.

“Jolar Hadari-Begur-Kor. Call me Jolar” he introduced himself, his voice deep and low like Zoran’s, but without the husky, almost scratchy, quality of Zoran’s voice she found so sexy.

His big muscular build and coloring with light-gray skin, dark eyes and jet black hair worn short to the nape reminded her of Zoran, but that was where the similarities ended, for the two Hadari’Kor males did not resemble one another.

“I’m Saakshi neh Merama tik Ulmik pura Bedana. Please call me Saakshi” she invited the big male who was almost as massive as Zoran. She had estimated that Zoran was easily a foot and a half taller than her. The Hadari’Kor, Saakshi surmised, were built on a colossal scale with their naturally big frames honed into lean and well-muscled fighting machines by the demands of their chosen profession.

He guided her onto the main thoroughfare, clearing a path for her through the crowds in a manner reminiscent of Zoran - his big body and intimidating scowl routing anyone who dared to linger in his wake. His demeanor towards Saakshi was solicitous and protective, but aloof, his eyes alertly scanning the crowds around her for signs of potential trouble. He waited until she was safely through the dorm entry sensors before bidding her a quiet good eve. Jolar informed Saakshi that he would present himself in the morning to escort her to Trader Pik’s before striding away.

The next day passed uneventfully for Saakshi. The promise of shorter shifts had added an unexpected spring in her step. She flew through her double shift, her mind in a happy daze that lasted through Jolar’s silent escort back to her dorm. When thoughts about Zoran’s absence intruded during unwary moments, she was able to silence any disquiet.

The third day, her last one on the current shift schedule, started promisingly with Saakshi dreaming happily of sleeping in late and having her mornings free to explore the station. Such moments of simple joy had been so rare in her life - even rarer after she’d been imprisoned by the Ketaari - that she felt all the more bereft when reminded rudely of the ugly reality of her life. Towards the last hour of her final shift, the Unta-Golar sauntered into Pik’s, accompanied by two Ketaari males. Saakshi watched the group seat themselves at one of her tables with a sinking heart. Having exhausted all excuses to delay, she headed to their table. The three males gave her their drink orders without much fuss or banter, though she couldn’t fail to catch the speculative glances directed at her by the Unta-Golar’s companions. The Unta-Golar wore an expression of mingled viciousness and hungry anticipation that made her silently thank Zoran for his thoughtfulness and foresight in delegating Jolar as his surrogate in his absence.

She kept one wary eye on the Ketaari group, even as she served her other customers. When the new server girls burst into Pik’s, thus signaling the end of her shift, a relieved Saakshi assumed that perhaps she’d dodged the fire this time. It was the start of the first of the busy shifts, and in the flurry of activity involving the four server girls who would handle the new shift and the two servers ending the current one, no one noticed the Ketaari male grasp Saakshi roughly by her arm to detain her in one corner of the alehouse before she could escape into the back room for her meal.

“What do you want?” she snarled at him, trying to pull her arm away from the implacable grip.

His response was to squeeze the arm cruelly until she stopped struggling and forced herself to stand still, even as she continued to glare at him.

“Why Budh, I thought you’d be happy to see me” he taunted softly with a sneer. “I hear your Neanderthal HadKor has abandoned you and scuttled off to fight someone else’s war.”

“The answer is still no” she bit out, teeth clenched through the biting pain in her arm.

“Oh, I’m not planning to give you a choice this time” he sneered in response. “I’ll be waiting for you – you can’t stay at Pik’s forever.”

He exerted a little more pressure on the arm he held in a vicious grip until she couldn’t hold back a wince of pain. Saakshi watched him saunter back to his table and his companions, her arm aching with the dull pain of his bruising grip. She hurried into the back to eat her meal while a feeling of black despair slowly coiled through her to displace the anticipation and joy of the past few days. She could now acknowledge to herself why she’d been almost giddy with excitement and happiness since that fateful night when Zoran had come to her aid to rout the Ketaari Unta-Golar. It was an emotion she’d been careful to not acknowledge or encourage, given her circumstances. Saakshi had not allowed herself to believe or hope that something so wonderful could be gifted to her, and in such horrendous circumstances.

A few moments of quiet reflection in the back room helped Saakshi regain her composure. But she knew how much of a façade it was. When she made her way out of Pik’s, nothing of her inner turmoil showed on her face. Saakshi strode confidently towards the main walkway outside Pik’s where she knew Jolar waited for her, as was his usual wont. Strolling out with her head held high, Saakshi observed the Unta-Golar leave his companions to follow in her wake.

Jolar, waiting patiently for her, turned his head to watch her approach, his casual stance charging into alertness as he glimpsed the expression on her face. His arrested gaze narrowed on her as he straightened from his indolent position by the wall. One glimpse of the Ketaari male following her was enough to spur him off the wall in a flash to place himself between Saakshi and the Unta-Golar. The Unta-Golar came to an abrupt halt as the Hadari’Kor male barred his way. Jolar stared aggressively down at the shorter male.

“You don’t get to touch her, Urm Ghesh” he stated coldly.

Ghesh blinked up at Jolar, taken aback by the Hadari’Kor male’s presence. Focused in his pursuit of Saakshi, he had failed to notice Jolar. After the first shock, he burst into taunting laughter.

“How many HadKor protectors have you acquired, Budh?” he directed with a sneer at Saakshi.

Before Saakshi could respond to the taunt, Jolar spoke up quietly but forcefully.

“Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor will destroy anyone who touches so much as a hair on Saakshi’s head without her permission.”

The Unta-Golar stopped in his tracks, nonplussed by Jolar’s words. His source had obviously failed to inform him that Zoran had left behind a surrogate to watch over Saakshi.

“Zoran will be back in a few days, Ghesh” Jolar continued. “He’s already taught you a lesson when you tried to force Saakshi against her will. Unless you want him to continue that lesson, I’d advise you to get off this station before he’s back.”

Ghesh hesitated, casting a fleeting glance at his Ketaari companions, who watched the tableau with interest and curiosity. When he directed his attention back to the large and hostile Hadari’Kor mercenary facing him, there was a flicker of uncertainty on his pale face.

“Listen to me, Ketaari murtobak” Jolar warned. “I’ve known Zoran since he was a young’un playing pretend-to-be-a-merc in the forest around our village. So, believe me when I tell you this. You do not want Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor to come after you with everything he’s got. Because if he does, he’ll not stop until he’s annihilated you and ground you into dust under his ruthless HadKor feet. You ken?”

Ghesh ground his teeth with an audible click and shifted his gaze from Jolar to Saakshi.

“You’re not always going to be on this station with your merc protectors” he sneered spitefully. “One day, you’ll be back at the mercy of the Empire where you belong. Then, we’ll see how much influence your fine HadKor friends have within the Empire. And that day might come sooner than you anticipate, Budh female. If I were you, I’d think about that before you hide behind the HadKor swine.”

He shot her a final malicious look, curious for a male who had been thwarted in his intentions, before strutting back to his companions.

Jolar watched him go, a slight frown between his eyes.

“What was that about getting you back to the mercy of the Empire sooner than you anticipate? I thought Pik-u-Aak bought your contract for a whole year” he asked Saakshi.

Saakshi bit her lip, more frightened by the Unta-Golar’s words than she wanted to let on.

“Pik thinks the Unta-Golar might try to revoke my contract” she said haltingly.

“Revoke your contract? But that would mean …” he stopped as the implications of her words sank in.

Jolar took a deep breath.

“Saakshi, have you told Zoran about this?”

She shook her head.

“I … he’s already done so much for me … and I …” her voice trailed off unhappily.

Jolar studied her anxious expression, his eyes searching her face.

“I’m hungry” he announced abruptly. “What about you?”

“I ate at Pik’s already, thank you” she responded politely.

“All right then, I’ll eat and you can keep me company” he declared, arching a black eyebrow in a gesture that reminded her of Zoran.

She acquiesced, following him onto the main walkway. He took her to one of the gigantic Sustenance Pavilions that littered the station on each ring. Food Synthesizers filled up one gigantic wall with tables and seats scattered around the rest of the pavilion. Jolar seated her at a table for two, a little away from the crowds for privacy, and busied himself with the order tablet embedded into the table for customers to peruse menus, place orders and pay for food from the various Synthesizers in the pavilion.

Saakshi waited for Jolar to leave the table before checking her bruise. Her arm throbbed, the pain a reminder of the Unta-Golar’s spitefulness and his relentless pursuit of her. An ugly and rather colorful bruise was starting to show where the Unta-Golar had grasped her so viciously. She rubbed her arm softly to alleviate the throbbing pain. Jolar, striding back with his food, cursed viciously as he caught a glimpse of the nasty bruise on her arm.

“I should’ve throttled Ghesh” he said savagely.

Saakshi, tired and dispirited from her encounter, managed to give him a wan smile.

When did he do this?” he asked once he’d calmed down a little.

“At Pik’s. He caught me by surprise during shift change.”

“Zoran’s going to kill him” Jolar paused. “And I’m going to help him” he finished with relish.

Saakshi smiled shyly at him as he began making inroads into the enormous pile of food on his tray.

“Thank you for the Unta-Golar” she said.

“No thanks necessary. Zoran asked me to keep an eye on you and I obviously slipped up” he muttered with a dark glance at her bruise.

She watched in companionable silence for a few minutes while Jolar ate heartily.

“Are Zoran and you related?” she inquired curiously.

“Only by the bonds of friendship; not by blood” he replied. “Why do you ask?”

“The last part of your names is identical.”

“My people traditionally use only one name to identify themselves – the name given to us at birth. Over the years, space-faring Hadari’Kor have learnt to include a last name like the other races we’ve encountered. Except in our case, a Hadari’Kor last name signifies tribal affiliation. The use of Hadari-Begur-Kor identifies Zoran and I as belonging to the tribe Begur originating on Hadari. I’m sure you’re aware of the history of our two planets and people?”

Saakshi nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that the Hadari’Kor named both planets in their last names when identifying themselves to other races, with the first one indicating the planet of origin.

“May I ask a favor of you, Saakshi?” Jolar asked.

“Of course! Anything I can do” she responded immediately.

“Share a meal with me tomorrow eve. Don’t eat at Pik’s” he was persuasive.

Saakshi hesitated just a tad, not sure that she wanted to spend her hard-earned tips on a meal when Pik provided her free food.

“I hate eating by myself” he coaxed softly, clinching the deal for her.

Saakshi accepted his invitation and then watched Jolar polish off the last of his meal. He leaned back eventually, replete with satisfaction, to gaze at her with an intent look in his eyes.

“Saakshi, I want you to listen to me carefully. What I told Ghesh is true. I’ve known Zoran for most of our lifetime. There’s no one better I’d choose to guard my back in times of trouble. He’s not one for doing things by half measures. Zoran will go to the ends of Penjem hell and back for those he considers worthy” Jolar said seriously. “He’s been a merc for almost fifteen years, fighting his way across the quadrant, making alliances and leaving his mark. That kind of life makes you tough, resourceful and, most importantly, teaches you the fine art of survival against overwhelming odds. He, more than most, knows how to play the game. Very few Hadari’Kor mercenaries have a hi-tech starship at their command or a loyal army at their disposal. He didn’t acquire either by sitting back and waiting for the right opportunity to land in his lap. The Ketaari is wrong about Zoran having no influence within the Empire. Tell him about Ghesh’s threat on revoking your contract. Zoran will figure out a way to thwart the Empire – he’s resourceful and smart. He doesn’t use brute strength unless he absolutely needs to.” The last was said with a smile.

His expression lightened a tad before he continued.

“I’ve never known Zoran to moon over any female the way he looks at you. And like I said, I’ve known him a long time.” There was a thread of amusement in his voice that had Saakshi flushing.

“I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you but I know that he respects and admires you for surviving the enormous challenges you’ve faced. Hadari’Kor tend to live tough lives and we admire anyone who triumphs over adversity.”

“All right, I’m done. Let’s walk you to your dorm to get some well-deserved rest” he finished.

Saakshi reflected on Jolar’s words that night and the next morning. It was the first day of her new shift schedule and she had the morning free. She spent it in the dorm, since Saakshi wasn’t ready for another encounter with the Unta-Golar yet. Jolar surprised her by showing up on time to escort her - she had forgotten to inform him last night about the change in her shift schedule.

“How’d you know?” she asked him.

He glanced at her a little oddly before responding easily.

“One of the other girls at Pik’s told me.”

“Oh” it was Saakshi’s turn to look surprised. She hadn’t been aware of Jolar’s acquaintance with any of the other server girls.

Her first slower shift was uneventful. The busy shift was something else altogether – sheer madness. Unlike the slow shifts, it did not follow the rule of dedicated tables for each individual server. Instead, the four server girls rotated in a complicated dance to jot down orders, serve up and clear tables. All the tips went into a common account that was automatically distributed at the end of the shift when the girls clocked out. It was exhausting, but thankfully short. At the end of the evening, Saakshi noted with awe that she had almost four times the tips that she made during the longer shifts. Thus, it was with a lighter heart that Saakshi strode out to meet Jolar after she was done for the day. He took them to a Sustenance Pavilion on the same ring that housed her dorm. Citing her new tips, an adamant Saakshi refused to allow Jolar to pay for her meal. To Saakshi’s surprise, Jolar proved an engaging and entertaining companion, his ready charm and ease belying his previous taciturn and aloof demeanor. Over dinner, he regaled Saakshi with stories of Zoran and him as youngsters in a rustic village on Hadari, where their high-spirited antics would often get them into trouble with tribal elders and other authority figures. He also essayed a few of the pair’s more light-hearted adventures when they’d first started out as mercenaries.

Overall, Saakshi had an entertaining eve. When Jolar offered to be her escort to explore the station for a few hours the next afternoon, she accepted the invitation with alacrity. They toured an artificial garden on the upper ring of the station - planted with a variety of flora from diverse worlds. Jolar had picked the venue after Saakshi had evinced an interest. Budheyasta, a barren and mostly desert world covered by volcanoes, did not have much in the way of flora. Only the hardiest of life survived to thrive on the red volcanic planet where Saakshi had grown up.

Seven

The Ketaari Unta-Golar stayed away from Pik’s for a second consecutive day, and Saakshi’s two shifts flew by quickly. Jolar strode into Pik’s just as she was clocking out for the day, before heading to the back room for her meal.

“Come on, Saakshi. I have a surprise for you. You can eat later” he wore a broad smile.

Her eyes shot to him, a swirl of hope blossoming within her.

“The starship Juntafeyore and her crew, including her Captain, has just docked at this station” he smiled, answering her silent query.

Saakshi, who knew that the Juntafeyore was Zoran’s ship, couldn’t help the joyous smile that lit up her face at the news.

“Umm ... perhaps I should wait till tomorrow. Zoran might be busy. The ship did just dock after five days in space” she remarked a little uncertainly, her happiness dimming.

“Are you kidding, Saakshi? I’ve been given specific instructions to escort you over pronto, and I, for one, wouldn’t dream of disobeying them” Jolar said with a grin.

She allowed herself to be escorted to the starship. Once on the ship, Jolar led her to an unfamiliar section, culminating in an elevator ride. The elevator ended in a vast circular chamber with a big view screen. She could see the intense activity around the space docks on the view screen as ships docked and sailed off from the Trade Sphere. Males attired in black uniform crowded the chamber, grouped around the consoles scattered around the room or focused on their hand-held tablets. A majority were Hadari’Kor, although she did note a few members of other races. Saakshi gazed around her curiously from behind Jolar who hid her from the rest of the room with his sheer bulk. She spied Zoran walking over to them, his face lit up by a smile as he caught sight of her peeping out from behind Jolar. There was a subtle dimming of noise in the chamber as Zoran strode to them. Saakshi caught a few sidelong glances thrown at her, but no open stares.

Zoran herded them back towards the elevator she’d just traveled up in. He ushered her into the elevator and muttered something about repairs and maintenance to Jolar, before shutting the elevator doors to lock the two of them in. His palm smacked at the controls to bring the elevator to a stop before he crowded her against the doors. Bracing his hands against the door on either side of her, he lowered his face to kiss her urgently. Saakshi wound her arms around his neck to return his kiss with fervor. Silence prevailed in the elevator as the urgent kiss flared into passion, before Zoran broke it off to lean his forehead against her, his breathing a little ragged.

“Was gone longer than I anticipated” he said huskily. And then more softly, “Missed you, tseriya.”

“Missed you too” Saakshi’s response was immediate and instinctive, the absolute truth of her statement hitting her in a blinding flash.

He pressed a quick kiss on her head and disengaged himself reluctantly from her, before hitting the controls to set the elevator in motion again.

“I hear that you have new work hours at Pik’s. How do you like them?” he smiled down at her.

“I love it” she exclaimed. “I’m done a little later than before but I have my mornings free to sleep in, and the tips are fantastic.”

“That’s wonderful, tseriya. Perhaps you’ll also have more time to spend with your male, hmm?” he asked softly, his voice scratchy.

Saakshi flushed at the look in his eyes.

“Yes” she acknowledged softly.

He watched her silently, a smile lurking in the depths of his eyes.

“What is it that you call me?” she asked him.

“Tseriya?” he said casually, turning to lead her out of the elevator. “It is a Hakor word for ‘companion’.”

Saakshi followed him thoughtfully down the corridor that led to his chamber, wondering what the term meant to him. Perhaps it was a term of endearment, or maybe it was standard for a lover. Either way, she was pleased that he’d assigned her an endearment in his language, and loved the scratchy quality in his voice when he used it for her.

He ushered her into his chamber, turning to her with a smile that faded abruptly as he caught a glimpse of the ugly bruise on her arm. It had turned more colorful overnight and now clearly revealed the imprint of fingers. Something savage flashed across his face and he turned his back on her to stride further into the chamber, as if he didn’t quite trust himself in his rage. He swore viciously and fluently.

“Ghesh” he stated in a tightly-controlled voice, still facing away from her. “How? Where was Jolar?” he choked out, the words wrung out of him.

“I’m going to kill that Ketaari murtobak” he concluded savagely.

Saakshi walked slowly towards the bed to perch on its edge. Her new position allowed her to face him and discern his expression. His face was clenched and his dark eyes flush with a mixture of rage, anguish and regret.

“He caught me at Pik’s during the confusion of shift change. Jolar was waiting for me outside Pik’s as usual. He didn’t anticipate … I didn’t anticipate that the Unta-Golar would try to get physical inside Pik’s. It’s just a bruise … it will heal soon. No harm done” she assured him quietly.

It was the truth. She’d had a little scare. But in the end, Jolar had stepped in to handle the Ketaari, and all she’d suffered was one bruise. Considering the larger worries and the dangerous threat that the Unta-Golar posed to her, one bruise she could easily take in her stride.

His expression seemed to tighten even more at her words and she felt an instinctive desire to soothe.

“You should’ve seen the Unta-Golar’s face when Jolar warned him what you’d do to him” she teased, attempting to lighten the mood.

His face relaxed just a tad but she could still see the shadows on his face.

“You asked me for one thing – to protect you from the Ketaari. So far, I’ve done a piss poor job of it.” This time he let her see the regret and anguish in him as his hands clenched into fists by his side.

Saakshi strode up to him to place her hand gently on one big tightly-clenched fist.

“Zoran, no one has ever taken care of me the way you have. Sure, the rebels looked out for me like they do with all the new recruits but you …” she paused, lost for words.

For a moment, she stared at him. Then, the words trembling in her heart poured out, a balm to his anguish.

“I thank the Pura every day for guiding me to you that day for help. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and probably the riskiest, but I’m glad I took a chance on you” she said softly.

Her words seemed to finally banish the shadows from his eyes.

He covered her smaller hand over his fist with his other palm.

“I’m glad you did too” he acknowledged, some of the rage seeping away finally.

They disengaged slowly and reluctantly from each other. Saakshi made her way back to her old perch on the bed before she spoke again, Jolar’s advice from that night still ringing in her head.

“The Unta-Golar only came looking for me because he thought you’d dumped me” she told him.

“What?” he exclaimed in surprise. “Why would he think that?”

“He heard about your ship undocking from the station, and interpreted it to mean that you were through with me. He wasn’t very successful at hiding his shock when Jolar confronted him and he realized you’d be back.”

“I’m going to teach him a lesson that he won’t forget in a hurry” Zoran stated coldly, his voice implacable. “I warned him to stay away from you. He’s going to find out that I’m a male of my word.”

“I don’t believe he’ll try approaching me on the station anymore” she said softly.

Zoran’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully at her words.

“Where else can he get to …? On Budheyasta” he realized abruptly.

“He won’t find me once I’ve been released from prison.” She was confident. “The resistance will hide me well.”

“Pik holds your contract for the rest of the year before they take you back to prison. Right?” he asked her, waiting for her to acknowledge his statement. She nodded mutely.

“I have a plan for when that time comes” he told her. “I was going to talk to you about it tonight.”

Saakshi perked up noticeably at his words. She hadn’t dared think that far ahead. Instead, she had focused on savoring the small slices of joy that came her way. First things first, though. She had to ensure that the Unta-Golar didn’t succeed in getting her off this station and away from Zoran before her contract with Pik was up.

“The Unta-Golar threatened to revoke my prison contract with Pik prematurely” she confessed in a small voice, her eyes on her lap.

Absolute silence permeated the room as her words died away. The soft falls of his footsteps approached Saakshi where she sat on the bed. Zoran knelt before her to raise her chin with one finger to meet his eyes.

“I will never let that happen, tseriya. Will you trust me?” he asked.

Memories assailed her of his thoughtfulness, his regard for her comfort, his gentleness and care of her as a lover, his generosity with the suppressor device, his foresight in designating Jolar as her protector when he couldn’t play the role, and his regret and apology when he’d come just a little late that first night to save her from the Ketaari commander.

“Absolutely” she stated with conviction.

“No matter what happens, you will not end up in a Ketaari prison or in the clutches of the Unta-Golar” he vowed. “I promise you this, tseriya.”

She stared into dark eyes willing her to believe his pledge and finally let go off the fear that had gripped her since the encounter with the Ketaari two nights before. She was starting to learn that Zoran took his promises very seriously.

“Alright?” he asked.

Saakshi nodded affirmatively and he got off the floor to seat himself beside her on the bed.

“What exactly did Ghesh threaten you with?” Zoran was determined to plug any loopholes the Ketaari commander might exploit to get Saakshi into his power.

“He said that I should remember that you’d have no influence once I was back as a subject of the Empire, and then intimated that the day might come sooner than I expect.”

“So, he didn’t say anything specific about revoking your contract?”

“No, but Pik did.”

“Pik?” Zoran exclaimed in astonishment. He had been unaware of Pik’s knowledge about the Ketaari commander’s interest in Saakshi.

“Um hmm” she affirmed. “Pik asked me how long the Ketaari was planning to be on the station the morning after the Unta-Golar first came to Pik’s, when you distracted him. Pik said that he could keep the Unta-Golar away from me for a few days, but not any longer. He also cautioned me that he would be helpless if the Ketaari Imperial Forces revoked my contract.”

“Pik” mused Zoran, very surprised by this new and unexpected glimpse of Pik, the hard-headed currency-loving businessman.

“Then, he told me that you’d easily take care of the Unta-Golar for me and that he’d not heard anything bad about your treatment of females. He advised me to go to you with … umm … the proposition and assured me that you’d accept” she finished quickly, a wary eye on Zoran. She had finally realized that talk of their bargain seemed to generally sour his normally equable mood.

He gazed back at her with an incredulous expression on his face, underlined by another emotion that she couldn’t quite identify.

“Pik advised you to offer me that proposition? Pik?”

Why, that sly murtobak, Zoran thought to himself. He sure had been playing a long game. This explained why Pik had been so amenable to negotiating Saakshi’s move to a shorter and more lucrative shift. Pik had been expecting Zoran to make the monetary bargain for Saakshi. Then, another thought occurred to him.

“Saakshi, why didn’t you tell me about Pik’s warning about the contract revocation before?”

“I … uh … wasn’t sure that you could help” Saakshi stammered, not brave enough to bring up their bargain again. She’d kind of assumed that helping to prevent her prison contract from being revoked would be outside the purview of their agreement.

He studied her thoughtfully for a moment.

“If anything troubles you, Saakshi, no matter how inconsequential you consider it to be, I’d like it if you came to me. Even if you think that I cannot help. We’ll figure it out together, hmm? You think you could do that, tseriya?” His voice was infinitely soft with a note that squeezed at Saakshi somewhere deep in her heart.

Saakshi nodded her head, not trusting her voice to say the words as her heart swelled with emotion at his words and their implication.

“Are you hungry?” he asked abruptly.

Saakshi blinked at the sudden and drastic change in conversation before answering in the affirmative. She was famished.

“Why don’t you take a shower while I check what Chef has ready? We’ve been docked for a few hours now, and that is usually enough time for him to replenish supplies and cook up some real food.”

A hot shower later, they sat down to a decent repast that Chef had managed to scrounge up for them.

“I’d love to meet Chef one day. He’s very talented” Saakshi remarked, her tone hesitant. She wasn’t sure how comfortable Zoran felt with inter-mingling his two separate worlds.

“Yes, he is. He’s one of the few non-Hadari’Kor we have aboard the ship” Zoran answered easily.

“How many do you carry on board?”

“Seventy-five mercs, plus ship screw.”

“I saw only males at the Control Center tonight. Are there no females aboard this ship?” she asked curiously.

“We do have a few female crew members. I do not allow families aboard except when we’re docked for recreation. We’re a warship and that comes with potential risks of injury, death or capture. I don’t want my mercs distracted with worries about the safety of their families when engaged in a no-holds-barred fight with the enemy. And frankly, I don’t want to deal with making decisions based on other factors than how to best win a fight quickly with the least loss of life and damage to my ship. The crew can all fight if they need to, and I make sure that they’re fully aware of the risks when they sign up.”

Saakshi nodded thoughtfully. He made perfect sense. The Juntafeyore was a ship whose main mission was to fight. And now she knew that whatever plans for her Zoran came up with, it wouldn’t involve staying on the ship with him.

Later that night, Saakshi lay held within the crook of Zoran’s arm and wedged against his body. She felt drowsy after a busy day at Pik’s, aided by the soothing motion of his finger drawing gentle circles on her hip. Her eyes closed languidly, and she’d almost drifted off to sleep when she felt a careful nudge turn her over. She ended up on her stomach with her hands splayed up over her with her eyes still closed.

Gentle fingers swept her hair off her neck as warm lips pressed soft kisses on her nape and shoulders. She felt a delicate touch on the puckered scar of her prison implant. Saakshi flinched involuntarily as she felt his fingers probe carefully around the scar.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to hurt you” he apologized softly with regret.

“You didn’t. The scar doesn’t hurt anymore” she assured him. “It looks a lot worse than it feels.”

“I felt you flinch.”

“It’s involuntary” she said slowly. “My body flinches whenever it remembers the pain of the implant being put in.”

There was appalled silence for a few seconds.

“Let me guess, the Ketaari decided to forego the use of easily available localized pain- killer that would’ve saved their Budheya prisoners unnecessary agony” he spat out, his outrage and disgust obvious.

Saakshi said nothing. There was nothing to say.

“Those Ketaari are serious &%$#*&^%” he snarled, the last words guttural and not translatable, especially since she was naked and not wearing her translator device.

Saakshi tried to flip onto her back, compelled by an urge to soothe her mercenary. She was gently nudged back to her original position.

In a few moments, he was back to bestowing soft kisses and feather-light touches on her back, though he steered clear of the implant.

“I’m going to find a way to get that implant out of you and inject a little Body Tissue Regrowth Agent to fix the scar” he allowed his fingers to trail delicately down her spine.

“Hmm” Saakshi murmured, the whisper-soft touches and the warmth radiating from his body lulling her to sleep.

“Did the Ketaari put anything else in your body, in addition to the shoulder implant and ownership bracelet?” he asked.

Saakshi roused herself reluctantly from the simple bliss of his touch.

“I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it. They could’ve put something else in when I was asleep.”

“We have a pretty sophisticated Remote Communicable Device (RCD) Scanner on the ship. I’ll make the arrangements to have you scanned tomorrow evening. If we detect any more devices embedded in you, we should be able to neutralize them easily, though extracting them might have to wait until I can get you access to more sophisticated equipment. Alright?”

“Yes” she acquiesced softly.

He was silent for a few more minutes, stroking and exploring the dips and turns on her back before he spoke again.

“I have some contacts deep in the Empire. I’m going to ask them to keep an eye on your prison contract and let me know if there’s any activity, however insignificant, on it. I might not be able to stop your contract from being revoked, but I can make sure you’re not here on the station when they come for you. Tomorrow, I’m going to ask Pik for details about his contract on you with the Imperial Forces. I’m sure he’ll comply, since he’s the one who warned you about the threat in the first place and suggested that you come to me. Is that all right with you?” he asked her, his tone sober.

“That’s fine” she said quietly.

“I might have a plan to get you off this station. But first, I want you to answer one query for me.”

“Hmm?” she asked softly.

“If Ghesh hadn’t come after you, were you planning to rejoin the resistance after your prison term was up?” he inquired.

“Yes” she agreed promptly. “But if I run before my term is up, I will not go back to the rebels. It would bring too much attention and trouble down on them if I’m wanted by the Empire.”

“It would, yes” he agreed. “So, I’m guessing you’d be amenable if I found a role for you that keeps you safe from the Empire but still allows you to help the rebels?”

“That sounds almost too good to be true, Zoran” Saakshi said wonderingly. “I never dared to dream of escaping the Ketaari, let alone helping the rebels if I was a fugitive from the Empire.”

“I have a plan, but it needs certain things to be set in place before I can execute it. I’d anticipated having more time when I set things in motion, but circumstances have changed now. I can’t tell you anything yet. But you’ll be safe.”

“Okay” Saakshi agreed without hesitation.

“You won’t regret it, tseriya” he promised with a soft kiss on her back.

The soft kisses continued, his fingers trailing delicately over her back. Saakshi closed her eyes again. The kisses became progressively more urgent and the fingers more insistent. The heat radiating from his body seemed to sear her where their skins brushed up against each other. Her hips wriggled in languid and unconscious invitation to the attentive male hovering over her. He produced a pillow to tuck it under her before draping her hips carefully over it to his satisfaction. Saakshi roused herself to raise a drowsy protest when a hard knee nudged her thighs apart. His big body settled over her back, his weight on hands braced against the bed on either side of her. She felt enveloped by the hard, smooth and warm body over her, his damp lips and warm breath on her neck sending shivers down her body. Then her eyes snapped open abruptly, her body awakened unceremoniously from its dreamy state of almost slumber by the feel of him poised demandingly at her feminine entrance.

“What …” she muttered incoherently, attempting to disengage her neck from his insistent kisses to turn her head and glare at him. Hadn’t she already satisfied him for the night, she wondered bemusedly in sleepy astonishment.

“Tseriya, I want you again” he cajoled, rubbing himself sensuously against her.

“Hmmph” she groaned softly as the head slipped into her easily and he began the slow and somewhat familiar dance of trying to fit himself in her. She decided to let the male have her again. He had, after all, been deprived for a few days. Her body moved languorously under him, aroused out of her slumber. He reared up a little, muscles bunching to reach for her. One large palm cupped her under her stomach, his splayed hand holding her steady for him, as he seated himself in her with a single thrust.

“Alright, tseriya?” he asked with the scratchy quality in his voice she loved so much.

She moaned softly in response, her body squirming under him. Zoran took that as a signal that his tseriya was just fine, and proceeded to take her again, to their mutual enjoyment.

The morning started promisingly with Zoran waking her up early to cajole her into loving him again. Saakshi participated enthusiastically once she was fully awake, and then went right back to sleep with a muttered comment about insatiable males. Zoran sauntered off to the bathing enclosure with a satisfied smile on his lips. He headed out to put in a few hours of work, after making sure that she was all cozy in his bed. She needed her sleep after he’d kept her up a good part of the night. The dark circles under her eyes had lessened just a tad to his critical gaze. But Zoran was determined to banish them completely. He returned a few hours later to rouse her adorably rumpled body off to the shower. Zoran brewed her a cup of coffa and they broke their fast companionably together, Saakshi relaxing in the big fluffy robe.

“You’re scheduled for the RCD scanner tonight after work. I need to make an appearance at an event on the ship tonight. It will be for an hour at most. Would you like to come with me?” he asked.

Saakshi glanced up from her meal in surprise.

“You have parties on this ship? I thought it was a warship.”

“It is” Zoran acknowledged with a smile “But we do throw parties for special celebrations when the ship is in downtime for recreation.”

“Thank you. I’d like that” she responded, a little shyly.

After breakfast, he gave her a tour of the ship. It was magnificent and sleek though, in Saakshi’s eyes, almost too luxurious to be a warship.

Zoran smiled when she told him that.

“A Keeyori trader with more money than brains had it custom built for him. He desired to command a warship but also wanted to indulge his expensive tastes. We keep updating it with state of the art weaponry every six months. I’m a firm believer in technology as a superior weapon over brute strength. We have the latter in plenty too, but knowing that you have the heavy arsenal to back up your fighting skills always gives you a significant advantage in battle.”

She was curious to know how he’d acquired the ship but didn’t feel comfortable asking him that question yet.

“I want you to know that I’ve activated the ship’s entry sensors and only IDs on the access list can now gain entry on to the ship. You are on the access list. I’d rather not have you on the station without an escort unless you’re at Pik’s, so feel free to explore the ship in your free time. You’ll meet many of the shipmates tonight, and hopefully won’t feel too much of a stranger on this ship.”

Saakshi thanked him again, absolutely disarmed by him. The male did have a knack for surprising her with his considerate behavior.

Eight

For the next few days, Saakshi’s life settled into a pattern. She worked two shifts at Pik’s and spent the rest of her time on Zoran’s starship. He made sure to brew coffa for her every morning, though sometimes he was too busy to spend any part of the morning with her. Zoran would wait to partake the last meal of the day with Saakshi after her late shift at Pik’s, and would always insist that she spend the night in his chamber. Saakshi spent her leisure time exploring the Juntafeyore, eagerly devouring the ship’s data store of information on Quadrant Five – the various races and their history, the diverse worlds and their geography and other interesting information and space phenomenon she unearthed.

The second evening after Zoran’s return to the Trade Sphere, he had her scanned by the ship’s RCD Scanner. It led to the discovery of an implant in her upper thigh in addition to the implant in her shoulder. The ship’s Medic, a wiry male of a species Zoran told her was called Lopordian, had promised to work on programming the Scanner to disable the communication capabilities of both her implants. This way, they would be rendered ineffective for remote activation. Zoran was determined that eventually, the implants would be surgically removed altogether from her body.

For Saakshi, one aspect of the time she spent on Keeyor 9 had undergone a transformation. Since Zoran’s return to the station, usually two and sometimes larger groups of Hadari’Kor mercs could be found drinking at Pik’s during her work hours. They sauntered in halfway through her first shift and stayed till the end, when Zoran showed up to escort her to his ship. The night she had accompanied Zoran to his ship’s celebration, a few of the mercs had come up to her to thank her earnestly for their Captain’s generosity. They were grateful to be tasked by the Captain to hang around Pik’s and drink copious amounts of whatever ale caught their fancy. Jolar, witness to the conversation and the resulting gamut of expressions on Saakshi’s face, had burst into loud guffaws of laughter that had everyone glancing at them curiously. She had been introduced to some of the shipmates at the event. Most attendees at the celebration had been polite, though clearly curious about her. Saakshi had silently noted the respect his mercs accorded their Captain. Jolar, who she now knew was his Second-in-Command, was the only one who dared to tease Zoran on occasion. And usually, only in her presence.

The Ketaari Unta-Golar made no further appearances at Pik’s, or came anywhere near Saakshi during her time on the station. On the third day after Zoran’s return, two of the Unta-Golar’s Ketaari companions, from the day Jolar had confronted him, paid a visit to Pik’s. They seared her with vicious looks but didn’t dare approach her, probably leery of the group of Zoran’s mercs who lounged at one of the tables, drinking ale and staring aggressively at the Ketaari. That evening, as Saakshi walked to the ship accompanied by Zoran, the throngs on the walkways made haste to get out of their way. His aggressive stance and intimidating stare usually cleared a path through the crowds, but this seemed different. People seemed to be scuttling away from them, almost as if word had spread around the station that Zoran was on the war path. Saakshi contemplated him speculatively, wondering what had precipitated this. Zoran’s response to her question was to shrug disinterestedly. It was Pik, on one of his rare appearances the next day, who enlightened her about the general fear of Zoran and the Hadari’Kor currently pervading the station.

“Saakshi Budheya” he’d hailed her in full audible range of the patrons congregated in the open seating area. “You’ve done well with your HadKor Captain.”

She’d glanced at him inquiringly, flushed by the openly curious glances from several patrons and the other server girl.

“I hear that he cornered that Ketaari commander harassing you to administer a very brutal and public beating on the lower ring a few days ago with a large crowd of spectators. This station has been newly reminded of the savagery the HadKor are capable of when crossed.”

Saakshi had gasped at Pik’s words. Ring One was the level to avoid on the station due to the unsavory nature of its businesses and their patrons. It also implied that the beating would have been very public indeed, for spectators on the upper rings would have had an easy view due to the spherical design of the station.

“Word is that your Ketaari commander was taken to the station’s Medic Bay. And that the nature of his injuries indicate that he will need a decent stay there before he heals, even with access to their advanced medic tech” Pik had reported, almost gleefully.

“He’s not my Ketaari commander” Saakshi had gasped out inconsequentially, reeling at this new turn of events.

“Apparently, his Ketaari entourage attempted to interfere before sensibly deciding on self-preservation after one look at the Captain’s face. Your Hadkor had a couple of his mercs assigned to crowd control. They held back the spectators to give him a wide enough clearing on the crowded level” Pik had laughed with genuine amusement.

When she had broached the subject with Zoran after their evening meal, he’d seemed surprised by her words.

“I warned the Ketaari that I would break every bone in his body if he touched you again, and I always keep my promises” he had replied, nonplussed by all the fuss. “I wasn’t about to let that murtobak get away with hurting you” he’d added flatly, his eyes on her slowly fading bruise. She had refused the ship Medic’s offer to treat the surface contusion, and Zoran had not pressed her.

Then, he’d distracted her with a swift and urgent kiss, followed by a slower and more thorough one that had ended with them both being completely distracted from such mundane matters.

Saakshi’s heart hummed with a quiet happiness that she savored to guard jealously. For the first time in her life, she also felt hopeful of the future. A future that promised more than before. Before, her singular goal had been to survive her imprisonment at the hands of the Imperial Forces. Now, Saakshi found herself dreaming of more. Of a life in the future not merely to be endured under the brutal Ketaari while eking out an existence on Budheyasta with the occasional small victories against the occupiers of their land. Her worries about the future had been inexplicably lessened, her concerns mostly allayed by Zoran’s pledge that she would never again find herself under the control of the Ketaari Empire.

Six days later, everything came crashing down. Having partaken of their evening meal together, Saakshi walked into the chamber, enveloped in the huge fluffy robe she’d adopted, fresh from a piping hot hydro shower. Zoran, busy working on his tablet, glanced up with a smile at her entrance.

“I have something for you” he gestured at the bed. “It was given to me a long time ago by a Terilian trader in payment for services rendered. It’s made of the finest Terilian silk. I had it specially sized for you. I hope you like it.”

A silky blue ensemble lay pooled on the bed, its bright indigo color contrasting with the red-hued tones of the piliken coverlet. Saakshi moved towards it, as if in a trance. The dress was light as a feather, soft to the touch and gorgeous, with barely-there sleeves and matching sandals wrapped neatly in a bag – the kind that ladies dressed in to go out to a fancy meal or event. Fitted at the waist, it fell in simple folds to the ankle. Deceptively simple and beautifully cut, delicate hand-crafted embroidery bordered the neckline and hems. It felt like the softest piliken to the touch, yet the floaty skirts were light as air. The gossamer gown was the single-most expensive article Saakshi had been privileged to caress in her life, and her heart sank inexorably at the knowledge.

“I can’t” her voice wobbled as she fought inexplicable tears.

She sensed him get up slowly to move towards her.

“Why not?” he inquired tersely.

“It’s too expensive. I’d ... I’d feel like a kept female” she replied, throat choked with tears.

There was an instant of horrible silence. Then Zoran spoke, enunciating his words with deliberate precision.

“Have I ever treated you like a kept female?” he inquired coldly, a thread of hurt in his voice that came through, despite the brusqueness. Saakshi would undoubtedly have picked up on it if she weren’t so busy fighting back her own tears.

Shame sliced through her at his words. Zoran had never asked for anything or expected anything of her. Even the bargain between them had been struck at her instigation. A bargain that he had more than lived up to, beyond her wildest expectations. She had asked him for protection from the Unta-Golar. But he had given her so much more. From their very first meeting, when he’d conjured a suppressor device on short notice to enable her to meet with him on his ship without an audience, Zoran had always tried to smooth her path for her.

“I’m sorry, Zoran” she apologized shamefacedly. “Please forgive me.” Contrition and regret shimmered through the unshed tears in her eyes. “You have never treated me with anything less than respect or consideration.”

His eyes continued to look stormy, his expression furious with an underlying hurt.

“Then why did you say what you did?” he demanded angrily.

“I …” she hesitated, trying to articulate her complicated feelings. “You’ve done so much for me - I feel indebted to you. I can never pay you back for what you’ve done for me.”

“Have I ever asked for any payment?” he snarled back.

“No” she said pleadingly. “But in some respects, it would be easier if you did.”

The black eyes searched her contrite and forlorn expression, his own thunderous.

“Has it occurred to you that I might want to do things for you? Spoil you a little?” he bit out a tad less angrily after a short pause.

“You do?” she asked uncertainly.

“Yes, it gives me pleasure” he stated flatly, with a furious expression on his face.

“Oh” was all that Saakshi could muster in response.

Already drowning in a welter of confused emotions, Saakshi was left speechless by his brusquely stated words. Sudden and unexpected warmth coursed through her, managing to pierce through the fog of despondency and dejection that gripped her. It managed to lessen a little of her despair at messing up the fledgling affinity between them.

“Look, I’ve had it for years - I’ve never known anyone that I cared to gift this to” he continued stormily. “I know that all you own is your Trader Pik’s uniform. Since you now have more free time to spend as you wish, I thought this might be nice to wear instead of your uniform when you don’t intend to inadvertently advertise Pik’s.”

Silenced by his words, she stared back at him, feeling the prick of tears well up in her eyes again. Saakshi fought the tears as she wondered how to tell Zoran what she thought of him – this big warrior who had been nothing but gentle, generous and kind to her.

Zoran watched her, his expression thunderous while he fought to hold his emotions in check.

“You should also know that I bribed Pik to give you the shorter shift” he declared, his voice very even. “I didn’t like seeing you work that hard. And I wanted you to spend more time with me.”

Saakshi gasped with astonishment, flabbergasted by the revelation. Suddenly, some of Pik’s more cryptic comments to her, and even Jolar’s unexpected knowledge about her new shift schedule made sense.

His face wore a carefully blank expression, but his eyes dared her to throw this gift back in his face too like his previous one.

“I … don’t kn … I … thank you” she stammered, this time with heartfelt gratitude, wanting him to be left in no doubt about how much this gift had meant to her.

At her words, the black eyes softened just a tad, though he still looked tense with that blankly furious expression.

“It’s just that we made a deal and … and you keep doing such nice things for me” she almost wailed.

Zoran’s expression tightened as regret, chagrin, guilt and another, stronger, emotion flashed across his face in quick succession.

“I never agreed to that unholy bargain in the first place. You made me furious and I lost my head” he admitted agitatedly, raking his hands through his hair in frustration.

“What?” Saakshi squeaked in sheer astonishment.

“I would’ve taken care of the Ketaari for you, without expecting anything in return” he said, a little more calmly. “I tried to tell you that the first time we met, but you didn’t understand. And I left because I didn’t trust myself around you. It made me furious that you thought I was the kind of male who’d take advantage of you in those circumstances.”

“But …” Saakshi stammered incoherently, this new revelation causing a jumble of emotions to war in her - the primary ones being consternation, shock and confusion.

“That first night after you fought Ghesh, I just wanted to talk to you” he explained slowly. “To reassure you that I would take care of Ghesh for you. I brought you to my chamber to get us some privacy. I never expected you to be my lover but then things got out of hand. You offered, even though I could see how nervous and scared you were at the prospect. And something snapped in me! I thought I’d kiss you and maybe get you naked before you came to your senses and put a stop to it. But you never did, and I lost my head and took what I’ve wanted since the day I walked into Pik’s and saw you. So, we became lovers.”

Saakshi sank heavily on to the bed, her legs incapable of supporting her after his candid words. Her eyes wandered blankly over the offending dress beside her that had precipitated this.

“You and me” Zoran spoke softly, drawing her eyes back to him. “This” he gestured with his hand between them, “has never been about any bargain or deal for me. I’ve tried to demonstrate that to you in every way I can” he confessed quietly, his eyes staring back at her with a mixture of need, vulnerability and something else she couldn’t read.

Saakshi could only stare at him mutely, reeling from the many revelations of the past few minutes. He strode towards her, the expression in the depths of the black eyes holding her captive, to come to a stop. It was clear he did not intend to come any closer. In a daze, Saakshi stood up to move towards him, instinctively understanding that she had rejected him, however inadvertently. And Zoran would never push her or ask for anything she was not ready to give. With him, it would always be about her.

He watched her walk to him, holding himself still, the black eyes stark and vulnerable. Saakshi reached for him and the gesture seemed to jolt him out of his immobility. His hands clasped her upper arms, though he was careful to keep his distance from the pale bruise on her arm.

“I cannot bear to be the male you f--k to keep the Ketaari off your back” he said hoarsely. “I will keep the whole world at bay for you, if you say the word. Just come to me because you want me.”

Saakshi stared at the big male, who gazed back at her with dark eyes seeped in hurt. The expression in his dark eyes felt like a knife to her heart, the pain so intense that for one mad moment, Saakshi felt as if she would never breathe again.

“I want you” she confessed softly in a voice meant only for him, a note in it she had never used for anyone before. “Zoran” she reached for him, intent on assuring her mercenary of how unequivocally his feelings were reciprocated.

He clasped her hand to bring it to his lips. “Tseriya” he sighed softly, his anger spent.

“I want you so much that it has been tearing me up inside, Zoran.” Her voice was soft and low, a mix of shyness, tenderness, yearning and joy at finally being able to reveal her feelings to him interspersed with black despair at the futility of any kind of future between them.

The black eyes shot to her, the hurt in their depths lessened by her soft confession.

“Why should this tear you up inside, tseriya?” he asked her, a tender note in his voice. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you. Did I not make a complete fool of myself, uncaring of who knew how I felt about you? The entire station has watched me moon over you.”

A tremulous smile trembled on Saakshi’s lips. “I, for one, am glad you mooned over me, Zoran. Otherwise, Pik might never have advised me to go to you for assistance.”

His expression sobered. “That day at Pik’s, when I demanded you fill my empty mug to get you away from him, I did it because you were terrified of him. I’d been watching you for months and I’d never seen you react to anyone like that before. Until him. So, I asked Jolar to dig into all the Ketaari on the station and find out if anyone had a connection to you. But before we could make the connection, you came to me.”

Even after all the revelations that had come before, Saakshi looked shocked by his words.

“I was going to make sure the Ketaari stayed away from you, tseriya” he reiterated softly, his eyes meeting hers. “I will never let anything happen to you.”

“Zoran” she said helplessly. This time, it was her eyes that were stark.

“Shh” he said, using his index finger to stop her with a caress on her lips. “That is old history. I’m glad that you came to me.”

“Sometimes, when I watched you at Pik’s, you looked so tired that I thought you’d fall asleep on your feet” he continued. “I wanted to throttle Pik for working you that hard. But you always had a smile for everyone. Until him.”

“Pik’s not a bad employer” Saakshi pointed out softly.

“No, he’s not” Zoran sighed. “That’s why I didn’t kick his ass.”

He stepped back from her, his eyes holding her captive. “Will you come to me, tseriya?” Entreaty, hope, promise and demand threaded though the simple request. “Be with me because you want me. I will take care of everything else.”

The dark eyes were fierce, awash in emotions that hurt Saakshi’s very soul. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart, and she wondered whether she would ever feel whole again. She closed her eyes, the nub of despair at the pit of her stomach had grown steadily to overcome the warmth and joy his stark confession had flowered in her.

“I want to” she told him, stoic till the end. There was to be no bitterness or rancor at being shown a glimpse of hope and a love so wondrous, only for it to be snatched away by the cruelty of fate. Life had not thrown Saakshi many lifelines in her young life, and she had long come to terms with it. Not that this didn’t feel to her like drowning slowly while knives plunged into her from all sides. Saakshi knew that losing Zoran was going to tear her up in ways that she might never be able to recover from.

Her lips twisted wryly. “I want to so much, Zoran. But it cannot be.” This time there were no tears in her eyes, when before, the idea of having hurt him, even inadvertently, had brought a flood of them to the surface.

But this time, Zoran seemed to instinctively understand how much she hurt from having to deny him this.

“Why not?” he demanded, his eyes watching her closely.

“Because I am Budheya. I wear an ownership bracelet and I’m a Ketaari prisoner,” she said quietly, holding his gaze. “And you’re a Hadari’Kor mercenary whose home is his warship and who spends his life fighting battles he considers too dangerous to involve loved ones in.”

Zoran studied her intently for a long moment, his expression impassive, before he spoke again.

“What if circumstances had been different? What if we were just two people who’d met on a space station – just Saakshi and Zoran.” This time, Saakshi could hear and finally recognize the note of yearning in his voice.

“If I could, I’d follow you to the ends of hell and back, Zoran.” There was no hesitation in her. For just a moment, her lips quivered, before she fought herself back under control.

His eyes softened noticeably at her reply, the anger slowly draining away.

“If you were mine, tseriya, what would I need heaven and hell for?” The words were low, a curious mix of tenderness, laughter and possessiveness in the depth of the black eyes that skimmed her face like a caress.

For a long moment, they stared at one another. Two people drawn to each other across a vast divide created by war, history, circumstances and prospects. The memories rushed through Saakshi in a dizzying spell - the early months of trying to find her feet at Pik’s while hooded black eyes watched her; the sense of excitement, curiosity, temptation and fascination that an alien male’s hot gaze had generated in her, tempered by concern about his intentions; the desperation and fear as she offered him the proposition that Pik’s suggestion had made her clutch like the last lifeline of a drowning person; that first night in his chamber when they had become lovers. Saakshi had merely been trying to survive – this station, her imprisonment, her circumstances and the Unta-Golar. She had never imagined that one day, her feelings for this big mercenary would bring her to her knees. His loss would emotionally wrench her heart out, when all this while she had been preoccupied with survival of her physical self. How had she missed watching out for her heart? And how would she survive losing Zoran, she wondered in despair.

Pura Bedana, what have I done?

The dark eyes watching her flared, a light in them that helped paper over some of the bruises on her heart.

“If that is what stops you from being mine, tseriya, then we’ll just have to change your circumstances” Zoran said softly to her, his words like a vow.

There was no wavering in him, just utter confidence and sheer self-belief that he could move mountains to challenge fate and destiny herself to transform the prospects of a Budheya prisoner of the Imperial Forces, in a slice of space where the Empire was deadlocked in a bloody war against the Alliance, with neither side on a clear path to victory, and her world considered the crown jewel in the Empire’s greedy ambitions for domination of Quadrant Five.

He leaned forward to give her a gentle kiss, a promise in its very sweetness.

“Remember that, tseriya” he pledged, deadly sober. “A time will come when you’ll be free to make a choice, and I will ask you again.”

Saakshi said nothing, her heart too full and too broken and her soul too battered to attempt a response right then. He seemed to understand, for he said nothing more.

Instead, Zoran held out his hand to her.

“Promise me this. No more talk of our bargain or how much I do for you. Alright?” This time, he made it clear that he needed a response from her.

Saakshi nodded mutely as she placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her into an embrace. Despite the melancholy in her soul, she could acknowledge with wonder that her perception of their relationship had fundamentally changed. Looking back, Saakshi could now see how he’d always wooed her. It was she who had been afraid to reach for what she’d desired so desperately from that first night when he had saved her from the Unta-Golar. After a lifetime spent scrabbling for survival, she'd been too scared, too skeptical and too unsure to grab at her chance of happiness when life had finally thrown it at her.

That night, he held her close to break the news that he would be gone for a few days. Saakshi, aglow from the knowledge that he had never considered their relationship a tit-for-tat bargain, took the news in stride.

“The last time I was gone from the station was to rendezvous with my brother’s ship. That’s why it took me longer to get back here. My brother has more influence within the Alliance than I do. And I need that influence now. The only way to keep you safe from the Ketaari Empire is to throw the mantle of the Alliance over you. I’ve a plan to do just that, and if it succeeds, it’ll also provide the Budheya rebels some teeth in their fight against the Empire. But for it to have any chance of success, I need the Alliance to buy into it first” he informed her as she lay cradled in his arms.

Saakshi’s eyes snapped to him, shocked, bemused and awed by what he hinted at. Protecting her from the long arm of the Empire would be a tricky proposition to begin with. And even in her wildest dreams, she had never imagined that his plans would include aiding her people in their struggle against a powerful and better-armed oppressor.

The dark eyes tangled with her, the hint of indefinable emotion in their depths holding her captive.

“My brother sent word today” he explained. “He has arranged a meeting with the Alliance. I’ve also received responses from some of communiques I’ve been sending out to other Hadari’Kor mercs, both individuals and groups, to gauge if there’s an interest in joining this venture with me. I plan to meet with them on my way to the conference with the Alliance.”

Though he talked in vague terms, Saakshi understood that there was more to his plans than Zoran was letting on. Any venture that engaged the Alliance and independent Hadari'Kor mercenaries would involve an incredible amount of hard work and patience, long drawn-out negotiations and serious influence with all concerned parties.

“If everything works out, we’ll need your assistance with the rebels on Budheyasta. You’re one of them. They might be more amenable to talk to us if you vouched for me. You will, will you not, Saakshi? Vouch for me, that is.” There was a gentle note in his voice and a smile on his face as he asked her the question.

Saakshi nodded solemnly. Not just the Alliance and Hadari’Kor mercenaries, Zoran’s plans also encompassed the rebels on her home world. The scale of it took her breath away. Many factors and factions would need to be aligned before such an ambitious plan could even be put into motion. Though she understood that instinctively, it somehow seemed academic to her. Saakshi knew that if anyone could plan and succeed in such a drastic challenge to the Empire, it would be her Hadari’Kor warrior.

“I’m leaving Jolar behind on Keeyor 9. Make sure you stay in Pik’s when he’s not there to escort you. Alright, tseriya?”

She wanted to protest that he needed Jolar by his side on this undertaking, but knew he wouldn’t give in to her over this.

“Yes” she acknowledged. “Please be very careful.”

“I will” he said jauntily, with the imperturbable and quiet self-confidence that had drawn her attention since the first time he had walked into Pik’s.

From the very beginning at Pik’s, she had always gone with her gut when it came to this big Hadari'Kor mercenary. His singular attention at Pik’s had never alarmed her, because she had instinctively sensed that he meant her no harm. And her instinct had been proven correct. That very instinct had encouraged her to fork up the courage to approach him for assistance, and he had not let her down. In her heart, Saakshi had always known that without this inexplicable but deep-seated belief that Zoran would never harm her, she would never have acted on Pik’s suggestion. He had never let her down yet. So, when Zoran told her, a promise threaded through his words, that there would come a time when her circumstances would be different, wild hope surged in Saakshi, despite her best intentions. She knew not how her circumstances could be different in the future. Yet, she implicitly trusted that Zoran would keep his pledge. Saakshi, intimately acquainted with the daily struggle threaded with grim determination to survive one day at a time without ever daring to hope for a future, slept that night in her mercenary’s arms with a contentment born of hope. Zoran’s revelations about his perception of their relationship and his plans for a future together had unfurled a thread of hope in her after a very long time.

In the morning, Zoran walked her to Pik’s before striding away with a fleeting caress of her face with his fingers.

Saakshi missed him terribly once he was gone. She tossed and turned in her narrow dormitory bed at night, her mind racing with concern for Zoran even as she wondered how he fared with his ambitious plan. Most of her free time was spent exploring the station with Jolar, her designated escort, when not within the confines of the alehouse. In addition to Jolar, two other mercs had been delegated to stay behind on the station for her protection. These two Hadari’Kor males usually took turns to hang out at Pik’s during her shifts.

Towards the end of her first shift on the fourth day without Zoran, three unfamiliar Ketaari males strode into Pik’s to approach the bar where Saakshi worked to assemble a tray of drinks. The lone Hadari’Kor present in the alehouse stood up alertly from his seat to head towards Saakshi. At first, Saakshi felt no fear, since the Ketaari males were attired in plain work-suits and not the dreaded uniform of the Imperial Forces.

“Are you a Ketaari prisoner on contract to Trader Pik’s?” one of the males asked her in Ketar.

Saakshi nodded mutely, dread slowly starting to trickle in.

“We need to scan your bracelet” the male stated, showing her his tablet scanner.

She lifted the gaudy gold sleeve of her uniform to expose her ownership bracelet. The male scanned the bracelet to peer owlishly at his tablet for the results. His two companions glanced around the partly crowded alehouse disinterestedly while the Hadari’Kor merc waited watchfully, a little distance away from the tableau being played out before him. Finally, the male perusing the tablet glanced up at her.

“Your contract has been revoked. You will be taken back to Budheyasta to complete the rest of your prison sentence.”

Saakshi managed to stave off her terror with Herculean effort. She forced herself to turn and meet the eyes of the Hadari’Kor merc watching alertly. Something in her tightly-leashed expression must have alerted the merc, for he took a hasty step towards her. Saakshi shook her head at him, warning him to stay away.

“Get Jolar” she enunciated clearly to him in Alliance Standard.

He paused infinitesimally to acknowledge her words before striding away, out of earshot. She guessed he was using his communicator to summon Jolar.

“I need a few minutes to inform my boss about the contract” she said to the Ketaari male in his own language.

“Sure” he agreed reluctantly. “We can have a glass of Portaar, but if he’s not here by then, we’re not going to await his pleasure” he added tartly.

Saakshi turned to the other server girl, engaged in silently gawking at the Ketaari.

“Call Pik. Tell him that my contract is being revoked.”

The words had an extraordinary effect on the server. Everyone knew that an untimely contract revocation spelt bad news. Without wasting any time, the girl headed at a run to the back room where their communicator was located.

Saakshi hurried to serve the three Ketaari males who had seated themselves at one of the tables close to the bar. Portaar was a strong Ketaari concoction with three different alcoholic ingredients that required careful and complex measurements and procedure.

Pik walked in just as she finished serving the Ketaari their drinks. Jolar followed him in five standard minutes later.

“What is this?” Pik bellowed, hustling into the alehouse to head over to the Ketaari table after a quick glance around the alehouse.

“You’re supposed to give me notice before you revoke a contract. How am I supposed to replace her on such short notice? She’s about to start one of my busiest shifts. How will I manage with one less server girl?” he demanded belligerently.

The Ketaari who had handled all previous communication with Saakshi glanced at Pik disinterestedly.

“I’m just a crew on the Transport ship. We were a day away from Empire space when the Imperial Forces requested a special pick up from Keeyor 9 Trade Sphere.”

“What do you mean, you’re just a crew member? I was assured during the auction by the Imperial Forces that they wouldn’t revoke any of my girls’ contracts without adequate notice. The only exception is breach of contract. Has she committed a breach?” he inquired angrily, pointing at Saakshi, who stood quietly behind the bar.

“I don’t know, Trader, and I don’t care. My Captain’s orders are to deliver her to the Belarmi Prison on Budheyasta.”

“Let me see the order” Pik held out his hand peremptorily. “There must be some mistake.”

The Ketaari male typed a few strokes into his tablet before handing it over with an air of indifference. Jolar chose that moment to make his move to join Saakshi at the bar. Pik cast a fleeting glance at Jolar before continuing his perusal of the tablet.

“Zoran knows about this and is on his way back as we speak, Saakshi” Jolar informed her, the urgency in his voice pronounced. “It will take the ship half a standard day to get back to the station at maximum speed. Yorgut is trying to ferret out everything he can about the Ketaari Transport that just docked at the station, including its flight plan. Zoran might make better time intercepting the Transport than making it back to the station in time.”

Saakshi nodded mutely, letting Jolar know that she understood him. Zoran was on his way to her, and that was all she needed to know. It was the single and only bit of information capable of soothing her terror.

Jolar moved in a little closer to Saakshi while Pik engaged the Ketaari in loud conversation.

“Can you handle a few hours on the Transport as a prisoner, Saakshi? If not, tell me now. With Yorgut and Mintar’s assistance, I can get you away and hide you safely until Zoran gets here” he inquired urgently.

Saakshi glanced at the bored-looking Ketaari males. They were not military and seemed in a hurry to leave. They’d probably just lock her up in the Cargo Hold of the Transport with the rest of their cargo and forget about her. She might starve due to their disinterest, but she doubted that they’d try any other type of abuse.

“I can do it” she whispered back. “They’re not military and will not harm me in any way. If you help me evade them on this station, Jolar, you’ll become a fugitive in both Keeyori and Empire space. Zoran will need you in the coming days and you cannot aid him if you’re in hiding yourself.”

“Are you sure, Saakshi?” he asked again. “Just say the word” he pleaded when she remained silent.

“I’ll be fine” she reiterated confidently. “Just make sure you get the right flight plan to Zoran.”

Nine

Zoran stood watch by the enormous view screen at the epicenter of the circular Control Center. The room radiated an air of silent frenetic energy as the mercs focused their attention on their respective tasks, honed into exquisite understanding and efficiency by their years of working together under fire. By the Captain’s orders, their ship’s HiE drive was being pushed to the limits of its specification. Zoran had upgraded the drive six months ago, flush with currency from the latest Alliance contract. The upgraded drive had more than lived up to expectations since, and Zoran hoped like Penjem hell that it wouldn’t pick today of all days to throw a tantrum. He could ill afford the luxury of time today to coax or cajole the upgraded drive into holding up to its spec.

“Captain” trilled a voice through his earpiece, drawing his attention.

He had ordered the ship into full battle mode before commencing this mad rush to intercept the Ketaari Transport carrying Saakshi into Empire territory. For the crew, that had meant strapping on weapons and an earpiece that functioned as communicator and translator. The ship had been placed in battle alert protocol which meant that all communication was restricted through their communicator earpieces, unless a ship-wide emergency like breach or evacuation was announced through the starship's communicator system.

Zoran turned his attention from the flashing space on the view screen to the male on the other side of the room requesting his attention. Bator’s voice came clearly through his earpiece.

“I see them on the sensors, Captain. The Transport’s signature matches Jolar’s information.”

Zoran cursed under his breath. About time, he thought. Seven standard hours ago, a communique from his Ketaari source had informed him about the Empire’s revocation of Saakshi’s contract. At first, Saakshi’s changed status had not alarmed Zoran. Though the timing could certainly be better, Zoran had been confident that he had enough time to get her off Keeyor 9 before the Imperial Forces could take Saakshi into their custody. So, after a quick word with his brother, the Juntafeyore had set sail immediately for the Trade Sphere at high speed. Jolar’s urgent message while en route to the station had alerted him to the escalating exigency of the situation. Someone with considerable influence within the Empire had ignored the usual practice of dispatching a military ship to transport prisoners from neutral space, but had instead tasked a nearby civilian Ketaari Transport to do the job.

Four hours had passed since Jolar’s transmission, with details of the civilian Ketaari Transport that had departed the Trade Sphere with Saakshi on board. By then, Zoran had already given the command to strain the HiE drive to sustained bursts of its maximum speed. A second and more dire communication from Jolar, who'd bribed a dock operator to obtain the information that Ghesh had also hitched a ride on the same Transport, had triggered Zoran to make the decision to push the drive to its theoretical spec limit.

“How long before we intercept them?” he inquired tersely.

“A little under two standard hours at their present trajectory and speed” said Bator’s voice in his ear.

“Transmit the information to the other Hadari’Kor ships” he directed.

“Yes, Captain” Bator signed off.

The Juntafeyore had been rendezvoused with five other Hadari’Kor starships when news had reached Zoran from his Ketaari contact. His brother’s ship had sailed deeper into Alliance space to keep the pre-arranged meeting with the Alliance representatives, while the other ships had made the decision to follow Zoran to the Trade Sphere, their varying speeds based on their individual drive capabilities. Midway to the station, the ships had changed direction to match the Juntafeyore when it became clear that their mission was now to intercept a Ketaari ship before it could cross into Empire space with its precious Budheya cargo. The need to hammer out an agreement with the Alliance was suddenly of paramount concern. Zoran’s early overtures had been successful in recruiting enough Hadari’Kor to start negotiations, and his brother, Zatar, had received positive feedback on his early overtures to the Alliance. For Zoran though, the biggest spur for an urgent agreement was Saakshi’s new status. Once they freed her from the clutches of the Ketaari Transport, she would be on the run from the Empire – a dangerous prospect that he hadn’t wanted for her. There were other ways to mitigate her fugitive status, but Zoran understood her commitment to the Budheya cause and didn’t intend to put her in a position where she’d be forced to choose between her individual freedom and that of her people.

“Martuf” he directed into his communicator. “Assemble a quick strike boarding party for the Transport. They’re not military, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“On it, Captain” replied his Third immediately.

“And Martuf” Zoran added “You’ll be in command of the Juntafeyore when I lead the strike force.”

“If you’re sure, Captain?” There was a short pause before Martuf asked the question.

His decision went against the rules Zoran had laid out for his mercs – the warrior most familiar with the ship’s capabilities always stayed behind to command it. Their ship, with its state of the art weaponry, was a formidable asset in their arsenal. But only when commanded by someone who could wield it with precision at just the right moment to tear apart the opposition in any skirmish. In the hands of the wrong commander, the ship’s lethalness would be tempered. That had been Zoran’s logic when he had laid down the rules of engagement for his mercs.

But Zoran was willing to break his own rules for this upcoming engagement. He intended to lead the team entrusted with bringing Saakshi back from the Ketaari. And in the absence of Jolar, who knew the ship almost as well as his Captain, it fell to Martuf to command the Juntafeyore. It helped that Zoran was confident in Martuf’s ability to handle any maneuvers the Juntafeyore might be called upon to play its part in Saakshi’s rescue. The strike force would board the Ketaari ship, in readiness to fight for Saakshi if necessary, but Zoran rather doubted that it would come to that. The very presence of a powerful Hadari’Kor warship intent on a fight, even without entourage of the other mercenary ships, would be sufficient for a Ketaari cargo ship to surrender Saakshi.

“I’m very sure, Martuf” Zoran signed off.

Transport Captain Tur Khosh had had better days. First, there had been the request from the Imperial Forces to make a slight detour to Keeyor 9 to pick up a Budheya prisoner. Though couched as a request, even a lowly Transport Captain knew that one didn’t say no to the Imperial Forces. The Emperor’s Military, as they were fond of referring to themselves, was the toast of the Empire – all the gains and territorial successes in the last fifty years being solely attributed to the might and greatness of the Imperial Forces. Tur Khosh, already behind on his tight delivery schedule when the request from the Imperial Forces had come in, had hoped to make up for lost time after a quick detour to the pick up the prisoner. That hope had been shot to bits by a demanding Unta-Golar who had boarded the ship minutes before the Transport had undocked from the Trade Sphere. The Ketaari officer had ordered the Captain to head into Empire space to drop off the prisoner to Budheyasta before he continued his cargo run. Now, Khosh found himself facing the prospect of paying out substantial penalties for not meeting the delivery schedule on his entire shipment. His crew were understandably disgruntled by the prospective loss in revenue. Transporting non-essential supplies within Ketaari and neutral space was not a lucrative business, but at least they had been earning enough currency to feed the crew and refuel the Transport with a little extra for ship maintenance every now and then. This misadventure was likely to cost them the goodwill of their customers, as well as serious currency. Not only would they not get paid for their transport services, they would be left with a hefty bill in the form of late fee penalties for not meeting their delivery schedule.

The prisoner, a little slip of a Budheya female, had been placed in the Cargo Hold with a limited amount from their food rations to sustain her for the journey. Khosh’s plan had been to ask his crew to check up on her when they were scheduled to unload their cargo at the next delivery stop in one standard day. The arrival of the Unta-Golar had changed all that. The Ketaari officer had made two immediate demands: access to the prisoner, and a speedy trip to Budheyasta on the shortest and fastest route into Ketaari territory. Khosh had complied by giving the command to head into Ketaari space, but had not given the order for the ship to sail at maximum speed – he refused to waste fuel on the say-so of the arrogant Unta-Golar. He had also directed two of his biggest crew members to accompany the Unta-Golar to the Cargo Hold. His crew were tasked with ensuring that the Unta-Golar did not injure the prisoner too much. The request from the Imperial Forces entrusted him with the prisoner, and Khosh intended to deliver her into their custody in one piece, irrespective of the demands from a lowly Unta-Golar.

Seven hours into their journey towards Ketaari territory, the Transport’s old-fashioned proximity alarm sounded its warning abruptly, before the onboard proximity detection system brought the ship to an abrupt and grinding halt. The Transport Captain hurried into his tiny Control Room, spurred on by the shrill clanging of the alarm.

“Shut that damn thing off” he shouted through the cacophony, trying to be heard above the amplified noise in the Control Room.

The single crew member present in the Control Room scurried to do the Captain’s bidding, while Khosh tried to make sense of the navigation and proximity sensor readings. The alarm shut off abruptly mid-clang, before the crew member hurried into his seat beside the Captain to unshutter the small view screen.

“Captain” he gasped, pointing to the ship displayed on the view screen.

Khosh’s heart sank at the sight of the huge starship that ominously barred his way. Although the markings were unfamiliar to him, Khosh could tell that the ship had been built for combat. Captain and crew stared at each other with a mix of bewilderment, shock and alarm, until the ping of the communicator broke the silence between them.

Khosh jabbed at the communicator control instinctively. The display on the view screen switched to a big gray-skinned warrior in full armor, minus the helmet the mercs where known to go into battle with.

“HadKor” the crew member gasped under his breath, growing paler at the sight.

Khosh reminded himself that he was close to Ketaari space, and not carrying anything of remote interest to the Hadari’Kor.

“I am Transport Captain Tur Khosh. Why have you forced us to come to a stop?” he inquired, the truculence he tried to project nevertheless coming across as foolhardy bravado.

“This is the Hadari’Kor starship Juntafeyore. Your ship is carrying something of value to the Hadari’Kor. You will be detained until you give her up” the big Hadari’Kor male declared coldly without much expression.

“Her” Khosh exclaimed, having caught that one bit of significance in the demand. That was all he had time to blurt out, just as a subtle but unmistakable jolt caused the Transport to shudder in place.

Khosh glanced at the petrified crew member who was staring at the gray-skinned male on the view screen. “Find out what’s going on” he directed.

The crew member was barely out of his seat, when the voice on the view screen made an announcement, the underlying threat in the proclamation clear.

“That was our strike team boarding your craft. If you do not want your ship laid to waste by Hadari’Kor, give us back what belongs to us.”

The crew member cast his Captain one horrified glance before scurrying away from the Control Room, his eyes darting fearfully around for the mercs that had boarded their Transport. Khosh made a valiant effort to shove back his own fear and attempt to take charge of the situation.

“Do you mean the Budheya female?” Khosh asked the Hadari'Kor male. “She’s a Ketaari prisoner. I cannot give her up to you without repercussions from the Imperial Forces.”

“She belongs with my Captain” the male stated impassively. “You can either tangle with us or your military. It is your choice, Ketaari.”

Khosh took just half a standard minute to make up his mind. His Transport was equipped with basic weaponry and his crew could handle themselves in a tough situation, but their defenses were meant to protect the cargo they transported from marauders. Hadari’Kor mercenaries were a completely different ball game. And these particular Hadari’Kor had brought along a warship to engage them. Khosh would rather tangle with the Imperial Forces any day, given the choice. The Imperial Forces would not blame him for giving up the prisoner in the face of overwhelming Hadari’Kor force. He would make sure to complain to them for putting his ship and crew in such a vulnerable position. Ketaari citizens might be expected to give in to the occasional reasonable request from the Imperial Forces, but they were certainly not expected to fight belligerent Hadari’Kor.

“Recall your team” Khosh urged. “We will surrender the prisoner.”

“It’s too late” the male responded. “You’d better hurry and give her up to the Captain before he wreaks havoc on your ship.”

The communicator link died abruptly as the gray-skinned giant disappeared from the view screen, to be replaced by the massive warship waiting ominously close.  Khosh stared at the screen for a stupefied moment before jumping out of his seat to race towards the Cargo Hold.

Zoran kicked open the access hatch they had just unsealed with a flame torch. His team of nine followed him onto the Transport silently. While two mercs had worked on the access hatch, the others had spent their time acquainting themselves with the Transport’s layout, gathered from the initial scans that the Juntafeyore had taken of the cargo ship. At a muted gesture from Zoran, the team split into two groups to head off in opposite directions. They marched through the empty corridors, unsubtle about advertising their presence onboard the Transport. This mission was about quick and efficient extraction, with intimidation their weapon of choice. Any other tactic, including an actual skirmish, was to be used only as a last resort. The mercs had honed the art of intimidation down to a tee. It was a powerful tactic to have in their arsenal. So, they marched through the ship in military formation, attired in full armor with weapons raised and aggressive intent oozing from their pores, their heavy boots clanking threateningly against the ship’s floors.

It took Zoran’s group a few minutes to finally spy a crew member cowering in one of the rooms off the walkway they marched down. Zoran jerked his head at one of his mercs who stalked into the room to come to a stop before the Ketaari. He stared down at the male intimidatingly.

“Where’s the prisoner?” he growled.

The Ketaari crew member trembled at the sight of the massive male in black body armor and helmet with visor down. He cowered, babbling incoherently for mercy in Ketar. The Hadari’Kor merc had spoken in Alliance Standard, but the crew member neither spoke the language nor had a translator device on him. Communication on the Transport with its exclusively Ketaari crew was conducted in Ketar, with crew members clipping on translators only when venturing into non-Ketaari space stations to pick up or unload cargo. The Transport Captain and any crew on duty in the Control Room were the only members on the ship to carry translator devices.

The merc gazed down at the crew member in silent perplexity for a few seconds, before growling again.

“Budheya?”

But the Ketaari crew member was too far gone to understand him. He continued babbling on without interruption. The merc pressed a control on his right wristlet to lower his visor before reaching down to grasp the Ketaari by his work-suit, demanding the male’s attention. Black eyes awash with threat met pale blue frightened ones. The merc shook the Ketaari to get him to be quiet, before enunciating clearly.

“Budheya.”

Brought thus to his senses, the Ketaari stared at him for a second before responding haltingly in Ketar.

“Cargo Hold.”

The Hadari’Kor male’s translator device picked up the Ketaari response. The merc dropped the male down unceremoniously to stalk out, another press of his wristlet bringing down the visor to hide his face again. One of the other mercs pulled up the Transport layout on a tiny screen built into the palm of his glove. It was a matter of moments to figure out the quickest way to the Cargo Hold. This time, they ran; still in formation and still with weapons raised, but without expending the effort to warn of their arrival by clanging their boots on the floor.

Saakshi hit her head hard against the cargo crate to collapse onto the floor. She shook her head dazedly, trying to banish the dancing stars circling her head. Through the fog of confusion and pain, she could dimly hear the Unta-Golar’s taunts. A trickle of something she very much feared was blood slid slowly down her forehead and behind her right ear.

When first brought aboard the Transport and locked in the Cargo Hold, she had allowed herself to relax. The Ketaari crew had left her alone in the crowded Hold full of cargo with some food and water. She’d have liked a warm cloak or a blanket since the environment controls on the Ketaari Transport were set to imitate their icy home planet of Ketaraana. But Saakshi considered the cold a minor inconvenience. Ketaari treated their Budheya prisoners much worse, as she knew well from personal experience. Boarding the Ketaari Transport under the unhappy but watchful eyes of Jolar while projecting an air of confidence to mask her anxiety had taken a toll on Saakshi. Even Pik had looked regretful, assuring her that he planned to lodge an official protest with the Ketaari Imperial Forces. Only the knowledge that Zoran was on his way and the confidence that he would intercept her before she was hauled back into Ketaari space had given her the courage to walk the plank onto the Ketaari Transport.

The Unta-Golar had made an entrance soon after she had been locked in the Cargo Hold, calling out to her in his usual insulting way. Engaged in walking briskly between the piled crates to stave off the cold starting to seep into her bones, Saakshi’s heart had sunk at the familiar and unwelcome voice. Her first and instinctive reaction had been to hide behind one of the many cargo crates and lead him a merry chase. This was a large and crowded room with plenty of hiding places. But second thoughts had made her decide against it. The game would merely enrage the Unta-Golar and moreover, she was damned if she’d hide from him like a fearful toran beast. Bolstered by the knowledge that her pain implant couldn’t be used against her anymore, Saakshi had stepped forward boldly to confront him. Dr Uish, the Lopordian medic on Juntafeyore, had successfully managed to program the RCD Scanner to disable remote access to her implants, so Saakshi had faced the Ketaari commander with confidence.

The first thing to strike Saakshi about him had been the strange way the Unta-Golar moved – slowly and awkwardly without any of his usual arrogant swagger. Although his face and other unexposed skin showed no trace of bruises, Zoran must have done a real number on him, she’d realized. The medics on Keeyor 9 had healed his surface contusions, fixed any broken bones and given him some BTR agent to speed up his recovery, but it certainly looked as if the advanced alleviating agent had not accomplished complete regeneration yet.

“Budh female” he’d taunted as she strolled into view. “Where’s the HadKor swine you always hide behind?”

“Waiting for you to heal completely before he administers another public beating” she’d countered coolly.

The Unta-Golar’s face had transformed into an uglier shade of darker blue from his usual pale bloodless complexion.

“Watch it, Budh” he’d bit out through clenched teeth. “We have eleven hours before we cross into Ketaari territory. Until then, you’re my prisoner. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Imperial Forces finds itself minus one Budh traitor by then.”

She’d kept her face expressionless with an almighty effort, instinctively understanding that showing any fear to this male was tantamount to defeat. He’d walked forward in his awkward shuffling gait and torn her tenar armband roughly off her bicep to throw it away with a disdainful flick of his arm.

“You don’t need that religious trash anymore, Budh. You’re back to where you belong - answering to the Empire” he’d hissed.

Saakshi had been unable to prevent a flinch as the sharp ends of the mesh had scratched her arm while being roughly torn away from her. He’d leered at her in response, circling her slowly as if he were inspecting cattle. She had silently clenched her jaw, readying herself for whatever came next.

“Hiding any weapons on your person, Budh?” he’d taunted in her ear, standing a little to the side and behind her.

“No” she’d replied calmly, though the one in her right boot still lay snug where it always did.

“I think I’ll make sure” he’d remarked immediately.

Saakshi had ducked and whirled away in a quick move before his hands could grasp her.

“No” she’d said more forcefully, a safe distance from his groping arms.

He’d grinned cruelly while pulling out a device from his belt in a bizarre déjà vu play that had reminded Saakshi of the time they had fought hand to hand in the alley outside her dorm on Keeyor 9 before Zoran had stepped in to stop him for the very first time.

“Don’t worry, Budh. I know just the trick to make you more docile.”

Despite the knowledge that her implant couldn’t be used against her, Saakshi had braced herself. He’d pressed the control on the device with anticipation, only to look comically puzzled when nothing happened. He’d pressed it again and again, his bewilderment slowly giving way to anger.

“You took out the implant” he’d exclaimed incredulously, advancing towards her. “This will add to your prison sentence. It is tantamount to an escape attempt.”

He’d punched out at her with one powerful fist and suddenly she was back in that alley on Keeyor 9, fighting for her life. This time, he didn’t have the advantage of her pain implant and he wasn’t as mobile as before, but he could still swing some powerful blows at her. On the other hand, she had nowhere to run to, so all she could do was fight him until she ran out of steam or Zoran came for her, whichever happened first. They had fought for a good twenty minutes, Saakshi managing to mostly evade serious injury, even though she’d taken a few glancing blows on her arms and one to her shoulder. She’d also managed to land a few hits on the Unta-Golar, who was showing signs of tiring due to his still healing injuries. Then her luck had run out. Trying to evade her opponent, she had slipped and fallen, twisting her ankle in the fall. The Ketaari had been on her in a flash, hitting and kicking at her before she could roll away.

Saakshi had thought that she was done for until two crew members had rushed in, screaming at the Unta-Golar about their Captain’s orders. They’d pulled him off her to demand that he not mark the prisoner. Their Captain had been ordered to deliver the prisoner to the Imperial Forces, and that’s what they were here to ensure. The Unta-Golar in his bloodlust had started screaming at the Ketaari crew for caring more about their Captain’s orders than what the Unta-Golar’s influential friends at the Imperial Forces would do to them. Finally, after hitting a brick wall, the Unta-Golar had taken himself and his threats straight off to the Captain.

The Ketaari crew had left her alone after a casually indifferent examination of the Budheya prisoner curled up in fetal position on the floor. Saakshi had slowly dragged herself to her feet to limp to the small supply of food and water that had been left in the Hold for her. Injured, tired and dispirited, she’d settled down to wait for whatever was to befall her next. She had been in the Hold for what seemed like hours when a jolt rippled through the Transport after it had shuddered to an abrupt halt. Though she had forced herself to get up and limp along the Hold periodically to try and stay warm, she had pretty much lost the battle by then. Constant shivers racked her thin body and her teeth chattered steadily. But at the unexpected jolt, she'd forced herself off the floor again, a wild hope awakening in her that rescue might finally be at hand. Saakshi had almost reached the wide doors of the Hold when the Unta-Golar had rushed in to fell her with one mighty swing. Her reflexes slowed by injury and cold, Saakshi had gone crashing down, hitting her head at the edge of one of the crates that littered the space.

Through the haze of pain and confusion, Saakshi watched the two Ketaari crew from before rush in to grab the Unta-Golar and hold him back from her. Even as the loud arguments in Ketar between the three males continued, she lay prone on the floor, having finally reached the point where she couldn’t muster the strength to fight back any more. Then the wide doors opened again, distracting the three squabbling Ketaari males. Saakshi used the last of her strength to turn her head limply and watch in dazed befuddlement as a group of massive black-clad creatures charged into the Hold, their disciplined formation not wavering despite their obvious hurry. Her mind screamed at her to protect herself from this new threat, yet she couldn’t seem to make herself move.

A loud roar from one of creatures rent the air, cutting through the abrupt silence in the Hold. Saakshi observed the intruders split into two groups. One dashed to where she lay in an awkward splay between crate and floor, while the rest charged the three wary Ketaari, surrounding them to prod them with their weapons into a huddle. Saakshi attempted to flee, her hands and feet scrabbling desperately on the floor as she tried to drag herself away. The intruder stopped abruptly to tear off his helmet, and Zoran’s face gazed down at her, his face tight with fury and his eyes full of concern for her.

“Zoran” she gasped out feebly, teeth chattering uncontrollably in her effort to speak. “Thank the Pura. Get me out of here.”

The wide doors opened again as a second group of Hadari’Kor rushed in to surround the Hold with their weapons at the ready.

“Saakshi” Zoran said simply, his voice strangled with a mixture of relief, concern and anger. His gaze took in the dazed expression on her face, the awkward angle of her body, the blood flowing sluggishly from numerous cuts on her, and the shivers that wracked her almost continuously.

He strapped his weapon to his thigh before tossing the helmet in his hand to one of the Hadari’Kor guarding the Ketaari. The merc grabbed the helmet with one hand to shoot a glance at his Captain. He lowered his weapon, abandoning the rest of his comrades to walk a few feet towards Zoran and Saakshi. Zoran unclasped the ties that held the armor to his torso, stripping it off himself to drape it carefully around Saakshi’s shivering body. The doors opened one more time and an older Ketaari male rushed in, coming to a sudden halt at the sight of the Hadari’Kor mercs in full armor. Some of the Hadari’Kor redirected their weapons to point toward him in one smooth, coordinated action. In response, the older male raised his arms instinctively in the universal gesture for surrender. His eyes searched the room frantically to zero in on Zoran, who was on one knee by the Budheya prisoner. The older Ketaari directed his remarks at Zoran.

“I am Tur Khosh, Captain of this Transport. I surrender the Budheya prisoner to you.”

Zoran ignored him completely, his attention on helping Saakshi to her feet. She swayed, her body ice cold to the touch. Clasping her to him with one arm, Zoran gestured silently with his other to the merc holding his helmet. The waiting warrior strode up to his side. The Captain said something to him in a low voice and the merc used his wristlet control to raise the visor of his helmet. He lowered his weapon to meet Saakshi’s pain-filled eyes reassuringly before placing his arm around her to hold her up. Zoran shot Saakshi one last glance before turning murderous eyes on the Unta-Golar who stood amidst the circle of Hadari’Kor weapons pointed at him, his expression a mixture of chagrin and bravado.

Saakshi put out a hand to detain Zoran and he glanced back at her in inquiry.

“The Transport crew tried to keep him away from me” she attempted to explain, her teeth chattering even as she tried to form the sentence. But he seemed to understand, giving her a nod before stalking towards the Unta-Golar. The expression on Zoran’s face was enough for the Ketaari crew flanking the Unta-Golar to step away from him hurriedly, their Hadari’Kor captors efficiently herding them to their Transport Captain to leave Zoran and Ghesh facing each other.

Zoran studied the Ketaari male contemptuously.

“You’re making a huge mistake, HadKor” the Unta-Golar sneered, attempting to hide his fear. “Your little girlfriend is going to bring the wrath of the Empire down on you.”

Zoran raised a mighty fist to swing it at the male, moving too fast for Ghesh to get out of his way. The fist hit the Ketaari with a loud crack to break his nose, and he went down in dramatic fashion, pale blue blood splattering in the air in a spectacular arc. Before the Unta-Golar could do more than grunt with pain as blood rushed down his pale face to suffuse it with color, Zoran reached down to grasp the Ketaari roughly by his uniform, hauling him up to meet his gaze in a show of physical strength.

“It is you who has made the mistake” he reiterated with deadly precision, the expression on his face causing the Ketaari male to blanch. “She is my tseriya. She will bring your Empire to its knees. I’ll make sure of it.”

He let go of Ghesh unceremoniously, and the male fell back to the floor with a thump and a cry of pain. Zoran raised his boot-clad foot to stomp down on the Ketaari as he lay on the floor. There was a small crack before Ghesh screamed out in pain again. His right leg now lay splayed out at an impossible angle. The Ketaari crew members gasped audibly, and their Captain’s expression grew pale with shock.

“Just something to remember me by.” Zoran’s attention remained on the Ketaari officer. “Perhaps next time, you’ll think twice before you prey on someone rendered powerless to fight back against you.”

Between gasps of pain, Ghesh swore viciously at the Hadari’Kor Captain in Ketar. Zoran straightened up to his full height to cast a last scornful glance at the Unta-Golar.

“Remember what I said before, Ketaari. I’m serving your Empire notice. The only reason I’m letting you live today is because I want you to take my message to your superiors at the Imperial Forces” he stated coldly before turning his back on Ghesh with casual disdain to make his way to Saakshi.

He nodded at the merc holding her up before meeting her eyes, his own softened with emotion.

“Hold on, tseriya” he said softly to her.

Saakshi felt herself swept up to be cradled close to his big warm body. She allowed her eyes to close wearily in relief, her body battered by sheer exhaustion, pain, cold and fear. Zoran strode out of the Cargo Hold with his mercs, their Captain and his precious burden well-guarded by a flank of Hadari’Kor. They made brisk progress towards the access hatch they had flamed to enter the Transport.

“Captain” Martuf said into Zoran’s ear. “Two Ketaari ships are headed here, a half hour away to interception at their present speed. They’re Imperial Forces.”

Zoran understood Martuf’s query. He was asking his Captain whether they were to stay and fight or retreat and regroup. It was a good question. Zoran would welcome a brawl with the Imperial Forces right about now, especially with the Hadari’Kor ships headed this way to back him up. But his saner instincts knew that it was not good strategy for him to pick a fight with the Ketaari military right now, especially a fight he could easily avoid. Soon, the Empire and the Imperial Forces would be under no illusions about who supported and assisted the Budheya rebels, but now was not the time to reveal his hand. They needed to bide their time until everything was in place.

“Scan for a good hiding place and inform the other ships that we will meet with them at the alternative rendezvous coordinates. Be ready to jump the drive the moment the strike team is back onboard.”

“Acknowledged, Captain” responded Martuf’s steady voice.

Saakshi remembered little of the jolting ride on the shuttle and their hurried entry onto Zoran’s starship. All she had was a vague memory of Zoran carrying her into the Medic Bay to leave her in the capable charge of Dr Uish.

“Rest, tseriya” he whispered to her. “I’ll be back for you soon.”

Saakshi slept through their mad dash into a neighboring gas giant, the medicines in her body lulling her into a deep healing sleep. Dr Uish informed Zoran that she would need a few days to recover from the severe trauma to her system due to her injuries and the early onset of frostbite to her weakened body. The Juntafeyore hovered in the gas giant, its sensors blind to wait patiently for the Ketaari Imperial Forces ships to leave, before departing to rendezvous with the other Hadari’Kor ships. One had agreed to detour and pick up Jolar and the two other mercs on Keeyor 9 before meeting up with them at the rendezvous point.

She slumbered through the preliminary set of conferences while the Hadari’Kor hammered out a set of engagement parameters that a majority could agree on. Zoran made sure that the Hadari’Kor spent their time wisely, lining up all the ducks in a row while their ships sailed to a meeting with the Alliance. Zatar had sent them the coordinates for a new conference with Alliance representatives. The broad agreement struck between the various Hadari’Kor groups would be used by their representatives for the upcoming negotiations with the Alliance. It hadn’t taken much persuasion from Zoran to attract a large enough group of Hadari’Kor to his cause. As he had suspected, there had been unanimous agreement that the Hadari’Kor did not want to join the Alliance. Instead, they would negotiate a long-term contract with the Alliance to continue as independent entities under mercenary contract to the Alliance Armada. Albeit a much longer contract than they normally signed up for, and with the agreement that their skills would be used for a specific cause. This was the Hadari’Kor way – a nomadic existence with the craft of combat as their means of livelihood, while resisting being governed by regulations cooked up by people who did not understand their way of life. The people of Hadari and Kor would not join the Alliance but would ally with them to work together for a common cause they believed in – just the way the Hadari’Kor liked it.

She also slept through the surgical procedure as her implants were extracted from her body, the skin around the wounds carefully healed and her ownership bracelet cut open where it encircled her wrist.

When Saakshi finally awakened from her healing sleep, she felt refreshed and little pain. Dr Uish did a final examination before declaring her well along the path to complete recovery. She was discharged from the Medic Bay with Dr Uish cautioning her to get plenty of healing rest for the next few days. Jolar, who Saakshi welcomed with a joyous smile, waited to escort her to a chamber much smaller than the Captain’s, but furnished comfortably enough for her needs. He surprised her with an affectionate hug before asking her soberly to be ready in a standard half hour in the clothes laid out for her in her chamber. Interpreting the urgency in Jolar’s request correctly, Saakshi hurried through a sonic shower. Although eager to ask about events since her rescue from the Ketaari Transport, Saakshi understood that matters of more urgency and higher priority needed to be attended to first.

A simple Budheya dress in the colors of flame and honey and a pair of sturdy walking boots in her size awaited her in the chamber. It was a simple dress with a fitted bodice that fell in soft folds to mid-calf, reminiscent of the attire that Budheya village folk wore to their religious ceremonies. The round neckline was modest while the three-quarter length sleeves were fitted at the top but widened to a bell shape at the cuff. To her joy, her tenar mesh armband lay neatly beside the dress. Saakshi had hunted for the armband on the Transport to hold on to it, clutching it in her hand when the Unta-Golar had felled her before Zoran and his mercs had charged into the Bay. She was glad that someone had had the foresight to keep it safe for her. Saakshi dressed quickly, ready by the time Jolar announced himself to escort her.

Jolar gave her a reassuring smile as he escorted her to the Shuttle Bay. A crew member used a small hand-held RCD Scanner to add temporary tags onto her ID chip to allow her access to Alliance ships and other facilities. That was when it struck Saakshi that the Juntafeyore sat docked somewhere inside Alliance territory. Jolar steered her to a small pre-programmed shuttle and waited for it to start traveling away from the Juntafeyore before he spoke.

“I have a message for you from Zoran, Saakshi. He was hoping to talk to you before you met with the representatives, but he couldn’t get away.”

Jolar continued after an intent look at Saakshi.

“We’re on our way to board an Alliance warship, where you will meet with representatives from the Alliance. They will ask you questions about Budheyasta and the Budheya resistance. Do not be fearful – answer what you can. Zoran will be in the chamber as part of the Hadari’Kor presence and will make sure that you’re not asked any questions that make you uncomfortable.”

Saakshi nodded slowly, taken aback by Jolar’s words. Her mind whirled with a thousand questions but she sensed that this was not the right time to ask them. Zoran's words from their last night together flashed through her. She guessed immediately that this had something to do with his ambitious plans to create a new coalition of Alliance and Hadari’Kor against the Empire.

“Zoran asks you to trust him on this, Saakshi. Hmm?” Jolar added softly as their shuttle completed docking procedures.

Saakshi nodded more confidently this time, oddly reassured by his words. She took a deep breath, preparing to step on to the Alliance ship with Jolar.

Ten

From his seat beside the other Hadari’Kor, Zoran watched Jolar usher Saakshi into the conference chamber. Elegant and poised in the simple Budheya dress Jolar had bought on Keeyor 9 at his request, her only adornment was the armband on her left bicep, identifying her Pura or religious house. To Zoran, she looked beautiful despite the air of fragility that hung over her. He could tell that she was nervous, despite the composure she projected.

The conference chamber was split into two half-spherical seating blocks that faced each other. The blocks were designated for the individual negotiating parties. At either end where the two half-spherical blocks met, a seat had been built into the chamber. These were intended for witnesses, experts and others whose testimony was considered pertinent to the negotiation or conference in progress. The Hadari’Kor party sat watchfully at the head of one block, represented by Zoran, his brother Zatar, and Nektiyor, an experienced and battle-hardened older male, chosen to represent the group of mercenaries at the negotiating table. Two males occupied the block across from the Hadari’Kor. These two, in addition to the Alliance Commander, represented Alliance interests.

Alliance Commander Rayeou Kerovac, more popularly known in Quadrant Five by the moniker Un Kieto Maal which roughly translated to ‘The Machine Male’ in the Commander’s native language, was the highest ranking military officer in the Alliance. As the Alliance Commander greeted Saakshi with old-fashioned courtesy, Jolar withdrew after a quick look directed at Zoran and a final reassuring glance at Saakshi. The Commander ushered Saakshi to one of the seats reserved for witnesses that faced both sets of negotiators.

The Commander’s physical presence - general posture, the way his body moved and the occasional gesture - barely hinted at the depth of extensive mechanical and electronic augments made to his body. Rumor had it that his race, the mighty and accomplished Iovac, one of the original founding members of the Alliance, had created five such Kieto Maals as their latest attempt in a long string of experiments aimed at creating a super race of augmented life forms. The whispers also hinted that the Alliance Commander was the only one of the five to have survived the intrusive adaptations their bodies had been subjected to. Whatever the truth of these rumors, the Commander had not merely survived, but had flourished and thrived, leveraging his phenomenal physical strength, extraordinary intelligence and machine-like computational abilities to the role of Alliance Commander – Commander-in-Chief of the Alliance Armada. The Alliance Armada was a loose confederation of military contingents from the various planets that made up the Kampuchan Alliance. Their singular goal and only charter was to defend Alliance territory from being encroached upon by the expansionist Budh-Ketaari Empire. Each military contingent or fleet followed its own set of regulations, fighting style and individual strategy in battle, but the overall deployment and strategy of the Alliance Armada, including the positioning and mission of individual fleets, was directed by the Alliance Commander. It was widely known that after years of impasse with the Ketaari Imperial Forces, the Alliance had finally experienced some notable military successes since Un Kieto Maal’s appointment as Alliance Commander.

Saakshi clasped her hands nervously in her lap and concentrated on projecting an image of serenity. A quick sidelong glance had revealed Zoran seated between two Hadari’Kor males to the right of her. She could feel his intent gaze on her, as if willing her to turn her head and meet his eyes, but Saakshi was too nervous to make the attempt. She glanced instead at the other group of two males to the left of her. One wore the colors of the Alliance Armada, like the tall male who had greeted her before ushering her courteously to her seat. The second one looked like no race she’d ever seen or heard of. He was massive, even bigger than the huge Hadari’Kor, and attired in a long robe with a hood that obscured most of his face. What little she could glimpse of his face was a deep bronze marked faintly with what looked like pale vertical stripes.

“I’m Alliance Commander Rayeou Kerovac” the tall male introduced himself to her politely, his military bearing ramrod straight as he stood before Saakshi. “With your permission, the Alliance would like to ask you some questions.”

An expression of astonishment flitted across Saakshi’s face before she recovered to acquiesce to his request. She hadn’t realized that this courteous and self-composed male was the legendary Rayeou Kerovac. Un Kieto Maal’s reputation, as well as his strategic successes against the Empire, had reached even the rural hinterlands of Budheyasta.

“Could you state for the record if you’re amenable, please.”

The Commander’s polite and even tones seemed to steady Saakshi, and she replied softly in the affirmative, responding in Alliance Standard, the language he had addressed her in.

“Could you state your name for the record, please?”

His subsequent questions dealt with mundane details of her childhood, her parents, her village in Budheyasta, her recruitment to the resistance, her experiences with her resistance cell and her knowledge of the cooperation between various resistance cells on Budheyasta. With every question, Saakshi grew more confident in her responses, but her new found composure was fated to be short-lived.

“Were you a prisoner of the Ketaari Imperial Forces?”

Saakshi flinched from the simple query. Memories of being aboard the Ketaari Transport assailed her, rendering her temporarily incapable of a response. As she tried to gather herself, her eyes flashed around the room in desperation, only to collide with Zoran’s steady gaze. He lounged in his seat, outwardly relaxed but with a watchful look in his dark eyes. His eyes held her perturbed ones for a long moment, the expression in their depths helping Saakshi to compose herself again. She turned her attention back to the Commander, comforted and calmed by Zoran’s presence and the reassurance in the dark eyes. As she replied in the affirmative to the Commander’s query, she couldn’t fail to catch the brief but speculative glance directed at Zoran by the third male in the Alliance party – the only one not wearing the Alliance insignia. So far, he’d observed the proceedings silently. Thus, even this tiny reaction from him caught her attention.

The Commander asked her for details of the crime she’d been convicted of on Budheyasta, her experience as a Ketaari prisoner, the details of her contract being bought by Pik and her experience working on Keeyor 9 Trade Sphere. The only time Saakshi faltered in her response was when asked about her acquaintance with Zoran.

“The Ketaari Golar in charge of my village on Budheyasta walked into Trader Pik’s one day to recognize me from before. When he started harassing me, I asked Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor for his assistance” Saakshi explained steadily, unable to stop herself from shooting a quick glance at Zoran. His eyes remained steady on her, a slight smile on his face.

“Were you acquainted previously with Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor?” the Alliance Commander inquired.

“He was a regular patron to Pik’s during the time I worked there.”

“You knew him casually from the alehouse.” There was the barest hint of a query in the Commander’s statement.

“I had no contact with the Captain before I asked him for assistance” Saakshi answered steadily. “I merely knew him as a customer from Pik’s.”

“Then why did you choose to approach him for assistance?”

“My boss, Trader Pik, advised me to approach the Captain. Pik believed that the Captain would be willing to help me on this matter and I felt comfortable approaching him for assistance” Saakshi said composedly. As far as Saakshi was concerned, the genesis of her association with Zoran was a private matter between them, and not something for public consumption or discussion. Zoran’s advent into her life, no matter the circumstances, was a fortuitous event Saakshi credited to her Pura. Pura Bedana had been looking out for her in more ways than one by gently nudging her faithful follower towards her Hadari’Kor Captain.

“You discussed this matter with Trader Pik?” the Alliance Commander probed gently.

“No, Pik had heard about the Ketaari officer through the station grapevine. He knew that I was in trouble. Pik advised me to go to Zoran for help, since he was powerless to assist me on this matter.”

The Commander’s brow arched faintly in inquiry, although his expression remained unchanged.

“Pik does not allow his customers to harass his servers” Saakshi explained, her voice matter-of-fact. “But a Ketaari prisoner on contract to him being constrained by a Ketaari commander is beyond his purview. He also warned me that the Ketaari Unta-Golar could have my contract revoked prematurely, and he was proven right.”

The Alliance Commander directed a searching glance at her before moving on to another line of questioning.

“In your opinion, is the Budheya resistance making any impact on the Ketaari occupation of your world?”

“Not in any substantive way yet.” Saakshi’s response was immediate. “But we’ve always known that it will take a long and inter-generational struggle before we’re able to overthrow the Empire from Budheyasta.”

“Why do you believe that it will take such a long struggle?”

“This type of resistance does not come naturally to the Budheya. We’re still learning how to effectively fight an occupational force. They have superior weaponry and technology that they stole from us. On top of that, the Ketaari make sure to keep the Budheya people uneducated and too preoccupied with feeding their children to fight back in any effective way against the oppression.”

At her frank but well-articulated response, the Alliance Commander directed another penetrating look at her before continuing.

“Do you believe the rebels would accept outside assistance to overcome some of these shortcomings?”

Saakshi stared at the Commander for a moment, taken aback by his directness.

“I believe they would consider it, but it would depend on the precise offer and what the rebels were expected to provide in return” she responded slowly and thoughtfully.

“The Alliance thanks you, Saakshi neh Merama tik Ulmik pura Bedana, for your time and patience in answering our queries.”

Saakshi acknowledged his words, inexplicably surprised by the way the Commander had rattled off her long Budheya name precisely and without hesitation.

The Commander waited for the door to close behind Saakshi after handing her back into Jolar’s keeping before he turned his attention to the rest of the room.

“I think we can make this work” he declared quietly.

Zoran breathed a silent sigh of relief at the words, able to relax for the first time since he’d set eyes on Saakshi, battered and shivering on the Ketaari Transport.

“The Alliance will assume responsibility for financial support, weapons and any other material support we deem necessary for the Budheya people, while the Hadari’Kor train and guide the Budheya rebels on guerilla techniques, effective tactics and weaponry expertise necessary to their fight against the Ketaari occupation forces. This will be the first phase of this operation. Once substantial numbers of rebels have been trained and their logistics, capabilities and infrastructure strengthened to the point where their strikes against the Imperial Forces on Budheyasta are effective, we will commence the next phase of this operation. The eventual goal is to coordinate strategy with the rebels so that the Empire is forced to fight on two fronts simultaneously” the Commander stated in his precise way.

Zoran had noticed how deliberate and precise the Alliance Commander's speech was, the first and only time he'd met the male at an inaugural event in the Commander’s honor four years ago. In the intervening years, the Commander had picked up a slight intonation in his dialogue delivery, almost as if to match that of the non-enhanced beings from his home world, although the precise and measured speech patterns still persisted. Zoran guessed that this very quality was what made the Commander such a good strategist on the battlefield – able to precisely size up situations, untroubled by emotion, and to process and sort through large amounts of data with a clear goal in mind while computing odds and probabilities at speeds that rivaled a machine. Not for the first time, Zoran wondered whether the Commander felt other emotions or experienced needs like the non-enhanced males of his world.

Zatar exchanged a glance with Nektiyor and his brother before engaging the Alliance Commander on some of the finer points of the strategy Commander Kerovac had just outlined. Both parties were in agreement on the broad principles and guidelines of the operation. Now they would need to hammer out the details and draw up a contract for the Hadari’Kor contingent eager to participate in this mission.

“News of this potentially important and significant partnership will be hard to hide for long. But I would like it to be kept secret for as long as possible” the Alliance Commander directed.

Everyone in the chamber perfectly understood the Alliance Commander's intent. The element of surprise was a very effective weapon if used properly. By all accounts, the Empire did not consider the Budheya people or their resistance a serious threat to their domination of Budheyasta, and it would be to the Alliance’s advantage to let the Imperial Forces continue in this delusion until the rebels were ready to engage the Empire’s forces on Budheyasta. This operation, with its potential for great strategic value in the war against the Empire, was still in its nascent stage. So far, only a broad understanding of the scope of the operation and the division of responsibilities between two of the three stakeholders had been negotiated. The Budheya rebels, a singularly important component in this operation, had not yet been approached for their part in this.

A highly risky and dangerous part of this plan would be the mission to Budheyasta, a world that lay squarely protected behind the Empire’s border security net, deep in Budh-Ketaari Empire space. First would come the journey to make initial contact with the Budheya rebels and eventually, the task of ferrying rebels back and forth from their planet to an Alliance facility for training - both operations would need to be conducted clandestinely under the noses of the Ketaari Imperial Forces. A tricky and dangerous task to accomplish under any circumstances, it would be almost impossible if the Ketaari were forewarned of their arrival or plans. The only way for this ambitious operation to succeed was to focus on training enough rebels quickly to fight an effective guerilla war, while ensuring that no inkling of this plan was leaked to the ears of the Ketaari establishment. Only once all the cogs were in place would the Empire awaken to this new threat to their oppression and colonization of the Budheya.

“We understand the stakes, Alliance Commander” Zatar acknowledged. “The Hadari’Kor will not allow this secret to leak.”

The Hadari’Kor leader waited for Commander Kerovac to acknowledge his words before continuing.

“The priority now is to contact the rebels on Budheyasta and start the process of recruiting them while we hammer out the details between us” Zatar remarked, in his quietly authoritative way. “Eventually, we will need ships to transport and train the rebels in large numbers, and a comparatively low risk means of transporting them to and from Budheyasta.”

“I agree” the Commander acquiesced with alacrity. “Do the Hadari’Kor have any ideas on how to contact the rebels on Budheyasta?”

Zatar glanced at his brother, who they had previously agreed would be responsible for that particular mission.

“The journey to Budheyasta will be the challenge” Zoran spoke up. “Once there, it should be fairly easy to escape detection while we talk to the rebels on the planet. Our information suggests that Budheyasta doesn’t have much surveillance and is protected by minimal Ketaari patrols in space, so if we can slip through the Empire’s border security net undetected, it should be fairly easy to avoid their patrols over Budheyasta space.”

“Our intelligence on Budheyasta’s security measures matches yours” the Alliance Commander acknowledged.

“We have a solution for one of the problems” Zoran continued. “We know of a loophole in their border security net that can be exploited to slip through without being detected. However, once through, we’ll still need to dodge Ketaari patrols on our way to Budheyasta. My team is currently exploring some measures to reduce the risk of detection by their patrols while in their territory.”

The Commander studied Zoran thoughtfully for a moment. “I might have a way for you to avoid detection while in Empire space.”

The Commander turned slightly to face the only non-Alliance representative on his team, the status obvious by the lack of Alliance insignia adorning his person. The two males made eye contact briefly before the Commander turned back to face the Hadari’Kor representatives again.

“What I’m about to disclose to you needs to stay in this room for now.”

Commander Kerovac waited for the Hadari’Kor to acquiesce to his request, which they did after a quick exchange of puzzled glances between themselves.

“I’d like to introduce Star Captain Zh’hir Mu’raat. He is the new Ur’quay Representative to the Alliance. The Ur’quay have changed their stance after centuries of isolation to ally themselves with the Alliance.”

There was an audible gasp in the chamber as the Hadari’Kor stared at the Ur’quay Representative, completely gobsmacked by the Commander’s revelation. The Ur’quay were legends in this part of space, with a reputation across this galaxy as a race of warriors said to possess unique abilities. Rumored to have come from a distant planet on a star system far away, they had romped, explored and fought their way across this quadrant once. The Hadari’Kor, much like others in Quadrant Five, had grown up on stories of the Ur’quay’s legendary exploits, even though no legendary warrior had been sighted in this part of space for centuries. Like others, they’d believed that the Ur’quay had either never existed except in legend, or had become extinct as a species. Under those circumstances, the Commander’s revelation felt akin to a bombshell. Not only had the Ur’quay leapt out from the pages of legend into their corner of the universe, but they had decided to ally with the Alliance in the civil war consuming Quadrant Five.

“I believe you understand why it is absolutely imperative that this particular bit of news about our new friends be kept under wraps for now” the Alliance commander added quietly.

The three Hadari’Kor couldn’t help but stare at the Star Captain with great curiosity. If the Ur’quay possessed even half the prowess in battle that legend attributed to them, the Alliance had suddenly acquired a huge advantage in their war against the Empire. The other important takeaway from the Alliance Commander’s pithy introduction of the Ur’quay Captain was not lost on Zoran. The Ur’quay had turned their back on Quadrant Five for very different reasons than what was generally speculated. They had not become extinct. Rather, for some inexplicable reason, the explorers and warriors had made the decision to isolate themselves on their far away home world.

The Ur’quay male nodded courteously at the Hadari’Kor in greeting, but did not speak or pull up the hood that hid most of his face. Instead, he turned his attention back to the Alliance Commander and waited patiently for him to continue.

“The Star Captain commands a starship with the ability to cloak itself, although it does need vast resources to generate the energy required to hold the cloak for substantial periods of time” Commander Kerovac explained. “He has offered his ship and services to make first contact with the rebels on Budheyasta. If you can exploit their border security net to slip into Empire space undetected, he will transport you to Budheyasta and back, using the cloak to render the ship invisible when their long-range scanners indicate patrols heading your way. The Alliance will provide the ship with enough energy reserves to allow it to stay cloaked within Empire space.”

It took Zoran mere minutes to ponder the Commander’s words before accepting the offer gratefully. A cloaked ship would give them a decided advantage once in Empire territory. He couldn’t help but exchange a quick and significant glance with his fellow Hadari’Kor. This new partnership between the Ur’quay and the Alliance had far more potential than merely assisting them in making the journey to Budheyasta undetected. If the Ur’quay joined the fray, they could potentially change the balance of power in this corner of space. The kind of support they were willing to provide to their new allies would, of course, determine how much effect they had in the war between the Alliance and the Empire. But for now, the Hadari'Kor were bound by their word to not discuss this news outside the chamber. They’d have to wait for this new partnership to slowly unfold to understand all its implications.

“Zoran of Hadari’Kor” the Alliance Commander drew Zoran’s attention. “A word with you, if you please.”

Zoran excused himself to walk over to the Alliance Commander.

“Do I assume correctly that you intend to use the Budheya girl’s assistance for the initial approach to her rebel comrades?” Commander Kerovac queried.

Zoran nodded briefly in assent. “I’ll pitch the offer of assistance as part of a Hadari’Kor effort. That way, even if it leaks out to the Ketaari, the Alliance will be kept out of it. Once we bring in the rebel leaders for talks, we will reveal the Alliance’s part in the offer. After that, it will be their leaders’ responsibility to keep this pact a secret. Once they’re fully briefed on this ambitious operation, I’m confident that the Budheya will understand the consequences of even a whiff of it being outed to the Ketaari. If the Ketaari know of our plans, it would leave us with no way to get rebels off planet for training, and the resistance with no means to get supplies or ammunition in their fight against Ketaari occupation.”

The Alliance Commander’s electric blue eyes searched Zoran’s face, before allowing a hint of approval to color his impassive expression.

“That is a very good idea” he agreed. “It will reduce the risk of this operation being revealed to the Imperial Forces. But it might cause the Empire to go after the Hadari’Kor if they suspect your assistance to the resistance.”

“They will find it hard to do so, for there is no single entity that represents the Hadari’Kor” Zoran was confident. He had given this matter enough thought. “We’re nomadic mercenaries who travel where the fighting takes us. Some are probably on contract with the Imperial Forces. The only thing that would unite us all was if anyone dared to attack Hadari or Kor. All bets would be off then. We would drop everything to protect our twin home worlds.”

“That is a fair assessment” the Commander murmured thoughtfully. “I do have one concern with this plan.”

Zoran waited patiently for the Commander to explain.

“Your reputation precedes you, Zoran of Hadari’Kor” the Commander said soberly. “I’m confident that in the event of your capture by the Ketaari, nothing would make you reveal any Alliance secrets, whether it be our desire to assist the Budheya rebels or the new pact with the Ur’quay. However, I’m not so sure of the Budheya girl standing up to Ketaari interrogation.”

Zoran stared at the Commander, who gazed back at him evenly.

“She will not be captured by the Ketaari. I give you my word on that” Zoran pledged with calm confidence. He fully intended to make sure that Saakshi never again ran the risk of being captured by the Ketaari. She was now a fugitive of the Empire. The Ketaari would put her to death or worse for her transgressions.

“You will make sure that she’s never in a position to reveal our plans to the Ketaari. I want your word on that” the Commander stated with steely determination.

Zoran contemplated the implacable face of the Alliance Commander. He knew what the other male asked of him, and he understood only too well why. He was being asked to give his word that he would kill Saakshi rather than let her fall into the hands of the Ketaari. The Alliance was interested in assisting the Budheya resistance because a well-armed, well-financed and well-fought counter campaign by the rebels on Budheyasta would effectively open a second battlefront for the Ketaari Imperial Forces, making it easier for the Alliance to defend their territory and inch towards a total victory over a weakened Budh-Ketaari Empire. If the effort also helped the Budheya free themselves and throw off the yoke of the Ketaari, then that would be the cherry on top of the cake. But it was not and would never be the actual cake.

The Commander was looking out for the best interests of the Alliance - that was Kerovac’s mandate, after all. Saakshi was to be considered collateral damage if she happened to get in the way of their plans succeeding. Zoran couldn’t blame the Commander. After all, Zoran had made sure to point out the gains each of the three parties potentially stood to make when he had pitched this unlikely coalition to the Alliance. The rebels stood to gain freedom for their people, the Alliance, the chance to put the Empire on the back foot and the Hadari’Kor, the chance to sign a long-term lucrative contract for their skills while retaining their independence. The Alliance Commander had not agreed to assist the Budheya rebels out of the goodness of his heart but for tactical advantage over the Ketaari in their fight against the Empire. That Zoran had an ulterior motive in this fight, a very personal one, would not sway the Alliance Commander.

“I give you my word” Zoran pledged calmly.

The Commander was essentially asking for the sacrifice of a single Budheya for the greater good, should the occasion ever arise. Zoran could give his word on this because he was going to make damn sure it did not. There was no way Zoran would even contemplate sacrificing this particular Budheya. No power on Hadari or Kor could make Zoran agree to kill his tseriya, not even to keep his word to the Alliance Commander.

“The word of Hadari’Kor is good enough for me” the Commander stated. “Come, let me introduce you to the Star Captain.”

The next morning, Saakshi waited in the Docking Bay of the Juntafeyore with Jolar. Beside them was a small craft with its hatch open. Zoran had been closeted with the Alliance representatives far into the evening yesterday. Saakshi had not had the opportunity to talk privately with him before she'd fallen into a deep restorative sleep – the effect of the medications prescribed by Dr Uish. She had dined with Jolar in the dining chamber on the Juntafeyore. The chamber had been lined with Food Synthesizers very like the Sustenance Pavilions on Keeyor 9, and Jolar had introduced her to a few Hadari’Kor, some of whom she remembered from their patronage of Trader Pik’s. After a pleasant meal, she’d fallen into bed in the chamber allocated to her. The first day awake after three days of healing sleep had completely exhausted her. Unbeknownst to her, the Juntafeyore had set sail while she slept, on its way to a rendezvous with the Ur’quay ship commanded by Star Captain Mu’raat.

The Docking Bay doors slid open and Zoran walked in, accompanied by a Hadari’Kor male she recognized from the conference chamber and the Alliance Commander. The Commander exchanged a few last words with Zoran before exiting the bay after a polite greeting directed at Jolar and Saakshi who waited patiently by the craft. Zoran and the other Hadari’Kor male made their way towards them.

“Saakshi, I'd like to introduce my brother, Zatar” Zoran directed at her.

Saakshi glanced at the other Hadari’Kor male, who she now noted had a faint resemblance to Zoran, although he looked a fair bit older.

“Zatar, this is Saakshi neh Merama tik Ulmik pura Bedana.”

“Greetings” Zatar said courteously. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from my brother.”

Saakshi, engaged in returning Zatar's greeting, couldn't help but direct a startled glance at Zoran. Zoran returned her glance with a bland one of his own. Zatar watched the little byplay with interest before exchanging a look with Jolar.

“Only good things, I must admit” Zatar assured her with a sudden smile.

Saakshi returned his smile tentatively, somewhat taken aback. From what she’d observed after spending time with the Hadari’Kor, any display of emotion unless in the company of close friends was very rare.

“Take care of her” Zatar commanded his brother.

“I intend to” Zoran’s voice was quiet.

“Be careful, Zoran.”

“I will, brother.”

Saakshi waited silently as Jolar echoed Zatar’s words to be careful and then surprised her anew by giving her an affectionate pat on her back and admonishing her to take care of herself.

Zoran escorted her onto the small craft before sealing the hatch shut. She watched him coordinate with Control Center while efficiently undocking the shuttle from the Bay. He programmed in a new destination into the craft before finally disengaging from the controls to stand up and face her where she sat at the back of the shuttle.

“Dr Uish tells me that you’re well on the path to complete recovery. How do you feel now?” he asked.

“I feel fine” she assured him.

She did. A good night’s rest had left her feeling much refreshed this morning.

They gazed at each other quietly for a few seconds, the air in the cramped shuttle full of unspoken words and emotions.

“Thank you” she said finally. “For coming for me.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” he asked quizzically, the dark eyes intent on her.

“No, I knew you would” she said easily.

“You’re welcome.”

He paused to study her silently for a moment.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get there faster. I was too far away when I heard the news” he said, his voice racked by remorse.

Saakshi stood up impulsively to walk the few steps towards him. She put out a hand to touch his arm gently, wanting to banish the remorse from his voice.

“It does not matter, Zoran. The important thing is that you came for me” she assured him earnestly.

He glanced down to where her hand lay on his forearm before slowly putting his other arm around her waist to gather her to him in a gentle embrace. Saakshi stared up into his intent gaze, only to shut her eyes as he leaned in closer. She felt his lips on her forehead in a kiss.

“I will always come for you, tseriya” he pledged softly, a promise threaded through the statement. “No matter what.”

Saakshi put both her arms around his midriff to hold him tightly as she buried her head in his chest. His other arm came up around her to hold her to him. They stood silent, entwined in each other’s arms while the shuttle smoothly plotted its way to the rendezvous point where they would wait for the Ur’quay ship to join them. The Ur’quay ship would only show itself once the Juntafeyore was out of visual range.

Zoran gently disengaged from her eventually, and led Saakshi to the seat she’d previously occupied. He seated her and then crouched before her to meet her eyes.

“I have something important to tell you, Saakshi. What I tell you, you must not reveal to anyone until I say so, all right?” he asked.

Saakshi nodded immediately, intrigued and curious but also a little amused by his words. Who would she discuss any news with, even if she were inclined to, she wondered a little wryly.

“Last evening, the Alliance reached agreement with a group of Hadari’Kor. We’ve been given a contract to train Budheya rebels.”

A smile split her face. So, this is what he had been after, she realized. He'd told her about his negotiations with the Alliance and a plan to back the Budheya rebels. Yet it had not struck her that it might be the Hadari'Kor who would assist the rebels. Her heart sang happily at the realization. The Hadari'Kor had the necessary skill set to teach the Budheya how to mount an effective resistance against the Ketaari. And she understood immediately that this would allow the Alliance to keep their distance from the situation, should they feel the need to do so.

“Zoran, will you be involved in training the rebels?” she asked.

“I’m one of the four Captains charged with training the rebels. Zatar will lead the mission.”

Zoran paused.

“But first, we have to convince the rebels to accept our assistance” he continued. “We can teach them how to effectively hit the Ketaari on Budheyasta where it will hurt them the most. Only then will the Empire have a serious fight on their hands on Budheyasta. The Alliance will provide financial assistance and weapons and we will train the rebels, provide logistical support and help with strategy and planning in their campaign against the Ketaari occupation of your home world.”

He paused again as Saakshi stared at him in dawning hope. What the Alliance and Hadari’Kor were offering to the resistance was priceless. It would be a fantastic opportunity for the Budheya – who better than the best warriors in this part of space to train them in fighting techniques and tactics? As for the Alliance, they would reap the benefits when the Budheya helped weaken the Empire from within, while the Alliance Armada continued to push back the Ketaari Imperial Forces in their greedy spree of swallowing up entire planets and subjugating their peoples. It was an ambitious but fantastic plan, with the potential to benefit so many people. Saakshi understood only too well how much negotiation and effort it had taken to even bring everyone to the table. And it had been her mercenary who had set the ball rolling in action. She had so many questions for Zoran but they would have to wait. She sensed an urgency in his explanations to her. Their shuttle was headed away from the Juntafeyore, obviously to rendezvous with a different ship.

“Are we going to Budheyasta?” she asked. It was the obvious next step in his plan.

“Yes, to make contact with the rebels. And Saakshi, I need your help to do this.”

“Of course.” Her response was immediate. “What can I do?”

“I want to talk to the leader of your resistance cell. Give me all the information you have on him, your village and how to contact him once I’m on Budheyasta.”

“I can do that” Saakshi said, even as her heart gave an uncomfortable lurch. Zoran’s foray to Budheyasta would be fraught with danger.

Their shuttle came to a stop with a small rattle. They had reached the rendezvous point. Zoran shot the shuttle door a quick glance.

“We do not have much time, Saakshi. Soon, we will board a ship that belongs to a race that has recently allied with the Alliance. They will transport us to Budheyasta. The Alliance Commander wants to keep the news of his new partners a secret.”

Saakshi nodded, assenting without much curiosity. New planets and peoples were constantly joining the Alliance for protection as the Empire turned its greedy eyes in all directions. A new race or even a new secret pact with the Alliance held no interest for her.

The shuttle beeped abruptly, interrupting their conversation. It was the proximity alarm, Zoran knew. The Ur’quay ship had arrived at the rendezvous.

“Saakshi, have you ever heard of the Ur’quay?” Zoran asked her, as he worked the controls to coordinate docking procedures with the Ur’quay ship.

Eleven

Sixty standard hours later, Saakshi stood on a barren hillock on the outskirts of her village on Budheyasta. With Zoran by her side, they took stock of their surroundings in the fading light. Dusk had just fallen and all they could see of the distant village were a few twinkling lights. The village streets looked deserted as she peered at them through the night vision binoculars Zoran handed her. They had both been autoported to the top of this hillock by the Ur'quay starship Henia mere moments ago.

“It looks like the village has been placed under night curfew” she commented to Zoran, who was looking intently through another pair of binoculars at the same village.

“Yes” he agreed thoughtfully. “I wonder why.”

“The Ketaari do not need much excuse to order a curfew.” Saakshi’s voice was even. “It’s their way of letting the Budheya know that we’re not the masters of our destiny, even on our home world.”

Zoran put down his binoculars to give her a quick hug with his free arm.

“That is going to change soon, tseriya” he pressed a soft kiss on her hair.

He was dressed as a Budheya peasant, albeit, the biggest Budheya peasant Saakshi had ever seen. He had been cosmetically altered to look like a Budheya male, his normally gray skin glowing with ruddy sun-kissed and olive-tinted health. The skilled Ur'quay medic on board the Henia had even changed his facial features to subtly look more Budheya: given his ears a pointed tip, lightened his hair to a warm brown and given him lighter eyes. However, they could not alter his height or his build. Budheya males were taller and leaner than their stocky Ketaari counterparts, but were not built on the massive scale the Hadari'Kor seemed to produce.

She had been flabbergasted to learn that the mysterious hooded male from the conference chamber was Ur’quay. Her people still passed down stories of the exploits of these powerful warriors from a far corner of the galaxy, even though they believed that the Ur’quay were part of legend and had never really existed. Thus, to meet a whole starship of Ur'quay had caused Saakshi equal parts excitement and shock. Had she not been preoccupied with other worries, namely the risks Zoran would undertake in his attempt to touch base with rebels on Budheyasta, she’d have tried to explore the starship and interact with the Ur'quay warriors. They were certainly the most exotic race she’d ever heard of – massive with pale vertical stripes across deep bronzed skin, thick, long rust-colored hair worn in braids that hung down their backs, and mysterious gold-colored eyes with elongated black vertical irises. The warriors on the ship wore rust-colored, close-fitting armor with shimmering scales and darker boots. They were all males of few words, although she had noticed a definite thawing in their attitude towards Zoran as he spent time on their ship. The few Ur’quay she had encountered had been unfailingly courteous to her, in an aloof way. The Star Captain was always solicitous in his interactions with her, and made sure to keep a watchful eye on her when Zoran was preoccupied with other tasks. Something he had said to Zoran in her presence made Saakshi suspect that the Ur’quay held females in very high regard, since very few females were born to their species.

As it was, she’d not had much of an opportunity to interact with the Ur’quay. For Saakshi had spent most of her time closeted with Zoran and the Star Captain, except for the requisite amount of deep healing sleep Zoran insisted for her in the tiny cubicle assigned to her. Her meals had consisted of pre-packaged Alliance rations eaten in the Star Captain’s office, while poring over maps of her village and the surrounding area, trying her best to add small details to them from her memory. A little time had also been spent in the Ur’quay ship’s sophisticated Command Chamber, watching Zoran interact with the Ur’quay as he worked to help them circumvent the elaborate security net that the Empire used to protect their space from intruders.

The Alliance had provided them with maps of Budheyasta from their archives. The maps had been ancient, since no outsider had set foot on Budheyasta for at least a century. The Ketaari had made very sure of that. Saakshi had tried her best to fill in details about her village and its environs based on some of the older landmarks on the map. Fortunately, the plan Zoran and the Star Captain had formulated needed only the details of her village and its outskirts. Which was a good thing, for Saakshi had never ventured outside the ten or so villages that the resistance cell she’d been a part of had represented. Not until her capture and imprisonment in a Ketaari prison. Zoran’s plan was relatively simple - to contact Tilabok and use him to spread the word to the other resistance cells.

Zoran had been adamant about Saakshi not stepping foot on Budheyasta, believing the danger and risk of discovery too high for her. He had been insistent that he could make contact with Tilabok, armed with the details she had provided. In response, Saakshi had been resolute in her demand that the only successful way to contact the rebels was by taking her along. The rebels would have a hard time trusting anyone they didn't know, especially a stranger with a fantastic offer of assistance like the one Zoran planned to present to them. Moreover, she had argued, Zoran would have a better chance of passing undetected on the planet if accompanied by someone familiar with the terrain, the hiding places, the Ketaari patrols and the local language. Zoran had been injected with a sub-cutaneous translator device but there was no time to teach him to speak either Ketar or Budhi with any fluency. Thanks to the embedded translator, he could understand the languages but not speak them. If caught, there would be no way for Zoran to pretend to be a local.

The ensuing disagreement had brought home to Saakshi that Zoran, normally possessed of an easy-going disposition, could be very stubborn in some matters. Despite Zoran’s best arguments, she had been adamant that the Budheya rebels would not agree to meet with him unless someone they trusted made the introduction. The Star Captain had eventually backed Saakshi after an hour of being silent witness to their disagreement. Zoran had tried very hard to convince her to stay behind in the relative safety of the Ur’quay ship while he went to Budheyasta to clandestinely make contact. Star Captain Mu’raat had chimed in quietly that though the risk of discovery on Budheyasta was high for Saakshi, their mission to contact the Budheya rebels would have a much better chance of success if she accompanied Zoran to the planet. He’d also made the argument that it would take Zoran by himself a lot longer to get the rebels to trust him enough to agree to meet with him. The longer the Henia stayed in Empire territory, the greater the risk of detection for the ship. The risk would not only be greater for the ship but also its inhabitants, which included Saakshi. It had been this argument that had finally convinced Zoran, as the Star Captain had known it would. Zoran had directed a piercing look at the usually impassible countenance of the Ur’quay male who’d returned his stare with a suspiciously innocent expression. In the end, Zoran had made Saakshi promise to follow his lead without hesitation once on the planet. Saakshi, who’d been mightily relieved at his capitulation on the matter, had agreed with alacrity.

They’d come up with a plan that they thought stood a strong chance of success. And Zoran had insisted on several contingency plans for their time on the planet. The Star Captain had worked with his First Commander and Zoran to come up with a set of emergency options. Their plan called for Saakshi and Zoran, disguised as a Budheya male, to be autoported to a deserted hillock close to the village. The Ur’quay’s autoport technology had allowed them to transport Saakshi and Zoran without landing a craft on Budheyasta. They would spend a maximum of two nights and one day to contact Tilabok, the leader of Saakshi's resistance cell, while the Ur’quay ship would find a hiding close to Budheyasta in order to conserve the energy resources needed to stay cloaked for the journey back into Alliance space. Having a stationary uncloaked starship right above Budheyasta had been deemed too risky. The Ur’quay ship was equipped with very sophisticated cloaking technology based on power generated by a special black ore the Ur’quay called shtoal. As promised, the Alliance had provided plenty of the ore for their journey through Empire space.

Most of the sixty hours for the journey to Budheyasta had been spent in thrashing out the plan and trying to account for contingencies. Zoran and the Star Captain had grilled her on all bits of information about the village, its streets, how the rebels communicated with one another and how often the Imperial Forces ventured into the village. Some of the questions had been so mundane and the details so inconsequential that it had surprised Saakshi when her answer had caused the two males to glance at each other with significance.

Zoran and Saakshi had both been injected with sub-cutaneous locater chips for the ship to locate in case of an emergency. They had also been provided with a tiny device capable of transmitting an SOS signal to the ship hovering in signaling radius if they found themselves in need of emergency autoport off the planet.

“Saakshi” Zoran spoke urgently into her ear, bringing her back to the present. “I want you to remember your promise to me. If we meet a Ketaari patrol, you will get out and contact the Henia to pull you out. Do not worry about me. I can take care of myself until the ship autoports me out.”

Saakshi nodded mutely. She fully intended to keep her promise to him, if it came to it. But in the privacy of her chamber, she had acknowledged to herself what she had been reluctant to say out loud to Zoran. Her feelings for him would not allow her to let him risk himself on a world where she knew the terrain intimately and had spent a lifetime learning to hide from the Ketaari occupiers.

They proceeded silently down the hillock through the dry and barren outskirts into the silent and dark village. Hooded cloaks the color of burnt flame kept them warm against the freezing night time temperatures on the volcanic desert planet. The color of the cloak was intended to help camouflage them during the day by blending them into the flame-colored desert landscape. Zoran ruminated silently on his last conversation with the Ur’quay Captain as he glided watchfully through the deserted village.

“Saakshi cannot fall into the hands of the Ketaari, Star Captain. If the emergency signal is activated, get her out of there immediately. Don’t worry about me. I’ve been in tougher spots before. I can make my way off Budheyasta and into Alliance space by myself if required” Zoran had warned with an intensity and urgency the other male could not ignore.

The irony of the situation did not escape Zoran. If Saakshi was placed in any danger simply because she was necessary to their plans to contact the rebels, it would be ironic since she was the main reason for his setting into motion this juggernaut of an operation to assist the Budheya resistance in the first place.

“Do not worry, my Hadari’Kor friend” the Ur’quay Captain had assured him. “We warriors understand the risks of war, but your Budheya female is an innocent. Together, we will make sure that she returns to Alliance territory unscathed. Zoran of Hadari’Kor, you focus on contacting the resistance and I give you my word that I will get you both out of here. My ship and warriors will prove to be a very tough match for anyone that tries to stop us.”

Zoran had been taken aback by the Star Captain’s response. It had been the longest observation from the Star Captain. Moreover, there had been the references to Saakshi as his Budheya female and Zoran as the Ur’quay male’s friend, a relationship he was sure that the Ur’quay did not take very lightly. Despite his astonishment, the quiet words from the Star Captain had reassured Zoran.

They walked silently through the deserted streets of the village, Saakshi following the big male as he unerringly made his way to the dwelling she'd marked out on the map for them. She couldn’t help but admire the graceful way he slipped through the streets, like a shadow, unfazed by the unknown terrain as he confidently and silently navigated through the jumble of dwellings, shops and places of worship that constituted the village.

Zoran came to a stop beside a single storey dwelling with a big door. Now came the part he was uneasy about. Saakshi had convinced him that she should go alone into the house of Tilabok's cousin who would know how to send word to him for a meeting. As he paused, he felt Saakshi's smaller palm slide into his larger one – he guessed that it was intended to be a gesture of reassurance. He sighed silently as he knocked softly on the door before sliding back into the shadows of the surrounding walls as the door opened just an inch. Saakshi faced the door, pulling down her hood for easy identification. Zoran heard a soft exclamation and then a hand reached out to pull Saakshi through the door, before the door shut with a soft thud. He waited silently for what seemed like an eternity to him, but was probably about fifteen standard minutes, before Saakshi slid back out the door to join him again. She gave him a silent thumbs-up and a grin, the universal sign of a job accomplished, and Zoran wasted no time in clasping her hand to pull her away from the dwelling. They treaded the silent streets once more, this time to head back to the sanctuary of their hillock.

They walked steadily for a standard hour, forced to hide themselves only once when a vehicle of Ketaari soldiers moved through an adjoining street. Once on the outskirts, they began a steady climb up the hillock, past where the ship had autoported them hours ago and all the way up until the village was just a small speck down below. Here, the entire valley lay before them. The decision had been made to hide in one of the caves built into the rock face of the cliff, since it would provide them with a clear view as well as a warning if anyone approached their hideout. The climb was stiff and arduous, light from the three moons of Budheyasta all that guided them. Zoran kept a watchful eye on Saakshi, who had not yet completely healed from her experience on board the Ketaari transport. She climbed steadily and surely without flagging until they stood before their destination - a deep cave with a small opening hidden behind some hanging reddish brown shrubs. Zoran gestured to her to stay put as he turned on the small but powerful light attached to his wristband before making his way into the cave. He intended to make sure that no unpleasant surprises awaited them inside should they decide to rest and hide away in the cave.

The cave went in pretty deep, just as Saakshi had informed them, curving a little away from the entrance as he walked in. This made it ideal as a hiding place, for it allowed a small fire towards the back of the cave without the risk of revealing their presence to anyone outside.

Satisfied by his reconnaissance, Zoran led Saakshi in through the opening to fetch up near the rear wall of the cave.

“I'll collect some wood to start a fire. Why don't you open a couple of food packs for us?” he suggested, gesturing towards the pack he'd discarded on the floor.

Saakshi went to work on his pack, sorting through all the supplies and necessities Zoran had carried, slung over his shoulder.

Twenty minutes later, they sat by a small but roaring fire, polishing off food packs and drinking the water provided to Saakshi by Senara, Tilabok's cousin.  Zoran had carried water with him from the Henia since Saakshi had warned them that water was a precious commodity on her desert home world. But Senara had also pressed two small containers of water into Saakshi's hands on her way out, with an affectionate hug and a hand gesture waving away Saakshi's words of gratitude.

“Senara said that if all goes well, Tilabok should be able to meet with us at dusk tonight” Saakshi remarked, munching tiredly through the somewhat bland food provided in the pre-packaged packs. Her weariness was starting to catch up with her, now that the adrenalin and fear-fueled part of the night was done with, until they were ready to make the trek to meet up with Tilabok.

“Where will he meet us?” Zoran inquired, watching her surreptitiously while he pretended to focus on his own meal.

“I know the location. I can draw you a map in the morning.”

“How far is it from here?”

“Should be about three hours of travel by foot. We might have to go into the village first before the rendezvous. Senara will hang a white sheet out to dry in the courtyard once she receives confirmation from Tilabok by early afternoon.”

Zoran shucked his empty food pack into the flames where it acted as fuel to enable the bright fire. He intended to leave no traces of their presence behind on this planet.

“Get some rest, Saakshi. Dr Uish said that you need a few more days of the healing sleep. I'll keep first watch.” Zoran held out his hand for Saakshi's empty food pack.

“You need rest too, Zoran” she protested. “Let me take the first watch.”

Once he had the fire roaring successfully, Zoran had taken off his flame-colored cloak. He now laid the luxurious cloak lined with soft penda fur carefully on the floor between the fire and the cave wall before holding out his hand to her.

“Sleep, tseriya. I will sleep during the day and you can keep guard then. We have nowhere to be until dusk anyway.”

“You need the sleep more than me” he reiterated quietly as she hesitated. “Come, tseriya.”

Saakshi walked over to his cloak to lay down on it, using her own as a blanket. She fell asleep watching him carefully sharpen the blades and knifes he had hidden on his person. When Zoran glanced up at her in a few minutes, she was out like a light.

In the still of the dark night, broken only by the tiny sounds of the roaring fire on a planet deep in enemy space, Zoran mused on his little Budheya while she slept on unawares. She was tough, his tseriya, and she'd had to be, to overcome and survive her circumstances. She was proud too, and that was something he could appreciate. He understood only too well why she had insisted on accompanying him to her planet. It was her opportunity to contribute to their mission. Zoran had been fairly confident of locating and persuading the Budheya rebels on his own with the assistance of all the information that Saakshi had provided to them. Yet, he understood all too well that Saakshi was now a person without a world. Almost a person without an identity, for her only identity all her life had been fighting against the Ketaari occupiers of her world. Now, she was a fugitive from the Empire and would not be allowed to set foot on Budheyasta without being hunted by their powerful military. At least, not until her home world and its people were free of their oppressors, something Zoran knew might take at least a generation to accomplish. He intended to do his utmost to turn the tide of war, but Budheyasta was the jewel of the Budh-Ketaari Empire, something the Ketaari would fight till their last breath to hold onto. So, he’d capitulated to her request and invited her along, to contribute in her way to this effort to defeat the Empire and to perhaps set foot on her world for the last time. Her eyelashes cast small dark shadows on her face against the flames, and she looked exhausted as she lay huddled under her heap of furs. He was going to make damn sure that she made it back to the Ur'quay ship, no matter what the cost, Zoran promised himself fiercely again. He had negotiated Alliance citizenship for her and he was determined to give her a chance at the life that the Ketaari had denied all the denizens of her world.

Saakshi awoke only once during the night. The fire roared brightly, warming up the cave from the chill of the night outside. Zoran’s pack lay discarded on the floor, but there was no sign of him. Sheer panic and a premonition of disaster gripped her. Saakshi sprang up from her makeshift pallet to hurry towards the cave entrance, pausing only to wrap her cloak loosely around herself. She peered out cautiously through the opening. The hillock lay barren and deserted, with nary a sound to break the silence. Saakshi pondered anxiously whether to risk leaving the safety of the cave to venture outside in search of Zoran. A tiny slither of noise like the falling of a loose pebble was her only warning before a large hand grasped her to pull her back into the cave.

“Looking for me?” Zoran queried as he walked over to warm himself by the fire.

“I …uhh… I was worried about you” she said anxiously. “You aren’t familiar with the terrain and you don’t speak the language” she explained at his quizzical look.

“Just went exploring a little to get the lay of the land” he said easily.

“I didn’t venture very far” he added soberly, at the anxious look in her eyes. “You’re stuck with me, I’m afraid, Saakshi. I have no intentions whatsoever of letting you out of my sight while on your home world.”

Saakshi subsided, mollified by his explanation.

“You should have taken your cloak from me. You might’ve caught a chill” she admonished him, glancing significantly at the shabby Budheya peasant clothes on him.

At the concern in her voice, Zoran gave her a singularly masculine grin.

“Naah, I rarely feel the cold. Come on, back to bed, tseriya. You need more rest.”

The temperature aboard the Ur’quay ship was a lot lower than Saakshi was used to. She had always needed a cloak on the Henia, though she’d noticed that Zoran had rarely needed one. He ushered her back to her makeshift bed before seating himself across the fire from her.

“I’ll stay in here for a bit” he reassured her in his husky voice. “It’s pretty deserted out there.”

Saakshi wrapped herself comfortably in her cloak to lie back again. She watched the fire silently, throwing occasional surreptitious glances at the large male gazing pensively at the flames. Something in the expression on his face as the fire cast shadows across it made her reach out to him.

“Zoran” she called out haltingly. “Is something bothering you?”

His eyes snapped to her from contemplating the depths of the fire. He shook his head slightly as if to snap himself out of his thoughts.

“When we were out in your village tonight …” he stopped to gather his thoughts. “The rundown dwellings, the deserted streets, the Ketaari patrols, the barren valleys ... everything I’ve seen tonight has …”

He paused, struggling to articulate what bothered him without causing her any unintentional hurt.

“Everything is broken down … sub-standard” Saakshi agreed quietly. “We’re barely surviving.”

“That’s the thing” he burst out. “The worlds outside have no clue how bad things are for your people. The Hadari’Kor still sing praises of your past achievements. I’m sure that the other worlds remember and commemorate the accomplishments of the Budheya in the same manner. There’s even a word in Hakor – Budhyeera. Derived from the term Budheya, it roughly translates to spiritual accomplishment. We use the term to describe a good deed, or an achievement intended to benefit others. That is how this quadrant regards the Budheya.”

Saakshi stared back at him, a tad nonplussed by his vehemence.

“We … that is, the Hadari’Kor and the rest, are just as guilty in allowing the Ketaari to reduce your people to this” Zoran said passionately. “We turned a blind eye, because it was easier to do so than face the unpleasant consequences of giving a damn. From what I’ve been taught about the Budheya, they would never have stood by and let such a fate befall any neighbor in need of similar assistance.”

The irony was that it had been a Ketaari request for assistance to their world that had set the Budheya on a path to their eventual plight today.

Saakshi sat up slowly to huddle against her cloak.

“You’re not turning a blind eye, Zoran. You are here, and at great personal risk. The other Hadari’Kor, the Alliance, even the Ur’quay … you are all refusing to look the other way.”

Zoran sighed softly. Yes, they were willing to offer their assistance now, but would the Alliance have offered any help if it hadn’t allied with their interests? Would the Hadari’Kor have bestirred themselves if he hadn’t jogged their conscience? Would he, Zoran, have gotten this involved if it wasn’t for meeting his little Budheya? He was afraid that he knew the answers to these questions, and they didn’t particularly cover any of them with glory.

“Ever since you told me how the accomplishments of my ancestors are still celebrated across Quadrant Five, I’ve been thinking” Saakshi declared suddenly with quiet emphasis.

“If they were truly that accomplished, how could they have allowed a much less accomplished species to take over their civilization and reduce their people to scrabble for survival? This spectacular reversal of fortune did not happen overnight. The only way that I can think of is that we were arrogant. That we couldn’t conceive of people intending to harm us, or to steal our technology or to get the better of us. Should my ancestors not have been more careful in dealing with the Ketaari? They either misjudged the Ketaari’s intentions completely or were aware of their intentions and didn’t consider them a viable threat. Either way, we’re as much responsible, if not more, for our own fate as the others, who you fault for standing by and doing nothing.”

Zoran stared back at Saakshi, a little taken aback by her well-articulated perception of Budheya history.

“You’re wiser beyond your years, tseriya” he whispered back, a tad comforted by her philosophical approach to the fate of her people. For the first time in their short history together, he could appreciate that she was Budheya too, much like the people the fables talked about. The unruffled dignity, a resilient approach to whatever life threw at her, and an unwillingness to blame anyone else for their plight – quintessential Budheya.

“I told you a long time ago what my name meant in the old language” Saakshi remarked.

“Witness” Zoran responded with confidence. He remembered it well, for it was the night they’d introduced each other in whispers. The night he’d claimed her for himself.

“I was very young when my mother passed away. But when I was old enough to understand, a friend of hers told me that it was my mother who had insisted on naming me Saakshi. Her Pura had revealed to her in a dream before I was born that I was meant to live in a time of tremendous change for our people. And that I would stand witness to these great events.”

The Budheya were also known for their spirituality, for their belief that their Pura always watched over them and guided them through the hard times. For a Hadari’Kor, whose simple philosophy was to appreciate and respect Mother Nature and the bounty she provided his people, and to do his best as an adult to live by the simple code of a mercenary, the Budheya philosophy felt alien and mystical.

“Pura is your religious house, right?” he asked curiously.

“No, Pura loosely translates to prophet” she explained. “There are hundreds of religious houses that the Budheya follow, and each is represented by an individual Pura. Each prophet has left behind some teachings and guidelines for their believers to follow and some prophecies for the future of our people.”

“You believe in the prophet Bedana?”

Saakshi nodded.

“How’d you pick this particular Pura – did your parents follow the same one?”

“Every Budheya child gets to pick his or her own Pura as an adolescent. There’s a simple ceremony where you get to add your Pura to your name. It becomes part of your identity. A child does not fully comprehend such spiritual matters at a young age, so we wait until the age of understanding. I studied the teachings of a few Pura before I chose mine. She also happens to be the one my father followed.”

“Are you allowed to change your Pura once you pick one?”

“At any time and as many times as you want. It’s considered a very personal thing. It’s not unusual to meet a large family where every member follows a different Pura.”

Zoran studied her for a few moments while a companionable silence prevailed in the cave.

“What happened to your father?” he asked.

“He died a few days before my mother perished. There was an epidemic of ririka fever in the village, and my parents sent me to the neighboring village for safety. They didn’t survive it but they live on in my name.”

She glanced at his bemused expression to explain further.

“Like yours, my people have no tradition of a last name. Instead, our entire identity is encapsulated in our name. My parents, Merama and Ulmik live on in my name along with my Pura.”

“It is a beautiful tradition” Zoran’s voice was colored by admiration. “What happens when you acquire a mate … uh …” he paused to search for the correct term for a committed mate in her culture.

“You mean marriage?” she queried.

“Marriage, yes! Do you include his or her name too?”

“Yes, preceded by pelak for a male and pelaki for a female mate.”

Much, much later, after Saakshi had lain back in her warm bed and almost fallen asleep, Zoran whispered in his husky voice, his low words carrying over the roaring fire.

“Your mother named you very appropriately, Saakshi. I’ve a strong feeling that her Pura was correctly able to predict the future of your people.”

Saakshi smiled as she closed her eyes. Lately, she too had been getting strong vibes about the Pura’s prediction.

At dusk the next day, a rejuvenated Saakshi clambered steadily on another hillock some miles away from the one with the cave they'd hidden in for most of the night and day. Having slept through the night, Saakshi had stood watch carefully from behind their cave opening while Zoran dozed into the early afternoon. Zoran had concluded that checking for the white sheet in Senara's courtyard would be too risky in broad daylight, and so they'd only set out after sunset. After they had verified the presence of the sheet, they had set out for the rendezvous with Tilabok.

Zoran could feel the presence of watching eyes, hidden behind the rocky and barren craggy landscape as Saakshi and he made their way up the final ridge to the rendezvous point. It didn’t alarm him, for he had known that the resistance leader would not agree to meet with them without precautions. For his part, he allowed Saakshi to take the lead under the protective eyes of her well-wishers and concentrated on looking as harmless as he possibly could as he followed in her wake. The light from the three moons guided them up a well-trodden but narrow and winding path. Saakshi clambered through the narrow rock openings and dry bushes with agility and confidence. This was her world and she knew it well. Forty minutes of steady climbing brought them to the top of the ridge where two Budheya males holding old-fashioned long guns stood guard at the entrance to another cave. Zoran had already observed how this part of Budheyasta provided easy hideouts for the rebels – tough, barren, rocky terrain with plenty of hidden nooks and mazes built into the hills and mountains. The guards directed curious glances at Zoran while they greeted Saakshi with warmth.

“He's waiting inside for you and your friend” one of the males said to Saakshi, pointing his gun towards the interior of the cave. “It is good to see you, Saakshi.”

Zoran's implanted translator allowed him to understand the rapidly spoken Budhi.

“And you, Ruliak” Saakshi responded with a smile before clasping Zoran’s hand to lead him into the cave.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting inside the cave, Zoran noticed a tall and well-built Budheya male slowly make his way out of the shadows towards them. They waited just inside the cave opening, through which trailed in some of the moonlight from the night sky. Zoran had a quick impression of toughness, quiet strength and self-confidence as the male glanced at him before moving on to greet Saakshi with a singularly attractive grin. Zoran watched as Tilabok held out his arms to Saakshi who ran into them, to be engulfed by his arms and given a warm and affectionate hug.

“How have you been, Saakshi meya?” Tilabok greeted her with affection. “I am so relieved to see you back on Budheyasta.”

“I’m fine, Tilabok” Saakshi responded with a smile, stepping back to meet his gaze. “And very happy to see you too.”

“But how?” he asked gently. “Did they release you early? I thought you had a few more months on the contract they sold.”

“I did. I got into serious trouble and my friend here helped me get out of a bad situation” she indicated Zoran, standing silent and watchful beside them.

“He has something to tell you that I think you should hear, Tilabok” she added softly. “But privately would be better, hmm?”

Zoran had cautioned her to be careful what she said in front of the other rebels, not because he distrusted them but primarily because the less anyone knew of this matter, the greater the chances of their overture to the rebels not being revealed. This way, even if the Ketaari picked up any of the rebels for questioning on an unrelated matter, they would hear nothing of any Hadari’Kor presence on Budheyasta. The rebels might inadvertently let out the news about Saakshi, an escaped prisoner, being inexplicably back on Budheyasta, but Zoran hoped to have her whisked out safely away from Empire territory before that happened.

Tilabok directed another long, searching look at the huge and silent Budheya male accompanying Saakshi. He strode out towards the Budheya guards at the cave entrance for a low-voiced conversation before returning with a crudely fashioned torch – a bunch of dried bushes tied together with a sluggish flame on one end.

“Follow me” he directed at them before walking into the interior of the cave, away from the entrance.

They followed Tilabok into a narrow low corridor that caused Zoran some discomfort before widening out to a much smaller cavern. Tilabok placed his makeshift torch strategically into a crevice in the wall before turning to face the two people who had followed him into the inner cavern.

Zoran reflected silently on Tilabok's body language. The resistance leader stood still, his entire demeanor one of infinite patience while he waited to hear out Saakshi. Tilabok had impressed Zoran so far on such short acquaintance. If the other rebels were anything like this male, then Zoran was confident that his pledge to embroil the Empire in its own little rebellion on Budheyasta would come to fruition sooner rather than later.

“My prison contract was sold to a Keeyori trader called Pik. He took me to a space station in neutral territory. My job was to be server girl at his alehouse. He was a decent employer. I thought I'd make it through the year until I could come home” Saakshi explained. Saakshi’s goal was to explain to Tilabok how Zoran had helped her and why she trusted him so implicitly before Zoran put forth his offer of assistance.

Zoran, a silent spectator to the conversation, watched as Tilabok's expression changed subtly. Saakshi must have interpreted his expression accurately, for she launched into an explanation.

“It wasn't that bad, Tilabok” she assured him. “I had a warm place to sleep at night, never went hungry, and he made sure that none of the customers ever harassed us. It could have been much worse.”

“But something went wrong?” Tilabok queried.

“Yes” Saakshi sighed. “You remember Golar Ghesh?”

“Ghesh! The one that loved inflicting pain. I could never forget that one. He was evil, even for a Ketaari.”

“He’s been promoted to Unta-Golar” she said evenly. “It was sheer bad luck that he found his way to the station and the alehouse a few months ago. The Unta-Golar recognized me immediately and demanded that I be nice to him or he would have my contract revoked.”

Tilabok swore long and hard and with surprising fluency for a male of few words. Although Zoran's translator could not keep up with the colloquial insults except for a few words that loosely translated to crude curses, he got the gist of it.

“My boss Pik suggested that I ask Zoran for assistance” she indicated the silent male by her side. “I'd seen him around Pik's before, though I'd never spoken to him. Zoran assured me that he would make sure that the Unta-Golar stayed away from me, and he kept his word.”

Saakshi made sure to keep her gaze on Tilabok while she glossed over her first meeting with Zoran. In the privacy of her cubicle on the starship, she had practiced what to say to Tilabok, skirting the personal details of her interactions with Zoran.  And now, she made a conscious effort to keep her eyes away from Zoran's intent gaze, making haste to explain how his assistance to her had come about before either of the males could interrupt her. She gave Tilabok a gist of how Zoran had kept her safe from the Unta-Golar's orbit by threatening him, punishing him when the Unta-Golar had ambushed her, providing her with an escort at all times on the station, and eventually coming to her aid on the Ketaari Transport ordered to bring her back to Budheyasta.

Tilabok, growing more incredulous and angry with each evidence of the Unta-Golar's determined pursuit of Saakshi, turned to the big male as Saakshi’s account drew to a close.

“I thank you, brother Zoran. I've known Saakshi since she was ye high” he said, indicating knee height to the other male. “We are the only family she has ever known and we owe you a depth of gratitude for coming to her aid in her time of need.”

“It was my pleasure. The Unta-Golar was in sore need of a lesson.” Zoran spoke up for the first time that evening and he spoke in Alliance Standard. “My only regret is that I was late in coming to Saakshi's aid.”

Tilabok stared at Zoran in astonishment. He had wondered how a Budheya male with his own starship and what sounded like his own personal army had ended up on a Keeyori space station, and Zoran’s words in Alliance Standard had only deepened the mystery for him.

“This is my friend, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor” explained Saakshi, interpreting Tilabok's surprise correctly. She knew the Budheya way would not allow Tilabok to ask questions of a personal nature to someone present in the guise of an honored guest, so she made sure to give him an opening; in fact, almost subtle permission to quiz Zoran.

“Hadari-Begur-Kor” exclaimed a clearly perplexed Tilabok. “You mean, he is …”

“Hadari’Kor” Saakshi finished for him.

“I am not Budheya” Zoran chimed in. “My appearance was altered to reduce the risk of coming to your world to meet with you.”

Tilabok shook off his surprise to greet Zoran.

“We are honored by your presence on our world, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor. Your people are spoken of with respect amongst my people as honorable and noble warriors.” Tilabok greeted him in fluent, albeit slightly rusty, Alliance Standard.

“I thank you for your welcome, Tilabok of Budheyasta. Your people are spoken of with great respect amongst my people for your knowledge and willingness to share and help others.”

Tilabok responded with a small courteous nod to acknowledge Zoran's words.

“I wish that we had more of our hospitality to offer you, but unfortunately we’re not free people on our own home world” he added matter-of-factly, without any hint of bitterness.

“I believe we can change that and work to return Budheyasta to the Budheya.” Zoran was quick to grasp to the opening. “I am here with a proposition for you and any other Budheya rebels who would welcome our assistance in routing the Ketaari from your home world.”

Tilabok stared at the big male in astonishment, a little mystified by his words.

“The Hadari’Kor want to help us?” he queried in some surprise. The Budheya had, after all, become accustomed to the realization that they were on their own and outside assistance would not be forthcoming to get rid of the Ketaari occupation. A hundred years of occupation had a habit of doing that to a people. They did not question any more why none of their past friends had come to their assistance. Isolated and cut off from the rest of Quadrant Five by the Ketaari, they understood implicitly that only the Budheya could rid their world from the Empire’s stranglehold on it.

“Yes. The Hadari’Kor are willing to offer their skills to coalesce the rebels into a more effective resistance against the Ketaari occupiers. We might even be able to bankroll some of your operations against the Ketaari.”

This time, Tilabok fairly gaped at Zoran, bemusement and consternation overthrowing his former confusion.

“I’m sure the Budheya are fully capable of fighting off the Ketaari on their own, but perhaps we can help with techniques and strategies based on our experiences fighting the Ketaari” Zoran said tactfully, misinterpreting Tilabok's silence for umbrage at the slight to his rebels’ fighting prowess.

His words seemed to shake Tilabok from his stupor. Tilabok held up a hand as if in mock surrender as an attractive grin lit up his good-looking face.

“I accept your offer of assistance gratefully, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor, and thank you. We Budheya are under no illusions about our fighting skills. It is not something that comes to us naturally. We take up arms because we have no other choice.”

Zoran returned his grin with one of his own. Tilabok, it seemed, was well aware of his as well as the rebels’ limitations.

“I’m convinced that with a little training, better strategy and more sophisticated weapons, the Budheya can make life very uncomfortable for the Ketaari on Budheyasta” Zoran remarked confidently.

“That will give our people great pleasure and some hope” Tilabok acknowledged gravely.

“Could you help us spread the word of this Hadari’Kor offer to the other resistance cells?  And choose a small contingent of leaders influential enough to hammer out the details with us?” Zoran asked.

Tilabok nodded confidently. “The Ketaari restrict our movement out of our villages, so I’ll need some time to communicate with the others. I know some resistance leaders who command much larger cells, and they’ll be able to spread the word even quicker.”

“We have a starship in space waiting for us. It will be back here in twenty days. Can you have a contingent ready on the top ridge of the hillock Saakshi tells me is called Sainga Barame after night fall? We will transport your people off world so your leaders can negotiate an agreement that will be acceptable to the resistance.”

“You can trust Zoran, Tilabok” Saakshi chimed in earnestly. “His word is gold.”

Zoran cast a glance down at her, smiling at her earnestness in defending him, allowing Tilabok to catch a glimpse of the affection on the Hadari’Kor male’s face for the former Budheya rebel.

“We will be ready, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor” Tilabok promised.

“Once the details are sorted out, we plan to take groups of rebels to train off planet periodically to a facility outside the borders of Empire space. It is too great a risk to bring the Hadari’Kor to Budheyasta to train the rebels.”

It was clear that Tilabok agreed with Zoran on this. Budheyasta was too risky to bring in Hadari’Kor to train the rebels.

“You’ll have to keep this quiet for as long as you can” Zoran warned. “If the Ketaari suspect that we’re coming, they’ll place extra patrols in space around Budheyasta. If we can’t get through to you, then we can’t bring in weapons or take your rebels off planet for training.”

“I understand” Tilabok assured him. “Rest assured, I will explain to the others what the stakes are.”

“Saakshi” called a distant voice. “Tilabok, is she here? Can I see her?”

A smile of sheer happiness lit up Saakshi’s face.

“It’s my cousin, Utoran” she explained to Zoran.

“Go talk to him, Saakshi meya. He’s been worried about you ever since you were sent to prison” Tilabok directed affectionately at her.

Saakshi glanced at Zoran, who gave her a discreet nod, before hurrying out of the tiny cavern towards the larger cave.

“What about Saakshi?” Tilabok asked Zoran, as he watched the Hadari’Kor merc glance at her receding figure. “Much as I would like to have her back with us, I don’t think she would be safe here anymore.”

“No” Zoran agreed. “Unfortunately, Budheyasta is not an option for Saakshi any more. I wish it was in my power to change that for her, but it is not. She has Alliance id tags and a job with the Alliance waiting for her.”

Zoran returned the Budheya resistance leader’s gaze steadily.

“I’ll keep her safe. You have my word on it” he pledged to Tilabok.

Tilabok nodded. He was fond of Saakshi. She had been one of their younger recruits and one of the few without any living family. He felt extra responsible for the orphans. The cell became their only family.

“Let’s work to make sure that Saakshi can come home one day, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor” Tilabok said steadily.

“Yes, let’s work together to get Budheyasta back for the Budheya” Zoran responded softly.

“You should know that Ghesh might come here looking to exact revenge for Saakshi” Zoran warned.

“Let him” Tilabok responded insouciantly. “We know how to make ourselves scarce. Thanks to your offer, we can afford to lie low for a bit now. There’s something I do not understand, though. I would understand better if the Alliance came to us with an offer for assistance. It would benefit both parties. But why are the Hadari’Kor willing to risk themselves for the Budheya?” Tilabok asked bluntly.

“It is a long story, my friend, and I hope to tell you the details one day. A long time ago, my world was almost destroyed by a civil war. The Budheya brokered a peace that has lasted centuries. They did it without any self-interest and purely to prevent our civilization from extinction. The Hadari’Kor will forever hold a debt of gratitude to your people. I’m only surprised that your people have no memory of it. On my world, every child knows the story of how the wise Budheya re-united the Hadari’Kor.”

“My people have forgotten a lot of their history in their quest for survival” Tilabok confessed simply. “But there should be accounts of this in our ancient books that have been hidden away from the Ketaari.”

“We should have offered our assistance a long time ago” Zoran admitted. “I have no good excuse for why we didn’t before. But I’m here now because we have not forgotten the good turn the Budheya did for us once. And, because we can. The Hadari’Kor possess skills that will make your resistance a real thorn in the side of the Ketaari.”

“And because of Saakshi” Tilabok stated quietly.

“And because of Saakshi” Zoran acknowledged, equally quietly.

“Well, you’re here now, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor, and that is what matters. This news will bring a lot of hope to the resistance. The Budheya will gratefully accept any assistance you can provide.”

A low and persistent hum filled the cave to interrupt their conversation.

“Excuse me” Tilabok unclipped a large squarish object from his belt clip to flip a switch on it.

“This is Tilabok” he said into it, holding up the object to speak into it.

Zoran realized to his tremendous surprise that the rebels were using centuries-old communicator technology. Most space-faring civilizations today used small button-sized communicators with ear pieces for privacy. The communicators Saakshi and he were currently equipped with were not only tiny, but capable of long-range communication with a starship orbiting Budheyasta space.

“There's a Ketaari patrol coming up the hill, Tilabok” an urgent voice warned from the communicator.

“How many?” Tilabok asked calmly.

“Half contingent.”

“What about the back of the hill?”

“The other half is heading up from behind. They have us surrounded.”

“How much time?” Tilabok asked again as he met Zoran's arrested gaze.

“Ten minutes, Tilabok. Maybe less.”

Tilabok flipped another switch on the over-sized communicator.

“This is Tilabok. Listen up! Start moving towards the tunnels now.”

Tilabok glanced at Zoran as he clipped his communicator back to its old position on his belt.

“Come with us. We need to leave now.”

“You have a way to get off this hill undetected?” Zoran inquired urgently.

“There are some tunnels that the Ketaari do not know about. We need to protect the location of the tunnels from the Ketaari, so some of my rebels will engage them while the rest get away.”

“You cannot get all of your rebels out before the Ketaari get here?” Zoran asked.

“The tunnels are too narrow” Tilabok explained. “We have to move single file through them. We need to buy some time so some of us can get out.”

Zoran pressed a tiny control on his wristlet before taking it off his wrist to slip it into the pack slung over his back.

“I’ll distract the Ketaari” he stated, as he began stripping knives and other weapons hidden all over his body.

“We can get both Saakshi and you out safely” Tilabok assured him, watching with fascination as the big male efficiently stripped several weapons from hiding places all over his body onto a neat pile that he stashed into his pack.

“No, you need to get Saakshi and all your rebels off this hill safely. I can buy you that time. Your rebels know that Saakshi was here tonight to meet you. The Ketaari cannot find Saakshi or even start a hunt for her until she’s safely off this planet. If they discover her here …”

Tilabok opened his mouth to refute Zoran before closing it again. He knew that his rebels were not trained to withstand Ketaari interrogation. He also knew that was what had driven Saakshi’s request for privacy before Zoran had revealed his identity and made his offer of assistance to Tilabok.

“I’ll be fine” Zoran assured him. “I’ve been captured many times before and with minimal chances of rescue at that. I’ve already summoned the starship waiting for us. They’ll be here soon to autoport both Saakshi and me off Budheyasta. Your job, my friend, is to keep Saakshi safe and make sure that the Ketaari remain unaware of her presence here till the ship gets here” he said bluntly, his voice urgent.

“I’ll keep her safe” Tilabok promised, suddenly understanding what Zoran was asking of him. Neither Saakshi nor anyone who knew about her presence here tonight could be allowed to fall into Ketaari hands. That would destroy forever any chance of getting this new cooperation between the resistance and Hadari’Kor off the ground while bringing grave danger on to Saakshi’s head.

Saakshi ran towards them as they strode into the larger cave where a small group of rebels had gathered.

“Tilabok” Saakshi said urgently. “Could we have led them here? We were very careful.”

Tilabok raised a hand to stop her.

“No, Saakshi” he reassured her. “They suspect that we use this hill as a meeting place and send their soldiers periodically to check it out. It’s just luck. This is not your doing.”

“Make sure this is transported out with her. There’s technology in here that will raise Ketaari suspicions” Zoran held out his pack to Tilabok.

“I’ve summoned the ship for emergency evacuation, Saakshi” Zoran turned to Saakshi. “Make sure that you’re somewhere up on an elevation, if you can. They should be here soon.”

Saakshi, watching the pack being transferred with a puzzled air, suddenly came to life as an unwelcome hint of his plans wafted to her.

“No” Saakshi protested vehemently. “No, Zoran. They will kill you.”

“I’m not that easy to kill” he responded as they spilled out of the cave with the other rebels. “They’ll first attempt to figure out who I am. That should keep them busy until the ship can autoport me away.”

“No” Saakshi reiterated again, her terror for Zoran obvious.

“Everyone on this hill knows of your presence, Saakshi. If they pick up any of the rebels and get even a hint of this, the Ketaari will ransack the village and province. It will bring down more attention on the rebels than they need, especially now.”

“No, please” Saakshi whispered, a single tear rolling down her face.

“Tseriya, the ship will be here in a few hours. I will see you then” Zoran tried to reassure her.

“He’s right, Saakshi meya” Tilabok chimed in unexpectedly. “It is more important to keep your presence here and the news of this potential alliance secret from the Ketaari.”

Saakshi opened her mouth to protest once more, but Zoran cut her off.

“Saakshi, remember your promise to me. That time is now, tseriya” Zoran pointed out bluntly.

He gave the silent girl with tears in her eyes a quick hug before turning his back on them to head in the direction Tilabok gestured him towards.

“Keep her safe” Zoran called softly to Tilabok over her head.

“I give you my word” Tilabok promised.

Tilabok led her with the other rebels to a large cave a few minutes away, the going rough as they hurried in complete silence with just the light of the moons to guide their steps. All Saakshi remembered from that night was a last glimpse of Zoran as he descended the hill, presumably to intercept the Ketaari patrol while all around them reigned organized chaos, all the more sinister because it was in utter silence. Rebels poured into the cave, lining up to silently squeeze into a narrow opening at one end. When her turn came, she preceded Tilabok into the narrow tunnel to crawl for twenty minutes until it broadened enough to allow her to stand up and walk down the rest of the way to the bottom of the hill.

Almost two hours later, Saakshi glanced around the busy Command Chamber on the Henia, her eyes searching for Zoran. She had just been autoported from Budheyasta moments ago.

The Star Captain was waiting to help Saakshi off the Autoporter Pad.

“Are you hurt?” he inquired solicitously as she stepped off the Pad.

“I’m fine” Saakshi reiterated hurriedly. “Zoran …”

“We’re working on it. We can’t seem to get a lock on his locater. We need a precise location before we can autoport him out safely.”

“Zoran was taken by a Ketaari patrol. He allowed himself to be captured so that the rebels and I could escape safely” she said slowly, her disquiet about Zoran starting to mushroom into full blown panic.

“We can boost his locator signal once we have an approximate location for him. That should allow the Autoporter to pull him out safely” the Star Captain tried to reassure the frightened young girl before him. The Ur’quay Captain had suspected that something had gone wrong when the emergency evacuation signal had been activated.

Saakshi gazed back at him, unable to hide her stark fear for Zoran.

“Perhaps your rebels can help us find out where the Ketaari have taken Zoran” he suggested gently.

Saakshi shook her head to clear the fog of fear clogging her mind. She would not succumb to panic, she reminded herself sternly. This one time, Zoran needed her help.

“Yes, the rebels can help us locate him” she said with renewed hope.

Her face fell, as the logistical difficulties of making contact in any form with Tilabok on Budheyasta, now that she was back on the starship, rammed home to her. First Commander D’raar hurried over to them to have a quick word with his Captain in their language.

“Were any of the rebels at the location on Budheyasta when we autoported you a few moments ago?” the Star Captain asked Saakshi.

“Yes, they were with me at the ridge on the hilltop.”

The Star Captain nodded to his First Commander, who placed a small palm-length square black device on the Autoporter Pad before handing an identical one to Saakshi.

“It is a set of paired communicator devices” the Star Captain explained to Saakshi as the second device disappeared from the Autoporter Pad. “They have both been enabled. Hopefully the rebels are still close enough from where we picked you up to hear you.”

Saakshi stared bemusedly at the device on her palm until the Star Captain nudged her to speak into it.

“Tilabok” she called out urgently. “It is Saakshi. Tilabok, can you hear me?”

She could hear some distant sounds in the background, but nothing discernible.

“It is on maximum volume” the First Commander chimed in helpfully.

“Tilabok!” she called out again. “Tilabok, please answer if you can hear me. Tilabok! We need help. It is Saakshi. Tilabok!” she called in increasing desperation.

“What the hell?” said a faint voice. “Someone is calling to Tilabok” chimed in another distant voice she couldn’t recognize.

“I’m on a communicator. Look for a palm-sized black device. This is Saakshi looking for Tilabok. Please get Tilabok!”

They could hear distant voices calling for Tilabok now, and some closer ones, looking for the device, as Saakshi called out desperately for him. Then, suddenly Tilabok was there. He must’ve figured out what was happening for he made his way unerringly to the exact location Saakshi had been standing when she’d been autoported out. A few scuffling sounds later, his voice came through the communicator clearly.

“Saakshi” he called out hastily, an undercurrent of worry in his voice. “Where are you?”

“Tilabok! Thank the Pura. I’m back on the ship but we cannot locate Zoran.”

“How can we help?” Tilabok offered immediately.

“Do you know where the Ketaari took him?”

“The local military outpost” Tilabok’s response was prompt. “They built a new one on the outskirts of Terapi village.”

“Hang on, Tilabok” Saakshi said into the communicator, in response to a gesture from the Star Captain who pressed a little button on her communicator. She guessed it was to mute it so that the rebels could not hear them. The First Commander disappeared in a hurry.

“Do you know where this village is?” the Star Captain asked Saakshi.

“I’ve a rough idea but I’ve only been there once” she responded without much confidence.

“Mark it on the map for us” he asked her as the First Commander arrived at a run with the maps they’d been working off of before. Saakshi pored over the map, trying to remember little details based on the old landmarks. Her village had been a lot easier to locate since the high peak of Sainga Barame marked on the older map had helped as a point of reference.

The Star Captain glanced at his First Commander to gesture at the communicator he’d taken from Saakshi.

“The built-in translator is enabled” the First Commander assured his Captain. The Star Captain’s Alliance Standard was adequate, although something he’d rather not chance this time. The Alliance had provided them with translator language semantics to help translate for Budhi and Ketar before this foray to Budheyasta. They had been intended to assist in Zoran’s disguise, but the Ur’quay had been working to incorporate it into their own translator systems for use.

The Star Captain spoke into the device slowly, with his words enunciated clearly.

“This is the Captain of the starship carrying Saakshi of Budheyasta. Can you give us more details on the Ketaari Imperial Forces outpost from your current position?”

“North east to my location and approximately ten petarsa from here” promptly came the response.

First Commander D’raar quickly punched in some numbers into a hand-held device he unhitched from his uniform. He passed the device to his Captain while he held out his hand to Saakshi for the map. He pored over the map quickly to mark a set of coordinates methodically that he called out to one of the Ur’quay bunched around a console.

“Thank you” the Ur’quay Captain spoke into the communicator. “It will help narrow the search for Zoran.”

“It is the least we can do. He risked his life to come to our home world to offer his assistance” the rebel leader said simply.

“Do you know if this military outpost is built into the rocks? We can only read his locator signal very faintly.”

“No” Tilabok paused for a few seconds. “Although a part of it is rumored to be underground. Could that be the reason for the weak signal?”

“That would explain it” the Star Captain agreed.

“There is another way we might be able to help you locate him” Tilabok said suddenly. “Can your ship pick up a small explosion on the surface of the planet?”

“Yes, if we’re watching for it” the Ur’quay Captain agreed. “What do you have in mind?”

“If you can give us a little time, we’ll create a small bang as close to the outpost as we can safely get. Would that help you?”

“Yes” the Ur’quay Captain responded as his First Commander nodded vigorously in the background. “We’ll keep searching in the meantime based on the information you’ve given us, relative to your position.”

“Give us an hour to set it up. I’ll let you know right before we blast it.”

“Keep the communicator open” the Star Captain suggested before he sent out a quick tutorial on the device controls for muting and disabling the device.

Saakshi watched the First Commander stride over to the console where the warriors he’d called the new set of search coordinates out to worked intently.

“Do not worry, Saakshi of Budheyasta” the Star Captain said softly. “We will find him. They will not harm him until they’re satisfied he has no information of any importance to them.”

Saakshi shuddered at the mental image the Star Captain’s words conjured up for her. The Ketaari torturing Zoran for information constituted the stuff of her nightmares.

“How did the Ketaari patrol find you?” he asked her, trying to distract her.

“Tilabok believes that it was routine patrol. We’d almost concluded our meeting with him when the rebels noticed the patrol heading to us. There wasn’t time for everyone to get away, so Zoran offered to distract them while the rest got away. Including me” she concluded in a low voice.

“He did the right thing” the Star Captain reiterated gently. “Now, they merely have an unfamiliar Budheya rebel in their custody. All they’re interested in right now is finding out where he came from. It will even take them some time to penetrate the cosmetic alterations to his body and discover that he is not Budheya. You’d have been identified immediately as a former rebel and Ketaari prisoner who had escaped their custody in very dramatic circumstances. It would raise uncomfortable questions about how you came to cross into Empire territory and land on Budheyasta without generating any alarm. That would have endangered everyone - you, your resistance cell and this ship.”

The rational part of Saakshi’s mind knew that every word he spoke was true. But she was also confronting an uncomfortable truth. The moment Zoran had given in to her request to accompany him to Budheyasta, he’d been left with no other choice but to sacrifice himself to keep her safe and ensure the success of their mission. Saakshi pondered despairingly if Zoran was fated to pay the ultimate price for his desire to protect her and help her people.

Keep him safe, Pura Bedana. Keep him safe!

“The meeting with the rebels was a success?” the Star Captain queried, back to business.

“Yes, they’ll be on the hilltop at dusk in twenty days” she responded.

“Good.”

The next hour passed tortuously for Saakshi as she watched the Ur’quay work frantically to locate Zoran, under the watchful eyes of the Star Captain.

“We’re ready” Tilabok’s voice cackled suddenly from the communicator device in the Star Captain’s hand, interrupting the Ur’quay’s focus on their task.

The First Commander glanced at his Captain to give him a short nod.

“Go ahead” the Star Captain said to Tilabok.

Saakshi heard Tilabok speak inaudibly to someone she guessed was on the rebels’ communicator network.

She waited with baited breath while the First Commander peered at his console for a few moments before raising his right palm high without glancing up from his task.

“We see it” the Star Captain murmured into the communicator.

She waited in suspense for a few more tense moments. Then suddenly, Zoran was on the Autoporter Pad. The Ur’quay Captain handed Saakshi the communicator before striding over to where Zoran sat hunched over on the Pad. His shabby Budheya peasant clothes were streaked with dirt and something darker, a sluggish gray matter. Both his feet and the hand she could see were encircled by heavy metal shackles that had been used to restrain him. She guessed that the shackles attached to his body had been autoported out with him. Zoran glanced up as the Star Captain reached him. His hair was matted with gray matter and a little of it trickled down from a corner of his mouth, while one eye sported a spectacular bruise. To her horror, Saakshi realized that the dark gray stuff on him was blood.

He’s bleeding!

The refrain ran through Saakshi’s mind, while she stood rooted to her spot numbly as the Star Captain helped Zoran up on the Pad. Zoran glanced around the Chamber until his eyes landed on Saakshi. A crooked grin lit up his damaged face.

“Saakshi, am I glad to see you again” he called out cheerily, with a small wince.

“Do you have him?” the communicator in her hand cackled to life with Tilabok’s hopeful voice.

“Is that Tilabok?” Zoran inquired, a tad puzzled. The Star Captain murmured a response to Zoran when it became clear that no one else would.

“Saakshi, do you have him?” Tilabok asked again, his voice urgent.

“Ye … yes” Saakshi stammered. “We have Zoran.”

“Good. Shall I destroy this communicator device?” Tilabok asked.

Saakshi glanced at the Star Captain for assistance.

“Ask him to hold on to it. It will help us contact him when we’re here again in twenty days” the Star Captain said to Saakshi.

“Got that” Tilabok declared before she could relay the message. “Zoran, until we meet again” Tilabok called out, his relief clear. “Saakshi, take care of yourself.”

The device went dead as suddenly as it had sprung to life.

“It is Ur’quay technology. The Ketaari will not recognize it even if it falls into their hands” the Star Captain explained in response to a quizzical glance from Zoran.

“We need to get out of here” he directed to his First Commander as he helped Zoran limp off the Autoporter Pad. In response, First Commander D’raar gave the order to set sail back into Alliance space.

“You need a medic” the Star Captain said to Zoran.

“First, I need someone to get these shackles off me” Zoran said easily. “Then your medic can attend to me while I help your warriors get ready to slip through the border security net. We’ll be there soon enough.”

The Star Captain spoke a few words into the communicator strapped to his right bicep and Saakshi finally shook off her stupor to approach them.

“No harm done” Zoran reassured her gently, taking note of the expression on her face. “The Ketaari simply didn’t appreciate my stubborn refusal to respond in Ketar.”

“Zoran” she whispered.

“I’m fine, tseriya” he reiterated. “Mission accomplished. We’re all going to make it out of here in one piece.”

At his words, the Star Captain turned his attention to his Hadari’Kor counterpart.

“You’ve played your part successfully, Zoran of Hadari’Kor. Now let me play mine” he said firmly.

Zoran glanced into those alien eyes with their vertical slits that stared back at him.

“Yes, let’s get the Penjem hell out of here.”

Twelve

Four Months Later

Saakshi stared into the darkness, her eyes drawn to the spectacular view proffered by the tall windows that faced the docking ports. In her opinion, this was the best view on TF124. Well, at least, from the public areas. Most of the time, the view on offer was the vast blackness of space. But, every now and then, her patience was rewarded by the glimpse of a starship gliding in to dock. She loved watching the slow meticulous dance between the efficient and deliberate movements of docking clamps and the minutely delicate maneuvers of the incoming ship until both were aligned just right. Only then, as she knew, would the docking seal be lowered for the final connection between starship and dock port.

Saakshi had to remind herself sometimes that they were not on a real space station. For it was easy to forget that they resided on a giant starship. Their temporary home was a large cargo ship from a bygone era that had been decommissioned when it was no longer sail-worthy on the longer cargo routes. Hastily dusted off, it had been rapidly restructured to function as a temporary Alliance facility until a proper station could either be reconfigured from existing facilities or a new one built to suit their purpose. She had been deep in Empire territory on the Ur’quay ship when their temporary training facility had been dragged through space by four large starships to be placed at this location. It now lay within an asteroid belt, in the shadow of a large asteroid whose gravitational pull provided both security from the careening smaller pieces within the belt, and camouflage to hide the ship. Like everyone else on the facility, Saakshi was aware that they were stationed within the confines of the Alliance security net without straying too far from the route used to transport Budheya rebels to the station. Training Facility TF124 consisted of four decks with individual chambers and dormitories on the top two decks, and vast rooms used for training, administration and recreation on the bottom decks.

Saakshi had been met on arrival by the Station Commander, a middle-aged Minduran male. She was to serve as Budheya Personnel Coordinator on TF124, he had explained to her. Gobsmacked by the unexpected responsibility, a stupefied Saakshi had stuttered some words of gratitude before being escorted to the new digs assigned to her. Only later, had she fully comprehended the perks that came with her new job. Her own chamber, free run of TF124’s various amenities, including meals from the Sustenance Pavilions, and three sets of pristine Alliance TF administrative uniforms. The room assigned to her was small but amply furnished for her needs. The size of the chamber did not faze Saakshi. To a girl who had never had a room to herself, it was an unaccustomed luxury. Despite the perks, for Saakshi, the most significant bit was the opportunity to involve herself in a small way with the Budheya resistance. All in all, Saakshi had been very excited by her unexpected good fortune – it had even helped a tad to keep her grief and sorrow about Zoran at bay.

For the first eighteen days, she’d barely had time to miss him before the first group of Budheya had been brought on board TF124. There had been so much to do and Saakshi had been in the thick of it. Chambers to assign and get ready for the rebels, training rooms to configure, Food Synthesizers to program with Budheya dishes, vaccinations to arrange for the rebels and medicine packages prepared to be sent back with the rebels for the people of Budheyasta. The only Budheya in the larger Alliance diaspora, Saakshi had been indispensable for her knowledge. The first Budheya group had been resistance leaders from various regional factions. They had spent ten days on TF124, closeted with representatives of the Alliance Commander and a few Hadari’Kor leaders to hash out the details of a new arrangement. Zoran’s brother had represented the Hadari’Kor, while Tilabok had been part of the Budheya contingent. Saakshi had even managed to spend a little time with Tilabok before he’d been transported back to Budheyasta. Saying goodbye to Tilabok had been bittersweet for Saakshi – akin to a final adieu to her old life and the start of a new chapter. While the Budheya had certainly been taken aback by the presence of Alliance representatives and the Alliance’s role in the new pact, Saakshi had been pleased to learn that overall the rebels were very satisfied with the deal they had negotiated.

Twenty days after the departure of the resistance leaders, a hundred rebels had come aboard TF124. And the serious job of training them to be effective guerilla fighters had finally commenced. The Hadari’Kor in charge of the training had devised a series of tests that each rebel was put through to gauge his skill at hand-to-hand combat and with weapons. This allowed the instructors to tailor the training classes to meet each rebel’s individual needs. In addition to these, classes on effective guerilla tactics, war strategy and sundry other topics on mounting a successful resistance against a better-armed occupying force were offered to all the rebels. After the tests, each rebel was given a customized schedule of classes and dispatched to meet Saakshi. It was her job to manage and coordinate a rebel’s entire stay at TF124. Everything, except for the actual training, fell under Saakshi’s purview. Though she could call upon members of the Station Commander’s staff to assist her, she was the one ultimately responsible for the Budheya.

That had been a little over two standard months ago. At first, assuming responsibility for hundreds of Budheya stepping foot on foreign soil for the first time had been challenging as well as nerve-wracking. Saakshi’s lack of experience with similar work had also been a bit of a hindrance. Over time, she learnt to coordinate with the medical team on vaccinations, the TF personnel for the allocation of chambers and dormitories as accommodation, and the Hadari’Kor instructors for the training schedules. Saakshi’s most challenging task had been to devise recreational activities for the rebels. Many of the younger Budheya suffered from homesickness and bouts of anxiety in the unfamiliar surroundings, compounded by their refusal to acknowledge such emotions.

The first group was a sprinkling of rebels from the larger resistance cells. Thus, most rebels had no prior acquaintance with the other Budheya in their training group. This had led to a lot of lonely people for Saakshi to deal with. She steered some of them to the Counselors who could help the Budheya navigate their time on board the station a little better. Many rebels suffered from a life constantly on the run and had a hard time adjusting to the unfamiliar and protected environment of a station run by an alien race. Some Budheya succeeded in forging friendships with the huge support staff on TF124, but many kept to themselves, unable to open up to strangers easily. It was Saakshi’s job to keep an eye on every rebel and ensure that each individual had access to the help he needed. The work had been hugely rewarding as well as a learning experience for her. She had made mistakes and learnt from them, while the rebels, over time, had become better at anticipating and asking for her assistance when they needed it. Saakshi hoped that with each group of Budheya, her job would become a little easier. For now, things were finally starting to settle into a rhythm and Saakshi found herself with more free time on her hands.

As she stared into inky nothingness hoping for a ship to glide in from the dark, Saakshi ruminated on the memo that had crossed her desk last evening. The Station Commander had persuaded a Rynian trader to open a recreational outlet on TF124. Provided with retail space at a deep discount, the trader had agreed to start an alehouse and gaming club on the station. This was the Station Commander’s attempt to make TF124 more like a regular Alliance station, for the Budheya rebels, the many Hadari’Kor instructors, as well as the eighty-odd administrative personnel responsible for maintenance and operation of the facility. Saakshi, who now had her evenings free, couldn’t help wondering if the new alehouse would need the services of a server. It was a job she had plenty of experience with and something to keep her busy during the long, lonely evenings. Her job provided Saakshi with room and board but did not include a stipend.  She would love to have a little pin money to spend in the future – perhaps on one of the beautiful little sculptures her friend Sila created so lovingly.

Sila’s agricultural world, Terra Agri 5, had recently joined the Alliance. With the official title of Terran Ambassador to the Alliance, Sila’s duties included coordinating the periodic supply of a rock-like resource plentiful on her home world and much in demand in the Alliance. Post processing, this resource produced a kind of byproduct called emtek that Sila carved to make beautiful little sculptures and jewelry. Sila had been the first person on this station that Saakshi had gravitated to. Drawn to each other as the two newest additions to the Alliance personnel on this station, they were also the only people from their respective worlds on TF124. The other administrative personnel came from five Alliance worlds and had worked as a team before. The personnel on the station had been helpful to Saakshi, but somewhat aloof, and the lonely grief-stricken girl had found herself gravitating towards the only other lost soul on the station. It had been Saakshi’s suggestion that her friend run bi-weekly classes to instruct the fine art of emtek sculpture. Many rebels with difficulties on the station had been steered to the class by Saakshi, who had rightly guessed that it would provide the Budheya a creative outlet to offset their otherwise rigorous training schedule. Gradually, many from the TF personnel and even a few Hadari’Kor warriors had evinced interest in Sila’s classes. Now, her class was one of the more popular recreation activities on TF124.

Unlike her friend, Saakshi possessed no such skills or talents and was having a harder time finding projects to occupy her increasingly lonely evenings. She had come to the gradual realization that she needed to busy herself during the long evenings to keep the memories of a happier and more hopeful time at bay. Saakshi, whose entire skill set could be summed up as fighting against the Ketaari as a rebel and being a server girl at a Keeyori alehouse, found herself taking the memo as a sign from the Pura. Perhaps, it was time to stop dwelling on what could have been and instead focus on what is, she told herself firmly. Without Zoran, she might never be whole again. But Saakshi was stoic enough to know that she had to try and go on with life, despite the holes in her soul. She turned reluctantly away from her view of the empty docks, to head determinedly to the other end of the station where the new alehouse had been allocated retail space.

“I have a job at the new alehouse” Saakshi announced calmly to her dinner companion that evening.

Sila glanced up from contemplating the interesting contents on her plate to study her friend in some surprise. They had fallen into the habit of sharing their evening meal a few times a week at the main Sustenance Pavilion on the station, to try as many different cuisines as they could. It had started as a way for both friends to broaden their horizons after having spent their lives exclusively on their home worlds. The various civilizations and worlds that comprised the Alliance found themselves in the unique position of having to navigate the politics and cultures of many different races with wildly divergent belief systems and traditions, simply due to their mutual alliance against the greedy expansionist ambitions of the Ketaari Empire. To most in this new alliance of necessity, this was merely a side-effect of their membership in the Alliance - something to be managed to keep their people from being enslaved by the Ketaari. Their goal was simple. Individually, each world had its strengths and weaknesses, but together they were strong enough to repel the Ketaari. From what the two girls had observed, some members of the Alliance embraced this diversity with enthusiasm, but a majority tended to keep to themselves, except when absolutely necessary. Saakshi and Sila had first been drawn to each other by the very fact that they were the sole representatives of their people on this facility. From these first few meetings had grown a deep friendship between two very similar people but with very different life experiences. Early on, they had discovered a burning desire to experience the other cultures and races in the Alliance. This station was a temporary base operated with minimal staff. So, they had chosen to broaden their horizons by experiencing the cuisines available from the Food Synthesizers that were standard issue for all Alliance stations. Every member world in the Alliance helped program their cuisine into the standard-issue Food Synthesizers used on Alliance stations. It was replicated food, which they knew from personal experience usually differed in taste from the real stuff, but it was a start.

“I didn’t realize you were looking for another job” Sila remarked to her friend, a query in her beautiful eyes.

Saakshi had noted with amusement how the males on the station followed her friend with their eyes. Sila was tall with a slim but curvaceous figure. She had sparkling green eyes set in a remarkably attractive face sprinkled with freckles. Her best feature was a mane of beautiful and abundant reddish hair that fell over her shoulders in a glossy and curly mane.

“I wasn’t” Saakshi shook her head. “It was a spur of the moment thing.”

She dared a glance at the serene face of her friend, engaged in gingerly tasting little bits of morsels from her plate, Sila’s expression indicating supreme indifference to anything but the food on her plate. Saakshi sighed in silent despair.

How do I express the utter restlessness of the soul that pervades me? How do I tell her that even an orphan with no family has never experienced loneliness like this before!

“My evenings are free now” she said softly. “I lack useful skills but I know how to serve in an alehouse. It is one of the few things I do have experience with.”

Sila’s eyes softened immediately, her tender heart wrung by her friend’s words.

“You must miss home, Saakshi” her eyes were soft with compassion.

Saakshi chewed slowly, pondering her friend’s words. It was not home that she missed. She’d spent many a sleepless night pondering the puzzle of what she felt the absence of so keenly. She had known Zoran for a very short time – how could he have changed things so irrevocably for her?

“This is the most comfortable life I’ve ever experienced, Sila. A warm bed at night, enough food to fill my belly whenever I want and in no danger of being hauled in by a Ketaari patrol that feels like making an example of a Budheya peasant on any given day. Most of all, I feel hope for my people after a very long time, and am glad of the opportunity to contribute in some small way in this effort. For the first time in my life, I’m not worried about my immediate present, nor am I worried about the future of my people. I’ve seen up close what the Alliance and Hadari’Kor have on offer for the Budheya, and I have every confidence that I will live to see a free Budheyasta in my lifetime. Something I had thought unfeasible just a few months earlier. I’m not just trying to survive every day anymore, and can actually begin to dream of a real future.”

“And yet …” her friend encouraged.

“And yet, I’m restless. Despite all the time in the world and more opportunities to expand myself than I ever dreamed possible. I envy the rebels being trained. They’ll go back with a real purpose and a chance of making their new skills count. While I …” she stopped.

“While you hunt for a new purpose in life” her friend finished quietly, in complete understanding.

“You’re not alone, Saakshi. I too am searching for a purpose in life. My life before I came here was not as harsh as yours but it was an unfulfilling one. Everyone around me was content while I was not. Fate conspired to make me leave my world and join actively in the Alliance effort. Yet, now that I’m free from the expectations of my people, I do not know what my new place in the world is.”

She held out a hand to her friend in a sudden gesture of affection and Saakshi responded by clasping the hand held out to her.

“We’re both in search of our new place in the world. Do not despair, my friend, for something tells me that we will both find it. In the meanwhile, go be a server in an alehouse if it aids you in your search … hmm?”

Saakshi smiled gratefully and a tad ruefully at her friend.

“You are wiser than me, Sila.”

“No” Sila replied with a laugh. “Just older.”

Ten days later, Saakshi worked frenetically at TF124’s new alehouse BelDaap, which she had been informed was named after a city in its owner’s home world. This was her third evening at the bar and it was packed to the brim. The owner had promptly promoted Saakshi to supervisor at the end of her first evening, having gauged how efficiently and quickly she kept track of orders, supplies and other sundry details of the business. He’d offered her more currency than the usual server wages if she would handle the alehouse three nights a week with the help of two servers she supervised. The servers assigned to her were two brawny males who she’d discovered were distant relatives of the owner’s extended family. They were hard workers, willing to learn, and ensured no customers became too rowdy in the alehouse by dint of their brawny presence. Saakshi had smiled wryly to herself at the realization of their responsibilities. Pik’s could have used someone like this on the lawless Keeyor 9 Trade Sphere, where you had to fight to keep every scrap you owned. Here, on a civilized Alliance station populated by Alliance professionals, disciplined Hadari’Kor mercenaries and a few smattering of rebels, the brawn on display was redundant.

She had been assigned a new silver and white uniform of loose trousers, a short-sleeved top with the logo of BelDaap over her right breast, and white sentha leather ankle boots that pinched her feet after the first hour. Urul, one of the amiable servers, had assured her that the leather would get more pliable once she’d broken in the boots, which he had cheerfully informed her would take no longer than one standard month. Tonight, after two hours in the leather boots, Saakshi’s feet hurt. Having knelt down, to try and unsuccessfully adjust her pinching feet, Saakshi missed the group entering the alehouse. Urtak ushered the group of Hadari’Kor to a large table to provide them with menu tablets. Thus it was that five minutes later, an unaware Saakshi happened to glance up, only to find her eyes tangle with that of Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor. Her heart thumped once, intent on escaping its cage, as her eyes met familiar black ones. Time stood still for Saakshi, as a rush of memories pummeled her, rendering her silent and still. Memories from another alehouse, on another space station, where an enigmatic male watched her silently, his dark eyes intent on her. A male who’d been content to never approach her until she was compelled to ask for his assistance in desperate circumstances. Saakshi felt herself drowning in the black eyes as flashes from their past assailed her. His possessiveness as a lover, always tempered with tenderness; his kindness and unfailing generosity; his protection and assiduous care of her. He had made her feel cherished and someone of immense value to him in the short time that they had been together. He had stolen her heart in those few short weeks. He’d always come to her aid repeatedly, unheeding of the danger to himself. He had kept every promise he had ever made to her. And his loss from her life had left her bereft and broken.

The clinking of goblets as Ural tried to manage a large tray jolted Saakshi out of her trance. A spontaneous smile bloomed on her face, Zoran’s name on her lips. But before her smile could blossom fully, his attention had moved on. He acknowledged her with a short and oddly formal nod as one of his companions engaged him in conversation. A huge sense of desolation and dejection swept through the young girl left standing with a half-smile on her face. Saakshi turned quickly away to busy her shaking hands at the bar. She worked on mixing drinks, allowing Urtak to handle Zoran’s table. When, an hour later, Zoran approached her, a Saakshi assiduously focused on keeping her eyes averted from Zoran’s table jumped skittishly at hearing her name called out in a low voice. Glancing up from checking supplies on her tablet, she jerked back in sheer disconcertion at meeting Zoran’s eyes.

“When are you done here?” he asked, trying to keep his words inaudible from the other customers in the crowded alehouse.

“Midnight” Saakshi managed to squeak, trying to keep her voice steady.

He’s furious, Saakshi realized suddenly. This explained the strange impassive expression on his face before. Mingled in with astonishment at seeing her had been a sense of banked anger. Saakshi wondered at his unexpected fury, for she’d only ever seen him this coldly furious once before. This sense of banked anger, one buried deep through sheer will. It had been on display on another memorable occasion - when she’d gone to him with her proposition on the Juntafeyore. Then, she’d failed to recognize it for what it was. Now, she knew him better.

“Everything fine here, Saakshi?” inquired a familiar voice as the brawny body of Ural joined her at the bar.

His eyes searched her face before turning to stare at Zoran with quiet menace. Zoran glanced at the male beside Saakshi, taking in the protective stance and body language. His eyelids swept down to hide his eyes. When he glanced up again, his face was carefully blanked of any expression. He ignored Ural’s presence, making it clear that he awaited Saakshi’s response to his query.

Saakshi tried to suppress an almost hysterical giggle at the strange situation she found herself in. Ural had rushed in to protect her from what he considered the unwelcome attentions of an alehouse customer. Little did he know that Zoran was the one male in the whole world that she trusted with her life. She took a silent breath before turning to Ural with a smile.

“I’m fine, Ural. Thank you. Zoran is an old friend.”

Saakshi congratulated herself on the steadiness of her voice, though she had to silently admit that the effect of her words was rather ruined with the infinitesimal hesitation before she claimed him as a friend. However, it seemed to satisfy the burly male who had mistakenly jumped to her assistance. He exchanged a short nod with Zoran before striding away with a rather boyish smile mixed with a generous dose of sheepish apology at Saakshi.

Saakshi turned back to Zoran, an apology on her lips. The tablet on the bar before her buzzed loudly, shattering the moment and distracting her before the apology could leave her lips.

“Not a good time, I think” Zoran said quickly before she could say anything. “The Juntafeyore plans to be docked here awhile, Saakshi. I’ll catch up with you another time.”

With those words, he strode out without a backward glance, to where his companions awaited him. Saakshi could do nothing but silently watch his retreating back and rue missed opportunities. Even in this endeavor, she was soon interrupted by the angry call of the tablet’s buzzer as it impatiently demanded her attention.

Saakshi chewed steadily and quickly, her mind preoccupied with weightier matters than the usually interesting events to be observed around the Sustenance Pavilion at this time of the evening. Her shift at the alehouse started in a half hour, forcing her to eat quickly and rather mechanically, a contrast to her usual meal time celebration of tastes and flavors that she so enjoyed indulging in. To a girl who had spent her life counting her blessings on the days that she did not go hungry, meals like these were meant to be savored and lingered on. Today, though, she was preoccupied with thoughts of Zoran and the strange encounter from the night before.

Lost in her thoughts and unaware of her surroundings, Saakshi reacted with a muted shriek when she felt a hand descend on her shoulder. She glanced up, a quick apology on her lips, only to meet the dark eyes of the very male whose actions and intentions from last night she’d been lost in contemplation of.

“Sorry” she said faintly. “You surprised me.”

“I’m sorry” Zoran was apologetic. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

They stared at each other silently, the air around them heavy with an expectation that neither seemed in a hurry to breach.

“I wanted to talk to you …”

“I’d like to apologize for last night …”

Typical, we finally decide to break the silence and we both start talking at the same time.

“Please” she said quickly. “You were saying?”

A burly young Budheya male materialized by Saakshi’s side before Zoran could respond.

“Nehlia Saakshi, is everything alright?” he enquired solicitously with a not so subtle glance at the large Hadari’Kor male looming over her.

A short and uncomfortable silence ensued as both males stood their ground. Zoran wore an exasperated expression on his handsome face while the young, homesick Budheya male she’d befriended managed to somehow project an image of restrained aggression.

Not again, Saakshi sighed silently. What absolutely wretched luck! How did all the well-meaning overly protective males in her life manage to come out of the woodwork at the exact moment she needed them to stay far away. This time though, Saakshi was determined to diffuse the situation before Zoran either walked away or wiped the floor with the young male. If only she could announce to the world the real tale of how Zoran had saved her, not once but many times. The irony was that if Zoran had not helped her in her time of need, she would be relinquishing in a Ketaari prison at this moment at the mercy of the sadistic Unta-Golar.

“I’m absolutely fine, Krunar” she said firmly. “Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor is a friend.”

At her words, Krunar nodded silently before walking away with a lingering backward glance, his gaze implying that she was entirely too soft-hearted for her own good and that he intended to keep a close eye on her while the large male was in her presence.

Saakshi watched him go with a silent sigh before directing her attention back to Zoran who had chosen to ignore the last byplay and was watching her with an impassive expression on his face.

“I apologize for him” she said, a tad helplessly. “I don’t know why everyone is so protective of me.”

Zoran shrugged lightly.

“You have no cause to apologize. It is good to know that you’ve made many friends here who care enough to look out for you” Zoran said simply. “It is what I hoped for you, Saakshi.”

Saakshi hesitated, unsure how to react to his words.

“However, I must admit that it does make for some awkward encounters between us” he added with a small smile playing about his lips.

He glanced around him to note that they still drew a fair bit of attention, some overt and the rest, surreptitious.

“I want to talk to you, Saakshi. But we need a less public venue.”

Saakshi couldn’t fail to notice that Krunar continued to watch them openly.

“I’m not working at the alehouse tomorrow” she hinted, her tone hesitant, at a loss to suggest a venue on this large station where they could have a private conversation that escaped everyone’s notice. In a strange way, her predicament reminded her of the first time she had asked him for his time. Then too, she had faced the prospect of no privacy. Until her mercenary had solved the problem by procuring her a suppressor device.

“Would you have dinner with me on the Juntafeyore?” he asked, the black eyes steady. “I can meet you at your office to escort you over to my ship.”

Saakshi nodded shyly, accepting his invitation with alacrity. As always, Zoran had come to her rescue again, smoothing her path as was his wont.

“Until tomorrow, then.” This time the smile was unmistakable.

Saakshi watched him walk away with a much lighter heart this time.

Dinner with Zoran, she thought excitedly, as she gobbled down the rest of the food hurriedly before making a dash for BelDaap.

Thirteen

The next evening, Saakshi waited impatiently for her last appointment of the day, unable to concentrate on her work for once. Once done, she made a hasty dash to the Ladies’ Enclosure to freshen up and smooth down the simple Alliance uniform she had been assigned to match the other administrative personnel on the station. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she thanked the Pura for the flattering outfit. The dark blue slacks and the asymmetrical tunic with short sleeves that fell to mid-thigh in the blue and white colors of TF124 was simple, yet superbly cut to fit her like a glove.

Zoran arrived right on time to escort her to his ship and she fell into step beside him. Subjected to the gamut of astonishment, curiosity and speculation from the Budheya, as well as station personnel on their way to the Docking Bay, Saakshi had to fight hard to keep her poker face. For TF124, the mystery of their Budheya Personnel Coordinator had only deepened at this evidence of her fraternization with a Hadari’Kor Captain.

“It seems I made the right call after all” Zoran remarked ruefully beside her.

Saakshi glanced at him in puzzled inquiry.

“Dinner on the Juntafeyore was a good choice” he said lightly, glancing around them with a significant look.

“Yes” Saakshi sighed inaudibly. “My friend Sila keeps telling me that this station is a hotbed of gossip, but I never quite believed her until now.”

“Your friend is right. To be fair though, you are a rather mysterious figure on this station. It is natural for people to be curious.”

“There’re a whole host of other Budheya on this station” she protested.

“Those are rebels and you work for the Alliance. No one knows your past or how you came here. Hence, you’re a mystery.”

“Hmm” Saakshi murmured contemplatively.

She had noted the polite curiosity but had put it down to the Alliance’s unfamiliarity with anyone from Budheyasta before. A century of Ketaari subjugation had not quite managed to destroy the mystic of her people to the rest of Quadrant Five. Also, since all the rebels on the station so far had been male, she was also the first female Budheya in the Alliance world. This was why she’d sub-consciously chosen to keep herself aloof from the others, she realized. And the reason she’d gravitated towards the only other person on the station who had never evinced any interest in her antecedents, possibly because Sila herself seemed to have quite a back story.

“Does it bother you?” Zoran asked, interrupting her introspection. “The speculation about us when people see you in my company” he explained, in answer to her quizzical expression.

“No” she said firmly. “That does not bother me.”

The dark eyes searched her face briefly before Zoran turned away. They continued their silent way towards the Bay. By now, they had left the populated walkways of the station and were in the final stretch of corridors to the Docking Bay. A sense of déjà vu gripped her. Memories of walking with Zoran on another space station far away assailed her. She could almost taste the fear and desperation holding a vice-like grip on her emotions as she gambled everything on a stranger’s desire for her and her instinctual belief that he would not hurt her. How she’d lain awake practicing the proposition to put forth to the massive gray-skinned mercenary, only to be wracked with indecision as they made their way towards another Docking Bay. He’d gone to the trouble of procuring her a suppressor device to override the station’s exit sensors and had patiently reassured her when she had faltered. In the end, his unexpected thoughtfulness, generosity and overall demeanor had gone a long way in calming her fears.

Saakshi turned impulsively to Zoran as he ushered her into a docking elevator.

“Zoran, I want to apologize for abandoning you on Budheyasta.”

“What?” he exclaimed, hastily punching a port number into the elevator controls before swinging around to face her.

“I abandoned you” Saakshi cried out. “Once through the escape tunnels, Tilabok sent one of his rebels to find out where you were being held. He came back and told us that the word was you’d been roughed up badly. I tried to convince Tilabok that we should rescue you before they hurt you more, but Tilabok insisted that the priority was to ensure the Ketaari knew nothing of my presence on Budheyasta or the tentative deal you’d offered the rebels. He said he’d given you his word that he would keep me safe until the Henia came back for us.”

Zoran laid a gentle finger on her lips to stop the flow of anguished words.

“Tilabok was right, Saakshi. The important thing was to keep you safe from the Ketaari. Once they had you, they’d figure out the rest of it, sooner or later. I was in no danger. I knew the Henia would be back for us once we’d activated the emergency beacon.”

The anguish in her gray eyes let him know that his words had neither convinced nor soothed her obvious distress.

“Aah, tseriya, I’m perfectly fine. What kind of a soldier would I be if I couldn’t take a few beatings!”

Saakshi flung herself into his arms with a sob, holding on to him as she poured out her anguish from that day months ago. It had been eating her up inside that she might never be able to apologize to Zoran for not doing enough to save him from the Ketaari’s clutches on her home world.

“I was so frightened for you, Zoran. And so ashamed. You would never have left me there if the roles had been reversed. While I …. I could do nothing but wait for the ship” she sobbed. “Then, when I was on the Henia, the Star Captain said they were having trouble locating you ...”

“Shhh … shhh” Zoran soothed as he held his previous burden in his arms.

“It was my fault. I should never have let you set foot on Budheyasta. Once there, I could not let you be taken by the Ketaari. They just beat me up, tseriya. They would have killed you” he said vehemently in a voice gripped with strong emotion. “And that, I could not let happen.”

Saakshi held on tightly, wanting to tell him so much more but held back by a mix of confusion and hesitation. At least, he was back, she told herself. And not wandering in enemy territory while she worried about him and struggled to make herself whole again.

“Have you been blaming yourself all this while?” he asked in little while, once they had both calmed down a little.

Saakshi nodded, tilting her head to meet his eyes where she stood within the circle of his arms.

“I wanted to apologize to you on the Henia, Zoran. But you were busy navigating us through the border security net. Then, you were closeted with the Star Captain. Before I knew it, I was on TF124 and you were gone. I couldn’t live with knowing you were out there somewhere believing that I’d abandoned you on Budheyasta.”

“You didn’t abandon me, Saakshi. The time in Ketaari custody, all I prayed for was that you were safe and that Tilabok had managed to get everyone off the hill. Though I’ll admit that had I known you were eager to apologize to me, I would’ve tried to wrap up my work and get here sooner” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

I am so glad to see you. I’d almost given up hope of you coming back.

Saakshi laid her head on his chest.

“I’m glad you’re here now” the words were wrung out of her.

He hugged her once more before setting her free. A big gray finger came up to gently caress a stray curl of hair on her cheek.

“I’m glad to see you too, tseriya” he said scratchily in that husky voice she loved so much.

Chef had managed to put quite a spread on the table for them in Zoran’s chamber. Saakshi glanced around the familiar room with a smile as she ate the food and drank the wine Zoran poured for her. Zoran talked easily about what had kept him busy and away from TF124 the last few months. Commander Kerovac had tasked Zoran and the Ur’quay Star Captain with devising a steady route to transport Budheya rebels into Alliance space without detection by the Empire’s border security net. Currently the problem was being addressed by the Ur’quay ship and Zoran’s knowledge of the gap in the Empire security net, but they needed a way that would allow other Alliance ships to transport the rebels too. The Commander also had his people scouting for a more permanent and better location for a facility to train the rebels.

“Is this station not adequate?” Saakshi inquired, mildly surprise by the news.

To someone who had never been on a starship this big, TF124 seemed more than adequate for their needs.

“We need to train five times the rebels than we can manage on this facility” Zoran explained easily. “We have a lot more Hadari’Kor signed up to train Budheya, and we need to start training them faster if we’re to make any kind of impact against the Empire. We’re working against time here, because once the secret of our assistance to the rebels gets out, the Ketaari will add more patrols over Budheyasta. The secret is too big to hide for long and once it gets out, we won’t be able to transport anyone off your world.”

He glanced at her with a frank and somber expression on his face.

“Please keep what I’m about to tell you to yourself, Saakshi. Very few people on this station know this.”

Saakshi nodded her compliance immediately, surprised by his words. Why should the others on TF124 need to be kept in the dark about anything, she wondered?

“This facility is not stationed within the borders of Alliance space.”

Taken aback, Saakshi stared at him, very aware of the dangerous implications of his words.

“It’s not far from the Alliance border, but is not encompassed or protected by their security net” Zoran explained.

“Why not?” she asked baldly. “Would that not leave the station without adequate protection?”

“Commander Kerovac is not yet ready for anyone to discover Ur’quay’s presence in Quadrant Five. We’re using the Ur’quay ship with their cloaking device to transport the rebels. If the Henia were to fly into Alliance space, they would need proper clearances and IDs. Any number of people would have access to that information and it would mean that the secret would not remain one for very long.”

“And the secret is important enough to take this risk?” Saakshi queried gently.

“The Commander believes that the Ur’quay Fleet’s entry into the war will be a game changer on the military front. And, he thinks the news of this alliance has the potential to be a publicity coup. He’s holding onto the information for maximum impact.”

“Aren’t the Budheya rebels in on the secret? They are being transported by the Ur’quay ship.”

“They only see Hadari’Kor on their journey to and from TF124. They do notice an unusual starship, but it is easy to pass the ship off as Hadari’Kor to them.”

Saakshi nodded thoughtfully. For people who had not met anyone but their kind and the Ketaari to assume that the advanced starship transporting them as Hadari’Kor was not a huge stretch. The Ur’quay warriors were legendary in this part of space, and their decision to join the war would be a huge win in the battle for public perception. A few months on an Alliance station had made Saakshi acutely appreciate how the long unending war had turned many Alliance citizens weary and pessimistic about the future. This news had the potential to renew hope and optimism in its citizens. She also knew that the Budheya would draw enormous hope from the Ur’quay’s presence in the war against the Empire. Her deeply spiritual people would see it as a sign from the Pura that their tide of misfortune was coming to an end. The Alliance Commander’s decision was a risk, but as she was beginning to comprehend, it had been very much a calculated risk.

“This could alter the balance of power in favor of the Alliance” Saakshi said in awe.

“This, and an internal rebellion from within the Empire. If the challenge came from its largest and most prestigious colony, the Empire would find itself fighting on two very strong fronts. That is why the training schedule for the rebels needs to be speeded up. The rebels need to be readied to foment a full-scale rebellion on Budheyasta when the Commander is ready to announce the Ur’quay as his allies in a new military campaign.”

“Do not worry about this station, Saakshi” he assured her. “It’s not completely unprotected.  Commander Kerovac stationed TF124 close to the Alliance border, should there arise a need to defend it. In addition, it has a modified cloaking device provided by the Ur’quay. To ships passing by, TF124 looks like a huge asteroid in an asteroid belt. The cloaking device needs enormous power to sustain it” Zoran explained. “That is why the Star Captain and I have been tasked with finding an alternative route that does not involve the Ur’quay ship and its cloaking device to transport the rebels from Budheyasta.”

“Were you successful?” she asked curiously.

“We might have a strategy” Zoran acknowledged as the doorbell trilled loudly, interrupting their conversation.

It was Jolar at the door. His eyes lit up on seeing Saakshi seated at the dinner table.

“Saakshi” he exclaimed, his joy at seeing her unhidden. “It is good to see you.”

Saakshi, who’d sprung to her feet to greet the big Hadari’Kor warrior, found herself enveloped in a hug.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner once you’re done hugging my tseriya” Zoran invited his friend.

Jolar released Saakshi with a chuckle to seat himself at the table without further ado. Saakshi allowed herself a quick glance at Zoran, who was watching his friend with a bland expression on his handsome face, before switching her attention to watch Jolar start to pile food on his plate. She was no stranger to watching how much food the massive Hadari’Kor were capable of consuming at each sitting, though she still liked watching them put it away.

Saakshi nibbled while the two males ate more heartily and indulged in good-natured ribbing of each other.

“How do you like your new job as Budheya Personnel Coordinator, Saakshi?” asked Jolar.

“I like it very much” she responded with enthusiasm. “Although I have to admit that it took me a while to find my feet. It’s very different from anything I’ve ever done in my life.”

“The Station Commander says very good things about Saakshi” Zoran interjected with quiet pride.

Saakshi stared at him in astonishment. When and why had Zoran discussed her with the Station Commander, she wondered.

A communicator trilled suddenly, interrupting the three people at the table. Zoran excused himself to head over to the desk where he had shed his communicator device.

“You seem surprised that Zoran would discuss your work with the Station Commander” Jolar remarked. “Who do you think recommended you for the job?”

Saakshi’s mind grappled with the revelation. Who else would have recommended her for the position after all, she wondered. She had pondered that very question in the early days when first offered the position. Saakshi was aware that Zoran had procured Alliance identity tags for her as part of the deal he had dangled before the Alliance Commander. The rest, she had convinced herself, had been fate taking its natural course. Having thrown the mantle of the Alliance over her, Zoran had taken off on more urgent business. Or so she had assumed. Saakshi had rationalized that the Station Commander had offered her the position since she was the only Budheya on the station. It was clear that the Alliance personnel on TF124 knew nothing about the Budheya. The powers that be had tried to ensure that the rebels trained on this station had someone familiar to talk to, should the need arise. It would not do for this entire house of cards that tied the Budheya rebels, the Alliance and the Hadari’Kor mercenaries in a complicated pact to come crashing down before the operation had a chance to get off the ground, she’d assumed.

Yet, Jolar’s blunt observation did not surprise Saakshi. In her heart, she had known that Zoran would never leave her future up to fate. In every way he could, he had always smoothed her path for her. Zoran was ambitious and, when it came to what he wanted, meticulous and always thinking ahead to the future. That was how he had come to command a starship and his own mercenary army at an early age.

“Zoran knew you’d be a good fit” Jolar watched the gamut of expressions flash across Saakshi’s face with a puzzled air. “He also believed that you’d prefer a job that allowed you to assist the resistance in your own way, now that returning to Budheyasta is not an option for you.”

Why hadn’t it occurred to her that it was all Zoran? Because circumstances had made her doubt her importance in his eyes, whispered her inner voice. Saakshi didn’t believe that Zoran had abandoned her. But she also knew that in four long months, he had made no attempt to contact her.

I should have guessed that Zoran would never leave anything to chance. He’d made sure to drive home my suitability as the only rational choice for the position in the right ears, before venturing forth to take care of other business.

“I owe him” Saakshi muttered with a mixture of love, distress and chagrin. How could she have missed it, she chastised herself miserably. The signs had always been there. Once she had invited him into her life, he had made sure to strew rose petals every step of her way, no matter how recalcitrant she had been to accept his assistance in any form.

“I don’t think Zoran sees this as a debt” Jolar countered with a frown. What in Penjem hell was going on with his friend and his little Budheya tseriya, he wondered.

“He beat up the Unta-Golar for me, he bribed Pik to give me the easy and lucrative shift on Keeyor 9, he made an enemy of the Empire to save me from the Imperial Forces, he almost sacrificed himself on my world to keep me safe from the Ketaari, he’s responsible for my Alliance tags, and made sure to get me a position where I could continue assisting my people” Saakshi almost wailed, overwrought by the emotions roiling in her - relief at Zoran’s return when she had almost given up, confusion about his motives for coming back and hurt at his abandonment of her without a word.

“And I …” she trailed off, uncomfortably aware of feelings she couldn’t give words to and the memory of her reaction when Zoran had gifted her the beautiful dress back on Keeyor 9.

“He also cajoled, manipulated, finessed, hammered and threatened into being this somewhat fragile coalition between the resistance, the Hadari’Kor and the Alliance because he wants to, and I quote ‘force the Godforsaken Ketaari Empire to its knees for daring to subjugate you and your people’” Jolar declared.

A myriad of expressions chased across Saakshi’s face at Jolar’s words – shock, chagrin, sudden realization, disbelief, mounting comprehension, pleasure, uncertainty and so much more.

“Why do you think he did all this?” he asked her.

“He felt sorry for me” Saakshi muttered, not quite convincingly. Why else would Zoran have left her behind without a second glance, she asked herself.

“Don’t be a fool, Saakshi!” her friend pointed out bluntly.

“He owes my people for their part in uniting your two planets in the past” she said haltingly.

“There are many Hadari’Kor, I included, who feel that way, and yet we did not step up to do anything to change the Budheya’s circumstances. Meeting you was the push that Zoran needed. Oh, many Hadari’Kor were extremely receptive to his call for mercenaries to train the rebels, but he’s the only one who set the ball rolling and brought everyone to the table to hammer out an actual agreement. Believe me, Saakshi, this coalition of Zoran’s will do more to topple the Empire than any military campaign the Alliance mounts. Commander Kerovac understands this and has been a major force in helping with logistical support and cutting through some of the Alliance red tape, once Zoran convinced him of the viability of the coalition.”

Saakshi directed a glance at Zoran, who stood in deep conversation at the far end of the room, utterly unaware of the seismic shift in comprehension taking place within her. She was reeling at the revelation of how much he had done for her and her people.

Would the Budheya ever know how much they owed this Hadari’Kor mercenary, she wondered.

By the Pura, I will make sure of it, if it is the last thing I ever do.

“Saakshi, do you remember the advice I gave you about Zoran on Keeyor 9?” Jolar’s voice brought her back to the present.

Saakshi nodded. Jolar’s advice had eventually convinced her to confess the Unta-Golar’s threats to revoke her contract to Zoran.

“I told you then that he is the person you most want on your side in a fight. Let me tell you something else about Zoran. He also loves forever. Anyone lucky enough to win Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor’s heart will never lack anything, not while he’s alive. I don’t know what is going on between you two, but I will tell you one thing. Zoran was curiously reluctant to return to this facility. We could have concluded our business at least a few weeks earlier if Zoran had wanted it done.”

Saakshi stared back at Jolar, his words and their connotation reverberating in her head. After four months of trying to come to terms with her feelings for Zoran and her sense of desolation as well as questioning the relationship they had forged under difficult circumstances, Jolar’s hint about Zoran’s strong feelings for her should have made Saakshi happy. Instead, Jolar words gobsmacked her, leaving Saakshi more confused. The long lonely months had made Saakshi question everything about her time with Zoran.

“But he calls me tseriya” she muttered under her breath. The words came from nowhere, only to cause Saakshi acute embarrassment when Jolar’s expression let her know that he had heard her.

“And what is wrong with that?” Jolar inquired cautiously, after a moment of stunned silence. If Saakshi had been less distraught, she might have enjoyed Jolar’s expression; that of a deluded male forced to navigate the treacherous minefield of female emotions.

Females, Jolar wondered in bemusement. Better his friend than him. Even Saakshi, mature for her age and very reasonable in most matters, seemed to object to the strangest of things, he mused.

“He calls me companion like he cannot be bothered to remember my name” Saakshi muttered sheepishly, hideously embarrassed by the conversation. She had never meant to reveal herself thus to Jolar.

“Companion” Jolar exclaimed. “You think tseriya means companion?” he asked incredulously.

“Was it Zoran who told you that?” he asked after an infinitesimal pause, his voice working hard to hide his amusement.

Saakshi nodded mutely, very much ill at ease, and wondering madly how to turn the conversation into more innocuous channels.

“Tseriya means ‘of the heart and from the soul’. I guess the closest word in most vocabularies would be ‘beloved of the soul” Jolar said with a creditable effort at blandness, though Saakshi couldn’t fail to notice the amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Beloved of the ... You mean soulmate” she exclaimed incredulously. “Tseriya means soulmate but Zoran …” she stopped.

“Very much so” Jolar agreed with her silent assessment.

“Apologies” Zoran’s words drifted across to them, as he strapped on his wristlet before striding towards them. The few seconds it took him to get to the table and glance up at them was sufficient for Saakshi to rearrange her expression for his benefit. Jolar had revealed enough for her to ponder on, and Saakshi was determined to do so in private before she broached anything to Zoran.

“That was the Station Commander. He’s throwing a party to celebrate the new coalition. My mercs are all invited.”

He paused to shoot a glance at Saakshi’s curiously blank expression and his friend’s blandly amused one.

“Did I miss anything?” he asked.

Saakshi threw an imploring look at Jolar.

“I was just asking Saakshi about her work on TF124.”

His friend’s words seemed to satisfy Zoran, though he shot a suspicious look at both Jolar and Saakshi before continuing.

“The party is in four nights. Will I see you there?” he directed at Saakshi, his interest in her blunt and direct.

Saakshi took a deep breath before responding affirmatively. Though planning to skip it before, she wouldn’t miss it for the world now. Jolar shot her a look, his eyes full of knowing amusement, and it spurred Saakshi into hasty speech.

“I should let the BelDaap know I want to change my shift for the night of the party.”

At Saakshi’s words, something flashed in the depths of the black eyes, and Zoran’s expression went deliberately blank.

He’s furious about this, just like that night at BelDaap. But why?

Jolar studied them both with an air of palpable curiosity.

“Saakshi works at the local alehouse some evenings” Zoran said to his friend, his words clipped and his expression reigned in.

“Why?” Jolar asked her incredulously.

And suddenly, it hit Saakshi like a ton of bricks. She had unintentionally rejected Zoran yet again! Zoran had made sure to find her a position that allowed her a role in the new coalition he’d strung together. A coalition intended to help free the Budheya from nearly two centuries of subjugation, his intentions purely influenced by his feelings for her, if Jolar was to be believed. And what she done? She had thrown his thoughtfulness back in his face, just like her reaction to his gift of the Terilian silk dress. No wonder he was furious. He had moved mountains to change her dire circumstances and she had ensured that his first glimpse of her in the life he had fought so hard to build for her was as a server in an alehouse - back where he’d originally found her on Keeyor 9. It must have seemed like a slap on his face, Saakshi thought miserably.

By the Pura, what a fool I’ve been. How do I fix this?

Saakshi looked directly into Zoran’s furious eyes that even the blank expression on his face could not hide.

“The alehouse needed experienced servers and I had my evenings free. I won’t be working at the BelDaap once they have a new server.”

She would have a chat with the alehouse owner first thing tomorrow, she determined.

“Trying to do a good deed, Saakshi?” Jolar teased her. “Your real job not keeping you busy enough? Perhaps you should have a chat with the Station Commander, Zoran.”

Saakshi noted with relief that Zoran’s expression had lightened at her words and Jolar’s teasing.

I was pining for you – the server job was merely a desperate attempt to escape the loneliness.

Saakshi took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do - banish that blandly dispassionate expression from Zoran’s face.

“With the Juntafeyore docked here, I doubt I’ll have my evenings free.” She tried to be nonchalant. Saakshi had been going for bold, but the words came out rather shyly.

Jolar shot her another mischievously amused glance, but this one was threaded with a strong suggestion of approval. He left them alone with a muttered excuse after a quick glance at his friend’s countenance.

“I doubt you will. I plan to make very sure of it” murmured Zoran in a deep voice, the scratchy quality of his voice reminding Saakshi of other times between them.

Saakshi flushed at the look in his dark eyes, relishing the brief hint of his feelings he allowed her to see. He held out his hand to her and she crossed the few steps to put her much smaller palm into his where it lay swallowed up by his larger one.

“Come, tseriya, let me walk you back to your chamber” he said quietly, his eyes gazing down at her from his much greater height.

Saakshi allowed herself to be walked out by her tseriya after a quick goodbye aimed in Jolar’s general direction, her heart finally at ease after the revelations and turmoil of the last hour.

The three nights before the Station Commander’s bash flashed by quickly for Saakshi. Her stint at BelDaap was nearing its end. She was serving out the last ten days of her notice, with one night off for the party. The evening hours at the alehouse in addition to her day job left her exhausted at the end of each day. Zoran presented himself at BelDaap every night, to share the last meal of the day with her at the Sustenance Pavilion on the station. Usually accompanied by his mercenaries at BelDaap, Zoran would ensure that it was only him and occasionally Jolar who joined Saakshi for the evening meal and conversation. From hints he let fall, Saakshi concluded that the Juntafeyore sailed away during the day on the Alliance Commander’s business. But Zoran made sure to dock at TF124 every evening before Saakshi finished her shift at the alehouse.

He seemed relaxed for the first time since renewing their acquaintance. Back to his usual easygoing self with her, he would tease her in his laidback way and ask her about her work with the rebels. But he made no attempt to initiate a more intimate relationship between them. Yet Saakshi was happy, partly because she sensed that Zoran was content. Occasionally, she would catch Jolar watching them with mild speculation, but mostly he radiated indulgent approval at his Captain and Saakshi. On the last night before the party, Jolar excused himself after dinner, leaving Saakshi and Zoran by themselves. Zoran walked Saakshi to her chamber as usual, before handing her a package he had been carrying with him. The package was wrapped simply in plain white paper. Saakshi glanced uncertainly at him, unsure how to react.

“I asked Jolar to get it from your dormitory before he left Keeyor 9. He was able to recover it with Pik’s assistance. I thought you might like to wear it tomorrow” he explained steadily before bidding her a quiet good night to walk away.

Once inside her chamber, Saakshi tore open the package curiously, to find the gossamer fine Terilian dress that Zoran had gifted her on Keeyor 9. It brought forth memories of her reaction to his beautiful and expensive gift, as well as his response to her hasty reaction. This time, Saakshi wowed, things would be different. She would make sure that Zoran understood how much she valued his gift to her.

Saakshi and Sila hovered at the entrance to the vast chamber that had been transformed with flowers and lights for the party. Sila wore a beautiful bright-colored gown that she’d informed Saakshi represented her home planet of Terra Agri 5. Saakshi wore Zoran’s beautiful indigo Terilian silk dress with the matching delicate sandals, her only embellishment her pura tenar band on the left bicep. They were only a half hour late, and yet the room overflowed with guests – administrative personnel, Budheya rebels and Hadari’Kor involved in the mission. The Station Commander, arrayed smartly in a formal version of his TF124 uniform, mingled with his guests, flitting from group to group with an effortless charm Saakshi had not previously associated with him.

There was a brief hush in the conversation as the two ladies drew the attention of the guests. The Station Commander hurried forward to welcome them, and the hum of conversation resumed again. The Commander’s gracious and unaffected welcome put the ladies at ease in short order, and they soon found themselves ensconced amidst a small group of Budheya. Most Budheya were acquainted with Sila from the sculpture classes she conducted twice a week on the station. Saakshi was soon at her ease amongst her new friends, and thus not caught too off guard when Jolar and Zoran approached their group. But when Sila greeted Zoran familiarly like an old acquaintance, Saakshi’s astonishment was clear.

“Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor came to my aid at great personal risk when I was in desperate need of assistance” Sila explained to Saakshi, correctly interpreting her friend’s surprise.

Although the words were directed at her friend, all conversation in the group ceased immediately as the rebels’ attention focused on the two females. The rebels were cognizant of the station gossip about the attention the Hadari’Kor Captain had been paying to their Budheya Personnel Coordinator. Saakshi was a figure of immense curiosity to the rebels – a Budheya employed at an Alliance station and moreover, a Budheya, well informed about the prevailing conditions on their home world. Some of the rebels also felt protective of the young Budheya girl who helped them adapt to the alien conditions here, who was always ready with a smile for anyone in need of assistance, and who seemed to be alone on this station.

“Nehlia Saakshi, are you acquainted with the Captain, too?” Taynor, one of the older rebels, politely addressed Saakshi.

Saakshi claimed acquaintance with Zoran without hesitation. The rebels’ response made their curiosity abundantly clear. She launched into an explanation after a brief glance at Zoran’s impassive face and watchful eyes.

“The Captain came to my aid as well on a space station called Keeyor 9” she explained succinctly.

“How did you end up on a Keeyori space station?” a younger male impetuously exclaimed.

“I was incarcerated in a Ketaari prison on Budheyasta, when they sold my prison contract to a trader on Keeyor 9” Saakshi said.

A sudden silence descended on the group at her matter-of–fact explanation. Even Sila, curious about her friend but always respectful of her privacy, gazed at Saakshi with appalled sympathy. The Ketaari were known to be brutal to their prisoners.

“One day, a Ketaari Unta-Golar came to the alehouse where I worked as a server on the station. When the Unta-Golar started harassing me, I asked the Captain for assistance. The Captain was a frequent patron to the alehouse I worked at, although I’d never spoken to him before. He made sure that the Unta-Golar never harassed me again” Saakshi said simply, unaware that she was staring straight into Zoran’s dark eyes as she revealed a simple version of their story to her captive audience.

The Budheya rebels, most of whom had a passing acquaintance with Ketaari prisons and all of whom were fully aware of how the Ketaari treated the Budheya, gazed at Zoran with new found respect.

“Why did the Ketaari imprison you?” Taynor asked after a brief pause, his voice heavy with implication that the Ketaari usually needed no excuse to lock up Budheya in their prisons.

“For suspicion of helping the resistance” Zoran replied smoothly before Saakshi could answer the query. Two could play at this game, he thought in amusement. If his little Budheya was on a mission to have her Budheya friends acknowledge his role in her good fortune, then he would make damn sure they knew about her contribution to their cause.

“You were in the resistance?” One of the Budheya gasped in surprise. “Which cell did you fight for?”

“I was part of the 3rd cell of PrezaDorn Province.”

“3rd cell of PrezaDorn” mused Taynor aloud. “That is led by Tilabok, is it not?”

“Tilabok was my commander” Saakshi acknowledged with an inclination of her head.

“I did hear a rumor to the effect that it was Tilabok who brought the offer of this new pact to our leaders” Taynor mused shrewdly, gesturing casually between Zoran, the rebels and their surroundings to signify which new association he referred to.

“Yes, Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor is the one responsible for this new pact. He used his contacts with the Alliance to bring them to the negotiating table and travelled to Budheyasta at great risk to recruit Tilabok” Saakshi stated firmly.

The entire group, barring Jolar, turned their attention to Zoran with varying degrees of fascination, respect, surprise and awe. Sila nudged Saakshi in the ensuing melee as the Budheya converged on Zoran to shake his hand and thank him for his efforts in forging this new alliance they were confident would help free their people from Ketaari rule.

“The station has been rife with whispers of a HadKor merc sniffing at your heels the last few days, Saakshi, but I didn’t know that it was Captain Hadari-Begur-Kor.”

Saakshi nodded a little sheepishly at her friend.

“He’s a good male” Sila said, turning serious in the blink of an eye from her teasing tone. “He helped me out of a bad jam once, merely because someone I knew asked him for his assistance. I was taken by slavers and he helped free me from their clutches.”

Saakshi stared at her friend, aghast at the revelation. The brutal trade of slavery flourished in neutral space where no law was strong enough to be recognized, a casualty of the unending war in Quadrant Five. The Ketaari certainly looked upon and treated the Budheya as less worthy than their own race, but they had not yet descended to selling and owning sentient beings as property. Gentle, wise and artistic Sila did not deserve such a fate, and would never have survived it for long, Saakshi realized with horror.

“How did you come to work on this station, Saakshi?” inquired one of the Budheya curiously, forcing Saakshi’s attention away from her friend.

Saakshi hesitated just a tad while her mind searched for the right words to respond, her thoughts still grappling with her friend’s shocking disclosure about her previous circumstances.

“When the Ketaari Unta-Golar realized that he could not get to Saakshi on Keeyor 9 with Zoran watching over her, he had her contract revoked and a Ketaari Transport pick her up from the station while Zoran was away. Zoran chased down the Transport and rescued her in the teeth of the Unta-Golar’s opposition, although I did hear that Saakshi gave her Ketaari captors a good account of herself while on the Transport” Jolar jumped in to explain, succinctly summing up the set of events.

“When Zoran was negotiating with the Alliance, he made sure to include Alliance ID tags for Saakshi as part of the Hadari’Kor demands, since she’s now a fugitive of the Empire.”

A few of Zoran’s mercs as well as other Hadari’Kor joined their group, just as everyone was digesting this news about Saakshi. It was now clear what part Zoran had played directly and Saakshi indirectly in setting in motion a chain of events that had culminated in an unexpected and hard-fought pact between three factions against the Ketaari Empire. A pact that had the potential to, one day, alter the balance of power in Quadrant Five and win the Budheya their freedom. This unlikely tale of the Hadari’Kor mercenary and his Budheya rebel would spread all over Budheyasta, the worlds of Hadari and Kor as well as the Alliance territories slowly, to eventually become a part of the legend tied to an unending bloody war and the unlikely partnerships forged to win it.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Saakshi, who wandered from group to group with Sila, engaging in perfunctory and polite small talk. Zoran, accompanied by his Second-in-Command and friend, made his own rounds to socialize. As the evening neared its end, Zoran cornered Saakshi in a secluded corner, their presence hidden by a gigantic flower display. Jolar and Sila wandered off in search of more refreshments to leave the two in their little private cocoon of intimacy.

Zoran studied Saakshi where she stood in the curve of his big body as he braced himself against the wall, his torso hiding her from the other guests milling around behind him.

“I was right” Zoran said huskily, his voice scratchy.

“About what?” Saakshi whispered back, unable to look away from the blazing fire in dark eyes that skimmed over her.

“That the dress would look beautiful on you.”

Two fingers reached for her to feel the soft skin at her cheek in a delicate caress. Saakshi closed her eyes to lean limply back against the wall.

“I’ve had the silk for years. Somehow, the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that I’d been waiting to give it to you” he confessed softly.

Saakshi’s eyes opened to tangle with his gaze, the mix of emotions in the dark eyes holding her captive. His thumb wandered to her lips to press softly against her skin. Her breath hitched and the fingers on her cheek trembled.

“I’m sorry that I was not very appreciative of your gift … before” Saakshi stuttered with some difficulty.

“Shh, tseriya” he whispered, his thumb rubbing the pad of her lip. “The past is the past. I’m happy you wore it for me tonight.”

Fourteen

Eight days later, Saakshi found herself accompanying Zoran to the Docking Bay. The days since the Station Commander’s party had flown by quickly. Saakshi had worked every evening at BelDaap, ending her day with Zoran at the Sustenance Pavilion to chat over the last meal of the day. Most evenings, they’d been joined by Jolar and a few times by Sila. The abbreviated version of Saakshi’s story and Zoran’s part in forging this new pact between the Budheya and the Alliance had spread like wild fire. The result was that Zoran was now mobbed by Budheya whenever he stepped foot on TF124. Most wanted to simply shake his hand and proffer their gratitude before moving on, although a few had become a little better acquainted with Zoran, bantering with him and discussing insurgency strategy when he had the time. Though private moments between them had been few and far between, Saakshi had never been happier with her circumstances and her new equation with Zoran. Very much anticipating the end of her stint at BelDaap, she had been overjoyed by Zoran’s invitation to spend her first evening with him.

They stepped into one of the docking elevators and she watched Zoran punch in their destination before the doors slid shut silently.

“I have a surprise for you, Saakshi” he turned to her with a smile. “I was hoping you’d be up for a short trip with me. I promise to get you back to the station before you start work tomorrow morning.”

Saakshi acquiesced immediately, suffused with pleasure at his words.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked in anticipation, her pleasure at his plans obvious.

In response, Zoran held out his palm to her, followed by a casual one-handed hug and a quick kiss on her hair before he answered her.

“Somewhere I know you will love” he said easily and with confidence, his arm holding her close to him.

Saakshi hugged him back unreservedly, immensely pleased by his affection. He was usually more reserved on TF124, where they were the cynosure of all eyes.

“I discovered it on one of my reconnaissance trips and knew you would love it. It’s on a small moon on a planetary system some forty minutes away by shuttle.”

The elevator doors slid open silently as Zoran grasped Saakshi’s hand with easy affection to guide her towards a gleaming shuttle with the words “Sebaah Seran” painted on it.

“It means nesting bird” Zoran explained as he helped Saakshi into the spacious interior of the shuttle big enough to transport twenty people in comfort.

He directed her to the seat beside the pilot’s chair and helped her strap in, before strapping himself into the pilot seat and beginning undocking procedures.

Saakshi watched him coordinate with the Docking Bay personnel as he efficiently ran through the shuttle’s subsystems checks. The gigantic Docking Bay doors slid up silently into space, and they were smoothly airborne in no time.

Zoran maneuvered the craft skillfully through the few starships attached to the long docking arms that bordered the asteroid belt chosen for its ability to camouflage the station. Saakshi couldn’t help but admire the effortless way Zoran navigated the shuttle through the many asteroids.

“Would you like to fly it?” he offered, noting the rapt attention with which she watched him handle the small spacecraft.

“Can I?” she asked eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement.

Zoran couldn’t help but smile at her excitement.

“Absolutely. Once we’re clear of the asteroids, I’ll give you a quick tutorial and you can take the helm.”

Ten minutes later, Saakshi strapped herself into the pilot seat in anticipation as Zoran walked her through the navigational controls and sensor readouts. Zoran watched her helm the shuttle nervously for a few minutes before he stepped in.

“You’re doing fine. It gets better with practice. These things practically fly themselves, so don’t worry too much. Enjoy yourself, Saakshi.”

Soon, Saakshi had settled down after her nervous start to enjoy flying through the vast darkness of empty space all around them. Zoran excused himself as she became more confident at the helm, leaving her alone to enjoy her first time handling a spacecraft. Snatches of his conversation with someone on the Juntafeyore drifted to her in the background while Saakshi concentrated on flying the shuttle.

They flew for about twenty minutes with Saakshi making minute corrections to the shuttle path to follow the route Zoran had entered into the navigational system to guide her. Zoran returned to relieve her as they approached a distant speck in the dark space.

“That is our destination. It’s a small moon revolving around a medium-sized planetoid. The moon is prone to frequent electrical storms that tend to affect our systems, so I will need to land manually without relying on the sensors. Once we land, we’ll need spacesuits to walk the short distance to our destination.”

Saakshi moved away from the controls to watch in awe as Zoran first positioned the shuttle using the navigational sensors, before shutting down most of the shuttle systems to land nimbly on a large flattish space surrounded by sheer rock faces. The surface of the moon appeared stormy and dark, with sharp cracks of thunder reverberating through the rock walls. She strapped on the spacesuit that Zoran handed her – one she was happy to note was in a smaller size than the massive one for him. Zoran guided her through the suit’s safety checks, including testing the built-in communicator. He slung a small case across his shoulders, and helped her through the open hatch of the shuttle.

They walked hand in hand, their built-in spacesuit torches the only light guiding them through the rocky terrain besides the small flashes of what looked like lightening far away in the sky. She gazed around her in awe at the other worldly landscape, so different from the terrain on Budheyasta. The gray rocky cliffs and the black sky lit up by occasional colorful flashes of lightening was a stark contrast to the dry desert and red volcanic rocks on her home world.

They walked for about ten minutes until they came to a small opening identified by a marker planted next to it. Zoran gestured to her to follow him in. She watched him squeeze himself through the small opening that was a tight fit for him. The opening widened out to a small cavern with three narrow tunnels. Zoran punched in something on the tiny navigator attached to his spacesuit, before clasping her palm to lead her through one of the tunnels. They walked silently through a maze of interconnecting tunnels guided by Zoran’s navigator until it opened wider into a vast dark space. Saakshi could hear the gentle hum of flowing water. Zoran checked another device on his suit carefully, and then spoke through the built-in communicator.

“You can take off the suit now, Saakshi. The air in here is breathable.”

Saakshi followed his example swiftly, glad to be finally rid of the bulky suit.

“The air outside on the moon is not breathable, because the storms sometimes cause pollens to be strewn into the air in quantities poisonous to us, but the pollen doesn’t seem to get in this far into the rocks except in very minute traces” he explained.

Saakshi gazed around the clearing.

“Close your eyes, please. I have a surprise for you” Zoran said.

Saakshi closed her eyes obediently, excited by the prospect of a surprise. Just setting foot on such an alien world had been quite an adventure. She couldn’t wait to see what else Zoran had planned for her. She heard the quick staccato bursts of what sounded like plasma fire before Zoran asked her to open her eyes.

A beautiful gleaming lake met her eyes, its water glinting darkly through the illumination provided by three strategically placed plasma torches. Only a tiny part of the lake was visible, its pebbled bottom discernible through the clear tranquil waters. The rest was hidden in the vast, dark space.

“It’s beautiful” she breathed with awe. “Thank you … for bringing me here.”

“You’re welcome, tseriya” he said softly. “I knew you’d love it.”

Saakshi directed a radiant smile at her gentle giant. “Can we touch the water?”

“Absolutely. It’s pretty shallow at this end, if you’d like to soak in it.”

“I would love to, but I don’t have another set of clothes on me” she said shyly.

“I have something for you” he pulled out a simple black bathing suit from the case slung over his shoulder.

“It should fit you well. I’m an old hand at buying you attire by now” he flashed her a grin.

Saakshi flushed at the gentle teasing. The bathing suit, though simple, was beautifully cut in a soft, stretchy material. It reminded Saakshi of the intricately woven underclothes he’d bought for her on Keeyor 9 after their first night together. She glanced around for a place to change.

“I’ll turn my back” Zoran offered.

Saakshi waited for him to walk to the water’s edge and turn his back to her.

“I plan on going into the water in all my natural glory” he warned her with his back to her. “You might want to turn away. Although I wouldn’t complain if you enjoyed the show” he added wickedly.

Saakshi scampered to turn her back on him before scrambling into the bathing suit. Only when she heard a small splash from behind her did she turn around tentatively to face the water. Zoran glided through the water gracefully until he was just a silhouette at the edge of the lake, lit up by the combined light from the plasma torches.

“Come on in” he invited her. “The water is superbly warm.”

She walked into the clear water until it came to her upper thighs, before seating herself on the sandy bottom to enjoy the warm water lapping against her body. She leant back on her hands, allowing the water to slide over like a caress while she watched Zoran swim like a fish, his big body cutting through the water lithely.

Deep in Alliance space, Alliance Commander Kerovac mulled over the strange communication he had just received, his augmented brain calculating probabilities and assessing risks with machine-like efficiency, and remarkable accuracy. Only for a knock at the door to interrupt his musings. The Commander glanced at the door, the light in his eerie blue eyes softening subtly. He knew this particular cursory knock. Since his transformation to Un Kieto Maal, only two people in his world had ever been able to reach Rayeou Kerovac – his sister, Alina, and his childhood friend, Yaneou Tirovac. With every passing day, the Commander seemed to feel more like a machine and less male. It made him determined to hold on to the few emotional ties he still retained from his former life. There is one more person with the ability to affect you, who makes you yearn for things you believe you gave up a long time ago, reminded his inner voice insidiously. The Commander shoved away the inconvenient reminder, ignoring his inner voice to focus his attention on Yan instead.

Yaneou Tirovac, Aide-de-Champ to the Alliance Commander, looked grave.

“TF124 is under attack, Ray” he announced.

The Commander’s expression remained unchanged but Yan, who knew the Commander better than most, understood immediately that the assault on TF124 had defied the Commander’s careful considerations.

“The Station Commander is on COM Two” Yan explained. “I had the call diverted to me since I knew you were occupied with other matters.” Thus, delicately did Yan refer to the extraordinary communication the Alliance Commander had been engaged in – a direct overture from the Ketaari Emperor himself, who had bypassed the Ketaari Imperial Forces to reach out to the highest military officer in the Alliance, the Commander of the powerful Alliance Armada.

The Alliance Commander was not given to recriminations, regrets or second-guessing of decisions; the same implants that reduced the emotional quotient in him, making him ill-equipped to cope with emotional ties, helped to cut through such distractions to always focus him on the matter at hand.  Despite doing everything in his power to minimize it, he had always known that TF124 ran the risk of being discovered one day. One could not hide such a substantial presence so close to Alliance space for very long. So, the Commander had focused on making contingency plans for just such an eventuality. For him, it was now simply a matter of making an informed choice from the many contingencies he had carefully worked through before.

“Activate Protocol Salvation on Sethia Two, Yan” the Commander directed, reaching for his communication device. “Their mission is evacuation of all TF124 personnel.”

Sethia Two was the nearest Alliance protected station from TF124. The Station Commander and his deputy on Sethia Two had been made aware of the exact location of TF124 with orders to be ready to evacuate and defend TF124 at short notice, should the occasion ever arise. In his methodical way, the Alliance Commander had covered all his bases.

“Including the Budheya?” Yan inquired.

Yan, intimately acquainted with Protocol Salvation, was also aware of the different options the Commander had planned for, when the day came to trigger it.

“Yes.”

Protocol Salvation decreed that three warships be sent to TF124 to evacuate personnel or defend the station from hostile forces. It had been agreed that if the Budheya rebels on the station were evacuated in an emergency, then the ships would transport the rebels to a pre-arranged location within Alliance protected territory to await further orders. This would restrict the secret of the Budheya’s presence aboard a clandestine Alliance facility to the crew aboard the Alliance ships.

“This is Kerovac” the Commander greeted the Minduran male on the communication screen calmly, his manner steady as usual. No one had ever seen the legendary Un Kieto Maal even mildly excited, another reason the moniker had stuck so firmly to the Alliance Commander. In the background, he could hear Yan typing furiously into his tablet to activate Protocol Salvation and initiate evacuation of the facility under siege.

“The cloak is holding, Alliance Commander” the Station Commander hurried into speech. “But I don’t know for how long.”

The same Ur’quay technology that allowed their starships to be invisible had been modified by the Star Captain’s engineers, to protect the large ship that was TF124. The cloak had been a gift from the Ur’quay Captain.

“Do you have confirmation of the attackers?” the Commander inquired.

“The Hadari’Kor have confirmed that the ships are Ketaari.”

So, not marauders intent on taking advantage of what they assumed to be an unprotected facility close to Alliance territory, the Commander mused silently. The strange communication he had just received from the Ketaari suddenly seemed to assume a new dimension, as well as urgency.

“Place the cloak in shield mode, Station Commander” the Alliance Commander directed. The cloak was of little use to the facility now that TF124’s disguise had been pierced by the Ketaari. The shield mode, on the other hand, would draw a lot more power but might just buy TF124 the time to evacuate all its personnel.

The Station Commander barked the order to someone behind him, his sense of urgency coming through clearly.

“How many ships are currently docked on TF124?” the Commander inquired next.

“Three Hadari’Kor ships, Alliance Commander.”

“Is Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor’s ship one of them?”

“Yes, the starship Juntafeyore is currently docked here, Alliance Commander” the Minduran male confirmed. It was the Juntafeyore that had alerted the Station Commander to the attack on his station, before the station personnel could make sense of the strange readings from the alien cloaking software they had not yet come to grips with.

“Three warships from Sethia Two are on their way to you, Station Commander” the Alliance Commander gave the orders, in his clear and precise way. “They will reach you in twenty standard minutes. You will arrange to evacuate all personnel including Budheya on these ships and rig TF124 with enough explosives to destroy it completely. The Hadari’Kor ships will engage the Ketaari to hold them off until everyone is safely away and will be responsible for blowing TF124 before they disengage from the Ketaari.”

The Station Commander took a deep breath, processing the Alliance Commander’s succinctly stated commands. The rigging of the facility with explosives was standard contingency plan for all Alliance stations and something the Alliance Commander had insisted TF124 be prepared for, since the early days of the facility. That did not faze the Station Commander. Only one part of the Alliance Commander’s directive did.

“The Hadari’Kor …” the Station Commander paused.

“I will communicate with the Hadari’Kor, Station Commander” the Alliance Commander interrupted the Minduran Station Commander. The Station Commander had no authority over the Hadari’Kor and though the two parties had co-operated and worked well together these past few months, it was a delicate arrangement that needed to be handled carefully at all times. Besides their formidable reputation on the battlefield, the Hadari’Kor were known for their fierce independence. Any directive, even one coached as a request from a mere Station Commander, would not be taken well by the Hadari’Kor.

“Please signal the Juntafeyore when you’re clear of the station, so they can trigger the explosives, Station Commander” the Alliance Commander added, tying up the small details, as was his habit.

“I will take care of it, Alliance Commander” the Station Commander acknowledged promptly, his relief clear. The Minduran Commander had not been looking forward to a delicate dance of diplomacy with the Hadari’Kor while his facility was under assault, and he had an entire evacuation to oversee.

Someone murmured to the Station Commander in the background.

“At the current rate, the shield will hold for another thirty minutes, Alliance Commander” the Station Commander relayed the information. “We will need an hour to evacuate all personnel from the station.”

“You will have the time you need, Station Commander” Commander Kerovac assured him. “ADC Tirovac will keep the communication lines open, just in case.”

“Aderaan Theriyaah.” The Station Commander signed off with the traditional farewell of the Minduran Military, roughly translated to Lord willing and God speed.

“The Juntafeyore is on COM Three” Yan murmured from behind him, efficient as always.

One of his first acts as Alliance Commander had been to pick his childhood friend to serve as his Aide-de-Champ, a position of great ceremony as well as influence, power and responsibility. The Alliance Commander’s ADC guarded all access to him. Over the years, Yan had acquired a reputation as an upstanding official with the ability to cut through red tape, good judgement, and the ear of the Alliance Commander.

In the early days, his choice had caused a minor scandal back home on Iovaca Prime, where the expectation had been that the first Iovac Alliance Commander would nominate one of the imminently well-qualified heirs of the Noble Houses to the prestigious post of Aide-de-Champ. The Commander had ignored both the whispers as well as the blunt comments to stick to his decision. Once he had entered the Program, Rayeou Kerovac had gradually ceased to exist, only to emerge as Un Kieto Maal, the Supreme Commander of the Alliance Armada, on whose shoulders rode the hopes and ambitions of an entire quadrant. Though he had acquiesced to the sacrifices readily, the Commander was determined that the few choices he was still left with, would be on his terms.

“This is Commander Jolar” Jolar’s face flashed across the communication screen.

“Commander Jolar” Commander Kerovac greeted the mercenary, no hint of surprise betraying him.

But Jolar was quick to sense the Alliance Commander’s astonishment. Jolar had not failed to take note these past few months that something troubled Zoran greatly. His friend had rightly guessed that Zoran’s preoccupation had something to do with Saakshi. So, Jolar was determined to give his Captain the precious time with his tseriya to sort out the matter.

“The Captain is off ship on private business, Alliance Commander” Jolar said briefly, before plunging onto the matter at hand. “We have identified four Ketaari ships attacking TF124. The Hadari’Kor ships stand ready to engage the Ketaari, Alliance Commander. Unless you would like us to help evacuate the station?”

As the Alliance Commander had suspected, the Hadari’Kor were eager to play their part in defending the station. The Commander rather suspected that the Hadari’Kor were more invested in this mission than the Alliance, at this point. Had not one of their own orchestrated this entire three-way pact between Budheya, Alliance and Hadari’Kor mercenaries?

While confident that three Hadari’Kor ships would prove more than a match for four Ketaari ships, the Commander mulled over a contingency plan to counteract the Ketaari in case more ships were on their way to join the assault on TF124. If outnumbered, the Ur’quay starship, with its advanced weaponry and contingent of skilled warriors, would prove a formidable ally in keeping the enemy at bay from TF124. On the flip side, it would reveal the presence of the Ur’quay ship to the Ketaari, as well the Hadari’Kor.

“Alliance ships are on their way to evacuate the station, Commander Jolar. The Station Commander estimates that he will need a standard hour and a half to evacuate all personnel from TF124. Can the Hadari’Kor keep the Ketaari at bay to allow for safe evacuation of everyone?”

“The Hadari’Kor will hold off the Ketaari until the evacuation is complete, Alliance Commander” Jolar assured the Alliance Commander confidently. “What about the rebels?”

“They will be evacuated by Alliance ships, along with other TF124 personnel. On my orders, the Station Commander is rigging the station with explosives. He will let the Juntafeyore know once everyone is off the station.”

“We will trigger the explosion and make sure TF124 does not fall to the Ketaari, Alliance Commander” Jolar acknowledged. It was standard Alliance procedure to prevent their strategically important stations from falling into enemy hands. Jolar had worked with the Alliance long enough to understand that Commander Kerovac’s calculated decision to abandon TF124 without a fight, was to hide the Budheya presence on the station from the Ketaari. This way, they could start afresh on another Alliance facility, without the Ketaari being any wiser. An Alliance facility was a small price to pay to preserve a mission with the potential to pay huge dividends down the line.

“Is the Ur’quay ship close by, Commander Jolar?” the Alliance Commander inquired.

Kerovac was aware that the Ur’quay and the Juntafeyore had developed a close working relationship, shadowing their respective Captains’ easy equation.

“A few minutes away, Alliance Commander.” As he had guessed, Jolar was up to date on the Ur’quay ship’s whereabouts.

“The Ur’quay ship with its ability to cloak would be an asset in the fight, Alliance Commander” Jolar hinted subtly.

Jolar seized upon the Alliance Commander’s inquiry. Un Kieto Maal was mulling over asking the Ur’quay ship to join the fight for TF124. Confident that the Hadari’Kor could defend the station, despite being outnumbered by the Ketaari ships, Jolar had another reason for his eagerness to see the Ur’quay in action.

“The Hadari’Kor will be discreet, Commander Kerovac” Jolar assured the Alliance Commander.

The Hadari’Kor understood only too well how much of their new mission to train the Budheya, with the ultimate goal of fomenting a well-organized and effective rebellion on Budheyasta, rode on keeping the pact a secret from the Imperial Forces. Long accustomed to keeping secrets and their various contracts with different employers compartmentalized, the Hadari’Kor would take it in stride if Jolar hinted to them that this knowledge too was related to their larger mission to coalesce the Budheya into a fighting force with the teeth to take on the Ketaari.

And Jolar wanted to witness the legendary Ur’quay in a skirmish, minor though it be. The Star Captain was already chomping at the bit to join the fight against the Ketaari, for reasons that Jolar understood but had no intention of divulging to Un Kieto Maal. Jolar had promised the Star Captain that the Juntafeyore would not undock from TF124, without taking aboard a certain Ambassador the Star Captain felt personally responsible for. It had been the Ur’quay engineers, remotely monitoring the modified Ur’quay cloak protecting TF124, who had first raised the alarm about the attack. There had been issues with the cloak, due to interference from the asteroid belt, and the Ur’quay engineers had been working to stabilize the cloak from their ship. The Star Captain’s urgent communique to the Juntafeyore had prompted Jolar to warn the station of the attack.

“The Hadari’Kor will believe that the Henia is a new technologically advanced ship the Alliance is keen to keep under wraps for now” Jolar added.

This time, Commander Kerovac did not hesitate. It was time to take more calculated risks, he knew. Especially given the real possibility that the Ketaari had unearthed either one or both new pacts the Alliance had secretly forged, with the Ur’quay and the Budheya. The unusual overture from the Ketaari Emperor, followed by an assault on TF124, seemed too much of a coincidence. If the Ketaari were suspicious, even a small sample of the havoc an Ur’quay starship could cause on the battlefield might not be a bad idea, Kerovac mused. The threat of a fleet of such ships might just buy the Alliance a little time to ferret out what the Ketaari knew or suspected of their new partners.

“Thank you, Commander Jolar. I will request the Star Captain to co-ordinate the defense of TF124 with the Juntafeyore.”

Jolar signed off, leaving the Alliance Commander mildly puzzled at the brief flash of triumph and satisfaction on the mercenary’s countenance at the news.

“The ships from Sethia Two are making good progress, Ray” Yan informed him. “They have crossed Alliance protected space and report no Ketaari ships on the route yet.”

“Good” the Commander remarked with satisfaction.

“I have the Henia on COM Two” offered Yan.

“Thank you, Yan.”

The Alliance Commander activated COM Two on his communication device and the Star Captain’s visage filled the screen.

“You would like the Ur’quay to defend the station?” inquired the Star Captain, without any ceremony.

“Yes, Star Captain. And if the chance arises, give the Ketaari something to ponder about” the Commander said baldly, not mincing his words. “I don’t know how the Ketaari located TF124, but I want them to think twice before they go searching for other Alliance stations unprotected by our border security net.”

“We will” the Star Captain was assured, confident, and as hard to read as ever. “My engineers believe that the discovery of the location might be an accident, an unintended consequence of the malfunctioning cloak. They are poring over the telemetry data from the cloak now. We should have more information for you in a few hours.”

“Thank you, Star Captain.”

As the Ur’quay Captain signed off, Commander Kerovac turned to his friend and ADC.

“The Ketaari Emperor proposes a face to face meeting with me, Yan” he stated. “His spokesman assured me that the Emperor believes that he and I together can bring the war to an end, without involving the Imperial Forces in the negotiations.”

Yan’s eyebrows shot up in response. This was very unusual. The Ketaari Emperor represented the ambitions of the Empire and was highly respected by his subjects. While a cadre of high-born advisors surrounded the aging Emperor, a majority of the advisors were reputed to be high-ranking officers from the Imperial Forces.

“It’s a trap, Ray” the ADC said bluntly.

“Perhaps” the Commander murmured thoughtfully. “But they must know that I’m not that easy to capture, Yan. Moreover, strong hints were dropped that the location and the decision of how many and which respective entourages to allow to the meeting would be left up to me.”

“You’re thinking of meeting the Emperor, Ray?” Yan looked a tad confused.

“His envoy” the Commander looked briefly amused. “The Emperor, I believe, is much more fearful of being captured than I am, Yan.”

“More likely, the Ketaari refuse to subject their Emperor to a conversation with you, lest you realize that he’s senile and merely a puppet of the Imperial Forces” Yan quipped.

They had long suspected that the Ketaari Emperor had succumbed to old age, leaving all major decision-making in the hands of select advisors. Yan knew that the Alliance Commander believed that any victory over the Ketaari Empire would have to be a decisive and military one. Negotiating with the Ketaari would get them nowhere since they suspected that the reins of the Empire were now firmly in the hands of the Ketaari Military.

“You’re right, of course, Yan. Which makes me suspect that something else is afoot.”

Yan pursed his lips. “You think this attack on TF124 has something to do with the overture from the Emperor?”

“It is too much of a coincidence, Yan. And I don’t like such coincidences.” The Alliance Commander paused. “On the other hand, the Star Captain believes that it might be as simple as a malfunctioning cloak.”

“We have been getting fairly regular reports of magnetic storms and colliding asteroids causing malfunctions of the cloak, Ray” the ADC acknowledged. “That is why I requested the Star Captain’s engineers’ assistance in diagnosing the issue.”

The Alliance Commander pondered the matter silently while Yan shot his friend a troubled glance. Yan and Alina, the two people closest to the Alliance Commander, were immensely proud of Ray’s accomplishments even as they worried about his welfare and the toll the Program, his many sacrifices and the burden of carrying Quadrant Five’s collective hopes took on Rayeou Kerovac.

Far away from such considerations about the future of Quadrant Five and oblivious to the hard-fought battle underway to defend TF124 and allow its personnel to evacuate safely, Saakshi watched Zoran frolic in the lake, her eyes taking in the ease with which her mercenary took to the water. Eventually, Zoran treaded water a few feet away from her. Saakshi watched as the tattoos on his chest gleamed with the water streaming off it. A memory of him over her with eyes of molten fire while a rivulet of moisture shimmered and danced its way down his muscled body flashed through her suddenly, catching her unawares. She dragged her eyes away from his chest.

“How did you find this place?” she stammered, hoping that the dim light hid her flushed face from him.

“We’ve been exploring the surrounding planetoids for a hiding place, in case we ever require one in a hurry. This moon was written off because of its inhospitable environment, although the fact that the frequent electrical storms tend to screw up most sensors does provide a decided advantage in shaking any potential pursuers off. Jolar and I like to climb rocks as a hobby and have been exploring the caverns on the moon in our spare time.”

“I hadn’t expected my tseriya to dump me for an alehouse” he teased her, as she remained silent. “It left me with too much spare time on my hands.”

Zoran waited for her answering smile, in response to his quip.

“On one of our rare trips here without any electrical storms to blind our equipment, the sensors indicated a large body of water in one of the caves. We followed the readings to discover a lake very like this one. Then we kept searching until I found what I was looking for – a lake shallow enough to wade in and deep enough inside the rock face to be free of the poisonous pollen. I wanted you to experience this - I knew you’d love it.”

“I do” she gazed around her in wonder. “It’s so beautiful and tranquil, a stark contrast to the wild beauty right outside the cave on the moon’s surface.”

They basked quietly in the solitude and beauty to drink in the dark splendor of the lake.

“Would you like to go deeper into the water?” he inquired, watching her play with the water as it lapped gently over her.

“I don’t know how to swim” she said haltingly.

“If you trust me, I can take you in” he offered, holding out his hand to her. Like so many times before, when he had gently coaxed her into trusting him.

Saakshi glanced at the water in the distance, the light from the plasma torches dancing off it but not powerful enough to penetrate its mysterious depths. Yes, she did trust Zoran to keep her safe. And in all the other ways there were! She pushed herself off the floor to wade to him where he waited in waist deep water. He reached for her, clasping her with one arm to tuck her by his side before wading out deeper into the water. Saakshi held on to the arm clasping her to him, tentatively attempting to kick through the water.

“Ummff” Zoran huffed from somewhere above her. “Careful there, tseriya. You might not want to kick my male bits so enthusiastically. I’m rather fond of them.”

“Sorry” she flushed, going red.

“No harm done. Just relax your body and enjoy the water. I’ve got you.”

And Saakshi relaxed, just like that. A wave of love and affection for him spiked through her. She thanked the Pura again for sending Zoran back to her.

“You swim so gracefully” she remarked, her voice colored by admiration. He did everything so gracefully, but she didn’t tell him that.

“We learn to swim very young on both Hadari and Kor. Our two planets are mainly water. Most of the world is tropical and almost marshy” he explained, floating lazily on his back and taking her with him, his voice reverberating off the surrounding rock walls.

“No one on Budheyasta knows how to swim. Water is a very precious commodity on my world. Water we drink is processed from our oceans. I don’t think we have any bodies of water like this” she gestured at the water enveloping them.

“Your home world is very beautiful, Saakshi” he turned to her.  “One day, I plan to go back with you to explore it. But before we do that, I hope to take you to mine.”

Saakshi stared up into the cave as they floated silently, the moment pregnant with unsaid words but no less intense because of it. She understood what the implied words meant – Zoran was offering her a glimpse of a future together. Perhaps, a future in a less complicated time.

“I would like that very much” she replied softly, tipping her head gently towards his gracefully floating body.

“I’m glad, tseriya” he responded softly before falling silent.

They floated in companionable silence once more, in an underground lake deep inside a rocky cave in a planetoid far away from either of their home worlds. Two strangers that fate had thrown together in unlikely and difficult circumstances. Two strangers drawn to each other irresistibly despite the obstacles of contrasting pasts, a dire present and an uncertain future. Two strangers who had fought for each other and to change the world they lived in for a chance at a future together.

A half hour later, Saakshi was back on the banks of the lake to watch Zoran frolic in it once again.

“Would you like to learn to swim?” he asked her, amused by the avid gaze that watched him so intently in the water.

“Yes” she admitted with alacrity. “I was afraid I might be too old to learn.”

“Naah, you’re never too old to learn to swim. I’ll teach you if you like” he offered.

Saakshi nodded eagerly.

“Perhaps I can learn to swim by the time I visit your home world” she said, her voice hopeful.

“Perhaps” he agreed softly.

He swam towards the shore, wading out of the water to where she sat watching him. Saakshi watched her large warrior arise unhurriedly from the tranquil lake, the water spearing off his hard body causing his myriad colorful tattoos to gleam brightly on his gray skin in the light reflected off the plasma torches. He shook his head gracefully, sending an arc of water off his dark hair. The scattered droplets hung over him like a short-lived halo around his large muscled frame. Saakshi stared at him, frozen in place and unable to take her eyes off him. In that moment suspended in time, to the young Budheya girl gazing up in awe at her warrior, it felt as if the Pura herself had sent him for her - her own personal guardian angel charging in when she’d needed him the most.

“Like what you see?” inquired the husky voice she remembered so well from before.

Saakshi flushed, looking away from those molten dark eyes.

He came down gracefully on one knee beside her, gloriously unselfconscious in his nakedness.

“I do, too. Like what I see, that is” he said scratchily, his voice like sandpaper.

He used a large finger to gently nudge her chin until she met his eyes.

“You have me at your feet, tseriya. I hope you will show mercy.”

Lost momentarily in the burning eyes and mesmerized by the husky voice, Saakshi realized dazedly that he seemed to be kneeling before her. She scrambled up with a muffled sob to throw her arms around him, smothering his face and neck with little kisses.

“Tseriya” he asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m just so happy that you came back” she sobbed into his neck.

“Of course, I came back” he reiterated in some confusion, trying to dislodge her from his neck to meet her eyes. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I thought you were off doing more important stuff now that I was safe with the Alliance” Saakshi hiccupped into his neck, resisting all his attempts to get her to meet his eyes.

“Tseriya” he cajoled. “I could never stay away from you.”

He cupped the back of her head with one hand.

“Tseriya” he said urgently. “Haven’t I proved already that I cannot stay away from you? That is what I cannot forgive myself for.”

It was the note of despair in his voice that finally got through to Saakshi. She loosened her clasp around his neck to lean back and scan his expression. A callused finger brushed away her tears carefully as they spilled over from her eyes but Saakshi barely noticed the tender gesture.

“Forgive yourself? What do you mean …” she trailed off uncertainly.

He said nothing, but what she saw in the dark eyes had Saakshi straightening her spine.

“You helped a stranger who came to you for assistance. You could have chosen to walk away. Without you, the Unta-Golar …” she stopped mid-sentence, her words cut off by the large finger Zoran laid gently across her lips.

The expression on his handsome face shuttered right before her eyes.

“I’m no hero, Saakshi” he said steadily. “I shamed myself – I took advantage of a young and desperate girl.”

It was Saakshi’s turn to lay a gentle finger on his lips to prevent him from further self-reproach.

“No” she shook her head forcefully. “Nothing happened between us that I did not want. Believe that if you believe nothing else, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor.”

She withdrew her finger from his lips. He remained silent but did soften enough to allow her to see the regret and despair in him.

“You came for me every single time” she reiterated a tad desperately. “When no else did.”

Zoran shook his head, clasping her hand to plant a soft kiss in her palm.

“Yes” he acknowledged. “But I also took advantage of you.”

Saakshi shook her head vehemently, desperate to make him believe that she had never felt coerced into an intimate relationship with him.

“You … you loved me like no one else had, Zoran” she whispered, shyness and embarrassment forgotten. “I was drawn to you, even before I went to you. I just … I was too inexperienced to know it.”

His expression twisted subtly at her soft admission. “I was not.”

“I was so furious that day when you came to me with your proposition. Angry at the universe, angry at your circumstances, angry that you had been left with no choice but to approach a stranger with your proposition. So furious that I didn’t trust myself to not frighten you with my fury, even as I did my best to scare into withdrawing your proposition.”

“So, I removed myself from your presence and asked Jolar to escort you back to your dormitory. You know the rest. I’d always intended to help you. All it needed was a few minutes of my time to let the Unta-Golar know what I would do to him unless he stayed away from you.”

He stopped and shook his head, as if to laugh at his circumstances. Despite his fury at her proposition and what it implied of how she saw him, he had succumbed, taking from her exactly what she had offered in exchange for his protection.

“But I was late coming to your assistance the next day, and you got hurt. I took you back to my ship for some privacy to tend to you and to apologize for my tardiness. The plan was to set you at ease. Assure you that I’d take care of Ghesh and anyone else – you needn’t worry about anything. A very worthy intention, I told myself. It was my chance – the one I had been waiting for. I wanted to woo you, let you get to know me, show you what I felt for you and … and then ask you to be mine.”

The stark dark eyes met Saakshi who watched him breathlessly, unable to look away from the words pouring out of him.

“But you … you let me know that you intended to keep your side of the bargain you thought we had made, even though I could see how nervous and fearful you were. I lost my temper again. My damnable temper! My friends will tell you that I’m the most equable male in the world except when I lose my temper. I wanted to scare you by making you face what you were offering me. I thought that would bring you to your senses. So, I made you take that damnable bathing robe off and then …” he stopped, his tortured eyes staring back mutely at her.

“And then …” she prompted tremulously.

“And then I lost my head” he said simply.

He stared at her for a moment. She watched him mutely, afraid to say the wrong thing. She could tell that he was poised on the edge. The next few minutes would determine which way the chips would fall.

“I’d been watching this beautiful girl for months” he said, the words wrung from him. “You scared me, Saakshi. I didn’t want to admit it to myself. But you terrified me. What I felt for you - I’d never been drawn to anyone like this before. To a stranger I knew nothing about. You were like a drug in my system, Saakshi. I couldn’t stay away from Pik’s. Not for long. And yet, I didn’t want to approach you, afraid that you might not want me or that the strength of my feelings for you would frighten you away. Then one day, you came to me. It felt like all my prayers had been answered. This was the chance I had been waiting for. And I …” he shook his head.

It was time to speak up, Saakshi knew.

“I would never have gone to anyone else on that station with the proposition I offered you, Zoran” Saakshi countered with confidence. “You were sent to me by the Pura. She sent you when I needed you the most - at my wits end and with nowhere else to turn. I believed that then and I believe it even more now.”

“You deserved to choose to be with me, Saakshi. I took that away from you” he said starkly.

“No, no” Saakshi protested, clasping the palm holding hers with her other hand. “I’ve not forgotten, Zoran. I can never forget. That first night in your chamber when we … I remember every moment of it. I could have stopped you any time. You’re wrong. You did give me a choice … many chances to stop you, but I didn’t. I wanted you, Zoran. I didn’t stop you because I wanted you.”

He said nothing, merely gazing at her with dark eyes awash with regret and dejection.

“The way you touched me … loved me … all those evenings with you. They were the happiest I’ve ever been. I couldn’t bear it if you were ashamed of it, Zoran” Saakshi tried to reach him desperately.

He remained rigid in her arms, one palm immobile between her hands and the other held rigid by his side as he knelt on one knee in the cave.

“Please, please” she said urgently, letting go of his palm to hug his rigid body tightly in a desperate attempt to cut through the pit of despair she sensed in him. “Please believe me. I fell in love with you, Zoran. Don’t … don’t walk away. I couldn’t bear it, Zoran” her voice broke on the last sentence.

Saakshi waited with baited breath, holding onto her Hadari’Kor mercenary for what seemed an eternity, until she finally felt his arms come around her to give her a hug.

“Forgive me, tseriya” he whispered, leaning down to plant a tender kiss on her hair.

“There is nothing to forgive” she whispered back, holding onto Zoran.

They stayed still for a long time in the silence of the cave by the lapping waters of the underground lake, two people holding on to each other like a lifeline for a small slice of time in the infinitely dangerous universe they inhabited.

“Is that why you stayed away from TF124 for so long?” she asked finally, her palms cupping his beautiful face tenderly.

He nodded slightly, the movement infinitesimal in their embrace.

“I could not forgive myself” he stated simply, his voice a tad unsteady. “Fate answered all my dreams by sending you to me, and I sullied it all in the grip of an unholy conflagration of anger and lust.”

“You didn’t sully anything, Zoran. I was in such danger from the Unta-Golar then, yet it was one of the happiest times of my life. I … I found you. You made everything worthwhile. Then, when you stayed away from TF124, I thought it was because I had abandoned you on Budheyasta.”

“No, Saakshi” Zoran protested, this time strongly, the hesitation in him gone at her words.

“And when you did come, you seemed so much like a stranger” she continued. “I thought you were done with me. That …” she paused. “I was so very grateful for everything but I couldn’t stop yearning for more” she whispered.

“I will never be done with you, tseriya” Zoran whispered back, absolute certainty in his voice.

For the first time in their relationship, it was Saakshi who made the first move. Pressing her lips to his in an infinitely sweet kiss, she cupped his face in her hands. She leant back slightly, her eyes wandering over every inch of his beloved face. And he let her, staying still in her arms as he allowed her to see the naked depth of his feelings for her. Saakshi pressed her lips to his again, this time with more urgency. His lips opened, tentatively at first and then with more urgency as passion flared between them.

“Tseriya?” he muttered huskily between passionate kisses, requesting permission as he had always done before.

His tseriya’s only response was to hug him tighter, kissing him back with increased ardor to let him know in no uncertain terms that he had all the permission in the world he was likely to ever need. Zoran stood up in one graceful move to sweep her off her feet and cradle his precious burden in his strong arms, as she pressed kisses on every inch of him she could reach. He walked a few steps to lay her on the edge of the lake, where the warm water lapped shallowly at her prone body as he came down beside her.

For once, she did not shy away from him as he helped strip the swimsuit away from her body. The shallow water lapped against her body, soothing the heat searing through her as his hand stroked her caressingly. He leaned over her, hands and legs cocooning her in a nest of Zoran, soft sand and warm water.

“Let me love you, tseriya” he said scratchily, the dark eyes holding hers.

Saakshi reached up, her small palm nudging his head down to her. Before, it had always been Zoran to initiate intimacy between them, boldly passionate about what he wanted. She had always welcomed his overtures. But perhaps, Saakshi realized, she had not made it clear how much she wanted him. Today, she tried to be bolder, to let him know that this fire blazing between them had never been one-sided, from the first time they had consummated it.

“Always, Zoran” she whispered as his mouth descended on her.

I have always been yours.

A long time later, Saakshi gazed down into sated dark eyes as she lay on Zoran’s chest with her chin propped up on her hand. He watched her from below her, one hand folded as a pillow under his head while the other lay idly on her back, doodling little nonsensical patterns on the soft skin.

“Better now?” she asked him tenderly, in a voice she’d never felt comfortable enough to use with him before.

“Better now” came the soft reply, his eyes tangling with hers

“Is that why you stayed away so long?” she asked eventually.

It was the question that had given her sleepless nights and plunged her into unimaginable depths of despair.

“I had this thought at the back of my mind that if I just gave you enough time …” he admitted slowly. “That if I stayed away from you, I might just get lucky enough to start afresh with you. A way to wipe the slate clean, if you will. A better male would have stayed away from you for good once you were safely under the Alliance’s protection. But I am not a better male. I could not stay away from you forever.”

Saakshi sent a silent prayer to the Pura for giving him a nudge. She might have died of a broken heart if his principles had forced him to stay away from her forever.

“All I could hope for was that that once you were safe from Ketaari threats and our bargain didn’t stand between us anymore, perhaps you might be willing to let me woo you” Zoran said.

“I prayed to the Pura to send you to me, Zoran” she cupped his beloved face and he closed his eyes to nuzzle into her smaller palm. “Sooner than later, she would have given you a nudge.”

Zoran smiled.

“The Pura sent you to take care of the Unta-Golar before” she said softly. “I told myself to have faith in her. That you would find your way to me if that was what the Pura wanted for us.”

The black eyes opened, fierce and confident. “You deserve more, tseriya. Protecting you from one Ketaari murtobak is not enough. I will bring the Empire to its knees for you.”

“Zoran” she said helplessly, her heart finally letting go of any lingering hesitation. Her mercenary loved fiercely and for eternity, just like Jolar had told her. Pura Bedana had watched over her faithful follower well. She had chosen Zoran – a Hadari’Kor who loved fiercely and passionately, willing to move mountains to change the existing alliances of an entire quadrant so that his tseriya could come to him of her own free will.

“If I was lucky enough to get a second chance with you, I planned to take it slowly” he finished with self-deprecation, his eyes on their intertwined bodies. “If you could forgive me for taking advantage of you the last time I came to your aid.”

“Shh” she shushed him softly, her fingers touching his lips in a feather light-caress. “I thought we agreed that the last time was a mutual decision.”

He pressed a soft kiss onto her palm before clasping her small hand firmly with the hand that had been idly doodling on the small of her back.

“If you say so, tseriya” he said simply, with a hint of vulnerability and a complete lack of pretense.

“I absolutely say so, Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor” Saakshi said promptly.

“You asked me once on the Trade Sphere to never again talk about what I owed you” she reminded him.

“I remember” he acknowledged. That conversation was seared into his mind. It was when he had made the decision to give his tseriya a different future – one where she was free to make her own choices. “There was no debt. Anything I did for you was out of love. It is my privilege to take care of you.”

Saakshi’s heart melted at the simple statement, as it always did with Zoran.

“Then why can’t you believe me when I say that what I did was also out of love, Zoran?” she asked tenderly.

Zoran’s dark eyes held an arrested expression as he stared at her.

“That bargain brought us together. And that is how I will always remember it. Can you do that too, Zoran? Let go! For me?” she asked softly. Saakshi was not above using his feelings for her on this matter. She was determined that Zoran would not go through life with this giant regret shadowing everything.

“Yes, tseriya” he sighed.

She smiled and it was as if the sun had come out to light up the dark cave for him.

“I remember something else from that conversation, Saakshi” he reminded her.

Saakshi gazed at him inquiringly.

“I asked you what you’d want if our circumstances had been different? If we’d met as Zoran and Saakshi on a distant space station, without any baggage from our pasts or circumstances.”

“I remember” Saakshi affirmed softly.

The memories of that conversation had helped her hold on to her sanity and not give in to her despair during the long, lonely nights when she’d been unsure about Zoran’s whereabouts and whether he was ever planning to come back for her.

He clasped her small palm more firmly in his much larger hand to meet her eyes. His expression laid bare the depth of his feelings for her, the naked intensity and vulnerability in his eyes calling out to her. Saakshi’s heart pounded fast, the beat so loud in her ears that it drowned out everything but Zoran’s voice.

“I’m asking now, Saakshi neh Merama tik Ulmik pura Bedana” he said to her, his voice husky with emotion. “You are a citizen of the Kampuchan Alliance and the Budheya Personnel Coordinator on TF124, an Alliance station. You need not fear the long arm of the Ketaari Empire and have friends who look out for you. I’m a Hadkor merc, currently on contract with the Alliance, who desperately wants to be with you. What does Saakshi want?”

“If that is what stops you from being mine, tseriya, then we’ll just have to change your circumstances.”

She stared into the dark eyes, very sure of her answer. After all, she’d had plenty of time to make up her mind; long, lonely months without him when she’d been afraid that she might never see him again. She had never even dared to admit to herself what she’d secretly hoped for. Instead, she had convinced herself that not being able to apologize to Zoran for leaving him behind on Budheyasta was what troubled her so. Why hanker after the moon when the ground under her feet itself was shaky, she’d told herself prosaically. In a strange way, Zoran’s laying bare his own insecurities about the unusual start to their relationship had given her the courage to reveal her own vulnerabilities to him. If this big Hadari’Kor mercenary could let her see his vulnerable side, then she more than owed it to him to be honest about her own feelings.

“Saakshi wants to be with Zoran forever” she said, shyly but with utter conviction.

For Saakshi, it was a relief to finally state things so very unambiguously. No matter what life threw at her, she knew that she wanted this big and gentle Hadari’Kor always by her side.

Zoran’s eyes suffused with joy, a slow smile lighting up his face.

“Forever, hmm?” he teased before sobering up momentarily. “Are you sure, tseriya? Forever is a long time.”

“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life” Saakshi reiterated again with complete confidence.

“I want to be your soulmate, your tseriya” she said softly, smiling as his brows arched in surprise at her knowledge of the true meaning of the endearment.

“Jolar told me what it meant” she murmured in explanation.

“I shall have to have a chat with Jolar” he pursed his lips in mock affront.

He brought her clasped hand to his lips, his eyes blazing.

“You were my tseriya from the first moment I saw you” he said huskily, planting a tender kiss on her captive hand, the very act one of unspoken promise.

“I have something for you” he murmured a moment later, reluctant to separate their intertwined bodies.

“I have something for you too” Saakshi responded immediately.

Zoran tumbled her off him carefully onto the ground to hang suspended over her. He pressed a last kiss on her before untwining himself from her and sitting up. Saakshi flipped onto her stomach, her face turned away from him, her entire body suffusing with a blush under his ardent gaze. Zoran chuckled softly beside her.

“My shy little tseriya” he teased, planting a soft kiss on the shoulder closest to him. “I promise you that one day, you will not turn away from my gaze.”

Saakshi scrambled up as she heard him walk away, reaching for the damp bathing suit that lay discarded in a heap where he’d tossed it in his passion. She hurried to where her clothes lay, rummaging in the little pouch attached to her belt to retrieve the tiny figurine she’d commissioned Sila to sculpt for him.

“This is for you” she offered, extending the small figure in the flat of her palm to him.

Zoran glanced at the life-like sculpture of a bird in flight. It was sculpted from some type of black rock he’d seen once before. The Ur’quay Star Captain had a bust of himself in the same material on his desk on the Henia.

“It’s beautiful” he breathed, picking it up to examine the figurine reverently.

“A Juntafeyore bird in flight” she said, warmth spreading in her at the pleasure evident in the black eyes examining the little sculpture.

“How did you …?”

“Jolar provided us with a hologram of a Juntafeyore from your archives, and Sila used the hologram to make this.”

“She’s incredibly talented” he remarked, his attention on the figurine.

“Yes, she is” Saakshi agreed. “That is why I commissioned her to sculpt this.”

His big forefinger delicately traced the finely etched details on the unfurled feathers of the magnificent bird in flight.

“Sila told me that you helped her out of a jam once.” She couldn’t help but be curious.

“Yes. She’s not allowed to disclose most of the story because it involves the Ur’quay Star Captain. His presence here needs to be kept a secret for the foreseeable future.”

Saakshi glanced at him in astonishment at the news. She’d never once suspected that Sila was acquainted with the Ur’quay Captain. Her friend seemed to have even more of a mysterious past than she’d suspected.

“She was kidnapped from her home world by slavers, and the Star Captain requested my assistance in mounting a rescue. Using his ship and people in the rescue would have exposed their presence in Quadrant Five.” Zoran expanded briefly.

Saakshi mused briefly on his words. Zoran’s statement seemed to imply that Sila had a prior acquaintance with the Star Captain before her capture by the slavers.

“She speaks very highly of you” she remarked to Zoran.

Zoran shrugged easily. “No one deserves that fate. Moreover, I was helping a friend.”

“Thank you for this, tseriya” he gestured at the figurine in his hand. “It’s one of the more thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me. I shall treasure it always.”

He placed her gift carefully in his case, his movements lithely graceful. When he stood up to face her again, magnificent and unselfconscious in his naked glory, he clasped her left hand with his to hold it up between them. His calloused thumb stroked her fine-boned wrist softly, his touch a gentle caress, before clasping something around her wrist. A delicate bracelet with intricate markings etched on it encircled her wrist.

“The sign of a committed female on my home world” Zoran explained softly. “I had it commissioned back on Keeyor 9.”

Saakshi stared at him, taken aback by the implications of his words. He’d been carrying this around since the Trade Sphere!

“I promised myself that one day, you would not have a bracelet encircling your wrist” his voice, which had hardened, softened again. “But I was hoping you might be willing to wear this for me.”

Saakshi smiled at him tremulously. “I told you once that I would follow you to ends of hell if I could, Zoran.”

She glanced at the delicate bracelet encircling her wrist that marked her as his. “This is more precious than heaven itself. I will guard it with my life.”

In response, his arms came up to clasp her fiercely to him, her words finally banishing all traces of any shadows between them.

“I have always been yours, Zoran” she whispered to him, her words an assurance, a declaration and a reiteration of her feelings for him.

“And I have always been yours, tseriya.”

For a long moment, they stood clasped together before Saakshi disentangled herself.

“On Budheyasta, both committed males and females wear a unified tenar that indicates the intermingling of their Puras” Saakshi whispered, pointing at the armband she wore high on her left bicep.

“We’ll practice that custom too” he promised huskily. “I want the world to be left in no doubt that we belong to each other.”

Hours later, Saakshi and Zoran approached the parked shuttle in their sleek spacesuits. Abandoning their little haven where so much had happened, and where both had come clean about their feelings for each other, had not been easy. If it hadn’t been for Saakshi’s responsibilities on TF124, the two might well have spent more time savoring their tiny slice of solitude.

Soon, Zoran had them expertly in the air, approaching the stormy atmosphere on their way into space. As they exited the atmosphere of the moon, the communicator beeped loudly to indicate the reception of incoming messages. These had been unsuccessful in reaching the parked shuttle before, probably due to interference by electrical storm activity on the moon.

“From the Juntafeyore” Zoran explained at Saakshi’s inquiring glance. “No one else knows where I am. I’ll put it on speaker. I left them explicit instructions to not disturb me except in an emergency.”

Zoran punched in a few buttons and a voice in an unfamiliar tongue reverberated through the closed confines of the shuttle. The built-in translator, part of the communicator device attached to Saakshi’s uniform kicked in a few seconds later, although Zoran’s expression had been enough to warn her that it was unwelcome news.

“Hadari’Kor ship Juntafeyore to Sebaah Seran. Keep your distance from TF124. We are under attack. Enemy is unknown. I repeat, we are under attack from an unknown enemy. Do not approach TF124.”

Saakshi raised horrified eyes to Zoran, who was busy retrieving the next message from the communicator device. This one was in Jolar’s voice, although still in the foreign tongue that Saakshi guessed was Hakor, the language of Hadari’Kor.

“Juntafeyore to Sebaah Seran. We have engaged the enemy and begun evacuation of all personnel from TF124. Stay where you are and we will get in touch once engagement is over.”

“Thank the Pura” Saakshi breathed. Her first concern had been for all the friends on TF124. The knowledge that there had been enough time to attempt the safe evacuation of everyone on the station was a huge relief.

“This was more than three hours ago” Zoran muttered. “There seems to be one more message sent about twenty minutes ago.”

Jolar’s voice reverberated in the shuttle again through the powerful speakers.

“Juntafeyore to Sebaah Seran. All ships are safely away from TF124. Juntafeyore and Henia are standing by to pick you up. Let us know when you’re in communications range. We’ll rendezvous at these coordinates. Watch for enemy ships in the vicinity.”

A set of coordinates blasted through the speakers before they fell silent. Zoran quickly punched in a quick message through the communicator, presumably to inform the Juntafeyore that they were in communications range.

“Saakshi, I need you to fly the shuttle while I watch the sensors for other ships. We might need weapons or have to duck into the atmosphere to hide from enemy ships lying in wait.”

Saakshi nodded uncertainly. She hadn’t had much practice flying this thing on her own.

“Don’t worry! Remember, this thing mostly flies itself” Zoran assured her calmly. “I’ve already punched in the coordinates where we’re to meet up with the other ships.”

“Hey, tseriya” he cajoled at the evidence of alarm in her eyes.

He clasped her hand firmly where it lay on the control panel. “Nothing will happen to us. I’ll make sure of it. Trust me, hmm?”

Saakshi nodded, more confident after his reassuring words.

“Frankly, if I were to be perfectly honest, this wouldn’t even make it to the top twenty tight spots Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor has ever been in” he chimed in, encouraged by the change in her.

“Shall we do this then, my little Budheya rebel?” he asked her with a smile.

“Yes, Captain” she retorted swiftly with an answering smile.

“That’s the spirit!”

The rendezvous with the Juntafeyore went through without a hitch or any sign of enemy ships. Jolar waited to receive them in the Docking Bay of the Juntafeyore. As they emerged from the docked shuttle, Jolar shot Saakshi a smile before breaking into speech.

“It was pure bad luck, would you believe it, Zoran? We believe that a Ketaari civilian ship passing by during the last magnetic storm noticed something amiss when the cloak protecting the station slipped for a few seconds. The station personnel have been reporting trouble with the cloak due to interference during storms. We think the civilian ship reported it to the Ketaari Imperial Forces, who sent a small fleet to investigate. They’ve probably been watching us for days, puzzled by our cloak. It does output a lot of power up close, so either their sensors picked up on that or they saw something suspicious that broke the illusion. Anyway, they attacked by firing at what they believed was the largest asteroid in the belt. The cloak absorbed quite a few blows before it started crumbling, saving our collective hides by buying us the extra time to evacuate and ready the docked ships for a fight.”

“The Ur’quay engineers, working on the cloak, noticed the assault first” Jolar continued as Zoran listened intently. “The Star Captain pinged the Juntafeyore to inform me of their suspicions. I sent a craft out to check the belt. Once it confirmed the assault and that the ships were Ketaari, I informed the Station Commander.”

“Un Kieto Maal always knew that this was a calculated risk” Zoran remarked succinctly. It looked like they’d run out of luck. Zoran realized to his great relief that the secret of the pact between the Budheya, the Hadari’Kor and the Alliance was safe from the Ketaari.

“Thankfully, we managed to evacuate everyone safely. Commander Kerovac dispatched Alliance ships to evacuate station personnel and the Budheya to safety, while the Hadari’Kor ships with the assistance of the Ur’quay held the enemy at bay to prevent pursuit. Once they were safely away, we blew up TF124 to prevent it from falling into Ketaari hands, and hightailed it out of there. The Alliance ships carrying station personnel have been given new co-ordinates to rendezvous at. A temporary facility to replace TF124, one enclosed within the Alliance border security net, is being set up, as we speak. The other Hadari’Kor ships are on their way to this facility. Un Kieto Maal has a few weeks to find a more permanent solution, before the next set of Budheya are scheduled to be transported for training.”

Jolar paused, shooting a quick glance at Saakshi who looked a little shell-shocked by Jolar’s matter-of-fact recounting of TF124’s fate. It would be a long time before Saakshi treated a Ketaari assault of any kind the way the Hadari’Kor took it in their stride.

“We have a new passenger onboard the Juntafeyore, Zoran. The Star Captain made me promise to not undock from TF124 without her” Jolar said cryptically, knowing that his friend would understand him.

“Didn’t trust her to the tender mercies of the Alliance?” Zoran murmured softly, his eyes meeting his friend’s. “Can’t blame him, my friend. She was captured once before, on their watch.”

“We were outnumbered three to four by the Ketaari, Zoran. And because of my promise to the Star Captain, the Juntafeyore could not join the fight, until she was aboard.”

Zoran studied his friend, confident that there was more to come.

“Then, Un Kieto Maal decided to ask the Henia to join the fight” Jolar informed him, almost gleefully.

Zoran smiled, knowing there was more to the story than Jolar was letting on. There would be time in private to get it out of his friend, he knew.

“Did you see the Henia in action against the Ketaari, Jolar?” he asked curiously. These were the legendary Ur’quay from the stories he had grown up on. Zoran had once been privileged to watch the Star Captain, vastly outnumbered, fight his way through on a space station. But he had never seen an Ur’quay warship in action yet.

Jolar nodded once, his dark eyes shining with excitement. “It was glorious” he said briefly.

“The Henia and the Juntafeyore have new rendezvous coordinates deep in neutral space, Zoran. Un Kieto Maal wants a word with you and the Star Captain in private. Commander Kerovac rarely hints but he gave me a strong hint about something shady afoot with the Ketaari.”

“I presume we’re on our way to the rendezvous?” Zoran arched a brow at his friend.

“Yes” Jolar acknowledged as they made their way out of the Docking Bay.

Zoran’s hand brushed by Saakshi’s in an absentminded caress, drawing Jolar’s sharp eyes to the bracelet clasped on her wrist. A smile broke through the sober expression on Jolar’s face.

“I see that congratulations are in order, my friends?” his voice was rife with anticipation.

“Absolutely” Zoran replied with quiet pride, while Saakshi nodded shyly. Jolar whooped loudly, throwing all caution to the wind to swing Saakshi into an exuberant hug under the indulgent gaze of his friend.

“I am so happy, little sister” he murmured for her ears alone. “You two were made for each other.”

Saakshi watched Jolar thump his friend on the back to congratulate him as Zoran smiled and deflected the friendly banter about being hand-shackled for life.

What a change in her circumstances a mere six months had wrought, she ruminated as she watched the two males. The threat from the Imperial Forces had been successfully neutered. She was now beyond the reach of the Empire, and a citizen of the Alliance. The Budheya rebels were being trained by Hadari’Kor, the resistance receiving material support from the Alliance. For the first time in her life, the prospect of her people winning their freedom from the Ketaari looked feasible.

But most of all, she had Zoran – the love of her life. This extraordinary reversal of fortunes, hers as well as her people’s, had been made possible by the advent of one person into her life. Her Hadari’Kor mercenary - the gentle giant with a heart of gold who had always smoothed her path in every way he could. The male she had fallen in love with, who had promised her a lifetime of togetherness. The world was an uncertain place, while Quadrant Five still burned in the grip of war. Yet, Saakshi felt a measure of peace as well as great hope and joy. No matter how badly everything fell apart tomorrow, there was one thing Saakshi could trust with absolute certainty. Zoran had promised her a lifetime together. And Zoran always kept his promises.

SAMAPT

The End

Note from the Author

Thank you for reading The Mercenary. I hope you enjoyed it.If you have the time, please consider writing a few lines about the story on Amazon and Goodreads. Candid reviews from readers like you are the lifeblood of indie authors. Your reviews help us hone our ability to tell a story and bring our work to the attention of others.

Sila and the Ur’quay Star Captain’s story continues in The Warrior. If you would like to be informed about new releases, please follow me on Amazon or sign up for my Mailing List. I do not spam, will never share your information and only send out a maximum of four emails a year.

www.petralandon.com

Acknowledgements

This is the first story I ever completed and hence, is particularly close to my heart. Written in snatches over a ten year period with many, many rewrites, Saakshi and Zoran became much more than characters. To me, they feel like real people who I want to root for.

To my husband, thank you for all the adventures you take us on and for making my dreams about traveling the world come true. Thank you for always encouraging me to follow my dreams. And, for checking for new reviews on Amazon so you can greet me with the exciting news in the mornings. I could never do this without you.

To my sister-of-the-heart, your presence always enriches my life. Thank you for always providing an ear to vent and your unwavering support and encouragement in everything I attempt. I hope all your dreams come true because I don’t know anyone who deserves it more.

To Biserka, thank you for working so hard for months with me on the cover and for translating the characters from my imagination so wonderfully to create a beautiful work of art.

Since starting this journey, I have met many strangers whose kindness and encouragement have kept me going when I found myself dispirited or flagging. These are my new book friends who I know only via the ether but without whom I would feel lost as I try and navigate this strange new world. I would like to acknowledge a few of these new friends. Charity Rowell – for always offering help and solutions, no matter the circumstances, Esther Dauvillier – for being so wonderful and always checking up on me, and Sylvia Hientz - for her warmth, kindness, excellent advice and constant encouragement.

To Evelyn Summers, who proofread The Mercenary, thank you for your frank assessment of the story. Your suggestions helped me tinker with the ending and improve upon it.

Books by Petra Landon

The War Chronicles

A SciFi Romance & Space Opera series full of passionate love stories, swashbuckling adventure & action

The Mercenary

The Warrior

Saga of the Chosen

A rollicking urban fantasy epic with adventure, intrigue, suspense & romance

Book One - The Prophecy

Book Two - The Rainmaker

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A naive wizard with a kitty of deadly secrets. A dangerous Shifter Alpha with a ruthless streak and a dislike for Spell Casters. A divided people who resist all efforts to unite them. A mysterious prophecy exploited by a power-hungry Chosen. A cut-throat world of high-stakes politicking where factions of wizards, Shape-shifters, vampires and Ancients vie for power and influence over their kind.

Intrigue, action, mystery and adventure abound in this paranormal fantasy tale with a dash of romance sprinkled in.

AMAZON

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