 
Center Worlds 1

Spark

By Tim Morrison

eBook Edition

Copyright 2014-2015 Morristreet Commercial Online Marketing

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Feel free to sign up for my mailing list so you can be the first to know of new developments within the Center Worlds Universe and my other works.

Also, please be so kind as to drop a review where you got this book from, getting feedback from my readers is the best way as an Author that I can truly appreciate your interest.

Sign Up For my Mailing List

-Tim Morrison
Table Of Contents

Prelude

Dramatis Personae

Chapter 1

Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1.2

Chapter 1.3

Chapter 1.4

Chapter 2

Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2.2

Chapter 2.3

Chapter 2.4

Chapter 3

Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3.2

Chapter 3.3

Chapter 3.4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.2

Chapter 4.3

Chapter 4.4

Chapter 5

Chapter 5.1

Chapter 5.2

Chapter 5.3

Chapter 5.4

Chapter 6

Chapter 6.1

Chapter 6.2

Chapter 6.3

Chapter 6.4

Chapter 7

Chapter 7.1

Chapter 7.2

Chapter 7.3

Chapter 7.4

Chapter 8

Chapter 8.1

Chapter 8.2

Chapter 8.3

Chapter 8.4

Chapter 9

Chapter 9.1

Chapter 9.2

Chapter 9.3

Chapter 9.4

Chapter 10

Chapter 10.1

Chapter 10.2

Chapter 10.3

Chapter 10.4
Prelude To a War Story

Deep within the Galactic bulge, far away from the ancestral home of humanity, known to some as the Blue Marble, lie the Center Worlds. Roughly the shape of a sausage, it is divided lengthwise into two major populated areas. The Confederacy sits nestled against the clouds of the Core itself, surrounded on three sides by dense clouds of gas and dust that protect it from the raging storm at the center of our Galaxy, on the other side sits a too-thin buffer zone that separates the Confederacy from the United Suns.

Ideological and racial differences keep the two major players in constant conflict within this region. They know they are not native to this area, that they were transplanted here sometime in the far distant past, possibly a million years, or cycles as they say, ago. The major players are the Hablis, roughly human stock within the Confederacy, and the T'Ressi, a human feline hybrid developed at the same time as the Hablis who occupy the ruling position within the United Suns.

Within the Confederacy, twelve great Clans fight for position and power over both the Homeworld, where the Lord Emperor of the Clans resides, and over the individual clan territories, which provide food and materials to fuel both their survival and expansion. Clan Camelin is one of the major players as it comprises the bulk of overall Confederacy military strength. They have never tended to take sides, and will defend any and every clan against the United Suns, while striving to keep out of internal affairs unless they spill over into Camelin territory.

The Clans fight with honour and with rigid rules of conflict and structure. Age-old rules of warfare are strictly observed, and any deviation is acted upon with surprising violence. The young Lord Ryo Camelin is a student of tactical and strategic thinking and is in position to become a strong leader to his people once he assumes the reigns of command.

What he faces will change his life, and the lives of so many people he cares about, forever. This volume of The Center Worlds focuses on before the events that changed the entire region forever. The Destruction of Adhara. Dating is set before this turning point to ensure a common time line, leading up to the focal change in control and leadership.

Dramatis Personae

Gyo Helvolevac Camelin – Ageing Patriarch of Clan Camelin

Ryo Jejouclevac Camelin – Lord of Clan Camelin and Commander of the TGX-2 Battlecruiser

Lya Jalanysa Desinlo – Regent of Clan Desinlo and Consort to Lord Ryo Camelin

Gya Helvanysa Desinlo – First born daughter to Ryo and Lya, not considered Camelin, she is considered the next Regent Desinlo. Commands the TGX-4 Battlecruiser

Lyo Helvaleso Camelin (Willem Hyens) – An orphan that the Lady Lya Desinlo adopted and raised to be a protector to her daughters, lost to Pirates when he was 18.

Aya Nandreclevac Camelin – Second born daughter to Ryo and Lya, considered the First Daughter of Clan Camelin, Consort to the Lord Emperor.

Kya Kilvanysa Desinlo – Orphan who is trained to be Aya Camelin's Lari'Sota, intimate companion and personal maid. She is an empath.

Kyo Helvotreos Masilec – Current Emperor, killed during a Grand Council meeting and paving the way for Tyo to begin the rise to Emperor.

Tyo Jalatreos Masilec – Emperor in waiting at the beginning of the story, becomes Lord Emperor of the Confederacy on his 18th Name Day, marries Aya Camelin

Captain Viktor Kalen – Executive Officer (XO) Of the TGX-2, Second in Command and Ryo Camelin's most trusted officer.

Jalena Kilva Sinlo – Mate to Viktor Kalen, dies in childbirth of her daughter. Daughter vanishes. Jalena was an empath

Sergeant Sylva Cato – Comm officer and lover to Gya Desinlo after Lyo is lost, becomes her XO when Gya assumes command of the TGX-4.

Myo Michelab – Leader of Clan Michelab, assassinated by Captain Kerilac who then assumed command of the combined Clans in an effort to destroy Clans Camelin and Desinlo.

Captain Jaseb Kerilac – Vengeful leader of Clans Kerilac and Jasinlo who assassinated the leader of Clan Michelab, then assumes command and wages a bloody war against Clan Camelin for more than 14 cycles.

Mistress Tya Veritas – Lari'Sota who is assigned to be surrogate mother to the young Lady Aya and Kya as they grow. She teaches and trains both girls to be ready to survive in the complex politics of the palace.

Doctor Hektor Solano – Chief Doctor to the Palace. A surgeon with exceptional skill who has helped at the palace for decades and who was responsible for saving young Aya's life.

Chapter 1

Taking Command - Clanworld Camelin -32 BA (Before Adhara)

"Father? What lies at the heart of the Oxymax Nebula?" Ryo asked his ageing patriarch as he helped the older man from his bed to the travel chair.

Gyo Camelin looked at his eldest and only surviving son through bushy eyebrows. "Is that a trick question, my lad?"

"No, Father. I have been reading the archives again. There may be a misinterpretation."

Gyo sighed and leaned back as his aching body began to be massaged by the chair. Manipulating the controls with his one good hand, the chair rose on a cushion of air and silently drifted towards the room spanning windows that showed a view of the Camelin Clanworld from 5 kims in the air, allowing him to see the entirety of the capital city and the lands surrounding it.

"The Clan Desinlo took control of the Confederacy fifteen hundred cycles ago, in a night of blood and fire. You know this, this is all part of our history. Our Clan aided them, initially."

Ryo nodded, "I know, father."

"Then after three hundred cycles of draconian rule, Clan Masilec contacted our forefathers and showed us how the Desinlo had used deceit and treachery to wrest military control from them. Clan Camelin agreed to switch sides, and after a brief but brutal uprising, Clan Desinlo was swept from power and driven back to their Clanworld. All of their colonies were assigned to other Clans, and they were stricken from the Confederacy records."

"Father, that is where I found a discrepancy." Ryo asked. "May I discuss it with you?"

Gyo nodded. "By all means, my lad. You have always had a good head for going through the records and finding jewels amidst all that ancient detritus."

"I found a note at the bottom of the original directive, that said it was to be reviewed after a period of 12 Grand Cycles. Nothing more has ever been entered into the records. Do you know if our records may be out of sync with Tara?"

Gyo seemed lost in thought, and paused for so long that Ryo felt he had gone to sleep, and carefully rose to let the old man rest. "I think a mistake has been made, my Son."

"Father?" Ryo said, turning back to the ageing patriarch.

"The Clanworld Desinlo was a low mass planet, my boy. The people had been expert at low-G manufacturing, and they are also the ones who began the Lari'Sota process. Control through pleasure, was what they were called. That is the real reason why the rebellion against them started. Not the night of blood. That was caused by Clan Jasinlo, not Desinlo."

Ryo pulled up a chair and paid his Father his full attention.

"Like you, I enjoyed looking up the history of the Clans. I recall looking through the records, however I never dug as deeply as you do, my boy. You have become better than our archivists. Do you know, that Desinlo is rumoured to have an entire sea that vaporizes every morning into a veil of multicoloured mist, only to reform every evening?" Gyo said, lost in thought.

"It certainly sounds like a nice place to explore, Father." Ryo said.

"That is what you will then do, Ryo. Go find the lost Clanworld. See if anybody still survives. Explore it, see what can be seen. If they are still a proper clan, bring them into Camelin. The nebula they live in is in the heart of our space. We need them as an ally, not an unknown, and certainly not a hostile." Gyo said, tapping his fingers on the chair.

"Father, I'm not to leave you. The radiation is draining your life, I must be with you now."

"No, my lad. You need to take control of our clan. You are the only son I have left, and Camelin has always been a patriarchal clan, you are ready to lead. It is time. My days grow short, and I wish to spend them looking down on the world I love the most. Take the ship – lead the clan, solve the mysteries you feel that need to be solved."

Gyo reached up and gripped his son's arm with surprising strength.

"Be prepared, my lad. There is much treachery in these dark times. Keep your family honour strong, stand for what you believe in, and keep the Confederacy together. Help to ensure we don't dissolve."

Ryo nodded even as he sighed and stepped backward then bowed to his father. He then turned and walked to the door, which upon opening, was presented with the figure of Vis Macelon, his father's Commercial advisor and the holder of the Camelin funds.

"Lord Camelin." Vis Macelon said deferentially.

"Vis Macelon. Can I assist you, or do you require my father?" Ryo asked.

"Your father is growing far too weak for matters of this nature, my Lord. You will do nicely, if it please you."

Ryo nodded. "Walk with me, Vis."

As they strode down the corridors towards the sweeping ramps that spiralled down towards the main block at the 5 kim level of the tower, Vis Macelon brought the young lord up to speed on the financial matters that were worrying him.

"Our imports are not exceeding our export levels, my Lord. We are generating massive amounts of credit with the central banks, and Regals flow into our coffers daily. Our exports to the United Suns and the Frontier continue to grow at about 4% per cycle, but I am seeing a disturbing trend towards the Confederacy central hub."

"What do you mean?" Ryo asked.

"The Central governance, which demands we pay Clan tribute in the amount of 1/12 our gross, have begun to ask for advances. Your father allowed this as we are on good terms with Clan Maselic, but the drain is becoming pronounced, and it is beginning to effect the balance of funds."

Ryo stopped and looked at the Vis. "How much?" He asked.

"We are currently owed more than three and a half million Regals by the Governance, my Lord. My sources within the other Clans also tell me that Clans Michelab, Veritas, and Guylian have also loaned additional funds to the Governance. If my sources are correct, the Lord Emperor owes the combined Clans more than ten million Regals at this time."

Ryo thought for a moment. "Michelab and Veritas I can understand, they are producers, like us. Guylian though – they are a production Clan, not a primary producer. Their funds fluctuate based on supply and demand."

"Agreed, my Lord. However, Glimmerpearls and the waste products from their refinement are in very high demand. Guylian holds one of the top production facilities for glimmerpearls and as such, in recent cycles, their profits have risen a hundredfold."

"Vis, you are trusted to keep the Clan financially balanced. I have been entrusted to command the TGX and seek out the remnants of Clan Desinlo, by my father. He wishes me to find this out before he goes to Pangea. I would recommend that if Clan Masilec continues to ask for loans, we do so, but coordinate with the other three clans and make sure our contributions meet or exceed theirs. I have no problem with the central governance being indebted to us. Our military strength is part of what is holding the Confederacy together at this time." Ryo said as they reached the transport pods.

"Of course, my Lord. My loyalty is to the clan, and to the Clan leaders foremost. I will maintain our balance until you return." Vis Macelon said as he bowed.

Ryo stepped into the travel pod and tapped the control to ascend to the top of the tower, nearly 20,000 kims above him.

"My father is still in control, Vis. Follow his wishes foremost." He said as the door slid shut, then he sat down as the pod began to accelerate in the evacuated tube until it reached transit speed and flew upwards, travelling towards the massive skyhook that was anchored to the planet and at which the TGX-2, Battlecruiser for Clan Camelin, was currently moored.

...

Vis Macelon watched the young Lord's pod until it flew upwards out of sight, then turned and walked back to the downshaft pods which took him to the 3 kim level, where the main offices were. He walked into his expansive chambers, where his immediate staff of twenty were hard at work coordinating the income and outflow of Regals that ensured Clan Camelin could pay and be paid for it's expenses and requirements. On the wall was a map of the entire Confederacy, and beyond that, the frontier, showing the worlds that traded with the Clan, glowing in brilliant green. The green illuminated perhaps a quarter of the map, mostly in a region close to the Camelin borders. Some worlds were a much more brilliant green han others, and then some worlds were a more sickly yellowish tinge, indicating lesser trade value. The map was almost realtime, being updated hourly as trade reports came in from every exchange.

Macelon went to his desk, in an office with no door, so he could always see what was going on, and thumbed a control.

"Get me the other Vis of the Camelin Governance, we need a meeting." He instructed.

In less than the span of an hour, the other members of the Camelin Governance had assembled in the Council chamber to meet Vis Macelon and discuss the latest developments. He walked into the chamber and greeted them all before they took seats to begin the meeting.

Vis Akelos was a thin hawkish man who was in charge of Announcement. His job was to release the public documents, speeches, laws, and info drops that kept the billions of citizens of Clan Camelin informed of the Clan Leadership and the direction the Clan wished the populace to go in.

Vis Waldorphi was a rotund but large man who was in charge of Social Reinforcement. His role was to ensure the billions of members of the clan were kept in line and happy by medical, social, education, quality of life, and any other means he and his staff could use to ensure there was no real threat of public revolt due to dissatisfaction with the leadership.

Vis Adelpha was a tall thin woman who was in charge of Relations. Her role was to keep tabs on everything that went on inside and outside the borders of the Clan, be it the other Clans, the Taran Governance, the Frontier, or the T'Ressi themselves. She and her staff tried to predict issues before they happened so they could be countered or reduced before they became a threat to people or materials.

Finally, there was Vis Pteria, a small round woman who was in overall military charge whenever young Lord Camelin was not present. Her role was to oversee the internal and external military affairs. She commanded the troops, outposts, and warships that patrolled Camelin space, keeping the peace.

They all sat at the round table that had spaces and controls for each of them, and for a few minutes, each one worked, bringing up reports and overviews of their departments to display for the rest when requested or needed to illuminate a point.

"Thank you all for coming on short notice." Macelon began.

"Short notice, you mean no notice. Normally, Macelon, these meetings are planned. What is so important to bring us all here now?" Adelpha snorted.

Macelon nodded his head in acknowledgement of the short-tempered Relations Vis. He was nominally in charge of the Council when no Lord or Lady of the Clan was present, but in reality, all of them held equal rank. None of them held particular favour with the leaders of the Clan, so each of them worked studiously to try and win favour or to quietly discredit the others without causing undue embarassment. Such was politics.

"Lord Ryo Camelin prepares the TGX-2 for flight. He is departing orbit to explore the Oxymax Nebula for the lost Clanworld Desinlo. Lord Gyo Camelin weakens more each day, so it leaves us to run the affairs of the Clan until the young Lord returns." Macelon explained.

Vis Pteria nodded. "As we have been running the Clan for the past three cycles. Lord Ryo has no interest in leading the Clan. He is a battleship Commander first, and a Clan Lord second, in his mind."

"Agreed," added Vis Akelos. "Ryo has very little interest in the day-to-day affairs. He trusts us to keep the Clan together while he explores the realms and guards the frontier against aggression. At least, that is what my latest press bursts say."

"Excellent. What is our state of affairs, can everybody report?" Macelon asked.

...

"Lord Camelin? What are you doing here?" Ryo stood in the airlock from the skyhook and looked around. He had walked these corridors many times in the past 23 cycles, but never as this. He handed Executive Officer Kalen a sealed missive, written on Camelin clan foil and sealed with the clan bond. The Executive Officer broke the bond with his thumbprint and read the short missive.

"My apologies, Sir. I see that you have been given command. Gyo Camelin has been medically retired from duty. May I be the first to welcome you aboard the TGX-2."

"Thank you, Captain Kalen. My father is far too weak to make these trips any longer, and has instructed me to begin taking the reins of command appropriately. Take me to the bridge, please."

"Walk with me, Commander. We will go there directly." Kalen said and they both started off towards the central trunk corridor. After a few moments they arrived at the corridor, with it's core gravity chute that went the length of the 1.6 kim long battlecruiser.

"Do you need assistance with the gravity chute, Commander?"

Ryo smiled and stepped into the chute, and was swept along, with Kalen smoothly sweeping along beside him. They swam through the chute as it rapidly pulled them towards the central core of the ship, and Ryo reached out and pulled himself to a stop at the main trunk exit, Followed by Kalen only seconds later.

"Very good, Commander. You've been practising since you were last on board." Kalen said with a laugh.

Ryo laughed with him. "Agreed, Kalen. No more bloodied lips for me." They walked down the short corridor and then stepped past the hardlock door and into the command centre of the starship. Ryo looked around at the staff busy checking and cross-checking instruments, verifying every part of the ship was ready and smiled to himself.

He noted the closed hardlock door that lead into the computer core, The bridge of the ship was buried deep in the heart of the vessel, right behind the core. Both of them the most heavily defended parts.

Kalen cleared his throat, then picked up the comm unit. "Put me on ship-wide, Cato." He asked.

The comms officer flicked some switches and nodded back at him.

"Crew of TGX-2. This is Executive Officer Kalen. Gyo Camelin has retired from active duty and is awaiting his journey to the Gates of Pangea. Our Commander has been chosen and is now on board. I bid welcome and honour to Commander Ryo Camelin."

Ryo nodded as the staff on the bridge stood and applauded, then walked into the middle of the bridge and took the comm unit that Kalen held for him.

"Thank you and I bid all of you welcome. Some of you know me from my travels on board this and other ships. My Father has seen fit to place me in command and as you will see, I will live up to his standards of excellence and assured command. You know your duties, and I know you do them well. Continue to perform them and we will serve the Confederacy and Clan Camelin to the best of our power and strength."

...

"What course do we set, Commander?" Kalen asked.

"We head for the Oxymax Nebula, Captain. Detach and prepare for neospace flight." Ryo said as he took up position by the main command console. Like he had seen his father do for many cycles when he had been on board this ship.

Viktor Kalen nodded and turned to the helm station, where the two officers who actually flew the immense battlecruiser werr sitting, hands on the controls but not doing anything as the ship was currently at rest.

"Cato, signal Skyhook we are disembarking. Helm, prime the drives and prepare for maneuvering thrust."

"Skyrook responds, moorings are detathing. We have soft lock, confirmed all moorings detactched. Skyhook is repelling us clear." Cato replied.

"We are at 500 mets and increasing distance at a speed of 50 mets per second. Drives are all priming, and fuel pumps are ready. We are nearing ignition temperature on all six drive units." Helm replied.

"Reactor control reports all four reactors operating at normal levels, full power is available at your comand, Helm." Came the report from the engineering station, beside the helm console.

"All stations, report status." Kalen barked.

"Helm, ready. Reactors, ready. Neospace, ready. Vortex, ready. Forward guns, ready. Aft guns, ready. Life support, ready. Gravity control, ready. Sensors, ready. We are in the Clear, Captain. TGX-2 is free and clear to move under your discretion." Came the reports from the various bridge stations.

Kalen looked at the big screen above the command console, painted on the view was an image of the Camelin Skyhook, now a few kilomers distant, and some other ships in range, but nothing in their direct course.

He walked over to put his hand on the back of one of the helm chairs. "Ahead, half-thrust until we are a thousand kims clear, then full power. Make our heading for Oxymax."

The massive battlecruiser, engines flaring as it began to acclerate, soon pulled far away from the orbital facility that was it's normal home, and once it was far enough away, the engines ramped up to full power, spewing hundres of tonnes of helium radicals from the fusing of hydrogen and conveting that energy into momentum, quickly accelerated up to neospace velocity and slid beyond lightspeed.

...

"What do you think, Commander?"

"I think, Captain Kalen, we need to get in there." Ryo said as they watched the swirling of the dust and debris that was the Oxymax nebula.

"It's ten Solar Lengths deep, Commander. The Vortex gateway was destroyed by Clans Jasinlo and Kerilac five hundred cycles ago. They detonated Antimatter mines through the one mapped corridor. No Vortex ship can penetrate that dust cloud."

"Then we go using Neospace drive. We will fly through it and see what lies at the centre. See if the lost Clanworld still survives."

"Why do you seek the Desinlo Clanworld, Commander? All records show they were banished from the Confederacy, and with good reason."

Ryo looked at his XO. "I seek it, Kalen, because it is there. At the heart of our own Clan territory lies this nebula. Within the nebula lies the Clanworld that once ruled the entire Confederacy, and has now fallen so far from the light. We must return the light to them and see if we can drive away the darkness."

"Diving into that dense gas cloud using Neospace is going to be a strain on this ship's superstructure, Sir. She was designed for vacuum, not plowing through a gas cloud with close to a hundred pascals of pressure." Kalen said as they continued to observe the roiling clouds of the active nebula.

"Then, Captain, we need to do some plowing. Unless you have any other objections, let's get the shields trimmed and get the ship prepared for extended gaseous exposure."

"Understood, Commander. We''ll get trimmed and ready to slide."

Chapter 1.1

Defend The Planet - Oxymax Nebula -32 BA

"The entire ship is vibrating, Commander. Hull crews report the armour is cracking from the stress of the dust and debris impacts. Neospace drives are also showing strains."

"How deep are we?" Ryo asked, holding onto the main console and watching the monitors for any signs of a gap from the dense cloud that surrounded the ship on all sides. They had been diving through the dense cloud for more than an hour now.

"Four lengths now, According to the old charts we should be entering the void bubble caused by the primary shortly. I don't know how much longer the shield generators can take this stress though. She was built for battle, not flying through a sustained gas cloud at faster than lightspeed."

The deep vibration through the deck plates stopped, and silence filled the bridge.

"Gas density has fallen to deep vacuum, Sir. We are in a void approximately two Solar Lengths across. One primary star detected, planetary system confirmed."

"Get crews working on the hull and drive systems. Get us back to full state. Commander – we are in the Clear." Kalen reported.

Ryo nodded. "Take us in, approach to within Actual range of the Desinlo world, then open a channel."

"Detecting small ships moving in and out of the system, they have the profile of freighters and corsairs. Nothing military so far on tactical sensors." Ryo and Kalen looked at each other. Desinlo was definitely not dead if there were ships in the system.

"Ships are scattering away from us, Commander. They may have seen us. Chatter is increasing on all scanned channels. If the Desinlo were not aware before, they are now."

"Captain, what do you make of this?" Came the request from tactical. Kalen walked over and looked at the readings.

"Conn, deep scan indicates relativistic projectiles, on course for the planet. I scan ten, no eighteen of them. One hundred tonnes mass each. Cobalt grade!" Came the snap report from Science.

"How long until impact?" Ryo asked.

"At current speed, five hundred seconds, Commander."

"How long until we can intercept?" Ryo said as he looked at Kalen.

No reply, Kalen snapped, "You heard the Commander, how long until intercept?"

"Two hundred seconds, Sir." Came the reply from tactical.

"Do we do this, Kalen?" Ryo asked his XO.

"We're already here, Sir. If you're here to make friends, protecting the planet is a great way to start." Kalen replied, then walked over to navigation.

"Max thrust, all drives. Get us into a direct intercept position. Gun control, prepare for interdiction zone, heavy radiation." Kalen ordered as the two navigation officers made adjustments. The flight officer then increased throttle control as the entire ship began to vibrate while it's engines flared to maximum output, pushing the massive ship at well over 10g thrust, with gravity control keeping the interior at normal levels.

Ryo did not interrupt, Kalen knew the ship and crew a lot better than he did, and in a lot of ways, he was still excess baggage.

"Kalen, what if we got in front of the projectiles, then slid towards the planet, side on. Would that increase the length of time to intercept?" He said as he watched the tactical readouts.

"We run a risk of not being able to shift into Neospace because we may lose too much forward velocity, but it will improve our odds, Sir." Kalen replied as he stabbed at a control and then glared at the officer who had not noticed it.

"If we can save that planet from this bombardment, I think it's worth the risk." Ryo said, checking readouts from tactical and science.

"You heard the man." Kalen said, "Slide this ship into medium orbit. We're going in sideways, and at a 40 degree axial tilt. All guns should be able to target the projectiles." He ordered as he watched the officers making adjustments.

"Relativistic cannon, range needs to be 200,000 kims. Set up a full scatter field. Lances, 100,000 kims, minimum interference pattern, full heat energy. Bleed the heat out there, we need it hot for anything that gets though the cannon." Ryo ordered, watching the incoming projectile spread.

"If we don't do this right, we're going to make a very big impression, Commander." Kalen said. "About half a continent's worth when we hit."

Ryo looked at him, then smiled. "Then let's do it right, people. Protect that planet."

Twin lines of fire leapt from the hull of the TGX as it's main guns opened up, generating two distinct lines of destruction. At extreme range, relativistic projectiles of cobalt, accelerated out of magnetic cannon, exploded against each other to make a caustic cloud of dust that began to erode the incoming projectiles at an increasing pace. Closer in, the laser lances, blowing with wide apertures, generated almost nova heat that melted what was left, the incoming projectiles began to sublimate into cobalt ions, disintegrating under the assault.

"We've got three left, Commander. They'll be past us in fifty seconds, planetary impact fifteen seconds after that."

"Kalen, can we take the radiation blast from a warhead?" Ryo asked.

"It's better than letting one of those hit the atmosphere. Fire a missile." Kalen ordered.

A missile launched from the side of the TGX, flying towards the three molten slagheaps that were the cobalt projectiles, even badly melted as they were, they had sufficient mass to do real damage.

"Radiation alert, brace for shockwave." Ryo ordered, and the alarms went off as the ship skeleton flexed to absorb the shock as the warhead exploded only fifty kims from the hull.

"All targets destroyed, nothing remains on any sensors, Captain, Commander. We are in the Clear." Tactical reported.

"Let's see how badly we got hurt." Ryo said as he walked over to Damage Control where he was joined by the Captain a few seconds later.

"Nothing we can't repair once we return to our Clanworld, Sirs. Armour is buckled across the port landing bay, five quad guns are out of commission. Radiation fires on the ventral plating. Damage Control parties are already being deployed." Damage Control reported as the different sections of the massive ship reported in.

"Sir, this is very odd." Science said. "I am detecting an energy field, from the planet. Focused around the main city. There is only one city there, most of the population is centred around it. The energy field is fading, but I am detecting evidence that it exceeded more then a hundred teragauss. That would have deflected the projectiles into the debris zone around the central city. Sir, it looks like they've been hit for a long time. There is a lot of molecular cobalt in the atmosphere, and a lot of radiation everywhere except the central city. That area is shielded and the radiation is much lower there."

Chapter 1.2

Welcome, Warriors - Clanworld Desinlo -32 BA

"You see what in orbit?" Lya said as she watched the reports of the projectiles melting, then a flash of fusion strength in the sky above the city.

"We're detecting a large ship, Regent. It has positioned itself between us and the latest weapon strike. All inbound weapons are gone." Vis Marhup reported as he analysed the readouts.

"They helped us?" Lya asked, leaning forward to look at the readouts.

"That ship is enormous. It reads over a kim and a half long. Readouts indicate it also threw a fusion warhead onto it's space side, and took the blast to ensure the last remaining projectiles were destroyed. We have nothing like that, nor have I heard of anything like this, Regent." Marhup informed her.

"Open a channel, we may have an ally." Lya said, then picked up the comm unit.

"Attention vessel in orbit. This is Regent Desinlo. Please identify yourself."

"Regent Desinlo, this is Commander Ryo Camelin of the Confederacy Battlecruiser TGX-2. We are pleased that there are still people alive on your world. It looks like we arrived just in time."

Lya laughed. "I agree, Commander. Let me be the first to welcome you. It has been many cycles past that we had friendly communications with anybody outside of our system. I would like to invite you planet side, I will have a banquet prepared in your honour."

...

The Desinlo shuttle cruised into the starboard docking bay of the TGX-2 and landed. As it's hatch opened and the flight crew stepped out, they were amazed at the size of the docking bay alone. "We could fit an entire squadron of Superiority fighters in here. How big is this ship?" the pilot asked.

"Almost forty megatonnes, 1.6 kims long, with enough power to take on a planet full of insurgents. Since your clan has been isolated, we have progressed greatly." Commander Ryo Camelin said as he stepped forward. He clasped hands with the pilot and then the navigator. "Welcome aboard the TGX-2. I hope this will not be your only visit."

"You are the Commander of this vessel?" The pilot asked him.

"Yes, I am in charge of this ship." Ryo acknowledged.

The pilot bowed in deference. "My lord, our Regent has requested you, along with up to 9 members of your choosing to join her planet side for a welcoming banquet. How long do you require to be prepared, Sir?"

"Give us half an hour, and then we will travel to the planet with you."

...

Ryo, Kalan, and eight of the primary bridge crew, all dressed in their finest, sat in the shuttle, secured in harnesses, as it jetted towards the surface. They were surprised as the ship felt like it accelerated upon hitting the atmosphere, but no sign of heat stress touched the hull, nor was there even a glow on the shields that must be surrounding them. The ship slipped through the thickening air at near-orbital velocity. Then suddenly slowed down, steadily, but not uncomfortably, until it was stopped, then it descended vertically to land beside a large building.

"Impressive piloting, a very smooth landing." Kalan said to the pilot as the hatch opened.

"Thank you, Sir. If you would please exit the shuttle, the welcome party is waiting."

The TGX crew stepped out of the shuttle and saw a small party standing on the outside of the docking cradle waiting for them. Foremost was a tall, regal-looking woman with slate-grey hair and piercing sky-blue eyes. As they approached, she stepped forward with hands outstretched, palms downwards. Ryo noted that the flanking guards also unlimbered their weapons, prepared to fire at the first sign of hostilities. This was not the time for brashness or poor judgement.

Ryo stepped forward and took both of the woman's hands in his, then leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss upon each hand. "You must be Regent Desinlo, I am Commander Ryo Camelin, and this is my bridge crew."

Lya Desinlo smiled at the greeting and the honour that was displayed towards her. "Thank you, Commander, you are welcome upon my humble world. It has been many cycles since another clan paid us attention. In fact, many hundreds of cycles since any Confederacy Clan has visited our world in peace."

"Truth be told, Regent. I am here alone, Confederacy Command and the Emperor do not know of this trip or meeting. I am doing this as leader of Clan Camelin. I wanted to make contact with your clan and see what remained? There were many rumours that the planet was a burnt-out husk of radiation." Ryo said as the party began to walk towards a building not too far from the landing cradle.

Lya stopped and turned to face Ryo. "Five hundred cycles ago that nearly came to pass. When the Clans destroyed the corridor leading into Oxymax with antimatter mines. We allowed them to mine the Vortex pathway but we defended ourselves against the small fleet that attempted to bombard the planet from extreme range. We survived, despite the Confederacy's efforts to the contrary."

"Not the Confederacy, Regent. Independent Clan activities that the Confederacy did not condone,. However Clans Jasinlo and Kerilac have long since been absorbed into other Clans. They no longer exist independently."

Lya frowned. "They still exist, Commander. The wave of projectiles you stopped is something that we deal with three times a cycle. I have less than a hundred thousand citizens left, and our shields will not stop the building radiation from the cobalt poisoning for much longer. My world is dying."

"We can help you. Since your world was isolated we have learned much about the effects of Radiation. I am sure we can reverse or reduce the poisoning and make this world habitable again." Kalen said.

"Thank you, Captain. If you can aid us, we shall certainly be forever in your debt. This world has much to offer, if we can only be given a chance. We do not want to end our days without seeing Desinlo rejoin the Confederacy." Lya said, flashing the Captain a warm smile, and entwining her arm around Ryo's as they walked into the main hall of the Capitol.

Lya released Ryo's arm and bade all the Officers sit while they prepared the banquet. She excused herself as assistants appeared, carrying glasses of fresh wine and drinks for the visitors.

Ryo noticed some of the officers seemed wary of the food and drink, and motioned for them to enjoy. "If they wanted to poison us, we'd be dead already." He said, then drained his glass and placed it on the table.

...

Lya swept into one of the anterooms where she had a number of her women already in the process of being dresed and prepared. Nine of them, all dressed in thin robes of transparant fabric that showed off their assets to their best. Dusted with a shimmering powder so their skin appeared to glow, each woman was being prepared for what was going to be an intense evening.

"Ladies of Desinlo. This is our chance to finally make a mark. This ship is from Clan Camelin. It is from the Confederacy. This is not just a trading vessel, or a liner off course, this was a mission with a purpose, and we are going to make these officers feel very welcome." She said as she went to each woman in turn, checking her up and down, turning her head this way and that and making sure each one looked perfect.

"You have each been chosen because you are the ones closest in your cycle for fertility. Each of us will be carrying a child by the end of this evening." She continued, then turned as the Desinlo doctor came into the room, carrying a small bag. He set it down and looked at her.

"Doctor Solonae, we're ready. Get us to the peak of fertility."

"Of course, Regent." Hektor Solonae replied, then set up his equipment and prepared the injections. Each woman was injected with medicine that would cycle her body into a full state of ovulation so that they were ready to receive and create new life once they had mated with the Camelin officers.

Once every woman had been injected, including Lya, she then ushered her troop back out to meet the Camelin officers.

The group got to their feet as Lya reappeared, followed by the other nine lovely women of the clan, all dressed in diaphanous flowing robes that revealed they were nearly nude underneath. Each woman paired off with an Officer and remained at his side through the feasting.

They feasted, dishes that had not been tasted outside of the Clanworld Desinlo for more than a thousand cycles were presented to the TGX bridge crew. Dancers flew through the air and entwined themselves on streamers of mist and sparkle during breaks between courses. Showing skill and ability that some had thought lost. Desinlo had been the heart of acrobatic dance and it's people had always excelled at zero-g manufacturing and mining.

With the final course served, an icy dish with sparkles of fire that melted the ice into a flavourful gooey dessert in front of the diners, Lya Desinlo stood and called for attention.

"We of the Clan Desinlo bid Clan Camelin welcome to our home, our world, and our system. For too long have we been away from the Confederacy. May this meal be the first of many, that can bridge the gap between us, and the rest of our peoples."

Ryo had not failed to notice, that throughout the meal, his Officers had become a lot friendlier towards the companions than he had expected. He was feeling much the same way towards Lya, in fact, she seemed to almost glow when he looked at her, and he was feeling quite lusty, an emotion he did not generally succumb to. He also felt slightly light-headed, and thought that maybe he'd had too much of the wine.

Lya rose as he unsteadily got to his feet. "Come, Commander. I will show you to your room for the night. Your Officers have also been assigned quarters for the night, my Lord Ryo." She purred as she guided him down to a corridor that branched off into a number of doors. She ushered him through one door, then closed it behind her as he saw a very comfortable looking bed.

Ryo went to the bed, then turned and was mildly surprised to see Lya still there. He was entranced as she walked up to him and kissed him passionately.

"I've never felt like this before." He said as she swiftly unbuttoned his tunic and ran her hands over his bare chest. She laughed softly. "You've never been to Desinlo before. The very air is an aphrodisiac here, and we are very friendly towards our guests, my Commander." She pushed him back onto the bed and Ryo fell backwards, now bare chested. Lya lifted her skirts and straddled him.

His hands went to her chest and he pulled the ties of her dress apart, exposing her firm breasts so that he could grip them with his hands. Ryo sat up and nuzzled Lya's breasts, kissing each nipple, then lifting his face to hers, kissed her as she sighed into him.

"You are strong, my Commander. You protected my world, and protected my people." She worked her hands to undo the fasteners on his pants, so he could become free, then gently stroked his length until he became fully erect.

With a deft series of movements, Lya swiftly removed her skirts so she sat naked astride him, letting his length gently rub against her nether lips.

"I am ovulating, Commander. On this night you will make a strong child with me." She whispered as she firmly gripped him and then pressed down, allowing him to slide fully into her.

Ryo groaned as she joined with him, the feeling overwhelming both of them as he slid into her, her tightness enveloping him with a moist velvet glove even while she gasped with the filling sensation of him penetrating her.

Lya leaned forward as his hands gripped her hips firmly, his own hips beginning to buck as he thrust into her. She rocked on top of him, joining her rhythm to his own so that they moved together, pushing each other to the height of passion.

She brushed her breasts against his chest, letting her sensitive nipples drag along his skin, gasping at the sensation as he continued to push and thrust into her depths. Their lips met in passion-filled kisses as his hands stroked her back and went down to grip her buttocks so he could push harder and deeper into her body.

He felt the release coming, and pulled her hard against him as he began to pump, filling her with his seed, kissing her hard as she joined him in passion, feeling him spurting into her, knowing that this would result in a child.

Ryo awoke with a start, then sat up. The room was dark, but not totally without light. There was lighting all around the walls, a dim glow, enough to see by. He felt movement beside him, and looked to see Regent Lya curled up, She raised her head sleepily to look at him.

"Did we..." He began, she smiled and pulled him down into a kiss.

"Yes, we did. It was wonderful, Ryo." She whispered into his lips.

"I am not too sure what happened, Regent." Ryo said, feeling very unsure of himself.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him back down and partially on top of her.

"You and I made love, Ryo Camelin. There is nothing to think beyond that. You saved my world, you protected my people. I have given you an appropriate warrior's reward. You have also given me a gift." She kissed him, then whispered in his ear, "I am now pregnant, and I thank you for that."

Ryo raised himself on an arm and looked down at her, in the dim light she was still beautiful, the glow from earlier seemed to be gone, but she was still a lovely woman.

"How do you know for certain?" He asked.

Lya smiled. "When we knew you were coming down, I had myself and the other women injected with a fertility medicine. We were fully fertile and ready when you were. All of us will be pregnant by the end of the night. Ten strong children."

Ryo furrowed his brow. "You tricked us?"

She laughed and kissed him. "Not at all, we rewarded you. A group of fighters, you saved us all. Willing women to take into your beds and enjoy for the night, or however long you wish to remain here. As for us, I need fresh genes. I have less than a hundred thousand people here, Ryo. Your children will allow me to expand our gene pool slightly, even if you never return."

He pulled her to him and kissed her firmly. "And what if we return, again and again?"

Lya snaked a hand down to where he was again rising with interest and began to stroke him to full erection.

"Then, my Lord Ryo Camelin, I am yours for the plundering, and the taking, as many times as you wish. Your desire is my acceptance. Use me, and allow me to please you." She finished with a kiss as he rolled on top of her and slipped into her again.

...

Ryo woke gently, with warm sunlight pressing against his eyelids, and a warm body curled up against him. He roused gently, trying not to disturb Lya, but she woke with him, smiling at him and giving him a sleepy kiss as she stretched.

"Good morning to you, Sir." She said.

"Good morning, Lady Lya. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

She laughed, a laugh that he was already entranced with and which would grow on him to enjoy hearing all the time. "I slept wonderfully. I am a bit sore, but with somebody like you in my bed, I am happy to be sore."

They rose together, and Lya showed him how to use the refreshing pool off the bedroom. A luxurious thing Ryo had not experienced before. A deep pool that was filled with a thick oil-saturated water that immersed him as it cleaned him. Lya helped him to relax and then carefully bathed him, before allowing him to do the same to her, while she smiled at him with her mouth and eyes.

They wrapped in warm robes and dried off, then Ryo got dressed in his tunic while Lya remained in the robe. She smiled as he noticed that she was not getting dressed.

"We will have the morning meal with your Officers, Ryo. I think you will find they will be casual as well. Who knows, you may find your uniform too overdressed as the day progresses, anyway." She laughed as they walked out of the bedroom and back to the main hall. Sitting down at the long table, Ryo noticed that some of the Officers were there, with their companions, most of them similarly dressed, or undressed. The hall was quite warm, so he did feel a bit overdressed, but, he was both their Lord and Commander, so felt the uniform was appropriate.

As they were about half-way through the meal, Captain Kalen came in, with his companion holding onto his arm, laughing at something he had just said. Ryo recalled her name was Jalena, and watched as they took their seats, then Kalen saluted his Commander.

"Good night, Captain?" Ryo asked, with a half-smile.

"Best night I've had in months, Commander. I must admit, I had reservations about coming here. But this place, these people, have made me completely change my view. Desinlo is a wonderful world."

The other officers all agreed, and Ryo raised his glass in a toast. "To Regent Lya, of planet Desinlo. We came to make friends, I think we've made much more than that."

...

"Pregnancy is desired in our women, Commander." Lya explained as they walked the paths of the small city. "What with the radiation from the cobalt impacts, and the near constant barrages, my people have lost most of our population. We need to rebuild."

"My ship is currently doing some deep science scans of the entire planet, Lya. With any luck we may have some answers soon as to how best to help you. This was never supposed to happen to you." Ryo said, patting her hand as they walked.

"It may be too little, too late, my Lord. My best scientists say the radiation has penetrated deep into the ground. We may not be able to purge it for centuries." Lya said. "When the bombardments began we were totally unprepared. We lost eighty percent of our population. I am not part of the original Clan Desinlo. All full blood members died centuries past. We were down to less than fifteen thousand people before one of our scientists figured how to make a magnetic shield powerful enough to deflect the Cobalt Projectiles."

She paused and looked out beyond the edge of the glowing blue shield that wrapped the entire city. They could clearly see just a wreck of craters as far as the eye could see beyond the shield wall.

"Building this shield cost us that scientist, and a thousand workers. But we got it finished, and when it was turned on, the Cobalt Projectiles were deflected away from here. We rejoiced. It was short-lived. We realized that the radiation was still penetrating, still spreading. The shield was tuned and modified. We managed to develop a filter to deflect even the radiation particles. The air became easier to breathe and we had a working biome under the shield. Elsewhere, the planet was devastated, as you can see." She turned to Ryo, and he could see her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"Less than twelve thousand people survived. That is too small of a gene pool for safety, what with the radiation. Our children were stillborn, or born with defects that made them die shortly after birth. We were dying, we still are. We began to inbreed as much as we safely could. Tracking pregnancies, couplings, trying to find which was the strongest match for that time. The population began to slowly rebuild. We had also had some trading with cargo ships that had found their way through the nebula. We had much to offer them, goods that could be found nowhere else. We also offered the crews ... us. It was an easy trade-off. We got fertility, they got recreation. Our population continued to slowly grow, despite the continued bombardments."

She took Ryo's arm and they continued to walk around the outer ring of the city, just inside the softly humming shield that worked to keep the deadly radiation from saturating the surviving population.

"By the time I was born, to a Clan mother, and a trader father, we were eighty thousand. However, birth rates have begun to decline again. The radiation is seeping in and the shield is just not able to keep it filtered out." She finished as they returned to the main entrance to the hall.

"We will help you, Lya. The Clan Camelin does not back down from a challenge, and we protect our own." Ryo said, gripping her arms hard enough to leave bruises.

"We're not your own, Ryo. We are a banished Clan. A lost and forgotten world. Nobody remembers us except Jasinlo and Kerilac, and they have nearly succeeded. My planet is dying, and my people along with it." Lya said as they walked into the hall. Her final words were clearly heard in the quiet hall. Captain Kalen turned as they walked in.

"If you are dying, Lady Lya. Then we will give you life. If you are injured, we will heal you. As you were lost, Ryo Camelin found you. Clan Camelin will not let you be lost again." He said, then formally saluted Lya, as did all the other officers standing in the hall.

...

"Pregancy is confirmed, Regent. All of you are impregnated now." The Doctor reported after he finished his examinations of the ten Desinlo women.

"Very good." Lya said, then got back to her feet and dismissed all of the women, except for Jalena.

As she kept her eyes on Jalena, Lya asked "How long until we know the gender of the babes?"

"Sex identification will be possible after about day 40, my Lady." The Doctor replied.

"Jalena, you are carrying the key to our survival. It needs to be a girl, my dear." Lya said, gently caressing the cheek of the other woman, then she walked past her and out of the door, leaving Jalena alone with the Doctor as he finished putting away his medical equipment.

"Hektor, what am I to do if I carry a boy?" She asked him, her features full of worry.

He walked to her and embraced her.

"Jalena, you are my oldest and dearest friend on this whole world. Whether you carry a girl or a boy, you carry new life. What does it matter?" He said as he held her tightly, her arms holding on to him with surprising strength.

"You know the breeding charts, you know my genetic history. She needs a girl to carry on the genes, not a boy. I am afraid she will order termination if I carry a male." Jalena said, looking at him as she spoke.

"I will not let that happen. I will determine the best course of action, my Jalena. I only wish it had been somebody else instead of you chosen for this role." Hektor said, then gently kissed her.

"I belong now to Viktor Kalen, Hektor. We cannot be together any more." She replied, but made no move to break the enbrace.

"I know, I will be here for you, whenever you need me, Jalena. You come to me with any concerns, or even just to talk. I am always here for you." Hektor said, then released her, and with a final caress to his cheek, she walked out of the room, leaving him standing there, feeling sad for his loss.

...

The next weeks were filled with activity. Knowing the cycle of attacks like clockwork, Ryo brought the majority of the crew down to the planet to help repair and rebuild what they could of the city, and to do as Lya asked, expand the gene pool. Many Desinlo women became pregnant within a very short time.

Science teams worked hand in hand with the shield technicians to determine exactly how the generator operated, then they carefully began to tune and boost it to better enhance against the omnipresent radiation. The city shield was enhanced and tuned back to the level it had been more than a hundred cycles ago.

Tactical and military groups worked with the City defenders to try and develop better ways to defend or offset the attacks, although the Commander and Captain said quite succinctly, No more projectiles would reach the surface. The Desinlo, unable to build any large ships, had developed small, agile one man aerospace craft that were bristling with weapons. Those could be landed inside the TGX docking bay and launched within moments. A wing of them could cut apart a hostile ship and they were so quick that the TGX targeting systems had trouble tracking them. This could be an advantage that traditional Confederacy military minds had refused to think about. Ryo was not traditional, and he got his people working to modify one of the landing bays to house a full wing of these Superiority fighters, and made allowances for their flight crews to live on board the massive ship.

A contingency plan was put in place, that a Camelin deep space liner would be on station, out of the way, running dark with only a skeleton crew on board. It was an immense but defenceless ship. If required, it would come into low orbit, and the entire population would be evacuated. Lya hated the idea, but she was grateful for it meant that her people would be saved, even if the planet had to be abandoned.

Two months after they arrived, the TGX received word that Gyo Camelin was in the final stages of the radiation illness, with less than weeks to live. Ryo had to return home.

It was time, Ryo discussed it with Kalen and all the senior officers, at length. They had all spent considerable time on Desinlo, and all of them were in agreement. This world was now part of Camelin territory and it would not be abandoned. Lya and some of the other women who had become constant companions to the senior officers travelled with them back to the TGX for the flight back to Malis. Other crew were permitted to stay on Desinlo as the ship was going through rotations and could safely function with a reduced load anyway.

The troop shuttle landed on board the massive battlecruiser, and the large group walked off slowly, letting their visitors take in the sheer size of the ship. Had the TGX been capable of landing, it would have been larger than the entire city itself.

"I knew this ship was large, but it is even larger than I imagined, Commander." Lya said as they walked across the flight deck to the inboard corridors.

The crew gave a grand tour to the Desinlo group, and once they had settled into the quarters, Lya joined Ryo and Kalen on the bridge to see how they drove this massive vessel.

"Breaking orbit, engines up to full power." Navigation reported.

"Science station fully active, new coordinates are mapped, plotting neospace pipes now." Came the report from the science team where they had loaded a full new set of details into the ship's systems from the Desinlo charts. Showing hundreds of safe passages through the dense nebula.

"Engage neospace drive. Get us back home." Kalen ordered and the entire ship vibrated as it formed an inertia bubble and then slipped into it's secondary FTL capability. "Entering nebula shell now." Came the report and an eerie sighing noise filled the hull.

"What is that noise?" Lya asked.

"That is the Oxymax nebula, particles impacting and being deflected from the Neospace bubble as we travel. This nebula is full of exotic particles that are still able to interact with us even at faster than lightspeed. We have full shields up so it's not a problem. The trip in was much worse." Ryo answered.

"We'll be out of the shell in eighteen minutes, Commander, then we can shift to Vortex drive." Navigation reported.

Ryo chuckled and glanced at Kalen. "A lot easier getting out than when we plowed our way in, Captain."

Kalen nodded. "A good chart and proper navigation always makes the road smooth, Commander."

Lya's first experience travelling through the Vortex was shocking. The ship pulled into clear space and dropped out of Neospace to allow the power to shift into the massive Vortex generators.

"We're about to transit into the Confederacy's preferred mode of travel. Using a hyperspace continuum we call the Vortex. We can travel a thousand solar lengths in minutes. We still have to do real space manoeuvring, but it cuts our travel time down to hours instead of days." Ryo explained as he guided her to a seat.

Lya sat, one hand firmly gripped in her Consort's as she watched the bridge crew prepare to shift the immense vessel into the Vortex.

"Corona building. Insertion point located and locked. Power levels stable, insertion open. We're ready to transit. Beginning transit." Navigation reported as the items scaled off the checklists.

Lya suddenly felt like her head was going to explode, she gasped and found it very hard to breathe. Ryo turned to her in shock and knelt down.

"What is wrong? Lya, You're covered in sweat! What is the matter?"

She couldn't answer him, her muscles refused to work, all she could so was sit and focus on breathing, allowing the vise-grip on her mind to slowly weaken and then it was gone, just as navigation reported transit was complete.

Ryo pulled her up into his arms and told Kalen to send medical teams to check on the other Desinlo passengers, he was taking her to medical. He rushed his Lya down to the medical deck where the other Desinlo women were also being gathered. All of them had experienced the same effect. It was determined to be a form of psionic backwash from the Vortex transit. Only one in a hundred thousand Tarans ever suffered from this effect, and it looked like all of the Desinlo women were sensitive to it.

They were proscribed a neuron inhibitor that would basically put them to sleep for the duration of the transit as that was the only way they would be able to handle the sudden blast of white noise that filled their heads while the ship was in Vortex.

Back in Ryo's quarters, Lya lay on the bed, feeling her body in turmoil over what had happened.

"How long until we reach orbit?" She asked.

"Eight hours. The Vortex points around our clanworld are far off, and we do not permit neospace within one Length of the planet. So we go in using realspace drives." Ryo replied.

She sat up and held out her arms. Ryo came over to the bed and embraced the woman he had grown very fond of and was beginning to love.

She hugged him, and murmured in his ear, "Do you have time for me?"

Ryo nodded into her hair and gently lay her back so he could lie down alongside her, him propped up on an elbow as she reclined.

His fingers traced her stomach, where the tiny child was growing. Not beginning to show yet, but definitely there. Another seven months and they would have a child to show that Clan Desinlo had a place in the Confederacy and was part of Camelin space.

She gently traced his face with her long fingers, then drew them down his tunic and across his chest as he kissed her. She slipped his tunic off his shoulders as he undid the side fasteners on her dress, and again, she did the movements that still amazed him, and lay naked before his hungry gaze. Ready and wanting him.

Ryo slipped out of his tunic and her hands went to his pants, quickly undoing the clasps so he could remove them as well. This time, she stroked and held him as he knelt over her, slowly building his desire with soft caresses along his shaft and head. Delicate yet firm were her touches, as he grew erect and solid, ready to plunge into her depths.

She pulled him forward until he was pressed against her nether lips, and then he slid into her moistness as she lifted her hips to join him. She wrapped her legs around Ryo's hips to hold him inside her as he began to move, joining his mouth to her with kisses and light nips on his lips as he began to steadily thrust into her depths.

She had an urgent need this time, and it was not too long before Lya felt a surge of her own and orgasmed while her partner, the Lord Ryo Camelin, continued to enjoy her for his own pleasure. He filled her with his seed as she orgasmed a second time, then lay, her arms wrapped around him, sated, filled, and more at rest than before the terror of the Vortex flight.

...

"Doctor, how is she doing?" Kalen said as he looked at Jalena, sleeping on one of the beds in the TGX medical bay.

"Jalena is doing as well as can be expected. The child is healthy, the mother is also healthy. The backwash from your Vortex flight has exhausted her mentally, and she needs rest, Captain." Doctor Solonae said, watching the indicators as they monitored every aspect of Jalena's vitals.

"So she is just sleeping then?"

"She is sleeping with the aid of a sedative, Captain. We need to get her and these other two girls planetside as quickly as possible. How long until we are in orbit?"

"Should be another six hours or so. Then we'll bring them down to Malis and they can be on real soil again." Kalen replied, looking at the restful face of the woman carrying his unborn child.

"Excellent, then I will ensure these three are ready to travel when we have docked." The Doctor replied.
Chapter 1.3

Death of a Leader - Clanworld Camelin -32 BA

Unlike leaving Desinlo, this time the TGX hard-docked to the Camelin Skyhook. A massive structure that physically connected an orbital repair facility with the planet's surface by way of a carbon lattice cable that carried freight and passengers from orbit to the surface in under an hour.

"We're eighteen thousand kims above the planet here." Kalen explained to the group as they looked out the windows at a sight they had never seen, a planet that was not covered in craters and dying of cobalt radiation. A world full of life, and a world that was ready to welcome them.

The Pod ride down was one of jubilation. The Desinlo women were joyous to visit a living breathing world, and the Camelin men were equally proud to show off their mates and consorts. Once the Pod had slowed and docked, they disembarked and Ryo met with the Clan Advisors, Lya by his side.

"Vis Macelon, Clan Finances. Vis Atewal, Clan Trader, Vis Damino, Clan Opiner, and Vis Petro, Clan Management. I would like all of you to meet my consort, this is Lady Lya of Clan Desinlo." ryo said by way of introduction to the four men who stood in a line and had bowed their heads deferentially as their Lord had stepped out of the downshaft pod from the skyhook.

Macelon was round, almost to the point of excess. However, he was a fine mathmatician and had a knack for the numbers that had gotten him into the positiion of being in control of the Clan finances many cycles past. He wore a long robe that draped round him like a cloak and it concealed everything except his face and hands. Lya noted that he had piercing green eyes that seemed to look right through her.

Atewal was tall, even for a Hablis he was tall, towering head, shoulders, and half a chest above everybody else in the hallway. He wore a flightsuit of deep blue that contrasted with his deep brown skin and his eyes were an odd shade of amber that almost glowed as he bowed to her.

Damino was just a little smaller than Lya herself, with a long narrow face, a hawkish nose, and slim festures, mostly covered by a full growth of beard. He had darting eyes of blue that seemed to never settle, he was always watching everything. He gave the barest of respectful bows, but as the Lord seemed to accept this, Lya could make no objection.

Petro was round, the roundest man she had ever seen. He was also happy, a wide smile on his face, and with a jovial laugh, he not only bowed, but embraced her before stepping back. His round jowelled face had deep brown eyes and a fine spread of lines that crinkled as he smiled, making him seem even friendlier than he was.

The four advisors fell into step with their Lord and his lady as Ryo walked down the corridors towards the normal lift shafts that would lead him to his family chambers at the 5 kim level.

"Welcome back to the citadel, my Lord." Vis Petro said as they walked.

"How is my father coping?" Ryo asked.

"Lord Camelin the elder is not faring well, my Lord. He is suffering greatly under the effects of the sickness and his condition worsens daily now." Vis Damino reported.

"And the people?"

"The Clan is concerned, both for their fading leader, and for his son, who chooses to journey outwards instead of taking up the mantle of leadership, lord Camelin." Damino replied.

Ryo stopped and faced the Vis who held the popular opinion of more than six billion citizens all loyal to the Clan leadership under his father and him.

"My father has ruled this clan with fairness and with a just hand. Just like his father before him, and for ages past. I intend to do the same, Vis. I however, will not stay here, in this tower, while the Clan slowly withers and the Confederacy falls to ashes." Ryo said.

"As you command, my Lord. I am just a humble servant showing you the people's wishes and desires. Such is my position." Vis Damino said, bowing.

"Stop it, Vis. You are not a sychopant or a silent follower. Stop acting like one." Ryo snapped, glaring at the other man. Damino straightened up.

"What brought about this change of mood? My father's impending death? You knew about that for cycles, we all knew once he took that radiation surge. What has changed?"

"If I may, my Lord. You are now ascending to the reins of power. Within a few weeks you will be the Lord of clan Camelin. Ruler of more than six billion citizens on sixteen worlds all fiercely loyal to you first, and to the Confederacy second." Vis Petro said, breaking the tense mood.

"Is that why you have all become so obesquious all of a sudden?" Ryo asked, looking at the four primary advisors, who refused to look him in the eye.

"That would be the reason, my Lord. You are no longer the Lord in waiting. You are soon to be Lord Camelin. It is a position of strength and we must show honor and respect." Vis Macelon said.

"Let me be clear, all of you. I expect you to do your duties as you have always done. You put the clan first, and the leader second. Yes, I will soon be in charge of the clan, but without advisors like you around me, Camelin will fade away within a generation and go the way of Radian. I do not think you want to lose your positions, your families, wealth, and your heads when the other clans sweep in to take our territories?"

He looked at the four advisors as they all shook their heads.

"Neither do I. Camelin is a strong military clan. We make wars happen and we win them when they do. We fight for the Confederacy and for our territory, but we do not seek expansion. I rely upon you to maintain and manage the affairs of the Clan while I am offworld keeping the borders safe. Just as Lord Gyo did before me. Unless you would like to join me on the TGX? Perhaps learn to fight a war and survive?" Ryo looked at them all.

"You are not warriors. I am not a politician, but I must balance both worlds as Leader of the Clan. You all manage the Clan while I am away, when I am here, let me do what needs to be done, and by all means, keep me informed. Do not, and I mean this, Vis Damino, question my loyalty or my dedication to Clan Camelin and my people. It is by the will of the people that we remain in charge of the clan. I am not so stupid to realise that if the people so choose, my family can be swept from power and a new Camelin head be emplaced in days if necessary. If that happens, I cannot imagine that you would retain your positions either. We are not in the time of limited communications, or city states fighting over a waterway. We rule sixteen planets, within a Confederacy that contains close to seven hundred worlds, all populated by close to a hundred billion citizens. They tolerate the clan leadership. I heard once that it tends to amuse the larger population more than anything else when we bicker and fight among ourselves. Whehter we all live or die, the Confederacy would live on."

Damino bowed. "Yes, my Lord. I understand and was not questuoning your loyalty. I was expressing the feelings of the people. They do love you, and want to know you are present to guide them, Lord Camelin."

Ryo nodded, then resumed walking down the corridor.

"I intend to guide them, and rule the Clan, and keep it prosperous and strong. Vis Atewal, what is our trading position?"

The tallest man in Clan Camelin, and one of the tallest in the entire Confederacy took up the role of speaker. His deep voice belied his towering form, with a soft yet strong timbre that vibrated as much as it echoed.

"In the overall trade indices, we are fourth. Clans Michelab, Veritas, and Guylian are stronger than us in trade commerce. Food flows to all worlds, our people are well fed and have luxuries. The mood is good, and we have strong trade exports, which exceed our imports. We are in surplus, and have been for the past eighteen cycles."

Ryo paused at the door to his father's chamber, and turned to face the advisors.

"So overall, the people are happy, well fed, and the mood is good?"

"Yes, my Lord. All is well at this time within the zone of Clan Camelin." Vis Macelon replied.

"Excellent, keep it up, and inform me of anything that requires my attention. Otherwise, I will attend my father during his final days." Ryo turned and opened the door to his father's chambers, then ushered Lya in.

"Father? I have returned." Ryo said as he entered the chambers of his aged patriarch. Gyo Camelin looked even older than he had two months ago. The radiation was eating his body from the inside, and his skin was growing more grey and wrinkled with each passing day. His eyes were still bright and full of life though.

The old man held up a feeble hand and Ryo walked over to gently take and kiss it in greeting, then he rose, and beckoned Lya to come closer.

"Did you succeed, my boy?" Gyo asked.

"Father, this is my consort, Lya." Lya curtseyed to the old patriarch and also kissed his hand. Gyo's face broke into a wide smile as he properly caught sight of her.

"Is she?" He asked.

Ryo nodded. "She is from Desinlo, My Lord Camelin. I have returned with her and others of her people. We are going to bring them back to the Confederacy."

"Such good news, my lad, such great news. I was never one for exploration, you know." He said, clasping Lya's hand and patting it gently. "This boy, my Son, wants to explore, not be cooped up in this tower ruling a Clan full of old whiners and peddlers."

Lya laughed, and then knelt so she could get closer to Gyo as he whispered. "My dear, you are positively glowing. Are you carrying?"

Lya blushed, then looked up at Ryo. "Yes, my Lord. We are going to have a child."

Gyo clapped his hands together, and if his legs were still working, would have leapt out of the chair to dance. "My boy, you have done wonderfully. You have made me the happiest I have been since your mother passed. May she rest in Pangea. I just wish I could be there to see your child enter the light."

Lya patted his hand. "I am sure you will be, My Lord."

Gyo chuckled and covered her delicate hand with his gnarled one. "Don't try to fool an old man, my dear. I am not so vain as to not know my own mortality. I will be dead and in Pangea long before your child breathes the air of this world." He leaned back and took a deep breath.

"I have no regrets, Ryo, Lady Lya. None. I have lived a full life and I have had my fair share of joy and sorrow."

A swift knock at the door was followed by a communications officer. "My Lord Camelin. Apologies, my Lords Camelin. There is an urgent message from Clan Michelab. It requires an immediate reply." He said as he stood in the doorway.

"Ryo, you go and deal with that. I am sure the Lady Lya will not object to keep an old man company for a little while?" Gyo said, looking at Lya as she smiled at him.

Lya nodded. "Go, I'll be fine."

Ryo kissed Lya on the cheek and grasped his father's hand briefly before walking out the door with the comm officer to deal with Clan business.

"Now, my Lady Lya, who has so captured my Son with your beauty and wisdom. Please, entertain an old man with tales of your world. Tell me of Desinlo." Gyo asked, eager to listen.

...

"They have sent us an invoice? For eighteen destroyed cobalt warheads?" Ryo said, astonished.

"When did we destroy eighteen of their cobalt weapons... Oh my Gods!" He recalled, eighteen was the number that had swept towards Desinlo, and eighteen had been reduced to atoms by the TGX-2, protecting the planet. They were from Clan Michelab.

He read the message again, it was short and to the point. Eighteen Cobalt warheads, destroyed on deployment by Camelin weapons. Cost per warhead, fifty Regals. The cost didn't matter, the details were what mattered. The missive was signed by Clan Captain Unral Kerilac, of Michelab.

"Send no reply. Now is not the time to deal with this. No acknowledgement, no reply to this message. " He said. Then he looked at the message again and sighed. He did not need a war on his hands while his father lay dying, but a Clan war may lie just around the corner.

...

Later that evening, as Ryo was showing Lya around his home, she asked him about the message. "It concerns your planet, Lya. I would ask that you not concern yourself any more. We will protect you, all of you." He said as he turned her to him, one hand resting protectively on her stomach.

She smiled. "I know, I am still curious though. We are an unknown outside of yourselves, or are we?"

Ryo sat and drew Lya to sit beside him on the couch.

"How long had the Cobalt weapons been used against Desinlo?" He asked after a few seconds' silence.

"The first ones hit four hundred eighty cycles ago. Then every few months, another wave would come in. It was almost like clockwork. We have three weeks before the next wave will appear, driving straight towards Desinlo." She replied, looking at him. "Why, what have you discovered?"

"I know who is making them, and probably launching them. The only remaining question is, why? Why after all this time is this still going on?" Ryo said, rubbing her hands in his own with a tinge of nervousness.

Lya watched his hands rub her own for a second before stopping him with a firm grip. "Commander, you are nervous. I have not seen you nervous before."

"I have already made a decision, Lya. My Clan will follow me into this, with open arms and armed weapons. We are probably going to war in the next few months." Ryo said quietly.

"Which clan, Ryo?" She asked him.

"Michelab. They have been manufacturing the Cobalt projectiles for hundreds of cycles. They sent me a bill for the destruction of the weapons we stopped striking your world a few months ago. I am preparing for a meeting with them in the next few days to discuss things. I do not anticipate this going well though. I think my Clan will be at war fairly soon." Ryo said, holding her hands firmly as he talked.

Lya looked at him, then gently leaned forward and kissed him. "You do not need to go to war for me, Ryo. Let them have the planet. You are already preparing to save my ... our people. Let them have that burnt-out husk of a world, we can start new lives here, with you."

Ryo sighed and brought her into a close embrace. "There is so much more at stake that just that, my Lya. They have been launching these weapons for hundreds of cycles. Your world lies in the middle of the Oxymax Nebula, which is fully enclosed by Camelin territory. Michelab has been violating our space for centuries. For that alone, restitution should be expected."

Lya rose and stepped back from him so suddenly that Ryo thought he had made a grievous error. Then she held out her hand to him. "I am tired, my Lord. Take me to your bed."

Ryo rose and taking her by the hand, led her to his chambers, a flight down from where his Father now slumbered.

As she entered his chambers, she slipped out of the robe that she had been wearing and sat on the soft bed, looking at him expectantly, draped just in a short shift that covered her, but left little to his imagination.

Ryo bent to kiss her, then taking off his jacket, laid it over a table and went to gaze out the large windows that overlooked the Capitol city of Clan Camelin. Home to more than a million citizens alone, on a world that housed more than a hundred times that number.

Behind him, Lya slipped out of the shift and then rose to walk up behind him. Naked, she slid her arms around him from behind and gently caressed his chest, kissing his back. Ryo held her hands, then turned and took her in his arms, kissing her as his large hands caressed her back and buttocks.

Lya twined her arms behind his neck, still kissing him, then hopped as his hands lifted her and he supported them both as she pressed against him, hungrily chewing on his lip as he continued to devour her mouth.

She came up for breath and looked into his deep brown eyes. "My Lord, I am yours. For now and for always. Make me yours, let me feel you."

Ryo walked to the bed and laid her down, then as she lay there, invitingly spread for him, he stripped off his tunic and pants, then laid down beside her.

He ran his fingers over her stomach, now beginning to show the signs of pregnancy, and kissed her, then moved down, kissing her neck, the swell of her breast, then her nipple, then her belly itself.

Lya sighed, her hands idly twisting in his hair as he laved her stomach and nether regions with his lips and tongue, then she gently pulled him so he drew onto her, feeling his hardness as it lay on her leg, close to her lower lips. She wriggled her hips and he slid into her, then she pushed as he moved, and the both of them came together with a soft moan, mouths locked, tongues battling as they continued to love each other and enjoy the sensations coming from below.

...

"Doctor, you are not going to defy me. I am regent of Desinlo, and this child must not be born!" Lya fumed, staring at the Doctor as he stood between her and Jalena.

"You would have me violate my oath to Clan Desinlo? To violate the oath of life giver? Regent, not even you have that power." Solonae said.

"Doctor, she needs to carry a girl, not a boy. A male child from Jalena's genes is not required. It will do irrepraparable damage to the Lari'Sota development." Lya said, sitting down again.

"Jalena is only 24 cycles old, Regent. She can have more children. It only takes two cycles to fully recover from pregnancy. We can also do gene manipulation to guarantee she has a female next time." The Doctor said, trying to soothe the fiery emotions in the room.

"We cannot do that in this case, Doctor. The child must be natural. We may not have the time to wait for another child to be born. Everything hangs in the balance. The entire Lari'Sota breeding plan is at risk. That child that you carry, Jalena, may well be a great danger." Lya said, pointing at the younger woman.

"How can an innocent babe be a danger? We are all pregnant, my Lady. Why is my pregnancy so very different from yours or the other women?" Jalena asked.

"Because it is not female. The Lari'Sota gene sequence requires a female carrier. You hold the final sequence, Jalena. We have known this since your great mother's time. Your future daughter is the final key to the Lari'Sota breeding sequence. There is no information or plan for a male child." Lya said, then rubbed her own stomach.

"Which means what, my Regent?" Jalena asked.

"That child is not part of our plan, therefore, it has no place in this world. I am sorry, Jalena. You will have to give it up. You cannot raise it. You are meant only to raise a girl." Lya said, then got to her feet.

"Doctor, you will make arrangements for the child, upon birth, to be given to another family to raise, Jalena must be prepared to carry another child, and the next one must be a girl." She then turned and walked out of the room and back to her consort who was sitting with his slowly dying father.

The door closed and then Jalena began to cry, all the emotions built-up erupted and she fell to the floor in a sobbing heap. Doctor Solonae came over to her and his strong hands on her shoulders were as a lifeline. She grabbed his wrists and looked at him, tears streaming down her face.

"I have no choice, Hektor. None at all. She is my ruler, my Regent, Her word is law. You will take care of him, won't you? You'll make sure he won't be given to a cruel family, that he will be raised well?"

"Yes, my Jalena, I will be sure to give the child to a good family. He will be well cared for, and will want for nothing. You need to compose yourself now. I will have to also arrange for your mate to be informed his child is stillborn, to allay suspicions." Doctor Solonae said as he helped her to her feet.

...

"Ryo?" Lya came running down the stairs, careful as she was beginning to put on weight so was always more careful now with her footing. She ran into one of the Clan Advisers. "Where is Lord Camelin?" She asked, a bit out of breath.

"In the comm room, my Lady." The adviser said, then lead the way to the chamber, where Lya saw Ryo in a conversation with somebody over the Comm channel. He hung up the comm as she came in and turned to her, she rushed into his arms, then looked at him frantically.

"What is wrong, my Lya?" He asked.

"Ryo, your father. It is time. He is passing." She said. They made their way quickly back up to his father's chambers, where the old man was sitting in his chair, looking out over the view of the city from a kim in the air. Where he could see everything that he controlled and was protected by him.

Ryo could see from the colour of his skin, that the old man had only a short time left, his skin had a blue tinge to it as the oxygen flow was being cut off by the radiation destroying the capillaries and red blood cells. He would be beginning to hemorrhage internally as his organs began to disintegrate.

Ryo went up to him, and looked at his father as he held up a vial of powerful painkiller. "Soon, my boy. Very soon." Gyo Camelin said. Seconds after Ryo would inject the medicine, the pain would subside and the soporific element would put Gyo to sleep. Minutes later, a slow electrical suppressor would stop his heart. The radiation was terminal, and Clan Doctors had prepared the dosage for when the pain got too much.

"I can see the stars, my boy. I know that it's radiation impacting behind my retina, but it is still stars to me. You have managed to touch those stars. I commanded the ship, but you can lead it, my Ryo." He reached out and took Ryo's hand in his, in a very firm grip. He reached out with his other hand, and Lya took it in hers. Gyo put their hands together in his grip, then patted them.

"You are good for each other. I am glad for that, I have seen love grow, and that prepares my journey to Pangea. Now, my boy. Help me to sleep." Gyo said, and then relaxed as Ryo injected him with the medicine.

Minutes later, he carefully put his fathers' lifeless hands on his lap in a comfortable position, then called for the attendants.

"Do you wish to be alone, Ryo?" Lya asked him gently after the attendants had guided the chair with his father's body on it out of the chamber to prepare him for his journey to the Gates of Pangea.

"No, Lya. I would like you to stay with me." Ryo said. "I have been aware this day would come for many months now. We both were. It is still a shock, but not unexpected."

"I never told you before, but I liked your father, Ryo. He was a charming man, and very much the Clan Lord and gentleman as well. He treated me with the utmost respect at all times." She said, holding Ryo's hand and rubbing her other hand up and down his back in an effort to sooth him.

"I thank you for that, Lya." Ryo said, leaning to kiss her. "You brightened his last days, he almost seemed like his old self again. In the end, I think he truly was happy again, and at peace."

She smiled at him. "Come, I am hungry, this babe needs food at such odd times, my Lord Ryo." She said as one hand came to rest on her stomach, now beginning to show the swell of pregnancy.

...

"Lord Camelin, the Gates of Pangea have been prepared for the final journey of Gyo Camelin." intoned the Gatekeeper. "Do you have the price?"

Ryo nodded and stepping forward, picked up a single Regal coin from a length of azure cloth that was draped over his Father's casket.

"The price for passage is One Regal. I have it here." He said.

The Gatekeeper opened a small wood box. "Place the price in the box, my Lord." Ryo put the coin in the box and it disappeared under the Gatekeeper's robes.

Ryo watched, with Lya by his side, as the transport lifted off. Within it's mauve shell lay the casket that contained his father's body. That ship would transit Neospace until it reached the Pangea system, at the heart of the Confederacy. There, the casket would be released to fall into the centre, where a singularity lay wrapped in a cloud of debris and gas that made it into the only stable black hole in the Center Worlds.

"Will you do that for me, Ryo?" Lya asked as the transport slipped into Neospace.

He turned to her, and lifted her chin so he could look into her deep azure eyes. "For you, my Lya, I will journey to the very gates themselves, and see you escorted within. I will shout at the Gods to be warned. Lya Desinlo is coming. The woman of a Clan they forgot. I will tell them to tremble, because you are a force to be reckoned with."

She reached her arms up to pull his head down and kissed him, fully and deeply.

Chapter 1.4

Saving Desinlo - Oxymax Nebula -32 BA

A week later, as Lya lay sedated in his quarters, Ryo and the rest of the TGX crew made a Vortex jump along with a full flight of battle ready ships from Camelin space. The ships took up neospace corridors through the Oxymax Nebula and emerged in the bubble in the centre, then split off to take up positions from all known entry points for the previous attacks upon the planet. This time, they would be ready to defend Desinlo.

Lya came onto the bridge as the ships were veering off to take up their positions, and took the seat that Captain Kalen indicated. She quietly watched as the bridge crew went about their business, and watched as the Commander and Captain laid out a complex tactical plan on the charts to ensure every possible contingency was prepared for.

"Based upon Intel from Desinlo, the next attack will occur anytime between now and the next fifty-six hours. We have N'Gouras spread around every neospace entry point, most of them in the cloud itself, with sensor suites primed, but no other power radiating. Hopefully, they will look like dust concentrations." Kalen reported.

"Once we detect the ship, I want it positively identified, but no action against it. Let it deploy and then jump, then we will deal with the incoming." Ryo said. Cato passed the message through the Camelin lines.

Kalen went over to the navigation station, where the two officers sat at the controls. One actually flew the gigantic starship by way of a steering column and control throttles, while the other watched the many screens and sensor panels that indicated control and orientation in all dimensions. "Hold our course steady. We want to be ready to shift into Neospace as soon as the other ship jumps, so that we can get in front of the projectiles." Kalen said, his hand resting on the back of the control couches both officers sat in.

"Same plan as before, Commander. We slide sideways towards Desinlo at speed?" One of the officers asked.

Ryo nodded. "It worked last time, no reason not to do it again. This time, we'll have a lot more opportunity to eliminate the weapons without having to go nuclear though."

He turned to Lya. "We've already sent word to the city. The shield is pumped to maximum, and with our teams having worked on it, even if we do miss any, they will be deflected hundreds of kims from the capitol."

She smiled a small smile at him, and continued to sit, watching everything. Her hand unconsciously rubbing her swelling stomach where their unborn child was growing.

"We have contact, N'Goura eighteen reports ship dropping out ... of Vortex! Commander, it's the TGX-9. Reading Cobalt Weapons on board. It is deploying! Ship has returned to Vortex. We have a positive ID." Tactical reported.

"They have a Vortex route through the nebula?" Kalen said. "How many projectiles, and what range?"

"Fourteen, Sir. They are eighty million kims distant. We can still catch them in plenty of time." Tactical replied.

"Navigation, fire us up. Get us ahead of them and let's plow the fields." Ryo said, then grabbed hold of the main console as the ship rumbled to life and slewed around onto a new course.

"N'Gouras are pairing up and shifting into Neospace. They are taking up a tactical deployment one million kims from the planet. They will chase down any we miss." Kalen reported as he watched the displays.

The ship dropped out of Neospace and pivoted around it's flightpath, engines flaring as they shifted it's mass against the direction of flight so the giant ship began to sideslip, keeping pace with the fourteen cobalt weapons now streaming towards the planet far below, but closing fast.

"Relativistic guns, 200,000 kims Open fire. Full Interdiction pattern, heavy radiation spread." Ryo ordered as Kalen barked "Lances, interference blow, 100,000 kims, make it hot out there!"

Vibrations throughout the ship indicated the weapons had begun to fire, spreading a lethal fence of high energy cobalt particles as well as nearly nova heat in a plasma wave that would catch the projectiles as they streamed towards the planet.

"We have twelve, ten, six, three, zero projectiles remaining. All projectiles destroyed. Plasma shockwave is removing cobalt residue. We are in the Clear, Commander." Tactical reported.

"Shift us around and get into a stable orbit. Let's make sure the planet survived without damage." Ryo said as the ship spun on it's axis and began to manoeuvre into a proper orbital insertion.

Within a few minutes, the ship was in High Orbit, and sensors were very active. Science reported back within a few more minutes. No damage, no impacts, and no effects. A cheer rose from the bridge crew as the reports came in, and Lya stood. "Thank you." She said to Ryo, however it was Sergeant Cato who replied for all of them. "Ma'am, we won't let you die. Not like this. When you die, it should be in comfort, with people you love all around you. Not like this, alone, in war. We took an oath. You are under our protection and we will protect you."

Ryo remained on board the TGX as Kalen went down with Lya to check on the status of the population.

He walked over to Cato. "Who is in command of the TGX-9, Sergeant?"

She pulled up the roster. "Commander Myo Michelab, Sir. Leader of Clan Michelab."

Ryo tapped the top of her console, then turned and went back to the command console. He was forming a plan, but now was not the time to begin it.

A few hours later, Kalen called from the surface. "Commander, we need to clear the planet."

"What has happened, Captain?" Ryo asked.

"The Cobalt radiation has seeped under the shield. The groundwater is almost totally contaminated. Soil levels have increased to more than 100 times background. The shield is stopping the atmospheric, but physical levels are increasing far beyond the ability for the biosphere to maintain. We've got to get everybody off. Leave a skeleton crew here in rad gear, and prepare to hit the entire planet with nano pods." Kalen explained.

"It's gotten that bad, Kalen?" Ryo said as he signalled for Cato to link up to the massive transport that stayed on the outside of the system for such a contingency.

"We'll use all the N'Gouras as transports. I'm bringing in the carrier now. We'll pull everybody off within the day." Ryo said as he got Kalen's confirmation and also began to see the reports. "Let's get all of our people to safety, then we can look at clensing Desinlo."

By the end of the following day, The Transport was in low orbit and the N'Goura's along with every shuttle on the TGX-2 were playing the role of ferry. Transporting thousands of citizens up to the massive transport that was larger than the TGX, but not designed for battle.

Ryo had been planning this for months, as soon as they had returned to Clanworld Camelin, he had got the master architects to begin contraction on a new section of the city. Designed to look like Desinlo's city, it was built twelve kims from the skyhook base, over an area that used to be a swamp but had been reclaimed and had been laid fallow for construction decas ago. Lya had no idea what had been going on as Ryo's father's chamber did not face that section of the city, and his consort did not do much journeying out during the months his father had slowly passed away. This was a surprise to her as much as to the dislocated population of the Clanworld.

Loaded up with every citizen from the broken Clanworld and their possessions, the transport slowly lumbered out of orbit, escorted by the TGX-2 and shifted into Neospace for the three hour journey through the nebula. Once clear, the ship accelerated to full Neospace velocity and eighteen hours after that, began to decelerate into low orbit over Clanworld Camelin, the TGX-2 keeping pace.

The air was different, the gravity was a bit heavier than Desinlo, the sun shone with a more bluish light than home, but the planet was alive. As the travellers disembarked, to be welcomed by smiling Clan Camelin staff and escorted to their new homes, a feeling of joy replaced the sorrow and despondence that had fallen over the entire populace. Lya was amazed at what had been built, and showered Ryo with affection for what he had done for her people. He gently corrected her, Our People.

Lya Desinlo began to truly call Clanworld Camelin home, and only left it two more times in her lifetime.

Chapter 2

Gya's Birth \- Clanworld Camelin -31 BA

The sound of a strongly crying infant reached the ears of Ryo and Lya as she rested in the healing waters of the birthing pool. The water swirled around them, drawing away the blood and mucus, and cleaning the body of mother and child as they welcomed the newest member of both clans into the world.

"What do you wish her named, Ryo?" Lya breathed as she gazed upon the face of their daughter.

"We can name her Gya, after my Father. This House god is Nysa, do you want traditional naming?" He murmured as he leaned over and kissed Lya's sweat-soaked forehead, her body still reeling from the birthing effort.

"She is the first of a new dawn for this Clan, and for yours. We should be both Traditional and modern. How about Gya Helvanyso Camelin?"

Ryo smiled and kissed his consort. "Not Camelin, she must carry your clan name forward so we can bring you back into the Confederacy. She needs to be Desinlo."

"Gya Helvanysa Desinlo then, female tense on everything."

...

Jalena screamed as the baby's head crowned. The birth maidens carefully helped her, two of them holding her legs as another bathed her forehead with a cool cloth while her body heaved and struggled to bring the new life into the world.

She was wracked with emotion, Kalen was gone, off on patrol when the contractions hit and even though a message had been sent off, she knew that he was too far away to be back in time. This birth would be hers alone. The child also would be gone by the time he returned, he would not have a son to carry his name.

She sighed with relief as the rest of the baby's body slipped free of her and then she heard the cry of him as he was brought out of the birthing pool and took his first breath of air.

The maidens laid him on her chest and she caressed him briefly before signalling, and he was taken away, never to be seen by her again. One of the maidens turned to her as she swaddled the infant in warm cloth. "Mistress, do you have a name for him?"

"Give him Lyo. It is a strong name, for a strong boy." Jalena said, then slipped away into unconsciousness as fresh blood suddenly flowed from her.

...

Viktor was frantic, but was unable to see his mate. He fought with the medical staff until Doctor Solonae came out and confronted him.

"Understand me, Captain. Jalena has sufferd a septic infection caused by the birth. The placenta tore while it was coming from her and she hemoraged. It nearly killed her, and it took the life of your son. She is heavily sedated, and she must rest to recover."

"My son is gone? But she will live, right? Jalena will survive this?" Kalen asked him, his eyes searching the other man's face.

"Yes, Jalena will survive this. She may even be able to carry another child. Of that, I am not yet certain though. Only time will tell if she is able to bring another child to term. Captain, I am so sorry for your loss. We did not expect this type of complication, it is very rare to occur at all." The Doctor said, resting a hand on Viktor's shoulder.

"What caused it to happen, do you have any ideas?" Viktor asked after a short time.

"Possibly the long-term exposure to the cobalt radiation weakened the blood vessels of the reproductive system. Remember, the child was conceived on Desinlo, we did not have access to the modern medical facilities here on Malis. Once the child was growing, we did not dare inject nanos into the mother for fear they may impact the developing child. It is far too dangerous." Solonae explained.

He turned and opened the door so Viktor could see his mate sleeping on a bed, with medical systems tracking her biological movements. "Go, be with Jalena. I will keep you informed of any changes."

...

Ryo and Lya very much enjoyed being in the presence of their first child. Little Gya wanted for nothing, and the Clan population also rejoiced at the birth of their Leader's daughter. Celebrations spread across the planet and through Clan space. Even the Lord Emperor sent his congratulations, although he could not make the journey in person, due to age.

As young Gya grew into an adorable toddler, Ryo discussed with Lya the need for her to learn how things had changed over the centuries that she had been isolated. She accepted his offer to travel to Tara as a student of History to learn all about the modern Confederacy. This was done in secret, she travelled under the Camelin name, with identity papers that showed her as being born to the Clan leaders, but not directly associated with Ryo. Lya spent a Cycle on Tara, absorbing everything she could about the culture and how many changes had occurred. She was always protected, Ryo felt no fear while she was gone. He knew that a member of the Lari'Sota, an order of royal companions was always with her, and then she was back. Tanned, looking even more healthy than before, and full of life and new knowledge.

She was also very hungry for Ryo, and they spent the next four days in his chambers as she showed him just how much she had missed him.

Gya did not remember her mother after such a long absence, but that soon changed, and the little girl was back to her happy self within days, Lya also brought with her a Lari'Sota companion for her daughter, to act as a nanny and to help raise the girl. Tiana was dedicated and loving. Also nursing, so that Gya would have mother's milk as needed until the babe was ready to wean.

Her people had settled into Clan Camelin and were strongly integrating. Lya was pleased that so many marriages and couplings had occurred, her people were happy, and the planet was at peace. In her absence, the Cobalt Projectiles had continued to be fired every four months, but the weapon platforms concealed around Desinlo made short work of them once the Michelab ship had jumped back into Vortex or Neospace.

Ryo had not challenged Michelab, simply ignored the single message, and there had been no more, so he did not concern himself with them much, except that he had begun to reduce trade with that clan in favour of other clans that could supply the same materials, even if they were a higher cost. He began to slowly pull his support away from Michelab. So slowly that nobody even noticed, except those who watched numbers.

Ryo spent half his time on his planet with Lya, the other half was spent on the orbiting battlecruisr that made regular patrols around the rim of Camelin space to protect the border and let all the citizen know that they were protected. On these sojourns, the immense starship came into orbit over each of the sixteen worlds that were under the Camelin flag and stayed for a short time, so Ryo could administer clan needs, then it journeyed onwards.

Things remained at peace for almost three full cycles, then as always, change occurred, and not for the better.

Chapter 2.1

Collateral Damage - Clanworld Camelin -28 BA

"Commander, incoming transmission. High band priority. Planetary distress signal. It's Clanworld Desinlo, they report an attack by Clan Kerilac?"

Ryo woke with a start as the comm buzzed in his ear. He was out of his bed in an instant, pulling on some clothes as he strode to the intercom. "How long until we can get underway, Kalen?"

"We already are, I just broke orbit. Four minutes to Vortex."

"Kalen, we can't use Vortex into Oxymax. We don't have a mapped corridor." Ryo said as he pulled on a tunic and then walked out of his quarters and began to stride towards the main bridge.

"You still have a lot to learn about these ships, Commander. We took some very detailed readings after Michelab had been using Vortex to drop the Cobalt Projectiles. We have mapped new potential Vortex pathways, and now is the time to use them. If that planet is under attack, Neospace will get us there in enough time to see the radiation plume. With Vortex, we can prevent the attack, or at least defend the world."

Ryo walked onto the bridge as he finished buttoning his tunic. "Let's finish preparations for a Vortex jump then. Tactical, bring everything online. We will be coming out of Vortex hot, and I want everything in that system painted and ready for identification. We may only have seconds to act, so we have to be ready. Sync with the main computer, I think we'll need to use AC for rapid targeting, if they have already deployed missiles."

The TGX-2 pulled itself out of orbit and it's engines flared as it accelerated up to Vortex insertion. A glowing disk of chromatic energy flared around it as it shifted into a chaotic miasma of hyperspatial energy. Seconds later, an explosion of Chromatic energy slightly above high orbit of Desinlo signalled the emergence of the battlecruiser.

"Targets acquired, six corsairs, four cruisers, two missile frigates. All within striking range. Missiles detected, both fusion and antimatter warheads armed. Missiles are already on final trajectories!" Tactical reported as targets swum into view on the main displays.

"AC, Weapons control to you. Target and destroy all warheads, now." Ryo ordered.

The TGX-2's primary computer took over weapons control and within the span of three seconds, laser lances all over the ship fired and turned to slag over a hundred warheads and missiles that were mostly already in the atmosphere of the Clanworld below.

"Tactical, fire a Mainframe across the bow of the lead ship. Then open a channel."

A weapon port on the bow of the TGX flared, and a burst of energy lanced forward, across the bow of the lead missile frigate. The bow partially melted from the close pass of the massive energy wave, and discharges flowed over the hull of the ship, sending lightning flashes all over it as it began to slowly tumble.

"This is TGX-2, Commander Camelin on board. Who is attacking a planet under Clan Camelin's protection?"

"Leave this space, TGX-2. This is a non-aligned world and we are taking retributive action under the Articles of Confederacy Section 16, sub-section 3."

Ryo narrowed his eyes. "You have five standards to rotate your ships and begin departure of this system. This system is within the border of Clan Camelin and is under my protection. If you disagree, take it up with Tara Command. Now, get out of this system."

"You have no jurisdiction here, Camelin. This system is non-aligned. We will continue to clean up refuse, you will stand off and can enjoy the fireworks."

"Commander, the missile frigates are arming another wave of fusion missiles. They are approaching medium orbital range of the planet. Sensors indicate there have been some weapon strikes on the planet already. Unable to determine targets, but the city shield is not functional." Kalen reported.

"Kalen, there are Confederacy citizens on board those ships. What do I do?" Ryo asked. It was one thing to destroy unmanned missiles, but to fire on Confederacy ships filled with crews from other Clans?

Kalen was shocked. This was the first time since he had taken command that Ryo Camelin ever seemed unsure of himself.

"Sir, we pledged to protect this world. We have evacuated most of the population, but there are still crews down there running Nano clouds to clean up the Cobalt poisoning. Antimatter or fusion warheads will destroy billions of our Nanos, and put back or totally defeat our efforts. Those may be Confederacy ships, but they are not from our Clan. Commander, they have crossed our territory with hostile intent. This is one of our worlds, and it is in dire need of defence. To Helva's heart with the Confederacy, this is one of our Clanworlds and it needs our help." Kalen stated as he watched the readouts of the ships still on an approach vector.

Ryo nodded. "Agreed. Put me through to the lead ship, on Actual."

"Captain Kerilac on Actual, sir." came the response.

"Captain, this is Commander Camelin. I will only say this once, withdraw or I will open fire. There has been bloodshed already, I do not wish more. However, I will defend a Clanworld against aggression, from any source."

"Commander, this is the Desinlo world, they have been banished. Surely you are not serious. They are not part of the Confederacy." He heard the earnest tones in Kerilac's voice. The main believed what he was doing was justified.

"Captain, I understand your thoughts and feelings. However, these are my people. Stand down, or I will stand you down by force." He signalled, and the channel was terminated.

"Continue to target the ships, if they make any hostile moves towards the planet, disable all their engines, otherwise, do not fire."

The attacking fleet slowed, then began a slow banking turn and began to climb back to high orbit.

"Commander Camelin, I will be filing a formal protest with Tara Command about your actions on this day. We will meet again, Sir." The fleet shifted into neospace and was soon in the miasma surrounding the system.

"Check our crews, Kalen. See what damage has been done." Ryo asked as reports began to flow in from the damaged world, now more damaged by missile attacks upon it. Hours later, they were finishing the reports, ensuring no real damage was done. Three airbursts had destroyed a number of nano pods, but the nanos were already rebuilding themselves. None of the crews were injured, they had all gone to a shelter below the main city when the sensors detected the ships. The TGX-2 had destroyed any weapons capable of actually hurting the crews. Planetary reconstruction had been set back by six months, but was still able to be completed. Ryo was talking with Kalen about how to best assist the crew when they heard a shrill beep from Cato's comm station.

"Commander, I'm getting a priority from home. That Michelab fleet just dropped out of neospace right in high orbit. Defences are firing, but they have launched a full missile volley!" Cato reported, eyes suddenly shining with tears.

"Launch a wing of Superiority fighters to support Desinlo. Let's get back home as fast as we can." Kalen ordered. Then walked over and stabbed controls in front of stunned officers. "Our world is under attack, people. This ship can protect it. Let's do our job and protect. We are jumping, now!"

The TGX launched a full spread of fighters to land and help the crews on the planet below, then shifted into Vortex drive and sped back towards Clanworld Camelin. Arriving in time to witness the small warfleet jump back into neospace and see mushroom clouds and shockwaves rippling through the atmosphere.

"Do we pursue, Commander?" Kalen asked.

"No." Ryo said. "We help our people. Then we'll get the bastards who did this."

The TGX pulled into medium orbit and hard docked to the Skyhook, which had not sustained damage, mostly due to it's weapon mounts that had killed four of the attacking ships and shot down over sixty missiles as they approached.

"Commander, there was an Airburst. Over the capitol. We have a lot of casualties." Kalen reported.

"Get us down there, Kalen. We have to help our people, all of them." Ryo said as the ship completed docking procedures.

Lya was found in a pile of rubble that used to be a mall. She had been helping get families to safety at the base of the skyhook tower when the Airburst had detonated. She had fallen on top of and was wrapped around a young boy by the name of Lyo. Both his parents had been killed by the attack and she had been guiding him into the shelter when the building had collapsed. Her body had taken the brunt of the impact, so he was unharmed. Her back had been broken in several places, the spinal cord shattered and nerves torn apart. This type of injury was beyond any known medical science to repair. She was paralysed.

Little Gya was safe, she had been with the house Lari'Sota when the attacks began and had been rushed to a shelter deep below the surface, where not even a ground detonation would reach them.

...

"Kalen?"

"Yes, Commander?"

Ryo sat at the edge of the bed, Lya was finally sleeping, the worst of her injuries healed, the constant nerve pain from her shattered spinal cord numbed enough to allow her some rest. Ryo felt haggard, Lya was alive, but so many people had been killed, and he needed to know why.

"What is the final count?"

"We have finished our assessments, along with the city teams, we've got more than sixty-five thousand dead, mostly in the Capitol. Over a thousand buildings collapsed or so badly damaged they will have to be demolished and rebuilt. I'd estimate damages at well over a million Regals."

Ryo breathed softly. Fifty Thousand Regals would buy a small city, a million was enough to buy half a continent on some worlds. "Do we have a positive ID on the attacking ships?"

"Yes, Commander. They are confirmed to be the fleet that tried to hit Desinlo. Definitely from Clan Michelab. However, specific profiles on the crews indicate they are actually remnants of Clans Kerilac and Jasinlo. Those Clans were absorbed into Michelab a hundred cycles past."

"Clan Michelab's territory ends two hundred lengths beyond our borders. Clan Faniruf is in between us and them. You mean to tell me that fleet flew through two Clan regions, no flight plans filed, to drop this attack?" Ryo asked.

"That is what it appears, Commander. We've already contacted Clan Faniruf, no flight or travel plans had been filed in this direction for any ships in the past ten turns. This is looking like a rogue act." Kalen said.

"Send a message to Tara Command. We're coming in, let them know I want a meeting with Commander Myo, of Clan Michelab."

"Understood, Sir. I'll get the ship readied for flight." Kalen replied.

"Make my quarters ready for two, I'm bringing Lya with us. It's time we brought Desinlo back into the fold, and I'll be damned to Helva if I let her suffer any longer in silence."

Ryo closed the comm and noticed movement. He looked up to see young Lyo standing in the doorway.

"What do you need, lad?" He asked quietly.

"I'm unable to sleep, Sir. I have fears about what happened. Will your, will the Lady be all right?" the young six-cycle old asked, stepping into the chamber tentatively.

Ryo held out his arm and the boy came to him, and Ryo sat him on the bed so they could both see Lya sleeping.

"She will never walk again. However, she saved you, so that tells me you must be somebody special." Ryo said.

"I'm not special. My mother is from, was from Clan Desinlo. My father was a Trader Captain from this world." He said, eyes downcast.

"Ryo?" He looked up and saw Lya had rolled over and was watching them both.

"How do you feel, my Lady?" Ryo asked.

"I am sore, but the pain is beginning to subside. Is that Lyo?" She replied, then held out her arm and the young boy crawled over the bed to her. Lya pulled him into a tight embrace.

She looked over his head to Ryo. "He has nobody else, my Lord. I will raise him alongside Gya."

Ryo nodded. "What you wish becomes my command, my Lady."

Late the next day, Lya had completed all of the medical treatments they could do, the bones had healed, as many of the nerves had been repaired as possible, and the pain had finally been consumed into a persistent dull ache that was the reminder, along with lost function to her legs, that she would never properly walk again.

She could walk, with two people assisting her, her legs did work, but the linkage that allowed for her to coordinate balance was severed. So her legs were unable to adjust muscles and shift to hold her upright without assistance. She was not actually crippled, but in all aspects, she may as well have been. Lya began to get used to living in a Travel Chair.

She came with Ryo on board the orbiting battlecruiser, and was made comfortable in his quarters as the ship prepared to break orbit. The TGX-2 pulled out of orbit, and once they were fully clear on the Clanworld, jumped into Vortex for the transit to Tara, the central world of the Confederacy. Lya lay sedated as the ship transited Vortex, so she did not feel the adverse effects of it, and woke soon after they emerged, so that she was fully alert by the time the ship slid into a stable orbit around the homeworld.

The TGX-2 dropped out of Vortex flight on the outskirts of the Tara system, and moved inwards using realspace drives. Armed mainframe platforms tracked the ship's movement, and multiple missile batteries scanned and targeted it as it drew closer to the homeworld of the Confederacy.

Ryo looked up as the primary console trilled, indicating they were within Actual range of the planet. He picked up the Comm unit. "Put me through to the Palace, please."

At the comm officer's acknowledgement, Ryo spoke into the unit.

"This is TGX-2, requesting low orbit insertion and landing rights for an immediate meeting with the Grand Council on a matter of Clan Territory violation. Clan Leader Ryo Camelin will be attending."

A few seconds pause, then "Grand Council acknowledges. Orbit approved. We will assemble in one turn, Welcome to Tara, TGX-2."

Chapter 2.2

Meet The Emperor - Royal Palace, Tara -28 BA

"Ryo, I am very nervous about this." Lya said as he helped her into her travel chair. Her flowing gown making her look like she was sitting in a cloud of glowing silver threads.

"I know, my love. However, this must be dealt with, all of it, now. We have active flights of Cruisers and Superiority fighters in orbit right now who will stop any future attacks long enough for the TGX-2 to return home and defend either planet, if necessary. They have orders to destroy any incoming craft not approved." Ryo explained as he feathered her gown to make her look even more elegant than she already did.

She raised a hand to his lips. "However, they are not enough to defend our space forever. I agree. Finally meeting the Grand Council. I did not envision my first time in that hall being in a travel chair."

Ryo had refused a Tara shuttle, preferring to fly down on a TGX ship, so he and Lya were in comfort as the ship descended. The shuttle landed, ports opened, and they disembarked, to be greeted by the usual smattering of adjutants and junior advisers.

"Lord Camelin, so glad to see you again."

"It has been far too long, My Lord."

"Who is the lovely lady you are escorting?"

Ryo smiled grimly at the group. "This is Regent Lya Desinlo. Now get out of my way, and let me see Emperor Masilec."

He guided Lya's travel chair through the group of suddenly silent advisers and into the palace itself, leaving them to buzz among themselves and open comm channels to give the sudden news. A member of Clan Desinlo was on Tara, with the leader of Clan Camelin.

Lya reached up and squeezed his hand. "I did not know you were on terms with the Emperor, my Lord."

"He is my cousin, by marriage, four parents ago. We have faced challenges together and I trust his judgement above most, including his own Father." Ryo said, eyes watching everything as he walked her into the palace.

"I am not too sure I understand." Lya said, feeling a bit confused.

"Tyo Masilec is the Emperor in waiting, he's almost thirteen cycles now. His father, Kyo Masilec, is the current Lord Emperor of the Confederacy. When he passes to Pangea, Tyo will ascend to the throne. Kyo is demented, and may take some getting used to."

Ryo stepped around the chair and pushed open some doors, then guided Lya's chair into another set of corridors. They soon heard a booming voice loudly proclaiming who was mad enough to say such things about the Clan Camelin, then coming into a large anteroom, young Emperor Masilec turned and saw the both of them.

He strode over and clasped both of Ryo's hands. "Lord Camelin, so it is true. Well met, my Good Sir." He then released Ryo's hands and stepped back to get a better look at this new person from Clan Desinlo.

"You are Lady Lya, of Clan Desinlo?" Tyo asked.

Lya sat straight in her chair. "Correction, Emperor, I am Regent Lya Jalanysa, leader of Clan Desinlo. It is good to finally meet you – I earnestly wish it was under better circumstances."

Tyo bowed. "My apologies, Regent. I was misinformed. Being you travel with the Lord of Clan Camelin, I can see that there has been a lot of rapport building going on since Desinlo was last in this palace."

Ryo nodded. "Yes, Tyo. I am bringing Clan Desinlo back into the Confederacy. Regent Lya is here to represent her Clan at the Grand Council meeting this eve."

Tyo looked at his cousin. "You know the Lord Emperor may not approve of this. In fact, he might totally disapprove of it. Then again, he may welcome you with open arms. Do you wish armour, or do I just keep him out of arms' reach of knives today?" He finished with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Ryo smiled grimly. "We lost close to seventy thousand citizens a few weeks ago in an unprovoked attack upon our world. It also took from her the ability for Regent Lya to walk unassisted. I am here for retribution, and to present Clan Desinlo, under the flag of Camelin, as a proper member of the Confederacy again. Enough time has passed, and we need allies, not enemies, Tyo."

"An attack? Upon your Clanworld, or Clanworld Desinlo?"

"Both, Emperor. It was approved by the articles of Confederacy as written by the elders." A new voice interrupted.

Clan Leader Myo Michelab strode into the meeting room, followed by a number of other members of his clan, some in uniform, some in robes of office.

"Myo, I am surprised to see you here." Tyo said, and walking over, grasped the outstretched hands in the traditional Taran greeting.

"I was summoned, by Lord Camelin, to a meeting of the Grand Council." Myo replied, eyes darting to Ryo, Lady Lya, and then back to Tyo.

"Indeed, and that meeting will commence in just a few more minutes." Tyo said, then turning. "Ryo, Lady Lya, if you will all accompany me, we can sojourn to the Grand Council chambers."

"Who is this Lady?" Myo asked, his officers murmuring amongst themselves.

"You should know the face of your enemy, Michelab. This is Regent Desinlo, of the world you allowed to be attacked in a cowardly assault deep into my territory." Ryo snapped.

One of the officers reflexively pulled his sidearm and was suddenly face-to-face with Ryo Camelin, who had a weapon pressed against the other man's chin. "Drop your weapon, or you will die where you stand, Captain."

Before either man could make another move, Tyo's voice boomed out. "Everybody remain calm, and back away." As he said it, the room opened up and a phalanx of soldiers walked in, weapons drawn and every person there, save for Tyo and Lya, were quickly surrounded by the armed soldiers who separated the two parties efficiently.

Tyo stood beside the travel chair, one hand resting casually on the headrest, and glared at the Clansmen assembled before him. "Members of the Great Clans of the Confederacy. I am shocked by this behaviour. This is the Royal Palace, on Tara. It is My ground. Until and unless I say so, nobody will be doing any shooting of anyone, understood?"

Ryo dropped his sidearm and took another step back away from the guard's rifle as the Michelab Captain replaced his own weapon in the holster.

"Clansman Michelab, control your people, or they will be put into irons. Clansman Camelin, return to your charming companion and do not leave her side again." Tyo said, then signalled the guards, who sheathed their own arms, but remained close.

"Clansman Michelab, your group may go to the Grand Council chamber now, unless you need to freshen up?"

"No, My Emperor. We are prepared." Myo said, and he turned, followed by his group, and they exited the meeting room, followed by a large number of the guards.

Tyo impatiently waved the other guards away, and they vanished back into the other corridors of the palace as silently as they had appeared.

"They are efficient. You have gotten quick in your old age, Ryo. I haven't seen you move that fast in many cycles."

"I have reason to be faster now, Tyo. Commanding the TGX, ruling the Clan, making friends all over the Confederacy. It keeps me dancing." Ryo said without mirth.

Tyo nodded. "Come on, we'd better go. The Grand Council loves to procrastinate, and what you have to say will keep them in earnest discussions for a cycle or more."

Chapter 2.3

The Grand Council, Tara -28 BA

"The Grand Council recognizes Lord Ryo Camelin, leader of Clan Camelin." came the announcement, and Ryo stood, then walked to the comm in front of the Camelin dais.

"Grand Council, Clansmen, Members of the Confederacy. I bring grave news, and a heinous charge. Three weeks ago, an unprovoked attack upon two of the Clansworlds deep within my territory was carried out by a group of missile frigates and corsairs. Although we managed to defend both planets, significant damage was done to my Capitol city, and many tens of thousands of my citizens were killed, with even more injured. The Clansmen behind the attack are from Clan Michelab, and have been summoned here to answer for this crime."

"Tell them which Clanworld was struck first, Clansman Camelin. Let them know your own betrayal before you accuse us of treason." Myo Michelab said from his own dais.

"The first world that was attacked, as my Clansman would ask me to identify, was Clanworld Desinlo, deep within the Oxymax Nebula. Fully within my territory." Ryo replied calmly.

"Desinlo is not Confederacy!"

"Clanworld Desinlo has been banished, there is no crime here!"

"Desinlo was cast out over a thousand turns ago, Camelin has no right to defend it."

"Desinlo still exists?" Said a new voice that boomed over top of the rabble and everyone quietened down as the aged Lord Emperor Kyo Masilec rode onto the council floor on an ornate travel chair. "Clanworld Desinlo has been distant from this chamber for a very long time. That name has not been mentioned for many hundreds of cycles. Who speaks of it now?"

"A dispute over an attack upon the planet. Clansmen Camelin and Michelab are at odds, Lord Emperor." came the Council Archivist's reedy voice.

"Why is there a dispute? A planet was attacked, people are dead? Who is responsible?" The Lord Emperor asked as he looked around the council, with the heads of every clan in attendance.

"Clan Michelab authorized a raid on a non-aligned world under Article 16 of Confederacy. We are within the law, Lord Emperor."

"Council Archivist, read Article 16." Kyo said.

"Article 16, any world within the borders not aligned or under protection of a Clan is considered free territory for appropriation or any other means, aside from wholesale destruction.
Section 1 – Destruction of the biosphere is not permitted

Section 2 – Destruction of the atmosphere is not permitted

Section 3 – Damage caused by non-radiative weapons is permitted."

"My Lord Emperor. Under Section 3, I authorized the use of Neutron and Antimatter warheads to attack this world. Clan Camelin intercepted and destroyed a number of the weapons, and did grave damage to one of my missile frigates. We expect compensation from Clan Camelin for the damage to the vessel and loss of the missiles." Myo Michelab stated.

Kyo frowned. "I recall it had been spoken that two worlds had been attacked. Which was the other world?"

"Clanworld Camelin, My Lord Emperor." Ryo said.

Kyo turned in his chair to directly address Clan Michelab. "Although the Articles of Confederacy do give some lenience in times of trouble for attacks upon non-aligned worlds. This is the world of a very active clan, not some backwater place. Under what authority did you attack it?"

"Under my authority, Lord Emperor." Myo replied. "The Clan battleship prevented a valid attack upon Clanworld Desinlo. We took the next target of opportunity. Clanworld Camelin."

Kyo looked at the Clan leader. "Are you declaring war, Clansman?"

"If Clan Camelin continues to protect those from Desinlo, then yes, I believe we will have to." Myo replied.

"You are willing to take the step of a Clan War over a battle decided a thousand cycles in the past, Myo?" Ryo asked, astonished.

"The Desinlo destroyed quite a number of Clans during their time on the Throne, Lord Camelin. Do not forget history. We do not agree that there needs to be reconciliation. They need to be punished, and that needs to continue." Myo replied, slapping his fist into his hand to punctuate his statements.

Lya looked nervously at Ryo, then leaned forward. "How long must you punish us?"

"Until none of you breathe." Came the quiet but firm reply into the silence of the hall.

The hall erupted into noise as Clansmen raised their voices in protest, shock, anger, resentment, and all manner of words filled the air. It was brought to a sudden stop by the sound of a massive thump. Lord Emperor Kyo had banged the greeting gavel, and brought the hall back to a semblance of order.

"I will have order in this hall, or I will dissolve this meeting for the evening and send all of you to your chambers. We are Clansmen of the Confederacy, not common rabble from the United Suns. Archivist, what is written about Clan Desinlo's banishment?"

A few seconds pause, then ..."On this eighty-fifth turn of Cycle 693, the Gathered Clans of the Confederacy so order to be done. Clan Desinlo has been charged with the crime of Conspiracy and the crime of Betrayal to the Confederacy. The crimes in question, disrupting the rightful rule of the Confederacy, generating rebellion and sowing discord among the Clans, Orbital bombardment of Clanworld Kerilac and destruction of Clanworld Jesinlo carry the following sentence. Clanworld Desinlo is to be barred from the Grand Council, all citizens who wish to remain members of this Clan will return to the Clanworld itself. All colonies and appropriated worlds are to be handed over to the Confederacy Grand Council for reassignment to other Clans. The Clanworld located in the Oxymax Nebula is to be blockaded for a period of Twelve Grand Cycles. After this time, this judgement will be re-assessed as to it's merits and whether Citizens of Clan Desinlo may have changed in their views towards the rightful governance of the Confederacy. That is the entire writ, Lord Emperor. It is signed by all members of the Grand Council, including Clan Desinlo."

"Twelve Grand Cycles, how long is that again?" Kyo asked.

"One Grand Cycle is 48 cycles, so that would be 576 Cycles, My Lord Emperor." The Archivist replied.

"We have been lax, my Clansmen. The Confederacy elders set a time limit for Clanworld Desinlo to be barred. It was not banished, as most of us had made mention of. Why was this never brought up, Archivist?" Kyo said, slowly shaking his head, then looking at the faces all presented towards him.

"Records indicate that when the cycle came to contact Desinlo, there was no way to get into the Oxymax Nebula. Weapons fire had destroyed Vortex navigation. No mention is made of other attempts, however there are scattered filed reports of raids against the Clanworld by members of Clans Kerilac and Jesinlo before this time." The archivist replied.

Kyo turned in his chair to look upon the assembled members of the Confederacy Clans. "Clan Michelab, you absorbed the members of Clan Kerilac and Jesinlo. You have the same records we have here, why did you permit an attack upon a world long after the records indicated it should have been contacted?"

Myo Michelab leaned forward into the comm. "My Lord Emperor, we determined that the traitors of Clan Desinlo have no redeeming qualities and as such, I allowed the attacks to continue. I saw no need to contact the Grand Council, there are much more pressing matters to attend to other than worrying about an abandoned clanworld that has no function in this Confederacy."

The Clansman from Clan Guylian leaned forward to the Comm. "Clansman Michelab, when did you gain the right to decide for the entire Grand Council?"

"Well said, Guylian."

"Lord Emperor?" Ryo asked quietly.

"Yes, Lord Camelin?" Kyo replied, looking over at the Camelin dais.

"I need to speak to the entire council, may I approach centre?"

Kyo nodded, and slid his chair backwards as the centre of the room elevated slightly and illuminated. Ryo stepped onto the floor and walked over to the raised podium, then looked at the assembled Clan leaders of the Confederacy.

"All of you know me. I lead Clan Camelin. I have lead this clan for the past seven Cycles, since my father passed to Pangea. My judgement is sound, and I do not seek revenge for petty crimes, nor do I seek vengeance upon other clans for slights upon the character of my clansmen. The crime committed initially was one of forgetfulness. We, as the leaders of the Grand Council, forgot our own words, and allowed a Clan to be abandoned. I am now here before you to say No More. This Clan is now a full part of Clan Camelin. I have asked my own council, and have had unanimous support, Clan Desinlo is a part of Clan Camelin and we are strong. No More violence against this Clanworld. Any attacks upon Desinlo will be responded to with a military strike by the Camelin forces. If the Lord Emperor and the Grand Council will not control the actions of you other clansmen, then I will take action myself, and there will be more blood spilled. No More actions against Desinlo."

"Lord Camelin, you are also indicating civil disturbance. Is that wise?" came the question from the council wall.

"I will defend the Clanworld Desinlo the same as I will defend any world guided by Clan Camelin. They are under my protection, and I will act to defend them. No More violence against the Desinlo." Ryo replied.

"The Desinlo destroyed my Clanworld, and razed Kerilac to bedrock. We swore vengeance, and vengeance will be served." Came from Clan Michelab's dais.

"What did Clan Jesinlo do to the civilians on Giarda, before your Clanworld was destroyed?" Lya asked, suddenly stepping into the battle of words.

"We rebelled against an oppressive government by making a stand!"

"Your elders took ten thousand young citizens of the city of Giarda, slit them open from neck to groin, and allowed them to bleed to death, in agony. Then gathered that blood and made it rain down over the palace on Tara. This started the Bloody war. Desinlo attempted to solve it through proper means, it was escalated by Kerilac. The elders retaliated and Clanworld Jesinlo was tragically destroyed. The Desinlo did not start the conflict." Lya said.

"No, but we will finish it." Came the reply from Clan Michelab.

Ryo looked at the Clan Michelab dais. "Clansman Myo Michelab, are you sure of what you say? Are you wanting to enter into war with Clan Camelin, over a battle fought more than a thousand cycles past, which was already ended by this Grand Council, also a thousand cycles in the past?"

"I took the remains of the clans Jesinlo and Kerilac into my own Clan more than a hundred cycles past, Lord Camelin. I knew what I was doing, those clans were dying. Their homeworlds smashed and unable to rebuild. The few colonies they had were dying. Now they are strong within my borders and can begin to grow again. Their war is my war, and I have agreed to honour it. As long as you harbour Clan Desinlo, you are no longer on safe terms with Clan Michelab."

Ryo sighed. "Then, with the permission of the Lord Emperor, I will now depart to reduce Clanworld Michelab to silica glass."

Kyo crackled with laughter. "I have not seen such entertainment in almost a deca. Ryo, you do not have permission to glass the Michelab homeworld. I still have need of them. However, I see no need for this to end in violence. Myo Michelab, you will control the clans under your flag and will not breach the borders of Clan Camelin again, or you will find yourselves in a war that this Grand Council will remain apart from."

He then shifted in his seat, and raised the Gavel. "In the matter of Clan Desinlo I decree that they are to be reinstated to the Confederacy under the flag of Clan Camelin and shall have representation alongside them in all Grand Council matters. This session of the Council is closed. Let's get some wine, for my throat is parched." He banged his gavel down with a loud echoing clang, then drifted away in his chair towards the exit, where Tyo stood waiting.

Chapter 2.4

Succession \- Royal Palace, Tara -28 BA

"Dangerous games you play here, Lord Camelin." Lya said as Ryo walked alongside her, their small group surrounded by palace guards as they moved along corridors towards the waiting shuttle.

"I despise the palace, and all the politics. Tyo is the only reason I still set foot in this place, Lya." Ryo said, eyes alert for any sudden movement.

"We never did get an answer to your charges or compensation request." She said, watching him warily, he was very much on edge.

"I never expected to. You saw how quickly it changed from my challenge to a general mess of politics? The Grand Council is political, they could not make a proper decision without talking it to death in committee. The only reason I did this was to make sure it was logged." Ryo said, then paused before they got to a cross-corridor so the guards could make a wall to guide Lya through.

Lya looked at him. "You expect an attack? Here?"

"I do not expect us to be able to safely lift off. I have had two fighters descend from the TGX to escort us back to the ship, then we will leave orbit immediately and return to Clan space, My Lady."

"But, this is Tara. What of the exclusion zone?"

The discussion was interrupted by rapid gunfire erupting all around them, Ryo threw himself over Lya and knocked her out of the chair to end up on the floor as he covered her with his own body, weapon at the ready. The guards had all dropped into defensive positions and were prepared. No fire hit them, the reports were in other corridors.

An eerie alarm filled the corridors, and one of the guards held his hand to his earpiece. "The Lord Emperor has been killed. Clan Michelab has killed the Lord Emperor. They are making their way through the palace now, using the south gate. Tyo Maselic is safe, Lord Camelin, he is at the northern battlements and is secure with a contingent of guards."

"We wait until they depart. Are the palace defences armed?"

"Yes, My Lord. Any attack upon the palace will be met with lethal retribution. Also, the TGX-2 acknowledges weapons ready and targeted at all vessels in orbit. Any hostile moves will be answered in kind."

"Take us to Tyo, I need to speak with him." Ryo said, picking himself up off the ground and then lifting Lya up and gently depositing her back in the travel chair.

The group made it's way through the palace corridors until they came across another group of guards who saluted and allowed them to pass into one of the many conference rooms. Tyo was sitting there, watching a bank of monitors and listening to harried reports from a whole group of adjutants who were all getting information from different sources.

"Ryo, thank the Gods you are unharmed. Kyo was shot through the head by the Michelab bastards. The old man may have been demented, but he was loved by the people. There are already reports of unrest throughout the planet as the news is spreading."

Ryo walked over to his cousin and took him by the shoulders, then gruffly hugged the smaller man. "We shall mourn the loss when it is time. In the mean, you are now the Emperor, and must lead the Clans. What is the state of affairs?"

Tyo nodded, swallowing hard and then looked up at his older cousin. "Clan Michelab triggered the rite of succession by killing the Lord Emperor face-to-face. As such, honour is maintained. They also killed four guards, six Lari'Sota, and destroyed a ground shuttle. No vehicular weapons fire was detected, their vessel has left low orbit and has entered Vortex, direction looks to be Michelab space."

"No other Clansmen were killed or injured?" Ryo asked.

"No, they knew what they were doing. I'm in charge now, and there's nothing I can do about their actions." Tyo replied.

"You will do fine, Tyo. This is what you were raised for." Ryo said, then hugged the smaller man. "You have lived this all your life, it is now your time."

"I am only twelve cycles, Cousin. I do not think I am ready." Tyo protested, but quietened as some of the advisers looked in his direction.

"My Lord Emperor, apologies for overhearing. You may not be aware, but you have the right to choose Clansmen as advisers and guidance at your leave." Came the quiet advice.

Tyo looked at Ryo. "Stay with me, Cousin, please?"

Ryo looked at Lya, and at her nod, he nodded at Tyo and held out his hands in a firm clasp.

...

Six cycles. Ryo stayed with young Tyo, guiding him, watching him grow up. Lya shuttled back and forth on board the TGX, with Captain Kalen in command as she spent half a cycle on Tara, with her mate, and the other half on the Clanworld, with their quickly growing daughter and her foundling. Lyo.

Tyo dealt with Clan Michelab swiftly and legally, bringing much honour to the Palace and impressing everybody when he declared them inviolate to stand on the Grand Council due to their violent acts towards a fellow Clansman. The rite of succession having thrust him into power, Tyo Masilec now used that power to protect himself. Clan Michelab was barred from setting foot on Tara until Tyo was of Majority. They had representation in the Grand Council by Proxy, another Clan could make decisions that governed Clan Michelab, but no member of Michelab was allowed on the planet or in the palace.

He worked tirelessly, strengthening his body and mind. Reading everything there was about governance, and learning from the archivists and Advisors, with Ryo as a constant companion to ensure he was not pulled astray, Tyo learned how to be an Emperor.

They sparred daily, Ryo teaching Tyo everything he knew about hand to hand combat and bladed combat. As well as teaching the young Emperor how to hold and use a handgun. Tyo quickly outpaced his Cousin in battle, becoming an expert marksman before he turned fourteen, and being able to bring down opponents twice his size unarmed swiftly and effectively. Tyo grew under the tutelage of Ryo Camelin mindful of the dangers of being the leader of the disparate Clans, but also mindful of loyalty and what the Confederacy stood for.

Back on the Clanworld, young Gya grew also, with her mother there for half her years, and House staff always around her, the girl was safe. With Lyo being a constant body that she did not initially understand, but grew to enjoy his presence and began to enjoy spending time with him.

She developed an aptitude for flight, and began learning how to parasail, then fly a flitter, and then to dance in zero-g at the top of the skyhook. Lyo was right along with her, and he learned also, eager to match her and be there for her in case she needed help.

Gya was always eager to spend time with her Father, and spent many days on the TGX bridge, watching the crew doing their duties, enjoying flying down the grav chutes, and spending time playing in a Superiority fighter, tethered to a tractor field, but learning how to fly in zero-g. She learned the corridors of the ship like the back of her hand, and many times managed to sneak up on her father and surprise him by leaping out of a cross-corridor as he walked, then dash off giggling as he mock-thundered after her.

...

During the last journey back to Malis, Kalen was overjoyed to learn that Jalena was pregnant again, this time it was a girl. The only sad thing was, her expected birth date would be a month after the TGX would be back on Tara obit, so he would miss the birth of this child. Even Regent Lya seemed overly pleased with the news and had many discussions with the young mother to be over her condition, her care, and the manner in which the staff were making her comfortable.

As he recalled later to both Ryo and Lya, it seemed tragedy followed him like a bad scent. Jalena had died during her second childbirth. Doctor Solonae had worked feverishly, even going so far as to manually operate on her, doing his best to stop the internal bleeding that had occured, chasing down blood vessels and trying to stop the rapid deterioration of her vital organs.

His second child had died during the birth, being trapped as her mother died, it's tiny body not able to handle the sudden shock of loss, she had faded as well. Both mother and child had been incinerated, and their ashes sent to be spread over the skies of Desinlo, as per Jalena's last wishes.

It took Viktor a month to recover from his loss, but he did recover, taking solace in the support of his Commander, and the rest of the TGX bridge crew, who supported and helped him through his loss.

The truth of the matter, which Doctor Solonae did not report, was that the tiny baby had survived, and was fine. Jalena had died as described, that was verified by a number of surgical staff and the birth maidens. Those same maidens were now dead, at Doctor Solonae's hand. He had to ensure that the tiny baby survived, without the influence of Lya Desinlo. As they could confirm the child had lived, he had to kill them, and although it pained him to break his oath, for the memory of Jalena, he did so without hesitation.

Hektor arranged for the girl to be given to an orphanage to be raised, and he gave her the name of Kya, as the next name in line from his Jalena. He also was determined that she have a heritage, so her proper name of Kiara was registered, but her Clan name of Kya was what she would be known by.

He also transferred to Tara, so that his medical knowledge could be used. He used the death of Jalena as an excuse, and it was a very big part of the reason. Hektor was deathly afraid that somehow, somebody might learn the truth of what he had done, and so to save young Kya, and to protect himself, he distanced them both from the world that had accepted them both, and transferred him and the young girl to Tara, where she was put into the care of the Lari'Sota order while he became the Palace Chief Physician.

Chapter 3

Coronation of an Emperor - Royal Palace, Tara -22 BA

Finally, Tyo Masilec reached Majority, and the Confederacy celebrated. A year of celebration began with his official coronation. Clan Michelab had sworn fealty to the Confederacy to ensure a peace was maintained, so they were in attendance at the Emperor's coronation, where Tyo would ascend to Rule the Confederacy Clans as their Lord.

The day of the coronation was upon them, and Tyo was frantic with worry and concern. Ryo stood by him, keeping him in balance, with Lya helping him to get ready, coordinating the palace Lari'Sota to get everything looking ready and dealing with the myriad of small details that must all go together like a gigantic puzzle to bring this event off without an error.

Ryo stood back as two of the Lari'Sota helped Tyo into the formal robes that had been made for this day, looking at him in full length mirrors so they could ensure the correct pose and display was present for one who was to be the Lord Emperor of the entire Confederacy. All of the Thousand Worlds. Tyo was jittery, he had planned for this, learned and trained for it, but it was still a very big event. He looked over at Ryo, and Ryo smiled at him.

"You are definitely no longer the young boy I came here six cycles ago to help, Lord Tyo."

"What do you mean, Ryo?" He asked.

Ryo walked over and put his hands on Tyo's broad shoulders. The younger man was still a head shorter than the Commander, but he had filled out and was almost as wide, and had more physical strength. When the two had wrestled, Tyo could now fell and pin the larger Commander with ease.

"You have grown into the man that you were always going to be, my cousin. Strong, firm of mind and body. Understanding of the needs and requirements of this office. You are the Lord Emperor that we all need and require. You are not your father, you are your own man. Tyo, you will do well in this role." Ryo said, squeezing Tyo's shoulders firmly.

Tyo looked at his cousin in the mirror, then grasped Ryo's hand firmly. "Thank you for staying with me, Ryo. I know it has been difficult for six cycles to remain here, your own Clan needs your help in some ways more than I do."

"You are related to me by blood, Tyo. In some ways, although you are Maselic, you are the only Maselic, there are no others, you have no issue. If you fell, then the entire Confederacy would dissolve into civil war and we would truly be lost. Not only is it my duty to ensure you remain safe, it is my honour to help you and to be there to guide you towards this goal. You are the Lord Emperor, and you will reign over our Thousand Worlds with that same honour and strength that you have shown." Ryo replied.

Both men walked down the corridor, flanking Lya's travel chair as she glided down towards the assembly hall where the Coronation would take place. All three of them were dressed in their finest, both Lya and Ryo in clan robes, with Ryo ensuring the Desinlo crest was fully equal to the Camelin crest they both wore proudly. They reached the doors, and with a final handshake from Ryo and a tearful hug from Lya, they split, Ryo and Lya going to the Camelin dais to view the Coronation, as Tyo walked with the Confederacy Elders to the Coronation hall.

After a short time, once everybody was assembled, the immense drums of the Masilec Clan began to roll. The drummers jumping and dancing as they played a rhythm only played for formal events such as this; the Royal March.

Tyo came into view from the darkness of the hall, flanked by two Elders as they all walked to the center dais, where he knelt facing the assembled Clans and their Leaders.

"My Lord Tyo Masilec, Leader of the Clan Masilec, I present to you the assembled Clans of the Taran Confederacy." came the ancient words, intoned by one of the elders.

He held out a robe, festooned with a rainbow of different colours and stood so that Tyo could rise and have it placed around his shoulders.

"Do you accept the mantle of Leadership, Lord Masilec?" Came the question.

Tyo rose and gathered the robe around his shoulders. "I accept the mantle." He replied, his voice booming in the silent hall.

The drummers ran a solid drum roll to indicate the next stage of the coronation.

"Clan Leaders, approach the dais." Came the reply. All of the leaders of the Twelve Clans approached. Ryo stood, Lya stayed back. She had insisted that he stand for both Clans, even as he had argued with her. He would stand for both Clans as one.

"Clansmen, before you stands the one who will rule the Confederacy. He will be your Leader, each Clan will swear Fealty to Clan Masilec and as such, will pledge allegiance to the ideals of the Taran Confederacy and what it stands for." Intoned one of the Elders.

As one, the twelve clan leaders dropped to one knee, then each held out both hands, palm-up and they bowed their heads.

Tyo walked up to each Clan Leader and placed his hands over theirs, clasping them. As he did, the Leader would then stand, bow and step back. He moved down the line, finishing with Clan Camelin. As Ryo stood and stepped back, the Elder signalled.

Clan Masilec's royal march echoed through the chamber.

"Tyo Masilec, you will now swear fealty to the assembled Clans."

Tyo went to one knee and held his hands out, palm-up.

"I, Tyo Masilec, swear on my honour and my life, to upload the Ideals and maintain balance through the Confederacy. The Thousand Worlds will not fall under my rule. The Confederacy is strong under Clan Leadership, and it will remain strong under my Guidance." He rose and turned to face the Elders. They both bowed and he then turned as the crowd rose.

"We welcome the Lord of all Clans. Emperor Tyo Masilec, leader of the Taran Confederacy. Ruler of the Thousand Worlds."

The drum roll was drowned out by the roar of the crowd and the applause as the coronation was completed. A new Emperor was in place, the Confederacy had a new leader after six cycles of indecision.

Clan Michelab departed as soon as was appropriate after the Coronation had been completed. Clan Faniruf left with them, which to Ryo confirmed that the two had been in collusion over the attacks upon Desinlo cycles past.

The remaining ten clan leaders and their parties followed the newly crowned Emperor into the grand ballroom where a celebration was already underway.

Musicians and dancers swirled and played their way on the edges of the ballroom, while hundreds of clansmen and women danced and swayed, celebrating the coronation of the new Emperor.

Ryo was sitting with Lya, and saw her laugh as she watched a couple dancing, the clansman's hand firmly pressed against the woman's buttock as they swayed to the rousing music.

"What is so amusing, my Lady?" He asked her.

"There will be many Lari'Sota walking funny tomorrow, my Lord. We had to bring in every Lari'Sota from the entire planet for this event. Many girls all ready to help with so many Clans who will very much have a need." Lya chuckled.

Ryo chuckled also. "I can imagine that our Lord Emperor will have his fair share of the girls as well."

"What of you, my Lord? Do you feel that you will need the services of the palace companions this eve?" Lya asked him with a twinkle in her eye, then laughed as he swept her in his arms and onto the dance floor.

"I have all the companion that I need right here, my Lya. You are the only thing this body has ever needed or desired." He replied as he kissed her, then took her on a twirling dance through the mass of other citizens.

Chapter 3.1

Aya, Clanworld Camelin -21 BA

"Lord Camelin, we are pregnant." Lya said as Ryo came into the medical wing. He smiled at her and gave her a warm hug.

"I am four weeks along, my Lord. The child is healthy and everything is looking good."

"You are an excellent mother, my Lya. And motherhood suits you so well." Ryo said as he gazed into her bottomless eyes.

...

Lya relaxed against Ryo as her body heaved, waves of muscle spasms rippling along her engorged belly in the birthing pool. Within a few more minutes, the head crowned, and then the body of their newest daughter was gently held in the hands of the birth maidens. They gently cleaned the infant, then severed the umbilical cord and raised her head out of the pool so she could take her first breath. Within seconds, the cries of the infant filled the hall as she lustily cried her discomfort at being moved into a different place than before.

"This time, my Lord, she must be a Camelin. This one was conceived and born here, she must have your name." Lya said, resting a hand against Ryo's cheek as they looked at the child that was placed in the crook of Lya's arm, to begin suckling at her breast as the water was drained from the pool.

"I agree, however, you can name her, my Lady Lya." Ryo said.

"She shall be Aya, the first of a new generation, so we begin with the first name." Lya breathed.

"Aya, with the family god of Levac, and the date god of Nandrec, however, I think we'll give tradition a little kick. We will flip the names. Aya Nandreclevac Camelin?" Ryo said with a glint in his eye as he looked down at their daughter.

The birth maidens gently lifted Lya and their daughter onto a chair and began to dry her and take care of the afterbirth so that she was as comfortable as possible. Ryo stepped back and into a comfortable robe as the medical women did their roles to take care of the new mother and her precious cargo.

Lya rested against a soft cushioned backrest, wrapped in very soft cloud-like blankets with the babe still suckling and smiled at her consort. "Aya Nandreclevac Camelin. Gya will be pleased, now that she is born, I won't be as immobile any more."

Chapter 3.2

Lyo's Craft \- Clanworld Camelin -19 BA

Lyo had been planning something for a while, having quiet discussions with Lord Camelin who had directed him to some of the finer artisans, and then Lyo would disappear for days on end, to emerge with sore hands, but a satisfied look upon his face. Finally, on Gya's 12th Name Day, he presented her with a gift that he had made with his own hands. A very fine dagger, wrapped in gilded superconductor foil, the blade was single piece of mono-crystalline metal with a molecular edge, which would never need to be sharpened. He placed it around her neck on a golden chain as she smiled at him with happiness and pride. Lyo also had another made, which was for little Aya, once she was old enough.

Chapter 3.3

Everything Changes - Clanworld Camelin -17 BA

"What is the plan for this rest day, my Lady?" Ryo asked as he pulled on a formal jacket.

"Gya has gotten her pilot's clearance, and has been begging to take us up to the Foaming Falls. We'll take one of the larger flitters, I think. Probably spend the day and be back in time for your return." Lya replied as she was assisted into a warm dress by her Lari'Sota.

"Sounds like a better plan than what I get to do. Dealing with the minor Clan disputes is so tedious, however with my Regent offworld dealing with the Grand Council, it falls to me to deal with this paperwork. I should be back in plenty of time to see you land." With a gentle kiss to her cheek, Ryo strode out of the chamber and off to administer the needs of the Clan Camelin.

Lya finished dressing, then sat patiently as her Lari'Sota fussed over her hair and neckline until she felt that the Lady Desinlo was perfect, only then was Lya allowed to leave the chamber and be seen by the rest of the house staff.

As they glided out, little Aya came running up to her mother on almost steady legs, followed closely by her own Lari'Sota who deftly grabbed the small child as she began to topple and lifted her up to her mother's waiting arms.

"Morning, my Aya, Did you sleep well?" Lya asked as she was hugged in almost a stranglehold by her giggling daughter.

"She slept fine, no nightmares or dreams of note, my Lady." Tiana replied with a smile.

"Very good. We're off to the Falls today, my sweet. Your sister will fly us there herself. All day to enjoy the water and sand, and the beaches."

Aya giggled and clapped her hands, then settled herself down in her mother's lap as Lya steered the travel chair down the corridor towards the kitchens.

Gya came out of the kitchen doors, already dressed in flight uniform, followed closely by Lyo, who never seemed to leave her side these days, Lya realized.

"I've already got our morning meal packed, Mother. We can eat at the Falls, if that pleases you?" Gya asked, almost visibly buzzing with anticipation at being able to have the freedom to do this without assistance.

"That would be a splendid idea, darling daughter. Lead on to our adventure for this day." Lya said, and they all turned and walked down the hallway leading to the landing platforms.

...

Lya settled back in her chair and made sure Aya was secured in her Grav Harness, in the unlikely event they had to jump out of the flitter and glide to the ground. The small child's harness was designed to clip onto a full-size unit and boost power so that the harness could handle the extra load and the off-center mass.

Aya giggled and twisted around so she could look out the windows that were all over as her big sister sat up front with the pilot, a Captain Tokoma, who conspicuously kept his hands in his lap and watched her, quietly reminding her if she missed a step.

Lya smiled as she watched Gya take the control shaft and apply power to the motors so that the big flitter smoothly lifted off and began to glide on a north-westerly direction towards the far-off waterfalls where they would spend most of the day.

She looked over to where Lyo was strapped in, watching Gya, and looking at little Aya as well as looking out the window. She noted that he was armed. She wondered about that as she had not seen him armed before, but figured that if Lyo was armed, then Lord Camelin must be aware, and perhaps he had given the sidearm to the boy so he could feel more useful and protective.

Gya swooped the flitter slowly around the main city so they could see the massive tower in the middle, the one that connected to the Camelin skyhook and allowed easy access to the orbital facilities. Aya clapped and giggled as the tower lights flashed on and off in sequence to alert flying craft of it's presence, even in foul weather, then Gya took the flitter in a straight course, followed by a support flitter with House Guards on board.

"Attention, passengers. This is Pilot Gya, we have just passed 40 kims altitude and are on course for a landing at the Falls in just over an hour's time." Gya said as she looked back at her family, grinning happily as she continued to play tour operator. "The weather is clear, Central control says they are generating a high pressure zone over the area so we should have clear skies and light winds, with a temperature about 28 degrees at the water's edge."

Lya settled back and closed her eyes, listening to the soft thrumming of the engines as they propelled the flitter at transonic speed, the soft singing voice of Aya's Lari'Sota as she sang a lullaby to the toddler to keep her amused, and the quiet conversations going on around her.

She woke with a start as the engine sound suddenly shifted into a strong hum and she felt the flitter begin a powered descent.

"What is going on?" she asked as she noticed Gya was staring off to the side as Captain Tokoma, his hands now on the controls was also busy trying to open a comm channel.

Gya grabbed the Comm and began relaying information as Tokoma rapidly read off instruments, then the flitter swerved sharply, and Lya noticed a shadow pass by it, too close for coincidence.

"Lyo, Tiana, speak to me." She said in a commanding voice.

Aya's Lari'Sota looked up from where she was cuddling the child, still sleeping, and then looked to Lyo who had unbuckled and was standing, holding on to some overhead cargo straps. She noted the clasp on his sidearm was undone, the weapon now ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. He moved close to her chair.

"I'm not too sure what's going on. The security flitter has made two very close passes to us. It seems to be trying to guide us away from the Falls, but they have not communicated with us at all. Their comm may be damaged." Lyo said as he watched out the windows at the other flitter as it swung around for yet another pass.

"Gya, take the controls, bring us down, vertical, max thrust!" Tokoma snapped as he flicked the engines off of their normal mode and into emergency thrust. Gya slammed the control stick hard forward and the flitter jumped earthward as a whisper of noise passed overhead.

"Are they shooting at us?" Lya cried.

"Hold on, my Lady, this ship is not meant for battle." The Captain said as he took the controls back from Gya and began to spiral the ship down, watching the altitude carefully. He pulled the ship out of the dive, making the engines howl in protest, when the flitter was at 10 kim altitude. Aya awoke at the noise, and began to cry. Tiana quietened the child down and began to sing softly to her, looking around worriedly.

Gya took the comm unit and began to call an Emergency, but got a blast of static. "I think they're jamming us. What do we do?" She asked.

"Dodge, weave, and roll." Tokoma said, then pulled the flitter into a full power barrel roll, pressing everybody into their chairs and throwing Lyo off balance as the flitter spun around in a vain attempt to dodge the spray of bullets fired at it.

...

"Captain, we've got something unusual happening down there." Tactical reported to Kalen as he walked the perimeter of the TGX bridge.

"What do you mean?" He said as he walked over to the tactical station.

"Two flitters lifted off about a half hour ago, heading for the Falls. This was a logged flight plan for one of them. The smaller flitter has no flight plan. I've just detected what looks like weapon fire."

"Who is on the flitters?" Kalen asked.

"The larger flitter has ... The Commander's family, Sir. It is definitely under attack by the smaller flitter."

Kalen swore. "Do we have anything that can assist?"

"Not at this range, Captain. We'd have to drop into the upper atmosphere before the lances could target it properly."

"By the time we get there, this battle will be over. Track everything, and drop us into very low orbit, Helva's teeth – atmospheric dip, full burn – get us down there as quickly as possible. Alert Traffic and Weather control. Clear the skies round us and prepare a tractor field in case we have to pull one of them out of a crash. Cato, get me the Commander, now!"

Seconds later, Kalen was on the Comm. "Under direct fire, Ryo. We have no idea where it came from. We're dropping into the upper atmosphere to get close enough to assist, but we'll be a few minutes before we can stabilize."

Ryo was running back to his flitter as he yelled into the Comm. "Get a tractor lock on all of my flitters, Kalen. You're going to boost us into a sub-orbital path. I want us dropping down on that zone within five minutes, understood?"

Kalen nodded and signalled to various stations. Over the front of the battlecruiser, tractor units came to life and began to glow with golden light as they phased raw energy into gravity waves that could be tuned to pull or push objects. As the six flitters launched from where Ryo was, the TGX reached down and enclosed each one in a bubble of tractor energy then pulled, gently. The flitters sped upwards, reaching over two hundred kims altitude in seconds, shielded from the friction by the tractor fields even as they were swept in a parabolic arc towards the distant one-sided battle.

The massive battleship followed them as it dipped into the atmosphere of the planet, friction causing the bow to begin glowing with fire as it drove through the thickening air at near orbital velocity.

...

A slew of red lights covered the controls as the big flitter staggered, then they felt the engines cough and the power level dropped. "Engine two is on fire, flaming it out. We've got no chance to outrun them on only one engine. My Lady, what do you want to do?" Captain Tokoma asked.

Lya blinked, then made a decision that would change many lives.

"Gya, Lyo, you're jumping. Gya, grab Aya and take her with you. The rest of us will distract them." She said.

"No way on Helva's breath am I leaving you, Mother." Gya gasped.

Lya wasn't listening. She had already picked Aya up from Tiana's arms and before Gya could really react, had attached the toddler's Grav Harness to her own in front, so Aya was nestled against her sister's chest.

"You're jumping, this is not a discussion, or a debate. Lyo, get her out of here, and for the Gods' sake, keep my daughters safe." Lyo nodded, and even as Gya protested, he slammed the cargo hatch open and bodily pushed her out of the flitter.

Lya grabbed his arm and pulled him close to her. "I took you in as a foundling for a purpose. This is that purpose, Lyo. Keep my girls safe, and by the grace of all the gods, stay safe yourself."

Lyo looked at the woman who had been as close to a mother for the past eight cycles, then kissing her on the cheek, leapt out the open cargo door to free-fall after the far-off figure of Lya's daughters.

Tiana pushed the switch to close the doors, and the roar of wind subsided. Tokoma continued to spiral the ship, then with a final burst of gunfire that raked along the side of their flitter, the smaller one spun off to pursue the free-falling children. The Captain spun their ship to give chase, but the rudder was not responding.

He turned to see Lya, looking in shock at Tiana, a spray of bullets had passed through the hull and had impacted the poor woman, killing her instantly.

"My Lady, the ship's controls are seized. We're going to crash."

"Did you get a message out?" Lya asked as looked at the body of a woman who had helped her raise her daughters for almost ten cycles, and who had now died because of her.

"I think so, not too sure how much we got out, but we got out at least part of an emergency distress." came the reply.

"Then get yourself off this ship, Captain." Lya said.

"Not without you, My Lady." came the stoic reply.

Lya looked firmly at the Captain. "Young Man, I am regent of Clan Desinlo. You will not refuse me this order. Get off this ship while you still can. If I am to journey to Pangea this day, I shall do it alone, knowing my daughters still have loyal people to assist them. Help my children."

Tokoma hit the switch to open the cargo door and with a final glance backwards, and a nod from his Lady, stepped into the slipstream, leaving Lady Lya Desinlo alone on board the stricken flitter. The last thing he saw was her sitting in her chair, watching the mountains approaching rapidly, and staring off into a distant sky.

The explosion as the flitter hit the mountainside obscured his view in a flare of golden light and fire. Captain Tokoma adjusted his grav harness and made sure he landed safely.

He shrugged out of the harness and looked to the distant fleck of metal that was the other flitter, then began to jog towards it, only to see a swarm of other flecks suddenly appear, and then the one he had been watching exploded in a glow of bright golden light, even as two flitters came over his position. He fired a signal flare and a flitter landed by him quickly.

Two crew came running out and helped him into the flitter, where the Captain gave his grim report.

...

"...In the blink of an eye, everything can change." Gya thought, a whistling sound broke her out of her thought and she twisted a control, making the grav harness ramp up power to slow their descent. Aya struggled against her sister, but was secured in the harness as they glided down towards the ground, almost a full ten kims below. Above them, the flitter burned and spiraled off, Gya could not see anybody else coming out of it.

"GYA!" She turned to see Lyo swooping in close, in another harness, with his pistol drawn and ready, he adjusted flight to follow her descent and watched the sky.

"Where is my mother, Lyo!" She yelled above the scream of the wind.

"I don't think she jumped, Gya. She's still in there. She pushed me out after you." Lyo called back above the wind's passage.

Aya suddenly screamed then went silent and Gya noticed whispers around her head, she slapped a control and the harness cut power, dropping her into free-fall and out of the range of the weapon still firing. She checked Aya, there was blood on her sister, and she was not moving. This was getting worse and worse.

She looked up to see Lyo taking careful aim and shooting, the flitter that had been firing at them wobbled as his weapon found it's target, then the flitter veered away, smoke beginning to billow from one of it's engine ports. Lyo dropped head-first to catch up to her.

"Turn on your Harness, we're getting too close to ground!" He yelled.

Gya fumbled with and activated the controls, the grav harness surged, lifting her and her sister as it slowed their descent, none to soon, as the grassy loam began to rush towards them at a very frightening speed. She hit the control on the harness to stop descent, and the generator began to rise in pitch as it slowed their descent even more, still, when she hit the ground, she promptly fell onto her side.

Slapping at the release, she pulled her arms free of the harness and immediately began to check Aya. Her sister was breathing very shallowly, and there was a bullet wound in her back. Aya had been hit, but was still alive.

A distant explosion jerked her head up, and she saw a cloud of black smoke and some golden flame many kims distant. Something had crashed. Then her blood froze as she saw the smaller flitter that had started all of this, smoke still leaking from one engine port, gliding close towards them.

She sensed, rather than heard Lyo's gun go off as he began to shoot at the flitter. Bullets striking it but not seeming to do much damage, and she saw it's weapon ports were open. Gya closed her eyes and hugged her sister, waiting for the end.

A sudden whoosh of sound and strong warm breeze made her look up. The Flitter was still there, only a few tens of mets distant, but it was now glowing with a soft golden light, and it seemed frozen. She could see the shapes inside of the glass moving around. They had no control. The flitter seemed to flare, and then it came apart, the pieces all floating in a very strong tractor field that had torn the metal body into components. The five or six soldiers aboard it were also floating, shouting incoherently as they struggled helplessly in the massive energy field.

More sounds reached Gya's ears, and she noticed the sky was full of ships, maybe six or more had suddenly appeared, two landed right by them, with two more remaining in the air, as more sped off towards the burning wreckage distant.

"Gya! Lyo, where is she?" She heard and rose to be enfolded in the strong arms of her father as he ran out of one of the flitters to reach her.

She vaguely heard her father call for a doctor, and Aya's still form was gently lifted from her to be placed in the care of the medical team.

"Where is your mother, Gya?" Ryo gently asked his distraught daughter. She could only look at him with tears freely flowing, no words were coming to her mouth.

...

"Lord Camelin, the Lady Lya Desinlo did not survive the crash. Do you wish to see the body?" Came the report from the distant teams that had found the wreckage of the cargo flitter crashed against the hillside.

"Yes, bring her home, and have her prepared for her journey to the Gates of Pangea. She deserves at least that." Ryo replied with a catch in his voice. He flicked the channel.

"Kalen, what do we know?"

"My Lord and Commander, I will take full responsibility for this tragedy, as it occurred while your family was under my protection. The Ship was too far distant to prevent Lady Desinlo's flitter from impacting the hillside. Had I been a bit faster, she may have-" Kalen paused, and Ryo could well imagine the other man gathering himself before continuing. "We have the assassins under shield now, they have been stripped and searched, we have five of them, one managed to suicide before we could stop him. They do not wish to talk to us, my Lord. I can identify them as being from Clan Kerilac though, they all have the Kerilac battle mark on them."

"Captain Kalen, I will not hold you responsible, you are one of my most loyal officers." Ryo told him.

"Commander, you must not trust anybody any more. These men infiltrated the Clan, got into a position of such high trust that they were in your home. Killed six security guards and took their flitter. They knew the flight plan for your family, murdered the Lady Lya, and possibly caused the death of young Lady Aya as well." Kalen almost snarled into the comm.

"I know, Kalen. I feel the loss the most of anybody. Once we are finished here, I will see these men, and we will find out why they did this, and what is so important that they are willing to risk causing a civil war for."

Kalen turned off the comm and turned to his troops who were standing with weapons drawn against the five burly Hablis who had dared to attack the heart of a Clanworld. "Secure them, not too comfortably though. The Commander will speak to them directly, and I want no incidents."

...

"We will say nothing to you, Clan Camelin. You are traitors to the Confederacy and to the Clans. You lie with Desinlo and raise bastard children with them." One of the soldiers snarled.

Ryo looked at the five men, all stripped down to just shorts, securely chained against escape or self-harm, and yet still so defiant.

He leaned forward. "All I need to know is who sent you? Hablis such as yourselves have no way of doing this on your own. You had help, from whom?"

Another of the soldiers smiled. "Clansman Michelab arranged for this action, Clansman Camelin. He said it was fitting for a traitor to lose his family before he loses his world."

Ryo nodded and stood. "Hull them, all of them."

An audible gasp was the next thing he heard. "Commander, that has not been done in over a hundred cycles." Kalen said.

Ryo looked at his XO, and Kalen saw the fire burn in his Commander's eyes. "I have no mercy for this, Kalen. These men killed in cold blood, let them feel the fires of the Vortex firsthand. Hull them. We travel to Clanworld Michelab this eve. This ends tonight one way or another."

...

The five men, clad in emergency pressure suits with their arms bound tightly to their waists, were all secured against the outer hull of the TGX-2, just inboard of the main drive pod. The radios were all turned off, and all controls that would be accessible were disabled, so all the men could do is shout and scream into the helmets, totally isolated by the deep vacuum of high orbit. Once the job of securing them had been done, the TGX crew withdrew into the ship's airlocks and the men were left outside for some meaningless time. Their own thoughts trapping them in the suits, listening to the air circulate, knowing that the suits had about a day's worth of air. A surge brought them out of their reverie, and they began to shout again as they saw a bright corona of light coming towards them as the massive battleship leapt into the miasma of Vortex flight.

Chapter 3.4

Clan War - Clanworld Michelab -17 BA

The TGX-2 hung overhead as Ryo flew down towards Clanworld Michelab in a shuttle, escorted by a full wing of armed fighters. The procession was tracked by the weapons from the TGX, which was on battle alert, prepared to fire upon anything that targeted or attacked this small flotilla.

The shuttle touched down, and Ryo stepped out, to be greeted by seven Michelab guards, weapons drawn but not aimed directly at him.

"Your Clan is not welcome on this world, Lord Camelin, why are you here?" Came the challenge.

Six of the guards crumpled instantly as weapons fire mowed them down. Ryo walked towards the one remaining standing, and firmly took the firearm from his shocked and limp fingers.

"I do not have patience for pandering, or sycophants. Take me to your Clan leader before I reduce this world to a charred cinder."

Within minutes they were walking towards the First House of Michelab, where although it was the middle of the night, the building was ablaze with light at this unexpected and dangerous visitor.

Ryo was surprised as he entered the main hall to see not Myo Michelab, but the former Captain Kerilac.

"Where is Clansman Michelab?" Ryo said as he walked up to the table where Kerilac sat, flanked by armed guards, who had their weapons squarely aimed at Ryo's midsection.

"I am the Clansman for Michelab now, my predecessor has voyaged to Pangea. Terrible accident he suffered, truly terrible. Why are you here?" Kerilac replied.

"Then I will hold you responsible for the attack upon my world this day, Kerilac. Good people died today, because you continue to fight a war a thousand cycles dead." Ryo stated, resting his hands flatly on the table.

"What, pray to the Gods, will you do, Lord Camelin?" Kerilac said smugly. "One word from me, and you will be gunned down, ending the line of Clan Camelin in one move."

Ryo leaned a bit closer. "One word from me, Clansman Kerilac, and this world is reduced to a broken glass sphere, glowing with radiation for ten thousand cycles."

Kerilac guffawed. "Even the full power of your TGX battlecruiser could not do that damage to this world before the rest of the Confederacy turned on you, Camelin. I call your bluff..." He paused as one of the guards leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"Your man is most likely informing you that there are now four TGX cruisers in orbit. Three others having just dropped into high orbit, and they are taking up equidistant positions. You are right that my one ship could not easily glass this planet. Four TGXs' on the other hand, can reduce it to shiny cinders in a matter of moments." Ryo said, standing up again.

"I can still kill you, and end the reign of Camelin, to ensure that the other clans will stop Desinlo from spreading through the Confederacy." Kerilac said, his confidence shaken, but his plans still somewhat in place.

"You do not have the strength in numbers to bring down Clan Camelin. I have allies with seven of the twelve Clans, none of which are amused by what you did this day on my world. The smart thing to do would be to put down the weapons and start negotiating, before I lose what little patience I have left." Ryo stated.

"You want me to negotiate? For what?" Kerilac said, then got to his feet. "I will negotiate only this. You leave here, unharmed, and do not return. Otherwise, I will ensure blood will be spilled, Lord Camelin."

Ryo folded his arms and looked squarely at Kerilac. "Blood has already been spilled this day. You do not even begin to understand what it is you face, Kerilac. It is not just me that you have impacted this day, you have brought the entire Confederacy to the brink of civil war, and the other Clans don't want to fight your war. I told you this in the Great Hall some time ago, No More."

A sudden explosion ripped through the room as Ryo said these words, and the ceiling dissolved into a swirl of broken glass and plasteel, swirling up into the dark night sky that was suddenly fully lit up. As Ryo stood, surrounded by a column of golden light, the room seemed to dissolve, until Kerilac and his guards were left standing in the remains of the house as it was torn apart and fine dust and debris scattered all over the grounds.

Kerilac signalled the guards and they fired at Ryo, but the bullets were deflected by the column of energy, then the weapons themselves were pulled free of the guard's hands to join the swirling mass of debris still flying through the air.

Just as suddenly as the noise began, it stopped, and the debris settled down in a cloud of fine dust. Kerilac looked at Ryo as he stood there, still in the column of golden light, then became aware of the sound of booted feet walking, and turned to see Lord Emperor Tyo Masilec, along with the assembled Clan leaders walking towards them with a full Palace Security detachment to back them up.

"Lord Emperor." Ryo said, bowing slightly.

"Lord Camelin." Tyo replied, also making a perfunctory bow. "My fellow Clansmen, you have witnessed, have you a decision?"

The clansmen all huddled together, then one stepped forward. "Aye, Lord Emperor, we have. Upon review of the actions taken today we agree to strip Clan Michelab of lands and powers through the Grand Council. Travel will be restricted to approved routes only and all members of the Clan shall be returned to homeworlds for a period of one Grand Cycle."

"You can't do this!" Kerilac shouted. "I am Clan Leader of Michelab, I have a say, and I will be heard!"

"Then speak, Lord Kerilac, of Clan Michelab, by all means. Say what you need to." Tyo said.

"What I ordered was just. Clan Desinlo, and through their actions, Clan Camelin have betrayed the Confederacy. Desinlo took over government in a bloody coup and ruled the Confederacy for hundreds of cycles. They ordered the killing of my entire planet. Camelin now harbours these criminals and they need to pay for their crimes. Desinlo and Camelin must now pay for those crimes, in every way possible. It is the law!"

"Not my law, Clansman Kerilac." Tyo replied calmly. "Confederacy law states that once the Grand Council has voted on an action, that matter is closed and will not be opened again. You are now committing treason yourself for violating our law. You will remain here, the Clanworld will be isolated, and Kerilac can figure out how to explain to the billion and a half citizens of Clan Michelab why they can no longer trade or get goods with the rest of the Confederacy, or even with their own colony worlds. I think you will find that the wisdom of the Michelab crowds will give you summary guidance."

Tyo turned and walked back towards the waiting shuttle, along with the other Clan Leaders who also turned their backs on the now impotent Kerilac who stood there in the remains of the house, fuming angry.

"Tell me, Commander Camelin. What happened to the team I sent to deal with the traitorous bitch Desinlo?"

"I had them hulled on the trip here. Would you care to join them?" Ryo replied, stone-faced.

Kerilac staggered back and fell to his knees.

"Camelin!" He shouted, Ryo turned to him.

"I will not rest until I have your head, traitor. Your days are numbered, Lord Camelin."

"Then, Clansman Kerilac, we are at war. The next time I step foot upon this world, you will swear fealty to me." Ryo turned and walked away, the golden cone of light protecting him until he was at the shuttle which he boarded.

The shuttle lifted and quickly exceeded velocity as it flew towards the orbiting battlecruisers. As it passed the outer hull of the TGX-2, Ryo spared a glance at the space where the five men had been secured. Nothing remained now except the cargo mounts. Their bodies had been eroded by the trip through the vortex. From the inside-out as the exotic particles ate their way through the living tissues and dissolved them into nothingness.

The shuttle docked and Ryo made his way to the bridge of his ship. Kalen was waiting for him.

"Good news, Commander. Aya has been stabilized and the doctors feel there will be no permanent damage. The bullet broke bone but did not break any synapses."

Ryo nodded, a touch of relief amid a day of disaster was a glimmer of hope.

"Get us underway, we have a funeral to proceed with, and a Clanworld to honour."

Chapter 4

Hear My Voice And Tremble - Clanworld Camelin -17 BA

Ryo stood in the great hall of the Desinlo Citadel, shoulder to shoulder with Gya and Lyo, with the other members of his bridge crew and the staff who had served also close by. All dressed in their finest. In front of them, very carefully dressed and prepared, lay the body of Lya Desinlo, in a glass-enclosed case as she lay in state. A long line of Desinlo clansmen and women slowly filed past, each paying their respects to the woman who had helped to break the impasse and had brought the clan back into the Confederacy nearly six cycles ago.

As the last mourner passed through, and the door slowly swung shut, Ryo turned to the Keeper of the Gates and walked over to the coffin. He picked up a single Regal coin that had been sitting on the casket, on a sheet of azure fabric, and turned to the other man.

"As it has been tradition for more than 100 Grand cycles, for any Clansman or Clanswoman to Pass Through The Gates of Pangea, there is a cost to guarantee safe passage. Do you have that cost, My Lord Camelin?"

"The cost is One Regal, I have it here." Ryo replied.

The Keeper of The Gate opened an ornate wooden box. "Place the toll in the case, My Lord."

Ryo put the coin in the box, and the Keeper closed it, then the box disappeared into his robes.

He bowed, and signalled. Six assistants came forward and gently lifted the coffin from it's mounts and walked with it, followed by the family as they left the Great Hall and went towards two ships that were sitting on the landing apron. One was a standard shuttle, the other was a shuttle with all windows blocked out, except for the pilots', and it was in a deep mauve colour. A colour only ever associated with death.

As the coffin was carefully loaded onto the transport shuttle, Ryo instructed the Keeper of the Gates that they would be transported to Pangea on board the TGX-2, for the final ceremony.

Less than an hour later, both ships lifted off and swiftly pulled into orbit, so they could dock with the immense battlecruiser. Shortly thereafter, the TGX-2 broke orbit and shifted into Vortex drive for a journey that not many wanted to witness, but was necessary for closure.

The TGX-2 came out of Vortex eighty million kims from a swirling cloud of gas and rock in the middle of a broken star system. The transport shuttle departed and flew inwards, down to the 5 million kim mark, where a facility had been constructed. Soon thereafter, the message came, and the assembled crew of the TGX-2 paid their final respects to the departed lady Lya Desinlo.

Her coffin was released from the facility to spiral inwards with the aid of a small thruster so that it went directly towards the maw of Pangea. A flare on the sensors and a flash of actinic light indicated the passage of Lya Desinlo, Ryo signalled to Sergeant Cato. "Open a channel, all frequencies, all bands – I need to send a message."

Cato made some adjustments, then nodded silently at her Commander. Ryo took up the Comm as tears began to trickle down his face.

"Hear me, Gods of the Confederacy. Gods of the Center Worlds. Hear my voice and tremble. I am sending you a warrior. Her name was Lya Helvanysa Desinlo. You forgot about her, in your hubris, and your wisdom. Hear me, Helva, God of the Ancients, Hear me, Nysa, God of Wisdom. I announce on this day that you will be in the presence of one who stood for more than just your names. She had a purpose. She kept her Clan alive, despite your efforts. She will be honoured, she will never be forgotten, her name will continue, even when you are less than a memory. Be warned, Gods, Lady Desinlo comes, and you will tremble!"

He hung up the comm, and as he turned, the bridge crew began to slowly applaud. As Ryo walked out of the bridge and back to his quarters, he heard the applause. He felt proud even in the face of his tremendous loss.

Chapter 4.1

Cadet Gya - TGX-2 Command Deck -17 BA

Later that eve, Ryo and his daughter had a confrontation in his quarters.

"Gya, you and Lyo need to be out of harms' way. You are going with Aya to the palace on Tara. You'll be safe there." Ryo said.

"I won't leave you, Father." she said, jaw firm and body at attention as she stood in the middle of the room while Ryo sat on one of the couches, Lyo sitting off to the side on another couch, ever present, but out of the way.

"Gya, it is not safe here, especially now. I need to know you are safe, and Lord Emperor Masilec has extended full security to you and Aya at the palace. I need to know you will be in a place of safety. Child, I am going to war." Ryo said.

"Lyo is with me, he will keep me safe. I do not want to sit around the palace while you fight this war, Father. I am old enough for duty, and I know my duty. My mother was killed before my eyes, my sister nearly joined her. Let me fight with you." Gya stated.

"You are just fourteen cycles, my girl. A battlecruiser is no place for you to grow up in, or live. Aya needs you, now more than ever."

"Aya will be fine, at the palace she will be so distracted with all the Lari'Sota and Emperor Masilec she won't even notice that we're gone." Gya said, exasperated. "You know this, stop making excuses and let me stay with you. I need to be here, Father. I have nothing left but you and Lyo."

"Wherever you go, he goes. I realize the two of you are inseparable." Ryo said, nodding at the silent form sitting on a couch off to the side. He was waiting patiently for this argument to be over. For Gya, Lyo would wait until entropy itself collapsed.

"Well then, let us stay. Let us become cadets and learn to crew the ship. I don't want to be a Lady of the Court, I never have. I want to serve and command a warship, Father. Allow me that chance. Do not send me away, please." Gya finished in a half-whisper as silent tears trickled down her face.

Ryo sighed, and then looked squarely at Lyo, who subtly nodded, then stood up. He walked over to stand by Ryo's eldest daughter, and Ryo noted that he took her hand in his as they stood shoulder to shoulder.

Ryo rubbed his temples, he already knew he had lost this battle, probably before it even began. Now, how to make it livable for everybody. "There is no preferential treatment on this ship. I won't protect you. If you mess up, you take the consequences. That is how it is on board."

"Yes, Sir." Came the immediate reply from them both.

Ryo sighed again and shook his head slowly. He then thumbed a comm. "Captain Kalen, come in here, please."

The hatch opened and Kalen stepped into the ready room. "Aye, Commander?"

"These are your newest recruits, Captain. Two clean pairs of hands to get dirty keeping this ship running. Make sure they stay out of the way and get them learning everything they need to learn."

Kalen nodded, a slight smile as he looked at both Gya and Lyo.

"Ok, you two, quick march, we need to get you kitted and fitted. Commissary, both of you, now." Gya and Lyo both turned, saluted him, and walked out of the room. Kalen turned to follow them, but paused at the threshold to look back at the Commander.

"Take care of them, Kalen. Teach them and keep them safe." Ryo said.

"I'll keep them close, Commander, they will be kept so busy they won't have time to worry about the past events. I will not fail you." Came the reply from his XO.

...

"Come on, I've got quarters assigned for you, they're not much, but they will be home from now on." He allowed them both to walk out of the Commissary before him, and guided them through the maze of corridors on the crew deck. After what seemed like a bewildering and dizzying time, they arrived outside cabin A3-C2-G6. Kalen opened the hatch and ushered them both in.

The cabin was not large, by any standards. It had two beds, side by side, a small kitchen unit, equally small bathing space, and storage cabinets all over it, along with a large cabinet.

Kalen pointed out all the facilities, and indicated the cabinet. "That's where your suits will go when they are not in use. Always keep your suits in top condition. You are in deep vacuum here. If we have a pressure leak, or blowout, that suit is the only thing that will keep your blood from boiling in your veins."

"Captain?" Gya finally asked him after she had put most of her pile of uniform and toiletries away.

"Yes, Cadet?" Kalen replied.

"There is only one cabin?"

Kalen nodded. "Take that up with the Commander next time you see him. He was the one who told me to put you in this bank. This bank of cabins are for couples or mated officers. The Commander felt this was the best location for you to be situated." Kalen turned and closed the pressure door, then turned back to face them.

"Sit down, the both of you." The two obediently sat on the edge of the beds.

"You may want to be treated like anybody else, however the reality is, Lady Gya, you are the Commander's Daughter, and there is no way on Helva's breath that he or I will allow any harm to come to you on board the Commander's own ship. He wants you to keep busy, and you will be busy. Do not think that you will be coddled or given special treatment. You want to be part of this ships' crew, you will be. Just don't expect it to all be grease and T'Ressi work. Within reason I will keep you from the worst of this ships' underbelly, and I know that Lyo will also do his part to keep you safe as you learn your way about."

Kalen held up his hand so that he could continue without interruption. "Even though I know the two of you are far too young to even think about this realistically, this is more keeping up appearances. If the two of you get involved, then so be it. It will probably keep the wolves at bay more easily. At the very least, make it look like the two of you are fully involved."

He waited until they both reluctantly nodded.

"Remember, you wanted to be here, Lady Gya. Lyo will go wherever you lead, and the Commander has explained the reasoning behind it. This is a very honorable reason, my lad. Not many would do what you have done to stay close to somebody like this Lady here."

Gya looked at Lyo. "What have you done, Lyo?"

"I'll tell you later, Gya." he replied, never taking his eyes off the Captain.

Kalen looked at a display above the door. "It's almost time for shift change. Get suited up in the blue uniforms, those are your off-work gear. Once you're both ready, click on the Comm and ask for the bridge, then ask for me. I'll give you your instructions then."

He turned and unlatched the hatch, then turned back to them before opening it. "You're as safe on board this ship as anywhere else, Lady Gya. You will, however, need to keep your wits about you." He then swung open the door and stepped out, closing the heavy door behind him.

Gya breathed a sigh and fell back onto her cot as Lyo fell sideways off his own, causing them both to laugh in relief.

"So, Lyo Camelin ... what is it that you have done that has impressed the Senior Officers on board this ship?"

Lyo put a hand on the cot and lifted himself back up so he could meet her eyes. "I swore an Oath to your Father to protect you, Gya Camelin."

"I don't need protection." She said indignantly, then threw a pillow at him.

Lyo dodged the pillow and grabbing her wrists, flung her back onto the bed so he was lying mostly on top of her, nose-to-nose with her. He gently kissed her nose, then sat up, allowing her to rise. "I disagree, as does Commander Camelin. This is why he agreed to your idea in the first place, because I'll be with you. You may not want protection, my Gya, but you do need it, from the wolves, as Captain Kalen so nicely put it, if nothing else."

She was about to say something else when a soft gong made them both look at the door, where the time indicator showed shift change was now in progress.

"We'd better get dressed and let the Captain know we're ready." Lyo said.

Gya nodded, and giving him a sideways glare, slipped out of the undershirt so she could get into the more comfortable off-duty uniform. Lyo chuckled as he doffed the shirt and the shorts, then slipped on the uniform pants.

"What is so funny, Cadet?" Gya grumbled as she slipped out of her own shorts to pull on the uniform pants.

"Your modesty. We never had this issue when we went swimming, or got changed before. Why now, all of a sudden?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, it just feels different. Maybe because of everything that has happened. I am not really sure."

Lyo nodded, then finished doing up the clasps and stood. Gya stood also and did the clasps up on her tunic.

"Ready?" He asked, she nodded. Lyo reached over to the Comm and flicked it on. "Bridge, please." A slight pause, then "Bridge, Officer Cato on duty."

"I was told to report to Captain Kalen when we were ready, this is Lyo Camelin."

They both heard a muffled laugh, then "Hold on, Mr. Camelin, I'll get the Captain."

Lyo felt his ears beginning to burn, then "Lyo, this is Kalen, you both ready?"

"Yes, Sir. We're ready to go." he replied, then took down the instructions that Kalen gave.

A few minutes later, hopelessly lost in the maze of corridors on the crew deck, Gya finally slammed a fist against a wall and grumbled, "I used to run these corridors and knew every centimer. Why is there no map to this ship?"

" _Where do you wish to go, Cadet Gya?_ " Came a disembodied voice.

"Who .. what ... who is this?" She said, looking around. The corridor was empty except for Lyo, and he was as bewildered as she was.

" _I identify as AC, Primary Consciousness of TGX-2. I am at your service, Cadet. Where do you wish to go?_ "

"I didn't think TGX ships had a full AI on board." Gya said. Then shook her head. "Um, we need to get to Gathering Room G6, on deck 15." The wall lit up in a chevron pattern that flickered, showing a direction to go.

" _Follow the wall indicators, I will guide you to your location._ "

With the wall indicators guiding them, it was an easy, if exhausting trek to get to the Gathering Room. They went up two sweeping ramps that were the gangways between decks and finally came to a door that was ringed in the chevron. " _This is your destination, Cadets._ "

"Thank you, AC." Gya said, "I very much appreciate this."

" _My internal layout is very complex to the unaware. Contact me if you have need of anything else, I am ready to assist._ " The voice faded away as she walked up to the door. Lyo pushed it open and they entered to see a table laid out for a meal, with the Commander and Captain Kalen already seated.

"I thought you had gotten lost." Ryo stated as he stood to greet them. Kalen also stood and grinned at their confusion.

"We had help from the TGX AI, Father." Gya said as she stepped over the threshold, then she turned and secured the hatch, glaring at Lyo to let her do it.

Ryo smiled. "I know, I asked AC where you were, and she informed me she was guiding you here, a few minutes ago."

"Come, sit, enjoy a meal. You don't often get the opportunity to have a relaxing meal on this ship, especially in the company of it's Commander and XO." Kalen said and indicated the two places that had been set for them. Gya and Lyo sat as they were bid.

"Father, err Commander?" Gya asked as she corrected herself.

"Yes, Cadet?"

"Why was I never aware of the AI on this ship before?" She asked him.

"AC will not make herself known unless you are a member of the crew. Even the Commander's daughter was not a member of the crew before today, my dear." Ryo said with a small smile.

The meal was enjoyed with light conversation, full of jokes told by both Ryo and Kalen of past exploits and trials on board the TGX cruiser. As the plates were being cleared by the steward, Ryo sat back and looked at both of the cadets with narrowed eyes.

"Gya, Lyo. I still think this is a poor idea for you to serve on board this ship. However, it is better than having you serve on any other ship, because at least here I can keep an eye on you both. You will be given duties to perform, and you will be taught how to do them. I expect you both to excel at the tasks so that you can earn your commissions and ranks, just like any other crewman on this ship."

He leaned forward and locked eyes with his daughter.

"However, when this ship goes to Battle Alert, you are both to come to the Bridge at once. There is no delay, no matter what task you are doing. If we go to Alert, you get your backsides to my bridge double-time."

"Yes, Commander, but isn't that giving us special treatment?" Gya managed to ask.

Ryo glared at her until she broke his gaze and looked down at her hands, then he chuckled.

"Yes, my Daughter. It is giving you special treatment. I'll be damned to Helva if any of my officers would deny me doing that for my child. None of them will, in fact it was Comm Officer Cato who suggested you and Lyo muster to the bridge in Alerts. All of the Senior Officers know who you two are. By the end of this Work Turn all of the Line Officers will know as well. We are going to work you to the bone, Gya. I'll be damned if I let you get hurt in the process though."

...

Much later that eve, when they had been dismissed from the meal, and after a brief tour of the bridge to allow them to meet the Senior Officers, Lyo and Gya made their way back to their quarters. Gya was falling asleep as she walked, so Lyo was helping her, with AC guiding the way with silent chevrons on the walls to indicate the best route to go. The door to their quarters beckoned, and he leaned an exhausted Gya against the corridor wall as he opened the door. A thump bade him turn, she had slumped down to the deck and was dead asleep.

Lyo smiled to himself, and lifted her arms, then hoisted her over his shoulder. She was a tall girl, but still very light-boned, so it was easy for him to carry her into their quarters and he then knelt down so that she was on the cot, only for her to fall backwards and lie on the mattress in the boneless collapse of deep sleep. She was totally exhausted.

He unfastened her tunic top and rolled her side to side to slip it from her, leaving her in just the light inner lining of the off-duty uniform. Then he undid the pants and slid them off her hips so that she would at least be comfortable. He spent a few minutes folding her uniform and then slipped out of his own and made everything neat in the room before getting onto the other cot, beside her. He touched a control and the lighting in the room dimmed to a fraction of normal levels, so that it would be easier to sleep.

Lyo lay in bed, Gya softly snoring on the cot beside him, and thought about the events of the past few days, and indeed, the past few weeks.

He was not surprised to slightly wake up later and found her on his cot, wrapped against his side. Gya often did that when she had fallen asleep in the hot afternoons back on the Clanworld. He rested, and eventually, Lyo slept.

...

Some days passed, Ryo was always aware that his crew was very carefully watching him, and making whatever allowances they could for him. He found himself on the receiving end of extraordinary service. The stewards had meals ready almost before he needed them, bridge staff always had mugs of Kaf and reports ready as soon as he walked onto the bridge.

He allowed Kalen to guide the two teens as they learned how to work on board the massive ship, their quarters were just down the corridors from his own. That made Ryo feel better, knowing that his family, what was left of it, was close by. He also had long talks with Lyo while Gya slept. Lyo was very much like Emperor Masilec, Ryo realized. The lad only needed a few hours sleep a night, while his daughter struggled to adjust to the shift times on board the battlecruiser.

Ryo slept alone. It was a difficult transition after having had Lya by his side for the past fourteen cycles, to now be alone. He knew from the looks and from the many soft gestures he had seen, that any of his female crew, bar none, would welcome the opportunity to share his bed and try to give him some solace. He realized that it would not be an abuse of power, nor a problem with crew morale. His crew honoured him, and they wanted him to survive this tragedy. He chose to carefully ignore or decline all offers, and became fully celibate.

As soon as Aya was safe to move, they transported her on board the TGX and it made a Vortex jump to Tara, where Tyo came on board and took over the care of Ryo's young daughter. Tyo assured him that Aya would recover and have the best of care, then Aya was taken off the ship to recover from her injuries in the largest medical facility in the Confederacy.

Chapter 4.2

Keep Her Safe - TGX-2 in Tara Orbit -17 BA

"I'll make sure she is well cared for, Ryo. You need not worry. You focus on repair and rebuilding. Aya will be as safe here as I am. She will not be harmed." Tyo said as he held Ryo's hand.

Ryo nodded as the travel bed with his young daughter slid by, escorted by two medics. "She is still under sedation. The Nanos are working on the injury. I'm sure the Palace doctors will bring her back, but I need her to live here. My Clanworld is in no shape to have her, and Desinlo is devastated, Tyo."

The Emperor nodded. "I know, You have a Clan to rebuild, I have a Confederacy to run, and I have some dealings that need to be handled in regards to another Clan that has now fully overstepped the boundaries of appropriateness."

"Tyo, just ... keep her safe. That is all I require." Ryo said.

Tyo nodded and shook Ryo's hand, then pulled his Cousin into a firm hug. "I feel for your loss, Ryo. Do not worry yourself over Aya any more, she will be healed and will live here as long as you want her to. She will be safe in my home."

Ryo went to the travel bed, picked up his daughter's tiny hand and kissed it gently, then laid it across her small chest. "Sleep well, my child. Heal and rest, you will be safe."

He watched as Tyo and the medics carefully loaded the bed onto a transport shuttle, and stayed as the shuttle lifted and slid out of the docking bay, until it vanished into the midnight sky of stars.

Ryo turned, and as his crew discretely failed to notice, wiped a few stray tears from his eyes, then followed him back into the depths of the Battlecruiser as they prepared for the next fight.

...

Tyo sat in a chair as the shuttle began it's descent, barely noticing the flare of atmosphere outside as the friction was vented to slow the descent. He was busy on the Comm.

"I need Doctor Solonae at the landing port. We have a critically injured child here who will need his immediate attention. I also need to meet with whomever is currently running the Lari'Sota, I need a consultation. Right now, I don't care about the drought on Peradon. You get the regional governor to handle that for this moment. I have a higher priority." He closed the Comm and looked at the sleeping face of the 4 cycle old child that Ryo had left in his care.

She was pretty, definitely a Camelin, and he knew that no matter what, she would survive and thrive with him. Ryo had always stood beside or behind him, ready to defend or give him a push in the right direction. This was the least Tyo could do to repay his Cousin.

Chapter 4.3

She Will Never Be A Burden - Royal Palace, Tara -17 BA

The shuttle touched down at night, and as the ramp lowered, the head of the Palace Medical department, Doctor Solonae, walked on board with two of his nurses.

"Who is this we have here, my Lord?" He asked as he began to examine the young girl.

"Aya Camelin, daughter of the Clan. She is the first-born daughter of Clan Camelin. Now going to live with us for her own protection." Tyo replied. "You will heal her, Doctor. No exceptions."

The doctor looked at Tyo and replied gruffly. "You do not tell me my duty, Lord Emperor. I have served the Clans Desinlo, Camelin and Masilec with honor and integrity. My loyalty is not in question. You give me a patient, I heal that patient."

Tyo nodded, "Yes, Doctor. Just, she is special to me, and to her father. Take care of her."

Doctor Solonae nodded. "She will have the best of care, the very best. Come now, we must get her into my medical so we can see what must be done."

The medics slid the bed down the ramp and down into the waiting flitter that would take it to the extensive medical facility attached to the Palace. The doctor bid Tyo fare well and stepped into the flitter. Tyo stood as it lifted and flew off, taking young Aya to one of the best care facilities in the entire Confederacy.

He turned and gathered his robes around him in the chill night air, then began to walk towards the palace, about a hundred mets off. As he approached, noting the guards conspicuously near, but allowing him his privacy, an older woman came up to him.

"My Lord, you called for us?" She said with a slight curtsy.

"You are?" He asked, not recognizing her.

"I am Pya, regent of the Lari'Sota. I was told you requested my presence, My Lord."

Tyo stopped and looked her over, then "Walk with me, Lari'Sota."

She fell into step beside him as he walked into the palace itself. "We have a new guest with us, the daughter of Clan Camelin. First-born. She is only just four cycles old. She has no idea of palace life, or any life outside of her mother. That woman has gone to Pangea. Aya is alone now. Her father, Ryo Camelin is off fighting a Clan war. She has no family, no companions, and will be alone here. She will need people around her. I want you to see who can be arranged to be with her at all times to make her feel as comfortable as possible."

Pya walked in silent thought for a moment. "The Lari'Sota are an ancient order, My Lord. Established thousands of cycles ago by the elders to help maintain peace and serenity at the palace itself. I will assign two of my girls to assist. I have an orphan daughter, Kya, from Clan Desinlo, who was given to our care almost a cycle past. She is five cycles in age. A good match to be a companion to the young Lady, and she can grow with her. I will also assign Tya to their care and comfort. She is properly of age and can ensure the Lady receives the proper training and education to live in the palace and not be a burden to your or the other staff."

"A burden? Aya could never be a burden to me, Regent Pya. Do not presume that I am attempting to shuffle her off to a dark corner. She will be in my presence more often than not." Tyo stated, looking at the older woman evenly.

"No disrespect was meant, my Lord. If the young Lady does not know how to act in the court, she may find some of our activities uncomfortable or distressing. She must learn how to act so that she can survive and thrive here." Pya replied.

Tyo came to the door to his chambers. He held out his hand, and Pya took it. He then bowed to her. "Thank you, Regent. Take care of the Lady Aya and keep me advised of any progress or changes. You will find her with Doctor Solonae at this time."

Pya nodded and turned to leave as Tyo entered his chambers to get some rest.

The next morning, Pya was at the Medical Center waiting as the Doctor finished his examination of the still sedated child. She stood as Doctor Solonae came to her with a viewpad showing his report.

"Have you been given responsibility for the young Lady?" He asked.

"Yes, Doctor. The Lord Emperor has placed her in my immediate care for her recuperation." Pya replied.

"She has a severe spinal injury. No nerve damage luckily, but many shattered and broken vertebrae. Her spine has been partially fused and will not grow properly." The Doctor explained as he looked at the report.

"What does that mean for her?" Pya asked.

"Unless we make adjustments, she will be severely stunted or may in fact have a severe spinal deformity. We will have to do several nano treatments during her growth spurts to enable her spine to repair itself. However, the best treatment is to reduce her natural growth hormone to ensure her body grows at a controlled rate so we can adjust her spine properly." Doctor Solonae explained.

Pya pursed her lips. "So if you reduce the growth hormone, she will grow slower, and will not reach her normal height. But will she be properly formed?"

The Doctor nodded slowly. "She will be as perfect as her parents produced, just smaller than expected. I will ensure she develops properly. As you are the responsible one, you must give me authorization."

Pya reached for the Pad and thumb-signed it, giving her approval. "Do what is needed, Doctor. We need this girl healthy and whole."

Chapter 4.4

A Different Mother - Medical Wing, Royal Palace, Tara -17 BA

Little Aya slowly woke up. Feeling some stiffness in her back, she looked around, everything was different and strange. This was not home. It didn't smell or sound like home. She began to cry.

Immediately she was gently pulled to a warm breast and held by a warm motherly smelling woman. Not her mother, but still a very comforting feeling. She relaxed as she felt comfort and safety radiating from the woman, then looked up into deep purple eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked as she was gently rocked.

"My name is Tya, I am here for you, my little Lady. Your Father wanted me to keep you safe." Came the soft almost sing-song response from the warm woman who cuddled her tightly and soothed her with a gentle rocking motion.

"Where is my mother? Where is Father?" Aya asked.

"They are not here, my little Lady. You are safe, your parents are off doing their duty. You will remain here with me. This is now your duty to your Clan. Do you know of your Clan duty?"

Aya nodded, chin trembling, but remembering lessons about Clan Duty and Responsibility that she had begun to learn before ... whatever happened.

She began to cry, and was again cuddled strongly to Tya's chest so that she snuggled against the warm breasts and rested, feeling safe. She clutched at Tya's breast, and the woman undid her top so Aya could reach the nipple. The child nursed, swallowing Mothers' Milk and felt warm, comforted, and safe.

Chapter 5

Meeting Kya \- Ocean Manor, Tara -17 BA

She woke up later, and things were different. She was in a warm room, full of different things, and wide windows that looked upon a deep blue ocean that had sea birds flying and she could feel a warm salty breeze blowing softly against her.

Tya was sitting on the bed beside her, and took Aya's little hand. "Good morning, my little Lady. Do you feel rested?"

"I think so. I don't hurt on my back any more." Aya replied.

"Can you get up?" Tya asked her gently. Aya got to her feet and wobbled a bit, but then walked around as Tya got up and took her by the hand. "Come, little Lady, I have somebody for you to meet."

Aya walked with Tya to the door, and walked with her out onto a large deck where she saw another little girl sitting, facing the ocean, her wheat-colored hair flying in the wind.

She turned as they approached and got to her feet. Aya saw that she was about the same height, and she walked over to them. "Hi, I'm Kya."

Aya let go of Tya's hand and curtseyed as she had been taught. "My name is Aya, nice to meet you." then she smiled, and the other girl giggled.

Tya sat on the couch and watched the two girls slowly getting to know each other. After the space of less than an hour, they were fast friends. By the end of the day, they were inseparable, and this was as it was going to be. Tya let Regent Pya know that Lady Aya had found her friend and it was good.

...

"Come on sleepyheads, it's time to wake up." Came the singsong voice that both girls thought of as mother. The two young women woke up from where they had been cuddled together in the huge fluffy bed and got groggily to their feet.

Aya looked up at Kya and frowned. "It's not fair, you're getting taller again." She pouted.

Kya giggled and tousled her friends' hair, then dodged as Aya took a half-hearted swing at her. "You may be smaller than me, Lady Aya, but you are tougher!" she teased, then they both tumbled over as Aya tackled her and they wrestled on the bed for a few moments before Tya came back in and with a gentle but firm swat to both little bottoms, got the two young girls out of the bed and off to the bathing pool.

Later that day they were sitting as Doctor Solonae paid his first home visit to them. Aya was nervous as he stood her on a stool and had her disrobe, then very carefully examined her, all over. Tya stayed with her, and she could also see Kya sitting there, so she was not alone, but it was strange to have the Doctor looking her over like she was a piece of machinery.

"You are growing quite properly, my dear. Have you any pain here, or here?" He asked as his large but gentle fingers poked into her back and shoulders.

Aya shook her head. "That doesn't hurt, it kind of tickles though." She half-whispered.

The doctor looked at her with his very shaggy eyebrows, she looked back at him, unsure of what to do, then his eyes crinkled up and he laughed, a great big belly laugh that made her feel a lot better, as he gathered her into his arms for a big hug before handing her back to Tya's arms to help her slip back into her robes.

"Doctor, can I ask a question?" Aya said after she had wrapped herself up in her robe and felt more comfortable.

"For you, little Lady Aya, can ask me anything." Came the rumbling reply.

"Why am I smaller than Kya?"

The Doctor looked at Tya, then knelt down to take Aya's hands in his.

"Do you remember when you came to me, Lady Aya?"

She nodded, it was a sad time, but she did sort of remember the last flight, falling in the air, and the pain in her back, then waking up to know that Mother was gone.

"That injury you got has prevented your body from growing big. We have worked our doctor skills to ensure you will be healthy, my Lady. But you will not be a big girl. You are a small but very strong girl." He explained.

"I'm not going to grow tall, like Kya or mistress Tya?" Aya asked, tears brimming.

The Doctor pulled her into another big comforting hug. "You will not be as tall as other girls may become, Lady Aya. But you will be good. Healthy in every way. Just, as they say, petite. Small, but strong."

Chapter 5.1

Loss Of A Planet - Clanworld Desinlo -17 BA

Ryo Camelin continued to command the TGX-2 and it began to move onwards. Clan Michelab challenged his authority on a number of occasions, but the Leader of Clan Camelin refused to be drawn into a war with them on their terms. Then a signal was received that made no sense. A single ship dropping into the Desinlo system from a billion kims away, moving towards the planet on a steady course. The TGX-2 did a Vortex jump to investigate.

As soon as they dropped into range, battlestations were called, and Ryo noted Gya and Lyo mustered to the bridge to be placed in combat seats by the hatches. He knew they were safe, even as the ship was identified for what it really was. A Gunstar.

Gunstar. A planet-killing weapon designed by long-dead elders from Clan Kerilac and now able to be built by Clan Michelab. Banned by the entire Confederacy, but as the Clan was at war, they now disregarded those laws. Fifty mets long, with a realspace thruster and an unshielded fusion reactor, the Gunstar was a flying mainframe. Capable of pumping out a full Terawatt of destructive tachyon pulsed energy as it destroyed itself. Very basic targeting systems finished it off. Plus a massive shield up front to stop anything destroying it before it got into firing range.

Ryo was watching readouts as he listened to Gya quietly explain to Lyo how the Gunstars worked, and when he heard her comment about them all being destroyed, quietly interrupted them.

"This is a new one, Gya." Gya and Lyo looked up to see the Commander looking at them. "Sensors, any idea where this came from? Gunstars were never equipped with Neospace drives before."

"We are detecting evidence of a neospace plume from back along the Gunstar's point of origin. It's moving at half-light towards the primary of this system. No evidence that it has a neospace drive, most likely, it was dropped by a FTL ship which then slipped back into drive." Came the report from the science station.

"How long until it is within it's firing range?" Kalen asked.

"At current speed, 300 seconds, Captain." Tactical reported.

"Our weapons platforms didn't slow it or damage it?" Ryo asked.

"Negative, Commander. It appears to have a very secure forward shield, proof against a Mainframe barrage, and we are too far away for Missiles or Lances to strike it in time."

Ryo furrowed his brow, then looked at Kalen. "We can't let it get into range, one blast from it will destroy everything we've done over the past eight cycles."

"You think we should blockade the path?" Kalen replied, checking the readouts.

"I don't think we're being given any choice in the matter." Ryo said, then looked at the primary monitor again.

"Tactical, navigation, activate neospace drives and put us directly, I mean directly in the path of the Gunstar, at maximum planetary orbital range. I want it to have to physically hit us before it can get into firing range. Spin the ship so that our drives face the thing, then feather the thrust. Our engine ports should be able to take the impact from it's blast, and the anterior cannon hopefully can cut it apart before it gets a chance to fire." Ryo ordered.

Gya and Lyo felt the deckplates shudder and vibrate as the ship spun around then slid into neospace, travelling slightly above lightspeed as it slid across the star system to drop out in the path of the oncoming weapon. More vibration as the ship spun on it's axis so that it's six main exhausts pointed at the rapidly approaching spacecraft and then the engines began to spew half-burned fuel in an attempt to generate a cloud of hydrogen that would help to cushion or disperse the blast.

"It's scanning us, Commander." Tactical reported, "I'm detecting energy buildup – It may be preparing to fire."

"If you detect the tachyon surge, full thrust plume." Kalen ordered.

"We probably won't even know until it strikes us, Kal-" Ryo said, then the entire ship shuddered and vibrated.

"Weapon has fired, Gunstar is vaporizing." Tactical reported.

"Damage Control, what's our status?" Kalen yelled as the entire ship shook from the impact of the super-luminial weapon.

"Engines one, three, and six are offline, fuel feed blowout. Fire in aft damage control unit, Aft gunnery control is not responding to hails. No reply, the lines may be actually damaged." Damage Control reported as the automatic systems reported their status.

"Commander, oh Gods, we have a major situation." Tactical said as an alarm blipped. Kalen walked over as Ryo looked on. "Commander, Six more Gunstars just dropped out and are approaching. Almost the same vector, similar speed."

"Six! Spin us side-on and arm the cannon for barrage fire. Set up our relativistic guns to generate an interdiction zone as far away from us as possible. Try to shred them as they approach. Where are those cruisers?" Ryo ordered.

The massive ship turned side-on to the approaching weapons and it's main cannon opened up, firing barrages against the heavily armoured bows with little effect. Smaller guns along the top and side of the TGX began to fire packets of Cobalt spheres that expanded outwards as they sped away from the ship at near-light speed, becoming a lethal cloud at about 250,000 kims away.

"Lyo, get down to Aft Gun Control and let us know what's going on. Stay in the central shaft and contact the Bridge on the closest working Comm. Move, lad!" Kalen barked. Lyo stood, and dashed out the door.

Gya looked around, slightly bewildered, until she was motioned over by Comm Officer Cato. "Monitor this channel, let me know if you hear anything, even if it's just a blast of static, copy?" A pair of headphones was thrust onto her head and Gya began to listen intently to a whisper of noise that was being received by the Battlecruiser.

Ryo reviewed the incoming reports as the ship's guns continued to pour a lethal barrage of energy and projectiles at the oncoming weapons. As they watched, the Gunstars passed through the 250,000 kim zone. Not all of them though, three exploded, and a fourth began to drift sideways, no longer under control.

"Keep the guns aimed at the last two, it looks like our projectiles are doing better than the lances." Kalen barked.

"Energy buildup – they're going to fire!" Tactical reported.

"Brace for impact." Ryo shouted just before the ship rang like a gong and then showers of sparks and fire leapt from some consoles.

"Cato, I hear something, I think it's voices." Gya said, tapping Cato on the shoulder as the ship rumbled around them. The other woman quickly flipped one of the earphones away from Gya's head and listened intently.

"Captain, we have incoming, it sounds like friendlies but I'm not sure, they're only just coming in Actual range." she reported.

"Put me on Comm, Cato. That may be our cruiser wing." Ryo said. At the nod from the officer, he spoke. "This is Commander Camelin on board TGX-2. We are under attack by Gunstars deployed from one or more carrier craft. Are you able to assist?"

A loud blast of static that quickly resolved into a strong and clear voice. "... Camelin this is Captain Tokoma aboard Cruiser Decious. We have you in visual and are moving to assist. Sorry we're late to the party but we have dealt with the Carrier. My wing is ready to assist and defend."

Ryo nodded, and replied "Acknowledged, Cruiser Decious. Glad to have you around. We have killed seven Gunstars, however there may be more." He paused, then the entire deck surged violently, Ryo fell against the table as the main lights went out, followed by most of the control consoles.

"TGX-2 are you receiving? Relativistic projectiles have just passed through your location. We are in pursuit, however they are going to hit the planet. Can you receive and are you able to assist?"

"No reply, sir. I'm detecting massive damage, the ship has been holed in a hundred places." Captain Tokoma's Science officer reported.

Tokoma shook his head and swore quietly. "All cruisers, target those projectiles and tear them into pieces, I don't want any to reach the surface. Open it up, Sergeant!"

The twelve cigar-shaped cruisers leapt forward, their laser-based weapons firing continuously as they targeted the cloud of projectiles speeding towards the rapidly approaching globe. Projectile after projectile flared and dissolved into a cloud of slag, however before they could even clear half the cloud, the leading edge had entered the atmosphere and was impacting.

Captain Tokoma watched as the last projectile struck, then turned to his Comm Officer. "Signal the Clanworld. We'll need repair and recovery. Clanworld Desinlo has been destroyed."

The cruisers spun and went to pull alongside the ailing TGX battlecruiser, now listing and venting from close to a hundred impact points where the near lightspeed projectiles had cut through the outer hull like it was foam.

"That was brutal." Kalen gasped as he lifted a ceiling panel off one of the other staff and staggered over to where Ryo was leaning against the comm console, shaking his own head from the ringing and impact.

"What is Helva hit us? How badly are we hurt?" Ryo yelled.

"Most systems are impacted, Commander. We're not getting much. Primaries are rebooting and rerouting." Damage Control reported.

"AC? Are you still online?" Ryo called, he heard a hiss, then the voice of the AI replied. "All core systems functional, Commander Camelin. AC is online."

"Can you identify what happened?" Ryo asked as he helped Cato and Gya back to their chairs from where they had been flung by the deck bucking wildly. He then slumped against the comm console as the primary computer collated the reports.

"The ship was impacted by a large number of Cobalt projectiles travelling at prox 95 light. Outer hull is severely compromised. All major sections of the ship are airtight, automatics are working to restrict atmosphere loss. Damage is primarily around launch and landing bays, outer gun platforms, docking ring, and fuel tanks. We have lost eight percent total fuel and venting continues."

Ryo got to his feet again and staggered over to where Kalen was leaning, helping the other man to his feet as well.

"We got a war on our hands, Captain." He said.

"Commander, we have a broken ship. If we don't get her fixed, we won't be fighting anything except vacuum." Kalen replied.

"Do we have communications? Anything? Anybody?" Ryo asked.

Other staff had managed to get back to their stations and ship systems were coming back to life as the automatics routed around damaged sections to reconnect data lines and control systems.

"Tactical is coming online, the N'Gouras are in close orbit, ready to assist, Commander. Nothing else in system. They are relaying tactical data to compensate, We are in the Clear." Came the report from the tactical console.

"Reactors are all stable. No damage to them or their fuel assemblies. Engines are all offline. Venting fuel from all tanks, loss estimated at 10% and rising." Reactor control reported.

"All weapons are offline, Commander. We have no response from any gun control. We may have lost forward control, reports indicate a projectile may have passed right through it." Gun Control reported.

"We have steering control, but no main engines. We are working to correct the list and gravity control is operational. No loss of field. Primary grav chute is offline due to venting." Navigation reported as they began to fire thrusters to correct the ship's attitude against the uncontrolled fuel venting.

"We've got to stop the fuel leaks, Commander. Atomized hydrogen out there combined with leaking oxygen can cause secondary explosions if it builds up any pressure. The last thing we need is a feedback pulse to the tanks – we'd lose the ship and blast half the atmosphere off the planet if we go up." Kalen said as he looked at the readings coming from Damage Control.

"Put the tanks into drydock." Ryo said.

"Commander?" Kalen asked, not sure what he had heard.

"Switch the tanks into drydock mode. That activates the baffles and compartmentalizes them. We can stop the leaks and then switch back once we've patched the hull. We're not going anywhere right now anyways, so shut down the primary drives and lock the tanks down." Ryo said, going over to reactor control.

"Aye sir, Dryock mode set, activating baffles and lock down."

"Get me a comm line to Tokoma, I need to know what's happened out there." Ryo said, looking over at Cato.

"The planet's burning, Commander. We shot down maybe half of them, the rest impacted. At the speed they were going, they've driven into the mantle. I've got volcanic activity all over the impact zone. Fresh magma. Massive atmospheric disruption. The city is in shambles, the shield was down and at least three projectiles hit close enough to have caused major quakes. We still don't have any word from any of the teams, we may have lost the people down there, Sir." Tokoma reported as he read off sensor readings and described the visuals for the stricken battlecruiser.

"We'll worry about our teams once we get stabilized. What's your view of us visually?" Kalen asked.

"You're not doing much better. Fuel blows all over the anterior hull, we count at least sixty full depth punctures, Captain. We can see straight through the hull on many different impact points. Most of the venting has stopped, but you are in a massive cloud of debris." Tokama replied.

"The core is still running, so we can repair. Did you get a message through?" Ryo asked.

"Yes, Commander. Clanworld is sending a repair ship now, it'll be here in ten hours." Came the reply.

"Good, we're going to need some work done on this old girl." Kalen said, looking out the hatch, then he pushed off to almost run out and grabbed at a crewman as he nearly staggered in, face coated with blood.

"Gya, grab his arm, help me get him to medical!" Kalen said as Gya rushed around the console to assist. She didn't immediately realize, but as she got close saw that this was Lyo, badly hurt, but it was her Lyo.

Chapter 5.2

There Should Never be a Breeze – TGX-2 -17 BA

In the primary Gravity passage, Lyo was speeding along to the aft gunnery station when he saw lightning up ahead, as the gravity field dropped and he fell to the corridor bottom, curling into a ball as he did so. Getting up, he wiped some blood off his lip and checked himself. Nothing broken, a few bruises though.

He hopped up and climbed up the handholds until he got to the deck level, then walked along until he got to a comm station. There was no power at the station. He also noted that the main lights were flickering. The next thing he realized was a breeze blowing from behind. Turning, he could see airtight doors sealing off the corridor behind him, and he pulled himself around the door frame and then pulled the hatch shut. Securing it he looked around, he was on Deck 6, Section 4. The Bridge was Deck 15, Section 1. Gunnery Control was Deck 1, he was just over halfway and there was a hole in the ship.

The main lights went out, leaving the hallway in almost darkness, only the dim emergency lighting remained active, powered by self-charging units, it was enough to see by. Lyo made his way along the corridor to the next hatch, and checked it, then opened it and stepped through, then closed the hatch behind him.

He was now in one of the four trunk passages that spiralled around the main Gravity passage and also went the length of the battlecruiser. There were some indicator lights on the wall panel, so he went to it and tried to hail the bridge. Static came from the panel. The deck vibrated under him, then bucked, and he nearly lost his footing.

He heard a rumbling noise that he was not familiar with, then the wall beside him exploded outwards, flinging him against the far wall and cutting his face with shrapnel.

Lyo coughed as he got back to his feet, barely able to see, one eye was already swollen shut, the other was so badly hurt that he was unsure of where to go, but he again felt the breeze that was so out of place on a spacecraft. The feel of atmosphere flowing past as it vented into vacuum.

He staggered down the trunk, supporting himself against the wall, not noticing the glowing chevrons indicating the way he needed to go. He also failed to notice the doors opening in front of him and sealing behind him as the TGX-2 AI guided him towards safety. He finally fell onto a doorjamb, almost to weak to continue, then felt a strong pair of hands lifting him one one side, then on the other. "Get him to medical." He heard, and thought it was the Captain, then he thought nothing at all.

Chapter 5.3

Just A Memory - Desinlo Capitol -17 BA

Days later, Gya stood on a small hill overlooking the remains of her home city. Some of the projectiles had impacted here, leaving hundred met wide craters and glowing columns of radioactive ember that still lit up the sky even in the full brightness of daylight. She took another drink of a flask that held anti-radiation and anti-nausea medication and walked back to the shuttle that had landed nearby.

"It's all gone, isn't it?" She said as she stepped on board. Lyo sat there, bandaged up from the injuries he'd received when the battlecruiser had been struck by the wave of projectiles before they had struck the world below and torn apart the crust of the planet.

"The Sinlo River was vaporized by an impact, two more struck close to the Delta eddy, the entire region is a radioactive wasteland now. Most of what we know is destroyed. Gya, there's nothing left here for us now." Lyo said as she sat beside him.

She looked at him, then reached over and ran a hand across his bandaged face. "Do you want to go back to the ship, Lyo? Father says he'll put us on Tara, or back on Clanworld Camelin, or pretty much anywhere we want to go."

"Gya, my dream since I was six cycles old has always been to be with you. You know this, your Mother knew this, and the Commander knows this. Wherever you go, I will be there. You want to join the Military and become an Officer, so we go back to the ship. That is our home now. This ... is just a memory."

Gya nodded, and took another drink of the medicinal flask. Lyo thumped on the side of the shuttle so that the pilot poked his head around the companionway.

"We're ready, Sergeant. Bring us back home." Lyo said as the door closed on the shuttle.

Fifteen minutes later, the pilot cycled down the engines and secured the shuttle as Gya unbuckled herself, then helped Lyo to unbuckle also. The facial injury he had received was still healing, so his right eye was covered and he had very little balance control in the ship's gravity field.

Gya walked with Lyo, his hand resting on her arm so that he didn't run into anything as she guided him back to the medical centre. The facility was still full of wounded crew from when the relativistic projectiles had torn through the hull like so much sea foam. Gya swapped the empty flask for another full one, and waited impatiently as one of the medical techs ran a quick set of tests on her.

"You know that if I let you leave without getting you checked, Cadet. I'll be doing engine duty, during a blow over." The tech said with a slight grin.

Gya nodded and smiled back to know that she wasn't upset or angry. She looked at Lyo as he sat on a chair, still waiting. He always waited. He had told her he would never leave her, and this had proven it, again.

"Cadet, you have managed to absorb almost a full Grey during your time down there. What were you doing, dancing on a crater?" The tech said with a shake of her head.

She pulled the flask out of Gya's hand with a tsk and replaced it with a different one, then added a vial of dark fluid which quickly dissolved in the clear liquid. "Drink all of that within fifteen minutes, Cadet. Can I trust you do do this, or you drink it right here, right now?"

Gya looked at Lyo, then opened the flask and began to drink. She grimaced at the taste, it tasted metallic and chalky, but she persevered, and finished the entire dose.

"Good girl." The tech said, and took the flask from her. "You are both ordered to your quarters. No duties for a full two turns. Cadet Gya, expect nausea, the nanos will repair your cell damage, but they play merry Helva with your balance, so you can expect to get sick very quickly. I'd keep you both here, but we have far too many displaced crew until the hull is fully patched up as it is. Get out of here and call medical if you need any assistance. We'll send somebody fast as we can."

They made it to their quarters and Gya managed to get Lyo sitting on his bed before her stomach flipped on her, she barely made it to the refresher before she emptied her lunch and part of breakfast as well. She wiped her face and hands, then came back into the room shakily, Lyo had gotten himself into a comfortable position on his bed, the bandages covering his face and upper chest wrapped tightly, a strong contrast to his bronze skin.

"A fine team we are." She said shakily. "I'm puking, you're torn apart."

Lyo smiled, and laughed, then winced as his broken ribs shifted.

"Come to bed, my Gya. We'll rest together and heal up nicely." He held out an arm and Gya pulled off her jacket so that she could crawl onto his bed and carefully cuddle up to his side.

Chapter 5.4

Rest and Repair - Clanworld Camelin -17 BA

"The Majority of the damage is repaired, Commander. The hull has passed a sweep, we can make a jump." Kalen said as he signed off on a review of the repairs so far conducted.

"Then let's get back to the Clanworld and put this ship into a full repair bay. I have a feeling we're going to need her fully operational as soon as possible, Captain." Ryo said as he nodded to an ensign who had just finished giving him a report of his own.

The TGX engines fired up, four of the six functional, the other two had damaged fuel feed lines so they had been disabled. It slowly spun on it's axis and accelerated into a neospace bubble, leaving the broken Clanworld Desinlo behind, still glowing from the damage, with volcanic activity still rising, the air dark with smoke and ash as the planet began the process of remaking itself.

Once the ship was safely moored to the Camelin Skyhook anchor, repair crews got busy working on the massive battlecruiser. The temporary panels were removed and fresh hull plating was mounted in place properly. Pipes and duct work were cut out and fresh sections welded into the gaps left behind. The ship was repaired and refitted. The Hablis cost was high, nearly four hundred crewmen had been killed during the impacts and blowouts. Ryo had all of them sent to the Gates of Pangea. As he said to Kalen later, it was the least he could do. Their families were all honoured and military pensions were awarded, as well as awards for their service to the clan. Nobody was forgotten.

Most of the crew took leave and rested while technical teams rebuilt the entire ship, even Kalen spent time on the ground, which was rare, for he normally spent his off hours walking the corridors of the mighty battlecruiser as it was his only home.

Ryo had never pressed his XO for history, but he knew most of it, and at times he worried for the older man who had lost almost as much as he had, just under different circumstances.

As much as he admired Kalen's dedication to the ship and to the job that made him almost indispensable, Ryo refused to allow him to set foot back on board until Kalen had actually taken time for himself, to rest and recover.

Viktor Kalen leaned against the pod wall as it dropped towards the Capitol eighteen thousand kims below. He had a loaded credstick in his pocket, and between four and eight weeks of time to burn doing whatever it was that he wanted. What he wanted was above him, growing smaller as he dropped away from it. Running the massive TGX had been his life for the past 20 cycles, now, for a brief time, he was adrift.

The pod had a number of other crewmen and women from the TGX, descending down to take leave, like him, most of them seemed somehow dispossessed. His detachment had a more direct purpose though. Viktor let his mind wander as he leaned against the inner rail, watching the planet slowly grow larger, thinking back 25 cycles, when he was a fresh lieutenant, just assigned to the gigantic ship, under Gyo Camelin's command.

He smiled to himself as he remembered his first real experience with the grav chutes, and his embarrassment at vomiting all over the old Commander. Even though it amused Gyo, it was still very poor conduct, and Viktor was happy to be on laundry duty for a week, as long as it let him get his bearings.

He rose through the ranks fast, shifting to the role of a natural leader quickly and keeping the crew below him in good order with any duty he was assigned. He was not surprised when he was assigned to the XO position only four cycles after getting on board the TGX, but he was still very proud of this achievement. He wanted to serve, and being second in command of the Clan flagship was the best way he could think of.

Then the accident. Gyo had been on the flight deck, watching shuttle manoeuvres, when a drive unit had exploded, spraying the area with lethal radiation and contaminants. Gyo had gotten the deck clear, but took a vastly lethal dosage himself in the process. Even with medical aid, his days were numbered.

His only surviving son, Ryo was expected to take command, and Kalen made sure the ship was ready. When Ryo did finally come on board with the transfer of orders, Kalen pushed and berated the crew to understand that a change was going to happen and that the crew was not going to falter on his watch.

He had to slap a few heads and dress down more than a few officers who did not properly obey or accept the much younger man who was now in charge of the ship. Viktor had no issue with it, he knew Ryo's history and knew that this Clansman was made for command, he just had to be shown the ropes.

The dive through the Oxymax nebula was the new Commander's first real test of leadership and character. Driving the massive battlecruiser at neospace velocities through that cloud was a strain on the ship and her crew, but they persevered, and then acted to protect the planet from the bombardment.

That night, on the planet, the celebration thrown in their honour by the Lady Desinlo and her women. Viktor had met his Jalena and they had made a strong son that night. Kalen sighed as the lift broached the tube as it dropped into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, beginning to slow as it continued it's descent.

Like Ryo, he had brought Jalena back with him to live on the Clan world so she could give birth and raise their child in a safe environment. Sadly, the child had been stillborn, a result of Jalena's long-term exposure to the Cobalt Radiation on Desinlo. She had stayed there, helping with the resettlement of the Desinlo people when the planet had finally been declared a loss, and he had spent many nights with her, enjoying the company and the intimacy that she offered him freely and willingly.

His time with Jalena was cut short, all of a sudden she was gone. But after such a long time together, while he was on patrol. She was heavily pregnant with their second child, and he left her in the care of the medical staff while he ran the patrol. He had flown back home to find a double tragedy. Jalena had died in childbirth along with his second child, a daughter. Viktor Kalen had no children, and his partner was now gone.

Chapter 6

Kalen on the Dirt - Clanworld Camelin -17 BA

Viktor ran his hands through his white hair, caused by radiation exposure that had permanently removed the ability for his follicles to produce melanin. His natural colour was a dark blonde, but he had not seen that colour for many cycles now. Viktor looked at his reflection in the glass as the pod slowed down, sliding into the cradle with a sigh of air as the magnetic shield wrapped round it, pressurizing the vacuum before the doors slid open to allow the passengers to embark.

He hoisted his bag to his shoulder and walked off the pod, out of the lift centre and onto the streets of the Capitol itself. Kalen looked around, the blueish light from the primary was similar enough to the lighting on board the TGX that he had no problem adjusting to it. He had quarters always ready for him, and he headed for them, may as well settle in, he had specific orders not to go upcable until the Commander contacted him.

Kalen tossed his bag on the bed and sat down in a comfortable chair that overlooked the capitol and the tower complex that had been built over a deca ago to house the displaced Desinlo population. He still missed his Jalena, Viktor had taken many women since then, in an effort to bury his memories in new flesh, but she still haunted him, as did the memory of his lost children.

He had learned of Jalena's tragic death in the aftermath of yet another Michelob attack which had again, just like the other few times, been enough of a surprise that the Camelin defences had not quite stopped it. That had been the last straw, the only time in his memory that he had struck the Commander.

They had been sitting in Ryo's quarters after the last reports had come in, Kalen already quite drunk on Isk, and noticing that the Commander was quite willing to let him drink himself into a stupor to help hide the pain.

"You want to get me sodded, Ryo?" He had asked.

"Sometimes, Viktor, it helps. I know it has helped me on occasion, after the loss of Lya." Ryo said, then downed his own glass.

"You lost one, I've lost all of them!" Kalen had snarled, drinking the glass dry, then throwing it against the wall to bounce off and clatter to the floor.

"Damn carbon crystal, doesn't even break, no satisfaction." He growled, then reached for the bottle and another glass.

"We can go downside and find a bar with silica glass, that breaks well." Ryo said quietly.

"They're all gone, Ryo. All of them now. What am I going to do?" Victor cried, beginning to sob as he started into the glass of light amber liquid.

Ryo got up and came over to put his hand on Kalen's shoulder. "You'll survive, Viktor, like all of us do. We will survive and we will deal with those who have allowed this to happen."

"We should had boosted the defences earlier. I told you we needed another layer of cannon. You said, they wouldn't dare do that again. Ryo, they hit us, again, fifteen thousand dead, thirty-five thousand injured!" Viktor said, rolling to his feet and without thinking, bringing his hand up to strike his Commander across the face.

The two men stood there, nose to nose, then Viktor staggered back and mumbled an apology, but was stopped by Ryo from fleeing the room and pulled into a solid hug.

That had been a turning point, where the two became more than XO and Commander, but a real friendship began to develop. Kalen became a part of Ryo's family, any event he was at, Viktor was also at. He became as much a part of the family as Lyo had become, not blood, but certainly an important member.

Viktor woke up, he had fallen asleep in the chair and night had fallen. Not that the city ever slept, the light from the skyhook was always active, and the city operated 26 hours a day, never sleeping.

He pulled out some clothes, and pulled off his tunic, then slipped on the shirt, feeling fine still wearing his uniform pants and ship boots. Putting the credstick in his shirt pocket, Viktor stepped out into the active nightlife of the Capitol of Clanworld Camelin.

He walked down the spinward concourse, and went into one of the Officer's clubs that lined the palisade. He was well known in most of the clubs around the capitol, off duty Kalen was a womanizer, and most of the Lari'Sota who worked the area had either enjoyed him, or at least knew of him.

He only ever spent intimate time with dark skinned women who had black or deep blue eyes, and who kept their hair short, like his lost Jalena. However, he would entertain and celebrate with anybody, he was a happy social part of the club scene, and never caused a problem, nor did problems ever seem to happen around him. Mostly due to the nearly invisible security that Ryo had ensured was always there to steer problems away from the Captain and ensure he could enjoy himself without issue.

Ryo knew what Kalen sought, but was not willing to delve into the other man's personal affairs deeply enough to find him another mate. He respected Viktor Kalen far too much to do that to him, and dreaded the result if Viktor ever found out what he had done in that case.

Kalen went into one club and sat down at the table that the doorman indicated, as he sat, an attractive dark skinned Lari'Sota came up to him with a drink of Isk and placed it on the table in front of him, then herself on his lap.

"Hello, Captain." she said. "It's been some time since you were downside."

Kalen drank half the glass of Isk in one gulp, then with one hand around the silken waist of the girl, looked into her eyes and smiled. She would do, for tonight. Tomorrow, there would be another. The parade would never end for him. Viktor was lost, and these girls were more than willing to help him find what it was he searched for.

The next morning, he was up with the dawn, a pounding headache dealt with by a nano treatment, he left his rooms early, leaving the girl still sleeping in his bed. He often did that, the girls knew his patterns, and she would be gone by the time he returned. Ready that evening if he wanted her again, or any of the myriad of others who took his fancy at the time.

Kalen had a thought during his time with her though, and he had left for the archives to explore the thought. Sitting down at a console, he inserted his ident and was granted full access to the entire Camelin archives, and a good portion of the overall Confederacy records as well.

He began by pulling all records on Desinlo. Hunting back for the history of Jalena Kilva Sinlo. She was from a long line of Sinlo's he saw. Each one from the same genetic mother, stretching back nearly four hundred cycles. His Jalena had always been special, according to the records, she had really been something special though. Records as to the detail were restricted. Kalen's authority was not high enough. When one of the attendants brought him a mug of Kaf, he also asked for a glass of Isk, which he then mixed in, and made a call upcable.

"You want my security access for an archive search, Viktor?" Ryo said, sitting at the command console as he watched three techs carefully unbolting the Comm console and preparing to pull it off the bridge to be replaced with an updated model.

"You don't have to do it, Ryo. Something about Desinlo history had bothered me, and you said I had to relax, what better way than reading the archives?" Viktor replied, nonchalantly.

"Viktor?"

"Yes, Ryo?"

"Do I need to arrange for you to have a bevy of bouncing beauties at your beck and call?"

Viktor laughed. "I'm doing fine on that score, my Lord Camelin. Access codes please?"

Ryo tapped in a command sequence that granted Captain Kalen Regal access to the archives for a period of one solar day.

"I can only do this for a one day term, so let me know tomorrow if you need the same level, Viktor."

"Understood, Ryo, and thank you." Viktor closed the channel, took a gulp of his blended drink, and began to dig deeper with the highest access outside of the Emperor himself.

Why was Jalena's history so specific and what was the correlation? He wondered as he dug into the records. It had to do with emotions, and with Lari'Sota. Everything was tied in with the order of Royal Concubines that had now spread across the entire Confederacy as pleasure girls.

But why were they so important, what what did that have to do with Jalena and her history?

Records were scarce from the Confederacy side, because of the impact of the Kerilac and Jasinlo attacks upon the Desinlo reign over a thousand cycles ago, but even they had not been able to make history their own words. Confederacy history was written by the impartial, and that was how it had been since the ages of past empires.

Lari'sota were wrapped around everything he could see from the early days of the Desinlo reign. He also found a section of records that were all cross-referenced, a list of breeding charts, each Lari'Sota breeding with specific Clansmen, and then their issue was tracked, and they were also bred; male as members of the Clan; female, mostly, as new Lari'Sota.

Kalen broke for a midday meal and was surprised as he walked out of the cubicle he had been in to see the Commander standing in the archives, having a heated discussion with the head Archivist.

"I know what you have done, My Lord. It is just not proper. The records being accessed are ancient and very restricted." Kalen heard as he walked over.

Ryo look at the older archivist. "I gave an instruction to you, I expect you to carry it out to the best of your wise nature, Lord Archivist." He then bowed, the archivist bowed as well, and stepped away into the bowels of the dark building as Ryo turned and clapped an arm around Kalen's shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Viktor asked as they walked into the sunlight.

"Making sure you don't get bothered doing the research you are doing, my friend." Ryo replied.

"I'm tripping alarms?" Viktor said as he steered the larger Commander into a dining establishment that served a meal he knew Ryo enjoyed almost as much as he did.

Ryo laughed, loud enough to make some of the other diners look up, but they quickly returned to their meals as the two officers were led to a small table and sat down.

"Viktor, you have the Chief Archivist looking like he just had a pack of clusterkittens and they all know how to walk. He's going in six directions at once, and doesn't know what to do. I have him settled now though. You do what you're doing." Ryo said with a chuckle as he took a mug of Kaf from the server and glanced over the menu.

"Let's see, the only reason you'd push me into here would be for Fire Noodles, I'd imagine. About the only thing good on the menu." Ryo said with a smile as he handed the menus back to the server. "A full serve, single plate, we'll both enjoy."

The server bowed and disappeared into the dimness of the establishment as Ryo grinned at his XO's confusion.

"You didn't have to come downside just to growl at the Archivist, Ryo. Why are you here?" Kalen asked as he sipped his own mug of Kaf.

"They're remodeling the bridge." Ryo grumbled.

"That won't take them very long, why not just stay in your quarters?"

"Gya kicked me downside, she and Lyo wanted a chance to do some work on my quarters, I think the other senior officers had something to do with it. I'm stuck down here for a few days also." Ryo said as their food arrived, a plate of noodles dotted with protein and meat stock, with a red sauce drizzled all over it. As the heaping plate was placed in between the two officers, the server ignited it, and the raw alcohol on top blew off in a fountain of pale fire that burnt itself out with a wash of heat.

Both men picked up their eating utensils and dug in with a gusto as they enjoyed the spicy meal that was one of the few things both could enjoy without discussion. After they had cleared the plate, and were sitting back enjoying a cool mug of Kaf to simmer down the spicy aftertaste, Ryo glanced at the clock on the wall.

"I got to go do work now. You get to keep exploring, I get to do Clan business now that I'm actually downside." He said with a mock grimace. Kalen knew how much his Commander disliked the political side of running one of the bigger Clans in the Confederacy. Although he had a whole team of trusted advisers to do a lot of the tasks for him, there were always decisions to be made that awaited his direct clearance or denial.

Kalen went back to the archives and sat at the terminal that was now earmarked for him, and resumed his explorations. He continued to dig into the history of the Lari'Sota and discovered remarkable things. They had been in place for more than two thousand cycles, run by the Desinlo for that entire time, except after the fall of the government. After that, the Lari'Sota were internal, they had faded away but began to rise again, still following a set breeding path.

"But what were they breeding?" Viktor wondered as he spent the evening with Isk and pretty girls.

The next day, with Ryo's clearance, he continued his explorations. Every once in a while he would come across a reference to Mesotra. That word was a hard stop, not even Ryo's clearance would unlock it, but it seemed to be somehow mixed in with the Lari'Sota.

He spent two weeks digging through records and then finally took a walk that he had not wanted to take, but which he need to. To the Desinlo citadel to access their hard coded records.

As before, it took Ryo's direct intervention to give him access, then Viktor learned a surprising fact that put some parts of the puzzle together.

The Desinlo women, all of them, were somewhat empathic. This was the secret of the Lari'Sota, they could sense, guide and feel the emotions of their partners in a way not normal for most Tarans who had empathy. The Lari'Sota were approaching full empath capability, able to project and absorb emotions from their partners, and as such ... a means of control.

It looked like his Jalena had been the latest in a long line of empaths, each one stronger than the one before her, all of them in the female only, the males had no ability, or nothing noticeable, this was unique to the women only. Regent Tya's mark was all over the records so she must have known all about this, and had been guiding the breeding. Kalen recalled she had said they kept very careful records of every single coupling. It was not just to keep the population going, it was also for this purpose, empathic control.

More mysteries to solve, but no time left, Kalen was recalled to the TGX-2. The internal refit was completed enough and it was time to get used to the new systems and bring the ship up to battle readiness.

It had taken three months for the massive battleship to be repaired and made ready for launch. During that time, Commander Camelin had many conferences with the Emperor as well as other Clans who felt they would ally with Camelin in the event of the war that was now going to happen.

In most cases, the other Clans would remain out of the way, not assisting either side, but not hindering them either. For Ryo, this was good news, he had no need to fight more than one Clan, even though Faniruf and Michelab together were a significant force, his own military fleet was more than enough for whatever they could throw in his direction.

The first real skirmish in the Clan War took place on the outside of the Oxymax Nebula, where the ships from Michelab had rallied for yet another push to guarantee that Clanworld Desinlo was finally destroyed.

Chapter 6.1

Clan War Begins - Oxymax Nebula -17 BA

Eighteen Michelab missile frigates and corsairs had been assembled, and they waited for the arrival of the TGX-9 flagship so they could do the final jump through the nebula and loose their deadly cargoes against the planet.

The massive TGX battlecruiser dropped out of Vortex and moved into position to lead the smaller cruisers through the nebula when a sudden flash of light erupted ahead of them. The TGX-2 floated, side-on to them, mainframe cannon rotated and all charged, and their sensors could detect twenty-four N'Goura class cruisers, also in battle formation, spread around the TGX-2.

"Go back home." Came the message from the TGX-2. "This is not your space. Return to your clan."

The reply was expected. The missile frigates fired a volley of nuclear-tipped warheads as the corsairs opened up with laser lances. While the Camelin N'Gouras' moved in to deal with the smaller ships, the TGX-2 let loose with a full mainframe broadside. Eighteen cannon fired against the TGX-9.

Pale blue impressions stretched back from the TGX-9 as the hyperlight weapons discharged. Impacting against the other battlecruiser before the light of their firing reached it. Key places on the hull were targeted, and the TGX-9 was unable to return fire as it's gunnery control had been targeted and disabled in the first volley.

Without a means to return fire, the TGX-9 withdrew, along with about half it's force, the other ships burned in space.

Michelab's plans seemed insane. Ryo could see massive strategic holes through them and began to exploit simple errors that were being made. Errors that a proper Clan tactician would see in an instant and close. For whatever reason, Michelab continued to make glaring errors. The direct battles were one-sided and ended in Camelin victories, every time.

Indirectly, Michelab launched guerrilla attacks, relativistic projectiles rained down over Camelin worlds from afar, sometimes able to penetrate, mostly deflected or destroyed. But the fear still gripped the populace. Michelab was not playing according to the rules of Clan war.

Four long cycles of war. Planets burned, but Clan Camelin prevailed. Clan Michelab was prevented from deep penetrations into Camelin territory again. Punitive measures were taken, and clan borders shifted. Michelab pressed every advantage they had, but they began to slowly fall back. Superior strategy by Clan Camelin lost them their ally in Faniruf in one move. Clan Camelin happened to be in a position to blockade a critical shipment needed by the Clan, then allowed it to pass without condition. Faniruf realized that they had chosen the wrong side in the Clanwar, and quickly swore fealty to Camelin, thus earning them the enmity of Michelab, but also granting Camelin much wider sweep patterns and a route deep into Michelab space.

Chapter 6.2

Pirates - TGX-2 -13 BA

Four cycles, while Gya and Lyo learned everything they could about the massive battlecruiser. By the time Lyo hit Eighteen and could fully enlist, he had already achieved the rank of Corporal and would rise quickly. Gya was prepared as well, having earned enough commendations to jump right up to Sergeant, once she hit Eighteen and could become full crew.

Both of them had become very good pilots, able to fly cargo haulers, superiority fighters, and shuttles with ease. With Gya being the more attuned pilot, but Lyo had developed a technique all to his own. Where he would ignite the manoeuvring thrusters as the main engines lit, then spiral the ship like a rifle bullet as it launched, keeping it straight and stable for a slightly longer flight time, before he righted it on it's course.

The two of them argued his style back and forth for months. Gya declaring it was a waste of fuel, Lyo explaining that it applied a visual style that was worth the few seconds extra burn that was consumed. None of the Officers were willing to step in, so the two kept bouncing back and forth without a resolution.

Gya's skill was in precision. She could fly a ship in a precise pattern and never brush a wingtip, fly through a targeting reticule perfectly, and land on a marker, every time. She spent hours training herself to be able to handle the controls of any vessel, and was preparing to begin learning how to even fly the massive TGX ships, once she was officially on the books.

However, she was still underage, so had to remain a cadet, even though every officer she was associated with had gotten her so skilled up that once she hit Majority she would be flying through the ranks faster than Lyo.

She was still working maintenance when disaster struck. Lyo had been running a cargo mission, pulling supplies from a depot back to the TGX as it held station while other ships did scouting to see what Clan Michelab was up to in this zone, when she realized how late it had become, and he wasn't back yet.

"AC, has Lyo's ship docked?" She asked as she carefully traced circuit lines on a waveguide.

"Negative, Cargo Hauler 6-B has not yet docked." Came the reply.

"Is it overdue?" She asked as she finished the trace and cleaned a silver contact, allowing better power flow through a small section of the waveguide.

"Cargo Hauler 6-B is now seven hours past due. Do you wish me to notify the bridge?"

Gya's eyes widened as she pulled her hands out of the panel and rolled her sleeves down. "No, I'll do it, thank you." She hurried down the corridor to the bridge. All of her tasks had always been in the main trunk of the ship. She knew why, this was the most heavily shielded portion, so the least chance of damage, even in the heat of battle.

She walked onto the bridge, which was quietly buzzing with activity, and walked over to the Comm station. "Sylva? Where's Cargo Hauler 6-B?" She asked.

Sergeant Cato furled her brow. "Docked, as far as I'm aware. Let me find out ... No, it's not docked. Manifest, what was it hauling ... foodstuffs. Catering? Why is 6-B overdue?"

The reply came quickly "Unknown, Bridge. We were about to ask you where it was. Should have been here almost a shift ago."

Cato looked up from her console. "Tactical, can you locate Cargo Hauler 6-B on sensors? It's supposed to be resupplying us with foodstuffs and it's overdue."

"Checking transponders, Comm. 6-B is not on tactical. Let me pull records and cross-check ... Science, what do you make of that?"

At the science console, Ensign Phiste was looking at a narrow-band scan of the track of the cargo hauler that was focused on an unusual cloud. "We have debris, and a neospace track. Captain, we've got a situation."

"What is it, Phiste?" Captain Kalen said from his position at the command console.

"Cargo Hauler 6-B is long overdue, and sensors are detecting a cloud of what may be debris along it's path. Also, neospace evidence at that location." Kalen walked over and looked at the screen.

"Who was on that run?" he asked.

"Lance Corporal Tya, Seargant Ayo, and Corporal Lyo, Sir." Gya replied, making herself heard among the background buzz.

Kalen turned and looked at her, then said "Navigation, fire it up – get us close enough to do a full scan, and prepare some shuttles – we may need them."

A few minutes later, Ryo came on the bridge. "Why are we underway, we're not to be leaving station for another three turns?"

"Cargo Hauler's disappeared, Commander. Unusual circumstances, and close to one of the depots. I'm moving us in for a closer look. There's evidence of a neospace drive." Kalen replied.

"How long until we're in deep scan range?"

"Sixteen minutes, Commander. I'll keep you updated as to our findings." Science reported.

Gya found herself gripping the edge of the Comm console so tightly that her hands were aching. She made herself relax, and then looked up to see both the Captain and Commander watching her.

"We'll find him, Gya." Kalen said. "He's one of my crew, I don't leave anybody behind."

She nodded, fighting back the tears that were now beginning to well.

It seemed like hours, but only a few minutes later, the science console began to chatter. "Detecting high level organics, purified metals, molecular hydrogen, large clumps of simple organics – it doesn't look good, Captain."

"Launch the shuttles, do a full sweep of the area. Which depot is this from, send a team to check that as well." Ryo ordered as the ship approached the slowly spreading cloud of debris that looked to be the remains of a cargo hauler.

"TGX-2, this is Shuttle 3. We have two bodies confirmed. One male, one female. Still checking."

"Gya? Gya!" Cato cried and reached for her, but Gya had already slumped to the deck. Ryo and Kalen both went for her, Kalen was slightly faster. "I'll get her to medical, Commander. You keep the search on."

"Viktor, that is my daughter." Ryo said.

"Ryo, I failed your wife, let me help your daughter. Find her man." Viktor Kalen said as he lifted Gya up in his arms.

Chapter 6.3

Pirate Vessel Alkadia -13 BA

"Lyo, get into the pod, stay there, do not come out, no matter what you hear!" He heard Sergeant Ayo order as he drifted about the small cabin, shutting down the engines as the larger, dark plated ship drew aside their cargo runner.

He stayed in the pod, listening as the mooring clamps grabbed their ship, feeling the vibrations underdeck as they were drawn into the cavernous bay of the other ship.

The raised voice of the sergeant, abruptly cut off, then the corporal's screams were the next sounds he heard. Booted feet running over the deck as the pirates ravaged the cargo ship, then the glare of light as one of them opened the life pod and pulled him out "Look what we found, lads – a stowaway."

Lyo drew himself up to his full height; thin, scrawny, but still over 2 mets high, he looked the pirate square in the eye. "Get off my ship, and release us."

A searing pain in his gut as the pirate struck him with the butt of his energy rifle caused Lyo to double over, then he was being dragged through the hold and off the ship, where he saw something he would never forget.

The sergeant's corpse, lying crumpled beside the docking port, blood flowing from a savage wound that had gutted him, and the struggling body of the corporal, covered by a pirate's as the beast heaved himself into her, brutally raping her. Two other pirates stood by, breeches already undone as they waited, while one was standing nearly, doing up his breeches as he had already finished.

"Get off of her, you bastards!" Lyo cried, then yelled as he was hauled off his feet by a rough hand that grasped his hair and lifted him clean off the deck. He was dangling eye to eye with a huge pirate he would grow to know as Captain Eislan.

"What's this then? A whelp from the Confederacy?" Eislan said, shaking Tyo like a rag doll and nearly causing him to black out. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a pirate get up from the corporal, only for another to take his place and begin thrusting roughly.

"Don't like what you're seeing, boy?" Eislan said, noting Lyo's pained expression at seeing a woman abused so brutally. "You needn't worry about her, she won't live long. You, on the other hand, get a choice, being that I have need of some new blood in my crew."

Lyo's eyes widened. "I'll kill you, I'll kill all of you, let us go!" He struggled, then swung, and connected with Eislan, causing the much larger man to roar and drop him. Lyo fell to the deck, only to be hauled to his feet and felt the cold steel of a gun barrel pressed under his chin.

"You want I should off him, Captain?" Came the word from the pirate who held Lyo in an unbreakable grip.

Eislan glared at Lyo, then began to laugh, an evil sickening laugh that ended as he drew a gun and fired. A single shot that pierced Corporal Tya's head, killing her instantly, even as the pirate raping her hurriedly rolled off the sudden corpse and back to his own feet.

"You got some chops, boy. I'll give you that. You can choose now – either you go with your crew, out the airlock, without a suit, or you join me, pledge on your Clan honor to serve me, and I'll let you live, and possibly even allow you to leave at some time in the future." Eislan looked at Lyo and then stood back, waiting.

Lyo looked around at the bodies of the other two crew who he had known for only a few weeks, the wreck of the cargo runner that was to resupply the battlecruiser, and the helplessness of the situation, then looked back at Captain Eislan.

"I disagree with everything you stand for, pirate. You leave me no choice at all. May the gods forgive me. I, Lyo Helvaleso Camelin, pledge my allegiance to you, Captain Eislan. I will obey your orders and not try to escape."

Eislan grunted and nodded. "Then it's done. We also have honor, and you are now a part of this ship's crew. Your name, however, is going to have to change. Nothing of the Confederacy remains on this ship. I dub you Willem Hyens. You remember that, boy. You are no longer Confederacy, you are mine."

Lyo knew what honor meant. He understood duty, and knew that for someone who held the Clan to be important, duty was much higher than life itself.

He had just sworn fealty to an Idolan Pirate to ensure he would continue to live. So that he could return to his Gya, and to the Confederacy, sometime later.

Trust was different than swearing an oath, and he fully expected what happened next.

He was dragged into the guts of the pirate ship and made to strip totally, then his clothing was thoroughly searched before he was allowed to get dressed again.

He was given a rough medical examination to make sure he was healthy enough to not be a threat to the ship, and was then marched to a meeting with the enormous captain in his quarters.

He was shoved through the lock without ceremony, and came face to face with the man he would come to hate with a passion, but also to grudgingly respect also.

Captain Piotr Eislan sat on his couch and looked at the lanky Hablis that he had just captured from the Cargo ship. With an oath being sworn he had guaranteed two things. He would not kill the lad, and the lad would work for him.

Lyo looked at the man. He was not so big now, a bit taller than Lyo, a lot wider, lots of muscle, some fat. Not the best specimen. But he also saw the augmentation points. The man would fit into a powered suit, and that was what he had been in when he had first met him.

"Hello, Willem, is it?" The Captain said as he chewed on a stick of ration taken from the cargo ship.

"Aye, Captain." Lyo nodded.

"You were a Corporal, I understand from the logs. What were you training for?"

"My end goal is navigation, Captain." Came the reply.

"Navigation, good. I can do with a decent navigator. This crew knows it's ass end from the bow, but they can't pilot this tub worth a hot-damn. I have to do the blasted navigation half the time." The Captain snarled.

He leaned forward and stared at Lyo with steely green eyes. "Your oath means that any duty I put you do, you will not endanger me, or kill yourself. So as long as I keep you out of a pressure suit, this ship is your cage. You won't break your cage, will you, Willem?"

"Captain, I never ran solo flight navigation." Lyo stammered.

The Captain laughed.

"Boy, do you know what a range finder is?" Lyo nodded.

"You also know how to work a radar suite?" Lyo nodded again.

"Do you understand the basics of reaction drives in a vacuum?" Came a third question.

"Of course, Captain."

Eislan laughed again. "Then you know more than eighteen of the twenty crew on this tub. I also, boy, would trust you over any of the others as I know how strong that oath is. I will keep you alive, I will keep you healthy. I will not guarantee to keep you undamaged. This is not an easy life, Willem. But it's a fair one. You work, you live. I will not prevent you from enjoying the rewards of our labours. I also will not force you to do something that is below your Honor. I have plenty of crew for those tasks as they have no honor to lose."

Lyo nodded again as he began to understand. The Captain had trapped himself as much as he had secured Lyo. Honour worked both ways, and this Idolan was as rigid with it as Lyo had been raised.

"For now, you'll sleep in the engine gantries. That's where the other deckhands bunk. Prove that you deserve better and you'll get it, Willem. We're in flight back to the United Suns now, about this time your Carrier will have discovered the remains of the ship you came in, so I want to be well clear before they begin scanning neospace."

"It wasn't a Carrier, Captain." Lyo said.

Eislan narrowed his eyes. "Not many ships carry cargo haulers the like of what you were on, even less fully crew them. Which ship did you hail from?"

"A TGX battlecruiser, Captain. Number 2, commanded by Ryo Camelin." Lyo replied.

Captain Eislan leaned back. "Impressive. I don't want to go up against that vessel, even in my worst nightmares. Regardless, that will be the last time you see that ship for a long time, Mr. Hyens. We'll be dropping out of Neospace in ten hours, then you'll have work to do cleaning the engine cores so we can make another jump. This ship uses Carbonized Drive Cores to maintain the Neospace field. They need to be polished after each jump to maintain the field."

"...Polish the cores." Lyo thought as he scrubbed at the column of graphite that ran for ten mets along the inner hull. The graphite core had fine ripples running along it's length and they had to be smoothed to a mirror finish before the ship could make another jump. Each of the six deckhands, Lyo included, was at work on one of the three cores. Scrubbing them with fine wire mesh to polish down the ripples. There were laser guides shining on the cores so they could easily see where they needed to work, but it was backbreaking work. With the carbon dust clogging their noses and gritty in the back of their mouths.

The dust was fine enough that mechanicals would not work as the fine carbon would clog up their servos, and graphite dust was a lubricant as well as an irritant. Not good for most people. Hablis can heal from this, robots would break down.

By the third cycle of polishing the cores, Lyo had an idea. He worked with another of the deckhands to wrap the wire mesh in a ring of fabric so they could wrap it around the entire core, then used a small winch to begin spinning it as they drew it around the core. They managed to polish the one core in less than half the time using this method. The fabric kept the winch from getting dust into it, and the core was smoother than simple hand-scrubbing.

The fifth cycle had all teams using the improvised tool and the cores were ready in only a third of the time. The Captain was impressed, as nobody in the Helva-forsaken crew had the stones to think outside their own blocky heads, except the new cabin boy. Before any bad feeling could occur, the Captain gave the crew leave on Idolis for a full two days, because of the dramatic time improvement with the ship's flight speed.

Lyo became everybody's new best friend.

The Captain gave him leave as well, but he was escorted by the old Navigator. A gruff pirate by the name of Hands. Because he only had one. Hands took Lyo to one of the many brothels that surrounded the port, and although Lyo had his choice of girls, he declined, and sat at the bar, waiting for Hands to finish his time.

Chapter 6.4

He's Not Dead - TGX-2 Medical -13 BA

Hours later, Ryo came down to the medical centre where Kalen stood, reviewing reports as he watched Gya's sleeping form.

"Any news?" Kalen asked.

"It was definitely Idolan pirates. The bastards came deep into our space, after the supply depots. They must have been right by the Depot that the hauler was visiting, and then trailed it. We only have the two bodies though. Lyo's body is not there, they took him with them." Ryo replied.

"She's under heavy sedation right now." Kalen said, indicating Gya's condition. "Mentally, she's not all there any more, Commander. I think she was more dependent upon Lyo than we realized. He's gone, and an entire part of her is gone also."

A turn and a half later, Gya sat in her Father's quarters, wrapped up in some heated blankets, holding a mug of fortified broth as she listened to the final report.

"He's not dead, then." She finally said.

"As far as we know, he was not dead when the ship was destroyed. As to now, we have no idea." Ryo quietly said.

"Are we going to find him?" She asked.

Kalen nodded. "We've got the word out among the pirate groups that we are in contact with. Your Father has even posted a reward for Lyo's safe return, and a promise that if he is not returned, fleets will burn. We will find him."

Gya looked up, eyes red, then blinked. "Captain Kalen, I want your job."

Kalen looked at Gya with a startled expression ..."What?"

She stood up. "When Lyo and I signed on board, you told us we could go as high as we wanted, there were no restrictions. You have been XO on board this ship for almost three Deca's. Not to sound impertinent, or disrespectful, Sir, but you at some point will want to move on. I am going to replace you when you do."

"Gya, this is not the place-" Ryo began, but was cut off.

"I am not leaving here, I am not leaving him, and I am not leaving you. This is all I have left of home, and I am going to stay. Captain Kalen, teach me everything. Commander Camelin, assist me, or get out of my way." Gya stated, tears streaming, but her voice was firm and solid. She dropped the blanket, put the mug of broth on the table, and walked out of the cabin, firmly closing the door behind her.

"Very strong-willed girl, that one, Commander." Kalen said.

"Give her the knowledge she wants, Kalen. If she wants to learn how to run the ship – give her everything. I'll find a place for her here, we've got to take care of her, now more than ever." Ryo replied.

Gya walked down the corridor back to the quarters she shared with Lyo, passing through the door, she pulled it shut, then sat on the bed and began to weep.

Three days it took, three days to mourn somebody she had grown up with all her life. Gya could not recall a time when Lyo had not been there. Even when she was very small, he had always been there, a slightly older boy, always close, never mean to her like some children could be. He had always been supportive. Her Mother and Father had both enjoyed his presence, and Gya had enjoyed being able to teach him how to be a proper Clansman.

She had learned clan ways, Lyo learned them from her. What he learned, he then taught her. Together, they became a strong unit. Almost to the point of being able to predict each other. Then the Foaming Falls happened, Her mother had clipped young Aya to Gya's harness, then Lyo had shoved her out of the cargo hatch so she was in free fall, him flying down seconds later as the flitter with her mother still on board had slammed into a mountainside.

At that time, Gya realized there was love between her and Lyo, but they were both far too young to do anything about it. Mother was gone, and Father, the Commander, was going off to war. Gya was determined to go with him.

Lyo never strayed from her side. He had already sworn a blood oath to her father to protect her with his own life, and he continued to do so. They had trained together, learned together, grown closer as time progressed. It was too soon. Only a few weeks and then she would be able to be an officer, then they could really truly be together, now he was gone.

Calm, cool, collected. Gya had to control herself. Panic served no purpose, Lyo was gone. He might be lost forever, or only for a few short days or weeks. For now though, he was gone to her. Pirates ranged far and wide and a ship could be halfway to the Rygol cluster by now.

She looked at herself in the glass of the port and then took the dagger that Lyo had presented her with six cycles ago and sliced off a length of her shoulder-length hair. She did not deserve that hair, it was for Lyo. She could grow it again once he was back. She worked feverishly, slicing and cutting her hair until it was trimmed to a pixie cut, then she went to the dispenser and got some colourants to make up a hair dye. She was going to be different, act different, until Lyo was back. The old Gya died that day, a new Gya would emerge.

She stripped out of the uniform and looked at her body critically, then depilated every hair on her body below her neck. Taking the colourants, she changed her hair and eyebrow color to match the new mood and look for Gya Desinlo. No longer alive, no longer real. She had died, and she would stay dead until Lyo was recovered. She also adjusted her skin tone, something not normally done as it was a vain thing that military did not normally have time for. Gya made the time, she made the adjustments. Her azure uniform was now adorned with a black stripe down both sides, and she wore the small dagger that Lyo had presented her proudly, clipped to her breast beside her rank insignia.

She took a final look at herself in the port glass. The young woman staring back looked nothing like the old Gya Desinlo, Short hair, now so white as to be almost ice, which suited her soul. Skin paler than normal, which also complimented her hair to suit the new Gya. No more emotions, no more outbursts, no more anything. She was going to become the best there was, and she would find a way to find him.

She walked out of her cabin, and right onto the bridge, where all noise and activity slowed down then stopped as she stood ramrod straight in front of the Command Console, where the Commander and Captain had also stopped what they were doing to look at this new person who stood before them.

The Commander took in the new look and posture. Inwardly, he knew she was still hurting terribly, however she was here, and decorum required a response to a Cadet on duty.

"You're not really in uniform, cadet." The Commander said. Gya glared at him, 'This is my uniform now, Commander. The Black represents loss, or would you deny me that?"

Ryo shook his head, glancing at Kalen who was almost hurting himself in an attempt not to laugh out loud at Gya, because the mood the young lass was in, he was sure she'd knife him if he did.

"I don't intend to deny you anything, Cadet Gya. Are you ready to return to your duties?" The Commander asked quietly.

"Yes, Commander. I am ready." She replied in a very clipped tone.

"Go see Sergeant Cato then, she's got some tasks that need done on the comm systems to recalibrate them." Ryo said, and watched his daughter salute, then turn on her heel to walk over to Cato's console and ignored Cato's imploring look as to why he would send Gya to her.

Kalen fought down the laugh and covered it with a discrete cough, which he then drowned in a mug of cold Kaf, grimaced, and went back to checking the reports from the latest Michelab attacks as the bridge returned to some semblance of normal activity.

"I'm so glad you find this amusing, Captain." Ryo said quietly to his XO.

"Very determined girl, that one, Commander. We are lucky to have her, even with her creative display of ideas." Kalen replied, then ducked as Ryo tossed a pad in his direction.

"Remind me next time we have to clean the fuel ducts to send you in there to do it, Viktor."

Chapter 7

Alone at Eighteen - TGX-2 Officer's Mess -13 BA

Gya's Eighteenth Name Day was a somber occasion, coming as it did only two weeks after the disappearance of Lyo. She celebrated it with some of the bridge crew, her Father and the Captain, along with some of the pilots who she had also befriended, and then there was a commissioning ceremony being that she was now of age to begin ranking along the crew.

"Gya Helvanysa Desinlo." Commander Camelin intoned, pleased to finally be able to officially use her full name in public. "Your service on board this vessel over the past many cycles has been exemplary and I am pleased to award you rank and status within this crew as a member with full respect, honour and accommodation."

Gya stood in front of him, and bowed her head as he talked, a tear trickled down her pale cheek as she remembered that Lyo was supposed to be there, and he was now lost to her.

"Due to your works and service on board this vessel during your time as a cadet, the senior officers and myself have seen fit to award you the rank of Sergeant, may the Gods protect you, and guide you on your journey." He finished as he pinned the rank insignia to her uniform, just beside the gilded dagger that she now wore every day.

"Than you, Commander, Officers, everybody." Gya said, her voice cracking a little, then to her surprise Sylva Cato walked up and pulled her into a hug, allowing her to cry and feel the warmth of another person close to her. She didn't want to cry, but the tears came anyway, and for a few moments, while she thumped her fists on Sylva's back, Gya was overwhelmed by the emotion.

The rest of the evening went by quickly, and Gya made her way shakily back to her cabin, where she fell onto the bed into a dead sleep, only waking slightly to pull off her tunic and boots and then fall into a sleep of the dead, helped by a number of cups of Isk, the only alcoholic drink permitted on board Camelin starships.

The next morning, she woke to find Captain Kalen standing at the end of her bed, slowly shaking his head at her, with Sergeant Cato standing beside him.

"Sergeant, help this officer to her feet, and get her ready for duty. She has training to undergo, I need pilots." He said, and stepped out of the door, closing it behind him as Sylva helped Gya to her feet and gingerly into the refresher.

Despite Gya's weak protests, Cato had her stripped and in the shower within a few minutes, making sure the water was cold enough to wake her up, but not too cold to really be uncomfortable. Then she was briskly dried and handed a fresh uniform to suit up in.

As soon as Gya was finishing getting her tunic buttoned, she was handed a mug of steaming Kaf and Cato laughed at her expression, but made sure Gya drunk all of it.

"Come on, chick, we got to get onto the flight deck, Captain wants you to get time in a fighter, you're going to be going for your wings as soon as we can get you ready." She said, getting to her own feet and pulling open the door as Gya nodded and dropped the empty mug in the recycler.

They walked down the corridor towards the central shaft that would get them to the cross corridor for the flight decks in silence, then Gya stepped into the grav chute, followed by Cato, and they were at the cross corridor in moments.

"Why aren't you on the bridge, Sergeant?" Gya finally asked.

Cato laughed. "Call me Sylva, Gya. You don't have to be all formal with me. I've been reassigned to you. Now that you're an officer, you are going to go all the way, as the Captain put it. He wanted somebody with full ship experience to be there to guide you, and well, I fit the bill."

They came onto the flight deck, where the crews were hard at work maintaining the wing of 36 Superiority fighters that had now become a full part of the TGX battle compliment.

"Eventually, we're going to have launch assemblies for these birds, so they don't have to use the main hanger to boost. For now, we launch in blocks of 6." Cato said as they walked up to the Flight Officer.

"Rakon, I got your new chick here. Captain wants her to get wings as quick as possible. This is Sergeant Gya Desinlo." Cato said by way of introduction as Gya looked at the Flight Officer.

He gave her a derisive once-over, then glanced at Cato with a definite hunger in his eyes. "This is what Command is sending down, Sylva?"

"You be careful, Rakon. This chick is a lot more than she looks like. She's been flight training for six cycles." Cato said, allowing for Rakon to snake an arm around her and as Gya did not fail to notice, squeeze her left buttock firmly.

"Is that so?" Rakon said, looking at Gya with a little more interest. "You a good pilot, Sergeant Desinlo?"

Gya nodded. "I aim to be, Sir."

He released Cato and put his arm around Gya, ignoring Cato's sudden look of disapproval, and failing to see her shake her head at him as his hand slid down Gya's back.

"Sirs, problem on the Flight Deck, some kind of fight. We have injured." Ryo looked at Kalen, then walked out. "I'll handle this, Captain, you keep watch up here." He said, walking swiftly to the grav chute as he grabbed a squad of security to follow.

Walking onto the flight deck was a scene of controlled chaos. The command and the security team muscled through the assembled crowd and Ryo himself grabbed Gya by the back of her tunic to lift her off the bloodied Officer Rakon.

"That is enough!" He growled as the security officers pulled Rakon clear and let the medics have a look at him, while Ryo stared his daughter down.

"You want to explain to me why I have two officers battling it out like Clustercats on a grassy plain?" He snapped, glaring at her. Gya adjusted her uniform and wiped a trickle of blood from her lip, but remained silent.

"I asked a question, people. Cato, what happened?" He growled.

A weak voice came from where the medics were checking Rakon. He had held up his good hand. "It was my fault, Commander. Don't blame the Sergeant."

"Your fault?" Ryo replied, not taking his eyes off Gya.

"I was a bit too familiar with the Sergeant, Sir. I allowed my hand to roam below her belt, and she took offence. It will not happen again, Commander." He finished with a cough then allowed the medics to work on his injuries, the worst of was his fully broken hand.

"You broke his hand." Ryo said later as Gya stood at attention in his ready room. Captain Kalen sitting on a couch and observing the scene before them.

"I was about to break his arm when you stopped me, Commander." She replied, quite defiant in the face of the situation.

Kalen laughed at that, and Ryo even smiled a bit.

"I don't want you fighting with every overly friendly officer on board, Gya. Yes, he was a bit familiar with you, but is that a crime?" Ryo said.

"For me, it is, Commander. Only Lyo is allowed to do that, nobody else." Gya responded.

The two men looked at each other as an understanding dawned.

"Right, we'll keep that in mind, Sergeant, my apologies for our misunderstanding." Captain Kalen said, "Although, next time, if there is a next time, try not to break bones, Rakon may be very handsy, but he's a better flight officer than many I've served with."

"Sergeant, fighting is not permitted on board this ship for any reason. You know the rules. You are confined to the brig for three days, report there to begin sentence." Ryo said gruffly. Gya saluted him, then the captain, and stepped out of the room to walk down to the ship's brig complex.

"Female officers only, Kalen. Otherwise our medical bay is going to be full by the end of the cycle. Also, make sure they aren't too female, I don't really want to have to deal with Gya after having had to turn down passes by both sexes with a violent response." Ryo said, getting a quiet chuckle from Kalen.

"I'll have a word with Cato, we'll get this sorted out." The Captain replied.

Three days later, Gya was released from the brig, and went back to her quarters to change and have a hot shower, only to find Sergeant Cato there, organizing some things.

"What are you doing, Sylva?" She asked.

"I'm moving in with you." Cato replied with a twinkle in her eye.

"But..." Gya said.

"It's that, or you move in with me, and believe me, chick, this room is a palace compared to my little closet." Cato said, then finished sliding her gear into a drawer.

She sat on the bed and patted the space beside her, Gya obediently sat down. Cato put her arm round the younger woman's shoulders.

"When we find him, I'll be gone before he finishes the debrief. Until then, this is Captains' orders and we do as we're told, don't we, Sergeant?" She said quietly.

Gya nodded and sighed as she got to her feet again. "I really need a shower, change of clothes, and some proper sleep."

"Do you need some help?" Cato asked quietly, and Gya turned to look at her.

"Are you interested in me, Sylva?"

"Only if you want to, Gya. That is entirely up to you." Sylva replied.

"To be honest, Sylva," Gya said as she pulled the tunic and undershirt off in one move, "I don't think I've even got the time, or the energy to argue. Come on if you want to, I have no idea what I'm doing, so please, be gentle." She finished as she pulled off the pants and shorts then tossed them to join the rest of her clothes while kicking on the water in the shower.

Sylva chuckled as she undid her own tunic then rose to follow the younger woman who now stood, fully naked, waiting for Sylva to make the next move.

Many moves were made, and Sylva ensured that Gya was fully satisfied, while still maintaining her innocence, there were many things that could be done that did not need to involve penetration.

...

By the end of the cycle Gya had gotten her flight wings and Flight Sergeant's bars. She was running regular patrols with the other fighter teams as they defended the borders against Michelab onslaughts and penetrations. The Superiority fighters proved their worth in innumerable fights as they were able to dodge around the weapons of the larger capital ships and make strategic and tactical strikes against them crippling the bigger ships and allowing for easier Camelin victories in the long running battle between the two Clans.

The fighters were also capable of landing on the larger Confederacy ships, then the pilots could jump out and do an internal assault that quite often resulted in the capture of the vessel for Clan Camelin.

Chapter 7.1

Meet The Emperor - Ocean Manor, Tara -12 BA

"Come on, Kya. We're going to the palace today." Kya was roughly woken up by Aya jumping on her and tumbling her partially out of bed, she squealed, grabbed her younger friend and flipped her over so that Kya sat on top of Aya, then she began to tickle her, something Aya loved and hated at the same time.

"N-n-nooo, stoop itt!" Aya giggled and cried at the same time, as her friend's deft fingers found all her sensitive spots along her rib cage.

Kya looked at her half-seriously. "No waking me up like that again, Aya. I was having a wonderful dream."

"Oh really, tell me about it?" Aya said, struggling to get out from under Kya's legs and kneeling on the bed.

"I was dreaming of one of the boys we see out there, working on the gardens. Thinking about him, all muscle and sweat. Thinking about his hands, and how they would ... feel." She finished with a wriggling of her eyebrows. Both girls dissolved into giggles.

A little while later, as both girls sat patiently, Mistress Tya bustled about, primping and preparing both of them to be presentable for the Palace. Both girls had to sit through having their waist-length hair carefully brushed out, then deftly braided and twined with sparkling lines of tiny gemstones that made their hair almost glow in the bright sunlight. They were both dressed in summer dresses, light and airy, that showed a lot more skin than Aya thought was expected, but she didn't argue with the Mistress. She knew all too well that a sore bottom would be the end result for her, and for Kya, if either of them objected. It had been that way from the beginning. If one of them disobeyed, both got the same punishment. That hurt more than the actual punishment. Seeing her friend getting spanked made Aya ache inside much worse than her own sore bottom. She knew Kya felt the same way, so they knew to tread the right line.

Soon enough, Mistress Tya pronounced both young ladies ready, and they all went out of the big house to a waiting flitter that stood ready to sweep them to the far-off palace.

Aya and Kya giggled and bumped each other for position as they took seats and secured themselves. Mistress Tya checked to ensure they were both secured, then sat down and signalled the pilot. He made the necessary adjustments to the controls and the flitter was off. It was an up and down trip. Less than 10 minutes later, it was circling in for a landing, and they got a good look at the huge palace. Their house, which was gigantic, would not even fit in one of the rooms of this immense place.

The flitter landed, and they unbuckled, then each one was made to wait while Mistress Tya checked and brushed their dresses, checked their hair, and made sure they were ready, then the three of them stepped out of the flitter and onto the palace grounds.

Aya had flutterbies in her stomach as she stepped onto the soft ground. She was to meet the Emperor today, and although she had heard lots about him, he was still not somebody she thought she wanted to meet. He was scary, in fact. As he controlled the entire Confederacy and she knew that if he didn't like somebody, that would be the end of them.

Mistress Tya guided both young ladies, with a hand firmly on the small of their backs, through the gardens and into the palace proper. They saw guards everywhere, but everybody was so polite. The guards all bowed and opened doors, and there was nothing scary at all.

Then it changed. They came into a room that was so big it made Aya feel tiny. There were hundreds of seats, and at the end was a huge table with a lot of seats all around it, with one big throne as well. It was nearly empty, but on that throne sat somebody, and Aya felt her legs going weak, she felt a bit sick, and the flutterbies wanted to lift her up and run her right back to the house, right now!

Tyo was deep in conversation with one of his advisors when out of the corner of his eye he saw Tya come in with two young girls, one on each arm. He kept talking, but his mind was no longer on it, however, he could see the smaller girl was very nervous, and knew he had to put her at ease.

He stopped the advisor's diatribe and looked at him. "Just make it work for now, Liese. I'll discuss this with you later. I have Clan business now." The advisor bowed and stepped back to go take care of the affairs and wait for more consul time. Tyo casually turned to face the trio, and then leaned forward in as relaxed a pose as he could muster.

"Who do you bring today, Mistress Tya?" He asked in a soft but very deep voice that both Kya and Aya felt vibrate right through them into the bottom of their bellies.

Tya released both girls and bowed deeply. "My Lord Emperor, I wish to present to you the Lady Aya Camelin, and her companion, Kya."

Aya and Kya both curtseyed in the way they had been taught, then looked at him, eyes not actually looking at his, focusing on his chest or chin, as they had been told was best to do.

"Well, well, well. I remember when you came here, young Aya. Eight cycles ago. How do you do, my young Lady?" Tyo asked her softly.

Aya swallowed very hard, and replied in a shaky voice, "I do very well, L-lord Emperor. Are you well?"

He smiled, and his eyes met Tya's as he replied "I am also well, Lady Aya. You are very nervous. Are you afraid of me?"

Aya blushed so scarlet she felt her entire head was on fire, and then nodded without words.

"Oh my dear girl." Tyo said quietly. Then to her absolute shock, he reached out his hands. "Come here, Aya."

She gently walked forward and Tyo swept her up in a tremendous hug and swung her around, then to her complete surprise, he sat her on his throne. Before she could even reply, he had turned, grabbed Kya, and deposited her right beside Aya so they both sat in the chair that ruled the Thousand Worlds.

He then got to one knee and bowed deeply to both girls. "May I present to you young ladies, the Throne of the Realm. It is yours for the afternoon. Don't break it, I will need it tomorrow." He smiled as both girls giggled shyly at him, feeling a bit more at ease now.

Tyo then stepped back and stood beside Mistress Tya. "You know?" He said, his hand resting just above Tya's hip, "I could see her sitting there and running this entire show." He felt the laugh begin deep within Tya as she replied. "With these two, my Lord Emperor, anything is possible."

"Do you have an entertainment planned for these two, My Lord?" Tya asked in a slightly louder voice as she could sense his feelings towards her growing. There was a strong desire that would need to be dealt with, and the young Lady had no need to know of this.

"Of course. My young Ladies, if you will remain seated, I have planned a special party, just for your benefit." Tyo said in a louder, almost booming voice.

As he finished, doors swung open and dancers came running in from both sides, shimmering ribbons streaming behind them as they sprinted up to the main floor, then began to dance and pirouette around and into the air, courtesy of gravity harnesses they all wore.

Kya and Aya were startled by the sudden appearance beside them of people carrying drinks for them both, and then a plate was set in from of them filled with the most delightful smells that both of their mouths almost drooled with hunger.

Tya led the Lord Emperor out of the room, taking a backward glance at the girls, now surrounded by all these people who were dancing, flashing them with tricks, and keeping them so occupied that they didn't even notice the departure of their Mistress.

"They will be fine, Tya." Tyo said as his hand slid down to cup her bottom in a firm grip that definitely indicated his desire.

"Yes, my Lord. I still have to worry. They are my charge, as you well know. You commanded it." She replied as she walked with him into a small room off the corridor, then closed the door behind them and tapped a control to lock it.

Tyo nodded, then pushed her up against the wall and kissed her hungrily as he pressed himself against her. Tya returned the kiss, her hands resting on his waist as his wandered down her neck to cup both her breasts through the thin material of the bodice and caress her nipples as they peaked against the fabric.

She broke the kiss and began to kiss his cheek then neck as he nuzzled her, then felt his hands at the fastening of her bodice and twisted a bit so that his fingers caught, then the fastener seperated, and her bodice fell open slightly. She gasped at the sensation, and gripped his face in her hands, then kissed him as he roughly pulled the bodice down to expose her breasts.

Tyo leaned down as she twisted her hands in his hair and took a nipple into his hungry mouth. Kissing and licking it, then gently nipping it with his teeth, before running a small line of kisses to her other breast before he did the same thing with it. Her nipples tasted of her, slightly of mothers' milk, and Tyo was intoxicated by the flavor.

He pressed her against the wall as he devoured her breasts, kissing and licking them all over, then gripping her by the waist, lifted her up and taking a couple of steps back, turned and lightly tossed her onto the bed, where she lay in an open sprawl.

He looked down at her, and Tya undid the rest of her bodice, then drew it away and put it on the floor, beside the bed as he undid his tunic to expose his sturdy hairless chest. She knelt on the bed and ran her hands over his chest, the feeling was electric to him as he felt surges of desire from every feather-light touch.

"Don't mark me, my Lord. The young Lady is still too young to understand." She whispered to him. He leaned down and drew her face to his in another deep kiss, tongues intertwining. "You'll be fine, Tya. Well used, but undamaged, as a good Lari'Sota should be." He breathed as his hands met around the small of her back.

"Yes, my Lord." She hissed as his hands undid the belt that held her skirt in place. "I am most certainly that for you, and it has been far too long since I felt you." She wriggled her hips so that the skirt fell down, and his hands cupped her bottom firmly. She gasped as he squeezed her firmly, pulling her groin against his so she could feel him hard and pulsing with desire for her.

She half-stood so that she could step out of the skirt, and deftly tossed it off the bed to join her top as his hands continued to roughly maul her bottom as he kept her pressed against him. She kissed his chest, then ran her lips down his well-formed torso to deftly lick the fine hairs on his stomach. Now it was Tyo's turn to inhale sharply.

She rubbed the outside of his pants, where his hardness was evident, tracing it through the sturdy material. "I can feel how much you've missed me, My Lord." she breathed. Her hands made short work of the fastener and she slid his pants down his slim hips and muscled legs, allowing him to spring free and stand at strong attention.

Tyo groaned as she breathed on him, then her lips kissed along his shaft and he felt her hands and tongue lightly moving along his length, bringing him to an even higher state of arousal. His hands were busy rubbing her bottom, with one hand dipping further down to caress her lips and test her own wetness as she wriggled to give him better access to her body.

His finger slid into her as she took him between her lips and allowed her tongue to lave all over the head, gently licking and rubbing with her tongue and lips along the sensitive head and underside as she moaned with his finger sliding deep into her, feeling that she was as wet and ready as he was hard and firm.

Chapter 7.2

The Drosini \- Pirate Ship Alkadia -11 BA

They all heard about the Drosini when it happened. The Captain wouldn't stop talking about the base stupidity of the other Captain and his now dead crew for months, berating his own people to ensure they did not make the same mistakes.

Captain S'Lar was a half-Confederacy outcast who's family had been banished generations past for some crime they had committed. He hated the Confederacy and everything it represented. His crew, on a ship similar to the Alkadia, and run a raid against a passenger liner, the Drosini, deep within the Confederacy Clan Borders for Guylian. They had hit the liner hard, blowing out it's engines and core reactor in the first wave, then they boarded it and went on a rampage. The liner's crew were killed, and some of the female passengers raped before the pirates departed. As a passing shot, S'Lar shot the women who had been repeatedly raped and brutalized, feeling that this way, they would tell no tales of what had happened.

Sadly for the Captain, one of the women he himself had raped and then killed was the daughter of Clansman Guylian himself, on a trip around the realm before her wedding to a son of Clan Faniruf.

Once the word began to spread of a pirate attack this deep into the Confederacy, two TGX cruisers were at the scene within a few hours. The Guylian flagship TGX-3 and Commander Desinlo's TGX-4. The stricken liner was pulled aboard the TGX-4, it's living survivors offloaded onto other ships, and he vessel was deconstructed within a day. Teams of engineers diagnosing and determining exactly what happened.

Once they had the Neospace signature of the Pirate ship, the TGX-3 leapt into Vortex to jump to the buffer edge then crossed into United Suns space at maximum velocity in pursuit of the fading but still detectable energy signature left by the pirate vessel.

Even as the United Suns raised issue with the Emperor and he explained the situation, the TGX was directly on the trail of the smaller ship, and within two days, had caught up with it. A firefight that was so one-sided as to be a non-event left the pirate ship adrift without engines and mains power, then while two United Suns corsairs were coming alongside to board it, the TGX-3 threw a tractor bubble around the ship, pulled it into a docking bay, and Vortex jumped back to Guylian space.

Clan War was nothing, Michelab and Camelin put aside their differences temporarily to mass on the Border along with the other TGX battlecruisers to meet a United Suns fleet of 34 cruisers. The standoff continued as Clan Guylian declared sentence on the surviving pirates. They would be flayed. Each pirate was kept injected with nanos to keep their bodies alive as the skin was slowly stripped off of the underlying muscle and sinew. It took almost a month until all the Pirates were dead. The bodies were incinerated and the ship was returned to the United Suns with a simple caution that brooked no disagreement.

Chapter 7.3

Pirate Vessel Alkadia -10 BA

Willem, as he had begun to think of himself, finally took the plunge in a seamy tavern on the frontier world of Gillem's Point, as the ship was laid up for repairs after a one-sided battle with a United Suns frigate.

Willem had been on the Alkadia for three cycles, and navigator now for almost a full cycle, after Hands had been shot by a crewman aboard a liner they had attacked and had died before they could save him. Willem's skill and innate understanding of the way the ship flew had been an improvement in the way they had run missions, and an asset to overall morale as well as rewards.

The ship had been broad-sided by the Frigate as it pulled out of an asteroid field, and even as Willem had thrown the ship into Neospace to dodge any further weapons fire, they knew they would need repairs. The ship had been hulled, badly.

They put down on the closest world with facilities, and the Captain organized the deckhands to fix the ship while the rest of the crew took leave. They would be there for three days, so they may as well relax, nothing else could be done.

Willem had initially stayed on board, checking and rechecking the nav systems, until the Captain had gruffly tossed him a credit stick and told him to get off this stinking tub and get some rest, or he'd beat him into the med bay and he could rest on his back.

Willem grabbed his jacket, and went.

He wandered a bit aimlessly. The town was large, spread out, and set up to facilitate repairs for many different ships. This was typical of a lot of the frontier worlds. Most of them service bays for spacecraft of all types.

He finally entered a tavern that looked the same as all the rest, but this one was quiet, not too noisy, and mostly empty. He took a seat at the bar and looked at the array of bottles. The barkeep came over and leaned on the bar, polishing a glass and watching Willem quietly.

"What's your poison, Son?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"Willem blinked away a twinge of memory and focused. "Some Siless- no you wouldn't carry that, would you?"

The barkeep snorted. "No, Son. We don't carry that brew. Do you have another preference, or you want me to size you up and get you something?"

"I'll trust you, whatever you reckon." Willem said as he felt somebody come up around and sit right beside him.

He turned his head and his heart froze. The hair, the face, the body. "Gya?"

She looked at him with a wide smile. "Raice is my name, Who's Gya? Your girl?" In a voice that was different, but similar enough to pull at his heart.

"A long time ago, far away, yes." Willem said as the barkeep placed a small glass full of amber liquid on the counter. Willem handed over the credit stick and the barkeep swiped it, then handed it back to him.

"That's strong, Son. You might want to take it a bit slow." The barkeep said. Willem nodded, swirled the liquid then downed it in one gulp. He coughed and gasped a bit, but endured, and felt the liquid fire run down his gullet.

"Hit me again." Willem said. The barkeep nodded and refilled the glass.

"You OK?" Raice asked him, her hand gently resting on his arm.

Willem shook his head and downed the second glass as quickly as the first.

"I'm not at all OK, miss. I'm lost, stuck, and right now, aimless. No direction." He replied, looking at her. Her eyes were not quite right, they were more silver than grey, and her face was more triangular than oval. But she was so similar it was breaking his heart.

He made a decision. "I'm uh, not too sure how to ask this, but ..." He stammered, suddenly nervous.

She smiled. "If you want to know if I am available, the answer is yes. There is a cost, I'm sure you can handle it though. And if not, I think we can come to some sort of arrangement." She got off the barstool and gently pulled his arm so Willem got up and followed her.

"Raice?" Came the call from behind them. She turned and flashed a brilliant smile at the Barkeep who had a comm to his ear. "You take care of him, darlin'. He just saved twenty men."

Raice led Willem up the stairs and down a short hall into a spacious room that was modern and yet rustic at the same time. The main feature was a large bed, but it had a refresher and some chairs, looking quite comfortable. Willem walked over to the windows and looked out. He could see most of the urban sprawl, and could see in the distance, the upper hull of the Pirate ship in the mechanic bay, worklights glowing as the ship was slowly repaired from it's battle damage.

He heard a noise and turned to see Raice slipping out of her dress so she was just in a short shift that barely covered anything.

"What's your name?" She asked him.

"L-Willem, miss." He managed to get out.

"Most of the boys around here never stop talking, Willem. I can see you're different." She said as she walked towards him and put her bare arms around him. Willem leaned into her and hugged her, just breathing and allowing memory to guide him.

Raice gently kissed him, then pulled him towards the bed with her. She turned and as his legs bumped the bed, she pushed him down and lay on the bed beside him.

"You remind me of somebody I lost, a long time ago. I'm not sure I should do this." Willem said.

She leaned over him, letting her hair fall over his face as her lips slowly kissed his cheek and then he felt her warm breath on his ear. "Your head may be confused, Willem. But other parts of your body are more demanding." He looked down as he felt her hand and saw just how aroused he was. Even through the shipsuit, he was pressing hard and her hand was gently tracing length and width.

Willem kept breathing evenly as she deftly undid the fasteners and slipped her hands inside to gently caress him. He shifted slightly and slid his arms out of the one piece suit, then with her aid, he pulled his legs free and lay there naked in front of her.

Raice smiled at him as one hand caressed his length while her other stroked his chest, tracing lines of old injury and scar from his time on board the ship, dealing with blowouts, metal fatigue and whatever else could go wrong on board the ageing starship.

Willem remained still as he felt her breath on his chest, stomach, then her wet lips wrapped round him and he felt a rush of pleasure roll over him as Raice used one of her many talents to give him pleasure.

It did not take long before he erupted his release, and lay back as his body relaxed from the release of his seed into Raice's willing mouth. When he opened his eyes, she was lying beside him, gently stroking him and as he noted, he had not softened, much.

"There now. We've taken the edge off of your desire, Willem." She whispered, and kissed him tenderly, then rose onto her knees and straddled him, guiding him into her wet depths as he groaned at the feeling of finally being inside a woman. Not his Gya, but still, this must be what they talked about when you went to Pangea, infinite pleasure.

His hands caressed her breasts, larger than Gya's, but not by much, and different in colour, as Gya had olive skin, and Raice was more brown tinted. Her nipples were larger than Gya's, and the skin around them more pronounced. Willem sat up as she gently rocked back and forth on him and buried his face in her breasts, kissing and licking her erect nipples as she twined her hands in his short hair and guided him to give her the best pleasure as well.

Everything about Raice was different, but just similar enough to allow Willem to lose himself in memory and fantasy, as he imagined he was coupling with his lost Gya. He explored her body as Raice gently rode him, drawing another wave of pleasure out of him as he kissed and nibbled her neck and ears, kissing her deeply on her wide always smiling mouth, until he again felt the release and poured seed deep into her as he gasped out his passion into her chest.

Willem lay on his stomach as Raice leaned back afterwards, one leg up as she rested, smoking a thin stick that had a sweet smell as she slowly blew clouds of multicoloured smoke around the room.

"I feel like I should thank you, Raice." He said after watching her for a few minutes.

She smiled at him and laughed quietly. "No need to thank me, although it is most certainly appreciated. You were certainly energetic enough. Was this your first?"

Willem nodded and looked at her through heavy lidded eyes.

"I must say, Willem, for somebody with no real experience, you are a considerate lover. Whomever this Gya is, she's missed out on a real keeper in you." Raice said as she smiled at him.

He sighed. "I may never see her again. You look like her, you even sound like her. I know you're not her, but it feels almost close enough. I know you're a different person, I just miss her so much. I love her."

Raice looked at him, then took a final drag on her stick, tossed it into a basin by the bed, then rolled over and pulled him into a firm kiss.

"I'm not her, but if that is what you need, Willem. Let me be her, just for a moment. I'm here for you, imagine that I'm your girl, and enjoy the moment." Raice said, pressing her breasts against his chest and letting him again inhale the warm scent of her as she traced long fingernails down his muscular chest.

He looked into her eyes, and tried to lose himself in pleasure and memory.

...

The Alkadia lifted off from Gillem's Point, fully repaired and rested, ready for action.

Willem continued to slowly improve the ship as best he was able. Loading different navigation programs allowed for him to fly the ship more efficiently. Changing fuel feeds with information he gleaned from planetary databases allowed for the engines to run longer and at higher thrust for less fuel cost. Important on a mercantile vessel such as this. He worked with the gun crews to improve their ability to track hostiles and showed them to target specific hull points that were more generic. More ships fell to the pirate vessel and the crews' fortunes rose with almost every improvement.

Willem had no choice, so he felt the more he could do, the better chance he might have to leave the ship at some point. However, the Captain was always watching, always aware, and never had the ship in a port close enough to allow Willem to jump ship and get any sort of easy transport back to the Confederacy.

Willem got his own back though. Over the first four full cycles, six pirates died from accidents. The same six that had killed and raped his crewmates from the TGX. Willem remembered, but was so very careful that the Captain never even suspected.

Suffocation claimed one, a pinprick in his Air Cycler claimed him while on a boarding party. The spoils were more easily split among the remaining crew so he was not missed, they never even bothered with the body, just left it to drift in the vacuum.

Another died when the maintenance shaft he was working on suddenly vented fuel and then cleaned itself. An accidental cycle that immersed him in hydrogen vapour long enough to kill him cleanly. The Captain shrugged and kicked the body, this man had been a pain all along, and the Captain was glad to be rid of him.

The third life was given to Pangea when the pirate was doing some maintenance work on a gun port, secured to a line that was holding him in place on the hull. The line broke from rubbing against a sharp piece of hull plate. Before he could even shout, he was fifty kims away and charred by the drive exhaust.

Number four lost it when his gun discharged while he was cleaning it. An accident that was so normal nobody even thought twice on it, except had they checked they would have seen that his power pack was set to overload. A setting that nobody on the crew even had the slightest idea how to do.

Number five was killed during a boarding detail when his suit bearings suddenly seized. All of them at once, his suit unmoving, he was an easy target for the defenders. The Captain worried a bit, because that man had always been careful with his suit, but the appearance of a United Suns corsair close stopped his thought as the Alkadia fled into neospace, leaving the body to drift.

The last pirate died when his suit decompressed explosively during yet another boarding detail. An examination would have revealed over a hundred minute cuts through the layers of suit material, however it was not even noticed as this prize contained a vault filled with rarified Diamond that was worth more than a thousand Regals. "We split among 14 now. That means everybody gets 60 Regals instead of 55." Said the Captain. Five Regals was the difference between a street whore and a night in a luxury suite with two high class beauties. That alone brooked no argument or concern about the lost man.

Willem had a significant nest egg built up. The Captain, true to his word, ensured Willam earned and was paid with every action. Unlike the rest of the men, Willem did not indulge in women, the only one he went with was when they eventually made their way back to Gillem's Point, then he would spend his nights with Raice and imagine she was his lost Gya. He also barely drunk alcohol, so his balance simply continued to accrue. He could draw funds at any terminal in the United Suns from his thumbprint, as it was guaranteed by the Idolan Commerce Society, which even the Confederacy honoured as they helped run the economy of the wild zones.

The Confederacy was always close to Willem's mind, and whenever he heard news, he would read it eagerly. No word was heard of specific ships or specific clans, but he listened and watched reports of border skirmishes and helped the Captain plan patrols to avoid Confederacy ships. Willem knew that if they came up against a Confederacy ship, his best bet was to run, because he'd have no chance to get any sort of message off before the entire ship was blown apart. Piracy was not tolerated, and the only penalty the Confederacy honoured was death.

Chapter 7.4

Catching a TGX – TGX-2 Flight Wing -9 BA

It was a boarding run that awarded the now Lieutenant Gya command of her own TGX. The crews had been diving deep into Michelab space beginning to finally press home the victory as Clan Michelab began to lose territory on an almost daily basis. The fighter wings had begun making deep runs on capital ships, even landing in the hostile ships to then make raids and capturing them from within as the TGX-2 stood off, ready to barrage fire if the ship made any hostile actions.

One one raid, as they closed on their target, the fighters scattered from a mainframe pulse that was at extreme range. Sensors painted the target and identified it as the TGX-4, from Clan Faniruf.

"She's burning badly, look at the damage, her entire left side is torn open." Gya reported as they swept along the hull of the stricken ship.

"We didn't do that, nor did our TGX." Sergeant Wakin said as they spun around to check for weapon points or active hotspots that needed to be disabled.

An explosion made the ships scatter again and they saw what looked like weapons fire inside the ship as bodies were flung into deep vacuum.

"I think they're fighting each other." Sergeant Haybo said as the fighters spun around the aft end of the ship, where the eight drive ports were, all feathered and none lit.

"Then we're going to the bridge." Gya said and adjusted her controls to line up with one of the four docking bays on the gigantic but badly damaged ship.

"Lieutenant, this is a TGX. We got thousands of crew on board, we can't just walk in there." Wakin said, astonished, but followed her lead and also adjusted for a landing.

"Just you watch us, Sergeant. This is Wing leader Desinlo. We are landing on board TGX-4 to take command. Next message will be from the bridge."

"What in Helva's name is she doing?" Ryo said as he heard the signal from the comm.

"All six fighters have gone inside the TGX-4 bay, Sir. They are out of comm range now." Tactical reported as the ship shuddered from a mainframe blast fired by the stricken but still dangerous battlecruiser they were approaching.

"They are going to get themselves killed." Kalen said as he watched the displays. "All guns, target power relays on the TGX-4 – knock out mains power to guns, precision aim only. If you can't hit the target, do not fire."

"That ship is already burning, one stray shot from us..." Ryo said, watching as gun crews began to fire singly at specific targets on the stricken ship to assist the small team that had now landed on board.

"We won't miss, Commander. I just hope that young lady of yours knows what she's doing." Kalen replied as the ship rocked from another mainframe blast that glanced off the armour.

Gya pulled off her flight helmet as the ship came to a halt and indicated pressure was outside. She was up and on the deck as the other members of the flight team also hopped out of their birds, then the six of them dashed across the bay and into the cross corridor leading towards the heart of the ship.

Weapons drawn, they ran towards the main grav chute as the ship was rocked by an explosion from the aft quarter. "Bloody Helva, that might have been a fuel blow. This ship is not going to survive, Desinlo!" Haybo said as they reached the primary conduit, to find it sealed with zero pressure reading on the other side.

"Spiral corridors, lets go, we need deck 25 and we'll secure this tub." Wakins said as they turned and ran down one of the two spiral corridors that weaved round the central shaft to provide alternate access to every deck on the gigantic ship.

"Hostiles up ah-" Sergeant Magna shouted then was felled by a shot through her head and chest as a security team ahead opened up against the invaders.

Gya and Wakins felled the soldiers then moved onwards, reaching deck 25 without further incident.

As they prepared to storm the bridge, they heard what sounded like an argument, then a single shot, and a thump as a body hit the desk, Gya walked onto the bridge weapon drawn, to be presented with a bloody scene.

Most of the senior officers were dead, and some of the junior officers also, but a few remained standing, and one of them held the still smoking weapon that they had heard the discharge from. He looked at Gya as she walked in, then dropped the gun and raised his hands.

"On behalf of the crew of the TGX-4, we surrender to Clan Camelin." He said, then knelt, as did the other officers who were still alive.

Gya looked at Wakins. "This was almost too easy." She said, then walked over and they disarmed all of the survivors on the bridge, kicking weapons clear and making sure there was no chance of a problem.

The ship shuddered as a low rumbling explosion rolled along it, and the lights flickered.

"Lieutenant, we have to stabilize this ship or it's going to tear itself apart!" Haybo said.

Gya looked at the officers. "I want all of you to assist us to save this ship. This is not about loyalty, or fealty to a clan, this is about saving your own skins. If you don't want to help, get out that door and don't poke your head back in here, I'll blow it off."

Within minutes the fragmented officers and the fighter pilots were at the ship's consoles bringing up what they could of the broken systems.

"If I'm reading this right, TGX-2 is twenty thousand kims away and closing. No weapons fire detected. We are still firing though!"

"Shut down our guns, no power to any weapons at all. Play dead so they don't cut us any more open than we already are." Gya ordered and the two crew at the reactors shut down and diverted power away from gun control.

"Do we have any power to thrusters or manoeuvring at all?" She asked, watching the static-filled readouts.

"Engines are cold, they've been cold for hours according to this. Did you people mutiny?" Came the question from navigation.

"Yes, we refused to follow the Clan leaders when they told us we were going to strike a liner and resort. We never wanted this fight, and we were conscripted into it. We began to fight back, and most of the damage you see is from us fighting the senior officers. Almost all the enlisted crew here were involved in the mutiny." One of the officers explained.

"We'll sort that out later. Shut down all fuel flow, and begin to close all airtight doors. We have to isolate everything and begin to stop the fires before they hit main trunk lines." Gya said.

"I'm not getting anything from central. Is the primary computer online?" Wakins said.

One of the officers shook his head and indicated a blackened door. The central door was open leading the the computer core and it looked like an explosion had occurred inside.

"The Captain threw a grenade in there when the Computer advised him that the action he was planning would result in loss of almost half the crew. That triggered us to rise up." Another officer reported.

"What in the worlds happened here?" Haybo mused as they fought to stabilize the ship using the crippled automatics.

"Without central control, a lot of the automatics will close, but we won't be able to open them except manually. This ship's over a kim and a half long, and half again as wide. That's a lot of space to cover. We're going to have a lot of dead crew if we can't find a way to get this coordinated." Gya said into the air.

A sound made her turn and she saw a work gang standing at the open door to the bridge, tools held in a slightly menacing but not quite threatening manner.

"You the Commander?" One of them said.

"I'm the new Commander, Clan Camelin. We're taking command." Gya replied.

The entire crew relaxed. "Thank the Gods, at least somebody with half a a brain is on board now. I've got two hundred crew ready to get this boat stabilized, Commander. You tell us what to do and we'll get it done. We are ready to follow your lead." The Deck Chief said.

Gya saw through the corner of her eye as Wakins put his gun back in the holster, then turned to the officer on comm. "Put me shipwide, we need to get this settled now."

"Attention crew of TGX-4. My name is Desinlo, I am from Clan Camelin. We have assumed command of this vessel and are working to maintain stability and repair the ship. Secure your stations, and secure your areas. Move to safe zones and assist in repairs. We will rescue you if you are trapped, help us by helping yourselves. Bridge out."

She turned to the deck crew bosses who were now gathered just inside the bridge.

"We need engines back online, and we need to stop all venting before we end up losing the air plants. Reactor control is good, but we have cold drives, which means no fuel, and possibly no fusion activity. Start in the core and work back and forward, two teams, check every compartment you find. Every able crewman should be ready to assist, otherwise, they made their choice, and deal with it as you see fit."

The bosses nodded and the crews scattered to begin slowly searching and securing the ship. The officers and pilots left on the bridge made quick work of clearing the bodies, then checking and fixing what damage could be done to make the controls function better.

"Half the command consoles are offline, waveguides have been severed due to the firefight in here. Watch it!" Sergeant Wakins said as he pushed another officer out of the way just as the console erupted a shower of sparks and flame.

"We're going to need to rewire the primary waveguides to bypass the damage. Anybody know where spare cable is?" Gya asked as she doffed her flight jacket.

"Lieutenant, we don't have time for that sort of maintenance!" came the response.

"You just watch me, if you're going to do something right, do it properly, or not at all." She said, pulling a length of cable from a storage cabinet and with the help of two of the deck crew that were helping with repairs, spliced and rerouted power to the damaged consoles faster than anybody they had seen before.

The consoles powered up and diagnostics rang true, then they began to pull real data from the massively damaged ship.

"How did you do that so quickly, M'a'am?" One of the deck hands said as Gya wiped her dusty hands with a cloth before rolling her sleeves back down.

"Six cycles of working inside the TGX-2. Waveguides and cabling in the core was all they would let me do because it was the most protected part of the ship. This..." She indicated the cabling, "I know better than most."

She went from console to console, running a diagnostic on each one and making fast field repairs with the help of the deckhands who stood back and just handed her the tools as they were used to repairs at a slow but steady speed. Gya was almost running as she made basic but key repairs to the bridge console, bringing the command heart of the ship back up to a basic functional level.

"Disconnect all waveguides to the system core, bypass it and run it though auxiliary sensor control. It's not the core, but the consoles won't know the difference in the basic signals." she ordered the two deckhands, then slid under one of the consoles and pulled out a mass of cabling which she threw out the door and quickly weaved a replacement length of silver fabric into place, bringing the final console linkage up and the bridge came to life again.

Gya stood up, her collar now damp with sweat as the air system was not running properly and it was getting warm in the bridge, but the consoles were all online, status was coming in, and they had basic control over the massive ship again.

"Ma'am – TGX-2 is signalling, they want a hard dock." Came the message from Comms. Gya walked over and told them to acknowledge and then prepared to greet her Father as he walked on board the stricken battlecruiser.

After the TGX-2 had hard-docked to the stricken but stabilized TGX-4, Commander Camelin came on board, followed by a security detail and was met by some of the pilots from his wing. They walked him to the bridge, where he looked at the devastation all around and then looked at Gya, who was standing there waiting.

"Commander Desinlo, Commander Camelin is on deck." One of the officers said.

"Commander?" Ryo said, amused.

Gya shrugged. "They put me in charge, I guess when you command a ship, you get to be Commander."

"I agree, that you do, Commander Desinlo." Ryo said, then took another look around the smashed bridge. "Status of your ship?"

"The crew mutinied against the Clan Faniruf officers. Well, the Michelab officers, they had replaced the Faniruf senior officers weeks ago. This was all caused by the mutiny. We came in time to stop the ship destructing, and the crew is pleased to have somebody on board who wants to look out for their interests, Sir. I think you have another TGX under our flag." Gya reported.

"Correction, Commander. You have a new command." Ryo said, as she noted he was still standing at a position of attention.

"Sir?" Gya said, very confused.

"I do not have the time to command two battlecruisers. This ship is going to need major repairs, best done at Tara, where the major facilities are that are friendly to our flag. It needs a leader, and you have already proven yourself with this crew. I can and am issuing a field promotion, Commander Gya Desinlo. Take this ship and bring it home to Tara, then refit it for active duty." Ryo said, then saluted her.

Gya looked around and the other officers and her flight team were also saluting her.

"But ... what about Captain Kalen?" she finally asked.

"I still need him on board, you can have Cato, and just about any other officer you may require, they all need some command experience as well." Ryo said.

Gya nodded, having now already put on the mantle of leadership for this broken ship, she would do her duty, and she would do it well.

It took three weeks to patch the hull enough for stable neospace flight, then the TGX-4 lumbered it's shaky way out of the combat zone and into neutral space around the central system of the Confederacy. Limping into high orbit days later, it finally gasped to a halt and Gya had every major system shut down on board. Now the real repair work could commence, as teams of engineers ascended to the ship from the orbital yards and began to slowly repair and refit every single centimer of the hull. Before that happened, every single part of the ship was evacuated and vented, so that no pockets of resistance survived. The ship was firmly in the control of Clan Camelin, and Gya intended for it to remain that way.

Major repairs took the longest time, as hundreds of square mets of new hull plating was manufactured for the ship and then mounted onto the hull and secured into place. Massive damage had been done to the left side of the hull, with both fuel tanks, the entire port armour frame laid bare, guns torn off, and the landing bays both exposed to vacuum.

Gya took charge of what repairs she could, slowly reworking entire sections of waveguide and electrical conduit in and around the bridge, repairing hundreds of mets of silver fabric that allowed for the superconductive elements to function the entire length of the massive ship, while teams worked to fully rebuild the destroyed central computer.

Over a period of ten months, the TGX-4 began to live again, the crew would finish a section, it would be tested, and then brought to operational status. Engines slowly came online, all weapon ports were rebuilt, armour covered the entire hull and all the tubing and duct work was remoulded into place where smashed pipework and vented rends had been before.

Gya made sure that none of the old computer core was left, the entire thing was stripped out, even the undamaged parts, and a full new core was put into place. As she told one of the techs "How would you feel if you woke up, only to have a thought in the back of your mind that you had been betrayed by your Commander?" No memory units remained of the original TGX-4 core.

Gya had also spent a considerable amount of time on the ground, in the Palace, having long talks with the Lord Emperor over the state of the war, and giving him ideas and advice on disparate military strategy. He had access to hundreds of military advisers, but not many who had actual combat experience in an ongoing Clan War.

She also enforced the Tara truce, including disciplining her own officers when they were caught attempting to sabotage a Michelab ship in orbit for repairs. As she later put it. "When we stop following the simple rules of warfare, we lose the grip on civilization that binds us together. We have to have rules that we live by, even in war, or it becomes a slaughter. We are Clan Camelin, and we do not slaughter."

Gya was 22 when she captured the TGX-4, and 23 when it launched, fully refit, to join the fight on behalf of Clan Camelin. Now with her being a full Commander, and the newly promoted Captain Sylva Cato as her XO, the TGX-4 was ready to see action.

The ship had been refit as a support vessel, as Gya felt more at ease in that type of role. She felt that backup was much better than front line, so the TGX-4 had been fully rebuilt to now be a floating refit and repair facility. Four docking bays able to handle two N'Gouras each, strip and rebuild their outer shells in a matter of days, multiple bays ready to hold, launch, repair and rebuild waves of Superiority fighters to support the fight. The TGX-4 was a carrier and a repair dock all in one place. Michelab had no idea how dangerous that could be, until it mattered.

With the TGX-4 dropping out a million kims from the battle, it sat back, not able to directly engage, but as ships were damaged they would flick out to the TGX-4 for repair, and be back in the fight. The battle turned in Clan Camelin's favour quickly, waves of fighters swept down to assault the Michelab refractories. The battle was won by Clan Camelin, and the legend of the Ice Princess and Captain Bitch began to spread.

Gya never faltered, and Cato was very aggressive in her duties. Gya never stepped away from the bridge in a crisis, and never seemed to get upset, she remained calm, poised, and snapped orders with a commanding voice that never changed tone or timbre. She was as cool as an icecap, which quickly earned her the title, along with her steel grey eyes and hair which she kept coloured to an ethereal blue.

The very pale blue hair made her look even more white than before, which added to the almost supernatural presence that she had. On the bridge, it was control and never a panic. If an officer began to panic, they just had to look at their Commander, who never faltered, Gya's calmness kept the bridge running smooth and the ship ran cleanly.

Sylva Cato gained her reputation early on as well. She took no quarter from anybody and allowed for nothing to go wrong. When it invariably did, she came down on those responsible like a helva-born clustercat. The crew began to refer to her as Captain Bitch and Cato revelled in it. She had many talks with Gya about her attitude, and she had decided that if Gya was going to be calm and unemotional, then Sylva would be the emotion for them both. Together, they got the crew running like a well-oiled machine and the TGX-4 became one of the best support vessels in the entire combined fleet.

Five more cycles of war flooded the Confederacy. The major clans now were only Michelab with it's massive production and refinery zones, and Camelin, with the military might and tactical strategy required to keep Michelab off guard. It still took many cycles to finally wear the other clan down to the point where they finally began to withdraw and fall back. Millions of citizens had died, on both sides, the toll of war was always the civilians, and even though Clan Camelin had made every attempt to keep the civilians on the Michelab worlds out of the battles, at times they became unwitting targets when a planet needed to be bombarded or conquered by force.

Chapter 8

The Pirate Court - Pirate Ship Alkadia -7 BA

Cycle after cycle Willem learned the Piracy trade. Then he learned something new, when the ship was summoned to Idolis so the Captain could answer a charge of Treason brought against him by another pirate crew.

The Pirates' Court was something new, Willem and the rest of the crew sat in the stands as Captain Eislan stood in the center of the large chamber, facing his accuser. A slimy snake-like pirate who called himself Azgaro. He had claimed that on a raid some months past, the Alkadia had crippled his ship, allowing the United Suns to lay capture on it, then escaped with the spoils. Something that if proven true, would men the death of the entire crew and Captain. Pirate Honour was as strong as Clan honour, Willem realized. Just a different measure.

Having known about the charges, Willem and the other flight officers had assisted the Captain by having the flight logs transferred and analyzed. They had integral timestamped logs that showed the entire incident. Showing the other ship flying into the path of the guns of the Alkadia, then deliberately diving right into the firing arc so it would get damaged. They also had the comm logs where the Captain even ordered the other crew to heave to so he could throw them a line and tow them out of range, and the other Captain's steadfast refusal.

After Captain Azgaro played back his logs, which showed the Alkadia targeting, firing on specific points on the pirate ship, then towing them into a partial collision with the stricken liner so the United Suns could capture them, there were strong angry murmurs from the assorted pirates who had gathered to watch the trial and challenge.

"What a load of crock!" Eislan said with a booming laugh after Azgaro finished his challenge.

"You have a response, Captain?" Came the question from the court.

"Of course I do. My man Hyens has pulled all of our logs, plus our navigational data to prove that what the other Captain has shown you is a total fabrication. I never attacked his rusty tub of a ship. He flew into my active weapons arc, then refused my offer to tow."

Eislan indicated for the Court to replay the logs, and as Willem had made sure, the logs showed the recordings from the Central Inertial Timing Buoys that were spread all through the region to ensure accurate timekeeping. The images were almost the same, but showed what had really transpired.

The Court went into session to analyze both logs and came back with a report fairly quickly which fully exonerated the Alkadia. The other ship's logs were so badly falsified the timestamps didn't even make the remotest sense.

As per the Idolan Code, The Alkadia was awarded 10% of the other ship's bounty over the past Cycle, which meant the crew had a weeks' worth of leave coming to them. Eislan was so happy he allowed Willem time above and beyond the remainder of the crew as it was his hard work that saved all of their collective asses.

Willem enjoyed the extra time, but he really didn't have anything to do with it. He worked with his money, stuck on Idolis with no transport off, he had no choice but to wander around. He learned about investments, and put a portion of his funds into some investments to see what would happen.

The next time they landed on Idolis, Willem checked his portfolio and saw that his ideas had paid off. His investment had grown dramatically and was now larger than his original balance. He plowed the funds back into his main account and then promptly ignored it. Money meant little to him without his Gya.

Chapter 8.1

First Intimacy - Ocean Manor, Tara -3 BA

"Kya!" Kya jumped to her feet from where she had been sitting, reading an essay and came running to Mistress Tya as she saw her standing with one of the gardeners.

"Thank you, Johep, you have done fine. You may go now." Tya said and the gardener nodded and then scampered down the hall and out the doors.

"Find Aya, my girl. She just had sex and may be feeling hurt or scared. Reassure her she is safe and when she is ready, you can bring her to see me." Tya said as she looked at the much younger woman, barely into her first years of Maturity.

"Yes, my mistress." Kya replied and then dashed off to check the places she knew Aya would go to if she felt lost or afraid.

She found her dearest friend sitting on the beach, watching the waves flow over the purple sand, the cyan coloured water lapping at the shore. Kya walked up quietly behind Aya, and then sat down beside her.

Aya looked at Kya with red-rimmed eyes, then continued staring off into the distance.

"It hurt?" Kya asked her.

Aya nodded, then put her chin on her knees and hugged herself.

"You should have told me you were interested, Aya. I could have given you some ideas how to make it a bit easier." Kya said, reaching a hand to rest on her friend's bare shoulder.

"You've done it already?" Aya asked, looking sideways at her friend.

Kya nodded. "Part of what I am, Aya. I'm not a Lady like you. I never will be. My role is more ... basic, than that." She sighed, then laid belly-down in the sand and traced idle shapes.

"He was big." Aya said, then her voice caught. "I thought it would be different, but it hurt so much, it still does. I thought it would never stop leaking out of me. Kya, I was bleeding!" She sobbed.

Kya rolled onto her side and looked at her friend. "Come here, my Lady." She said. Aya immediately uncurled and crawled into Kya's arms, where she began to cry.

After some time, Aya felt a little better, she felt calmer inside, even as she ached where the gardener had penetrated her. Kya got to her feet and helped Aya to hers.

"Come on, we need to see Mistress Tya." Aya heard, then pulled back.

"Noo, Kya. She'll spank me, then you. I'm not supposed to be with a boy yet."

Kya looked at her friend, seeing her eyes wide with fear, then reached down to take her hand again. "She sent me to find you, my Aya. She knows already and she is not upset."

Aya allowed her to lead her back to the house, where they found the Mistress sitting on one of the comfy chairs in the lounge. Tya rose to her feet as they came in, and Aya shrunk back, only to be grabbed in a strong embrace.

Tya hugged her, then kissed her charge, then gripped Aya's head in both of her hands and made the young woman look at her squarely.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

Aya tearfully nodded. "I hurt, but I'll heal. It does still sting when I walk though."

"My darling Aya." Tya said as she again kissed Aya on both cheeks. "You should have waited, or told one of us if you felt the urge. We would have made sure that you wouldn't have been hurt."

Aya looked at her Mistress in confusion, not understanding what she was saying.

"When you become a woman, my dear. It should be a time of celebration, because you enter into a whole new world of experiences. Not something to be had in a hurry with a gardener in the tool shed." Tya said with a soft chuckle.

"You knew?" Aya asked, eyes even wider than before.

Tya smiled. "I know everything about you, my young Lady. You are the Daughter of Clan Camelin. I was given you as my total charge and focus. We are Lari'Sota. Both myself and Kya. We are here for your safety and well-being. While you are off learning about the court and how to be in the palace. I am busy training Kya in the ways of the Lari'Sota, so she can properly attend you."

Tya sat and drew Aya onto her lap as Kya sat beside them. Aya hissed a bit as her sore muscles protested, but the feeling passed quickly as Tya gently caressed her cheek.

"You are stubborn, my Aya. Very strong-willed and independent. I expected you to do something like this. I just wish you had told me so I could have helped to make it easier on you." Tya said as she hugged the smaller woman to her, and Aya put her arms around the woman who had been her mother from the age of four and sobbed out her pain and frustration. Kya gently rubbed Aya's back, and guided by Tya's hands, gave Aya a gentle neck massage that relaxed the girl enough so that she could compose herself.

Aya drew back, and felt Kya take over, to hold her comfortably as Tya gently undid the dress she was wearing and slid it open to expose her body. "I need to check you, Aya. Please relax. Or would you prefer I bring you to Doctor Solonae?" Tya asked as she felt Aya tense.

Aya shook her head and swallowed hard then breathed and relaxed, helped by Kya's warm hands on her shoulders. She barely noticed as Kya's hands slid down to cover her breasts. Tya's gentle hands examined her intimately, checking for any serious injury or damage. She felt twinges of pain and pleasure as Tya gently checked and then lightly caressed her, then she was done, and only the warm sensation of a hand cupping her was left. Tya gently lifted her hand and helped Aya to sit up so she could slip her out of the dress.

"You are not injured, my Lady. Which is good, both my head and Kya's would be on the block if you'd actually been injured." Tya said, quite seriously look at her young charge.

She helped Aya to her feet and put her hand in Kya's. "Take her to the bathing pool and clean her, in and out. I'll talk to the Doctor and get a contraceptive issued. Aya, please do as Kya asks, otherwise I will have to be firm with you, my girl."

Aya nodded, and dutifully followed Kya to the bathing pool. She waited as Kya filled the pool with steaming oil-scented water, then slipped in and sighed with pleasure as her sore muscles relaxed in the warm fluid. She watched as Kya slipped out of her own robe, then slipped into the water beside her.

"You're a Lari'Sota? For real?" Aya asked as Kya squeezed some soap onto her hand and began to wash the other girl's shoulders and neck. Although Aya had become used to this, she normally also washed Kya at the same time. This time, Kya stopped her and made her lie still as she worked.

Kya softly laughed. "Not just a Lari'Sota, Aya. I am your Lari'Sota. Only for you. Most of us get to do palace time, and we get to be with many men and women. I get you be with you, in all things. Nobody gets to share my time, except you." she explained as she gently cupped each breast in soapy hands, lightly flicked each nipple, washed Aya's arms and sides, and gently rubbed her stomach.

"So you're just for me? I know you're my best friend, but I don't understand?" Aya said as she rolled over to let Kya wash her entire back.

"You don't have to understand it, Aya. This was what was ordered, by your Father and by the Lord Emperor himself. We do his duty towards you because it is the right thing to do." Kya said, slipping around and then very gently washing Aya intimately, working gentle fingers in and around her soreness to clense her of any residue left from the rough coupling she had undergone.

"So this is duty?" Aya asked, allowing Kya to lift her leg and gently wash it's full length.

"Not just duty, my friend. I do love you, so it gives me great pleasure to serve you as well. This way we will always be together, and you'll always have me to rely upon." Kya said as she switched legs and just as carefully washed the other one.

Aya smiled and then splashed in the water and threw her arms around her friend's shoulders and held her tightly. "I love you too. Don't ever leave me, Kya." She whispered into Kya's ear as she held her with a suddenly fierce grip.

Kya held her in the warm water until they felt the water cooling too much. Then they got out and gently towelled each other off, and wrapped up in two gigantic fluffy towels, walked back out to the main room where Tya was lying on a couch watching the sunset over the brilliant cyan water.

"You all clean now, Aya?" Tya asked her.

"Yes, Mistress, Kya did an excellent job." Aya replied.

"As she always does, my girl. She has learned your needs very well. Here, drink this. The Doctor said it will ensure your body is able to not become pregnant at this time."

Aya drank the slightly sweet drink in one gulp, then followed it with some clean water to wash out the taste. She then sat down on another couch as Kya sat beside her. Before Aya could protest, Kya had pulled her over so she was lying down with her head settled on her friend's lap.

Aya laughed as she felt Kya's fingers gently massaging her temples and cheekbones. "I could get used to this, Kya. You better be careful or you'll be doing this every day."

Tya chuckled as she watched Kya lean down and kiss Aya's nose. "If that is what makes you happy, Aya, then I'll gladly do it every day for you."

"You should really have waited, Aya." Kya said as she gently caressed her cheek. "I had my first time almost a cycle ago, it was me, Tya, and two other girls all there when one of the men came in to make me into a woman. It stung a bit, but all of them around me, touching me as he did his part, I felt happy and at peace. It was such a good feeling."

Aya frowned, but Kya's fingers kept working at her, relaxing her forehead and preventing her from keeping the frown in place. "You would have been just Eighteen then. Isn't that going too fast?"

"When your time is right, my Lady, then it is right." Tya said from her position in the waning sunlight. "As long as you are physically old enough then we are always ready to assist. This is what Lari'Sota do. We have many roles in our Confederacy. What you have been given is one of the most special. You have your own Intimate Companion. If you wish it, Kya will be there when you are with a partner, help you to bring yourself to the heights of pleasure, and help you to feel clean and refreshed afterwards. However you want her, she is there for you. She will never abandon you, she will always be with you, unless you choose not to have her. However she will always be ready when you do need or require her."

Aya had been watching Kya's face all through Tya's speech and never saw any sign of wavering or lack of attention. She sat up and looked at them both.

"So you're like a slave to me, then?" She finally asked, looking at Kya.

"No, Aya. I am your best friend, I will do the tasks that you may think of serving, but I am much more than that to you." Kya replied.

"If I get angry and hit you?" Aya asked, reaching out to gently caress Kya's cheek.

"As you wish, my Lady. I would heal. What you need is what I accept." Kya said softly.

Aya felt Tya close by her, and turned to look at the woman who had been a mother to her for so long she hardly even remembered her birth mother any more.

"What do I do? I want a friend, not a plaything?" She asked, feeling overwhelmed by this newfound knowledge.

"You have a friend, my Aya. Your best and dearest friend. A confidante to tell all of your secrets to. A person who will make sure you are always proper for the Palace. A maid to help you dress, a nurse for when you are sick. Most of all, a lover for when you are alone. You and Kya already have enjoyed each other many times. Do what feels right, enjoy yourself. You are not cruel, otherwise we would have already made other arrangements. I am very confidant in both you and Kya to be the very best for each other."

Chapter 8.2

Bedding An Emperor – Oceanside Manor -3 BA

"You know what I'm going to do at the big ball tomorrow eve?" Aya said as she and Kya lay in their bed getting ready to sleep.

Kya rolled over and propped her head up on one hand to look at her friend. Aya had developed into a lovely woman, now Eighteen cycles old and ready to take on the worlds. "What do you plan to do? Drop another Water Bomb on the Clan Lords?" She teased, reminding Aya of the prank they had both pulled at the last ball.

They both giggled. Getting all the stuffy Clan Lords soaked by the water bomb last year had been hilarious. Getting soundly spanked in front of all of them afterwards had not been as much fun, but it was still pretty much worth it.

"I'm going to bed the Emperor!" Aya whispered.

"You're not! No way! Aya, that's crazy!" Kya gasped, sitting right up in bed.

"Shhhh, I don't want Mistress to hear." Aya said, pulling Kya back down to bury her in the deep blankets and soft pillows.

"Aya, you're supposed to tell somebody before you have sex now. We have rules to follow and you promised Mistress you'd be safe." Kya hissed, although she was smiling along with her friend as she could feel Aya's bubbling emotions.

"Who is safer than the Emperor himself? Besides, I'm telling you." Aya asked, then ducked her head and nuzzled Kya's neck.

Kya rested her hand on the back of her friend's neck and tsked. A sound Aya knew meant disapproval, but still, she was determined.

"It's a costume ball. He'll never know it's me. I'm certainly old enough now, and I have always got the tingles whenever he talks to us." She said.

"He's almost old enough to be your father." Kya reminded her.

"My father doesn't care, Kya. You know that." Aya said with a sharp exhale of breath, and a very light nip on Kya's bare breast.

Kya squirmed and nodded. "He is off defending the frontier against the T'Ressi and the United Suns, my Aya. Fighting Clan Wars for our protection and prosperity. I am hoping he'll visit you soon, but it's been so very long, I know you don't even remember the last time he saw you."

Aya buried her face in Kya's breasts and sighed, then slid up her body so that they lay breast to breast, and Kya felt her friend's warm sweet breath on her own.

"You always speak reason to me, Kya. I don't want reason right now. I want to feel slippery again." Aya said as she wriggled her hips against Kya's.

Kya laughed and swatted Aya's wrigging bottom. "You're oversexed."

Aya grinned. "Yes, and I'm going to have the Emperor tomorrow. You can't tell anybody, please?"

Kya looked at her friend's earnest yet flushed face, then kissed her. "You will be safe, my Aya." Kya snuggled down with Aya and waited as she felt her relax, then Aya drifted into even breathing that indicated she had drifted off. Kya waited few more minutes, then gently slid out from under Aya and made sure she was comfortable, then got out of the bed and slipped out of the door.

Tya sat quietly on the edge of her lounge as Kya quickly and quietly told the tale. "Go back to bed now, Kya. I will make sure everything is fine. Keep her safe and comforted." she said and sent the girl off with a firm pat on her naked bottom. Tya rose and stretched, then walked over to her own room and closed the door. Walking to her terminal, she opened a channel and contacted the Palace.

"Yes, Mistress Tya?" The Lord Emperor said as he sleepily answered the summons. Not many were allowed to wake him at any time, Tya was one of the few.

"My Lord, at the ball tomorrow you are going to be enjoying a teenage pixie. You had best prepare yourself appropriately." Tya said, not beating about the bush with the information.

Tyo sat up straighter. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, Aya is determined to bed you tomorrow. She feels that as it is a costume ball, you will not recognize her and she will have her chance." Tya explained.

Tyo shook his head, then rand a hand over his face and through his sleep-tousled hair. "Ryo is going to have me hulled when he finds out." He finally said.

Tya laughed. Tyo frowned at her. "I'm serious. When he finds out I've bedded his daughter, he'll have me skinned alive, then flayed, then tossed out an airlock. Then he'll find a way to bring me back and do it again."

"I've never seen you worried before, My Lord. This is not a big concern. She is of age, and she has a natural desire." Tya said, still smiling.

"The Camelins are very traditional, Mistress Tya. Lady Aya is only just Eighteen cycles, therefore, as per Camelin rules, she is to be untouched until claimed by a proper Consort. Especially as she is the Lady of the Clan." Tyo said, then swung up and got out of the bed, leaving the sleepy Lari'Sota beside him to doze as he allowed her to sleep without disturbance.

"Do you want me to stop this event then, My Lord? I am sure we can come up with a hundred ways to prevent the Lady from seducing you, or being alone enough to try." Tya asked him.

Tyo shook his head. "No, we both know enough of teenage hormones and psychology that if we prevent her from this she may try something foolish or daring. Dropping the Water Bomb last year was bad enough, funny, but bad. If she gets put off her focus this year she may do something that gets her a real punishment. I don't need the Clan Camelin coming down on me for permitting her to be properly beaten."

"So what will we do then, My Lord?" Tya asked him.

"I guess, that at some time tomorrow evening, the Lady Aya will find herself being bedded. And soon enough after that, to prevent my execution by Ryo Camelin, I will then declare her to be my future Consort." Tyo said as he smiled at Tya.

"You are going to propose to her?" Tya asked, shocked. This was not the Tyo she knew. This man bedded a different Lari'Sota almost every night.

"I have to be proper. I'm nearly thirty-four cycles old. If young Aya wants me that badly, the least I can do is make a proper girl of her. It won't prevent her enjoying other men, or women if she so desires. But it will solidify the link between the two main Clans and help me govern this madhouse." Tyo replied.

"As long as you're not going to hurt her, my Lord. I think that is the main thing." Tya said in response.

Tyo wriggled his eyebrows at her. "You best make sure she is ready for me, Mistress Tya. That girl is very small, and we both know from experience that I am not particularly slender. I'll do my best to be considerate, but if she wants to bed me, she will have to handle all of me."

Tya laughed as Tyo smiled, then he chuckled as well. "We'll have her ready for her adventure, my Lord Emperor. You best get some rest for the ball, in more ways than one." Tya signed off the comm.

Tyo walked back into his chamber and slipped back under the bedcovers beside the lightly sleeping Lari'sota, who promptly snuggled up to him as he fell into a deep slumber, only to wake up an hour later in a cold sweat as he was sure he could see Ryo Camelin standing over his bed holding a cannon and charging it to fire.

"My Lord, what is the matter, you are soaked in sweat?" said the girl beside him.

Tyo turned to her and covered her face in kisses, feeling a strong urge and promptly burying himself in her as he pushed the dream away in a lustful coupling that exhausted him.

He slept the rest of the night with the Lari'Sota pressed firmly against him, her tight sheath holding him until he awoke with the morning light enough to roll and dislodge himself from a very pleasant prison.

Chapter 8.3

Prep For The Ball - Oceanside Manor, Tara -3 BA

"Aya, don't argue with me. I don't want you hurt, and you promised me you would be safe." Kya whispered as she held the small gel capsule.

"What will it do?" Aya hissed at her, determined to keep her voice down so that the Mistress did not hear them.

"It will get you wet, very wet and well lubricated so you can handle the Lord Emperor if you do manage to get him alone. I have heard that although he is not long, he is thick, my dear. You are not very big so he will tear you if he enters you. You have to be safe." Kya whispered back.

Aya sighed and nodded. She had flutterbies already, and now she would have very slippery flutterbies even before she could put her plan into action. She breathed slowly as Kya's slim fingers deftly slid the gel capsule between her labia and into her sheath, then up right against her cervix.

"There." Kya said as she gently withdrew her fingers and dried them on a cloth. "Now at least you can handle the man if you do manage to get to him."

"I'm going to get to him, Kya. I'm going to have him and he'll never forget it, either." Aya said as she brushed her skirt down and made herself presentable for the afternoon.

They spent almost an hour with Aya very carefully winding thin lines of transparent cord around Kya's torso, arms and legs, tracing lines along each major muscle group and then pressing them into place with skin adhesive so the lines would not dislodge for at least another eight hours. As her fingers were smaller, Aya had no problem threading each line into a flat power pack that was attached at the base of Kya's spine, and once they were all connected, she sat back and looked at her friend.

"Ready?" She asked.

Kya nodded. "Light me up."

Aya reached behind her and pressed the button to turn on the lines. Bright waves of fires sped down the wires and it looked like Kya was burning with sunlight streaming down every part of her body. As she moved, the light seemed to flow with her, causing almost a bright halo effect. Aya quickly scooted behind Kya and made an adjustment to the power pack, the lines of fire began to gently ebb and flow as they ran in trace lines along her torso and limbs.

"Much better. Once you have the outfit on, you'll glow like the Cometary storm itself." Aya said as she critically examined the placement of the tiny light wires.

Kya shook her hair, and the wires threaded through it caught the light from thousands of tiny clear jewels and made her hair spray light across the room. "It looks fabulous. You really did a good job, Aya."

Aya smiled and leaned close to whisper in her friend's ear. "That thing is working, I'm getting really slippery already."

Kya smiled and kissed Aya's cheek. "You'll be safe now, that's all I ever wanted, my Aya."

Then she heard a gentle knock at the door and both turned to see the stylist, a renowned artist by the name of Rauge, who was there to make Aya into a living work of art for the ball.

Rauge walked into the room and then did a slow turn all around Kya, looking at her from all angles. "That is remarkable. You used light wire?" He asked.

Kya nodded. "Aya managed to get a supply from the palace. The wire is too coarse for electronics, but it works wonderfully for this. I'm going as a living comet."

Rauge laughed. "Excellent choice, my darling girl. You will look wonderful. I am going to transform the Lady Aya into the living Oxymax Nebula. A Comet and a Nebula, what wonderful concepts for costumes at the ball."

He sat down, and opened his kit. Carefully laying out the tools of his work on a small table beside him, he looked at Aya and then tapped the stool in front of him. "Come here, young miss. We have work to do."

Aya slipped out of her robe and stood on the stool, a bit wobbly until Rauge helped her to find her balance. Then he looked at her body very critically before pulling out a fine tipped airbrush and loading on a vial of very fine white body paint.

The paint went on cool, like a constant light breeze blowing all over her, and as she looked down, her body was getting streaks of pure white, coating her pale skin in shimmering pearl white that glimmered in the house lights. Rauge worked quickly but very efficiently, coating almost all of her in the white, then switching vials and putting on another layer of a slightly different white. Then he changed vials again, and she felt the whisper of the airbrush as different coloured streaks began to appear all over her. He moved so fast it was almost like a type of magic, and both Kya and Mistress Tya were staring astonished as their girl transformed into a living image of the Oxymax nebula.

The whorls of the deep sand-coloured clouds swirled around her breasts, with one nipple highlighted with the Pulsar at the heart of the nebula, and the other the G2 star that was the home of Clan Desinlo. Her stomach was a roiling mass of deep yellow and red clouds that swirled in the ever-changing gravitational play between the pockets that inter weaved the nebula. With gas streamers running down her legs and arms. Her eyes and face were covered in the deepest black, with speckled flecks of brilliant white to indicate the cluster of stars that sat above the nebula, her hair had been coloured the most brilliant reflective silver, to allow light to dance off her as she turned.

Each finger and toenail was a brilliant point of self-illuminated light, so she glowed in the dimming daylight like the self-lit nebula that she had become.

Tya had the two girls stand side by side, Aya fully nude, coated in the body mask that showed her as a brilliant representation of the Oxymax Nebula with brilliant reflective silver hair speckled with tiny jewels. Kya, also nude, glowing with a hundred streamers of light and wearing a billowing robe of transparent reflective fabric that helped the threads to glow and diffuse, making her look like a glowing cloud of star stuff, a Comet to rival the swarms that descended into the heart of the Tara system every seven cycles.

"Rauge, you have outdone yourself." Mistress Tya said. "You two girls truly take my breath away. At this ball you will both be the talk of the palace."

Chapter 8.4

After The Ball, Royal Palace, Tara -3 BA

She looked at him as he lay gasping on the bed beside her, eyes closed in memory of what had just occurred. She was sore, very sore, but it was a good ache. She had done what she set out to do. The Emperor had been hers, even if just for a moment.

Aya carefully got up, checked herself, then slipped out of the bed chamber and began to carefully walk down the corridors, not quite ready to join the party again, her legs ached and she could still feel him all slick between her thighs. She had to get cleaned up, but the body mask would be ruined if she did ... what to do?

Tyo watched through half-closed eyes as the small woman left the room quietly, thinking he was asleep, and waited for her to go around the corner, then opened a comm. "Mistress Tya, it is done. We were just in the Anteroom off the main fountains. You better get Kya to locate her, she looks wobbly."

He heard a soft chuckle, "Understood, my Lord. We'll take care of her." He lay back and deep breathed, allowing his own body to come back to a sense of normalcy.

Aya stumbled over her feet and nearly slid down the wall, but was determined to keep going. She knew there had to be a refreshing chamber close by, just had to find it. Putting her hand on a sturdy corner, she turned to see Kya running down the corridor towards her, her outfit billowing around her like a cloud of fire.

Her Lari'Sota came to a skidding halt and grabbed her in a firm hug, kissing her gently and running hands over her face to check her.

"I'm fine, fine. Kya, I'm fine. Sore, but not hurt. Can you help me get cleaned up? I don't know where to go?" Aya managed to get out in between Kya's affections and concern.

"Of course I will, Lady Aya. Come on." Kya replied and guided her lady down the corridor, when she saw how slowly Aya was walking, she deftly lifted the smaller woman up and carried her the last few steps into the refreshing chamber and kicked the door closed, then hit the console with her hip to lock the door behind them.

"How will we get clean? My body mask will be ruined." Aya said plaintively.

Kya laughed. "It's already a mess between your legs and your breasts, dear. Anybody who sees you will know you had fun. It's getting late already. Let's just get cleaned up and we'll take a flitter back home. Then you can rest. Sound good?"

Aya nodded and turned to start the warm water filling the pool as Kya tsked and began to peel the attachments out of her Lady's hair, slowly beginning to transform Aya from a magnificent piece of body artwork back into the girl she normally was.

Aya then helped Kya to slip out of her voluminous gown, then tapped a control on the power pack and the lights went out all over her skin. Another control sent a light negative current through the wires and they all sprung away from Kya's skin with a very slight pulling sensation, letting them fall in a thin mesh into Aya's hands as she rapidly coiled them around the power pack and put it beside the gown.

Chapter 9

End of the Clan War - Clanworld Michelab Orbit -3 BA

The worst battle was the last of the war, the battle for the Clanworld Michelab itself. Finally driven back to their home system, Michelab forces rallied for a final almost suicidal strike against the massed Camelin forces. Two TGX ships, numbers 2 and 4, on the Camelin side, faced off against ships 6 and 9 for Michelab.

"Commander Kerilac, yield and we can discuss an honourable surrender. We don't need to have more bloodshed, especially here." Came the challenge from the Camelin forces.

Michelab replied with silence and weapon ports arming. They were now fully prepared for the Superiority fighters launched from the Camelin TGX's and their strike benefits were mostly nullified by better tracking and targeting systems. The explosions and destruction laid by four ships of the line was tremendous, and was spread across four million kims of space which included both Michelab moons and most of the orbital platforms, all of which fell.

With the TGX-4 beginning to burn from the many weapon strikes, Gya pulled back and began to swing around, to try and open up another angle for attack, while waves of N'Goura cruisers swarmed around the massive capital ships, adding fire and weapon strikes to burning and melted armour across all four massive hulls.

Caught in the crossfire between the two TGX warships, the TGX-6 very quickly lost armour integrity and began to burn internally, then withdrew, signalling surrender as it's weapons went dark. All that was left was the TGX-9, as solidly built as the -2, with as many weapon ports and possibly more armour.

Across a hundred thousand kims, three starships traded hyperlight weapon strikes, the TGX-9 having to split it's focus on two opponents, while both the -2 and -4 began to concentrate fire on it's rear quarter, attempting to punch a hole in it's fuel tanks and cripple the opposing ship.

One shot from the -4 knocked a quad of engines out of alignment and the -9 spun around on it's axis before cutting off the venting drives, but as it did and attempted to stabilize, it's forward section struck the anchor for the Michelab skyhook a glancing blow. As the Camelin forces looked on in horror, the asteroid anchor broke free, and the skyhook began to wobble, then buckle under the release of tension. Ripples travelled down the 25 thousand kim length of the cable and they saw the entire length shudder, then the ripples gained strength as the entire skyhook shattered into sections, some falling into the atmosphere and others being flung away at faster than escape velocity.

The stricken cruiser continued to fight, weapons lancing out to blow against the armour of the oncoming battlecruisers even as it began to slide into the upper atmosphere. Both Camelin ships broke off and pulled into a higher orbit, allowing the Michelab ship to stabilize itself as the Commander sent a final message, demanding surrender of the TGX-9.

"You'll burn in the fires of Helva along with me, Camelin!" Came the static-filled reply from Commander Kerilac as the TGX-9 opened up all engines and began to rapidly accelerate straight towards the TGX-2.

"Full engine blow!" Ryo shouted, knowing that raw inertia meant there was no way his ship could dodge the oncoming mass of the other battlecruiser.

As the TGX-9 plowed towards the other battlecruiser, it was suddenly struck a mighty blow and was pushed off course by the combined tractor units of the TGX-4 as it had swung fully around the remains of the skyhook to come up from underneath the other ship, pushing it off course so that it screamed by the TGX-2 with only a few scant kims to spare.

"Full shields, reactors are critical!" Gya called into the comm as the TGX-9 began to glow from internal energy buildup. Both Camelin TGX ships began to pivot to expose their armoured drive units as the TGX-9 detonated.

The battlecruisers survived, radiation streaming past their shields to impact the atmosphere and cause a high level glow that would end with a shower of deadly radiation over the next few months across the face of the planet. Debris streamed in all directions, chunks of the TGX-9 hull impacting the shields and armour of the other two ships, the planetary atmosphere, and flying off into vacuum.

Clanworld Michelab was shattered. The loss of the skyhook had destroyed the capitol city and a swath of land almost a thousand kims long when the cable fell from the sky. The fourteen cycle war had devastated the planetary economy, and with the war now over, the death toll rose dramatically. Almost all of the Michelab leaders were dead, either by Kerilac or Jasinlo insiders, or by the war itself, leaving nobody of blood left to rule the clan.

Clan Michelab was gone, with no blood relations, the clan dissolved, Clan Kerilac fell to the last soldier, as did Clan Jasinlo. The war had a Hablis cost that was almost too high to count. With three Clans falling in the space of a few days. As Leader of Clan Camelin, it was Ryo who got to enjoy the spoils of war, he looked over the shattered and burning planet spread before him, the line of destruction from the skyhook easily visible from orbit and wondered aloud "If this is victory, I almost wish for defeat."

The loss of the TGX-9 meant that organized resistance also fell, as the security and armies of Clan Michelab lost their leadership and became so much rabble, with guns. To most citizens a Clan War never touched them, as it was always the royalty fighting amongst themselves, almost a sport. In this case, it directly impacted them as the Michelab, Kerilac and Jasinlo Clan leaders had forced the general population to involve themselves, and had broken the back of the planet's economy and production in the process. Michelab was penniless and starving.

The first people on the ground were security teams who were trained in disaster relief. They began to assist those most badly injured and to prepare landing fields for the hundreds of shuttles and small cruisers that were now being summoned to bring relief to a stricken planet where tens of millions of citizens needed immediate aid for basic survival needs.

Pockets of resistance were found and quashed and as the general population realized this new group of people were there to help, the cries for aid and assistance began to rise until it was like the entire planet cried out for help. Help came. As Clan Camelin rallied all of the other Clans behind it, showing true understanding of what the Confederacy really should be, hundreds of ships streamed towards Michelab, carrying food, cargo, medical needs, supplies, whatever could be loaded was brought. The planet was broken, and the lives of millions were at stake.

While food and medical supplies were ferried in, other ships ran the length of devastation from the fallen cable and worked to extinguish the massive fires that still burned, suppressing and reducing the damage to the atmosphere before it totally crippled the biosphere of the plentiful world.

Yet more ships moved around in orbit shunting and pulling debris out of low and medium orbit to ensure it did not drop down on the planet and rain debris down in a shower of fiery death upon the vulnerable populace.

It took only a few short weeks to stabilize the planetary biome and begin the massive task of rebuilding and feeding the millions now left helpless beneath the remains of war. Ryo officially took possession of the Clanworld from the regional government, which was happy to do whatever it took to ensure no more fighting, they had hundreds of thousands of injured and homeless to deal with, battle was not on the cards any more.

Chapter 9.1

The War Is Over - Oceanside Manor, Tara -3 BA

"Aya, Kya, time to wake up." They both stirred at the singsong voice of Mistress Tya and Aya rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head to try and catch the last few seconds of sleep even as Kya sat up beside her.

"Oh, what a night." They both said almost together, then giggled.

After they had gotten home from the ball, Aya had still been very awake, so all three women had celebrated her victory with the Emperor with a lot of Silessi wine. Aya still felt the effects as she slowly sat up. "I'm still drunk, can I still be drunk?" She asked as she felt her head swim, Kya reached behind her and gently held Aya upright, then pulled the smaller woman to her.

"No, silly. This is the aftereffects of the wine. You'll feel like this for a couple of hours, then you'll be fine." Kya said as she caressed Aya's long tangled hair and stroked her Lady's cheek.

"Why is it you get to know everything before me, Kya. Sometimes, I think it's not fair." Aya muttered as she rested her throbbing head on Kya's full breast.

"How else can I take care of you, if I don't know how things work, my Aya?" Kya said with a soft chuckle, then winced herself as the wine afters hit her.

"It got you too, huh?" Aya said, smiling up at her Lari'Sota.

"Yep." Kya nodded slowly.

Mistress Tya came bustling in, carrying two mugs of hot steaming Kaf and sat on the bed, giving one mug to each girl and telling them to drink up as it will deal with the afters.

After they had drunk about half their mugs, both girls began to feel a lot better and more alert, they got up, refreshed themselves with a hot bath, and then Aya got to sit and let Kya brush out her hair and style it, before she could get up and choose an outfit for the day.

As Aya padded out to the main room, naked except for a towel wrapped around her, she heard Mistress Tya on the comm, and stopped.

"Are you serious? It's finished? Oh that is wonderful. When are they expected back. This evening? I will let her know, many thanks." Tya disconnected the comm and saw Aya standing there.

"Wonderful news, my girl. The best news I've had in weeks." Tya said, gathering Aya to her and sitting her on her motherly lap.

"What news, Mistress?" Aya asked.

"The war is over. They are coming home." Tya replied as Kya walked in, naked as usual and drying her hair with a towel.

"Which war, Mistress Tya?"

"The Clan war, Camelin and Michelab. Camelin has prevailed and Michelab has been defeated. They have sworn fealty. We are at peace again. The fleet will be coming back into high orbit by this evening so that the Clan Leaders can make the proclamation at the Grand Hall. Aya, you will finally get to meet your father." Tya said, hugging Aya, who suddenly felt very cold.

"I don't even remember him, Kya." Aya said as she paced around the deck, fretting. She had dropped her towel as soon as she had gone onto the deck, and although it was out of her character, Kya kept an eye on her mistress as she paced the length of the deck in all her glory.

"He is still your father, my Lady. You can at least give him a chance?" Kya said as she sat on the deck, cross-legged, focusing on her breathing and feeling the warm sunlight falling onto her bare skin. She always did that, sat naked on the deck, Kya had no problem with showing off her body, Aya was normally more modest. Yet Aya was the one who got more sex than Kya did. Aya figured she had slept with more than fifty boys already, and now the Emperor.

Oh I'll give him a chance, Kya. It's just ... He's the leader of the biggest Military Clan in the Confederacy. He just fought a war that lasted fourteen cycles. He fought it partially because of me, after the other clan tried to kill me. They killed my mother, you know, in that same attack. That's why I was sent here, to keep me safe." Aya bubbled out, words stumbling on top of one another, Kya reached out and pulled Aya onto her lap and made her sit, positioning her legs so that both her and Kya sat intertwined, facing each other.

"Focus with me, my Lady. You need to breathe, and you need to be calm." Kya said, then took a deep breath and gently let it out, blowing soft warm air across Aya's face.

I don't know if I can be calm, Kya. I don't know what to do." Aya said, wringing her hands nervously, then wrapping them around her friend and burying herself in Kya's long flowing hair.

Kya gently ran her hands up and down Aya's bare back, then whispered. "Do you need me to get you a boy, to help you take this edge off?"

Aya shook her head, breathing fast and deep.

"Do you wish us to go back to bed, and enjoy some quiet time together?" Kya gently prodded as her hands began to knead and work at Aya's tensed muscles.

"I don't know..." Aya whispered. "I just don't know, Kya."

"Then, my lady," Kya said as she slipped one hand down to cup Aya's buttock and gave it a gentle but firm squeeze. "You need to focus on the now." She took her other hand and gently drew it across Aya's chest to brush against both nipples which began to respond.

"Kya, he's coming. Here. To see me." Aya said, wriggling against the gentle hands of her friend.

Kya firmly cupped Aya's cheeks in her hands and made solid eye contact. Azure eyes meeting amber. "That is correct. You are a Lady Of the Court, and you will be ready to meet the Victor of the Clan War. The fact that he also happens to be your father has little bearing on this day's events."

"..But." Aya began, and got shushed by Kya.

"You will celebrate, with all of us, this victory. You will enjoy the peace that will now happen. You are a Lady of the Court, Aya Camelin. This is your home, and this is your time to shine. Ryo Camelin may be your father, but he not from the court. You will meet him on your ground, where you know how to act and how to be. I will be there, and you, my darling love, will be fine."

Aya buried herself in Kya's long hair again, breathing steadily, a hot wash against her friend's neck and chest.

"Is this what a Lari'Sota does, Kya? Give me wisdom, reason and help me to focus?" Kya heard Aya's muffled question.

Kya laughed softly and kissed the top of her friend's head. "I have no idea what I am supposed to do, other than keep you happy, and keep you safe. If this means I have to shake you up to get you to see reason, then you'll get a bit of a shake now and then, my Lady."

Aya looked up at her. "That wasn't a shake, Kya." she said quietly.

Kya smiled and holding Aya tighter, got to her feet, now carrying the smaller woman in her arms. "No, but this is, my Lady." She said and jumped them both off the deck into the warm waters of the endless pool that surrounded the house on three sides as Aya shrieked.

Chapter 9.2

Coming Home \- Tara Orbit -3 BA

The three TGX ships boosted out of Michelab orbit, leaving behind the massive relief effort as they journeyed towards the primary system to formally announce the end of hostilities, the Clan War was over. Ryo was stolid, but inside, he was terrified. The military war was done, now it was time to face something he had left behind for more than fourteen cycles. A young daughter who had now fully grown up.

The three massive battlecruisers dropped into high orbit and pulled into stationkeeping. The first thing Ryo did was shuttle over to the TGX-6 to accept their formal surrender and to transfer command to his flag. This had to be done in Tara orbit, as per tradition. Like the TGX-4, the 6's crew had begun to fight against the sheer insanity of their senior officers, so it was much the same, just less damage this time.

Ryo contacted Captain Tokoma, who had been there from the beginning in a lot of ways, and he felt was in a good position to take command. The man was thrilled to be given this honour, and within a day he had assembled a new bridge team and they were working to begin a refit of the battlecruiser to fully make it Clan Camelin.

Gya remained in orbit, helping the new Commander to refit the TGX-6. She knew there would be a massive celebration on the planet, but had no need to celebrate. Not her style. She did allow for as many of her crew as wanted to travel down and enjoy though, Gya was not selfish.

Ryo and Kalen shuttled down to the planet's surface around Zero Bright, quickly met with Tyo Masilec, and were informed of how the events would go so they knew what places to take, and what actions to make. In some ways, this was a staged performance, but only just barely.

Tyo refused any questions about young Aya, so Ryo felt somewhat frustrated, but he had left the girl in the Emperor's care, and he knew she was fully healthy and grown. All that remained was the actual meeting.

Formally dressed, with her hair all in place, outfit sitting perfectly on her small frame, Aya sat and waited. Kya hurried about, getting her drinks and food, much like the other place staff were doing for all of the other dignitaries who had assembled. Aya noted that there was an air of excitement, and that the Emperor was not present.

She reached up and tugged Kya's arm. "Where's Tyo?"

"I don't know, my Lady. Do you wish me to find him?" came the reply.

Aya furrowed her brow, only to have Kya smooth it back with a gentle caress. "Can you do that?"

Kya smiled. "I'm not just a Lari'Sota, my Lady. I am yours, that gives me special benefits when we're here. I'll see where he is at." Kya turned and vanished into the milling crowd, leaving Aya to sit, now alone, and feeling still very nervous.

Aya sipped at the glass of bubbly wine Kya had provided, and watched the crowds move. She noted a lot of people in military uniforms, some with the Camelin crest, some with another she did not recognize. A soft tap on her shoulder made her look up into the face of an older officer who's rank indicted he was a Captain of some sort.

"May I sit here, my Lady?" He asked in a soft yet firm voice.

Aya nodded, and watched him sit. He was older, maybe twice Tyo's age. He held himself with proper poise and formality. His uniform was crisp and the lines were straight. This was somebody who was in the higher ranks of the Clan. He wore the Camelin crest proudly, but also wore that other Crest.

He noticed her watching him and leaned over conspiratorially. "I'm not much of a conversation piece, my Lady. If you have any questions, feel free to bend my ear though."

She blushed slightly. "May I ask your name, Sir?"

He smiled, laugh lines crinkling around his eyes. "Captain Viktor Kalen, at your service, my Lady."

She nervously smiled back at him, then pressed forward. "I know the Camelin crest, what is the other, and why do you wear both? Most of the crew here only wear one or the other."

Kalen put down his drink and got to his feet, then dropped down in front of her so she could see the crests more clearly. "A very good question, my Lady. The other crest is for Clan Desinlo. Which we first liberated Twenty-five cycles ago, and which was lost to all of us thirteen cycles past. As I am in overall command, I wear both Clans to show my support for those who have fallen, so they will never be forgotten."

Aya furrowed her brow, then made her face smooth again as she imagined Kya would gently relax her forehead. "I heard of Clan Desinlo. Wasn't the planet bombarded?"

"Yes, it was. You were far too young to remember, Lady Aya." She spun as she had not even noticed Emperor Tyo Masilec come up behind her, Kya trailing slightly after him.

Aya smiled as she saw him. Her feelings for Tyo grew stronger every day, and this was no exception. She watched as he came around, took her hand and kissed it, then kissed her cheek.

Captain Kalen had stood, then formally saluted the Emperor, but his eyes never left Aya. "This is the Lady Aya?"

Tyo nodded. "This is the lady. She has grown into a fine woman, I am so proud to have her as a part of my court."

Ryo Camelin was refreshed and then suited up in his formal tunic, refusing the help of an assistant who fluttered all round him, irritating him to the point he wanted to drive the man's head through the wall. Ryo finally stood up, tunic half-buttoned, as he heard the swell of music, and walked out. Ignoring the man and buttoning his vest as he went. Walking into the main hall, even Ryo was impressed by the sheer size of it. This hall was as large as the TGX docking hanger, able to house more than five thousand citizens, and it was full.

"I am fine as I have dressed. Now leave me be." He said to the assistant, who looked at the Emperor in desperation, then vanished into the crowd at the slight nod. Ryo walked up to the main dais, where Captain Kalen was already standing, along with Tyo and some others, sitting and standing. Ryo walked up to where Tyo was standing and held out his hands, Tyo grasped them as the entire crowd grew silent.

"Lord Emperor Masilec, I bring you news of the long standing war between the Clan Camelin and Clan Michelab. The War is over. Let peace reign through the Confederacy, and may you rule the Thousand Worlds with no more conflict."

Aya blinked, and swallowed hard, then felt the steady reassurance of Kya's hand on her shoulder. This was the leader of Clan Camelin, this Military Man was her Father.

Tyo bowed his head, then looked at the Fleet Commander and lord of Clan Camelin. "Well met, Fleet Commander and Lord Camelin. I am pleased to hear that the battle has been finished so that peace may prevail. The news has been spreading through the Thousands Worlds since the first report this morning. People are in celebration across the twelve realms." He finished as he shook Ryo's hands, then released them.

Ryo smiled and then looked at Kalen, noting where his XO was looking, he turned and saw the young woman sitting in a chair very close to Tyo's own space. He walked over, and got to one knee in front of her. Ryo silently held out a hand, and the young woman who seemed so small as to be almost lost in the chair nervously put her small hand in his. It was tiny, her hand vanished in his large one.

"You are?" Ryo asked in a very soft voice.

"I am Aya Camelin, My Lord." She replied nervously, a soft voice that had elements of Lya's tone in it. Aya could feel Kya's strong calming presence as she now had both hands on her mistress's shoulders. Kya was focusing so much on pushing calm into Aya that she could feel herself trembling internally, then with a gentle caress on her own shoulder from Mistress Tya, she drew additional strength and regained her own focus.

Ryo felt an emotion he had not felt for a long time as he looked into his daughter's azure eyes, so much like her mother. Now was not the place for thoughts like that. He was back, the war was over, and this could wait a little longer.

"You have your mother's eyes, Aya. And her fine stature. I am very pleased to meet you again, after such a long time." Ryo said, then he kissed her hand, and placed it back in her lap, before rising to face the crowd, who was silent with expectation.

"Clan Michelab has sworn fealty to the Confederacy. The conflict has ended. The fleet has returned, and peace shall be our reward. We Are Home!" He finished as he raised his hands in a victory wave while the crowd roared and cheered.

The massive drums beat out a tattoo of sound, then the accompaniment of music swelled as the rest of the band tuned in and the music flowed across the entire hall. A celebration that became a traditional Camelin dance tune.

Aya turned as she felt another someone by her and saw Tyo leaning right down so his lips were almost touching her ear. "Ryo Camelin is a strong presence, my Lady. I am so very glad to count him as an ally. If I was on the wrong side of him, I don't think I'd still be Emperor." He said, then kissed her cheek and was gone before Aya could utter anything back.

A wave of music flowed over the entire ballroom, and suddenly everybody was up and dancing. Aya looked around frantically, but was swept up and joined Captain Kalen for a fast dance around the floor. She was then literally swept off her feet by her Father, who danced with her with a laughing gleam in his eye before Tyo took a hold of her for the third orbit.

Ryo found himself in the arms of a lovely lady who had been standing close to where his Aya had been sitting. No names were passed, but she was full of life and joy, and as she spun herself out of his arms, Kalen handed young Aya over to him for a fast spin around the dance floor. Ryo laughed at his daughter's confusion, and spun her as they danced so that she smiled and laughed with him, then she was taken by the Emperor for another jaunt as Ryo was entwined in the long arms of the young lady who had been standing behind his Aya, not much older than her, but also full of life and happiness. He began to enjoy himself.

By the time she managed to return to her seat, Aya was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, glowing cheeks, and almost out of breath. She managed to sit down, and was handed a glass of bubbly wine by a laughing Kya who grinned at Aya's exhaustion and leaned down "You better get a second wind, this is going to go on all night, my Lady."

Aya gulped down some of the wine, then covered her mouth for a polite burp. "I have danced, with Seven Captains, including Kalen, the Commander himself, The Emperor, three times, I think six lieutenants, and I don't know who else. Kya, save me!" She laughed as one of the other Captains came swinging by and deftly scooped her up for another round of dancing.

Kya finally did rescue her, as she continued to observe her Lady, herself dancing with Officers as they asked, but not fully giving in to the jubilant mood, so she could remain focused on her Lady. She saw Aya stumble a dance move that the little Lady knew in pitch blackness, and then stumbled again, Kya deftly weaved her way through the crowd and slipped in between the officer who was dancing with her Lady with a very polite interruption, then was guiding Aya back to her seat and lifting her onto it as the younger Lady nearly collapsed.

"Drink this, don't argue." Kya said, holding a glass to Aya's lips. Aya swallowed it all down, then looked at Kya. "Water?"

Kya nodded with a smile. "You've been drinking wine all evening, you're all dry and bubbly, my Aya."

Aya giggled, then felt dizzy. "Just like that wine, Kya. I think I've had too much..."

Kya smiled at her. "Too much of what?"

Aya laughed and kept watching the crowd, the conversation already forgotten as Kya settled down beside her to keep her from any other dance partners until the Lady caught a breath.

Ryo finally found his own way to a chair after an indeterminate number of dances with all manner of lovely woman, and downed a glass of bubbly wine with a grimace. Then asked for and was handed a cup of icy Isk, which he also drank, which was much preferred.

As he sat there, enjoying the festivities, he sensed a presence, and the same woman who he had first him danced with was beside him, sitting down and she handed him a plate full of spiced rolls from his homeworld.

"We had the cooks flown in from your citadel, my Lord. That way we knew these would be made the right way for your celebration." She said with a sing-song lilt to her voice and a laugh.

Ryo took one and bit into it. After fourteen cycles of ship based food, to eat something like this was wonderful. He did not normally indulge in luxuries, but tonight was an exception. He enjoyed a few of the rolls with the woman, then she rose and held out her hand, Ryo took her hand in his and they twined their way around the dance floor a few more times.

Aya was watching everybody still dancing in the main floor, searching, then she saw him, and as she watched with a widening smile, Emperor Masilec came over to sit down beside her with a great heave of his own chest.

"Why thank you, Kya." He said as he was handed a glass of wine. He took a sip, then leaned over and whispered in her ear. Kya smiled at him and switched the wine for a flagon of water, which Tyo downed in a single long gulp.

With Tyo and Kya flanking her, nobody approached Aya for more dancing, and they enjoyed another hour of festivities in relative peace, until Tyo looked over, then signalled to Kya. Aya was asleep, lying back in her chair, totally zoned out.

Kya deftly lifted Aya up, and Aya dutifully wrapped her arms around Kya's neck, then Tyo led them out of the festivities hall and down the corridors back into the main palace. Tyo opened the door to his own chambers, and he turned the lights up, dimly, as Kya carried Aya in to lay her down on the large bed.

"You both sleep here, Kya. I'll go and rejoin the festivities. We can't have the Emperor leaving a party in his own house, can we now?" He said with a wriggle of his eyebrows. Kya walked over to him and to his surprise, she gave him a warm hug, then a kiss on his cheek.

"You are good to her, and good for her, my Lord. Thank you." She murmured, then went back to begin getting Aya undressed for comfortable sleep. Tyo stepped out of his rooms and closed the door.

Looking at one of the guards he said "See nobody disturbs them, even me. Remind me if I come rolling back with a Lari'Sota on my arm, that the Lady Aya is sleeping."

Kya knelt on the bed and undid the straps to Aya's dress, then gently rolling the other girl over, undid the side ties and quickly stripped her. She deftly lifted Aya up so she could get her under the warm covers and then dropping the ties on her own dress and quickly folding both garments to lay over a chair, slid in beside Aya in the biggest bed she had ever seen.

Kya lay back, feeling the bed like a floating cloud underneath her. She was definitely lying on a mattress, but it almost wasn't there. The covers also were nearly weightless, but so warm she could feel every fibre of her body warm and cozy. Aya was a soundly sleeping rock beside her, and was also warm. Kya closed her eyes and rested.

Ryo noticed that young Aya was gone after some time, and that is was now very late, planet time. To him, running on ship time, it was just mid evening, so he did not even feel remotely tired. When he also noticed that the Emperor was gone, something registered, and when he next was alone, he made his own way out of the hall and towards the Emperor's chambers.

Mistress Tya noticed the Fleet Commander had been looking over at the vacant chairs, and when he slipped out of the room, she made a quick call. "Wake him up, I don't care where he is, get him up and to his chambers. We are going to have a problem with Lady Aya."

Ryo walked down the hall and noticed that the doors to Tyo's rooms were closed, and the guard who was supposed to be watching was fast asleep, a bottle of wine sitting beside him. Not unexpected, tonight was one of celebration. Who would think to do anything on such a night?

He pushed open the doors and saw Tyo's immense bed. The man had an ego, to be sure. He saw two bodies in the bed, so came around to Tyo's side, and went to wake him quietly. To his shock, it was not Tyo, but little Aya, soundly sleeping in the Emperor's bed.

He lifted the sheets, saw that she was nude, and made a firm throat clearing noise that woke the girl up immediately. As she sat up, looking at him with a bit of surprise and shock herself, Ryo growled.

"So this is how he has protected you for the past fourteen cycles, by sharing his bed? Get up, you're coming with me."

Aya rose and stood on the bed so that she was at eye level with the angry military man standing before her, She ignored the fact that she was fully naked, this was not right.

"You may be my father, but that does not give you the right to command me like an errant child." She snapped at him.

"I come back from over a deca of war to find my daughter in his bed? What am I to think?" Ryo demanded.

"He has been more of a father to me than you have. I don't even know you." Aya almost snarled, then turned as she felt Kya move. "Kya, go back to sleep. I'm handling this."

"My lady, you are naked." Kya whispered.

"I know I'm naked. Father, this is who I am. This is what your war has caused. That injury that I received fourteen cycles ago? It made me into this. I am a pixie. Less than three fifths the normal adult height for a Clanswomen of Camelin. Look at me!" she snapped as Ryo tried not to focus on her bareness.

The snap in her voice was definitely Camelin, because Ryo instinctively obeyed, just like her mother, he thought. All fire and full of spirit. This tiny girl was willing to face him down and probably fight him bodily if he didn't yield.

"The damage from the assassination attempt that killed my mother fused my spine. The only way they could heal it properly was to deny my body full growth hormone. So that many nano treatments could slowly repair the spinal damage as I grew, and not impact the nerves or synapses. So I grew, perfectly formed, as Doctor Solonae put it, but small. Petite, but strong." Aya explained.

"That doesn't explain why you are here, child." Ryo started.

"I am not a child! Lord Camelin, I have turned Eighteen cycles. Under Confederacy law, which you claim to uphold, I am now Majority. An Adult, like yourself. Do not disrespect me, or yourself by referring to me as anything other than Lady Camelin. I am your daughter, however, I do not know you. Do you even know me?" She asked him, feeling her body vibrating with tension and stress.

Ryo slowly shook his head, then turned as Tyo came running in, tunic half-opened as if he too had been sleeping and had just been woken up.

"Tyo, would you care to explain this?" Ryo asked in a tone that brooked no disagreement.

"They were both exhausted, Ryo. The safest place to put them was here, with a guard at the door to ensure they were not disturbed. I slept elsewhere." Tyo explained, catching his breath.

"So then you are not intimate with my daughter?" Ryo asked him.

"No, my Lord Camelin. Kya can confirm, nothing happened between the Lady Aya and myself other than dancing and entertainment tonight. Ryo, you need to calm down. Come with me." Tyo said, then held his hand and indicated for the taller Commander to be led out of the chamber. The Emperor turned and bowed to the two girls as he again swung the doors shut.

He walked the Commander a short distance down the hall, then turned and grabbed the guard who was now standing at attention and struck him so hard the man's helmet flew off to roll down the hallway.

"Next time you are given an order, if you survive, I expect it to be obeyed to the letter. Tomorrow, you'll be able to see what a clustercat is, up close. Now stand to your duty!"

Kya sat up and waited as Aya still stood at the edge of the bed, trembling, then she finally turned and fell into Kya's embrace as they heard a muffled shout and loud thump outside the closed doors.

"I think Tyo just clocked the guard who was supposed to be keeping us undisturbed. Maybe he had too much wine also." Aya muttered.

Kya chuckled and began to massage away the tension.

Aya suddenly rose and rested her chin between Kya's breasts. "Do you realize that the Lord Emperor just technically lied to Ryo Camelin?"

Kya nodded. "It was that, or face him in a duel. The Lord Emperor does not want to lose Ryo, nor does he want to die this soon. So he simply left out a few facts."

"I was scared, Kya. I wake up to see him standing there, glaring at me. He said 'This is how you are protected, by being in his bed? Get up, you're coming with me. That was when you woke up." Aya said, relaxing under the constant finger pressure on her tight muscles.

"Lord Tyo will handle Lord Camelin, Aya. You need to let me handle you. It is zero dark thirty still, and you have only been asleep maybe an hour." Kya said, gently rubbing and kneading Aya's back muscles, making them relax and helping the girl to begin to unwind.

Aya turned her head to rest on Kya's breast, using it as a pillow, like she did so many times. "You think my Father will hurt Tyo, if he finds out I slept with him?"

Kya sighed, then continued to knead and relax her Mistress. "I think, thoughts of that nature are best left unspoken. Let the Emperor handle the Commander. You, my darling, need to sleep."

"Come Ryo, let us sit, away from the noise, and the festivities, This will work fine." Tyo said as he again guided the Commander into an anteroom some distance from his bedchamber and ordered a cart with wine and beverages, then looking at Ryo, also ordered some foodstuffs.

"Sit down, Ryo, please. You make me nervous when you stand like that." Tyo said, sitting down with a deep sigh on a couch with a flagon of light ale.

Ryo sat down with his own sigh, then took the flagon from the attendant and took a draught.

"The spitting image of her mother, just in miniature." He said after a few minutes' silence.

Tyo nodded. "I know. I've watched her grow into a fine woman, Ryo. You and Lya did a good job with her."

"Is it true, what Aya said, about her growth being medically stunted?" Ryo asked as he had another sip of the ale.

"Yes. I had many discussions with Doctor Solonae, who is now on your Clanworld, by the way. As well as other specialists in the fields that were effected. They determined the best way to heal her was to either break her spine and then give her a full nano treatment, which would have kept her under sedation for another full cycle, or, let her grow and make adjustments as we went." Tyo explained.

"I don't know much about little girls, Ryo. I went with the best advice we had available. Keeping her asleep for another full cycle would have impacted how she grew, mentally, developmentally, education, and even memory would have been effected. Keeping her small, and allowing her to develop naturally seemed like the best way, it still does. She has no injury or loss of function. She may be only 150 cims tall, but I think she could probably arm wrestle you to the ground." The Emperor finished with a slight chuckle.

"How do you mean?" Ryo asked.

"She is small and compact. Full adult muscle on that small frame. Her muscles are equal to mine or yours, just smaller, so there is more power packed into the fibres. It was an unexpected side effect of the reduced growth hormone. Her body was not allowed to develop longer bones, so the excess went into muscle groups, ligaments, sinews. She is faster and stronger than a lot of Tarans I know. If she wasn't a Lady we would have her competing in sporting events." Tyo said, jotting down points on his fingers as he went.

"This is better?" Ryo asked as he finished the flagon and it was replaced silently with another.

"Ryo, you weren't there. You couldn't be there. I had no idea how to raise a little girl, especially one who had just lost her mother in a tragic disaster. You had Gya, you sent Aya to us to keep her safe. Gods know I would do anything for you, Cousin. I was determined not to fail you in this." Tyo said, then drained his own flagon and took the next offered one. He gazed into the pale liquid for a moment.

"We found her a playmate. Kya Desinlo. An orphan from one of the earlier attacks. She had been brought to Tara almost a cycle past and was living with the palace Lari'Sota. Five cycles old, she was a good match for Aya. She has also grown up into an absolute dedicated servant to your daughter. Kya would lay down her life to protect Aya." Tyo said, then fixed Ryo with his gaze. "By the Gods above, Ryo Camelin, don't get on that girl's bad side."

Ryo sat back, and took a sip of the ale.

"You may as well tell me everything, Tyo. I'm here now, I want to get to know her, so I may as well know the full story."

"Truth be told, Commander. I'm exhausted. I know ships' time keeps you up all hours, but we're on planetary time here. I'll keep going, just don't expect me to be all bouncy or bright." Tyo said, then grinned at Ryo's smirk.

"We also found her a mother figure. Tya Veritas. She had been a Lari'Sota for a number of years, and had a strong maternal instinct. I'll have you meet her in the morning. You'll like her. She looks similar enough to Lya that Aya wasn't badly shocked when Tya was close by. She became mother to those two girls, and she raised them. The girls developed properly, took to their lessons like fish to water, and caused no end of merry Helva to the palace and me in particular." Tyo said, then laughed.

"Aya took particular pleasure in making pranks happen. She always dragged Kya into them, whether the other girl was willing or not. No matter the consequence or result, those two are inseparable. Half the time, I think Kya thought up the idea, and Aya figured out how to execute it. She has quite a strong analytical mind. She rewired the entire palace concierge one afternoon so that it replied to all queries with 'Lari'Sota Central, How may we pleasure you?' It took my team most of the next day to find all the hidden codes and reverse them. She has a strong programming sense. That was three cycles ago." Tyo spoke, laughing as he remembered the antics of the two girls.

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Lari'Sota Central?" He smiled. "Just who is Kya?"

"Kya Kilvanysa Desinlo is a type of experiment, Ryo." Tyo explained."Aya needed somebody her own age. This palace is not meant for children. We do a lot of things that young girls have no need to know. Kya has been trained from her age of development to become a special type of Lari'Sota. Not meant for the use of any Clansman or woman who has a need, she is exclusive to Aya only. Kya is one of a handful of Lari'Sota who have the right of refusal, backed up by the Palace guards and my direct authority."

"I don't think I've heard of any Lari'Sota ever having right of refusal. Not that it's needed in this day and age." Ryo mused as he finished his second flagon.

"Agreed, however the palace and I felt Aya needed somebody she could rely upon at all times. No distractions, no loss of focus by interruption. So Kya was trained and positioned to be hers only." Tyo said as he sipped at his flagon, then reached over and grabbed a stalk of sweetgrass to chew on.

"I know you kept me informed as to her development, and for that I thank you, Tyo. Truly, I am grateful. Without Lya I had no idea what to do. Gya refused to leave, but Aya needed real medical aid. I really had no choice but to leave her." Ryo said, the loss of his consort so many cycles ago still weighed heavily on him.

"She grew up safe and secure here, Ryo. The Gods themselves couldn't touch her even if they tried. She was a handful, but then most teens are, especially when she had a conspirator like Kya right beside her all the way. She has grown into a strong-willed young Lady of the Court, ready to take on anybody who stands in her way. She has her own mind, and has no fear of when to speak it, as you found out tonight."

Ryo chuckled. "She got right up out of that bed and stood there, not caring that she was naked, and challenged me, directly challenged me, on a point of honour."

Tyo nodded. "I know, they woke me as soon as you went in there, that's why I came running. I could hear her clear as a bell as I came up the corridor. Lady Aya has no problem speaking her mind, to anybody."

"Your guard wasn't much help, Tyo. Don't do anything else to the poor man, We were all celebrating. I did overstep my boundaries." Ryo said, recalling what Tyo had said to the terrified Guard who had been asleep at his post when Ryo went past him and into the bedchamber.

"As you wish, Commander. I'm not impressed with his actions, but I know what was going on." Tyo replied.

"I should have gone to find you, instead of confronting her in there. She is fully in her rights. At Eighteen she is a Lady, not a child. I – just – didn't think." Ryo finished.

Tyo leaned over and put his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Ryo, you're fine. This will all wash over. Aya may not even remember it when she wakes up. We all had a bit too much wine, and the celebration went on a little too long. Come with me, I'll find you a place to rest, if you are ready to, that is?"

Ryo nodded, and followed the Emperor to another bed chamber.

"Ryo ... I am not too sure if I should ask but ... do you want company?" Tyo said, not directly looking at the Commander.

Ryo smiled and shook his head. "No Tyo. I am good. No woman or man has shared my bed since I lost Lya. I have lost the urge to enjoy myself in that fashion. I sleep alone, and I am very comfortable doing that."

Tyo nodded. "I apologize, I was not meaning anything disrespectful-" Ryo stopped him. "Tyo, it's OK. Don't worry about it. This is a choice I made, and I am happy with it. I know that I have my choice of companions here if I want them. Ye Gods, on the ship I could have had my choice of two thousand willing women, not one of them would have objected at all. I just don't have the desire any more."

Tyo gripped his Cousin's shoulder, and Ryo patted him on the hand. "I'll go rest now, in the morning, we'll see what the sunsrise brings."

Tyo walked out of the chamber and looked at the guard. "You may or may not have heard the altercation outside my quarters earlier. So I'll fill you in. The man behind that door is not to be disturbed for any reason unless the palace is burning down. If he is disturbed, you will not sleep for a week, and I'll have a clustercat chewing on your balls."

Tyo gathered his robes around him and walked down the corridor back to his own bed for the night, and the girl whom he had been enjoying when the incident had begun.

Chapter 9.3

Breakfast Lounge, Royal Palace, Tara -3 BA

Gya and Cato shuttled down to the palace for sunsrise, getting there a few minutes before the revellers began to wake up, and they were ushered into the break room close to where the majority of the senior officers had slept.

They were enjoying a mug of Kaf when the other officers began to make their way into the room, and Gya looked at them all. "It certainly looks like there was a big party down here last eve."

Cato laughed. "I think we're going to have the palace brew some big kettles of Kaf for this morning."

"My head hurts." Aya said as she sat at the edge of the bed, looking down at her feet as her toes wriggled in the deep carpet.

Kya looked at her slightly bleary-eyed, then sat up, and propped herself on one elbow.

"How was the evening?" She asked casually, seeing how much Aya would remember.

"I met my Father. I danced with my Father, and with Tyo, and with a whole bunch of other people." Aya sighed. "I drank way too much bubbly wine. Oh my gods! Kya, I told off my Father!" Aya said as she spun around to look at her Lari'Sota

"You were magnificent." Kya said.

"I stood here on this bed. I was naked! I-Why are you smiling?" Aya said looking at Kya suspiciously.

"You, my little Lady, stood down the most powerful man in the Confederacy. Ryo Camelin commands the entire TGX fleet. If he told them to take out the palace, they would follow his order without question." She leaned over and kissed Aya's nose, making the other woman wrinkle it.

"You stood on this bed, naked, and told him that you were a woman and to back off. He obeyed you. You proved to him that not only do you have honour, but that he had better respect it, and respect you." Kya finished.

"I did, didn't I?" Aya said, bemused.

"Yes, you did. I am so proud of you for standing up for yourself. You are most certainly not a pushover, my Aya." Kya said, gathering Aya into her arms for a long hug.

"I never thought I was a pushover, Kya." Aya said, muffled by Kya's breasts and hair.

"After this night, nobody else will ever think that, my Lady." Kya murmured as she stroked Aya's hair.

Both girls got up and went to Tyo's large refresher to get ready for the day. After a cursory cleaning, they wrapped themselves in long flowing robes and then went the door, which Kya pushed open to see two guards standing at attention. "Is anybody else up yet?" She asked.

One of the guards nodded. "End of the hall, conference room, some of the guests are already arisen."

Kya nodded, and taking Aya by the hand, they walked down the hall to greet the other guests.

The Emperor swept in to the breakfast area and seeing Gya, came over to give her a formal hug, then shook Cato's hand, greeting and congratulating them on their part in the victory. He then made his way around the room, mingling with everybody as they came in and making it feel much less formal than it had before.

"He does that, a lot. One thing Tyo Masilec knows, is how to work a crowd." Gya said, then finished her mug and went for another.

"One of these days, Sylva, I'm going to send you to try and talk Captain Kalen out of his brew for Kaf. We need a decent brew on the ship."

Cato laughed into her own mug. "You still got a sting on the tail from the last time you tried it, Gya?" She said with a wink. "I recall that we could hear the slap across your rear from the bridge, two decks down. You were so red in the face, and refused to look at him for a week."

Gya smiled. "That was the first and last time I ever tried to wrap the Captain around my finger. He's not wrappable."

They noticed two young women come into the room, wrapped in long warm robes, and be greeted by the Emperor, then promptly sat down and mugs of Kaf pressed into their willing hands.

"She still has no idea of the relation, does she?" Cato whispered.

Gya shook her head as she watched her younger sister being waited on by the Emperor and his attendants. "No idea, and until the Commander says different, that's the way it shall remain."

"You ever feel jealous that she got all this, while you get to run a warship?" Sylva asked her.

Gya pursed her lips. "No, this made sense. I was old enough to know what happened, Aya was too young, and she was truly an innocent victim. She was still a babe, and Mother loved to give her all the attention, I wanted to fly. In a lot of ways, we both got what we wanted." She sighed, and Cato put her hand on the taller woman's shoulder.

"We're still looking, Gya. You know that. I don't think we'll ever stop looking for him."

Tyo turned as he noticed movement and saw both girls coming in. "There are the two princesses of the palace. Come here, my dears." He held out his arms and both girls came over to receive a warm embrace, then sat down beside him.

"Don't you ever sleep, my Lord?" Aya asked him, noting that he looked fresh and awake.

"Not many hours, Lady Aya. My body refuses to require rest, so I am up a great deal these days." He said with a chuckle, then leaned forward to pick up a bowl full of fresh fruits and berries and offered it to both girls. They looked around as they ate, a few of the Officers from the night's festivities were there, but The Captain and Fleet Commander had not yet appeared. Aya noted that Commander Desinlo was present, chatting with some officers, always so tall and proper, with her icy blue hair and slate grey eyes, she somehow terrified Aya, but the young Lady did not know why.

Tyo was making his way through the groups of Officers when he heard footsteps and straightened up. Ryo Camelin came around the doorway, followed by Captain Kalen. Both looking fully refreshed and ready for duty, as always.

Gya kept an eye on her younger sister as she watched the entire room, then looked up as the Commander and Kalen walked into the room, looking fresh and ready for duty. She was about to go over, when Cato's gentle grip on her arm tightened and Gya realized something was up.

She watched her Father get a mug of Kaf, look over to where Aya was sitting, nod at her, then turn away to speak with Kalen as if he was dismissing her out of hand. That was not like him at all.

"He's mad at me." Aya whispered to Kya who was curled up on a chair, holding a mug of steaming Kaf and watching some of the younger officers, flirting with her eyes.

"No he's not. He's bothered by last night and probably has no idea how to talk to you. Remember, my Aya, this is the Military man. He's all Rank and posture. Give him a war and he'll win it. Give him a determined daughter, and he'll go all to pieces." Kya said with a smirk.

Aya finished her mug, then stood. "Aya, what are you doing?" Kya said, also leaning to put her mug down. Aya stopped her with a single finger. "You stay here. I am going to have a talk with my Father."

Gya watched the tiny girl finish her mug then hand it to her companion, rise, and stop the other girl with a gesture. Then to Gya's amusement, the little princess walked over to the military men and stood as Lord Ryo Camelin watched her carefully, almost warily. Gya realized, that her father was somehow afraid of this tiny thing.

"Father." Aya said, looking up at him.

"Yes, Lady Aya?" Ryo replied, carefully keeping his tone moderate.

"I would speak with you now." She said, then indicated a couple of chairs over by the ocean-facing windows.

Ryo followed his youngest daughter and once she had sat down, he also sat, then looked at her as he carefully sipped his Kaf. Gya kept a close eye on them, but now flanked by both Kalen and Cato, knew that no matter what, she was to keep out of this.

She saw Aya and the Commander talking earnestly, body language indicated something major had occurred, this conversation was something serious. What had happened?

"You had no business making an assumption like you did last night." Aya stated quietly.

Ryo nodded. "I am aware of my error, Lady."

She glared at him and quietly growled. "You left me here when I was just four. You effectively abandoned me. Now you come back, flush with victory over a war, and expect things to work the way you feel they should work? This is not your world, Father. This is Tara. This is where I was raised. Not the Clanworld, the Palace. Things do not work here the way they work back at your home."

Ryo nodded. "It is your home as well, Lady Aya. Even though you do not remember it."

"I don't know it." She whispered, then looked at him. "Are the other Clan Members like you?"

Ryo thought before replying. "Probably not, I tend to be very rigid in my thinking. I am, after all, Commander and Clan Leader. Aya, I am sorry for my actions. I was wrong."

Gya clearly heard what Aya said next, the entire room did, in the sudden silence.

Aya looked at her hands, then looked at him. "You're sorry?"

Ryo nodded.

"You're the Commander of the Battlefleet. You never back down from a fight. You don't apologize, why are you apologizing to me? I'm nothing." She said.

To her surprise, Ryo slid off the chair to both of his knees and took her hands in his. Gya gasped and felt Cato's arm grip her shoulder so hard it nearly hurt, so she remained still. "Don't react, Gya. Just wait." She heard Kalen say quietly.

"Father, get up please." Aya hissed.

"My daughter, I humbly offer to you an apology for my shameful actions of the previous night." Ryo said, quite loudly.

Aya felt her face burning, and glancing around, knew that everybody was watching.

"Father, please stand." She whispered to him, trying to pull him back to his feet, but Ryo resisted, looking at her earnestly.

"I am sorry for the manner I acted towards you. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I would be forever grateful to you." Ryo continued.

Gya saw both Aya's companion and the Emperor come up beside her, then her companion leaned over and whispered something into the small woman's ear, which caused the little princess to blush even more.

Aya felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Kya standing beside her. Tyo was just behind her, staying back, but close by. Kya leaned over and whispered "Accept the apology, my Lady. It is not often that the Commander of the Combined Fleet gets down on both knees to beg it from a Lady."

"I-I" She swallowed. "I accept your Apology, Father. Now please rise." Aya managed to stammer out. Ryo took each of her hands to his lips and kissed the backs, then gently placed them both in her lap and got back to his feet, bowed to her, and took a step backwards, to stand at rest, but still at a form of attention.

"Thank you, My Lady. Your apology means the worlds to me. May I be permitted to excuse myself?" He asked her in a very soft voice.

Aya nodded numbly, without saying another word. She watched Fleet Commander Ryo Camelin turn and walk out of the room, snagging another mug of Kaf as he left. Kalen tipped his fingers to her in a salute, then with a firm hand on Commander Desinlo's shoulder, steered the woman with him and they exited as well, Gya keeping an eye on her young sister until they were out of the room and down the hallway.

"Kya ... what just happened?" Aya said as she felt shivers start. Kya wrapped her in warm arms and gave her a hug as Tyo brought her over a fresh mug of Kaf.

"Thank you." she said to him and began to drink the liquid, coughing and sputtering but made herself drink the entire mug so she could feel the heat flow through her.

Tyo sat in a chair opposite to her and leaned over. "You, my dear Aya, have just received a formal apology from the Clan Leader of Camelin. Your Father has said sorry. I can count on one hand, the number of times I've witnessed that happen."

He sat back and snapped his fingers. A server came over with a tray of delicate flaked breads and jellied cakes. "Grab some food, Ladies. You have another big day ahead, and you, my Lady Aya, have a surprise coming that I do hope you will enjoy. Otherwise I will be devastated."

With a wink, he rose, kissed Aya's hand, then kissed Kya on the cheek, and strode out of the room, beginning to bark orders left and right as the crowd of advisers gathered around him for the morning reports.

Aya looked at Kya, then gabbed the mug out of Kya's hand and drank it dry as well. She coughed. "That's not Kaf!"

Kya laughed. "Well, it is, but I added something to it. I enjoy a little spice in the morning, my Aya."

Aya got to her feet, then looked at her Lari'Sota. "Do you have any idea what the Emperor was talking about?"

Kya nodded. "I think so, and if I tell you, he'll have me flogged in front of the entire palace, so I think I would prefer to keep my bottom intact, thank you, my Lady."

"You're not supposed to keep secrets from me, Kya." Aya said as they walked back to the Emperor's bedchamber.

"It's not a secret, my dear. It is a surprise." Kya said, then pushed open the door so Aya could go in. Kya told the Guard to send for their clothes and then pulled the door shut behind them.

...

Kalen slipped away to catch up to the Commander, leaving Cato to ensure Gya did not try and challenge her younger sister, or follow too closely.

"Commander, are you doing OK?" Ryo heard as Kalen hurried to catch up to him. Ryo slowed his pace so his XO could match it.

"I'm doing fine, Kalen. Better than fine, actually. I made a mistake, and now it's dealt with. Things should begin to go right again." Ryo said as he walked down the corridor, sipping the mug of hot drink.

He turned into another conference area, and noticed the other Officers were slowly walking down the corridor. "You people, go do whatever you want to – we're not on duty. Enjoy yourselves, be gone, vanish." He said then walked into the conference room and sat down in a large chair that overlooked the windows. This room oversaw the elaborate palace gardens.

Kalen sat down beside him, and took the mug offered by the server.

"Kalen, you don't need to hang around me, go enjoy yourself. This is Tara. There are ten thousand ways to enjoy yourself here. Go indulge your senses." Ryo said as he finished his mug.

"What about you, Commander?" Kalen asked.

Ryo nodded. "I'm good. It's been a long time since I visited this place. The last time was with Lya, and we spent a day exploring the gardens. I may walk them again today, just to see what has changed."

Kalen stood and put a hand on his Commander's shoulder. "I have my Comm. You call me if you need anything."

Ryo nodded and then listened as Kalen's quiet footsteps echoed out the door and off into the general background noise of the palace.

Kalen turned the corridor to find Gya, and as she started towards the conference area, he grabbed her arm. "Let him be, Gya. He needs time."

"But, he just..." She started.

Kalen steered the other Commander away from the area where the Fleet Commander was now enjoying some solitude.

"Give me the report, Commander. How go the repairs?" Kalen asked her, making Gya switch gears back into her normal business mode.

Gya blinked, then nodded. "Right. TGX-6 has only minor damage from the mutiny. We did more damage with barrage fire to her hull. Nothing unrepairable, they figure six weeks of drydock is required to bring her back up to flight status."

Kalen nodded. "Excellent, what about your ship?"

"We suffered a reactor failure. Unit 3 went critical, again. It is out of action and we can do nothing until propellants have vented safely. We're running on reduced power for a month until we can properly bypass the systems. The entire aft quad is flooded with hard greys, Captain."

"Reactor 3 has been an issue for a long time, hasn't it?"

Gya nodded. "It has a bad history. Once it cools the techs are going to swap it for a new unit."

Their conversation faded into the general background of the palace as Kalen guided Gya away from where her father was finally able to enjoy some quiet.

Ryo Camelin sat and watched the gardens, seeing the many people who walked through the massive complex every day. The gardens were enclosed on all sides by the Palace, which was itself enclosed by the landing fields and support facilities. The war was finished. Michelab had sworn Fealty. Warriors were at rest. Ryo ... had nobody to rest with, no urge to relax.

Chapter 9.4

A Warrier's Welcome – Palace Lounge, Tara -3 BA

Ryo sat back and closed his eyes, just being there, able to breathe, not having any real pressure. It was an unfamiliar feeling. He opened his eyes to see a Lady, no a Lari'Sota sitting opposite him.

"Hello." She said in a quiet sing-song voice.

"I do not require company, thank you." Ryo said by means of dismissing her.

"They called me Mistress Tya, Commander." She said, leaning forward slightly.

Ryo looked at her. "Who did?"

"The girls, my Lord. I am their palace mother. I raised the Ladies Aya and Kya." She said, then leaned back and looked at him with deep green eyes. Ryo realized this was the woman who he had enjoyed the dancing and company of the previous eve.

Ryo shook his head. "Kya is not a Lady of the Clan."

Tya chuckled. "She is much more Lady than you know, my Lord. She made the decision to not pursue her Clan heritage in favour of becoming Aya's companion. That young girl has dedicated her entire life to taking care of your daughter."

Ryo gazed at her. Tyo was right, this one did bear a superficial resemblance to his long dead Lya. The face was similar, the body proportions, even the voice, different, but still similar.

Tya watched him as he examined her, then with an impish smile said "Do you wish me to rise and do a slow circle so you can better see me, my Lord?"

Ryo blinked. "I am sorry, I meant no disrespect, Lady."

Tya got up and walked over. "May I sit beside you?"

Ryo didn't nod or refuse, so she sat down, carefully folding her legs under her gown in almost the same way Lya used to.

"You miss her a great deal, my Lord. I can see it in every movement you make. The way your eyes search mine, and look me over, seeking familiarity." Tya said, resting a slim hand on Ryo's forearm.

"I loved her, I still do. Lya was my life, and she was taken from me." Ryo said flatly.

"Then you went to war. You fought many battles, had many victories. Suffered losses yet again. You fought for the honour of the lost Lady of your Clan. You won that war, My Lord. Why do you not celebrate?" Tya asked him, leaning closer so he could smell the delicate scent of her body.

"I do not wish company, Tya." Ryo said, gently pushing her back.

Tya looked at him, then put her hands on his cheeks and made Ryo look at her.

"I raised your daughter, Lord Camelin. To do that properly I was required to study you and the departed Lya Desinlo. I am not her, I will never replace her, however for you to properly know your daughter, you had better learn to know me." Ryo looked into her eyes as he listened to what this woman said. She had been mother to his Aya for more than fourteen cycles.

"What are you doing, Tya?" He asked her after a few moments of silence where he continued to be aware of both her soft scent, and the warmth of her close to him.

She laughed. "I am going to seduce you, my Lord. Then I am going to talk with you as to how you can become the parent to an eighteen cycle teenager with a penchant for practical jokes and a desire for life that will not be contained."

"I told you I did not wish company." Ryo said again, but not with as much conviction as he had felt earlier.

"I know you do not wish it, my Lord. That does not mean you do not want it, nor does it mean you do not desire it." Tya said, leaning over and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Ryo inhaled the soft scent that he had not smelled in a very long time. Tya was not his Lya, he knew that, but he felt stirrings in his body that he had pushed down and held at bay for ages. Maybe too long.

Tya smiled as his hands tentatively placed themselves on her hips, and she gently shifted her weight so she sat on his lap, facing him. She could sense his nervousness, and also the slowly growing desire.

She kissed him again. "You are the Commander of the entire Combined Fleet. In the charge of over a hundred thousand officers and a million soldiers. Yet, you are trembling. My Lord, are you afraid of this, of me?"

Ryo swallowed, dry mouth and suddenly at a loss for words.

She slid her arms around him and immersed him in the soft fragrance of her hair as he felt the warm embrace of this woman who had replaced his Lya and raised their daughter to be the woman of the Court she now appeared. The scent tickled his mind, a fragrance he had not smelled since his Lya had been taken from him. This woman had the same scent.

Tya signalled and the room attendants vanished, silently closing the doors and locking them so there would be no disturbances. She sat back up on Ryo's lap and looked at him.

"Do you realize that I met the Lady Lya?" She said, gently caressing his chest through the formal tunic.

Ryo shook his head.

"You recall that after the birth of your first daughter, the Lady came to Tara for almost a full cycle to learn the ways of the palace and how to act in a society thirteen hundred cycles out of date with her own? I was her guide and assistant. That is why I was chosen to raise Aya. I knew a great deal of the Lady Lya and little Aya felt at peace with me." Tya explained as she unbuttoned one of the fasteners and slipped her hand under Ryo's tunic to run it over his bare skin.

"I am unsure." Ryo whispered.

"I am not, my Lord." Tya replied into his lips as she kissed him again, then dragged her fingers through his thick salt and pepper beard and down his chest.

"Do you remember how to undress a woman, my Lord?" She asked him in a voice tinged with amusement.

Ryo raised an eyebrow, but did not respond as she deftly undid the remaining fasteners and opened his tunic so his broad chest was visible. Tya traced his major muscle groups, noting long healed injuries here and there as she let her fingertips and nails gently trace lines in his skin.

"You are strong, My Lord. You are our Fleet Commander. A very important man in the military." She kissed him, then began to gently kiss his neck and chest.

"You have just finished a war. Allow me to give you the only appropriate warrior's welcome that the Palace can give to one such as yourself." She said, then sitting back, crossed her arms and lifted the bodice of her dress up and over her head, exposing her full white breasts to his gaze.

Ryo remained frozen, truly at a loss of word or action. Part of him wanted her with a desire that was hard to contain. This was not Lya, this would never be Lya. How could he betray his Lya's memory by lying with another woman?

"You are not Lya." He managed to say, weakly, as desire inflamed his body.

Tya kissed him, then placed one of his hands firmly around her full breast so that he gripped it and could feel the weight of the globe.

"I am not the Lady Lya, my Lord. She is gone. I do not feel that she would have wanted you to be alone for so very long, Ryo Camelin." Tya said, then pulled his tunic off fully so he was bare from the waist up as she was.

"I also know, my Lord and Commander." Tya said, hands busy at the fastener to his pants, "How she enjoyed you, and how to best give you the pleasure which you have denied yourself for such a very long time."

Ryo felt the desire, and he began to relax into the ministrations of this woman. She had known his Lya, she smelled like his Lya. Although she was not his long dead consort, she was here, a warm and firm weight on his lap, her hands had brought his erect shaft into the light and were busy bringing it to full stature.

Both hands were now holding onto a full globular breast as Tya caressed and massaged him to full erection. She then shifted her weight, and Ryo felt the familiar and yet for so long neglected sensation of sliding into a liquid glove as she enveloped him with a sigh.

After such a long time, he did not last long, even thought he was much older, and even as Tya was gently rocking back and forth, he groaned out his release into her as he buried his face between her full breasts, then fell back with a sigh as she lay on him, feeling him release his need and gently caressing him to prolong the sensations.

...

Ryo opened his eyes after a short rest and looked over at Tya as she casually slipped the bodice back on, covering her chest. She had already cleaned both of them up and disposed of the evidence of their quick coupling. He lay back, then chuckled softly.

She stopped what she was doing and leaned over the back of the couch so she could see him, upside-down. "What is so amusing, Lord Ryo?"

"I have not been intimate in so long I had forgotten what it was like." He said, then reaching up, pulled her head down and kissed her.

"I want to thank you, Tya. That was much more than I expected or even imagined." He murmured against her lips.

"I am here for you, Lord Ryo. I am at your pleasure." She replied softly.

"You are Lari'Sota, I am not your only partner." He said, gently releasing her.

She looked at him, then came around the couch and straddled his legs so she could sit on his lap again. His hands now automatically went to rest on her hips.

"I may be Lari'Sota, Ryo Camelin. But I am not a common whore. We enjoy many pleasures here at the palace. I am one of the few who have Right of Refusal. I choose my partners, not the other way around."

"You're like young Kya then?" Ryo asked.

Tya nodded. "When the Lady Aya was brought to us, we held days of discussion as to how to proceed. Nobody had any idea what to do with a girl so young, who the Emperor had told us explicitly, would be raised at the palace, but not be exposed to the, shall we say, baser events that occur here regularly. I was assigned to be her surrogate mother, and told specifically by the Emperor himself, that no man or woman would have me unless I specifically allowed it. I could choose." She kissed Ryo, then let her lips trail up his face and gently caressed his nose before sitting back.

"It did not take long before I was being pursued by a Clansman who decided that he just had to enjoy me. I was still nursing Aya at the time. The medical team had given me a treatment that allowed my breasts to generate milk for the young Lady as she was still not fully weaned when the Lady Lya had been killed. The young clansman came up to me one day, while I was sitting in the gardens with Aya, and told me to come with him, that he had a need."

She shook her head at the memories. "He was so young, so foolish, so full of pride and hubris. I showed him the babe in my arms, barely 4 cycles old, still wrapped in bandages and dressings from the injury. He told me, put it down, I have a need, you will serve me."

"I said no, This child has a much greater need. He reached down and grabbed the young Lady from my arms and actually raised her above his head as he meant to dash her down onto the stones, then he stopped. I saw standing behind him was the Emperor himself. The young clansman had paused because he had felt the point of a dagger in his side.

"Give the child back to her mistress, unharmed." Is all the Emperor said.

"The clansman obeyed, and then the Lord Emperor grabbed him by the back of the neck and bodily threw him a good ten mets down the path. "Go back to your Clan, and you tell all the other advisers, that if somebody has been granted Right of Refusal, the Palace will protect them. You, good sir, are not permitted back here."

Tya looked at Ryo, who's eyes had widened slightly at the telling. "Don't you see, Lord Ryo. You have much respect at the palace. The Emperor himself made laws to ensure that Lady Aya would be raised properly, without the interference from the mess that can so easily occur here. He has personally defended her time and again against everybody who has tried to oppose or disturb her."

Ryo took one of Tya's hands and gently kissed it. "I am curious to know who the clansman was, Mistress Tya."

She shook her head. "It no longer matters, my Lord. That was so very long ago. He was young, and he was foolish. He learned the error of his ways, at the hand of Emperor Masilec."

Ryo looked at her. "He is dead?"

Tya nodded. "He challenged the Emperor to a duel right then. Demanded the right to defend himself on the field of honour. The Emperor grabbed a pistol from one of his guards and shot the man in front of us. He then told his people to clean up the mess and apologized to me for disturbing my peace and tranquillity. I understand it took a month for the Palace to finally settle down Clan Veritas from the insult."

"The young man was from your Clan?" Ryo asked, surprised.

Tya smiled, then gently got up from his lap and walked to the dispenser. "A drink, my Lord Ryo?"

Ryo rose and buttoned his tunic, then walked over to stand behind her and she felt his hands and his lips nuzzling her neck. "I think more than a drink, Mistress Tya. You have awakened something in me that I thought long dead. You and I should explore this together."

Ryo walked down the corridors with Tya holding on to his arm, she was not his Lya, but this felt right. After so long, a part of him was waking up again, and it wanted a companion, Tya filled that need in him, and he felt more at peace than he had for a very long time.

Chapter 10

A Stroll In The Gardens - Palace Gardens, Tara -3 BA

They strolled around the gardens, Tya pointing out a flowering bloom, or a fragrant burst of colour as the flowers awoke to the warm sunlight that shone down every day from the twin suns of the homeworld.

Sitting on a bench, with Tya leaning gently against him, Ryo really began to feel a sense of peace.

"I am glad for you, Cousin." He heard and opened his eyes as Tya sleepily looked around. Tyo Masilec was standing off to one side, surrounded by his usual crowd of advisers, all were silent as he smiled at the Commander.

Tyo hurriedly waved them off and the huddle separated and vanished into the gardens. They would regroup when he needed them, until then, he had some scant privacy. He came over and knelt down so that he was at eye level with his older cousin.

"I am glad Mistress Tya found you, Ryo. You need somebody, and she is most certainly a good match for you, especially now." He said, then smiled at Ryo's wry grin.

Tyo got to his feet and then sat on another stone couch that was close to where Ryo and Tya were reclined. A servant appeared and handed him a cup of some beverage, then vanished, only to appear beside the Commander and his companion with similar cups.

"I need to ask you something, Ryo. I am so totally unsure of how to ask it, but I have to ask it of you, I need to do it now, and I have no way of asking it without causing some kind of offence." Tyo finally said, after nervously draining the entire cup.

Ryo began to sit up, but felt Tya actively pressing against him to keep him in a semi-reclined position. He realized that she was aware of what was going on, so that doubled his confusion.

"What is it you want to ask me, Tyo?" Ryo said, allowing Tya to take one of his arms and firmly wrap it around her torso, so she could hold it against her stomach.

"I-I-I...' Tyo said, at a complete loss for words.

"He wants to marry Aya, my Lord." Tya said, looking up at Ryo as she lay against him in the warm sunlight.

"Marry her?" Ryo said, confused and at the same time relieved. He had been prepared for a request to wage war against the entire United Suns or decimate a planet of civilians. That he could understand, this was still confusing, but did not seem as serious.

"Partially for the Clans, and partially for me, Ryo." Tyo said. "A wedding between Clan Maselic and Camelin will help tie the entire Confederacy together again. The people need something to celebrate. The war is over, why not have a royal wedding as well?"

"So this is political?" Ryo said, a bit disturbed, but relaxed as Tya's hand gently caressed his cheek.

"No, well yes, but no." Tyo said, still at a loss for words.

"I feel love for your young Lady, Ryo. A feeling very different than when I am with a Lari'Sota or other woman. I don't just have an urge to couple with her and be done with it. I want to have her with me, all the time. All around me. I want to ... settle." Tyo finished, still struggling to find the words to express his conflicted feelings.

Ryo chuckled, a laugh that Tya enjoyed as she felt it deep in his chest as it rolled up.

"I think that is the most honest thing you have said about anybody in a very long time, Cousin." Ryo said, rising to his feet as Tya had now sat up as well.

"I grant you permission to marry Aya, Tyo. You most certainly have my blessing. However, you have to also ask her, you cannot command it, she must have the choice." He said, holding out his hand in a firm clasp that Tyo took and they shook on the agreement.

Tyo walked back out of the grove with a hop in his step that made Ryo chuckle. "It's as if he just asked for the keycard to a flitter for his first solo drive." He mused.

Tya wrapped herself around his arm and walked with him down a path towards the palace. "You are more like a father to him than you realize, my Lord. For Lord Masilec, the respect from you is worth more than the fealty of every single clansman."

Ryo nodded but stayed silent as they entered the palace proper. Tya released his arm and gave him a long, lingering kiss that left him wanting to take her somewhere private and explore the possibilities. "I need to get the girls ready for this evening, My Lord. I will see you at the banquet."

Ryo pulled her back into a firm embrace. "And possibly afterwards, Mistress Tya?"

She laughed and kissed him before swirling away. "As often and anywhere you desire it, my Lord. I am for your pleasure. I must get the girls ready, I will see you again soon."

...

Ryo walked down the corridor to a comm centre and checked in with the orbiting ships. Repairs were proceeding, no issues to note, nothing unusual to report. He walked out and made his way down to one of the many dining rooms, and sat down so that a server could bring him some food. As he was enjoying the repast, he looked up and motioned for Gya to come and sit, being she had just come in through another entrance. She came over and sat down, nursing a mug of hot Kaf.

"Morning, Commander." He said before taking a mouthful of food.

Gya nodded and smiled at her father. "Almost after Bright, Fleet Commander. You look better than you did earlier."

Ryo nodded. "I had a good meeting with Aya's Palace Mother, and with Emperor Masilec. Your sister is in good hands here, I see no reason to change anything."

Gya drank some of her Kaf. "May I ask what the issue was this morning?"

Ryo drank some of his own Kaf then looked at his eldest daughter. "I made a mistake, Gya. I jumped to a conclusion based on insufficient information and made a grand fool of myself."

"What happened?" Gya pressed.

"I accused your younger sister of having been sleeping with the Emperor for cycles, when in fact she was sleeping off the night's entertainment. That little Lady is a force to be reckoned with, that much is certain." He finished with a chuckle.

Gya smiled. "I've always kept my distance from her, she has no idea who I am in relation to her. I think she is somehow afraid of me, but then a lot of people are."

Ryo finished the plate and then took a drink to clear his throat. "You, my dear Gya, are the Fleet's Ice Princess. Why do you think the other officers refer to you that way?"

"Because I never falter under fire, I'd imagine."

Ryo shook his head. "The ice part yes, you are princess because of your family history. You are the next in line to rule Clan Desinlo, if you ever choose to. Your mother and I ensured that you would continue the family name, so that no matter what, Desinlo would not be forgotten. That is the main reason why Aya has not yet caught on to who you actually are."

"When will you tell her?" Gya asked as she finished her mug and rose with him to put all the dishes in the recycler.

"When there is a need to. For now, you are the Commander of the TGX-4, primarily in orbit of Tara. If it ever comes down to us needing an evac, then young Aya will know that her sister has been watching out for her, from behind the scenes."

"You want me to be stationed here?" Gya asked.

"For now, we have no need of the TGX-4 back in clan space. Michelab is being reconstructed, the TGX-6 is in dry dock. Right now, as the war is over, it is a time to rest and relax. Soon enough, my girl, war will come again, from within, or from outside." Ryo said, clapping his hand across the shoulders of his tall daughter as they walked out of the dining room and back into the depths of the massive palace complex.

Chapter 10.1

We Are Home \- Great Hall, Tara -3 BA

"Kya, he's brought in the great drums." Aya whispered as they came into the main banquet hall. Both girls had just finished dressing themselves, when they were both firmly sat down by a very radiant Mistress Tya and a whole team of Lari'Sota who primped, polished, and prepared the two girls so they both looked truly glowing. Aya was referring to an entire wall decorated with the musical instruments, including twelve immense drums, each one representing the Twelve Realms of the Confederacy. Along with the other smaller drums around them, this comprised a powerful symbol, and also powerful music. Aya loved the drums, such a simple looking instrument that could make such a wonderful rhythmic noise.

She remembered having bedded a few of the drummers in the past, and they had been as passionate in their lovemaking as they had in their performance.

They were guided to their seats, comfortable couches to one side of the Emperor himself, this time, with Aya on the outside, Kya was placed closer to the Emperor. Kya saw her friend's confusion, and was quick to reassure her. "Hush, this is all part of the plan. I am now very sure what he is going to do, and trust me, my Aya, you will love it."

They sat and were offered drinks and light food as the hall slowly began to fill. They saw Clan representatives from all realms coming in. "Are they having a full Grand Council meeting?" Aya asked Kya as they continued to watch the flow of dignitaries.

Kya nodded. "Yes, they have to finalize the ending of the Clan War and determine the disposal of all assets from Clan Michelab. That will be tomorrow, tonight the Emperor has called for a grand Banquet in your Father's honour."

"So that is why there are two chairs at the head, one for Tyo and one for my Father?" Aya asked.

Kya shook her head. "Not quite, my Aya. It will all make sense shortly. Please, try to be patient."

That evening, Ryo was again dressed in formal robes. This time, as leader of the Clan. Peace reigned in the Confederacy for the first time in fourteen cycles, and the people needed to celebrate. There was another huge party planned, plus Tyo's announcement. As Clan Leader, Ryo understood the need for the people to have a need to celebrate. He knew often enough that you had to keep the population fed and not wanting for much to quell rebellion.

Michelab had starved their own people as they had fuelled the war, so they had lost world after world to other clans, now they were gone, and the 12 primary clans had temporarily become eleven, until another Clan claimed the vacated spot. That may well be a bloody series of duels as well, but it would not effect Clan Camelin, nor Clan Masilec. For right now, the Emperor was secure, Ryo's Clan was safe, and almost everybody he cared about, was doing well. He always worried about poor Lyo, missing these past ten cycles.

As this was a formal celebration, all the clans were in attendance. Michelab would be represented by clan Maselic as they no longer had fealty, but they had left their musical instruments and their team at the palace through the war. The value of a Clans' drums was immeasurable. Those drums, easily five mets across, made of a single piece of naturally occurring hard wood that was found on only one world in the Confederacy, Giarda.

Giarda, once the centre for higher learning within the Confederacy. Home to an advanced study archive and teaching facility that allowed students and scholars from all over to learn everything there was to know, and to seek answers to questions that had not yet been asked.

Giarda, home to the Sky Trees, massive stands of the hardest natural wood within the entire Center Worlds. Each tree well over 5 mets across and standing tall stretching up to 500 mets or higher. A very high valued commodity that was very carefully harvested in the days before the rebellion, to ensure there was always financing available to keep the education and archives running.

Giarda, occupied by Clan Jasinlo during the early days of the Desinlo rebellion and where the Night of Blood had occurred. Ten thousand students had been gathered, and all had refused to swear fealty to the Jasinlo forces. They were brutally slaughtered, each one slit open from neck to groin and the blood gathered in a massive vessel that was then loaded onto a cargo ship. That ship, flown by a suicide pilot who killed herself before the ship entered orbit, hovered over the Royal Palace and opened it's vents, pouring the gathered blood out in a fine rain that fell for nearly ten minutes before the ship was destroyed by cannon fire.

Giarda, now burned to cinders by retaliatory strikes from most Clans against the wholesale brutality of Clan Jasinlo. The stands of sky trees charred to embers, the buildings of the archives in flame and rubble, the entire planet laid waste by the combined clan retribution. No more would any artisan work with native Sky Tree wood, there was no more.

The mighty Clan Drums were among the most prized possessions of any Clan, and by mutual agreement, all Clans kept their drums at the royal palace, under a blended guard who had the most strict orders to never fight each other, and to defend the instruments with their lives.

The Clan Drums were both an unusual item, and in some ways, a bit of a shame for the Confederacy. The drum skins were from a captured pack of T'Ressi warriors. Fighters who had landed on Tara, battled palace guards and lost. Instead of just being killed, these warriors had been skinned, their pelts stripped from their bodies and carefully preserved in ages past. The pelts had hung in the Palace for many deca's before some elder in ages past had suggested to honour the valiant fight of the T'Ressi as well as the Clans by placing the pelts onto drum frames.

It reminded the Confederacy that civilization was only a thin veneer over base savagery, and also allowed them to honour the T'Ressi, who in some ways were more vigilant than the Confederacy in what they did. Although both sides committed acts of atrocity when they fought, they both had redeeming qualities. Among the Clans, the mighty drums were one such quality. The sound was impressive, and served to alert the very Gods that something important was going to happen.

Soon enough, the delegation from Clan Camelin came through the door, and with them came the league of Drummers. Each one trained from a young age to play the Drums that were a Clan's pride. These drummers were also dancers, and when they played, all eyes were on them for the music and the performance. It was a brilliant thing not often seen. To see all 12 Leagues at once, Aya had never heard of before.

Tyo suddenly appeared behind the girls and gave each one a quick peck on the cheek. "Enjoy the performance, ladies." He said, then swept over to his chair and sat down in a swirl of gilded robes.

Ryo waited in the hallway staging area for his cue to enter. Behind him was the Drum squad, members from all the clans combined. They had practised, were keyed up, and ready to roll. His entrance would begin the performance for the people in the hall, and for the billions more who would watch it on screens and projectors across the entire Confederacy.

He got his nod from the advisers, and strode into the hall as the Lord of Clan Camelin, behind him, the drum squad flowed in, flanking him and as he walked to the Dais where Tyo sat in his Throne, Ryo bowed briefly, then stepped to one side and sat in his own chair as signified the Lord of the Clan.

As the final delegates took their seats, Aya saw her Father sitting opposite her, so the other throne was empty beside Tyo. Aya wondered about that, then forgot all about it as the Leagues all sent their head Drummer to stand in the main hall. They bowed twelve times, once to each clan, then they all went to one knee in front of the Emperor.

"My lord Emperor Masilec. Leader of the Twelve Realms. Ruler of the Thousand Worlds. The League of Drummers wishes to honour your celebration this evening." Came the request.

Tyo stood, and bowed back to them. "Well met, League of Drummers. By all means, entertain us with your poise and skill." He sat back down as the drummers all walked back over to their sections and took up the thick grassroot sticks that generated such sounds when they struck the tight skinned instruments.

The first drumroll came in rapid sequence around the entire hall as each drum was struck and the sound echoed, followed by the next and the next. The sound was then duplicated, then replicated, until all twelve regions were rolling in synchronized rhythm. The thumping sequence, high and low, went right through Aya as she listened with her ears and her body. She could feel the pounding through the soles of her feet, and even the very air was filled with the sound.

She recognized a few of the notes as they rolled, but was so immersed in it that she failed to notice the final tune, then with a glorious roll, the sound stopped, and the vast room was filled with silence. She breathed, then suddenly blinked. Tyo was not on his throne, he was kneeling in front of her Father.

"My Lord Ryo Camelin. On this day we celebrate your victory in the Clan war. Your survival against the machinations of Clan Michelab, and your continuing loyalty towards the great Confederacy that you protect."

Tyo stood, but Ryo remained seated. His part was not over yet. He saw the crowd rise with Tyo, and enjoyed the roar that came next. "A cheer to Ryo Camelin, Lord of Clan Camelin. Leader of the Combined fleet and the Victor of Michelab." A cheer went up from the crowd, then they sat down as Tyo went back down onto one knee in front of Lord Camelin.

Tyo looked into Ryo's eyes as he spoke, his voice rumbling through the hall clear as a bell. "I have a request that can only be done in this place. Ryo Camelin, fourteen cycles ago you entrusted me with the protection of a daughter of Clan Camelin. I wish to continue to perform that role in the only way I am able to, now that she is of Age. I ask you to give me your daughter's hand."

Now Ryo rose, and pulled Tyo to his feet. "As Lord of Clan Camelin, and the father of the daughter of the Clan, I give my agreement for this marriage. You have my permission, Lord Tyo Maselic."

The room was so silent that all Aya could hear was the rush of her own blood and the ragged breathing that she was doing. She watched as Ryo stood, then helped Tyo to rise, and granted him permission. She swallowed very hard, but felt Kya's hand gripping her own, and then another hand, looking to her other side, Mistress Tya was standing, smiling down at her with shining eyes as she gripped her other hand.

Both men then walked across the silent hall to stand before the shocked and stunned lady Aya who seemed almost terrified at what she had just heard. She was flanked by both Kya and Mistress Tya, who each had a calming hand on one of her shoulders, whether to keep her from bolting, or for reassurance, or both, Ryo was not sure, but, the girl remained in her seat.

Tyo and Ryo both walked over to her, and with Ryo standing with a slight smile on his face, Tyo knelt in the most traditional pose any Taran could do, and held out his hands towards the diminutive Lady Camelin, palms-up.

"My Lady Aya Camelin. You came to this palace as a child. You have grown into a wonderful woman who I am very proud of to have with us. You make this Palace brighter when you are here. I have a request of you that you are free to refuse." He paused and Aya faintly heard a chuckle, she thought from Mistress Tya, but was not sure. Her eyes were focused on Tyo as he knelt in front of her.

Tyo took another deep breath. "I have been alone all of my life, Lady Aya. It is time for me to choose a proper companion. A Consort who will be by my side, help me to make decisions, comfort me and be comforted by me in times of need. I would be the happiest man in all our Thousand Worlds, if you will accept my proposal."

She nodded, and slipped both of her hands free to place them on top of Tyo's outstretched ones. "Yes, I will accept your proposal to become your Consort, Lord Emperor Masilec." She finished with a squeal as he got to his feet, grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her into the air and into the biggest and most passion-filled hug she had ever experienced in her young life.

The hall erupted into celebration as the people realized what had happened. Not only was the war over, but the Emperor was going to have a bride. A royal wedding was in order, and that was reason for real celebration.

Aya felt her face would crack from the ear to ear smile she had while Tyo refused to put her down, just kept hugging her and both her cheeks were getting sore from being kissed by everybody. She finally fluttered her hands and patted him firmly enough that he deposited her back on her feet, then held her as she nearly fell over. Tyo guided her back to the chair, right beside his own. That was to be her place. This was real.

She sat there, still in shock, as the drummers leapt to life, pounding out a dynamic rhythm of celebration and joy. She watched them leap and whirl, but was barely paying attention. Her own mind was a whirling mass of joy, confusion, fear, excitement, and so many other emotions that she had no idea what to think.

She gripped Kya's hand hard enough to leave half-moon shaped fingernail marks and whispered. "This isn't a joke, is it, Kya?"

Kya leaned down and kissed her cheek firmly. "No, my Lady. You are engaged to the Emperor. With your Father's consent, you are to be his bride. You did it, Aya. You really did it!"

Aya was again swept up to dance, but this time it was only three partners, Tyo, her Father, and Captain Kalen, nobody else dared to cut in on the bride during her time with her family. Aya was not too sure why the Captain was considered a part of the family, but she certainly enjoyed the dancing.

She noticed that Mistress Tya spent a lot of time dancing with her Father, and that he seemed to be nothing like as stuffy and rigid as he had been the night before. Kya also had her fair share of dances, but was quick to intercede when she noticed that her Aya began to falter from exhaustion.

"Too much wine again, Kya?" Aya said as Kya gently escorted her back to the chairs, and then out of the hall.

Kya laughed. "I think it's just too much in general, my Aya. Let's both get some rest, this is just too much in general."

They had a couple of assistants who again escorted them to Tyo's chamber where Aya fell onto the bed and was nearly asleep before Kya even closed the doors. She remained just awake enough to watch her Lari'Sota as Kya hurried around, closing doors, turning down lights, then coming back to the bed to help Aya out of the elegant dress she was wearing so she could get under the luxuriously warm covers and sleep on the cloud that was Tyo's bed.

In the hall, as the party continued, Tyo noticed Aya had begun to falter, and relayed to Mistress Tya, who got Kya to gather her charge and take her off to sleep.

"Aya worn out already, Lord Masilec?" Ryo asked as he and Tya danced close to the now partner less Emperor.

Tyo laughed and grabbed a Lari'Sota who was walking past and began to dance with the courtesan. "She never was much for long nights, that girl loves to sleep. Fine with me, sleep works when you can get it, Ryo."

Kalen was enjoying his dance with another Lari'Sota as the girls at the palace were the perfect companions of this type of event, always elegant, ready to dance the night away, and if desired, ready to do much more afterwards.

The evening wound down slowly, there were revellers who would keep going all through the night, but for the main groups, sleep came for most of them. Ryo and Tya went off to find a bed shortly before Zero Dark, Kalen not too long afterwards, with two Lari'Sota who had caught his lecherous eye. Tyo grinned to himself and continued enjoying the celebration, dancing and cheering until the very wee hours of the morning, until he also felt the tendrils of sleep reaching up to pull him down.

He was steered away from his chambers by the guard this time, who he made a note to congratulate in the morning as the man finally figured out how to do it right, and fell onto a bed in a smaller chamber, with an eager Lari'Sota who didn't do much except make him comfortable before he was a slumbering rock beside her.

A few hours later, Tyo woke and rolled over to enjoy himself with the concubine who shared his bed. Burying himself in her and doing his royal duty to ensure she also got the best part of him at the time.

Ryo and Tya spent the night in each others' arms. He was very much enjoying the feel of a warm woman again, and she was enjoying feeling fulfilled by the man who had given her Aya to raise. She had a lot of catching up to do to make it up to the man who had given her the young girl fourteen cycles ago. Tya intended to make every day with Ryo count.

Viktor was Viktor, he did his duty, both girls with him were satisfied, and in the morning, he left them sleeping and went off in search of Kaf.

Chapter 10.2

A New Dawn, Grand Hall, Tara -3 BA

Aya woke the next morning to see Mistress Tya sitting on a chair quietly talking to Kya in soft whispers as she brushed the younger girl's hip-length hair. As Aya stirred, Kya looked over, then rose with a smile and walked over to embrace her Lady in a warm hug, kissing her cheek as Aya sat up.

"How does the new bride-to-be feel this morning?" Mistress Tya asked as she watched Aya stretch and wake up.

"Am I? Really?" Aya asked, still feeling overwhelmed.

"Yes, my darling. You are to be the Lord Emperor's Consort and his bride." Tya said with a lilt to her voice that Aya did not recall ever hearing before either. Tya was happy, happy in a way that made Aya feel even more at ease with all this sudden change.

"Do we know when the wedding is going to be?" Aya asked nervously.

"At Zero Bright, on Conjunction, when the Cometary Storm is in full bloom, my girl." Tya replied as she came to sit on the bed while Kya crawled over and cuddled Aya from behind, lending emotional support to her friend and Lady who was still very much in turmoil.

"That's only three weeks away." Aya said, then glanced at Mistress Tya. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Tya laughed and kissed Aya on the cheek. "No, my girl, not at all. The people need something to celebrate, I have known for some time this is what the Emperor wanted, but like Kya, had been sworn to secrecy so that you would not know."

She rose and walked back over to the door, which she pushed open and with a wave, left Kya to help Aya fully wake up and face the day.

"Kya, I don't want to wear a dress. They are too tight on me." Aya complained as she sat on the bed, wrapped in a warm robe, frowning at the small pile of dresses that Kya had presented. All of them rejected for one reason or another.

Kya chuckled. "You are in the palace, my Aya. Would you like to just be naked?"

Aya grinned at her. "You like to be naked, why can't I?"

"Because, my darling Aya, You are a Lady of the Court. In fact, you are going to become The Lady of the Court. She does not stroll around the palace bare." Kya said as she sat on the bed and brushed a few tangles out of Aya's hair with a tsk and a whirl of the hairbrush she always seemed to carry.

"Do we not have any clothes for me that are looser? I feel bloated today." Aya said with a sigh.

"I will see what we can find, my Aya. You may feel bloated, but you look as magnificent as always." Kya replied, then began to look through the dresses until she pulled one out that had adjustable ties and made some changes to it.

She pulled the bodice closed over Aya's small breasts and fastened it loosely so that it fit her snugly but not at all constricted. Then as her Lady stood, Kya pulled up a thin slip and then the dress itself to attach and made her look presentable for the day.

"Well?" Kya asked as Aya looked at herself critically.

"It'll do." Aya said as she swished from side to side, letting the dress spiral around her and seeing tiny jewels in it light up as they brushed against each other from the friction.

Kya smiled, then quickly got herself wrapped up in a similar but not as elegant dress, did her own hair in a long cascaded braid that ended in a velvet bow at her hips, and then she and Aya were ready to be seen by the public.

Sitting in one of the hundred groves deep within the palace gardens, Aya relaxed, kicking her feet in the central pool and watching the shimmering water change colour as she splashed. It was something that was always different here. There were always sights, sounds, and smells to explore. Never the same thing. This particular grove was her favourite though, and she had spent many days just sitting her, feet in the pool, or sometimes, when she was sure nobody was around, stripping off and getting fully into the pool of glimmerpearl water for a swim, watching the water change colour as she swam. The motion of her body causing the particles of pearl to impact each other and give off tiny coronas of light.

Kya was always close by, and would get her out in time so nobody saw her bareness, Aya still felt far too proper to be seen naked by anybody else, and would be mortified if people did see her. Kya was sitting under the shade of a beach tree, watching her Lady as Aya relaxed, letting her mull over her own thoughts and keeping a wary eye out for possible interlopers.

She was quiet as she heard booted footsteps and watched as the Commander came into the grove, Mistress Tya on his arm, they paused just for a moment as they realized there were people there, then Tya pulled gently on his arm, and they walked into the sunlight as Aya looked up with a smile that rapidly faded into surprise.

"You..." She said, then stopped, eyes wide and mouth open.

"Aya dear, close your mouth, it's not ladylike." Tya said with a soft laugh. Aya immediately obeyed and stared at them both wide-eyed.

"But you're mine ... and you're mine ... and you're both ... but how?" Aya was roiling with confusion now, Kya could feel it rolling off her in waves, and rose to walk over to her, only to have Aya lean over and splash fully into the glimmerpearl water and dive deeply as Tya laughed.

Aya broke the surface in the middle of the pool, streaming shimmering water off her hair and face as she treaded water, watching her father and her palace mother, definitely intimate and much closer than she expected, which on top of her own engagement, was enough to drive anybody around the bend. She dove under the water again to surface at the fountain, which she climbed onto.

"Aya, what are you doing" She heard Kya ask, but ignored her, climbing up the statue of Astolla to sit in the cradle that normally flowed with glimmer water when it was turned on. That only happened in the evening, when the lights came on, to fill the pool with the most wonderful colours imaginable. Now, sunslight did that job more than adequately.

She stood and looked at the three people who in a lot of ways, mattered the most to her. Kya was standing on the rim of the pool, ready to jump in and swim out to, then climb up the statue and get her, but Aya was not in any danger, she knew that. She was free, she was going to be married to the Emperor, Mistress Tya had found somebody, it happened to be her father but that was OK, it still made sense, sort of, kinda.

Aya unbuttoned the top of the dress and pulled the wet bodice clear, then threw it towards Kya, who caught it with a laugh as her Lady stripped to stand, coated in the glimmerpearl shimmer, sunlight gleaming off her naked form, and then dove into the deep water at the centre of the pool, to finally surface right by her family who were standing near.

Aya reached up, and Kya leaned down to help her out of the pool, only to find herself pulled into the water with a shriek as Aya laughed at her, then dove with a flash of bare behind to surface a safe distance away from her Lari'Sota who sputtered and got her own bearings.

Aya cautiously tread water watching Kya warily, until she was sure she wasn't upset, then dove and was up beside her in an instant.

"What are you doing, My Lady?" Kya said as she felt Aya's nimble fingers at the fasteners of her own dress.

"Making you comfortable." Aya replied, then with a few deft manoeuvres, handed a mess of soaked fabric to Mistress Tya who placed it beside the other wet dress that now lay on the stones beside the pool.

Ryo chuckled, watching his daughter play. "Is this normal?"

"For these two, most definitely." Tya replied with a soft laugh, then guided the Commander to sit on one of the soft stone benches that surrounded the pool as the two girls cavorted in the shimmering water.

They watched Aya and Kya swimming in the chest deep waters of the pool edge for some time, then as Aya lifted herself out of the water to lean on her hands, arms straight as she held herself up, iridescent water streaming off her, Tya had an idea.

"I know what to do." She said, getting to her feet and pulling Aya out of the water with a startled squeak to stand, dripping iridescent water on the paving stones.

Tya looked her over carefully, then with a kiss on the cheek, dashed off, dragging the bemused Commander with her, leaving both girls to look perplexed at each other before Kya pulled her Lady back into the warm water with a splash.

Chapter 10.3

A Gown Fit For A Queen, Tara -3 BA

"Oh my Gods, it's beautiful!" Aya gasped as she looked upon the garment that had just been completed days before and which she was there for a fitting.

As Mistress Tya stood back along with the small team of Veritas designers she had gathered from the Glimmerpearl manufacturing facility and the seamstresses who had merged the jewels and fabric together, Aya and Kya walked around the gown, both looking at it in amazement.

The entire dress was layered, layer upon layer of fabric that was barely there, each layer looked like liquid oil, shimmering in the light and in the soft breeze from the air units. As the layers shifted, the light shifted as well, each layer caught the light and caused a play of colour as it wafted. The bodice was ribbed so that it would fit Aya like a second skin, and had layers and lines of Glimmerpearl and Firestone inlaid to give it a light all of it's own. The dress was ankle length and the layers slowly cascaded down, it was thin, but had so much volume that it almost billowed.

"How many layers is it?" Kya asked as she looked at the detail, Aya was still at a loss for words.

"We placed seventy-two layers of one microcim fabric together. Each layer has been infused with glimmerpearl dust to give the light play, and the seams are all Firestone sealed. The dress is fit for a Queen, which is what Lady Camelin is about to be. The first Confederacy Queen for more than four hundred cycles." The head designer explained with pride in his work and in the reaction from the woman who would wear it.

"I'm not really a queen, I'm his Consort. I don't get to rule the Confederacy, I get the Emperor. He does all the hard work." Aya said, one hand very gently tracing the lines of the dress and only just touching it, as if contact might cause it to fall apart.

"In a lot of ways, my Aya. You are the Queen, The people need something, you and the Emperor are now that something. There is a popular swell of opinion that you are suited for him. A merger between the two clans will work well to settle the masses after such a long clan war." Tya said as she guided Aya away from the dress and then briskly loosened her clothing and stripped the girl so she could be fitted into the undergarment which had to match her exactly so that the dress could be laid over it properly.

The designers slid the undershift over Aya and then as she stood there with four people putting their hands on her, just about everywhere, she was looking at Kya who was smiling somewhat sadly. Aya frowned and was just about to say something when Kya brightened and swirled away to get some mugs of hot Kaf for her and Aya. Dress fitting was thirsty work.

Later, after Aya had been pulled, pinched, poked and prodded to ensure the undershift was fitted to her exact body shape, she and Kya found themselves back in the glimmerpearl grotto. Aya lying on the edge of the pool, Kya under a shady tree, idly watching the waves flutter in the soft breeze.

"Why are you sad, Kya?"

"I'm not sad, my Lady. What makes you think that?" Kya replied.

Aya turned to look at her Lari'Sota. "I saw you during the fitting, you looked sad as you watched them making sure everything was set right against me. Why are you sad?"

Kya just looked at her friend, but did not reply. Aya got up, walked over, and plopped herself on Kya's lap, then looked right into her eyes. "I asked a question, my Kya. I want an answer from you. Why are you sad?"

"I don't wish to upset you or spoil your mood, my Lady." Kya finally replied.

Aya looked at her with a bit of confusion, then wrapped her arms around Kya and pulled her into a firm hug. "You are my best friend, Kya. You are also my Lari'Sota, and my first love. Tell me what is troubling you before I strangle you."

"I don't think I'm going to find what you have found, my Lady." Kya finally replied.

"What do you mean? Tyo?"

Kya nodded. "He has love for you, a deep love that I don't think he even realizes yet. Even though this marriage is more of convenience and you both realize that, there is love and affection there for you, and from you to him. He helps to complete you."

"You complete me too, Kya. I'm not going to just cast you aside, you know that, don't you?" Aya said, hugging her friend earnestly and kissing her cheeks.

"I know, but things will change. Your time will be split, you will spend time with the Emperor, I will do whatever it is Lari'Sota do when we are not needed. I just wish in some ways to have what you are going to have. Somebody to love me as well." Kya said, then buried her own face in Aya's hair and Aya felt Kya cry, something that she had only done on very rare occasions.

Aya was unsure what to do, normally Kya was the one comforting her when she was upset. She held her friend and did her best to comfort her until Kya drew herself back together and sat up, allowing Aya to pull back a bit so they could see each other's face again.

"We'll find somebody for you, Kya. Trust me, somebody is out there. There are a thousand worlds, half a trillion citizens out there. To be sure there's a man who can complete you the way Tyo completes me. When it does, and it will." Aya said, making sure she maintained eye contact with her Lari'Sota. "Then you will be his, no longer mine. I will release you from your oath and agreement, so you will not have to be concerned about me. Your happiness is as important to me as mine is to you."

Kya smiled through the tears she had continued to silently shed, then looked up to see Mistress Tya sitting on the edge of the pool, silently watching them.

"How long?" Kya asked as Aya spun around to see their Palace Mother with a smile.

"Long enough to hear the wonderful statement that Aya made for you, my Kya." Their Mistress said as she rose to her feet and came over to sit on the grass beside them, both girls immediately cuddled up beside her, on both sides so both her arms were full of warm loving young woman. Tya hugged and kissed them both on the head, then they all sat back under the shade for a little while.

"Love is a fickle thing in this day, my ladies." Tya said. "We find it in the strangest places, and with the oddest people. You know this marriage is mostly political, my Aya. There is no doubt in anybody's mind about that. However, Lord Masilec does have true feelings for you. Feelings he has wanted to explore ever since you seduced him the night of the ball."

Aya giggled as she remembered what she had done.

"Most marriages and consort agreements are made for political reasons now, my girls. True love among the Clan royalty is very rare. Mostly it is a clan daughter or son marrying another to ensure a war does not break out, or to seal an alliance or trade agreement. People are as much of a commodity as the raw goods that the Clans consume. In actual daily use, the agreement means little. The two people involved are still free to do what they wish to, couple with who they wish to, and to enjoy their time, together or apart. In ages past we used to practice something called monogamy, but that has been so far in the distant ages that it is almost a myth now."

"Monogamy?" Kya murmured, tasting the word and not liking it very much.

"Exclusive to one partner, or to each other. Is what it means. What with the breeding paths that the Clans follow, and the Lari'Sota as well, monogamy would never work. Especially for the Desinlo girls, my dear." She said with a light shake and kiss on Kya's head.

Now it was Kya's turn to giggle as she recalled that for many hundreds of cycles, her ancestors had mated with each other as much as possible just to stay alive. Had they followed this monogamy, there would have been no Desinlo for Ryo Camelin to find.

"Despite all that, my Aya. There is love for you and between you and Lord Masilec, and that is a rare thing. It will not be easy, I can see many arguments between you two as you find how to live together and how to live with each other. You are strong-willed, just as he is. You are also willing to stand for your own beliefs. Try not to cut him apart before we have a few more cycles of peace. We still have need of a Masilec running the Confederacy." Tya said with a soft laugh as she hugged both her girls to her.

"You're not going anywhere, are you, Mistress?" Aya asked as she heard a slight tone in the words that Tya had been speaking.

"Not yet, but I may. I have had an offer, you see. A kind and honourable man has seen fit to make me an offer to build for me a house on the shores of an oval sea, where I can spend my days enjoying the breeze and the sun, and my nights with him." Tya said in a soft reply.

"My Father?" Aya whispered.

"Yes, my love. Your Father. He has been so lonely since your mother went to Pangea. He has had no other woman since, until he met me. I have managed to rekindle the passion within him, and I do enjoy his company." Tya whispered back as she kissed Aya's head, then hugged Kya and kissed her as well.

"If you do that, then that would make you ... my mother?" Aya said, then sat up to look at her Mistress in mild confusion.

"Does that bother you, my Aya?" Tya asked in a carefully neutral voice.

"No." Aya said, shaking her head and going back into the cuddle, this time with one hand snaking around to hold onto Kya as well. "You are Mother, in every way that matters to me, at least."

Chapter 10.4

The Wedding, Tara -2 BA

Flutterbies, flutterbies, fly far away

don't bother me on this glorious day

flutterbies, flutterbies, please let me be free

I need to be happy, just let me be

Aya kept repeating the mantra that young children repeated when they were nervous, but it wasn't really much help. She was being dressed in that brilliant wedding gown they had made for her, and she was as nervous as she could ever remember, if not worse, almost to the point of wanting to be sick.

Once the final layers had been draped, then four Lari'Sota went to work on her hair, making sure it was brushed and inlaid with so many glowing gemstones that it was almost too heavy on her head, but, for the sake of the wedding, she must endure this. Aya's hip length auburn hair had been cleaned, trimmed, brushed to a brilliant glow, then almost every strand had been beaded with tiny glowing gems that reacted when they struck each other, so that any movement would cause a ripple of light through her hair. She was light itself for this day, to cleanse the darkness of the Emperor's emptiness.

She was natural, with just a hint of face powder to add to the reflectivity of the outfit, her face would not glow, but she would match the brightness of the gown and the light that was going to be coming off her.

Aya had to be sure not to breathe too deep, because the ribbing on the bodice pushed up her breasts and slightly compressed her chest under them as a corset, so she had been practising with shallow breathing for a week to be able to handle the outfit. Too deep of a breath might just cause the bodice to tear along the side, or slip down and then her nipples would spill over the top. Definitely not the done thing at a royal wedding.

Kya was all around her as much as she could be, but her skill was not in this manner, so she felt superfluous, and excited, but useless, until Mistress Tya set her to do a task that kept her occupied as well. Kya had also been trying to get Aya to drink water, however with Aya's queasiness and tremendous nerves, she had been refusing.

Finally, as they heard the drum roll begin outside, the bride was pronounced ready, and flanked by her Lari'Sota, and her surrogate Mother, Lady Aya Camelin stepped into the light of the Great Hall.

As the mighty drums beat a steady patten, Aya walked down the aisle and then up the stairs to stand by the Lord Emperor, also dressed in very regal clothing that was almost black, but covered in gems which were catching the light and gleaming in it. He looked magnificent to Aya, and she felt a swell of pride that he still wanted to do this for and with her.

Her Father was standing off to the side, and as both her escorts split off, Mistress Tya to stand by the Commander, and Kya to stand with other members of the palace staff, Aya felt quite small and alone, only for a second, before Tyo stepped beside her and gently took her hand.

"Stand tall with me, my Lady of light." He said quietly as she looked up at him, then they both turned and looked at the crowd. Aya gasped, she had no idea so many people could be in the hall. It was so full there were thousands just standing, and that was not even the beginning of it.

Tyo gently had her turn again so she faced the Elders. Three of them, one from the palace, and one each from Clan Camelin and Clan Maselic.

"From ages past, there has been union. A coupling that surpasses the day and becomes better than just a simple joining of two bodies, and two minds. Something greater than the physical. So it is for this day. Clan Camelin, you present to us this day, the bride. Who is releasing her from her heritage?"

Aya heard movement behind her, and a firm hand on her shoulder. "I grant permission, and release the Lady Aya from her heritage as daughter of the Clan." she heard her father say.

"Very good, very good." Another elder said as he was shushed by the third.

"Clan Masilec, for more than five hundred cycles there has been no direct issue. Do you stand for yourself on this day?"

Tyo spoke. "No, my Elders. I have requested that Clan Camelin stand in my stead."

"Even better." Came from one of the Elders, and Aya smiled thinly at the humour that she realized was directed towards her in an attempt to ease her anxiety.

"As Leader of Clan Camelin, and Cousin to Tyo Masilec, I grant permission and absolve him of Clan duties." Ryo said, then stepped back to rejoin Tya and the others.

"The words of the Ancients come to us. From the beginning, when we came to the Center Worlds, until now, while we continue to live and prosper in this place. The Clans shall survive, the Clans shall thrive, and the Clans shall prosper."

The Elders unrolled a silver scroll that flashed with light. "Tyo Masilec, repeat the words of the Ancient travellers. Until it ends, it shall begin. A life once twined shall not unravel. Protection I give, and love I enjoy. I receive your love, and accept your life."

Tyo carefully repeated the very traditional phrasing that had been in place for more than two thousand cycles.

The Elders then turned to Aya and had her intone the same phrasing, which she dutifully repeated back to them.

"The Bride and Emperor will face each other." Tyo turned as Aya carefully adjusted the dress so she didn't trip on any of the layers and faced him, her face upturned towards his proud visage looking down at hers.

"Lord Tyo Jalatreos Masilec, Leader of Clan Masilec, do you accept this gift given to you freely and with consent. To respect and protect it, to cherish this freely gifted life, and love this person as is your nature. To heal and defend her. To give to her your attention and affection. Do You Consent?"

"I do." Tyo said as he looked into Aya's azure eyes, brimming with tears.

Aya Nandreclevac Camelin, Daughter of Clan Camelin, do you accept this gift freely given to you with consent. To respect and protect it. To cherish this freely gifted life, and love the Emperor as is your nature. To heal and defend him. To give to him your attention and affection. Do You Consent?"

"I do." Aya said as she began to cry, tears trickling down her face as she bonded her life to Tyo's and he smiled down at her with real feeling.

They each extended a hand which was placed in each others', then their hands were wrapped in a length of silken fabric that was interwoven with Clan Camelin and Masilec colours.

The Elders stepped forward and the new couple turned to face the crowd, their joined hands raised so the colours were clearly visible.

"We present to the assembled peoples of the Confederacy, Lady Aya Camelin and Lord Tyo Masilec, The Lord Emperor and his new bride. May peace reign and freedom rejoice!"

Aya gasped as Tyo's entire costume rippled with light and changed colour to a brilliant white to match her own. He laughed down at her, then lifted her off her feet and kissed her with a passion that felt so good to her. She never wanted him to put her down.

Aya's head was spinning, the noise was intense as the mighty drums rolled and thundered, she was having some trouble breathing, as she felt more and more light-headed, she faintly heard somebody say "She's going to drop." And a strong set of hands swept her off her feet and then it was quiet and cool.

Aya opened her eyes as a cool cloth was pressed against her forehead. She was lying on her back, no longer dressed, much cooler, which was nice, and didn't feel overwhelmed any more. Kya was sitting on the edge of the lounge, carefully wiping her face and upper chest with a cool cloth and she could see, off to the side, other people, but didn't want to even turn her head to recognize who they were.

"I wrecked it." She groaned and rolled to her side, before Kya firmly rolled her onto her back again and then helped her to sit, wrapping a thin sheet around her to cover her up.

She heard a soft laugh that could only come from one person, and looked up to see Tyo standing with her Father and Mistress Tya. He came over and knelt down. "My Lady, they don't even know you're gone. The celebration has begun, and it will not end for another half cycle. You wrecked nothing, just reminded me that you don't have my stamina." He finished with a thump of his chest and a smile that made her also give a weak smile in return.

"I am married to you now, aren't I?" She asked him. "This wasn't just all a fevered dream was it?"

Tyo sat on the bed as Kya slipped away to go stand with Tya, who put a comforting arm around her other surrogate daughter.

"Yes, you are my bride, and I am your Lord and mate now, my Aya." Tyo said softly, kissing her hands, and then leaning forward to tenderly kiss her forehead and then cheek.

"Nothing has to change, however, until and unless you want it to. This marriage is as much for the Confederacy as it is for us, my dear."

Aya wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the sheet that had now fallen, exposing her breasts, and held him tightly. "I want it to change, at least for the now, I want to experience you. I want to know you, and I want to learn you, my Tyo, my Emperor."

As she began to kiss him with more passion, Kya took initiative and guided Ryo and her Mistress out, carefully closing the doors and locking them, then she did what she had seen the Emperor do in times past. She went up to a guard and said "No disturbances, no visitors, unless the palace is burning down. Or I'll see to it that you never enjoy a Lari'Sota again. Let those two have some privacy for once." At the guard's nod, his tag read 'Ashelob', Kya rejoined the couple who were rapidly becoming a part of her own family, and the three of them went back to the massive hall which was just getting started in celebration.

Note From the Author;

I hope you've enjoyed reading the first book in the Center Worlds Saga. Feel free to sign up for my mailing list so you can be the first to know of new developments within the Center Worlds Universe and with my other works. Plus, you'll be the among the first to read the start of Center Worlds 2 – Smoke!

Also, please be so kind as to drop a review where you got this book from, getting feedback from my readers is the best way as an Author that I can truly appreciate your interest.

Sign Up For my Mailing List

-Tim Morrison
