TICEES (80 page)

Korba squeezed Chelan affectionately and then released her just as the main doors parted. Chelan turned toward her dear friend, and she smiled.

Fremma was still in a state of shock, his dumbfounded expression only heightened by seeing her stand before him. It was Chelan who finally broke the silence. “Fremma,” she whispered as she took a small and unsteady step toward him.

Korba released her arm, his body coiled to spring lest she falter.

“Chelan,” uttered Fremma. His legs finally responded, and he approached her slowly, studying her every feature as though she were an apparition, a goddess who could vaporize into nothingness at any moment. When she was within his reach, he looked frantically at Korba, as if to ask his permission to touch the fragile woman. Korba smiled at him, and Fremma immediately swept her into his arms.

Chelan hugged him with all the strength she possessed, soaking in his familiar embrace. She smiled. “As you may be able to feel, my gentle Fremma, you have your work cut out for you in the training and conditioning department.”

Fremma buried his face in her slender neck. His hands smoothed over her thin body and he squeezed his eyes closed, her pronounced weight loss tugging at his soul. “Gladly, my Lady,” he replied softly. “Nothing would please me more than to aid you in your recovery.” He looked down into her large, angelic eyes, and his heart swelled.

Chelan touched his lips with her fingers and ran her hand down his neck and chest. “God, it’s good to be home again,” and she smiled adoringly at him.

Her simple touch beguiled him. “It is good to have you home, my Lady.”

Korba watched the two of them for a moment and then spoke, his voice deep and mellow. “I’m sure the lady would favor a kiss, my good man.”

Fremma glanced up at the Warlord, thanking him with his eyes before looking back down at Chelan. “That would please me immensely, if my Lady permits?”

Chelan did not answer. She wound her fingers through his long hair and drew his lips to her.

Fremma thought his knees would give way as the world around him faded into obscurity. Her soft kiss reached to his heart and soul, strumming them to a music that he alone shared with her. She was magic, and he was spellbound.

Finally they parted, and Korba moved a chair over. Fremma sat her down gently. Both men took their seats and watched her in silence as she looked around the Command Center. Then she looked to Korba. “So, where are we?”

Korba settled back into his chair, his eyes narrowing. “In orbit over Iceanea,” he stated.

Chelan nodded, but she did not react adversely. She looked around again. “Shan had said that you would not return to Iceanea if you could avoid it.”

Korba observed her carefully. “True. But I have been gone a long time, and the Telesians had come up with a new weapons system. The ship and all the fighters needed a complete overhaul. Most of the equipment was here, and it would have delayed the refit to have it all shipped to a satellite outpost.”

Chelan nodded and then looked at Fremma. “So, are congratulations in order?”

Fremma looked confused. “My Lady?” he questioned.

Chelan grinned. “Are you Korba’s Second-in-Command?”

Fremma smiled. “So it seems, my Lady,” and he glanced at Korba. “At least as long as he will have me.”

Chelan looked at Korba and smiled. “Oh, I have no doubt that he will keep you.” She looked back at Fremma. “In fact, I would venture that you are the best First Officer that he’s ever had.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, my Lady,” he replied modestly.

“Actually,” interjected Korba, “Dar just asked me about his performance not long ago. I’m delighted that I had to tell him that Fremma is indeed my best.” Korba’s eyes twinkled as he looked at Chelan. “As usual, I see that our Lady has not lost her eye for excellence.”

“Of course not.” She smiled slyly. “I still have you two, don’t I?” They all chuckled.

Chelan’s heart had given her a telltale thud at the mention of Dar’s name. But her thoughts quickly curved in another direction. “So, I hate to put a damper on this party, but when does this bucket of bolts leave orbit?”

Korba straightened. “Not for another two weeks, as it stands. That is when the refit and the preliminary testing is officially complete, and then it is up to me after that. The systems will need to perform to my satisfaction. Beyond that, Ticees has not issued any orders.”

A violent tremor lashed through her body. At the mere mention of the Emperor’s name, her smile evaporated. Both men caught her muscles’ betrayal, and both men’s rage festered from within. Calmly, Korba leaned forward and reached for her hand, drawing her out of her seat and into his lap. Instantly, she coiled up on him as she had done so often.

“Do not fret, my Lady,” he soothed. “We know all, and he knows nothing of you. You will never see him again as long as you shall live. I stake my life on that.”

Chelan closed her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Korba kissed the top of her head as he looked at Fremma. The warrior’s eyes met his, and a mutual understanding flared between the two men. No one would harm their fair Lady again. No one.

*****

The next two weeks passed by uneventfully, and during that time Chelan continued to work through her emotions and her pain toward recovery. She still required an inordinate amount of sleep, but her bouts with depression were declining. Whenever she was stricken, however, Korba and Fremma were always there to help pull her through.

As her convalescence progressed, she was finally able to talk to them about her decision to leave and of her life within the Dead Zone. She could also speak briefly about Shan and the baby, but she could never mention Ticees. Her time with Shan and her pregnancy were nurtured and born out of love, and their memory to her was a cherished dream. But Ticees was still a brutal reality, a recurring nightmare, and she felt his lurking, oppressive presence even though Korba assured her she was safe.

And she had another critical reason for not speaking of Ticees. As far as she could tell, Korba had chosen to let the situation slide. Chelan had come to the conclusion that Korba’s complacency was a result of the time lag between the event and his knowledge of the attack. And Chelan wanted it to stay that way. Her whole reason for entering the Dead Zone was to spare him a direct and potentially fatal confrontation with Ticees. She knew that if she spoke of the Emperor, it would only inflame the Overlord, and she did not want the nightmare to begin all over again. She had gladly sacrificed all to spare the man she loved so much. To have that goal crumple and fail at this stage was simply not an option she could endure.

Eventually, they entered the first week of the systems testing. Fremma was gone much of the time, and Korba spent nearly night and day at the computer. She knew that he had not slept more than a few hours in weeks, but she also knew that the vast ship’s overhaul was a time-consuming and arduous task. Add in the additional task of replacing and testing all the weapons systems in the thousands upon thousands of individual fighters, and the painstakingly elaborate undertaking was truly daunting.

But overall, Chelan was more than content. Korba insisted on lying with her just before she went to sleep, and though she always awoke to an empty bed, she did not mind. She was completely at ease just knowing that he was close by. For security reasons, no one else on board RIBUS 7 other than Stose and Fremma knew of her existence. Korba demanded that extra men be stationed outside all the Command Center entrances, with orders to block anyone from entering save Fremma. As always, Lazen took up his duties unquestioningly, the man inadvertently insulating Chelan from discovery and from the Emperor.

As time drew on, even though Korba was available to her throughout their time in the Command Center, she still could not bring herself to make love with him. She knew that it was simply too soon after so much, but the giant man understood completely and respected her choice. He made sure that she knew that she could take all the time that she needed. For him, as long as he could hold her and lie with her, that was simply enough.

But Chelan craved his touch, and as the days progressed, his sensual hugs were turning into tender caresses, and each time she allowed herself to respond just that much more. Though at times she wondered if she would ever be whole again, a tingling warmth was beginning to invade her at the sight of his virile masculinity at work. Whether he was laboring over the computers or putting his hard body through a workout, the feelings returning to her told her that it would not be long.

But Chelan’s thoughts were not totally ensnared by her black-haired mate. She was also looking forward to the end of the weapons testing. With its completion, she knew that not only did it allow RIBUS 7 its freedom, but it also coincided with Dar’s return. She wanted desperately to see the blonde Warlord, and her heart melted each time she thought of him. Their last night together had been extraordinarily special, their minds and bodies singing out a harmony together that nothing else could replicate. It had meant everything to her during a period of raw, visceral bleakness, and she wanted to tell him that with all her heart.

Chelan awoke this morning, alone again, but she felt different. She felt restored, a sense of optimism transfusing her with life itself. She knew that time was beginning to heal her wounds, although she was well aware that she would carry the scars throughout eternity. But all that had happened was in the past, and nothing could be rewritten. It was time to walk in the present and to welcome what was offered to her now.

She dressed and walked out into the Command Center, finding Korba in front of the consoles as usual. She stepped up behind him and encircled his neck with her arms as she kissed the top of his head.

“You know,” she began, “if you sit in front of that thing much more, it’s going to attach itself to you.”

Korba chuckled as he grasped her arm and pulled her around and into his lap. “Oh, I don’t think so, my beauty,” he whispered as he nuzzled her delicious neck. “It has some strong competition.”

Chelan grinned as she teased his mouth with hers. “Oh?” she breathed. “And from whom might that competition come?”

“Oh, no one you would know,” he replied coyly. “Just some small alien woman from a strange and insignificant planet called Calley.”

Chelan nestled in under his hair and bit at his ear lightly. “Maybe you had better describe her to me.”

Korba released himself from her teeth and brought her lips back to his. “Oh, she’s petite by our standards,” he whispered, “with skin like soft, white powder. She’s warm, and she’s gentle, and she has such beautiful, deep brown eyes.” He settled her deeper into his lap, and his voice lowered to a seductive rumble. “She has the most wonderful curves, with breasts that steal my breath and depths that harden my loins. She has long, beautiful fingers that entwine in my hair and ignite my body. But most of all, she has a gentle nature and loving charm that bewitches my soul.”

Chelan placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him tenderly. Then she parted his lips with her tongue and entered his mouth, exploring, tasting. “Oh, I know her,” Chelan whispered, tracing his lips with her fingers. “She’s the one who stole the Empire’s greatest Warlord’s heart and who loves everything about him.” Chelan reached for his hand and raised it from her waist. “And she’s the one who gave her heart to him in return.” She hesitated, her eyes penetrating his as she kissed his fingertips and then pressed his hand to her ripe breast. “She is the one who wants to share her soul with him as well as her body, if he so desires.”

Korba’s breath caught as his eyes searched hers. Cautiously, he moved his hand over her soft breast, feeling her erect nipple harden to his touch. He watched her as she straightened in his lap and pulled the gown straps from her shoulders in silent invitation, her beautiful eyes never leaving his.

Korba could barely move, and his breathing took off, the intensity of his yearning nearly moving him to tears. Chelan stood and pulled her gown down, letting it drop to the floor. She remained still momentarily as his eyes soaked in her voluptuous body. Then she reached for the button on the console that locked down the Command Center doors. Slowly, she mounted him, straddling his lap, her knees resting on either side of his legs, her arms surrounding his neck.

“Oh, woman,” he groaned as his hands slipped over her tight round buttocks, and Chelan rose up, presenting her aroused breasts to him. Korba shuddered as he took each nipple in his mouth and tenderly tasted them.

Chelan gasped as she felt a warm rush of fluid between her legs. “I want you inside me,” she moaned, her voice pleading. Korba was instantly and helplessly seduced. The ship could have crumbled about him and he wouldn’t have noticed. His hands moved over her bottom and pressed up into her soft feminine folds. He could feel her creamy enticement, her sexual scent of anticipation breaking down what precious little control he had, and his erection surged.

Chelan reached down and released him from his uniform, positioning herself over his straining arousal. She slid her hands lovingly around his thick penis, retracting his foreskin fully, exposing all his sensitive nerves, all his hungry need. Then she guided him into her softness and eased herself down around his hardness, taking him within her with enrapturing slowness.

A moan from deep within his chest erupted as she melted over him. The sensations she afforded him were pleasures he never dreamt he would feel again. Just the sight of his heavy organ slipping into her left him weak with passion.

She absorbed him to her core, his solid length and wondrous thickness stretching her so tight she was once again amazed that she could take him at all. He was magnificent, and she was in paradise. Her hands entwined in his thick mane, and she closed her eyes, rising up over him and then slipping back down. God, he felt so good. And it was finally as it should be, her man so deep within her, filling her so completely.

Korba shook himself back to reality and clenched his teeth. He wanted to be all over her and in her in every possible way. He wanted to taste her sweet acceptance of him, to bury his face in her essence, and to coat himself with her love. But most of all, he wanted her ever so tenderly. He reveled in the feel of the beautiful woman pressed against him, and as she sheathed him in his entirety once more, he knew that if they never moved again, he would be content a lifetime.