CALLEY (RIBUS 7 Book 3) (4 page)

Chelan’s glassy eyes searched his. “I will talk to him, my gentle Fremma. But no matter what our choice, please do not recede from me.”

Fremma mellowed. He squeezed her tight and drew her down to the bed with him. “I will never abandon you, Chelan. Many years ago I told you I would take you any time to the exclusion of all others, and I have abided by that. I will never turn you away, pretty woman. But it tears my heart from my chest to see you so pained. Why can Korba not see you as I do?”

Chelan sighed. “He does, Fremma. He merely seeks a perfect time to be with me while failing to see through all his optimism to the unshakable truth: there is no perfect time.”

Fremma smiled at her as he looked over her sensuous body. He thought of his child within her and a tremor ran through him. She was right. Korba was well aware of the treasure he possessed. The man was simply besieged by a colossal workload, his dedication to both his new role in the Empire and his obsession with tackling the most volatile of battles robbing him of precious time with his lady. Korba had always been the master of precision and perfection. And until the Empire settled under his hand, he would remain completely unwilling to compromise Chelan with a pregnancy. He was waiting for the perfect time… gambling that that time would indeed present itself.

Chelan’s fingertips on his cheek drew Fremma out of his thoughts. “Fremma,” she called softly. “Please don’t misunderstand. If all does not work out soon…”—she sucked in a deep breath, her heart swelling—“I will be more than willing to accept you. I would love to have your child. But I must work through this with Korba first.”

“I know. But if at any time over the coming years all seems lost with Korba, I want you to promise me that you will send for me.”

“Send for you?”

Fremma smiled at her innocence. “Chelan, you are the Empress. Korba has sent me on a mission which I gladly accept. But should you require my presence, you may order me home at any time.”

Chelan flinched. “Korba would throw me to the wolves for overriding him.”

“I think not. Besides, Tarn is perfectly capable of carrying on in my place should you require me for a time.”

Chelan was quiet. It still had not fully dawned on her, the power she had acquired by joining with Korba, and suddenly all her anxiety surrounding everyone’s departures abated.

Fremma smiled warmly as he watched the tension drain from her pretty face. “And now, my Lady, I believe I have left something undone.” And once again he began down her supple body.

Chelan melted. Her last night on RIBUS 7 was going to be pure ecstasy. Tomorrow, she would be reunited with Korba within the walls of the new Palace. She supposed she should be excited, but right now all that mattered was Fremma, her gentle Warlord. And she would not leave him unsatisfied.

Chelan walked out of the chambers and into the bright lights of the Command Center. Two men turned to greet her.

“Good morning,” said Fremma with a smile.

“My Lady,” Zane acknowledged.

Chelan smiled at them both as she adjusted her shroud. “You two look pleased with yourselves. What’s up?”

“Well,” began Zane, “we have some good news.”

Chelan looked at them quizzically. Fremma’s voice was soft and low. “Ilan is fine, my Lady.”

Chelan beamed. “Oh, that is wonderful.”

Fremma continued. “And Toran has finally cracked the main ROPE colony on Zigous. No Iceanean specimens were found, and as a result, he decided to spare his crew any further injury.” Fremma smiled at the sparkle in Chelan’s eyes. “He simply brought RIBUS 6’s main batteries to bear on the sixth planet. The Semean solar system now has only eight planets.”

Chelan grinned. “I wish I could have been there.”

Zane chuckled. “Me too. Planets make the most spectacular fireballs.”

Fremma finally moved to Chelan and pecked her on the cheek. “Once again ROPE is no more, at least in that sector. Between the rest of us, hopefully the galaxy will be cleansed of them soon.”

Chelan raised her brows. “When I first stepped foot on RIBUS 7, there were just over one hundred thousand battleships actively engaged. Now they are over one million strong, with more being dispatched every day. It seems the Empire mobilizes quickly and effectively under its new Emperor.”

Fremma nodded. “Would you expect any less, my Lady? He was the Empire’s most effective Warlord, our Overlord, and now he carries that legacy with him as ruler. And speaking of efficiency, it is time for me to escort you to the new Palace, if you permit.”

Chelan groaned. “More fanfare, I expect.”

“No,” Fremma said. “Korba requested that I take you directly to him in my personal fighter. He knows how much you hate public exposure.”

Chelan’s tension eased. “He thinks of everything, doesn’t he. When do we leave?”

Zane turned to the console. “All systems are up. The Palace perimeter is clear. You may depart any time, my Lady.”

Chelan looked at Zane. “Thank you.”

Zane nodded. “And now I will return to the Bridge. I have a few things to attend to before leaving for my ship.”

Chelan watched him as he ascended the stairs, and there he turned back to her. “And if I may say so, my Lady, you look much more rested today.” And he left.

Chelan blushed. “I don’t think my looks have much to do with my rest. I think it has more to do with your love, dear Fremma.”

The Warlord smiled and then kissed her lips gently. “Regardless, my Lady, Zane is a very perceptive man. You look radiant today.”

“Thank you. And thanks to you, I can face today.”

Fremma stroked her slender arm. “Come on. We should leave.”

Chelan hesitated as she looked around the Command Center. “I am going to miss RIBUS 7, Fremma. She has been my home and protector for so long.”

“You are not leaving her decks forever,” he soothed. “She will return.”

Chelan forced a smile. “You just make sure you return with her.”

Fremma nodded. “You have my word, my Lady.”

Chelan cast one last look around and then took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

*****

The ebony fighter settled gently into the hangar deep within the Imperial Palace. Chelan pulled off her headgear just as Fremma stood and offered her his hand. Chelan accepted, and the Warlord helped her down from the craft.

Chelan glanced around the massive flight deck, the proliferation of aircraft and weaponry nearly stealing her breath. Fremma, too, remained quiet as he inspected the area. It was obvious from the abundance of security and armaments that no one was going to penetrate the Emperor’s domain without invitation.

Fremma tapped Chelan on the shoulder. She looked up at him, then followed his lead toward a towering set of doors. The doors parted silently and sealed themselves behind them. They started down a corridor and stopped in front of a security check.

Chelan studied the guards, but nothing about them revealed their identity to her. Though Korba maintained his own guard, he had added a lot to his regiment, mostly for her protection. She had become quite accomplished at recognizing the men and women under the concealing shrouds, but her efforts today were so far thwarted. They were all new, she concluded, and then she turned her attention back to Fremma.

As he finished with the security algorithms, a second set of doors opened. Chelan followed him down a much smaller corridor, noting that the guards no longer attended them. That meant she was deep within the most secure portion of the Palace, Korba’s exclusive domain.

At the end of their journey, Fremma turned to her and smiled. “Your new home, my Lady.” And the doors separated.

Chelan hesitated and then stepped through the threshold. Her jaw dropped at what she beheld.

Fremma chuckled. “Look familiar?”

“What is going on?” she uttered in astonishment. Chelan whirled around, her eyes taking it all in.

“It is a duplicate of the RIBUS 7 Command Center. Korba thought you would appreciate its familiarity.”

Chelan padded down the stairs and scanned over the consoles and screens. Then she turned and looked up into the vast blackness of the sleeping chambers. Skipping to the right, she entered the workout area—the cerulean blue pool, the equipment, everything as she knew it so well. Then she floated back to the Command Center.

“—And,” Fremma said before she could speak, “there is one small difference.”

Chelan peered off to the right of the center consoles as Fremma beckoned to her. She approached the blank wall and then jumped as hidden doors were suddenly revealed. She stepped through and looked about the palatial room, its regal elegance mesmerizing her. “What is this?” she asked in wonder.

“The actual chambers of the Emperor and his mate,” Fremma informed her warmly. “It is the exact opposite of the starkness of the quarters in the Command Center. But you are free to choose between them according to your mood and desires. It is all yours.”

Chelan slowly traversed the elegant room, its size colossal, its structure awe-inspiring. “Who decorated it?”

Fremma shrugged. “Whoever it was, they were obviously under Korba’s direction.”

Chelan was spellbound. Everything was in burgundies, cream, and seafoam green. It had an air of Victorian romance, but a masculine touch maintained. Fine furniture lined the walls and accented the central bed. A warm light filtered down from the ceiling, basking the room in a rich, sunny glow. To the right was the main opulent bath, mirrors and marble abounding.

Chelan turned to Fremma, but then faltered. Where Fremma had stood, another solitary shroud lingered.

“My Lady,” whispered Korba.

Chelan flew into his arms, burying her face into his powerful chest. “I love it,” she cooed. She pushed back and looked up into his brilliant azure eyes. “And I love you.” She stretched up to take his lips.

Korba responded while allowing the doors to close behind him. Then he pulled her away and looked down at the beautiful little alien. “It is all yours, Chelan, to use as you see fit. If you desire anything else or wish to change anything, you have but to ask.”

Chelan glanced over her shoulder at the bed and then bit her lip. “You have been working so hard. I haven’t seen you for weeks.”

“I am sorry. Communicating via monitor is hardly sufficient. But getting all the final tasks done to ready the Palace turned out to take a monumental effort. I knew that if I visited you on RIBUS 7, the decisions required would drag out indefinitely. But now we are together.”

Chelan grinned. “His Lordship, ruler of the galaxy and destroyer of worlds, a military tactician like no other, and yet he becomes bogged down getting a wee palace on its feet.”

Korba smiled at her deviously. “A
galactic
palace, for your information, and a huge one at that.”

“Aw,” Chelan goaded. “My poor man.”

Korba chuckled. “You know, there were times when I actually thought of bringing artillery to bear. Starting from scratch would have been easier.”

“Somehow I doubt it was her structure that was the problem.”

“Oh, there were problems there, too. The labyrinth of tunnels beneath the Palace took months to clear and contain. But you are right: overall, the structural and architectural problems paled in comparison to dealing with all the various factions spewing forth their supposed needs and opinions.”

“Hmmm… always a Warlord first. Diplomacy was never your forte.”

“That is an understatement. I can’t tell you how many meetings I attended, every one saturated with ambassadors, all squabbling over their perceived portion of the real estate, where thoughts of simply executing them all crossed my mind.”

Chelan burst out laughing. “Oh, my god! Maybe you should abdicate the throne now.”

Korba shook his head. “Thank the stars for the Telesians. Fortunately, not only do they have intelligence beyond reproach, they have unrivaled negotiating skills. More than once they contained a meeting that had gotten completely out of control.”

“And the other delegations cooperated with them?”

“Universally. The Telesian are renowned for all their skills. Plus, they are the biggest foreign player within the Palace. I wanted their research and development areas expanded exponentially so that the largest research team outside of their home planet was here. The infrastructure to accommodate all their requirements rivaled our own needs. Just the transportation system and additional security networks for all the supplies they require was more work than anything else undertaken.”

Korba drew her back to him. “Anyway, all the other delegations were eventually either put in their place or accommodated satisfactorily. But the drain on my time… and my patience… Well, let’s just say that many a person walked away from the talks in one piece only because the Telesians took over.”

“You will have to employ the services of more advisors in the future. You were not bred for this, nor, I suspect, do you have the temperament or desire for such interpersonal dribble.”

“You are most certainly right there. But giving up control has never been on my radar either.”

“Compromise, my dear man.”

Korba laughed. “Another trait I lack.”