Euthara (36 page)

Jon stripped down and stepped into the hot shower and sighed as he let the hot water sooth his body. Nefeit would be back shortly and he was going to have a talk with her when she got back. She had left to see to promoting one of her officers to Captain in preparation to take command of one of the salvaged Battleships from the Euthara ship graveyard next to the station.

The Gatasti was actually well preserved and almost ready for combat. Very little of her systems had been damaged and the technicians on the station said it would take four days to get her refit. With the steady supply of ship parts coming in from the newly opened Eutharan corporations, ship repairs started to proceed at a faster pace. The corporations were doing so well that they were able to make shipments to Ghost Station for her construction projects.

Jon rinsed the shampoo out of his hair and stepped out to dry off.

Now all he had to do was figure out the deal with these Crystari, and everything would be set. He really wanted to capture one of these Itaros vessels so that Brad and Mike could study it. It might also provide some useful intelligence on the Crystari and their operations in the galaxy.

He was worn out and decided to talk to Nefeit in the morning. He stumbled through the dark room and to his bed. He pulled the sheets back and crawled into bed and up next to a nice warm body. Even though his body was telling him to wake up, he was so tired he just drifted off to sleep as a warm ass wiggled up against him. It was the last thing he felt before sleep over-took him, and he smiled.

Jon was in a happy place between two warm bodies. He was snuggled up to one in front of him and the other was snuggled up behind him. Jon slowly awoke from the good dreams he had been having and yawned quietly as he tried to wake up. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept so well. It was then that Jon suddenly realized that Deatra wasn’t there and slowly his mind started to comprehend that there was two women in bed with him.

Jon’s eyes flew open and before him was golden blonde hair blocking his view. He looked down at his chest and saw Nefeit’s dark arm across his chest. He looked back at the blonde hair and shook his head.

“Kelly?!” Jon said.

Jon gasped and jumped up out of the bed, which woke both of the women up. Kelly rolled over and rubbed her eyes and Nefeit sat up straight in bed. Jon tried to cover his nakedness as Kelly sat up and the sheet fell down to expose her swollen breasts.

“Jon?” Kelly said. She didn’t seem too phased to see him standing there.

Nefeit did a double take as she looked from Jon and then back to Kelly. She grinned at Jon’s predicament and said, “You dog, taking advantage of a helpless woman in your bed.”

“I…” Jon started to say and stopped. He didn’t know what to do, run and hide was topping his list right now.

Kelly’s face colored a deep red as she realized what had happened. “It was my mistake…”

“Oh, don’t make excuses for him. He likes taking advantage of helpless women,” Nefeit said. The grin on her face told Kelly she was just kidding around. Nefeit shook her upper body as Jon was still fumbling to gain his composure. “Like what you see?”

“Nefeit stop!” Jon said. “Kelly I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you and I was half asleep.” Jon turned and ran off, naked to the bathroom. Seconds later they heard the shower turn on.

A minute later Jon came back to the two naked women that were now talking in his bed and both looked up when he walked in. Jon stopped and turned around as Kelly wasn’t covered up.

“Oops, sorry about that,” Jon said.

“Jon, it’s ok, you can turn around. I think you’ve seen everything there is anyway,” Kelly said. “I’m to blame, when I got here there was no room ready and I came here to find you. You were in a meeting and I got tired and fell asleep.”

Jon turned back around and tried to keep his eyes where they should be as he sat down to put his shoes on. “You fell asleep naked in my bed?” Jon said.

Kelly’s face colored slightly as she spoke, “Well, no, not naked. I don’t sleep clothed and I guess I was so worn out I got up at some point and striped down and climbed back in bed. I guess I was so tired I wasn’t thinking straight at the time.”

“Oh, Jon knows how that is,” Nefeit said. She had already stood up and gotten dressed.

“Shut it, you,” Jon said. He tossed one of the extra slippers he had in her direction.

It made Kelly giggle a little though you could still see the sadness from her loss on her face. “I’ll get dressed and see about getting some quarters straight,” Kelly said. She stood up and her large belly that was carrying twins came into view. Jon couldn’t take his eyes off it as she got dressed.

To Jon it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was like Kelly was radiating beauty and it was drawing Jon in, making him want to protect her.

“I’ll take care of the arrangements for your quarters,” Jon said. “Why don’t you kick back here and relax. Hell you still look tired go back to sleep and I’ll get everything set up for you.”

“You sure?” Kelly said. “I don’t want to be a burden to you or your family.”

“Yeah, I’m positive,” Jon said. “Get some more rest. I’ll come get you later when your quarters are ready.”

Kelly ran up and gave Jon a peck on the cheek as she smiled. “Thanks,” Kelly said. She turned and crawled back into bed.

Jon stepped into the kitchen where Nefeit was sitting sipping coffee. The door to the bedroom closed shut as Jon sat down and poured himself a cup of coffee. Nefeit leaned over and tried to give Jon a peck on the cheek which he dodged.

“I’m mad at you right now,” Jon said. “That wasn’t funny what you did in there.”

“Would you have rather she’d have cried?” Nefeit said. She looked at him over her cup of coffee.

“No,” Jon said. He wasn’t looking at her. “It was awkward enough without you making little comments.”

“If I hadn’t she would have cried and broke down,” Nefeit said. “She already felt guilty that it happened and she was in the middle of blaming herself for it. She was about to have a complete melt down. Showing her it was ok and not that serious put her at ease.”

“How do you know?” Jon said. He glanced at her briefly and then returned to looking straight ahead.

“A women thing,” Nefeit said. She took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “Just like I know you’re upset at me but you understand why I did what I did.”

Jon looked at Nefeit and gave a lopsided grin, “I guess it did kind of put everyone at ease. That was just a bit freaky I thought it was Deatra or you. I must have been really tired not to tell she was pregnant.”

Nefeit shrugged as she smiled.

Jon’s eyes got wide and he put the cup down. “You knew she was there!”

Nefeit nodded as she took another sip.

“Why didn’t you wake me and tell me?” Jon said.

“She needed the comfort,” Nefeit said. “She had just lost her husband and she needed someone to hold her. She was content that that person was you.”

“Still, I should have known. You should have woken me and let me know,” Jon said.

“She knew you were there,” Nefeit said. “She woke when I got in bed and looked at me and then you. She just waved to me and then snuggled back into you as she pulled your arms tighter around her.”

Jon frowned as he picked his coffee up and took another sip. “Still,” Jon said.

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t expect what happened to happen,” Nefeit said. “But, to be honest it was your reaction that scared her the most, not what had happened.”

“I… uh,” Jon said. His face took on a bit of color. “Whatever.”

“Just act normal around her and everything will be fine,” Nefeit said.

“Sure,” Jon said. He was an adult and he could manage that.

“Let her stay here,” Nefeit said. “Don’t find another place for her to stay. She needs the support and leaving her alone might be the worst thing for her right now.”

“I guess I could have another bed brought in and put in the room we use for storage and have those items stored in a cargo hold,” Jon said.

“My thoughts too,” Nefeit said.

“Ok, I can do that,” Jon said. “I’ll put the orders in as soon as I get to the bridge.”

Nefeit nodded as she took the last sip of her coffee. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Nefeit said.

Jon stared at her for a second before he spoke, “What are you, a mind reader now?”

Nefeit laughed and smiled at Jon. “Just your mind my dear husband, though some people in my race have the ability to sense surface emotions. I never got the handle on it completely, but I can usually pick something up from people around me. You’re easier as we share a bond that lets me feel things and sometimes get a bit of insight into your needs, and right now I’m sensing that you need to talk to me.”

“It’s about your people,” Jon said. “I’ve heard some things that I have questions about.”

Nefeit arched her eyebrow and poured herself another cup of coffee. “Shoot,” Nefeit said.

“Did you really kill off half your race after a civil war?” Jon said.

“Yes,” Nefeit said. “Does that bother you?”

“It doesn’t bother you?” Jon said.

Nefeit shook her head as she spoke, “Not in the least.”

“So, you’re a murderer of thousands,” Jon said.

“I guess you can look at it that way,” Nefeit said. “My people call me the savior of thousands.”

“I don’t understand,” Jon said.

“Let me try to explain,” Nefeit said. She set her cup down and turned it between her hands. “Civil war for my people is almost unheard of. There are two instances of it ever happening on my world. The first was the grand unification of my people under one planetary government. The side that lost suffered horribly as no one would hire them for work and the government turned a blind eye to their needs. That brought about the rules of war clause. If there ever was another civil war of any type the losing side was to be put to death to save them from disgrace and undue suffering. It also made no sense to leave people alive who might one day start another civil war. Which almost happened after the first civil war; luckily it was put down before it got too big.”

The second instance of a civil war was the war I was a part of. We did what we needed to do to stabilize our people. Every individual was asked if they would like to repent and serve or die. Most chose death as usually their beliefs were too strong. We’re a religious people and consider our army to be a Holy army.”

“Well, the fact you gave them a choice makes me feel better,” Jon said.

“It would have bothered you if we had just executed rebels?” Nefeit said.

“Not if you put it that way,” Jon said. “But, if you executed a soldier for obeying an order that might bother me a bit. Killing someone for doing their duty is a bit harsh.”

“Ah, but a soldier has a choice,” Nefeit said. “Right or wrong the choice is his.”

“True, I guess,” Jon said.

“You have a lot to learn about war yet,” Nefeit said. “What do you think is going to happen here when everything is said and done?”

“I don’t know, I don’t plan on mass executions though,” Jon said.

“So, you’re going to leave people alive that can and will plot against what you have created here,” Nefeit said. “They will do nothing but cause chaos and hardship for you.”

“I can send them off to another planet somewhere they will be out of the way,” Jon said.

“With no defenses or technology?” Nefeit said. “You give them technology and they will build ships eventually and rise up again to be a thorn in your side. No defenses and another race might come along and scoop them up and turn them into slaves or kill them.”

“I’ll do what I have to when the time is right,” Jon said. “The Eutharan people aren’t the same as the Drovasian people.”

“No they're not,” Nefeit said. “I’m not telling you how to deal with the situation when it happens. Just giving you an idea of why we handle things the way we do. Now that you’re the High Priest of our people you can do what you want, but I’m going to tell you it’s not something you should do lightly.”

“I’ll leave that up to you,” Jon said. “I hope there is never another civil war where I have to get involved anyway.”

“There won’t be,” Nefeit said. She gave Jon a disarming smile. “The Drovasian people are very happy with their current ruler and the way things are going right now.”

“Good,” Jon said. “Now, I have another question for you.”

Nefeit raised an eyebrow and picked up her cup to take a sip.

“How old are you?” Jon said.

Nefeit spit the coffee all over the table as the question took her by surprise. She looked at Jon with a twinkle in her eye and a slight grin on her face. “Fifty-one years old,” Nefeit said.

Jon did a double take and gave her the once over. To him she didn’t look a day over nineteen. “Seriously?” Jon said.

“I’ll be fifty-two in about two more months,” Nefeit said.

“You don’t look that old,” Jon said. “Mind if I ask how old your people live to be?”

“We live about two hundred and fifty years, give or take a few,” Nefeit said.

“I had no idea you were that old,” Jon said.

“Does it make a difference to you?” Nefeit said. She raised an eyebrow in question.

“No, not really,” Jon said. “You’re just going to outlive me by a long shot.”

Nefeit shook her head as she wiped the table with a cloth she had sitting next to her. “No I won’t,” Nefeit said.

“Yes you will, my race only lives to eighty or so,” Jon said.

“If you base my age on your calendar, I’m only seventeen,” Nefeit said. “My people have three birthdays in one of your calendar years. Our primary planet rotates around our sun much faster than your Earth, which makes our years very short. An Invaru who is thirty or so, like Admiral Breq is really in their late forties by your calendar. Eutharans, like Deatra who is twenty-two by their time standard is only seventeen by your calendar. All races age at different rates based on their home planet.”

“I never thought of that,” Jon said. He felt a little ashamed that he asked without thinking about checking out the standard year of Nefeit’s home world.