Of Blood and Angels (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 3) (6 page)

The men started yelling again at whoever
had the ball.  Jerry and I followed Katie out to the corridor.

“Was he here all night?” Jerry asked.

“No,” she replied.  “I think he came about
0400.  He was worried about Scarelli.  It seems like they are both doing well
though.”

“Yeah, amazingly well,” I agreed.

“So where are we headed?  I'd like to
transfer these guys to a shore facility ASAP.”

“We're heading to Andorus III,” Katie said
heading for the lifts.  “It's the nearest base that has a major repair dry
dock.  We have a SdK plane meeting Ron there.  Maybe you want to send the
patients with him back to Rozari?  He can admit them into the Kalika-hahr
hospital.”

“I think they'd rather go to Earth,” Jerry
remarked.

“I think they'd rather go to a SdK
hospital,” I replied.  “I know I would.”

“Your call, Jerry,” Katie shrugged.  A
lift door swished open, so she moved inside and blocked the door so it wouldn’t
close.

“How long will it take to get the ship
fixed?” Jerry followed her in.  He smiled at her and that darn fool still had
all his emotions written all over his goofy face.  I just wanted to slap him. 
She had been married for more than three years to that gorgeous hunk of a brain
surgeon and it didn’t look like she was going to be trading him in for poor old
Dr. Jerry any time soon.

“We're estimating two months,” Katie replied. 
“I think we're going to be able to give most of the crew shore leave on Andorus
while we undergo repairs or we may even send them home.”

“I don't want to go home,” I said.  “What
are you going to do?”

“I don't know yet.”  Katie glanced down at
her cell which was buzzing.  She put it on mute.  “I have to go to a reception
with some government officials on Andorus tomorrow.  Captain was invited but he
doesn't want to go, so he's sending me instead.  At least Ron will come with me
and keep me company.  After that, I'll figure it out.  I'd like to go home to
Rozari but Captain may want me to oversee the repairs.”

“I'd want to go home too if I had that man
to go home to,” I sighed.

Katie laughed.  “Let me tell you Caroline
he's just as bad as any one of them.  When I am home, I am the maid, the cook
and the cleaning lady.  All he does is work, drink, smoke, watch football and
demand...”  She glanced at Jerry.  “What all men want.”  Jerry made a sour face
and stepped out of the lift.

“Katie, that's not true,” I protested. 
“I've seen pictures of your mansion.”

“Alright,” she agreed, letting the lift
doors shut.  “He's got some benefits too and some idiosyncrasies that you
wouldn't believe but for the most part, he's just like the rest of them.  Gotta
go.”  She waved her cell at us.

“And I'm sure all you do is nag,” Jerry
called after her and then stomped back to the bay.

Chapter 5

Katie

“Why don't you wear that Versace suit you
were going to wear at the conference?”

“Do I have to go?”

“Yes.  You have to accompany me.  You're
my date, unless you want me to take someone else.”

“I do not care to meet Andorian public
officials.”  He was typing away at his netbook.  I wrapped my arms around his
neck and looked at his poor arms.  He had cuts all over them.  He had been seeding
the Karupatani continent while I had been in space these last few months.

“Do you have to do this?” I said, rubbing
his arms.

“Yes,” he replied.  “And I have to finish
this report before the board meeting next week.”

“Come on, it's just for a few hours,” I
begged.  “I know some Andorian Governors or whatever they are, are nothing
compared to all the royal people you must know but I promised Capt. Richard I
would go.  Please put on your suit.  I'll reward you if you do.”

“Five more minutes,” he said, but then
turned and grabbed me, pulling me down on his lap.

"I want my reward first."

"Oh, no, you don't," I laughed
and pushed his face away from my chest.  "Rewards are for good behavior
and you haven't demonstrated any yet."

"I am good," he said, his hands
slipping under my skirt messing up my uniform.  "I am very good."

"Now will you put on your suit?"
I said, laying it out next to him on the crumpled bed and hunting in the closet
for his tie and shoes. 

"Ay yah, when I have finished my
cigarette."  He exhaled grey smoke into the cabin air.

"So come on then, hurry up."  I
picked my crumpled dress white uniform off the floor and hung it in the
Insta-clean.  If I had not been the invited guest representing Spaceforce, I
would put on a cocktail dress if I had one.  I wished I had one, a little black
thing to wear with a necklace and maybe a pretty diamond bracelet and
earrings.  I wished I could look as beautiful as this man accompanying me.  I
turned back to the bed to look at him, to soak him up with my eyes, when his
own eyes flashed brightly back at me.  Too brightly, I thought, wondering how
long it had been since he was out
seeding
.

“What?” I said and stroked his foot,
running my finger along those wicked looking toenails.

“You are beautiful.”

“This from a blind man.  I'm very sexy in
that shapeless boxy uniform.  Bars and medals really turn you on?  Epaulettes
and aiguillettes drive you crazy?"

He shook his head and flicked the spent
cigarette away into the land of the nothingness.  "No," he said seriously. 
Grabbing my arm and pulling me back down to him, his nicely laid out suit got
shoved to the floor.  "You wearing the uniform of the Allied Spaceforce
does nothing for me."

"You can't see me anyway!"

"I can see you," he replied,
stroking my breast with his hand, swiping at first one then the other nipple
with his tongue.

"You are insatiable," I moaned.

"I am," he agreed.

"Now we are really late and I need
another shower and you need to shave."  I ran my hand along his rough
cheek.  Reluctantly, he pulled away and lumbered to his feet.

"I will grow a beard," he said,
heading to the bath.

"Not today, please."  I watched
him pad away and when he was in the adjacent bathroom, I propped my feet up on
a pillow.  "Go go go!" I thought quietly, willing his sperm to make a
miracle happen.  Surely we could overcome the odds of a billion to one against
a Human and a Rozarian conceiving.  He wasn’t just a Rozarian though.  He was
Rehnorian and on top of that a man whose blood could create life in dirt.  He ought
to be able to create a life inside of me.  I lay still until he came back out. 
What was that, ten minutes?  Was that long enough?  He didn’t say anything but
of course he knew what I was doing.

"I haven't finished my report,"
he muttered as he picked his suit up off the floor and started to get dressed. 
"I will have to do it when we return." 

I got up as well and pulled my clean and
pressed uniform out of the Insta-clean.  As I slipped it on again, refastening
my epaulettes, I caught a glimpse of him in the mirror, tying his tie.  I
imagined him with a beard, clean looking, close cropped.  Unbidden, an image of
him in his uniform with the gold braid, medals, fancy chains and cloth of gold
entered my mind.  He looked incredibly beautiful decked out in all that.  A
beard would be appropriate; he would look like a king.

"Do you have a crown?"

He pulled his hair back and tied it with a
ribbon.

"Will you?"

He didn't answer.

"Come on tell me.  Will you wear
one?" I persisted.

"Why do you ask of me questions when
you know you do not wish to hear the answers?"

"So you will."

He put on his glasses and walked out the
door.  "They give me headaches.  Let's go.  I have work to do
tonight."

We shuttled down to Andorus, to what
appeared to be the government seat.  Although the plane was full of crew on
shore leave, Senya and I were dropped off first at the main gate.  Senya stood
there pensively, almost reluctant to go in even though we were met by our
Andorian host.

“Your Royal Highness, please, please join
us,” the Andorian said, opening the gates and bowing graciously.

Senya didn’t move.  My heart skipped a
beat.  This was Andorus III, a member of the Alliance.  How could this man know
and recognize a prince from Rehnor?

“I have been here before,” Senya replied,
still frozen in place but answering my unasked question.

“This building?”

“This planet.  I do not like this planet.”

I was starting not to like it either.

“Sir?” our Andorian host prodded.  “Our
Prime Minister Mfure is very anxious to meet you.”

Sir?  Meet him?  I thought I was the
honored guest.  If they got down on their knees and kissed his feet, I was
totally out of here.  Maybe we should leave anyway, I considered as I was
starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

The silver light panned down on the
Andorian's face.  The Andorian looked confused.

“I will meet Mfure,” Senya decided.  “Then
you will make your speech and we will depart.”  He didn’t seem very happy about
this and frankly neither was I.  Suddenly, my two minute ‘We are all one happy
Alliance’ speech seemed like it was going to be a bust.

“Okay,” I agreed, following the Andorian
across the red carpet. 

We were ushered into a large hall with
lots of Andorians standing around with drinks in their hands.  A buffet was set
up on one end and the smells coming from it were rather nasty.  Our Andorian
host took us right up to a receiving line and introduced Prime Minister Mrufe,
a nice short, slightly blue tinged elderly man with fluffy white whiskers and
goatee.  He pushed his way past me and headed straight for Senya.

“Your Royal Highness!” he exclaimed,
holding out his arms as if he wanted a hug.

Senya lurched backward, nearly pulling me
over in the process.

“I met you when you were just a young
boy,” Mrufe continued boisterously.  “I'm sure you don't remember me but
you…you are unforgettable.”

“How do you do, Prime Minister?" I
said, trying not to glare at my husband who had lost all color from his face. 
He looked like he was either going to run from the room or fly out of there.  I
had a bad feeling about this too but at least I was making an effort to be
polite.

“Do you know whom this is?”  Mrufe ignored
me and turned to the rest of the characters in the receiving line.  “This is
the MaKennah ka Rehnor, the Crown Prince of Rehnor.”

The Andorians all muttered appreciably.

“I thought the other fellow was the
Rehnorian Prince,” the woman standing next to Mrufe, presumably his wife, said.

“No no,” Mrufe replied.  “The other one is
this one's uncle.  This is the one who will become the King.  Perhaps we should
speak to you about a trading alliance, Your Royal Highness?”  Mrufe turned back
to Senya.  “There is much we Andorians and you Rehnorians can accomplish
together.  We both have been little regarded by the Alliance and perhaps it is
time we formed a new partnership and expanded our joint resources.”

Senya was staring across the room at
someone else and paying no attention to Mrufe.  His eyes were bright like
lasers behind his dark glasses.  I could see the object of his attention was a
large middle aged man dressed in an impressive uniform.  Mrufe, too, followed
his gaze.

“Have you met my Chief of Staff, Lord
Srutow?” Mrufe said and waved for Srutow to join us.  “Shall we take a few
minutes away from this raucous crowd to sit down together and discuss the
possibilities?  I have approached your grandfather King Yokaa several times in
recent years but between you and me, he seems to have gone a bit dotty.  Your
uncle, Prince Akan has been very receptive to my ideas but I know that he is
not the one who will make the final decision.  We are indeed fortunate that you
have come to visit us today.  There is much we can accomplish.”

“Minister Mrufe,” I interrupted.  “We are
here as part of the Allied delegation.  My husband is not representing the
Rehnorian government.”

Mrufe again totally ignored me though
Mrufe's wife glared at me as if I had made a giant faux pas by daring to speak.

“Excuse me,” I continued before realizing
that Senya was starting to sway on his feet.  Lord Srutow came closer.  I
grabbed Senya’s hand and held it tight, though it was now twitching.  Lord
Srutow was staring back at Senya with his mouth open in surprise and his pale
blue color turned a deep shade of violet.

“There you are, Srutow,” Mrufe said. 
“Come meet His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of Rehnor.”

“We have met,” Senya growled in a voice
that didn’t sound like his.

Srutow stopped where he was.

“Surely you are mistaken, Sir,” he said
shakily.  “We have never met.”

“I am not mistaken,” Senya replied.  He pulled
his hand from mine and swiped it in the air.

“Don't!” I screamed and leapt for his arm,
pulling it down.  I was too late.  Srutow went flying across the room and
landed on the buffet table, knocking all sorts of dishes onto the floor. 
Everyone scattered away from us in a big hurry.

“I don't understand,” Mrufe stuttered. 
“What is the matter?”

Senya shook me off and stormed across the
room to intercept Srutow who had scrambled off the table and was now running
for the door.  Senya waved his hand again and in his fist now there was his
knife; actually, his favorite fish gutting knife.  Senya chased after Srutow
and caught him by the door.  Srutow screamed but his screams were short lived. 
Senya plunged the knife into his gut and practically filleted him.  Blood
splattered on the floor and walls as Senya dragged Srutow’s body to the window
and tossed him into the glass.  The window shattered, shards flew and Srutow’s
body disappeared down the side of the building.

At this point, my knees had gone weak and
I felt like I was going to throw up.  I didn’t have a laser on me so I couldn’t
even stun my own husband.  All I could do was flip on my cell and ring for an
immediate pick up by the shuttle.  While I did this, the Andorians all ran to
the windows to see what had become of Srutow.  Senya was standing, unmoving but
his hands were still twitching, although the knife had disappeared.  I looked
at Mrufe, who was shaking and had turned a very pale blue.

“I'm sorry,” I apologized and considered
how ridiculous I sounded.  “I’m sorry my husband just killed your Chief of
Staff and tossed him out the window.”

Mrufe looked at me as if he just realized
I was there and then he looked back at Senya.  I thought he was going to call
for Senya’s arrest.  I thought he was going to yell to his guards, but he
didn’t.  Instead, he fell to his knees.  Mrufe's wife looked at him and then
did the same thing.  In fact, as I stood there with my own knees about to give
way, everyone in the room fell to their knees.  I looked to Senya for his
reaction but he was not seeing this.  He was somewhere lost in his head and
swaying on his feet again.  I realized he might be on the verge of a seizure. 
I ran over to him and grabbed his arm.

“Let's get out of here,” I cried.

“Ok,” he said but didn’t move.  He had
blood stains all over his Versace suit.

Minister Mrufe, on his knees, crawled
across the room toward us.  “My lord,” he called.

“I am not your lord,” Senya mumbled.  He
too had gone very pale.

“Come with me,” I said, yanking his arm.  “Let's
go back to the ship.”

“Andorus submits itself to the superiority
of Rehnor,” Mrufe cried.  “Andorus submits itself to the rule of the Crown
Prince of Rehnor.”