Holographic Convergence_A Space Fantasy Read online

  Yeah, like shoot us down. Unauthorized aircraft was taken out by whatever military patrolled the skies of the area.

  I spotted Tanus on the other side of the bay. Yudelle continued, leading us in that direction. “The satellites that overfly this area leave gaps of several hours. We’re about to enter one of the largest windows between periods of surveillance. We’re going to capitalize on that. Which means, it’s time to go.”

  “Right now?” Mom squeaked and then cleared her throat, not bothering to look embarrassed.

  “Right now.” Yudelle’s stride grew faster and more determined. “It’s time to suit up.”

  “Yudelle,” I said, “I was thinking, it’d be really great to take some pure sand with us. It’d be really helpful to set ourselves up as best we can, especially since it’s so readily available here, and so valuable there.”

  “We’ve already loaded up as much sand as the shuttle can carry. It’s evenly distributed across the entire aircraft.”

  “Oh, wonderful.” Yudelle thought of everything. “One more question.” I spoke to her back in its crisp linen shirt. “When we traveled over here, we jumped across space in Aletox’s transport capsule. The travel time was quick because we leaped across space.”

  “And your question is?”

  “Is this shuttle the same, or are we going to have to go into a cryogenic state or take forever or something?” I was basing my science on sci-fi books and movies. It was all I had. I cringed inwardly to hear myself so clumsy with my questions, but hey, there hadn’t been any spare time to research the details of aerospace science.

  Yudelle came to a full stop. Mom, Dad, and I piled up next to her. The Princess and Jordan walked on, meeting Tanus near the center of the bay.

  I suddenly felt like a grade schooler who’d asked a question so stupid that the teacher was considering sending me to time-out for idiocy. Yudelle scowled. “Of course my space shuttle will jump across space. It’s thousands of times more sophisticated than what Aletox built, and a million times more advanced than those hunks of metal NASA’s come up with.”

  “Okay, good. I’m glad.” I really didn’t know what else to say.

  “The travel will be far more comfortable than you experienced in Aletox’s transport machine. I’ve used far better materials than vunter, for starters. You’ll be there just as quickly, and even your parents will do well on the journey, despite their advanced age.”

  Mom stiffened. Dad scrolled his gaze up and down Yudelle’s body. She looked to be their same age, even though I knew her to be so much... more experienced.

  “I’ll have you know—” Mom started, and I stopped her. We really didn’t want to piss off Yudelle. She was growing scarier with every new thing I found out about her. I said, “So I assume this means that Tanus and Dolpheus were successful in retrieving Aletox’s capsule?”

  “Correct.”

  “And that Lila was able to adapt the space shuttle for travel to O?”

  “Yes, although there was little that needed to be done. I predicted everything nearly perfectly.”

  No one would ever accuse her of false modesty.

  “Are you quite finished with your interrogation now? Because, as I said, we have a tight schedule to keep.”

  “Yes, yes we’re ready.” What else was there to say? We were being swept away in a Yudelle wave, and I was letting us. It was better to surf the swell than crash and tumble in the wave’s rage. Or, so I thought.

  Yudelle was off again, her shoes marking out the pace she expected of us in sharp clacks across the shiny cement floor.

  Mom and Dad started to follow, but I held them back. “This is the last chance you’ll have. Are you totally sure? Because I really need you to be a thousand percent sure that this is what you want to do. No matter what Yudelle said, there are no guarantees, but there are plenty of dangers. I need you to be completely certain.”

  Dad looked at Mom. “What do you say, my darling love? Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?”

  Her mouth quivered as she smiled and said, “I was born ready.” Then she took my dad by the hand and led him farther into the bay, farther away from safety and sanity, so far away from the life they’d always known. There was truly no going back.

  And Tanus met them halfway.

  24

  I remained where I was, watching Tanus and my parents’ first meeting. I’d never been the type of girl to imagine the man of my dreams or what life might be like once I found him—I never thought I’d find him at all. Of all the bizarre things I’d experienced over the last several days—and there were too many to count—watching my parents meet the man I loved was one of the most surreal.

  My dad slapped Tanus on the back, a sign that he liked the man I’d chosen. Then Dad led Mom down the path Yudelle blazed, and Tanus met my eyes with the intensity of a laser beam. I wanted to go to him, but my feet were rooted to the spot.

  He started toward me. I was hypnotized by his every movement. The way I could tell his body was strong even from a hundred feet away, how even his lingering injuries couldn’t keep him from being the confident soldier he’d trained all his life to be. The way his muscled body filled out what I assumed was one of Yudelle’s spacesuits. The man could look good even in a puffy one-piece.

  His eyes skimmed every one of my curves. After a lifetime of men undressing me in their minds, I knew the sensation well. Fire blazed to life in Tanus’ green eyes, making them sparkle like jewels. He looked hungry, ravenous even, and I understood that what he yearned for was me. His expression had a feral edge and I wanted to give in to it, to have a week to ourselves to indulge every one of the thoughts that raced through my mind.

  I briefly wondered whether Yudelle had any spare spacesuits. Knowing her, she would. She’d be prepared, and we could replace Tanus’ after I tore it off of him and had my way with him right here on the impeccable cement floor.

  I was already at the point that I didn’t give a flying damn that we’d have an audience or that part of that audience was my parents, whom I’d spent a lifetime sheltering from the more extreme aspects of myself. But I was about to get into a space shuttle, for fuck’s sake, and to springboard across galaxies to another planet. A little pleasure—or a whole hell of a lot of it—seemed just the thing to cut the edge, to remind me that no matter what it looked like, I got to really live my life. I got to be me, the real me, the one who enjoyed men and her own body, the one who found the way to make the most of whatever life hurled her way. Even if I wasn’t in control of everything that happened to me, I would take control of the parts that I could.

  When Tanus reached me, I had no doubt that my desires were written on my face, mostly because I wasn’t trying to hide them. I didn’t have to hide them from him, not anymore. I could let go with this man, and I couldn’t wait to let my wild side free of its cage. I was certain we’d both be glad I did.

  “I see you got new clothing,” he said while his eyes ripped them from me. He admired me in my skirt and halter top for a few seconds, taking his time over my long legs, bare midriff, and full breasts. Then he pressed his body against mine. Apparently he didn’t care that anyone who bothered to look would understand this wasn’t a platonic embrace. He was just the man for me.

  “I went shopping in Boston. You like what you see?”

  He lowered his hands to my waist and pulled me firmly against him. The slight padding of his space suit did little to mask how much he desired me. Heat dripped down my body. He grinned as if he felt it. “I love what I see. I like your new outfit, but I’d rather see what’s beneath it.”

  “You think we could go somewhere? Have a few minutes to ourselves?” I probably sounded a bit desperate, but hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, especially when getting what she wanted was well within her reach. I ran my hands across his back, pulling him closer, pressing him harder against me.

  His face was only inches from mine. He kissed me, and an electric heat exploded everywhere across
my body, rushing over my skin. When his tongue touched mine, I responded with an insatiable hunger. My hands were in his hair, clutching at his shoulders and back, wanting to dip lower, wishing my parents and the others weren’t there.

  They were probably at the back end of the bay, shielded from sight, putting on spacesuits and having the time of their lives—or freaking out about what they’d agreed to. I could do this. I could give myself this gift. I could give myself to him, couldn’t I?

  “Can we go someplace or should I have at you right here?” I asked, still pressed against his full lips, still tasting his heat.

  He didn’t answer, but deepened his kiss, and ran soft, caressing fingers against the bare flesh beneath the hem of my short skirt.

  “Tanus. Now. Where?” Tarzan speak was all I had left.

  He kissed me deeper, every inch of my body pressed against his, bandages and injuries be damned.

  And then he groaned and started to pull away.

  “Oh no you don’t.”

  “I have to, Ilara.” But he didn’t sound convinced. The glassy heat in his eyes told me he was trying to pull away but struggling with the idea of restraint as much as I was.

  “Do you really have to? Or do we get to live our lives, and fuck the rest? Can’t we have at least a few minutes to ourselves? Because, Tanus, for real, I’m about to combust.”

  He scrutinized me so intensely that I thought I’d convinced him. He teetered on the edge of reason and passion, and I was casting my energy to push him over the edge and deliver him to me.

  He groaned again, but this time, the sound was one of giving in to what was humming like a current between us, to the unexpected gifts life sometimes delivered. He closed the space between us again. I was certain then that this man and I would share all the best of life together. Finally, here was a man who could share in my priorities.

  And there was his killjoy mother.

  I stilled against him. His hands and lips continued to roam my body. When a hand squeezed a breast, my voice was heavy with regret and annoyance. “Your mother is heading our way, and she looks pissed.”

  It was his turn to still. He dropped his hand from my breast and settled his breathing against my neck. The heat of it wasn’t helping me though. I was struggling to come back from where I’d wanted to go, and everything about him was making it even harder for me. Still, I wasn’t going to step away. Not from the man I loved and wanted. And especially not with scary mother lady coming our way.

  When she reached us, he huffed irritation, and turned to face her, his arm across my shoulders, pulling me toward him possessively.

  She appeared to have a great deal to say. He didn’t wait for her to say a single word. “What is it, Yudelle?”

  Annoyance flashed across her intelligent eyes before she could conceal it. If she thought the man she’d abandoned as a boy was going to start calling her mother any time soon, she’d continue to meet with disappointment.

  Her words were sharp, perhaps because of it. “You’re no longer a love-crazed boy, Tanus. It’s time to launch. Get your priorities straight and get over here, right now. The woman you’re all but copulating with in the middle of my bay still has to suit up for flight.”

  Tanus went rigid and was taking slow even breaths. I was in no mood for Yudelle’s shit, but I’d let him handle this. At least, I’d do my best to keep my mouth from jumping in and making things worse. She was his mother, after all.

  But Tanus didn’t say a word. He glared.

  Yudelle glared right back and didn’t say anything else. After a full minute passed in which neither had achieved clear victory in the staredown, she turned and clacked back across the open bay.

  I waited with Tanus. I ran through a variety of things to say to him, but in the end, remained silent. I didn’t know what to say mostly because I didn’t know what to feel. I’d not long ago promised myself I’d cut Yudelle a little slack, and now that her interference had tempered my passion enough for rational thought to happen again, I didn’t feel as angry toward her.

  If we had to meet a launch window to avoid detection, and if there was an entire civilization of Oers waiting for our help, then that certainly did seem important enough to interrupt what Tanus and I had going on.

  But still.

  Finally, when Yudelle had disappeared from view, Tanus led me forward. “Come on. Let’s get you suited up.” His voice was rough and his stubble scraped my skin as he landed a kiss on my cheek. This kiss was different. It promised that we’d follow up on what we started.

  I allowed him to guide me toward the others, around and behind a temporary partition in the bay, where everyone was busy readying for space travel.

  And there, beyond the partition, was a huge, sleek space shuttle. “I guess I’d better get ready,” I said, because this was one ship that wasn’t leaving without me.

  25

  I handed my blades and sheaths over to Tanus, who went to stash them in a compartment in the shuttle, along with the rest of the weapons we all carried. Everyone else was ready to go, even my parents, who alternated between nervous looks and an excitement they couldn’t conceal. Maybe they’d be all right after all. Adventure always did good—as long as we survived it.

  I was pulling on my space boots, regretting that I had to leave behind my brand-new kickass boots, when I noticed the obvious. When Yudelle hurried me yet again, I said, “You’re not coming.” It wasn’t a question. I should’ve realized sooner, and we all would have if the commotion and exhilaration of our impending journey wasn’t so consuming.

  Kai and Lila were passing through the partitioned area and stopped when they heard me. Dolpheus arrived to get something when he noticed the tension and waited, observing.

  Yudelle looked at me, then at the rest of them, and said, “No, I’m not coming.”

  “Because of Aletox?”

  “Of course because of Aletox.”

  Tanus and Narcisse joined us. “You’re not coming?” Narcisse asked.

  “No, Aletox still hasn’t woken, and I can’t leave him now, not after waiting all this time to be reunited with him.”

  She was unwilling to leave Aletox, but that essentially meant she was leaving her sons. Both of them. Narcisse was suited up for travel.

  “You’ve already abandoned me once,” Tanus said, “what’s another time?”

  “It’s not like that and you know it.”

  “I know no such thing, but there’s no point in arguing it. Your decision is made, and I accept it. I learned to accept your decisions long ago, right, Dolpheus?”

  “That’s right, man.” Dolpheus took a step in Tanus’ direction.

  Narcisse said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because you might’ve decided to stay behind with me, and I want you to go.”

  I’d been observing Narcisse since we met him, and I thought Yudelle was wrong about him. He’d decided he wanted to go back with Tanus, regardless of his mother, soon after he met him.

  “So just like that, see you later? Have a good life?” Narcisse said.

  “No, not just like that. But I have to stay with Aletox, you understand.”

  From the looks on her sons’ faces, they understood all right.

  “Tanus, you’ll take care of your brother, won’t you?”

  “I don’t need taking care of,” Narcisse protested.

  “You do need someone to help you become acquainted with your home planet. Things on O operate differently than they do here. You’ll need guidance, no matter what you think. So, Tanus, will you?”

  “Of course I’ll help my brother.” But Tanus wasn’t agreeing to help Narcisse because he felt he owed Yudelle, and everyone there realized it. “I’ll look out for my blood. Now, are we all set to go? Because there’s no more reason to stay here.”

  For a fleeting moment, Yudelle looked regretful, then she glanced at her watch. “Oh hell. It’s time to go. Hurry. All of you. Up in the shuttle. Our window is ten minutes away.” To her he
nchmen, she yelled, “Fire it up!”

  “Who’s going to navigate this thing?” I asked, walking toward the shuttle with the rest of them.

  “Me,” Lila said. “Yudelle showed me what I need to know, and the system is familiar enough that I don’t think I’ll have any problems.”

  “You don’t think you’ll have any problems?”

  “No, I don’t,” Lila said, deadpan.

  “Well, I guess that’s something. Some assurance,” I muttered to myself. No one paid me any mind. We’d traveled here in a far less reliable capsule and lived. Besides, momentum was carrying us forward. There was no halting it now, and none of us wanted to, anyway.

  The Princess was first in the shuttle, with Jordan close behind her. My parents were next up the ladder, and I discovered myself proud of them. They didn’t hesitate.

  Lila and Kai went next. Tanus asked me, “Do your parents know they look exactly like the king and queen of Origins?”

  “Yeah, we told them. But I thought the Queen was dead?”

  “That’s what the King told Oers.”

  “You don’t believe him?”

  “I’m not in the habit of believing people I don’t trust.”

  “You think it’s okay that my parents are coming with us?”

  “Of course I do, mostly because they are, and so it must be meant to be.”

  Dolpheus walked past and clapped Tanus on the shoulder. “See you inside, Tan.”

  “Aye, brother.”

  Dolpheus hopped up the ladder agilely.

  Tanus led me to the ladder then stopped, turning toward his mother. “May you find the oasis,” he said.

  “Thank you, my son. May you find the same, and take my love with you.”

  I hadn’t thought this woman dealt in terms of love, but maybe a parent always loved their children, at least a little. Just then, Yudelle sounded as if she loved him more than a little.

  The engines of the shuttle roared louder, Tanus nodded at his mother and nudged me up the ladder. I entered the shuttle with him right behind me.