Love at First Bight

Chapter Sixteen

The first month flew by. If anything, it was almost boring. Not being with her boys, because that was never dull or a chore. She jogged through the ship with Ford, worked out in the exercise room with Caph, and practiced her self-defense techniques with Aaron.

They played poker¯often strip poker¯most nights after dinner. She also learned more about the ship, getting frequent pop quizzes from the men about different functions.

The only one surprised when she answered correctly was Emi.

After completing a rapid-fire round of life support-related questions, Caph grinned. “By jove, I think she’s got it.”

“Must be osmosis, because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like I’m an expert.”

He hugged her. “Honey, we don’t expect you to know the entire ship, but you know a hell of a lot more than you did before. By the time we get back to Earth, you’ll know this crate as well as we do.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that.” The jump drive and grav plate systems still stymied her.

Their first stop after leaving Mars was a military outpost at the outer edge of the solar system they were scheduled to explore. They dropped off a shipment for the outpost, picked up some of their own supplies, and Aaron took her with him to a meeting with the base commander.

For the first time, Emi could admit to a raging case of nerves, her brief interaction with the ISNC grunts coming back to her. Smiles were in short supply, and the general overall mood of the base was serious, businesslike.

Thank the gods I didn’t pick the Kendall Kant!

Aaron misinterpreted her edginess. “Relax, sweetie,” he whispered, his thumb stroking her hand. It was an unconscious tic he had, and he gained as much comfort from the gesture as she did.

“Everyone here is chipped. You’re safe.”

“That’s not what I’m nervous about.” The base commander was polite, but efficient. “Captain Lucio, Dr.

Hypatia.” He handed Aaron a computer cartridge. “Your mission downloads, Captain. We received them yesterday from the DSMC.” Emi felt something from the commander, a flash of…pity?

“How long have you been in the ISNC, Commander Rawley?” she asked. His name was familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

His eyes flicked to Aaron and back to her. “Sixteen years.” Rawley was a man used to hiding his emotions and keeping a poker face firmly in place. “Do you enjoy your work?” He nodded. “Mostly. It’s like any other job, Doctor. Sometimes there’s good things, sometimes there’s bad.” A shadow crossed his mind, and at almost the same time a dark thought flitted through Aaron’s. And she knew.

Rawley was involved, somehow, with the events on the Wayfarer Margo.

They chatted for a few minutes, discussing the security situation of the area they were heading to¯fortunately calm¯and both men’s tension levels gradually ratcheted up until she almost couldn’t stand it.

Aaron stood and shook hands. “Nice seeing you again, Rawley.” Rawley nodded and shook hands with her. “You too. Doctor.” Aaron took her hand, his thumb stroking hers as they walked.

“Did you know he’d be here?” she asked.

He stopped short, looking at her, genuine surprise on his face.

“I am an empath,” she reminded him.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Then they continued their walk. “I don’t think about that,” he said. “Your skills. I keep forgetting.”

“Was he on the Margo?”

Aaron’s face tightened, but he nodded. “Yeah. He transferred over to the ISNC.”

She left it at that, her question answered. Eventually Aaron relaxed, and later sought her out in the galley, wrapping his arms around her waist as she made them lunch.

He kissed the back of her neck. “Thank you,” he murmured against her skin.

“For what?”

“For being you. For picking us.” He turned her to face him, his brown eyes searching hers. “Thank you, Em. From the bottom of my heart.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Aaron. I love you, all of you.” He smiled and touched his forehead to hers, his eyes closing, the worst of his tension now draining from him. “Me too, babe.” He couldn’t say it, but it was okay. She knew the last person he’d said it to had died in his arms, and he still hurt from those wounds.

Maybe his soul would always ache.

But he did love her.

“So when do we start working on your head?” she asked with a smile.

“You already are, babe. Every day with you, I feel better,” he whispered against her flesh.

She closed her eyes and basked in his warmth, his body enveloping hers. One of the few things she didn’t like on board was the temperature. Not in the crew area, but elsewhere, it was always on the cool side to conserve energy. She nearly always felt chilly. The men easily tolerated it, but for her comfort they kept the crew area and bridge slightly warmer.

“Are you happy with us?” he asked. “Seriously.”

“Aaron, you guys are stuck with me for life,” she assured him.

He squeezed her tightly, nearly desperately. “Good. I couldn’t stand losing you, babe. You or the twins.”

The next night was Emi’s turn at watch. Around three a.m. she felt Aaron’s approach before he reached the bridge.

“What are you doing up?” she asked.

He composed his thoughts. “You do know how I feel about you, right?” he softly asked.

She smiled and nodded. “Of course I do.”

“I wanted to make sure you knew. I know I’m not good about saying it¯”

“Aaron,” she softly interrupted him, “you don’t have to say it as long as you show me.”

He studied her face. “Have I been showing you enough?”

“Yes, you have. Come here.”

She put her arms around his waist and rested her face against his firm stomach. “I love you, Aar,” she said. “And I know you love me and the twins. I understand why it’s hard for you to talk about it. As long as you keep showing me how you feel, I’m okay with that.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” She looked into his face. “Don’t ever shut us out, that’s all I ask. We all love you and want to help you heal, whatever needs to happen.”

He stroked her hair and rubbed her shoulders. “How did I get so lucky?”

“You’ve got it backwards. I’m the lucky one, times three.” He took her hand. “Stand up, baby.”

She did. He sat, then pulled her into his lap and she comfortably curled up against him.

“Is this showing you?” he softly asked.

Emi slipped her arms around him. “Absolutely.”

Aaron was healing, slowly but surely. All the men were, but Aaron’s wounds ran especially deep. She suspected many of them were thickly scabbed over and in need of debriding. In subtle ways she worked with all of them, indirectly, with her empath skills as well as good old psychology, combined with the most effective mental medicine of all.

Love.

She loosely scheduled alone time with each man every day, even if only an hour, although they might not have realized she did. Several times a month she tried to spend as much of a full day with one of them as she could. It helped.

It was during one of these alone times that Emi was on the bridge with Ford. They’d been talking when his attention suddenly drifted from their conversation as he stared at the command console. He quickly checked several settings.

“Shit!” Ford yelled from the command chair.

Emi flinched, startled, and turned in her seat. “What? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head, his face grim. No time for questions, that look said. His fingers flew over the console and he punched the com.

“Aaron, to the bridge. Now.”

Emi got up and looked over Ford’s shoulder. He was working too fast for her to make any sense of what he did, but from the blinking red warnings on one screen, she imagined it wasn’t good.

He was stressed, but it was more disgust and irritation than fear, so that reassured her whatever the problem was, it wasn’t life-threatening.

She heard Aaron’s pounding footsteps before he ran onto the bridge. “What’s wrong?”

Ford pointed at the console. “Jump engine relay’s burned out.”

“Aw, shit.” Ford slid out of the command chair and Aaron took his place. “Let me guess.”

“I bet you do,” Ford said.

Caph jogged onto the bridge. “What’s wrong?”

“We lost the jump relay.”

“Crap.”

Emi didn’t want to interrupt, but she couldn’t stand not knowing.

“What’s wrong?”

Ford grimaced. “One of the spare parts we don’t carry is the jump engine relay. They normally don’t go bad, and it’s not considered a critical or life-support part. But without it, we can’t jump.”

“Where do we get one?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to figure it out.” Caph slid into his seat and looked it up. She watched as his entire body language changed. He tensed, defeated. “Tay-Dax’n. Four days away at normal speed.”

Aaron sat back and shook his head. “No. We’ll put in an order for one and ask them to deliver it. How long?” Caph looked it up. “At least three months, probably six.” Emi held up a hand. “Whoa, wait a minute. Why can’t we get it at this Tay-whatever planet?”

Caph shook his head. “Tay-Dax’n. And no.” He looked at Aaron and Ford. “I’m voting no.”

Aaron agreed. “No. Ford?”

“No.”

Emi seethed at not getting a say in the matter. “You guys don’t get to vote on something like this without me hearing the whole story.

What the fuck?”

Aaron set his jaw. “We aren’t going to Tay-Dax’n, and that’s final.”

“No, Aaron. You don’t get to pull captain rank crap on me like that. What’s up with this planet?”

The twins remained silent, knowing better than to challenge their captain.

“Em,” Aaron said, “it’s a Class 2-A treaty race. Do you know what that means?”

She thought back to her lessons. “No. Enlighten me.”

“It means free trade, but we have to abide¯fully¯by their customs while dealing with them.”

“And that tells me nothing, Aar.”

He took a deep breath. “They’ve got a dress code that’s not like ours. We would have to abide by it.”

“What, man skirts? Plaid with polka dots? Horizontal stripes?

Quit beating around the fucking bush and tell me, dammit!” Ford took over. “They have very specific views on women and their role in their society. While they’re considered goddesses, in effect they are property of their men. They are not abused. In fact, it is illegal to touch or even talk to a woman unless you ask her permission first. They have the lowest incident of assaults and crimes against women anywhere.”

Crossing her arms in front of her, she directed her ire at Ford.

“You guys are being a bunch of pussies, you know that?”

“I’m getting there, Emi.” Ford glanced at the other men. “Women are worshipped, literally. And their dress code tends to favor showing off the female form.”

She snickered. “You’re afraid of looking at a few naked women? I won’t get jealous, I promise.”

The men shook their heads, and she knew she hadn’t heard the whole story yet.

“Emi, you would have to walk around dressed like them. They allow for very sheer skirt-type garments called t’apaurs, but women don’t wear any other clothes.” He couldn’t meet her gaze any longer.

“They also wear collars identifying who their man is.”

“Fine. I’ll stay on the ship.”

Ford let out a deep sigh. “You can’t. When a non-local ship arrives, even just at a docking station, the entire crew must meet with the controlling magistrate. Dressed the way the locals dress. The men dress enough like human men. But the women…” It finally sank in. “I’d have to walk around pretty much naked and with a collar on, that’s what you’re saying?” The men nodded.

Aaron sat back in his seat and scrubbed his face with his hands.

“Now do you see why we all voted no?” They were genuinely worried for her. It both touched and pissed her off.

“So you’re saying I don’t get a vote in this?”

“What?” the men parroted.

“Me. Vote. Don’t I get one?”

She’d managed to shock Ford into silence, a rare occurrence indeed. Caph spoke first. “And how would you vote?”

“It’s stupid to hang around wasting that much time when we can have the flipping part in a few days, all because you guys don’t want other guys seeing me naked. Hell, I run around the crew area nearly naked half the time, and you aren’t complaining about that.” Aaron frowned. “It’s not that. Em. We aren’t going to put you through something like that.”

“Something like what? All the other women are like that, right?” The men nodded.

“So what’s the problem? You said it’s safe. Get me a freaking collar and let’s do this.”

She’d stunned them all into silence.

“You’re not serious?” Caph asked.

“Fucking A I’m serious. We’ve got a job to do, boys. I’m willing to take one for the team, so to speak.” Incredulous, the men stared at her.

“I vote we get the part from Tay-Dax’n.” She raised her hand.

“All in favor, boys?”

Caph, then Ford reluctantly raised their hands. She waited, and Aaron finally nodded. “All right. I don’t like making you do this.”

“You aren’t making me do anything. I appreciate your concern, really. It means a lot to me that you care that much, but it’s okay.” She winked. “I’d be willing to bet I keep all y’all’s interest up while we’re there.”

The men laughed.

Despite her bravado, Emi was scared shitless and thanked the gods the boys weren’t empaths. They docked and made arrangements for the part while Ford went out shopping with a special preliminary debarkation pass from the local magistrate. The silver collar he brought back was engraved with beautiful, intricate filigree and her name as well as the men’s names. He’d taken her measurements before going out, and when he put it on her, it fit perfectly.

The t’apaur was dark blue, nearly sheer, and loosely flowed from her hips. She looked at herself in the mirror then spun for Ford’s approval.

“Well? How do I look?”

He grinned. “I’m not looking forward to strangers seeing you like this, but I’ll damn sure enjoy the view. I tried to find the darkest color I could—I figured it’d give you a little extra cover.”

“It is safe, right?”

“Oh, absolutely. They’ve got a weird society that works for them.

Women aren’t oppressed, they’re free to come and go as they please, work, whatever. It’s just a weird dynamic. The irony, I suppose, is women lead the men around by their…well, like you lead us, sweetheart.” He smiled. “But out of the men’s appreciation for their women came the urge to protect them while wanting to show them off. They feel no need for modesty, because they take great pride in their bodies. Just don’t be shocked when you get your view of the population.”

“Why? Am I a porker by comparison?” She’d lost a few pounds during training, and some of her pre-launch plumpness had converted to muscle. The men constantly nagged at her not to “get skinny” as they said, because they loved her the way she was, full thighs and all.

He grinned. “You’ll see. It’s safe to say that to the three of us, believe me, you have no competition among their women.” Ford and Emi met up with Caph and Aaron at the hatch.

“You don’t have to do this, Em,” Aaron quietly said. “We can cancel the order and leave.”

“Don’t be silly.” She kissed him. “I appreciate it, I really do. Let’s get this over with so I can get back here and put some clothes on. It’s cold.” She was barefoot, and the cold floor wasn’t helping the waves of gooseflesh that crawled over her skin. Her nipples were nearly painfully pebbled in the cool air.

Caph held up a shawl. “Once we meet with the controlling magistrate, he can give special permission for you to put this on because you’re chilly. His guards will escort us back here so there’s no trouble. They’ll be happy that we observed their customs, and you won’t have to leave the ship again while we’re here.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

Aaron reddened. “You have to walk in front of us. We can’t touch you in public, can’t hold hands, that kind of stuff.” Okay, that was unexpected. She’d counted on at least being able to sandwich herself between two of the men for warmth and comfort.

“Oh. Okay.” Emi took a deep breath. “Let’s do it.” The air outside the ship felt uncomfortably chilly. They met with the official greeting magistrate at the end of the gangway. He was a short, squat man, built like a fire plug if he was to be described on Earth, rotund and with a pale complexion. She glanced around. The few other men she saw looked similar in appearance.

He noted Emi’s dress¯or lack thereof¯and looked pleased, but not overly interested. “Captain Lucio, welcome to Tay-Dax’n.”

Aaron introduced them all. The magistrate shook hands with the men and bowed to Emi. She glanced at Ford. He bowed his head, mouthing, “Thank you.”

She tipped her head. “Thank you.”

The magistrate smiled. “Please, follow me. The controlling magistrate is awaiting you.”

She glanced at Ford again. He motioned for her to follow first.

She did, and as they exited the facility she saw more people, including women.

The Tay-Dax’n women were built much like their men, only with breasts.

And they were covered with large amounts of body hair.

Emi fought to control her amused smile. While she wouldn’t win any beauty contests here, she felt an inordinate amount of relief and amusement that her boys’ eyes would be only for her.

Her self-consciousness soon slipped away as she tried to step into the role of anthropological observer. Each woman seemed to have an invisible buffer around her—no men ever stepped inside that neutral zone around a woman, even the women they appeared to be with.

Young girls wore sheer t’apaurs that covered their entire body while most of the older women did not, and only women dared get close to or touch another woman. Their collars all ranged from plain leather¯most likely denoting lower income¯to extremely ornate.

Ford had apparently spent some bucks on hers.

That instilled her with a surprisingly odd mix of comfort and pride.

Men steered clear of Emi, few even casting a glance her way. She was an oddity of height in this world—most of the other women were much shorter than her, but she was also much thinner by their standards.

And a lot less hairy.

Aaron and the twins trailed behind as closely as they could by local decorum, and she felt rather than heard them let out an audible sigh of relief when they reached the controlling magistrate’s office.

The man stood when they entered and repeated the welcome they’d had with the greeting magistrate. Then he asked, “Captain, may I speak to Dr. Hypatia?”

“By all means.”

He turned to Emi, focusing his eyes at her feet. “Doctor, we appreciate you adhering to our customs, but I imagine you are rather chilly, are you not?”

“Yes, I am. Very.”

“If you’d like, I see one of your men has brought you something appropriate. Please feel free to wear it if you need to. We understand not all races can tolerate our chilly conditions the way we can. The gesture alone is more than enough to satisfy us of your honorable intentions.”

“Thank you.”

Caph immediately handed her the shawl and she wrapped it tightly around her.

“My guard unit will escort you back to your ship once we finish so that there will be no complaints. Again, I must say I admire you for this. Most of the treaty races we deal with refuse to dock here if they have female crew. I will be sure to send my appreciation and regards to the DSMC about your character, Captain.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be honest, Dr. Hypatia is the one who insisted we dock. We didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

“Extraordinary. You are an amazing woman, Doctor. You are all welcomed to conduct your business and move freely about the station as you need. Dr. Hypatia, I understand if you’d feel more comfortable staying inside your ship.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“Please enjoy your stay. Thank you for your time.” The guard briefly spoke to Aaron, and they all returned to the ship after being issued passes. Now with the shawl wrapped around her, Emi noticed strange looks her way, a few frowns, mostly from other women. On their way to the magistrate’s office, barely a glance had been cast their way, but with the shawl around her it was like she drew attention to herself. Emi suspected if they didn’t have the official guards with them, local law enforcement would have been called on them for violating the dress code.

When they reached the hatch, Aaron sent Caph in with Emi and left again with Ford to go get the part. Safely behind the door, Caph scooped her into his arms and she started shivering.

“You okay, babe?” He carried her down the main corridor.

She clung to him. “No,” she chattered, “I’m fucking freezing!” He hurried to their crew quarters and turned up the thermostat in their cabin, slipping under the covers with her until she stopped shivering. Part of it was the sudden stress relief, she knew, but she’d been fucking cold.

“I’m not nearly as furry as I need to be to survive here.” She laughed.

He hugged her close. “Thank the gods, honey.” He realized she was still wearing the collar. “Why don’t you turn around, and I’ll take that off you?”

She playfully smiled. “I don’t know. I kind of like it.”

“You’re a riot, kiddo,” he snickered, unhooking the complex clasp and carefully removing it from her neck. “Hey, anytime you want to play slave, we’re up for it.”

“Ha ha.”

He laughed and patted her on the rump. “I’ll go make you some coffee. Why don’t you put something warm on.”

“Maybe I’d like you to stay and keep warming me up.” He kissed her on the nose. “I’d love that, but I need to get back up to the bridge and go over the systems schematics for replacing that relay when the others get back.” He hesitated, then leaned in close, one hand brushing between her legs. “Later, I promise, I will let you use my body any way you see fit.”

“Now who’s the tease?”

Ford and Aaron returned an hour later with the relay. Emi was bundled in sweats and sneakers. When Ford and Caph set off for engineering to replace the part, Aaron grabbed her arm.

“Thank you, Em.”

She shrugged. “Hey, we’re crew. If positions were reversed…” Suddenly, she felt there was no good way to finish that sentence, not with knowing what she knew about Aaron’s past. “Look, it was a little embarrassing, it was freaking cold, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. It’s not like I had to walk down the center of Main Street in New Phoenix dressed like that. Although that would be a lot warmer than it is here.”

He nuzzled her neck, his lips warm against her flesh. “Em, you’re an amazing woman.”

“Yeah, just remember that when I use this to guilt trip you guys into doing stuff for me later,” she quipped.

It took them three hours to replace and test the relay. They picked up a spare to be on the safe side and were on their way again the next day. As they backed the Tamora Bight out of the docking berth, Emi shook her head. “Next time, let’s break down near a planet where the guys have to run around naked, okay?” The men laughed. “I can’t promise that,” Aaron said, “but we’ll run around naked for you whenever you want.”

“Not the same, but that’s a deal I’ll take.”