When the Captain sent them the telepathic call to join him in his quarters for an urgent meeting, Shirin was in the common room, playing cards with the pilots, and Thivo was on the Bridge. While the First Officer was glad to take a break, Shirin reluctantly left the table. Ten more minutes, and she’d have won. Lately, she hadn’t found the time to goof around with the pilots, and the poor guys were bored out of their minds. Out of the whole crew, they seemed to be the only ones who didn’t quite have a job. In times of peace, their skills weren’t as needed as in time of turmoil. The only thing they could hope for was a quick reconnaissance mission when The Hesperia dropped out of hyperspace for one reason or another. Unfortunately, the stop on Lyra the other day had been too short for them to get to really stretch the wings of their aircrafts.
Thivo and Shirin met in front of Ark’s door.
“What’s this meeting about?” she asked telepathically.
“No idea.”
“Not in the conference room, but in his quarters?”
“Must be important.”
“Come in,” Ark invited them impatiently.
His booming voice made Thivo and Shirin jump a bit. They exchanged a glance, then opened the door and stepped over the threshold into the large apartment-like space Ark had decorated to his own taste. He was waiting for them in the living room, which was dimly lit by fancy lamps strategically placed in every corner and on each small table, next to pots of blue plants with purple flowers. For a tough and serious Unxendi ship Captain, Arkvar could sometimes prove to be quite the romantic.
“Sir, you wanted to see us,” Thivo nodded respectfully.
“Yes. Please, sit down.”
When they did, Ark took his time to study them for a moment. He rubbed his square jaw in deep thought, then shook his head and ran his hand through his neatly combed black hair. Finally, he straightened his back and smoothed down his uniform jacket.
“What I’m about to ask of you will remain between us,” he began in a low, calculated voice. “I would do it myself, but the report for the Council has kept me up all night and it doesn’t look like it will be done anytime soon. I’ve been having trouble with the other Captains. I’m sure we’ll reach common ground eventually, but until then, it’s clear to me that I won’t have time to work on… other projects, so to speak.”
“Other projects?” Shirin tilted her head in confusion. “I didn’t know we had other projects.”
Ark cleared his throat and averted his gaze for a second.
“All right, maybe I didn’t phrase it like I should have. It’s personal.”
“A personal project?” Thivo was just as intrigued as Shirin.
“Look, you’re the people I trust most. Still, you first have to give me your word this will stay between the three of us.”
“Absolutely, Sir,” said Shirin.
“You can count on us, Captain,” Thivo confirmed.
“Good… good…”
Ark stood up and started pacing the room. Although he’d gone over his speech at least a dozen times before summoning his two Officers, now he felt like the words kept slipping through his fingers stubbornly. This was the first time he was doing something like this, and he was nervous beyond belief. The strong, mighty warrior and Captain Arkvar was nervous! However, it was better for him to be nervous now, when he was in the company of the two people he could trust his life, than when the time came to act on his feelings.
“For me, the past week has been filled with revelations. Doubts concerning the mission of putting an end to Old Earth, endless arguments with the other Captains in our fleet, rescuing the human female from certain death, discovering she has abilities beyond what we thought was possible for her underdeveloped species… and finally, the real reason why I brought her on board of The Hesperia.”
“I thought you were clear on the reason when you made the decision,” Thivo pointed out. “I was there. I don’t understand.”
“Yes. The moment I saw her, I knew she was special. But her impressive telepathic abilities and manifesting power were only a small part. I didn’t see it then, but I can see it now. The human female is my twin flame.”
“What?!” Shirin jumped to her feet, then cleared her throat and composed herself. “Twin flame. Captain, it’s so rare for someone to find his or her twin flame. Are you absolutely certain?”
“Yes. Yes, I am. Alison Page is my twin flame. I believe, deep down, I might have known all along. Spending so much time with her has brought that belief to the surface and strengthened it. I have, indeed, found my twin flame.”
Thivo stood up as well. He smiled and patted Ark on the shoulder in a brotherly manner. It wasn’t something he got to do often, but this was a special occasion.
“I am happy for you, Captain.”
“Wait,” Shirin intervened. “Does she know? Does she feel the same?”
Ark’s intense blue eyes filled with worry. He shook his head.
“I haven’t talked to her about it. I’m not sure her species knows much about twin flames, and I don’t want to scare her away. I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better to wait for the right moment to tell her. However, I would prefer for the right moment to happen before we reach our destination. This is why I brought you here. You have to help me speed things up.”
“How?” Thivo and Shirin asked at the same time.
“By studying the traditions of Old Earth regarding love, seduction, relationships, and so on, and help me create the perfect setting that would inspire her to like me.”
“You want to make her fall in love with you,” Shirin translated. It was obvious that Ark was avoiding the use of direct words. “You want to seduce her.”
“Y-yes. I guess that’s another way of putting it.”
“It’s the only way of putting it.”
“Why can’t you do it our way?” Thivo asked. “The language of love is the same regardless of species, right?”
“Hmm… Thivo has a point.”
Ark waived them off.
“No, it won’t work. I feel I must put some effort into it, be open to her culture, do it her way. Then she’ll know I’m truly invested.”
“But it would be so easy to gift her a yoniphant horn,” Thivo started brainstorming out loud. “I’m sure we have some lying around.”
“Yes,” Shirin agreed. “It’s the best way to show her you only live to bring her pleasure. You might have to teach her how to use it, though.”
“While visiting the city,” Thivo said, “I saw a couple of stores… sex shops, the humans called them. There were some weird clothes exposed in the store windows. I’ll never understand how they work or why anyone would want to wear something like that. They barely cover anything, and I know they’re not suitable for winter…”
“Get on with it.”
“Right. Well, there were also some devices that resembled our yoniphant horns. I doubt they were natural, though. My point is: she might figure out how to use a horn pretty fast, which means she will immediately understand Ark’s message.”
The Captain rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“And what if her species sees physical pleasure differently than us? What then? I don’t want to risk offending her.”
“You’re right,” Shirin changed her mind in an instant. “A yoniphant horn won’t do. But you can always build her a Chamber of Future. Focused on the two of you, of course. There’s enough space in the greenhouse, or bluehouse, as she calls it, and it’s even romantic.”
“That does the trick on Unxendio,” Thivo said.
Ark rubbed his temples.
“Yes, on Unxendio. She’s not from Unxendio, is she?”
The two Officers shrugged in defeat.
“If Allie were an Unxendi, this would be easy. In fact, she’d immediately recognize me as her twin flame, and this whole madness would become redundant. We have to think outside of the box here, and the problem is I don’t have the time.” He motioned toward the table, which was, in fact, a huge computer screen filled with scattered folders and documents.
“I know something that doesn’t fit in any box,” Thivo winked. “We can drop out of hyperspace, and you can take her for a romantic flight outside, show her The Hesperia from above.”
“Oh, yes!” Shirin clapped her hands in excitement. “I’d kill for such a romantic surprise. Okay, maybe not commit actual murder, but you get the point.”
“I can prepare the space bubbles.”
Ark was shaking his head again, but no one seemed to be paying attention to him.
“Oh, oh! And we can make the ship shake a bit, you know… laser her bubble.”
“Shirin is a good shot. She won’t miss.”
“And then you can save her and be her hero forever.”
Ark threw his hands in the air.
“Are you two insane? Do you want her to die of a heart attack?! No, no, and no. Bad ideas. All of them. We’re not lasering anyone’s space bubble.”
“Okay, Sir,” mumbled Shirin.
“Got it, Captain. No yoniphant horns and no lasering.”
“Great. Now, my only request is that you do some research on the traditions of Old Earth. Courtship traditions. See if you can come up with something a female like her might like.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“We won’t let you down.”
“Good. I’m counting on you. Dismissed.”
He watched his Officers walk to the door. Thivo opened it for Shirin and respectfully waited for her to go first. Once he was finally alone, Ark plopped onto the couch and pressed his palms against his closed eyes. He could feel a headache coming up.
“I hope you don’t mess this up,” he whispered, not sure whether he was referring to his Officers, or talking to himself. “It’s not every day one gets to find one’s twin flame.”