CHAPTER FIFTEEN
JASMINE SAT SANDWICHED between Mekashe and Madeline Ruszel. She and the doctor had a great deal in common. Madeline was an ongoing encyclopedia of medical research.
“Lady Caneese and I have been working on something revolutionary,” she told Jasmine with twinkling green eyes. “In fact, we’ve just made a breakthrough. In a few months, we’ll be ready to announce it. But we have a series of virtual trials to get through first.”
“I’ll look forward to hearing about it,” Jasmine said. She smiled sadly. “I’ll have to go back soon. My assistant is filling in for me aboard the flagship.”
Madeline just nodded, but that twinkle was still in her eyes.
Mekashe was depressed when she said that. Did she want to leave? He felt less sure of the path ahead.
Jasmine, aware of his withdrawal, felt uneasy, too. She didn’t know why he looked so demoralized.
“It will be all right,” Lady Caneese said suddenly. She cocked her head and studied Jasmine. Then she smiled. “You will see.”
She glanced at Mekashe, who was blocked by her mind. But she smiled at him, as well.
* * *
LATER, MEKASHE WALKED Jasmine out to a small glassed-in conservatory, where many flowering species of plants encircled a central bench that wound around the building.
“The Rojok military has been your home for five years,” he began as they sat together.
“Yes. I had nowhere else to go, after...” She paused.
“My villa is very close to the Fortress,” he continued. “There is a small clinic, devoted to Alamantimichar, our Royal Clan, where ailments are treated. They are always short staffed. We have many children in this sector who go to the clinic.” He studied his highly polished black boots. “We have a secret device, called a holon. This tech is never discussed with outworlders. I have permission from the emperor to tell you about it.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“You and I can never mate,” he said heavily. “I would kill you. But the holon is very much like the tech used aboard the starliner, which permitted us to visit many virtual realities.” He studied his boots again. “It is used primarily for bonded mates who are far apart from one another. It permits an intimacy which is indistinguishable from reality. If we used the holon, we could mate. We could bond and have an almost-normal life together, here on Memcache.”
Her heart ran wild. She’d never considered that there might be any way that she and Mekashe could be together.
“You want to bond with me?” she asked, fascinated.
He turned and looked down into her eyes. “More than I want to continue breathing,” he said roughly.
She swallowed. “It’s like that with me, too,” she confessed huskily as she searched his eyes. “I’d give anything to live with you.”
“There could never be a child,” he said sadly.
“I know.” She forced a smile. “But there are worse things...”
His arms closed around her. He’d had Hahnson use dravelzium and the nanotech he’d employed once before. It made it possible for him to fold her close and kiss her with impassioned need. Despite the drugs, he had to keep a tight rein on his passion, to keep from hurting her.
She held on for dear life and kissed him back hungrily, five years of total abstinence feeding the anguished need.
When she thought that he wasn’t going to be able to let go at all, there was a loud cough from the area surrounding them.
They both turned, still locked in each other’s arms, with blank looks.
Madeline Ruszel smiled knowingly. “The empress thinks it might be wise if you rejoined us. In fact, so do I. Unfortunately, there are limits to the dravelzium. I have a rather intimate knowledge of its use,” she added with a wicked look in her sparkling green eyes.
Mekashe chuckled. “Indeed,” he said, reluctantly letting Jasmine move away. “We have heard many tales of your relationship with Dtimun in the Holconcom.”
“Most of them were true,” Madeline confessed. “We had a turbulent one. But it ended well, eventually, with some classified tech and a little DNA manipulation.”
“The sample was consumed with use and never replicated, they say,” Mekashe said sadly.
Madeline just smiled. “There’s a nature vid that Jasmine might like to see. It’s from Edris’s tenure as a researcher on Eridanus Three.”
“That’s where the galots come from, isn’t it?” Jasmine asked as they walked back toward the house. “I understood that they ate researchers.”
Madeline laughed. “Indeed, they do. But Edris was befriended by Kanthor, who protected her and Kipling while they lived there. It’s a long story, but treachery by Rhemun’s houseman caused her to leave and Rhemun to think she died in a fire on the property, along with their son, Kipling. It was several years before a quirk of fate led him to the truth and he went looking for them.”
“Edris seems very nice,” Jasmine said.
“She is. We’re protective of her, still. She’s had a hard time in the military. From what we’ve heard about it, you and the Rojok military were a good fit.”
“We are,” she confessed. She shook her head. “I still don’t understand how it happened. I was at the spaceport on Terravega, waiting for an interview, when Chacon happened to see me. He remembered me from that one day I spent on Memcache and offered me a scholarship.” She flushed, as she recalled refusing one from the emperor, who had tried to help her even after she gave him grave offense.
“The emperor is not what you think,” Mekashe said gently, reading her thoughts. “He deeply regretted the loss of your father.”
“I know that now,” she said sadly. “I’ve made some terrible mistakes in my life, but that...”
“You mustn’t look back,” Madeline said. “Only ahead. The future is going to be bright.”
Mekashe looked down at Jasmine hungrily. “Indeed, it is.”
They walked back into the Fortress. The emperor and Caneese were waiting for them.
“We understand that a bonding might be in the offing,” the emperor said drily. “In which case, my mate would be happy to officiate.”
“I would,” Caneese added at once.
“But my assignment...” Jasmine began worriedly.
“Chacon has agreed to permit you to remain on the rolls as a reserve medic. He and Lyceria would love to come for the bonding, but their second child is due very soon and that is not possible,” Caneese said. “But you can stay here with Madeline and Dtimun while we arrange the service. It will only take a standard day.”
Jasmine was overwhelmed with joy. She looked up at Mekashe with her heart in her eyes.
He nodded. “That would be kind of you, Lady Caneese,” he said huskily. “Very kind.”
“Oh, yes!” Jasmine added. She sighed. If only her father could have been here. He’d loved Mekashe. She fought down sadness.
The emperor cleared his throat. “We have a bonding gift,” he said abruptly. “Something we hope you will like.”
“Something for me?” Jasmine asked, surprised. “Your Highness, I’ve given such offense...!”
“A child offends, but not with malice,” he replied kindly, and his eyes were a warm golden color. “And such offenses are forgiven. Come.”
* * *
THE EMPEROR AND empress led them down a long path through the heavily wooded area. Wind chimes stirred in the breeze. As they reached a clearing beside a small stream, Jasmine frowned. There was a house there. Incredibly, it looked like the one she and her father had shared on Terravega, so long ago.
She caught her breath. “It’s just like my old home,” she stammered, and fought tears. “Sir, I’m so grateful...!”
“This is not the surprise,” he said gently. “Go inside, please. The rest of us will remain here.”
She didn’t understand why they wanted her to go in alone. It must be something personal.
She smiled and went forward to open the door. And there, in the lights that emanated from the walls, was her father with an open book in his hand and raised eyebrows. She gasped.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” he exclaimed, laughing. “Hello, child!”
She ran into his arms, sobbing, muttering things that were totally incoherent. “I don’t understand,” she said finally, raising her wet face. “How...?”
“I’ll let the emperor explain that to you. But for all intents and purposes, I’m the exact person I used to be. I have all my memories—even the ones of your mother, God rest her soul. And the house and the property here is mine. The emperor thinks I may live for over two hundred years. I’ve had a few minor DNA adjustments,” he added with a chuckle. “Where’s Mekashe? I’m determined to beat him at chess at least once!”
The others filed in the door. Mekashe was as shocked as Jasmine seemed to be.
“Sir!” he exclaimed, and went forward to lock forearms with the human. “It’s so good to see you! I don’t understand?” He turned to the emperor.
“You were curious about a sample that was taken before your father’s passing ceremony on Terravega,” the emperor said softly. “The sample was used to clone your father. I felt such guilt, for what happened to both of you. As a result of it, we changed certain laws pertaining to offenses committed by minors of other races. I wanted to make amends to you both. This was the only way that I could find...”
“Sir.” Jasmine, in tears, hugged him. She didn’t care if it broke every protocol in the book, which it probably did. “Thank you!”
He chuckled and embraced her. “You are most welcome. And now, we will leave you to visit.”
He released her. She wiped her tears and beamed at him. “Sir, did Chacon really just happen to be in the spaceport that day?” she asked suspiciously.
He sighed. “Actually, knowing your circumstances as I did, and your distaste for the Terravegan medical corps and your reluctance to accept help from me, I asked him to intervene. He was happy to do it. Especially when he followed your training and saw how competent you were, both as a soldier and a medic. He thinks, as we do, that having a human female as a Cularian specialist aboard flagships is a magnificent idea. He intends to replace you. If you are willing to live on Memcache and work in the clinic near Mekashe’s villa, that is,” he added hesitantly.
She looked up at Mekashe. “I’d live in a shack on the beach and fish for my living if it was the only way I could be with him,” she said huskily and watched emotions flash in many colors in his cat eyes. “I’d give up...anything!”
“As would I,” Mekashe returned gruffly.
“You know,” the empress interrupted, “since Edris bonded with Rhemun, there has been no female Cularian specialist aboard the Morcai.” She pursed her lips and her eyes twinkled. “If you were bonded, the male crew members would be safe. And I understand that they already like Dr. Dupont.”
The emperor laughed heartily. “This is true. What do you say, Jasmine? Would you like to serve with Mekashe in the Holconcom?”
Her breath caught. To be with him all the time, instead of here and only able to see him between missions, was a dream come true.
She didn’t have to voice it. The emperor and Mekashe read her thoughts accurately.
“Done,” the emperor said. “You both may have a standard week for, what do the humans call it, a bonding holiday? And then you report for duty.”
“Thank you, sir,” Mekashe said heartily. “For everything.”
“Thank you very much,” Jasmine seconded, bursting with joy.
The emperor and empress smiled and left them with Professor Dupont.
“And now, young man, about that chess match,” the professor said drily and with a big smile.
* * *
THE BONDING CEREMONY was held at the Fortress. Mekashe wore his dress uniform, bloodred with gold piping. Jasmine wore a gown of sky blue, with gold trim, the colors of Alamantimichar. She had a small tiara with precious stones. She felt like an empress in her finery. But far more than clothing was her joy at being able to live with Mekashe, even in a convoluted fashion.
Are you nervous? he said mentally, and his voice was teasing. There is no reason. You are among family and friends here.
She was. Chacon and Lyceria had used the holon to be present at the bonding along with their son, Lomek, named for Chacon’s father, who looked like Chacon except that he had his mother’s elegant cat eyes. The Nagaashe parents and child were in attendance; as were Kanthor, the galot; and Rognan, the Meg-Raven; along with Madeline and Dtimun and their sons; Edris and Rhemun and their children; the emperor and several Cehn-Tahr whom Jasmine did not know.
There were flowers everywhere, in pots and arranged around the altar where a statue of Cashto had pride of place. Some of the plants were like orchids on Terravega. They grew from the branches of trees which surrounded the exterior patio where the bonding was held.
Above, the sky was an odd shade of blue, from the radiation that was used in the continent’s reactors. The sunlight was subdued, but it was bright enough to highlight the stones in the tiara on Jasmine’s head.
She was so nervous that she almost dropped the bouquet she was holding. It was secured in a sort of globe, living flowers with roots in solution, because the Cehn-Tahr never picked flowers. They revered any form of life, which was evident in the age of the trees and shrubs around them.
There are so many people, she thought back to Mekashe.
Family, he corrected warmly. All Alamantimichar.
She’d noticed that nobody was wearing sensor nets. The Cehn-Tahr were in their true forms, a testament to their trust of Jasmine. These forms were never shown to outworlders.
He laughed softly at her thoughts. There is another here. He is family, so he had to be included. He is uncertain of his welcome. It is Tresar, whom you saw in his true form aboard the starliner...
I don’t hold grudges, she thought softly. Especially not now.
There was a smile in his deep voice. That will please him. He has been distraught for me. He blamed himself.
It was my fault, no one else’s, she thought back. But that’s all in the past. We have such a future to look forward to!
Yes. A bright one, if unorthodox.
She approached the altar where Mekashe was waiting. They joined hands and the empress invoked the blessing and the bonding words in the Holy Tongue, Old High Cehn-Tahr, which even few of the Royal Clan spoke.
Afterward, she translated into Standard for Jasmine’s benefit. They were blessed and the ceremony was concluded.
“Where do we go now?” Jasmine asked.
“To my villa.” Mekashe chuckled as they thanked the empress, received congratulations from the guests and finally sped off together in a skiff.
“I’m nervous. Do you mind?” she asked worriedly.
He chuckled. “I am also nervous. So, no, I do not mind.”
She pressed close to his shoulder. “I only know about intimacy because of my medical training.”
“I only know of intimacy through textdisks.”
Her eyes opened wide as she stared at him. “You mean, you’ve never...?”
“I’ve never,” he confessed.
She let out a sigh. “Well!”
He chuckled. “We are a pristine people. We mate for life. We never stray.”
“I like that part.” She hesitated. “So, do you think we’ll know what to do?”
He laughed out loud. “I believe it comes naturally.”
“Okay.” And she grinned at him.
* * *
IT DID, INDEED, come naturally. After a few minor fumbles, they consummated their bonding. Jasmine had hoped that it would be tender and long. Instead, it was brief and uncomfortable.
The first time was almost traumatic for her, even in a virtual setting, and despite Mekashe’s fervent apologies as he explained the process afterward.
“This is a sad result of the DNA manipulation,” he said regretfully as he comforted her in the aftermath. “We loathe what we have become because of it. This first time is always brutal, as it is in the great cats. We take no pleasure from it, because we are ashamed. The first mating is to prove fertility. It is usually fruitful. And I am dreadfully sorry.”
She put her hand over his lips. “I’m not damaged,” she said softly. “Only a little bruised. You told me how it would be, before we came in here. I wasn’t afraid.” She reached up to smooth her mouth over his. “And since we can’t produce a child, although that saddens me, it means that we don’t have to restrain ourselves from now on. At all.”
“At all,” he agreed. He rolled her over onto her back. “Heal the damage.”
She did, using her wrist scanner. As she finished, there was a shock of pleasure in her mind so intense that she cried out.
“What...?” she exclaimed, shocked.
“I am making amends,” he whispered. As he spoke, the pleasure came again, biting into her so fiercely that she wept, even as his body joined with hers in a slow, sweet melting of flesh with flesh.
“Making...amends,” she managed, shaking violently with the increasing passion.
And she said nothing else, for a very long time.
* * *
THEY LAY TOGETHER, touching, tasting, in the lazy, sweet aftermath of such fulfillment that she thought she would die of it.
“We are far more compatible than I expected,” he mused, drawing his mouth across her closed eyes.
She laughed softly. “Oh yes.”
He stretched like a huge cat and rolled over toward her. In his true form, he looked very human, except for his size and the thick, curly mane that ran from his forehead almost to his waist in back. His nose was a little broader than a human’s, and of course, he had cat eyes with slit pupils. But other than a strip of fur that ran down his backbone, he had no true cat characteristics.
She smoothed her hands over his muscular chest with its wedge of thick, curling black hair, contented.
“I can’t believe this is virtual,” she whispered. “It’s so real!”
“This was why the holon was invented,” he told her. “It permits bonded couples to enjoy each other even when they are many light-years’ distance apart.”
“I never dreamed that we’d end up like this,” she said, pressing close to the virtual mate who was as warm and alive as the original. “Or that I’d have my father back. That was so generous of the emperor, especially after I’d given such offense.”
“All of us mourned him,” he said softly. “He was a good man. He still is,” he added with a chuckle.
“Oh yes. And someday, he may even beat you at chess,” she teased.
“Anything is possible.”
She smoothed her hand over his thick, curling mane. “What about Dr. Hahnson?” she asked after a minute. “I mean, if you have the tech to copy a person, memories and all, couldn’t they do that for his mate? Dr. Ruszel, Lady Maltiche, said that they still had cells from Dr. Hahnson’s mate. They could bring her back, and the two of them could use the holon, just as we do.”
“I believe the offer was made and refused,” he said, stretching again. “Dr. Hahnson thinks that Lady Caneese and Lady Maltiche have made a breakthrough in their research that will affect Cehn-Tahr/human mating.”
“Really?” she exclaimed, excited. “I wondered, because they’ve been so secretive. And they smile a lot when they look at us and talk about it.”
“They do,” he agreed. “If their research does refine the process, it would allow us to have children. Hahnson says that he wants, how did he put it, all or nothing in such a case. He does not want his mate returned to him unless they can be together in every way.” He smiled sadly. “Her suicide was traumatic for him, possibly even more so than his original’s torturous death at Ahkmau, the Rojok prison camp. He feels that if she is brought back, even with the use of the holon, she may again become distraught and take her life a second time.”
“So he’s waiting, until they’re sure they can actually mate and breed,” she replied, nodding.
“Exactly.”
“I had problems with him at first, aboard the Morcai.” She laughed softly. “I was stiff and insulting.” She glanced at him. “To everybody.” She drew in a breath. “You’ll never know how ashamed and guilt-ridden I was, when you shifted into your true form and I realized at last what I’d done aboard the starliner, how much offense I’d given.” She grimaced. “You cared for me, so much, and I said such horrible things...!”
He folded her close. “You were a child,” he repeated, as he had many times before. “You reacted as a child would. But the fact that you were overheard, and the emperor did not know you, combined to produce a tragedy.”
“It was my father who paid for my mistake,” she said heavily. “Once I knew that it was my fault, I wanted to step out the airlock without a suit.”
“We knew that. You were under constant surveillance until we reached Memcache. I could not bear to lose you, even when you offended me,” he confided.
She pressed close into his arms and felt them envelop her against his warm, muscular body. “I grieved for you, for years. Even when I thought I was justified in hating the entire Cehn-Tahr race, I couldn’t stop loving you. It’s why I kept the virtual Nagaashe that we got from the holoroom that wonderful day on Dacerius.”
“It is why I kept the jeweled comb that you thought you had lost on the starliner.” He lifted his head and looked down at her with soft, golden eyes. “There was never another in my mind, in my heart.”
“Or in mine.”
He pursed his lips. “This Rojok you became close to,” he began.
“Rusmok,” she said. “We survived basic training together. We went on combat missions together. He’s the best friend, really the only friend, I’ve ever had. But it was never a romantic thing. He’s so much in love with this Rojok woman who hates the military.” She looked up at him, tongue in cheek. “Gosh, isn’t that like déjà vu?” she teased.
He scowled. “Déjà what?”
“Sorry. Idioms again. It means something that happens to you feels like it’s happened before. But I guess what I really meant was that it’s ironic, because that woman is just like me, when I first met you. I told you I hated the military.” She sighed. “I didn’t know anything about it, at the time. Now that I do, I feel even more guilty about all the stupid things I said.”
He kissed her soft lips. “We cannot repeat the past. We must go forward and leave it behind, where it should be.” He smiled against her mouth. “We have a bright, beautiful future in store for us. Starting with putting you in a Holconcom uniform,” he added drily.
“Rusmok will have a stroke,” she predicted, chuckling. She put her fingers over his lips when he started to speak. “He’s my friend. So you have to tolerate him. I owe my life to him a couple of times.”
He sighed. “Well, at least this bonding will keep me from killing him, as I might should there have been no possibility of intimacy between us. The savage behavior haunts us. It, like the first mating, are the result of tampering with natural things. The emperor saw, too late, the effects of the work his scientists did in transforming the Cehn-Tahr race so long ago. But the combination of galot and canolithe genes happened even before the emperor became the emperor. There was a civilization that predated this one, millennia ago. It was destroyed by the explosion of a miles-wide comet in the upper atmosphere. Only a handful of Cehn-Tahr survived, their genes corrupted even more by the resulting radiation.”
“The Rojoks did genetic manipulation, as well,” she pointed out.
“Yes, but their DNA tampering is far more recent,” he replied. “We have had thousands of years to study and understand the results of our manipulation of natural processes. We have paid, and still pay, a high price for it.”
She smoothed her hand over his strong jaw. “The most manipulation was used in the Royal Clan, Alamantimichar, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” He smiled down at her. “And now you, as well, are Alamantimichar.”
She sighed. “That’s nice. Being part of a Clan, I mean. But I’ll also enjoy being part of the Holconcom.” She laughed. “Madeline’s sons are very promilitary. So is Rhemun’s son, Kipling.”
“And his daughter, Larisse,” he added on a chuckle. “She wants already to follow her brother into the military academy. That would have been an impossible dream only a decade ago. However, now that Madeline has a division of female troops in the Cehn-Tahr military, courtesy of the emperor, who made her a brigadier general, Larisse may one day even serve in the Holconcom.”
“Exciting times,” she said.
“Exciting.”
She stretched lazily, watching his eyes darken slightly as they ran over her exquisite body.
“I love cats,” she said.
He eased over her, chuckling. “Prove it.”
She curled her arms around his neck. “I’d be delighted to,” she whispered.
* * *
THE HOLCONCOM UNIFORM was similar to her old Rojok one, except that the new one was bloodred and there were no mesag marks on the sleeve.
“We don’t have rank insignia, do we?” she asked Mekashe.
He chuckled. He touched a button on his communicator ring and pointed it at her sleeve. There were the rank marks of a Cehn-Tahr lieutenant commander equivalent.
“Goodness,” she exclaimed, studying the marks.
“We never show them in public. Nor do we allow any vids or personal information about our soldiers to be publicized. The face of the commander is never shown to outworlders. In fact, my name is not known.”
“Rojoks do exactly the opposite.” She laughed.
“There will be some minor differences in protocol,” he added. “Despite our relationship, you must salute me.”
She pursed her lips. “All the time?”
“All the time that the holon is not in use,” he whispered, wary of being overheard.
She laughed delightedly. “Okay.” She stood at attention and gave him her best Rojok salute.
He groaned.
“Just kidding.” She turned her fist the other way and struck her chest once, the Holconcom salute.
“Much better,” he said drily. “Report to sick bay, Dr. Dupont,” he added. “We lift soon.”
She grinned. “I can’t wait!”
She saluted again, was dismissed and jogged down the corridor to sick bay.
Holt Stern jogged alongside her. “Welcome to the Holconcom, Doctor,” he said with flashing black eyes and a grin.
“Thanks, Captain,” she returned.
“Good thing you’re the Cularian specialist,” he mused. “If I make you mad and break a leg, I could find it attached to my shoulder.”
“Dead right, so don’t do it,” she shot back, chuckling. “I could raise your hair with stories about my exploits in the Rojok military.”
“Save them for Madeline Ruszel’s sons,” he teased. “I understand that they, and Kipling, and Larisse, are harassing Madeline to have a party so you can be invited and they can corner you to get stories.”
“I’d love to.” She laughed “I love their sons. Komak and Clint are unique.”
“They are. Clint is named for his grandfather, Madeline’s father. You weren’t told, but he’s a colonel in the Paraguard.”
“Wow! A military man. Is he like her?”
“Not so much. Her sense of humor is totally wild,” he added with a grin. “She used to get in brawls with the First Fleet, over their insults about Dtimun. She threw one of them over a table and told him not to worry if she broke a bone—she was a doctor and she knew how to fix it.”
“Good grief.” She laughed out loud.
“And Edris can tell you some tales, too. Rhemun turned a pot of vegetable soup over her head when Madeline was pregnant with Komak.”
Her gasp was audible.
“See what sort of Clan you married into?” he teased. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.”
“What a great bunch of people,” she exclaimed, and meant every word. “I can’t wait to hear more of the stories.”
“I’ll make a point of telling them that,” he said. “See you, ladybones,” he added, and put on a burst of speed.
Stern, a clone of the original, had vast physical enhancements, a result of the Rojok tech that had produced him. She’d heard that he could fight any of the powerful Cehn-Tahr to a standstill. Besides that, he was nice.
Careful. She heard an amused voice in her mind. Stern is off-limits. You belong to me now.
I’m bonded to you now, she teased back mentally. I’m not a possession.
You are, he argued. You possess me body and soul.
That works both ways, Commander, she retorted.
Nice to know. Get busy, he said.
On my way to work, sir. She put on a burst of speed of her own.