Star Crossed

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Blog Only Teaser

In the school room, Charanel was working with his tutor. He was working with paper and pencil, drawing feverishly. “What’s he doing?” I asked.

“Charanel may be developmentally delayed, but he is an amazing artist,” Bella replied, threading her fingers with mine. “We tried to get him to work with computers, but he loved to sketch on paper with pencils, making some of the most beautiful pieces. The small picture in our bedroom, the one of my father? Charanel drew that.”

“The picture of you, Charanel and your dad?” I whispered. She blushed, nodding. “I thought it was a commissioned piece.”

“No. Charanel drew that from his memory. It was from one our favorite summers down in Ch’ich. We spent the day playing on the pink sand, making sand castles and frolicking in the waves,” Bella mused, her voice wistful. “That was what Charanel remembered and you can see that we were all so happy.”

Charanel must have heard us talk about him. He put his pencil down, looking up to see the two of us. He pushed back from his seat and ran to Bella, enfolding her into a loving hug. “Nirabelle! I missed you,” he said, crushing her to his body.

“I missed you, too,” she said, rubbing her hands along Charanel’s back. “It’s been too long since we’ve had a picnic. Why don’t we have one today?”

He beamed, nodding excitedly. He let Bella go, running back to his table, where the tutor was sitting with a warm grin. Charanel picked up the picture he was working on, galumphing back to where we were standing. He clutched it to his chest, his spots deepening in color as he blushed. “Ed, I have something for you,” Charanel said, his words jumbled and hard to understand. Shyly, he handed me the picture. Drawn in perfect detail was a picture of me and Bella. The love radiating between the two of us was clear as day. My hand was cupped on her cheek, caressing her skin with my thumb. She was on my lap, smiling softly, her mouth so close to mine. Her fingers were tangled in my hair at the nape of my neck just above my uniform. My other hand was wrapped around her tiny waist, holding her close to my body. “You love my sissy.” He clumsily repeated the Cygnarian phrase, “Te-atée miru, ti’ane miru, sa-ahari.”

“I do, Charanel,” I murmured, just staring at the perfect picture. “This is so beautiful.”

“You and Nirabelle are beautiful,” he said, standing next to me and pointing to the picture. “It’s a present for Hisnari. I know it’s late.”

“Charanel, this is the best gift I’ve ever received,” I said honestly. “This will be framed and put on my desk. It means so much to me that you drew this.”

“I only draw for people I love, fei’rene,” Charanel admitted quietly. “Norex got no pictures.” His eyes darkened and he growled lowly. “Only Nirabelle and Father. Norex called me yanhesh. Norex hated me.” He frowned deeply, so angry.

“Norex was wrong, Charanel. You are so special,” I said, placing the picture on the table next to me before I hugged him. Charanel gripped me so tightly, his sobs breaking my heart. “Te’une fei’rene. Always.”

“Te’une fei’rene,” he replied, his voice deep and raspy. “You are my true brother and my family.”

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Update...

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After the Assembly of Nobles, I walked to Maralice’s office. She was seated behind her desk, shuffling through several papers and computer tablets. She appeared to be very frazzled. “Are you alright, Maralice?” I asked, sliding inside of the office.

“Empress,” she squeaked, standing quickly. Her chair fell behind her and she fumbled to pick it up. “I did not know that you were coming. I’m sorry for the mess.”

“I don’t care,” I said, gesturing for her to sit. “You’ve seen my suite when I was a teenager. I was not always as tidy as I am now.”

“That’s because Jerasse and L’aurien take excellent care of you,” Maralice snickered, plopping down on her righted chair. She sighed, continuing her search on her desk. “I can’t find it.”

“What?”

“A tablet with information about widowed Cygnarians,” she said. “The pull I feel toward Commander Whitlock is becoming stronger. I feel like I’m mated to him. I can hear his thoughts quite clearly now. I’m not sure if he can hear me or if he’s choosing to ignore it.” She frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t want to ask Marcusi to read our bond until I researched the possibility fully. What if I am bonded to him? What would Jamel’s family think? Would they hate me? I can’t fathom having another mate. I loved Jamel. He was my forever.”

“Jamel adored you and he died knowing that,” I said, a sad smile crossing over my features. “Would it be so bad that you were mated with Jasper? He’s gruff and cranky, but seems like a good man. A loyal man.”

Maralice huffed, crossing her arms. She chose to ignore my statement. “And what those Alphan dogs did to me …” she shuddered. “I have shamed my family and the family of my mate. Now, on top of that, I’ve been bonded to another. A human, no less!” She spat the last part, anger and disdain coloring her tone.

“Do you think less of me because I’ve been bonded to a human?” I hissed, my voice icy. My posture grew rigid and I glared at her. “That my mate is someone who is not from Forx?”

“No, Empress,” Maralice stuttered. “Never. I never meant to insult you.” She flushed a brilliant red, her spots glowing in embarrassment. “It’s just that I’ve been mated. I had my one true love. How can I justify the fact that I may be mated to Jasper? Is this my punishment for what happened to me on Lapus?”

“Being mated is not a punishment,” I scoffed. “And you should not be punished for what happened to you. They took away your choice, Maralice. They had their way with you and you did not want it. If anything, they should be punished. All of the Alphans who were in the palace should meet the same fate. Death.”

“You won’t get any arguments from me,” Maralice snorted indelicately. She gave me a sheepish look, apologetic and sincere. “Empress, I am sorry. I don’t mean to insult you or your relationship with the emperor. Edward is a good man. A strong man. He stepped in for you when you were caught in the zi’tkm. He made decisions and watched out for our best interests. I respect him a great deal and I can see how much you love him. He truly completes you.”

“He’s everything,” I breathed, running my finger over the ring he had given me at our mating ceremony. “He’s stronger than I ever thought possible and so noble. All of this would seem so much more without him.”

“Not to mention, easy on the eyes,” Maralice quipped.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Star Crossed Teaser

I was thinking about Edward’s diplomatic solution for the Alphan problem. I was hoping that he would forget it and that the Alphans would eventually kill themselves.

They deserved it.

Where were all of these violent thoughts coming from? This isn’t you, Nirabelle, I chastised myself. I was always one for trying to be the diplomat. In school, I was always the one that would settle disputes between my classmates. Even my father would come to me as I got older to discuss quarrels between land owners, decisions made with the Assembly of Nobles and arguments between members of our staff. I was always able to see both sides and think outside of the box. This thing with the Alphans, since Maralice was taken and her choice taken away, not to mention what they did to the colonists on H’Nan and the trap they set on their ship, I couldn’t see anything other than revenge.

And let’s not forget what they did to my father.

I wanted to gut Jakob like a pisc, his innards tumbling out of his body and his screams echoing in the throne room as he bled out.

“I don’t like what your mind is thinking,” Edward said as he walked into our suite. He looked tired, but determined. “You have every right to be upset and to want revenge on the Alphans, but what does that do?”

“It would make me feel better,” I muttered, curling up on the couch.

“Temporarily, but in the long run, you would feel guilty,” Edward said, sitting down in front of me. He took my hands in his. “Jakob deserves to die for what he has done, but the rest of the Alphans don’t deserve the same fate.”

“What about the monsters who took Alice’s honor?” I asked, glaring at him. “They deserve a fate worse than death.”

“I agree with that, too,” Edward said, pulling me into his lap. “But, we don’t know enough about the Alphans to judge them all the same way. I hate them for what they did to you, to Maralice and to our planet, but we cannot let this prejudice sign their death certificate.”

I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder. “You’re right,” I whispered. “How did it go with Norex?”

“We have a lot to discuss about him,” Edward said, his eyes dimming and his face flushing. “I want to change and get something to eat. My appetite is nearly back and I’m craving a huge steak.” I nodded, putting in an order to the kitchen. He went into our bedroom, presumably to change. I didn’t know what a steak was, but the chef had something that would appease Edward’s craving. My chef had been reading up on human cuisine since the arrival of the Volvo and the rest of the Federation ships. He was excited at trying new dishes and the Federation database was filled with new recipes for him to try.

Walking back into the living room area of the suite, Edward was dressed in some loose-fitting pants and a casual shirt. He had his phaser clipped to his hip and his communicator affixed to his shirt. “Do you want to talk about Norex before or after we eat?” he asked, pulling me into a large chair and cradling me in his arms.

“After. I want to enjoy some quiet time with you before I hear about my hateful uncle,” I said, snuggling into his arms. He held me tightly, his cheek pressed to my hair. I reached up and caressed his skin, feeling the prickliness of his facial hair. He sighed, tightening his hold on me. “Do you think I’m weak?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Never,” he almost growled. “Bella, you are the strongest person I’ve ever met. You are handling all of this with so much power and grace.”

“Then, why is everything falling apart?” I sniffled. “Why do I feel like I’m losing all control?”

“Because, in a way, you are. And it’s not your fault,” Edward soothed. “This war has been going on for hundreds of years. We don’t know why. Hopefully, the stealth ships will gather that information from Lapus.”

“I thought that the Federation didn’t have cloaking technology,” I said.

“We don’t. They are very small ships that cannot be detected by satellites. They are a part of the War Fleet, housed in the larger battle cruisers. The cruisers usually remain hidden behind an asteroid or moon while the stealth ships gather pictures, information and download data from enemy computers. They are not designed for long-distance travel. Short range, interplanetary and not built for fighting. They are fact-finding machines with huge computers for such tiny ships.”

“What do you hope to find in their computers?”

“The truth about how they got to Forx. Why they are so hell-bent on the Cygnarians? Proof of Jakob’s deal to buy you,” he said darkly.

War Fleet Battle Cruiser

Stealth Ship

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Updates

Hey all ~

I do apologize about the lack of updates with this one. I requires nearly all of my brain to maintain the languages, the details and whatnot. I'm changing how I'm updating my stories. Instead of doing a rotation of updates, I'm focusing on ONE story. I just finished Angels and Monsters. I'm going to re-read what I've written for this story and then this is next in the queue.

My goal (lofty as it may be) is to have an update every two weeks, like I originally said. With my job and extracurricular responsibilities for my job, that is probably as much as I can promise you. Sometimes, depending on the week, I may give you more, but we'll see.

I do appreciate all of your patience and I do promise to finish this. I don't know how long it will be, honestly. I have to get my momentum going and plan how I see this ending, the climax and the HEA.

For now, take some time to reread what I've posted and perhaps, by the time you're done, I'll have a new chapter for you.

Hugs!

T

Monday, October 6, 2014

Star Crossed Update ~ Chapter Nine

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“Nirabelle?” I whispered, catching her as she slumped. Guiding her to the ground, I clutched her to my body. “Nirabelle! Wake up, love. Please?”

Rose walked over, using a tricorder to run a scan. “Her heart rate is elevated and her mind is running a mile a minute. I can feel her terror, Captain.”

“Jakob’s face and his threats are running on a loop in her mind,” I said, pulling her closer to me. I looked up at Counselor Marcusi. “We need to pull back Cygnarian forces from the Alphan border, tighten up our defenses. We need to protect the planet from any attacks.”

“I’ll contact our fleet commanders, requesting them to return to Forx,” Marcusi nodded.

“Commander Whitlock, I need you hail any nearby Federation vessels. We need as much backup as we can,” I directed. I looked to my father who had joined us at the end of the message from Jakob.

“Is that okay, Admiral?”

“Whatever you need, Emperor,” my father said.

“I’m still a Galaxy Fleet captain,” I retorted.

“Right now, you are speaking as the Emperor of Forx,” Maralice explained. “Empress Nirabelle is not in any shape to make any decisions, Emperor.” I looked down at my mate, who was so fragile in my arms. I pressed my forehead to hers, wishing she would wake up. This wasn’t just my decision. It was hers as well. I pressed my lips to her soft, fragrant skin.

“What is the protocol for a situation like this?” I asked, looking up to Maralice and D’Metri.

“Assemble the governors and nobles for a symposium regarding the matter. We need to strategize a plan of attack,” D’Metri replied. “Shall I contact them?”

“Yes, please,” I nodded. “Ask that they get here as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll arrange for the symposium to happen first thing tomorrow morning, Emperor,” D’Metri said, bowing deeply before striding out of the throne room.

“Maralice, please get Kunnan and have him meet us in the Empress’s quarters and contact all of the remaining Galaxy Fleet senior staff, asking them to join me in my quarters here on the surface. I need to debrief my crew. Meeting in an hour,” I said, picking up Bella from the ground. I was still weakened by my bout with the em’tuuk gas, but I needed to keep my mate close. Her mind was now filled with terror, flashes of what could happen invading her subconscious. Her beautiful face was pinched and tears were flowing from her closed eyes. With a grunt, I carried my mate out of the throne room and into her private quarters, closing the door. I sank onto the couch, holding her to me, nuzzling her hair. Nirabelle, listen to my voice. Focus on me, love. Please…come back to me.