Star Crossed Update

Star Crossed Chapter Twenty-Four Update on FicPad

Star Crossed Chapter Twenty-Four Update on TWCS

Star Crossed Chapter Twenty-Four Update on AO3

Star Crossed Chapter Twenty-Four Update on FFn

Edward ended his communication with his father, scrubbing his face. I rolled over, frowning at this unwelcomed turn of events. “This will never end, will it?” I muttered.

“Oh, it’s going to end. Perhaps, a face-to-face conversation with the Reman Ambassador will be our best ally,” Edward said, getting up and out of bed. He was gloriously naked. Despite our voracious need for each other, seeing him without any clothing and walking so comfortably in his apartment made me want him again. However, I put a lid on those desires. My mate was stressing out over this meeting and unrealistic time frame to get to said meeting with the Reman Ambassador. When he came back, he dressed in his Imperial attire. “We need to go, Fíorghrá. I’m sorry. I know we were supposed to have dinner with Elizabeth and Charanel today, but in order to get to the planet, Remus, we have to depart now.”

I got up out of the bed, walking over to my frazzled mate. “We will get through this, ti’ane,” I soothed, running my fingers through his disheveled hair. “Compared to the long-standing war and ending battle, a conversation is nothing.”

“It is not as physically taxing, but mentally and emotionally? It’s far worse,” Edward said. “Trying to reach and accommodate both sides is the struggle. My father said that he would send up his conversation with the Reman Ambassador, along with any intel Galaxy Fleet Intelligence had acquired from any previous interactions. You go shower and get dressed while I have our belongings transported aboard the Cygnarus.”

“Edward,” I murmured, taking his handsome face into my hands, “we will get past this. I have to no doubts in your abilities as a diplomat or as emperor.”

“Thank you, Bella,” he whispered, brushing his lips with mine. “I wish I had an ounce of your confidence in me to complete this. I was just waiting for the other shoe to fall and this is it, I guess.”

“Both of your shoes are on your feet, Edward,” I said, confused by his statement. Some of the human comments he made confused me. His way of speaking was colorful and used a lot of comparison, most of which I didn’t understand since it was a cultural thing.

He chuckled, pulling my naked body closer to his. “It’s a metaphor. Pretty much, I was anxious that something bad was going to happen and it did, with these negotiations with the Remans and Alliance.” His hands moved to my behind, cupping the curve of my butt. “You need to get dressed before I tell the Remans to go stuff it; that the peace talks are off because I need you so much. You are entirely too tempting standing here, naked in my arms.” He massaged my behind and his fingers dipped between my lower lips. “And wet, too? Nirabelle …” He removed his hands from my lower body, gliding them up to my shoulders. He gently pushed me into the bathroom. With a shattered look, he closed the door. You better be dressed by the time I’m done with the bags, Nirabelle.

Yes, Emperor, I purred, giggling quietly. He groaned. 

Pervy Pic Tease

Star Crossed Teaser

Finishing my sonic shower – I won’t miss those – I got dressed in one of my more casual dresses, braiding my hair and letting it fall loosely over my shoulder. I put on my usual circlet and jewelry, including the exquisite ring that Edward presented to me in the early morning hours overlooking Seattle. I wriggled my fingers, smiling happily at seeing it twinkle in the sunlight. No gemstone on Forx or Cygnaria Prime looked this way. I felt like I had a magic, crystal ball on my finger. I shook my head, putting my toiletries away since we needed to leave. I couldn’t spend all day staring at my ring, tempting as it may be.

Leaving the bathroom, I tossed my toiletry bag into my dark blue luggage. Edward was speaking with his father on his computer. From the tone of his voice, he sounded worried. He walked back into the living room. “Are you ready to go, Bella?” he asked, his posture defeated.

“I’m anxious to get back to Forx, but I’m worried about you,” I frowned, cupping his face. Talk to me, ti’ane.

“Once we’re on board the Cygnarus,” Edward said, dipping his head to kiss me. He picked up my bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “Cullen to Priesste.”

“Priesste here,” came the commander aboard the Cygnarus.

“Two to transport,” he replied. “And once we’re on board, break orbit and head for the coordinates I transmitted to you. The Empress and I are going to our quarters.”

“Understood, sir,” Commander Priesste replied. “Energizing.”

We shimmered onto the transporter room aboard the Cygnarus. Maralice was waiting for us, along with J’ran. “What are you two doing here?” Edward asked. “I thought you both decided to stay here, on Earth or aboard the Volvo.”

“You need your envoys. Jasper and the Volvo will be accompanying you to Reman space and he’ll take us back to Earth once we’re done with the negotiations. Admiral Cullen requested that the Volvo act as the Federation representatives,” Maralice smirked. “Now, you two look exhausted. Go get some sleep and we can all meet to discuss strategy on how to get the Alliance to sign the peace treaty.”

“My father contacted you?” Edward questioned.

“He did, Edward,” J’ran nodded. “You’re not alone on this. Now, go sleep. I’ll go onto the bridge, taking command of the Cygnarus while you and Nirabelle rest.”

“Thank you,” Edward breathed. He shook J’ran’s hand and hugged Maralice, much to her surprise. I hugged them both before Edward took me to our quarters. We stumbled inside and fell into bed. The hum of the jump drive lulling us to sleep. I think we were asleep before we reached the edge of the Terran System. 

Star Crossed Teaser

“Do you remember when father would set up tents outside in the Imperial Gardens?” Charanel asked. “We would go camping in the safety of the palace.”

“I do remember that,” Bella smiled. “I think it would nice to honor our father and have a camping trip in the gardens,” Bella giggled. “Have you ever gone camping, Edward?”

“More times than I can count,” I laughed. “Part of my Galaxy Fleet training included outdoor engineering and orienteering with just the basics. I enjoyed it a lot since I’d gone camping with my family. Some of my classmates hated it and were spoiled by their replicators and soft beds. Once we are done with all of this, I’d like to take both of you to Earth and we could go camping in the wilderness outside of Galaxy Fleet Headquarters. It’s beautiful and untouched by any technology.”

“Let me contact Maralice and make the arrangements,” Bella said, hailing her envoy. Charanel left and said that he was going change into something more comfortable. I did the same, changing into a pair of grey cargo pants and a tight grey shirt with a navy jacket. Bella limped into our bedroom, grimacing slightly.

“Are you okay, Fíorghrá?” I asked. “How is your leg?”

“It hurts. I haven’t taken any of the pain medication since we returned from Cygnaria Prime, ti’ane,” she murmured. “I’m trying to not take anything. I hate the way the drugs make me feel.”

“Have you spoken with Kunnan? Perhaps he can prescribe something that won’t make you feel as drugged,” I suggested, rushing to her and sitting down on the bed with her in my lap. “And do you really want to go camping now? You need a bed. You need to be comfortable.”

“The camping from your childhood and the camping from mine is very different, Edward,” Bella giggled. “We will have a tent, but we will also have every luxury, including some very comfortable beds. My father was spoiled and he made sure that we enjoyed the outdoors, but with the necessities he needed. Which included a bed and cooled air inside of the tent.”

“That’s not camping,” I scoffed. “That’s having a tent with air conditioning.”

“What’s camping for you, ti’ane?” she asked, her fingers massaging at the nape of my neck.

“Camping is roughing it. Carrying all you need on your back and using your instincts to survive. No electricity, no replicators, no prepared food. Everything you ate, you hunted or gathered yourself. You didn’t eat until you had a fire burning. And no phasers. Use bow and arrows to kill your meal and flint and steel to create your fire,” I grunted.

“Well, we can do that on Earth, Edward. Here? We’ll do my father’s version of camping,” Bella snickered. “And it’s within the Imperial Palace walls. Until the threat of the Remans, the Alphans and the Alliance is gone, we have to remain protected.”

“That’s important, but I will take you and Charanel camping. After all of this, we will hike the Hoh Rainforest in the Olympic National Park. It’s located in an old Earth state of Washington. It’s beautiful, but so very different from Forx,” I smiled.

“I look forward to it, Edward,” Bella beamed, leaning forward to brush her lips with mine. I hugged her to my body, tracing her lips with my tongue. She sighed, opening her mouth to me and allowing me to taste her sweet flavor. We were lost in each other, our kisses becoming frantic. She pulled back, her chest heaving. You are too addictive, Edward. One kiss and all I want is to make love.

I nodded, my fingers tracing down her sizzling spots. “Soon, Fíorghrá. Now, I’ll let you get changed. I want to see if the kitchen can provide us with the makings for s’mores. It’s the one food that I take out camping that I don’t hunt myself.”

“S’mores?” she asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“You’ll see, Bella,” I laughed. “Dress in layers. I don’t know how cold the tent will get.” Bella smiled, getting up from my lap and limping to the closet. “And call Kunnan.”

“I will,” she replied, ducking into her closet. 

The update for Star Crossed chapter seventeen will be coming up in ONE WEEK. August 13th. I may post another teaser on Sunday, but we'll see. If you haven't done so, reread what I've written so you're familiar with where I left off! Yay!! 

Star Crossed Teaser

The next time I woke up, there was someone washing my face. I opened my eyes, seeing my eldest cousin, Norelle, wiping down my skin with a clean, warm towel. Norelle was the oldest daughter of Liannette and Norex. She was a few years older than me and at one time, considered to be my closest friend.

Until I became the empress.

“Try not to move, Nirabelle,” she whispered.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, wincing when the towel passed over the wound on my neck.

“I’m trying to help you. My mother and father have lost all sense of reality,” she spat, her spots flashing in anger. Her brown eyes sought mine, sadness lingering beneath them. “My father deserved his punishment and so does my mother. What they are doing is awful, Nirabelle.”

“How do I know that you are not spying on me? Trying to lure me into trusting you,” I questioned, sitting up abruptly. Vertigo caused my stomach to roll, but there was nothing inside to throw up.

“Because my mother is convinced that I am mated to Vruk,” Norelle answered. “I’ve been sequestered in his quarters so he could have his way with me. Little does my mother know that Vruk is not attracted to women, but to men. He is more into Jakob than me. It doesn’t stop him from making me stay inside his quarters without any clothes.”

“How did you get away?”

“Vruk is with Jakob now. I was thrown out. They are …” she blushed, her spots deepening in color.

“Mating,” I shuddered.

“Yes. If you can call it that,” Norelle cringed. “I stayed once. Jakob wanted me to watch him take Vruk so I can tell you what he will do to you when we arrive back at Forx. I never saw so much blood, Nirabelle. And they both loved it.”

“Are you the only one on this ship?” I asked. “What about the rest of the nobles?”

“We’re all here. My father was to give you a message to come to that planet, M’ay’aki. It was a trap. They put some sort of device inside an abandoned building, giving off false life signs. We waited and then, they attacked. You were the target, Nirabelle. Jakob, Vruk and my mother, they want to embarrass you. They want you to crumble as you relinquish your claim to the Imperial Throne. The rest of the nobles are behind them in their decision. My siblings, for the most part, are against it. We are all willing to help you.”

“How can I believe you?” I snapped. “How do I know that you are not tricking me?”

“Because, you are the empress,” Norelle answered. “My loyalty is to you. Jakob, Vruk and my mother, they want to wreak havoc in the quadrant. They want to rule by conquering, not by peace. This Alliance is dangerous, but unorganized. My brother, Lianel, is working on sending your mate a message with the Alliance’s weaknesses. Believe there are many. One is the sickness of the Alphans.”

“We know about that,” I said. “They are dying of radiation poisoning.”

“They are. Vruk is manipulating them. He is giving them medication that is masking their pain, but accelerating their deterioration. All of the Alphans are hooked on this medication. Vruk said that the medication stemmed from a plant growing on Forx,” Norelle explained. “Vruk promised the Alphans Forx and Cygnaria Prime is for the Remans. They want an ore on the planet.”

“This is a mess, Norelle,” I whimpered. “All of this started because of the Alphans and their initial arrival on our planet.”

“It wasn’t the Alphans, Nirabelle. The Remans harnessed jump drive first and they were the first people to conquer our planet, but through history, it was described as the Alphans. The Alphans did join the fight, the Remans started it.” She sighed, scrubbing her face. “And there is no end in sight.”

“Do you know who is leading this rebellion on Forx?” I asked.

“I don’t know who exactly, but I do know that it is one of the Council of Elders,” Norelle whispered, her eyes wide.

Norelle

Teaser

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll live,” I said, sitting behind my desk. “What happened up here?”

“As soon as you transported down, there was a power drain on both vessels. It affected us more than the Enterprise. I think it was due to our proximity to the Reman war vessel,” Dad said. “It used a different power source. Not antimatter. From the preliminary scans, we think that they used thalaron radiation to power their jump drives. According to the Federation, it’s highly experimental and extremely deadly.”

“How did the Remans harness this radiation? Is it anything like omega radiation? Removing the ability to create a stable jump field?” I asked.

“No, it doesn’t affect the fabric of space. It’s deadly to any organic tissues,” Dad explained, handing me a tablet. “We need to proceed with caution, Edward. I know that you want nothing more than to get Nirabelle back into your arms, but this thalaron radiation could wipe out the entire Cygnarian species, along with every other species in the Federation.”

“And let me guess, this thalaron radiation can only be created by mining on Lapus?” I asked. “It is found on Lapus.”

“I think that’s what killed their planet, Edward,” Dad muttered. “It’s also found on Remus and on Cygnaria Prime.”

“But not Forx,” I said, looking down at the tablet. “This radiation and the ore used to create it is not on Forx.”

“No. But, it’s abundant on Cygnaria Prime. That’s why the Alphans picked up their attacks on Forx. The Remans need more of this thalaron ore to create the radiation for their jump cores. The Turulians use quantum singularities to create their jump drives. The Remans couldn’t figure out how to do it, despite their close relationship to the Turulians. Instead, they found a deadlier version of their jump drives with this thalaron ore.”

“Remus has run out and they’ve bled Lapus dry,” I said, “effectively killing the planet. What about Remus?”

“Remus is already a dead planet, but they are supported by their dangerous and vicious war fleet. They keep to themselves, for the most part, only venturing out of the Neutral Zone when they need supplies,” Dad said. “It appears that they allied themselves with the Alphans to strengthen their fleet.”

“Do the Remans know that the Alphans are dying?” I asked.

“Yes and they are using it to their advantage. Rose sent down a nurse to the brig to collect samples from our prisoners. The Remans are drugging the Alphans, masking their radiation poisoning and making it appear that they are perfectly healthy. The Alphans are sicker than they realize. Two of the warriors are in end-stage renal cancer. The third has an enlarged heart and the last one, the one who attacked you, has a tumor in his belly that is the size of a small melon,” Dad frowned. “They will die within a few weeks, Edward.”

“And the Remans?”

“They are immune to the effects of the radiation, both from the mining of the thalaron ore and the thalaron radiation itself. Part of it has to do with their world. Its atmosphere is thinner and more solar radiation seeps through. Their genes have adapted to the increased radiation exposure and effectively made them immune.”

“So, the Remans and the Alphans want to conquer the Cygnarians all for a deadly, radioactive ore to power their ships?” I spat. “Over my rotting corpse. I know that we are supposed to find a diplomatic solution to all of this, but this is beyond diplomacy.”

“I agree. This thalaron radiation scares the shit out of me, Edward,” Dad growled. “I have an encoded message to President M’Tak. We need the Federation Council’s approval to go to war.”

“I do not want to resort to that. If it’s possible, I want to try to stop all of this before it turns into something bloody and ugly. With the addition of the Remans and this thalaron radiation, it’s creating something more.” I pinched my nose, feeling a headache bubble underneath my skin. “I want a briefing with both the Enterprise crew and mine. Ask Captain Picard to give me all of his findings on the Scimitar, that Reman war bird that attacked his vessel. We stay in orbit of M’ay’aki for less than twelve hours and then we are setting course for Lapus.”

“Why do you think the Reman ship went there?”

“Because they took Bella. Jakob wants her so badly. He would only want her on his own terms and that means on his own planet,” I said. “For now, assemble a science team to have them figure out a way to disable the Reman cloak and how to neutralize the thalaron radiation. I want to meet with everyone in the conference room in one hour.”

“Are you commanding me as emperor?” Dad smirked. “Because, I’m certain I outrank you, son.”

“Dad, don’t fuck with me,” I snarled, glaring at him. “Those … extapi … they took my te’atée. I need her back. I can’t do this without her. If I have to command you as the god damned emperor or the Queen of fucking Sheba, I will.” My dad stood up and he walked to me. He took my face in his hands before enfolding me into a tight embrace. The dam broke and I sobbed into his shoulder, my heart deadening with each light year my te’atée moved away from me. 

Reman War Vessel

Update ~ Chapter Twelve

Star Crossed on FicPad

Star Crossed on TWCS

Star Crossed on AO3

Star Crossed on FFn

I had ordered the death of my uncle. He was no more because of my decree. Because of my power as empress, my uncle, my father’s brother, no longer had a head. He was being burned and his ashes 

were going to be thrown away like the trash that he was. I felt guilty.

Was I too harsh and too swift in my judgment?

Should I have given him leniency as I promised to get the decryption codes?

Should I have exiled him?

It was too late now, but I was questioning everything. “Empress, you need to pack your belongings,” Maralice said quietly, breaking my reverie. “You and the emperor are leaving for the coordinates near the Neutral Zone aboard the Volvo within the hour. Is there anything you need?”

“Can you prepare Charanel to come with us?” I asked. “I need him with me. I don’t trust anyone on the surface except Counselor Marcusi. He has to maintain the order of the government while I’m gone. Charanel would enjoy a trip on the Volvo. He hasn’t been on a spaceship since he was a boy. He definitely hasn’t been on a vessel as lavish as the Volvo. Pack his things and prepare him to depart as soon as he’s ready.”

“I’ll make the arrangements, Empress,” Maralice said, getting out of the hover car and darting to get Charanel ready to leave.

Edward squeezed my fingers, looking at his own envoy. “D’Metri, I need you to contact me if anything happens here,” Edward said to his envoy. “I don’t know if anyone is going to try anything, but I’d rather err on the side of caution. Additionally, I need you to keep digging through Norex’s personal communication as well as the communication of the nobles who have fled Forx. We need to find out who is making these decisions about overthrowing the government.”

“Of course, Emperor,” D’Metri said quietly, his voice deep and solemn. He slid out of the hover car, walking to his own office in the Imperial Palace, his fingers flying over his tablet as he worked on the assignment that Edward gave him.

Looking at me, Edward brushed my hair from my neck. “Come, Fíorghrá,” Edward whispered. “I need to change and we have to transport up to the Volvo.” He cupped my cheek, encouraging me to look at him. He frowned slightly. “Are you okay? I mean, truly.” Your mind is replaying Norex’s execution over and over again.

“I never thought I’d have to end a life,” I murmured, leaning into his warm, calloused hand. “It’s one thing to read casualty reports from the frontlines, but clearly another when you see it happen first hand.”  I didn’t expect it to be so gruesome, either. Edward snorted humorlessly. I kissed his palm, getting out of the hover car.

Hover Car

Bella's Bedroom

Bella's Suite

USS Volvo

Edward's quarters

Holodeck

Edward's Chicago Holodeck Program

Chicago Picnic

Edward being all sexy (manip is NOT mine)

Charanel

Flotter

Treevis

M'ay'aki