"They really are quite something, aren't they," she said.
"Yes."
"We should get back to Verien. It is better for me to direct him when I'm on a world instead of a ship in transit."
"You're right," Tieran said, nodding. "We should go home."
The smile on Audrey's face brightened up the entire room as he brought her into his embrace, kissing her deeply. When they galaxy called, they had fought for it. Now it was ready to defend itself for a while and give them the peace they'd earned.
Somewhere, the hard, icy planet was waiting for them, always the place where they belonged.
T
he floor was still unreasonably
cold every morning Audrey woke up, but it no longer bothered her.
In fact, very few things did. She'd found it was hard to take anything like that too seriously when you were in love.
The artificial sunlight was still there to wake her up every morning, but so was Tieran. Audrey still couldn't believe it was really happening, that she had him, but it was and that simple fact made everything else alright.
Some days she needed that comfort, because life on Verien was never easy. The damage the Fearless had done was still showing and the mines were a catastrophe to put it simply. But Audrey was fine with it all, because the future looked bright both for the galaxy and for her and Tieran.
Every day, she took her first trip to the communications center to give pointers to General Braen, on the search for the mysterious girl and the new Fearless. The light of the monster kept growing, but they were all confident the Brion general would find it before it got too dangerous to handle. Tieran had assured her that no Fearless would ever be allowed to get so dangerous again and that he was ready to face the creature again, if need be. If the Brions asked for help.
Audrey thought the notion of Brions asking for help was very funny, but it did make her feel better.
The whole galaxy knew now what the Fearless was. Every possible lifestone repository – none other than Verien were found, but Audrey had been able to give hints about other locations around where the Palians had already been searching - was under the strictest protection until the Fearless issue was resolved, but there were always other enemies.
The worlds with the supposed stores of lifestone had gotten a special standing and were appointed guardians like her and Tieran to make sure the precious mineral never fell into the wrong hands again.
But perhaps calling it her first act of the day was slightly misleading.
The absolute first thing Audrey did every morning was curl up to Tieran and let him kiss her properly awake, enjoying every second with him that she was given.
Then Pelar would come to wake her up, more awkwardly now that her room was the same as the commander's.
Audrey found it quite endearing that Tieran seemed to find humor in Pelar as well. They often came out of their room together, startling the girl.
It had been such a relief to realize that Pelar was alive. She’d been on one of the first ships off the station when Tieran had given the order, carried in the arms of a paladin, unconscious. But she was back to her health now and had absolutely refused to leave.
Audrey had apologized until she no longer had a voice when they met up again for the first time, but Pelar had assured her that she knew it hadn't been Audrey that attacked her. Luckily for them, the Palian technology was amazing in every way and she had been healed completely.
That morning, Audrey had sent Tieran away to oversee the defenses of the station, while she and Pelar headed to the common rooms. She had been making regular appearances there, as she used to do, but also taking over some of the work Franco had done before.
The man had been reassigned on another ice planet, far away from Verien. Though she had no ill will for the man, and was thankful for the training he had given her, Audrey didn’t particularly miss him. Not after the show of distrust he had put on prior to the showdown with the Fearless on Verien.
Her visits to the common room were to show that they were all part of the same process. Which was, unfortunately, repeating everything they'd done for a whole year already.
Repetition makes the heart grow… well, colder, but that might be the weather,
Audrey thought to herself, smiling.
At first, Audrey had been afraid it would severely damage the moral, but her people had taken the whole thing in stride with unflappability she completely adored about them.
It hadn't taken more than a week for the station to be in the usual rhythm again after she and Tieran returned. The first thing they had done was to organize a proper send-off to all the lives lost in the siege and the events leading up to it. Luckily, many of Tieran’s crew – along with Geroy – had managed to escape the
Vehement
before it was destroyed, but others had not been so lucky.
Like Aznim and the countless brave men and women who had given their lives for the future of the galaxy.
Many people had been lost on Verien itself, and the whole crew of the Brion ship had died as well. The Jorcossi didn’t even warrant a mention. The Union hadn’t done a thing when it discovered that the Brions had painstakingly destroyed every single vessel and space station the fledging race of parasites owned.
While they hadn’t been wiped from the galaxy completely, they were definitely contained for many decades. It was a lesson they would have to learn – to pick their battles.
Occasionally, there were still silent moments of mourning for those who'd lost their lives on Verien, but in general, the people of the planet were as tough as the planet itself.
"The new people are arriving today," Pelar said, rushing by her side as ever, trying to match Audrey's fast pace.
"Excellent," Audrey said. "We need fresh blood here."
"Other than the obvious work they'll be doing, do you think their presence will help?" Pelar asked. "People here still miss those who died."
Audrey nodded solemnly.
"I know. But the dead can't be brought back. I think the new people will do us good, yes. There will be new friendships, relationships. Trust me, it's better this way on every level possible. Soon, no one will see the empty spots the Fearless left behind."
"I guess so," Pelar said, smiling. "Besides, meeting new people will be nice."
Audrey agreed. After all the drama, death and danger, she thought the station could use something nice and easy. The new workers were coming from Terra and the Palian worlds as before to replace the guards and miners who had been killed.
It looked like Verien was going to get back on its feet again.
"Are we going to the mines again?" Pelar asked, taking notes on her daily plan as they crossed through the common rooms.
"Not today," Audrey said. "It is so unstable right now, I think they need to set up the first level again before it's safe to go inspect anything. Right now, calling for help means practically knocking on the roof and we’d hear it through the floor. I think they're okay."
Pelar laughed and Audrey did too. It felt good to make jokes every once in a while, find humor while the disaster was still showing all around them. They had to keep going.
The Fearless could not be allowed to win. Not on any front.
"The floor was cold today, wasn't it?" Pelar asked, her voice betraying that she had been holding back the question ever since they began walking. "I'm sorry, I know you hate it. The power cut was during the night and I slept through it—"
"Pelar," Audrey stopped her. "It's fine, honestly. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but honestly it didn't bother me as much as it used to. Perhaps if I had lost my toes, then maybe. But right now, I'm happy as long as I'm generally in one piece."
There was a slight knowing smile on Pelar's lips, but she didn't feel the need to point out the obvious. That Tieran was making Audrey so happy she barely cared what happened around her.
Although that only applied to stupid little inconveniences.
On a grander scale, Audrey cared more than ever. There was something about dating a Palian that made one very conscious about every living thing. She could hardly even conjure up hate for the Fearless.
It had started to feel more like an animal to her than an evil being, although she knew she could never afford the luxury of really believing that.
She and Pelar did their usual tour and ate a hearty meal for breakfast. Then they went to meet the newcomers, finding Tieran already waiting for them.
The paladin greeted her with a kiss that made Audrey all warm inside. There was something special about the way he never seemed to grow tired of her, the way he always looked glad when she was near him.
Intoxicating
, Audrey thought.
The shuttle with the reinforcements arrived and as the governor of the planet, it fell to her to give them the first impression of the ice world.
They all lined up in front of her and Tieran, Terrans and Palians, miners and guards and other personnel. She noticed quite a few were looking at Tieran with unguarded interest.
After their chase and the following fight in the station, it had been very hard to hide the paladins anymore. Once they had to appear before the council and the Brion general, the Palians had – a bit grudgingly – accepted the fact that they needed to bring their elite warriors to light.
Not all of them, of course.
Audrey smiled a little, thinking there was no way Palians didn't have something still hidden away, but it was a step forward. At least she could meet Tieran in public and not have everyone's mouths drop open in confusion due to her kissing a man that didn’t exist.
"Welcome," she said. "I am Audrey Price, the governor of Verien. This is Tieran, the commander of the paladins. And this is Pelar, our assistant. You don't know us yet, but you will.
“Life on Verien is hard, which is why it's so important that we stick together. Every problem you have, every issue you face, we are the ones you come to. Pelar first, of course."
Light laughter sounded as the Palian girl smiled, looking at all the new faces she needed to learn.
Audrey went on.
"I will not lie to you, not today and not ever. I'm certain you have already heard what happened here, especially since you are volunteers. It is a dangerous place even now when the Fearless is gone. There are many ways to get hurt, but once you accept Verien, it is the best and the most beautiful place to be."
A hundred pairs of eyes looked at her and Audrey thought they really did believe her. Tieran and Pelar both had told her that she was a bit of a celebrity around the Union now, as was Tieran, of course.
Audrey supposed defeating the Fearless and helping to put an end to its terror
did
sound nice on her resume, but that was a distant concern. She didn't see why she would ever want to leave Verien and try to do something like that again. Battling one capricious element was enough for her and for now, it would be the tempestuous planet.
"Now," she said. "Pelar will introduce you to your assignments and our daily routine. I look forward to getting to know all of you. And again, welcome to Verien."
Leaving Pelar to deal with the newcomers, Audrey and Tieran left them all behind, wordlessly knowing where they were going together.
As they reached the walkway, Audrey was reminded for the thousandth time how grateful she was for her lenses.
The Fearless had destroyed much of the walkway on one side of the station when it landed with the Brion ship. It was destroyed, breached and definitely not a first priority in the station right then.
But on the other side, a part of it had been sealed off.
The air was cold and frosty there, biting even, but she hardly noticed. Tieran's arm was around her shoulder, pulling her tightly against him as they walked.
The walkway was nothing more than a platform outside the station, covered in the most advanced plating known to the galaxy. It was completely transparent, but still filtered out the intense cold, not to mention most of the burning light, reflected tenfold on the snow-covered surface.
It was a miraculously calm day. Audrey loved those. Whenever Verien saw one of those days when there wasn't a storm beating against the walls, the walkway rolled out of the special compartment that usually kept it hidden.
And for a few days out of a whole year, it was possible to see the true beauty of Verien.
They stood in silence for a long time, simply watching the wind play with the glittering snow blowing over the ice fields. Daylight was life-threatening on the planet, but Audrey and Tieran were protected by the lenses they wore, although she knew she was only seeing the filtered version of Verien.
That was good enough for her.
Tieran pulled her into his arms. He kissed her deeply, claiming her mouth. She responded eagerly, loving the easy rhythm they settled into. With every day, they knew each other better than before and loved the other all the more for it.
"So," Tieran was asking just as she'd thought that. "What new thing do you have to tell me today?"
Audrey smiled, thinking.
"I've always wanted to just jump into one of the snow mountains the wind piles up," she said, pointing at one in the distance. "I imagine it would be like sitting in a pile of pillows."
"That's interesting," Tieran allowed. "I've gathered you don't actively want to freeze."
"I don't," Audrey laughed. "It's just a Terran thing. We sometimes desperately want to do thing we know are impossible, just because. Of course I would never do it, but the temptation is great. Don't you have anything like that?"
Standing next to her, tall and proud and strong, Tieran gave her an amused look and considered. He had healed from the extensive wounds he had taken during the fight with the Fearless, much as she had, and was back at full strength. More praises to be sang for Palian technology.
"Paladins don't think like that," he pointed out.
"I know," Audrey said. "Try. For me. Give me a wild fantasy."
"I suppose," Tieran said. "It would be interesting to see what the outside looks like during a warp jump."
"
Yes
," Audrey agreed at once. "That would be amazing. I would like to sit on the roof of the ship as it jumps. Can you imagine the sensation? Getting torn apart by cosmic forces is a small price to pay for that."
Tieran laughed, running his hands over her back, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple.
"Now tell me something real," he prompted. "We've indulged in crazy, ludicrous Terran dreams. My turn to get what I want."
Audrey grinned.
What he wants. Not something you’re used to hearing from paladins!