The Journey's End (13 page)

Tolan raised his hands in surrender.  “I’m just making
conversation.”

“You’re just making trouble,” she said drily.  “We’ll go
with your plan.  In the mean time, I need to contact the Ambassador and get him
started on the Wosite situation.”

“I would hold off on that.”

“And again, why?”

“The Wosite are tech savvy.  You do that and you give away
our position and possibly our element of surprise.  They may not have figured
out you will be going after your sister first.  We should keep it that way as
long as possible.”

Nori narrowed her eyes and studied the mercenary, then
nodded.  “Fine.  Right now, we have a few hours until we hit Lenosh airspace, I
think we all need some sleep. So if you don’t mind showing us to our room,
we’ll get out of your hair and you can do whatever it is that you do when not
working for corrupt planetary leaders… I don’t know, clean something.”

That made Menelaus chuckle, which diffused the situation
somewhat.

“Fine, as my lady wishes.”  Tolan stood up and led them down
the pristine halls to a door at the end of the long corridor.  “But try to keep
the noises down to a minimum.  It’s a small ship.”

Nori entered the room and then reached back and yanked
Menelaus in with her.  “I make no promises,” she said, closing the door in Tolan’s
face.

She turned and Menelaus had her pressed back between his
rock hard body and the wall, that didn’t seem nearly as hard in comparison. 
“Did you want something, Your Highness?”

He grabbed her waist and lifted her up until they were face
to face and she could wrap her legs around him.  He braced one hand against the
wall beside her head and held her to him with the other.  “I do want something,
mate.”

“Yeah,” she said, nuzzling his neck with her nose, then
licking at him daintily.  “What would that be?  I might not be interested.”

He growled.  “You’ll be interested in this.”

“Is that a command, Your Majesty?”  She bit him on the
collarbone.  “Because it sounded like a command.”

He put his hand on the side of her head and pulled her face
up to his, looking over her face, still in her soft pelt of armor.  “Do you
really mind?”

He watched the fur recede in a soft wave and there was
nothing between them but soft warm skin.  “I suppose I have no choice, seeing as
you are the king and all.”  She placed her lips against his and brushed them
back and forth.  His thumb brushed over the apple of her cheek, and she felt
his lips smile against her mouth.

“Long live the king,” he growled.  Before he swooped down
and claimed her with warm lips and heat.

Through the door, Nori heard Tolan. “Well, this is going to
be a long trip,” he grumbled, making her smile under Menelaus’ lips.  Then she
wasn’t thinking of anything but her mate.

Sometime later, they were spooning together in the
ridiculously small bunk, Menelaus surrounding her and pressed up against her
back.  He was nuzzling her neck when he spoke in the barest whisper right into
her ear.

“You know he has some double cross planned, right?”

“Yep,” she whispered back just as soft, stretching just a
little to feel him rub along her length.  “Now that he has seen the
ambassador’s other daughter, I figure he will wait until we pick her up to make
his move.  More profitable that way.”

“So we have some time, but just in case, we probably
shouldn’t sleep.”

“Nope.”

His hand trailed up her trim waist and captured a breast
beneath the thin thermal covering. 

Nori smiled.  “Have you thought of something else to do, Your
Majesty, to pass the hour or so we have left before we have to face the
marauding power hungry mercenary?”

“I believe I have just the thing,” he growled, turning her
to her back and pressing her beneath him, his lips taking hers, then talking
against them.  “I want to see how loud a Shakien cat can get when in the throes
of the mating dance.”

 So that’s what he did.

***

Menelaus had one thought when he saw the armory for Tolan
Lark’s ship.  “You know swords.”

“I know everything where weapons are concerned.” 

Nori rolled her eyes at the smug answer and then stepped
into the meticulously clean and organized armory that was twice as big as the
room they had just been having amazing and loud sex in.  Every square inch was
filled with weapons.  All kinds of weapons; blasters, stun rods, tranquilizer
pistols, a whole wall of swords that Menelaus was currently salivating over.
 
Honestly, men and their toys...

“Ooh throwing stars,” she said, excitedly heading for the
back section.

“Help yourself,” Tolan Lark said drily, watching her take
throwing knives and stars off the wall pegs.  “The armor is in that section
there.”  He pointed to the right of where she was standing and she pulled out a
large section of drawer to see black nanite Faustian armor. 

Menelaus raised a brow when she practically squealed in
joy.  She flashed them her killer smile before pulling out a set and pulling it
on over her furred form.  When she had it in place, she let the transformation
take her and then when she was fully human and the suit transformed to fit her
skin tight, she pulled her hair up in a twist and secured it with a carbon
steel chopstick.  The only thing she was missing were boots. 

“There are some nanite boots in the next drawer.”

She headed for the drawer, throwing a suit of slippery armor
at Menelaus.  “Here Your Majesty, put this on.  Captain tight pants there might
be all kinds of annoying, but he has great taste in armor.”

Menelaus turned to Tolan.  “Might I also trouble you for the
use of a sword?”

The mercenary blinked at him then with a half smile motioned
to the armory, “By all means, help yourself to whatever you need,” he said. 
Then mumbled.  “I’ll just add it to your bill.”

Menelaus very carefully looked over the wall and then chose
a sword.  Weighing it in his hands and then flipping it this way and that
before putting it back.  He reached for another and repeated the process until
he had one that he liked.  He swiped the air a few times and then tested the
blade.  He looked at Tolan and tipped his chin.

“There are some choices of scabbards in the drawer below,” Tolan
said watching him expertly handle the swords.

Menelaus pulled open the compartment and raised a brow at
the selection.  He pulled out a black scabbard and compared it to the sword.

“It’s nanite,” Nori said.  “It will adjust to the sword and
however you want to wear it, plus a truly good suit will also keep you clean
while you wear it, sluicing away sweat and anything that could be a
contaminate.”  Menelaus looked up and she was pulling on thigh high boots that
added two inches to her height, then she started making adjustments to the suit
and adding knives and throwing stars then a stun rod went into a magically
disappearing pocket.  She caught Menelaus with his brow up.  “It adjusts to
each type of weapon, and can form compartments for anything you want.”

His eyes a smoky silver, he looked her over again.  “I was
admiring your boots actually.”

Nori laughed, shaking her head and going back to arming
herself to within an inch of her life.

Menelaus turned to Tolan, “You can definitely bill me for
the boots.”

Tolan, looking at Nori, had to clear his throat before he
could speak.  “The boots are on the house.”

“I would hate to have to kill a man on his own ship,”
Menelaus warned, his own smile showing a lot of teeth.  “Especially with a
sword he gave me.”

Tolan Lark finally looked away from Nori and laughed.  “Forgive
me, but you can hardly blame me for my reaction when you spent the last few
hours guaranteeing I was thinking about nothing but sex.  However, I will
attempt to curb my…admiration of your mate.”

“I would appreciate that.”  Menelaus chose a knife from the
wall, and twirled it, checking its balance and blade.

“If you men are finished watching my ass and grandstanding,
maybe we could find out exactly what we are up against, you know, before we
actually run into it.”

“My lady.”  Tolan Lark motioned the way out of the armory. 
“The bridge awaits.”

Then Tolan preceded them out the hatch and Menelaus put out
his hand for Nori.  She looked from his hand to his eyes, and smiled shaking
her head.  She took the hand and he held it while he led her out the hatch.  “I
could rant about how I am perfectly capable of getting somewhere without
holding your hand, but I don’t suppose it would do any good.”

“No,” he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed the back of
it.  “But if it’s any consolation, I’m holding your hand because I need to, not
because I think you do.”

Nori cleared her throat.  “Well, I suppose you can’t help
yourself.”

“Not a bit.  Not when you wear those boots.”

“What is it about the boots?”  She looked down her legs at
the footwear that didn’t look like anything special to her.

“I suppose it’s because I have a hard time seeing you in
them and not picturing you in the boots and nothing but the boots.”

She snorted.  “Men are so weird.”

A short while later they were on the bridge.  Menelaus took
a moment to stand back and change into the nanite armor.  Feeling it shift to
suit his size was disconcerting, but there was no denying the ease of movement
once it was done. 

Nori had made herself keep her back to him while he
changed.  He was too much of a temptation otherwise and they didn’t have time
for her to jump him right now.  But it was all for nothing, because when he
walked back up to join their discussion, she still wanted to jump him. 

He was all in black, the nanite armor hugging every ridge
and muscle on his impressive body.  He wore his own shiny black boots to the
knees, but it didn’t detract from the picture of Menelaus in a skintight body
suit with a sword strapped to his back.  His only other weapon was a knife
sheathed the old-fashioned way at his thigh, but looking at him in that suit,
the way he moved, always, with deadly purpose; he was a weapon.  And she was
stuck staring at him with her mouth hanging open, probably drooling.

Catching her reaction, he smiled a half smile and sidled
closer. Placing a finger on her chin, he raised it until her mouth was
successfully closed.  Then he leaned down and kissed her lips while she tried
to blink.

“You keep looking at me like that and we’ll still be in bed
when Lara lands on Lenosh.”

She cleared her dry throat.  “Right.” 
Would it be wrong
if I asked him to turn around so I can ogle his ass in that get up?

She opened her mouth to do it anyway when the mercenary
interrupted, “I will have to remember to restrict mated Shakien’s from my ship
in the future.  It’s hell on my ego.  Not to mention painful to have my dick
forever reacting to your damn pheromones.”

Nori narrowed her eyes and pulling her reluctant eyes from
her mate she looked unhappily at Tolan Lark.  “Are you still here?”

The mercenary gritted his teeth while Menelaus chuckled. 
“Not so you’d notice, but yes, still present.  Do you suppose we could finish
our discussion?”

“I think we have it.  We hail the ship, pretending to be on
a diplomatic mission we get them to transport Lara over and we head for Hetian
space.  Anything else is just take it as it comes, so why exactly are we
wasting time talking when we could be doing?”

He bared his teeth at her and spoke through them.  “We are
going over the plan so that nothing else does crop up.  Now, do you understand
your roll in this?”

“Sure.  I talk to Lara and she verifies I’m her sister. 
It’s not a complex plan with many facets.”

Menelaus cleared his throat, interrupting before they came
to blows.  “I realize you Shakien are a volatile bunch, but what exactly are
you fighting about?”

Nori opened her mouth and then closed it again, “You have a
point.”  No way was she going to tell him her dander was up because of sexual
frustration, when they had just left the bed not long before.  “Moving on.”

“Right,”  Tolan Lark muttered.  “We should be in proximity
within the next few minutes.”  He looked Nori over in her freshly donned armor. 
“Maybe we should find you a dress to slip on over that,” he motioned to her
deadly ensemble.

Menelaus snorted.  “May the wind favor you with that,” he
muttered, clearly in doubt.

Nori glared at both of them.  “If I show up in a dress, Lara
will assume I have been taken by pirates and lobotomized.  You want her to come
over to our side without raising suspicion?”  She repeated the motion to her
deadly ensemble.  “This is as good as it gets.”

The computer began to beep then and Tolan looked over at it
sourly.  “I suppose it’s a moot point now, we don’t have time to convince you.”

“Were that there was that much time in the heavens.” 
Menelaus muttered low, then grunted when Nori elbowed him in the gut. 

“You’re up,”  Tolan Lark said, moving to the vid screen. 
“You,” he said, pointing at Menelaus.  “Try to stay out of the vid, would you. 
In case they have your image.”

“Very well.”

Nori rolled her eyes at his politeness, then switched on the
com and hailed the transport ship.

“This is the Hetian delegation diplomatic corps transport
vessel Phoenix, calling the Wosite transport ship Delta.  Please respond.”

There was static on the line and then, “This is ship Delta. 
Go ahead.”

“Please open video and connect us to the Hetian Lara,
daughter of Tryne.”

“I’m not sure if we have that person on board, we are on
full load until we land on Lenosh.”

Nori gritted her teeth at the reminder of their dangerous
destination.  It pissed her off to no end to remember how close Lara came to
being marooned in such a place, so her voice might have been a little short
when she continued.  “Your freighter seats 25, including the pilot and nav-stat
operator.  Try giving a holler and see what you get.”

There was a small space of silence.  “Did you say you were
with the diplomatic corps?”

“This ship is part of the Hetian delegation, yes.  My
expertise is in security however, and if you actually get off your ass and get
Lara on the com, she can confirm it.”  Tolan Lark cleared his throat behind her
and she turned to glare his way.  He raised his hands in surrender, and
motioned her to continue.

“Just a minute.”

As soon as she clicked off the com, Menelaus spoke with
unsubtle irony.  “I cannot imagine why you would want to forgo a career in
diplomacy.  You are truly an island of tranquility in a raging sea.”

“Bite me, Your Highness.”

“At the first opportunity,” Menelaus agreed.  His voice
warmed velvet.  It made Nori smile even while the com squawked an incoming
video feed.

“This is Lara, daughter of Tryne.”  The voice was hesitant,
but it relaxed something in Nori’s stomach.  Lara was unharmed and they would
guarantee she stayed that way.

“Lara, this is your security detail requesting your
immediate transfer to the Phoenix.”  Nori did not want to say her name in case
the Wosite had broadcast it.  She just hoped Lara figured it out and didn’t
give her away.

There was a moment of silence and then Lara’s barely
contained excitement was clear when her voice came back on the line.  “Yes of
course, I would be happy to transfer.  It is so good to hear your voice again.”

Nori smiled, her anger dissipating further. She had gotten
to her cousin in time.  “Yours as well.”

The voice from before came back on the line.  “I’m sorry it
is against our orders to stop before we reach Lenosh.  You can of course follow
us and pick up your charge at disembark.”

Nori’s voice frosted.  “Our orders from the High Embassador
of the League of Planets is not to allow his daughter on a known pirate
stronghold, nor does she visit slave planets sanctioned by the League.”  This
was actually true, Tryne would lose his mind if he knew. 

Then Tolan Lark broke in, speaking smoothly before the man
could argue.  “You are not required to stop your conveyance. We have a class
four shuttle and we will lock on transfer the Lady Lara and bug out.  You do
not have to go against standing orders.”

There was a short silence, then Nori broke it before the
voice could speak.  “I would remind you of article 67b of the League charter. No
member of the League diplomatic corps or their families can be held against
their will, without the full weight of the League and its security force being
brought to bear.” 

Another pause, and then, “Very well.  Please send your
docking signature and we will await your shuttle.”