Chains of Command Ch. 01

"Nothing too much," Tarn said. "A hot dinner would be nice. Booze if you got it." His face grew hard. "And a gun so I can shoot a few of the assholes in my way when I go to rescue my mate."

Fea raised her eyebrows. "You settled down?"

"As much as you can when you're both information dealers living a nomadic life. Her name is Polira." Tarn's eyes grew distant and he sank to his knees. "She's my whole world. The mercenaries on the other end of this deal know that. They ambushed us and captured her, held her over my head as a threat. That's why I was in the company of the pirates. I thought maybe I could trick these goons into fighting them, but I gave them too little credit." He looked up at Fea. "I need to save her."

"Right," Aleen scoffed. "Like we'd believe that story."

Fea growled at her sharply, and Aleen actually took a step back. Fea dropped to her knees so she could look Tarn in the eye. Her palm rested against the glass, perfectly in line with his own.

He swallowed, his voice quiet. "I need help, yuac'ting," he said, calling her his old nickname for her. It meant "sunshine." "You have to believe me."

The Frontier was a much more savage area of space, and within its boundaries was the enn'cief homeworld. As a species they were recognized by the Federation, but didn't have enough claimed territory to be recognized as official members. The problem with that was due to volatile nature of the Frontier, many of their colonies got raided by criminals and mercenary bands. Fea had never known her parents. The only family she had known had been Tarn and her other friends, a gang of orphans scraping by with next to nothing. The bonds the enn'cief had with one another were their greatest strength as a species apart from their excellent climbing skills. They were enduring and hardy, and when they were together, they were all the more stronger, especially if it was love.

Fea didn't know whether it was the bond of species or her old friendship with Tarn that made her say, "Let me talk to Valain about it."

Aleen made a gagging noise. "Fea, are you serious?"

"I'm in charge of Proto Squad," Fea said, rising to her feet. "I can bring this to Valain if I want."

Tarn leaned his head against the glass. "Thanks, Fea."

Fea turned to leave, her boots clicking on the floor. Seems it would be another few hours before she actually would get a chance to sleep. "Yeah. Just don't make me regret it, Tarn."