Sholan Alliance - AU Bk. 03 Ch. 09

"So where is this place and I have to admit a nice casual meal does sound good. Something relaxed where we can talk and simply have a..." He made a face. "Well saying a quiet evening might not really apply to any of us. I hate that I can't walk around anymore without drawing attention. Damn but I miss being just Billy the Independent ship captain." Yes he had more toys than he could want to play with but he did miss his privacy and independence.

Z'Marl smiled at him and leaned lightly against him. "I know where it is and it isn't that far away. It will give us time to discuss what we want for our temple wedding as well." She lowered her ears when she mentioned it since it hadn't come up yet since the attack on Earth.

Billy wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him. "We do definitely need to discuss that since I don't give a damn about what else happened I am going to make both of you my life mates. I am yours and you two are mine. I love both of you and I fully intend on going through with this." He wrapped an arm around Satasha as well and they headed towards the place Z'Marl suggested.

~~~

The Swiss authorities had quickly decided the ship which had led the Other's ship had some connection to the Organization. The crew, which had already been detained, vanished from existence. It was going to take some time but with what had been happening the Swiss authorities had made a few exceptions to the rules. There was going to be a trial but it would be held in secret. They had made sure to get the best lawyers for all who were being tried.

Knowing what they did about the pirate ship they had torn the trader ship apart and found even more information on what based there might be out there. Chances were good some of them were no longer in existence but it still gave them some good intel. As far as the senior officers of the Organization they still didn't have any information. If they could take down a base or two it might be of some advantage and give them additional information. What earth didn't need was an internal conflict right now. Since the Swiss were neutral and had a relatively small military they weren't going to be involved in the bigger picture. Yes they did have a rather powerful space navy but it was fairly small.

It was going to take another week or so but the ship was going to be stripped of anything of value. Once that was done it was going to be sent to Billy for further testing. It had been decided he needed the test ships to give him something to test on. A few small ships for major advancements were of no cost.

The rest of the world governments were organizing a defense plan. For the moment they were taking a defensive position while they called up ships from the mothball fleet. They were going to be modernized as much as possible and upgraded. There was a missive enroute to Ambassador Madlax requesting his permission to modify the ships with his drive. They were also starting to push out new ships which had been on the drawing board.

A number of the best of the Naval Design Board from the militaries of Earth had been sent to Shola to be placed under his command. As of now the Earth was totally aligned to fight the Others. Now they knew that the Others were some sort of Reptile though it was taking time to really figure them out. The Others were so different they were having troubles figuring out what to make of them.

~~~

It had taken Crystal some time to really decide what she wanted to do. It had taken much soul searching and more than a bit of tears while Kingie was gone. She was again in the garden and leaning against the side of the swing she loved. She was waiting for Kingie to arrive from work so she could talk to him. One thing she had done was to talk to his parents again and the rest of his family had gone out for the evening again. To be honest she almost wanted to cry since Kingie's family had been so good to her. They had been patience with her and given her a great deal of caring.

When Kingie walked into the courtyard he found Crystal in her usual spot. With a smile he walked over and settled down next to her and wrapped an arm around her. "How are you doing Crystal? I hope you had a good day." She had recently started working on finishing her education. In this case it was going to be completed on Shola and it was going to take her some time to get caught up. He was very proud of her for stepping forward to do that.

Crystal heard him walk into the courtyard and when he wrapped his arm around her leaned into his side. She kept her eyes shut since she was comfortable and loved the feel of his arms around her. When Kingie asked how her day was she made a face. "I hate school?" She had to make another face. "It was decent for the most part. Your parents went out for dinner again." This was going to be very difficult to talk about.

Kingie gave his low rumbling laugh at her unsure response. "I am sure you will get used to it again. It has been a while since you last attended. Give it some time and you will fit in more." He had noticed his family was gone and was more than somewhat curious as to why. "I noticed that when I came in. Are you looking for another quiet meal with just the two of us?" Kingie had noticed she had been doing a great deal of thinking since the last meal.

She turned her face into his side and blushed. "I also wanted to talk to you Kingie about a few things." Oh god she was starting to blush even more. What should she do? This was so much harder than she thought it would be. Maybe she should drop the entire subject for now. She could pick it up later, maybe in fifteen or twenty years.

Kingie looked down at her and he had a very faint smile tracing across his face. A not so subtle comment from one of her therapists indicated she might be talking to him soon. It looked like it was going to be tonight if she didn't get too scared. "What would you like to talk about Shayu?" He had never called her that before but it was similar to calling someone lovie or sweetie.

Crystal blushed even more at the term of endearment. "I have talked to my therapist and... God this is hard. I think I am ready to become more intimate with you Kingie. I don't know how far I can go at the moment but I really do care for you. If you feel the same I would like to have a relationship with you beyond what we have at the moment."

He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek which was showing with the back of one finger. "You are such a brave young woman Crystal. I do want to keep getting to know you and I have to admit I do find you very attractive. At your speed and as long as our therapist says it won't hurt you and your healing." He moved the finger down under her chin and lifted her face so she was looking up at him. When he leaned over to kiss her he had a very gentle expression on his face.

She looked up at him as he gently lifted her chin so she was facing him. Crystal closed her eyes as his lips met hers and she leaned into the kiss. She knew she was going to continue to have problems but for the moment she felt whole. In the kiss she could feel Kingie's caring and knew that he did find her attractive even with the scars. It was going to go a long way towards making her feel beautiful again.