I was the commander I was because of her, and when I became a captain, I would excel because of her tutelage. Many other captains hadn’t liked having me on their ships because I was a spiritual soul, and nearly all of us joined the Ranks. It was odd for us to do anything else. I was only the fifth spiritual soul to join the Planetary Navy. It hadn’t been an easy journey, but this was where I belonged. I knew it deep within myself.
I refocused on my reports but paused as something moved places in my system. A smile fought to break free of the peaceful mask I always wore, but I didn’t allow it to come to fruition. Wyn. He was working in my office, on my system, on the project I’d assigned him. Something warm and gentle flooded my gut. I liked it, more than was probably good.
Not yet. Not yet. Not yet, my inner fire whispered.
I was getting tired of hearing that, but whatever Wyn was meant to mean to me was happening soon. I merely had to be patient, and that was something I excelled at.
Every shift in my system drew my focus away from the matters at hand. Wyn was in my office, and I would much rather work in there with him, though I imagined the distraction would amplify. It might have been a bad idea to have him working for me. He could’ve assisted Doctor Qinlin, or I could’ve found some other posting for him in the interim, but I craved spending time with him. This was a way to do it. Also, it kept him safe, beside me.
Though giving him complete access to my system was perhaps too much, it felt right. He should be able to enter my office,quarters, and have access to whatever was mine. How else was I to prove I was worthy of him? It made some sort of sense inside of me, and I didn’t question the feelings. Wyn was special. That was all there was to it.
I trusted him, and I was correct to do so.
“Commander,” Talvax said.
“Yes, Captain?”
“Report.”
I began to relay the system checks and statuses. We weren’t expecting trouble in the middle of Drakcon space, nor surrounded by Coalition space. It was when we entered unclaimed zones, or those where the xoi and other predatory species traveled, that we had to keep watch. Though with a heavily armored ship this size, it was unlikely we would experience trouble.
The xoi would never directly attack us because we would wage war against them, though with Seth, and therefore, the Drakcol Empire claiming Earth, they might decide it was worth the risk. I highly doubted it. Xoi were rarely the aggressors; instead, they preferred to take advantage of a situation.
“Excellent,” Talvax said, returning to her reports.
I knew my own reports would have to wait, unread, because seeing Wyn work was a distraction. In the interim, I started running different diagnostics and did general busy work, waiting for Cincin to tire of my shoulders so I could summon Wyn to collect her. Though if he wasn’t fast enough, she would plant her furry behind in the most inconvenient place possible.
I was unsure of how she managed it, but Caleb said it was a special skill cats possessed, one of many. Like, apparently, they could sense the person who least wanted them or disliked cats, and they would sit on them. It was passive revenge in my opinion, but I might be wrong. I was a relatively new cat caretaker.
She continued to sleep like a sizable weight on my shoulders. She wasn’t that heavy, but somehow her weight seemed to increase—another house god skill, surely. But her continued rest meant I couldn’t summon Wyn and see him, which was what I truly wanted. A note appeared on my screen, drawing my focus away from the enticing lieutenant.
Vorjyn.
I hadn’t seen him in cycles. We’d met on our first ship assignments in the last year of the academy. He wasn’t the most friendly or empathetic person, so making connections wasn’t easy for him. The two of us had gotten along well enough, mainly because he hadn’t cared one whit about my soul type or my relation to the throne and I hadn’t been bothered by how rude he was.
Quickly, I scanned the note. Vorjyn was finishing another “mission,” or more accurately, whatever some rich person had paid him to do. Oddly enough, he was going to be on a station which wasn’t too far away from our path, not that we would be stopping there. However, I did have the urge to see him, if only to confirm he was well. Vorjyn was the type who would say they were perfectly well while bleeding from a catastrophic injury.
But I would have to trust his sporadic communication.
I sent a quick note back, giving him a general update, not delving into my current situation with Wyn, then continued on with performing random checks while trying to ignore said lieutenant working in my system.
The day bled on until it reached the middle hour, and it was time for me to return to my office to conduct meetings, then head to a training room to teach remedial shooting as well as hand-to-hand. Cincin was still perfectly content on my shoulders, but at least I’d get to see Wyn again.
Entering my office, I kept my face perfectly calm while my soul picked up a beat. I froze in the doorway. It was empty. Wyn hadprobably left for lunch, which made sense. It was ridiculous to expect him to spend time with me. We weren’t friends, yet, but we would be. I was sure of it.
Not yet, not yet, not yet.
I shook my head, making Cincin meow and leap from my shoulders. I patted her back, and she ignored me, walking toward her cat tree for yet another nap. No matter. I would see him later. I had only a handful of minutes before my first meeting to eat something. I grabbed a simple meal from the dispenser and reviewed the meeting notes, trying not to obsess about the sweet smell of Wyn filling my office.
“You need to eat more,” Urgg said, pushing my favorite toogg berry pastries at me.
I took a bite, bright red jam leaking over my chin, and my tail wiggled. I loved how sweet it was, with a slight tang from the flaky pastry. They were my favorite thing Urgg made, and they never failed to supply me with some on a frequent basis.
“I could snap you in half,” they said, plopping down next to me in their bakery. Urgg’s cousin Klirgg was behind the counter, equally as massive as their cousin, but she had dark brown leathery skin and her tattoos were slightly different.
“I’m not that small, and you’re not that strong,” I said, baiting Urgg. No one was as fun, not to mention easy, to tease as Urgg.
They banged a fist on the table, making Seth start. “I am that strong. I could snap you in half with ease. Ask Talvax. She knows of my strength.”
