Held by Luna Voss

14

Melyta

“So we leave this ship in orbit, then Jenyta flies us back to Gerbbbexai IX on the pirate ship?” I ask Barion as we lie curled up together in one of the crew cabins on the mining vessel.

“Basically,” he confirms. “We might scan the planet and try to flag a Ditrykium hotspot, but all the real work will begin when we come back with workers. It’s going to be months before we’re anywhere close to up and running.”

A thought hits me. “How is this going to work with Dagor? He’s going to notice if you’re gone all the time managing a Ditrykium mine.”

He strokes his chin. “That’s a good point. I’ll need to think of an alibi for where I am.”

“You’ll have to make up a job that you’re doing,” I say, thinking quickly. “And give him some money as his cut.”

He sighs. “You’re right. I cannot wait until that guy isn’t the boss of me anymore.”

“Why don’t you tell him you’re out doing pirate shit?” I suggest. “That way you don’t have to hide the Epeshi ship. You can dock it in Zog and tell him you’ve been hitting merchant vessels. He might even help you store it.”

“That’s a good idea. I think I’ll do that.”

I cuddle against him, comfortable but distracted by a gnawing issue that I don’t know how to bring up.

“Barion…” I begin somewhat nervously.

“Yes, vulta?”

I hesitate, and then: “I tried to use my power earlier and I couldn’t do it.”

He frowns. “What? What do you mean?”

“During the fight earlier. When that man was trying to shoot at Jenyta and me… I tried to use my power against him. And it didn’t work.”

“It didn’t work? What do you… what happened when you tried to use it?”

“Nothing!” I wail in frustration. “It’s never happened like that before. Not since I met you. It’s been hard to control, sometimes, but not like this. It felt… weird. Bad weird. Scary.”

I await his reaction with some apprehension. A Voorian woman’s telekinetic power comes from her submission to her Fated Mate. If I’m having problems with my power, the obvious implication is that I’m having problems with him. I’m not sure how he’ll take that.

“Why do you think that is?” he asks me, his voice measured, hard to read.

“I don’t know,” I tell him sadly, even though I’m not entirely sure that’s even true. How do I tell him that what I need is for him to start being strict with me again?

Barion goes to sleep shortly after, exhausted from the action of taking the ship. I wait for him to nod off, then slip my hand under the covers and touch myself to a disappointingly brief climax that leaves me breathless, but empty.

“What does this button do?” I ask Jenyta, peering over her shoulder at the controls as she flies the ship.

“That’s the hyperspace dampener,” she explains patiently, not looking up.

“And what about this one?”

“That’s for clearing the vents.”

“And what about—”

“Don’t you have something else to do?” she interrupts me, although her tone is more amused than annoyed. “A telekinetic ability to practice? A husband to fornicate with?”

I chuckle, even as I feel a hint of sadness. I’ve been lacking both lately. The power and the fornication.

Maybe for the same reason.

“Sorry,” I sigh, “I’m just bored.”

“Eh, I get it,” says Jenyta. “Hell, I’m flying the ship and I’m bored.”

“You would’ve been a lousy Rangasta pilot, then. This is all you’d be doing.”

“I mean, it’s the same thing I’ll be doing working with you guys,” she replies with a shrug. “Just not as many hours flying.”

“And I think the pay is a little better,” I laugh.

“Just a little bit,” she agrees, grinning.

One of the doors to the bridge opens and Korva enters. He’s dressed casually, wearing a black sleeveless shirt that makes his muscles pop. Immediately, I see Jenyta’s jaw set.

“How are you ladies doing this morning?” he asks us brightly.

“Is it really morning if we’re in space?” I reply, smiling in greeting.

He shrugs. “It’s morning somewhere. And I just woke up. So it’s morning as far as I’m concerned.”

“You just woke up?” I chide him. “Man, take Korva out of the city and it’s straight into vacation mode.”

“Hey,” he says defensively, although his smile doesn’t break, “I got in a gunfight and stole a spaceship yesterday. Not exactly my idea of a vacation. You think there’s any booze on board?”

I just laugh, and Korva wanders off in search of a new distraction, preferably in the form of a bottle.

“I don’t know how you stand him,” Jenyta whispers to me, watching his back. “I’m counting the fucking days until I don’t have to be on a ship with him anymore.”

“Oh, he’s not so bad,” I tell her, smiling. “You’ll get used to him.”

“I won’t,” she mutters, looking peeved. “Vostra guys suck.”

I stay silent, resisting the urge to tease her. I know she’s just pissed because Korva threatened to spank her yesterday. The experience would be pretty jarring, I suppose, if you’ve spent the last year adapted to a very different culture.

Chuckling internally, I allow my attention to drift to the front viewscreen. I’ll do what I can to look out for her. But Jenyta is going to have a lot to learn about living with the Vostra.

“Guessss what I found?” says Korva, striding onto the bridge a couple hours later with Barion in tow.

“What?” I ask, as it’s clear Jenyta has no intention of responding.

“Turns out somebody on this ship knew how to have a good time.” He pulls out a brightly decorated cloth pouch. “Look at this.”

Korva pulls open the drawstrings and shows me the contents. He offers it to Jenyta as well, but she shakes her head, giving him only the briefest and curtest of glances.

“Is that… hashplant?” I ask, amused.

Barion grins sheepishly, his eyes half-lidded.

“Oh my god, have you guys seriously been smoking hashplant?” I react in amazement. “Isn’t this like, a serious mission we’re on?”

“Barion has,” says Korva, and my mate descends into a fit of entirely uncharacteristic giggles. “I, on the other hand, decided to be a gentleman and offer the ladies a hit before indulging.”

“And what about the serious mission part of things didn’t matter to you guys when you decided to get high?”

It’s Jenyta, piping up in a cold, disapproving voice. I inhale without even meaning to. She keeps talking in ways that Vostra women just don’t. In a more formalized setting, even just taking that kind of aggressive tone with a senior vostrat might be enough to earn her a thorough and humiliating punishment.

Korva, to his credit, does his best to brush it off. He checks his communicator. “We’ve got… let’s see, almost 12 hours until we arrive at our destination. And nothing to do until then except watch hyperspace streak by out the window. Why not have a little fun? The hard part is over, anyway. I’d say we’ve earned a break.”

I can’t exactly argue with Korva’s logic. Even after we get to Planet 88224, it’s not like we have anything too hardcore to accomplish. All we’re doing is dropping off the mining ship and heading back out.

And frankly, a hit or two of hashplant sounds like exactly what the doctor ordered. Probably wouldn’t hurt Jenyta, either, to be honest. Despite her current objections, she and I smoked more than a few bowls together when we were younger, and those are happy memories.

“I’ll have some,” I pipe up.

“Now we’re talking!” says Korva, grinning at me. “We should probably go do it in the airlock. Barion and I learned the hard way that the ventilation in the cabins isn’t great.”

Barion laughs, his eyes glazed. For a dangerous criminal, he’s pretty cute when he’s stoned.

“Mel!” Jenyta exclaims with a disapproving glare. “Really?”

“Oh, lighten up!” I urge my friend. “Like he said, we’ve got 12 hours to kill. What, like you and I never smoked together?”

“I’m flying the ship,” she grumbles. “I can’t get high.”

“Good point,” I concede. “Okay, I vote we go get high without Jenyta.”

She glowers at me.

“Or she could come with us,” suggests Korva, shrugging. “We’re in hyperspace. It’s not like she needs to steer.”

“I’m perfectly fine not hotboxing the airlock, thank you very much,” Jenyta replies coolly.

“Suit yourself,” he says with a shrug. “Mel, Barion?”

I give Jenyta an apologetic look. “I’ll come back and hang out with you in a sec.”

She shakes her head, somewhere between amusement and frustration. “Go do drugs together. See if I care. Not my problem that I’m the only professional here.”

* * *

Barion

I haven’t smoked hashplant in years, and right now, I’m high as a kite.

It’s fun as hell.

With the raid over and the mining ship captured, I feel relaxed and ready to have fun. Or it could just be the hashplant. Either way, my mood has improved considerably.

As Melyta slides down the wall to sit on the floor next to me in the airlock, however, suddenly I can’t stop focusing on the distance between us.

I love her so fucking much. And yet lately, she’s felt so far away, and I don’t understand it. It’s not like we’re in a fight. We’re on a course of action that we agreed upon together. So why do I suddenly feel nervous around her again? Why am I so desperate for the connection we used to have, before everything changed?

“Does Jenyta always have such a stick up her butt?” Korva asks Melyta, sitting down on her other side. “I thought a friend of yours would be a bit more fun to be around.”

“I think she’s just nervous,” she tells him, “and wants to do a good job. She’s not used to doing stuff like this. You’re used to the danger, so it’s easy for you to be calm.”

Instinctively, I move to put my arm around my mate, but then I stop myself. I know it’s ridiculous. She has my mark on her neck, for fuck’s sake. But maybe she doesn’t want physical affection right now.

Maybe I’m just high.

“You know how to—” I pass her the pipe and try to help her with it, but she brushes me off.

“I know how to smoke a pipe.”

This gets me all stressed out. Is Melyta mad at me? Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have tried to help her. But then she smiles, and everything becomes okay again. Goddammit. Everything for me hinges on this woman. I couldn’t imagine a life without her.

She looks cute as fuck as she hits the hashplant, stifling a cough.

“Like a pro!” Korva beams.

“Just a good amateur,” she coughs, passing the pipe to him.