Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,25

as he moved toward a side cabinet. It was long past the end of their shift, and he, for one, needed a drink. After preparing two glasses, he poured a healthy dose of skotsk into each, then crossed the room, set one down in front of the now-seated Jamis before he settled into the chair in front of the desk and sipped while he waited.

"What makes you think I'm tense?" Jamis asked, twirling the glass in his hands instead of lifting it to sip.

Taarig's eyebrows rose slightly. After their years together, it had become a tradition between them to share a drink after a long shift.

"Because you’re not drinking that fine Apreian skotsk I poured you and because I know you."

Jamis huffed out a humorless laugh. "If that's true, then you should know I never have more than one skotsk per day."

"You already had one? Without me?" Taarig looked for the evidence. "What did you do? Drink it straight out of the bottle?"

"Gods no, that would be sacrilege."

Taarig silently waited.

Sighing heavily, Jamis continued. "No, I had one at The Brink."

"What?" Taarig sat up straight, not sure what question to ask first.

"I won't discuss this here." Picking up his glass, Jamis rose, going to the door, separating his private quarters from his office. He placed his hand on the bio-scanner. When the door slid open, he walked through, knowing Taarig would follow.

Jamis’s quarters consisted of the most spacious living area on the ship. It was able to have two large couches, several comfortable chairs with side tables, and an eating area. Another door off the living area led to a sizeable resting chamber with an attached cleansing room that would comfortably accommodate a male Apre. It was why when they entertained a female together; it was always here. Taarig's quarters were across the hall, and while they mirrored Jamis's, everything was on a smaller scale.

Jamis found himself wondering what Cali would think of them. He'd seen nothing of her actual quarters, having taken her against the wall as he had. But he was sure she'd appreciate his.

"J?" Taarig asked, using his private nickname for Jamis.

"Hmmm?"

"The Brink?" Taarig prompted, settling onto one of the couches. "Why did you go there? You never have before."

"Neither have you," Jamis reminded him, moving to the couch across from Taarig.

"No, but I plan on rectifying that as soon as I have the chance," Taarig told him, sipping his drink.

"So, you're attracted to her too."

"Who wouldn't be?" He didn't need to ask to know Jamis was referring to Cali. "She's gorgeous."

"She's also Earthan," Jamis reminded him.

"So? It didn't stop your interest. Tell me what happened."

"I went to talk to her."

"Right. Talk," Taarig snorted, letting Jamis know he didn't believe him.

The side of Jamis’s mouth jerked up. He should have known he couldn't fool his friend. "It is the reason why I went, but I can't say I didn't have hopes."

Taarig ran an assessing gaze over his glass as he took another sip of his skotsk. He knew Jamis would tell him when he was ready.

"It wasn't anything like I expected."

"The bar or the female?" Taarig questioned.

"Both. The bar, you need to go, T," Jamis used his private nickname for Taarig. "The Brink's not the kaatopa I expected it to be."

"We've been to Wik Corp bars on other Star Bases. None of them were kaatopas."

"That one on Star Base One was. It was dark, dirty, and needed jettisoning out an airlock."

"True, but that Star Base has been in operation for over a thousand standard-years, and I'm pretty sure everything in it was original. Our Star Base has only been operational for fifty standard-years, so there's no way it could be that bad."

"It's not, but it's also unlike any Wik Corp bar on any other Star Base."

"In what way?" Taarig asked.

"Well, besides it being clean, decently lit, and serving Apreian skotsk when requested?" He couldn't help but smile when T's eyebrows rose at that. "It has a viewport that's at least ten times the size of mine."

"What?!" Taarig surged forward, his precious skotsk coming dangerously close to sloshing out of his glass. "Gods, how were they able to modify the hull without the Coalition knowing? Without us knowing?"

"Cali claims it was part of the original construction."

"Impossible, and she's not old enough to know that for sure."

"True, but you'd think former Base Commander Ra or his Sub would have told one of us about it."

"Ra was an idiot. The honor of commanding a ship shouldn’t have been given to him,