Starcrossed - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,27

you are there. Then, it is my home.”

She smiled at him, pulling his head down for a tender kiss. “You say the sweetest things, sometimes.”

*

Ginny and Tigh ate dinner together in her suite later that night as she thought through her plans for the trip.

“Tigh, can I bring some women with me to Solaris?”

“Of course.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek affectionately. “You can bring whoever you like. The more the merrier, as you humans say.”

“Good. Then, I’d like to ask my bridge crew if they’ll come. Those women are like family to me, and I’d like to have them around, if they’re willing to give up their careers—at least for the time being. It’s a lot to ask of them, but I think a few will want to come with us. But, Tigh,” she placed one cautionary hand on his forearm, seeking his full attention, “they are very active women. They’re not used to sitting around doing nothing. They’ve been trained to run a battleship, and they’re among the best in the fleet. Do you think we can find something to occupy their time on the journey, and some kind of productive jobs, if they want them, when we reach Solaris?”

“You’re a good captain to think of you crew’s comfort.” Tigh sat back in his chair and sighed. “I will be frank with you. Jit’suku women, except in extraordinary circumstances, do not serve in our military. The gender roles in our society are—were—very clearly defined. Women tended to the home, raised the children, managed the finances. Men of the warrior classes protect and defend, manning the military and training. Men of the various worker classes help provision the warriors in whatever way their skills are suited. It worked for us for millennia, but now that our women are mostly gone, we are in chaos.” Tigh scratched his chin, thinking through the possibilities. “Perhaps your women will help forge change in our traditions, but it will not be an easy road.”

Ginny chuckled. “It wasn’t for our ancestors either.” Tigh looked surprised so she explained a bit of human history, starting with the suffragettes up to her time, hitting the highlights. Tigh seemed duly impressed, and a little alarmed, so she decided to calm some of his fears. “To be honest, many of us would never have pursued careers in the military if all our men hadn’t been killed. I know I’d planned to be a teacher before the war turned ugly, but when women started filling the empty posts in the fleet, I signed up. I know a few of my bridge crew were the same. They might welcome a chance to do less martial tasks, but none of my ladies are loafers. They’ll want meaningful work, not just busy-work.”

Tigh nodded gravely. “We will endeavor to find something suitable for them. I think I and my crew should make every effort to learn about these women on the journey so we can help them assimilate into jit’suku society. I hand-picked the crew for this voyage, and most of these men have strong diplomatic skills. They can help.”

Ginny snorted with amusement. “I can’t say the same of my ladies. Most of them say what they think and damn the consequences. Only respect for rank kept them in line. Now that we’ll be acting as civilians, we could very easily have a few intergalactic incidents on our hands before we even leave port.”

“I’ll warn my men.” Tigh laughed. “But I think they’ll be so glad to see women coming back with us, they’ll forgive just about anything.” His brows drew down as his face sobered. “We’ve all been worried about the fate of our race. Human women are the only hope we can see for the continuation of the jit’suku as a people.”

She sensed the concern in him and felt it echo through her thoughts as well. “But you won’t be fully jit’suku anymore if your plan succeeds. Your people will have human DNA too.”

“That’s probably for the best.” He placed his napkin aside and rose to face the window. “From what I’ve been told by our techs, the human DNA will temper us, make us more rational in the long run. That is something the jit’suku have needed for generations. I can only imagine it was the stresses of fighting an unwinnable war that caused my brother to make such an irrational, untenable decision to release the virus. That so many of his people had to feel the same to