Starcrossed - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,29

wouldn’t let her out of his sight without some token of his care—a kiss or hug or something even more demonstrative. He smiled down at her as he let her go. She could feel the reluctance in his lingering fingers as he slowly let go of her hand. They’d been together almost constantly since that fateful night when they’d first made love. It was a bit overwhelming, but when she was with him, everything just felt so right, she didn’t question it too closely.

“Half a standard, Ginny. That’s all I can take.”

His low voice rumbled through her veins. Only Chief Sonata’s amused grin kept Ginny from running back into his arms as Tigh walked away on quiet feet. She nodded to her crew member, and Chief Sonata opened the door, calling for attention from the assembled crew.

Ginny straightened her uniform jacket as she walked into the room, receiving the salutes that were her due as a ship’s captain. Though they were informal when working, her crew was highly disciplined and respectful of the traditions that went with wearing the fleet uniform. Ginny stepped to the front of the room and put them at ease, immediately feeling the curiosity and excitement coming from the assembled women.

“Sit down, everyone,” Ginny said on a sigh. “I’ve got a lot to tell you.”

“Then it’s true? You and the jit emperor?” Tiggy O’Roarke, the finest coms specialist Ginny had ever worked with, asked.

Chief Sonata ambled in from securing the door and smiled widely. “I can confirm it.” All eyes turned to the grinning woman. “He walked her down here. And may I say, ma’am,” the other woman winked at Ginny, “hubba, hubba. That is one fine lookin’ man.”

Laughs met the chief’s outrageous statement, and Ginny was glad Henriette, called Henny by her friends, had broken the ice. Ginny laughed with them as they all sat around the conference table.

“Thanks for that assessment, Chief. He is rather handsome, I think, but you’ll all get to see for yourselves in a half standard hour. I’ve asked him to come meet you.”

“Holy crap!” Tiggy started fussing with her curly hair. “We’re meeting royalty? And me, having a bad hair day.”

“Tig, you’re always having a bad hair day,” one of the others teased. “Get over it.”

“Don’t worry. Tigh’s a really great guy. Not stuck up at all, even if he is the emperor now, since his brother’s death.”

“Is it true he knew nothing about what Elius did?” Cat, her medical officer, asked with concerned eyes.

Ginny nodded gravely. “Tigh was training to become a priest. He was cut off from jit society for years and had no knowledge of what his brother did until he was called back from the Zenai mountain.”

“Zenai?” Henny asked, her pale blue eyes narrowing. “I’ve heard about them. They’re supposed to be like the ancient monks from Earth who created the fighting forms. Zenain priests are supposed to be some of the toughest warriors the jits have to offer—and that’s saying something. But it’s said they won’t fight for anything other than in defense of others. Their path is the path of the protector. Honorable folk, they are.”

Ginny knew Henny had a deep interest in all forms of martial arts and was herself a ninth degree black belt in the ancient art of jujitsu. She led the exercise classes all of the crew enjoyed, training with them in the ancient ways. She was also a galaxy class competitive fighter and had been from a very young age. Henny had a small mountain of medals, ribbons and trophies in her locker from all the competitions she won against men and women alike before the virus.

When the virus started killing off the males, Henriette, like Ginny herself, had answered the call and joined the fleet. Ginny had known Henny most of her life. They’d grown up together and joined the military together but hadn’t served on the same ship until Ginny’s second assignment. They’d worked together to save their small ship after a particularly nasty engagement with the enemy, during which the captain and most of the bridge crew were killed.

That had been Ginny’s first taste of command, when she brought that ship limping back to port. Subsequently, when Ginny had been given her first real command, she’d been able to hand-pick her bridge crew. There was no question in her mind when it came time to pick a master-at-arms. Henny was the only woman she wanted in that key position of defense and strategy.

“I believe Tigh