Blue solace complete ser.., p.81
Blue Solace: Complete Series Boxset, page 81
Beol frowned. “What’s your suggestion?”
“We need to elect a new Council member to replace Brinanda before we vote on citizenship.”
“That could take months,” Beck protested.
Beol pulled Beck’s tail out of his hand and linked his fingers with his mate’s.
“It could,” Mitchell agreed. “That’s why I suggest you take Meggie, Sax, and Icarus with you on the mission. You all will be traveling under the radar, and the only people who will know your exact location can be fully trusted.”
“It would give us the time we need to elect a replacement and vote on your citizenship,” Councilwoman Rundel said. The older Siren moaned as she arched her back. “Maybe we should replace me too. I’m getting too old for all this drama.”
Fasi snorted. “You aren’t leaving us, Rundel. I forbid it.”
She gave him a look. “Don’t get too big for your britches there, Lord Admiral. Anyway, we think it will be safer for you three, even if it means being confined to a small ship for months.”
Meggie grinned. “I’m absolutely fine with that. I would love to be able to help Beck and Beol.”
Sax nodded. “I’ll fight for whoever will take me on as crew.”
“She’s mine,” Hack yelled before Dru could say anything.
“Not fair.” Dru scowled from her seat in her husband’s lap. Her newt, Monty, sat on her head as usual.
“You took like half my crew with you,” Hack said. “It’s completely fair.”
“You have Princess Buttercup!”
They all looked at Leti’s Fire Veil Dragon. The large beast slept in the middle of the rug, puffs of smoke coming from his nose with each breath. Morgan’s baby Frost Veil Dragon, Stardust, was curled on top of his head. Tiny bursts of ice and frost blew from his nose as he snored, just like Princess.
“I’m not convinced Princess is as valuable as we think he is,” Hack said dryly.
“Will,” Leti said with a gasp. “You take that back.”
Hack winced. “Baby, I’m negotiating here.”
Dru rolled her eyes. “If you get Sax and Beol, then I get Cordelia. You know she’ll want to spend the trip with Quinn anyway.”
“Fine, but I get Rune,” Hack said. “Silas will be all weepy if he can’t spend time with his man.”
“Rus wants to go too,” Sax said, smiling softly. “He already spoke to Juniper about going in his place to cook for the Blue Solace. Juniper said he’d transfer to Dru’s ship to make sure they don’t poison themselves.”
“I don’t know, Sax. You all are so young, and this would be your first mission.” Beol frowned. “This won’t be easy.”
“No, it won’t be.” Sax met his gaze. “If we want Charybdis Station to accept us, then we need to prove our worth. That’s not fair, but it’s how it is. The Council and Fasi can stand behind us all they want, but if the average person sees us as outsiders, then that’s what we’ll always be.”
“No,” Leti said and stood, stomping over to Sax. “Charybdis Station has taken in so many, and you three are just like them.”
He tried to hug Sax while standing, but tipped over, falling on top of her and Meggie.
Meggie and Sax both laughed and helped him straighten up.
“It’s fine, Leti. We know we’re different, but different doesn’t mean worse or even better. We want to prove ourselves,” Meggie said.
Beol huffed. He wanted to stay mad at Meggie for her loud-mouthed ways, but he was so damn proud of her and Sax.
Beck pulled him close, and suddenly, Beol found himself face to face with Sami. The little Betonize boy grinned at him, and Beol couldn’t help but smile back. He covered his abdomen with his hand and sighed.
Tinker hummed against his neck, small body thrumming with excitement. Beol didn’t know how much she understood, but she knew something was changing.
After eating and discussing their plans, Beol and his family finally made it home. Ninetta and Gregor were asleep on the couch.
“Why didn’t they go back to Gregor’s apartment?” Icarus looked at them over the back of the couch.
“Who knows? They look comfortable,” Beck said, smiling. “We can let them sleep.”
Later that night, Beol hung onto Beck’s shoulders and pressed his face against his neck. Beck arched against him, dick filling Beol’s ass.
“I love you so much, Beol.”
Beol groaned when Beck hit just the right spot. “Love you too.”
The words came easy, feeling as natural as their bodies moving together.
Chapter 13
Silverlight System, Planet Vextonar - One month later
Beck curled around his sleeping mate. He lay in bed and listened to the familiar sounds of the Blue Solace. Dr. Bloop snored from the bottom of the bed. He had gotten so much bigger in the past month that his pet bed was too small.
It was strange, but Beck had missed the ship so much. Everyone was close together, and the troubles of the galaxy had a way of seeming far away.
Their room was connected to the engineering bay and smelled like all his favorite things – Beol, oil, and metal. Icarus had hung some plants up for him, but otherwise, it was big, comfy used furniture and warm colors.
Tinker’s new house sat under the porthole, adding a large spot of color to the room. Beck could see the little Fyrling moving around to check on her own tiny plants. Rus was a firm believer that every home needed plants.
Beck smiled and nuzzled Beol’s neck.
“No,” Beol said.
“What are you talking about?” Beck tried to sound innocent.
“You want to fuck again.” Beol rolled over and buried his face against Beck’s chest. “I’m too tired. Your damn kids drain me. Little fucking leeches.”
Beck stroked his mate’s back and made soothing sounds, even though he wanted to laugh. Beol wasn’t handling pregnancy well. He was either nauseous or sleepy. There was no other state of being.
“Meggie says the second trimester should be a little easier.”
Actually, she had said the second trimester came with new, fun adventures. Beck thought Beol might not need to hear that.
“It better be. I have a guild to run, and I still need to train.”
“I’m sorry. I’d carry the babies if I could.”
Beol scowled. “Fucking biology. These kids better be worth it.”
Beck grinned. “Or what?”
Beol bit his shoulder. “Or they’ll never have more siblings unless they’re androids.”
Dannol’s voice came over the ship’s comm. “We’re docking in Vextonar now. Captain, uh, I mean General Hack wants everyone up and on guard.”
Beol slowly sat up. “I’m going to check in with Wolfe and Noe. I need to make sure they haven’t killed Moyra since we talked last time.”
Beck laughed. Moyra was a bit crazy, but she made a good captain, even if she was annoying and unpredictable.
“You mean, your visit isn’t about checking up on your little brother?”
Beol pulled his clothes on and gave Beck a sheepish look. “Maybe a little bit. I’m getting used to him standing on his own two feet, but I miss the fucker. Are you getting up?”
“I’ll be fueling up the ship.” Beck sighed. “I like our home on the station, but I’ve gotta admit, I love our comfy love nest here.”
“It’s nice and private. That’s for sure.” Beol leaned over and kissed him. “Be careful, Sparky. Vextonar isn’t a friendly planet anymore.”
“As if it ever was,” Beck grumbled, then climbed out of bed. The faster they got this done, the faster they could leave.
Beck finished fueling up the ship, feeling damn antsy. Vextonar was crawling with Humans First soldiers. The only way they had managed to land without being detected was with Dottie’s help. Their ship was docked in the far back of the spaceport and listed as a Drellian merchant ship.
The older woman stood beside him, as nervous as he was. She watched her tablet carefully, answering questions and keeping an eye on her port.
“Dottie, I’ve never seen you look this worried.”
She looked up and rolled her shoulders. “I sent my family off planet.”
“What? Your family’s been here for over six generations.”
“The Prime never liked me much, Beck, but now they scare me. You know me. I can’t keep my mouth shut, and now I’m on their watch list.”
“Watch list?” Beck shuddered.
“Truthfully, I’ve always been on it. They’re just bolder now about saying it.”
“You need to leave while you can, Dottie.”
The woman shook her head. “I’m smuggling folks off planet every day. I won’t leave people behind. Hell, I helped a bunch of Leti’s university friends and their families leave just yesterday.”
Beck frowned. “Why can’t they just leave?”
“Vextonar isn’t letting citizens leave without special permission.”
“Why would they want people to stay if they don’t want to be here?”
She looked around, then leaned close. “I have a friend that works for enforcement. From what I hear, they’ll be rounding up all those that ain’t pure enough to sell. They want to keep everyone here so they can make money off them.”
Beck’s eyes widened in horror. “Fuck, that’s horrible. That can’t be true.”
“That’s why I’m smuggling folks.” Dottie gave him a stubborn look. “I’ll get caught eventually, but until then, I’m gonna save as many as I can. You make sure Captain Hack checks in on my grandkids, okay?”
Beck smiled sadly. “It’s General Hack now, and you bet your ass we’ll watch out for your family. They heading to Charybdis Station?”
She nodded. “I’m sending everyone I can to the Anchor’s Rest system or Tammol.” Her comm chimed, and she looked down at it. “Gotta move on.”
“Dottie?”
She looked up. “Yeah?”
“Thank you. For everything you’ve done for us, and everything you’re doing for your planet. We’re gonna do our best to make this better.”
Her eyes softened, and she reached up to pat his cheek. “I know you will. Even when you all were mercenaries, you were honorable. I wish Vextonar was a better place.”
“Maybe one day it will be.”
Dottie left, and Beck checked on Lerais. He was still fueling up the Blue Sparrow, so Beck went in to talk to Dru.
“Hey, Beck,” Fire said as he ran past. Two guinea pigs chased after the Element, rolling quickly in their balls.
Beck shook his head and grinned. He found Dru in the training room with Morgan and Alois. They watched Sebastian and Death train Remy and a young woman.
Sebastian’s apprentice was an interesting man. He had been captured by the Concords on Union Station, then tortured. By the time they had managed to rescue him, it had been too late. The man had died.
Beck still didn’t really understand how he’d been resurrected, but he had. It had changed the way he looked, but as far as they could tell, he was the same man he had been before. His cat, Potato, still adored him in any case.
The cat watched Sebastian from beside Dru, eyes following every move Remy made.
“How’s it going?” Beck nudged Dru with his shoulder, and she jumped.
“We’re not dead yet,” she said and shrugged. Monty scrambled from her shoulder to her head, unhappy with the movement.
“Is Remy making progress?”
Alois moved closer. “Death says he catches on even better than Sebastian did. I wonder if it’s because he died. He says he doesn’t remember anything about it, but that has to have an effect, right?”
Beck shrugged. “I know metal, circuits, and wires. Don’t ask me. Who’s the woman?”
“Jalyn. She’s a soldier from Xav’s ship and decided she wanted to train with Sebastian.” Dru grinned. “You should have seen Xav’s face. He was shocked as hell. Apparently, she’s friends with Remy and is already close to awakening, or whatever the fuck they called it.”
Morgan looked thoughtful. “As much as I hate the Queen and the asshole Elements, it makes me happy to see something of the Crells survive. Their species may be gone now, but Crellic shamanism and their history still goes on.”
Beck nodded. “Yeah. That’s not too bad, is it?”
Lerais came in and wrapped Dru in his arms. “Captain Sweet Mama, we’re fueled and ready to go.”
“I better get back to my own ship.” Beck waved goodbye and went back to the Blue Solace, checking on the other ships on his way.
“Dad,” Icarus said. He waited with Beol, Sax, and Meggie at the ramp. “We were worried. Why didn’t you come back to the ship right away?”
Dr. Bloop sat at Beol’s feet and gave Beck a stern look. He wore his Blue Solace vest and goggles today.
“This is not the place to go wandering, Beck.” Meggie glared at him with her hands on her hips.
“I’m sorry,” he said, wincing. “I wanted to check on the others. We’re leaving now, so don’t worry too much.”
“I’ll let Selene know you’re alive,” Sax said, turning away from him. “She was worried.”
Beck smiled fondly. “She was worried?”
Sax looked over her shoulder. “Maybe it was me.”
Icarus watched her walk away, and Beck sighed. “Rus, are you attracted to Sax?”
Meggie snorted. “You’re only now asking? The man is crazy about her.”
Icarus looked at them in horror. “Am I obvious? I know she can do so much better than me.”
Beck huffed. “No one is better than you.”
“She would be lucky to have you,” Beol added.
Meggie patted Icarus’s arm. “Pay a little more attention, big guy, and you’ll notice how she watches you too.”
Beck bit his lip. “Son, do we need to have the talk? I built you both, so I know what parts you’ve got.”
Meggie leaned against Beol, laughing hard. “Oh, please, Beck. Please give him the talk. Do you have any hand puppets?”
Beck gave her a disgruntled look. “It’s perfectly natural to have questions, Meggie. Icarus? Do you have any questions?”
Icarus groaned and pressed his hands to his cheeks. “If I could blush, I would be blushing. No, Dad. I don’t have questions. Our programming was thorough in explaining our biology.”
“You sound like a bot,” Meggie said. She deepened her voice. “Our programming was thorough, boop, boop, beep, beep.”
Beck snickered.
Icarus gave them all a disgusted look. “Fuck you all. I’m going to make a cake.”
He left, and Dr. Bloop followed him, nose in the air. “Woof.”
Beck and Beol turned their attention to Meggie.
She arched a brow, smirking. “What?”
Beck crossed his arms. “What about you? Do you have your eye on anyone?”
She looked sad for a moment. “We don’t have souls, do we? I really like someone, but what if his life-mate shows up one day?”
“Why do you think you don’t have a soul?” Beol frowned. “I know you were created, but you’re sentient. You’re a person. I would think that means you have a soul.”
Meggie shrugged. “I’m afraid to ask Death. If he confirms we don’t, I’ll know I can never have Dannol.”
“Dannol!” Beck grinned. “Oh, Meggie. He’s a really good guy.”
She smiled. “We talk a lot. He has to stay on the bridge most of the time, and he doesn’t sleep much. I even like his rooster, Hector.” Her smile disappeared, and she gave them a self-deprecating look. “He’s a Havenite, Beck. He would be able to tell if we were life-mates, and he hasn’t said anything.”
Beck felt the ship take off. “I need to go check on something.”
He started toward his room, Meggie and Beol’s eyes following him.
“You had better not ask Death about souls, Beck,” Meggie ordered.
“I won’t,” he said. “Promise.”
Once he reached the engineering bay, he pulled up his comm and called Sebastian.
Sebastian’s face popped up. “Hey, Beck. We’re training right now. Is it important?”
“You said you saw Icarus and the girls’ threads, right?”
Sebastian grinned. “Yeah. All three of them are beautiful. Icarus has a lot of you in him, and Sax reminds me of a mixture of Selene and Beol.”
“What about Meggie?”
“Meggie is… Meggie. She’s quirky and sweet, but beyond intelligent. I know you don’t want to hear this, but she’s smarter than your Icarus and Sax both.”
Beck grinned proudly. “She is really smart.” His grin faded, and he sighed. “Do you think they have souls?”
Death’s face appeared in Sebastian’s place. The man must have grabbed Sebastian’s wrist and pulled it toward him.
“They do have souls, Beck. I’m a little put out you haven’t asked me about it.”
Beck shrugged. “Never thought of it until now. Sorry, Dr. Morrick.”
“All three of your Bracken have beautiful souls,” Death said. “As Dr. Morrick, quantifying souls is impossible, and I hate even thinking of trying to prove their existence, but as Death, it’s simple. I see their souls.”
Beck hummed happily. “Thank you. I have a pilot to talk to.”
“No, you don’t.”
Beol’s voice came from behind him, and Beck jumped, yelping, as he turned around. He ended the call without saying goodbye.
“I didn’t ask Death anything,” Beck said hurriedly. “He just volunteered information. I was talking to Sebastian.”
Beol held a dagger in his right hand and flipped it over and over again. “I went straight to the source. I had a little chat with Dannol. Meggie is young, and I don’t want him taking advantage of her.”
“Oh,” Beck said, hugging his tail to him. “I get all shivery when you go badass assassin on people. What did he say?”
Beol scowled and stopped flipping his dagger. “He’ll talk to her later. It’s not our business apparently.”
Beck gasped in outrage. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No. I even showed him my favorite weapons and threatened to eat his chicken.”
“Dannol refused to tell you? Our sweet, hug-addicted Dannol?”
“We need to elect a new Council member to replace Brinanda before we vote on citizenship.”
“That could take months,” Beck protested.
Beol pulled Beck’s tail out of his hand and linked his fingers with his mate’s.
“It could,” Mitchell agreed. “That’s why I suggest you take Meggie, Sax, and Icarus with you on the mission. You all will be traveling under the radar, and the only people who will know your exact location can be fully trusted.”
“It would give us the time we need to elect a replacement and vote on your citizenship,” Councilwoman Rundel said. The older Siren moaned as she arched her back. “Maybe we should replace me too. I’m getting too old for all this drama.”
Fasi snorted. “You aren’t leaving us, Rundel. I forbid it.”
She gave him a look. “Don’t get too big for your britches there, Lord Admiral. Anyway, we think it will be safer for you three, even if it means being confined to a small ship for months.”
Meggie grinned. “I’m absolutely fine with that. I would love to be able to help Beck and Beol.”
Sax nodded. “I’ll fight for whoever will take me on as crew.”
“She’s mine,” Hack yelled before Dru could say anything.
“Not fair.” Dru scowled from her seat in her husband’s lap. Her newt, Monty, sat on her head as usual.
“You took like half my crew with you,” Hack said. “It’s completely fair.”
“You have Princess Buttercup!”
They all looked at Leti’s Fire Veil Dragon. The large beast slept in the middle of the rug, puffs of smoke coming from his nose with each breath. Morgan’s baby Frost Veil Dragon, Stardust, was curled on top of his head. Tiny bursts of ice and frost blew from his nose as he snored, just like Princess.
“I’m not convinced Princess is as valuable as we think he is,” Hack said dryly.
“Will,” Leti said with a gasp. “You take that back.”
Hack winced. “Baby, I’m negotiating here.”
Dru rolled her eyes. “If you get Sax and Beol, then I get Cordelia. You know she’ll want to spend the trip with Quinn anyway.”
“Fine, but I get Rune,” Hack said. “Silas will be all weepy if he can’t spend time with his man.”
“Rus wants to go too,” Sax said, smiling softly. “He already spoke to Juniper about going in his place to cook for the Blue Solace. Juniper said he’d transfer to Dru’s ship to make sure they don’t poison themselves.”
“I don’t know, Sax. You all are so young, and this would be your first mission.” Beol frowned. “This won’t be easy.”
“No, it won’t be.” Sax met his gaze. “If we want Charybdis Station to accept us, then we need to prove our worth. That’s not fair, but it’s how it is. The Council and Fasi can stand behind us all they want, but if the average person sees us as outsiders, then that’s what we’ll always be.”
“No,” Leti said and stood, stomping over to Sax. “Charybdis Station has taken in so many, and you three are just like them.”
He tried to hug Sax while standing, but tipped over, falling on top of her and Meggie.
Meggie and Sax both laughed and helped him straighten up.
“It’s fine, Leti. We know we’re different, but different doesn’t mean worse or even better. We want to prove ourselves,” Meggie said.
Beol huffed. He wanted to stay mad at Meggie for her loud-mouthed ways, but he was so damn proud of her and Sax.
Beck pulled him close, and suddenly, Beol found himself face to face with Sami. The little Betonize boy grinned at him, and Beol couldn’t help but smile back. He covered his abdomen with his hand and sighed.
Tinker hummed against his neck, small body thrumming with excitement. Beol didn’t know how much she understood, but she knew something was changing.
After eating and discussing their plans, Beol and his family finally made it home. Ninetta and Gregor were asleep on the couch.
“Why didn’t they go back to Gregor’s apartment?” Icarus looked at them over the back of the couch.
“Who knows? They look comfortable,” Beck said, smiling. “We can let them sleep.”
Later that night, Beol hung onto Beck’s shoulders and pressed his face against his neck. Beck arched against him, dick filling Beol’s ass.
“I love you so much, Beol.”
Beol groaned when Beck hit just the right spot. “Love you too.”
The words came easy, feeling as natural as their bodies moving together.
Chapter 13
Silverlight System, Planet Vextonar - One month later
Beck curled around his sleeping mate. He lay in bed and listened to the familiar sounds of the Blue Solace. Dr. Bloop snored from the bottom of the bed. He had gotten so much bigger in the past month that his pet bed was too small.
It was strange, but Beck had missed the ship so much. Everyone was close together, and the troubles of the galaxy had a way of seeming far away.
Their room was connected to the engineering bay and smelled like all his favorite things – Beol, oil, and metal. Icarus had hung some plants up for him, but otherwise, it was big, comfy used furniture and warm colors.
Tinker’s new house sat under the porthole, adding a large spot of color to the room. Beck could see the little Fyrling moving around to check on her own tiny plants. Rus was a firm believer that every home needed plants.
Beck smiled and nuzzled Beol’s neck.
“No,” Beol said.
“What are you talking about?” Beck tried to sound innocent.
“You want to fuck again.” Beol rolled over and buried his face against Beck’s chest. “I’m too tired. Your damn kids drain me. Little fucking leeches.”
Beck stroked his mate’s back and made soothing sounds, even though he wanted to laugh. Beol wasn’t handling pregnancy well. He was either nauseous or sleepy. There was no other state of being.
“Meggie says the second trimester should be a little easier.”
Actually, she had said the second trimester came with new, fun adventures. Beck thought Beol might not need to hear that.
“It better be. I have a guild to run, and I still need to train.”
“I’m sorry. I’d carry the babies if I could.”
Beol scowled. “Fucking biology. These kids better be worth it.”
Beck grinned. “Or what?”
Beol bit his shoulder. “Or they’ll never have more siblings unless they’re androids.”
Dannol’s voice came over the ship’s comm. “We’re docking in Vextonar now. Captain, uh, I mean General Hack wants everyone up and on guard.”
Beol slowly sat up. “I’m going to check in with Wolfe and Noe. I need to make sure they haven’t killed Moyra since we talked last time.”
Beck laughed. Moyra was a bit crazy, but she made a good captain, even if she was annoying and unpredictable.
“You mean, your visit isn’t about checking up on your little brother?”
Beol pulled his clothes on and gave Beck a sheepish look. “Maybe a little bit. I’m getting used to him standing on his own two feet, but I miss the fucker. Are you getting up?”
“I’ll be fueling up the ship.” Beck sighed. “I like our home on the station, but I’ve gotta admit, I love our comfy love nest here.”
“It’s nice and private. That’s for sure.” Beol leaned over and kissed him. “Be careful, Sparky. Vextonar isn’t a friendly planet anymore.”
“As if it ever was,” Beck grumbled, then climbed out of bed. The faster they got this done, the faster they could leave.
Beck finished fueling up the ship, feeling damn antsy. Vextonar was crawling with Humans First soldiers. The only way they had managed to land without being detected was with Dottie’s help. Their ship was docked in the far back of the spaceport and listed as a Drellian merchant ship.
The older woman stood beside him, as nervous as he was. She watched her tablet carefully, answering questions and keeping an eye on her port.
“Dottie, I’ve never seen you look this worried.”
She looked up and rolled her shoulders. “I sent my family off planet.”
“What? Your family’s been here for over six generations.”
“The Prime never liked me much, Beck, but now they scare me. You know me. I can’t keep my mouth shut, and now I’m on their watch list.”
“Watch list?” Beck shuddered.
“Truthfully, I’ve always been on it. They’re just bolder now about saying it.”
“You need to leave while you can, Dottie.”
The woman shook her head. “I’m smuggling folks off planet every day. I won’t leave people behind. Hell, I helped a bunch of Leti’s university friends and their families leave just yesterday.”
Beck frowned. “Why can’t they just leave?”
“Vextonar isn’t letting citizens leave without special permission.”
“Why would they want people to stay if they don’t want to be here?”
She looked around, then leaned close. “I have a friend that works for enforcement. From what I hear, they’ll be rounding up all those that ain’t pure enough to sell. They want to keep everyone here so they can make money off them.”
Beck’s eyes widened in horror. “Fuck, that’s horrible. That can’t be true.”
“That’s why I’m smuggling folks.” Dottie gave him a stubborn look. “I’ll get caught eventually, but until then, I’m gonna save as many as I can. You make sure Captain Hack checks in on my grandkids, okay?”
Beck smiled sadly. “It’s General Hack now, and you bet your ass we’ll watch out for your family. They heading to Charybdis Station?”
She nodded. “I’m sending everyone I can to the Anchor’s Rest system or Tammol.” Her comm chimed, and she looked down at it. “Gotta move on.”
“Dottie?”
She looked up. “Yeah?”
“Thank you. For everything you’ve done for us, and everything you’re doing for your planet. We’re gonna do our best to make this better.”
Her eyes softened, and she reached up to pat his cheek. “I know you will. Even when you all were mercenaries, you were honorable. I wish Vextonar was a better place.”
“Maybe one day it will be.”
Dottie left, and Beck checked on Lerais. He was still fueling up the Blue Sparrow, so Beck went in to talk to Dru.
“Hey, Beck,” Fire said as he ran past. Two guinea pigs chased after the Element, rolling quickly in their balls.
Beck shook his head and grinned. He found Dru in the training room with Morgan and Alois. They watched Sebastian and Death train Remy and a young woman.
Sebastian’s apprentice was an interesting man. He had been captured by the Concords on Union Station, then tortured. By the time they had managed to rescue him, it had been too late. The man had died.
Beck still didn’t really understand how he’d been resurrected, but he had. It had changed the way he looked, but as far as they could tell, he was the same man he had been before. His cat, Potato, still adored him in any case.
The cat watched Sebastian from beside Dru, eyes following every move Remy made.
“How’s it going?” Beck nudged Dru with his shoulder, and she jumped.
“We’re not dead yet,” she said and shrugged. Monty scrambled from her shoulder to her head, unhappy with the movement.
“Is Remy making progress?”
Alois moved closer. “Death says he catches on even better than Sebastian did. I wonder if it’s because he died. He says he doesn’t remember anything about it, but that has to have an effect, right?”
Beck shrugged. “I know metal, circuits, and wires. Don’t ask me. Who’s the woman?”
“Jalyn. She’s a soldier from Xav’s ship and decided she wanted to train with Sebastian.” Dru grinned. “You should have seen Xav’s face. He was shocked as hell. Apparently, she’s friends with Remy and is already close to awakening, or whatever the fuck they called it.”
Morgan looked thoughtful. “As much as I hate the Queen and the asshole Elements, it makes me happy to see something of the Crells survive. Their species may be gone now, but Crellic shamanism and their history still goes on.”
Beck nodded. “Yeah. That’s not too bad, is it?”
Lerais came in and wrapped Dru in his arms. “Captain Sweet Mama, we’re fueled and ready to go.”
“I better get back to my own ship.” Beck waved goodbye and went back to the Blue Solace, checking on the other ships on his way.
“Dad,” Icarus said. He waited with Beol, Sax, and Meggie at the ramp. “We were worried. Why didn’t you come back to the ship right away?”
Dr. Bloop sat at Beol’s feet and gave Beck a stern look. He wore his Blue Solace vest and goggles today.
“This is not the place to go wandering, Beck.” Meggie glared at him with her hands on her hips.
“I’m sorry,” he said, wincing. “I wanted to check on the others. We’re leaving now, so don’t worry too much.”
“I’ll let Selene know you’re alive,” Sax said, turning away from him. “She was worried.”
Beck smiled fondly. “She was worried?”
Sax looked over her shoulder. “Maybe it was me.”
Icarus watched her walk away, and Beck sighed. “Rus, are you attracted to Sax?”
Meggie snorted. “You’re only now asking? The man is crazy about her.”
Icarus looked at them in horror. “Am I obvious? I know she can do so much better than me.”
Beck huffed. “No one is better than you.”
“She would be lucky to have you,” Beol added.
Meggie patted Icarus’s arm. “Pay a little more attention, big guy, and you’ll notice how she watches you too.”
Beck bit his lip. “Son, do we need to have the talk? I built you both, so I know what parts you’ve got.”
Meggie leaned against Beol, laughing hard. “Oh, please, Beck. Please give him the talk. Do you have any hand puppets?”
Beck gave her a disgruntled look. “It’s perfectly natural to have questions, Meggie. Icarus? Do you have any questions?”
Icarus groaned and pressed his hands to his cheeks. “If I could blush, I would be blushing. No, Dad. I don’t have questions. Our programming was thorough in explaining our biology.”
“You sound like a bot,” Meggie said. She deepened her voice. “Our programming was thorough, boop, boop, beep, beep.”
Beck snickered.
Icarus gave them all a disgusted look. “Fuck you all. I’m going to make a cake.”
He left, and Dr. Bloop followed him, nose in the air. “Woof.”
Beck and Beol turned their attention to Meggie.
She arched a brow, smirking. “What?”
Beck crossed his arms. “What about you? Do you have your eye on anyone?”
She looked sad for a moment. “We don’t have souls, do we? I really like someone, but what if his life-mate shows up one day?”
“Why do you think you don’t have a soul?” Beol frowned. “I know you were created, but you’re sentient. You’re a person. I would think that means you have a soul.”
Meggie shrugged. “I’m afraid to ask Death. If he confirms we don’t, I’ll know I can never have Dannol.”
“Dannol!” Beck grinned. “Oh, Meggie. He’s a really good guy.”
She smiled. “We talk a lot. He has to stay on the bridge most of the time, and he doesn’t sleep much. I even like his rooster, Hector.” Her smile disappeared, and she gave them a self-deprecating look. “He’s a Havenite, Beck. He would be able to tell if we were life-mates, and he hasn’t said anything.”
Beck felt the ship take off. “I need to go check on something.”
He started toward his room, Meggie and Beol’s eyes following him.
“You had better not ask Death about souls, Beck,” Meggie ordered.
“I won’t,” he said. “Promise.”
Once he reached the engineering bay, he pulled up his comm and called Sebastian.
Sebastian’s face popped up. “Hey, Beck. We’re training right now. Is it important?”
“You said you saw Icarus and the girls’ threads, right?”
Sebastian grinned. “Yeah. All three of them are beautiful. Icarus has a lot of you in him, and Sax reminds me of a mixture of Selene and Beol.”
“What about Meggie?”
“Meggie is… Meggie. She’s quirky and sweet, but beyond intelligent. I know you don’t want to hear this, but she’s smarter than your Icarus and Sax both.”
Beck grinned proudly. “She is really smart.” His grin faded, and he sighed. “Do you think they have souls?”
Death’s face appeared in Sebastian’s place. The man must have grabbed Sebastian’s wrist and pulled it toward him.
“They do have souls, Beck. I’m a little put out you haven’t asked me about it.”
Beck shrugged. “Never thought of it until now. Sorry, Dr. Morrick.”
“All three of your Bracken have beautiful souls,” Death said. “As Dr. Morrick, quantifying souls is impossible, and I hate even thinking of trying to prove their existence, but as Death, it’s simple. I see their souls.”
Beck hummed happily. “Thank you. I have a pilot to talk to.”
“No, you don’t.”
Beol’s voice came from behind him, and Beck jumped, yelping, as he turned around. He ended the call without saying goodbye.
“I didn’t ask Death anything,” Beck said hurriedly. “He just volunteered information. I was talking to Sebastian.”
Beol held a dagger in his right hand and flipped it over and over again. “I went straight to the source. I had a little chat with Dannol. Meggie is young, and I don’t want him taking advantage of her.”
“Oh,” Beck said, hugging his tail to him. “I get all shivery when you go badass assassin on people. What did he say?”
Beol scowled and stopped flipping his dagger. “He’ll talk to her later. It’s not our business apparently.”
Beck gasped in outrage. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No. I even showed him my favorite weapons and threatened to eat his chicken.”
“Dannol refused to tell you? Our sweet, hug-addicted Dannol?”
