The Covenant (16 page)

her muscles made him groan as she climaxed.

Sated, limp, content, she drifted afterwards, aware of her position

between them. Warm, safe, protected.

A hand stroked her hair. She made the effort and lifted her lashes.

“Uhm.”

“You’re so beautiful, Lieutenant.” Larik had his habitual sexy smile in

place. “I thought so even when you had a weapon in your hand, firing at the

enemy.”

Trey feathered his fingers down her bare arm. “I thought she was the

most gorgeous when she was spouting military jargon at the commander of

the patrol and helped us find this transport. I believe she impersonated a

higher ranking officer.”

She had in a definite violation of the rules, but when Larik had told her

where a fueled transport was and Trey had promised to fly them off Rapt

One, she’d been more than willing to take the risk.

“What are you two going to do, turn me in?” She gave a small,

involuntary yawn. “It helped get us out of there, didn’t it?”

Larik laughed. “See, I knew I could corrupt even a straight-laced,

upright officer like yourself, Lieutenant Thorne. By regulation is fine,

unless…well, you need to bend the rules.”

“It seems to me you left behind a colony in complete chaos, Armada,”

she said in cool reprimand. “I’m going to guess I’ll be writing reports on this

for weeks to my superiors.”

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“Hey, I didn’t cause the chaos directly and it would have happened

sooner or later with or without me. I was the catalyst maybe, but The

Covenant also failed.”

Yes, it had. She yawned again.

“You need your rest.” One of them kissed her. She thought it was Larik,

but it could have been Trey, the pressure against her lips soft and gentle.

Then she drifted off.

* * * *

Ian touched the condensation on his glass with a long forefinger, his

expression thoughtful. “Leeta Vitol ended up on Minoa because the

Governor at the time felt guilty about the misfire of the Acadian

Experiment. He took her into his family, and she was bright, ambitious, and

I doubt he ever suspected in any way she was in touch with the faction that

stole the cargo ship and escaped.”

Ran replenished his drink. “I thought our background checks inviolate,

but actually, I would never have blinked over her association with the

Acadien group. You have to know the history and the tie to The Covenant.

Leeta Vitol was successful and progressive in her thinking. Yes, a little

aggressive now and again, but she was the only female Council member. I

thought it was expected she would need to make sure she was heard.”

“Everything was organized by her. The whole group answered to her

direction. According to Armada, when he spoke with Ravenot and he

mentioned they knew Armada could contact you, it made them speed up

their plans. That’s when Armada realized it had to be a Council member.

You wouldn’t have told anyone else.”

“Not even my wife,” Ran agreed wryly.

Ian looked at him, his dark eyes serious. “They had a pretty complicated

agenda planned. Starting with the outer colonies, they were going to take

over one after another. With the arsenal of resources on Rapt One, they

would be a formidable force. The stolen mantonium was the least of it. If

they managed to rule several more planets, they might have slowly spread

their power, like an infectious disease. With Vitol on the Universal Council,

they would have always known what was coming next, too. Our military

would have been met with precise resistance because having the upper hand

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is imperative in any battle. She could feed them inside information at every

turn.”

“You’re saying it might have worked.” The idea of it chilled him..

“It might have.” His friend nodded, leaning back. “What are you going

to do?”

“With Vitol?” It bothered him, euthanizing a colleague out his realm of

experience. “The penalty for treason is clear. It was no secret to her what

would happen if we found what she was doing.”

“But,” Ian said with unemotional logic, “this is a monster Minoa

created. She was sent at birth to Acadien. What happened next isn’t really

her fault.”

Through the large window in the dining cubicle he could see the

spattering of stars across the sky over Minoa’s First City. In another room

Jerra sang to one of the children, her voice low and sweet. Ran rubbed his

jaw as he tried to picture one of his own children abandoned and placed in

an atmosphere without soft arms to hold them, no songs, but instead intense

disciplined training. “I know.”

“She was raised to try and seize control. To view the universe by order

of who has power, who doesn’t, and where it might be taken.”

“The point is made.” Ran restlessly reached for his glass and took a

drink. He set it down. “Are you saying we should show leniency? Your

observation is the very argument against her. She can’t be changed. Set her

free and The Covenant might form again.”

“Ravenot is dead.” It was true, the chief engineer had been found in a

lifeless state, probably from a self-inflicted shot. Ian added gruffly, “I’d do

the same thing in his place. I’d prefer to die my own way.”

“It will take years for Rapt One to rebuild. We aren’t even sure if we

recovered all the stolen mantonium. There’s no way to tell.”

“True.”

Ran cocked a brow and stared at his old friend. “You think we should

show mercy.”

“It’s time the children of Acadien learned what it meant, don’t you

agree?” Ian stood to his impressive height in one fluid movement. “Please

thank Jerra for dinner for me.”

After he’d gone Ran went into their sleeping quarters. Their daughter

still slept in a small cradle by the bed, peaceful and quiet, long lashes

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pillowed on her plump cheeks, her thumb nestled in her mouth. Jerra held an

open book, tendrils of golden hair tumbled over her bared shoulders. She

glanced up as he came in.

He said unnecessarily, “Ian left. He said thanks for the hospitality.”

“He’s always welcome here.” She smiled in a quixotic curve of her soft

lips. “Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

A short laugh escaped. “Do you know me that well?”

“Yes.”

She did. She was his mate in every way and he adored her. Ran

wandered over and sat on the edge of the bed. “It wasn’t said in so many

words, but he wants me to intervene on behalf of the captured members of

The Covenant.”

Jerra knitted her brow. “Does he?”

“I’m unsure if it is the best course. Vitol was a member of the Universal

Council and she plotted to take over a planet with plans for further coups.

It’s treason, through and through.”

“I see.”

He shot her a rueful look. “You agree with him, don’t you?”

For a moment she was quiet, and then she nodded. “I agree that Minoa

is very powerful and can make a statement over this one way or the other. A

handful of rebels almost took over an entire colony. It has you shaken. But

the truth is, our own government trained the rebels and look how efficient

they ended up being. All of them had ascended into high-ranking positions,

and all of them believed in the cause of liberation. Yes, they were willing to

use violence, but on the other hand, they didn’t use the virus, which they

could have. They didn’t kill Governor Halden or his staff, and most of the

explosions were set in places to cause mayhem but not kill. They wanted

power and control but you must admit they had the capability to do much

more damage.”

“True,” he admitted grudgingly.

His wife’s smile was punctuated by a laugh. “You, darling, are upset

because you never suspected Leeta Vitol. Your pride is injured.”

Was it? Maybe. He stood and slipped off his shirt, and then sat back

down to remove his boots. “Tell me more about how I’m feeling.”

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Her lacy lashes lowered a little. “Are we still talking about The

Covenant?”

“No.” He crawled into bed beside her and took her in his arms, his

mouth finding hers in a searing kiss.

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The man behind the desk folded his hands together and looked around

the room. A muscle twitched in his cheek. “Shall we discuss regulation

051?”

Aspen stifled an inner sigh.

To her amusement, both Trey and Larik seemed incapable of a response.

The flippant, rule-defying genius engineer and the cocky pilot silenced

under a father’s accusing glare. How interesting.

It was comical to see them disconcerted, but she wanted nothing more

than to go home. Upon landing on Minoa, the last thing she expected was to

be ordered straight to her father’s office. A reunion would be nice, but an

official lecture she could live without.

She said, “It was an unusual situation.”

“It certainly was. As far as I can tell, you three almost managed to

destroy an entire planet. Then you left without orders, not to mention

commandeered property of the Rapt One government. I don’t even want to

get into the serious nature of the security breaches, both on Rapt One, and

apparently even into the Universal Council system.”

That was neither fair nor accurate—except for the part about the

transport, and well, also the security infringement—but a huge argument

held little appeal. “Can that be changed to we stopped an entire planet from

being destroyed? Really, Father, I—”

“Luckily, I have influence and so does Governor Halden, and for some

absurd reason, Governor Kartel is fond of Armada, so everyone is just going

to look the other way.”

She had wondered how her superiors felt about her abysmal failure to

keep Larik in line when it came to military protocol, but since she was going

to be on forced leave anyway, it probably didn’t matter all that much.

Besides, she sensed her father’s disapproving glower had much more to do

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with her pregnancy—now quite obvious, than what happened on Rapt One.

Larik was the unofficial hero of the day, even if the government wasn’t

interested in acknowledging it publicly because of his high-level infiltration

into the databases. Technically, he should be charged with espionage.

Her father transferred that cool stare to her. “Since you are a grown

woman, the physician you consulted on board the ship refused to tell me

anything about your condition other than that you are healthy and everything

appears normal.”

“I was sick in the mornings at first,” Aspen said using the same matterof-fact tone, “but feel fine now.” She had to fight the urge to place her hand

on the rounded curve of her stomach.

“Your mother was the same way when she carried you.” For the first

time his expression softened a little. Then he compressed his mouth together

and shot a lethal look at the two males sitting in upright in chairs, their usual

nonchalant confidence not in evidence. “You had a genetic scan, I assume,

to determine paternity.”

“Yes.”

“And? Which one will I have to deal with on a permanent basis?”

Both Trey and Larik looked at her. So far she had refused to reveal the

results of the test, wanting to wait for the right moment. This wasn’t really

what she had in mind, but they all had to know sooner or later and her father

was irritated enough already.

“Actually, both.” She blushed, she couldn’t help it. Warmth suffused her

neck and cheeks.

There was a small silence. Trey said, “I’m a little confused, so maybe

you can clarify for me how two males can father the same child.”

“I hate to agree with you on anything, Pilot, but on this point I do.” Her

father frowned, his brows shooting together. “Aspen, explain, please.”

“I think I can.” Larik’s mouth twitched into a pleased smile. “Twins.

That’s it, isn’t it? Fraternal twins. It happens now and then when a female

releases more than one egg and has multiple partners. It’s rare, but there are

plenty of precedents. One study several years ago stated—”

“Armada, skip the medical lecture, will you?” Trey shook his head in

exasperation, but he wore the same incredulous smile. “Is there anything

you
don’t
know?” His expression was poignantly hopeful as he looked her.

“Aspen, is it true?”

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She nodded, her throat a little tight with emotion. Both of them had

made it quite clear they wanted to be the father of her child and in her mind,

the way it worked out was a miracle. Choosing between them was

impossible. She loved Larik with his amazing intellect and quirky sense of

humor, and she loved Trey equally with his teasing charm and bravado.

They were considerate lovers but more importantly, decent and caring in

every other way as well. Their hovering solicitude on the journey back to

Minoa had driven her a little crazy, but she had also felt cherished and

protected.

Her father seemed speechless, which was a rare occurrence.