Try as they might to sleep platonically with each other, especially since Vo'ptinh knew she was uncomfortable with the idea of being intimate with him, they finally realized they not only truly wanted each other physically, but they needed each other.
“P̄hm rạk khuṇ.
“C̄hạn tid xyū̀ nı k̄heā k̄hxng khuṇ“, he said. (I love you. I've been caught in your horns.)
”I want you, I've wanted you for so long. I need you tonight, but I won't force you, Ke'zulah. If you don't want to, it's alright. I won't be upset.“, he said.
”What do you want from me, Commander?“, she asked, gently resting her left hand on his right arm.
”I want...I'd like us to be lovers. I'd like you to be my lover and one day, if and when you're ready, I'd like you to be my wife. I won't force you, though.“, replied Vo'ptinh, gently caressing her left horn, then giving her a tender kiss.
”There are 12 years between us, Command...I mean, Vo'ptinh. It's not acceptable in our culture.“, she said.
”True, but does our age difference really matter, Ke'zulah? It doesn't to me.“, he replied.
”Is it acceptable here among these aliens?“, Ke'zulah asked.
”I doubt it and, even if it wasn't, they have nothing to say about our relationship. Just as we have nothing to say about their relationships. That's their business, just as our relationship is our business and ours alone.
“I wish we could go back to that night in my cabin when I proclaimed my love for you and we kissed for the first time. It felt so wonderful with you in my arms, just as it did those last few days and nights on the bridge before we were rescued.”, he said, kissing her tenderly and gently caressing her left horn.
“I was in your arms because we were dying. We were going to be in each other's arms as we started our journey to the stars for all eternity. We were dying.”, she replied, tenderly caressing his cheek and right horn.
“Yes, and now we can still be in each other's arms through all eternity, although we're not going to the stars just yet. I'm just grateful we can still be in each other's arms, if you'd like, that is.”, he said, kissing her once more.
He kissed her tenderly several more times, then very passionately. Ke'zulah tentatively returned his kisses, although her kisses were slowly becoming every bit as passionate as his.
In her mind, Vo'ptinh was still her commander. It felt odd to her to be kissing him...and desiring him as well.
However, she couldn't deny her attraction to him from the moment they'd met on the bridge of their previous ship. She'd fought the attraction as hard as she could due to having been widowed shortly before she'd joined his crew, as well as the fact that he was her commanding officer.
Tonight, though, whether it was from almost a year of no romantic contact, what they'd gone through their last 6 weeks on their ship, the emotions they were dealing with now that they were living among aliens, their conversation reliving their being in each other's arms thinking they were dying, or even a combination of all of those factors, but she could no longer hold back, just as Vo'ptinh couldn't hold back anymore.
They both finally gave in to the needs, their desires, very passionately and vigorously enjoying each other for the very first time. They proceeded to enjoy each other several more times that night, and into the next morning as well.
The next morning they showered, dressed and had a light breakfast. Neither were big breakfast eaters. They were occasionally, though, but not very often.
Vo'ptinh then went to work. He met Craig and T'Planh in the Ready Room for a quick meeting.
“Good morning, Vo'ptinh! I hope you and Ke'zulah slept well and are settling in okay.”, Craig said.
“Good morning. Yes, we slept quite well. Our cabin is very comfortable. Ke'zulah loves the kitchen! We're both enjoying the replicator. We Vh'rilots don't have that technology unfortunately.
”It would've made things much easier on my last ship had we had replicators. At least the members of my crew who survived the asteroid crash would still be alive rather than dead from starvation.”, Vo'ptinh replied.
“I can imagine that definitely would have. We're all thrilled to have you both here, and would've gladly offered your surviving crew positions here as well.
“The crew here is, I think, the best around. They're definitely the best you'll ever serve with, in my opinion. I'm sure you felt the same way about your crew.
”As I explained the other day, the entire crew is a mix of various races. They're all good people. Our ship's school is for pre-school all the way through Secondary. The teacher is incredible!
“I run a fairly tight ship, but saluting isn't required. What IS required is respect from my crew. Feel free to disagree with me anytime. I'm not perfect, nor do or will I ever claim to be perfect. T'Planh can't attest to that!
”My only rule is that you don't openly disagree with or disrespect my decision once an order's been given.
“I know having commander a ship for so long it might be hard to keep your ego in check or to let me be in charge. I'll be honest with you...I'd probably have problems keeping my ego in check and not wanting to over-rule you if you were the commander and I was in your shoes.
“However, save it for here in the Ready Room and keep it just between us. This is going to be a long mission, and I want to keep the crew's morale up. Arguing in front of them won't be good for morale.”
“I understand completely. I had the same rules on my ship. Thank you for understanding the position I'm in.
“Commander, permission to speak freely, Sir.”, he said.
“Yes, absolutely.”, Craig replied, smiling ever-so-slightly. He and T'Planh were full of respect for Vo'ptinh.
They knew it'd be extremely hard for either of them to humble themselves the way Vo'ptinh was having to do, and to do so around strangers, especially around Craig and T'Planh, two aliens who'd seen him at his absolute physical worst as he lay comatose, and at his emotional worst as he returned to his ship to salvage little what was left as he was wheeled among the bodies of his crew and, again, barely an hour later as he sat on their bridge and vaporized his ship.
”Although I was commander of my ship, I give you my word that I'll serve you as your co-second-in-command honorably, faithfully, and to the best of my ability.
“I'll not let any reservations about your alien cultures cloud my judgement in serving on this ship. I'll also my best to make sure my ego won't get in the way. This is your ship, Commander, and you'll always have my utmost respect, as will you, T'Planh, and everyone else. Ke'zulah will show you all the same loyalty and respect. You have our fealty, and always will, Sir.
“I do have one question, though...
“Are we allowed to wear our Vh'rilot Union uniforms or should we wear Interstellar Federation uniforms? I put my Vh'rilot uniform on today since that was what I had available.
”I'm willing to wear whichever uniform you'd like me to. However, Ke'zulah prefers to wear everyday clothes or her Vh'rilot uniform, preferably without boots since they make her nervous and afraid.
“However, if required she'll wear a uniform from your Federation, although she'd prefer not to wear boots if possible.“, said Vo'ptinh, smiling at the memory of their first meeting and their conversation about boots.
”You're both more than welcome to wear your uniforms from your Union. We all wear different uniforms because we're all from different governments.
“I can understand if both of you get jitters over working with races you're not very sure of, especially after what you've just gone through with your ship the last 6 weeks or so. You have our loyalty and respect as well. Both of you do. We'll do our best to make this transition as easy as possible for you both.”, Craig said.
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