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Ellis opened his mouth to speak, thought better of whatever he intended to say, and pursed his lips
angrily.  Then start looking. He quickly donned his pants, avoiding Julian s eyes. Without a backward
glance, he marched towards the other end of the room.
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Soul Bond
Julian practically felt him hit the button to exit the room and glared at the doors as they opened and
closed behind his lover. His communicator was still blinking insistently in his hand, Orifian still trying get
through to him. Julian didn t bother to withhold an irritated sneer. Tossing it across the bridge and out of
reach, he grabbed his clothes and dressed quickly, abandoning his work for a lonely walk back to his
quarters.
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Chapter Six
Deep Space Shipping Route  Endoria
Coalition Standard Date 108-264.95
Julian woke relaxed despite the regretful ending to his evening. It was strange after the frantic pace of
the previous years. The war with the Frenze had caught him off guard and kept him shaky and
uncomfortable, caught on an edge of his own devices; torn between his love for freedom and his father s
expectations. His&  relationship with Ellis was the same sort of indulgence he had enjoyed during his
younger years but had lacked the opportunity to pursue since the beginning of the war.
He wasn t quite allowing himself to hum when he joined Orifian in his ready room, but only because
he wasn t prepared to alienate the other man further. He had gone to bed without answering any more of
Orifian s hails and the other man had taken it upon himself to barge into Julian s cabin to ensure that no
harm had come to his commanding officer.
Julian wasn t fond of his chief mate but made the best of the circumstances. Conrad Orifian had been
forced aboard by the Coalition when Julian had been hired on and he had little chance of ridding himself of
the man until the war was over and he was able to break his ties with the Coalition without fear of
repercussions. Julian was resigned to that and tried not to let the man s glare bother him while he pulled up
the star map to plot out their course along the Frenze trading lines. Thankfully, they made it through the
first hour without incident or comment; he couldn t imagine himself dealing with Orifian s contempt with
particularly good grace.
A chime at the door interrupted their debate over the value of intercepting cargo vessels over
passenger crafts. Julian didn t have the chance to call out permission to enter before the doors slid open and
Barth strode inside.
 I need to talk to you, he said, either oblivious to or uninterested in the nasty stare Orifian fixed on
him.
Julian eyed the Cembrian. Sometimes it was easy to read whatever was on the alien s mind. The
current set of his jaw and twitching of the cartilage ridging his nose and cheeks indicated severe irritation,
though at what was anyone s guess. Barth s irritation tended to run between relatively innocuous to
horrifying on a galactic scale.
 I m a bit busy, Julian said.
Soul Bond
 I can wait. He stood against the smooth gray wall and allowed Julian to turn back to the table to
collect his thoughts. Despite his attempts to focus on the star map, the alien s unwavering attention dug
holes into his back. After a few abortive attempts to resume the conversation, he sighed.  Mr. Orifian& 
The chief mate s mouth dropped with indignant shock. As if staring at the previously clear routes in
useless silence was an effective use of their time.
 Return to the bridge. We ll continue this conversation later.
 Captain, with all due respect 
 Now.
Orifian made his way to the doors, huffy, and pinned Barth with a nasty scowl. The Cembrian ignored
him, his silence more chastising that any well-placed words might have been.
They waited quietly until the door had closed. Julian finally allowed an irritated scowl.  I don t
appreciate 
 You know what I hate?
Julian settled his hip against the table.  What?
 I hate people who ruin a good thing for stupid reasons.
Julian felt a stab of annoyance at Ellis for involving his crew. It was poor form.  I am not discussing
this with you.
He started towards the door, but Barth s hand shot out and pushed him back. His middle talon pricked
Julian s shirt, not quite hard enough to break through the fabric.  Fine.
Julian had a short moment of satisfaction before Barth continued. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]