A massive interstellar war is raging, led by a vicious alien race known as the Maedrom. Humanity has become allied with many other alien races, all of which are trying to survive in the middle of this battle. Gabriel Nagra is a human engineer, assigned to develop a defense for the Maedrom's deadliest weapon. Assisting him is Jhuun, a male Eunnoian to whom Gabriel grows close…perhaps even a little too close.

The war has already led to heartbreak and the tragic loss of a lover for Gabriel. In addition, he worries about embracing physical intimacy with an alien. In the middle of destruction and uncertainty, will Gabriel let go of his doubts and fears for a chance at happiness with Jhuun, or will he risk facing the future alone yet again?

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Abyssal Zone

Copyright © 2011 Lazuli Jones

ISBN: 978-1-55487-801-7

Cover art by Angela Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

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Abyssal Zone

By

Lazuli Jones

Dedication

For B., who was there every step of the way.

Gabriel stepped out the airlock door, breathing in the warm, humid air of Section 27. Tired and drained from the journey, he paused against a bulkhead, staying out of the way as a medical team rushed past to assist one of the survivors, a man who had suffered a head wound during the evacuation and whose condition had become critical during transport. Gabriel did not know the man, even though they had lived and worked on the same station up until the attack.

The medical team placed the man on a gurney and rushed away again. The other survivors were exhausted, bloodied, unsteady on their feet, but healthy enough to file out in a slow procession now that the medical emergency was being handled.

Gabriel was already beginning to sweat. The air on this station was a drastic change from the dry and cold artificial atmosphere that once permeated Section 14, where the temperature had been adjusted for the comfort levels of both Humans and Wreeth. He swallowed thickly, willing to trade anything to touch the cold walls of his old station once again.

Around him, other evacuated survivors filed out of the airlock, looking as grim and bedraggled as Gabriel felt. All of them were Human, the Wreeth survivors had been taken to a different station, as they were unable to stand the hot temperature of Section 27. For reasons of safety, Gabriel and the others had had no idea to where they would be evacuated, until their ship docked and the survivors were quickly handed information on where to report once they entered the station.

The journey had been long, and the smell of acrid smoke still clung to Gabriel's clothes, much like the sound of alarm klaxons still clung to his memory. He had forced himself to watch, through the escaping shuttle's viewport, as the six Maedrom ships mercilessly battered the station, sucking in a breath of shock as he saw one of the ships deploying the brutal weapon that had become the bane of their existence, destroying the station in a shower of prickling amber energy.

It was quickly becoming a brutally familiar sight.

"Gabe! Holy shit!"

Gabriel raised his head, startled out of his dark reverie as a voice rose above the din of the crowd. Despite the weight of pain and exhaustion, he couldn't help but smile as he spotted a familiar form, one he had not seen in nearly three years, pushing and shoving his way through the crowd. He was soon trapped in a hug that jarred his aching body.

"I missed you, too, Kurt," he said against his friend's shoulder. When they pulled apart, Kurt took Gabriel's satchel, containing the meager belongings he had managed to save before evacuating, and hoisted it over his own shoulder.

"I can't believe you made it," Kurt said, looking relieved and happy, though somehow much older than Gabriel remembered, with a bit more gray in that floppy blond hair and a few more lines in the corner of his smile. Three years suddenly seemed like an eternity.

"I don't see you for ages," Kurt said. He cocked his head toward the corridor and Gabriel followed, glad to be away from the noisy, stifling airlock. "And then I hear about Section 14 being attacked and…I can't tell you what I imagined."

"Imagine actually being there," Gabriel said grimly.

"Yeah," Kurt said. He clasped Gabriel on the shoulder, making him wince—he'd wrenched it a bit while helping an injured Wreeth to its own escape ship. "It's awful. Really awful, Gabe. I'm really sorry about the station. I can't imagine…" He shook his head. "Anyway, you'll be fine here. You'll be safe. We're far from the front lines. The Maedrom never attack here."

"Yeah, that's what we thought about Section 14." Gabriel sighed and slid a finger in the collar of his ragged shirt; he was surprised at how warm it was. He noticed, for the first time, that Kurt was dressed rather informally in lightweight shorts and a tank top, also wearing the green belt that identified him as a member of the medical staff. Kurt had been a surgeon back on Earth.

"Is it always so hot here?"

"Yeah, welcome to Section 27," Kurt said. "You'll get used to it. It's for the comfort of the Eunnoians, they like it hot and humid."

Gabriel was used to such arrangements, having worked on more than one station where the environment was tempered to suit two or more alien races. Back on Section 14, the air had been cold and dry, to suit the Wreeth who came from a harsh, cold climate. The sudden heat and humidity was a stark contrast, stealing his breath away.

"You might want to consider dressing more lightly. Most of us do."

"I'll consider it," Gabriel said, wiping sweat away from his brow. "You mentioned Eunnoians?"

He realized he knew next to nothing about the aliens that shared the station. The name was familiar, as he knew most of the alien races that were allied against the Maedrom, though he tried and failed to picture a Eunnoian. The airlock and the corridors were filled with Humans, but he hadn't yet had a glimpse of the aliens.

"You'll meet some soon enough," Kurt said. He led them around a bend in the corridor, toward a lift. "I think your new boss is a Eunnoian. Are you staying in the engineering wing?"

"I am," Gabriel said. He tiredly fished around in his pocket for the personal reader he'd been given on the evacuation ship, containing the location of his quarters and his next orders. "I have to report to the engineering office first thing tomorrow morning."

"The engineering department here sure doesn't waste time," Kurt said as they boarded the lift. Kurt punched a few buttons and Gabriel wavered on his feet a bit as the lift began to ascend. "Listen…I know this isn't the best time, but I heard the broadcast six months ago, about the Northumbrian, and…"

Gabriel winced. It was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now.

"And I'm really sorry about Marcus. I wish I could have made it to the memorial."

"It's fine," Gabriel said listlessly. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling hot and parched.

"It's hardly fine. We've all lost people in this war, and nobody is fine with it. Especially not when you lose—"

"Can we talk about it later?"

The remainder of the lift ride was spent in silence until the lift stopped with a clang of hydraulics. The doors slid open into the engineering wing, a long empty corridor bisected by purple stripes. Kurt stepped out and Gabriel followed, reading the numbers on the quarter doors to find his.

"So," Kurt began, as though eager to break the silence. "Any idea why they're asking you to report to the office so soon?"

To his own surprise, Gabriel felt slightly elated, his lips quirking as he thought of the reason behind his quick summoning. "That's classified."

Kurt was no simpleton; he turned to face his friend with a slight smile on his pale face. "Come on. Classified, my ass. I've heard the rumors. Everyone has. You got one, didn't you? And it's here on the station?"

"I've no clue what you're talking about."

"So it is true." Kurt grinned. They stopped in front of a door marked ENG-074, Gabriel's assigned quarters. "We do have one of their energy weapons. It's the one that's been killing us, isn't it? They aired a broadcast about finding a wrecked Maedrom ship three weeks ago and then all of a sudden it's all hushed up. They wouldn't have stopped broadcasting about it unless there was something big involved, like finding one of their weapons!" Kurt pumped a fist. "And you've going to work on figuring it out, aren't you? Find us a defense against it."

"Honestly?" Gabriel said as he stepped inside his quarters. They were quite bare, with a bed and a desk and a broadcast screen, but looked good enough to call home. "I'm not sure myself what's going to happen next. But I do suspect I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks."

"I'll bet," Kurt said. He swung the satchel from his shoulder, depositing it on the tightly-made bed. "Then I'll wish you a very classified good luck."

"Thank you," Gabriel said, managing a weak smile as Kurt swung his arm to wrap around Gabriel's shoulders.

"It's great to see you again, Gabe. You have no idea."

It had taken a meal, a shower and several hours of solid sleep for Gabriel to begin feeling a bit more like himself. Eleven days on the evacuation ship had left him exhausted, reeking of smoke and oil from the collapsing station, and in desperate need of some peace and quiet.

Gabriel sighed as he got dressed, taking Kurt's suggestion and donning light pants and a shortsleeved shirt. Now that he was alone, it was hard not to think back to the attack, to the klaxon startling him away from his quarters, followed by the loudspeaker announcement calmly but urgently ordering the station crew to evacuate.

The attack and subsequent evacuation were nothing like Gabriel had imagined. Twice he'd fallen over, terrified and disoriented, as the station was rocked by blasts from the Maedrom ships. As he filed through the collapsing corridors, thick with smoke and other screaming evacuees, Gabriel felt something he could not have predicted—the sheer, hysterical panic that the next blast would be the death blow, that his life would soon be snuffed out in a shower of amber energy.

He'd seen plenty of broadcasts of Maedrom attacks, but not the attack on the Northumbrian, he thought darkly. There had been no footage to accompany the announcement of its destruction, and Gabriel wasn't sure if he was thankful for it or not, but it was the first time he'd ever been directly caught in one, and eleven days later, it still left him shaken. For a war that had lasted five years so far, he counted himself fortunate that he had only suffered one brush with death. Countless others had not been so fortunate.

But there was one consolation, and again Gabriel felt dangerously close to smiling as he thought of what awaited him in the engineering wing. He'd nearly fallen into despair after boarding the evacuation ship, until he'd run into a member of his engineering crew who confirmed that they had managed to wheel the—very classified—piece of equipment on board.

Time to pick up where he left off. Gabriel tied the purple belt, the color of engineering, around his waist and stepped out of his quarters into the corridor. It was deserted, but for a young Human female with jet-black hair who smiled as she passed Gabriel, continuing down the corridor and into the lift.

Gabriel had spent the entire previous night in his quarters and hadn't seen any of the Eunnoians yet. As he approached the engineering office door, he remembered Kurt's mention of his boss and felt a pang of nerves. He should have taken the time to read up at least a bit on Eunnoians before reporting for duty—after all, he'd spent two full weeks learning about the Wreeth before going to live with them—but it was too late now.

The door to the engineering office was framed with a purple stripe and there was a plate with two names printed in Human letters—Xhani Keehe-thona, and in smaller letters, Bianca Perlson. There was a complicated, looping script beneath the names, which he assumed where the names in written Eunnoian.

Gabriel rapped on the door and waited.

A deep female voice announced, "You may enter."

The door was moist with condensation as Gabriel pushed it open. Three faces turned to greet him and he blinked as he got his first glimpse of the Eunnoians.

The Wreeth had been short, much shorter than Humans, with compact bodies covered in thick gray fur, issued from a planet full of inhospitable winds and sub-zero temperatures. The Eunnoians, at first glance, were the opposite in every way.

One of the aliens sat behind the engineering desk, another other stood close by, in front of a deactivated broadcast screen. They were both tall, much taller than Gabriel, sleek, and smooth all over, with limbs and a torso that seemed uncommonly long. The one sitting behind the desk had pale green skin, two sets of fluttering ridges running down its collarbone and bare chest and inhumanly large golden eyes set in a completely hairless head.

The other, leaning elegantly against the desk, was indigo-skinned and green-eyed, the same ridges covering its chest, its thin mouth split into a wide smile. The two aliens also wore light, formfitting clothing, both were bare-chested. Gabriel wondered at their genders.

There was a Human woman there, too, with rich brown skin and long graying hair. She smiled warmly and approached Gabriel.

"You must be Gabriel Nagra," she said, holding out her hand.

Gabriel shook it and nodded.

"I'm Bianca Perlson, assistant director of engineering. This is Xhani." She extended her hand toward the Eunnoian sitting behind the desk. "You will be reporting to her."

He suspected Bianca had made a deliberate effort to use the gendered pronoun, to ease at least part of his confusion with this new situation, and was grateful to her. Xhani rose, but did not extend her hand. Gabriel wished he had learned a Eunnoian greeting. The Wreeth did not shake hands, but politely bumped forearms. He doubted that particular greeting extended across another alien race and made a mental note to do a bit of research the moment he had some free time.

"It's nice to meet you," he said. "I'm thankful you allowed me to join your department."

Xhani made a clucking sound and quirked her

flat lips into an awkward smile, as though she seldom used the expression. "I'm thankful for the work you have done to date," she said, her voice oddly-accented. "You will do us all a great service if your progress continues."

"I certainly hope so."

"And this," Bianca said, now extending her hand toward the other Eunnoian, the one still standing by the desk. "Is Jhuun Tori-senh. He has been eager to meet you."

To Gabriel's surprise, Jhuun immediately extended a long-fingered hand. He shook it, the palm felt warm and strangely-textured against his.

"I've read all the reports you have submitted to date," Jhuun said. His voice was mellifluous and otherworldly, and he spoke with the same accent as Xhani, though his was not as strong. "The circumstances that brought you here are not pleasant, Gabriel, but I am thankful for our meeting. I have anticipated working alongside you."

"That's kind," Gabriel said, only just realizing he still held Jhuun's hand. He released it gently. "But I don't need an assistant."

"Jhuun is not an assistant," said Xhani. She strode around the desk with long, measured steps, towering austerely over Gabriel. "He is our most skilled engineer. You will find his insight indispensable."

"Thank you," Gabriel said evenly. "I'm certain I will."

"Now, come!" Bianca said, cocking her head toward a small door on the side of the office. "I'll bet you're very eager to get your hands on your project again."

"Yes, absolutely."

Gabriel followed the trio through the door so low that Xhani and Jhuun had to duck. It led to an engineering workshop, easily three times as large as the office and bigger still than the workshops from Section 14. Though it was riddled haphazardly with tools and equipment, Gabriel only had eyes for the device occupying center stage.

Three weeks earlier, a ship of Nr'ln and Wreeth victoriously survived a skirmish against a single Maedrom ship, disabling it, but not destroying it. Though there were no Maedrom survivors on board, the boarding party found something infinitely more precious than prisoners—the mechanism for controlling their infamous energy weapon, capable of devastating entire stations and ships in a single burst. They had no defenses against it, no knowledge about its functionality. All they could do was run or evacuate at the first sight of the telltale amber-colored energy of the weapon.

Until now.

They'd codenamed it the M-Alpha. After much debate, it was decided that the weapon was to be brought to Section 14, and so it had fallen into Gabriel's hands. It looked unimpressive, sitting there in the workshop, a depowered juggernaut, a misshapen trapezoid of Maedrom alloys barely as high as Gabriel's hip, its smooth coppery panels scorched from the laser blasts necessary to tear it free from the Maedrom ship. Still, it was impressively and solidly built, and the first thing on Gabriel's mind when the thing had been brought to him was how many lives it had taken.

"I thought for certain we'd lost it in the attack," Gabriel said. He ran his hands along the panels, feeling the bumps and dents, relieved that it had taken very little damage in the attack and subsequent evacuation.

"It was brought here from your ship last night. I have not touched it," Jhuun said, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

The gesture seemed odd to Gabriel until he figured it was the Eunnoian equivalent of holding one's hands up, palms out, in a hands-off gesture.

"I was waiting for you to arrive, so we may consult."

"Thank you," Gabriel said.

"We have work of our own that requires attention at the moment," Bianca said. She laid her hand on Gabriel's arm. "But we will assist in any way we can."

"Please consult with us if you need anything," Xhani said officiously.

Gabriel thanked them and watched the two women leave, suddenly feeling a little exposed and uncomfortable as he and Jhuun were left alone. He'd had an engineering team of his own back on Section 14, but his intuitive understanding of the M-Alpha had made him the chief worker on the project and his team had been relegated to handing him tools and avoiding being injured by repeated testing. He didn't need or want an assistant, especially not an alien one.

And especially not one who was making him…well, uncomfortable. Gabriel was not an exceptionally tall man, but after towering over the Wreeth, it was odd for him to be chest-level to Jhuun. He couldn't help but stare at the bare torso with its rich indigo skin, where the two pairs of soft ridges fluttered gracefully around the collarbone and ribs. The body shape, the swells of muscle and finely-boned limbs reminded him of gymnasts and acrobats.

Not unpleasant to look at, to his Human eyes. While he'd certainly had many Wreeth friends, he wouldn't have considered any of them to be attractive.

He chalked it up to the novelty and blushed as he noticed Jhuun was studying him with the same mixture of curiosity and admiration, staring at him with oversized, solid green eyes. Well, what the hell was he looking at? Gabriel certainly wasn't the first Human he'd spoken to.

He wanted to say something, break the ice and end the awkwardness, but Jhuun beat him to the punch.

"I notice you have a Wreeth accent," he said.

Gabriel blinked at the unexpected statement. "Er, that might be. I've been speaking Wreeth a lot for the last few years. It was easier for us to learn their language than the other way around."

"Very understandable," Jhuun said. "Similarly, we've found it easier to learn the Human language. There are sounds in the Eunnoian language that are difficult or impossible for Humans to reproduce. Though the reverse is also true."

Gabriel nodded. Xhani had pronounced Jhuun's name differently than Bianca had, with a hushed trilling sound on the first letter that seemed difficult for a Human tongue to replicate. Of course, Jhuun himself had not pronounced Gabriel's name entirely correctly—it came out sounding like Gab-rel in the alien's accent. The Wreeth language had been simpler, with easy syntax and fewer sounds than the Human language.

"I'm surprised you're familiar with the Wreeth language," Gabriel said. "Surely you never lived with them? I didn't think you could handle each other's atmospheres too well."

"We cannot," Jhuun said. "But the Specialty store on the station stocks some of their movies. I very much enjoy their comedy stories."

"They're okay," Gabriel said. "Listen, if you want to help, see if you can find a laser spanner so we can open the casing here. I'd like to pick up where I left off with this thing."

Jhuun made a clucking sound, reaching for a shelf on the back of the workshop and retrieving a laser spanner. Gabriel expected him to hand over the tool, but instead the alien ran long, tapered fingers along the edge of the M-Alpha, feeling for the seams and working the beam of the spanner inside.

"Wait—" Gabriel said and stopped just short of grabbing Jhuun's hand and pulling him away from the weapon. Okay, he clearly knew what he was doing, but there was something visceral about watching someone else, someone unfamiliar, touch his project.

"Apologies," Jhuun said, pulling the spanner away. "I didn't mean to damage it."

"No no," Gabriel said and he sighed. Now he was just acting like a brat, trying to keep someone else from touching his toys. "Go ahead, you were doing fine."

Nimbly, Jhuun continued to detach the casing. With Gabriel's help, they managed to slide the casing free and both immediately peered inside the guts of the weapon. Unfamiliar circuitry, a bundle of electronic nerves that Gabriel had just barely begun to understand. Scorched, banged up, but mostly intact, ready for him to plunge his hands back in. He felt his heart race at the thought.

He glanced sideways at the alien who was kneeling and also staring inside the casing with equal amounts of awe. Well, at least he wouldn't be facing the pressure alone this time.

"Such luck, to have found this weapon," Jhuun said, gathering his legs beneath him as he sat in front of the M-Alpha. "The key to our salvation, if we can create a defense for this weapon."

"You said it," Gabriel said, sitting down next to Jhuun. He reached into the heart of the M-Alpha, tracing a winding cable with his fingertips to see where it connected. "This bastard's killed enough people."

"Yes." Jhuun clucked. "We watched the broadcast before your ship arrived. My sympathies for the destruction of your station. And for your lost friends."

Gabriel winced. "It's fine."

"I share your feelings of anger for this weapon," Jhuun said. He laid his fingertips against Gabriel's bare arm, lightly, as though fearing to offend. "I've lost family in this war. Some things can never be forgotten."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Gabriel wished there was something more appropriate to say, but he never did have a knack with words, and he'd shared so much sympathy with people about the death and destruction that it was starting to sound hollow.

And then, even though he couldn't understand why he was sharing such things with this alien he'd just met, even if the alien in question was touching him in a way that felt awfully comforting, Gabriel said, "I just lost someone I loved not so long ago. It's still hard. Marcus was part of the emergency rescue team on my old station. They got called out to help a wrecked ship, and…the Maedrom showed up, destroyed their ship. Marcus didn't make it."

Jhuun bowed his head. "You must have loved her very much."

"Yeah, uh…Marcus is a man's name. You know, male."

No reaction at first. Then the hand came off his arm as though burned and Jhuun turned to stare at the M-Alpha, fiddling with the laser spanner. "Ah."

Damn it. The Wreeth never openly spoke of sexuality, a taboo subject in their rather conservative culture. The Human inhabitants had been told to keep things discreet. Gabriel had seen the occasional Wreeth couple on the station, but never any same-sex couples, leading him to believe it was not done, or not accepted in their society. He had no idea what was proper in Eunnoian society. He should have been more tactful. Had he just offended his new companion?

"Anyway," Gabriel said after a few moments of silence. "If you have been reading my reports, you'll see that I left off while trying to write up schematics of the M-Alpha. You can help me finish them."

"Agreed," Jhuun said. "I will retrieve your work to date from the database."

The alien gracefully rose to his feet, going to the nearby desk and switching on the broadcast screen. Now left with a small measure of privacy, Gabriel heaved a strained breath that had nothing to do with the temperature. The last thing he wanted right now was an assistant, he thought, but despite himself, he touched the skin of his arm, where Jhuun had held him moments before, and damned if it hadn't felt nice…up until the alien had withdrawn.

Damn it.

"…someone decided to call this place the Idea Room," Kurt said. "I hear it's a literal translation from what the Eunnoians call a lounge. We tend to call it the Room with a View of Shit. Very soothing."

Gabriel smiled, following Kurt into the large socalled Idea Room. There was an oversized viewport that covered most of the far wall, and indeed it offered a fetching view of the ship's repair yard. They'd had a similar room back on Section 14—most of the stations did, though they just called theirs the Lounge.

The war and the related duties on the stations didn't offer many pleasures, and so the idea behind these social rooms was a sound one, offering a space with tables, chairs, couches and whatever games, books and videos had been brought in and shared by the station's inhabitants. Connected to the room was a Specialty shop, a small store that sold candy and offered video games and movies to rent.

"And that pretty much concludes the grand tour," Kurt said. "Come on, let's go grab that empty couch."

The Idea Room was half-full at the moment, with Humans and Eunnoians alike sitting, mingling, talking, laughing, pretending the war wasn't going on. At the other end of the room, a broadcast screen was active, playing an old Human movie, with subtitles in looping script, for a small crowd of rapt Humans and Eunnoians.

Kurt led them to a couch by the viewport and they sat down. There was a table full of Eunnoians within a few paces of the couch, two males and three females, as much as Gabriel could tell. He'd had time to sit down and properly read the information on Eunnoian culture and was slowly beginning to recognize the differences between the sexes, though he owed that part to simply observing the people around him.

The males were taller—Jhuun had at least a foot and a half on Gabriel—and slimmer than the females, their skin in darker tones. The females had no breasts, he'd observed, and comfortably walked around with little more than their bottom halves clothed. Judging by the reactions of the other Eunnoians and Humans, there was nothing scandalous at all about it—and Gabriel admitted that it led to speculation on his part about other aspects of Eunnoian physiology. He'd noticed also that both genders sported the same fluttering ridges along their collarbones and ribs.

"So how's your first week on the station?" Kurt asked, perching himself on the armrest of the couch. He popped open a small bag of dried fruits, a rare treat, and fished out a dried apricot. "How's work coming along?"

"I'm afraid that's—"

"Classified, right, I get it. How do you like your new boss?"

"She's fine," Gabriel said. He was distracted momentarily as a Human couple walked past, a young man and woman, their fingers interlaced. He watched as they ambled through the Idea Room and disappeared into the Specialty shop, feeling an odd pang of jealousy at the sight. "They assigned me an assistant, a Eunnoian. His name is Jhuun."

"I don't think I've met him," Kurt said, handing the bag of fruit to Gabriel. "You two get along all right?"

"Well enough," Gabriel said. Truth be told, they had gotten along rather well, once Gabriel had gotten over his overprotection of the M-Alpha. Jhuun had an intuitive aptitude for machinery and they'd been able to complete the schematics sooner than Gabriel had expected. If the trend continued, they would have a very decent shot at figuring out the M-Alpha before not too long. Hopefully, before another station suffered.

Gabriel shook the thought away and picked a raisin from the bag. "By the way, the man who was brought to the medical wing on the escape ship—do you know how he's doing?"

"Oh, him," Kurt said grimly. "His name was Lawrence. I wasn't part of the team taking care of him, but I read the report this morning. Sub-dural hemorrhage, late last night. He didn't make it."

"Ah, hell," Gabriel muttered.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Apparently he has a wife working on another station. One of the other docs was supposed to contact her today."

Gabriel sighed, running a hand over his eyes. His heart went out to the woman. "Damn. I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that call. Never again."

"Come on," Kurt said. He waited a moment as the three Eunnoian females from the next table departed from the group, walking past their couch. "These things are awful, and they hurt, but you can't just shut down. Lawrence's wife will survive. So will you."

"Want to bet?" Gabriel said. "Once was enough. With everything that's going on right now, any one of us could die at any time. I can't go through what I went through with losing Marcus. Not again."

As he spoke, Gabriel's gaze was drawn to the two remaining Eunnoians at the nearby table. With their companions gone, the two males leaned closer to one another, whispering a conversation in what must have been Eunnoian.

"You're not doing yourself any favors," Kurt said. He slid down from his position on the armrest to sit by Gabriel. "If anything, now's the best time to start a relationship. You just said we could all die at any time. Well, I don't know if I believe that, but I do believe that right now, we need all the love and support we can find."

"Not for me," Gabriel said, his gaze still on the Eunnoians. They had stopped speaking, and one of them, with skin of dark green and a smile as wide as Jhuun's, reached over to gently and lovingly stroke the other's throat with his fingertips. The touch struck Gabriel as remarkably intimate, and he suddenly felt as though he was intruding, to be watching this. They were a couple, there was no mistaking it. Far across the stars, some things were universal, and he halfconsciously noted that Eunnoians did not seem to frown on same-sex couples.

Gabriel swallowed hard, purposely looking away from the couple, staring out into the messy repair yard. "Not for me, and not again," he said. "It's just not worth it."

"Of course it is," Kurt said with a shake of his head. "If you had the choice, would you erase all the time you spent with Marcus? All the good memories? Even if you knew how it was going to end? Do you think Lawrence's wife would do that?"

"Of course not," Gabriel said tersely. "Hindsight is 20/20 and all that. But that doesn't mean I want to go through all of that again, for the better and for the worse."

"If you ask me, that's exactly what it should

mean."

"If you say so," Gabriel said, and he rose from the couch. "Listen, I've got a shift in half an hour, I have to get going."

"Gabe—"

"Thanks for the fruit. I'll see you later," he said, striding out of the Idea Room.

He quickly jogged past the table with the Eunnoian couple, pointedly avoiding laying his eyes on any other lovers that may have been relaxing in the room. Though he still couldn't shake the image of the Eunnoian gently stroking his companion's throat, and before he realized what he was doing, Gabriel reached for his bare arm, to feel the spot that Jhuun had touched a few days ago.

The engineering workshop was rapidly becoming a sacred sanctuary. Working on the MAlpha, despite the gravity of the task, was a focusing experience, making it easy to block out everything else about the war. A blessed relief, as the conversation with Kurt a few days prior still gnawed at him whenever he gave it some thought.

At least the conversations with Jhuun were refreshing. And, Gabriel had to admit, the alien's presence was making the job a whole lot simpler.

Xhani had not been exaggerating when she said Jhuun was their most skilled engineer. Within a few days of tinkering with the M-Alpha, he had come to the same conclusions that had taken

Gabriel weeks to reach.

"Our knowledge so far is limited," Jhuun acknowledged, his long body bent over the MAlpha as he prodded at the delicate circuitry. He gently extracted a thick brown cable, they had been trying to hook up the weapon to a generator, to power it up and attempt further testing. "When activated at full power, it fires a devastating particle burst which causes a violent reaction in our power systems. Instant destruction."

"Yeah, that's a problem," Gabriel said, holding the power generator. He blinked as he watched his companion working on the weapon. Jhuun was wearing little more than a dark pair of shorts that barely went down to mid-calf. Eunnoians certainly did have long elegant legs.

Shaking his head, Gabriel sighed and wiped sweat from his brow. He was still adapting to the heat and humidity. "This thing is cutting through our shields like they aren't even there. We've got no protection. It doesn't even run like the rest of Maedrom technology—I bet the bastards bought it off one of those damn marauding groups. So everything we know about them so far is useless. It's like we're starting at square one all over again."

"Agreed," Jhuun said, pulling out another cable. "I worked with the team assigned to understand the workings of their shields, just over four years ago. It was very difficult work."

"You said it," Gabriel said. He brought the

generator close to the M-Alpha, using a small tool to help the ends of the cables connect into it.

"I had just left the homeworld," Jhuun said. He pressed a finger to his temple as he watched Gabriel work—a gesture that Gabriel took to mean he was lost in thought. "Just a short time after the Maedrom came and attacked us. They wanted no negotiations, no diplomacy. They wanted only our space, our planet, devouring like a famished beast. They didn't have the M-Alpha back then, but they were vicious." He turned his eyes from the MAlpha, as though disgusted. "Five years this war has lasted. Can you believe such a thing?"

"I try not to think about it," Gabriel said. The cables connected, he placed the power generator on the ground and turned it on, keeping the power at its lowest setting. The M-Alpha hummed to life, slowly, weakly, but enough for their tests. "I try to avoid watching the broadcasts, if I can. Or reading the reports about what's happening at the front lines."

Jhuun bowed his head. "I stopped reading them also. Too many names I recognized. Friends from the homeworld, colleagues, family. My mother was lost to me when the war began."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gabriel said. He fiddled uneasily with the thrumming cables. "Do you have anything like a wife, or kids, back on your homeworld? On another station?"

Jhuun waved a hand in front of his face—it was the Eunnoian way of shaking one's head in the negative, and one of the first examples of Eunnoian body language Gabriel had come to recognize. "No children," Jhuun said, "I had a romantic partner on the homeworld, Thoara, who was not able to follow me when I was assigned to Section 27. We ended our union. It was not my choice."

"War's pretty rough," Gabriel said quietly. "It's hard to keep a relationship going in times like these. Don't be too hard on her."

Jhuun avoided his gaze then, suddenly terribly interested in watching the power generator quietly humming on the floor of the workshop. "Thoara…is a male name."

Gabriel blinked dumbly for a moment, until the full meaning of the phrase sank in. He pretended to nonchalantly poke at the M-Alpha, wondering why his pulse had begun to race. Suddenly, the world inside the workshop didn't seem so quiet and simple anymore.

Before Jhuun could wonder at his silence, he dumbly echoed the alien's previous response to the same statement. "Ah."

As the days went on, Gabriel quickly discovered he and Jhuun—and Bianca and Xhani—had something very important in common, a deep-seated hatred for the station food and a nostalgic remembrance of their old favorites from their respective homeworlds.

"I didn't think the protein mush would taste exactly the same on every station," Gabriel said. "Big surprise. I'll tell you, I sure miss chicken shawarmas. I don't think I've had one since University, back on Earth. Best thing in the world."

He was picking through a box of hydraulic screwdrivers held up to him by Bianca. At the other end of the workshop, Jhuun and Xhani were bringing in a small-scale shield generator to use for tests with the M-Alpha. Gabriel had offered to help drag in the heavy piece of equipment, but Xhani had firmly shooed him away. There was no doubt that she was the queen of her engineering wing.

Bianca smiled. Her long hair had been gathered up into an oversized bun atop her head. "Before the war started, I worked in a building in Montreal—that's a city on Earth. There was a shop downstairs that sold the most amazing cinnamon buns. I'd love to have one again."

"Myself, I haven't tasted lokun since I left the homeworld," Jhuun said, grunting as he hoisted his end of the shield generator. Xhani didn't so much as grimace as she hefted her side of it.

Gabriel watched them work as he absently picked through the tools. His mind couldn't help but wander, as he watched the way Jhuun's body moved and strained, toward more illicit thoughts. Gabriel had accessed and read the basic information about Eunnoian culture and society, enough for him to learn about customs and history and language, but the translated texts provided to Humans were woefully lacking in one very important, to Gabriel's carnal Human mind, subject matter—there was very little biological information provided, and as a result, no information at all about Eunnoian sexuality.

Such musings didn't come as a surprise to him. Humans especially seemed to hold a fascination about aliens and their after-dark activities, and while he certainly hadn't found the Wreeth sexually attractive, he certainly had been curious to know how they functioned, just as he now found himself curious about Eunnoians, though he wondered if his curiosity would have been quite as intense had it not been for the knowledge of Jhuun's previous romantic relationship.

Gabriel had already noted that Eunnoian females had no breasts. But what other differences existed and what similarities did they share? His eyes were drawn to Jhuun's back as he bent to hold the generator, to the spine comprised of vertebrae that were not Human in shape, to the dark indigo skin that Gabriel already knew did not have the texture of Human skin. He wondered if there were any spots that were sensitive to touch, any secret erogenous zones on that nearlybare body, wondered if there was anything interesting, or even remotely familiar, biologically speaking, hiding beneath those light shorts.

He thought back to the Eunnoian couple in the Idea Room, to the brief touch of one's fingertips to the throat of the other. He wondered how it would feel to touch Jhuun in that way—was the touch meant to be as erotic as it had looked?—and he wondered how the alien would react. He suddenly felt a suffusion of heat to his face, and to his groin, and quickly shook his head to clear it of such inappropriate thoughts. No doubt Jhuun would be horrified if he knew what Gabriel had been picturing. Surely Eunnoians had a bit more mental self-control than he did.

"What did you call it, a lokun?" Gabriel asked, clearing his throat. "What is it?"

"It's a small animal," Xhani said. "Covered in— Jhuun, be watchful, you're going to hit the wall— covered in black fur, much like the kind on your head. It can glide in the air."

"Sounds kind of like a bird," Gabriel said, picking out the screwdriver he wanted from the box. "But with fur instead of feathers."

"If you must compare it to an animal from your planet, then yes," Jhuun said. Together he and Xhani set the generator down, facing the nose of the M-Alpha. "We catch it, remove the skin and roast it. Very delicious."

Xhani made a trilling sound of disagreement. "It is hardly worth weeping over. I would, however, return to the homeworld for a dish of nakhema."

Now it was Jhuun's turn to make the trilling sound. He made a fist and pressed it to his stomach in disgust. "That is a dish I do not miss."

"What is it?" Gabriel asked. At his side, Bianca laughed gently.

"It's a sea vegetable," she explained. "I was able to taste some a while back. It reminded me of spinach, but with a much stronger texture. It's…an acquired taste."

"Quite healthy," Xhani said, looking quite officious, and quite offended that Jhuun did not share her tastes. "And a delicious dish, when prepared with the correct spices."

"I would prefer a taste of lokun," Jhuun said.

Xhani imperiously muttered something in Eunnoian that made Jhuun smile, and she went to join Bianca's side as Gabriel went to crouch by the shield generator. He tried not to blush as he sat close to Jhuun, recalling how just moments he had been terribly preoccupied by thoughts of the mechanics of Eunnoian sex.

"Have trust," Jhuun said, glancing over to assure himself that Bianca and Xhani were now conversing and not listening in. "I would gladly eat the protein dishes from the cafeteria rather than taste nakhema again. You must never taste any dish offered to you by Xhani."

Gabriel chuckled. "I'll remember that."

"Maybe, if things change in the future," Jhuun said, his gaze dropping to the generator. "I'll take you to visit my homeworld. You could try some lokun."

"That'd be nice," Gabriel said. The thought of getting away from the space stations and back on solid ground somewhere was nice. "And maybe I'll treat you to a shawarma one day. Maybe you'll find that chicken tastes like lokun."

"I would like that very much," Jhuun said. He smiled that strangely wide smile of his, and for a moment, Gabriel wondered if he'd just agreed to a date.

Gabriel stretched and groaned, wincing as his back popped, cracked and made a few other alarming sounds. A whole day twisted underneath the shield generator had left him sore, though the pulse of the hot water from the shower had somewhat helped loosen his tense muscles.

He stepped across his quarters over to the bed, still naked from the shower. It was late and he was way overdue for bed and had gotten into the habit of sleeping naked. It was simply more comfortable in the heat of Section 27.

Gabriel lay across his bed, fanning his arms out, letting his body air-dry. As his thoughts drifted sleepily, he found himself wondering what Jhuun did to prepare for bed and whether or not he also slept naked. Before he knew it, he had already formed an image in his head of the alien sprawled out on his own bed, skin shining with moisture, sighing in delight as the air dried his body.

With a start, Gabriel opened his eyes, staring up at the plain gray ceiling. Without even realizing it, he'd been running a hand down his bare stomach, gliding dangerously close to his cock. With a huffing sigh, he raised his head and saw that he was already fully erect. What the hell had that come from?

Glaring, he rolled off the bed to pull the bedcovers free, sliding underneath the warm blanket, trying to ignore the heat that suffused his body and settled tantalizingly in his cock. He hadn't had sex since Marcus passed away, hadn't even thought about it, or wanted it, and now look at him. He'd had prurient thoughts about coworkers before, he'd had them about aliens. But to be suddenly having them about Jhuun was just…weird.

Enough already. He'd feel humiliated beyond anything if Jhuun found out what Gabriel was thinking about him. He rolled over, listening to his pulse hammering in his ears, and tried to will sleep to come.

Despite his previous restless night, Gabriel had to admit that being back in the workshop was pleasant, especially on this particular morning.

Jhuun's laugh had nothing Human about it—it was breathy, stuttered—Gabriel found he quite enjoyed the sound of it. Even if Jhuun was laughing at him.

"I apologize, I apologize," the alien said between breaths. The ridges on his chest were fluttering animatedly as he laughed. "I mean no offense. But your accent is amusing."

"Hey, I'm new to this," Gabriel protested, peering at his companion from his supine position. "You weren't kidding when you said your language was hard for Humans to learn."

He was lying under the shield generator, adjusting the frequency. They had tried all week, and so far failed, to find a shield frequency that would succeed in blocking the M-Alpha's deadly particle beam. Gabriel was optimistic now that his latest modification, covering the shield with a negative-ion barrier, would fare better. A few more adjustments and they would be ready to start testing.

"What did you say the phrase meant? The sky is violet? At least teach me something I can use."

"Something you can use?" Jhuun mused. He was busy on a nearby console, though Gabriel could see him press a finger to his temple. "Mar shriva kusa rhan-taa."

"Mar shriva kusa rhan-taa," Gabriel repeated. He knew he had massacred the pronunciation. Jhuun had been attempting to teach him Eunnoian phrases all week, a clever way to pass the time as they tediously fiddled with and tested shield frequencies, but he found the syntax completely counter-intuitive to his Human brain, and on top of that, he realized that most of the sounds were near- impossible for him to reproduce. There was a whispery trilling sound that accompanied certain consonants, including the first letter of Jhuun's name, that he couldn't seem to master with his clumsy Human tongue.

He supposed it wasn't such a bad situation. Jhuun had shared the story of a brief stint on Section 6, early in the war, where he and other Eunnoians had been matched with the Fnorn. They quickly realized, after a few days of attempted language training, that the Fnorn were completely unable to form the trilling phonemes and the Eunnoians were unable to form the highpitched nasal sounds required to speak the Fnorn language. The groups had been quickly reassigned.

"I see you smiling," Gabriel said, waving a finger out from underneath the shield generator in Jhuun's general direction. "What did you just make me say? It's not obscene, is it?"

"No," Jhuun said with another stuttered laugh. "It means…it does not directly translate, but the idea is that you are telling someone you can see the stars in their eyes. It is a compliment. You would tell it to someone you care for."

"Oh." A few beats and Gabriel pretended to be intensely focused on the wires of the shield generator. It suddenly felt awfully hot underneath there. "It's nice. Maybe not very useful. Not for me anyway."

"Perhaps not," Jhuun said softly. "Have you finished your modifications?"

"Just about. Let's try it."

Sliding out from under the generator, glad to be able to focus on defeating the M-Alpha, Gabriel went to stand by Jhuun, poised over the remote controls of the M-Alpha. With a flick of a switch, the shield generator was activated. It produced a bright ebbing light, a small-scale version of the energy shields the allied races used for defense. Facing the generator was the M-Alpha, still hooked up to its weak power source, the bare minimum required for them to test-fire the weapon without utterly destroying their shield generator and the workshop around it.

"Readying to fire the M-Alpha," Gabriel said. "Firing now."

The M-Alpha hummed and glowed amber as Gabriel hit the button, directing the weakened beam of energy in a wide beam toward the shield. Even watching the dim, near-harmless amber glow of the weapon left Gabriel's blood running cold.

A successful trial would have energized him, but unfortunately, the test did not last long. The amber beam easily penetrating the modified shield, making the shield generator spark and break down.

With a frustrated sigh, Gabriel terminated power to the M-Alpha before they lost their shield generator. He doubted Xhani would be pleased if they destroyed their equipment.

"Shit," Gabriel muttered. "We're not even close to a breakthrough."

"Don't feel badly," Jhuun said, though it was obvious he felt as frustrated as Gabriel. He drew in a breath and raised his long, elegant arms above

his head, stretching.

Gabriel found himself staring a little unabashedly at the graceful arc of his companion's body, at the muscles and bones on the bare chest that weren't quite where they would be on a Human. The collarbone ridges fluttered a little as Jhuun brought his arms down again, making a sound a little like a moan.

"We have other theories," Jhuun said.

Gabriel blinked, looking away before Jhuun could notice him staring.

"We will find the correct solution."

"Easier said than done."

After a moment of thought, Jhuun said, "A useful phrase at the moment would be Anarkh."

"What?" Gabriel frowned.

"Anarkh. Repeat it."

"Anarkh," Gabriel said. What came out of his mouth sounded close enough to what Jhuun said, including the slight trill at the end.

"Very good," Jhuun said. "This is what a Eunnoian would say after a frustrating event, such as striking a foot against a desk. Or after an important experiment has failed."

"Of course." Gabriel smiled. "Curse words are useful in any language. Anarkh. It's got a good ring to it. Does it translate to anything?"

"Shit."

Now it was Gabriel's turn to laugh and it felt good. Perhaps a little too good and soon enough he had to tear away his eyes from Jhuun's mouth, open and laughing still, as thoughts of quite a different nature kept leaping to his mind. Yet again, he found himself dragging a hand across his brow to clear the perspiration.

"You are one ridiculously busy man," Kurt said as Gabriel slid into the chair his friend had been saving. It was a good thing Kurt had been waiting for him, the cafeteria was packed full of Humans and Eunnoians. It was about the middle of what was considered a day on Section 27 and so most of the inhabitants had gathered for lunch.

"How long have you been on the station now, almost a month? And this is the first time we've managed to sit down and have a meal together."

Gabriel picked up a spoon and thrust it into the unappetizing protein mush in front of him. "I've been taking most of my meals in the engineering workshop. It's just easier that way."

"I noticed," Kurt said. He took a sip out of a water bottle on his tray. "I also noticed you've been looking happier every time I see you."

Gabriel shrugged lightly. "Work is going well."

"Good to know," Kurt said. "But it's not that. You look like…I'm sorry to put it this way, but…you look like you did when you started dating Marcus."

Gabriel felt his cheeks burn. He stared down at his colorless meal, stirring it vigorously. "Must be a coincidence."

"Someone in engineering caught your eye? What was your new assistant's name again?"

"Jhuun is not my assistant," Gabriel said. He only realized he had raised his voice when the two diners at the other end of their table, a redheaded Human woman and a lavender-skinned Eunnoian female, turned from their conversation to glance at him. "He's a talented engineer and we've been working well together."

"And that's it?" Kurt asked, spooning some of the protein dish into his mouth.

"Well…" Again, the bland food seemed terribly captivating.

"Since when are you so shy?" Kurt said. "Just tell me, do you like him?"

"I don't," Gabriel said. His appetite lacking, he dropped his spoon back on the tray. "At least, I don't think so. It's…"

"Don't say complicated. You know I hate that."

"Unusual," Gabriel relented. He glanced at the two females at the end of the table, they had resumed their own conversation. "For several reasons. I don't know if I want to go through this again, falling for someone and then…"

"Gabe," Kurt said gently. "Listen, if you two like each other—"

"That's the other problem," Gabriel said. "I don't know. I know he likes males…"

Kurt nodded. "Most Eunnoians aren't really discerning when it comes to that. You'll find as many same-sex as opposite-sex couples here."

"Yeah, well, I can't tell if there's any interest or

if we're just friends. Sometimes I wonder, but it's not like flirting with a Human. And besides, are we even…you know…compatible?"

"Sexually?" Kurt nearly smiled.

"I don't think Humans and Wreeth are," Gabriel said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "And we were all issued the warning that Humans and Nr'ln definitely aren't…"

Kurt bowed his head. "Poor lieutenant Wilberforce. He learned the hard way."

"So, would I even feel attracted to…whatever Eunnoian males are like?"

Kurt shrugged. "If you like him, I think that should be enough."

"Listen," Gabriel said. "You've been on this station a long time, right?"

"Three years, yeah."

"Have you ever seen…you know. Humans and Eunnoians? Together as couples?"

"None that I'm aware are actually sleeping together, no," Kurt said. "But look, we all wonder about these things. I'd be lying if I said I didn't look at the pretty Eunnoian girls and think about what it would be like. Sure I can look at the medical texts, but knowing the medical anatomy side of things just isn't the same. Anyway, do you know what I did, when I first came to Section 27? I paid a visit to the Specialty shop."

Gabriel frowned. "Why?"

"Didn't your old shop rent out porn movies?"

"Er, no. The Wreeth are very conservative, the

shop wasn't allowed to stock them."

"Luckily, that's not a problem here," Kurt said, taking another sip of water. "If you're curious about Eunnoian sex…if you're wondering how you and Jhuun might fit together, then just go rent some porn. There's about a dozen Eunnoian titles for all tastes and they're really graphic. Really hot."

"Kurt…"

"Most of them have subtitles, in case you want to follow the story."

"Kurt!" Gabriel said, suddenly terrified that the nearby women had overheard. "Forget it, I'm not going to rent porn movies."

"Here, I've got an extra rental chit," Kurt said, reaching into the front pocket of his short-sleeved shirt. He pulled out a small round disc. "My treat. Go have yourself a special night. Go get some answers before your mind, or something else, explodes."

"Oh God," Gabriel moaned, embarrassed beyond words as Kurt gently placed the chit on his tray. "I'm not going to do that. I'm not planning on pursuing anything with Jhuun. We're just friends."

"As you please," Kurt said cheekily, picking up his spoon again. "Then go rent yourself a nice action movie. There's a great copy of the Die Hard 5 remake in the shop."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and resumed eating. Mercifully they moved on to a different topic of conversation for the remainder of lunch, though when they finished and gathered their trays, Gabriel made sure to pocket the small chit.

Just in case.

"Maybe we've been going at this the wrong way," Gabriel said. It had been a long day. Both he and Jhuun had stayed in the workshop much later than their usual dismissal time, exhausting their last few ideas with the shield generator. Their last experiment had very nearly fried the machine and both were forced to concede defeat.

Gabriel was sitting cross-legged on the floor by the open guts of the M-Alpha while Jhuun hovered over him, delicately replacing the small power generator they had previously hooked up to the weapon. Occasionally the alien would step close to where Gabriel sat as he worked, brushing Gabriel's bare arm with his knee or his calf, absent-mindedly. Gabriel tried not to shiver when their skin came into contact.

"Anyway," he said. "We'll go nuts trying to build a shield to block the particle burst. Our current shields are barely holding their own against Maedrom weapons as it is."

"Agreed," Jhuun said. "We must focus our efforts elsewhere."

"We need to think offense, not defense," Gabriel said. "Destroy the M-Alpha before it has a chance to fire."

Jhuun waved his hand in front of his face. "If we had weapons that could easily destroy the Maedrom ships, our situation would not be so dire."

Gabriel shook his head. "No, we don't need to destroy their ships, we just need to disable the MAlpha. Look, I can almost guarantee you that it's not their native technology, and we know it runs on a different system from the rest of their ships, don't we? It must be vulnerable to something. We just need to focus our efforts on finding something that will hurt this, and only this."

"Agreed." Jhuun clucked gently. He finished hooking up the replacement power generator, but continued to gaze into the circuitry of the MAlpha. "You keep saying this is not their native technology. Are you certain of it?"

"Yeah," Gabriel said. "It's subtle, to be honest I can only tell because I spent enough time staring at Maedrom weapons. See here? The circuit connections aren't the same as what they usually use, and they obviously had to modify the current output here to make it work with the rest of their technology. Wouldn't surprise me if they got it off the marauding gangs. They're all over the galaxy, after all."

"These gangs also travel along the Suni nebula, past Fnorn territory, correct?"

"Mm-hm," Gabriel nodded, stifling a yawn. "They used to be a big problem before the war. Now they may have sold the Maedrom this damn weapon of mass destruction. Who knows where

they got it from."

"Glispex," Jhuun said. He was still staring intently into the M-Alpha.

"What?"

"This technology is Glispex. It seems familiar to me now."

"Are you sure?" Gabriel asked. "How can you tell?"

"I am not certain," Jhuun said. "When I was stationed on Section 6 and awaiting reassignment because of the language problems, I spent a few weeks reading translated Fnorn books on engineering and military and technological history. The Fnorn spent decades fighting an invading gang of Glispex, eventually defeating them and casting them out beyond their space, by the Suni nebula. I assumed the M-Alpha was of Maedrom design, but it has much in common with the Glispex weapons."

"Holy shit," Gabriel whispered. "So what does this mean? How can we use that?"

"The Fnorn had some weapons, mostly particlebeam cannons, that proved effective against the Glispex attackers," Jhuun said. "The M-Alpha is surely more upgraded technology, but obtaining one of the Fnorn cannons will aid us in creating an effective weapon. When the translation service opens in the morning, I will send a request to the Fnorn for one of their cannons."

"That's great!" Gabriel said, elated. "We sure could use a step in the right direction right now."

"Sorha," Jhuun agreed.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Gabriel still on the floor, Jhuun leaning against the MAlpha. The excitement of this new development soon wore out, leaving them both tired, and Gabriel really should have called it a night, but it was difficult to leave the comforting presence of the workshop.

Gabriel hadn't realized how close he was to dozing off until he started as warm fingers brushed the hair away from his temple.

"I'm not an expert on Human grooming," Jhuun said. With his other hand, he indicated his own smooth, hairless head. "But it seems you need a haircut."

Gabriel smiled. "I do. I haven't had time for that, we've been so busy…"

He trailed off as Jhuun's fingers did not leave his scalp, gliding behind to brush against the hair that covered the back of his neck. He swallowed hard, trying not to lean into the touch.

"Apologies," Jhuun suddenly said, his hand falling away. "I've never had the chance to touch a Human's hair. It doesn't feel like a lokun's fur at all."

Gabriel couldn't help but chuckle. "It's okay. Touch it all you want, I don't mind."

Shyly, Jhuun reached up to run his tapered fingers through the hair again. "It's quite dark. Does the color have any significance?"

"In a way. My father was from a part of Earth called India, most people born there have black hair like mine."

"Enjoyable."

The touch was beginning to feel rather intimate. As much as Gabriel loved it, he wasn't certain what to make of it, wasn't certain where this was supposed to lead. What he wanted was to lay his hand over Jhuun's, but instead opted for a distraction.

"I've been meaning to ask," he said quickly. "I've noticed Eunnoians have ridges on their chests. Do they serve any purpose?"

It was only after he'd finished asking that he realized he hadn't thought about the possibility of the organs being sexual in nature. But Jhuun only smiled, bringing his hand up to brush his fingertips against the soft ridges at his collarbone. "Not anymore. Some creatures from your world have similar organs. You would call them gills. They are…" He mumbled a word in Eunnoian until he remembered the translation. "Vestigible? No longer needed."

"Vestigial, yeah. Does that mean Eunnoians used to be aquatic?"

"A very long time ago," Jhuun said. "More than half of the homeworld is covered in large pools of water. Now we dwell on dry land, like you. And these organs have become secondary air-breathing organs. Here—"

He rose up and extended a hand down to Gabriel. Puzzled, Gabriel took it and was gently pulled to his feet and close to Jhuun's tall body. His hand was then guided to the alien's chest and made to rest just above the supple ridge that covered the left side of his collarbone.

Through the warm skin, Gabriel could feel the odd thump-THUMP-thump rhythm of Jhuun's beating heart, the swells of unfamiliar muscles. And suddenly, with a flutter, he felt a warm, regular rush of air against his palm.

"I can feel you breathing," Gabriel said, amazed. "That's it, isn't it?"

"That's it."

"It's strange," Gabriel said. The regular rise and fall of the skin beneath his hand, the soft warm exhalations, were becoming hypnotic. "And…kind of neat."

Jhuun continued to hold his hand, cradled beneath his own long-fingered one, against his chest. Gabriel was beginning to enjoy the feel of the soft damp skin and wondered what his hot, sticky Human felt like to Jhuun.

He swallowed hard, suddenly nervous at the intimacy of the touch. What did this all mean? Jhuun's green eyes were on him. It was maybe his imagination, but the exhalations seemed to be becoming quicker, excited. Do something, he urged himself. It's now or never. Say something…

Before Gabriel could wonder at his next move, the moment was broken.

A sudden, shrill klaxon blared and red light spilled into the room. Both started, hands falling

away from one another.

"Oh God," Gabriel whispered. He knew that klaxon all too well—Maedrom attack. He felt his blood run cold and fought the urge to hyperventilate. If they were under attack, then the Maedrom had not fired a shot yet, though it couldn't be long. Gabriel dreaded feeling the first quake.

"Come," Jhuun pulled him toward the workshop door. "The broadcast screen is in the main office. Let us see the situation."

When they got there, the broadcast screen was active, displaying footage of a station under attack. Bianca and Xhani, roused either from latenight work or from slumber, were standing close to it, watching the action unfold.

"What's happening?" Gabriel asked.

"Section 26," Xhani said tersely. "The Maedrom began their attack a few minutes ago. We have only just started receiving the feed from the satellite cameras."

On the screen, Section 26 was bathed in splashes of light as it returned fire. Suddenly, three Maedrom ships, small but fast, flew into view.

"They're right next door," Bianca said, her hands clenched into fists. "Damn it, why are they even so far inside our network?"

Their own weapons packed a decent punch. One of the station's turrets mercilessly battered a passing Maedrom ship. Stricken, it sputtered and hung limply in space for a few seconds before erupting in a fireball, causing the satellite camera to flicker a bit.

"One down," Gabriel murmured. In front of him, Bianca reached out to grasp Xhani's forearm.

Minutes ticked by tensely as the two remaining Maedrom ships zipped in and out of view of the cameras like angry fireflies, taking hit after hit from Section 26's defenses. Whoever was responsible for manning the defense network certainly knew what they were doing, Gabriel thought. He tried not to think about which races staffed Section 26, about whether or not he knew anyone on that station, any Humans, any friends.

"The Maedrom are taking a beating here," Bianca said. "They should retreat. There's nothing here for them."

On the broadcast screen, the second Maedrom ship, too heavily damaged to risk another attack, flew into an arc and disappeared from view, retreating. The third one, obviously damaged but still functional, flew to a distance from Section 26 and stopped. The station fired two shots—one glancing blow that left a deep gouge in the ship's hull, the other missing entirely.

The nose of the Maedrom ship opened and expanded like the petals of a flower, revealing a glowing center.

"Oh God," Gabriel said, instantly recognizing the telltale amber glow. He'd seen it from the viewport of the Section 14 evacuation ship. Marcus had probably seen it from the viewports of the Northumbrian. They'd seen tiny, weak versions of it all throughout the past few weeks. "Did they have time to evacuate? Did they? Did we see any escape ships?"

There was no answer. Bianca covered her mouth, staring at the screen while Xhani angrily waved her hand in front of her face. They all watched as the glow intensified, deepened and the Maedrom ship fired the M-Alpha.

The charge struck the station. For a moment there was nothing, no reaction. Even the engineering office was deathly silent. But then an amber wave rippled over the damaged station. Jhuun looked away—Gabriel couldn't, watching as Section 26, their ally and close neighbor, exploded in a blinding fireball.

Wreckage and fire filled the broadcast screen for a moment before the satellite camera was destroyed, leaving the screen blank, plunging the office into heavy, grieving silence.

A moment later, Section 27 was rocked by a heavy blow. Gabriel felt at once too numb and terrified to brace himself, fearing the remaining Maedrom ship had decided to focus its attentions on them, but as the floor pitched and rumbled under him, he realized they were being struck by the resulting shockwave and debris of Section 26's destruction.

Xhani fell backward into him. He could hear Bianca cursing as she hit the floor, Jhuun yelling as he was thrown around as well. Unable to recover his balance, Gabriel crashed into the desk, catching his shoulder on the edge, and landed on the floor in a graceless heap.

The office lights stuttered, gave out entirely for a few seconds, then flickered back to life as the tremors subsided.

"Is everyone okay?" Bianca asked, breathing hard. She was sprawled out on the floor on her stomach, her long hair knocked loose from its tie by the quake.

Gabriel clutched his throbbing shoulder. It was the same one he'd wrenched a month earlier. "Fine," he gasped.

Jhuun scrambled to his feet, assisting Xhani back up, who then waved him away angrily. An instant later, he was at Gabriel's side, helping him up.

"You hurt yourself," he said, brushing his fingers over Gabriel's shoulder.

"It's fine," Gabriel murmured.

Xhani switched off the broadcast screen, spitting a string of words in Eunnoians that sounded awfully like some very creative curse words. Gabriel was fairly certain he recognized Anarkh somewhere in there.

"Why destroy Section 26?" she growled. "There is nothing of interest for the Maedrom there. They are only scientists, like us!"

"Perhaps that is why," Jhuun offered. "They know, or at least suspect, that we have the M

Alpha."

"That's why they attacked my old station," Gabriel said darkly. "They were trying to destroy it before we had a chance to figure out how it works. Damn it, we always wondered if they could monitor our broadcasts. They must have figured out the survivors were brought to this area, though I bet they don't know where exactly. They're going to pick us off one by one until they're convinced they destroyed the M-Alpha."

"Then we could be next," Bianca said. She looked as though she wanted to kick something.

Gabriel sighed, still shaking from the recent events. "What should we do? Take the weapon off the station?"

"No," Bianca said. "No, that would be too risky. You think they might be monitoring our broadcasts? Then fine, we'll use that to our advantage. I'll make a request to send out a broadcast on all frequencies, sharing the unfortunate news that the destruction of Section

26 also resulted in the destruction of the captured M-Alpha. Until they figure out we're lying, it will buy us some time."

Xhani clucked. "The idea has merit. Jhuun, I hope Gabriel and yourself will continue your research on the M-Alpha."

"Yes," Jhuun said. "But Gabriel is injured and it is quite late. He should be allowed to rest before we can continue."

"We really shouldn't wait—" Gabriel started to protest, only to be interrupted as Xhani waved her hand by her head.

"I will make it an order," she said. "You cannot work efficiently if you are injured."

"It matters not," Jhuun said gently. "I will need to submit a request through the translation service for the Fnorn technology before we may continue. There is very little we can do until then."

"We could all use a bit of a rest after today," Bianca sighed, tensely winding her hair into a braid. "I'll go check the workshops, make sure none of our equipment was damaged, then see about making that broadcast. Gabriel, try to get some good sleep."

Gabriel nodded. Truth be told, his shoulder was aching fiercely and he wouldn't mind standing under a hot shower and then laying down with some analgesic.

"I will accompany you to your quarters," Jhuun said softly.

After bidding Xhani and Bianca good night, they left the office and walked the hallway to Gabriel's quarters in silence. Jhuun's hand was delicately wrapped around his elbow, providing support. Gabriel didn't mind, he was sore, still rattled from the attack, and a little contact was a comfort.

As they arrived, Jhuun pushed open the door to his quarters. "Please rest," he said. "Don't be concerned about the delay. It will be a day or so before we have the tools necessary to continue."

"Sounds good to me," Gabriel said. A paused dragged on. Jhuun didn't move to leave or wish him a goodnight. The alien stood before him, those strange green eyes flickering up and down Gabriel's body. Had he been Human, Gabriel would have believed him to be nervous…like a teenager too shy to ask for a kiss on the first date. And that particular thought sent Gabriel's pulse racing again.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? Jhuun was not Human. Maybe his seeming nervousness was merely a reaction to recent events, maybe, like Gabriel, he was still coming down from the shock and the adrenaline of the recent attack and destruction.

So what was Jhuun thinking, he wondered? Was he feeling the tension, the awkwardness of the lengthy silence between them? Gabriel wanted, as much as it pained him to admit it, to say something, do something, to take the plunge. But damn it, though he and Jhuun had grown close these last few weeks, he was still at a complete loss as to what he could do at the moment to admit his feelings. He'd lived for years among the Wreeth, but was no expert on deciphering their non-verbal cues, and the comparatively brief time he'd spent with Jhuun and other Eunnoians left him with even fewer experience, no frame of reference whatsoever.

Physical attraction cues were something borne out of years of common sociological evolution, and Humans still managed to screw it up on a regular basis.

So what did Jhuun expect as he stood there quietly staring? Was he signaling his interest loud and clear to the point that a passing Eunnoian would laugh at his cluelessness?

Would a touch on the arm, on the chest, be considered offensive at this moment or welcome? Or laughably virginal? What about a kiss? He hadn't seen any of the Eunnoian couples kiss. Were they reserved or was it something that was simply not done? His mind was spinning with conflicting thoughts, and somewhere in the tangle he remembered the Eunnoian couple from the Idea Room so long ago, one stroking his lover's throat, and Gabriel's own fingers twitched at his side as he debated whether or not to mimic the gesture.

And hell, what if it was welcome, then what? Would Jhuun expect to be invited inside Gabriel's quarters? How the hell were they supposed to have sex when Gabriel couldn't even figure out—

He wanted to grab the tall being in front of him and kiss that strange mouth, tell him he wanted more, wanted him. And at the same time, he remembered the shock of watching Section 26 erupt in a fireball on the screen, the thought that Marcus' ship had exploded in much the same way and…no.

The only reason he was even considering pursuing Jhuun was because of the fear, the adrenaline, making him jumpy and bold. When reason returned, he would regret his actions.

"Thank you for walking me back," Gabriel said. "I'll go get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jhuun blinked slowly. "Very well. I will contact you when the Fnorn weaponry arrives. Goodnight, Gabriel."

Was that disappointment he detected in Jhuun's otherwise melodic voice? He didn't take the time to dwell on it, shuffling backward into his quarters and gently closing the door behind him, holding his breath until he heard Jhuun's retreating footsteps down the hallway.

He breathed out slowly. Definitely for the best to end things before they'd begun, before he'd had a chance to make a complete and utter fool of himself, ignorant as he would be in front of a naked, amorous Eunnoian.

Gabriel flexed his aching shoulder and reached for the back pocket of his shorts. He felt the round, hard rental chit that Kurt had given him. He'd kept it close by, telling himself he would pop down to the Specialty shop after a shift to get an action movie or a video game to play in between shifts. Just that and nothing else. Because it was not needed.

He pulled out the chit and sighed. Or was it?

Gabriel's shoulder, though still stiff, felt much better by the time he woke up, six hours after getting dropped off to his quarters by Jhuun. He still had plenty of time before his next shift started, and as Jhuun had pointed out, they would not be making much progress until their new equipment arrived.

With this in mind, Gabriel quickly showered and dressed, leaving the engineering belt on his bed, and patted the front of his short-sleeved shirt to make sure the rental chit was still there.

He left his quarters, glancing up and down the corridor to see if Jhuun or Bianca or Xhani were around, but there was no one to be seen. He boarded the lift alone and was soon joined by two men wearing red operations and communications belts. Both appeared glum as they discussed the morning's recent broadcast, declaring the destruction of Section 26 and the subsequent destruction of the captured M-Alpha.

Though Gabriel felt a pang at the thought of Section 26, he smiled to himself as he thought of the M-Alpha sitting safely in the workshop. He hoped the Maedrom had overheard the broadcast, too.

He stepped off the lift as it reached the common level, striding past the cafeteria and into the Idea Room. It wasn't very crowded, to Gabriel's relief. A small group of Eunnoians were sharing breakfast by the viewport, and three Human women were laughing heartily as they played a board game at a nearby table.

No one paid him any attention as he walked

into the Specialty shop.

The shop was very much like the one on Section 14—rows of candies and other Human and alien treats lined the front part of the shop, and about two dozen rows covered the wider back part of the shop, offering a selection of video games and movies for all tastes.

It didn't take Gabriel long to locate the adult movie shelf. The bottom half offered several Human titles, catering to all orientations and several exotic tastes. The top half housed the Eunnoian titles. Gabriel swallowed nervously, staring at the shelf from afar.

"Need some help? Trying to find something good to watch?"

Gabriel nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to see the short Human woman who had come up behind him. She was smiling sweetly, with a blue headband around her short brown hair and a hand-written name tag pinned to her shirt, identifying her as Alice. Only the Specialty shop employees wore nametags.

"Um," Gabriel said. "Actually, yes."

He gestured vaguely in the direction of the Eunnoian titles and surely Alice was wondering why he was acting so nervous. There was nothing shameful about renting pornography, but of course she wouldn't know the reason behind his rental.

Alice nodded, still smiling, and stepped up on her toes to grab a disc box from the shelf. "This one's really popular," she said, holding up a box with the image of a female Eunnoian wrapped in a sheer veil, sitting seductively on a rock while a male watched from afar. A piece of tape had been placed next to the Eunnoian-script title, and read Kaano's Secret Adventures 3. "Among Eunnoians and Humans. It's subtitled. We don't have part one and two though, sorry."

"Thank you," Gabriel said, suddenly plagued by a vision of Kurt squirreling the disc away to watch it. "But I'm looking for something with…males-only."

"Oh, of course," Alice said. Quickly, she replaced the box, and grabbed another title. "Then you definitely want this one. It's my personal favorite."

As she handed him the box, Gabriel felt a rush of heat to his face. There were two male Eunnoians on the cover, one with dark green skin who was reclining in a shallow pool of water, and the other, with indigo skin that reminded him of Jhuun, lay within his arms. The translated title proclaimed it to be the story of Kozhi and Nhor in Yaalhi Pond.

"This one's also subtitled," Alice said helpfully.

"Thanks," Gabriel stammered. "I guess I'll take this one."

The transaction completed, Gabriel clutched the box to his chest as he exited the shop, suddenly quite anxious to regain his quarters before running into Kurt, or worse still, Jhuun.

Luck was on his side, at least until he stepped off the lift back into the engineering wing. To his horror, Bianca was striding down the corridor toward the lift, and she smiled warmly as she approached him.

"Gabriel!" she greeted. "How are you feeling? How is your shoulder?"

"Much better," Gabriel said, pressing the incriminating disc box closer to his side, praying she wouldn't catch a glimpse of it.

"Excellent. Did you hear the broadcast this morning? The official announcement was made that the M-Alpha has been destroyed. Let's hope the Maedrom heard it, too, shall we?"

"Absolutely," Gabriel gulped.

"I'm going to the cafeteria now, have you had breakfast?"

"I'm fine. Just came back from there. In fact, I'm going to get a nap in before my shift starts."

"Good idea, I'll see you later in the workshop then," Bianca said. She patted him lightly on the arm and continued down the corridor to the lift.

Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief and practically jogged over to his quarters before he ran into anybody else.

Alone now, Gabriel sat on his bed and stared at the box cover. It looked harmless enough, rather like a Human pornographic movie. He wondered if the cover photo was meant to be appeal to Humans as well as Eunnoians. He wondered if Jhuun had ever seen this movie. And he wondered if he was going to like or be horrified by what he would see once the movie started. Intellectual curiosity. That's all it was.

He opened the box, slid the disc out and popped it into the player, switching on the broadcast screen. He rubbed his palms against his bare knees, suddenly nervous as he waited for the movie to start. The title, Kozhi and Nhor in Yaalhi Pond, appeared in Human script against a black background.

Eunnoian movies, he quickly saw, were similar but in many ways different from Human movies. For one, there was no background music— probably a blessing, considering the nature of the movie—and so far, it appeared the movie was one continuous take, with a single recording device following the action. In addition, he quickly noticed there was no dialogue, only voiceover narration, and he wondered if that was a convention of erotic movies or a rule of Eunnoian cinema.

Gabriel watched for about ten minutes, following the subtitles as the rather mundane story was established—it was nice to see that thin plots were a universal constant of pornography. Kozhi, the green-skinned male from the cover, paced through calf-deep water and began a soliloquy about the deep emotional reasons behind his visit to Yaalhi Pond. Gabriel soon stopped paying attention to the subtitles and instead focused on Kozhi. He was tall, like all Eunnoian males, and wore a lightly-colored sarong around his waist. The supple ridges at his collarbone and ribs fluttered as he walked.

Growing a little restless as he sat on his bed, Gabriel skipped ahead a few minutes, until Kozhi finished walking through the shallow water and entered a small construct that appeared to be made of sandstone, surrounded by thick trees that seemed rooted directly in the water. The level of lighting suggested it was dawn, or this may have been the usual Eunnoian sky. It was a rather beautiful setting, if Yaalhi Pond was a real place, and Gabriel wondered if Jhuun's home looked anything like this.

The other Eunnoian, Nhor, also clad in a sarong, seemed to react positively to Kozhi's arrival, and the two shared a voiceover dialogue as Gabriel studied Nhor. He really did look like Jhuun, with the same indigo skin and green eyes that were maybe a bit darker, though just as large. Gabriel was about to skip ahead again to get to something more explicit, when the voiceover stopped, and after a moment of quiet, Kozhi reached over and—Gabriel held his breath— gently stroked Nhor's throat with his fingertips.

The gesture, in this context, was unmistakably erotic and sent a hot bolt of arousal straight to Gabriel's groin. Nhor moaned, the first sound actually uttered by one of the actors on-screen, and his neck arched back to give his partner more access. Gabriel released the breath he'd been holding as Nhor reached over with shaking fingers and reciprocated the gesture.

Kozhi then reached up to cover Nhor's fingers with his own, pulling the hand away from his throat, encouraging Nhor to follow him outside the sandstone construct. Once outside, Nhor was gently pushed against the striated trunk of one of the trees. Water lapped at their feet as Kozhi leaned over the other, running a long tongue over the clearly sensitive skin of his throat. Nhor was obviously enjoying it—or else the actor was doing a very good job at pretending he was—as he shuddered and scrabbled at the trunk with long tapered fingers.

Gabriel shuddered as well. Sweat prickled on his brow as he reached down over the thin cloth of his shorts, pressing a hand to his already-hard cock. He couldn't help but imagine Jhuun, in place of the Nhor character, throwing his head around in pleasure as Gabriel licked and sucked at his throat.

On-screen, Kozhi had ceased his caresses on Nhor's throat and was now kneeling, soaking the sarong as the water now covered his knees. He dragged his fingertips, tortuously slow, down the center of Nhor's chest. Gabriel watched, fascinated, as the vestigial gills rippled with each frantic heave of his chest.

Gabriel reached inside his shorts and released his erection, his pulse hammering in his ears as Kozhi reached for the knot on Nhor's sarong. Finally. This was what he wanted to see. He began to stroke himself as the recording device, still in its continuous take, slowly zoomed in on Kozhi's working fingers.

The sarong fell away from Nhor's hips, floated away on the surface of the water. The revealed sight, however, only left Gabriel puzzled.

He'd wondered what a naked Eunnoian male looked like. He wasn't so naïve as to think they would look exactly like him, with a penis and testicles which functioned exactly the same, but he'd expected something he could…work with. He wasn't sure what to make of the sight on the broadcast screen. Nhor's groin looked smooth all over with nothing protruding at all, though there was a small horizontal slit, a few inches above the pubic bone, where Kozhi was now directing his attention.

Strange, Gabriel thought. And familiar, but not in the way he expected. So what did the females look like then? Maybe he should have gotten the Kaano movie instead, if only to see what kind of equipment they sported.

Gabriel's hand went still around his cock. He was curious to see what would come next. Kozhi rubbed his fingers over the slit, sometimes penetrating inside just a bit, enough to make Nhor twist around against the trunk and issue loud wavering sounds of pleasure. Occasionally Kozhi would lean forward to place his tongue on the slit, gliding it against the surrounding skin, increasing his speed and pressure until Nhor moaned something in Eunnoian that was not subtitled, and Kozhi backed away, continuing the stimulation with his fingers.

What came next was profoundly erotic, and Gabriel ran his thumb over the slick head of his erection and began to stroke again as Nhor moaned and shook against the tree, obviously in the throes of orgasm.

The sight very nearly made Gabriel orgasm as well, though he heaved a breath and slowed the motion of his hand. Is that, he wondered, how Jhuun looked at the moment of orgasm? Maybe Eunnoians were built differently, but it didn't seem hard to figure out how to work around it.

On the screen, Nhor's body relaxed for a moment, then went rigid. Kozhi had placed his hand right by the slit on Nhor's lower abdomen and said something in voiceover dialogue that ended with a breathy laugh and then, to Gabriel's surprise, a long, hard organ came out of the widening slit. Kozhi immediately placed his long fingers around the thick, tapered organ and began to slowly pump up and down.

Well. That certainly proved him wrong about Eunnoian males, and what organs they—and more importantly, Jhuun—possessed. Gabriel reclined on his bed, kicked his shorts off and took himself in hand again, sliding his other hand under his tank top to pull it off as he watched the action unfold.

Kozhi rose up, under Nhor's lustful gaze, who reached down to begin unknotting his companion's sarong. The voiceover dialogue had begun again, though Gabriel hadn't been paying attention to the subtitles and was momentarily confused when Kozhi abruptly covered Nhor's hands to stop his actions. Gabriel glanced down at the subtitles, enough to gauge that Nhor had unintentionally said something to upset Kozhi, and the latter, still dressed, strode through the water and walked out of shot. The dejected Nhor, obviously still aroused but unsatisfied, glumly reached for his discarded sarong and returned to the sandstone hut.

Gabriel hoisted himself up to reach the broadcast screen, skipping ahead as it seemed the sex scene had ended for the moment. The rapidlymoving scenes implied Kozhi and Nhor had had an argument, followed by several scenes of Nhor wandering around the sandstone hut. Boring.

Finally, Kozhi returned, and the movie seemed to be gearing up for a climactic scene as the two immediately greeted one another with their lips to the other's throats, and Gabriel stopped the skipping and laid back on his bed to watch the rest.

Evidently, they had resolved their differences. Nhor seemed more aggressive this time. In this scene, he was wearing a darker sarong that looped around his chest, though as the voiceover went silent, he untied the cloth and flung it aside, standing naked before his lover and reclining against the outside wall of the sandstone hut. In a move that made Gabriel moan out loud before he could catch himself, Nhor then reached down, touching his own pubic slit while Kozhi watched, entranced.

The actor playing Nhor, Gabriel mused with a shudder of excitement, was certainly talented. Gabriel's gaze was drawn to his long fingers, encircling the slit, teasing, sliding just the tips of his fingers inside, while he moaned and whimpered, his back arching at an impossible angle against the sandstone wall. His cries grew more urgent, his movements faster and clumsier as he cried out in the pleasure of his orgasm.

This time, Gabriel knew what to expect and he squeezed his own cock hard as he watched Nhor's own organ sliding out, long and hard like before, curving upward toward his stomach. This seemed to galvanize Kozhi. He closed the distance between them, fastening his lips to Nhor's throat as the two fumbled simultaneously to unknot his sarong. Once it had fallen to the water, it was Nhor's turn to fall to his knees, pressing his lips to the slit on Kozhi's lower abdomen. The assault must have been heavenly. Kozhi's long body leaned forward and he moaned, harshly, while Nhor's hands wrapped around his hips and the recording device zoomed in to capture the strong, steady movement of Nhor's lips and mouth. When Kozhi shouted his own warning, Nhor didn't retreat entirely—he laid his cheek against his lover's hip, watching raptly as the organ, as long as his own and glistening with moisture, came out into his waiting hand as Kozhi's body tensed and he made a trilling groan.

Gabriel had been dying to see what was supposed to come next. He was not disappointed as Nhor continued to use his mouth, gliding his lips from the base to the tip and then swallowing the organ. Some things did seem fairly universal, Gabriel thought with elation as he licked his own lips.

Nhor continued to suck at and swallow the organ, then released it in favor of stimulating the skin around the entrance to the slit. Kozhi did not seem to mind the switch and in fact, he shuddered all over and closed his large eyes. Nhor began to caress the tip of the organ with his fingers, and Gabriel watched as the recording device again zoomed in, clearly expecting—oh.

Kozhi practically wailed, his body arching backward as he came. A few spurts of cloudy fluid erupted from the narrow tip of the organ, covering Nhor's fingers and gently splashing against his bare shoulder. Kozhi wavered on his feet, utterly spent, or at least acting like he was, the ridges on his chest rippling madly as he continued to moan, using Nhor's shoulders for support as he lowered himself into the shallow water.

Gabriel, who had been frantically mimicking the movement of Nhor's hand, forced himself to slow down as he felt his orgasm ready to uncurl, wanting to wait until Nhor, who looked so much like Jhuun, reached his own climax.

Nhor pressed his lips to his lover's throat for a moment, until it appeared it was now Nhor's turn to be pleasured. They had a brief spoken exchange that Gabriel did not bother to read, watching raptly as Kozhi pressed Nhor back until he was reclining against the sandstone wall, though he cleverly sat on a small flat rock, so that his lower body would be visible to the camera above the shallow water. Nhor's organ was still out, still hard and aroused, twitching as Kozhi brushed his fingers around it.

Kozhi, it seemed, was somewhat more of a tease, ignoring the organ itself in favor of the sensitive skin around the slit, though even then it seemed he caressed the skin with barely more than a feather-light touch. A glance at the subtitles confirmed that Nhor indeed felt he was being unfairly tormented.

Kozhi's only response was to lean in and lick at Nhor's throat, causing him to thrash against the sandstone wall, his legs moving restlessly in the water. The screen zoomed in on the action of Kozhi's fingers for a few minutes, then pulled back again to capture Nhor's excited reactions.

Gabriel's hand flew up and down his cock as he watched Nhor spiraling toward orgasm, until finally a quake seemed to pass over his long body and the same cloudy fluid erupted against Kozhi's

teasing fingers.

This time, Gabriel did nothing to try and slow down, staring at Nhor's blissful face as he shuddered and stroked, finally coming all over his hand and stomach. The humid air of his quarters was stifling as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

The voiceover dialogue began again as Nhor and Kozhi reclined into the pose used on the cover of the disc. There was still about twenty minutes of the movie to go, but Gabriel switched it off with a shaking hand and collapsed back onto his bed. As much as he liked the Nhor character, he didn't particularly care about the couple's tribulations at Yaalhi Pond, and he had gotten all the information he needed from the movie.

And what information, he thought, staring up at the ceiling as he felt the sweat and come cooling on his skin. It seemed Humans and Eunnoians were more similar than he thought, enough that he could certainly figure out his way around Jhuun…assuming, of course, that Jhuun wanted such a thing. And assuming, of course, that Gabriel wanted such a thing.

He sighed. Renting the movie had been a curiosity, entirely Kurt's idea, and it could end then and there. Knowing how to handle Jhuun didn't change the fact that any relationship would be dearly threatened, what with the threat of the Maedrom looming even closer.

Well. Now was not the time to reflect on these matters. Gabriel rose and headed for the shower, needing to get cleaned up before joining Jhuun in the workshop for their next shift.

What an interesting shift this would be, he thought with a shake of his head.

Gabriel arrived to an empty workshop. Granted, it wasn't truly empty—the M-Alpha still sat in the middle of the room, sneering at Gabriel with its open circuitry. Close to the M-Alpha was a piece of technology Gabriel was not familiar with—a black lozenge-shaped device with a control panel covered in bulky alien script. However, despite the presence of all the equipment, the workshop was echoingly empty without Jhuun inside.

He wondered where his companion was. Gabriel knelt by the lozenge and had just begun examining the control panel when the door to the workshop opened with a creak and Jhuun walked inside.

"Gabriel," he said, smiling widely. "Apologies for my lateness, I slept somewhat later than planned."

"Hey, no problem," Gabriel said. He couldn't help but gulp, suddenly hyper-aware of the heat in the workshop as he watched Jhuun walk up to him. His eyes flickered up and down Jhuun's body, staring at the delicate-looking skin at the alien's throat, and then down at his lower abdomen, hidden beneath a dark red pair of form fitting shorts. Now that he knew what hid beneath the material, and how it worked, it was hard to think of anything else. Visions of Nhor and his orgasmic face kept dancing through his head.

If Jhuun noticed his distraction, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he indicated the strange black device with a flourish. "It has arrived, did you see? Section 29 was able to bring it to us early this morning. Luckily they are only a few hours' journey away from us."

"Oh…yeah," Gabriel stammered. He'd been picking at the control panel without really paying attention. "Right, right, this is the tech you were going to request. The Fnorn sent this. Right?"

Jhuun clucked happily. "This is the most recent incarnation of the cannons they used against the Glispex weapons during the invasion. Come! I will show you the control panel. I can't speak the Fnorn language, but I can read the script. Once you are familiar, we can begin running tests."

Gabriel nodded dumbly as Jhuun gracefully crouched down next to him and began explaining the functions of the various controls on the underside of the cannon. Throughout it all, Gabriel found it terribly difficult to pay attention, as his attention was captured by the sight of Jhuun's long legs folding beneath him as he sat on the floor, by the gently flutter of his ridges, by the movement of his lips. Gabriel could not even stop staring at Jhuun's elegant fingers as they glided over the switches and buttons, preoccupied by the thought of those fingers touching him. He wondered how they would look gliding down his chest, touching his cock as it swelled within Jhuun's touch—

Oh God. Gabriel quickly ran the back of his hand against his brow, drenched with sweat.

"Gabriel?" Jhuun looked at him, puzzled. "Is the temperature affecting you?"

"Er, yes," Gabriel muttered. He nearly jumped out of his skin as Jhuun reached over to brush his fingers against Gabriel's bare shoulder. "Yeah, I'm feeling a little…funny."

Jhuun's large green eyes were on him, concerned, and for a moment, Gabriel couldn't help but think of the Nhor character again, twisting around in ecstasy against the sandstone wall, and before the moment could get any tenser he bolted to his feet and went to stand by the nearest console.

"Perhaps I should begin a few tests myself," Jhuun offered, looking rather discomfited as he kneeled by the Fnorn cannon.

"Sounds good to me," Gabriel squeaked. He had the damndest feeling that Jhuun knew exactly what he was thinking. Of course, if he didn't, then he was surely wondering just what the hell was up with Gabriel's suddenly awkward behavior.

They worked mostly in silence for the next few hours, with Gabriel assisting from the console as Jhuun fiddled with the cannon. The alien explained how the device concentrated and fired proton bursts, something that had been tested in the past but proven ineffective in disabling Maedrom energy shields and the rest of their systems. However, the Fnorn weapons had last been studied as a possibility four years ago, before the M-Alpha was purchased from the Glispex marauders.

After a few of Jhuun's increasingly more optimistic modifications, Gabriel had begun to relax, slowly pushing away the inappropriate thoughts that had danced through his mind since that morning, in favor of concentrating his energy on their work. So much that, after watching Jhuun work on the Fnorn cannon and developing a feel for its functionality, he left his safe spot behind the computer console and slid down next to Jhuun, helping him program the cannon to a setting on the kappaproton spectrum.

"You seem confident," Jhuun remarked as he watched Gabriel intently program the device.

"Well, I think we're on to something," Gabriel said, trying to ignore the skipping of his pulse as he felt Jhuun's gaze on him. "And I think we're ready for a test here. Want to get the M-Alpha ready?"

Jhuun clucked and rose to his feet, flexing his back to stretch out kinked muscles. Gabriel's gaze was intently fixed on the control panel as he completed the programming.

While Jhuun went to stand over the remote controls of the M-Alpha, Gabriel found the power cable of the Fnorn cannon, tracing it over to the console where Jhuun had previously connected it, a safe distance away from their experiment. He checked to make sure the switches were in the correct position before nodding to Jhuun.

"Ready? Let's try it."

"I will now activate the M-Alpha," Jhuun said. With the flick of a switch, the weapon rippled dully with energy. Gabriel was getting sick of seeing the thing still alive and strong after all their efforts.

"Now the kappaproton beam," Gabriel said, carefully pressing the button to activate the cannon.

The four corners of the lozenge-shaped cannon began to glow and hum. The beams then slid down each side to connect the four corners and it was only the reading on the console that indicated to Gabriel that the beam of invisible kappaprotons was firing.

At first, nothing at all happened and Gabriel was ready to scream a hearty Anarkh and order the devices switched off. But then the M-Alpha's amber glow began to flicker, steadily growing weaker. It didn't deactivate completely, but the power drop was enough to tell them one thing— the kappaproton beam was working.

It was a step in the right direction. No, scratch that, it was a damned victory!

"Okay, that's it, cut the power for now," Gabriel said and, as Jhuun obeyed, the M-Alpha hummed and grew quiet. Overjoyed, Gabriel practically leaped over the console, grinning like a fool as Jhuun smiled widely and rejoined Gabriel in the center of the workshop.

"You saw?" Jhuun said, grasping Gabriel by the elbows. "You saw? We are approaching success!"

"I saw!" Gabriel said. Before he realized it, he'd returned the embrace, squeezing the warm skin of Jhuun's forearms in his palms. "It didn't destroy it, but it's obviously vulnerable. We just need to try a few more modifications, try a test on a stronger scale…but we're getting there!"

"Mashara kha!"

"You said it!"

In his excitement, Gabriel hadn't realized how close he stood to Jhuun, practically body-to-body, enough to feel the warm exhalations from the vestigial gills. He tensed, remembering the intimacy of the previous day as Jhuun had let him touch his chest…and Gabriel's smile began to die on his lips. Jhuun was staring down at him, with unreadable green eyes.

Pulse roaring, Gabriel was about to clear his throat, to release Jhuun's arms and extirpate himself from his companion's grasp, to bring their attention back to their project. But Jhuun, it seemed, had other ideas.

His long-fingered hand slipped away from Gabriel's elbow, went to the back of his neck and pulled him close, into a shy kiss.

It was obvious Jhuun had never kissed before— his lips were clumsy, moving uncertainly, but sweetly against Gabriel's own. Despite his surprise, Gabriel kissed back, shocked at how much he wanted this. He tasted Jhuun, so alien— like earth and water and something clearly not of his world.

It was with a great deal of reluctance that he pulled away, taking a step away from Jhuun to compose himself. His mind was spinning—he was elated, but terrified at once.

Jhuun, however, must have misinterpreted his gesture as rejection. "Apologies, apologies," he stammered, crossing his arms over his chest. "This was foolish of me. I assumed—perhaps incorrectly…I wanted to inform you of my interest. But you don't reciprocate, I understand. Apologies."

"No, no, God no…"

Now it was Gabriel's turn to stammer. God, Jhuun had kissed him. He had wondered, dreamed, fantasized about it for a while now. And it had felt damn good. And they weren't so fundamentally different after all. To suddenly be confronted with his fantasy as a reality was…absolutely fucking terrifying. Not to mention thrilling.

"Apologies," Jhuun said again. "This was not appropriate of me. You must still care for Marcus, I meant no disrespect."

The mention of Marcus' name only made Gabriel's head spin quicker. Damn it, everything was much simpler as a fantasy instead of reality. "No, it's not like that. It's…look, I do reciprocate. I've…reciprocated for a while now."

Jhuun's look of relief was nearly comical. "I was afraid that I…Eunnoians don't kiss, like Humans do. I was afraid I had done something improper to you."

Gabriel laughed and closed the distance between them. "Not at all. I liked it."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

At that, Gabriel reached over tentatively and rested the tips of his fingers gently, very gently, against Jhuun's throat. The alien's lips parted in reaction to the touch and he reached over to do the same. Jhuun's fingers were warm and tender against Gabriel's throat. He wondered if Jhuun could feel his racing pulse.

"I've never cared for a Human before," Jhuun murmured. "I've never considered it in all the years I've lived on this station. But these last few weeks in your presence have been…"

"Pretty good, considering everything else," Gabriel finished. He covered Jhuun's caressing hand with his own, still not quite believing that this was happening.

"Yes," Jhuun said. "I am not sure how you wish to proceed from here…but if you would like to pursue this…"

"I think I would like that," Gabriel said. He went on the tips of his toes, meaning to close the height difference between them to press his lips to Jhuun's throat, but he stopped short. "Does the workshop door have a lock?"

"Yes," Jhuun said, laughing that breathy laugh of his. He disengaged from Gabriel's arms and went to the door that connected them to the engineering main office, turning the locking mechanism. It had grown very late again and Bianca and Xhani would surely have retired for the night by now, but the risk was not worth taking.

Their safety assured, they returned to each other's arms, fitting together a little awkwardly at first, Jhuun attempting another uncertain but increasingly confident kiss. He was a quick learner, Gabriel mused happily, as his own hands glided down Jhuun's chest, between the ridges, until he reached the rim of Jhuun's shorts.

Jhuun broke the kiss then, all nerves as he met Gabriel's eyes. "You may wish to wait before proceeding. I…I do desire you, but there are differences between us…between our races, which—"

"It's okay," Gabriel murmured, his hands poised on Jhuun's hips. "I know everything."

Jhuun's expression turned to one of puzzlement. "You know?"

Gabriel realized a split-second too late what his affirmation implied. "No, no, I haven't been with any other Eunnoians, if that's what you're thinking. Um, I went down to the Specialty shop— just this morning, actually—and…rented a movie."

Jhuun blinked at him a few times. "Ah."

"It was my friend Kurt's suggestion."

"Ah."

"Are you angry?"

"Angry? No. But perhaps…" Jhuun paused, either searching for the emotion or searching for the translation. "Disappointed. Which movie did you select?"

"Er…Kozhi and Nhor in Yaalhi Pond."

"It is an enjoyable movie," Jhuun said. The thought of Jhuun watching such a movie made Gabriel flush with an odd sense of excitement. "But I wish it had not been your first introduction to…sexual matters. I assume you would not approve of an ignorant Eunnoian learning Human sexuality from watching your erotic movies?"

"Yeah, good point," Gabriel said. He lifted his hands from Jhuun's hips, bringing his fingertips back up to stroke at the tender skin of his throat. "So how about this, pretend I haven't seen it. I'm an ignorant, clumsy Human. Show me everything I need to know."

The look that flashed in Jhuun's eyes was something Gabriel had not seen before—dark, passionate and hungry.

"I will do that," Jhuun said huskily. He pressed his hands to Gabriel's shoulders, pushing him back until he was leaning on the engineering console. His lips went to Gabriel's throat, licking and sucking, and Gabriel did not even try to disguise his moan as he felt himself grow hot and hard.

"How much do you know about Humans?" Gabriel asked between heaving breaths.

"Perhaps not as much as you now know about Eunnoians," Jhuun quipped, his breath hot against Gabriel's throat. "But I know enough."

"Good enough for me."

He grasped Jhuun's hand and pressed it to the bulge in his shorts. Jhuun didn't hesitate. They were similar enough in that particular regard that the alien knew what to do, squeezing and stroking Gabriel's erection through the material of his shorts.

"God, yes…like that…"

Gabriel threw his head back and nearly hit the console. Twisting around in Jhuun's embrace, he managed to slip off his short-sleeved shirt, tossing it to the floor. The moment his chest was bare, Jhuun went to explore it, sliding lips against his collarbone, then lower to mouth at his nipples.

It was funny, Gabriel thought, how Eunnoians did not use their mouths for kissing, but were quite enthusiastic about using lips and tongue and teeth to pleasure other areas. He enjoyed Jhuun's attentions for a moment, watching the sinuous movement of the alien's back as he bent to kiss at Gabriel's chest.

Enough. Now it was time to put into practice what he had gleaned from the movie…or rather, to try and forget what he had seen in favor of Jhuun showing him a few things.

He grasped Jhuun's head between his hands, bringing his face level with his own. "Now I'd like you to show me a few things," Gabriel said. "Show me…show me how to make you come."

The look in Jhuun's eyes could have melted titanium.

Grasping Gabriel's hand, he brought it down to the tight-fitting waistband of his shorts. Taking the hint, Gabriel hooked his fingers in the material and slid it down Jhuun's long legs.

He was now standing in front of Jhuun, his new alien lover, now completely naked. Gabriel's eyes were drawn to Jhuun's lower abdomen. He, too, had the horizontal slit, like the Eunnoians from the movie. Now that he stood closer, Gabriel could see the tiny ridges of skin surrounding it, much like the supple skin around the vestigial gills. Anxious to see Jhuun's reaction, he reached out to gently stroke at it with his fingertips.

Jhuun's reaction did not disappoint, he shivered all over and moaned breathily.

"In the movie," Gabriel said, still stroking the soft skin. "I noticed they were touching this area a lot before…"

"Yes," Jhuun gasped. "There is no analogous function in Humans, I believe. The stimulation is necessary to achieve jhera—the closest translation would be before-orgasm—which in turn is necessary for…"

He didn't seem comfortable stating the terms out loud, and instead made his point by squeezing Gabriel's hard cock.

"I get it." Now it was Gabriel's turn to gasp.

"Here. You wanted me to show you…then I will show you…"

He took Gabriel's right hand with his left, pulling Gabriel against his side. It was a more comfortable angle as Jhuun, his sweetly uncertain fingers wrapped around Gabriel's, guided their hands over the soft, alien skin of his abdomen, until they stopped at the slit on his pelvis. There he led Gabriel to touch him, gently at first, then with more pressure.

"Like this," Jhuun said, his Eunnoian accent coming out stronger as he shivered with arousal. "Touch here. It…it is…"

"Good?" Gabriel murmured, laying his cheek against Jhuun's shoulder and pressing a kiss there as he looked down to their joined hands, rubbing at the sensitive area. It was exciting to see it up close, to touch it with his own hand. The skin was warm, supple and fluttered with the odd, but familiar pulse. "You like this?"

Jhuun only moaned in response, his head lolling back as his chest heaved with desperate breaths. Gabriel slipped his free hand around Jhuun's waist, holding him tight as he grew bold, stroking, rubbing, exploring the slit with his fingertips.

Evidently, he was a quick learner. After a few moments, Jhuun's hand fell away from his, allowing him free range, and Gabriel rubbed a little faster, a little harder, pressing his fingertips in and out. He began to feel the tremors in Jhuun's body seconds before he whimpered something in Eunnoian, then said, "Now…now…I will—"

The orgasm, or rather the before-orgasm, struck like a bolt as Jhuun made a long keening sound and undulated within Gabriel's grasp. Before Gabriel knew it, his fingers were wrapped around a hot, hard organ and he sighed in pleasure against Jhuun's shoulder.

Unsure if he should try stimulating the organ right away or wait a bit, he opted to wait, wrapping his arms around Jhuun so that the alien's back was plastered against his chest. Jhuun was still gasping, laying his shaking fingers on top of Gabriel's as they stood in the near-quiet of the workshop, enjoying the moment.

Gabriel closed his eyes contently. He could certainly get used to this, the feel of Jhuun's warm body against his own, the excitement of watching him twist and turn in the throes of orgasm.

He'd been worried that he would find it difficult to find Jhuun sexually desirable, but God, was he ever wrong. Pleasuring his new lover had been a profoundly erotic experience.

For a glorious moment, he had even forgotten all about the war…

…and Marcus' death…

…And Gabriel's eyes shot open as he stiffened

against Jhuun's body. Though he tried to help it, his eyes immediately fell on the M-Alpha and he swore he could feel the thing's threatening presence in his mind. Flashes of memory, of attacking Maedrom ships, of ominous amber beams, of fire and death and destruction, suddenly crowded all thoughts of peace and lust out of his mind.

Fuck. He couldn't do this. As much as he wanted to, thirsted for it, he couldn't take this any further.

"We need to stop," he said, sliding his arms away from the alien's body.

"Apologies?" Jhuun said, still on the verge of breathlessness. "I found your touch enjoyable. I wished to do the same for you." He reached out to stroke Gabriel's throat.

Gabriel caught the fingers before they could make contact, utterly heartsick at the hurt, confused expression in Jhuun's eyes. "It's not you," Gabriel said quickly. "You…you didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why must we stop?"

"We…we just…" Gabriel sighed, reaching down for his shirt. Jhuun followed his lead, retrieving his shorts and pulling them rather awkwardly over his still-aroused body. "Look. I had a really hard time deciding if I wanted to approach you or not. Not because I didn't like you, but…"

"Because your heart belongs to your former lover," Jhuun said, his eyes downcast. "I understand."

"It's not that," Gabriel said, pressing his palm to his sweaty forehead. Why did it seem so stifling in here again? "It's not quite that. Losing Marcus was the worst thing I ever went through. I don't want to go through that again—falling in love with someone and then hearing a broadcast, or being told that the Maedrom attacked, that a ship was destroyed…"

"So you fear death?"

"Yes! Well, no, not mine. But don't you see? The Maedrom really could attack us any time. You saw what they did to Section 26, we didn't have a warning. What if we're next? I could die. Or worse, you could die. I can't face that again. That's why we need to stop. We can't pursue this."

"No…" Jhuun waved his hand in front of his face, his fingers trembling. "Don't you see? That is exactly why we can't ignore this. Gabriel, I've not felt for a Human, even for Thoara, what I feel for you. If we must die tomorrow, then so be it, but why must we die with our arms empty?"

"I can't," Gabriel said. "I'm so sorry, but I can't. Even if—"

"I understand," Jhuun interrupted tersely, his eyes dark and unreadable. "It is late. We should rest for tomorrow. I will inform Xhani and Bianca of our progress with the M-Alpha in the morning."

"Yeah," Gabriel murmured. "Okay."

He watched Jhuun turn and leave, wrenching the locking mechanism on the door with more force than was strictly necessary.

A feeling of guilt, of dread, was gnawing at the pit of Gabriel's stomach. He had to believe this was for the best. Had to. Nothing to lose, no regrets. Everything would be easier if he didn't fall in love again. It had to be.

For the first time since his arrival on Section 27, Gabriel felt cold. He wrapped his arms around himself, missing the warmth of Jhuun's body.

The night that followed was completely restless. Gabriel dreaded returning to the workshop for the next shift, fearing he had angered Jhuun and ruined their relationship beyond all repair. To his marginal relief, Bianca was in the workshop when he entered, staring at the modified Fnorn cannon with rapt interest as Jhuun leaned over her, explaining something about the controls.

Jhuun looked up as Gabriel entered, giving him a long, sad look. "Hello, Gabriel."

"Gabriel!" Bianca said, absolutely beaming, oblivious to the tension as she rose to her feet and walked over to give Gabriel a brief hug. "Jhuun explained to me how the two of you reached a breakthrough yesterday. So the M-Alpha is Glispex technology! This is exciting!"

"Thank you," Gabriel said, forcing a smile.

"He invited me here to assist with the

modifications of this marvelous device," Bianca said. "I hope that's all right with you, too?"

Gabriel nodded. Of course Jhuun had asked her here. At least they'd be able to actually focus on the weapon instead of getting sidetracked with drama and thoughts of the previous day. Almost immediately, Gabriel had to chase away a memory from the previous evening, of the way Jhuun had keened inside his arms.

And now the alien kneeled by the Fnorn proton cannon, casting him the occasional glance, but nothing more.

Gabriel sighed. Well, maybe it was for the best. He went to the M-Alpha, giving it the usual inspection before they could begin any new testing.

As the morning dragged on, Gabriel had to admit that Bianca's presence was extremely useful, and not only as a buffer. She had valuable experience with proton-beam weapons, and within hours, she had become more of an expert on the Fnorn device than Jhuun or himself.

They'd tried two more tests on the M-Alpha, firing different bursts from the kappaproton spectrum. With every test, they got closer, to the point that Gabriel had had to replace the power generator on the M-Alpha and make a quick repair before they could start the next test.

"Okay, there we go," Bianca said. She was sitting cross-legged in front of the cannon, a hydraulic screwdriver stuck in her thick graying hair. Xhani had joined them shortly after the second test and was now leaning against the console close to Gabriel and observing silently. "I think this is as precise as we're going to get it."

"Good enough for me," Gabriel said. To say he was grateful for the women's presence would be an understatement. Jhuun was perfectly kind and civil to him, though gone was the camaraderie, the easy conversation, the breathy laughter.

Bianca rose from the floor and went to stand by Jhuun at the console. From across the workshop, Jhuun nodded at Gabriel.

"Activating the M-Alpha," Gabriel said, flicking the switch. The new power generator began to hum and again the M-Alpha flared to life.

"And now activating the refined kappaproton beam," Jhuun said. The four corners of the Fnorn cannon glowed and then the beam connected all along its seams. As always the beam of kappaprotons was invisible.

This time, the result was nearly instantaneous. With a noise that sounded satisfyingly like a death rattle, the M-Alpha sputtered and sparked and powered down completely. From start to finish the test had barely lasted five seconds.

Bianca was already laughing joyfully, grabbing Jhuun's arm in triumph as Gabriel confirmed the readings on the console. "The M-Alpha has been completely deactivated. The circuitry is completely fried. It worked!"

"Mashara kha!" Xhani cried.

For the first time Gabriel actually saw a look of joy on her austere features.

"You have succeeded!"

Gabriel smiled broadly, nearly leaping over his console to get a closer look at the M-Alpha, Jhuun did the same and both simultaneously peered into the open panels.

"Repair would be possible," Jhuun said, inspecting the damaged circuitry. "But it would take several hours."

"If we hit the Maedrom with this, then they lose their advantage," Gabriel said. "More than enough time for our forces to fight back and destroy them."

"We got them!" Bianca cheered.

"I will contact Section 54," Xhani said, wasting no time as she headed toward the main office. "They will advise us on how to proceed from here. No doubt we will need to run further tests, then determine how to create larger-scale versions of this cannon."

Gabriel nodded politely in Xhani's direction as she exited the workshop. He felt so happy, so relieved, he nearly reached over to hug, pat, make some kind of contact with his companion to celebrate their victory. Jhuun's eyes met his and the smile faded a bit from his wide lips, no doubt he was thinking the same thing.

Oblivious to the parallel situation in the room, Bianca took Gabriel in her arms and hugged him tightly. "Well done, both of you. It was a blessing

to have had you come here."

"Thank you," Gabriel said.

Jhuun clucked politely. "I anticipate that we will need to repair the M-Alpha as soon as possible for further tests. Bianca, would you kindly assist?"

Damn if that wasn't a wholly transparent way to have Bianca stay with them in the workshop.

"Certainly!" Bianca said, retrieving the hydraulic screwdriver from her hair. "If we have time after this, we should go to the Specialty shop and get some candy to celebrate."

Her enthusiasm was contagious. They managed to get some decent headway done in repairing the M-Alpha—changing the power generator, replacing much of the circuitry that had gotten damaged by the beam—by the time Xhani returned to the workshop.

"How long until the M-Alpha is repaired?" she asked.

"Perhaps another four hours," Jhuun said. "If we continue to work at this pace."

"Excellent." Xhani clucked. "I have spoken to Ma'ma'li, the chief of engineering for Section 54. He is requesting for the M-Alpha and the kappaproton cannon to be transported over for further testing and implementation."

"To Section 54?" Gabriel asked. The station was tucked away in the very middle of their station network and housed the largest science and engineering department. It was also a two-week

journey away.

"He also requests that one of our team accompany the equipment." She made a motion, indicating Gabriel.

He understood why,Section 54 was home to several alien races, including Humans, though its atmosphere was not suitable for Eunnoians. He would need to go. Alone.

"Then I guess I'm getting re-assigned," Gabriel said, staring blankly at the M-Alpha.

Xhani clucked again. "I will assign the order. You will be permitted to leave as soon as the MAlpha is repaired and we can arrange for a ship to take you there."

Xhani did not seem to notice his crestfallen expression. Bianca did, judging from her sympathetic smile, but she most likely assumed he would miss the station and his friends. When he glanced at Jhuun, he could swear he saw the same devastation that he felt, though a moment later it was gone.

Silently, Gabriel kneeled by the M-Alpha, staring at the open panel without paying attention. Leaving the station right now would probably be the best thing for him and Jhuun. Everything would be much easier if they didn't need to keep working together, or even live on the same station.

The thought of leaving should have filled him relief. Instead, he had to keep himself from furiously punching the M-Alpha.

"You are some kind of idiot, you know that?"

"Kurt…"

"After all your whining, you actually manage to make a connection with him, you manage to have sex—and I'll remind you that I've yet to get any details—and now you're ending things and running off."

"I'm going to Section 54," Gabriel muttered, worriedly glancing around the airlock for fear of someone overhearing them. Two Eunnoians passed them, engaged in deep conversation, and an older Human man hovered at the end of the corridor, paying them no mind. "It's not my choice. The temperature there isn't hospitable for Eunnoians. Someone needs to go with the kappaproton cannon, it has to be me."

The last few hours had happened in a blur. With the help of Bianca and Xhani, he and Jhuun had gotten the M-Alpha repaired after the successful test and loaded it along with the cannon into a docked ship that was ferrying others to Section 54. Gabriel had barely had the time to pack his things and inform Kurt of his departure. Time was of the essence, but…things were moving at an uncomfortable pace.

To make matters worse, he hadn't had the chance to say goodbye to Jhuun. Xhani and Bianca had said their farewells back at the engineering office, but Jhuun had left before then and not returned.

"Besides," Gabriel said. "This is really for the best. Now's obviously not the time for a relationship."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm sure if you say that often enough, you'll end up believing it. And I'm sure your friend Jhuun will end up believing it, too. And then you can both be alone and miserable in your empty little rooms, parsecs apart."

"Are you here to say goodbye or to kick me while I'm down?"

"It's called multi-tasking." Kurt managed a smile, trapping Gabriel into a hug that paralleled their first reunion over a month ago. "I'm going to miss you, Gabe. Let's not wait three years to see each other again, okay?"

"Who knows?" Gabriel murmured. "Maybe in a few weeks we'll be able to take a vacation back on Earth."

Or maybe I could've taken Jhuun up on his offer and had a taste of lokun on the Eunnoian homeworld.

"Nice dream," Kurt said as they pulled apart. "But I hope you're right."

Gabriel was about to reply, only to notice that Kurt was distracted by someone walking down the corridor toward the airlock. Though Gabriel feared what he would see, he turned around and swallowed hard.

It was Jhuun, walking toward them with quiet steps, as though afraid to be noticed. He didn't smile, though he nodded politely at Kurt.

"You must be Jhuun," Kurt said. He gave Gabriel a look as Jhuun clucked softly in the affirmative. "I'm Kurt, Gabriel's friend. And I was just leaving."

And once again, Gabriel found himself torn between relief and dread as Kurt patted him on the shoulder said his farewells one last time and walked away, leaving him alone with Jhuun.

"I didn't think you'd come to say goodbye," Gabriel said evenly.

Jhuun watched Kurt's retreating back, as though wanting to be sure the Human was completely out of earshot. Satisfied, he turned to Gabriel once again and asked, "Will you return to Section 27?"

"I don't know," Gabriel said. "Probably not. They'll want me there for a long time. Weeks, maybe months. Chances are I'll stay there after. Maybe I'll come back here to visit one day."

"Maybe."

Gabriel winced at the tone, bitter and hurt, and he could hardly blame Jhuun.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I really am sorry."

"No apologies," Jhuun said. "No regrets, no attachments, no pain, is that correct? It's all understandable. I wish I were so strong."

Yeah. Gabriel felt so strong at the moment he wanted nothing more than to scream. Truthfully, he wanted to kiss Jhuun, hug him, touch him a little, just to let him know it had all meant something, damn it, even though it couldn't last.

But he only stood, his arms by his side, stiffly rooted to the spot in front of the airlock. "Take care of yourself, Jhuun," he said after a long moment.

"And yourself."

Jhuun made no move to kiss or touch him either. So this was the end then. With a nod, Gabriel turned and boarded the ship without looking back, with Jhuun's wide green eyes still burned to his memory.

The airlock door closed behind him with a loud click. Gabriel didn't like the sense of finality present in the sound.

If the layout of their station network could be thought of as an enormous sphere, then Section 54 would be at the core of that sphere. Gabriel peered out one of the large viewports as the ship approached the station—large, imposing, the brain of their nervous system.

The journey had taken just over two weeks as the transport ship stopped at various stations along the way to pick up extra passengers. There were nearly thirty people on board, only a few were Human, the others from various races that Gabriel did not know. He ended up sharing his small room with a stocky and non-talkative alien whose body was covered in bony plates.

Being ignorant of their languages made it easy for him to keep to himself. Though when he spotted a Wreeth female, he pretended not to

understand the language.

He had other things on his mind. The M-Alpha and the counter-weapon ranked fairly high, and the only time he left his room was to check on the equipment in the cargo hold. The rest of the time, he sat on his tiny mattress and tried his damndest not to think about how much he'd enjoyed the last few weeks and how miserable he felt right now.

When they arrived at Section 54, Gabriel was grateful, if only because it afforded a distraction and the opportunity to finally get to work. It felt almost like boarding Section 27 for the first time. Once again he felt grim and the change of atmosphere was striking, though in this case the frigid air almost instantly sent him into shivers. He hadn't realized how much he'd adapted to the heat of Section 27.

The chief engineer of Section 54 himself, a very tall and very wide Pellissian with three spindly arms named Ma'ma'li, greeted Gabriel at the airlock with some very enthusiastic handshakes and immediately directed him to the purple-lined engineering wing.

Gabriel was grateful for the whirlwind pace as it left him very little time to think about anything else. Ma'ma'li wasted no time in calling a meeting, introducing Gabriel to the engineering crew and the weapons specialists, plunking him in front of the eager crews to talk about the M-Alpha and its Glispex origin and his discoveries concerning the Fnorn cannon.

Gabriel was thankful that the station crew understood the Human language. The engineering crew was largely composed of Pellissians, a single Nr'ln and a few Humans, most of which tried to catch Gabriel's eye, evidently pleased to see more of their kind on Section 54. One olive-skinned man in particular paid him quite a bit of attention, asking questions during briefings and thanking him profusely.

The days flew by as Gabriel directed the engineering crew to test the cannon on larger scales, working with the team to modify and perfect the weapon. To his delight, the testing proved extremely effective, to the point that only a few weeks later, the engineering team was ready to bring in the weapons team to build the first fullscale version of the weapon.

When his shifts were over, Gabriel was too exhausted to do anything but shuffle back to his quarters in the luxurious engineering wing and collapse into sleep, burrowing under covers to stave off the chill, with little energy to think of anything but the tests and the meetings that awaited him the next morning.

Gabriel had gotten used to eating alone on Section 54. The Pellissians only needed food once every two days, so the cafeteria was usually deserted whenever Gabriel took his meals, save for a handful of Nr'ln and Humans collecting their meals from the food lines and finding seats among

the many empty ones.

Listlessly, Gabriel spooned at the protein mush, barely noticing when a shadow fell over the beigecolored dish.

"Eating alone is bad for you, you know."

He glanced up to see the olive-skinned engineer, the one who kept staring at him a little too longingly and smiling a little too brightly. Gabriel felt ashamed that he had to struggle to remember that the man's name was Tristan.

He was smiling broadly, though a little shyly, holding his own lunch. "Mind if I join you?"

"Um, sure," Gabriel said, shifting a little uncomfortably as Tristan took the seat opposite him, still smiling. He set his food down, but didn't begin eating.

"I wanted to say thank you for the work you've done," he said. "We never would have gotten this far without your help. You must be really proud. I mean, figuring out that the M-Alpha was actually Glispex…that was brilliant. "

"Thank you," Gabriel said politely. He set his spoon down and cinched his thick uniform jacket tighter around himself—he still hadn't adapted to the cold of Section 54. "But I wasn't working alone. I had some really valuable help back on Section 27. One of my colleagues was actually the one to recognize the origin of the weapon."

"Of course," Tristan said. He tucked his chin in his hand, still staring at Gabriel. "So how come you're here alone, without your colleagues?"

"They're Eunnoian," Gabriel said, opting not to lengthen the conversation any more than necessary. The man was nice, but he didn't exactly feel like company at the moment. "They wouldn't last long in this atmosphere."

"Oh, right," Tristan said. "Makes sense. Anyway, it's nice that you were able to come here."

"I suppose so."

"It's nice to talk to another Human," Tristan continued. "Don't get me wrong, the Pellissians are great to work with, but it's nice to have a conversation with someone familiar. My sister lives here on the station, too, we keep each other company, but it's not the same, you know?"

Gabriel met his eyes, he had a point, "I guess that's true," he said. "Have you been on this station for a long time?"

"Practically since day one. They put me to work in the engineering wing. Carmen—that's my sister—she works in weapons development. It's great, we both love it here, I just wish I could see a bit more of what's happening out there."

"Trust me, you don't," Gabriel said. "I've seen enough of what's going on out there. A little peace and quiet is nice."

"Yeah, it's definitely safe and quiet here," Tristan said. "Safest place in the whole network. Carmen's been doing shooting simulations to stay sharp, I think she's looking forward to some action."

"Well," Gabriel said. "Your team's working pretty hard to get the cannon ready. You might see some action sooner than you think."

"That'd be great," Tristan said with a grin. "Hell, all of our teams have been working really hard. I don't know about you, but I've been dying for a chance to unwind."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Gabriel said, popping another spoonful into his mouth.

"So I was wondering," Tristan said, idly stabbing at his bowl with the spoon. "If you'd like to check out our Specialty shop and maybe get a movie and some candy for tonight?"

Gabriel carefully chewed and swallowed before answering. "Tristan, I wouldn't mind watching a movie, but if you're planning on a date, I'm afraid I don't—"

"You're not interested," Tristan quickly finished, blushing brightly. "Damn, sorry mate. I thought for sure—"

"No no, it's not that," Gabriel said. Damn, Tristan was a very good-looking man, and under different circumstances, he would have felt flattered as hell to be picked up by someone like him. "I do like men, it's just…"

"You already have a partner?"

"Yes…well, no, not exactly. Let's just say I'm not looking."

"I understand," Tristan said with a nervous laugh. "No hard feelings? I figured I had to take a chance. So few Humans come around here, you

know?"

"Hey, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

They shared a quick, uneasy smile and ate in silence for a few minutes until the awkwardness finally dissipated. After a while, Tristan asked, "I hope I'm not intruding, but do you have a boyfriend or not? You didn't sound too sure."

"No, I guess I don't," Gabriel said. He picked at the protein mush and finally dropped the spoon. "At least, I don't think so. Things got a little too…complicated for us."

"I hate that word," Tristan said. "What's complicated? Everything is complicated."

Gabriel couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, I have a friend back on Section 27 who'd get along well with you."

Tristan smiled. He fidgeted with his spoon a bit before setting it down on the table. "What exactly happened with your guy? Broke up after a transfer?"

"It's a long story," Gabriel said. "Let's just say it wasn't the right time to be together."

"You sound like you miss him."

Gabriel stared down at his meal, his appetite completely lacking.

I do miss him. I miss eating the protein crap in the workshop with him, I miss listening to his laugh, I miss learning his language, I miss the way he felt in my arms…

"I guess I do, a bit."

"Well, I'm not really good at relationships,

obviously," Tristan said with a rueful smile. "But it seems to me that if you love him and he loves you, then that should be the end of the story."

"Yeah," Gabriel said. "Doesn't always work that way."

"Seems that's all I'd need," Tristan shrugged. "Anyway, I'm sorry if I brought up some bad memories there."

"It's fine. Really, don't worry about it."

"Listen, we've got time to kill before the installation this afternoon. If you're still up for that movie later, maybe we could go to the Specialty shop and find something? We've got some killer movies here."

"Sure," Gabriel said. He suddenly felt drained and weary, and he sure could use the distraction.

"Great," Tristan said. Once again, he smiled broadly as he rose to his feet and stacked their bowls. "Let's go check it out. How do you feel about Wreeth comedies?"

It was the only sight that made Gabriel smile a genuine smile these days—the sight of the MAlpha, in all its menacing amber glow, hurtling through open space, chased by one of Section 54's quick little cruisers. Gabriel watched through the oversized viewport, flanked by Section 54's engineering and weapons teams, as the first ship dipped and ducked and evaded, but soon lost the chase. The second ship, equipped with the fullscale, final version of the Fnorn counter-weapon, gave a hearty chase and concluded it by firing the weapon.

The first ship—one of their own, crudely mounted with the enemy weapon—stopped dead as the M-Alpha was fully disabled.

Assorted cheers and cries of victories went up among the gathered crews. Their final test had been a complete and utter success.

Ma'ma'li made a wavering sound of delight, merrily slapping Gabriel on the back with all three of his hands. "Wondrous! Absolutely wondrous!"

Gabriel winced and tried to suck the breath back into his lungs. "Thank you," he said.

"Such speedy progress!" Ma'ma'li happily bellowed. The Pellissian accent still sounded odd to Gabriel's ears. "We have achieved success with our counter-weapon. We may prepare for the next step!"

Across the small crowd, Gabriel locked eyes with Tristan and tried to return his wide, ecstatic grin. The two of them had developed something of a friendship, though Gabriel had found it was less of a distraction and more of a reminder of what he'd left behind on Section 27. Two months he'd been here, Gabriel thought. Twice as long as he'd spent on Section 27. And yet the memories of his time spent there were as vivid as if he'd just left.

No time to dwell on that now. This was a huge victory, and damn if Gabriel wasn't to enjoy it, even if he had to force himself.

Beside him, Ma'ma'li had just finished shaking his many hands with the assistant chief engineer, a fellow Pellissian.

"Everyone did an amazing job," Gabriel said. "This last test proves that we're ready to start mass-producing the counter-weapon."

"Much agreement," Ma'ma'li said. "I propose we hold a meeting in one hour. I will make announcements on our next official functions. Firstly I will send messages to your old station to personally offer gratitude to your colleagues."

Gabriel nodded mutedly. He wondered what Jhuun had been up to these last few weeks, alone in their old workshop.

"A question," Ma'ma'li was saying in a low voice, laying his middle arm around Gabriel's shoulders. "Xhani, your former chief engineer, is she still glorious as in my memories?"

"She's, um…she looked well when I last saw her."

"Wondrous," the alien drawled, his spindly arachnid fingers wiggling lustfully. Gabriel balked at the thought of anyone having romantic intentions toward the austere Eunnoian. "I will extend your greetings to your colleagues on your behalf?"

"Please, no," Gabriel said. "I'm sure they've forgotten all about me by now. Just a progress report would be fine."

Ma'ma'li did not seem to notice the tremor in Gabriel's voice. He nodded sagely, staring out at the working engineering crew, no doubt still consumed by thoughts of Xhani.

Around them, the engineering and weapons crews began to dissipate. Tristan passed by to announce they were going to the lounge to celebrate, though Gabriel gently turned him down. As much as he felt elated at their success, he just couldn't muster up the energy to feel festive.

True to his word, Ma'ma'li held a meeting an hour after the successful test. After informing everyone that he had ordered ten counterweapons to be developed immediately, he ceded the floor to the assistant chief engineer, a young female Pellissian.

"We've been aware for some time now that the Maedrom may be able to tap into our communications systems," she said. Her accent was not as strong as Ma'ma'li's. "As you have heard, Section 26 was attacked and destroyed a few months ago, and we believe this was a result of the Maedrom's belief that the M-Alpha was housed there."

She waved her middle hand vaguely in Gabriel's direction as she mentioned Section 26. He acknowledged her somberly with a quick nod.

"As a result, we have determined that Section

27 and its immediate neighbors are in the greatest danger. It has been decided that Sections 25, 27 and 28 will be fitted with the new counter-weapon

as soon as enough are built."

Heads nodded around the table at the sensible plan. Ma'ma'li then took the floor again, dividing the crews up and assigning them to various stations. Tristan was to oversee the installation on Section 25, a middle-aged female engineer was assigned to Section 28 and Gabriel was assigned to Section 27.

Of course. No doubt Ma'ma'li thought it was a kind gesture, returning Gabriel to his former abode. Gabriel couldn't think of a polite way to squirm out of the assignment.

He spent the rest of the meeting in silence.

Six days passed by quickly as the counterweapons were built and soon it was time to leave Section 54.

The Daedalus, the shuttle that picked Gabriel up from Section 54 was a tiny version of their warships, now equipped with the refined version of the counter-weapon. It was the first time Gabriel had ever stepped on a ship so clearly meant for battle; unlike the transport ship that had brought him here, it was clearly designed for speed and power, not comfort. There were no quarters, no beds, and the interior was covered with control panels meant to operate weaponry, giving the ship an urgent, cramped feel.

Gabriel was walked to the ship by Ma'ma'li, who implored him to transmit his best regards to Xhani. He then boarded the ship, sat in a hard, uncomfortable seat, tucked his satchel underneath his legs, and sighed as he looked out the viewport, watching Section 54 grow small in the distance.

He'd spent just over two long, busy months there, and yet couldn't muster so much as a hint of regret at leaving the place.

The Daedalus was nearly empty. There were only three other crewmembers, two of which were Human—the pilot, a sullen-faced man named Lucas, and Carmen, Tristan's sister and their weapons expert. She and Gabriel had spoken here and there back on the station but to his relief, she left him alone now, instead spending her time conversing and laughing with the third crewmember, a tall Nr'ln male named F'ter, from the engineering team. No Pellissians accompanied them, only Humans and Nr'ln would be able to work on Section 27.

Gabriel spent most of the two-week journey dozing, pacing up and down the narrow hall of the ship to stretch his legs and gazing out the viewport at the numerous stations, satellites and defense turrets as they navigated through the allies' network.

Gabriel found himself growing restless toward the end of the journey. They were only hours away from Section 27 now. What would he find there, he wondered? Surely Jhuun had completely written him off by now. He could expect civility, yes, but probably nothing more. And he could hardly blame Jhuun. Oh God, and what if he had already found a new partner? Miserably, Gabriel slunk down into his seat, struck for a moment by the memory of Jhuun's skin under his fingers, the taste of his mouth, sorely jealous at the thought of anyone else feeling what he had felt.

He was so lost within his own thoughts that he nearly jumped out of his seat as the disturbingly familiar alarm klaxon began to blare.

Carmen and F'ter, previously occupied with something in the back of the ship, came running up toward the cockpit. Gabriel scrambled out of his seat to follow.

The pilot was sweaty-faced, his hands flying over the console. "Shit, shit…"

"What's happening?" Carmen asked.

Gabriel braced himself against the bulkhead, though no shot came. "Where are the Maedrom?" he asked. "Where are they attacking?"

"They're not after us," Lucas said grimly. "The alarm came from the long-range sensors. They're attacking Section 27."

Faint and flush, Gabriel dropped into a vacant seat in the cockpit. "Are they…are they…"

"They're still whole," Carmen said, quickly checking the sensor readings. "For now."

"How far away are we?"

"Twenty minutes, if we give it everything we've got," Lucas said.

Gabriel tried not to moan. Twenty minutes was not enough time. How long had it taken for the Maedrom to attack and destroy Section 26, not so long ago? It had seemed like seconds. All they needed was one well-placed shot to end everything.

"Then we need to move," Gabriel said.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Lucas said weakly.

"He marks a point," F'ter said, nervously swiveling his antenna from one Human to the other. "If the Maedrom are numerous, we are vulnerable."

"And what about Section 27?" Gabriel tried and failed not to yell. "We have the only weapon that can save them. We have to move."

His desperation seemed enough to silence his shipmates. As the Daedalus plowed through space, Gabriel spent the next twenty minutes prowling the cockpit, alternatively peering over the pilot's shoulder to see how much distance was left and Carmen's shoulder to see if the long-range sensors had picked up any distressing readings. Sweat broke out on his forehead as she eventually announced, "We should be in visual range now."

Gabriel's pulse was furiously hammering in his ears as stared out the viewport. A flashing point in the distance quickly came into view—Section 27, under attack. Next to him, F'ter distressingly whispered something in his native language.

As the shuttle neared the station, Gabriel could see two Maedrom ships, battering the heavilydamaged station with torpedoes. Section 27 was firing back as well as it could, but it was obviously on its last legs. The Maedrom hadn't fired the MAlpha yet, but the inevitable would happen any second now.

They hadn't a moment to spare. Gabriel slid into the seat next to Carmen, bringing up the controls for the counter-weapon. She gave him a glare, but didn't argue—she may have been wellversed in the weapon, but it was Gabriel who'd developed it.

"Get me close to the lead ship," Gabriel told Lucas. "As close you can. I need to get a clear shot. We might not get a second chance."

Lucas wordlessly obeyed. The shuttle's compact size gave it a navigational advantage, ducking past the shots fired by the Maedrom ships. Neither ship bothered with them, either too busy with their attack or convinced they were not a threat.

Casting furtive glances through the viewport, trying to gauge the distance, Gabriel stifled a curse as one of the Maedrom ships, the one they were attempting to approach, fell back from the battle, circled around and deployed the front of its hull. Inside, a circle of amber-colored energy began to glow. They were getting ready to fire the MAlpha.

"As close you can get us," Gabriel said, trying to keep the waver out of his voice as he activated the counter-weapon and got it ready to fire. They had tested their weapon against the M-Alpha back at the station and it had performed beautifully— but how would it fare against a fully-armed, fullyfunctional Maedrom ship?

"Take the shot now," Lucas said. "Because if they spot us, I'm getting us the hell out of here."

No time to waste, no time to pray—Gabriel fired.

The proton beam was invisible. Gabriel knew this from the numerous tests and still his heart sank for a moment as it appeared the weapon had misfired. But an instant later, the amber glow died from the core of the Maedrom ship. For several excruciating seconds, the ship hung in space, motionless, while its companion continued to fire torpedoes at the station.

Gabriel tensely pictured the Maedrom inside their ship, frantically running around from console to console, trying to figure out why their miracle weapon wasn't working. Then the clawlike protrusions at the front of the hull retracted, like a mechanical flower wilting away and the ship came around, hastily retreating.

A minute later, its companion did the same, no doubt alerted by the first Maedrom ship. Unwilling to try and puzzle out their newfound weakness in the middle of a firefight, they had chosen to retreat.

"Take that, you bastards!" Carmen cried, pumping her fist at the viewport. F'ter shrieked in victory.

Gabriel sagged in his seat. The station was safe. Heavily damaged, but safe. However, he dreaded what they would find once they boarded the station. How many injured? How many fatalities? He thought of Kurt and Bianca and Xhani…and Jhuun and was suddenly thrust back to hearing about the destruction of the Northumbrian.

It was the same. No, scratch that, this was worse, because this time he would have to go aboard the station and find out the bad news for himself.

"We have to go," Gabriel said. "We have to go help them."

"Yeah," Lucas nodded. He seemed shaken by their close call. "Hang on. This may get bumpy."

Lucas was right. Docking was tricky since there was no one at the airlock to direct them and the Daedalus took a few scrapes and lumps before they were solidly locked in. The moment the airlock door rolled out of the way, Gabriel leapt from the ship to the station, quickly followed by Carmen and F'ter.

When he had first stepped on Section 27 months ago the air had been calm and warm. The airlock had been overcrowded, but there had been a sense of tranquility about the station.

Now, it was chaotic.

Acrid smoke filled the darkened corridors, stinging Gabriel's throat. The red alarm light illuminated the destruction, but the klaxon was silent—the audio system must have gotten destroyed in the attack. Gabriel stepped over debris, running down the corridors, while Carmen followed closely by. They ran into a few station crewmembers, injured and panicked, but alive. Carmen and F'ter stopped to help them carry an injured Eunnoian female to the medical wing.

The situation under control, Gabriel pressed his sleeve against his mouth and nose to filter out the smoke and continued down the corridor. Frantic, disorganized voices yelled from all corners— Humans, Eunnoians, calling out to each other, wondering if the attack was over. Gabriel passed them all, driven by a single thought—Jhuun. He had to find Jhuun.

The station had taken a heavy beating. Entire bulkheads had collapsed, panels had erupted spitting lazy sparks at him as he ran. Twice he had to divert his path, once because of fire, the other because a ceiling had collapsed, blocking his way. The lift wasn't working. Gabriel immediately dove for the emergency steps, counting the levels until he arrived to the engineering wing.

Gabriel's sense of time for Section 27 was off, but he was fairly certain it was mid-day here. Jhuun wouldn't be in his quarters then, he never spent much time in the Idea Room and hated the cafeteria so odds were he would be somewhere in the engineering office or the workshop. Gabriel couldn't afford to be wrong.

He climbed out from the emergency steps, gasping for breath from the strenuous ascent. He followed the purple lines on the corridor walls, through the smoke, and as he rounded a corner, he stopped short and cried out. There was a body on the floor lying in a pool of blood. Shock turned to nausea as Gabriel recognized her—it was the young black-haired engineer he had seen a few times. Her eyes were half-open and a fallen beam impaled her abdomen. She was dead.

Swallowing thickly, fighting panic and claustrophobia, Gabriel pressed on, trying not to think of what else he would find. He reached the engineering main office. The door stuck and he had to kick it savagely to get it to open, bruising his toes in the process.

"Shit!" he shouted, then coughed. "Jhuun? Say something if you can hear me! Jhuun? Bianca? Xhani?"

The office was a chaotic mess. The broadcast screen had overloaded and exploded, showering the office in a fountain of sparks. There was no sign of Jhuun, nor of anyone else. He ran to the workshop door, it, too, was closed and stuck. Gabriel braced himself and rammed it with his shoulder. It wavered on its hinges, but didn't break.

"Jhuun? Anybody?" he called out, preparing to run into the door again.

He had to open it, he had to be sure. But just before he could slam his weight into it again, he heard a raspy voice from the other side of the door call out, "Gab-rel?"

Gabriel's heart skipped a beat. The voice was weak, tremulous, but he would recognize it anywhere. "Jhuun!" he cried out. "I'm coming! If

you're near the door, stand back!"

Desperation lent him strength as he backed away, then put his full weight behind his run, ramming the door with his shoulder. If he wrenched his shoulder in the process, he didn't feel it this time. The door was knocked halfway off its hinges, enough for Gabriel to press himself inside the workshop.

It was a mess in there, too. One of the walls had completely collapsed, throwing shrapnel and broken pieces of bulkhead into the room. Jhuun was there, leaning heavily against one of the consoles, dark blood gleaming on the side of his head.

Gabriel reached him in two strides, wrapping his arms around Jhuun's lean body as support. "Are you okay?" he asked desperately. He scanned Jhuun for any other injuries, wincing as he spotted a large gash on his leg, dripping blood. "Jhuun? Are you okay?"

He blinked at Gabriel, confused. "Enaam mha, dhiri Gab-rel girhaam?"

"I can't understand you," Gabriel said desperately. He shifted Jhuun's weight in his arms, bringing him to sit on the floor. Digging his teeth into his sleeve, he struggled to tear a piece of the cloth, pressing it to Jhuun's bleeding head wound. "Jhuun, speak my language. Are you okay?"

Jhuun blinked again as Gabriel gently shook him. "Yes. Apologies. My head is dizzy. Gabriel, why are you here? You're not supposed to be on the station, no?"

"I just came back, we…we saw the Maedrom attack. What happened here?"

"It was sudden," Jhuun said. He lifted his hand, laid it over Gabriel's, helping him hold the makeshift bandage to his own head. "It seems like only minutes ago, everything was calm. I was working here on a new shield generator, a project for Xhani, and…the klaxon began. Before I could move, it felt as though the station had exploded around me. I was…I was prepared to wait for the end."

"Oh God," Gabriel breathed. "We were just on our way back with the new counter-weapon. When we saw the Maedrom, we came to help and—they're gone now, Jhuun. It works. The weapon we built, it works. We destroyed their MAlpha."

"We succeeded?" Jhuun asked. Despite the pain of his injuries, he smiled widely. "I had hoped, of course, but—to have actually defeated the attacking Maedrom?"

Gabriel smiled back, pulse racing from the adrenaline. There was so much to say, so much he wanted to apologize for, but there was the more pressing matter of getting Jhuun some medical attention.

"Come on," Gabriel said. "We can celebrate later. Right now we need to get you some help. Do you know were Bianca and Xhani are?"

"They left to eat lunch before the attack began. I'm not certain where they are now."

"Don't worry. We'll find them. Everything's going to be fine."

Jhuun did not resist as Gabriel took his arm and laid it across his shoulders, helping him back to his feet. The alien's skin was warm, damp, so very familiar, and the weight of his body leaning against Gabriel's was comforting. Gabriel wanted to scream as he realized how closely he had come to losing this.

"I didn't think I would see you again," Jhuun said. With Gabriel's support, they stepped over debris and made their way toward the main office.

"Neither did I," Gabriel said. "I never should have left."

"You were re-assigned. You had no choice."

"Yeah, that's not what I meant." With Jhuun still leaning on him, Gabriel paused, ostensibly to give them both a rest before continuing. "I didn't just leave, I ran away. That could have been the biggest mistake of my life."

It was easy, with Jhuun already in his arms, to press that long body closer to his, to hoist himself onto his toes to get a little closer to the alien's face. Jhuun understood, leaned down and they kissed, fitting together a little awkwardly at first after so much time apart, but it was the best thing Gabriel had experienced in a long time.

When they broke apart, Gabriel felt Jhuun's hand, sweet and uncertain, come to rest against his collarbone. For the first time, in the middle of chaos and destruction and death, Gabriel felt alive.

"I love you," Gabriel murmured. "I could have lost you."

"You wanted no regrets," Jhuun said quietly. "No fears. No attachments in time of war. Death is still a possibility, you realize."

"Yeah, I realize that," Gabriel said. He closed his eyes, drawing Jhuun close to him. "And I'm glad I don't have to face it with my arms empty."

The Idea Room had been damaged in the attack though enough of a clean-up had been done to make it presentable. It was now packed to the brim, to the point that people had brought in chairs from the cafeteria along with anything else that could serve as a seat.

The broadcast screen was active—the action on the screen, a series of replays of their most recent victories against the Maedrom, was accompanied by happy cries and excited commentary from the gathered Humans and Eunnoians.

Gabriel sat on the armchair of one of the couches, his hand draped over Jhuun's shoulder. The alien was sitting on the couch with his bandaged leg propped up a chair. Close to them, Kurt sat on a stool he had procured from somewhere, looking exhausted from his long shifts in the medical wing, but happy nonetheless. From across the room, Gabriel could see Bianca, her arm in a sling, accompanied by Xhani, who smiled broadly as both women watched the broadcast screen.

For the first time in years, the cheerful mood was not a façade. Section 27's victory against the Maedrom a few days prior had been the first ripple in the changing of the tides. The Maedrom, with their prized weapon now useless, were being beaten, destroyed, forced to retreat. Perhaps they were still some time away from the complete end of the war, but the end was visible on the horizon and that alone was enough to bolster spirits.

Gabriel himself could not have felt more elated. The changing fortunes were one source of his joy and as for the other—he smiled as Jhuun turned to look at him, a smile on his own wide lips. Gabriel could not resist and moved his hand from Jhuun's shoulder to brush his fingertips against the skin of his throat.

From the corner of his eye, Gabriel noticed a Human man, who had been happily chattering with his friends, cast him and Jhuun as puzzled, but pleased look. Paying the watchers no mind, Gabriel leaned down from his position on the armrest and kissed Jhuun.

When they broke apart, Gabriel didn't lean away. The Idea Room was awfully crowded and noisy, not the ideal locale for anything more, as much as Gabriel wanted to take this farther.

Jhuun seemed to read his mind.

"Perhaps you wish to pursue this further," Jhuun murmured against his lips.

"Yeah," Gabriel smiled. "I do. Does your room have a lock?"

He remembered that look in Jhuun's eyes— hunger, passion, lust—and he quickly helped his lover to his feet, limping out of the Idea Room, glancing back at Kurt's smirking face as they left. Together they walked to the lift, to the engineering wing, to Jhuun's quarters.

In all the time he'd previously spent on the station, he hadn't visited Jhuun's quarters. They were bare and functional, much like his. In contrast, the lighting elements were dimmer and Jhuun had acquired framed art for the walls, Eunnoian pieces that Gabriel would find time to study later. Now, Jhuun quickly latched the door and prowled over to Gabriel until the two fell onto Jhuun's bed.

The mattress was soft, and instead of blankets, the bed was covered in sheer cloths. They felt cool against his back as Jhuun stretched out on top of him, resting his long, lean body against Gabriel's, and kissing him deeply.

Jhuun had gotten very good at kissing. His lips were thin, but they slid with skill against Gabriel's own, and Gabriel savored the familiar, earthy taste of his alien lover. The way Jhuun moved against him as they kissed was positively intoxicating and already he was hard, his erection bumping against Jhuun's pelvis.

Their first and so far only sexual encounter, in the engineering workshop, had been hurried, tentative and had ended poorly. This time, Gabriel vowed it would be the complete opposite. Tightening his hold around Jhuun, he indicated that the alien should roll over on the bed so that Gabriel could now lie on top.

Jhuun's body unfurled on the sheer bedclothes as though he were a cat, his green eyes going dark in the dim lights. There was no doubt then in Gabriel's mind that he loved this being and that no matter what came of the future, this was not a love he could ever regret.

Gabriel bent down, gently scraped his teeth against Jhuun's throat, enjoying the stuttered gasps this drew. His hand wandered down Jhuun's chest, stopping to touch the fluttering vestigial gills—they were not much of an erogenous zone, but they were exotic to him and he enjoyed the feel of them. After running his fingers along the frilled edges, pausing to feel the warm air rushing out, his hand dipped lower, beneath the rim of Jhuun's form-fitting shorts.

Gabriel quickly slid them down Jhuun's long legs, mindful of the gauze wrapped around the still-healing leg wound. With Jhuun now naked, Gabriel paused only to remove his own shirt and pants, smiling at the way Jhuun's gaze curiously trailed over his chest, his stomach, his hard and ruddy cock. Rising up onto his knees, Gabriel adjusted his position on the bed until he could lean down, and press his mouth to the sensitive slit at Jhuun's lower abdomen.

The reaction was instant, and as thrilling as the first time. Jhuun gasped loudly, his back arching as Gabriel licked and bit at the tender flesh. It tasted just like Jhuun, cool and earthy, and pulsed under his lips.

Sensing movement on the bed, Gabriel looked up to see that Jhuun had raised himself onto his elbows. He moaned as he realized Jhuun wanted to watch him, wanted to see the Human who was pleasuring him. He kept his eyes on Jhuun's, incredibly aroused by the way they darkened and narrowed, by the way Jhuun's lips parted as he struggled to draw in breath. He began to whisper a few words in Eunnoian—and damn, but Gabriel was really going to have to make the effort to learn Eunnoian one day—until his breaths grew louder, sharper, and his body tensed as he said, "Gabriel…now…now…I will—"

Taking the cue, Gabriel removed his mouth from the slit and rubbed his palm over it, excited beyond belief as Jhuun fell back and thrashed around on the bed, moaning and gasping his way through his before-orgasm, and as the hard, slick organ slid out into his waiting hand.

This, Gabriel remembered, was as far as they'd gotten so long ago, before doubts and fears and insecurities had come around to ruin everything. Now there were no such things as Gabriel watched Jhuun collapse back onto the bed, smiling blissfully and trying to get his breathing under control. There were no other emotions but love, and the certainty that he had never done anything that felt as right as this.

Gabriel laid a kiss on the narrow tip of organ in his hand, delighting at the way it pulsed against his lips, at the way the contact made Jhuun's hips surge up. Not so different at all.

"Do you need a moment?" Gabriel asked. "Or should I continue?"

"A moment," Jhuun whispered. He reached out for Gabriel, beckoning him to return to his side. Gabriel did not argue, covering Jhuun's body with his own as they kissed. He barely noticed that Jhuun's hand was gliding between their bodies until he felt long, warm fingers wrap around his cock, giving it a tentative squeeze.

Gabriel broke the kiss to moan. Back in the workshop so very long ago, he'd gotten the chance to explore Jhuun all he wanted, but that was as far as they'd gotten. Evidently, Jhuun was ready to make up for the lost opportunity. He got onto his knees, giving Jhuun better access, watching his lover as those large green eyes curiously, and hungrily, stared at his cock, pumping it slowly. Curious fingertips grazed the bulbous head, traced veins, delved into the black curls at the base of the cock, touched the supple skin of his balls that must have felt so alien to Jhuun.

"Have you ever seen a naked Human before?" Gabriel asked on the cusp of a moan as Jhuun grew a little bolder, pumping a little faster.

"Only in the downloadable encyclopedia,"

Jhuun said, raising his other hand to stroke Gabriel's throat.

"I hope you like the live version," Gabriel gasped. He covered Jhuun's pumping hand with his own to stop the action. "Y-you might want to slow down there. I'll need more than a moment if you make me come."

Jhuun laughed his stuttered laugh. "We have time. We have the entire night. And many more after that."

The thought nearly made Gabriel blush. He was right, they would have a whole lot of nights, and days, and hopefully years ahead of them. It was amazing to think so. He would one day be able to bring Jhuun to Earth for a visit and would one day share a chicken shawarma with him.

It was suddenly a lot harder to think and plan as Jhuun shimmied down the bed, still grasping Gabriel's cock, and slowly lowered his mouth onto it. With a gasp, Gabriel fell back onto the cool sheer bedclothes. It seemed the Eunnoians favored using their mouths for a reason—they were bloody good at it.

In a reverse of their earlier position, Gabriel now lifted himself up a bit onto his elbows, wanting to see Jhuun, and the sight did not disappoint. Jhuun effortlessly swallowed his cock, working his lips and his tongue and his throat, parts of him that were unlike anything Human, exotic enough to be thrilling. He reached down to lay his hand against the back of Jhuun's bare head, not pushing, just wanting to touch his lover during this act.

Jhuun's long-fingered hands were all over him, squeezing, stroking, rubbing his sweaty, sticky skin while his tongue, surprisingly supple and agile to the point of being nearly prehensile, worked wonders around Gabriel's cock. When he looked up, meeting Gabriel's eyes with his own hungry green ones, that was it.

"Jhuun…watch it, I'm com—"

Orgasm struck him almost by surprise. Gabriel grunted and moaned and shook all over as he came inside Jhuun's mouth. Too much, too good, and he fell back against the bed, struggling to breathe as he felt Jhuun move against him, hoping he hadn't breached some manner of Eunnoian blowjob etiquette by coming inside his mouth.

But then his worries dissipated as he felt Jhuun's lips on his throat, sucking on the skin there. Surely Jhuun would be able to feel the wild hammering of his pulse.

Jhuun whispered something in Eunnoian, then murmured, "You are beautiful to watch."

"Thanks," Gabriel said. He threw his arm over his sweaty forehead. "I hope none of that freaked you out."

Jhuun laughed, his lips still pressed to Gabriel's skin. "No. I enjoyed tasting you."

Gabriel damn near blushed at that, at the casual, pleased honesty. Any exhaustion he may have felt immediately dissipated. He rose up onto his elbow and reached for Jhuun, kissing him deeply, savoring the taste of Jhuun mixed with that of his own come.

Now, he wanted to watch Jhuun come. He wanted to make him come. Breaking the kiss, Gabriel went for Jhuun's throat, putting pressure there with his tongue, his teeth, pushing Jhuun until he lay on his back. Gabriel went from throat, to collarbone, to chest, laying kisses and teeth marks all the way down, taking the time to feel the unique texture of Jhuun's skin.

When he reached Jhuun's pelvis, he wrapped his hand around the gracefully-curved organ. It was hard, two shades darker than Jhuun's skin and thick enough that he could barely wrap his fingers all the way around it. He gave it a tentative stroke. The entire shaft seemed equally sensitive. There was a pulse that fluttered strongly against his palm, and Jhuun responded with a long sigh, his body quaking with pleasure. Emboldened, Gabriel stroked again, his fingers sliding easily on the warm slick skin from root to tip, gaining momentum as Jhuun's vocalizations became more urgent.

No sense teasing too much on the first date. Adjusting himself between Jhuun's thighs, Gabriel closed his eyes and swallowed the organ.

His senses were filled with the taste of his lover—like cool earth, like fresh water. Gabriel hollowed out his cheeks and sucked, drawing the organ nearly out of his mouth before plunging back down again. Jhuun's reactions did not disappoint, to the point that Gabriel had to open his eyes and watch. The alien was thrashing about on the bed, eyes closed and mouth open as though desperate for breath.

There was no greater badge of honor than robbing a vocal lover of breath.

Gabriel bobbed up and down on Jhuun's organ, not quite able to swallow the entire thing, though his hand pumped up and down the remainder of the flesh, teasing the sensitive skin that surrounded the base of the organ. His tongue couldn't quite do the same gymnastics that Jhuun's had, but it didn't seem to bother his lover much. Jhuun found enough breath to moan, frantically mumble something in Eunnoian that sounded familiar to Gabriel and he took it for the warning it was even before Jhuun managed to vocalize it in the Human language.

Tension ran through Jhuun's body as the orgasm hit. At once Gabriel felt the pulsing of the organ between his lips as the earthy taste of alien come filled his mouth in slow pulses. He happily swallowed.

When it was over, Gabriel crawled up onto his lover's body, watching as Jhuun's eyes fluttered for several moments before opening, settling on Gabriel with a pleased, sated look.

"That was nice," Gabriel said.

"Sorha," Jhuun agreed.

Gabriel shifted against Jhuun's pelvis, noticing

that the organ pressing against his hip was still rock-hard. He glanced down between their bodies and asked, "Doesn't it, uh…" He blushed, struggling for the right word. "Go down? Or, you know, retract?"

"Not immediately," Jhuun said. "Not until we are…completely finished. The entire night is ours, is it not?"

He rolled over, covering Gabriel with the weight of his body. His organ, still hot and hard, pressed into Gabriel's abdomen and his arousal was suddenly flaring back to life.

They kissed, slowly, leisurely, and when they parted, Gabriel smiled as a wicked idea came to mind. "You're right," he said. "We got all night. And you know, when I got back to my room— same one I had before—I noticed that I never returned Kozhi and Nhor in Yaalhi Pond. It's in there right now."

The look in Jhuun's eyes nearly made Gabriel come right then and there.

"Does your room have a lock?" he asked huskily.

By the time morning rolled around, Gabriel was completely and utterly exhausted, but happier than he'd been in a long time. He woke next to Jhuun. The alien had curled up on himself in his sleep and Gabriel watched as Jhuun breathed slowly, his eyes fluttering, enjoying the moment of peace. Careful not to wake his lover, he reached over and gently stroked his throat, feeling the familiar alien skin, the rhythm of the pulse that he now knew intimately.

The road ahead would be perilous, uncertain, fraught with danger and possible death. But more importantly, Gabriel mused contently, they now had an entire future to face. Together.

With no regrets.

About the Author

Lazuli Jones has always enjoyed combining the beautiful sensuality of erotica with the magic and wonder of science-fiction and fantasy. You will most likely find her gazing up at the stars with a wicked smile, wondering what naughty fun to write about next.

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