Read Online The Commander's Slave by K. S. Augustin - Free Book Online

beguiling eyes, Tangus realized that
nothing he had previously done in his life required more
self-discipline than just standing his ground and not--once
again--losing himself in her perfumed loveliness.
    He spun the chair at his desk and
seated himself at what he considered to be a safe distance, content
to watch her.
    “ I’m still captain of this
ship,” he reminded her. “I have duties to perform.”
    “ I have some duties you
can perform,” she teased, but he brushed her comment away with a
wry smile.
    Maybe he gave a little more away in
that movement than he wanted, because Asha frowned as she, too,
began pulling on clothes.
    “ Is there anything I can do
to help?” she asked. “As eye-opening as the past few days have been
….”
    Tangus had the decency to flush along
his cheekbones although his expression didn’t change.
    “… I’d like to do
more.”
    “ Such as?”
    Indeed. She thought she could compartmentalize her
forgotten life in a little box and forgotten about it, that she
could start building a new beginning with Tangus. But no matter how
much she tried to ignore it, the questions around her existence
continued to appear at the most inopportune moments. How could she possibly help the crew of a quasi-military vessel? Was
she combat-trained herself? A superlative navigator or pilot? By
the gods, she wished she knew!
    “ I’m not sure,” she said
slowly.
    “ Now if only you were an
influential member of the Lower Convergence,” he mused, more to
himself, mentioning one of the two galaxy-wide political bodies of
the Fusion.
    “ You’re thinking of the
Lasc Prein destroying your planet.”
    “ I’m thinking of
justice.”
    “ As a member of the Fusion yourself, you can petition for an
enquiry sub-committee,” she suddenly said then sat back,
thunderstruck. Where had that thought come
from?
    But she was right. Tangus nodded.
“True, but we only joined the Fusion a few years ago. Who would
agree to sponsor and chair the sub-committee? The Lasc Prein were
very smart. They knew the best time to strike the Seti was before
we could build up any alliances. All the worlds we have
relationships with are non-Fusion. Short of starting an all-out
war, which I doubt I can do, the situation still looks
hopeless.”
    The door to his quarters buzzed, and
still preoccupied, Tangus rose to answer it. He froze when he
recognized his visitor.
    Doctor Zehnda’s face was open and
enquiring. “Commander, you passed orders that I should report to
you this morning. Sub-commander Daurent has already briefed me, and
I brought my genetics kit.”
    No! something shouted
in Tangus’ head. Don’t do
this!
    The night had been wonderful,
ecstatic, but what about the future of his people? Could he
sacrifice the continued existence of the Seti to monopolize one
delectable golden body?
    “ Of course,” he greeted
after a short pause. “Come in, doctor.” Dammit, he had to prove
that he was stronger than this, that he was able to formulate and
carry through a difficult strategy. He tried very hard not to
think.
    Asha, grateful she had dressed, rose
and offered her hand. “Good morning. I’m Asha.”
    The older man put his small case down
on the nearby desk before walking forward and taking her hand
between his. “A pleasure to meet you. I’m the doctor aboard this
ship, Zehnda Galin. At your service.” He applied slight pressure to
his grasp then released her.
    Both people turned to face
him.
    Give him some excuse. Send
him away. You don’t have to do this, Xalor.
    “ I’ve … called the Doctor
here to give you a checkup.”
    “ A good idea,” Zehnda
chimed in with a smile. “We should always establish a baseline
before we start on the tricky business of xenotyping.”
    Asha frowned. “Xenotyping?”
    But Zehnda wasn’t listening. He moved
to Tangus’ desk and opened his case.
    She turned to Tangus.
“Xenotyping?”
    There’s still time to
salvage this situation. Send Zehnda away!
    “ I don’t