Ouroboros Ch. 03

"I was surprised though." Nancy remarked. "You seem to have a more firm grasp on spaceships than I would have expected from someone who spent the last one hundred forty years living alone in the middle of nowhere."

"I did tell you that I spent a great deal of my time learning." Boros reminded her. "Space and technology have always been a passion of mine."

"Really?" Shihong asked. "I've always been fascinated by space myself." she offered.

Nancy excused herself to the far side of the room and pulled her comm link out to make some calls.

He smiled at Shihong. "Maybe later we could get something to eat and talk about that?" Boros ventured shyly. He suddenly realized that this was the first time he had ever asked a woman out on a date. He was pretty sure that if her would have thought about asking her before he had acted so spontaneously he would have been to nervous to have done it. This was unknown territory for Boros, what if she turned him down? She probably would. They had just met, and only had a few days together before she went back to her life at Gabriel's court.

Her face transformed from beautiful to angelic. "I would love that." she replied demurely.

Relief surged through Boros' entire being, but he still worried. He had never felt any romantic leanings toward a woman before and he couldn't help but think that because she was leaving in two or three days, to go back to Miami, that whatever they could have had together was already doomed to fail.

Sam, clearing his throat, brought him back to himself. He realized that Shihong and he had been staring at eachother for who knows how long. Boros blushed a deep scarlet with embarrassment. "Santos just called. He's waiting for us outside to go and look the ship over."

Thankfully, no one commented as they all trooped outside to go look at the Star Cruiser.

***

It was huge! Seeing it as a projection was completely different than seeing it in person. The one and a half kilometer long hull seemed to just keep going on and on. It was half a kilometer high just forward from the engines and tapered down toward the prow. Did he really need a ship this big? He wondered to himself. The answer was yes, but that didn't make the massive spacecraft in front of him any less impressive.

"Wow." Shihong breathed out beside him on the open canopied transport.

It was only a matter of moments for Admiral Santos to open the hangar doors and fly the transport into the forward hangar bay. Even though the ship had been running on minimal power for some time, the maintenance bots seemed to have kept up with their duties. The hangar bay was spotless and gleamed as if it were new. The group disembarked from the transport and Santos handed him a holopad with the ship's schematics and details loaded onto it.

"If you choose to purchase this Star Cruiser, it will take some time before you could begin any modifications." Santos told him with a sneer. "It will have to be disarmed of all weaponry you aren't authorized for."

"Excuse me?" Boros asked.

"This ship is a fully functional ship of the line." the admiral informed him. "The missiles, torpedoes, beam lasers, and defense grid can stay. But everything else will have to be removed, of course we will have to add the disarmament to the cost of the transaction."

Boros deliberately looked confused. "I thought the removal of the old hardware was part of the cost when I purchase weapon upgrades?"

Admiral Santos gave Boros a double take. "Which weapons were you planning on upgrading, kid?" Santos demanded.

Boros motioned with his hands for everyone to give him room before he stepped into the shorter man's personal space. All trace of good natured humor was wiped from Boros' face. The look he directed at the admiral had a frightening cast to it. Anyone who had seen combat or had been forced to fight for their own lives would have recognized the look in Boros' eyes. It was a very dangerous look.

"First, don't ever call me kid." he began in a low voice, almost a growl. Admiral Santos' face had gone completely pale at the confrontation. "Second, you are an officer in the SSA. Act like it or you're going to receive an attitude adjustment before your convalescence."

The man's face was becoming blotchy as if his body couldn't decide if it was supposed to be pale with fright or red with rage. "That was a threat against a superior officer, Commodore. Consider yourself to be under arrest." The admiral sputtered. He didn't realize that Nancy had already called his superiors and that a replacement was on his way. Boris not only knew that but, with his enhanced hearing, he had heard the other end of the conversation. SSA high command had already had Santos under investigation for embezzlement. When Nancy had told them that the Rear Admiral was botching a negotiation that was going to be over a billion credits, after the purchase of the ships, upgrades, and custom modifications, her contact at high command was less than pleased. They had immediately dispatched Santos' replacement, who had already been chosen, to Canaveral shipyard to complete the negotiations.

"I think you are forgetting something, Santos." Boros waited for the man to try and figure out what he meant. "I'm not just an officer of the SSA. I'm also an ambassador for the preternatural government. Your insulting attitude has been grating on my nerves since I met you. I was under the impression you were challenging me." Boros wasn't sure what prompted him do it, it may have been instinct or something else, but he lifted one of his hands directly in front of the Admiral's face. He lowered the veil in his mind just a smidgen and directed the energy down his arm. The hand that at first appeared human began to change. Slowly, scales began to rise up out of his skin like they were floating up through water and his hand grew almost twice its size and his fingers elongated. When the change of just his hand was complete, Boros flexed his fingers and two inch long talons extended from them so fast it was like magic.

"Was that your intent? To challenge me?" Boros asked in a much deeper voice that rumbled up through his chest.

Rear Admiral Santos fainted and collapsed into a heap.

The sound of clapping snapped Boros' attention to the open hangar bay doors. There were five uniformed SSA officers standing there with huge smiles on their faces, applauding. One of them stepped forward. "That was one of the most entertaining things I've seen all year!" he laughed. "You must be Boros." the man stepped forward and offered his hand for a shake. Boros clasped his clawed hand with the human one, watching the officer's eyes. Not even a flinch. "My name is Admiral Hampton. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Take this dumbass into custody." Admiral Hampton ordered releasing his grip. Two of the uniformed men in the door with black bands on their left arms moved forward and dragged Santos away. "Lucero, Ashley. Go relieve dumbasses XO. Call a formation for one o'clock, right after chow. I want to address the base personnel. Anyone who is integral to continuing operations is excused, but I want a holo vid sent to them as soon as I finish. I'll contact you with any further orders but let me know if you find anything fishy. I want the change of command to go over as smoothly as possible." he considered for a moment. "Also, draw up a list of anyone you think is in dumbasses pocket, we'll want to dismiss them with prejudice and make an example. Dismissed." the two soldiers left swiftly at the command. The three obviously had history together.

Boros took an instant liking to Admiral Hampton. There was a self assuredness about him that said louder than words that he was a man at peace with himself. From Boros' experience, that was a pretty rare thing. Plus, Boros' instincts were screaming, 'friend!'

"What do you say we go on up to the main officers lounge to have a drink and you bring me up to speed? Director Bowen hinted at some things, so I'll just say this now so you can think about it on the way. The more you tell me, more accurately, the less you hide from me, the better I can help you."

Nancy and sam exchanged a look with one another. Shihong smiled at the man. Boros flat out laughed. "Sounds good." he said

Admiral Hampton led them through the ship like he had been living here all his life and Boros commented on it. "Never been on this one, but the SSA builds most of their ships like they're stamping them out with a cookie cutter. I was stationed on the Star Cruiser Epsilon for five years. She was a good ship, she had the best crew accommodations of anything I've ever been on."

Two elevators and a series of hallways later they entered the main officers lounge. According to Admira Hampton, it was considered the main one because of three different considerations. It was closest to the bridge, closest to the command quarters, and the largest and most luxuriously equipped of them all.

Admiral Hampton wasted no time, he slipped behind the bar and started pulling things from the racks and shelves. One of the first things he did was get rid of all of the ice and flushed the lines before making a new batch. Boros smiled to himself, it looked like the man was at home.

"First off, let's forgo the titles. You can call me Bill. And if none of you mind, I'll use your first names." his face screwed up in an expression of distaste. "Actually, I'll use your first names even if you do mind." he looked at Shihong. "Except for you, Lady. I'm afraid I am at a loss. What is your name?"

"Shihong, Bill." she answered comfortably. "And if you have some cranberry juice back there, you can add a splash of it to a glass of vodka."

Bill looked at her more closely. "The Shihong? Gabrielle's protege?" he asked.

She nodded. "Protege might be a little inaccurate, Ward would be more precise."

Bill, smiled at her charmingly. He didn't know why, but Boros sidled up next to her and put his hand on the woman's shoulder possessively. That simple act surprised everyone, Boros especially.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that." he apologized.

"I'm not." Shihong said warmly.

"It's just that we only met a little while ago. I don't know why I feel so possessive of you." Boros didn't know why he said it. It was like the words came out of his mouth on their own. That didn't mean that it wasn't the way he felt. He just wouldn't have said it out loud.

He was about to apologise again for his forwardness when she leaned against him, his hand slid across her shoulder and just like that he had his arm around her. She started to make a quiet sound between purring and chittering in the back of her throat. It was like his whole body vibrated with the it though he doubted anyone else besides Sam could hear it.

Bill looked at the couple with a knowing smile on his face. "Okay, what do I need to know?" he asked faux business like.

Nancy and Sam hid their smiles behind drinks the Admiral had made for them. The only one who still seemed to be in the dark about what was happening was Boros. It was he who responded.

"In response to the question you asked in the hangar, I'm willing to tell you everything." Boros had decided to trust his instincts in this. Sam and Nancy showed their surprise. Oddly enough, Shihong smiled encouragingly at him. He really needed to get her alone to talk. After business he promised himself.

"The truth is that I am too powerful to join any existing territory. Gabrielle's recommendation was to create a territory of my own. Since there isn't anywhere left on earth, I should create my own territory apart. That is why I wanted such a large ship. It may seem unorthodox and highly presumptuous, but my territory is going to be, not earth."

"Are you saying that you are planning to set up a preternatural territory in space?" Bill asked.

"Well, on a ship for starters. Moving forward I want to do something that hasn't been done before. I want to help colonise other planets and moons, with a blending of humans and preternaturals working together and using all of their skills to make something unheard of before. A better way of living I hope." Boros answered honestly.

"Well now." Bill leaned across the bar interestedly. "That's something I can get behind." He answered the shock he saw on Boros' face. "You don't know this, but I've been pushing for preternaturals to work for the SSA. Thanks to Nancy here, you are the first, but only because Gabrielle gave you equal status in the preternatural community. In order for her to do that, you must be powerful enough to press your point home with the other territories. You admitting that they won't have you because you have that much power says I'm right." he thought for a moment. "If you can make it work, I'd like to see how you do it. If I can bring tangible evidence to high command that it is not only viable, but a better way, well maybe we could see a change for the better here on Earth. The discrimination I see sickens me."

Boros remembered shaking the man's hand with his transformed claw and the fact that it didn't phase him in the least. "I appreciate your open mindedness more than you could know. But please, don't let your guard down when dealing with my kind. We aren't people with powers. Most of us are powers that look like people." Boros shocked himself again by referring to preternaturals as his kind. He'd never really felt that way before, it had always been him on one side and everyone else on the other. Perhaps it was the mindset he was getting into or maybe it was the fact that he was finally done hiding who he was. Whatever was happening, he liked it and Boros resolved to embrace this new him.

"Well said." Sam interjected. "He's right, Sir. I'm a werewolf. My beast half is just that, a half of who I am. If someone were to get in my face and start yelling at me, well, let's just say that a younger, less powerful, less experienced werewolf would reach out and pull thie head off of their neck, if they didn't just shift form and eat the offending party for the offense. But that's just shapeshifters. We are the most martially violent of all of the preternatural citizens. We are also the most prevalent. For every ten of us, there's a sorcerer or sorceress, then there's witches and elementals. There are even warlocks and the demons they control. But they are very rare."

"You don't have to tell me." Bill informed them. "I was on a task force specifically designed to counter preternatural aggression before the Revelation happened. I learned to respect the dangers a long time ago."

"Are you saying that the human government knew about preternaturals before the Revelation?" Sam asked with surprise?

"Oh, no!" Bill answered with a laugh. "The government would have never believed it. But some military and law enforcement units knew, and took steps in-house. Hell, I dated a sorceress for almost seven years, loved her too, unfortunately my job has certain risks she couldn't deal with. I never blamed her. It's hard not knowing if the person you love will live until you see them again. She always told me I had no business messing around in the affairs of her world, it was just too dangerous. And I always told her that I wouldn't've had to if her world policed itself better. Anyway, she left me. She couldn't deal with the stress anymore. The irony is, she was shot and killed during a mugging three weeks later. That's when I got out of law enforcement and went into the service."

Boros was shocked at the amount of personal information Admiral Hampton had just shared with them all. "Bill. I'm sorry for your loss." he continued but looked at Shihong when he said it. "I've never had anyone I cared for like that," he looked back at Bill, "But I can feel the devastation you still feel at the memory. I am deeply sorry." Boros felt a part of him go to the man in pain behind the bar.

Something about the way Boros said it made Bill Hampton relive it again. But this time there was someone there, holding his hand. It was Juliana, his lost love. In his mind's eye, she kissed him on the cheek and whispered something in his ear. Then she vanished and he was back standing behind the bar again.

"What did you do?" Bill asked.

It was Shihong that answered for him. "Psychic pain like that can't be healed unless it is made raw once again. Boris brought the shade of your lover back to help you through it. I bet she said something to you to help you move on. I won't ask what it was, but I hope you can put the guilt you feel behind you now."

Admiral Hampton had tears streaming down his cheeks. "She told me I wasn't to blame. Then she called me her sentimental jackass." he let out a sob. "She was always calling me that. Her loving jackass, her honorable jackass," he choked back another sob, "her sexy jackass."

It was unspoken, but they all drifted away to the far end of the lounge and let the man grieve in peace. Sam pulled Nancy away and was talking to her. Boros took this time to draw Shihong away so that they could talk.

As soon as they were out of hearing range of Nancy, they would have had to go several hundred feet away to bo out of Sam's hearing range. Shihong threw her arms around Boros. "That was such a sweet thing you did for him!"

Boros was at a loss for words. He knew he did something, but he didn't know how. He said as much once the perfect woman unclasped her arms from around his neck.

She didn't say anything, instead she continued. "And when you handled that asshat Santos? I kept looking behind me the whole way up here! I was so wet I thought I had to be leaving behind a trail like a snail." she shivered.

Boros blushed so hard he almost felt woozy before he got control of himself. "That is something I need to talk to you about." what he had to say next was one of the most difficult things he'd ever had to do. "I don't think we should get together for dinner later on." he blurted out.

The shocked look Shihong had on her face faded rapidly into a hurt expression. It broke his heart. "What did I do?" she asked, her lower lip trembling while her eyes filled with tears. "I thought you liked me?"

Damn, this was hard. But he had to explain. "I'm sorry, Shihong. Truly I am. But I can't do it."

"What?" she asked in a whisper that struck his heart. "What can't you do?"

He braced himself to be completely honest. "We can't have dinner tonight because If I spend much more time with you then I won't ever leave. I won't have any choice but to follow you back to Miami, and that would be disastrous. You can't imagine my embarrassment to admit this, but I have never really known, loved, or been with a woman, so I don't know what it feels like, but if I spend much more time around you, I think that is going to change. There's something about you that just flat out does it for me."

Her tears hadn't fallen yet, but they were still glistening in her eyes. "What do you mean, 'follow me back to Miami'? Why would I go back?" she asked.

Boros was lost. "Gabrielle said she would send someone up to help me recruit people for my new territory."

"That's right." Shihong answered. "But what does that have to do with going back to Miami?" she asked confused.

Boros remembered what Bill had called her. "But, aren't you Gabrielle's protege, or ward? That's what Admiral Hampton called you."

She snorted, some of the tears started falling down her cheeks with the sudden movement. "I'm no more welcome there than you are. The only difference is that Gabrielle raised me from a baby and her subjects got used to me. That is the only reason I was able to stay, but as I've gotten older, the others have been less and less tolerant of me." she confided. "When Gabrielle asked me to come up here and see if I was interested in joining your new territory I was relieved. But when I saw you, I took one whiff and that was it. If you'll have me, I'm your first subject." she moved to embrace him.