"It was hard for me, too," I whisper.

"I tried to put up a good front, but I didn't eat much for the first month, and I barely slept."

The March I remember wasn't quite this open. He found it easier to show his feelings with forays into my head, but he didn't talk about them. Being a parent has taught him emotional candor, I suppose. You can't raise a kid to confide in you if you don't muster up the courage to do the same.

I can offer no less than the same bravery. "I focused on work...but I lost four kilos after I arrived on La'heng."

"You didn't need to." He runs exploratory hands down my rib cage, noting the slight difference in my build. "You feel almost fragile now."

"I'm not."

He nods. "Let's get that shower."

Cleaning up leads to bathroom sex, which leaves us both shaky, then a real shower. We do so individually because showering with him might mean death by dehydration. By the time Vel's call comes, we're dressed again. Mostly.

"Jax, Sasha has finished examining all the vehicles and is wondering where the two of you are," he says.

"We'll be down shortly," I promise.

To give credence to the lie I intend to tell Sasha, I take him on a quick tour of the house. He only pays cursory attention, then we join the others in the ready room, where there's a comm center, comfortable furnishings, and a big screen to monitor the Imperial response to our petitions.

"Did you see anything you like?" March asks.

Sasha nods with enthusiasm. "Tomorrow, Vel is going to show me how to modify a short-range shuttle for in-atmosphere use."

"There are some ruins nearby. If we finish overhauling the navigation system, we can go for a test drive...with your uncle's permission."

"Can I? Please?"

March tilts his head at me like I asked Vel to do this. "Of course, as long as the weather's clear."

More alone time, he says silently, and I beam in response.

CHAPTER 6.

March has been here four days.

The time passes in a beautiful blur of eating, laughing, talking, and sex. Though it can't last, I'm desperate to drink him in. Store up good memories to tide me over during the dark times to come. Deliberately, he and I don't speak of the parting that will occur in ten days. It's like we're in a bubble, where nothing bad can touch us.

Or at least, we pretend.

"What's a normal day for you like?" I ask.

It's late, and we're in bed. His arms are wrapped around me, and I'm snuggled against his side. Such moments without threat of attack or interruption seem like they've been scarce.

He regards me thoughtfully. "Why?"

"I'm curious."

"I get up, make breakfast-"

"You mean you program the kitchen-mate."

"And?" March eyes me with a half smile.

"Go on."

"Then I see Sasha off to school. After that, I work out. Do some household chores. When he gets home, I help with his homework. We eat dinner together. Watch some vids."

"Do you have friends there?"

He considers. "Friendly acquaintances, people I talk to at school functions."

"But you're not close to anyone." It's not a question.

March strokes my back lazily. "Are you worried I've met someone?"

"No." Okay, maybe a little.

"I'm not seeing anyone, Jax. That would be pointless when I'm so in love with you."

The night passes swiftly after that, but we don't sleep much.

The next afternoon, we're all in the ready room, watching the result of the hearings. March senses my nerves and laces our fingers together. Sasha is sprawled on the floor, playing a game with Zeeka. Vel isn't around; he's in the storage bay, working on the shuttle. I wonder if he's doing that on purpose-giving March and me so much space. I need to talk to him, I think.

Loras looks resigned as we await the verdict. The pretty, dark-haired presenter on the vid stands outside an enormous, opulent structure that serves as the governmental hub, near the governor's palace. Like the surrounding structures, it's not of La'hengrin design, as it was built when the first wave of invaders occupied the planet. Loras growls beneath his breath.

"Today, the Imperial board of governors are expected to rule on the final appeal for the widespread availability of Carvati's Cure. This miracle drug is purported to restore La'hengrin autonomy and would obviate the need for any Imperial presence." Maybe I'm imagining it, but she seems sympathetic to the cause. From her appearance, she's an ONN-Omni News Net-talking head, not bribed by Nicuan authorities. That means we have a shot at some fair coverage on the bounce.

Then, as we watch, a squadron of centurions march up behind her. Their uniforms shine in the sunlight; it's not metal, but a synthetic polymer burnished to appear so. I glance at March, wondering if he ever wore that armor; I know he fought on Nicuan for many turns. Wrapping an arm around my shoulder, he shakes his head.

I never worked for the same noble that long. Mercs become eligible to be promoted as centurions after ten turns in the service to the same house.

I glance at him in sudden interest. Other than the story about how he left Nicuan, I don't know that much about his time there. You never stuck with any house?

They paid well, but I hated them. So I had a tendency to get them killed.

My brows shoot up. On purpose?

He shrugs, and I turn back to the screen, where the presenter is struggling with two centurions. "You need to come with us, ma'am."

"Why?" she demands. "This is violation of the Free Press Act, my diplomatic status as a journalist, and-"

They stop playing nice, then. A centurion claps a hand over her mouth as the presenter thrashes, and the drone-cam changes angles, likely following its simple programming to stay out of reach and keep filming. The soldiers solve this dilemma by shooting it. Red light sparks, then the feed dies. They permit twenty seconds of static before a new presenter takes over in the same locale. I can tell by his haircut, however, that he's Imperial personnel, not ONN.

"The fringe group that has been harassing Imperial authorities for the last turn was formally denied this morning. The Imperial governors have chosen a course that is best for La'heng, offering the most stability in the region. In other news-"

I sigh. "Well, Flavius warned me. I'd like to stick a knife in that rat bastard."

Loras cuts the power. "Looks like things are about to get interesting."

"What're you talking about?" Sasha asks.

He looks between Loras and me, his face a picture of innocence. This once, I don't glance at March for guidance. Kids deserve to have answers to their questions if they're brave enough to ask them. I fold myself down onto the floor next to him, so we're on the same level. Zeeka already knows the story, but he seems just as attentive.

"A long time ago, when the humans first came to La'heng, they covered the world in a chemical that changed the natives. It made it impossible for them to fight. So for their 'protection,' humans took over. Otherwise, the La'hengrin would have been easy prey."

Loras takes up the narrative. "Since then, my people have been 'protected' by a number of species. They strip our natural resources and treat us as slaves. Jax funded research that led to a cure, permitting us to become self-sufficient again. But the current rulers don't want us to be free."

"That's not right," Sasha says indignantly.

It's really not.

I go on, "So we've been trying to get legal permission to open centers where the La'hengrin can come in for treatments."

"But they don't want to let you," the kid guesses. "Because once people get free, they'll kick the helmet guys off the planet."

Succinctly put, he encapsulates our problem. There was no way we could ever drum up enough support to deploy the cure legally. It doesn't matter; it was worth trying. I live for the day that people surprise me by doing the right thing.

"Well said," Loras says.

"What's your plan?" March slides to the floor from the couch, drawing me back against him.

I contemplate prevaricating, but there's no point. He can dig it out of me; he doesn't have to ask. So I lay it out for him, step by step. And when I finish, he's shaking his head.

"Guerrilla wars are seldom won, Jax."

Loras cuts in, "That depends on how you define it. I can name several where the invaders were driven out because holding that colony became too expensive."

I nod. We've looked at the historical precedents. Well, Vel and Loras did. In this one instance, I'm content to be led.

Sasha aims a chiding look at his uncle. "Don't tell them they can't win. When I competed for the blue ribbon, you said I just had to believe I could do it. Were you lying?"

I seam my lips together as March squirms. "Of course not. But this is-"

"The same thing," the kid says implacably.

One of these days, he'll be a force to be reckoned with. But then, any kid with such strong TK, raised by March, couldn't turn out any other way. I like him more this time; he's at the age where you can reason with him. He's a small person instead of a bundle of agitated impulses.

"Fine," March mutters.

I know better than to expect he'll shut up without having his say. He just does it where Sasha can't hear. I don't like this, Jax. It's dangerous. You don't have the equipment, experience, or personnel to mount this kind of ground war.

Teach us what you can in ten days. Loras has been studying guerrilla warfare for the last turn, but you can help him figure out what strategies are practicable.

March doesn't want me fighting a war without him, but he can't stay; the conflict threatens to tear him in two. Under no circumstances could he choose to stay here with Sasha, under these conditions. But he wants to. And his pain is staggering.

All right.

This isn't how I planned to spend his visit. I thought we'd roll around in bed the whole time and come up only for a few bites of food. But it'll give the rebellion a better chance if March assesses installations, analyzes the battlefield, and tells us where we can create the most chaos. He mutters, "I'll help while I'm here."

"I knew you would," Sasha says proudly. "In fact...we should stay, shouldn't we? They need you, and I can help, too. You're always saying I have an obligation to use my powers for good. What could be better than-"

"Enough, Sasha. I'm retired, and you have to get back to school." Wisely, March doesn't say it's too risky for them to linger on La'heng. Nothing rouses a kid's interest faster than a whiff of danger.

Even so, from Sasha's expression, I suspect we haven't heard the last of this.

CHAPTER 7.

Later, after a long planning session and we've retired to my room, March pulls me into his arms.

He's sleeping with me, of course. For the short time we're together, I won't have anything between us, not even a wall. After he's gone, I'll deal with the heartbreak, just as I did before. The separation hasn't been easy, but I didn't expect it to be. Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

"Do you think we have any chance of pulling this off?" I ask softly.

He thinks for a few moments. "With any other team, I'd say no. But I know what you and Vel can accomplish together. So...maybe?"

"I'd prefer more confidence." I poke him. "It's not just us, you know. Loras has quietly been building underground resistance. There are more supporters of an independent La'heng. They're just not under this roof."

"You need a face for your rebellion," he says, pensive.

"We have one," I say at once. "Loras. He was the first to receive the cure. He's free of the shinai-bond, the first La'hengrin to have free will in so many turns. His people will think he's a hero even before the fighting begins."

March nods. "Perception is everything."

"Not everything. But it matters a great deal."

"He'll work," he says. "He has charisma and resolve."

"Did I share the most interesting thing?" I project a gossipy tone, prompting a quirk of amusement from March.

"No. Do tell."