"What? You think you're too good for us?" The largest man cut the females off.

By the look on her face, she wasn't amused. Fain waited for her to tear the human male apart. But the Andarions were under strict orders not to start any incidents while here. And the one thing about the Andarion military...

They followed orders. Come h.e.l.l, high water.

And even stupid humans.

Then the man did the worst thing he could he took her arm. While humans might freely touch each other without invitation, that wasn't done in Andarion culture. It was considered a vile intrusion of personal s.p.a.ce, and punishable with harsh sentences in their law courts.

If you lived long enough to be reported for it, that was. And as bad as it was to touch a male uninvited, no male ever touched a female he wasn't related to. Even doctors and medical staff had to ask permission before they treated patients of the opposite s.e.x.

"Hey!" Fain snapped as he quickly closed the distance between them. "What is this?"

The Tavali turned on him with an angry snarl, then relaxed. "Hey, Hauk," he said, mistaking Fain's words as a greeting. But at least he let go of the female's arm. "Want to join us for some fun?"

Both females eyed Fain with stoic curiosity. Since he was fully clothed and his Outcast scars were covered, they had no way of knowing he'd been thrown out of his family or what specific blood lineage he was tied to, since Hauk was a fairly common surname on Andaria. They treated him as any Andarion would one of unknown origin with cool deference. They would do so until the proper family and lineage pecking order was established.

Their names, rank, and caste were on their battle helmets, which gave Fain a distinct advantage over them. Had he not been disinherited, he would have outranked them both socially and militarily. But that being said, they were both aristocrats from high-lineaged families and most likely pledged or married to males who were even higher ranked than they were.

Not that it mattered. No one should be subjected to this kind of hazing. Male, female, or unspecified.

"You're not in a bar and they're not slags trolling for creds. Show the taras respect or I'll show you a side of me you don't want to meet."

The tallest man stepped around the Andarion pilots to rudely invade Fain's personal s.p.a.ce. A human move for intimidation. However, it was his eyes that widened as he realized he only reached Fain's shoulder and that Fain's height wasn't augmented by his footwear choice.

He was just that d.a.m.n huge.

With a sneer, he glanced to Fain's sleeve, where Tavali wore their National flags of allegiance, personal Canting and rank.

As a Rogue, Fain's uniform bore the UTC flag, and his Tavali Canting of a fanged skull, sickle, and commander's ribbon rocker.

"You should remember that you don't have a Nation backing you, Rogue. Rather, you rely on the good will of us all to keep you flying."

Yeah, right. That was a vast oversimplification of his status in their world. And highly untrue. The Tavali had a lot of money invested in their Rogues that they didn't have in the others. While not bound to the UTC the same way as the others, they were still extremely valuable to all the higher-ups. And not as easily replaced as the rest of the Tavali pilots.

But these Baits were too stupid to know that.

Fain snorted. "I don't rely on Jack or s.h.i.t. Least of all a human piece of waste. You want to try and strip my Canting, go for it. I'd love to have you in a Calibrim." Calibrim was a test of arms in a Tavali law court, overseen by their officers, and fought to the death. Very similar to the Andarion Ring fights Fain had literally cut his fangs on. Only difference was that the human pirates weren't nearly as fierce in battle.

They surrounded him.

"Why wait?" the shorter human goaded.

To Fain's shock, the two Andarion pilots took position at his back to let the humans know they would fight with Fain. Orders be d.a.m.ned.

"What's going on here?"

The sneer on the human's face turned salacious as he saw Galene in her workout clothes.

And that set off Fain's temper to a dangerous level. He grabbed the human by his jacket and slammed him hard against the ship nearest them. He struggled against Fain's iron grip only to learn just how strong an Andarion male really was.

"Let me educate you about Andarion culture," Fain growled at him in lethal warning. "Commander Batur is the blood mother of an Andarion prince, slag. That means you don't look at her. Ever. It's a death sentence to do so. On Andaria, females are venerated and you do not speak to a female until you have been deemed worthy and properly introduced to her by one of their males, or she speaks to you first. Furthermore, it is a male's place to ensure an Andarion female's safety, and we will rip the throat out of anyone who doesn't show our females their due respect. And while you might not like it, they are here under Venik's truce and at the behest of the UTC. All Nations. You will respect them and abide by their customs or so help me G.o.ds, I will force-feed your innards to every last one of you. Understood?"

Since he was turning blue from the grip Fain had on his throat, all he could do was nod weakly.

Satisfied he'd made his point, he released him and stepped back to see the others in similar choke holds from the females.

Fain grinned. "I should have added that our females are extremely capable warriors in their own right, and I intend to rescind their orders on no offensive contact with Tavali. If they're verbally or physically accosted again, they're allowed to defend themselves by whatever means they deem necessary."

They released the men.

Galene approached him slowly as the humans scampered away. "Commander Hauk, and Tiziran Fain of the Sovereign eton Anatole, may I present Colonels eton Xu and ezul Yetur."

"Thank you for your a.s.sistance, Commander," Colonel eton Xu said with a respectful bow to Fain. "We weren't quite sure how to handle it."

"No problem. Please pa.s.s along to the other females in your squad what I said. If anyone else causes you problems, do what you have to and I'll deal with the fallout from it. I promised Tahrs Nykyrian that I'd personally guarantee everyone's safety, and I stand by that."

Yetur saluted him. "Thank you, Highness."

As they walked off, he caught a strange adoring smile on Galene's face that made him uneasy. "What's that for?"

She reached up to brush one of the braids back from his cheek. "You just remind me of a n.o.ble boy I knew a long time ago."

And she reminded him of long-forgotten dreams. For a full minute, he couldn't move as he stared into those pale eyes that held him captive in a way nothing else ever had.

Galene reached up to finger the place on his sleeve where the other Tavali wore tribal markings and allegiance. His biceps tingled from her gentle touch. "Why are you Rogue?"

Fain's throat tightened instantly as grief and pain overwhelmed him. Memories surged with a vengeance that left him dizzy. It was why he didn't want to think about the past. Why he did his best to have no one around him. Sentient beings asked too many questions. They wanted to know things like what he'd done and where he'd been.

Why he didn't run his own crew.

Stuff he didn't want to remember. Dust-covered memories that were best left undisturbed.

"We should head on out." He stepped around her and led the way to his ship.

Galene frowned at the curt way he'd ignored her question. At the deep anguish she'd seen in his eyes when she asked about it.

But then Fain had always been that way. He'd never spoken much about his family or his feelings. Even as a boy. It just hadn't been his nature.

Of course, when Keris had been alive, he'd viciously mocked and criticized every word out of Fain's mouth. To the point that Fain had literally responded with grunts in his brother's presence. And his parents hadn't been much better. Demanding and impatient, they'd expected only the best from their sons.

Utter decorum. Perfect grades. Stellar athleticism.

As a girl, Galene had been terrified of Endine Hauk and her shrewish tongue. And Ferral Hauk had held a glower that could freeze the core of a sun. It'd taken her years before she'd felt even remotely comfortable around either of them.

To this day, she stung from Endine's cruelty the one and only time she'd made the mistake of asking her to adopt Talyn back into the Hauk bloodline after he'd been born.

"Why would I adopt the hideous b.a.s.t.a.r.d seed of a wh.o.r.e who publicly humiliated me after I slashed the bloodline of my own son I suckled at my breast? You made your bed, b.i.t.c.h, lie in it! Now take your disgusting b.a.s.t.a.r.d and crawl back to the gutter where you both belong."

Her only solace from that horror was that Talyn had been too young to understand the insults his own grandmother had given him.

If only she'd been so lucky.

But that was then, and thankfully Fain had been born with his grandmother's heart and not the black lump of soulless coal that functioned as his mother's.

As Fain led her onboard his ship, she paused. "Where are the showers?"

He took her to the crew deck and a small shower stall. "You won't have water until after I launch. It'll take about five minutes for it to flow." He jerked his chin to the small room across the hall. "You can wait in my quarters until then. There's a launch seat in the wall."

"Okay. Thanks."

He opened the door, then left her alone. As soon as he was gone, she felt strangely awkward to be in his intimate quarters without him. She didn't even know why, really. Other than this was his home whenever he wasn't docked on a planet or base.

With nothing else to do, she glanced around the small room that held a medium-sized bunk, monitor, fridge, sink, and small personal cooking unit. Very basic, serviceable, and clean. Sterile even.

It was so...

Cold.

Try as she might, she couldn't see Fain here. It would have to be cramped for an Andarion of his size.

What did he do here? Other than sleep or lose his mind from absolute boredom?

How could he not run a crew? It was rare for anyone to not have at least a copilot. For safety reasons, if nothing else. s.p.a.ce travel was a harsh and lonely mistress, fraught with unseen dangers that came up fast, furious, and unforgiving. Did his personal survival mean so little to him?

"Buckle in. We'll be launching in three."

Startled by his deep voice over the intercom, she folded the emergency anchor seat down from the wall and harnessed herself to it.

The monitor turned on to show Fain's face.

Galene quirked an amused smile. "Checking up on me?"

Color stained his cheeks. "Wanted to make sure the chair worked. It's never been used before. At least not since I've owned the lady-ship."

She pulled playfully against the straps. "I'm all secured, Paka. You can launch."

Snorting at her use of the Andarion word for dad, he obeyed. To his credit, the ship slid smoothly into s.p.a.ce under his masterful skill. And when the screen went dark and he told her she was free to use the shower, she actually missed seeing his handsome face. She barely caught herself before an invitation for him to join her slipped out.

I am so messed up.

But she couldn't help it. She still loved him more than she ever wanted to admit to. And she hadn't been with anyone else. No other male had ever touched her. Not even for a kiss.

Only Fain.

While she could have easily registered for a sanctioned relationship with a male years ago, especially with her military rank, she'd refrained. She'd told herself that she hadn't wanted to hurt Talyn with it or risk how an Andarion male might treat her son, given Talyn's low caste. But the real truth was, she'd never wanted to risk anyone else hurting her the way Fain had. Never wanted to feel the pain of having her heart ripped out and callously fed to her.

d.a.m.n you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! She could still feel the raw anguish that day in the locker room when he'd stood there, staring at her, denying nothing about Omira. Still feel the deep betrayal of learning he'd married that b.i.t.c.h, and that they were living together in wedded bliss while she was struggling on the streets, alone and pregnant with his child. She hadn't even been eligible for her obligatory military service or their barracks housing because of the pregnancy. She'd been forced to wait until Talyn was six months old before they'd allow her into armada training, and her son into the military nursery program.

Even then, they'd refused to allow Talyn to be kept with the other children lest he taint them with his father's Outcast status. Her meager pay had been docked substantially for his segregation fees, and they'd been given the worst in base housing because of Fain's crime in defaming his prestigious bloodline. For years, she'd endured humiliation and shame. Had watched the way others scorned and mistreated her beautiful son.

Gah! It was so frustrating. This endless cycle of wanting to kiss Fain and beat him senseless for everything she needed to hate him over.

Trying not to think about it, she showered quickly. But it wasn't until she finished that she realized she couldn't open the door.

"You've got to be kidding me." Horrified, she tried every way she could think.

Nothing worked. Embarra.s.sed and humiliated, she hit the intercom.

"May I help you?"

She froze at the unexpected, s.e.xy Andarion female voice. "Who is this?"

"Storm. And you are?"

p.i.s.sed off, in short. "Galene."

"How may I help you, Galene?"

"You can start by telling me who you are."

"I already told you. I am Storm."

Was she intentionally trying to start a war? "And what's your position on Commander Hauk's ship?"

"I am Commander Hauk's ship."

I'm such an idiot. Storm. Storm Dancer. This was the AI autopilot. Duh... But in her defense, most ship systems didn't have a voice that could double as a p.o.r.n actress. Nor were they usually so sentient sounding. This one appeared to have a sultry, sardonic personality, something that was highly advanced for a ship's system. "Oh. I'm trapped. Can you open the shower door for me?"

"Of course, Galene." The hydraulics hissed. Still the door remained closed.

"Is there a problem?"

"One moment, please. I am running diagnostics." Yeah, that was a bit snotty in tone.

Awkward and exposed, Galene tried to remain patient, but it wasn't easy. No one wanted to be trapped naked on a ship. In a small cube.

After a few extremely long minutes, Storm returned to the intercom. "Fain? Forgive me for disturbing you. But I fear we have a matter with the shower door that requires a manual override. Do you wish me to automate my body for it?"

Galene's jaw dropped at that stunning disclosure. "And what does this body look like?"

"I'm on my way," Fain said hurriedly. In fact, he made record time getting to her, which really made her wonder what he feared so much.

Crossing her arms over her bare chest, she listened irritably as he struggled with the controls in the hallway. "Having trouble?"

"Did you hit the release on your side?"