Chapter Twelve
Thanh
D inner was a nice distraction from both my epic mistake with Jax and the impending date with a needle.
“I’m sure it’s going to be okay.”
I forced down a final bite of some kind of grain and meat dish that didn’t have quite enough flavor and tried to focus on what one of the crew members was saying. I hadn’t always been afraid of needles; I’d wanted a tattoo for years before the crash. But just after the surgery to implant Tohm-Tohm and the month after I couldn’t remember, even the mention of needles would result in breaking out in cold sweats and nausea every time. The hypos were even stressful, but Eddie was fast and gentle so it wasn’t too bad when he gave me pain meds.
“Maybe you should tell Jax. There might be a way out of it.”
I don’t think so. Maybe I’ll pass out and wake up and it will be over.
“Wow. You’d rather do that than tell him you’re absolutely terrified?”
…yes…no…I don’t fucking know!
I concentrated on the three crew members that had set up the meal and were in charge of different areas of the ship. Besides Anton, who was a short Human male, there was an older Valtoshan male, and another Mishvaian female, who was also shirtless. I wondered if it was a cultural thing. Apparently some of the crew were off on a job and wouldn’t be back for a few days, and two others were monitoring things from the command deck. I was actually quite glad I wasn’t meeting all of them now, there was enough going on around me at the moment to send my head spinning. I didn’t need additional anxiety about meeting new people on top of it.
Right now Jax and Anton were trading stories about different jobs they’d done for Titus, while the old Valtoshan whose name I couldn’t remember was regaling me with a story about how he got his cyber eye implant. I listened and interjected here and there while attempting to get to know him.
By the time Jax’s parents joined us, the meal was half over and it was almost time for the ‘ceremony’.
Jax had explained a bit more to me about why it was important that I had the stupid tattoo and it made sense but I was still terrified, which came out as anger toward him. In spite of my feelings about Jax, it was probably unfair of me to lash out at him like this. But to my shock, Jax didn’t seem phased by it. In fact, he took in stride, not even flinging shit back at me.
Oh fuck, maybe that little interlude had given him the wrong impression?
“What impression is that? That you enjoyed getting off while riding his hand?”
I grit my teeth against Tohm-Tohm’s words, but couldn’t stop the questions swirling around in my head.
I was horny, that was all. Months of a dry spell could do weird things to someone’s brain. It could even make them let the person they hated give them one of the best orgasms of their life.
But it being that good had nothing to do with Jax. It was just the dry spell that made it so good, nothing more.
“You have to admit that if he can do that with his fingers then his dick must be — ”
I don’t have to admit anything. Damn it, we hate him!
“Do we though? I mean, those hands…that cock we never got to see. Do we really hate him that much?”
…Yes.
“Alright everyone,” Teneras said with a broad smile, “it’s time to welcome our Seventh Daughter, Thanh Nguyen. Would you and Jax both come up here?”
She was standing at a small table which had wine and a ceremonial blade on it. Next to that was a machine on a stand and a stool next to it. The machine had a cylindrical cuff that looked like it would fit someone’s arm, while on top was a computer screen and a series of different small tools. I tried not to stare at the machine, but somehow it was more alarming than just a needle on its own.
What would it feel like?
Would I be trapped, unable to get away if something went wrong?
Sweat broke out on my skin and I felt cold all over, my fingers starting to go numb. When Jax started to move, but I stayed in my seat, he looked back at me. His forehead creased and his eyes scanned me. I couldn’t find it in me to mask how I was feeling and I stared up at him a pleading look, my mouth having gone dry.
He stepped back to me and took my face between his warm, solid hands.
“Look at me, focus on my eyes,” he whispered. “It’s going to be okay, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“The-the machine…I can’t…I’m…”
His fingers tightened and I loved the sensation, like he was anchoring me to reality, not letting me spin out.
“I promise you, it’s going to be okay. I’m right here with you, got that?”
I let out a shaky breath.
“Thanh? I need you to say it.”
I licked my lips and managed to croak out an “okay.”
He planted a soft kiss on my forehead and I allowed myself the luxury of sinking into the sensation of those wicked lips against my skin. My hands captured his wrists and held on tight. Somehow Jax knew that I wanted him to linger so he did, his lips feather lite against my skin as he breathed words in a language I didn’t recognize onto my skin.
“Okay,” I said, my voice stronger. “I’m ready.”
Before we moved, Jax leaned in to my ear and I shivered at the brush of his warm breath against my sensitive skin there.
“I’m sorry about this, and I’ll arrange for it to be removed as soon as I can.”
I nodded, my heart racing for a different reason now, and let him lead me up to where his mother and father were standing. It reminded me of a wedding and my stomach did a flop in my middle when I looked up at him.
Jax was giving me a gentle smile, and he squeezed my hand.
“Our Seventh Son has chosen this woman to stand by his side,” Teneras began, “to be his partner through success and failure. When they ascend the Titusian throne may they lead with kindness and courage. And may their reign result in riches for all our brothers and sisters.”
Bowie took the cup of wine and gave it to Jax.
“Wine for joy and abundance,” he said.
Jax drank and then offered it to me. I took a sip that slid smoothly down my throat in spite of the nerves doing dive bombs inside of me.
Next Bowie took the knife, a beautiful silver handled item with jewels at the hilt.
“We bleed for each other, we protect one another. And as your blood mingles, you are bound to love one another as long as the blood courses through your veins.”
I could feel all that blood he just talked about draining from my face as he cut Jax’s palm and then held his hand out for mine.
Jax put his hand at the small of my back and it was strangely comforting to feel the heat of his palm through my shirt. I extended my trembling hand to Bowie, who took it gently and made a small cut on my palm before bringing Jax’s hand to meet mine. Jax threaded his fingers between mine, enveloping my hand in his much larger one.
I looked up at him and was surprised to see a gentleness in his purple eyes that I hadn’t expected. Teneras was speaking again, but it was in the back of my mind, distant. The only thing I could focus on was Jax’s hand on mine, the tender set of his mouth.
She must’ve said something about a kiss, because Jax’s head tilted down, his lips hovering over mine. When he finally kissed me it was soft in the way a first kiss would be. Before, when he’d claimed my lips, I had been so ready to devour him that it hit me with the force of a lightning strike. This was different, slower, the warmth built in my chest and spread through my body the longer his lips remained on mine. What started so delicately, became firmer. His tongue grazed my lips and I opened to him, letting him taste me with long, languid strokes that I felt all the way to my toes. I couldn’t help sliding my tongue along his, breaching his mouth in tiny, shallow explorations. He tasted like the spices in the food we’d eaten, and the berry tang of the wine. There was something else too, something achingly familiar that I couldn’t place but that I wanted more of.
When he finally pulled away, my hand was up on his cheek and I was pressed against his body. Before, everything had been a fever dream of lust and need. I hadn’t stopped long enough to think of anything other than getting off. There was no excuse this time, not even performance could be blamed for the way I’d just kissed him, the craving he’d stoked in me for more.
“Alright, you two,” chuckled Bowie, “you can pick this up after the tattoo.”
The crew whooped and laughed, bringing me back to reality with a hard crash.
I let him go and stepped away quickly, trying to put distance between us even though I could still feel his lips on mine. I didn’t look at him as I went to the machine, and the panic started to rear up again. Again, Jax put his hand to the small of my back and for some insane reason, it calmed me enough to stick my left forearm into the cylindrical cuff and sit down. Bowie began to type commands into the machine, which beeped and whirred to life. The meal I’d eaten with such gusto was now starting to curdle in my stomach as the cuff tightened around my forearm, holding me in place.
“It’s okay,” Jax squatted down in front of me, taking my free hand in his. “Just keep your eyes on me, nothing else matters.”
It was so natural to do as he told me, to slip into this part I was playing, that for a split second, I forgot it wasn’t real. My right hand slid up and cupped his cheek, running my thumb over his cheek bone. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into my hand as if it were the only thing he ever wanted to feel again.
A cold spray hit my skin and I jumped.
“That’s the numbing solution, it’s to keep it pain free.”
I didn’t like losing control of my body, even if it meant a lack of pain.
“How long does it last?” I asked.
“Only as long as it takes to make the mark,” Jax answered. “How did you like the food?”
I frowned at the strange question.
“It-it was good.”
“Yeah? Was it too hot for you?”
I snorted and shook my head.
“It wasn’t spicy at all, if anything it could’ve used a little more heat.”
“Oh really?” he chuckled.
“I mean, there was a good balance of flavors but a few of the dishes were a touch lacking.”
“I’ll be sure to tell the chef.”
“Don’t you dare! That would be rude, I know they worked hard on the dinner.”
The machine’s whirring noise became louder and I started to look over at it when Jax once again drew my attention back to him.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had Vietnamese food,” he said, tapping my knee with his finger. “Do you have a recommendation the next time I’m on Earth?”
“Yeah, don’t go to a restaurant unless it’s run by a Vietnamese person.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because most of them conflate true Vietnamese cuisine with general ‘Asian’. It’s not only insulting it’s a fucking shame. Real Vietnamese cuisine is subtle and balanced between flavors. It takes know-how to be able to pull it off.”
“What do I do then?”
I thought about it for a second, the fingers of my left hand twitching.
“I could…I mean, maybe you could go to my cousin’s place. It’s pretty much a food stand but it’s the most popular one in his town. He probably wouldn’t make us wait in line.”
A slow smile spread across his face and I wondered what I said that pleased him so much.
“What would we eat?” His voice was soft, dreamy almost.
“You have to try banh , my favorite is banh beo , it’s a kind of steamed rice cake, and they’re best right out of the steamer. Pho definitely, but you have to try my cousin’s before any other. The broth recipe has been in our family from before the Water Wars.”
I stopped as the phantom taste of my family’s recipes coasted across my tongue. My father and mother might not have cared too much about tradition, but my cousins in Vietnam did, and I felt closer to them than my own parents and brother.
“I used to love summers in Vietnam, walking around the countryside, visiting the old temples and eating banh mi on the roof tops of my auntie’s house while she played mahjong with her friends.”
“I can’t picture you as a kid,” Jax said.
“I was…difficult. I couldn’t sit still and I wanted to know everything about everything. So my mother would send me away in the summers when I was home from school. I don’t think I spent more than a week at a time at home as a child.”
My voice faded away as an old pain pierced my chest. I had accepted a long time ago that while I was better off without my family in my life, I would always mourn the loss of something I never had to begin with.
I glanced up at Bowie and Teneras, who were smiling down at me with a parental gentleness that made me uncomfortable because I was unfamiliar with it.
“I would love to visit your home someday,” Bowie said, as he pressed a button on the machine. “It sounds beautiful.”
“It is,” I said, seeing it in my mind. “It took a hundred years for the forests to grow back after the wars but now they’re lush and so green, you could walk for miles and hardly see anyone and then right in front of you, rising out of the foliage, is a giant Buddha…I used to love discovering them.”
“We will have to visit then,” Teneras said with a wide grin. “If they allow outsiders of course, I would not want to intrude.”
“They aren’t a closed border country, you’d be welcome,” I turned to Jax, who was still smiling up at me, “all of you.”
Jax’s smile froze and his eyes glided down to my mouth, drawing me like a magnet to him. I bent down, needing his mouth on mine, when the machine gave a long beep and jolted me out of my insanity.
“All done,” Bowie said, guiding my arm out of the cuff.
He took a cloth and dabbed at the ink, then placed a square of cloaking bandage on the top. It took it a second but then it blended seamlessly onto my skin, protecting the swirling black and gold tattoo while still showing it.
I stared at it as the emblem danced in front of my eyes.
“The nanites will take a day or two to acclimate to your system,” Bowie said, “and then you’ll be able to command them to send a distress signal or cloak the sigil.”
I nodded, pulling my sleeve down over it. Seeing the tattoo was doing weird things to my mind and emotions.
Jax took my hand and I stood up. We faced the small crew and I forced a smile. That moment with Jax, telling him about memories and part of my life that were so precious to me, it had felt like a pocket out of time, belonging to another person. And now as I stood beside him, as Teneras declared me part of their family and the crew cheered, everything felt off, as if I’d stepped over a threshold and now my life wasn’t the same.
We didn’t stay long after that; Teneras and Bowie were anxious to get us alone so we could plan out how we were going to steal the Thalanite engine. When I walked into their quarters, I was struck by how cozy it was. I had expected a pirate captain’s quarters to be much more utilitarian or full of odd bits and bobs that they’d collected as prizes over the years.
But after meeting Teneras, I should’ve realized that any home she’d made would be comfortable and…well, normal.
Or as normal as a pirate queen with a living ship could be.
I sat on one of the giant pillows and took the elaborately decorated mug Bowie offered me. It was filled with a warm, sweet mint tea. In the middle of the pile of cushions sat a round gold and red stone table with a gorgeous matching tea set and cups sitting in the center. The large pot with an exaggerated, curling spout sat on top of a small flame keeping it warm for refills. I wasn’t a sweet drink person, but this was more refreshing than cloying, a welcome end to the meal. The woodsy aroma of incense lingered in the air.
Jax took a seat on my left, his eyes straying down to my forearm where the tattoo was covered by my sleeve. When he looked back up at me there was a naked hunger in those purple depths that took me completely by surprise.
He liked that I had ‘his’ mark. A lot it seemed.
I drank a large gulp of the tea and turned away from him, trying not to think about the way his gaze heated my lower belly.
“Alright, down to business,” Teneras said, her jovial demeanor turning serious. “I have agreed to assist you and Jax by helping you assemble a team and acquiring a ship. He said there was information that led him and your handler to believe that the Pirate Federations were looking for people with symbiotes, correct?”
We both nodded.
“We think we know the reason why,” Bowie said. “From the data you gave us about Daedalus Five and some of the things we’ve heard, we’ve been able to create a pretty accurate picture of the planet. The environment is brutal. It’s a water planet with exactly one structure on it, and that’s the bank. It encompasses forty square miles, with different levels that house all kinds of things, from rare creatures to things like the engine. I’ve heard back from a few of our operatives, and there’s a theory floating around that a Celestial Dragon would be able to survive the extreme weather patterns and environment.”
“Why exactly?” I asked.
“Because one of the things that guard the upper atmosphere of the planet are those Dragons.”
Narrou projected an image of a tumultuous planet with churning water and skies that were hazy with particles and thick clouds. Inside those clouds, were more beings like them. Some large, some much smaller.
“A breeding world?” Jax breathed. “How did no one know about this?”
“Because the Dragons agreed to protect the planet if they were supplied with willing Seahdohn for their young and left alone. If not, they would destroy the bank and anyone who tried to get to it,” Teneras said.
“So Narrou could fly down there,” I said.
“No. They are a Dragon that has never been seeded and has no interest in being so. Only a young Dragon or a pregnant one would be welcome. Any others would be seen as threat.”
“And a young Dragon would need a symbiote to survive off a breeding world’s atmosphere,” Jax said. “Hence, why they’re looking for a symbiote.”
“But Shaza is off limits to most sentients, even those with a treaty,” I said, “so if they can’t get a Seahdohn from the home world they’ll just take one. And what they don’t know is that reassignment is dangerous, most of the time deadly.”
A shiver ran through me, curdling my stomach. There was the ghost of a memory, more of a feeling, that I’d heard this before, that I’d been… threatened with it.
Tohm-Tohm purred in the back of my mind, soothing me as Jax took my hand in his.
“It’s okay, no one’s going to touch you, or Tohm-Tohm,” his voice fierce, a tiny growl at the end.
I squeezed his hand, telling myself that it was just for show, but knowing deep inside that it wasn’t. He would defend me at any cost. The knowledge that he would protect me spread a warmth of peace through me. I didn’t usually like to rely on others to do much of anything for me because they usually just disappointed me. But this time I knew, down deep, that Jax of all people, might be the sole individual to be there when I needed him.
“Alright,” Jax said, “where do we find a young Dragon that will work with us?”
“So glad you asked,” Teneras said, waving her hand in front of the projection.
Another image appeared. I tilted my head and squinted at it.
“What is that?” I asked.
“It used to be a moon,” Teneras said, “but it broke apart due to gravitational disturbances from a nearby black hole. Someone, way back when, decided it would make the perfect place for a market to end all markets on this side of the GUP boundary line. Over the years, people have parked their shuttles, created stalls and done all kinds of very illegal construction to create what is essentially one giant ball of metal, stabilized by machinery to not float into the singularity it's nearby. It’s affectionately called the Black Hole Market and it’s where we are going to get a Celestial Dragon.”
“Who’s the contact there?” Jax asked.
Bowie cleared his throat and Teneras bit her bottom lip.
“Oontash Vrex,” Bowie said.
Jax laughed next to me, and then it faded into a nervous chuckle until it ended.
“You can’t be serious,” he choked out. “That…I mean we…”
“Who is Oontash Vrex?” I asked, smelling a history between them and Jax.
“She is an expert in acquiring rare items,” Teneras said.
“Is that all?” I asked instead.
Jax shifted next to me and I poked his side.
“C’mon, you have a history, don’t you?”
“It was one night. Just one, and I knew it was a bad decision when I woke up chained to her bed on our way to a wedding chapel.”
I choked on my tea, and Jax was not amused.
“Oontash got word from a weapons dealer that he received a young Dragon with a symbiote,” Bowie continued. “He’s putting the Dragon up for auction in a few days and wanted Oontash to find him some high level customers. Apparently she’s got a history with him and wants a little payback for a deal that went sour a year ago.”
“What’s the play? She gets us into the auction or what?” Jax asked.
“No, the auction is full already. The Dragon is under heavy security, no one can get near it. But Oontash wants to sink his business, so she’s willing to help us steal it.”
“And? She’s not doing this out of the goodness of her heart.”
“No, she’s not,” Teneras said. “She’s bored, you know how she is about new adventures and danger and all that. She’ll go in with you to get the Dragon, then help you acquire the engine, and get her adrenaline fix.”
“And she has no interest in the engine?” I asked, my frown dubious.
“Not that we know of. She did mention that she’s always wanted to see the inside of the bank on Daedalus Five so if she happens to wander to a vault…well, you might want to keep an eye on her.”
“Great,” Jax hissed.
“There are two different biometric locks that you will have to get past on Daedalus Five,” Teneras said. “They can’t be hacked or destroyed without causing damage to that part of the bank and probably killing you. Oontash is a shape shifter and can duplicate her targets down to a cellular level. It will trick the scanners and get you in. Apparently she has the biological samples she needs to shift into the correct guards and such. I didn't ask how she got it, I doubt I would want to.”
Jax grumbled, fidgeting with the end of one horn.
“Okay, yeah, it makes sense. But I still don’t quite trust her.”
“Oh, don’t worry, snookums, I’ll keep you safe from the big bad ex.”
Jax snorted and I gave him a quick peck on the lips. He pulled me into his lap and I gave him a playful swat on the chest. It was all so natural that it took me a moment to realize what we’d done and that there hadn’t been any forethought put into it. Were we still pretending? Or was this starting to really become something else entirely?
I pushed against him and climbed off his lap under the guise of getting more tea, but really I just needed to put some boundaries back in place. We had to be careful before things got confusing.
“I’ll let her know you’ve agreed,” Teneras said. “There’s a party the day before the auction, which is when she’s wanting to strike. That’s in about four days, give or take, which gives us time to contact the other member of the team.”
I sat back down beside him as Teneras waved her hand again. Jax stiffened when a handsome, cyber modified Human male popped up on the projection.
“No,” he growled.
The sound of pure venom that flowed from that one word had my palms going clammy. I’d never heard him talk like that, not even when I’d gotten him furious. Whoever this was, Jax’s hatred for him ran deep and hot.
“Hear me out,” Teneras said.
“No!” He jumped up this time and started to pace.
“Son –” Bowie began.
“How can you ask me to see him again, much less trust him around Thanh, or with something this important? After what he did, he should be rotting in a cell!”
“I don’t disagree,” Teneras said, “but he has something you need.”
Jax shook his head, yanking on his hair and horns as a thunderous frown painted his handsome features.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“His name is Sherrod Vasquez, he was a member of my crew,” Teneras said. “And…Jax’s fiancé.”
“Ex…very, very much ex ,” Jax snarled.
If she’d just hit me with the tea pot, I wouldn’t have been more stunned.
“Or jealous.”
I couldn’t deny what Tohm-Tohm said. I was, deeply, and it aggravated me to the point of anger. I drained the tea and then realized I wanted something much, much stronger.
Usually, I wouldn’t help myself to other people’s alcohol, but since Jax was also pouring himself a drink, I thought no one would care. In fact, from the look on Bowie’s and Teneras’ faces, I think they preferred both of us doing whatever it took to calm down.
“We can’t trust him,” Jax croaked after downing his first glass.
“But we can trust the shape shifting one night stand of yours?” It came out much more sour than I’d intended.
“Yes,” he replied, no less angrily. “She didn’t try to kill my family. She didn’t steal Narrou and try to sell them. And she didn’t leave me barely alive on some back water planet!”
“I get how this isn’t ideal,” I said, my anger at his outburst starting to seep through. “But if your mother is suggesting him, then there’s probably a damn good reason. We should hear her out.”
“You’re asking me to work with someone who almost killed me, who betrayed me at every level.”
It was on the tip of my tongue, tempting me with how good it would feel to finally tell him that I knew he was the one who had sabotaged my ship. That he was the reason I’d gone through all those surgeries, the grueling PT, the trauma that had left me with blank spots in my memory, the nightmares and the constant pain.
I wanted to tell him that if I could do it, so could he. But it would definitely break our cover, and I had a feeling that revealing that I’d taken this mark under false pretenses would not sit well with Teneras. So through herculean effort, I held my tongue and took a pull from my glass. Whatever this was, it went down far smoother than the Zorestran crap Jax had gotten me drunk with.
“He’s the only one who can get you past the orbital station security,” Teneras said, her voice softer. “The atmospheric disturbances and the Celestial Dragons are only two of the obstacles. The orbital station will shoot you down before you reach the upper atmosphere. And even if by some miracle you do make it through, there are drones controlled by the station that will attack. You need him.”
Jax pursed his lips, tears coursing angrily down his cheeks as he shook his head slowly.
“Son,” Bowie said gently, “I know, believe me I do. I want him to pay too. And if we had more time, maybe we could figure something out, but this is the only option we’ve got.”
“He wants you to meet him, at his club on Vector Seven.”
Jax huffed out a breath and scrubbed the tears from his cheeks.
“Of course he’d have a club there. Scum attracts scum,” he murmured.
“We can’t just get the information from him?” I asked. “It would be easier that way.”
“No, Sherrod somehow got his hands on the coding language and specs for the security system that Daedalus Five uses. His cybernetics will be able to make adjustments to the commands and codes in real time,” Teneras said.
“He’s not doing this out of the kindness of his black heart. What does he want from there?”
“He wouldn’t tell me, but he did say it wasn’t the engine. I suspect that it's likely something in the banks' computer systems and you're the only one he can trust to get him down there safely.”
Jax snorted.
“Because we actually keep our word, unlike him. It would serve him right if I didn’t this time though.”
“So is that…?” Teneras asked.
“Tell him we’ll meet him at his club,” Jax gritted out.
“I’ll set the course now. We should be there in the morning, though it will be evening there if my calculations are correct,” Bowie said.
“Fine, whatever.”
“He —”
“Can we finish this tomorrow?” I asked, Jax vibrating with tension next to me. “I’m pretty tired and I think maybe it would be better if we finished this conversation once we’ve gotten to the planet.”
Teneras’ eyes darted to Jax and then back to me before nodding.
“Of course, that’s a good idea.”
Jax tore off from the room, leaving me with his parents.
“I…thank you for a lovely evening,” I said, cringing inside at how stilted and weird that sounded.
But Teneras just chuckled and gave me a warm hug.
“It was a pleasure to welcome you to the family.”