The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 116

POV: Lyra

In Orion's chest, I continued my tale in a small voice. "Commander Jake was bad news from the start. Everyone saw it except his parents. There was this negative energy you could feel whenever he was near—his pathways always pulsed this sick yellow-green, like rotting bio-matter."

I sighed. "He asked me for a dance, but I said no. Partner Janice, being the diplomatic one in the command center, told me that as children of station leaders, we had to oblige simple gestures to keep peace with our allies. She said just because I was adopted didn't make me different. I was mad at her for pressing me like that, but I was also driven by duty to my station.

So I mentally prepared myself to oblige Commander Jake's request if he asked again, which he didn't, thank the cosmos. But his brother, Clement, did. As I told myself I was doing it for my station, I obliged. Clement is definitely not like his brother. The two couldn't be more different."

Orion finally understood why I buried myself in his chest. Commander Jake. That was definitely a name Orion would never forget. He held me tighter as assurance before muttering in controlled anger, "I can't believe Juan's mother made you do that. You should never have to do something against your wishes, Lyra."

I took in his comforting psychic signature. "That's what Commander Ken and Juan said. Well, what they yelled, to be more precise. The father and son threw a fit for two hours after the celebration when they found out what Partner Janice said to me. Their outburst definitely made me feel better. At least I knew that duty to Blue Crescent didn't mean saying yes to things that made me uncomfortable."

Orion's mood eased considerably. He pressed his lips to my temple. "I would love to meet Commander Ken one day. I need to thank him for this."

He took another breath of my psychic signature before something struck him: If Jake was the Commander, why was Clement the Commander? Can a station be run by two Commanders?

He pulled away to lock eyes with me. "Star-heart, why does Forest Gloom have two Commanders?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "They don't. Commander Jake was only there for a few years before Clement challenged him for the station and succeeded. Jake and their other sibling, Iris, were cast out as rogues."

Orion blinked in surprise, and I chuckled at his reaction. I started from the beginning. "Forest Gloom was always our ally until Commander Jake took the title. Most stations, including Blue Crescent, started avoiding it. Many cut ties with no remorse. Clement was the youngest of three, so the chance of him taking that title was close to nil. But Jake was one of the most ruthless leaders we'd heard of. Their sister, Iris, was no better—using her brother's position to force males in her station to... interface with her."

I paused at Orion's disgusted look. "At least Greg's interfaces with different females every night were consensual. Anyway, back to Forest Gloom. A few of their own station members started leaving, moving to stations where they had friends or family. Many didn't have this alternative. So they went to Clement in secret, asking him to challenge Jake for the title. Clement was pessimistic about it. But then he heard Juan had become our Commander, and heard how Juan was challenging ruthless Commanders for their stations."

A smile graced my features. "Commander Clement snuck out one day and came to us. I was there when he presented his case to Juan, Hale, and Sub-Commander Preston. He pleaded with Juan to challenge his brother. After we mind-touched between ourselves, we offered him a different solution—we'd train him to take down his own brother and claim his station instead."

I chuckled. "Darling, you should've seen him. White as a ghost! We could feel his fear in Juan's office. His pathways were practically transparent." I steadied myself. "Commander Clement wasn't scared to terminate. He was scared to let his people down by dying. Juan offered him space to train with us..."

"With you." Orion said, holding me tighter.

I rolled my eyes. "With me. He said we were wasting time because he felt the only way to take down a Commander was by asking another Commander to do it."

Orion scoffed. "Looks like you proved him wrong, my feisty little freesia."

I shifted to embarrassed purple at what my match called me before resuming. "Blue Crescent had no intention to show off, but to prove Clement wrong and give him hope, I had to spar Juan and Preston simultaneously—show him there's no need for a Commander to take down a Commander. After our spar..."

"After you beat Juan and Preston."

"Orion, you don't have to keep saying things like that to keep me flustered. It's really hard to focus on the storyline when you do that."

"Hm... your facts weren't very clear, so I had to fill in the blanks. Go on, my love." He pressed his nose to my scar again.

"Darling, no. It tickles!" I was already giggling at the sensation.

Orion groaned. "Fine. I'll just smell your hair then." After greedily taking in my psychic signature, he prompted, "So what happened after you beat them both at once, my love?"