The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 75

POV: Lyra

After a twenty-minute transport ride, a massive crystalline tower came into view. Orion docked on the lower level and we took the gravity lift up. His hand never left my waist as he led me out through the lift doors, and as soon as we turned around the corner, I halted in my steps at the sight before me.

"Woah." I muttered as my multifaceted eyes sparkled at the sight of the large space filled with endless data archives. As I adjusted to my surroundings, my skin shifted through excited colors—gold, bright silver, electric blue. The sound-dampening floor absorbed any footsteps, making the place quiet enough for deep concentration. The bioluminescent panels lit up the space enough to give it a sophisticated look. The harmonic frequencies playing subtly in the background put one in a mood to relax and dive into whichever data module held their interest.

My eyes snapped back to Orion's elated purple ones as I exclaimed in a whisper, "This is La Bibliothèque Stellaire, isn't it? The largest data archive in the Empire!"

Orion's pathways were also glowing at the sight of my excitement. "It is. You've clearly heard of it."

My eyes continued to scan the place while I explained, "I've accessed information about it and seen holo-captures in the news feeds. But the actual sight is still breathtaking." I looked at the ceiling which was said to contain engravings of reputable scholars from across the galaxy. Then I looked at the pillars which had the most famous theorems of each century. "The twenty-eight-level structure which holds every piece of knowledge known to Lyrokans, Kaelari, Void Raiders and humans. All in one place. This is amazing!"

"Yes, you are." Orion said from my side.

I turned back to find his sincere and affectionate gaze fixed on me. I was moved. I'd heard about this place for cycles but never got to come because it was in Lyrokan territory, and I didn't think it would be wise to enter as a Kaelari. I didn't want to be expelled and appear in the news feeds for it. But Orion brought me here without my having to ask.

"How did you even know that I'm obsessed with data acquisition?"

He chuckled softly, pathways pulsing with affection. "Well, you were accessing some very complex material while I was in rest cycle after the Jewel Station incident. And if I recall correctly, Cummings once tried to give you a data module in the dining sector. In your quarters, there were three 300-page technical manuals on the furniture, all complex material. I've never known a being to pack data modules for a trip."

I rolled my eyes, skin shifting to defensive silver. "Behavioral algorithms are not complex material."

Orion held me close, neural sparks flowing between us. "Star-heart, the name itself feels complex. Light ones normally have only one word for their classification like mystery, romance, humor, adventure..."

"What about biographies, history, literature..." Before I could list out the one-worded genres which could arguably be considered complex material, Orion squeezed my waist, making me giggle, my skin flashing to playful pink.

When he was satisfied with the wide smile and pink tinge on my face, he kissed my forehead. "Go on, pick your spot to start. We can stay here the whole cycle if you want. There's a nutrient station on the twenty-eighth level. We'll just stop for mid-cycle consumption up there, and you can come back down here to continue your data hunt."

I squealed softly in excitement before dashing to a display terminal nearby. Adorable, Orion thought, and I caught it through our bond. His inner Lyrokan was pulsing with happiness.

From the display terminal, I downloaded a schematic of the entire place. Wow. She even knew that existed. Orion's thoughts leaked through. It was then he realized that I must have wanted to come here for cycles, probably ever since I heard about the place. But due to the friction between our species, and the archive being in Lyrokan territory, I never could. His consciousness ached at the thought of how little the Kaelari had access to the things that Lyrokans always took for granted.

His tension eased when he saw my serious look as I studied the schematic on my portable display. Without looking back his way, I walked toward the north wing. Orion chuckled to himself before following me. He made a point to glare with black pathways at any male scanning my body with lustful intentions.

Those who didn't know who he was quickly looked away from his murderous expression. Those who found him familiar were trying to access their memory banks to recall where they'd seen him before. And those who realized who he was flinched in fear before offering an apologetic bow. He nodded curtly in return but his pathways remained stern, a warning to never look at his match like that again.

I finally stopped at the second-last row of archives. I checked the schematic and turned right. Orion read the label at the top of the shelf. 'Species Biology'. He chuckled as he thought about our conversation on complex materials just moments ago.

I ignored him as I skimmed the titles. Then I extracted a brown hard-covered data module before checking its contents. My finger scrolled through the chapter listings, and then I checked the credit cost. Orion said, "Star-heart, you can take whatever you want. You don't have to worry about the credits. I'll take care of it."

I smirked, skin shifting to independent bronze. "You already brought me here, Orion. I have enough saved credits to pay for my acquisitions."

He pulled me by my forearms to get my full attention. "No. This is a date. Let me pay for them, Lyra. That was the point of bringing you here in the first place." He kissed my forehead. "Let me buy them for you, Lyra. Just let me."

I looked hesitant, skin shifting to uncertain grey. "Okay."

He kissed my cheek, and I uttered a shy 'thank you', which made his pathways glow brighter. When I continued to hold the brown module, Orion understood that I wanted it so he held it for me. He looked at the title: 'Lyrokans in Humanoid and Combat Forms: Strengths, Weaknesses, Peculiarities and Blind Spots.'

Orion chuckled. "Sweetheart, should I be worried about this?"

My perplexed eyes met his amused ones. When I saw what he was referring to, my cheeky smile showed, skin shifting to mischievous gold. "Well, now that I know what the largest and strongest Lyrokan looks like, I have to start planning my Kaelari consciousness's best forms of attack and defense. Thank you for bringing me to the largest source of reference to help in my venture to take your Lyrokan down."

It was the first time in a long time Orion's inner Lyrokan laughed with joy through our bond, rolling over in pure happiness. His Lyrokan was utterly ecstatic that I was not only unafraid of it but that I also wanted to train and interact with it in my Kaelari form. And I was even confident that I could beat it when everyone else would ultimately give up!

Orion failed to suppress his radiant smile, pathways blazing so bright they lit up the aisle. "You are..." he sighed in pure admiration and amusement, "...absolutely amazing."

I narrowed my eyes, skin shifting to skeptical silver. "That's not something a sane being would say to someone who just threatened to beat you up, darling."

He kissed my temple. "You're right, I'm not a sane being when it comes to you. I'm undeniably and shamelessly insane about you."

I started shifting to embarrassed pink again, and I pressed a sweet kiss to his jawline before returning my sights to the archive shelf.

After four hours, Orion had to make me stop the data hunt so that we could have our mid-cycle nutrients. We left my modules at a 'Store and Retrieve' terminal, and made our way to the twenty-eighth level.