Desert World
Nov. 10th, 2012 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lit_gal
Well, the muse seems to have settled here. Yes, this is book three of a series, but you don't need the other books. In fact, if you just want the relationship, I would recommend you skip Allegiances. Desert World Allegiances
Pairing: Shan/Temar. (Heat: almost none, as in you don't get more than a few fantasies and a kiss.) Two men struggle with their own demons and try to save their world while fighting a growing attraction to each other.
Desert World Rebirth
Pairing: Shan/Temar. (Heat: Hot. They're going full steam ahead and struggling to figure out what their sexual dynamic involves.) They saved the world from one danger, but now another looms. Enemies in the real world and the ghosts of the past both threaten this growing relationship
Desert World Immigrants
Pairing: Naite/Verly. Heat: Frikkin' scorching. Lieutenant Commander Verly Black had a difficult life during the war, but now he’s ready to immigrate to a new world. What he doesn’t expect is to find a kindred spirit, a man who is a warrior despite the fact that he’s never picked up a gun. He carries the scars of battle anyway. Naite Polli is a fascinating mystery, and Verly has never been good at walking away from one of those.
Chapter One
Two
The valley impressed Verly more than he could say. The settlers had carved out the rock sides and fitted the top of the valley with a thin mesh that softened the sunlight. And the entire valley was protected from the mountainous sand dunes by a blast door tall enough for a missile launcher to drive through. Some enormous machine had set the sides of the huge gate into metal struts that went into the hard rock and were covered with metal salvaged from a ship.
“I didn’t think colonies brought heavy machinery with the first few waves.”
“What?” Naite shouted over the rumble of the metal doors sliding open.
“The doors. That must have been some serious machinery to get this in place.
Naite gave him an odd look. “You would have failed Anderson’s history class.”
Verly waited for more of an explanation, but Naite got out of the hauler and grabbed a flat edged tool that he used to start shoving away the wispy drift of sand that pushed in when they entered. Verly got out to help, especially since the blast doors were closing fast. “I got it,” Naite said shortly. He scooped up the last of the sand and shoved it through the crack before the huge doors closed with a heavy thunk. Naite headed back toward the hauler and pulled the sand veil off his face. He had a dark complexion, but the white dust of the desert had settled over his hair and eyes so that he looked like he’d been dusted with white.
“The doors came from about a hundred colonists tying ropes to the top and pulling it up while welders dangling from rope harnesses welded it into place. If something needs doing, we find a way to do it.”
“So it seems,” Verly said, ignoring Naite’s attitude. “So, you’re one of the council members?” Verly opened his mouth as he tried to pop his ears. The blasting heat of the desert seemed to have invaded his head.
“Where’d you hear that?” Naite froze in the middle of climbing into the hauler. The cold suspicion surprised Naite. The defensive posture of Naite’s body surprised him even more. Shan and Temar never moved like soldiers. They stood with their backs to unsecured doors, they walked past strangers without a second look. But Naite’s coiled muscle and his careful balance with one hand holding the hauler’s bar—that was pure soldier.
Even Verly found himself falling back into those habits—that hyper-vigilance that left him watching the world and expecting enemies. In Verly’s case, that came from PA training and his own ugly history. But on a world without war and armies and counter-terrorism training… on a world without the sort of conflicts that had marred Verly’s life, he wondered where that razor edge of emotion came from.
“The corps provided a dossier on what information they had,” Verly said carefully. He could almost taste the suspicion on the air, and he reached up to pull off his own sand veil so Naite could better see him. “And Shan mentioned in passing that his brother was a council member.”
“Idiot,” Naite announced. He got in the hauler, but the atmosphere had definitely turned cool.
“So, I assume that means you are a council member even if you choose to not discuss it,” Verly summarized the conversation as Naite guided the hauler down the wide road toward the open valley with its green fields and filtered sun.
“Yep. I am.”
Verly leaned back, intentionally putting his own arms back and presenting the metaphorical bared throat. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Naite was just an asshole. But then the second Verly went out of his way to pose less of a threat, Naite’s fingers eased off the wheel of the hauler they’d been clutching. Oh, this was interesting. “Clearly politics is less contentious around here than back home.”
“Meaning?” Naite growled the word, and he did have a voice rough enough to make a man’s cock sit up and take notice.
“Meaning you don’t look like the sort to reach a political office by paying a fortune for it and then spending a second fortune to spread lies about your competitors.”
Naite did a double take as that caught him off guard. “That sounds fairly stupid.”
“That has always been my assessment of politics, yes. So I take it that it’s different around here.”
“Why?”
Verly angled his body away and looked out over the neat rows of plants that covered the floor of the valley. “Why what?” he asked, ignoring the way his own skin itched at putting a near-stranger at his back. But then something told Verly that Naite Polli was the sort of man to stab in in the front.
Naite pulled the hauler up in the shade of the first building they came to. “Why are you asking? Are you looking to fill in all the holes in that dossier you got from your people?”
Now Verly did a double take. “You think I’m a spy?”
“I know you’re a spy, I’m just not sure how direct you’re planning on being. If you’re playing a game here, I suggest you put your cards on the table because I am known for being a very poor loser.”
“I can believe that,” Verly agreed. “But I’m trying to figure out why you think I’m a spy. I’ve been on this planet for less than a day, and I haven’t really don’t anything except nearly choke to death on sand. If I were a spy, it wouldn’t be the best start.”
“And I’m not a man who accepts that sort of bullshit non-answer.” Turning off the hauler, Naite angled his own body toward Verly. The fact was the Verly could defend himself from a farmer, even one as well-muscled as Naite. However, he was more interested in figure out where this had started to go wrong.
Putting his hands up in surrender, Verly offered up another charming smile. “It may sound like bullshit, but I am not a spy. I am asking for your logic in making that assumption only so I can tell you where we have misunderstood each other.”
Naite grunted and looked at him, and Verly slowly lowered his hands. It took a long time for Naite to answer, but Verly could appreciate that some people weighed their words more carefully than others. He could also appreciate that Naite had not mentioned any of his suspicions until after Verly was separated from the shuttle and on totally unfamiliar territory. A little rub of fear made Verly’s heart beat faster because one wrong word and he would be discovering what the Livre penal system looked like from the inside.
“You aren’t the first to immigrate.”
“Okay. Honestly, you need to put the dots a little closer together.”
For a second, Naite pressed his lips together in an angry line. “They’ve already admitted that their primary mission is spying.”
Verly closed his eyes. Shit. “I know I’m the first person here from the Planetary Alliance, so you have to be talking about people from the breakaway worlds. We are not from the same government, and we do not have the same missions. I can promise you that I am not here to spy.”
“I didn’t say they were spying. I said they were sent here to spy.”
Verly processed that bit of startling information. Turning rebel spies was an art, one that PA officers spent years learning. However, if Naite was telling the truth—and Verly suspected he was—Ambassadors Polli and Gazer had visited an Alliance of Free Planets ship for a few days and had managed to turn one of their spies. The more Verly got to know these people, the more he was starting to suspect that he didn’t know anything.
“I’m impressed,” Verly said slowly, not sure how to handle this. He wasn’t the most diplomatic of men. He’d once risen to the rank of base sub-commander on the back of his bravery and damn good piloting skills; however, talking his way out of trouble had never been his forte.
“And if you think I’m going to believe that somehow your people are so much more moral than Rula’s that you’ve never even thought of spying, you’re stupid, too.”
Verly ran a hand over his face. “I’m not going to claim to have some moral high ground here, but I’m not a spy.”
Naite crossed his arms, and the truly sick thing was that Verly still felt those sparks of interest, even when Naite clearly wanted to throw him in the brig and forget to send food.
“The breakaway planets are touchier… more concerned about security. The Planetary Alliance is more likely to…” Verly stopped, not sure how to phrase this without ending up in the brig. And honestly, the PA wouldn’t be sending any rescue.
With a sigh, Verly decided to go for brutal honesty. “The PA thinks you’re an unimportant hick planet that happens to have some optic-quality glass and raw materials they can cheat you out of. You aren’t important enough to risk a spy because that position requires very specific and very expensive training. What you got instead is a has-been officer who normally patrols the farthest corner of PA space, and I do mean that literally. That’s why I was close when the ambassadors got in trouble on that AFP cruiser.”
Naite took a step back, but he actually looked less cranky. “Then why send you?”
Verly shrugged. The truth was complicated, but he could offer up one small corner of it without lying. “Because I’m not important. I’m a failed officer who tends to annoy my commanders, and Ambassador Gazer… excuse me… Temar invited me to come. Now, I won’t lie. If this planet turns out to have some strategic value or if they decide that they can’t trick you out of your resources, I have no doubt that they’ll ask me some very pointed questions about which of your politicians could be corrupted or blackmailed. Right now, I don’t think anyone is interested in asking me anything.”
Most civilians would have taken that as a threat… as proof that Verly was dangerous because he might become a weapon later. Most soldiers would have taken that as a rare bit of honesty because they had already figured the rest out. Verly didn’t know how Naite would react.
For long minutes, he didn’t. He moved to the rear of the hauler and spent some time moving a woven twig basket from one side of the cargo area to the other, but he didn’t react.
“Grab something and let’s get it inside before we cook our brains and do them more damage than either of us can afford,” Naite finally said as he picked up the basket he’d been so carefully shoving from side to side.
Verly let out a breath in an explosive sigh. He’d avoided the brig again. He’d found a new talent, that’s for sure. Getting out, he grabbed a wooden crate filled with PA sample boxed used to collect plant varieties on unfamiliar planets. When he followed Naite into the building, he was shocked again to find the inside of the barn fairly cool. A deep shaft in the center of the wide room seemed to sink down forever into the ground. Fans overhead stirred the air, and there was a scent of something acidic on the air.
Verly moved closer to the rail around that uneven hole, and the scent was definitely coming from there.
“Native water. Don’t fall in.” Naite walked over to the side of the barn where four large pens had forty or fifty chickens. Leaning over he ran his hands over a number of animals’ backs before he stood and faced Verly again. “Our people aren’t as easily manipulated as you seem to think.”
“I don’t think you can be manipulated at all. I’m talking about my commanding officers back home.”
“So, you don’t think we should trade with the PA?”
This was starting to feel like an interrogation. And again, Verly had to give Naite credit for doing it well. The threats were all veiled—the presence of that deep well, the isolation, the silence. It all made for a very uncomfortable situation.
“I think they’ll offer good money for optic quality glass.”
Naite gave one nod of his head, and Verly figured that Naite also heard that Verly wasn’t endorsing his side. If report of this got back home, Verly was going to end up in military prison without a doubt, but if he wanted a new life, he had to make new choices.
“And what about the AFP?”
Verly sucked in a breath. “I don’t think you want to ask me about them?”
“Why?”
Verly shrugged. “I may not have the most objective opinion when it comes to the breakaway planets.”
Naite started crossing the barn, his eyes scanning the room—the crates of grain and the stacks of tool that Verly didn’t recognize and the piles of heavy cloths and ropes. This was definitely feeling uncomfortable, but Verly held his ground. He did, however, start to question his own assessment that he could take any mere farmer. Naite didn’t move like any farmer Verly knew. He moved like a predator—a soldier. Danger lay in the loose roll of Naite’s shoulders and the way his arms were poised to come up into a defensive pose. Verly had no doubt that Naite was prepared to defend himself.
“Tell me anyway,” Naite said, his voice low and rough. And again, Verly felt that entirely inappropriate frisson of interest.
“They’re assholes,” Verly said. He suspected that Naite would appreciate honesty more than diplomacy. He must have guessed right because Naite stopped and straightened up… all his defensive posturing vanished and a smile seemed to pull at the very corner of his mouth.
“Okay,” Naite said slowly, the tone of his words infinitely more casual. “Why do you say that?” Naite leaned against the rail that went around the deep well.
“Because they are.” A stool sat between two crates and Verly headed over and sat down, hooking his heel on one of the support rungs. “They arrest anyone who doesn’t agree with their crazy policies, and I can’t count all the crazy policies they have. Gay people are sick and should be tortured out of being gay or just killed. Children are great raw material for assassins and spies, so they put them in training camps. They restrict women and won’t give them full rights. They control all writing and music, and if you’re caught sharing unapproved file of any sort, you face large jail sentences or public whippings. When I say they’re crazy, I mean it. They’re nuts.” Verly didn’t add that he was more than a little worried that AFP representatives had gotten here first.
Naite slowly nodded. “And the PA? Are your people perfect?”
Verly scratched his neck. “I could be accused of betraying my vow as a soldier if I get into specific military policies, but I will say that I think the PA tends to assume that anyone who disagrees with their policies is deluded and ignorant. Now, ninety percent of the time, I agree with that. If you think that loving someone of the same sex is evil and deserves torture, I think you’re deluded, ignorant and evil. However, the PA also sees people like the Alitura movement as being a little nuts and while the PA would never imprison them for their beliefs, they would certainly make sure that the schools are teaching a different point of view.”
“Alitura movement?” Naite slurred the unfamiliar word.
“Naturalist movement. They want to get away from science and technology. They believe that a pure environment makes for a pure body and soul. They’re an alternative religion.”
Leaning back against the rail and resting his hands on either side, Naite took a little time to think about that. “So, you wouldn’t call them evil?”
“The PA? No. I wouldn’t even call the majority of the breakaway population evil. I just think they have some evil leaders.”
“And if there were AFP people here?”
Verly shrugged. “I’m assuming there are.”
“Natalie, that work for you?” Naite called. Verly tensed as he realized they did have an audience, and there were very few reasons for keeping an observer hidden during interrogation. None of them boded well for Verly. He stood and scanned the room until he spotted a woman standing up from behind one of the enormous storage crates on the far side of the room. She was curvaceous and beautiful with delicate features and long brown hair that curled around her shoulders. And she moved like a predator. The odds suddenly shifted, and Verly could feel the sweat start to gather along his spine.
“I still think allowing him here is a mistake,” she said coldly as she looked Verly up and down with such hatred that Verly felt like taking a shower when she was done. Verly’d been a soldier most of his adult life, but every nerve sang at him, screamed at him. This was a dangerous woman.
“Well, I guess it’s a good think that it’s not your call, then.” Naite shifted so that he faced off against her. For a second, she held his gaze, and then she dipped her head, agreeing that he had the final say. What the hell was going on? Few women rose high in the AFP, but this one, this one was not used to taking orders.
“Verly Black, pilot meet Natalie Aral, protocol officer.”
If this woman was a protocol officer, Verly was eating his uniform. He raised an eyebrow at her, and surprisingly, she gave him a smile. “Or something,” she said wryly, practically admitting that her job had less to do with protocol than less reputable activities, and Verly had one or two suspicions about what that might have been. She certainly didn’t look like a comp tech.
“If you two are ready to stop glaring at each other, let me make something very clear.” Naite stepped between the two of them. “Shan is an idiot who didn’t understand that inviting both of you could cause some trouble, and I will be the one cleaning up any messes you might make. If either of you bring your dumbass war down here, I will end the war in ways that are very unpleasant for you personally. Clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Natalie Aral said, dipping her head in agreement.
“I can live with that,” Verly agreed. The last thing he wanted was to bring this war down here, but if Aral knew his name, she’d be trying to use certain historical facts against him in the near future. She might try blackmail or try to ruin his name with these people, but she’d do something. And if Verly’s response earned him Naite’s wrath, he’d have to deal with that as it came.
“Not that that’s settled,” Naite told Verly, “let’s get you settled in the house. Temar’s sister Cyla runs the house, but I run the farm. You have two hours to get settled, and then I’m showing you the working end of a dig-stick. Make sure Cyla shows you the water restrictions we live by because we’ve got strict rules about rationing.”
“Understood,” Verly agreed. He knew that the PA had sent one tanker of water as a gesture of goodwill, but on a planet this size with five settlements and three agriculture valleys all competing, one tanker wouldn’t go far. Rationing was only reasonable.
Naite gave another of those grunts that meant he wasn’t happy, but without commenting further, he headed out of the barn. The hair on Verly’s neck stood up at the thought of turning his back on Aral, but he had to trust these people to keep the peace because he didn’t have the weapons to defend himself. Up to this point, the Livre restrictions on weapons seemed normal. Most worlds did limit them. However right now, Verly would give anything for a good stun blaster.
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Date: 2012-11-10 07:41 pm (UTC)Gabrielle
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Date: 2012-11-11 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-10 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-11 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-12 12:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-23 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-12 05:14 am (UTC)Fyi. "really don’t anything except nearly choke to death on sand". I think you want done in there rather thab dont
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Date: 2012-11-23 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-23 01:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-12 07:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-23 12:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-22 08:00 pm (UTC)long time. Good to see you so productive (as always!). I finally got around to buying Desert World Allegiances the other day, and finished it yesterday. And, well... just about to get number two in the series, heh.
I love Naite. He's totally my type of character so I'm stoked that there's a story coming which centers more on him. Just wanted to say that since I saw your comment that this direction wasn't what people-in-general prefer. But I'm all for it. :D
Now I'd better hurry up and read Rebirth before I get myself even more spoilered by skipping to Immigrants... Dang, I'm planning to buy an ipad/whatever-pad, but I wish I had it already so I could take my stories to the couch.
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Date: 2012-11-23 12:40 am (UTC)I am, however, thrilled to hear that you like these guys. I always had a special love for them.
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Date: 2012-11-24 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 09:12 pm (UTC)