Page 84 of Star Champion

Jemm’s eyes grew noticeably brighter with emotion. “Then, on top of that, mine bosses held him accountable for her death, and the damage. They fired him. Losing the love of his life, his other half, blamed for what he probably blamed himself for anyway, an infant at home… He was lost to us for a long time.”

On the tenth floor, where a pavilion opened out onto the city below, they stopped to catch their breaths. Or, rather, he stopped to catch his breath in the insufficient air, while Jemm continued the tragic story. “Years,” she said. “Nico would get drunk on the least expensive swank he could find, or he’d smoke hallucivapes. They’re laced with sweef, powdered swank, the kind that kills ya. He wouldn’t come home, and Ma would send me out after him. I’d find him near-dead in a North City bar, or in an alley. I’d get him home somehow, only for it to happen all over again. It was a bad time. He got better after a while, but never could hold a job for long. It left me to support the family on my own, because Ma was sick and needed to look after Button. I brought up the idea of disguising myself as a fella to make extra money playing bajha. He took to it like a scamper to cheese, and here we are.”

Yes. Here they were. Klark stood with Jemm looking out over the smoggy sea of lights. Distance muted the roar of the turbulent colony, but not by much. “I see the sadness in his eyes. It makes sense now. To lose the love of your life in such a gruesome fashion, and to be blamed for it.” He swallowed, and tightened his hold on Jemm’s warm hand. “At least he has Button.”

“I know. I wish he saw it, too. But, all he can see in her is Kish, and what he thinks are his failings as a Da. He won’t talk to her. He won’t hold her. I thought it would get better when I went away, but nothing changed. He contributes money now, at least. I’ve wanted to take them all far away from here. But I don’t know if I’ll ever get Nico to leave. I think he feels if he leaves Barésh, he’ll be abandoning Kish. It’s why he wears those grubby gloves. They were what he was wearing the day he carried her broken body out of the cave. He says they’re the last thing that touched her, so…”

“They’ll come off when he’s ready to move on.”

“If he ever is. But the bajha and the clubs have changed him. So, maybe he will.”

After a bit, Jemm inhaled deeply, as if the horrible air were a salve. “This is where my Da taught me to play bajha.” She extended her arms and turned in a small circle with her eyes closed. “This is where all my dreams began.”

“Take care.” He reached for her arm, but with bajha-honed instinct, she evaded his grasp. His heartbeat skittered. “There’s no railing.”

“I know.” She twirled, and he grabbed her.

“No, you are not falling to your death tonight.” He pinned her to him so she could not escape. “No wonder you’re so good. Since this is where you learned to play. One false move and…”

Both of their gazes shifted to the chaotic city scene below. She pointed to the edge of the city, hazed over in brownish air. “See out there? Where the buildings end, the badlands begin. That’s where I used to drive every day. The smelters are out on the plains. I’d get my trailer loaded up with ore and drive it to the processing plant down by the docks. I’d make the roundtrip many times in a day, and a few times, after dark.” She sounded bittersweet about it.

“You miss it.”

“Aye. Sometimes. I grew up out on those plains, you can say.”

“Were you ever in love, Jemm?”

She swiveled around to look at him. “No.”

“Good. Then I’m the first.” Before she could say a thing in favor of his observation or against, he pulled her close for a kiss, and loved her mouth so thoroughly that by the time he was done she was putty in his arms. “I love you, Jemm Aves,” he said. “I love you, and I want you in my life. Somehow. Some way. I do.”

“I told ya, you’re crazy.” She beamed up at him. Her multicolored gem-like eyes blazed with emotion. “I love you, too,” she said, her voice huskier, as her fingertips traced the outline of his jaw. “I love ya truly, and madly.”

He kissed her while he could still taste the words on her lips. “Say it again,” he murmured.

Smiling, she did, and he kissed her again, standing in the very spot where she told him all her dreams began.

They returned to the apartment, hand in hand. Button was put to bed, requiring Klark to sit patiently with Jemm on a couch while Ma knitted a sweater. He wanted Jemm. Badly. But there was little he could do about it with Ma keeping a watchful eye over all. Planning ahead, as he was wont to do, he took an accounting of the sleeping areas. Thick curtains provided privacy, but not at the level he would like.

Jemm’s fingers were wrapped in his. He lifted their clasped hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He saw Ma’s lips curve into a smile, her attention supposedly on her knitting. It fascinated him: the yarn, the clicking of needles, the emerging creation. “It’s a new vest for Nicky-boy,” she explained.

Klark had never seen such a thing done. Clothing came to him in its final form.

Seven of the eight originalVash Nadahwarriors had been commoners like Jemm’s family, yet in the centuries since, they had become insulated in their palaces, enjoying lives that were far removed from what the rest of the galaxy experienced. Both commoner lives and those of the highborn had their advantages and disadvantages, but could they be straddled?

He was going to blasted well try.

“It’s time for me to say good night.” Ma placed her knitting in a basket and stood, yawning. After everyone bid each other good night, she disappeared behind the curtain on the far side of the kitchen, drawing it tightly closed.

As soon as she was out of sight, Jemm slipped her hot hands under Klark’s shirt. “I’ve been waiting all night to get you and your body alone,” she whispered.

“This,” he mumbled as she started to kiss him. “Does not seem very private.”

“My bedroom is over there.”

The opposite end of the apartment from her mother’s, thank heavens. But privacy was still going to be an issue.

They took turns showering in the tiny washroom. Then, Jemm’s fingers lightly held his as she led him to her small, narrow bed. She set a candle on the bedside table and worked at making sure the curtains were thoroughly closed.

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