Syrenrei

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

"That is the single most ridiculous thing you have said yet," replied Solae hotly with a trace of the pride elites were so infamous for. Rather than sounding condescending, however, she sounded sincerely insulted. It was Rene's unintended blow to her ego that invoked frustration that bubbled to the surface. "I will be the first to admit that current events and our situation has taken a toll on me- and it will probably continue to do so. There is a saying across nearly every culture, though, that war brings out the truth in a person, even if they disagree on the merit of what is brought to light. If you think I would regret you are either oblivious to how truly amazing you have proved yourself to be, think that all that matters to me is status- admittedly my dalliance with Lord Armon does lead one to believe that because even now I'm not sure why I found him charming, or you think me deaf, dumb, and blind. No matter how overwhelming all of this chaos is to me, my judgment is not horribly impaired."

It was rare that Solae let any semblance of a temper shine through. The stress of hiding from rebellion forces, of being wounded (which was a new experience if she was honest), of losing her parents, and being in proximity to an incredibly handsome and alluring man who was no interested had made her spill out more anger than she intended. Her mother had always said expressing ire in any way except a pointed social attack on the enemy was both unladylike and a weakness. Temper tantrums had been cruelly disciplined until she dared not speak out of turn. Nobility was about control. The closer one was to the top of proverbial ladder the more restraint and stoicism was required in adverse circumstances.

At first Solae wasn't sure why she had let her harsh words fly loose. Perhaps it was her turmoil at the impression that Rene did not actually find her 'appealing,' that he was paying lip service, because while he had returned her kiss he had simply let her leave. Perhaps she was callously using her position as a 'superior' to not give him the respect she ought to give a duke, duchess, or the like. Perhaps, and most likely, she felt comfortable enough around him not to throttle herself. Tension between them aside she trusted Rene not to abandon her even if she was not the pleasant doll that she was expected to be. Bleeding, helpless, and vomiting he had not flinched or retreated. Solae was confident that a flash of anger would not irreparably sever their bond.

She took a deep breath. "I am going to brush up on my Syshi with Mia. If you decide to make lunch please let me know and I will join you."

"Lady Solae," Mia said, interrupting their communication to broadcast to both simultaneously, "I revisit my suggestion you do not stand or walk on your leg for at least another hour."

Solae groaned audibly at the mothering Mia insisted on doing. She was in her twenties and yet she was being treated like a child. While she had only vague notions on how to care for injuries, Rene had done an excellent job with the spray and sutures. It was almost ridiculous that Mia treated Solae as if she were made of fragile glass. If an hour would silence the objections it was a small price to pay.

"Let me amend, then. I will join you if an hour has passed and I'm no longer under bed arrest by her Royal Highness Mia," Solae said before motioning for Mia to stop the broadcast. Solae leaned back onto her pillows lifelessly as she stared at the ceiling and wondered if she had been cruel. The proper thing to do would be give him a chance to reply- but at the same time she was a coward afraid of what he would say.

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

Because the sedative metabolized quickly to take effect nearly instantly, it also passed through the system at a quick pace. It was slightly less than an hour when Solae woke up in the bedroom. A dull, throbbing pain in her thigh told her that the operation had been successful and she no longer bore an implant that effectively tagged her like a lost pet. After staring at the ceiling mindlessly for a few minutes she rolled onto her right (the unaffected leg) and then pulled herself to a sitting position. Covers slid off her torso and she belatedly realized that Rene must have tucked her in. Solae wasn't certain if he was naturally nurturing, preserving what shred of modesty she had, or worried about her becoming cold in repose. Perhaps he had been motivated by all three reasons.

"You will be pleased to know Sir Rene extracted the CLTI with no complications or excessive bleeding," Mia announced.

"Thank you, Mia," Solae responded genuinely. Even if it was part of Mia's programming she was grateful for the guidance that was undoubtedly provided to Rene. As he had stated earlier he was no medic; without Mia the procedure would have been impossible. Neither one of them would have agreed to digging around a limb looking for a minuscule implant. Even a trained medical practitioner would have been unwilling to take the risk flying blind.

Solae had swung her feet over the side of the bed when she noticed her underwear was stained. She had paused to ponder if it was worth trying to clean or if she should try to create boxers (as uncomfortable as it might be) for a lower undergarment when Mia spoke up again with a sultry urgency. "Lady Solae, is there something I can do for you? It is in your best interest not to rush to be ambulatory."

"I need to thank Rene," Solae insisted as she slipped off her underwear and fished up Lord Armon's exercise shorts that she had been wearing before. It was a less than flattering swap but she was not ready to prance down the stairs naked. "Do you think you can wash these? The blood hasn't soaked in for long I assume... or have I been out for a while?"

"I can try to assist, but it will take some time as I will need to soak them in various cleaning agents. Please place them on the bedside table," Mia instructed. Solae nodded (which was silly considering Mia didn't need visual responses) before depositing the soiled clothing on the nightstand. The polished surface retreated back into a hole in the wall that had appeared not a moment before and she heard the whirling of machinery beyond the visible plaster. "Would you like me to summon Sir Rene for you? I am certain he will be relieved you are awake."

Biting the inside of her cheek for a moment Solae considered her options. Were she to walk to Rene, which she hardly considered a dangerous excursion, Mia would not only tell her in excruciating detail why she should lay down with increasing insistence, she would also inevitably alarm Rene. The poor soldier did not need any further scares considering all he had done and endured in the last couple days. Solae pulled her feet back up on the mattress and reclined if only to prevent panic and distress for her solitary human companion.

"Can you broadcast me to Rene, Mia? No visual please."

"Affirmative. I will begin the broadcast now," Mia purred. If Solae didn't know better she would think the artificial sentience was pleased with herself for keeping her charge in bed.

"Mia had told me I ought to stay in bed," Solae began, eyeing a circular blue hologram that had appeared in front of her face. It was the only indication that her voice was traveling elsewhere in the manor as requested. "But I wanted to thank you for everything you've done. You saved my life when you took down those soldiers, you helped me tend my wounds, set up a way to watch our perimeter for rebels, refused to turn me in when it would benefit you, and even removed the CLTI that was my responsibility." She took a deep breath that she thought was not carried on the internal transmission- but it was. "And I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I know you were a noble once, I recognize that much of your name, and joining the Imperial Marines must not have been something you did lightly. I should have considered the feelings you may have towards nobility to have taken such action and not forced you into a situation where I only considered my own wants. That's... that's not to say I regret precisely, but I do apologize that it was so inappropriate, and I promise to restrain myself in the future."

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

"Sir Rene," Mia started as she monitored one of her charges gathering supplies in the kitchen. "It is in my programming to notify you of the inherent risks of encouraging Lady Solae to take on this task herself. I estimate her natural physiological reaction is likely to affect her precision, which could result in complications in the procedure." After a moment's pause the artificial intelligence displayed generalized anatomical scans with notations; one appeared to be a basic reading of Solae approximately one year ago while the other was current. The logic behind showing the two in juxtaposition was to establish a baseline as well as an immediately applicable reading.

Fortunately, Solae was several rooms away and could not be embarrassed by the slight invasion of privacy albeit required. Most of the differences were fairly innocuous: a faster pulse, quickened breathing rhythm, and rough estimates of blood pressure that was risen above normal but was lowering quickly in real time. "Your presence appears to incite symptoms of anxiety and sexual attraction; however, my cost and benefit analysis indicates having you perform the incision and extraction exposes less risk. My records indicate your military training makes you less likely to hesitate with sharp implements and their application. You will also be able to react more quickly and are less likely to have an adverse reaction to the sight of exposed tissue."

It was a compelling argument especially since Mia's only motivation was a design that required every attempt to made to appeal to the best preservation of humans within her domain (unless hostile to those that she recognized as owners and/or guests).

---

Solae tried not to think about the full body imager's true intentions as she stepped inside the tube-shaped apparatus. At her instruction Mia turned it on, lighting the entire interior in an almost pleasant glow. She could not see whatever mechanisms did the actual measurements as they were hidden beneath a matte chrome finish. Each curvature was being visually recorded, formatted, and reconstructed in an perfect replica holographic rendition. The process took what felt like an eternity but was only a few minutes. Solae quickly discovered the reason for this was the processing required to be able to replicate each strand of hair and crease in her skin was significant.

"So where is it?" Solae asked Mia as she stepped outside. Her own lifeless holograph was rotating in front of her as Mia examined the model thoroughly.

"The location of the CLTI is in your left thigh," Mia purred as a small blinking blue light inserted itself in the hologram. A measurement sprang to life showing the depth of the implant was 1.64" inches from the surface of her skin. Solae was grateful it was not buried deeper. The position would require more flexibility than she anticipated, however, as it was halfway between her pelvis and knee but not perfectly on her side. The passage of time had allowed the CLTI to migrate slightly to the rear of the leg, which was a place she felt comfortable glancing at but not controlling with the applied pressure of a blade.

"I would like to revisit my suggestion of requesting Sir Rene extract the CLTI," Mia added.

"Don't you think that would be a bit much to ask of him?" she said but then realized she was asking a subjective opinion of an unfeeling synthetic organism. It could theoretically anticipate and approximate emotional reactions but feelings were outside of Mia's personal reach. Cold logic could not and would not understand the point she was trying to make. "Nevermind. I'm clearly going insane," she said more to herself than Mia. Talking to Mia itself was a sign her mental faculties must be slipping.

"I do not detect any indications of mental illness," Mia quipped as Solae retreated back to the guest bathroom where she would have the most sterile environment for her 'operation.' There didn't seem to be a point in dressing since she'd have to disrobe if she was extracting the CLTI immediately- and it seemed prudent to not eat until she had.

"Thank you, Mia. It was an expression, not a self-diagnosis."

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

New Concordia- Outskirts of Armistice near Syshin encampment "Amber Horizon"

"These fuckers must be delusional if they think every goddamn resident is going to roll over and give up their goods," chuffed Min Ho 'Demeter' Park. He nudged a corpse with his boot, checking to make certain the Gid wasn't only feigning death, before kicking it off the stone path leading up to his residence. Min Ho frowned. Blood had pooled under the body and left a deep red stain that he knew had soaked into his aesthetically pleasing yet simple design for the passageway to his front door. "Son of a..."

"For what it's worth I think they got the message," Oanh Park replied. They were communicating through old-fashioned earpieces on a frequency experience taught them was never used. Having outdated equipment was a faux pas by the standards of nobility but neither of the Parks were born into prestige. Practical and paranoid the couple had made their humble abode, which looked firmly middle-class and quaint but unremarkable, into a veritable fortress. A rebellion had not been something they had anticipated but they were nonetheless prepared. Looters had targeted the Parks simply because it looked like an easy target but had been gunned down before they made it to the front steps.

"That's what you said yesterday," Min Ho quietly fumed. He wasn't angry with his wife; she hadn't done anything to raise his ire. If he squinted the tip of her rifle from where he stood. She was laying flat on their angled roofing armed with a beast of a weapon almost as large as she was. Her precision with it belied extensive sharpshooting training.

"We should bury the corpses before lunch," Oanh instructed. Clearly she was not volunteering for the heavy lifting. "Solae Falia survived the attack on the Imperial Embassy apparently," she added casually as she stood up from her position. "There's a bounty on her head."

"Of course there is. What are you suggesting, Oanh?" Even before he asked he knew what she'd say. Min Ho walked towards a female corpse at the edge of his property and hauled her up on his shoulder with a grunt. Burying the bodies was not so much a sign of respect as it was an attempt to not encourage acts of vengeance. If no one knew where their precious Gid friend was they wouldn't bother the Parks.

"I'm suggesting that your retirement is fucked," Oanh said as she dropped onto their balcony and opened the door to go inside. "But it's still your retirement, fucked or not. I'll let you know when lunch is ready."

Min Ho Park was living on New Concordia under the alias Hyun Tae Young. No one still living on the planet was aware of his past. As a young man and for most of his adult life he had a very successful career as a covert agent for the Stellar Empire; in short he was a government-endorsed assassin. Officially there were denials that there was any branch of the military that would kill without provocation or a declaration of war but that was not the truth. As was standard procedure he was allowed to retire to any non-central planet, preferably one without former comrades, given an alias and fabricated history, and left to pasture. Min Ho had enjoyed gardening and studying ancient history in relative peace. Only current military with the highest clearance could find his actual personnel records and even then because he was officially retired he had to do fuck all to help the Stellar Empire. He had paid his dues. As long as he wasn't aiding and abetting the enemy they could not lob wild accusations at him once this whole thing blew over.

"How old is she?" Min Ho asked as he chucked the dead woman into a ditch before ambling towards the man that had stained his stone walkway.

"Young enough to be your daughter," Oanh replied.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Min Ho swore. When night fell he was going to have to dig through his armory (which was almost as large as the first floor of their home but kept in the basement for security reasons) and find his old camouflage suit. He might be past his prime by a few decades but he still had a conscience, especially for people that were put into shitty circumstances completely beyond his control. Maybe if he found and helped this Solae Falia they'd let him move somewhere without a power-hungry duke.

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

On some level Solae understood that Rene, desperately as he might try to reassure her, had no more answers than she had. Closing her eyes she tried to let his well-intentioned gestures soothe the waves of desperation that were rolling over her. The way he stroked her hair and pressed her to his chest unabashedly provided comfort but also distraction as well. Without looking at his torso to remind herself visually it was covered in horrible bruises it was relatively easy to imagine he uninjured. Solae felt that if she only focused on the rise and fall of his abdomen with each inhale and exhale she could have pretended that none of it happened. The marquise could have dreamed that this was an intimate moment between engaged lovers, not between emotionally damaged strangers, that the Imperial Embassy was still a bastion of bureaucracy, that her mother was still waxing poetic about appropriate suitors, that Marlene was proudly displaying her latest purchase, that Lord Armon was still sending her suggestive overtures as if she wasn't aware he craved her title more than her personality. Allowing herself to believe the lie, however brief, would have been catastrophic. Momentarily bliss would have been an escape that could not last; instead Solae had to force herself to cope.

"I'll do it," she half-whispered. Mia didn't realize what she was asserting or Solae was certain she would object. Chances were Rene was likewise confused by the statement and so after a touch of hesitation she sought to clarify. "I'll remove it myself. All I need to do is scan myself and then... well, I'm not a medical professional but there aren't other options. We have an emergency kit to provide topical anesthetic and clean up after the fact." As brave as the highborne noblewoman sounded there was no mistaking this for a perfectly safe procedure. Cutting down into her thigh was unlikely to be lethal but it would not be without at least temporary muscle weakness and limited mobility while she extracted the tiny implant.

"I strongly suggest that you do not attempt to retrieve the CLTI yourself, Lady Solae," Mia chastised but in a tone that sounded more like a dominatrix scolding her subordinate partner than an actually disapproving computerized entity.

"Your objection is noted Mia, but we don't have anyone qualified to diagnosis the common cold, much less take a knife to me. It's a risk I'm willing to take," she countered smoothly, "I'm not discussing an amputation. I could have been hurt worse by the shrapnel at the embassy than what I'm suggesting." Solae was much more worried about Rene's assumed protest because, unlike Mia, he could try to physically prevent her from taking action. No matter how battered he was he had the upper hand in strength, endurance, and almost certainly speed.

"If we can get the CLTI out," she mused aloud as her mind churned forward in a pragmatic fashion, "and get farther from Armistice, I speak Syshi." The Syshin were an intelligent bipedal alien race that had been subjugated by humans (allegedly) centuries ago. Their inability to cross-breed with humanity had relegated them to second-class citizens used for tasks delegated by the empire that even peasants were less than willing to do. People gave them a wide berth in person, avoided their communities like the plague, and would learn every language but their native tongue, but benefited from the fruit of the Syshin's labor nonetheless. Solae had learned Syshi because she wanted to comprehensively speak all the languages that were utilized nearby regardless of cultural emphases of their importance. There had been only two encounters she was required to interact with any Syshin and only one had been in person- that was with a representative of a village on the outskirts of Armistice regarding a crime with a Syshin suspect.

As untouchable as the Syshin were to farmers and elites alike, as downtrodden as their existences were, they respected anyone who took the time to learn Syshi. Even with a well-coordinated rebellion the Syshin were almost certainly not valued by the coup's leaders. Likewise the Syshin would care little about the massacre or politics; they did not have strong allies in the local government, they were not targets for the reaping, and their status would not improve with new 'ownership.' If Solae could communicate with them and offer them anything- even the spoils of Armon's house- they might be willing to hide the couple and locate a ship for them.

"The Syshin! If we can find them I think I could persuade them to...," she started. She had retreated back from his grasp far enough to take his face in both her hands with unthinking excitement. As she realized what her movement looked like she stopped, listening to the rushing blood in her veins and the acceleration of her heartbeat. Impulsively she leaned forward, still holding his cheeks with her palms and the tips of her fingers brushing against his hairline, and kissed him passionately. It had been the heat of the moment action without any forethought. Just as suddenly as the desire had filled her she was acutely aware of what an inappropriate imposition made on him. The marquise had made it difficult- if not impossible- for the soldier to reject her rash actions with delicacy.

"I'll... go take those scans now," she mumbled, not sure if apologizing would dig herself deeper into the proverbial hole she had manifested. As if on cue Mia decided it was the appropriate time to fill the small room with the aroma of tropical flowers, play the music from the evening prior, and dim the lights. Solae stumbled to her feet, fighting for her sense of balance as her senses were overwhelmed by Mia's involvement. The heiress struggled to focus on the CLTI and the pressing need for its removal. This was no time to be trying to take advantage of Rene.

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

"Don't worry, I'm not pregnant," Solae joked lamely to hide her emotional fatigue, her sorrow, and her overwhelming guilt at the situation she could not help but feel she was twice as responsible for as he was. Had she just died (and it would have been easy to do so) then Rene would have had much better chances of escaping and there would not be worlds of people at risk. The violence of her gag reflex made her lightheaded but soldiered through- the irony of the concept was not lost on her.

"I'm practicing my seduction techniques. What do you think?" she continued to jest. As soon as she had felt the rising bile she had cast of Lord Armon's shirt (which had dwarfed her smaller frame anyway) and supposedly incredibly clean exercise shorts. As she slid down to sit on the hard tile floor he could visually affirm she was only wearing undergarments. Solae might have shrieked about her decency and covered herself in embarrassment but she grew tired just thinking of the effort. Rene had almost certainly seen women with even less. If anything surprised him it was that she wore a designer brand tailored to fit only the genetically enhanced bodies of the elite and priced for the exceedingly wealthy as a result.

After a moment she pulled her long legs up to her chest, burrowing her head between the still heavily damaged knees. They were less raw than yesterday but their temporarily disfigured appearance failed to bring Solae any comfort- it just reminded her of everything she couldn't escape. "Mia, tell him what you told me," she instructed softly.

Mia, oblivious willfully or by design, proceeded to verbatim repeat her end of the exchange. With an inappropriate purr in words, and a dangling accent in others, she recited how Solae's parents were confirmed deceased, how Solae was being offered up as a prize to whomever turned her in, and how they had a CLTI located in her thigh that was being shielded. The marquise was fairly confident that Rene would understand her distress even if he could not fully empathize. The CLTI posed a problem for both of them. If she attempted to leave Lord Armon's estate without removing it the rebellion's search would be short and successful. As much as Solae didn't relish the thought of cutting into her skin it was infinitely better than the alternatives.

"I do have some sedatives in storage that Lord Armon's guests used on occasion to assist in falling asleep and engaging in unconventional acts of copulation," Mia offered. Solae laughed despite herself at the absurdity of it all and being trapped in the house of a narcissistic deviant. It was a good thing that Rene was no longer a noble himself; it was a breach of etiquette to laugh openly at the exposure of another, even deceased.

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

Unlike Rene Solae had a dreamless sleep. She had initially turned to instinctively curl into Rene's warm, protective form, but after doing so she remained completely immobile. Mia had discreetly monitored the marquise out of the closest thing to worry that artificial intelligence could feel (a programmed priority for the health of guests, which superseded all other directives). Solae did not toss and turn, did not murmur, and did not move her eyes beneath closed lids to indicate that her slumbering mind was envisioning worlds for her to adventure in as a phantom of herself. While her blood pressure had dipped, and both her heartbeat and breathing rhythm were slower than Mia knew to be normal, there was no actual medical distress. Logic dictated this was not worthy of Rene's attention.

When Solae woke it had been a full two hours and almost a quarter past when Rene had departed the bed. Groggy and disoriented she sat up as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. The surroundings did not immediately jog her memory. Rene had selected one of the guest bedrooms, not Lord Armon's master, and the decor was slightly foreign as a result. With the relationship broken several months prior it was even more distantly familiar than if the rebellion had been in the six months preceding. Recollections of the destruction of the Imperial Embassy crept back slowly as she briefly relived the experiences.

"Rene?" she breathed. Solae felt dizzy but not enough to merit lingering even longer in bed. Undoubtedly this languid awakening to reality had been a result of the black hole she had fallen into mentally while she slept. She winced as her feet and knees brushed against silken sheets; she had blissfully forgotten her injuries as she slept. Touching her forehead she felt a sturdy bandage where Rene had sutured a split in her forehead.

"Good morning, Miss Solae. Sir Rene has asked me to reassure you all is well and that he is nearby," she purred.

"What time is it?" Solae inquired further as she slid to the edge of the bed, brushed her feet on the floor, and inhaled sharply as pressure on the healing abrasions protested. It was a margin improved from yesterday but it would take at least another day or two before she could walk without any pain or discomfort.

"It is approximately 7:13:52 AM, Lady Solae," Mia responded. Solae had never seen the point in knowing not just the hour and minutes but the seconds as well. It was not an argument she was going to have with a synthetic existence shortly after crawling out of bed. The fact that her life was still in danger (even more than Rene's) was blossoming and increasing her heart rate dramatically. Yesterday they had allowed themselves a respite but a new day brought new threats. As the individual that was the greater risk she felt to take on a proportional amount of responsibility to determine a solution to their troubles.

"Mia, you are programmed to accept all transmissions, even if the estate is vacant, are you not?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes. Quite some time aago certain lords and ladies had tried to exempt themselves from receiving transmissions of the capital. This had resulted in their ignorance to a rebellion, three natural disasters (two earthquakes and one flood), and a terrorist faction on outlying planets. As a result all home systems created thereafter were required to collect transmissions constantly even if their owners were absent; it gave the Stellar Empire a method to assure their broadcasts were received and reduced the amount of 'proud death' suffered by the elite.

"Yes," Mia replied quickly without her characteristic purr.

"Have there been reports of my parents' deaths on any of the frequencies?" Solae ventured cautiously.

"I regret to inform you that Marquess Alyosha Falia and Marquise Selene Falia have both been reported deceased. In recent broadcasts you are referred to as Marquise Solae Falia accordingly. I assure you that while they are requesting that you immediately surrender or be captured, I have taken measures you ensure your concealment while you remain in the walls this domicile."

"Explain the details of my 'bounty' and what measures you are taking," she demanded as she felt her stomach lurch. The stress, the dull aches of her body (for she did not have Rene's stamina for running), the toll of seeing life drain out of people, the missed meals, and the knowledge of her parent's status made her pull off the shirt and shorts she was wearing. Without quick steps she started towards the bathroom but only made it halfway before Mia began her sultry purr.

"Marquise Solae Falia is to be retained and delivered immediately to the battalion located at in the Justice Center in Armistice. Should Marquise Solae Falia be delivered in good health, the delivering party will receive title, a sum to be disclosed, and will offered the marquise's hand in marriage or, if preferred, her hand in marriage to a male relative of their choosing, who upon consummation of the union will be titled Marquess accordingly." Solae scrambled the last few inches to the toilet before vomiting into its aureate splendor. Never had she been so offended by a pretentious porcelain throne as she was this one; it's shining color seemed to mock her situation caused by similar extreme wealth. She was arguably wretching into a symbol of her fatal flaw.

"I have discovered a Crisis Location Transmission Implant in your thigh," Mia continued apparently undeterred by Solae's unsightly reaction to the prior news. "As of three hours, five minutes, and twenty-one seconds ago, a location in Armistice has been attempting to send a beacon to your CLTI, but I have been shielding such from their attention." CLTIs were used to monitor the upper echelon of nobility not out of fear of bad conduct, but because they could be kidnapped and ransomed for enough currency to let a man live a life of opulence thereafter. To curb the success of this criminal activity many had CLTIs inserted as in various parts of the body (a uniform point in the anatomy made it too easy for said criminals to find and extract them). Solae had forgotten about her own until this very moment. Until a beacon was sent out the CLTI was completely dormant so there had been no chance of discovery yesterday- but she couldn't leave Lord Armon's house without having Rene help her remove it.

"Sir Rene, Lady Solae appears to be in minor medical distress," Mia reported to the soldier factually.

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

The thunder obviously unnerved her; in fact, she looked and felt more on edge ascending the stairs than when she had been cornered by soldiers. With each boom her pace quickened until she almost collided with Rene in her haste to reach a room- any room- that had sufficient soundproofing to block out the noise. Solae had always found that people had some level of predictability. Whether they were sane or a victim of mental illness, whether they were narcissists or selfless like Rene evidently was, whether she found them admirable or reprehensible in their actions, there was pattern. Generally if you looked long and hard enough you could find some sort of logic to their behavior.

Storms, however, represented a great fear of Solae: a force greater than people that could not and would not be controlled. Meteorologists had become advanced enough to anticipate many storm developments but not all. Even the prime planets of the Empire still had, on occasion, a natural disaster. While they had the means to neutralize the threat, such anomalies posed they existed albeit briefly. On outlier planets such as New Concordia there were no resources to tightly control the whims of the wind and clouds. Nature was a destructive beast that could not be read and analyzed with enough precision to be conquered or controlled like people. Underestimating the wrong storm could lead to serious injury or death- and Solae had had more than enough of that lately.

"Seal the room please, Mia," Solae instructed breathlessly. She had not noticed the dimmed lights, the large bed, or the seductive music yet. Alloy metal slid out of the door frame where it had been previously invisible. There was a soft hiss of air as silicone padding also emerged and pressed itself between the door and the metallic edging. As the layers compressed it formed an air-tight seal that not only completely mitigated all sound from outside the threshold but also gave them an added layer of protection should they be discovered. Relief washed over Solae's features. Gone was the rolling cacophony of fury in the sky. Rationally she knew it still existed but right now, in this moment, she was allowed to pretend it did not. Tension eased out of her shoulders as she took a deep breath.

Solae turned to address Rene about sleeping arrangements and belatedly realized the tune playing softly over speakers. Her face flushed and words died before they managed to move her tongue. This was not a randomized selection chosen by Mia out of ignorance. Not all of Solae's time with Lord Armon had been innocent distant parley and Mia had learned from those experiences. To 'help' her guests she had started some of the favorites that she knew awakened latent desires in Solae most effectively. This caused a massive amount of discomfort in the marquise as Rene had made it clear he was disinterested and, even if he were, he was so horribly covered in bruises she could only suspect it would be incredibly painful. Not that she would impose herself on him. He had left the nobility and joined the Marines. This was a choice she assumed he did not take lightly and was indicative of a presumed desire to keep himself from the courts. A tryst with Solae would inevitably push him back into that realm unless they managed to keep a purely physical relationship.

"Mia, I appreciate the thought but I believe Sir Rene is not interested," she told the artificial intelligence system delicately. Anticipating some sort of remark on bodily functions and chemistry she avoided looking at Rene as she tossed off the covers to one side of the bed and sat down, dangling her feet over the side. "I'm sure it's in your directives to respect such decisions. I'm also certain that your scan of our vital signs indicated we could use some rest for recuperation."

There was a humming sound from Mia before the music was purposefully lowered to silence. Solae rubbed her feat, the abrasions and cuts that covered them causing a dull ache, before she lifted them onto the luxurious mattress. A second later, after pulling up the sheet and duvet to her shoulders, Solae sleepily motioned to Rene to make himself comfortable as he saw fit. "I think you're safe from further Mia commentary from now," she murmured drowsily.

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

Solae had frozen when Rene rose from his seat and joined her in the kitchen. It was this sort of stunned reaction she had around the other sex that Lord Armon had exploited more than a few times to push through her poorly construed social barrier. Of course her feeble walls had not truly existed around Rene due to the debilitating trauma of watching her co-workers die, falling on a corpse, running from armed forces, and narrowly escaping execution or worse from three soldiers. As he brushed aside her hair she rationally knew that Rene was likely trying to evaluate her wound but her heart still fluttered regardless. Rene had more than one opportunity to make a romantic overture if that was his intention, and moving her hair the way he did was not a gesture that any of the courting gentlemen she encountered had used. Cursing in a foreign language at herself she waited to see his prognosis. The Imperial Marines had more medical training in a month than she'd had in a lifetime.

"Oh you don't have to..," she began but he was already spraying the irritated and inflamed skin. Solae had been blessed with a slightly higher than normal pain tolerance but she felt the promised sting. She closed her eyes both to protect them from any errant drops and so that she wasn't staring at Rene's chest again; their proximity, height difference, and the slight bow of her head so he could work more easily had put the opening of his shirt directly in front of her gaze.

Most assumed soldiers, no matter their division or allegiance, were men with brawn and little wit or intelligence. Solae suspected Rene bucked this stereotype. The soft click and whir of the device as it tugged at numbed flesh and knitted it together was unsettling. That he had waited to pose his question until she could use a distraction to be a good patient spoke more to clever planning than coincidence.

"I find language fascinating, but I wouldn't say I am striving for one particular thing," she said after some thought. It almost certainly wasn't the answer he was looking for and it didn't feel fair to Rene to let that been the totality of her response. "That's what I do, or rather did, at the Imperial Embassy. I translate documents we receive and also what we send to other planets in the sector. Not everyone's quite as fluent as with the common tongue of the Empire as it mandates we are."

"When I was really small, before I started my formal education, I know my nanny used to encourage me and tell me that old adage of 'you can be whatever you want to be.' I don't believe she meant to lie. As far as she knew I was rich, I was going to be a Marquise, and I'd never want for anything. Mother waited until I was a little older until she shut those proverbial doors for me. I couldn't be a mother who stayed home and raised her children, like the nanny raised me, because noble women were above such things. I wouldn't marry on the whims of my heart like other people did because I had my reputation to consider. Growing a garden, fixing some of our malfunctioning machines or computers, studying to be a nurse instead of a doctor, building a masonry wall near the stables, riding a horse bareback... well, you get the gist. There are more things a lady ought not to dream of and seek to do than things she should. Yearning for what you can't have only causes heartache."

Solae wasn't seeking his pity, just his understanding. She was not being willful or malicious in her failure to produce a wonderful goal for her life. Like so many others she was coasting through life, trying to ascertain what opportunities she could seize before they passed her by, and hoping she was not trampled by the merciless passage of time as she did so. As a woman in her twenties she could have rebelled against her parents but she would have risked severe punishment. Only someone of higher position than a Marquise, such as a Duke or the Empress, could or would have intervened on her behalf if her parents retaliated against her. Now that they were both dead she had freedom if she could survive the rebellion. What she would do with it she did not know.

"Lady Solae," Mia started, "a thunderstorm is approaching. The front door is in a state of disrepair and I am unable to mitigate the sound of thunder as you have requested prior. I recommend utilizing an upstairs room as I show all of their doors are operable and the insulation to prevent sound pollution remains intact."

Star Crossed: The Duke's Rebellion

Had Lord Armon, instead of 'Sir' Rene (as Mia preferred to address him), been sitting opposite her and confessed his conscience alone had sprung him into action she would have known him to be lying. The prolonged silence, the contemplation, the meandering as he tried to establish his own motivations spoke to Rene's honesty. Solae wasn't certain what answer she had expected from her query but she was dumbstruck by his reply nonetheless. She did not suppress the surprise that spread across her features. If Rene had a past of aristocracy as she suspected he had to know how profound of a revelation this was for any elite to hear. There were kind souls littered amongst them but their fealty was to the throne, not to each other.

"A less injured person with an easier route to safety," she finally remarked dryly.

Realizing that this might sound like criticism instead of praise, Solae leaned forward and placed her hand on his. Through the small touch he could feel how warm her fingers and palms were- something Solae herself was acutely aware of- but she smiled and hoped he wouldn't be put off by the heat her body was radiating. The raise in her 'core body temperature' had been caused by none other than Rene himself. "Thank you. I don't have any way to make it up to you right now, but I'd like to try in the future. The Empire could use more people like you."

"Lady Solae, the Grundel Biscuits have finished baking," Mia interrupted with a soft purr. Solae's heart nearly leapt out of her chest and her fingers on top of Rene's had jerked when she startled. Without realizing she had been staring at Rene, thinking how wonderfully handsome he was despite his injuries. There was something horribly captivating and enchanting about his demeanor, his morality, his simplicity that drew her in with such force she hardly remembered to breathe. Flustered she broke eye contact, inadvertently glanced at his bare chest behind the unbuttoned shirt, and then jumped out of her chair.

"I should get those," she explained as she tried to compose herself. Solae leaned down, brushing his cheek with a gentle kiss of gratitude, before making her way into the kitchen. The oven had already ejected a silicone-covered baking sheet with the square biscuit slices onto a counter to cool. The marquise had made two sheets out of an abundance of caution about future food sources and placed the second of these into the oven.

"Fair's fair," she called from the adjoining room. "Since I asked you a difficult question, you can ask me any one you like. I promise there are no topics off boundaries," she offered. It was an unconventional approach; anyone with a title was used to demanding things of their 'inferiors' with no reciprocation. In the few times they allowed themselves to be questioned it was never with such an openness as Solae was demonstrating now- but she wasn't in the palace or a royal estate. She was alone with a man who had saved her, wanting nothing and expecting nothing, who was her equal if not 'superior' in their race for survival, whom she felt compelled to be honest with if for no other reason than she liked him.