The Alpha and the Omega: Act II | Chapter 1
23 Aug 2018User1355
ACT II - WHEELCHAPTER 1
Sola and Cassian’s honeymoon wasn’t a honeymoon, but a hunt that involved dozens of ships from both clans and even more hapless Gal-Cop Quirium transports. The fabled organization was long aware of the danger, of course- but a punitive expedition into Pegasi was simply out of the question. The shipments hit were a drop in the bucket compared to its total output, and with thousands of systems depending on them there was simply no impetus to jeopardize their greater mission. Pegasi was written of , heightening its reputation as a backward place of superstition and danger. Paradoxically this drove Quirium prices even higher, further increasing the wealth of the Morgana- and now Ortega- clans.
For a month the newlyweds hunted, making sport of Gal-Cop and reveling in the humiliation inflicted. Piracy was by now a fine art for the Morganas, their Ortega kin skilled in their own right but finding that they had much to learn from the Matriarch and her captains. By what passed for day they tracked down and raided Gal-Cop vessels, destroying or capturing them as they wished. By night Patriarch and Matriarch fell into each other’s arms in the cargo bay of their private ship, surrounded by canisters of the precious golden fuel. It was an altogether new feeling for Sola; her roles of warrior-mate, Matriarch, and huntress created a maelstrom of passions within her, the woman feeling more alive than she’d ever remembered.
The hunt had been dif erent for other reasons, as well. Arcturus was of the age where the dire arts of his people could be passed along, and accompanied Sola’s most trusted captain as a member of his crew. He was spared none of the harsh lessons of spacefaring, the adolescent at first resenting and then coming to love the phenomenon of being treated as a common roughneck. Though junior to all and last in the pecking order, Arcturus had tasted his first-ever morsel of true camaraderie. Even his meager share of the ship’s earnings meant more to him than the lifetime of freely-given luxuries for being his mother’s son.
In time the cargo holds of the clan fleet could hold no more Quirium, and the great hunt arrived at its conclusion. On the heels of the great occasion that was their leaders’ warrior-mating, a lesser feast for the joint raiding fleet was held. It was amid drink and song that Arcturus was granted an audience before his mother the Matriarch, requesting in full view of his kinsman that he be released from his duties in her estate to become a full-time crewman. On the verge of young adulthood the young man made an impressive debut into the public eye, extolling the virtues of ship life and thanking his captain and fellow crewmates for sparing neither the rod nor their wisdom. Many glasses of wine and rotgut were raised to the young man, for his words had been spoken with sincerity. He was wise enough to have learned the value of humility, a virtue critically lacking in the young.
For the first time in years maternal concern weighed heavily in Sola’s heart, knowing well the dangers that young Arcturus would face on a raiding crew. Yet pride, too, shone in her face and that of Cassian’s. With a show of benevolent graciousness she acceded to her son’s request, eliciting a mighty cheer from those assembled. For just a moment it was Arcturus’ time- but the Matriarch was far too clever to allow him to hold the center stage for long.
Sola rose, bidding Cassian to do the same. She held up her hands for silence, a peculiar look in her eye. Then she raised her glass to the men and women of both clans, toasting in glowing terms their joint futures as a single people. Heads nodded and fists raised in support, yet Sola had saved the best for last.
The gods were not only with the clans, she orated, but with their very leaders. It was then that she took Cassian’s hand, announcing to him and all present that the gods had blessed them with child. Shock and joy spread over her husband’s face, and he kissed her passionately before the throng, raising her by her still-slim hips in a show of strength and pride. Elevated above her kin, Sola spread her arms. The roar to congratulate her fecundity far outstripped the cheer for Arcturus, and the adolescent sulked in a darkened corner, his brief moment of favor now hopelessly eclipsed by his mother’s announcement. The feast of pirating success was now a feast in Sola and Cassian’s honor, all present certain that theirs was a union ordained by the gods. Morganas and Ortegas mingled and embraced, each speaking only a few of the other’s words but seeing in one another true kinsmen for the first time. The priests of both clans whispered among themselves, removed from the convivial feasting. In a moment of inspiration and shrewdness they approached, asking their leaders’ blessing to declare the grove in which they had been mated to be a sacred place. As one, Matriarch and Patriarch agreed. The feast had turned into a banquet of good fortune as well as food and drink.
Thus was Sola robbed of sleep that night, even after vigorously making love with Cassian. Her thoughts were dominated by the future. She was rich, powerful, and almost deliriously happy. Yet her destiny had not been shaped entirely by her own hand. Though its hissing voice had been silent for some time, Sola resolved to pay proper respects to the Crone. The blood-stained site where her and Cassian had become one would be the center of a temple- no, she thought- a city, the likes of which New Cambria had never seen. The Crone’s wisdom would not be hoarded, but shared with every man and woman for the betterment of all.
At last Sola felt slumber beckon and settled into Cassian’s arms, his fingertips lovingly caressing over her life-bearing womb even when asleep. Such a situation was unthinkable even a year earlier. I’ve done it, she thought. I’ve achieved bliss that is the envy of the gods themselves.
Read the complete chapter here!