Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Seeking Audience

A shadow passed slowly over the ship's cockpit, a great monolithic structure of ice and dust towering into the great blackness of space. Light shattered, efracted and then was redirected in a gentle pattern of crystalline spots to dapple the front of their shuttle with glowing pinpoints of light. Passing out f the shadow, a shaft of blazing blue light butted up against the windscreen forcing Adam to manually dim the visor as they flew forward.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Adam wondered, "The last time we tried this...."

"The last time we tried this was almost a decade ago." Conn said, long, thin hand gripping the back of Adam's seat. Adam could see the leering face of the Starborn reflected back at him on the glass of the windscreen as he said, "Besides, I've met your extended family, it's only fair you should have to meet the inlaws."

Adam huffed, "I'm not married to you Conn."

"In certain cultures we are."

"What cultures are those?"

"I don't know, the cultures where having children together makes you married." Adam sighed, rolling his eyes aggressively into the back of his head.

Beside him Sunny looked on in amusement. Adam wasn't sure why she tolerated Conn, but for some reason, she seemed to find his antics amusing, "Conn, do you really think this is the best time to be annoying my battle partner?" She said, but he could hear the wry tone to her voice which would be more an invitation to the starborn than not

"You mean OUR battle partner."

Adam snorted, and tried not to imagine what it would be like to be in a thrupple with Conn as the third.

"Well you know, since you seem to be the communal husband." Ramirez piped in, "WHy don't we make this threesome a foursome and get it over with." Adam rolled his eyes again. Of course if there was flirting to be had Ramirez always had to join in.

Behind him, the marin's voice was lighter than it had been in days, but having been best friends with the marine for over a decade now, he knew when something wasn't right.

He still hadn't gotten over losing Maverick.

None of them had

"All very well and good of you to invite yourselves into my marriage." Adam began, "But I'm actually attracted to only one person in this shuttle."

"Me of course." Both Conn and Ramirez said

Sunny was the only one who didn't speak up, waiting for them to finish before leaning back in her seat, "Some of us don't feel the need to prove our place."

Adam brought them around another monolith of ice and crystal, bathing their little shuttle in a diffused and dappled pool of intense blue light.

"It's actually rather flattering to have the three of you fighting over me, but I mean, who could blame you. I am." He motioned to himself with one hand, "pretty awesome."

"Interesting, I find you both stomach churning and repulsive." Adam turned to frown at Celex, who st in the seat behind Sunny smirking mildly past his technicolor beard.

"You just don't have good taste." Adam said

"Mmmmm, no, no I don't think so. Your wife, on the other hand, could certainly do better." Celex winked at Sunny from the back seat and she snorted loudly.

"Because all I really want is a technicolor war criminal." she said dryly

"Taste the rainbow." Celex shot back causing Ramirez to choke on his own spi

The banter probably would have continued indefinitely were it not for the sudden fluttering at the edge of Adam's conscious mind. As one, three of them turned their heads simultaneously, listening intently to the noise that was not a noise.