3013: UNITY: A 3013 Novella, стр. 4
“Fate can be fickle.”
She rolled her eyes, then realized he couldn’t see that action. “You get more morose with age. Should I start calling you elder from now on?”
“Do not make me push you onto the floor. Now that you’ve finally seen the space station, go away and get some sleep.”
“Fine.” With a sigh, she slid off the bed and flung the pillow she had been using at him. Without looking, he caught it before it hit him, then shoved it under his own head.
Damn him and his quick reflexes.
When she was halfway across the room, he called out a warning. “You better not try and mate-match me while we are on Earth.”
A wide grin spread across her face.
She wasn’t going to make any promises. In fact, she had a feeling mate-matching was going to be her favorite new hobby.
Chapter Two
Commander Gabriel Titan’s already foul mood took a deep dive as he scanned the message his assistant had just sent. The short communication was enough to make him want to toss his wrist unit into the nearest recycler. After the long, frustrating day he’d just suffered through, he was more than ready to go off duty. But that wouldn’t be possible now that he had to go greet a couple of VIP guests from Xenthian.
Guests who were arriving a full day early.
Nothing annoyed him more than when people screwed up his schedule. As the Commander of the Capital, his busy days were carefully planned down to the minute to ensure that he had the time to do everything required to keep the city running at maximum efficiency. Sure, he had to deal with his fair share of unforeseen complications and delays, but he didn’t have to like it. And after he’d just finished suffering through a clusterfuck of problems connected to the official rollout of the infertility cure, he wasn’t exactly excited about dealing with a couple of VIP guests.
All he wanted was a damn drink and some freaking peace and quiet.
After he stalked out of the building where his last meeting had been held, he sent a quick response back to his assistant. Once their visitors were assigned a docking bay to land in when they arrived, he sent the command to security to open the planet’s shield. When that was done, he started to walk toward the docking bay.
It was late, but there was still a good amount of people out on the streets. A few elites were still in uniform, while most of the others were off duty and heading out for a night of fun at one of the local bars or clubs. His irritation increased as several officers stopped in their tracks to salute as soon as they saw him. He gave a nod of acknowledgement, then watched as they hurried away.
Since he had taken over command of the Capital, he had gotten used to the saluting and constant shows of deference. However, the fear and awe he read in their expressions irritated him. Some people thought he was cold and unfriendly, but the truth was he simply had a difficult time showing his emotions.
Perhaps that was due to him being a half human/half D’Aire hybrid.
His reserved, serious nature had served him well as he’d climbed the ranks within the Alliance, but it hadn’t helped him make many friends along the way. While he had never been easygoing, he had never instilled fear into the hearts of those under his command until this last promotion.
He had thought people’s perception of him would change once they got to know him better, but so far, it hadn’t. So, he’d given up and just accepted the way things were. Besides, he had a feeling it was more of a conditioned response to the position than about him personally.
All of his own dealings with the former commander had been pleasant and otherwise unremarkable. Even so, he’d heard rumors about Jax Spartan’s famous temper. Gabriel had never witnessed an outburst himself, but it made him wonder what the fuck Jax Spartan had done to the officers when he’d been the Commander of the Capital.
Gabriel took a deep breath of the cool night air as he made his way across the large courtyard that was surrounded by an impressive array of towering structures made of steel and glass. While it was an honor to be the Commander of the Capital, it was also a giant pain in his ass.
He enjoyed the work, but he hated the politics that came with it.
On top of that, commanders in other cities didn’t have the added pressure of having the Council of Regents constantly looking over their shoulders or breathing down their necks. He’d never expected the job to be easy. Actually, the more challenging an issue was, the more intrigued and motivated he was to solve it.
Having to constantly justify his decisions was starting to wear on him, though.
As more elites scurried away from him, he sighed. Even though it annoyed him, he had to admit the fear some people had of him was sometimes beneficial. It helped cut through a lot of the bullshit that came with command. Most officers knew better than to bring him petty grievances or bullshit requests. It also allowed him to leave most of the social obligations to his more outgoing partner.
As if his thoughts had conjured him, Gabriel glanced over when Harris Ferraro jogged across the courtyard to join him. They had met back when they had been in the Academy, and they’d been best friends ever since. Gabriel had iridescent blue eyes, dark skin, and short black hair styled in a high fade, while Harris Ferraro