Rene slipped into the office, leaving Tychon to finish the last few tasks of loading the fuel. Both men were suffering the after affects of the stunner needles but work was as good as rest for dealing with the occasional after spasms of the neural disruptor darts. Genetic enhancement would help Rene’s expensive physiology deal with the trauma, Tychon would have to rely on his natural toughness alone, which, come to think of it was probably more than enough.

He crossed the room in a rush and wrapped his arms around Solae, pulling her to him and pressing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. The hood fell down releasing her hair like cascade of liquid gold and undoing all the work she had done to conceal it. The spectre of disaster flitted through Rene’s mind as it imagined different possible endings to today’s events. A dart might have stopped his heart if Vitger had gotten unlucky, Solae might have come to the warehouse with him instead of going to the communications center and been taken. A dozen other equally ruinous variations, all of which ended with Solae being handed over to the rebels or killed.

Although he knew both from his training and experience that no one could be everywhere and do everything, he swore to himself that he wouldn’t let such a lapse in judgement happen again. He would get her to safety whatever the cost. After a few moments he loosened his grip on her, though he didn’t let her go completely.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, meaning more than the disruption to her hair, though meaning that also. His heart hurt with love for her and with fear for her at the same time, a fear that he never felt for his own life. He began to run his fingers through her hair, gathering it back up into her hood, the simple gesture surprisingly intimate even in such surroundings. 

From outside came the sharp hiss of high pressure hoses disconnecting as Tychon worked. Rene realised that his body was trembling slightly with reaction. Adrenaline that hadn’t been burned off churned his stomach and made him feel queasy. Stars above, he hoped whatever information Solae had retrieved from the communications center would yield a solution. Rene was dedicated both to his duty and to the Stellar Empire as a whole, but for the first time he found himself wondering if maybe it wouldn’t be better to find some deserted world and wait out the storm, rather than risk the life of the woman he loved.