Free 3013: SYNERGY: A 3013 Novella (3013: The Series) by Laurie Roma Page A

circle.
    For the first time since she’d lost her
parents, she felt like she belonged to a family.
    They had ordered their evening meal
from the food console in their suite, and they’d spent the evening together,
laughing and telling stories. It had been wonderful hearing about the
adventures the three of them had together in the past, and she’d loved hearing
about Orion as a young boy. 
    After they’d eaten, Daven and Blaiz had
chosen to return to the lower decks to join in the festivities. Since most of
the crew didn’t have to work tomorrow due to the grand opening celebration, the
parties were expected to go all night.
    Orion had contacted Adric and Iyana
M’Dor earlier, and was currently meeting with them down the hall in their
suite. He had invited Morgan to go with him, but she’d declined, wanting a
little quiet time to herself. In the last few days, she hadn’t had any time to
herself, and though she loved being with him, she wasn’t used to being with
someone all the time.
    When the space station had been
traveling to its current position, this had been Morgan’s favorite place to
come when she wanted to be somewhere quiet besides in her own quarters. She
liked the open space, and since the elites on board hardly ever ventured to this
section of the station, it was almost always empty.
    The deck was appointed with beautifully
crafted, comfortable lounge chairs and couches so people could relax and enjoy
the view. It seemed like a waste, since no one was ever there. It had been
built when X21 had been slated to take over for one of the older space
stations. If that had happened, all of the guest suites would be filled, as
would the levels that housed the crew.
    Right now, the Alliance was interested
in forming a treaty with the Xenon, and having a location close by Xenthian was
one way to make that happen. However, Commander Jacobson had limited the amount
of personnel on board until the Alliance confirmed that the Xenons were indeed friendly.
Otherwise, if they were attacked, too many lives would be lost.
    Morgan had taken that risk when she’d
accepted the transfer to X21 in order to start a new life. Being in a city as
crowded as the Capital had been a nightmare for her, and she’d hoped that she
would get a fresh start on the new space station. Despite missing Earth, Morgan
had begun to make a life for herself, but she still hated her job and the
overload of emotions she had to deal with.
    But all of that could change.
    Now, she had the chance for another new
beginning. Orion was offering her the opportunity to live on the D’Aire home
world with him. Their bond gave her a filter against other people’s feelings,
but she wondered what it would be like to live on a world with the D’Aire who
weren’t ruled by their emotions.
    It was a dream come true, so why was
she hesitating?
    Morgan glanced down at the large craft
bag at her feet that she’d brought into the lounge with her. The bag had once belonged
to her mother, and one of Morgan’s fondest memories had been watching her
mother crochet at night while her father had tried to teach her how to play
chess. It was an old craft that wasn’t practiced much anymore, but Morgan liked
the hobby of creating things with her own hands.
    She pulled out the three small baby
blankets that she’d made, one which she still had to finish the final touches
on. The blankets were for her friend, Alexis, who had just given birth to
twins. Morgan had started making the blankets when she’d first found out her
friend was pregnant, but she hadn’t known the sex of the baby.
    Morgan had made one blanket that was several
shades of blue with silver accents, while the other had been made with several
shades of pink and silver. Since Alexis had given birth to two boys, Morgan had
started on another blanket, this time using gold with the various shades of
blue. She only had a few more rows to complete, then she would wrap them up and
send the gifts to her