Free Heaven Saga 2: Sands of Aquarius by Marcus Johnson

mobile suit its power. Being a true
gravity drive, it only needs to be replenished every ten years with Aldenite.
The Q-Drive doesn’t process Aldenite the same way. Although it’s much cheaper
to recharge the Q-Drive, its maximum usage time is about ten standard days.”
    “In
other words, it may be cheaper and more effective for mass production, but not
as good as the Mjolnir,” Zae said. She stood in thought for a moment. With
the advent of the Talon fighters like the Novaguards are going to be scraped in
a few years. She turned again to the Mjolnir. Is he trying to incite an
arms race? She noticed a new image on the screen. “What’s this?”
    The
image appeared a little small than the Mjolnir, but similar in shape and size.
“This is the mobile suit I wanted to work on during our vacation Zae. I’ll call
it the Phase Rakna. It’s going to cost up a lot of credits but it’ll be worth
it.”

Chapter 10 - Time to Themselves
     
    “You
two have some fun,” Mira said with a grin. She stood with Jesela and Baed at
the door. They waved as they left. The morning sun filled the apartment with
radiance. Seles stood outside Brian’s bedroom door. She turned and knocked on
the metal door.
    “Brian,
are you ever going to get up?” She stood for a moment, hearing silence. She
knocked again, this time a little louder. “Brian, wake up.” She put her ear to
the door and listen, hearing someone groan, and then a thud. She heard some cursing
and the door opened. A sleepy eyed Brian stood in the door, wearing only
shorts.
    Seles
giggled. “You look great Brian.”
    He
grinned faintly as he tried to pose in a sexy manner. Doing so caused him to
fall over.
    “You
really are a fool,” Seles said after laughing. He stood up and shook his head.
    “Well,
falling on my head like that wakes me up. Since I haven’t found the equivalent
to coffee here in space I need something to get me going.” He opened the closet
and took out a set of clothes.
    Seles
paced about the room slowly. “What’s coffee?”
    Brian
finished putting his new clothes on. “It’s a drink that has a lot of caffeine
in it. It helps me wake up in the morning.”
    “Your
people use caffeine as a stimulant?”
    He
turned to Seles, who looked perplexed. “Yeah, caffeine is used all over Earth.”
He noticed the strange look on her face. “Alright, what is it?”
    “You
don’t know do you?” she asked.
    “Know
what?”
    “That
drug has a powerful effect over my people. Our metabolism is such that caffeine
works like a narcotic.”
    “Are
you serious? What kind of effects does it have on you?”
    She
blushed. “It enhances the physical senses and increases sexual desire. But, if
too much is used, we can suffer severe hallucinations or even cardiac arrest.”
    “That’s
weird,” he said. “Never mind then.”
    She
brushed her hand across his face. “I don’t think you’d mind if I used it for
the sex part,” she said with a wink.
    “Normally
I’m to the one who’s sick, but this time it’s you.”
    “Are
you feeling any better?”
    Brian
touched her face while looking into her eyes. “A little bit.”
    She
closed her eyes and held him tightly. “You’re lying again.”
    “I
know Seles, I know.”
     
    * * *
     
    “Seles,
why are you taking me here?” Brian asked, standing just outside Mya’s store.
    She
grabbed his covered hand, as he was wearing his exoskeleton armor and rakna blade. “I just want to show you something,” she said as she dragged him inside.
As they entered a number of Kalaidians were shopping around the store, looking
at various dresses and fabrics. As soon as Brian was visible they all stopped
and stared.
    He
leaned down to whisper. “Maybe I should go somewhere else.”
    Seles
smiled at him. “No.”
    “I
can’t win against your smile.”
    A
moment later the well dressed and beautiful Mya entered from the back room. She
took one look at Brian and Seles and ran them over. “You got him here