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“Well, you are going to feel it a little bit as we go into the Gate,” Jace warned them both. “I’d sit down.”

Seats were taken by everyone in the crew, along with his mother and General Intoshkin. Jace and Khoth’s seats appeared and the harness snicked around them both, though in the Osiris there would be little disturbance.

“Are you ready to go to Haseon, Galatea?” Jace asked.

“Ready as ever!” The general grinned broadly.

“See you on the other side, Pilot,” his mother said.

“On the other side.” Jace nodded.

The Gate opened and the Galatea streamed through. Disappearing in an instant as did the feed on the screen. Now only the Gate was there and the vastness of space.

“All right, everyone,” Jace said, feeling his heart in his throat as the Gate opened again, “it’s time. Let’s go to Haseon.”

Tenth Man

The Gate opened and Khoth felt that familiar thrill of going home. For just a moment. He looked down at the railing where his and Jace’s hands were half an inch apart. Home was here. Standing beside him.

Jace glanced over at him. He was beaming. His eyes were bright and a healthy color flushed his cheeks. The urge to draw the back of his hand down Jace’s cheek, to see that flush deepen, was almost irresistible.

“We’re going through!” Matias shouted excitedly. “Chili, we’re leaving Earth!”

Jace’s head shot towards the screen to see the moment as the Osiris was drawn into the Gate. His nearest hand left the railing and settled back down “accidentally” on top of Jace’s for just a moment. Jace looked up at him again, blush spreading under the collar of his uniform. The pleased smile couldn’t be hidden either.

“I’m glad… we’re doing this together,” Jace whispered.

“Always.”

He saw the reflection of them entering the Gate in Jace’s eyes. There was a roar of excitement from the crew and Jace blinked. Both of them turned to the screen to see the endless blur of stars all on the screen as they were transported to Haseon.

“We should be there in just under two Earth hours,” Jace said.

Khoth frowned. “That cannot be. The speed in the Gate is the same for all vessels. It cannot be increased or decreased.”

Jace chuckled. “The Osiris. It’s just simply better.”

“Indeed.” Khoth crossed his arms at the wrists behind his lower back.

“Pilot?” It was Lieutenant-Commander Martin Davies--or the spy in Khoth’s thoughts--speaking.

He had crept up behind them. Jace might have known he was there, but he’d almost gotten path Khoth’s observance. They were both turning just as the Lieutenant-Commander was upon them. Khoth stepped between the man and Jace, crossing his arms over his broad chest and looking down his nose at Davies. For his part, Davies did not back down but looked up at Khoth steadily despite their six-inch difference in height.

“I wish to speak to the Pilot,” Davies stated softly.

“You can speak to me. I am your superior officer,” Khoth stated coolly.

That had Davies’ lips compressing. He was someone who followed the chain of command. So this actually posed a problem to the core of him.

“This is something for the Pilot’s ears only,” Davies finally answered.

Khoth lifted an eyebrow. “You think there is something that he would not wish his Commander to hear?”

Davies regarded him steadily and said nothing. Khoth’s eyes swept past him over the rest of the crew. They were speaking together in pockets, eyes shining and faces beaming with delight. None seemed to notice the tension between him and Davies. Yet. Matias lifted one of Chili’s front ways and waved it at him as if the little pig was saying hello and urging him over.

“Lieutenant-Commander Davies might not have an answer to that question, Commander Voor, but I do.” Jace stepped around him. “There is nothing you have to say to me that the Commander cannot know.”

Davies’ gaze remained on Khoth’s face. The man had not blinked. Khoth felt the alpha challenge in it from the heavily muscled man.