Command by Viola Grace Page B

days of winter and enjoyed presents and each other’s company. It was not always calm and not always cheerful, but we knew that despite any differences, we were loved, and if we couldn’t gather, we were missed.”
    “What does this have to do with the signal?”
    “I like to think that somewhere out there on a world that the Raiders are about to attack, there might just be a family who is doing the same thing we were, if not for the same reason, then for the same feeling. To let someone die when I can act in some minor way to prevent it is not at all in the spirit of the season.” She reached out and touched the tree.
    He paused, naked in the dim light. “You feel that strongly about this?”
    “I do.”
    Orriko sighed. “Then, I suppose that I will have to answer the Alliance request to renew operations on this listening post. Can you train my people to run the relay?”
    “ Our people? Yes, I can. I might need a tech down here once every year or two but that should be easy. Are you serious?”
    He sighed. “How can I deny you something that will satisfy your soul?”
    “Pretty easily. The same way you denied me underwear.” She crossed her arms over her chest suspiciously.
    He grinned. “That was for my satisfaction.”
    Lilli laughed. “That’s it? You will just let me resume use of the base?”
    “Sure. It doesn’t affect our people. They have plenty of space and the base has quite a few resources that can be useful or tailored to fit us.”
    “You found the skimmer husks?”
    He grinned.
    “I can help with those.”
    “I knew you would say that.” He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I know what it is to miss family. My mother has been gone for fifty years, and I still miss her every day. Now, my father is gone, so you are the only family I have.”
    “I miss my family every day as well, but the holidays focus a magnifying glass on what I am missing. Don’t get me wrong, I love being out here and on Ikanni, but home is home.” She pressed a kiss to his lips in return.
    He nodded and turned to look at the tree. “It is very pretty. What is the significance?”
    “It is a pagan reference. The tradition involves bringing something alive into the house to ward off the death of winter. In some places where you still have a fireplace, you drag in a huge log on the longest night of the year and burn it from sundown to sunup. The primitive logic is that it keeps the sun alive or relights it in the morning or something.”
    “Only one sun?”
    Lilli smiled. “Yes, only one sun. One moon. No other inhabitable planets in the system.”
    He walked onto the soft moss and took a seat. “Come here.”
    She paused. “What?”
    “Come here and sit down. I want you to tell me about your home, your family.” He patted his thighs, seemingly ignoring his erect cock.
    Lilli walked on the soft, warm moss and sat down on his lap. Leaning against his chest, and playing with his hair, she told him about her parents, her brothers and sister, the aunts, uncles and cousins that she had agreed to never see again.
    “If you could do it over, would you stay on Earth?”
    She nestled more comfortably against him. “No. I have done more with my life since taking that leap than I could ever imagine. I can miss them, they are part of my past, and I knowing that they are out there living their lives gives me hope and a sense of peace.”
    He didn’t say another word. He took her back to their quarters and slipped her robe from her shoulders, holding her close as they nodded off.
    It wasn’t visions of sugarplums, but there was definitely one elf in her dreams that night.
     
    Lilli was wearing her uniform once again. “Are you sure about this?”
    “You will need it. Come here.” He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a cloak and a wicked grin. “Close your eyes.”
    She closed her eyes, and when the icy wind caressed her cheek, she looked up and around.
    The air was thinner, but the