Mandate by Viola Grace

ingredients. It takes some getting used to.”
    The men looked surprised at her comment.
    Toyo snorted. “You would never know that by the way you go through gashki.”
    “They taste like peanuts and popcorn at the same time with a candy coating. What is there not to like?” She shrugged.
    Wren grinned. “They taste that way to you now. Your sense of taste might change once your pregnancy has run its course.”
    “So, why are you packing them into my snacks?”
    “You said it yourself, you like the flavour, and it hides the slight bitterness of the chassa.”
    Beryl snorted. “The slight bitterness is nothing compared to the sludge that I was drinking to keep myself on an even keel.”
    Toyo nodded. “I tasted it once. It was nasty stuff.”
    “All the chemical compounds that she was being given are in the chassa profile, as well as additional protein and beneficial vitamins. You are building a new person; you need all the help you can get.”
    Beryl laughed. “And on that note, I am off to work. I will see you all later.”
    She got up and headed to the com station where she worked on data streams and filtered out the roots of criminal activity.
    Wren looked at the men around the table. “So, what do you do when you have a day off?”
    Toyo got to his feet and grinned. “We enjoy it.”
    Wren sighed and stood. “Drovin, Rand, med office, now, before anyone does anything stupid and, based on the expressions around the table, stupid is a very likely outcome today.”
    The faces she was looking at were unrepentant. Her two patients filed down the hall with the grim enthusiasm she normally saved for broccoli.
    Rand kept his clothing on for this one. She had him stand in the body scanner and all was repairing nicely. If he didn’t run into another herd of animals, he should be fine.
    “Okay, you are fine, but if you open your back, come and find me. It is healing but I do not put it past you to open it again. You can go and play.”
    He grinned, ruffled her hair and ran out of the room.
    Wren sighed and shook her head, running a hand through her hair to tidy it. “Fine, Drovin, it is your turn. Hop on the bed and let me look at that arm.”
    He smiled and followed her directions.
    Wren could feel her pulse speed up as she got close enough to smell the heat coming off his skin. The flex of his muscle when she touched him made her jump a little.
    Her mind probed at his, looking for any tenuous signs of discomfort or his talent supporting his body.
    “How does it feel today?” She slid her fingers along the bulk of muscle and into the valleys where tendons clustered.
    “Better. Much better.” He bent his head and nuzzled her ear.
    Wren blushed and fought the urge to lean into him. First things first.
    She picked up the accelerator and pressed it to the thinnest spot between muscle and bone once again. She felt the minute change in his emotional output as threads of pain he wasn’t aware of disappeared.
    He nuzzled her again, and she kept her hands in place as she turned to respond to his contact. She rubbed her cheek along his and brushed her lips along his jawline.
    They kissed softly until the accelerator chirped completion, and with a regretful sigh, she backed away. “You are done.”
    He smiled slowly and ran a hand through her hair, stroking the curve of her skull. “Not even close.”
    She licked her lips as she turned away to stow the equipment in their sterilizers. “So, what will you do today?”
    “A little exercise, a little time in the garden. If there is a concert tonight, we might all get dressed and head out.”
    Wren blinked. “Out?”
    He laughed. “Yes. Off the base. Even Beryl enjoys going out for a concert now and then. W’lyn is alive with music; you just have to be willing to hear it.”
    The reminder that she needed to listen came just in time. “Please excuse me. I need to attend to Beryl. She didn’t get her full dose yesterday and she is getting frustrated.”
    Drovin went from