Mira's wooden staff tore through the air, crashing into the side of her combatant. The woman cried out in pain, her gorgeous brown skin quickly bruising.
"Well done!" Esi said after grimacing at the savage blow.
The woman recovered from the pain, and immediately launched into a flurry of strikes. The young queen met her attacks with precise accuracy, their wooden weapons smashing together.
Dorian watched the fight, his heart fluttering each time the female warrior's staff came close to hitting Mira. There was nearly no possibility of his daughter sustaining any significant wounds from a simple training session, though his nerves were on edge regardless.
Nearly twenty days had passed since the cultists heist, yet there had still been no word from Empress Zerith. She had said that it would take a while to recover the data chip and send it to him, though now he was beginning to wonder if believing her had been a mistake.
In that time he had remained on Yarrin, spending time with his family. The tension with Esi had begun to lessen somewhat, though there was still a slight distance between them.
"You've got this! Let no one defeat the queen of Yarrin!" Mira yelled, cheering their daughter on. Both she and Dorian sat at the edge of the large training room in ornate chairs. At least, ornate by Yarrin standards.
With one last parry, Mira spun, brushing her combatant's staff away and slamming her own into the woman's head.
The warrior staggered to the side, throwing her hand to where the wooden weapon had struck. Seemingly beginning to lose her balance, she then fell to her knees, dropping her staff into the course sand of the training room.
Both Dorian and Esi cheered, clapping enthusiastically. In response, Mira threw down her own weapon and helped the woman back to her feet before dismissing her.
Dorian watched as Mira walked towards them. While sparing, she typically wore only a very simple loincloth, with a strip of fabric acting as a bra. The outfit did little to conceal only her most private areas, causing Dorian to clench his fists in repressed arousal as he looked at his daughter's incredibly gorgeous body. Though he had been the one to take her virginity and experience the exquisite pleasure of her toned body, her exotic beauty never failed to amaze him.
"So? How was that?" Mira asked, folding her arms.
Esi placed her hand gently on Mira's shoulder, feeling the perspiration from the fight that added a shine to her flawless tan skin. "Far better than last time, you're improving quickly."
"Plus, your opponent wasn't unconscious by the end." Dorian added. From the start of their training sessions, Mira had displayed a savagery that he had never recognized in her before. Her time as Yisi's slave had affected her greatly, installing an inner rage that Dorian was working to curtail. "You've done well to control yourself."
Mira smiled lovingly at him. "Thank you father."
The datapad on Dorian's wrist began to beep, attracting their attention. He pressed it, and Hex's voice began to speak through it. "Captain, I need you to get up here. It's URGENT."
"Uh...could you give me a little more detail?" Dorian asked.
"You'll see what you get here, just hurry." Hex replied, before ending the call.
"For God's sake...I hate when she does that." Dorian said, mostly to himself. He then turned to his wife and daughter, who gave him an inquisical look.
"Well...I guess you better return to your ship." Esi said, before pulling him into a tight embrace. Despite all that had happened, she couldn't deny her love for him. "Just stay safe, alright?"
Mira joined the ambrace, holding them close. "Yes, please be safe. It's just...it's been really nice having you here for so many days at once..."
Feeling the softness of their skin, and the tenderness of their affection, Dorian nearly couldn't pull away. "I'll come back as soon as possible. Hopefully, I won't even have to leave orbit depending on what Hex's problem is."
***
As his shuttle neared the massive hulking form of The Chimera drifting high above the planet, Dorian immediately spotted the issue. Floating near his colossal ship was a small fighter, unmoving. There were no external indicators or symbols that would grant him a clue to who the small craft belonged to, though it at least appeared to be unhostile for the moment.
Flying the shuttle closer to the fighter, he attempted to contact the stranger.
Fortunately, it didn't take long before a pleasant sounding female voice uttered through his communicator. "Fighter L-2119-T, who am I speaking to?"
"Dorian, of The Chimera." He replied cautiously.
"Exactly who I've been looking for!" The voice replied, letting out a breath of relief. "Please, we need to talk. I have an urgent message that you must hear!"
Folding his arms, he took a moment to consider her words. Was she the one tasked with delivering the data chip? If so, what was the urgency? "Go ahead then, tell me."
"I'm sorry my lord, but I must insist that we meet in person, as there is something I must give you." She replied.
"My lord?" He repeated quietly to himself. Though her behavior was strange, the mention of an object that she must deliver only added to his theory. "Fine then, I'll give you access to The Chimera's main hanger."
***
Several minutes passed as both the shuttle and fighter landed carefully aboard the massive ship. Dorian descended his transport vessel's landing pad, stepping down onto the hanger floor as he watched the stranger climb out of her fighter.
