I’d thoroughly dissected Tynan’s life, the Empire, and their fail-safes and security measures, and it would have been better if nothing had been there. But amongst the confiscated records and recovered transcripts were whispers of secret plans and mumbled plots. Although I couldn’t present enough concrete evidence to persuade the Republic to start a search, I was confident that the Empire was out there somewhere, slowly rebuilding. If I could just put the clues together, I’d be able to track them down and put an end to their terror. Maybe then I’d sleep soundly once more.

  Bitsy chirped, alerting me to a message, *Proximity Alert: Barn Front Door.*

  Oh shit!

  I rushed over to the entrance of the stairwell where a screen embedded in the wall revealed several camera angles of the barn. The one pointing to the barn door showed Amorina had come into the barn.

  Shit, shit, shit!

  I waited until she’d walked behind the harvester and then raced up the stairs, pressed the release button and slipped out into the barn as soon as the gap was wide enough. A quick four taps on the still-opening door halted its progress and reversed its course.

  “Raith? Are you in here?” Amorina called out.

  I quickly grabbed a power converter off a nearby shelf, knocking a few things to the ground in the process.

  “I’m over here, mi amor.”

  I strode over to the harvester just as Amorina came around from behind it.

  “I didn’t notice you when I came in.”

  “Yeah, sorry,” I said as I held up the power converter. “I was grabbing a spare part.”

  “Oh, but it looked like the diagnostic wasn’t finished yet.”

  “Yeah … I figured it might be the same as last month when the power converter blew. A surge must be happening upstream, and it keeps frying the downstream component.”

  “How intuitive of you,” Amorina said with a smirk.

  She stepped closer, pulled the power converter from my hands, and threw it onto a hay bale before placing two fingers on my belly.

  “I was hoping,” she said as she sauntered the fingers up my torso, “that you might be able to help me with a downstairs component.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “A down … wait, what?”

  “Yeah,” Amorina replied as she stepped back and slowly turned, sliding her dress up her long legs as she went.

  My heartbeat accelerated and my cock began to swell as more and more of her smooth, tanned legs were revealed. With a last hitch, the dress slipped over her glorious backside and revealed that she was completely and utterly bare beneath.

  “Well, hello there,” I growled, my erection now painfully full behind my zipper.

  Amorina slowly bent over and arched her back, pushing her arse up and giving me a clear look of what was glistening between her thighs. She twisted her head and flicked her strawberry blonde hair to the side as she looked over her shoulder at me.

  “You know, the part downstairs.” She slowly bit her lip as she asked, “Would you mind looking at the lubrication levels?”

  I smiled as I ran my gaze back over her. “Oh, I think the lubrication levels are pretty perfect from what I can see. So, is the harvester really broken, or did you just use that as an excuse to get me here so that you could have your way with me?”

  “I wish I could say my motives were selfish, but unfortunately, the robot is actually broken.”

  “Ah, gotcha.”

  “Are you going to physically inspect me?”

  “Shortly. I just need to give you a complete visual examination first.”

  I took a small step closer and continued to admire my wife.

  She wiggled her luscious backside at me. “Come on! Don’t you know it’s rude to keep a woman waiting?”

  “I do,” I replied as I took another small step forward.

  “Oh, for the love of all that is good, come and fucking touch me already!” Amorina whined.

  I stepped forward, placed one hand on each cheek and gently squeezed.

  “Mmm, that’s better,” Amorina moaned slowly. “Now, how about checking that lubrication?”

  I reached down and slowly drew a fingertip up along the length of her slit, relishing how soft and wet she was.

  Amorina loosed another moan. “You’re such a tease.”

  I smirked and kept my finger just pushing between her lips, repeating the motion but with two fingers now: starting low and drawing my hand up, slightly increasing the pressure and number of fingers each time. With my other hand, I undid my trousers and let them fall around my ankles, finally releasing some of the pressure on my cock. On the next run, I replaced my fingers with the tip of my throbbing penis, dragging it through the slickness of her vagina. Amorina shifted beneath my touch, and another quiet moan escaped her lips.

  “More,” she whimpered.

  I ran along her length again, pressing harder, dipping further inside.

  “More!”

  I slowly pushed myself in and let her adjust to my presence within.

  “Mmmm, yes – I’ve missed this!”

  Once I was fully inside, I held her hips in place so I could gradually pull back, creating exquisite frustration within us both, before I thrust deeply again.

  Amorina’s breath quickened. “Faster!” she groaned, grasping the haybale in front of her.

  I quickened my pace and felt the tingle at the base of my spine and the tightening of my balls. Amorina and I were perfectly in sync as we danced to the same beat, entirely in a state of bliss.

  “Faster!” Amorina hissed again.

  My thrusts became frantic. I pulled Amorina onto me with each push forward of my hips, the intensity of the sensations soaring as we each raced towards our own climax.

  Bitsy chirped, breaking into the passionate haze surrounding us. I had barely glanced down and read the words *Proximity Alert* when a voice cried out.

  “Oh, my god! Sorry!”

  Amorina dove to the ground and hid behind a cabinet, leaving me standing with my erection on full display.

  “Father!” I exclaimed, yanking my trousers up and shoving myself inside them.

  “I’m sorry, Raith. I didn’t realise you were both … well …” he finished by waving his hand at us, his face averted.

  “Yeah, well, um, in hindsight, mistakes were made … maybe we shouldn’t have been having sex …”

  Father looked at me then, standing with my trousers grasped at my waist, a confused expression spread across his face.

  “Not the sex – that’s never a mistake. Well … it’s generally not a mistake. At least this wasn’t a mistake. Ah … point is, the choice of location was … flawed, but not the sex.”

  Father shook his head. “I apologise for the intrusion.”

  He spun around and left the barn, shutting the door behind him. I waited until I heard the latch click into place, then turned around to check on Amorina. She was still on the floor, tucked away behind the cabinet, her breaths ragged and laboured. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, and her eyes moved frantically back and forth, not focusing on anything. She grasped at her chest as if it were possible to reach inside and rectify the current state of her racing heart and oxygen-deprived lungs.

  I was familiar with what I was seeing and sure of what caused it; Amorina, like so many, had paid a high price for peace. The simple combination of having sex whilst an older man was present had been enough to trigger a panic attack. Her mental scars were now fresh wounds again, and they drew her mind back to a dark period when the Empire had forced her into sexual slavery.

  “You’re okay, Amorina. You’re in a safe space.”

  Amorina nodded as she fought to control the panic that gripped her.

  “Focus on your breathing. Deep breath in, long breath out.”

  Amorina exerted incredible strength, slowing her breathing rate, increasing the air she drew in and expelled with each breath until she’d abated the attack.

  “Thanks,” she whispered.

  “I’ve got you. Always.”

  She nodded, and I helped her to her feet.

  “I’m going to have some alone time.” She looked up at me with a pained expression.

  “Of course. Take as much time as you need. And if you need anything, tell me.”

  “I will.”

  Amorina started to walk away but then stopped as she pointed her finger at the barn wall and asked, “What is that?”

  I looked to where she indicated and saw the door to my secret room slightly ajar – a fuel cell that I’d probably knocked off when I’d hastily grabbed the power converter blocked the door, stopping its closure.

  I waved a hand dismissively through the air. “It’s nothing; don’t worry about it.” But it was too late.

  Amorina crossed the barn, heading for the door. I quickly fastened my trousers properly and raced toward her, but before I could reach her, she had already pushed the door open and disappeared into the passage. As I crossed the room, she reappeared and stormed towards me.

  “Amorina, let me explain.”

  My head snapped to the side as Amorina’s hand connected with my jaw. My face throbbed from the strike.

  “You swore to me, Raith! You promised to put it all behind you when I discovered your last room!”

  “I know – I just … listen.”

  Amorina’s face contorted, her eyes narrowed, and she jabbed a finger in my chest. “You need to listen! This obsession is unhealthy, it’s unproductive, and it’s killing you!”

  “Amorina, listen –”

  “No, Raith!” she cut me off with a slice of her hand through the air. “Do you think I don’t notice you tossing and turning at night? Or that I can’t see the dark circles around your eyes? Because I fucking notice it all!” Spit flew from Amorina’s mouth as she berated me. “But you are the one bringing this upon yourself; you keep yourself awake because you continue to entertain these ideas that the Empire is still out there.”

  “Well, they could be!”

  “But they’re not, Raith!” she shouted, and her voice echoed through the barn. “Why can’t you see that?” she implored, her eyes filling with tears.

  I shrugged and waved my hands about aimlessly. I knew she was worried about me, but how could I make her understand that the danger was real?

  “I understand your concerns. I do! But you must believe me when I say –”

  “Forget about the Empire, please!” she pleaded, her voice quavering.

  Before I could say anything more, she’d spun around and stormed towards the barn door, leaving me to ponder my thoughts.

  My body slumped in resignation as I released the heavy breath I had been holding. Maybe she was right. It had been five years since the Empire’s defeat, and there had been no hint of activity – no sightings, no Soul Harvests, no signs of the Empire’s resurgence. But the vastness of space is hard to comprehend; the Empire had infinite dark places in which to hide. Maybe I just required a more covert research room.

  [)
  As Gaia’s suns set, I found Father sitting outside the barn with a beer in hand and an empty seat beside him. I sat down, and he pulled a cold cider from a cooler, cracked it open and passed it over.

  “Thanks.”

  “No worries. It looked like you needed it.”

  I took a sip and nodded in agreement, appreciating the sweet, refreshing taste. “Oh yes, I certainly did.”

  “I ah –” Father rubbed the back of his neck. “I just wanted to apologise for what happened earlier.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “That’s not true – I barged in on the two of you and caused Amorina distress. I apologise for that.”

  “It’s fine. We should’ve chosen somewhere more private. And Amorina will be okay; she just needs time. Trauma like hers runs deep.”

  “Yeah … you forget sometimes … how deep the trauma runs,” Father said in a hushed tone.

  I glanced at him and saw the sorrow deeply engrained there. Sometimes I forgot he was also a victim of the past. His heart was heavy with the memories of his daughter’s death and the daily burden of mother’s illness – both events I had involvement in.

  An explosive shout of anger erupted from the farmhouse, followed swiftly by a shouted rebuttal.

  “He has a lot of his dad in him,” Father remarked and paused before adding, “his old dad, not his current one.”

  I nodded solemnly, my thoughts echoing his words.

  “Does it really matter whose traits he inherited? If I’m not a good man or father, there’s no difference between Tynan and me.”

  Father shook his head. “What on earth would make you say something as stupid as that?”

  My heart throbbed as the weight on my chest made itself known once more.

  “Because of what I’ve done … because of who I’ve hurt! Things that I cannot undo, actions I can’t take back, and wounds I can’t heal.” I replied, my voice quivering.

  Father considered this for a moment.

  “I … do not envy you in the slightest. Being caught between a rock and a hard place, forced to choose between two god-awful options. But you decided, and arguably, we’re better off for it.”

  The weight on my chest increased as the past, that was never far away, came to the forefront again: the pressure to make the wrong choices for the right reasons because the forcible conversion of people would happen regardless – I’d just had the chance to choose between doing it as Tynan or as Raith.

  “It’s been what, five years since the Empire fell? In that space of time, I would’ve expected one … maybe two Soul Harvests? But it hasn’t occurred because you acted, because you made the better choice.”

  “Was it the better choice, though?” I retorted. “You weren’t the one to pull the trigger!”

  I buried my face in my hands, immediately regretting my words.

  “You’re right; I wasn’t. You were. Your actions freed countless people from the cruel servitude of the Empire, saved countless more from future enslavement, and prevented so much needless suffering. That sure sounds like the kind of thing a good man would do.”

  I felt the inner burden lessen slightly as Father’s words counteracted my remorse.

  “As for being a good father – gaze over there for me, would you?” He gestured towards the small orchard we maintained. “Tell me what you see.”

  I looked over to see my daughters relaxing beneath the trees. Adanna rested against a tree, completely engrossed in the book she clutched in one hand while a half-eaten apple was in the other. Winona looked on affectionately as Emma sang a sweet melody, sketching in the dirt, unaware of her surroundings.

  “I see my daughters enjoying the evening suns’ warmth, feeling content and safe. Happy, even.”

  “Exactly. I understand how tough it was for you after you moved here. Yet you and Amorina worked hard, encouraged them, and taught them to think for themselves and to be strong and independent. So, tell me, do they appear to be the daughters of a good father?”

  I smiled and felt the pressure reduce further. Father had a way of saying things that ensured he drove his point home.

  “Yes. Yes, they do.”

  “Need I say more? Let their happiness bring you a measure of peace, for you have done a tremendous job raising some capable young women.”

  The tightness in my chest eased, and I let out a contented sigh.

  Father paused, exhaled a long breath, and then said, “I haven’t mentioned this before, but taking you in was one of the toughest challenges of my life.”

  The sudden, quiet confession took me aback. “Really?”

  “Yes. After the Empire kidnapped Livietta, I charted a ship, left Gaia, and searched for my daughter – I’d intended to bring her back or die trying. Instead, I found her corpse thrown out in the trash, strangled to death by an Empire commander during sex.”

  An icy sensation spread throughout my chest as my heart dropped once again. After I’d returned from rescuing Amorina, I’d discovered that Father knew Livietta’s fate – but I hadn’t known that was how he’d discovered it.

  “That’s how I met the Insurgency, and my fury was all they needed to bring me into their ranks. For several years, I worked alone, disrupted the Empire’s operations on Gaia and supplied the Insurgency network with intelligence. One day, Zavis messaged and told me to go to a certain set of coordinates on a specific date as someone there would require my help.”

  A chill ran along my spine knowing what came next.

  “When I realized that Tynan Khidar was the man lying on that riverbank, I could barely contain the rage that erupted within me. I could’ve taken advantage of your vulnerability, exacted my revenge by drowning you in that river, and the world would never have known.”

  I understood instantly – we’d both known the darkness and longed for a way to silence it.

  “Why didn’t you?” I asked.

  “It’s hard to say. I stood there for hours as I anguished over the choice before me. I was certain I would regret letting you live. But in the end, I had faith in Zavis, so I spared you as intended.”

  “Do you … ever regret it?”

  I heard his chair creak as he turned towards me and looked me in the eye. “Honestly, no. Since that day, I haven’t had a moment’s doubt over that choice.”

  “Even when it comes to mother?” I asked cautiously.

  Father’s eyes tightened as a pained expression crossed his face. “That … wasn’t on you, so don’t worry.”

  This didn't relieve my concern; Father’s response was unusually deceitful, his expression betraying his words.

  “The point I’m trying to make is I understand the effort required to take in a stranger and raise them. You’ve certainly upped the ante by adopting three kids and having one of your own!”

  I chuckled softly. “As you say, everything went well – except for Ichirō, of course.”

  “Ichirō needs help. He needs guidance from his father, and the more time he spends with you, the quicker he will learn and grow. With your direction, he can work through his trauma.”

  “I don’t know how to help him though. Why is he always so angry? The mass conversion device released everyone from the oppression of the Empire, apart from Ichirō.”