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    LitLover
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Crave - 29. Epilogue

Epilogue

 

Merrick looked around the room at the faces of his new team. “That’s everything for now. Dismissed!” As one, the group rose and left the room, the buzz of conversation following them. Merrick smiled and grabbed his comm pad.

“That went well,” an amused voice said from the door. Jenson was leaning against the wall, smiling at him.

“It did.” Merrick grinned at his lover. “Hollis prepared them well, so the transition should go smoothly.”

“I think the only issue you’re going to have is Audra.” The vampire shook his head in mock sympathy.

“Don’t I know it,” he agreed, chuckling. As Audra’s new head of security, it was going to be a difficult task to keep the ship’s captain safe, but he was looking forward to the challenge. The last two years working for his father had been, in a word, dull. The elder Weir found he quite liked being at home with his wife, and a member of the Anglian council. Consequently, they stayed planet bound, except for the occasional visit to Earth. The security team had little to do. The vampire compound was very secure, and, excluding accompanying the Weirs into the city, they spent most of their time staring at monitors or patrolling the grounds while Merrick’s mother gardened.

He wasn’t particularly surprised when an apologetic Landin approached him a year ago, saying he’d been offered a place on the Starjumper as a linguistic specialist. When asked where he heard of this position, the furiously blushing Anphilian admitted he and Tei Barnaby were still in regular contact with one another. Merrick knew Landin was an excellent linguist and computer specialist, so the position would be perfect for him. After assuring the other man he wasn’t disappointed, he happily fired the young officer and wished him well on his journey.

Although Landin’s departure didn’t surprise him, Kalen’s decision to stay, did. While updating Leia Harndi on the results of the flauros investigation, Merrick confided that he didn’t think his sergeant’s skill was being used to its full potential. The agent immediately offered Kalen a job with the Inter-Planetary Criminal Investigation Agency. She said they were always looking for good people to fill their ranks. His second in command turned down the assignment. It turned out Kalen loved living on Anglia, and had been dating a beautiful instructor from the local academy for several months. Through her, he’d started teaching hand to hand combat on his days off. In short, he was happy.

Jenson didn’t travel much for the first year after they returned from Alectera, but Merrick knew his vampire loved the stars. The older man never said anything, but he could tell Jenson missed being on a ship… missed the adventure. He didn’t press the issue since Jenson was involved in the investigation of his former employee, Amelie Savarin. The nurse claimed she’d loved Kel like her own child, and was acting in his best interests by having Jenson ‘removed’ as his caregiver. She felt the treatments her employer had ordered were barbaric, and the young male should have been allowed to live his life quietly, without being subject to experimentation. Unfortunately, other than her belief that Jorrah had been banished from Anglia for questioning his son’s ‘treatments’, she wasn’t privy to the dying man’s plans. In the end, Jenson, who still felt lingering guilt for causing the situation in the first place, agreed she be given a lesser sentence as well as psychological counselling.

By their second year together, with Merrick’s encouragement, Jenson started accepting longer missions. Audra was pleased because, as Jenson’s preferred captain, this meant she was also able to leave the sector more often. It was difficult to be apart for a month or two at a time, but the vampire was doing what he loved. Their reunions were always hot, and everyone knew to leave them alone for the first few days. The situation wasn’t ideal, but they found a way to make it work for them. Selling Jenson’s country property and moving into a home together on the compound helped.

Then a month ago, Merrick received an intriguing offer from Audra. Her security chief had given notice of his intention to leave the ship. Apparently, his wife had given birth to their first child, and he wanted to be closer to home. The renewed travel with Envoy Shey meant he was away from his family longer than he preferred. Audra could have promoted someone on staff, but said she trusted Merrick. She also pointed out that he’d already worked with, and had the respect of, most of the crew because of the Alect-3 mission. Merrick suspected that her brother being aboard was a significant factor for the captain, but chose not to call her on it.

Merrick had been torn. When he told his father about the offer, the older man had been thrilled for him. Apparently, he wasn’t as good as he thought at hiding how much he missed his vampire. “You have to do it,” the man had told him. “You love star travel as much as Jenson does. I know you miss it. I’ve seen you at night, sitting outside, looking at the sky. Your mother and I dragged you around the galaxy since you were born, so it was inevitable you were either going to love it or hate it. I think we both know what you want to do. Don’t worry about us. You’ve trained Kalen well. Our adventure is over, Son. Go have yours.”

Now, a little over two years after his first mission with Jenson, he was back on Audra’s ship as the security chief. The crew took the decision remarkably well, and a few had even come to him to personally to offer their congratulations. Ironically, their current assignment was to escort Envoy Shey to Alect-3. A settlement had finally been established six months prior, and Jenson was going to check in on them. When he’d heard they were going to be in the sector, Maser Luda invited them to visit. Merrick had been relieved when, after being in a coma several weeks, Senator Elsan had finally awoken. The doctors discovered their leader’s mate had been given a form of neuro-blocker, for which there was no known treatment. All they could do was be patient, monitor his life-signs, and wait for the drug to clear his system. As expected, there had been an inquest after the incident, and Merrick had been asked to provide a copy of the intelligence his team had gathered. Although the results of the probe were never disclosed, a third of the Counseury had eventually been replaced.

 

As Merrick approached, he noticed his lover’s hungry gaze drop to his throat, and felt a shiver of excitement up his spine. The vampire fed from him often, but each time was still as intense at the first. They had spoken about turning Merrick, but he could hear the reluctance in the older man’s voice every time the subject came up. After what happened with Kel, he wasn’t surprised. Merrick wasn’t in a hurry. He had Jenson, and now he had this ship. Everything else could wait.

“We should celebrate,” Jenson said as he pulled Merrick into his arms and nuzzled his throat.

“What did you have in mind?” Merrick tilted his head back. He loved the feeling of his lover’s fangs on his skin. He heard the door-lock engage, and smiled. He was going to love this job.

THE END

Well that's the end of my first complete story.  I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it.  I want to thank everyone who've read the story, and have supported me on this journey.  I especially want to thank my editor, beta reader, and dear friend, Gary, for all of his time, patience and wise advice.  :glomp:
For those of you wondering... yes I do plan on a sequel... eventually.  :)
Copyright © 2016 LitLover; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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  • Site Moderator

The only thing to say is it was wonderful. You tied everything up very well. There is still that last lingering threat left from Jorrah to wonder about, but there will be a sequel sometime in the future. You've addicted some slavish readers and I can't wait to see what your next offering will be. You've set a rather high bar for yourself with this first story, but you're up to it.

  • Love 1
  On 4/1/2016 at 12:47 PM, drpaladin said:

The only thing to say is it was wonderful. You tied everything up very well. There is still that last lingering threat left from Jorrah to wonder about, but there will be a sequel sometime in the future. You've addicted some slavish readers and I can't wait to see what your next offering will be. You've set a rather high bar for yourself with this first story, but you're up to it.

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Thank you, Dr.P. I'm very happy you enjoyed the story. I had a lot of fun writing it. Thank you for all of your reviews and your support. :)

  • Love 1
  On 4/1/2016 at 2:26 PM, dughlas said:

I like where you've brought the story. It could close here but also left enough that a sequel would be welcome. Nicely executed. I'm both happy and proud of your accomplishment.

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Thank you, Dugh. That's exactly what I was hoping for... an ending where you don't NEED a sequel, but I can do one down the road if I want, or if there is demand for one.

 

thank you for your review and your support. :hug:

  • Love 1
  On 4/1/2016 at 5:05 PM, Headstall said:

A fitting end to a wonderful story. A shared life traveling among the stars... what could be more romantic for a love born many years ago, when a vampire put up with an insistent little boy... a little boy who never gave up, and grew into the man who didn't give up. These wonderful characters will live forever in my mind. Kudos, my friend... cheers... Gary....

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Thank you, Gary. It has been a long journey for these two, but they are definitely happy where they are now :) I love these guys and I do hope to revisit them again.

 

Thank you for all of your support and your wonderful reviews. I love reading each of them. :hug:

  • Love 1

I'm following B's example! :D :D :D

 

Wow, two years having to spend extended periods of time away from each other... that must have been hard :( but, at least they made the most of the time they did have together :heart: Of course, his new job has taken care of that :)

 

Yeah, I'm a bit sad that the story is now finished, but I loved how you ended this, with Merrick and Jensen off to have more adventures among the starts. Like Gary said, it is so romantic :wub:
You truly are a Queen of Romance :thumbup:
This was a fantastic end to a fantastic story, Lit! :hug:

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  On 4/1/2016 at 8:16 PM, Drew Espinosa said:

I'm following B's example! :D :D :D

 

Wow, two years having to spend extended periods of time away from each other... that must have been hard :( but, at least they made the most of the time they did have together :heart: Of course, his new job has taken care of that :)

 

Yeah, I'm a bit sad that the story is now finished, but I loved how you ended this, with Merrick and Jensen off to have more adventures among the starts. Like Gary said, it is so romantic :wub:

You truly are a Queen of Romance :thumbup:

This was a fantastic end to a fantastic story, Lit! :hug:

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The first year Jenson stayed close to home, but yes, the second year they did spend a lot of time apart. I suspect that was one of Audra's motivations for hiring M. She was probably tired of hearing her brother talk about him :P

 

I'm pleased that you like how this ended. I do want to start a sequel at some point, but even if I don't I wanted everyone to know they were both in a good place.

 

Thank you for your review and all of your support, Drew. :hug:

  • Love 1
  On 4/2/2016 at 1:44 AM, Defiance19 said:

Congrats Lit.. This was an absolutely wonderful story from start to finish! You left it where you could possibly revisit Jenson and Merrick again so I will say bye for now. I wish J&M lots of adventure together..

 

Can't wait for what you do next!

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I think adventure together is guaranteed. They both love the stars and having each other will make even the long journeys fun.

 

Thank you for all of your review and your constant support, Def. :hug:

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  On 4/5/2016 at 7:09 PM, Timothy M. said:

Ooops, I just realized I mentioned Elsan's recovery too soon in the review to the previous chapter. :*) Anyway, I'm glad Merrick and Jenson can explore the stars together. Turning can wait :yes: I would like to hear more about Landin, so I hope you'll tell his story, maybe via a prompt or something.

Well done on your first story, LitLover. :D

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lol. that's all right. I was happy to have Jenson and Merrick explore the stars together too. It felt right to have them wait to turn Merrick. It hasn't been that long since Kel died and Merrick knows that Jenson needs time... it's time he's happy to give him.

About Landin... I have been thinking of doing some prompts about him, so maybe something will be coming in the future when I see the right words or 'first line'.

Thank you again, Tim, for all of your reviews and for joining me on this journey. I appreciate it. :hug:

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  • Love 1
  On 4/5/2016 at 11:07 PM, LadyDe said:

BRAVO!! :yes: You wrote an excellent story. I love stories like this. It satisfied by sci fi side, the romantic in me and oh my ....vampires. :wub: Crave is on my re-read list. :thankyou: and a sequel would be much appreciated. :gikkle:

Expand  

Thank you for the wonderful vote of confidence :) I'm very happy you enjoyed the story. As you can probably guess, I love vampires and a touch of sci-fi too. ;) I like the idea of being able to create worlds that starts in my imagination. There is so much you can do with that genre. I tried (and I hope I succeeded) to make sure that, even if this was a world from my imagination, that the scenarios and solutions stayed plausible.

 

Thank you for this review, LadyDe. You made my day. :)

  • Love 1
  On 4/9/2016 at 11:31 PM, mattster said:

Great story !! I loved the action and adventure the story line took, and although I try hard to hide it in my personal life, I enjoyed the romatic aspect of the story as well. Great job ! well done ! Matt

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Thank you, Matt! I'm very happy you enjoyed the story. I wasn't sure how people would react to the story going to direction it did, but I think it worked. I appreciate the review :)

  • Love 1

I am halfway through the story, but I just have to stop and write an overall review, because I feel the story will be the same as we go forward. First, I think you wrote an amazing story. The plot is interesting. The idea is amazing, and i love that you wanted to build a complex breathing world. With that said, the building of the complex breathing world and characters are the problem. With regards to the world, I feel that you've only gone halfway. I'm sure you can see the world in your mind, but as a reader, I can tell you that I have trouble visualizing the world. Besides Jensen's house, there is very little description in the text regarding how the different worlds look. As an example, what's so special about the Vampire world? Buildings and areas that they visit should also be described in the text, and with detail so I can close my eyes and be there. Along with a world building goes the complex makeup of these societies. I understand there is an Alliance, but there is very little description of how it or the other worlds are run. For a story that relies on a diplomatic/political premise, explaining the societies and their government is important. Some of that needs to be in the text. While some can be in a reference glossary. Lastly, the character and aliens. I think you began to describe them well, but you didn't take it to the level you could have. Each alien should be describes in more detail. Also, right now it feel like all of the aliens are so human, the reader can easily forget they are a different species from human. An example, Merrick's green team member, is green with larger eyes, but with nothing else, he might as well be a green human who can swim well. Did he have gills, so he stays underwater. Large lungs? Why not make him green with huge eyes, and a short skinny gnome-like frame? With gills?These aliens should have cool standout qualities! Lastly, and this keeps bothering me. The vampire race. We all know vampire lore. But, besides drinking blood and long age, they are not special at all. Why not give them some heighten senses, or speed or strength. Or something new. But just to make them no better than a mere human, is disappointing. it's like why pen vampires if you won't use most of what make vampires cool or create something new thats cool. I think, adding descriptions to the world, changing a few characteristics of the people won't change or original vision. It will bring it up to another level. My humble opinion. I love the story and I'm going back to it now! :read:

  • Like 1
  On 7/8/2016 at 7:07 AM, andrewjames54 said:

I am halfway through the story, but I just have to stop and write an overall review, because I feel the story will be the same as we go forward. First, I think you wrote an amazing story. The plot is interesting. The idea is amazing, and i love that you wanted to build a complex breathing world. With that said, the building of the complex breathing world and characters are the problem. With regards to the world, I feel that you've only gone halfway. I'm sure you can see the world in your mind, but as a reader, I can tell you that I have trouble visualizing the world. Besides Jensen's house, there is very little description in the text regarding how the different worlds look. As an example, what's so special about the Vampire world? Buildings and areas that they visit should also be described in the text, and with detail so I can close my eyes and be there. Along with a world building goes the complex makeup of these societies. I understand there is an Alliance, but there is very little description of how it or the other worlds are run. For a story that relies on a diplomatic/political premise, explaining the societies and their government is important. Some of that needs to be in the text. While some can be in a reference glossary. Lastly, the character and aliens. I think you began to describe them well, but you didn't take it to the level you could have. Each alien should be describes in more detail. Also, right now it feel like all of the aliens are so human, the reader can easily forget they are a different species from human. An example, Merrick's green team member, is green with larger eyes, but with nothing else, he might as well be a green human who can swim well. Did he have gills, so he stays underwater. Large lungs? Why not make him green with huge eyes, and a short skinny gnome-like frame? With gills?These aliens should have cool standout qualities! Lastly, and this keeps bothering me. The vampire race. We all know vampire lore. But, besides drinking blood and long age, they are not special at all. Why not give them some heighten senses, or speed or strength. Or something new. But just to make them no better than a mere human, is disappointing. it's like why pen vampires if you won't use most of what make vampires cool or create something new thats cool. I think, adding descriptions to the world, changing a few characteristics of the people won't change or original vision. It will bring it up to another level. My humble opinion. I love the story and I'm going back to it now! :read:

Expand  

Something I've read over and over is not to put too much detail into a sci-fi world. With this being not only my first sci-fi, but also my first posted story, I tried to be careful to add detail, but not so much as to overwhelm or bog down the reader... or come across as a science lesson. I learned a lot from the process and hope that my next sci-fi story will reflect all of the things I've learned.

 

The vampires in my world are really only named such because they do have fangs and drink blood. In other respects, except for a moderate increase in strength, they are intentionally like the humans they are descended from.

 

Thank you for reading and for your insights. I hope you enjoy the second half of the story. :)

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