Imposition by Juniper Gray Read Free Book Online

Therse feel comfortable just by looking at them.
    He and Gen were sitting cross-legged opposite one another at a long, heavy-looking black coffee table perched on a massive white deep-pile rug. It was so big that Therse could probably lie back and stretch his hands out and still not be able to find the edge of it. Its luxury made a nice change to the minimalism of everywhere else.
    He turned to look over his shoulder out of the two massive windows behind him, stretching from floor to ceiling. Except that they weren't really windows. None of the ‘windows’ on the ship were actual transparent portals looking out into space. Instead they were screens displaying a representation of whatever was outside the ship from that particular view. So for all intents and purposes, you got the same end result, but it wasn't quite...the same. Therse liked to imagine that they could be whizzing through a nebula, great towering pistons of dust surrounding them, birthing stars every direction you cared to look in, but the ship was keeping all the fun to itself and showing them a repeated recording of black nothingness for its own entertainment.
    Of course, to imagine the ship was conspiring to exclude them meant imagining the ship cared enough about them in the first place to do something so resentful, and he was pretty sure it didn't.
    He watched the unending dark sail past them with a protracted sigh.
    Something touched his knee and he looked down to find Gen's legs spread either side of him, the toes of his socked feet wriggling.
    "Excuse me,” Therse complained, flatly.
    "What?"
    "Fine. It's your own damn fault if I should accidentally crush your balls.” Therse pretended uncrossing his legs to do just that.
    "And spend the rest of your life apologizing to all the poor unfortunate women disappointed that they don't get to bear my children?"
    Therse snorted a laugh and took a sip of his drink. “You're insufferable."
    "Do we have to play this?” Gen whined, and Therse noticed he still hadn't made a move on the chess board.
    "You wanted me to relax, remember?"
    Gen scratched his face, rough blond stubble starting to show through. “I meant like we were in the sim, not like this. This is dull."
    "What, too cerebral for you? Can't cope if you have to use tactics rather than your instincts?"
    "Are you still sore that I beat you earlier?"
    "Just make a move already.” Therse glowered at him. Gen made his move, and Therse took his rook. “You're really bad at this.” Therse smirked up at Gen, his smile fading when he noticed the look on the other man's face.
    "Oh, am I?"
    Gen had positioned himself to make an attack, and Therse saw that he'd been drawn into a trap by feint. A clever move, he had to admit. Gen still had the capacity to surprise him. He straightened up, realizing he'd underestimated his adversary.
    The game went much faster after that, each watching the swift moves of the other as their hands flew back and forth over the board. Gen was far, far better at this than he'd been making out, and Therse was a little annoyed with himself that he'd fallen for it.
    They were getting down to it now, only a few pieces left on the board each, and he knew he'd have to start thinking aggressively in order to win.
    Then he saw it: a hole in Gen's attack strategy. He double-checked to make sure he wasn't falling for another feint.
    "Checkmate!” he announced, a little too enthusiastically.
    Gen was regarding him with a lop-sided smile. “You're weird."
    "So people keep telling me. Another?"
    "Sure."
    They each grabbed up their color and started to set the board out again.
    "Heard anything from Iss and Tennar recently?” Therse asked while they both placed their pieces.
    "The newlyweds. You're kidding, right? Expect to hear from them when they have a house full of babies in a suburban district."
    "Ugh."
    "I know, sickening, isn't it?"
    "I meant to ask, how was the wedding?"
    "Shame you couldn't be there."
    "Not much I could do about it.