by Smith, T. L.
“How may I assist you, Capt. Dolan?”
“Dr. Maldonado has an additive to her oxygen. Would it be harmful to me?” Jayda wanted to shake her head, but that wasn’t happening with every muscle in her body locked up.
The computer delayed for a millisecond. “As of yet no harmful side effects have been recorded.”
“Good! Initiate the program at her highest dosage.” A cold blast of air answered Dolan. He turned his face away from it, as ineffective as that would be. In a few minutes her breathing eased and combined with his massage, the cramping in her legs stopped. She closed her eyes, letting the Senaprox do its job.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jayda blinked, her vision clearing with her thoughts. Dolan sat across the room, his head dropped back into the chair, snoring lightly. He’d kicked off his boots and stripped down to his uniform pants. She could see the healing wound to his shoulder.
She stretched under the blanket, only then feeling the texture of the blanket against her bare skin. Peeking was stupid. Yes, she was naked. Her skin also tingled, meaning he’d given her a treatment while she was asleep.
She considered being mad, except for remembering how she felt after pushing herself so hard. She still hurt, but not nearly as bad.
So far so good, until she stood up. “Aghhhh!” The groan came out of her mouth. Dolan’s head jerked up from the chair as she attempted a step.
He was faster than her half-g collapse and scooped her up before she hit the deck. “You can stop it now.”
“Stop what?” Jayda struggled with the blanket, pulling it up between them, up to her chin. “I just wanted to get… dressed.”
“You can stop pretending you’re able to handle everything.”
“I’m not pretending. I’ve been taking care of myself for years.”
“If that’s what you call hiding out here.” Dolan stared down at her. “I’ve read your file, everything. You were a high…”
“You had no right!”
He ignored her. “You were a high-rated chemist working on Alliance weapons projects, until one of the experiments went sideways. There was an explosion. People died. Your husband died.”
“I know what happened.” Jayda choked on the words. “Why are you throwing this in my face?”
“Because we’re facing a possible threat and I don’t need to be worrying that you’ll go down under the pressure.”
“I won’t!” She tried to pull away.
Dolan gripped her harder, refusing to let her go. “You were in the service. You know the weakest point of any defense has to be identified. You’re it. You couldn’t handle ten minutes in the gym.”
She tore her eyes away from his. “So what am I supposed to do?”
“When the time comes, wear your environmental suit.”
Her eyes darted to the cabinet where she kept it stored.
“Yes, I checked it out. It’s reinforced so you can move under gravity. That’s why you kept it on that first day. We can’t pull off any miracles, but don’t wear it again until you need to. Threat or no threat, you need to get used to higher gravity.”
Jayda knew it was true, as was his demand. “I’ll leave it off until then.” She swept her hand through her hair, loose and tangled. He must have undone it when he undressed her. She let it fall between them, hiding her face and pulling the blanket up around her tighter.
“Don’t do that.” He pushed her hair back and pulled her face around to look at him again. “You have to stop cringing every time I walk into the room.”
“We covered everything. Let me go.”
“No. Look at me.” Dolan pulled her back when she struggled to break free. “Look…at…me!”
She didn’t want to, but found herself locked in a stare down.
“I’m not Jack. Stop seeing him when you look at me. You were once a soldier. I need to know, when the time comes, that you hear me. That you obey me. That you don’t freeze up.”
She couldn’t escape his grip, or look away. His eyes burned down at her. His eyes, not Jack’s. His eyes were not as dark, instead a green-hazel. His skin was brown from recent sun exposure. His dark hair curled at the tips where he’d let it grow out a bit, with just a hint of grey along the temples.
The longer she looked at Dolan, more differences faced her. This man was taller and his hands stronger as they gripped her arms so tight. His chest was broader from years of strength training. She could see the bulging of muscles.
Her body trembled again, but this time it wasn’t fear gripping her. Jayda felt her face heat up and he smiled at her. That crooked smile that was his, not some cruel reminder from her past.
She liked the way he smiled. Dolan’s smile. She felt her own lips start to curl into a smile of her own as she let down her defenses.
Before she could think, his lips pressed against hers.
“Stop it, Dolan!” She tried to push him away, but his hands held her tight. “What are you doing?”
He laughed. “I don’t know. Do you?”
His lips were warm as he kissed her again. Her hands were still spread out over his chest, pushing him away, but with less and less urgency. The flush in her cheeks spread through her whole body. His hands slipped down her back to pull her against him.
He moaned softly in his kiss and combed his fingers back through her hair, drawing her head away from his. The color of his eyes shifted, the green overtaken by golden amber, as if a fire burned in their depths.
Mesmerized, she didn’t resist as he carried her across the room and lowered her into bed. Dolan kissed her again, harder. She moaned against his lips as his body pressed against hers, kissing him back with a hunger growing hotter inside her.
She bit at his lip when he pulled at the blanket between them, his fingers brushing against her breasts. She felt them trailing down her side, along her hip and over her thigh. Over her scars.
She flinched and Dolan’s eyes met hers again. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know.” She lied, as his fingers continued to stroke the scars. She tried to not let him feel the tension his touch brought her. She let out the breath she was holding, sliding her hand down his arm to his hand.
He caught her fingers, pressing them to her own thigh, his woven between hers. “See, Jayda, it is not as bad as you imagine.” His hand slipped out of hers. “Don’t be afraid to let me touch you.”
When Jayda woke again, she was alone. Crushingly alone. “What did I do?” She hadn’t felt this broken since waking up in medical rehab, tethered to life support.
She remembered who she was and what happened. She remembered those last moments. She’d been so close to reaching Jack, his hand almost in reach. He pushed people into her arms. She pulled them from the smoke, then another explosion blew her out of the doorway. Her last image was the chamber door cycling closed to stop the fire.
Waking up from that was the last thing she wanted, but she did, going on with her life. Just like she would today.
Thankfully the galley was empty. She took her coffee to one of the viewing portals, leaning against the frame to gaze out into the sparkling void. Space was the one place that calmed her. She’d been born and raised out here.
If she’d stayed out here, everything would have been different. Some survivors say they’d never have changed things, because they’d have never known that person they lost. Jayda sighed. “I should have stayed out here, where I belonged.”
“What about belonging?” Dolan’s hand slipped down her back as he stepped up behind her. He bent to brush his lips against her cheek.
Jayda twisted out from under his touch. “Stop!”
Dolan grabbed at her arm, smiling playfully as he pulled her back into his arms. “It’s me, remember?”
“All too well.” She turned her face away as he tried to kiss her. “All that was to get me to cooperate. Poor little lab rat, out here all by herself, should be easy to manipulate. You clearly have a lot of experien
ce getting what you want.”
Dolan leaned back. “Whoa, where’s that coming from?” He stared at her, waiting for an answer. “You think that’s what I do, go from one port to the next hitting easy targets? I’ll tell you, lady, you’re not easy.”
“What, it took a bit longer than usual to get me into bed?”
“No, that was the easy part. Getting past the bitch took an effort.” His head jerked to one side and Jayda’s fingers stung immediately from slapping him so hard.
Dolan pulled his head back around slowly. “Are you mad that I got you into bed, or that you enjoyed it so much?” She swung again, but this time he caught her wrist. He pulled her against him, kissing her as hard as he had last night.
Jayda struggled to break free, but he only pushed her back against the portal, his body pinning hers. She was no match for his strength, or the ache growing inside her as his hips ground against hers. He caught her leg as she tried to push against the portal, pulling it around him. A moan rolled up through her chest and all resistance melted away.
His kiss was just as hungry, but softer. She leaned her head back against the portal as his lips moved along her jaw, to her ear, to the spot he’d discovered last night. His hand unzipped her uniform, slipping it over her shoulders as his lips moved down her neck. “Someone might…”
“Door’s locked.”
CHAPTER NINE
The humming of her body had spread into her head and all she could hear was a soft buzz.
“I should let you answer that.”
“What?” Jayda shook her head, the buzzing sound remained.
“Your comm-link.” Dolan kissed her lightly, groaning as he eased himself from her embrace. “It might be important.”
Jayda felt her face burn hot, pushing him away as she sat up. She pulled on her uniform and twisted her hair back into its clip, turning around to see him still stretched out on the lounger. “Get dressed!”
Dolan snickered as she made it to her chair, adjusting the video receiver to narrow the view down to only herself. She glanced his way before answering. His back was to her, pulling on his pants.
With one more breath, she opened the comm. “Sienna Outpost Lab. Maldonado here!”
An audio link activated. “Sienna, this is Tessling GR 8541. We picked up a short May Day burst from these coordinates. Are you in need of assistance?”
Jayda looked to Dolan again, pulling his shirt on. The emergency signal from his ship was automatic. Dolan shut it down as soon as she warned him of a possible sabotage. His finger went to his lips and she muted the call. “Don’t say anything about the particle storm, just an engine failure. Tell them you’ve called the pilot to give a report.”
She released the audio. “Yes, it came from the Dolan 4, a freighter picking up a load. They experienced some type of engine failure. I’ve called the ship’s captain to speak to you. Please remain on the link.”
“Certainly.”
She flipped the audio to standby, not giving them the opportunity to ask questions.
Dolan was already talking to one of his crewmen. “Yeah, 8541. ASAP! Is Verna over there? Hey, get her up to Sienna’s galley, now!”
“Verna?” Jayda played faces through her head, now regretting her avoidance of the crew. “Who’s she?”
“The pilot.” Dolan shook his head. “Taylor just released her for duty.” Dolan went back to the portal and picked up her discarded coffee, bringing it to her. “They can be legit, but you’re the one who suggested anyone convenient might be out there intentionally.”
She took the coffee, still warm, pondering her suspicions as she sipped. “You believed me enough to plan for the worst.”
“I saw the evidence. I’m also wondering why the transit base didn’t know a GR was in the area? Geo-research vessels are tracked so we know where to go looking if they disappear.” Dolan ticked off the logic points on his fingers. “They might be just who they say, but better we’re prepared.”
Jayda looked at the blinking light, the ship waiting for her to reopen the line. “So, why are we waiting for Verna? You can answer all their questions.”
“I can, but I have my reasons. We also want them to assume the worst. The weaker we appear, the sooner they’ll reveal themselves.” The sound of boots running up the corridor interrupted him from explaining more. A tall woman ran into the galley. “Great you’re here!”
Dolan pulled the woman to the side, switching from Standard to a language used by freighters, a blur of seemingly senseless words, but Jayda understood every word. In clipped morphs of Standard, Dolan explained what he wanted from her.
Jayda listened, but also watched as they huddled close, Dolan’s hand on her arm, the tip of her head as she stared at him. There was a familiarity under the surface, especially as he squeezed her arm, his hand lingering in a reassuring gesture, too close to just be business.
Finally letting go, the woman followed him over to Jayda’s chair. “Dr. Maldonado, this is Capt. Verna Breeze.”
Jayda looked up at the woman, at least ten years younger and pretty. The flight suit accentuated a thin frame, but also strong muscles. Her skin was a deep golden brown, her hair black, with reddish streaks at the temples, pulled up into a knot on her head. There was a burn mark on her cheek from the accident, but somehow that only made her prettier, or stronger.
“You’re the pilot? Not first officer, or second?” Jayda shifted her gaze from the woman to Dolan, her own cheeks starting to burn.
Breeze shifted her eyes between Jayda and Dolan, a squint forming. “I’m captain of the Dolan 4. My second took the shuttle.” In her clarification she’d put a few inches between herself and Dolan. She stepped forward, offering her hand. “I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, but…”
“We can hold the introductions until later.” Dolan interrupted. “For the time being act like you know each other.”
“Yes, sir!” Breeze moved to the side of Jayda’s chair. “I’m ready.”
Jayda nodded, opening the line, feeling her lips pressed tight against her teeth. A flip of the switch reopened the audio line. “Tessling, this is the Sienna. The captain of Dolan 4 has joined us.”
“Yes, this is Capt. Breeze. Sorry for the delay. I was checking on some damages.” She hesitated a moment. “Excuse me, Tessling, can we open a video line?”
“Certainly, I was going to suggest that earlier.” Of course he was, but Jayda had cut him off, intentionally.
A video signal came through. Breeze sat down on the arm of the chair. Jayda resisted the urge to cringe. Dolan wanted them to look friendly.
A face appeared on the other end, an older man, clean shaven, including his head. In contrast to Breeze, either he hadn’t seen real sunlight in ages or he was deficient in melanin. His skin was pale, almost translucent. “To complete the introductions, I am Capt. Snead. How may I be of assistance?”
“Guess that depends on what your ship is capable of. You’re a research vessel?” Breeze took the lead. “The Interstellar Alliance transit base sent a tow vehicle, but we have wounded. We sent the worst patients out on our shuttle, but we have a lot more in need of attention. How far out are you?”
Jayda watched Snead as Breeze painted a picture of multiple wounded crew, as Breeze described damages to their ship, leaving out the particle storm and blaming it on a defective energy cell exploding, causing a cascade failure and hull breach.
She nearly jumped when Snead turned to her, asking her status. “Oh, oh, the station got a bit dinged up when the Dolan drifted into me, but nothing my bots can’t fix up later. Big concern here is the Dolan and her crew. How long before you can get here? At the very least you can take some of our wounded while we wait for the Alliance. Every day cut off their transit to an Alliance hospital, the better.”
“Well, according to coordinates, eighteen hours. I’m sure we have room to take patients, but we can discuss details when we dock.”
“Great, we’ll see you then. Thank you for respond
ing, Capt. Snead.” Jayda terminated the link, shutting down her comm completely to avoid any back-feed signals.
Breeze noticed. “You don’t trust him?”
“Better safe than sorry.” Jayda fidgeted, having controlled her anti-social itch for as long as she could. “Something was wrong, but I’m not sure what, yet.”
“Hmmm…” Dolan moved away, pacing a few steps before turning back. “So far you’ve been right, so maybe we should run with your hunches, until we have more to go on with these people.”
“So, what do we do?” Breeze slipped herself off the arm of Jayda’s chair.
“Play along. We need to make the ship look like an internal explosion caused the damage. Suggestions?” He looked from one woman to the next.
Jayda looked up at Breeze, then to Dolan. “The engines really were damaged, so I imagine you’ve sealed off the engine room to avoid anyone being further injured by leaking energy cells.” Breeze nodded. “Okay, so just dress up the outside to support the story. Paneling to seal the ship over real and supposed hull breaches.”
“Materials.”
“My junk pile.”
Dolan shook his head. “Your what?”
“Platform S-8, used storage containers. Between my bots and your crew, you can weld them over sections of the ship to make it look even worse than it is.”
There was the smile. “You heard the woman, dress up the ship.”
Breeze gave a nod. “Been wanting to play cowgirl on a bot.” She headed out.
Jayda glared at Dolan as he came towards her. “No! Go with her!”
“Annnd she’s back!”
CHAPTER TEN
“Alright, here’s what we got. Tessling GR 8541.” A hologram came up as Dolan spoke. “It’s a standard research ship, reported to be working this sector’s outskirts. There is a Capt. Snead, but we can’t contact anyone for verification. They might be monitoring transmissions from the area.”
Jayda squirmed in her chair, surrounded by Dolan, Breeze and three other officers.
