The Curanian Dominance: The Linda Eccles Series - Volume Three

by Robert Woodard

  Rising from the couch, and with such grace that she looked like one of her prized flowers turning slowly to greet the morning sun, Kold came around the low table positioned in front of the couch to make a slow, deliberate circle around him. She emitted a sweet fragrance that smelled like a mixture of flowers and spices.

  Plon remained still but followed her around him as best he could with his eyes. Her actions were so far out of character that he felt like she was a completely different person. It was like someone had possessed her body. She slowly circled him again, and the fragrance became stronger. He breathed deeply to take in the enticing smell. She was behind him now. He could sense her presence. His head began to swim.

  Kold leaned in close to his ear, and said, “It is the right of every Supreme to select any subject she wishes for her own pleasure.”

  The wariness that held him back slowly melted as his head continued to swim in the wonderful fragrance that enveloped him. She came around in front of him while turning sideways to look coyly over her shoulder and stare into his eyes. She tilted her head back and gave him a seductive smile.

  The slight dizziness gave way to a yearning that boiled from within. Where she had repulsed him before, he now suffered a strong desire to reach out and pull her toward him. Internally, he fought himself between giving in to his own desires and in trying to ward it away. She turned to face him, and the fragrance hit him again. The smell became ever more wonderful. His desire became almost savage within him.

  The realization that she had drugged him slowly sank into what little control he had left in his thoughts. He fought hard to keep the drug from taking control. The effort made his entire body shake as one part of him wanted to leap forward and tear her clothes off, while the other part tried to prevent it.

  His eyes followed her as she turned full on to face him. She carried a smile that told him she had him right where she wanted him. The game had begun, and he lost this round. He watched as she slowly slipped her thumbs into the front edges of the dress just above her chest. She let her thumbs follow the dress line up to her shoulders until they met the thin top strap that held the dress in place. She gave him a seductive smile while flipping her thumbs up and out to force the straps off her shoulder and down the outside of her arms. When she dropped her arms, the dress fell away. His eyes followed the movement of the dress, and the realization that she wore nothing under it became apparent.

  His last power if resistance melted away. Plon lunged forward and grabbed Kold by the upper arms. As he pulled her to him, Kold’s laughter filled his ears. It sounded like laughter of triumph, but he didn’t care. He pushed her hair back to expose her succulent neck and allowed his lips to explore every inch of it. He felt her relax in his arms.

  ◆◆◆

  A loud bang startled Plon awake, and he bolted upright in the bed while trying to make sense out of his surroundings. His head pounded and his body hurt. He remembered being drugged and bits and pieces of everything that happened after that floated in and out of his memory.

  A second loud bang erupted as the door leading out of the sleeping square flew open to slam against the wall. Standing before him now, several troopers in field armor appeared carrying heavy weapons and stared at him in amazement.

  It took several ticks before Plon got his mouth reconnected to his brain. He still felt slightly woozy and distant, but it was quickly fading. The reminder of being drugged made him glance over at the empty spot where he had expected to see Kold laying. She was missing and only a tumble of sheets and blankets marked the spot where she vacated.

  Holding out his hand to call off the troopers, he said, “It’s okay. I neglected to inform Jime I would be spending my evening here. You may return to the ship.”

  The troopers slowly backed away. The last one out tried to close the door, but it no longer aligned properly with the frame. Seeing the damage, Plon wondered what Kold would say when she witnessed what happened to her door. The sound of the troopers’ combat boots pounding heavily upon the hard surface of the floor signaled their departure. He had visions of Kold’s guards either lying unconscious, temporarily stunned, on the outer side of the tunnel or their being restrained by other troopers. He wasn’t sure where Kold was currently, but he was sure this entire ordeal was not going to be well received.

  “You seem to have a well-disciplined crew that likes to look out for your welfare, Plon?” The sudden sound of Kold’s voice startled Plon.

  Turning to look over his right shoulder, he could see Kold standing close to the wall behind him. Her smooth flowing robe seemed to cling to her like a wrapper, and it was barely blocking visibility of what it was intended to cover. The length stopped enticingly short below her hips, and only the white feathery material sewn into the bottom prevented it from showing too much.

  “I apologies for that, Kold. I told them I would be back on the ship by nightfall, but I suppose my disappearance created a stir.”

  “That is why I chose you to carry out my orders, Plon. You are the one person I trust to accomplish the task, and you have the intelligence to make it happen. I’m willing to forgive this little indiscretion on your part. However, it would be good to remember that I have ways to accomplish what I want. Let last night be a warning that a Supreme is wise beyond her years. She can give out punishment as easily as she gives out pleasure.”

  Plon lifted his eyes off her robe to look up into her eyes. They stilled carried that seductive look that brought back his wariness of her. He looked past her head to the wall behind her. He failed to see how she managed to exit and reenter the room so secretively, but he suspected there was a hidden doorway there somewhere. How she knew his troopers were coming up to rescue him remained a mystery.

  As Kold gracefully moved around the end of the bed, he came to understand that a Supreme was far more dangerous than he ever realized. He watched her drop the robe to return to her nakedness before slipping back under the covers. The thought that this very person carried wisdom passed down from generations of Supremes began to sink into his understanding. He had to agree that she was clearly wise beyond her years. He wouldn’t underestimate her again.

  “Now that we are alone, why don’t you show me how well you can serve your Supreme, again.”

  This was one Supreme demand he was more than happy to carry out. And, he would remember it this time. He dropped back onto his pillow and turned to face her. Yes, let the pleasuring begin.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Earth never looked so good to Philip as when the Conviction, and the rest of his fleet, dropped well short of the regular shipping lanes. Unwilling to risk sending out any signals in advance of his arrival, he came in unannounced and would be a total surprise to everyone. He now made a slow approach to close the gap.

  Opening a Comm channel to ESD, he said, “Earth Space Defense, this is the Conviction requesting permission to enter, and for transfer to Traffic Control.”

  The delay in response told Philip volumes. He had caught those on duty at ESD flat footed with his arrival, and now he suspected they were scrambling to notify the powers to be that Admiral Litton had returned with his long-lost fleet.

  Finally, he got a response. “Conviction, this is Earth Space Defense. We welcome you home with open arms. Please hold position while we work out the details with Traffic Control on moorage and lane assignments. We apology for the delay, but we didn’t expect your arrival.”

  I bet! “ESD, Conviction, message received and understood. We will stand by awaiting instructions.” Looking over at Roger seated next to him, Philip said, “I always wanted to pop in unannounced on ESD.” After a quick chuckle, he ordered, “Have all ships hold their position until further notice.”

  After relaying the order, Roger smiled at him, and Philip suspected he found the childlike humor of the situation amusing. Philip found his spirits had lifted a thousand-fold with the sight of Earth before him. Its browns, greens and deep blues presented an inviting welcome.

  “Yo
u know, eventually we have to begin running freighters out to our smaller outpost and colonies to keep them supplied,” Roger said.

  “It’s a huge universe out there, Roger. The chances of the Curanians stumbling upon one of the outposts are pretty small. However, I’m going to recommend that we have all commercial ships carry emergency transponders that can be launched on a moment’s notice. If one of our freighters does stumble across a Curanian ship, they can launch the responder to get the warning back to Earth. I’m also going to insist we retrofit all ships with self-destruct navigation systems that will destroy all on-board navigational charts with a simple command. The more we mask our location the less likely the Curanians will ever find Earth.”

  “I strongly agree, Admiral. I will help to convince anyone who can’t see the logic of it.”

  Philip shook his head a few times, saying, “I suspect that won’t be necessary. With Ron on my side that puts two Chief of Staff Admirals fighting for the cause. Anyone who doesn’t think the loss of Rapatine was a solid warning should have their heads examined.”

  When the wait finally ended and the Conviction received docking and entry orders, all the ships moved forward in a predefined order. The Conviction slipped into her berth that ended a tiring mission. She would need an extensive stay for repairs, as would most of the other ships.

  One observation nagged at Philip, and he intended to address it rather quickly. The fact his fleet dropped right into Earth space without receiving a challenge seemed sloppy considering the risk Earth now faced. It was not like Ron, so he suspected the upper echelon of ESD was still holding back on providing the adequate number of ships to create a solid defensive screen. He was sure if all came down to the cost of running the ships and paying the additional credits to the crews in flight. He would help Ron get past that stupidity, right quick.

  Returning to his cabin to prepare to depart the ship, Philip said, “Someone within ESD had better wake up, or they are going to find me kicking them in the ass until they get the message.”

  “Are we cranky, Admiral?” Paula asked as she came up behind him with a steaming cup of coffee.

  “Damn right I am. These idiots still think that Earth is a nice safe place to live. There is an entire species out there just dying to find us. If they don’t understand the seriousness of that situation, we’re going to receive a nasty surprise some day. I’ll be damn if I’ll let that happen on my watch.”

  “I think I’d better add some creamer to your coffee, Admiral. You’re going to need it,” Paula responded before turning to leave.

  Philip watched her head into the outer office for his special Irish Whisky Creamer. He took a sip of his coffee in the hope of making more room to hold it in the cup. Paula was right. He was going to need it before everything was said and done.

  ◆◆◆

  Plon returned to his ship feeling worn out. Kold may be a lot of things, but lacking desire was not one of them. When he expected to be held captive, he had no idea just how captive he could be in her presence. Smiling, he decided she could hold him captive anytime she wanted. There was a fire inside that woman not easily smothered. He found that her seductive beauty was more than just skin deep—a whole lot more than skin deep.

  When he stepped out of the landing craft, he found Jime standing there waiting for him. As he approached, she said, “When I heard what happened, I felt sure you were not long for this world, Plon. Troopers breaking into her sleeping square of all things. How in the world did you ever talk your way out of that mess?”

  “I hate to admit it, Jime, but I didn’t get much opportunity to talk. If it bothered her, though, she sure didn’t show it.” He began to walk across the bay, and Jime followed. “I have to tell you, Jime, there’s a lot more to the Supreme than I gave her credit for. She is crafty and has abilities I never realized before. Kold is dangerous, and I don’t ever plan on forgetting that. I made the mistake of underestimating her capabilities, and I won’t do that again.”

  “Why, what did she do to you?”

  “Let’s just say that Kold has a way of making sure you see things her way.” Plon could still feel the lingering effects of Kold’s drug.

  “Does it have anything to do with why you smell like a flower orchard?” Jime leaned forward to smell his clothes. “You reek of it, Plon.”

  “So did she, at the time.” Plon didn’t bother to slow his pace toward his square. He couldn’t wait to shower, change and get some rest. For once, he found the delay in getting repairs done to his ship delightful. There would be no need for him to have to be up and about anytime soon.

  Looking back, he could see Jime staring at him with that same disgusted look that only made her ugliness even worse. Everyone has their burdens to bear, Jime. Sometimes those burdens can be pleasurable. He smiled at the thought as he slipped into the main passageway and out of her sight.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Oh, Lord help us. Not again,” Donna said.

  Linda looked up from reading her ePersonal to see what had upset her mother. A charter shuttle sat in front of the house, and Linda suspected it carried Peggy. It was the same charter company she had used last time she ferried over to talk to Linda.

  “It’s okay, Mom. I think it’s just Peggy paying a visit,” Linda said as she slipped her ePersonal into her back pocket.

  “I sure hope so. With all the craziness going on with Rapatine, I keep expecting someone to show up here trying to talk you into joining the military.”

  “That’ll be the day. I’d chase them right back out the door with broom in hand,” Linda said.

  Donna laughed. “I bet you would, too.”

  When her mother turned the car into the driveway, she parked outside of the garage. It was a rare, sunny, northwest winter day, and although still cold, Donna wanted to air the hover-car out. Linda had never understood her mother’s need for airing things. It seemed to her that the auto-environmental control that came standard with the vehicle would keep it aired just fine. It was the same in spring when her mother would open all the windows and the doors to let in the fresh air.

  When the door swung upward, Linda slid out to see Peggy exiting the shuttle where she must have been waiting. Giving her a warm smile, she said, “Peggy, how are things back at the lab?” She was careful not to mention the alien craft out in the open.

  “Oh, you know. There is always someone grumbling that we take too much time to figure anything out. And when we finally do, they question our theories and findings. Otherwise, it’s just peachy.”

  “Come on it and let’s catch up. What has it been now, three or four months?” Linda led the way toward the front porch.

  “It’s nice to have you visiting us again, Peggy,” Donna said as she joined them.

  “Thanks, Donna. It is always a pleasure when I can get away to be here.

  The door swung open for them, and Linda stepped aside to let her mother and Peggy go through first. She heard her mother say, “Take a seat in the family room, Peggy. Can I get you anything? Perhaps a soft drink?”

  “Yes, please,” Peggy answered as she made her way into the family room.

  Linda followed Peggy and took a seat on the couch while Peggy sat in the lounge chair. Giving her a coy smile, she asked, “So, give. What did you find out about that ship?”

  “Not a thing. It is too advanced and too foreign for any of us to get our minds around. You can’t imagine how frustrating it is to have something that technologically advanced, yet we don’t have the scientific skills needed to understand what we have before us.” Peggy let some of her frustration show by how she tightly pushed her lips together when she stopped talking.

  “I imagine that has the folks higher up boiling over with anger.” Linda could envision the military drooling all over the possibility of taking that technology and redesigning new ships around it.

  “You have no idea. That Admiral Assman, I mean Ackerman, was so pent up to learn about the ship that he could have chewed a piece of
the hull off with his teeth. He was livid when I had to tell him we couldn’t do anything with it. He wants that ship to have meaning since retrieving it created the entire Curanian mess at Rapatine. Although, with Admiral Litton’s fleet having made it back here, I think he will tone it down some.”

  “Since you folks can’t decipher it, what are they going to do with it?” Linda asked. She would love to have them give it to her to fly around just for kicks. Fat chance of that happening, though.

  “We are going to fly it back to its home planet,” Peggy answered.

  “Really?” Linda said with amazement.

  Donna came out of the kitchen carrying a tray. She set a glass filled with ice on the end table, along with an unopened soft drink. Setting the tray on the coffee table, she handed Linda a cup of coffee. She had her own cup filled with hot water, and the string end of a tea bag hung over the edge. It provided Linda with another reminder of how her mother liked to stick with outdated ideas, like brewing tea rather than using the instant-brew like 99% of the rest of the world did.

  “Peggy was just telling us that they plan of flying that alien ship back to its home planet,” Linda said, both to fill her mother in and to prompt Peggy to fill them in with the details.

  “Is that right, Dear? That sounds like a dangerous thing to do to me. How do you know they won’t try to eat you or something like that?” Donna asked Peggy, causing Linda to smile.

  “To tell you the truth, we have no idea what to expect. The fact that the ship doesn’t carry any weapons that we can detect is a positive sign they are not hostile. A culture that advanced has probably found ways to defeat any known weapon system anyway. The only way we are ever going to know anything about them is to go ask. The TR17 will take the ship home, and we will be aboard to hand it over and say hello.”

  Linda could see how Peggy’s eyes lit up at the possibilities. What scientist would not jump at the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with species light-years beyond one’s own knowledge? “Have they decided who all is going?”