First Contact: Book One in The Deepening Series (A Space Rock Opera Romance Adventure)

by Kelly Brewer

  He knows he can’t play the Saturn show, Kyle realized.

  After they finished playing through the set, Moore approached Peco. The roadie flinched as he stepped closer.

  “Your tone is a little harsh. Roll back the high-mids on the amp a little. Also, don’t rush. You’re excited and you’re playing too hard. Lay back in the groove a little. Kyle, Mac, and Ox are a great rhythm section and all you have to do is walk on water. Take your time and let your body enjoy the ride,” Moore advised.

  The others were listening and nodded in agreement. Moore was actually being a team player and helping instead of starting shit.

  Ox wiped sweat and looked at him seriously.

  “There may be hope for you yet, wild man.” He stepped over and gave Moore a big sweaty hug.

  Peco was surprised. He didn’t think Moore would help get himself replaced. Peco muttered his thanks and started to leave the room. Moore stopped him. “One more thing. You gotta do the moonwalk bit if you’re gonna imitate me. Let’s see it.”

  Moore showed him the step. Peco had been practicing it a little and stepped it off, though not as smoothly.

  Moore said, “Practice it from now until the show tomorrow. You’ll be sore, but I think you can do it. Watch the replays and get the timing. That bit kills it overtime. My audience is expecting it. Do it if you want my support.”

  Peco would moonwalk his way into the hottest gig in town.

  Afterwards, in the Mariachi Mess Hall, Kyle rehearsed Ox, Angel and Mactron on his basic battle plan.

  “Keep your eyes open for anything weird. If you leave, Tamer will know. We’re going to switch to Dock’s gyro right before the Uranus jump. Keep ’em guessing. We will board Angel’s after the show, then switch at the last minute. Franco brought extra security and Safety will be here in…”—he looked at a Felix the Cat clock on the wall—

  “now.”

  A commotion outside told them it was so. They could see Bistros as he approached the ship.

  “This could be a blessing and a curse.” Kyle stiffened, walking to the down lift.

  Bit watched Kyle, Mac, and Ox descend from the Taco Transport. He had a bandaged nose and his right arm was in a sling. Ox snickered, tickled by the sight. Crew met them as they stepped out of the lift.

  As the parties met, Bit was in command mode. “These orders are rock solid. Test me and find out.” He glared at Ox, who only smiled.

  “This operation is now classified high risk. You people are a ticking time bomb. You got folks dropping dead all around you. Your fans and ex-coworkers could use a break. Give me one reason to shut you down. This dog and pony show will be done by the book. Am I clear, Kyle? Mactron? Ox? Moore?”

  His rage was barely contained when he looked at the big man. He would be dealt with in a special way when this was all over.

  Kyle said, “Thank you for being here, Inspector Gully. If your intentions are for the safety and security of all of us in orbit, you are most welcome here. Don’t make this a vendetta. You have our full cooperation.”

  Gully was not fooled. He knew sarcasm when he was paranoid.

  He barked, “I‘ll burn this thing down in a heartbeat, trust me. I’m actually looking forward to it. It is inevitable. We’re starting with a complete inspection of your transport, Mr. Angel! Your ship’s special military status has been revoked. I’ll need all logs and declarations concerning your vehicle ASAP. I’m not allowed to inspect Dock’s ‘military’ vessel, but I will station an inspector outside at all times.”

  He glared behind his bandage, turned, and limped away. Ox chuckled again, loud enough for the departing inspector to ignore. Safety began digging through Angel’s ship and checking his maintenance paperwork.

  Kyle called his team aside. “Play along, play it straight. If you see something, put an inspector dog on it. They are eager to hunt. I know it sounds odd, but this is going to help us.”

  The group groaned but could not argue.

  He encouraged them back to work.

  Tamer called him. “Hey, Safety there yet?”

  “With a vengeance.”

  “Word is they’ve already put in a request to shut us down. They need the slightest infraction. How good is your man Angel?”

  “The best.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Yeah, thought Kyle. Let’s hope so.

  The weary rocker/ wary soldier had done all he could do for the moment. He needed a kiss from his woman and a good workout. She’d messaged him: ‘Augusta now circling Saturn, Dad is at emergency meeting with outer rim delegates here. Do u still love me????’

  Kyle messaged back: ‘Indescribably, maybe abnormally so, like in creepy way.’ He chuckled. ‘I will arrive at 0800, after few hours rest. Can have lunch after swim laps.’

  Sylvia was another tough nut needin’ crackin’. She insisted on chaperoning Mercy at the Saturn show. Maybe he and Mom could talk alone. He was confident his southern charm would melt that cold space-bitch heart, but so far, she had been immune.

  It had taken Franco, Tamer, and Dock to convince Sylvia to let her daughter continue traveling with the band. She had much to lose if either of her daughter’s Deepening vows were violated. It would reflect negatively on her own commitment to the social contracts of Deep Life. She’d wanted them separated before the wedding but had been outvoted by the men. Granny Kep stayed out of it. The men had weaseled out a win by claiming the rewards outweighed the risk. They trusted Kyle.

  She still doesn’t trust me, Kyle mused, though I killed a man to keep Mercy safe. I put everything I’ve worked for my whole life at risk to keep my word.

  Just when you think you have women figured out, you don’t.

  He turned off the light and crashed facedown in his bunk.

  CHAPTER 60

  Sylvia

  Sylvia was about to return an old favor her own mother had done for her long ago. Without him knowing it had happened, Kyle would be revealed as a typical male predator. All alphas were! They could not be trusted. He would not be controlled by a woman. The arrogant little punk had even trumped her, the mother, by taking Mercy away from her. Again!

  Mercy needed to understand she would have to share him with the world. A powerful man was inevitably an unfaithful man, so… find something else to love. Money, for example. Mercy would thank her later.

  Sylvia prepared a severe version of an old test. She monitored Mercy’s phone unbeknownst to her, waiting for an opportunity. She had asked Franco to invite Kyle to use the excellent facilities in the company spa.

  Sylvia Falls arranged for four beautiful, fully human young professionals to seduce him on camera. The private video would get him grounded and out of their lives before her family’s reputation could be penetrated.

  She set the scheme in motion when Kyle messaged Mercy and said he was headed to Tidal Pool for a workout. She alerted and sent the girls to the lap pool. Mercy would be forced to watch on-screen in Sylvia’s office.

  The placid surface of the Deep frowned on any ripple of alpha aggression. The young woman would see, and understand why she should consider a beta.

  Beta males were easier to control. Less wandering. Less lip.

  No one else would be there. A pool.boy.bot was hastily posted at the pool entrance. Swimmers were shooed away to Astral Pool:

  ‘Tidal Pool closed.’

  ‘Cameras Temporarily Out of Order.’

  ‘No remote lifeguard on duty.’

  Yet the cameras were functional. Mercy would watch him go down in flames in a painful but necessary demonstration. Infidelity was inevitable. She would see man for what he truly was. Weak.

  At 0800 hours, Kyle chipped over from Saturn Stadium in a small pod, an automated one-seater, heading to the Augusta’s executive pools. Sylvia monitored the four prostitutes hurrying to Tidal Pool and wirelessly controlled t
he pool.boy.bot directing traffic outside the pool entrance.

  ‘Tidal Pool is closed for repairs. Please redirect to Astral Pool 1500 feet down the south hallway.’ It pointed its little paddle arms south. ‘We apologize for any inconvenience.’

  Freezing, it fell silent as Kyle walked past it, then reposted as traffic cop after the door closed behind him.

  ‘Tidal Pool is closed for repairs. Please redirect…’

  Sylvia turned off the screen when she saw him enter the pool area opposite from where the four women were staging. She called her youngest daughter. “Mercy, would you come here please? I have something important. I’m in my study.”

  “Mom… Kyle’s on his way here! I was going to surprise him at the pool! Can it wait?” She squirmed at the terrible timing.

  “No, I’m afraid not. This will only take a few moments. It’s important. Come please.”

  Her mom signed off. That meant no rebuttal. Damn, she had to go. Mercy put on a thick cover-up over her slinky, new chain-mail bikini. Mom would not approve of her choice of bathing attire.

  CHAPTER 61

  RUN

  Kyle stretched a little and jumped in the cool water, keeping an even pace back and forth. It felt good to get the blood flowing.

  Sylvia watched Mercy walk into the study. Upon entering, Mercy felt a shiver of apprehension. Mother was waiting and seemed too serious. Something had happened, or was about to. Was this going to be a reveal of some secret rite of womanhood? Perhaps some new information about what men want and how to keep them? She was a little excited.

  “Dear, sit down here.” Sylvia indicated a chair in front of a blank screen. Mercy sat down, curious.

  “You know I love you and only want the best for you. I want you to be prepared for the hardships of relationships. I wish I could just tell you, but you have trouble listening sometimes. It is easier to just show you.” She flicked on the monitor.

  There was Kyle, already swimming in the pool. She wanted to be there with him. He was beautiful. She loved watching his muscular arms and back work back and forth. But something did not look right. There were only four others there. Odd. Normally there were twenty or more at this hour.

  Kyle was swimming on the east side of the pool. One by one, the four women walked to the only set of steps, which were located on the west side of the pool. The girls entered near the shallow end of the pool and pretended not to notice him.

  The women were not familiar to Mercy. She squinted at the scene. And they sure weren’t there to work out! She knew when they took off their cover-ups! They had on thongs and tops that barely covered anything and stepped down into the water like super models. After entering the water, a voluptuous redhead slowly drifted eastward, encroaching on his swim lane.

  Kyle was churning out laps and did not see them. Mercy was torn between going to establish her territory or letting the scene play out a little further. She turned to her mother. Had she known about this? Her mother’s face was expressionless, watching the scene. Mercy sensed she had advance knowledge of this event.

  She asked her, gesturing towards the image. “Did you know about this? What’s going on?”

  She turned condescending eyes to look at her, motioning for her to return her gaze to the screen.

  The redhead made it to the east wall and blocked Kyle’s lane. At the north wall he turned and started back, then slowed to a dog-paddle, finally noticing her, treading water in the deep end. Red did not move.

  He looked at her questioningly.

  The other three were glancing at him and giggling. He smiled, sensing some intent. He looked up at the camera in the upper corner of the room, blowing bubbles. The out-of-order light blinked red.

  “Uhhh... excuse me. I’m almost done, then it’s all yours,” he said politely.

  Red swished the water in front of her with both arms, drawing a little closer to him, smiling. “Aren’t you Kyle? Kyle Supplantis? Cosmic Mechanix? Oh my God! I told you!”

  She turned and splashed the other women who suddenly seemed very friendly. They began to slowly turn towards him, fanning out.

  From Mercy’s perspective it looked like a pack of barracudas stalking prey. She rose up to go save her man. Mother placed a hand on her shoulder, restraining her, pushing her back down. Mercy realized, in shock, “This was a setup! You arranged this whole thing!”

  And she was forcing her to watch. Nausea overrode anger and fear. She felt a pang in her belly and searched incredulously the face of the woman she trusted most in the world. When finally she could speak, she shrieked, “Mother! What have you done? Why did you do this? You must hate me… and Kyle… and everybody to do something like this!” She tearily pointed at the screen, watching the scene unfold.

  One of the other women in the pool, a petite brunette, like Mercy, was laughing at something he’d said. Kyle smiled. Mercy did not want to watch. She heard the subtle tones women use to seduce men. These heifers were pros.

  Her mother spoke calmly, folding her hands, “Character is not what you do when people are watching, it’s what you do when people are not watching. He thinks the cameras have malfunctioned. He thinks no one is watching. Yes, I paid those women, extra if they succeed. You will finally understand that all men are the same. There is no strength left in them. They lie. They can’t help it. If you want the truth, behold. The younger you are aware of this, the better.”

  Sylvia suddenly grabbed Mercy’s jaw roughly and forced her to watch the event. The other three women were in the shallow end, blocking the steps. Kyle was still treading water midway, but would have to go ashore soon.

  The statuesque blonde stood up in the three-foot water of the shallow end, beginning to adjust a skimpy bikini top. The brunettes had taken up a position on the first and second step leading down into the pool, elbows resting back on the edge. One absently lifted a toned leg to inspect, pointing her pretty toes in Kyle’s direction. Slowly she dropped it dripping back into the water.

  Kyle was cut off. He had lasted several minutes treading water, but needed to at least find a toe-hold to catch his breath. He was thankful the video system was down. He did not want anyone to watch this unfold right before he got married.

  They had him boxed in pretty good. The water level was kept five feet below the deck to minimize ship-tilt overflows, so getting out the side was impossible. The steps were the only exit.

  Strange, no one else was in the pool area this morning, he thought.

  He wasn’t sure if he was blessed or cursed.

  The women were talking about his music and how much it meant to them. He couldn’t be rude to fans and ignore them.

  The vivacious redhead noticed his breathing and fawned, “Baby, you can come to the shallow end and take a rest. Here, give me your hand and I will pull you in.”

  Mercy hated her. She had never seen her before but she hated her. And her mother had purposefully ruined her life. Her dream was about to be shattered and that is what the older woman wanted.

  No illusions of grandeur. No Deepening fame.

  She thought desperately, If Kyle messed up, it wouldn’t be his fault, and tried to project her thoughts towards him, to warn him.

  Sylvia turned up the volume on the monitor a little. She was now standing behind Mercy, patting her shoulder, consoling her over the inevitable. Her mother was a control freak and Mercy could not wait to tell him he had been set up and it was not really his fault!

  Kyle began to edge towards the shallow end, searching for the bottom. They all saw it and began to slowly close in on him. Mercy saw four killer whales closing in on a lone, outmatched seal.

  She could kill them. She had never killed anything in her life but she knew she could kill them. She screamed at the screen, “Ruuuun!” then doubled over, groaning.

  When he finally felt the bottom with his big toe he was surrounded. Two girls grabbed his hands
gently and pulled him in. He pulled back a little and laughed nervously. They retreated slightly, not wanting to spook him.

  One brunette whispered to the other, “Let him get his feet under him so he thinks he is in control. Give him a moment to choose and then strike.”

  The petite brunette that bore a striking resemblance to his fiancée dove under, purposefully lifting her curvaceous butt high out of the water as she descended. She resurfaced on her back in front of him, barely clad breasts bobbing, beckoning. The redhead looked at him with an evil smile.

  Softly, she seduced, “Kyle, you know that skinny little bride-to-be won’t be enough for a man of your… stature.” She was close enough to reach underwater and graze the front of his trunks. She pulled back, smiling sweetly, toying with his game. Kyle was still barely touching bottom and moved forward slightly for a better foothold. The floating brunette bait was directly in front of him and he had to brush against her to stand. Mercy wanted to close her eyes but could not. Her mother squeezed her shoulder. “You will watch. It’s almost over my dear. Steady.”

  When Kyle finally stood, the pack eased in on him, smelling blood, semen, and money. The redhead reached around and put a hand on his backside. Her hairless legs brushed across his. The blonde stood dripping at his side and pulled her top up slightly, revealing nipples, offering.

  The brunette on her back looked up serenely at his concerned face. The other brunette slithered down the steps and pulled her slowly back into shallower water. He seemed to focus on them and the blonde and redhead moved behind him, pressing him forward. The other brunette placed the bobbing Mercy look-alike between him and the steps. Her face would be at his waistline in just a few more steps…

  Then she came to her side and started kissing her.

  He could not help himself. He was hard as a rock. It was an involuntary reaction at the sight of so much willing flesh. The redhead was moving her hand around to the front. She was going to guide him in. She reached for his waistband as he took a step shallower. One more and he would be poking out of the water. With each slow step, the look-alike’s lips parted more.