by Lance Berry
Missy shook her head. “N-no…no! Of c-c-course not,” she squeezed out.
David nodded in thanks and pulled a chair over from an empty table. As he sat down, his smile glided easily over to Missy. “So you must be the famous Melissa Mara’s told me about.” Missy’s eyes grew wide at the revelation her friend had even seen fit to mention her to the captain of Earth’s flagship.
David waited until her coughs finally subsided, then offered his hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Missy’s breaths came in short, frantic pants for a moment.
She finally managed to compose herself and rose a trembling hand to accept his strong, firm grip. “It’s an honor, sir.”
“Not at all,” David replied and tipped her palm toward him as he alighted a brief kiss upon it. Missy’s mouth fell open and she stared at her hand even while Christenson continued to address her. “Mara’s told me quite a bit about you, along with some interesting stories from your first posting together. The pleasure of making acquaintances in this case is all mine.”
Missy’s eyes slowly found his again, and Mara could swear for all the world that her friend might actually swoon. Before she could get completely lost in David’s deep brown eyes however, he turned to Mara. “I contacted the Hawking, and James told me you’d be here visiting an old friend. I figured it was Missy, and had to come sit with you both. Hope you don’t mind, love.”
“Not at all, love,” Mara said, and was amazed at how easily the last word slipped from her tongue.
David smiled again, obviously touched. “Speaking of old friends, the next time our two ships are back at Earth simultaneously, Panther would like to meet you.”
“Panther?” Missy said in amazement as she snapped out of her dreamy daze.
David focused his attention on her once more. “It’s a nickname for an old chum of mine, Malcolm. Back in our days together in Her Majesty’s RSF, our squadron was assigned to some heavy fighting in the Castor star-system. One of my wingmen was taken out, leaving my port flank vulnerable as two Skimmers swooped in on me. Things seemed rather bleak, but Malcolm jumped his DFC to lightspeed and came out right behind them both. He took them out so fast, they never knew what hit them—sprung on them out of nowhere, like a panther, so to speak. The name stuck with him ever since.”
“Wow. Cool,” Missy said as she stared at him.
David smiled, amused yet obviously taken with her. “Yes, very.”
“How’s your back?” Mara asked with some concern.
“Good as new,” he said as he looked at her. “My doc patched me up with some dermal sealant. It’s still a bit sore, probably take a day or two longer to heal than your scars did. How’re your lips, by the way?” He leaned a little closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Suitable for contact, if necessary?”
Mara started to answer in the affirmative, but stopped. She looked at Missy, and David followed her gaze. Her friend’s arms were crossed on the table, her head propped upon them and she was watching them both with fascination, like a newborn puppy observing human interaction for the first time.
David then noticed that more people were watching, and he looked to Mara once more. “I’m loathe to break up your conversation, but why don’t the two of us take this discussion elsewhere?”
“Missy, I’m going to go now,” Mara said, not even looking at her as she and David got to their feet.
“Okay…oh! Okay,” Missy answered, and likewise stood. She and Mara shared a close, tight hug. “I so wish I were you right now,” she whispered in Mara’s ear.
“I can’t believe I’m me right now,” Mara whispered back. As they broke the embrace, David offered his hand again. This time Missy’s hand stretched out certainly in response, and she easily shook hands with Captain Christenson as he reiterated his pleasure at their meeting. That said, he and Mara exited the room together, all eyes following them to the very second the doors closed behind them.
They headed to a lift with the intention of returning to the flight deck. As soon as the lift doors closed, they were upon each other, kissing and grabbing at one another passionately.
Their bodies pressed kitty-corner to a corner of the lift, they finally looked into each others’ eyes as they came up for air.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he said with deep, resonating emotion in his voice. “I missed you too,” she answered. “It’s just that every time we finish talking, I wonder if we ever will again. It’s so long between our talks…”
“I know, I know,” he said sadly. “It’s just that my duties keep me so busy. But I think of you constantly, every day.
Every single day…” He gently cupped her face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “I love you, Mara.”
He said it! Mara thought to herself, astonished. He said it!
He loves me! “I love you, too,” she answered without hesitation, and tears of joy began to flow from her eyes. To her further surprise, he began to weep as well. They kissed again, deeply, but then stopped as the lift began to slow in its descent. As it came to a halt, each quickly wiped the eyes of the other. The doors opened and they stepped out into the corridor, laughing lightly at their own silliness, and clasped hands. They walked the corridor to the flight deck hand-in-hand, passing shocked crew members, but were unashamed because of the truth and strength of their newfound love.
Chapter 28
“Good morning, Captains,” David Christenson’s voice rang out distinctly as his image appeared simultaneously on the viewscreens of each of the 158 Heavy Cruisers in the task force assigned to keep the recently liberated Arcturan planet secure.
“After four days of breaking encrypted codes and taking relentless measures to decipher them, we’ve finally met with success. The codes we’ve managed to unlock have given us, first and foremost, a primary base for finally understanding the Calvorian language. I have to say that for such a brutal species, it amazes me that their native tongue flows almost like poetry.
That said, the base we have has allowed us to decrypt an amazing amount of their plans for fleet movement and troop deployment in the immediate three quadrants of space. We have also finally learned the current location of our primary quarry, General Tholin.”
On the bridge of the Hawking, Captain Stubbs quickly pumped a fist into the air, and shared satisfied looks with his bridge officers. Christenson had paused in his speech, obviously aware that such sentiment would be likely aboard all the Cruiser bridges, and wanted to give his troops time to savor the moment of triumph.
“I’ve been in contact with UEF Command,” Christenson finally continued. “Another seventy ships are en route right this moment, and should be here within the next four hours. Once they’ve arrived and are firmly ensconced within the planet’s immediate perimeter, the majority of our own fleet will proceed more directly to the next star-sector held by the Calvorians, and take that from them as we did here. Communications officers, monitor your boards so that you can alert your captains as to the status of your ships, whether you fly with me or not. In the meantime, I advise all troops to get some rest and enjoy what free time you have. We’re going to need the extra strength for our next push. Christenson out.”
And with that, the viewscreen image changed back to that of a section of the planet, with several Cruisers in high orbit around it. There were cheers and some clapping on the bridge.
This was interrupted by the com officer turning to face Stubbs.
“Captain—? Message from Captain Christenson. He says that he’ll be aboard in thirty minutes, and you and the missus should get ready.”
Stubbs smiled. “Oh, that we will. That we will. Lieutenant-Commander Elliot, the bridge is yours.” As Mara acknowledged the order, Stubbs extended his elbow to Commander Tamamura, who hooked her own arm in the crook of his. “Shall we, my dear?” he offered, and led her to the lift at the rear of the bridge.
As the doors closed, Mara took the center seat and reflected on how much had happened so f
ast. It was only yesterday that she and David had declared their love for each other. Then when she returned to her own ship, Stubbs and Tamamura announced to the senior staff they had moved up their wedding date!
Mara was excited for them both, and of course their situation had set her mind to wondering whether she and David would ever be married. She forced the thought away, trying to be thankful for the fact that she finally had a good man in her life who loved her with all his heart.
As Mara stared at the viewscreen, lost in thought, she wasn’t even aware of the passage of time…until the com officer tapped her directly on the shoulder. She started and turned to face the young man. “Ma’am? Are you all right?”
Mara nodded, a nervous titter escaping her lips. “Yes… sorry. Lost in thought.” The com officer nodded in understanding. “They’re ready for you to head down to the chapel.”
“Wilkins, take over,” Mara said to the lieutenant who had positioned himself at tactical when she took center seat. The lieutenant acknowledged and rose from his chair as Mara headed to the lift. She waited until he had settled into the chair, then allowed the doors to close and descended toward the NCA chapel.
Located on deck ten, the chapel of the Nondenominational
Church of the All was a large area. It had to be, to accommodate a crew of seven hundred and thirteen of varying faiths. Since its inception in the early part of the 22nd Century and through the way religion came to be represented during the Reformation, the NCA had pledged itself to the equal treatment of all faiths—Muslim, Catholic, Hindi, Buddhist and others— and to the servitude of their followers. The design of the chapel was done primarily in the style of old cathedrals on Earth, with two aisles of pews and faux stained glass windows on either side, lit in such fashion as to present the illusion of true sunlight streaming in. On one window was an image of Christ carrying his cross to Calvary. On another the god Shang-Ti touched the brow of a Chinese emperor, bestowing wisdom. On yet another the Hindu creator god Brahma brought the universe to life while Shiva cast souls into hell, and the ever-watchful Vishnu observed all.
Behind the very simple, cloth-covered altar, a large gold infinity symbol hung on the wall…a symbol of the never-ending, eternal mystery of the universe. Diviner Whitley Balton was a young man, barely in his middle thirties, yet when he spoke it was with worlds of experience. He stood before the altar, holding in his hands the large white book that contained the tenets of the NCA. Just to his left stood David Christenson and James Stubbs, each wearing full dress uniforms. Lana Barrows and Hugh McCaffie were the only other officers in attendance, seated in the front row…although the service was carried via the ODC to all decks.
The doors to the chapel opened and Nikki Tamamura entered, wearing a stunning wedding gown with a low-cut V-neck in the front. Nikki had the non-organic recycling plant fashion the dress, and Mara walked behind her, proudly holding up the gown’s train. They made their way to the altar, and Mara was well aware of David’s eyes focusing solely on her, in spite of how radiant Nikki looked.
Nikki turned to face James, and the couple held hands as Diviner Balton began the service. Mara moved to stand off to Nikki’s side, and throughout the entire ceremony, she and David remained focused on each other.
Once the wedding was over, there was a general reception in the mess hall, and all crew members not on duty were allowed to attend. There were at least two hundred who showed up to offer their congratulations to the newly married couple, that had always both been well liked by the crew. There was a six-foot cake, and the faux wine flowed freely.
Deep into the reception, David took Mara off to the side.
They stood together in a far corner, near one of the windows which looked out onto the fleet, the planet and alternately space as the ship’s centrifugal rotation continually moved the room in what seemed to be a downward direction. His fingers played with hers tenderly as he looked into her eyes. “Wonderful ceremony today,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Give you any ideas?”
“It showed me what not to wear, if a dress that stunning won’t help keep your eyes off the maid of honor.”
He chuckled in an almost shy manner, which surprised Mara, considering how well they had come to know each other over time. “The maid was singularly beautiful. I’m certain no court would convict me for having wandering eyes, in this case.”
He leaned a little closer as he said this, and she leaned forward to meet him. As their lips touched, the solar system’s main star rotated into view, its light shining brightly upon the couple, casting part of its warmth even through the quadruple-reinforced glass. It was such a wonderful moment, so uniquely perfect in Mara’s mind, that she took the casting of heavenly light upon them to be a symbolic blessing of their love… “Come with me,” she said as their kiss ended and they looked into each other’s eyes.
Mara’s room was D4-A3, located on deck four of the Hawking. The door unlocked upon her touching her thumb to the bio-plate on the left side of the wall, and she and David stepped in, the lights coming up automatically. They looked into each other’s eyes, as they had done the entire lift ride up to the deck, then began to kiss passionately—a bit of lust thrown in with their loving need.
She walked backward as they kissed, holding onto his command jacket, leading him toward the bed. When the back of her knees touched the side she stopped, and they came up for air. “Mara. I’ve been thinking on this for a while, even before the ceremony today. My first officer, Sean Winfred, is thinking of retiring and going into the private sector. He’s logged enough service hours in the position to allow him to do so, which means I’ll more than likely move my security chief into his place. I’ll obviously need another tactics officer, and I feel there’s none better than you. Would you consider a transfer to the Horizon?”
Mara was deeply touched, and caressed his face lovingly.
“Yes. I’d love to serve with you.”
He smiled, relieved. “Good. Good.”
They kissed once more, and then finally began to undress one another. As they did, a thought came to Mara. “Computer, play in repetition the following song: Hanabi, by Ayumi Hamasaki.”
The ODC responded with an answering chime, and almost immediately a slow ballad began to play, sung in Japanese.
“What’s this?” he asked as he slipped her uniform jacket off and tossed it on the back of her chair.
“Missy’s got me listening to music from the 21st Century.
‘Old school’, she calls it,” she informed him with a light chuckle as she began to undo his shirt. “I’m not a fan of a lot of it, but I do like this one artist.”
“I do speak Japanese, you know.”
She let out a short laugh. “For some reason, that doesn’t surprise me. I should’ve known.”
“Do you know the lyrics to this song?”
“I’ve read the translations.”
“It’s a very sad ballad, although beautifully rendered, from what I hear. Are you sad now?” He asked this last with some concern, although both their shirts were now discarded. He glanced at her breasts admiringly, but to his credit didn’t ogle them, as nearly every man she had ever known did.
No,” she answered. “It’s just such a beautiful song, that’s all.
Especially the chorus.”
“It is,” he agreed, and turned them both so that his back was to the bed. She undid his pants and let them fall to the floor.
He pulled down his boxers, and she smiled at what greeted her.
Wow. For all her nonsense, Missy would be amazed at how right she was, Mara thought. It was her turn, and she took off her pants and let him pull off her silken black panties. He sat on the bed and she straddled him—not allowing penetration just yet, but moving close enough that his erection pressed eagerly against her stomach. “Are you sure you’re ready for this,” he asked cautiously. “I know you wanted to remain a virgin until marriage.”
