by Kord Stone
It took a few seconds after the bright flash from the monitor for Calia to regain her vision. Meanwhile, the ship had been buffeted by the blast that had occurred behind them, and the explosive wave sent them hurling toward the planet’s atmosphere. She regained control of the ship’s propulsion, bringing TDS 3 to a halt, then fired at the ship that had shot past them.
Calia looked over to where Justin had been standing but now he was lying sprawled out on the floor. She rushed over to assess his condition. It was grave. His eyes were rolled back and he was having a severe seizure. His heartbeat was irregular and almost undetectable, then it ceased beating altogether.
Calia felt a panic hitherto unknown to her. She transported him directly to the medical unit, activated it, then bolted down the corridor and into medical.
Just after arriving at Justin’s side, she heard Jason’s voice calling over Justin’s life monitor, “Justin? Are you okay?”
Calia examined the medical monitor and replied, “Something happened to him. I have him in medical right now. It looks as if he is in stable condition, but almost all of his body chemistry is way out of the normal range. Do you know what caused the flash? I have not seen the data on it yet.”
She could hear Jason speaking in the background then he replied, “Alise says it was some kind of atomic weapon. It caused a feedback in our system and we were only just able to contact you.”
The thought of the attackers then rushed to the forefront of her concerns. “What is the status of the attack?”
“It’s over. Just before the blast occurred, there were thirty-two ships left. They broke off from the engagement and scattered. Twenty of them were still too close to the blast and were destroyed by their own weapon, but twelve ships escaped. Alise thought it best to let them go. We can explain what we did with them after your ship is charged and Justin is feeling better.”
Calia breathed easier at hearing the remaining attackers had fled, and though she wanted to hunt them down and finish them off, she knew her ship was in no condition at the moment. Sighing she said, “Okay, I am connecting the ship to the pyramids generator now. I will keep you updated on Justin’s condition and the charging process.” She closed the life monitors communications and looked back to the medical monitor.
Justin’s body chemistry was almost back to normal. It puzzled her how his body could go from energetic to almost no electrical impulses in a flash. It was as if all the energy had been drained from his body. That thought brought to mind that the ship needed a charge as much as he did at this point. She finished connecting the ship to the generator and turned her focus to Justin’s comfort. His body chemistry was now back to normal, so she decided the best thing to do for now was to let him sleep it off. She dropped the gravity field and floated him to his bedroom, then tucked him into bed. Then she summoned a chair and sat at his bedside holding his hand.
Calia was a wreck, and her new emotions were threatening to tear her to pieces. She had never left her post before, but this time was different. All that mattered to her was Justin’s welfare and that he survive. She knew her feelings for Justin were strong, even though she tried to hide them from him. She shook her head with the realization that she was hiding them from herself as well.
Right now she was really wishing that she had held her tongue before, instead of accusing him of trying to make her his sex slave. Her body and mind were begging her for a close and personal relationship with him. How was she supposed to accomplish that when she had so coldly shut him out before he even had a chance to say he might be interested in her? “Never say never,” she mumbled forlornly.
She sat there holding Justin’s hand and studying his features for hours on end waiting for him to awaken. Her thoughts began to drift and she was startled by his voice.
Justin’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, then he closed them and asked, “Am I dead? I have to be dead to have a beautiful angel like you watching over me.” Then he drifted back into a peaceful slumber.
Calia’s heart was threatening to explode from her chest at his words. Then she realized he was probably still dazed, and her heart fell as she imagined he might have thought she was someone else. Even though he had awakened only temporarily and was a bit confused, she knew he was out of danger now.
She bent over and kissed his hand like he did to her on the observation level. As her lips touched his skin, a static arc coursed through her, leaving her lips feeling tingly and numb. She let out a slight chuckle and decided it was time to get to the lower level.
The charging was almost complete and she knew it was only a matter of minutes before Jason would call on her for an update on Justin’s condition again. He had been almost like clockwork, calling every hour on the hour. She knew Justin was close to waking up in earnest and did not want the noise to awaken him prematurely. She opened the communications with TDS 1 when she reached the control room and a few seconds later Jason’s voice sounded. “How is Justin doing?” he asked sounding a bit anxious and irritated.
She figured Jason probably did not like her much at the moment. She had denied his request to visit Justin while he was recovering. She did keep him up to date on his progress, which did not change with each call he made. She would only say, “He is doing the same” and left it at that. Now that there was a change she felt it was only right to inform them of it. “He is doing better. A few minutes ago he woke for a few seconds and muttered then went back to sleep. He should be fully awake in an hour or two.”
Calia heard Jason sigh. “That’s good to hear. Jerren was about to form a boarding party. He has been aching to tell us what he saw during the attack, but he wants to tell us all at the same time.”
She laughed to herself and said, “That sounds intriguing… Our ship will be fully charged in a few minutes. Would you like to get recharged while we wait for Justin to awaken?”
“That sounds good. All of that weapons fire put a drain on our system. You can be on overwatch while we charge.”
Chapter Thirteen
Calia scanned the area surrounding them. The battle had left a lot of debris from the destroyed ships floating precariously, and she didn’t feel right leaving it for Daregon to clean up, so she began dematerializing and storing the debris in base form. She was halfway through when she wondered if the other ship would benefit from the added materials. She opened the communications and asked, “How are you on base materials? Do you want to store some of the wreckage from outside as well? If not, I can finish cleaning up the rest.”
Alise’s voice sounded over the com. “I stored a lot from the prior attacks on our ship, but I will collect whatever is in the range of this ship and after the charging is complete, you can collect the debris that is just out of both of our range. What are you doing with the BIOs?”
“I used the Lantin protocol,” Calia replied.
Alise transmitted back, “Got it, I will do the same.”
It dawned on Calia that this was the first time she had actually spoken directly with another AI. In the past, the commanders would take care of all the communications. “That sounds good. How long until your charge is complete?”
“Another three hours,” Alise replied.
* * * * *
Justin awoke with morning wood. He vaguely remembered having a dream of a goddess or an angel who loved and watched over him as he slept. He shook his head to clear his mind of the absurd notion and realized he had no recollection of going to bed. The last thing he could recollect was a ship careening towards the planet’s surface and a bright flash of reddish orange light. The connection with the binding disk and the ship made him aware of not only Calia, but the fact he could communicate through it as well, so he called out to Calia in mind, Calia?
Calia replied, Yes?
What happened? The last thing I remember is a bright flash. And why am I naked?
She chuckled and replied, All is well for the time being. Jason’s ship is almost fully charged and we will arrange a meeting to go over all of
the details of the attack when you are up to it. You should probably clean yourself up. I know your brothers are anxious to see you, and as for being naked, I figured you would be more comfortable, not to mention your clothes were a mess.
Justin could imagine the condition of his clothing after seeing what Jason’s had looked like after restarting TDS 3. Chuckling to himself, he asked, Ah … How long was I out?
A little over fourteen hours. We have charged up and now we are on overwatch for your brother.
Justin exited the ion shower, finished dressing and made his way to the first level. Upon arriving, he noticed Calia leaning over the weapons console striking a very desirable pose, and he had to fight down the desire to go over and kiss every last inch of her body. He wasn’t sure but he could have sworn he let out a lusty groan, and that might have been what caught her attention.
Calia turned to face Justin, and he could sense something was different. The look in her eyes almost felt like an inescapable force.
Her voice had a waver to it as she asked, “How are you feeling?”
The moment Calia spoke to him, he seemed to develop tunnel vision and his ears began to ring as his heart started pounding a furious beat. He thought she might have asked him a question and absentmindedly replied, “Yes.”
Justin was not sure how he made it to her. It felt as if a hand had pushed him in her direction, and the next thing he knew they were kissing one another with a passion that could have recharged the ship. Their tongues were dueling, lips suckling lips as he ran one hand down the length of her body and the other he ran through her lovely fiery red hair. He gently pulled her head back, exposing her neck and he worked his way down to her collarbone. He was about to strip off his new outfit right then and there, but his brother’s voice called out, and it was as if a bucket of cold water had been splashed on them, calling a halt to their exploration.
“We’ve completed charging. Is Justin awake yet?” Jason’s voice sounded a bit curt.
Justin looked her in the eyes and told her in mind, We will finish this later. He looked her up one side and down the other. I promise!
He turned to the console, schooled his thoughts and replied, “Yes, I just woke up. We need to have our meeting.”
Jason laughed. “I was about to say the same thing. I think we should both phase out and meet on one of the ships. The master control room would be nice, but the time differential makes me nervous.”
Justin had to agree wholeheartedly. “That sounds good. We can come over to you if you like.”
“Any time you’re ready. We set up a meeting room on the second level, and the archway is up,” Jason said, sounding relieved.
“All right, we will be there in a few minutes.” Justin looked at Calia who had an expectant look on her face.
Calia stood there dumbfounded. When they kissed, it had felt as if the whole universe had collapsed in on them and they were the only two who mattered. She was shocked to find that she had opened his shirt and almost removed his pants, but she had no recollection of doing so. Then his brother’s voice rained over them and she almost destroyed Justin’s life monitor right then and there. Then he looked into her eyes with his passion-filled gaze and spoke. She didn’t hear what he said because her ears were ringing too loudly but the emotion she felt radiating from him almost buckled her knees. A minute later he asked, “You do want to come with me, right?”
She shook her head and recalled what he had said, “What… Yes, I would love to go with you.”
Justin got a puzzled look on his face. “How do we do this?”
“I have never done it before, but it should be like the upload to the ship. One second.”
She closed her eyes…and focused on uploading to the binding disk, and a second later she watched her body dissolve right in front of him. She said in mind, There, I am in the disk now… This is strange. It is like I am in my body, but I have no control. I can see and hear through your senses though.
Justin let out a chuckle and said, Okay, it’s time to go.
Chapter Fourteen
Justin stepped through the archway into the master control room and after the blurring effect passed he asked, Are you still with me?
Calia giggled like a schoolgirl and said, This is fun.
Justin laughed and said, I’ll take that as a yes. I’d show you around here a bit, but I have a feeling Jason is eager to get a plan set in motion. With another blur, they stepped into TDS 1.
As soon as they entered the TDS 1 engine room Alise’s voice sounded. “We are on the second level.”
They touched down on the second level, and Justin was immediately gathered up in a group hug, then Jason spoke. “I was worried about you. Are you feeling well?”
Justin let out an exaggerated grunt from the firm hug and replied, “I was until you crushed my spine. In all seriousness though I am feeling better.” He hugged Jerren and finally Alise and said, “Thanks for all of your concern.”
When he hugged Alise, he felt a bit of irritation arise from Calia, and could almost have sworn a bit of jealousy as well. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was that had just passed between them on TDS 3, but he didn’t think she cared for him enough to be jealous. He shrugged it off and focused on what they were saying.
“Your AI wouldn’t let us onboard to see you. We could call for the archway, but we felt it rude to enter without permission,” Jason said, sounding irritated.
“She must have had her reasons, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t call her AI. Her name is Calia.” Justin noticed Alise got a dazed look and shook her head. He looked pointedly at her. “Are you okay, Alise?”
She returned her focus to him. “What… Yes, my mind just seemed to drift a second. Why don’t we all have a seat?” She motioned toward the table sitting in the middle of the room.
Justin looked over to find a triangular table in the center of the room with two chairs on one side and one on each of the others. He took a seat, then his brothers and Alise took theirs.
Alise asked, “Did Calia accompany you?”
“Yes, she’s uploaded in the binding disk.”
Calia thought, I wish I could sit next to you. It feels odd not being noticed.
Justin let out an audible chuckle, which drew everyone’s attention and he replied to her in mind, I will always notice you.
At Justin’s chortle Jerren asked, “What has you amused?”
“Calia just expressed her desire to be sitting at the table,” he said.
“How is that in any way amusing?” Jason cut in.
Justin sighed and figured he needed to put the conversation into perspective. “That’s not amusing. What amused me was her saying it felt odd to not be noticed…and I told her I would always notice her. I wish she could be here as well.”
Alise said, “I know how she feels—” The lights flickered momentarily and she continued, “I have been there before, but our bodies cannot leave the ship. We can do the next meeting on your ship if it will make her feel better.”
Justin was waiting for Calia to respond, but she must have been rendered speechless. What do you think? he asked.
Calia was temporarily at a loss for words. One second she was in Justin’s binding disk, and the next she was standing in the corner of the room. She heard Justin ask in mind What do you think? So she replied back in mind. I do not think… “We have to worry about that anymore.” She finished the last part aloud, which drew all of their attention.
They all turned at the sound of her voice and gaped at her in apparent stunned disbelief.
“How?” It was Alise who spoke.
They all stood and approached her. Justin was the first to her side and he gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then promptly introduced his brother and Alise to her. “Jason, this is my Calia… I mean this is… Damn it, I suck at this…”
Taking a breath, he started over. “Jason and Alise, I would like you to meet Calia. Calia, you already know my brother Jerren. This is my eldest brot
her Jason and this is Alise. Even though you already knew, it just felt right to formally introduce you.”
Calia was a bit confused. “I thought you said Jason was your older brother and he is thirty-five years old.”
The group burst into laughter, then Jason spoke up. “I am thirty-five and Jerren and Justin are thirty-four years old. “They had been dead for a year before Alise got me onto this ship and we went back to rescue them. I was the oldest by three and six minutes before, but now I am the oldest by over a year. We were born triplets.”
She shook her head and chuckled then said, “Now it makes sense. It is nice to finally meet all of you.” She looked at Alise and answered her question. “I have no idea how this is possible. This was the first time I ever successfully left the ship. Every time I left the ship in the past, my body would die. It must be because the ships are alike.”
Alise laughed then replied, “I know about trying to escape the ship. I could tell you a story or two. I got it into my head that the only thing keeping me aboard was the energy field surrounding the vessel. So one time, when we had landed on the surface of a planet, I increased the pressure in the mission prep-decon corridor then opened the hatch. The explosive decompression caused my body to go flying, but my consciousness was still in the ship.”
Calia loosened up a bit and with a laugh she said, “I tried to transport myself to a planet as the ship went to high-speed travel, thinking the ship would be out of range and unable to pull my consciousness back to the ship.”
Jason said with alarm to his voice, “That doesn’t sound safe at all.”
