by S. H. Jucha
Now, her heart was racing and the cabin seemed short of oxygen.
He whispered in her ear, “Would you like to tuck me in again?” And when she could only nod silently, he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. She wanted to take him to bed immediately, but he continued to kiss her lips, stroking with his tongue, teasing one lip then the other, playing with her, and she wasn’t about to interrupt him. When he finally pulled back, softly cradling her face in his hands, he sent,
Renée looked into his eyes, brimming with intensity.
Alex picked her up in his arms and held her close to him. She buried her face against his neck as he carried her to bed.
* * *
In the morning, Alex woke with Renée pressed to his side, her slender arm across his chest. “It takes an alien invasion for me to find the woman I want,” he mumbled to himself. He reached out and caressed the line of her shoulder, the edge of her ear, and her slender neck. When she didn’t wake, he pulled his hand back from the swell of her breast, allowing her to sleep.
Renée stretched her body out against him, wrapping a leg over his and sighing in pleasure. She had fought to keep Alex at arm’s length, not wanting to endanger their greater goal. For some time, she had known that he was attracted to her too. The intensity they felt that first day, rather than fading over time, had grown in strength—was still growing—and she had tired of waiting and denying her own desires. She wanted Alex, and now that she had him, she was going to hold on to him come what may.
Easing over on top of him, she reveled in the feel of his hard muscles against her body. Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed his lips, his cheeks, and his forehead, finally resting her cheek against his. She whispered, “Good morning,” in his language. When he quickly sat up, she straddled him, laughing at his shocked expression.
Alex laughed and hugged her close, pressing her to him.
“Tighter,” she whispered.
He gently increased the pressure, and she felt him stir against her.
“Again,” she whispered in his ear.
He eased his embrace and kissed her softly as she started rocking her hips slowly against him.
Two hours later, they awoke and chatted in Con-Fed, still holding each other, until Renée heard Alex’s stomach rumbling. “Oh no, I’m failing to care for my Captain.”
“Yes, I think he’s about to waste away to nothing,” Alex moaned, teasing her. “We’ve missed morning meal.”
“Ah, my brave Captain, I’ve made other arrangements,” she said, giving him a wide grin as the cabin door chimed.
“Well, let them in, Captain,” said Renée.
“Who’s out there?” he asked as he signaled the door open.
Renée rolled off him and walked to the door, which she slid open enough to reach through, retrieve some garments, and close again.
As she walked back to the bed, Alex admired her naked body. She tossed the garment in his face when he failed to pay attention to what she was saying.
“These are New Terran-style lounging robes, like the ones your mother lent us, so that the Captain may be comfortable in his cabin,” she repeated.
Alex climbed out of bed. The robes covered each of them from neck to mid-calf. While he was belting his closed, she came to him and kissed him gently.
“I don’t know what the future holds for us, Alex, but we will make the most of it. Now come. Morning meal waits,” she said and left for the cabin’s main salon.
The center table was laid out with covered meal dishes and a pot of the Méridien thé Alex favored. Terese, Pia, and Geneviève stood against the far wall, all three of them beaming.
“Good morning, Captain,” they chorused in sing-song.
“Morning,” he greeted them in return. “It’s very kind of you to serve us after meal time. I know how important your custom of taking meals together is to you.”
“Our customs are important to us, Captain,” Geneviève replied. “But we’ve learned that it’s important for our people to embrace change for the good rather than resist it to our detriment.” She sent a thank you to Renée.
“Again, thank you all,” Alex said, a little embarrassed to have an audience in his cabin this morning, of all mornings. “But did it require three of you to carry the food?”
“Why, yes, Captain,” Pia volunteered. “A man with such a hearty appetite requires a great deal of servicing,” and the three Méridiens beamed.
“You’ve been corrupted by the New Terrans,” Alex grumbled.
“Oh no, Captain,” Terese objected. “We believe it’s only Ser who has been corrupted.” They squealed with laughter and ran out of the cabin before their Captain could either throw them out or throw something at them. Instead, it became a war of rude images fired rapidly back and forth.
Renée was laughing as Alex signaled the cabin door closed. Both sent their own quick queries to Julien, who replied that all was quiet.
“Alex, I believe that you have done more than save us and our ship. I think you have saved our hope. It’s good to see my people smiling and laughing again. It’s even better to see them join your people in their love of life.” She leaned over and kissed him long and sweet. When they broke apart, she ordered, “Now eat, you have much to do.”
-42-
After their meal, Alex donned his uniform and set off on a tour. He checked in with Chief Peterson in the port bay since his two remaining Daggers had both taken minor strikes.
The crew, under Julien’s guidance, had employed a vid-laser to detail the damage on Andrea’s fighter. A GEN-2 machine was unpacked to create raw nanites for the repairs while the crew created molds for the missing section of her missile boom. The raw nanites would then be programmed by a GEN-3 machine and poured into the molds.
Alex cringed as he reviewed the damage done to Andrea’s fighter. The melted edges reminded him of the Rêveur’s holes. “That was close,” he commented. And the Chief, looking over his shoulder, nodded his head in reply.
Outside the starboard bay, Alex saw that the quarantine station had been removed from the airlock, but security stood watch to restrict casual visitors. Alain, who was on duty, gave him a respectful nod and a bright smile. “Good morning to you, Captain.”
“Morning, Alain,” he returned. It hadn’t escaped his notice that everyone was especially cheerful this morning. He thought the crew’s buoyant mood stemmed from their success, but he had a feeling it might be something else. His Chief Engineer confirmed his suspicions. Mickey and his techs were arranged around the alien craft, an array of equipment spread out around them.
“Ah, good morning, Captain! How are you feeling this morning?”
“Fine, Chief Brandon, thank you.”
“That’s great, Captain. Every man needs his…his rest.”
“Yes, well, thank you for your concern, Chief. What have you got for me?”
Mickey led Alex through their progress. His team had managed to cut away samples of the hull, which were in the Engineering Lab, a space carved from the original stasis suite. His techs were running a series of spectrographic tests to determine the makeup of the hull. It was hoped it might provide some insight into how the aliens entered and exited their ship.
“Captain, I’ve the strangest feeling about this,” Mickey said.
“Well, Chief, all of this is strange, so don’t hold back. All ideas are welcome.”
“Last night, I was telling Pia that this ship doesn’t make sense to me. She said I shouldn’t prejudice my thinking with human expectations…to let my imagination run free. So that’s what I did and the oddest thought occurred to me. I’m thinking this ovoid seed is a home…not in any human sense, but the way a sea nellie carries its home around with it.”
M
ickey stood in the bay, a few cables in his hand, and waited for the Captain to laugh at him, but he was frowning instead. Without warning, he received a recording of a subsumed planet taken by a monitor ship. The vid was from the later stages of alien occupation, the ground pockmarked by the ubiquitous holes. He realized he was linked into a conference between the Captain and Julien. Imagery assaulted his implant as a variety of monitor ship vids were compared and contrasted. Finally, a vid froze on a single frame of the domes. Straight lines were connected to the domes from areas of bare ground. It was a push and pull process between the Captain and Julien as they traded ideas faster than Mickey could follow. Later, when the image froze, Mickey found he was hyperventilating. He would have been embarrassed to know that his crew had stopped working to watch the two officers frozen feet apart, their eyes staring into the distance.
Alex’s requests were a blur to Mickey, but not Julien, who returned library lists of Earth fauna from the colonists’ database. Alex directed Julien’s search, first to insects, then ground insects, and finally ground insects with nests. Then the two resumed their pattern matching. This time, the lines were irregular and followed subtle depressions in the terrain.
When they completed their mapping, the perspective sank into the ground, the image morphing from 2-D to 3-D as it rotated on a horizontal axis. Translucent shading was added to indicate variations in the sub-strata as gleaned from exploration surveys. Seen from underneath, the ovoid domes occupied the center of subterranean tunnels that branched and reconnected as the aliens located and harvested mineral deposits, trees, and shrubs.
Mickey took his first step from observer to active participant as he revolved the 3-D image. The concept unnerved him. It appeared that the aliens were subterranean. His comm pinged and he focused on the Captain, who was grinning at him like a man who’d lost touch with reality. And maybe he had, because the Captain grabbed his face, planted a smack on his forehead, and made for the bay’s airlock. His parting message was,
Mickey turned back to the alien ship and found his team staring at him with dumfounded expressions. “Well, this nutshell isn’t going to give up its mysteries by itself. Get back to work!”
As fortune would have it, he wouldn’t have to struggle to share with Pia what had transpired. Mickey had developed the habit, whenever he worked, of running his implant in record mode. He could play the entire event for Pia that evening. When finished, a pleasant smile would engulf her face, her eyes lighting with warmth. She’d pull him close and send,
* * *
Alex ended his tour in Medical, where Terese and Pia were testing samples under Julien’s supervision. He linked to Julien and the two Méridiens.
Julien sent.
Alex mulled the concept over in his mind. With his implant still open, he started assimilating various pieces of information quickly—Mickey’s concept of sea nellies, the asymmetrical, underground tunnels that might connect the domes to their plunder, and now, the similarities between the organic remains and the hull. His thoughts raced ahead.
Alex considered that information against his theory.
Julien considered Alex’s idea and researched the colonists’ data records. He selected vids of Earth insects, wasps and bees, creating nests with their own saliva and sent them to the three in Medical.
Julien updated Alex. Following their two light-year jump from Bellamonde, they had begun backtracking on their exit point to watch for any pursuers before they laid a course for Arno.
It was a cue to Alex that he had important business to conduct before they turned for Libre.
-43-
When Renée, Tatia, Andrea, and Edouard were seated around his cabin table, Alex linked them with Julien to share the newest data.
Julien replayed the original exchange and Alex narrated.
They came out of their fugues to stare at him.
Tatia said.
For all of them, Alex’s transformation had created a duality with which they still struggled. One moment, he would be the shy, soft-spoken, generous, young man they’d first met. The next, he would be their Captain—the man who led them in the capture of the first silver ship and had sent five crew out to sacrifice their lives, if needed, to save the rest of them.
He gave them a moment to absorb that supposition then proceeded with his immediate plans.
His audience exchanged glances. Based on their blank looks, more than one message was being passed, but no one raised an objection.
A huge grin spread across the Méridien’s face before he regained his composure. He stood, adopting a serious expression, and delivered a New Terran salute. Alex rose and returned the salute, then shook his hand.
Edouard had been in the employ of House de Guirnon as a navigation specialist for twenty-two years, a position he’d expected to hold until his retirement. The time lost in stasis had angered him. Then Julien had delivered the news that his people were being exterminated, which wiped away his anger, replacing it with determination. He vowed to make House Alexander proud of his captaincy.
Alex observed Edouard’s face as it reflected his thoughts, moving from pleased to pensive then determined. The last expression gave him confidence that he’d chosen well.
Tatia’s expression didn’t mirror Edouard’s. It wasn’t that she didn’t want the promotion. She was flattered when Alex asked her to be First Mate, giving her the opportunity to be with Alain and see the stars. But the adventure had changed when their worst fears had materialized. And while she could follow him, she knew she couldn’t lead. Not yet.
