He entered the med bay and walked up to the counter. “I’ve got testing to be done.”
“Don’t you have better things to do than give us more work?” The woman glared.
Yes, clearly this will be a walk in the park, he thought sarcastically.
He smiled, hoping to work his charms on the girl. She was pretty enough. It wouldn’t be any hardship. He put his hand over his heart. “I didn’t intend to make your job any harder than it already is. It’s my job to protect and sometimes that means taking preventative measures.”
“Like?” she asked skeptically.
“Like testing people for shifter DNA. With everything that’s happened, I’m not taking any chances. Especially after that shifter ran rampant on the ship the last few weeks.”
“There was a shifter on board?” she whispered, leaning forward.
“Oh yes. Nasty bastard. An assassin. Perpetrated a string of murders. He was killed, but I’ve got to cover my bases. You understand.”
“I think I remember those. One of the officers had to bring in quite a few bodies, if I don’t recall. Wasn’t one found in the food freezer?”
“Yeah. He probably died before we ever took off.”
“Lord have mercy.”
He nodded. “Indeed. Now, any chance you could run these for me? Most of them are just checking security staff, random checks. The last one here,” he flipped through the envelopes until he found the one with Trace’s name on it, “is a case. Someone accused her of being a shifter. That one’s got priority.”
She took the bundle and glanced at the last envelope, then looked up at him, shocked. “Trace? May Trace? Who the hell would accuse her of being a shifter?”
He smiled at the mama bear protectiveness he saw in the woman across from him. Good, an ally. “Yeah, that was my reaction too. I don’t believe it for a minute, but Lieutenant Braddock wouldn’t be placated. I had to follow up on it.”
“Lieutenant Braddock?”
“Yeah, but to tell you the truth, I think it’s all bullshit. Braddock’s had it in for her since day one. I wouldn’t be surprised if spite drove his accusations and nothing more.”
She nodded. “Well, that makes more sense. Honestly, Trace a shifter? She’s far too sweet. It’s such a pity she ended up in here so often this trip.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you jump in the middle of things.”
“Jump in the middle of things?”
“Yeah, I mean she didn’t start out doing that. When it all started, she sort of got thrust into it. A friend of hers gave her information, without her knowledge I might add, which got an assassin on her butt.”
“The shifter,” she said, awed.
“Exactly. But since then, she’s repeatedly shown no hesitance in entering the fray, even though it wasn’t her job. She helped with investigations and helped fight off the invaders who nearly killed everyone on board by opening the airlock.”
“Sounds like a hero to me.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Well, Avery.”
“Kyle,” he said.
Her smile grew. “Kyle. I will make sure these get done. ASAP. I don’t want this hanging over our friend’s head any longer than necessary.” She patted his hand.
“You’re an angel.”
“Not hardly,” she said with a wink.
Avery relaxed back into his office chair. At least that was taken care of. A knock sounded at his door. “But, of course,” he muttered. He took a moment. “Come in.”
Braddock stormed in.
“Ah, the prodigal son returns.”
“Knock it off, Avery. I outrank you.”
Avery glared, his frame going rigid. “What burr got in your claw, Braddock?”
“What have you done about Trace, Avery? I could have you brought up on charges for not doing your job, you know.”
He gave it a beat before speaking, surprised by the anger in the superior officer’s voice. “You need to stop with the threats, Braddock. I am doing my job. Even overworked as we are, I’m still checking your rather ridiculous accusations of someone who will probably be our most decorated crew member once we arrive on Earth.”
“She doesn’t deserve any fucking metals. She’s a damned shifter.”
“Braddock, shut up,” he shouted, getting to his feet. “Shifter or no, she has repeatedly saved the lives of this crew. She has gone above and beyond the call of duty. And you know what? If it turns out she is a shifter, however unlikely I find it, I think she would deserve it more.”
Braddock stood, mouth agape.
“Because this wasn’t her duty at all. She took it upon herself. No vows. No oaths. No contracts. I’ll do my duty, Braddock. I’ve sent her DNA to med bay for testing. If she’s a shifter, they’ll figure it out. Now I’d appreciate it if you leave me and my men to more important matters, like finding the rest of those conspirators.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Mila spent a lot of time on the bridge waiting. Being near her console, looking out over that odd purple planet, soothed her. I wish I was flying. That would really soothe me. But this first diplomatic talk wouldn’t end for a few more days. It would be the first of many, Tristan had told her, but the first was often the most important.
She wasn’t privy to what was going on and she didn’t care. The purpose of this mission barely registered on her list of concerns right now. Instead, her mind kept flitting back to the testing she could almost feel being done. Would it work? Would they really believe the sample was hers?
“Everything will be all right,” Tristan said, coming up behind her.
She jumped and turned, a smile slowly stretching her face. “Hey, Tristan.” She sounded tired, even to her own ears.
“It’ll be all right, don’t you worry.”
“I can’t help but worry. Yet again, my life’s on the line here. I’m getting tired of feeling that way.”
“Miss your old life?”
“Yes and no. It was simpler. Safer. But it wasn’t really living.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No, I just hid in a hole, passing my days with nothing. Certainly nothing of value, of importance. I’m doing something worthy now, even if it got me shot up in the process.” She smirked at him, waving her hand in the general vicinity of her various wounds.
He walked to her, pulling her into his arms and reveling in how she squirmed closer. “You are important, Mila. And everyone will see that.” He kissed her temple, then rubbed his cheek against her smooth skin.
“So long as Braddock’s accusations don’t encourage the people back home to test me again.”
“They won’t.”
“They could. If Braddock insists again, they could.”
“I won’t let it happen, Mila.”
She turned around in his arms, looking him straight in the eyes. “No matter how highly you think of yourself, you’re not the master of the universe. There are people you have to report to, people I have to report to. If they ask me to get tested, my only option might be to run. And that might not be an option anymore.”
“I’m not going to lose you, Mila.”
Avery walked into Tristan’s office, knocking this time. He chose to ignore Trace sitting in the captain’s lap. “I’ve got the tests back. And the digits of a rather nice medical officer who just happened to appreciate my charms. Thanks for that, by the way. No red flags raised. Nobody questioned it. You should be safe.”
“Thanks, Avery. What about Braddock?”
Avery crossed his arms. “Haven’t talked to him yet. Not looking forward to that particular conversation. The last one didn’t exactly go… smoothly. I didn’t think he knew curse words.”
“Well, I’m sure you can pull it off, what with all your charms.”
Avery shook his head and left, taking care to close the doors behind him.
“Avery,” a belligerent voice snapped from down the hall.
Great.
“Yes, Braddock.”
He turned to the voice, again crossing his arms over his chest.
“What’s the status on the Trace investigation?”
“Done. She’s clear.”
“What?” Braddock grabbed Avery by his shirt, lifting him off the ground. “What do you mean she’s clear?”
Avery glared at the man holding him as his shirt dug into his armpits. He placed his feet against the wall and shoved, throwing Braddock off balance and onto the floor. With a single move, he flipped him, sending his knee into the other man’s back. He leaned in to speak. “Never forget I’m Head of Security. I could wipe the floor with you, lieutenant. What deference I give you is due to rank alone and nothing more. Understand?”
“Yes,” his opponent breathed.
“Good.” He let up, standing and returning to his original position.
Braddock was slower to stand, but he glared from across the hall. Now, he stayed out of grasping distance. “I’ll repeat my question. What do you mean she’s clear?”
“I mean her test came back negative for shifter DNA. She’s no different from you or me.” And he couldn’t believe he said that with a straight face.
“That’s not possible.”
“But unerringly true.”
“It must be a false negative.”
“It’s not that kind of testing. There’re no false positives and false negatives with DNA testing.”
“It can’t be! I saw!”
“Then maybe you should get yourself checked in somewhere when we get back, lieutenant.” And it took great effort to hide his smile as he said it. He really didn’t like this guy.
Braddock glared. “This isn’t over.”
Avery rolled his eyes. Of course it wasn’t over. Why would it be over?
Chapter Forty-Three
Days passed and they started their journey back home. It was slow, but quiet. Nothing serious happened, just Avery and his people rounding up the conspirators. At the times Mila saw him, he usually wore a scowl. He tried to smile for her, but she saw it irked him that he couldn’t find the last of those behind the attacks on their ship.
She doubted they would ever find them all.
Days were long, exhausting, and she went straight to bed most of the time. Tristan still tried, and failed, to keep his distance, which was all right with her. She didn’t know what to do with him either. She didn’t have a lot of experience with relationships.
But nothing topped when that big blueberry they called Earth entered their horizon. She laughed and shouted when she saw it. The entire bridge stopped to watch. She could feel the collective sigh. It had been a long trip. Hard. A lot of people would be glad to be home. Even with possible exposure still flitting in the periphery of her consciousness, it felt good to see Earth again.
“Ready to enter atmosphere, captain,” she said.
“At your leave, pilot.”
She descended, feeling the massive POS pull toward the Earth. She charted their trajectory, planning a gradual decline that would have them looping the planet twice before setting down in Florida. They entered atmosphere and soon her vision turned red from the heat of reentry.
The controls pulled at her hands like a horse wanting its head. She held firm, feeling the subtle shake as the various forces warred against one another. Clouds passed and soon she made out things in the distance. A land mass. An ocean.
She adjusted the controls, slowing them further. They were almost there.
“Luke, communications.”
“Roger.”
He reached over and grabbed the short range radio two seats away. “Tower, this is U.S.S. Orleans. We are inbound west. Requesting permission for landing.”
“Orleans, this is Tower. Cleared for straight in on One West.”
“Roger.” He put the radio down. “One West, sweet cheeks.”
“I’d kick your ass right now for that name, but I’m busy.”
He laughed. “I know. That’s why I did it.”
Mila didn’t even have the opportunity to glare at him. She needed to focus straight ahead. She could see the landing strip now and adjusted her controls more.
Flaps, landing gear.
She felt the pull of the landing gear as they created more resistance.
Reduce speed.
They continued their descent.
Slower.
Closer.
Almost.
Touchdown.
The ship bumped. Once, twice, then coasted down the wide runway as she applied the brakes, slowing them to a stop.
She sighed, a smile on her face.
“Excellent landing, May,” Luke said.
She punched him in the arm.
“Ow,” he said, rubbing the spot.
“That’s for the sweet cheeks comment.”
“Beast,” he grumbled.
“Come on. I think it’s long past time we got off this POS.”
“Damn straight.”
Luke bounced her way off the ship, skirting people like a fish through the sea. A grin stretched her face as she hopped off the ship, the enclosed space opening into the great outdoors. She looked around her, laughing at herself. As far as the eye could see, concrete, blacktop, and blocky buildings made up the landscape.
Well, maybe not the great outdoors…
Still, it was freeing to no longer be cooped up, no longer have a ceiling over her head or walls closing her in. She stepped away from the ship, searching for familiar faces. Her family had always been supportive, first with her differences and then with her career. That’s how she’d gotten her nickname, after all. She’d told her family one time, “I’m lucky to have such a supportive family,” and it stuck.
“Mom!” she squealing, taking off at top speed across the pavement. Behind her mom, her dad and siblings waited, big grins on their faces. Luke slammed into them, trying to hug them all at once and failing. “I’ve missed you guys.”
“Welcome home,” her dad said, echoed by her mom.
As she pulled away, her older brother took one look at her, clutched at his heart and said, “Gasp! You look like a guy!”
Luke threw her bag at him.
“Oomph,” he said as he toppled to the ground. “What’ve you got in here? Bricks?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she said, sticking out her tongue at him.
God, it’s good to be home.
The ship was a sea of commotion, everyone racing to gather their things and run into the arms of their loved ones. Mila took her time, taking the jostling she got from the people around her. God, what if the whole crew had survived?!
She reached her bunk with only a few bruises. Santos was already packed, her bag slung over one shoulder. “Hope I never see you again,” Santos said.
“Likewise,” she said with a smile.
Santos shook her head, but smiled too as she pushed past Mila and walked out.
Mila started shoving things in her bag, enjoying the weight of the objects once again. Gravity. Beautiful.
She zipped the bag, put it over her shoulder, and opened the door, only to be greeted by three men standing guard. “Can I help you?”
“May Trace?”
“Yeah?”
“You’ve been accused of being a shifter. Come with us.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Mila followed the men in abject terror. She could barely breathe. Suddenly, the same gravity she’d reveled in only minutes ago seemed amplified by the weight of the accusations against her, weighing her down, oppressing her.
She looked around her, searching, but couldn’t find Tristan or Avery. Where were they? She could really use an ally right about now.
They led her into a small room with a table and two chairs, each chair on opposite sides of the table. Interrogation room. She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, but failed. It seemed determined to choke her.
She didn’t sit. She was too nervous to sit. So she paced.
Time ticked by, only there was no clock. The room,
the environment, seemed designed to simulate a complete stoppage of time. Was this what hell would be like? An eternity in a moment?
She continued pacing. It would be all right. They had records on the ship, DNA testing. Faked DNA testing. She would have testimony from Tristan, Avery. It would be all right.
The door opened and a man walked through. “Why so nervous, May Trace?”
She stopped her pacing. “Forgive me if I don’t appreciate being trapped in a tiny room after being stuck on a ship for weeks. I’d rather hoped I’d be racing off toward my leave right about now, not pacing an interrogation room.”
The man nodded and motioned her to sit as he did so himself. She did, watching him intently.
“Someone accused you of being a shifter, Pilot Trace.”
“I know. We already had this investigation. On the ship.”
“You did?”
“Yes. The Head of Security took buccal swabs. Had them tested. It came back normal. Lieutenant Braddock just has it in for me.”
“Lieutenant Braddock?”
“That’s who brought forward the accusations, isn’t it?”
The man remained quiet. “I’ll be back.” He stood and left.
Avery waited outside the ship, watching people disembark, looking for someone in particular. He’d sent a text message to a friend, asking for a phone call. He spotted his quarry, “Faulk!”
The captain turned to him and changed course, though his head kept on a swivel.
“You won’t find her,” he said as the other man stepped up to him.
“What?”
“She was escorted off the ship by three MPs shortly after we landed.”
“What?!”
Avery put up his hands. “It wasn’t me. I can only assume it was your lieutenant. I don’t have all the details yet.” As if on cue, his phone rang. “I’ve got to take this.” He pressed the icon to answer the call, “Speak.”
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