Burning Love [Flights of Fancy 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

by Melodee Aaron

  Flights of Fancy 1

  In the Immortal Love universe, a small crew of women aboard the science and diplomatic starship HMSS Daedalus are on a voyage of discovery. On this mission, six special heroines make first contact with pyrokinetic aliens, cyborgs, vampires, knights and dragons, and paranormal creatures. Falling in love does not always work out as planned...

  Burning Love

  Lieutenant Star Hawking, a young diplomat on her first assignment, doesn't feel very confident in leading the mission she's drawn, but she knows what she has to do. Pressed for time for more than a year, her career has taken precedence over her personal life. Then from out of nowhere, two males enter her world.

  Major Jake "Spence" Spencer has been a Marine for a long time, and he's played the field. A lot. One day, he notices that his feelings for a woman have changed, and it puzzles him. He finds this woman eclipses all others he's known, but exactly why eludes him.

  Krell, an alien diplomat, has much to hide about the society on his planet and the plans the Council of Elders has for Daedalus and her crew. The survival of Krell's people depends on stealth and deceit. But when Krell falls for a human woman, he discovers all may not be as it seems on his world.

  Sensuality Rating: SCORCHING

  Genre: Science Fiction/Paranormal

  Theme: Ménage à Trois

  Length: Novel (31,000 words)

  BURNING LOVE

  Flights of Fancy 1

  Melodee Aaron

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THIS E-BOOK: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to one LEGAL copy for your own personal use. It is ILLEGAL to send your copy to someone who did not pay for it. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book.

  BURNING LOVE

  Copyright © 2007 by Melodee Aaron

  ISBN: 1-933563-96-6

  First E-book Publication: January 2008

  Cover design by Jinger Heaston

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2008 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Foreword

  The Flights of Fancy series is set in what I call The Immortal Love Universe. This universe spans the entire galaxy and some twelve billion years starting in 1940 AD. You'll sometimes hear it called The Ike Payne Universe.

  Even though set in the same universe as For the Love of Payne, Desert Heat, and The Polyamorous Princess, the stories of Flights of Fancy are not a part of that series. There are some common characters readers will recognize, but they are mostly in minor roles consistent with the shared setting. The tales of Flights of Fancy also take place many years after the stories mentioned above. While you don't need to read the other stories to enjoy Flights of Fancy, readers may find additional information about the universe in those earlier tales.

  Instead, Flights of Fancy deals with an entirely new group of people aboard the science and diplomatic starship HMSS Daedalus on a voyage of discovery in the far-flung reaches of the galaxy. On this mission, the crew encounters many strange and wonderful people and civilizations. When people come together, no matter the place and time, their tempers, passions, lust, and love often flourish.

  Join me now as we explore the future, or at least one possible future.

  Keep Loving!

  Melodee Aaron

  Chapter 1

  Lord Admiral of the Fleet, Q, leaned far back in his chair and put his feet up on the ornate, real wood desk of his otherwise spartan office. Watching him through the communications link, Elsa found it hard to believe this man answered only to the Emperor himself. Admiral Q always seemed very relaxed and acted like he had all the time in the universe to chat with his officers, and he never rushed anything. He studied the display on his desk in silence for more than a minute before he carried on with the discussion.

  "So, Captain, you think this anomaly is worth investigating?"

  "Yes, Sir. The probes we've sent in stopped transmitting after sending a few images of a habitable planet."

  His silver-gray eyes sparkled, and Elsa's breath came short. "Tell me why I should allow you to risk one of His Majesty's starships and crews to enter an area where you have lost three probes."

  Elsa managed to pull herself together and tapped at the display controls to pull up one of the better images the second probe returned. "If you look here, Admiral, you can see what looks like a city on the edge of the coastline. I'd like to get a better look at that if nothing else."

  "Captain Davis, need I remind you that you and Daedalus are not on a sight-seeing tour?" The stony set to his face made it all angles and sharp lines, the perfect image for a man wielding such immense authority and power.

  "No Sir, but this is why we're out here. A week ago, we didn't even know this planet existed, and now we have evidence that it may be inhabited."

  Q nodded. "Or that it may have been at some time in the past. You have no evidence of current inhabitants."

  "That's very true, but if we get past this energy barrier caused by the binary stars, we can get sensor readings."

  He sat quietly staring at the displays for many seconds. "What do you think happened to the probes, Captain?"

  "I don't know."

  "That's not what I asked. I don't know either, but what do you think happened to them?"

  "I think the probes are fine, Sir. I think the energy field is blocking their signal just like it's blocking our scans."

  He stared at her through the link, and a small smile played across his face. The man was nearly 4,000 years old, but he looked about thirty-five. He wasn't really a man at all, however, but rather a simulated human with a positronic brain and biosynthetic body. Elsa thought she probably wasn't the only woman in Fleet to wonder just how good of a simulation he was. She could still recall the first time she saw him when she was a sixteen-year-old midshipman; she damned near wet her uniform because he was so cute. Thirty-five years later, her heart still beat a little faster when she saw that smile.

  Q nodded. "Just so. I share your opinion on the fate of the probes."

  "Then I should take Daedalus in?"

  He shook his head. "Captain, we both know the risks, and I can't order you to take your ship and crew into harms way on a mission of discovery. I will not forbid you from doing so, but the decision rests with the ship's captain."

  "I understand, Sir."

  "Very well. Godspeed, Captain Davis."

  The communicator swam with three-dimensional static for a moment before fading to black.

  * * * *

  Star sat in the briefing room along with a dozen other officers as the captain ran down the plans for entering the unknown system.

  "We'll enter the energy field in thirty minutes. Once inside, we'll take scans to see what we have." The captain smiled. "After that, we'll play it by ear."

  Commander Harris tapped on his data recorder. "Understood, Ma'am. The science and diplomatic teams assigned for this mission
are ready."

  Davis nodded. "Who's leading the diplomatic team?"

  Star spoke up, but she wasn't used to dealing with the captain on such a direct basis. "I am, Ma'am. Lieutenant Hawking."

  "Very good. None of us have much experience with this sort of first contact thing, Hawking, but we're all in this together. If you need help, just ask."

  "Understood, Captain."

  "Alright, then. Let's get this ship moving. Dismissed."

  * * * *

  Daedalus and her mission presented a bit of a dichotomy to the designers at Fleet. As a ship of discovery, her primary missions were science and diplomacy, and offensive weapons would be out of place. On the other hand, she was a ship of the Fleet and needed to defend herself. Besides, every diplomat knew that the best tool in delicate negotiations was often a loaded gun. Elsa sighed because she had precious few guns to load.

  "Tactical, please take us to battle stations."

  "Battle stations, aye." Alarms sounded throughout the ship, but unlike aboard the big battle cruisers forming the backbone of the Fleet, most of the crew of Daedalus moved to damage control positions. "All departments report battle stations, Ma'am."

  "Deflectors and Harbison Field to maximum."

  The ensign tapped at his controls. "Harbison Field at full power, deflector screens at 118%."

  What Daedalus lacked in offensive weapons she made for up in defensive and drive systems. The impulse and hyperspace drives were big enough for a ship ten times the size of Daedalus. The in-system impulse motors alone could generate nearly half-a-million Gs of acceleration, five times that of even the Emperor's flagship. She also carried a state-of-the-art Jamison Drive that, through some magic of physics Elsa didn't even pretend to understand, allowed Daedalus to move between certain precise points in space almost instantly.

  While Daedalus couldn't fight, she sure as hell could run.

  Daedalus also had the most sophisticated sensors of any ship in the Fleet, so she could see threats a long way off. The overall idea was to see a potential threat far enough away that it wasn't really a threat yet, and then run like hell before it got close enough to become an actual threat.

  Elsa swallowed remembering that all of this looked really good on paper, but no one had actually tried it yet.

  The science officer looked up from her console. "Energy field stable, and the deflectors are adjusted for maximum protection, Captain."

  "Very well." Elsa took a deep breath. "Helm, take us through the barrier on heading one-seven-four, one-tenth impulse power."

  The helmsman played her controls like a virtuoso would play a violin, making just the right moves to get the perfect performance from her instrument. "Ahead one-tenth on bearing one-seven-four, aye."

  Daedalus eased forward through space, ready for anything.

  * * * *

  She watched the bridge activity on the big monitor screens in the mess hall. As a diplomatic officer, Star's battle station was at the first aid station that took over the mess in times like this. As the energy field grew large on the screens, she braced herself for something, but she didn't know what.

  The crossing of the barrier was a bit anticlimactic. Essentially, nothing happened. The ship just slipped through like it cruised through normal space. She heard the bridge crew giving the captain information from scans by the science and tactical stations, but none of it sounded like a threat, and no one on the bridge seemed unusually tense.

  Star, on the other hand, fought the urge to chew her nails.

  She spent the first twenty-five years of her life training as a diplomat. She spent the last year training as a crewmember on Daedalus, the first ship of the Empire to go forth into unknown parts of the galaxy with the express mission of making first contact.

  The fact that she wasn't the original choice for the mission only added to her worries. She'd been a backup crewman to another, much older, diplomat who went and killed himself while hang gliding in the New Moscow system. Even as a backup, the Emperor and Lord Admiral personally approved her selection. They thought she could do the job. She wasn't nearly as certain, although Star intended to do the best she could. She just hoped it would be good enough to keep her from killing herself or someone else.

  The captain must have been satisfied that nothing threatened the ship, because she secured from battle stations. Star decided to stay and watch the bridge displays as the artificers turned the room back into a mess hall.

  * * * *

  "All departments secured from battle stations, Captain."

  Elsa nodded. Despite a twelve week voyage from Sol system with nothing going on, the Daedalus crew was still tight. "Thank you. Science, anything on scanners?"

  "I'm getting various clutter on the life signs systems, but too confused to isolate anything. I'm working on an algorithm now to try cleaning it up."

  "Very well. Communications, anything on your bands?"

  "Just static so far in the low bands, Ma'am."

  She considered for a moment. The exo-anthropologists believed emerging civilizations would develop low-band radio first, and then move toward the higher frequencies and microwaves as they matured. So far, of the more than one hundred species known to mankind, they all fit that pattern. Elsa got this job ahead of captains with far more seniority because she had good instincts. When she interviewed with the Emperor, he smiled the lopsided grin everyone in the galaxy knew from his images on the currency and told her, "I like someone who goes with their gut feelings. I do it all the time."

  She smiled. "Communications, please jump to the SHF range and scan."

  The communications officer hesitated. "Ma'am, that's not the protocol."

  "Noted. You have your orders."

  The ensign shrugged and tapped her console switches. She held the earpiece tight against her head as the system scanned the SHF bands, and Elsa saw her suddenly frown deeply. "Captain, I have contact." She played with the controls for a moment. "At 14.721 gigahertz. It sounds like voice in an unknown language."

  "Get a linguist up here and try the electronic translator."

  "Aye, aye."

  Elsa allowed herself a small grin. So far in her twelve years as a skipper, her instincts hadn't let her down.

  The science officer spoke from her station. "Captain, I have two major concentrations of life signs. One is in the presumed city on the coast and the other is twenty-five kilometers south-southwest from there."

  "Any details?"

  The officer looked up from her scanners. "The returns appear humanoid, only some minor variances from humans, but the returns in the city itself are odd." She paused, like she looked for words. "The body temperatures are high, just under forty-three degrees Celsius, and I'm getting a lot of infrared radiation from the area."

  Elsa wondered what that could mean, but from the officer's expression, Elsa didn't think she was nearly as puzzled as the scientist.

  "Well, maybe we can just ask them about it." She turned to the communications console where the communications officer and the linguist huddled over the console. "Any luck on that translation?"

  The linguist answered. "Not yet, Ma'am, but it looks like just idle chatter from the patterns I'm seeing."

  "Best estimate to full translation?"

  "Maybe two hours, Captain."

  Elsa pondered for a moment. She could either keep Daedalus where she was, or she could take the ship in closer to the planet. She swiveled the command chair to face the tactical station. "Any evidence we've been scanned or that they know we're here?"

  "No, Ma'am. I see no other ships in the system and no satellites in orbit down to fifty centimeters resolution."

  She wondered if the exo-anthropologists could be wrong twice in a row. The protocols all said a civilization would develop microwave communications in lockstep with spaceflight, especially unmanned probes and satellites.

  Again, her instincts overruled the mission manual. "Helm, take us to the planet, one-fifth impulse power, and insert Daedalus int
o high standard orbit."

  "Yes, Ma'am."

  Daedalus moved through the unknown space toward the greater unknown of the planet.

  Chapter 2

  Over the next week, Star was amazed at every turn by the efficiency and skill of the Daedalus crew. From the breaking of the language barrier to fully mapping the planet, the teams did their jobs quickly and with few errors or missteps.

  Star had few people on Daedalus she considered friends, but one was an Imperial Marine Major named Jake Spencer. She never heard anyone call him anything but Spence. He'd been in the Marines for all but sixteen years of his 148-year life, and Spence claimed to have no plans to retire anytime soon. Since she'd been a last-minute replacement, Star missed a good deal of the training with the crew that might have built friendships, but Spence, at least at first, treated her more like a grandchild than a superior officer. Sometimes, though, he most certainly did not look at her like a grandfather.

  She mentioned the ease with which the crew established contact and her surprise since no one ever went out and deliberately followed such a mission before.

  Spence chuckled. "You have to remember that these people are all professional soldiers. Most of them, a couple of years ago, before they started training for Daedalus, were on warships."

  "What's that got to do with anything? We're not at war."

  "No, but we're doing the same things." He sipped at his milk, his eyes lost in thought for a moment. "When you attack a system, you have to do a few things before you can win. First, you have to make good maps of the system and the planets. You also have to find out where the people are and assess any immediate threats. Then you have to find out what frequencies they use to communicate, and after that you have to break their language and codes." He smiled. "You, little girl, are the anomaly on this ship."