by Saxon Andrew
The Insectoid Engineer was also changed. He thought the humans were little more than intelligent animals but found them to be something different. He initially thought the Prince wanting to go out with them was the highest form of lunacy…but now…he wished he were going with them. He got his wish.
• • •
The Prince called the Engineer to his ship and he bowed as he stepped into Gem’s quarters, “Please rise. My mother has forwarded your report on the humans to me. It appears you have developed a good working relationship with them.”
“They were more than I expected, Highness.”
“Are you mated yet?”
The Engineer jerked, “No, Majesty, I am not. Why do you ask such a personal question?”
“I am going to send you out with the second ship.”
“What?”
“I feel they might need your expertise if things go bad. Are you willing to do it?” The Engineer thought about his current status and saw no one on the horizon he was interested in choosing as a mate. The Prince clacked his laughter and smiled, “Come on. You’ll be able to see these new ships in action and your knowledge will be invaluable to the Realm. Would you rather be working on building new ships?”
The Engineer thought about the remark and clacked, “Count me in, Majesty.”
“Good! I’ll notify Leonidas later this evening that you will be joining his crew. I need you ready to leave by then so tie up any loose ends before our meeting. What do you wish to be called by the Humans?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“They are unable to pronounce your name. They call me Gem, which is a valuable shiny stone.”
“Then they can call me Gold. That’s a shiny metal I’ve heard they value.”
Gem clacked loudly in laughter, “Now that is a great choice. You’re going to have an incredible adventure.”
Gold clacked heartily, “I believe I am. How am I going to explain my presence on their ship?”
“You’ll say that you’ve been banished from the Realm for killing a minor member of the Royal Family.”
“But we never kill each other, Highness?”
“Trust me on this, no one knows that but us. Your cover will work among humans and any other alien species you encounter. It will cause others to fear you when they hear what you did.”
“I guess that makes sense. If I killed a member of the Royal Family, I would have no qualms about killing anyone else.”
“Exactly. I want you to stay in contact with me and keep me informed on what’s happening.”
“I will, Highness.”
• • •
That evening, the two crews gathered in Victoria’s building for a farewell party. Gem appeared with another Insectoid and Desiree walked over to them. She looked at the Engineer and said, “You look familiar.”
“I’m the one that trained your crew on their weapons.”
Leonidas walked up and Gem said, “Gold will be going with your ship, Leonidas.”
Leonidas looked at the Engineer and said, “Why?”
“Because you may need assistance in operating the various weapon systems on your ship and no one knows them better than Gold.”
“How will I explain his presence?”
Gold said, “I killed a member of the Royal Family and have been banished from the Realm.”
Leonidas smiled and nodded, “Now that is a good story. Welcome aboard, Gold. I’m glad to have you.”
Desiree smiled, “He’s good, Leonidas.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Gold replied.
Leonidas smiled, “Come and join us. I’ll introduce you to my crew.”
Victoria staggered up and put her arm on Desiree’s shoulder to keep her balance as she said in a slow drawl to Gem, “Dahling, who is this…this fine specimen of an Insectoid?”
“My name is Gold.”
“Well it’s good to meet you, Fold.”
“No, it’s Gold.”
Leonidas chuckled, “She knows. She’s just practicing her role.”
Gold looked at Gem as he said, “I’ll explain it later.” Gold twisted his head to the right indicating some confusion and followed them to the gathering.
• • •
Later that night, Leonidas was sitting in a chair watching the two crews celebrating the end of their training. Victoria and Desiree had been danced off their feet and Desiree finally called a halt and said loudly, “I need a break!”
Victoria looked at her and yelled, “You big baby. Come on guys, whose next?”
Desiree walked over to Leonidas and sat down in a chair beside him. Leonidas smiled and said, “You have a good crew.”
“That I do.”
Desiree sighed quietly and Leonidas turned to her, “What’s bothering you.”
“I’ve been debating whether or not I should share some private information with you.”
He stared at her and, after a moment said, “I don’t think we should have secretes between us.”
Desiree looked at him and furrowed her brow, “I didn’t tell you the entire truth about my choosing to go with Victoria.”
“What did you omit?”
“You said that Mark told you that he didn’t want me to go with him because he felt I should settle down and leave the life of war we’d been living.”
“That’s right.”
“He wasn’t being honest with you.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed, “He never lied to me, Desiree.”
“That wasn’t a lie, either. But he wasn’t telling you everything and though it wasn’t an outright lie, it was misleading.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“You always thought that I requested to join Mark’s staff because of how I felt about him.”
“I did.”
“The truth was that he made me promise that I would never tell you the real reason.” Leo stared at her. “I requested to join Mark’s staff so I could be near you. Even after our unit was disbanded he did not relieve me of my promise and he wouldn’t allow me to go with the two of you because he thought I would ultimately take you away from him. I chose to go with Victoria’s ship because I knew that, if the going got really tough, I would do everything in my power to prevent you from being harmed and that might cause me to make bad decisions. Mark knew I cared for you and would not allow me to express it; I had to be satisfied with just being near you. He flew away with you before I could tell you.”
Leonidas stared at her with his mouth open as Desiree stood up, “I just thought you should know.” She walked away and left the room’s entrance for her ship where, she went directly to her quarters.
Victoria was watching them and saw something happen to the pattern. Something important had been said and she wondered what it was. But Barney picked her up off the floor and swung her around. When she looked back at Leonidas, he was gone.
• • •
Leonidas left the party and went to the Thermopylae. He sat in his quarters and began replaying all the memories from the past. He never saw Desiree close to Mark. He remembered catching her staring at him numerous times and didn’t really think about it. He remembered Mark calling him to the warship he was given before the announcement about the unit being disbanded. Desiree was right. Mark kept him in the dark about her feelings. Quite frankly, he never had feelings for Desiree because he thought of her as being Mark’s woman. He didn’t know what to think or how to feel about this. One thing he did know, Mark was being incredibly selfish. His rage at Mark’s death underwent a sudden change. Mark was a manipulator and he never knew it. He suspected Desiree told him in order for him to decide if going after Blakely was something he was committed to doing. And what should he do about Desiree now that she had told him how she felt? He didn’t know. He just…didn’t know.
• • •
The crews finally had enough and decided it was time to report to their ships. They sang all the way out to the two entry ports and Victoria sang with them. Once they s
tumbled to their quarters, Victoria went to Desiree’s cabin and knocked lightly on her door. Desiree opened the door and Victoria said, “May I come in?” Desiree nodded and Victoria walked in. “What happened between you and Leonidas?”
Desiree’s face showed a flash of anger and then she blew out a slow breath, “I guess I should tell you; we’re going to have to work together for a while. I told him that our former CO had deliberately kept me from telling Leo how much I cared for him over the years.”
“What?”
“He didn’t want Leonidas distracted, he was the best unit commander in Mark’s Unit. I requested a transfer to his staff and he told me he’d approve it but that I could not allow Leonidas to know about my feelings.” Victoria stared at her with narrow eyes. “Anyway, he told me I could tell him if he ever left the service.”
“And when your unit was disbanded?”
“He took Leonidas to his warship and made the announcement from space. He immediately flew away and never gave me the chance.”
“So you told him tonight?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because he needed to know before he went out and risked his life trying to kill the pirate that murdered Mark.” Victoria started shaking her head and Desiree quickly said, “Don’t get me wrong, Mark was an outstanding Commanding Officer and he did what needed doing to insure the security and safety of the Legion. However, taking Leonidas away was a purely selfish act. He did it because he knew his chances of survival were improved with Leonidas on board his ship. He could have brought me along but chose to leave me and the rest of the unit on Regulus. He also went through the difficulty of changing all the communicator’s frequencies before he lifted.”
“What did Leonidas say?”
“Nothing.” Desiree stared at Victoria and lowered her eyes, “Victoria, do you have a crush on Leo?”
“I’m not really sure, Desiree.”
“Come on; that’s not something that’s hard to figure out.”
“Look, he saved my life after we landed and kept me safe while others were trying to kill or capture me. You have to understand that he looks like a knight in shining armor to me,” Victoria answered.
“Does he know your feelings?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, let’s do this. You can tell him if you want so he knows that both of us are interested in his companionship. Then we’ll both agree to do nothing to gain an advantage in getting him. He will make the choice and whoever loses will shake the hand of the winner and move on.”
“But you’ve been pursuing him for years; I’ve only just met him.”
“Telling me I have seniority is like telling a bride her future husband’s girlfriend had dibs first. Feelings are feelings and his feelings are the important ones here. He was probably developing something for you while he knew nothing about what Mark had done to me. You and I have shared a special time of suffering and I’ve grown close to you. We’ll let nature take its course as you and I make sure we remain friends. Besides, you can offer more than me.”
“How’s that?” Victoria asked.
“You’re incredibly wealthy and I’m just a poor former mercenary. He should choose you.”
Victoria reached out and hugged Desiree, “You should know that you are going to leave this mission with a very large chunk of my wealth. He’ll decide based on what his heart tells him and don’t think either of us have a lock on him. He could fall for a Pirate Princess on Tortuga and leave us both in the cold.”
“Won’t happen!” Desiree said.
“Why not?”
“Look up Pirate Princess in the database and see what sort of images appear. Gem looks better than most of them.”
Victoria burst out laughing and said, “There is also a chance we could find another during our travels.”
“I hope you’re right. This constant heartbreak is something I want behind me.”
Victoria hugged her again and said, “Try to get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” Desiree nodded and Victoria left her quarters. She walked to her cabin and wondered if she was capable of playing nice with Desiree in pursuing Leonidas. She was raised by a family that was ruthless in its dealings with others. She had learned from the best and was finding it hard not to plot on how to win Leo. She sighed; Desiree had to deal with her heartbreak and she had to deal with developing scruples. She wondered which was more difficult.
Chapter Eight
Leo looked at Victoria and Desiree on his console’s display and smiled, “Well, I hope the two of you have a good time going out to party.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you had a problem if we delay that for a while,” Desiree replied.”
“What will you do instead?”
“That will depend on your plans, Sir. Are you going to immediately go to Tortuga or do something else first?”
“I’m not going there immediately. I’m going to take some time to get my crew acclimated to the ship’s systems and work on developing a good cover story. Gold is going to work with each weapon team to make them proficient before we take that planet on. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve been thinking that showing up after a long absence from the party planets might cause some questions. Victoria was well known and we’ll need a cover for that missing time. We also need to take advantage of anything that will keep her away from the Romanov Searchers as long as possible.” Desiree paused and then said, “I think we should leave this galaxy and go out to another one and visit some of its tourist hot spots. That way we can say that she has been away exploring new places to have fun.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“We will, of course, have to visit some of those planets so our cover won’t be blown by anyone that has actually been out of the galaxy but it will also give us time for Gem to train us on our new physical talents.”
Leo smiled, “That’s a very good plan, Desiree. Victoria, what do you think about this?”
“I’m all for it. However, both of us agree that we want to be close when you decide to go to Tortuga, just in case you need a second ship in the event things go south.”
“Let’s do this,” Leo replied. “I expect this mission to take a while so for the next six to nine months, I’m going to build a cover story for my ship as well. If we’re going in as pirates, we need to be able to have stories, true stories that can be verified, about how we’ve taken ships and terrorized them. That will take some time and that should give you enough time to complete your physical training and visit enough planets outside this galaxy to give substance to your cover. I want you to also realize that if you get in a tight place, you should contact me as well. It will take some time to get to your location but use me if the situation calls for it.”
“Actually, when we return, you could use us as one of your stories. You could say that you forced Victoria to pay a huge ransom for you to release her and that would give you funds you might need on Tortuga.”
Leo smiled, “Now that is a good idea, Desiree. Stay in touch.”
Victoria smiled, “You do the same.”
“I suspect Gold and Gem will be staying in contact so if you don’t hear from me just check with Gem. I don’t know how they do it but their communicators are far beyond what we have.”
“I wonder why they didn’t install their communication system on our ships.” Desiree said.
Leo raised his shoulders, “I suspect it would allow us to hear all of their communications and the Insectoids are leery of doing that.”
Desiree shrugged, “You’re probably right. Good luck and we’re boosting out in ten minutes.”
“We’re leaving in an hour after all of our missiles are brought on board. Be careful.” The display went dark and Leo sighed. Desiree wasn’t showing any emotion. She was so brilliant in devising tactics and he wondered how she would be if she let her hair down and relaxed. Shoot he wondered how he’d be if he did the same. He looked over his shoulder, “B
arney, how’s the loading going?”
“We’ll be done on time, Sir.”
“Can the calling me ‘Sir’, Barney and pass that on to the rest of the crew. Address me as Captain.”
“Yes…Captain. What rank am I?”
“First mate.”
“That sounds kinda…I don’t know…”
Leo laughed, “Get used to it.”
“Arggg, I will, Captain. I’m going below decks and beat the hostages.”
“Barney, I think you might be getting into this pirate’s role a little too…”
“What? We don’t have hostages?”
“We also don’t have below decks, Barney.”
“Then we’ll have to build some, Captain. Below decks is where all the pirates have their fun.”
Leo laughed and Barney left the bridge. Embree looked up from his panel, “Permission to go below decks, Captain.”
Leo looked at him, “Drank a little too much last night, Embree?”
“Which one of the three of you said that, Captain?”
“Go and lie down for a while. I’ll call you when it’s time to boost.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Carl looked at him as he walked off the bridge, “Big baby! Can’t hold your booze!”
Embree paused and looked at Carl, “I yield to the professional drinker. I have no idea how you can drink that much and still stand up.”
“Lad, most of it wasn’t vodka, it was water.”
“Where did you get water!?” Embree asked.
“I carry a bottle in my pouch.”
Embree rolled his eyes and almost fell. He grabbed a console next to him and groaned, “I’ve been deceived, betrayed, and laid low.”
“Be thankful you’ve learned how to do it. All it cost you for the lesson was one good hangover.”
“It’s not worth it.” Embree turned and stumbled off the bridge.
Leonidas laughed and took a stack of white cards and put them in a lock compartment under his console. He hesitated before he closed it, reached into his backpack, took out a purple colored card, and put it with the white cards. This new identity would not support carrying a purple card. He felt almost naked without it but knew it had to be done. He decided that he needed to go to see someone before he started this new life.
