IGO: Sudden Snow

by Blue, RaeLynn

  Gimme that fat cock, Snow. More, more, make me come, Cricket whispered against his ear.

  Again and again, over and over until the bright burst of gratification shot through him and out into the shower’s warm spray. Heaven, he’d love for it to be her instead of the flat steel of his shower box.

  Several long minutes later, showered and dressed in a fresh uniform, he checked his reflection, touching the scar beneath his eye.

  As he strolled to the horseshoe, he thought of how she seemed to fit in his hands, his arms, and maybe she could even fit into his life like a tailor-made spacesuit -- nothing wasted or given over to fluff. Only essentials warranted a place in his heart, and he’d be lying to himself if he said Cricket didn’t meet his essential criteria. Nevertheless, this realization shocked him. He barely knew her, but those brief minutes felt right to him. Inexplicable, his attraction to her couldn’t be given over to loneliness alone. Something about her made him feel, well, worthy.

  Even now as Cricket lay snuggled on her bed, soft ebony skin beneath the IGO issue blanket, he longed to be near her again. Next time maybe without clothes or distance. There was something intoxicating about her, those luminous eyes, puffy, full lips, and the killer curves of her made-for-a-spacesuit hips.

  I can’t. She isn’t well. She may anchor herself to me only for stability and then be gone. I can’t risk hurting her or myself. I’ve got to detox my mind.

  He swallowed his groan as the doors to the turbo lift opened to reveal the early morning shift. Nearly two in the morning, Lars piloted the ship through inky black space and Rojas had taken up post at security. Kovacs was back at comms. Normally nothing criminal occurred on this vessel. Cricket’s arrival managed to be the most excitement they’d had in a long while.

  “Good morning, Lars,” Darryl said, tossing up a wave as he fell into the commander’s chair. “Rojas, Kovacs. Round robin report.”

  “Security is at maximum shields. No suspicious activity reported, sir,” said Private Rojas. “Shields at 99%, engines at 98%, and all is well.”

  “On course for Earth Prime Space Station and then on to Mars Outpost 1,” Lars added with a chortle. “Home, sweet home.”

  “Kovacs?”

  “Nothing but more gossip and IGO detail reports on the comms,” Kovacs replied sleepily from behind him.

  Darryl spun around to him, and saw the hefty Kovacs slumped in his seat. Again. “Medic,” Darryl said into his earpiece, finger on the round button. “Send up a caffeine shot for Kovacs.”

  Kovacs snored as if he agreed.

  “At once, Sergeant Snow,” the female responded.

  Lars was chuckling into his slim, pale palm. “Late night for some.”

  “Probably ate too many carbs,” Rojas said, laughing himself.

  Darryl smiled. “All right, back to the tasks at hand.”

  “Yes, sir!” Lars said and pivoted around to the front view.

  Rojas fell silent.

  Darryl watched the empty ink of space unfold and noted how evening looked the same as morning. A blanket of ease fell over the ’shoe. Soon discussions rotated around to the upcoming IGO tournament soccer games and the expected leave time approaching. Darryl heard the conversations and weighed in with polite comments here and there. But his thoughts were locked on Cricket.

  Would she awake and meet his eyes with regret, embarrassment, or shame? Or would she want to keep the spark between them lit? He didn’t like complications, but he had to be honest with himself if no one else. For those delightful, intense minutes he’d spent with her, he’d been happy.

  The turbo lift’s doors slid back and a medic stepped out. Her uniform matched every other IGO-issued attire, except on the collar beside the red, white and green IGO insignia was a gigantic M. The medic, Dr. Krongkon, tossed him a brisk wave and headed for Kovacs. A waif of a woman, she exuded a steely strength common to experienced IGO doctors. They’d seen it all -- war, off-world colonization, and intergalactic life. She seemed youthful but was over half a century old.

  Darryl checked the screen for the time. “I called for a medic an hour ago.”

  “Sorry, Sergeant. Two privates got into a rather stupid fight down in the commons. Broken bones that had to be healed at once, of course. JC Lee had to be called, as you were on duty. He was none too happy. Anyway, where’s your fire?” she snapped, the hint of her Saturn lilt bouncing over her words. Consonants rough and unpolished met his ears.

  He nodded in Kovacs’ direction.

  “Ah, snoozing again. This is the third time this week, Sergeant Snow.”

  As if he didn’t know it.

  She raised her umber eyes to the ceiling, before lifting Kovacs’ chunky arm. The private awoke at once, fighting and disoriented. “Get off!”

  Doctor Krongkon sidestepped his heavy-handed swats without so much as a ruffled hair. Her thick raven hair had been tied up in a bun. She adjusted her stance once Kovacs’ flaying ceased. With a hard-eyed stare, she snatched up his arm once more. She scowled at him and, dutifully reprimanded, Kovacs grew still.

  Kovacs wiped his face with his other hand and stared at Darryl gloomily. “Sergeant?” Kovacs asked, voice cracking at the end. “Don’t give me the sleeper.”

  “Caffeine shot,” Darryl explained, smiling. He didn’t give anyone the sleeper. Who wanted to be in stasis for months at a time? You awoke stiff, muscles creaking and diminished from disuse, disoriented, memories scattered, space sickness -- uh, no. “Thank you, Dr. Krongkon,” Darryl said.

  In moments, the good doctor was gone and Kovacs returned to monitoring the comms with artificially induced gusto. Satisfied, Darryl relaxed and turned back to the window where space zipped by them. He wanted to think about Cricket. Seemed the irrepressible thoughts remained with him.

  “Oy! Sergeant Snow,” Kovacs groaned, breaking the supple, almost tangible vision of Cricket in Darryl’s mind. “There’s a comm. For you. Internal. Transferring.”

  Darryl shook his head to rid it of the cobwebs crafted by Cricket. Sure enough, the crimson light on his unit flickered. He mentally kicked himself before answering. “Sergeant Snow.”

  The unmistakable voice of Commander Taylor came through. “I’m sending Lee to relieve you.”

  My shift isn’t over for another five hours. But Darryl held his tongue against the tide of questions burning for release. Why?

  “Before you begin asking, don’t,” Commander Taylor ordered. “Meet me in Dr. Moore’s quarters in ten minutes.”

  “Yes, sir.” The feed was already disconnected.

  Darryl stared out the front window. In three days, they would come to the Earth Prime Space Station, the EPSS, for fuel and supplies before pushing on toward Mars Outpost 1 and The Discovery. They hadn’t expected the additional trip out to Io’s Outpost. They didn’t intend to return to Mars for some time and so they had to stop to replenish supplies.

  Kovacs said, “Strange. The A.I. asked for you. Internal comms aren’t usually like that. Sorry, sergeant, they might’ve contacted earlier, but I missed it. Uh, sleeping, sir.”

  “Who was it?” Lars asked, spinning around in his bucket seat, a wide-mouth yawn erupting across his face.

  “No one,” Darryl said.

  Lars’ mouth formed a question, but one glance at Darryl’s stony face forced him to swallow it. “Easy, sergeant, easy,” Lars said, barely audible, hands patting the air. “Easy.” Lars spun back to the window, where stars streamed past in streaks of bluish silver-white.

  Commander Taylor had hidden his voice for a reason. Why? And what was going on with Cricket? Now Darryl would unearth the truth about her hasty retreat from Io. Did he really want to know?

  Chapter 7

  Commander Taylor struck a powerful image inside the quarters’ somber décor. His ivory IGO uniform seemed to almost glow like an angel of Earth Prime lore. The severe scowl across his face, however, kept it from being true. The light caught his two silver commander bars and reflected like a spotlight against the
wall.

  Dressed in civilian clothes of tan corduroy pants and an ebony turtleneck sweater, Cricket shuddered against the cold threatening to overtake her.

  The A.I. had blasted her awake with a horrid siren and then in nonhuman cadence proceeded to tell her of the commander’s imminent arrival in fifteen minutes. She’d hurried to shower and dress. In fact her hair was still yanked up in a ponytail, the ends damp. She had managed to terminate the beach simulation. Sterile, dull gray met the commander’s somber expression.

  She had hoped to have several long hours to reflect on her attraction to Darryl, but all too soon, he strolled into her quarters, trailing the commander. Confronted with his sexiness, she couldn’t quite focus on what the commander was saying. His tone warned it wasn’t good so she doubled her efforts to block out the sergeant’s sexy allure.

  “Sergeant Snow is here solely at my discretion,” Commander Taylor began, voice like thunder rolling through the tiny space. He tried to seem relaxed, but his eyes gave it all away. “Dr. Moore, it has been discovered that several of your colleagues, both on Io and Europa Outposts, are currently missing or were found slain.”

  “No!” Cricket cried, shooting off her bed as if it were suddenly on fire. Doctors Savage and Bajou? Dead? Missing? No, oh, no. What the hell is going on? It all dawned on her. There wasn’t any IGO slashed comm. Wang had lied.

  Heart thundering in fear, Cricket remembered how she had hastily tried to message the other doctors and research assistants on Europa’s Outpost and other locales. She couldn’t reach any of them.

  She looked to Darryl and found concern spoiling his handsome face. Even the gruesome scar couldn’t derail his attractiveness, and those eyes offered sympathy but no answers. She slumped forward to the bed, sitting down once more. Grief crashed onto her shoulders like a sack of stones, each hypothetical boulder carrying the name of one of her fellow research scientists.

  “How?” she managed to croak around the thick wad of emotion in her throat. She faltered, unable to form the horrible thought into words.

  Commander Taylor’s sternness receded a bit. Looking straight through her, he continued. “We strongly believe these are the direct actions of Kem Core Industries, a commercial outfit operating primarily from the moon’s outpost. They also have a sister company which outsources the outties to the IGO. That jewel’s head office is located on Io’s Outpost.” The commander went to the plasma screen and touched a series of boxes, calling up the pictures.

  “Recognize him?” Darryl asked, nodding toward the screen.

  “Wang,” she said, her voice barely audible in the hum of the quarters’ equipment. “Wang!”

  Commander Taylor nodded. “Right now the Alpha Team has been deployed, along with Beta from Destiny to investigate.”

  He touched a few more arrows, leap-frogging over flashes of command windows. At last, he stood back, looking at an image of an Ioian volcano plume.

  “There are the answers, the key to the investigation. Only you can locate and unlock its secrets. You’re all that’s left.” Commander Taylor pointed at the screen, face in profile. “The vessel left right away.”

  “What vessel?” Cricket asked, hugging herself, staving off the tears with rising fury. How dare they take the lives of these innocent people! For what?

  “The Discovery,” Commander Taylor replied matter-of-factly, turning to face her. “None better. Destiny’s Beta Team is nearly as good.”

  Cricket nodded in numb agreement. She’d only heard about The Discovery’s Alpha Team’s extraordinary abilities. At the time, she’d chalked it all up to gossip and grandstanding. Now she hoped she had been wrong.

  The commander turned to Darryl. “Your job is to keep her safe until we reach Mars 1.” And then to her, the commander said, “You’re not alone, Dr. Moore. But, I’ll be frank. The Inquiry isn’t equipped for something of this magnitude. Darryl’s the only one with real experience in live combat. Plus, he’s my security chief and third in command. You’ll be safe with him. Keep your eyes and ears open. Remain alert.”

  Cricket gave Darryl a weak smile and hugged herself tighter. What have I done to be chosen to live when the others are gone? What is going on?

  All of these questions she wanted to ask, but Commander Taylor was already at the doorway. His lips twitched as he stared at the sergeant who met his gaze unwaveringly. Then his gaze swept over her. “For now, you’re our case against Kem Core, and the nucleus of Ganor project. Once we get you to Mars, Alpha Team’s going to want to talk to you,” he said and then to Darryl. “Sergeant Snow. A word.”

  Darryl snapped to attention and followed him out to the quiet corridor.

  Cricket watched him go and, once he cleared the doorway, fell back to her bed, hugged her pillow and cried. Searing, angry tears stung her eyes and slid down her cheeks. Someone wanted her dead, but why? The research? Her group wasn’t anywhere close to any conclusive data they could use for commercial reasons. So, Wang wanted it for what? Weapons? Why did Kem Core want it so badly? Surely, they wouldn’t snatch the lives of these scientists -- some only civilian, not even IGO trained -- on a hypothesis.

  And was Darryl really good enough to protect her from the corporation’s long reach?

  * * *

  Darryl followed Commander Taylor out into the dimly lit hallway, his thoughts echoing loudly through his head. The visitor quarters were reserved for research assistants, human test subjects and extra machinery. Cricket was the only human on this level.

  “Darryl,” Commander Taylor began.

  Watching his face intensely, Darryl struggled to hold his gaze.

  After a few moments, the commander clasped his huge weathered hand to Darryl’s shoulder. “I know you’re taken with her. It’s lonely out here. Dr. Moore is an extremely beautiful woman, but…” He sighed. He added a second hand onto Darryl’s other shoulder and shook him gently. Weariness seeped from him, and the minute wrinkles tightened around his eyes and mouth.

  “Sir? Are you all right?” Darryl asked. In the last few hours, Commander Taylor’s hair seemed to have sprouted scores of new grays and his leader’s usually easygoing manner appeared strained. This is riding hard on him, and he won’t tell any of us how to help him manage it.

  “I’m fine, Darryl,” he said, though he sounded anything but. “These murders and disappearances are not my forte. I was a scientist long before I became a soldier for the IGO. Now that Alpha Team is involved, I’ll be able to withdraw from the forefront. There are still a few loose ends I need to inspect.” He gave Darryl a fatigued grin. “But back to you, son. The doctor is very, very lovely, but I warn you not to neglect the danger around her. None of which is her fault -- as it stands now. Once Commander Ashe gets a hold of her, Ashe will come out of this with her hands filled with information. Make sure you continue using the head on your shoulders and not the other one.”

  “Yes, sir,” Darryl said, his stomach turned over those coarse, but true words. “I…” …won’t let any harm befall her. I’m, I’m afraid I’m in love with her. He closed his mouth, shutting the words inside him.

  Commander Taylor laughed, temporarily transforming back to the leader of old. “On that note, I’m heading down for coffee. You?”

  “No, thank you, sir,” Darryl said evenly.

  Darryl waited until the commander vanished into the lift before returning to Cricket. Balled up, she shook with grief. Immediately he crawled onto the bed, pulling her into his embrace, his logic and his warnings all thrown to the wind. He had to siphon off her anguish. They’d both have to be alert from here on out. Someone wanted her dead like the other scientists. Darryl wouldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let it go down like that. Cricket was his assignment and he was going to cover her -- completely.

  He sighed as she relaxed into him, quietly sobbing. “This isn’t your fault. Some private company got a case of greed. They want your research for profit, no matter the lives. The cost will be written up as collateral damage.”

/>   He squeezed her closer, and she shifted over to face him. She buried her face into his chest. “This is horrid,” she said, pressing her ear to his heart. “I’ve got to find out what Wang thinks we discovered and how he wants to use it.”

  “Alpha Team will handle the investigation. Commander Ashe is the best in the fleet,” he said soothingly, rubbing her back. “They’ll unearth Wang’s motives and issue arrest decrees for those responsible.”

  She was shaking her head as she pushed herself to a sitting position. With quick swipes of the back of her hand, she erased the tears from her cheeks. He could hear her sniffling and then she looked down at him at last. Slightly swollen eyes met his, and he kissed her hand.

  “Listen,” she said, voice growing hard. “No offense, but none of your Alpha Team are scientists. A bunch of soldiers, yes, and I’m thankful for that. I don’t doubt your Commander Ashe is as good as you say, but she won’t be able to figure out Ganor’s breakthrough. It took a team of specialists, Darryl, to handle this project. A small team, sure, but experts in their respective fields. No, I have to look at all the pieces and put this thing together.”

  Darryl watched her inner fire rage. He couldn’t argue with her logic. He hadn’t thought of it that way, but Cricket was right. Ganor was her project, and she knew it best.

  Already, she was out of the bed and standing at the plasma screen, fingers skipping across the surface, hardly standing still long enough for him to see what she had selected. Text and images zipped by and her brow furrowed in concentration. Darryl put his booted feet on the floor. As he stood, his eyes drifted down her curvaceous silhouette. Desire drew him closer to her, but caution gave him pause. She seemed to have forgotten he was there, and part of him didn’t want her to forget him.

  That part of him urged him to scoop her up, drop her to the bed and slowly devour her, one succulent minute after another.

  Witnessing her transformation from distraught woman to IGO soldier only made her more alluring. She stood out against the screen’s illumination and Darryl decided he could get used to coming into his quarters and finding her there. He even envisioned himself slipping up behind her, dropping kisses across her neck and having her reach for him, welcoming him home.