by Imogene Nix
* * * *
That night, after Mellissa’s mind finally cleared of the amazing, passionate experience, she lay in Duvall’s arms, restless and agitated. Could she let this be the end of the adventure and go back to the life she knew? Would he leave her behind when the time came to come back to this time if she had to save Jem? He didn’t seem inclined to leave her, she acknowledged to herself.
Their lovemaking, so slow and unhurried at the beginning, had turned hot, the resulting explosion cataclysmic, but she knew in his mind the mission came first, no matter how bright their passion might flare. She needed to keep reminding herself his duty to the Admiralty came first—if she thought anything else, she was a fool—but each encounter made it harder to remember that fact.
A voice at the back of her mind said that maybe, just possibly, this type of passion could only come from love. God, she hoped so. She was realistic enough to know that it might not; he had made no promises about a forever. She also had a duty to look after Jem. It was up to her to put both herself and Jem first before the Admiralty. Did she think she was strong enough to do what had to happen? The thought made her uncomfortable as she slipped into an uneasy sleep.
* * * *
While Mellissa dressed, Duvall wandered out to the garden where his mother sat looking at the sky.
“You know, each time you go, it still feels like the first time,” she said, her voice soft and sad. “I remember when you first went to the academy. Standing in the kitchen in your blue uniform. Such a long time ago, yet now here you are. Your sister is so excited she is finally getting to serve with you.” She gave a long, heaving sigh. “Both of you in a dangerous location…I know, you can’t tell me where.” She looked at him, her blue eyes so deep and glittering with unshed tears. “Just keep yourself and Meredith safe. I don’t want to lose the two of you.”
“Mum, you know I’ll protect Meredith. Neither of us has any intention of checking out of life just yet. Too much to do and see,” he joked, trying to raise her spirits. He knew that each time they left she suffered.
His father also served as a captain, though these days he kept to short runs between the planets of the solar system. He had requested the run after the last attack of the Ru’Edan on Aenna, when Duvall’s biological parents died in the firefight that had destroyed their ship. The Admiralty decided Earth needed a specialized, experienced pilot, and his father had taken the posting, knowing his wife suffered greatly after their friends’ deaths had left Duvall orphaned.
In the past, Duvall had never understood his father’s need to choose a path that limited his options. But since meeting Mellissa, he began to understand. Sometimes you had to look at the needs of the others in your life, and if that meant compromise… Well, you did it because it allowed you to have it all. He’d always seen this as a weakness in his father, but now? He’d had it wrong for so long.
“She’s a nice girl.” His mother changed the subject, standing up finally and turning to hug her son. “You chose well. But I can sense... She seems strong, but…”
“Yeah, I know. I’m not sure I’m what she deserves. I don’t think things have been easy for her. She doesn’t talk much about her childhood. And Eshra knows, I don’t want to hurt her.” He looked at his mother, so dear to him and wise. “I have my duty, but I feel torn.” He let his mother see the trouble in his eyes. “I mean, how do you know? Then how do you compartmentalize your feelings?” He pulled his hands through his hair. “I just don’t know at the moment, Mum.”
She patted his hands. “Maybe that’s your answer. The fact that you have to question what’s always worked for you.” She smiled softly at him. “Well, your dad is due home in the next day or so. He’ll be sorry he missed you.” She diffused the situation as if sensing his discomfort.
Together they walked inside, arm in arm, and she left him with a soft kiss on the cheek, checking all was in readiness for their departure.
He wandered over to the coffee machine and poured a strong cup of coffee, sitting down to wait and to think. To plan.
* * * *
Even after the restless sleep and thinking she had done the night before, Mellissa felt no closer to any surety about what to do. She shrugged it off though. She needed to prove to herself and to Duvall that she had a place in his life. That way he might allow her to remain. And she had to prove to herself that she had an inner strength.
Once back into the gray ship suit, she took a look at herself in the mirror. The woman looking back seemed tougher, more purposeful. The time had come to show Duvall how strong she could be. To believe in herself. Her hair was fastened back with a band that kept it out of the way, and she looked at it dispassionately and thought, I don’t really need all that.
She marched into the kitchen. “Do you have any scissors here?” she asked Duvall.
He looked at her, got up, and reached for a drawer, pulling them out and handing them over. “What are you planning to do with them?”
Without a word, she grabbed her ponytail and snipped it off in a few short cuts above the confining band.
He looked at her, almost horrified. “What did you do that for?”
“Because I wanted it gone,” she answered. She flicked the hair, now short, and felt a weight gone. There, I feel more decisive already. She handed him the scissors and asked, “Where can I get rid of this?”
He took the long hair without a word and deposited it in a receptacle. He looked concerned and surprised.
Elara and Grayson wandered into the kitchen. They both wore their gray ship suits and looked well-rested. Grayson looked at Mellissa, raising an eyebrow. Elara took one look at her and smiled. “I like it.”
Quickly reaching into cupboards, they arranged a hasty breakfast as Meredith, Chowd, and Kathryn joined them. After eating and clearing away, Duvall glanced at his wrist.
“Time to make for the port. Mum, I know you’re worried, and I’ll take good care of Meredith, but she has a job to do, and I need to help her get it done right.” He grabbed both her hands and looked her in the face. “We have to go.” He pulled her into a big bear hug, holding her close. Mellissa knew he was special. Here he was, unashamed of his emotions in front of his peers and friends.
Meredith said goodbye next, a small ship bag at her feet. “Mum, I love you. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise to stay safe, and I’ll watch out for Duvall too.” The words were said as if by rote with an impish smile and a hug. Kisses on both cheeks dispensed, she headed over to Duvall, who held the bag they had brought with them.
One by one, the others said their goodbyes.
When Kathryn got to Mellissa, she pulled her into her arms and whispered in her ear, “Don’t give up on him. He’s a good man, just sometimes loses sight of what is important to him personally. Come back soon.” She gave Mellissa a kiss on the cheek before releasing her.
They all trooped back to the vehicle and clambered in. The fit was tight, and Duvall insisted that Mellissa sit in the front with him. Elara, Meredith, and Grayson sat in the middle, Chowd bringing up the rear. The sun now well in the sky, the temperature rose hot and sticky, according to the computer in the vehicle, as they pulled out.
Mellissa glanced back, getting a final view of Kathryn on the stairs watching as they left. How must she feel, Mellissa thought, watching her family leave time and time again? Going to places where no human had traveled, or participating in battles where it was unlikely that the bodies of the deceased would be retrieved.
“Your mother’s great.” She spoke quietly, hoping to keep the conversation between herself and Duvall.
“Yeah. I got lucky. She’s the real anchor in the family. Keeps us together, no matter where we are in time and space.”
Mellissa looked back out the window and smiled as he slipped his hand over hers. “She liked you.” The warmth of his touch and his words made her feel secure.
“That’s nice to know. I liked her too.”
The trip was quiet and uneventful. She consider
ed what she had learned the night before, playing the events over in her mind, the comments made during their departure. She wondered what Kathryn had thought of Duvall spending the night with her. Would she see that as a positive? She knew the time had come to look forward though and forcibly pulled her mind from the events of the last thirty-six hours.
Mellissa looked forward to getting back aboard the Elector. In a short space of time, the Elector had begun to feel like home, just as the cabin she shared with Duvall felt like her own space. Lost in her own world of introspection, she dimly noticed the soft whispers interspersed the silence of the vehicle ride as they sped along the airway.
They pulled into the port in short order and tossed the keys to a different security officer this time. “Sir, I am authorized to hand this to you.” He extended a small packet to Duvall, who accepted it silently. Duvall looked inside then swiftly pocketed the item. Mellissa looked at him, and he shook his head.
Duvall grabbed her hand, and the six of them quickly slipped into the impressive building, Duvall at the front with Mellissa, Chowd protecting Meredith and Elara, and Grayson bringing up the rear, their bags slung over their arms as they moved into the secure area. Duvall’s body remained tense until they were finally on the shuttle.
The forces of lift off pushed her back into her seat, and she watched, amazed at how far they had already traveled. The sky darkened and clouds obscured the land. She looked forward, and her heart felt a sense of excitement. Soon they arrived at the Elector. She gripped Duvall’s hand as they exited the shuttle.
Once on board the Elector, Duvall pulled the packet from his pocket. “That was the mission disk handed over at the vehicle,” he told Chowd, who merely raised his eyebrow.
He handed over a reader, and Duvall inserted it and scanned the contents, making an occasional sound as he read it through.
“We have permission to move through the time gate. Chowd and Grayson, you’ll need copies. I’ll arrange them.”
“What kind of information do you have on the disk?” Mellissa craned her neck to see, and while they made their way to Duvall’s cabin he patiently explained how the gate worked, the passwords being good for only one use each way.
“There is also replication information concerning money and maps, not to mention cultural facts concerning the time period. It’s everything we need to make it back to your time and not stand out.”
She swiped her hair out of her eyes as she considered his words. How many times had she passed people on the street who had come through the slipstream? Duvall had indicated that it was rarely done because of the damage it could potentially cause to the time continuum, but then how could you possibly know?
He gave the reader back to Chowd and gripped her hand. No wonder she loved him, she thought, and started at the revelation. Dear God! It was true. I’ve fallen in love with Duvall.
“What’s wrong?” he said, quickly looking around the cabin.
“Nothing, really. I just thought about home.” Well now, there was the icing on the cake, she thought. She never meant to fall for this man, but obviously her heart had no intention of listening to her head. “Nothing to worry about,” she assured him with a small sigh, laying her hand on his arm. She didn’t argue with herself, as once the flash of intuition passed, she knew it was the honest truth. It made sense now, the sense of betrayal when he had left the bed the other day.
Chapter 10
Stepping back onto the metal decks of the Elector felt like coming home for Mellissa.
She’d never really felt an affinity for where she lived previously. Growing up in an orphanage, you learned quickly that what was yours also belonged to someone else. When she finally left there at age sixteen, after the State released her from their care, she had worked hard to find a meaning for her life and to give herself a sense of worth.
Life in those days had been tough. She’d lived in a one-room efficiency unit, eking out an existence so she could finish school at night, but even though she wanted a degree, she couldn’t afford it. Then fate had smiled as she got a job in a small bookstore.
That work had led to a lifestyle which fostered a sense of who she was. Within months, she showed a knack for knowing what customers wanted, knowing the authors and titles people sought. She took over the ordering process and had become a senior staff member in a few short years.
She had continued to live in the flat, scrimping and saving while dreaming of a future. Then Frank, the bookstore owner, had declared his intention to sell. Mellissa didn’t have a lot of capital, but he had offered to loan the deposit to her, knowing that with her drive and determination, the store would continue to grow and flourish.
She’d declined and pushed herself harder, saving for the deposit. Frank held on for an extra twelve months, giving her time to get her finances in order, before declaring he needed to retire as he was sick. Thankfully, it was only a few days later that the bank informed her the loan was approved and she’d delightedly told Frank. She’d followed through with a flurry of packing her life into the meager boxes she had taken with her to the bookstore’s unit above the shop.
All of that was gone now. She wondered if there’d be an opportunity for her to gather the things most important to her. While living and working at the shop had made her feel happy, it hadn’t dominated her existence.
“Duvall, I have an idea.” She touched his arm and he stilled, raising an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Uh, it’s probably better that we discuss it later,” she said. His eyes smoldered, and she rolled hers. “Nothing like that.” His grin had her heart lurching.
They made their way to the bay connected to the Elector. As they strode back onto her decking, she heard the hollow sound that made her feel welcome.
Coming down the ramp, she saw a tall, blond-haired man with piercing green eyes. “Who’s that?” she asked.
Duvall growled.
“Well, hi there, Duvall.” He welcomed them, a smile ready, extending a hand to shake Duvall’s. “Who is this lovely lady? And why was I summarily summoned to join your crew?” he asked with an Australian accent. Grinning at Mellissa, he held out his hand, and without giving Duvall a chance to answer, he introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Raven Fraser, the new engineer of the Elector.”
“Raven, be in my office at 1300 hours. Briefing then.” Duvall turned and stomped away, looking thoroughly irritated with this Raven Fraser.
Mellissa extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Mellissa Davis.” She looked at him. He seemed nice and friendly, but while he was well-built and extremely good-looking, he didn’t have the same zing about him as Duvall.
“Hey, Mellissa, we need to get moving.”
Turning her head, she saw Elara standing at the doorway, grinning.
“Raven Fraser, it’s been a long time since you’ve darkened a space dock with us. I see you’ve met Mellissa.” Then looking at Mellissa, she motioned for her to join her on the walk to the bridge. “Duvall will be looking for you on the bridge.”
Mellissa turned, and just before she headed away from Raven, she said, “Nice meeting you.” She walked toward Elara, the clanking of the deck reassuring.
The women made their way out into the corridor. “Better watch Raven,” Elara said with a little laugh. “He likes to think he’s a ladies’ man, but everyone who knows him well sees right through him.” She draped her hand through Mellissa’s arm. “Now, before I say anything, forgive me for sticking my nose in, but can I give you some advice?”
Mellissa looked at her before nodding quietly.
“Duvall is a man with focus. Sometimes that focus blinds him to other things. But make no mistake, he’s a good man. Just sometimes a bit slow to see what is important to him. Give him a chance to work it out.” She glanced at Mellissa with a small smile. “I like you, Mellissa, and I really hope you stick around for the long haul. Duvall needs balance in his life, and that was missing before you came along. I would really love for you to become a permanent
fixture here. You and me....boy, we could have some fun.” She chuckled. “Is all that fine with you?”
Mellissa laughed lightly. What an unusual discussion. She’d never had one even remotely like this, even with Jem, who until now, had always been her closest friend. Given the connection she felt to Elara, though, she smiled. “I know what you mean. And I will certainly do my best to stick in for the long haul.”
Elara squeezed her arm with hers, and they continued toward the bridge together, two friends in harmony.
* * * *
Watching the Earth spin away was surreal for Mellissa, but she hovered on the bridge for an hour after they left the port.
She frowned then swiped her palm over the door of the office, and it opened wide. Heading in, she noted that Elara and Grayson had arrived before her.
“Where is everyone else?” Mellissa asked.
“Late. Meredith buzzed me, she’s sorting out some issues. I don’t know where the rest are.” Duvall sounded distracted, so she trailed over to the seat and slid into it. Her body dragged with an ache and she sighed.
“Long day, huh? It gets better, eventually.” Elara snickered, and Grayson simply shook his head.
Meredith wandered in a few minutes later with Chowd, red-faced, following. Now the only member of the new leadership crew missing was Raven. Duvall looked up, impatience written all over his face while he tapped his fingers on the table. She could tell he wanted to contact him when Raven thudded into the room, looking angry and frustrated.
“Who for Eshra’s sake was running your engineering before me? Barsha! It will take days to iron out the kinks.” He sat with a thud, a black look on his face.
“Well, now that we’re all here, I can fill everyone in. Raven and Meredith, you’re newest on board. Our mission is quite delicate. We believe that Crick Sur Banden has placed infiltrators not just through Admiralty, but also somehow has managed to get some to Earth. In the past.” He stopped, waiting for everyone to digest the information. “Meredith—Warrant Officer Gentry—is here to decode messages we believe were sent from someone in Admiralty to Crick Sur Banden, the leader of the Ru’Edan rebels.” He nodded toward his sister. “Raven Fraser, replacement engineer. Briefly, our previous engineer, Corbin Jard, was an infiltrator for the Ru’Edan. He got hold of and released the handbook for the Elector. We intercepted it before Crick Sur Banden received it through his network.”
