by Don DeBon
"Killing you!" They whipped around to see Id far down the other corridor. An energy ball flew from her hand heading for Deven's head. Aleshia reached out, grabbed the pulsating ball as it raced towards them, and flung it back towards Id.
Id's black eyes blazed as she batted the ball away and it hit a wall, blasting a hole clean through it. "How dare you!" she screamed. She raised her hands to the middle of her chest and a massive ball of energy formed between them and she raised elevated it over her head. "Try to catch this one!" She hurled the ball of concentrated energy towards them.
Deven's eyes went wide as the ball raced towards his head. Aleshia levitated them both and they shot down a side corridor. The ball impacted the welded door behind where they were standing, melting it, before passing through. As they raced away, Aleshia waved a hand and all the emergency bulkheads behind them slammed shut.
Only when they were more than half the ship in the opposite direction did Aleshia slow and lower them to the deck. She grabbed his jacket and glared at him. "You have to get out of here!"
Deven shook his head. "I'm not leaving you."
"She wants to kill you! I can't let that happen!"
"You will have to make sure it doesn't."
She released her grip and sunk to the floor. "But I can't hold her off forever."
Deven lowered himself on his haunches. "No you can't. And neither of us can stay in here forever either."
She looked up. "Huh?"
"Did you forget our real bodies are still in the infirmary? I can't stay here forever, neither can you. Nor will I leave you."
"But you must."
He shook his head again. "Nope. Not going to happen. You are going to have to take her down."
"But she is stronger than me."
Deven took her hand. "Aleshia, no one's subconscious is stronger than their conscious mind. She may appear to be stronger due to the pure rage, but you still have the upper hand. All you need to do is get her back under control."
"How?"
"You need to merge with her."
"What! I am not merging with that … thing."
"Love, you have to. It is the only way. Besides, would you want her to find a way to the surface and start trying to kill me for real without you to stop it?"
Aleshia sighed and leaned back against the wall looking at the ceiling. "I suppose you have a point. What do you suggest we do?"
"I don't think a full out assault is going to work. Not to mention it is what she would be expecting. If we let her find me in the main landing bay, you can fly in through the bay doors from behind and grab her."
Aleshia shook her head. "It won't work. Unless I use a vehicle, we are too high up. We would both freeze and die of suffocation."
Deven smiled. "Remember, this is your mind. You have control here, and more than Id does."
"How can you be so sure?"
Deven sat on the floor next to her, never letting go of her hand. "Remember when I felt the power core and it was cold and you said it wasn't?"
"Yes, so what?"
"Well, when I felt it again, the temperature was normal. You changed it without realizing. Therefore, you can do this."
"I … I don't know."
Deven took both of her hands and looked into her eyes. "You can do this. I know you can."
"You don't understand, I don't want her."
He squeezed her hands. "Love, I do. And you have to. You can't let her find her way to the surface with full access to your abilities. She would kill me, perhaps us all."
They felt the Defiant shudder as Id blasted through more bulkheads.
Aleshia sighed. "I will try." She peered up and down the corridor. "But how do we get her to the landing bay?"
Deven pointed. "We are almost there, it only down this way and one over." They felt the Defiant shudder again. "And I suspect at the rate Id is blasting through bulkheads, she will be there not long after us."
"Right." Deven helped Aleshia to her feet and they ran towards the landing bay.
Deven dove behind a large support beam when he heard a sound behind the doors. Id blasted through the heavy inner air lock doors sending shrapnel everywhere. Sparks shot from shorted panels and over-loaded lights. She floated into the room, her black eyes narrowing. Her hair floated moving from side to side as she scanned the room. "Did you think you could get away from me?"
Deven peeked from behind the beam. "No, but you can't blame a guy for trying."
"Where is your protector?"
"Aleshia? She went looking for you. She said you wouldn't find me in here."
Id grinned showing her teeth. "I'm Aleshia! She is nothing but a weak, fake, copy! And you should know by now, you cannot hide from me." Her eyes narrowed. "Step out here and take your death like a man. Or do you prefer me to crush you where you stand?" Id floated into the middle of the bay to get a better look at Deven. "It doesn't matter to me either way."
Deven stood up and stepped out from behind the beam. "It doesn't have to end like this."
She laughed. "I'm almost tempted to keep you alive, for my amusement." She licked her lips and smiled. The hungry look in her eyes chilled him more than the storms in Antarctica ever did.
"Oh, I'm relieved to hear that."
"I said almost." She raised her hand palm outstretched, a red ball of energy began to form. "Goodbye you pitiful excuse of a man."
The outer bay doors ripped open. Air whipped through the space threatening to knock Deven off of his feet. Aleshia floated in past through the doors. Id's eyes went wide. "You!"
"Yes it is I, and you will not harm my love." Aleshia dove for Id before she could fire, ramming headlong into her. The two began to glow, brighter and brighter. Id tried to get away but Aleshia held her fast, arms at her sides.
"Nooooo!" Id shrieked before she disappeared completely. But Aleshia's glow didn't diminish, it only grew brighter. Deven squinted and held his hand out in front of his face, trying to see.
A blinding flash ripped from Aleshia's center and Deven shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he was back in the Defiant's infirmary at Aleshia's bedside. She coughed, gagged several times, and opened her eyes.
"Love!" He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Are you okay?"
She coughed again and rubbed her forehead. "Yes, but don't ever ask me to do that again. I have one wicked headache."
On the Defiant's bridge, Deven sat with his hands folded in his lap, thinking about Halburn. Until now, he hadn't given himself the time to grieve. Aleshia sat next to him and gave a reassuring hug. "There is nothing you could have done. In the end he saved the world, we all did."
"I know, but—"
Miles' camera turned. "Deven, I am detecting an incoming heavily damaged Mechand fighter."
Deven looked up. "Must be one of the people from Halburn's fleet. Odd he didn't land somewhere closer. Let him dock."
"We are also receiving a communication. Displaying it on the upper screen."
A second later Halburn's face appeared. "Will you tell the Nexus these fighters are hard to fly!"
Deven's eyes went wide as his head jutted forward. "Odell?"
Minerva's face appeared splitting the same screen in half. "There is nothing wrong with my design. It is your piloting skills."
"Ha!"
Her eyes narrowed. "It is because you damaged it. There is nothing wrong with my design."
Deven waved his hand. "Will you two cut it out. Odell? How did you survive?"
"Well, I give the Nexus credit to over-designing the carrier hulls. The Valiant held together even as she crashed down towards the center of the Celloid. I managed to get into a fighter and fly out the hole I made before the power core went critical. I got a bit singed, but I'm still here. Mind if I land? I don't have anything left to dock with. Well, unless I go back to Lavine. And I don't think he will be too happy with me considering I destroyed his fleet."
Deven laughed. "No I don't think he will be happy with you about that. But you
did help save the planet."
"You tell him that. I have done enough explaining to him as of late."
Deven laughed. "Deal my friend, deal."
Far away a long fuzzy finger with several protuberances tapped a screen. "It would appear our Celloids have failed to eliminate the threat."
A voice in the distance screeched in several octaves well above human hearing. "Very disappointing. But we have others. And they are not as considerate."
Deven pulled the blinds in the bedroom of the beach rental. The sea breeze teased at them a bit, but not enough you could see into the room. He didn't think they could get another private beach house so soon, but the owner felt obligated since they had done so much and didn't get to use their original time. Who knew Lavine would put in a good word with the owner without asking.
Aleshia strode into the room, her deep red silk robe flapping revealing tantalizing glimpses of her legs. The toes of her red heels peeked out from the long robe. She smiled. "Well Mr. Doran, are you ready?"
Deven's eye flashed as he lay on the bed. "Of course my love. And no, I am not going to get called away this time."
She climbed onto the bed, and held herself above him on all fours. "Are you sure?" She pulled the belt which made a satisfactory fissst as it slid away. Her robe fell open revealing the matching red lace teddy under it, framing her feminine form perfectly. "I mean, are you sure? We could go do something else."
Deven coughed. "Oh I am sure my darling." He reached up, put his hands on her hips and pulled her down. He kissed her soft welcoming red lips, tasting her lipstick. His tongue wiggled in and move back and forth across hers. Muscular arms wrapped around her squeezing.
The console on the farthest wall of the bedroom flashed on showing the image of a red camera eye. "Deven, we need you aboard right away."
"Miles!" Aleshia shrieked as she popped up and closed her robe. "What are you doing? I locked down all the communications!"
"You did, however they have not updated the security protocols at this establishment in several years. It was simple to bypass the lockout," Miles said.
Deven pulled his carbine from its holster on the night stand near his head, flipped off the safety, and shot an energy bolt dead center into the screen. It exploded in an eruption of sparks and glass reaching out several feet. Aleshia stared at the newly-made hole, then at him. He smiled. "You didn't think I would leave again did you?"
"No, but I didn't think you would trash a console either. What are we going to tell the owner?"
Deven's grin widened. "That he should have updated the security protocols?"
She laughed. "You think he will buy that?"
"No, but at this moment I don't care. Come here you, I have a promise to keep." He pulled her close and caressed her lips with his own as his hands slipped beneath her robe.
Aboard the Defiant Miles' camera moved back and forth across the vacant bridge as he grumbled. "First they tell me they would like me to be more human, then they don't appreciate my humor when I do. Humans are so illogical."
Soulmates
Aleshia rolled over with a groan. Sunlight poured in through the window and she covered her face with the pillow just as Miles entered. Roughly human shaped but with a large dome instead of a standard type head, Miles was one of the nicer of the Mechand models allowed for home use. He did many of the duties no one else wanted: cooking, cleaning, and making sure the refrigerator was stocked. He could be further enhanced, but Aleshia liked to do many things herself. As usual Miles had activated his anti-grav, allowing him to float few inches off the ground and enter quietly. "Miss Aleshia, it is time to get up." He said in his gentle, yet artificial voice.
"Ugh, it is morning already? Can I just sleep a little more?" She mumbled beneath the pillow.
"I am sorry, but you did ask me to wake you at this time. You do have that important appointment today, if you recall."
Aleshia popped up from under the pillow. "Oh it is Tuesday isn't it? I forgot I am meeting Mindy today. What time is it?"
"9:00am standard, your appointment is at 11:00am standard. I estimate you have enough time to ready yourself and transport there if you begin now."
Aleshia sat up and stretched. "Sometimes you take all the fun out of it, Miles."
"The fun out of what?" Miles asked still hovering by her bed.
"Never mind. I had better get ready. Mindy will be wondering if I am late. We have been looking forward to this shopping trip for quite a while."
"I do not understand why you wish to go shopping for clothing when I can create anything you might require."
"Miles, it is a girl thing. You wouldn't understand."
"A girl thing? Yes it is apparently beyond my understanding why someone would want to travel to a store half way around the planet for items that were created by the same templates as what I can create here and with far less expended energy."
"Miles, just go make breakfast and I will be down in a few minutes."
"Yes Miss Aleshia." Miles said as he inclined his dome, then hovered out of the room.
Aleshia crawled out of bed and drug herself to the sonic shower. This morning though, the sonic didn't feel potent enough. She keyed in her code to use a ration of actual water and the jet turned on bathing her in luxurious liquid. She relished in its warm embrace for several extra minutes before turning it off and climbing out. She dried herself off and placed the towel in the cleaning drawer and set it to auto. Walking over to her closet, she found the dress she wanted to wear today. A strapless design with a short skirt that came to her mid thigh. Just enough to make things interesting, should she find someone to be interesting with. She then put on a pair of adjustable pumps and set the height to two inches, and the color to mach the emerald dress she now wore.
Walking downstairs she found Miles had just finished breakfast, and her usual place was already set. She sat down as her nose caught the wonderful scents wafting through the air. "Mmmm it smells good."
"It is your usual, synth egg, bacon, and waffles. Supplies are running low. I need to refill them in the next few days. Do you authorize me to procure more with your normal rations?"
"Yes Miles," she said while munching on the strip of bacon, "that is fine. How much will you need?"
"No more than a third of your total for the month, but I shouldn't need to acquire any more for some time."
Aleshia nodded. "That won't be a problem, I can apply for more if we need. I doubt it will be necessary though, the ration has always lasted before."
"Yes I concur, I do not believe you will exhaust the existing ration. And even then you have quite a bit on your reserve that you have accumulated from past unused totals."
"Exactly. I think that …" She dropped the fork and held her head as a sudden searing pain ran through her mind. It felt like someone was drilling into her brain with a dull razor. Almost as quickly as it began, the pain lessened and disappeared.
"Miss Aleshia? Are you all right?" Miles said as he hovered over to her.
"Yes I am fine Miles. Thank you."
"I beg to differ. Your actions indicate another headache, correct? That makes three this past week. May I call a med-tech this time?"
"NO! I am fine. You are not to call or notify anyone, is that clear?"
"Acknowledged," Miles said as he craned his head dome a little in Aleshia's direction, "but I really think I should call a med-tech or at least let me scan you."
"NO DOCTORS! And I do not want you scanning me either, is that clear?"
"Yes, perfectly clear."
"Good," Aleshia said as she got up from the table, "make sure you get more of that chocolate cream cake I like. We haven't had it in a long time."
"I will try, but you know that the raw materials are more resource consuming. I may not be able to with the current budget."
Aleshia waved her hand dismissively. "Just get it. I have enough back ration credits to pay for it. I can afford to treat myself once in a while."
"Acknowledged
. Will there be anything else Miss Aleshia?" Miles said as he took the dirty plate, silverware, and hovered over to the sink to begin the cleaning process.
"Nope. That's all. Thanks Miles."
"You are welcome Miss Aleshia. And if I may make a inquiry, why are you wearing the impractical shoes today?"
Aleshia laughed. "Because they make my legs look good. And I am going out today."
"But you could damage yourself with such footwear." Miles said as he finished cleaning and sterilizing the dishes.
