By the time all of these conclusions had been reached, the girls were up, medicated, and feeling much more themselves. Including being borderline angry with their respective young men again. (Which both Morgan and Robert found more than just a little annoying after all they been through during the last few hours.) Robert had Cleo scan all the computers to make sure that no traces of the Sturm Virus – which he accidentally referred to by that name – were still on the ship. None were.
That being the case, the crew began checking every system on the ship from the generators to the waste-water processing unit. If something could go wrong with the door locks, something could go wrong with anything.
Around noon – I guess. I've mentioned before how hard the time-math can be. Either way, Morgan was getting hungry so, it had to be around noon. – the following day, Morgan decided to take a lunch break. He grabbed an MRE and headed for the bridge, hoping to find someone to talk to while he was eating. He wasn't disappointed.
“I just don't see what's so dangerous about it,” Celeste said as Morgan stepped into the chamber.
All three ladies were sitting in their usual seats, MREs in their laps. Doc was standing near where Vox lay on the floor, with several tools in his hands. Vox had his head, arms, and a good portion of his chest, inside one of the computer consoles.
“I got hungry,” Morgan pointed out, taking a seat.
“We all did,” Cleo smiled.
“It's dangerous, baby,” Vox replied, “because we could change our own children’s time-lines. I mean, just think about what happened with these last two jobs.”
“These people weren't Robert,” she pointed out. “If anyone can think of a way to do it, he can.”
“That's what I'm trying to tell you: no one can.”
“I don't believe that,” she said, shaking her head. “He's the smartest man that ever lived...”
“Yes, he is,” Azure interjected.
“I'm sure he could find a way if he wanted to,” Celeste continued. “He just won't put himself to the trouble.”
“It's not that, baby,” Vox disagreed. “It's just that it's too dangerous. Even if we could go back to see them, what would we say?”
“We could let them know that we're alright, that they don't need to worry about us.”
“They're not worried about us,” Vox chuckled. “They think we're dead.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It should,” Doc replied. “Celeste, death is a natural part of life. For your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, this is nothing more than nature taking its course.”
“We don't have to let nature take its course,” she asserted. “After my mother died, all I wanted more than anything was to talk to her one last time.”
“I completely understand that,” Azure said with a sigh. “My own mother's been dead almost a year now and I still have a hard time believing it's true.”
“That feeling won't fade for a long time,” Celeste told her. “I still dream that my mother is alive and she's been dead for close to fifty years.”
“How did it happen?” Morgan asked softly. “I mean; if you don't mind my asking.”
“I don't,” Azure smiled. “It's not like I don't like talking about her or anything. It's just that the last time you asked about it, Rob had just gotten us all worked up. Not that it was his fault, really. Anyway, she was a truly remarkable woman. My father died when I was a little girl so, it was just me and her when I was growing up. She not only showered me with love, she made sure not to spoil me, which isn't always an easy thing to do when a child has lost a parent.”
“No, it's not,” Doc nodded.
“She got sick and just slowly wasted away,” Azure said, toying with her food as she spoke. “There wasn't a cure at the time. Although, I'm sure it would have been nothing for Doc to save her if he had had her in the medi-bay.”
“Probably not,” Doc agreed. “I'm sorry I couldn't have been there for her.”
“Why couldn't you be?” Celeste asked. “If Rob...”
“No, Celeste,” Doc interrupted, shaking his head. “What's done is done.”
“You mean like when Vox and I died?!” she snapped. “Because, it seems to me that Rob didn't have any trouble undoing that.”
“That's not exactly the same thing,” Doc pointed out.
“How is it any different?!”
“Vox is capable of helping save the entire universe and you are his wife.”
“So, that means we matter, I guess.”
“We all matter, Celeste,” Doc replied. “Vox just happens to matter in the here and now.”
“Why am I here, then?”
“Vox loves you and Robert loves Vox,” Doc explained.
“So, if it wasn't for Vox, Rob would have let me die?”
“Most of the people that Robert loves are dead, Celeste.”
“Well,” she sighed, rising from her seat as she spoke. “I'm beginning to wish I were, as well.”
Having said this, she left the room.
“Celeste!” Vox cried, pulling his head from under the console and climbing to his feet. “Celeste, hold on for a second!”
“I'm sorry, Vox,” Doc said, shaking his head.
“Not your fault,” Vox replied, before following his bride.
“That did not go well,” Doc observed. “If any of you need me, I'll be checking the equipment in the medi-bay.”
“I'm going to go find Rob,” Azure said. “I have something I want to talk to him about.”
Seconds later, Cleo and Morgan were sitting on the bridge by themselves.
“Alone at last,” she said, biting her lower lip.
“I guess so,” he chuckled. “I take it you've been wanting to talk to me.”
“I have,” she smiled.
“I would ask what it's about,” the young man said “but, I'm sure it's Rob. So, what's going on?”
“It is partially about Rob,” she ceded. “To start with, I'm sure you've noticed that he's afraid of intimacy.”
“I don't think you can say that, really. I mean; he doesn't exactly go on and on about his past or anything but, there's a lot more to intimacy than that. Rob wears everything he is on his cuff. Fifteen minutes after you've met him, you know him. Personally, I feel like I've learned enough about people's past for a while. You're an orphan; Azure's an orphan; Celeste and Vox are dead, not to mention all their kids and everything; Doc has something he doesn't want to talk about – which I'm sure is at least that terrible, if not worse. It's more than depressing enough without knowing about all the dead people Rob knows.”
“I see what you mean,” Cleo nodded. “And, considering what we were just talking about, your confusion is understandable.”
“What confusion?”
“What I'm actually talking about is Rob's fear of physical intimacy.”
“Oh,” Morgan burst out laughing, “that's not fear, honey. That's caution. Caution for both your sakes. Have you forgotten what just happened?”
“That was days ago,” she pointed out. “It's obvious that we're both fine. In fact, I'm more than fine. I'm so fine I'm getting... well, not-fine. If you see what I mean.”
“I think I do,” he grinned. “I'm getting the same way.”
“It's easy to see on you,” she replied. “In fact, it makes me feel sympathy pains.”
“Fortunately, it's an easy issue to fix,” Morgan asserted. “Turn the program back on.”
“I would love to,” she said, shaking her head. “He won't let me.”
“He won't...” Morgan began before stopping mid-sentence.
He gazed into nothingness for several seconds before speaking again.
“Et tu, Robert?” he said softly to himself.
“What?”
“Nothing,” the young man replied. “We're just going to have to take matters into our own hands, that's all.”
“It's funny that you say that,” she said with a coy smile,
“because, I've been thinking the same thing.”
“Where and when do we start?”
“Right here,” she said, standing as she spoke. “Right now.”
“How?”
“I've noticed something about you, Morgan,” she said, stepping nearer where the young man was sitting. “Actually, I've noticed several things about you. You have a real masculinity about you that it takes a girl a while to notice. You're also very handsome in your way. Plus, as it turns out, I happen to like tall men, after all. And, finally, you seem to have absolutely no fear at all of physical intimacy.”
As she said this, she leaned down until her face was just inches from his.
“Cleo?” he said, a truly fearful tone in his voice. “What are you doing?”
“Trying something new,” she said before lowering her mouth to his and kissing him with everything she had to offer.
For several seconds, the young man was too stunned to do anything more than instinctively return her kiss. It took several seconds more for his willpower and sense of loyalty, both to Azure and to Robert, to overpower his body and allow his mind to take control of his flesh. As soon as he could move under his own power, he grabbed her by the arms and tore her away from him.
“Cleo?!” he exclaimed. “Have you lost your mind?!”
Chapter 9: Serious Repercussions
“Morgan!” Robert's voice echoed down the hallway. “Morgan, where are you, man?”
This caused Cleo to stand upright and take several steps away from the young man.
“I'm on the bridge,” Morgan replied.
Seconds later, Robert rushed into the room, his face slightly flushed.
“Cleo, love,” he said, forcing himself to smile, “could you leave me and Morgan alone for a few minutes.”
“Of course, Rob,” she replied, giving Morgan a wink that the traveler didn't see. “I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about.”
“As it turns out,” he said, slipping down into his seat with a sigh, “we do.”
“Enjoy yourselves,” she said, before strutting out of the room.
It was obvious that Robert knew. Morgan could see it in his body language. His face was red and he was clearly very upset. Which he could completely understand. The truth was that Morgan was pretty upset himself. Stuff like this was not supposed to happen. Of course, the young man wondered how Robert knew. On the other hand, he was the last time traveler so, maybe he had always known it was going to happen.
“Morgan,” Robert finally said, before pausing to search for words.
This gave Morgan time to cautiously lick the last traces of honey flavor from his lips. He hoped to everything good that Robert wouldn't be able to smell it on his breath.
“I'm trying to decide where I should start,” the traveler said.
“Take your time, bro.”
“Alright,” Robert nodded slowly. “To begin with; everybody makes mistakes, Morgan. You, me, Azure, even Cleo.”
“Too true.”
“So, it's really important that we learn to forgive the people we care about because, at some point or another, they're going to make a mistake. You see what I mean?”
“I do,” Morgan replied, “and, I completely agree.”
“Good. That's very good. Because I'm afraid a rather big mistake has been made.”
“It happens.”
“I agree,” Robert chuckled. “And, the last thing I want it to do is damage any of our friendships.”
“That's not possible,” Morgan assured him with an understanding smile. “Sometimes things just happen. We have to do our best to forgive and forget.”
“I'm really glad to hear you say that. I... I get the vibe that you know where I'm going with this.”
“I'm almost positive that I do,” Morgan confessed.
“Oh, good,” Robert replied. “I mean; I'm not usually at a loss for words but, this is rather a difficult subject to deal with.”
“It certainly is,” the young man agreed.
“Just to make sure we're on the same page,” the traveler continued, “what would you say if I said: you shouldn't blame her?”
“I would say: I don't,” Morgan assured him.
“Honestly?”
“Absolutely,” the young man nodded. “With all the craziness going on lately with date night, and turned off programs, and too much wine, she can hardly be held accountable for her actions.”
“That's exactly how I feel,” Robert instantly agreed. “Plus, I'm sure it was purely and totally physical. It had nothing to do with any kind of emotional connection.”
“I'm absolutely positive that you're right about that.”
“I mean; here she is trapped on a ship just flooded with male virility...”
“We do pump out a lot of pheromones between the two of us,” Morgan interjected.
“We do,” Robert nodded. “Then, of course, you can't blame her for feeling the raw, animal desires that are inspired by facial features, eye color, muscle tone, etc.”
“I guess that's fair to say,” Morgan replied, flexing his rather well developed pecks.
“Obviously, we each find both of the girls physically attractive.”
“Obviously.”
“So, we can hardly blame them for finding both of us attractive, as well.”
“We'd be hypocrites if we did.”
“Exactly!” Robert replied, snapping his fingers. “That's exactly what we'd be. This was just a matter of the flesh being stronger than the spirit. We can hardly blame her for that, can we?”
“No, we can't,” Morgan chuckled. “You know, Rob, to be honest with you, you're handling this way better than I thought you would.”
“I'm just as surprised,” Robert laughed. “I didn't think this would be your reaction at all.”
“I'm just glad you don't blame her.”
“I don't,” the traveler said, with a tone of complete and total honesty. “Not one bit.”
“Rob, I've known for a while that you were a big man,” Morgan replied, “metaphorically speaking, I mean.”
“Obviously,” Robert chuckled.
“But, I had no idea you could be this big. I was absolutely positive that when you found out that Cleo kissed me...”
“Cleo what?!” the traveler exclaimed, sitting bolt upright in his seat. “When?!”
“Just before you came in,” Morgan replied, throwing his hands in the air. “Isn't that what we're talking about?”
“No! We're talking about the fact that Azure just kissed me.”
“You kissed Azure?!” the young man cried, leaping to his feet.
“No!” Robert replied, also springing from his seat. “She kissed me!”
“Azure wouldn't do that,” Morgan asserted at very close to the top of his lungs.
“Are you suggesting that Cleo would?!”
“I'm not suggesting anything, Rob. I'm telling ya: she kissed me!”
“You're a liar!”
“That's rich, coming from you!”
This conversation was on the point of coming to blows when Vox rushed into the room.
“Rob, we have got to talk,” he said.
“It's not a good time!” Robert snapped, glaring at Morgan with fire in his eyes.
“You’d better make it a good time!” Vox replied, grabbing Robert by his seemingly diminutive shoulders and spinning him around. “Celeste is not acting...”
At this moment, an alarm began ringing throughout the ship. Robert ripped himself from Vox's grasp and pressed several buttons on the console.
“This day just keeps getting better!” Robert cried. “One of the escape pods just jettisoned.”
Now, I told you a while back that I would remind you that the escape pods could travel in time if it ever came up. Well, it just came up. So, remember, the escape pods can travel in time.
“I'm sure it's Celeste,” Vox asserted.
“It is,” Robert confirmed after a few more button presses. “She's not on the sh
ip.”
“That's what I was trying to tell you,” Vox said. “Celeste started acting really squirrelly this morning.”
“Let's get her back on the ship,” Robert sighed, “then, we can all...”
Something on the panel in front of him stopped him mid-sentence. He reached down and opened the intercom.
“All hands on deck,” he said. “Celeste just went forward in time without the rest of us.”
“Sturm!” Morgan cried, shaking his fist at the ceiling; happy to have an outlet for his current rage.
“How are you going to blame this on him?” Robert asked, chuckling in spite of his anger.
“After the awards ceremony, he danced with Celeste three times.”
“Yeah, so.”
“He may have taken brain-control over her, like you do me.”
“That's not really a thing, Morgan.”
“It is with you, Robert.”
“He's right,” Vox nodded.
“So,” the traveler said, turning his eyes to his friend, “you think Sturm took brain-control over Celeste?”
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I think you take brain-control over Morgan.”
“You're both insane,” Robert asserted. “Either way, Morgan, you and I are going to have to shelf our previous conversation. However, I intend for us to pick it back up as soon as we can.”
“With pleasure.”
“Until then, we have to act like nothing happened.”
“Agreed.”
In less than a minute, Doc, Cleo, and Azure all arrived on the bridge. In spite of their best efforts, Robert and Morgan couldn't help but gaze at their respective ladies with respective displeasure – respectively.
“Science Officer Zelbizarre,” Robert said, “get a fix on the escape pod's transponder. I want to know exactly where and when it is.”
“Yes, Sir,” she said, quickly pressing buttons on the console in front of her.
“What are we going to do?” Morgan asked.
“Go pick her up,” Robert said, shaking his head. “It's not a big deal. We can be there five seconds after she is. It's just annoying, that's all. Any idea why she did this, Vox?”
“She's been nagging me for the last few days to ask you to take her to see her mother one last time. I wouldn't.”
Bad Behavior (The Last Time Traveler Book 3) Page 15
