by Jaleta Clegg
Touk was unflappable. Nothing ever seemed to bother him. He was too quiet, seemed to take things too casually, but he was also very good at targeting. Between his calm assessment and Mryah’s quick intuitive marks, Tayvis only had to hit what they sent him.
Not to brag, he thought, but he was very good at what he did. The fact he was kept on third shift he blamed on the time he had spent working for Lowell. He sometimes forgot he was just an Ensign. Not long ago, he was a Sector Commander and commandeered ships like the Avenger at will. Some of his superiors had complained about his attitude. It was that kind of situation that had gotten his team put on report.
They filed into the main control room, standing at attention behind the other three teams. Those off shift were there, too, staying to the side. The ones on sleep shift crowded in behind. They were all curious about the new CO.
The second in command, a pompous Subcommander named Xuvien Jimmon stood at attention next to the door. The crew referred to him as Jimbo behind his back.
“Attention!” Jimmon shouted.
They clicked their heels and made the appropriate noise. Jimmon wasn’t satisfied that they were at attention unless he heard the heels pop.
The new CO walked in. Tayvis stifled a groan. Gunnery Commander Darus Venn sauntered along the rows, inspecting his new command. He came to Tayvis last and stopped. A grin spread over his face, not a nice grin.
“Well, well, Ensign Tayvis, we meet again.”
“Sir,” Tayvis said.
“Your leave was a bit irregular, to say the least. A three hour pass usually does not include dirtside privileges.”
Tayvis stood silent at attention. He had to bite his tongue to keep it quiet, though. He stared as impassively as he could at the far wall.
“You don’t have anything to say?” Darus prodded. “Answer one question and I’ll forget the whole thing. Just what is your involvement with my daughter?”
He heard Mryah’s gasp. This was going to fuel the ship’s gossip mill for quite some time.
“That’s personal, Sir.”
“Very, to judge from the way you were kissing her.”
Mryah’s gasp this time was echoed by quite a few others. Heat crept up Tayvis' neck, flushing his cheeks.
“Why don’t you ask her what my intentions are, sir,” Tayvis said, his tone just shy of insubordinate.
“I did, and now I’m asking you.”
“Maybe I’ll tell you later, in private.” Tayvis looked the shorter man full in the face. He could almost hear the bets being exchanged on how long he was going to be on report this time.
Darus stared him down, hard to do when he was so much shorter. He drew himself up, watching to see if Tayvis would back down. Tayvis stood his ground, daring Darus to do his worst.
“I’ll look forward to it,” Darus said, grinning. “As soon as you’re off shift, come see me in my office.” He turned away. “As you were,” he said as he headed for his new office, a small room just off the main control room that also doubled as his quarters.
“Dismissed,” Jimmon said. He shot suspicious glances at Tayvis.
Tayvis turned on his heel and headed back for his station. The curious stares following him down the corridor burned into his back.
“The CO’s daughter?” Mryah exploded when they were back at their stations. “Couldn’t you have picked someone less likely to cause us problems? Like the governor's daughter? Or maybe the Emperor's cousin?”
“Shut up, Ensign,” Tayvis said.
Mryah’s mouth snapped shut. She huffed, offended to her core.
“Is she the one in the pictures?” Lorien asked. Paper rattled behind Tayvis. The picture of Dace, smiling in the camera with Clark whispering in her ear was thrust in front of him. “Her?” Lorien sounded both awed and frightened by Tayvis’ daring.
Tayvis looked down at Dace's face, captured in the newsvids for everyone to see. Her eyes sparkled, her smile was infectious. She wasn’t a beauty, no, but when she smiled she was dazzling.
Touk laughed, a rich rumbling of sound infectious in its genuineness. “The CO’s daughter. Somehow I never expected less of you. Good joke, joke’s on us.”
“Joke’s on me,” Tayvis said. “I had no idea.” He handed the paper back to Lorien. “I met her father for the first time when he walked in on us.”
“And you were kissing her?” Mryah sounded hopefully forlorn.
“Not then,” Tayvis said. “For your future information, he walks quietly when he wants to.”
“This is going to be one interesting tour of duty,” Touk pronounced. He had no idea how right he was going to be.
“Targets on approach,” Mryah said suddenly.
“Simulation? Now?” Lorien squeaked.
Tayvis grinned and started tracking targets. Interesting indeed. He looked forward to it.
Author Note:
I hope you enjoyed this fourth installment of Dace's misadventures. I certainly have. With the changing climate of the publishing world, this has been a rocky journey indeed. Thanks for sticking with me.
For more fun stories, please visit my website: http://www.jaletac.com
And look for the further adventures of Dace to arrive shortly with book 5: Cold Revenge.
