Baby, it's Cold in Space: Eight Science Fiction Romances

by Margo Bond Collins

  She’d seen his green eyes when they were face to face in the medbay. But beyond that, it was all her imagination. And her imagination was filling in stereotype details to keep her from getting horny. Unsuccessfully. He was tall. She liked tall. Lean, but not skinny. And when they were moving the crew he didn’t complain at the weight.

  Okay, he’s still talking, pay attention, Jody.

  “They can blow hot air out into the direction of the snow. In turn, when the snow melts, we would also get some oxygen release as it evaporates using less power here inside the fuselage. Oho!” He slapped Jody’s back. “Good work.”

  The snow wasn’t the only thing melting. She tried to turn it off but his boyish enthusiasm was disarming. His guileless glee made her smile. Or maybe it was his naive pomposity. Either way, she forgave him for being a twit. It made her even more curious about what he looked like under the EVA.

  Curiosity wouldn’t interfere with her mission.

  She hoped.

  At least people weren’t shooting at her.

  Yet.

  She continued her ruse. “I guess that’s my cue. Payload Specialist Wall, happy to show you the inventory here on Ebudae. We have boxes of things. Lots of them.” She giggled. What would you like?” She led the way to the cargo bay. “Let me know if there’s any way I can help move your project along. It’s not like I’m going anywhere. Ever.”

  “Basically,” he said, “It’s like a giant hair dryer. Only it absorbs the humidity as it blows the heat.”

  “A giant hair dryer. Got it.” In the dimly lit payload bay the enormous metal stacks of boxes awaited. The containers were piled on either side of a meter wide center aisle. They varied in size. Each container was uniformly twenty centimeters high and wide while shapes and lengths varied cubes to rectangles. Center stacks were over two meters high to distribute the weight evenly in the payload.

  “You start on this low grouping here,” she pointed. “I’ll climb up and disengage the secure straps. We’ll use their own anti-grav to move them if we have to.”

  Using the cargo restraints as handholds, Jody climbed the stack of boxes marked with the corporation’s interlocking C logo, and skimmed content tags along the way.

  Below her, Ewan read off the closest marking. “Biological Waste Disbursement. Why are the labels so obtuse?”

  “Because someone gets paid to make them up,” Jody said. She read off another, “Specimen conservation dehydration unit. Think this is the giant hair dryer?” Without waiting, her fingers manipulated the strap security anchor.

  “I think so.” Ewan said.

  Initiating the unit’s anti-grav, Jody hung onto the box as she leapt down, steering it to where he stood.

  “You know it’s going to be a hell of a ride back to your camp with this stuff. The hoppercraft isn’t equipped to haul this weight.” Jody alighted the box, disengaged the anti-grav, and a loud thump resounded.

  “I was thinking about that, actually,” he said and stepped towards the container. “It might be best to stay here, set the camp up around this ship. Then we can move the remainder of the temporary camp. Since there’s less there than here, it’s far more efficient. Now that I’m finished installing the subterranean carbon release instruments, I was going to relocate to the equator anyway. It’s the ideal observation post.”

  “What exactly is it that’s moving?”

  “It’s a modular yurt with several smaller pieces of equipment. The survey equipment and some survival gear is kept in the hoppercraft. This way I can always be mobile. With the way the weather changes on this planet, it was better to not have a permanent settlement until I determined where to set up for a bigger expedition.”

  “Have you done a lot of surveying? Find anything interesting?” she asked and closed a crate that did not have the “hair dryer”. Did he find the remains of the Freedom Road’s way station?

  “Yes. But Six has been analyzing all of that data. I know there are more stable zones on the planet. I just haven’t had enough survey equipment. The satellite is in place though, which is good, because I had Six upload everything we gathered already off to the comm array.”

  Crap. Six. What would she do with the drone? Had they sent the data she’d meant to destroy?

  “Before the crash, we sent up an emergency link to the beacon. That way we should hear something back in at least a week,” he said with what sounded like forced bravado. “I think.”

  Worse and worse. If they’d already sent data about the base, destroying it now wouldn’t stop Cordoba’s corporate machinery. “One can only hope.” Jody said with forced lightness. “AHA!” She held up a handheld sized piece of equipment from a box he’d already opened. “Is this it?”

  “No, it’s larger and has wheels.”

  “But this … this looks like an actual hair dryer. Which reminds me, I’d really like to take a shower.”

  “A shower?”

  “Yeah,” she grinned over at him. “We have plenty of water, right?”

  “Maybe a cold shower…” Ewan quipped.

  “Uh… no!” Jody cracked up. “You’re a hoot, doc.”

  “I’m glad I amuse you, because I’m your only entertainment and it might be a while before we can melt our way to the ATV.”

  “Maybe we should just wait until Six can dig us out?” Jody said. “And maybe find out what the crew died of? I mean, what if I have some horrible disease that’s killing me? You know? I mean I don’t feel sick and they’re dead but…”

  “Six is analyzing your scans. You could have been exposed to a toxin but we’re still uncertain what or who did that. Or if it was even deliberate or an accident.” He put down a box and heaved a loud, weary sigh.

  “I’ve had a nap, and you look tired. Your shift to sleep, come on.” Jody smiled. Was that a look of suspicion? She couldn’t tell through the visor. She remembered his reticence to go into the cockpit, “Take the captain’s cabin. It’s the biggest.”

  “I don’t have ti—” Ewan started but Six cut in.

  “Doctor, Jody is right, you have been up for over sixteen hours. The captain’s cabin is equipped with a link to the bridge controls. It is roomy and quite private. It has a large bunk—”

  “—And a blankie!” Jody teased.

  “Oh phbbbt. The both of you are like mother hens.” Hands on hips his scowl penetrated the visor.

  “If I’m a hen, then you’re a…”

  Ewan cut her off with a loud chuckle. “Hah!” He turned towards aft and the crew quarters. “Six, wake me up in three hours.”

  “Yes, Doctor,” Six said.

  Until the power was restored, they wouldn’t be able to use the unit. Jody was left with a foreboding. She heard the door of the Captain’s stateroom close behind Ewan. They were stuck. She was certain it was sabotage and someone had tried to kill her and the crew. But who? Who could have known what she was up to? How? There just wasn’t enough information to go on. But she had to think ahead. Had to make sure that the Freedom Road was kept a secret. As long as it was, she could keep him alive and maybe, just maybe, save his ass, too. No, you can’t go around saving every stray kitten, Jody Benson. But Ewan wasn’t just a stray kitten. And Six was more than just an anomalous subroutine.

  Chapter Five

  EWAN WOKE TO THE SOUND OF SIX’S CHIME IN HIS EAR. He rolled over and checked the EVA chronometer. Right on time. Sleeping in an EVA was supposed to be comfortable. But the helmet always gave him a crick in the neck. He sat up and took off the EVA helmet, inhaling deeply. A clean scent woke his sense memory. Awapuhi? Where was that coming from? Green grasses, pink flowers, and a crush he’d had on a sweet dark eyed farmer’s daughter. Dalit-caste, his mother explained, it was never meant to be. And that was the first time he felt the chill of Cordoba’s hand pulling the strings of his life, breaking his heart into a thousand pieces.

  He stood, shaking his head of the dream. Reburying the pain. Too long without human interaction must be causing hallucinations. But… no
… the scent remained.

  He opened the cabin door and heard the patter of rain? Ducking his head as he left the captain’s quarters the scent grew and moved easily through the narrow corridor. A sensual, inviting fragrance hung in the air.

  Is she taking a shower?

  Ewan listened again. Yes, that was definitely the sound of the shower. “I haven’t had a proper shower in… Do I smell?” Ewan ducked his nose down into the collar of his EVA and whiffed. Where did that funk come from? Now she had him thinking he needed a shower, too.

  She was bossy even when she wasn’t being bossy.

  “How long are you going to be in there?” Standing in the corridor, Ewan called through the crew’s shared bathroom door.

  “What?”

  “How long are you going to be in there?” he raised his voice.

  “Huh? I can’t hear you!” her muffled voice came through the thin door.

  Screwing up his courage, he placed his hand on the door. It moved easily under his hand creating a gap to walk through. A cloud of steam fogged his visor so he slid it open. As he blinked back the moisture, he saw the opaque shower stall door and the silhouette of a full-figured woman behind it. Wait whoa! Didn’t communal bathrooms have more private shower stalls?

  Oh no. He watched in embarrassed horror as the shower door opened.

  She stood there in the billow of steam, beautiful and naked. Her full breasts were tipped up allowing the dark pink of her areola to stand at attention. Cool air signaled an even stiffer stance.

  Jody didn’t move but her lips tightened in an attempt to hide a sly smile. “You mind closing the door? It’s a little chilly.”

  “What? Oh, yes. OH! Sorry. I mean.” He slammed the door behind him, too late he remembered he was on the wrong side, still in the intimate setting of her bathing ritual. Crack me, you bumbling baboon.

  “Okay, then.” Her lips promised mischief. Was that a twinkle in her eye?

  Ewan squirmed. “I’ll just … I leave. Sorry!” He blurted. Torn between leaving and the unexpected view and reception. She wasn’t moving. The clouds were clearing around her beautiful body and all he could do was gape.

  “Why? I’ve nothing to hide.”

  “I’m not a prude.” Ewan said, disbelieving his own words.

  “Just shy?” Jody teased and reached up to grab a towel off the shower stall door. Turning to give him a better view of her spectacular bottom before she turned around again. She raised her brows in question.

  Ewan gulped. His throat tensed as he eyed her body yet again. It was compact, hard, there was muscle everywhere and yet, there was also a soft feminine mound at her belly that he had a sudden desire to kiss. Every part of her was a kissable zone. His lips longed to travel along the gentle curve where the small of her back met her flawless ass and then around to the swell of her hips.

  If he touched her, if he kissed her, what would his superiors say? Oh to a black hole with them. All of them. They weren’t seeing what he was. This was perfection.

  Blood pumped furiously through his veins, heightening his senses, stiffening his shaft. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes grazed the growing bulge. A stab of desire shot through him. Was that another smile? Yes. Her cheek twitched a dimple; her lips dared with a pout. Is she teasing me because she wants me or is she teasing me because she wants me to leave? He could not read her signals and it was his move.

  By the heat of his face, he was sure his blush was bright red, even obscured by his beard.

  The tiny blonde hairs along her body formed a halo of soft light. She began to towel off her legs and arms.

  Creamy.

  “Doctor,” she said. “This was fun but…You should leave before both of us do something we’ll regret later.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Ewan backed out of the bathroom, hands shaking so hard he could only just redo the latch. “I’m a fool.”

  ***

  “Six, you have those results on the environmental scans?” Jody asked the drone half an hour later.

  “Not yet, Jody. But I have managed to…”

  Ewan came out from the captain’s quarters. “Is it getting warm in here?” he asked as he pulled off his helmet. “I was about to use the bathroom and felt a little toasty.” His shaggy red mop of curls shook out. Ringlets bounced along the top of his head, short sides indicated an outgrown quiff. It gave him a rugged outdoorsman look. And that short thick red beard covering his chin and cheeks? The tanned face and neck?

  Her knees wobbled. Brainiac scientist was hot. Holy comets.

  But her mission did not include a romantic liaison with her prey. That was creepy.

  “Good work installing that busted component while I slept. While you napped, and… I showered…” she watched his cheeks pink like they’d been pinched, “Six got the environmentals going.”

  “Super!” He bounced a little on his heels.

  She pursed her lips.

  “Am I funny?”

  “Yes. Yes, Ewan, you are. But not in a bad way.” And she regretted not throwing herself at him in the shower but … it was better this way. Wasn’t it? But her body was reacting to a growing and undeniable attraction. He was smart and hot... a heady combination.

  “Has Six begun to melt the snow off the outer hull then?”

  “I think so.” Jody shrugged. “The power cells are filling up faster than we can drain them with your elemental dryer. ” She pointed to the large blower aimed at the hole in the wall. The dry heat was melting the snow in a neat curved tunnel. “With Six’s help, environmentals are working to clear the humidity. But it’s getting a little funky in here. Six is working on the exhaust systems for that, now. And Six says their tests on the crew should be finished soon. ”

  “Looks like you were busy.”

  “Yes. There’s not much else to do.” Jody wiped a spot where some of the dew had collected on one of the cargo boxes. “It’s like the lull after take-off. New crew. You just sit there and stare at each other until someone breaks and starts talking about themselves.” She hit him with a smile. “You never told me about you.”

  Ewan’s eyes brightened. He cleared his throat. “I’m an astrobiologist. Normally, we don’t do field work. We’re kind of a jack of all trades: physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, molecular biology, ecology, planetary science, geography and geology. What I do in a lab is investigate the possibility of life on other worlds and help recognize biospheres that can be used to locate or form life elsewhere.”

  Her knees wobbled. All that in his brain? The Freedom Road cell she worked with could use him. She could use him, and not for his brain. Damn, there goes those hormones again.

  “The goal here is to terraform this planet.” He motioned around the payload midsection. “This is the remaining equipment I need in order to initiate the carbon release I was telling you about before.”

  “Wow, that’s heavy stuff. You must be important.” She leaned against the fuselage and pulled out a piece of dried fruit from her EVA’s arm pocket.

  “Actually, I’m not.” He stepped towards hole in the bulkhead tapping at the melting ice with his gloved fingertips. There was enough snow pushed up against the fuselage to keep the warmth in and create a sealed environment. “I got an opportunity. From many hundreds of entries across the Cordoba Constellar Conglomerate holdings, I was one of the few chosen to scope out the planet that I proposed. We are in a contest to see who can get their planet prepared first.”

  “What if more than one person picked the same planet?” Jody asked as she moved towards the food supplies, stuck her hand into the open crate, and pulled out prepackaged tree nuts.

  “I…I don’t know.” He turned back to look at her, his shoulders stiffened. “There are billions of planets. The probability of us choosing the same planets are astronomically low.”

  “Hah, I see what you did there.” She winked and broke the package open before handing it to him.

  Ewan wrinkled his nose, palmed the ration and nod
ded a quick thank-you. “Clever,” He shook the nuts out into the glove.

  Yes, oh good night, that was charming. Ewan was making this harder with every moment she spent close to him. His face did not fit the profile she had in her head for nerdy scientists. Not one bit. What was it about him that was making her blood pump through her like a trainwreck? What would it be like to have long, slow, steamy sex with him? Ewan’s drive for perfection was downright luscious. There was nothing more boring that screwing a pretty boy and having an empty conversation afterwards. She bet his post sex conversations wouldn’t have her making up excuses to leave. No, she had to stop thinking this way. He was a target. His project, the one he was so focused on, was why she was here. And it wasn’t to help him succeed. Guilt tore at her conscience.

  Six broke in, as just then the wall com crackled. “Jody, those environmental scans you asked for are in.”

  “Whatcha got, Six?”

  “I found an anomaly in the filtration records.”

  “What kind of anomaly,” Ewan asked, finishing the mouthful of nuts. He covered his mouth as his cheeks flushed pink.

  “There’s a missing record, several hours of time just before the ship crashed. And there’s something else, the payload.”

  “What about it?” Jody frowned while she handed Ewan a liquid container. He nodded his thanks and took a swig.

  “It’s off by about eighty-seven kilos.”

  “Wait, that’s not …” Jody stumbled over her words before regaining her composure. “What are we missing?

  “Food. Eighty-seven kilos of it. When you left the last starbase jump point, you had a full load. When you landed, or at least now, you do not.”

  “Did it fall out?” Ewan asked. “There’s debris everywhere.”

  “No,” Six said. “I have scanned the wreckage zone, there’s very little save for the wing. The ablative armor was in place, according to flight records.”

  “Ok, back up,” Ewan said. “There’s missing filtration records and missing cargo. What does that mean?”