Relentless: Book One of the Union Warship Saga

by Scott Mullins

  During the course of it all, when one was weak, another was strong, Relentless in their endeavor to achieve, to overcome. Milli had never seen such determination in a rag tag group of people. It made her proud to call most of them sons.

  One she had always felt was more, not a son. She was not old enough to be a mother to any of them, ten years older at most, but it was unfortunate to her in this one case to be seen as such. Maybe one day that would change if he ever pursued it.

  As she pondered, Sean caressed Kara.

  When he touched her bare skin his skin was set alight with a feeling he could barely describe. It felt like a warm, low voltage electrical current. It felt as if it allowed his hand to move more smoothly across her skin like a dry lubricant powder. He looked at his fingertips. They appeared normal. He rubbed the tip of his index finger and thumb together, the warm, silky smooth feeling remained but slowly faded.

  Kara slowly opened her eyes. She smiled at him and sighed contently as she turned her head to the side.

  The doctor came back to his side.

  “She will be like this for a few more hours. She is stoned out of her mind. It’s kind of romantic in a way. She is high on you.” Milli put her hand on his shoulder. “I have known you for a long time Sean. You are troubled, I can see it in your eyes. It’s a lot to take in. You should go see your son while she rests.”

  He looked at her confused.

  “You really are dense. The child. The one we rescued from the Nacuru. He is half Bvaltari, he is her son, your son. After you told me what she said when you brought her in— I checked the DNA profiles of all three of you.”

  Bvaltari, we discovered were close enough biologically that we could produce offspring with them. Our DNA differed very little in most aspects. The Telarians, while still eerily akin, were not close enough to yield children. Some believed that the three races were descended from a common ancestor, transplanted across the galaxy by their forbearers. Others believed that intelligent life no matter where it evolved would have to have similar traits and therefore evolve into comparable beings.

  “I— I don’t have any idea what to do. She kept him away from me for whatever reason.”

  “You don’t have to tell him who you are. Just go check on him, spend some time with him.”

  “Maybe”

  ***

  The captain was nervous. He stood at the door to the guest quarters that Jacob was currently occupying. He reached for the door chime, paused, put his hand back down. Contemplated for another moment what to say and then reached up and this time he tapped the button.

  Sean had never been so scared in all his life. Never. At no point in the war, not even the day his team was ambushed. Fear didn’t enter the equation.

  Now he stood here in front of this door with only a child on the other side, almost shaking. When the door opened he had a sense of panic, he wanted to bolt.

  “Hello,” Jacob said.

  At first all he could do was stare at the boy. Jacob was unmistakably his son. He saw every bit of himself in the child.

  “Hello.”

  His voice broke, he cleared his throat.

  “Hello. I’m Captain Connor.”

  The captain was an intimidating sight. Jacob had been on the ship for two weeks and had not seen the reclusive captain once. The captain wore nanotech armor that was tight fighting and showed his muscular stature. He wore a utility belt with a side arm and extra magazines. He stood straight and tall as he towered over him.

  “Can you come with me? I have something you need to see.”

  Jacob nodded his reply and followed the captain to sickbay.

  There was a person in one of the alcoves and Dr. Pendrie was tending to them. Jacob followed the captain to the alcove.

  Jacob’s eyes lit up. It was his mother!

  He ran to her side.

  “Momma? Is she okay?”

  Kara rolled her head towards the sound of her son. She was still too intoxicated from the bonding with Sean to do much else.

  “She is going to be fine. I expect her to make a full recovery from her ordeal,” Dr. Pendrie said reassuringly.

  Jacob squeezed his mother’s hand. She smiled, she knew it was him from his touch and she could feel his presence.

  After a few minutes of Jacob holding her hand Dr. Pendrie observed the increase in Perithricine corresponding to child bonding.

  “Captain. Why don’t you give Mr. Novellas a tour of the ship? Introduce him to the Avatar and Willow. That’s my prescription for the two weeks he spent locked away in his quarters.”

  “Sure. I can probably take him for a tour tomorrow. Are you up for it Jacob?”

  “Yes. Who’s Willow?”

  “Willow is my Raptor. I was a Razor pilot once.”

  “Wow! I want to see her. Can I sit in the cockpit?”

  “I’m sure Willow won’t mind.”

  ***

  “Nanites Captain. Somehow he created a clone of himself using bionanites.” Malik informed the captain.

  “So he is still alive,” Tomac said pulling on his beard. “Thank you Commander. That will be all.”

  ***

  Sean and Jacob walked around the ship after having breakfast together in the Officer’s Mess. Jacob had been onboard the Relentless while it was under construction but had not had a full access tour.

  He was enjoying spending time with the captain. He had no male role models around but he had always imagined himself growing up to be like Captain Connor. Special Forces, a pilot, wearing armor and commanding the most advanced warship, he could see himself growing up to be like him. His mother would disapprove, she never understood.

  After lunch Captain Connor escorted Jacob to engineering and then to the shuttle bay to meet Willow.

  Willow was one of only a small group of synthetically intelligent Raptor class fighters. All of them were intelligent, sassy and sarcastic, just like the architect. She was the most undetectable and the fastest ship ever created by the Union.

  Jacob climbed into the cockpit.

  “Willow I would like for you to meet Jacob. He is super excited about meeting you.”

  He added the last part to stroke the fighter’s ego.

  “As well he should be. I am the most advanced starfighter in the galaxy. I have tritium antimatter powered sublight engines. My air frame is titanium and my metamaterial hull makes me virtually undetectable even without my camouflage engaged. I am the only starfighter design to have a jump drive. I can out maneuver any ship ever made and I do all that while being the sexiest ship alive.”

  Jacob giggled.

  “I like her.”

  “Me too. Willow and I have been through a lot together.”

  “Can I fly her?”

  “Maybe after we drop out of hyperspace, IF it’s okay with Willow.”

  “What about me?” came a female voice from the front of the hanger.

  “Not a chance,” Willow responded.

  “Are you referring to you flying or Jacob?” Connor asked. “Shouldn’t you be in sick bay?”

  “No. I don’t want to fly Willow again—”

  “You didn’t fly me the first time honey,” Willow interrupted.

  “I don’t want to RIDE in her,” Kara corrected herself for the egotistical ship, “and I’m feeling much better.”

  “Can I mom, please. She will take care of me, won’t you Willow?”

  “We will discuss that later, it’s time for dinner.”

  “Would you care to join us,” she asked Sean as Jacob climbed down from the cockpit.

  “Sure. I’ll come by. I have a few things to attend to beforehand.”

  “Jacob. Go ahead, I’ll catch up. I need to speak with the captain.”

  Jacob pouted as he slowly walked to the exit. Kara stood with her arms crossed, biting her lower lip, looking and feeling very nervous. She looked like a woman who had a lot to say.

  “You didn’t tell him did you?”

  “Tell him what. That
I’m his father? No. I figured it wasn’t my place to tell him.”

  “Did he tell you about the ship?”

  “What ship?”

  “This ship, the Relentless,” she said pointing to the deck. “I designed her. I’m her architect. We lived at the stardock where she was built.”

  It was becoming clear to him now. Kara designed the ship, which meant Akema was a neural copy of her. Akema was unlike all previous avatars, having an organic neural mass. It dawned on him in that moment that Akema, like Kara was quite possibly life bonded to him and maybe even him to her without their knowledge. His love affair with Akema finally made sense to him. He stood there confounded with a blank expression for many moments while he processed this new revelation.

  “So you didn’t know. No one told you who built the ship they assigned you to?”

  She could tell from his vacant expression that he had been clueless.

  “I designed her around some new technologies and I was there during the entire construction.”

  He was vaguely listening. He couldn’t seem to get around the whole Akema/life bonding issue that was swimming in his head.

  “Dr. Pendrie told me about the life bonding. All this time I haven’t been unable to move on with my life because we were life bonded. You don’t think that was something worth mentioning?” he finally said to her when he came out of his stupor.

  “I had no idea you would be affected as well. Normally the bond does not take cross species for humans, besides, I have been the one truly suffering. I have had to be on replacement therapy ever since that day. I have had to raise our son alone,” she was starting to get angry with him.

  He cut her short.

  “Don’t blame me because you never told me about Jacob. I would never have abandoned you like you did me,” his hurt was evident in his retort.

  “I had no choice. My father arranged the entire thing. If I had not abandoned you, as you say, he would have had you executed for treason or imprisoned in some dark hole forever. I saved your life and walked away because I loved you. If I would have told you about Jacob you would have never let it go. I had no choice and neither did you. Do you really think I life bonded with you only to dump you?” she asked.

  “I have no idea,” he told her.

  “You are so dense sometimes. If you had ever paid attention or learned anything about my people you would have known I life bonded with you. Oooooo, you are so stupid and so was I for ever thinking you would understand what love really meant,” she yelled at him.

  He remembered their last night and the way she made him feel. He remembered that tingling sensation all over his body as he made love to her that night. This is what had become different that evening together with her.

  Sean realized he had been ignorant of her people. He never saw her as anything different than himself. To him she was simply Kara and he loved her. Bvaltari, Human, race didn’t matter. It was the friendship, the kindred bond they shared that mattered to him.

  “We had sex lots of times how was I supposed to know the difference?” he asked defensively.

  “Human males,” she huffed. “Always so ignorant of a females feelings. Love is not words to a Bvaltari, Sean. Love is a feeling and feelings are a part of my people.”

  “I’m not arguing with you. We can’t change the past. The real question is what do we do now? We have Jacob and we are bonded, do we continue living separate lives being miserable without one another or do we try and make a life together and when are you going to tell Jacob I’m his father?” he asked her.

  “Hhmmm, live my life with a pig headed human male—”

  Sean interrupted her.

  “A pig headed human male that saved your life,” he interjected.

  “As I was saying, a pig headed human male with no regard for my feelings and got me kidnapped? I can’t turn back the clock on my choice to bond with you, it was a choice made wholeheartedly so I do not regret it. I meant to spend the rest of my life with you then,” she said to him.

  “What about now?”

  “I don’t know, I could continue to live on therapy. It’s all I have really known since we life bonded anyway. Do you really want to be with me Sean, seriously? You have always been kind of a loner. There haven’t been any other women?”

  Rena, Akema, he thought to himself. He was sure that wouldn’t go over well right now so he kept that to himself. Technically he wouldn’t be lying when he said, “No.” Akema, after all, wasn’t a woman, at least not to anyone but him. But then there was Rena, so I lied he thought.

  “No, you don’t want to be with me or no there have been no other women.”

  Off the hook with the partial lie he thought, let’s go ambiguous.

  “My heart has always been yours.” He pulled her engagement ring from under his suit. Her hand covered her mouth and tears welled up at the sight of it. The image of pulling that ring off and throwing it down was burned into her mind and was one of the most painful things she had ever done. “You are with me every day and I don’t know what to do. You might be bonded to me but do you actually love me? Once you have your replacement therapy do I even cross your mind?”

  “I look at you every day. I look at Jacob and I see you.”

  The real question would be can we find what we once had she thought? Maybe the bonding is blinding us to a reality we never thought we would face. I have thought of you and missed you every single day. Now, faced with the possibility of having you again, it scares me and I don’t know why she thought to herself.

  “I don’t know what to do. We also don’t have to decide today. I don’t know what to tell Jacob, maybe it should wait until we have figured things out between us. I have been through a lot recently. I would prefer some time to rest and reflect before we decide anything but, tonight,” she said taking him by the hand, “I want to spend it with you.”

  Akema watched as Sean made love to Kara. She could detect pheromones on sensors and she could barely control her rage as the room filled with them. She paced frantically in the Avatar Chamber trying to think of a way to stop it.

  It had been ten long years since Kara felt this elation with her mate. Her orgasm was long and electrifying sensations exploded in her head leading her to the verge of consciousness making her vision fade.

  ***

  For several days following their confrontation and subsequent copulation Sean and Kara spoke little. Jacob could sense the tension between the two and could tell his mother and the captain were nervous around one another, but he didn’t know why. After Jacob was asleep each night the captain would come by so the couple could join in the Sharing. It was vital for her and he found it gave him an unknown sense of peace, albeit arousing. She was very careful to not share her emotions during these times and to not read his. Jacob had brought her replacement therapy but she had not told Sean. She was enjoying having the real thing for the first time, since the first time. Afterward he would return to his quarters and his thoughts of Akema.

  Akema took advantage of the aroused state Kara was leaving him in as an opportunity to seduce him and finish what Kara had started. She took great pleasure in knowing that even though Kara turned him on, it was her he approached to satisfy his desires. She enjoyed the forceful way he would take hold of her each night with that iron grip as he kissed and caressed her and he enjoyed not worrying about harming a frail or fragile creature during his assertive love making.

  The captain started coming by and spending time with Jacob as well, teaching him games and telling him stories of his experiences. Jacob requested, much to his mother’s dismay, that the captain be allowed to teach him how to handle a firearm. Kara protested at first until Jacob related his story of being thrust into a position where such knowledge would have been greatly beneficial. She also remembered her father teaching her so she reluctantly agreed.

  Sean had been nervous and unsure about how to interact with his son in the beginning. He quickly discovered they had a great deal in common and t
he boy was very intelligent.

  Along with her replacement therapy Jacob had also brought some of her clothes and personal belongings. She tried hard to choke back the tears when her son showed her the dress he saved for her. It was the dress she wore the night Sean asked her to marry him, the night they bonded and their last night together. She had never washed it and she believed it still smelt of him even after all these years. She realized in that moment that yes, she wanted to be with him, that years could not erase the beautiful relationship they shared.

  One evening after having spent the afternoon with Jacob, Sean escorted him back to the quarters he shared with his mother. He was surprised to find Milli Pendrie there.

  “Good evening Jacob,” she said. “Would you care to join me for dinner?”

  Jacob was half Bvaltari, as such he could tell Milli had ulterior motives that involved his mother and the captain.

  “Sure. If my mom says it’s okay.”

  “I asked her already, she said ‘yes.’”

  Milli extended her elbow for young Jacob to grab and he escorted her to the door as if they were attending a formal dinner engagement. Sean smiled. She had a way with children and those two had become quite the duo. During their almost two week journey to save his mother Milli had stepped up and been there for Jacob and the other children. He often wondered why Milli had never remarried and had children after Steven’s father. It wasn’t his place to live her life for her but he often thought she would have been happier with more children.

  “How do I look?” Kara asked him.

  He turned to her as she entered from the bedroom. She was stunning, that’s how she looked.

  She was wearing a gorgeous black dress that hugged her curves well. It was conservative yet sexy and it made him remember everything he loved about her figure. Her deep brown hair was slightly curled and dangled playfully about her face and shoulders.

  “You look amazing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Is that the same dress from the night I proposed to you?

  “Yes—yes it is.” She was shocked that he remembered. “I thought we could have a picnic dinner this evening. I know we don’t have a park but I have the next best thing,” she said and she grabbed his hand and led him out the door and down to the shuttle bay.