VirtuallyYours

by Caroline McCall

  Eric played the file. “My apologies, Sir. There is a problem with the refrigeration system on the ship. The tech crew has been unable to repair it.”

  Another rush of expletives followed, and then there was a long pause. “I will return with the human.”

  Chapter Ten

  Although he had fought in battle many times, Pete had never experienced anything like the snarling blood lust of the hunt. With their claws exposed, the Vashtar were a race of vicious predators. Their talons contained some kind of venom that paralyzed their prey. A pile of stunned animals lay wild-eyed and helpless, waiting to be transported back to the Pegasus.

  After being dumped by Charley yesterday, he half wished that the Vashtar would take a swipe at him. What the hell was going on with her? One minute they were making out and the next she was saying that she didn’t want to be with him. If she wanted to travel after her graduation, then they would travel, but there was no way that he was letting her go. Pete heard a second outburst from Kirez. Whatever was going on, he was seriously annoyed.

  “Human, there is a problem on the ship. We must return.”

  Pete tried his best to keep a blank expression on his face. He had been watching the skies all morning, hoping to see the Pegasus take off. The mutiny must have failed. He waited for Kirez to make a general announcement that the hunt was over, but instead he pulled on his gloves and headed back toward the ship. The wind was picking up again, moving the tall grasses wildly. Pete looked at the mountain range in the distance. Charley had done a good job of getting them down safely. As they passed through the meadow, Pete wondered if he should take the opportunity to kill Kirez. This might be the only chance he would get. But if he failed, who would protect Charley?

  The ship loomed up ahead of them. Kirez led the way to Liston’s office. It was empty. He opened the door to the service bay and the sulfuric smell of coolant hit his nose immediately. There shouldn’t be a leak. The tank had at least three backups and two independent alarm systems. It had to be sabotage. Charley must have done it. Marc’s plan to keep her with him hadn’t worked after all.

  Kirez spoke into the com, summoning the guards. There was no response. His tone grew rough as he tried again. If the guards weren’t dead, they were in serious trouble. Pete suppressed a grin when he realized that Charley and the tech crew had managed to take out the Vashtar guards. That just left Kirez. His hand clenched into a fist, aching to strike.

  “Please raise your hands and drop your weapon.”

  Eric stood in the doorway. He looked so odd with a gun in his hand that Pete was tempted to laugh out loud. Charley eased into the room, her gaze flicking anxiously between Pete and Kirez.

  “Which would you rather have me do first, Human?”

  “I mean dr-r-rop your weapon,” Eric stammered.

  Kirez unfastened his weapon belt slowly and tossed it onto the floor. Pete breathed a sigh of relief. As Charley bent to pick up the discarded weapon, a leather glove fell to the floor. Shit, after all he had witnessed today, how could he have been so stupid. He should have known that Kirez wouldn’t give up so easily.

  Using every bit of strength he possessed, he shot forward, pushing Charley out of the way. Pete felt the sting of the Vashtar claw against his cheek. Icy arcs of pain radiated from the cut. His brain sent out frantic messages telling his limbs to move, but it was too late. He tried to cry out, but his tongue felt as if it belonged to someone else.

  Kirez smiled down at him. “I’ve never tasted human before. When I’ve finished with you, Alpha, I will enjoy your female.”

  As the floor rose up to meet him, Pete heard the low thrum of laser fire. Kirez’s body seemed to fall in slow motion. His shoulders jerked and his head bounced against the hard floor. Dead eyes stared into his, but the lieutenant’s mouth still held the semblance of a smile.

  Regret washed over him. He would never have Charley now. Even in death, Kirez had won. The weird thing was that he could still feel everything. He was helpless, immobile, silent, but aware of every little thing—the panic of the techies, Charley’s tender pleas as she stroked his face, but he couldn’t even blink in response. Pete felt a warm rush of pleasure at the sight of her tearstained face. She was crying for him. No matter what Charley said, she did care for him. He could hear Eric shouting at her that they had to get out of here before the others returned. With a final agonized glance at him, she turned and ran toward the bridge.

  Leaving Charley to fight against a seasoned mercenary crew made him feel sick. She was just a cadet. Her only experience of battle was in a simulated environment. That wasn’t going to prepare her for a real fight. He should be with her, not lying here helpless.

  Pete felt the techies’ arms under him as they tried to lift him off the floor. With his titanium implants, he was a lot heavier than he looked, and they grunted as they carried him along the corridors. All he could see were the ceiling lights moving above him. It was like being in a movie set in a medi-facility. He could feel the Vashtar toxin racing through him. His breathing was becoming shallow and he couldn’t turn his head.

  The elevator doors opened. They were heading for the stasis pods. Clever Charley. If they could get him into one of the pods, Marc could probably shut his tech systems down and keep him alive until they got help—if they got off this planet and if Charley was able to fight the other Vashtar ship and win. That was a hell of a lot of ifs, maybe too many. The stasis pod visor came down over his face and he slipped into darkness.

  She wouldn’t cry. Eric said that Pete had been paralyzed with a Vashtar toxin. He would be okay once they gave him an antidote—except they didn’t have one on board. Professor Liston was still lying on the other com chair. He looked as if he was sleeping. Charley slid into the com seat and pulled on the visor. It was time to get out of here. She never wanted to see Baxar Nine again.

  Marc joined her when the ship reached the upper atmosphere. He was wearing a flight suit. “I’ll take over the flying now, Charley.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Marc, I…if we don’t get out of this. I mean, it’s been a pleasure to serve with you.”

  Marc brought her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against her fingers. “Likewise, Charley.”

  Charley closed her eyes and reached out for the weapons systems, feeling them come under her control. She prayed that she wouldn’t have to use them.

  Her prayers weren’t answered.

  “We’re being hailed, Charley. What do you wish to do?”

  She hesitated for a moment. The Vashtar mercenaries had a Delta Class transporter. They could outrun and outgun the Pegasus and the Vashtar would be suspicious that Captain Tinar hadn’t contacted them to announce their departure.

  “Let’s play nice first,” she said. “Open a channel.”

  A face appeared on the screen in front of her, the bony ridges along his brow distended in anger. “Female, what are you doing? Where is Lieutenant Kirez?”

  She had never killed anyone in cold blood before. Maybe she could just disable the other ship. Coward, a little voice inside her head whispered. They stole the Pegasus, kidnapped you and tried to kill Pete. No more playing nice girl, you have a ship and a crew to bring home. Charley could feel the weapons systems responding to her thoughts.

  Arming laser cannon.

  “Lieutenant Kirez is indisposed, Sir,” she replied.

  Selecting targets—ships engines and weapons array.

  “But he sends his regards.”

  Fire weapons.

  The Vashtar ship powered up their weapons, but it was too late. Laser cannon fire hit the port side and a series of explosions began, turning the ship into a fireball. She had killed them. She hadn’t wanted to, but she had done it all the same. “Casualties?” she asked.

  “Two,” Marc responded. “You did the right thing, Charley.”

  “Scan the area for other Vashtar ships.”

  “Affirmative”

  Charley let out a deep breath. So this was what t
he captain’s chair felt like. Making the hard decisions and living with the consequences, knowing that everyone depended on you to do it. She never wanted to sit here again.

  “That’s a negative on other ships in the area. What are your orders, Ma’am?”

  “Set course for Earth, Marc. Take us home.”

  * * * * *

  She was dog-tired. Every hour that she wasn’t at the helm, she stayed near the stasis pods, hoping that Pete would wake up. She knew she was being silly. Marc was monitoring him and he would notify her immediately if there was any change in his condition. Regret washed over her. She loved him. She was hopelessly in love with the infuriating techie, but she might never get the chance to tell him.

  “Charley, report to the bridge, please.” The call came again and she groaned as she pulled herself up off the hard floor of the deck. Marc wouldn’t call her unless there was trouble. She almost fell into the com chair and pulled her visor down.

  The Fleet Command HQ office was gone and the beach house was back. “What’s the problem?”

  “You are, Charley. Your biometric data indicates that you have not experienced an undisturbed sleep cycle in more than three days.”

  “I know that, Marc, but I…” she could feel tears of exhaustion welling up behind her eyes.

  He held out his hand. “Come with me, Charley, there is something I want you to see.”

  She was too tired to argue. Charley took his hand and followed him up the stairs and into the bedroom. Lying on the large wooden bed was Pete. His face was moon pale and he was unconscious. She grasped Marc’s arm. “How did you…”

  “Pete is not here, Charley, any more than you are, but he will feel real to you. Now perhaps you will sleep.”

  Charley threw her arms around Marc, enveloping him in a hug. How did he always know what she needed, even when he wasn’t inside her head? “Has anyone ever told you how wonderful you are?”

  His brown eyes shone with pleasure for a moment and then it faded. “I don’t know, Charley. I can’t remember.” Marc released her and moved toward the door. “I’ll leave you to rest.”

  Charley had a sudden wrenching feeling in her heart. She didn’t know if Pete would pull through this, but Marc had given her a precious gift of time with him. She needed to give him something in return, some small human pleasure that Marc could store away in his memories for when she was gone.

  “Stay,” the word came out in a whisper. Charley cleared her throat and tried again. “I want you to stay, Marc. The bed is big enough for all of us. Please.”

  Without waiting for his answer, she climbed onto the bed, dimmed the lights and curled up to Pete. She waited for the sound of the door opening, announcing Marc’s departure, but it never came. The edge of the bed dipped as Marc sat down. He pulled off his shoes, dropping them on the floor one by one. He lay down, inched closer to her and finally curved up to her back and dropped his arm around her waist. Although she knew that Marc could no longer breathe, she was sure that she could feel his warm breath against her neck. Charley cupped her hand over his and finally she slept.

  She woke during the night to find that she was lying on her back. Marc’s face was on the pillow next to hers. His warm hand was splayed across her breast and there was a sizeable bulge pressing against her left hip. Sensing that she was awake, Marc became alert almost immediately and rolled away from her, fumbling for his shoes in the darkness.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, Marc. It could happen to… I mean, I liked sleeping with you.”

  Marc dropped a quick kiss on her brow. “It appears that the pleasure was all mine, Charley.”

  She giggled at his words before falling asleep again.

  When she woke from her sleep cycle, she was still in Marc’s bed. Pete was gone and the ship’s chronometer told her that she had slept for sixteen hours straight. She bounded out of bed. How could they have let her sleep for that long? Back on the ship, everything was running smoothly. The techies had almost finished the repairs to the coolant system and were taking inventory of teething problems with the new ship. They had managed just fine without her.

  “Charley, come to the bridge, please. We are being hailed.”

  “Is it the Vashtar?” Her heart thumped wildly. Please say no.

  “Negative. It’s a Fleet Command vessel. Their captain wishes to communicate with you.”

  The techies had relieved smiles pasted across their faces. Charley slid into the com chair and pulled the visor down. “Give me a visual, please, Marc.”

  The bridge of the Fleet Command ship came into view. “Captain Jake Svenson, Ma’am. I heard you were having a little trouble.”

  Charley could hardly contain her smile. Their medi-facility was bound to have an antidote for Pete. “Not anymore, Sir, but I have an injured officer on board. Engineer Olafson is in stasis.”

  A worried look flashed across the captain’s face. I’ll dispatch a medi-team immediately. Do you wish to be relieved of duty, Ensign? I can send a crew to assist you.”

  Charley hesitated. A proper bunk and real food was sorely tempting, but she couldn’t leave the Pegasus now. “Negative, Sir, this is my ship. I’ll take her home.”

  Up close and personal, Captain Svenson was one of the most handsome men she had ever met. Misha would be drooling if she got within ten feet of him. Charley waited anxiously while the medi-team ran tests on Pete.

  The doctor re-appeared a short while later. “I’ve administered the antidote and he’s stable for now, Sir, but we’ll have to take him back to sickbay.”

  Charley felt like crying as she watched them carry Pete’s unconscious body down the corridor. This was it, they were taking Pete away and she wouldn’t get to say goodbye to him. A tear slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

  “Hey,” a voice beside her murmured softly. “The captain’s not supposed to cry in front of the crew—it’s bad for morale.”

  Charley rubbed her face. Her first time in command of a ship and she was sniveling like idiot. “Yes Sir, sorry, Sir.”

  “I’m sure the Pegasus can survive without you for a few hours and the crew has been complaining about the food here, how about dinner tonight?”

  “What about Professor Liston, Sir?”

  Jake flashed her a smile. “I have orders to take Professor Liston into custody. I don’t think he’s going anywhere for a very long time.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Compared to the unfinished Pegasus, the other ship was almost palatial. Charley was painfully aware of her crumpled tunic with the buttons missing from the collar. She raked her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it down. A week with the Vashtar had done little for her wardrobe. She might have to do the unthinkable and go shopping with Misha when they got back to Earth.

  The captain’s quarters were on the family deck. Charley gazed appreciatively around the spacious cabin. It was nice and it had a small galley kitchen and a dining table so that he could entertain. The table was set for three. She wondered where his wife was. Captain Svenson mouthed an apology to her. He was on the com and his voice was low. She caught the words I love you too, babe, and she smiled, wandering away to give him some privacy.

  The cabin door opened and a crewman entered carrying a tray loaded with covered dishes. Charley’s mouth watered as delicious smells wafted around the cabin. It had been days since she had eaten anything but MREs. As the crewman set the tray down, the cabin door opened again. He was pale. His temple was bruised from where he had fallen against the floor in the service bay, but it was him. Charley clenched her nails against the inside of her palms, trying to stop herself from running across the cabin and wrapping herself around him.

  “The Pegasus?” Pete directed his question to her.

  Her heart fell. All he cared about was his damn ship. “The ship is fine, Sir. Marc, I mean the Array, is in control.”

  Jake looked from one to the other of them and raised a dark brow. “You’re not supposed to be out of sickbay yet. Sit down
, Pete, before you fall down. Charley, can you give me a hand with dinner?”

  Charley went to the galley to fetch a bottle of wine. If she didn’t have to fly the ship early tomorrow, she would have drunk the whole thing. She poured three glasses and Jake proposed a toast.

  “To the Pegasus and her crew. Fleet Command will be very proud of you.”

  Pete looked across the table. Charley had dark circles under her eyes. It had been a tough mission for her. He’d accessed Marc’s report of how she had taken on the mercenary ship and blown them out of the sky. What a hell of a job for her first command. She would have her pick of any ship she wanted after this. That is, if Karl Hayes was willing to let her go. With Liston gone, they would need Charley more than ever.

  “Now that you’re up and about, Pete, you can sort out some of the statements for the inquiry. God, I hate those things.”

  Jake cast a sidelong glance at Charley before continuing. “Do you remember the one after Tarsus Four?”

  Charley coughed violently. Her eyes streamed and Jake stood up quickly to pat her on the back. “Are you okay, Charley? You look as if someone punched you.”

  “I’m fine, Sir, but I’m pretty tired. I think I better head back to the ship.”

  Pete heard a hiss as the door closed behind her. “Would you like to tell me what’s going on, Jake?”

  Jake sat back in his chair. “I’m sorry, Pete. Something came up while you were away, but before I tell you, I need to know what’s going on with you and Charley.”

  “Nothing’s going on, Jake. Every time I get close to her, she freezes me out. She’s the most exasperating woman I’ve ever met.”

  Jake threw back his head and roared with laughter. “So it’s true, then. You’re in love with her. Tanith said you never stopped talking about Charley the whole time she was at the base. I wish the big guy was here to see this.”

  Pete leaned across the table. “If you want to look pretty for your wedding, you better tell me the rest.”