by Amber Stuart
“Yes. I’ve taken the readings from the nanites in your bloodstream. Your resistance to their attacks is growing and will probably continue to increase throughout the pregnancy.”
“But how? Why?”
“Two different questions. How, your DNA is changing. Why? Because you’re pregnant with the Commander’s child. A child of Lantarian and Human DNA. Beyond that I do not know. We’ll have to do more tests and then probably more after that. This could be the key to being able to defeat the Invaders once and for all.”
“So… how long? I mean,” I stop. “I don’t know what I mean.”
Ansila nods then walks out from behind the monitor and comes to stand in front of me. She places a wrinkled hand on my left shoulder and looks into my eyes.
“It will be fine,” she says with a clinical certainty that I find oddly reassuring.
I nod and take a deep breath then let it out slowly.
“Okay,” I say. “Does Vin know?”
“I have not yet informed the Commander,” she says.
“Can we wait? Until the Invaders are handled? I don’t want to distract him.”
Ansila considers this a moment then nods.
“That seems very sensible.”
“Good, okay. Well, I guess I should find him and see if I can help with anything.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I walk through the ship in a daze. What should be the thrill of my life is more a sense of being overwhelmed, spun in, and lost in general. Is this a good thing? How will Vin react? Will we stay together? Will he leave me? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate of dead-beat dads, not only is he out of the picture but he left the entire planet!
I shake my head to clear it of all the negative thoughts. Vin isn’t going to leave me. It’s just shock and surprise turning my thoughts negative. I know he loves me. How many men would wait thousands of years hoping you come back to them? I will wait to tell him until we handle the Invader problem first. Save the world then share the news. That’s the best course of action I think.
Negativity cleared, I turn my attention outward. As soon as I do I feel a bit giddy as my mood lightens and brightens. I’m on a space ship. And I’m pregnant! Now if only there’s an observation deck or some place I could see the stars. That would be amazing. Crew members move up and down the halls of the ship and for the most part they ignore me. At most they give me a sidelong glance then move on with whatever their duties are. As a group of them passes by I realize for the first time I’ve been instinctively covering my stomach with my arms to avoid having it bumped.
I smile looking down at where my child is growing. I know that it’s infinitesimally small right now but that doesn’t change the feelings of protectiveness and a swelling feeling of love. What will he look like? Will he be a he? What if it’s a girl? Will it look more like Vin or me? Whose eyes will it have?
“Can I help you ma’am?” a voice asks, startling out of my walking reverie.
I look up and around and only then realize I’ve wandered into the engine room. It’s foggily familiar as I glance at the machines. A young ensign stands in front of me in a gray uniform. Sweat beads on his brow as he stares, his bulk blocks further entrance to the room.
“Oh, uhm, I was trying to get to the bridge but I got distracted,” I say trying to recover my composure.
“Yes ma’am, allow me to escort you there,” he says stiffly.
“Thank you,” I reply unsure what else to say.
He’s tense and it makes me tense too. Was I not supposed to be here? I don’t know what the problem is so I fall in behind him and let him guide me to Vin. We make our way through several corridors then he stops at a door. When it opens it reveals an elevator that we enter. He pushes a button then we’re standing next to each other silent and stiff.
“What’s your name?” I ask to break the ice.
“Banster ma’am,” he says, staring stiffly straight ahead.
“Nice to meet you,” I say feeling more awkward than ever.
“Yes ma’am,” he says.
Okay so much for small talk. Apparently he either doesn’t like humans or me in particular. The elevator rises and we ride in silence since I’ve given up on getting to know him. It comes to a stop then the doors slide open and I gasp. The bridge is more what I had imagined a spaceship would look like. It’s circular in design with stations around the outer ring. The middle is another circle that is three steps lower than the outer ring. In the center is a massive chair that’s surrounded by monitors. Facing out towards the walls from the middle just inside the step down are four different stations with monitors and keyboards and such. Each station has a person posted at it busily doing whatever their job is. In the big chair looking at the monitors is Vin. Seeing him, my heart leaps into my throat and my breath catches. Part of me wants to run over and throw myself around him, sharing our good news, but the seriousness of the room and his demeanor suppresses that urge.
Chief Mate Benji is walking across the room towards Vin when she spots me and stops in her tracks. We stare at each other with barely veiled venom on both our parts. The dislike is even stronger seeing her in person. My stomach fills with sour acid and a burn climbs up my throat as bile rises. Vin glances over at her then follows her gaze to me. His face lights up and he leaps from his seat and strides over to me.
“Abby!” he exclaims. “Everything check out okay?”
“Yes it did,” I smile at him and decide to ignore Benji for the moment.
“Good,” he says. “We think we’ve found the jammer. We’re about to set course for it. A little bit of luck and we’ll destroy it in plenty of time to activate the defense platforms.”
“That’s great!” I exclaim. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Right now no,” he says. “But you can come sit with me.”
“Commander,” Benji says from behind him.
“What is it Chief Mate?” he asks stiffly without turning around.
“Is it wise, sir, to have civilians on the bridge during a military engagement?” she asks glaring at me.
“Your disagreement is noted and logged Chief Mate,” Vin answers then takes my hand and leads me down the steps to his chair.
He touches some buttons and then a seat slides out to the side. He motions to it and I sit down next to him. The seat looks like plain metal so I expect it to be uncomfortable but when I sit on it it feels soft and nice. It’s not the most comfortable chair ever but it’s much better than I expected it to be by far. I could see sitting in this chair for several hours at a time like the people manning the bridge must have to do. I smile and bounce myself softly up and down just a little to test the resilience. Vin glances over and smiles then turns his attention to the screens.
“To target the jammer we’ll need to move within a few miles,” Benji says.
“How long?” Vin asks.
“Fifteen to twenty minutes,” she responds.
“Make it so,” he orders.
People around the room silently respond. Buttons are pushed, levers are pulled, typing is done then there’s the sensation of an increase in gravity. I watch the monitors. Most of them are filled with numbers, graphs, and visual representations that I have no clue what they mean. One of them though shows a view outside the ship and it’s breathtaking.
As the ship accelerates the stars on the monitor start to blur. My stomach drops and tightens just like going over a hill really fast. I’m so excited by traveling deeper into space that my hands shake. My dream is coming true!
All of my dreams, I think, crossing my arms over my stomach.
“Did Ansila say anything?” Vin asks turning to me.
I bite my tongue to keep myself from blurting out the news. Now is not the time. We’re not safe yet.
“Nope,” I say instead. “I’m perfectly healthy.”
“Good,” he reaches over and takes my hand. “That’s very good.”
The bridge
is surprisingly silent. Machines beep softly, the clack of keys, but there’s almost no talking. Tension settles across my shoulders as I wait. I roll them to try and release the pressure then stretch my back twisting and turning. It leaves me time to think. What will my life be like? How will Vin react? Will we leave Earth forever? Travel to his home world? What is his home world like? Would I be accepted there? Does he have any family? Do Lantarians have family units like we do? So many questions and no real answers. I want to talk to him, to ask questions, but beyond the intimidation of the silence is the worry he’d want to know why. Why these questions? Why right now? He’s not stupid and I suspect he’d figure out something was up. I couldn’t keep it out of my voice or my thoughts. I don’t want to distract him from the mission. That’s the most important thing right now.
“Commander, we are in range,” Benji says walking up beside his chair.
I notice she avoids looking at me as much as possible. Even the fact that she stands on his right side is an act of putting as much distance between the two of us as she can manage. I shake my head. There’s nothing I can do about it. Suddenly the bright lights of the bridge turn red and an alarm blares. The silence broken, people start shouting out.
“Proximity alert!” someone yells. “Incoming, missiles launched.”
“Evasive maneuvers,” Vin orders.
He sits calmly in his chair with no sign that he feels any stress at all. The voices of the crew are tense and higher in pitch than I would expect. Understandable considering that at any moment we might be blown to pieces but Vin is calm. A rock in the middle of a storm.
“The jamming ship is in range sir.”
“Targeting strategy Chief Mate?” Vin asks.
Benji has moved to a work station and is hunched over it. I hear the keys clacking furiously as she works. She glances back at Vin then down again.
“It’s cloaked from lock sir,” Benji answers.
“Counter it Chief,” Vin orders. “It’s not just our lives depending on it.”
“Working on it sir,” she says.
The ship rocks hard to the left and sparks fly from the right side work stations. Distantly I hear an explosion then a low rumble. Someone grabs a cylinder and sprays out the flames that spurt out of a panel on the right side.
“Damage?” Vin asks, his voice sharp but still calm.
“Shields down twenty percent sir,” someone answers him.
My heart pounds and my breath comes in ragged gasps. I cover my belly over with both arms protectively while hooking my legs under the seat to try and hold myself in place. Closing my eyes I say a prayer. All my dreams are right here, I can’t lose them now.
“Divert power as needed,” Vin orders. “Chief we’re waiting on you.”
“Yes sir, almost there sir,” Benji answers.
The ship is moving side to side, rolling and turning as they try to avoid the incoming missiles. The motion isn’t extreme but combined with the stress, and possibly my growing baby, it’s making me nauseous.
“You okay?” Vin asks concerned.
I’m afraid that if I answer I might be sick so I nod instead. Vin keeps looking at me leaning down to stare into my eyes. I nod again and wave him off.
“The motion,” I manage to gasp out conserving my words as much as possible.
He nods and returns his attention to the screens.
“Brace for impact,” he orders just as the ship is rocked by another hit. “Benji we really need that now.”
“Got it!” she exclaims.
“Fire!” Vin orders instantly.
On the screen before him two missiles leave our ship rocketing through space towards a speck. I can see them mostly by the trail of their thrusters. They weave as they close with the speck. The camera view shifts, magnifying, and we can see the missiles are about to impact with what appears to be a small vessel that is maybe the size of a yacht. The screen flashes white as the missiles reach their target.
“Hit!” someone yells.
“Damage?” Vin asks.
“The jammer is still functional.”
“Hit them again, double the power,” Vin orders.
“Yes sir.”
This time four missiles leave our ship and weave across the sky. Sparks of light shoot out from the ship they’ve targeted and two of the missiles divert towards those and explode in empty space. The other two make a direct hit and again the screen flashes white.
“Got it sir! The jammer is down.”
“Good work people,” Vin says. “Get the planetary defense platforms active.”
Silence falls across the bridge. While everyone works Vin pushes some buttons next to him on the arm of his chair and the monitor showing the outside shifts until the outer portion of the solar system comes into view. The view seems to be from Pluto staring out into the cold blackness of space. Closing with the camera is the vampire world planet he showed me before. It’s closer, too close.
“Done!”
As the word is said there’s a glow on the screen then lasers streak across the sky towards the planet. Ships that are flying around the planet start to explode. A grid that looks like it’s made of green lasers forms in the middle of space creating a massive net of deadly energy beams. The world ship is headed right for it.
Everyone on the ship is staring at a monitor. It’s so quiet I’m sure they can all hear the pounding of my heart. A pin could drop and everyone would jump, so intense is the concentration. No one says a word as we wait. If that planet ship doesn’t turn around we’re dead.
Flames shoot out of the planet on the side closest to the camera. Is that thrusters I wonder? Are they turning?
Slowly, so slowly it’s painful to watch, the planet adjusts course. It changes directions. We won!
Everyone cheers on the bridge. I leap to my feet the same as everyone else. Vin grabs me. His strong arms wrap around me and I feel like the most delicate, petite flower as he brings me up to his full height and in a rare public display of affection he kisses me deeply.
We’ve won!
CHAPTER TWENTY
As Vin sets me back down on my feet the crew breaks out in applause. My neck and cheeks burn as I look around embarrassed. They’re all standing and cheering while clapping. Everyone except Benji who stares at me with something less than hate but nowhere near support.
“Well done, everyone,” Vin says to the crew. “We’ve turned back the enemy but it’s not over yet. We need to make sure that none of the locals picked up our activity and make sure the Invaders didn’t leave behind any surprises. Back to work!” The crew returns to their stations and in moments quiet returns to the bridge. Vin glances over at me and smiles. “Chief Mate, please escort Abby to my quarters.”
“Commander-” Benji begins but Vin cuts her off.
“Chief Mate, now,” he orders.
Benji gives a sharp nod then marches stiffly over to stand in front of me. She holds one hand out and motions towards the door. I walk in front of her but the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up and I’m tense, half expecting her to shove a knife between my shoulders the moment we’re out of Vin’s sight.
We enter the elevator and she stands so straight and stiff a board would be envious. I stare straight ahead but can’t stop myself glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. She’s beautiful and I’m jealous. Seeing her in person makes that even more obvious to me but so what? A bit of envy over another woman’s looks isn’t a basis for the enmity between the two of us. I know that Vin cares about her, at least on some level. Is that the problem? Am I jealous of them? Were they a thing at some point in time?
That doesn’t feel right. He said she didn’t think humans and Lantarians should mix like this but why? The idea that they would hold such prejudices seems too shallow. She’s obviously smart as well as pretty. How could a smart woman be that close minded about something so petty? The elevator must be moving in slow motion. I glance at Benji again
and this time I catch her glancing side-long at me.
“What?” It blurts out of me before I can stop.
She arches an eyebrow then turns on one heel to face me in a display of military precision. She stares at me from her much greater height. Her mouth is a tight line, her forehead wrinkles as she frowns. Cold eyes study me like I’m a specimen.
“Do not hurt him,” she says at last.
“What?” confusion leaves me reeling. This is not what I expected.
“I spoke plainly. You understand me. If you hurt him again, I will kill you.”
I shake my head in denial or just in confusion I don’t even know. She continues to stare at me and now I see a fire in her eyes behind the cold. She means it.
“Okay?” It comes out a question though I intended it differently.
She stares a moment longer then turns back on that single heel and resumes staring straight ahead. I should leave it there. It’s handled the best it can be. Don’t poke the bear. All these platitudes come to mind but the filter between my brain and mouth has been short-circuited or I’m just having a dumb moment because I can’t just let it be.
“Why? Why are you like this? Why do you hate me? What have I done or maybe it’s a question of what have you done?”
She whirls on me so fast I don’t even see it. She grabs me by the front of my shirt and the wind is knocked out of me as she slams me against the wall of the elevator. Her face is an inch away from mine and the fire in her eyes is no longer hidden behind the cold. It rages and threatens to consume me.
“Why?” she growls through gritted teeth. “I’ve seen your kind. Latching on to a powerful man like Vintares. Using them for what they have, what they can give you, not who they are. He’s better than that. He deserves more than… you,” she spits the final word at me.
She’s so angry she’s shaking but she lowers me back to the ground and I gasp in air. My eyes are watering, I refuse to call them tears, and I’m shaking as well but it’s not just anger. Behind all of my emotions is surprise. Surprise at her reasoning. I see her in an entirely new light. She’s returned to standing stiff and staring ahead.
