by Chandra Ryan
“Don’t worry, I didn’t come to issues reprimands. We’re all overworked and under a lot of stress right now.”
“Then to what do we owe the pleasure, sir?”
“I need to speak to you in private.”
“Of course. Just let me log out of my station and I’ll be right with you.”
“You look sad.” Rowe’s voice from directly behind her startled her, making her jump.
“Rowe, don’t sneak up on me.”
“Why are you sad?”
Because of their special bond, Rowe’s constant expression of bewilderment didn’t bother her. “I’m not sad. I’m tired. They look the same.”
“You do too much.” The woman’s gaze wandered over the room as she twisted a lock of her pale-blonde hair between her thumb and forefinger.
“I have been told that in the past. I’ll make sure I get plenty of rest after this run is over.”
“If you say so.” Rowe nodded before walking away. Harlow watched her make her way back to her terminal, her movements so graceful she appeared to be floating.
“Okay.” Vance nodded to her from his station. “We can go now.”
They made their way to her ready room and closed the door before either of them spoke again.
“So what did you want to talk about?” Vance sat down on the edge of the couch as small beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He was obviously nervous. Not that she was surprised. She would probably be every bit as worried were she in his spot. He had to think she blamed him for the current crisis. But he was far too good an engineer for her to suspect negligence on his part.
“Would you like a drink?” She turned to face the decanters sitting on a nearby shelf as she took a deep breath.
“No thank you, sir. I’m good.”
“Okay.” She returned her focus to him as she folded her hands in front of her waist. She’d hoped he wanted the drink so she could have one. She could use a little bit of alcohol to settle her nerves and to give her hands something to do. “I wanted to talk to you about the possibility of sabotage.”
“Of what? The ship?”
She walked over and sat on the chair directly across from Vance. “One of my crew members voiced some concerns and now that we’ve had a weapons malfunction on the day of the run, I wanted to get your opinion.”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would. What would their motive be?”
“My best guess? We’re picking up a political prisoner who carries a lot of weight. It wouldn’t be that farfetched to believe someone doesn’t want him to pay his debt to society.”
“Who are we talking about?”
“That’s classified. But he has connections at the top of the political spectrum.”
“I see.”
“The people who would want him free have the power and influence to promote those who help.”
“Do they have the authority to promote a possible saboteur to captain and give him a ship of his own?”
“Yes.”
“There is one name that comes to mind. Barkswell.”
She nodded. “He’s ambitious.” And did have a connection to Prime Minister Lee. “Anyone else?”
“Maybe the XO.”
Harlow’s heart froze and her stomach knotted at the possibility before her mind caught up with her emotional reaction. “No. He’s the one who started asking questions. If her were the saboteur, the last thing he’d want is to bring attention to it.”
“Guess you’re probably right. I was just suspicious of the timing. He came onboard right before the run. Awfully convenient.”
“The same can be said of any of the new blood.”
“You do have a point.”
“Any other names?”
He shook his head slowly. “No one comes to mind, sir.”
“Thank you.” She saw him out before pouring herself two fingers of whiskey.
“XO to Captain.”
His timing could not have been worse. Well, maybe it could have been. He could’ve called her while she was masturbating. But other than that, this was as bad as it got. “Captain here.”
“Salaan will be in range in an hour.”
She didn’t need him to tell her that. She could hear the clock ticking in her head. “And?”
“Have you eaten?”
This had to stop. “You’re my XO, not my babysitter.”
“It’s the XO’s job to make sure the captain stays of sound mind and body.”
She growled with irritation. She hated it when he was right. “Fine. I’m headed to the mess hall now.”
“I’ll join you there.”
“I don’t recall inviting you to dine with me.”
“This is my first run. I’d kind of like to know what I’m doing.”
Damn it! Must he be right about everything tonight? “Okay. Meet me in the mess hall in fifteen minutes.”
She had ten minutes. Dashing to her bathroom, she ran a brush through her hair before changing into a fresh uniform. Her eyes had dark circles under them and her complexion was sallow from the lack of sleep and stress but it was nothing a touch of makeup couldn’t fix.
Looking her best had nothing to do with meeting Parker and everything to do with keeping up appearances with her crew. If a captain looks like hell, the crew starts to worry. Or at least that was what she told herself as she left her quarters.
It wasn’t far to the mess hall but it was long enough for her to organize her thoughts. If she was going to make it through the evening without falling asleep on her feet, or worse, finding an excuse to touch Parker, she had to stay focused on the goal. She needed to brief him on the Salaan run. That was it. She’d successfully done it with each of her XOs in the past. This time wouldn’t be any different.
She took a deep breath and forced a smile as she entered the mess hall. She was early but she wasn’t surprised to find him already there and waiting for her. As soon as their eyes met he stood and moved over to pull out a chair for her. The gesture would be romantic if they were on a date. But they weren’t. This was a business dinner.
If it were a date, however, it would be exactly like this. He looked rakish in his uniform. And that image was only enhanced by the shadow of stubble that darkened his jaw. The man appeared dangerous. She was momentarily overwhelmed with the desire to feel its coarse texture scratch against her skin. Shaking her head, she forced herself to turn away and take a deep breath.
So much for keeping a tight rein on the hormones.
As she made her way over to him she was stopped several times by crew members. Most nights the interruptions wouldn’t bother her but tonight wasn’t any other night. She was already irritable and wanted the dinner over as quickly as possible. But there was nothing she could do but address each person cordially and smile warmly. The act took an emotional toll however. And by the time she finally managed to make it over to his table, her heart was beating hard in her ears and she was sure her cheeks were flushed.
“Captain.” His voice was warm as she sat down.
“XO.” Hers was tense.
He sat back down as she placed a cloth napkin over her lap.
“Thank you for joining me.” He held out his hand in welcome and she took it before she could think better of it. When she found herself lingering to feel his touch for a moment longer than necessary, though, she came back to herself and pulled back with forced a smile. “I know this isn’t easy for you and I appreciate you making the time.”
“Just doing my job. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t remember it was your first run on my own.”
“I’ll take that as praise for my current job performance.”
“As you wish.”
He leaned forward and whispered, “This is nowhere near what I would’ve wished for.”
A sharp pain punctured her chest and made her breath catch. “This is not the time or the place.”
He sat back in his chair and nodded. “I apologize.”
She waited in silence as their fo
od was delivered. When they were alone again she said, “I think it’d be best if we stick to work.” She took a bite of food before continuing. “After we make contact with the guards at Salaan, I’ll take a security detail via a shuttle to the planet’s surface. Once there we will be on total radio silence. I’ll be gone for no more than a half hour. If I’m not back onboard the Tempest within that half-hour time frame, you are to assume my team has been taken hostage and set a course for the nearest government outpost.”
His jaw clenched but he seemed to relax after a second. “I could go to the planet’s surface in your place.”
“No you couldn’t. The scanners are programmed to respond to my genetic helix. If I’m not there, no one gets in or out.” She saw him open his mouth to argue with her but stopped him before he could speak. “And we can’t both go. As XO, you need to stay on the bridge. Unless you want to leave the bridge to Barkswell? The last time I checked, he wasn’t your favorite person.”
“I’ll stay on the bridge.” But the rigid set of his jaw told her he wasn’t happy. Well, that was too bad. He didn’t need to be happy.
“I’ve done this dozens of times, Parker. I don’t need a knight, remember?”
“Are we back to calling each other by name now?”
Concentrating on the food in front of her, she barely heard him. “Hmm?”
“You called me Parker. You haven’t called me anything but XO for the last three days.”
She could have kicked herself for the slip but there was nothing that could be done about it now but tell the truth. Glancing up, she caught his eye. “I’m in uncharted space here. I don’t know how I’m supposed to act or what I’m supposed to call you anymore. Everything changed so quickly. I’m still trying to figure out what it all means.”
He looked sad for a moment but then the expression vanished and he nodded. “I understand. Maybe we could just go back one step. Try for friends. Or, at the very least, friendly.” When he smiled she almost believed she could do it.
“I’m willing to give it a shot if you are.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
They finished their dinner in silence but it was a comfortable silence. The tension that always surrounded them remained. She still wanted him and there was no doubt that he felt the same. But the anger and frustration that dogged them the last three days was gone. She only wished the aching in her heart would ease as well.
Chapter Seven
A half hour later Parker was sitting at his console trying to think about anything other than the dinner he’d just had with Harlow. Actually the dinner had gone much better than he’d anticipated. It still hurt for him to be around her but knowing she was having a hard time of it helped a little.
It was the conversation he couldn’t get out of his head. In just a few minutes they’d reach Salaan and then she’d be leaving the safety of the Tempest to venture down to the prison world—without him. Yes, she’d probably done it countless times. But this was the first time he’d watch her leave. And as he decreased the power to the ship’s engines he knew that time was coming very soon.
“Please report our current status, XO.”
He looked down at his instrument panel. “We’ve reached the coordinates, Captain.”
“Turn on the viewscreen and establish an orbit with the planet.”
Within a few minutes he could see the small prison planet in front of them on the main screen. “Done, sir.”
“Good. XO has the bridge.”
He nodded stiffly. “Acknowledged, Captain.” He didn’t turn to see her leave but listened to the click of heels on the metal floor until they’d disappeared behind the heavy door. When he could no longer hear them he typed in the return coordinates.
“Captain to XO.”
“XO here.”
“We’re in the shuttle. Open the bay doors and set the timer.”
He punched in the command. “Bay doors opened and timer set, Captain.”
There were a few minutes of silence as the shuttle made its way to the planet surface but he could track their progress from the digital readout on his monitor.
“We’re at the prison gates. Please start the timer.”
And that was it. The last he’d hear from her until she was safely aboard the shuttle again and on her way back to the Tempest. The minutes ticked by slowly as he waited. Every time he closed his eyes his mind taunted him with the memory of her body laid out in front of him. Her eyes were heavy with desire and her breath was already raspy. He could almost feel the silken texture of her skin. But then he’d open his eyes to the hell of waiting again. It was torture. And only fifteen minutes had crawled by so far.
He drummed his fingertips against the desktop.
“It gets easier.”
He turned to look at Barkswell. Which part was the man talking about? Being around Harlow even though they were no longer physically involved, or being left behind as she walked into a dangerous situation? Really, though, did it matter? “Does it now?”
“The first time lasts the longest. It’s the hardest.”
Barkswell probably meant his words to be helpful but Parker didn’t want the man’s help. He couldn’t exactly tell him that though. “It’s not exactly difficult to just sit around waiting.”
“Of course it isn’t,” he said dryly. “Sorry. I must have been confused by your continuous sighing and the annoying clock checking.”
He ignored the pointed looks he received and went back to watching the clock. Twenty minutes. He had ten minutes left. Ten minutes and Harlow would return. He wouldn’t let himself consider the alternative.
As the minutes ticked off, though, the alternative loomed on the edge of his mind. And when the clock hit twenty-eight minutes he had to ask, “She wouldn’t actually expect us to leave her behind, would she?”
“She’d kick your ass if you didn’t.”
“Captain to XO.”
Parker nearly jumped with excitement at her voice but he managed to pull it together before he embarrassed himself. “XO here. Good to hear your voice, Captain.”
“Likewise. We’ve got the prisoners and are boarding the shuttle.”
“Aye, Captain.”
The time passed slowly as he watched the computerized progress of the shuttle. It crept slowly across the monitor until he heard her voice again.
“Captain to XO.”
“XO here.”
“Open the bay doors.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Fifteen minutes later he heard her voice over the communicator again. “We’re onboard and the prisoners are secured. Take us out of here, XO.”
He breathed a sigh of relief before hitting the last button in the sequence. They’d flown through normal space to get here but with the prisoners onboard they couldn’t take that chance. The ship was a target now. And they’d have to use the cover that subspace would provide them. Black surrounded him, closed in on him, and then a burst of light flared though the room as the ship tore back into regular space.
“Give me our status, XO.” Her voice crackled over the communicator.
Staring out the viewscreen, he felt his throat tighten at the two large vessels that flanked them. “We’ve reached the coordinates, Captain. But I think we might have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
A low, hollow boom shook the ship as they were fired on.
“That kind of problem, sir. Two R48-type fighters.” How the hell had they found them?
“I’m almost to the bridge. Tactical, shields to full and return fire. XO, get us the hell out of here.”
The bridge burst to life as the crew began following the captain’s orders. Punching in coordinates, Parker had to grab on to his chair as another missile hit the hull of the ship. When the ship stilled he turned back to his screen. He’d entered the coordinates but nothing had happened. The ship wasn’t responding.
“Subspace engines are off-line, Captain.”
“Like hell! Tha
t blast wasn’t enough to take out the engines. Engineering, report!”
“It wasn’t the blast. We haven’t isolated the source of the malfunction yet, but it appears to be software related.”
“Find it and fix it!”
Software didn’t write itself. If it was a software malfunction there was only one plausible explanation. And judging by the captain’s reaction she knew what it was.
“We’re working on it, Captain.”
The swoosh of the bridge door opening and the sound of her heels striking against the metal floor told Parker the captain was back.
“Tactical, aim everything at the lead vessel. Communications, send out a distress beacon. Hopefully there’s someone close enough to pick it up. XO, are the fixed-space engines still up?”
Looking at his monitor, he nodded. “Yes, Captain.”
“Then turn us forty degrees to portside. That should give our communications array some protection.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Barkswell turned to the captain. “They’ve launched drop vessels.”
He turned to see the radar. Six small blips were headed toward them. Each one could hold fifty hostiles.
“Shit! They’re going to try to board.” Her voice had an edge to it. “Blue team to holding cells, red team to the port and aft hatches.”
He turned his attention back to the monitor in front of him, waiting. The second the engines came up all he had to do was enter the coordinates he’d already punched in. But her next command snapped his attention back to her.
“I’m going to make sure the prisoners are secure. XO has the bridge.”
She’d shed her heels and jacket and had slung a heavy assault rifle over a shoulder. It should have looked preposterous but it fit her much better than her polished uniform ever could.
“I’m going with you, Captain.” He almost didn’t recognize the words as his own.
Her face paled but she didn’t pause. “No. I need you to stay here in case we get the subspace engines up.”
“The coordinates are plotted, it doesn’t take a specialist to hit enter.”
