by J Palliser
"What's our status, Rash?" asked Captain Talon over the comm. "Doesn't look great, sir. Your port fusion cell is just barely hanging on, as far as I could tell, and your starboard tracers have definitely seen better days. I recommend dropping the fusion cell and getting the hell out of here. Sir." He grimaced at his own language. This wasn't Rachel he was talking to, and hoped that Captain Talon wasn't offended. He'd been hanging around Ace too long. "Apologies for the language, Captain."
The Drechsler's bridge crew was laughing over the comm as Captain Talon replied "No harm. That was tame compared to some of the language we use over here."
Becker grinned at that. Good to know that Rachel didn't have the only ship full of mavericks in the Kriegsmarine. "Thank you, sir. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date on-board my ship, and I plan on making her a happy woman," Becker said.
The laughter from the Dreschler was even louder at that, and Captain Talon said "Make sure you treat Rachel good, son. Otherwise, I'll shoot you myself. Drechsler out."
Becker was dumbfounded as he flew his Valkyrie into the Zeppelin's aft fighter bay. How the hell had Talon figured it out? Had she told him? Did someone else on-board know and told him? 'Oh shit', he thought.
Hitting his comm as he got into the turbo-lift, Becker said "On my way, Captain" as he hit the Captain's Quarters deck. When the door opened, she yanked him out and kissed him all over his face as she visibly checked him for even the smallest scratch. It was concern to a point, but it was also a game they played after particularly harrowing missions.
"Get in my quarters, Lieutenant. Now!" she said with lust in her eyes and sex in her voice. "Not so fast, ma'am. I just had the strangest conversation with Drechsler. How in the hell does Captain Talon know about us?"
"I told him, Rash. I had to tell someone, and I trust Talon and his crew to keep their mouths shut."
"Okay, just checking." "Now, get your ass in there for your... debriefing!" She moved in and kissed him again, pulling him with her through the door to her quarters and onto the bed. They nearly ripped each other's uniforms off as the uninhibited lust consumed them.
*** Back on NZ8, Jacen and Delaara made their way back to the crashed Valkyrie, holding hands as they strolled together contentedly. They had found some berries that were rich in nutrients and had tested as safe by the smart-pad. Whole bushes full of them had been gathered and slung in Jacen's survival bag.
Delaara was fascinated by the human custom of holding her lover's hand in hers as they walked. They didn't have anything like it on Centauri, and she wondered why. It was very enjoyable, even if it wasn't as intimate as kissing or making love.
"This place is paradise, and is even better with you here, Jacen," Delaara said as they walked. Jacen brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it before replying. "I was thinking the same thing, Delaara." He looked at her with a smile, remembering the feel of her skin on his as they made love by the pool. "You know, I think Rash and Rachel are going to like you. They're the closest thing I have to family now, besides you."
Delaara was suddenly nervous, as if she was about to meet his parents. "Do you think so? I don't know..." Jacen smiled comfortingly at her. "Trust me on this. Rash is like a brother to me, and Rachel is almost like a mother. I'm honestly still amazed that they got together. They said it was just a fling, but it's been going on for over 6 months now."
"If he's anything like you, he knows how to keep her happy," she replied and grinned as she leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the lips.
Jacen laughed. "Well, he's my brother in all but blood. We've fought together for over a year, and been drinking buddies since the Academy. My parents said he was the brother I never had, and I agree with them. Hell, they pretty much adopted him the last time we took a break to Earth before..." His voice trailed off.
"It's still hard to talk about, isn't it?" she held him tightly, her head resting on his shoulder. He nuzzled into her neck, sobbing.
"I never grieved for them. I focused on flying instead. I found revenge in every fighter I shot down, and every Capital ship I helped destroy. But I never grieved." The tears were streaming down his face now, and she rubbed her hand up and down his back comfortingly.
"We all deal with grief in our own way, love. It's alright. I'm here." She held him tight and her heart ached for him. She knew what loss felt like, since he had shot her brother down in order to save his own brother. Then he had saved her life and earned her love. She had wanted to hate him at first, but couldn't. She had come to terms with the fact that he had killed her brother, and found that he was a good man just like Merik. She loved him, and nothing would change that. That was the only trepidation she had about him meeting her parents.
He calmed down, and felt the weight lift from his shoulders. For the past four years, he had been diverting his attention from his parents' deaths, and had thrown himself into becoming the ultimate 'Avenging Angel' behind the stick of a Star-fighter. He had nursed his anger, concealed by his sense of humor. But when he got into the cockpit, he his sense of humor was gone, and only the 'Angel of Death' flew out on missions to destroy the enemy.
Now the anger and sadness were gone, washed away by the tears of grief for them. All that was left were the good memories.
Delaara sensed the change in him and her heart leaped for joy. "I'm sorry about your brother, Delaara. I could feel that in you when we made love, and it's amazing that you don't hate me," he whispered in her ear as he held her close.
A tear streamed down her cheek unbidden as she sensed his regret that Merik had to die to save Rash. She loved him even more, knowing that if there had been any other way, he would have taken it.
"We can't hide anything from each other, can we?" She asked with a chuckle as he wiped the tear from her beautiful face.
"Not anymore. I'm your open book. By the way, you look fantastic for 60." He grinned at her as she laughed.
4
Three
Rachel and Becker woke up together, as usual. It had become a regular thing in the past few weeks, and both were getting used to it and enjoying the feel of sleeping next to each other. The Graf-Zeppelin had been stationed at Kelva IV with KMS Wulfgar until Dreschler could return from being repaired. Talon had taken his Dreadnought-Class battlecruiser to Outpost 763 for repairs a week ago, and the entire crew was itching to find out if Ace was still alive or not. He was more than a fellow pilot and crew-mate. He was a friend.
Rachel had asked Paul Ascher and the Dönitz to see if they could make it to the NZ8-257 system to search for Ace, and he had said that it would be possible after a quick pirate investigation along the Neutral Zone, since it was in the same general vicinity. That had been a day ago, and Ascher had commed them to say he was now en-route to NZ8-257.
*** Twelve days after their crash landing, and 1 day before Dönitz began the journey to their little piece of Paradise, Jacen and Delaara had settled into a routine of sorts. Up at dawn to do Physical Training, which included swimming, abdominal and arm strength workouts for two hours. Then a run to the pool for a quick wash under the small waterfall and a leisurely cooldown stroll back to their campsite. They had taken to sleeping inside the downed Valkyrie's single crew compartment behind the cockpit since a storm had rolled in on the evening of their third day and washed their fire away. The wreck was high enough on the beach and heavy enough that the waves from the storm couldn't wash it out to sea.
"Why couldn't we have met before the war, Jacen? We might already have a life together", she smiled sadly as she asked that question.
"Hey. We have a life now, and we'll have a life together after we're rescued." He took her into his arms and kissed her softly. He had always loved tall women, and Delaara was only half an inch shorter than he was.
Delaara loved his kiss, and she loved the beard he had been growing for nearly a week since the battle. She stroked it as they kissed even more passionately.
Just then, a roar passed overhead along with a very large shadow. They b
oth looked up and drew their weapons.
"Wraiths", Jacen growled. "How did they find us?" Delaara asked nervously. "The ionosphere messes with sensors, remember? It makes sense that pirates would hide out here. Looks like they're landing on the other side of the island." Jacen was both relieved and frightened at the prospect of encountering Wraiths here. Frightened for Delaara's safety, while relieved that if they could somehow wrest control of they're raider from them, they could rescue themselves.
"If we can get a hold of that ship, I could fly us out of here. I can read Wraith", Delaara said hopefully. "I love the way you think." Jacen leaned in and kissed her. They started into the light jungle towards where the raider appeared to touch down.
*** On board the Dönitz, the investigation of pirate activity along the Neutral Zone was complete, except for one Wraith raider that had escaped. Lieutenant Commander Wulf turned to Captain Ascher and informed him of the ship's probable destination as the NZ8-257 system.
"Good news, Mr. Wulf. We might be able to get two birds with one stone." Ascher smiled at the thought that he might be able to find out what happened to young Lieutenant Kruger and track down the escaped pirate ship at the same time.
"ETA is two hours until NZ8-257, sir", said Commander Reiger. "When we get there, I'll have an away team ready to go when we determine their position."
"Good, Number One. Helm, engage."
*** Jacen and Delaara slipped forward in a low crawl as they topped the hill overlooking the raider's landing site. They spotted two Wraiths, a male and a female, outside the ship looking around. He used his ocular to zoom in on them, and discovered something odd.
"Delaara, take a look at this. Anything seem a bit off to you?" he asked as he passed her the mini-telescope. She looked through it and saw it immediately. The male Wraiths seemed to be taking orders from the female. As they watched, three more Wraith males came down the boarding ramp at the back of the ship. The female ordered them to secure the area, judging by her hand gestures.
"She's in charge. I don't like this. If a female Wraith is in charge, that means..." she couldn't finish the sentence. "She's the dangerous one of the bunch." Jacen didn't even want to think about the horrors she was capable of. Male Wraiths were nasty enough. If a female was commanding them, she would have to be twice as mean and twice as deadly.
"What do we do?" They probably saw our camp, so they'll be heading our way soon." Delaara handed Jacen his ocular back and he stowed it in the flight suit's left leg cargo pocket.
"The only thing between us and that ship is five Wraiths. Probably two still inside the ship as security. so add two to the estimate and we're dealing with a possible total of nine crew-members. Wraiths crews are nearly always all male, so the odds are that any females on-board aren't active crew, but concubines. If we open fire from here, they'll just up skids and gone. If we manage to kill the leader down there with the first shot, her second will call evacuation, and we still won't have a ship. Our best option to capture it is to get up close, somehow. Any ideas?" Jacen looked at her as he asked.
"Wraith males are lecherous fools, so a stranded female Centauri fighter pilot who was downed here might be able to persuade them to take her on-board with them. For the promise of some gold ducat or thaler silver, of course." She grinned and could see him slowly shake his head 'no'.
"With a male captain, I would say ' go for it'. With a female captain, she would see you as a rival and burn you down where you stand. I would stand a better chance of getting their attention while you sneak around and neutralized their onboard security detachment. I know Wraith females, and most of them are sex-starved. Even the crazy ones." He could see that she didn't like the idea. "I don't like it either, but a direct assault is out of the question, here. They outnumber us nearly five to one."
"Okay. If you can draw their attention, I can sneak around behind them. And Jacen...."
"Yes, Delaara?" he asked as he turned to face her.
She kissed him passionately and held him close to her. She whispered in his ear "Please be careful." He kissed her back. "You be careful, too. I'll be fine." Jacen smiled at her and she slid off to the right to circle around. He went left and prepared to make himself a human target.
' Here goes' he thought as he stood up, his pistol hidden inside his mostly unzipped flight-suit in an oblique angle. The weapon was flat enough that it probably wouldn't be spotted at a cursory glance. He raised his hands and started towards the landed Wraiths ship.
"Hello!" he yelled at the closest sentry. "I Surrender!"
The Wraith sentry looked at him strangely at first, and raised his pulse rifle.
"Don't shoot! I'm just looking for a ride off this rock! Are you the Captain?" The green skinned pirate didn't say anything, but motioned him to move past him with the barrel of his pulse rifle. He then spoke quietly into his comm to presumably his captain.
Jacen promptly marched forward with his arms raised in the universal sign of surrender. The female Wraith stood and walked towards him. The sway of her hips alone would have made most men turn to jelly in their boots. Luckily, she didn't hold a candle to Delaara, in his eyes.
"Well, well. A Luftwaffe fighter pilot? I recognize your flightsuit", she said with a seductive smile on her face. Jacen grinned back. "Lieutenant Jacen Kruger, at your service, ma'am. I would be much obliged if you could give me a lift off this rock."
"I'm Captain Sulina, and this is my ship, the Harvester. Are you the one responsible for all that Centauri wreckage in orbit?"
"Most of it. I blew the last Kestrel as my engines overloaded, and I crashed on the other side of this island. Totaled my Valkyrie. My wing-man made it out, but I was burning in at the time and he probably presumed me dead." He shrugged. "I just want a ride off this rock, and would be much obliged. I can pay you in ducat or thaler for transport to a Reich territorial outpost or neutral world." Jacen was pouring on the charm as much as possible, while still spinning a believable tale.
"From the wreckage we scanned, there were four Falcons, but only one Kestrel. What happened to the last Kestrel, Lieutenant?" she asked with a perfectly raised eyebrow.
"It dropped about 100 meters off the land shelf on the other side. Have your ship do a scan if you don't believe me. It sank to the bottom." He smiled and shrugged again.
The female Captain turned and nodded to her subordinate, who spoke quietly into his com-link. A pregnant minute passed before he received the confirmation from his ship's sensor operator and whispered his findings to the Captain.
"So how many of those kills were yours alone?" she asked him with a genuine smile on her face. "Total of four were mine. Two were joint kills between me and my wing-man before he took serious damage and had to disengage." All of that was true, and he wanted to avoid lying to her as much as possible. Wraiths had an instinct if anyone was falsifying information.
She nodded her head in appreciation. "Impressive, Lieutenant. I like a man who knows his way around a cockpit." The way she said it with her lascivious wink was all too clear. She just wanted him in her cockpit for mating.
That was when he caught a peripheral glimpse of Delaara sneaking up the ramp of the ship, and decided that he would give her a minute to do her magic. "Well, Captain. I can definitely fit any... positions you had in mind", he said with a grin and the double entendre left hanging in the air.
That was when he caught Delaara out the corner of his eye leaning out from the boarding ramp and aiming her plasma pistol directly at the Captain's back. She gestured 'three down' to him and he gave a smiling nod in reply.
The first green bolt blasted through the female Wraith as Jacen dodged to the side. He drew his pistol as they turned to fire at Delaara and burned two down where they stood. Delaara had ducked back inside the ship, and the Drac pulse rifles' bolts bounced off the hull. The last two were trying to bring down the threat on their ship as Jacen attempted to fire his pistol and nothing happened. He reached over to the nearest fallen Wraith and grabbed his rifle, jus
t in time for the closest Wraith to notice that he was moving and his crew-mates were dead. He turned as Jacen brought the rifle up and squeezed the trigger, blowing a fist sized hole through the green man's chest. As his partner turned, the green bolt from Delaara's plasma pistol blew his head clean off.
Jacen stood up to see Delaara running towards him, grinning. He ran and grabbed her up in his arms, feeling her body against his and thankful she was alive.
"I love you", he whispered to her as he held her close. The relief washing over them that their plan had actually worked.
"I love you. Did you have to flirt with that disgusting thing that much, though?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Ok, let's go have a look at our new ship." Jacen grinned as they walked toward the raider.
*** The Dönitz dropped out of warp and took up an orbit around NZ8-257, automatically dropping probes into the upper atmosphere.
Commander Victor was on monitor duty and spotted them. "Captain, there are presently two life forms on an island in the western equatorial hemisphere. One is human. The other is Centauri."
"Thank you, Mr. Victor. Number One, is your away team assembled?" asked Ascher.
"Aye, sir. We'll beam down immediately." Ascher ran for the turbo-lift with Wulf and Ensign Kline on his heels.
*** "This is hopeless!" screamed Delaara as she glared at the locked controls of the battle raider. "The Wraiths were too smart for their own good!" She then punched the console, sending sparks flying.
"Remind me to never make you angry", said Jacen with a soft chuckle. She glared at him for a split-second before her gaze softened and she put her arms around him.
"I'm sorry. I have a bit of a temper, sometimes." She smiled sheepishly as he chuckled. "Let's go back to the crash site. We can at least move our stuff here and bury the dead. This ship is a lot better cover in a storm." Jacen shrugged, and Delaara couldn't help but feel that everything would be alright in the end, even if this damn ship was grounded.
