Avara was surprised that there was no surprise trickling through the space between the two.
“Lieutenant Z’arr.”
It wasn’t even a question. Between this and Marcus, it was enough to make Avara wonder if everyone aboard ship knew more about her potential love–life than she did herself. “Yes.”
“Are the two of you officially involved?” Adeline asked, and Avara could feel the trace of fear behind those words.
“No. We haven’t… we’ve never spoken about it.”
Releasing Avara’s hands and sliding them up along her arms to again, just as on Avex, place her palms on Avara’s face, Diana remarked “Then it doesn’t matter.”
And once more, Adeline kissed her, and there was nothing reserved about the action.
Her lips were fervent, a reality that only increased in intensity as her tongue sought Avara’s and her hands slid to Serros’s back to pull her close. At first Adeline was the conductor, but the song changed as the tempo of their mouths increased.
Boots and socks were kicked off without pause, and after seconds or days, Avara finding temporal constructs currently unknowable, Serros felt Diana’s fingers split the hem of her shirt from its imprisonment within her trousers. The act was immediately followed by the sensation of Adeline’s hands insistently running up under her shirt to her bare back and then tracing a path to her breasts. It was a favor returned by Avara, whose hands slipped into the looser waist of Diana’s more casual pants to explore and tightly clench Diana’s firm ass while her teeth gently yet aggressively seized Adeline’s lower lip. With a low whimper of pleasure, Diana slowly but determinedly began pushing the Captain towards the open glass doors of her bedroom, while the fingers of her left hand released each of the diminutive mag–clasps of Avara’s shirt.
As Avara felt the pleasantly cool air brush across her bare chest, she forced herself to pull ever so slightly away. It was hard to do; so hard. Especially with Diana so close and her mouth attempting to recapture Serros’s own.
“What’s the problem?” Diana finally asked, breathless.
Hearing her own breath ragged with arousal, Avara made herself say what she knew she needed to. Before another moment passed and she could not. “Diana, I just want to make sure that I’m being fair. I know, now, how you feel. As much as I care, as much as I want you, I need you to know… I can’t say I’m not conflicted, so I’m not sure about the future.”
Swiftly kissing her once more, her mouth fierce in desire and certainty, Adeline whispered “It doesn’t matter. I want you; I want this.”
“But…” Avara attempted to continue, yet Diana’s head cut her off in negation.
With her dark eyes pinned to Avara’s and voice resolute, Diana said gently “I’ve been waiting a long time for you, Avara. I love you. I’m not asking for promises, not tonight. I’m only asking to be close to you.”
Seeing the thread of uncertainly that Serros knew she must have been displaying, Adeline added with a strange sort of quiet dignity: “Please, Avara; I’m sure.”
Seconds trickled by as Avara Serros looked at Diana Adeline, this wonderful, gorgeous woman who was her second dearest friend, who she knew she very much wanted to be still closer to, right here and right now.
Finally, Serros realized there was no more need for words at all.
With a surge, Avara crushed Adeline’s sleekly curved form close even as she fastened her mouth with her own. It was a kiss that A more than returned and with all constraints released, Serros paused kissing Diana only long enough to slip her fingers under the roll of Diana’s tank, lift the garment up over her head, and toss it onto the floor without a glance. With a deft twist of her left hand, Adeline’s bra was unclasped and soon followed the tank to the ground. Her open shirt proving no barrier at all, Avara could feel Diana’s nipples harden as her breasts pressed against her own smaller ones. Her warm flesh was nothing short of intoxicating for its heady scent and release from all clothing except for her slim briefs.
Mouths were seeking, tasting, and sucking, and their bodies all but spasming in want. Movements electric with craving, Diana half–tore off Avara’s belt, which flew against the wall with a loud clang–snap before thudding to the ground, and then practically ripped the zipper of Avara’s trousers down. Adeline’s hands sought inside the now loose confines of Serros’s dress slacks, and a moaning growl spilled from her throat as she found ready welcome.
With an answering rumble of her own, Avara shunted Adeline’s hand out of her way and then lifted Diana half a foot up into the air, forcing her body to compress even more fully against her own. With A’s strong thighs now wrapped around her waist, mouths still consumed within one another, Serros effortlessly tracked the short distance to her bedroom. Falling down atop dark covers, Avara snatched Diana’s briefs off and within seconds, was moving inside her. Thrusting her hips forward in time with Avara’s, Diana refused to be outdone, and mimicked Avara’s action.
Clasping one another close, mouths greedily affixed, the mated rhythm of sound and motion collided as the two fell into their lovemaking, all the while the stars continuing their journey throughout space and time beyond the confines of the cabin and starship.
*
A hallway and a dozen doors away, another woman, also under the throes of strong emotion, threw off sheets and coverlets as she was wrested from uneasy sleep. Feeling a truly strange mixture of first old grief and familial affection then… excitement, confusion, caring, lust, and a sweet release, K’llan Z’arr wearily rubbed her burning eyes. Wearing only a silken–night shift, the Vosaia gracefully swung her bare feet to the carpeted floor. With one shaky hand she lifted the cold cup of tea she’d left by her bedside much earlier that evening and walked over to the view port that graced her single–roomed quarters.
Attempting to sort through the disturbing emotional barrage, K’llan took a sip of the cold beverage and drew a deep breath. Strong emotions, not her own but somehow, wrapped up in her own.
Shaking her head in frustration, Z’arr struggled to understand. To her own mild embarrassment, K’llan discovered that she was sexually aroused. And yet … even much more importantly, she felt some form of looming… danger. Not to her person, but to her heart. Something that cried out with the potential for loss, a feeling further emphasized by a lingering shaft of deep sadness that threatened to break into her calm and controlled center.
Feeling another sudden emotional slice of shuddering satisfaction, the tea–cup slipped out of K’llan’s fingers. Its landing was cushioned enough by the carpet so as to not shatter, but the brown liquid was entirely lost, spilling over and seeping into the rug’s filaments and fibers. K’llan suddenly knew exactly what, or more precisely, who, had awakened her.
With a stab of heartache, the Vosaia also understood why.
Carefully drawing up her emotional and cognitive barriers, K’llan’s stared out at the cold, uncaring light of the stars as crystalline tears gathered within, yet did not fall from her lustrous, violet eyes.
CHAPTER 15
“And… we have dropped out of QGST, Captain.” Lieutenant Chopa announced, gaze laser–locked on his station’s display and fingers flying across his primarily holograph–based control panel.
“Thanks, Claudius.” Captain Serros responded, seated at her Command Chair directly astern and slightly port of the Excalibur’s Nav Officer. She could see the fade–away of silvery–white trails and blue–brushed black dissipate as the Excalibur shifted from her rocketing mode of QGST back to standard FTL.
“Tildon?”
“All systems are clear, Captain; she’s humming.” Lieutenant Tildon Jaxx answered, the light from his station’s display reflecting off of his slicked–back, fiery red hair.
“Good. Activate the Transition Call.” Serros ordered, thumbing the release of her chair’s safety harness. The belts then retracted into the black leather confines of the shock–frame specifically designed for both the turbulence of entering or leaving QGST,
and the dizzying commotion of ship to ship combat.
“Aye, Captain.” The Senior System’s Officer replied, and a moment later the all–clear transition sounded throughout ship.
“Any sign of our missing friends, Lieutenant Chopa?” The Captain asked, coming to her feet and walking a pace forward, chin set towards the main viewport of the Excalibur’s Bridge and CIC.
“Yes, Captain. Showing a Horizon–Class heavy freighter orbiting the planet of Dantis, some two–point–five light years away; less than a parsec. Exact position is Quadrant 9.422X, 3.74Y.”
“Can we get a picture?”
With a half–shake of his head, Chopa answered, “Not much of one, Captain.” A moment later, a vague, gray–hulled and oblong–shaped image was holographically projected right before the viewport, superimposing the starscape before them. It was hard to really pin any sort of detail.
“Rygel, hear anything?” Marcus asked from his station to the Captain’s right, also rising to a standing position next to Serros.
“Mm… Yes. The original signal is still looping, audio only. We’ve a bit more than Command had. It’s still pretty distorted though, Sir.” Dane answered, his blond head bent over his panel in concentration.
“See if you can clean it up for us, Lieutenant.” Perez ordered.
“This is… Reece Mayweather… desperate need of help! … attacked a month ago… took everyone!” The recording’s words were spoken in the galactic standard tongue of Vanni that every child within the Quorum Systems learned and used. Serros’s sensitive ears could detect a distinctly Human flavoring to the syllables.
“So many… here… seem to be heading to… outpost J2… not sure…A few of us were able to… not much time… oh, God… they’re…” The feminine voice cut out with and ear–slicing skiii–eereetch right after the sound of an explosion and thudding gunfire, trained by the fuzzy silence of static. A moment later the recording automatically began again, repeating the gripping cry for help.
Keeping the sense of anger and sympathy that was coursing through her heart from outwardly clouding her features, Avara turned towards her Senior Operations and Intelligence Officer sitting at–station to her left. “What do we have, Adeline?”
“It looks like… Reece Mayweather is…. actually Major Reece Mayweather, formally of the Ministry Navy; civilian now.” Diana answered after a second, scanning holographically projected data so quickly that her eyes moved and ticked like an old–fashioned shutter–camera. “Our last records have her as Captain of the Baton Rouge, a primarily Human merchant–cruiser out of Cipher. The Baton Rouge was due at Margrom from Voss three weeks ago. It never arrived, Captain.”
“Mayweather’s military background explains the old distress code; she used what she knew to try and get a message to the right people.” Avara mused.
“Quite right, Captain. Unless, of course, the entire call is a booby trap.” Adeline remarked, dark eyes apprehensive.
“Possible. We won’t know until we take a look. Claudius, bring us in closer, if you would.”
“Yes, Captain.”
After twenty–minutes of FTL travel, the view of naked stars was replaced by the gradually defined image of the transport. Definitely Horizon–Class, with a business–like, iron gray hull set above the mostly cream, tan, and green swirl of a planet below: Dantis.
In shape, the ship was vaguely four–pronged, like the cut–out grin of an Old–Terran Jack ‘o Lantern twisted ninety–degrees and laid onto its side. As the Excalibur closed distance, Avara could see that the freighter’s position and movement cycle was erratic. She was listing in the planet’s gravitation grip, and badly at that.
“Reading a lot of surrounding debris, Captain.” Chopa reported, his mop of hair bouncing with the turn of his head. “Seems consistent with hull–damage.”
“Can we ID her yet?”
“No, no known registration; transponder is a blank.”
“Very well then, Cee; magnify.” Avara responded, eyes narrowed with a distinct sense of precognition.
“Yes, Sir.”
A second later, the iron–colored hue of the ship’s hull was brought starkly into view, along with several tell–tale red slash–marks.
With a sigh of self–confirmation, Avara ordered “Zoom in on center front–port.”
“Reads as the TS Ardent.” Dane Rygel announced, the Communications Officer’s linguistic skills confirming to the crew what the Captain already knew.
“Karukai.” Adeline interjected a moment later into the quiet, voice composed and centered despite the up–shot of anxiety Avara could sense radiating from her.
“Bio–signs, Lieutenant Rygel?” Serros queried, her unruffled tone slicing into the rising tension clustered within the Bridge.
“None, Sir, but I can’t really be sure. There’s a great deal of interference from the planet below; too much sonite for an accurate reading.”
“That will prove difficult for sensor readings above and below the surface of Dantis. I’m afraid the obscurity will also apply to any new in–system arrivals, Captain.” Major Ca’rrakk commented, joining the others in the immediate Bridge area from his Science Station in the main CIC sector of the Command Deck.
“Probably deliberate.” Perez cut in.
“She’s taken a lot of damage, Captain.” Rygel reported. “I see significant scouring, and it looks like there’s a kobalt leak on Deck 4. Hull integrity is at forty–three percent and dropping. Not much time left for a walk–about.”
“That leak alone could account for the hull damage.” Philips reported, voice magnified from his farther station.
“How about evidence of weapon’s discharge?” Belgrum Naxos asked, unsurprisingly given his status as the Excalibur’s Senior Tactical Officer. Avara could hear the predatory note in her officer’s sibilant voice.
“None.”
“Mm. All right then. We’ve already reviewed all of our known data concerning the Arkaia System. A, please prepare a detail regarding Karukai Horizon–Class ships, including everything from personnel to armament. Especially helpful would be any schematics regarding ship–layout so we can find our way.” Captain Serros commanded. “Have it ready in twenty for Nova’s departure to the Ardent.”
“Yes, Captain.” Adeline answered, already working.
“Commander, assemble a fully suited Nova Squad and marine detail for boarding and security. Also, have Dr. Argos and a triage unit on standby.”
“On it, Captain.” Perez replied.
“Ensign Ling, maintain a constant sweep for even a whisper of system entry or planetary activity.”
Having been silently cued earlier by Rygel, the short–haired Junior Communications Officer answered in the affirmative to her Captain’s orders, even as Dane was standing to suit–up for the mission, leaving the Comm Station open for Ling.
“Okay Nova, let’s get to work.” The Shield Operative stated, voice resonant with purpose.
*
“Though a freighter, the Ardent could comfortably hold up to a one–hundred person crew, Captain. Given Mayweather’s distress call, I think a higher personnel number likely. Raiders and slavers need bodies to overwhelm their targets.” Lieutenant Commander Adeline was saying as the rest of the Squad was suiting up and preparing for departure just outside the Port Docking Tube on Deck 1.
“I would also expect crew to be well armed and proficient with on–ship battle tactics.” Diana continued just Avara finished her synth–skin seal. As always, Captain Serros fought off the momentary sensation of constriction as the tight, muted black, textured suit sucked close to her body.
“I was able to find a basic design from and old Excursion–Class Karukai Freighter on which the Horizon model was based, but nothing more. Our data concerning the newer Karukai designs is sketchy at best. One thing seems to be consistent with all Triarchy battle–based ships, though. The Triarchy typically equips level–locks at key access points with much more regularity than Human design.”
/> “That’ll simply make our trip more interesting.” Dane commented, already running scenarios through his CPA. “I’ve yet to meet a security measure that can resist my advances.”
“The Ardent’s docking tube is located on Deck 2, which could have been fitted for anything from storage, to recycling, to an armory.” Diana continued.
“Anything on where the prisoners would likely be held?” Lieutenant Z’arr asked, her melodic soprano especially cool as she attached her mag–harness and began systematically checking and rechecking her weapons with a practiced and critical eye.
“Based on a hand–full of reports, it seems that the lowest deck, Deck 6, would be the most likely place for prisoners to be contained.” Adeline answered. “’Tis hard to be certain, though.”
“If the threat of escape and the potential for revolt was high enough, the Karukai would have enacted extreme measures to negate any threat of losing control of the ship.” The Vosaia stated without raising her gaze, a bleak edge of certainty in her tone and she continued preparation.
“We’re just gonna have to hope for the best. Given Mayweather’s message, at least there’s a chance.” Perez commented, performing a ritual similar to K’llan’s.
Activating her heavy–class armor’s T–Frame, Avara stood perfectly still and held out her arms in a cross position. Almost immediately after assuming the pose, the sleekly designed, full–suit of carefully fitted and fully articulatable thin durexium plates tracked and traced her body. With startling speed, each plate progressed to snap into place with a series of low–toned clicks and hisses. The process complete in roughly two–minutes, Captain Serros checked to make sure that the blue–accented, steel toned armor was fully and properly configured and its systems were green. She then slung her mag–belt on and carefully attached her full armament: a collapsed dark–steel and blue accented Volturno SX9 at each upper thigh, smoke–toned Zadex Warlock L5 at right shoulder, a micro–assembler knife hilt on the outside of each calf and finally, no less than eight K–Grenades snapped at various points around her torso. Completing the picture of battle preparedness, Serros’s waist and back were replete with Clip Dispensers to support her weapons.
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