“Chief Lorcan, can you talk with me, please?” the captain called out.
“Yes, sir!” Chief Lorcan replied, as he strutted over to the captain. Derrick Lorcan was an Oriental male in his early thirties. He was almost as tall as the captain himself, and wore glasses. Although no one had known, they had been close friends ever since high school. Eric put on airs, so that none of his crew suspected him of favoritism.
“Chief, have you found out who was in the surveillance room the moment Ensign Rivers stepped away from his console?” Captain Moore asked, in a slightly raised voice.
“No, sir, no one was in the surveillance room at that time. There’s still no record of any access to the room. There were plenty of prints on the door, but from the entire security staff, since every security officer has been in that room at one point. That night, there were only two officers on duty, but they both stated that they responded to a call about a brawl in Shatskis’s Bar around the same time. So, in that time frame, no one was supposed to even be in the office…it was locked up,”
“Goddamn it, Derrick, we have to find out who the hell shut off the monitors that night,” Eric whispered.
“I could start a rumor…that we had a hidden camera in the security office the night that the monitors were shut off. Then…I can say we know who turned them off, that the security disk is now locked in your office, and we’re just waiting for the right time to arrest them on sight,” Derrick whispered.
“Right, then we can have someone call in an incident, so we would be forced to leave the office,” Eric added.
“We could have a man we can trust wait in your office and subdue the person who tries to take the security disk.
“Excellent, I can’t believe you thought of that before me,”
Derrick smiled, “That’s because I’m smarter,”
Eric rolled his eyes, “All right, Chief, keep me informed,” the captain said, so his officers could hear.
“Yes, sir.” Chief Lorcan replied.
Two weeks quickly passed, and their attempt at capturing the mystery person was a complete bust. No one had fallen for their…almost ingenious plan. Captain Moore walked his girlfriend, Dorothy, around the aquarium level. It was a perfect place to take a romantic stroll. Eric loved how the Horizon had the many different levels of entertainment. The UPG went to great expense to put in a level that had movie theaters, and an opera house. The level they were on was filled with multiple museums and art galleries, not to mention a very large aquarium, which housed three whales and a multitude of aquatic life. Dorothy had her arm around Eric’s as they watched a school of rainbow fish scurry through a large tank of water.
“This is by far my favorite level in the entire ship,” Dorothy said, as she stared at the fish.
“Yes, it is a nice level. I come here sometimes to clear my head. The Horizon is an amazing ship,” Eric stated. She rested her head on his shoulder. “There’s not much about this ship that isn’t fascinating,”
“That’s true, hun. How does the Horizon have the power to support all of the stuff that they have?” Dorothy asked, already knowing the answer.
“The Horizon is equipped with an unlimited source of power that self regenerates,” Eric whispered to her.
“Sounds fascinating, where does it come from?” Dorothy asked, pretending to be naive.
“The UPG’s scientists. The engine looks pretty amazing as well,” Eric said, trying to impress her.
“You’ve seen it? What does it look like? Do you think I can see it sometime, honey?” Dorothy asked, as she rubbed his chest.
“No, I could lose my…why not, I’m the captain. You can’t tell anyone, though,” Eric whispered to her, as he kissed the temple of her head.
“My love, I promise I would never risk getting you in trouble. Maybe you shouldn’t show me. You could just tell me about…”
“No, it’s all right. We’ll go late at night, when there are not too many people on duty. Besides, my men would look out for me. You don’t have to worry. I won’t get in trouble.” Eric is hypnotized by her beauty and charm. He would do almost anything to impress her. Eric knew that he wasn’t thinking with the right head, but he couldn’t help himself. Dorothy knew exactly what a man wanted to hear. How strong and brave he was, how wonderful and handsome he was, or even how smart and brilliant his mind was. Dorothy knew how to entice any man. She didn’t like leading men on, but her job sometimes required it.
Later that night, Eric took Dorothy to the main engine room. The door leading to the engine room wasn’t guarded, since it had a retina scanner and an ID key code instead. Dorothy watched as he keyed in a seven-digit access code on a keypad attached to the side of the large metal door. Then, he placed his head in front of the scanner, and it scanned his retina for identification. She wasn’t sure what she would do about that, but she memorized his security code, and figured she would think of something later. She began to feel low of herself, as Eric proudly gave her the grand tour, explaining how everything functioned. He took her through the many levels of the engine room. It was magnificently huge, which had five levels, and were each separated by metal decks. Each deck had a metal walkway, which went around the decks. There were stairwells and lifts scattered throughout each level. It was easy to get lost in the engine room if one didn’t already know their way around.
There were some sections of the colossal room which were not connected, and if someone wasn’t careful, they could fall down to the next level, or onto a lower walkway. Giant pipes, the size of semi-trucks, crisscrossed in every direction. Each level was dedicated to a specific function of the starship, and had a mini office, where the head of that level ran their operations. Some of the levels operated life support, plumbing, environmental controls, and the ships thrusters and stardrive. The most important level was on the bottom, which contained the main power core for the entire ship. The last two levels, which housed the stardrive and main power core, were in large, closed-off rooms, which also needed an ID key code and a retina scanner to enter.
The only information Dorothy truly needed was the access code to get in. The rest of the info he was giving her, wasn’t that useful, but she played along. She was highly educated and didn’t live up to the stereotypical blonde. She could figure the rest out on her own. As they took their time walking down to the main power core, they saw a few workers attending to their duties. Since Eric was the captain of the Horizon, no one bothered to ask him any questions. When they reached the power core level, he took her to the back of the level, were the power core was guarded in a separate room. There was only one guard on duty, and he had his head on a desk, fast asleep. Eric was upset and embarrassed that one of his men was sleeping on the job, but figured he would reprimand him later, since he really wasn’t supposed to bring unknown women to a secured area anyway.
“Isn’t it amazing?” he asked, as they stood before a large purple sphere enclosed in a black metal structure inside of the room.
“What’s that?” Dorothy asked, pointing to a grouping of strange hieroglyphics on the sides of the container that held the purple glowing sphere.
“I’m really not sure what those mean, probably the UPG just trying to be fancy,” Eric said.
Dorothy already knew what the markings were, and who had made them. She had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach as she read the hieroglyphics. She knew that she was sending seventy thousand people to their graves for a price, and hated herself for it.
“What keeps this whole ship from shutting down?” Dorothy asked, while she had her arms around him.
“That console over there,” Eric ignorantly said, as he pointed to a large computer console inside of the room. The console itself was familiar to her, like that of a Renexobious console, with all of its soft purple buttons and silver frame. Over the console, there was a large fifty-five inch flat screen, imbedded into the wall. It displayed the power levels, all of the different ships systems, and how much power was channeled to each system.
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“How do you get inside?” Dorothy asked, trying to make it seem as if she were fascinated.
“My code overrides all of the locks throughout the Horizon. Just in case of an emergency,” Eric whispered in her ear. She looked at the key code next to the door and another retina scanner. She had all of the information she needed. Her job was almost done.
“Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to get you in trouble,” Dorothy said.
“All right,” Eric said, thinking it was cute how she feared for him.
After their little excursion, they went back to his room, and made passionate love for the remainder of the night. In the morning, she slipped out of his bed and went back to her own apartment to give her report. Her phone rang shortly after she had gotten inside. She hesitated, and then slowly picked it up.
“Did you get it?” the man asked.
“Yes, are you ready?” Dorothy asked.
“Go ahead,”
“The access number is 4356110,” she read to him.
“4356110, right?”
“Yes, he says this code will override any lock of the Horizon,” Dorothy said.
“Excellent,”
“There’s one problem,”
“What’s that?”
“There is a retina scanner,”
“Shit. When the time comes, we’ll have to drag him along. You’re an expert with drugs. You’ll have to drug him so we can use his retina. I don’t care how we get him up there, we’ll just have to find a way,” he explained.
“All right, now what?” Dorothy asked.
“Now we patiently wait for the right moment. Just continue stringing along the captain. It shouldn’t be too hard for you,” the man said, sarcastically.
“No, but I can’t wait until it’s all over and we have our credits,”
“I know what you mean. The hard part will be quietly leaving the ship, without being seen. All right, keep me posted if you receive any new information,” the man explained, then hung up. Dorothy decided to take a hot shower. After she dried off her perfect body, she laid naked in her bed. She was still conflicted with her feelings for Eric and her greed of the three million credits that she was going to receive. Still, she knew what she had to do, and figured she would enjoy Eric’s company, and hard body, until the very last minute.
Chapter 10
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
Andy Warhol
“What happened, and why the hell did she kiss me?” Jaime asked. Jesse walked up to her with his head lower than usual. She could tell something was wrong with him.
“I think she was just shocked. Or, it could be that she likes you. She does like women, you know. I feel bad for her. I hope I didn’t give her too much information,” Jesse said.
“Do you think she’ll tell anyone?”
“God, I hope not. Just to be safe, we should get the hell out of here, now,”
“Sounds good to me,” Jaime said, and then gave him a long loving kiss before they began their journey into the unknown. Jesse felt a tremendous weight lifted off his chest, finally he would be able to get away from everyone and everything, leaving his past behind. The young pirate sat in his flight chair and began to tap in the coordinates, which would follow the Horizon’s path. He did feel a little nervous about the whole situation, running off with a woman he barely knew.
After a few hours, the new couple decided to get something to eat in the kitchen. Jesse was feeling adventurous and told Jaime that he would cook for her. She was the one who was being adventurous, since he wasn’t that good of a cook. Eventually, after seeing him cook, Jaime had to step in and help. She thought it was sweet that he was trying to cook, but started to become concerned that he might catch the ship on fire. While Jaime was boiling some pasta, Jesse was chopping up a lettuce for a salad. Without realizing it, Jesse had sliced the inner part of left hand, where the thumb meets the index finger.
“Oh, God, are you all right?” Jaime asked, as she noticed his hand was bleeding.
He looked at his hand, “Yes, don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. I would suggest you don’t eat the salad though,” Jesse joked, as he noticed that there was blood all over the lettuce.
Jaime walked over to him and took his hand in hers. Her maternal instincts took over as she took care of his wound. It was only a small cut, so she placed her lips over the wound, and began to suck. Jesse smiled, thinking it was a little erotic. Something began to happen, because to Jaime’s surprise, her entire body began to heat up. Her heart began to pound with a primal wildness as she continued to suck on his wound. She could feel her veins pump with a strange, strong force. Jaime was concerned, because she had never tasted blood before, and was surprised that it tasted so wonderful. She inconspicuously glanced up at Jesse to see if he was looking at her. He wasn’t. She couldn’t stop sucking on his hand; she craved the flavor of his blood. Jaime wanted to stop, but something deep within her wouldn’t let her. After a couple of minutes, Jesse finally realized that something was up when he saw that her head was beaded with sweat. Jaime began to feel extremely weak, and began to sway off balance.
“Jaime, are you okay?” Jesse asked, as he caught her. Jesse immediately picked her up in his arms, and carried her to his bed. He was surprised that her body felt so hot, and that her hair was becoming wet from sweating so profusely.
The space pirate laid her on his bed and wrapped her up tightly with a couple of blankets. He watched over her as she moved her head from side to side. Jaime remained completely unconscious. Jesse wondered if it had something to do with her being frozen for an entire year.
“Jaime, Jaime, can you hear me? Babe, can you hear me?” Jesse repeatedly asked. She could hear him, but his voice sounded as if it were a distant echo many miles away. Jaime was delirious and couldn’t determine if she were dreaming or if she was awake. She could feel her body slowly change, as she lay in a dream-like state. Jaime wasn’t sure what was happening to herself, and it scared her. Jesse was hoping it was just a fever and not something serious. He had grown very close to her, and didn’t want to see her in any pain.
Two days quickly passed, and Jaime’s condition hadn’t changed. If anything, it had gotten worse. Her body seemed to be continually sweating. Jesse had no idea what to do. The Black Ice was set to follow the exact path of the Horizon. As they were nearing the last space station in the solar system, Jesse decided to stop so that he could take her to one of the station’s hospitals. He was concerned that one of the UPG’s spies may see them. The space station was located exactly on the outer rim of the solar system, and was called The Outer Rim Space Station. It was Jesse’s first time at the station, so he was a little uneasy about entering into unknown territory at this stage of their travels. Once they passed the outer rim, it would be very difficult for anyone to follow or capture them. The Outer Rim Station is the last civilian station to exist. The other two stations were operated by the UPG military and science divisions. Luckily they weren’t traveling anywhere near those two stations. After the young pirate had received clearance to dock, Jesse carried his girlfriend all the way to the emergency room of the closest hospital.
Two hours passed, and Jesse was growing impatient waiting to hear the doctor’s diagnosis of Jaime’s illness. He was pissed because the nurses wouldn’t let him stay with her while they were scanning her body for the cause of sickness. One hour later, the doctor finally approached Jesse as he lowered his facemask.
“Well, the good news is that her condition doesn’t appear to be terminal. The bad news is that we can’t determine the cause of her illness. At this stage, it just appears to be just a fever. I would suggest leaving her here for a couple of days so we can monitor her condition and run a few more test,” the doctor advised.
“All right, I’ll check back on her in couple of hours. Do you know where I can get a room?” Jesse asked.
“Oh yes, of course, on the thirty second level. There are many
nice, clean rooms for rent. If you go to the Tropical Sunrise and talk to the owner, Paul, tell him Dr. Reese sent you. He’ll give you a good discount,”
“Thanks, Doc, I really appreciate it,” Jesse said. As Jesse was about to leave the emergency room, the doctor tried to reassure him everything would be all right and that he would make sure his lady friend would be taken care of.
When Jesse was completely out of sight, Dr. Reese went to his office to make a call. He looked around, nervously keyed in the number on his small office phone, and waited for a response. Someone picked up on the other end.
“Yes?” said the voice.
“Yes, this is Dr. Reese. The man you asked to keep an eye out for has brought the girl to my hospital at the Outer Rim Station. The female is a patient here, and I told the man to keep her here for a few days. You said that there would be a reward for any info,” the doctor nervously said, feeling his adrenaline kick in as his heart began to pound with excitement.
“Yes, if the information is valid. Are you sure you have the right man?”
“Oh yes, there is no mistaking the White Skull. His wanted posters are scattered around the station. I suggested a place for him to stay at. I think he’s going to the Tropical Sunrise, a hotel on the thirty second level. Now, the reward says ten thousand for any info. Well, does this qualify?”
“Yes, and thank you. I’ll send someone over right away to give you the money. I need you to stall the White Skull for as long as you can,”
“I will,” the doctor said, grinning greedily.
Alexander was happy that he could give his president some positive news. Ever since Mr. Toad had contacted the president, telling him the woman was missing, he had been pretty upset. Mr. Toad surprisingly let the president off with a warning, and instructed that if he had heard of the White Skull’s presence, to notify Silvana immediately, so that she could pick them both up. After informing the president, Alexander also called Silvana. Mr. Toad’s daughter was only two days away from the Outer Rim Space Station. Silvana was looking forward to meeting the White Skull, since she had heard he was a skilled warrior.
Voyages of the White Skull Book 1 Page 19
