by Siren Allen
“They have an advantage on us. They’ve experienced the years and the technological advances that we’ve missed by time jumping to the future. Can you fix it?”
“I can’t fix it without finding the virus they uploaded. I can reset Striker to its default status. He will lose his memory of what has taken place with us over the years.”
“Would he lose the information we downloaded on him when we first got him?”
“No, that info is part of his default settings. All of the protocols we input will remain. He just won’t know why we’re heading to the Kuiper Belt, neither would he know where we’ve been.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
“There still the problem of the virus. I don’t know if they can hear us still. What I do know is that they know exactly where we’re going.”
“Rhodes would never show his face on Qoaran. Palenzo was never a fan of his.”
“We don’t know what has happened over the years. Palenzo could be trading with the commander now.”
“The Palenzo I know would never trade with anyone.”
“You don’t know this Palenzo.”
Shit. “Maybe there’s someone on Qoaran who can help with the virus.”
“I doubt it.” Ep gave him a side glance.
“I’m not saying you’re incapable.”
“I’ve got this. It’s just, they went to great lengths to hide their codes and conceal what their program is actually doing on our system.”
“You’re the computer genius. They’re not.”
Ep nodded.
“So what’s the computer genius going to do to fix this? Because we’ve got two precious packages on board and one mini-precious package. We need to keep them safe.”
Ep nodded. “I’ll have to shut Striker’s hosting down. We won’t be able to communicate with him. There’s good chance that he hasn’t been the one we’ve been talking to anyway, not since the transmission was sent.”
“Shit.”
“I’ll put the ship on manual-pilot. I suggest one of us man the navi-deck for the rest of the flight, just in case this virus attempts to throw us off our course.”
“We can make that happen. I need this virus gone.”
“I’ll handle it. I’ll go over each code until I find the glitch. Our malware-tech is outdated, but it should still be able to delete this virus. While I’m doing this, I’ll use my E-pad to search for newer malware technology. There may be a version we can download for free. If not, we’ll see if there’s a space station with the tech we need and we’ll steal it.”
“Sounds like a plan. I have complete faith in you.” Silver patted Ep on the back before walking over to Gamma and Beta seated behind the steering. “Gamma, you ready to fly this baby on manual?”
“I was born to fly The Striker. I’ve got the coordinates set. This should be a piece of cake. I’ll just put it in warp drive and we’ll be there in a couple of days.”
“No,” Ep yelled. “No, I took us out of warp drive for a reason.”
Silver stared at the ship’s genius. Ep’s eyes were on the console. “Ep, what’s up?”
“The first thing the virus attacked was our propulsion engines.”
“Fuck,” Silver slammed his fist into the back of Beta’s seat.
Ep only had more bad news for him. “If we use warp drive, there’s a chance our coordinates will be delete and be replaced by coordinates put in by the virus.”
“What kind of damn virus is this?” Gamma asked.
“A very advanced kind,” Ep stated, eyes still on the screen in front of him. “Manual mode only. It’ll take us longer. But we’ll get there. We can use the third and fourth engines to increase our speed. It’ll burn more fuel, but we plan to fill up on Qoaran anyway, so we should be okay.”
Silver couldn’t take any more bad news right now. He was pretty sure his crew felt the same way. “Yeah, we’re in a fucked up situation. But we’ve been in fucked up situations before. We always come out on top. This time will be no different. Without Striker, we won’t be able to communicate quickly. I need each of you to put your comm-devices on.” When Gamma groaned the captain smacked the back of his seat. “It’s protocol.”
“It’s uncomfortable. I hate having those things in my ear.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, it goes behind your ear,” Silver told the younger male. “Until Ep gives us the word, let’s keep our chatting to a minimum. We don’t know if we’re being spied on or not.”
The crew nodded. Silver nodded back then walked away from the deck, leaving the crew behind to go check on his mate. He stopped outside of Ep’s stasis chamber to make sure the precious cargo inside was okay.
“Ep,” Silver said aloud while pressing his comm-device. “Your precious cargo is the same. No changes.”
“Thanks captain. Once I get the scan started I’m going to go and check on our mini-precious cargo.”
“I was just about to ask you to do that. Let me know if the cargo is good or needs anything.”
“Will do.”
Silver continued across the bridge heading toward the housing deck. His steps slowed the closer he came to his room. He had no idea what he would find waiting for him behind that door.
Right now he really wished Striker was available to let him know whether or not his mate was waiting behind the door with a blade in her hand, ready to slit his throat. Surely, she didn’t hate him that much. Only one way to find out.
Silver placed his hand over the infrared scanner. When the door slid open he stayed rooted in place, staring into the room. Wait. Silver took a step back and glanced up and down the bridge.
Was this his room?
He glanced back into the room. Yea, this was his space. But where was the clutter from before? Moving cautiously, he stepped into the room. When he didn’t see Malia anywhere he began to panic, then his eyes darted toward the bathroom.
He could hear noise inside. Silver slowly made his way over to the bathroom door and pressed his ear against it. Humming. She was humming. Probably some maniacal tune that spurred her on as she destroyed the things in his bathroom.
Silver tapped on the door. The humming stopped. Seconds later, a muffled voice rose from within the room.
“Coming.”
The door knob turned. Silver took three steps back. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her. Surprise caused his jaw to drop. Out emerged his mate wearing pink pajamas with a towel twirled around her head.
Her scent floated his way and it took all his will power to keep from groaning aloud. Damn, she was sexy. He snapped his mouth shut, nearly cracking a few of his teeth. The pajamas were baggy, concealing the curves that lay beneath.
Her face was free of the artificial colors females wore. From beneath the hem of her cotton pants, her toes peeked out. Cute toes that he wanted to suck on. She looked adorable, fucking adorable.
Silver returned his gaze to her face and forced his body to be still. His cock didn’t listen. It hardened and throbbed. He ignored it.
“Sorry, I think I used all the hot water,” she told him, staring at him from under those sexy eye lashes. Who knew eye lashes could be sexy?
Fuck the hot water. His males could bathe in ice cold water for the rest of their lives. He knew he should say something. But words failed to emerge. You would think she was butt naked from the way he was staring at her
He watched as she towel-dried her hair then removed the towel from her head and strode to the desk, laying the towel over the back of the chair to dry. Silver turned, eyes following her every move.
She combed her fingers through her short tresses. “You wouldn’t have happened to bring a comb on board, would you?”
“Uh.” He had no idea what all he’d retrieved from her home. Damn she looked good. Her brown skin called to him. He wanted to taste it, to press his tongue against every inch of her flesh.
“Silver,” she snapped her fingers twice. On the third snap he blinked and refocused his
attention on her. “Did you bring a comb?”
Get it together, Silver. “Truly, I have no idea. I just brought random things I thought you might need.”
She stared around the room. “Ah,” she cooed, gaze zoning in on an item. “This is from my bathroom.” She walked over to a little pink box with a small handle on it.
“Jackpot,” she exclaimed once she opened it and surveyed its contents. “I’m glad I keep an extra comb and brush in here. Oooh, I’ve got tooth paste and everything. Thanks Silver.”
She was thanking him? Where was his fireball from earlier? Where was the creature who wanted their mating to be reversed as soon as possible? This sudden change in her attitude didn’t sit well with him.
A short while ago she’d wanted to space herself and now she was readying for bed and humming tunes. Something wasn’t right. When she stared up at him and smiled, revealing the cute dimples in her cheeks, he forgot the feeling of unease and strode over to her.
“You’re welcome,” he told her, stopping a few inches away from her, not wanting to make her feel crowded. “How are you feeling?”
She stood up, comb in hand. “Better, I guess,” she shrugged. “My eyes look different. They have a slight glow to them, like yours. Is that what happens when someone mates with one of your kind.”
“Yes.” Or so he assumed. More than likely it was an effect of his botched mating ritual. “Do you want to talk about it, and everything else?”
“Not right now. Right now, all I want to do is sleep.”
“Sure, uh, you can take the…” he stared at the bed. The perfectly made bed. The bed should be destroyed. That had been Striker’s last update on her. He saw no proof of that. “You can take the bed. I’ll be on the flight deck for a while. I may sleep up there.”
“I’m sorry that I’m taking your room from you.”
“Nonsense, this is your room too.”
“So this is our room?” She stepped closer to him.
Silver nodded, throat going dry. She moved in closer. He kept his eyes on the bed, not daring to stare in her direction.
“If this is our room, that means you should sleep in your own bed.”
Silver shook his head. “You need your sleep. I don’t want to disturb you.”
“It won’t be a bother.”
It would become one, the moment she felt his very hard cock pressed up against her backside in the middle of the night. “How about tonight you take the bed and tomorrow we’ll share it.”
“Deal. Strictly for sleeping,” she reminded him. “There’s still things we have to discuss and all.”
“Strictly for sleeping,” he agreed.
She brushed past him, her breast sliding across his arm as she went. He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her. Combing her wet tresses, she sat down on his bed and stared around the room.
“I hope you don’t mind me moving things around.”
“Nope, I don’t mind at all. It yours, do as you will.”
“Ours,” she grinned at him.
“Yeah, ours. Still, do as you will.”
Damn, she was up to something. She had to be. No one made this type of dramatic change within an hour. Still, his mind, body and heart wanted this to be real. He had to get away from her. He needed to think. And he couldn’t do that with her smiling up at him, looking sexy and shit.
He nodded toward the door. “I better get back up front. I’ve got captain things to do.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Captain things?”
“Yeah, captain things.” Captain things? Who the hell says that?
“Oh, okay. Well you go be captain and I’ll get ready for bed.”
After a second of hesitation, Silver turned and left the room. On the bridge he took a deep breath. Footsteps moving in his direction drew his attention down the hall. Ep was walking his way with the young Time Dweller next to him.
“I don’t know how long he’s been awake. I found him in my bathroom crying.”
“I wasn’t crying,” the child mumbled, wiping at his eyes.
“There is no shame in tears,” Ep stared down at the boy. “You’ve been through a lot.”
The child ignored Ep’s remark. The two males stopped in front of Silver who squatted to bring himself eye level with the boy.
“Are you ready to answer a few questions?” Silver asked.
The child shook his head.
“Okay,” Silver stood up. “Do you want to go with us to the flight deck?”
The boy stared down at his bare feet. He was clad in one of Ep’s shirts and a pair of Ep’s pants that had been cut at the knees to fit the child.
“I want to stay near Nahid,” the child mumbled.
“Who?” Silver and Ep asked.
“Nahid, my watcher. I want to be near her.”
Ep glanced at Silver. To the boy Ep asked, “The female in my stasis chamber?”
The boy nodded. “She is my mata.”
“Mata, that means mother right?” Ep asked.
“Yes,” the kid said. “But she didn’t birth me. She just treats me like she’s my mata. I miss her.”
More tears formed in the child’s eyes. Silver attempted to distract him from his distress.
“So, the female’s name is Nahid. What’s your name?” Silver’s eyes were on Ep while he waited on the boy to answer. He was astounded to find Ep mouthing the name Nahid, as if he was trying it on for size. When he caught Silver watching him, he cleared his throat then stared down at the child.
“What’s your name?” Ep repeated Silver’s question to the child.
“I don’t have a name.”
“Everyone has a name?” Silver told him. “What did the scientists call you?”
“They called me by my number, 524.”
That pissed Silver off and from the growl coming from Ep, he knew his friend was upset also. No one should be referred to as a number, like their life was so unimportant they didn’t deserve to have their own name.
“But,” the little voice spoke up. “Nahid doesn’t call me that. She calls me by a word.”
“And what is this word?” Silver asked.
“She… she calls me Frost.”
“Frost?” The child nodded. “Frost, do you uh, want a different name?”
The boy’s head rose, his black eyes turned blue. “No, I like that name. I like Frost.”
“Okay,” Silver assured him. “We will call you Frost.”
The child resumed staring at his feet.
“Frost, are you sure you don’t want to answer any questions right now?”
The child nodded.
Silver eyed Ep. “Well, we can’t leave you alone outside the stasis chamber.”
“I won’t touch anything. I swear by the stars.”
“Be that as it may, we can’t leave you alone. Right now you’ll go with us to the flight deck, and when we get a free moment we’ll take you to check on Nahid.”
“I’ll take you,” Ep corrected Silver.
“Okay,” the child agreed.
With his hand on the kid’s shoulder, Ep steered the young one toward the flight deck with Silver following behind them. They passed the stasis chambers so the child could see that Nahid was okay.
The young one placed his hand on the outside of the stasis as they passed it, his eyes staying on the chamber until he could no longer see it then he faced forward once more. Silver had so many questions for the young male and he was sure Ep did also.
They wouldn’t rush him. He would talk when he was ready. When they reached the flight deck Ep steered the kid toward a seat behind the console where he was working, then sat in the chair next to him.
Silver walked over to Beta. “How far out are we?”
“We are 375 clicks away. Not being able to use warp drive is a bitch.”
“Nothing wrong with doing it the old fashion way. Gives us time to think.”
“Does it?” Beta asked. “It seems like we got so much shit going on,
we don’t have time to think about the other stuff.”
With them not knowing if they were being spied on, it wasn’t much Silver could say. “Wait until we arrive. Then we’ll chat. For now, just think about options. I’ve thought of a few.”
“Really?” Gamma grinned. “How? You have a brand new… piece of cargo in your room.”
Silver turned on him. “What did you call her?”
“No offense, I’m trying to be secretive here.”
Oh yeah. Silver calmed a little. “It’s hard to concentrate on that, when I have this going on.”
“Go back to your room,” Gamma told him. “Ep is watching the boy. Beta and I are watching the sky. When we need you, we’ll talk into these little irritating devices.”
Shit, the devices. “Did you guys uh, hear me… with Malia.”
Gamma nodded. “You didn’t turn it off. By the way, could you be much weirder when you’re around her?”
“I wasn’t being weird. I’m trying to…” What was he trying to do?
“She doesn’t seem too upset about being kidnapped,” Gamma told him.
“True. That makes me suspicious.”
“Why?” Beta asked as he stared out into space.
“Because earlier she was pissed. Then Striker told me she’d destroyed the bed. Yet, when I got to the room the bed wasn’t destroyed.”
“Really, and Striker told you that? Man, if you can’t trust your ship, who can you trust?” Gamma stated.
“I trust the facts.”
“What are the facts?” Ep asked while pushing the young one’s hand away from the computer. “You can’t touch this,” he told the child. “It’s important.” The kid reached toward the keyboard again and Ep gently pushed his hand away.
Silver didn’t know his friend had it in him to be gentle with a child. Hell, none of them had much experience with little ones. “I don’t know the facts,” Silver finally answered Ep. “But I plan to find them out, and soon.”
“I say, take advantage of this new niceness your cargo is having,” Gamma leaned back in the seat with his hands behind his head. “I would if I was in your shoes. Stop stressing over the Striker issue for a while. Have some fun.”
The Striker issue was serious, but if anyone could fix it, it was Epsilon. No, Striker wasn’t the reason Silver was still standing on the navi-deck with his crew. Truth was, he was trying to give his mate a chance to fall asleep.
