Destination Alara

by S. Y. Thompson

  "Cade, you're tired. Go get some sleep. I'll let you know as soon as they find anything."

  She looked as if she might argue but after a slight hesitation, Cade stood. "You have the bridge, Commander."

  "Aye, Admiral."

  Cade walked toward the exit. She stopped before the automatic doors parted. When she looked at Van, her eyes were lifeless and held no warmth. It was difficult to believe she was the same woman Van had slept with that morning.

  "Captain Swann, come with me."

  Silently, Van fell into step beside her. They took the ship's lift to deck three, where both their quarters were. Cade led her to the door and Van wondered what she had in mind. Neither had spoken a word, yet Cade lingered.

  "Um, do you want to come inside?"

  Cade nodded and swallowed hard. She seemed uncomfortable and Van wondered if there weren't some repercussions to their intimacy after all. She entered her quarters, sensing Cade's presence close behind.

  "Have a seat."

  Van walked over to the small chiller in the cooking area. "Would you like something to drink?"

  "Coffee?"

  Stopping with her hand on the chiller door, Van looked over at her in surprise. "Really? Won't that keep you awake?"

  Taking a deep breath, Cade swiped a hand over her eyes. Then she sat forward on the edge of the sofa, hands dangling between her knees. "Yeah, you're probably right. How about some juice?"

  Retrieving two bottles of erium juice, she passed one to Cade and sat next to her on the sofa. For a long while, they sipped the berry juice without speaking. Van concentrated on the taste of her drink. It reminded her of a mix between orange and papaya. Yet as much as she tried not to second-guess the commander's purpose for sitting in her quarters, she wished she'd get on with it. Just when the tension mounted to the point where Van thought she'd puke, Cade broke the silence.

  "My apologies, Captain. I know how tired you must be and I've basically shanghaied your quarters. I should go." Cade placed her drink on the low table in front of the sofa and started to stand.

  "Wait." Van quickly placed a hand on her leg to keep her from leaving. Then she snatched it back as if she'd burned her fingers. "Please, whatever it is, just say it."

  The uncomfortable expression was back. Finally, Cade relented. "I realized after we returned that I hadn't thanked you for saving my life."

  Van blinked. "That's it? All this craziness because you forgot to say thanks?"

  Fury flashed hot and fast. She was still miffed about Cade's cavalier attitude toward their earlier encounter and this was icing on the cake. Van was always the one who walked away; she dictated what happened after she had sex with someone. Cade acted like it meant nothing and now she behaved as though apologizing was beneath her.

  "Well let me save you the trouble. I was doing my duty so don't worry about it. Now if you don't mind, I'd really like to take a shower and get some sleep."

  "You're walking the line of insubordination, Captain." Now Cade was clearly angry. She stood so that she towered over Van.

  Van stood as well, taking one long stride until she stopped centimeters from Cade's face. "You didn't feel that way when I was fucking you, Admiral." Van's stress on the final word intentionally communicated her disgust.

  A bewildered expression crossed Cade's face. "Is that what this is about? You're disappointed that I didn't attach myself to you at the hip?"

  "No, of course not." She tried to sound confident, but suddenly she wasn't so sure.

  The confused expression gave way to amusement and Van suddenly considered she'd lost control of the situation. Was she delusional to think she ever had it to begin with?

  "I'm not clingy. I've slept with plenty of women and no one has ever accused me of that. You're no different."

  "Right." Cade pressed her lips together trying to hide a smile, but she couldn't douse the twinkle in her black eyes. "So why are you acting like a jilted girlfriend?"

  The question left her scrambling for a plausible response. Accustomed to thinking on her feet, she found herself grasping at straws.

  "I'm just...tired."

  "Really?" Admiral Meryan clearly didn't believe her. She stared into Van's eyes, daring her to confirm the lie.

  She couldn't actually say it again, but nodded obstinately.

  "Well, then, I should let you rest." Cade unfolded her arms and sauntered over to the exit. She stopped there and looked back over her shoulder. "Good night, Captain."

  Gone before she could respond, Van wasn't sure she could have anyway. The wish goodnight sounded like a singsong, teasing remark intended to titillate. That was definitely the result.

  Images from that morning came rushing back. Every taste, moan, and sensation flooded her memory. Van gasped and a light sheen of sweat broke out over her skin. For long agonizing moments, she could feel Cade's firm softness in her arms.

  Stop it, Van told herself. She was just annoyed because Cade walked away before Van could. Cade Meryan wasn't any different than the others.

  Wiping the moisture from her upper lip, Van noticed Cade's drink sitting on the table. Condensation covered the aluplastic and she pictured full lips sealed around the opening. She picked it up and stared at the container for a while. Would it be completely juvenile if she put her mouth where Cade's lips had rested such a short time ago?

  Van ignored the temptation and walked over to the windows made of transparent flerovium crystal. She stared out at fixed points of light visible from her quarters. Stars, planets, suns. The sight never failed to help her feel centered. She desperately needed that right now. Cade Meryan had a way of throwing her off her stride. Calling her on her childish behavior was just one example. At least she didn't have to worry about that for very much longer. With the completion of their mission, she anticipated Gauntlet would head for the Andromeda system as soon as they found their other missing member. Once that happened, she could put Cade out of her mind and concentrate on her primary objective.

  Falcon facilitated that mission, leaving her the freedom to patrol where necessary to accomplish that goal. Van didn't know if the powers that be would allow her to command another vessel considering the circumstances, but she still had work to do. Uncrossing her arms, Van headed for the bath. She didn't want to think about Cade anymore. She wanted a shower and eight uninterrupted hours of sleep.

  "Ensign Mercer to Captain Swann."

  Van cringed, but could hardly ignore the hail from the communications officer. "Go ahead."

  "Ma'am, you have an incoming communiqué from Psmanth, Coalition Headquarters."

  "Understood. Put it through to my quarters on a secure channel."

  "Right away, ma'am."

  Van spoke quickly before the young man could close the channel. "Any word on Lieutenant Argante?"

  "Second squad found him a few minutes ago, Captain. He took shelter in a cave just before the blizzard hit. He sustained a deep cut in his left thigh falling down a fissure, but other than that the infirmary reports he's okay."

  "That's great news. Go ahead and put the call through."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Van sat wearily in front of the computer interface. She started in surprise when Saral Barab appeared on the screen. "Ma'am."

  "Sorry to catch you off guard, Captain." Her midnight eyes glittered in the same way Cade's did. "I just wanted to say thank you for bringing my cousin back safely. I see her confidence in you wasn't misplaced after all."

  "Just doing my duty, Admiral. Err, uh, that is to say, it was my pleasure ma'am." Van felt her face burn, thinking again about the encounter with Cade.

  Fortunately, Admiral Barab didn't seem to think anything of the comment. She laughed and replied, "I understand completely. Oh, by the way, I wanted to inform you that the High Queen Dorma intends to hold a banquet in your honor."

  "That's really not necessary," Van assured her. She wasn't much for pomp and ceremony and felt even more uncomfortable than she had before.

  "Y
ou're not going to talk her out of it. Besides, it was my idea."

  Admiral Barab suddenly terminated the communication channel and Van sat staring at a dark screen. Were all the women in the Meryan clan so abrupt?

  Van wasn't happy. This banquet was going to delay them even more. Commodore Grier was not going to approve.

  Chapter Eight

  VAN SAT IN the chair directly in front of Cade's desk. At the moment, it was just the two of them and she had the admiral's undivided attention. Too bad Cade couldn't think about anything but the debriefing. Van could think of other things they could be doing together, things that involved rolling around that very narrow bed in her quarters. Instead, they were here discussing the attendance of a banquet on Alara after dropping off the balance of Falcon's crew at Coalition Headquarters.

  "Captain?"

  "Hmm?"

  "Captain Swann, are you listening to me?"

  "Of course, Admiral. What else would I be doing?"

  Cade didn't look like she believed her, but let the matter drop. "I asked what your take on Lieutenant Argante is. Why do you think he disobeyed orders like that?"

  Van hated to speculate about the motives of another officer, especially one who could face a court martial for his actions. She cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter. "Have you asked him?"

  "Yes, but all he'll say is that he takes full responsibility for his actions. He won't tell me why he went off on Tokar alone."

  Thinking back over the whole set up, the answer seemed pretty obvious to Van. "He's embarrassed."

  "About what?"

  She could see she'd caught Cade off guard and wanted to shake her head. The woman was brilliant and beautiful, but she didn't read people very well. "I think the lieutenant thought he'd go after you and bring you back to Gauntlet all by himself. I think he wanted to prove that you could trust him to come after you no matter what the cost."

  Cade sat back in her chair, stupefied by the possibility. "What makes you say that?"

  "He was really upset when I wouldn't let him join the rescue team, but I couldn't take the chance."

  "Because he froze during the initial attack?"

  "Exactly." Van shrugged. "He felt responsible for what happened to you and was determined to make it right."

  "Then why doesn't he just tell me that?"

  Van snorted. "That one's easy. Male pride."

  "Of all the ridiculous..."

  "Yeah, but I think that's it in a nutshell. Let me ask you this, are you going to court martial him?"

  Cade stood and paced over to a small portal. She stared out into space at the passing stars and Van took the opportunity to look at her. The woman was lean, strong and tall, everything Van wasn't. She had her short dark hair combed back toward the center of her neck and it curled a little there, just above her collar. The thickness made Van want to run her fingers through the midnight locks.

  "I should," Cade finally answered, drawing Van's attention back to the topic at hand. "Running off like that cost us a lot of time in reporting back to HQ so we could look for him."

  Van chose not to point out that they had to look for the missing Commander Heliosius anyway. Cade had enough on her mind and mentioning the glaringly obvious wouldn't help the situation. "But you won't?"

  "No. I won't." Cade turned back around, meeting her eyes. Van tried not to drown in the inky depths. "But he's still going to receive one hell of a reprimand in his permanent record."

  "He should. He should also consider himself very lucky."

  Cade stood only a few feet away, forcing Van to look up at her. The view did strange things to her insides and Van felt her mouth go dry. Why couldn't she be around Admiral Meryan without feeling as if the universe had tilted on its axis?

  "Bosk to Admiral Meryan," the executive officer hailed from his place on the bridge.

  Cade tilted her head slightly to project her voice toward the speaker in the top of the room. It wasn't necessary, but it was something all military personnel did. Van felt a little better knowing she was just as Human as the rest of them. Sometimes Cade seemed larger than life.

  "Go ahead, Commander."

  "We're closing in on the Lantass Asteroid Belt. Estimated time of arrival is ten minutes."

  "Understood, shut down fusion engines in five minutes and take us the rest of the way in on sublight. Target orbital position three and have all department heads standing by to go over their areas. I want everything in perfect working order as soon as the engines cool down. Final jump to Psmanth will be twenty-four hours from time of initial orbit."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  The orders were standard procedure for any vessel flying an extended mission. Fusion engines couldn't function indefinitely without a cool down period and Lantass Asteroid field was the designated stopping point. Even the expansion teams on assignment to terra-form Venus stopped here, though they also observed a secondary stopping depot before completing the final jump to Earth.

  Cade poured herself a cup of coffee from the silver set on her desk and took a sip before she offered Van a drink. When she declined, Cade asked, "Care to join me on the bridge?"

  It wasn't really a request since Van wasn't about to stay in the admiral's office without her. She stood without answering before she realized how polite Cade was trying to be. Two nights ago, she'd taunted Van about her reaction to their intimacy, and indeed, she could see signs of the humor in her dark eyes even today. Yet, Cade maintained a professional decorum today that bordered on stilted. Van didn't really have time to wonder about it though as she followed her onto the bridge.

  Van sat to her left in a subordinate command chair. She was close enough to smell Cade's skin and felt her heartbeat pick up slightly. She glanced at her from the corner of her eye, but Cade's gaze remained firmly fixed on the forward viewport. Van frowned and looked away. She found looking upon broken chunks of dead rock and various unimpressive minerals left over from failed planets beyond boring. The only good thing about the asteroids was the extensive trinium mines contained on some of the largest formations.

  Since that morning on Tokar, she couldn't seem to keep her mind on business around this woman. Even Paul noticed her distracted air and called her on it yesterday in the mess hall. It just seemed that all she could think about was the softness of Cade's lips. She remembered their taste and how they felt pressed against her own. Sometimes, Van allowed the memory to become a fantasy. However, in the fantasy, Cade's mouth opened when she kissed her. It was open, her tongue softly stroking inside Van's mouth.

  A surge of molten arousal shot through her and Van took a deep but quiet breath, trying to suppress her surging hormones. It was hard since she sat right next to the object of her fantasies, but Van had a reputation to protect.

  "Closing in on Lantass," the young Thuban at the helm reported. Van barely heard him.

  Van rationalized her physical reaction as normal because she hadn't gotten a chance to get Cade out of her system. Seriously, Cade hadn't even touched her. It was only natural that Van would still be wound up.

  "Engage sublight and prepare to orbit," Cade ordered. "Bring up the asteroid field on the viewer."

  Her husky voice wrapped around Van's insides and squeezed. She felt moisture pool between her legs and she shifted slightly. Gods, that voice should be bottled and sold on Hokar. Talk about receiving pleasure vicariously. Merchants on the pleasure planet could make a killing.

  "You could show a little more enthusiasm, Captain. Where would the fleet be without material for new ships?"

  "I've seen it before."

  Cade didn't say anything but Van felt her disappointment. Rather than worry about it, she kept her eyes pinned on the viewer but didn't really see anything. Every free second her mind wasn't on something important, she remembered Cade's kisses.

  Cade gasped and Van felt it from nipples to groin.

  It took a second for her to realize that there was something wrong. Cade grabbed the chair arms and lunged to her fee
t, her gaze pinned directly ahead. Van frowned and focused on the viewport. It looked like tiny rocks hurtling toward the ship, growing in size as they closed the distance. But rocks didn't aim directly at a ship.

  "Shields." Admiral Meryan shouted. "Evasive maneuvers."

  Gauntlet rocked under the assault from the small enemy spacecraft, but the shields held. Van looked toward Cade for orders.

  "I assume you've been briefed on how to fly the new Viper class fighters?"

  "Briefly."

  Cade nodded once. "I won't keep you then. Take command of Blue squad, Bosk will handle Red."

  Neither wasted time as they headed toward the ship's lift. Bosk keyed his communicator to ship-wide and announced, "Red and Blue fighter squads report to the hangar deck on the double."

  For the first time in days, Van didn't think about Cade. Adrenaline sang in her veins as the lift plummeted down eight decks into the belly of the Coalition's flagship. Already, she was planning strategies and maneuvers. She didn't know Cade's pilots, but all fighters practiced the same moves. She just hoped she got a seasoned team. Then again, the Coalition wouldn't assign them to Gauntlet unless they knew what they were doing.

  The lift stopped. Van and Uther sprinted toward the fighter craft, a team already standing by to prep them for flight. A young woman met her with a pressurized flight suit while someone else jammed a helmet on her head. After a quick radio check, the woman, Fletcher according to her name patch, connected the helmet to the bulky suit. Then she pointed to a nearby fighter. Van nodded and started up a ladder someone had pushed to the craft's side.

  "Who's my wingman?"

  "That'd be me, ma'am," a male voice responded. "Lieutenant James Holden, but you can call me Raptor, Blue Leader."

  Van glanced over as she lowered herself into the cockpit and waved at the pilot to her right. She couldn't see his face, but it didn't matter as long as he covered her well. "Stay on tight, Lieutenant."

  "Like your shadow."

  She ran through the start-up list quickly, bypassing many systems checks due to the emergency situation. Van felt the roar of the engine and released a nervous breath when the heads-up display immediately activated. On one side, atmospheric readouts popped into view along with the condition of all vital systems. She felt pressure building around her inside the cockpit, cushioning her from dangerous maneuvers. Everything was in the green for the moment. The single-man cockpit hugged her body, embracing her in a way that would ensure stability during any quick maneuvering.