His Woodland Maiden

by Michelle M. Pillow

“Tell them the rest,” Harper said to Alexis.

  Alexis’ eye color flashed faster than before, as if she was accessing the information. She flinched as if someone had punched her in the stomach, though no one had moved. Lochlann rubbed his wife’s arm in a comforting gesture.

  “Roughly every five years they do a full worker purge,” Alexis said. “They think it keeps any information the workers may have learned as to how to defeat their captors from being passed along. It’s called uprising management.”

  “That doesn’t sound pleasant,” Violette said.

  “The file came with images. It’s not pleasant.” Alexis closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them the color change had slowed. “That’s why we need a plan now—even if it’s a long shot. By my calculations, they’re due to purge the current workforce.”

  “Then we have no choice,” Rick said. “I’ll set a course for Ingeniare Three.”

  “If we’re going to do this, there is a big problem we need to consider,” Harper said. “All the factory workers have the side stitch. Mine was in for a short time. Some of them have had theirs for years, and they’re fused to the bone. Even if we had time to remove them all, one by one, they’d bleed out. We don’t have enough medical booths to handle the population.”

  “We’ll need a way to disarm them all at the same time,” Lochlann said.

  “I’ll work on that,” Viktor volunteered. “I have the broken side stitch. I’ll reverse engineer it to figure out how it works so we can disarm them faster.”

  “There has to be something we can give them before we take them off to stop the bleeding,” Rick said.

  “Maybe through the local food supply,” Raisa offered. “I’ll go through my notes and contact Jobby to see what food sources are on file for that region.” She glanced at Harper. “Jobby Dawks is my food simulator contact for turning in recipes. He’ll have listings for the region we’ll be in. It’s a long shot, but I’ll try.”

  “While you’re waiting for the answer, do you want to help me with the tracker?” Viktor asked her.

  Raisa nodded.

  “I’ll try to see what information I can find about how the side stitch power source works to help you,” Alexis added. “Maybe if we can shut that down without removing it, we won’t need to take them out.”

  “You need to be sure so it doesn’t set off an explosion,” Harper warned.

  “What about a device called the eight crystals? I saw a reference to them being able to polarize… something,” Alexis suggested. “Is that an alternative power source we can—?”

  “No,” Harper denied. “The crystals are not what you think they are. Trust me, they won’t help. It’s impossible to even gain access to them.”

  “Everyone knows what they need to do. Rick, chart our course and check the scans,” Lochlann ordered.

  “What about me?” Harper asked. “I can help with the scans.”

  “No,” Lochlann denied. “I need you to stay with Violette and Alexis. Tell them whatever you can about what we’re walking into.”

  Harper hesitated a moment at the way he gave her an order before slowly nodding.

  The mood was much more solemn than when the meeting had started. As the men filtered out of the commons, Rick remained beside her.

  He touched her cheek. “Thank you for trusting us.”

  “I don’t have much of a choice,” Harper said. “But I have to know why? Why would you all risk yourselves for this?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do.” Rick gave a small shrug. “We are but specks in the universe for a short time. We might as well make that time count for something. Saving a planet full of people seems like as good a way as any to meet that end.”

  Violette and Alexis took a seat away from them, waiting for Harper.

  Harper studied Rick’s face and just knew this moment would be one of very few in which they would be together. He was right, the universe didn’t care about them. Their paths were never meant to cross, and yet they did. They were random elements bouncing into each other. The odds of surviving this were small, and if by some miracle they pulled it off, they would have to go their separate ways. HIA didn’t have much of a retirement plan.

  “Find me when you’re done here.” He leaned to kiss the corner of her mouth.

  Harper stiffened at the touch, trying to steel her emotions. He gave her a strange smile and she watched him leave.

  “So, you and Rick?” Violette prompted. “Is it serious?”

  “I take this whole situation seriously,” Harper answered, not feeling comfortable discussing her feelings. It was hard enough keeping what she felt for Rick in check. Every time he was near, her heart leaped a little, and she wanted to go to him. And, each time she saw him, she needed to stop him from following her. Her life’s path did not include real relationships, not when she had to contend with so many fake ones.

  “I know that Rick comes off charming and flirtatious. We’ve seen women fall for him, but he hasn’t attached himself to any of them. I think it’s his confidence.” Violette said, her tone matter of fact.

  “Did you and Rick…?” Harper frowned, wondering at the advice. Was that jealousy?

  “What she means is Rick can come off like he has the attention span of a glartnat,” Alexis said. “He’s all fun and flirty—”

  “Unless he knows a woman is taken,” Violette interrupted.

  “Yeah, if she’s taken, he’ll treat them like she’s his little sister, or mother, or some other nonsexual entity.” Alexis motioned that Harper should sit with them. “I don’t think we’re explaining ourselves well. The point is, we care about him. We don’t want to see him preoccupied with what-ifs and romances that won’t ever be if you’re not serious about him. There is too much at stake. We won’t lose our families to distractions. But if you truly care for him…”

  Alexis let her words taper off. Both women looked expectantly at her. What did they expect her to do? Become all girly and start gossiping about how she felt? Confess that being with Rick, even near Rick, caused her to rethink everything she’d ever believed in? The crazy fool kept saying he loved her, and by all the universes, she wanted to say it back but the words would hurt too much.

  “I understand.” Harper took a seat. She gave a half-version of the truth. “Love is the last thing I’m looking for. I long ago accepted the path I’ve chosen means I can’t have certain things. The only thing I can think about right now is how to get everyone through this crazy mission alive.”

  Violette relaxed her posture, but she didn’t appear happy. “Now that’s settled and we know where you stand, what do we need to know about what’s ahead of us?”

  10

  Rick felt a tickle beneath his nostril and swiped at his nose, coming away with a smear of blood on his thumb. He stood at the end of a cliff, looking out over a clearing beyond the forest. His knees locked, though it would hardly protect him from a strong wind. He peered down, seeing his toes hanging over the edge and the great distance awaiting his fall.

  “Are you better now?” Sprout asked. “I’m sorry if your head hurts. I should not have tried that last upload.”

  Rick’s head throbbed violently. With the uploads Sprout had stolen for him from the facility where she lived, his brain was packed full of new knowledge. “It’s better. A headache is a small price to pay for the knowledge to fly us off this world someday.”

  And in the moment, as the upload unpacked itself into his mind, he knew which ship would take them away the fastest and how to fly it into the high skies.

  “I know you will fly away. I won’t be with you.” Sprout rarely talked about her life, and he didn’t pry, but he innately understood she felt as stuck in her circumstances as he did. “Do you think we’ll be friends in the life after this?”

  Sprout’s voice sounded small.

  “I don’t think there is anything after this life,” he answered. Her small hand fit into his. He knew this memory wasn’t right. He was a grown ma
n, and she was a foggy recollection from childhood. His hand should have been smaller to match hers, as he’d been a boy when this had happened. “We will make the most of this one.”

  “If I disappear, don’t follow me,” she whispered. “I hope you’re wrong about the next life. I want to see you again.”

  “If you disappear, I will find you,” he promised. “There are so many adventures to be had. You’re coming with me. I don’t care what your parents say. We’re leaving this place together.”

  “Promise me you won’t forget everything we talked about, Rick. Get into trouble and don’t let anyone stop you.” Sprout’s thin shoulders shook before she lifted her chin in resolve. She tossed the uploader over the side of the cliff and watched the expensive piece of equipment crash. “When I’m gone, you have to do all the adventures. Don’t forget.”

  “Stop talking like that,” he dismissed.

  “Promise me, you won’t follow,” Sprout insisted.

  “No.” He shook his head. “What is this about?”

  “I have to go.” Sprout took off and sprinted into the trees.

  Rick automatically gave chase. She moved quickly for a girl as if each little leap of her legs propelled her twice as far as it should. He jumped down the incline that led away from the cliff’s edge. He ducked under trees, knowing there was a place he needed to be. If only he could find it.

  “Rick.” Sprout’s voice was strong, commanding his attention.

  He turned toward the sound. Sprout’s dark eyes met his as she stood on a small path that cut through the litter of the forest floor.

  “Promise.”

  He nodded once. He tried to speak, but the shot from a blaster cut off his words. He knew what was coming, and he tried not to see it. When he turned his back, it was only to find her still standing before him. There was no escaping. Sprout’s eyes widened, and she grabbed her neck. Blood filled the nooks between her closed fingers, pooling before spilling over in a stream.

  “How can you sleep at a time like this?”

  Sprout’s lips didn’t move. She started to fall.

  “Rick.”

  He gasped and jerked upright in his pilot’s chair in the cockpit.

  “Seriously, that must have been some dream,” Violette said.

  “It was,” Rick began to explain, still foggy-brained and trying to capture the details before they faded back into dreamland. “I was—”

  “Nope. No. Not a chance,” Violette cut him off. “You were making strange little moaning noises. I don’t want to hear about how some Galaxy Playmate was stroking your ego.”

  “It wasn’t a Galaxy—”

  “Seriously, no. Don’t care. Don’t want that image in my head.” Violette went to the console and began checking the course he’d charted.

  He shook off the sickening feeling he’d woken up with and forced a playfulness to his tone that he did not feel. “Don’t trust me?”

  “No, I trust you, mostly,” Violette answered. When she’d finished checking his route, she hummed thoughtfully.

  “What?” He pushed up from the chair to look at what she’d found.

  “Nothing. It’s perfect,” Violette said.

  “Just like me,” he answered, winking.

  “Ugh, save it for your current fling. I think she’s waiting for you in your quarters.” Violette shooed him away. “Go sleep in a bed. I’ll take the night shift.”

  “Don’t mess with the controls,” he ordered. “I have them how I like it. And don’t reroute any power without checking with me first. You nearly fried the spare board.”

  “What spare board?” Violette asked.

  “The one I put on to keep you from diverting power from my room.” Rick laughed as she leaned over to look beneath the console. “You’ll never find it.”

  “You might want to stop Harper before she starts snooping in your drawers,” Violette returned. “I shudder to think about what she might find.”

  Rick held up a finger to retort, but then muttered, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  He made a show of hurrying from the cockpit just to make Violette laugh at him. When he entered the corridor, he kept jogging, wanting to see Harper.

  As Violette said, she was standing in his room waiting for him, the door opened. He slid into the frame, grinning. “Greetings, love. How was your meeting with the ladies? Did you talk about me?”

  Harper’s lip twitched up at the corner. “Yes. We did.”

  “Did you tell them how good of a lover I am?” he asked. “I’d understand if you’d want to brag about that but be sensitive to the other guys. We don’t want them to feel bad about themselves.”

  Her smile widened. Damn this woman was beautiful. He felt drawn to her, an invisible wire that plugged him into her. The upcoming insanity hung over the ship, but that was nothing new. They’d faced dangerous missions before—albeit not one as crazy as taking on an entire planet of biotech to save hundreds. That part was new.

  “Your sexual prowess didn’t come up,” she confessed, “but they told me you were charming with the ladies and not to get attached to you.”

  “Well, too late for that, obviously you’re attached.” He lifted his arms to the side, letting her look her fill. “Once you’ve had Rick, you don’t want anything else. It is the burden of my life that I must carry.”

  “Your modesty is astounding,” she teased.

  “You have no idea.” He stepped inside, waving his hand over the sensor to shut the door. He pulled at his shirt, tossing it aside before putting his hands on his waist. “You want to see what else I have that is astounding?”

  “Your collection of junk.” She went to a shelf where he had placed several items he’d collected throughout his travels. Lifting a metal star, she asked, “What is this stuff?”

  “Twenty-first century Old Earth memorabilia,” he answered. “That is called a badge. Old lawmen used to wear it. At least, in the transmissions they did. The transmissions are called movies. Some are even whole stories. People collect and trade them. We often catch old wave fragments while flying around. If you can get a good one no one has seen before, that’s where the money is.”

  “Huh, you don’t say,” Harper drawled, not looking too impressed. She set the badge down. “Why twenty-first century Earth? What’s so special about it?”

  “Because it’s freaking awesome,” he exclaimed. “Aren’t you curious about the place where most humans started?”

  She ran her finger over the edge of the star, not picking it back up. “I’m more interested in where we’re going and how we’re getting there.”

  “I think you have to understand the mistakes of the past in order to make a better future.” He took her hand in his and tried to lead her toward a viewing screen. “If you’re nice to me, I’ll let you watch one.”

  Harper crossed over to him. “So if I’m mean to you, you won’t make me watch them? Promise?”

  “You’re funny,” Rick said. “I promise the action ones are beyond the stars good.”

  “I guess everyone needs a hobby.” She still wasn’t convinced.

  “Let me show you one of the transmissions before you judge. I think you’ll be surprised at how awesome they are. Soon you’ll be begging me to find you more of them to watch.”

  “Doubtful.” Harper grinned and touched the inside of his thigh. “Besides, I already have a new hobby.”

  “Yeah.” His voice lifted an octave as she glided her hand upward. He cleared his throat. “That’s a pretty good hobby, all right.”

  “I thought you might like that.”

  Rick studied her for a few seconds before leaning over to sweep her up into his arms. He carried her toward his bed and set her down gently. He climbed over her to lie along her side, their bodies close.

  Rick stroked her cheek, letting his thumb glance along her mouth. “Why did we wait so long to come together?”

  “Who says we’re together?” Harper whispered. The words might have been meant to
keep distance between their emotions, but the way her eyes gazed at him said she wanted more, much more. He leaned forward, brushing his lips along hers in a deep, slow kiss. The passion between them burned. Her hands strayed over his naked chest, up his arm and along his neck. Each glide of her flesh to his made his body erupt in awareness.

  His breathing deepened. He pulled away to peel the clothing from her body. He wanted to touch more, to press close and feel her warm skin and eager heartbeat. He wanted to hold her against his chest and keep her there.

  Rick had been with women, lots of women, more than he could count. The universes were vast, and he had explored them greatly and with enthusiasm. None of that mattered. All the others paled to this moment, mere blips on a radar screen that would fade into nothingness. Never, in all his lifetime, could he remember such a strong pull toward another person. Never had he been so sure of what he felt.

  When he finished gently undressing her, he pushed roughly out of his pants and threw them from the bed. Her eyes met his, and that adorable half-smile beckoned him to resume kissing her. She felt the wire between them. She had to. They were two circuit boards in the same system.

  Why was he thinking in electronic metaphors? He must be tired. He’d have to work on that before he told her how he felt.

  He kissed her briefly, unable to deny her needs.

  “I love you,” he whispered. The confession rolled out and he was unable to contain it. So much for thinking before he spoke. All the same, he didn’t want to take it back.

  Her hand instantly left his shoulder and pulled back as she moved to touch her inner thigh.

  He leaned away to follow the gesture. “Is something wrong?” The view of her parted legs wasn’t bad, so he remained where he was.

  “Um…” She seemed a little out of sorts as her fingers worked against the smooth flesh of her leg as if searching for something. He’d evidently said I love you too quickly.

  “Allow me.” Rick pushed up from the bed and pulled at the blanket to force her to roll onto her back.

  Harper gave a surprised laugh.

  He moved between her legs. Using his tongue, he licked and kissed her inner thigh before moving to do the same to the opposite leg. “Mm, beautiful.”