by Greg Mutton
They danced as if they were alone, lost in each other, until Aaron felt a tap on his shoulder — it was his father.
‘Care to trade?’ Jason said as he took Petra’s hand. ‘You can’t expect to hog her all night.’ They swapped partners and Amanda looked at her son as they glided around the floor.
‘She’s incredible, Aaron. Don’t let her get away.’
Aaron smiled as he replied. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about—she’s just one of my crew.’
His mother rolled her eyes. ‘If that’s all, then you’re the dumbest man I’ve ever met,’ she chided.
The orchestra finished and dinner was announced. Everyone moved to the tables set up on the lawn and took their allocated places. The food was excellent — beef, lamb, pork and poultry perfectly roasted over the ancient fire pits under Phillip’s expert guidance, roasted vegetables accompanied the meal. It seemed to Aaron, that the meat tasted better here on Earth than back on Argos, even though the breeds were the same.
President Malik was in his element, circulating, massaging egos and working the crowd. It was at eleven pm that he called for attention and made his presentation to Salina. She was awarded a presidential medal for her service to the environment and her work in the area of marine ecology. At the same time, he announced that she had successfully completed her Doctoral studies and had been awarded her PhD in Marine Biology.
Her acceptance was short and polite, even though she was furious at all the fuss. She did what she did because of her passion for the ocean and the desire to see it fully recover from the ravages of previous human stupidity — not to be publicly celebrated! None of these emotions were evident as she concluded by thanking the President for taking time to present her in person.
Aaron was returning to the assembly, with fresh drinks for Petra, Jeff, Sonia and himself when the comm link activated and the sound of George’s voice entered his head.
It appears that Crompton was correct… the probe found significant Trisidic radiation at the explosion site. By the way, I have been playing with Mr Harpers’ sensor program. I believe it has incredible potential and I suggest you secure the rights to it.
Aaron considered this and replied. Good. Contact Henry and have him start on the contract — I’ll discuss the details with Harper and send them to him later. Send the probes’ data and your analysis to the Yacht’s computer. Also transmit a general alert to all our ships — suggest something about piracy and warn them all to be extra careful. We’ll fill in the gaps when we know what we are dealing with.
Consider it done, wait… you have just received an encoded message from Argos. What do you want done with it?
Relay it to the Yacht, he thought then severed the connection.
Aaron re-joined the others. He handed them their drinks and took Petra’s arm. ‘I have a communication from Grainger; I think I should have a look at it. Will you be OK for half an hour?’
‘More than all right, I’m really enjoying this — you have a great family by the way,’ she smiled, her eyes flashing with happiness. Aaron nodded and walked back toward the house.
Petra watched him leave, wondering what the problem was and thinking on what had transpired in the last couple of days. Amanda approached and touched her arm, ‘penny for your thoughts?’ She asked.
Petra smiled as she replied, ‘just thinking; he’s been estranged for over thirty years and yet it feels like he’s always been here. There’s no disconnect, no defence, nothing I was expecting.’ She sounded perplexed.
Amanda took her arm and guided Petra to a quiet spot. ‘There has never been a single day he wasn’t in our thoughts, and I’ll guarantee he’s felt the same. Sonia told me about the reunion, in the hangar; it was just as I expected and it’s something you need to understand, if you’re to become one of us.’ Amanda quickly silenced Petra’s protest with a wave, ‘stop, and please understand this. Being an Abraham and part of this family is hard, sometimes. We tend to do things our own way; yes they fought and, in the heat of anger, Aaron stormed out. But he’s made his life a success, elsewhere but, and this is the key; he’s always been an Abraham and he can’t ever change that.
When they met in that hangar, the thirty years vanished, they were just two brothers who had had a fight and realised it was time to get over it. I expected nothing less, when they finally met.’
‘But other families, even on Varga, have continued feuds for generations?’ Petra commented.
‘Yes, but they weren’t Abrahams, were they? Now come on, we have a party to enjoy.’ Amanda turned and led her back to the crowd.
***
It only took a couple of minutes for Aaron to reach the hangar and set up in the Yacht, I must give this damn boat a name he thought vaguely as he took a cup of coffee from the dispenser. He sat at the console in his cabin and opened the communication. It took a few minutes to decrypt it and he read it slowly and re-read it, twice. He shook his head wondering where all this would leave Argos and the Freebooter way of life.
Grainger confirmed that he was heading to Earth for the meeting on Tuesday — something Aaron knew he would never do unless the circumstances were dire. As a private citizen, Aaron had the freedom to work with any party he chose and in any capacity, so the events leading up to today were of no real consequence for Freebooters as a whole.
But as a foreign entity, the Prime attending what could only be described as a war council was a different matter — his cover story of a tri-lateral trade meeting between The Coalition, The Empire and Argos was thin.
Aaron sat back in his chair to consider the facts and the implications—he still had significant concerns and doubts. Although the facts did seem to fit, like the pieces of a jigsaw, he was unconvinced that everything was on the table. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming up the ramp. He opened the cabin door and Petra entered.
‘Are you OK?’ she asked. ‘You’ve been gone so long I thought you might be unwell.’
Aaron looked at the time on the console screen, 03.25. He had been sitting here for more than three hours! ‘Sorry, I just lost track of the time,’ he apologised sheepishly.
‘Want to talk it through?’ Petra asked, her face a mask of concern.
‘There’s a lot to discuss, don’t you want to get some sleep?’
‘By the look of you, there will be no sleep until you get it off your chest. Use me as a sounding board, that’s what a first officer is for after all — maybe we can work out whatever is bothering you?’ She brushed a wisp of hair away from his eyes, even with all his doubts and concerns, Petra in that dress was difficult to ignore.
‘OK,’ Aaron relented, ‘but you may regret this.’ He started to recap events to date. An hour later he had brought Petra up to speed with everything that had happened. Finally he slowed down. ‘My main worry is the way it all fits so perfectly, everything is too...’ he was reaching for the right word.
‘Smooth?’ Petra suggested.
‘Yeah! Everything just fits too smoothly, like each piece of information was designed to meld with the previous one and the next one, no gaps, it’s too complete…’ His voice trailed off as he went back into his thoughts.
‘Well, what are you going to do about it?’
Aaron said nothing, busying himself at the console for the next few minutes. Finally he looked back at Petra. ‘There, I’ve sent Grainger a message asking to meet first thing when he arrives, before the others can get to him.’ He sat back waiting for an answer.
‘How long will the reply take?’
Aaron gave a shy smile. ‘About four hours. Maybe we should get some sleep.’ Aaron stood, ‘the cabin across the hall… you can use that if you wish.’ His words said one thing but he desperately wanted another. ‘And there’s a dispenser there… you can get another uniform.’
It was 05.00 and too late to go back to the house… Petra’s heart was racing. Everything Aaron was saying said, ‘walk across the passageway to the other room’, yet every
thing from his actions and demeanour said exactly the opposite. Her voice was soft and shaky as she replied. ‘If that’s what you want...’
Aaron’s response surprised them both. ‘No, it’s not what I bloody well want!’
He took the two steps across the space separating them, scooped her up in his arms and kissed her, passionately… she responded, crushing herself into him. Aaron fumbled with the door, desperate to open it… finally it released and they almost fell through. Still locked in the kiss, they stumbled through the lounge area toward the bedroom. As they entered, Petra pushed Aaron onto the bed.
‘Just stay there and watch.’ Her voice was calm and breathless as she reached behind and began slowly unfastening her dress. She then reached up and slid the delicate gown off her shoulders. It dropped to the floor revealing her almost entirely. All she now wore was a tiny thong, stockings and high heeled shoes.
Aaron reached for her. ‘I thought you looked taller,’ he said huskily. He reached up, cupped her firm breasts and gently tweaked her nipples.
‘Easy, now it’s my turn.’ Petra smiled as she undid his shirt front. She ran her tongue over his bare neck and down to his chest, giving his left nipple a gentle nip. Aaron groaned as she slipped his trousers off, exposing him. Aaron reached down and removed the flimsy thong that separated him from his prize.
Gently, at first he began to tease, his fingers barely touching her. Petra’s moans told him he was doing what she wanted. She took a firm grip on his manhood and began to stroke him. Her kiss was demanding, almost as if she wanted to devour him; it was too much for them both. Aaron pushed her to the bed, lifted her legs and entered her in one swift thrust.
There was no finesse; they were both too desperate, the tension of the past few days driving their passion beyond comprehension. Their hips thrust in unison, building in tempo, their cries and grunts of pleasure filling the room. Finally, their lust temporarily sated and their bodies exhausted, they fell asleep.
Aaron stirred, glancing at the clock — 09:25 — four and a half hours since they went to bed. He gently rolled over and there beside him was Petra, still sleeping. She was on her left side, facing him. The sheet was mostly off her and he marvelled at the beauty beside him. Her red hair was tousled and covering half her face — he gently moved it aside to see her better. His gaze flowed down her body, across her firm breasts, memories of earlier this morning flooding back. Down further, over her firm round belly till his view was blocked by the sheet, gently draped across her hips.
‘Do you approve?’
His voyeuristic pastime was dashed. ‘Yes, I could never tire of this.’ His eyes returned to her face, those green eyes challenging him. Words left him, his mind went blank and he stuttered something incomprehensible.
‘Aaron, stop!’ Petra placed her hand on his mouth and she slithered closer to him. Their lips met.
‘Petra… I’ve got to say this while I can. The night we met, I felt something I have never felt before, and it scared me. Now I understand why I’ve been so dumb lately. I think I’m falling in love with you.’ Aaron stopped, not knowing what he should say next.
‘Only think? I know how I feel, Aaron Abraham!’ As the words hit his ears, Petra sprang on top of him, pinning him to the bed. She bent lower, her breasts brushing his chest, tantalising him. ‘I knew the moment you sat down… I didn’t understand it, but I knew my life had suddenly changed.’
She crushed against him as they kissed again, this time Aaron rolled her onto her back, their lips still locked. He broke free and started kissing her neck, down her throat, across each breasts, teasing her nipples and lower — down over her belly, past her navel till he reached the velvety folds of her pleasure zone.
‘Yes, yes’ Petra moaned, the sensations driving her crazy, her back arched and her thighs clamped his head where she wanted it. Aaron’s tongue was teasing, tantalising almost cruel in the way he worked. Long strokes; quick flicks over the nub of her clitoris; every time he changed an intense shockwave of pleasure slammed through her body. She was pulling his hair but not letting his tongue leave the spot.
Suddenly, she released her thigh lock, pulled him up by his hair until he was positioned above her; her legs wrapped around him and she guided him into her, thrusting her hips upward to greet him.
‘I want you in me now!’ Petra demanded.
Finally, an hour later, with both of their needs satisfied, they lay snuggled in a loving embrace. Petra propped up on her right elbow. ‘Well, Captain, what do we do now?’
Aaron looked at her intently. ‘I don’t know about you, but I think I need a shower before we go to brunch.’ The clock read 10:30 as Aaron headed to the console while Petra started the shower. The reply from Grainger confirmed the meeting for Monday at 15:30, just after his expected arrival. Aaron was relieved and shut the screen down and headed for the bathroom. He found Petra standing under the shower, water streaming off her body. He quickly joined her, wrapped his arms around her, kissing the back of her neck, his hands quickly finding her breasts. ‘What are you going to tell my mother, now that you’ve had your wicked way with me?’ he joked.
‘Wicked way? Believe me, when I’ve had my wicked way with you, you won’t be this energetic.’
‘Ha! Sounds like a challenge… I just hope I’m up to it! In the mean-time, we need to get up to the house; brunch will be served in about ten minutes… and you can do the explaining!’ Aaron quickly washed, they dried together under the air blower and had started to dress dressing when a call from the house came through; evidently their absence had been noted. With a feeble excuse of some urgent trade problem they quickly finished dressing and raced back to the pod. A few minutes later, they walked onto the rear terrace where everyone was sitting for brunch.
‘Everything OK?’ Jeff asked as they sat.
‘Yes, just a small issue to sort out… you know how it is,’ Aaron replied to his brother.
‘I certainly do,’ Jeff smiled and gave his brother a wink, while he busied himself bringing the coffee pot to the table.
Amanda and Jason were seated opposite Aaron and Petra. Amanda leant forward and asked Petra, ‘Did you enjoy last night, my dear? You seem to be in very good spirits this morning,’ a knowing smile crossing her face.
‘Yes, thank you. I had a wonderful time.’
‘I’m so glad. Sometimes these things can be such a drag.’
Aaron stood and moved away from the table, an itch behind his left ear signalling that there was a comm from the ship. The voice of George, the ship’s brain echoed in his head.
You have been summoned to a meeting by the Eldorans. Simple and matter of fact, but George’s message was anything but clear.
‘What do you mean, summoned?’ Aaron questioned aloud.
They have demanded a meeting, urgently. To get there you will need to leave now! George responded.
‘Did they give any clues as to what they wanted?’ Aaron was intrigued. The Eldorans had never demanded before; requested, asked politely yes, but never demanded. He also knew that George would not exaggerate — if he said demand that is what was communicated.
No, just demanded and stressed extreme urgency.
‘Can we use the yacht?’ Aaron enquired.
Yes, and I can transfer to my post there if required, George suggested.
‘No, just program the coordinates and file an exit request — we’ll go from here.’ He paused for a moment and walked out of earshot of the others. ‘Another thing, transfer all the data from the trip here, I want to have another look at what happened.’ Aaron stopped speaking and the rest of the conversation and continued subliminally. He walked back to the others and motioned Jeff to join him.
‘I’ve to go to a meeting… urgent thing… but before I go, can we have a couple of minutes?’ he asked his brother.
‘Sure…let’s go to the study.’
Aaron beckoned Petra to him. ‘Can you prep the Yacht for immediate take off? She nodded and turned to leave the room, sa
ying farewell to all at the table.
Aaron joined his brother as they headed to his office. Once in there, he closed the door and began. ‘Jeff, I have some concerns with what has happened; it all seems to fit too well. What’s your take on it all?’
Jeff considered his answer. ‘I must admit I have some concerns as well —especially with Crompton being involved — but it all seems logical.’
‘Yes, too logical,’ Aaron mused. ‘Let me tell you what my concerns are.’ Over the next ten minutes he gave Jeff an abridged version. He finished with ‘and now I have been summoned to a meeting with the Eldorans. They never summon, so that only increases my apprehension.’
Jeff shook his head. ‘I can see what you’re getting at… from the Freebooter perspective… but consider the Coalition. If the rebel conspiracy which Crompton suspects happens, we could be facing a reduction in members, at best. At worst, it could be the end of the Coalition, which would be disastrous for most of the colonies. Remember, most rely on the Coalition for support, trade and protection. If it fails, then they will be easy targets for any opportunistic force that emerges from the rubble.’
Aaron thought on this and finally spoke. ‘I think we need more information. Can you look into things while I’m gone? We can then discuss it when I return.’
‘All right, I’ll do some digging. When will you be back?’
‘Should be around three pm tomorrow. The Eldorans have chosen a meeting place very close — something they’ve also never done before. It all just keeps getting more intriguing.’ Aaron stood and held out his hand which Jeff took and shook firmly. ‘Some home coming.’
Jeff laughed. ‘As I remember, you always were a magnet for drama.’ Aaron left the room and went to the pod.
The Yacht was prepped and ready when Aaron arrived. The flight plan had been approved and Petra was already sitting in the pilots’ chair, a wicker hamper sitting beside her. She gave a quirky grin. ‘Your mother insisted.’
‘Good! Let’s get under way,’ Aaron said as he sat in the second chair, picked up the hamper and examined the contents. ‘Sure can’t beat home cooked food.’
