They both stared at it for a moment before he cleared his throat and led the way out of the room; "Onward! There's a whole other deck!"
The lower deck had a larger hold than the Clever Dream, and she could see where a couple fighters were installed to act like turrets until they launched. It was a solid improvement over the pair of turrets and automated weapons she had aboard the Clever Dreams' underside. The hold had a few of the bots within, but then she noticed one that looked a little different. "What's this?"
"Oh, that's the militarized android that Elise built. It has an upgraded artificial intelligence, all the materials are to Haven Fleet standard, and there are a few surprises built in. It can follow us in that crazy heavy armour we put on."
"It can fly?"
"Yeah, some antigravity tech along with barrier thrusters, not quite the same as our armour, because there isn't much need to protect from g-forces."
"It is a superior security android design. Military class with an obedient but advanced artificial intelligence with all the limitations set to conform to Fleet Security standards. I have three," Elise added proudly.
"And why didn't you activate them when the pirates tried to drill through your shields?" Noah asked.
"I didn't see the need. If the situation was more urgent I would have used them, but I had plenty of time to consult with you first."
"Give them a trial run next time, okay? If you're unsure, use non-lethal measures first."
"Oh, I'll install some. Right now, they're using an FDH-3 module as their primary offensive weapon. It's adjustable."
"It's a starfighter cannon," Alice snickered. "I can't even see where you put it in."
"It's hidden. The modules run off the micro-fusion power plant and use concealed hand emitters. Do you want me to remove them?"
"No, you just need to add more flexibility to these guys. I mean, blowing people in half makes a statement, but it's not the one we want to make all the time, not on this mission at least," Noah said, wide-eyed but amused.
"I'll add a non-lethal option or two, my boys are a work in progress," Elise said.
"Consult with Lewis and Theo, they'll probably have some good suggestions," Alice said. It was fun watching a highly intelligent but new artificial intelligence learn, Lewis had mostly outgrown that phase.
"And I'm afraid that's the tour, unless you want to take a walk on the hull," Noah said, raising his arms like a showman.
Alice could feel his nervousness like a storm rolling through her head, and she tried not to wince. With the tour over, but hours ahead of them to relax on the ship together, alone, he was nearly overcome with uncertainty.
"I know," Noah sighed. "There really isn't much difference between this and the Clever Dream, which is a more interesting ship on the inside." He paused a moment. "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm just having trouble," Alice replied. "It's not painful or anything, there's nothing you can do, it's just… I wish I could only be aware of my feelings."
"What's going on in there?" Noah asked, taking her hand and turning to face her. "Or in here?" he pointed at his own temple.
"Nervous," Alice responded. "You're nervous because we haven't been alone together like this."
"All that?" he asked. "The feels and the why's of it too?"
"No, just the feelings, I guess the rest is an assumption," she admitted.
"What if I'm nervous about what you think of my ship?" he asked, his voice growing quieter. "I mean, it's not just my pride on the line, here, there's Elise too."
Alice laughed a little and shook her head. The wave of nervousness from him was beginning to recede, there was affection beneath, it felt good, but it was still almost too much. Blushing, shaking a little as she looked up at him, Noah had confidence that she faintly remembered having herself in a different life as his lips turned up into a little smile. "It's a great ship," she said. "That's not why you're nervous, I bet. There's such a mix of things going on in you, it's not confusing, though. Everything goes together, even the nervousness."
"You're an amazing, complicated woman," Noah said. "Of course I'm a little anxious, but are you sure that's all coming from me? I don't know much about what's going on in there," he caressed her cheek lightly. "But I know I wasn't so nervous that I looked like I was about to fall over. You're blushing, I'm not, and I know I can turn red sometimes, trust me."
"Maybe I'm feeling both of us," she said, the explanation resounding through her thoughts.
Laying a hand on the chest of his dark vacsuit, something she did unconsciously, she became aware of how good it looked on him. He spoke to her softly, blue eyes peering into hers. "Could there be some way to tell the difference between feelings I'm having and your own? Excitement can't feel exactly the same from one person to the next. Maybe it's like when someone describes something to two different people and they try to draw it, but the drawings come out looking different."
"Perception. Interpretation. Nuance," Alice whispered, investigating the wave moving through her mind, and then she found it. There was a sense, an underlying tone under everything he was exuding that marked emotions as his and his alone. There was that confidence again, a little nervousness, sure, but so much more affection. "I can feel…" she grinned, blushing deeply, "…you. It's like knowing your name, but so much more. I feel better, I feel…" Nervous! She was so nervous about everything going on! His fingertips gently tracing the edge of her jaw, how they were standing so close, how she hoped they could meet the expectations she had, what might happen, and most of all; whether seeing her go through all this would make him think she was a freak. There was a deeper cause for the anxiety, though, and it was what made her blush; the growing passion she had for him. Their emotions were separated in her mind, and that breakthrough, having it right when she really needed it to happen made her so happy that she hopped on her heels a little. "I know now, what's mine and yours."
"You feel better?" he asked, his head lowering, lips drawing closer.
"So much…" they connected, lip to lip. A thousand butterflies in her stomach dissipated as they started slowly. When his hands lowered to her waist, feeling big but light as they rested there, she invited him to stay and start a warm, enthusiastic lip-lock. Her hands drifted up from his chest to his shoulders, feeling their way to the back of his neck, then up the stubble on the back of his head. As she ran her fingers down his scalp Alice realized he liked that, and she made that the playground for her digits while their kiss continued, warm amorous sensations rising in them both.
A squeak against the deck behind him drew her attention, and she opened her lids a crack in time to see the custom security bot frozen in a sneaking position behind Noah, looking at her. She could swear it looked worried, unhappy that it made any noise at all, and she snickered.
Noah straightened, looked at her, then behind him. The android waved, then resumed its sneaking. "I'm controlling that, I'm so sorry," Elise said. "I didn't mean to interrupt but I thought it would be better to add the modifications to the security bots I designed sooner rather than later just in case. I really didn't mean to interrupt, it looked like you were having such a good time."
After a moment of snickering that quickly grew into outright laughter, Noah nodded. "It's okay, I'm surprised we noticed."
"Oh, good, I really didn't want to break that fascinating display up," Elise said.
"Crew lounge?" Alice offered, taking his hand.
"Yeah. Wait, it's full of equipment cases, stuff reserved for whoever joins my crew," he replied.
"Then bedroom," she said, feeling anticipation and anxiety spike in him. "But I want to take it slow, flyboy," she added with a raised eyebrow. "It's not about the destination, but the journey."
Noah nodded, happy about the stipulation.
"Could you clarify that statement at all, Alice?" Elise asked.
Alice ran for the lift, Noah close behind, and he caught her in an embrace when he arrived. "Nope, too distracted, Elise, sorry." They couldn't r
esist resuming their kiss, even though the lift ride was less than ten seconds long.
"Humans. It's amazing you get anything done with all those pheromones wafting around," Elise sighed.
Afterword
Thank you for buying and reading Spinward Fringe Broadcast 13: Warriors, it’s been great having you aboard. The Spinward Fringe series has led me to one of the most satisfying periods in my life, and I’m happy to continue the journey with you.
After the tenth anniversary of the series, an opportunity for improvement came along. Patreon offered a platform where I could serialize new novels as they’re written. That suits this modern age, offering an option for people who don’t want to wait six months to a year for a book to be finished. Subscribers can read two chapters a week, see them months before the Ebook comes out. Thanks to that assured pace of story telling, two Spinward Fringe Ebooks will hit the digital shelves every year for the foreseeable future. The days of one book a year are over.
Spinward Fringe has been my full-time job for eleven years now, and I look forward to writing it now more than I have since the early days. Thank you for embarking on this adventure, I hope to see you again.
* * *
Randolph Lalonde
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www.patreon.com/randolphlalonde
www.randolphlalonde.com
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 13 Page 40