“Welcome to my lair.” He swooped a hand forward and guided her to several faux silk pillows in front of a beautifully decorated, low table. Upon closer inspection, a sheet had been draped over a rigid board, low wattage electric candles huddled together and flickered amid small dishes and bowls, and an arrangement of artificial flowers sat at table center. Plastic wine glasses stood empty, ready to be filled while white plates awaited food with a plastic knife and fork nearby. But the lighting did wonders and made the scene appear elegant and magical.
“Well, well, well. You outdid yourself.” She eased onto a pillow aware of the soft fabric compared to the captain’s hard chair. “Ahhh, this feels wonderful after my recent long shift in the Captain’s Seat of Torture.”
He grinned at her response. “You could rent my pillows from me.”
“I’d be afraid the price would be too high.” She shifted in her seat and gave him a provocative smile.
He chuckled. “Wine or liquor? These are special vintages from my lab.” He held up two bottles. “Both were brewed there, according to secret recipes I have pledged never to reveal upon pain of death.”
“The wine will be fine.”
“Wine it is.” He tilted a bottle of the red liquid into her upheld glass, poured one for himself, and set both bottles aside. Lowering himself gracefully, he slid in next to her on a nearby pillow. With a lift of his glass, he said, “To us.”
With a small grin, she clicked his glass with hers and said, “To us.”
He uncovered a small bowl of Thai chicken with lots of tofu, cabbage and spices in the mix, creating a wonderful aroma that swirled around her.
“You picked one of my favorite dishes.” She leaned in and scooped the concoction onto her plate.
“Why imagine that.” He stared at the food as if the thought was a big surprise. She knew better. John was not only an amazing doctor but also a good cook who knew what she liked.
“There’s quite a lot.”
“I saved up rations just for the occasion, and a lot of it is tofu.”
“Still, it’s delicious.”
They ate in quiet, enjoying the peace. At the last sip of the almost palatable wine, she studied him.
It was now or never.
“John, what are you doing?”
“What?” The surprise on his face let her know that he hadn’t expected the question. That was a good sign. “What do you mean?”
“Are you using me because you think I’ll not stand in your way, that I’ll go along with your schemes?”
He turned to her, bewilderment reflected in his eyes. “Whatever are you talking about?”
“Our water supply.”
He blinked. “Aren’t we headed to an asteroid field to refill the tanks?”
“John, there’s hormones in our water that could sterilize our whole fleet. Commander Reardon ordered every ship tested. Just about all contained your concoction.”
His eyes widened in what looked like surprise and then narrowed in thought. “I think cutting back our population growth is essential, but I wouldn’t do it without your approval. I thought you understood.”
“Is that what this dinner is about? Convincing me to sterilize the fleet?”
He blew out a breath. “Maybe it’s the only way I can be alone with you. Hell, Elise, can’t I just want to have a romantic dinner with you without politics involved?”
She let a short silence hang between them. “I would like to think so, but at the back of my mind, the question nags at me.”
“Okay, look. I did hope to convince you of some sort of sterilization or birth control program, but I didn’t dump hormones into our water supply. You have to believe me.”
“No you didn’t; Amy Wayfair did.”
“Amy!” His face turned thoughtful. “Amy’s husband is connected with that LOST organization. They’ve been making a lot of noise lately.”
“Who runs it?”
“Heck if I know. They wanted me to join, but I told them I was busy and not interested. They use violence and threaten people to get what they want.” His face twisted into a devilish grin. “I’m sneakier than that.”
“Too true.”
“Read me like a data card, huh?”
“I knew you in the past, and I don’t think you’ve changed that much.”
“True, but I missed you. It was selfish of me to manipulate that man to get you out. I’ll admit to that. It was a good move, though. Necessary for the ship.”
“Would you arrange a murder to get me out?”
He jerked back. “I try to save lives, not destroy them. Elise, I thought you knew me better.” He rose angrily from the table, banging plates together and dumping them into the sink.
She sipped her wine. “I had to ask for my own peace of mind.” She placed the glass down. “There’s a lot going on, and I need to some assurance of your loyalty. I believe you, John, but the way things are, I felt compelled to ask.”
He returned and slid back into place. He gave her a long look. “You can count on me. You should know that by now.”
With those words, he convinced her for the moment. His handsome face, his delicious meal, his earnest words, all worked their spell on her.
She felt her skin tingle, the air about her warming as he leaned in toward her face. He brushed her hair off her brow, caressing her cheek tenderly and soon his warm, soft lips were pressing against hers. She accepted the kiss and ran her fingers through his hair. Soon, he was stroking her body and removing her gold rimmed top.
Regardless of her intention to resist, he still had charm and the skill to use it. She closed her eyes, as her entire world became filled with magic at his touch. Stars, it was good to have him here.
Chapter 13
Sucking up Asteroids
She stared at her monitor, eyes glazing, lids drooping. Around her, in the background of her consciousness, she was aware of Tango’s screen displaying an asteroid field, a smaller cluster of screens at Jazz’s station keeping her in communication with all sections of the ship, lights of the bridge blinking …red, yellow, white, green and black, telling her all was functioning properly. At long last, the energy and intensity within the bridge felt comfortable, even relaxing. Aware of everything going on, she still couldn’t get John Luttrell out of her mind. Her thoughts kept returning to the pent up passion they’d both unleashed upon each other. The more she thought about what had happened, the more she considered him …
“Captain, we have our target.” Tango turned to give her a crooked grin. “A group of “C” type asteroids show trapped frozen water.”
Jazz tapped her headset. “Utilities is ready to receive.”
… to be a mistake.
Her thoughts snapped out of the past and back to the present. Straightening up, she studied her screen and spoke into her headset, “Jensen, are all ships on course?”
“Affirmative, Captain. Commander Reardon has coordinated the fleet. We’re next in line for rendezvous with Beta asteroid. The asteroid’s retrieval operation is still pulling water out and mining metals.”
“Jazz, notify storage bay and water systems to receive in fifteen.”
“Roger, Captain.”
“Also, make sure storage has weight-balanced for the incoming material. We’ll need extra metal for ship repair. Tell them to get as much as they can.”
“Roger.” Her comm officer bent to the task.
Elise’s eyes flicked to her astrogator. “Have you given Tango the exit course?”
Jensen lifted his blond head. “Ages ago.”
Tango raised a hand and waved back-handed without looking up from his screens.
“Good. I don’t want to tangle up with anyone. Forty ships dancing in and out of an asteroid cluster gets tricky at best.”
“Don’t worry, Captain. I’ve got this baby under control.” Tango turned sideways and grinned.
“It’s not you I worry about; it’s the others.” She motioned for him to get back to his screen.
Jensen tapped his panel. “I’m helping him keep track of everyone else out there.”
Pulling headphones out from his dark hair, Tate added, “I’m monitoring external communications. I can hear everything the ships say and will report…”
Nodding, she smiled at him. “Excellent. Please continue monitoring.” Her attention swiveled to her female crewmember. “Jazz, the utilities crew knows to dump our current water before we bring in fresh, don’t they?”
Her comm officer nodded, but her eyebrows contracted. “They aren’t sure why we’re doing that. They say the water’s been filtered, and dumping our current supply will prolong our time over the asteroid.”
“I’m aware. Tell them I said to just do it.”
The bright curls bounced as Jazz acknowledged the order. “Roger, Captain.”
“All right. I’m going to make a ship-wide announcement to update our status.”
She glanced briefly at Trajan. “You have a team in place by utilities? We need that water. I don’t want any disruptions in this operation because some fool group wants attention.”
“We’re ready. I have a team on the perimeter set to go in if any trouble shows up.”
“Good.” She cracked her neck and flexed fingers as she took a breath to begin. She keyed the mic. “Attention. Attention, all sections. We are in the process of receiving water and metals off an asteroid cluster. Do not be alarmed by loud gurgling or grinding noises. This is a routine operation …”
“Shit!” A loud exclamation came from her helm. The ship shifted unexpectedly starboard. Her eyes darted over to see Tate slap the edge of his panel. “Holy Stars! The Explorer almost rammed The Valiant. They’re screaming at each other.”
Jensen turned to look at Elise. “Explorer. That’s Captain Dance’s ship.”
“Something’s happened on their bridge,” babbled Tate. “Captain Dance has grabbed the helm and warned the asteroid operators of a possible collision… I think their helm, Jeff’s his name…”
“Shut up, Tate!” Tango leaned forward, intent on his screen and obviously shaken.
Tate’s words halted abruptly.
“Course change coming at you, Tango.” Jensen’s pale fingers tapped in the course correction.
“Got it.”
“And no one need be alarmed by …” She felt the ship slid sideways again as Tango avoided a collision. “… unusual shifts of the ship or strange noises. Remain calm at all times and secure yourself safely for the duration of this two-hour procedure. Captain out.”
“Tate?”
Her wild-eyed crew member pulled back his headphones. “The Explorer was waiting in line at D asteroid and got too close. Something happened on the bridge, and Captain Dance had to grab the helm to avoid a collision. They’re saying his helm fainted. As it was, The Explorer got too close to the asteroid and hit a piece of equipment, but no one on the asteroid was killed. One guy got injured due to a loose funnel, but everything appears to be under control now. Captain Dance just notified the Commander that The Explorer is back on course, and he’s got the helm.”
She sat upright in her captain’s chair. “Charles! That doesn’t sound like a bridge he would run. I hope they’re all right over there.”
“Maybe the other ship didn’t get away fast enough, or Jeff wasn’t paying attention. Fainting doesn’t sound like him…” Tate held up a hand. “They’re saying he passed out and bumped the ship’s instruments. Dance had to jump in and take control.”
“Thank you, Tate. Tango, are we clear of any, er, involvement?”
Before he could respond, Jensen said, “We’re clear now. Commander Reardon just gave the go-ahead to resume the original schedule. Thank the stars, they weren't closer to any other ships. So far, The Valiant is away and undamaged. The Explorer is now safe over asteroid D and taking on material.” He gusted out a breath.
She nodded as she received the same information through her comm from Reardon on The New World.
“We’re coming in to B asteroid, Captain. I’ll be overhead in ten.” Tango wiped sweat from his brow.
“Okay. All ready on the bridge. Jazz, notify ship operations. Let’s make this smooth, folks. I’ve had enough excitement on this shift already. Tate, if you find out more details of what happened, let me know later.”
Her ship hovered above the squat rock-cruncher as it scooped up material, sifted out metals and minerals, and pumped the remaining product to the starboard side of the ship through flexible funnels. A second contraption dowsed for water trapped as ice in the rock. It dug up rock, heated it to above freezing, and squeezed out any water, siphoning it up through a tube into the ship’s port hold.
Both ship and asteroid traveled at breath-taking speeds, along with nearly fifty asteroids and thirty-nine other ships, making it a risky operation at best.
Outside on their asteroid, small suited figures adjusted controls and kept the machines pumping smoothly while The New Found Hope loomed overhead, sucking up all the useable resources it found.
Ten asteroids carried the bulky equipment while forty ships danced over and around them like delicate hummingbirds sipping up nectar. As each asteroid gave up its treasure, grapples grabbed the equipment and attached it to the next ship to repeat the process until all ships were satiated.
After a grueling two hours, Tate announced, “Operations reports that we’ve reached capacity.”
Jazz looked at Trajan. “Kane said they had some trouble.”
Her guard nodded.
Elise wanted her ship clear of the asteroid before she addressed internal problems. “Take us away as soon as it’s safe, Tango.”
“We’re clear and on our way, Captain,” Jensen informed her not a heartbeat later.
She turned to Trajan. “Now, tell me what happened.”
Chapter 14
A Spy’s Job
Feeling the ship slide sideways, Jacob stumbled and almost lost his footing. Loud crashes filled his ears, making it hard to hear.
“…do not be alarmed by …”
“What’s the captain saying, Jennie?”
“She says don’t be scared.”
“I’m not …” He jumped around as a loud gurgle sounded nearby.
“…Remain calm…” The Captain’s voice sounded nervous as far as he was concerned.
“How can we remain calm with all this clatter going on and the ship tossing about?” Jacob sat down on the hard floor, squirming to find a more comfortable position. The ship swayed again. He glanced around with wide eyes and reached for a hold.
Jennie placed a container on the floor between them and brushed back honey-brown hair. “The captain already explained that we are going to take on water and minerals this shift. So just relax and eat this potato I baked.”
“Mom will be scared.”
“Yes, but she’ll be fine. She’s done this before. Besides, we have a job. Trajan put us on perimeter alert for any suspicious activity near the utility bay.”
“Being this close gives me a headache.” Jacob took a piece of warm potato and added a square of soy cheese. It tasted good. He chewed slowly. A loud clank made him wince. He looked around to determine where the noise came from.
“Consider how well this job will pay.” Jennie popped a piece of potato into her mouth. “We negotiated a good package.”
“… secure yourself safely for the duration of this approximately two-hour procedure. Captain out.”
Jacob cocked his head to one side. “They sure sound busy up there on the bridge. Wonder what’s happening. You think we’ll be all right? Those asteroids looked awful close together.”
“From a distance, they look close together, but they’re really not. Trajan says she’s an excellent captain. Stop worrying.”
“She’s a female.”
“Even better.”
“Somehow I figured you’d see it that way.” Jacob eyed her, noticing her trim shape…which was nothing special, he quickly told himself.
�
�Quit staring at me.”
“Get real.” He nibbled at the potato. “My Da’s getting suspicious of the stuff I’m bringing home. I need to stash some of it at your place. I walked in on him digging under my pallet the other shift. He almost found the new knife.”
The ship changed vectors. He felt a slight pressure in his ears and a jostle that made him instinctively brace a hand against the wall.
“No problem. My parents trust me.”
“Yeah, well, that’s their mistake.”
She glared at him, hands on hips. “Jacob Monroe, sometimes you’re a real jerk.”
“I know.” He shot her a grin.
Nearby a tremendous racket started up. Water started flowing through nearby pipes.
“Sounds like they’ve started to pump.”
“You think, Captain Obvious?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Time to check the outside corridor.” As the noise increased, she put her hands over her ears.
As he rose, the toss of the ship caused him to grab handholds and lean on pieces of equipment to get to the door. Scanning the corridor, he saw the four guards still standing at their designated stations. All appeared calm, except for the crunching of rock, the banging of pipes, and the swaying of the ship when you least expected it.
“I’ll go deaf,” he complained as he returned to the equipment room where they hid.
“Get used to it. We have at least two more hours before they’re done. Here I brought this in case it got noisy. Wad these socks up and tie them against your ears.” She threw him a pair of black socks and a black sash.
He caught them, wrinkling his nose. “They stink.”
“What? Sorry, can’t hear you,” she said as she wrapped up her own head in a faded pink combination of socks. A wide grin accompanied her reply.
He grunted. She could be a pain sometimes, too.
Another bump by the ship, but he kept his balance this time. He covered each ear with a sock and wrapped the sash around his head.
“You look funny,” she giggled.
“What? Can’t hear you.” The socks muffled the noise just enough. He peered out again, noting the hallway remained in order. Time to check the back way. He gestured for her to follow him into a restricted maintenance channel that led to the water system. Overhead duct work jumped and clattered. They walked hunched over, dodging equipment, water channels, heat pipes, and the electrical conduits that all formed the sinews of the ship.
A World Too Far (Terran Trilogy Book 1) Page 6