AwayTeam

by Mark Alders

  Both groaned, a tangle of legs and roving hands. Emerson stayed within Ely, letting himself go flaccid before he withdrew. Ely couldn't think of anything in his life that had been more perfect. Emerson Sonfield completed him. A man he wouldn't have normally given the time of day to, was now proving beyond any doubt, that he was the best thing in Ely's life. He was glad he had caught Emerson checking out Kale the other day, otherwise he would have never experienced such a sense of completion with someone as wonderful as him. Sure, Ely said the wrong thing at their first attempt at being intimate, but in the end, that made what they did together now all that much sweeter.

  Emerson was a man who shared everything with Ely on the deepest level, so much more than any other guy he had been with before. If Ely didn't know any better, he'd say he was falling for Emerson.

  After Emerson had cleaned up their new toy and the mess they had made, he snuggled up to Ely, coming under the bedclothes to embrace him. Both were still naked, deciding to sleep in the buff from now on. "Now you know what I experience when I have someone I feel for inside me. It's wonderful, isn't it?"

  Ely pecked him on his lips and cheek. "I really can't describe--hey, did you say you feel for me?"

  "Sure did. I've always had my eye on you, Ely. You're so handsome and--well, you do it for me. Simple as that."

  Ely knew he had to be careful here. It was plain the Emerson was fishing for Ely's thoughts, wanted to be told how handsome and magnificent he was, too. But Ely didn't want to suffer from foot in mouth disease again, not when they had come so far together since he had found out that Emerson had forgiven him.

  He couldn't say that Emerson wasn't the sort of guy he was attracted to, not at first, anyway. The man's feeling would be hurt. And that was understandable. But Ely couldn't lie either.

  Instead, Ely decided to divert the conversation in a subtle way. "You could have said a long time ago that you were attracted to me."

  "I was scared." Emerson planted more tender kisses all over Ely. Their lips meeting, followed by the chasing of their tongues.

  "You? Scared? What for?"

  Emerson came to rest on his elbow, scrunching up the pillow, staring down at Ely with a sultry expression. The want in his eyes clear. "And if you had rejected me, what then?"

  Again Ely had to think before he spoke. "Let's not worry about the past. We have our future to look forward to. And I have to say, it's looking pretty damn bright, to me."

  Emerson smiled. "You're so sweet."

  "Now, kiss me again. I want your taste to linger on my lips as I drift off to sleep in your arms."

  Emerson shuffled down so that he was able to hold Ely tight, planting those lips onto him at the same time. After a long moment of being locked in their passion once more, Ely and Emerson parted. He smiled at Emerson before shutting his eyelids. Then a warm and wonderful silence filled the cabin. Ely drifted off, the sound of his lover breathing, the tickle, his touch, all that he remembered.

  Commander Okinawa woke them from their slumber. When they had showered, changed and grabbed a bite to eat, Ely led Emerson out of their cabin. The commander was standing at the briefing table in the cockpit.

  "Ah, there you are," he began, without looking up from his study, a holopic floating above the table, generated from the portable comm panel the commander had brought on board. "We have a clearer image of the alien object. Would you like to take a moment to study it before you both begin your duties?"

  "Sure would, sir," Emerson said, coming so he was next to the man. Ely joined them, too.

  From what he could tell, the snowball with the dark patches he had seen in earlier pictures wasn't that at all. It was an eight pointed star-shaped object, as bright as anything Ely had seen that was artificial in nature. Did the thing radiate light, too? No wonder they had been able to see it from so far away. Then again, it was huge.

  "Wow," was all Ely could say.

  "There's also something else." Commander Okinawa pointed to what Ely could only imagine were other objects orbiting the alien entity. Objects that seemed tiny in comparison, specks of dust against a behemoth. "Right there. And there. I've counted at least a dozen."

  "What are they?" Ely asked, forgetting protocol for a moment. "Sir."

  Commander Okinawa smiled. "We don't know just yet. We're still too far away. Which reminds me, Cadet Emerson, Cadet Ely, you'll have to take over piloting duties while I give the others their rest rotation. I will be resting, too, as the computer has worked out we'll be arriving at the alien object within the next six to eight hours. I want all of us to be ready. Clear?"

  Ely and Emerson saluted. "Yes, sir." They chimed in unison.

  "If anything happens, anything at all, come and get me. Understood?"

  Again both Ely and Emerson replied in the traditional military way. Emerson had already gone over to relieve Kale, a short conversation between them. Sure, Ely was on an away mission, but because of their longer stay away from the Mandrake than expected, he hadn't seen much of Braden and Kale. He missed them, in a funny sort of way.

  Hours passed. Ely and Emerson worked in silence, concentrating on the task at hand, making sure the shuttle stayed true on her path. When a routine had been established, and the controls in front of Ely didn't look so foreign any more, he leaned over to Emerson. The first thought that popped into his head, he used to ignite the conversation. "So…what did Kale have to say, anything interesting?"

  Emerson smiled. "It's been sort of weird being on six hour, alternate rotations, hasn't it? Especially with only five of us on board."

  Ely nodded. "I was only thinking myself not that long ago."

  "That is scary."

  "It is?" Ely placed his hand onto Emerson's. "Why's that?"

  "Because we're thinking like each other now, that's why?" But Emerson laughed with his words. "But if you really want to know, Kale said that we both looked awesome together. He's glad we sorted out our differences."

  Now it was Ely's turn to smile. "I agree. We are awesome together--and dare I say it, I really do think--" he cut himself short. Should he tell Emerson about his feelings so soon? What if his response was laughter? Ely swallowed hard, and added, "I mean, I…I think I--"

  "You what?" Emerson gave Ely his full attention, turning so he could look him straight in his eyes. That sparkle was there. That wonderful, sexy sparkle. To Ely that was a positive sign.

  "I…well….oh, never mind. I'll tell you later, when we're not so deep in work."

  Emerson brought his other hand over to Ely's. "It's obviously important what you have to say, you're getting yourself all worked up. Now, just relax and tell me. I won't bite."

  Ely's smile quivered until he was smiling no more. He looked deep into Emerson's eyes, as well. It was now or never. "I think…I think I've fallen for you, Sonny."

  A sigh of relief, even though not physically apparent, seemed to overwhelm Emerson. He squeezed Ely's hand, one that reassured him. "Do you mean you love me? Is that it, Ely?"

  Ely nodded, licked his parched lips, and said with as much honesty as he could muster. "Yes."

  Emerson's smile widened. "Then say it. Say you love me if that's how you feel. Doesn't help to bottle things up."

  Before Ely could utter the words, speak his true feelings, a klaxon sounded. Emerson pulled his hands away from Ely's. Both now concentrated on the control panels in front of them.

  Ely's station was all green. It was Emerson's that had a red indicator on it, the reason for the alarm.

  "Shit, what is it, Sonny?"

  There was a moment of silence, frantic hands across the control panel as Emerson's brow creased and his eyes widened. More lights flicked to red. Then, more and more.

  Again Ely asked, "What's up. What's gone wrong?" This time concern laced his voice and he couldn't help but think of the worst. Was the shuttle coming out of the energy field, unable to stay in the wake any longer? Or had it accelerated until it was too close to the Mandrake's engine flutes? Ely wasn't sure, not by
looking at the readouts in front of Emerson.

  When Emerson did speak, he said, "Hail Commander Okinawa. We've arrived. And we're slipping out of the energy field…the thing has changed in harmonics somehow…wait…yes, we're free. But the Mandrake isn't. Let me get up a view."

  Ely wanted to do two things at once. Do as Emerson had asked and also see for himself what the alien device looked like now that they had arrived. A few hours earlier than projected, Ely noted.

  He decided to hail the commander.

  The man looked tired and still half-asleep. "We've arrived at our destination, sir," Ely began. "And we're clear of the energy field. But…well, we can't explain it, but it seems that something's happened because the Mandrake is still surrounded by the field and we're not."

  Ely glanced at the holo-vid screen that had materialised above Emerson's workstation. It was true. The blue, electric energy still surrounded the starship. Although, not as intense as it had been before when it served the purpose of folding space. But what was its purpose now?

  Emerson interjected, "We can't get to the shuttle bay. The energy field is preventing me from getting near the Mandrake." He spoke all of that while not looking up from his study, busy trying to turn the red lights green. Slowly but surely they did. That was something, at least.

  Commander Okinawa rubbed his eyes. "I'll be there as soon as possible. Can you hail cadets, Braden and Kale, too? I do believe it's time we earned our keep as we try and figure this all out."

  "Wait, sir," Emerson burst out. "I believe I know why the field is still surrounding the Mandrake. To me…I mean, according to the readings, it looks like it's now a holding field. See."

  Ely glanced at the screen once more. "Oh my God!"

  Emerson continued, his voice filled with concern, "Those objects we thought were orbiting the alien device, they're ours, sir."

  The alien device was indeed massive, the thing a strange star-shaped object that reflected the distant sunlight to perfection. The metal it was made from super shiny. It had weird markings all over it, too, and if Ely didn't know any better, a large hangar toward the centre. But what Emerson had said caught his attention even more. He could now make out the orbiting objects, understand Emerson's concern. "There's the starship Fooshue," Ely blurted. "And there's the Aristotle. Hang on, wait a minute, aren't all those others the planetary defence satellites we had in orbit around Jupiter and Saturn?"

  "They sure are." Emerson said.

  Commander Okinawa turned off his screen. Seemed he was on his way. Ely hailed Braden and Kale.

  The alien device had captured all of the military's defences for the outer solar system, an action that had netted it three starships. What was the alien devices' purpose? Was it aggressive as Braden had suggested? Or was it just gathering information? Assessing whether or not humanity was worth making contact with. Ely swallowed hard. Seemed to him like things were going to get interesting from here on in.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When Commander Okinawa, Braden and Kale were in the cockpit, Ely and Emerson stood to attention. There was no need to have a pilot stationed at the controls. The shuttle wasn't flying anywhere, now stationary next to the Mandrake.

  "Are you positive we can't go into the shuttle bay, Cadet Emerson?" Commander Okinawa asked once he clicked on his portable comm panel and placed it onto the briefing table.

  A schematic of the Mandrake came into view. Emerson studied the diagram for a moment before he replied, "No, sir, I'm not. I mean, we can go back, I don't see why not…but at the same time, we may not be able to get out."

  "That's fine by me. Cadet Kale, set a course for the shuttle bay."

  Kale saluted, heading for the pilot's chair. Before he got there, Emerson coughed politely into his hand, and added, "If I may suggest something I think you should know, sir."

  The commander nodded. "Continue, Cadet Emerson. If I need to know it, then tell me."

  Emerson saluted. "If we can't get out again, how can we help the Mandrake?"

  "Explain."

  "Well, if the Mandrake could get out of the field, wouldn't Captain Holloway have ordered such a thing by now?" Emerson pressed a panel on the portable comm. The view shifted, zooming out to include the alien star-shaped device and all the trapped human machines that orbited it. "Why hasn't the Fooshue or the Aristotle broken free yet, either? They arrived well before we did."

  Ely could see that Emerson had a point. If the fly could get out of the ointment, then surely it would have done so by now. Seemed to him the Mandrake and everyone and everything else was stuck.

  Commander Okinawa rubbed his chin. "Kale, belay that order. Can you hail Captain Holloway instead?"

  "Yes, sir," Kale said.

  A brief moment later, the captain's familiar portrait appeared on the hail screen. Commander Okinawa saluted, as did everyone else in the cockpit. Before a word could be spoken, the man said, "Commander, I need you and the talents of your men to do one more thing for me--for us."

  "Of course, sir," the commander said, still at attention. Emerson could hear the wail of red alert sounding in the background. From that, he took it that the Mandrake couldn't free itself from the alien devices' grasp. A sign that didn't bode well.

  "Your away mission has been expanded. You are to land the shuttle within the alien device and switch off, disable, or do whatever you have to, to free our ships and defence satellites from this energy field. The rear admiral has been in contact and I have apprised him of the situation. We now deem this act by the alien ship to be hostile. I repeat, hostile." The captain cleared his throat, leaning out of screen shot for a moment as someone handed him a portable comm unit. He came back into view, glancing down at the information that had been presented to him. "Captain Bliss of the Fooshue and captain Horace of the Aristotle are also in agreement. Any measure you need to take to get this done, including deadly force, can be utilized for this mission. Am I clear on that?"

  The commander saluted. "Yes, sir."

  "I want regular reports. Good luck. Captain Holloway, over and out."

  The screen went blank and dissipated.

  Commander Okinawa breathed in deep, and said, "Now, I know this wasn't supposed to happen. We were only meant to get some readings and be done with the away mission in an hour at the most. But as it turns out, not only were we in for the long haul, we're the only ones who can help. I wouldn't normally say this, but you are all excellent men." The commander paused to flick off the comm panel. "You all heard the captain, so let's get in there and do the best I know you all can."

  Braden saluted, a glint in his eye. It didn't take a genius to know that he was itching for some action. Men like him always did. "Yes, sir. I would be proud to help lead us into enemy territory."

  Emerson coughed again. Speaking to the group and not addressing anyone in particular, he said, "I'm afraid the forward assembly got a bit damaged. I don't think we can land--not without the support crew that are usually in the docking bay, anyway."

  Kale swivelled around in his pilot's chair, "No worries. "I'll use the 'ol barn slide manoeuvre to compensate for that."

  Commander Okinawa said, "Nothing too risky, Cadet Kale. We have to make sure we survive long enough to do any good, you know."

  "No, sir. Nothing risky. I've done it plenty of times." He pressed panels on his station, his enthusiasm clear. "Although, I would suggest holding onto something. This can get…interesting."

  "Define interesting," Commander Okinawa said as he sat on the nearest chair.

  "Well, without forward stabilisers, we'll have to land backwards. It's either that or stay out in space…sir."

  "How can we land backwards?" Ely asked.

  "Good question, cadet Ely."

  "Thank you, sir."

  Kale looked back, a beaming smile upon his lips. "We go hell for leather toward the hangar. Then, when we're at the optimum distance, I shut off the main engine flute, power down the inertial dampeners and engage the ion thrusters. That's when thing
s get interesting, as I have to wait for the right moment for the shuttle to be turned around yet still have momentum before I can reverse everything."

  "Won't all that just cause us to spin?" Braden asked. Although, the question was spoken more to keep Kale talking than actually raising a concern about the tricky manoeuvre he was about to perform. Ely's clue to that was the wanting eyes and the brush of his face with his hand when he looked at Kale. That settled it. They were fucking.

  "Not if I'm quick, it won't." Kale winked…at Braden. "The thrusters will do the manoeuvring. I'll make sure everything's all AOK well before then, giving myself plenty of time to engage the main engine and get the hell out and try again if things get a little tight."

  Commander Okinawa rubbed his chin. "It all seems a bit risky to me. But what choice do we have? The captains of three starships are depending on us. Do it, cadet, Kale. But if there is any indication that things aren't as they should be, I want you to abort. At that time we will then discuss our options, including suiting up and going into the alien device with a tether between us and the infinite black our view."

  Ely didn't like the sound of getting suited up. Spacesuits made him nauseous as well as claustrophobic, but the worst part was that no matter how many times they were sanitised, the smell of the previous occupant was always vivid. The odour inside most he'd been in was a disturbing combination of sweat and urine. Sweat for the sheer fact that the suit either scared the bejesus out of the previous occupant or got so hot inside no matter how much the air con was switched up. Working with such restrictive clothing wasn't easy, especially for space walks. The urine smell was present because the piss bag and attachments, both male and female, never seemed to fit right. Sure, guys who were well endowed had a bit better chance. Ely imagined Emerson having no trouble at all slipping the holding hose, or love lip as it was known amongst the hangar bay crew, around his monster. But as for some others, the less fortunate of the species--well, leakage and accidents happened. Ely had heard rumour of one poor guy having to stretch his foreskin around the attachment and then taping the skin so it stayed in place, just so it would fit him. But he believed that was a kind of urban legend, spoken to scare the shit out of cadet's fresh out of the Academy. It worked.