Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

by Melisse Aires

  ~Yatrell, I don’t know what’s coming up, but I just want you to know that ….~

  Kala froze. The ship lurched and swung out far, then she was tossed to the side and she bumped her head hard on the wall. ~Yatrell, I’ve got to go.~

  She cut their connection through the link, and raced out of her quarters to see what caused the ship to fall out of control.

  ~*~

  Although he was relieved he didn’t have to respond to the statement he knew she was thinking, Yatrell found himself as worried about Kala as he was the events on his own ship.

  ~*~

  Kala made it to the bridge to see Maddux taking over the navigation controls. “What happened, Commander?”

  As his hands worked to steady the ship, he pulled up a visual map of the events outside, “We hit a sub-space instability. It’s not working with our light speed engines, and it’s made part of the ship’s navigation controls start to misalign with instructions.” He gripped the handles with his right hand, until his knuckles turned white. His left hand steadied the thruster inputs until the ship finally stabilized. “Kala, check with Engineering. See if either the Commander or his second are there.”

  Kala nodded, and walked to a nearby communications station. She sent a message to Engineering, but it wasn’t responded to. “I’m not getting an initial response. I’m going to do this my way.”

  Maddux didn’t have to respond. Kala entered Sira’s mind, and listened to what was going on around her briefly, and then reported back. “She’s in Engineering, they both are. There’s been a malfunction in the experimental engines. They’ve been taken off line and Sira thinks she can have light speed engines back soon, just not the light jump tunneling.”

  Maddux could feel his jaw tighten with frustration. By the time they would arrive, he knew that things wouldn’t be positive for the first fleet. “Understood. I’m sure you’re needed in Medical. Please check in as soon as you’re able.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Kala quickly left the bridge, and moved rapidly to her duty station in the medical bay. Over the next few hours she encountered mostly bumps, minor bruises, and a few sprains. Although the injuries were negligible, they were abundant. Hours passed by quickly for her, and the team on duty. In the time it took them to clear medical, the light ride engines were brought back online, and the Enpassant resumed course to meet, and if needed ,assist the First Xenonian Fleet. Exhausted, Kala sat down in her office, and Chief Medical Officer Reese joined her. She smiled wearily, and asked how he was feeling.

  “I was going to ask you that as well. Have you examined your head?” His spoke with concern obvious in his expression as he gestured to her forehead.

  Confused, Kala placed her hand where he indicated, and felt a small patch of dried blood. “Must have been when I fell out of meditation. I’m fine. I should clean it, though.”

  “No, that’s my job. We take care of each other. Always.” Reese stood, and obtained the needed items to clean and cover the small cut on her head. “It’s not a big deal. It is barely more than a surface cut.”

  “Thank you, doctor.” Kala sat up suddenly. “I’m needed. I’ll leave this in your capable hands.”

  He nodded as she quickly left the office. A moment after she retrieved a medical kit and scanner, the communication panel lit up in her shared office. Kala continued out the medical bay door with urgency in her steps.

  Rouen’s eyes locked with hers the moment she stepped through the entrance of the conference room. “Why didn’t you answer my communication?”

  “I heard you. What happened?” Kala walked over to him with her medical kit.

  “No, downstairs first. The captain was hurt worse than I was.” The Commander gestured toward the stairs on the back wall. Then he followed Kala down. “We don’t even know how he got on the ship or why the intruder alert didn’t go off. “

  “Ven are unpredictable and have a history of surprising their victims.” Kala spoke more to herself than to Maddux as she moved swiftly down the stairs and into the captain’s private quarters.

  When she entered the room was in disarray. There was a chair that had been thrown through a far wall. Obvious weapons fire was displayed along several walls. A table was over turned, and the desk smashed in half. In the rubble of the broken desk was Captain Palrion. His arm was skewered by a pointed wooden end. She moved toward him quickly. Even as he bled steadily from the impaled arm, Kala feared it wasn’t the worst of his injuries. She knelt next to him, and pulled out a medical scanner. The results of the fully body scan confirmed her worst fears.

  Pained she inquired, “Is the room secured?”

  “Yes. Henessa has teams patrolling the ship. I’ve also alerted Merx and Sira, who are now figuring out how he got on and off the ship without the internal sensors knowing it.” Maddux paced the room, while Kala worked.

  “The battle happened fast. The captain was fatigued, he was the easier target. You fought back so it’s obvious he didn’t get out unscathed.” Kala cut the captain out of the desk where needed and began to treat his wounds. “Dak, can you hear me?” She hoped for a response from the captain. She heard a groan, and an attempted mumble. Even though he was incoherent, she was hopeful.

  “That’s good right? He said something? Kinda?” Maddux tried to stop pacing, but he was frustrated, and overcome by guilt.

  “Rouen, pacing isn’t going to help. I need him moved, now, by relocation transport. He needs attention quickly, and I have a surgery to assist with.” She looked up at Maddux. “This isn’t your fault. You obviously did everything you could. You need to pull this together. The crew needs a leader, and that falls on your shoulders now.”

  Maddux went to the comm panel, and ordered Kala and the captain relocated to the surgical room in the medical bay. A moment later the two were enveloped by a bright light and a loud whine, and then they were gone.

  Minutes dripped into hours, and hours into night. The Enpassant came to a full stop until the investigation was complete. The crew held their breath, waiting for an answer, desperate to hear even a mumble from the surgical room. Tirelessly the doctors, and their team worked. The teams involved in the investigation kept busy, equally exhausting every possible answer and resolution. The crew was becoming restless while waiting for answers.

  Finally, in the early hours of alpha shift, the doctors emerged from their sterile environment. Both doctors were mildly covered in blood, and both wore the grimmest expressions. Not a word had to be uttered as they passed others in the medical facility. Kala and Reese walked into their office, and closed the door. Both, overwhelmed by exhaustion, discussed the situation for several moments before Kala emerged alone. She had the duty of informing the crew.

  Within minutes the crew began to whisper, and soon truth was revealed. In the conference room on deck two, the senior staff assembled to hear from their own. The somber mood was etched into each face.

  Kala stood from her chair to explain, “We did everything typical, and created new approaches, but the Ven toxin moved too fast. He fought hard. We … kept…. trying. His lesser heart had to be removed. We had no other choice but to take out portions of his right liver, left lung, and … We did everything we could. We just couldn’t keep up with it. If we left him out of stasis much longer, he’d have been gone in minutes. By putting him in it, we might have bought him a few months, maybe.

  “Even if we do come up with an answer for this, he’ll only have moments when we take him out of stasis. Maybe. Doctor Reese is alerting his next in line. We…um… We can’t do more than we have. We’re just hoping he makes it back to Xenonia where he wanted to be buried.” With every word until the last, Kala fought the tears. She agonized that she couldn’t do more, and she knew the crew felt the same pain because it ran through her with every breath she took.

  “We know you did all you could, Kala. Dak knows you did, too.” Maddux’s voice was more even than the day before, but the stress was already wearing on him. “Do we have answ
ers about how this happened yet?”

  “Yes. We think we do.”

  Merx placed a small thin information chip to the display screen next to his console. He then shared the information on the consoles at every seat. On the display was a multi layered schematic of the ship’s systems. He inputted a command, and it blinked down to just the internal sensors.

  “We reviewed all of the data on the anomaly that shut down the experimental engines, and examined at the results. It created rolling blackouts in various systems, not just engines. We were so focused on what happened to the engines, that we allowed other, less obvious system blackouts go undetected. The Ven had to have been lying in wait for the right system to go down. Or …”Merx activated an overlay, “systems to go down. Sira was able to determine both the internal sensors, and our relocation generation systems were down in the same window for exactly ten minutes. This gave them the window to place someone on our ship, get into the fight, and get off the ship.”

  “So the anomaly wasn’t random. It was Ven created?” Kei sat in the room, dumbfounded by the revelations.

  “That’s what we believe. Most likely that toxin would have been more wide spread, had he not encountered the captain and Rouen.” Merx’s voice shook as he spoke. The room remained silent, considering the implications of his statement.

  “Prepare your reports for the Senate and the fleet commander. I’ll order the ship back on course at minimum light ride speeds. Kei, do you have recent scan results from the first fleet?”

  Commander Rouen Maddux felt as if the full weight of the war was bearing down on him, then and there. He was now in charge of this mission, and it would be he who they questioned upon the return to the Xenonian First Fleet. He could at least hope they were prepared to receive the crew back.

  “Yes, Commander. They appear to have been recovering from the battle for several hours now. I’ll continue to monitor as that may not be the only attack they endure from the Xentue.” Kei didn’t have to be an empath to feel the ache among the senior staff.

  “Good. We need a biohazard team in the captain’s quarters. Until they clear it, it’s quarantined. I think we’ve done all we can at this point. Let’s get him home.” Maddux looked from one face to the next, agonizing over what was to come. “Dismissed.”

  Chapter 17

  By the time the Enpassant met with the Xenonian First Fleet, things had calmed, and the three ships that went down in the battle with the Xentue were operational again. Supplies on all three were badly depleted, and the fleet set course for a colony toward the edge of Xenonian space to resupply.

  Acting Captain Dak Palrion had already received senate approval for the command structure for the Enpassant after the missions. As such, this adjustment was put into place as Kala and Maddux disembarked with the stasis chamber of their beloved captain and mentor. Once things were settled with the adjustments,they were called to Fleet Commander Tangl’s office to report in for the Enpassant and her crew.

  When they were both in uniform and standing outside her office, Kala placed her hand on Maddux’s arm and projected, ~He had enough faith in us to deal with the mission. He expected we would face what was to come with the fleet when we returned. He placed you and I as the psionic emissaries for our team and the other psionics being so badly treated in this fleet. We can deal with whatever she throws at us.~

  He nodded ,and gave her the slightest hint of a smile. “You’re right. We can. If he had faith in us, we’ll manage whatever is before us.” With that they both entered the office.

  Maddux saw Kala hesitate to move further than the door. The pause in her step, pitted his stomach as he quickly scanned the room to find out why. He realized the man serving Tangl tea was the reason for her reaction.

  Fleet Commander Captain Tangl stood from her desk, and spoke with an arrogant disposition. “Come in Private Kala and Private First Class Maddux. Sit. We have much to discuss.” She gestured to the man over her shoulder. “Would you care to have something to drink?”

  Maddux refrained from his initial reaction to her tone, and their rapid demotion from one ship to the next. He did not, however, hold back from his reaction to the man in the room. “Why is he here?”

  Tangl smiled and looked directly at Kala. “He is here because I have called him to be my mate. You already know him don’t you Kala?” She looked at Maddux. “And because of your little family on the Enpassant, you do as well, I assume PFC?”

  Kala nodded, refusing to bow her head. “Yes, he is my former master.” Her tone remained calm, and she forced herself forward to a chair before the Fleet Commander’s desk. “I do not require a drink.” Her stomach churned as she tried not to reach into their minds to learn what their goal was.

  “Good, because a slave is not served by their master, Kala. According to the agreement, his position of ownership has not been satisfied. You are still a slave, girl. You just have other obligations now as well.” Tangl’s voice was curt, and her expression seemed quite satisfied. She sat down. “Just so that you are aware, since the bond is complete, that means you are also my slave. I am head of my house.”

  Kala pressed her lips together, and said nothing. She resisted every urge to enter their minds, and learn what twisted scheme they were up to. She could sense a clear and distinct emotion from the two of them, one of power and control. The power and control they believed they had over her. She had not been a slave since before she left the Reverence. She was not going to start now.

  Maddux noted when Kala tensed, and became congnizant of the charade spreading out before them. With tension thick enough to stagnate Xenonian Tril, he explained, “We are only here to provide you with reports on the Enpassant and the loss of her captain.” He laid the data tablet on the desk.

  “Ah, yes the crew who would let their captain down. That will be a clear note in my reports. A team of psionics who claim to have completed two dangerous missions on the behalf of the Xenonian people could not return their captain in good health.” Tangl lifted the data tablet, and briefly reviewed some of the information scrolling across its screen. She then dismissively tossed it upon the desk.

  “We were ambushed trying to come to your aid, Captain. The Ven were awaiting our arrival and attacked. We all did what we could, as we were able to. There was nothing more available to us.” Maddux sat up straight, and spoke to her as calmly and professionally as possible.

  Tangl smiled and looked at Maddux. “PFC Maddux, it is good to have you back upon this vessel. You may resume your duties as my chief pilot. You are dismissed.” The Fleet Commander ignored his words and focused on Kala. “The reports I’ve received are that you believe you should be a commander. You are nothing more than a slave, Kala. That is your position, and that is all you have earned.” Kala kept her face expressionless. Maddux did not move from his chair. Tangl turned to her mate. “Please show the pilot out of my office, dear.”

  The older man nodded and walked over to Maddux’s chair. “Come with me. Your position with this vessel is not in this room at this time.”

  “My position is to support my chain of command. She is seated, and I will remain seated.” He folded his arms, and remained in his chair.

  Tangl stood behind her desk and leaned over. “You. Are. Dismissed. Now.” Maddux remained seated. “You were such a positive member of this crew for the year before you went on this mission. Why are you throwing away your career now?”

  “A good commander does not abandon their team.” Maddux was unable to hide his aggravation with the situation they were now in.

  “Your team, Private First Class, was disbanded the moment you reported back to the fleet. Your team is the one you commanded before you left, and who have spent months awaiting your return. Again, You. Are. Dismissed.”

  Kala gently projected to Rouen. ~Go. I will be fine. Remember we can handle anything, and we will. This is mine to deal with and I promise to do so with dignity.~

  He stared at Kala, and grasped her hand momentarily. ~Know t
his will not go unnoticed by those who matter.~ He transferred his concerned thoughts and emotions to her before he stood and left upon her insistence.

  Kala looked back at Tangl. “What do you want from me, Captain?”

  Rouen lingered in the doorway as she spoke, but finally left her to address this on her own. He made contacting the Enpassant his first priority.

  “I want you to know your place. You are far from trusted on this ship. You’ve attacked many and you’ve created havoc. I don’t care what your role was on the psionic ship, you are nothing here. You will serve this house as if you were upon Xenonia. You will tend to Palrion until his death, and you will be held responsible for not saving his life. Do I make myself clear, girl?” Tangl’s tone seethed with resentment and anger.

  “Quite.” She carefully folder her hands together and remained otherwise silent. Anger bubbled below her controlled exterior. She had to resist the urge to manipulate the emotions felt between the couple in the room.

  “Good. Your duties to the military will include, cleaning the kitchen after hours. You will maintain the doctor’s instruments during the day and you will be restricted communication contact with psionics on other ships. You will not, now or ever, leave the Reverence unless I or my mate request it. You did not belong on that ship, and you will not return to it. I don’t care what the report claims you did, you are nothing.”

  Kala remained stoic in her position as Tangl continued. “When you came on this ship, you portrayed goodie goodie impression to everyone around you, then you turned on them. Others have claimed it was out of your control. This is something I strongly doubt, but like your defenders, I can not prove it. What I am certain of, is that you are manipulative and deceitful. I will not tolerate that behavior on my ship. To prevent you from using your abilities you will be required to wear a psionic blocker whenever you are out of your quarters. If I, or my mate, summon you, you will arrive in a timely manner. You will complete your duty, regardless of what that might be, and return to your quarters or previous task. I will no longer deal with you or your kind on this ship.”