His jaw dropped.
She continued, “This could provide us with a future generation. All the same, there are side effects to consider.”
He reached out to take the package, then hesitated. “What side effects?”
“The drug enhances the libido.”
His brow contracted as a puzzled expression flashed across his face. “Libido?”
She tried to explain it better. “It supercharges a person’s sex drive, which may cause consequences.”
He blinked. “Women get pregnant?”
“Yes, women get…”
She paused as that reality raised its ugly head. Pregnant? A wave of panic washed over her. She had not considered that possibility last night when under the influence of raging hormones.
“Commander, you look pale. Is everything okay?”
She reined in her panic. Richard was alien. Species didn’t cross-breed. Right? She wracked her brain to recall basic biology. Then remembered that the Alysians originally came from Earth. She shivered. They were as human as she was.
“Commander.”
She forced her attention back to her captain.
He looked curious. “Are there any other side effects?”
She blew out a breath. “He said that the women might have some slight hormonal discomfort once a month.”
James grabbed for the package. “I could use a supercharge to my sex life.”
She didn’t let go. “Be careful. Only committed couples should take this. It’s potent, and all I can offer until Jay makes more. The process is painstakingly slow, and we need more tests on the dangers of other possible side effects.”
She held on.
He tugged on the other side of the box.
They faced one another, each refusing to let go.
“In return, I’ll need Robert Grant.”
“Excuse me?”
He dropped his hold.
She circled the air with a hand. “I need a competent administrator. Our previous one was killed in the attack.”
“Robert is my right-hand administrator on this ship.”
“I know I’m asking a lot, but I’m desperate.”
“He’ll seek a large compensation.”
“And I’ll need a finance person and a currency manufacturer. We have been using an outdated monetary system that needs to be upgraded. They don’t have to come from The New Found Hope. Anyone from any ship will do.”
He eyed the package. “Is the station even safe?”
She shrugged. “Is anywhere safe?” She thrust the package at him. “It’s safer than this damned elixir.”
“So, anything else?” he asked as he carefully placed the vials on his desk and gave the package a light pat.
“Can you handle Sergei’s execution, or should I assign someone else the job?”
A wolfish grin appeared on his face. “I would be delighted to perform that duty. The man has been a serious problem. He’s threatened my family and even resorted to blackmail. I’ll invite all the captains to witness the event. There may be consequences for his henchmen, too.”
“Lethal injection?”
“If you prefer.”
“Do I need to attend?”
“You’re invited, but no, I can handle it.”
“Good, I need to return. Jay has sent a shuttle with the nanite serum to the Homestead. Nonetheless, I need to talk to Elija. Knowing about the contagion, Richard will make us go through decontamination and two weeks of isolation before we can enter the station proper. At least, Robert and I can discuss an organizational plan while we wait. If any other people from fleet want to return to the station with us, we desperately need workers. It’s a golden opportunity.”
“You feel the station is safe?”
She gave him her best reassuring look. “Yes, I do.”
Chapter 26
Decontamination
The grumble of thrusters rattled the shuttle as it prepared to launch from The New Found Hope. In the back cabin, Elise heard Robert Grant exchange pleasantries with a finance woman from Naomi Johnson’s Pilgrim’s Pride. A Sarah Parsons or some name like that. Up front, next to her, lay Richard with his eyes closed and seat pushed back. She studied the strong jaw and aristocratic nose, topped by dark commanding eyebrows. The man’s face usually formed stern lines giving him a serious expression until you gazed into those gray-blue eyes or witnessed one of his rare smiles. Fighting off his phobia, his eyes were closed as he shut out the sight of a dark void engulfing their frail craft.
The faces of her captains bubbled up in her memory. She winced, remembering their look of relief at her departure. Several faces had reflected embarrassment because she had accomplished what they should have done earlier. A wedge had been driven between the various factions by Sergei, pitting them against each other in an attempt to weaken the fleet and gain power. Now the fleet was splintered.
“We can’t go on like this, you know,” she said to the closed eyelids.
They popped open. “What do you mean?”
She sighed. “A Terran and an Alysian as lovers? No one will allow it.”
Now out in weightless space, Richard levered his chair upright, his hair floating like a black cloud around his frowning face. “No one? Who is that? I never pay attention to those people. I’m guided by what I feel is the right thing to do. If you and I married, we could potentially unite the Terrans and the Alysians by providing an example of how both cultures can live together in harmony.”
“For the good of the fleet, I must bear a child of a Terran union. The fleet would never accept a half-breed child as their commander.”
Richard rubbed his face. “For the good of the fleet? Our daughter will unite a world.”
She startled at his words. “Our daughter? Surely you meant to say our son? Don’t all men want a son?”
“Why a son? A daughter would have your beauty and skill of command while she would have my intelligence and Talent.”
Astonished at his words, she said, “Your intelligence? Your talent?” She snorted a laugh at the thought.
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Yes, my charming personality and incredible talent.”
She could only laugh at such a crazy idea and flopped back into her seat with a huff. “Right now, I’m just trying to hold a fleet together, not a world.”
“No, holding the world together is my job,” he said as he leaned further back and closed his eyes once more.
***
Their shuttle landed uneventfully, and she stumbled to the exit, heading for the main entrance and her most unfavorite experience… decontamination. Thankfully, the finance woman accompanied her so she wasn’t the single source of interest for the men to ogle as everyone stripped for the chemical spray and shower. Granted, women had separate facilities, but with him so close while she stood naked, his nearby presence dominated her thoughts. Despite that, she managed to soldier on.
While in isolation, through her comm, she caught up with Elija. Thankfully, her clone remained healthy due to the nanites coursing through his body. Even so, many of the Terrans at the Homestead were not so lucky. They were dying all around him, and he was desperate to receive more serum to arrest the disease. He pleaded with her not to come to the Homestead, becoming almost hysterical when she mentioned Richard might accompany her.
“No!” he shouted through her comm, “I’ve had enough on my hands without an important Alysian showing up, falling sick and, God forbid, dying on my watch. The Democratic Union alone would go ballistic, not to mention the rest of Alysia.”
So, that settled it. She couldn’t counter his argument.
Captain Bradley carried through with several executions. A few factions grumbled their dissatisfaction with the severity of the punishment, but on the whole, the fleet accepted the council’s decision.
She managed to stifle her lustful urges with dry reports sent in by Jacob. Also, she spent a lot of time with Robert Grant on management issues in a separate room while Richard pout
ed in another and read over reports sent in by Trace. The atmosphere in isolation grew thick with reined-in desire. Frustration made both of them snap at each other. In spite of their behavior, Robert and Sarah appeared oblivious to the situation.
Finally, they were cleared from decontamination. Elise showered and dressed one last time in the starkly utilitarian facility, emerging with relief to survey the station for changes.
As the four congregated just past the entrance to the admittance area, Carter glided up in a sleek, silver, transit car with a grin on his face. Next to him sat Jacob, face flushed and hair blown back, white-knuckling the hand-holds, looking like a kid finishing his first roller coaster ride.
“Well, well, well,” she said, walking around the four gleaming cars as Deuce floated in their baggage.
Carter patted the dashboard. “She’s a beauty and rides soft as a dream.”
Jacob laughed. “That man has a way with machines.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Elise answered as she climbed in and relaxed against the plush seats.
Glancing around, she noticed the hustle and bustle of a station making a comeback. Not all the walls were smooth, a few gouges and gashes showed here and there, but the station crews had accomplished much in her absence.
Jacob leaned forward. “Dr. Jay says to tell you to please come by his lab as soon as you are out of isolation. He urgently needs to see you.”
“That man is impatient.” But she grinned to herself.
She noticed a frown on Richard’s face, however. When she raised an eyebrow, he crossed his arms over his chest, and grumbled but didn’t protest out loud.
“Hey, you should be thanking him.” She leaned forward and patted his knee.
He glowered. “Now I know what I’m missing. Before, I could only imagine. This is worse.”
She thought his words quite wonderful.
***
Elise made an effort to stop by Jay’s lab first thing.
“Thank God, you’re back.” Jay peered at her anxiously and grabbed her hands “How are you?”
Elise pulled away from his grasp and waggled a finger at him. “You should have warned me the antidote was so potent.”
“You wouldn’t have taken it. Besides, I didn’t realize it was that strong. I did mention side effects if you’ll recall.”
She shook her head. “You were vague. The hormone is dangerous in its present form. You need to cut back the dosage or dilute it.”
Chagrin bloomed on his face. He studied a distant wall. “Yes. About that…”
She put up her hand, palm out. “Let me guess… You took a dose, and couldn’t stop yourself. You’ve already had sex with… how many? … for the good of the fleet, of course. How did those “experiments” turn out?”
She didn’t realize that he could blush that bright.
“I needed more testing, and Jennie volunteered.”
“Jennie! She’s far too young for you.”
“She’s twenty–three and considered an adult. I’m only thirty. But I didn’t plan things to get that out of hand.”
Horrified, Elise asked, “How did you manage it? Jennie has no feeling in her legs.”
He flapped a hand. “I fixed that with a bone graft and nanites. She was very, er, grateful. She wanted to take part in the experiment. Then events got out of hand. Never did I realize that it would be Jennie who would bond with me… I had thought… you… might…”
At that moment, a large, burly male stormed into the lab, trailed by a beautiful woman. Elise recognized Jimbo, her engineer, and Brenda Halston from the café. “Doc, she won’t leave me alone,” he protested as he shooed away the young woman.
Elise recalled Amanda’s co-owner of the Stop and Sip Café. A stunning blonde with blue eyes and a well–endowed chest fluttered her hands in the air, obviously distraught. “Jimbo, stop running away.”
Jimbo swung around and scowled at her. “I’m too old and ugly for someone like you. You’re making fun of a fat old man.”
“Jimbo, my love, you’re an experienced, talented man with a complex personality. Who wouldn’t love you?”
“Lots of women,” the big engineer muttered under his breath. “You’d be amazed.”
Jay stared at the two of them. “Oh no! Amanda gave you the elixir? It was only for her and Merek.”
“Oh, she was furious. Merek came for the drink at Amanda’s request, but Mika showed up. In a hurry, Merek drank his, not realizing the potency, and by the time Amanda arrived to drink hers, he’d fixated on Mika.”
Elise looked around in confusion. “Oh dear, but... Mika isn’t, er, interested in men, is she?”
Jay grabbed a vial out of the cupboard. “If nothing has been consummated, then we have time to save them.” He strode toward the exit where he ran smack into John, who was entering the lab in a huff.
“What the hell’s going on over here?” John eyed the vial in Jay’s hand. “Is that the gebbit hormone?” He snatched it out of Jay’s hands. “This stuff needs to be diluted. Didn’t you read my latest notes?”
Jay paused. “I haven’t had time.”
John strode over to a desk and paged through several stacks of paper. He held up a thick report. “Then I suggest you do so. If you’d bothered, you would have noticed I’ve been gathering additional data on the gebbits, and one other fact sticks out about their behavior.”
“What?” All four voices asked in worried unison.
“They mate for life. Once a union has been consummated, eighty-five percent of the time they stay with that mate.”
“But if that doesn’t happen,” continued Jay, trying to reassure the group, “they often find a more agreeable partner.”
Elise paused as the realization sunk in that Jay had wanted to partner with her, not as a simple experiment, but for life. He’d planned to use the elixir to accomplish his goal. However, fate had intervened. Still, Richard hadn’t taken the elixir. He was emotionally free to find any partner he wanted. The thought panicked her.
John glared at Jay. “You just don’t hand so volatile a concoction to Amanda and say, ‘drink this.’ That way leaves too much to chance. You must isolate Amanda and Merek and get them to drink it together.”
Jay scrubbed at his face. “Yes. Yes. That would be safer. Brenda, I want you to get Amanda to meet you…”
“They can meet in my office,” Elise offered.
“Elise, can you get Merek over there?”
She nodded. “Yes, but how are you going to get Amanda to drink the elixir?”
Jay wrinkled his nose. “I’m not sure.”
Elise searched her brain for an idea. “I could ask Jacob to serve them coffee while they wait for me.”
John crossed his arms. “Make sure he leaves.”
“He has to get Amanda to drink the cup with the elixir and that could be tricky if she’s the least bit suspicious.”
Jay raised his head. “Merek is disciplined enough that we could put a more diluted dosage in both cups to make sure she drinks enough.”
Brenda said, “Give Merek a double dose? Do you realize that all his life he has been in love with Amanda but held back because she was family?”
Elise blinked. “They’re not biologically related, even though they were raised together. They’re clones of the parents, not offspring.”
Jay snatched the vial back. “So now he’s panting after Mika because they were left alone after he drank this stuff.”
“Poor Merek. He doesn’t deserve this mess. We have to fix it.” Brenda put a hand to her forehead. “I’ve been influenced by the elixir too, haven’t I?” She glared at Jay.
Jimbo straightened up. “What happened to talented and handsome? What happened to Jimbo, darling?”
Brenda shrugged. “I never really said handsome. Mature, maybe. You are very sexy, Jimbo, but I think you’re right. We’re not meant for each other.” She cradled her arms, muttering, “I must get control of myself.”
Jimbo glowered at Ja
y. “After all this, I could use a real drink with lots of liquor in it. In fact, John Luttrell, you owe me one of your new whiskeys I keep hearing about.” He paused. “And, I know a mature woman that I would like to share that drink with. Been trying to corral that gal most of my life, and that elixir of yours just might do the trick.”
“Stop there!” Elise faced the Luttrells. “This gebbit hormone was developed to restore fertility, not as a means of seducing unsuspecting women. We need a screening procedure before giving out any more of the stuff.”
Jay straightened up. “She’s right.” He leaned forward toward Jimbo. “Are you prepared to become a daddy?”
“A what?”
“A father. Because ninety percent of the time, a mating results in pregnancy.”
Elise froze. Ninety percent?
John circled his hand in the air. “This will make the fleet fertile again and provide a new generation of Terrans.”
“You’re right, Elise.” John nodded at her. “This isn’t some simple aphrodisiac to be handed out lightly. Chay T’Sang needs to develop a program that identifies compatible genetic matches from a group of volunteers. They must understand the consequences.”
Jimbo clapped his hands. “The couples go on dates to see which one they like before any elixir is provided.”
“John and I could put together a procedure and present it to the fleet. How does that sound, Commander?”
Elise didn’t answer. The words ninety percent were echoing in her mind.
Chapter 27
Missing
Richard stood outside and chimed Elise’s private entrance.
“You can’t come in,” Elise cautioned as she cracked open the panel to her unit.
“No, don’t plan to.” He stuck his face in and leaned forward.
A crisp and tangy fragrance with a masculine edge enveloped her. Her mind drifted away from the words he was uttering.
“I’ve come to say goodbye for a while.”
The word “goodbye” penetrated her distracted thoughts. She stepped back in surprise. He stepped forward. Neither noticed the panel click shut behind them.
Somewhat Alien: The Station (Terran Trilogy Book 2) Page 19