And all the time Roscoe was at her side. He wasn’t leaving it, but he was letting her decide where they go. He knew that she needed to work and didn’t push her at all.
All teams reported back the same thing with every mission. All systems except environmental were dead on the big ship, waiting for someone to enter a command code.
And Maria felt like it was her problem, her mistake, that she didn’t know the command code. After all, she was the expert on the history of the Seeders.
They had fourteen hours remaining until the big ship again jumped to trans-tunnel flight and they could contact Chairman Ray.
She was feeling more and more exhausted and discouraged, but about to jump out again after a light dinner when Roscoe took her by the hand.
“We need to rest.”
She looked up into worried intense eyes of a man she had come to respect a great deal. And one she was more attracted to than she could ever imagine.
“We’ve been going now for twenty-nine hours,” he said. “A few hours sleep might help get the answer to this.”
She nodded. She had known she was getting tired, but hadn’t realized it had been that long.
Hudson, who had come into the room at that moment and heard the last part of the conversation said, “Oh, thank the heavens. I’ll be in my room sleeping if you need me.”
“Seven hours,” Roscoe said as Hudson turned and left.
Maria laughed. “Guess we do need to rest.”
Roscoe tapped the communication link with Fisher. “We’re resting the team for about seven hours.”
“Copy that,” Fisher said. “Thanks.”
Roscoe took Maria’s hand and led her down the hall to her room. “We’ll meet in the breakfast area in seven hours.”
She yawned and nodded, then looked up at him, smiling. “Not going to kiss a girl goodnight at the door?”
Part of her really wanted the sleep, part of her wanted him to kiss her and make her forget everything.
He smiled back and kissed her lightly. Then pulled back.
“Sleep,” he said.
She pretended to salute and then turned and went into her room, closing the door behind her on a man she really wanted to have join her. How silly was that?
She put on her comfortable night cotton pants, a light t-shirt, washed her face and dropped onto her bed.
Three hours later she woke up. Screw it. She wanted to sleep with Roscoe, even if they might not sleep the entire time.
She slipped on her slippers and went out into the hallway and down two doors to his room. She opened it slowly and stepped inside.
He was snoring lightly on his side, facing the wall.
She crawled in behind him, put her arms around him and snuggled close. He smelled wonderful, like a fresh forest, and he felt even better. He was only wearing boxer shorts and his strong muscles and smooth skin felt fantastic under her arms and hands.
He stirred and she said softly. “Sleep.”
He reached around and put a hand on her butt and pulled her even closer to his back. Then he said softly, “This is nice.”
“Sleep,” she said.
He nodded and a moment later he was back asleep.
In all her long life, she had never felt so comfortable and safe with another person in her bed.
How was this even possible?
And before she could even think about that question, she was asleep again.
TWENTY-TWO
ROSCOE AWOKE SLOWLY, enjoying the feel of Maria pressed against his side. He was on his back and his arm was curled around her. She was snuggled up against him, her red hair fanned over his arm.
She smelled of a light maple syrup and her skin under his hand was stunningly smooth and her muscles were firm. He knew she worked out, but he had no idea she was in such good shape.
He managed to turn his head enough to not wake her to see the time on a small dresser beside the bed. It was an hour before they needed to be showered, have some breakfast and make another few jumps before Morning Song jumped to trans-tunnel and they could talk to Chairman Ray again.
“You awake?” she asked softly, her voice husky as he turned back.
“Starting to,” he said.
“This is nice,” she said, snuggling against him. “You sleep all right?”
“Wonderfully,” he said, “except for this red-headed pixie waking me up sneaking into my room. Nothing but a great dream I’m sure.”
She laughed and ran her hand back and forth over his chest. She then tipped her head up and kissed him.
And that kiss was one he would remember for a very long time. Slow, but intense.
Finally she pulled away and snuggled back with him again. “How much time do we have before we meet the team?”
“Not much,” he said. “Time to take showers and get something to eat.”
“Seriously?” she asked. “I haven’t slept that long in years.”
She pushed herself up and sort of half-crawled on top of his chest to see the clock beside his bed. “Damn,” she said. “We’re going to have to be quick and quiet then.”
With that, she crawled completely on top of him and pulled off her t-shirt. Her breasts were perfect and firm, with dark pink nipples. The upper half of her chest was completely covered with freckles.
Then she stood up, one leg on each side of him, balancing herself on the bed.
She pushed down her pants and slipped them off, one leg at a time until she was standing over him, straddling him, totally naked.
“Wow,” was all he could manage to say. It had been a long time since he had been with a woman and he could never, in all the decades, ever remember someone as open as she was about being naked.
Staring up at her would be an image he would never, ever forget for as long as he lived.
“Don’t move,” he said.
He quickly sat up and kissed her crotch softly as he kicked off first the sheet over him and then his shorts.
She looked at him and how excited he was and smiled down at him. “We need to be quick and silent.”
“After looking up at this wonderful sight,” he said, stroking her wonderful body, “quick won’t be an issue. Silent on the other hand...”
She came down on him, spreading out over him and kissing him hard, holding his penis between her legs.
Then she sat up slightly and slipped him inside her.
“Yeah, silent is going to be a problem,” she said.
Then, as she started to move on him, she smothered him in the most wonderful kiss he could ever remember.
And somehow, that long and intense kiss kept them from being too noisy.
At least he hoped it did.
He honestly didn’t care.
TWENTY-THREE
FISHER WAS COOKING breakfast for him and Callie and Hudson when Maria and Roscoe walked in. She was holding his hand and she didn’t care who saw it. It felt right and perfect. In all her life, she never thought that walking with a man holding hands would be something she would ever do, but they had walked from her room to the kitchen that way and she wanted to keep going.
The room smelled like cooking eggs and toast and made her stomach rumble.
Their quick lovemaking had been fantastic, and now they were both showered and refreshed. She had wanted them to take a shower together, but Roscoe rightly told her that if they did that, they wouldn’t be on time.
But he made her promise him a shower check, like a rain check, only inside, just as wet, and a lot more fun.
She had laughed all the way through her own shower at that.
“You two manage to get some sleep?” Fisher asked without looking up from the stove.
Callie smiled and covered her mouth.
Maria let go of Roscoe’s hand and sat down at the dining table. “Refreshed and ready to go,” she said, winking at Callie, who damn near burst out laughing.
Hudson had his attention buried in a portable scanner and seemed very intent and didn’t notice a
thing.
Roscoe just shook his head at her and smiled. Then he said to Fisher, “Wow, does that smell amazing.”
“Two more minutes is all,” Fisher said. “Your timing is perfect.”
“What are you looking at?” Maria asked Hudson.
The unshaven man looked up at her and blinked. Clearly he had showered and gotten a little sleep, but if she knew Hudson, it hadn’t been much. His full head of black hair and full beard was as much of a mess as she had ever seen it.
“I’ve been researching into every myth and history we have about Seeder Mother Ships,” Hudson said. “I’ve found two references to the dual command chairs.”
Maria almost went across the table at that. She had never found a one.
Even Fisher turned from the stove at that statement, but then went right back to tending to breakfast.
“What are they?” she asked. “Did you find out their purpose?”
“They are referenced as ‘The chairs of knowledge’ both times,” Hudson said, doing air quotes around the chairs of knowledge part. “The myths say that the reason they are joint command chairs is because the human race can’t exist without both men and women.”
“Symbols,” Callie said, nodding. “A Mother Ship like this one takes a joint command.”
Maria looked at Roscoe. Then back to Hudson. “Chairs of knowledge?”
Hudson nodded. “Both references. All I can find so far.”
“And from what we can tell,” Fisher said, “every screen and system on the ship needs the command code password to activate. But it seems everything on the ship is also hooked in a fashion to the Command Center and in a way to those two chairs.”
“After breakfast we jump back to the Command Center,” Maria said, nodding and looking at Roscoe. “I think we may have just solved the command code problem.”
“And what’s that,” Fisher said.
“Roscoe and I have to sit in those chairs.”
She looked at Roscoe, who nodded, clearly agreeing.
“Oh, yeah, good idea,” Hudson said, shaking his head in disgust.
“Do you think anything will happen?” Callie asked.
“More than likely it will just ask for the command code,” Maria said. “But those chairs might be set to sense Seeders and descendants of the Seeders sent in this direction.”
“So you are saying,” Roscoe asked, “that this ship needs a way beyond basic scanning to tell we are descendants?”
“I think so,” Maria said. “But I don’t think we have anything to lose. And right now we need to take a few chances.”
Roscoe nodded. “After breakfast we’ll give it a try.”
She smiled at him and wanted to kiss him, but right at that moment Fisher started serving wonderful-smelling eggs and perfectly browned pancakes and light toast made out of that wonderful sweet bread.
After the long night’s sleep and the wonderful session with Roscoe, she was hungry.
And once again excited about exploring this incredible huge ship. They would figure out a way to stop it from hurting anyone.
She believed that now.
TWENTY-FOUR
ROSCOE WASN’T VERY fond of the idea of them sitting in those two big command chairs. But if Maria thought it might be the solution to getting control of this monster ship, he would do it with her. As she had said, time was clicking down and they had to take some chances.
He doubted much would happen when they sat down, but who actually knew.
Clearly, the chairs were designed for two people. And he certainly wasn’t going to stand to one side and let her sit in those chairs with anyone else.
After breakfast, the four of them gathered in the scanning room that was their base. Roscoe made sure all four of them had the supplies they were going to need, then looked at Maria. “Ready?”
She smiled that wonderful smile of hers that reached her golden eyes and said, “As I’ll ever be.”
Fisher and Hudson both nodded, so Roscoe jumped them all to the Command Center.
They stored their gear against a wall next to the door that wouldn’t open, then all four of them moved down in front of the two big command chairs.
They were clearly molded to fit a human body, not just something to sit in, but something that allowed the head to rest back like a half helmet, and the arms to rest partially surrounded by the material of the chair.
Hudson and Maria both took scans.
“As dead as everything on this ship,” Hudson said.
Roscoe knew that if they hesitated at all, they might not try this. They had to get this idea out of the way before they could move forward.
He reached over and took Maria’s hand.
She smiled at him and nodded.
“Callie, keep a sharp eye for any changes,” Fisher said to his wife back in their ship.
Roscoe knew that Callie and two others would be watching every detail of the equipment around them.
“Together?” Maria asked Roscoe.
“Together,” he said.
Then holding hands as the form of the two chairs showed, they sat down and scooted back into the tall white chairs.
Roscoe could feel the softness of the chair as it seemed to mold to his body.
“Anything?” he asked Maria, not wanting to turn his head to look at her.
In front of them both Fisher and Hudson had worried looks on their faces. Fisher was watching them while Hudson stared at his scanner.
“Nothing yet,” Maria said. “But it’s sure comfortable. I think it’s moving and fitting to my form.”
Roscoe could feel the chair finish adjusting and supporting him.
“Mine as well,” Roscoe said.
Then suddenly everything changed.
Everything.
A blue translucent display screen appeared in front of him and Maria, between them and Fisher and Hudson. He could still see them through it.
And Roscoe could feel far more going on. He could feel his awareness expanding.
It was as if he could suddenly see everything about the ship.
And understand it all.
He could feel the connections in the ship to this chair.
And most importantly, he could sense and feel Maria beyond her hand he was holding.
She had become just sort of part of him. He couldn’t read her thoughts exactly, but he could sense how she was thinking and feeling and her excitement about what was happening.
He was sort of blended with her. He had no other way to put it.
And he knew she was blended with him as well.
“This is kind of strange,” he said softly.
“Very,” she said. “But it feels right.”
“Very right,” he said.
He suddenly realized he wasn’t afraid or on guard at all. This did feel right.
Almost being blended with Maria’s mind felt natural as well. He wanted to know what she was feeling, have her beside him at all times.
“Odd,” she said out loud. “I like this.”
She had been almost thinking the same thing he had been thinking.
“Any idea what’s going on?” he asked.
On the other side of the blue screen, Hudson said, “The entire ship has activity.”
Maria squeezed Roscoe’s hand and said, “Look at the screen.”
The message on the screen was clear.
Welcome Chairmen.
The command code for Morning Song is Sunrise.
“Thank you, Morning Song,” Maria said.
The first message faded and a second message appeared.
You are welcome.
Roscoe could feel himself being drawn down into understanding areas of the ship that he had no idea even existed. The ship was teaching him in a much more advanced way than language was taught to Seeders when they first came into the organization.
He was learning and understanding and completely comprehending what he was learning.
All in seconds.
“
Shall we get the ship stopped?” he asked.
“What?” Fisher asked from the other side of the blue screen that he and Hudson clearly couldn’t see.
He could sense Maria turn her attention back from learning.
“It’s our ship now,” she said.
He knew instantly that was true. Morning Song was their ship, jointly. “Let’s get it stopped and repaired from its long journey.”
“Perfect,” Maria said.
Fisher stepped toward them. “Can we ask what you two are talking about?”
Roscoe looked through the blue screen at Fisher. “Get every member of our team here quickly. No need to leave anyone on your ship. We need them here.”
“To do what?” Fisher asked.
“We need to get this ship stopped,” Roscoe said.
“Oh,” was all Fisher said.
As Roscoe and Maria waited, together, holding hands between the chairs and in their minds, they learned about their new ship, every detail of their new ship.
And so much more about each other.
TWENTY-FIVE
MARIA COULDN’T BELIEVE the freedom and the lightness she felt sitting with Roscoe in the big chairs of knowledge. Now she understood why the legends called these chairs by that name.
Seemingly instantly, she knew Roscoe, knew his life, his dreams, his immense intelligence. And more importantly, she knew that he truly cared about people and loved being a Seeder.
She couldn’t read his mind, but she sensed it all and knew what was right.
And she knew how much he cared for her, far more than she could have hoped, because she cared for him in the same way.
They were blended sitting in the big chairs.
Still individuals, yet blended as a team, working as a team.
It felt amazing to her. Just amazing.
And they were quickly learning every detail of the massive ship, from how the engines worked to the shields to the labs to the hanger bays. In her mind, she could see clearly Fisher’s small ship sitting like a tiny bump in the big landing bay.
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