by Kris Powers
“Right away, Ma’am,” he replied, releasing his grip on her.
“How far are the Ferine ships from weapon’s range?” Maria asked the weapons officer.
“Thirty seconds.”
Maria released a sigh of exasperation when she saw the olive colored enemy fighters racing to catch up with the alien ships. Flashes of distant light began to appear.
“Come on Elliot,” she said while she scrutinized the main screen.
The stern shields of both Ferine ships glowed orange and green from the flashing impacts of the Coalition fighters’ torpedoes and Particle Beam Cannons. Elliot could feel the slight shudders through the ship from the concussive impact of Coalition weapons.
“What are we at now?” Elliot asked Lathiel.
“One quarter strength. The shield will fail very soon.”
“Can you get any more power into them?”
“I don’t think so, but I’ll check again,” Lathiel replied. He checked through the ship’s power supplies in an attempt to find even a single Watt of power he could use to reinforce the failing stern shield.
“Helm, how long until we arrive at the coordinates I gave you?”
“Another twenty seconds,” the worried helmsman replied.
“Helm, if you have any extra speed, now is the time,” Elliot said.
“We’re at maximum,” the helmsman said.
Elliot felt a much harsher shudder from the impact of another torpedo hit.
“That’s it,” Lathiel said and looked up to Elliot, “the rear shield is gone.”
Another explosive hit caused the ship to groan in response. The shockwave of the blast traveled through the vessel and forced Elliot to gain what balance he could from the armrest of Lathiel’s chair.
“How long until we’re in range?”
“Now!” the helmsman exclaimed.
Elliot looked for the Excalibur on the primary monitor. He saw a distant bubble of emerald color explode into several smaller bolts and speed past the edges of the screen.
All twenty Coalition fighters took the direct hit of a precise particle pulse. To the shock of the pilots, their shields overloaded on impact and the blast continued on to sweep across every hull. They saw all of their displays and controls emit sparks and go dark. The twenty ships were left with little more power than to prevent their pilots from dying. Inertia carried the ships forward at their fantastic speeds but, although they continued to keep up with the Ferine ships, the pilots could do little more than watch their progress.
Within a minute Elliot could see the great white bird—like hull of the Excalibur coming into view. As they were instructed, the pilots of each vessel brought their ships under each wing of the warship.
“Thanks for the help,” Maria heard Elliot say over the intercom.
“Not a problem. Are you ready for an escort home?”
“Just say when.”
“The sooner we get going the better. Have your helmsmen link your navigational systems with ours for synchronized launch.”
“Right away. Signing off,” Elliot said and closed the channel.
Excalibur entered the Solar system nearly ninety minutes after leaving the Waypoint Station. Once they went to sub—light, the Ferine ships left the protected positions they had taken underneath the Excalibur’s wings and took up new positions on either side of the prototype.
“We’ve decided to leave,” the Explorer’s Captain, Danniack said, unable to look Lathiel in the eye.
“That is exactly what the Coalition wants.”
“The Alliance and its people are now our comrades,” Danniack said, “but we’ve had our fill. Lathiel, a lot of the people here have gone through hell these past few days. They need to rest at their homes with their families.”
“Things may not be any safer on Cartise.”
“But our friends and families are there. At least we can take some comfort in that. Besides,” Danniack said finally meeting his gaze, “your ship will still be here as well as your crew.”
“I can’t talk you out of this?”
“No, we voted on the way back. Nearly everyone wants to return home.”
“Okay, when do you leave?” Lathiel asked with a slight sound of disappointment in his voice.
“As soon as you disembark. The helmsman already has the course for Cartise set.”
“Then we won’t keep you. We’ll take a shuttle back to the Excalibur, if that’s alright with you Elliot,” Lathiel said.
“My mission’s accomplished. I’m ready when you are,” Elliot responded.
“Admiral, I and my crew would feel better if your squad of troops remained aboard,” Danniack said.
“All the way to Cartise?”
“Many more of your people are coming, aren’t they?” Danniack asked.
“That’s true. If it makes our new allies feel safer, then the soldiers can remain.”
Lathiel smiled warmly and growled in respect for his friend and counterpart before turning away and leaving the bridge with Elliot and Madison behind him.
They returned to the Excalibur and saw a shuttle leave the Wanderer as well. Both shuttles entered the large primary bay on the Alliance ship. Elliot wasn’t surprised to see Joshua and Ranik leave the adjacent shuttle that landed seconds before theirs.
“Thrown off your ship, too?” Joshua asked once he stepped out onto the deck of the Excalibur.
“In a way,” Elliot replied. “They’ve decided to return to Cartise.”
“Deja—vu,” Joshua said.
“The Wanderer is leaving?” Elliot asked.
“You got it. They want to go home; the soldiers are supposed to follow us on the next shuttle.”
“Tell the squad to stay. Danniack requested the soldiers on their ship remain behind. The other squad may as well do the same.”
“Right away,” Joshua said. He activated his earpiece and walked away, appearing to have a conversation with empty space.
“Let’s go home,” Elliot said to the rest of the group.
Nadine’s first stop after arriving at Phoenix Base was to venture to Elliot’s quarters. He answered the calling bell immediately.
“I thought you might show up here.”
“Elliot, I,” she started and then looked to her uniformed escort holding a rifle. “I wanted to talk to you.”
Elliot nodded to the soldier who acknowledged the sign and left for parts unknown.
“Come in.”
Nadine entered his quarters and sat at a dinette set nearly identical to the one in his quarters aboard the Endeavour.
“You came back. You could have just as easily stayed,” Elliot said once they were seated.
“Stayed with MERA, you mean.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
“Can you give a woman a drink?”
“I can give you vodka, but I also have,” Elliot said and paused.
“Have what?”
“Well, Ranik gave me another bottle of Ruby Brandy after the mission.”
“For its success?”
“No, he said it was for our success.”
“Smart old cat. Can I have a double?”
“Sure. I could use one too,” he said and exited the room for the kitchen. Within a moment of Nadine’s reverie for the events of the last few days, he returned with two small glasses filled with a glowing liquid.
“Cheers,” he said and set down the drinks. The two clinked glasses and emptied the contents. “Another?”
Nadine looked to her empty glass and held it up for more. Elliot left for the kitchen and returned a moment later with the rest of the bottle of glowing liquid.
“I think we could both use it.”
Nadine nodded her head and Elliot filled her glass up and then his.
He took a long intake of the liquor. “I didn’t want you to go back.”
“You really didn’t,” she said and looked into his eyes, “did you?”
“You’re really that surprised?”
&nbs
p; “I guess I’m surprised that you cared that much,” she said and immediately responded to his furrowed brow. “It’s not that I couldn’t believe you would care that much but that anyone would. I’ve always been a soldier. MERA had me under their training since I was born. I’ve always been their child. I was just surprised that someone else cared when all of my colleagues are more fellow soldiers rather than friends.”
“I understand.”
“I was glad they sent me back. I have some protection here, I think, and I am really happy to see you again.”
“Same here.”
“One for the road?” she asked and set her glass next to the bottle of disappearing brandy.
“You’re planning on leaving?”
“Just a figure of speech,” she said as he replenished her drink. “Can I stay here tonight? I don’t want to be alone right now.”
“Sure, you can have the bed: I can take the couch. It’s pretty comfortable and I have some extra blankets anyway.”
She smiled and took his right hand in hers. “I don’t want you to take the couch.”
“So you’d rather take the couch?”
She laughed at his facetious remark. “You’re always joking when someone else is serious.”
“I like to think it helps to disarm the situation.”
“It does, but do you want to disarm this particular situation?” she asked with his hand still in hers.
“Nadine, I haven’t done this in a really long time.”
“Neither have I.”
“For me, though, the last time was with my wife.”
“Oh.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. Lily died a long time ago and I just never found the time for a relationship since then,” he said.
“She meant a lot to you, didn’t she?”
“Yeah,” he said and shifted his gaze to the windows looking out on the American Sea.
“I’m not trying to replace her you know.”
“I know you’re not, but she will always be important to me,” Elliot said.
“And she should, but maybe it’s not that you haven’t had time for a relationship, but that you didn’t want one.”
“You’re probably right. I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” Nadine said and drew his face close to hers. She searched his eyes and saw his desire for her. Nadine kissed him so quietly that the sound of the base’s generators could be heard. In that moment, Elliot heard his thoughts for her.
Nadine smiled to the look of clairvoyance on Elliot’s features and waited for him to respond.
“Maybe I don’t want the couch either,” he said. Nadine got up from her chair and led him to the bedroom. Just as they reached the bed, Nadine surprised him with a forceful push onto it.
“Have you had too much brandy?” Elliot asked with a grin.
“No.” Nadine removed her navy duty tunic and let it drop to the floor. Nadine leaned over him and unbuttoned his double—breasted Alliance uniform. She took it off of him with the sound of cotton brushing against cotton. The uniform stayed under Elliot while she pulled of his duty shirt.
He sat up long enough to pull off her shirt and toss it to the floor. Elliot ran his hands along her side as she ran hers down his chest and abdominal muscles. He had a small inverted crescent of hair on each chest muscle that she ran her fingers through. Elliot ran his own hands up her smooth stomach and gently cupped each of her breasts before carefully massaging them. Nadine smiled as she saw his arousal and leaned forward to kiss him. He moved his hands to her back as she bent forward and unclasped the black bra she wore and slid it off of her. Nadine leaned back and got up to reveal her half—naked body. The medical ingenuity of their age gave her the look of a topless thirty year old despite her actual age some fifteen years older. She unbuttoned the pants of her uniform and allowed them to drop to the floor. Nadine laid down beside him.
Elliot removed his trousers as the two lay next to each other on their sides, lightly touching the other’s skin. With insatiable curiosity, Nadine pulled off Elliot’s black boxer—briefs while he removed her underwear. They both explored each other looking for areas that would result in a moan of pleasure or sudden intake of breath. They carefully watched each other’s faces for signs of ecstasy as they experimented with different movements of their hands.
Nadine stopped in recognition of Elliot’s mounting excitement and placed a firm hand to his shoulder and pressed his back to the blue bedspread. He watched her smooth, nude profile in the dimness of the bedroom while she positioned herself over Elliot and then guided him into her.
A spasm passed through both their bodies as their first mutual thrust was initiated. She stared at him in surprise at the revelation that the first orgasmic sensation had opened both of their minds to each other. They experienced a shock at discovering their deepest thoughts come forward. Their minds and bodies intermingled.
Elliot found himself lost in physical pleasure and then saw himself looking through her eyes at Nadine’s father. His appearance told him that this must have occurred at least twenty years ago. He felt her affection for him even though it was discouraged by MERA. They had no marriages between members and she was the product of an arranged pregnancy. Catherine was encouraged to have three children by him and Douglas had fathered at least a dozen children with three other women. Just like Catherine, Douglas took pride in the fact that he was considered to be good stock worthy of preservation within the organization’s ranks. Love was not something required within MERA nor was it encouraged and her two parents were not supposed to have any for her.
Against the discouragement of MERA she had subtly found ways to get to know him. Nadine had found him a good man and a worthy friend. The attachment was mutual and secretly encouraged by her father over a period of months of polite conversation.
It was one day that Catherine gave her the orders to escort Douglas along with a small detail of guards to Detention Room E. Her knowledge of MERA was much more limited at the time, having only completed her training three years earlier, the designation had little meaning to her. The reaction on his face at being told she was taking him to Detention Room E gave her a small hint of what was to come. Douglas went from presenting a warm smile to becoming so pale that he looked ill. Nadine accompanied him to a section of MERA that she had never seen before. A small group of guards more familiar with the route accompanied her. A long ride in an elevator brought them deep below ground to a level of cement floors and walls with long tracks of fluorescent lights casting a deathly glow onto the already white Douglas. “E” was the first thing she saw on the wall stenciled there in black. Elliot noticed Douglas was trembling the entire way. Her father hung his head in defeat as they progressed down the unadorned concrete corridor until it met up with a large area the size of a gym but with a ceiling height of only ten feet.
The lead soldier nodded and then spoke in a low whisper to her.
“We can handle things from here. You can return to duty.”
She obeyed her senior officer without question. The last thing Nadine saw on her father’s face was a look of betrayal.
She had a vague suspicion of what was occurring but left without a word only to hear the crackle of particle beam discharges behind her. Once on the elevator, she stared at the opposite wall and wondered if what she had witnessed could have been real. The elevator doors opened a moment later to Catherine standing at the entrance to the lift.
“It was real,” Catherine confirmed with a quick scan of her mind. After years of experience she could easily keep her out now, but was unable to then. “It was necessary for you to have this lesson child. We are not blind. I am well aware of your secret friendship with a family member.”
Catherine shook her head in response to Nadine’s suspicions.
“It wasn’t because of that. No forbidden relationship here is worthy of a death sentence.”
“Then why?”
“Becaus
e we discovered evidence that he’s a traitor. Several subtle mind—scans conducted over the last few weeks have confirmed it. Treason is a capital offense.”
“And I just had to witness it?” Nadine asked in bitterness.
“Yes, if only to reaffirm why we have the rules we do. Anyone of our people can be lost and such deep emotional attachments are a weakness no soldier can afford. Now you know why we discourage such things.”
Catherine regarded her for a moment with a steel gaze and then turned away. Nadine merely stared, shell—shocked at her back while she left.
To this day, this moment with Elliot, she never forgot the lesson or the look on her condemned father’s face. Elliot’s realization of everything that motivated this woman towards such a dispassionate stance forced a tear down his face. Nadine had experienced the memory with him; in return, he shared his most guarded memory with her.
For Nadine, a bridge materialized into existence and she saw through his eyes. She recognized the technological level of the control covered consoles and displays as a period some ten years ago just before the last major refit of the Alliance fleet. To her right, someone standing on the bridge said something to her she didn’t hear due to her distraction at her surroundings. The person who had spoken was a gorgeous woman with long red hair and doe—brown eyes. The image seemed so vivid that she nearly said “Excuse me?” out loud before realizing that the Elliot of ten years ago was responding in a conversation that was a ghostly shadow of a real event.
The two were talking about what they would do after their duty shifts ended. Elliot suggested the officer’s lounge.
“We did that last night,” the woman said. “Can’t we stay in tonight? Maybe see a movie?”
This was his wife Lily, Nadine realized.
Nadine felt Elliot’s disappointment for a moment and then saw a smile appear across his face as Lily moved closer and grasped his hand.
“All right,” he sighed, “but Josh and Madi are only on leave for another day here before they go back to work on the Suffolk.”
“Then we can invite them over,” Lillian said and walked away towards the Science Station. Three vertical silver bars sat on either side of the purple collar indicating her Commander’s rank. Elliot had never mentioned she was part of the Science Corps.