by Bianca D'Arc
Getting too personally involved with the man could only complicate things, but she was having a hard time convincing her heart. The fact that he’d modeled his AI after his dead mother touched something in her. She was glimpsing sides of Julian she was certain he didn’t usually let anyone see, and she was feeling things…unprofessional things…in her heart for him.
She had to get a grip. So much was riding on them and what they did once they got to Solaris Prime. She couldn’t afford to mess up by becoming romantically involved with him. Could she? For once in her life, she didn’t know what to do.
They sat in silence for a while and eventually she stilled her racing thoughts, watching the light of distant stars twinkle and shine through the cockpit viewport. Julian was an easy presence on her left. She was surprised at how comfortable he was to be around. His personal energy didn’t clash with hers, which was a novelty. Most of the time, people annoyed her. Julian? Not so much. Or rather, he bothered her in an altogether different way. A way that had her body humming with attraction, rather than annoyance. And that perhaps, was more dangerous than usual in this tense situation.
“Why didn’t you just tell me who you were back on the station?” Julian’s voice cut through the silence, startling her out of her circling thoughts.
“I had my doubts about security on the station. Plus, I didn’t know how you’d react. You might’ve seen my interference as official, and gone against me, breaking ties with the military for good. I couldn’t let that happen. You’re too important to the intel operations in your sector to let a misunderstanding ruin that relationship. I’m not really here in an official capacity. Although General Winters knew the basic gist of my intentions, he’s the only one who did. There was no report filed. No record of what I’d seen. I told him verbally, and only in roundabout terms. Officially, I’m on a much-deserved vacation to visit family.”
“But you mentioned some pretty important aspects about my plans in the bar,” he argued.
She waved away his objections with one hand. “That bar is the most secure place in five sectors. Nothing said there is going to get into places it shouldn’t. The fact remains, I couldn’t tell you about my official ties until you had already agreed to take me along.”
“And until we were already underway, so I couldn’t easily get rid of you,” he muttered. She had to laugh at the disgust in his tone.
“Yeah, well, there is that,” she agreed. “I’m sorry, Julian. I hope by the end of this journey I’ll have earned your trust and you’ll understand why I chose to approach this the way I did. For now, I’m here and I have no plans to stop you in your planned revenge. I only ask that you allow me to make contact with the holy man who is expecting me first, then you can go about your business. It’s even possible that he might help you on your path.”
“You’re kidding, right?” He looked over at her, his expression full of mistrust. “One of them would actually help me get close to killing their emperor? What kind of drugs are you on? They must be plenty powerful if you actually believe what you just said.”
She laughed again, just a small chuckle. “I’m not on anything and I do believe what I said. You’ll see.” She turned back to look at the stars.
It was some moments before he spoke again.
“You were right to question security on the station. Two people were watching you board. Matilda recorded their conversation, but I haven’t had time to listen to it yet.”
She sat up, alarm coursing through her. “Can we listen now?”
He seemed to catch on to her mood. “Sure. Matlida, replay recorded station-side audio from just before launch.”
A moment later, a strange male voice played over the speakers. “Did you get the tracker placed?”
“Yeah,” said an unknown female. “Took some doing. That ship has a repulsion field on its hull, but I fouled it right below the aft second exhaust. They won’t find it. The interference from the exhaust will cloud any scans they might run in that area.”
“Good. It’ll take us a while to clear the station, but we can track them down and intercept them in some lonely quadrant along their route. They can’t escape.”
“End of recording,” Matilda’s voice said evenly.
Star could feel Julian’s eyes boring into her before she turned her head to meet his gaze. He looked angry.
“Friends of yours?” he asked, accusation clear in his tone.
“The voices don’t sound familiar,” she replied, ignoring his tone. “Matilda, did you manage to capture any images of the people speaking in that recording?”
“Not great images, but I got something. Take a look,” Matilda advised, flashing an image over the heads-up display. She zoomed in and refocused, cleaning up the image of a tall man and a woman in shadow.
“I’ve never seen him before, but there’s something about her…” she trailed off, trying to think what it was about the woman who couldn’t be seen very well, that set her senses tingling.
“Well, they don’t sound friendly and they managed to tag my ride. That just pisses me off.” He stood up. “I’m going to have to go out there and scrape that shit off my hull.”
“My hull, if you don’t mind,” Matilda piped up. “And please watch your language, Julian.”
The maternal scolding coming from the AI made Star want to giggle, but she held it in with some effort. Julian looked upset and she didn’t want to add to his annoyance with her. She was concerned about the people following her. She needed time to think about it. Usually, at times like this, she would retreat to her meditation chamber. Unfortunately, out here she had nothing like that available…except…
“I’ll do the spacewalk,” she said quickly.
Julian stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. “Are you serious?”
She stood and walked closer to him in the small space. “You wouldn’t leave me stranded in a pressure suit in the middle of nowhere, right?”
“Of course not,” he answered right away. “But are you qualified?”
“I wouldn’t volunteer if I wasn’t. I’ve done my share of Extra-Vehicular Activity, both in training and in real life.”
“Just because you can do EVA, doesn’t mean I trust you to detach a tracking device from my ship.” His voice rose, in proportion to the temper he was so bad at hiding.
“Why in the world not?” she challenged.
“The thing could be set to explode if tampered with, for all we know. And it’s in a tricky spot on the ship. Those exhausts aren’t anything to fool with, even when we’re idling.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo,” she insisted.
“Your first what?” Julian looked truly confused—and even angrier.
“It’s a sporting competition to do with horses on ancient Earth,” she explained, getting close to complete exasperation.
“What do horses have to do with anything?” He seemed ready to blow his top.
“Nothing.” She was equally annoyed. “It’s just an expression. Stop trying to change the subject.”
“I’m not trying to change the subject! You’re the one who brought equines into the conversation.”
They were toe to toe now, almost shouting in each other’s faces.
And then his head dipped, and their lips met.
And everything changed.
Chapter Three
Their kiss turned from angry to molten in the blink of an eye. Star’s eyes closed, in fact, and stayed that way as sensation took over. She’d had no idea there was such passion underneath Julian’s tightly controlled surface.
His kiss was strong, almost conquering, but she didn’t mind. For once, she wanted to yield. She wanted to be conquered. The yang to his yin. The softness that gave way to his hardness. Speaking of which…
She felt his hardness against her belly as he drew her into his arms, almost crushing her in his masterful embrace. And the kiss went on…and on…
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed while they’d bee
n in a clinch, but the soft chime of the computer finally drew them apart. She was dizzy, and thankfully Julian didn’t let her go. She really needed the support of his strong arms around her waist at the moment.
“Yes, Matilda?” he lifted his head, speaking toward the ceiling, clearly addressing the ship.
“I hate to intrude…” the amused female voice came through the speakers, “…but there is still the matter of the tracker. I think it really needs to be taken off my hull before we make any more navigational corrections. We don’t want the pursuers knowing exactly where we’re going, do we?”
Julian sighed heavily, letting his head roll back a bit as he seemed to contemplate the conduit above their heads. Star saw the frustration etched into his features and she admitted to feeling a bit of it herself.
But her frustration was tempered by a bit of relief and definite thanks to the AI for breaking up their make-out session. She had been in definite danger of losing all sense of propriety. She had been about ready to jump Julian’s bones—no ifs, ands or buts about it. Only Matilda’s timely intervention had prevented them from taking an irrevocable step that she wasn’t at all sure they were ready for. She wasn’t at all sure, for that matter, that they would ever be ready for such a step.
Try as she might to see into her own future, she had no idea if Julian was destined to be simply a temporary comrade-in-arms or a longer term presence in her life. She wasn’t the type to sleep around, but Julian’s kiss had been enough to make her want to forget all her scruples. He was just that good. That tempting. That delicious.
Steadier on her feet, Star backed away from him, removing herself from his arms—and temptation.
“I’d better suit up,” she said quietly and headed for the hatch. She didn’t give him time to respond as she climbed into her pressure suit and checked all the equipment for her Extra Vehicular walk around the block.
Within a few minutes, she was in the airlock, cycling through on her way out the door. She had chosen to use the aft airlock, which would bring her out closer to the area she needed to access. She checked her comms just before the outer hatch went green.
“Are you with me, Matilda?” she asked, communicating directly from the comm system in her suit to the ship’s AI.
“Reading you loud and clear, Colonel,” Matilda’s voice sounded in her ear.
“Just call me Star, please,” she instructed quietly. “I’m assuming you can guide me over your hull. Can you also interface with the visual feed off my suit?”
“You bet I can,” Matilda answered, sounding more like a person than a computer. “The exhaust makes it difficult for me to rely on sensors in that area, which is why those miscreants tagged me there, but if you can give me a visual, I can most likely tell you exactly what we’re up against and instruct you on the best course of removal.”
“That’s what I’m banking on,” Star replied as she hit the hatch release. The door opened to outer space. “My, ain’t this pretty?” she whispered. The beauty of the stars never ceased to impress her.
Removal of the tracking device went easily enough. Star left a little message on the device in case those following them retrieved it, then gave it a little push toward a distant star, far off their planned course. With any luck, it would throw those tracking them off their course—or at least slow them down a bit.
“Matilda, have you been keeping Julian apprised of our progress out here?” Star asked, plotting something in her mind as she watched the small tracking device head off toward the stars.
“Not really. He knows you’re working on it. He got huffy and I refused to give him any more updates until he calms down. I also locked him in his quarters when he threatened to come out after you. Silly boy has worked himself into a snit over nothing.” Star could almost hear the tsking sound in Matilda’s words.
“Is he all right?”
“He’s fine. Just confused, and I think he’s worried about you. He doesn’t like that we’re talking and he’s not in on the conversation.” This time, Matilda’s tone sounded almost as if she was amused.
“Is he that much of a control freak?” Star paused to ask.
“Not really,” Matilda said contemplatively. “I think it’s more that he’s not used to having company—besides me, of course—on this ship. He’s very proprietary toward the Matilda, in case you haven’t noticed.”
The way the AI phrased that sounded as if it saw itself separate from the ship itself, which was odd in the extreme. Star suspected something interesting happening there, but filed the thought away for later contemplation. She had something even more important to attend to at the moment.
“Matilda, I’m going to meditate for a few minutes. I’ll tether myself to the airlock, but I’m not coming inside yet. Would it be possible for you to keep Julian in the dark while I get some quiet time?”
“Yes…” She sounded hesitant. “But can’t you get your quiet time onboard?”
“It would be more difficult,” Star answered honestly. “I have certain abilities that work best in peaceful surroundings. This is one of the most peaceful I can find given our current situation.”
“You find being in the ultimate hostile environment with only a thin pressure suit between yourself and total oblivion peaceful?” Matilda asked rhetorically. She didn’t wait for an answer. “Okay, then. I’ll give you some alone time, but I’ll sound a warning if your air supply starts to get low.”
“It won’t take that long. I just want a few minutes.” Star looked at her suit readouts and knew she had about an hour’s worth of air left. Plenty of time.
Star set the tether and began her relaxation process. Little by little she let go of tension and the stress of everyday life.
She was an expert in guiding herself into meditation. Today she had a few images she wanted to pursue. She started with the woman who had been following her. She focused on the shadowy image the ship had caught of the woman first. When nothing came to her right away, she brought the image of the man to the forefront. Then she recalled the image of them together, the way the man’s head bent slightly to listen to the woman speak, her stature much slighter than his. He was a warrior.
And then the vision took over. He was, indeed a warrior. One of humanity’s best and brightest. He was Enhanced. And the woman was his partner in the search and retrieval missions they specialized in. Partners in work…and at some point in the future, they would be partners in life. Life partners. Mates.
And their daughter… Oh, yes. Their daughter would be something special. Someone special. A beautiful girl to catch the eye—and the heart—of their greatest enemy.
A distant chime sounded, followed by a voice. Star didn’t want to let the vision go, but the real world was calling her back. A voice was calling her name. A man’s voice. Star smiled even as she began to shake off the ethereal feeling of her vision.
“Star! What the hell are you doing out there? Come inside and let me cycle the airlock.” Julian sounded worried as Star turned to face the open hatch of the airlock after one last long look at the stars.
She felt good. Things were going to work out. She felt it in her bones, but she knew it wouldn’t be easy to get to the happy end result. Still, they were on the right course. Her vision had given her that distinct impression.
Her movements were slow. She was groggy from the vision. It had been a deep one. It had sucked her in and almost wouldn’t let her go.
“Star, honey,” a woman’s voice came over the comms. “Your air levels are getting dangerously low. I tried to wake you, but you didn’t respond to me. I finally had to let Julian try. Thank the Goddess he was able to get through. Walk into the airlock, sweetie, and let me close the outer hatch. That’s a good girl.” The computer sounded so…mothering. Star responded to her gentle coaxing and lifted one leaden foot after another—which was odd, considering she was weightless at the moment.
Something was wrong with her thinking process…and her body. Star allowed that thought to spur he
r on, though she still seemed to be moving in slow motion. She got herself inside the airlock and saw the motion of the outer door swooshing closed behind her. Then she heard the hiss of air pressure returning to the small cubicle in which she stood. As soon as the pressure equalized, she would be able to unseal her pressure suit and go back into the ship.
There was a small viewport in the inner door and she could see Julian’s face peering in at her. He looked worried, though her sluggish brain still couldn’t really figure out why.
When the light turned green, the door opened from Julian’s side as her hand stretched out to reach for the handle. She was moving so sluggishly, but so were her thoughts. Sometimes visions hit her like that. Although, she’d never before sought a vision while in the depths of space, with nothing more than a pressure suit between her and oblivion. Maybe that’s why this experience was so different than what she usually experienced? She wasn’t sure. Her thought processes still wasn’t totally back from wherever they went during her visions.
Julian was almost a blur of motion as he reached for her. He unsealed the suit first, allowing the richer blend of ship air into her lungs. Only then did she realize how thin the air in her suit had grown. She looked down and saw the blinking red indicator for her suit’s air.
Wow. She’d been way closer to the edge than she realized. Her head swam as Julian picked her up in his arms and brought her into the ship, shutting the airlock door behind them. He was muttering, but she couldn’t make much sense of what he was saying. He moved so fast, her head swam. Or maybe her head was swimming due to oxygen deprivation. That could be it. She really wasn’t sure. But she felt a lot better now that she was breathing ship air instead of what little had remained in her suit.
Julian paused only momentarily for a hatch to slide open before he resumed his quick pace, lowering her to a bed in a room she hadn’t seen before. It could only be his quarters. The captain’s quarters. It was larger than her room, with a few more amenities and a little more personal space, as befitted a captain’s chamber.