"The water's surprisingly warm," she said, then slowly slid the rest of the way in. "Captain, I've been meaning to ask you something, if that’s okay?"
"Sure, shoot."
"What are the rules about—" she hesitated, as if unsure how to ask. "What are the rules about … um … dating on board The Lilly? You know, for officers and the like?"
Jason's heart skipped a beat before realizing the reality of the situation. Lieutenant Morgan was the officer she was asking about. She treaded water several feet in front of Jason and was slightly out of breath. Waiting for his reply, she tilted her head all the way back and immersed her hair for a quick moment, exposing her wet, now see-through, bra.
"To be perfectly honest, I haven't checked the Alliance regulations. But if they’re anything like the Navy, and I'm fairly sure they would be, relationships between Alliance officers and an Alliance NCO crew member would be considered fraternization."
"Suppose it was an officer and someone who was not an Alliance crew member, but someone who was simply on loan from a civilian hospital?" Her Jhardian accent sounded almost Australian, but then again, different too.
Dira had moved a little closer, their faces no more than a foot apart.
"Like I said, I'm not up on Alliance rules and regs, but if you are a civilian, then dating Lieutenant Morgan may be—"
Dira burst out laughing, which soon turned to coughing and choking as she inhaled a mouthful of water. Jason took her arm and helped her over to the side of the pool. Once her coughing subsided, her smile returned.
"You OK?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm just showing you how sophisticated I can be."
Jason laughed. “Well, at least you didn't throw up; sophistication goes right out the window at that point." He was aware she had put her arm around his neck when he'd helped her over to the edge. She’d left it there and turned her face towards him—now only inches away.
"Morgan is certainly a good friend,” Dira said, starting to laugh again, but she then turned serious. "I wasn't referring to myself and Lieutenant Morgan, Captain." She didn't elaborate. She didn't need to. She let go the edge of the pool and brought her hands forward to encircle Jason's waist. She brought her lips close to the side of his face and he felt her lips lightly brush against his ear as she whispered, "Can I say something without the risk of being insubordinate?" Jason looked into her Jhardian eyes, with their flecks of violet and amber, her long lashes tickling his cheek with every blink.
"You might as well. No one else seems to worry about it," Jason said, in an equally soft whisper.
"I think you are doing everything you can to hide something."
"What would I have to hide? I think I'm pretty much an open book."
"I said trying to hide, not successfully hiding, something. There isn't a soul on board The Lilly who hasn't noticed there’s something going on between us. People notice things—they see how you look at me." Jason felt his cheeks flush. Had he been so obvious? Was he that transparent? She became serious and said, "Why don't you stop thinking so much?" Dira was pulling him backward, first beneath the cascading waterfall and then to the dark recessed space behind it. She brought her lips up to his and kissed him long and hard. Her arms and legs came up and encircled him. All too quickly, she pushed him away. "Okay, that's enough of that."
Speechless, Jason simply looked into those incredible eyes.
"You can't tell me that you weren't wondering what that would be like—now we know," she said.
"And now we know," Jason replied, finding it hard to keep the smile off his face.
“But ... Well, maybe you need to figure out what you want. I mean, are you back playing house with your ex-wife or are you really interested in me? You need to understand, I'm not human, Jason. I'm Jhardian. There are things about me, things that..." She stopped talking, embarrassed.
"Go on, Dira, please," Jason coaxed. He saw how important it was to her, and he wanted her to know he didn't take her concerns lightly.
"Courting a Jhardian girl. God, that sounds so old-fashioned.”
"Go on."
"Courting a Jhardian girl is different—unlike how it’s done on Earth. Not that I'm an expert on the goings-on with Earth relationships. And, unfortunately, I won’t be able to tell you how it's different."
Jason could see there was more she wanted to say. She was flustered. His hands rested gently on her hips. Immersed, they nestled closer together behind the waterfall—their faces inches apart.
"There's more… "
"Tell me, I want to know," Jason said.
"Oh, God. We’re ... I’m … physically not the same as a human," she said, barely loud enough to hear over the cascading water.
"Oh." He let that sink in for a moment. "So things don't work ..?"
Dira smiled, "No, they actually work just fine. Things definitely work. You'd be surprised how well things work. But, I'm not human." She smiled, more flustered. "How about we just leave it at that for now, OK?" She gave Jason a friendly shove, making him disappear back under the waterfall. "Cool off, sailor, I'm getting out."
Chapter 13
The mess hall was packed. Mollie sat with four of the fighter pilots—two men and two women. Lieutenant Wilson was telling a joke, but was switching out certain words—words she knew replaced bad words she wasn’t supposed to hear. Everyone laughed when he finished. Mollie looked up at their faces and wondered why they thought that was funny.
One of the women pilots, whom everyone just called Grimes, put an arm around Mollie’s shoulder and gave her a quick hug. “That’s a stupid joke; we only laugh so Wilson doesn’t get his feelings hurt,” she said, which evoked a few more giggles.
The XO entered the mess and approached their table. He smiled at Mollie, then looked over to Wilson. “I need you to start rotating your officers into bridge duty shifts.”
“Yes, sir. From what I’ve heard there wasn’t going to be a need—not much to do during FTL travel, is there?”
“Long-range scans are acting flakey. So we’re periodically dropping out of FTL, doing some short-range scans and making any minor course changes as necessary. With Gunny gone, I need someone familiar with The Lilly’s weapon’s system. Shift rotation’s coming up … I want three people,” Perkins replied.
“I’ll take this shift,” Grimes chimed in.
Wilson nodded, “I’ll be there, sir, and add Dak to the roster as well.”
Wilson, Grimes and Dak all stood in unison, picked up their lunch trays, and left the table.
Perkins brought his attention back to Mollie. “How’s your mom doing?”
“Not so great. I don’t think she realized how bad she was going to feel.”
“Well, let her know if there’s anything she needs or I can do for her—I’m just a NanoCom hail away.” Perkins smiled and strode out of the mess. Others were returning to their shifts as well. Mollie turned around in her seat and eyed the activity of crewmembers coming and going. She’d had the strange feeling she was being watched, and this was the third time she’d spun around to find no one looking at her.
“It’s ready, Mollie,” came Plimpton’s friendly voice from behind the counter. He held a tray filled with covered food items up in the air and then set it down. “Let her know this is my own special recipe—designed to alleviate MediPod hangovers.”
“Thanks, Plimp.”
“Oh, so now I’m Plimp? You know, now everyone’s going to start calling me that,” he said, not too thrilled.
Mollie smiled and shrugged. She got up from the table, bussed her tray to a large bin, and walked over to the food tray Plimp had left for her. Again, she felt like she was being watched. In the minute she had turned away, something had changed—someone had moved. After picking up the tray, she headed toward the exit. She scanned the lunch tables; only a few stragglers were still in the mess finishing their meals.
* * *
The Seaman First Class watched the little girl in his peripheral vision walk toward the m
ess hall exit. He was fairly certain it had been her who had found and then destroyed one of his devices. He felt his anger rise up seeing Mollie Reynolds’ smiling face. Soon enough that smile would be gone. Soon enough, she, and everyone else on board, would be dealt with. The seaman let his mind wander. What would Admiral Reynolds’ reaction be when he heard that both his granddaughter and son were dead? If only I could see the expression on his face … Payback’s a bitch. But right now he needed to keep his head in the game. Having only two phase-disruption modules left would not be optimal, but there was nothing he could do about that now. His primary concern was the AI. What a magnificent piece of technology. These morons have no idea what her true capabilities were. Perhaps that’s best. For a brief moment, the seaman let a small smile invade his typically-solemn face—then it was gone. That fucking Craing cyborg monstrosity wasn’t the only one who could hack the AI. It had taken time. He’d had to mirror Ricket’s workstation—without either the AI or the cyborg being any the wiser. Now, with his every new hack into her core system level rules engine, the AI was losing her capability to manage key ship systems. And, with his most recent set of parameters, she was incapable of divulging the truth of what was happening. If that’s not ingenious, I don’t know what is … The seaman got up from the table, leaving the tray and remaining scraps of food behind. He had a lot to do and little time to do it.
* * *
Mollie put the food tray on the side of her mother’s bed. “The cook said this will make you feel better, Mom.” Mollie watched as her mother looked down at the tray of food, removed one of the plate covers, and quickly replaced it.
“Thank you, sweetie, that was kind of you to do that. But I’m not quite up to solid food yet.”
Mollie picked up the tray and took it into the kitchenette down the hall. When she returned, her mother had sat up and actually looked somewhat better than she had the previous day. “You look a little better, Mom.”
“I think I’m getting there. What have you been up to? You’re staying away from the Zoo, right?” Nan asked, watching Mollie’s face for any sign of deception.
“Nope. No Zoo.” Mollie said, then looked into her mother’s eyes.
Nan frowned, then she relaxed her face and smiled. “So that’s what that’s like.”
Mollie nodded and relayed another NanoCom text message to her mother: “If you have any questions on how to use your comms, I can help you.” Mollie then texted her mother another message: “It takes a while to get the hang of, but it’s kinda fun.”
“Okay, I’ll practice,” Nan said out loud. “I’m going to lie back for a little while, get some rest. You be good—stay out of trouble.”
* * *
Lieutenant Commander Perkins tensed. With the captain off ship, he was expected to make good decisions and, like the captain, be able to think fast on his feet. They’d received a distress call. Strange, though, that long-distance scans weren’t showing any vessels.
The three fighter pilots had taken their posts with Grimes at comms. Wilson, who’d relieved McBride, at the helm, and Dak on tactical, as well as roving and helping out on multiple other stations as needed.
“Helm, let’s ease out of FDL and take a look around,” the XO commanded.
“Aye, sir.”
The only indication that anything had changed was what appeared on the overhead wrap-around display. Distant stars were now stationary. But what really caught their attention was sitting off their forward bow. A ship.
“She’s twenty-five miles off our port, sir,” Wilson, said.
Perkins looked over to Dak, “And that wasn’t showing up on long-range sensors?”
“No, sir. Long-range sensors are clear.”
“Lilly, why didn’t you report the location of that vessel?”
“Short-range sensors indicate that this is a Bromine freighter out of the Lom-Cornice system. She’s been damaged and her propulsion systems are offline. There are currently three life forms on board,” the AI replied.
“That’s not what I asked you. I specifically inquired about your long-range sensors,” the XO responded, irritation building in his voice. There was no response from the AI.
The XO exhaled and looked closer at the ship. “Zoom and fill screen.”
The Bromine freighter had obviously been damaged. Blackened scorch marks dotted her hull. Her stern, two drives, had been targeted and much of that area looked to be open to space.
“We’re being hailed, sir,” Grimes reported. “They’re requesting assistance, they’ve got injured aboard. Numerous casualties.”
Perkins said to no one in particular, “Perfect, half our security personnel are away as well as our primary medical doctor. Who’s covering Medical?”
“Allen Moppet. Like Dira, he’s not military—He’s one of her medical technicians.”
“He’ll have to do. Dak, get a team together with necessary supplies and shuttle over. Until we know who they are and what’s happened, I don’t want them anywhere near The Lilly.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Sir, more ships are showing up on short-range scans. I’m at twenty-three and counting.” Dak reported.
“Belay that order, Lieutenant. That freighter will have to wait until we see what’s going on.”
“Pirates,” Perkins said. “I recognize that fleet of junkers. The Alliance had more than a few altercations with them. Thought they’d learned their lesson, but then again, they don’t really know who we are.”
“We’re being hailed, sir. A Captain Stalls from the ship directly off our stern,” Grimes said.
“There are now several hundred ships within a hundred mile radius. Most are old and of no real threat, but a few would pack a punch—like those three destroyer-class vessels off our stern,” Dak said, referring to the overhead display where three larger vessels were located.
“Put Captain Stalls on screen.”
“Captain Stalls, I’m Lieutenant Commander Perkins, XO of this vessel. How may I be of assistance to you?” Captain Stalls fit the look of a stereotypical pirate captain: long hair, beard, broad smile and something unexpected—likable.
“Lieutenant Commander Perkins, thank you for taking a moment to speak with me. I wish this could be a meeting under more agreeable circumstances. Unfortunately, by coming out of FTL at this particular time and place, you have inadvertently trespassed into a restricted space.”
“We would be happy to be on our way. We would like to offer our assistance to the surviving crew of the damaged freighter, then we’ll be out of your way,” Perkins replied cordially.
“I’m sorry, Lieutenant Commander Perkins. The damage is done. Please prepare to be boarded. There is absolutely no need for anyone on board your vessel to be injured or, God forbid, killed,” Captain Stalls said, and then offered up that friendly smile again.
“Captain, we’re actually in a bit of a hurry. I’m hoping our AI is translating things correctly for you, so there are no misunderstandings. Now I’m going to expedite things. According to our short-range scans, you are currently, and I mean your ship personally, sitting directly off our stern. In fact, your ship is positioned between two similar destroyer-class warships, correct?”
“That is correct. And there are several hundred other warships targeting your vessel as we speak.” The captain’s smile remained, but he had lost some of his confidence.
“We have something on board this ship we’ve just recently started to refer to as Orion’s Revenge. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. But Captain Stalls, you’re forcing my hand.”
“Dak, deploy rail guns and take out both vessels to the port and starboard of Captain Stalls’ ship.”
“Aye, sir”
“Helm, prepare to phase-shift to open space.”
The Lilly’s forward and aft rail guns emerged from her underside, snapping into place. Both guns commenced firing their munitions with antimatter characteristics. The two destroyer-class vessel’s shields did little
in warding off The Lilly’s rail munitions onslaught. Both ships were destroyed, nearly vaporized, in less than five seconds. The Lilly’s rail guns retracted into the hull and The Lilly vanished, only to reappear again several miles away. Perkins continued to watch the display. Captain Stalls’ smile was gone. He’d also turned several shades of grey.
“Captain, the next vessel to be targeted will be yours. It’s up to you, but I’m betting you’d like to reconsider things. No?”
Captain Stalls didn’t reply right away. When he did, the smile was back. “Lieutenant Commander Perkins, please forgive my rudeness. You are always welcome here. Please help those on the distressed freighter; take your time. Until we meet again ...” The display went black. One by one, the fleet of pirate ships headed away.
Chapter 14
Jason took one more circuit around the campsite, not only to ensure they hadn’t left anything behind, but to avoid all the sly glances, uncomfortable silences, or out-and-out smirks from both Billy and Orion. Dira’s words still rang in his ear: There isn't a soul on board The Lilly who hasn’t noticed how you look at me. Had he been that obvious? The last thing he’d wanted to do was hurt Nan, or push her away—and he’d undoubtedly done both. On the flip side, he’d had just about the most spectacular morning he could remember. He needed to get his head back into the game and, if at all possible, complete the mission. In a few days, the Craing Emperor’s Guard would be entering the Sol solar system.
At the far edge of the rock ledge where several trees were growing at what seemed to be unnatural angles—as if being pulled over the ledge itself—Jason looked to the far horizon from five hundred feet above ground. From this perspective he could clearly see all the other quadrants. He wondered what perils lay ahead for his team. If they were anything like quadrant 1, they had a ton of work cut out for them and very little time to do it.
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