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Helen needed more from life as a pilot than the Alliance could offer. When a handsome Azon offers her a new position, she can’t say no, to anything.
Helen has enjoyed her tenure as an Alliance pilot, but working with unpredictable crews is wearing on her nerves. When an incident of defense of the innocent via mutiny ends her career, controlling warships is over. Joining the Sector Guard felt right, but if she had known what was ahead of her, she may have held back when the handsome Azon doctor offered her a job.
Hyder has always known the matches that he sees are the perfect mate for the person he is speaking to. He may not know a name, or a location, but he knows what everyone’s perfect match looks like. Seeing himself as the Terran’s perfect match is a surprise, but when he looks her over, he is sure he is up to the challenge. He just has to put Pilot in command.
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Pilot in Command
Copyright © 2011 Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-77111-051-8
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by Devine Destinies
An imprint of eXtasy Books
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Pilot in Command
Sector Guard Book 25
By
Viola Grace
Prologue
Before there was a Sector Guard, there were talks for years about a joint task force to cover all of the minutia of peacekeeping in outer reaches of the Alliance and Nyal sectors. Multiple species all trying to gain a leg up on the staffing so that their races would be represented in the majority.
When the Avari joined the discussion via long-range communication, they proposed a compromise. The first official Guardsmen would be a pair—one from an old race of the Alliance and one from a new one. The candidates would be selected on merits that would have made them Champions of their own species if they had not already been involved in the Alliance. Psychic talents of unusual strength or application were preferred.
Several species who had worked hard to expunge the psychic genes were outraged, but they calmed when they were informed that they would be allowed to contribute support staff to the project.
As everything settled, the first candidates were selected and approached by the Alliance. Out of one hundred fourteen candidates, only thirty accepted and the males only agreed when added incentive was arranged.
One man had the talent to make those arrangements viable and he needed to meet with each of the men to confirm their needs.
Hyder Mihal was an Azon doctor with a talent for organization and matchmaking. He just needed a pilot and a note from the Haldis Imperium explained exactly who he needed.
Chapter One
Helen Taline swung her ship around so that the gunners had full access to the raider ships. They fired back and she felt every impact on her hull like a mild burn.
“Pilot! What the hell are you doing?” The com screamed in her mind, a sound run through the wires that led to her implants.
“I am flying the ship, Captain. Nice of you to ask.” She winced as another strike hit her broadside.
“I told you to clear the area!”
“There are civilians in the area. We are buying them time, Captain.” Her voice was a mock-up of her physical voice translated from electrical impulses into a speaker.
Captain Westerhale was a coward. She had filed numerous complaints against him, but it was a pilot versus the captain. It was not as if she could physically witness anything from inside her tank.
With a quick flick of her mind, she disconnected all manual controls. The crew was in her body, they were going to have to play by her rules.
Her gunners were devastating the raiders and they fell back, but it wasn’t good enough. Keeping the bulk of the Burnt Star between the raiders and their initial targets, she pursued them until an array of ships was lying in her wake.
The captain was screaming into her sensors and she released the control back to the control-room staffers who were trying to cut her override.
She would face disciplinary action for the hijacking of her own ship and she was ready for it. Those family transports had nowhere to hide and for a moment, she had been the only thing between them and disaster. She would do it again.
She was weak, but the Azon physician who worked on her had gentle hands. She wanted to get his attention, but she was weighed down by her leaden limbs.
“Hello.” He looked into her eyes with the sparkling green of a forest shading into the gold of the afternoon sun. His skin was fine bronze velvet in the normal specs for his race, but she had never seen it so close before.
“Hello.” Her voice was a raw squeak that cracked when she got to the o.
“Glad to know that your voice is working. Well, Pilot Taline, you are in excellent shape for someone who was forcibly removed from their tank. The captain has been arrested and dispatched to a penal colony and the rest of your crew is firmly on your side. They were tired of following the orders of a coward.”
“How do you know all this?” Her harsh whisper made her blush. He keyed a pad in his hand and she elevated which made breathing easier.
“I have been over all of the reports from beginning to end. I watched the battle from all angles, including the civilian ships that you refused to abandon. You are a very brave woman, Pilot Taline.”
She blushed and she knew that her tank-pale skin was turning bright red. “I did what I had to based on the situation.”
“And refused to leave until the raiders were beaten back and retreated.”
She took a look around the silent medical bay and the lone doctor that attended her. “I have been fired.”
He looked up and laughed. “No. You have not been fired. You have been offered a commendation and a sort of a promotion.”
She made sure that she was wearing a sheet before she moved and she held it to her breasts while she tried to swing her legs over to dangle off the edge of the medical bed. “What kind of promotion?”
“There is a new position in the Alliance that is about to be offered to you. It is an offer made only to exceptional members of their races and species. You qualify for that distinction.” He watched her carefully as she slowly started to swing her legs. “How long were you in that tank?”
“Two years. I tried to work out when I could.”
Her bare legs clearly showed the ports in her skin as did her arms, chest and her temples and the base of her skull.
She had been altered to join to a warship and now that was being taken away from her. “What kind of position would this be?”
“You would be a pilot but in a smaller ship.”
“Why?”
“Because I need a pilot and you are the best there is.”
She snorted and looked at him in shock. “I am supposed to go from being a living warship to a private driver? That is c
onsidered a promotion?”
He crossed his arms and scowled. “It isn’t a bad deal. I am considered charming in some sectors.”
“It isn’t personal, but I used to be able to tear holes in space and jump across it in an instant. This will be a step down for me.”
He nodded. “I see. What do you know about Reflex ships?”
She froze in place and then started kicking her legs again. “Tell me more.”
He leaned forward with a smile lighting the sharp curve of his lips and did just that.
Helen blinked at the stiff fabric that she was presented with the moment that she had signed on to be Dr. Mihal’s chauffeur.
It was an unrelieved grey, but there were sparkling fibres in the fabric. To her surprise when she tugged it on, it also had holes for her control ports. As she sealed the suit, it hummed slightly and conformed to her body, causing rigidity around her limbs that suggested support. She slipped on the flat shoes that matched the bodysuit.
She had just wobbled to her feet and was settling her weight with the bizarre support offered by the suit when Dr. Mihal returned. “You are up?”
She straightened slowly. “Apparently.” She wavered and the suit compensated, steadying her.
Grinning, she looked up into his changeable gaze and smiled. “Show me the ship.”
He seemed stunned by her smile, but then he offered his arm for support. She waved him off.
“Are you sure? You look a little unsteady.”
“I haven’t had to use my own muscles for a very long time. The suit is offering some support, but I need to remind my body what it has to do.” Helen rubbed her hands together and smirked. “Show me this ship.”
Dr. Mihal nodded and gestured for her to follow him. “This way.”
She had assumed that they were still on the Burnt Star, but the people who passed them were not in the standard crew uniform. “Where are we?”
“The Niglith Halor. It is a ship that has been given to the Sector Guard to begin its first planet-bound base.”
He was walking far more slowly than his legs were able to manage and she knew that she was holding him back. Helen cursed the after effect of her lack of movement in her tank. She despised being feeble.
“When does that happen?”
He smiled. “When you fly me to our candidate world and we meet with the avatar.”
She stopped. “Wait. How many other Guardsmen are there?”
“Many candidates, but right now there are two. You and me.”
She shook her head. “We are supposed to get this whole thing started?”
He walked for a few more steps and then typed in a code to open a door. Inside was a shuttle bay and the most beautiful ship that Helen had ever seen.
“My dear Pilot, we have already begun.”
Chapter Two
Helen ran her hands along the smooth skin, enjoying the leashed power beneath her hands. “She’s gorgeous. What is her name?”
Dr. Mihal was looking a little disgruntled as she stroked the sides of the shuttle with reverence. “She is the Class One.”
That made Helen blink. “I am a Class One.”
He inclined his head. “She is yours.”
Class One was a breeding designation in the Alliance. A Class Zero would contribute the least amount of genetic material to their offspring. They were highly desired by races obsessed with racial purity but who were forced to seek out other races to interbreed with to stave off extinction. A Class One could contribute recessive genes for appearance but little else. When you got to a Class Ten, the parent was basically self-cloning.
“Mine? Really?” Her hands trembled as she triggered the biometric opening and a set of stairs extended to allow them entrance into the extraordinary creation.
Her admiration continued inside. The details were exquisite. All storage was both physically and magnetically locked. The seats would accommodate up to eight and the cargo area could contain tons of load. The true jewel of the ship was up front. A pristine set of jacks were stowed in a display near the pilot seat and she rubbed her hands together with eagerness. “Can I?”
Dr. Mihal put a hand on her shoulder, an act that startled her as no one had touched her in years. “You have not eaten yet.”
Eating. Right. “Sorry, it has been a while. Is there a dispenser here?”
He turned and with a light pass of his hand, the galley rotated and lifted into view. He pressed a few buttons and a packet of light pink liquid with a straw rose out of the unit.
Suspicious, she took what seemed like a plastic bag full of pink milk with a straw. “What is it?”
“Nutrient supplement to get your system used to working again. You won’t get hungry until your body realizes where the nutrients are coming from.” He gestured for her to drink it.
She took a cautious sip and then sat down. “This is strawberry!”
He smiled. “We did our research. It is one of your favourite flavours.”
She slurped rapidly until it was all gone. “Is there more?”
His grin showed sharp teeth. “Not for two hours. I will run scans on you and confirm that you are absorbing the nutrients, then you can have another.”
“Thanks, Doc.” She dropped the bag into the disposal unit and wistfully watched it disappear.
A peculiar expression crossed his face. “You can call me Hyder.”
She felt a small flip in her stomach. “Hyder, thank you. The previous physicians I have had experience with didn’t have that kind of attention to detail.”
“It is my responsibility to keep you functioning. This project will fail if we don’t keep track of each other.”
Helen could swear that there was almost a blush going on on his face. She cleared her throat and stood.
With the wave of his hand, the galley receded, leaving a smooth surface. “Now, you can jack in to the system and check out what the Class One can do.” He waved for her to take the pilot’s seat and he leaned back while she rushed past him with a manic grin.
She primed the system, checking the power and frequency flows. Helen tuned the level to match her own frequency and waited for a moment to confirm the signal flow. It was strong, systems were good and she shut it down to jack in.
“Does it meet with your approval?” Hyder was sitting at the unnecessary navigator station.
“Let’s find out if the Class One and I are meant to be together.” There were only six jacks, so she used two on her temples, two at the back of her head and two in the back of her hands.
With her right hand, she pressed the power button on the centre of her console.
She stiffened in her chair as data from the ship streamed into her. She saw through the sensors as if looking through her own eyes. Absently, she drew in the steps and sealed the hatch.
“Are you ready for launch, Pilot?”
She turned to him and smiled with a snappy salute. His Alliance military details filed past her. “If I can call you Hyder, you can call me Helen, Commander.”
He smiled. “Our destination is Morganti. You have priority clearance to launch. Let’s get you back to work, Pilot.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” With her eyes watching the readouts, she signalled the control tower visible on her internal displays. They authorized immediate launch and the bay door lights began flashing as the ship prepared to disgorge them.
She hovered the ship and retracted the landing gear. With the flick of her mind, they turned toward the opening doors and a moment later, they were falling out of the ship and clearing the rotation space in seconds.
She brought Morganti up in the nav system and laid in the course. “Now we head to the jump zone and then we will see what this baby can do.”
She retracted her senses and noted that Hyder seemed relaxed for someone in an experimental vehicle.
“Well done, Pilot. Feel free to research any of the candidates as they will be our next stop after we secure the space for the base.” He brought up a s
creen and started making notes and doing research.
He seemed to be unconcerned with her handling an experimental vessel with nothing but her mind. He knew nothing about her. Why would he trust her with his life?
“Who gave you my name? I am fairly sure that pilots engaging in mutiny are not something that normally would gain promotions.”
He chuckled and she smiled as she realized that she liked the sound.
“You were recommended by a Negotiator working in the Haldis Imperium. She gave a rather pithy description of your personality which was confirmed by this latest action.”
“A Negotiator? Really? Huh.” Helen didn’t know any Negotiators.
“I got the impression that you shared a species.”
“It’s possible. There were two thousand of us brought out here and it is possible that one of us could have taken up the armour. Or more than one, actually. I know of at least five other pilots.” She frowned. “It could have been Tyrell. She has cracked her shell, but I think she is still active in politics.”
“That was the name on the message. The administrative council considered the information and you were added to the Sector Guard roster. In fact, once you were discovered, you were the only possible pilot that could be considered.” He had a wistful look in his eyes.
She blinked, “Why is that?”
He smiled. “Aren’t we at the jump point?”
She redirected her focus and set the coordinates for the jump. “I am going to bring that up later.”
“I look forward to it.” He kept his eyes on her and she noted that he casually held a scanner in one palm.
He was going to watch her jump on every level possible, so she immersed herself in the potential of her new silver body.
The site coordinates of her destination were set. She sent a priority pulse to the jump-zone beacon and when it sent back an all clear, she moved.