Stowaway (Redleg in Space Book 1)

by Z D Dean

  “It looks great. I saw what you’re doing on the internal cams and changed and appropriate clothing. Why the deep thought?”

  “I created enough weight to challenge me before the nanite improvements, but now it isn’t even enough to make me sweat.”

  Unsure how to help, Samix just stood there and shrugged. Zade showed her around the small workout area, explaining what each piece of equipment did. He explained that the punching bag was used to practice striking, the padded floor could be used for sparring, and the weights were used for strength training. As he finished the walkthrough an idea struck him.

  “You said that the weights would be held in place by the gravity drive, right? Is it adjustable?” he asked.

  “Sure, you just have to bring up the room controls on your interface. Why?”

  “I just realized instead of creating more weight, I can just increase the gravity to make all lifts harder.”

  “Not a bad idea. All of the storage crates in the bay should be able to handle the extra G’s.”

  Zade was excited to try the increased gravity but was unsure if Samix could handle it. Samix headed over to the punching bag and took a few swings. As she did the punching bag began to swing wildly, at one point swinging high enough to hit the railing above. Zade remembered that earlier in the trip Samix backhanded him out of his seat without even trying, meaning she was strong enough to handle the higher gravity levels. Zade walked over to hold the punching bag as Samix hammered away on it. As he did, Zade brought up the room controls in his interface and increase the gravity to three times normal.

  The new gravity level was noticeable to both crewmembers in the gym. Zade immediately noticed how heavy his limbs felt and how sluggish his movements were. The increased gravity would really help him get a handle on his new physical capabilities. Zade could see Samix had noticed the change as well, but seemed to be handling it better than him. For a split second, her movements seemed uncoordinated and slow, but she adjusted quickly. Samix hammered on the bag for a few minutes to warm up, then suggested that she and Zade spar. Zade explained that he had not yet made gloves for sparring, but if Samix wanted to, he could have the fabrication machines make a couple pairs. Samix in turn, explained that she was not interested in striking but rather grappling. She explained that she had been the ship-wide grappling champ during her exploration training.

  Zade laughed nervously as he began clearing the mats of the weights he had been using. He knew he matched her in strength but feared he may out match her in technique. If she did her on-ship training with an exploration vessel, it meant her fellow crewmates were all scientists. If the scientists she bested to earn her title were anything like the scientists on this ship, she didn’t need much skill to beat them. While Zade finished cleaning off the mats he explained that he wasn’t professional, but he was pretty well versed in hand to hand combat. Samix assured him that she could handle herself.

  Zade walked toward the center of the mats and began stretching. Straightening up after hamstring stretch, still unsure of Samix’s abilities, Zade was surprised to see Samix already in motion. Sometime while Zade was stretching, Samix decided that it was time to begin and was flying towards him feet first. Zade only had a moment to brace himself before Samix’s feet connected squarely with his sternum. In triple gravity, it felt as if he had been hit by a truck. Although he had tried to brace himself, the impact took him off his feet. Zade landed flat on his back with Samix spryly perched atop him. Now realizing that he wasn’t going to destroy her, Zade went on the offensive. Hooking one of her ankles, Zade rolled, trying to both knock Samix off balance, and regain a more favorable position. Samix, as if she knew what was coming, quickly spread her feet, and landed in the full mount position.

  “Told you I could hold my own, ponyboy,” she said as she rained down blows on Zade’s head and neck.

  The increased gravity meant that Zade felt like he was being pinned by a small family sedan. Zade could feel her long firm legs pressing into his sides to hold him in place. Usually, Zade would take the time to appreciate having a beautiful woman sitting on top of him, but after having his pride hurt, he could only think about one thing, winning. Zade bucked twice to no avail. The third buck disrupted Samix, who lost her balance and fell forward planting her hands on either side of his head. Grabbing her left arm, and hooking her left leg with his foot, Zade planted a left hook to her ribs, rolled his hips, and slid out of her mount to his left.

  The move got him free of Samix’s mount, but no further. Regaining her composure, Samix locked her feet behind his back, and the two rolled into the guard position. Zade took his turn raining down blows, none of which were as effective as Samix’s from the mount. She slid her feet up Zade’s back and waited for the right moment to strike. A sloppy right hand was the opportunity she was waiting for. Trapping the lazily thrown punch against her chest, Samix slid her legs over his shoulders and locked her right foot behind her left knee. She pulled down on Zade’s head, and buried the triangle choke even deeper. The choke was deep, and she knew that Zade would be asleep momentarily. Zade immediately pushed down on top of Samix knowing that it was the only way to win the match. If he could push down the pressure from her legs would be applied more to his shoulders and keep him from passing out.

  Unable to break her guard, Zade regained his feet, wrapped both arms around her thighs, and stood up. After he had lifted Samix completely off the ground, Zade slammed her back into the mats. In triple gravity, it used up the remainder of his energy, but it did break the choke hold. Exhausted but free, Zade pushed off of her and tried to stand; it was his undoing. Samix caught his hand and spun into a perfectly executed arm bar. Too tired to fight it, Zade could only admit defeat and tap out.

  The sparring match had lasted just over 30 minutes and both Zade and Samix were exhausted. They laid on the mats panting, without the strength to even stand. Using his interface again Zade set the gravity in the cargo bay back to normal levels. The reduced weight allowed both fighters to sit up next to each other and regain enough energy to talk.

  “I have to give you props. You are the only person who lasted longer than 30 seconds against me,” Samix said.

  Holy shit, this woman is amazing.

  Zade put his hand on the back of Samix’s head, and leaned toward her, pulling her closer to him. Samix didn’t resist. As he felt his lips closed with hers, she pushed Zade away. Confused Zade just watched as Samix flushed a dark blue, and stood.

  “Sorry, Z. You have to best me first,” Samix said as she headed out of the cargo bay, a small smile crossing her lips.

  Zade could only watch quietly as Samix left, taking in every bit of her tight, athletic body as she walked away. If he didn’t know better, Zade could have sworn that Samix was giving him a show as she left, fully accentuating her swaying hips as she walked. As she disappeared into the hall just outside the cargo bay, Zade laid back on the mats, hands folded behind his head. Two hundred was a little older than most women he dated, but he was sure he could make it work. Zade dozed off thinking about Samix’s perfectly sculpted firm butt.

  ∆∆∆

  What just happened? Was he really trying to come on to me? Is there something wrong with him? No one has ever tried to hit on me before. And I am feeling…. What am I feeling?

  The questions were spinning through Samix’s head as she headed to her quarters to clean up. Her entire life, up to this point, had been spent with minimal attention from men. Xi’Ga society was broken into two distinct classes; the upper class was obsessed with heritage, and the lower class still adhered to strict religious roles where women did nothing on their own, and only lived to serve their spouse. She was undesirable to the upper class Xi’Ga because she was an orphan and didn’t know her bloodline. She was undesirable to the lower class Xi’Ga because she didn’t fit the subservient female stereotype they wanted. Up until the day she left on this mission, she had had to battle the constant, cruel jokes about her being a man; she believed it stemm
ed from her drive to succeed in the Unity fleet. The jokes and overall nastiness from the males of her species were some of the main factors that drove her to be the best at the Academe.

  She had only been hit on once, and that was during her class graduation celebration. The whole class went drinking at a local bar, to celebrate fleet assignments. Sometime during the night, she caught the eye of an extremely drunk and equally crass Marlog. The night ended with her fighting the guy after he grabbed her—a fight in which most of her male classmates cheered for the Marlog, hoping he would beat her, taker her home, and give her what she deserved. Luckily local security broke up the fight. Samix knew she would never have been able to beat the Marlog, but she couldn’t let his actions stand. They were both bounced, and the Marlog was arrested for assaulting a fleet officer. It was the story of her life. Most of the men she met hated her because she could outperform them. Some pitied or feared her, and the rest just wanted to use her for their own needs.

  Samix entered her quarters and stripped down for a shower. Looking in the mirror she could see dark purple bruises surfacing from the sparring bout, the largest of which covered her whole back from where Zade slammed her. It was a nasty move that would have won him the match had he not pushed off her to stand. After a shower and meal, all of her injuries would heal. With only a few hours before they made orbit, Samix knew she needed to get some sleep, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what had transpired in the gym with Zade.

  She dressed and headed to the galley to grab a meal. Samix decided that she had to determine why Zade was interested in her before deciding what she would do. On one hand, he seemed to be everything she had hoped for in a man. On the other, she had only known him for a short while and felt she didn’t know enough about him. Either way, she had survived over 200 years on her own. A short while more to ensure she was making a good decision wouldn’t kill her. Samix headed to Zade’s quarters to invite him to eat with her. There was no response when she knocked on the door, and she immediately feared the worst. Instead of assuming that he was a heavy sleeper, or that he was in the shower and didn’t hear her knocking, Samix concluded that he was angry at her snub. Samix sat down to eat alone, wondering how she could patch things up between her and Zade.

  ∆∆∆

  Zade awoke, disoriented, surrounded by a place that was not his quarters. He had fallen asleep on the mats after his sparring session with Samix. Gingerly he stood, still sore from the session. Checking his interface, he saw that he had only been asleep for about an hour, and the ship was now in its night cycle. His neck and elbow were still extremely sore from Samix, and after a quick check, he could see dark bruises had formed from the strikes that she had landed. His shirt, still damp with sweat, stunk. Because it was nighttime, Zade figured he wouldn’t run into anyone, so he took off the foul-smelling garment and headed to his quarters for a much-needed shower.

  Zade knew he would have to clear the air with Samix after his little stunt earlier. He headed into his lab to close it up before he went to the upper deck. He had left it open while he was setting up the gym, and fell asleep before he closed it. Closing the rolling door as he entered the lab, Zade quickly policed up the different scraps that were lying on the work surfaces, tossing them all into the recycling chute to be used in later projects. Zade exited his lab through the man door and headed towards the front stairwell.

  On his way to his quarters, Zade began to think of the best way to breech the subject with Samix when he saw her next. She didn’t have a violent reaction when he tried to kiss her, so Zade assumed that he didn’t offend her too badly, but he couldn’t be certain. Different cultures on Earth had different social norms and different measures of acceptable behavior. Samix was a completely different species; who knows how his actions could be construed? Plus, there was the whole command structure issue. Zade’s actions towards the captain of the ship blatantly spit in the face of good order and discipline, and Samix had already stressed earlier that she took her position as captain seriously. Zade was so engulfed by his own train of thought that he didn’t notice the crewmember sitting in the galley, finishing her meal. As Zade opened the door to his quarters, he heard a voice behind him.

  “So, first you try to plant a kiss on me, now you wonder around my ship half naked?” Samix asked from behind him.

  Shit.

  “Sorry captain. I—I didn’t think anyone would be up during night cycle,” Zade said as he turned to face her.

  “We need to talk,” she said as she stood and walked toward Zade.

  “Can it wait until I’ve had a shower?” Zade asked, more out of a need to fill silence than to actually request permission.

  Not waiting for Samix to respond, Zade turned and opened the door to his quarters. So desperate to get away from his current situation, Zade didn’t notice that Samix had followed him in. Zade kicked off his shoes and socks and headed for his bathroom, still unaware that he wasn’t alone. He turned on the shower, as hot as he could stand it, and stepped in. Samix meanwhile, waited until the noise of the shower could mask her movements then sat on his bed.

  “So, what’s your game Alex?” Samix asked, startling Zade so badly that he jumped and hit his head on the shower.

  “What the fuck? Isn’t there a thing called privacy on this boat?”

  “It’s my ship, I can go where I please. You didn’t answer my question,” Samix retorted, enjoying watching Zade squirm.

  “What are you talking about? I don’t have any game,” Zade said as he peeked out of the bathroom to see Samix relaxing on his rack. “Remember? I’m an unwilling victim of circumstance in this whole situation. I had no plans to travel the stars when I left for that patrol back in Afghanistan.”

  “Not on my ship, Zade. Don’t play games with me.”

  “No games. I saw something I wanted, and I went for it,” Zade retorted quickly. “You never know how something is going to work out until you try.”

  “I understand that concept. What I don’t understand is the motivation behind it. Most of you aren’t that much of a mystery. Men are men. What makes you any different?” She asked.

  “Honestly Do you know how many times I’ve met a woman that could best me on the mats? None. Do you know how many times I’ve met a woman who was smarter than me? None. How many have accidentally kidnapped me, and taken me on the adventure of a lifetime? None. You…You package that in a beautiful, athletic, blue body, alien or otherwise, I would have to be crazy to not make a move,” Zade finished, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks.

  The silence that followed was punctuated by the sound of his door opening and closing. Samix left his quarters and headed for her own. Zade knew when to leave well enough alone and finished his shower in peace. As he changed, Zade brought up the navigation data on his interface and saw the ship still had eight hours before it hit orbit. Plenty of time for some sleep. Zade dozed off wondering how things were going to work out, and thinking about his day with Samix. The only thing he did know was that, as Samix so eloquently put it for guys, women were women. They were just as difficult to understand in space, as they were back home.

  Chapter 10

  An interface notification woke Zade up. While the ship was completing its final orbit, Mur had fabricated the SSILF landing team while Zade slept. Mur informed him that Samix needed him in the ready room. Zade dressed quickly in a new set of fatigues and headed out of his quarters. As usual, the ship seemed empty. If Zade had to guess, Axis was either in his quarters or in his lab, and both Samix and Jorloss were in the ready room waiting on him.

  As Zade walked towards the ready room, now entirely by memory, he pulled up the results from the orbital scans. The planet they were orbiting was a densely jungled planet, which had some plant life that Jorloss had marked for further investigation. Like any other jungle, this planet had a wide variety of lifeforms ranging from apex mammalian predators to a myriad of smaller species that used poison or venom to survive. The dominant species on the planet was a cl
ass one, sentient, apelike species, that lived in small villages.

  The species was very much feudal in nature, organized into small villages of farmers and hunters. It appeared that groups of villages geographically proximate to each other were protected by a chieftain who controlled a small fighting force that could protect the villages from natural threats and other chieftains who were looking to expand their influence. After reading the reports, Zade brought up a map of the objective. It was located in the middle of the largest land mass on the planet, and was in a relatively remote location. The nearest ape settlement was roughly 30 kilometers north of the objective.

  As Zade neared the door to the ready room he realized that he had forgotten his morning cup of sloop and decided to circle back to the galley to grab one before he had to sit through the brief. Cup in hand, Zade walked into the ready room and took a seat next to Jorloss. Unlike the previous mission briefing, Samix was nowhere to be found. The ship itself, through Mur, was running the briefing.

  “Where’s Samix?” Zade asked, slipping into the room beside Jorloss, who was listening intently to Mur.

  “In her quarters. Said something was bothering her,” Jorloss whispered back, refocusing his attention on Mur.

  Zade sat, worried about Samix, as Mur continued the briefing. Most of his portion of the brief was a reiteration of the notification that had woke Zade up. Mur took the liberty of creating a four SSILF landing crew, which were already outfitted for the mission and waiting by the loading ramp of the ship. The ship could not land at the objective due to vertical obstructions and instead would be landing three kilometers south of it, in two hours. After Mur finished, Jorloss stood and started his portion of the brief. After moving to the front of the briefing room, Jorloss tapped the briefing screen and brought up two images. The first was an overhead view of the objective. It showed a small open patch of vegetation. The second was a close up of the small bioluminescent plant that Jorloss needed to study.