Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids

by Dale C. Musser

  “How so,” I asked, getting an uneasy feeling?

  “Well for one thing, you seemed to be under a lot of stress and it seemed to be dragging you down physically and mentally. Suddenly these past few days you’re acting like you did when we first met, full of energy and mentally sharp. Padaran mentioned that you’ve beaten him several times in recent days while sparring. What’s going on?”

  “I guess maybe things are looking better and therefore, I am feeling better,” I said hoping that would suffice.

  “It’s more than that, Tib. I see a twinkle in your eye that has been dull for a long time.”

  “Speaking of a twinkle in my eye,” I said playfully as I slid my hand under the blanket and to her thigh, “you’ve been looking mighty sexy of late.”

  “Oh stop that, Tib,” she said playfully.

  “Seriously, I find myself thinking about you a lot of late,” I said as I gently moved my hand across her body, “we don’t spend enough time together.”

  “Hmm,” Kala purred as I leaned over and kissed her neck, “Keep that up and I’ll be testing to see how much stamina you have.”

  “Try me and see,” I mumbled between kisses to her lips. I felt her hand slowly begin to explore my body.

  “Oh, my, Tib, I do believe we will have to test your stamina,” she said as her hand traveled between my thighs.

  “Ready, willing and able," I commented and the test was on.

  I awoke the next morning to the sounds of Kala humming in the dressing area. “Good morning love,” I said. “You sound happy this morning.”

  “Indeed and why shouldn’t I be after last night?” she said, “The last time you showed such passion was back before your crash on Goo’Waddle.”

  Her comment caught me off guard; had the crash and my synthetic nerves affected me that much that it showed in every aspect of my life, including my love making? It only made me angrier about my stupidity on that occasion.

  “Well, we could have a dessert course this morning, you know,” I said grinning at her.

  “By the stars, Tib,” Kala said staring at the sheet covering my body, “don’t tell me you are ready for another bout after last night?”

  “Ah, well, as a matter of fact…”

  “Tib, I’m flattered, and, well maybe tonight, but to be honest, I’m a little sore after last night. You seemed to be insatiable.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s probably best. I have a lot to get done today and I need to be getting to the MAXETTE,” I said as my libido wilted.

  “If you're still feeling this way tonight, we’ll see,” Kala said and she kissed me on the nose and wiggled her butt salaciously as she left the room.

  It was day three since my treatment; I wondered how long the effects of it would last.

  The day went great for the first time in weeks. Nothing happened of any consequence and no one came to me with insurmountable problems. Since things were slack, I decided to go visit Kerabac. I found him on the bridge of the NEW ORLEANS joking with Verona, the communications officer.

  “Tibby, you surprised me. I didn’t know you were coming to the bridge,” he said as he rose from the Captain’s chair.

  “That’s all right, Captain,” I responded. "I didn’t know I was coming here myself. I’ve unexpectedly found a bit of free time and thought I would pay you a visit. I’ve been so busy of late I feel like I’ve been neglecting everyone.”

  “Well, if you have free time, perhaps you should visit us in the lounge tonight. A’Lappe and I will be performing some of your favorite pieces.”

  “Kala and I may do that,” I said,” that’s if nothing else happens in the meantime.” I glanced at the vid screen and saw Alle Bamma in the sky below us. “We’re still in orbit around Alle Bamma?”

  “Yes, sir, you’ve not given any orders for us to go elsewhere,” Kerabac responded.

  “What’s the status with Captain Felenna and the security forces here at the planet?” I asked.

  “All is back to normal,” Kerabac said.

  “Good. Oh, by the way, have engineering get in touch with A’Lappe; there are modifications that need to be made to the ships’ GW drive units on all our ships. That includes the ones under Felenna’s command as well. We’ve finally cracked the secret of how the Brotherhood have been traveling faster than we have.

  “Yes, I’ve heard some buzz about that this morning. Is it true that Reidecor and his friend Rory are the ones who solved the problem?”

  “Yes,” I laughed, “believe it or not, they did.”

  “I believe it, Tibby; the people in engineering are always telling me how impressed they are with Reidecor’s understanding of the workings of things in their sections and how he spots problem areas they don’t even notice. I’ve personally not met Rory, but I hear he’s a genius at math.”

  “So A’Lappe tells me.

  “Oh, another thing,” I continued, “A’Lappe’s come up with a new fighter design, the prototype is in my private hangar, or at least is should be back by now. I want at least two thirds of our fighters here on the NEW ORLEANS replaced with the new design. The same goes for the ones in Felenna’s fleet here.”

  Kerabac chuckled, “Yes, I’ve already heard about them from Nybidong. He stopped in on his way back to Goo’Waddle and was ranting about them. I knew a little about the ship and I was here when the request came through for the ship to leave to fly to the MAXETTE, but I’ve not seen it yet.”

  “Well, if it’s back, take it for a fly and tell me what you think of it,” I said.

  “Nybidong says it’s a flying arsenal,” Kerabac stated.

  “That pretty much sums it up. I’m hoping by our next engagement with the Brotherhood in their asteroid-ships that we will have enough of them to blow the bastards into particles of sand.”

  When I left the bridge it was nearly noon when I got an idea. I called Kala on my com link, “Kala, what are you doing at the moment?”

  “I finished going over the accounts with our accountants; well, that’s not true; we could never finish if I lived forever, but we made it through the essential elements," she replied.

  “Good, how about you and I head to our estate and take a picnic lunch and go up to the lake?”

  “Gee, Tibby, I don’t know. I hear the trail up to the lake is still washed out and access is precious at the moment.”

  “We can take a small personal transport and fly up and land it on the water at the beach. What do you say?”

  “Alright, I’ll meet you at the estate in 30 minutes,” she said.

  I made a quick visit to the MAXETTE to check with Marranalis and tell him where I would be if needed, then I headed to the Cantolla Gates and the estate. Kala and I took a small two-man transport and flew to the lake. We flew slowly above the trail that led to the lake so we could observe from the air the damage that had happened during the storm. At three places the trail was impassible; in one location the cliff had collapsed and there was no passage at all along the route. Most likely, it would be necessary to either build a walkway along the cliff face or to tunnel behind the rock wall to make it possible to use the path again. When we arrived at the lake, I showed Kala the wreckage of the boys’ treehouse; Kala commented that she was glad the boys were not in it when it fell. I also showed her the location of the caves where they hid, but we didn’t enter them. Instead, we found a nice location on a sandy beach along the shore, disrobed and had a gratifying swim before returning to the beach and a large flat rock where we spread out our food to eat.

  I couldn’t help admiring how beautiful Kala looked as she sat there delicately eating her sandwich. “Tibby, why are you staring at me like that?” She asked.

  “I can’t help thinking how lovely you are and how much I regret not being able to look at you all the time,” I said.

  “Ahem, yes well, obviously something is arousing you,” Kala said, giving me a stare.

  I glanced down to where she was staring and realized I was in a full state of arousal. “Ah,
yes, well, like I said, I do find you attractive.”

  “You know, Tib, I don’t think I feel sore anymore; perhaps you and I could spend a little time over there in the shade of that tree.”

  The remainder of our lunch went uneaten.

  That evening, back aboard the NEW ORLEANS, Kala and I went to the employees’ lounge where Kerabac and A’Lappe were performing. The room had been remodeled and now took on the decor of a dance club from my own generation. It seemed that people in the Federation had a real fixation on Earth music and dances and all that went with them. I was told there were even Big Band styled clubs reminiscent of the ones in the 1930 and 40’s around the Federation and that they and the dances of the time, were quite the rage.

  Kerabac knew I was a big fan of the songs sung by a singer of the 1950’s back on Earth, a man named Nat King Cole. Kerabac’s voice was nearly identical to his. The tunes had become favorites of Kala’s as well and we had danced to them many times in the past. On this night Kerabac had a mixture of music styles, but he managed to slip in a Nat King Cole tune every two or three numbers for us. Kala had me completely mesmerized; she seemed more beautiful than ever and exuded a sexuality that totally had me in her spell. I was beginning to wonder if the feelings I was having were because of the treatment A’Lappe had given me or if it was something else. I glanced about the room; none of the other women in the room excited me in the least; but Kala, she was another story completely. It didn’t help matters that she was obviously flirting with me, our sexual romps from the night before and again earlier this afternoon seemed to have boosted her own libido. Her suggestive moves and the way she kept looking at me coyly hinted at renewed activities later. I found myself becoming aroused at the thought and I feigned a muscle cramp so we could take a seat lest I embarrass myself with a physical display.

  Kala and I had barely sat down at our table when we were approached by Dr. Hughes.

  “My, I must say the two of you dancing are quite the sight. Everyone is enthralled by your dancing. It is quite obvious that the two of you are very much in love; everyone can see it in your eyes. The way the two of you look at each other conveys so much passion.”

  Kala blushed at his comment and I said, “I can’t deny, Doctor, that I am totally smitten with Kala. I have been ever since I met her and every day I love her more.”

  “That’s quite obvious and I would say, judging by her actions and glances at you on the dance floor, that her feelings for you are much the same.”

  “Doctor, while you’re here, I have a question to ask you. We have an undercover operation going on in Brotherhood territory at the moment and there is a concern that if our agents get caught and questioned with a truth detector, they will blow the cover and the operation. Is it possible to hypnotize them and implant a suggestion that would allow them to fool the machine?”

  “Hmm, that is an interesting question. Technically speaking, it probably won’t work, because even if you were to plant a false memory in your agents, their subconscious mind would still react to the questions even though your agent wouldn’t realize it. The physical responses would be the same, respiration changes, pupil dilation, perspiration; all of these bodily reactions would be detectable.”

  “I see,” I said, disappointed at his answer. “There is no way around that?”

  “I don’t know, Tibby. To be honest, I’ve never given it much thought. Let me research it more using the old records from Earth. I am sure that Earth intelligence agencies on must have tried this in the past. I may be able to find something that will help you.”

  “Thanks, Doctor, I greatly appreciate this.”

  “Anything at all, Tibby; I’m happy to serve the Federation in any way I can.”

  As Dr. Hughes walked away, A’Lappe approached me. He was taking a break as Kerabac crooned another solo.

  “Tibby, I overheard you talking to Dr. Hughes about trying to find a means to fool a truth detector. I think Cantolla may be able to help you out. She was working on a device that emits a galvanic current through a person’s skin that will cause the truth indicator to display green no matter what lie you are telling.”

  “Does she have it working?” I asked.

  “I believe so; she was trying to find some way to miniaturize it so it would not be detectable.”

  “Thanks, A’Lappe, I’ll get with her about it. This could be what we need.”

  By now, the brief change in conversation had tossed enough cold water on my sexual urges that I was once again able to return to the dance floor with Kala. I tried concentrating on the music and dance steps and less on Kala’s flirting moves, in hopes of avoiding my previous situation. Those attempts failed completely when a lovely piece of slow music came along and Kala moved into my arms for a waltz. As she pressed her body close to mine, I found it impossible not to get aroused.

  “Hmm, it would seem that today’s activities were not enough for you, Tib,” Kala said with a sexy grin as she gently ground her pelvis against mine. “I seem to detect you showing a renewed interest.”

  I found myself blushing as I replied, “How can I help it? You're driving me crazy with your sexy moves and the way you keep looking at me.”

  Kala grinned even more and got a dreamy look in her eyes as she pressed her body even tighter to mine. “I think I will need to take care of that growing problem of yours.”

  “I hope you’re not planning to take care of it here and now,” I said as I began to sweat.

  Kala looked at me in feigned innocence, “I don’t know what you mean,” she replied as she gave a subtle thrust against me with her hips.

  “Look, seriously,” I said, “If you don’t stop it, we’re going to have a very explosive and embarrassing situation here in a minute.”

  Kala laughed at my remark and looked at my face and said, “By the stars, Tib. You're serious? Oh my, now I REALLY am flattered. I’ll tell you what,” she continued as a wicked grin crossed her face, “If you can last out the rest of this dance, we’ll leave and I’ll take care of that problem for you. However, you need to make it through the dance.”

  I was trying to remember how much of the number had been performed and how much was left and I was praying Kala would be merciful in her teasing until the end of the number. She wasn’t and she seemed to enjoy watching me squirm until the dance finally ended. Fortunately, the spotlight in the room focused on Kerabac and A’Lappe, who had been performing while Kala led me by the hand from the lounge. She was laughing and grinning all the way back to our suite.

  The following day I started out sluggish. I assumed it was because Kala had kept me up most of the night, in more ways than one. It must have been getting close to dawn when she finally allowed me to go to sleep. I’m not complaining, I enjoyed it, but in the morning I was a limp noodle, again in more ways than one. I arrived at my office on the MAXETTE later than usual and I noticed Marranalis give me a second glance when I entered.

  “Good morning, Admiral,” he said. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Fine, I answered, “a bit tired perhaps. I was up rather late last night.”

  “Having trouble sleeping,” Marranalis asked in a concerned tone?

  I laughed, “Not exactly, Kala and I went dancing last night and afterwards she was feeling a bit amorous and we were up rather late.”

  “Ah, I see,” Marranalis said with a knowing grin.

  “So what do I need to know about today?” I asked.

  “The planets Syndrop and Porporat are both petitioning the Federation to be allowed to secede.”

  “Why do they want to secede?” I asked. “That’s an open invitation for the Brotherhood to come and occupy them.”

  “They don’t seem to see it that way; in fact, they believe the opposite; if they secede, they believe the Brotherhood will leave them alone.”

  “By the stars, what gives them that idea? They can see what the Brotherhood has been doing with other worlds.”

  “I think there is a lot of pres
sure on them because they are surrounded on all sides, but one, by the Brotherhood right now and they see themselves in line to be conquered. If they secede, they believe the Brotherhood will pass them by, at least for the time being and move on to attack other worlds.”

  “That strategy hasn’t worked for any worlds so far; what makes them think they will be any different?”

  “I’m not sure they think it will be any different, only that they will fare better this way than if they are part of the Federation and they resist the Brotherhood when they come.”

  “By the stars, don’t they have any sense at all?”

  “I can’t answer that question, Admiral.”

  “How long would it take us to get to… what’s the name of those planets again?”

  ”Syndrop and Porporat, sir,” Marranalis replied as he checked the computer database. “We’d need to make three transfers through Cantolla Gates; that would put us in their system in about seven hours.

  “Contact Captain Wanoll and have him get us there,” I said.

  “Wanoll, sir? You want the DUSTEN to fly there?” Marranalis asked in confusion.

  “Wanoll? Did I say Wanoll? I meant… Ah, Captain Mareoparen. I want this ship flown there.”

  “Yes, sir,” Marranalis said as he glanced at me with concern. “Admiral, are you feeling all right?” he asked.

  “Yes, at least I think I am. I’m tired from last night, but keep an eye on me, Marranalis, just in case,” I added, hoping that the treatment A’Lappe had given me wasn’t wearing off that quickly.

  It had been five days since my treatment and A’Lappe believed the treatments would last about a week. I had been hoping I wouldn’t start showing signs of the drug wearing off so soon. Perhaps it was being tired because of my lack of sleep.

  “You’re going back to your old habits,” Padaran said later that morning when I sparred with him. I hadn’t even come close to having a good move on him all day and I was slow in my responses. “You must have stayed up too late last night. You know you can’t go out dancing all night like you used to,” he joked.