Jack's eyes widened. "Mmmphfy?"
She stared at him, her hand still on his mouth. "Yes, Royalty," she confirmed. "I was captured by Kidd over a year ago when he attacked the ship I was on. Just like that freighter we saw. And..." She inhaled deeply, this was the hard part. "I spent over a year as a servant, a slave..." her voice dwindled to a whisper. "I did many things I'm not very proud of. And I'm not so sure you would be asking me this if you knew..."
She could see the questions in his eyes. She shook her head and swallowed hard. "No, no... In that whole time, he never touched me once... but he never hesitated to torment me." She cleared her throat. "He had a tremendous ego and wanted me to throw myself at him. Since I wouldn't, he took great pleasure in my humility. He couldn't kill me after all, a dead Princess isn't worth a Trillian penny in ransom..."
"Pfingpss?" She squeezed her hand over Jack's mouth.
"Yes, Princess. Hush... let me finish before I lose my nerve." The memories flooded forth in detail, forcing her to remember things she had not wanted to tell. But Steele had broached a subject she had up until now, only dreamed of. And she felt he had a right to know what he was getting into.
She took a deep breath. "Sometimes Kidd would not let me eat for several days. Then he'd force me to watch while he ate a feast, taunting me with the food and making me beg on my knees for scraps. He would strip me naked and force me to eat what he'd given me off a dish on the floor like an animal." Her eyes burned, she blinked hard. "To punish me for improperly thanking him, he would rape or have sex with one of other girls and make me watch. Then I'd be locked in my quarters. No one would be allowed to touch or speak to me, sometimes for days or weeks."
"Pfingpss?"
"Yes,” she sighed, “Princess. A real Princess... can we get past that? Are you listening?” He nodded.
Despite her efforts, the pain and anger began to show. "I'd cry in frustration, y'know? Seeing it, smelling it, hearing it. Eventually even wanting it. Something, anything. The touch of a hand, a voice... So, one night, one of the other girls snuck in... against the threat of death, and made love to me."
As much as Alité didn't want to tell it all, afraid of what Jack might think of her, it poured out. "After that," she continued, "the girls would take turns and secretly visit me when they could."
Alité sighed heavily. "I was so desperate once, I raped a new girl. I still can't believe I did it, I'm so ashamed. I felt terrible then too, because Kidd had succeeded in making me as bad as him. I felt so bad I wanted to die, but she forgave me." Alité stopped to rub her eyes. "We became good friends. Lovers too," she added, after a pause.
Jack could see the pain in her eyes and gently pulled her hands to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. "What happened to her?"
Alité smiled but there were tears in her eyes. "She's gone, dead. Kidd killed her... caught her sneaking from my room one night..." She hung her head, and tears hit Jack's chest. Raising her head sharply, she tossed her hair back. "That son-of-a-bitch had her... right on the floor in the corridor, then gave her to the crew. Almost everyone on the crew had her that night." Tears of anger streamed down Alité's face. "I could hear her screams coming from the galley, all the way down the corridor into my room. She had never had a man before. She was a virgin." Alité shook her head and sobbed, "She was dead by morning." Shuddering, she sat upright, covered her face with her hands and cried. "I thought I was next..."
"And you were a virgin too..." guessed Jack, gently running his hands up her arms. His gut ached for the pain she endured.
Alité nodded as she slid her hands down her face and peered over her fingertips. "Until you." She cracked a little smile behind her hands.
"I was your first?" He stared into her eyes. She nodded again. Due to this revelation, the conversation took a sudden left turn. "How could you have remained a virgin for so long?" Alité was almost his age and he couldn't imagine being a virgin at twenty, much less thirty.
"It was my duty. A Princess is supposed to keep herself pure until marriage. At all costs," she explained. "But I failed. I had coupled with women and released my sex drive. So technically, I was no longer a pure virgin." She went on to explain that while her society did not frown upon same-gender relationships, it was not acceptable behavior for a Princess and violated her guidelines of conduct. She would probably have to forfeit all claims to her title and rights of succession. Especially since she'd slept with Jack.
"Then why did you do it?" He wondered aloud. He was feeling a bit guilty.
She folded her arms demurely across her breasts. "I couldn't help myself... you were so handsome, so compassionate to us... even before I really knew you, I would have done anything you asked of me."
"Really?" Jack was both surprised and flattered. "And now...?"
Alité shivered as she took a deep breath, gathered her composure and looked into his eyes. She felt the ache in her heart and knew she should face the fact that in his eyes he probably saw her as soiled and unwashed. The Velorian Princess decided to be blunt. "I am a Princess, most likely without a crown. I have no honor, I have no purity. All I have, is my being, my life. But I would forfeit that too if you asked me."
"I don't want you to forfeit anything." Jack grabbed her firmly by the arms. "You love me, right?"
She sobbed, exposed, unable to cover her face with her hands and hide her shame, "With every fiber of my being," she whispered.
"There is no other?"
She shook her head violently, "No! I swear..."
"Then be my wife."
"You could still want me, after all I've told you?"
Unintentionally, Jack shook her by the arms. “Of course I can!"
"But," she objected, "what about..."
He cut her off, knowing what she was going to say. "Your crown doesn't matter to me... only your happiness matters to me. You will be my Princess... You will be my Queen! As for the rest of it... well, you have more honor, more compassion, more integrity in your little finger, than most people have in their entire body." He touched the center of her chest with the palm of his hand. "That's here, in your heart. No one, can take that from you..." He eased her body down against his and pulled the covers over them. She was shivering. "Tell me you will be my wife..." he whispered. The little voice in his head had nothing to say this time.
"For ever and ever," she breathed. They clung tightly to each other in the darkness and slid back into sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
FREEDOM, CALO ALTO SYSTEM: DESTINATION UNKNOWN
Jack opened his eyes when the comm on the headboard chimed. As he lay waking, it chimed again, reminding him it was unanswered. He reached back, over his head and felt for the button. He found it. "Yes?" whispered Steele.
"Ensign Quixetta here, sir. You're needed on the bridge, Captain."
"Ok. What do we have, Ensign?"
"Chief Engineer needs to see you, sir, it seems we're having some mechanical problems."
"Right. I'm on my way. Follow any recommendations he gives you, until I get there."
"Yes, sir." The comm beeped as the connection terminated.
Jack looked down at Alité who was curled up against him, sound asleep, the blanket pulled up to her ear. "Fritz," he snapped his fingers, "come..." The sleepy Shepherd slid off the sofa in the other room and plodded through the suite into the bedroom. He stopped at the foot of the bed and shook himself to settle his coat. Jack could see the green glow of the dog's electronic eye in the darkness and called him up onto the bed to lay next to Alité. The Shepherd stretched out on top of the blanket, then curled up comfortably next to Jack's betrothed. "Thank's, buddy..." he stroked the dog's head and watched the glowing green iris dim as Fritz went back to sleep.
After dressing, Jack knelt
on the bed and kissed the top of Alité's head as he tucked the blanket in around her. Her hair was soft and sweet with perfume. He drew it into his lungs, wanting to carry it with him the whole day. Jack didn't want to leave, but he was glad Fritz was there to keep her company so she wouldn't wake alone. He grabbed a quick glass of juice from the bar in his suite and headed to the bridge.
“Sir..? Captain, sir..!” A young mechanic trotted up the corridor toward Jack, an electronic notepad tucked under his arm like a football.
Jack stopped, turned and waited for him. “Yes?”
“ABS Vestemore, sir... from the flight bay?” He saluted. “You asked me to go over the life pod and see if we could find any reason for it to fail, remember?” Jack returned his salute and looked him over - the young mechanic cleaned up well, he almost didn't recognize him.
Jack nodded, “Of course, what did you find?”
The mechanic pulled the electronic notepad out from under his arm and turned on the screen, moving closer to Jack and beside him so they could view it simultaneously. “You were right to be suspicious, Captain, the pod had definitely been sabotaged...”
“You found proof...?”
“Yes, sir...” He pulled up a video on the screen. “We found this as we dismantled the pod...” The video showed blackened scorch marks, small but definitely visible.
“Tell me what are we looking at, Vestemore...”
The ABS freeze-framed the video. “The scorching had trace nitrates, so they used a small amount of explosive, and this is an area of the pod that is not checked during scheduled inspections – so there's no telling how long it was in there.” He advanced the video until there was a wider view and stopped it again. “The area is a tunnel for all the power leads from the battery compartment at the bottom, past the atmosphere system, up to the computer and controls above. It's actually a pretty simple system and pretty well protected... All the critical areas are armored from damage occurring outside the pod...”
“So they just took out all the power connections...”
“Pretty much. A few lines survived, but I think they were for the distress beacon - all the computer cables were shredded.” He paused as he pulled up another screen with a few photos. “It would be pretty easy to rig something that small, probably used a little G force meter for a trigger.” He held up 2 fingers together so they were touching. “The whole thing wouldn'tve been any bigger than this. The pod was live and functioning until it launched, then the G forces of the launch triggered the device and that was it.”
“They probably wouldn't have even heard it during the pod launch...” said Jack, thinking out loud.
“Probably not. And it was most likely pretty quick. Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes tops. No oxygen, no heat - they would just fall asleep.”
“Have you discussed this with anyone else...?” Jack tapped the screen.
“No, sir, er, well, the other mechanic that helped me disassemble it knows... ABS Toncaresh. I needed his help, he knew these type of pods better than I did.”
“Can he be trusted not to discuss it with anyone other than you or me?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jack nodded, “Good, let's keep it that way. This information doesn't go beyond the three of us...”
■ ■ ■
Steele shook Trigoss' hand. "Morning, Chief, I hear we have a problem. What's up?" Trigoss gave a puzzled frown and looked up at the ceiling. "No, Chief," said Jack laughing, "I mean, what seems to be happening?"
"Oh," said the Chief Engineer reflexively. Another human saying that meant nothing like it sounded. He harumphed. "Well, we've had to shut down engine number two. It got far too hot and the connecting rings failed which creates pressure leakage among other problems. The worst being, a possible reactor leak."
"Any danger?"
"Nah," he countered with a dismissive wave, "we caught it soon enough."
"How'd it happen?"
Trigoss turned and moved to the engineering station on the bridge and called up some information. "We're simply pushing them too hard." He pointed at the screen. "I had helm drop us down to half power..." Jack groaned. Trigoss pointed back at the screen. "Had to. If the calculations are correct, we would have lost number one next. They just can't take the pressure, Jack. Now I got a good bit of parts from that freighter, but I haven't had time to do any work yet. And if we push the other cores too hard, there won't be anything left of them to rebuild."
Jack nodded. "Understood. You did the right thing, of course." He turned to the helm, "How long at present course and speed, Ensign?"
"A little over forty-three hours to planned destination sir, from there it's search and guesswork."
"It's double our planned time," acknowledged Trigoss, "but it's the only way without blowing the ass-end off the ship."
"I know, Chief." Jack put his hand on Trigoss' shoulder. "It just leaves us kind of vulnerable."
"Can I make a suggestion, sir?"
Jack turned to Raulya at the weapons console. "By all means..."
"Round the clock, constant roaming fighter patrols. It'll be tiring, but it would be the best way to protect ourselves."
Jack nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. And let's set up a regular schedule for keeping the ship's gun-pods at full charge."
Raulya nodded. "I've already laid one out."
"Good. Well, let's get to work." He picked his comm unit up off his console and slid it on. When he glanced at the communications console, he saw a face he didn't recognize. "Hello..."
The young woman in the gray tunic rose and stood at attention. "Petty Officer Stacell, sir."
"Good morning, Petty Officer Stacell... Is that your first or last name?" He was only curious.
The young woman's eyes shifted nervously, "I only have, one name. Sir..."
Jack was getting used to that, it was fairly common. "Oh, Ok. Well, relax Stacell, I'm not going to bite your head off..."
"Thank you, sir." She seemed a bit more at ease, but her eyes never left him. Maybe just in case he changed his mind.
Jack smiled. If he said boo, she'd probably jump right out of her uniform. "Stacell..." he kept his voice soft, "please locate and inform all pilots to come to my ready room for a briefing." He turned back to the bridge crew. "I'll be in my ready room if anyone needs me..." Except for Professor Edgars, most of the faces had changed to a fresh crew. "Walt, get lost." Smiling, Jack thumbed towards the door to the corridor. "Get some rest and don't come back till I call you."
"Right you are..." The Professor started out the door and paused.
"I'll send up some breakfast," he called. Jack nodded and Walt disappeared out the door, it closing almost silently behind him.
■ ■ ■
The comm chimed and Derrik rolled over and palmed the button on the nightstand. "Yes?" He said sleepily.
"Sorry," said the voice on the other end, "I'm looking for Lieutenant Arroyo, who's this?"
"Lieutenant Commander Brighton..."
"Terribly sorry, I must have gotten your suite by mistake..."
"No, wait." He reached over and shook Maria by the shoulder. "Wake up, love..." he whispered.
■ ■ ■
"Lieutenant Warren here, go ahead." Mike and Tilee were already dressed and getting ready to go to breakfast when the comm chimed.
"Your presence is required in the Captain's ready room for flight briefing, sir."
"Ok, thank you, Stacell..."
"By the way, sir, you wouldn't know where I might locate Commander Smiley, would you? I can't seem to find him."
Mike glanced at Tilee and rubbed his chin. "Try Ensign Myomerr's quarters..."
"Thank you sir," came the voice over the comm. Pet
ty Officer Stacell was beginning to wonder if anybody was where they were supposed to be this morning.
The comm beeped off. "I guess I'll meet you for breakfast after the meeting," said Mike. Tilee nodded. She was shy and didn't talk much, but Mike didn't mind, she was adorable and sweet. He kissed her and headed for the bridge.
■ ■ ■
Jack was sitting at the head of the briefing table in the semi darkness studying the plotted route on the holochart when Brian strolled in. "Whatcha' doin', Skipper?"
"Just checking our progress."
"Oh." Brian nodded. "Want to go to breakfast?"
"Not till after..."
"Excuse me, Captain," Petty Officer Stacell entered behind Brian, "I can't seem to find Lieutenant Carter..." She glanced at Brian and saw the rank on his collar. "Is that you?" Brian grinned and nodded. "Oh," Stacell walked from the room shaking her head. "Never mind."
"Thank you Stacell," called Jack as the door swished closed. He smiled at Brian. "Seems she's had a tough morning already..."
"Mine was pretty good," beamed Brian.
"Mine too," reflected Jack. "And you'll be the first to know..." he took a deep breath, "Alité and I are getting married."
It took Brian a moment to recover from that finger in the light socket look. "Really? No kidding?"
“No kidding...”
Brian jumped forward and thrust out his hand and Jack shook it. "Well shit! Congratulations, buddy, that's awesome!" He stopped for a moment. “Wait, you don't have to, do you...?”
“No,” chuckled Jack.
“Then it's awesome!” Brian sat down in the chair next to Jack. "But I thought after your last fiasco, you'd sworn off it for good."
Steele shook his head slowly. "So did I. But I guess things change, I changed... or my feelings about it..."
Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) Page 39