Into the Dark (Dark Universe Book 1)

by Jason Halstead

  “We’ve lost them,” Janna said.

  “No!”

  Everyone turned to stare at Aden.

  He swallowed and said, “Um, I mean, not necessarily. We’ve got their heading, right? We have readings of their mass. Keep scanning the energy levels and filter out the standard engine output. Compare what’s left to the amounts the Uma has used.”

  “What are you talking about?” Amber asked.

  “We can get an idea of where they’re going. How far, I mean. Then we can follow them.”

  “They still outweigh and outgun us,” Kessoc said.

  “But we have surprise,” Aden said. “If we stay in their ion trail and go as dark as possible, maybe we can get close enough to take them out.”

  “Too big,” Janna said, shaking her head. “There’s nothing we’ve got that will destroy that ship.”

  “Good,” Aden said. “I don’t want you to blow it up. I only want you to disable it so we can catch that squid and teach him a lesson.”

  Janna’s smirk faded as she saw Aden’s expression didn’t waver.

  Meshelle let out a barking laugh. “You’re growing on me, Terran. Let’s do it.”

  Janna sighed and turned away. She let out a slow breath, calming her hair and forcing it down. “Kessoc, let’s get out of these rocks.”

  Aden turned around, a smile lifting his lips as he saw the others nodding in agreement with him. Amber raised an eyebrow and then turned her attention to Janna. She opened her mouth to speak but Aden found himself distracted by Twyf. She was looking directly at him and licked her lips. She winked before turning away and swinging her hips around the low back on the chair and sliding into it.

  “Aden!” Meshelle growled.

  Aden shook his head. “Sorry, I was thinking about what happened down there. What did happen with those statues?”

  “They put up a fight but then fell apart when the lights and gravity died,” Meshelle said. “Now let’s see if you’re half as smart as you think you are. Get out of that armor and go find Chuck and get to work. We’ve got a lot of repairs to make.”

  “I’ll get your armor fixed,” Garf offered.

  Aden nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate it. I’m getting used to it and it’s not so bad. Saved my ass out there.”

  Twyf turned her head and caught his eye as he walked towards the door. She lifted one eyebrow and the corner of her lip on the same side. She turned away, but not before he thought he saw a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

  Aden cursed as his shoulder bounced off the frame of the bridge door. He moved to the side and shook his head. If the vacuum of space and hostile aliens didn’t kill him, the women would!

  Chapter 14

  Aden slid the panel back in place on the wall and reached for the screw gun. His hand closed on empty air. He waved his arm back and forth, trying to find it by feel, but failed. He scowled and tried to look over his shoulder without dropping the panel covering the wires he’d fixed. Instead of the screwdriver, he saw a pair of slender legs rising out of a pair of Vagnosian athletic slippers.

  He lowered the plate and turned to look up from the four-toed footwear to the dark golden skin of her ankles and calves. Burgundy pants rose the rest of the way to the captain’s hips and the screw gun she held in front of her belly.

  “Captain!” Aden grunted. He started to rise but she waved her hand and knelt down on one knee beside him.

  She stared into the open panel and studied the job he’d done repairing the wires. “Those look like good splices. I’m impressed. Did you verify transmission?”

  He nodded and reached for the testing unit that he’d hooked up to the junction box in the bulkhead. “Right here—all entangled photons registered properly.”

  She handed him the gun. “Seems you’re a handy man to have around.”

  Aden turned back and pinned the panel against the wall with one hand and his knee. Janna leaned closer and put her hands on it to help steady it for him. He replaced the screws he’d taken out and turned to face her. “Thanks, lining those up can be tricky.”

  She rose and stared down at him. “Where did you learn to work on optical lines?”

  “I picked up side jobs while I was at the academy,” Aden said. “Anything to earn a few extra credits. Plus I took elective classes to make myself more appealing.”

  “Mmm,” she hummed. “Appealing? I’d say it’s worked.”

  Aden swallowed and offered a quick smile. “I’m not sure I understand?”

  “Sure you do. You act humble and innocent, but go out of your way to help out and do more than others expect. You’ve won my sister over and even impressed the Lermian hunters. Now you’re fixing my ship and no matter how much I tell myself otherwise, you’re winning me over.”

  Aden climbed to his feet and put all the tools he’d borrowed from Chuck back in the toolbox. He turned to face her before admitting, “I learned that the best way to take care of myself is to take care of the people I need. The ship can’t get me somewhere if it’s broken and my teammates can’t complete their missions if they’re hurt or dead.”

  “Is that right?” Janna asked while her hair swirled itself into twists. “Our well-being is all just a fringe benefit of your self-interest?”

  Aden blushed. “Well, so far I like everyone I’ve met here.”

  She chuckled. “I hear you liked Amber rather hard.”

  “Oh geeze,” he groaned. “That was before I became a part of the crew. We talked—it was strictly for fun. No strings. No emotions.”

  The captain laughed harder. “Relax, there’s no restrictions on people on my crew or my sister’s. You want to have some fun, go ahead. Just don’t let it interfere with your job or my crew’s job.”

  Aden nodded slowly. “I see. Um, it won’t. Interfere, that is. Or even happen, probably. I mean, we’re not—”

  Janna bit her lip to stop laughing. She looked him over and then raised one eyebrow. “Good to keep your options open then,” she advised. “A little friendly competition can do wonders for morale, after all.”

  Aden fought to keep the heat in his cheeks from slipping down to his waist. He smiled and looked away from her penetrating gaze. Then he looked away again from her unbuttoned shirt and found himself staring at the toolbox in his hand. “Yes, um, well, I should get these back to Chuck. I’ve fixed the interior damage to the systems I can fix.”

  “Good, then you can join me after.”

  “Join you?” Aden gulped. “Um, where?”

  “On the bridge,” she said and winked. “You’ve had some good ideas so far. We should have final calculations on where the bastard Kesari went.”

  “Oh! Of course. I’ll be right there,” Aden said.

  Janna nodded and turned away. “See you there.”

  Aden watched her walk down the hall and then let out a sigh. Had she just tested him? Was she wondering if she wanted him on her crew, or was there more to it? Was she suspicious, or maybe she was interested in him for other reasons? A lot of her comments led him to think that way, but he didn’t dare read too much into what she said. Vagnosians were very matter-of-fact about a lot of things that humans wouldn’t be as direct about.

  Aden shook his head and walked back through the galley. The mess that traveling with no gravity had caused had been picked up. He walked around the chairs and made his way to the port engine room, where Chuck had given him the tools in the first place.

  The Argossian was nowhere to be seen. Aden left the box sitting on the floor beside the coolant lines and started back towards the galley. Tosc was walking through it as he entered. The Lermian nodded and slowed.

  “Hey Tosc, how are you?” Aden offered, not sure what was on the hunter’s mind.

  “How about that workout?” Tosc asked. “I’m ready if you are.”

  Aden frowned. “Um, Captain wants me on the bridge. She said we’re going black soon and wanted me there to double-check things.”

  Tosc let a soft growl rumble in his throat. �
��Be careful, Terran.”

  “Careful? Of what? I’m just trying to help us nail that squid.”

  He dipped his head. “Admirable. Take care of what paths you choose and what you must do to get there.”

  Aden blinked. “I’m sorry, I don’t get it.”

  Tosc growled again. “Terrans are ambitious and crave power. Are you like your kind?”

  Aden jerked his head back. “Whoa, I’m not—I’m here to make money and do what I’ve trained to do, that’s all. I don’t want to be in charge and I don’t want to put anybody out. That’s kind of a dick thing to say, actually. Not all Terrans are like that! A lot of us, in fact, aren’t. Amber doesn’t strike me as being power hungry.”

  Tosc grinned, baring his teeth. “No, she is not. And that is why she is one of us. She knows her place and how to fit in.”

  Aden’s eye narrowed. “So that’s two of us who don’t fit the stereotype.”

  “One,” Tosc said. “I haven’t decided about you yet.”

  Aden snorted. “Does that mean you like hunting animals and people that have no idea you’re after them? And that you take trophies from their bodies—skulls, fingers, teeth, whatever?”

  Tosc’s grin spread. “There’s only so much we can get away with,” he admitted. “And sometimes it’s more fun to capture them alive.”

  Aden suppressed a shudder.

  “Stereotypes are based on patterns and shared behavior,” Tosc said. “The being that is an aberration to the norms is the one that is the most dangerous…and prized.”

  Aden’s eyes widened. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Enjoy your time on the bridge. Another time in the hold?”

  “Yeah, another time,” Aden said and turned away. He walked away from the natural predator and shook his head. He thought he liked Tosc before, but now he wasn’t sure. He needed to be careful around him, that much was certain!

  He took the lift up to the bridge and found Janna, Twyf, and Kessoc were the only ones left. He cleared his throat and offered a smile when Janna and Twyf looked at him. Twyf’s smile lingered before she turned back to her station.

  “The large holo display is broken—find a station to review the data,” Janna said.

  “I’ve got it on my station,” Twyf offered as she leapt up from it. She smiled and gestured towards her seat.

  Aden nodded and walked over. He slipped between her and the seat and felt her brush against him. The bodywear she’d painted on was smooth and warm against his arm, but it felt unusual. Alien. Fake. He couldn’t help but wonder how different her soft and tender skin beneath it would feel.

  She gave a breathy giggle and turned to point out the data. It was an unnecessary action but Aden knew better than to complain. Her action offered him a tantalizing glimpse inside her jacket before he realized he had a task ahead of him.

  Aden cleared his throat and forced his attention on the data. “Let’s see, heading, okay. Power compared to what we’ve done. Sampling mass sizes. Uh, yeah. It looks reasonable. I’m not smart enough to run the calculations in my head but I’d say that’s good. Where, uh, where does that take us?”

  “A long ways,” Kessoc said.

  “Right, almost a thousand light years.”

  “The Revlox system is the closest that matches,” Kessoc said.

  Aden nodded. “Sorry, not sure what’s there. Is that bad?”

  “It’s a Criknid system,” Janna said.

  Aden nodded. “Fluvulis said the Criknids were at war with the Ampytheans. Perhaps the Criknids are his buyer?”

  “So if we get it back from him, we can sell it direct and cut out the middleman?” Janna mumbled. She nodded. “I like how you think, Terran!”

  Aden smiled. He hadn’t been thinking that, but it was an easy step to take.

  “So we’re going black?” Twyf asked.

  Janna nodded. “Kessoc, as soon as we’re ready.”

  “Nothing more for me to do here then,” Twyf said. “Captain?”

  Janna waved her away. “Kessoc?”

  “Just checking. We’re good now, Captain. Accelerating to entry speed and going superluminal in three, two, one—we’re in the dark!”

  Aden glanced up at the windows and saw the shields were still down over them. The beating they’d taken had brought question to the integrity of the viewports. He grunted and stood up. “Um, anything else for me, Captain? I’d like to catch some sack time myself.”

  Janna shook her head. “We’ve got about a week of flying in the dark. Rest up.”

  Aden nodded and headed off the bridge. He hurried down the lift and down the hall to his interior cabin. His luck held out and no one else spotted him and wanted to talk to him. After the fight and the repairs, then having to match wits against Tosc and Janna, he’d run out of steam. He opened his door and turned on the light in his cabin, only to see a bumpy form under his blankets.

  The voice that drifted out from under the blankets surprised him. It wasn’t Amber—it was Twyf! “Hope you don’t mind—my cabin hasn’t been repaired yet.”

  Aden turned the light back off and smiled.

  “No,” Twyf said and did something that made the blankets rustle. “I like the lights on.”

  Aden passed his hand over the switch and saw his sheets had been thrown back. Not only that, but she’d peeled her golden bodywear off. His grin stretched wider. Maybe he wasn’t so tired after all.

  Chapter 15

  Aden blinked at the light and groaned. Had he really fallen asleep with the light on? Why—oh! That explained the weight on his chest. And his crotch. Wait, she was moving. And he was—

  “Mmm, I can’t believe you slept through that,” Twyf moaned in her sultry voice. She squeezed her muscles and rolled her hips, drawing a groan from Aden.

  “Slept through what?” he asked when his eyes uncrossed. “Last I remember, you tried to kill me last night. Made my heart race a few times so fast I thought it was going to burst.”

  “That wasn’t the bursting I remember,” she teased before leaning forward and pressing her ripe breasts into his chest. Her lips found him and teased his open with her tickling tongue. She pressed harder, both above and below, and soon had Aden’s focus so distracted he lost control of himself.

  Aden wrapped his hands around her and flung her over on his small bed. The maneuver uncoupled them and caused Twyf to gasp. Her lips pressed together into a pout but Aden didn’t notice; he was too busy correcting the mistake.

  Twyf grunted as he buried himself in her again. Her eyes fluttered up into her head and she began to tremble beneath him. Her trembles turned into a shaking that accompanied the frantic gasps from her mouth. Her muscle spasms pulled him over the edge and left him grunting out his release before his strength left him and he collapsed onto his elbows.

  They laid still, panting and recovering their breaths before Twyf wrapped her arms around him and encouraged him to relax. She repeated the maneuver with her legs, coaxing him to stay snug and warm inside her. “I can take it,” she whispered.

  “You just did,” Aden said, misunderstanding her.

  “No, I mean your weight. I won’t break. I want you to.”

  Aden lifted his head to focus on her. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She smiled and pushed her face up to kiss him. “You won’t. Please?”

  Aden took in a breath and then shrugged and smiled. He lowered himself onto her and appreciated just how soft and spongy her body was. She wasn’t overweight or out of shape in the least; there was just something about her physiology that made her the perfect cuddle mate. He grinned and glanced down between them.

  Twyf kissed the top of his head and asked, “What?”

  He bit his lips and shook his head. “No, it’s childish.”

  “Try me,” she urged.

  Aden ignored the heat in his cheeks and looked up at her. “Your breasts. They’re like pillows. I fantasized about resting my head on them.”

  “Okay.”

&
nbsp; “Okay?”

  She grinned. “Okay, do it.”

  “Right now? Um, I didn’t mean now. It was just a silly thought.”

  She shook her head. “No such thing. Anytime you like, Aden.”

  “Anytime? Wait, is this, um, is this a good idea? I mean, I thought you just liked to tease? Or does this sort of thing—” He stopped himself too late and realized what he’d been about to imply.

  She giggled and kissed him. “Don’t worry, I’m not easily offended.”

  “What? I mean—”

  “I’ve never been with anyone on the crew,” she continued. “And yes, I like the attention. Most Tassarians do. But no, I’ve never done this with any of them.”

  “Why me?”

  Twyf tilted her head and then smiled. “I like you. There’s something about you. Something that makes me want you. Something that makes me willing to take risks for you.”

  Aden fought the urge to swallow and pull back from her. If her clutching arms and legs would let him. “Risks? Twyf, I’m a probationary member. I don’t know how long I’ll be here or if Meshelle will send me packing at the next station.”

  Twyf grinned. “You are so irresistible!”

  He blinked and asked, “What?”

  “Of course you’re staying. She wants you. I mean, she wants you. So does the captain, which explains some of why Meshelle wants you.”

  “That’s crazy! Why would anyone want me? Like that, I mean.”

  She rolled her eyes and laughed. “You’re serious? You’re a Terran. We can have sex with Devikians and Lermians, but I’ve never met a woman who wanted to. I mean, all that hair—and yes, they’re hairy down there too. And different. Devikians at least have normal looking phalluses, if hairy. Lermians, they’re like beasts!”

  Aden shook his head and laughed to hide his discomfort. “Um, I don’t really need, or want, to discuss anatomy.”

  She shrugged. “It’s all right, I don’t mind. Both races have taken Tassarians in the past as slaves and they’ve done things to them. Usually we can change our gender to escape their interest, but then they either kill the captive or force them into labor.”