‘That bloody klaxon, such an annoying sound’ she thought. ‘Go away.’ “Oh shit!” Her hand found the communicator by her bed. “Yes what is it?”
“Maam…this is Liz” said her deputy, LCmd Liz Adair. “We’re under attack. You need to evacuate down to the mine right now. Do you understand you must go RIGHT now. I will hold the blast doors open for five minutes.”
“Right, Liz…I’m on my way.”
But no matter how much she willed it the buggy, with its big wheels almost careening off the road at 200kph, could not go faster. And there it was again that great big pulse of light in the night sky over that desolate asteroid.
“Shit nukes.”
Part of her mind just witnessed these events unfold but another part, her emotional subconscious, screamed ‘NO!’ as more pulses of light lit up that night sky in the outer belt. It would not be long before the enemy ships broke through the defensive screen and would be in range of the base. She braked hard to prevent the buggy rolling at the last turn to the mine entrance.
Somehow she averted disaster, gunned the engines and charged into the mine. The guard….there he is yes yelling at me to “GO!” The inner doors were closing, her chest pumping and her foot hard down on the accelerator, too hard to take the turn into the dock. Over and over and over. Nothing.
‘Oh the pain, the pain…and then the realisation…my baby’s gone…more pain…different…worse…hollow…gutted.’
“WHY?”
Part 1
Bliss
Bliss comes a while or not at all
Rest here a time before we fall
Back into the night from whence we came
Reclaim the dawn and live again
Rapture and ecstasy abide
So long as I am by your side
Kiss me tender while I am here
To love’s laughter hold me near
Caress and pamper, my body is yours
When I feel your touch my joy soars
Chapter 1. Nova Vista 1800, 21 April 2513.
“I did like this suite” said Captain Dave Warner as he opened the door to their apartment on the 41st Floor of the Nelson Towers - their home on Polaris that they had last seen a year ago. One of his square shaped hands gripped the trolley while the other handled the door.
Dave was a well-built man a little above average height with thick dark hair and what his fiancé liked to call a ruggedly handsome face, though there were lines appearing on it now which put him out of the ‘young guns’ category.
He looked at his fiancé, Commander Rihan Kabel. Her fair face caught the reflection of the setting sun as it hit the mirror on the wall of the entrance. It cast a warm glow on her cheek. But it was her inner glow that Dave appreciated.
From Dave’s perspective she was a beauty to behold. The soft curls of her light auburn hair sat lightly on her bare shoulders. He loved the dress she was wearing. It accentuated her graceful curves.
He engaged the door hold and let Rihan walk in while he manoeuvred the trolley with their gear. He looked at the one bit of luggage on the trolley that was his and that was a recent acquisition after the loss of his frigate Hermes, his previous command. ‘Not much to show for 15 years’ service in the Federation Fleet’ he thought.
Rihan went straight to the bathroom and ran the taps for a spa. Dave sank down into the big armchair and stared out into the sunset. A shuttle was taking off from the Fleet base a few kilometres away. The sunlight played across its frame as it rose higher and higher reflecting with dazzling effect. He raised his hand to shade his eyes and recalled a similar experience not long ago inside one of the Chicago’s escape pods as the cruiser exploded nearby - though then he was not in awe but terrified.
‘I’d only been in charge a few hours’ he thought. He dismissed the thought and reminded himself that ‘what matters is we had won that battle.’
He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the comfy lounge chair. ‘But at such cost’ he thought. He could still hear his executive officer (XO), LCmd Aubrey Bellard, telling him they had lost 85 marines taking the rogan capital ship, the Drakush. ‘And that was my redemption?’ he asked himself. ‘Redemption for my sins.’
‘Stop it Dave’ he admonished himself. ‘A new command awaits. A new challenge lies ahead. He could hear Admiral Phil Yomoto’s words the first time he explained what his new mission would be. ‘The rogan empire is too big Dave and their fleets too powerful for us to face them alone. We must weaken this foe from within. Sow the seeds of insurrection Dave. Unite the resistance. Then be the marauder, create as much havoc and mayhem within the rogan empire as you possible can. Two years is what I ask. Two years.’
‘And that was the rub, wasn’t it. A two year mission into the adjacent spiral arm of the galaxy no less. And the sweetener to make it palatable was that Rihan could accompany me – special dispensation from Fleet regs.’
“I need my feet rubbed” called out Rihan.
Dave smiled. He rose from the chair and pulled his polo shirt up and over his head, tossing it back onto the lounge. “Duty calls” he said.
Chapter 2. Nova Vista 1930, 21 April
“Welcome back Captain” said Tony Sparetti, the owner of Renata’s restaurant in downtown Nova Vista. He had a big warm smile on his roman face, which had seen more summers than he cared to let on. His white shirt hung a little loose over his waist, the product of too many indulgences. “And welcome to you my Dear Commander” he added as he led them to their table.
“Your exploits are the talk of the town, you know” he said as he poured the water from the pitcher into their glasses.
“Tony, enough of the formalities” said Dave “We’ll always be Dave and Rihan to you.”
“Of course” said Tony and gave another of his broad smiles. He then lowered his head and in a conspiratorial whisper said “I hear from your uncle Max that you are getting married. Is this true?” Turning to Rihan he added “Tell me it’s true.” He smiled warmly.
Rihan nodded and Tony’s face beamed. “Yes!” he said a little louder. He stood back upright. “You must have champagne.” He raised up the forefinger on his left hand and gave it a little shake. “My shout.” He turned to one of his waiters and with a wave he beckoned him to bring the Champagne forward.
The champagne was poured as Tony explained the specials on tonight’s menu. “I will leave you now and be back in a while to take your order. I am so happy.” He smiled once more and returned to his duties.
Rihan took a sip. “You know that Uncle Max of yours hasn’t wasted any time.”
“No doesn’t look like it” said Dave with a smile. “We’ll find out the full extent tomorrow.”
“So apart from Max, his wife and your two cousins you don’t have any other relatives who can make the wedding?”
“Doesn’t look that way. There’s a war on you know. Poor old Brennon said he would try but he can’t guarantee it.”
“Are you younger or older than Brennon?”
“He’s the young bro and that makes me the mean older one” said Dave with a wicked smile.
“So what does he do exactly?”
“He’s a public servant. Used to be in the Nova Vista public works department but he shone too brightly, so they made him administrator at some new development at a location he can’t tell anyone. All hush-hush apparently.”
“Is he married?”
“Divorced…and we don’t mention it.”
“Right” said Rihan. “Kids?”
“One still alive. Her name’s Kim. She lives with her mum back on Earth.”
“What, so they lost a child?”
“Yeah, Thomas died in a car accident when he was just five. Brennon was driving and his wife never forgave him.”
“Gee that’s tough.”
Dave nodded. “That one mistake cost him his entire family. So he threw himself into his work. But hey” said Dave as he raised his eyebrows and smiled “if his older bro can find himself a wonderful new woma
n I reckon there’s hope for him yet.”
“And you’re going to tell him that aren’t you?”
“You bet I am.”
Tony came over. “Are you ready to order?”
“Sure Tony and this champagne is very nice indeed” said Rihan.
“It’s the real McCoy imported from France. Only the best for you, my friends.” Tony looked genuinely pleased that the wine was appreciated.
“Is there any more?”
Once again Tony bent forward and said quietly “Yes but only for special guests.”
“What about for our wedding reception?”
“You wish to hold it here?”
“Where else!”
Tony gave another big smile. “How many people?”
Rihan took a look around. “I think we’ll just squeeze in.”
“Wonderful. When?”
“Next week.”
“Seriously?”
“We’re in a hurry.”
Tony twigged as to what this meant, but he would not seek confirmation. He knew that for security reasons they couldn’t confirm anyway.
Rihan could see Tony thinking hard and the change in his expression to a more serious demeanour.
But then he smiled and said “We have a lot of planning and preparations to do then. Don’t we?”
“We do indeed Tony.”
“How about you come around here tomorrow morning, 11’ish and we’ll have some coffee and a lovely chat about all the beautiful arrangements.”
“Love to Tony.”
“Now what are you going to eat tonight?”
Chapter 3. Nova Vista 2200, 21 April
For the second time that evening Dave sank back into the comfy lounge chair and let his eyes wonder across the view from their apartment. The night sky was full of sparkling stars. On the ground in the distance were the lights of the space port reminding him of his impending mission and their coming departure from Polaris.
‘That’s the one bad aspect of this apartment’ thought Dave ‘work is always just a gaze away.’
He reacted with a little surprise as he felt Rihan’s hands begin to massage his neck and shoulder. “Mmm…” he murmured and rolled his head as the tension was being released. He glanced up to see that Rihan had changed into that sexy negligée he had bought her. “You look great” he said with a warm smile.
She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his right cheek, knowing too well that the negligee would be incapable of containing her ample breasts. He just lay there enjoying the attention. She extended her hands down from his shoulder and onto his chest. He moaned a little and kissed her breast gently. Then he raised his right arm and cupped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer. At the same time he turned his face and dove into her breasts.
Her hands extended down further till she could feel him getting excited. He rolled to avoid her grasp, released his grip on her neck and extricated himself from the chair. Standing he looked at her mischievous expression.
“Too hot to handle?” she challenged with a smile.
He came toward her and took her face between his palms and kissed her luscious lips. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and pressed it against his. She could feel how excited he was.
He pulled his head back and looked her in the eyes. She was on fire and he wanted her so much. “You’re the one who’s hot. Time to lose this” and he brushed the remaining strap of the negligée.
Chapter 4. Nova Vista 0610, 22 April
He woke with the sunrise. The light penetrated the gap in the curtains and its finger played across his face wresting his consciousness from its dream state. He looked across to his left and saw that beautiful face he loved so much, with auburn curls masking her forehead.
A smile came across his face as he recalled the delights of their love making. He could still feel the smooth texture of her skin and smell her scent.
He arched his back and stretched his body from his toes to his hands. He then carefully extricated himself from under the covers and stood upright. He went to the bathroom and washed his face, brushed his hair and looked at himself in the mirror. ‘You’ll do’ he said to himself and went into the spare bedroom which served as their meditation room.
He was missing his asana – the small woollen blanket he normally sat on for meditation. So he sat on the floor with his legs crossed. He made sure he was sitting upright with a straight back, his hands on his thighs in chin mudra, with forefinger and thumb touching. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and exhaled long. In this way he took two more deep breaths before bringing his breath back to its normal pace and rhythm.
He began with his opening invocation offering up his time, focus, love and gratitude to his guru. Then he took hold of the mantra and repeated its syllables in time with his breath. This constant repetition on the mantra once on the in breath and again on the out breath helped still his mind.
He would stay with this practice until he reached the void where his mind was still and the mantra dropped away. How long it took depended on the state of his mind. Right now he was content and so it took little time before he was lost to the serene peace within. On occasions he would see images or hear sounds. Sometimes they would be a manifestation of his emotional state. At other times they would be from his past, providing an opportunity for his consciousness to process things and at other times they could be a harbinger of things to come.
On this occasion he saw rows and rows of body bags lined up against the hanger bay wall of the Hermes. He felt a deep sadness overwhelm him. But this was balanced by a palpable sense of detachment for he was the witness observing but not interacting. In that moment he knew he was free from the sadness, free from the regret and free from the sense of culpability that had dogged him these last two months since the battle over Fulmar. He knew that these emotions would resurface in the weeks to come but their ability to dominate him was gone. And in that last realisation the image was replaced by the void and he was lost to the inner world.
Chapter 5. Nova Vista 0720, 22 April
Dave was on one of the bar stools at the kitchen bench checking the latest news on his console when Rihan made her entrance into the living room. She was in the powder blue silk dressing gown Dave had also bought her. She walked up behind Dave and ruffled his hair before giving him a peck on his cheek.
“Awake at last” said Dave and pecked her back.
“I was so tired after that cavorting.”
Dave sighed. “Oh but what cavorting” and he gave her a warm smile.
“Yeah you weren’t too bad” she said and made her way to the fridge.
“What makes you think the fairies have come in the night and stocked it?”
“Oh” she moaned. “Have you placed an order?” She looked at the fridge display and saw the order confirmation. “Oh you are a good boy!” She checked the ETA for the delivery. “They won’t be here for another hour. Mmm…”
“Come on Rihan, get dressed and we’ll have breakfast downstairs.”
“No I want to meditate first. It can wait.”
“But you haven’t been up for an hour already?”
She walked to him and kissed him on the forehead. “Poor Davey. You’ll be right. I won’t be that long.” She glided back into the bedroom to change into her casuals for meditation.
Dave sought solace in his console. The lead news storey was about an engagement with a rogan ship over Alpha Phi. Apparently fighters from the Wasp carrier had despatched a rogan corvette. “On a recon” said Dave out loud.
“What honey?” said Rihan as she headed for the bathroom.
“Oh nothing” said Dave.
‘Gee it was only a year ago that I led that assault on Alpha Phi’ he said to himself. He reflected on how so much had changed since then, how a year ago he was involved in a civil war with the Alliance. But that was short lived. He and his best friend, LCmd Art Simons, were instrumental in bringing about the rapprochement between the Federation and the
Alliance so they could meet the common alien enemy, the sleth.
‘What a battle’ he said to himself as he recalled the climatic engagement over Klaster. ‘We beat the sleth but a few months later we’re battling the rogan to protect the sleth. And soon we’ll be embarking on a mission to foster insurrection in the rogan empire.’ “What a roller coaster” he said out loud.
“What’s a roller coaster?” asked Rihan as she headed to the meditation room.
“Nothing darling.”
‘Where will it go from here?’ he asked himself.
He heard the chime and said out aloud “Suite answer. Who’s there?”
“It’s your delivery Sir” said the voice through the intercom.
“You’re early. Well done. Come on up.”
Rihan emerged from the meditation room around 0800 to find Dave munching on some toast, replete with marmalade. He waved with his free hand to highlight the goodies delivered. She gave him a smile and grabbed a slice of his toast before he could adequately defend it. She sunk her teeth into it ravenously as Dave shook his head disapprovingly.
The door chime rang again.
“Suite answer” said Dave. “Who is it?”
“Captain it’s Commander Ross from Public Relations. We need to talk.”
“I don’t think so Commander. I’m on leave till June.”
“I know Sir but I do need to talk with you now.”
Rihan was shaking her head.
“All right. Come on up” said Dave and Rihan shrugged. “Sorry darling. You better change.”
“Ta!” and she hurried off into the bedroom. She was still in there when the knock came at the door. Dave closed the bedroom door before opening the front door.
“Good morning Captain” said the impeccably dressed officer. “I’m Commander Shane Ross and this is Lt Justine Falks.”
Redemption: Book 2 of Warner's World Page 37