"4—3—."
“Come on, Brooks!” whispered Steven.
“Shields are on line!” Mr. O’Brien shouted.
The wave hit, the lights dimmed, the alarms sounded. The wave buffeted Avenger violently, more violently then anyone believed she was capable of enduring.
Renee, forgive me for not coming home to you, thought Steven, his sadness overwhelming. Ashlyn, I’m sorry.
***
To the sound of an explosion, Ashlyn ordered the activation of the suit’s dampener field. She smiled, comforted, as she felt the dampener activate. As innocuous as it was, she hoped the explosion was the signal for which she had been waiting. She simulated a roll, until she could feel gravity pulling her feet first. She waited, knowing that an impact was coming, but unsure of what to expect. No one had ever told her whether a water landing was similar to that of landing on land. Would it be gentle or-
The jolt wrenched her hard. She heard the sound of the splash and her superheated suit interacting with the cold water. She mentally envisioned a plume of steam rising from the point where she had entered, not knowing if it was an accurate depiction. She had no idea how fast she had hit the surface, or of how deep she was. Would she sink, or would she float? Was the suit watertight? Did the nanotechnology have a sub-routine for a situation such as this? She didn’t know.
Within seconds, she heard the low-pitched hum of an approaching Sharkfin.
***
Even in what he believed to be the waning moments of his life, Steven searched for an avenue of escape. The warrior within him refused to surrender even when staring into the eyes of defeat. His determination induced his mind to release an enormous wave of adrenaline. The surge expanded his conscious mind a thousand fold. With profound clarity, he could see everything around him. He could see Avenger and the wave shaking her—and though he didn’t know what he could do to protect her, with every ounce of his being, he willed for Avenger to survive.
***
Ashlyn winced as Steven’s sorrow-driven adrenaline stabbed her consciousness from across the depths of space, stunning her as surely as if he had thrust a knife into her cerebral cortex.
From her world of darkness, Ash reached out, seeking the fringe of Steven’s mind. Through him, she saw Avenger’s turbulent shaking and loss of power. She saw the darkness engulf Steven, the ship’s gravity waning as Avenger’s structural integrity began to fail, torqued far beyond tolerance. She heard Avenger’s mournful wail that signaled her imminent death.
As the turbulence condemned him, Steven’s thoughts betrayed him. Ashlyn saw in his mind a collage of images, each attached to a heart wrenching emotion. She experienced them as if they were her own. She could feel Steven’s love for his wife, their shared moments of intimate happiness. She saw him laughing on the day they had been married and his eyes tearing during the birth of his children.
She saw everything about him—including the future that lay ahead of them, a vision of their destiny.
***
Such was the depth of his concentration that it took him a moment to realize that Ashlyn was standing beside him, watching him. Ashlyn! His heart sped. Seeing her standing beside him started a blazing fire within him. You—are so beautiful! In her eyes, he saw a woman that was tenacious, intelligent and compassionate. He also saw a twinkling calmness assuring him that everything was going to be all right.
“It looks as though I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar,” she said with a teasingly sexy smile and hint of a laugh. “I apologize for my intrusion, but in your distress, your mind summoned me to you.
First, let me say, you have no need to fear for Avenger or the lives of your crew. Our destiny, yours and mine, is starting to become clearer to me. I have glimpsed certain future events that for the time being, assure your safety. I believe the ability is one of the herculean gifts to which Tynabo alluded.
I thank you for sharing Tynabo’s recording with me. Even that small glimpse of the man I called father, has been a comfort.
As regards us, these last weeks apart have been extremely difficult. As much for you as they are for me. So please know that you have not been alone in your suffering.
In your mind, I also saw your desire to know exactly what it is that has been happening to you, to us, each night.
In short, what you see, I see. What you feel, I feel. The fugue is creating its own reality for us, albeit on a more esoteric plane. I think you will agree that there is nothing lost in the translation between the fugue—and a true physical reality.
However, as Tynabo had warned us, it is becoming harder each day to hold on. Each day apart for us becomes more unbearable. Because of this growing need, I fear it will not be long before the fugue creates situations that would be quite embarrassing, were they to happen in public. Because of this, I ask you not to delay your return to Sea Base any longer than necessary.
I am also aware of the personal hurdles that you face upon your return as regards Renee and your family, and that you are in desperate need of a solution. I want you to know that you do not bear this burden alone. You have my full support on any decision that you make. It will always be so.
Until we meet again—sweet dreams.” As Ashlyn’s image dissipated, her sensual smile stole his breath.
***
As the wave subsided, Avenger was left dark and serenely quiet. His heart was thumping out of his chest and the sound of it seemed to fill the entire bridge. Though Ashlyn’s image was gone, he held the visualization of her firmly in his mind. He didn’t completely understand how she was able to speak with him, but he now knew that the dreams were much more than he had thought them to be.
The bridge suddenly lit up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve, chimes and klaxons sounding everywhere. Nearly every instrument panel returned to life flashing a "System is Off-Line” alert.
Chief Preston entered through the Bridge doors, “Sorry for the scare, Admiral. Our shields were collapsing, so I turned off most of the ship’s internal systems and routed the power to the shields.”
“Well, it did the job. Good work, Chief!”
“Actually it wasn’t enough, sir. Not nearly.”
“I’m not following you,” said Steven.
“There was a massive energy surge that encompassed the whole ship. It only lasted a minute or so, but somehow, it reinforced the shields. It flat lined after the wave passed. It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“Where did the surge come from?”
“I have a team looking into it, Admiral. I’ll keep you informed.”
“Do what you can to track it down, Chief. Or I just might send you to bed without dinner tonight.”
“Wouldn’t want that. The galley is serving fish sticks tonight!” said Chief Preston with the exaggerated laugh of a man who had expected to die.
“The galley serves fish sticks every night!” said Steven as he came to realize in this moment of lightheartedness that it had been far too long since he had laughed.
“All stations, status report?” ordered Steven.
“Damage Control is doing a micro-fracture scan of the entire hull. Estimated time until completion is approximately six hours,” said Jenkins.
“Long range scans are all clear, sir,” reported radar. “The flagship is either gone or hidden behind the sun.”
The report from Mr. O’Brien came next, “Shields are down. Energy reserves are steady at .08 percent. Life support is non-operational until we’ve accumulated a 4 percent reserve. Most decks are dark. I recommend deploying the solar collectors until we can re-engage the Bussard scoop.
With life support down, it’s going to get mighty chilly in here. Gena’s calculations show that a stationary orbit about the sun at 14.3 million kilometers distance will negate the cold and give us maximum input to the fuel cells. We’ll need twelve hours to recharge the mains and an additional two for the reserves.”
“Very good,” said Steven. “Helm, follow Mr. O’Brien’s inst
ructions and be sure to keep the sun between us and the flagship’s last known position.
Jenkins, how did we do with the radiation?”
“That’s the strange part, sir,” responded Jenkins. “The numbers don’t make sense. Outside, we’re glowing like the aurora borealis, but inside, there is almost nothing. I think it’s because of the energy surge Chief Preston was talking about. Somehow, it repelled the radiation. It’s really a stroke of luck that we’re alive.”
“Sometimes, luck is all we have,” responded Steven. “Start the external scrubbers when they come back on-line.”
Avenger’s med team entered onto the bridge, checking everyone out.
“How’s the crew?” Steven asked the nurse nearest him.
“No casualties. A few broken ribs from the containment fields. A broken arm or two, one concussion. Not bad, considering.
Are you all right, sir?” the nurse asked with genuine concern. “You’re really flushed”
“I’m fine. A bit tired. Nothing a little sleep won’t fix,” said Steven as he wiped away a layer of beaded sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his uniform. In truth, he felt ready to collapse.
The Bridge doors opened as Brooks and Casey returned. Steven spun his chair round, “Cut it kind of close didn't you?”
“Actually, we didn't know if it was going to work at all. That trick of yours to disable Gena’s safety-protocols took us a bit off-guard. Even the Chief didn't know about that one,” said Brooks with a heavy plop into his seat.
“Neither did I," said Steven in reply. "I just hoped Gena would obey an executive command, even if it did go counter to her programing.”
Brooks grinned broadly. “So, what are we doing about the flagship?”
“There isn’t much we can do until we recharge. My guess is that she’s dead. Nevertheless, I doubt she was able to escape the effects of the energy field dampening mines attached to her hull and still have the energy to formulate a jump, but if she did, tomorrow, when we’re up to full power, I’ll chase her all the way into hell if I have to!”
“Do you think Enlil is aboard the flagship?”
“I don’t think so. The strategy they used was sound, holding back and letting the fleet approach, but I think Enlil is too arrogant to have held back. First, he had no reason to believe that anyone was alive; next, he thinks we’re too inferior to be a threat. So, no. I don’t think so.
It was more the actions of a commander following protocols.”
“Sir?” Mr. O’Brien was standing before Steven looking as bewildered as a lost cat. “Sir, when we took the shields off-line, how did you know with such certainty that we weren’t going to have a hull breach?”
Steven grinned broadly, “I didn’t! I’m just a lucky liar!”
***
Sitting at the black-lacquer desk in his cabin, Steven leaned back and closed his eyes. “Computer, open log: New entry, day 290, 2288, 0800 hours. Six hours ago, we found the flagship adrift behind the sun. After stabilizing its rotation, the remote cams we sent aboard her have verified that her crew is dead.
To say that we were lucky is an understatement. When the fleet had jumped in-system, we caught the flagship off-guard—sneaking out of the sun’s chromosphere, we came up from behind her. As we had strategized, the magnetic energy field dampening mines had drained all of the ship’s power, stopping her from formulating a jump. With her shields down, Avenger’s cannons unleashed a hailstorm of armor piercing micro needles, each carrying a tiny cylinder of Neuron gas.
Her crew never knew what was killing them. The vessel’s last offensive move was launching the doomsday missile toward Earth, which was shot down by Ashlyn Parker, a pilot assigned to the groundside laser detail.”
Steven paused briefly as he thought of Ashlyn.
“Now that we have the enemy flagship in our possession, I can’t remember when I’ve seen the crew’s morale so high. Never have they been more boisterous.
Chief Engineer Preston has reported that it will take four to six weeks to repair the damage done to the enemy vessel before she’ll be fit for duty. To top it all off, just minutes ago, we received perhaps the best news of all. When Gena networked with the flagship’s computer, she instantly began translating and rewriting all of the ship’s programs into English. The ease of translation was something we hadn’t anticipated, but as life so often dictates, with every rising of the sun, a few clouds are set adrift.
We quickly discovered that even though the outward appearance of the flagship bears no resemblance to that of our own vessel, her tactical and operational systems are almost identical to Avenger’s, albeit on a much larger scale. However, since I’m not a believer in coincidence, I’ve assigned a team to search for an explanation to the anomaly.” Steven yawned. “Computer, end log.”
Seeing the golden-framed picture of Renee on the floor beside the desk, he bent over to pick it up. Holding it in his hands, he stared at the blue eyes that had captured his heart sixteen years before. His lips melted into a narrow smile.
Thinking of Renee, he admired her. Renee was soft, feminine, and yet, openly brash. She challenged authority when she believed her cause was just, and never would she ask anyone to do something that she wouldn’t willingly do herself.
The picture brought him back to the day when as a senior cadet, and just before graduation, he and six friends had gone to Paris on a five-day leave. It was on that trip that they acknowledged their unspoken feelings and confessed their love. “Eiffel,” said Steven. The tri-dimensional picture of Renee came to life, showing her standing at the railing of the Eiffel Tower, looking as beautiful and sexy as ever. Her long auburn hair was fluttering weightlessly in the breeze. Her face was delicately narrow, her neck slender. The red and white checkered, Italian peasant dress she was wearing accentuating her womanly figure and as if it were a beacon of his desire, a ray of sunlight bathed her round cleavage.
Bursting with excitement, knowing that it was Steven’s first trip to France, she pointed to the Seine, below. Her spirit was infectious, and he felt the exuberance of a child seeing Disneyland for the first time.
Smiling, Ren then turned toward the camera, gave her all-consuming gaze and smile, and did a twirl for him in her dress.
“Eiffel, freeze.” Steven grinned in response to his good timing. He always tried to stop her twirl at that particular moment, for amidst her twirl; a gust of wind had caught her dress and lifted it, revealing her long legs and panty-less bottom. The view was a memorable tease. Among friends, it had been an ongoing joke between them. Steven claiming she had done it on purpose—Renee, blushingly claiming she had forgotten to pack her panties.
It was hard for Steven to believe that so many years had passed. It seemed like only yesterday that they had married. Yet, through all they had endured, she had been his support, his fortress of solitude. As Steven became lost to his memories, he knew that she was a woman worthy of a king’s ransom, and yet, all she had ever asked for was his heart.
Just hours before, having lifted the communications blackout, he had spoken to Renee. It wasn’t a surprise that Renee wanted to discuss, Ashlyn. Renee told him the story of the missile that Ashlyn had destroyed and her suited free-fall from space into the ocean. She also stated that the two of them had become good friends over the last months.
It worried him that he might soon have to be in the same room with the two of them at the same time. He didn’t trust himself to act rationally, his every thought of Ashlyn intoxicating him.
After nearly two full days without sleep, Steven should have been anxious to get some rest, but as he stretched out on the bed and closed his eyes, his only thoughts were of Ashlyn, knowing she was about to come to him.
Chapter 6
With the destruction of Enlil’s fleet, the element of surprise now on his side, Steven ordered that Avenger be ready to set sail for the Sirius B system in thirty-six hours. As the crew prepped and restocked Avenger for the extended journey, Steven took a shuttle grounds
ide to see his family.
Walking the corridors at Sea Base, he contemplated what lay ahead. His heart was racing in anticipation of this moment, picturing how he would sweep Renee into his arms and kiss her madly while the kids tugged at his uniform. After all the weeks away, it felt good to be home again.
As the door to his cabin slid aside, he found Renee in the living room, asleep on the sofa. Steven gave a quiet smile, for it was obvious that she had tried to wait up for him. Clutched loosely in her left hand was her antique Harry Potter novel, her finger still marking the spot where she had stopped reading.
Seating himself in the chair across from her, Steven studied the gracefully sweeping lines of her body. She lay still, only the provocative points of her nipples moving beneath the white-pearl silk of her negligee as they rose and fell with each tender breath. The mere memory of her touch quickened his pulse and started his blood pumping.
Renee’s fair complexion and auburn hair made a fitting backdrop for her. As he contemplated waking her, Renee shifted her positon, turning slightly toward him. A slit in her negligee that ran down its length, slowly began to open, sliding away from her towards the floor. A shapely, squared calf gave way to soft, trim thighs. The slide of the negligee stopped just as it began to reveal a tiny hint of fine hair covering the rise of her mound. His groin tightened, his mouth watering as his tongue feigned a stab, recalling times past.
He remembered the night when he had made his big announcement to Renee about his commission to take command of a new Class 9 ship and the almost completed, Challenger Deep Sea Base. That evening, Steven had taken Renee out for a candlelight dinner at Poseidon’s Sea Food Grotto. The restaurant was a retired Class 3 Nautilus submarine that some enterprising entrepreneur had turned into a luxurious, Five Star tourist trap. Submerged up to the base of its conning tower, it sat on a brilliantly lit coral reef in Hanauma Bay, east of Honolulu.
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