Taking Command

by Jennifer Leeland

  "Did I do something wrong?” Daniella peeked over the hood of the All Terrain Hover Vehicle. Her talent with the ATHV engines earned her a little respect from the other technicians on the Zenith. She hadn't realized how much she missed the challenge of more complicated machinery.

  George was also soothing to her soul. As a father figure, he gave her approval and warmth while still being a tough old bird. On the job, they worked together well and Dani had been able to keep her thoughts on the job at hand. Or at least fake it. But, apparently, she hadn't hidden her chaotic thoughts as well as she'd thought.

  "No. You're right on target.” The older man shook his head. “You seem to be working to avoid something."

  "I'm not."

  "I didn't see you at the Sky Chess match last week. What did you do instead? Did something happen?"

  Dani glared at the older man over the engine with her hand clenched around the handle of her wrench. “What's with all the questions?” Her voice had an unintentional bite to it. She let out a slow breath. “Nothing happened, George."

  For a moment, his blue eyes met hers and she wondered if he was going to call her on her lie. Instead, he changed the subject. “Never mind. Did you tell the General about his vehicles?"

  Standing up and wiping fluids off her hands with a sani-towel, she shook her head. “I wanted to figure out what was wrong first. I hate to say it, but it looks deliberate."

  "What?” George went still. He was a short man with a few extra pounds and a lot of restless energy, but Daniella knew she'd shocked him.

  "I mean that someone deliberately disabled the military vehicles. It was professional, too. It was no hack job. Someone knew just what to mess with to make the ATHV break down without being obvious. If you hadn't spotted the first one on the inspection, all fifty of these would have broken down within the month.” She tossed her tools into her tool kit.

  "Are you sure, Dani?” He seemed so worried and Daniella furrowed her brow.

  Then, she shrugged. “Double check me."

  "I'm not questioning you."

  "The General will. He didn't think much of a woman mechanic among the colonists.” She smiled without humor.

  "Tell the Captain then."

  Her eyes widened. “The General's right hand man? Whatever. He's no better, so I hear. His men think he's a jerk."

  "Maybe so, but we need to tell one of them. You're better with the hover crafts than I am."

  She sighed. He was passing the buck and they both knew it. “All right, but if I get yelled at, I'm coming after you.” She grinned at him.

  "Right, kiddo. Pick on someone your own size."

  That afternoon, she headed for the military section of the ship for a conference with the second in command. They seemed to have been expecting someone to contact them about the ATHVs. It was better to be heading for a boring meeting with a stiff backed military asshole than deal with her personal life.

  Five days. It had been five days since she'd run out of the VFR. Not exactly a dignified exit. Since then she'd wondered who he was. There were two hundred colonists and about a hundred military personnel on the Zenith. Out of three hundred people, it would be tough not to run into Jake whoever he was. One more month and she'd be on a new planet and perhaps she'd be able to put the weird computer glitch behind her.

  One thing was clear. The man blamed her for the glitch. She hadn't reported the problem either. She wondered if he had.

  Now, she had to go to a meeting with some uptight Captain Tarune. She was going to need every ounce of her aggressive strength to deal with this. Dwelling on her submissive fantasy distracted her.

  The military section of the Zenith was blocked by one ID check after another. They treated the colonists like a disease that needed to be quarantined. Of course, it didn't help that she was going to inform them that someone was sabotaging their equipment.

  Approaching the last checkpoint, she held out her ID and did the retinal check before being escorted through two more sets of doors. Finally, she reached a secretary that didn't demand her ID or her palm print.

  "Dani Pearce to see Captain Tarune. I have an appointment."

  "Yes. He's waiting for you.” The secretary stood and showed her through another door. Anyone would think the jerk was someone important.

  "Pearce? I'm in a hurry. What...” He stopped mid-sentence and the room begin to spin.

  Captain Tarune was Jake.

  When her eyes fluttered open, she was lying on a couch and he leaned over her. His eyes were expressionless and she just wanted to sink into the cushions and die.

  "What happened?"

  "You fainted.” He smirked.

  Impossible. “I never faint.” She struggled to sit up.

  "Well, this time you did. Lie down.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and pressed down.

  She glared at him. “We're in the real world now, not the VFR. Let me up.” She squirmed against him to sit up.

  He sighed. “I suppose we are.” He stood up and went behind his desk. “Did you come here to find me?"

  "No. I came here to report my findings about the ATHVs."

  His mouth dropped open. “You're the mechanic?"

  "I am.” She sat up and her head swam. “You got the report I sent you?"

  "Yes.” His black eyes pierced into hers. “Lie back down. Please.” The last word was soft and gentle.

  She reclined and immediately felt better. Her eyes never left his. “I don't know who did the sabotage, but I know it was professional and precise. Every vehicle was damaged the same way, no variations."

  He nodded. “I think I can guess who it is. You know the P.P.A.?"

  Her eyes closed. “Yes. I ran into them as a lottery winner. The Planetary Protection Association. They think colonization of other planets is spreading our destructive ways through the universe. I think they killed two colonists in China, didn't they?"

  "A branch of it did. The lottery wasn't picky about politics, so it wouldn't surprise me to find out we shipped one on with us. Usually, they take credit for something like this."

  "Why tell me?” She sat up again and her head stayed still this time.

  "Well, Daniella Pearce, you're the prime suspect.” His eyes bored into hers and she thought she was going to pass out again.

  "Me? Why me? I just fixed them all."

  "Because you were the only colonist that had access to the vehicles."

  Her eyes narrowed. “So, it had to be a colonist? That's typical."

  "What is your political stance on colonization?” One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk.

  "What's yours?” she quipped.

  "I'm not the one who had access to the ATHVs."

  "Really? You're telling me you couldn't have gone down there if you wanted to? What you mean is that I'm the only colonist.” She glared at him. “I was asked to fix the vehicles and I did. I didn't know I was going to be accused of actually sabotaging them."

  Their eyes clashed and the heat in his made her blood sing. When he spoke again, she'd almost forgotten what they were talking about.

  "You had access before George found the sabotage."

  Her chest tightened as if a band of steel wrapped around her. “I didn't know I had access."

  "So you say.” His wry tone said he didn't believe her.

  She lifted her chin in defiance. “I do say. I didn't know I had access until George asked me to fix the ATHVs."

  He nodded. “George says you didn't seem familiar with the hanger.” Again, the doubt in his statement was evident. He obviously thought she could have faked it.

  "Believe me, I'm good with the ATHVs but I'm not this good. The damage is precise and consistent. It's subtle. The only reason I was able to find it was because one of them broke down on George."

  "So, you're saying you couldn't have done it."

  "I'm saying I don't have the expertise."

  "I'm trying to believe you.” His tone belied his words. She wanted to scream at him.


  "All of my abilities are in my file. I don't hide things."

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her face heated. There were a few things she hid and he knew it. His gaze didn't help. She couldn't read his expression. She took a deep breath.

  "You ought to thank George. If he hadn't spotted the problem, it would have been a very dangerous road in those vehicles."

  "How did you meet George? He's military."

  Daniella smiled. “There are common areas. There's the Vid Games, where I met George, the Stardust Bar, the VFR ... “Her face grew hot again and she stood up. “Look, are we done? I'd like to get back to work."

  As he walked around his desk toward her, she tensed. If he touched her ... she hoped he touched her.

  He didn't. His eyes were serious, passionate, frustrated and hot. “We're done for now. You and I aren't finished. Once we clear up this little sabotage problem, you and I are going to discuss our personal connection."

  Her knees trembled and her heart thumped in her chest. He towered over her, his face only a breath from hers. “What personal connection?” She wanted her voice to sound nonchalant. Instead, she sounded like a clucking chicken.

  Heat emanated off his body. “If you're not careful, I'm going to make a very personal connection with you on that couch."

  Staring into his eyes, she could see he meant what he said. She was an instant away from having a quickie in the man's office.

  As she backed away, she knew she couldn't call it a strategic retreat. She was running like hell.

  Stumbling for the door, she escaped. The secretary gave her an odd look, but she managed to get through the checkpoints and back to her own comfortable zone.

  Her own mind was jumbled and she barely remembered getting back to her quarters. Both elation and fear swept through her, churning her stomach. A thrill shot along her nerves as she pictured the desire etched on the man's face as she escaped his office. Fear of his intentions toward her warred for her attention.

  She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. The situation had spun out of her control. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

  * * * *

  "How serious is this, Captain?” The General's eyes scanned his computer screen.

  "Fifty vehicles have been repaired. I had another military mechanic look them over to make sure Ms. Pearce addressed the problem."

  "All the others have been checked?"

  "Yes, sir."

  The General leaned back in his chair and studied Jake with watery, blue eyes. “What do you think is going on? Did this Pearce woman do this?"

  He shook his head. “No. She checked out. No contact with any known terrorist groups and no strong political objections to the military. They did a thorough check of all the lottery winners.” Jake was amazed he was able to keep the relief from his tone.

  "Are their psych evaluations on file?” The General's gaze went back to the computer screen.

  "I believe they're in the system, but I don't have the access codes for that."

  "I do. Studying Daniella Pearce's evaluation, I'd say you're right. Who else is on the list of possibilities?"

  Jake almost didn't hear him. His thoughts wandered. What he wanted was access to that psych evaluation. He started slightly and answered the General. “George Finton is military. He's the only other person with twenty-four hour access. He requested help when he didn't think he could fix the vehicles without damaging them."

  "What about partial access?"

  "There's a list in your email. All military.” He kept his voice emotionless.

  "So, it's one of our own.” The General studied the list. Jake stood calmly waiting for his orders. All he wanted to do was hunt down the woman that turned his well ordered, empty life upside down. He had to drag his thoughts back to the subject at hand when the General spoke again. “I think that rules out the P.P.A.” The older man sighed. “Too bad. That means it's more complicated."

  "You can see in the report the damage was precise and exact. That kind of mechanical ability isn't showing up in the files."

  "What about the man in charge of the section?” The General pointed at the screen.

  "Paulo Lestrano. His record's clean."

  "There's a restricted file.” A few clicks on the keyboard and the General hissed in a breath. “Shit. Lestrano is Tribunal."

  Jake stared at the General. “He's one of the Space Elite? Why is he here? The Elite are sent to the hot spots, not a space station above a newly colonized planet."

  "They sent him here for a reason.” The General pounded his fist on the desk. “What aren't we being told?"

  "Soldiers of the Tribunal are sent in to eradicate individuals,” Jake said, thoughtfully. “They're a one man Space Elite force. Who would interest the SE?"

  The General shook his head. “We'll keep all this under wraps. None of the colonists are that important. Most of them are just teachers and doctors. Or mechanics like Daniella Pearce. Everyday people, not world leaders."

  "Do you have any orders for me?"

  "I want you to find out more about the two people who are involved in this. George Finton and Daniella Pearce."

  Jake's heart sped up. “Yes, sir."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Four

  "Hey, Dani! That Evaporator I repaired last week broke down again. Could you take a look at it today?"

  Buried in the back of a large Condenser, Daniella waved a wrench in acknowledgement. All these years, she thought, and we still have to get a human being to crawl in an engine to tweak and fix it. And a wrench was still one of the main tools. She ran a diagnostic on the Condenser after replacing several parts that froze over the course of the months in space.

  As she wiped her tools, she stepped over to the Evaporator that one of the other guys brought over. In seconds, she dismantled some of its computer and was dealing with the problem. Machines made sense. They weren't cluttered by emotional complications. It was easier to dive into work. Her personal issues would have to stay on the back burner.

  Knee deep in wires and switches, she didn't respond when someone nearby cleared their throat. The second time, she barely gave it a thought.

  "Whatever it is, I'll have to fix it tomorrow. This Evaporator is a piece of shit. Government issue. You'll just have to...” She flicked her eyes away from the mess of machinery. When she got a glimpse of who stood there, the last word came out in a whisper. “...wait."

  Jake Tarune. CAPTAIN Jake Tarune.

  Scrambling to her feet, she glared at him, chin stuck out. “What do you want?"

  "The General wants me to find out more about you.” He was grinning at her. The bastard was grinning at her.

  "Read my file,” she snapped.

  "I have."

  "Then you know all there is to know.” Dani stepped back toward the dismantled Condenser.

  Jake shook his head. “I don't think so. I think the file only scratches the surface."

  "If you're here in an official capacity, then my file is all you get.” She started to turn her back on him, but his hand shot out and gripped her upper arm, sending sparks along her nerves.

  "Take a break."

  She shook his hand off. “No.” She backed away as he stepped forward.

  "Yes.” He took the wrench from her hand, then the cleaning towel and just kept backing her up step by step.

  "I can't.” She shot a glance toward the door.

  "You must."

  "Why?” She started to slide towards the exit.

  "I need your expertise.” His double entendre and sexy smile made her clench her hands into fists.

  "I'm sure you can find someone just as knowledgeable to help you."

  He stepped between her and the door. “I don't think so."

  "Why? Because I'm the one who fixed the damaged ATHVs?"

  "No.” He stopped moving toward her and froze. There was no sign of humor on his face now. His skin was tight over his features and his eyes blaz
ed into hers. “Because, I need you.” His voice was hoarse and intense. She closed her eyes against her own desperate longing for him.

  "It isn't me. It's just your fantasy."

  "Just come with me.” His voice was persuasive and soft.

  "Where?” It just came out. There was no thought to resist him.

  "The VFR.” His black eyes were so deep and volcanic. She just stared at him.

  "When?"

  "Now.” He stepped aside and waved her toward the door.

  As she passed him, his hands clenched into fists and she realized he was trying not to touch her. Just as she tried to resist him.

  The nearest VFR was two corridors away and every step proved difficult for Daniella. He wasn't a computer program. He was a real man with every reason to suspect her of messing with military equipment. Why wasn't she running away?

  Stopping in front of the console, he put in his ID and she put in hers. He stood behind her, his breath warm on her hair. “What fantasy shall we put in this time?"

  She shook her head. “I don't know."

  Reaching his hand around her body, he began to punch in selections. “I do."

  The doors snapped open. Daniella was dressed in a black dress with cap sleeves and a modest scoop neckline. The fishnet stockings made her a little uncomfortable. The scene was even more intriguing.

  He'd chosen a twentieth century nightclub, complete with jazz band, with absolutely no other patrons but themselves.

  "I thought a date might be nice,” he told her, his own attire casual black pants and a white button down shirt.

  "A—A—a date?” She attempted to leave the VFR. He caught her around the waist.

  "A date. Wine, dinner, dancing, all that stuff a man usually does before they get a woman in bed."

  She was humiliated. Shame filled her. He must have seen something. Gripping her shoulders, he gave her a gentle shake. “I mean that I want to. I need to. Oh hell. I'm no good at this.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders. “I don't know why we got put together in the VFR. I thought we could get to know each other?"

  "Why? I don't know about you, but I put in for a sexual fantasy. I wasn't looking for anything permanent.” I need to get out of here. This is getting to close, too deep.