The Dreamer, Her Angel and the Stars

by Linda S. North

  "They won't be so intoxicated they'll hit Earth will they?"

  "No, but they may shave off a few mountaintops on the moon."

  THE BRIGHT BLUE and green marble called Earth slowly grew smaller as Ariel stood beside Kiernan in front of the window in their quarters. To her it was one of the most awe-inspiring sights she had ever seen. For the next nine days she would see sights she had never witnessed before as Celeste made its way to Mars. Granted, Kiernan informed her much of the trip was boring with only the blackness of space in the windows for most of the way. Ariel didn't care though. She planned to spend time in Celeste's observatory taking pictures of the various astronomical sights. She couldn't wait to e-mail the photos to her family using Kiernan's computer connected to the ship's light-speed communications center. There was also a gym and a racquetball court to occupy their time. Ariel didn't know how to play racquetball, but Kiernan said she would teach her.

  She looked forward to spending time with Kiernan but was also apprehensive, fearing she would no longer be able to control her desire. Would their close proximity lead her into something she would regret? Why not surrender now? She knew it would be impossible to hide her love and desire for long. There had to be a resolution, and soon. The battle with herself was making her crazy. She had never been so indecisive and torn. But did she trust her? Yes. No. She didn't know. If only it could be proven Kiernan didn't hurt her mother. It might never be proved she did or didn't. Ariel needed to go with what her heart told her. Should she tell Kiernan she loved her? What if Kiernan didn't feel the same? Would Ariel love her less? No. She knew Kiernan cared for her and liked her. In time, Kiernan might come to love her.

  Why was this so damn hard? she wondered. Because, what's worth having never comes easy.

  "MR. SPIVIK, DO you know this woman?" FBI Agent Connie Braswell handed a picture across the desk to Jack Spivik.

  He studied it carefully before handing the picture back to Agent Braswell. "Sherry Woodard. She worked for me for a short while and resigned a few weeks back."

  "Do you know her location at present?"

  "No. I can have our personnel office provide you with her last known address."

  "What was her function here?"

  "She monitored our computer system to make sure no activity occurred that went against company policy or would jeopardize our secure research. Can you tell me what this is about?"

  "Her real name is Sharon Cohen. Sherry Woodard is one of the many aliases she uses. She and her father, Brady Cohen, often work as private investigators and operate a detective agency. Both are currently of interest to us for illegally accessing electronic files and networks and in some instances entering bogus information into files and networks. As to Sharon Cohen, our agency would need to have access to any computer she used so we can see whether or not she visited any restricted sites and downloaded information."

  Jack had the sensation of being pushed out of an airlock. Could this Sherry Woodard, or Sharon Cohen, have stolen confidential information from Stellardyne and compromised their research in sensitive areas?

  "You know," he said, "we here at Stellardyne keep a lot of sensitive information."

  "Our Agency is willing to work closely with you in determining what has been compromised. It will remain confidential."

  "I'll cooperate and personally work on this with you."

  "I'll arrange to have one of our experts begin right away. I require you to secure the computer or computers assigned to Cohen as soon as possible."

  "She was assigned one computer. I don't know whether she used any others."

  "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Spivik. We'll be back in touch with you, possibly as early as tomorrow morning, to make arrangements to have our agent present on the premises to work on this case."

  After Agent Braswell left, Jack reviewed the records from Sherry Woodard's tenure at Stellardyne. Her work was excellent, especially in uncovering Joanna Thorsen's--

  "Oh, no."

  He remembered Theodore recommending Sherry Woodard, saying she was the niece of John Woodard. And how did Joanna Thorsen fit into all of this?

  He would tell Theodore none of this until he found out more.

  Kiernan had departed on vacation the day before and wasn't due back for three weeks. He would contact her if the investigation uncovered something of importance. He had a bad feeling about this, though, a very bad feeling.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  STUDYING THE CHESSBOARD, Kiernan calculated her next move. This was the second time she and Ariel played chess in the six days they had been on Celeste. Ariel had beaten her the night before in a quick-paced game, despite the fact that Kiernan had managed to spring a few unexpected and brilliant moves. Tonight she paced herself and was more deliberate. She could tell by Ariel's slower pace that this game's outcome wasn't certain.

  The intercom in Kiernan's quarters chimed, followed by the voice of Second Mate Paula Gooding announcing, "Ms. O'Shay, you have a call from Jack Spivik at Stellardyne headquarters."

  Jack wouldn't be calling unless it was important. She hoped nothing had happened to her uncle. "Put it through to my office." She rose from her seat. "I'll be right back." She entered her office and accessed her shipboard communications system. Jack's image appeared on the screen, and she asked, "What's up?"

  "Are you somewhere private?"

  "Yes."

  "Joanna Thorsen--she's innocent."

  Kiernan wasn't sure she was hearing correctly. "Repeat that."

  "Joanna Thorsen. She's innocent. She never downloaded information. It was a set-up."

  "What?"

  "Yes, and she passed the polygraph test, too."

  "How--why--why would anyone set her up?"

  "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Theodore's behind it. He tricked me into hiring an expert hacker for the Security Department. This hacker performed the download to Joanna Thorsen's computer as well as replacing Ms. Thorsen's results with an old polygraph of someone who failed."

  A passing wave of nausea gorged her throat. Kiernan swallowed, forcing it down. "Why?"

  "He was banking on Ariel being the dutiful daughter and offering to marry you if you didn't press charges against her mother."

  "Oh, God."

  "He's resigned. He said he did it because he loved you and wanted you to be happy."

  "That's a warped way of showing his love--by ruining an innocent woman's reputation and--" Ruining Ariel's life. She gritted her teeth. "E-mail the report to me here on Celeste so I can go over it myself."

  "I'll do that now. I'm sorry, Kiernan. I was going to wait until you got back--"

  "No. Thanks for telling me."

  "I should have done the background checks on this hire and handled things myself. I'll have my resignation on your desk--"

  "You most certainly will not! This isn't your fault. We both trusted Theodore. Who would believe he would do something like this."

  "Thank you. If you need me--"

  "I know how to get in touch with you."

  She terminated the call and sat for a moment stunned. She should have trusted her instincts about Joanna Thorsen. Instantly the full impact of it hit. Ariel would leave her now, because the real motive for her marrying Kiernan was to protect her mother from prosecution. Kiernan ached inside, but she knew she would let Ariel go because she loved her and would do anything she wished. She might lose Stellardyne and her dream--but her dream paled if she couldn't share it with Ariel.

  Feeling sick to her stomach, she knew she had to tell her about Jack's call. But they were having such a good time together and she was afraid this news would somehow drive a wedge in their friendship. Was it wrong that she wanted a little more time with Ariel before she walked out of her life? She decided that, right or wrong, she would wait until they returned home to tell her.

  She composed herself and returned to the recreation room, forcing a smile. "You didn't move any of the pieces, did you?"

  "Of course not. I don't nee
d to cheat to beat you."

  "Beat me? We'll see." She sat back down and tried to study the board, but her mind kept going over what Jack's call could mean to her.

  Kiernan made a few amateurish moves that apparently caught Ariel's attention. "Is everything alright? You seem preoccupied. Jack didn't have bad news, did he?"

  "No, just routine business. I'm starting to get a headache."

  "Maybe you should retire. It's getting late."

  "I think you're right. Let's finish this game tomorrow night."

  "Okay. A day won't make a difference. You'll still lose."

  "We'll see." Kiernan turned away to hide the pain she knew she wouldn't be able to conceal. She was certain she would lose more than a chess game.

  HE MOVED RAPIDLY through the umbilical to Celeste's corridor. No one would question his movements as he had every right to be anywhere on the ship. He opened a door and entered the room containing the umbilical controls, reached the control panel, and pressed a button, then watched out the window as the umbilical disengaged from the shuttle and retracted back into the corridor. He pried open the front faceplate of the control panel, exposed the circuit board, removed two energy router micro crystals, and placed them in his pocket. He replaced the faceplate, closed the door behind him, and hurried down the corridor to finish the next stage in his plan. "O'Shay, you'll pay for what you did to her--for taking her away from me. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord."

  "KIERNAN, YOU'VE HARDLY touched your breakfast," Ariel said, her concern apparent.

  Kiernan finished taking a sip of her coffee which she hoped would help bring her out of her lethargy. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

  "Do you still have a headache?"

  "No. Just one of those nights." She pasted on a smile. "Got anything exciting planned this morning?"

  "I'd like to go to the observatory. You want to come with me?"

  "I think I'll pass this time and listen to some music."

  "Okay." Ariel lifted her eyebrows, and said with a bit of excitement, "Think I'll see some UFOs?"

  "There have been some reports of unidentified flying objects sighted by other ships, but no one has gotten any pictures of them."

  "I'll be the first then." Ariel rose and said, "Later."

  Kiernan watched her go. Sighing, she left the table and went to the recreation room to listen to some music, try to relax, and take her mind off the future.

  THE DOOR SLID open silently as Ariel entered Kiernan's quarters and headed to the office to use the computer. She paused at the door to the recreation room. Classical music played in the background, and Kiernan was asleep in one of the easy chairs, her head lolled to the side. She found the sight endearing. Feeling breathless from her emotions, she knelt by the chair and studied Kiernan's face. She appeared so young and vulnerable when asleep. Ariel desired to kiss her. But if Kiernan woke, Ariel would surely take her to the bedroom. She thought, Why not? It was inevitable. Tonight, after dinner, she'd tell Kiernan her feelings--and take it from there.

  She slowly rose, and silently entered the bedroom. Going to the office and over to the computer, she downloaded the pictures she had taken of various astronomical sights she wanted to e-mail her family.

  The download complete, she accessed the mail, which put her on the inbox page. She was about to enter in a new letter when an e-mail titled 'Joanna Thorsen Investigation' caught her attention. From the time and date stamp, she saw that Jack Spivik had sent the mail from Stellardyne the previous night. Ariel suspected that this matter was what had provoked the call Kiernan had taken during their chess game. She hesitated briefly before opening it.

  A JARRING SHAKE of the chair woke Kiernan from sleep. She quickly opened her eyes to see Ariel staring down at her with anger. After adjusting her chair to an upright position, she sat at alert attention. "EM, stop music. What is it?"

  "When were you going to tell me?" Ariel said angrily.

  "Tell you?"

  "My mother. You've known since last night."

  Kiernan got to her feet in a hurry and faced Ariel. "I planned on telling you--later."

  "Why didn't you tell me immediately?"

  "I wanted you to enjoy this trip and not worry about anything."

  Ariel stared contemptuously at her, nostrils flaring, and her voice strained with outrage. "You didn't think this would make me happy? My mother cleared!"

  Kiernan shriveled under the laser blue stare riveted on her.

  Ariel's features contorted into an angry mask. "Answer me!"

  A sudden jolt almost sent them to the deck. The lights flickered off and on for a brief moment.

  "Warning. All hands abandon ship. All hands abandon ship. Engine overload imminent in thirty minutes."

  There was a frozen moment of silence as they looked at each other in disbelief.

  Kiernan said, "What the--?" She couldn't detect the minute vibration of the deck or the faint hum of the engines. "The ship has stopped. Follow me. We have to go to the shuttle."

  They hurried through the quarters to the door, expecting it to open automatically only to have Kiernan stop before she ran into it. "Crap!"

  "Why isn't the door working?" Ariel asked.

  "I don't know." Kiernan opened a side panel, and pulled the handle down to manually unlock the door. "Damn, this thing is stuck."

  "Here, let me try." Ariel pushed with the force of her weight behind her. "It won't budge. Now what?"

  "This doesn't make sense. All emergency systems are checked before each voyage," Kiernan said.

  "You don't think someone tampered with the door, do you? Or the engines?"

  "Sabotage?" Kiernan said unbelievingly. "Sure, I have enemies, but I don't see them doing something so drastic. Computer, activate com-unit to any available station." After a moment of nothing happening, she ordered, "Computer, acknowledge." Nothing but silence. "What the hell is going on?" It puzzled Kiernan as to why the computer permitted the warning, but wouldn't permit outside contact.

  "Maybe someone will come by and check on us. Ricardo or one of the crew."

  "Yes, the ship has an emergency coordinator whose duty is to make sure everyone is accounted for."

  "That's good to know. Can we get far enough away in the shuttle before the engines overload and explode?"

  "Yes, even though they're nuclear fusion, they're not going to explode like a bomb with a big mushroom cloud and incinerate everything in the vicinity."

  "I know that, but engine overload certainly can cause an explosion." Ariel sounded insulted that Kiernan would explain the obvious.

  "Sorry--Dr. Thorsen," Kiernan both teased and apologized.

  Ariel stuck out her tongue.

  Kiernan snickered. "The only danger that would cause is whether you left the ship with less than three minutes to spare. You have the risk of getting caught in the force of the explosion."

  "Warning. Engine overload imminent in twenty-five minutes."

  "SIR, THE UMBILICAL won't engage," an excited crewmember said as she punched the activate button.

  The handful of crew present in the room murmured uneasily.

  "Move and let me try," First Mate Dwayne Campbell said. He punched the button with no results, turned, and ordered loudly so those in the corridor heard him, "Hey folks. Listen up. We're going to have to use the escape pods. Let's go at an orderly clip. Line up in front of the pod you're assigned to so we can see who's here, and who's not."

  The crew made their way to the pod bay and took their places in front of assigned pods. The Emergency Coordinator, Second Mate Paula Gooding, called the roll, and coming to the end said to Campbell, "Captain Pearson, Ms. O'Shay, and her wife are not present."

  Campbell asked, "Has anyone seen the Captain or the O'Shays?"

  Ricardo answered, "Yes, I last saw the O'Shays at breakfast this morning."

  Abigail Morotore, one of the pilots, said, "I was on the bridge when the Captain handed it over to me and said he would be back. That was well over three hours
ago."

  "I want everyone assigned to pod six reassigned to spaces in other pods, and we need to start launching now." He said to his Emergency Coordinator, "You too, Paula. The Captain's quarters are on the same floor as the O'Shay quarters--I'll check them both."

  "I'll go with you."

  "You're next in command. You'll be needed in case I don't make it out in time."

  "But, sir--"

  "Go. There's not much time." Campbell watched as she entered her pod. He waited until all the pods were safely away before sprinting out the bay and to the stairs.

  "COME ON, SOMEBODY." Kiernan paced impatiently in front of the door.

  "Do you think everyone is alright?" Ariel asked in a concerned voice.

  "I don't know. It worries me that the computer is down and the locking mechanism on the door failed. I wonder whether the controls on all of them malfunctioned."

  "You don't think--" The pneumatic hiss of the door opening interrupted her.

  Kiernan said, "Thank God. Dwayne--"

  Campbell pointed an antique automatic pistol at Kiernan. "Back away from the door."

  "Kiernan!" Ariel said in alarm.

  "What's going on here?" Kiernan demanded, jutting her chin out defiantly. She glared at Dwayne.

  "You'll find out soon enough. Move it." He motioned with his gun toward the living room. "Over there, by the sofa."

  Ariel glanced at Kiernan who looked at her and nodded once. They moved to where Campbell indicated and stopped.

  Kiernan's eyes bored into his. "What the hell are you doing, Dwayne?"

  "Doing what I should have done a long time ago. Getting rid of a pervert."

  "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "You're an abomination, O'Shay. You're an affront to God and everything decent. You deserve to die," he screamed. "Die for spreading your perversion and filth, for corrupting the innocent!"