Massoud (Massoud Chronicles Book 1)

  “I’ve seen this Massoud. Can’t say I blame you. Most men in the fleet would be happy to get into her pants.”

  Teloc turned red. “You are speaking of my wife,” he responded harshly.

  “Wouldn’t mind getting some of that myself,” the admiral continued, but was stopped short by the forceful placement of a large hand in the center of his chest.

  “Do not speak of her in that fashion,” Teloc snarled. His face twisted with fury as his fingers slowly curled into the fabric of the admiral’s tunic.

  In an instant, responding to the threat, Williams positioned herself shoulder to shoulder with her colleague. The aide scrambled to grab a weapon that she had long considered more ceremonial than purposeful. She approached the group and targeted the Gnostian. They all stood tensely for several heart-thundering moments, waiting and unsure of how to proceed. It was the admiral who shattered the silence, his face breaking into a wide grin.

  “Ha! I like this one. I like him a lot.”

  His response was so unexpected that Teloc stood down in confusion. The admiral returned to the other side of the desk.

  “Do you know why I don’t like Gnostians, Teloc?” he asked conversationally, waggling his finger towards his subordinate.

  “I have no idea,” Teloc replied, the return to normalcy marked by the paling of his face to a near natural color. Still, he watched the admiral like a cat stalking its prey.

  “They think everything can be answered by logic. They want to analyze every bit of minutiae before they act. They have no heart, no instinct. Without heart, there is nothing. Understand? You have heart! And you’ve got the whole fucking Gnostian reasoning crap to go with it too. Damn! I like it. I like it a lot.”

  “You insulted my wife.” Teloc was not yet ready to move on to other topics.

  The admiral waved his hand in dismissal. “Just curious about how you would react.” A glance at Teloc’s uncomprehending face told him that this was insufficient explanation. “I was testing you, Captain. I didn’t mean it.” He enunciated the words slowly in the hope they would penetrate the man’s still obvious anger.

  Teloc responded by attempting to control his expression and posture. He took a step back from his superior, increasing the distance between them, his face gradually becoming blank. The aide returned to her post, the weapon conveniently placed on her desk, but Williams remained wary and protective near Biash.

  “So, I get to decide your punishment. The politicians want me to send you back to Gnost, all quiet and hush-hush. I don’t like politicians at all. I’ll tell you why someday. I’m not shy about sharing my opinions.” Biash rubbed his chin and turned his perpetually grumpy face upwards to Teloc while pacing behind his desk. “Let’s see. I think I’ll do something different. A written reprimand in your record should do it!”

  Teloc stilled, absorbing this extraordinary statement, but Williams’ retort was instantaneous.

  “Biash, are you serious? The charges against him are significant. You can’t just treat them in an off-hand fashion. What message would that send? That you tolerate dereliction of duty? Incarceration is the usual penalty. Dismissal from the service is the minimum.” She was clearly infuriated.

  Biash waved her off. “No message will be sent. It was a closed session tribunal, right?” He smiled knowingly. “And besides, if we grounded every captain that lusted after a junior officer, we’d have no-one to run the damn fleet.”

  “That was not the charge, and you know it!”

  “It was the reason. The reason is what matters.”

  “Behavior matters!”

  “Blah,” was the disrespectful response.

  “Admiral Biash, I’m going to file a formal objection to this sentencing.”

  “I’m sure you are, Williams,” the admiral said dourly. “Let me do something to reassure you,” he continued with insincere respect, “and throw in another penalty. A demotion will do the trick. Teloc of Gnost, you are hereby demoted to Commander Second Class.”

  “That’s not a demotion,” spluttered Williams. “It’s a sideways step.”

  “Oh no, I assure you, you are wrong, Williams. In a pinch, regulations place a Captain Third Class above a Commander Second Class. It’s a modest recognition of the value of command experience.”

  “It’s in the same pay grade.”

  “Oh, yes. You’re right,” the admiral replied with false concern. “We’ll just have to drop his pay. I think one percent will be appropriate.”

  The onlookers to this exchange were left in no doubt that Teloc was incidental to the argument. In fact, the aide, Lt. Perez, was simply watching the latest episode in her least favorite drama. Admiral Biash had a talent for angering people and, since it was also his hobby of choice, he indulged in it often. Being the senior officer on the planet, there was no-one to moderate his behavior.

  Rear Admiral Williams was now almost as incensed as Teloc had been just a few minutes before. She muttered something ill-humored, disguised in words of respect, triggering Biash to dismiss her from the office.

  He called after her as she left, “Williams, he didn’t do the woman any harm. No need to be on your high horse about this.”

  She turned momentarily to glare at him. A little regret played on his face, but only for the briefest instant.

  Biash waved his hand towards his aide. “Draw up the documents, Perez. We’ll attach Commander Teloc to my staff. We’ll find a good use for him. Get him to the quartermaster to change his insignia promptly. Report here tomorrow, Teloc, at oh-eight hundred. Dismissed, both of you.” He sank into his chair.

  Massoud had been waiting resignedly in the headquarters’ atrium, content to see this difficult period in her husband’s life come to a conclusion. She was sitting on a low hard bench, supporting her belly with her hands in an effort to relieve the back pain triggered by her seated position, but not wanting to stand, since her feet hurt. Nevertheless, she sprang up when she observed her husband exit the administration wing. He was accompanied by a thin lieutenant who was tall compared to Massoud, but diminutive compared to Teloc. She recognized immediately that something was not as it should be.

  As the two officers approached her position, she fidgeted and then bit her lip. Her husband stopped in front of her and looked over her head distractedly.

  “The admiral did not comply with the agreement, Massoud,” he said.

  Massoud vulnerably placed a hand to her throat, but she was confused. The slight lieutenant did not seem a suitable escort to the brig.

  “What happened,” she croaked.

  “I am not exactly sure,” was her husband’s reply.

  The slight lieutenant intervened jovially.

  “Don’t worry. There’s always a reason for the admiral’s oddest decisions. It’s not always clear at the time. He likes to throw people off by being unpredictable. But I have some suspicions about what’s going on.”

  Massoud looked at her expectantly, and Teloc questioningly. She obliged by continuing.

  “The admiral spent a lot of time yesterday reviewing Captain...I mean, Commander Teloc’s record. He even spoke to the Gnostian embassy—and I promise he doesn’t do that very often. Also, I was flooded with a lot of communiques, testimonials really, from various people who had served with Captain...eh, Commander Teloc. I summarized most of them for the admiral, but on the way to dinner he got pinned down by a young cadet. She gave him an earful. And he let her! He could have shut her down with a nod to security, but I think he wanted to hear what she had to say. I bet he’d come to a different conclusion about this whole business than the tribunal had. He has the authority to reject their findings, you know, but he wouldn’t do that in a regular manner. No, not him! He’s a funny old bird; he likes to ruffle feathers.”

  Both Massoud and Teloc looked at her, perplexed. In further explanation, she added:

  “Most high-level security clearances are unavailable to science fleet personnel. I am guessing that’s why you’re getting silver pi
ps, Commander.” Teloc was clearly waiting for more. “I think the admiral wanted to put you on his staff, but he wanted to rile Rear Admiral Williams too. See?” Teloc shook his head. There was a ping from Perez’s pocket. “Ah, the authorization has come through. Why don’t you go to the quartermaster and get your new insignia, sir?” she advised.

  Teloc nodded and left. He was preoccupied with his efforts to rationalize the admiral’s behavior.

  Perez turned to the confused Massoud and cleared her throat. “Ah, I’m sorry to ask this, ma’am, but if I may…” Massoud nodded absentmindedly. “Does your husband have a tendency towards violence?”

  The lieutenant’s question surprised Massoud into applying her full attention to the conversation. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I thought he was going to rip Admiral Biash’s heart out, back there,” the lieutenant explained gleefully, indicating the administration wing with her head. “I just need to know if I should watch my back.”

  “What! No. Teloc isn’t like that. What happened?”

  Perez provided a detailed and colorful description of the encounter between the admiral and Teloc, clarifying the earlier references to rank change and the overturn of the tribunal findings. However, Massoud struggled to follow the young lieutenant’s story once she repeated Teloc’s reason for reporting to the Constance prior to their last voyage. She stared in the direction her husband had gone, her heart beating rapidly with the fledgling idea of a reciprocated love. Once the excitedly delivered story was complete, she pulled her thoughts together long enough to reassure the lieutenant, although in a faraway voice:

  “You misunderstand him, Lieutenant. Teloc would never harm anyone, except in defense of me.”

  “I’ll try to be on my best behavior around you then, ma’am, since it’ll be in my own best interests,” the lieutenant said with a grin.

  Teloc was seen approaching, attaching new pins to his collar. On reaching them, he asked his wife if she had been informed of the unexpected aspects of the morning’s proceedings. She answered in the affirmative while reaching up to adjust his silver insignia with an air of wonder and shock. Lt. Perez bade them farewell. Elizabeth and Teloc exited the building and proceeded through the broad, immaculately curated plaza spread out in front of headquarters. Elizabeth, in deep thought, slipped her hand through her husband’s arm. He tolerated it, despite the public location. Teloc finally broke his silence.

  “I must admit to being deeply surprised by the outcome of my meeting with Admiral Biash. I simply do not know how to interpret it.”

  “Lt. Perez said the admiral is a romantic, underneath his rough exterior,” she said dreamily. “I wonder if that’s true.”

  “Even if it were true, Elizabeth Massoud, I do not see how it would be pertinent.”

  She did not appear to hear this comment. Instead she asked, “Did you really do that? Did you board the Constance that last time just to be with me?”

  Teloc looked to the indigo sky. “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I...I am not good at talking about these matters. I am improving, but do not know how to explain.”

  “Try. Please try.”

  “I did not want to be parted from you. I felt that quite strongly.”

  “Why?”

  He sighed. “It was hard to be apart from you during leave. I wanted to return to the ship and see you daily.”

  “Why?”

  “It was how I felt. That is all I can explain.”

  “Teloc, do you love me?”

  “Yes,” he said looking up at the sky with an air of confusion. “I think that is what I would call the feeling—love.”

  “Did you love me while we were still serving on the Constance?”

  “I think so. Yes. I did not understand it at the time.”

  Massoud rested her head on his arm as they walked, relishing a deep satisfaction at his words.

  “Do you think you will love me, Elizabeth Massoud?” he asked quietly.

  “I do love you.”

  “I should have been more precise. When the influence of your pregnancy hormones has passed, do you think you will love me then?”

  “I think you place too much emphasis on my hormones. Despite them, I know my own mind. I will still love you.”

  “Are you sure? You felt nothing for me before you were exposed to my myash, and the pheromones associated with it. You expressed no affection for me before you were so obviously affected by your pregnancy. I suspect your emotional connection to me may be a simple biological response.”

  “Are you worried about that?”

  “No...yes.”

  “Teloc, I loved you while we were on the Constance.”

  “Your memory is incorrect. You had no interest in me then. I know you were interested in other men occasionally, but never in me.”

  “It is true that I was never interested in you sexually then. You were asexual. But I did love you. I stopped dating shortly after our first assignment together. I thought I was just giving up the whole notion of romance as something too difficult and unattainable, but now I think I was looking at other men and finding them wanting compared to you. I was always eager to return to space, but once I was assigned to the Constance, I could barely tolerate being on the planet. I needed to be with you. I needed to share my meals with you every day. I wanted to be in your company, to be quiet with you. You didn’t frighten me the way other men did.”

  “You are not a fearful person, Elizabeth Massoud. You have no fear of men. You handled Speck until the very end.”

  “When I say I was afraid of men, I mean I was afraid of being involved with them, of being too close to them, that they would want something from me I could not give, or that they would hurt me.”

  “I hurt you,” he ran a thumb over the wrist locked in his arm.

  “I meant hurt me in here,” she said, as she placed a hand over her heart. “I don’t believe you would do that, even though I am terrified you will.”

  “That is an inconsistency, Elizabeth Massoud.”

  “Yes. I suppose I’m insecure.” She rubbed her heart. “It is frightening to feel this much love for you.”

  “Yes, I feel the same.”

  She nuzzled his arm. “We will have to reassure each other. We are in love. Logically, that should be enough.”

  “Love is not logical. That is why it is so difficult to manage. I do not know if it makes me feel happy or sad, but it does make me feel something undeniable and very confusing.”

  “And that makes me feel so much better,” she said, to his further bewilderment.

  14. Birth

  M assoud was staring down the fresh-faced functionary but he, frustratingly, was unaffected by her most daunting frown, counteracted, as it was, by her endearing roundness and short stature.

  “This is the officer’s mess and you will seat me,” she restated.

  “I’m sorry, Commander. Officers must be in uniform to enter.”

  “The fleet administration won’t give me a uniform. I refuse to be restricted because of their inability to clothe me properly.”

  Teloc placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps, we can have lunch elsewhere.”

  “No. It’s a matter of principle. I’m as much an officer as ever I was. I will not be discriminated against because of a temporary condition. Souza never wore his uniform pants when he was re-growing his foot. They let him in. Why is it different for a pregnant woman?”

  This last comment was directed, with a severe look, towards the young man barring her entrance. At least, on this occasion, he had the civility to lean away from her. However, it was unclear whether he was intimidated by her fierceness or was avoiding her large tummy.

  Teloc looked uncomfortable, although the subtlety of his expression may have been lost on a stranger. He had been working long hours, and had naively hoped to have a simple, peaceful meal with his wife as a respite. Instead, Massoud and the attendant were at an impasse.

  Teloc
’s difficulties were relieved by help from an unexpected quarter. Biash arrived and familiarly patted Massoud’s stomach with the comment, “Not long now, eh?” followed by a “See you both inside.” The base commander’s words defeated the obstructing attendant. Massoud gloated indelicately as he led her, and her husband, to a table.

  Massoud greeted several acquaintances on her way through the dining room. Everyone seemed to know her, and her pregnancy formed a ready topic of conversation. If Teloc wanted a quiet meal with her he would have to remember to take her somewhere where she was unknown—perhaps the other side of the planet. There were disadvantages to being married to a popular young officer. He never encountered such delays when he dined alone.

  Massoud seemed to sense some of his impatience and she reluctantly detached herself from her peers to make her way to the table.

  “I know, I know. You only have a short lunch break and I’m talking to everyone but you. I’ll try to catch everyone else after you return to duty,” she said.

  “I said nothing,” he replied composedly.

  “But I know what you’re thinking. I know what it means when you lift your eyebrow like that.” She wagged her finger. “From this point onwards, I’m all yours. But I couldn’t help myself. I spend my entire day in that apartment alone. It’s just so great to see everyone.”

  It was unfortunate that, at this very moment, Julius Benton leaned over her chair and patted her distended belly. Teloc stiffened.

  “How are my girls?” Benton asked. “When is number two going to arrive?”

  “Any day now,” Massoud responded with a wide smile.

  “Excited?”

  “More like desperate. I don’t know what I was thinking, doing this naturally. It should have occurred to me that my sister was taking revenge for some childhood disagreement when she suggested this was the best way to have a baby. Remind me not to believe a word she says ever again.”

  Benton laughed obligingly. Teloc looked somewhat grim.

  “Hey, I hear you’re dating some kind of industrialist. What’s she like?” asked Massoud.

  “She’s nice,” Benton replied neutrally. “We’ll see how it goes.”