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  They drank quietly as she thought over his words, his disquiet mirroring her own. “I’ll be free around thirteen hundred hours, if that suits? I want to run some final diagnostics on the decoding programs, then I need to meet with Duvall for lunch in his office.”

  He nodded. “I can make that work.” He reached over and placed a quick kiss on her lips as he rose.

  “Where are you going?”

  “The ambassador wants to have a look at the plans of the base and hear what we’re doing to ensure his safety. I’m meeting with him in Duvall’s office first up.” He smiled, but somehow the action missed his eyes.

  “Take care then.”

  She watched as he turned and left her there.

  * * * *

  The drugs had finally arrived. Crick Sur Banden could dimly detect the voice of his second as he emerged from the foggy cloud his body seemed to rest in. Lifting up with the little strength he still had, he wrenched the drugs out of the hand of the medic, feeling the cool, slick surface of the pill in his palm. His hands shook almost uncontrollably as his body continued to purge itself of the last traces of the drugs.

  I need this. I have waited so long. He didn’t know or care if he spoke the words. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he’d been in limbo. The days blurred into each other, while the hunger screamed at him for a hit of the chemicals that would return strength to his weakened and delirious body. He tore at the cords attached to him—the ones keeping him hydrated and nourished. The movement exhausted him momentarily, and he panted at the exertion.

  It had been years since he had needed to make do without the drugs, and he didn’t care to go through the experience again anytime soon. He grunted his joy at finally having the Xeradax here on board the ship, and he knew he would soon feel the relief that could only come from the capsule in his hands. The one that would make the endless pain leave his body.

  Crick Sur Banden shoved the pill into his mouth as saliva ran down the side of one emaciated cheek. He knew his body had wasted in the days and perhaps weeks that had passed. He had heard the low conversations of the medics discussing his appearance and general health.

  “My Lord, perhaps you should—” The short medic in the green suit tried to stop his automatic movement of pill to mouth, and his anger rose to new levels, warming him from the inside. He swatted at the hand, and the medic sprang back from his clutching fingers.

  “You will not stop me.” Since the first Xeradax all those years ago, he’d never had to survive without his drugs for long. All he could remember was how quickly he’d felt the relief. That, together with the speed of his renewed strength, made it essential. Yet, this time it took longer, and from experience, he knew the results wouldn’t last as long. That alone had become a large factor in the need to have an ongoing supply on hand.

  As his body calmed, his thoughts grew clear, and Crick congratulated himself. He welcomed the fast, though not instant, relief and the definition that returned to his sight as the fog lifted from his brain.

  “My Lord...” The medic hovered, irritating him with fluttering hands and a concerned face.

  “Shardup.” Spittle flew into the air, and the medic looked horrified as a glob hit his face.

  The physician scurried quickly to clear the wet substance with the sleeve of his suit, while the muscles of Crick’s body jerked with the effort of reaching and taking the drugs, but soon, he knew, he would follow through on his plan to rid himself of these idiots who surrounded him.

  How dare they try to limit his Xeradax and drug him? He had to control the high-pitched squeal of laughter that fought to escape his mouth. Hadn’t he single-handedly orchestrate the ongoing battle with the humans? Wasn’t he the one who taught the warriors how to fight them off and created the alliances with the pirates of Phobos?

  “How dare you look at me this way? You’re nothing more than an insignificant creature.” The angry litany slipped from his mouth, and the man blanched.

  He wanted to reach out and grab the insect. To squeeze the life from his body slowly, watching as his round face purpled with oxygen loss.

  With great care, Crick restrained himself, feeling the welcome relief from the pain and befuddlement that had filled his brain since they left the Alpha Star Colony as his endorphins levels rose. Crick Sur Banden breathed deeply for what felt like the first time in months, the recycled air filling his lungs as he rose from the small medical bay.

  “How long?” he asked.

  His second loomed. “Mere days, My Lord. Four days have passed.”

  He scowled. “Then we shall not waste another moment. We must plan the best course to save the campaign. I will not accept anything less.”

  When he caught sight of his second, a moment of concern filled him. It was clear he was nervous, the way he shadowed the door and cast uncertain looks to the corridor.

  “Get me out of here. I need to know what is going on.” His words, while slurred, still carried his intentions clear enough to have his second moving forward on silent feet.

  The medic scurried away, slipping on the cold, tiled floor, and he felt a jolt of amusement as the surgeon fell hard to the floor with a crack. Crick’s unsteady feet settled on the floor, and his second slipped a steadying hand under his arm. He wanted to brush it away, but his legs wobbled uncertainly beneath his weight, so he had to accept the assistance. For now.

  “Your cabin?”

  Crick shook his head. “My ward room.”

  He accepted the support as they proceeded out of the small bay and down the cramped corridor. Everything still undulated before his glazed eyes, but each minute he felt better as his body welcomed the chemical reaction from the minerals in the Xeradax.

  Crick walked in silence as he thought over the information required to plan the next step in his scheme. He needed to know the number of men they had lost on the Colony as well as what firepower and ships were lost. How many pilots remained, and how had his allies responded to the loss of the colony world? He waited until the door closed behind him before beginning his interrogation.

  Anger grew once more in his chest at the memory of the loss of his concubine on the Alpha Star Colony. How could this have happened? How could we be infiltrated, invaded, and beaten? To think a female was instrumental in the theft of my concubine! Inconceivable! Raw hatred spewed from his very pores at that thought.

  “I have received a report that your concubine is currently en route to the Earth Admiralty, and I’ve given orders that we must be apprised once she arrives. Would you like a full tactical report now or later, after a meal and changing?” The words sounded distant, and he resented the need to hear them from someone else.

  “Bring me food and wine and deal with that ineffectual medic.” He jerked his arms, his anger stealing the last of his composure. “I will take a report in an hour. I also want to know the status of my...son.”

  Chapter 7

  “Captain? We’re ready to exit hyperspace.” Chowd waited on the bridge, the buckles of his safety belt holding him firmly to the seat as the engines whined. He watched as the bridge became a hive of activity. Preparations to drop out of hyperspace continued around him, and voices broadcast over the comm systems, giving the necessary warnings and requests to strap in.

  The entire senior staff moved into position and the sound of straps being applied filled the air. He dragged in a deep breath. After the last attack on leaving the Alpha Star Colony, he knew every crewmember was aware of the danger that lay ahead.

  “Take us out of hyperspace and prepare to scan.” Duvall’s tense voice rose over the noise of discussions and engine vibrations.

  A whine split the air, discordant for a moment before it ceased. Chowd waited for the jolt, but the change took place seamlessly with Raven in charge of the engineering section of the Elector. He allowed himself a small moment of levity.

  “It was never that easy with Corbin Jard,” Duvall said. A trickle of laughter echoed before dying away.

  The star trail
s disappeared, and for the first time in over a week, the stars once more became visible dots and flashes all around the ship.

  Chowd’s hands moved over the keyboard. “Initial scans show no problems. I’m about to conduct a secondary sweep. Comms, start broadcasting the instructions to any Ru’Edan ships in this sector.”

  During the last few days, Meredith had translated the required message they were to broadcast so that any local Ru’Edan ships would understand the Elector had embarked on a diplomatic mission. His gaze darted over the screen, pleased not to find any rogues at this point. He continued working the search strings he and Meredith had devised based on the information they’d received before departing from the Alpha Star Colony.

  “Still nothing, Captain, but I would expect they are staying out of sight for the moment.” His stomach knotted at the potential danger they could find now in the Border Worlds. The knowledge of the Phobos pirates’ cloaking abilities concerned him immeasurably.

  A breath on the back of his neck startled him. “What?”

  “I just had a thought. Run a scan for ionic emissions. We know the cloaking can only affect the ship itself, not the shadows of where the ships have been. If we can use the trajectory, we may be able to determine by triangulation if and where any ships may be.” Meredith’s voice was soft, as if she were thinking aloud.

  Her words made sense. He knew each of the scanners looked for visual clues and needed re-teaching to look for anomalies.

  “Doing it now.” His fingers flew over the keyboard, inputting the data and algorithms that would teach the program what to look for.

  He grunted and told himself it was no wonder she rated in the genius category. The computer bleeped, requiring a command override. He entered his passcode, and it sounded once more.

  “Duvall?” He turned to see his captain and friend look at him, tense in the pressure of the moment.

  “What?” His voice sounded clipped above the murmuring of the bridge staff. Duvall prowled toward him.

  “I need you to override a command to enable a new search dynamic.” Chowd grinned as Duvall quirked an eyebrow in question.

  “Tell me more before I activate the override.” Duvall demanded an immediate answer, but Meredith stepped forward before Chowd could start to explain.

  The shadows caused by the equipment flickered over her face as she scanned the screen. He watched as she maintained her pose, aware that it hid the true level of her anxiety from those around her. He had learned her body signals now, continually fascinated by the woman before him.

  “Duvall, it’s a theory I’ve been working on. When the computer is running scans, no matter how good the program is, it needs to be taught to look for certain telltale signs. In this instance, there are no indicators to look for anything other than a visual clue, so we’re telling it to look for the ionic breadcrumbs a ship leaves behind.” She answered swiftly, watching the screen, and Chowd felt a bubble of pride.

  This is my woman, and by Eshra, she’s amazing! Chowd ruthlessly cut off the thought, or at least attempted to. But now it was there, in his conscious mind. What? Since when has she been mine? The thought buffeted him, stripping away his hard-won confidence.

  The concept of one person taking a risk on him made him yearn for something he had never experienced. But the thought lodged there, eating at his brain and leaving him with a hollow feeling inside his gut. What if she did become mine but then leaves me? The thoughts should have shattered his concentration, but his years of experience in dealing with situations that would leave others reeling bolstered him. Chowd called on that training as he pushed through the emotions threatening to hold him in an iron grip. Beads of sweat stung his upper lip as he finished the programming in uncharacteristic silence.

  He gripped the metal edge of the console, seeking the reassurance of the cold metal while Duvall typed in his manual override command. He felt the grip and bite as the console cut into the flesh of his palms, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to sting the nerves endings viciously as he searched for the strength to back away from the feelings and emotions he didn’t want and couldn’t afford.

  “Chowd?” Duvall’s voice broke through the fog.

  “Captain, I’m ready to start the new search string.” He knew that wasn’t the answer that Duvall needed to hear. He heard the concern in his captain’s voice, but he couldn’t give anything more right now. He turned, cutting off the view, and started when a warm hand patted him gently on one shoulder.

  “I’ll leave you to your work.”

  He knew Duvall meant to give him time and space. Chowd also knew Duvall had concluded something had left him unsettled—some hint must be present on his face. He tore himself away from the troubling thoughts, working to bring his attention back to the console. The lives of everyone on the ship sat in his hands, and he had to do this. Get it right.

  Chowd heard the command for the escort ships to be deployed. He breathed a sigh of relief, watching as the emissions from the small and maneuverable craft showed clearly on the screen. He would see the same for the cloaked vessels, but nothing was there. He released another breath in a hiss before he stood, turning to leave the bridge, and glanced back.

  The puzzled look on Meredith’s face hurt, but right now, the bubbling emotion grew tighter with each beat of his heart, and he had to escape. He glanced away from her stricken face, striding toward the door and off the bridge without looking back.

  * * * *

  Meredith groaned and stretched slowly, once more sitting at the desk in the security area. Her home away from home, she thought sourly as she struggled to focus on the screen. Her eyes burned, and her head ached. The muscles in her shoulders and back screamed in pain.

  Something had happened on the bridge with Chowd. Something she couldn’t pin down, but it had wrought a disastrous change in him. Meredith swiped a tired hand over her face before getting a look at the chrono. Nearly 1900 hours. She recalled the meeting in Duvall’s office that she needed to attend. Barsha! I should be there now!

  Meredith moved sluggishly out of the cramped area, willing her tired legs to move faster, and made her way through the doors to the long corridor. The clank and whir from engineering caught her attention, and she turned to see what was causing the noise from the room beyond. She stopped, instead catching sight of Raven and Jemma entwined in each other’s arms, their bodies locked at hip and lip beyond the doorway.

  A passionate clinch in progress. She turned away, feeling voyeuristic seeing them in the dark shadows of the half-open door, and moved on quickly, hoping they hadn’t seen her watching.

  She longed for a relationship with that one person who would accept her for herself. Meredith had come to terms with the reality that her scatterbrained nature impacted the more down-to-earth issues, such as cleaning and cooking, but she’d always considered her ability to decode just about anything and her ability to recreate system programs with ease as part of the trade-off for her failings. Her own personal balance of day and night. Good and bad.

  Right now, though, that didn’t seem like enough to outweigh her fears. She trudged along, lifting one weary foot after the other, and wondering where on the ship Chowd could have stashed himself.

  “He’d better turn up to the meeting,” she muttered.

  “Who?”

  She jumped, startled by the voice behind her. “Chowd! Where have you been?” She knew she sounded ridiculously cross, but she had worried herself to a mass of anxieties since he had left the bridge. She hadn’t seen or heard from him, and that lack of communication hurt her.

  Cool it, Meredith! We’ve only had a week together. Subconsciously she knew they hadn’t made any promises when they became lovers, and they’d only spent limited time together, but she’d thought they had some kind of deep connection. In her mind, it equated to much more than just super hot sex.

  She wanted to grind her teeth in frustration. She wanted forever, but it looked like that wouldn’t happen for them. A sharp s
tab of pain filled her. Meredith locked her knees and waited for it to pass.

  “I had some things to do.” His eyes slid away from her gaze, and emptiness settled in the pit of her belly.

  He’s cutting me off. The pain she felt at the thought of ending their relationship stole her breath before she pulled herself up straight. She needed to hold it together.

  “Fine. Just so you know, I got a little further along with the messages and the plans.” She threw the words over her shoulder as she whirled back toward the office door, but a soft hand resting on her arm stopped her.

  “Meredith? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just...I just needed to work something out.”

  The uncertainty and the confusion in his voice made her close her eyes. The knowledge that he couldn’t, for whatever reason, share his problems sat like a lump in her chest. Is it that he doesn’t trust me? Or is it something more? Why am I even worrying? Maybe I should go back to my own cabin or at least tell him he can sleep on the couch? But the thoughts felt mean. No matter the pain, she wouldn’t...she couldn’t...treat him like that.

  “I shouldn’t have gotten upset with you. I’m sorry.” She bit her lip, the sting of tooth on soft flesh reminding her to stay in the now.

  “No. I should have contacted you. But I can’t talk about it now. Please?”

  She accepted that they couldn’t get into the conversation they needed to have right now. Meredith lightly rubbed the hand still resting on her arm before she touched the palm screen, and the door slid open. Together they entered the office. Duvall, Mellissa, Grayson, and Elara sat waiting within the interior of the room. Meredith and Chowd sat down.

  Duvall checked his chrono. “Do you know where Jemma and Raven are?”

  Meredith blushed and avoided looking at her brother. It still embarrassed her to think of the hot kiss she had spied on her way there. “I think they were on their way when they got...ummm...sidetracked.” She fumbled with her pocket as she mumbled the words past her stiff lips. She knew her glowing red skin gave away her discomfort.