Dalton, Tymber - Bightmares [Deep Space Mission Corps 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (16 page)

Wiping at his face, Ford examined the blood on his fingers. “All right,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm, “tell us what the fuck happened?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know how, but he’s got it.” She broke down sobbing as Caph wrapped an arm around her, trying to soothe her. “He fucking has it!”

After she finally composed herself, Caph released her. He turned to Aaron, where he lay sprawled on the floor. With a grim look, Caph carefully slung Aaron over his shoulder. He carried him down to the cargo bay and into the lander, where he secured him with energy shackles. Emi and Ford followed.

“What do we do now?” Ford asked.

Caph stared at Aaron’s prone form. “How long will those drugs take to wear off, babe?”

Still shaken, Emi tried to think. “An hour, maybe a little longer.” She spotted Ford’s wound. “Come on, let me clean you up.” She took him to sick bay while Caph stayed with Aaron.

“Did he at any time not wear a suit?” Ford asked.

“No! He and Sam and Gregor were good about that.”

Ford reached over and punched the sick bay’s com link on the wall to hail the
K-2
. “Rob, this is Ford. You there?”

“Where the hell else would I be?”

“Listen, smart ass, Aaron has it. How are Sam and Gregor?”

A moment of stunned silence. “What?”

“How are Sam and Gregor? They went planet-side. Aaron’s got it. He just went batshit and attacked us. How are your guys?”

“Holy fuck. Hold on.” More silence, and then he came back. “They’re fine.”

Emi closed her eyes and cried.

“Emi’s got to finish stitching me up, then we’ll be over to get them and head to the surface.”

“What about Aaron?”

Ford’s gaze held Emi.”I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we have to get him to the surface.”

“Why?”

“Dude, we don’t have a brig. I can’t risk having him go batshit up here and tear the joint up.”

* * * *

She stopped by their quarters to clean up the mess and get dressed. Her breakfast dishes had been scattered during the struggle. Ford changed out of his blood-spattered shirt before helping her swap the sheets. They carried the remains of the dishes to the galley.

She sat at the table where she sobbed with her head on her arms. “What are we going to do?”

He rubbed her shoulders. “You’ll figure it out. You will.”

One of the men had already cleaned up the galley before all hell broke loose. She lifted her head and stared at the counter, which was empty except for the coffeemaker and two loaves of cinnamon bread. Something niggled at her when the com link whistled, distracting her.

“Hey, Ford, it’s John.”

Ford punched the button. “Go ahead.”

“Rob told me what happened. I’ll send one of my guys over to help Caph while you go down.”

“Thanks. Can he stop by the
K-2
and pick up Sam and Greg for me?”

“Yeah, no problem.
Braynow Gaston
out.”

“Solves that problem,” Ford muttered. He sat at the table and took Emi’s hands in his. “Honey, this will be okay.”

She stared into his blue eyes, feeling the comfort he tried to send to her, but she felt something else. His fear.

“What if I can’t?”

He shook his head. “Don’t you dare go there, Emi. You and Donna, you’ll figure it out. I know you will.”

“What if it’s me?” she whispered. “I wasn’t in a suit. I went through decon, but what if he caught it because of me? What if you come down with it, too? And Caph?”

“Stop. Now.” His eyes blazed with emotion. “Put that out of your mind. Work on the solution, not blaming yourself for something that’s not your fault!”

* * * *

Parisi came over and brought a couple of portable scanners with him that they could take to the planet to speed up the testing procedures. During the trip to the surface, Emi sat in the back of the lander on the floor next to Aaron and kept a hand on his shoulder. With her eyes closed, she focused on his energy, trying to read him. The sedatives were wearing off as Ford touched down on the planet. He shut the lander’s engines off, then opened the port directly to the outside without activating the decon air lock first.

Emi tried to protest, but he shook his head. “If he has it, babe,” he quietly said, “we’ve all been exposed to it. It’s a waste of time and energy to use the protective gear.”

Emi sensed Aaron’s thoughts felt fuzzy and confused as he opened his eyes and looked at her. “What happened?”

She breathed a sigh of relief as she smoothed the hair away from his face. “You’ve got it,” she quietly said.

He closed his eyes again and swore. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” She kissed him. “You didn’t hurt me.”

“I, however, took a hell of a wallop,” Ford snarked as he helped Aaron sit up.

Aaron’s brown eyes darkened, this time in anguish. “I’m sorry, buddy.”

He kissed him. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” He and Emi helped Aaron stand, supporting him as they helped him shuffle in his energy shackles to the small brig.

Aaron leaned in and kissed Emi at the cell’s doorway. Sascha stood at the back of the cell and watched, his face an unreadable mask behind his clear, blue eyes. He still hadn’t had another rage.

“Don’t come into the cell if I’m not restrained, babe,” Aaron told her. “Promise me, no matter what.”

Emi didn’t care if anyone saw her cry. “Okay.”

He touched his forehead to hers. “I love you, babe.” Then he stepped into the cell and waited while Taber removed the energy shackles for him.

Sascha stepped forward to shake hands with him. “Sorry we have to bunk together under such bad conditions, Captain.”

Later that afternoon, Ford called Emi back to the lander. The ISNC forces had emerged from their jump outside the solar system and sent them a message. They would be there in three days and immediately start evacuations.

“I need you to scour the damn manuals for any regs that will buy me time to stall them,” Emi said, fighting the emotional numbness creeping in. She’d brought a bag with her and would stay on the planet from then on until she figured it out. She couldn’t afford to leave.

The answer was there, she knew it. She just needed more time.

Taber and Dr. Shourpa worked with Emi as she performed full examinations of all the men again. Donna still crunched data on the
K-2
, offering suggestions that Emi could disprove every time.

Frustrated didn’t scratch the surface of her emotions.

Chapter Ten

Emi was running on very little sleep by the time Captain Eckhart of the ISNC battle cruiser
Petrovis Skye
hailed her the next afternoon. When she insisted they needed more time, he sounded less than cooperative or sympathetic.

“Dr. Hypatia,” he droned, “I understand your concern—”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“I am under orders to forcibly evacuate healthy individuals from the colony within twenty-four hours of my arrival unless you have isolated the cause and can assure both a cure and containment. If you and your crew do not assist me, I will assume command of the
Tamora Bight
and put my own crew in place to make sure it happens.” He ended the com link, leaving Emi screaming in anger.

Neither Aaron nor Sascha had raged again. Ilse stopped by with lunch for everyone—sandwiches, soup, and fresh fruit. Emi’s appetite was nonexistent, and she stared at the data displayed on the wall as the men ate.

An hour after lunch, Sascha yelled at Taber. “Get a sedative, quick!”

Emi whirled. Aaron stood in the middle of the brig cell, clenching his hands, glaring at Sascha with a murderous look.

Taber bolted for the hypos.

“Do them both!” Emi screamed as she felt Sascha’s impending rage also looming.

Sascha pinned Aaron’s arms so Taber could inject him. Then he turned and offered his own arm, collapsing to the floor next to Aaron as the sedative took effect.

Emi ran into the cell and checked both men. “Get samples, right now!”

Taber raced to comply.

She stared.
What the fuck? What the fucking hell!

Her gaze fell on their food trays. Then she caught sight of Ilse, who stood in the observation room, her hand covering her mouth as she cried.

“Ilse! I need a detailed list of everything you’ve fed Sascha since the very first time we woke him up. And whatever Aaron’s had while he’s been here. And the other men we woke up, I need a list of those foods, too, cross-referenced to when they displayed symptoms.”

The governor’s eyes widened. “You think it’s related to food? I thought we ruled that out.”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t explain how Aaron caught it, but it’s a start. I mean, get me an extremely detailed list.”

Taber helped Emi stand. “We all eat the same things. Why would it affect them and not me?”

“I don’t know!” she practically shrieked. “I’m grasping at straws!” She fought the urge to cry as she pushed past him out of the cell.

Ford, who’d been out at the lander, ran into the brig conference room after Sam summoned him. “Are you okay? How’s Aaron?”

“It’s got to be in the food supply somewhere. It
has
to be.” She pulled up personnel records and found the head of the agricultural division. “Wake him up,” she ordered Taber. “Now. Bring him here. We need him.”

Donna’s voice sounded quiet over the open com link. “Emi, I’ve been through the ag records dozens of times. There’s nothing to indicate a problem.”

“Well, check them again,” she yelled, not caring how she sounded. “And again. The answer is
there
.”

“They’ve been eating planet-grown food for years,” Donna said, keeping her voice calm. “Why now? Why would it suddenly happen? It also doesn’t explain Aaron.”

No, it didn’t explain Aaron
, Emi thought as she stared at a pile of snacks Ilse had piled on a table in the corner of the conference room. In her stress, she was baking overtime. Bread, cookies, muffins…

“Ford,” Emi quietly asked as a sinking feeling filled her gut. “Where did the bread come from on the
Bight
? After Aaron attacked me, I saw loaves of bread on the galley counter.”

He looked confused. “What?”

“The bread! There were loaves of cinnamon bread. Where did they come from?”

“I don’t know, babe. I thought you put them there. They just…” He stopped, thinking. “Holy fuck.”

Ilse had been on her way out of the conference room to get the information Emi needed. She stopped and turned. “I gave you several loaves the first day,” she quietly said. “You took them to the landing craft with you.”

Emi closed her eyes and swore. It was her fault. She’d brought the bread to the
Bight
. “Thank you.”

Ilse left to go question the other women and get the info.

Sam and Gregor had made it to the conference room. Emi turned on them. “You guys, did you eat any of the cinnamon bread on the
Bight
?”