Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (61 page)

"What?"
Alité sat bolt upright on his stomach, the blanket
sliding
off her shoulders.

He
couldn't believe he said it the first time, he didn't want to
have
to repeat it. "I love you... very much," he said, slowly,
deliberately, "and I'm asking you to be my wife."
Nooooooo...
screamed
the little voice.
Shut
the fuck up
,
he told it.
He
could feel the rush of heat rising across his face.

Alité
leaned forward, putting her hands on his chest and held
herself
at arms length. "Wait, there is something you don't know,
something I need to tell you..."

"You're
married?"

"No,
of course not!"

"You're
engaged?"

"No..."

"You're
promised to someone... dating... good friends..."

"No,
no, no..." she slapped his chest.

“
Are
you saying no?"

"
NO
I'M NOT
!
Not exactly," she added quietly.

"Then
what
?"

"Shut
up and I'll tell you!" She held her hand over his mouth and he
mumbled
through her fingers. She needed to tell things to Jack, to explain
her parentage and her capture. "Are you done?" she asked.
He nodded. "Good. Now, the reason I could never get involved
with LaNareef, even though we've been friends for over twenty years,
is, I am Royalty and he is not."

Jack's
eyes widened. "Mmmphfy?"

She
stared at him, her hand still on his mouth. "Yes, Royalty,"
she
confirmed.
"I was captured by Kidd over a year ago when he attacked the
ship I was on. Just like that freighter we saw. And..." She
inhaled deeply, this was the hard part. "I spent over a year as
a servant, a slave..." her voice dwindled to a whisper. "I
did many things I'm not very proud of. And I'm not so sure you would
be asking me this if you knew..."

She
could see the questions in his eyes. She shook her head and
swallowed
hard. "No, no... In that whole time, he never touched me
once... but he never hesitated to torment me." She cleared her
throat. "He had a tremendous ego and wanted me to throw myself
at him. Since I wouldn't, he took great pleasure in my humility. He
couldn't kill me after all, a dead Princess isn't worth a Trillian
penny in ransom..."

"Pfingpss?"
She squeezed her hand over Jack's mouth.

"Yes,
Princess. Hush... let me finish before I lose my nerve." The
memories
flooded forth in detail, forcing her to remember things she had not
wanted to tell. But Steele had broached a subject she had up until
now, only dreamed of. And she felt he had a right to know what he
was getting into.

She
took a deep breath. "Sometimes Kidd would not let me eat for
several
days. Then he'd force me to watch while he ate a feast, taunting me
with the food and making me beg on my knees for scraps. He would
strip me naked and force me to eat what he'd given me off a dish on
the floor like an animal." Her eyes burned, she blinked hard.
"To punish me for improperly thanking him, he would rape or
have sex with one of other girls and make me watch. Then I'd be
locked in my quarters. No one would be allowed to touch or speak to
me, sometimes for days or weeks."

"Pfingpss?"

"Yes,”
she sighed, “Princess. A real Princess... can we get past
that? Are you listening?” He nodded.

Despite
her efforts, the pain and anger began to show. "I'd cry in
frustration,
y'know? Seeing it, smelling it, hearing it. Eventually even
wanting
it. Something,
anything
.
The touch of a hand, a voice... So, one night, one of the other
girls snuck in... against the threat of death, and made love to me."

As
much as Alité didn't want to tell it all, afraid of what Jack
might
think of her, it poured out. "After that," she continued,
"the girls would take turns and secretly visit me when they
could."

Alité
sighed heavily. "I was so desperate once, I raped a new girl.
I
still can't believe I did it, I'm so ashamed. I felt terrible then
too, because Kidd had succeeded in making me as bad as him. I felt
so bad I wanted to die, but she forgave me." Alité
stopped to rub her eyes. "We became good friends. Lovers too,"
she added, after a pause.

Jack
could see the pain in her eyes and gently pulled her hands
to
his mouth and kissed her fingertips. "What happened to her?"

Alité
smiled but there were tears in her eyes. "She's gone, dead.
Kidd
killed her... caught her sneaking from my room one night..."
She hung her head, and tears hit Jack's chest. Raising her head
sharply, she tossed her hair back. "That son-of-a-bitch had
her... right on the floor in the corridor, then gave her to the
crew. Almost everyone on the crew had her that night." Tears of
anger streamed down Alité's face. "I could hear her
screams coming from the galley, all the way down the corridor into
my room. She had never had a man before. She was a virgin."
Alité shook her head and sobbed, "She was dead by
morning." Shuddering, she sat upright, covered her face with
her hands and cried. "I thought I was next..."

"And
you were a virgin too..." guessed Jack, gently running his
hands
up
her arms. His gut ached for the pain she endured.

Alité
nodded as she slid her hands down her face and peered over
her
fingertips. "Until you." She cracked a little smile behind
her hands.

"I
was your first?" He stared into her eyes. She nodded again. Due
to
this
revelation, the conversation took a sudden left turn. "How
could you have remained a virgin for so long?" Alité was
almost his age and he couldn't imagine being a virgin at twenty,
much less thirty.

"It
was my duty. A Princess is supposed to keep herself pure until
marriage.
At all costs," she explained. "But I failed. I had coupled
with women and released my sex drive. So technically, I was no
longer a pure virgin." She went on to explain that while her
society did not frown upon same-gender relationships, it was not
acceptable behavior for a Princess and violated her guidelines of
conduct. She would probably have to forfeit all claims to her title
and rights of succession. Especially since she'd slept with Jack.

"Then
why did you do it?" He wondered aloud. He was feeling a bit
guilty.

She
folded her arms demurely across her breasts. "I couldn't help
myself...
you were so handsome, so compassionate to us... even before I really
knew you, I would have done anything you asked of me."

"Really?"
Jack was both surprised and flattered. "And now...?"

Alité
shivered as she took a deep breath, gathered her composure
and
looked into his eyes. She felt the ache in her heart and knew she
should face the fact that in his eyes he probably saw her as soiled
and unwashed. The Velorian Princess decided to be blunt. "I am
a Princess, most likely without a crown. I have no honor, I have no
purity. All I have, is my being, my life. But I would forfeit that
too if you asked me."

"I
don't want you to forfeit anything." Jack grabbed her firmly by
the
arms. "You love me, right?"

She
sobbed, exposed, unable to cover her face with her hands and
hide
her shame, "With every fiber of my being," she whispered.

"There
is no other?"

She
shook her head violently,
"No!
I
swear
..."

"Then
be my wife."

"You
could still want me, after all I've told you?"

Unintentionally,
Jack shook her by the arms. “Of course I can!"

"But,"
she objected, "what about..."

He
cut her off, knowing what she was going to say. "Y
our
crown doesn't matter to me... only your happiness matters to me. You
will be
my
Princess... You will be my
Queen
!
As for the rest of it... well, you have more honor, more compassion,
more integrity in your little finger, than most people have in their
entire body." He touched the center of her chest with the palm
of his hand. "That's here, in your heart.
No
one
,
can take that from you..." He eased her body down against his
and pulled the covers over them. She was shivering. "Tell me
you will be my wife..." he whispered. The little voice in his
head had nothing to say this time.

"For
ever and ever," she breathed. They clung tightly to each other
in
the darkness and slid back into sleep.

FREEDOM,
CALO ALTO SYSTEM:
DESTINATION
UNKNOWN

Jack
opened his eyes when the comm on the headboard chimed. As he
lay
waking, it chimed again, reminding him it was unanswered. He reached
back, over his head and felt for the button. He found it. "Yes?"
whispered Steele.

"Ensign
Quixetta here, sir. You're needed on the bridge, Captain."

"Ok.
What do we have, Ensign?"

"Chief
Engineer needs to see you, sir, it seems we're having some
mechanical
problems."

"Right.
I'm on my way. Follow any recommendations he gives you, until
I
get there."

"Yes,
sir." The comm beeped as the connection terminated.

Jack
looked down at Alité who was curled up against him, sound
asleep,
the blanket pulled up to her ear. "Fritz," he snapped his
fingers, "come..." The sleepy Shepherd slid off the sofa
in the other room and plodded through the suite into the bedroom. He
stopped at the foot of the bed and shook himself to settle his coat.
Jack could see the green glow of the dog's electronic eye in the
darkness and called him up onto the bed to lay next to Alité.
The Shepherd stretched out on top of the blanket, then curled up
comfortably next to Jack's betrothed. "Thank's, buddy..."
he stroked the dog's head and watched the glowing green iris dim as
Fritz went back to sleep.

After
dressing, Jack knelt on the bed and kissed the top of Alité's
head
as he tucked the blanket in around her. Her hair was soft and sweet
with perfume. He drew it into his lungs, wanting to carry it with
him the whole day. Jack didn't want to leave, but he was glad Fritz
was there to keep her company so she wouldn't wake alone. He grabbed
a quick glass of juice from the bar in his suite and headed to the
bridge.

“
Sir..?
Captain, sir..!” A young mechanic trotted up the corridor
toward Jack, an electronic notepad tucked under his arm like a
football.

Jack
stopped, turned and waited for him. “Yes?”

“
ABS
Vestemore,
sir... from the flight bay?” He saluted. “You asked me
to go over the life pod and see if we could find any reason for it
to fail, remember?” Jack returned his salute and looked him
over - the young mechanic cleaned up well, he almost didn't
recognize him.

Jack
nodded, “Of course, what did you find?”

The
mechanic pulled the electronic notepad out from under his arm and
turned on the screen, moving closer to Jack and beside him so they
could view it simultaneously. “You were right to be
suspicious, Captain, the pod had definitely been sabotaged...”

“
You
found proof...?”

“
Yes,
sir...”
He
pulled up a video on the screen. “We found this as we
dismantled the pod...” The video showed blackened scorch
marks, small but definitely visible.

“
Tell
me what are we looking at, Vestemore...”

The
ABS freeze-framed the video. “The scorching had trace
nitrates, so they used a small amount of explosive, and this is an
area of the pod that is not checked during scheduled inspections –
so there's no telling how long it was in there.” He advanced
the video until there was a wider view and stopped it again. “The
area is a tunnel for all the power leads from the battery
compartment at the bottom, past the atmosphere system, up to the
computer and controls above. It's actually a pretty simple system
and pretty well protected... All the critical areas are armored from
damage occurring
outside
the pod...”

“
So
they just took out all the power connections...”

“
Pretty
much. A few lines survived, but I think they were for the distress
beacon - all the computer cables were shredded.” He paused as
he pulled up another screen with a few photos. “It would be
pretty easy to rig something that small, probably used a little G
force meter for a trigger.” He held up 2 fingers together so
they were touching. “The whole thing wouldn'tve been any
bigger than this. The pod was live and functioning until it
launched, then the G forces of the launch triggered the device and
that was it.”

“
They
probably wouldn't have even heard it during the pod launch...”
said Jack, thinking out loud.

“
Probably
not. And it was most likely pretty quick. Fifteen, maybe twenty
minutes tops. No oxygen, no heat - they would just fall asleep.”

“
Have
you discussed this with anyone else...?” Jack tapped the
screen.

“
No,
sir, er, well, the other mechanic that helped me disassemble it
knows... ABS
Toncaresh.
I needed his help, he knew these type of pods better than I did.
”

“
Can
he be trusted
not
to discuss it with anyone other than you or me?”

“
Yes,
sir.”

Jack
nodded, “Good, let's keep it that way. This information
doesn't go beyond the three of us...”

■ ■ ■

Steele
shook Trigoss' hand. "Morning, Chief, I hear we have a
problem.
What's up?" Trigoss gave a puzzled frown and looked up at the
ceiling. "No, Chief," said Jack laughing, "I mean,
what seems to be happening?"

"Oh,"
said the Chief Engineer reflexively. Another human saying that
meant
nothing like it sounded. He harumphed. "Well, we've had to shut
down engine number two. It got far too hot and the connecting rings
failed which creates pressure leakage among other problems. The
worst being, a possible reactor leak."

"Any
danger?"

"Nah,"
he countered with a dismissive wave, "we caught it soon
enough."

"How'd
it happen?"

Trigoss
turned and moved to the engineering station on the bridge
and
called up some information. "We're simply pushing them too
hard." He pointed at the screen. "I had helm drop us down
to half power..." Jack groaned. Trigoss pointed back at the
screen. "Had to. If the calculations are correct, we would have
lost number one next. They just can't take the pressure, Jack. Now I
got a good bit of parts from that freighter, but I haven't had time
to do any work yet. And if we push the other cores too hard, there
won't be anything left of them to rebuild."

Jack
nodded. "Understood. You did the right thing, of course."
He
turned
to the helm, "How long at present course and speed, Ensign?"

"A
little over forty-three hours to planned destination sir, from
there
it's search and guesswork."

"It's
double our planned time," acknowledged Trigoss, "but it's
the
only
way without blowing the ass-end off the ship."

"I
know, Chief." Jack put his hand on Trigoss' shoulder. "It
just
leaves
us kind of vulnerable."

"Can
I make a suggestion, sir?"

Jack
turned to Raulya at the weapons console. "By all means..."

"Round
the clock, constant roaming fighter patrols. It'll be tiring,
but
it would be the best way to protect ourselves."

Jack
nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. And let's set up a
regular
schedule for keeping the ship's gun-pods at full charge."

Raulya
nodded. "I've already laid one out."

"Good.
Well, let's get to work." He picked his comm unit up off his
console
and slid it on. When he glanced at the communications console, he
saw a face he didn't recognize. "Hello..."

The
young woman in the gray tunic rose and stood at attention.
"Petty
Officer Stacell, sir."

"Good
morning, Petty Officer Stacell... Is that your first or last name?"
He was only curious.

The
young woman's eyes shifted nervously, "I only have, one name.
S
ir..."

Jack
was getting used to that, it was fairly common. "Oh, Ok. Well,
relax
Stacell, I'm not going to bite your head off..."

"Thank
you, sir." She seemed a bit more at ease, but her eyes never
left
him. Maybe just in case he changed his mind.

Jack
smiled. If he said boo, she'd probably jump right out of her
uniform.
"Stacell..." he kept his voice soft, "please locate
and inform all pilots to come to my ready room for a briefing."
He turned back to the bridge crew. "I'll be in my ready room if
anyone needs me..." Except for Professor Edgars, most of the
faces had changed to a fresh crew. "Walt, get lost."
Smiling, Jack thumbed towards the door to the corridor. "Get
some rest and don't come back till I call you."

"Right
you are..." The Professor started out the door and paused.

"I'll
send up some breakfast," he called. Jack nodded and Walt
disappeared out the door, it closing almost silently behind him.

■ ■ ■

The
comm chimed and Derrik rolled over and palmed the button on
the
nightstand. "Yes?" He said sleepily.

"Sorry,"
said the voice on the other end, "I'm looking for Lieutenant
Arroyo,
who's this?"

"Lieutenant
Commander Brighton..."

"Terribly
sorry, I must have gotten your suite by mistake..."

"No,
wait." He reached over and shook Maria by the shoulder. "Wake
up,
love..." he whispered.

■ ■ ■

"Lieutenant
Warren here, go ahead." Mike and Tilee were already
dressed
and getting ready to go to breakfast when the comm chimed.

"Your
presence is required in the Captain's ready room for flight
briefing,
sir."

"Ok,
thank you, Stacell..."

"By
the way, sir, you wouldn't know where I might locate Commander
Smiley,
would you? I can't seem to find him."

Mike
glanced at Tilee and rubbed his chin. "Try Ensign Myomerr's
quarters..."

"Thank
you sir," came the voice over the comm. Petty Officer Stacell
was
beginning to wonder if anybody was where they were supposed to be
this morning.

The
comm beeped off. "I guess I'll meet you for breakfast after the
meeting,"
said Mike. Tilee nodded. She was shy and didn't talk much, but Mike
didn't mind, she was adorable and sweet. He kissed her and headed
for the bridge.

■ ■ ■

Jack
was sitting at the head of the briefing table in the semi
darkness
studying the plotted route on the holochart when Brian strolled in.
"Whatcha' doin', Skipper?"

"Just
checking our progress."

"Oh."
Brian nodded. "Want to go to breakfast?"

"Not
till after..."

"Excuse
me, Captain," Petty Officer Stacell entered behind Brian, "I
can't
seem to find Lieutenant Carter..." She glanced at Brian and saw
the rank on his collar. "Is that you?" Brian grinned and
nodded. "Oh," Stacell walked from the room shaking her
head. "Never mind."

"Thank
you Stacell," called Jack as the door swished closed. He smiled
at Brian. "Seems she's
had
a tough morning already..."

"Mine
was pretty good," beamed Brian.

"Mine
too," reflected Jack. "And you'll be the first to know..."
he
took
a deep breath, "Alité and I are getting married."