Onward With Love…
Chapter Three: A
By Yuki Wildstar
With much appreciation to Fred Kopetz , he encouraged
me to go for it. With his collaboration in this story about Derek and Nova it
has turned out to be better than I thought it would. His vision with detailing
and added script has made this so much more fun than expected. You and Gail ROCK! Thanks for everything and
I am so blessed to have a partner in writing.
Yuki
Space Battleship Endeavor
Sector 8
Near Planet Mira
April 26, 2205
1000 Hours
“Captain,
there’s another wave of missiles coming at us!” Pratt yelled. “Sir, are you listening?”
The Endeavor was in a serious battle, and Captain Wildstar had been
caught staring into space by his own crew. It had taken three weeks for the Endeavor to get to Planet Mira. Mira was
all the way on the other side of Sector 8 and upon reaching the remote planet,
Wildstar and his crew came under attack from the planet itself. With the enemy
hitting the ship with full force, the Endeavor
took a heavy beating. Captain Wildstar could not think of anything but what had
happened on the video phone almost 3 weeks ago when he had last spoken with
Nova. What was a man doing with her in
our house? Derek thought.
“Captain!” yelled Pratt.
“Yes, I hear you. Which
direction are they coming from?” Wildstar tried to concentrate.
“They’re coming in on our
starboard side, sir! Should we launch the flare missile so it will give us time
to aim our guns, Sir? Sir?!”
“Lieutenant Ortiz….fire all
guns down to planet Mira, I’ll bring the ship up another 10,000 meters. That should give us some distance from their
guns. Lieutenant Wright, get a crew
together and see if you can find where that damned base is at?” Lieutenant
Commander Tolbert ordered.
“Yes, ma’am,” Lieutenant
Wright saluted and ran for the door down to the Cosmo Hound.
“Captain Wildstar, maybe you
should get some rest? You don’t look very well,” Tolbert said looking at
Wildstar.
“What ….ah….yeah, sure. Take
command, please…..I’ll be in my quarters,” Wildstar said completely distracted.
His mind was thousands of lightyears away.
“Sir, is everything all
right?” Tolbert asked him with concern in her voice.
“Yeah,” Wildstar replied,
still completely out of it. He stumbled off the bridge. Then, he went to his
quarters and looked out the huge window. He thought, I have to snap out of
this. I’m putting my crew in danger. I don’t know what was going on at the
house but I’m sure there was a logical explanation for what Nova was up to…if
only I could have called her back. Nova, what’s going on?
“Sir may I come in?” Tolbert asked.
Derek didn’t even hear anyone
knocking at the door. “Yes, enter…Lieutenant Commander Tolbert, how’s it going down
there? Any signs of the enemy?” Wildstar said trying to get back to business.
“No sir, not yet. Permission
to speak freely?”
“Lieutenant Commander, if
this is getting personal, then
permission is denied,” Wildstar said,
trying to avoid the question that he knew she was about to ask.
“I understand sir, but since
you’re not focused on the mission right now, then I have a right as your First
Officer to know what’s eating at you. Remember, sir, there are other lives at
stake here!”
“Don’t you think I know that, Lieutenant! Don’t worry about
me! I’m fine! You just stay out of
this one. It’s none of your business, damnit!” Wildstar snapped at her.
“I’m sorry, sir, but it is my business when the Captain of this
ship cannot focus long enough to give a simple order to return fire, damnit!” Tolbert snapped back.
“Just give me the report,
Tolbert!” Wildstar whipped back. “Do that and get back to your post! That’s an
order!”
“Very well then, sir. The
Cosmo Hound landed 15 minutes ago on planet Mira. I think you should come back
to the bridge ASAP, sir,” Tolbert
said with a snap. She thought, Hmmm
trouble in
“Yes, I’ll be right down,”
Wildstar said.
Wildstar entered the bridge
with total focus on his work. Okay, I’m here now… I have to put things aside
with Nova and get us the heck out of this situation.
Then,
he snapped, “Lieutenant Miamato, get
Lieutenant Wright on the wire, and let’s see what he’s found down there!”
“Yes sir” said Miamoto. He’s
back, thank God. Miamato thought to himself.
A moment later, Wright came
up on the Endeavor’s main screen.
Derek snapped at him, “Wright, what’s the status down there? Have you found
anything that looks like an enemy station?”
“No sir, I think they are
underground somewhere. We are going to use the sonar panel to see if there’s
any movement underground. We should get something back soon,” Wright reported
back to Wildstar.
“Very well then, please keep
me informed! Wildstar out. Lieutenant Commander Tolbert, you will keep the ship
at this altitude! Keep us away from those missiles until we find that base,”
Wildstar ordered.
“Yes, sir,” she replied in a
flat voice with just a hint of a smirk on her face.
DOWN BELOW….
“Bevins, please keep the ship
steady we have to find that base!” Wright called out from the back of the Cosmo
Hound.
“Yes sir, sorry,” Bevins
called back
“Now where are you, come on
show yourself. I know your somewhere in this area but where?” Lieutenant Wright
muttered as he continued to look at the sonar panel. “Sir, this is Lieutenant
Wright! I’m going to need for you to bring the ship down 15,000 kilometers so
as to lure them to fire their guns.”
“OK Wright; acknowledged!
Tolbert, bring her down 15,000 kilometers. We are going to use her as bait to
lure them out. Be careful, because we can’t take another hit,” Wildstar
snapped.
“Yes sir, dropping her down
15,000 kilometers,” Tolbert called out.
The Endeavor dropped and waited for the next wave of missiles but
nothing happened. “Sir, I think they are on to us; what should we do next?”
Tolbert asked.
“Mister Miamato, get me the
Cosmo Hound on a secure line,” Wildstar ordered.
“Yes, sir!”
“Lieutenant Wright, send back
the Cosmo Hound with two men. I think they are onto us. If we send back the
Hound, then they will think that we have given up, and they’ll just land.
That’s when they’ll strike,” Wildstar said into the microphone. “I’ll call you
back on the other frequency and order your return…that way they’ll think it’s
not a trick, but a legitimate action of mine.”
“Yes sir…will do!”
Wildstar gave the order to
Wright, and he sent back the Cosmo Hound, leaving him and five other men on the
planet. Once the Cosmo Hound returned to the ship, Wildstar gave the order for
the ship to start to descend on the planet. Just when the Endeavor came to 50,000 meters, the enemy base fired their missiles
at her.
“I got the location now, sir!
It’s L56NW by L135. Let’s fire on that spot!” Wright called into his helmet.
Wildstar gave the command to
fire on those coordinates.
It was a direct hit.
But what happened next took
them all by surprise......
II. A SEARCH CONTINUES
Space Battleship
Sector 8
Near Planet Turoc
April 26, 2205
1032 Hours
“Nova, do you think that they
are all right?” Howard asked.
“Denise, I know that you may
not believe me,” Nova replied from her post, “But I truly think they are, I can
feel that Derek is still alive out there and we will find them, and soon!”
“How can you know that? The
way they told me…is like they weren’t expecting us to find them!” Howard was
frantic
“Denise you have to believe
that they are alive!”
“Nova!” IQ-9 interrupted with
his lights blinking. “Sandor wants you
at the conference room at once! You must come with me!”
“Okay IQ-9 let’s go….It might
be something on the Endeavor!” Nova
called out as she ran.
When Nova and Howard arrived
in the conference room, Sandor was just finishing up his report to the
He was an older man; about
the same age as Captain Avatar had been when they had all first met on the Argo years beforehand.
However, he far was more
unfriendly and distant, especially when it came down to the issue of women in
the Defense Forces. His cold logic was that they should be home, barefoot and
pregnant. He felt that women were only a distraction for his troops, and that
they were here only to fight, and not to socialize in the least. He made his
way past Nova and Howard, ignoring them without even a nod. Nova and Howard
just stood at attention until he was out of the compartment. He gave Nova a
visibly dirty look as he left.
“What’s up, Sandor…have you
spotted the Endeavor yet?” Nova
asked, looking at him hopefully.
“Not yet, Nova, sorry.
However, we do have information that they were in this area, and recently. We
have seen wreckage from a battle here. It looks like they got into it with the
Bolar Federation, and I’m not sure…but I think it was the Gamilons also.”
Nova stood back in shock,
“What? Gamilons? Sandor, we’re not at
war with them anymore! Desslok has been our friend for years now! Why would he
fight with us?”
“I don’t think that Desslok was
fighting our fleet, Nova. I think he was after the Bolar fleet. I think Derek
just got in the middle of it, that’s all. His fleet took some heavy damage
there.”
“But how can we find out?”
Howard jumped in and asked.
“The best way I know is to go
ask Desslok himself! Captain Zarzour has given the okay to go to
Garuman-Gamilon. We are heading there now,” Sandor looked into Nova’s face and
saw some relief.
“Commander, are we sure we
should go there? Do you really trust him?” Howard looking nervous that they
would actually considering going there after what he did to Earth many years
ago.
“Yes we are, I know Desslok,
and he would have contacted Derek if any of his fleets had encountered them. He
would know where they went, I’m sure of it,” Nova sighed.
“I believe that too. We’re
going to be warping to the Garuman-Gamilon Empire in 20 minutes,” Sandor told
them.
“I guess we should get ready
and get to our posts, right?” Nova told Howard.
Howard nodded. They both
left.
Nova and Sandor reported to the bridge and took their
places. Sandor sat at his seat with the computer readings, and Nova at the
radar controls. She looked back at Captain Zarzour with a look of thank you. But he just glance at her
with a nasty look that said, Go home and
have babies, I’m only doing this because of our MEN that are out there and they
need our help.
Howard returned to the flight
deck where she was now a Black Tiger pilot. Pesci had encouraged her to go for
it with these words; You can do it,
honey. You’d make an excellent pilot, just as well as any of us.
So with him pushing her she
graduated top in her class in Flight Training. It was the proudest day in her
life and Pesci’s. Now, she would be in the cockpit looking for the man that she
fell in love with.
“Attention all hands,
attention all hands this is Captain Zarzour, we will be warping in 5 minutes,
secure all quarters. REPEAT, warping in 5 minutes, secure all stations!”
Well Pesci, we are coming
for you and Derek, Howard thought. Let’s hope that Desslok really is the honorable man
that Nova and Sandor say he is.
At
that, the
The
TEN MINUTES LATER….
The
“Sir, we have Desslok on the
line. Should I put him through on the video panel?”
“Yes, please. I am Captain
Alvin Zarzour of the EDF space battleship
Desslok’s image came up a moment later. “This is
Emperor Desslok, how can I help you, Captain?” Desslok said in his smooth, even
voice with a cold, calculating look on his face. He sat on his Imperial Throne
with his usual drink in hand. “So, you’re from the Earth Government? Please
speak quickly. I am a very busy man. I also do not suffer fools gladly. I pray
that is understood.”
“Sir, we were sent here to
look for the space batt......”
“Desslok!” Nova jumped in as
she jumped up.
“Nova, my dear!” Desslok said
as he sounded surprised and his face lit up as the tone of his voice changed.
“Are you the First Officer of this vessel? How are you? I am most pleased to
see you once again. Please come down as soon as possible, so we may talk. I am
most interested in Captain Wildstar’s doings, as well as in yours.” Desslok
smiled at her. “I assure you that I will give you all of my time.”
“My Lord, you just said you
were very busy,” Nova said in a small voice as she blushed.
“For you, I would cancel my
entire agenda for the day,” said Desslok with a smile.
“Lieutenant Commander
Wildstar-Forrester, please sit your butt down!” snapped Captain Zarzour. “Be
quiet and let me do the talking! He is a head of state, and not your long-lost
cousin, Forrester! We are not here to have a tea party with him. We are here
for information; that and only that! Are we clear on that, damn you? If you
want my opinion of you, you are a rotten officer!” Captain Zarzour screamed as
he came up to Nova and yelled in her face. “ARE WE CLEAR?”
“Yessir,” she said, abashed.
“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” he
snapped as if he was talking to a raw recruit.
“I SAID, YESSIR!” Nova barked
back as she snapped to. She was close to being in tears. No one except for
General Stone and her Cadet Company Commanders in her plebe year of ROTC had
ever talked to her like that.
“Captain, I know that you are
looking for Captain Wildstar,” said Desslok from the screen. “But I cannot tell
you anything until I speak to Lieutenant Commander Wildstar-Forrester in
person. I will see her at once. I will send an escort. I’ll be waiting,
Captain,” Desslok signed off.
“Sandor, you are to go with
the Lieutenant Commander down to the planet and get the information!” snapped
Zarzour. “And Lieutenant Commander Forrester, if you ever do a stupid female
stunt like that again on my command, I will have you brought up on charges! Is
that clear?” Captain Zarzour said sternly.
“Yessir,” said Nova, as she
looked down at her boots.
Zarzour smoothed down his
little grey moustache, shook his head, and said, “Dismissed. Get out of my
sight and have your tea party with that damn blue genocidal dictator,” he
snapped. He said this while thinking, Women! If you ever do that again, it will be
more than charges that you will get!
Zarzour
had a 48-year old wife named Mona and a daughter of 19 named Samantha.
He
regularly beat both of them when he was at home. He did not know it, but Mona
Zarzour was sick of this and she was seeking a divorce.
Nova, Sandor and Howard took
a medical ship down to Planet Garuman-Gamilon. They were met by one of
Desslok’s aides who took them straight into the presence of Desslok himself.
Howard was scared of him.
She wasn’t sure what to
expect; she remembered what had happened to Earth not long ago when it had been
planet-bombed, and she remembered that he was the one who had done it…just five
years ago. He had been their deadly enemy until one day less than four years
ago when they had been fighting Prince Zordar.
Since, then, they said, he
had become Earth’s ally…but could he truly be trusted?
Howard’s fears were eased a
little when Nova curtsied to the Leader, and he smiled and stood, taking her
hand and lightly kissing it. He said, “Nova my dear, how are you? You look just
lovely…and Sandor, how are you?”
“I am well, Leader Desslok,”
said Sandor.
Desslok nodded and looked in his
direction until he got a glance at Howard. “And this lovely creature who may
she be?” Desslok said, gently taking her hand in his. Howard almost pulled her
hand away until she looked in Nova’s direction.
Nova gave her friend a look
that said, don’t let him scare you.
Howard almost passed out,
because Desslok scared her so badly. She also never knew how tall he was. He
seemed to be close to seven feet tall. Sandor, who was 6’ 4”, looked short
beside Desslok, and Nova, who was taller than she was, looked like an elfin
little girl even at her 5’ 7” compared to the tall, muscular Emperor.
Sandor looked at Desslok and
said, “This is Lieutenant Commander Denise Howard. She is one of the leaders of
our Black Tiger Squadron. Her fiancée, Lieutenant Pesci, is on the Endeavor with Captain Wildstar. He is
also a Pilot with the Black Tigers.”
“Ah, yes….I had the pleasure
of meeting the gentleman and the other pilot. There was also a Lieutenant
Commander Tolbert that was by Wildstar’s side,” Desslok said to them.
Nova cringed at some other
woman standing next to Derek, especially an ex-girlfriend.
Desslok continued with, “I
know what brings you all this way to grace me with your presence. Your beloved
was here almost 4 weeks ago, Nova. Not to worry…I will tell you what I told
him.” Desslok then continued to tell them about the battle in Sector 8 and how
he told Wildstar about the Bolar base on Planet Mira. “He left right afterwards
to check things out, as you Earthlings would say. Now will you be staying or leaving
as well?”
“Desslok I appreciate the
information, thank you,” Nova said, looking at Sandor. “But you are right…we
cannot stay. We haven’t heard from the Endeavor
in weeks and we are looking for them. Thank you for the invitation, but we must
decline it for now. Maybe another time we shall stay,” Nova said smiling at
him.
“I understand, Nova. Please
allow me to have my ships join in the search for the Endeavor. I would be most grateful to help in your search. I have
many ships near sector 8. I ask you to allow me to do this,” Desslok said,
looking at Nova while holding her hand
Nova nodded at the gesture,
and then she looked at Sandor, who also agreed that it would be a great idea.
Desslok and his aides
escorted Nova and the others back to the ship. “Good luck, Nova, I know you
will find him. If my ships find the Endeavor
first, I will relay the message back to the
“Thank you again, Desslok,”
Nova turned and went into the shuttle with the others and took off, heading
back to the
III. INTO THE CRUCIBLE
Planet Mira
Bolar Base
EDF Space Battleship Endeavor
April 26, 2205
1150 Hours
The space battleship Endeavor was suffering like a tormented
animal in a trap. They were being attacked from all sides. Derek couldn’t
figure out who they all were. The bridge tower was getting hit the heaviest by
both laser fire and missiles. The Endeavor
was now smoking in several places, and many ship‘s systems were out.
“Pratt, who are they?” Derek
yelled. “Find out now! Ortiz, get those guns going! They’re pinning us down.
Tolbert, keep the ship steady! Try to avoid those missiles.”
“Yes sir, I’m trying my best, sir!” Tolbert called back
“Sir I found out who they
are, they’re Cometine battleships and destroyers! They must have joined forces
with the Bolars!” Pratt yelled out.
“Cometines, I should have
known! Joining forces with the Bolar Federation? That’s bad! Very bad! Okay people, let’s get this
situation under control! Black Tigers…stay close to the ship don’t stray
away…that’s what they want you to do!” Wildstar ordered
“Sir a whole new fleet just
appeared on our radar and it looks like they’re going to fire,” Pratt said,
trying to stay calm.
“Where are they?” Wildstar
called out.
“They’re 100 megameters to
our port side, and closing in fast! What do you want to do, sir?” Pratt watched
his Captain to see what he was thinking. How are we going to get out of this
one? We’re finished if we get attacked by another fleet! We’re already fighting
over a hundred and fifty ships at once!
“Call in the fighter pilots,”
Wildstar snapped. “Tolbert, turn the ship about to port! Aim all guns at the
fleet. Watanabe, how quickly can we get the wave motion gun ready?”
“Sir it will take 2 minutes
to get her at 100 percent charge!” Watanabe replied.
“Make it in one minute, or we
are deep-sixed!” Wildstar commanded.
“Engine room, get the wave
motion gun ready in one minute! We can’t wait! Get it right!” Watanabe yelled
into the comm mike.
The engine room responded
with, “Sir, this is Ensign Arsham! We are having a problem with the energy
generator; it’s not responding to the fly wheel. If we can’t bring up power, we
can’t fire the gun!”
“What?! Hold on I'm coming
down now!” Watanabe ran out the hatch straight to the engine room.
“Watanabe, what’s going on
down there…can you fix it?” Wildstar yelled over the blast sounds a moment
later.
“Sir, the engine’s badly
damaged, I’ll do my best!” Watanabe was not sure now if it could be fixed in
time.
“Keep all guns aimed at the
enemy Ortiz; don’t let up!” Wildstar said while trying to figure out what to do
next.
“Sir there’s another ship,
that just popped up on the screen! It’s only 1500 kilometers behind us,” Pratt
looking confused as to who it was this time. “Vessel identified as…Garuman-Gamilon?”
A voice-only signal came up a
moment later. Wildstar recognized the voice at once. “Endeavor, move out of the way! This is General Lugin of the
Garuman-Gamilon Empire, in command of the Epsilon.
We are here to offer aid, but you must
move out of the way at once! Acknowledge this transmission!”
“You heard the general,
acknowledge his transmission, Mister Miamoto! Tolbert, move her out of the way
now!” Wildstar yelled.
“Acknowledging in secure
code,” said Miamoto as his finger flew over the control keys.
“Turning about, to forty five
degrees, accelerating on new heading,” said Tolbert.
“Sir!” said General Lugin’s
comm officer aboard the Garuman-Gamilon space battleship Epsilon. “Endeavor has
acknowledged our transmission in code and she is clearing the way to a new
heading!”
“Good, that Wildstar fellow
is not as suicidal as I thought he was, nor quite as stupid as I thought he
was! I’d let him die, but we have our orders!” snapped Lugin. “Engineering
sector, begin the energy charge procedure for firing our Desslok cannon!”
“Energy charge begun,” said
the Epsilon’s engineer over the
speakers. “Thirty seconds to firing! Recharge now at eighty percent,” he said
as the Desslok gun began its pulsing charge-up sequence.
Lugin left his seat, and
stood behind the ornate firing stand for his ship’s Desslok cannon as the hatch
opened and the stand hissed up on its hydraulic lifts. Switches were flicked,
and a targeting scope appeared right in his ship’s strange triangular bridge
windows. “Locked right on to the enemy fleet!” he snapped.
“Energy level now at
ninety-five percent,” said the engineer. “Thirty seconds to firing!”
“Wonderful,” said Lugin as he
cocked a control on his firing grip. “Ten seconds to firing!”
As the Endeavor moved out of the Epsilon’s
way, they watched as the Gamilon battleship set off its Desslok Cannon,
destroying the enemy fleet in one shot. The crew on the Endeavor cheered. “Okay Ortiz, we’re no longer pinned down.
Miamoto, send our thanks to General Lugin. Guys…let’s finish the base on planet
Mira.”
“Yes sir,” Ortiz said.
“Lieutenant Commander
Tolbert, turn the ship to Planet Mira now!”
“Yes, sir,” she acknowledged.
Wildstar then said, “Aim all
guns at coordinates L534 by N68.”
“Locked on,” snapped Ortiz as
the gun turrets turned. “FIRE!” Ortiz yelled to the gunners in the turrets.
The Endeavor fired, again, and again, and again. Deadly blue streams of
plasma energy ripped into the Bolar base like knives going into a fine cut of
meat. Soon, nothing was left of the base but flames and smoke.
“Send down the Black Tigers
to confirm destruction of the base,” Wildstar said, sitting in his Captain’s
chair, very relieved that they made it through with the help of the Epsilon. “Miamato, did they acknowledge
our last transmission sending thanks?”
“No, sir,” said Miamoto.
“Well, patch me through to
the Epsilon, please. Do it now!”
“Yes sir, putting a message
up via video now!”
The video panel came up a
moment later. General Lugin appeared; he looked very annoyed.
Lugin looked at Wildstar and
said, “Boy, what is it that you want now?
Here to whine at me about your issues of morality? I do not share your outmoded
morals! We are a military organization! You were not quick enough in getting
out of my way! Whose side are you on anyway, Wildstar? Sentimental fool!”
“General Lugin, this is
Captain Derek Wildstar. I thank you for your help...”
“You thank me? HAH!” laughed Lugin coldly. “You slowpoke! You wooly-pated, slow-witted lad! Save it for Emperor
Desslok, it was his order for me to come back here and help you. I was just
following orders! I, on the other hand, would have just let you perish after
the last talk we had, you fool! You are not a military commander! You are a boy
barely out of his teens who thinks that you know everything! Maybe this battle
will teach you that there is no room for the weak in warfare! Evolve or die,
Derek Wildstar! That is all I have to say to you now. Good day!” The screen went
black.
On the Epsilon, Lugin’s new Executive Officer, a fat man named Gwaltney,
looked at Lugin and said, “Sir, was that necessary?”
“Was what necessary?” snapped Lugin as he sat back down at his command
seat, where he flipped a switch and clapped his hands once. A moment later, a
blue girl servant clad in a headdress and short red skirt appeared with a
goblet of wine. She knelt before Lugin and offered him the goblet. Lugin
accepted the goblet and said, “Thank you, Mina. Back to your point, Gwaltney?”
“Sir, was it necessary for
you to give the Earthling Captain the rough side of your tongue like that?”
“Gwaltney, we are trained and
made for battle, battle, and battle. The boy slowed me down a few weeks ago
with his notions of fairness and morality and he got in my way. He is an idiot,
but maybe he has potential,” said Lugin as he drank his brandy-like wine. “Or
he would have potential if he had a better ship. That vessel he is in command
of is an overstuffed piece of junk with an inadequate armour belt. Soft, like
him. On the other hand, if he had the old Yamato
back…now, the Yamato, or the Argo as they used to call her…that was a proper ship! The lad might
fight harder if he had a better ship?”
“Are they really going to be
our allies in this new war against the Bolars and what is left of the
Cometines?” said Gwaltney.
“I hope not,” purred Lugin.
“If they are going to be, they’d better grow up. A lot.” Then, Lugin laughed like a madman.
On the Endeavor, Wildstar wiped his brow. He was tired, and it seemed that
the battle was over, and that they had survived. This time.
“Captain, this is Lieutenant
Delvechio…we have just passed over the Bolar base and it is totally destroyed.”
“Good return to the ship,
Lieutenant Wright, what is the damage report?” Wildstar looked towards Wright.
“Sir we have major damage to
the upper levels of the ship. Our wave motion engine has been hit and they are
working at getting her repaired. We have ten dead and thirty-six injured, ten
of those severely injured. We lost two pilots in the fight. Our flight bay has
also been hit, and 10 percent of our guns are not working. Most of the
officers’ quarters were damaged, and long-range communications were badly
damaged. The Communications Group is working on getting the alternate antenna
coils patched in now.”
“Thank you Lieutenant. Make
sure all the repairs are done as quickly as possible. I’ll call EDF
Headquarters soon, and give them the update. Miamato is the auxiliary comm unit
up yet?”
“Sorry sir, not yet, but we
are working on it,” said Miamoto.
“Very well…call me when you
get it going again. Lieutenant Commander Tolbert, I think you need a break. You
are relieved. Lieutenant Miamato, take over the bridge.”
“Yes sir” both replied.
Wildstar went straight to his
cabin and fell into a deep sleep. He was awakened by a knock on the hatch
twelve hours later.
“Who is it?” Wildstar said
with annoyance.
“Sir it’s Lieutenant
Commander Tolbert!”
“Come in, what is it?”
“Well, sir…the Officers’
Quarters were damaged, and my cabin was also damaged by smoke and fire-fighting
foam. It is a mess. My bunk is ruined. I was thinking that maybe I can crash
here for a little sleep. It seems everyone is trying to grab someone to bunk
with, sir.”
“Here? I….I…I don’t know.
Tolbert, you do remember I’m married, right?” said Wildstar as he looked at his
picture of Nova. “How would it look? And news travels fast in the Fleet.”
“Oh, come on sir, I have
nowhere to go and I’m pretty beat!”
Derek sighed. “Oh all right.
I’ve slept enough. I need to work on some things at my desk. Go ahead take my
bunk and get some sleep for a few hours. If I need to sleep again, I can go
down to the gym and find a mat to crash on.” Derek was a little amused at this,
because he remembered a time when he had shared his cabin with Nova before they
were married. It was after the battle of the Rainbow Galaxy in 2200. the Argo had been badly damaged, and Nova’s
cabin was in similar shape. Derek had been very gallant, and had given Nova his
pajama top to wear while he slept on the deck rolled up in some blankets. He
remembered they had talked quite a bit while he had tried to keep from looking
too hard at Nova’s long, beautiful bare legs.
“Thank you, sir…” Tolbert
stretched out onto his bunk after removing her boots, and she was soon fast
asleep.
THREE HOURS LATER….
“
“Very well then,” said
Captain Zarzour. “Sandor take one of the Cosmo Hounds with Lieutenant Commander
Forrester and Miss Howard and see if you can get on board that ship.” Zarzour
thought, Good! At least I can get her and the other one off my ship…maybe
for good.. Women officers….what a waste of training. They shouldn’t even be
allowed in this man’s military.
“Yes, sir.” Sandor saluted
and nodded to Nova….she just saluted the Captain and went to the flight deck.
IV. A FATAL MISUNDERSTANDING
The Vicinity of Planet Mira
EDF Space Battleship Endeavor
April 27, 2205
0312 Hours
Wildstar sat at his desk
finishing up his reports and checking on how everything was going with the
repairs. He finally was able to sit back in his chair and close his eyes and
just think about Nova at greater length for the first time since this battle
started.
He was worried. He still
wondered who the man that answered the phone was. He looked across his cabin
and watched Lieutenant Commander Tolbert sleeping and he decided to take a
quick shower to calm his jittery nerves. He felt ragged in his uniform and
needed to wake up more. He took a quick look at Nova’s picture and went into
the shower, locking the door behind him.
Lieutenant Commander Tolbert
woke up, stretched out and yawned. She managed to take her socks off and had
unzipped her uniform mid way, going down to her navel. She was hot. She usually
slept in the nude, and she thought, Why
did I end up here, with him watching? Oh hell, maybe I should just strip down
and have some fun with him? A midnight snack? Screw Nova, he won’t be able to
resist me if I get naked and put on the romantic music.
She walked over to Wildstar’s
desk and saw a small radio. She turned it on and “Babe” by
“Derek?” Nova was confused at
what she saw. “Now, what is going on here?”
“Nova is that really you? I’m not sleepwalking?” Derek looked
at her smiling. Then he saw the expression on Nova’s face. It was shock,
mingled with annoyance and anger. He turned around to see Tolbert standing
there uniform half way unzip.
Lieutenant Commander Julie
Tolbert just stared at both of them HAH! Oh boy, this may not look good. But
I couldn’t plan it any better. After they argue, I can have my midnight snack,
maybe…and maybe him. She’ll divorce him for this! This is good!
“Derek, what’s going on
here?” Nova said, looking more in Julie’s direction. The look she gave her said
one word; TRAMP!
“Nova it, it’s not what you
think…and we really need to talk ourselves!” Derek said, trying to be calm
after all he wanted questions answered too. Like
what were you doing with a strange man in our house? Derek thought.
“Wildstar! How ar...” Sandor
stepped in and noticed the scene. Uh-oh, this is not a good time, he thought.
“Sandor!” Wildstar said
trying to change the subject before things got out of hand “This is a surprise!
Seeing you and Nova here, I mean. Uh…yeah! I’m glad to see you guys!”
“I’ll
bet it is a surprise,” Nova said with
sadness and anger in her voice. “Especially given what I think I just interrupted? That is one of our favorite
songs on the stereo, Derek!” She wasn’t letting him change the subject. She
kept staring from Derek to Julie.
“Lieutenant Commander
Tolbert, I think you should leave now…” Derek turned and waved Julie out.
“Sandor, can you give us a minute?” Derek knew he had to deal with this now.
“Yes, sir,” Tolbert and
Sandor said while heading out the door quickly.
Derek was left staring at
Nova. She had her hands on her yellow-clad hips, and she looked as angry as a
hornet. “You have some explaining to
do, Mister!” she snapped.
“Nova, this is not what it
looks like!”
“No, then what is it?” Nova said with anger in her
voice. “Is this a new form of interpretive dance performance? The adultery
dance? The screw around behind the wife’s back rumba?”
“Please, Nova sit down.”
Derek said, trying to grab her by her arm to have her sit.
“Don’t you touch me, Derek!
What the hell is going on here??” she yelled as tears of rage ran down her
cheeks. “Come on! I didn’t fall off the damn turnip truck out of
“Rainbow Galaxy, remember?”
said Derek.
“Rainbow Galaxy?” Nova snapped. “What kind of crap is that?
“Nova, please stay calm,
nothing happened here. Remember that battle we had at Rainbow Galaxy when you
had to crash in my room in 2200 right as we were becoming an item due to damage
to the ship? It was just like that. Totally innocent! I promise you this, the
officers’ quarters on this ship were
badly damaged in the battle and she had nowhere to sleep. Foam and smoke damage
to her cabin. It happens.”
“Yes, all sorts of things happen,” Nova snapped. “If I even keep you, do I need to get you outfitted with a chastity belt?”
“Nova, that is not what
happened!” Derek barked. “It was like Rainbow Galaxy. Damaged ship! Damaged
cabins! She had no place to go! So I let her stay here, that’s all, I promise
you! I just jumped in the shower to change before I headed back onto the bridge.
Nova, please don’t look at me like that! It’s the truth?”
“Is it?” Nova responded.
“I would never do anything to
hurt you, Nova. I love you. Not her!
Between you and me and the bulkhead, I can barely stand serving with her! I
wish they would have made you my
First Officer! I asked for you in the first place, and I got her instead! Do
you think I like that? Hell no!”
“Derek, I’m not sure what to
think about this now,” Nova looking at the mess in the room with apprehension
on her face. She picked up one of Julie’s socks. “God! Her smelly sock! She forgot it. Her socks in your
cabin. What else was about to come off her? Her dog tags? Her bra? Her panties?
What a man-stealing slut. And to think you let a mutt like that in your cabin
when you are already married to me?”
“Nova, please! Do you
honestly think something happened here? And I wouldn’t be the one to talk!”
Derek turned away “You have some explainin’ to do for me, yourself, Lucy! Who
was that guy that answered the video phone at our house? Huh? I never got an answer for that. Who was that? And why was he
there? Did you get lonely all of a sudden one night and decide to play games
behind my back?”
“That was Doctor Fritz from the Hospital, Derek! He is
a Staff Pediatrician! He and the Staff were at the house for a meeting because
a young patient had just died! I asked them to have it at our house because it
was so formal in the conference room at the hospital and we were all really
depressed over this little girl’s death! And you should know me well enough
that I would never bring another man into our house, especially to do that! That is a mortal sin, or have you
forgotten about that, Derek? If you have that little confidence in me then
maybe we need to re-evaluate our marriage!” Nova said with anger in her voice
that Derek knew all too well. “And at least he wasn’t halfway undressed while I
was in a towel. Honestly, Derek do you think I would let another man answer the
phone if there was something going on. Do
you? Do you think I am some brainless bimbo or something? Give me some kind
of credit in the common sense department! C’mon, damn you! I have more brains than you think, Derek!”
“Yes I know you’re right, and
I’m sorry, Nova. I should have known that. But what you saw here is not what
you think, either. I swear. The officers’ quarters were completely damaged. She
just wanted to take a nap. We’ve all been up for more than 48 hours and being
hit by missiles and lasers and plasma beams and all that crap, unless you have
forgotten what it is like! I didn’t think anything of it to let her take a nap.
I just hopped in the shower, that’s all, Nova! I swear to you on Alex’s grave,”
Derek pleaded with his wife.
“Very well then, I think you
should get dressed so Sandor can look over your communications system. Everyone
has been trying to reach you and we had to board the ship without any one on
the radio to help us in! We’ll discuss this little bedroom farce later!” Nova stood up and walked out the
door, slamming it behind her.
Oh crap this can’t be happening
now! Derek thought. He watched her
walk out the door and turned to get dressed. He knew her all too well and knew
he had to give her some space. She was stubborn like a bull just like her
astrological sign, which was a Taurus.
As Nova walked out of Derek’s
quarters Sandor stood and waited. “Are you okay, Nova?” as he put an arm around
her.
She shrugged his arm off.
“Yes, Sandor. I’m fine. Derek and I just had a serious discussion about one of his
officers. I just need to walk around for a bit. I’ll catch up to you two later.
Thanks.”
Sandor watched her walking
off. He had heard some of the yelling, and he thought of the situation and
thought, This does not look good.
TO BE CONTINUED….