Onward With Love…
Chapter Six: Good
Morning to Bad Rubbish!
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
I. THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM….
The Vicinity of Planet New Gamilon
Outer Atmosphere
EDF Space Battleship Endeavor
April 30, 2205
0530 Hours
“Good morning my wife, did you sleep well?”
Anthony asked Denise. “I think that we should be getting ready, we are expected
on the flight deck in about an hour.”
“Umm do we
have to, can’t we stay just a little longer?” Denise asked in a sleepy voice.
“As much as
I like to stay here with you my love, we only had leave for the night. And if
we don’t show up for duty the Captain will have our asses.”
“I guess we
must go. I need to shower first, how’s the water on this side of the ship? I
hope it’s not like our part of the ship. Freezing coming out and scalding by
the time you finish. Can you look for my boots? I think I threw them under your
bunk.”
“Are we
starting to give orders? We haven’t been married more than a day and you’re
already being pushy,” Anthony laughed. “You go take a shower…I’ll look for your
boots. And make it snappy I still have to take a shower too.”
“Why don’t
you come join me and we can get out of here faster?” Denise purred.
“Maybe we
shouldn’t….it might take longer,” Anthony said, while stepping into the shower
with his new wife.
Nova was up
looking out into the stars when Derek got up. “Good morning my love, what are
you doing up so early? Is everything okay?”
Derek walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
“Just
couldn’t sleep, I could not get back to sleep after that bad dream, and,
besides, I had too much on my mind to go over before the fleet comes. How did
you sleep, Derek?”
“Fine, I
slept fine. Are you sure you’re okay, Nova? You look like hell! Do you want to
sleep in a little longer?”
“I’m fine,
Derek, you know how I get when a mission starts my mind just runs crazy about
what needs to be done…I shook that nightmare off. You know me,” Nova said
looking tired, she was up since 0300 hrs. She did not want to tell Derek that
she had not been able to go back to sleep since that disturbing dream she had
experienced. Miscarriage, she
thought. God, I hope I never have one….
The part of
the dream in which the enemy had said she had had a miscarriage was the part
that scared her the most; it had scared her even more than the sickening
torture she had dreamed about. But, she was not about to tell Derek about this;
she felt she did not need to worry him. She would later reflect many months
later that if she had told him about her fears, a lot of unnecessary pain and
anguish for them might have just been avoided. But, right now, she just did not
feel like sharing her feelings with him. She was just too tired, and she
thought he would think her fears were “stupid”…besides…they had a mission to
begin, and she felt he didn’t need to be burdened with worrying about his
wife’s state of mind and health.
“Have you taken
a shower yet?” Derek asked with a grin
“Yes,
Captain, so you’re out of luck this time” Nova laughed at him. “I’ll meet you
on the bridge my love I have some things to go over before you get on the
bridge. I love you” She gave him a kiss and left for the bridge.
That was strange…she was acting
really weird this morning. Wonder what’s wrong, other than that nightmare she
had? I’d better keep a really close eye on her. Derek thought to himself.
Derek took a
quick shower and got dressed as quickly as he could. He grabbed his pea coat, cover and made his
way to the bridge. “At ease everybody, Pratt, any word on our fleet?”
“No sir not
yet”
“Captain, if
my calculations are right they should be making their last warp here soon.”
Nova said, hiding a small yawn behind a hand on a face that looked a bit more
pale than usual.
“Thank you,
Lieutenant Commander. Please let me know once they pop up on radar,” Wildstar
said, looking at Nova with concern.
“Yes, sir”
“Lieutenant
Pratt, once they clear their warp please make contact with them. I wonder who
they’re sending? Who do you think it is, Sandor, do you have any ideas? It’s
not like the EDF to not tell us who.”
“Sir I just
got them on radar,” Nova interrupted. “Range, twelve megameters, speed,
eighteen space knots and slowing to station-keeping attitude. They are at
RPX-231, standard orbit around New Gamilon.”
“Sir, I’m
making contact with the Fleet Captain now,” Pratt said. “Putting them on the
screen now, sir.”
“Hello,
Wildstar, glad to see you again,” said a familiar voice as a sandy-haired face,
looking different in a Captain’s peacoat, materialized on the screen. It was
Homer Glitchmann.
“Homer, I’ll
be damned! So it’s you that they sent! Great!” Wildstar smiled at the thought
that the old Star Force was coming together if not on the Argo or the same ship, but at least on the same fleet.
“Permission
to come aboard, Captain?” Homer asked.
“Permission
granted, any time Homer,” Wildstar laughed “I’ll meet you on the flight deck.
Sandor, take the bridge”
“Yes sir,
Captain leaving the bridge!” Sandor called out.
Wildstar
waited on the flight deck for Homer’s Cosmo Hound to land. It’s been a long
time since he had last seen his old friend.
He couldn’t remember the last time everyone was together. He knew that there was something that they
need to do when they got back to Earth, namely, go back to Hero’s Hill and pay
their respects to their fallen comrades.
When the
Cosmo Hound landed Homer walked out to greet his friend. “Wildstar how are you,
didn’t expect me I’ll bet? I had them keep it a secret because I wanted to
surprise you.”
“Homer! You
old dog…how have you been?” Wildstar said, shaking his hand with a pat on the
back. “I guess EDF didn’t have much to choose from considering they sent
you.” They both laughed.
“Well I
guess I’ll have to bail you out as always. What mess did you get yourself in
this time, Wildstar?” Homer laughed.
“It's good
to see you Homer, glad that they sent you, how is Wendy?”
“She’s doing
great, still preparing for the wedding and she sends you her love. Once we are
all back we are getting married and we are expecting you two there. Oh, let me
introduce you to my Deputy Captain, I’m sure you’ll remember …...” Homer turned
around to introduce his Deputy Captain.
Wildstar
couldn’t believe who was standing there. “Lieutenant Commander Tolbert, sir...” She said with a grin as she
stood there smiling at him.
“Yeah, we’ve
met,” Wildstar said while looking away, I
cannot believe this, Nova is not going to like it one bit. But at least she’s
not on the same ship…
“Shall we
head to the bridge and talk over your plans. Wildstar?” Homer pointing upward.
“Uh yeah,
right, this way Homer, Lieutenant Commander Tolbert,” Wildstar wanted to just
choke her. Crap, how the hell did she
manage this? She must have someone behind the scenes pulling strings for
her…little tramp!
Homer looked
around the ship amazed at the size of her. “Wow, Wildstar this is some vessel,
how does she run?”
“Pretty good,
it still has some kinks that we have to work out, but it’s an okay ship. Pretty
much the new add-ons are the problems but we are working on them. So how are things back on Earth?”
“Well you’re
all abuzz back there. With talk about
you teaming up with the Gamilons how could I stay behind, and a lot have
volunteered for this one, including Lieutenant Commander Tolbert here. This is
history in the making and we are all here to fight off the Bolars and
Cometines. We finally get a chance to finish them off this time, Wildstar.”
“I hope so,
they’ve been a pain for both Gamilon and Earth.” Wildstar said trying to shake
off the shock of Tolbert being on this mission again.
A few
minutes later, they all walked onto the bridge. “Hey Sandor, how’s it going?”
Homer asked when he saw Sandor.
“Homer, you
sly fox how did you get stuck here?” Sandor shook his hand and laughed. He then turned to see Lieutenant Commander
Tolbert standing behind him. Sandor looked from Wildstar to Tolbert and then
back to Wildstar. All Wildstar could do was look down and then towards Nova,
who was busy taking care some reports for the meeting.
“Didn’t want
you two to have all the fun!” Homer looked around at the bridge. “Whoa,
Wildstar this is some piece of work. Looks like the ship almost runs itself.”
“Yeah, a lot
of the systems are combined and simplified so that we have fewer personnel on
the bridge. If you ask me, it’s not the same as if we were on the Argo.
We ran the ship, not computers. I manage to disconnect some systems, thanks
to Sandor here, but mostly minor ones.
If you think this is big you should see the Captain’s quarters; it’s
like some goddamn hotel suite. It annoys the heck out of me.” Wildstar explained.
“I have to
admit Wildstar she is a beauty” Homer still admiring the ship.
“Well hello
there, Lieutenant Commander Forrester,” Tolbert leaned over Nova.
Nova looked
up and saw Tolbert standing there. Nova snapped. “Tolbert! What the hell are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m
here to help with the Gamilon union. I’m the Deputy Captain of the Galaxy II, I’m serving under Captain
Homer Glitchman.” She grinned from ear
to ear.
Nova wanted
so much to slap that grin off her face, but she kept her composure “So you
manage to weasel your way out here, so what are your intentions now? Let me
guess you figured you come out here to make amends and then try making your way
back into Derek’s life like a little worm? Right? Well forget it, he’s not interested.”
“Why don’t
we let him decide for himself?” She smiled at Nova.
“Just stay
out of my way and don’t even think or dream about working your way back into
Derek’s life!” Nova spat. “Are we clear on that, Lieutenant Commander?”
“Not at all,
I wouldn’t dream of it,” Tolbert turned and walked near Wildstar and Homer.
All the
while Wildstar was looking in their direction wondering what was being said.
Tolbert walked towards them with a grin that could kill. He looked over to Nova
and saw the frustration in her face. Okay, she’s not too mad I hope, he
thought. But I need to get her off this
ship ASAP before it gets ugly.
“Uh, Homer
why don’t I show you the Captain’s quarters? Lieutenant Commander Tolbert, you
can wait here with Deputy Captain Sandor,” Wildstar didn’t want her near his
room. And the way Nova was looking, he knew it was best to keep them apart.
“Lieutenant Commander Forrester, can you please join us?”
“Yes, sir”
Nova stood up and walked over to Wildstar and Homer giving Tolbert a stare.
They all
went to Wildstar’s quarters so they can talk.
“Shouldn’t
Tolbert be with us?” Homer asked as the three of them walked into the huge
cabin alone.
“Not yet I
like to catch up on old times. We’ll discuss that later in the conference room”
Wildstar was trying to keep her out of his room and away from Nova, they didn’t
need to be in the same room together.
“Whoa,
Wildstar is this your stateroom? This is more for the President or even for
Desslok, where can I get one like this? I got stuck with a ship from the 21st
century, it seems every time I turn around there something that has to be
fixed.”
“That
doesn’t seem like a good thing Homer, are you and your crew ready for this
mission? We will need working ships, how are the other ships in the fleet?”
“Don’t worry
about it Wildstar, we’ll be able to keep up with this cruise liner of yours…”
Homer joked with him.
“She can be
a tad much, but she’s a good ship” Wildstar was embarrassed about his too-plush
ship.
“So what’s
the story with you and Tolbert? Do you think it would have passed me by? Homer
wondering what happened with them, He read her jacket and saw that she was on
the Endeavor with Wildstar and for
some odd reason, which was not specified, she was removed from her duties.
“I’d rather
not get into it now. It’s personal business.” He looked at Nova, who nodded
once, with a grim look on her face and a set jaw.
Homer notice
the look, “Nova…so does that mean keep her far away from you, too?”
“We’ll get
into that another time,” Nova said in
a controlled, tight voice. Then, she smiled formally and said, “It’s nice to
see you, too Homer, how are Wendy and the wedding plans? I’m sorry I can’t be
there to help with them, but being here with Derek right now to help is a bit
more important.”
“I guess
that’s a mind your business and let’s get on with the mission?” Homer said.
“Could be,”
Nova said while playing distractedly with one of the curls by her cheek while
she possessively rested a hand on Derek’s thigh, while thinking, If she gets near you again, Derek, I might
just grind her into mincemeat and sweep her out a damn airlock! But Homer does
not need to know that…
Nova kissed
Derek, who kissed her back after whispering…”Yeah…keep her away…that’s the best
thing all around.”
“Good boy,”
Nova whispered back.
Homer saw
what was going on, and he just said, “Okay, maybe we’ll get into the Tolbert
Story another time, you can’t blame me for being curious, right?” Homer knew
when to back down.
“Right,”
Nova said. “Now, umm…on to more pleasant topics.”
“So who else
is gracing us on this mission?” Wildstar asked.
“Well,
Captain, the EDF sent you 5 frigates, 3 battleships that I am the commanding
officer of as the Captain of the Galaxy
II, 3 destroyers, and a whole load of fighter pilots. They pretty much
almost went all out for you. I can’t
believe that those Bolars and what’s left of the Comet Empire have teamed up.
So how much of the Bolar Federation’s area has Desslok taken control of?”
“It looks
like 97 percent of it, they do have a major base in Sector 8, we’ve manage to
destroy one on planet Mira but Desslok feels that there is another major one in
that area,” Wildstar said.
“Derek, do
you trust Desslok? I mean I know he is a friend now but things can change. He
is not a man to stand back and let Earth take control of his space.”
“We are not
here to over throw the man just to stop the Bolars and the Comet Empire from
coming into our part of the galaxy. And if teaming up with Desslok means
getting rid of them, then so be it.
They’re more of a pain in Desslok’s side than in ours, and before they
come completely over to our part of the Galaxy, it’s best that we take care of
it now rather than later.”
“I see your
point, Wildstar” Homer said. “Well, maybe we need to go to the conference room
and get this meeting started?”
“Yes let’s
go, Nova, you don’t have to be there you pretty much know what’s going to be
said,” Wildstar was hoping she’d stay behind to avoid conflict with Tolbert.
“No, I’ll
go, I promise I’ll behave, its best that I be there anyway just case you need
help with some of the new radar systems,” Nova said with defiance
Wildstar
smiled at the thought of Nova trying to behave with Tolbert. “Well then, let’s get this meeting under way.
The sooner we start, the sooner we get these boogers out of our part of the
Galaxy.”
“Let’s get
this started then, Lieutenant Commander Forrester…ladies first,” Homer bowed
and extended his arm, opening the door.
“Thank you
Homer, I still see that you have some manners” Nova smiled at him.
“Anything
for the lovely lady.”
They all gathered
in the conference room for their meeting. Pesci and Howard walked in together
holding hands and laughing. Tolbert and Sandor stood to the side going over
some reports on Bolar and Cometine bases.
Howard was the first to see her standing there, she pulled on Pesci’s
hand and pointed in her direction. “Oh
shit, this is definitely not good, I wonder if Forrester knows she’s on board?”
“I’m sure
she does, but I’m surprised that Tolbert is still alive. After the crap she
tried on the Captain,” Pesci said, still shocked that Julie had the nerve to
come on the ship.
A second
later Wildstar and Nova walked into the room with Homer. Howard walked over to
Nova, “ Are you okay? I can’t believe that she had the nerve to come back on the
ship after what she pulled.”
“Lieutenant
Howard, this is not the time. Let’s just get this over with, okay? I don’t want
her here any more than you do,” Nova said in a low voice, upset with the fact
that she was on the Endeavor.
Howard knew
that Nova was trying to stay professional for Wildstar’s sake. She could see
that Wildstar was trying to stand as close to her as possible, glancing her way
in between the speeches. The tension
between Wildstar, Nova and Tolbert was thick enough for Homer to notice. He
made a point to himself to find out what the hell happened with the three of
them. This would not be good for the mission, he knew that Wildstar and Nova
could be professional, but he wasn’t so sure about Tolbert. He had been having
a great deal of trouble with her. There were many run-ins with her on the Galaxy II where he had forced to
question her judgment. Many times, he caught her trying to approach him
inappropriately, not taking into consideration that he was in a relationship
with Wendy…and he had been frequently been forced to put her back in her place.
If she had tried that with Wildstar, and Nova had found out, that might explain
everything.
Sandor also
saw what was going on, he notice that Wildstar and Nova tried to stay
professional throughout the meeting. He also notice that Tolbert continue to
stare in Wildstar’s direction and frequently glanced in Nova’s direction with
vicious, piercing eyes. I hope that this doesn’t affect the mission, he
thought.
I wonder what she is thinking right now? Why would she take this mission
knowing that she was relieved of a command post from the Endeavor by the
Captain himself?
“Sandor can
you explain the status of the Bolar base in sector 8, please?” Wildstar said,
looking his way.
“Uh, sorry
what was that?” Sandor was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Wildstar’s
voice.
“Are we
disturbing you, Sandor? We do have a mission to do here, and I need your
thoughts on the Bolar base. Would you
like to share what’s on your mind or is it not related to this mission?”
Wildstar sounded annoyed that everyone’s minds were focused on his and Novas’
personal life rather than on the mission.
“Yessir. In
two days we will be in Sector 8, we already know of the base on Mira and that
base was destroyed, but Desslok and his fleet also have come across another
base here on planet Baynet. Baynet is a small planet at the far end of Sector
8, about the same size as Earth, but with no atmosphere. It’s pretty much a
dead planet, considering that light only hits it for 6 hours a day. If there is
a base there we will only have 6 hours to detect it visually. IQ-9 believes
that it is on this part of the planet and if he is correct, then, it will take
up to those 6 hours to flush them out. The trick is to spot them before they spot
us. If they detect our ships first, then that can cause them to hide further on
the planet and it will take longer taking them out.”
“What do you
suggest that we do, Sandor?” Homer asked
“Well
Wildstar, I guess this is your part,” Sandor said, handing the rest of the plan
over to him.
“Well, you know if our fleet shows up there
all at once…then they will detect us right off the bat. We will have to create
a diversion, with the help of Lieutenant Lugin and his crew. He will patrol the
area in hopes to flushing them out. We will then send in a small recon group under the command of Sergeant Booker
and his team, to locate the base and report it back to us. Sergeant Booker, it
is up to you to disarm that base so as we can get close enough to destroy it.
Lieutenant Lugin will send over some of his men to help you with the mission.
This will be a joint force so there will be no prima donnas on this mission,
understood?”
“Yes, sir,”
Booker replied.
“Very well
then we leave for Sector 8 in 20 hours, everyone to your stations and check
over everything, I don’t want any surprises.” Everyone saluted and left for
their post. Only Wildstar and Nova stayed behind with Sandor.
“Nova, are
you going to be alright with her being here?” Wildstar asked.
“I have no
problem with her, as long as she stays out of my way and does her job.”
Nova spat back with a bitterness in her voice that Derek very seldom heard from
her.
“Derek, I
think that Homer should know about what happened so he can assess the
situation. If there is going to be a conflict between the three of you, then it
can jeopardize the mission. It wouldn’t
be fair to Homer to keep him in the dark about what happened.” Sandor
suggested.
“Nova this
is your call, do you think you can work past this?” Wildstar said while looking
worried.
“Derek you damn well know me better than that, the
mission is first! I have had enough training to be past all that. Like I said
if she does her job and stays on the game plan I don’t have a problem. Sandor…I
think you’re right! Homer has a right to know! It’s not good to keep him in the
dark. As much as I hate airing our
personal lives to him, it is safe to say that if she pulls something, Homer
will least have the heads up.”
“I agree,
Captain”
“Okay I
guess I’ll have some explaining to do, would you like to be there Nova, or
would you rather stay clear of this?”
“I think
I’ll stay clear of this one. Plus I have something to do,” Nova said as she
suddenly came to a decision. She thought, This
has to be done for the sake of the mission. I’m sorry, Derek, but…it has to be
this way. Nova then turned and walked out.
“Well I
guess I’m on my own, Sandor would you like to attend this, or do you have
something to do, too?”
“Wildstar I
think you are definitely on your own with this one,” Sandor patted him on the
back and walked out, leaving Wildstar to stand there and find his thoughts on
how he was going to tell Homer.
“Captain,
what do I owe this pleasure of you leaving your luxury liner to grace me on my
tug boat?” Homer said while laughing. Wildstar
flew his Super Star over to the Galaxy II,
he didn’t want Nova to be on the same ship with Tolbert, she was right not to
come. Not only did Homer meet him on the
flight deck but Tolbert was there also.
“I need to
speak to you in private, is there any where we can talk?”
“Sure,
Wildstar, we can go to my stateroom. Lieutenant Commander Tolbert, please
excuse us and please report back to the bridge,” Homer said.
“Yes sir”
Tolbert looked in Wildstar’s direction and just thought to herself, I wonder
what this is about. Maybe he needs advice on the little Mrs… it didn’t look
like they patched too much up. This could probably work in my favor.
Wildstar and
Homer walked up to Homer’s stateroom. “Whoa Homer, I see you are a little
cramped here, can you even move
around in here? Maybe if you get rid of the bunk and desk you might be able to
stand without bumping into something.”
“Sorry I
don’t have a luxury suite like you. But all I have to do is command a ship.”
“In the
words of Lieutenant Commander Forrester ‘Bite
me’” Wildstar laughed.
“So what’s
up Derek, I guess I’m going to hear the whole story on Tolbert and you?” Homer
was intrigued.
“Yeah, we
spoke about it, and Sandor and Nova both agreed that it wouldn’t be fair to you
to be kept in the dark about this.”
“Sandor is
involved with it? Whoa…this has got to be good. So what has my Deputy Captain
gotten herself into?”
“A mess,
Homer. A BIG mess! As you know from her jacket she was my Deputy Captain for a
short time, and yes, I did request that she be removed from my command. Julie
and I dated back in the Academy and before we left for Iscandar. Things didn’t work out for us; I was almost
ready to propose to her, but then I found out shortly beforehand that she was
playing around with someone else. When I tried to confront her, she called it
off, I guess she didn’t want to get into it with me. She wound up dating some
already commissioned officer, his name was Hartland, Hartfield, or something
like that. Some British guy. Julie told me much later down the road that they
broke up two years later. Anyway, when she came back into my life, I was
shocked to see her standing before me with her orders as Deputy Captain. I
didn’t want her there for Nova’s sake, especially since I had wanted Nova as my
Deputy Captain for that cruise, but the EDF turned me down.”
“And, as for
Tolbert?” Homer said.
“Well, with
her, by the time the EDF sent her to me it was too late. We were leaving the
next morning. I did tell Nova about us but not about our intimacy, I thought it
best not to get her upset over nothing. Well, we seem to be working okay on
board ship…she started a little rough but she picked up pretty good. On the day
the
“I can see
why,” sighed Homer. “That didn’t look good. And, let me guess, Tolbert…?”
“Right.
Tolbert didn’t help any by trying to egg her on with innuendo about me and her.
I knew than that she wanted more from me and she wanted me back in the sack
with her again, and she didn’t care who she hurt in the way. She’s a power
hungry bitch who will use anyone to get her jollies.”
“So that
explains a lot. Wildstar, she has been coming on very strong to me, too….and a
few times, I had to reprimand her. From
my understanding she was one of the many to volunteer for this mission. What do
you propose to do about her?”
“Well maybe
we should both keep an eye on her. I’m not quite sure what to make of her, but
I’m sure that she’s up to no good on this one. One thing I do know. Let’s keep
her and Nova away from each other, preferably on opposite sides of the universe
but that is not likely with everyone working together. I can count on Nova to
stay professional, but I can’t vouch for Tolbert. And if she eggs on Nova I
can’t say what she’ll do to Tolbert. And who can blame her? Hell, Nova and I
ourselves are still trying to get everything patched up.”
“Well I do
believe we have a soap opera situation here, Derek, I’ll do my part in keeping
her clear of Nova, but there may be times when you have to deal with her.
Thanks for the heads up on things, you can pretty much feel the tension in the
air with you three together. So will you
be staying for dinner or you heading back to the Endeavor?”
“I better be
getting back I want to finish some reports before we start heading over to
planet Baynet and I’d like to report back to Nova.” Derek smiled like he was on
a short leash with her.
“I’ll walk
you to the flight deck, then…we can talk over some plans for the strike at
planet Baynet.”
In the
meantime, Nova herself had come to a decision as she carried a seabag into
Denise Howard’s cabin.
“Thanks a
lot, Denise for letting me bunk with you, I know this is short notice but with
this mission I think it’s better to bunk with you than with Derek. I don’t want
him to be distracted from his duties with us living together in one room.”
“Nova, don’t
you think he will be mad if you didn’t even talk to him about it? I mean, you
should have said something to him”
“I know, but
if I try to talk to him about it, he’ll just try to use his ways to persuade me
to stay. This is much better. I have to finish getting something from his room,
be back in a bit.”
Wildstar
walked into his stateroom looking around something
is different here he looked more closely and realized that many of Nova’s
things were no longer in the room.
Wildstar looked in the closet and confirmed that most of her uniforms
were gone. Just then the door swung open and Nova stood there looking at him.
“What’s going on here…Nova are you leaving and not telling me? I’m a little
confused here can you tell me what’s going on?” Wildstar sat there waiting for
an answer.
“Oh Derek I
was hoping that you didn’t get back till after I was completely out. I’m not
leaving you. Not at all.”
“No, then
what’s this then?” Wildstar was starting to get mad. How could she not discuss this with me and just leave.
“Derek, I
think it’s best that I stay with Lieutenant Howard until this is all over. I
don’t want our bumpy relationship to get in the way of the mission. We always
managed to stay professional on ship during cruises, and I don’t want this one
to be any different.”
“But we
could have talked about this first before you snuck out in the middle of the
night! RIGHT?” Derek was starting to
get mad and Nova rarely saw this part of him with her.
“Derek, I wasn’t
sneaking out, I just thought if I talked to you about it you would discourage
me from leaving. I’m doing this for us and for how people percieve us. That
business with Tolbert…it’s created tons of scuttlebutt throughout the whole
fleet. I love you, but I don’t want every single time I step into or out of
your cabin analyzed and spread throughout the whole task force. It’s better
this way. We’ll still be living together at home, of course. When we get home,
we’ll have a lot to catch up on, that’s all,” Nova said with a sad smile.
“I don’t
give a rats ass how people see it, Nova! You could have talked to me first, of
course I would have asked you to stay but I would have understood too. I
thought that at least you would have given me that, Nova! You don’t know how
much I miss you when you’re not here. Our last last mission was so hard on me,
knowing that you were only a few feet away and that I couldn’t be near you.
Just being close to you is just too far away for me. It makes me feel better
with you being right next to me in the same room at night. At least then I know
you’re safe with me.” Derek had tears in his eyes that made Nova want to cry as
well. What was she thinking, not telling him her intentions first? “Besides,
you said, Nova, we don’t keep secrets from each other. Are you gonna be the one
to welch on me now?”
“Oh Derek
I’m so sorry, I just thought it would be better this way, I never wanted you to
feel abandoned!”
“Nova, I
love you too much and I really want you here with me, especially now. I need
you close to me and if it means dealing with the EDF later about it, then so be
it. Who knows what will happen, but I’m not taking that chance again with you
from the last time. I order you to stay.”
Nova just
stood there crying at what he was telling her. She had no idea this would
affect him like this. She did the only thing she knew and that was to just give
into him.
“So are you
going to stay or are you set on leaving me? I promise, I’ll behave myself if
you stay. I’ll be as professional as possible, ma’am!”
Nova laughed
through her tears and just nodded yes. “Good, then let’s go get your stuff and
put it back where it belongs…right next to mine.”
“Oh Derek, I
never meant to ……”
“Never mind
about that, we have too much to do on this mission anyway then to fool around
every other minute.”
“Then at
least let Pesci and Howard bunk together, Derek! They also need whatever time
they have together.”
“Nova, I’ll
see what I can do. But I can’t turn this luxury liner into the Love Boat. EDF
would have a field day with us alone. But I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you
Captain” Nova hugged him and gave him a big kiss. “Well I guess we need to go
get your things then, let’s go Mrs. Wildstar.”
When Howard
saw Wildstar with Nova, she knew right then and there that he walked in on her
moving out and convinced her to stay. “Well I see the Captain won this battle
it was nice rooming with you again…if only for an hour.”
“Lieutenant,
I’ll see what I can do for you and Pesci on living quarters.” Wildstar said.
“Not too
worry sir, I figured that you two have worked many missions on the Argo together and never mixed pleasure
with business. And I intend to do the same, I know it’s taken you two all these
years to work hard and gain the respect of the crew and I’d like to do the same
with Pesci. Nova if you ever need some place to crash, you’re always welcome
here with me. Not that you will stay away from her, sir”
“I’m not
letting her out of my sight this time. I’m glad that you understand. Thank you
Lieutenant,” Wildstar was happy that she was so cool about him and Nova living
together on the ship. Especially now that she was married to Pesci.
“So you two
kids run along I need my space and you’re crowding me, oh and Captain if you
decide to let me and Pesci live together please make sure you let the Doctor
take out that deviated septum of his. A girl needs her sleep.” Howard smiled at
Nova and Derek.
Derek helped
Nova carry her stuff back to his room and placed everything back where it was.
“Now no more talk about you moving out, next time make sure you check with me
first and see how I feel about things.”
“Yes sir,
I’m sorry Derek you’re right, I should have spoken to you first.” Nova looked
into his eyes and just wanted to melt into his arms. Something he always could
make her do when he looked at her that way.
II. THE STORM BEGINS….
The Vicinity of Planet BAYNET
Sector 8
April 30, 2205
“Princess
Devina, please go back to your quarters.
You may be the guest of the Bolar Federation but you are here on a Comet
Empire base.” General Mencri spat.
“General, it
would be nice to see you lose this war that the Bolar Federation and the
Cometines have created with Gamilon. Why don’t you just give up and maybe
you’ll live long enough to see a united universe?”
Princess Devina
was a great descendant of Iscandar. Her mother, Princess Aurora, was the sister
of Starsha’s and Astra’s mother Queen Rena. She had left Iscandar years before
both planets Iscandar and Gamilon were doomed for destruction. When the Bolar
Federation was enslaving smaller planets, Princess Devina’s planet fell into
their path. Her mother had her forces
fight on to the end, but she died protecting her only child. One of the Bolar
Generals, General Hindleman, found Devina hiding in a small closet crying. His
heart melted when he saw her beautiful blue eyes and long golden hair. He never
saw such a pretty little girl. He snatched her up and brought her back to the
ship with him. Since then she has been under the Bolar Federation’s protection,
but on a very short leash, as a “guest” (so-called) of the Bolars.
***************
“Is it necessary for you to destroy everything
on a planet, must you enslave everyone. You know I hate it when you mistreat the prisoners!” Devina spat out to him
“Princess,
if you do not get out of the command center then I will have someone physically
remove you. You are a guest and make sure you don’t forget that. I don’t care
if you are the daughter of General Hindleman, here you are only a guest, NOW
LEAVE!” General Mencri spat out loud.
Devina left
with a pout, while thinking, Someday this ridiculous war will be over and
the Bolasr and Cometines will be defeated. My dear adoptive father was kind but
I cannot stand back and watch this war destroy life on other planets.
“Father, are
you there?” Devine called into the telecommunication video. “I need to speak to
you, Father! AND NOW!”
“What is it
now Devina, I have too much going on here to drop everything and hear you
complain about one thing or another,” General Hindleman said. “Your
self-righteousness can make a man grit their teeth!”
“Father I
cannot stand here and watch while General Mencri attacks unsuspecting ships
trying to make their way for a peaceful life on another colony! Father, please
stop this now while we have a chance. I’m having one of my feelings again that
something will happen on this base that will turn this war around and not in
the favor of the Bolar and Cometines. You know how those feelings are always
right!”
Although he
loved his adoptive daughter very much, she could be a royal pain in the ass. He
would do anything for her except give up the fight for the Bolar
Federation. He sent her out to planet
Baynet where she would be out of harm’s way. But that prove to be more of a
pain in the ass then leaving her here with him. “Devina, everything will be
alright that part of the galaxy is quite safe and you don’t have to worry about
enslaving anything or anyone over there. Just behave and once this is over then
shall I send for you.”
“But Father,
you don’t know what is going on here! General Mencri is enslaving all those
that past…….”
“Enough
Devina, please do not call me for minor complaints. Just stay there and when
this is all over I WILL SEND FOR YOU. I love you my daughter, but there is
nothing I can do about it from here. Now please be a good girl and behave
yourself.”
“Yes,
Father,” Devina said with a defeated voice.
She thought, Okay, father, if you
must do what you have to do, then I’ll do what I must do myself! I have to
think of a way to get off this stupid dry planet… all I need is a diversion.
“Lieutenant
Lugin, are you ready?” Wildstar called into his helmet.
“Yes Captain
Wildstar we are all set on this end, we will start the attack in 5 minutes.
Once you hear the guns go off you have 3 minutes to get that ship on the ground
without being detected.”
“Roger that
Lieutenant,” Derek said. “All fighters…we begin our attack in 5, be prepared to
cover the Cosmo Hound and get it down safely on the planet. The Epsilon will warp us within feet of the
planet’s atmosphere right after their pilots and ours start the diversion.
Howard and I will protect the Hound until it clears their raiders. Howard, are
you ready?”
“Yes, sir,
I’ve just been waiting for this ever since I graduated out of flight school!”
“Just be careful,
Howard, since I don’t want to give Pesci any bad news when I get back. And
that’s an order!” Wildstar said. “Lieutenant Delvechio, Lieutenant Pesci how
are things on your end?”
“Everything
is on schedule, Captain. We are ready with both our pilots and the Gamilons.”
“Very good
then, get ready to warp start countdown Lieutenant Lugin, it’s all in your
hands now.”
“All ships
and pilots get ready for countdown.
Starting countdown 10 …. 9 …. 8 …. 7 ….. 6 ….. 5 …. 4 ….. 3 …… 2 ……1
Warp.
At that, the warp commenced.
“General
Mencri, a fleet of Gamilon fighters and battleships have just come up on the
raider screen!” his raider tech yelled out
“What! Get
our pilots out there. Fire all
guns! Secure all quarters. Attention all
crew attention all crew the base is under attack. Secure your station.” General
Mencri yelled out.
“Okay
everyone here we go, prepare to descend onto the planet” Wildstar yelled into
the helmet.
They
descended down to the planet while the Gamilons distracted the Bolar on another
part of the planet. Wildstar and Howard took front line to make sure that the
Cosmo hound landed safely. It was quick and smooth no enemy fighter were
guarding the area. “This is Sergeant Booker we have made our landing in the
designated area. All is clear and secure, we are now leaving the hound and
making our way to the enemy base.”
“Good
Booker, breaking off radio contact, good luck.
Emergency contact on channel 19” Wildstar confirmed with Booker.
Devina was in her bath back near her
room when she heard the first waves of the guns going off. This is the perfect time for me to get the heck out of here. They’ll be
so busy fighting off whoever and won’t notice me gone for hours. I can take one
of the emergency ships and go undetected. Devina dried off, got out of the
bath, and dressed in her usual blue gown and sandals after picking up a bag
that held a few of her possessions. Then, she ran to the emergency pod room and
slipped into one of the ships. She pressed the release button and the ship took
off.
“Captain did
you see that, it looks like an escape pod, what should we do?” Howard yelled
into her helmet.
“Lets' hang
back and follow it, it could be a civilian in there.” Wildstar replied.
“Roger that,
sir” Howard said.
They
followed the ship as it exited the atmosphere. “Do you think we should make
contact with whomever is inside?” Howard asked.
“Yeah let’s
give a try, call it through Howard” Wildstar said.
“This
Lieutenant Commander Denise Howard of the Black Tiger Squadron from the Earth
Federation space batttleship Endeavor! Who are you, and why are you fleeing the
base? Our guns are trained on you and we demand an answer! OVER!”
Oh no this is not good at all Devina thought to herself.
“Answer me,
who are you and why are you fleeing the base. You need to answer or we will be
forced to bring you down. OVER! RESPOND!”
“No, no
please don’t shoot I’m only try to get away from the Bolar Federation!” Devina
cried out.
“Very well
then, we are going to hook you up with a laser tracker guide and we will drag
you to our ship.” Howard was curious at who was piloting the shuttle.
“Oh please
don’t, I’m just trying to get away from them!” Devina pleaded.
But it was
too late Howard and Wildstar had the tractor beam already attached to her ship.
It took them
15 minutes to get her ship aboard the Endeavor
and once they landed they opened up the hull of the ship. Wildstar was shock to
see someone that looked like Starsha, the same blue eyes and long golden hair
she stood at 5 foot 6 with a thin figure. “Starsha? Is that you”
“I’m sorry
who did you call me? My name is Devina, Princess Devina, that is. I am the
daughter of General Tobo Hindleman. Who are you?” she questioned with fear.
After all she has never seen anyone other than the Bolar people and Cometine.
“I’m Captain
Derek Wildstar, you’re on my space battleship, known as the Endeavor. This is Lieutenant Howard…she
is the one that has been speaking to you.
I’m sorry but you look just like someone we all knew many years ago.
Queen Starsha was her name. She was the Queen of Iscandar.”
“I have
heard of Iscandar that is where my mother was from, she was the queens sister,”
said Devina.
“But how are
you from Bolar descent, then?” Wildstar asked.
“My mother and a few others left Iscandar many
years before there was any danger with both Iscandar and Gamilon. My people,
were crusaders looking for life on other planets. They made refuge on the
Planet Urbia, but when the Bolar Federation began seeking new planets to
conquer my planet was one of the first they sought out and conquered. My mother
was murdered by one of Generals Hindlemans' officers. My mother hid me in a
closet and told me not to come out. General Hindleman found me and showed pity
on me. He took me in as his own child and raised me in the Bolar way. I never
agreed with what the Bolar Federation has done to those that they have
conquered and enslaved, but I have been forced to go along with it. I have
fought with my father tooth and nail for him to stand up to this madness that
the Bolars are creating, but it falls on deaf ears, I have already warned my
father about what will happen if they continue with this, but again he will not
listen! My adoptive father is not a good man, but a very evil man!”
“Your
highness, I knew your cousin Starsha, she was a great leader and she helped our
planet Earth with the Cosmo DNA.”
“Why did she
give you the Cosmo DNA? I’ve heard of it, but…”
“Devina,
Earth was being attacked years ago by the Gamilons, who also needed a new home.
They attacked us with deadly planet bombs that destroyed our oceans and covered
the surface of Earth with deadly radioactive pollution. Earth was dying, until
we received a message from Queen Starsha to come to Iscandar. There, we
retreived the Cosmo-DNA that she gave us, and we removed the Earth’s radioactive
pollution that the Gamilons sent to destroy Earth and all its inhabitants so
that they could take over Earth as their new home. But that was many years ago,
and Earth and Gamilon have long been friends ever since the war ended. Your
cousin Starsha was married to my brother Alex, and they had a child named
Sasha. They died many years ago, but
they still live on in our memory and they are among our greatest heroes,”
Wildstar was still shocked at how much she looked like her cousin Starsha, just
as beautiful.
“Please just
leave me somewhere, when my father finds out that I ran away he’ll move the
universe to find me. He’ll stop at nothing and destroy anyone that might hold
me captive.”
“You are
safe here on the Endeavor , there’s no
need to worry about him.” Wildstar tried to assure her. “Lieutenant Howard,
please escort the Princess to a stateroom, and make sure she is comfortable.
I’ll be on the bridge to check up on our delivery boys.”
“Yes sir,
Your Highness, please come this way,” At that, Howard led her to the stateroom.
“Captain on
the bridge!” Sandor called out.
“Pratt, get
Lieutenant Lugin on the screen…it’s time to pull back our forces. Have we heard
anything from our guys?” Wildstar asked.
“Sir nothing
yet on Sergeant Booker and recon team, I have Lieutenant Lugin on screen, sir”
Pratt said.
“Lieutenant
Lugin, our package has been sent and is now on the way to the destination. It’s
time to bring our forces back, now we just wait for our guys on the ground to
give us the call.”
“I’ll be
waiting for your call and will report the success of this part of the mission
to Emperor Desslok, until then Captain Wildstar.”
“Wildstar
what did you find out there?” Sandor asked. He knew that they encountered a
ship with a civilian aboard but he never who they found.
“Sandor
you’re not going to believe this, but it turns out that the passenger on the
ship is a cousin of Queen Starsha! She is the daughter of Princess Aurora,
Starsha’s aunt, and her name is Princess Devina! She has been with the Bolar
Federation since she was 4 years old. She was raised by a General Hindleman as
his own child, but she looks just like Starsha!” Wildstar explained.
“Are you
sure Derek, it could be a trick!” Sandor was suspicious.
Wildstar
just sat there remembering how she looked. “Sandor, it’s like looking at
Starsha all over again. It’s like seeing a ghost she has the same eyes and the
same face, not to mention the long golden hair and even the same kind of blue
gown. I don’t think this is a trick, I
have Lieutenant Howard babysitting her until I figure out what to do with her.
Nova can you see if she needs anything? Maybe you can fill her in on her cousin
much more then I have.”
“Sure,
Captain, will do” Nova saluted and left to see about Starshas’ cousin.
“Wildstar,
maybe we can take her back to Gamilon and leave her there with Desslok. It is
too dangerous for a young lady like her out here; at least she’ll be safe there
with him” Sandor recommended.
“I was
thinking that also, but if her father is like what she says he is he’ll be
going after her. That would mean Desslok would be putting his planet in more
jeopardy then it is now. I don’t know Sandor it’s a lot to ask of him” Wildstar
was trying to decide what was the best option for her.
“Lieutenant
Pratt, put me thru to Desslok on Gamilon. Right now!” Wildstar ordered.
“Yes, sir!”
TO BE
CONTINUED…