Chapter Twenty-Two
With the final checklists completed, fully stocked with supplies and the crew onboard, orders and mission confirmed, they left space dock the following morning. There was a minor personnel snag with the Dauntless, which would depart a few hours later, but it wasn’t something that necessitated the Odyssey’s delay, however, since they were now fully equipped with defense capabilities.
As such, they departed on schedule, streaking across the heavens toward a small one-starred solar system in a far-off galaxy with a crew of one hundred Primarian warriors, equal the number in-flight crew, two hundred Earth females, many not happy to be guests aboard their own ship, two seriously ticked-off and very at odds captains, and one seven-foot-tall commander trying to referee all of it.
It started with Maggie almost the moment they boarded when Roth introduced Dayne, the captain selected to see them safely to Earth.
Her face paled while her jaw clenched. In the next moment, the bloom, usually so becoming on her lovely face, rushed back to become a riot of color, such was her anger. He recognized it easily.
“A word, if you please,” she bit out then walked away without waiting to see if he followed.
“Is there a problem with your mate, Commander?” Dayne asked.
“When isn’t there a problem with my mate, Captain?” Roth quipped in response. The man nodded with sympathy, and Roth wished he could retract his words. Change of any kind was often difficult; Maggie and her crew had been struck with a nonstop barrage of changes for weeks. In her shoes, he wouldn’t have been anywhere near as accepting. “I’ll deal with it, Dayne. Go about your duties and get us underway.”
“Yes, sir.”
Roth walked to the doors in the rear of the landing bay, where he’d watched Maggie exit. Once in the corridor, he found her waiting at the end of a short hall. As he approached, she turned down another offshoot that was a dead end and formed a small alcove. Quiet, private, and perfect for his infuriated mate to let her outrage fly.
“Care to explain that?” she demanded, jabbing a finger toward the hall they had only a moment ago traversed.
“Tone, Maggie.”
His warning went unheeded as he figured it would; she was working herself up to a predestined outcome. No matter the circumstance, as her mate, and the male in the equation, he would have her respect.
“I cannot believe you would hand someone else the control of my ship when I am standing right here.”
“Your role has changed.”
“Yes, now that I’m mated, I’ve suddenly lost my brain and ability. How silly of me to forget?”
He stepped forward, pleased to see she didn’t retreat in fear, he didn’t want that, yet some caution was warranted if she planned to sit comfortably at any time in the next few days.
“The sarcasm needs to stop because I am close to bending you over my knee here and now. Your brain and ability haven’t changed; who you are to me has. Now or six weeks from today, your job as a ship’s captain has ceased. We’ve talked about this. You will travel with me, Maggie, but not as a member of the crew and certainly not as a captain.”
“What will I be when I travel, exactly?”
“My mate, as you have been this past week, and as you will be in the future.”
“As I have been,” she repeated frostily.
He arched his brow in question.
“So, to clarify, my role on the Odyssey is to be your sex slave.”
“What?”
“All I’ve done this past week, it seems, is spread my legs for you.”
“That’s enough.” He grabbed her wrist and started walking.
“Is it? I don’t know. Perhaps, since it is the only thing I am good for, I should consider expanding my skill set. I know, I could also spread my lips. How do you prefer your slave? On my knees before you, or in the bed with me bending over you?”
“I said stop, Maggie.”
“Why?” she asked while blinking up at him with false innocence. “Haven’t you ever heard of performance improvement, Commander? Since this is what I do now, I sure want to be the best freaking sex slave in all of Primaria and make you damn proud.”
“If you say, slave, one more time—”
“You’ll what, spank me? Or maybe, being true to the new role I play, you should haul out your whip, master, and lash me like one?”
Beyond frustrated, and before he acted on temptation and did exactly that, he stopped talking and moved faster. She was beyond reason at this point, and it was a waste of breath trying to get through. His long legs ate up ground quickly, leaving her shorter ones hurrying to keep up, which was his plan all along. She couldn’t carp at him while out of breath from running.
A fraction of the size of the Dauntless, in no time, they arrived at the captain’s quarters, her old rooms, which they would be sharing for the duration of their journey to Earth. Activating the sensor that had been programmed for him and Maggie, he dragged her inside and released her.
“Stay here until you can act like a reasonable adult. Until then, I’ll be on the bridge, observing. You are welcome to join me if you can keep a civil tongue in your head, as well as be respectful of the male officers on this ship. Otherwise, you can keep to this room and nurse your snit. But I warn you, my tolerance for your attitude is at an end. If you choose to remain and sulk, like a stubborn, insubordinate brat, do so with the understanding that I will act to improve both your mood and tone, upon my return. Got it?”
He didn’t wait for her reply, leaving as quickly as he’d arrived. As he rounded the corner that took him into the main hall, he heard a loud crash followed by a shower of glass and a feminine scream of frustration.
“Likely she wished that was my head,” he muttered, drawing strange looks from some of the crew as they passed. Had she thought she would have command of the ship and his men? It made no sense. In six weeks, they would hand over the Odyssey to her government, and she’d be without a ship, anyway.
“Females,” he grumbled, as he waited for the lift.
“Troubles, Commander?”
He hadn’t realized someone had come up beside him until Mordrun spoke. Kerr, still recovering, wasn’t ready for the lengthy trip, and someone needed to remain home. Therefore, he sent a contingency of trusted Primarian leaders: two elders, a full medical team—just in case—and had also designated several Earth females in favor of the treaty between their two worlds and species, to act as mediators. Maggie was one of them and had evidently forgotten the important role she played in all of this. Now, after her angry outbursts and bitter words today, he wondered if she’d have the temperament needed to advocate for both sides.
“Kerr weathered the storm, but it took almost dying, for his mate to come around. They are an exceedingly obstinate species, I’ve noticed.”
Roth didn’t care for the elder’s condescending tone, and bristled, though he tried to curb the anger in his response. “Wouldn’t we be, if the roles were reversed? We didn’t give an inch when it came down to taking them to serve our purpose.”
“Your idea, as I recall.”
“Not initially, Mordrun. I wasn’t part of the hunt when the first eight were taken.”
“No, you did, however, argue eloquently that the rest of them were the salvation of our people. Whether that is true, remains to be seen. I understand Jarlan is monitoring some early conceptions, which is promising.”
“I hadn’t heard that. It is good news.”
“Yes, but only if these anomalies with the mating process are not replicated with conception and delivery of healthy Primarian children. Time, as I said, will tell. As for you and the strife with your mate, let’s hope it doesn’t come down to something so extreme as life and death, for you and the former captain.”
“I’m sure she will settle in,” Roth assured him. “Being back on her ship, in what she sees as an inferior position, has stung her pride.”
“Mm…yes, I imagine. As their leader, despite being female, the government of their people will surely look to her for advice. We need her. You have six weeks to get her in line with our way of thinking.”
He frowned at the elder. A kinsman of his Princep and a member of the council, Roth was obligated to show him due respect, but the man was pushy, and his approach to problem-solving grated on his nerves. He recalled all the times Kerr had been sorely tempted to exile the man to the southern mountains, and now, he understood why. If his leader had selected Mordrun for the lengthy mission merely to give himself a reprieve from the elder’s off-putting manner, he and the Princep would be having words.
“I will take care of my mate, Mordrun. She will do her duty to her people and will respect the treaty Kerr has proposed. Maggie recommended many of the details written in the alliance document. Have no fear, when the time comes, she will be ready.”
“I certainly hope so. This is a long way to travel to have our business tripped up by a single female controlled by unpredictable quirks of emotion. Although, as you say, I’ll leave that up to you.” After prodding him successfully when his anger was already on a thin thread, the elder calmly walked away.
Exile was too good for him. Snapping him in two like a twig, now that had merit.
Before the anger boiling inside him overflowed, Roth did an about-face, moving off in the opposite direction of the lift that would take him to the bridge. Several turns and down one level brought him to the room he was seeking.
“Lights on,” he called as he entered the black space. When nothing happened, he cursed beneath his breath and cautiously made his way across the room, running his fingers over the wall in search of the control panel. They hadn’t had much time to prepare and had to prioritize upgrades. Making nonessential areas voice active didn’t make the cut.
Locating the touchpad, he brought up the lights and immediately got to the reason for being here. He stripped his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Approaching his quarry, he started in with a flurry of jabs, punches, and kicks, taking out his frustration on the heavy bag in the small gym instead of the elder’s face, or his mate’s impertinent behind, even though both were deserving of some form of discipline.
After an hour, although winded and covered in sweat, he was in much better spirits. He headed to their room to shower, change, and perhaps talk some sense into his mate. When he entered, he found no evidence of whatever she had sent crashing into the door or the wall, and Maggie was nowhere in sight. The bedroom was empty, the linens untouched. Grumbling about defiant, ill-disciplined, unreasonable females, he showered quickly, and with a tenuous hold on his temper—the hour on the heavy bag now negated—went in search of his disobedient mate.
***
He found her in the most likely place, the bridge.
As soon as he walked in, he heard two voices arguing, one male, one female. The rest of the twenty-some people in the command center were silent, the tension so thick it could be sliced with a knife and served up in thick, juicy pieces.
“Decrease engines to half-speed, helm,” Maggie ordered from where she stood at the rail of the observation deck. “Going around the debris will be safer,” she said to the captain with crisp authority.
“And take who knows how long? We are on a tight schedule; the Princep is expecting progress in two months’ time, not two years. Stay on course, navigation.”
The countermanding of her order came from Dayne, who was already sounding frazzled. He was apparently unsure how to handle the unique situation of having his orders questioned, especially by the former captain of the ship he commanded. The fact that she was female and mated to his commander was likely compounding the problem.
“The alternate route will take two days, Captain, not two years,” Maggie ground out in response. “We might not get there at all if we sustain damage from those huge meteor fragments.”
“Due respect, Commander’s mate.” Dayne’s constrained voice and stilted address told Roth her relationship to him was the only thing keeping the man from throwing her bodily off his bridge. “The shields have been upgraded. We can take hits ten times the size of the largest rock and still sail through unscathed.”
She stiffened, her argument obviously not based on this previously unknown information, and she didn’t have anything more to say. Instead, she stared at the screen as the nav-com took them straight ahead into the heart of a meteor storm.
Cast in a reddish vapor of dust and fine particles, the space rocks whipped by from a horizontal radiant at a rapid speed, ranging in size from small pebbles to huge boulders. Without the upgrade, Maggie was right; they very likely would have damaged the hull, perhaps punctured it if a jagged rock hit at the right angle, not to mention taking hits to less resilient exterior structures. But Dayne was an excellent captain and with full knowledge of the capabilities of his ship, made the right call.
As a precaution, Roth moved in behind her and was glad he did, when they were immediately struck twice in quick succession. The ship shimmied with the impact and when a third much larger rock hit, they lurched a bit. Maggie braced her legs; even so, her slight build was insufficient to absorb the impact, and she staggered forward, reaching out for the rail with both hands. Roth was ready, however, and slipped an arm around her waist, keeping her upright. She didn’t react except to look back at the screen, watching expectantly as more objects came flying at them. As the shields held and the meteors bounced off the invisible barriers like a billiard ball from a bank shot, she relaxed in his hold, albeit slightly.
“It can be unnerving to ride through the first time,” he murmured near her ear. “But Dayne is correct; this is not a problem for the new shields. He knows what he is doing.”
“I wasn’t informed about the upgrades.”
“Since you are no longer the captain, there was no need.”
She tilted her chin up and glared at him, saying between clenched teeth, “You cannot imagine how much it galls me not to be in control of my own ship. Or to be in the dark about changes. If I had been aware—” Her voice cracked with emotion, and she took a moment, as well as a deep breath, to regroup. “I know this ship like the back of my hand. Three years, I’ve been in charge without mishap. No one is more qualified than me.”
“You need to stand down, Maggie. We’re in good hands with Dayne in command.”
“Merely good?” she retorted peevishly. “How fortunate for us.”
His arm tightened around her in warning. “This is too difficult; you will return to our quarters.”
Her body jerked in surprise. “You’re dismissing me? From my own bridge?”
“No longer your bridge. What is it going to take for you to comprehend that?” His words were clipped on the end as he tired of repeating the same argument. The woman in his arms was angry, however, and not paying heed to the signs of his waning patience, or perhaps didn’t care.
Her eyes blazed with fire, although when she replied, she did so with an icy tone. “Until we turn over the ship at the end of our voyage and the USIF relieves me of command, the Odyssey is mine, and as such, this will remain my bridge, Commander.”
“Since that is your intractable position, go below, now. I’ll join you shortly, and we’ll finish this discussion.”
She opened her mouth, stopped short of what she had planned to say, and snapped it shut again. Glancing around, she took in his men, many of them watching the standoff, including Dayne.
He bent to speak near her ear. “Don’t make this dispute more public than it already is. Now, do as I ordered, and go.”
Hands in tight fists at her sides, she spun to face him. With a glare so intense the lavender flecks sparked in pools of brilliant blue, a becoming flush filled her cheeks, and her usually full lips compressed flat. She was undeniably livid and more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. But she was challenging him directly in front of his men.
He pulled her up against him, the hand at the small of her back dipped no more than a fraction as he leaned low to whisper, “The rail in front of us appears quite sturdy, mate, and is the right height for me to bend you over.”
Maggie jerked in his hold. “You wouldn’t!”
“Challenge me further and find out.”
“I would never forgive you; besides, you said you wouldn’t punish me in public.”
“That was before this show of insubordination. I have ordered you twice to go below. Do so now, or I will treat you to twenty swats on your defiant little backside.”
There was a chuckle from one of the men, which prompted Roth to anger. “Silence,” he barked.
It may have been his only saving grace, for if he had encouraged their amusement at her expense, he didn’t know if she would have absolved him of such an unforgivable sin. As it was, she held his gaze for a count of five, before she had control of her tongue then breathed in deep, and bit out between clenched teeth, “Aye, aye, Commander.”
This time, when she attempted to pull away, he released her. Without looking right or left, and making no further eye contact with anyone whatsoever, especially him, Maggie walked calmly from the bridge. And damn if she wasn’t a sight to behold.
The only sound on the bridge after the door closed behind her was Roth’s emphatic curse. “Faex!”