Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

Stepping closer, he said, “That’s exactly what I think.”

She watched him warily and raised her hands as if ready to enter a combat stance.

Maddox’s grin widened. He had been far too engaged with the quest these past weeks to try something like this. Now… well, why not press this beautiful creature against his chest? More than ever, he found himself wanting to kiss her and have her passionately kiss him back.

“Don’t try it,” Meta warned.

Maddox moved in, and Meta thrust a knee at this groin. He blocked with his leg but the crash of her knee against his thigh caused him to stagger back.

Meta laughed as Maddox regained his balance. “I warned you,” she said, and there was humor in her eyes.

“You did warn me,” he said. “Yet, that’s why I asked you to come out here.”

“For me to thrash you?” she asked.

“No,” he said, “to show you the power of persistence.” He moved at her again. Once more, she thrust a knee at his groin. He slipped to the side so her strike failed to connect. That caused Meta to lose her balance. She stumbled as he moved back, catching her in his embrace. For a moment, Maddox held the stunning woman in his arms. He felt her against him, and he bent his head, kissing her.

The Rouen Colony woman melted into his embrace. She gripped him, giving him a rib-shifting hug.

“Are you sure about this, Captain Maddox?” Meta whispered, staring into his eyes.

He almost lost his breath from her hug. Instead of admitting defeat—she kept squeezing—he hugged her back with his considerable strength. Then, he bent his head again and kissed her longer than before. This time, she returned it as the power of her hug lessened to something tolerable.

“Meta,” he whispered.

“Captain Maddox,” she said back.

He liked the sound of her voice. He liked the feel of her against him even better.

After a time, he released her. She also let go of him and swept her fingers through her hair.

He debated telling her not to give up hope. An instinctive part of him realized she might believe he’d done all this just to keep her going. This wasn’t the moment to tell her to keep trying. Maybe this wasn’t a time for words. Sometimes, a person simply needed to be wanted, to belong to another.

“In the end,” she told him, “we can’t win. You know that, right?”

Surprised at her words, he raised an eyebrow.

“That’s why I let you do what you just did,” she said. “It’s only fair that I tell you, Captain. I took a vow long before this. My past won’t allow me the kind of emotional attachment you’re craving.”

“Me?” asked Maddox.

Meta nodded sadly. “I am what I am. That can’t ever change. I was an assassin, and I did whatever I had to in order to succeed for my world.”

“What does any of that have to do with this?” he asked.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a nice person. I’m a killer with a pretty face. You’re… a unique man. I could learn to like you too much. That won’t do.”

He frowned at her.

“I don’t want to be hurt, you see. You’re the kind of man who unintentionally hurts women. I’ve had to armor myself for the things I’ve done. To let a man like you past the armor would destroy me. Of course, I’m already destroyed, but you don’t want to hear about that. None of this matters, though, because we’re doomed to die out here.”

Maddox scratched his cheek. For a moment, he wondered if his difference from others meant he could never know love as regular people did. Meta was unusual, and she kept herself emotionally separate from others. Is that why she despaired now?

“You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?” Meta asked.

Maddox had an inkling of what she wanted to hear. So he shook his head.

“You’re lying,” Meta said softly. “You think you don’t have to pay the bitter price of your power, your unusual abilities. In this, I see more clearly than you do.”

Maddox let himself go blank so nothing showed on his face. Meta wasn’t going to be easy, he could see. So be it. What was the right move now? Hmm… yes, he believed he knew.

The captain squared his shoulders. “Let me ask you a question.”

“Yes?” she asked.

“If we’re doomed, as you say, why not strive with every fiber in you to defeat the night? Why go quietly down to death? Let’s fight oblivion together. Let’s fight to live longer and do more than simply quit. If you admit defeat, the game is already up. If you strive, well, who knows, maybe we’ll produce another wonder.”

Meta turned away.

Maddox waited. He’d made his attempt for now. He had time, and he had a hunter’s patience. He wanted her, and he was going to get her.

“Yes,” Meta said, looking up. “Let’s try. What do we have to lose?”

Won one and lost one, with the opportunity to continue the game. That’s not bad for playing a hunch .

Maddox verbally agreed with Meta. Then they returned to the starship’s wardroom.

Two days later on the bridge, Lieutenant Noonan sat back in frustration. She had spent the last forty-eight hours trying to figure out how to use some of the instrument panels in order to scan the nearest star systems.

Captain Maddox used a thin metal rod to press tentacle-slot controls. He had become more cautious since accidentally locking them in here and draining the atmosphere a day ago. At the last moment, he’d figured out how to reverse what he’d done.

“Sir,” Valerie said.

Maddox looked up. His features had become even gaunter than usual, with the beginning of circles around his eyes.

“We have to be realistic,” Valerie said. “I’m not going to figure out these instruments before our food runs out. Sure, we can keep going as we starve, but I don’t think we’ll use our wits very well by that point.”

“Defeatism isn’t going to solve the problem,” he said in an irritated voice.

“I’m not admitting defeat,” Valerie told him. “I’m saying we’re going about this the wrong way.”

“I’d be delighted to hear your suggestion for a more productive avenue.”

“You’re not going to like it,” she said.

“That doesn’t matter. If it works, at this point, that’s all that counts.”

“I agree with you there,” Valerie said. “In my opinion, we have to reactivate the AI. It can communicate with you and it can make the ship do what it wants. Given our limited window of opportunity, I don’t see any other way than semi-reactivating the AI and using it like a rider uses the reins on a horse.”

Maddox frowned. “You want to give control of the vessel back to the AI?” he asked.

“First, we have to dumb it down,” Valerie said. “Or, we have to change its coding so it listens to our orders instead of thinking it can make the commands.”

Maddox snorted. “That would be immeasurably more difficult than learning how to use the ship’s sensors ourselves.”

“Maybe you’re right if you mean for someone like me,” Valerie said, “but not for Doctor Rich. She could figure out how to do what I’m suggesting”

“That’s preposterous,” Maddox said.

“I have to disagree with you, sir. There’s something uncanny about Dana. She has a sixth sense about these things. As you’ve said before, she’s a genius.”

Maddox flipped his thin control rod into the air, catching it. “Do you trust her?” he asked suddenly.

“Dana? Of course, I trust her. She doesn’t want to die any more than you do.”

“That’s not what I mean. Can we trust her to stick with the team, with following my orders? What’s your gut feeling?”

“I don’t know,” Valerie admitted. “That’s a good question. She has issues. That’s for sure.”