Disclaimers: None. If you're still reading my stuff at this point, you pretty well know what you're getting into.  If you don't have an open mind or if you find something you think needs disclaiming, you are still more than welcome to let me know.  It won’t change anything, but it may make you feel better.   Ugliness will earn you a smack to the back of your head.

Thanks: To Phil for reading through this for me to pick up Pink & Fluffy’s dropped letters and missed quotation marks.  Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better person to beta read for me. Her diligence and long-suffering is greatly valued as Pink and Fluffy tend to leave a trail of missing pieces, and her contribution to making this a better read is much appreciated.  All errors belong strictly to me.  

Author’s Notes: Oh. My. God.  I never thought, when I first started this story in May of 2013, that it would go on for over five years.  However, despite everything - Aphrodite hijacking the story; two and a half years of not really writing; moving clear across the country and readjusting to… everything - this sucker is finally done. It’s not the story I expected - or planned - to write.  But it is what it is.  Thanks to those of you who stuck around and made it to the end… especially Phil and Mac.  Hope to see you all again on the flip side.

Bonus points if you know where the title of this story came from.

The Storyteller’s Cardinal Rule is in effect.

                                             Favors of Fortune – Part Six
                               Caught in the Storm
                                                                                                          By D



Prologue

“It’s a lot more real out here now, isn’t it?” Arianna asked quietly as they cast a final glance at the planet receding behind the slow moving carrier.  The rest of the Alpha team had immediately dispersed to their ship as soon as Ian had docked the shuttle in the huge carrier bay.  Only Eli and Arianna had remained behind to say goodbye to Ian, Nathaniel and Joseph.  The boys knew not to take too long, though Joseph did take a minute longer with Eli while Ian and Nathaniel passed on some brotherly advice to Arianna, giving her a chip with a significant look and an admonishment to view it privately at her discretion.  It only took a moment, then each young man had gotten a hug and a final goodbye before standing at attention and snapping off a crisp salute.  Eli had nodded her acknowledgement of their respect and they had smiled and whirled around to exit the shuttle bay without a backwards glance.  She and Arianna had paused for a minute to look out the viewport before they crossed the deck to enter their ship.

“It is.  When we were here before....”  Eli shrugged.  “I never saw this,” motioning to the window.  “Never took the time to look.  I was too busy with preparations and....”  She smiled shyly.  “... other things,” grinning when Arianna blushed.  “I’m glad I got to share this with you now.”  She wrapped an arm around Arianna’s middle and sighed in contentment when Arianna snuggled even closer into her.

“Me too.  It’s amazing,” Arianna agreed with a smile before her expression became melancholy and her hold on Eli tightened.    Eli frowned and looked down.

“Angel?”

Arianna shook her head.  “I was just wishing things had been different.  Not for us,” she hastened before Eli could interrupt.  “I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the galaxy... known or otherwise.  But I do wish things had been different where Malcolm and my papa are concerned.  I’m pretty sure that’s going to cause Mama nothing but heartache.”

“I think Mary and her team will be able to handle the fallout.  Besides, MaTb won’t let her stand alone, and I’m confident she will rally the others to stand behind her as well.”

“Why?  She doesn’t even know Mama.”

“No, but she does know the truth of what has happened on this project since day one... well, most of it anyway,” Eli added with a hint of a blush.  “She still doesn’t know the whole truth of what happened between us and never will, but she has no need as that really has no bearing on the mission.  Project details?  I shared a number of things with her as I could and the rest I kept in a diary that I gave to her after we ate yesterday when we spoke alone.”

“You think she’ll read it before tomorrow?”

Eli nodded.  “She already has.  Remember that she left us alone with OeTU for a little while?” waiting for Arianna to acknowledge the event.  “She skimmed through it then... enough to get a clear idea of what we knew anyway.”

“Amado, she wasn’t gone very long.”

Eli smiled.  “She didn’t need to be.  Who do you think I got my reading and comprehension skills from?  MaTb is considered one of our greatest minds.  She soaks in information like a sponge.  I’m convinced MaTb spoke to the others while Ms... Mama was downstairs with the Alpha team.”

Arianna sighed.  “I’m going to miss them.  I never knew what having a family could be like and now....”

“Now you still have a family.  Part of it is with you,” gesturing toward their ship, “and part of it we had to leave behind for now,” pointing out the viewport.  “It’s all part of growing up.  But we’ll keep working on our communications array and Joey will be doing the same, and with a little luck they won’t be gone from us for too long.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for sooner rather than later then,” Arianna said as she yawned.  Eli hugged her gently.

“Tired, Angel?”

“Very much.”  She turned in Eli’s arms and wrapped her arms around the slim green neck.  “Do you mean to tell me you’re not?”

Eli chuckled.  “I am and yet I’m not.  Right now I’m running on adrenaline, I think.  Between our wedding and seeing our families for the last time and sneaking out and actually finally leaving and beginning this mission, I’m buzzing along pretty well at the moment.”

“Is that why you sent everyone but Jake to bed?”

Eli nodded.  “Yes.  We’re going to have to work in shifts for a while and if everyone can be well-rested and alert, so much the better.  I’ll be fine for a little while.  I thought we could stay up together, but perhaps....”

Arianna glowered at her.  “Don’t even think of finishing that sentence.  I can stay up with you for a little while at least.  If it becomes too much, I’ll go to bed.  But hopefully it will be peaceful to begin with – at least while we get our space legs under us.”

“I’m pretty sure Ma...ma is going to cause enough havoc in her meeting with the Council to keep attention off of us for a while.  With a little luck it will be too late to find any trace of us by the time they get a chance to look.”

“And I think I have something that will make us even more difficult to find.”  Arianna dropped her arms from around Eli’s neck and clasped her hand instead.  “Come, Amado – it is time for us to begin our adventure.”  With brilliant smiles, they turned their backs to the viewport and their past and boldly walked toward their ship and the future.


Chapter I

There was still a bit of activity onboard the Outreach when Eli and Arianna stepped onto the ship.  Excitement was running high and everyone was trying to get their stuff into their rooms and settled down into some semblance of order. The carrier still had a ways to go before it reached the outer edge of the solar system so Eli knew she had a little while to try and get things calmed down.  She stood for a moment at the end of the residential hallway, holding tightly to Arianna’s hand and smiling at the enthusiasm so apparent on the faces of each of her teammates despite their obvious exhaustion.  Esther and Jacob caught sight of them first and a cheer went up that grew exponentially louder as each member of the Alpha Team discovered the reason.  Eli blushed and ducked her head to hide the smile that crept onto her face.  Arianna lifted her chin until their eyes met and Eli’s smile expanded into a grin that was echoed in Arianna’s expression.  She allowed herself to bask in it for a moment, then turned her attention to her loudly cheering friends.  She held up a hand for silence, and after another long moment, they all quieted and gave her their attention.

“I know, I know!” she exclaimed with a smile.  “If it wasn’t for the fact I’d probably humiliate myself, I’d be doing a happy dance around the ship myself,” Eli confessed amid much good-natured laughter.  She laughed herself and shook her head.  “That being said, I really do need everyone but Jake to make an effort to get some sleep now.  We’re going to need everyone work at peak proficiency for a rather long extended period of time and to do that....”  She shrugged her shoulders.

Eden bit her lip – she really wanted to stay up and see them leave the shuttle bay for parts unknown, but she knew as Eli’s second that she more than the rest had to step up and be responsible.  It was going to take all of them working together to make this mission successful and they needed to start out right.  It only took a bare second for those thought to race through her brain before Eden nodded.  “You’re right, Boss.  It’s up to us now.  Do you have a working schedule ready?”  Eli cocked an eyebrow in Eden’s direction, and the entire room snickered.  Eden rolled her eyes.  “What am I saying??  Of course you do.  Hand it over,” extending her hand and snapping her fingers for Eli’s Pad.

The moment she had it in her grasp, Eden was surrounded by her teammates and she immediately enlarged it enough so everyone could read it.  She nodded her head as a finger traced down the list before she allowed her eyes to meet Eli’s.

“Fair enough?” Eli asked.

“Very much so,” Deborah answered before Eden could speak.  “I like the fact that you adapted Mary’s scheduling system.  If we’re going to be working constantly for the next few months while we search for a new home, I’d prefer this schedule.  I like the twelve-hour shift rotations.  Good job, Eli!”

“Thanks, Deb.  If the twelve hour shifts don’t work out, we’ll go back to the eights like Ms Wellesly ran, but I’d like to try this one first.  I’d like to have time to actually relax before I sleep as opposed to....”

“Boss, we get it,” Eden cut in with a smirk.  “And we agree.  The schedule looks good.  We’ve got plenty of overlap with someone coming on every six hours - shouldn’t be a problem for any of us.  But that means it’s bedtime for most of us, boys and girls.”

“But we wanted....”

Eli held up a hand as protests ran around the room, immediately realizing her selfishness.  “I’m sure everyone would like to witness the real beginning of our journey together.  To that end, despite my request that everyone get to bed as soon as possible, I think once you’re done putting your things away, everyone should gather on the bridge to watch our departure from the Storm Surge and this solar system.  I only ask that you retire to your rooms as quickly as possible once we’ve made the jump to translight speed.”

The cheers this time made Eli blush a deep green they had never seen before, and that just made the cheers grow louder.  She and Arianna escaped the residential level a moment later and the Alpha Team resumed their activities, hastening to join their comrades on the bridge.

************

Jacob beat them to the bridge – only because he headed directly there and they had made several stops along the way.  Still, it was just them when Jake took the pilot’s seat and Eli assumed the conn.  Arianna took the chair beside Jake to monitor the engine room and the three sat in silence for several minutes before Jacob spoke up.

“So, Boss – where are we going?”

“Well, since I don’t suppose ‘out there, thataway’ is actually a viable heading or destination choice....”

“It could be if we wanted to make the ship our home on a more permanent basis, but....”

“Exactly.  I don’t think anyone wants to remain space borne longer than is necessary.  We’ve already spent too much time waiting to do this.”

“Why don’t we go to the asteroid?”  Eli’s eyebrow went up at Jacob’s question and he felt the need to continue.  “No, I’m serious.  I’m sure Mary’s gonna tell those pompous windba... <ahem> the Committee Members and Councilmen that we’re off the grid and headed to ‘destination unknown’.  So wouldn’t that make the asteroid the best place for us to actually go?  Especially since it’s already been charted for us and we know what to expect?”

Arianna opened her mouth to retort, but Eli shook her head gently and Arianna’s jaw snapped shut.  Jacob kept his attention on Eli.  Eli wiped a hand down her face and took a deep breath before meeting Jacob’s eyes kindly.  “Jake, did you read any of the information you gave to me to give to Mary?”

He shrugged.  “A little – enough to know there was some pretty shitty stuff coming from some pretty high up folks.  Oh... and the part about the mercenaries.”

“But you didn’t read it?”

“Nah; I mostly skimmed it to make sure I’d gotten what we needed, then I passed it off to you.  Why?  What does this have to do with going to the asteroid?”  Eli and Jake were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t see the others enter the bridge, but Arianna did.  She put a finger to her lips and Eden nodded, motioning to each person as they crossed the bulkhead.

Eli sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose briefly before allowing her gaze to return to Jacob’s.  “I read it.  I read it all before I gave it to Mary.  Even if she hadn’t suggested we go elsewhere, we still wouldn’t be going to the asteroid,” holding up a hand to stop his question when his lips parted.  “As she so rightly pointed out, putting people on or at the asteroid to ambush us would be their best last resort if they were unable to derail or destroy the project before then.  Why would we think they wouldn’t make that last attempt?”

Jacob cocked his head at her.  “You think they did?”

“I’m certain enough that I won’t risk us running into them there, and you know how I feel about standing up and fighting my battles.  It’s not like we’ve got the weapons to deal with an army of mercenaries or a fleet of pirates.  This is still primarily a science vessel.  And I will not risk the lives of the team on a maybe.”

Jacob held up his hands in surrender.  “All right, Boss; all right.  I guess I should have read those reports a little closer.  I just....”

“We’re all a little scared, and that’s okay.  This is new and exciting and terrifying and any other number of crazy, humanoid emotions.  But we’re going to find a new place to call home and then we’re going to succeed beyond our wildest dreams!”

Jake snickered.  “I dunno... my dreams can be pretty wild,” waggling his eyebrows.  Laughter rang out across the bridge and the rest joined in Eli’s mirth.  She looked around, surprised she was just noticing them for the first time.

“He’s right, you know,” Eden chimed in.  “I’ve been witness to more than a few of his nocturnal imaginings.  We don’t even want to go to that side of wild, Boss.”

Eli shook her head and wiped her eyes.  “Oh my gods... I needed that,” feeling the tension that had been part of her for so long easing in the face of her comrades’ joviality.  “That being said, I do have a few ideas about our heading and destination, but this is something I think we need to decide as a group.”

“Can I ask a question first?” Naomi queried, tentatively raising her hand.

“Sure, Mimi,” Eli gestured with a smile.  “The floor is yours.”

“I don’t want to sound like a worried willy or anything but can we actually manage to hide from these people if they decide to come after us?  Common sense says they will, right?  Whether we go to the asteroid or not, the people who want this program to die will send someone after us.”

“What’s your point?” Deborah asked with a touch of impatience in her tone.

Naomi sighed.  “Whether they leave the asteroid and come searching or they’re sent from this or another planet, the odds are we’re still going to have people looking for us.  How do we hide from them?  How do we become undetectable to the scans of the satellites and defense systems of the inhabited planets we’ll pass by before we reach uncharted space?  Even if we had a reasonably efficient cloaking system, we still leave a signature trail.”

“Actually, I have a solution to that,” Paul spoke up unexpectedly, “thanks to Arianna.”

“It worked then?” Arianna asked with excitement in her voice.

“Um hmm,” Paul hummed with a smile.  “Like a charm.”

“Would either of you care to enlighten the rest of us?” Eli asked so sweetly both Arianna and Paul cringed.  They knew that sound meant nothing good.

“Um... yeah, yeah, “ Paul stuttered nervously when Arianna motioned for him to continue.  “The other day when we got shipped up here from the mountain, some of us got to talking.  I mean it was pretty clear that we were probably going to need to go low profile with the whole mission and Arianna suggested we might want to decoy our trajectory.”

“Because the fuission trail is very distinctive,” Arianna said, garnering agreeing nods around the room. 

“Right,” Paul cut back in.  “So she sat down and drew up some plans, and I put them together.  They’re decoy devices that will leave a signature just like this ship’s but the best part is that they will split and split again before they start to go dingy.”

“Dingy?  Like the boat?”

“What?” Paul asked with a frown.  “No,” shaking his head.  “Before they stop tracking like they should and start making random patterns.”

“And how long does the ‘dingy’ part last?”

Paul cleared his throat and rubber the back of his neck self-consciously.  “Yeah, um... I dunno.  It’s not like we have a lifespan on fuission energy.”

“Fair enough,” Eli nodded, running her chin with her hand.  “How big and how many?”

Paul held his hands about a meter apart.  “Fifteen... about this big.  We each put our name on one.  Arianna took care of yours, Eden’s and Kai’s.”

“And when they split?”

“Fifteen and fifteen again.”

“So I need to tell Joey to tell the Admiral that there will be forty-five decoy drones running around loose out here and to keep an eye out for them.”

“Yeah... that would probably be a good idea.”

“All right,” Eli replied, clapping her hands together softly.  She turned back to Naomi.  “Satisfied?”

“About the trail, yes.  But what about the other?”

“I’ve been putting the finishing touches on that,” Eden responded before Eli could speak.  “Actually, Isaac and I have, given my medical limitations at the moment,” with a slight glare in Eli’s direction.  Eli just shrugged.  “It’s something I’ve been working on for a while, thinking it might come in handy even when we were headed to the asteroid.  After all, not everything out here is Alliance friendly, and this program and its mission has been pretty well publicized all over the galaxy at least.”

“Does it work?”

“Our preliminary tests have been successful,” Eden replied cautiously.  “But we haven’t had a chance to utilize it in a real world scenario.”

“So we’re flying by the scruff of our necks then?” Esther asked.   Jacob snickered and shook his head but kept his mouth shut.

“Pretty much,” Eden conceded.  “However, it’s also at the very top of our priority list.”

Eli waited a long moment, but when nothing else was said, she cleared her throat.  “So we have some good working plans.  Now where are we going?”

“Out there,” Jake responded drolly with a wave toward the view screen.  “Thataway.”  Eli didn’t do more than cock an eyebrow before Arianna reached across and lightly smacked the back of his head.  “OW!” he whined, clutching his skull like she’d done some damage.  “What was that for?”

Arianna smirked.  “Really, Jake.”

He snorted and offered a rakish grin.  “I know – I deserved it.”  He turned his attention back to Eli.  “But we really do need a heading I can plot a course on.  We don’t want to end up in the middle of a star or a black hole or something equally deadly.”

“Right, well... Joey did some research for us using the vast information he had connections to while aboard the carrier.  There are several really good possibilities, a few passable possibilities, and some I’m not completely sure what he was thinking to have included them.”

“And of course none of them are in the same direction as another, are they?” Eden snarked.

“Not really,” Eli agreed.  “There are some that might be considered fairly close to one another, all things being relative.  But more than a general direction?  No, not really.”

“So what are our choices?”

“There are a few asteroids, well away from the belt we were originally headed to; an ice planet; a couple of desert planets; a water planet; and a green planet that has a completely toxic atmosphere.  After those we move to a couple of gas giants and from there we go to the ‘are you kidding me?’ options.  The asteroids of course are devoid of all life and breathable atmosphere, but we are prepared for those possibilities – that was our original goal.  The ice and desert planets have a breathable atmosphere, but the conditions are extreme.  The water planet has no visible land on the surface... only beneath the water several hundred fathoms down.  The green planet?  That was pretty self-explanatory, I think.”

“Um... Eli?” Danny said hesitantly, waiting for her to acknowledge him.  She met his eyes and nodded and he continued.  “If the gas giants are considered passable, because um... no, really – what falls into the ‘what was he thinking’ category?”

Eli smirked.  “There was a lava planet; an acid planet; one that is consistently hit with meteorites and another that has electrical strikes every two point three milliseconds.”

Danny’s lavender skin paled to an almost pink color and he swallowed hard.  “I think I’m sorry I asked.”

“Do you know why he included those?” Titus asked.

“Yes.  He said he wanted us to have the option of making this the settlement we wanted to – so he gave us choices across the spectrum from the relatively easy and workable to the ‘are you crazy?’ kind.”

“I’d say he succeeded,” Eden commented wryly, causing laughter to ripple around the room again.  “Which do you like, Boss?”

“Honestly, I would love to go to an asteroid... even it’s not the original one we were scheduled for.”

“But...?” Eden prompted, sensing Eli’s hesitation.

Eli sighed.  “But I think that makes it easier for someone to find us.  Because the logical choice would be to go somewhere similar to our prototype.  It’s what we’re prepared to deal with and what we understand and expect.”

“Right, so...?”

“I would prefer the ice planet myself, but I would never do that to my mate or the rest of you that don’t tolerate cold as well as I do.  And I think the toxic planet is a bad idea.  We have no idea what it could do to us or the ship.  So that leaves the desert planets and the water planet.  And of those, I prefer the water.  However,” she said as she met each pair of eyes in the room, “I want you to vote for what you want – each of you.  This is going to be our home.  We all get a voice.”

“Hey, Boss?” Jacob called out, looking up from the information he’d been studying as it flowed across his screen.  Eli arched a brow at him and waited.  “What about a moon around one of those planets?”

Eli tilted her head.  “Like what?”

“The gas giants – while they could be what Joey intended us to settle on, there are actually several moons that would be similar to the conditions we would have experienced on the asteroid.”

“Really?” Eli drawled, eyebrows arching in surprise.  “How did I miss that?” leaning over Jacob’s shoulder to see for herself to what he was referring. 

“Oh I don’t know.  You don’t think you might have been slightly preoccupied with that whole parent vetting/wedding/marriage and mating thing you had going on?” Jake asked with a chuckle.

Eli snorted and shook her head.  “I guess it’s possible I was a little bit distracted.”  Then she clapped his shoulder soundly, squeezing lightly.  “Good catch, Jake.  So I guess we have another option,” blushing a little and clearing her throat as she turned and met the knowing looks of her team.  “But we need to decide quickly.  We’re not that far from the drop point.”

“Does it change your choice?” Deborah asked plainly.

“Yes,” Eli stated bluntly.  “If we can do something similar to what we originally expected, I’m all for that option.  That being said, I still want to put it to a vote.  Everyone has input on this choice.”

“I’m kinda of inclined to follow your lead on this one, Boss,” Deborah admitted to everyone else’s surprise.  “What?” she demanded.  “Even with the distractions, Eli is probably better acquainted with our options than we are.  And I have to admit to being partial to working with the conditions we already trained for... especially since I’m not particularly fond of ice, sand or drowning.”

“Girlfriend’s got a point,” Esther agreed.  “I’m all for one of the moons,” seeing heads bobbing in agreement all around her.  “So a vote?” she asked, looking at Eli.

“A vote,” Eli agreed.  “All those in favor of trying one of those moons?” nodding as hands went up around the bridge  “All right.  Jake, I think you’ve got your heading.”

“Um... Boss?”

Eli smirked and leaned over his shoulder.  “This one, Jake.”

“You got all that from one glance?”

“Things tend to stick after one glance.”

“Lucky dog,” Jake muttered, earning him a smack from Eli and laughter from the rest of the team.


Chapter II

“OW!!” he whined grabbing the back of his head and glaring in Eli’s general direction.  “Whaddya do that for?  I’m gonna end up with brain damage if you and Eden don’t stop doing that!”  He was suddenly not particularly happy that they’d all learned to identify animal species in standard.

“Seriously.  You couldn’t have chosen something a little more... I don’t know – ferocious maybe?  Or majestic?” Luke asked.  “I mean....”

“Yeah, like a sleek mountain cat,” Eden contributed.  “Or you know, something with a mane.  What was that one...?” snapping her fingers in memory.  “Oh yeah, a lion.”

“Or a dinosaur,” Isaac said guilelessly.

“Or even a wolf,” Abigail offered quickly before Eli could turn to smack Isaac as well.

“How about a dragon?” Arianna asked with a perfectly straight face, though Eli could see her brown eyes twinkling in mirth.

“You guys are missing the point,” Jacob sighed.  “Calling someone a ‘lucky dog’ isn’t an insult.  It’s a metaphor.  It just means she’s really fortunate to have that skill.”  He paused and tilted his head to study Eli for a long moment.  “Though I have to say, I can kind of see you as a lion – what with the hair doing that mane thing and all.  The other stuff... not so much.”

“You don’t think so?” Eli asked with a smirk.

“Not really.  Don’t get me wrong – I suppose you could be whatever you wanted to be, but the lion thing really kind of suits you.” 

“Well maybe one day when things are slow, we can sit down and compare what animals we see ourselves as compared to what others see.  I bet it could be... very enlightening.”

“Or a little scary,” Jacob admitted, then he shrugged.  “But whatever.  You know me - I’m always game,” he added with a rakish grin before turning back to his console to begin plotting and inputting their route to the moon Eli had indicated.

Eli turned back to her teammates, but before she could address them, Arianna spoke up.  “Eli, Joey is hailing us from the carrier.”

“Can you put him on the screen?”

Arianna gave her a look, then Joseph’s, and surprisingly, Ian’s faces appeared in front of them all.  They looked startled to see the entire team staring back at them, then Ian met Eli’s eyes squarely, eyes widening at the hand signs she made as Joseph turned and spoke to someone behind him.  “Admiral, I have the Outreach on screen.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” the admiral said as she stepped forward to fill the screen.  “Captain, we’ve reached the release point.  Do you have any final words before you depart?”

Eli blinked slowly and took a deep breath.  “Thank you, Admiral, for your hospitality and your escort.  I hope your efforts on our behalf don’t land you in any sort of trouble.”

“It won’t,” she stated firmly.  “Though it would be worth it if it did.  Good luck, ladies and gentlemen, and Godspeed on your journey.”

“Thank you, Admiral.  We’ll be seeing you.  Outreach, over and out.”  They couldn’t really hear the sounds of the bay doors opening, but they could feel the vibrations coming up through the soles of their boots.  Each member of the Alpha Team held their breath as the doors widened until the space was fully extended, leaving plenty of room for the Outreach to depart the ship.  Eli looked around at the excited, expectant faces of her team... her family.  She met Arianna’s eyes for a long moment and when the dark head nodded, Eli turned to Jacob.  “You have our course and heading, Jake?”

“Aye, Cap’n,” he acknowledge without letting his eyes leave the view screen.

She smiled at the address but didn’t correct him.  “Very well, my friend.  Take us out slowly – one half impulse.”

“One half impulse, aye,” he replied and she wondered when they had suddenly mastered and adopted Navy lingo as their standard vocabulary.

“Can we see a view of the Storm Surge?”  Her request was no sooner made than they were looking at the ship as they were being birthed from her.

“Wow,” Kai whispered reverently.  “I knew it was a big ship, but I never really realized just how enormous it truly is until now... seeing it like this.”  As they watched, the carrier flashed its lights three times, then slowly started to ease back toward the solar system they had just left.  The Alpha Team watched the graceful flow for a minute, then Eli cleared her throat.

“View screen forward please, Jake.  Let’s go home.  All ahead full.”

“All ahead full, aye.”

Eli looked between Arianna and Paul.  “Can we drop the decoys at translight or do we need to remain on impulse?”

“I would suggest we drop them just before we enter translight speed.”

“Paul’s right.   They won’t be able to distinguish the translight trails.  The impulse stream is markedly different.”

“Very well.  How soon until we make the jump to translight?”

“We can go at any time, but I would recommend about seventeen standard minutes, Cap’n.”

“Why is that?” Abigail asked before Eli could.  Jake looked to Eli who just nodded.

“Because in another seventeen standard minutes, our movement forward combined with the carrier’s movement backward will put us out of range for them to track us visually... just in case.  There will be too much planetary interference for them to determine which of the tracks to follow if someone on that ship happens to be in the pay of one of the less scrupulous Committee Members or Councilmen.”

Hannah smiled.  “You’re pretty smart for someone who claims to have brain damage.”

Jake smirked.  “Sometimes I do all right, I guess.”

Eli nodded.  “Sounds good.”  She turned back to Arianna and Paul.  “Do you need to be here for the drones to be launched?”

“No,” Paul admitted.  “But I’d like a last look at the solar system.  Can we?”

Eli nodded at Jake and he flipped the view once more the show the retreating carrier and the small planet it was slowly approaching.  Without a word, Eden stepped up and placed a hand on Eli’s shoulder briefly before exiting the bridge.  The others watched her go and waited for her to return.  But when she didn’t after a couple minutes, they all took the clue she had handed them and one by one made their way off the bridge and back to the residential deck.

Finally only Arianna, Eli and Jake were left alone on the bridge once more.  Eli looked at Jake.  “How long?”

“Two minutes, Cap’n.”

She smiled.  “You really like that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.  It kind of suits you... even more than the lion thing does.”

All right, Jake,” Eli chuckled.  “Whatever you say.”  She turned to Arianna.  “Are you ready?”

“Give the word, Captain.”

Eli watched the countdown monitor Jake had set for them.  “On my mark then, please.  Both of you.”  Two dark heads nodded their agreement, equally dark eyes flashing between the monitor and the hands on their consoles.  As the clock hit zero across the board, Eli commanded, “Now!”

Arianna was a split second faster than Jake, and the drone decoy launched just as the ship jumped to translight speed.  The decoys split into their first configuration of fifteen and immediately separated for parts unknown.  Then all that was left of any of them was a fuission trace.

There was a sense of relief on the bridge at their success, but otherwise they were quiet.  And for a while they watched as the stars streaked past in a blur before Jake closed the view screen.

“Jake?”

“Sorry, Cap’n.  That will put me to sleep if I keep watching; either that or it’ll make me throw up,” laughing when Arianna crinkled her nose.  “Yeah, that’s about my feeling.  I figured closing the view screen was the best option.  All the sensors are on line, so....”

“Do you think you’ll be all right here alone for a few minutes?” Eli asked when she noticed Arianna trying to suppress her third yawn in as many minutes.

“Sure,” he shrugged.  “Why?”

“I think I need to tuck my mate into bed for some sleep and I thought I’d pick up some energy infusers for us on my way back.”

“Sounds good, Cap’n,” he agreed even as Arianna protested.

“Elllllliiiiiiii….”

Eli extended a hand down to Arianna who looked at it with a frown and then a pout before accepting the offer and standing.  She put her arms around Eli’s neck and tucked her head into the crook, absorbing her natural scent and the warmth she provided.  Eli let her hands ghost to Arianna’s hips, holding lightly to keep her steady.  Jacob kept his attention steadfastly on the console in front of him.

“Angel?” whispered in the nearest ear.

“I was supposed to stay with you.”

“And you did, Beloved.  You stayed to see us to translight speed; you set the decoys for us, remember?  But now it is time for you to get some rest.  I will join you as soon as I can.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely guarantee, Angel.  I will always be with you when I can.  Now come – let’s go to our quarters so I can settle you into bed to get some sleep.  I don’t want Jake to have to be up here alone for too long.”

“I can....”

“Az, let the Boss put you to bed.  It’ll make us all happier and maybe I can get an energy shot some time in the near future.”

Arianna smiled into Eli’s neck and then loosened her grip.  Eli relaxed her hold and Arianna turned and brushed a light kiss over Jacob’s cheek, causing a nice blush to run up the side of his neck and into his face.  “Thank you, Jacob.”

His smile was gentle though his words were gruff.  “Go on and get out of here.  Some of us have work to do and some of you have sleep to get.”  He waited until Arianna took one of Eli’s hands and started to lead them off the bridge together.  “Night, Az.”

“Goodnight Jake,” she beamed as they disappeared from view.  Jacob turned his attention back to his monitoring.

************

“I thought you were going to tell Joey about the drones,” Arianna mumbled through a yawn as she and Eli made their way through the silent corridors.  Apparently their compatriots had taken Eli’s request to heart and settled down fairly quickly.  Eli spared a glance at Arianna’s sleepy face while she guided them to their quarters.  Arianna was leaning against her with her eyes closed, trusting Eli to lead them safely to their room.

“I did,” Eli returned softly.  “Well actually, I told Ian.”

Arianna frowned and opened her eyes.  “Amado, I was with you the entire time we were in contact with the carrier.  You never said a word.”

“No, but I did give Ian the message.”

Arianna straightened and met Eli’s green eyes with a glare.  “Elizabeth....” only stopping when Eli placed a solitary finger over her lips.  She huffed but settled back into her spot and they continued walking down the passageway until they reached the room they had decided to share.  Soon they would remove the wall that separated them and combine their quarters into a single, large living space, but for now they were content to simply utilize the one. 

Eli passed her hand over the lock and in a moment the door slid aside to allow them entrance.  They bypassed the lowly lit common room area and instead walked straight into the bedroom.  Arianna patted Eli’s side, then slid into the bathing room to take care of her evening ablutions while Eli pulled down the bedding and turned on the heating element built into the bed.  It was the sole reason they were utilizing Arianna’s quarters.  She had designed and created the bed when she and Eli were separated, knowing she would need the added warmth sleeping alone.  Now it would come in handy on the occasions when they were forced to sleep independently due to their responsibilities.  Arianna stepped from the bathroom, freshly scrubbed and brushed to find Eli putting away the possessions they had brought with them from Mary’s.  She leaned against the doorjamb and just watched the smooth movements with a contented smile.  It only took a moment before Eli straightened and turned to find Arianna regarding her sleepily.  She dropped what was in her hands and opened her arms.  Arianna didn’t hesitate, but moved with alacrity into Eli’s embrace.

“You were watching me.”

“I was,” Arianna agreed.  “I missed that so much when you were gone and I vowed that I would never miss an opportunity to do so.”

“To miss me?” Eli joked as she brushed a kiss over Arianna’s temple.  She just chuckled when she felt the expected slap across her belly, followed by a soothing rub.

“You know what I meant,” Arianna griped.

“I do, but I couldn’t let that opportunity to tease a little pass me by, could I?”  She pulled back enough to look Arianna up and down.  “Are you going to be warm enough?” noting the scantiness of Arianna’s outfit.

Arianna nodded.  “You turned on the bed – I’ll be fine,” she assured even as she shivered.

“Come,” Eli invited, stepping back and capturing Arianna’s hands in hers.  “Let me tuck you into bed so you can get warm.  I need to get back to Jake anyway.”  She sighed and bit her lip in frustration.  “Infernal way to celebrate our marriage night.”

“Oh, Amado.  We’ll be celebrating for the rest of our lives.  The fact that there is a marriage to celebrate is reason enough.  Until then, I have my dreams,” finishing with a yawn.

Eli grinned as she pulled the covers up around Arianna’s neck.  “Close your eyes, Beloved.  The sooner you sleep, the quicker you can dream.”

“Wait!  What about Joey?  And Ian?” Arianna asked blearily as she settled into the warmth that was suddenly encompassing her.

Eli frowned.  “What about them?” having forgotten the subject of their earlier discussion.  “OH!” she exclaimed when she met glaring brown eyes.  “You mean about the message,” waiting for Arianna to nod.  “When Ian was assigned as part of the guard that escorted me home, he took it upon himself to learn the basics of the silent language of my people.  Everyone learns it – it is how warriors communicate in the field.  The men use it on the hunt as well.”

“Will you teach me?”

“I would like that, Angel... very much.”

“Good.  So what did you tell him?  And how did we all miss it?”

“You may have noticed I have a tendency to use my hands constantly – when I talk; when I’m working on a problem; when I pace – my hands are almost always in motion.  I do it so often that no one even thinks twice about it anymore.  Remember how Eden used to grab my hands to keep them still?”

“Yes.  She hasn’t done that in a long time.”

“She’s so used to it now that she doesn’t even notice it anymore.  It doesn’t bother her.”

“So what did you tell him?”

“I told him about the drones and about the gas giant’s moon.”

Brown eyes widened suddenly as the implication of Eli’s words sink in.  “So they’ll know where we are?”

“No,” said with a gentle smile and a small shake of Eli’s head.  “But they’ll have a better idea of where to start looking when they can.  And Joey will have a better idea of what kind of signal strength he’ll need to find us.”

“You’re kind of brilliant,” Arianna offered with a lazy smile, eyes shutting despite her best efforts.

Eli grinned.  “Only kind of?  I guess I can live with that.”  She leaned forward and brushed a kiss over Arianna’s brow, content that she had finally succumbed to the exhaustion that had been clamoring for her attention for the last little while.  “I love you.”

“L’ve u,” Arianna mumbled on a sigh as her breathing deepened.  Eli studied her for a minute longer, then tenderly loosened herself from Arianna’s grip.  She placed another small kiss on full, pouting lips, then rose and left the bedroom without a backwards glance, dimming the illumination as she left.  To have looked back would have risked the temptation to remain despite her responsibilities elsewhere, and as much as Arianna the newly married mate would appreciate the gesture, everything else about Arianna would be disappointed if Eli made that choice.  Eli slipped into their tiny kitchenette area and took several energy infusion shots from the refrigeration unit.  Then with a final glance around the silent, darkened room, she exited their residence and headed back to the bridge.


Chapter III

“Ahhhh,” Jacob sighed as he licked the last of the infused chocolate energy shot from his lips.  “Man, I’m glad Luke’s planet contributed those things.  Sure beats... well, almost every other energy infuser I’ve ever had, really.”

Eli chuckled.  “It really does,” she agreed.  “I don’t know what you had on your planet, but ours was like drinking lightning.”

Jacob’s eyebrows flew into his hairline and he shook his head.  “Ours were like old-fashioned rocket fuel.”

“Oh... gross.”

“Yeah, but it got the job done.  I hope those plants they gave us to make our own chocolate shots do all right.  We never got to see them produce in the desert.”

“Sometimes I wonder if the Committee rushed that part of the testing.  So many of the things we were working on never reached fruition simply due to a lack of time.”

“C’mon, Eli... you know they did – they had a schedule to keep come hell or high water, though in fairness I think that timetable was the responsibility of people above the Committee’s purview.  On the other hand, I would have gone stir crazy if we’d been stuck there long enough for some of that stuff to work... mostly because we’d have all been dead of old age before it had a chance of working.”  Eli snorted, then immediately covered her mouth in embarrassment as her skin tone deepened.  Jacob laughed but pulled her hand from her face.  “Don’t.  It’s so good to hear that from you again.  Makes me think this will all turn out all right.”

“You doubt our chances for success?”

“Let’s just say I feel a lot better about our odds now that you and Az are married... and you know, mated.”  His eyes got wide.  “Wait - why are you here anyway??  Isn’t this your honeymoon?” shaking his head when Eli tilted hers in contemplation as she scrunched up her eyebrows in thought.  “Sorry,” he said as he started over.  “Eli, this is your wedding night.  Shouldn’t you be with your bride?”

Eli’s smile was gentle, but filled with such happiness that Jacob could literally feel it flowing from her.  She squeezed the hand still clasping hers.  “On any other night and in any other place, yes – for several days if the truth be told because it’s tradition and no mated couple in their right mind says no to time alone together when they can take it... no matter how long they’ve been mated.” 

“Right... so?  Why are you here with me instead of there with her?”

“Because this?” motioning around with her free hand.  “This by necessity has to come first.”

“But you only ever get one wedding night.”

“Oh, Jake – the wedding is for everyone else to celebrate and recognize our taking of a mate.  But Arianna and I were mated months ago in the desert and that?  That was our time.”

His green eyes rounded as the truth dawned on him.  “That was why you suddenly took time off together – why you called Eden and told her you and Az would be indisposed for a few days.”

“Um hmm.”

Jake snorted.  “Man, she was so mad at you for that.”

Eli frowned.  “For mating with Arianna?”

Jacob laughed.  “Oh, hell no.  We all kind of expected that.  No.  She was mad at you for putting her in charge like that with no warning.  She was ready to kill you.”  He pinched his lip thoughtfully.  “She likes being your number two – she can take names and kick ass without being bogged down in the details.   She’s not fond of details outside of her engineering stuff.”

“I know,” Eli agreed with a smile.  “Unlike you and me, most people aren’t very detail oriented.  It’s one reason you two are so well suited to one another – you complement each other’s strengths and balance each other’s weaknesses.”

“And we like each other,” Jacob added with a rakish grin.

“That’s always a bonus,” Eli confirmed wryly.  It was quiet for a little while.  Jacob kept a watchful eye on his console and their progress while Eli monitored the comm traffic and the fuission reactor.  Neither of them expected anything out of the ordinary, but that only made their vigilance even more necessary.  No one wanted to be caught unawares... especially this early into their journey.  After a little silence, Eli turned back to Jacob, her curiosity getting the better of her.  “Can I ask you something?”

Jacob’s eyes rounded, but he shook his head gamely.  “Sure, Boss.  Not like I have to answer, right?” giving her a nervous grin.

Blonde eyebrows hiked up green skin but Eli nodded.  “Right.  I just wondered where the ‘Captain’ thing came from earlier, but now you’re back to ‘Boss’, so....”

“Oh, right....” rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.  “When the Admiral called you ‘Captain’, it just sort of made sense to me.  While you are and always will be the ‘Boss’ in regards to the project itself, while we’re on this ship we’re under your command.  That makes you the Captain – just like the Admiral said.  I figured you deserved the respect of the title.  Otherwise, you’re the Boss... or you know, Eli when you have more than two minutes to rub together as someone without responsibilities.”

Eli thought about it a moment.  “Makes sense,” she said with a firm nod.  “And I kind of like it.  Thank you,” she added, frowning when she saw the tension in his shoulders relax.  She let her mind wander through their conversation, trying to discern what could have possibly wound him up so tightly.  Then her green eyes widened.  “You thought I was going to say something to you about your relationship with Eden?”

He shrugged.  “The possibility did cross my mind,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Are you both happy?”  He nodded.  “Jake, if you ever want to talk and need someone to listen, my door is always open to you.  But what happens between you and Eden is your business and should stay that way as much as possible.  It’s not my place to say anything unless it’s affecting the work we’re doing or creating disharmony in the ranks.  Otherwise it’s not my business, okay?”

“Yeah – sorry.  I know you know how that feels... having everybody know your business.”

“Yes,” Eli replied with pursed lips.  “Not a happy circumstance and a very uncomfortable place to be.”

“I can only imagine,” Jacob said softly.  He cleared his throat.  “It’s just... I think everyone expects more from us – especially after you and Az....”  He stopped talking when her hand went up.

“Arianna and I are very different people from you and Eden.  No one expects anyone to be like us.”  She cracked a smile.  “No one wants anyone to be like us.  We create enough drama on our own for the entire team,” laughing when Jacob howled.  “That being said – you and Eden need to do what is best for you and Eden.  If you’re happy with the way things are now, leave them alone.  You’ll know when the time comes for things to change.”

Jake cleared his throat.  “You’re pretty good at this whole counseling thing.”

“I’m a healer.  Not all things that hurt are physical.”

“Personal experience?”

“Yes, and one of the hardest things I had to learn in my training.”

“What was the hardest?”  When Eli looked at him in confusion, he continued.  “You said it was one of the hardest things you ever had to learn,” watching Eli nod.  “So what was the hardest?”

Eli bit her bottom lip to stave off the tears she felt gather in her eyes and she looked away from the sympathy she could see in Jacob’s.  She took a minute to steady her breathing and will the tears back, then she said softly, “Understanding that not everyone could be saved.  Knowing it in your mind and recognizing it in the center your very being are two completely different things.”  She sighed.  “As a healer, it’s exceptionally easy to develop a deity complex – thinking there is nothing you can’t fix; no disease you cannot cure or injury you cannot heal... until that’s brought home to you in a very real and personal way.  It can make you question everything about yourself and your skills.  The best – they learn to fight to the end and then let go.  The others?”  She shook her head and shrugged.

“Why keep doing it then?”  Jake held up his hands when he realized what he sounded like.  “Wait – I know you’re the best.  Eden is living proof of that.  But why keep doing it if it makes you unhappy?”

Eli smiled.  “Because it doesn’t most of the time.  Almost always I get to fight and win.  And I like that – fighting and winning,” she added with a smile.  Jake chuckled and nodded his agreement.  “Quitting would mean giving up and losing.  I’d rather stay in and fight.”

He nodded.  “Can I ask you something?”  She arched her eyebrow at him and smirked.  He scowled at her.  “You know what I mean.”  When she smiled and nodded he went on, “How is Eden... really?  I know you can’t give me specifics, but... Eli, she’s worried.  She thinks she should be back to peak health, yet you’ve still got her on medical restrictions.”

“Because I haven’t had time to give her a checkup to determine if she’s ready to be returned to full health status.  What has she said to you?”

“It’s not what she’s said.  I mean... she’s grumbled about the limits you’ve place on her.  She wouldn’t be Eden if she didn’t,” his smirk matching Eli’s for a brief minute before his countenance altered into a more serious expression.  “But it’s half-hearted at best.  There’s no real force behind it... like she’s only protesting because it’s expected of her – because she is still following the mandates you gave her.  All of them... even abstaining from caffeine, and you know how attached she is to that coffee she brought with her from her home.”

Eli pinched her bottom lip, but otherwise there was no outward reaction to the alarm she felt at Jacob’s words.  “She hasn’t said anything to me even when I’ve asked.  And in all the shuffling in the last few days, I haven’t kept track like I should have.  I guess I expected her to come to me if it seemed like there was a problem, and that’s on me.  I’ll talk to her.”

“There’s no responsibility for this on you.  It’s not like you’ve been standing around doing nothing these last few days.  Hell, we’ve none of us had time to do little more than breathe since it happened.  I just thought she might have said something to you.”

“Not a word.  But I’ll talk to her and see what I can find out.  Don’t worry – she’ll never know you said a word. The truth is she’s past due for a checkup.  And as the team doctor and her primary healer, it’s my job to see she gets one.  That is my responsibility.”

“Better you than me,” Jake muttered.

Eli chuckled.  “Does Eden scare you?”

He gave her a look.  “Do I look stupid to you??  Of course she does!  She’s got the power to back up her attitude!”  He smiled self-consciously.  “I still love her though.”

“I know you do.  Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

“I’m glad you’re looking out for us, Boss,” he said before turning back to his console and lapsing into silence again.  They were alone for a little while longer before Hannah stumbled in for her first shift, yawning and rubbing her eyes.  Jacob and Eli regarded her sympathetically before Eli extended one of the chocolate infusers.  Hannah’s dark eyes lit up, but she didn’t speak for several moments as the elixir seeped into her veins.  She closed her eyes and shivered, then turned and smiled at Eli.

“Thanks, Boss!”

Eli smiled.  “You sure you’re awake enough...?”

Hannah nodded.  “I’m not going to pretend I won’t be happy to see my bed again in twelve hours, but I’m good.  We were prepared to need to sleep short at the beginning... even if the beginning wasn’t at all what we expected it to be.  Besides, with people coming on every three hours until we get into the regular six hour rotation, it should be lively enough to keep us awake, right?”

“And if that doesn’t work, we’ve got chocolate shots!” Jake snarked.  Eli just rolled her eyes at him.

“Do you want to go get some rest, Jake?” she asked.

He cocked a brow at her.  “What’s the schedule say?”

“You and I aren’t actually supposed to be working yet?”

“Exactly.  And it’s still technically your wedding night, Cap’n.  Go be with your bride.  Hannah and I got this.  And Kai and Deb will be here shortly.  I’ll go then... promise.”

“Are you sure?”  Eli wanted to go be with Arianna – boy, did she want to – but she’d meant what she said about the welfare of the ship and crew needing to come first for the time being.  Jake just gave her a look; Hannah covered her mouth with her hand to keep the laughter from escaping and assumed a seat at the communications console.

“Will you get out of here before I call Eden to remove you?”

“You wouldn’t!!”  Jake just gave Eli a look and she shook her head while giggling softly.  “You really would, wouldn’t you?” peeking at him through her lashes and watching him cross his arms over his chest and smirk.   She rose from her seat and stood beside him, gripping his shoulder briefly in affection.  “Thank you, Jake.  If you need me for anything....”

“... we’ll try to figure it out for ourselves before we call you.  Now will you get out of here, please?”  Hannah snickered and he grinned.  Eli just rolled her eyes again and exited the bridge.  Hannah met Jake’s eyes when they were sure Eli really was gone.

“That was pretty slick,” she complimented him.  Jake started to grin again, but his effort was interrupted by a massive yawn.  He reached over and snagged one of the energy shots Eli had left tucked into the pockets of her chair.  He closed his eyes and downed it quickly.  When he felt the tingle of the shot reach his toes, he opened his eyes and shivered.

“Yeah, it was, and I am really glad for these infusers.  But I’m sure happy we won’t be working like this for very long.  I’m kind of fond of sleep.”

Hannah yawned.  “Me too.”

************

Arianna shivered and frowned in her sleep, unconsciously believing that the bed’s heating unit must not be working correctly.  Instead of being surrounded by warmth, she only felt it at her back and she pushed into it, hoping to burrow into it a little more.  Only when the warmth tightened its hold around her did brown eyes pop open in surprise.  She turned her head to find Eli sleeping behind her.  With delicate maneuvering, Arianna shifted in Eli’s embrace until her head was tucked beneath Eli’s chin and her ear was over her heart.  With a careful tangling of their legs, she let her eyes close, falling back into the warmth and comfort of Eli’s presence with ease.

When she woke the second time, Arianna left her eyes closed, smiling as she absorbed the scent and warmth that completely surrounded her.  Eli hummed contentedly and Arianna opened her eyes to discover Eli still soundly asleep.  She took a few moments to study her mate, easily noting the exhaustion that continued to plague Eli despite their reconciliation – lines of fatigue and dark shadows that had taken root in her countenance the moment Arianna had been taken from her.  Tears formed in her eyes and Arianna determined to change that as quickly as possible.

“You’re watching me again,” Eli mumbled sleepily though her eyes remained closed.

“Umm, yes – I woke up to find the most beautiful woman in my bed.  I thought it best to keep an eye on her lest she disappear,” wiping at her eyes before the tears that had escaped her eyes could slide down onto Eli’s chest.  But Eli could hear the tears in her voice and opened green eyes to meet watery brown.  Her forehead wrinkled in concern.

“Tears, Angel?”

“Mostly happy ones, Amado.”

“Mostly?”

Arianna nodded as she reached up to cup Eli’s face.  “I can still see what I did to you, and that makes my heart hurt.”

“No.  What happened to us – our separation - happened to both of us, and I don’t blame you for that... not anymore.  If anyone bears responsibility here, it’s....”

“... my father,” Arianna cut in decisively. “If I’m not to blame then neither are you, and I won’t let you carry around that responsibility... especially when it’s not yours to bear.  You have more than enough to deal with as the commander of this mission without adding to it unnecessarily.”

“Looking out for me?”

“Always,” Arianna assured her.  “It is my privilege to do so.  And I intend to take care of you for a very long time.”

“That sounds like a lifetime commitment, Angel.”

Arianna smiled and waved the ring Eli had placed on her finger between them.  “No, Amado.  This is a forever kind of thing.”

“My favorite kind,” Eli confessed.  “And we’re getting better, aren’t we?  I know I am; I can feel things sliding back into place – returning to what they were and getting stronger.”

Arianna studied Eli’s eyes, searching for the truth.  “I suppose we are... just at a much slower pace than I would like.  Is it wrong that I want you to be restored back to complete health immediately?”

“I am... I give you my word as the team healer,” Eli swore at Arianna’s skeptical expression.  Realization dawned on her when Arianna traced the dark circles and lines of exhaustion still prevalent on her face and she smiled.  “I look tired because I am tired.  We’ve been going pretty hard for a while now, and I wasn’t sleeping well for a long time.  I’m going to continue to appear tired for some time to come, Angel... at least until I get back onto a regular schedule.  But that’s just physical and it’s already gotten better.  But here?” putting Arianna’s hand over her heart.  “Here, we’re better than ever.”

Arianna smiled.  “You certainly know how to sweet talk a girl.”

“There only one girl I need to worry about sweet talking, and I’m lucky enough to be mated to her.”

“And married to as well, if I remember correctly,” Arianna reminded her with a sly smile.

“Um hmm.  It’s the reason Jacob took the longer shift and sent me back here earlier.  He thought we deserved the chance to celebrate our marriage.”

“In that case, we shouldn’t disappoint him.  But I’d like to freshen up first.  It will give the bed time to cool down a little before we heat it back up again.”

Eli laughed and kissed Arianna hard but chastely before rolling from the bed, glad she had already turned the heating unit off before slipping into bed beside Arianna.  Then she headed to the en suite, stopping only when she got to the doorway to look back at Arianna over her shoulder with an evil grin and a twinkle in her eye.  “Well... are you coming?”

Arianna slid from the bed and ran past Eli into the bathroom, pulling her into the room and closing the door behind them with a loud giggle.


Chapter IV

“Hey, Boss – you got a minute?” Eden asked from the doorway of the infirmary where Eli was currently ensconced.   In all the excitement, this had been her first opportunity to put away the myriad of supplies that had been delivered from the mountain as well as the carrier.  Now at the sound of Eden’s voice, she raised her head and nodded, indicating that she would meet Eden at the door.  Eli groaned as she rose, bones popping into alignment loud enough that Eden winced in sympathy.  “You all right?” she asked as Eli began to wind her way through the maze of boxes and equipment waiting to be sorted and stored.  Eli nodded, then grimaced when her neck popped into place.

“Ow.  Yes.  I’ve simply been sitting in one place too long.  Too many little pieces to put away,” making a face and getting laughter from Eden.  “You’re just the woman I wanted to see actually.”

Eden leered.  “Really??  What will Az say??” grinning evilly and waggling her eyebrows.

“That she’s going to have to kick your ass for thinking what you’re thinking about a married and mated woman,” said with a smirk while flushing a bright green.  Eden looked gobsmacked... almost affronted by the response. Eli laughed and after a long moment Eden chuckled as well.  “What can I do for you, Eden?” asked when their giddiness finally slowed.  Eli motioned Eden toward the office area beyond the glass partition. 

“Can we stay in here a minute?” Eden asked, gesturing to the infirmary.

Eli blinked but nodded gamely.  “Of course.  In fact....”  She took Eden’s hand and walked them over to the closest biobed, glad no supplies had been stacked on them.  “Hop up.”

“Eli?” brow furrowed even as she did as she was bade.

“Eden, I wasn’t kidding about wanting to see you.  I just didn’t realize it had finally gotten late enough for our shifts to overlap.  You’re overdue for a checkup.”

“Seriously?  When exactly were we supposed to fit this in before now?” Eden asked.

Eli bowed her head in concession.  “Would you like me to activate the privacy screen?  At Eden’s nod, she keyed the field, blocking both sound and visuals from projecting beyond the two of them.  ”How do you feel?” probing the still healing area with a frown. Eden grimaced slightly.  “Does it still hurt?”

“Not like it did, but yeah.  It’s still sore and really tender to the touch. And I’ve been doing everything you told me to do!  Shouldn’t it be healed by now?” with a whine.

Eli scowled and bit her lip as she nodded.  “Lay down,” she instructed.  “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”  Eden shed her shirt without being prompted then flinched when Eli’s fingers met the skin on her chest.  Eli glanced at her, alarmed at the intensity of the reaction.  “Eden?”

Eden smiled and shook her head.  “Your hands are cold.  I didn’t notice it when you touched me through the shirt so I wasn’t expecting it.”

Eli chuckled.  “Oh... sorry.  Are you ready this time?”  Eden released a slow breath and nodded.  “All right.  I need for you to talk to me – tell me how it feels.”

“It’s achy.  The skin hurts where you’re touching and... OW!!!  Damnation, Eli!!!  That hurt!!” just refraining from pushing Eli away and sucking in a pained breath.

“I’m sorry, Eden.  I want to call Luke in.  I think we need to run a complete diagnostic on you.”

 Eden’s face twisted unhappily.  “You’ve going to take blood away from me, aren’t you?”

“Only a little bit.  I need to make sure the synthetic stuff is blending into your own like it’s supposed to.”

“You think it could be that simple?  That I’m having some sort of reaction to the synthetic blood?”

“Could it?  Yes.”

“But you really don’t think so.”

Eli took a deep breath before she met Eden’s eyes.  “I’m afraid I might have missed a piece of shrapnel.  It’s the only thing I can think of at this point for you to still be having this level of pain.”

Dead silence as Eli’s words sank into Eden’s ears and her eyes widened in reaction.  “Oh.”

Eli snorted with disgust and dropped her eyes back to the still pink skin on Eden’s chest.  “Exactly... oh.  And we need to move on this quickly to prevent even more damage from happening.  So I’ll just call Luke and....”  A hand on her arm stopped her speech and she brought her eyes up to meet Eden’s sincere black ones as Eden struggled to sit up.  Eli put an arm around her shoulders and eased Eden into a sitting position.

“Not your fault, Eli.”

“The facts say otherwise, Eden.  If I had caught it then...”

“If I hadn’t stood up and made a target of myself in my enthusiasm to defend us; if it hadn’t been a shredder; if we hadn’t had to move down a couple flights of stairs and through a long hallway to get to the infirmary for medical treatment; if I hadn’t been shot in one of my hearts; if we hadn’t been stranded at the mountain because of a transport failure; if we hadn’t been on the run to begin with because of those Keiki manuahis on the Committee – so many ifs.  It doesn’t matter – it happened and now we deal with it.  I don’t blame you, so you don’t get to blame you either.”

Eli shook her head but offered Eden a small smile.  “You are something else, you know that?”

“Of course. My makuahine always told me that.”  Eden scrunched up her brows thoughtfully.  “Of course, she never really defined what I was either.”

Eli couldn’t stop the snort nor could she blame Eden for the loud laughter that followed... until she clutched at her naked chest gasping.  Eli tightened her grip around Eden’s shoulders and gently lowered her back to the biobed.  “Slow, shallow breaths.”

“Um hmm,” Eden agreed as she focused on her breathing.  After a minute, she nodded at Eli.  “Go call Luke.  I’d like to get this done so I can get dressed again.  It’s cold in here,” said with a shiver almost accusingly.  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you did it on purpose.”

“I did, but not for the reason you’re thinking,” lifting her hand to her mouth.  “Luke this is Eli.  Over.”

“This is Luke.  Go ahead, Eli.  Over.”

“Luke could I see you in the infirmary, please?  Over.”

“Of course.  I’ll be right there.  Out.”

Eli turned back to Eden.  “Despite my natural affinity for the cold, the infirmary is kept that way for medical reasons.”

“So no one will have a medical reason to be in the infirmary?” Eden joked as Eli helped her sit up again to undress. She stripped and slid beneath the warming blanket Eli had placed on the bed, relaxing immediately as the chill was coaxed from her bones.

“That of course is a bonus, but it’s not the real reason.  The cold helps keep it sterile and germ-free as well as slowing the metabolism.”  She reached over and lightened the privacy screen and adjusted the volume to allow sound to pass through so Luke would know where they were when he arrived.

“I know,” Eden agreed sleepily.  “But I’ve got to tell you I am a big fan of these warm blankets at the moment.”

Eli chuckled.  “I’ll bet.  I promise we’ll only expose a little of you at a time – just the part that we’re working on.  Would you prefer to be awake for this or should I give you something to help you relax and go to sleep for a little while?”

“I’d be just as happy to sleep through this if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.  Let me get you something and we’ll get started as soon as Luke arrives.”

“Luke’s here,” he announced, clapping his hands together as he stepped into the infirmary.  Then he saw the opaque privacy screen and scowled.  “Why am I here?  Is everything all right?”

Eli placed a calming hand on Eden’s shoulder before she could protest.  “Wash up, Luke,” Eli commanded, removing a small sample of blood as she injected the anesthesia into Eden’s veins.  “We need to do a full workup and scope on Eden.  I need to see if I missed some shrapnel when I had her open on the table.”

Luke didn’t ask any questions, but moved with alacrity to sterilize himself for the process.  Eli waited for Eden to relax and then she joined him.  In mere minutes, they got down to work.

************

It was quite some time later when they finally finished, stepping back from the equipment and assuring Eden was still resting comfortably before they moved to the office area.  Luke dropped into one of the seats in front of the desk, nodding his agreement when Eli offered him a shot of clear liquor.  Only when he’d swallowed, gasping with his eyes watering at the harsh sting did he realize she’d given him ‘the good stuff’ as opposed to ‘the normal stuff’.  Her eyes widened in reaction.

“I’m so sorry,” passing him a bottle of water that he guzzled until it was half empty. “I thought you knew when I held up the bottle.”

Luke coughed lightly and cleared his throat.  “It’s all right.  I should have asked.  Wow!!   Do you drink that regularly??”

Eli snorted.  “No – only under extreme duress.”

“And that’s what this is?” he asked, motioning around them.

Eli nodded slowly.  “I think it might be.  I didn’t see anything in the scans – nothing!  There’s nothing out of place; nothing that doesn’t belong.  Her new heart looks good... everything was in order....”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“It means something else is wrong.  There has to be a reason for her to still be in as much pain as she is.  I just have to....”  She stopped talking when Luke shook his head rather vehemently.

“No, Eli.  We have to find it.  And we will – we’ll run every test in the book and make up our own, but we’ll figure out what’s wrong and make it right.  And we’ll do it together.  You don’t have to do this by yourself.  Let me help.”

Eli’s shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes in relief.  “Thank you, Luke.  That means....  Just keep reminding me, okay?  Because I’m going to forget.  We’ve been individuals for so long….”

“... that it’s easy to forget that we’re a team now?” Luke offered with a smile.  “I know.  I think we’re all going to have that problem until we are running on our normal schedule and kind of get settled into a groove with everyone else.  And that’s okay – we’ll just keep working at it together until we get it right.  So,” clapping his hands together as he changed the subject, “what can I do to help right now?”

Eli pinched her lips together as she regarded him thoughtfully.  “Would you mind reviewing the scans?  I know the computer is analyzing the data, but I’d feel better with a second set of eyes looking at them.  Maybe I missed something.”

“But you don’t think so.”

“No, but I’m at a loss to know what else it could be.”

Luke frowned.  “Did you happen to pull a blood sample before you inoculated her with anesthesia?”

Eli nodded.  “I did... on the off chance that she might be having a reaction to the synthetic blood.”

“Do her symptoms fit that profile?”

“Not really, but I need to investigate every possibility.”

“May I make a suggestion then?”

“By all means.”

“It may not be the synthetic blood, but it may be something in her bloodstream – a pathogen of some kind.  Is it at all possible that the missile that caused such damage could have also carried venom into her body?”

Eli’s eyes rounded in comprehension as she recognized the likelihood of Luke’s words being truth.  “Yes!  I didn’t even think to look for that in the mountain and we’ve been so busy....  Gods, I am a complete imbecile!”  She rose and snatched up the sample of Eden’s blood she had drawn earlier, putting a portion of it into the analyzer and preparing the rest for further testing.  Luke followed as a matter of course, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the far counter to be present and still out of her rather frantic way.  Eli continued to rant to herself, though her voice carried well enough for Luke to hear her one-sided conversation.  “How did I overlook the possibility...? 

“Did your tribe practice decimation as a means to achieve victory?” Luke cut in.  Eli looked at him in confusion.  He rolled his eyes but repeated himself.  “Was poisoning the enemy standard protocol for your warriors?”

“No!  Absolutely not!  It’s considered dishonorable in the extreme to achieve victory using such underhanded methods.  MaTb would have disowned the lot of us for trying something so malicious.  The point was to defeat... not destroy.”

“That’s probably why it didn’t occur to you as a possibility then, Eli.  And the fact of the matter is that Eden hasn’t presented with any classic symptoms, nor have we realistically had the time to sit down and analyze... much of anything really.”

“So how come you thought of it?” Eli asked with narrowed eyes.  “Your people punish fighting by death – how did it occur to you that Eden’s blood might have been contaminated by something on the projectile that tore up her heart?”

“My people don’t fight, but we have served on the front lines of battle before – as doctors and medics and death angels.  We have seen what humankind will sink to when pushed to desperation - when determined to win at any cost.  An entire section of medical school was devoted to the number ways the humanoid body can be destroyed by another being... from within as well as without.  So we’ve learned to think outside the box and consider all the options when looking for a solution because most people will do whatever it takes to win.”

Eli appeared as though she wanted to say something, but at that moment the computer chimed for her attention.  Luke crossed the room to stand beside her, eyes widening as he read over her shoulder.  She turned and looked at him, then said, “Computer, resubmit testing material and analyze again.”

“You really think it’s going to give you a different result?  You designed this program yourself.”

“I know, and I know I’m not perfect... as evidenced by my overlooking this possibility to begin with.”  She shook her head and sighed.  “I’ll get started on finding an antidote for it.”

“I’ll look at those scans again... just in case we missed something.  Let me know when you get to the ‘needing help’ stage.”

“Needing help for what?” Arianna’s voice broke in as she entered the office.  She glanced between the two pensive faces before her gaze settled on Eli.  “What’s going on?”

Luke touched Eli lightly on the shoulder as he moved back toward the desk.  “I’ll just get started on those scans.”  Eli nodded but didn’t move her eyes from Arianna’s.  When Luke was comfortably seated and engrossed in his work, Eli jerked her head and Arianna moved with rapidity until they were standing side by side.

In low, quick words, Eli laid out the situation as clearly as she could.  When the computer dinged again, she moved aside to allow Arianna the chance to read the results for herself.  Then without a word, Arianna patted Eli’s lowered back in comfort before she turned to Luke.

“Perhaps you’d let me finish looking at those scans for you, Luke.  That leaves you free to assist Eli in finding a solution to this problem.”

He studied her a moment and brown eyes held hazel without blinking.  He nodded and motioned her around the desk.  “This is where I stopped.”

“Thanks, Luke,” she said softly as she assumed her seat.  He squeezed her shoulder and walked over to the lab area where Eli was already bent back over her work.  He pushed up his sleeves and took up his spot beside her and in moments they were immersed in their hunt.  The whisper of fabric as they shifted around was the only noise for some time.  It was only when Eli’s comm unit squawked for their attention that they noticed how much time had passed.

“Boss, this is Jake.  Over.”

Eli blinked, startled at the interruption.  She lifted her hand to her lips and squeaked when she started to reply; she had to clear her throat before any real sound emerged.  “This is Eli, Jake. Over.”

“Boss, have you seen Eden?  She told me she was going to find you earlier, but that was hours ago.  Over.”

“Jake, where are you assigned at the moment?  Over.”

“I’m on the bridge.  Over.”

Eli pinched the bridge of her nose.  She didn’t want to give Jake this kind of news like this, but they needed him on the bridge.  Though he was not their only pilot – they had all trained at the position – he was their actual, and consequently, most skilled pilot.  She took a deep breath to answer him, only to be stopped when she felt Arianna’s warm hand between her shoulder blades.

“I’m done here.  I’ll go,” she mouthed.

“Thank you,” Eli returned, kissing her gently and watching her go.

“Boss?”

“Arianna is coming to relieve you briefly.  Come see me in the infirmary when she arrives.  Out.”

“What are you going to tell him?” Luke asked softly.  “It’s not like he’s entitled to any information about her... especially before we talk to her.”  Just at that moment, Jacob came storming into the infirmary.  Eli beckoned him into the office and Luke stretched before walking to the door. 

“I’m going to go grab some food.  So you want me to bring something back for you?”

“Please, Luke.  Thank you.”

He smiled.  “Looks like our schedule is already shot full of holes, doesn’t it?”  He disappeared out of the infirmary before Eli could answer.  Instead she turned and motioned Jacob to a seat as she contemplated what to tell him.


Chapter V

“So Eden came to see you.  Is she all right?”  Eli raised her eyebrow and Jacob shook his head.  “You know what I mean.”

Eli nodded.  “I do.  But there’s not a lot I can tell you at the moment.”  She held up her hand before he could protest.  “She deserves to know first, and to decide who she shares what with.  But honestly, I don’t have anything to tell you at the moment.  Luke and I have a couple theories, but we’re still working on possibilities.”

“That’s what he meant when he said the schedule was already shot to hell.”  Eli’s brow furrowed because she remembered him saying something different, but the intent was the same so she nodded.  Jacob jerked his head.  “So what can we do?”

Eli shook her head.  “Not much currently.  The point of the schedule at this point is to get people into the habit so when we need to work like crazy people, we’ll already be conditioned to it.  Most of the work we’re doing are things we need to take care of to get settled in,” gesturing to the boxes and crates still stockpiled around the infirmary.

Jacob nodded.  “Well, if you need some help....”

“I’ll ask.  But you know what a taskmaster I am.”

Jacob snorted and rolled his eyes.  “Yeah – we’ll deal.  Pretty sure this room is important enough to all of us to get it done and done right.  So is she gonna stay in here until you find whatever it is?”

“Only if she wants to, and when was the last time that happened?” garnering a smirk to match hers.  “She’s just sleeping off the anesthesia.”  Jacob frowned.  “She wanted to relax while we were working.  It made the process easier for all of us.”

“But she’s okay?”

“She’s no worse off than when we boarded the ship and we’re working on making her better.”

Jacob held Eli’s gaze for a moment, then nodded his acceptance of her words as he rose from his seat.  “Thanks, Boss.  I’d better get back to the bridge.  Az isn’t supposed to be on duty right now, though in fairness, neither are you.”

“Life of a healer,” Eli said with a shrug.  “Go on.  I’ll be here until Eden wakes up and we get her back to her quarters.”

Jacob gave Eli a half salute, then turned and left the infirmary.  Only a moment later Luke’s head appeared around the corner with a tray in hand.  Eli blew out a sigh of relief and motioned him into the office.

“Everything okay?” he asked as he set the tray in front of her.   She pounced on it almost the instant he moved away, having not eaten for hours by that point.  “Slow down and chew, Boss.  It’s not going anywhere.”

Eli chewed quickly, nodding her head as she swallowed.  “I know.  But I’m starving.”

Luke chuckled.  “I see that.  Chew anyway.  You’ll be a lot happier.”

Eli took a deep breath and forced herself to chew a little slower, washing the food down with several large gulps of milk.  “I need you to do something for me.”

He blinked at her apparent change of subject, but answered gamely.  “Sure – name it.”

“Do you have those medical school texts?  The ones that taught you to think outside the box?”

“Um... yeah, yes.  I kept all my study curriculum on my Pad so I could access it if I had questions.  It’s not like I can just contact my mentor or instructors, so I figured I’d better keep it with me.”

“Good.  I’d like to borrow it for a few days if you don’t mind.”  At his questioning look, Eli plunged ahead.  “Despite what my MaTb believes about honor, our first duty out here is to survive.  We’d prefer to succeed and flourish, but we still need to survive to do that.”  Luke nodded.  “That means to see the big picture, I have to be able to know how to survive on other peoples’ terms.  I need to put my strict code of honor aside for now and start thinking of all the possibilities and their ramifications when I make my decisions.  Our lives may depends on my ability to ‘play dirty’ and think on my feet.”

“Are you sure about this, Boss?  Doesn’t that change a core fundamental for you?”

Eli took a big bite of food and chewed thoughtfully without losing Luke’s eyes as she composed her answer.  When she had swallowed and taken another drink, she carefully set her glass down and took a deep breath.  “How did you feel when you had to learn how to fight?  Despite the way Ms Wellesly presented the idea to the Elders on your planet that allowed them to save face, everyone knew the true intent behind the mandatory ‘physical fitness’ we were required to attend.  Even used as a strictly defensive weapon, you are still going against a fundamental mandate of your culture.”

Luke nodded his head slowly.  “Yes, but it was required for participation and is a defensive only deterrent.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that it goes completely against your moral code.  Waging war from desperation goes against everything I was taught, but that doesn’t make it less necessary to our situation now.  I am not giving up my honor; I am simply adjusting my thinking to allow me to consider another perspective when I look at the bigger picture.”

“I don’t envy you your position, Eli.  I never wanted to be the leader of our merry little band, but I think having your responsibility would send me out an airlock.”

Eli smirked and started eating again at a much slower pace.  “Me too,” she said.  “Does this mean you’ll let me borrow those texts?”

“Whatever I can do to make things easier, Boss.”  He looked around the room.  “So what do you want me to get started on?”

Before Eli could reply, two things happened simultaneously – Eden moaned softly and Arianna stuck her head in the infirmary.  Eli stood and gestured Arianna toward the office.  “If Eden is awake and ready to be moved, I think we should get her back to her room and catch a nap ourselves. We’ll do better if we come at this with fresh eyes after a little rest.”

“Tired, Amado?” Arianna asked as she met Eli at the door.  A glance at the darkening circles beneath green eyes made her frown.

“A little,” Eli confessed.  “First I need to check on Eden though.”  Arianna nodded and stepped aside to allow Eli to pass her.  She disappeared through the privacy screen and the murmuring of their voices could be heard though no words could be understood.  There was a rustling of fabric, then Eli called out, “Luke?”  Luke straightened from where he had been leaning on the doorjamb opposite Arianna and hastened to the enclosed biobed.  In just another moment, Eli and Luke emerged with Eden sandwiched between them. She was walking – they were merely guiding her steps with hands on her elbows, but the going was slow.  Eden didn’t even see Arianna and Eli jerked her head so Arianna knew to follow them.  Once they got Eden settled in her own bed, Arianna and Eli bid Luke goodnight and headed for their own quarters.  It was way past time for a little sleep.

************

The chirp of the comm alarm caused a frown to furrow Eli’s brow, but she slapped her comm unit and brought it to her lips as she slipped from the warmth of Arianna’s embrace.  She shifted her pillow into place and touched the switch for the heating unit, then stepped from the near pitch darkness of their bedroom into the dimly lit living space.  “This is Eli,” she said in a whisper through a yawn. “Over.”

“Boss?”

Eli forced her eyes open.  “Danny?  What’s the problem?  I just got to bed a couple hours ago.  Over.”

“Oh.  Well, that explains why you’re not in the med lab. Can you come to the astronomy lab?  I’ve got something I think you need to see.”  He heard her sigh through another yawn.  “It won’t take long and I don’t think you want to miss this.  Over.”

Eli pushed a hand through her hair and blinked rapidly in an effort to wake up.  “Yes, of course, Danny.  Give me a few minutes and I’ll be right there.  Over.”

“Thanks, Boss.  Danny out.”

Eli grabbed a pair of loose weave pants and a tank top and slipped them on with a groan.  It had been several days since Eden’s visit to the infirmary and she and Luke had been working practically non-stop trying to develop an antidote for the pathogen they had discovered in Eden’s bloodstream.  Their biggest issue was the fact that it had merged into the synthetic blood and settled into her bloodstream as a part of her natural blood.  And while it wasn’t in fact killing her, it was keeping Eden from returning to full health.  And they had no guarantee it wouldn’t continue to evolve until it became debilitating and incapacitated Eden to a point past recovery.

Everyone else had tried to pick up the slack in other areas knowing Luke and particularly Eli were busy in the medical lab working on something that couldn’t wait.  Most didn’t know how long their days really were though – eighteen to twenty hours at a stretch instead of twelve.  So Danny was surprised to have woken Eli from a sound sleep instead of finding her in the lab.

Eli rubbed at her eyes, trying to get the gritty feeling out of them long enough to leave a note for Arianna in case she woke up before Eli returned.  A shuffling from the direction of the bedroom caused Eli to look up, then break out into a grin.  A disheveled Arianna leaned against the doorjamb wrapped in her favorite blanket and frowning in Eli’s direction.

“Arianna, Beloved?  Why are you out of bed?”

“You left – I got cold.”

“I guess the bed takes a minute to warm up, hmm?” asked fondly.  “Go back to bed, my mate.  I won’t be very long.”

“Where are you going?”

“The astronomy lab.  Danny has something he needs me to see.”

Arianna huffed.  “That sucks.  This is the first time we’ve been able to sleep together since our wedding night.”

Eli stepped closer to Arianna until she was standing in her personal space.  She ran her hand gently through messy hair before trailing the backs of her fingers along Arianna’s cheek, smiling tenderly when brown eyes fluttered closed at her touch..  “I know, Angel, and I am sorry.  But I don’t think Danny would have asked if it wasn’t important.”

“I know,” Arianna grumbled as she turned her face into Eli’s touch.  “I’m having a selfish moment.”  She sighed.  “Go.  So you can get back and get some more sleep before you go back to the lab.  How is that going by the way?”

El shook her head.  “Slowly.  I think we’ll get it eventually, but….”  Her words trailed off.  “Go back to bed.  I’ll return as soon as I can.”  She leaned down and kissed Arianna, then turned her around and eased her back toward their bed with a pat on the behind.

“Butt pervert,” Arianna teased sleepily with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Eli snorted and shook her head.  An arched eyebrow caused her to smirk.  “Your butt pervert,” then yawned.  “I need to....”

“Go,” Arianna commanded and slid back into the darkness of their bedroom.  Eli yawned again and headed out the door and off the residential deck toward the forward science labs.  In just a couple minutes, she was standing in front of Danny, covering another yawn.  He looked her up and down, her exhaustion apparent in everything about her.

“Oh Boss... I’m so sorry.  If I’d known....”

Eli shrugged.  “If it’s important, you still would have called, Danny.  It’s part of my responsibility to know everything that’s going on.”

“I know, but I might have tried waiting a little while longer.”

“Could you have?”

“Waited?”  He shrugged at her nod.  “Maybe, but I figured you should know as soon as possible so you’d have plenty of time to decide what....  Well, let me show you what I found and then you can decide.”  He ran his hands over his monitoring table and threw the image to the large view screen that took up one wall of the lab.  The blurry streaks of translight travel morphed into a much stiller picture, and Eli crossed over to stand in front of the image.  It appeared to be a pink and white gaseous cloud with a dense cluster of stars.  She studied it silently for a few minutes, then cocked her head around in Danny’s direction.

“What exactly am I looking at, Danny?”

“This is the Nusnaigewron Nebula.”

Eli blinked.  They had all heard of the phenomenon – it was part of Alliance territory.  However it was considered off-limits to everything but dedicated science vessels – ships constructed specifically for nebula study.  It had caused too many ships and crews to be destroyed due to the strength of its storms and magnetic influences.  She turned back to the view screen.  “All right.  Why was it important for me to see this now?”

Danny didn’t even blink at the question.  While he knew the scientist in Eli was thrilled by the sight, the question was legitimate.  If his point had been simply to show her the nebula, he wouldn’t have demanded her presence immediately; he would have waited until they were closer.  He drew a deep breath.  “Two reasons – one is because it seems to have shifted a few degrees from where it is plotted on all the charts.”  His words caused Eli’s head to whip around in his direction and he nodded to acknowledge the question in her eyes.  He tapped on his monitor again and sent the map plots to overlay the picture she was currently looking at.

“How is this possible?”

“I don’t know, Boss.  I just know that it is.”

Eli pinched the bridge of her nose and blew out a breath.  “Wonderful.  Send this information to Jake, please.  He’s going to need to recalculate our trajectory around it.  We’re not equipped to deal with the ramifications of entering its sphere of influence.”  Danny nodded and did her bidding immediately.  Eli sighed.  “You said there were two things?”

“Yes,” Danny replied as he straightened.  “I can’t be a hundred percent certain of course, since we can’t really do more than topical scans of the region inside the nebula, but....”  He paused and Eli arched an eyebrow at him but waited without further prompting.  It only took a moment for him to continue speaking.  “It appears that there may be a civilization housed within the nebula.”

“Excuse me?”  Eli waved her hands and shook her head and Danny clamped his jaw shut.  “Why haven’t we heard about this before?  There have been a number of vessels that have studied the nebula since it was discovered.”

“True, but the first ships were lost as was any data they collected.  Remember that only a very few ships have actually studied the phenomenon since the regulations were put into place, and none of them were as advanced as the Outreach.”

Eli chuckled a little.  “Even now, nothing else is as advanced as we are.  It’s the reason it’s going to take them months to reach the same place that will take us a few weeks.”

“Yes, I have to admit to being thrilled with the whole translight travel mode we have thanks to Arianna, Paul and Eden.  You think the Alliance will adapt it to the fleet?”

“I’m sure they will.  It will just take a while to get everyone converted to the new system – years, knowing how bureaucracy works.”

“I have to admit I like our structure better.”

Eli nodded. “It’s a lot easier with only fifteen people,” she said wryly as she yawned.  “All right,” rubbing her eyes.  “Alert the others to a team meeting in six hours.”

“Mandatory?”

Eli smiled tiredly.  “Only if they want to be kept in the loop.”  She stretched, causing them both to flinch when her spine popped.  “Ow.  Anything else?”

“That’s it, Boss.”

“All right.  Very good work, Danny,” her words causing his purple tone to darken considerably in delight.  “You were right to call me.  However, I’m going to go back to bed for a little while.  Let me know if something else of importance pops up.  Otherwise, I’ll see you in a few hours and we’ll brief the rest of the team.”

“Goodnight, Boss.  Rest well.”

“Thank you, Danny.  See you shortly,” Eli offered as she raised a hand in farewell and left the astronomy lab.  Danny watched her go until she disappeared around the corner.  He sent out the notice for the team meeting like Eli had asked.  Then he returned his attention to his scans, wanting to have as much information as possible when the time came to share with his teammates.


Chapter VI

“So what’s up, Boss?” Titus asked as Eli and Arianna stepped into the conference room together. The rest were already seated and Jacob was monitoring their flight path remotely.  Eli held up a hand and seated Arianna in the empty seat next to the one that was Eli normally occupied.  Eli remained standing and motioned for Danny to join her.

“I thought it was time for a team meeting.  We’re all a little more settled in for the most part and there’s been some things going on that everyone needs to be aware of.”

“Such as?” from Isaac.

“I know most of you are aware that Luke and I haven’t been adhering to the schedule I made, and you’ve been pretty good about not pushing for answers.”

“We figured it was important and that you’d let us know as soon as we needed to know,” Abigail offered with a shrug.

Eli smiled.  “Thanks, Gay.  You’re right – it is important.”  She glanced at Eden who gave a slight nod.  Eli nodded in return and cleared her throat.  “I’m certain you’ve noticed that Eden is still under medical restriction, and I’d like to thank Isaac and Paul especially for picking up the slack in engineering so she can follow the constraints I placed on her. The truth is that I missed something when she was originally assaulted in the mountain, and Luke and I are working to find a resolution.”

“What happened, Boss?”  This from Jacob.

She sighed.  “The mercenaries were more dishonorable than I gave them credit for.  Not only did they use shredder projectiles to inflict the most physical damage they could, but they coated each shell with some sort of poison we’ve never seen before.  The toxin merged with the synthetic blood we transfused into Eden’s system so it’s part of her bloodstream.  Luke and I are working on separating it out and destroying the venom without crippling Eden in the process.”

“Okay, yeah – that’s pretty important, Girlfriend.  You think you can do it?”

Eli nodded.  “With enough time, we’ll find a solution.  It’s just going to take a while.”

“That’s why you’re so exhausted,” Danny commented.  “You’re working overtime on this.”

“Yes.  Eden deserves a solution as quickly as we can find one – for her sake as well as ours.  We need her and she needs to be healthy.”

“Just don’t run yourself into the ground over this, Boss,” Eden instructed.  “We need you too.”

“So does this mean the infirmary is still a mess of unpacked medical supplies?” Jacob cut in before Eli could retort.

Eli waited a long beat before she looked away from Eden and turned her attention back to Jacob.  “Yes.  The only things we’ve removed thus far have been those we need in conjunction with our research.  It’ll get done eventually.”

“Yep, it will,” Jacob agreed blithely.  Then he turned and looked at the remainder of his teammates, smiling at their immediate affirmations to his silent query.  “Unpacking party in the infirmary for all available bodies after the meeting.”

“Jake,” Eli warned.

“Boss, we need the med bay to be set up and ready to go.  We don’t want to run into trouble out here and then have to go digging through boxes because things aren’t where they belong.”

“Is anyone else here a little terrified that Jake is making total sense?” Hannah asked into the tense quiet that followed his pronouncement.   Everyone else snorted – Jacob just glared at her... for all of three second before he started laughing.  “Anyway, I agree with him.  Eli can certainly direct us, but if we all pitch in the infirmary should be completely set up before the day is gone.”

“Agreed,” Kai said.  “All in favor?”  Heads all around nodded their concurrence.  “So we’ll be down to help as soon as we’re done here, Boss.”

Eli grinned wickedly, though they could all see the relief and exhaustion in her eyes.  “Just remember you volunteered,” chuckling when groans rose from around the table. 

“So was that all?” Naomi asked when things settled down again.

“No,” Eli replied.  “Surely you didn’t think it would be that easy.”

“A girl can always hope,” Deborah muttered.

Eli smiled.  “She can... as long as she’s not surprised when hope is dashed.  No, Danny called me to the astronomy lab earlier.”

“Does this have to do with what he sent me earlier?” Jacob asked.

“Um hmm,” Eli acknowledged  “But why don’t we let Danny explain what he found so the rest are in the loop?”  Jacob motioned for them to go ahead and Eli stepped to one side so Danny could be front and center.  Eli moved to stand beside Arianna, resting a hand on her shoulder and smiling brightly when Arianna covered it as a matter of course and began tracing her fingers lightly up and down light green skin.  Danny spoke uninterrupted for several minutes as he explained the situation to the remainder of the Alpha Team.  When he was finished, he turned and looked at Eli who stepped forward to stand beside him as she studied her teammates.  “Any questions?”

“Um... yeah,” Deborah snarked.  “I mean I appreciate being kept in the loop and everything – I did ask for that consideration after all, but how does this affect us... really?  Aside from Jake needing to rework our heading so we miss the nebula safely, what difference does this make for us?  If we drop out of translight speed, our fuission trail will reflect that, won’t it?  I for one am unwilling to lose the advantage of the diversion Arianna and Paul created especially when we’re still this far inside Alliance territory.”

Eli nodded and looked around.  “Anyone else?”

Mordecai raised his hand slightly and cleared his throat to speak when Eli gestured at him.  “Yeah, um... aside from Deb’s question, I was wondering if they’ve detected us?”  Eli turned to Danny.

“Um, as far as we can tell from this distance, they are unaware of our presence.  But we can’t be sure of anything until we get a little closer.  We’re not even sure if the indications of civilization are those of a living or dead society at this point.”

“So to answer your questions, Deb,” Eli said as she returned her attention to those seated around the table, “it concerns everyone because we are working blind at the moment; we know nothing about what’s inside the nebula.  If there is a living culture hidden within the nebula, and if they have technology comparable to ours, they’ll be able to track the fuission trail whether we break translight speed or not.  We’re working with a lot of unknowns – I wanted everyone to be aware on the chance we have to defend ourselves.”

“What about Eden’s cloaking project?”

“I asked Eden to engage the device as soon as Danny made his discovery, but again, without a clear idea of what is in that nebula, we cannot be certain if we’re actually hidden from their scrutiny.” 

“We can monitor from several science and engineering stations,” Danny stated.

“And with that many eyes watching, we should know the instant anyone from within reacts to our presence negatively.”  Eli turned to Arianna.  “Is there any chance of you and Paul creating more of those diversionary torpedoes?”

Arianna cut her gaze across to Paul who shrugged and nodded.  “Yes, we already have the parts ready to build more but we need to make assembling them a priority.  It will take several days unless we get Isaac’s help building them; then we could probably have them ready in....”  She looked at Paul who wiggled his fingers at her.  “Two days.”

Eli nodded.  “Very well.  You and Paul and Isaac make that your main concern.  Aside from stocking the medical lab, most of the work we’re doing is busy work – things that need doing but are not critical to our well-being and can stand to be delayed for the duration.”

“So does this mean we’re not going to send in a probe or something to find out about this civilization?” Naomi asked.

“We can’t,” Eli replied before anyone else could respond.  “We cannot risk showing them we’re out here if they aren’t already cognizant of that fact.  The Alliance must be aware of their presence and yet none of us has any knowledge or information about this place.  Doesn’t that seem more than a little odd to anyone else here?  Added to the fact that the nebula seems to be shifting in space of its own accord contrary to any normal pattern we’ve ever seen, and it behooves us to be cautious about this.”

“Eli’s right,” Eden commented.  “Even though we were never supposed to be here, the fact is the Nusnaigewron Nebula was part of the curriculum in each of our educational endeavors.  And yet none of us knew anything about a civilization of any kind hidden within it – past or present.  And we certainly didn’t hear anything about the nebula shifting in space like it has.  I’d like to suggest that Jake reroute us in such a way that would allow us to drop those just at the far edge of the nebula.”

“Um... yeah, no.  We can’t.  Too close to the nebula and they will... well, the best we can hope for is for them to just short out and hang around dead and useless,” Paul commented as he nervously combed his hands through his hair.  “Between the electrical storms and the magnetic fields....”  He shook his head.  “We don’t have the time to figure out a way around them.”

Eden shook her head.  “You misunderstood.  Or maybe I just wasn’t clear.  By the far edge of the nebula I meant somewhere equidistant to where we were when Danny discovered this situation... just on the other side of the nebula from where we are now because we have to go by it to get to that gas giant.  If they’re as advanced as we are, we should just be at the edge of their periphery when the decoys are launched so even if they can see us through the cloaking, they still won’t be able to decipher which trail is ours.”

“She’s right,” Jacob commented.  “I’ll work out a new route and start altering our course.  It won’t take long, and then I’ll join you guys in setting up the infirmary.”

“You just want to blow up all those weird, old-fashioned hand covers Dr. Morris sent along,” Eli said wryly, but her eyes were sparkling with mirth.

“Uh... duh??  What else are going to use them for?  We have anti-contamination fields and germ filters and all the latest, most advanced medical technology.  When are you going to need something so primitive?”

Eli arched an eyebrow, but Abigail was the one to speak.  “Don’t mock, Jake.  You never know when the unexpected can come in handy.”

“Yeah, dude – don’t bugaboo us.  I don’t want for Eli to ever have to find out when she might need that sort of precaution,” Titus chastised.

Jake ducked and covered the back of his head, peering around cautiously to make sure no one had a hand raised in his direction.  “All righty then – if we’re all done here, Boss, I need to get to work on those calculations.  I’ll send them to you for approval before I implement them,” he added, sliding out of his seat and heading out of the room while keeping his back to the wall and his hand over the back of his head.  Eli struggled to maintain a straight face as she nodded his dismissal.  Only when he was out of the room did she crack a smile, causing the rest to snicker quietly.  Then from out of nowhere, they heard a thump followed by, “Ow, dammit!”  They rose as a singular body and shot out of the room to find Jacob clutching his forehead.  Eli stepped forward.

“Forget about the bulkhead?” she asked kindly when she removed his hand from the swiftly forming bruising knot.  She winced when he flinched against her tender touch.  “Come,” she commanded.  “Walk with me to the infirmary and I’ll give you something for that.  It will make working on those calculations a lot easier of you only see one set of numbers at a time.”

He started to nod and then stopped abruptly when pain seared behind his eyeballs.  “I really am going to have brain damage at this point,” he complained good-naturedly.

“Good thing I can heal that, hmm?” Eli proclaimed with a smile.  Then he accepted her proffered hand and the two moved out toward the medical bay.

“So... meeting over?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah,” Eden confirmed.  “Meeting over.  You, Az and Paul get to engineering and start putting those decoys together.  Who’s got the conn right now?” nodding when Mordecai and Naomi raised their hands.  “Go,” she ordered.  The rest of you currently on duty - head to the infirmary.  The sooner we get that place sorted out, the better for all of us.  If you’re scheduled off right now, go get your rest.  All right – I think that’s it.  Let’s move, people.”  And without any hesitation, they did.

************

“How’s that?” Eli asked as she removed the syringe from his neck.  Jacob turned his head to the right and left, then nodded at her.

“Better,” he admitted.  “Can you do something about the welt?”

Eli arched an eyebrow at him.  “I’m working on it right now,” pressing her hand against his forehead.  After a moment she pulled it away and nodded in satisfaction.  “Better?”

Jacob lifted his hands to his head and rubbed across it.  “Yeah... much.  Thanks, Boss.”

“Anytime, Jake.  But try not to make it too often, all right?  You really don’t want to give yourself brain damage.  Who knows what might happen if I have to go in and repair something like that?”

Jacob snorted.  “My luck I’d start howling at the moon... figuratively speaking.”

Eli chuckled.  “Yes... well, as entertaining as that possibility is for me to visualize, I’d prefer to keep you just the way you are, all right?”

“Do my best, Boss.”  The members of the Alpha Team that were going to work on putting the infirmary supplies away started crossing the threshold and Jacob slipped from the bed he was seated on.  “Let me go work up the new calculations and I’ll be back to help out down here.”  He turned and looked at his compatriots and mock glared at them.  “Save some of those hand things for me,” he instructed harshly though there was no way to hide the twinkle in his eyes.  Then he disappeared out the door.

Eden just shook her head as she watched him go, then turned back to Eli.  “So what first, Boss?”  Luke as a matter of course went directly to the lab area and resumed the tests he and Eli had been working on.  Eli nodded in satisfaction and turned back to Eden.

“Let me show you where things are and where they go, and you should be able to take it from there.  Everything is marked; it’s just a question of having the time to put it away.”

“We’ll handle it, Boss.  And if we have questions, we all know how to speak up.  So you can go do the things you need to do,” Eden said shooing her hands in Luke’s direction.  “We’ll be fine.”

Eli nodded.  “You know where to find me.”

“We do.  And we won’t let Jake destroy your hand coverings from Dr. Morris.”

“Thank you, Eden.  And all of you.”

“It’s for us as much as you, Boss,” Deborah said bluntly.  “Now go so we can get this done.  You have better things to do.  Buh-bye. See ya,” waving and giving Eli a gentle shove toward the lab.  Eli just chuckled and shook her head, then went to the lab where she was immediately engrossed in her work.

Hours passed and people came and went while Luke and Eli remained sequestered in the lab.  Eventually Arianna showed up and dragged Eli away despite her protests, directing Luke to shut things down for a little while.  He didn’t even bother to argue.  Eli might be the Boss as far as the Alpha Team was concerned but she naturally deferred to Arianna on things that didn’t involve the entire team... especially when she knew Arianna was right about her needing a break.  She still protested – it was almost expected.  But after a moment, Eli relented and nodded at Luke, and soon they were shutting the lab down for a little while.

************

“How are things going?” Arianna asked as she gently worked her hands into the knots prevalent along Eli’s spine.  “Sorry,” she murmured when she hit a particularly sore spot.

“No, Angel – that’s wonderful.  I hadn’t realized I’d become so tense,” a little airily as Arianna hit yet another tender place.  She waited another minute to catch her breath before tilting her head back slightly so she could meet brown eyes.  “As for how the work in the lab is going – we’re making progress, but it’s in very tiny increments.  Most of it seems to be in eliminating possibilities as opposed to finding a true solution.”

“Still it is progress.  Even tiny steps move one forward.”

“I suppose,” Eli agreed grudgingly.  “But I wouldn’t be at all disappointed to actually make some progress.”

“Is there a reason you feel so pressured to find a solution immediately?  Beyond Eden’s health I mean; I understand that as a driving force.  But by your own admission, she’s holding her own for now – not getting any better, but not getting any worse either.”

“But we have no guarantee how long she can maintain that stability and I’d rather not find out.”

“And...?”

“It shows?” Eli queried after a moment.

“To me,” Arianna confessed.  “I doubt anyone else would know though.”

Eli shook her head.  “I can’t explain it.  Maybe it’s because of all the rushing around we did at the end of things and how we left.  I just feel like I’m running out of time to....”  She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then without warning, she turned her body beneath Arianna’s without dislodging her.  “Well, hello there, Beautiful,” she greeted with a husky tone and a rakish expression.  “Imagine meeting you here,” locking her hands on Arianna’s hips and pressing their naked bodies together before sliding her hands up to tug the body above her into her own until they were touching along their lengths and breathing one another’s air.  They lay perfectly still for several long minutes simply relishing the intimate contact they had missed.  Then Arianna dipped her head enough to brush their lips together.

“I have missed you, Amado.”

“And I you, Beloved.  Can we be done with talking for now?”

For answer, Arianna claimed Eli’s lips and then there were no more words beyond that of lovers’ conversation.


Chapter VII

“Why are you not sleeping, Amado?” Arianna asked into the darkness sometime later.  “Did I not wear you out sufficiently?” scraping her nails up and down Eli’s torso and delighting in the shivers that followed in her wake.  Eli tightened her embrace and yawned.

“My body is quite pleasantly exhausted, Angel.  My mind however….”

“You need an ‘off’ switch.”

“Perhaps.  And why are you still awake?  You’ve been working as hard as I have.”

“Not really,” Arianna countered.  “While building the torpedoes is important, it mostly constitutes busy work for us.  There’s nothing to work out – it’s simply following the design we’ve already created.”

“How’s it going?”

“Good, actually.  We already had all the parts manufactured – Paul planned for this possibility.  And Isaac is learning to be part of the group; Paul is an excellent mentor for him in that regard.”  Arianna felt Eli nod, but she didn’t speak.  “What are you thinking?”

Eli smiled and Arianna could hear it in her voice.  “Right at this moment?  I’m thinking how incredibly lucky I am to be here with you.”

“Sweet talker.”

Eli shrugged.  “Not if it’s truth.”

“Is there anything I can do to help you sleep, Amado?  I worry about you.”

“MaTb will be thrilled to know I chose a mate much like her in that regard,” brushing a kiss over the top of Arianna’s head though she allowed her lips to remain in place for a minute.  Arianna stayed still and waited.  Finally, “Will you sing to me?”

“Of course!  What would you like to hear?”

“Do you remember the song you used to hum in the desert compound?  The one you always sang under your breath when you thought you were working alone?”  Eli felt Arianna’s expression change before she sat up and turned to look at Eli in the darkness.  Eli shifted enough to pass her hand over the manual activation for the bedside light, and they both blinked at the introduction of the dim light.  “Arianna?”

“You heard that?”

Eli smiled and cupped Arianna’s face gently.  “Every time.  I learned to listen for it.  It meant you were happy and that always made my heart smile.  It’s been so long since I’ve heard it....”

“And it would make you happy to hear it now?”

“So much.  But only sing it if you’re happy as well.”

Arianna smiled, blinking back her tears before they could spill down her cheeks.  “Turn off the light, Amado, and I’ll sing you to sleep and into good dreams.”  Then the only sound that could be heard in the darkness was the sound of a lullaby long since lost to time.

************

“Hey, Girlfriend!” Esther greeted Eden as she stepped onto the bridge.  “How ya doing?”

Eden smiled tightly.  She knew they were all asking out of concern and caring, but they were already starting to drive her crazy.  “I’m all right, Es.  Thanks for asking though.”

Esther grinned as she took a seat at the communications console.  “We’re driving you bat crap nuts, aren’t we?”

Eden turned and studied her a long moment, gaging her sincerity before she replied.  She nodded and shrugged.  “A little, yeah.  It’s not that I don’t appreciate the concern....”

“... but you’d rather we didn’t mind your business for you.”

“Something like that, yeah.”

Esther examined her slowly before she met black eyes fill with a hint of anger and a lot of frustration.  “I’ll tell ya what – you promise... absolutely swear... to tell us if anything changes that means we can do something to help make things better for you, and I promise to get everyone to lay off asking about you every time we see you. See,” she continued before Eden could respond, “I know something about tough guys like you - for all your bluff and bluster, you don’t wanna blow people off about something like this because you understand that it’s important to let people show they care.”

Eden looked down at the hands clasped in her lap.  “You know this, huh?”

“Yeah, I do.  My آب... my papa was just like you.”

Eden stared at Esther before nodding her head in satisfaction.  “Okay,” she agreed.  “I promise.”  She chuckled and Esther cocked an eyebrow at her in question.  Eden shook her head and waved her off.  “I’m not laughing at you, Es.  I just expected Gay to be the one to approach me.  You know... with the empath thing and all.”

“I asked her to let me – because she can sense so much.  I thought you might be a little more receptive if it was one of us who could relate because we’ve been there in some fashion instead of someone who can feel what you’re feeling.  Not that I think Gay would invade your privacy like that, but that’s what it would feel like to you coming from her.”

Eden narrowed her eyes.  “You’re pretty smart there, Es.”

“I told you, Girlfriend – I know tough guys like you.  But your secret is safe with me.  I’ll let the rest know about the other though.”

Eden nodded.  “I appreciate it.”

Esther shrugged.  “Anything to make this a happy home, right?”

Eden snorted.  “Right.”

************

“Luke?”

“Mmph?”  Luke turned over and buried his head further beneath the pillow.

“Luke?”   This time there was a gentle shaking on his shoulder and Luke sighed before he rolled over onto his back and pushed the pillow off of his head.  He scrubbed a hand over his face and into his hair before blinking his eye open and forcing himself to try and focus on the concerned expression on the pale lavender face leaning close to his.

“Danny?  What’s wrong?” asked through a yawn.

“I was going to ask you that.  You were growling in your sleep.”

Luke nodded and sat up as Danny backed up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his eyes and trying to force a sense of wakefulness.  He stretched languidly, then grinned when Danny handed him an energy infuser.  He tossed it back and sighed in satisfaction, waiting for the elixir to course through his veins.  When he opened his eyes again, he smiled.  “Much better.”  He looked at Danny.  “So um... is everything all right?  I mean you couldn’t have known I was growling in my sleep before you came in here.  How did you get in here anyway?”

Danny arched an eyebrow and took a seat beside him, close but not touching.  “You gave me the code to yours like I gave you the code to mine,” he reminded Luke.  “Maybe that infuser hasn’t had enough time to work completely if you don’t remember that.”

Luke rubbed his hands over his face again.  “Maybe.  I certainly don’t feel like I’m running on both legs yet.”  He shook his head again.  “So what can I do for you?”

“Well, I was just going to leave these reports for you,” holding up the Pad he was carrying.  “But I kind of forgot about that when I heard you grumbling and growling.  I thought you were in distress.”

“I think I was working.”

“On Eden’s...?”

“Yes.  It’s so frustrating.  Eli and I are both eliminating a number of possibilities, but we don’t seem to be making positive progress to repair the damage.  We have to be missing something.  I’m just at a loss to figure out what.”

“It’s making you crazy?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.  And it’s carrying over into my nocturnal journeys.  I am having the strangest dreams.”

“Maybe you should pay attention to your dreams.  They might be trying to tell you something.  In fact, maybe you should go back to sleep.  It’s still early.”

“Perhaps, but after that infuser, I’m not going to be resting anytime soon.  Let me have those reports.  Maybe letting my mind focus on something else for a while will give me a clearer mind when I go back to the lab.”

Danny passed over his Pad.  “You can just return this to me when you’re done.  I’m going to go rest for a little while,” standing and stretching.  “I do like the twelve hour rotations but some days my brain and my body are just mush by the end of a shift.”

Luke laughed.  “Go get some sleep,” waving Danny from the room.  Then he pulled up the Pad Danny had left him and started reading.

************

“Eden?  Do you have a minute?”

“Sure, Gay.  What’s up?”  Eden took a good look at Abigail’s expression and reached out without actually touching her.  “Are you all right?”

Abigail accepted the proffered hand, squeezing lightly to show Eden her appreciation of the gesture.  “I’m not sure,” she confessed.  “I feel....  Something is off.”

“Can you be more specific?”

Abigail shook her head.  “I don’t know.  But something is not like it was.  I don’t know if it’s someone here on the ship or....  I think it has something to do with the nebula.  I didn’t start feeling unsettled until we came within range of it.”

“What are you sensing?”

Abigail shook her head.  “I don’t know.  It’s just... uncomfortable.”

Eden sighed.  “I hate to ask, but....”

Abigail placed a hand on Eden’s arm.  “It’s all right, Eden.  I’m planning to monitor things.  I just wanted someone else to be aware, and I figured you would share with Eli if you thought it was important for her to know.”

“Yep.  I’ll take care of it.  You just keep me in the loop.”

“Thank you, Eden,” Abigail offered with another squeeze before she walked away.  Eden watched her go and checked her chronometer.  She hated to disturb Eli during her time with Arianna, but they couldn’t overlook anything out of the ordinary out here on their own... especially when an empath with barriers as strong as Abigail’s was sensing things.

************

“Boss, this is Luke. Over.”

There was the sound of a throat clearing, then Eli’s sleepy voice came over the comm unit.  “Go ahead, Luke.  Over.”

“I’m sorry to cut into your rest, Boss, but something has come up that needs your attention.  Over.”

Luke heard Eli sigh, then Eli spoke.  “Come see me in fifteen standard.  Out.”

He set the Pad aside and went into the en suite.  He had just enough time to clean up before he met with Eli.

************

Eden was exiting her accommodations just as Luke emerged from his room.  He wasn’t at all surprised to see her head toward Eli’s quarters.  He figured Eli would want her second there, so he was a little alarmed when she scowled at him.

“Luke?  Is there a problem?”

“I’m not sure,” he said honestly.  “I’ve got something to show Eli.  Didn’t she call you about it?”

“No, but I’m here, so....”  She reached out and rang the chime, not surprised when it opened almost immediately. Eli stood on the other side dressed and coherent if not particularly bright eyed and bushy tailed.  She frowned when she saw Eden standing beside Luke, but simply motioned them inside.

“Come in, please,” she invited and gestured them to sit.  “Arianna is still asleep.”  She looked at Luke.  “What have you got for me?”

Luke extended the Pad.  “Danny brought this to me earlier... just before he went to rest.  I thought you should be aware.”

Eli accepted the Pad and read over the contents silently.  Then she arched an eyebrow in Luke’s direction.  “Has this been confirmed by anyone else?”

“I don’t think so.  No one has said anything to me at any rate,” Luke admitted.  “I think Danny brought it to me as soon as he had done his own double check.”

Eli sighed.  “I can’t spare you from our other research.”

“I know.  But Titus or Hannah could verify.”

Eli pinched her bottom lip between her fingers before she nodded.  “Thanks, Luke.  I’ll make sure Danny gets his Pad back.  You should get some more rest.”

“Unlikely.  Danny scared the fear into me when he woke me and then he gave me an infuser.  I’ve got a few good hours left; I’m going to go work in the lab for a while.  Maybe having focused on something else for a while will give me a fresh look at things.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Don’t rush on my account, Boss.  I know you’ve got other things going on as well.  I’ll let you know if I have any kind of breakthrough.”

“Thanks, Luke,” Eli offered as she ushered him to the door.  Then she turned back to the still silent Eden.  “Talk to me, Eden.”

“Tell me what Luke brought you.”

“You don’t know?”

Eden gave Eli a sardonic look.  “Would I have asked if I did?  I thought I came for something else, but I’m starting to think it might all be related.”

“Why?”

Eden repeated Abigail’s concerns and without a word Eli passed over Danny’s Pad.  Eden scrolled through the research and then raised her eyes to meet Eli’s.  “I’ll have both Hannah and Titus run tests independently of each other.  It shouldn’t take them too long to confirm Danny’s findings.  You need to be thinking about what we’re going to do, Boss, because even if you put it to a vote, it’s ultimately going to be your decision.”  Eden held up a hand when Eli started to retort.  “We can’t do everything by committee.  This is going to need to be a warrior’s decision and you’re the best among us.  I can advise you, but you’ve been trained for this sort of situation.”

“Theoretically, anyway,” wryly.  “I’ve never led inexperienced troops before, Eden – not like this.  Oh the perks of being the Head Idiot in Charge.”

“Huh?”

Eli snorted.  “Just something Ms... Mary said to me.”

“She called you an idiot??”

“No.  She was talking about herself, but it was apropos for me as well.  All right – go tell Hannah and Titus to run their own checks and have them bring the results to me in the lab.”

“You don’t think that should wait?”

“I don’t think we can afford to. As much as I need you back to full strength and health, we also can’t risk not finding an antidote that can be utilized by the rest were we to encounter it again by some chance.”  She held up a hand and Eden nodded for Eli to finish.  “The toxin is out there.  We can’t just assume we won’t run into it again somewhere; we don’t know where it originated or who has access to it.  And I don’t think everyone else would be able to shake off those kind of effects on their own as well as you have.”

Black eyes widened in horror.  “That’s....” knowing how frustrated she was with her slow recovery.

“Exactly.  I hope I’m misjudging things and erring on the side of caution, but we can’t afford to risk the possibility that the readings Danny has gotten aren’t from something that would do us harm.”

Eden pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.  “You know, I expected challenges on this project.  But I honestly didn’t think they’d start this early into the mission.”

Eli snorted.  “I think we’re lucky to have had even a little while to settle in before something like this came up.  At least we should have the advantage of surprise.  Between that, the cloak and the decoys....”

“It never hurts to hope, I guess.  Let me get out of here and get Titus and Hannah started on those tests,” waving Danny’s Pad before she rose.  “You want me to return this?”

“No.  You’ll be in your rest cycle when Danny returns to duty. Leave it with me.  And I’ll talk to Abigail.”  Eli stood and walked with Eden to the door.  “You go get some rest.  Doctor’s orders.”

Eden nodded reluctantly.  “Thanks, Boss. You’ll keep me informed?”

“I will.  Now talk to Titus and Hannah, then go to bed.”

“Will do.  Night, Boss.”

“Goodnight, Eden.”


Chapter VIII

“Hey, Boss?” Luke called across the lab with a hint of excitement in his voice.  Eli’s head popped up and she met his eyes.  Luke grinned and nodded.  “I think we may have something.”

“Really?” she asked even as she moved toward him.  He motioned her to his viewer and stepped aside to allow her to see what had initiated his enthusiasm.

“Yes.  We were on the right track and your idea to adjust the intensity of the serum was correct.”

“Excellent – good work, Luke!  Keep changing the formula by millimeter increments.  This isn’t exact yet, but it’s close... very close.”

“You’ve got it, Boss.  It’s so great to finally be making progress, and this?  This is huge.”  His grin was big enough to light up the room and Eli smiled as she nodded her agreement as she moved away from his workstation and back toward her own.  There was still work to do.

“It is, and it’s a weight from my back.”

“I know... mine too.  It really kind of craps all over everything that there are beings that create things like this.  What is wrong with humanoids anyway?”

Eli shook her head.  “I don’t know.  And if it had been anyone but Eden, I’m not certain they would have survived long enough for us to discover an antidote... even someone Isaac’s size.  And if it had been Arianna....”  She swallowed hard and clenched her hands together tightly.

“Yeah – let’s not think about that, Boss.  It wasn’t, and we’ve almost solved this puzzle.  Are you going to tell Eden the news?”

“As soon as she wakes up.  Maybe by then we’ll actually have the formula perfected and can introduce it into her bloodstream immediately.  I have the distinct feeling that it is apt to require some serious recovery time once it begins its journey through her body.  It’s going to be quite strenuous on Eden’s systems initially and I’d prefer to make this as painless as possible.  Might as well let her rest until we have the exact formula or she wakes in her own.”

“At least we know to be aware to look for signs of a pathogen if something like this occurs again.”

“Yes, but sweet gods, I hope it doesn’t.”

“Me too, Boss,” Luke agreed as he turned back to his work and began adjusting the serum increments.  “I’d much rather be trying to figure out how to make those plastic meals more palatable.”

Eli snickered.  “Yes, I’ve heard more than one grumble about those pre-packaged military meals now that we’re out of fresh food for a while.  I’m having milk withdrawals myself.  Some things just aren’t the same without it,” she mourned.

Luke cut his eyes at her.  “Agreed.  Although I have to confess – as much as I miss the fresh tastes of my home world and those we grew accustomed to during our time as candidates, those military meals aren’t horrible... certainly not the worst thing I’ve had to eat and call food.”

Eli laughed.  “Me either.  Warrior training was quick to teach that lesson.”

Luke nodded.  “Medical survival training for me.”  He scrunched up his face in memory.  “I’d rather eat the plastic,” causing Eli to laugh again.

“And at least we brought plenty of spices with us.”

“Yes, I’m hoping they last long enough for us to get settled and the herbs planted in the larger conservatory.  Because walking through the solarium at the moment, while a heady experience, tends to overwhelm one pretty quickly.”

Before Eli could respond, her comm unit chirped.  “Boss, this is Titus and Hannah.  Over.”

She motioned to Luke who just nodded his head and refocused his entire attention on his work.  Eli stepped into her office.  “Go ahead.  Over.”

“Boss, we’ve finished the assignment Eden gave us.”

Eli took a deep breath, unable to read anything in Titus’ tone.  “Very good.  Please report to my office in the med lab with your results.  Over.”

“On our way.  Out.”

************

“So you don’t think there’s a living society there?” Eli asked Titus and Hannah once they were done giving her their information and conclusions.

“No,” Hannah said instantly.  “At least I don’t.  I think it’s an echo community.”

“An echo community?”

Titus glared at Hannah and she shrugged and nodded.  “Yeah.  We believe it to be a reflection of a culture – though whether it’s the civilization that built the things our sensors are reading or if it’s someone else entirely, we can’t say.  We can’t even be sure it’s not simply reflecting us and our energy back to us at this point.”

“Are the energy levels commensurate to our output?”

“Almost double actually,” Hannah supplied.  “That’s the only thing we’ve been able to get a steady read on.  The energy stream seems incredibly stable... especially considering the ionization and magnetic storms of the nebula that are surrounding the planet.”

“Is the nebula still moving?”

“Not significantly enough for us to notice, but I honestly wasn’t looking at the nebula,” Titus confessed.  “I was focused on the planet.”

“Me too,” Hannah agreed.  “We can go back and look....”

“Aren’t you supposed to be off now?” Eli asked kindly.

“Hannah is; I’m not,” Titus supplied.

“But I don’t mind staying on a little longer to finish this assignment, Boss.”  Hannah held up a hand before Eli could argue.  “It’s what you’d do.  Please don’t ask us to do less.”

Eli blew out a breath.  “All right.  Thank you both.  If you could take a look at the nebula and let me know when you have an answer....”

“Will do,” they assured her before they stood and exited her office.  Eli leaned back in her chair and rubbed her hands over tired eyes, smiling when warm hands landed on her shoulders.

“Hello, Angel,” she whispered.  “Where did you come from?”

“Are you glad to see me?”

“Always,” Eli replied, dropping her hands from her face and tilting her head back to meet Arianna’s brown eyes.  “So what brings you to my lair?” asked with a smile.

“You,” Arianna offered with a smile.  “What else?  I came to see if you had time to share a meal with me.  Luke called to let me know you were taking a short break.”

Eli smiled and brought Arianna’s hands to her lips and kissed them.  “That sounds wonderful,” as she stood and turned so they were face to face.  “Did he tell you he made a breakthrough earlier?”

“No, he told me the two of you had made a breakthrough based on your idea.”  Eli started to roll her eyes, but Arianna placed a gentle touch on her arm and shook her head.  “Don’t, Amado – please don’t discount your contributions to the successes we have.  We’re a team, remember?  And you’re a very integral, important part of that.”  She raised a fingertip to soft, green lips.  “Might Luke have found the answer on his own?   Maybe,” she shrugged.  “But the fact is that you helped guide his thoughts to a faster conclusion.  Rejoice and be glad that you’re surrounded by brilliant company... yourself included.”

Eli removed Arianna’s finger from her lips and entwined their hands together.  “You’re pretty smart.”

Arianna snickered.  “I’ve heard that before, but it’s nice to know you think so.  Now can we go get some dinner?” she asked as she tugged them toward the door of the infirmary.  “Paul mentioned some combination of seasonings I would like to try on tonight’s meal selection envelope.  Besides, Gay promised to show me that stretching technique again.”

Eli frowned and pulled them to a stop.  “Are you in pain again?

“A little,” Arianna agreed reluctantly.  “I think it’s from staying in one position for so long while we assembled the decoy torpedoes.  Everything freezes up and it goes right to my spine.”

“And your head?”

“There too.”

Eli studied her a moment.  “Do you want something...?”

“No, Amado.  It’s not debilitating... just uncomfortable.  I’d like to try Gay’s method first – save the good stuff for when we really need it,” she added with a smile as she started them moving slowly forward again.

“And hope we never do,” Eli commented seriously, causing Arianna’s expression to change.

“You’re worried?”

“I am,” Eli sighed.  “This,” gesturing vaguely toward the bulkhead.  “The nebula and that whole....  It’s all so far beyond anything we trained for.  We didn’t train for combat beyond basic self-defense.  And the ship is not equipped for fighting.”

“And you expect to find a fight there?”

“I expect trouble,” Eli replied frankly.  “What form that trouble takes...?”  She shook her head.  “The possibilities are vast.  I’m expecting the worst and hoping for the best.  That’s all I can do until we have a clearer idea of what we’re facing.”

“So Titus’ and Hannah’s scans...?”

“... were inconclusive.  We still don’t know from where the readings originate.  Hannah and Titus presented the theory that they’re an echo or a reflection of something – directed out into space by the technology signatures Danny initially discovered.  But we still don’t know where the energy readings are coming from.”

“Your head should hurt worse than mine,” Arianna muttered, rubbing her temple lightly.  “No wonder you’re not sleeping like you should or resting when you do.”

“Am I keeping you awake?” Eli asked in concern, but before Arianna could reply, they reached the mess hall.  It wasn’t strictly necessary that they share their meals together with the remainder f the team – after all, each of their housing accommodations included a tiny kitchenette area.  But they had learned to eat together in the desert compound as a matter of survival, and that had continued throughout the interview process to help maintain their sanity.  No one saw a reason to discontinue one of their revered social traditions, and they all greeted Eli and Arianna as they crossed the threshold.  Naomi passed two packets to them.

“Noodles for Eli and pasta for you, right?” she asked as Arianna nodded.

“Yes.  Thank you, Mimi.  Now I just need to find the spice blend Paul....”  She trailed off when Paul hefted it up in front of her.  She opened her hands and he lobbed it gently enough that she caught it without hesitation – quite a feat for someone who at one time had been completely non-athletically inclined.  Her proud smile was blinding and Eli simply leaned forward and kissed her head without comment.  “Thank you, Paul.  I can’t wait to try it.”

“Just remember – a little goes a long way unless you’re accustomed to very spicy food.”

“Oh I think I can handle this.”

“Trust me, Girlfriend,” Esther said as she wiped the tears from her eyes as she fanned her face.  “Go slow and easy with this stuff. It will burn your face off.”

Arianna’s eyes widened and she nodded slowly.  “Duly noted, Esther.  Thanks.”

“Yeah – I’m totally missing milk right now.  A trick Simon showed me in the desert,” she added in response to their confused expressions.  “The best thing I’ve ever used for cooling the heat of spice.”

“Are you going to be all right, Es?” Eli asked with a concerned hand on her shoulder.  Her eyes were still watering and there was a slight flush that was visible on her cheeks and mouth despite her almost black skin tone.

Esther reached back and patted Eli’s hand.  “I’ll be fine,” she promised.  “One of these days I’ll learn to go slow.  Until then, I’ll just have very clear breathing passages.  Pretty sure I could breathe through my ears at this point,” she muttered, garnering laughter from around the room.  Eli squeezed her shoulder before releasing it and taking her seat next to Arianna.

“If you’re sure.  You know where to find me if anything changes.”

“Yeah, thanks.  And can I say how nice it is to be done putting all that stuff away.  Honestly... I never realized just how much....  No wonder you’re good at this leadership and organizational thing, Boss.  That med bay is full of so many tiny little components.  Sure explains a lot.”

“Yeah, I know Eden thought I was a little bit crazy when I told her how much space I needed for the infirmary itself... beyond the living sciences lab.”

“Speaking of,” Abigail spoke up.  “How’s she doing?”

“I’m all right,” came a sleepy voice from the door.  Eli frowned.  Eden wasn’t supposed to be on duty for another four hours.  Eden cocked an eyebrow at her.  “It’s okay, Boss.  I slept good for a while, but when I got up for a bio break, I could smell dinner.  And I wanted to come down and share....”  She made a face as she held up the packet she had grabbed before seating herself across from Eli and Arianna.  “Um... conversation with everyone.” Smiling when everyone laughed.  “It’s been a while and I’ve missed it.”

“Fair enough,” Eli conceded.  “And maybe after today, we can get you back on a normal schedule like everyone else so you don’t miss out as much.”

“Eli?” her tone hopeful.  Then black eyes watered when Eli grinned and nodded.

“Luke found the antidote earlier today.  The last batch is cycling through as we speak – it should be ready by the time your allotted rest period is complete.”

Eden jumped up and moved swiftly around the table, scooping Eli up in a hug despite her squawking protest.  “Thank you, Eli.”

Eli returned the embrace as best she could considering their awkward positioning.  “You may want to save some of this for Luke.  After all....”

“After all,” Eden whispered in her ear.  “He had you beside him.  I know it was a joint effort, Eli,” pulling back with a kiss to her cheek to witness the green skin flush darker and the eyes to twinkle.

“Yes, well you don’t know the specifics of the cure yet.”

“Don’t care,” Eden confirmed with a hint of petulance.  “I’m tired of feeling tired and weak all the time.  I’m ready to get back my awesome self again.”

“Are we ready for that?” Danny asked with a smile, chuckling nervously when Eden cut a glare in his direction.  “Kidding,” he assured her.  “It’ll be nice to have you back to your normal.  I almost miss the scent of your coffee in the mornings,” he teased.

“You’re just jealous,” she growled at him, but he could see the slight smirk on her lips.

“Yes, that’s it exactly,” he agreed without malice.  “Now if you will all excuse me, I need relieve Isaac at the helm.”  Then he stood and walked out the door without looking back.

“So tell me about this treatment process,” Eden said as she resumed her seat across from Eli.  “And don’t think of prevaricating – I know there is going to be some kind of process involved in this antidote... given how impossibly difficult it was to find in the first flipping place.”

“Is there anything we can do to make it easier?” Abigail asked when Eli finished explaining the entire procedure to the entire room.

“I don’t think so, Gay.  It’s just going to take time and patience.”

“And plenty of serum.”

Eli smiled and nodded.  “That too.”

“If you need us....”

“I know.  And it’s appreciated.”

Abigail shrugged.  “We’re family, right?  That’s what families do.”  She rose and crossed to press a kiss to Eden’s head.  “I’m glad you’re going to be better, Eden,” then she left the room without another word.  Before anyone else could comment, Jake rushed into the room and wrapped his arms round Eden.

“Is it true?  The Boss and Luke have found a way to fix you up?”

“It’s true,” she assured him with a grin and watery eyes.

“Awesome, Babe!”  He turned to Eli.  “Thanks, Boss!”

“Make sure you thank Luke,” she instructed.  “But you’re welcome.  No one is happier about this development than I am... except maybe Eden.  Now if you’ll excuse us,” reaching for Arianna’s hand, “I’m going to go relax for an hour or two before we start the treatment.  Eden, I’ll call you as soon as the remedy is ready.  Please try to rest between now and then – it’s going to put a lot of stress on your body to begin with and the more relaxed you are, the better, all right?”

“You got it, Boss.  Thanks!”

Eli nodded then she and Arianna slipped from the mess hall and down the hall to their quarters.


Chapter IX

Just before they could enter the code into the lock, Isaac called out from the other end of the passageway.  “Hey, Doc!  You got a minute?”

Eli closed her eyes and sighed.  “Go ahead, Angel.  I’ll join you as quickly as I can.”  Then she turned to face Isaac.  “Of course, Isaac.  What can I do for you?”  He reached them and caught the slight frown Arianna wore before she entered the room.  He took a moment to really look at Eli like Paul had been coaching him and recognized the exhaustion clear in her eyes.  “Isaac?” her words drawing him out of his brown study.  She had tilted her head in question and was giving him the tiniest hint of a smile.  He blushed and shook his head.

“Sorry, Doc.  I was just... I’m learning....  Nevermind - that doesn’t matter right now.  I was um... I was wondering if... when are you gonna be in the infirmary again?  I mean, can I come see you when you are?”

“Certainly, Isaac... of course. Are you all right?”

“I think so.  I just have a couple of concerns.  I think it’s just my body trying to adjust to the stress of space travel because it’s been nothing like I expected.  I wanna make sure it’s nothing serious.” 

“Fair enough.  If you’re comfortable waiting, I’ll be back in the med bay in about four standard, but I’ll be busy for at least the first hour.  Would you like to come by after that?”

Isaac scratched his head.  “Can you just let me know when you’re ready for me?  I might be sleeping, but I’ll still be there.”

“Of course.  You’re certain you’re all right with waiting?”

“Yep.  Thanks, Eli,” he said giving her a salute and a smile as he executed a turn and headed into the mess hall.

Eli watched him disappear so she was taken completely by surprise when the door slid open and two small hands reached out and pulled her into her quarters.  Her squawk was cut off by a pair of soft lips, but she immediately fell into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Arianna’s waist as the hands that had been clenching her clothing slid into her hair.  After a long moment, they separated and Eli grinned dazedly at Arianna.  “Hello, Angel.”

“Come, Amado.  It’s time for rest.”

“But....”

“I want as much as you do, my mate,” the term drawing a silly grin from Eli and causing Arianna to kiss her nose.  “But you need some sleep first.  Once Eden is back to full health, you’ll be able to return to a normal schedule and we’ll have time for more than just kissing.”

“Promise?”

“Guaranteed.  I wouldn’t say no now if you didn’t look as though you could fall asleep standing up.”

“I’ve done that before,” Eli commented as she dug her fingers into the knots along the base of Arianna’s spine, not surprised when her forehead fell forward into Eli’s chest.  “Feels like you have too.”

“No, but Holy Father, that feels wonderful.”  Arianna let the massage continue for a minute before she pushed herself off of Eli’s chest and reached around to catch her hands.  Eli frowned and Arianna stood on tiptoe to brush a quick kiss on Eli’s nose.  “Come.  I want to lay down with you for however long we have.  I miss being in your arms.”

“I miss having you there,” squeezing the hand that was leading her to the bedroom.  They kicked off their shoes and partially stripped before falling into bed together.  “Ahhhh,” Eli sighed as they curled into one another.  “This is so much better than sleeping standing up.”

Arianna brushed a kiss onto Eli’s chest, then yawned.  “I can only imagine.  Goodnight, Amado.”  The only response she got was slow, steady breathing.

************

It seemed like the blink of an eye, but Eli sat up and scrubbed her face when the computer awakened her.  Arianna grumbled and pulled her pillow over her face.  Eli chuckled and headed into the en suite.  She knew she was facing another long stint in the lab and infirmary; she decided she’d like to start her shift as clean and relaxed as she could manage.  A glimpse in the mirror made her realize what a wise decision that was, and she was laughing quietly when she stepped under the sonic pulse.

She wasn’t completely surprised when a pair of warm, tanned arms encircled her middle from behind, but Eli chuckled when Arianna placed her head between her shoulder blades and rested her naked weight more fully into Eli’s nude body.  A sharp nip along her spine made Eli yelp.

“You bit me!”

Arianna nodded against her.  “You were laughing at me.  It’s hard to be sexy and alluring when you’re not even awake, you know.  Being laughed at just makes it impossible.”

Eli grinned broadly, but did everything she could to restrain her laughter.  Then she turned in Arianna’s embrace and kissed her briefly, knowing they didn’t have time for much more.  “You’re always sexy and alluring, Beloved.  However, sometimes you’re also funny.  And on days that I’m very lucky, you’re all of the above together.  And hopefully after today we can take a little more time together to investigate this facet of you more intimately.”

Arianna wrapped her arms around Eli’s neck and grinned.  “Any kind of intimate investigation between us is always welcome, Amado.”  She pulled Eli’s head down until their lips just met.  “But first you need to go fix Eden.”

Eli claimed the mouth below hers passionately, robbing both of them of breath before she pulled back.  She smiled at the dazed look Arianna sported, then kissed her forehead before removing the arms from around her neck.  “I love you, Arianna,” she said as she stepped from the shower space and re-entered their bedroom.  Arianna quickly followed.

“And I you, Elizabeth.”  She nodded in approval when Eli exited the closet.  “I do like that color on you.”  Eli wore bright blue medical scrubs that complimented her light green skin and brought out the depth of green in her eyes.  The blush caused by Arianna’s words only deepened the contrast and she smiled.  “Will you call me when you’re done?”

Eli frowned.  “Will you be on duty?”

Arianna shrugged.  “Maybe.   It’s all running together a little bit at the moment.  Even if I’m sleeping, I’d still like you to alert me when you’re finished.”

“All right, Angel.  I’ll let you know.  Now go back to bed.  Just because my sleep cycle is out of control doesn’t mean yours needs to be.”

Arianna smiled.  “Hopefully we’ll be out of control together soon.  For now though,” taking Eli’s hand and leading her to the door, “go make Eden better.  Everyone will be glad about that.”

“Especially me,” Eli confirmed with a smile.  “See you later?”

“Count on it.” Then with a brief kiss, Eli was out the door and headed back to the infirmary.

************

Eden was already stripped to her skivvies and ensconced in a biobed as Luke prepared the IV bags they would need to complete her treatment.  Eden gave Eli the evil eye and shivered noticeably as she entered the room.  Without a word, Eli crossed to the unit that contained the blankets and in only a moment had it warmed and covering Eden.  Eli gave her a smile.

“Better?”

“Yeah... thanks.  I’d forgotten about how cold it gets in here before I let Luke strap my arms down.”

“Why didn’t you say something?  Luke could have stopped what he was doing for the thirty seconds it took to cover you up.”

Eden shook her head.  “He was really focused on what he was doing... muttering to himself and everything.  I knew you wouldn’t be too much longer getting here and I didn’t want to disturb whatever mojo he had going on there.”

Eli looked into Eden’s eyes, noting the fear she could see lurking in the back of those expressive black eyes.  “We’re going to take good care of you, Eden.  We went over and over this before we manufactured the antidote, and we checked the antidote once it had cycled through.  We’re not going to let anything happen to you... except make you better.”

Eden held Eli’s eyes for a long moment, then nodded.  “I know, Boss.  I trust you.”

“Then close your eyes and relax.  We’ll make this as swift and painless as we can.  When you wake up, you’ll be better than new.”

Eden smirked as her eyes closed.  “Not sure anyone is ready for that much fabulousness.”  Eli laughed and shook her head, then pressed a dose of anesthesia into Eden’s neck before she turned to make her way over to where Luke was doing a final check on the old-fashioned medical supplies Tom Morris had insisted they include for unforeseen emergencies.  Eli sent up a brief prayer to her gods for a blessing on Dr. Morris.  It took a special kind of healer to see the unforeseen.

“How’s it going, Luke?”

He handed her his Pad.  “The results are very promising.  I just want to be sure this antiquated equipment will function the way it is designed to do.  We wouldn’t want this to cause us an issue in the middle of the procedure.”  He lowered his voice.  “I’m sorry about the blanket, Boss.  I didn’t expect to be this long uncoiling the tubing.  I didn’t even think about....”

“I know.  She’ll be all right.  We’ll warm another blanket to put over her before we get started – heat it up an extra five degrees or so.  She’s already relaxed and sleeping so no harm done, okay?”

“Thanks, Boss.  I’ll speak to Eden when she’s recovered.”  He looked at their supplies and nodded.  “I think we’re ready to go.”

“All right then... let’s do this.”

************

Setting up was very precise and methodical, but it didn’t take long with two of them working in tandem.  Then it was simply a matter of monitoring the situation vigilantly... especially as they were emptying Eden’s blood from her body and running the antidote through her veins even as her blood was being cleansed by the serum as it passed through a machine Eli and Luke had created together.  After watching the process for a few minutes, Eli looked at Luke.

“Can you handle this alone for a while?”

Luke’s brows went into his hairline, but he nodded vigorously.  “Yes, of course.  Will you be nearby?”

“Yes.  Isaac asked for a consult and I’d like to see him as quickly as possible in case....”

“Call him.  I’m not moving and you’ll be close if you’re needed.  Let me know if I can help.”

“You’re doing the most important thing you can right now.  Keep an eye on her pain levels – we don’t want her to be uncomfortable and we don’t want her waking up in the middle of this.  Call me if she starts thrashing around.”

“You think she will... even with the restraints?”

“I was not making a joke when I said she’d be better than new.  When she heals from this,” motioning around the room, “she’s going to be stronger and faster than she was before.  Do you really want to risk it?”

“I see your point,” Luke said gravely.  “Go call Isaac.  I’ll call you if anything here changes.” Eli nodded and moved to her office to contact Isaac.

************

Eli gestured Isaac to a chair in front of her desk as soon as he stepped across the threshold.  He still looked half asleep as she had awakened him with her call.  But he managed a smile for her as he dropped carelessly into the seat with a slight wince.

“You all right?” Eli asked with a smile.  It was asked with genuine concern, but Isaac was still rumpled which made him a little funny looking.  He scrubbed a hand over his face and yawned before nodding.

“Yeah.  I tried not to fall asleep before you called, but um... yeah – you can see how well that worked out for me.”  He gave her a wry smile.

Eli chuckled.  “I completely understand, Isaac.  I’ve had days were I catch myself napping standing up – gods forbid I actually sit down for more than ten seconds.  And trying to restart my brain...?”  She shook her head.  “It’s like trying to cold start an engine.”  He grimaced and she laughed.  “Exactly.  So see?  I do get it.  However, you didn’t ask to see me to hear about my strange sleep patterns.  What can I do for you?”

Isaac sighed.  “I think I need a check-up.  My body hurts... like really aches, you know?  At first I thought maybe I’d been infected by something in all that last minute moving around we did, but it never got worse, and the timing....”  He shook his head.  “And it hasn’t gotten better.  Then I thought it might be my body trying to adjust to space travel – you know because of our speed and the difference in gravity and things like that.  But I don’t know, Doc.  I’m not sure that’s even viable.”

“Can you feel the speed of the ship and the difference in gravity?”

“Well, yeah.  The gravity is noticeably different even from what we just left.  It’s all so much lighter than what I grew up with.  But I had months to become accustomed to the lighter gravity – we actually integrated it into the training program on my world as soon as the project became a real possibility.  Otherwise, we tended to walk too hard – shook a few rafters until we learned to tread lightly.”

“Oh wow – I never even considered that.  But you don’t think that’s the problem?”

Isaac shook his head.  “No.  I’m aware of the speed because that’s what I’ve trained my body to tune into; it’s how I know if there are problems or fluxuations in the flow before something really bad happens.  And the gravity thing – again... something I learned to interpret so I could walk without stomping... or launching myself.  And the infection idea – well for one thing I don’t see how it could have gotten past your scans and sensors.  And for another....” He shook his head then met her eyes, his bright and alert.  “The timing isn’t there.  I didn’t start feeling like this until recently.”

“How recently?”

“The discovery of our proximity to the Nebula.”

Eli clamped her lips together, having anticipated this possibility.  She held his eyes for a long moment before she blew out a breath and stood.  She motioned him to rise and gestured him out of her office.  “Come.  I think an examination is in order.”

They stepped out into the facility and Isaac noted the bay where Luke was monitoring Eden.  “How’s she doing?”

“We’re not quite halfway through the procedure,” Eli replied.  “But I have high hopes.”

Isaac nodded.  “I’ll be glad when she’s okay again.  Eden’s just not quite Eden if she’s not a little bit scary.  And don’t you tell her I said that either,” he instructed sternly.  “I don’t want her taking advantage of the fact that she scares me just a little.”

Green eyes twinkled in merriment but Eli maintained a sober façade when she nodded.  “You have my word.”  Then she gestured him to a biobed.  “Have a seat and let me take a look at you.  Would you like the privacy screen raised?”

“No... unless you’re gonna make me get naked or something.”

“Not at the moment.  Let me do a few preliminary tests and we’ll see where we need to go from there.”  With that, Isaac took a seat and Eli started her cursory examination.

************

Eli gently removed the full syringe from Isaac’s arm and wiped her hand over the intrusion mark, closing the hole without losing a drop of black blood.  “There,” she said as she placed the sealed syringe on the tray behind her.  “I’ll take a look at this and see if something is causing this that we can correct.”

“But you don’t think so,” Isaac stated flatly.

Eli shook her head.  “I believe it has something to do with the frequency of our bodies versus the frequency output of the Nebula.  It’s not affecting everyone, but those it is affecting it’s not affecting in the same way.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m not sure I do yet either.  I just know a few of us seems to be experiencing different symptoms of discomfort while the rest appear to be completely unaffected.”  She sighed.  “Sorry... I’m mostly just thinking out loud.”

“That’s cool, Boss.  I do the same thing.  Kind of embarrassing when I get caught by someone I didn’t even know was in the room with me,” Isaac said, dropping his head in embarrassment as he chuckled self-deprecatingly.  “At least everyone here can understand the basics of what I’m talking about when they catch me.  Most people can’t.”

“I know what you mean.  Would you like something for the pain?”

“Not the good stuff, right?” he asked as he slid from the biobed and stood.

“Not the good stuff,” she promised.  “Just something to help take the edge off and maybe help you sleep a little easier.  I’m not sure I can even do anything to make this better – that might require distance from the Nebula.  But I do anticipate it taking a few days even if I can find a solution.”

“Then yes, please.  I think the ache is making it hard to rest even when I do sleep, and the lack of sleep just makes the ache worse.”

Eli nodded and moved to a drawer.  She loaded a cartridge into the injector and pushed the syringe into his neck, listening to the medicine hiss as it entered his system.  She could see him relax almost immediately.  “Take the rest of the day off.  And come see me again if it gets worse.  I’ll let you know as soon as I have something.”

“Thanks, Doc!”

Eli watched him go, then picked up the vial with Isaac’s blood.  She would check with Luke on Eden’s progress, then go into the lab and start running some tests.  She had a feeling this was all going to get worse before it started to get better.




Part 2