Lacuna: Demons of the Void (19 page)

It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was better than doing nothing. It was better than cowering forever, living as a nail constantly waiting for a hammer. The Toralii had wisdom of a sort, but the very nature of man required them to investigate everything – every opportunity, every threat – and to confront it. It was just a fundamental urge; a base, primal drive found in all humans.

Liao’s mind turned back to the very first humans in Africa and how those primitive people had fought their way out of the continent, tamed the land, encountered, fought and overcame innumerable dangers, including struggling through a devastating ice age – surviving as humans always seemed to do despite their fragile bodies – going on to further harness their environment, to produce crops and food to sustain themselves, to develop agriculture.

Agriculture had changed humans more than almost any other invention; it allowed some to cater for the many, so that the remainder could devote their time to specialization and develop skills such as tailoring and blacksmithing that improved the group’s overall chance of survival, their comfort and their technology. From there grew other more cerebral pursuits which served to sharpen the society’s intellect: philosophy, science, art, and music. Armed with their intelligence, Humans had taken control of their entire planet, Earth, and were now her uncontested leaders.

Earth. The cradle of humanity... the birthplace of the entire species. Without it, they were nothing. Liao pulled out a notepad and scribbled a small message in the corner.

We must succeed.

She slashed three lines underneath the sentence for emphasis.

Chapter IX

“Old Wars with Young Soldiers”

*****

Captain Liao’s Quarters

TFR
Beijing

Orbit of Earth

Two weeks later

“Oooooooh, that’s gooOOOoood...”

Liao purred like a kitten as James expertly stroked and kneaded her back, working out the tension, allowing her to practically melt into the thick comforting blankets of her bed.

Captain James Grégoire had many talents, it seemed, and naked post-sex back rubs were another thing Liao could add to the list. They’d spent every night they could in bed together. And although their respective captaincies often had them sleeping apart, the crews of both vessels had been quick to notice the “combined briefings” that went from the exception to the norm at a suspiciously fast pace.

“You’re unusually tense tonight,” he remarked, working at her lower back, causing the naked Chinese woman to wiggle around in pleasure, his dark hands working her tanned skin firmly and expertly.

“Mmm... yeah, Summer nearly caused me to blow my stack today. She was curious about the plasma pistol they found on Saara’s vessel... Saara was trying to show her how to use it safely and Summer was impatient; she accidentally grabbed what must have been the trigger mechanism and damn near blew Saara’s head off. Melted another hole in a bulkhead, which had to be replaced, but – ooohmmm...”

James worked his hands lower, taking the cheeks of her rump into his palms, giving a firm, lingering squeeze.

“Is she okay?”

Liao gave her hips a cheeky wiggle for James’s benefit. “Oh, she’ll be just fine, more’s the pity. I chewed her out pretty badly, but I’m not sure how much will stick. She looked bored more than anything... Ugh, nothing I say gets through to that girl.”

James worked his way down the insides of her legs, her skin still warm and slick with sweat from their recent coitus, chuckling as Liao obligingly parting her thighs slightly to give him better access. “I actually meant Saara.”

Liao murmured something gently, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the tender affections. “Oh, she’s fine. Lost a little fur but she’s – oooh! – quite fine.”

“Hmm! A moan like that suggests I haven’t done my job properly...” A stray digit wandered up her thighs, gently nudging up between her legs, beginning to explore.

Melissa reached around with her hand, giving James’s arm a playful swat. “Heeey! Again so soon? My my my... What are you, sixteen again and horny as a dog?”

James casually slid himself over her prone body and Liao arched her back slightly, teasingly, pressing her rump to his groin. The man began kissing at the side of her neck, his sable-skinned body pressing tightly to hers. “I
feel
sixteen again, at least when I’m with you,” he clarified, giving her ear a playful nibble. “...And I thought
I
was the only one who could ‘blow your stack’...”

Melissa gave a soft moan as he entered her again, her small hands gripping the bed sheets tighter. “That’s a
different
kind of- nnnf! Mmmm!”

*****

Corridor Twenty Two, near Power Plant One

TFR
Beijing

Orbit of Earth

The next morning

Melissa checked off items from her checklist, taking a full tour of the ship as the crew went about their daily tasks. A full inspection of the ship’s power plants occupied her attention for a time, although her mind wandered as she spoke to the engineers in charge of the reactor.

Liao had not had much luck with men in her life. Part of that problem was the fallout of the One-Child Policy leaving far too many men and far too few eligible women to go around. She had been courted by rich businessmen’s sons, singers, artists, ordinary men... Some had taken her fancy and she had lost her virginity early, but she ended up losing patience with all of them. She was looking for something a little more than physical intimacy, but a little less than total commitment. It was an awkward grey area that she could never quite put into words, no matter how hard she tried. Melissa had slept with many men in her life, but she had never met anyone quite like James. James... was
different
. He seemed to be able to ride that balance, to find that little place that she was looking for - a feat none of her other lovers had managed. He was not only skilled – and endowed – but he genuinely cared about her own pleasure too... he was a giving, passionate lover and-

“...Captain?”

A young Senior Lieutenant, an engineer new to the ship’s crew, stared at her curiously. The engineer had been talked to her for some time now; Liao realized she had been absently playing with the tip of her slowly growing hair and hadn’t been paying attention to a word the crewman had been saying.

“Sorry, Lieutenant. Please go on.”

“...I was just asking you if you wanted me to reschedule the cooling pump replacement since we’re only a few days away from the big operation. I can’t really go on because there isn’t really much more to say. Um, it’s a question, ma’am.”

Liao felt flustered. She tried to straighten her shoulders and – for now – flush the fond memories of the nights with James out of her mind, but even this determined effort seemed difficult.

“...Yes. Reschedule the replacement for as soon as possible. We’ll need all our reactors online when the time comes.”

“Aye aye, Captain.”

The crewman went about her business and left Liao with her thoughts. James occupied them for a time, but there was work to do. Confident that the engineer’s report was accurate and the nuclear power reactors would be at full capacity on the day, Liao moved on. She strolled down the corridors of her vessel, heading towards the stern, where the ship’s missiles were stored.

On the way there, she passed Warrant Officer Yanmei Cheung, who was leaning up against the hatchway to one of the deck’s armouries. Although Cheung wasn’t an officer, Liao had found her to be an excellent head of the marines; she anticipated giving her a field commission at some point, probably during their next resupply run. Still... she
was
the head of a department and the idea of her also doing guard duty was a little strange. Curious, Liao turned around and headed back her way.

“Captain,” Cheung straightened her back, giving her commanding officer a firm nod. “Everything’s ship-shape here, ma’am.”

Liao nodded in return, frowning ever so slightly. Something felt... slightly off about the whole scenario. Cheung standing here in the corridor. Her formality. Her statement that everything was fine... Well, why wouldn’t it be?

“Good to hear it.” Liao studied Cheung’s expression, but it was impossible to read. “How are the exercises with the marines coming?”

“Very well, Captain. We’re running daily drills, counter-insurgency and boarding action, as requested. I’ve also done a few zero-gravity exercises with a handful of my best people... I didn’t want to mention it in the briefing, but there’s a possibility we might be fighting on the outside of the hull, if the Demons try to get in that way.”

“Don’t spend too long in microgravity,” cautioned Liao. “The techs went to a great deal of effort to make sure we have – more or less – artificial gravity on this boat. Spending too much time outside it has terrible effects on your health. Limit them to no more than one hour per day.”

“Aye, Captain. I just thought it prudent in case they board the ship.”

Liao hadn’t considered any zero-gravity combat, but it seemed unlikely. “Despite the risks I’m inclined to agree,” she offered, “and having additional zero-G experience will be very handy. In a prolonged engagement, there’s a possibility the artificial gravity might go off, so I don’t want anyone being helpless if that happens.”

Cheung nodded. “I know, Captain, and I had the same thought... and took it one step further. Since my people will be the most likely to be near the outer hull during a boarding action, and since a breach would almost certainly be followed by a decompression, I’ve expanded our training to include practice runs.”

“What about weapons? Will they work without an atmosphere?”

Cheung gave a playful chuckle. “That’s a common misconception, Captain. Bullets contain their own oxidizer so our standard sub-machine guns will work just fine in a vacuum, better in fact since there’s no air resistance... although the weapons will heat up very quickly and will jam – or get too hot to hold – after a few clips. Space may be cold, but it’s also a brilliant insulator... just like a Thermos. I pity our armourers too; the heat will damage the lubricants and the weapons will require a complete after-action rebuild and clean.” The woman gave a slightly nervous smile. “So don’t worry about our defences from that perspective, Captain.”

Liao nodded. Cheung’s specialist knowledge was why she had her on the crew.

“Good. Keep up the good work.”

Melissa almost went to leave, but stopped. Cheung had relaxed as she went to step away, but now seemed to tense up again. It might have just been nerves, or...

“One question, if you could? What’s behind that hatchway?”

“Uhh, this one? It’s an armoury, so... just guns, Captain. Ammunition and guns: flash-bang grenades, flares, glow sticks, radios, you know... armoury stuff.”

Melissa frowned sceptically, putting her hands on her hips. Her instincts shouted at her; something wasn’t right at all. “Right, well, I guess I should include armoury inspection on my daily checklist. Let’s take a look, shall we? I’d like to make sure, personally, that everything is ship-shape...”

“Commander Iraj already inspected it, ma’am. Just this morning.”

Liao raised an eyebrow at her answer, pausing just a moment to let her words sink in. “And while I’m certain he did a good job, I said I wanted to inspect the armoury
personally
, Warrant Officer. So please open the hatchway.”

“I’d rather you reconsider, Captain.” Cheung looked distinctly nervous, and her eyes flicked from side to side, unable to match Liao’s intense stare.

They had already had one mutiny aboard the ship during Liao’s time as commanding officer. She hoped – fiercely – that she was not facing another. Cheung had always been loyal, though. That’s why she had made her the chief of marines. What in the devil was going on?

“Marine, I’m ordering you to about face, open the hatchway, and show me inside.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Cheung blew out a low, nervous sigh, nodding her head. “Very well, Captain. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Turning on her heel, Cheung turned the handle on the doorway until it gave a soft ‘clank’ and stopped. Liao could hear voices and movement on the inside of the room. Her hand slowly, instinctively, drifted to her sidearm as Cheung pushed open the door.

The first sound she heard was a girlish giggle, followed by an equally girlish moan.

Alex had Summer bent over one of the ammunition crates, their clothing scattered around the deck haphazardly, her red hair bobbing wildly as Major Aharoni thumped his groin against her freckled backside.

Hearing the door open, Summer – her eyes still closed – stifled another playful little moan and waved her hand in the air. “Ahh-... ahh-... Yanmei, piss off, we’re not done yet!”

“Oh, I think you’re
quite
done,” Liao intoned, her voice sharp and commanding, her Captain’s Voice at work again. Summer’s eyes snapped open and the two of them frantically disengaged.

For a moment nobody said anything, the two of them standing there naked with Cheung and Melissa looking on, until finally Summer broke the silence, shooting Cheung a dark look before turning her eyes to Melissa.