Adrift (13 page)

"Were you able to sleep?"
Nancy asked with quiet concern as Norik eased himself into his command chair.
She had been notified that they were near the planet before Xon had informed the Colonel.
A courtesy from the Duarr that had surprised her.

Norik shook his head and looked to his Second for an update.

"Sometimes I find mastur-" Xon started but all that came out next was a little squeak.
He stared hard at Nancy who paid him no attention whatsoever.

Norik looked between the two and then leaned closer to Nancy after she took the seat beside him.
"What did you do?"
he asked.

"Nothing much," Nancy said as she clasped her hands in her lap.
"He just temporarily forgot how to speak.
It won't last long."

As if to prove it Xon poked his head between them and said, "I've a more interesting way to stop you talking," and then he disappeared before Nancy could do anything else to him.

"Do I want to know what happened while I was away?"
Norik asked.

"I got drunk one night and did something stupid," Nancy explained as calmly as if she were reading a patient's chart.
"And apparently so did my bunkmate, Anari."

"Ah," said Norik.

"And Vlad, and Peter's wife," Nancy finished.

Norik closed his eyes briefly and said, "Does Peter know?"

"Not yet.
He still thinks she's cheating on him with Vlad," she said.

"Is she?"

"Oh no," Nancy said with a smirk.
"That ended before we put you on leave."

"Is there anything else I should know?"
Norik asked, afraid that there was.

She shook her head and said, "About the crew?
No, however I'll be starting physicals soon."

Xon reappeared between them and said, "She looks forward to seeing you naked again, Colonel."

Norik caught the Duarr by the hair and pulled him closer, so he was balanced at a precarious angle.
"Stop sleeping with my crew or I will let the good Doctor here castrate you with an implement of her choosing.
Do you understand?"

"Aah.
Yes sir.
No sleeping," he assured him and when Norik let him go he cheekily asked, "Can I still have sex with them, sir?"

Nancy rolled her eyes and asked, "Don't we have a woman to save?"

"Yes," said Xon.
"The Colonel's woman."

Norik growled at Xon but clamped down on his anger to issue orders based on the intel they had received from command.
"Callisto will lay down covering fire while two armed infiltration teams enter the complex."

"Aye sir," Xon said and snapped off a happy salute.
"I will infiltrate, sir."

The only reason Norik ignored the innuendo and sexual antics of the Duarr was because he was damn good at his job.
But the very thought of the Duarr infiltrating anything near his woman had his hackles raised.
"You stay here," Norik told him as he got to his feet.

Even Nancy looked surprised.
Xon tried to protest but the Colonel would have none of it.
Xon shot the Doctor a panicked look for help.
She shot daggers at him but came to his rescue.
"Colonel, Xon and I would be in a better position to help you if we were planetside."

"We?"
both Xon and Norik asked at the same time.

Nonplussed at their joint surprise she continued, "It makes sense for Xon to lead one team.
The two of you are our best leaders and sharpshooters.
And if what you say is true."

"It is true," Norik growled.

Nancy held up a calming hand and said, "Then you may need my expertise on hand.
Just in case."

"You can't be serious," Xon huffed and looked to his Colonel to find the all too familiar look of the man coming to a firm decision.
"Sir, this is a dangerous situation we're walking into, we can't just take anyone who volunteers."

"I am a valuable asset," Nancy said through her teeth at the insufferable Duarr.

"Yeah and you know I love your assets," Xon started and then frowned at her, "that's not what I meant to say!
You did that.
She did that.
Make her stop it."

"She's on your team," Norik told him.
"Vlad you have command."

Xon glowered at Nancy and quietly told her, "I don't know what you're playing at, but you'll carry a weapon.
Don't pull any of this 'I'm a Doctor not a soldier' shit.
You take the weapon and you'll use it.
That clear?"

Nancy regarded him for a moment.
Touched that he was more worried about her personal safety than the overall safety of his team due to her lack of fighting expertise.
"Aye sir," she replied, determined to not be a burden.

Callisto was not a big ship and only had the two auxiliary craft.
A team took one each and while Callisto attacked the complex by air, they slipped in on foot.
Offices made up the ground floor, it seemed the more sinister laboratories were buried underground.

Norik's team had trouble keeping up with him.
The thought that Jasmine was somewhere in this rabbit warren spurred him on.
He needed her.
She was his mate and he now accepted that.
His mate was in trouble and needed him.
The real question of whether she wanted him would have to wait until she was found and safe in his arms.
That's when he would worry about rejection.

"Sir!"
Corporal Avery called out from a nearby doorway.
They had been forced to check every door due to something in the walls that severely limited the range of their scanners.

Norik's pulse quickened, "What?"
he asked as he made his way to the man.

"Holy..."
Singer breathed beside them.

"They're all dead sir," Avery told him.

At Norik's estimate there were three dozen women laid out naked on tables.
His gaze darted from one to another, looking for Jasmine's corpse.

"Been dead for a few weeks sir, at least," Avery continued.
"Oldest at the back, recent at the front."

Singer pointed to five empty tables nearby, "Looks like they're expecting more."

Avery elbowed Singer in the gut to shut him up.
The two men glared at each other until Singer finally understood the mistake he had made.

Norik gripped his rifle tighter.
Jasmine wasn't among them, but she soon might be if they didn't find her in time.
"Leave a charge," he ordered and turned away from the ugly sight.

* * *

Nancy screamed as a man lunged for her.
The upside of this was that it alerted Xon to her predicament, the downside was that it also alerted the man's friends.

"Down!"
Xon yelled at her and Nancy obeyed.
The man who had been coming for her dropped dead at her feet.

Nancy lowered her arms from her head and stared at the hole burned into the man's chest.
She felt someone grab her by the upper arm and haul her around a corner, to relative safety.
It was Xon.
"There is a stun setting!"
she snapped.

Xon looked at her incredulously and supposed expecting a thanks from Nancy, was out of the question.
"Darling, if I stun him it means he'll just get back up and kill me on the way out."

"Well, when you put it that way," she sneered at him.

"That and he had a knife and was going to kill you," Xon pointed out to her.

"Oh," was all Nancy could say.

Xon grinned at her, "You're much prettier to look at whole than chopped into itty bitty pieces."

Nancy smacked the Duarr in the arm and said, "Shut up and kill more bad guys."

"Ow," Xon complained but jumped back out into the fray.
"I'll kill a hundred bad guys for you, Nancy!"

Nancy closed her eyes briefly and shook her head.
"Is it wrong that I find that a turn on?"

"Ah," said the corporal standing nearby.

Nancy held up her hand to silence him.
"Forget you heard anything corporal.
Go help your leader kill people," she told him.

"Aye aye ma'am," he said with a gleeful look in his eye before he too went off to slay all that stood in their path.

"Men," she muttered, "and Duarrs."

* * *

Norik slammed into the side of a console to avoid incoming fire.
He threw his head back and gasped in pain the moment his injured shoulder made contact.
Nancy had doped him up on pain killer but this battering was outside it's purview.

Avery and Singer skidded across the floor and landed on either side of him in what appeared to be a command centre.
"You all right, sir?"
Avery asked as Singer fired blindly over the console.

"I will live," Norik told him.
"What did you see?"

"There's maybe five of them," Avery said before switching with Singer.

"Make that three," Singer gloated.
His elated grin faltered though when he caught sight of his commanding Officer.
"You're bleeding, sir."

Norik glanced down at his shoulder to find his non-Human blood seeping through his fatigues.
He couldn't afford to put pressure on the wound as that would leave him unable to wield his weapon.
"I will live," he repeated.
"We need to secure this room.
Taking their command centre will give us an advantage over their numbers."

Singer nodded in agreement.
He reached around Norik and smacked Avery on the backside.
"Oi, we're gonna flank this lot and take it."

"Sounds good," said Avery.

On Norik's nod, the pair ran off in opposite directions making sure to stay low.
Norik did his best to keep the enemies' collective heads down while his men moved into position.

"Cease fire!"
a voice from the other side ordered.
The weapons fire abated and Norik also complied, curious to see what would happen.

"You have attacked a Space Corps research centre," the voice continued, filling the eerie silence.
"Identify yourself."

Before he could stop himself Norik called out, "Colonel Norik Jacobs of the Space Corps ship, Callisto.
I doubt Space Corps would condone your genetic experiments."

"Really?"
the voice drawled back, "I outrank you Colonel.
Stand down and surrender and maybe I'll spare you the penalty of death for attacking Space Corps property.
Not to mention murdering innocent soldiers."

"It's not murdering if you're crooked!"
Avery shouted back.

Norik closed his eyes briefly at the younger man's outburst.
He wondered if Avery knew he had just given away his location.
Thankfully Singer kept his mouth shut.

"What spirited men you have Colonel," the voice sounded amused by the situation.
Unconcerned.
"I wonder though why you are here.
Could it be you're here to save the journalist?
She is here somewhere but you won't get the opportunity to save her.
It's too late.
You see, I knew you were coming."

Norik growled at the mention of Jasmine.
His chest heaved as he gasped in larger lungfuls of air.
He didn't have a plan but he knew he would do something.

"She told mea lot of things, not that I believed her," he continued.
"Anything to let her live.
I gave her short life purpose.
She bears one of my progeny.
One of my precious children.
They all have.
These women have all given their lives to bring my children into this galaxy."

"You're sick!"
Avery spat out.

The General ignored him, "How many women of child bearing age are on your Callisto, Colonel?
It was so kind of you to bring me more, so I can continue my experiments."

Before Norik could order him not to, Avery jumped to his feet and started firing in the direction that the arrogant voice of the General had come from.
It didn't take long before he was cut down by returning fire.
Norik's sensitive hearing was able to pick out Avery's ragged breathing.
The man still lived.
For how long though, he could only guess.

Norik gritted his teeth as he moved in the opposite direction.
The only way he could help Avery was to secure the room first.
He was light on his feet but that would only get him so far.
The room wasn't well lit, but he would still make an excellent target for someone looking in his direction.
He passed Singer who gave him a worried look.
Norik gestured for him to stay put while he continued to circle the room.