Titan Fleet: The Invictus Part 2

Chapter Ten.

Pace leaves Dock One and heads towards the tavern district. Walking briskly along, looking at the shops and people, Pace feels slightly sad that he may not ever see his home again or the people or every day routine, but then again his life will be full of adventure now, thats for certain, and no more noisy aircon in the mornings all alone. Arriving at The Shattered Moon Tavern, Pace is sure he will find his friend here. Probably under a table would be the best place to look first, he thinks. It just takes a few moments to spot his old mate. Bright ginger hair, five foot eleven-ish tall, singing at the top of his voice and trying to dance with a woman badly. The mans eyes find Paces smile.

"Well, well. If it aint my old pal Joseph Pace. Come to rub it in again about being a big-shot engineer. Well good for you, big-shot. Have a fun life leaving your friend to rot his life away."

Pace approaches the man a small crowd watching now. "Come on, Rusty. How long have we known each other? We both know you pa.s.sed your engineering test with distinction. You can't blame me for your drinking."

Rusty sways towards Pace, almost falling over a table. He eventually stands face to face with his old friend. "Yes, yes. Its true I pa.s.sed, and I missed my chance to be aboard the Forge when it left for s.p.a.ce and the great unknown. My chance to be a hero amongst men. One man and one engine, powering through the stars, off this dust-hole of a planet, and all because we both drank too much and got in a fight with the Dozer brothers. Well, I think I owe you a little something for your trouble of finding me." Rusty takes a swing at Paces jaw, totally missing him and the momentum spinning him around so violently he falls flat on his face on the sticky beer floor. "See thats what ya get, Pacy baby." Rusty pa.s.ses out on the floor and Pace hoists him up with his robotic arm easily, and throws him over his shoulder like a wet towel. He apologises to every one before leaving quietly out the door.

Swoos.h.!.+ A freezing bucket of water hits Rusty in the face full pelt.

"What the....." Before Rusty says another word a second bucket hits home.

"Thats your wake-up call, Rusty, and the next time you ever take a swing at me you will find yourself floating in s.p.a.ce. Do I make myself clear?" Pace is nose to nose with a dripping and bewildered Rusty, and yelling in his face. "I have responsibilities now, beyond your expectations of me, so listen up. This is the only chance you are ever likely to get." Pace picks up Rusty, who is now slumped on a bench in the tunnel, and sits him up straight. Kneeling down in front of him, he clicks his fingers in front of his eyes to make sure he is awake.

"What happened to your arm, man?"

"Never mind my arm, Rusty; I have a job for you. It is a chief engineer job, leaving for s.p.a.ce in just a few days, maybe never to return. It is a top secret job of great importance, and I need a yes or no from you. Thats all plain and simple. This is a second chance for you, but no drink this time. A fresh start, Rusty." Pace waves his hand in front of the drunken Rusty. "Rusty, if you want it, 1000 hours, Dock One, to meet your boss." Pace leaves Rusty pondering on the bench, half hoping to see him in the morning and half not expecting him in one piece. It was the worst he had ever seen him.

Chapter Eleven.

The dock was now dimly lit to conserve power. The lights were still on in the s.h.i.+p, but the ramp was closed. Pace scans his gauntlet and a hatch door opens in the ramp and as he enters, it closes behind him. It is getting late and there is no sign of Megan in the kitchen or living room, so Pace climbs the stairs to be confronted by Anc, who is stood outside Megans door.

"Who goes there?" Anc says in a deep angry voice.

"Just me, Anc. Why dont you go and power down for the night, buddy. Why are you here anyway?"

"Megan needed to feel safe, sir," is the reply. Anc moves down the stairs, and Pace stands looking at Megans door. Should he buzz her and make her feel safe by him being there, or should he just see her in the morning, he thinks to himself. He waits a few moments, his hand hovering before the door, before turning and entering his own room, and the hatch swishes quietly closed behind him.

Megan turns away from her own door, sensing he was outside, and a little disappointed that he did not buzz. She climbs into bed and turns out her light.

Chapter Twelve.

The lights suddenly come on in Paces room. It is 0700 hours. He wakes up with an unusual jolt, expecting to hear the aircon, and for once he misses it for a few seconds until he gets his bearings. Ah its the alarm I set before I went to sleep, he remembers. He slips out of bed and washes and shaves and puts on his clothes. He wants to surprise Megan with breakfast today, so he creeps slowly down past her door, all the time keeping his eyes on it, and opens the hatch to the kitchen. The door slides open so quietly he enters without being noticed by Megan, who has already beaten him to it, and is preparing a full cooked fried breakfast, fit for kings and queens. He also could not help but notice that she was wearing a very short pair of shorts with a dressing gown over the top, and boy did she have a great set of legs. Not noticing his jaw drop, Pace stands stunned at her beauty once more, before Megan turns with a little jump.

"Oh, I didnt see you there, Pace. I thought I would treat you this morning to breakfast, seeing as you cooked yesterday for me." Suddenly remembering that she was just wearing shorts and a dressing gown to cover her naked body underneath, she turns red in the face. "Umm, err, I better go put something on," she mumbles, and runs out the room and is back in a few minutes, fully dressed, this time in tight black shorts and a short cropped top, looking ready for the gym with her hair tied back in a ponytail flapping around in the air. Pace thinks to himself, she is probably showing me more skin now than she was in her nightwear, I will never understand women.

"Breakfast looks great and smells as good as it looks, but you didnt have to do all this for me."

Megan puts his meal down in front of Pace and sits herself down next to him once more. "I wanted to do it before more crew turned up on the s.h.i.+p. A little bit of time together is nice, and we will be so busy when we go up there." She hooks her thumb towards the sky. They both tuck into their hearty meal and are well fed. Twenty five minutes have gone by and they have been busy nattering about what needs to be done. One of the topics was about having a brig for prisoners. They had both decided to construct a couple of cells down in the loading bay area for easy access on and off the s.h.i.+p, if need be. They both also had not yet looked at the engine room which was on the same level as the loading bay, at the front of the s.h.i.+p just under the bridge. An odd place to be, but it allowed more room for salvage on this type of s.h.i.+p.

With a list a mile long of things to do, Pace and Megan decide to contact the rest of the crew on their gauntlet transmitters. They knew that Rusty may or may not be along soon, so without delay they both got to work, and still sitting next to each other at the table they began to make the calls. Megan contacts Samuel Blake, the science officer, and Pace calls Nova Lee, the soon-to-be pilot. Megans conversation with Samuel was straight and to the point, and a yes was obtained in under five minutes, whereas the laughing and talking off topic was still going on when Megan turns to face Pace and starts to listen in to his conversation.

Pace laughs, "Yeah I remember that so well, almost like yesterday, Nova. Stop it; you are making me blush now. Good times, eh?" Catching the now furious eyes of Megan, Pace felt the laser sharp pain of jealousy burning in to his skull and thought it was best to end the conversation soon. "So what do you say, you in? Ah, thats great, never doubted it for a second. I will see you later today then, and Ill show you around."

The screen goes black and before he can utter a single word Megan repeats what he had said, "Good times and making you blush? Is there something I should know about this woman, Nova or is she going to be your bit on the side to have fun with, because you seemed to be very cosy just then."

Pace goes red in the cheeks and stands up, brus.h.i.+ng bread crumbs off himself, onto the floor. He is starting to feel angry at Megans insinuations. "She is just a kid for one, and for two, she is the daughter of a good friend of mine, who I looked out for when she was young. She sees me as a brother, so in answer to your question, no, I wont be having that sort of fun with her, but I was hoping to share that type of hoo-hah with you some day, when you feel ready. Walking off in a huff, Pace shuts the kitchen door and is gone. Megan is left contemplating on how she handled that. Probably not well at all, but at least she knows that he did want to spend a night with her. He is a gentleman after all, and those are few and far between these days. Remembering for a second the way she met Deacon, and not wanting to repeat that mistake again, she rushes after Pace.

When she catches up with him, just outside the s.h.i.+p, he is talking to someone. The man is in his thirties, she would guess, a bit scruffy looking wearing a boiler suit, and with a woolly hat trying and failing she might add, to hide a mop of bright ginger hair. As she walks towards them, she knows it is Rusty from Paces description of him.

Holding out her hand she greets Rusty. "Welcome, Rusty is it?"

Standing to attention, Rusty salutes and replies, "Thank you, Captain, a pleasure to be welcomed aboard, and eager to see her."

Frowning a little, Megan looks baffled. "Im Megan Frost, First Officer, not the captain, Rusty, and who is her?"

Rusty lifts his hat up from his eyes a little so he can see better. "Oh, sorry. I need to report to the Captain, a.s.a.p., and her is the engine. What type is she?" Without waiting for an answer, he lifts a heavy looking sack up onto one shoulder and looks around. "So where is the Captain then?"

Pace says in a stern voice "You are looking at him, and just remember what I said to you last night. I want you to be nice to people, and we will have women on board too, so mind your manners." Slapping Rusty on the back, Pace walks towards the s.h.i.+p. "This way. Ill show you around."

Pace and Rusty walk onto the s.h.i.+p. Pace is still a little bit disappointed with Megan, and leaving her outside to her own devices, he shows Rusty the engine room. As soon as Rusty enters the room he drops his bag in shock. He was staring at the Hyper Gyron Four, an amazing engine indeed and thanking his lucky stars at the same time, he wastes no time in taking a closer look at the beauty.

"Awe wow, she is a darling isnt she. Ill call her Higgy from now on, because its bad luck not to name an engine you know." Hanging his tool belt and an oily rag on a pipe protruding from the engine he feels at home. This is indeed a great chance he has been offered and he will not let drink have its way anymore. Realising what he has been given, he feels it is the right time to be honest with Pace.

"Pace, I mean Captain, I must be honest with you. I thought you were having me on and so I am handing in my drink that I was going to try to smuggle on board." Rusty opens the large heavy bag and hands Pace several bottles of hard liquor, which Pace puts into a container outside the s.h.i.+p.

"Rusty, I appreciate your honesty. We will leave it here for when we return home one day. I knew you would love the engine, and the chance to be aboard, and I dont know anyone I would trust more with the heart of my s.h.i.+p. Come on, Ill show you to your room, which youll be sharing with Samuel, our science officer, and remember, play nice."

Chapter Thirteen.

Outside, Megan takes a s.h.i.+pment of food and supplies and is busy organising Padley with her medical supplies and at the same time getting Anc to take aboard the food, when the dock door to the hanger opens and a grinning smile is seen from afar. The two friends run to meet each other with a hug, under watchful eyes from the bridge, where Pace is looking out the window at the exact moment.

"Wow! You look fantastic Megan. How long has it been? Red hair now too, I see."

Megan, liking the complement, stands back a little, posing a little and taking a good look at her friend. "Oh, a while, Samuel. You know, it will be great to catch up and work together again. So how have you been? How is the good lady? Is she not here? The invite was for the two of you, as we may be in s.p.a.ce a long time, or may not return." Megan is looking around Samuel for his wife, Chrissy.

Samuel looks down at the floor and then back at Megan. "Sorry to tell you, Chrissy fell ill and died from a terrible virus a short time ago. I survived it, just, but I guess thats why Im here. No ties now and no coming back." Megan rubs Samuel on his back and comforts him as they walk in. They head up in the lift and Megan shows him to his room where a happy Rusty greets them both with a smile.

"So youre Sam then. I have taken this bed, if thats ok, next to the window, it helps me to sleep." Not arguing, Sam nods and puts his things on another bed and says goodbye to Megan.

"Sorry again, Sam. Feel free to come and go. Im sure I will see you at the lab, which is the level above, adjoined to the med lab. We will be leaving on Sat.u.r.day, so not long now. We will all have dinner together later Im sure." Megan walks out the door and Sam begins to put his things away, and finds a little spot for his picture of his wife.

"Hey man, I am Rusty, nice ta meet ya. You been roped in too, eh?" Sam offers his hand in kindness and introduces himself, and the two of then unpack and chat as they go.

The rest of the day goes well and people are busy with general things. Megan puts in a few hours at the gym, but soon the need for food hits home, and one by one everyone heads to the kitchen. To everyones surprise, Rusty is cooking a stir fry and it smells delicious. Everyone rallies around, setting the table and making drinks, and all are seated when Pace walks in a little bit late.

"Captain on deck!" shouts Megan and everyone jumps up straight as a die.

"At ease everyone, at ease, its dinner time. Oh, can you set another place, we have another guest. Everyone, I would like you to meet Nova Lee. She is our pilot and very important for our venture. She has flown a lot of crazy missions and knows how to handle a s.h.i.+p." Nova enters the room and sits at the table. Her eyes just visible under the rim of her baseball cap, she takes off her thick leather jacket.

"Awe, thanks Cap," she replies looking around at everyone.

Megan corrects her quickly, "Its Captain to everyone. He has earned that t.i.tle and just to let you all know, I too can pilot s.h.i.+ps like most people can, but welcome Nova." A plate arrives piled high with food under Novas nose and putting a mouthful in and chewing a moment, Nova looks at Pace and grins.

"Hey Pace, I think most people cant fly inverted in the tunnel out there for long, without the law catching you, while you hang upside down with your hands bound and your top covering your eyes, flas.h.i.+ng your bits to the world and living to tale the tale, eh?" Quickly smiling over at Megan, Nova feels very smug, so carries on with her banter. "Nor can most people navigate through an asteroid field, with no instruments or point of origin, while being pursued by pirates wanting your cargo of extremely explosive material, with half your s.h.i.+p on fire. But lady, if that is most people, I guess Im most people too." Nova carries on eating and everyone tucks in to their food.

Megan, now angered, has the final say or so she thinks, "Well as first officer, I expect you to do your duty and take orders. You are not paid to think, young lady, you are paid to do, its that simple, and you will not be risking this crew with schoolgirl choices, am I clear?"

Nova stops chewing, but not wanting to back down continues. "That story about my s.h.i.+p on fire, well the first officer was the one who almost got us all killed, by doing a deal and ordering us to go aboard the pirate s.h.i.+p and steal the goods back. It got him skinned alive and 17 crewmen dead. So yes, I will follow your orders if they make sense, but no amount of money can save your life. Now are we clear?"

Pace looks at the two women squabbling and decides he must put his foot down to make sure people know who runs the s.h.i.+p. "Enough! You are both here because I invited you to be here, remember that. It is me, who will be giving the orders around here, and anyone disobeying my orders will be shot, and you will float forever more in the cold of s.p.a.ce. Please dont test me, you either get on or you get off now, make your choices." Slamming his human hand on the table in anger, Pace looks at them both and then gets up and leaves the room. The kitchen falls silent for a few moments. Nova looks up, and in a begrudging voice, apologies to Megan, and explains it is her way of healthy banter, as she is nervous around new people. Megan does not say sorry, but thinks a lot of Nova for her att.i.tude in fixing the matter. Megan gets up and heads out of the room to find Pace. The crew happily carry on chatting and eating and getting to know each other better before turning in for bed.

Finally, Megan finds Pace sat in-between a stack of containers out of sight of the s.h.i.+p. She asks if she can sit and Pace dusts off a container for her.

"You ok, Pace, you seem a little different tonight?" Megan caresses the back of his neck with her hand. Paces shoulders drop and become relaxed and a sigh of relief echoes off the containers.

"Awe, thats nice Meg, so nice, I needed that. Im just a little stressed thats all. It was easy when it was just me and you." Megan climbs onto the container with Pace. She wraps her long legs around his waist, and begins to give him a proper ma.s.sage to loosen up his neck and shoulders. Pace stares into Megans eyes, letting his mind wonder. "You are so beautiful, Meg. Why do you like me? I mean Im half a man; I have a metal arm and blue skin, probably alien blood as well. Why?" Pace is enjoying Megan sat on his lap ma.s.saging him.

"Pace, you are a sweet man who cares and every time I look at you, I get b.u.t.terflies in my tummy and I feel special around you." She leans in and begins to kiss him and they both feel the warmth that only love can bring. They continue to kiss for some time, not saying a word, both of them wanting to go to bed with the other, but neither of them plucking up the courage to ask in case of rejection.

Chapter Fourteen.

The lights come on in Dock One, and they are so bright that both Megan and Pace wake at the same time. She has been lying on his chest all night and there is a wet patch where her mouth has been drooling a little. Her hair is stuck to the side of her face, and her make-up is smudged a little too. She looks up into Pace's eyes and she feels great, achy but great. She kisses him once more and clambers off to freshen up. Pace is stretching on the floor thinking what a great night they had, and as she walks away he watches her, fearing to take his eyes off her for a moment, in case he wakes and this has all been but a dream.

She glides away swiftly out of sight and Pace decides to get s.h.i.+fting some crates. Today is Friday and he is expecting the security team to show up today as promised. He moves a few crates and then heads up to the canteen for some breakfast. He enters the room and everyone is sat already eating their food.

"Good morning all," Pace says happily in an upbeat voice. Everyone greets him in the same manner, and he sits down and has some porridge with the others, and they all chat for a while about this and that. "Well everyone, today the security team arrive, and I just wanted to say before they come aboard, that given Eve Thorns previous track record with trust issues and tests, I just dont like it at all. Now as your captain, my word is final and I want you all to be on your guard should anything happen, and I would appreciate your support and hope you all will have my back and each others too. If you notice anything strange or out of place, no matter how trivial it is, then you come to me or Megan with it. I will not tolerate insubordination of any kind, and if you feel that this is not what you want, then please leave the s.h.i.+p today, and there will be no hard feelings, because when we are up there, if you turn on me you will end up out the air lock. I have a bad feeling about this security team being on board. We all seem to get on so well, helping each other with things and taking it in turns to cook and things, so I have no doubt that we have gelled as a crew now and I will not let anything spoil that. I have put the security team at the back of the s.h.i.+p, in the rooms there, but depending on how many turn up, some of you may need to share, we will have to see." Pace is now standing up and has a very serious face on.

Megan also stands up and looking at Pace, says in a clear voice, "Sir, I will not let you down, and Im sure that we all will look out for each other. I agree that we should be careful, and to let the others of you know, in case they are wondering why, its because Eve, the Prime Lady almost killed us both testing us for this job. So thank your lucky stars you all were chosen by the Captain and not her. If I had my way, she would have had a slap that day for the treatment and threats that were made, but thats another story for another day." Megan lifts up her cup of coffee and makes a toast, as the others stand with their cups of hot drinks. "To the Captain and the Invictus. May he guide us true and may the s.h.i.+p hold us safe." It was a good toast and everyone is up lifted by it.

Pace feels like he had got through to them. "Ok, lets get to work; we have a lot to do today. I need the remaining crates stowed away, and I need salvage pods checked and runners too. Please make sure that enough supplies are on the runners to survive should we go down, and that med systems are one hundred percent sterile. If you have anyone you need or want to say goodbye to, todays the day. We are about to set off on an amazing journey, we will encounter many things along the way, some good and some bad, but the people need us to salvage. They need food and supplies, and these are the last two s.h.i.+ps bound for s.p.a.ce, so lets make it a good trip. Dismissed." Pace smiles and walks out the room and heads to the bridge.

People scurry about the place and the s.h.i.+p is a hive of activity for a few hours. Nova joins Pace on the bridge and sits in her chair and adjusts it to her liking. She pulls out a few little trinkets to put on her console, one of them being a small teddy bear. She smiles and starts to do her pre-engine start checks.

"Hey Cap, why do we have auto-cannons on board the s.h.i.+p, when we are a salvage operation?" Nova glances at Pace with a worried look on her face.

"Its for safety, thats all. We dont know what we might encounter out there, and apparently some s.h.i.+ps have already gone missing, and that is why we are also getting security along for the trip. Dont worry, Nova, we will be just fine, and Im sure if we run into trouble, youll get us out." Looking at his monitor, Pace checks the rear cameras to make sure everyone is out of the way before they test the engines.

"Ok Nova, when youre ready, start her up."

Nova hits a switch on her console and calls down to Rusty who confirms he is ready too, before she turns the switch to start the engines. There is a slight hum from underneath them as the engine starts up.

"Power initialised, Cap. Burn on engine one, in five, four, three, two, one."

The engine thruster lights up gold and burns hotter than any sun, and then engine thrusters two, three and finally four also light up. There is a lot of noise, and things are moving about a bit as expected, but nothing to worry about. In fact this will be a smooth ride once they are up, Nova thinks to herself, before powering down the engines once again.

"She is a beaut Cap, a beaut! I cant wait to get her up there and flying now." Nova is so excited its written all over her face like a love letter. Pace reaches over Novas shoulders and hugs her, and kisses her on the top of her head, before standing up and leaving the bridge. On his way through the canteen toward the lift, Paces gauntlet lights up with Megans face. She looks concerned.

"Whats the matter, Megan?" Paces stomach flutters with antic.i.p.ation.

"Captain, you need to get down here now. The security team are here and there is a small problem." Megans voice fades off.

Pace frowns. "A problem, what sort of problem?"

"Just get down here, sir."

Pace runs to the lift and it cant carry him fast enough to the loading bay. The doors open and he runs out across the ramp to where Megan is standing. She is pointing her finger and shouting at a tall man. He is in black and green metal body armour. Strapped to his arm is a large gauntlet device, such Pace has never seen before, and stood behind him are three other similarly dressed troops, not saying a word, but holding a large crate between them. Reaching the group and Megan, Pace composes himself because first impressions last.

"What seems to be the problem here, First Officer Frost?" Pace stands next to Megan, looking straight at the tall man in front of them.

"Sir, they want to bring aboard a large crate, but they refuse to tell me or show me what is inside."

The tall man speaks, "It is a need-to-know basis, and you dont need to know," he sn.i.g.g.e.rs. "Its plain and simple. We are here to protect you and you will offer us some courtesy. Now move out of the way and let us stow our gear, and there will be no problems."

The cheek of what the man had just said fires off anger in Paces head, and as the man tries to push his way past Megan, Pace steps in and puts his metal hand on the mans chest to stop him.

"Where do you think you are going, and who are you to demand things on my s.h.i.+p? Now I don't know what world you seem to be living on at the moment, but carry on with that att.i.tude and you wont be setting foot on my s.h.i.+p, because it is my s.h.i.+p and what I say goes around here." Pace is a little red in the face now, and he stands tall and rigid, showing strength through his anger.

The tall man stops dead in his tracks, he turns back and with an arrogant sneer replies to Pace. "I am Tom Mortis, Chief of Security. That is all you need to know, Captain. Now, I will call my superior and you can speak to her, if you wish. I am just following orders, but I think it may be best if we get the boundaries firmly in place before we go on." After tapping a few b.u.t.tons on his gauntlet, a large screen lights up and Eve Thorns face appears.

"Yes, what is it, Tom?" Eve asks in an irritated manner.

Tom stares down at the screen. "Well, Maam, I have encountered a problem, just like you said I would, and it needs clarifying please." Mortis turns the screen around to face Pace.

"Ah, Pace. Now look here, you will let Tom and his men on board your s.h.i.+p with the crate, and no questions asked about it from you or any of your crew. That is an order and will not be contested. Am I clear?" At this point Tom has a smug grin on his face, knowing he has won this.

"You can take that grin of your face before I wipe it off for good," Pace snarls at Tom, "and Prime Lady, I am the captain of this s.h.i.+p, I need to know what is put on her, so we can have this conversation in private if you like."

Megan is wondering if it was such a good idea to have them aboard at all when the voice of Eve bellows out, "Do as you are told Pace. If you cant, I will replace you, and you will suffer the consequences. Some things are none of your business at all, and I will get my men to put that crate on MY s.h.i.+p with or without your help." Tom raises his gauntlet, along with the other three troops, and they all point at Megan and Pace. Seeing that he has lost this argument, Pace bites his lip and succ.u.mbs to Eves will once more, but this time vowing to get his own back.