AwayTeam (6 page)

Braden saluted. "Yes, sir." When the screen went blank, he called out to Carl. "Get that dick of yours over here. We've got to finish what we started before I need to get ready for my mission."

"Sure thing," Carl said, coming into view. His cock still rock hard. Had he jacked himself off to remain at full mast while Braden was on the comm? No matter, he was a damn beautiful sight. But not as beautiful as Emerson. He yearned for him in a way he had never wanted for a man in his life. In the brief moment they had been together, Ely knew in his heart that right now he didn't want to be with anyone else.

Braden flashed a glance back to Ely. "Last chance to get some action."

Ely shook his head. "I need to get some shut eye. I've just worked a shift and 0900 is in five hours."

Braden shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself."

Ely headed for his cot, trying to ignore the sounds that emanated from Braden's room. He stripped down to his underwear and pulled back the bed clothes.

"Can you wake me at 0830 hours, computer?"

"Affirmative."

For the first time in too many days, he didn't relieve himself before he slept. He was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Chapter Seven

At 0845, Ely left his cabin. Braden was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Carl, for that matter. The General alarm was still active, Ely supposed it wouldn't be lifted until the energy field around the
Mandrake
had been dissipated or at the very least, the reason discovered as to why it was there in the first place.

Ely was stopped by security when he exited the lift that led down to engineering. He explained that Commander Okinawa had requested his presence and that he was now considered to be rostered personnel. The man checked the portable comm panel he was holding, nodding when he discovered Ely's name on the duty list.

When he entered Commander Okinawa's ready room, his gaze searched out and rested for a brief moment on Emerson. The man was seated, still looking haggard, his eyes bloodshot. Everyone else was present, including a grinning Kale.

Ely had been in Commander Okinawa's ready room plenty of times, but this was the first time he was there for a mission briefing.

"Glad you made it, cadet Ely. I know you must be tired, so I'll keep this brief," Commander Okinawa began, gesturing to a holographic schematic of the
Mandrake
that had appeared above the middle of the conference table. "As you are all now aware, an energy field has surrounded…"

Ely lost the commander's words in the jumble of thoughts he had about what he was going to say to Emerson the moment he got the chance. He just wanted to go to him, plant a sensual kiss upon his plump lips, not caring what others would think. Actually, he wanted to embrace him tight, soothe the hair upon his head while cradling him close to his chest. Take in his touch and his scent.

He remembered the after shave Emerson wore, manly and adding to his attraction. An attraction that didn't germinate from the man's looks, but blossomed because of the way he behaved. Emerson was a gentlemen and Ely was a fool if he didn't try and make amends, and as soon as possible before too much time had passed and the wound of what he did too great to heal.

"…thank you, cadets." Commander Okinawa saluted. Everyone around the table stood up and did the same. Ely nearly missed the end of the briefing, he had been that absorbed with his own concerns. "I will see you all in shuttle
Phoenix
in thirty minutes. Dismissed."

Braden was the first to leave the ready room, followed by Kale. Ely offered a weak smile at Emerson, gesturing for him to pass through the door before he did. Emerson looked beyond Ely, passing without so much as a word spoken. Ely's stomach churned. Had he blown it for certain? There was only one way to find out, and that was to get Emerson alone, talk to the man.

Ely sighed. That was going to more difficult than he had hoped. Being on an away mission, one that could last for hours, wouldn't be the ideal situation to pour his heart out to someone. Private times on short missions were few and far between.

On board the shuttle
Phoenix
, Ely headed straight for the cockpit. That's where everyone else would be anyway. In the thirty minutes between leaving the ready room and arriving at the shuttle bay, he returned to his cabin and packed a duffle bag. It was standard procedure for any away mission, even ones that were scheduled to be short.

Inside his bag, he placed a spare uniform, plenty of underwear, and all the things he needed for personal use, brush, enzyme mouth paste, soap, a carry can of skin seal--not that he had hope of using it--and his own pillow. He always brought his own pillow no matter where he stayed. Helped him sleep, even on the most uncomfortable beds, which shuttles were renowned for.

Coming into the cockpit, a rather large room which also accommodated its own ready room and kitchenette, Ely once more couldn't help but stare at Emerson. He was standing near the window, his silhouette striking. Braden and Kale were present, too. All that was needed was the commander and the mission could begin.

"You'll wear your eyes out, Ely," Kale said with a snicker.

"Kale!" Ely shot him a glance that could have curdled a Callisto Cum Burst. He noted that Emerson didn't turn around from his study of the goings on around the shuttle bay. He just stood there. Watching. Silent.

Braden said, "Is there a problem here that I might need to know about? This is the first away mission I've been entrusted with and I don't want anything to fuck it up, you all clear on that, ladies?" Braden had certainly changed his tune since earlier this morning when he was all over Carl. Then again, Ely understood military mentality. Being in command was a big responsibility. Work was work and rest was rest.

Kale offered Braden a salute. "Nothing a good hard fuck between Ely and Emerson won't fix, Braden."

"That's
sir
while you're under my command, Cadet Kale."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. But it's true, the only issue here is that Ely and Emerson need to swap spit and sink their dicks into each other's holes, nothing more."

Braden roved his gaze over Ely and Emerson in turn. A slight nod as he did so. Ely then knew he understood why he had turned down his offer of a threesome. "If this affects the mission in any way I'll report you both to Commander Okinawa. Clear?"

Without seeing him do so, Emerson had turned his attention to the group. His face as hard as stone, his stare intent. Ely swallowed hard. All this banter had probably made life more difficult. But what could he do? Kale was Kale.

Ely, Emerson and Kale said in unison, "Yes, sir."

In that moment Commander Okinawa came into the cockpit.

"Commander on deck," Braden snapped, standing to attention and saluting. All the others followed.

"Ah, good, we're all here. At ease, cadets." Commander Okinawa placed a portable comm panel onto the shuttle's briefing table. The computer was larger than the tablets security used. "Cadet Kale, begin launch procedure. We've waited long enough and the captain is eager for some answers, as I'm sure we all are."

"Yes, sir," Kale said, swivelling in the pilot's chair so that he was facing the controls. He began speaking into the comm with the tower. Seconds later, the unmistakable hum of engines filled the cockpit. Another second or two after that, the shuttle was accelerating out of the bay doors.

"Clearing the
Mandrake
now, sir," Kale said, not looking away from his study.

The energy field did indeed surround the starship. Before them was an electric blue shimmer, not solid so as to obscure the blackness of space beyond, but solid enough to be seen with the naked eye. Ely gasped.

Before the wonder before him could be taken in completely, a klaxon sounded, causing Kale to begin frantic movements across his control panel. "Sir, we're experiencing a lot of turbulence as we pass through the energy field."

"Can you maintain integrity?" Commander Okinawa asked, coming over to where Kale was seated, studying the panel for himself.

"I think so, sir."

"Good. Continue with the mission as planned, Cadet Kale."

The turbulence Kale spoke of shook the shuttle. Strangely, as they passed through the energy field and began coming out of it so they can begin their sensor sweep, the shaking got worse. Commander Okinawa's portable comm panel was shaken off the briefing table, as well as other various loose objects scattered about the cockpit.

Again a klaxon sounded.

Before Commander Okinawa could ask what the problem was, Kale said, "The difference in conditions between normal space and the area inside the energy field is too great. The shuttle can't cope with the stress on the hull, sir."

"Then we abort," Commander Okinawa snapped.

Kale punched more and more panels. Ely could hear the shuttle groan, like the metal it was made of was being stretched and sheared from the forces of the energy field. After what seemed an eternity, Kale said, "We can't go back…sir. The shuttle is getting swept away, like flotsam caught in a tidal current. We're going to be forced out of the energy field and ripped apart unless we can come up with something quick smart."

"Are the engines on full power?" Commander Okinawa questioned, the look of concern drawn all over his face. Braden had come over to the pilot's seat, too.

"Yes, sir. That's part of the problem. I need full power to stay within the energy field, but even that's not enough. We're falling away from the
Mandrake
and I don't think we'll have the power to catch up, let alone see the shuttle bay sometime soon."

Commander Okinawa looked up from the readouts and red warning lights on the control panel in front of Kale. "This shouldn't be happening. The
Mandrake
isn't affected in that way by the energy field, so why are we having difficulty?"

"I don't know, sir. We're dealing with forces I can't even begin to explain," Kale said. "But I do know that if we leave the energy field, we're going to be turned into space junk."

Braden turned his attention to Emerson. "Do you have any suggestions, Cadet Emerson?" He then looked to Ely. "Or can you boost the shuttle's engine power, cadet Ely? Give us what we need to get back into the shuttle bay at the very least."

Commander Okinawa patted Braden on his back. "Excellent, get the men working."

"Hang on," Emerson said. "If the
Mandrake
is surrounded by an energy field and the shuttle is being forced out of that field, why can't we use that to our advantage?"

"Explain, Cadet Emerson," Commander Okinawa said, but not with the authority of an order, more out of hope than anything else.

"I don't think we're going to have time for much jabbering, Commander Okinawa, sir." Kale said, again a frantic pushing of panels punctuating his words. "I believe we'll have less than ten minutes or so before we're ripped apart."

Emerson's face hardened even more than it already was. "Then I'll need to take cadet Ely to the shuttle's engine bay. I have an idea."

Without hesitation, Commander Okinawa said, "Take whoever and whatever you need. Just get this sorted out so we can do what we're supposed to be doing, helping the
Mandrake
. Cadet Braden, hail the command deck, tell them of our predicament and inform them that we're working on a solution."

"Yes, sir," Braden said with a salute, heading over to the communications panel, his face lit up blue with the glow of the communicator screen as it appeared, seconds later.

Emerson nodded to Ely. "C'mon, cadet Ely. I'll need a whiz on the engines while I configure the computer into accepting the craziest thing that has ever been done in a shuttle."

Ely followed Emerson out of the cockpit.

Chapter Eight

"So…um, you think I'm a whiz, do you?" Ely asked, a squeak in his voice that wouldn't go away no matter how much he cleared his throat. His fingers tingled, too. Was this nerves or something else?

Emerson led him down to the engine compartment of the shuttle. Not that Ely needed to be shown where the place was, he was an engineer, after all. But still, he didn't complain. At least Emerson had spoken to him.

Ely thought too soon. The next words out of Emerson's mouth were filled with venom. "I only said that in front of the commander so he wouldn't suspect that I think you're a complete fuck head for leading me on. You only asked me out so you could get what you wanted, not caring about my feelings at all."

A long moment of silence followed between them, the groan of the shuttle fighting against the energy field all that could be heard. Emerson climbed down the ladder that led to the engine compartment, not bothering to wait for Ely.

When Ely was in the room with him, settling into his station at engineering status and control, he said, "Okay, I deserved that." His throat tightened even more. In fact, his whole body was now numb with both nerves and anxiety. His chances of ever getting back with Emerson sinking with each passing second. His thoughts darkened to cloud his mind.

Emerson sat down at the station next to Ely, punching up a schematic of both the shuttle and the
Mandrake
. "Here we are in relation to the
Mandrake
. Kale was right, the shuttle
is
moving out of the energy field."

Ely didn't reply, letting Emerson continue as he studied the information lit up before them. It was clear to him that the man had said what he needed to get a weight off his chest and was now concentrating on the matter at hand. Ely had no doubt that their relationship was over. He wanted to reach out and hold Emerson's hand that worked as quick as lightning across the logistics panel, but chose not to. He didn't fancy a slap in the face to match the verbal chastising he just received.

"There seems to be a pattern to the energy," Ely said, his voice weak, his mind spent of all hope of salvaging what little shred of attraction Emerson may still have for him. Kale had lied. Emerson wasn't acting like a man who still had feelings for someone else. He was cold, his stare intent on his work and nothing else.