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  Everything that could be repaired had been repaired. They were still no closer to knowing where they were or how to get home. Even though Jerrell wasn’t sure his ship would survive a return trip he wished the anomaly would return. With no engines and no sign of the anomaly returning, he had to make a choice. They couldn’t just drift forever and hope for a rescue.

  Senia’s eyes were full of concern and compassion. She knew he would have to be the one to tell the crew that there was no way to get them home and she ached for him. She had nothing waiting for her but the rest of the crew had families. Mothers, fathers, mates and in some cases children, they might never see again. The rules had just changed on them and now they were going to have to survive the change.

  Bukar had gathered all the information on this star system that he could. Probes had been dispatched and the information sent back, analyzed. They would have to land and start a new life on the water planet. The good news was it was the perfect planet for them. They could live there for years if necessary. Several distress beacons had been dispatched. If they reached someone, it would be great but not something he could count on. There were absolutely no signs of any advanced species still being in the area or on the planet. The only thing left to do was inform the crew.

  Senia reached out to place her hand over Jerrell’s, offering what comfort she could. “They knew what they were getting into when they signed on with the service,” she said softly.

  “I know, but none of them expected anything like this. I can’t even give them the hope of being rescued,” he said just as softly, in a voice tight with tension.

  “Then we will have to make a life worth living on the water planet. It won’t be the same but we can do it. We are all adventurers, otherwise we wouldn’t be here,” she gave a light laugh. “This is just another adventure.”

  He looked at her and smiled. Her skin was iridescent with blues and purples shimmering under it, making it glow. The tiny lines fanning from her eyes emphasized the light lavender irises. She was beautiful and he ached with the need to hold her in his arms. Instead, he took her delicate hand in his, studying the long fingers with tissue thin webbing to the first knuckle. He compared it to his own rough callused hands. Palm to palm, his hand dwarfed hers. She had such presence that he tended to forget how delicate she was.

  Senia shivered from the intimacy of Jerrell’s touch. He was just holding her hand for goodness sake, she told herself. That didn’t stop the longing she had, to be in his arms. As if he heard her thoughts, he stood and tugged on her hand to bring her to her feet.

  When he wrapped his arms around her and brought his lips to hers, she sighed and leaned into him. He took possession of her soul with just a touch of his lips.

  The kiss deepened and his tongue swept in to taste her and to play with hers. It was the most sensual kiss she had ever experienced and flames of desire rippled through her. Her arms came up and twined around his neck, holding him to her.

  Jerrell was overwhelmed with the desire racing through his body. The urge to take her and make her his was all-consuming. He drew back and took a deep breath, fighting for control. She tasted so sweet and it would be easy to become addicted to that sweetness. It was probably already too late, he told himself, lowering his forehead to hers after his arms refused his brain’s orders to let her go. They stood, holding on to each other for a very long time before slowly, reluctantly, stepping back.

  Jerrell ran his fingers down her cheekbone. “You have dark circles under your eyes. You need to get some sleep,” he told her.

  “I have been busy,” she protested. “You haven’t gotten much sleep either.” They both knew that if not for him she would have gone to her pool hours earlier.

  Jerrell knew if he didn’t leave now he wouldn’t leave and from the look in her eyes he didn’t think she would stop him. The months of wanting had broken free of the tight bonds he had kept on them. Being stranded in a strange place, unable to get home, had freed something in him. He was always the voice of reason, the man that followed the rules, both spoken and unspoken. It was the reason he had his own ship. Those rules and regulations had served him well and his career had advanced through the years.

  Now he was rebelling against those very rules by becoming involved with Senia. He had never in all of his years felt this type of pull towards any other woman. His initial thoughts had been to wait until they got home to do anything about it but things had changed. They weren’t going home. They were going to land the ship on the water planet. Instead of finding new planets to colonize, he and his crew were going to be the colonizers.

  He leaned down for one last brush of their lips before turning and walking to the door. “Get some sleep,” he ordered.

  “Technically, you can’t give me orders anymore,” she said.

  Jerrell looked startled, “What do you mean? Of course I can.”

  “My term was up three weeks ago,” she said softly. “I haven’t signed on for a new term yet.”

  A gleam came into his eyes and a slow wicked smile lit his face. They both knew that as long as she was on his ship he could give her orders. But the fact that until she signed a new contract, she was ‘technically’ not under his direct command meant that he wasn’t breaking any rules by getting involved with her. He planned on being very involved with her.

  “Same time tomorrow?” he said, not really asking so much as stating a fact.

  Senia nodded, “I will be here. You get some sleep, too.”

  Chapter 3

  The next day, Jerrell addressed the crew. He explained what their situation was and the only choice available to them. There were some tears and some anger. But these were well trained men and women who knew the risks they were taking when they signed up on a ship to explore the unknown. Jerrell was sure both he and Senia would have to deal with issues that would pop up, but for now everyone took the news better than expected. The younger crew were a little shell-shocked.

  It took a week to enter the water planet’s orbit and in that time the ship had been prepared for a planet landing. Very rarely were ships the size of his landed on a planet. Only in extreme circumstances was it even attempted. That is what the shuttles were for. This ship would be their home for the forseeable future. He had chosen a deserted coastline on which to land. With luck, the ocean would provide all that they needed to survive in the time they were stuck here. If they were never rescued, it would have to provide for them a very long time. The oldest Merrot on board was only five hundred and forty-six. In a species that had an average life span of over a thousand years, that was barely considered middle age.

  Jerrell and Senia were again sitting in her office, talking quietly after a long day. Tomorrow, they would land and all preparations that could be done had been done. There was skeleton crew keeping watch but Jerrell expected them to pass the night in peace. Now he was going to enjoy this time with Senia. He had come to count on this time with her and hoarded it like a dragon from Haldaria hoarded shiny chunks of rock. They were talking about the forbidden baby and what she had found.

  The baby’s father was the man she had thought. Specialist Shilly Lungreb was involved with Assistant Engineer Emory Reed and Reed was married. That was a big problem. Even more of a problem was the baby they had created. Their society was firmly grounded in family. A married man having an affair was almost unheard of. It did happen, but when it got out, that man was never trusted by anyone and usually lost everything.

  A woman wasn’t much better. Her reputation was forever ruined and no man would want to marry her or have a family with her. They both were considered untrustworthy. A married couple could separate if they chose to, but not until any children born to the union were adults. The lines were drawn in stone. Once the crew found out, the beliefs ingrained since birth were going to make it difficult for the two people involved.

  Jerrell asked her, “When is the baby due?”

  “In a little over two months. We should have time to get set up and be abl
e to provide what the baby will need to survive. Other than the fact that she won’t be able to walk on land everything else about her is normal. Her mom will have to spend all her time underwater with her for the first few years. I doubt there will be many volunteer babysitters once her parentage becomes known.”

  “You and I will have to help her as much as we can, then. Have you talked to the father yet?”

  “Yes, he wasn’t much help. He tried to deny it at first. No one in his family has shown this kind of mutation that he knows of. I don’t believe him but without full access to the databanks at home, I have no proof that he is lying,” Senia frowned.

  “I know you don’t like the man but he has no reason to lie about that. Not now,” Jerrell pointed out.

  “It is not just the fact that he cheated on his mate. Something is off with him. I didn’t trust him before this happened.”

  He frowned at her, “But you don’t have any specifics, just a feeling?”

  “I know how it sounds, Jerrell, but that man makes me uneasy.”

  “In that case, we will have to keep an eye on him. He can’t run, we are about to land on an unfamiliar planet.”

  “With many oceans, he can run anywhere he wants,” Senia replied.

  On top of being stranded, Jerrell was going to have to deal with the fallout of this. It was not a good time to have distrust in the ranks, but that was exactly what he was going to have to deal with. The lines on his face had deepened this last week from the weight of his command but she could think of no one she would rather have in charge.

  She finished her trillis and stood to put the cup in the disposal. When she turned back to him, his eyes were closed and his head was leaning back. She went to him and started giving the tight muscles in his neck a massage.

  Jerrell kept his eyes closed when he felt Senia’s hands on his shoulders. The rub down felt very good and he enjoyed it for a couple of minutes before reaching up and drawing her into his lap, needing to hold her in his arms. He breathed her scent deep into his lungs, feeling a sense of peace. Tomorrow would come soon enough he thought, bringing his lips to hers.

  Senia returned his kiss with fiery enthusiasm, letting the kiss take her mind off what was to come. He could do that for her, make her forget everything but him and the feelings he aroused in her body. She tugged his shirt apart to feel the muscular chest under her questing fingers. The heat was burning through her and her breath was coming in gasps. She felt his readiness and knew she wasn’t going to stop him. She was eager to join with him.

  This time it was her com unit that interrupted them. He groaned into her mouth and the sound sent shivers up her spine. The com chimed again and she pulled her lips from his. “Duty calls.” She said, desire clogging her throat so it came out in a husky whisper. Jerrell groaned again in response. She laughed and moved off of his lap before answering the call.

  ****

  The ship, so sleek and smooth in space, was clumsy as it made its way through the atmosphere. The landing was not the gentlest of landings but they made it to the ground safely. The air was crisp with a bit of salt from the ocean when Jerrell stepped on firm ground for the first time in over a year. The coast was completely uninhabited. In fact, this whole coast was sparsely populated, which was the main reason Jerrell had chosen to land the huge ship here. It was beautiful, he thought, standing on the cliffs and looking out over the vast ocean. In the distance, he saw several big fish jump out of the water only to flop back down. The sight of them made him smile. He would miss space and his family, but this was a beautiful place to be stranded.

  Life was incredibly busy for both Jerrell and Senia for the next several days. Jerrell supervised the setting up of a settlement while Senia tested everything brought to her. The oceans were perfect for their needs and they wouldn’t run out of food. Lungreb’s pregnancy could no longer be hidden and the speculation became suspicion, when no one stepped up and admitted to being the father. Fights broke out among the men as everyone tried to figure it out. They knew that there couldn’t be too many reasons why the man wouldn’t admit to being the father. None of those reasons were a good thing.

  Jerrell called a meeting of the whole crew to discuss it. He couldn’t have them behaving this way. He knew it was mostly a way to let off steam but he had to put a stop to it now, before it became unmanageable. When Assistant Engineer Reed chose not to appear at the meeting or even the next day, it was discovered that he had stolen one of the shuttles from the ship and left. Other things were missing throughout the ship. It was clear that he had planned his escape very carefully.

  Jerrell sent search parties after him but they were unable to find him. The crew forgot him and offered their support to Lungreb. Turned out that she would have plenty of babysitters to help her after all. They explored their surroundings and soon life settled into a routine not unlike the routine they had all had aboard the ship.

  Senia’s favorite place to walk was along the rocky shore at sunset. The colors bathed the sky in pinks and oranges as the sun slipped beneath the horizon. It was there that Jerrell found her two weeks after they had landed. He slipped up to stand beside her and they watched the fading colors. It was the first time they had been alone together since that scorching kiss on the ship.

  Jerrell slipped his arm around her, surprised at how much he had missed her despite seeing her several times a day. She had found her way into his heart with her quiet ways and quick wit. She was caring and compassionate with everyone. He remembered the conversation they had had with Specialist Lungreb and Engineer Reed. She hid her distaste of the man well until he had admitted that his affair had been a way to pass the time aboard ship. Then she had let the man know what she thought of him all without raising her voice. He had been cut into tiny pieces and left bleeding on the floor without knowing just how she had done it.

  Senia leaned into his strong arms. The last weeks had been tiring. She needed to be in his arms, to have that connection to him. She raised her lips to his and he captured them in a rough hard kiss. This first time making love couldn’t be slow and sweet. They were too desperate for each other. Clothes disappeared and soon they were skin to skin. Touching and demanding to be touched they rolled in heady desire. Senia’s back arched when he entered her, making her feel complete for the only time in her life, and when they reach that pinnacle of pleasure they both leapt off the edge, falling together.

  She lay with her head pillowed on his shoulder as they watched the last of the colors in the sky fade into black and the moon shined brightly, illuminating their bodies. His fingers absently played with her hair as they lay there in the moonlit night, content to just be together.

  Chapter 4

  The shouting woke them as the sky lightened to dawn. Sometime in the night, Jerrell had covered them with a thin warm blanket. Both of them needed to rejuvenate in the water but for now neither wanted to move. The shouts came again and they jumped to their feet, scrambling for the clothes tossed so carelessly around the night before.

  When they got to the top of the cliff it was to see a group of nearly naked humanoids with sharp sticks in a standoff with his security people. If the scene hadn’t been so intense Jerrell would have laughed. Instead, he assessed the situation and walked to stand in the middle between the two groups. It took a while but eventually the translator was able to let him have a conversation with the leader of the group. They were friendly but the sight of the ship had scared them. They insisted on leaving gifts before they left.

  So the day began with all of its little crises to solved by either Jerrell or Senia. By lunch time, everyone knew they had come up the cliff together with their clothes in disarray. Senia had many visitors to medical bay for minor stuff and every one of them tried to get her to admit she was involved with the Captain. She smiled to herself, wondering how Jerrell was handling the subtle grilling she was sure he was getting too. Her question was answered when he strode into the dining room and gathered her into his arms. He brought his mout
h down on hers with purpose and kissed her senseless. Her knees lost the ability to hold her up and she sank bonelessly into her chair when he was done.

  Senia had never dreamed that Jerrell would be as open about their relationship as he was. Without losing one ounce of respect or authority, he made it clear that they were together. She didn’t enjoy being the center of attention. She was the child of one those rare affairs and had been ignored for most of her childhood. Her father had refused to acknowledge her existence and her mother blamed her for ruining her life. If not for Senia’s birth, she felt that the stigma of her affair with a married man would have blown over. Instead, Senia was a constant reminder to everyone of her mother’s shame. She always let Senia know that, with a slap or kick. Nothing that would draw too much attention but Senia’s childhood had been filled with bruises and loneliness.

  Because of the way she was raised, she tended to be very closed off from people. All of her caring and compassion went towards her patients. She didn’t spend her off time mingling with the crew. She spent it reading or studying the latest findings in medical journals. Now, here she was involved in her own affair. It wasn’t the same, neither she nor Jerrell were married but the scrutiny was getting to her. She was a relatively unknown member of a crew that had been together for more than five years and that crew wanted to know that she was good enough for their captain.