lights camera action

It's so hard to know how much.
How much detail, how much action, how much insight.
I think I use as much detail as I would like to have. A lot of the books I read have many passages and even pages that I simply skim over... even some of my favorites. Really, Mr H, much as I ADORE your work and couldn't live without re-reading a good portion of it on a regular basis, I don't have the patience for all that math, or all that genetic mumbo-jumbo, or even some of the word games you play(ed) both in the actual story and in the writing of said story. (wow, run-on sentence much?)
Another issue I come up against regularly is language and colloquialism. It seems to me that what is common speaking language here and now might not be in a few years, and certainly not in a galaxy far away that we don't even know the name of. In my personal real life I may use certain terms and references but when I write it just doesn't seem appropriate. I have seen many stories, especially within the past few years, that use "cuss words" (LOL) on pretty much every page, and most particularly in "romantic" context. I don't think it adds anything to the story, it isn't descriptive. To my mind it's a lazy way out.
Instead of finding a way to evoke a visual or a feeling, just stick in a few expletives. That'll get the job done. A sex scene just isn't complete without fully exercising the right to the words "tit", "clit", "cum", etc. Right?
Now don't get me wrong, I can and do use those fucking words and many others just as well as anyone. Sometimes, perhaps too much.
BUT I don't spill that over into my work. It just doesn't fit, either my style or my characters. Or the story, for that matter. The books I enjoy the most and go back to again and again, what I and many others consider "classics", do not use that kind of language. It's just not necessary.


Onward we go.

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Chapter 5

                *********

                We found ourselves on the Transport Pad on Level Six, just down the corridor from our quarters. The glaring lights in the corridor burned my eyes, and I blinked to clear the tears. I had expected that we would be sent to Medical, but we landed on the circular platform in the midst of what felt like a huge crowd. My mental receptors cringed, then as quickly subdued the commotion. We were greeted by several Officers, Commander Walker first among them, and Doctor Palmer, a Medical kit by her feet and thick woven blankets in her hands. The Doctor walked over to me first, dropped  the blankets, and hugged me tightly. She didn’t seem to notice when I slipped my hand as stealthily as possible into her pocket.

                The Captain looked around at his Crew, smiling weakly. Some small something caught my attention, a slight wisp that vanished before I could focus on it.

                Commander Walker stepped forward. “Captain, Sir. Are you all right?”

                “Yes Commander, I...” He didn’t get any further than that before his legs began to buckle underneath him.

                Arms reached out to catch him as he slumped to the floor.  His face was ashen, his hands shaking. I broke through the small crowd, pushing the Officers out of my way. His skin was chilled, his breath shallow as I knelt by him and tenderly touched his forehead.

                “Paolo? Can you hear me?” I took his hands in mine and brought them to my face. “Can you feel me? Please!”

                Doctor Palmer crouched down by us, her kit by her side. She brought out a scanner and began to run it over his body, arms, chest, legs. His inner voice was so weak, but he was trying to reach out to me. The scanner showed nothing unusual for a moment, only the expected pools of blood under the bruises, until the display suddenly began to flash.

                “What? What is it?”

                “It seems to be a toxin, Liz.” She looked up at me in shock. “It’s the same type of toxin that Lieutenant Commander Quinn was infected with, back at Morgos. I won’t ask how it got into Captain Bianchi, I think I already know. Though why his altered cells are not killing it, I don’t know yet.”

                My hands shook, and I looked down at my left arm to see the vines whirling and fluttering madly. Tears fell as I moved my gaze over to the Captain’s arm, and the vines on his forearm were still. My heart sank as the import of that filtered into my brain.

                “But you can kill the toxin. We developed a cure. Right?”

                “Yes, Liz. We did.” She touched her communicator.

                As she relayed to her Assistant the exact vials she needed brought up, I moved closer to my Captain, still holding his hands. Disregarding our audience, curling up next to him, touching, I tried to share what comfort I had. My own strength was waning after the long tense day so I sat as still as possible, trying to conserve my energy. The attention of the watching Crew and Officers was on the fringe of my awareness, but I was able to draw from the caring and concern being directed at us.

                There was something else as well, and, focusing briefly on it, I almost had to laugh. Apparently my attire or lack thereof was drawing quite a bit of the Officers’ attention. The thin fabric had given way in several places, unnoticed by myself, and much more of my skin was exposed than would have been my choice. However, I couldn’t care about that. Let them look. All I cared about at that moment was my strong husband, now so weak, so drawn as he rested his head on my shoulder, his hands chilled in mine. The nebulous sense of something unusual nagged at the back of my consciousness.

                The Medical Assistant arrived, with the cylinder full of the anti-toxin. I held my breath as Doctor Palmer administered the dose, and we waited for some sign of recovery. It felt like forever, but was probably only a minute or so. And of course I felt it first, the whiff of his warmth, just the same whiff that had been the very first thing I had ever noticed about him. He opened his gorgeous grey eyes and turned his head to look at me. His hands clasped mine more tightly and he smiled that special smile. My breath caught as I felt his warmth and love washing over me, through me. Another slight whiff of something unidentifiable drifted through me, something not quite painful but not quite harmless either. It was filed away automatically for future investigation, my brain simply could not process it at that time.

                My Captain kissed me softly, then looked around. “It seems I have made a spectacle of myself. My apologies. Commander.”

                “Aye, Sir.”

                “What time is it? How long were we away?”

                “It is Eighteen Hundred, Sir. It has been a full day. It took us longer than we anticipated to find the Agrint ship... And we had to find out how they had gotten through the security, as well as how they had gotten on and off the Ship while we were in Hyperspace.”

                It had been a full day, Commander Walker had said. That would explain my fatigue, as I had not allowed myself to sleep. It was indeed a much longer period of time than it had seemed. I wondered briefly why and how I had been able to first of all stay awake that entire time, and second, why did they want me there as well? If Knowles did not intend to use me, why bring me? My eyes closed for a moment as I attempted to recall if anything had been said in my presence… but no. There had been no sensations, no whiffs of anything in particular. That in itself was unusual, however the entire experience had been contradictory.

The extended period of time also meant that there had been ample time for whoever was with the Captain to do much more than administer some antiquated toxin. Again I pushed away the nagging feeling and vowed to find out what had happened to him while I was trapped in that grimy cell.

                “It’s all right, Commander. I know you all did your best. I never doubted that you would find us.”

                Doctor Palmer broke in, “Sirs, I have to protest. Our Captain and Doctor Liz need to be cared for, and then they need to rest. The Agrint ship has gone, yes?”

                Commander Walker nodded. “It has. As soon as they completed the Transport, they left the area. Their shuttle is being tracked, and it is still heading away from us as well.”

                “Very well, then there is no reason for all of us to remain here in this corridor.” She motioned to me. “Right, Liz? We need to get you both back to your quarters. I’ll take your clothes for testing when we get there. Will that be satisfactory, Captain?”

                The Captain smiled as he looked up at her. “Yes, Ma’am. Now, will someone please help me up?”

                As the Commander and one of the Lieutenants helped the Captain to stand, Doc Palmer took one of the blankets and threw it over my shoulders.

                Quietly, in my ear, she whispered, “You are causing quite a sensation, Liz. I don’t have to be Sympath to feel what those men are thinking, Captain’s wife or no. And we really don’t want to give the Captain a chance to notice, do we?”

                I pulled the blanket around myself, nodding. But as I pushed myself to my knees in order to stand a wave of dizziness came over me and I had to sit back down. Commander Walker left the Captain’s side without a second thought to rush back to me.

                “If I may, Doctor?” He bent down, without hesitation, and lifted me in his arms.

                My surprise kept me from uttering a sound. He was holding me as gently as possible, only glancing down for a moment to be sure that I was fully covered by the blanket. The Captain looked around, startled, but his amusement overrode any concern he might have had. He knew my rather awkward history with Commander Walker. He was nothing but delighted to have me in such safe and caring hands, especially if it meant that the Commander was feeling more comfortable with me. I allowed myself to be carried, ever so carefully, to our quarters, exhaustion and tension threatening to overwhelm me as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

                Arriving at Number 601, I swiped my hand over the sensor to open the door. The Commander brought me over to the sofa and set me gently down, while the Captain and his escort made their way over as well. The Lieutenant hesitated, waiting to be dismissed.

                “You may go, Mr. Bradley. Thank you for your assistance.” The Captain looked at Commander Walker. “You may go as well, Commander. I believe our debriefing can wait until the morning.”

                “Aye, Sir. Contact me when you are ready, Sir.”

                As the door slid shut behind the two Officers, I looked over at Doctor Palmer.

                “What now, Doc?”

                “Now, I will need both of your clothes, and another scan. Then, you two need to get some rest.” She pulled another cylinder out of her pocket. “And I will make sure you get it.”

                She went into our bedroom, and a moment later came out with a robe for each of us. She handed them to us, then turned and walked into the lounge. “Let me know when you’re changed.”

                What a relief to get that horrid shirt off. I pulled it over my head, cringing as the rough, dirty fabric touched my face. As I reached for my robe, the Captain was removing his shorts, moving painfully, his face taut, his lips clenched. My body and hands moved of themselves before I had time to think about it.

                “Let me do that for you, please, just try to stand still.”

                Breathing deeply, trying not to allow myself to react to his pain, I undressed him, touching him as little as possible. He winced as my hand brushed over a particularly nasty-looking bruise, and laid his hand on my shoulder to steady himself. His weakness was apparent in the trembling of his hand. He allowed me to pull the robe around him and lead him back over to the sofa.

                I sat on the plush, oversized cushions, pulling my husband down with me. He looked at me for a moment, then resignedly lay down with his head in my lap. Those deep grey eyes, looking up at me so lovingly as I cradled his head with one hand and took his left hand in the other. The tears started in my eyes once more as I saw that the vines on his forearm were moving again. Whatever the dream had meant, whatever was to happen, that movement was a sign that he was going to be all right. At the moment, I was still too tired to consider why he had been overcome by the toxin, when his transformed blood cells should have destroyed it immediately.

                After Doctor Palmer had run her scans and had taken blood from each of us, she motioned to me with the spray cylinder.

                “All right. Do I need to dose you two to get you to get some sleep?” She was smiling, but she was quite serious.

                “No, Doc. I don’t think there’s any question that we will be dozing off  very shortly. If not sooner.” I smiled sleepily back at her.

                “OK, Liz, I will trust you then. And don’t even think about going back on duty, either of you, for at least a full day. Oh, and Liz, I will try to keep Jenny from bothering you.” She looked hard at me for a moment, then put her hand back into her pocket. “Is there something you’d like to tell me, Liz?”

                Glancing down at the Captain, seeing how very tired he looked, I just nodded. “Marla, please get that to my Ensigns. They will know what to do with it. Just please make sure they know not to say anything to anyone except me.”

                “Elizabeth? What are you talking about?” the Captain was watching me intently.

                “Paolo, the Agrint guard gave me something. I don’t know what it is, it looked like a data disk. I’d like to keep it quiet for now, until we know more about it. Please, let my Team examine it before you tell the Admiral.”

                Something stopped me from mentioning the symbol etched into the disk. Perhaps it was that slight sense of wrongness I had felt earlier. Perhaps that was my tired mind playing tricks on me. Whatever it was, it seemed prudent to leave that bit out for the time being.

                He blinked at me, his eyes wary. But he nodded, agreeing. “There is indeed much more going on here than we knew. All right, then. You do what you must.” His voice was weakening, his grip on my hand loosening.

                Doctor Palmer and I looked at each other silently. She knew how important this was, and she took her role seriously.

                “Thank you, Marla.”

                She gave us both one last hard look, and nodded toward the bed before picking up her kit and the bundle of clothing, and heading out the door.

                Another look at my husband’s face told me that the bed was too far away, he would never make it all the way there. He was already more than half asleep. I lifted his head gently off of my lap and pulled my legs up onto the sofa, stretching out next to him. He draped one arm over me, clasping my hand as we both drifted off .

                My sleep was uninterrupted for many hours, until my Captain took his hand from mine and began to pull himself up and over me. His gasp of surprised pain brought me completely awake.

                “Paolo? Where do you think you’re going?”

                He lowered himself back down, taking me in his arms even as he winced at the pain.

                “To the Refresh, my dear. I thought perhaps I should shower, get rid of this Agrint stink.”

                Pressing my body against him, putting my hands on his chest, I smiled up at him. “Are you sure you want to do that right now? It’s so very comfortable right here. I don’t smell anything but you.”

                My breath caught as he brought his lips to mine, so gently. His arms around me, holding me close. His leg moving over mine, his foot caressing my ankle. That kiss could have gone on forever, so tender, so soft as we shared our warmth and our returning strength. After some time that went by unnoticed, I pulled away and took his face in my hands.

                “I think a shower sounds like a good idea. But I think you’ll need some assistance...”

                We made our slow way into the Refresh, shedding our robes as we went. The bruises and what looked like burns on his chest and his legs were a deep shade of purple, fading in spots to orange. He limped a bit on his right leg, and I moved under his shoulder to assist him as he walked. It was so difficult not to demand that he tell me what they had done, but now was not the time. He would share with me when he was ready.

                My eyes were drawn to his chest muscles, rippling with his every motion. The faded scars that he had never explained stood out on his pale skin. Moving my gaze downward automatically, it was all I could do to restrain myself as my hand moved of itself toward the beckoning hardness.  His breath, shallow and intense, quickened with each step we took. The almost palpable mist of desire threatened to overwhelm me as we entered the smoothly tiled space. Even the sensation of my bare feet on the slick floor added to my rising emotions. I shakily turned on the water, and the steam rose to fill the air.

The hot water felt so wonderful on my skin as I stepped over the threshold. The Captain gave me his hand and let me lead him in. We stood there together for a moment, letting the water run over us. Washing each other’s bodies, we sponged away the physical dirt, and some of the mental stink of the previous day. The soap bubbles, aromatic and lush, running down his chest, to his belly, to his groin, added to my desire... The steamy hot wetness of the shower combined with my own until I could no longer tell the difference. His body called to me in an almost irresistible fashion,  the churning emotions swirled around me, continuing to build in both of us. Squeezing his hand, forcing myself to resist, I opened the shower door and reached for the towels to dry us off.

                His hands were on my waist before I had a chance to grab the towels. The burst of his desire swept through me, his need overwhelming. I did not hold back any further. He crushed me to him as he pulled me back, holding me tightly against his taut body. The designs on our forearms danced almost as one, keeping time with our quickening heartbeats.  He put one hand on my breast as the other stroked my belly. His knowing fingers teased and caressed, then slid slowly down between my legs to unerringly tickle that certain spot. Taking in shallow breaths, finally allowing the passion to take over, I turned in his arms to look into his eyes. His lips found mine, he kissed me hard, hungrily, his tongue hot in my mouth, his one hand roaming my body as the other gently massaged that spot. I reached down to grasp the smooth hardness as it moved gently under my hand.  The powerfully athletic muscles of his chest and legs rippled, tensed, released as our bodies slid against each other, wet and slippery with the scented soap, the hot water cascading over us with every motion . Hands and lips moving over each other, touching, kissing, tasting, physical and emotional pain forgotten in the rush of passionate heat. As we moved together under the flow of the water, we each gave strength to the other, sharing, loving, healing.

                We eventually found our way back to the bedroom, and the extra-big, cloud-soft bed with the lace curtains. Climbing in carefully, cuddling into the blankets, we curled up together to talk. The Captain, of course, was anxious to get back to his Bridge. But, the protocols involved in any such encounter as we’d had meant that we would both have to be debriefed, interviewed, questioned, before either of us would be able to get back to work. The Admiral would need a report. The Agents on board would have so many eager questions.

                “The Agents.”

                “Elizabeth?”

                “What do they have to do with this? I mean, I know they’re the Admiral’s men, but it just seems awfully convenient that they’d just showed up right before we were taken.”

                The Captain looked at me, his grey eyes so intense. “What are you getting at, Elizabeth?”

                “I don’t know, Paolo. But I seem to recall feeling something strange from one of them when we were in my office. Right before my tracker burned me.” I shrugged. “But right now, at this moment, my love, I don’t think I care. All I care about is getting you well. As soon as I can get down to the Lab, I’ll need to run some analyses, that toxin shouldn’t have affected you that way.”

                He pulled me closer, his arm around my shoulder as we lay together in the bed. “It should not have, you are correct. There is something you should know, something that I am certain Doctor Palmer has already discovered.” He put a finger under my chin to turn my face up. “You may have noticed that some of my wounds are burns. Well, you may not have seen that there are needle marks there as well.”

                I sat up, throwing the blanket off of us so that I could examine his legs more closely. My mouth fell open as I reached out a finger to the largest, darkest purple splotch. There was indeed a small hole in the center of the wound. What could have caused this? My face flushed hot, my lips pressed together in anger.

                “What did they do to you, Paolo?”

                “Come back here and let me hold you, my dearest. I will be all right, I promise you.” He covered us both with the blanket as I draped myself over him again. “Suffice to say, for now, that I was subjected to a strange experimental technique, presumably intended to tell Mr. Knowles how to adapt his own cells the way ours are adapted. He seems to have thought that extracting my blood was not enough.”

                The anger and hatred was growing in me again. As a Sympath, I need to be cautious about my own emotions, as well as those of others. If I allow it, I can easily become overwhelmed and overcome by my own mind. There are very few things that elicit such a strong emotional response in me. The love I feel for my husband is one, of course. That being a positive emotion, it is not threatening to my sanity. Negative emotions are a threat, but I am normally able to control them. It would not be simple to control this hatred if I were ever to meet up with Peter Knowles again. Not only could it become a danger to me, but I could certainly become a danger to him, and his cohorts. I will do, and have done, anything necessary to help protect my Captain and my family and friends.

                Being Sympath has forced me, over the years, to learn to clamp down on some of my impulses. Knowing and feeling so many emotions all of the time, it can be rather difficult to control the urge to react to or fix everything. However, when my Captain was about to be killed by one of the insurgents on Morgos I did not hesitate to take that man down first. No thought or consideration was involved. Once I felt what he was about to do, my pistol was in my hand and firing almost before I knew what I was doing. And there were absolutely no regrets afterwards. Should a similar situation arise again, there was no doubt that there would be the same result.

                Shaking my head, I tightened my grip on my Captain’s shoulder, sighing deeply as he ran his hands over my body. He felt my anger, he knew that it was not like me to feel that way. But he was also still weak and tired, too tired to continue speaking of his ordeal. His fatigue was matched by my own, further explanations could wait. I shared my drowsy comfort with him, and shortly we both were able to drift back off to sleep.

                Leaving my husband sleeping as soundly as possible, I slipped out of the bed and made my way to the lounge. The door slid shut behind me as I sat at my small desk by the window. The stars moved slowly by, so beautiful in their bright patterns. My fingers moved over the keyboard of my personal terminal, typing in the contact for my Lab, voice only.

                “Ensign Parker.”

                “Doctor Liz? Is that you? I thought...”

                “Never mind that, Ensign, has Doctor Palmer sent you any samples for testing yet?”

                The hesitation was only momentary, his loyalty to me overrode any concerns he may have had about giving me information.

                “Yes, Ma’am. She did. We are running the blood through the micro-analyzers now. It seems that the toxin was indeed adapted from the same strain as the one from Morgos.”

                “And did you find anything in the Captain’s blood that would explain the infection? We need to know why the toxin was not killed.”

                “Not yet, Doctor. There are some strange substances, perhaps elements, in the sample... Doctor Liz? What happened out there? Are you all right? We were not told anything.”

                “Yes, I am all right, Ensign. But there may have been developments that I can’t speak of yet. In the meantime, we need to complete the analysis. Keep Doctor Palmer informed. It may be a while before I can get down there.”

                “Yes, Ma’am, of course... and, um, Doctor Liz? Doctor Palmer gave us something else to examine...”

                “Ensign. Do what you can. We will discuss all of this when I am able to get back to work. Understood?” I almost wished he could see my face, but since I hadn’t dressed, this was not a video call.

                “Understood, Ma’am. We’re on it.”

                As I signed off, I looked over at the timepiece. Sixteen Hundred. We had slept most of the day away. The emptiness in my stomach demanded attention, and the Captain would need food soon as well. After I had contacted the Kitchen to have some breakfast brought up, I left the lounge to go back to the bedroom.

                “And how is your Ensign progressing, my dear?”

                Of course he would have known what I was doing. I flushed hot, and smiled at him as he watched me pick up my robe from the floor. The unmistakable warm whiff of his passion mingled with his continued pain. Another slightest wisp of something else poked at the back of my attention, but it was impossible for me to determine where it was originating.

                “They are still running the analysis. We probably won’t have any concrete answers for a while.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, my hand on his leg, I added, “But we will have some food soon, we both need nourishment to keep up our strength.”

                He sat up, and reached for my hands. We sat there for a few minutes, quietly, just holding hands, not saying anything. We were interrupted a short while later by the door chime. Throwing the Captain his robe to cover himself, I reached out to feel who was there, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was Commander Walker.

                “Hello, Commander.”

                “Good afternoon, Doctor Liz.” He was holding a large tray, from which wafted the aromas of our breakfast. “May I?”

                “Of course. Thank you.” I moved out of the doorway, motioning to the low table by the sofa.

                The Captain came out of the bedroom, pulling the curtain aside. He had dressed himself in loose shorts and a tee shirt, as casual as I had ever seen him be in front of his Officers, other than when we were on leave. The bruises and burns stood out sharply against his fair skin as he walked stiffly toward the sofa. The Commander looked at him with great concern.

                “Good afternoon, Sir. How are you feeling? Admiral Wilson has been calling for a report... I do not know what to tell him.”

                “Tell him that we are under Doctor’s orders to rest and recover until tomorrow.” He hesitated. “No. Belay that. We will contact  him now. It is only Sixteen Thirty, we can give the Admiral a report, at least the basics.”

                “If you are sure, Sir, I can set up a call from here.”

                “Yes, Commander, do that. Perhaps the Admiral will have some insight for us. I believe we should speak to him first, in any case. And, while we wait for him, you can brief me on what occurred here in our absence.”