Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match (24 page)

“I was,” she tentatively began, hoping this didn’t ruin any chances she may have had with Josiah.
I’m so stupid, why did I bring this up?
She let out a breath and continued. “For about five minutes when I was eighteen. One of the older officers was infatuated with me and I was counseled that it would be unwise for my career to turn him down. I finally gave in to the pressure, but I didn’t love him. As fate would have it, he shipped out on a job two days later and was killed in action. I was relieved because I didn’t love him and felt it had been a terrible mistake. Ironically, it was his resources that allowed me to get a transfer back into my mother’s fleet.”

They spent the next three hours getting to know each other before they finally decided to call it a night. As Josiah walked down the corridor towards med-bay to check on Jesse before he went to bed, he noticed he was whistling.

______

Jesse woke up from his recovery pod-induced slumber hungry and tired. As Suzy had predicted, the day’s events had really taken it out of him. He looked in the mirror and noticed that Josiah had done a good job of bruising and cutting his face to match the wounds that were there from Garrinoras’ beasts. He saw Kimi in the galley as he approached and she looked up and smiled at him. He loved her smile and every time he saw it, one thought hit him.
How could I have been so stupid?
He couldn’t wait for this whole death match drama to be finished so he could sit down and broach the subject once again.
I hope she’s forgiven me. I hope she still wants to be with me. Lately it seems like she does. We’ll talk in a couple days.

“Awake, I see, how are you feeling?” She asked as she sat at the table resting her head on one of her arms. She had changed out of her battle suit and into a comfortable pair of sweats with a plain white tee shirt. Even in her comfortable clothing, she looked beautiful and it was hard for him not to take his eyes off of her.

“I am pretty sore, and pretty tired. I’m going to try and stay up three or four hours and then go back to sleep until it’s time to go back to the stadium. How are you doing?” He sat down beside her and noticed she still smelled like jasmine.

She noticed him studying her and shyly looked towards the food storage. “What would you like to eat?” She asked, smoothly breaking up what could have become an awkward moment. She wanted badly to tell him, but didn’t want him to be distracted by it for the second day of the match. They had waited a long time; she could wait a couple more days.

“Whatever is easiest for you to make.”

She made him a sandwich and brought him a glass of juice. He looked up and thanked her. “You know you don’t have to do this, I can get my own food.”

“You are putting your life on the line for the entire sector. Today and tomorrow, I’ll get your food.” Her tone let him know it was not up for debate even as a miniscule smile briefly crossed her lips.

“Thank you, Kimi; I don’t deserve a friend like you, do I?”

“Probably not,” she replied with a much bigger smile. “But I am not going anywhere.”

Okay, now that was flirting, right? I hope it was. I’m gonna talk to her as soon as I wake up from tomorrow’s injuries
. He quickly changed the subject. “How is Captain Reed feeling?”

“She is fine, Collin, Enso and Suzy apparently pulled off a miracle to save her life.” She paused as if choosing her next words carefully. “Jesse, I have noticed you no longer refer to her as Cassie, why?”

A look of hurt crossed his face that made her wish she had not asked the question. “Cassie is what I called her when I thought we were close. I realize now that I was wrong and that was never the case. Captain Reed is what I called her before I knew her, and since I never really knew her, it’s back to Captain Reed.”

“I know I’m the last person you might expect to hear this from, but maybe you should forgive her. You might be able to move on if you do.”
I really hope you’re ready to move on, because I’m so ready to move on with you. Maybe we should have a talk now. No, I can wait a couple more days.

“You might be right, Kimi, but I’m not ready yet.” He didn’t want to tell her that one of the reasons he hadn’t forgiven Captain Reed was because his failed relationship with the Captain had ruined his chances with her. The fact that Cassie had been using him only made it that much harder to accept.

They sat and talked for a while before Jesse began to feel really tired. He went back to his quarters knowing he was going to have to do it all over again tomorrow. He badly wanted to live to see Nina and Ariel again, but most of all, he wanted to live to see Kimi fall in love with him again.

______

Garrinoras had just given the word; the time had come. Yartan was very excited. Even more so since he had found out that Chawanas would be aiding them with close to sixty ships instead of two dozen. That would give them almost two hundred fifty ships, and possibly the planetary defenses to fight the
Battle Hammers
of Ginderbar, although he wasn’t sure if the Farannsians that were helping him had been able to get control of the planetary defense grid yet. He had just sent the transmission to Captain Trae-bar and the attack would begin without warning as soon as his ships arrived in system. Captain Xia would be keeping Ginderbar from sending any reinforcements by keeping his fleet poised to attack, but just out of range of their planet.

He couldn’t wait to see the look on the face of whatever human was leading the mercenary fleet when they were forced to surrender. If everything went to plan, Ginderbar would no longer be a threat the pirates would need to consider when planning other incursions. As soon as the battle was won here today, and Jesse Marcos was killed, they would be well on their way to ruling the sector. Yartan spent the next fifteen minutes checking fleet readiness and making sure each captain knew which area of the human fleet they were supposed to hit. Hopefully, the mercenaries wouldn’t see this coming. As captain after captain reported their readiness to him, he smiled as his sensors picked up another fleet entering the system. He called for fleet-wide communications and excitedly proclaimed. “Prepare to attack on my mark.”

______

Jesse woke up again and felt pretty good. He still had the marks on his face, and his fake limp should convince Garrinoras he wasn’t fully recovered. He entered the galley to see Josiah and Sergeant Rivada having breakfast.
I hope it’s easier for them than it has been for Kimi and I
. “Good morning, guys,” he said as he poured himself some coffee. He inhaled deeply to drink in the aroma of the hazelnut blend.
Someone made my favorite.
He smiled as he sat down.

“Hey, Colonel, how are you feeling?” Tanna smiled kindly as she spoke, and she was gorgeous. Jesse was happy for Josiah, he knew she would be his type and he had been right.
If only it were this easy for me
, he sadly mused.

“I’m doing alright, a bit hungry, not too sore, and not too tired. And please, call me Jesse.”

She smiled as she replied. “Well, you’ll have a definite advantage over Garrinoras today. He will not be as healed as you.”

“Let’s hope.” He grabbed a protein bar and made his way back to his quarters to get ready for battle. He did feel better about his chances than he did yesterday. He was able to take everything Garrinoras threw at him and still come out ahead. Not to mention, the healing power of the pod. He no longer had the doubts. He knew he would be going home with his crew.

Josiah came in and placed a data card on his desk. “I knew I wouldn’t be needing this.”

“I’m beginning to think you’re right, Jo.”

“When are you gonna realize that I’m the smartest man you know?” He laughed.

“I’ve known that for over sixteen years, brother. I just never tell you because I don’t want you to get a big head.” They both laughed as Suzy came into the room to check on Jesse. “I’m fine Suzy; just have the pod warmed up for me later.”

He could see the hurt in her eyes at his flippant comment and regretted it almost immediately. He wanted to kick himself for not being more sensitive. “Jess, how can you joke around about this? We still have no idea what surprises he has in store for you today.” She knew the humor was one of his defense mechanisms, but it still frustrated her at times. He didn’t have to see himself beaten to a pulp when he went in to the recovery pod, she did.

“You’re right, Suzy, I’m sorry, but I know I’m gonna beat him now. I have no more doubts.” He kissed her on the cheek and left the room almost happy as he made his way down to the landing-bay to pick up his Hyperian battle sword.

Kimi came into the room while Suzy was still looking at the vid-stills on Jesse’s wall. She looked a little surprised to see Suzy and asked, “Where did Jesse go?”

“He’s testing out the sword one last time before he goes back out. Is everything alright, Kimi?”

She decided she needed to talk to someone about what she had been feeling. “Suzy, can we talk?”

“Of course, dear, what’s on your mind?” She sat on Jesse’s bed and motioned Kimi to sit down next to her.

“I’m ready to have that talk now. I know for sure that I’m ready to be with Jesse. I’m over him and Cassie. I know he still wants more. He is trying to hold back from saying it every time we talk. I know it’s out of respect for my wishes. What should I do? Should I tell him how I feel now or should I wait until after the match is over? On one hand, if for some reason he doesn’t make it, I’ll always regret that he didn’t know, but on the other hand it could be a distraction to him.”

“You should definitely tell him. This whole mess happened because the two of you never communicated how you felt. He obviously knows there is still a chance, and it would appear he’s right. He’s stuck on you. It may have taken him far too long, but he finally got there. If you’re ready to tell him, then tell him. Don’t make the same mistake again. Please, for all our sakes.” She smiled and put her hand on Kimi’s arm, but then the thought hit her,
Kimi’s right, it could become a distraction.
“On second thought,” she began again. “This might be the one time it’s okay to wait another day.”

Kimi was deep in thought as she placed her hand over Suzy’s. “I believe you are right. I will talk to him as soon as this death match is over. I do not wish to distract him by telling him before.”

“That’s probably a good idea, now we have to get to the landing-bay.” They both rose to leave and their hearts were heavy, knowing they helped push Jesse into this melee to try and save the sector from a war they seemed hell-bent on having anyway.

______

Admiral Dyson paced back and forth on the bridge
of the
Reclaimer
. She did not like the updates she was receiving. Initial reports indicated that the two hundred ships she commanded plus the fifty ships from Kaldor would be more than enough to deal with whatever Garrinoras and the Zinnebailans could throw at them. More recent reports were indicating that Captain Xia had been able to amass close to a hundred ships to move on Ginderbar and Captain Trae-bar was able to bring another hundred plus into the Chawanas system. Together with Garrinoras’ fleet, now backed by the Zinnebailan government, they had an armada of over two hundred. She suspected they could win that battle outright. It was not knowing where Chawanas and their eighty ships stood, not to mention all of their planetary armaments. If they sided with Garrinoras, they would have a decided advantage. Not only that, but the fact that several planets were so willing to put so many ships under Garrinoras’ command seemed to indicate they wanted the war that would most likely decimate the entire sector.

She sent a transmission to Admiral Togglasem to see if he had any more intel they could use. She was hoping she wouldn’t need those extra ships Chief of State Enosal had offered, but the reality was she might. She knew it would be a tactical mistake to take ships away from the defense of Ginderbar at the moment. Admiral Togglasem’s face appeared on the monitor before her and she greeted him with a warm smile.

“Admiral, I’m beginning to worry about the reports I’m hearing out of Xenul and Taglaharn. It would seem that Garrinoras’ fleet is now over three hundred ships. Have you heard anything else concerning enemy fleet movements?”

“No, I have heard nothing else. This is most troubling. I can’t imagine all of those planets want a full scale war. It may be time to begin looking for some reinforcements. We need to call the alliance and tell them to prepare for war. It does not look like we are going to get out of this one unscathed.”

“No, it doesn’t. As much as I hate to do this, I’m going to have to have our Chief of State send some of the extra ships he offered. Hopefully, Ginderbar should still be able to stave off anything the pirates throw at them with their extensive planetary defenses. I will let you know when they get here, and I will keep you apprised of any further developments.”