Goodbye Neutral Territory (explicit)

August 7, 2009 on 4:07 pm | In SS-ERD, Serial Story | No Comments

Neve stared after the executive officer. She’d had little opportunity for one on one contact with him, as they frequented different sectors of the Mercy and served different shifts. When he did have occasion to be involved in her business, he issued communication via complink or ensign messenger. She wasn’t sure she enjoyed the experience of standing face to face with him, no other distractions present. Staring was unprofessional and Xu Scholen commanded a visual awareness she hadn’t been able to shake since their first meeting. Worse, shortly after the perfunctory introductions Tania had performed upon Neve’s assignment to the Mercy, Neve had indulged her curiosity and taken a closer look at Graei culture. She’d also promptly locked the door on that curiosity. Xu Scholen’s world was a world of sexual excess and intrigue, so dark it left her feeling uneasy just reading about it.

The same unease simmered in her stomach now. She should not harbor such strange fascination for the man. Her immediate supervisor. More than that: a prominent figure among the shadow-enshrouded Graei royal caste. If she didn’t have the buffer of professional relations to shield her–if she had encountered the dark-skinned aristocrat at a space station bazaar or pleasure dock–she would have ducked her head, shied away, and prayed for invisibility. Graei notice was not notice she wanted…in a professional capacity or otherwise.

Seeking distraction from her brief meeting with Xu, and in the interest of granting Enchev a fair chance to set the upgrade course in motion, she gathered herself and left the meeting room. The previous shift’s reports were queued in her docket. By the time she examined the data for activity that would require closer attention, Enchev would have either followed her orders or decided to stand for the consequences. On the way to her station, she retrieved the complink from her pocket and tucked it back into her ear, hoping for good news.

Procedure made time crawl. Neve stared at compiled data until her vision blurred, yet her complink did not emit a sound beyond the ordinary functions of speed and location updates. When she could delay no longer without bouncing out of the time frame she gave Xu, she completed her log and left her station. West wouldn’t return to duty until the next shift change so she acquired coordinates on Rosa Munoz, a researcher who directly assisted the officer in charge of medical operations. Rosa was also a friend.

Moments later she joined Rosa in the research lab. Members of the lab crew greeted her as she passed and returned to their work, transferring biological samples to plague chambers, experimenting with the numbers to figure out how far they could stretch the Mercy’s supply of immuno-chem should New Juneau’s situation prove dire. Neve didn’t stop to ask how the numbers added up. She needed to keep her head out of details and her focus on the larger scenario. She was tempted to beg a shot of something on the sly, however, just to take the edge off the throbbing headache she’d developed courtesy of said larger scenario.

Rosa was deep in examination of test results when Neve reached her station. The other woman glanced up with a puzzled tilt to her mouth. “Neve. You’re far afield.”

“I’m a little all over the place.” Neve smiled wryly. “How are you?”

“Frustrated. Some new-gen pseudo-genius from Drekne has blabbed to inter-galactic media that a small team of New Juneau scientists believe they manufactured a species-blind shield against plague.” She waved her hand at the silent vid to her right and breathed a disgusted huff. “Now you tell me. What will news like that accomplish?”

Neve scrubbed her eyes. The throb behind them tripped and doubled in intensity. “Terrorists must have doubled their forces and increased their timeline. Decreasing ours.”

“Tripled.” Rosa sighed. “It’s a fucking mess, a hole full of shit and New Juneau’s own citizens just dug it a little deeper.”

Lacking words to lessen the severity of the situation, Neve laced her fingers at the back of her neck and turned to survey the calm, efficient crew working beyond Rosa’s station. “Have you seen Enchev?”

“Not for a while. He’s not scheduled, is he? I keep putting in to work opposite shifts. He’s always coming in for system monitoring when I’m deep into a study.”

“So you’re not on schedule for systems black out.” If Enchev had followed her orders to begin systems shut down, he would have already notified medical.

Rosa stood from her chair, the labs abandoned. “Not that I’m aware of. Should I inform Captain Hruk?”

“Yes, thank you.” Neve released a slow breath. “We will be proceeding on an expedited timeline. I’m sure you’ll receive specific orders shortly. Consider this your chance to get a head start. I’ll need a report of systems you cannot do without as soon as you have them available.”

“Shall I report to Enchev?”

Neve hesitated. She’d phrased her communication deliberately, attempting to be circumspect about Enchev’s insubordination. Rosa’s question left little room for avoidance, however. She shook her head reluctantly. “No. Directly to me.”

Rosa’s eyes widened and her mouth pinched. Realization wrote itself across her features. “I’ll be in contact, then. Until I receive notice to do otherwise.”

By the time Neve exited the medical bay, Rosa had her personnel in motion. Neve left the other woman speaking with the tall, thin silhouette presented by Captain Tril Hruk and made haste through the flurry of activity in medical. She roused Lieutenant Dhaji Reese and Lt. Commander Mari Ekehardt from their breaks and debriefed both engineers on the situation, granting them the same advance warning she’d allowed Rosa.

Immediately after, she found a quiet corridor and touched the complink at her ear. “Captain Fielding, this is Commander Steesk. Permission to brief you immediately.”

The captain replied without delay. “Permission granted.”

Neve grimaced at the terse, tense tone, but pressed on. “Systems are now in place and prepared for the propulsion upgrade you’ve requested. I have alerted medical to allow for advance preparation and await your approval to finalize life support reductions. Additionally, I need to officially notify you of Lieutenant Grigori Enchev’s refusal to obey direct orders regarding this project. I am relieving him of his post effective immediately.”

The pause that followed her delivery set Neve on edge. She flattened her shoulders against the wall at her back and closed her eyes.

Shortly, Tania responded. “Thank you for the update. Stand by for further orders regarding system reduction. I will await a written report of the incident with Lieutenant Enchev and your presence will be required at any resultant disciplinary hearings.”

“Certainly, Captain.”

She held her breath until enough time passed that she was positive no other missives would follow, then forced herself from the corridor and requested Enchev’s coordinates. She reached him in time to watch him slip into the relaxation lounge. Her stress levels spiked, anger rising to burn her cheeks, and she followed him.

Even before her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting between the bright, sanitary corridor and the dim, suggestive lounge, she knew she’d made a mistake. Still, she could delay no longer in relieving Enchev of his duties. He bypassed the bar and arrowed toward the intimacy area. Neve swallowed her reluctance and followed him. The sound of the door whooshing shut thrust her from neutral territory into naked territory. Her stomach clenched. A woman’s throaty moan hung in the air and tickled Neve’s ears. Her focus locked immediately upon the trio of people displayed in the middle of the common area. One man, bare-limbed and gleaming with perspiration, gripped a nude woman’s hips and pulled her buttocks high. His penis shoved home hard and the woman moaned again…but this time, the sound was muffled by a thick, gleaming length of flesh that pulled Neve’s gaze straight to her superior officer.

Xu held the woman’s head still, her hair wrapped around his fist. Neve grabbed him in a glance: his features feral, the odd point of his ears flattened back into his pale hair, his lips a thin line that bared his teeth. His throat worked as he dragged the woman deeper onto his cock. Neve’s jaw loosened, a complete relaxation of muscle–physiological response to the scene–as if her mouth were preparing to accept the same thick length.

He opened his eyes and met hers–dark to nearly white in an instant, the same change she had witnessed during their earlier meeting. Heat flushed from Neve’s hairline to her knees and she twisted away from the tableau with a jerk, thoughts scattered and fragmented. The earthy green of Enchev’s uniform only half-grounded her, insufficient anchor to drag her completely away from Xu’s display.

She must have made a sound, for Enchev stopped short of the door he was about to enter and turned toward her. Neve latched onto the opportunity and hurried to intercept him. Speaking in low, strangled tones, she said, “Commander, given your refusal to follow my directives regarding the propulsion upgrade, you are relieved of your responsibilities until further notice.”

Enchev’s eyes narrowed. He straightened to stiff attention and glanced past her shoulder toward Xu’s threesome. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Neve spun on her heel and bolted for the exit. A hoarse, masculine groan hit the base of her spine and she looked back before she could stop herself, dark curiosity winding its way around her head.

Not Xu. Hismale partner stiffened and arched, a tremor working its way down his body. Neve closed her eyes and hurried through the door, running from the question in her mind: What did he look like when he came?