" Here I was. Twenty-one years old, beautiful, and female.
I had the love of a beautiful woman whom I loved more than life itself.
I was the captain of my own ship and the mistress of my destiny.
That I was also now a hunted outlaw suited me just fine as well."

 
by Lisa Caitlin Grey

 

---

 
This story is dedicated to my beloved friend and soul mate who passed away in November of 2002. Dana, I will always miss you terribly.
 
Part 4: Breaking Away
 
Chapter 12
 
 
When I awoke the next day, I was still drained from our lovemaking. Had it not been for the fact that my bladder was about to burst I would have laid there all day. As it was, I almost killed myself as I got out of bed and my knees collapsed under me. I fell to the deck and narrowly missing smashing my head on the edge of a table. I slowly got to my feet and made my way to the head, holding on to things to help stabilize me.

After my bladder problem was resolved, I became aware that I reeked of sex. A shower was definitely in order. As I stood under the hot jets, the water restored the weak spent muscles and I regained some of my strength. I made sure everything was squeaky clean and, in the process, found that things were still painfully sensitive. I stepped out of the shower and toweled off, wrapping a dry towel around my hair in the classic turban. Dressing should be simple today, since it was back to business, just some plain sturdy underwear and one of my new uniforms.

I returned to the stateroom proper and saw the terminal screen was blinking, indicating a message. I went over and opened it. It was from Miri. In the message, she informed me that Dan, the replicator genius, had designed us some new uniforms. She told me to wear something sexy underneath the uniform. "I know you and I know you were probably planning on something utilitarian, but a girl likes to feel sexy even if it's just underneath her uniform. Have you ever seen me wearing plain underwear?" was her exact quote. I had to admit I hadn't. I guess I had a lot to learn. The knowledge didn't come automatically with the body. She also instructed me to just apply a little eyeliner and mascara, and a neutral shade of lip color when I was dressing for ordinary ship’s business, like standing watch. I hoped I would remember what she taught me last night because she said she would be critiquing my work when I arrived on the bridge. Gee, our relatively tiny control cabin was now called the bridge.

I closed the message and went to the replicator to get my uniform and foundation garments. It seemed I now had a choice. The uniforms were all charcoal gray with offsetting black on the shoulders and cuffs, and had accent colors in bands separating the gray and black. We each had our own different set of options to choose from, based on our coloring, I suppose. My colors, it seemed, were a vivid pink, a bright azure blue, or a deep rich purple. I set the replicator to choose for me randomly and it chose the one accented pink. Thinking about my underwear options, I decided to match my underwear to the accent color the replicator picked for me. For the panties, I chose the same cut and material as I had worn last night, but for the bra, I picked a fuller coverage style, though it did push my boobs up into an impressive display of cleavage. What can I say; if you got it flaunt it, I smiled to myself.

Soon, I had my underwear and uniform on, but I almost balked at the boots. When I saw them I rolled my eyes and had serious reservations about their practicality. They were leather and came to a little above my knees, which looked really great, I had to admit, but it was the soles that gave me pause. They had three-inch heels that tapered to a fine sexy point. It looked great, but it would be impossible to get a pressure suit on with them and I was unsure how badly they would impact my agility in a crisis. Then I noticed that the soles came off, leaving a comfortably flatter second sole, which could be put into a pressure suit and would be useful for moving around in areas where the heels would be problematic. I put the boots on.

I sat down at the vanity table and carefully applied my makeup. The eyeliner was going to take some getting used to. My eyelid kept trying to twitch shut whenever I touched it with the pen, but I finally got it on. The mascara and lip color were a breeze. I surveyed my makeup efforts in the mirror. My, perhaps overly critical, eye told me I needed a lot more practice, but it looked passable so I left it alone. Miri had set out some earrings for me that I put in the two holes per ear formed as a part of the pill package. There was also a fine smooth white gold snake rope necklace ready for me, which I also put on, unzipping the top of my uniform and letting it rest against the bare skin of my upper chest, before zipping the uniform back up. Finally, I removed the towel from my rich brown hair and brushed and dried it. When I was done, it hung with an unruly but sexy slight natural wave and framed my face attractively, hanging to just below the top of my shoulders.

I stood before the full-length mirror to make a final check. There was something that just didn't quite fit. In a moment of inspiration, I unzipped the uniform top to reveal a tastefully modest amount of cleavage and the smooth silvery necklace that hung just above it. "Perfect," I thought, and then it hit me.

Here I was. Twenty-one years old, beautiful, and female. I had the love of a beautiful woman whom I loved more than life itself. I was the captain of my own ship and the mistress of my destiny. That I was also now a hunted outlaw suited me just fine as well. I always knew it would come to that as soon as I had figured out what I needed to be complete. Such a feeling of excitement and happiness came over me at that moment that I thought I must explode, but only a bright content smile and a clear warm light in my steel gray eyes radiated the feeling to the outside. As a shudder of utter bliss traveled down my spine, I turned and left the room.

The main deck appeared deserted, so I stopped in the galley and got myself a doughnut and a cup of tea and made my way to the bridge. I carefully made my way up the bridge access stairway unsure of myself in the three inch heeled boots. As I stepped onto the landing that opened out on to the flight deck, Dan was the first to catch sight of me.

"Holy sh..." he started to say then jumped up from his seat, stood at attention and shouted in a crisp military tone, "Captain on the bridge!" Everyone followed his example and even saluted me.

"Oh, please," I said, standing there with my doughnut and cup of tea. "We're outlaws now, not the military. While the chain of command is still important, I'm not gonna have all of you jumping up and saluting every time I come in a room. I'm not standing on formality unless it's called for and I expect you are all smart enough to recognize such a situation. So, for crying out loud...As you were!"

Everybody grinned and relaxed. The guys resumed their seats, while Miri came over to me, grabbed my chin, tilting my head back and turning it side to side. She finally released me, smiling in approval. "Nice job for your first time," she commented. "You'll be a seasoned pro in no time." She was, of course, referring to my makeup. I smiled at the praise. Setting my load down on a convenient surface, I pulled her head down kissed her.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," she said as I retrieved my breakfast and perched in the Captain's chair. I just smiled sweetly at her and proceeded to eat. After a bit, I noticed that nobody was talking and they were all staring at me again.

"I'm sorry," I said, "did I interrupt something? Is there a problem?"

"Um...Your uniform...it isn't all the way fastened," Brian commented.

"I am aware of that, Mr. Andrews," I remarked.

"It looks stunning," Dan commented.

"Thank you, Mr. Chestnut," I said and then added, "nice job on the uniforms, by the way. I love it."

"Thank you, ma'am, but you're the one that truly does it justice," Dan said. "One thing is certain though."

"What's that?" I asked.

"If there was any doubt before as to whether you took the pill, it's gone now. You could only be completely female in those pants," he said.

"They don't leave much to the imagination, do they," I grinned, looking down at my delightfully smooth, bulge free crotch.

"Certainly no room in there to hide any surprises," Brian laughed, as I finished my doughnut and wiped my hands on a napkin.

"So how are things," I asked.

"Shipshape, Valerie," Miri responded. "We are ready for the jump and run to the Restricted Zone as soon as you give the order."

"Would you like to check my figures for our course plot, Valerie?" Brian asked.

"By all means, Mr. Andrews. On the main screen, please," I responded.

"Yes, Ma'am," Brian said crisply, reminding me that I was falling back into the military formality I had just said I wasn't going to use around here.

"Good job on the plot, Brian," I said less formally. "You even took into account that we can't jump as far as a normal ship can. I'm impressed."

Most ships that aren't big enough to have their own jump generators usually have jump capacitors that maintain the hyperspace field around the ship. Once these capacitors discharge or the field is disrupted, the ship drops out of hyperspace. If that happens at an unsafe hyperspace egress, then the ship could punch into a planet, an asteroid or anything that happens to be in the way. All of the capacitors have a maximum standard time, which translates to a maximum distance. While most ships could safely bypass several hyperspace egresses, the Duality was a bit more limited. In order to squeeze the jump generators on board, I had had to sacrifice some of my jump capacitance. The Duality no longer met the minimum standard and had to make more stops to recharge the capacitors than a normal vessel. The payoff was that we could generate our own hyperspace field and didn't have to use the jump accelerators, which were monitored and heavily guarded. Jump accelerators established the hyperspace field for ships not equipped with their own generators and then their jump capacitors maintained this field.

Brian had realized this limitation and planned for it when he charted our course. The trip would take a bit longer because we had to be out of hyperspace for at least four hours on fully depleted capacitors. Of course, we wouldn't fully deplete our capacitors, but we would still be two to three hours between jumps. There was also another positive side effect as well. Because our capacity was smaller and thanks to the greater power availability we needed to run the huge particle beam and the jump generators, our capacitors charged twice as fast as normal ships. This translated into other ships being only about thirty percent faster than we were when using hyperspace travel, less if they had to travel for longer than it took to charge their capacitors to the nearest jump accelerator. All this meant that it would take us about four days travel to get to our current destination.

"So, are we ready to find out what life has in store for us next?" I asked.

"Sure thing, Valerie," Brian said.

"Then let's get on with it. The pleasure cruise is over, friends. Time to go to work," I said. "Everybody man your jump stations. Dan, is there any traffic on the scope?"

"No Ma'am, we're alone," Dan said

"Very well, disengaging stealth mode. Brian, would you care to bring the jump generators online?" I asked. The ship could be fully controlled from the captain's console, including hyperspace jumps, but since this was our first jump together I thought it would be nice to have it be a crew affair, like on a larger ship.

"Yes Ma'am, jump generators powering up," he said. "System checks green, no inhibitors. Engaging jump field. Jump commencing on my mark...three...two...one...mark." We transitioned into hyperspace.
 
 
Chapter 13
 
 
Hyperspace travel is an interesting affair. It's instantaneous and the only sensation you feel is two brief jolts very much like a painless shock of low voltage alternating current. However, your muscles do experience fatigue as if you had been mildly electrocuted. All in all, it's not a particularly comfortable way to travel, but you get used to it after a while.

My watch was the afternoon watch, starting at 14:00 and ending at 20:00, so it was about half way through my watch, 17:00, on the fourth day, when the jump capacitors reached full charge. I called everyone to the bridge, since this next jump could have been our last if the naval drone didn't read our IFF as being friendly. Also, we would all have work to do if it did read us as friendly. Once everyone was up on the flight deck and in position, I engaged the jump generators and we transitioned into and out of hyperspace, the double jolt. Then we held our breath as the drone scanned our transponder. It would either open fire on us or let us be.

"Authorization confirmed," crackled an artificial voice over the comm channel after an uncomfortably long time, and we all breathed out the breath we had been holding.

"Alright, Dan, time to work your magic on our friend, the drone there," I said. "Go grab your kit and I'll dock us." Dan got up and went below for his toys while I maneuvered over to the drone. The thing was only the size of a destroyer, but it packed the firepower of a dreadnought, not needing the space for crew accommodations or life support. The maintenance personnel area was, of course, pressurized, but it was a tiny area, only a computer room and a reactor room, though it did have a recycler and a replicator, in the event someone had to live on it temporarily.

As I neared docking range, I began jamming long-range communications, another optional goody I had installed. Gee, you would think I planned on life as an outlaw, I grinned to myself. The drone was programmed to report any docking with the nearest command center; a transmission that would be repeated until an acknowledgement was made. That is, if somebody didn't go on board and tamper with its supposedly tamper proof systems. I gave control of the ship to the docking computer, shortly thereafter feeling a gentle clunk and shudder as our docking rings mated and pressurized.

"Brian, why don't you go help Dan with his equipment," I suggested. "Miri and I will stay up here and monitor things." Brian nodded and headed down to give Dan a hand.

We had at best two hours to do what we had to do and undock. The Drone reported every two hours on traffic that came in its sensor range, friendly or otherwise. The bypass we were going to install would prevent the drone from recording our passage. What we intended was to insert a virus into its operating system that would respond to a code piggy backed on our transponder. In effect, even if the Drone's database did get updated, it would fail to see us, or any ship that had the code. The virus was very subtle too. About the only way they would know it was there was if they went through every line of code in the operating system and compared it to the original version, something that never happened. In all likelihood, the only way the virus would be compromised is if the drone's computer was destroyed and they had to replace it with a new one, but if that happened, given the amount of shielding and armor around the computer, the drone itself would likely be destroyed.

"Oh Shit," came Dan's voice over the commlink.

"What's the problem?" I asked calmly.

"Um...I have like 20 minutes to get this bypass done and erase the traces of us being here before the drone is scheduled to report," Dan said nervously.

"That shouldn't be a problem for a computer wiz like you," I told him. "I have confidence in you. Just take it easy and go step by step and I'll bet you the first round of drinks that we are out of here with 5 minutes to spare."

"That's not a fair bet, Valerie, cause if I don't make it in time we will never reach a bar for you to buy the first round," Dan said, but it was evident he had relaxed and got down to business.

"Okay, then if you do make it in time, I will buy all night long," I suggested. "How does that suit you?"

"That's works for me," Dan said in a distracted tone.

"Valerie, you have just made a critical mistake," Brian injected. "I've seen that guy drink and you don't have that many credits." We all laughed and the tension was all but gone.

18 minutes later it was back in spades, when Dan announced, "Done!"

"Great work," I said. "Now double time your butts back abroad Duality and let's get outa here."

"Yes Ma'am," Dan said. "I heard that."

Thirty seconds later I heard a crash from down below and Dan came over the commlink saying, "Hatch secured, go go go!" As I released the docking seal and moved us away with maneuvering thrusters, Miri engaged the piggy backed transponder code and turned off the jammer.

Thirty seconds after that, the drone began transmitting while we monitored, ready to run if necessary. It wasn't. The drone broadcast a simple five-word message. "No Traffic, all systems green." It was 17:25.

Brian and Dan reappeared on the bridge grinning like Cheshire cats. "Hope that wasn't anything important breaking in that crash I heard," I said.

"I hope not either. This big dope," Dan punched Brian on the arm, "threw my equipment down the hatch before we hustled it down the ladder."

"Hey we were in a hurry and it saved us some valuable time," Brian said in his defense.

"Well, you better hope nothing is damaged, or you will be replacing it, AND buying my drinks all night," Dan informed him curtly. Brian groaned.

"You did a great job, gentlemen," I praised. "Dan, I guess I owe you a night out on the town..."

"No, you don't, Valerie," Dan corrected, "It took me 18 minutes to get everything done. Our deal was fifteen, so you don't owe me anything."

"Okay," I laughed, "but I am at least buying you a round for quite a few jobs well done around here." I gestured at the blue accented uniform I was currently wearing.

"That, I will have to take you up on," Dan grinned.

"Okay, we're here and we have defanged the TSN Drone," Miri observed. "What now, Valerie?"

"Well, I was thinking," I postulated, "I think I remember an asteroid field that encroaches on the sensor buoy's area of detection. If we could slip in there without being detected, we could plant a passive sensor relay on one of the asteroids near the edge closest the blockade line. Then we could see before we start our drift run if the flight path is clear or if there are any patrolling ships in the area. We should be able to creep in close enough through the asteroid field if we are extremely frugal with the maneuvering thrusters. There are always minor heat flares and changes in the gravitational fields of asteroid fields that should mask short bursts of out thrusters, but it will be a slow process and will require a bit of forethought to avoid any drifting rocks without using much thrust."

"Sounds great, Valerie," Brian said, "but where are we going to get a passive sensor array?"

"Dan, do you think you could adapt the sensor array from a sensor probe for our purposes?" I asked, already know he could.

"Of course, Valerie," he confirmed, "but where are we going to get a...this ships has missile launchers, doesn't it?" My huge grin was enough of an answer.

"Valerie," Miri admonished, "if we are going to be crewing this ship, you should probably tell us about your little modifications."

"When we have time, I will fill you all in," I laughed, "but for right now, there are six single round tubes. Three on each side in the secondary drive struts. Four are loaded with anti-ship nukes, two are loaded with sensor probes, and I have one spare for each tube loaded into a smuggling compartment in the hold."

"I'm on it," Dan said after I told him how to find the compartment. "Give me two hours and you'll have your sensor relay."

"In the mean time I will lay in a course for the asteroid field," I said. "You two go relax. We are going to need to be as alert as possible until we make it into the Restricted Zone."

As Miri and Brian left the bridge, I began scanning the charts for the asteroid field. Soon, I had the course plotted and entered into the nav computer. Once we cleared the sensor radius of the drone, I re-engaged stealth mode and sat back, rubbing the bridge of my nose. I looked at the clock and I saw that it was almost time to be relieved.
 
 
Chapter 14
 
 
Sure enough, the thought had barely finished going through my mind when Brian reappeared to take over. He walked around in front of my console, stood at attention and saluted. "Second Officer Brian Waylan Andrews reporting for duty," he said with a glint of humor in his eye, and then finished sharply, "Ma'am!"

"Stuff it, Brian," I said tiredly, "I am too tired to be baited." Brian relaxed and laughed.

"You know you’re making a big impression on Mr. Chestnut, don't you?" Brian remarked.

"Am I now?" I replied.

"Yes. You stroke his ego and give him positive reinforcement. He has always been talented, but his efficiency ratings were never stellar, pretty dismal at times, actually," Brian explained. "I think he is coming to idolize you. He's so respectful, even reverent when he is talking about you. I've never seen him work so hard or be so dedicated. That's your influence. Your talent is to make people perform above their normal capabilities, and I think he is coming to love you as the rest of us do. You know that, don't you? I can only imagine that Miri feels, if anything, far more strongly than I do, but speaking for myself, I'd die for you if it were necessary to protect you. Hell, I would kill for you if you said it needed to be done, and you know that's not in my nature. Miri is fiercely protective of you. I believe she would cut my throat and dismember me with her bare hands if I ever even thought about betraying you, not that I would."

"Wow," I said, "I'm honored to have such loyalty." I stood up and stepped around the console. I stepped up to Brian and hugged him. "Thank you. Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for sticking with me."

"You have our loyalty because there is no doubt in our minds that you are that loyal to us. We take risks for you because we know you wouldn't ask us to take any risk you wouldn't take yourself," Brian said into my hair as he hugged me back.

"Now go down and get some dinner and play with Miri a little. I think she's got some pent up energy she needs to burn off," Brian said mock innocently then added, "I don't see how you women do it. You have just stood a full watch and a stressful one at that, and you smell great still, like you just stepped out of the shower. I always smell like shit when I finish my shift."

"Well, Mr. Andrews, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were hitting on me," I said, feigning dismay. "You're not turning straight, are you?" I narrowed my eyes as if suspicious.

"Girl, to tell you the truth, no. I am not into girls, generally, but in your case, I can say without a doubt that after listening to you while Miri tortured you the first night, neither Dan nor I would turn you down if you offered us a roll in the hay." Brian said this with such conviction that it made me blush. "Now beat it girl!” he ordered. “I got this.” I left the bridge and headed for the galley.

When I arrived, I found Miri was there. She handed me a glass of brandy and said, "Go sit down and relax, Love. I will bring you your dinner." I did as directed.

When she came in with dinner, I was sitting at the table with my legs crossed, my chin resting in one palm and the elbow on the table. The fingertips of my one free hand were resting on the lip of the half-consumed glass of brandy. My eyes were shut.

"Are you alright, Valerie?" she asked with mild concern as she placed my dinner on the table.

"Mm hm," I said, too relaxed to be more articulate for a moment. "Just a bit tired."

"Aww," she said as she sat down next to me and caressed my back, "Well, eat your dinner and then you can go to bed."

"Gee thanks, Mom," I said smiling, "You're the greatest."

She lightly smacked the back of my head and said, "Shut up and eat." I stuck my tongue out at her, to which she responded, "Keep that up and I will put it to use."

"Ooo, you promise?" I said and stuck my tongue out at her again. She leaned over, put her mouth over my tongue, and began sucking on it.

She was still sucking on my tongue a minute later when Dan came in and said, "Oh gross, don't you two have a whole stateroom you could do that in?" Miri didn't even look at him; she kept right on sucking and gave him the finger. "Geez," he said, "What is it with the women on this ship? They are all so crude." Miri sucked for a moment longer then released me.

"There now, eat before you start something you are too tired to finish," she ordered. She then turned to Dan, smiled sweetly, then said, "Shut your friggin' pie hole Mister, or I will tell you about ALL the places we have had sex on this ship, and believe me, you wouldn’t be able to enter a room without getting a visual."

Dan, his eyes bugging, first got very pale then blushed a dazzling red. I about choked on my first bite of food as I snickered. He beat a hasty retreat into the galley.

"Miri, Sweetheart," I said sweetly after I swallowed, "We haven't had sex in EVERY room on the ship."

"I know, Lover," she retorted, "but I was going to be so descriptive of the ones we have had sex in, that even when he went in one we didn't, he would have pictured what it would have been like if we had."

There was a roar of laughter from the galley and Dan reappeared, wiping tears from his eyes as still fought down the tremors of mirth. "You girls are too damn cool, you know that. I love it," he said as he disappeared out the hatch, still chuckling.

"I think he likes us," I mentioned.

"No shit?" Miri asked. "Do you think I have a shot with him?"

"Um...no," I said.

"Oh? And why not? I mean if you're going after him I could see where I wouldn't have a prayer," Miri observed. "I mean, you ARE a lot prettier than me and all."

"What? Me compete with you for a man and you not have a shot?" I said in mock dismay. "I would be on the losing end there because you would just throw me in a closet, lock it and go have your way with him. My superior looks wouldn't even be an issue." Miri snorted with mirth.

"Besides, you’re going to be too busy to chase men," I foretold.

"Is that so," she said, looking dubious. "How so?"

"Because I plan to keep you that way," I told her and reached out and gently tweaked her nipple, with immediately hardened, showing through her uniform.

"Hey! I thought you were tired," she protested, "No fair teasing!"

"There’s always room for Jello and sex," I said. "Or is that Jello with sex, or maybe sex with Jello..."

"That's it," Miri laughed, "Shut up and eat your dinner. You're getting weird and that always means you need to go to bed."

After dinner, Miri and I made our way to the bedroom. We stripped each other and climbed into bed. Naked, we assumed our now customary spoon position, her front pressed against my back. She pulled the covers over us and I rolled into her and turned my head as far as I could toward her. She lifted her head to mine and we kissed tenderly.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you, too," she said.

I nestled into her and she put her arm over me. Her hand casually cupped my breast and she idly rubbed my nipple with her thumb as the combination of the coolness of the sheets and the warmth of her body quickly put me to sleep.
 
 
Chapter 15
 
 
I stirred as Miri squeezed me to her with the arm lying across me then gave my breast a gentle squeeze. She rolled away from me and I moaned in protest. She only made it to her back before I rolled over and captured her, snaking my head up under her arm and resting it on her shoulder while my arm went across her body. What the hell, I even threw a leg across her too for good measure and gripped her tightly as if I might forcibly prevent her from getting out of bed. She leaned her head down and kissed me on the top of the head. I purred.

"Alright, Kitten, let me go, I have to get ready for my watch," Miri said softly.

"Nu uhm," I negated, holding on to her more tightly.

"You're a clingy little thing this morning, aren't you," she said with a content smile in her voice.

"Mmmm," I remarked and nuzzled my head on her shoulder before solidifying my hold on her just a fraction more.

"Okay, Princess, if you won't let go then you will be getting up with me," she explained. Then she rolled me completely on top of her and began sliding us both toward the edge of the bed.

That finally provoked me to produce my first intelligible vocalizations of the morning, "I'm the Captain and I am ordering you to stay in bed with me."

"Stuff it, Valerie," she laughed. "I've probably never been given a more compelling order, or one I wanted to follow more, but I know you don't mean it. I love snuggling with you too, Kitten, but think of poor Dan. He's been working hard and he needs some down time. Now, last chance, let me go or you'll be joining me in the shower and it WILL be a cold one."

Still, I didn't relent, but she was just bluffing about getting up with me attached to her, because in a moment she tried a different tactic. She started tickling me on the tender skin of my sides. I yelped and jumped, eventually forced to let her go to try to get away, but she wasn't finished. She captured me. Sitting atop my hips, she caught both of my wrists and pinned then above my head with one hand, stretching me out and making vulnerable the target area. With her free hand she ran her fingers lightly down the exposed and defenseless skin on my side. I jumped and giggled, and then she started on me in earnest. Soon I was shrieking, laughing, crying, and thrashing, all at the same time. She continued her ruthless assault until I came within a heartbeat of wetting myself. Abruptly, she stopped. She kissed me passionately, and then jumped off, releasing me. Before I could recover enough to retaliate, she ran to the head and slammed the hatch shut.

My hand drifted down to my pelvis where she had been sitting and felt the cooling slick fluid. I smiled happily, even as my breasts heaved from my exertion. Yeah, she may have tortured me until I damn near wet myself, but I wasn't the one going away horny as hell. She had aroused herself tremendously in her tickle torture of me. My smirk got wider as I thought about how frustrated she was going to be by the time that I finished my watch tonight.

I had almost fallen back asleep when Miri crept out of the head. She stalked cat-like around to the foot of the bed, thinking I was sleeping. I watched her every sensual move as she removed her towel. She carefully balled it up, still moving slowly and deliberately as if any sudden move might wake me up. It took every bit of my control to keep from giggling at her, but I lay there impassive as if oblivious to whatever she was about to do.

She sprung her attack. She drew back the balled up towel and lightning fast threw it at my face. Just as fast my hand came up, caught it and reversed its direction. Miri found herself wearing the wet towel she had intended for me around her own face as I sprang up and bolted for the head. I was slamming the hatch while she was still trying to claw the towel away from her eyes.

I heard her do a frighteningly good wicked witch impression through the now closed hatch. "I'll get you, my pretty," she cackled, "And your little towel too."

I giggled as I started the shower, once again luxuriating in the sensations a simple shower sent through my body. When I was done and dried off, Miri had gone to relieve Dan. It was a good thing I wanted to be up early today. We were due to come into sensor range of the asteroid field shortly into Miri's watch. I quickly dressed and applied my make up with a few expert strokes. I was getting good at it.

I made my way up to the bridge after stopping in the galley for a quick bite. I proceeded across the flight deck, perched on the chair at the nav station and swiveled around to watch the tall blonde in the Captain's chair. Eventually she looked up at me from the readouts she was pouring over. "Okay, I can smell the hair burning, what's on that pretty little mind of yours?" she said as I smiled at her, squinting my eyes. "Come on, girl spill it," she said as I still didn't say anything, just sat there watching her.

"Valerie," she cautioned in a warning tone.

"What?" I asked petulantly. "Can't a girl watch her lover and think how beautiful she is?"

Miri snorted at that, "You know it just might have worked if you hadn't added the last bit. What were you thinking about?"

"Well, if you must know, I was trying to figure out what I could bribe the guys with to hold you down long enough for me to truss you up and mercilessly tickle you," I said as I placed my chin in my hand, as if still calculating.

"You had better make sure we are near a friendly planet or something, so there will be medical help nearby for the boys," Miri smiled sweetly.

A warning tone sounded from the console, interrupting out verbal sparring. "Multiple contacts, no heat signatures," Miri informed me.

"Great, we're here," I said. "Close to within 50 AU's and hold that position. We need to scan the field to get an accurate plot so we can pick a target and plan our approach."

Miri stopped the ship at precisely 50 AU's. She was as accurate as ever in her piloting skills. I got down to work scanning the field and the drift of the individual asteroids. The scan took about ten minutes. I studied the screen. There it was. There was an asteroid tailor made for our purposes right near the edge of the closest point the field encroached on the blockade area. It was a little too close for comfort, but it was perfect. It was stationary, with no rotation and it wasn't so big it would block the signal from the sensor relay. I set the computer to plot us a course with a starting velocity of 300AUph and carrying us to a stop very close to the target asteroid with minimum thruster usage.

Fourteen hours later, we hovered over the target asteroid undetected, as Brian made his way down there in a pressure suit to affix the sensor array. We had to stay perfectly still while Brian was out there because he was tethered to the Duality and any movement from the ship could send him crashing into the floating rock or the hull of the ship.

"Okay, I'm in position," Brian informed us. "I am starting to drill for the anchor."

At that moment, a warning chime sounded on the flight deck. I looked at the monitor and saw that a TSN blockade ship had just entered sensor range. I was certain they would not detect us, but there was a chance that a sharp-eyed sensor tech could spot us visually. I mentally urged Brian to hurry.

The ship, a cruiser, was just outside main battery range when it paused. As it sat there, I willed it not to see us.

"Okay, the array is set and anchored. I am headed back," Brian said over the comm.

"Hurry up when you get a chance," Dan told him. "We have a curious TSN cruiser out there."

"Roger that," Brian said. "Expediting."

Brian had just made it to the airlock when the cruiser changed direction and began heading our way.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, it looks like the jig is up," I said. "The cruiser is headed our way. 10 seconds to main battery range."

"I got this," Miri said to Dan, who was the current watch officer. "Everyone strap in for evasive maneuvers," she said as Dan vacated the pilot's console. Miri brought Duality hard around and began to accelerate into the asteroid field even as we began receiving comm traffic from the cruiser.

"Unknown vessel," the cruiser said, "Heave to and identify yourself." After we didn't respond, she added, "Stop or be fired upon!" It was a bluff of course. They were far too large to enter the asteroid field and they wouldn't have a shot at us with all the floating rock in the way.

Miri flew us through the asteroids at a suicidal pace. I could see the beads of sweat on her forehead from her concentration.

"Cruiser has halted at the edge of the field," I announced and Miri slowed.

We finally drifted out of the field slowly and settled at our starting point 50 AU's from the field. The cruiser held station scanning the asteroid field, looking for us. Time was not on our side here and finally when it was clear the TSN ship wasn't giving up anytime soon, we were forced to make a decision.

"They're not leaving," Brian commented.

"I've been monitoring communications," Miri added. "They have reported and called for backup in the form of fighters that can enter the asteroid field to look for us."

"That means there is a Dreadnought coming," I mentioned. "That leaves us with a choice. Do we run the blockade and take a chance that we make it across and out of weapons range before taking too many hits from the cruiser, or do we quietly slip away and return later?"

"If we leave, they will wonder where we went and might suspect our tampering with the drone," Dan supposed. "It'd ruin our day if we returned to find a TSN warship on station at our jump point when we return."

"We've come a long way," Miri said. "I say we pay our money and take our chances running the blockade. If we start a drift run at a vector away from the cruiser and stay cold until they detect us, they will only get maybe 5 minutes of weapons range time on us before we are out of range on the other side. In any event, we need to decide now because a dreadnought just appeared on the passive sensor relay heading in from the far side of the cruiser."

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I would like to thank those that helped me with the proofing and structure of the story. I would also love to hear any and all constructive feedback. --LCG

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